What BOARD GAME(s) have you been playing?

Played Red November and Condottiere.

Red November is just like I remember it: silly and fun. We got lucky on random fires (mostly hit where rooms were already flooded) and super unlucky trying to do repair/fix actions (most of them failed). We just barely won with about 2/3 of the sub unreachable to do locked hatches, flaming rooms, and flooded compartments.

Condottiere is really interesting. My first play, but it feels like a really good game. We got the 1st English edition (big Eurogames box) in a Math Trade because the forum posts made it sound like the earlier editions are more up my alley than the new FFG edition. We played by the 2nd edition rules. Has anyone played both the older editions and the newer FFG edition? As I understand it the FFG edition adds some complexity and I wonder if it's warranted.

I've a copy of a eurogames edition (not sure which but it is a book shelf size box) which I love. I have played the FFG version too.

The FFG version isn't terrible, and you can take out the cards they added. From memory, the main thing they added was a spring card as a direct counter for winter. Its not a deal breaker but it makes the winter cards less useful, which imo was a downgrade.

wadenels wrote: We played by the 2nd edition rules. Has anyone played both the older editions and the newer FFG edition? As I understand it the FFG edition adds some complexity and I wonder if it's warranted.

Most people back at BGG think the 2nd edition is inferior to the 1st and much more luck-based. Personally, I haven't played the first but I do think that the game as it stands in the 2nd Edition is too luck-based for my tastes.

I've played my first game of Summoner Wars with my wife late last night, I played the Sand Goblins and she played the Deep Dwarves (I guess those are the names of the factions, I have the Brazilian edition) I won by infiltrating and swapping her summoner with one of the champions, that and a few lucky rolls.

WOW!!!

I didn't even scratched the surface and I'm already lovin' it. And she liked it too.

I think it ran a little on the longer side, about 1 hour, but I feel it was just this first game with learning the cards and making sure we were in the right phases and all.

She already asked if we can play again tonight, and we sure will. I only have the Master set, do you guys have any favorite factions, or two that really battle well against each other?

Played War of the Ring last night and got to use the Lords of Middle Earth expansion. I kind of liked it. I played the Freeps. The extra action die were pretty cool though we played wrong for three or four turns. I was using all three until I remembered that you roll all three, providing you have Galadriel and a Elrond in play and Gandalf is the guide, but you must choose ONE to use for the turn. This slightly skewed the game my way but this is how we learn.

I really liked the new way the three rings worked. Different and specific effects rather than just to change an action die. More of a motivation to use them earlier in the game rather than hoarding them until Frodo is on the Mordor track as seems to usually happen.

So it was a fun variation. It may make the game a bit more balanced but that would take multiple games to tell. I don't think it's a must have at all but still pretty neat.

Yeah, I have a copy of that expansion but I've only played the base game like twice... the expansion seems like more of a "experienced players" thing.

Did you play with the alternate versions of all characters and whatnot? Maybe that IS the dice bit, I don't remember. Don't you have like secret choices on which to take or something?

There are alternate cards for all the fellowship but other than the Gandalf one, which allows for the use of the white/red action die, I didn't use them. I figured there was enough new stuff to track with the rings and dice.

I'd agree the expansion is for people more familiar with the game. I think much of it brings it in line with 1st ed. or the collectors edition. Galadriel and the Balrog in particular.

Josh still misses the amphibious attack ability of Umbar and the siege engines (which I despise) from the collectors ed. which are not part of this expansion.

Played Boss Monster, which I picked up for cheap. There's a decent game in there somewhere but as it is there just isn't much you can do most of the time. Some rules tweaks might make it better, but I already have plenty of games that don't need me to fix them.

Then Thunder Alley. That really is a quality race game. I like Formula D(e) but the size and length make it difficult to get out. Thunder Alley has a more immediate feel for the race in a fraction of the time. Hoping to get a lot more plays of that.

Michael Barnes wrote:
Anyone that beats the extreme "immersion, narrative, complexity, length, investment, depth" drum needs to stop. You want all that, you only need to own two games and then you can drop off of the forums:

1) Dungeons and Dragons
2) Advanced Squad Leader

Magic Realm if you want to go three. Maybe with a couple of kickers of some of GMT's top flight games like Navajo Wars or the COIN titles, maybe Up Front.

Utter bollocks. Nothing wrong with beating the drum for immersion and narrative if that's what floats your boat. I do agree though, the games you mentioned (bar MtG which I hate with a passion) are probably more than enough to get some depth. Might add Fields of Fire and maybe some OCS (fuck it, I'm a wargamer we live for narrative) but that would be it for me. So why do I have other games?.........clearly so I can talk knowledgeably with you assholes about those games.

I have decided that, far from being a social gamer, I am far more comfortable playing with myself (fnarr, fnarr). No rules arguments, no problem if I get tired etc etc. Being a bad loser doesn't matter, flipping the table doesn't come into it. Most of all, I really like my company, the witty humour, the shots of scotch and the sitting in my underpants.

Given the above, 5 minute games are a fucking waste of my valuable time. Don't need a filler game because I'm never late....

Life is good

repoman wrote: There are alternate cards for all the fellowship but other than the Gandalf one, which allows for the use of the white/red action die, I didn't use them. I figured there was enough new stuff to track with the rings and dice.

I'd agree the expansion is for people more familiar with the game. I think much of it brings it in line with 1st ed. or the collectors edition. Galadriel and the Balrog in particular.

Josh still misses the amphibious attack ability of Umbar and the siege engines (which I despise) from the collectors ed. which are not part of this expansion.

Yeah, I'd say LoME is more for experienced players. That said, I've got about three dozen plays of the base game in and it still has fresh things to offer. I've played LoME once so far - it is a lot less "stuff" added on than Battles of the Third Age was to first edition, and seems to be better balanced.