The Thread Where We Are Board Game Geeks

Played Settlers of Catan over the weekend while in Southend with friends, and it was wicked, so yesterday I bought us a copy, too.

I miss playing Settlers of Catan.
Also, Cranium, but mostly for the blue cards that made you draw things with your eyes closed or build stuff out of clay that went moldy after a couple years.
Also, Poleconomy, because it's horribly designed so there's no way everyone playing doesn't become a millionaire, even/especially during inflation. It was probably a neo-con invention meant to bring all the fun of uncapped capitalism to the family board game, but as it's the most boring premise for a game ever (think Monopoly without any sense of charity, community chest, or housing) I doubt any little kids were ever converted.

If you like Settlers, then I would recommend Puerto Rico, made by the same people. German board games rock!

i like scrabble

Puerto Rico wasn't made by the same people (different designer, different publisher), but it is a significantly awesome game. A little tricky to learn at first but everyone I've shown it to gets the idea about halfway through the first game and ends up loving it.

Is anybody here on Little Golem?

Thanks to a random Berkeley dude liquidating his massive game collection at fire sale prices my gaming shelf is well stock for the coming winter months. Some favorites and recommendations for your game nights.

Pandemic. Four player cooperative disease eradication. It's you (and bros) vs the board. The board wins about 60% of the time. Tense and easy to teach. If you have kids there is a similar but slightly lighter game called Forbidden Island.

Dominion. A non collectible card game where all players are building their decks in real time from a shared pool of 10 kingdom cards. No two games are ever alike thanks to a randomizer deck that changes the kingdom card lineup.

Dixit. A surrealist visual improvement of Apples to Apples. Won a "game of the year" award in Germany which is kinda a big deal. Players take turns telling a story then laying down an image from their hand. Each other player selects an image from their hand that matches the story. Everyone guesses which is the storyteller's card. You have to be vague and clever but not overly so.

Anyone else have any recommendations?

I like those 3 games. Panademic seems a bit less strategic but then again that can be a good for some groups of people (like a group with lots of BGG newbs).

Off the top of my head I'd suggest Bang the Bullet. It can be very random (low strategy) but it is very fun, especially with a large group.

A bunch of Euro strategy games that are in the top 100 games list on BoardGameGeek.com are fun (browse all games and the list should come up).

RoboRally is a really solid game

I tried to make a board game thread earlier this year but it didn't last very long

has anyone here played 'The Making of the President 1960' or whatever it's called

(is the book that well known that calling the board game that makes sense? what was wrong with NIXON V KENNEDY exactly?)

I've played Twilight Struggle by the same guys that did Making of the President.

It's really fun (if you play USSR)

Hope this helps!!1

has anyone here played 'The Making of the President 1960' or whatever it's called

bf and i tried it once & thought it was p boring? seemed to take 4ever... but also we are really bad about not reading the rules properly and all at once, so end up wasting a lot of time arguing over the rules later, while playing.

I agree with you about Pandemic, sometimes it feels more like group puzzle solving than game playing. I try to stress to new players that you should take YOUR turn and only give advice when asked. Don't be a butt-in-ski. My advice is rarely heeded.

More gamez...

Arkham Horror Another coop game, this one set in the Lovecraft Cthulhu universe. You play investigators attempting to seal otherworldly portals before the great old one (end boss) is awakened. Great theme, kinda fiddly, and plays up to 8 people (about 1 hour per player :( )

Carson City Very strategic game where you place cowboy workers on the board to build the town of Carson City. Unlike other WP games like Caylus or Stone Age spots on the board can be dueled for, creating a lot of player interaction and fun. This is probably my favorite game right now.

I was reading recently about a co-op called something like SPACE ATTACK in which there was a strict timer for each individual player to get their move in or pass, so as to cut down on the solitaire-by-committee aspect...

5 games of Cash N Guns last night.

A perfect home from the bar at 2am wake the neighbors screaming "don't shoot me! take the fucking money!!" game.

wait a sec this version with the foam guns is better

http://www.pixelpark.co.nz/images/asmodee/cash-n-guns.jpg

i really want for the nixon v kennedy game to be fun because the subject matter means it is possibly the only board game in the world my girlfriend might ever play

hm

Had a meeting in Santa Cruz yesterday and stopped by Game-A-Lot afterward. Clerk mentioned they just got in two copies of Settlers of America: Trails to Rails, one went on hold and they had the other for sale. The "cult of the new" kicked in and I impulsively bought it.

