Pnochichi
Stunt Coordinator
Thanks! I found this one helpful as well in terms of versions
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What sort of Board Games do you Play (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Northgun
- Start date
That video's interesting. It still doesn't quite sell me on the idea of the Legacy edition and somewhat glosses over the Clank! In Space edition. FWIW, I have Clank! In Space on my various wish lists and will eventually pick it up. It was the Dice Tower review of that one that sold me on adding that version to the collection. I really like the idea of the modular board and some of the altered mechanics.
Due to its release date, he left out the last expansion published for the original Clank! - Clank! Adventuring Party. That one expands the player count from 4 to 6 players (also includes the requisite starting deck for those 2 new players). There are also new, unique, player pawns for each of the 6 colors along with 6 unique player types, each with their own special powers and starting deck. The only part of that one I find lacking is it doesn't include the 5th/6th character pawns for the main game and 2 other expansions that have alternate player pawns. Honestly, that's a very minor complaint as it's really a very good addition to the game. Like the 2 Acquisition Inc. expansions it also works with the Legacy edition but doesn't have plastic minis (they're wood like the original player pawns but each is unique).
He quickly mentioned that the first 2 expansions for Clank! add extra cards to the "Dungeon Deck" pool from which you purchase cards to customize your deck. Those cards primarily work with the maps/mechanics for their respective expansions which are "Sunken Treasures" and "The Mummy's Curse" though you can leave them in, if desired, for any of the maps. These 2 expansions are also in boxes (same general size as the base game box but half as thick).
The "Gold and Silk" and "Temple of the Ape Lords" expansions don't add "Dungeon Deck" cards but, unlike the first 2 expansions, include new player pawns in the original 4 colors. These 2 expansions come in hard plastic peg hanger packaging. It can be used for storage but they're not very convenient and don't stack at all.
For storage you can ditch the insert on the main game and get most, but not all, of the stuff in that box. Or you can ditch the inserts in the 2 boxed expansions and put those peg hanger expansions in them. *Or* there's a very nice insert from Folded Space that can be used to hold the main game, Gold and Silk, Temple of the Ape Lords, and "Adventuring Party" while keeping the 2 boxed expansions in their own boxes (which is what I did because it looks nicer) or combining them into a single expansion box. That Folded Space insert was really designed for the base game and original 4 expansions but still won't hold one of the game boards (they say leave out the Ape Lords board but it really doesn't matter which - it won't hold it all).
All of those expansions *except* Adventuring Party add a new double-sided game board (that's 5 boards total).
Yes, I own copies of all of the expansions for the original Clank! and we've played most of them. The altered mechanics really help keep it fresh. I picked up Adventuring Party as my main game group is my daughter and her 3 kids - a total of 5 of us - and only 4 of us could play Clank! before that expansion. Her youngest, now age 10, would be chomping at the bit to play this one but we'd just not have room so she'd "help" one of us play instead. Those unique player boards/powers that one includes were just icing on the cake.
Due to its release date, he left out the last expansion published for the original Clank! - Clank! Adventuring Party. That one expands the player count from 4 to 6 players (also includes the requisite starting deck for those 2 new players). There are also new, unique, player pawns for each of the 6 colors along with 6 unique player types, each with their own special powers and starting deck. The only part of that one I find lacking is it doesn't include the 5th/6th character pawns for the main game and 2 other expansions that have alternate player pawns. Honestly, that's a very minor complaint as it's really a very good addition to the game. Like the 2 Acquisition Inc. expansions it also works with the Legacy edition but doesn't have plastic minis (they're wood like the original player pawns but each is unique).
He quickly mentioned that the first 2 expansions for Clank! add extra cards to the "Dungeon Deck" pool from which you purchase cards to customize your deck. Those cards primarily work with the maps/mechanics for their respective expansions which are "Sunken Treasures" and "The Mummy's Curse" though you can leave them in, if desired, for any of the maps. These 2 expansions are also in boxes (same general size as the base game box but half as thick).
