I've been getting more and more into euro-style games, games that aren't just "roll dice and move tokens and half the players sit around once they're eliminated and the last two people play for another hour or more." Got turned on to Settlers about a month ago, and realized that of all the board games (and multiplayer video games) I've enjoyed, most of these elements are the ones that I prefer in games in general.
So my wife and I ordered Settlers, Carcassonne, and Amun-Re. Have a few other games on wishlists, but I felt that it's a good start.
However, I'm curious about 2 player games as well. My wife and I mostly like playing with other people, couples mostly, so we end up with a lot of 4 and 6 player groups. But we do like playing against each other; it's just not that fun when you only have Scrabble, and one person is a word-freak. And cheap-ass games aren't really all that deep. We can play Carcassonne 2player, and many say that it's entertaining, so that's a start. We also have Through the Desert on our "to buy" list since it seems to be a good 2 player or 4 player game (and comes with a ton of camels). What are other good 2 player games that aren't sprawling war-style games, that can also scale up to 3 or 4 people?
And are there any of these games that are really good for 6 people? I've given up on 8 or more without teams
I've been playing Ticket to Ride Europe for a year or so with my GF. That's some good fun. Also, Lost Cities is a good 2 player game. Puerto Rico is fun with 2 players, but I've never played with more than that, so I don't know how it compares. Pillars of the Earth just arrived today. I'm looking forward to playing that when I get home from work today.
Keep at it. Arkham's got a lot of replay value, especially if you do all the crazy little things like getting deputized, joining the Twilight Lodge, etc...
I love Betrayal, make sure you print the new survival guides and the FAQ off their website. Things like the underground lake is an upper level floor title but when you pull it out it goes the basement :P
I'd love to play Battlelore with you, if you weren't wherever you are and I wasn't wherever I am. I'm liking that game more and more each time I play it.
What do you like using for a War Council? I'm generally more inclined to the Warrior and Rogue abilities.
I'd love to play Battlelore with you, if you weren't wherever you are and I wasn't wherever I am. I'm liking that game more and more each time I play it.
What do you like using for a War Council? I'm generally more inclined to the Warrior and Rogue abilities.
I haven't even gotten to the war council scenario yet. Only played the first two scenarios. Even then, the game is really fun. The Command and Color system is very efficient and easy to understand.
Puerto Rico only gets better with 3+ players. In fact, I think it's actually balanced for that many (special rules for only two people, etc...)
That's what I've heard, but my fiance is the only person I know who is as into board games as me. I'm moving up to Cupertino, CA next week for an internship and I'm hoping some of the other interns are into board games. I'd love to get a few big games of Ticket to Ride or Puerto Rico going.
On another note. I just got Pillars of the Earth and that game is fantastic. Again, I've only played with 2 people, but I could see it getting much more interesting with more players. And the board is so pretty.
Puerto Rico only gets better with 3+ players. In fact, I think it's actually balanced for that many (special rules for only two people, etc...)
That's what I've heard, but my fiance is the only person I know who is as into board games as me. I'm moving up to Cupertino, CA next week for an internship and I'm hoping some of the other interns are into board games. I'd love to get a few big games of Ticket to Ride or Puerto Rico going.
On another note. I just got Pillars of the Earth and that game is fantastic. Again, I've only played with 2 people, but I could see it getting much more interesting with more players. And the board is so pretty.
If you are heading for an internship in Cupertino (perhaps at a Very Large computer company), I'm almost sure there will be a gaming enthusiast group through the company.
Alhambra is also a game that plays super-great with two players, and even gives you a bonus guy (phantom player named Dirk) who might actually win.
However, I'm curious about 2 player games as well. My wife and I mostly like playing with other people, couples mostly, so we end up with a lot of 4 and 6 player groups. But we do like playing against each other; it's just not that fun when you only have Scrabble, and one person is a word-freak. And cheap-ass games aren't really all that deep. We can play Carcassonne 2player, and many say that it's entertaining, so that's a start. We also have Through the Desert on our "to buy" list since it seems to be a good 2 player or 4 player game (and comes with a ton of camels). What are other good 2 player games that aren't sprawling war-style games, that can also scale up to 3 or 4 people?
