Reply With QuoteNot a real boardgamer, but I've been playing Settlers of Catan every few weeks with some buddies, and it's a lot more fun than I expected. The bargaining and pacts and broken alliances that happen in the game are what make it for me.
I'm just starting to get back into this fantastic hobby, and was wondering if many of you guys out there are into it as well. I've just received my copies of Age of Mythology and the highly renowned Puerto Rico. They both use a very similar game mechanic (the former borrowing from the latter) and are both highly rated - Puerto Rico currently being the highest rated of all, at least on http://www.boardgamegeek.com. I'm really excited to start playing these puppies.
So, it'd be great to hear what other board games are favoured by the QT3 crowd. Also, if anyone could recommend any that are good solo experiences as well, that would be great. I'm all for a wide variety of styles, but I have to admit that I do tend to favour the Sci-fi/Fantasy theme. If there is anything, however, that any of you guys think is particularly outstanding, then please let me know!
Puerto Rico, of course, is just in a leauge of its own. Phenomenal game. :D
Not a real boardgamer, but I've been playing Settlers of Catan every few weeks with some buddies, and it's a lot more fun than I expected. The bargaining and pacts and broken alliances that happen in the game are what make it for me.
Ever checked out that certain Java version? Of course, it's not as good as the 'real thing' - especially if you include the expansions - but it's definitely entertaining enough for some online matches against buddies.Originally Posted by Gundaliro
Link: http://settlers.cs.northwestern.edu/
A friend just bought me the Game of Thrones boardgame for Christmas. Haven't played it yet but it looks fun.
I'll recommend the Thrones boardgame. For a licensed product its a fun game. I've enjoyed most of the stuff I've tried from Eagle Games. I think they release some games before they are really ready for play but they do a good job overall. My favorite is Napolean. It has a fun strategic aspect and a good combat system that abstracts the line battles of the time well.
Game of Thrones is great fun. It's deeper than the game mechanics seem to indicate. Each house has a different winning strategy.
In a five player game, beware Greyjoy in the early part of the game. Also, check the FAQ at the Fantasy Flight web site. There are some key rules clarifications, plus a play balancing hint, as Lannister is a bit weak in the opening part of the game.
Oooh... I love boardgames. Have you had a chance to try out Age of Mythology? The description on boardgamegeek looked really, really interesting.
As for recommendations.... my favorite board game ever is a game called Shogun. It's kinda hard to find nowadays, but it was a cross between Risk and Axis and Allies. The game took a long time to play, (~5-7 hours) and it's best played with just 2 people, even though it can be played by up to 5 people. But it was a lot of fun.
Count me among the Settlers of Catan fans, my buddy has the expansion so we can play 6 player games and it's always a good time.
I haven't tried it out yet, but I have read through the rules. Sure enough, the style of play is very similar to Puerto Rico, except that you can actually attack opponents here. It's going to be a little while until I get to try it out, but I'm really looking forward to it.
A Game of Thrones is one that is definitely on my "must buy eventually" list as I've heard and read nothing but good things about it.
How about this?
http://www.quartertothree.com/phpBB2...ght=boardgames :wink:
So far as I know, I haven't gotten any new games for christmas, but that's OK- I've got waaaay too many unplayed games right now as it is. Recently, we've been getting back into Cosmic Encounter ((Mayfair ed., with expansion)- the mother of all boardgames AFAIAC), and Mystery in the Abbey- kind of a Clue variant with absolutely beautiful production values and some actual, you know, skill and fun involved.
Haven't gotten Puerto Rico yet, nor the Game of Thrones- I got the impression the latter is more of a wargame, yes?
Most anything put out by Rio Grande games is fine. The Cheapass games are also lots of fun.
In addition to the usual suspects (Settlers of Catan, Puerto Rico) we play a lot of Carcasonne, Princes of Florence, and Ra.
Bohnanza (aka the bean game) is fun for larger groups (5-6 people) and makes for a good party game. If you're looking for something less involved, try Guillotine or Family Business.
Chrononauts, Munchkin, and Chez Geek are silly and best avoided. Fluxx is very silly, but it turns out to be sooo mindless that it makes for good after-dinner/food-coma/2-AM play.
If you're looking for Shogun, it was rereleased under the name "Samurai Swords" circa 1995, but may be hard to find now. The experience is very similar to the "Shogun: Total War" PC game (minus the tactical combat).
History of the World and Advanced Civilization are good if you're looking for wargames, as is Titan. However, to my knowledge, Titan is out of print.
Robo-Rally is a programmer's board game, but is also out of print.
Anyone know if the WizWar 8th edition is out yet?
- Alan
Ah yes, well, sometimes I forget about that handy little Search link up at the top there. :oops:
There is actually one other board game that I've tried and have since ordered. It should be showing up any day now - Duel of Ages. It's a two player game, or rather, a two team game. Any number of people can play any of the characters on each team. I can see people either loving or hating the premise. Heroes from different ages, (ancient, colonial, modern, and future), each with their own individual stats and special abilities form two teams to compete on a player created hex-based map for the most victory points. There's definitely a good share of luck involved as there is much dice rolling, but as an avid D&Der, that's fine with me. It kind of feels like ASL meets Talisman and is an absolute blast to play. Another positive note about this one - you set your time limit. After the buzzer goes, tally up your points and your done. :D
I think what really draws me to this one is the sheer number of combination of teams and special abilities. No game could really ever play out similarly as you've got all these different characters and maps to pick from. Those of you who really like to role-play your characters would probably get a good kick out of it.
