OO Boardgamers, what did you play this weekend?

[Chaz]

I usually find that Steve Jackson games and their ability to always take two hours longer than you think they will (or want them to) have killed more parties than they've started. I like them so much in theory, but then they keep going and going and going...

[Jow]

i sort of view illuminati as a somewhat heavier, longer, less random Cosmic Encountery experience. Longer is the key, especially with the expansions: sometimes it just draaaaags. It doesn't come onto my table very often but I still enjoy it when it does.

Don't see it as a party game though. I define party games as semiquick li'l romps that are simple enough in concept for non-gamers to pick up and understand immediately.

[NickAragua]

I usually find that Steve Jackson games and their ability to always take two hours longer than you think they will (or want them to) have killed more parties than they've started. I like them so much in theory, but then they keep going and going and going...

Car Wars is the worst offender of the lot. I love the concept, but the physics simulation is way too damn detailed (rotate the car by 37 degrees, add your velocity vectors...). That, and limited table space just doesn't lend itself very well to fast-paced vehicle combat - you either have to slow down and turn around, crash into a wall, or go off the table. And, then, just as you're about to throw your hands up in disgust, your car gets lasered in the left tire, flips over and lands on top of some poor schmuck's motorcycle, crushing it before killing your driver.

Also, Illuminati: Not a party game. Requires way too much attention - you can't just jump in for a couple of quick rounds.

[hepcat]

I tend to categorize games that have somewhat silly rules that defy any real and consistent use of strategy as party games. That probably opens the genre up further for me than most, I guess. That the game openly encourages cheating in the rules makes it even more so for me.

[El Guapo]

This is my favorite party game.

[hepcat]

This is my favorite party game.

do they encourage cheating in the rules? does the game have a lot of goofy cards that openly break rules? i'll have to look into this as I assumed Here I Stand was more of a wargame based on socio and diplomatic policies. now that i've learned it's a much lighter, sillier game i'll have to check it out!

[hentzau]

I used to have the original black clamshell case version of Illuminati. Wonder what happened to it? Probably languishing in a box someplace.

If I remember correctly, it had these little bitty bills that you had to cut out with scissors...

[hentzau]

And I know that I will probably get openly jeered by the OO crowd for suggesting it, but I really like both Apples to Apples and Cineplexity as party games. Followed by the Great Dalmuti.

[hepcat]

And I know that I will probably get openly jeered by the OO crowd for suggesting it, but I really like both Apples to Apples and Cineplexity as party games. Followed by the Great Dalmuti.

Have you tried any of the GMT party games? Twilight Struggle, Combat Commander, etc.?

[Isgrimnur]

Apples to Apples

If there's a worse Kingmaker-type, meta-game than this, I don't know what it might be.

[Remus West]

Apples to Apples

If there's a worse Kingmaker-type, meta-game than this, I don't know what it might be.

That you call it "kingmaker" says to me you are playing wrong. Apples to Apples is not a game you play to win. It is a game you play to be silly and laugh. The only "king" in the game should be the one who came up with the funniest word that round whether it actually won the round or not.

[Isgrimnur]

I played it in the spirit of the game. Everyone else I played with played favorites and went meta, throwing tricks to whomever they wanted, regardless of the justification.

[coopasonic]

And I know that I will probably get openly jeered by the OO crowd for suggesting it, but I really like both Apples to Apples and Cineplexity as party games. Followed by the Great Dalmuti.

Those are what I would call party games. No setup, no/minimal rules explanation even for new players, quick play, more people = better.

Apples to Apples

If there's a worse Kingmaker-type, meta-game than this, I don't know what it might be.

Bitter?

[coopasonic]

I played it in the spirit of the game. Everyone else I played with played favorites and went meta, throwing tricks to whomever they wanted, regardless of the justification.

The cards are supposed to be played anonymously.

