Any Board Gamers Up in This Piece?

[atomheartbevo 89,618]

17 hours ago, BoomMF said:

And speaking of recent interest in D&D, have y'all noticed the pricing for the books, even recently printed books? Tasha's alt cover, which is only a few months old, fetches $100 on eBay. All the alt covers, even for unpopular titles like Saltmarsh, have shot up. I'm never going to get Volo's alt at this rate. That thing hit $1000 now. When I mentioned it earlier in this thread it was around $350. That looks like the golden age at this point. Ravenloft's alt, which isn't even 2 weeks old, has sold out and is already about to eclipse Tasha pricing. Ridiculous.

On the one hand, I keep thinking WotC will put out more runs since they aren't making money off of eBay sales.  But the alt covers are in their own class, and I kind of wonder if there's some shenanigans going on with some game stores.  I have a friend who prefers alt covers and he orders them the moment they are up for pre-order or whatever at his local shop.  He's bitched about the price on ones he's missed, and he's mentioned that some of it feels shady, like maybe some stores are selling their stock on eBay.

But those are the collectibles.  The normal hardcovers are still fairly cheap -  Raveloft hardcover through Amazon is still $30, etc. and they seem to still be printing plenty of the slightly older ones.  At least WotC is keeping that stuff in cheap circulation for new players to get hooked.

Some DMs I know are going all-in on digital, and are buying the new books in Roll20, etc. but I don't know if that affects the pricing all that much.

[utee94 15,797]

For anyone interested, I "internet-know" a guy who developed a college football cards-and-dice board game called "Whoa Nellie."  You pick various teams from various eras, and you can play them against one another.  If you want to pit the 1969 Texas Longhorns against the 1995 Huskers, you can do that.  Or the 2005 Longhorns against the 2019 LSU Tigers.  Or whatever...  link is below.

https://whoanelliecollegefootball.com/

 

 

 

[BoomMF 1,398]

Your boy made some moves. Now the collection is complete.

[MillerEP 30,446]

Oh nice man, I know you've been working on that for a while. Congrats.

[BoomMF 1,398]

I introduced the kids to an old timey game, Catan. They loved it. I've always thought Catan was plodding and staid, but I thoroughly enjoyed it in this 3D version. Maybe I'm easily entertained by bright colors and plastic mountains. (Honestly, table presence has become such a big draw for me. Like, if I take the time to set up a game and get a bunch of people to put aside the time, the game needs to be an event that justifies the effort. Table presence is a big part of that - it can go quite a ways in helping define the experience for me. A game can be a bona fide classic, but if it looks ugly or "beige" I'll play something else and not think twice about it. )

[BoomMF 1,398]

Instant Asmodee board game library on Humble Bubdle right now.

https://www.humblebundle.com/games/play-pink-best-asmodee-digital?utm_campaign=07_0562&utm_medium=paid&utm_source=facebook&utm_content=2021_playpinkbestasmodeedigital_msrp&utm_term=2021_playpinkbestasmodeedigital_game_bundle_mobile&fbclid=IwAR2jUW5J0hUre2QQPPT8QL_CrE59AxuBxPKtgr41eNgWGePQ-jIajWJn_yI

[Sheep Have Wool 1,053]

On 10/1/2021 at 3:00 AM, BoomMF said:

I introduced the kids to an old timey game, Catan. They loved it. I've always thought Catan was plodding and staid, but I thoroughly enjoyed it in this 3D version. Maybe I'm easily entertained by bright colors and plastic mountains. (Honestly, table presence has become such a big draw for me. Like, if I take the time to set up a game and get a bunch of people to put aside the time, the game needs to be an event that justifies the effort. Table presence is a big part of that - it can go quite a ways in helping define the experience for me. A game can be a bona fide classic, but if it looks ugly or "beige" I'll play something else and not think twice about it. )

Toy factor and table presence are absolutely a thing, but $240-$300 for Catan seems like a lot. For less than that price, you could pick up one of the giant CMON or Awaken Realms Kickstarters that have buckets of plastic and have a game that would more easily justify "event" status, albeit with more rules overhead.

[BoomMF 1,398]

Yeah, but Amazon had the 3D version for $140 on a recent sale. Your point stands, it's a pricey experience, however the kids have never asked to play Tainted Grail or Nemesis again and they demanded to play Catan after the first game and the next night. Might have been money well spent after all. I'm for doing whatever to get them excited about spending time together.

I'm still working on getting Etherfields to the table a first time, though not with the kids.

