Deano Calver
First Post
Civilization The board game : Good game, but as a lover of the original board and computer games it just didn't hit the right spot. Probably shouldn't have used the name, so I wouldn't compare it with Civ 5 PC
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NOW LIVE! Into the Woods--new character species, eerie monsters, and haunting villains to populate the woodlands of your D&D games.
Recent board games and what I thought [add your own capsule reviews]
- Thread starter Morrus
- Start date
Stormonu
NeoGrognard
Another game I remembered:
BANG - This is a spaghetti western non-collectible card game. One person is the sheriff, most of the others are outlaws out to kill him. There's also the Renegade, who wants to see the outlaws defeated but also wants to replace the sheriff. And the deputy, whose job is to protect the sheriff (the deputy shows up when you have more than 4 players). It's a fast and frantic game that can be played several times in a single hour. From hiding behind a barrel to shooting from the back of a horse, it's a hoot. Lord help ye when someone pulls out the dynamite or the injuns show up...
BANG - This is a spaghetti western non-collectible card game. One person is the sheriff, most of the others are outlaws out to kill him. There's also the Renegade, who wants to see the outlaws defeated but also wants to replace the sheriff. And the deputy, whose job is to protect the sheriff (the deputy shows up when you have more than 4 players). It's a fast and frantic game that can be played several times in a single hour. From hiding behind a barrel to shooting from the back of a horse, it's a hoot. Lord help ye when someone pulls out the dynamite or the injuns show up...
ROBO RALLY - OK, this is my current favourite. I haven't had this much fun with a boargame in ages! It's an old game, but new to me. Each player program's five moves (forward, rotate left, back up, etc.) from a choice of nine randomly selected options at the start of each turn, and then everyone follows through one move at a time in order. The board itself - there are several - has conveyer belts and pushers and lasers and things, and generally your planned set of moves goes awry by the time you reach the fifth.
Wednesday Boy
The Nerd WhoFell to Earth
Excellent suggestion! I love that game.
It's not a boardgame but recently I played a game called Morphology that I loved. It's basic premise is Pictionary but instead of using a pencil to draw your word, you have use the junk that comes with the game. The junk includes a shoe string, some glass beads, some mini popsickle sticks, colored dice (sans pips), some pegs, etc. You also roll a die to see what sort of handicap you incur, such as doing it blind, only using the shoe string, only using three items, etc. The most interesting part to me was seeing our learning curve. At first we were clumsy at "drawing" with the objects but as we played more we got better at the drawing but also at interpreting how our teammates created their pictures, which made us better guessers.
It's strange to hear you describe it as an old game, Morrus, because I played it when it was new, back when I was at university some seventeen years ago or thereabouts...
It is a great game. It's also an extremely significant game, because if Richard Garfield hadn't been trying to find a publisher for it, he never would have met Peter Adkison, who never would have asked him to design a quick portable game that could be played at conventions... and we wouldn't have got Magic: the Gathering as a result... which led to Wizards buying TSR and designing D&D 3E...
When the game was first published, it didn't have the nice player boards that the current edition did. Instead, you had to stack your manoeuvre cards in a little pile and reveal the cards from the top down. Many, many players would accidentally reverse the order of their cards, causing some hilarious robot movements!
Have fun with it!
I should be getting the latest Spiel des Jahres award-winner tomorrow (Actually Kennerspiel des Jahres, the award for more 'gamer' games than the family games the SdJ normally goes to). It's called Village. I'll post a report after I get back from playing the Marvel RPG.
Cheers!
Util recently, I've always been an RPGer and had played few board games (other than family boardgames like Monopoly, and some skirmish or wargames). So a lot of stuff familiar to you is new to me!
I have Eclipse on my Amazon wishlist, so I'm hoping for that for my birthday - but that's in June.
Jan van Leyden
Adventurer
I should be getting the latest Spiel des Jahres award-winner tomorrow (Actually Kennerspiel des Jahres, the award for more 'gamer' games than the family games the SdJ normally goes to). It's called Village. I'll post a report after I get back from playing the Marvel RPG.
Hey, that's a good one! Indeed my favourite of the 2012 German crop. Have fun burying your family members at just the right point in time!
The way to the undertaker's paves the way to your victory!
In fact, my own fascination with boardgames is relatively recent; most of my boardgaming started about 12 years ago (yes, after 3E came out!) when I found Carcassonne and Settlers of Catan. And my *major* infatuation with boardgames is really in the past six or seven years. And, I've got to say, you've come in at a great time for boardgaming, Morrus. You really have a lot of very, very good games to choose from, and most of the ones you'll want are readily available.
Pre-2000, the boardgame scene was actually pretty poor. The advent of the "Eurogames" onto the market has caused *everyone* to lift their games.
Cheers!
Games I played in the past month (some older but still new to me)
Agricola (ZMan Games)
This was fun and had some varience that would add to replayability. I couldn't play this -all- the time but could enjoy playing it once in a while. It's a resource management / build your community style game
Castle Panic (Fireside Games)
This was fun, once or twice. after that it just felt repetative. At best i'd replay it with different people but not a good candidtate for a regular thing with the same group. as a bonus though it is simple enough for kids to play too. It's a cooperative game to defend the tower before the goblins/ogres/etc get too close and attack.
