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[Board Games] Pandemic in a Pandemic

JonBobJonBob Registered User regular
Being a fan of board games is weird these days.

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Some people are playing more tabletop games than ever! With many people working (or not working) at home, games between couples and within families are booming. New folks are constantly joining the hobby, too, as they look for ways to pass the time. Fortunately there are more awesome games to play every year, like these modern classics:
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For others of us, social distancing means we can't enjoy friendly gatherings we are used to. From weekly game nights to large conventions, in-person meeting opportunities are being shuttered. To fill this gap, we are discovering many online substitutes for in-person play. Here are some popular choices:

Tabletop Simulator, Tabletopia
These software packages are physics simulators. They have the benefit of flexibility, as almost all tabletop games are able to be represented within them, but because they are so general-purpose the interface can leave something to be desired. I've heard these referred to as "playing any game you want to play, but while wearing boxing gloves."

Board Game Arena, Boiteajeux
There are general-purpose sites that focus on a slightly more abstract representation of games. These tend to be a little better from an interface standpoint because the games have bespoke implementations, but sometimes at the cost of beauty.

Individual game adaptations
Steam, Google Play, and the iOS App Store are chock full of digital implementations of board and card games. Most of these support online play, and as a whole offer very nice interfaces.

Conference call solutions
Finally, it's possible to play a ton of games with physical components controlled by one player, and others playing remotely over video chat like Zoom. Here are some of the games my weekly group has played this way recently:
  • Augustus
  • Boggle
  • Can't Stop
  • Cartographers
  • Cat Cafe
  • Chicago Express
  • Codenames
  • Decrypto
  • Diamant
  • Don Quixote
  • Endangered
  • Finstere Flure
  • Ganz Schön Clever
  • Imhotep
  • Just One
  • Knit Wit
  • Las Vegas
  • Mint Works
  • Montage
  • NMBR 9
  • Northern Pacific
  • Pepper & Carrot
  • Qwinto
  • Qwixx
  • Ra
  • Railroad Ink
  • Roll through the Ages
  • Santiago
  • Second Chance
  • Sentient
  • Tales of Arabian Nights
  • Thingamajig
  • Through the Desert
  • Verflixxt
  • Welcome To
  • Wits and Wagers

What successes have you had during the quarantine? What new acquisitions are you most looking forward to getting to the table when we can gather in larger groups again?

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Posts

  • Magic PinkMagic Pink Tur-Boner-Fed Registered User regular
    REPOSTING BECAUSE I REALLY WANT THIS TO FUND HO HO HO
    Magic Pink wrote: »
    SHEOL is in it's last 24 hours and super close to funding if anyone's interested.

    ge9fz8cpz24d.jpg

  • DoctorArchDoctorArch Curmudgeon Registered User regular
    I'm getting Marvel Champions, the two current scenario packs (Green Goblin & Wrecking Crew), and Ms. Marvel for Father's Day, very excite, especially to play it with my kids because Arkham Horror is not a viable option due to the nightmares and flesh eating monsters.

    I saw that Tapestry is on sale, anybody have an opinion? To me it looks interesting, a middle-ish civilization-like game that has a degree of luck/swing-ey-ness, which I don't immediately mind.

    Switch Friend Code: SW-6732-9515-9697
  • FryFry Registered User regular
    I just got Marvel Champions last week. So far, so good. Solves pretty much all the problems I had with Sentinels of the Multiverse. It's a very well designed game, I recognize a lot of names from the Netrunner community in the credits.

    I'm not a parent, but it seems to me like a good game to get kids into crunchy card games, in addition to just being a good game in its own right.

  • Ah_PookAh_Pook Registered User regular
    DoctorArch wrote: »
    I'm getting Marvel Champions, the two current scenario packs (Green Goblin & Wrecking Crew), and Ms. Marvel for Father's Day, very excite, especially to play it with my kids because Arkham Horror is not a viable option due to the nightmares and flesh eating monsters.