Ra is currently, believe it or not, out of print!
Still a great game.
Also Capitol and Citadels are both big favorites.
If you're a Reiner Knizia fan don't miss out on Kingdoms and King's Gate.
Generally anything on the funagain top sellers list is a good bet. They also have great reviews, so you can read before you buy.
StockItToYa!
www.stockittoya.com
$12 at Toys R Us. Worth every penny.
Dont play if you want to continue enjoying Monopoly. This game makes Monopoly feel redundant.
Wow a Game of Thrones boardgame? I wish I had some friends to play with, that sounds awesome. I love those books and that world.
Boardgames intrigue me but I never had a reliable circle of people who enjoyed them enough to play them with me. The only real boardgaming I ever did was some Avalon Hill games when I was a kid (and didnt play half of them correctly, as they were too complicated for me) and then later some Axis and Allies in junior high.
olaf
I got Puerto Rico for Christmas. (2 copies, actually) Played a friends copy a few weeks back and I absolutely loved it.
Carcassonne is 5/5, but I hear that the stand-alone sequel Carcassonne: Hunters and Gatherers is even better.
Princes of Florence is a 4/5 due to too little interaction, but is a solid game.
Stepenson's Rocket is 5/5. Amazing game, but really only really fun with exactly 4 players.
Vinci is a few years old but still gets some use among my friends. 4/5
Bonhanza is really good, esecially if you got an argumentative group to play with. 4/5
Settlers always deserves a mention. If you haven't tried it yet, just buy it. It almost singelhandedly re-ignited the pretty dormant and not-so-lucurative european designer game market.
Falling is cheap and a typical 'filler' game. But try playing with some friends while having a couple of drinks.
Diplomacy is very old and fairly abstract, but with the right crowd it's really hard to get a better gaming experience. That is, if you have the 5-6 hours a decent game lasts... :)
Battle Lines is probably the best two-player game out there.
Let us know what you think once you get to try on some games. Best of luck!
I'm a pretty big fan of german board games, with a collection of nearly 40 games. My top three favorites at the moment are probably Attika, Euphrat & Tigris and Vinci, but I'm fond of pretty much everything from mr. Knizia.
Still have Shogun -- I bought the new version of it too, they renamed it Samurai Swords. Great game. It is still wonderful unlike Axis & Allies because it's never the same game.
I just bought Mystery of the Abbey and Pirates Cove for my dad for Christmas. I hope to play them this weekend.
Another note, Settlers of Catan is great, but the expansions (Seafarers, Cities and Knights) are sort of a diminishing return. You'll get some additional play out of them, but we find that the basic game suffices just fine.
I think we've played Seafarers a grand total of *one* time. I personally don't mind the Cities and Knights expansion (because I win a lot), but most of my friends feel (and I agree) that it isn't any *better* than the original. Oh, there is a 5-6 player expansion as well, but you're probably better off getting a second set and playing two three-player games.
- Alan
I've been boardgaming once or twice a week for the past couple of years (at least with the German titles). My collection runs about 120 titles so far, and I plan to add to that as soon as Attika and Industria both get here in the next week or two. Attika for me ranks up there with Puerto Rico for strategy depth and Industria is one of my new favorite auction games (though it is not all auction).
For recent titles, I really dig Alhambra for 3 or 4 players (it plays up to 6 but I recommend against), Cartegna is great for 4 or 5 players, and I just bought O Zoolo Mio (a Zoosim remake that is REALLY good as well), and Carcasonne:The Castle, a 2-player game by Reiner Knizia. Amun Re has gotten a lot of plays out of me as well and has been very enjoyable for a deep strategy.
For 'classics', I think everyone covered them, and I would also add Ra, Princes of Florence, Tigris & Euphrates, Samurai, and Through the Desert (notice a pattern?).
Lastly, for card games, I've been HOOKED on Tichu lately, a mix of poker and bridge. I think I have 45 plays of it so far for the year, most of them coming in the past 3 months.
If you want to know any specifics of these that you cannot find on the Geek, let me know. And of course, never forget www.brettspielwelt.com if you want to play some of these free online.
Don't think so,and I've been waiting a long time for an update to this game.
