The Thread Where We Are Board Game Geeks

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i grew up with a kid whose dad had every single avalon hill wargame and every railroad boardgame by any maker ever.

i've only ever played risk really.

geoff (gcannon), Friday, 3 February 2006 09:34 (eighteen years ago) link

There are lots of online majigs, T!

Chris I have added you as a GEEKBUDDY. What is Big Boggle?

Gravel Puzzleworth (Gregory Henry), Friday, 3 February 2006 09:47 (eighteen years ago) link

links to addictive board games that can be played online, please!

http://www.brettspielwelt.info/ is the one with pretty much every nu-school boardgame ever, though I agree with chris that it's kinda daunting sometimes. You might like Puerto Rico J?

Gravel Puzzleworth (Gregory Henry), Friday, 3 February 2006 09:58 (eighteen years ago) link

I'm a member there, but haven't found the time to play since I joined.

Main interests there is Carcassonne, perhaps predictably. I managed to get the PC edition cheap on ebay so I can hone my skills against the AI before playing with people I don't know (and the inevitable pwnage).

aldo_cowpat (aldo_cowpat), Friday, 3 February 2006 10:52 (eighteen years ago) link

I just can't imagine pwnage as being part of the Carcassonne scene.

Big Boggle is like regular Boggle but with 5x5.

Casuistry (Chris P), Friday, 3 February 2006 10:56 (eighteen years ago) link

Also, thanks for the Blokus online tip. I crushed the computer AI, though. Now I want this game more than ever.

Casuistry (Chris P), Friday, 3 February 2006 10:59 (eighteen years ago) link

Boggle is another game scrabble practice kinda ruins :(

Gravel Puzzleworth (Gregory Henry), Friday, 3 February 2006 11:47 (eighteen years ago) link

Has anyone played Da Vinci's Challenge? I keep picking it up in the store and then changing my mind.

jocelyn (Jocelyn), Friday, 3 February 2006 14:23 (eighteen years ago) link

I second the recommendation of Blokus. Highly addictive.

darin (darin), Friday, 3 February 2006 21:27 (eighteen years ago) link

I too have been addicted to Blokus lately, after a friend received a copy for Christmas. It's one of the first games I've played in a while that has remarkably simple rules yet the strategy is still there. I also purchased a copy of Carcassonne: The City recently - the game (and pieces!) are lovely.

Vinnie (vprabhu), Friday, 3 February 2006 21:43 (eighteen years ago) link

i like teh settlers of catan. I like illuminati too but i suppose that's a card game.

jeffrey (johnson), Friday, 3 February 2006 21:48 (eighteen years ago) link

221-B BAKER STREET IS GREAT!

POOP BITCH (Mandee), Friday, 3 February 2006 22:10 (eighteen years ago) link

It took a long time for me to stop being addicted to Shadows over Camelot - http://www.shadowsovercamelot.com

About Scrabble practice ruining Big Boggle, I have to comment that I dominate by going for the big eight letter words and completely neglecting the tiny ones. So I think memorizing obscure combinations of two or three letters isn't essential to Boggle the way it is to Scrabble, given the point distribution. Geekiness!!!

richardk (Richard K), Sunday, 5 February 2006 01:20 (eighteen years ago) link

If it were just the 2s and 3s then Scrabbler's Disease wouldn't be such an issue -- really it's the fact that you then go on to memorize 4s and 5s, and the NESTLE (or whatever it is) words...

Casuistry (Chris P), Sunday, 5 February 2006 01:35 (eighteen years ago) link

I'm thinking of getting Modern Art or Power Grid or possibly T&E next.
Modern Art and Power Grid are both fantastic. I think T&E sucks, but everybody else seems to love it. That said, I also hate Ticket to Ride.

One board game I liked a lot but is apparently hard to buy new now is RoboRally. Is it true you can't buy it anymore?
RoboRally went out of print, but I believe that a new edition of it just came out.

The Yellow Kid, Sunday, 5 February 2006 06:06 (eighteen years ago) link

Well, Knizia is easily my favorite designer, even though I haven't played most of his big works. So I do need to get T&E at some point.

Ticket To Ride is very, very light (and isn't it one of those games where the 2nd version, Europe, fixed some problems in the first?) but it's certainly fun enough.

Casuistry (Chris P), Sunday, 5 February 2006 09:32 (eighteen years ago) link

GenCon registration is theoretically open now, although the site is not letting me in. For a bunch of geeks, they always run a shit web registration.

teeny (teeny), Monday, 6 February 2006 18:56 (eighteen years ago) link

one month passes...
Did I mention that I got Princes of Florence? It's pretty great. At least, the five player version is. I haven't played with less yet, but soon, soon.

