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

[BobO'Link]

2P Space base is the worst space base, just be ready for that. It's best with 4-5.

Comments like that just add to my interest... If I can get a "full complement" of players it's 5 people - Me, my daughter, grandson, and 2 granddaughters - and it's often 4 (one of the 2 oldest may not play depending on video game/phone stuff at the time). I've purchased several games as much as anything because they support 5 players (and they looked interesting with mechanics we like). I'm always looking for additions that meet those criteria and Space Base looks like it could be one of those.

 

[Sam Posten]

Then check out the new hotness @BobO'Link The Crew

 

[DaveF]

Space Base is like Machi Koro, but fixes pretty much all its problems. I still don’t love SB, but I see why other people do.
If you’re looking esp for 5p games, it’s probably worth a blind buy.

 

[BobO'Link]

Then check out the new hotness @BobO'Link The Crew

Thanks, but no...

We absolutely do not like "coop" style games and this one appears to be just another trick taking game, and rather generic at that, unless you use the "mission" (aka coop varieties) book. Add a minimum 3 player requirement and it's absolutely a non starter.

I've detested the 3 player minimum requirement since my sister and I got Clue for Christmas one year - we *rarely* had 3 people who'd play. The few 3 player minimum games I now have (most purchased without realizing that requirement) rarely hit the table due to that one little thing (seems like there are always a couple who just don't like the game).

Coop games will be the absolutely last thing chosen, if at all. I have a couple of highly rated ones (no... not Pandemic - that one looks totally unappealing) and they rarely hit the table. We vastly prefer playing against each other than against the game mechanics.

 

[BobO'Link]

A couple of weeks back I picked up a couple of Keyforge decks real cheap and have been trying to get my grandson to play test it with me. We finally did that yesterday afternoon. OK... it was kind of a bust.

The manual (a PDF I had to dl) was/is somewhat confusing, contradictory, and doesn't have answer for many questions we had while playing. We spent as much time googling answers as playing which made the experience less than satisfying (much less for him). I wanted to play a 2nd game and swap decks but he was ready to quit (it took over an hour and a half to play that one game). Bummer... especially so as I found some starter kits for the "2nd phase" quite cheap on deepdiscount (~6 for a starter that comes with all tokens, a "quick start" rulebook, and 2 unique decks) and ordered a couple (it's less than purchasing 2 of the decks for that phase and you get 2 unique decks in each starter) anticipating we'd like it - after all, it's designed by Richard Garfield and we both like MtG. He *did* say he's willing to give it another shot at some point so there's that.

I then found we'd played *lots* of things wrong. I read a few threads on BGG on the game to see what we missed and discovered the "manual" is never printed and constantly updated online. It also has a FAQ section and answers to how some card combos work. I got the latest manual (what I had was almost 2 years old!) and discovered all the things we did wrong, many of which completely change how we were playing. I never had that manual come up in a google search!

So... I'm now waiting on that dd order to ship so we can try again. At least the starter will have the things we cobbled together to be able to play. Decks packages come with *just* the deck and no instructions of any kind or any of the required tokens. You need several different tokens to play so we used poker chips and glass beads as stand-ins.

 

[jcroy]

The manual (a PDF I had to dl) was/is somewhat confusing, contradictory, and doesn't have answer for many questions we had while playing. We spent as much time googling answers as playing which made the experience less than satisfying (much less for him).

(More generally).

This is what drove me away from playing many boardgames, when I couldn't figure out what exactly the rules were. Especially when they were just as complicated as Dungeons & Dragons or "wargames" from the 1970s.

 

[BobO'Link]

Yesterday evening my daughter asked if we were going to play any games (surprise! she's been pretty wore out with her work-from-home stuff and just not in the mood lately) so we asked the kids to find no takers. She asked me if we could play anyway - Sure!! Happy to! So I told her we were going to play a new-to-her game and she couldn't argue or back out (she doesn't like to learn new games that often). I took advantage of that to finally get Stone Age to the table.

She looked over the rules while I set things up and we started mostly cold with her having just enough basic information to play. I told her the first move she should make - insisted she take it - (get a tool) and we were off. As we played she watched what I was doing and tried a few things on her own and actually enjoyed the game.

As we were putting it away she commented that the kids would probably like it and that she enjoyed the level of game play - not to complex but not simple either. When she asked how many it plays I told her 4 - but an expansion adds a 5th player. Since she expressed a strong interest in playing again and absolutely wanted to get the kids to play too I immediately ordered the expansion. As luck would have it, Amazon got them in stock themselves and have it priced as low as I've seen it anywhere else.

