Board games thread.

[dalebert]

I still haven't been able to break in the new expansions I got for Talisman yet. I don't have 2nd though. Whatever the recent one is. Seems decent. I've played the really old Talisman all through my late teens and 20s.

We're hopefully getting a game of Arkham Horror or Talisman going tonight here in Manchester.

[Laetitia]

I have Arkham Horror and I really like it! The rules are EXTREMELY elaborate so brace yourself. It takes playing a few times and you get into the rhythm. I have played it all by myself where I move all the characters. It's a team game where you're working together to beat the evil god so that's fine. It's a great way to get accustomed to the rules and the rhythm.  There's a series of things that needs to happen each turn and it's easy to forget parts, and the order matters a lot to maintain game balance.

This is great to know, Dale. I read the back of the game and some of the expansions at Dragon*Con this weekend - was wondering about it. The kids are getting into more complicated games now, but I wasn't quite sure if this might still be a bit beyond the attention/cooperation of the youngest.

John - that game case is beautiful!

For board games we have going around here on a pretty regular basis:
Munchkin Quest
Tiki Mountain
Cosmic Encounter (Can get very complicated on days when everybody's in lawyer mode)
Blokus
Scrabble
Risk
Munchkin and Munchkin Call of Cthulhu (Card games that rock!)

[Brooklyn Red Leg]

Got to play this twice last year at NecronomiCon in Tampa. Incredibly fun and challenging 'throw your buddy under the bus' game.

[Diogenes The Cynic]

If you want angry, possibly violent confrontations and arguments over minutia, then no game will ever be as good as Monopoly . Among the guys I hang around, it gets competitive. We have a game room in the university decked out in Monopoly memorabilia, and a few different sets. A few guys looked up abstracts and spreadsheets to assess true trade values of properties, and posted them.

Another game no one mentioned yet is Settlers of Cattan. Awesome, fun game.

[John Shaw]

John - that game case is beautiful!

Thanks! We just got done trying to play.

It's... pretty complicated.

We spent two hours and got through four turns. Unfortunately the way the manual is set up, the description of the progression of play is VERY messed up.

Imagine following the step by step of what you're supposed to be doing and having something come up that isn't in the step by step. Then having to refer to the index and shuffle around looking for what just happened.

Example -

"If THIS happens, refer to page 22 and read up on FOO."

So you go to read page FOO and you get the details you needed, but you didn't finish the paragraph BELOW the cited sentence because you were distracted with reading FOO. So you miss BAR, TOTO, TATA and FOOPLE.

Makes for serious confusion. We gave up after four turns as the kitchen table chairs hurt my bum and we're hoping to find a Youtube tutorial.

Mind you, Melissa is... Pretty damned smart, and I'm not a complete moron myself.

There are like (est) 18 decks of cards, some easily color coded, four of which we didn't even get around to figuring out. Skill checks were "Dungeons and Dragons Hard" (Meaning you once you get them they're not hard at all, but you can sit and read through the description ten times without getting it at first.)

I think we'll enjoy the game once we figure it out, but so far it was frustrating. I kept getting huffy with my wife because she kept wanting to DO THINGS while I was reading. Wasn't a recipe for awesome and I feel like a heel for bickering.

[theodorelogan]

Link to my collection on BGG

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/collection/user/theodorelogan

[John Shaw]

Link to my collection on BGG

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/collection/user/theodorelogan

Holy crap.

[dalebert]

I think we'll enjoy the game once we figure it out, but so far it was frustrating. I kept getting huffy with my wife because she kept wanting to DO THINGS while I was reading. Wasn't a recipe for awesome and I feel like a heel for bickering.

I think that's the universal first-time experience of that game. It really isn't explained well in the book. A lot of the game is "D&D hard" as you put it in that it will not seem so complicated once you've figured it out. Again, playing 3 or 4 characters all by yourself is a great way to figure things out.

Once one person knows and can walk people through it, they'll pick it up in one game. It's the instructions that suck, not the actual game.

[dalebert]

Had a small game night in Manchester, NH last night. The Osborne, a couple others, and myself played Talisman. That's another one that can get lawyery because there are so many potentially interactive special exceptions to rules. I find it's a good rule of thumb that if some combination just seems way too awesome, it's best to rule on the side of conservative for game balance.

Osborne pointed out something like that last night in which I had the most crazy combination of awesome, and while as a rules lawyer I think I was technically right, I conceded it because it was just ridiculous.

[Diogenes The Cynic]

I have Arkham Horror and I really like it! The rules are EXTREMELY elaborate so brace yourself. It takes playing a few times and you get into the rhythm. I have played it all by myself where I move all the characters. It's a team game where you're working together to beat the evil god so that's fine. It's a great way to get accustomed to the rules and the rhythm.  There's a series of things that needs to happen each turn and it's easy to forget parts, and the order matters a lot to maintain game balance.

This is great to know, Dale. I read the back of the game and some of the expansions at Dragon*Con this weekend - was wondering about it. The kids are getting into more complicated games now, but I wasn't quite sure if this might still be a bit beyond the attention/cooperation of the youngest.

John - that game case is beautiful!

For board games we have going around here on a pretty regular basis:
Munchkin Quest
Tiki Mountain
Cosmic Encounter (Can get very complicated on days when everybody's in lawyer mode)
Blokus
Scrabble
Risk
Munchkin and Munchkin Call of Cthulhu (Card games that rock!)

You have good taste. Blokus is one hell of a game. Surprised though that battleship, and stratego aren't on that list, seeing as how you have small kids.

[Laetitia]

You have good taste. Blokus is one hell of a game. Surprised though that battleship, and stratego aren't on that list, seeing as how you have small kids.

We have both, along with Connect 4 and Clue, but they've stopped playing the games for the most part. We'll pull them out to play, along with Tsuro when friends with younger children are over. I think they've all gotten to the point they want something more complicated.

We have a grudge match game night every few weeks. For those, we tend to grab Monopoly, Scrabble, Bananagrams or Mille Bornes. There is lots of yelling and popcorn throwing on those evenings.

[theodorelogan]

My flavor of the months are Innovation and 7 Wonders.  I prefer Innovation, but 7 wonders is an easier game with lots of great strategy that you can get gaming newbies into.  Plus, it works with 3-7 players...there aren't a ton of good games that can play that many people.

[Osborne]

Osborne pointed out something like that last night in which I had the most crazy combination of awesome, and while as a rules lawyer I think I was technically right, I conceded it because it was just ridiculous.

Sorry, Shaw has ruled in my favor in this matter. Your win has been negated. Rematch is required.

[dalebert]

Sorry, Shaw has ruled in my favor in this matter. Your win has been negated. Rematch is required.

Fair enough. It was quite ridiculous. FWIW, I had no idea going in how awesome it would be. I didn't expect to get the two perfect things to compliment that power and I think we should go with your house rule if/when that combo comes up again in the future.