1581

You could join the BGG Qt3 guild too.

1582

I didn’t mind it… It just sucked the “noob” got put in such an awkward position and everyone knew it. I think we’ll aim to get it back onto the table before BGG.Con while the rules are fresh. We’ve done this with “older” games recently & had good experiences with it - play it once & it sucks because people forgot the rules, then play it again a week or two later & have a better time. We’ll see.

I’d be happy to pay shipping to take it off your hands :P

I really enjoy Dominant Species and am glad I bought it. I may not play it this weekend, but I plan on playing it next and am looking forward to learning more about the strategies involved.

Yeah, everything I read makes it sound like it’s right up my street!

1583

I have the “qt3 fan” minibadge. Is that like being in the guild?

1584

I, uh, kinda might have bought the first three commands and colors expansions on eBay today.

“oops”

1585

I’d also be interested in looking at any auctions. Tracy can tell you there is a voracious qt3 appetite for good games in need of a home.

Got in another round of Space Hulk (Exterminate! map, no.2) with Reldan, and even though I had prior experience as the Genestealer in this one, I made a few serious miscalculations and was rewarded with a cat and mouse finale that upended the traditional alien-marine relationship in a disgraceful manner. It’s interesting how where the first map had hinged on blip placement of the genestealer and clever use of the flamethrower, this one expanded it to decisions made about the initial placement of marines (each player gets to place one marine in alternating turns in a room by themselves) and the genestealer using attrition a lot more carefully than usual (not the same as less aggressively, though) thanks to the limited number of blips. Right from the beginning I blew it by not isolating one of the two truly unique characters (assault rifle and hammer/shield) and inexplicably putting the chainfist exactly where he needed to be…far away so he could melee through a bunch of doors efficiently. I underestimated the cost of swarming the hammer/shield sgt on guard early on where I should have forced him to go on the offensive, and that was a serious error as well.

Lots of after the fact quarterbacking, there was also very judicious use of overwatch and some of that door destruction from shoot and moves (especially on turns) that allowed for just in time control of crucial hallways. An excellent game, all round, although it was a bit long and there really wasn’t much of a desire to follow it up with a switch in roles afterwards.

More people showed up, and we had time for a tortuous explanation of SH: Death Angel’s rules on my part, and most of a 6 player game before poker kicked off. An excellent coop once you get past the instructions, which are simple enough but a little tricky to envision thanks to the large number of different kinds of cards involved, all with a very different role. In a future teaching, I would just set it up (now that I know it) and play through the first two rounds after a 5 minute overview, but I definitely needed one play done to be able to do that. I was very impressed by how agile the play was with that many people…I actually think it might move a bit slower with the more squads/person with fewer people, but I rarely see something so efficient with time and decision containment with so many people. Definitely looking forward to another large group play.

1586

Wait, wait, I thought you were playing 3rd edition Space Hulk. The assault rifle, hammer / shield, and lightning claws used to be in the Deathwing expansion, though Exterminate was the 2nd mission in the base game. Did they add the additional special weapons to the base game?

1587

It is third edition, and I’m not sure what the specific changes are, but the hammer and shield, claws, and assault rifle are prominent in many missions. Also, the sergeant upgrade (redraw your CP if desired, bonus to melee) makes him a force to be reckoned with, and no 2nd edition limit on CP in the genestealer turn.

Here’s a great summary of the rules, in case you’re wondering, and there’s a 2nd ed one on the same site as well. And, dammit, there’s now a death angel one which I wish I had thought to check for more recently, because I bet it would have helped.

1588

I enjoyed today’s game of Space Hulk with LK quite a bit, and not only because I won. It was rather tense in a few spots, and I really had to do a lot of thinking and counting of spaces to keep my marines just out of range. There was one turn where I didn’t have the CP to put one of my marines back onto Overwatch after he used all his AP killing a GS that was getting too close, and LK didn’t notice that he wasn’t on overwatch until after he finished his GS turn. The Hammer/Shielf Sergeant is pretty badass, but one bad roll and he’s mincemeat. Even with his bonuses if you catch him not on guard you’ve probably got a solid 30-40% chance of killing him, but on guard he’s a beast against anything in front of him.

Death Angel I’ll have to try again, as the taste of it I got ranks it pretty high in my book of co-op games (I like the idea of co-op games but there aren’t a lot I think are all that good). Hopefully in repeated playings it will stand up. Explaining it is ridiculously complicated though - I agree it’s better to be seen in action than explained and envisioned.

1589

That was probably my last real chance to break through one of your fronts, apart from the lone genestealer that I was unable to get out of the bottom tunnels in time (I suspect I could have drawn out the confrontation with the other one down there a little longer, but things were pretty grim at that point…I should have at least killed the ammo-less assault cannon on principle). As I’ve learned countless times in the computer game version, all it takes is one breach and things get very hairy for the marines.

