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[Board Games] Discussions of Wil Wheaton's cardboard nerd-cred consolidated here.

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  • FlimflammeryFlimflammery There's always money in the banana stand... Oxford, UKRegistered User regular
    I just lost the fifth game of Chaos in the Old World that I've played in RL, having not won a game yet; doesn't help, of course, that the first game I played I was learning (Khorne beat me as Tzeentch on the dial, but I was one tick from victory), and then, each successive game, I've been teaching others, so haven't had time to think much about my moves! Even so, I did some godawfully stupid things last night - forgot to put down a magic symbol chaos card in my only region, so didnt tick the first turn, monumentally dumb. Still, it was a very close points race at the end! Nurgle got 72 (although on reflection I think we gave him a ruiner's bonus in the Empire on the last turn when we'd actually killed all his cultists, so he was really on 67 - I won't tell him that though, he still won, so I'll let him savour beating 70 :) ), and I reached 63. Oh well, each game I'm playing I get very close. Last one i played rested on one die roll as to whether I was involved in a ruination as Nurgle - didn't happen and Tzeentch won on points, but he was unnerved at realising, though he had been leading comfortably most of the game, how close he came to losing.

  • Alistair HuttonAlistair Hutton Dr EdinburghRegistered User regular
    InkSplat wrote: »
    So, question. Are there any C&C style warboardgames that utilize Fog of War?

    Depends how C&C like you want. Wizard Kings and the other Columbia block games are small map wargames with hidden information as the blacks are only stickered on one side so there's a Stratego like hiding of information. Which is even more than in Stratego as multiple pieces can occupy a hex so armies can form then dissipate.

    I have a thoughtful and infrequently updated blog about games http://whatithinkaboutwhenithinkaboutgames.wordpress.com/

    I made a game, it has penguins in it. It's pay what you like on Gumroad.

    Currently Ebaying Nothing at all but I might do in the future.
  • Professor PhobosProfessor Phobos Registered User regular
    Alright guys, sell me on "Eclipse." Because I've heard such good things, but I haven't heard $100 worth of good things.

  • NamrokNamrok Registered User regular
    InkSplat wrote: »
    So, question. Are there any C&C style warboardgames that utilize Fog of War?

    My understanding was that, abstractly at least, the hand management aspect of C&C was supposed to represent the "fog of war". Now if you were thinking of a more literal implementation, where you can't even see the other guys units until you've scouted or they've revealed themselves, Space Empires 4X does that. I own it, but haven't had a chance to play it yet. But it's a war game with a more robust economic production engine behind it.

  • FairchildFairchild Rabbit used short words that were easy to understand, like "Hello Pooh, how about Lunch ?" Registered User regular
    Namrok wrote: »
    InkSplat wrote: »
    So, question. Are there any C&C style warboardgames that utilize Fog of War?

    My understanding was that, abstractly at least, the hand management aspect of C&C was supposed to represent the "fog of war". Now if you were thinking of a more literal implementation, where you can't even see the other guys units until you've scouted or they've revealed themselves, Space Empires 4X does that. I own it, but haven't had a chance to play it yet. But it's a war game with a more robust economic production engine behind it.

    There are tons of board wargames that use various levels of Fog of War, from ASL with its ? markers to FIELDS OF FIRE where all you see are the specific patches of ground you occupy, and some times not even that.

  • LykouraghLykouragh Registered User regular
    edited June 2012
    Alright guys, sell me on "Eclipse." Because I've heard such good things, but I haven't heard $100 worth of good things.

    I actually just got my copy yesterday, here's a good PbP we just had in the forums.

    Eclipse is a space 4x, so the natural comparison is to TI3. Here are the differences; 1. You can play Eclipse in 3 hours instead of 8; 2. Eclipse has MoO-style ship design; 3. Eclipse incorporates vaguely TTa-style population and resource management.

    Also, from just unboxing it, I can tell you that Eclipse has the shiniest bits. All of them. Also, ringworlds from Niven and monoliths from Clarke.