    I saw that Tapestry is on sale, anybody have an opinion? To me it looks interesting, a middle-ish civilization-like game that has a degree of luck/swing-ey-ness, which I don't immediately mind.

    I don't personally know anybody that wanted to play Tapestry again after playing it once. I haven't played it to comment personally, but it landed with a responding meh in my group.

  • VyolynceVyolynce Registered User regular
    edited June 2020
    Ah_Pook wrote: »
    DoctorArch wrote: »
    I'm getting Marvel Champions, the two current scenario packs (Green Goblin & Wrecking Crew), and Ms. Marvel for Father's Day, very excite, especially to play it with my kids because Arkham Horror is not a viable option due to the nightmares and flesh eating monsters.

    I saw that Tapestry is on sale, anybody have an opinion? To me it looks interesting, a middle-ish civilization-like game that has a degree of luck/swing-ey-ness, which I don't immediately mind.

    I don't personally know anybody that wanted to play Tapestry again after playing it once. I haven't played it to comment personally, but it landed with a responding meh in my group.

    You've met me IRL and I love it. It's not without its flaws but my group was playing it nearly every week for a couple of months before the world ended.

    Vyolynce on
    nedhf8b6a4rj.jpgsig.gif
    AC:NH Chris from Glosta SW-5173-3598-2899 DA-4749-1014-4697 @vyolynce@mastodon.social
  • initiatefailureinitiatefailure Registered User regular
    Tapestry ending the world is probably a point against it tho

  • Raw ConcreteRaw Concrete Registered User regular
    Ah_Pook wrote: »
    DoctorArch wrote: »
    I'm getting Marvel Champions, the two current scenario packs (Green Goblin & Wrecking Crew), and Ms. Marvel for Father's Day, very excite, especially to play it with my kids because Arkham Horror is not a viable option due to the nightmares and flesh eating monsters.

    I saw that Tapestry is on sale, anybody have an opinion? To me it looks interesting, a middle-ish civilization-like game that has a degree of luck/swing-ey-ness, which I don't immediately mind.

    I don't personally know anybody that wanted to play Tapestry again after playing it once. I haven't played it to comment personally, but it landed with a responding meh in my group.

    I've played Tapestry at solo through 4 players a total of five times, twice at 2 players. I don't think I'd care to try playing it at 5. My personal takes:
    • If what you're looking for is a version of something like Through The Ages or Nations but faster -- this ain't it. It's not exactly an engine builder with Civ game trappings, but closer to that.
    • This seems to have been a reasonable success with solo board gamers. I don't really care for solo board games -- my solo play was to prep for a teach -- but I can see it.
    • I actually like the puzzle that's present here, weird production, luck and all.
    • The amount of iconography can be daunting for people that prefer lighter games.
    • I'd play it again and enjoy it since I like it for what it is, but I don't think it's likely to hit the table the next time I actually meet with people in person. Too many other things to play instead.

    Probably my least favorite aspect, in both the 3 and 4 player games we had people finish up way before others. While some of that was on the particular player, you end up with a game where it's possible for someone not have any more turns when everyone else is still playing. A strange form of hard elimination, essentially. I don't think this would be much of a problem with a group where people played this a lot -- but how many games actually get that much attention from a regular group? The answer for me is not many, maybe it's different for you.

    Oh, come and shake me 'till I'm dry
  • Magic PinkMagic Pink Tur-Boner-Fed Registered User regular
    Tapestry ending the world is probably a point against it tho

    have you seen the world?

    go tapestry go

  • 38thDoe38thDoe lets never be stupid again wait lets always be stupid foreverRegistered User regular
    Tapestry is also way more expensive than it has any right to be. Unless you really like the buildings that come with it and can use them elsewhere.
    Being the last person playing also feels bad as you are holding up the other players while soloing.

    38thDoE on steam
    🦀🦑🦀🦑🦀🦑🦀🦑🦀🦑🦀🦑🦀
    
  • DoctorArchDoctorArch Curmudgeon Registered User regular
    38thDoe wrote: »
    Tapestry is also way more expensive than it has any right to be. Unless you really like the buildings that come with it and can use them elsewhere.
    Being the last person playing also feels bad as you are holding up the other players while soloing.