Casuistry (Chris P), Saturday, 11 March 2006 00:29 (eighteen years ago) link

My favourite thing about Princes Of Florence is that you are Princes! Of! Florence! I frequently have to explain this when refusing to play Chinatown or Fifth Avenue.

Juliaa would still like Puerto Rico.

Gravel Puzzleworth (Gregory Henry), Saturday, 11 March 2006 02:53 (eighteen years ago) link

I learned to play Nine Man Morris at a bar the other night.

Austin Still (Austin, Still), Saturday, 11 March 2006 02:58 (eighteen years ago) link

GP, you couldn't be more cute, not even if you had your own mid-80s family-hour sitcom.

This is how I managed to convince my ex to play, and he spent all his time trying to make his courtyard symmetrical, and somehow he won, despite generally not being very good at games.

Casuistry (Chris P), Saturday, 11 March 2006 06:30 (eighteen years ago) link

two weeks pass...
Four-player was not as good, by the way. Still OK but not as good.

Casuistry (Chris P), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 00:38 (eighteen years ago) link

Louis XIV is amazing!

Oltremare is okay, I think I might just be tired of free-trading games.

Gravel Puzzleworth (Gregory Henry), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 00:57 (eighteen years ago) link

I played Chinatown the other day and was really not into it. Too much trade trade trade.

Casuistry (Chris P), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 01:18 (eighteen years ago) link

A friend of mine just bought Lord of the Rings Risk. After making fun of him and the game itself for a bit, as I believe is required in the rules, we decided to play later this week. Sweet.

rrrobyn (rrrobyn), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 03:46 (eighteen years ago) link

What's the best Risk or Risk-like game? Classic Risk doesn't have enough strategy in it; once you get into the high numbers of reinforcements it's practically just luck how the game ends.

Dan I. (Dan I.), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 03:53 (eighteen years ago) link

LotR Risk looks pretty complex. Will have to report back.

I've played Risk of the Future. Oh, which the internet tells me is actually called Risk 2210. It's a bit more "fun" than classic Risk - you get to conquer the ocean! And the moon!

rrrobyn (rrrobyn), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 03:59 (eighteen years ago) link

I'm told that Risk 2210 (is that it? some number like that) is the funnest variant on Risk, but... there are surely better games out there.

But I actually haven't played that many "conquer the world" type games. I'm sure there's a relevant GeekList on BGG.

Casuistry (Chris P), Tuesday, 28 March 2006 04:10 (eighteen years ago) link

one month passes...
This month I am playing:

Louis XIV, still.
Ingenius a bit (That wacky Knizia and his ridiculously simple ideas!)
Goldbrau, which is just the daftest, most sweetly inconsequential thing ever to play with beer and laughing when you're done with realer games, it says "the cleverest businessman wins" on the box but nothing could be further from the truth. I really like it!

Gravel Puzzleworth (Gregory Henry), Monday, 8 May 2006 20:25 (seventeen years ago) link

Blockus and San Juan are still all the rage here, but we haven't played in a few weeks.

Casuistry (Chris P), Monday, 8 May 2006 23:00 (seventeen years ago) link

four weeks pass...
Hnefatafl!

Gravel Puzzleworth (Gregory Henry), Tuesday, 6 June 2006 16:39 (seventeen years ago) link

four weeks pass...
Brettspeilewelt is great!

kingfish du lac (kingfish 2.0), Wednesday, 5 July 2006 15:41 (seventeen years ago) link

three weeks pass...
What happens when SA Goons get to photoshoppin':

http://www.somethingawful.com/index.php?a=3818

http://img156.imageshack.us/img156/4829/captainawesomeie3.jpg

kingfish cyclopean ice cream (kingfish 2.0), Thursday, 27 July 2006 05:02 (seventeen years ago) link

eight months pass...
Well, Arkham Horror is the best game I've ever played.

I really liked Antike.

Gravel Puzzleworth, Monday, 23 April 2007 14:35 (seventeen years ago) link

PENTE

Oilyrags, Monday, 23 April 2007 14:36 (seventeen years ago) link

Talisman!

http://members.aol.com/wergames/myhomepage/talimine.jpg

chap, Monday, 23 April 2007 14:39 (seventeen years ago) link

Talisman totally rocks, and there's a new edition of it coming out in October!!

patita, Monday, 23 April 2007 21:42 (seventeen years ago) link

I need to join a Go league or something, my board's just been gathering dust for like a year.

