Tabletop: Season 3 starts November 13!

NOT The Flog: Halloween Tips - HALLOWEEK - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RCqYNuHeAXc)

A new trailer for the upcoming season-shows a quick look at some of the games and guests playing with Wil, including some kids.

TableTop Season 3 - Premieres November 13th - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fW3k43fAWrI)

Recruiting finally paid off. Had seven show up with more possible. Love Letter, Smash Up, Takenoko, and Power Grid were played. I got tempted to move Power Grid into the 9 area for ratings, but I still need more plays. The person who was screwed in phase one was really set up for phase two and ended up winning so the comeback aspect might be a little too strong in this one. I got the strategy of the game better but still tied for second in a four player game. Still around a Top 20 game for me though. Takenoko might go down just a hair due to imbalance in the objectives although I think another couple talked themselves into picking it up, so there's that.

Just participated in a Math trade at BGG. It was huge. Over 4000 items listed. I put up Formula D and an extra map and Conquest of Planet Earth and the expansion.
Both were traded.
I received Struggle of Empires and Galactic Emperor. 2 games I have been looking at for quite awhile.

They were not my 1st choices, but Im excited I got them.

Just participated in a Math trade at BGG. It was huge. Over 4000 items listed. I put up Formula D and an extra map and Conquest of Planet Earth and the expansion.
Both were traded.
I received Struggle of Empires and Galactic Emperor. 2 games I have been looking at for quite awhile.

They were not my 1st choices, but Im excited I got them.

I almost participated, but the thought of having to pack and ship the games I am looking to sell sounds like a huge chore. I hear they sometimes do regional ones where you can trade in person....

So anybody going to BBGCON? Went last year and had a great time.

I've done one Math Trade on BGG, the war-game one from a couple of months ago. Got a nice Seven Years War battle game while giving up a Columbia games Civil War game I wasn't huge on. It's cool to see what you might end up with, but it's hard for me to get away from school long enough to ship so I wouldn't do it very often.

I won't spoil the moment, but that was a genuine lol moment.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/pipFRzGYgdk" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I won't spoil the moment, but that was a genuine lol moment.

<iframe src="//www.youtube.com/embed/pipFRzGYgdk" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" width="560"></iframe>

Wil plays the victim so well, but then he's had a lot of practice with that on Tabletop :) Glad its back for another season, and had some good guests. I certainly didn't expect to see Chris Kluwe on this.

Good video. Dont think I will run out and buy this one. But it did look like a decent game.

Tokaido is a really nice light family option and good with intro gamers because it's pretty easy to pick up. The Crossroads expansion adds a ton of strategic choice and makes it a lot meatier and very replayable

It doesn't do anything that Takenoko can't fill as a gateway already so I have no need to get it. I can see why it works for people though.

It doesn't do anything that Takenoko can't fill as a gateway already so I have no need to get it. I can see why it works for people though.

Agreed on that. I own both but mainly because my 8 year old daughter loves playing both of them. For adults I would say one or the other is fine for a gateway

Tuesday Game Night - Only 4 of us could make it so we took time away from monster war games to play a couple of one offs:

King of New York
Brief History of the World

Really enjoyed King of New York. I was okay with Tokyo, but this added some nice twists. No more hiding away to suck up victory points. Might end up on my wish list sometime.

Brief History of the World is a pretty entertaining game. Light, fast, and fairly strategic.

Haven't purchased games since the spring so I went on somewhat of a splurge ;)

Hosting a game night next Friday so here's hoping some of these can get to the table...

1 - Evolution (New, Board Games, North Star Games) at $37.49 each
1 - Sheriff of Nottingham (New, Board Games, Arcane Wonders) at $24.99 each
1 - Diamonds (New, Board Games, Stronghold Games) at $17.49 each
1 - Lords of Xidit (New, Board Games, Asmodee Editions) at $40.99 each
1 - Robinson Crusoe: Voyage of the Beagle Expansion (New, Board Games, Z-Man Games) at $27.49 each

I really need to find a way to get a play of Robinson Crusoe in since I can never tell if I need to get it or not. Maybe I'll see if that can be done at UCon this weekend. I'm going for a play of Dead of Winter since Plaid Hat Games will be there.

Robinson Crusoe is one of the few games I enjoy playing solo. So I have got a lot more plays in comparison to most of the games I own. I just need more nerdy friends ;)

I feel like I'm on the eternal search for a game I can solo in about an hour with the replay I want. All to often the answer is a co-op while playing multiple characters, which I don't like, or LotR: LCG, and I'm trying to avoid that rabbit hole as I have A:N already. I almost wonder if I need to start playing Sentinel Tactics from the view point of the villain even if that isn't really soloing a game. Give me something like The Mage Knight Adventures where things are done in smaller bits and in campaign form.

Played Tokaido with 3 Disney artists before watching TT. Very different experiences.

I feel like I'm on the eternal search for a game I can solo in about an hour with the replay I want.

+1

Pathfinder Adventure Card Game comes closest in many aspects, but boy I could do without all the shuffling. And ultimately the gameplay itself is probably the least interesting of the games I've tried, though it is fun enough for me that it doesn't hold me back.

Marvel Legendary is a good solo experience if you follow some of the harder rules from the first expansion. However it is dying for some kind of story or campaign mode to give the games more meaning. And it suffers from the shuffling thing too.

LotR:LCG is probably the best solo play experience but I tired of needing to build a specifically tuned deck for each scenario. When I was younger that would have been awesome but now it's not my cup of tea.

I think the game I most want to try solo is Thunderbolt: Apache Leader, but I doubt it fits into 60 minutes.

+1

Pathfinder Adventure Card Game comes closest in many aspects, but boy I could do without all the shuffling. And ultimately the gameplay itself is probably the least interesting of the games I've tried, though it is fun enough for me that it doesn't hold me back.

Marvel Legendary is a good solo experience if you follow some of the harder rules from the first expansion. However it is dying for some kind of story or campaign mode to give the games more meaning. And it suffers from the shuffling thing too.

LotR:LCG is probably the best solo play experience but I tired of needing to build a specifically tuned deck for each scenario. When I was younger that would have been awesome but now it's not my cup of tea.

I think the game I most want to try solo is Thunderbolt: Apache Leader, but I doubt it fits into 60 minutes.

I can see doing Jade Regent for Pathfinder, but I'm not sure how many other settings would really get me interested. None of the gameplay videos really made it stand out.

Marvel Legendary has been beaten badly by Encounters but playing it solo might make it decent enough. Add in expansions and it could be hard enough to make it interesting, but that's a base game and expansion just to start.

In my younger years, LotR would have been an easy pick.

Wargames are there, but I have a hard enough time trying to learn the ones I have. I feel like they would just add to the pile.

Not sure if it's what you are looking for, but Victory Point Games has a bunch of great solo games that all take less than an hour to play. In my rotation recently have been Infection, Zulu's, and In Magnificent Style. I also have the Director's Cut of Zeds waiting to play... I stopped trying to "solo" 2-player and co-op games when I found these games.

Not sure if it's what you are looking for, but Victory Point Games has a bunch of great solo games that all take less than an hour to play. In my rotation recently have been Infection, Zulu's, and In Magnificent Style. I also have the Director's Cut of Zeds waiting to play... I stopped trying to "solo" 2-player and co-op games when I found these games.

Dawn of the Zeds is getting an expansion and the base game is on my wishlist. It's just hard to squeeze it in right now.

Also, I started up Mage Knight again, and it hammers home how much I love a narrative in games. First turn was going into a dungeon, almost getting KOed, slaying the werewolf, grabbing the Amulet of Darkness, and then trying to decide for my next turn if I want to rest or head off to the glade for some healing.

Doomtown Reloaded is a great way to get a wargamer like me started on deck building games. While I'll play Dominion again, needing to manuever units into a shootout and manage logistics with town building created more interest than simply building the best deck for the poker based shootout hands.

Plus I've won all 3 times, so I'm ready for more.

Never been to a Con outside of a local one so I was taken back by the pricing at UCon where buying a ticket merely gets you in. In order to play games you have to pay additional money. I don't see me going again anytime soon. About the only thing that was good about the whole experience was playing TI3. Well, for the most part. I got to play with one of the most stereotypical annoying players as well, and he ended up winning but that's a ramble for another time. I would put the game in the range of an 8 although I don't see it being that high.

For the war gamers out there, MMP is having an Almost Black Friday sale. Several quality titles are considerably marked down.

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/It-s-Almost-Black-Friday-Sale-.html?soid=1110714961200&aid=IZ0WKxzJfAY

Played Tokaido with 3 Disney artists before watching TT. Very different experiences.

I'm left wondering how this is a two sentence post.

I want more. I might need a bit more.

Anyone playing Marvel's Dice Masters (via Wiz Kids)? A couple buddies at work have me hooked on it and, while I'm not usually a CCG player, it's a really cool system. The starters seem to be sufficiently powered and the boosters simply add an array.

Now, that is of course, not including the super rare cards which add some significant advantage. I have several but the Green Goblin ("Gobby") and Wolverine (Canucklehead) both seem really strong (and, of course, I have neither). I've gotten beat pretty badly by someone wielding each. I have the Black Widow though and she is very strong as well.

If anyone is playing, I would be curious about how you've gone about building your team/deck as this is the first CCG where I've had my own set.

Well, Cardhaus's Black Friday sale killed my Christmas wishlist. Even backup items went out of stock. It looks like it might be a very Netrunner Christmas instead.

Yeah. The stuff I want is out of stock already.

I am getting one present from my wife. It will be a game. Not sure which yet.

Florida trip is our Christmas this year.

Genuinely disappointed that Trains: Rising Sun went out. I could have subbed in Legendary:Encounters in and felt like I still did pretty good but that sold out as well. The data packs for Netrunner were too good to pass up being as a final option.

I almost got Viticulture at CSI even with shipping since it is 50% off, but I don't want to be in a habit of getting merely decent games as that seems to be a habit as of late.

Next year I'm gonna submit my Christmas list before the so called Black Friday deals start at various OLGS on Wednesday. Lesson learned. I went Star Wars: Imperial Assault, Troyes, and Star Realms expansion bundle. I can't really complain about getting stuff related to games in BGG's Top 100 or one that will be.

I'm left wondering how this is a two sentence post.

I want more. I might need a bit more.

TT was essentially"gang up on Wil" My game was about completing as many pictures as possible--regardless of whether you actually needed them to win. Being able to point out where a similar painting is, was,or might have been located at Japan in EPCOT was the chatter. I got to the end first,the others dawdled to get more picturepieces. Somebody won, not me.

I got a few games I am putting up for sale on Boardgame geeks:
Legendary Alien Encounters $40
Red, White and Blue Racing $25
B-29 Super Fortress $40
Forbidden Island $15

If anyone wants them all I will throw in free shipping.

Are they new or opened/used?

Are they new or opened/used?

All opened but other wise new.

Good deal on King of Tokyo. Just under $21.

Amazon.com: King of Tokyo: Toys & Games (http://www.amazon.com/IELLO-IEL-51032-King-Tokyo/dp/B004U5R5BI/ref=cm_cr_pr_product_top?tag=slickdeals&ascsubtag=566526b92fea45fca69d60a705413c63)

Tabletop plays Forbidden Desert:

Forbidden Desert: Felicia Day, Alan Tudyk, and Jon Heder join Wil Wheaton on TableTop S03E02 - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lMLP0gn4I6k)

Somehow I had completely ignored knowing much of anything about the Game of Thrones board game so I finally got a chance to play it ended up likely in far more than expected. We only did it four player, but I'm gonna try to see if we can pull off 6 players next time.