    Agree with you on the 100 dollar MSRP for Tapestry being insane, but coolstuffinc's 62 dollar sale price is much more palatable. I wouldn't even be interested otherwise.

    Switch Friend Code: SW-6732-9515-9697
  • DoctorArchDoctorArch Curmudgeon Registered User regular
    Played 7 Wonders Duel with my 7 year old last night. Our fourth game. He's done a real good job keeping up and actually beat me on victory points last time. He was trying for the same strategy this time and wasn't paying attention to the military cards. Crushed him with a military victory at the beginning of the third age.

    I'm a big solo gamer so I need to figure out a good way to print out the solo cards for Duel to give that mode a spin.

    Switch Friend Code: SW-6732-9515-9697
  • KorrorKorror Registered User regular
    I got Tapestry and I've gotten one 3-player game in. I've enjoyed it a lot but it's not the kind of game that the rest of my playgroup loves. In fact it might be only liked by the kinds of people who would go out and buy a complex board game with lots of little pieces. We'll see if I can get some more plays in once our group can meet again.

    Battlenet ID: NullPointer
  • Dirk2112Dirk2112 Registered User regular
    The Minigolf Designer folks unlocked all but the last stretch goals even though they weren't close to making them. They said this was their first kickstarter and they wanted to make the game right. Not sure if they are happy to just break even on this or if it is a gambit to get people off of the fence. The goal I really wanted (and probably everyone else) was the extra stream and lake tiles, so I would have been kinda bummed if we didn't get those. The other stuff (nicer tokens and extra cards) wasn't necessary in my opinion. Still pretty cool of them for a $40 game.

    NNID = Zepp914
  • ArcticLancerArcticLancer Best served chilled. Registered User regular
    Yeah, we'll see how it goes. I didn't need any of the extras, honestly - I thought the game was already great for the cost. But I'll certainly take them.
    I hope it does well enough that they can justify doing a little more with the game someday. While I really do love what's there, it feels like not having some sort of signature 3D standees (like the castles from Kingdomino) to add to your holes is the biggest missed opportunity. Was it you that was complaining about the lack of a windmill anywhere in the game? ;P

  • Dirk2112Dirk2112 Registered User regular
    . Was it you that was complaining about the lack of a windmill anywhere in the game? ;P

    Yeah. The creator is probably sick of me. No windmills, tiki heads, volcanoes, pirate ships, or dinosaurs on a minigolf course WTF? Maybe the courses in Hong Kong are generic.

    He did message me saying he is putting in a windmill, but we will see.

    NNID = Zepp914
  • ChiselphaneChiselphane Registered User regular
    I miss windmill-style mini golf. There's no courses here other than the 'variations of putting green' kind.

  • ChiselphaneChiselphane Registered User regular
    We finished Clank Legacy and it was such a hit that Mrs Phane said "I saw there are other Clank games, you could get those you know"

    goldenticket.gif

  • CaptainPeacockCaptainPeacock Board Game Hoarder Top o' the LakeRegistered User regular
    Having never played a Clank game, is legacy not a good way to start?

    Cluck cluck, gibber gibber, my old man's a mushroom, etc.
  • ChiselphaneChiselphane Registered User regular
    Having never played a Clank game, is legacy not a good way to start?

    We didn't have any rules trouble, but it was obvious pretty early on that previous experience with Clank would lead to better play. We learned pretty quick but the legacy aspect means we'd already burned a few games before we all knew what we were doing strategy-wise; playing a regular version beforehand would have given us more of a running start, as it were.

  • ironzergironzerg Registered User regular
    Well, just got back from my FLGS with a copy of Tang Garden. Box was way heftier than I was anticipating...looking forward to cracking it open this weekend.

  • MrBodyMrBody Registered User regular
    New Exit games available in stores! Theft on the Mississippi and The Stormy Flight!

