What BOARD GAME(s) have you been playing?

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.

I have the 1st Edition and the original expansion (which includes the siege engines and corsairs). I also have the Lords of the Middle Earth and the 2nd Edition Upgrade kit.

Which is the preferred combo? Anybody played with both and have some insights? Could elements of the Lords of the Middle Earth (like the different ring functionality) be mixed with the 1st Edition and Expansion?

Repo -- why no love for Umbar and siege engines?

Space Ghost wrote:

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.

I have the 1st Edition and the original expansion (which includes the siege engines and corsairs). I also have the Lords of the Middle Earth and the 2nd Edition Upgrade kit.
Which is the preferred combo? Anybody played with both and have some insights? Could elements of the Lords of the Middle Earth (like the different ring functionality) be mixed with the 1st Edition and Expansion? Repo -- why no love for Umbar and siege engines?

Space Ghost, I have the same stuff you have. I personally like the 1st edition rules with the expansion but that's the system I learned on. I like the 1st edition expansion Ents, Umbar, and even the siege engines. But I learned to like 2nd edition upgrade with Lords of Middle Earth. #1 reason is the bigger cards. Yep, I'm older now and little cards with little print sucks. I played with the Lords of Middle Earth expansion a few times and it's fine. I've even played 2nd Edition rules, Lords of Middle Earth and left in the Umbar, Siege Engines, Dundudes from 1st edition and that worked fine. What ever floats your boat it's all good.

KingPut wrote: Space Ghost, I have the same stuff you have. I personally like the 1st edition rules with the expansion but that's the system I learned on. I like the 1st edition expansion Ents, Umbar, and even the siege engines. But I learned to like 2nd edition upgrade with Lords of Middle Earth. #1 reason is the bigger cards. Yep, I'm older now and little cards with little print sucks. I played with the Lords of Middle Earth expansion a few times and it's fine. I've even played 2nd Edition rules, Lords of Middle Earth and left in the Umbar, Siege Engines, Dundudes from 1st edition and that worked fine. What ever floats your boat it's all good.

As I recall the designers said that the only issue with doing this is that it makes the Fellowship too strong since BotTA was designed to fix the balance from the 1st edition. I can't imagine anyone really caring about that when you get to play with more plastic.

Space Ghost wrote: I like Moto Grand Prix -- I get frustrated that the bikes little ball gets loose and the bikes won't stay leaning properly. I also feel like the dice spinning can really induce AP in some people.

I have peg glue for my Wings of War in the ball joints on the bikes, but I'm still experimenting to get the mix right. I have one bike that's perfect, one that wants to keep returning to upright because I used too much. I think I could have done as well with maple syrup with a little care.

I love the dice mechanic because it gives you control, but not complete control. Love that in a game. Thunder Alley gives you complete control, but shitty options to use with it. Not the best combination. Some are loving it though, so I need to get it played again so I can trade it off.

S.

So where does Moto Grand Prix fit on the overall ranking of racing games? Middle of the road? Or leader of the pack? And most importantly does it feel like a race?

Space Ghost wrote:
I have the 1st Edition and the original expansion (which includes the siege engines and corsairs). I also have the Lords of the Middle Earth and the 2nd Edition Upgrade kit.

Which is the preferred combo? Anybody played with both and have some insights? Could elements of the Lords of the Middle Earth (like the different ring functionality) be mixed with the 1st Edition and Expansion?

Repo -- why no love for Umbar and siege engines?

I don't think there is a preferred combo. A lot of it is personal preference. The expansion for 1st edition was in large part designed to fix balance issues. Those corrections are already incorporated into 2nd ed rules.

Lords of Middle Earth is supposed to be backwards compatible with the Collector's Ed at least. I see no reason why alternate rings and character cards couldn't be used with 1st edition.

I have no real problems with the Umbar changes giving the Southrons the ability to move by sea. I think that opened up new strategies and made the North more of a factor.

The Siege Engines just seem to be a pointless exercise in an arms race. I spend a resource to get one then you have to spend a resource to get a counter one. To not do so is almost throwing in the towel on the fight and guaranteeing a loss. I just find it annoying and that it doesn't really add much to the game.

I played a game last night! Not just a game, but a NEW GAME.

Last night I made it out to a Dallas game night and was taugh Impulse. Someone saw me walking in with Innovation and thought I'd be an easy mark for a Carl Chudyk game. I really liked it a lot, though it might cross the threshold of being too much game for me to practically play. I have loved all three of the major Chudyk games, but Innovation remains my favorite because it feels the most unique and is arguably the simplest, relatively speaking.

