Board Games Thread

I know I searched for a few titles on the forum in the past and came up with nothing, so here is (probably?) the first thread on WATMM devoted to board games in general. After all, having all the rules and mechanics in your head and manipulating physical pieces according to the said rules is pretty IDM right?

A lot of people think about Monopoly and then maaaybe Settlers Of Catan when board games are mentioned but the truth is the board game community evolved so much in the past 15 years it's ridiculous. It has become a very strong niche with a lot of devotees; single-person developers gaining as much as 3,5 million dollars on Kickstarter campaigns; play-cafes are opening up in more or less every capital nowadays. The result are also more complex games, longer games, more expensive games, more expansions, etc. It truly became a very big and convulted world of board game enthusiasts. Some are attracted to miniatures and beautiful components, others to the intricate gameplay.

Board game are nowadays usually sorted as euro or ameritrash. Ameritrash games try to invoke the theme as authentic as possible - they are usually centered on conflict and have quite a lot of luck involved. Euro games are more abstract and have indirect conflicts, no player elimination and a low level of luck.

I'm still quite new to the whole board-game shenanigans, but for me they represent a fine balance between an innovative mechanic, limited physical space, components, entertainment and socialising. The limitations are really interesting to me - you can pack 1000000 codelines into a video game, but when designing a board game you have to make everything as elegant as possible, so it can fit into a box and into a head.

Sooo, does anyone play anything? Any recommendations?

I'll start of with a few titles:

SETTLERS OF CATAN

So, this is known as the gateway drug for most of players. As such it usually isn't played anymore when you turn to more complex games but it has its merit. For starters, it was the first game I played that I admired its balance. You build villages, towns and roads to harvest different resources through the game and be the first one to gain 10 victory points. There are numerous ways to get victory points and you have to constantly shift your strategy based on what resources are harvested and what your opponents are doing. If you are new to this, I strongly recommend a game or two of this.

BLOOD RAGE

The first meatier game I purchased and played with my friends. Blood rage is dudes-on-a-map game, which means conducting battles on a board in the style of Risk. But it is so much more. Its theme are Vikings and portions of the map are getting destroyed by Ragnarok as the game progresses. You can be aggressive, protective, you can even gain victory points by losing battles with the power of Loki. The tension is crazy and it gets even wilder as new battle cards come into play. I had to stand up and walk around the room a few times after losing a battle. Crazy fun.

TERRA MYSTICA

This is known as the most euro game of all euro games. It is Settlers Of Catan on stereoids. You control a race with a distinct power and terrain-type and you can only build on your terrain-type, so you have to terraform the board to your liking. Others are also manipulating the board and there are cults and different advantages in different rounds and bonuses and... But still this is a game that is played with perfect knowledge. From the start of the initial setup you know what will be important when and how, no luck involved. The only variable is what others are doing. It is truly engaging and hard and for a while it was the best rated board game on https://boardgamegeek.com

GLOOMHAVEN

I haven't played this yet, but it is currently the best rated game on BGG. The box it comes in weighs 20 pounds and you get choose-your-own-adventure style of an evolving RPG campaign, divided in 100+ scenarios, each requiring a few hours of gameplay. It contains multiple characters, enemies, secret envelopes, modification cards, etc... What you do will influence everything that follows. Gloomhaven is a legacy game. Legacy games are the new craze. They include game-changing mechanics, which expect you to tear up cards, add permanent stickers to the board, etc., all of which ultimately make the game more intimate and involved. Since Gloomhaven is so big and almost impossible to ever finish, this mechanic really adds to the experience.

Started playing a few board games at home, as an attempt at getting a new shared interest with the wife (IDM doesnt always cut it)

We were big fans of Carcasonne for a while, got a few expansions, but its kinda lost its spark now.

We got Pandemic for Christmas but only played it twice so far, its probably better with more players.

Looking for our next game now actually, so this thread may prove useful.

I play semi-regularly with friends. My friends aren't that board game geeky, so we play good simpler games. We mostly play Lord of Waterdeep, Coup, King of Tokyo, Dominion, Ascension. I especially like Coup: quick 10 minute games with some really fun bluffing interactions with good friends.