Anybody have any Roman Empire or Roman Republic era war games or along that theme at least they could recommend?

Hannibal: Rome vs Carthage created the card driven wargame genre. The Sword of Rome is good, but you need 4 for it. Nice thing about this game is that the sides are asymmetrical.

Mathean, great game. 6 player is a must. Also, there is an expansion that makes a 4 player game really fun.

Galaril, COIN series, Gallic War will be out next year. Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage, The Sword of Rome, Command and Colors: Ancients are just a few.

I played Cuba Libre today. A 2 player game. It was a good time. I was the Gov't and the other M26. I won on the last prop card. The Bot players are very well done. But the lack of negotiating makes it a little different game. The guy i played against was out of resources the las1/5 of the game. And the syndicate was flush with resources. Not being able to nbegotiate made a big difference.

Mathean, great game. 6 player is a must. Also, there is an expansion that makes a 4 player game really fun.

Galaril, COIN series, Gallic War will be out next year. Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage, The Sword of Rome, Command and Colors: Ancients are just a few.

I played Cuba Libre today. A 2 player game. It was a good time. I was the Gov't and the other M26. I won on the last prop card. The Bot players are very well done. But the lack of negotiating makes it a little different game. The guy i played against was out of resources the las1/5 of the game. And the syndicate was flush with resources. Not being able to nbegotiate made a big difference.

I know about the 6 player aspect. A friend talked about the game after they played it 3 player. I was trying to guess what GoT game he was talking about because I wouldn't have recommended the board game due to the player count. I talked about the expansion, but the guy who owns it doesn't want to get farther in the storyline than where he is at.

I am still looking at the COIN series. I want Fire in the Lake, but I fear Cuba Libre would be the safer pick.

Hannibal: Rome vs Carthage created the card driven wargame genre. The Sword of Rome is good, but you need 4 for it. Nice thing about this game is that the sides are asymmetrical.

Mathean, great game. 6 player is a must. Also, there is an expansion that makes a 4 player game really fun.

Galaril, COIN series, Gallic War will be out next year. Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage, The Sword of Rome, Command and Colors: Ancients are just a few.

I played Cuba Libre today. A 2 player game. It was a good time. I was the Gov't and the other M26. I won on the last prop card. The Bot players are very well done. But the lack of negotiating makes it a little different game. The guy i played against was out of resources the las1/5 of the game. And the syndicate was flush with resources. Not being able to nbegotiate made a big difference.

Thanks Imforgot about those but those are good recommendations and yeah I am excited for the. Gallic War game from COIN.

Cuba Libre is a easier game and a great introduction into the series. The map is small and tight. So it is not difficult to grasp.
Fire in the Lake is a much more difficult game in the series. It adds some things that are not in Cuba Libre.
A friend bought A distant Plain, which is a step up from Cuba Libre. And you can tell. I believe Fire in the Lake is a step up from A Distant Plain.

Gallic War is supposed to be along the lines of Cuba Libre in difficulty.


As for Game of Thrones, it doesnt get deeper into the story line at all. What it does is add secret missions and different victory conditions. not 10 castles and you win.
It makes GoT much better with 4. It really is a game that needs to be played with 6 if you are playing the base game.

I know a guy who has all of the COIN series and a number of GMT games. My problem is gaming with him outside of conventions, and I have yet to even do that.

As for Game of Thrones, it doesnt get deeper into the story line at all. What it does is add secret missions and different victory conditions. not 10 castles and you win.
It makes GoT much better with 4. It really is a game that needs to be played with 6 if you are playing the base game.

I'll echo these sentiments almost exactly. Game of Thrones is one of my favorite board games with 5 or 6 players, but it doesn't do a great job of scratching that intrigue itch that a game with the Game of Thrones name implies. I need to get more plays with the expansion under my belt, but the one play we had made the game feel much more like you'd expect a game bearing this name to feel. In the base game, everyone has exactly the same objective: control as many castles as possible. There's no hidden agenda, and there is very little in the way of deception possible. Sure, you can scheme with others about what help you're going to give, but there is extremely little in the way of hidden information in the game. With the expansion, now you have hidden missions that each player is trying to complete, and it makes for much more intricate plotting.

Well, I won't back the "doesn't get deeper into the storyline at all" aspect. The houses all have different card decks representing them, and it would be rather spoilerific if he isn't caught up in the story yet.

My one complaint of Tabeletop is that the language is rather strong for something that is promoting the hobby. I know a number of people who dislike Felicia Day, but she does a great job here even if I'm not overly fond of the games she's talking about.

<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/T86J05Ho2w0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

I know a number of people who dislike Felicia Day...

Who are these idiots and why are you associating with them?

Language is lighter than most of my board game nights. :)

I've gone insane with board games this past month, caught up in some Black Friday Sales and I'm still spiraling out of control. On Black Friday I got:

- Twilight Struggle (Only played 2 games so far, but LOVE it)
- Defenders of the Realm (Played once, not sure I like it - may trade away)
- Pandemic: The Cure (Played twice, really like it!)
- Zombicide (Played twice, think I like it...)
- Dawn of the Zeds Directors Cut Expansion (haven't played yet)

Then I went on eBay to find one game that is not currently available, and an oldie I heard good things about. With shipping, each of these cost me a Benjamin each.

- Field Commander Napolean (only played twice)
- Raid on St. Nazaire (brand new in shrink)

And then there is this one I just ordered when I learned about it on BGG:

- Last Frontier: The Vesuvius Incident

Finally, I asked for the following for Christmas:

- Warfighter Combo Pack

... and there are still more on my wishlist I'd love to get like:

- Navajo Wars
- Flash Point
- Thunder Alley
- Cuba Libre
- Robinson Crusoe
- Freedom: The Underground Railroad
- Andean Abyss
- A Distant Plain
- Thunderbolt Apache Leader

... to name a few. Ugh!!! :)

Anybody have any Roman Empire or Roman Republic era war games or along that theme at least they could recommend?

I've played History of the Roman Empire several times and enjoyed it. There's a few rules issues, but BGG seems to have the answers.

History of the Roman Empire | Board Game | BoardGameGeek (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/17382/history-roman-empire)

It is a four player game, but we've always had 8 players in four teams of 2 with each team having a barbarian and a legionary player.

Damn, Padres. That's an impressive haul. Field Commander Napoleon is a great game.
I have two on your wish list (Navajo Wars & Robinson Crusoe) but have yet to play them. Christmas goal is to catch up and play some games.

Of course, that didn't stop me from snagging a couple of games: Mound Builders & Serenissima.

I also backed Wilderness Empires from Worthington on Kickstarter. Hoping to still get Victory in Europe kickstarter before Christmas.

I can't believe I missed out on the kickstarter for Tiger Leader (Thunderbolt Apache but for Panzers!). Emailed the company to see if they are going to offer the same thing for a bit higher price. I've noticed several companies have done that lately. Worthington did it for New York 1776.

Who are these idiots and why are you associating with them?

People on the internet. I was talking about Tabletop at my game night and at least one person had no clue what I was talking about.

I've gone insane with board games this past month, caught up in some Black Friday Sales and I'm still spiraling out of control. On Black Friday I got:

- Twilight Struggle (Only played 2 games so far, but LOVE it)
- Defenders of the Realm (Played once, not sure I like it - may trade away)
- Pandemic: The Cure (Played twice, really like it!)
- Zombicide (Played twice, think I like it...)
- Dawn of the Zeds Directors Cut Expansion (haven't played yet)

Then I went on eBay to find one game that is not currently available, and an oldie I heard good things about. With shipping, each of these cost me a Benjamin each.

- Field Commander Napolean (only played twice)
- Raid on St. Nazaire (brand new in shrink)

And then there is this one I just ordered when I learned about it on BGG:

- Last Frontier: The Vesuvius Incident

Finally, I asked for the following for Christmas:

- Warfighter Combo Pack

... and there are still more on my wishlist I'd love to get like:

- Navajo Wars
- Flash Point
- Thunder Alley
- Cuba Libre
- Robinson Crusoe
- Freedom: The Underground Railroad
- Andean Abyss
- A Distant Plain
- Thunderbolt Apache Leader

... to name a few. Ugh!!! :)

That is a haul Al. So did you play these mostly solo? I am curious about twilight struggles if you played it solo especially how it played?

So anybody play or have Kemet or it's sister game Cyclades? Curious of which would be better for kids to learn and when need be able to solo it?

How old are the kids? They are different games, Kemet is area control/war game with a tech tree and Cyclades is a bidding/resource management game at heart. Both great, though I find Kemet a little easier for folks to grok. However, due to the nature of the mechanics I have a hard time imagining either to be a satisfying solo experience unless someone has posted a strong variant on BGG

That is a haul Al. So did you play these mostly solo? I am curious about twilight struggles if you played it solo especially how it played?

Hey Dan, yes, about 90% of my board-gaming is done solo. I bought Twilight Struggle mostly for it's #1 ranking on BGG, hoping that I'd be able to talk one of my kids into playing it with me. Luckily, both my 26 year old daughter and 21 year old son were willing participants this past weekend. I let them play the USSR since I read the Soviets are easier to play for new players, and I lost both games at the US. :) Didn't care though, the game is super cool and I think either of them would be happy to play again.

How old are the kids? They are different games, Kemet is area control/war game with a tech tree and Cyclades is a bidding/resource management game at heart. Both great, though I find Kemet a little easier for folks to grok. However, due to the nature of the mechanics I have a hard time imagining either to be a satisfying solo experience unless someone has posted a strong variant on BGG

Ok so not being solo kills it as that is probably 50% of my gaming. My kids are 7 and 12 plus a girlfriend my age. Probably gaming is 2 or 3 players then and guess either of these would be ok for that number.

Hey Dan, yes, about 90% of my board-gaming is done solo. I bought Twilight Struggle mostly for it's #1 ranking on BGG, hoping that I'd be able to talk one of my kids into playing it with me. Luckily, both my 26 year old daughter and 21 year old son were willing participants this past weekend. I let them play the USSR since I read the Soviets are easier to play for new players, and I lost both games at the US. :) Didn't care though, the game is super cool and I think either of them would be happy to play again.

Al, wow you also got great deals on those two for a Benjamin each on ebay. Good for you they being sold now at $150-200 each:( .........I can't find Last Frontier: The Vesuvius Incident where did you find it or buy it man?

I can't find Last Frontier: The Vesuvius Incident where did you find it or buy it man?

Right here (http://www.printplaygames.com/product/last-frontier-the-vesuvius-incident).

Ok so not being solo kills it as that is probably 50% of my gaming. My kids are 7 and 12 plus a girlfriend my age. Probably gaming is 2 or 3 players then and guess either of these would be ok for that number.


As I'm not a solo gamer, I don't know if there are decent solo versions that were made for them, but the back and forth between players is a lot of what makes each game. I think Kemet works well with any player count 2-5, Cyclades base game is much better with 3 or 4 than with 2 (if you have the Hades expansion the 2 player game is much more interesting). I do most of my gaming two player, just so you know where my perspective is coming from.

2014 People's Choice Top 100 Solo Games | BoardGameGeek (https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/182648/2014-peoples-choice-top-100-solo-games)

I found the idea of a solo variant for Merchants and Marauders as one way for me to get the game played and for me to learn it.

Right here (http://www.printplaygames.com/product/last-frontier-the-vesuvius-incident).