  • ArcticLancerArcticLancer Best served chilled. Registered User regular
    I haven't played through all the old ones (nor have I bought them all), but I ordered Theft on the Mississippi last night when I picked up Unmatched: Jurassic Park. Have had little hankerings here and there to be able to play an Exit game with the better half during quarantine, so I'm looking forward to that~

  • Dizzy DDizzy D NetherlandsRegistered User regular
    Managed to meet up with some friends for the first time in months, we played 3 games of Betrayal at House on the Hill (A game we still enjoy, but it's very luck based how things are going to turn out), followed by two games of Root (first game I played the Aerie, 2nd the Corvid Conspiracy. Aerie went pretty well, though I did not manage to get enough points to win at the end. Corvid Conspiracy, I really need to figure out how to play, because I was unable to get basically any conspiracy going.) Finished up with some simple card game.

    Steam/Origin: davydizzy
  • ArcticLancerArcticLancer Best served chilled. Registered User regular
    Aw man. Going through the Unmatched: Jurassic Park rulebook I learned that they're making other Unmatched: Jurassic Park boxes. I didn't plan on having to buy more than one Unmatched box, but what, do you think I'm *not* going to buy the T-Rex + Ellie Sattler & Ian Malcom box? :P

  • Ah_PookAh_Pook Registered User regular
    Pandemic Rapid Response is on sale for $10 at Target, free local pickup or free delivery $35+, if anyone wants real-time dice Pandemic.

    https://www.target.com/p/z-man-games-pandemic-rapid-response-board-game/-/A-76151680

  • Custom SpecialCustom Special I know I am, I'm sure I am, I'm Sounders 'til I die!Registered User regular
    Ah_Pook wrote: »
    Pandemic Rapid Response is on sale for $10 at Target, free local pickup or free delivery $35+, if anyone wants real-time dice Pandemic.

    https://www.target.com/p/z-man-games-pandemic-rapid-response-board-game/-/A-76151680

    Someone posted this on BGG the other day and I ended up being able to order and pickup same day at my local store.

    XBL: F4ll0utBP | STEAM | PSN : CustomSpecial | Bnet: F4ll0ut#1636
  • BloodySlothBloodySloth Registered User regular
    Unmatched continues to be flippin' sweet; we just got the Cobble and Fog standalone expansion, the Victorian-era set which adds Dracula, Sherlock Holmes, Jekyll/Hyde, and The Invisible Man. They're all male characters, which is a bummer, and also a big break from the game's otherwise thoughtful inclusivity so far; at the same time, it was a set with a very specific theme (all the characters included were invented in the same city within a span of, I believe, less than 10 years). I go back and forth on how I feel about this.

    They're also all melee heroes, which is an interesting mix-up. Dr. Watson is Sherlock's ranged sidekick, but other than that, all the characters rely more on different movement abilities to close the distance.

    They're all pretty wild and interesting characters that continue to toy with the game's core mechanics: The Invisible Man completely lacks any of the core packet of base cards that pretty much all of the other characters' decks share, while Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde count as separate characters for card effects, even though they share one miniature. Both new maps are fun and do better than ever at feeling like real spaces, while also bringing in a couple new intricacies. It's all quite clever.

    Anyway yeah. Still plays quick, still gives both players a really interesting, shifting decision space while also being rules-light, and still remains thoughtfully, even playfully, thematic, with gorgeous artwork and expressive card mechanics.

    Pretty good game, y'all.

  • AthenorAthenor Battle Hardened Optimist The Skies of HiigaraRegistered User regular
    Slugfest just posted their backer surveys for the RDI expansion for Evil Pooky.

    They also asked for an additional info survey.

    I... probably am going to give someone whiplash. I responded extremely positively on everything, then lambasted them for not giving me a retailer option to back the game. Literally my store owner is who got me into RDI, and where I got the first 5 expansions and most of the allies. But they keep putting things in the kickstarters that I can't get in the store, and it pisses me off.