Personally, I was really deep into Android: Netrunner. I spent around 2 years solely playing that until about a year ago. It's really fantastic with a really fun theme and ultra mechanics geekery with a crazy amount of rules interactions and exceptions. Unfortunately, WotC wouldn't let FFG renew the IP license, so the last expansion, which was just released, officially means the end of the game. I was tempted to try other LCGs like Legend of the Five Rings, but it seems to have a steep learning curve and my interests have shifted.

Funny fact, one of my best friends is married to Eric Lang: the creator of Blood Rage. I helped in play testing a few of his games, but I haven't tried Blood Rage!

My collection is big and I've probably only played half of them. I enjoy Boss Monster, Escape from the Aliens in Outer Space, Forbidden Island, X-Wing, Elder Sign, Betrayal at the House on the Hill and King of Tokyo.

I realise a list isn't a very interesting read but I mainly play them with my girlfriend who gets bored of others quickly so any of those are worth a punt. Quick to pick up the rules and fun to play.

Played Mansions of Madness with some mates a couple of weeks ago.  Was good fun - we're gonig to tackle one of the more difficult scenarios in a few weeks time.  Not normallly my cup of tea, but with a healthy supply of beer and snacks it was a very pleasant way to spend 4 hours.

The puzzles that you do via the app are also surprisingly entertaining

Do love a game of Risk, unfortunately haven't had the chance to play an awful lot of other games. My new place of work has a board game evening every now and then, long list of games. Might give it a go.

https://forum.watmm.com/topic/68464-board-game-discussion

Other then Risk I don't think I've played any of these fancy board games. I play Rummikub sometimes with my parents and Oma when I go to visit them. Recently my dad has gotten us into Hearts which is played with a deck of cards. Fun but I'm already getting kind of bored with it. Any card game recommendations??

scrabble? i also like boggle A LOT but that one is boardless

i used to love playing Careers when i was younger the family had that:

Huge board game fan over here. Few things I like more than getting some friends over and having a wine, cheese and games night. Make them games heavy on negotiation and baby you got a stew going.

I HIGHLY recommend the Sons of Anarchy: Men of Mayhem board game to everybody. Ignore the fact that it's a licensed property, it doesn't matter if you haven't watched or don't like the show (I think the show is shit), the game itself is absolutely fantastic.It's essentially an area control/worker placement game with a lot of brokering deals, backstabbing and general shithousery.The components are lush and it's always a hit with friends. 100% of the time. It's the board game that got me into the hobby.

It's dirt cheap as barely anybody picked it up, literally less than £15/$20 on Amazon right now. You get so much bang for your buck as it's brilliantly designed, nice to look at and super replayable. Although it's worth noting that it lives or dies depending on the people you play games with. If your friends are uber dorks who don't like games where you interact with other players you may not get so much out of it, maybe stick with the clinical, machine building Euro style games. But if you're a social type and you have a bit of malice in your heart then it's an absolute MUST BUY.

I love board games and was actually tempted to create a thread so I'm glad to see one has been made. One day I'll gush about the all time best game ever, Cosmic Encounter.

FANX

Whoops, Ovitus, didn't know another thread existed! Maybe a mod can merge them into one?

  On 7/4/2018 at 5:38 PM, fletcher said:

Started playing a few board games at home, as an attempt at getting a new shared interest with the wife (IDM doesnt always cut it)

 

We were big fans of Carcasonne for a while, got a few expansions, but its kinda lost its spark now.

We got Pandemic for Christmas but only played it twice so far, its probably better with more players.

Looking for our next game now actually, so this thread may prove useful.

Fletch if you're looking for a 2 player game for playing with the Mrs then you have to pick up Fog of Love. It's a genius design, one of the most original games I've ever played and it looks absolutely GORGEOUS. Perfect couples game, you sort of role play a relationship between two people with personality traits kind of randomly given out in the game. Give it a look online, maybe watch the review by Shut Up and Sit Down as well. Can't stress enough what a hilarious and fun game it is. With the best tutorial.

  On 7/5/2018 at 11:43 AM, Obel said:

 

  On 7/4/2018 at 5:38 PM, fletcher said:

Started playing a few board games at home, as an attempt at getting a new shared interest with the wife (IDM doesnt always cut it)

 

We were big fans of Carcasonne for a while, got a few expansions, but its kinda lost its spark now.