Later that night I brought it to the table for a four player game. The "Settlers meets Ticket To Ride" label doesn't really fit. It's more of a medium-light pick up and deliver game with a Catan backbone. Trading and player interaction are minimized by gold and 3:1 bank trading. The upside to this is swings in dice rolls are definitely minimized. I need a few more plays of this to figure out how much I like it. Probably should have played before I bought it but such is life!

On that topic what's the last game you've purchased impulsively? Is it a new favorite or gathering dust next to the Twilight version of Scene-It?

I just bought ILLUMINATI! for the Viceroy. Anyone played it?

Frequently, 25 or so years ago. Requires at least 4 to be fun. Preferably 6+.

Played this last night and it's pure laughs and dumb luck.
http://www.zmangames.com/boardgames/files/arabian_nights/AN_cover.jpg

http://www.zmangames.com/boardgames/tales_arabian_nights.htm

Hey, I want a new game. These are the one's I've had my eye on, which should I get? Plus for good with 2 players, since 99% of the time that is what I play with.

*Dominion
*Fresco
*Pandemic
*Small World
*Stone Age
*Zombie State: Diplomecy of the Dead

I love Pandemic, but it's not amazing with only 2 players (tho it is doable).

I'm leaning towards Fresco, it just looks cool from what I've read. But I've always wanted to play Dominion though.

Small World is fun but really overrated; not great for replayability.

Dominion's great but I've never played with 2. Pandemic for 2 is good. Don't know the rest.

I like Stone Age, but I'm not sure how good it is with two players. I think maybe Dominion would be your best bet out of that bunch if you're planning on playing a lot of two player games, but I haven't played Fresco or Zombie State.

You can play Dominion online at http://dominion.isotropic.org/ if you really want to try it out.

I don't know with board games thread we're supposed to post on these days.

I was thinking about why I'd soured so hard on Arkham, and realised that the expansions had driven a wedge between what was fun to do (complete your personal missions, pick a random investigator, role play, join Silver Twilight or the Black Goat, explore new locations, introduce new players) and what gave you any hope of victory - the last few games we played just felt like such a chore, like work.

I was reading recently about a co-op called something like SPACE ATTACK in which there was a strict timer for each individual player to get their move in or pass, so as to cut down on the solitaire-by-committee aspect...

― Gravel Puzzleworth, Thursday, July 29, 2010 4:42 PM (10 months ago) Bookmark

Also this is called SPACE ALERT and it is utterly fantastic: frantic and hilarious, both very sociable and very strategic - if you live in London COME AND PLAY THIS WITH ME

I need to play more boardgames. For the last while I have been obsessing about Bobby Lee, Columbia Games' two player wooden block American Civil War game. Sadly I don't really have anyone with the time to play it (and don't really have the time for it myself either).

may I suggest

http://cgi.ebay.com/LITTLE-BURRO-GAME-Go-Teepee-warren-built-rite-/380174399578#ht_500wt_732

has anyone got any ore? i will give you two hay for ore.

i posted on the rolling thread earlier this week and was bummed that no one responded. recently got Tsuro and Game of Thrones LCG.

ok, three hay for ore.

I need to play more boardgames. For the last while I have been obsessing about Bobby Lee, Columbia Games' two player wooden block American Civil War game. Sadly I don't really have anyone with the time to play it (and don't really have the time for it myself either).

I actually bought this very game in highschool and played with all my nerd friends! It was so much fun, I wish I knew where it was today (probably thrown out sometime over the years).

i'll give you ore for a brick + wood fuiud

i have no brick so fu2

what is the best 1 player board game?

xbox 360

http://img.printfection.com/1/1364/4270433/PRNe7.jpg

pplz who think they're super insider nerds bc they play settlers of catan - terrible savages?

possibly, but hating on catan has to be the ultimate challops

i like catan but i understand why ppl hate on it -- it gets boring after the 200th game or so

More like 20th game.

I mostly don't like the trading aspect.

I don't think I've ever played Catan, it is my secret shame as a board game geek. I got indoctrinated by boardgame hipsters and never got around to filling in the gaps.

have never gotten sick of catan!

Carson City Very strategic game where you place cowboy workers on the board to build the town of Carson City. Unlike other WP games like Caylus or Stone Age spots on the board can be dueled for, creating a lot of player interaction and fun. This is probably my favorite game right now.

this is a dope game imo

been playing tons of nerdy boardgames.

favourites:
agricola
troyes
hansa teutonica
roll through the ages
dominion
death angel
arkham horror

medium:
pandemic
merchants and marauders
1960: the making of a president
cosmic encounter

less into:
race for the galaxy
survivor
factory manager
caylus
power grid
7 wonders
dixit
small world