We, the gaming group, have played Nemesis many times, and everyone digs the hell out of it. Carnomorphs are queued up next.

[ztejas 43,411]

On 10/1/2021 at 3:00 AM, BoomMF said:

I introduced the kids to an old timey game, Catan. They loved it. I've always thought Catan was plodding and staid, but I thoroughly enjoyed it in this 3D version. Maybe I'm easily entertained by bright colors and plastic mountains. (Honestly, table presence has become such a big draw for me. Like, if I take the time to set up a game and get a bunch of people to put aside the time, the game needs to be an event that justifies the effort. Table presence is a big part of that - it can go quite a ways in helping define the experience for me. A game can be a bona fide classic, but if it looks ugly or "beige" I'll play something else and not think twice about it. )

Dude... you realize Catan has become a big deal, right? Like one of the most popular board games around right now. I bet your kids would have found out about it through friends eventually. 

But yeah - it's a fun one. Pretty simple but complex enough to offer a lot of replayability. I played it a bunch not too long ago on tabletop simulator on the computer which is fun because you can throw pieces at each other and draw dicks on the table and what not (I mean - I guess you could do that IRL but it might be more frowned upon).

[TheFlyingBoat 906]

Damn I had no idea Surly had a board gaming thread. Definitely quite a few board games I love to play that I have trouble finding people to get a full game going with outside of events and the like. 

If anyone ever wants to play Terraforming Mars, Twilight Struggle, Tiny Epic Galaxies, or similar games, let me know. Would also love to try out games like Twilight Imperium or Dune: Imperium if anyone is down to play and willing to be at least a little patient with me learning the game (I do think I am generally a quick-ish learner). 

Also if anyone enjoys Diplomacy and wants to play I am ALWAYS happy to do so and would be more than happy to introduce those that aren't part of the greater hobby to it in all its forms (online, in-person face-to-face, and virtual face-to-face).

[Sheep Have Wool 1,053]

7 hours ago, ztejas said:

Dude... you realize Catan has become a big deal, right? Like one of the most popular board games around right now. I bet your kids would have found out about it through friends eventually. 

I just looked back a page, and he's got a pretty sizable collection of games, so I imagine he's aware of the broader scope; I suspect that's why he called it "old timey."

 

10 hours ago, BoomMF said:

Your point stands, it's a pricey experience, however the kids have never asked to play Tainted Grail or Nemesis again and they demanded to play Catan after the first game and the next night. Might have been money well spent after all. I'm for doing whatever to get them excited about spending time together.

I, too, have spent a ridiculous amount on board games, so far be it from me to judge.1 If it's getting people together, it's worth it - I just didn't realize you were aware of other games. That said, I don't think I'd pull out Nemesis or Tainted Grail for kids (or anyone who might not be very into board games).

If you're looking for the "good with kids" and "toy factor" crossover: dexterity games. Men at Work and Rhino Hero Super Battle are fun with anyone. Junk Art, Catacombs, and Seal Team Flix also fit, and are a bit more "gamey." You might also consider some of the Exit game series, if you and your kids enjoy escape rooms. 

[Sheep Have Wool 1,053]

7 hours ago, TheFlyingBoat said:

Damn I had no idea Surly had a board gaming thread. Definitely quite a few board games I love to play that I have trouble finding people to get a full game going with outside of events and the like. 

If anyone ever wants to play Terraforming Mars, Twilight Struggle, Tiny Epic Galaxies, or similar games, let me know. Would also love to try out games like Twilight Imperium or Dune: Imperium if anyone is down to play and willing to be at least a little patient with me learning the game (I do think I am generally a quick-ish learner). 

Also if anyone enjoys Diplomacy and wants to play I am ALWAYS happy to do so and would be more than happy to introduce those that aren't part of the greater hobby to it in all its forms (online, in-person face-to-face, and virtual face-to-face).

Not sure where you're located, but I run a board game Meetup group in Dallas. PM me for details if you're local.

Even if you're not, it's possible to play most of that stuff via Tabletop Simulator on a computer, and there a number of sites like Tabletopia that let you play online. I'm happy to teach anything on this list, and I'll play almost anything at least once, so drop me a line on the Surly Discord.

[TheFlyingBoat 906]

2 hours ago, Sheep Have Wool said:

Not sure where you're located, but I run a board game Meetup group in Dallas. PM me for details if you're local.

Even if you're not, it's possible to play most of that stuff via Tabletop Simulator on a computer, and there a number of sites like Tabletopia that let you play online. I'm happy to teach anything on this list, and I'll play almost anything at least once, so drop me a line on the Surly Discord.