 

[BobO'Link]

(More generally).

This is what drove me away from playing many boardgames, when I couldn't figure out what exactly the rules were. Especially when they were just as complicated as Dungeons & Dragons or "wargames" from the 1970s.

We don't have issues with many games. We've run across complex rules but it's usually in games that are quite complex. Never with a game that should be "simple" out of the box.

The manual I had for this one is the worst for "comprehension" that I've seen in quite a long time. That updated manual I found at the manufacturers site was a significant improvement over the ~2 year old one we had at the time - but that stuff shouldn't have to be sussed out. They *do* tell you on the back of the package were to get rules - and I'd have sworn that's where I got that first manual.

I guess they figure most new players will start with a "starter kit" and not simply purchase a couple of decks. But the way it's marketed and presented pretty much guarantees new players will not return unless they were guided by someone already familiar with the game.

In a review, I gave "Unstable Unicorns" bad marks for not including all the rules in the manual they put in the box. At least their manual in the box is understandable and covers all contingencies - its failing is it replaces 2 player instructions with cute graphics. You have to go to their web site to get the very simple modifications for 2 players which would fit in that manual if they'd just leave out a couple of superfluous unicorn images.

 

[BobO'Link]

My daughter, her 2 oldest, and I played Stone Age last night. I'm happy to say it was a hit all around with the 13yo asking if we could play again (sorry, too late, but we will tomorrow). The 9yo watched a bit of the last third of the game and commented "You guys have been playing this for a long time!" And we had. I think that game took almost 2 hours but we had several, lengthy, "laugh breaks" when someone would make a comment and crack everyone up which would start a feeding frenzy of comebacks and asides. The 16yo asked if it would play 5. I said "Yes... with the expansion... that I've ordered." That prompted a "Yeah... it'll get here in a month or so..."

When doing the end game scoring I went last. As we went around the table and the lead changed a couple of times (with me over 50 points behind) my daughter said "Just watch what Pa does..." and I got another 200 or so points from my Civilization Cards. I could see the wheels turning in my grandson's head. I expect to get a run for my money from him with the next game.

I got shipping notice for "Stone Age: The Expansion" (aka Style is the Goal) this morning. It should arrive Thursday. I'm not saying a word to them until it shows up.

Meanwhile... the 9yo has been bugging me for us to play Altiplano. She wants to play it solely due to the Llama on the cover (it *is* rather cute). I had her watch Tom Vasel's review with me and then explained how I'd have to read the rules a couple of times and go over all the parts first because it looks to be a more difficult game to teach. With everyone in a board game playing mood I need to get that done.

 

[DaveF]

You should get the revised rules with The Expansion. But if it feels like you're expected to play a weird starvation game to use the decorations, go to BGG to get the correct rules.

 

[BobO'Link]

None of the kids wanted to play board games last night. BUT - I got my daughter to play Altiplano with me. A first time for both of us. She was *royally* confused about the "put your stuff on the board and then each section of your board is a turn/action." It took a few turns for her to "get" what's going on. She really didn't care for the "everyone puts their resources on their personal board at once" bit (we've only ever played fully turn-based stuff before) but as we played she became more comfortable with that and that "actions are turns" and different players may get more actions than others (I'd have thought she got that from playing Stone Age).

So... It took over 2 hours for us to play a full game. Part of that was her initial confusion and getting her past that. I felt that once we got the hang of what to do it went fairly well. I pulled a couple of totally bone-headed moves that cost me the game (royally - I lost by over 50 points). On one, I purchased a "delivery" when I only had a single copy of one of the required items and had it on the board for several turns before realizing what I'd done. By the time I finally pulled it from the bag I was several "deliveries" behind (you can be working on only *one* at a time so it has to be completed before you can purchase another). And then I put far too many of one item in the warehouse and didn't have enough to cycle through actions fast enough.

I *think* I can get her to play again but... She's a tough cookie when it comes to which games she'll play and often avoids those she feels are "complex." Altiplano is borderline for her mainly due to all the choices you have. It can sometimes confuse and overwhelm her bringing on AP. She also didn't like the somewhat lengthy set up due to all the little bits and areas (it took almost 30 minutes to get it set up to play). Because of that I'd want to know *for sure* someone will play and get it setup myself before they even sit down.

I like the game and will willingly play again. My daughter? Could go either way.

 

[skylark68]

My older daughter and I have been playing checkers and battleship. She's 9 so it's pretty fun.