Drako (CHG)
This game is VERY thematic and fun. That said, it is low on replayability, or at least not replayable in succession, but i could see myself playing it every "once in a while" and still enjoying it. a two-player game, one side dwarves one side dragon, each trying to destroy the other.
Forbidden Island (Game Wright)
A very simplified version of Pandemic (same designer). Quick but still fun. Cooperative game to collect treasures and get off the island before it sinks
Hanabi and Ikebana (don't know the publisher)
(Note this is two games in one, I only played Hanabi).this was a very different and fun logic game. simple enough to understand but a lot of strategy involved. You hold a hand of cards such that it is facing away from you and other players give each other clues to try and get each other to play cards in a certain order. (the game is near impossible to find in the US, I played it with someone who got it from europe where it is easier to find)
Last Night on Earth (Flying Frog Productions)
If you play with people who can get in to the 'story' of it, it's a lot of fun to play up the dramatics of it. but if not, then it becomes very dry and mechanical. Basically, small townsfolk trying to accomplish some 'task' before zombies take over the town. i enjoy the game over all though.
Minotaurus (Lego)
a simple game. kind of silly fun. but had a lot of fun playing it. only played it once so don't know what replayability will be like. it's a lego maze, trying to get your guy to the center before the minotaur gets you (and other players can sometimes shape the lego maze to make it harder for you to get to the center)
Pandemic (ZMan Games)
Cooperative game to cure plagues before humanity is destroyed. It would be fun once in a while but not 'all the time'
Star Fluxx (Looney Labs)
It's Fluxx! Need I say more? but themed with stuff from star wars/star trek/dr who (for those who have never heard of fluxx, it's a card game where the rules change every round based on who plays what card as you try and get a winning combination of cards)
Stone Age (Rio Grande Games)
It's a resource management / build your community style game, similar to agricola. unlike agricola it didn't have the variability from the card draws but it was still fun. But, like agricola, not sure i'd play it -all- the time.
Sentinels of the Multiverse (Greater Than Games)
A non-collectible card game where each player has a deck that represents a comicbook style superhero. You work together to defeat the supervillain (represented by another card deck). I personally really enjoy the game, though I will fully admit that other people seem to either really like it or really dislike it. Because there are lots of heroes to choose from and lots of villains to choose from, combined with randomness of card draws, there is a lot of variety for replay. (though this game/publisher is still small enough that it is harder to get this game outside the US due to shipping costs)
Agricola (ZMan Games)
This was fun and had some varience that would add to replayability. I couldn't play this -all- the time but could enjoy playing it once in a while. It's a resource management / build your community style game
Castle Panic (Fireside Games)
This was fun, once or twice. after that it just felt repetative. At best i'd replay it with different people but not a good candidtate for a regular thing with the same group. as a bonus though it is simple enough for kids to play too. It's a cooperative game to defend the tower before the goblins/ogres/etc get too close and attack.
Drako (CHG)
This game is VERY thematic and fun. That said, it is low on replayability, or at least not replayable in succession, but i could see myself playing it every "once in a while" and still enjoying it. a two-player game, one side dwarves one side dragon, each trying to destroy the other.
Forbidden Island (Game Wright)
A very simplified version of Pandemic (same designer). Quick but still fun. Cooperative game to collect treasures and get off the island before it sinks
Hanabi and Ikebana (don't know the publisher)
(Note this is two games in one, I only played Hanabi).this was a very different and fun logic game. simple enough to understand but a lot of strategy involved. You hold a hand of cards such that it is facing away from you and other players give each other clues to try and get each other to play cards in a certain order. (the game is near impossible to find in the US, I played it with someone who got it from europe where it is easier to find)
Last Night on Earth (Flying Frog Productions)
If you play with people who can get in to the 'story' of it, it's a lot of fun to play up the dramatics of it. but if not, then it becomes very dry and mechanical. Basically, small townsfolk trying to accomplish some 'task' before zombies take over the town. i enjoy the game over all though.
Minotaurus (Lego)
a simple game. kind of silly fun. but had a lot of fun playing it. only played it once so don't know what replayability will be like. it's a lego maze, trying to get your guy to the center before the minotaur gets you (and other players can sometimes shape the lego maze to make it harder for you to get to the center)
Pandemic (ZMan Games)
Cooperative game to cure plagues before humanity is destroyed. It would be fun once in a while but not 'all the time'
Star Fluxx (Looney Labs)
It's Fluxx! Need I say more? but themed with stuff from star wars/star trek/dr who (for those who have never heard of fluxx, it's a card game where the rules change every round based on who plays what card as you try and get a winning combination of cards)
Stone Age (Rio Grande Games)
It's a resource management / build your community style game, similar to agricola. unlike agricola it didn't have the variability from the card draws but it was still fun. But, like agricola, not sure i'd play it -all- the time.
Sentinels of the Multiverse (Greater Than Games)
A non-collectible card game where each player has a deck that represents a comicbook style superhero. You work together to defeat the supervillain (represented by another card deck). I personally really enjoy the game, though I will fully admit that other people seem to either really like it or really dislike it. Because there are lots of heroes to choose from and lots of villains to choose from, combined with randomness of card draws, there is a lot of variety for replay. (though this game/publisher is still small enough that it is harder to get this game outside the US due to shipping costs)