Thanks

2014 People's Choice Top 100 Solo Games | BoardGameGeek (https://boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/182648/2014-peoples-choice-top-100-solo-games)

I found the idea of a solo variant for Merchants and Marauders as one way for me to get the game played and for me to learn it.

Thank you sir.

If a second interview goes well with a company, I'm gonna have to pick up maybe a couple solitaire games since I will be traveling some.

Sentinels of the Multiverse is at $17.39 or 57% off on Amazon. Obviously helps to have Prime as that will get you free shipping.

Link (http://www.amazon.com/Sentinels-Multiverse-Enhanced-Card-Edition/dp/B0095ZFA5Q/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1418327117&sr=1-1&keywords=sentinels+of+the+multiverse)

On Tabletop-For those with families:

Catan Junior: Emily Anderson, Brett Baligad, and Adam Chernick join Wil Wheaton on TableTop S03E03 - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZ3gKVr9taE)

Wil plays Catan Junior with 3 kids.

On Tabletop-For those with families:

Catan Junior: Emily Anderson, Brett Baligad, and Adam Chernick join Wil Wheaton on TableTop S03E03 - YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZ3gKVr9taE)

Wil plays Catan Junior with 3 kids.

I'll definitely try to watch this as Catan Jr will be under the Christmas tree.

Sentinels of the Multiverse is at $17.39 or 57% off on Amazon. Obviously helps to have Prime as that will get you free shipping.

Link (http://www.amazon.com/Sentinels-Multiverse-Enhanced-Card-Edition/dp/B0095ZFA5Q/ref=sr_1_1?s=toys-and-games&ie=UTF8&qid=1418327117&sr=1-1&keywords=sentinels+of+the+multiverse)

So this is a great deal and thanks.............So before I buy this I was looking at reviews and alot of them say things like the game has mostly cards that give powers that either cause damage and more damage and that is it? They often say that there is "no actual game here" and it is "simply picking the best card and little strategy. No real big decisions and it devolves to just doing math;-(
I wonder if I should instead grab Cosmic Encounters.

So this is a great deal and thanks.............So before I buy this I was looking at reviews and alot of them say things like the game has mostly cards that give powers that either cause damage and more damage and that is it? They often say that there is "no actual game here" and it is "simply picking the best card and little strategy. No real big decisions and it devolves to just doing math;-(
I wonder if I should instead grab Cosmic Encounters.

You should pick up Cosmic Encounters anyway. :D

To follow up, I do think it is on the family/gateway side, so if you are looking for even medium depth it won't be there. The book keeping is a well known issue.

Thanks I am going to pass on them all I think for various reasons and continue the search.

It is a whole different game, but Sentinel Tactics has been great. I picked up a copy from the Jack Vasel auction, and played it last weekend. Everyone had a blast. It is a miniatures game, well the base set doesn't include miniatures but they are available, the miniatures are purely optional. The game play so far has been great. It was fantastic with 3, but admittedly dragged a little with 5, just too much down time between turns. But that was a first play, and with a couple of teenagers who are known to drag turns and games out.

Sentinel Tactics includes the same heroes as the Multiverse card game, but I really like the miniatures version. The card game didn't do it for me.

The card game of Sentinels is my favorite game, but admittedly not for everyone. However, the reviews that say there is no game there are selling it extremely short. It is the type of game that gets better with multiple plays and knowledge of each hero's cards and deck opens your eyes to more possible combos and synergies with their teammates. I love the minis game as well and I think it specifically is a good choice for those who liked the theme of the card game but not the gameplay

Bought King of Tokyo last night. Really looking forward to trying it tonight.

Wife bought a game called "Rise of Augustus" for $9.98 off of Amazon. It's nothing unbelievable but we've enjoyed it. Quick playing, some small decisions to be made, a little luck, etc.

Bought King of Tokyo last night. Really looking forward to trying it tonight.

Great choice for just a fun game, especially with a lot of fun people.

I picked Sentinel Tactics as the superhero game to play. I did a partial walkthrough for rules and it looks like it fill the need I want from it. I just need it played in a group. I keep fighting off SotM. I have a feeling as soon as I get a tablet that's one of the first games I get.

Taught a friend Taluva, and he said he liked it better than Carcassonne, which I do as well. It was interesting to play against somebody and see how they did some strategy. Gonna try and get it played at game night and play it with more people. It plays better with two, but I still want to see it with more.

Also played Glory to Rome. I've come to the conclusion I'm not fond of teaching it to someone in a two player game. So far those games have gone way long to the point I was wanting to remind my friend he could end the game by starting to build to purple buildings, and since he was way ahead of me in influence, he had no real threat from losing the game. I could have won if it kept going, and I was able to play a card, but I was so screwed for resources pretty much the whole game, so that's part of the reason it dragged so much. I learned to never play the game passively. :lol:

Won my first game (out of 3 tries) of Twilight Struggle this weekend. (Using the Wargames card on Turn 10). What a fantastic game. Highly recommend it.

Won my first game (out of 3 tries) of Twilight Struggle this weekend. (Using the Wargames card on Turn 10). What a fantastic game. Highly recommend it.

Not solo I assume?

Not solo I assume?

Correct, not solo. I can get my daughter to play a game every now and then.

Cool I am weighing getting Twilight Struggle that I could play with my girlfriend but also believe there is a solo variant on BGG or Combat Commander:Nimitz that is strictly solo but I love the WW2 Pacific.

I went Star Wars: Imperial Assault, Troyes, and Star Realms expansion bundle. I can't really complain about getting stuff related to games in BGG's Top 100 or one that will be.

Despite being told by the publisher on the 11th that the Star Realms expansions will be out very soon if they aren't out already in certain parts, my e-mail I got back from Cardhaus today said they aren't even at the distributor level. :banghead:

That's a bummer. After watching the reviews/unboxing, I'm actually glad they sold them in different packs as I'm mainly just interested in the Events deck

Publisher posted a pick on FB showing they got them in yesterday, so there's zero chance the expansions go from them, to distributors, to stores, to customers in five days. I know stuff happens, but one would think having them in customers hands before the 25th would be a good thing.

Game night last night. Finally got Samurai played last night versus another person. I won in a landslide. I had 4-4-3 in terms of game pieces. I went after the main city, Edo?, collecting all of the pieces there and pretty much stream rolled the rest. I do want to play it with more since it will make things more contested I think, and it gives boats more options. I still think this is one of the tile tile placement games out there. It also makes me want to get T&E down and get that played.

Had my 10th play of Suburbia. I think I played as well as I could and still lost. One public goal was most airports and only one ever came out. My secret goal scored 10 and my opponent's scored 20. If the game had lasted maybe two more rounds, I could have pulled it off because I was way ahead until goal scoring was factored in.

Finally got a play of Walnut Grove in. Not sure on how many plays it might offer in the end, but it is a quick euro styled game that I like. People say it is similar to Agricola and Carcassone. There's not that much stress in it compared to Agricola. That's not the point I don't think. It plays in 30 minutes and is on the lighter side. The fact that you play 8 years with three of the 4 seasons all being simultaneous action means there almost no downtime which is nice. Once you get the game down, it is going to play rather quick. And yes I won.

Wife bought a game called "Rise of Augustus" for $9.98 off of Amazon. It's nothing unbelievable but we've enjoyed it. Quick playing, some small decisions to be made, a little luck, etc.

Ah yes Gamer Bingo!

It is one we enjoy with the kids, well and without them actually. It seemed ripe for expansions after the spiel de jahres nomination and all, but haven't seen any.

Had a game day a few weeks ago. 5 of us at the beginning then 4 midway thru.

We started with Struggle of Empires. What a fun game. Very interesting mechanics. Everyone really enjoyed it.

The a game of DC deck building. With the new expansion. I got killed. It was a runaway win. The guy had cards coming out every turn.

Then one guy left. We pulled out Galactic Emperor. Sort of TI3 lite. But not really. Still, a very fun game. Me and another were tied for the win at the end. The tie breaker is to gather all your ships on the board and have one last battle. I was out gunned. But almost pulled it out. Came in 2nd.

Then we ended the night with a game of Thunder Alley. This is one of my favorite games. And my experience shows thru on most games. I got that win.

A great day of gaming.

Tuesday, 4 of us are gathering for some COIN gaming. Probaby A Distant Plain.

Game day at a store. Played Castles of Mad King Ludwig. I'm honestly not sure what people are thinking that this so obviously fires Suburbia. It does some stuff better but some stuff worse. There were two points where I wondered how this game was firing Suburbia. It is a solid game but no way something that is suppose to be clearly better than another.

Next up was Imperial Settlers. This was an honest surprise I guess although I'm not sure why. It played so smooth. While card draw can be an issue, the guy who was talking about his slow start due to lack of production cards ended up winning the game. I had huge amounts of production, but I might have come in last. I did play the Japanese who are suppose to be hard and the guy who won owns the game so maybe with more plays I could have done a lot better.

Last game was El Grande. I still think this is the best new to me game of the year. Still continuing my streak of ending up in dead last. Someday it is going to click for me.

Correct, not solo. I can get my daughter to play a game every now and then.

Curious how long did Twilight Struggle take you to play? I think my GF would enjoy this but am hoping for something under 3 hours.

I am about to play a game of Power Grid against 3 robots. My wife and I have played Power Grid against 2 robots and had fun, but this is my first time trying to do this game as the only human player. If I do not win this game, I am never going to show my face anywhere in the world ever again, Bye, Felicia. And by Felicia, I mean me.

Curious how long did Twilight Struggle take you to play? I think my GF would enjoy this but am hoping for something under 3 hours.

It takes 2 full games to get a good grasp of everything, and if those learning games go the full 10 turns, you could easily be pushing 3 hours. However, my impression is that once you get into the flow, you would be looking at 90-150 minute games on average.

It takes 2 full games to get a good grasp of everything, and if those learning games go the full 10 turns, you could easily be pushing 3 hours. However, my impression is that once you get into the flow, you would be looking at 90-150 minute games on average.

Thanks Al and happy holidays.

For BGGers.

BoardGameMenu.com (http://boardgamemenu.com/)

That is cool. What a great addition to game night that would be.

Last game was El Grande. I still think this is the best new to me game of the year. Still continuing my streak of ending up in dead last. Someday it is going to click for me.

After 10 years of owning this, it still does not get old for me. It is an absolute gem.

Sentinels of the Multiverse finally made it to Steam, $14.99. Hopefully Summoner Wars follows.

For BGGers.

BoardGameMenu.com (http://boardgamemenu.com/)

That's awesome! Thanks for sharing.

For BGGers.

BoardGameMenu.com (http://boardgamemenu.com/)


Whoa! Now I may just have a reason to update my collection. It is woefully out of date, but this is pretty cool.

Actually I think there are apps out that do this for IOS devices, because I've seen people use them. But I'm not sure if those apps were hitting their bgg accounts.

Not sure if this has been mentioned before, but I got Cataan Jr. for my daughter (she's 7) and we've added it to the rotation. It's a fun game to get the kids kickstarted into some fun boardgaming.

Amazon.com: Catan: Junior: Toys & Games (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007N0KZ64/?tag=mh0b-20&hvadid=3481640386&ref=pd_sl_7xfgbi2byk_e)

I got one of the Cataan Card games for my wife and I to try..

Game day. 4 of us gathered to play A Distant Plain. 2 of us know the system, 2 were new to it.
I played as the government. And won on the 2nd propaganda card. A pretty convincing win. The 2 new guys were the Taliban and the coalition. They struggled with their victory goals.
It was fun, and should be even better the next time we play.