And are there any of these games that are really good for 6 people? I've given up on 8 or more without teams
Two player games: someone already mentioned Lost Cities, which is indeed fun, and I just reccomended Alhambra in the post right above this one. I'd also reccomend Fjords, which is a little bit carcassonne and a little bit go.
Six player games? Well, there is the six person expansion for Catan which is good, and you might want to check out lighter fare like Bohnanza.
We played a couple games of "Cash 'n Guns" last night. For a game that involves pointing fake foam guns at people, it's a surprisingly happy game without nearly as much mean-spiritedness as you'd expect.
Best moment of the evening:
Everyone was at two wounds (three wounds kills a normal player) and someone revealed the grenade. The grenade gets triggered if its owner gets shot, and explodes everyone who doesn't have enough sense to duck. Of course, someone shot the grenade guy and he blew everyone up, with much creative and colorful swearing involved. Then one guy revealed the "four wounds instead of three" power, grabbed his money and the rest of the money on the table, and ran like hell. It was a very Tarantino moment.
It's a great little game, and allows a grown person to play around with foam guns and fake money without feeling overly stupid. I wanted to try out the Undercover Cop rules, too, but we ended up getting a came of Colosseum going instead.
So I recently got Anima: Shadow of Omega (on impulse) when the store didn't have Hive, and then got Hive (3rd edition) a few days later.
One way to look at Anima is to think of it as a simpler Runebound with only cards. In other words, it takes less space and plays faster (20-30min/person). Drawings are nice but they could've edited a little better (found quite a few typos). There's a miniatures game and RPG also coming out in the same setting.
Hive I've wanted to get for a while. Simple abstract strategy game based on surrounding the enemy queen bee. Third edition pieces were bigger than I thought, but I still like it because it's entirely water proof and as a tile-laying type game, you can play almost anywhere.
I received Arkham Horror last Christmas, and it was part of my group's regular rotation for quite a bit, but we actually got quite sick of it. To freshen the experience, I recently picked up the Dunwich Horror expansion. That, combined with less frequent plays, has really renewed our interest in the game.
Solid, atmospheric game if you've got the time for it.
I think Battlelore's like Memoir '44 2.0 with a different theme so get that instead
Keep in mind that Memoir and Battlelore do have some important differences...
Memoir is much more about ranged combat (cause, you know, soldiers had guns), while Battlelore focuses more on melee. Memoir also does more with terrain and obstacles (wire, bunkers, stuff like that) and specialist troops (especially in the expansions, with snipers and medics and all).
Battlelore has morale as important element plus, of course, the oft-mentioned fireballs and stuff. And a giant spider.
I went with Battlelore only because the fantasy aspects sounded more fun, but Memoir is a great game.
Has anyone played the star wars games that's like Axis&Allies War at Sea, only...you know, with spaceships? How is that one? Anything interesting or different about it?
At $25 a pack though, I think I'll be skipping it. I would like an imperial star destroyer, but with only a so-so random chance of getting that, I'd rather not.
And then, Battlelore becomes even more awesome when you add the Call to Arms expansion. Goddammit, Call to Arms rocks so frigging much it scares me! I... I don't think I could go back to playing BL without it.
If that doesn't get your dick firing full impulse power in all directions, you're a soulless monster. Soullesser, anyway.
Memoir '44, good as it is, good as the expansions are, can't measure up to BL. Not anymore. It's still excellent for bringing non-gamers into the fold, though. I've used it successfully to turn history and plain WWII buffs -- M44 is a great entryway drug, as it is simple and easy to grok. The expansions do add complexity, but not much.