I am in San Diego, so very much not local, but would love to play on Tabletop Simulator or Tabletopia at some point. Maybe I will finally pay the tree fiddy and join surly discord...

[BoomMF 1,398]

Finally got Sleeping Gods to the table. A little more side quest focussed than similar titles, like Tainted Grail, but also such a rich, well-realized world that's fun to visit. 

 

And started the Nemesis Untold Stories campaign with some friends. We liked it so much I went and picked up all the Free League Alien RPG stuff, including the Fantasy Grounds module, and started putting together a group to run through that as well. SciFi Horror may be my thing.

[Sheep Have Wool 1,053]

On 12/1/2021 at 11:53 AM, BoomMF said:

Finally got Sleeping Gods to the table. A little more side quest focussed than similar titles, like Tainted Grail, but also such a rich, well-realized world that's fun to visit. 

I've been interested in trying Sleeping Gods, but the idea of another long campaign fills me with "meh." About how many hours until an adventure/campaign is finished?

Also, for those into extremely fucking hard co-ops, Assault on Doomrock is getting a new edition that is about to start funding. If you follow the campaign now, you get some free add ons. It's got an outstanding combat system and it's funny in an extremely stupid way. Previous editions had 2-3 hour playtimes, but this edition is supposed to be able to split into 3 one hour sessions, so I'm excited to try it out.

[BoomMF 1,398]

I've heard the Sleepwing Gods campaign is about 20 hours long, which isn't too crazy compared to games like Gloomhaven which can get into triple digits.

In other news, I'm about to get into ANOTHER over-long campaign game and see what all the fuss is about, Kingdom Death: Montster.

Here's the White Lion sorted...

 

 

Still need to finish painting the starting survivors, but was too anxious to get statrted.

[BoomMF 1,398]

Played Unsettled by Orange Nebula, who made Vindication, one of my favorite games. Unsettled continues their streak of great games. Completely unrelated to Vindication mechanically, Unsetlled is a heavier and cooperative puzzle wrapped in a space exploration theme that, like Vindication's theme, kind of works and kind of doesn't (But it's a Euro and theme in Euros are like lyrics in a rock song, do they really matter?). Production to die for.

 

 

Also played the KS version of Mind MGMT. I've had Whitechapel for ages but haven't played it, so this is really the first hidden movement game I've played (Jaws doesn't count, does it?). The game's art took me a second to get used to, but the gameplay itself is stellar. Looking forward to exploring the SHIFT system, which  modifies the game with different game pieces, rules, and choices.

 

 

Played Return to Dark Tower. Continues to be a fun game and makes me wonder how close it is to the original game and would I like to get a copy.

 

 

And the great Kingdom Death Monster Painting Extravaganza continues. (Decided to severely mod Spidicules to make him less unwieldy) Almost done with all the expansions. Looking forward to introducing this one to some friends and starting another campaign, perhaps one of the expansion campaigns.

 

 

And in other news, I've always been bothered by games that don't have the titles printed on the shelved side of the box, horizontally specifically. So I busted out the Cricut and decided to do some fixing. Sleeping Gods and Return to Dark Tower done, onto some unfortunately labelled crates by LaserOx and maybe even a few games that decided to title the spine vertically ON ALL SIDES!

 

OCD has won this round.

 

 

 

Looks OEM, imo. Crises averted.

Added the title to the side of the LaserOx Root crate. My Cricut skills are getting the glow...

 

 

Nemesis: Lockdown finally made it in after being delayed due to Winterpocalypse 2022. Painting now...

 

[BoomMF 1,398]

The minis in Kingdom Death Monster are something else. Finished painting waves 1 and 2. Now to find the time to complete a campaign.

 

Here's a couple from the set:

Tyrant from the Dragon King expansion.

 

The Manhunter

 

[BoomMF 1,398]

Played Ark Nova to see what all the hubbub is about. It was good, and I can see why people like it so much, but I don't think it does anything you can't get somewhere else - It's been said before, but it's true, it's Terraforming Mars with a zoo theme. It's a typical janky Capstone production, so it doesn't have a component quality advantage over a Stronghold game either.

 

 

Played Hadrian's Wall and it immediately clicked with everyone. If flip and writes are all like this I might need to investigate the genre more!

 

 

Aaaaand we played it again on a weekend getaway, too.

 

 

It was so well received that one of the kids asked to play it again solo... That's never happened before.

