Front Page

Content

Authors

Game Index

Forums

Site Tools

Submissions

About

KK
Kevin Klemme
March 09, 2020
35165 2
Hot
KK
Kevin Klemme
January 27, 2020
20836 0
Hot
KK
Kevin Klemme
August 12, 2019
7428 0
Hot
O
oliverkinne
December 19, 2023
3981 0
Hot
O
oliverkinne
December 14, 2023
3506 0
Hot

Mycelia Board Game Review

Board Game Reviews
O
oliverkinne
December 12, 2023
2079 0
O
oliverkinne
December 07, 2023
2587 0

River Wild Board Game Review

Board Game Reviews
O
oliverkinne
December 05, 2023
2257 0
O
oliverkinne
November 30, 2023
2499 0
J
Jackwraith
November 29, 2023
3020 0
Hot
O
oliverkinne
November 28, 2023
1973 0
S
Spitfireixa
October 24, 2023
3696 0
Hot
O
oliverkinne
October 17, 2023
2626 0
O
oliverkinne
October 10, 2023
2462 0
O
oliverkinne
October 09, 2023
2291 0
O
oliverkinne
October 06, 2023
2509 0

Outback Crossing Review

Board Game Reviews
×
Bugs: Recent Topics Paging, Uploading Images & Preview (11 Dec 2020)

Recent Topics paging, uploading images and preview bugs require a patch which has not yet been released.

× Use the stickied threads for short updates.

Please consider adding your quick impressions and your rating to the game entry in our Board Game Directory after you post your thoughts so others can find them!

Please start new threads in the appropriate category for mini-session reports, discussions of specific games or other discussion starting posts.

What BOARD GAME(s) have you been playing?

More
09 Jun 2015 20:26 #203587 by bendgar
Wow. It's getting crowded in these forums.

My wife and I played Theseus last night. My wife played the Marines and I was the Aliens. She destroyed me. I thought that the two factions without the data point side bar would be balanced enough for us noobs. I was wrong. By the time I realized I had made some missteps it was far too late.

Even after loosing I am itching to try the same faction again. I love the trap engine you are building and the simple mechanics.

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
10 Jun 2015 07:52 #203658 by Legomancer
bumping this above the spam
The following user(s) said Thank You: bfkiller

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
11 Jun 2015 09:10 #203922 by Scott_F
Bump.

Played Dogs of War again recently. Still impressed with this game and the various factions. Too bad the 4 extra factions and some extra tactic cards were kickstarter only and can't be bought in retail, they add alot of variety to the game. Game is easy to learn and forces you to understand and factor in other players moves.

Second try of Unhappy King Charles. I'm really starting to like this game alot, possibly equal to Hannibal RvC or Twilight Struggle. The rules are still a bitch though and I'm pretty good with rules. Also after two games and reading on the forums it seems like the Royalists should win 60% or slightly more of the time. Play time was around 4 hours with a decent amount of rule checking, I'm hoping to get it down to about 3 hours for a full game soon. If I get a chance to play it again - so many rules are a huge entry barrier for most people, even if they are willing to play one two player game for 3-4 hours.

Had another 5 player game of Chaos in the Old World. Still love the game. I was Tzeentch and won the game, but not by much. Rat and Slaanesh were around mid 40s for points too and Khorne needed 3 ticks to go - he had a rough first round of three battles and no kills. Taught the game to two new people also. One of them made the comment of, "yeah the game is neat, I don't like the demon theme (although he loves Thunderstone and other fantasy crap), but I feel like you have the advantage because a new player can't win". Aside from the obnoxiousness of loving fantasy themed games and disliking demons in games his last comment highlighted why I hate his games. If I've played a game 10 times and I teach it to someone who has never played, I expect to win the game maybe 80% of the time. Otherwise why the hell am I playing this game so many times if it can be mastered after one play. One of his top games is Splendor so that explains it.

