What BOARD GAME(s) have you been playing?

DukeofChutney wrote: 51st State - picked this up on ebay for some lose change as i like tableau builders and Legomancer suggested it was reasonable. Enjoyed the game but it was much less interactive than i expected. My Appalachians couldn't get gas for love nor money. Ended up with a rather defective strategy. The rules and iconography are a bit of a mess.

51st State has no interaction (or very, very little). The New Era is marketed as an expansion to 51S but it's actually a re-do and it DOES have interaction. You can destroy opponents' locations or make deals with them. It's tricky, though, destroying is not necessarily the go-to thing to do unless you really hate something they have.

If you like the core play of the game and want more interaction, scrap 51S and go for New Era + Winter. For me, that's the solid combo. (You can play with the 51S cards as well, but there's no real reason to.) Naturally, Portal is bringing out a re-re-do next year.

I love the game and will be bringing it to Trashfest NE to teach to anyone who's interested.

So, New Era is the better game? It looks to be either out-of print or just really pricey.

Will the re-re-do next year contain both 51st State and New Era or is this some other beast?

More Apocalypse Chaos which still hasn't won me over. It's almost good but not quite there.

Then Roll For The Galaxy with five. I like this game but I realized my enjoyment corresponds 100% with how fast others play. When it drags out with people taking too long the joy plummets fiercely. I want to pull off my actions quickly and be slamming dice back to the table fast. There's nothing to think about or do while waiting. It's not a good game to shoot the shit over because it's highly mechanical and you want to be paying attention.

I pulled out Champions Of Midgard next, which is a game that really impressed me at Gen Con. This second play didn't disappoint. I see no reason to play Lords of Waterdeep post CoM as it's just as light and interesting with more dramatic action.

We then pared down to a three player game of Mottainai. Wow, this game is obtuse. It's like Chudyk decided to make it more opaque than Glory to Rome while simultaneously making it shorter. I'm not sure if I even enjoyed it but I'm still thinking about it.

Finally, tried out Tides of Time, a new two player drafting micro game from Portal. This is the best micro game I've played as decisions are meaningful and strategy is important. We played twice and I'd play again for sure.

Mr. White wrote: So, New Era is the better game? It looks to be either out-of print or just really pricey.

Will the re-re-do next year contain both 51st State and New Era or is this some other beast?

Ignacy has been sketchy on details for what's coming. It seems like it's going to be a sort of "best of everything" edition, but I really have no idea.

charlest wrote: Then Roll For The Galaxy with five. I like this game but I realized my enjoyment corresponds 100% with how fast others play. When it drags out with people taking too long the joy plummets fiercely. I want to pull off my actions quickly and be slamming dice back to the table fast. There's nothing to think about or do while waiting. It's not a good game to shoot the shit over because it's highly mechanical and you want to be paying attention.

We play RollFTG pretty briskly. Most of the phases don't rely on other players, but unfortunately the first one is "Explore" and that's where things can bog down. Thankfully, even with new players I haven't yet hit the point where someone is having to read and re-read every tile multiple times before being able to move on.

We played with a couple of people who just seemed to kind of space out. Three of us would perform our turn and upkeep and roll right after finishing, assigning dice immediately. The other two would dawdle for a couple minutes and then look up and realize we had already started the next turn in which case they'd collect their dice and start rolling.

I don't like to force people to play fast and do just enjoy hanging out with friends, but this game is in an odd spectrum of giving you turns where sometimes you can't do much and being a bit jerky in terms of accomplishment. Because of that I don't want to have to wait a long time between actually having success, especially because it's so solitaire. There's nothing interesting to look at or strategize about, but the parts where you are involved you need to stay focused.

Started Pandemic Legacy with 3 wins last night (and no spoilers here). One was extremely lucky with everything going so well it was over in 10 minutes, but the other two were standard games of Pandemic in how the flow went. So far I like it more than standard pandemic, but it does feel like early days and that it will get very interesting. At the moment it feels like a directed campaign, and doesn't really have that Legacy feel. While we have some control over things, I don't feel as much that we are directing things as having them directed to us by the game, as all the big things get dictated to us, but the small things that help us out a little are in our control. However this feels like a lovingly crafted campaign, and so far the best board game campaign I have played.

It feels like there is a lot still to come in the remaining 9 months. For example in the 3rd game there has been a significant change but actually has minimal in-game presence, and could effectively have been ignored by us as we played, but its name implies that it is going to become significant later on. The frustration is that this group doesn't get to play again for a month, and after that there may be a significant delay so we may be sitting on things for a while and take a very long time to finish the campaign.

I played a big 1825 game: Two units (Unit 2 and Unit 3) plus the Northern Scotland board.