1590

Impressions from Essen of a Mansions of Madness playthrough. Sounds good, but I really haven’t found games that rely on someone being the DM or opponent of all of the other players particularly enjoyable.

1591

We have a minibadge?!

1592

Yes, look up jschlickbernd’s profile to see it. A friend of mine did it for us.

1593

I was away for the weekend at a gaming convention in Dublin. Had a great time, up all hours talking games, played a few ones I was familiar with, my gaming society bought loads to keep us going for months (I’m about to go through the rules for Android once I eat.) However, on the train back down to Cork my weekend took a decidely green turn. We met a friend on the way back from Essen. He had bought twenty games and expansions over there and was absolutely glowing. My jealousy level was ramped right up as he talked about them.

I can’t remember them all, but the stand out ones for me were;

Habemus Papam: As the name says, it’s all about electing a Pope and the bribing and backstabbing that goes on with it. Supposedly it was the best bang for buck of all his purchases.

7 Wonders: The biggest hyped game of the Convention, a lot have it pegged as the Spiel des Jahre winner for next year. Although it is getting a backlash since Spield ended.
The Phantom League: Huge problems with production. The manufacturers left half the components out of the box, which now come in a second baggie, which then won’t fit in the too small box. Still, I like space games and this is on my to play list.

Dixit: Spiel Des Jahres winner for this year, so I’ll say no more.

Fresco: Players are painting a fresco a la the Sistine Chapel and have to balance efficiency with beauty. He maintains it’s one of the nicest boards he’s seen

51st State: Which he described as a mix between Risk and Pandemic (Although I might be getting that confused with something else.)

And there was a lot more I can’t remember.

Either way, I’m broke from my own convention, and exhausted, but Friday night I plan on playing the booty from Spiel.

1594

I’m jealous!!! My buy list is totally out of control. I’ll be getting Merkator later this week and I’m really looking forward to playing that one!

1595

I read the HeadlessHollow guide for Android. I sat on the sofa and read out loud the setup for the game. I couldn’t actually get to the end of it without bursting into laughter - it’s ridiculous and makes Arkham Horror look like Pandemic.

1596

I can understand the jealousy. I was coming back from a great weekends gaming but he topped it easily. Seeing him unpack all the games and talk about meeting designers and publishers asking him to translate their games in return for beta tester status was infuriating. Spiel is something I would love to go to. I planned on going this year but couldn’t find a job after graduating. Even then he was telling me it cost him about €600 in flights and accommodation even though he booked everything six months in advance (Flights from Dublin and staying in the Holiday Inn.) Then there’s the eating and partying at night, and all the boardgames you bring back. I’d say you could easily spend €1300 or more, without much effort. Then you think about what that would get you if you ordered all those games online and waited.

I still want to go.

1597

I read the HeadlessHollow guide for Android. I sat on the sofa and read out loud the setup for the game. I couldn’t actually get to the end of it without bursting into laughter - it’s ridiculous and makes Arkham Horror look like Pandemic.

I thought the same thing at first and it does take a good 10 or 15 minutes to set everything up, but the rules aren’t as complex as they seem once you play the game. I had a blast playing it and I hope Kevin Wilson revisits it again in the future.

1598

Is there any guide to BGG out there? It’s confusing as hell to me in regards to the community aspects. I’d like to start building my geek portfolio.

Edit: Also, where do you game? I mostly play in two places, friend’s houses and my university’s gaming society (and conventions when I can afford them.) The problem with houses is there are room-mates, they’re small and it’s the same few people over and over again. With the gaming society myself and a couple of others are starting to look for something a bit more serious. We’re both 25 and hanging out with 17 and 18 year olds all the time just isn’t cutting it. We’d like serious conversations with boardgames, not the crazy/wacky/random shit that seems to be de rigeur with the university’s gaming society. It just doesn’t seem to be a place to attract adults. And while that’s fine, and I enjoy it on occasion, I am looking for a bit of grown up activity. Another friend in our normal gaming circle is 30, a qualified accountant and properly grown up (bar the games.) He’s been looking for a place to start up a gaming club for people who don’t want the drama of a university society. We’ve tried bars, but in the current climate we can’t afford the upkeep needed to justify the bar letting us use their tables, even community centres need money to keep going which we can’t manage and houses are just too small. So where do you game? And is it just a small group of friends or do you manage a larger gaming circle?

1599

I borrow GloriousMess’s house, because he has a table big enough for LAN parties or Arkham Horror. A lot of these games take up an incredible amount of room.

Thinking of finding a gaming club so I can get my lesser played games some playtime, but I’m scared of randoms!

1600

I started up a bi-weekly game night at the school where I teach. It’s a comic book school, so the student body is already geek-oriented, and that leads to a pretty healthy turnout. My students and the alumni who stick around are awesome to game with – they’re smart, funny, and play to win, but ultimately everyone just wants to laugh and have a good time. Since it’s just about the only personal social time I get these days, I’m really thankful for it, and I know I’m going to really miss it when it’s gone.