Played Dungeon Lords for the first time. I have alot of nostalgia for the PC game Dungeon Keeper, so I'm a fan of this theme generally. However I just hated the game. Low interaction and scoring similar to Agricola with a ton of minus points, and somewhat random assignments of heroes that either disarm all of your traps or constantly heal themselves. And an obscenely long rules explanation for what is a pretty simple game with a bunch of random mechanics.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Egg Shen

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
11 Jun 2015 10:30 #203941 by lj1983
I'm hoping to play Chaos in the Old World for the first time this weekend. Ideally we'll have just 4 players, and can play it vanilla. But if I've got 5, (and I have the expansion) do I play with the new chaos decks along with the 5th player?

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
11 Jun 2015 10:38 #203946 by charlest
I wouldn't. Five is a bit wonky (not bad but can produce weird results). I'd stick to base game with base chaos cards if possible. The only thing I'd recommend is letting everyone know they probably need to run away from Khorne or Khorne will win.
The following user(s) said Thank You: lj1983

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
11 Jun 2015 14:12 #204007 by ratpfink
Game night last night, I finally got to play Thunder Alley and I'm glad I did. I didn't really know what to expect going in as I never looked at the rules. Given it's a GMT game, I was actually expecting it to be a bit more complex than it plays. Which is super fun! There's a lot of screwage in this game as you try to break opponents out of the pack and leave them stranded. I don't think I've ever played a racing game with so much negotiation. It's great!

Followed that up with Magical Athlete which saw a crazy final race of Philospher, Druid, Martial Artist and Pirate. The player with the Pirate needed the Druid to win and him to finish 2nd in order to win the game on tiebreaker and pulled it off. Really fantastic as always.

Then played 1/2 a game of Tichu before calling it a night. Got to play 2 of my top 3 games, so it was a pretty great evening.
The following user(s) said Thank You: scrumpyjack

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
11 Jun 2015 14:51 #204016 by scrumpyjack
Drank some birthday beers and played Case 6 of Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective with my fiancee and two good friends. This is probably the easiest case we've experienced so far. I think we ended up with around 170 points. Really great game overall, even with the one Case early on which is utter bullshit. I've learned that even drunk I can still figure out a good mystery.

We also played Libertalia a few times over the past while. I'm really digging this game. I love the fact that the entire game is simply putting a card face down in front of you 18 times, but there's a huge amount of thought that goes into each choice. For example, my fiancee was very smart and saved her Granny Wata card (gives you 2 gold each turn if there are no other Watas on the board) each round and brought it into the next. Strangely three of us tied at 62 points, although I made a silly mistake that cost me 1 gold.

Overall two great games that I'm excited to keep playing. I heard there's an expansion coming out for Sherlock, which makes me happy that it won't just end after case 10.

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
11 Jun 2015 14:55 #204018 by Gary Sax

Scott_F wrote: Taught the game to two new people also. One of them made the comment of, "yeah the game is neat, I don't like the demon theme (although he loves Thunderstone and other fantasy crap), but I feel like you have the advantage because a new player can't win". Aside from the obnoxiousness of loving fantasy themed games and disliking demons in games his last comment highlighted why I hate his games. If I've played a game 10 times and I teach it to someone who has never played, I expect to win the game maybe 80% of the time. Otherwise why the hell am I playing this game so many times if it can be mastered after one play. One of his top games is Splendor so that explains it.


Oh man, I know what you mean. Like, you should expect to lose to an experienced player. You should think something is slightly fucked about the game if you don't, or alternatively that the experienced player you're playing is an idiot.

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
12 Jun 2015 16:15 #204139 by charlest
More Spartacus in prep for a review of the new Shadow of Death expansion. I'm really digging this although it's a bit more understated than the Serpent and Wolf expansion. I like how it makes Primus' just slightly more common and the narrative touch festivals incur. The boast mechanic is great and really fits in well with the design too. I was boasting like a mother in our four player game last night and it came down to the wire, with a player kind of coming out of nowhere to win. The more I play this game the more positive I am it belongs in my top 10.

Then we tried a 5 player game of Specter Ops, a title I'm reviewing for The Review Corner. I was looking forward to playing this game but I wasn't overly hyped or anything. I thought it'd be solid fun and I'd enjoy playing it, as I'm a fan of hidden move games.

