OO Boardgamers, what did you play this weekend?

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Fri Sep 16, 2011 9:22 am

...and when you're done with the official scenarios the game actually begins because then you use the scenario generator, which is like a mini-game in itself. I love ER and I need to play it more often.

NickAragua · Post by **NickAragua** » Fri Sep 16, 2011 11:52 am

El Guapo wrote:Played Age of Conan this evening. I enjoyed it.

Yeah, fun time. When you get down to it, the twenty four pages of rules can be distilled into "Move/Army Fight" and "Move/Conduct Diplomacy". Allying with a nation using your emissary is easier and gets you gold, but no empire points. Meanwhile, taking a nation over gets you empire points (which is what actually determines the winner), but takes a lot longer, and you run the risk of losing army dudes. The whole game is filled with tradeoffs like that. Do you want gold or empire points? Do you want more kingdom/strategy cards which improve your odds when trying to stomp people or convince them to join you, or do you want to try to just stomp/"diplomatize" people? You can't do it all, because there is a limited number of a given type of action that can occur in a 7-turn session.

Other observations: The game favors the attacker, with 3:2 odds by default, given even numbers. However, with good use of strategy cards (and, occasionally, Conan and his raider buddies), you can easily turn the tables.

There are a lot of depletion-replenishment mechanics in here. Want to bid for control of Conan? Well, don't blow your wad early, 'cause you don't get that high bidding token back until you play a 0. Want to do military actions? Better get them done as soon as you can, because once you take it off the table, it doesn't come back until all the "fate dice" (which determine what actions can happen) are used up.

You can really screw over a player in the middle of a campaign (stomping on a neutral country) - just have your emissary stop by and form an alliance. Now, they have to knock off your tower, and then start from the beginning!

Want to take over a country a little more quickly? Force-march your army! Sure, you lose an army guy every time you do that, but you can conduct an extra battle.

There are objectives which give you small amounts of bonus points here and there in exchange for dictating your goals ("stomp on savage/coastal countries" or "take over/ally with territories to form a path to another empire's home territory").

And finally, there's Conan, wandering around doing his random quests while dropping Raiders and helping out in big battles if he happens to be there.

In short, I definitely want to play this game again. It's got a lot of different strategic layers, and the interplay of those is quite fun.

El Guapo · Post by **El Guapo** » Fri Sep 16, 2011 11:56 am

NickAragua wrote: In short, I definitely want to play this game again. It's got a lot of different strategic layers, and the interplay of those is quite fun.

Indeed. Though having played it, it moves towards the bottom of a semi-lengthy "to be played soon" list.

SpaceLord · Post by **SpaceLord** » Fri Sep 16, 2011 12:19 pm

hepcat wrote:...and when you're done with the official scenarios the game actually begins because then you use the scenario generator, which is like a mini-game in itself. I love ER and I need to play it more often.

I picked this up at the last Con, and it seems awesome. I'll try to get the 2nd intro adventure played soon.

Remus West · Post by **Remus West** » Fri Sep 16, 2011 3:23 pm

Nothing. School started and Chaosraven still works until it is past my bedtime so I played no games last week at all.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Fri Sep 16, 2011 3:56 pm

SpaceLord wrote:Drakkenstrike's Video Overview and Review of Eaten by Zombies - EbZ is a deck-building game that DS claims is totally different than the rest. It was funded via KickStarter.com, and he loves it. I love DS' videos and explanations. I'm interested.

Just a few more days to go -- and they're almost at $40,000 on Kickstarter.

After watching that video and reading some more previews, I was impressed at how cool it looked. The pseudo-co-op CCG element that turns into a possible zombie player on survivor just seemed way too unique to ignore.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Fri Sep 16, 2011 4:16 pm

zombies? deck building?

in...

Remus West wrote:Nothing. School started and Chaosraven still works until it is past my bedtime so I played no games last week at all.

we got you, little warrior...7 days.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Fri Sep 16, 2011 4:44 pm

How many deck building games can one man own? Is this a search for some Protean, Platonic deck building game that you search for?

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Fri Sep 16, 2011 4:53 pm

Isgrimnur wrote:How many deck building games can one man own? Is this a search for some Protean, Platonic deck building game that you search for?

but...but...but...zombies! zombies and cards! i'm only human, damn it!

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Fri Sep 16, 2011 5:05 pm

Yeah, after watching that demonstration video, there was no way I could pass. Plus it comes with a nifty little carrying case that's 300x smaller than the Dominion boxes I now own. If I'm ever forced to downsize, at least I can justify keeping the games that take up less space, right?