The "Gold and Silk" and "Temple of the Ape Lords" expansions don't add "Dungeon Deck" cards but, unlike the first 2 expansions, include new player pawns in the original 4 colors. These 2 expansions come in hard plastic peg hanger packaging. It can be used for storage but they're not very convenient and don't stack at all.
For storage you can ditch the insert on the main game and get most, but not all, of the stuff in that box. Or you can ditch the inserts in the 2 boxed expansions and put those peg hanger expansions in them. *Or* there's a very nice insert from Folded Space that can be used to hold the main game, Gold and Silk, Temple of the Ape Lords, and "Adventuring Party" while keeping the 2 boxed expansions in their own boxes (which is what I did because it looks nicer) or combining them into a single expansion box. That Folded Space insert was really designed for the base game and original 4 expansions but still won't hold one of the game boards (they say leave out the Ape Lords board but it really doesn't matter which - it won't hold it all).
All of those expansions *except* Adventuring Party add a new double-sided game board (that's 5 boards total).
Yes, I own copies of all of the expansions for the original Clank! and we've played most of them. The altered mechanics really help keep it fresh. I picked up Adventuring Party as my main game group is my daughter and her 3 kids - a total of 5 of us - and only 4 of us could play Clank! before that expansion. Her youngest, now age 10, would be chomping at the bit to play this one but we'd just not have room so she'd "help" one of us play instead. Those unique player boards/powers that one includes were just icing on the cake.
Pnochichi
Stunt Coordinator
do all the expansion boards connect together and create one big board or are they used individually? I heard someone mention flipping the board which I wasn't sure was during gameplay or alternatives at the start. I need to watch some gameplay videos to go along with the reviews, but it looks like it would be right up the alley of the family and group.
They are all stand-alone boards and all of them are double-sided. They, essentially, change the path taken to collect artifacts, etc. with each expansion board having some unique/themed mechanics which are different than the others. The "Temple of the Ape Lords" expansion has a two-game Mini-Campaign in which you play one side of the board, get a points token based on score order, keep any "ape-aratus" tokens collected, and flip the board to play the other side.
The biggest "issue" is it can have player elimination. It's absolutely a push-your-luck type game and there are two levels on the boards - above ground and below ground. If you run out of health *and* are below ground you are knocked out of the game and don't score any points. If you're *above* ground and run out of health your points *are* counted though you're still knocked out (no longer collect treasures or move). We've played the main board a half dozen or so times and I've seen this happen once. Fortunately the player was above ground so their points were counted. There are cards and locations which help you heal so it can be that you just failed to get those cards in your deck, didn't get them in your hand when truly needed, or couldn't make it to a healing location.
We really like deck building as a mechanic which means this is a game we really enjoy as deck building is a primary aspect of game play. And that whole push-your-luck aspect is really fun and makes for some tense moments. The main thing to watch for is one player can make a mad dash to the closest artifact (collecting an artifact is a requirement to leave the below ground area) and then do a mad dash to the starting point to trigger the end game effects. The first player to get back *or* get knocked out triggers this - at that point you have 5 turns to get out of the dungeon and/or back to the starting location. While this can be a valid winning technique it doesn't work as well as you'd expect.
Here's the link to the Dice Tower's play through of Clank!: Sunken Treasures:
www.dicetower.com
And their play through of Clank! In Space:
www.dicetower.com
The biggest "issue" is it can have player elimination. It's absolutely a push-your-luck type game and there are two levels on the boards - above ground and below ground. If you run out of health *and* are below ground you are knocked out of the game and don't score any points. If you're *above* ground and run out of health your points *are* counted though you're still knocked out (no longer collect treasures or move). We've played the main board a half dozen or so times and I've seen this happen once. Fortunately the player was above ground so their points were counted. There are cards and locations which help you heal so it can be that you just failed to get those cards in your deck, didn't get them in your hand when truly needed, or couldn't make it to a healing location.
We really like deck building as a mechanic which means this is a game we really enjoy as deck building is a primary aspect of game play. And that whole push-your-luck aspect is really fun and makes for some tense moments. The main thing to watch for is one player can make a mad dash to the closest artifact (collecting an artifact is a requirement to leave the below ground area) and then do a mad dash to the starting point to trigger the end game effects. The first player to get back *or* get knocked out triggers this - at that point you have 5 turns to get out of the dungeon and/or back to the starting location. While this can be a valid winning technique it doesn't work as well as you'd expect.