Nemesis: Lockdown was what I expected, more of the same, and that's a good thing - We love Nemesis. The light and dark mechanic is a fun, thematic twist. Finished the first Nemesis campaign and everyone's chomping at the bit to play the second one...

 

 

And I built one of those gigantic Fancy But Functional game crates for Death May Die. It holds everything, including Rise of R'lyeh, Scarlett, and the comic investigators, in one box but it took the better part of a whole day to build! I don't know if that kind of effort is worth the convenience, but I'm glad to have everything for the game in one Kallax cube. I can think of other games I'd like to do this for, but the thought of building another one of these behemoths makes my stomach uneasy.

 

[atomheartbevo 89,618]

They are bringing back SpellJammer for D&D in August.

https://dnd.wizards.com/products/spelljammer

[BoomMF 1,398]

Heard they're bringing Dragonlance back too. Sign me up for all of it.

[BoomMF 1,398]

Dear Diary,

 

"This is your last chance, Jasco." Actually, really enjoyed Street Fighter: The Miniatures Game. Previous Jasco products haven't resonated with me, and Evil Dead was flat out terrible. But this one's a keeper. It took 2 years to deliver the all-in, but that time was spent well. The game plays efficiently and, as a fan of the video game, I dig the thematic inclusions.

 

Played Foundations of Rome and it might've won the weekend. Everybody loved it.

 

So, naturally, I have to paint it all now...

 

Also did a scenario of Chronicles of Time, 2400, with the in-laws. Interesting and fresh new dynamics which expand on the previous game, cybernetics! These Chronicles games are always a good time with large groups of people, especially "non-gamers."

 

And Mindclash never misses. But Perseverance doesnt really shine until episode 2.

 

And the Kingdom Death campaign continues. Probably the game I'm most into atm. 😶

 

 

Played Wonderland's War this weekend. It's a gorgeously produced bag builder and area control game that everyone really enjoyed. Haven't finished painting it but was too excited to play.

We're in the part of the timeline where a glut of boxes are showing up for games that I forgot I kickstarted 2 years ago.

 

Also introduced Hadrian's Wall to the in-laws. As predicted they loved it.

 

And the second wave of Solomon Kane hit. This is nonsense. I will probably never get to half of these boxes. I'm starting to lose the excitement I normally felt when these large campaign games delivered... 

 

Some more Kingdom Death. Lantern Year 8 out of the way and have only managed to lose 2 survivors. The wife has grown so attached to hers that if any of them die I fear tables will be flipped and curses uttered.

 

 

We're still playing remotely with people half a continent away. The pandemic might have made remote setups a necessity, but the change might not be temporary - we're going to be playing physical games remotely with friends for quite a long time now, at least.

About to start a Lord of the Rings RPG campaign with a similar setup too. Looking forward to that one.

 

Played Wonder Book with the family. Quite a unique production, though the gameplay is pretty boilerplate. I'd recommend it for family game night but that's it.

 

Now, Constant Reader, you are caught up.

[safe sex 11,696]

I'm glad to hear you liked Street Fighter. I waited two years for the all-in pledge, too, but I still haven't managed to get the game on my table.

[ztejas 43,411]

@BoomMF this is one of the cooler threads on Surly. Remind me - do you have like a YT or blog or something? 

[BoomMF 1,398]

Dear Diary,

 

The kids continue to like playing Catan,

 

 

And we've started a Star Trek Adventures campaign with my daughter as the GM. She calls herself "The Picard" in reference the TNG episode, Who Watches the Watchers, where humanoids believe Picard is their god. LOL

 

 

So we joined the two loves and played Star Trek Catan. Fun little twist with the thematic player powers. Enjoyed it enough to track down the OOP Federation Maps expansion. That's next.

 

 

Of the new hotness, had some friends over to play Castles of Mad King Ludwig Royal Collector's Edition. I thought it was clunky and the gameplay clumsy, but the casuals in the group liked it.

 

 

My Father's Work didn't suffer from clunk, as such, but it did start to drag around Act III. The theme is right up my alley, but the copious amounts of reading from the app started to drain the experience.

 

 

Played more Dune: Imperium, this time with the Rise of Ix expansion. Great game made better. Nuff said.

 

 

Also received the latest Windward expansion, so used the opportunity to finally play the base game. Intersting pickup-and-deliver game that plays quick enough and looks gorgeous on the table. Going to give this one a few more goes to see if it has staying power with us.

