Are there "board gaming groups" just like there are RPG-gaming groups?

[Wycen]

I didn't expect the board game genre to remind me of the RPG groups, but it does. I joined a group that meets once a week and while for me it is more like a social event, for them it is social and a serious hobby. They buy games, trade them, get upset when they lose, don't like playing certain games with certain people or expect people to play the game in a certain way. It is really very much like a rpg gaming group.

 

[Chainsaw Mage]

I haven't played Arkham Horror but everything I've heard about it is awesome. I'm not sure if it has the same campaign elements that games like Doom, Descent, Heroquest, etc have. Those come with actual quest books with different maps, objectives, etc.

Ah, I see what you mean. No, Arkham Horror doesn't have that stuff. But playing a game takes so frickin' LONG that I envisioned playing a few hours, then suspending play until next session, etc. Plus, if a character dies, a new character is assumed by the player, giving the game a pseudo-RPG feel.

But yeah, it's pretty damn amazing. I've completely abandoned horror RPGs because Arkham Horror does everything they can do (at least, everything I want them to do) without any preparation whatsoever other than setting up the board.

Which, if you think of it, is the great strength of boardgames. Unlike an RPG, where the DM/GM has to do a ton of work before playing even starts, boardgames act as their own DM/GM. Nice.

 

[babomb]

I am in one. One of the other RPGers and I introduced them to RPGs a while back, but we mostly play Arkham Horror or Settlers or something like that.

 

[Tonguez]

I've just taught the second lesson of my Ad Astra - Science of Board Games class at my school - I taught the three pupils a bit about Settlers of Catan.
Cheers!

Dude you teach the Science of Board Games - kewl

I'd love to know more! (and teach my junior high school kids a few)

 

[ShadowDenizen]

I haven't played Arkham Horror but everything I've heard about it is awesome. I'm not sure if it has the same campaign elements that games like Doom, Descent, Heroquest, etc have. Those come with actual quest books with different maps, objectives, etc.

Re: Arkham Horror.
AH is an amzing, and the new version improves upon the old in many ways.

Be warned, though; for first time players, it's really tough to get a handle on the rules, and the way the game flows. There's a number of fiddly little rules, and it's not really THAT intuitive. More, the rules booklet is rather poorly organized, IMHO. (The one flaw of Fantasy FLight games, IMO, is typically the rule books.)

And set-up and disassemblement can be time-consuimg, too. I'd recommend bagging up each of the compeonents seperately for conveniece.

I would also recommend that new players play just the core game, and then add in the card expansions (Dark Pharoah is out now, King in Yellow is out soon.) Then, when you have a working grasp of the game, add in the the Dunwich Horror expansion.

 

[Chainsaw Mage]

Re: Arkham Horror.
AH is an amzing, and the new version improves upon the old in many ways.

May I ask how? I'm interested in picking up the second edition, but if all they've done is changed typos and added some errata, I probably won't bother. But what is in second edition that makes it an improvement?

 

[MerricB]

May I ask how? I'm interested in picking up the second edition, but if all they've done is changed typos and added some errata, I probably won't bother. But what is in second edition that makes it an improvement?

The original Arkham Horror game was produced by Chaosium, and only vaguely resembles the game of today.

The game of today is produced by Fantasy Flight Games. It's really good. I mainly play it solo (you can find my review of it here: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/150424)

FFG revised the game to fix errata (and change how the board looks) recently. I have the new edition; but ShadowDenizen is talking about the difference between the FFG version and the Chaosium version.

Cheers!

 

[Chainsaw Mage]

More, the rules booklet is rather poorly organized, IMHO.

Agreed. As brilliant as Arkham Horror is, the rule book is brutal to flip through. It doesn't help that it's the size of a vinyl record album; very awkward to quickly look something up during the game!

I'm thinking of going to a sports card collectables store and picking up some plastic card trays (I assume they sell that kind of stuff in those stores) to help me sort the fifty million card decks you get with Arkham Horror. For the counters, I've already bought some trays at the arts and crafts store, the kind they sell for use with beads, etc.

Fun game all around. I'm babbling now, so I'll stop.

Oh, one more thing. My wife is out of town and so tonight, when I put my daughter to bed, I'm going to play my first EVAR game of solo Arkham Horror. Should be a blast.

 

[MerricB]

I keep the cards in the original holders, but I have a bunch of zip-lock bags to hold the counters.

It's a lot easier to deal with than the World of Warcraft board game, which I also have.

Cheers!

 

[Chainsaw Mage]

The original Arkham Horror game was produced by Chaosium, and only vaguely resembles the game of today.

The game of today is produced by Fantasy Flight Games. It's really good. I mainly play it solo (you can find my review of it here: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/150424)

FFG revised the game to fix errata (and change how the board looks) recently. I have the new edition; but ShadowDenizen is talking about the difference between the FFG version and the Chaosium version.

Cheers!

Ah, I understand. I'm vaguely familiar with the old Chaosium game, but I've never seen it or played it. Cool.