[LordMortis]

And I know that I will probably get openly jeered by the OO crowd for suggesting it, but I really like both Apples to Apples and Cineplexity as party games. Followed by the Great Dalmuti.

Apples to Apples is gaming favorite for a large number of friends. It's not really my thing as I'm just not that creative or quick thinking but I can understand the fun that people have and more power to them.

[Isgrimnur]

I played it in the spirit of the game. Everyone else I played with played favorites and went meta, throwing tricks to whomever they wanted, regardless of the justification.

The cards are supposed to be played anonymously.

Then it wasn't taught properly.

[coopasonic]

Then each player (except the judge) chooses a card that they think is the best match for the green apple card, and places it face-down. The judge shuffles the red apple cards, reads them (often aloud), and decides which noun is the best match for the adjective.

[El Guapo]

How does one screw up the rules in Apples to Apples? They're like a page long!

[LordMortis]

I played it in the spirit of the game. Everyone else I played with played favorites and went meta, throwing tricks to whomever they wanted, regardless of the justification.

The cards are supposed to be played anonymously.

Then it wasn't taught properly.

Strange. The premise is simple. Card anonymous. Last guy to play doesn't get get to play. Winner of last round picks the winner of next round. The goal is really to know the person picking the association. The hangup for me is that when you win a round you go under the spotlight to associate all of the next round of cards to choose a winner, so you basically have to come up with 8 little jokes on the spot to keep the game entertaining and that's just too much pressure for me. I end up feeling like I'm not holding up my end of the game.

[Isgrimnur]

I have no idea.

As with so many other games, the players aren't taught the game by being handed the rules, it's by the person that owns it.

We were playing with a general reveal. There was no semblance of anonymity. Which resulted in extreme levels of gamesmanship.

[coopasonic]

I played it in the spirit of the game. Everyone else I played with played favorites and went meta, throwing tricks to whomever they wanted, regardless of the justification.

The cards are supposed to be played anonymously.

Then it wasn't taught properly.

Strange. The premise is simple. Card anonymous. Last guy to play doesn't get get to play. Winner of last round picks the winner of next round. The goal is really to know the person picking the association. The hangup for me is that when you win a round you go under the spotlight to associate all of the next round of cards to choose a winner, so you basically have to come up with 8 little jokes on the spot to keep the game entertaining and that's just too much pressure for me. I end up feeling like I'm not holding up my end of the game.

I could see how that would be a problem, but for me once I am in a game, I am *in* the game and my anxiety disappears. There is a clear framework in which to operate and that's all I need to start interacting (and cracking inappropriate jokes). It's part of why my wife doesn't understand the trouble I have walking into the boardgame meetups. Once I am in there and we are playing a game I am golden. It's walking in the door and engaging others to find players and pick a game that makes me want to run far and fast.

[hepcat]

I have no idea.

As with so many other games, the players aren't taught the game by being handed the rules, it's by the person that owns it.

We were playing with a general reveal. There was no semblance of anonymity. Which resulted in extreme levels of gamesmanship.

perhaps a house ruled variant for a different experience? wouldn't be the first time folks made up their own version of a popular game's rules.

[baelthazar]

This is my favorite party game.

Your parties must be epically long and full of history nerds (like me).

I just got a copy of Ascending Empires yesterday, actually, and I put the stickers on last night. Looking forward to playing it with the wife. I also spent the better part of two hours organizing my Twilight Imperium base game and expansions to fit into the original box. It works well, actually, although a larger tacklebox would work better. I don't want to spend $20 though, just for a storage solution. I may have to for Descent though, as the box got damaged by UPS in the shipping.

I have to say that the Shards of the Throne Expansion for Twilight Imperium is FAR superior to the Shattered Empire expansion. Like, light years ahead. I never cared for the addition of colony improvements or the "tap to receive something special" new planets that they added in Shattered Empire (trade stations and shock troop planets, for instance). I also wasn't crazy about all the additions that only made the game more cumbersome - space mines, and some of the new strategy cards. The races in SE were pretty good, but they weren't overly exciting enough to be "Holy Crap!"