Chaosraven · Post by **Chaosraven** » Sat Sep 17, 2011 7:24 pm

Kept Remus up waaaaay past his bedtime last night for Defenders of the Realm. We got our asses kicked. man those Dragons are frikkin' EVIL.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Sat Sep 17, 2011 9:27 pm

Played another round of the Sunken Crypt scenario for Heroscape and had a great time. It was a bit faster since we knew the basics, but we did pick completely different heroes to mix things up. When everything comes together and the Gods of the Dice(tm) smile upon you, I find the game to be a real pleasure. But when those rolls just don't work out, I can feel my blood pressure skyrocketing. I guess it's like golf.

After that we only had time to try Thunderstone: Dragonspire for the first time. Despite flubbing some of the basic rules and only using the most basic of cards (as recommended), I think it went over well. I think I might actually like it more than Dominion, simply because of the dungeon crawl theme. I think I want to play a few more games with different cards before I fully lose my grip and by the original.

Jow · Post by **Jow** » Sun Sep 18, 2011 12:57 pm

Began teaching another friend the ins and outs of Twilight Struggle, but ran out of time before we could get into the meat of the action rounds. Still, I'm pretty stoked at the idea of having more than one person to play this with.

Also played a four-player Chaos in the Old World game with the Horned Rat expansion, mixing all the "Expert level" Old World cards into the stack before drawing our 7. One of those cards, Rousing the Rabble, made it into the stack, adding a peasant into every region and turning them into heroes... ugh! We managed to duck that bullet, only to draw Peasant Uprising the next turn, which promptly readded peasants to every region and gave them the ability to raise region resistance where they were placed by one point each, on top of maintaining their heroicness from the previous turn. Double ugh!

For those who own the game and/or expansion, a word of advice: i would consider only using the Horned Rat in five player games or in four player games if all the players are savvy and really know what they're doing. Since the Horned Rat doesn't drop corruption, replacing one of the corruption-dropping gods (Tzeentch, Slaanesh, or Nurgle) with him can really affect pacing (less ruination) and can tilt the balance toward Khorne a bit.

Chaosraven · Post by **Chaosraven** » Sun Sep 18, 2011 2:49 pm

Ok, first game of Invasion from Outer Space, with 2 Martian Players and 2 Human Players.

The kids and I (who have previously absolutely adored Last Night on Earth) loved it!

We unleashed the Beast too late, sadly, having killed One Hero before the Humans hit 10 Martians killed, and Jojo the Dancing Bear is *INSANE*, wow. Chewed up our packs like popcorn, shrugging off hits like they were a splash of water.

Between the kids pantomiming everything from a Bear mauling Martians to dodging Raygun fire, and my wife snorting her laughter at my continual Mars Attacks noises, this was a winner from beginning to end.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Sun Sep 18, 2011 4:02 pm

If you liked that, you should try Conquest of Planet Earth.Same company, same theme, goofier gameplay. Your family will thank you for it.

SpaceLord · Post by **SpaceLord** » Mon Sep 19, 2011 11:48 am

I wrote up a mini-expansion for Space Empires 4x, and it was accepted by the Geek this weekend. You can check it out here.

It's a mini-board, reachable via a Wormhole. Only fast ships can explore this region, but there are several reasons to go into the Dwarf Galaxy. I even got encouragement from the designer!

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Mon Sep 19, 2011 12:22 pm

nice job, space!

hentzau · Post by **hentzau** » Mon Sep 19, 2011 2:11 pm

Very cool, SpaceLord!

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Mon Sep 19, 2011 2:27 pm

I picked up Cthulhu Gloom at my FLGS (and overpaid) on Friday, thinking it would be a good game to bust out during down time at the Oktoberfest. And then forgot it in the back of my car.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Mon Sep 19, 2011 2:41 pm

Isgrimnur wrote:I picked up Cthulhu Gloom at my FLGS (and overpaid) on Friday, thinking it would be a good game to bust out during down time at the Oktoberfest. And then forgot it in the back of my car.

hey, double check your copy against the info in this thread. Supposedly there are some bad decks floating around. Mine's fine, thankfully and it doesn't sound like it's too widespread. But you can never be too sure.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Mon Sep 19, 2011 2:48 pm

Thanks for the heads up. I'll have to remember to check it out this evening.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Mon Sep 19, 2011 2:58 pm

sigh...it's doubtful my copy of Star Trek FC will get here by Thursday now. I ordered through MiniatureMarket (as did Mythical, i found out) and they're spinning some story about a wrong barcode on the box...while a wizkid rep is saying there was no problem. end of the day it doesn't matter who's right or wrong, my copy will still be late. I had hoped to get in a few games with redwarlord during his visit for octocon this weekend.

hentzau · Post by **hentzau** » Mon Sep 19, 2011 3:04 pm

Good lord willing I'll have my copy, so you can give it a whirl.

And it looks like GMT has Sold Out of Space Empires: 4X. Just when I was getting really interested in this game. But I guess that's just as well, I have more games than I know what to do with anyway.

