OO Boardgamers, what did you play this weekend?

[RMC]

Well last week I got to play for the first time Smallworld. Wow, my gaming group kept passing on this, and I finally forced them to play.

They all loved it. The commando Giants won almost won the game for me, but I lost by two points. We played a four player game, and two of the players spent more time attacking one another, and the other two of us, that just kept expanding, and putting races into decline came out way ahead.

We also played Runebound with one of the expansions. The mists of zyr(something). It was a great game, and again I had the expansion sitting on my shelves and had not even unpacked the expansion. We got burned out on Runebound, and had not played all the expansions that I had purchased. Just had that right group of guys willing to try something different out. I lost, but had a great time.

It looks like this weekend will be Lords of Waterdeep and maybe Runewars, or Game of Thrones. Depends on how many show up.

[Turtle]

Well, I picked up Galaxy Trucker hoping for a gun quick game with my group, but they completely snubbed it without a single try. Needless to day I'm miffed. They cited that it looked to complicated and there was a time element. But it's a silly element because we usually play complicated Euro-like games, and the really complex stuff like Eclipe, Game of Thrones, etc, and when we do so they also complain about how long those games take.

I'm frustrated because this was a costly game that I'm going to have to trade or sell away now.

Speaking of which, anyone want to trade for Galaxy Trucker?

Anyway, I'm going to pickup Rex next, which is a surefire game that people have said they will play. I guess my group doesn't like a game unless there's plenty of backstabbing. I suppose I shouldn't complain that I actually have a group that loves and plays the complex diplomatic and backstabbing games and has fun with them.

[coopasonic]

Turtle, come to Texas and I'll play Galaxy Trucker with you. My copy is still virgin. Of course I did a count a couple week back and I think 15 of the 60-ish board games I own have never been played, even solo.

[Isgrimnur]

Coop, come to the Dallas Games Marathon on the 21st and I'll play one or more of the unplayed games that you bring.

[NickAragua]

Well, I picked up Galaxy Trucker hoping for a gun quick game with my group, but they completely snubbed it without a single try. Needless to day I'm miffed. They cited that it looked to complicated and there was a time element. But it's a silly element because we usually play complicated Euro-like games, and the really complex stuff like Eclipe, Game of Thrones, etc, and when we do so they also complain about how long those games take.

I'm frustrated because this was a costly game that I'm going to have to trade or sell away now.

Speaking of which, anyone want to trade for Galaxy Trucker?

Anyway, I'm going to pickup Rex next, which is a surefire game that people have said they will play. I guess my group doesn't like a game unless there's plenty of backstabbing. I suppose I shouldn't complain that I actually have a group that loves and plays the complex diplomatic and backstabbing games and has fun with them.

That's too bad. It's a damn fun game. The fact is, it's not really that complicated, and you don't even really have to use the timer. It's more about spatial reasoning, pattern matching and a little memorization of what the various components do. Ultimately, nowadays, it usually takes me about 5 minutes to explain the rules, and I've never seen a game take more than two hours.

If you get a chance to pitch the game again, I would recommend pointing out that the timer is not required and that you don't even have to memorize what the various components do. I've seen (and done it myself as well) people make it through a single truck run with a completely random ship. It's basically like building a random ship using LEGO components and then taking it through an asteroid belt / pirate gauntlet. When half of someone's ship shears off after a dinky little asteroid impact, it's priceless.

[SpaceLord]

Building a spaceship in Galaxy Trucker is freaking awesome. Flying it is funny, and pretty fun, but few things in boardgaming compare to the first half of the game.

[coopasonic]

Coop, come to the Dallas Games Marathon on the 21st and I'll play one or more of the unplayed games that you bring.

Warrior Dash is the 21st, I'll be in recovery unless I am still drunk. Either way, not board gaming.

[Isgrimnur]

Fair enough. I'd say maybe in May, but I have a concert to attend that night.

[El Guapo]

Yeah, Galaxy Trucker is pure awesome. Next time tell your group that El Guapo on your internet board said they're a bunch of pussies.

[Zarathud]

Vinhos is easier than it looks. Just expect to stumble around for a game or three.

I doubt my willpower is strong enough to hold out on kickstarting Orge Deluxe. And my game budget has been light lately as hepcat bought everything I've been interested in this year. The only problem might be my limited space in the gaming closet.

[coopasonic]

Orge Deluxe.

Where do I sign up!?

[El Guapo]

Orge Deluxe.

Where do I sign up!?

You're looking for Orgy Deluxe. Orge Deluxe is far less exciting:

The Orge is a 53 km long river in France, left tributary of the Seine. Its source is in the village Saint-Martin-de-Bréthencourt. Its course crosses the départements of Yvelines and Essonne. It flows northwest through the towns of Dourdan, Saint-Chéron, Breuillet, Arpajon, and Savigny-sur-Orge, finally flowing into the Seine in Athis-Mons, south of Paris.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Orge" target="_blank

[Daveman]

I liked the concept of Galaxy Trucker but it wasn't a big hit here. My son hated the timer or otherwise being pressured to finish, while the obsessive-compulsive side of me hated the thought of never having my ship "just perfect". Beyond that though, I thought the 2nd part of the game (running your ship through the deck of encounters) was all that interesting.

[El Guapo]

The whole point is that your ship isn't perfect. (1) The theme is that you're flying thrown together jalopies through the galaxy; and (2) it'd be no fun if you had all day to assemble the perfect ship. The idea is wacky antics rather than grand strategy.