    Devil's advocate:....there's a specific tech that might or might not screw with the balance. There are houserules for it if you don't like it, and apparently the issue is addressed in the upcoming expansion.

    Oh yes, and everyone has the hots for this game so you will probably have trouble finding a copy anywhere, I think the second printing is just about sold out already.

    Edit: P.S. After my CiTOW game finishes I'm totally going to host an Eclipse if nobody else does first.

    Lykouragh on
  • SeGaTaiSeGaTai Registered User regular
    I just got my copy this week as well so clearly the pbp did a good job. Nothing in the box feels cheap, all the tiles are sturdy, glossy and after opening I didn't feel ripped off by the high cost.

    The mats are bigger than I thought they were so a 6 player game does require a pretty large table.

    PSN SeGaTai
  • BogartBogart Streetwise Hercules Registered User, Moderator mod
    So we've played two games of Quarriors today and one game of Alien Frontiers. Quarriors with both expansions seems to be a more balanced game, with glory points going up and down and powerful dice being forced out by the use of cheap dice like the oblation spell. Still kinda dependent on what cards get drawn, but yeah, it feels like the expansions improved things overall.

    Alien Frontiers is beautiful and really, really easy to play, and tons of fun. Japan and I both got trounced by BobCesca cleverly using the optimum mixture of territories and alien artifacts. Difficult to find, but highly recommended.

  • TimFijiTimFiji Beast Lord Halfway2AnywhereRegistered User regular
    Has anyone tried Dungeon Petz? I love dungeon lords and am curious how this game is

    Switch: SW-2322-2047-3148 Steam: Archpriest
      Selling Board Games for Medical Bills
    • PaullicinoPaullicino Games person LondonRegistered User regular
      TimFiji wrote: »
      Has anyone tried Dungeon Petz? I love dungeon lords and am curious how this game is

      Like Dungeon Lords, it can be hard. You'll never entirely succeed at everything you want to do and invariably you'll suffer some sort of pet escape, pet depression or pet death, but herein lies the challenge. I also think it's wickedly tight about its worker placement, so choose wisely. Like Galaxy Trucker or Dungeon Lords, you're successful if you just manage to make some sort of profit or not come out of your first couple of games feeling like a fool.

      I quite like it, but not as much as DL, though that's probably partly the theme. I really like DL's "Here come the heroes" moment, where it turns into an inverse dungeon crawl, and Dungeon Petz doesn't have anything quite as good as that in it. It does have a clever monster aging mechanic, though, and also it has poop. And suffering. I can't think of anything else that does such a good job of modelling poop and suffering.

    • blahmcblahblahmcblah You pick your side and you stick - you don't cut and run when things get ugly. Registered User regular
      I might still like Dungeon Lords more, not sure after just one play, but I did love that one play of Dungeon Petz. Highly recommended for any Vlaada fan (basically anyone with good taste in games).

    • LykouraghLykouragh Registered User regular
      edited June 2012
      I'm up to like 5 plays on Dungeon Petz and a bunch on Dungeon Lords.

      I'm with the "it's good but I like Dungeon Lords better", but I don't actually think that Lords is the best game to compare Petz to. The mechanics between the two games, and the experience of them, are very different. They only share the hilarious theme.

      In Petz, you're doing competitive bidding for action slots (combined with a little bit of resource management in increasing your bidding power), and then you're doing some long-term planning with highly randomized resource management (this is where you interact with your pets). You aren't really building an engine ever. Think more "Ra" than "Agricola".

      So I guess my advice is "go for it if you like Dungeon Lords theme, and if you like bidding".

      Lykouragh on
    • PaullicinoPaullicino Games person LondonRegistered User regular
      Lykouragh wrote: »
      So I guess my advice is "go for it if you like Dungeon Lords theme, and if you like bidding".

      That sounds like a pretty good summary to me.