 

[BobO'Link]

You know... I couldn't tell you if any of my grandkids have played Checkers! I know my grandson has played Battleship when he was about the age of your oldest (we played fairly often) and learned enough about Chess to play that some when he was 10 or 11. I doubt either of his sister's have played Battleship (they've not played my copy and I don't think they have one).

My 9yo granddaughter loves: Kingdomino, Parfum, Santorinii, Sushi Go!, Sparkly Kitty, Unstable Unicorns, UNO, Hey - That's My Fish!, Enchanted Forest, Labyrinth, 12 Days (a Christmas themed card game), Letters to Santa (same as Love Letter with a Christmas theme), Ticket to Ride (the standard and New York with NY being her favorite), Ghost Fightin' Treasure Hunters, Fairy Tale, World Monuments, Super-Vampires, Mighty Monsters, and Carcassonne. Wow! I had no idea she liked so many games (and I probably missed a couple)! I just ask her "What do you want to play today?" and she picks one.

 

[DavidJ]

Both my kids, aged 9 and 14, have been playing chess several times a day since they first learned how to play on Sunday. It's been a lot of fun to watch and to play with them.

 

[BobO'Link]

The Stone Age Expansion arrived a couple of days ago (a day ahead of the projected date) and I opened it last night. I was surprised to see a change made to the overlay board. It's no longer a small standard fold-in-the-middle game board but a two piece "puzzle" type:

That absolutely eliminates complaints about it not laying flat. I like that change. Everything else looks to be the same as before.

Hopefully we'll play with it today or tomorrow.

 

[DaveF]

We've got the foldy one. It's fine. The puzzle shape would also be fine.

 

[Sam Posten]

They finally cancelled GenCon. My ticket will roll over till 2021 but guess I gotta cancel my flight and hotel.

Gen Con | Updates on Gen Con and COVID-19

The Best Four Days in Gaming

www.gencon.com

 

[Dave Upton]

They finally cancelled GenCon. My ticket will roll over till 2021 but guess I gotta cancel my flight and hotel.

Gen Con | Updates on Gen Con and COVID-19

The Best Four Days in Gaming

www.gencon.com

I'm lucky i got to attend PAX South before the madness started, though to be honest it felt like a "light" year in terms of new game releases.

 

[BobO'Link]

We *finally* got Clank! back to the table. I taught my daughter and we got the kids to play. My grandson (age 16) said before that "first" game with him and his oldest sister (13) "I don't care much for that one, but I'll play anyway." We'd played it *once* last summer with my son when he and his family were home for a visit.

And we play a couple of games that everyone seems to enjoy. Their 9yo sister comes in at one point and asks to play (sorry... only 4... but you can play the next time). I felt sorry for the 13yo as she "died" in the cave both games. That's the one thing I don't like about this one - you can be fully eliminated if you "die" below ground. We're considering house ruling against that and letting points count anyway. BUT... that eliminates the "push your luck" element... The reason she didn't make it out was she'd not paid any attention to her brother heading for the exit. By the time she realized what was going on it was too late to get out.

A couple of nights later I asked if anyone wanted to play a game and he replies "Yes, Clank!" "What?!? I thought you didn't like that one much?" "Well... that was before we played if a few times. It's pretty good." So he gets the "You can't judge a game by a single play. You have to play it 2-4 times to develop a strategy and get a feel before you can truly know." Surprisingly, he fully agreed.

The next night we broke out the "Sunken Treasures" expansion with me, my daughter, and grandson playing. It was a hit and we were about to play the 2nd side when the 9yo came in and we asked if she still wanted to play. Of course! We get out the original "easy" board for her first game.

She, like her sister, died in the cave, but only needed a single step to get above ground. Out of curiosity we counted her points to find she'd have won the game had she made it all the way out. FWIW, we all were giving advice on which cards to purchase and suggestions on the route but let her make the final decision, even if it went against what we advised (which is why she didn't make it out). I think she did a good job but don't know if she'll want to play again as she didn't stick around to see who won and acted a bit like she was bored with it during game play.

There's an expansion coming out in the fall that supposedly adds the 5th player to the game. If she still wants to play that one's a no-brainer.

My son enjoyed that single game of Clank! last summer enough that he recently purchased Clank! Legacy to bring when they come for visits. They live ~4 hours away (moved closer last November) and come in every 3-4 months for a week stay. We play games as frequently as we can on those visits and have several his kids can play (ages 3, 5, and 8) so try to get them involved as much as possible.

 

[Sam Posten]

Nice, what a great recap. I was gonna recommend the legacy one. There's all kinds of versions now. We like the in space one.

@Dave Upton I am still hoping Pax Unplugged will happen, but remain doubtful.