So... Board Games?

[xpsychedelico]

Hey everyone,

So there's a book thread, movie thread, anime thread, etc. and I wanted to start one for a pastime I greatly enjoy--boardgaming. What are some of your favorites and why? What new game have you tried recently that you really enjoyed or disliked? I'm not heavy into tabletop gaming but I would be interested to hear about that too.

One game I really like is Mage Knight. There are just so many tactical decisions one can make in a turn and I really like the level up system they implemented. Players can be co-op, semi-co-op, or competitive, and explore a random map to uncover enemies and locations to get stronger in order to defeat boss castles hosting many enemies. Games can run up to 8 hours or so but it always feels like a full adventure.

Ghost Stories is my favorite game, hands down. It's a co-op game that's brutally hard with a very strong Asian ghost theme. Players are monks trying to save a village from invading ghosts, and they have to survive waves of enemies in order to get to a final boss. Everyone has a special power of their own and have to work together and strategise to survive and defeat Wu Feng. Villagers aid the monks in their endeavor by providing perks. The game carries a constant sense of urgency, and wins and losses are usually nail-bitingly close.

Ginkgopolis is a newer game I enjoy has a bunch of elements that are uncommonly seen together. Players use cards to place territories, thus building a city outwards and upwards while managing their resources and displacing other players. In the process, they gain area control that grants points at the end of the game, and by playing the right cards, give themselves bonuses that either aid them during the game or provide points at the end. Oh, and your hand of cards rotates every turn. It's fairly straightforward once you get the hang of it, and it's a beautiful game with well made components.

Thoughts, comments, random ramblings... go! I'm always on the lookout for more games to learn and play.

[Yoda]

I recommend Risk Legacy. It's one of the best time's I've ever had playing a board game.

I've heard fantastic things about the Battlestar Galactica game but I always miss out on it.

[Starmongoose]

I will be viewing this thread for recommendations. Board Game virgin.

[Dincrest]

Last time I played a board game with a group of people was when I played Smallworld with a whole bunch of past and present RPGFanners.  That game was really fun.  

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/40692/small-world

[xpsychedelico]

Battlestar Galactica--I only got about 3 hours in and we had to stop because the place was closing. It's one of the better social/hidden-role games. I actually like the mechanics it has for both parties and how they introduce a possible additional Cylon mid-game. That really changes things up for the hidden-role genre, and there are many ways to try and deduce if someone is sabotaging plans (it's usually a blind accusation in most hidden-role games, e.g. Werewolf, Resistance). I know nothing about the actual series itself though. I will definitely give the full game a go if I get the chance and you should too. I'd like to hear what you think of it.

I played Risk Legacy once... and established a Kitty Town! It put a good spin on a classic game I've heard so much bad stuff about (my first time playing Risk, actually). There are better territory control & conquer games like Smallworld, though. Smallworld was one of my introduction games to the non-monopoly board game genre and I still enjoy it every now and then. The expansions for races and powers really mixes things up. The gypsies might be my favorite race (expansion). I also love that they hold competitions for players to create new races and powers, and then publish the winners.

[Monsoon]

Big fan of Settlers of Catan, Ticket to Ride, and Agricola when it comes to "regular" board games.  For more roleplaying-ish stuff I'm way into Betrayal at House on the Hill.  Win conditions different almost every game, and it gets REALLY DAMN DRAMATIC if you sink good playtime into it.  100% recommended to everyone that likes character-building games, variable win conditions, and horror themes. 

[Kevadu]

Most of my board game nights center around Settlers of Catan, Carcassonne, or Dominion.  We've tried plenty of other games of course.  Like Puerto Rico, Ticket to Ride, Power Grid, Arkham Horror, etc.  But they never really seem to stick.  There's a certain elegant simplicity to the first three I mentioned which make them a lot easier to introduce people to.  Well, Ticket to Ride isn't bad in that regard either, but for some reason it's not a favorite.

I've been especially into Dominion lately.  It's a very simple game on the surface that actually has a lot of depth and feels a bit less random than the other two.

I really want to play Terra Mystica but first I have to find a copy...it's out of print!  What the heck.  It's not like it's even old or something...