    • blahmcblahblahmcblah You pick your side and you stick - you don't cut and run when things get ugly. Registered User regular
      It's funny though, that Vlaada said something along the lines of how he dislikes bidding himself, and how he designed the system in Petz for people that feel like him.

    • TimFijiTimFiji Beast Lord Halfway2AnywhereRegistered User regular
      Paullicino wrote: »
      Lykouragh wrote: »
      So I guess my advice is "go for it if you like Dungeon Lords theme, and if you like bidding".

      That sounds like a pretty good summary to me.

      thanks for the help. It looked interesting and the whole bidding system in games always entices me! I think it's between this and Eclipse for next purchase even though they're different genres.

      Switch: SW-2322-2047-3148 Steam: Archpriest
        Selling Board Games for Medical Bills
      • BogartBogart Streetwise Hercules Registered User, Moderator mod
        Seriously, though. Alien Frontiers is lovely. Japan pointed out that, besides the plastic dice and score counts, the whole thing looks like an extraordinarily well-preserved relic from the fifties. The board manages to elegantly display about 75% of the information you need to know to play, and it's remarkably easy to pick up. I am looking forward to the new expansion.

      • InquisitorInquisitor Registered User regular
        Bogart wrote: »
        Seriously, though. Alien Frontiers is lovely. Japan pointed out that, besides the plastic dice and score counts, the whole thing looks like an extraordinarily well-preserved relic from the fifties. The board manages to elegantly display about 75% of the information you need to know to play, and it's remarkably easy to pick up. I am looking forward to the new expansion.

        I really do like the game. As you pointed out, the art and theme are just great.

        Lemme know how the expansion (expansions?) is/are!

      • Evil MultifariousEvil Multifarious Registered User regular
        we played Rex for the first time yesterday. It was interesting, but I'm not sure how the Letnev and Jol-Nor are supposed to compete with Hacan and Lazax, who have simply enormous influence pools. Extra strategy cards and combat information are powerful, but it seems like the races without bonus Influence powers just run dry and can't do much of anything. Odd.

        I'm also not sure if I like the combat mechanic, since it lends itself to people committing a lot of troops and leaving their leftover defenders very low in numbers, which means the strongholds just swing back and forth between teams.

      • BurtletoyBurtletoy Registered User regular
        Played my second game of 7 Wonders ever last night, after ~6 months of not playing it, so it was basically a first time play, again. We messed up all sorts of rules, too. But the scores came out as 49-48-47 so I don't feel too bad about the rules.

        Question one, can you build your wonder up at any point? Or do you have to be, like, in the second age before you can make the second level, 3rd age/3rd level?

        Question two, if you have the wonder that lets you build "any building from your hand for free, once per age" does that mean you can build a building that has a pre-requsit building that you don't have? Like, say a building that requires a Laboratory to build, but you don't have the Lab. To me the way the rule was written in the book, it sounded like you wouldn't need to 'pay' the associated cost of having the Lab, and you could still build the second level building without needing the first. Is that correct?

      • admanbadmanb unionize your workplace Seattle, WARegistered User regular
        Burtletoy wrote: »
        Played my second game of 7 Wonders ever last night, after ~6 months of not playing it, so it was basically a first time play, again. We messed up all sorts of rules, too. But the scores came out as 49-48-47 so I don't feel too bad about the rules.

        Question one, can you build your wonder up at any point? Or do you have to be, like, in the second age before you can make the second level, 3rd age/3rd level?

        No restrictions.
        Question two, if you have the wonder that lets you build "any building from your hand for free, once per age" does that mean you can build a building that has a pre-requsit building that you don't have? Like, say a building that requires a Laboratory to build, but you don't have the Lab. To me the way the rule was written in the book, it sounded like you wouldn't need to 'pay' the associated cost of having the Lab, and you could still build the second level building without needing the first. Is that correct?

        Pre-requisites aren't requirements -- they're bonuses. You can always build a building regardless of pre-requisites, but if you have the pre-requisite you ignore the rest of its cost.

