What sort of Board Games do you Play (1 Viewer)

[BobO'Link]

Azul was a neato game. But I liked it more than my wife, and it's four player only, so I'm not sure I'll be buying it.

If you like Azul, I recommend Sagrada (which I think I mentioned previously). Colorful game, puzzle centric. Less cross-player interactions compared to Azul, I think.

Azul is 2-4 player. My grandson and I played a 2 player game before the girls joined us. It was quite fun and much more cut-throat than the 4 player game as you can more easily predict which tiles will be taken during the last few moves before refilling the factories and have the possibility of forcing your opponent to take some large negative draws.

I've looked at Sagrada before and have it in my wish lists. It's dazzling to look at and the game play appears to be similar, yet different, to that in Azul. Now that I've played Azul I'm going to look at Sagrada again as I'll be more able to discern the differences.

 

[DaveF]

What I mean is, I much prefer shopping for games that play five or more individuals.

 

[BobO'Link]

What I mean is, I much prefer shopping for games that play five or more individuals.

I should have known that from previous comments you've made! I read it with a "Can't play with 2 - bummer" slant, which is how I generally approach games.

At my house there has to be a strong 2 player option for most games that support 3+ as there are times it's difficult to get more players interested in the same game. I look for comments along the lines of "works better with 3 or 4 (+)" and tend to avoid such titles (I've purchased enough games that require 3 players only to never be able to get 3 people interested). I have this dream that one day I'll be able to get my wife interested in anything outside of the handful of American games she'll play (Yahtzee, Mille Bornes, Scrabble, games played with standard cards, Sorry, and that's about it) so I tend to look for strong 2 player games. And also because my oldest granddaughter is almost always ready for a game even if her brother and sister are not. She likes all kinds of games so it's easy to find something she'll like.

She, her brother, and I played Azul and Photosynthesis yesterday. My grandson said of Azul, when his sister wanted to play again using the "blank," or design-it-yourself, side of the board, "I like it but only for one playing at a time" and later said the same about Photosynthesis (his first time to play that one). While I could play either 2 or 3 times in a sitting I can understand that comment. Both are abstract games and he's just not a big fan of that genre. He'd rather play Catan, Risk, Small World, Carcassonne, or something with more obvious goals and higher player interaction. He'll play 2+ times with those in a session.

After those two we started to play "Axis and Allies 1941" (the "easier" version of the game), a first time for all of us, and gave up after getting half-way through the rules book and setting up the board. Partly due to the complexity, but also discovering it was almost 8pm coupled with a "1.5-2 hour" play time (which we'd likely exceed on a first time play through), and them having school the next day. We'll try it again at a later date after I've had time to read through the rules and watch a few "how to play" videos. If that's the "easy" version I dread to think what the "normal" one is like. I was surprised my granddaughter wanted to play, but she also enjoys playing Risk (I'm pretty bored with that one but they like it so I play a game with them every few months) so it really shouldn't have been a surprise. I got A&A 1941 simply because it looked like it might be a bit more engaging than Risk and not have some of the same foibles, and it was cheap... just under $14... so if it's a bust it's not a big bust like it would be with a "regular" version of the game.

 

[DaveF]

With my games group we often have 5-8 people looking for a game. And it’s too easy to always play with the same couple (friends) in four player games.

So I’m currently specifically watching for good 5+ player games.

 

[DaveF]

If you want a fast 2-3 player game, check out Chocoly. Got introduced this weekend. Fun little dominoes-type game.

 

[Sam Posten]

What I mean is, I much prefer shopping for games that play five or more individuals.

6 Nimmt plays 10!
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006YYXG/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

 

[jernst288]

Lately my friends and I have been on a board game kick. We've been playing a ton of Talisman mainly, but we have play MLP Monopoly, Chess, Ultra Cards (home made game), and Axis and Allies. What games have you been playing? Has anyone played Arkham Horror before?

I have played Arkhams horror. it's ok. Tabletop simulator on steam allows you to join many different games and check them out. I personally enjoy Clank, Dead of Winter and a number of others. What kind of games do you like to play?

 

[BobO'Link]

If you want a fast 2-3 player game, check out Chocoly. Got introduced this weekend. Fun little dominoes-type game.

I took a look at it on boardgamegeek - it looks interesting... but they commit the ultimate sin by putting that non-chocolate product "white chocolate" in the game. My daughter-in-law argues it is chocolate because it contains cocoa butter (and the FDA only requires 20% cocoa butter content to qualify) while I counter that if it has no cocoa solids it is decidedly not chocolate.

My chocolate sensibilities would not allow that game in my collection unless they do a re-theme. Plus my DIL would never let me live it down.

