[EAST] Line Games

PayneTrayne

Hey, I'll be going to PAX for the first time and I'm wondering what everyone's favourite games to play in lines are and if you could suggest some.

I intend to bring my DS with Pokemon, and I'm thinking about bringing vanilla Munchkin for quick pick up play. Not sure if Munchkin would require too much floor room or not. Also, I hear we get MtG decks in swag bags so that could take some time.
Thanks in advance, and sorry if this has been asked already.

redfield85

DS with Mario Kart is really good. If you have a few friends to play with and a stranger or few it is really fun. My group at Prime played some Zombie Dice as well. I saw that there is an expansion for Zombie Dice coming too.

Squill2k4

+1 to Mario Kart on the DS. You can easily start a random game and have strangers start joining without having to ask anyone to play. It's a great time.

adias.angel

I picked up Parade and am bringing Zombie Dice. Both are small, easy to carry and can be taught quickly.

GrimRupert

I'd say anything that can be physically moved with little trouble, and thus I'd actually recommend against Munchkin unless my memories of it are clouded a bit.

redfield85

Yea, I have never played a quick game of Munchkin. I don't know why I see people suggest it all the time for the lines.

That_Guy

So, what you are saying is that we should try Munchkin in line?

zerzhul

That_Guy wrote: »

So, what you are saying is that we should try Munchkin in line?

well... that's munchkin quest... which is a different beast.

Munchkin works out great for the opening Queue room line, or the concert line, where you don't move for an hour or two. For shorter lineups things like zombie dice, cthulu dice, mario kart ds, etc, work well because they're short and sweet.

OccamsRZR

I am still compiling a list of stuff to bring. So here is the tentative list of games that my friends and I are bringing:
-Zombie Dice
-Cards Against Humanity
-Bananagrams
-Werewolf
-The Resistance
-Flux
-Gloom
-Cats in a Blender

A nice site for cheap games is http://www.cheapass.com. They sell games assuming that you have things like counters (either glass beads or coins or something) and dice. They also have free games you can print from their site.

Scorpius

Yup. It's Cthullu dice for me, though I might bring Compact Heroes as well this year.

The_Tuninator

That_Guy wrote: »

So, what you are saying is that we should try Munchkin in line?

The real Munchkin, the card game, is much more compact, though it still requires enough table/floor space that I don't know that it'd really be a game you'd want to play in a line.

TheCarpe

In previous years everyones goodie bag had a starter Magic the Gathering deck, I don't have any reason to doubt they will again. So if people around you are at least versed in the games mechanics, you can throw down a quick game with your tiny decks in line. If you don't know how to play, someone is probably around who can show you the (relatively) simple basic rules. (Fun fact: I learned to play MTG in last years PAX East lines )

I remember last year my girlfriend and I pulled in about 4 strangers around us in line for an impromptu game, where one dude randomly decided to have 1000 health while we all had the normal 20. It become a group effort to kill him. Needless to say, the line started moving before we could see it through, but it proved a good time killer.

browncoatbeth

I second parade, mario kart on DS, and zombie dice.

I would also suggest Set (easily movable card game), Piece of cake (quick, easily movable board game), and Carcassonne on iphone.

Last recommendation - stay out of dictochat, *achem* I mean pictochat.

Noisymunk

browncoatbeth wrote: »

I second parade, mario kart on DS, and zombie dice.

I would also suggest Set (easily movable card game), Piece of cake (quick, easily movable board game), and Carcassonne on iphone.

Last recommendation - GET IN DICTOCHAT

Just had to...fix that...

When we're not yelling at eachother about Mario Kart, we play a lot of Zombie Dice and We Didn't Playtest This At All.

GrimRupert

browncoatbeth wrote: »

I second parade, mario kart on DS, and zombie dice.

I would also suggest Set (easily movable card game), Piece of cake (quick, easily movable board game), and Carcassonne on iphone.

Last recommendation - stay out of dictochat, *achem* I mean pictochat.

I think I tried Pictochat for maybe five seconds and it was moving way too fast. Not to mention all the dicks.

This year I have the 3DS, which has SwapNote, but if I'm not going to game with people then I'll just force myself to actually meet new folks face to face.

I can do more damage that way.

PayneTrayne

If I stand next to anyone in line that has Cards against Humanity, they're instantly my bestfriend as I REALLY want to try that game.