We got Pandemic for Christmas but only played it twice so far, its probably better with more players.

Looking for our next game now actually, so this thread may prove useful.

 

Fletch if you're looking for a 2 player game for playing with the Mrs then you have to pick up Fog of Love. It's a genius design, one of the most original games I've ever played and it looks absolutely GORGEOUS. Perfect couples game, you sort of role play a relationship between two people with personality traits kind of randomly given out in the game. Give it a look online, maybe watch the review by Shut Up and Sit Down as well. Can't stress enough what a hilarious and fun game it is. With the best tutorial.

 

Yeah gf recommended it and it's great fun. It is quite pricey though. Other 2p games we enjoy:

* Jaipur

* 7 Wonders Duel

* Hive

* Hanamikoji

* Castles of Burgundy (Up to 4 but I think it shines at 2, it's very complex compared to the other games I listed here though)

And yeah Pandemic isn't so great with two people, much better with four.

  On 7/5/2018 at 11:39 AM, Dpek said:

Paranerd, which Eric Lang games did you playtest? Rising Sun?

Secrets (https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/200847/secrets)

Bloodborne (https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/195856/bloodborne-card-game)

The Others (https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/172047/others)

I enjoyed Secrets a lot which is similar to Coup in some ways: hidden information and discovery through inference.

I used to play some Board Games with my gf. Nowadays however we prefer playing Computer Games instead. Anyways below is a list and photo of our collection of favorite Board Games for 2 players and more. 

• 7 Wonders Duel (2015)
• Agricola: All Creatures Big and Small (2012)
• Biblios (2007)
• Carcassonne (2000)
• Dominion (2008)
• Forbidden Desert (2013)
• Jaipur (2009)
• Magic: The Gathering (1993)
• Mice and Mystics (2012)
• Patchwork (2014)
• Rivals for Catan (2010)
• San Juan (2004)
• Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective (1981)
• Vampire Empire (2012)

I also made a list of Board Games in Google Sheets you can check out, ordered by score, genre and player count:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17gIkrQYCYLoyrKxjubtye473rRbK63rJQFnDxe6bD0k/edit#gid=771472535

Woah, you really went into specifics :) Will check the Google Docs later for sure.

Btw, how is Dominion? Do you have to give it a lot of time or is it possible to play it once a month or so and still milk the experience to its fullest?

And another question - has anyone tried do design their own board game? I have to admit it is a bit of a buzz for me thinking about different mechanics and how would they work together.

Alright, just chiming in to say I purchased Mage Knight and have played 2 solo games 2 days in row. Holy cow. What a game. I don't think I had a better experience playing a board game yet, even though I played it solo and checked the rules about 50 times through it. I know I made at least 2 mistakes. Every little part of the game has an exception rule to the whole system and at first it's just frustrating. Still, I took my time and I think I got it all. The puzzle aspect of what you can do with your hand is sooooo soooooooo satisfying and the growth of your character is also soooooo good. I went to a dungeon late in the game just so I could kick some dungeon ass because these monsters were so hard for me in the early game. I trained at a monestary to get some special actions and then I burned the monastery the next turn. I tried to conquer a big city and of course got the shit beaten out of me. Then the game ended and I didn't succeed to finish my goal. But I can't wait to have a large table and 4 hours to spare on disposale again.

I play D&D with a guy that loves board games. His living room basically resembles a game store, so we end up playing something random if someone in the group can't make it for D&D.

Kind of silly, but I really enjoy Ticket to Ride. Putting together an incredibly long train line is surprisingly satisfying.

  On 7/5/2018 at 11:39 AM, Dpek said:

 

Whoops, Ovitus, didn't know another thread existed! Maybe a mod can merge them into one?

 

Paranerd, which Eric Lang games did you playtest? Rising Sun?

 

I want to try Carcassone and Pandemic, especially Pandemic Legacy ... When the time, people and paycheck come :)

 

Pandemic is a lot of fun, but it's pretty goddamn hard.