Shards of the Throne is much better. The added planets are more "normal" and the Flagships are easy to adopt into the game without making everything insane (I mean they are one unit with special powers). The new ground units are cool, and easy to adopt as well, given they are pretty much normal ground forces with Sustain Damage (and there are only a handful of them to use). Racial techs are the one thing from SE that was most notable, and those are pretty strong in Shards.

I'm also in love the with new races. The Nekro Virus are the most "odd" and will require a completely new play style, but they have the potential for really making the game feel totally different [there race power prevents them from voting in elections; whenever they destroy at least one enemy unit in a space battle they can copy a technology held by the opposing player who owned the unit; they can't gain tech regularly but they get 3 command counters anytime they would receive tech from an action or strategy card]. Those powers make then extremely aggressive (which goes with their backstory) and could result in them assimilating a lot of tech. The other awesome race is the Arborec. They get a free ground force every turn; their space docks cannot built ground forces; however their ground forces have a production capacity of 1 and can build like a space dock. That's crazy talk. Lastly, the Ghosts of Creuss have a nice and highly strategic power. Their homeworld is through a new wormhole (D), so they have a natural chokepoint; they can go through wormholes A and B as if they were adjacent (so go in A and come out B); and no race can go through a wormhole A or B into a system they control (which means that they can block off wormhole access). They seem to be naturally defense oriented, and their flagship actually acts as a traveling D wormhole!

Awesome stuff. Anyone who love TI:3rd should pick up Shards immediately.

And Apples to Apples is an Ice-breaker game, but really unfulfilling as a "game" game. Although seeing my sweet little cousin through down "Melodramatic Anne Frank" was one of the funniest things I had ever seen.

[LordMortis]

I could see how that would be a problem, but for me once I am in a game, I am *in* the game and my anxiety disappears. There is a clear framework in which to operate and that's all I need to start interacting (and cracking inappropriate jokes). It's part of why my wife doesn't understand the trouble I have walking into the boardgame meetups. Once I am in there and we are playing a game I am golden. It's walking in the door and engaging others to find players and pick a game that makes me want to run far and fast.

The idea of playing Apples to Apples with strangers as an ice breaker? While that sounds absolutely awesome to probably just about anyone who has ever played the game, I'd be praying there was a game of ukre going on that I could excuse myself to somewhere. Type A, I am not. Even if I could be somehow "successful" at performing in a game like that it would drain me so much that I wouldn't enjoy it.

[Jow]

problem with apples to apples after you've played it a bunch with people you know is that they start deciding that different things are "right" on different plays (or even during the same game). Shit like "I think I'll take a serious answer this time" or "no, maybe I'll go for the dumb one" and it almost turns into guesswork at that point.

[coopasonic]

problem with apples to apples after you've played it a bunch with people you know is that they start deciding that different things are "right" on different plays (or even during the same game). Shit like "I think I'll take a serious answer this time" or "no, maybe I'll go for the dumb one" and it almost turns into guesswork at that point.

You are over-analyzing the game. It's not a game to win, it's a game to make people laugh, hence all the pressure on LM.

[Chaz]

If you're playing Apples to Apples and keeping score, you're doing it wrong. If you're playing sober, you're doing it wrong. If anyone actually gives a shit about who actually wins a trick, you're doing it wrong.

I like the game fine in short bursts. Usually me and a few other people wind up playing "MC". If we're judging, we make up the jokes, which are usually gross inuendos. If one of the reserved people is judging and isn't bringing the funny, we cover MST3k style. I also make up and publicize stupid judging criteria either before the trick or when I'm judging. For example, anyone who plays a "monkey" card ever wins automatically because monkeys are awesome.

The other big trick with it is to stop when it's done being fun. Inevitably one or two people will want to play all night, and somebody needs to tell them "Okay, we're done now."