It was a very tense game. I started okay, buying a company on the middle of the map (The NER) and focusing on connecting north and south, which seemed profitable. I wasn't making much money but my portfolio was solid and the other two players were aggressively blocking each other so I decided it was a good idea to get a second company rolling. I opened the Calendonian and built downwards to connect to the rails of the NER.

It was a mistake because I was building a network I couldn't actually put to use. By the time the skeleton was complete, the 2s had rusted, leaving each company with a single train and barely any money. The big profits in 1825 are made on the stock market, by pushing lots of trains into one company and delivering huge benefits and I was doing the opposite.

Meanwhile the situation on the south was changing. The player with the LNWR was clearly on top, but a couple bad decisiones were doing him in. He witheld two or three times in a row and his second company, the NBR, was a complete dud. He had tried to open the L&Y earlier, which was so well-positioned that it was killed before it even came out: We split it 4-4-2 and he had no choice but to dump it. The game was slipping from his hands, as his power and liquidity was not being put to use.

The other player, which ran the Midland managed to get out of the LNWR chokehold and was making a nice, steady profit from it. He had it done and would win the game if nothing changed so he tried to keep the status quo and prevent me from running another company.

Well, that was a huge mistake on his part because I didn't need to run other companies, I just needed their trains! We split 3 companies 6-4 or 5-5 between the two of us, and I took the chance to jam all those trains on the Calendonian. Even better, I witheld and bought a 7-train, rusting two of his trains. The game was starting to go faster and faster, throwing more and more money at us as the ending came close and I was there to take it all, winning over 1000 pounds per round (!!) and multiplaying my share value from 76 to over 240 in just a few rounds. There were 1500 right there!

Ultimately I won by about a thousand pounds, the LNRW player recovered too late to be a contender and the piles of stock and money of the other player just couldn't compete against my much higher profits. Had he gotten a hold of some of those companies I would have still made a lot of money, but he would have managed to edge a win.

TL;DR:
The great thing about 18XX is that win or lose based on these huge, very big picture decisions like opening a companies or whether you should be aggressive or leech off other players. You don't lose because you place a tile wrong or because you buy an unprofitable share, those very difficult decisions are ultimately quite small and instead of being the real focus are just tools used to justify bigger, game-winning moves. And that's completely unique in gaming.

Some more minor thoughts:

1) I thought the "Advanced Trains" expansion was a bit of a luxury but now I see how the 4+4E trains can be amazing and make long networks much more powerful and fun to use.
2) We got a couple rules wrong and the minors were not available until it wast too late. It was a real shame, because had they come out at the right time I can imagine each one of us taking one and building some very fun routes. I would have loved to take the Highland, for example.
3) I decided not to add the 2 minor companies you can add to Unit 2 and I think it was for the best. 10 companies is a nice count for 3 players, 12 would have been a bit too much.
4) I wish this game were actually available. Only my Unit 2 is official, everything else is pirated to some degree because it's just impossible to get this stuff.

Erik Twice wrote: TL;DR:
The great thing about 18XX is that win or lose based on these huge, very big picture decisions like opening a companies or whether you should be aggressive or leech off other players. You don't lose because you place a tile wrong or because you buy an unprofitable share, those very difficult decisions are ultimately quite small and instead of being the real focus are just tools used to justify bigger, game-winning moves. And that's completely unique in gaming.

Thanks for the great comment---I have never heard someone describe the games this way but I think it's what most reviews I've seen have been getting at (I've never played 18XX).

Played two more Battlelore, 2nd Ed. games. I was the Daqan in both. First game was my Blind Muir Forest (Order units in Forest hexes as if in any section; gain 1 VP if you have more units in the center) vs his Power of Infiltration (Friendly units supported when forced to retreat either heal 1 or lose an effect marker; gain 1 VP for eliminating an enemy unit on opponent's board half.) We started kind of late, so I just used the Hernfar Guardians list (2 x Battlemages, 3 x Lancers, 2 x Ironbound, Siege Golem, 1 x Crystal Spire) which didn't suit my scenario very well because it's a relatively low unit count, which meant gaining that extra VP in the center was going to be a challenge, and it was. My opponent took a list with multiple Berzerker, Blood Sister, and Harvester units, plus the Doombringer. I jumped out to a big lead because of my ability to sit on the 2 VP spots in my zone, as he had only one and I was able to occupy it a couple times. I was leading 10-5 and was closing in for the kill but then muffed two big attacks with Lancers and Ironbound. Over the next two turns, he had great rolls and played some key Lore cards to score 7 points and tie up the game. By that time, my unit count was so low that I couldn't push back on the left side of the board and he eventually won, 17-16. That's actually the first game of Battlelore that I've lost(!)