 

 

Also also wik, played T.I.M.E. Stories for the first time. Got to bust out the acrylic pieces. I can see why this game has been passed over, however, the who-dunits are new to me and I did enjoy unraveling the mystery. I'll probably look for a top 10 list and play a few more of their better stories.

 

 

We continue to really enjoy Return to Dark Tower. Got to play all the expansion content for the first time and, although we died horribly, we had a blast.

 

 

My oldest son and I started a Solomon Kane campaign. It's going to be "our thing." Super cool control mecahnisms and the story books are fun to go through. Looking forward to playing the All-In, after all, if not painting all of it. Sheesh.

 

 

Still play my personal favorite, Edge of Darkness. I can't explain why I keep wanting to play this one, but I enjoy it every time. Maybe it's something about solving the resource debt as a puzzle I dig, who knows.

 

 

And, of course, Kingdom Death: Monster. At this point I just might be a masochist.

 

 

On a Friday we decided to go to GenCon and made it there for the weekend. (Shot up to see James Dean's grave in Fairmount, too, but that's a different story.) This was our fist one, but we had a blast. Missed a lot due to our noobness and the immutable fact that days are only 24 hours long, but we'll be back, wiser.

 

 

On the storage front, I FINALLY solved my neoprene map storage. Turns out theres a fairly deep hallway closet outside the game room that works perfect for storing mats. After building some quick wine-rack-type shelves, all the maps (expect for the 2 4x4 Fat Mats) have a home and it's a great relief!

 

 

With the mats out of the way, it meant I could add another 5x5 Kallax. 

 

...which is already starting to fill up. 😶

 

 

LaserOx now makes a crate for Ankh, so organizing that behemoth is doable. Everything from the all-in fits in one Kallax cube. I tried LaserOx's insert but it's "junk drawer" style way of organizing the followers isn't a great solution for me, so I'm keeping the Gaming Trunk insert instead. It fits in LaserOx's crate like a glove. Now to finish painting it all... Zzzzz

 

 

 

And I found a dude on Etsy who made some custom card cases for a few games that were overflowing their containers. Came out great imo.

 

 

And now, Constant Reader, you are caught up.

On 7/4/2022 at 12:48 PM, ztejas said:

@BoomMF this is one of the cooler threads on Surly. Remind me - do you have like a YT or blog or something? 

Nah, just a good old fashioned obsession.

[atomheartbevo 89,618]

I posted this in the Ukraine thread, but this stuff fascinates me, because it may look simple, but chances are there are dozens of people involved, simulating all of the units, etc. and it’s probably evolved a lot over the years.

I’d love to see the game pieces in the upper left of the board, and I love the fact that they are rolling dice for random numbers, instead of doing everything through a computer simulation.

They should put together a smaller version  and throw it on kickstarter and put the proceeds towards Ukraine.  It’s like an Avalon Hill game for 2022.

 

Edited September 1, 2022 by atomheartbevo

[Longboard Horn 40,284]

Settler's of Catan, Risk, Axis and Allies, Kemet(like Risk, but Egyptian mythology). Those are what I play, open to try other board games. 

Would love to play some Warhammer, but too expensive. 

[Sheep Have Wool 1,053]

4 hours ago, Longboard Horn said:

Settler's of Catan, Risk, Axis and Allies, Kemet(like Risk, but Egyptian mythology). Those are what I play, open to try other board games. 

Would love to play some Warhammer, but too expensive. 

Give Root a shot.

It's a war game, which seems to be in your wheelhouse, but each side plays almost entirely differently.

If you find a faction you particularly enjoy in Root, you'll be able to find other games that expand on that mechanic.

[BoomMF 1,398]

And as a side note, Root was designed by a Texas Ex.

[Masshole Horn 769]

This is a cool thread. BoomMF... what a collection!!

Why I'm posting here now... my kids (7 and 9) asked me to restart game night. Previously we had focused on junior versions of well-known games (Catan and Ticket to Ride jr.), cooperative games, and stuff with minimal reading. Now that the youngest has switched to avid reader status, we have a wider range of games from which to choose. Currently they are getting into Pokemon and Magic the Gathering, but I'd like to shift to fully-contained games. Looking for a decent amount of strategy, no horror/fear themes, and a play time of about 90 minutes.

Would they be ready for real Catan or Ticket to Ride? What would y'all suggest?

[Sheep Have Wool 1,053]

23 minutes ago, Masshole Horn said:

Would they be ready for real Catan or Ticket to Ride? What would y'all suggest?

Those would work. Your might also consider a co-op, like Forbidden Island. My recommendation would be Race for El Dorado, though. It's easy to learn, and it introduces deck building mechanics. And it's fun, even for experienced hobby gamers.