      • BurtletoyBurtletoy Registered User regular
        admanb wrote: »
        Question two, if you have the wonder that lets you build "any building from your hand for free, once per age" does that mean you can build a building that has a pre-requsit building that you don't have? Like, say a building that requires a Laboratory to build, but you don't have the Lab. To me the way the rule was written in the book, it sounded like you wouldn't need to 'pay' the associated cost of having the Lab, and you could still build the second level building without needing the first. Is that correct?

        Pre-requisites aren't requirements -- they're bonuses. You can always build a building regardless of pre-requisites, but if you have the pre-requisite you ignore the rest of its cost.


        Cool. I will add that to the list of rules we did wrong. Thanks :)

      • InquisitorInquisitor Registered User regular
        edited June 2012
        we played Rex for the first time yesterday. It was interesting, but I'm not sure how the Letnev and Jol-Nor are supposed to compete with Hacan and Lazax, who have simply enormous influence pools. Extra strategy cards and combat information are powerful, but it seems like the races without bonus Influence powers just run dry and can't do much of anything. Odd.

        I'm also not sure if I like the combat mechanic, since it lends itself to people committing a lot of troops and leaving their leftover defenders very low in numbers, which means the strongholds just swing back and forth between teams.

        Hacan and the Lazax force everyone to play the game differently, but based on researching online (mostly on Dune) you can play around them.

        The Lazax can be played around by 'rigging' the bidding. Basically everyone agrees to take turns bidding 1 influence for cards and make the Lazax bid 2 for theirs. That's the goal, at least.

        For Hacan it's just about learning the game and figuring out juuuust how many troops you need and no more.

        The other races should have a pretty big combat advantage. Jol-nar should know pretty much every single strategy card that every other player has. I'm not sure why they ruled that you can't write down things anymore. You could in Dune, that seemed sensical to me.

        Also no matter how much influence someone has you can still beat them via wars of attritrion. You can have infinite influence but you can only revive 5 troops and 1 leader max no matter what.

        I've only played one game that only made it to turn two. Hopefully I can give better advice in the future.

        Inquisitor on
      • AlegisAlegis Impeckable Registered User regular
        edited June 2012
        we played Rex for the first time yesterday. It was interesting, but I'm not sure how the Letnev and Jol-Nor are supposed to compete with Hacan and Lazax, who have simply enormous influence pools.

        Battles. Both letnev and jolnar start out strong (stronghold top right with shuttle).
        Letnev has the traitors and access to 8 strategy cards at a time, and jol nar knows on which cards he can spend money and has a more upfront idea of who can win battles and which cards are best for their allies.
        One of them allying with one of the influence players (hacan/lazax) makes for a potent alliance.

        They don't necessarily have to compete, both are good to join with one of those influence players. If hacan/lazax are in an alliance you can choke them using inquisitor's suggestion; but even if you don't you can still beat them in battle.

        Alegis on
      • AlegisAlegis Impeckable Registered User regular
        Played my first game of eclipse today, good stuff. Nothing I would be able to play with my other game group so nothing I'd be purchasing anytime soon - but the upgrading/battles are fun. The design of the status sheets makes the game easy to follow.

      • Evil MultifariousEvil Multifarious Registered User regular
        It seems like Sol and the Hacan are natural allies (as is appropriate given the fluff), since they can just turtle in the corner and hold on until turn 8, and if they can convince another player to join them (especially in a 5p game) they can really make it tough to win before that turn. In our game, Hacan and Lazax thankfully ended up on opposite sides.

        I did note the immense power of a) being able to know one of your opponent's choices, especially if you can deduce what they're likely to choose for their other option, and b) having 8 strategy cards, since you can use them almost freely even if you're attacking with smaller forces (as you inevitably will with your poor influence resources).