BIG HOOS aka the steendriver, Monday, 23 April 2007 22:22 (seventeen years ago) link

I so want a set of <A href="http://www.bradleysalmanac.com/2005/08/exciting-game-of-career-girls.htm">What Shall I Be">?

Alba, Monday, 23 April 2007 22:31 (seventeen years ago) link

Rather: I so want a set of What Shall I Be"?

Alba, Monday, 23 April 2007 22:31 (seventeen years ago) link

http://www.bradleysalmanac.com/pictures/wsib/excited.jpg

Alba, Monday, 23 April 2007 22:33 (seventeen years ago) link

i have been playing SO MUCH settlers of catan--i'm tempted to look into seafarers/knights/5-6 player expansion. are they worth it?

max, Monday, 23 April 2007 22:35 (seventeen years ago) link

also risk 2210 is fucking intense and also pretty fucking sweet

max, Monday, 23 April 2007 22:35 (seventeen years ago) link

Arkham Horror is neat, but has some bits that are way too fiddly.

Also, I was disappointed by a bit of the tone; i know the grim somber mood is pretty solid with Lovecraft, but there's something about it where they need just a bit more of a dry sense of humor. This is a problem i have with horror anyway, that playing it completely straight w/ no wit tends to bore me.

Spectral Rails looks like a neat idea, that of a spooky old west railroad game.

kingfish, Monday, 23 April 2007 22:37 (seventeen years ago) link

i have been playing SO MUCH settlers of catan--i'm tempted to look into seafarers/knights/5-6 player expansion. are they worth it?

I love the Seafarers expansion - pretty basic add-ons, but we tend to play the layouts where the tiles are distributed upside down, so you get a new board each time. We have the Knights expansion and haven't played it much but family members love it. G loves the Starfarers (it's a stand-alone) of Catan, but I think it's kind of dreary for multiple games. (On the other hand, the two-player version of Starfarers isn't too bad.)

We also play a lot of Puerto Rico (don't know why we love it, but we do).

We go through stages where we also play a lot of Acquire and also Evo: The Last Gasp of the Dinosaurs (the former has no emotional involvement for me, not so with the latter, when I get upset over the baby dinos).

We also play a lot of the two-player games: Lost Cities (incredible - fast and excellent!), Balloon Cup (really addicting), and Caesar & Cleopatra being the most popular (outside of the more traditional Boggle and Scrabble).

MsLaura, Monday, 23 April 2007 23:08 (seventeen years ago) link

My sis is a Talisman nut and we both love CARCASONNE! (must be shouted with em-PHAR-sis). I gave her the Inns and Cathedrals expansion for her birthday. It's always played with good humour, but there is a definite undercurrent of rivalry. I think we're even on victories at the moment.

I tend to avoid Monopoly, as the last game ended in fisticuffs (not me) and a scattered board.

Trivial Pursuit is always a winner. The best answer ever was from my youngest sister when she was about 7. The question was - what travelled through Darwin at 300km/hr on Christmas Eve 1974? Her face lit up at the prospect of knowing the answer and she excitedly yelled "SANTA!". The answer was Cyclone Tracy, but we gave her the piece of pie for creativity.

Hard like armour, Monday, 23 April 2007 23:26 (seventeen years ago) link

We also play a lot of Puerto Rico (don't know why we love it, but we do).

Perhaps because it is one of the greatest games ever. (BTW, get San Juan. It is like speed PR, has a fairly different vibe to it, and does not feel like "the same game".)

Generally I'm not a huge fan of the Settlers expansions but I'm also tired of Settlers now. Otherwise I agree with MsLaura.

Casuistry, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 00:03 (seventeen years ago) link

Go, eh? I've never really learned it, but it looks like a great game, and it's played with the same board and pieces as my old fave Pente...

NB - I really suck at Chess, and my understanding is that Go is like 8 times as complex strategically.

Also, I will call it Weiqi because I have studied kungfu, not karate.

Oilyrags, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 00:23 (seventeen years ago) link

San Juan, eh? Thanks for the recommendation - our birthday is in a couple of weeks and I've been pondering what to get G (or what to ask for from him) - and since he plays Puerto Rico on his lunch hour (hard life, eh?), maybe San Juan'd be a good idea for him. What's the play time, generally?