2nd game was my Behind the Lines (Place a Daqan banner marker on a banner in opponent's half; gain 2 lore if at least 1 friendly caster unit occupies a Crystal Spire hex) vs his Cursed Glade (Forest spaces don't limit dice for friendly units; gain 1 VP for every three forest hexes occupied by friendly units.) I used the same list because I wanted to see if I could make it work, even though I only had one Spire and only 2 of the Battlemage units. My opponent took Harvesters, Flesh Rippers, Blood Sisters, and the Chaos Lord. This one wasn't nearly as gripping because 2 of my Lancer units pried his Harvesters off the town hex with the two banner markers and he couldn't get to that side of the map soon enough with the rest of his army to prevent me from building a big lead.and I won 16-5. Solid rolls on my part and the power of the Lancers meant that I won a couple crushing combats. I was also flooded with Lore, so I could play some key cards at will (Runeblade paying off well for the Ironbound.)

This is the first time I've used the Daqan expansion units. I like the Battlemages, although they seem to require a list built around them to be truly effective. I think they'd work best with Citadel Guard. I expected little from the Ironbound but they turned out to be amazing. With their 4 attack and the ability to order them anywhere on the field, they can do great work. Ignoring the first Cleave result means their durability is kind of surprising. The Siege Golem, OTOH, was kind of a letdown. The first game had a huge block of hills in the center and the 2nd game had a huge clump of forest. That immediately neuters ranged units, especially ones that can't even attack if they take their measly 1 movement, like the Golem. I drew the Spotter card and used it in both games (Ignore blocking terrain, add one die to the attack, damage can't be ignored) but even when you're rolling 4 or 5 dice, each one is still only a 1 in 6 chance of wounding, unlike the 1 in 3 of melee. He had one attack that wiped a unit off the board in 2 games, but spent a large portion of the rest of the time doing nothing because it wasn't worth it to order a unit to move 1 and not be able to attack. I suppose he really pays off if you can move him into a town space early on where he can just sit and salvo turn after turn, hopefully gaining VP while he does it.

Next time: the hordes of Waiqar the Undying!

Gary Sax wrote: Thanks for the great comment---I have never heard someone describe the games this way but I think it's what most reviews I've seen have been getting at (I've never played 18XX).

I'm flattered, Sax. I always try very hard to find what is what makes each game interesting so I'm really glad you think I'm right on track on this one.

Went over to Engineer Al's and Uba's and played games with them and Josh Look. Good times ensued.

First up was Camp Grizzly. I'm a horror fan and I've had my eye on this one for a while. I passed on the original kickstarter because I didn't think there was any chance it would end up being a good game. Well, I was wrong. It's a damn good game. I'll go even further and say that it's easily one of the best horror themed board games ever made. If this game came from a major publisher it would in the limelight. To be honest I'm glad it came from an indie company, because it gives the game this shoestring budget, we put our heart and soul into this kinda vibe. It's not flashy or overproduced. Good horror stuff is usually done independently and it just makes the game feel more legit. The gameplay itself is very simplistic, but it works great at recreating the 80s summer camp slasher film. If you like Friday the 13th, The Burning, Sleepaway Camp, Madman etc...then this game will probably strike a chord with you. It's a slasher film in a box. Otis, the bear mask wearing villain, feels dangerous, and can pop up almost anywhere. They nailed that aspect of the game. I found that the game forces you to have to make bad choices that feel thematic to the horror genre. People will split up, go to cabins alone etc... There is a deck of cards you draw from that provide plot twists and all sorts of events. You never know what is going to happen and I like that feeling of dread. Overall, the gameplay is very simple and doesn't try to do too much. It's random, but the end result is a very, VERY fun game. I'll be ordering a copy very soon.

Thunder Road - Goddamn why is this game not in print? It's Mad Max the board game...and it rules.

Nevermore - The latest game from Smirk and Dagger. This is a drafting game where each round you try to draft the best hand of cards in 5 different suits. You get the most of one suit and it lets you perform an action. The twist is that the game is pretty confrontational. There are two decks of Shadow and Light magic cards that let you be a dick to the other players. The gameplay is very easy to pick up and there seems to be more to the game than a cursory glance would leave you to believe. I'd like to play this one a few more times to explore it more. I like drafting games in general and the ease of play mixed with the screw you nature means I'll probably hold on to this one. There are some really dastardly things you can do with the deck of magic cards and this morning I kept coming back to that. I like games that have easy mechanics to grasp, but have some decent depth. It's an odd game overall, but I can see my opinion of it go up after a few more plays.