I've also started to look into Tide of Iron. It has a whole 'nother level of crunch to its rules, and allows for Fire & Movement tactics, and... so far it looks good. I'll need more time on target with TI to come up with a reasonably informed opinion, but so far -- starter scenario -- it looks promising.
It is much more realistic than M44, but the trade-off is the crunchier ruleset and fiddly bits, which in turn means longer handling time. I'd say 2-4 hours + 30 min. set-up time per scenario.
So it is probably not the best of beginner games, come to think of it. But if you want a fairy realistic medium-level tactical WWII wargame that doesn't rival Squad Leader in complexity you should a least have a look at TI. If you wanna game 3 or 4 WWII battles in a night -- get M44.
VacuumJockey on
PSN: VacuumJockey
"Laugh while you can, monkey-boy!"
~ Dr. Emilio Lizardo
Twilight imperium, is currently my friend's and my game of choice, however it's just kind of irritating that when we get 5 or more people we're looking at a 6 hour game. Which means of course that we never finish them... someone always has to leave or gives up because they think they're getting ganged up on. And the rules can get super complicated with erratta and clarification and constant runs to the message boards to see what the designers have to say. Other than that it's awsomesauce.
Before that we were mostly playing arkham horror, which is fun run through the cuthulu mythos with teamwork being my favorite part of it.
I recently found a copy of a game called "|B-17: Queen of the Skies." I had a copy way back in the mid-80's, and ran across it at a local comic store that was going out of business.
It's a solo game in which you control the crew of a B-17 running bombing missions over Europe. Basically, it's lots and lots of dice rolling on lots and lots of charts. You have to determine your target, your fighter cover, level of flak, bombing accuracy, weather, landing, etc., all based on various charts. For all intents and purpose, it's utter luck; the only decisions you make are where to target your machine guns and whether to abort the mission.
That said, it can be alot of fun, especially when you're limping back to England with 2 engines out and your co-pilot is injured and your radio is dead and your landing gear is broken and you're probably all going to die.
You have to fill out a flight log, with the names of all your crew members; when I was a kid, I hated making up names so I used Mortal Kombat characters. So Johnny Cage and Liu Kang were fighting the Germans.
That said, it can be alot of fun, especially when you're limping back to England with 2 engines out and your co-pilot is injured and your radio is dead and your landing gear is broken and you're probably all going to die.
That sounds pretty cool.
I know I already mentioned it, but Cash 'n Guns is just too cool for words. With the optional special power rules and undercover cop variant, it feels a lot like a short, six-person Phalla game. We played it a bunch more on Tuesday and it's just awesome. Games take 20 minutes max, so it's a great filler game (not unlike Kingsblood or Great Dalmuti.) I hear they added rules for shotguns and Uzis as well.
So some friends and I have a regular LAN day, and we've recently started playing Shadows over Camelot when we get bored of the computers, which is a lot of fun.
Ive been looking for another game in similar style to play at our games days. Note that no one but me ever played DnD, and this group includes my wife who doesnt really play LAN games, but joins in for the board games. For this reason I should probably stay clear of games that are heavy on the stats or writing things down on bits of paper.
Suggestions for a good "next game" for 4 people ?
Ive kind of marked Settlers of Catan, as it seems to get a lot of good reviews. Assuming you guys approve, should I get one of the expansions for this to begin with? or should I try the game out first and then add stuff later on?
Oh, also Im probably buying something either today or tomorrow, so a few quick opinions would be appreciated.
SoC is fun, but for gamers, it's really a little too simple. At least for me. Basically it's not as fun and feels almost party game-ish to me now.
I'd suggest War of the Rings, but that's kinda heavy and not really for wives. :P
Puerto Rico's better than SoC in my opinion and will do 3-5. Caylus if you guys want no luck besides the initial random placement (vaguely sorta like an eurochess with multiple players).