MsLaura, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 06:21 (seventeen years ago) link

30 minutes? It's a card game. Puerto Rico seems long to play on one's lunch hour! (Unless you're online, which I hear is very very fast.) But San Juan should be totally doable.

Casuistry, Tuesday, 24 April 2007 06:29 (seventeen years ago) link

Sorry, I don't want to de-rail this thread into an RPG thread.

I haven't played Eldritch Horror in ages. I like it, but my wife does not so much.

ian, Monday, 28 November 2022 21:07 (one year ago) link

xpost -- I know a guy in the bay area who has a copy of car wars for sale i think. He always picks games up at the Alameda flea if they're cheap.

ian, Monday, 28 November 2022 21:14 (one year ago) link

I want to say my box is 2nd Edn because I'm sure it's got the award winning decal but I could be wrong.

I have no idea why I bought the 40tg Anniversary 2" box but there you go.

Hello I'm shitty gatsworth (aldo), Monday, 28 November 2022 21:14 (one year ago) link

lol I bought the reprinted 1" AND 2" boxes. The 2" has a bunch of the early supplements, which I like to read even if as adventures they are a bit old fashioned. The 1" box remains shrink wrapped; I think I thought I was gonna give it as a gift to my cousin but ended up getting her the current starter set instead.

ian, Monday, 28 November 2022 21:17 (one year ago) link

i will derail it for you by agreeing that the campaign sets can be pretty expensive. the dreamlands stories might be some of my favorite lovecraft so that's one i was interested in awhile back and sort of gave up on

i've always been interested in chaosium's elrich and hawkmoon games (stormbringer is the umbrella name, i think?) which are fairly generic 80s percentile dice crap with some nice maps. not super different from rolemaster / merp products, without the amazing crit tables. and those are just always expensive too. idk what it is about them.

i always thought chaosium was an american company (mailing address in berkeley?) but also a lot of these games seem a lot easier to find on uk ebay, more press coverage in uk mags like white dwarf vs. dragon. did they move from uk to usa at some point? feel like this would be easy to look up, but i'm home sick from work today so feeling especially lazy

the late great, Monday, 28 November 2022 21:19 (one year ago) link

They are still based in the US but a lot of the current development team is based in the UK iirc.

I think the Elric & Hawkmoon games are expensive because of Moorcock superfandom.

ian, Monday, 28 November 2022 21:20 (one year ago) link

as someone who's thought about writing a jerry cornelius rpg, i can relate to moorcock superfandom.

also there doesn't seem to be a good default ttrpg thread. maybe the "incredible austerity" one?

i can certainly understand not liking eldritch horror. it took me a long time to figure out to figure out the theory of it (well, develop my own, which may or may not be right) and figure out a workable strategy for it. and even with that you're always getting senselessly punished by attrition, for no real reason other than getting punished by attrition is how mythos horror works!

the late great, Monday, 28 November 2022 21:24 (one year ago) link

has anyone played Tapestry? my old Iron Crown friends were raving about it last time we hung out

also really enjoying Code Words when we can get 4 people together

sleeve, Monday, 28 November 2022 21:28 (one year ago) link

Code Names (i think that's the actual title?) is fun; there's a 2-player version that we picked up and it's just not as fun as the 4 player version imo. But we rarely have another couple to play with. Not aware of Tapestry!

ian, Monday, 28 November 2022 21:29 (one year ago) link

It gets mentioned upthread, but I'm interested in playing Eclipse. I like the 4x style of interstellar exploration. There's also the GMT Space Empires game but i think it's between printings rn.

ian, Monday, 28 November 2022 21:35 (one year ago) link

Code Names! yes. I can't imagine how that would work with only two players, the 4-person dynamic is so fun

sleeve, Monday, 28 November 2022 21:42 (one year ago) link

Role Playing Games: Search/Destroy

This is the generic rpg thread but a long time since anyone posted there

Role-Playing Games crush of shame poll

Why did you stop playing Role Playing Games?