My D&D: Attack Wing opponent continues to curb-stomp me. We've been working through the campaign and we started off pretty even at 4-4, but since he's gone on a 1-6 run. I could pull out old scapegoats like bad dice or inopportune crits or being hopped up on pain meds and muscle relaxers due to a neck injury a few nights...But that would be selling my opponent short. I've made more boneheaded moves and on the table he's out played me. Also, he's taken the time to build lists and look through cards more throughout parsing out the combos and synergies, a time luxury I don't have.

Personally though, one thing I will put partial blame on is the campaign system being my biggest obstacle. From the beginning we split forces where he had the forces of Good and myself the forces of Evil. Adventures feature the creature the scenario was packed with so one side will be restricted to that creature solo or provide enough points to support with one or two more units.

With this Good/Evil split that's proven to be imbalanced - I have been restricted to a specific creature six times, him once. Looking back we should have randomly picked sides each scenario. There is a distinct advantage when one side has no limits and knows exactly what the bulk of the opponent's points will be spent on.

Furthermore, on more than one occasion it was impossible for me to spend all the points provided by the scenario due to the restrictions let alone the bonus points players get for winning adventures. Last night I was allowed, after bonuses, 56 points, I could only spend 42 before my options were maxed out. Meanwhile he was rocking somewhere between 90-100. Granted, I did have some perks due to the scenario special rules, but it's hard to get focused and pumped for a game that going in is so pitched.

Still though, I'm having a great (albeit frustrating) time. And I'm thinking that this might be the best of the Flight Path games with X-Wing second and Star Trek third. I'm just wishing we randomly assigned sides in the adventure.

I've still been playing Evolution a lot lately, including trying out the Flight expansion recently. Flight is pretty cool, and gives you a new dimension to think about. Birds can only be attacked by other birds (or intelligent species), and it can be tricky to make a bird carnivore work because flight counts as one of their three traits and they can't have larger than 3 body size. There's a Cliff that only the herbivore birds can eat from, but in practice, they also eat from the watering hole and leave the land species with less food and then the cliffs are the birds' back up. So far it seems like the people that have won have gone for at least one Avian species, but I'm sure it might be different other times. Earlier I expressed misgivings that I wouldn't want to play Flight with people on their first game or that it would be overly clunky to switch between playing it with the expansion or not, but I've taught a handful of people with Flight in their first game, and I'll probably keep it packed in a way that I just play with Flight most of the time now. I will say that if the people are new to both Evolution and these kinds of games, it's a good idea to keep Flight out for that first game. It's comparable to something like Dominion or 7 Wonders to teach I think, without the thematic disconnect that those games bring. I played the base game with some newer gamers last night and they still had a number of questions throughout the game. There isn't a player aid that summarizes all the additional traits that flight brings (although all of the cards tell you exactly what they do), so this is another reason to leave it out. People really enjoy the art and theme- the main way that new players will struggle or get disappointed in the game is if they are singled out by carnivores. For this reason I go after whoever is more experienced when I have the choice. Every game plays out a bit differently based on how many players are in the game, how many go carnivore or scavenger, and how much food people toss into the communal watering hole. For awhile I had games get dominated by Intelligent Carnivores and thought Ambush was useless, but now I've seen games that are the complete opposite of that. It's a shifting ecosystem each time.

Egg Shen wrote: Went over to Engineer Al's and Uba's and played games with them and Josh Look. Good times ensued.

First up was Camp Grizzly. I'm a horror fan and I've had my eye on this one for a while. I passed on the original kickstarter because I didn't think there was any chance it would end up being a good game. Well, I was wrong. It's a damn good game. I'll go even further and say that it's easily one of the best horror themed board games ever made. If this game came from a major publisher it would in the limelight. To be honest I'm glad it came from an indie company, because it gives the game this shoestring budget, we put our heart and soul into this kinda vibe. It's not flashy or overproduced. Good horror stuff is usually done independently and it just makes the game feel more legit. The gameplay itself is very simplistic, but it works great at recreating the 80s summer camp slasher film. If you like Friday the 13th, The Burning, Sleepaway Camp, Madman etc...then this game will probably strike a chord with you. It's a slasher film in a box. Otis, the bear mask wearing villain, feels dangerous, and can pop up almost anywhere. They nailed that aspect of the game. I found that the game forces you to have to make bad choices that feel thematic to the horror genre. People will split up, go to cabins alone etc... There is a deck of cards you draw from that provide plot twists and all sorts of events. You never know what is going to happen and I like that feeling of dread. Overall, the gameplay is very simple and doesn't try to do too much. It's random, but the end result is a very, VERY fun game. I'll be ordering a copy very soon.

Really interesting decision to go after the underlying mechanics of the horror film genre rather than the setting trappings---classic horror is defined more by the mood of surprise and dread, which would be easy to miss and just do a lazy create-and-kill-a-slasher arkham horror thing.