[Masshole Horn 769]

Looked those both up. I bought my son Forbidden Island for Christmas last year and he promptly lost 1/3 of the pieces before we tried to play it. The Quest for El Dorado looks good too. Thanks!

[Sheep Have Wool 1,053]

10 minutes ago, Masshole Horn said:

Looked those both up. I bought my son Forbidden Island for Christmas last year and he promptly lost 1/3 of the pieces before we tried to play it. The Quest for El Dorado looks good too. Thanks!

Either The Quest for El Dorado or The Quest for El Dorado: The Golden Temples - the second is a standalone expansion.

Other recommendations: Gods Love Dinosaurs, Bärenpark,  MicroMacro: Crime City – Full House, or one of the Dice Throne sets.

 

[LTtxfan 49,141]

Didn't realize cheating in Chess was such a huge, crazy story...

 

Chess sex toy cheating scandal explained: World No. 1 Magnus Carlsen, Hans Niemann in wild sports controversy 

https://www.cbssports.com/general/news/chess-sex-toy-cheating-scandal-explained-world-no-1-magnus-carlsen-hans-niemann-in-wild-sports-controversy/

[Hefeweizen 5,308]

On 10/21/2022 at 8:56 AM, BoomMF said:

And as a side note, Root was designed by a Texas Ex.

Cole Wehrle is a hell of a designer.  Root is very clever and I ordered Pax Pamir and Oath based on that experience and recommendation.

[BoomMF 1,398]

@atomheartbevo Finally got War Room to the table, which is a war game that looks like it could be the center of a table in a... war room. It even has staves, so you know it's the business. It's designed by Larry Harris, who's most famous for creating Axis & Allies. I think it's an amazing game and can see why people obsess over the war game genre as a whole, done right these are lifestyle type games.

War Room is the first game I've played that has completely obsoleted my 5x5 table. I had to use a folding table to hold as much of the admin stuff as I could, and it was STILL very tight.

They Live finally arrived, but we haven't had a chance to play it yet. Our names are printed on the thank you page in the manual, which is a cool touch. Looking forward to trying it out. I don't have many other traitor games and this theme is obviously perfect for that. If they nail the gameplay...

Also tried Final Girl, a solo only game where you play the last girl alive in a horror movie. Fun and clever puzzle solver with a lot of replayability.

Since that was a hit, I decided to try ISS Vanguard as a solo game. I've only just starting learning the game, but plan to start playing this weekend. Hearing good things and the theme is right up my alley - People are calling it Star Trek in a box, which, from reading the manual so far, might not cover the entire experience. We'll see.

Also played Zombicide: Undead or Alive. This is my first proper Zombicide game (I own Night of the Living Dead, but that's only 2 measly boxes of content) but it seems haaaaard. Two games in and we haven't come close to beating a scenario. I hope I'm doing something wrong at this point. The game mechanics are awfully fun, though, and chucking that many dice is always a loud time. (Euros have a high floor, but Ameritrash games have a very high, exciting ceiling)

The recent Western Legends mountain range token holder kickstarter delivered. I'm such a sucker for table presence and WL already had it in spades, pardon the pun. This kicks it up a notch while adding a bit of functionality. Still waiting for the Big Box to deliver.

Lacrimosa is one of my favorite games of 2022. The theme is you're tasked with finishing the piece Mozart was working on when he died. The gameplay is super solid and the production is top notch. Amadeus is one of our favorite movies (shoutout to Texas Ex F. Murray Abraham), so this one was easy to enjoy.

Also played Obsession. We very much love Downton Abbey and this is that. Great worker placement game with some pretty cool thematic elements. I'm not sold on the art, but apparently this is how shit looked around the turn of the century. Regardless, the game deserves its reputation. Looking forward to playing it some more.

ChessUp delievered, too. I was on the chess team in high school (because I was too cool not to be), but rust has long set in and I can get my ass handed to me pretty convincingly by a yoked up AI. I'm hoping to travel with ChessUp and polish up those skills instead of wasting time on the Switch playing Metroid: Prime (aka the greatest game ever to be designed in Austin).

And we've been playing the usual suspects like Return to Dark Tower (most recently with the card holders and 3D locations, complete with LED lights, because overboard is exactly where I like to be in relation to the board). Still our favorite co-op, even though it feels like we only win about 25% of the time.

And Smartphone, which surprises me that it doesn't get more run than it does. Such a fun economic game.