Other candidates

There was one for indie/non fantasy RPGs that was in use a couple of years ago but I can't find it

But yes, the austerity one is the most up to date I guess

Hello I'm shitty gatsworth (aldo), Monday, 28 November 2022 22:41 (one year ago) link

eclipse is super fun! but i haven't played in AGES. i also love Arkham Horror (the original bgg, not the card game) for some of the reasons you describe re Eldritch Horror above. but no one ever wants to play with me. it's so long (which is maybe why i love it)

sean gramophone, Monday, 28 November 2022 22:44 (one year ago) link

Tabletop RPGs/story-building games - beyond D&D

Found it, this is the most alive RPG thread

Hello I'm shitty gatsworth (aldo), Monday, 28 November 2022 22:58 (one year ago) link

there is a noise board dnd thread that - in classic old meets new fashion - starts with like 800 gigantic images, all of which are now dead links

the late great, Monday, 28 November 2022 23:04 (one year ago) link

aldo, see here:

The incredible austerity of D&D in 1980

sleeve, Monday, 28 November 2022 23:12 (one year ago) link

that's the most active RPG thread in my memory, I tell stories from the 80s

sleeve, Monday, 28 November 2022 23:12 (one year ago) link

(and 70s)

sleeve, Monday, 28 November 2022 23:13 (one year ago) link

the new yorker article is great

symsymsym, Tuesday, 29 November 2022 03:01 (one year ago) link

two weeks pass...

Any recommendations for a game for an 11 year old boy, to play with the family? I've found quite a few hippy nature ones, I think I want to go a bit cooler, space themed if possible.

ledge, Tuesday, 13 December 2022 10:38 (one year ago) link

Galaxy Trucker. You each have to put together a spaceship from loads of pieces, like a competetive puzzle. Then you have to fly that spaceship to its destination, and hope the hodgepodge of elements will see off the asteroids, pirates, slavers and other misfortune that might come your way.

his cartoon heart expands, then he relaxes by smoking crack (stevie), Tuesday, 13 December 2022 12:48 (one year ago) link

That was in my long list so I'll go for it, thanks!

ledge, Tuesday, 13 December 2022 13:43 (one year ago) link

I love it, am always playing it with my 8yo, but very much with training wheels on, so I reckon it should keep an 11yo involved, but also not scare off the rest of the family.

his cartoon heart expands, then he relaxes by smoking crack (stevie), Tuesday, 13 December 2022 13:46 (one year ago) link

Yeah my first thought was Galaxy Trucker but there are guns etc (although purely defensive) if that isn't what you're after. (Solely based on "hippy nature" as a prompt.)

Tiny Epic Galaxies, Chimera Station, Asking For Trobils all good but don't know how in print the last two are which would probably be my recs. I'd also say Loop Inc but I think it's too complicated.

Hello I'm shitty gatsworth (aldo), Tuesday, 13 December 2022 14:12 (one year ago) link

if you think they could handle a worker placement / tile laying game, i have black angel and think it is pretty cool. i think a sharp 11 year old could swing it.

the late great, Tuesday, 13 December 2022 14:31 (one year ago) link

on the other hand might be a bit too much, give the 2-3 hr play time, plus i think shifting victory conditions could be especially confusing for some kids

the late great, Tuesday, 13 December 2022 14:34 (one year ago) link

Yeah 2-3 hours is a bit long. Thanks for all the suggestions, I've bought Galaxy Trucker.

ledge, Tuesday, 13 December 2022 15:26 (one year ago) link

Galaxy Trucker is one of the few games I can think of that uses dexterity and a fun theme but is surprisingly strategic. Great choice for an 11yo I think!

Vinnie, Tuesday, 13 December 2022 15:43 (one year ago) link

galaxy trucker is classic, also you just unburied a memory of a different game i played like a decade ago that was a space 4x strategy game except movement around the board was done by finger flicking your wooden disk spaceship crokinole-style

ciderpress, Tuesday, 13 December 2022 15:47 (one year ago) link

I wasn't sure whether Galaxy Trucker truly counts as dexterity but I would be very bad at the game you describe, regardless of how strategic it is

Vinnie, Tuesday, 13 December 2022 15:55 (one year ago) link

you just unburied a memory of a different game i played like a decade ago that was a space 4x strategy game except movement around the board was done by finger flicking your wooden disk spaceship crokinole-style

this sounds very fun! if you remember the title...

his cartoon heart expands, then he relaxes by smoking crack (stevie), Tuesday, 13 December 2022 16:11 (one year ago) link

Ascending Empires was the title, looks like it's actually getting a new edition next year

ciderpress, Tuesday, 13 December 2022 16:20 (one year ago) link

Thank you!

his cartoon heart expands, then he relaxes by smoking crack (stevie), Tuesday, 13 December 2022 16:33 (one year ago) link

seven months pass...

Does anyone else here play on https://boardgamearena.com/? My game night crew have been having a lot of fun with Decrypto (which is a twist on Codenames).

Albert Canoe (Leee), Friday, 28 July 2023 17:34 (nine months ago) link


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