Ra is fun and kinda light and an auction game so better for non-gamers. There's also always the Ticket to Ride games, which is also lighter fare (but not in terms of box size)
Yeah, Puerto Rico is light on the stats and bookkeeping, and easy enough to learn initially. If you want a cooperative game, Reiner Knizia's Lord of the Rings (also known as Satan's Game, that FUCKING Hobbit game, and @#&$*@#$ to various members of our group) is a simple little thing that is very hard to beat, but gives a very great sense of accomplishment and teamwork when you do. Arkham Horror is another good cooperative one, although it comes with a ho-jillion pieces and takes up roughly two football fields worth of gaming table to set up properly.
You really can't go wrong with Puerto Rico, though.
There's a 4-player variant of Puerto Rico called San Juan which is absolutely worth checking out. It has a much simpler card-based mechanic that completely captures the feel of PR, while being simultaneously completely different from PR. Plus -- and this is a big bonus for me -- it is in a small and easily portable box.
Another great gateway game, although it's strictly speaking a card game, not a boardgame. Recommended anyway.
As for SoC, Seafarers is a worthwhile expansion. It really opens up the game.
VacuumJockey on
PSN: VacuumJockey
"Laugh while you can, monkey-boy!"
~ Dr. Emilio Lizardo
D20 rolls determines which region you must place your households (though you choose where in the region to place it), and then you place canals and try and provide your households with water from the wells. Very straightforwards and relaxing, though players are free to divert water away from opposing households for more competitive play.
Age of Empires III
Probably my favorite new game. Learning curve is a bit steep, especially for non-gamers (though my fiance got it eventually). There is just so much to the game. We've played whole games where we didn't use certain aspects of the game (we often don't use soldiers/battles/wars).
Puerto Rico
Finally picked this one up, and haven't played it yet! Reading the recent posts here I am determined to bust it out as soon as we're done moving.
Ticket to Ride
Another popular game I recently purchased. Fiance often wipes the floor with me (I always go for too many Tickets, or I don't notice that one of us is very close to hitting 2 or less trains and the game is about to end...)
Vanished Planet
Pretty fun, and I love the co-op. The art is a little on the weak side, but I enjoy the gameplay. Only played on easy (no extra Creature Growth cards in the event deck) so far. Look forward to playing this one a lot more and trying the harder difficulties. Also discovered that my fiance would much rather play co-op games, so I need to get some more of these!
Well, had a few games of my brand new copy of puerto rico on the weekend. Everyone really enjoyed themselves and thought it was a great game.
Being the newbs that we are, we didn't know about the "maximum discount" for quaries, and we each player only got one shot at loading in the captain phase, which pretty much meant that player 2 won every time by just getting a contruction shed and grabbing up quaries.
Anyway.... much fun was had, and next time we play we will know what we are doing!
Posts
$80 spent and I've played it once, with my girlfriend.
Good call?
/livejournal.
I'd love to play Battlelore with you, if you weren't wherever you are and I wasn't wherever I am. I'm liking that game more and more each time I play it.
What do you like using for a War Council? I'm generally more inclined to the Warrior and Rogue abilities.
IOS Game Center ID: Isotope-X
I haven't even gotten to the war council scenario yet. Only played the first two scenarios. Even then, the game is really fun. The Command and Color system is very efficient and easy to understand.
On another note. I just got Pillars of the Earth and that game is fantastic. Again, I've only played with 2 people, but I could see it getting much more interesting with more players. And the board is so pretty.
If you are heading for an internship in Cupertino (perhaps at a Very Large computer company), I'm almost sure there will be a gaming enthusiast group through the company.
Alhambra is also a game that plays super-great with two players, and even gives you a bonus guy (phantom player named Dirk) who might actually win.
Two player games: someone already mentioned Lost Cities, which is indeed fun, and I just reccomended Alhambra in the post right above this one. I'd also reccomend Fjords, which is a little bit carcassonne and a little bit go.
