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

[BobO'Link]

I figure everyone's seen these but I'll throw them out just in case.

Amazon "Deal of the Day" (up to 30% off) on:

Party Games for Adults

Board Games

I finally picked up the 5-6 player expansion for Catan (now when my son is home all of us can play). I'm considering "GOT Catan," "GOT the Board Game," and "Descent: Journeys in the Dark."

**EDIT**
GOT:TBG is out simply because it's for 3 players minimum (sometimes it's quite hard to get 2 of the kids on board for a heavier game) *plus* it plays in 2-4 hours. With both those restrictions (3+ and length) it's unlikely to hit the table enough to warrant the purchase. Bummer - as it really looks nice.

 

[Sam Posten]

I got Charterstone which is not on that list and Rails and Sails which was.

 

[Sam Posten]

Off to Pax Unplugged! Played Red Drragon Inn at the Reddit pre event.

And Fireball island last night

 

[Sam Posten]

Pax is my jam

Bottom is my $50 blind box. Above is my buddy’s. Have 10ish ‘real’ buys lined up for tomorrow. Learned The Thing and Gear City. Sold on both

 

[DaveF]

Tell me about Stone Age Anniversary!

 

[BobO'Link]

From the publisher:

Stone Age: 10th Anniversary is a new edition of the Stone Age base game that features a double-sided game board (winter and summer), decorative player pieces, a revised rulebook, two mini-expansions ("The Igloos" and "The Wild Animals"), and a "Winter Is Hard!" variant.

Here are some images of the winter side and expansions:

I've never played the original Stone Age but had my local comic shop guy order a copy for me. I debated getting the Anniversary Edition but not having played before wasn't sure I wanted to drop an extra $20 for a recolored map and what looks to be a minor expansion. I'll likely regret the decision... BUT I have time to play the original and decide for sure as the release date hasn't been set. Z-Man says "Q4" on their site and vendors on Amazon say sometime in April/May 2019. You can pre-order it direct from Z-Man ($79.99 - MSRP) or from miniaturemarket.com ($63.99), and probably others but I've not checked.

**EDIT**
I just found this video and am about to watch it. It's a comparison video between the 2 editions.

 

[DaveF]

I"m a long time fan of Stone Age and its Decorations Expansion. It's a great two-player game. It slows down with four and five players, we've found, though.

The review video was very helpful. I'm intrigued by the updated aspects. But the downside is that, Stone Age scoring will no longer be be fully countable at the end of the game. My recollection is that the points are fully reviewable by your collected buildings and etc. But with the plus-stone and plus-gold, that will no longer be possible.

I'm also disappointed that the Decorations expansion isn't included nor compatible with the new edition. If the $80 edition had a fully re-themed new version including the 5-player expansion, I'd probably get it.

But as is, being incompatible with and not including the expansion, it's not worth $80 for 4-player variant of Stone Age to me.

 

[BobO'Link]

From what I understand the flip side of the Winter board is the regular board that can be played with the original rules and *is* compatible with the expansion. BUT, like you and many others, I don't understand why they didn't include that expansion in this edition. Had they done that I'd consider it a no-brainer purchase over the standard edition. As it is, I'm still on the fence.

I like the look of the Winter board but don't know enough about the original to know how I'd feel about the slightly different play and scoring. Part of me says "It's only $20 more" while another says "But you can get another game for that $20" so I'm happy with my purchase of the original game reprint for now.

 

[DaveF]

My basic recommendation would be to get Stone Age and the Expansion, if you don't have any copy of Stone Age. But it appears that the Expansion (Decorates, or Style is Key or whatever it's called) is out of print. So...Stone Age is $45 and the anniversary is going to be $80, but has a new play variant. I think I'd recommend waiting to see what happens with street pricing and possible refresh of the expansion.

 

[DaveF]

I'm told that the Armada expansion for 7 Wonders is really truly being released next year! I'm hopeful for that. The Babylon expansion was a disappointment, and we never play it.

But in the interim, there are new Leaders and Cities card packs to freshen up the game a bit:
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076NXDYH...olid=24PVO8VYNI341&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B076NXM6J...olid=24PVO8VYNI341&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

I've played with them and they're good. They're on my christmas wish list, since we're big 7 Wonders fans and buy all the add-ons we find.

Holy Tabby Cats!!! It's officially being promoted!
https://www.amazon.com/Repos-Poduct...rd_wg=NWe0I&psc=1&refRID=GKH3PTCPHS4JXP7W1CD7

 

[BobO'Link]

My basic recommendation would be to get Stone Age and the Expansion, if you don't have any copy of Stone Age. But it appears that the Expansion (Decorates, or Style is Key or whatever it's called) is out of print. So...Stone Age is $45 and the anniversary is going to be $80, but has a new play variant. I think I'd recommend waiting to see what happens with street pricing and possible refresh of the expansion.

Yes, "The Expansion" is OOP - BUT Z-Man has it listed in the "Awaiting reprint" section of their site. That's on the same page as the "In stock" - "Newly available" - "At the printers" (which is where the Anniversary Edition is currently listed) listings. I'm hoping for it by mid-2019 - but can wait. Going by a couple of video reviews I watched it looks good, but not exactly essential.

 

[DaveF]

We’ve had the expansion long enough that we now consider it essential. It opens the game up adding another major strategy.

 

[Sam Posten]

Don’t buy Stone Age until next year

 

[BobO'Link]

^Yes... I know. I've been watching this release for a few months.

At this point I just don't see the slight upgrade to the product to be worth $20 extra simply because we've never seen the game in person and I'm the only one who's seen any video reviews/playthroughs. Should we really like the base game then I'll spring for the Anniversary edition and gift the original (my son's a board gamer who's also never played this one). Had they included the expansion to the original in this box at the current price I'd absolutely have waited. Since they didn't, I feel that I can afford the chance...

That said... my local game store guy has gotten quite lax of late getting my gaming stuff. I expected my order of Stone Age to have been in 2 weeks ago (and I should have cancelled the order that day when he said it'd not yet been placed but I like giving them business whenever possible as it's a small store and I've known the owners for years) but, supposedly, it'll be there this coming Wednesday. If it's not... I'll cancel it and either pick it up elsewhere (possibly for less at this point) or just wait for the Anniversary edition to hit.

 

[BobO'Link]

Just in case you guys don't get out much ( ):

One of Amazon's "Deal of the Day" is "Up to 30% off Strategy Board games."

There are a few good deals...

I purchased a copy of the "Kingdomino: Age of Giants" expansion and am looking at "Suburbia" and "Whistle Stop."

 

[Sam Posten]

 

[BobO'Link]

Amazon put Scythe "on sale" (I think they were auto responding to a MP vendor who kept dropping the price) a week or so back and I finally caved and purchased a copy. I hope it's as good as the hype...

 

[Sam Posten]

I've played Scythe once and own a boxed copy... You will dig it but it is heavy side.

BIG BIG BIG thumbs up for Space Base. It's $26 on Amazon now.

 

[DaveF]

I’ve played Scythe twice, with friends who were playing regularly. It’s a very good. It deceptively looks like a war game, but it’s really a rounded strategy game with a few rules that create multiple strategies, combined with player factions having unique buffs. There are expansions that make it play larger groups, I think.

Finally, if you like it but it’s too much for young kiddos, there’s a My Little Scythe for them.

 

[DaveF]

Ars Cardboard has suggestions:
"Eight great board games we played at PAX Unplugged | Ars Technica" (https://arstechnica.com/gaming/2018/12/eight-great-board-games-we-played-at-pax-unplugged/)
Eight great board games we played at PAX Unplugged | Ars Technica