Then we played a game of Smash Up. Not a huge fan, but will play because the others like it.
I ended up winning that game also. Which was a first. I usually place last.

2 Games, 2 victories. A good day for me. And a fun one all around.

Not sure if this has been mentioned before, but I got Cataan Jr. for my daughter (she's 7) and we've added it to the rotation. It's a fun game to get the kids kickstarted into some fun boardgaming.

Amazon.com: Catan: Junior: Toys & Games (http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007N0KZ64/?tag=mh0b-20&hvadid=3481640386&ref=pd_sl_7xfgbi2byk_e)

Having watched it played on Tabletop, I honestly might like it more than the regular version.

It's going to take me a while to go through all my Christmas Board Game loot, especially with no vacation time, but I was able to play a couple games of Flash Point this past weekend. It's a cooperative game that mechanically is VERY similar to Pandemic. It "solos" even better than Pandemic however, and I find the theme more enjoyable (saving people and putting out fires). Looking forward to picking up some expansions for it in the future.

Finally got around to learn a new board game on the iPad: Brief History of the World. Great game, highly addictive and superb replay value. Think Risk but with gameplay governed by cards.

Brief History of the World is a lot of fun for a quick game. I've played both it and History of the World. I prefer the longer version, but Brief is more likely to make it to the table. Good Game.

So far over my break I've played...

Love Letter (got it for Christmas) which gets a lot of talk on BGG. I found it to be way too quick (some turns are over before you even get a turn) and just not very interesting.

Battle of the 5 Armies. Tremendous game. War of the Ring is the epic. This plays much quicker but still has some good strategy. Good guy characters add a ton of flavor.

Clash of Monarchs. My favorite. Just a great CDG war game.

Mound Builders. Finally got this to the table. Pretty interesting solo game using the States of Siege system from Victory Point. Spread your empire, fight tribes as they expand mid-game, then hold on for deal life when the Spanish arrive.

Love Letter is great as a filler, just don't expect it to be the main course for a game night.

Brief History of the World is a lot of fun for a quick game. I've played both it and History of the World. I prefer the longer version, but Brief is more likely to make it to the table. Good Game.

So far over my break I've played...

Love Letter (got it for Christmas) which gets a lot of talk on BGG. I found it to be way too quick (some turns are over before you even get a turn) and just not very interesting.

Battle of the 5 Armies. Tremendous game. War of the Ring is the epic. This plays much quicker but still has some good strategy. Good guy characters add a ton of flavor.

Clash of Monarchs. My favorite. Just a great CDG war game.

Mound Builders. Finally got this to the table. Pretty interesting solo game using the States of Siege system from Victory Point. Spread your empire, fight tribes as they expand mid-game, then hold on for deal life when the Spanish arrive.


I also got Battle of five armies and the first edition of war of the rings with the 2nd edition upgrade kit. I went ahead battle of five armies was a gift for my kids and painted the miniatures and they came out great.

Good thing I double checked my still on hold order from Cardhaus. Apparently somehow the only thing on the order is the Star Realms bundle despite giving direct links to Troyes and Star Wars: Imperial Assault to my mother and my mom mentioning items being on the order. So much for that preorder price on SW:IA. That's $8+ right there and since the Black Friday $100 free shipping is gone I might have to add to the order to get it back. I don't know where the screw up happened, but I'm obviously really not happy about it.

EDIT: Kings of Israel should be here on Friday, so yay for that.

I've got Imperial Settlers and Castles of Mad King Ludwig to try out still, and I've got a copy of La Isla coming soon that i"m really looking to get to the table. The other Christmas items that I have gotten to the table multiple times are Colt Express(ok that was pre-Christmas), Camel Up, Drakon(from the cult of the old), Pandemic: the Cure, and my daughter is VERY happy with Geistes Blitz.

I'm looking forward to a lot of gaming New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

Love Letter is great as a filler, just don't expect it to be the main course for a game night.

Yeah, Love Letter is a nice quick game to play between games or before everyone has arrived.

Designing The Best Board Game On The Planet | FiveThirtyEight (http://fivethirtyeight.com/features/designing-the-best-board-game-on-the-planet/)

Finally got Kemet as a Christmas present and got the KS copy of Viticulture/Tuscany on Christmas Eve. Through two plays of Viticulture + a couple fo the small expansion unlocked it might be my wife's new favorite game. It's a really solid light-medium weight worker placement and I've really liked it

Finally got Kemet as a Christmas present and got the KS copy of Viticulture/Tuscany on Christmas Eve. Through two plays of Viticulture + a couple fo the small expansion unlocked it might be my wife's new favorite game. It's a really solid light-medium weight worker placement and I've really liked it


Kemet is my favorite light "conflict" game. I'm looking forward to the expansion for this one. I'm Interested that you class Viticulture/Tuscany as light middle weight. One of the Dice Tower reviewers described the expansion as allowing you to ratchet the difficulty from medium weight to a real heavy game as you add in pieces in parts. That piqued my interest a bit in a game that I'd somewhat written off without much of a second look.

Kemet is my favorite light "conflict" game. I'm looking forward to the expansion for this one. I'm Interested that you class Viticulture/Tuscany as light middle weight. One of the Dice Tower reviewers described the expansion as allowing you to ratchet the difficulty from medium weight to a real heavy game as you add in pieces in parts. That piqued my interest a bit in a game that I'd somewhat written off without much of a second look.

I think the initial Viticulture is that weight I described in comparison to other worker placement games - I would say it's similar in complexity to Waterdeep, though different in mechanics beyond WP. The expansions add variable starting set up, new cards with an either or option, a whole new board with different actions spaces, and workers with special powers, to name just a few. So I would say if you are a big gamer or a fan of meaty WP then the base game will be a bit too light for you. I think with the expansions I've seen so far and the other ones it moves to one of my top tier games

Finally got around to learn a new board game on the iPad: Brief History of the World. Great game, highly addictive and superb replay value. Think Risk but with gameplay governed by cards.

Thanks for the tip on this - picked it up yesterday, and am enjoying it.

I've got Imperial Settlers and Castles of Mad King Ludwig to try out still, and I've got a copy of La Isla coming soon that i"m really looking to get to the table. The other Christmas items that I have gotten to the table multiple times are Colt Express(ok that was pre-Christmas), Camel Up, Drakon(from the cult of the old), Pandemic: the Cure, and my daughter is VERY happy with Geistes Blitz.

I'm looking forward to a lot of gaming New Year's Eve and New Year's Day.

I think I said it here, but I really liked Imperial Settlers to the point I debated if I was going to buy it or not. I'm currently holding off just because I think I'll get to play it enough as much as I want by playing it at the local game days. I currently have it in my Top 15.

Matthean, are you in SE Mich by chance?

Lansing area.

Ah, OK. I am between A2 and Detroit. Gameday coming up on Saturday.

I got Lords of Vegas as a birthday gift a couple days ago. I'm getting together with some friends on Saturday night and hopefully there will be some takers willing to try it out.

Anybody play on Yucata.de?

They have a quite a few games on there. I have the same handle on there as here.

It's going to take me a while to go through all my Christmas Board Game loot, especially with no vacation time, but I was able to play a couple games of Flash Point this past weekend. It's a cooperative game that mechanically is VERY similar to Pandemic. It "solos" even better than Pandemic however, and I find the theme more enjoyable (saving people and putting out fires). Looking forward to picking up some expansions for it in the future.
Flash Point is a fun game. I just happened to play it at DragonCon last year with the game's designer, Kevin Lanzing. I had no idea who he was. I just went into the game room, saw a guy and his girlfriend sitting there by themselves, so my wife and I went over and they brought out Flash Point. Halfway through the game, he told us that he was the designer. Then he let us playtest a new game he's working on.

In any case, the expansions for Flash Point are "nice to have" items, but I don't really feel that they add very much to the core game. Obviously, your mileage may vary, but the expansions that I have are basically new maps, and I found the new maps to actually make the game a little more confusing than anything. Then again, I've only played them a couple of times, so I could stand to learn 'em a bit better. Still, Flash Point is a very fun game, and its designer is a very nice guy.

Played a few new games over the holiday break.

Cards Against Humanity: Never played it before. I got this for my brother for Christmas, so we opened it up and played a game. The mix of people was darn good. Me, my wife, our 26 year old daughter, 22 year old son, 60 year old brother and his 45 year old "partner". I've never seen any of them laugh so hard. The highlight of the evening was my son making my wife (very much a goodie-goodie when it comes to dirty language) read the following out loud "Pac-Man uncontrollably guzzling cum." I think a few of us were on the floor, and my wife was crying at that point. We were having so much fun that we played for 3 hours - exhausting all the cards in the box. We've played it a couple more times since Christmas with other people, and it was fun, but nothing will ever match that first play.

Freedom: The Undergound Railroad: I was really happy to convince my wife and daughter to play this cooperative game with me. I had played it once solo (pretty good solo game) and found it very easy to teach as it has a very clear and easy to learn rule-set and order of operations. We were successful, but only on the very last turn and with the very last dollar we had to spend - quite an an exciting victory. I highly recommend this game for families.

The Resistance: Picked this one up for our latest game night after watching the TableTop episode on it. I wanted something new, but that played quick. I think everyone liked it, but I wouldn't say "loved" it. Having to play the spy and bluff/lie didn't appeal to everyone, although they did a good job of playing along. I also picked up Coup but haven't tried that one yet.

Flash Point is a fun game. I just happened to play it at DragonCon last year with the game's designer, Kevin Lanzing. I had no idea who he was. I just went into the game room, saw a guy and his girlfriend sitting there by themselves, so my wife and I went over and they brought out Flash Point. Halfway through the game, he told us that he was the designer. Then he let us playtest a new game he's working on.

In any case, the expansions for Flash Point are "nice to have" items, but I don't really feel that they add very much to the core game. Obviously, your mileage may vary, but the expansions that I have are basically new maps, and I found the new maps to actually make the game a little more confusing than anything. Then again, I've only played them a couple of times, so I could stand to learn 'em a bit better. Still, Flash Point is a very fun game, and its designer is a very nice guy.

I really need to pick this up. I love coop games. They are my favorite.

We played our annual New Year's Eve "Arkham Horror" game last week. Sadly, we were not able to save the world from complete annihilation. We could not stop the great worm, Shudde M'ell, from awakening and tearing the world asunder. We were close, but suffered from a couple of back-to-back gate bursters that crushed us.

We played another game of Arkham on Saturday. It was a lot of fun. We ended winning with one turn left. It was a weird game. We found three Elder Signs and got the ally that removes a doom token. We still had 11 doom on the track (max 12) when we sealed the final gate. We did draw two "add two to the doom track" mythos cards. A lot of odd things happened that rarely do in the game.

I've played Arkham well over 40 times now and - despite the long set up and all of the pieces and cards and complicated rules - it's still my favorite board game.

P.S. PUMPY!!!!!!

Flash Point is a fun game. I just happened to play it at DragonCon last year with the game's designer, Kevin Lanzing. I had no idea who he was. I just went into the game room, saw a guy and his girlfriend sitting there by themselves, so my wife and I went over and they brought out Flash Point. Halfway through the game, he told us that he was the designer. Then he let us playtest a new game he's working on.