And, of course, Kingdom Death: Monster, because nothing makes you feel so alive as pain.

That should catch me up.

 

 

Edited February 16, 2023 by BoomMF

[atomheartbevo 89,618]

On 2/15/2023 at 8:55 PM, BoomMF said:

@atomheartbevo Finally got War Room to the table, which is a war game that looks like it could be the center of a table in a... war room. It even has staves, so you know it's the business. It's designed by Larry Harris, who's most famous for creating Axis & Allies. I think it's an amazing game and can see why people obsess over the war game genre as a whole, done right these are lifestyle type games.

That is awesome.  Friends and I used to play a lot of Axis and Allies and Shogun (later rebranded as Samurai Swords and now Ikusa)  in the early 90s and it's amazing how much time those things could suck up on a weekend if you let them.

I'm about to pick up a copy of Axis and Allies - I think my 10 year-old is ready.

Speaking of gaming with kids, this one gets me in the feels - a dad in Ukraine gaming with his kid in the Netherlands over video and playing Blood Bowl

 

[atomheartbevo 89,618]

 

[BoomMF 1,398]

My oldest outstanding Kickstarter just arrived. Really looking forward to starting this and not finishing...

[atomheartbevo 89,618]

I make fun of the various versions of Monopoly and how tacky they can get, but I think I've found peak tackiness.

And it's real, but may have only been sold in Europe.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/319956/monopoly-d-day-06061944

75th Anniversary edition put out in 2019.

Because nothing screams commemorating D-Day like a fucking copy of Monopoly, instead of the shitload of boardgames that actually are about gaming out D-Day.

[BoomMF 1,398]

FInally got the Catan 3D Seafarers & Cities and Knights to the table. Well, not Knights yet, baby steps. I hope they add the 5&6 Player Expansion soon.

 

And the Great Covid Shipping Catchup of 2023 continues. A ton of big boxes, a weakness of mine, arrived. Already played Vindication and Western Legends. Looking forward to Final Girl Season 2 since we had such a blast with season 1. And He-Man hit - All of it. I probably won't be able to tell if this one is a good game or not because I'm so nostalgic for the IP. Dig those throwback boxes on the right! Should crack it open this weekend.

It sure would be cool if CMON added big boxes for its games.

 

EDIT: It was just announced that Klaus Tueber, the creator of Catan, has passed away at 70. RIP

Edited April 4, 2023 by BoomMF

[Dahobbs 17,521]

I didn't realize this thread existed. 

A few of the games the wife and I have:

• Settlers of Catan (plus various expansions)
• Agricola
• Caverna + Forgotten Folk expansion
• Powergrid
• Modern Art
• Azul
• Le Havre
• Elfenland
• Ticket to Ride
• Pokemon Labyrinth (good game for the kids and still interesting)
• Pandemic
• Pandemic Legacy 

We have more that I'm not thinking of I'm sure. Right now Caverna is the go to on game nights. 

[hornbri 1,390]

On 5/27/2021 at 11:42 PM, BoomMF said:

Villainous is such a great game, and perfect to gateway people into board games - it's a theme that everyone "gets" and has a base interest in from the start.

Just picked this up for Family board game night this weekend. Kids are 8 and 11, box says 10+ so the 8 year old may need to play with Dad the first time but she picks up games pretty quick. 

[TexArcher 37,761]

I've scratched several off of my "Need to play" list recently:

 

Sekigahara -- outstanding!  Went straight into my top 3 wargames (with Hannibal and War of the Ring).

Underwater Cities -- very good engine builder.  Definitely want to play this one a couple more times.

Ark Nova -- good, but not great.  Very well designed, and I like the action selection mechanism, and the theme works.  But, it's very swingy and it's too long, and that's not a good combo.  Needs an expansion to fix these things, like Terraforming Mars did.

Earth -- solid and kind of addictive, although the interaction is close to nil.

Le Havre -- a classic.  Now my 2nd favorite Uwe, behind Agricola, and significantly better than A Feast for Odin.

Polis -- not nearly as much of a wargame as it looks like, but it's solid.

Nemo's War -- decent solo puzzle, but I don't like it as much as I thought I would.  It's just dice rolls with modifiers dressed up as a story.  

Parks -- not bad.

Watergate -- outstanding!  If you like Twilight Struggle and you'd like a much more approachable game to scratch the same itch in 45 minutes instead of 3 hours, this is that game.

Edited May 31, 2023 by TexArcher

[BoomMF 1,398]

Finally got The Automaton of Shale to the table. The family went through the whole campaign. Chip Theory continues to realease hits.