Impulse had a lot of the same elements as Glory to Rome and Innovation. It has that feeling that there are several steps to accomplish something, what I refer to as a pipeline. In G2R, it's a matter of getting cards from the pool into a building. A big part of the game is about that process. Here it's about getting your cards in a situation where they can be played. But like Innovation is has a very strong element of needing to do what your cards allow. I was in a situation last night where I was never able to research something and advance my techs, which became a big problem in the home stretch. It also has the big idea of shared actions, where you are often in a situation where other players will be able to take advantage of whatever card you play. Still it felt really unique and was a fascinating take on the space genre.

Like I said, maybe a little too much game for me to practically buy, but because I like Chudyk so much I will probably nab it at some point. I think it might be just a bit too busy for its own good, but that's just a gut feeling after one game. I would have preferred something a little more abstracted, similar to what he did with Innovation. Still, really cool.

I had a blast playing Memoir '44.

So, a friend just returned from LNG plant in Papua (after 2 months of duty). A week before his girlfriend had asked me to choose a board game for his birthday gift. At first I wanted to suggest Battlestar Galactica, because both are fans of the show, but I decided against it, mainly due to number of players required. Instead I chose Memoir '44. His only other game is X-Wing, and both of them fond of WW2 history.

I had never played Memoir '44. I read the rules, we set up the game and play. Man, this game is awesome. For sure it's not a simulation, but it's a great game. Time constraints made us playing only two games, but it was really fun. Commands & Colors in its purest form. Not having morale rules doesn't mean a bad thing for the game. It's just that the dynamics are different.

Great game. My friend also had great time.

Dave Roswell spent a week here with me after going to GenCon. Here's what went down:

Innovation:
Meh. I think I liked it but I'd have to play it again to be sure. Seemed really novel and unique, which I liked, but it's a card game, which I don't.

Cash N' Guns:
Never played it before. What a great time. Anyone who doesn't own this and has a larger group should own this. I'm buying it when my bank account recovers.

Legendary-Aliens:
This was a demo. I'm very familiar with Marvel: Legendary and like it a lot, but this game was so horribly mishandled with regard to how the hero cards interact that Ridley Scott should shoot them all. He'd never be convicted.

SW Armada:
I just saw it, but got to get a short demo by an asshole after the show. Press pass for the win. Looks incredible. That had to be the most anticipated game of the con. That booth was more packed than a McDonalds in Ethiopia on Free Fry Day. AUTOBUY. Only concern in retrospect is the "fiddly" nature of it, but they did a good job mitigating that.

Zombie 15':
So much fun. Didn't get to play it with Dave, though, and so I only got the demo. It's a hybrid of ZOmbies!!! and Escape from the Cursed Temple.

Defenders of the Realm:
Love it. Nuff said.

War of the Ring:
The learning curve is so steep that only the most dedicated can learn it, and I had to talk to Repoman about some details, but I am now 100% on how to play. We played it through, I stomped Dave since he was essentially trying to beat Mordor via his military. Next time we play it will be more of a battle.

Eldritch Horror (x2):
Holy shit. This game is so hard, and also, it fucking rocks. It totally destroyed any hope of me ever wanting to play Arkham Horror again. It takes all the fiddly bullshit out of Arkham and makes a streamlined, epic game experience.

8 Minute Empires (x3):
Wicked fun. Can't be beat. Maybe the most accessible Euro game ever.

Escape! the curse of the cursed hidden temple of hidden curses (x4):
Really fun, simple little game where your dice ruin you every time. Lost 3x and didn't care. That's kind of the draw: you keep going until you win.

Cards Against Humanity (x2):
It's not a game, but it's a great activity. How does the world end? Not giving a shit about the 3rd world. How does Obama unwind? White-Man scalps.

Revolver 2:
Some sequel games are so much better than their predecessor that they're not even the same game. This game is the OPPOSITE. It's as if they said, "Let's take every single thing about Revolver that was awesome, ruin it, and make it convoluted as well." I will never play it again. Ever. Fuck that game, in the mouth, with a razor wire condom.

Jungle Speed:
He gave it to me as a going away gift, that old softy, and we played it. Kind of wonky rules but the game was fun. I can see the wife and I getting into fistfights over this one. I think Dave kind of underestimated my hand speed, and if you have one guy with quick hands and eyes over other guys who aren't as fast, the fast guy will win, I think. Can't wait to play with the kids.


THE END.

War of the Ring is a rough first play, I have had the same experience.