Here's the link to the Dice Tower's play through of Clank!: Sunken Treasures:
Dice Tower Live! Clank! with Sunken Treasures Expansion | The Dice Tower
And their play through of Clank! In Space:
Playthrough of Clank!..In Space! with Tom, Zee, and Sam | The Dice Tower
I discovered several days back that Target has a small selection of mostly "mass market" games on sale at ~50% off:
www.target.com
I took advantage of that and picked up a copy of:
It came in a couple of days ago so my 10yo granddaughter and I played a few games. It's surprisingly fun and plays in under 10 minutes.
Minuses: Horrible insert with card pits that aren't deep enough to hold the all of the cards so the top few *will* slide around in the box (in spite of the board sitting on top as it doesn't make a tight fit), finger holes that stop above the bottom of the card pits so you can't easily remove them, very cheap card quality (fortunately you don't handle them much as they're goal cards - but they also don't shuffle well due to being very, very thin - they card pits are also too small to allow for sleeved cards which would help with the cheap feel and shuffling issues), and paint that's already coming off places on the otherwise very nice wooden pieces (I may get some "clear coat" spray paint to help with that). BUT - I paid ~$9.50 shipped (did a large enough order for free shipping) so, honestly, it's not that bad for the price.
It also requires a 60 second timer of some type as one doesn't come in the box. They suggest a phone app or watch (I own neither a "smart" phone or watch). I just happened to have a 60 second sand timer collecting dust so it became part of that game. A timer that "dings" or makes some noise when it reaches zero would be a better choice but that worked OK for us as we put it beside the draw pile so we'd see it easily.
Pluses: The wooden board is nice (though I've read complaints about the numbers on the sides not being done "right" - or rather not like shown in the instructions - I found no issue in that regard) as are the wooden player pieces. And it's fun. 60 seconds goes by much faster than you'd think in this game and it can be quite challenging, even on the "beginner" setting.
It's a coop game so you either win or lose together. And there are degrees of losing based on the number of "goals" you have left at the end of a game. The number of goals reflects the challenge level.
I can see this one hitting the table quite often simply because it plays very quickly and is lots of fun.
Board Games : Target
Shop Target for board games. Everything from classics to the latest board games at incredible prices. Free shipping on orders $35+ & free returns plus same-day in-store pickup.
I took advantage of that and picked up a copy of:
It came in a couple of days ago so my 10yo granddaughter and I played a few games. It's surprisingly fun and plays in under 10 minutes.
Minuses: Horrible insert with card pits that aren't deep enough to hold the all of the cards so the top few *will* slide around in the box (in spite of the board sitting on top as it doesn't make a tight fit), finger holes that stop above the bottom of the card pits so you can't easily remove them, very cheap card quality (fortunately you don't handle them much as they're goal cards - but they also don't shuffle well due to being very, very thin - they card pits are also too small to allow for sleeved cards which would help with the cheap feel and shuffling issues), and paint that's already coming off places on the otherwise very nice wooden pieces (I may get some "clear coat" spray paint to help with that). BUT - I paid ~$9.50 shipped (did a large enough order for free shipping) so, honestly, it's not that bad for the price.
It also requires a 60 second timer of some type as one doesn't come in the box. They suggest a phone app or watch (I own neither a "smart" phone or watch). I just happened to have a 60 second sand timer collecting dust so it became part of that game. A timer that "dings" or makes some noise when it reaches zero would be a better choice but that worked OK for us as we put it beside the draw pile so we'd see it easily.
Pluses: The wooden board is nice (though I've read complaints about the numbers on the sides not being done "right" - or rather not like shown in the instructions - I found no issue in that regard) as are the wooden player pieces. And it's fun. 60 seconds goes by much faster than you'd think in this game and it can be quite challenging, even on the "beginner" setting.
