Nexus Ops

[Crothian]

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=ah/prod/nexusops

It's an Avalon Hill game a friend had picked up a few years ago I guess. It sat around like many games do and one night he had a couple people over and we decided to play it. The original intention was to play it and then try out some of his other games but we ended up playing this game 4 times that night. It is a lot of fun.

The premise of the game is simple. Each player (2-4) is part of their own company trying to take over the asteroid. The board is randomly made so it can play a little differently each time. The winner is the fist to collect victory points and the way to do that can depend on the cards you draw. And that also can alter one's strategy.

It was simple enough for us to understand fast and since then I've taught more people and they learned it quick to. It is not the most in depth game and it plays pretty fast usually under 2 hours for us though I think with a group that is really familiar and organized it can be a one hour game.

Any one else get a chance to play it? What are other people's thoughts?

 

[Asmor]

Nexus Ops is something of a guilty pleasure for a lot of people on Board Game Geek. It's actually surprising how popular it is there, given the geek's tendencies against Ameritrash dice fests. Usually it's qualified with "I know it's not a very good game, but I still like it."

I'm a fan. It gets a lot of comparisons to Risk; there are superficial similarities, to be sure, but that's about it. I've never had the opportunity to play with more than 2 players, but it seems like the board could get crowded fast.

 

[Crothian]

With 4 players it is great. Everyone is fighting a war on two sides. Unless one person is very pro active I've seen people tend to pick and choose their battles and build up large armies.

I would never claim it to be a very good game. I do say though that it is a very fun game. The randomness really helps the game. I like how the board goes out, I like how the victory points can be gained through different ways as the cards dictate, and I really like how the mines are completely out there randomly.

I can see it to be like Risk. But not all that close. There is more depth to the game then I've found with the basic risk game. It also plays faster which I really like.

 

[Asmor]

Yeah, the speed of play is a definite benefit. I'm always surprised by how quickly it ends, which isn't to say it feels too fast so much as I always expect it to be too slow.