        Certainly I am not willing to say that there is an imbalance because I had noticed, even when we quit the game at turn 5 since people had to leave, that I (with almost no influence for most of the game) was winning most of my battles based on those cards, as the Letnev player, and that people were genuinely scared to fight even my small troop stacks. But it seems like a challenge.

        The troop bidding system is still a bit bothersome, though, since it leads to such bloody battles. Especially if your group always bids really high. Although I guess you could use that against them to attack with small groups of units and use weak leaders and force them to waste troops or reveal their strategy cards.

      • RiemannLivesRiemannLives Registered User regular
        edited June 2012
        In Dune the way you deal with people who tend to bid-high on battles is to split your forces. Send in the first army to get him to commit then send in the second to mop up the tiny remnant that is left (regardless of who won).

        Course the map is a lot bigger than in Rex so the tactical positioning game is more interesting.

        edit: to expand on that, in Rex do you find people generally just mob their entire army into one big force? Cause every time I've played Dune people tend to have at least 2 decent forces and a few small units around on the board (for blocking, sending in a suicide soldier to make use of a traitor-leader, grabbing spice and the like).

        Many more for the Bene Geserit of course due to their ability.

        RiemannLives on
        Attacked by tweeeeeeees!
      • poshnialloposhniallo Registered User regular
        I really enjoyed Eclipse, but I haven't bought it. I think the reason is I'm not sure how much of my good feelings towards it come from being impressed by the elegance of the design and the enjoyment of just following the procedural parts of the game. I want to play it a little more and if I still love it after the 'Oh wow that is clever!' feeling has worn off.

        Game day yesterday! Played Cyclades with the Hades expansion, which I liked a lot. Then Small World with 5 players, which was a bit long, perhaps because that was a mixed-language group so the teaching took a while and I needed to help people out a fair bit. Some light games, and then Village and San Juan. I didn't get to play Village, which was a shame.

        And then Core Worlds at the end, which was silly because we didn't have time to get right to the end, and two of us were such light gamers that they didn't really have fun.

        I feel really guilty because I ended the evening on a downer. But everyone else there is American or Japanese. I'm the only Brit, and everyone tells me I apologise all the time, a really weird amount. So I am trying not to apologise quite as much. Or apologise for apologising, which I do too.

        I figure I could take a bear.
      • ArcSynArcSyn Registered User regular
        edited June 2012
        Ok, I need some help from fellow PA members.

        I've had the board game itch for a while now. I had started by watching a bunch of dice tower reviews from his top 10 and top 100 lists. Then Wil Wheaton started his TableTop show. I've never had anything beyond mainstream and licensed property games up to now. So I started looking at games to get. A friend of mine bought Settlers of Catan and we played one game, but my wife seemed disinterested. Might have just been tired though. He got Munchkin as well, and both my wife and my sister-in-law were somewhat disinterested and didn't really get the idea behind being a "munchkin". I got Ticket to Ride for my birthday, and it was fun and I enjoyed playing it with my parents and my wife, but my sister-in-law has bad memories of that game with her ex-husband. This also ruled out Settlers and Carcassonne with her. :(

        So I got $50 for my birthday as well, and I'm trying to decide on a new game to get. I'd love to get something that my friend and I would enjoy (stuff like Settlers, Munchkin, or Ticket to Ride) but that my wife and sister-in-law would enjoy as well. They can't be too complex or I'll lose my wife and sister-in-law before I even get a chance to explain the rules. I don't want something too similar to Ticket to Ride since I already have a game that style.

        Anyway: Budget: $50ish I'm flexible maybe $10 or so.

        Games I have been considering:
        - Small World
        - Pandemic
        - Cosmic Encounter
        - Power Grid
        - Castle Panic

        Feel free to suggest anything not on the list. Or maybe two games that are less expensive that may fit different types of play. I'm really excited to get into board gaming and just getting some quality time in with friends and family. I also have three kids, but the oldest is 5yo so they aren't quite ready for any big games. We have some fun kid games we play currently.