 

 

And speaking of finally, we played Brass Birmingham for the first time. After it overtook Gloomhaven I just had to see what al the fuss was about. I can now see what all the fuss was about. What a fun, tight Euro. The board's a little dark, and that's the end of the list of qualms.

 

 

Ra Pharoah Edition arrived a while ago, too. Another fun game that the whole family can enjoy. Will probably add this to the list of games I take to normies' houses.

 

 

And Earth Deluxe KS, as well. This is on a lot of people's game-of-the-year lists. It's good, but man I feel like I have this game in a bunch of other themes. The game is still fantastic, it's just at this point I think we all know the GOTY formula and can probably predict it with great certainty.

 

 

Check out The Witcher Old World's great storage solution. When it arrived I was floored by how well-designed the boxes were. The all-in comes in two boxes that combine to form one Kallax-compatible Voltron solution. I made a modification to better store sleeved cards, but the idea that we could get something so well thought out from an OEM gives me hope that companies like CMON will get their sh*t together and do this type of thing for their releases. I was like, damn, what a nice surprise these boxes are! I didn't know they cooked up such a cool storage solution! I went back and looked at the Kickstarter and, sure enough, they made a big deal about the big box storage all throughout the campaign. lol I guess you forget things after years of waiting!

 

Edited June 6, 2023 by BoomMF

[TexArcher 37,761]

The Steam Summer Sale started today.  Tons of good digital board games on sale.  Buy Twilight Struggle for 5 bucks, thank me later, and let's play it!

 

[BoomMF 1,398]

Played Witcher: The Old World. The base game was okay, but it really comes alive with a couple of expansions - Wild Hunt and Monster Trail should have been part of the base game. They complete the experience. Might try some of the houserules I've read online that make the endgame a bit more challenging, but there's a lot to like here as it is.

 

 

Lords of Ragnarok was very fun, too. We aren't as into conflict, but assets get passed around so frequently and cheaply it's not too big of an issue. I really dig the theme - Norse gods will always be cool. The table presense is typical Awaken Realms, but so is the rulebook.

 

 

Masters of the Universe: Clash for Eternia hit the table too. I enjoyed the theme more than the kids did because they're just not as familiar with these characters or the history of the IP. I will endeavor to fix that. CMON is probably a sure bet these days. They know what makes a game enjoyable. They went all out with the production here, too.

 

Had some friends over to play and one has a Skeletor tattoo, if that tells you how into this he was. lol

 

 

 

Speaking of CMON knowing how to make games, they definately know how to make Zombicide games. Marvel Zombies hasn't fully delivered. I'll get more into this when Galactus, et al. hits.

 

 

The family played the co-op (coop?) only King of Monster Island. King of New York is an all-timer family game night game and this is a slight twist on that where you all play monsters working together to stop a larger, AI-driven monster from completing its objective. It's fun, like you'd expect.

 

 

Cranking up the crunch, got Darwin's Journey Deluxe to the table. It's a mechanism salad, which is fine by me. Production to die for. 

 

 

I'm big on Scythe, so I was looking forward to playing Expeditions. The Iron Clad edition's metal mechs are awesome. I have to say, coming back to this world was like visiting an old friend. Jakub Rozalski's art will always be a favorite. I need to play this a couple more times to decide if I like or REALLY like it.

 

 

Relatedly, I couldn't figure out why my Anycubic Mega X was acting up, so I replaced it with a Kobra Plus. Auto-leveling is the killer app. Been cranking out game organizers straight for weeks now. Even designed my own with Fusion for the first time. It's on now.

 

Edited July 19, 2023 by BoomMF

[YuppiesOfftheEastSide 28]

This thread is great. Even though I’m not a gamer, I had a blast looking through all these photos, especially those from @BoomMF. I knew Cole W. at UT, so have been glad to watch him find so much success in this field. He seemed always to want to be designing games instead of doing the boring school stuff, so I can imagine this is something of a dream gig for him.

[Hornbeliever 712]

We have been playing Azul and Jr Catan with 7 year old but just moved up to Catan.  Still in learning stage of that one.

With Azul, you look up and it's been an hour.  Such a great, simple game.

[BoomMF 1,398]

Azul is one of those games that I haven't played that makes no sense that I haven't played. I need to fix that.

So much stuff has been delivered recently, I'm waaaay behind. In fact, one of the next up on the table this week, for the first time, is going to be Ankh which delivered a year and a half ago!

Meanwhile, soon...