Six player games? Well, there is the six person expansion for Catan which is good, and you might want to check out lighter fare like Bohnanza.
Best moment of the evening:
It's a great little game, and allows a grown person to play around with foam guns and fake money without feeling overly stupid. I wanted to try out the Undercover Cop rules, too, but we ended up getting a came of Colosseum going instead.
One way to look at Anima is to think of it as a simpler Runebound with only cards. In other words, it takes less space and plays faster (20-30min/person). Drawings are nice but they could've edited a little better (found quite a few typos). There's a miniatures game and RPG also coming out in the same setting.
Hive I've wanted to get for a while. Simple abstract strategy game based on surrounding the enemy queen bee. Third edition pieces were bigger than I thought, but I still like it because it's entirely water proof and as a tile-laying type game, you can play almost anywhere.
Switch: US 1651-2551-4335 JP 6310-4664-2624
MH3U Monster Cheat Sheet / MH3U Veggie Elder Ticket Guide
Solid, atmospheric game if you've got the time for it.
I've heard good things about Memoir ‘44, has anyone played it?
I think Battlelore's like Memoir '44 2.0 with a different theme so get that instead
Switch: US 1651-2551-4335 JP 6310-4664-2624
MH3U Monster Cheat Sheet / MH3U Veggie Elder Ticket Guide
Yeah get it.
http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/starcraft.html
Looks pretty tempting, though.
Keep in mind that Memoir and Battlelore do have some important differences...
Memoir is much more about ranged combat (cause, you know, soldiers had guns), while Battlelore focuses more on melee. Memoir also does more with terrain and obstacles (wire, bunkers, stuff like that) and specialist troops (especially in the expansions, with snipers and medics and all).
Battlelore has morale as important element plus, of course, the oft-mentioned fireballs and stuff. And a giant spider.
I went with Battlelore only because the fantasy aspects sounded more fun, but Memoir is a great game.
IOS Game Center ID: Isotope-X
At $25 a pack though, I think I'll be skipping it. I would like an imperial star destroyer, but with only a so-so random chance of getting that, I'd rather not.
And then, Battlelore becomes even more awesome when you add the Call to Arms expansion. Goddammit, Call to Arms rocks so frigging much it scares me! I... I don't think I could go back to playing BL without it.
And soon... this!
If that doesn't get your dick firing full impulse power in all directions, you're a soulless monster. Soullesser, anyway.
Memoir '44, good as it is, good as the expansions are, can't measure up to BL. Not anymore. It's still excellent for bringing non-gamers into the fold, though. I've used it successfully to turn history and plain WWII buffs -- M44 is a great entryway drug, as it is simple and easy to grok. The expansions do add complexity, but not much.
I've also started to look into Tide of Iron. It has a whole 'nother level of crunch to its rules, and allows for Fire & Movement tactics, and... so far it looks good. I'll need more time on target with TI to come up with a reasonably informed opinion, but so far -- starter scenario -- it looks promising.
It is much more realistic than M44, but the trade-off is the crunchier ruleset and fiddly bits, which in turn means longer handling time. I'd say 2-4 hours + 30 min. set-up time per scenario.
So it is probably not the best of beginner games, come to think of it. But if you want a fairy realistic medium-level tactical WWII wargame that doesn't rival Squad Leader in complexity you should a least have a look at TI. If you wanna game 3 or 4 WWII battles in a night -- get M44.
"Laugh while you can, monkey-boy!"
~ Dr. Emilio Lizardo
Before that we were mostly playing arkham horror, which is fun run through the cuthulu mythos with teamwork being my favorite part of it.
Fantasy Flight makes some fun games!
It's a solo game in which you control the crew of a B-17 running bombing missions over Europe. Basically, it's lots and lots of dice rolling on lots and lots of charts. You have to determine your target, your fighter cover, level of flak, bombing accuracy, weather, landing, etc., all based on various charts. For all intents and purpose, it's utter luck; the only decisions you make are where to target your machine guns and whether to abort the mission.