        ArcSyn on
        4dm3dwuxq302.png
      • poshnialloposhniallo Registered User regular
        edited June 2012
        ArcSyn wrote: »
        Ok, I need some help from fellow PA members.

        I've had the board game itch for a while now. I had started by watching a bunch of dice tower reviews from his top 10 and top 100 lists. Then Wil Wheaton started his TableTop show. I've never had anything beyond mainstream and licensed property games up to now. So I started looking at games to get. A friend of mine bought Settlers of Catan and we played one game, but my wife seemed disinterested. Might have just been tired though. He got Munchkin as well, and both my wife and my sister-in-law were somewhat disinterested and didn't really get the idea behind being a "munchkin". I got Ticket to Ride for my birthday, and it was fun and I enjoyed playing it with my parents and my wife, but my sister-in-law has bad memories of that game with her ex-husband. This also ruled out Settlers and Carcassonne with her. :(

        So I got $50 for my birthday as well, and I'm trying to decide on a new game to get. I'd love to get something that my friend and I would enjoy (stuff like Settlers, Munchkin, or Ticket to Ride) but that my wife and sister-in-law would enjoy as well. They can't be too complex or I'll lose my wife and sister-in-law before I even get a chance to explain the rules. I don't want something too similar to Ticket to Ride since I already have a game that style.

        Anyway: Budget: $50ish I'm flexible maybe $10 or so.

        Games I have been considering:
        - Small World
        - Pandemic
        - Cosmic Encounter
        - Power Grid
        - Castle Panic

        Feel free to suggest anything not on the list. Or maybe two games that are less expensive that may fit different types of play. I'm really excited to get into board gaming and just getting some quality time in with friends and family. I also have three kids, but the oldest is 5yo so they aren't quite ready for any big games. We have some fun kid games we play currently.

        I think a really important thing would be to work out what your wife likes in games. For example, did she dislike Cataan because it's too complex for her tastes, or because it is about trading and building? I know people who dislike Catan but like Summoner Wars (fantasy wargame with cards) and others who dislike it but like Ticket to Ride (I know that's out for you, that's just what this person actually likes).

        Maybe this will help:

        Small World is simple and silly and fun, I like it a lot, but some non-gamers find it a little confusing at first because of all the different powers, even though it's not actually complex at all really. It just looks like it might be, so some people are put off before they try it.
        Pandemic is popular but some people don't like co-ops and need some competition.
        Cosmic Encounter I haven't played but it is light-hearted with lots of alliances and surprises.
        Power Grid is heavier and dry and economic. Wouldn't recommend for your group.
        Castle Panic is probably your best bet - your 5-year-old could probably play too with some help. Might be a little too simple for your wife & sister-in-law, also the same problem as Pandemic - some people like to fight.

        poshniallo on
        I figure I could take a bear.
      • RiemannLivesRiemannLives Registered User regular
        something to consider about Small World is that, despite the art style, the game is really agressive in player-vs-player conflict. You need to be willing to really rip into the other people at the table to play the game.

        You might want to consider Kingsburg. The base game has a serious, even crippling, problem in the way you roll for the Kings Reinforcements. The expansion fixes this with the reinforcement discs but you can just make these on your own with some scrap paper without shelling out for the expansion.

        Attacked by tweeeeeeees!
      • JonBobJonBob Registered User regular
        Pandemic is one of my favorite games. Rather than that or Castle Panic, though, I'd recommend Flash Point for a cooperative game that fits your needs. It has more meat to it than Castle Panic does, even in the "family" rules. It's a very accessible theme (firefighters rescuing people from a building). The optional "experienced" rules scale it up to Pandemic complexity without requiring that you teach all those rules before trying it out for the first time. It is subject to the same "quarterbacking" vulnerability as most cooperative games, but that's only a problem if you have that kind of personality in your gaming group.

        7 Wonders isn't on your list, and it's excellent. It is more complicated than people give it credit for, though, so I don't recommend it as a gateway unless your wife and sister-in-law are willing to play a full game just to get the concept, then again to play for real.