Some of the games I've bought this year:
Battle Cry of Freedom by Decision Games.It's a strategic game of the American Civil War in the guise of a card game.The Union player generally attacks(or tries to attack) certain 'battle cards',such as Vicksburg,Richmond,Manassaa,Fredericksburg,etc,so as to gain victory points and position to continue further attacks against the COnfederates,but the Confederate player can intercept the Union player,and make him fight on less important ground instead.E.g.,the Union could 'attack' the Vicksburg card,but be intercepted by the Confederate with the play of the Corinth card.If the Union player wins the battle at Corinth,he pockets the card,and is one step closer to Vicksburg.The Confederate similarly can disrupt the Union plans by playing various Invasion cards,such as Gettysburg or Perryville,and wrest the intitiative,providing he has the proper strategic movement card in his hand.The battles play out in an engaging manner,with some of the flavor of Magic:The Gathering,as Generals engage on each side and play battle cards or event cards to strengthen their attack/defense.Most of the cards also double as events which increase the player's 'Command Points',or decrease his opponent's,so there are decisions to be made as to whether to play the cards in a battle,or play them to influence the strategic will.
Really,the only weakness I see in the game is that the battles all have a certain sameness--you might forget whether you're fighting Vicksburg or Atlanta.ALso,fairly expensive for a card game,but worth the money to me.
Age of Napoleon by Phalanx Games.Beautiful components(maybe the most impressive cards ever seen in a 'We the People' style strategy game),rivaling most so-called German games,but this one is a serious attempt at a quick playing strategic wargame .Covers the years 1805-1815.I have not yet played this one other than solitaire,but it seems to play out fairly convincingly,with the cards being used to move armies,or influence politics,and in some cases influence battles.I'm looking forward to trying this one out with real opponents.
Europe Engulfed by GMT Games.This is a woodblock game in the COlumbia Games style,covering the war in Europe and North Africa from '39-'45.Recently received,so no play time yet,but the components are top notch,and seems simple to play.Standard woodblock combat mechanic of rolling dice for 'hits' in a battle,with a strategic layer added,including the ability to purchase 'special actions',which can be used for retreats,reinforcing attacked spaces,and additional attacks in a turn.Again,looking forward to playing this one.
Lord of the Rings-The Confrontation by Fantasy Flight Games/Knizia.This is a simple two player game,with the LotR theme,sort of like a simplistic looking Stratego with card play added,but it's way more hip than that.Each player has nine 'Stratego' like pieces,with the goal of reaching Mordor with Frodo for the white player,or killing Frodo or getting three pieces into the Shire for the dark player.All of the characters have special abilities,some of which 'trump' an opponent's piece.For example,the 'Orcs' automatically defeat the first attacked character,but Gimli automatically defeats the orcs.Most of the characters can only move forward,although some have special moves,and some of the spaces,such as Moria,allow special moves as well.Very simple,very quick playing,but still more depth than you'd expect.And it's really cheap--buy it!
I'm not really sold on 'Age of Mythology'--it's a sort of kludge of a bunch of other game systems.It's not bad,but I'm not particularly intrigued,either.I should admit my biases,though--I have tried a lot of Euro games,but most of them don't really grab me.I prefer wargames,and other games with strong themes.
Everyone should definitely buy LotR:The Confrontation! :)
I just might check it out. Put me down as a Settlers fan and since someone mentioned Titan ... why hasn't Titan been made into a computer game yet? :)Everyone should definitely buy LotR:The Confrontation! :)
I second that! An excellent, quick strategy game for two. A must buy for every board game and Tolkien fan, considering its cheap price.
So, Alan do you have no opinion on Starfarers? A lot of people really seem to like it, although it seems that this one is more random and less strategic than the others.
I'm not Alan, but I own Starfarers (as well as Starship which is the 2-player version). Definitely has the coolest bits of any game out there, but the game generally runs longer than I would like at about 2 hours for a 4-player. Nonetheless I enjoy pulling it out about twice a year for a game of it and would recommend it if you can find a copy on sale as it is not really worth the $50-$60 it normally sells for. If you want a game that expensive, pick up Ta-Yu instead.So, Alan do you have no opinion on Starfarers? A lot of people really seem to like it, although it seems that this one is more random and less strategic than the others.
There is a java-based game based on Titan called Collossus...somewhere. I am at work now, but can track down the web address if google does not turn it up.
Has anyone tried the new LotR Risk game--the one based on the whole trilogy, not the earier one that was based only on the events from Fellowship? I'm not a big Risk fan (too random for my tastes), but I've heard good things about this iteration, even from folks who hate classic Risk.
I was quite frustrated with Starfarers of Catan coming with about four different pieces broken out of the box. It seems like they went a bit overboard in elaborate and easily breakable plastic game pieces.
The two best sci-fi themed games I've played are the old 1979 edition of Dune from Avalon Hill (designed by the same guys that did Cosmic Encounter, and available on Ebay for around $30 if condition is not an issue), and Fantasy Flight's Twilight Imperium. The group of gamer-y friends I played a lot with last year found them both totally engrossing, full of convoluted diplomacy and strategic decisionmaking. But both games do require a significant time investment to play to completion.
I've got a closet full of "new wave" boardgames that I often inflict on non-gamer friends and guests. In that crowd, out of all of the games we've tried, it seems that Pirate's Cove and Knizia's Lord of the Rings, (not LotR: The Confrontation, which I agree is a perfect little gem of a game) have gone over very well. I am a huge, huge fan of the Lord of the Rings game, because of Knizia's brilliant design and the cooperative aspect, but deeply competitive people should probably steer clear unless the Sauron expansion is in use.
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