KoalaBro2

OccamsRZR wrote: »

A nice site for cheap games is http://www.cheapass.com. They sell games assuming that you have things like counters (either glass beads or coins or something) and dice. They also have free games you can print from their site.

OH MY GOD! Cheapass Games is back?!? This is the greatest news since news was invented! I strongly suggest downloading all their games and giving them all your money. You will not regret it.

As for the actual subject of this thread, line games, my experience from last year is that you really don't spend enough time in lines for physical games. I had time for about half a game of Fluxx in the concert line, and that's supposed to be about the longest stationary line there is. However, conversely, if you want to see any of the demos on the exhibition floor, you may be waiting upwards of an hour. Unfortunately, the exhibition floor lines are cramped for space, and always moving. So electronic games, like the iOS version of Zombie Dice, or anything on the Nintendo DS, are the way to go.

RedBerries

A friend picked up "We didn't play test this" last year when we were waiting in line for the concerts, best money spent. It is the quickest game, plus since its cards you need little to no floor space. We bring it to all of our work outings now too.

I saw a lot of zombie dice.

Overall though I give credit to the enforcers, they do their best to entertain you.

repete

Pokemon Gold silver or Crystal is usually what i play in line

spiderz13

This is what I got so far:

- Mario Cart DS
- Fluxx Monty Python
- Back to the Future Card Game
- Magic Cards (two decks)
- We Didn't Play Test This At All

ZeroHourHero

Psh.... Im bringing my Game Gear. I found it in my dads house the other day.

ottoman673

I'll be equipped with my 3DS and some Mario Kartz for the lines.

GrimRupert

spiderz13 wrote: »

This is what I got so far:

- Mario Cart DS
- Fluxx Monty Python
- Back to the Future Card Game
- Magic Cards (two decks)
- We Didn't Play Test This At All

The deck-building game? I'm actually curious how that is. Will you be at the Thursday night Westin gaming meet-up thinger?

TJBrady22

Zombie Dice and Cthulhu Dice. Been looking since last year for compact things to do in line.
I've played Munchkin Space before in line, it was tough because of how dense the lines are.

redfield85

ZeroHourHero wrote: »

Psh.... Im bringing my Game Gear. I found it in my dads house the other day.

YES! Maybe I will bring mine. Why the fuck not? Hahaha.

RevGutter

Zombie dice and Cthulhu dice were our line games of choice last year, along with Mario Kart and Mario Party of course. I had Munchkin and Fluxx in my bag but never broke them out since they are a bit more time consuming for some lines.
Brainscore on the android market is very handy when playing bigger games of zombie dice while on the move.

I may bring Epic Sell Wars this year. Doesn't take much room for a card game and is a fairly quick play.

azuravian

GrimRupert wrote: »

spiderz13 wrote: »

This is what I got so far:

- Mario Cart DS
- Fluxx Monty Python
- Back to the Future Card Game
- Magic Cards (two decks)
- We Didn't Play Test This At All

The deck-building game? I'm actually curious how that is. Will you be at the Thursday night Westin gaming meet-up thinger?

Unless it's a different Back to the Future Card Game, it's not a DBG. It's a reimagining of Chrononauts with a BttF theme. Great game.

GrimRupert

azuravian wrote: »

GrimRupert wrote: »

spiderz13 wrote: »

This is what I got so far:

- Mario Cart DS
- Fluxx Monty Python
- Back to the Future Card Game
- Magic Cards (two decks)
- We Didn't Play Test This At All

The deck-building game? I'm actually curious how that is. Will you be at the Thursday night Westin gaming meet-up thinger?

Unless it's a different Back to the Future Card Game, it's not a DBG. It's a reimagining of Chrononauts with a BttF theme. Great game.

I just did a bit of research, and I was confusing it a bit with the Star Trek deck building game. I researched them both on BoardGame Geek at roughly the same time frame.

JobiwanKenobi

I typically pack my DS and cribbage for the lines. Although, We Didn't Playtest This At All would be epic in PAX lines... I suspect that I'll be bringing that along this time.

Dgeorge318

redfield85 wrote: »

ZeroHourHero wrote: »

Psh.... Im bringing my Game Gear. I found it in my dads house the other day.

YES! Maybe I will bring mine. Why the fuck not? Hahaha.

I'll bring mine too. And the Sega converter so I can play Altered Beast. Just don't make fun of the 300 pack of batteries I bring. Or the 1 burnt out pixel.