(Didn't stop me from checking with my FLGSs to see if they had a spare copy lying around though...)

SpaceLord · Post by **SpaceLord** » Mon Sep 19, 2011 5:07 pm

As a preview, here's the Dwarf Galaxy board I mocked up:

And here's the DG chits:

MythicalMino · Post by **MythicalMino** » Mon Sep 19, 2011 7:15 pm

I know a few days ago, Titan Entertainment Cafe in Battle Creek, MI had a copy of the Space Empires game. But who knows if they still do.

Hepcat...I had ordered Fleet Captains through Boards & Bits, not MiniatureMarket, unless the two are one and the same, which could be, I guess. Boards & Bits ships out of Ohio, and since I am in southern Michigan, it shows that it will only take a day to reach me once they ship.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Mon Sep 19, 2011 7:38 pm

MythicalMino wrote:I know a few days ago, Titan Entertainment Cafe in Battle Creek, MI had a copy of the Space Empires game. But who knows if they still do.

Hepcat...I had ordered Fleet Captains through Boards & Bits, not MiniatureMarket, unless the two are one and the same, which could be, I guess. Boards & Bits ships out of Ohio, and since I am in southern Michigan, it shows that it will only take a day to reach me once they ship.

whoops, my mistake.

SpaceLord · Post by **SpaceLord** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 11:13 pm

Tonight, I got to play King of Tokyo.

Never heard of the designer.

It was simple, fun, and fast. Love the dice, love the art.

MythicalMino · Post by **MythicalMino** » Tue Sep 20, 2011 11:30 pm

King of Tokyo is a lot of fun, especially playing it with the kidd.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 12:09 am

SpaceLord wrote:Never heard of the designer.

Richard Garfield?!? I hope you're kidding.

SpaceLord · Post by **SpaceLord** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 12:47 am

Isgrimnur wrote:
SpaceLord wrote:Never heard of the designer.
Richard Garfield?!? I hope you're kidding.

Richard Garfield is a hero to me:

Loved M:tG
Netrunner is a total classic
Vampire:The Eternal Struggle is the best multiplayer card game ever
Robo Rally is awesome
The Great Dalmuti is great
He saved D&D. The cash cow that was MtG allowed WotC to buy the D&D property from the brink of oblivion

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 10:53 am

SpaceLord wrote:
Isgrimnur wrote:
SpaceLord wrote:Never heard of the designer.
Richard Garfield?!? I hope you're kidding.
Richard Garfield is a hero to me:

Whew!

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 11:19 am

SpaceLord wrote: Vampire:The Eternal Struggle is the best multiplayer card game ever

Arrrgh...cards...monsters....Issie...STOP ME!

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 11:39 am

hepcat wrote:
SpaceLord wrote: Vampire:The Eternal Struggle is the best multiplayer card game ever
Arrrgh...cards...monsters....Issie...STOP ME!

It was collectible, meaning a massive money sink to get anything good. Wizards abandoned the game after their last expansion in 1996. White Wolf took it over in 2000, but abandoned it over a year ago.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 11:40 am

desire...subsiding...common sense...returning...

Chaosraven · Post by **Chaosraven** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 11:52 am

...So you should be able to collect a full set relatively cheaply.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 11:54 am

what's your home address again, chaos? I...have something...for you.

SpaceLord · Post by **SpaceLord** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 11:57 am

I've got a few thousand unsorted cards of both Jyhad(name for the first edition) and VtES. It's been so long(15+ years) that I've forgotten how to play.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 11:57 am

Not to mention that V:TES players combine the weirdness of hardcore gamers with the oddity of hardcore vampire lovers. You have enough odd people in your life.

Chaosraven · Post by **Chaosraven** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 12:06 pm

hepcat wrote:what's your home address again, chaos? I...have something...for you.

sixteen hundred pennsylvania ave, c'mon over. Bring your cards, but be sure to call first and say 'I bring Jyhad to YOU!'

MythicalMino · Post by **MythicalMino** » Wed Sep 21, 2011 3:45 pm

Hepcat, did your copy of Starfleet Captains arrive?

At Boards & Bits, my order is still showing "On Order", and the game page itself is still showing "Pre Order". A couple of things that suck about this.

1. They have already taken my money. So, I cannot simply cancel the order and go someplace else.

2. They are holding another game I ordered until they ship Starfleet Captains.

I am thinking I will not order through Boards & Bits again after this. I mean, there are ppl that have already gotten the game, and not a sound from Boards & Bits yet. Hell, even brick & mortor stores have it in already, and Boards & Bits is silent. I ordered this thing on the 12th....and I hear nothing.

Oh well, I wanted to order from funagaingames, but they were not listing it at all. So, I went with these guys, because I had heard good things, but this is not leaving good thoughts.