I had a recent urge to get a copy of the old version of Balderdash (I like the older version more when it was just obscure vocabulary). Found it on ebay cheap and it should be delivered by like Friday. Already have a game night in the works for it. :)

I kind of want to make a version of Clue that's based in a trailer park and all of the murder weapons are redneck shit. Think "Billy Jim murders Cletus in the outhouse after taking bath salts and eating his face."

I don't see what's stopping you :D As far as I know it's an unspoiled theme.

  On 8/5/2018 at 12:02 PM, Dpek said:

Alright, just chiming in to say I purchased Mage Knight and have played 2 solo games 2 days in row. Holy cow. What a game. I don't think I had a better experience playing a board game yet, even though I played it solo and checked the rules about 50 times through it. I know I made at least 2 mistakes. Every little part of the game has an exception rule to the whole system and at first it's just frustrating. Still, I took my time and I think I got it all. The puzzle aspect of what you can do with your hand is sooooo soooooooo satisfying and the growth of your character is also soooooo good. I went to a dungeon late in the game just so I could kick some dungeon ass because these monsters were so hard for me in the early game. I trained at a monestary to get some special actions and then I burned the monastery the next turn. I tried to conquer a big city and of course got the shit beaten out of me. Then the game ended and I didn't succeed to finish my goal. But I can't wait to have a large table and 4 hours to spare on disposale again.

 

Just watched a few YT videos on this, looks pretty deep.  I like complex games - but I know that with my 2 sons in the house there is no way I could leave this set up on the kitchen table and it would still be there when I got home from work.

Its hard enough keeping vinyl out of harms way-  I built a special side board in our lounge to keep my decks and records out of reach until they are old enough to understand / respect them :D

  On 8/7/2018 at 9:36 AM, fletcher said:

 

  On 8/5/2018 at 12:02 PM, Dpek said:

Alright, just chiming in to say I purchased Mage Knight and have played 2 solo games 2 days in row. Holy cow. What a game. I don't think I had a better experience playing a board game yet, even though I played it solo and checked the rules about 50 times through it. I know I made at least 2 mistakes. Every little part of the game has an exception rule to the whole system and at first it's just frustrating. Still, I took my time and I think I got it all. The puzzle aspect of what you can do with your hand is sooooo soooooooo satisfying and the growth of your character is also soooooo good. I went to a dungeon late in the game just so I could kick some dungeon ass because these monsters were so hard for me in the early game. I trained at a monestary to get some special actions and then I burned the monastery the next turn. I tried to conquer a big city and of course got the shit beaten out of me. Then the game ended and I didn't succeed to finish my goal. But I can't wait to have a large table and 4 hours to spare on disposale again.

 

 

Just watched a few YT videos on this, looks pretty deep.  I like complex games - but I know that with my 2 sons in the house there is no way I could leave this set up on the kitchen table and it would still be there when I got home from work.

 

Its hard enough keeping vinyl out of harms way-  I built a special side board in our lounge to keep my decks and records out of reach until they are old enough to understand / respect them :D

 

The game really is full of enjoyment so I still recommend it. Maybe build another side board in your lounge for this purpose? I personally wound't divide my play time into parts so you can always put everything in the box after playing it through.

As a couple we have playing a lot of patchwork (or cottage garden in a similar vein), wingspan, codenames duet, azul and chess.

My true love is the heavy euros, but due to pandemic I haven't been able to play much of Brass Birmingham or Pax Pamir 2nd ed. Both of which are my newest favorites. (TTS anyone?)

Been toying about with solo games too, but not very much, just played pax pamir that way to learn. Mage knight looks way way complex, I tried to learn on TTS and got overwhelmed, but I've heard it's an amazing solo experience.

I've been listening to board gaming podcasts incessantly to pass the time and there's so many interesting games and so many interesting aspect to design. Some day I'd love to try designing a game.

Showing a little love for Stratego. Love that game.

Is anyone familiar with the RPG Troika?

https://www.troikarpg.com
 

  On 8/6/2018 at 10:28 PM, Braintree said:

I kind of want to make a version of Clue that's based in a trailer park and all of the murder weapons are redneck shit. Think "Billy Jim murders Cletus in the outhouse after taking bath salts and eating his face."

They made a Seinfeld version of Clue, what’s the mystery, who ate Jerry’s sandwich from Katz’s?