It's a coop game so you either win or lose together. And there are degrees of losing based on the number of "goals" you have left at the end of a game. The number of goals reflects the challenge level.
I can see this one hitting the table quite often simply because it plays very quickly and is lots of fun.
Pnochichi
Stunt Coordinator
Went with the classic Clank to start with. Me and my youngest are going to give it a play test today while my wife is on set with my oldest. Then we will roll it into game night tonight or tomorrow. Looking forward to trying it out and the young one is excited about it too.
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Pnochichi
Stunt Coordinator
Clank was a hit with the whole group. My 10 year old loved it. My 16 year old played when they got home from set and loved it. Then we did it at game night tonight with 4 players and we all had a great time. It'll be even better next time now that we all have a good feel for the game. Thanks for the suggestion. It's definitely going into the rotation. Going back into the thread looking for a new one now. 
I *finally* picked up a copy of Clans of Caledonia:
I'd come "this close" on several occasions when, a year or so back, it suddenly sold out in the US and *stayed* sold out, commanding high prices on the secondary market. The past couple of months, Amazon UK has gotten copies in on a semi-regular basis and I *finally* managed to order a copy while they had a few in stock - and at a "reasonable" price (not the "great" price pre US sell out but less than MSRP). It arrived today (and took *less* time to arrive from the UK than more Amazon US orders and was packaged better to boot!).
Yesterday I finally got around to playing Agricola. I think I like it just a bit better than Caverna due to the cards and how they can change game play. You get some of that in Caverna via special tiles but the cards seem to have more variety. I didn't find "feeding your family" any more difficult than in Caverna but I also played solo and had full access to the food locations whenever I wanted which, I'm sure, somewhat colors that process. Still, they're so similar that I could play either and be quite happy with the experience.
I also played Newton for the first time. It's not bad and plays *very* quickly - one of those where the game's over and you're still wanting to do things. I struggled with the rules due to the poorly written rule book. It took reading the rules, playing a game, and reading the rules *again* to finally "get" some of the mechanisms and their proper working. It's one of those games that *really* needs a player guide due to the iconography and how vaguely it's presented/explained/shown (or not properly shown) in the rules. Now that I think I know how things work I need to play again as I think my opinion will go up a bit.
I'd come "this close" on several occasions when, a year or so back, it suddenly sold out in the US and *stayed* sold out, commanding high prices on the secondary market. The past couple of months, Amazon UK has gotten copies in on a semi-regular basis and I *finally* managed to order a copy while they had a few in stock - and at a "reasonable" price (not the "great" price pre US sell out but less than MSRP). It arrived today (and took *less* time to arrive from the UK than more Amazon US orders and was packaged better to boot!).
Yesterday I finally got around to playing Agricola. I think I like it just a bit better than Caverna due to the cards and how they can change game play. You get some of that in Caverna via special tiles but the cards seem to have more variety. I didn't find "feeding your family" any more difficult than in Caverna but I also played solo and had full access to the food locations whenever I wanted which, I'm sure, somewhat colors that process. Still, they're so similar that I could play either and be quite happy with the experience.
I also played Newton for the first time. It's not bad and plays *very* quickly - one of those where the game's over and you're still wanting to do things. I struggled with the rules due to the poorly written rule book. It took reading the rules, playing a game, and reading the rules *again* to finally "get" some of the mechanisms and their proper working. It's one of those games that *really* needs a player guide due to the iconography and how vaguely it's presented/explained/shown (or not properly shown) in the rules. Now that I think I know how things work I need to play again as I think my opinion will go up a bit.
Pnochichi
Stunt Coordinator
First test playthrough of Red Rising tonight. We love the books it's based on, so it was very cool to play on that world. There is some nice complexity to the deck building, but the end game triggers were too easy to reach so it seemed hard to develop a strategy before the endgame. It made it a little more luck based since the cards interaction is so important but we didn't get through much of the deck at all. I do like the structure where each turn allows you to control your card and bonus action form a limited set or to take a chance on card and action from a broader set.
It's likely that without knowing the books, we wouldn't play again soon, but every agreed to try a few more games to see how it goes when we are more familiar.
