RPG-style Board Games

[Staffan]

Board games are today judged by how much player skill can impact things. Talisman is more strategic than Candyland, but not by a lot.

If it were being designed today, it would involve a lot more player agency than just going back and forth in rings around the end goal until they could get in.

I would play it again in a circumstance where the game wasn't the focus, but food and drink were instead. It seems perfect for that level of engagement.

If you're looking for an upgraded Talisman, you could try Relic. It's basically the same game with a 40K makeover, but it does add some more choice to things. For one thing, the adventure deck is replaced by three decks which mostly (but not exclusively) challenge either Strength (melee), Cunning (ranged), or Willpower (psychic), and different spaces on the board draw from different piles. In addition, psychic powers (the equivalent of spells) can either be used for their actual effect, or can be discarded instead of rolling a die in order to set that die to a particular number based on the card. These and some other aspects give the player a little more control. I mean, it's still not like Puerto Rico that's mostly deterministic based on what other players do, but at least you get to choose which ride to go on in the theme park.

 

[schneeland]

Oh, for sure. There's a big gap between Euro games, which are serious business, and modern party games. Happily, there's a ton of party games nowadays, many of them great.

I'd say, I beg to differ (when we play Euro games, the atmosphere is usually rather relaxed). But I will admit that, as a German, I might be biased

This reminds me, though, that there is UltraQuest - an RPG-style board game by German indie publisher Flying Games (Shop, Board Game Geek). I haven't played it myself, but I did hear good things about it.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

I'd say, I beg to differ (when we play Euro games, the atmosphere is usually rather relaxed). But I will admit that, as a German, I might be biased

We have to grade on a curve. "Rather relaxed" for a German is pretty serious for the rest of the world.

 

[Richards]

My then-eight-year-old-son's first question when he looked at the barbarian on the cover of HeroQuest was, "Why is he wearing furry underpants?"

Johnathan

 

[Clint_L]

Which is a problem, really. Sometimes you just want to have a laugh without having to think too hard.

The board game business has become very po-faced.

I'm not seeing this - there are tons of good party games and tons of good strategy games and most reviewers appreciate the difference. Nobody is judging Wavelength by the same metric as Eldritch Horror, to cite two of my favourites.