In any case, the expansions for Flash Point are "nice to have" items, but I don't really feel that they add very much to the core game. Obviously, your mileage may vary, but the expansions that I have are basically new maps, and I found the new maps to actually make the game a little more confusing than anything. Then again, I've only played them a couple of times, so I could stand to learn 'em a bit better. Still, Flash Point is a very fun game, and its designer is a very nice guy.And just like that, you made me make a step closer to buying Flash Point.

Cards Against Humanity is very much a game that can be over played. Best to play once or twice with a gap in between it to keep it fresh.

I got Lords of Vegas as a birthday gift a couple days ago. I'm getting together with some friends on Saturday night and hopefully there will be some takers willing to try it out.

It's fun. Even the guys in my group who don't like that rough genre of games enjoyed it.

Cards Against Humanity is very much a game that can be over played. Best to play once or twice with a gap in between it to keep it fresh.

Agreed. Although on the 3rd play we added the first expansion which helped.

Cards Against Humanity is very much a game that can be over played. Best to play once or twice with a gap in between it to keep it fresh.

I've played CAH about a half dozen times now and what I've found is that there are two different levels of humour. The first is the humour derived mostly from the content of the white card itself. There are lots of really 'good' white cards that can be played against almost any black card and get a great laugh. The pac-man card mentioned earlier fits this mold. The second is the humour derived from pairing a seemingly innocuous white card with a black card that changes it's meaning or otherwise elevates them into a 'more than the sum of their parts' equation.

The problem that I have seen is that the first type of humour is also the kind that wears off a bit. So if you are introducing the game to different groups frequently what you can find is that the people around you are killing themselves at all the obvious jokes you've already heard several times before, and meanwhile very little of that subversive wit that CAH can expose is being allowed to shine through.

The wife and I would like to try out a couple of board/card games in the coming months. Any recommendations on games that work well w/ just two people?

I've paged through a couple pages of this gigantic thread, but thought I'd just ask instead of going over all 53 pages :)

Cards Against Humanity is very much a game that can be over played. Best to play once or twice with a gap in between it to keep it fresh.

I love playing with people who havent played it before. Watching their expressions makes the game IMO

The wife and I would like to try out a couple of board/card games in the coming months. Any recommendations on games that work well w/ just two people?

I've paged through a couple pages of this gigantic thread, but thought I'd just ask instead of going over all 53 pages :)

I play about 90% of my games with just my wife, so I would just ask do either of you have games or activities you like together? For example, have you played any newer board games (such as Catan, Carassonne, Ticket to Ride)? Do you like trick taking games/card games? What types of themes do the two of you like?

I think I said it here, but I really liked Imperial Settlers to the point I debated if I was going to buy it or not. I'm currently holding off just because I think I'll get to play it enough as much as I want by playing it at the local game days. I currently have it in my Top 15.

The wife and I would like to try out a couple of board/card games in the coming months. Any recommendations on games that work well w/ just two people?

I've paged through a couple pages of this gigantic thread, but thought I'd just ask instead of going over all 53 pages :)

I think Pandemic is a fun couples game. Granted, I'm partial to co-op games, but the benefit to that is that you're both working together as opposed to trying to beat the other person.

Pandemic is also pretty quick to play and easily understood.

I think Pandemic is a fun couples game. Granted, I'm partial to co-op games, but the benefit to that is that you're both working together as opposed to trying to beat the other person.

Pandemic is also pretty quick to play and easily understood.

I second this.. My GF and I play it fairly often and the theme is a pretty easy one for most people to get into. Everyone we have played it with enjoys it. Great replay ability too, because the beginning of game conditions are never the same and the different characters you can play alter the strategy quite a bit.. Especially if you also have the expansion.

Girlfriend and I have been big into King of Tokyo, Dominion and Munchkin.

Awesome games.

+1 to Dominion for two players

I also like Lords of the Waterdeep for two players

Agreed on Pandemic, I think its a great 2 player game and still one of the best co-ops. We also like two player card games like Jaipur and Battle Line. Star Realms has replaced Dominion as our two player deck builder of choice, though both are very good.

Thanks for the advice everyone. Pandemic was at the top of my list to try and it sounds like we should definitely give it a shot.

cschex: We don't really play any games unless it's the typical party type of games w/ big groups. Now that we have a 1 year old and we're not out and about as much, we're trying different things to keep us entertained at home (get your minds out of the gutter, people).

Thanks for the advice everyone. Pandemic was at the top of my list to try and it sounds like we should definitely give it a shot.

cschex: We don't really play any games unless it's the typical party type of games w/ big groups. Now that we have a 1 year old and we're not out and about as much, we're trying different things to keep us entertained at home (get your minds out of the gutter, people).

Try Star Realms. It's really cheap and has a small footprints and is a good introduction to deckbuilders and also plays in 20-30 minutes. We also really have been loving Viticulture lately

Some other thoughts on two player games:

-Balloon Cup is fantastic if you can find it. Plays quick, simple gameplay with good depth of strategy.
-Castles of Burgundy makes for a pretty great two player game as well. My only gripe is that the setup is kind of a pain.

It really depends on what you are looking for. The following are all good and play well with two players...

Ticket to Ride (if you go this route, go with the Nordic Countries version which is for 2-3 players) - Set collection/Hand management
Dominion / Paperback - Deckbuilding games
Agricola: All Creatures Big and Small (this is a streamlined two player version of Agricola) - Worker placement
The Duke / Hive - Abstract Strategy
Morels / Lost Cities - Card drafting
Pandemic / Escape:The Curse of the Temple - Co-operative
Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective - Deduction
The Mr. Jack Series - Deduction

Girlfriend and I have been big into King of Tokyo, Dominion and Munchkin.

Awesome games.

The wife and I love to play the two player of Tune in Tokyo. Oh, uh, wrong thread, sorry carry on.

Just me and another guy for game day today. So we broke out Labrynith: 2001-? The War on Terror.

What a great game. Sides are assymetrical. They do not play aliek at all. We goofed some rules that cost me the game. But it was a learning experience, so it didnt bother me too much. I cant wait to play it solo.


Sorry to refer to a really old post, but tarcone, if you see this, can you give me some more insight on this game? I'm looking into getting it for solo play, but I've seen some mixed reviews, mostly about the complexity.

The wife and I would like to try out a couple of board/card games in the coming months. Any recommendations on games that work well w/ just two people?

I've paged through a couple pages of this gigantic thread, but thought I'd just ask instead of going over all 53 pages :)
My wife and I like kingdom builder with two. As a bonus you will both learn new tricks and tactics as your play count increases. Playing together you will keep pace with each other. We think it works very well with two. There are also a couple of abstracts like hive and the duke that are made for two.

Sorry to refer to a really old post, but tarcone, if you see this, can you give me some more insight on this game? I'm looking into getting it for solo play, but I've seen some mixed reviews, mostly about the complexity.

I havent played this in a long time. I never did solo it. There is complexity. Its not an easy game to learn.
A suggestion would be to read the rules. Here is a pdf of them.

http://www.gmtgames.com/living_rules/Labyrinth-Rules-2011.pdf

There is a module on Vassal. You can play it there. And see what you think before you buy it. Or if you want to buy it.

Been having Takaido sitting on my shelf for almost a year, and we finally broke it out, and enjoyed it.. Been playing it online a lot. Great gateway game.

I got Lords of Vegas as a birthday gift a couple days ago. I'm getting together with some friends on Saturday night and hopefully there will be some takers willing to try it out.

Hey Fidatelo-

I've had Lords of Vegas on my shelf for a while along with Vegas Showdown (a similar game) but haven't busted either out yet.

Did you play it? If so, what were your thoughts?

Been having Takaido sitting on my shelf for almost a year, and we finally broke it out, and enjoyed it.. Been playing it online a lot. Great gateway game.

It's a good lightweight family game and it is just really relaxing to play. If you can, track down the Crossroads expansion - it adds strategic depth and replay-ability to it without making it overly complex

Been having Takaido sitting on my shelf for almost a year, and we finally broke it out, and enjoyed it.. Been playing it online a lot. Great gateway game.

It's a good lightweight family game and it is just really relaxing to play. If you can, track down the Crossroads expansion - it adds strategic depth and replay-ability to it without making it overly complex

I actually found this as a last-second gift for my oldest daughter, who in the past year has really taken to Japanese culture in a big way. We've had a chance to play it once, just me and her, and we both had fun with it. The two player variant does introduce a bit of strategy since the game uses a dummy third player that is moved by either of the real players, which leads to interesting choices as the game moves along and one player or the other tries to amass collections for points. I was able to twig to using the dummy as a blocker sooner than she did so I pulled away by the end. She's asked to play it again, but time has been a bit scarce of late. It'll happen though. Not sure my middle daughter has the patience or understanding quite yet to see how to play this game (she's also not the best loser), but I'd still like to see how it plays with all live players. I know the Crossroads expansion exists, but I've read it can lengthen the game a bit with all the choices, something we may not quite be ready for.

Hey Fidatelo-

I've had Lords of Vegas on my shelf for a while along with Vegas Showdown (a similar game) but haven't busted either out yet.

Did you play it? If so, what were your thoughts?

Unfortunately no. We ended up watching hockey, then football, and then one guy had to leave so the remaining 3 of us just played Nidhogg for an hour or so. Hopefully I can get it to the table in a few weeks.

I actually found this as a last-second gift for my oldest daughter, who in the past year has really taken to Japanese culture in a big way. We've had a chance to play it once, just me and her, and we both had fun with it. The two player variant does introduce a bit of strategy since the game uses a dummy third player that is moved by either of the real players, which leads to interesting choices as the game moves along and one player or the other tries to amass collections for points. I was able to twig to using the dummy as a blocker sooner than she did so I pulled away by the end. She's asked to play it again, but time has been a bit scarce of late. It'll happen though. Not sure my middle daughter has the patience or understanding quite yet to see how to play this game (she's also not the best loser), but I'd still like to see how it plays with all live players. I know the Crossroads expansion exists, but I've read it can lengthen the game a bit with all the choices, something we may not quite be ready for.

Yea, we've stayed away from buying the expansion, as I don't think it meshes well with the original, it feels like it was crow barred into the game. If it added more spaces to the road or something it would have been better...but it makes it more confusing, and isn't as straight forward.

Hey Fidatelo-

I've had Lords of Vegas on my shelf for a while along with Vegas Showdown (a similar game) but haven't busted either out yet.

Did you play it? If so, what were your thoughts?

Read my posts, man! :)

My group enjoyed Lords of Vegas, even the people who usually hate that genre of game. Even on our first playthrough, it moves pretty fast.

Read my posts, man! :)

My group enjoyed Lords of Vegas, even the people who usually hate that genre of game. Even on our first playthrough, it moves pretty fast.

Crap, overlooked them CW. I'm going back to find them now.

A new way to find what kind of board games you will like: :)

Pick the Best Board Game to Play in Any Situation with This Flow Chart (http://lifehacker.com/pick-the-perfect-board-game-for-any-situation-with-this-1678596666)

Played Seven Wonders this weekend. Liked it a lot. The fact that you could obtain resources from your neighbors (and vice versa) and that you passed the hand after each turn made for a more interesting dynamic than just worrying about your own cards and board. You had to see what your neighbors were doing, too.

And I thought that the game did a good job of making every part of the game (science, resources, military) balanced enough that it rewarded different approaches.

And, because players take turns at the same time, the gameplay is pretty quick. Not much time of sitting around waiting for someone else to play.

Finally, because the hands go around, there is certainly value in memorizing the cards so that you know what your opponent has in his hand on any given turn. I was still learning, so I did not take that next step, but it certainly seems like a game that would reward that extra effort.