That said, it can be alot of fun, especially when you're limping back to England with 2 engines out and your co-pilot is injured and your radio is dead and your landing gear is broken and you're probably all going to die.
You have to fill out a flight log, with the names of all your crew members; when I was a kid, I hated making up names so I used Mortal Kombat characters. So Johnny Cage and Liu Kang were fighting the Germans.
IOS Game Center ID: Isotope-X
That sounds pretty cool.
I know I already mentioned it, but Cash 'n Guns is just too cool for words. With the optional special power rules and undercover cop variant, it feels a lot like a short, six-person Phalla game. We played it a bunch more on Tuesday and it's just awesome. Games take 20 minutes max, so it's a great filler game (not unlike Kingsblood or Great Dalmuti.) I hear they added rules for shotguns and Uzis as well.
Ive been looking for another game in similar style to play at our games days. Note that no one but me ever played DnD, and this group includes my wife who doesnt really play LAN games, but joins in for the board games. For this reason I should probably stay clear of games that are heavy on the stats or writing things down on bits of paper.
Suggestions for a good "next game" for 4 people ?
Ive kind of marked Settlers of Catan, as it seems to get a lot of good reviews. Assuming you guys approve, should I get one of the expansions for this to begin with? or should I try the game out first and then add stuff later on?
Oh, also Im probably buying something either today or tomorrow, so a few quick opinions would be appreciated.
I'd suggest War of the Rings, but that's kinda heavy and not really for wives. :P
Puerto Rico's better than SoC in my opinion and will do 3-5. Caylus if you guys want no luck besides the initial random placement (vaguely sorta like an eurochess with multiple players).
Ra is fun and kinda light and an auction game so better for non-gamers. There's also always the Ticket to Ride games, which is also lighter fare (but not in terms of box size)
Switch: US 1651-2551-4335 JP 6310-4664-2624
MH3U Monster Cheat Sheet / MH3U Veggie Elder Ticket Guide
You really can't go wrong with Puerto Rico, though.
Another great gateway game, although it's strictly speaking a card game, not a boardgame. Recommended anyway.
As for SoC, Seafarers is a worthwhile expansion. It really opens up the game.
"Laugh while you can, monkey-boy!"
~ Dr. Emilio Lizardo
Switch: US 1651-2551-4335 JP 6310-4664-2624
MH3U Monster Cheat Sheet / MH3U Veggie Elder Ticket Guide
Aquadukt
D20 rolls determines which region you must place your households (though you choose where in the region to place it), and then you place canals and try and provide your households with water from the wells. Very straightforwards and relaxing, though players are free to divert water away from opposing households for more competitive play.
Age of Empires III
Probably my favorite new game. Learning curve is a bit steep, especially for non-gamers (though my fiance got it eventually). There is just so much to the game. We've played whole games where we didn't use certain aspects of the game (we often don't use soldiers/battles/wars).
Puerto Rico
Finally picked this one up, and haven't played it yet! Reading the recent posts here I am determined to bust it out as soon as we're done moving.
Ticket to Ride
Another popular game I recently purchased. Fiance often wipes the floor with me (I always go for too many Tickets, or I don't notice that one of us is very close to hitting 2 or less trains and the game is about to end...)
Vanished Planet
Pretty fun, and I love the co-op. The art is a little on the weak side, but I enjoy the gameplay. Only played on easy (no extra Creature Growth cards in the event deck) so far. Look forward to playing this one a lot more and trying the harder difficulties. Also discovered that my fiance would much rather play co-op games, so I need to get some more of these!
Being the newbs that we are, we didn't know about the "maximum discount" for quaries, and we each player only got one shot at loading in the captain phase, which pretty much meant that player 2 won every time by just getting a contruction shed and grabbing up quaries.
Anyway.... much fun was had, and next time we play we will know what we are doing!
Thanks for the recommendation.