        Dominion isn't bad to teach if you start with the recommended set of cards. It was an instant hit with my wife.

        Aquaretto might be a good fit. I like that the most in the "etto" series. Plus, baby polar bears!

        jswidget.php?username=JonBob&numitems=10&header=1&text=none&images=small&show=recentplays&imagesonly=1&imagepos=right&inline=1&domains%5B%5D=boardgame&imagewidget=1
      • RiemannLivesRiemannLives Registered User regular
        With Pandemic, keep in mind it is an open-information fully coop game. So in practice it usually devolves into a single player game being run by whichever player has the most experience with boardgames or is just the most socially dominant.

        Attacked by tweeeeeeees!
      • SageinaRageSageinaRage Registered User regular
        edited June 2012
        With Pandemic, keep in mind it is an open-information fully coop game. So in practice it usually devolves into a single player game being run by whichever player has the most experience with boardgames or is just the most socially dominant.

        This is really dependent on group though. It's never really happened any time I've ever played it. If you're all a bunch of gaming beginners it shouldn't really be a problem, unless someone in the group has a really dominant personality outside of gaming.

        edit::
        for some other suggestions, look at Forbidden Island, which is another coop, but is simpler than pandemic, and better for little kids.

        You might want to start with simpler, smaller, filler type games, like For Sale or High Society, which can be good if people are getting bored with the longer games.

        SageinaRage on
        sig.gif
      • JonBobJonBob Registered User regular
        That's what I meant by "quarterbacking." And in my experience, it isn't "usually" that way; it depends on the personalities involved. With some groups it makes these games unplayable, but with many others it's not a problem at all.

        I tend to be pretty adamant about players deciding on their own actions; my mother-in-law will get her turn played for her by my brother-in-law unless I step in to remind them all that on her turn, it's her decision. Offering suggestions is fine, as long as they are presented as possible options for what to do next.

        Actually, as the rules are written, Pandemic is not open information, since your cards are supposed to be secret after the novice level of the game, but I've never seen anyone actually play that way.

        jswidget.php?username=JonBob&numitems=10&header=1&text=none&images=small&show=recentplays&imagesonly=1&imagepos=right&inline=1&domains%5B%5D=boardgame&imagewidget=1
      • SageinaRageSageinaRage Registered User regular
        JonBob wrote: »
        Actually, as the rules are written, Pandemic is not open information, since your cards are supposed to be secret after the novice level of the game, but I've never seen anyone actually play that way.

        Huh, that could explain a lot, as my groups have always played with closed hands.

        sig.gif
      • poshnialloposhniallo Registered User regular
        You absolutely want some closed information in a co-op.

        You can have information that is in theory open, but in practise too complex for most people to assess. That works too. Like Arkham Horror with some expansions - no-one takes your turn for you because they are too busy working out all their own little cards and powers.

        I figure I could take a bear.
      • AthenorAthenor Battle Hardened Optimist The Skies of HiigaraRegistered User regular
        Good night at a friend's birthday party today. I got to see Castle Panic played, then I got to play Miskatonic School for Girls, and then we all did a few rounds of Werewolf.

        He/Him | "A boat is always safest in the harbor, but that’s not why we build boats." | "If you run, you gain one. If you move forward, you gain two." - Suletta Mercury, G-Witch
      • MrBodyMrBody Registered User regular
        edited June 2012
        Playing my first game of REX now and I'm kind of agreeing with you. The Lazax money machine and his power to share it with allies to create a perpetual money loop seems kind of ridiculous. There isn't any successful strategy you can use against a Lazax alliance in card bidding. They can just bid high for every card. You either don't get any cards or you hand over all your money to them. It's a win-win for them either way. It'd be one thing if they could only make one allied money transfer per turn, but once per ally per turn? There's no way to get around it.

