Looking to break out from eurogames

[The Prophet]

I'm not sure if the Flash, Speedy Gonzalez, Superman and the designer of Twilight Imperium could finish Twilight Imperium in 4 hours.

My group & me manage to play a game of TI3 in 5 1/2 hours.

That includes setting it up, explaining the game to 2-3 newbies, playing the game & finally, putting it all back into the box.

If no one has a severe case of AP, it runs pretty smoothly.

YMMV

Nick 'The Prophet'

 

[Asmor]

I prefer Shogun to Imperial, though both are fun.

For Ameritheme games, I like both Twilight Imperium 3e and Starcraft.

Cheers!

I'll second Starcraft. It's one of my favorite games which I don't get to play enough.

For something completely different, try "Cash n' Guns".

It's 4-6 players.

It's totally interactive.

You point guns at your friends.

You can play for real money.

It only takes about 30 minutes to play.

The gameplay is a bit like poker. You have 3 bullets that you can play over 8 rounds. The remaining 5 rounds you have to bluff. The trick is to either eliminate your competition or get your competition to fold.

Ca$h & Gun$ is a great game. I wouldn't recommend playing it for real money, though. o_0

Just to add something new to the thread, how about the classic Cosmic Encounter? FFG just released a new edition which is getting rave reviews.

 

[scitadel]

Haven't played the new CE but I have done the old one and it's fun. Fast to play and quite interesting.

Oooh, I forgot to toss in one other - Fire and Axe: A Viking Saga. Most of the interaction is 'screw them over' type (e.g. kicking colonies out, moving wind markers to make it really difficult for other players, etc.) but it's got a good, solid theme and Euro type mechanics. It's really quite interesting.

Lastly, TI3 definitely needs to be avoided if you can't sit still for at least 3 hours. Can't say anything about Starcraft, haven't had a chance with that game yet.

 

[The Prophet]

Hey again,

Did not get to play Imperial, maybe next week, but got to try Battlestar Galactica. It was a load of fun. I played Thig, started as human but became a cylon in the sleeper phase. Humans won but had 3 resources at 1 ... So close.

2 groups of 6 played & the humans won both games pretty easily. Will have to try it again to see if it was a fluke or if it's really that hard to win as the Cylon(s).

Nick 'The Prophet'

 

[Lord Zardoz]

How about Illuminatti?

Illuminati might fit your needs. Its not a wargame, but it does have competitive gameplay, as well as a pretty large amount of interaction. The core mechanic is simple, but there are enough modifier variables in the game to make things a bit more complicated.

The core concept is that each player controls an Illuminati group, and everyone is trying to control the world through a conspiracy network. Each group has a ranking for its Power and Resistance, an income, and possibly a number of alignments. Each Illuminati need to either control a set number of groups (dependent on the number of players in the game), or achieve a secondary goal unique to that Illuminati.

You gain groups by attacking to control them, which pits the attacking groups power rating against the defending groups Resistance (Power minus Resistance). Then the modifiers come into play. Alignments either create a bonus or a penalty. You can spend money to improve your roll.

The interactivity in the game comes from the other players at the table interfering in your attacks by spending money to worsen the attack roll. The game also allows for any form of in game deal that does not amount to outright throwing the game. This includes buying and selling groups and special cards. Or trading groups. Or paying someone off to attack a 3rd party. And no deal is binding unless it is immediate, allowing you to renege.

It is definitely more complicated than a typical Euro-Game.

END COMMUNICATION

 

[Badwe]

I played illuminati many years ago and did enjoy the games that I managed to play. Also, this weekend we finally got a chance to dig into BSG.

I and my lady were reticent at first since neither of us was familiar with the show, but our enjoyment of the game is making us consider beginning to watch. Playing with another couple, our total was 4, and I was dealt the cylon. I felt my bluffing skills worked rather well and I was able to feign a desire to help the ship, but unfortunately an early lack of understanding on the rules led me to quickly put people onto my trail. One of the players was the character who doesn't contribute until turn 2, and I unfortunately tried to sabotage before she could contribute, and with both destiny cards also detracting from the score, everyone became aware the cylon was among three. While i was able to continue to do a bit of damage and not get brigged, when the crisis card offered another play an opportunity to check loyalty, they correctly guessed with me, and once in cylon mode I simply was unable to attack any single resource aggressively enough. Overall a great game though, and I highly recommend.

 

[Lord Zardoz]

I played illuminati many years ago and did enjoy the games that I managed to play.

The expansions do add a few new elements to the game. The Y2K expansion added two new Illuminati groups and the Bravarian Fire Drill expansion added Artifacts. While I have the Brainwash expansion, The complication it adds does not really add much to the game, though if I played more often I might be more inclined to use it.

END COMMUNICATION

 

[Imperialus]

Best ameritrash game I've played recently is Age of Conan...

 

[Punnuendo]

Best ameritrash game I've played recently is Age of Conan...

Is that actually out now?

 

[Asmor]

Is that actually out now?

It's been out for a long time...

Didn't do too well, either.