Dalmuti is also stupendous. The problem I run into is that I usually start by saying "It's just like asshole but with a better deck." Then someone says "Oh, let's play asshole!" and then we play that instead, and I'm sad.

[El Guapo]

I'm still upset about losing two tricks. (1) I played "Batman" when the adjective was "brilliant"; and (2) I played "car accident" when the adjective was "feminine."

[coopasonic]

I'm still upset about losing two tricks. (1) I played "Batman" when the adjective was "brilliant"; and (2) I played "car accident" when the adjective was "feminine."

The first I'd have to see the other options and the audience. If the audience isn't nerds you need to be aware that none of the movies ever portray the world's greatest detective as anything approaching brilliant. For the second one I hope the judge was a girl.

[Chaosraven]

For gamers, I think Chez Geek (and its variations) and Munchkin (and its variations) have been popular party games, as long as the players were kept to four or so.

[hepcat]

Off topic, but tanga has Earth Reborn for 29.99 today. It's a solid minis game with beautiful components.

[Zarathud]

how is Illuminati? I have came close to buying that a number of times....

Simply put: it is required of all gamers to have at least one copy in any gaming group. That is all.

Also, playing with alcohol makes the game even more fun. games can sometimes end in fistfights (same with Cutthroat Caverns, to be fair). rules are made to be broken. cheating is encouraged.

uh, Illuminati? I hardly think of that as a party game. For one, it takes 3+ hours, which I think alone tends to disqualify it. And maybe it's just the way that I've played it, but it involves actual strategy.

Great game, though.

i consider it a party game. i guess we just have different definitions for that genre.

Illuminati is a great game to play with strangers late night at a convention. You can try to play serious, but everyone's exhausted (or possibly drunk). Giggling will ensue at some of the combos. And someone will win out of nowhere by playing a brilliant combination or slowly building up without everyone noticing. When played with people who know each other well, there's a fair amount of meta that comes into play and it's taken far, far too seriously.

[Chaz]

Off topic, but tanga has Earth Reborn for 29.99 today. It's a solid minis game with beautiful components.

Holy crap, that's a crazy good deal. Considering I haven't actually played it since I got it in Feb, I'm mildly annoyed, but still, that's a good deal.

[hepcat]

I've played it twice so far. 29.99 is a steal for this one. I'm kicking myself that I paid almost twice that for even an online purchase. but that's the nature of the beast.

[Boudreaux]

Awesome, picked up Earth Reborn and I even had some Tanga cash to go toward it! I hadn't even heard much about this game, but reading some of the reviews it looks perfect for our group.

[hepcat]

I love the modular approach to rules. Earth Reborn has a ton of rules...but they're introduced slowly in a series of well made tutorial missions that really play out great on their own. But the game has legs because eventually you graduate to the real meat of the game in the Scenario Auto Generating System (SAGS). With this system, you build the map and choose hidden missions as part of the actual game setup using allotted points.

[baelthazar]

Off topic, but tanga has Earth Reborn for 29.99 today. It's a solid minis game with beautiful components.

Holy crap, that's a crazy good deal. Considering I haven't actually played it since I got it in Feb, I'm mildly annoyed, but still, that's a good deal.

Same here. I haven't played it either, which makes me somewhat irritated.

[Jow]

wow, Tanga sold out of Earth Reborn already. Pretty crazy.

[NickAragua]

Super. Instead of a copy of the Galaxy Trucker: Big Expansion, I get a copy of the base game. Thanks, "World At Play Games". Now I have to deal with returning it and all this other BS. Jackasses.

[coopasonic]

Super. Instead of a copy of the Galaxy Trucker: Big Expansion, I get a copy of the base game. Thanks, "World At Play Games". Now I have to deal with returning it and all this other BS. Jackasses.

You can sell it to me for a discount instead.

oh and http://www.coolstuffinc.com" target="_blank