It also has a set of single player instructions and extra cards for the single player game so ill give that a spin later as well.
The dog was obviously unimpressed.
It's likely that without knowing the books, we wouldn't play again soon, but every agreed to try a few more games to see how it goes when we are more familiar.
It also has a set of single player instructions and extra cards for the single player game so ill give that a spin later as well.
The dog was obviously unimpressed.
Attachments
Big thumbs up for Ruins of Arnak
I keep dragging my feet getting Ruins of Arnak on the table... but that's because I have more than a few games rated quite highly that are also unplayed. Choosing which to play on any given day is somewhat of a challenge itself. And it doesn't help that I keep picking up more games I really want to play.
Just last week miniaturemarket.com had a $15 off a $125 purchase sale that happened to coincide with a "up to 50% off select CMON titles" sale. I managed to *not* partake of the CMON stuff, which was difficult as they more than a few of the Arcadia Quest titles and Zombicide titles included. I kept waffling on a few for both of those and finally decided I needed to play Arcadia Quest itself more first and my grandkids probably wouldn't like Zombicide (and after showing it to my grandson I was glad as he said "Nope... doesn't look interesting at all."). But that didn't stop me from picking up a few other things.
I purchased the base game of this some time back in one of Target's B2G1 sales and since that time both the original base game and this expansion have pretty much gone OOP in favor of a reprint that puts both in the same box (at roughly the same price as purchasing them separately before). I'd watched this one go OOS at a couple of places and the price climb at Amazon so since MM had a couple at a fair price I jumped on it "just in case" as it's widely regarded as very worthwhile addition to the game.
One I've had my eye on for quite a while. Looks very interesting and the whole travel through space bit with the "moving board" is intriguing. No one else had it for a better price (or it was OOS - like many titles these days).
Another I've had on my wish lists for some time. Dice to move/take actions, a *huge* rondel (the entire outer edge of the board), and tile placement (which can be ignored and you can still do OK if I understand reviews correctly - I like when games have mechanisms that can be used or ignored as they seem to give more options). Like Black Angel, it's either OOS or higher priced at most other vendors.
Maybe I should throw out a list asking you guys what I should play next... Hmmm....
Just last week miniaturemarket.com had a $15 off a $125 purchase sale that happened to coincide with a "up to 50% off select CMON titles" sale. I managed to *not* partake of the CMON stuff, which was difficult as they more than a few of the Arcadia Quest titles and Zombicide titles included. I kept waffling on a few for both of those and finally decided I needed to play Arcadia Quest itself more first and my grandkids probably wouldn't like Zombicide (and after showing it to my grandson I was glad as he said "Nope... doesn't look interesting at all."). But that didn't stop me from picking up a few other things.
I purchased the base game of this some time back in one of Target's B2G1 sales and since that time both the original base game and this expansion have pretty much gone OOP in favor of a reprint that puts both in the same box (at roughly the same price as purchasing them separately before). I'd watched this one go OOS at a couple of places and the price climb at Amazon so since MM had a couple at a fair price I jumped on it "just in case" as it's widely regarded as very worthwhile addition to the game.
One I've had my eye on for quite a while. Looks very interesting and the whole travel through space bit with the "moving board" is intriguing. No one else had it for a better price (or it was OOS - like many titles these days).
Another I've had on my wish lists for some time. Dice to move/take actions, a *huge* rondel (the entire outer edge of the board), and tile placement (which can be ignored and you can still do OK if I understand reviews correctly - I like when games have mechanisms that can be used or ignored as they seem to give more options). Like Black Angel, it's either OOS or higher priced at most other vendors.
Maybe I should throw out a list asking you guys what I should play next... Hmmm....
We love Teotihuacan
I played Underwater Cities the first time yesterday. It's very good. I don't know that I'd call it a Terraforming Mars killer, as I've read in a few comments/reviews, but it's just as enjoyable in a different way. Like TM, it's an "engine builder" type game with card management but uses worker placement to trigger actions and card abilities which allow you to earn resources and/or build necessary things to get your engine working. And I absolutely "lost" that first game. To win you must build a specific number (or more) of underwater city domes (did that) and get to a specific score (or higher) on the score track (failed quite well here only getting 80 out of the minimum of 100).