    Railroad Ink Challenge did the same thing.

    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
  • AthenorAthenor Battle Hardened Optimist The Skies of HiigaraRegistered User regular
    Soooo...

    Not saying I'm gonna do it, but...

    How is Terraforming Mars? *cough*

    There may be a kickstarter for a storage box for it... that is gorgeous...

    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
  • ArcticLancerArcticLancer Best served chilled. Registered User regular
    Depends on who you ask and how many expansions you're willing to buy to make it a functional game. I'm very down on it. Others are far more positive. What specifically would you like to know?

  • AthenorAthenor Battle Hardened Optimist The Skies of HiigaraRegistered User regular
    Depends on who you ask and how many expansions you're willing to buy to make it a functional game. I'm very down on it. Others are far more positive. What specifically would you like to know?

    Is it worth buying a giant box of tiles for it if you've never played it but figure if you are gonna play it, you are gonna buy everything for it?

    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
  • admanbadmanb unionize your workplace Seattle, WARegistered User regular
    Athenor wrote: »
    Depends on who you ask and how many expansions you're willing to buy to make it a functional game. I'm very down on it. Others are far more positive. What specifically would you like to know?

    Is it worth buying a giant box of tiles for it if you've never played it but figure if you are gonna play it, you are gonna buy everything for it?

    No. That's absurd.

    Just pledge $1 so you get their notifications, buy the game or start playing it on TTS, and by the time you know if you actually like it or not the BackerKit will be open.

  • Ah_PookAh_Pook Registered User regular
    Buy the base game, figure out that it's bad, sell it, the end.

  • AthenorAthenor Battle Hardened Optimist The Skies of HiigaraRegistered User regular
    admanb wrote: »
    Athenor wrote: »
    Depends on who you ask and how many expansions you're willing to buy to make it a functional game. I'm very down on it. Others are far more positive. What specifically would you like to know?

    Is it worth buying a giant box of tiles for it if you've never played it but figure if you are gonna play it, you are gonna buy everything for it?

    No. That's absurd.

    Just pledge $1 so you get their notifications, buy the game or start playing it on TTS, and by the time you know if you actually like it or not the BackerKit will be open.

    In my case I'd go through my retailer. But yeah, seems the idea.

    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
  • PowerpuppiesPowerpuppies drinking coffee in the mountain cabinRegistered User regular
    edited June 2020
    I would definitely recommend against buying even the base game.

    On Mars, now... 🤔

    Powerpuppies on
    sig.gif
  • PMAversPMAvers Registered User regular
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    COME FORTH, AMATERASU! - Switch Friend Code SW-5465-2458-5696 - Twitch
  • VyolynceVyolynce Registered User regular
    PMAvers wrote: »

    I want to know but at the same time I absolutely do not.

    nedhf8b6a4rj.jpgsig.gif
    AC:NH Chris from Glosta SW-5173-3598-2899 DA-4749-1014-4697 @vyolynce@mastodon.social
  • ArcticLancerArcticLancer Best served chilled. Registered User regular
  • DirtmuncherDirtmuncher Registered User regular
    Vyolynce wrote: »
    PMAvers wrote: »

    I want to know but at the same time I absolutely do not.

    I read them and you are not missing anything by not reading them.
    What games even are those?

    https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgamedesigner/49049/robert-burke/linkeditems/boardgamedesigner?pageid=2

    I haven't played any of his games and I think I will not be missing anything by not playing them ever.

    On another note. I played architects of the western kingdom for the first time this weekend and I was pleasantly surprised.
    I did make me think about it replacing raiders of the North sea in my collection.
    Still the metal coins in raiders are nice.

    steam_sig.png
  • CaptainPeacockCaptainPeacock Board Game Hoarder Top o' the LakeRegistered User regular
    I saw Beer & Biardgames had him on a while back to do an LP of Silver River. They seemed very into it but the whole time I remember going "this sounds stupid" the whole time.

    Cluck cluck, gibber gibber, my old man's a mushroom, etc.
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