EQV

All I have is a Game Boy Color with various Pokemons (Gold, Silver, Blue, Yellow). Hopefully I'll meet one of you in line and you'll have a link cable!

TheAggroCraig

I'll bring my DS/3DS with Mario Kart and either Pokemon Soul Silver or Black.

I'm half tempted to just bust out a copy of Candy Land somewhere at PAX though.

Krissta

I'll be bringing Cthulu Dice, We Didn't Play Test This, and Apples to Apples MOD. And I'll have cookies.

Dr Valkyrie

I'll be bringing Zombie Dice around with me

spiderz13

GrimRupert wrote: »

spiderz13 wrote: »

This is what I got so far:

- Mario Cart DS
- Fluxx Monty Python
- Back to the Future Card Game
- Magic Cards (two decks)
- We Didn't Play Test This At All

The deck-building game? I'm actually curious how that is. Will you be at the Thursday night Westin gaming meet-up thinger?

Its the version made by Looney Labs. Its a fun game, better if your familiar with BTTF ( I played with some people that never saw the movies). I wont be at the Westin meet up but I will be in the Main Theater Line for the Keynote, Q&A, Rooster Teeth Lineup.

Also I think I lost Monty Python Fluxx so I got find that quick.

Lindsey Lohan

We'll have our DS/3DS with the usual suspects (Mario Kart, Pokemon). I'm guessing we'll have We Didn't Playtest This, Zombie Dice and Cthulhu Dice as well. I do know we're using PAX as a chance to grab expansions to Playtest This without having to pay shipping and my wife wants a copy for her classroom too.

I'm crossing my fingers for their to still be bags with Magic cards on Sunday since we won't be there all weekend.

Nullzone

While many of the lines may not be entering their respective event locations for upwards of an hour, it is worth noting that you may be asked multiple times to move a few feet in the interest of space, so bringing games that are easily picked up and moved around is a good idea. Generally speaking, I've had the best success in line with games that did not use a tableau of any sort (i.e. Magic, Munchkin, Fluxx, etc); there are plenty of card games that just exchange cards between players' hands and the draw/discard piles, which are far more ideal for the situation. Playtest and its counterpart are great because they play in 10-15 minutes, so even though you are placing cards down the game is over really quickly (or even if you are forced to reset it's no serious loss because the next game was not far off).

Zombie and Cthulhu Dice are two of my personal favorites, because you can carry them both in the Zombie Dice cup and you don't really need anything else to play (keep score in your head or on a sheet of paper/phone). Playtest is great, as is Bedlamb (again, do accounting with something other than chips). I haven't run into anything that I found quite as elegant as these solutions, personally; they do a great job of filling most of the time, combined with general conversation, and the occasional phone browsing.

This isn't a "Don't bring these games" post or anything, just friendly advice from someone who's done it a few times. Bring whatever you'd like, just be prepared to be flexible

Frugus

Last year I made the easy mistake of bringing every cool line game that I had. The end result is that I sacrificed a lot of bag space for games that people already had or that I never really used. The worse was my idea of bringing multiple decks of MTG, just in case I needed variety.

It won't stop me from bringing some again (hey, I would rather be safe than simply assume everyone around me will have Zombie Dice), but this time I'm going to stick to one only - two if the second choice takes up absolute minimal space, and either one will need to be easily explainable/deployable/picked up quickly.

Since I only plan on playing MTG casually I figure I'll bring only one deck, though that may be a rough choice since everyone is into commander these days (which I would not play in a moving line).

MrGone1980

Hey I was wondering, does anyone have Metagame?

I ordered a deck today but I have a feeling it won't get here in time for PAX....

ErickaJo

Had to search Kittens in a Blender... dear god, I hope I can buy this on the floor.

We'll be bringing our 3DSs with the usual suspects (pokemon of various flavors, MK7, Kid Icarus: Uprising etc), Martian Dice, Zombie Dice, a copy of some Fluxx, and maybe some other stuff.

Oh, and I'll have cookies.

Frugus

ErickaJo wrote: »

Had to search Kittens in a Blender... dear god, I hope I can buy this on the floor.

We'll be bringing our 3DSs with the usual suspects (pokemon of various flavors, MK7, Kid Icarus: Uprising etc), Martian Dice, Zombie Dice, a copy of some Fluxx, and maybe some other stuff.

Oh, and I'll have cookies.

Damn it... PAX is the best place ever.