Wow, with five players there's a traitor mixed in with the four Hunters (the players trying to find the hidden Agent) and the paranoia as we needed to lean on each other for surveillance but lacking complete trust was phenomenal. Can't wait to play this again and see if I like it as much with less than five, where the traitor aspect is no longer included. Very tense experience though.

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
12 Jun 2015 16:18 #204140 by VonTush
I watched a group of four play Specter Ops the other night and what really impressed me is that it was what...five or six pages of rules?

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
12 Jun 2015 16:25 #204141 by charlest

VonTush wrote: I watched a group of four play Specter Ops the other night and what really impressed me is that it was what...five or six pages of rules?


Yes! I usually read rules electronically, only using the physical book as a reference during play. When I was reading the PDF yesterday in prep for the game I thought something was wrong and the download was corrupted or something. No, it's a quite simple game at it's core, although a few things are a bit obtuse and not overly simple to grok at first (such as getting into and out of the car).

Once you get playing it flies by. With 5 it's a longer game (2 hours) mostly because of discussion. It felt like little downtime though except for the couple of instances where the agent player took way too long to decide where to move (over 5 minutes).

It feels like the most AT of in print hidden move games, unseating one of my underrated favorites Ninja: Legend of the Scorpion Clan. Most of the complications in Specter Ops arise from character abilities and items the Agent possesses. It feels like a trashy sci-fi version of Letters From White Chapel with more conflict. Full of clever little touches of setting.
The following user(s) said Thank You: boothwah, mikecl

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
12 Jun 2015 21:45 #204160 by mikecl

charlest wrote: Then we tried a 5 player game of Specter Ops, a title I'm reviewing for The Review Corner. I was looking forward to playing this game but I wasn't overly hyped or anything. I thought it'd be solid fun and I'd enjoy playing it, as I'm a fan of hidden move games.

Wow, with five players there's a traitor mixed in with the four Hunters (the players trying to find the hidden Agent) and the paranoia as we needed to lean on each other for surveillance but lacking complete trust was phenomenal. Can't wait to play this again and see if I like it as much with less than five, where the traitor aspect is no longer included. Very tense experience though.


I'm trying to get my hands on this one to see how it plays but I'm definitely interested. I love that board and think the characters are pretty cool too. The sniper locking down corridors, the Beast sniffing out the corners and the driver of the car using its motion sensor to scan for the Agent. Hopefully it plays as well as it sounds. I already have Fury of Dracula, not sure there' s room for two of these, but I'm open to it.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Dr. Mabuse

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
13 Jun 2015 07:41 #204192 by Chaz
I got a copy of Specter Ops recently, and in addition to the thin rules, I was surprised at how component-light it was. A small deck of cards, a pack of big identity cards, 8 minis, a small batch of counters, and the big pad of paper is about it. I dig it.

Contrast that with Alchemists that came in the same order, where there's just STUFF all over the place.

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
14 Jun 2015 09:44 #204257 by engelstein
Emerson Matsuuchi, the designer of Specter Ops (and the terrific VOLT: Robot Battle Arena) is our guest on the Ludology that just went live today.

ludology.libsyn.com/ludology-episode-106-hide-and-seek
The following user(s) said Thank You: Frohike, charlest

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

More
14 Jun 2015 12:12 #204262 by hotseatgames
Last night I introduced These Games Of Ours(tm) to my friend's family. First we played the new Epic Spell Wars set. It was my first time playing the new set and getting used to the new rules. It does add some slight complexity to the game but overall the changes are nice. My concern is that the new cards rely on the new mechanics a LOT, and I intend to eventually mix both sets into a giant deck. This will greatly dilute the new mechanics.

Then we played a 6 player game of Survive!. This elicited the response I was looking for; family members screaming at each other and making threats. After the game ended they immediately wanted to play again, which we did. The second game was bloodier than the first, since people were more familiar. Good times.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Gary Sax, Frohike, scrumpyjack

Please Log in or Create an account to join the conversation.

Moderators: Gary Sax
Time to create page: 3.686 seconds