I'm sad that most of my gaming group isn't a fan of 7 Wonders. My roommate and I love the game, but her boyfriend (our other roommate) can't stand it. The rest of our group is pretty ambivalent, so because Tony doesn't like it the game doesn't find the table very often.

One of my group just played this with his family and they all really enjoyed it. It hasn't hot the table with our group. But this Sunday, 4 of us are getting together. And he is bringing it. Should be interesting.

Anybody play Roll for the Galaxy? Its new from the designers of (you guessed it) Race for the Galaxy. The objectives are very similar but you roll dice to see what you get to do.

My buddy picked it up and we are planning on playing it at my Boardgaming Extravaganza this weekend. I'll try to post a brief review.

Anybody play Roll for the Galaxy? Its new from the designers of (you guessed it) Race for the Galaxy. The objectives are very similar but you roll dice to see what you get to do.

My buddy picked it up and we are planning on playing it at my Boardgaming Extravaganza this weekend. I'll try to post a brief review.

Got to play a couple of five player games of it at my local meetup last weekend. For reference, I own Race and have about 50 plays (mostly two player) and am quite taken with it. That being said, I think Roll is going to replace it in my collection. It takes a slight bit of explanation for new gamers or folks unfamiliar with Race, though not nearly as much to grok as Race, but it is very easy to pick up and it is just so smooth. The dual sided tiles and having to buy the dice back are two mechanics that really add additional decisions and strategic layers. It's probably my favorite new game I've played since Kemet. I hope y'all enjoy it

A new way to find what kind of board games you will like: :)

Pick the Best Board Game to Play in Any Situation with This Flow Chart (http://lifehacker.com/pick-the-perfect-board-game-for-any-situation-with-this-1678596666)

Hardest rules ever is Axis & Allies? :D Definitely not made by a wargamer.

Got to play a couple of five player games of it at my local meetup last weekend. For reference, I own Race and have about 50 plays (mostly two player) and am quite taken with it. That being said, I think Roll is going to replace it in my collection. It takes a slight bit of explanation for new gamers or folks unfamiliar with Race, though not nearly as much to grok as Race, but it is very easy to pick up and it is just so smooth. The dual sided tiles and having to buy the dice back are two mechanics that really add additional decisions and strategic layers. It's probably my favorite new game I've played since Kemet. I hope y'all enjoy it

Nice, I'll have to look into it. Love Race for the Galaxy.

Got to play a couple of five player games of it at my local meetup last weekend. For reference, I own Race and have about 50 plays (mostly two player) and am quite taken with it. That being said, I think Roll is going to replace it in my collection. It takes a slight bit of explanation for new gamers or folks unfamiliar with Race, though not nearly as much to grok as Race, but it is very easy to pick up and it is just so smooth. The dual sided tiles and having to buy the dice back are two mechanics that really add additional decisions and strategic layers. It's probably my favorite new game I've played since Kemet. I hope y'all enjoy it

Cool, after reading the rules today, I am really looking forward to it.

I ordered BattleCON: Devastation of Indines on the weekend, should show up later this week. I'm pretty excited, it looks like a lot of fun.

Has anyone played Legendary Encounter: An Alien Deck Building Game?

I just read about it over on Rock, Paper, Shotgun and bought it pretty much immediately.

A co-op, Alien/Aliens-based, deck building game? I can't CAN'T own such a game.

Hardest rules ever is Axis & Allies? :D Definitely not made by a wargamer.

I saw that too and chuckled a little. Either that or this is for casual gamers and it's pretty much implied that any wargame you have on your shelf is orders of magnitude more complex than that and there's no chance in hell any casual gamer would play them so why bother. A&A is about as far as they're likely to go. :D

I saw that too and chuckled a little. Either that or this is for casual gamers and it's pretty much implied that any wargame you have on your shelf is orders of magnitude more complex than that and there's no chance in hell any casual gamer would play them so why bother. A&A is about as far as they're likely to go. :D

Very true!! Although we recently got a couple of non-gaming teacher friends to join us to learn how to play the Battle of the Five Armies. I'm sure it helped they were fans of the Hobbit, but still they got hooked and want to play more games.

20 years ago, Axis & Allies probably was THE only intro war game you could get casual gamers into. Now, there are so many other options that might work.

Has anyone played Legendary Encounter: An Alien Deck Building Game?

I just read about it over on Rock, Paper, Shotgun and bought it pretty much immediately.

A co-op, Alien/Aliens-based, deck building game? I can't CAN'T own such a game.

I really enjoy Legendary Marvel (and love the theme much more than I care about Aliens) but I think Legendary Aliens is the superior co-op game. It's really good, quite difficult and you really have to emphasize teamwork or you die horribly. If you like Aliens and co-op games, you will almost certainly like this

If you like Aliens and co-op games, you will almost certainly like this

These are two of my favorite things, so... yes!

The Green Bay Packers recently discovered Settlers of Catan.

http://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/columnists/himmelsbach/2015/01/15/kentucky-basketball-paid-several-hundred-thousand-dollars-face-national-teams-bahamas/21806935/

The Green Bay Packers recently discovered Settlers of Catan.

http://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/columnists/himmelsbach/2015/01/15/kentucky-basketball-paid-several-hundred-thousand-dollars-face-national-teams-bahamas/21806935/

I'm clearly missing the joke. Unless this is what you meant to paste instead and had an oops?

http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-packers-of-catan-green-bays-board-game-obsession-1421346102

I'm clearly missing the joke. Unless this is what you meant to paste instead and had an oops?

http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-packers-of-catan-green-bays-board-game-obsession-1421346102

Doh! My bad. Copy and paste fail.

I'm clearly missing the joke. Unless this is what you meant to paste instead and had an oops?

http://www.wsj.com/articles/the-packers-of-catan-green-bays-board-game-obsession-1421346102


Love that this article is trending on Facebook. I imagine the games publisher does too :)

<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings> </xml><![endif]--> I just wrapped up board gaming weekend, this past weekend. I got to play a lot of new (to me) games courtesy of my buddy from Indiana. I will review them below:

Roll for the Galaxy – This is published by Rio Grande Games who also publishes Race for the Galaxy. Roll for the Galaxy is very similar to Race for the Galaxy, except that instead of using cards, you use dice, lots and lots of dice. The game concepts are very much the same – it’s a VP game and you generate VP by building developments, settling worlds and consuming goods (just like Race), but you resources are dice and money. Two things I like about Roll over Race is that it is a little easier to teach and it plays much quicker (45 minutes for a 5 player game.)

Machi Koro – This game is best described as a cross between Settlers of Catan meets dominion. The object of the game is to build your 4 structures (each player has the same 4) which cost a varying amount of money and provide a benefit when they are completed. There are 16 income generating cards that you can buy. Each card is triggered by 1 or 2 numbers which are rolled on the dice. Initially you start with 1 die and can add the second die when you complete you least expensive structure. Some of the cards only generate income for you. Some cards generate income for everyone who has that card and some cards force you to play other players who have that card. After you roll and collect income, you may purchase 1 card and put it in play. This game plays quickly, but is very highly luck dependent, so if you don’t like games where the dice heavily influence the outcome you might not like this game.

One Night Ultimate Werewolf – I think this game might have been talked about earlier up thread, but I give a brief synopsis. If you like Werewolf, you will really like this game. The game comes with a smart phone app, which can take the place of a narrator (a big plus over regular werewolf). The objective is the same as werewolf. Lynch a villager, the werewolves win. Lynch a werewolf and do not lynch a villager (ties will lynch both), village wins. What makes this work for one night, is that everyone knows what they are at the start of the game, but because certain roles allow peoples’ cards to be switched, you don’t know what you are at the end of the game. The game plays quick (you can change the length by changing the timer length on the smart phone app. The only drawback is that you really have to be around a table to play this game, so you can’t just sit around the campfire and play.

Son’s of Anarchy – I don’t watch the show so I can’t say if they captured the flavor well or not. I can say that the game is fun. The objective is to accumulate money by exploiting locations or selling bags of stuff and/or guns. It is a worker placement game at its heart and played quickly with 3 players (2 of which didn’t know how to play). There are a lot of locations and “event” cards, only some of which get used each game so it is highly variable and has a lot of replayability.

Nothing Personal – this is a worker placement game at its heart, with a mafia based theme, although instead of workers, you are placing influence on mobsters to try to accumulate respect (VP) and cash. You place influence by playing cards which direct you where you can place influence. After everyone has played one card, the price of playing a card can be changed by any player by declaring it and paying the cost they just declared. Each mobster generates respect or cash for you based on their personal rating which is then influenced by their position in the organization. Also, each position in the organization has an ability which is resolved after respect and cash are handed out. These abilities range for whacking another mobster, to re-arranging influence tokens on mobsters. Mobsters are taken out of play by whacking them or sending them to jail if they have more than a certain number or influence markers on them. I was lukewarm on this game. I think I need a couple more plays to decide if I will like it or not.

We also played Forbidden Island which is a nice simple coop game.

Roll for the Galaxy, Machi Koro and Ultimate Werewolf got lots of plays this weekend.
<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>X-NONE</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/> <w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/> <w:OverrideTableStyleHps/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="--"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true" DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99" LatentStyleCount="267"> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin-top:0in; mso-para-margin-right:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt; mso-para-margin-left:0in; line-height:115%; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:11.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style> <![endif]-->

We also had a game day yesterday. 4 of us got together. Played a few games.

We started with 7 Wonders. I was surprised. Its a really good game. Quick, decisions to make. Different strategies. Good stuff. I ended up winning with a balanced strategy.

Then we moved to Tiny Epic Kingdoms. This was okay. Its not as epic as I thought. I had fun, but it didnt meet expectations. I KSed Tiny Epic Galaxies. I hope it is better then Kingdoms.

Then on to the meatier game of the day. We played Fire in the Lake. The most complex game in the COIN series. I liked it. It has a different feel then Cuba Libre and A Distant Plain (the others Ive played). Its a lot of fun, and I like the game. We played a short game. But I want to get into a long game to see how it plays out.

One guy left. With 3 we played Race for the Galaxy. This game is not one of my favorites. I wil play it because the others like it. But I never get into it. Its almost too fast. Seems like when im getting my strategy lined up, the game is over.

Another guy left, leaving 2. We broke out 1775: Rebellion. I havent played this one in awhile. And i really forgot how much fun it is. Quick, light war game. Area control. Card driven. Good stuff. I was the British and lost. But really enjoyed the game. We messed up a rule, I think. We were killing guys when they should have fled, I believe. Shooting them in the back as it were. I need to check that.

Great day. Looking forward to the next one.

I still enjoy this thread to see what games you guys are playing so I can check for an iOS version.

Still playing lots of Brief History of the World and Puerto Rico with some Forbidden Island and Catan.

On the card game side, I've been obsessed with Dead Man's Draw, a clever, addicting push-your-luck card game with events, made by Stardock.

I just picked up Eclipse for the iPad. Playing the tutorial. Looks like i might enjoy it more then the board game.

Also, I saw a game that looks like Axis and Allies. Its called Ambition; The Strategy War game. It has no reviews to it. Im really intrigued, but not sure I want to spend the $4. I know, i know. Cheap dude. :)
Anyone played it?

Shameless self-promotion for a video I uploaded showing off the components for the latest release of the Second Season Football board game. Looking forward to pre-playing SuperBowl XLIX...