It's like "Love Letter." Under that name and theme I have zero interest in the game but as "Letters to Santa" it works quite well for me. The *only* differences are the theme and artwork. Card text and game play is identical. Go figure...

 

[DaveF]

I played Rising Sun last night. I think it’s mentioned here earlier, but not sure. If you’re into crunchy games like Scythe and Terraforming Mars, Rising Sun is a must. A simple rule set that allows for nuanced strategic play, and the rules and gameplay motivate tabletalk and alliances and betrayls.

Four player game with two newbs, three hours. Maybe it’s two hours if you’re experienced and don’t have analysis-paralysis friends.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/205896/rising-sun

 

[Yee-Ming]

With my games group we often have 5-8 people looking for a game. And it’s too easy to always play with the same couple (friends) in four player games.

So I’m currently specifically watching for good 5+ player games.

If you're into hidden traitor games: Dark Moon, plays 3-7. Originally created as a PnP as Battlestar Galactica Express, but when picked up for publication, had to be rethemed for obvious reasons.

 

[DaveF]

If you're into hidden traitor games: Dark Moon, plays 3-7. Originally created as a PnP as Battlestar Galactica Express, but when picked up for publication, had to be rethemed for obvious reasons.

Unfortunately, I had a really bad gaming experience the first time I played BSG, and am not generally into hidden traitor games.

 

[Sam Posten]

Last night was Clans of Caledonia. Took a long time to get set up and rules established but turned into a really fun challenge. There are soooo many ways of scoring points that it became a challenge to accurately know who stood where until final tally. I took second place and was pretty happy with it, losing by a slim 4 points. My strategy was to deploy the income producers as quickly as possible and get coin churning. That plus having the double contract clan worked well. One major failing is that I did not understand that there are only 5 rounds until round 3. Had I known that I would have changed a few things around a little bit. Somehow another player was able to get 6 contracts complete, same as me, without me knowing. I could have gotten 7 if I had prioritized that over buying all upgrades with coins at end of round 5.


April 19. Clans of Caledonia. by HARFORD BOARDGAMES, on Flickr


April 19. Clans of Caledonia. by HARFORD BOARDGAMES, on Flickr

 

[Sam Posten]

New to me last night: Bohnanza and Splendor. Bohnanza is interesting with its share/trade mechanic but not sure it’s a total win for me. It was $13 on Prime so I ordered a copy to try with my nephews. I LOVED the point mechanics of Splendor despite getting my ass kicked twice. I will definitely add to my collection soon. Has anyone tried the Cities expansion?

 

[DaveF]

Splendor is great; very nice two player game as well. I haven't played the expansion yet, but from the review at Ars Technica I decided not to buy it until I can try it first in real life. It sounds ok, not amazing. (Ars has been doing quite good game-review and recommendations the past two or three years.)

Played Photosynthesis last night. I thought it was pretty cool, with mechanics to allow multiple winning strategies. But my wife, who ironically won the game, was 'meh' on it, so we won't be buying it. Plus it's four-player max, so that's not a great addition to our mix.

 

[Sam Posten]

I just bought Photosynthesis as part of this monster Amazon sale:
https://www.amazon.com/s/browse/ref...es-20&linkId=3b0def97e246c36aa01529ebd4803486

They keep adding new stuff throughout the day as earlier deals sell out, keep checking!

 

[DaveF]

Decent sale. But nothing I must buy ATM. I’ve got a used copy of Age of Empires III that I still need to re-learn and play.

 

[BobO'Link]

I picked up a copy of Kingdomino and Oh My Goods. By the time I was able to sit down and fully go over the list a few other titles I spotted earlier and would have purchased were sold out.

 

[BobO'Link]

My son and his family are home for a week or so. Last night he, my 2 oldest grandkids (ages 11 & 14) and I played a couple of rounds of Azul and one of Letters to Santa. We finally played the "blank" side of the Azul board, to the delight of the 11yo. My son enjoyed both and was surprised he enjoyed Letters to Santa. A couple of times when playing "Krampus" my son and I knocked out my grandson with lucky guesses. He had "Elf" both times so it became a running joke that we'd guess "Elf" for him every time we played "Krampus." On one hand we knocked out both him and his sister with the first card played thanks to lucky Krampus guesses leaving my son and I to battle it out.

My granddaughter wanted to play Photosynthesis but it was a bit late. We may play that one today.

 

[Sam Posten]

I, uh, was BAD.

 

[BobO'Link]

I could have been. It was them selling out of several titles that kept me in line!

When I first went over the list I was planning on Queendomino (as well as King...) and Five Tribes for sure with 7 Wonders and Forbidden Desert in consideration. We have Forbidden Island and don't like some of the mechanics. What I've seen of the game play for Forbidden Desert looks to correct the issues we have with the wet version.