[(Tunnels)]

I recommend Risk Legacy. It's one of the best time's I've ever had playing a board game.

I've heard fantastic things about the Battlestar Galactica game but I always miss out on it.

I really, really wanna give Risk Legacy a shot. The concept sounds so awesome.

Gonna echo Monsoon and Kevadu with Betrayal at House on the Hill and Arkham Horror. The latter is super fun, but be prepared to set aside basically a whole night to playing it.

[Rapturous]

It's so funny how far down the rabbit hole goes.  There are like tiers of board game snobbery.  Got the traditional / family games (Monopoly, Risk, Password), then there are the new age entry level stuff (Settlers of Catan, Carcassonne, Dominion), and then there are games like Terra Mystica, Power Grid, Agricola, etc. that are for the "serious" board gamers.  Seems every hobby has some sort of structure.

I mention this only to give the newcomers an idea of where to start, in case you're interested in dabbling.  Settlers, Carcassonne, and Dominion are the best games to try out and get hooked on.  If you like them, then you're screwed, because it can get dauntingly expensive (Dominion will result in several expansions bought, likely totaling well into the hundreds--FOR CARDS).  For people who don't mind setting a few hours aside for one game that is gratifying (to win or lose--for me, anyway), then the latter set are good choices.  My personal top 3:

1.  Dominant Species (worker placement, LOTS of choices, called a "brain melter" due to the potential "analysis paralysis," most fulfilling experience).
2.  Mage Knight (mentioned in previous post--LONG game, but oh-so gratifying).
3.  Agricola (with so many sets of cards and variation in setup depending on how many people are playing, it's always a new experience).

There are tons of other great games.  Lots of great "light" games, too.  Carcassonne and Settlers of Catan online suckered me in.  Met some great people through local meetups--worth checking your area through meetup.com if you don't have some friends to play with or who are interested.

[xpsychedelico]

I am not a fan of Ticket to Ride either (too much luck), but Ticket to Ride Asia is quite the standalone game. I like that they introduced teams, but you can't speak directly to your partner or discuss strategies. All you can do is put cards out on a shared board and hope they take a hint--and you sometimes have to sacrifice actions to do it. The "gambling" roads are also pretty neat, where if it's yellow 6 for a two-tile road, you draw 6 cards twice and if there are any yellows or rainbows you have to pay equal amount in yellows/rainbows.

I was fortunate enough to play two games of Terra Mystica, and based on the hype surrounding it, I thought I would be more blown away. It looks great but doesn't really stray from the usual resource management and area control elements. It also seems that your game strategy is quite dependent on the race you get--attempting to do otherwise will only hurt your chances of winning; I haven't decided if it's a good or bad thing. Tzolk'in is another game I learned recently that garnered a lot of hype for its seemingly complicated "wheel" mechanics that turned out to be fairly straightfoward. It's very much a worker placement, resource management game, but I really enjoyed it and would play it or Dominant Species (mentioned above) over Terra Mystica.

A gateway game I think is good for new players is Lords of Waterdeep. Very basic worker placement and resource management, but with a lot of replayability. Many boardgame "snobs" I know like the game in spite of its simplicity. You place workers to get resources, and use the resources to complete quests that give victory points and/or resources; that's really the gist of the game. You get a secret character that determines bonus points end game and a hidden hand of cards that let you spice things up a bit, but everything else is out in the open, including pending quests.

Betrayal at the House on the Hill is thematically awesome. We don't play enough of it, really. And Arkham Horror's setup time alone always warrants at least two games before we decide to put it away.

[dyeager]

Risk Legacy is tremendous.

[dyeager]

If Risk Legacy didn't have the "Risk" label, I feel it would be more highly acclaimed by the board game intelligentsia.

[insertnamehere]

Not a board game really, but since it plays like Magic meets Monopoloy, Culdcept.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H7nmB3qqdfM

[Agent D.]

I like checkers.

[Aeolus]

If Risk Legacy didn't have the "Risk" label, I feel it would be more highly acclaimed by the board game intelligentsia.

It be even more highly acclaimed if they could change the perception that you only get so many games out of the board before you have to retire it and get a new one, because this is not true at all.