Second Season Football Unbagging Video - YouTube (http://youtu.be/mlhvFadSgUM)

Al

Shameless self-promotion for a video I uploaded showing off the components for the latest release of the Second Season Football board game. Looking forward to pre-playing SuperBowl 49...

Second Season Football Unbagging Video - YouTube (http://youtu.be/mlhvFadSgUM)

Al

Sweet. I'll check it out after work. I just posted my review of the game on my Field Generals blog. I'll probably do an update once I get ahold of the updated game. It's a very good game.

Had my beginning of the year mini-spree. Got the following games on the way:

Field Commander Nimitz
No Peace for Spain
C&C Austrian Army & Prussian Army
War & Peace
Napoleon (Columbia Games)
Tiger Leader
and my Paths to Glory P500 is getting shipped out soon.

After this, nothing else on the horizon for 2015 I want other than any of my P500 things that get (re)printed and the kickstarter for the reprint of Age of Empires.

- Been playing lots of Masters of the Gridiron lately. Fun little football card game.

Shameless self-promotion for a video I uploaded showing off the components for the latest release of the Second Season Football board game. Looking forward to pre-playing SuperBowl XLIX...

Second Season Football Unbagging Video - YouTube (http://youtu.be/mlhvFadSgUM)

Al

Good video - can't wait to get mine (apparently this week!). Subscribed to your channel as well!

Entertaining video, thanks for sharing! Not sure I'd get much use out of the instant results cards, but I'm loving the streamlined book. And Seattle's Defense…WOW!

I've got to catch up in this thread.

Entertaining video, thanks for sharing! Not sure I'd get much use out of the instant results cards, but I'm loving the streamlined book. And Seattle's Defense…WOW!

Thanks! Just posted another one...

Second Season - 2015 Components Impressions - YouTube (http://youtu.be/gHpYa5jNLwo)

What's the consensus best tabletop football game? Or tabletop sports game in general?

What's the consensus best tabletop football game? Or tabletop sports game in general?

I know that for me, my current favorites (really a combination of solid results, interesting gameplay and intuitive design) are:

Second Season Football from Plaay (my new version is on its way!!!)

Red, White and Blue Racing from Plaay (I've probably had the most fun of any tabletop sports game with this one)

For baseball, I'm torn between Strat and History Maker. I like Strat's results but I don't feel that the game is as exciting/interesting. History Maker is a great play but I'm not sure the results are necessarily where I want them to be.

I think my next purchase will be a hockey game, just not sure which.

Red, White and Blue Racing from Plaay (I've probably had the most fun of any tabletop sports game with this one)

Been tempted by it more than once, never pulled the trigger.

Plaay probably has my all-time most fun tts game though: Roller Rumble

If you're old enough to remember the T-Birds, the classics & legends cards make it a blast & it does a great job of handling the action in a manner that feels "right".

Hey JimGa-

I own Roller Rumble and the demolition derby game but am yet to break them out. While it's a niche game, I've LOVED the times we've played the bowling game that PLAAY put out as well.

I do remember the classic Roller Derby teams and may have to break that out very, very soon!

Demolition Derby game? Where?

What's the consensus best tabletop football game? Or tabletop sports game in general?

Of the ones I've reviewed in my blog, I like 4th Street Football the best. It's got a lot of depth, actual play cards, and really handles match ups well. I gave it a 10.

If you want something that's not as complicated but still very good, then go with Second Season. Not as many components, simple and smooth game play. Gave it a 9, but after Padres video the enhanced book may bump up my score once I get my hands on a copy. It seems much more streamlined.

For baseball, I'm torn between Strat and History Maker. I like Strat's results but I don't feel that the game is as exciting/interesting. History Maker is a great play but I'm not sure the results are necessarily where I want them to be.


History Maker is my baseball game of choice (currently winding down a 1977 Phillies project), and yes, you need to be able to sacrifice a certain level of statistical accuracy to enjoy the game. But, to be fair, that was Keith's point when making the game. It's a view of the season from the start - looking ahead - as opposed to the other games which use the stats to look back and reproduce what really happened.

That said, I am very happy with the way the Phillies have played through 134 games. I have them performing only 1 game better than real life at this point in the season. Batting average for the team is dead on, but there are players hitting up to .020 worse than they did in real life, and others .020 better. There's also some crazy stuff like Schmidt striking out a LOT more than real life, but everyone else's numbers are fine. And Carlton has struggled to keep his ERA below 4.00. I like the fact that as a "manager" I've had to deal with unforeseen issues, and that the game has strategic choices for me to make to offset problems or capitalize on advantages.

In the end, HMB is more of a game than a simulation, and that's the charm.

Demolition Derby game? Where?

It's called Demo Derby Smash-Down it's published by PLAAY.com games. Keith was planning to discontinue the game, but a recent uptake in interest has him looking into a limited re-issue. You may want to send him an e-mail for more info: info @ plaay dot com

It's called Demo Derby Smash-Down it's published by PLAAY.com games. Keith was planning to discontinue the game, but a recent uptake in interest has him looking into a limited re-issue. You may want to send him an e-mail for more info: info @ plaay dot com

I had no idea about plaay.com. Definitely going to buy some of these games. Thanks!

I had no idea about plaay.com. Definitely going to buy some of these games. Thanks!

I'm intrigued as well, but I can't see myself enjoying these games solo (I've got FOF, Action PC and OOTP for solo play). I'd need to play them against somebody and I don't know anybody as nerdy as me that would want to play me :)

If you're looking for simulations, my favorites are from insidesports.com. Their baseball game in particular embraces the DIPS model and doesn't suffer the problems replicating statistical outliers like the typical 50/50 models out there.

PLAAY.com's games are great because they are more attribute based than tried and true ratings. As Padres mentioned above, you lose a "little" accuracy, but who's to say a model that replicates statistics dead-on is really accurate, anyway? For instance - let's say we're trying to create a Roger Maris of 1961. A "statistically accurate" game will create a card that replicates 61 home runs. However, random numbers means it actually generates a bell curve with the mean at 61 home runs. Is this really accurate? Now, the normal is 61 and an outlier could very well be 71. Wasn't 61 HRs an outlier in itself?

Statis Pro Baseball and Basketball are my favorite sports sims. Ive been looking for March Madness, but haven't come across a copy yet. I want to replicate NCAA tourneys, badly.

I'm intrigued as well, but I can't see myself enjoying these games solo (I've got FOF, Action PC and OOTP for solo play). I'd need to play them against somebody and I don't know anybody as nerdy as me that would want to play me :)

Good post. :) Back in the 70's and 80's I would play Strat-o-Matic and Statis Pro baseball coaching both teams since I didn't have any siblings or friends who were interested. I eventually graduated to Micro League Sports and then Diamond Mind and OOTP.

About 8 years ago I realized that I spend all day on a computer for work and was no longer interested in logging even more hours on the computer at home, so I started looking into tabletop sports games again and have been hooked. I've also branched out into games from other genres, both solitaire and "gasp" with other humans. :)

Anyway, most sports games these days can be played just as well solo as with other people. With tabletop gaming though, it's more about the journey (spending a quiet evening rolling the dice) than the destination (churning through multiple seasons).

Al

I had no idea about plaay.com. Definitely going to buy some of these games. Thanks!

Cool! And if you want to see what the community is like, head on over to the Delphi forums, lots of activity....

I forgot Plaay was redesigning Titlebout. I loved that game. It disappeared in my travels. I really miss that game. Its a classic.

Also, I want to throw out a game company that makes dice sports games. They are based in Australia, but the games are cheap and the size would make shipping relatively inexpensive.
The games are light, but look fun. I havent purchased one yet, but they have caught my eye. I have to up my gaming budget before I jump on these.

Pocket Sports (http://www.pocketsports.com.au/)

I had no idea about plaay.com. Definitely going to buy some of these games. Thanks!

FWIW, as long as you're fine with the attribute-based systems then you won't be disappointed. Keith does a fantastic job and seems like one of the best guys in the genre I've come across.

If you do buy something(s) then make sure you subscribe to the monthly email newsletter & check out the freebies d'load section on the website. There's usually something good in the newsletter as a freebie & there's all sorts of stuff (both official & user-created) of interest archived.

Good post. :) Back in the 70's and 80's I would play Strat-o-Matic and Statis Pro baseball coaching both teams since I didn't have any siblings or friends who were interested. I eventually graduated to Micro League Sports and then Diamond Mind and OOTP.

About 8 years ago I realized that I spend all day on a computer for work and was no longer interested in logging even more hours on the computer at home, so I started looking into tabletop sports games again and have been hooked. I've also branched out into games from other genres, both solitaire and "gasp" with other humans. :)

Anyway, most sports games these days can be played just as well solo as with other people. With tabletop gaming though, it's more about the journey (spending a quiet evening rolling the dice) than the destination (churning through multiple seasons).

Al

Interesting perspective. The wife and I are trying to cut back on our screen time and are going to give board games a shot. I bought Pandemic the other day. Now just need a free night to try it.

Statis Pro Baseball and Basketball are my favorite sports sims. Ive been looking for March Madness, but haven't come across a copy yet. I want to replicate NCAA tourneys, badly.

I started as a 10 year old on the old Statis-Pro games. I will tell you that March Madness is frequently available on eBay. It's an entirely different beast than the old Statis-Pro games - it very much attempts to be a quick play type of game, but there are plenty of quick play games out there that play the game of basketball much better (see the Tabletop Sports forums on delphi for info).

I forgot Plaay was redesigning Titlebout. I loved that game. It disappeared in my travels. I really miss that game. Its a classic.
Pocket Sports (http://www.pocketsports.com.au/)

PLAAY.com isn't re-releasing Title Bout, it's a company called PT Games.

title bout boxing | PT Games Sports (http://sports.ptgamesinc.com/advanced-title-bout/)

Like tarcone, I'm a big fan of Statis Pro Basketball as a sports sim. I think it's the best streamlined sports sim out there. Lots of fun. March Madness is an excellent game as well.

Padres, I followed your thinking. At some point I realized I use computers all the time in teaching, especially now that students have devices too. I prefer board games now for my entertainment and get more enjoyment in "watching" a game between two football teams than trying to play Madden. And since my passions are football and war gaming, I'm a big fan of the "what-if" of board games.

Padres, I followed your thinking. At some point I realized I use computers all the time in teaching, especially now that students have devices too. I prefer board games now for my entertainment and get more enjoyment in "watching" a game between two football teams than trying to play Madden. And since my passions are football and war gaming, I'm a big fan of the "what-if" of board games.

Thanks, and I just took a look at your blog. Great articles and reviews. I'll be following!

Cool! And if you want to see what the community is like, head on over to the Delphi forums, lots of activity....

Like Padresfan I am a huge fan of the Plaay line of games and like him am good friends with Keith the designer and owner of Plaay Games. They are awesome. I am not a race or Nascar fan but bought and have greatly enjoyed the Red, White and Blue Racing game. I am looking to sell it so if anyone is interested let me know.
My favorite games all come from Plaay especially the baseball game HMB, Soccer Blast which I am going to start rating WC sets for, and Second Season football. The Hockey game is also really good.
Here is the Delphi forum -
"Sports Board Games for Fun" forum I run:
Delphi Forums Login*-*Welcome! Please log in. (http://forums.delphiforums.com/SGFF1)
Table Top Sports forum:
Delphi Forums Login*-*Welcome! Please log in. (http://forums.delphiforums.com/tabletopsports)
Plaay forum:
Delphi Forums Login*-*Welcome! Please log in. (http://forums.delphiforums.com/plaaygames)

Thanks, and I just took a look at your blog. Great articles and reviews. I'll be following!