        Jol-Nar really seems like the weakest. Knowing what the cards are hasn't been hugely useful; it doesn't help knowing your opponent's cards if you're too broke to replace or deploy units or bid on cards. Everyone else finds out what attack or defense cards someone has after the first battle anyway; after that one battle the Jol-Nar advantage is gone. Also since all strategy has to be open, Jol-Nar can't even tell his allies what the cards are without giving that information to his enemies too. Knowing what cards someone has and demanding to see what card is played during battle is kind of redundant outside the rare instance where both the attack and defender are both running around with multiple weapons and defenses. It always seems obvious how many units are going to be bid and you have to always plan on the best leader being used anyway.

        Every other combat race seems better. Letnev gets free cards to prop up his lack of money and the right traitor can be deadly. The Xxcha ability to ban battle cards alone is better than Jol-Nar, and they get prediction, free deployment, all strength 5 leaders, and turtle mode on top of that. Sol gets free deployment, rapid movement to get those free units everywhere, and super leaders. Even without their money, Lazax is a stronger military force than "pure" military Jol-Nar with better units and stronger leaders.

        MrBody on
      • AlegisAlegis Impeckable Registered User regular
        Jol-nar could say to his ally: "this might be a good card/useful for you" without revealing what it exactly is to everyone else.
        Knowing how many troops someone commits on the other hand is incredibly useful info (you'll know what kind of strat cards he'll be playing anyways); or the leader in case you plan on using traitor or tactical retreat.
        Compared to xxcha Jolnar starts out with the top right stronghold and has free recruitment of 2 I believe, and for the lazax machine: this only helps to get his allies cards (if lazax sends more money). Allies also have limited hand sizes, and they don't know what they're bidding on.
        edit: to expand on that, in Rex do you find people generally just mob their entire army into one big force? Cause every time I've played Dune people tend to have at least 2 decent forces and a few small units around on the board (for blocking, sending in a suicide soldier to make use of a traitor-leader, grabbing spice and the like).

        Haven't really seen that, partly because you can only move one stack a turn (and the bombard fleet will come back eventually). Does maneuvering work the same way in Dune?

      • AlegisAlegis Impeckable Registered User regular
        ArcSyn wrote: »
        Ok, I need some help from fellow PA members.
        I've had the board game itch for a while now. I had started by watching a bunch of dice tower reviews from his top 10 and top 100 lists. Then Wil Wheaton started his TableTop show. I've never had anything beyond mainstream and licensed property games up to now. So I started looking at games to get. A friend of mine bought Settlers of Catan and we played one game, but my wife seemed disinterested. Might have just been tired though. He got Munchkin as well, and both my wife and my sister-in-law were somewhat disinterested and didn't really get the idea behind being a "munchkin". I got Ticket to Ride for my birthday, and it was fun and I enjoyed playing it with my parents and my wife, but my sister-in-law has bad memories of that game with her ex-husband. This also ruled out Settlers and Carcassonne with her. :(

        So I got $50 for my birthday as well, and I'm trying to decide on a new game to get. I'd love to get something that my friend and I would enjoy (stuff like Settlers, Munchkin, or Ticket to Ride) but that my wife and sister-in-law would enjoy as well. They can't be too complex or I'll lose my wife and sister-in-law before I even get a chance to explain the rules. I don't want something too similar to Ticket to Ride since I already have a game that style.

        Anyway: Budget: $50ish I'm flexible maybe $10 or so.

        Games I have been considering:
        - Small World
        - Pandemic
        - Cosmic Encounter
        - Power Grid
        - Castle Panic

        Feel free to suggest anything not on the list. Or maybe two games that are less expensive that may fit different types of play. I'm really excited to get into board gaming and just getting some quality time in with friends and family. I also have three kids, but the oldest is 5yo so they aren't quite ready for any big games. We have some fun kid games we play currently.

        I'd definitely dissuade you from power grid if it can't be too complex, cosmic might not be that popular with them too.

        Games that I found that worked well with wimmenz: King of Tokyo, Bang!, Dixit

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