I *did* manage to play parts of the game incorrectly which impacted that final score but doubt it would have improved enough to win had I done those things properly (some things hurt me, others helped so it was kind of a wash in that area). The absolutely *worst* mistake was I failed to swap out the "era" decks - there's a separate deck of action/ability cards for each era and I played the entire game with the deck for era 1 (there are 3 eras).
It's also very much a table hog. A single player game easily filled the "standard size" card table I used yesterday. I really should have played on my dedicated game table but can't see the TV from that location and I was being quite casual with that first play through. I think I can make the TV viewable for those times I'm playing solo so may look into that (have to relocate a couple of DVD totes to make an opening in the "wall").
The newest release from Rio Grande Games has "normal" punch board thickness player boards (the earlier printings were like card stock thickness) which is quite nice. The expansion takes those and makes them dual layer plus adds 4 more dual layer boards for even more variety. *All* boards are double-sided (the base game has "standard" and "advance" sides with each board being slightly different than the others) and dual layer in the expansion.
I *did* manage to play parts of the game incorrectly which impacted that final score but doubt it would have improved enough to win had I done those things properly (some things hurt me, others helped so it was kind of a wash in that area). The absolutely *worst* mistake was I failed to swap out the "era" decks - there's a separate deck of action/ability cards for each era and I played the entire game with the deck for era 1 (there are 3 eras).
It's also very much a table hog. A single player game easily filled the "standard size" card table I used yesterday. I really should have played on my dedicated game table but can't see the TV from that location and I was being quite casual with that first play through. I think I can make the TV viewable for those times I'm playing solo so may look into that (have to relocate a couple of DVD totes to make an opening in the "wall").
The newest release from Rio Grande Games has "normal" punch board thickness player boards (the earlier printings were like card stock thickness) which is quite nice. The expansion takes those and makes them dual layer plus adds 4 more dual layer boards for even more variety. *All* boards are double-sided (the base game has "standard" and "advance" sides with each board being slightly different than the others) and dual layer in the expansion.
We got the restored Hero Quest to the table tonight. I played the evil dungeon master! The best thing about Hero Quest is almost forcing a total party kill!
Pnochichi
Stunt Coordinator
Awesome video.
We just got cytosis in based on a recommendation many pages back and it looks great. We homeschool both kids and we do a lot of gameschool stuff so this will fit right in. Feels like its going to take a few playthroughs to get the hang of it, but really looking forward to trying it out with the kids this weekend.
We just got cytosis in based on a recommendation many pages back and it looks great. We homeschool both kids and we do a lot of gameschool stuff so this will fit right in. Feels like its going to take a few playthroughs to get the hang of it, but really looking forward to trying it out with the kids this weekend.
Niiice... How does Hero Quest work? Perhaps link to a good, reasonably comprehensive review? Guess I should at least check out that video (in a little bit)...
Used to love playing (A)D&D, including some related computerized versions like Bard's Tale on my old C64, along w/ the old Gauntlet arcade game, of course, back in my college days... and might've considered joining some neighbor in his mid-life group of D&D-ers in recent years...
Never got into any (physical) board game version though...
_Man_
It's baaack... The Target B2G1 free sale on movies, books, board games. Feb. 6-12:
weeklyad.target.com
Weekly Deals In Stores Now : Target Weekly Ad
Shop Target's weekly sales & deals from the Target Weekly Ad for men's, women's, kid's and baby clothing & apparel, toys, furniture, home goods & more.
It's baaack... The Target B2G1 free sale on movies, books, board games. Feb. 6-12:
Weekly Deals In Stores Now : Target Weekly Ad
Shop Target's weekly sales & deals from the Target Weekly Ad for men's, women's, kid's and baby clothing & apparel, toys, furniture, home goods & more.
And maybe just in time since I also have a Target Bonus to see if I can earn (w/ what's been waiting my cart since the last time), hehheh...
_Man_
Pnochichi
Stunt Coordinator
This weekend's family games at the table:
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