Thanks! My 2015 goal is to post more often there. I've been mostly focused on football games, but I'll do more war as the year goes on.

Galaril, you mentioned Plaay's soccer game. How is it? I've been dying for a good soccer board game but the best rated ones are OOP.

Colt -

Dan (Galaril) and I had a chance to play the soccer game live with it's creator, Keith Avallone, last year when I visited Colorado. The game is really a lot of fun (even for a non-soccer-fan like me) and I think it won an award for best new sports game of 2014 in the One For Five gaming blog and newsletter. Definitely suggest giving it a look!

Thanks! My 2015 goal is to post more often there. I've been mostly focused on football games, but I'll do more war as the year goes on.

Galaril, you mentioned Plaay's soccer game. How is it? I've been dying for a good soccer board game but the best rated ones are OOP.
Al is right the Soccer game is excellent. I have CLassic SOccer which is the top of the heap for soccer games but with games taking 3-5 hours it is just to detail tracking every pass. Soccer Blast as are all the Plaay game surprisingly accurate for games that are designed to be pure simulation and they also are loads of fun.

Thanks. I'll add it to my purchase when I get the updated Second Season book.

I emailed Plaay about the Demo Derby game. Its out this upcoming week for a limited time.

I spent the evening getting my ass handed to me in Settlers by my kids. Yippee.

I spent the evening getting my ass handed to me in Settlers by my kids. Yippee.

Bet they loved that! The my son's birthday party sleepover ended with us teaching them Ticket to Ride. They loved it. Then my wife and daughter played a game of it with me. My wife beat me by one point and threw her hands up in victory. I think she might be a little competitive.

So decided to try this YouTube Channel thing since I've been on a roll with posting videos about board games. Link is in my signature...

Al

The wife and I played Pandemic this weekend, our first crack at a "non-mainstream" board game.

I played it solo when she was gone in the afternoon to get a feel for the rules and how everything worked. I didn't want her to lose interest if we both started from scratch and it took us forever to figure out how to play.

When we played together in the evening, it started off kind of slow because it's a lot to explain at the beginning. But after we got going, she got into it and enjoyed it. We actually won our first game, and I don't even think we accidentally cheated! We played the easiest setting, w/ only four epidemic cards.

I'm sure we'll play again this week. If neither of us tire of the game, perhaps we've discovered a new hobby.

Good to hear, APC!

I hope it blossoms and you've taken your first collective step into a larger world!

Congrats! Pandemic was the first hobby board game my wife and I played as well.

Three years and 75 games later (and no closet space) I'm not sure if she regrets her enthusiasm or not. Anyway, there are tons of good recs in this thread for games if you decide y'all want to branch out.

I'm finding Pandemic to be the most successful gateway game that I've tried with my non-gamer friends.

Bet they loved that! The my son's birthday party sleepover ended with us teaching them Ticket to Ride. They loved it. Then my wife and daughter played a game of it with me. My wife beat me by one point and threw her hands up in victory. I think she might be a little competitive.

Yeah, we have a really good time, although it gets pretty heated. There's usually a lot of (semi-good natured) name calling and some times even tears. My middle son actually went so far as to watch some YT videos on game strategy. He happens to have a 3 game winning streak going at the moment. He was really dominating in the sheep trade and my youngest was getting pissed (we all were.) I made a comment about not gloating so much and the youngest jumped in and said "yeah, you don't have to rub your sheep in my face." We all just lost it. Such a good game, plus with 3 boys all the "wood" jokes just flow.

Also, I saw a game that looks like Axis and Allies. Its called Ambition; The Strategy War game. It has no reviews to it. Im really intrigued, but not sure I want to spend the $4. I know, i know. Cheap dude. :)
Anyone played it?

Looks like no AI. Also, maybe a little hard to see details, judging from the screenshots.

Been playing a couple of new games with the gaming group:

Eclipse - Space game, group compares it to Clash of Cultures which I have not played. Not a bad game with some neat research elements to it. Gave it a 7 on BGG.

Warrior Knights - started this last night. Has an interesting system to it (no dice, everything handled through card draws, turns are very random). Went off to a attack and had one of my cities revolt against me. Enjoying it, but will need another night to give it a rating. Leaning 8 at the moment.

Hey guys -

I just posted a long look at History Maker Baseball by PLAAY.com on my YouTube Channel - see my signature below for the link. I know the video went WAY to long and the sound is too low, but I'm still getting a hang of the process. If you like what I'm doing with the channel, I hope you'll subscribe and follow along.

Al

Advanced Title Bout is available for pre-Order. Im on the PT Games site. But the listing doesnt say pre-order. Its $39.

Is this the right game?

Colt - Here's a new 2-player casual football game to check out...

http://www.fliip.com/

Colt - Here's a new 2-player casual football game to check out...

http://www.fliip.com/

Interesting. Looks like a simplified version of 4th Street, which I love. Thanks...and I just happen to have this $25 Amazon gift card lying here. :D

Played BattleCON: Devastation of Indines for the first time last night. What a great game! Reasonably simple, yet super deep. I woke up this morning immediately wanting to play again. Can't recommend this one enough.

Hey guys - I just added a new Hands On video to my YouTube Channel for the card game "Onirim." It's primarily meant to be played solo, but there are rules for cooperative and 2-player games as well. Just follow the link to my channel below. - Al

Just posted another board game episode today, this time about Demo Derby Smash-Down by Plaay Games. It's fun covering games that I know nobody else will. :) Follow the links in my signature to get to the YouTube Channel... Al

Just watched your video. Thanks.
I ordered it tonight. Dont tell my wife.
Looks like a fun game. Will be my first Plaay game.
How long did it take to get after you ordered?

Very cool video. Not my personal cup of tea to buy, but I would happily give that one a try if someone had it. Thanks!

I recently finished up a review of 1775 Rebellion on the Field Generals site. Played it solo, then my son got interested enough to join in toward the end. Just a fun game to play in an hour or two.

Just watched your video. Thanks.
I ordered it tonight. Dont tell my wife.
Looks like a fun game. Will be my first Plaay game.
How long did it take to get after you ordered?

Very cool! Games from Plaay usually arrive within 5 business days.

Very cool video. Not my personal cup of tea to buy, but I would happily give that one a try if someone had it. Thanks!

I recently finished up a review of 1775 Rebellion on the Field Generals site. Played it solo, then my son got interested enough to join in toward the end. Just a fun game to play in an hour or two.

I read your review earlier today, great job. I have the game as well and agree with everything you said. Wish I could get it to the table more often.

Thanks! It's one of those games I forget how much I enjoy until I get it to the table again.

Oh, got my new Second Season book just before the weekend. Everything from your video rang true. It's so much more streamlined now. Really looking forward to playing it soon.

1775 is an outstanding game. I really love playing it. It solos very well. And scales up to 4 equally well. Light, easy to learn but with some tough decisions and great replayability.
It was my 2013 game of the year.

Here I Stand.
How complex?
Are the rules easy to read and understandable?
Is it easy to teach?

Since 1775 can be solo, is there an iPad version?

Played X-Com over the weekend.

Enjoyable co-op game. You absolutely need exactly 4 people to play, and certain personalities will make playing the various roles much easier (for example, you really do need someone who won't cave easily to manage the budget).

I love the fact that you're on a timer, and decisions need to be made fast. It eliminates two of my biggest issues with co-op games - endless discussion over the perfect strategy, and one person tending to dominate all decisions. That said, I really wish the manual, well, existed. There's something to be said for learning the game by playing the tutorial level, BUT, there were several times when nuanaces of certain mechanics were in doubt, and we had to hit boardgamegeek to seek clarification. That kind of stuff really should be in the manual. We're still left without knowing if we did certain things correctly.

I have a few issues with balance (biggest one is satellites and interceptors both can fight UFOs, and satellites are just light years more efficient at ufo blasting), but we'll see if that changes on subsequent playthroughs.

Since 1775 can be solo, is there an iPad version?

I don't think so, but that would be awesome.

Here I Stand.
How complex?
Are the rules easy to read and understandable?
Is it easy to teach?

I found it to be fairly easy to pick up, but I had played Virgin Queen before. VQ has more going on, so I would think HIS is the easier to learn. The only part that'll take some time to wrap your head around will be the religious wars between the Protestants and the Pope. It's not that bad really, just something unique to this game.
Once you grasp it, it should be easy to teach people interested in this sort of game.

Since 1775 can be solo, is there an iPad version?

I played with some modifications to make it solo. It's built as a 2-4 player game, but isn't hard to switch to solo.

Would be awesome if there was a iPad version of it. Sadly, I don't know of anything remotely close to this on the iPad. Shame since it would probably port really well.

I got together with 3 other guys on Saturday night and we managed to play 3 different games.

First we played Splendor. The other guys had played this before, I had not. Pretty fun game! Easy to teach, a bit of strategy, and nice components. A good game to start off an evening I'd say, and also probably a decent gateway into board games for the uninitiated.

Next we played BattleCON. Well, 2 of the guys played and the other 2 of us who had played before (only once each) coached them. I enjoyed coaching/watching, and the battle was a good one. I think both of the guys who played liked it but I wasn't sure. To me its a fantastic game, though.

Finally we ended the night with Lords of Vegas. None of us had played it and I had watched a brief review video back when I got it at Christmas but had forgotten all the details. The manual is total garbage. I mean, it's all there, but it is horribly written. Once we finally got the gist of what was going on it turns out the game is fairly simple to play, but they don't help out with that manual. Anyways we had lots of fun and I'd play it again. More luck-heavy than most games nowadays but given the Vegas theme it feels appropriate.

Has anybody grabbed the X-Com board game? I've got some interest in it.

Has anybody grabbed the X-Com board game? I've got some interest in it.

Coffee Warlord wrote some thoughts on it a few posts up.

Coffee Warlord wrote some thoughts on it a few posts up.

Thank you sir!

Have you guys gone back to the beginning of this thread? Its interesting to see how it has evolved.

Pretty much started before the advent of computers. :)

Games I want to play in the near future:

XCom: It's a matter of convincing three friends to agree to play this, the hybrid video/board game is really interesting (Golem Arcana is the only other game of this nature I can think of)

Amazon.com: Xcom: The Board Game: Toys & Games (http://smile.amazon.com/Fantasy-Flight-Games-XC01-Xcom/dp/1616619686/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1423612044&sr=8-1&keywords=XCom+board+game)

Baseball Highlights:2045

Just got my kickstarter of this game, and it looks to have an interesting mechanic, and be good for 2-4 player action.

Baseball Highlights: 2045 Deluxe Edition: *Includes All 5 Expansions* (http://www.eaglegames.net/ProductDetails.asp?ProductCode=BBHDLX1)

FYI - There's really not much video game to XCom. It's just a novel X-Com themed interface, really.

I had a gift certificate from my birthday and was in the area of the store today so I stopped by. I looked hard at X-COM but after skimming some reviews on BGG I passed. I picked up Legendary Villains instead, which I'm sure I'll enjoy because I love the standard game. It has a nice play mat instead of a board, but good god the cardboard 'insert' is horrific. I'm not sure what to do inside that box but it can't stay as it is.

For the record, it's not really necessary to have four people for XCom. My wife and I played, and we just each played two roles. When you're learning the game, it's a challenge, but after a couple of rounds, you get it.