But yeah, if you want no timer and a perfect ship...probably not a great fit game wise.

[Daveman]

Oh I got the point of the game... but my son didn't want to play it that way, so yeah, it kind of fell apart for us.

[Zarathud]

Ha. Hepcat was talking something about a cabin in the woods and gaming this weekend. So maybe you know something I don't.

[phoenfyre]

Galaxy Trucker really needs to be played as a light, silly game where you watch in horror as your ships gets smashed apart. We don't really play the timed part too strictly, and everyone I have taught it to enjoyed it quite a bit.

[MythicalMino]

hmmm...so, I ordered a game from thoughthammer, and it shipped today. FedEx Ground. And the delivery date is scheduled for April 14, 2012. That is a Saturday. I didn't think they delivered on Saturdays...? Would be awesome if they do...but I didn't think they did.

oh, wanna know what the game is that I ordered???

[El Guapo]

Nope.

[El Guapo]

[MythicalMino]

fine...I won't tell you then!!

[SpaceLord]

Don't tell me it was Growl of the Gruesome Grizzly: The Fantasy Horror Game ...

[MythicalMino]

uh, no.

It was Poseidon's Kingdom!! woo hoo!!!

[Chaz]

Man, I want to get Galaxy Trucker again. Now that I've got a built-in board game partner, I think it'd get played.


Oh, and Carcassonne with the gf on the ipad on a plane is awesome.

[coopasonic]

Man, I want to get Galaxy Trucker again. Now that I've got a built-in board game partner, I think it'd get played.

Talk to Turtle. I hear he has a copy not getting any use (I do too, but I am a collector of sorts).

[hentzau]

Tonight, I am going to try and introduce my wife to Lords of Waterdeep. I think it's just the right theme and level of complexity for her. Will report back.

(Would like to try and get my kids to try it too...we'll see. They aren't much into boardgames, but I keep thinking I need to just shut off my router for a night and get them at the table.)

[wonderpug]

Ha! Tonight is probably going to be my attempt to play Waterdeep with my wife as well (and my first time playing). I read through the rulebook yesterday, and it doesn't seem overly complex---lots of pieces and components but fairly straightforward set of choices to make each turn.

I got a little confused about some of the rules about agent placement. Several times in the rulebook it emphasizes that you can only place one agent per turn... but then it also explains rules for placing more than one agent on the same building (for a building that has more than one slot). Also, the rulebook keeps saying "if you have an agent to place" as a qualifier... but from my understanding you recall all your agents at the end of every turn, and thus should always have one to place at the beginning of the next round. Are they just saying that qualifier because there are quests or intrigue cards that can take away agents or something?

In other news, I got the wife to try Small World and it's a hit; we've already played a second game. I had her watch the Wil Wheaton tabletop episode about it and that was a perfect introduction for her. We played on the 2-person board, and I thought it worked really well. The main thing I miss from the 5-person gameplay is seeing a greater number of race/trait combos throughout the game. I may experiment with having each of us play 2 races so we can use the 4-player board, but for now I'm just happy she's enjoying the game on the 2-player board.

[hentzau]

You recall all of your agents to your tavern at the end of every round, not turn. So, in a typical round, everyone takes turns placing their agents, until they have all been placed. You can typically only place one agent at each unoccupied location, although there are rules that will break that rule (like having the Magister's Orb, which allows you to place an agent where there is an enemy agent.) Once all of agents have been placed, you then re-assign all of the agents in the Harbor, in numeric order, to any open spaces. Once the re-assignment is done for all agents in the Harbor, then the round is over, and you gather up all of your agents to your tavern, and start the next round with whoever has the 1st player marker (after placing new resources on buildings and XP markers on the non-built buildings.)

And just remember, every turn can be expressed this simply:

1. Place an agent and take the action from that building
2. Complete a quest (if you can or want)

That's it, really.

[wonderpug]

Ahh, ok. I was envisioning that each round just had one lap around the table with each person performing actions. Thanks!

[Daveman]

Are they just saying that qualifier because there are quests or intrigue cards that can take away agents or something?

I don't believe there's anything in the game that removes agents from the game, but there's a plot quest and an advanced building that give out additional agents to players. The plot quest has no reward or points to it besides giving the player the "Lieutenant" agent for the rest of the game (which is very nice), while the advanced building (I forget the name) gives whoever assigns an agent to the building control of the "Ambassador" agent next turn.

So yeah, it's possible for a player to have up to 2 more agents than the other players, provided the quest and building come into play.

[wonderpug]

I got thrown off by seeing the way you get an additional agent when round 5 comes around (or whatever round that is). It made me think that you start with one agent, and then get a second one in round 5.

I think I'm all set, and I'm really excited to try this out. The rulebook got me salivating. I also already really hope they make an iOS adaptation.

[SpaceLord]

So I played Waterdeep again last night, a 4-player game. Two people (a married couple) were new. We had a good time, and I won by two points, thanks to some combo Skullduggery quests like reward is gain treasure, then spend treasure to gain black cubes, then spend black cubes to gain 25 VPs.

The couple really liked it, and they plan to buy it next week. Of course, they own over 500 games between them, filling their 100sqft basement.

[SpaceLord]

I also played Core Worlds for the 2nd time last night. It's great. It has crap for interaction, but it's been fun so far to build up an army. Has anyone else here played this one?

[hepcat]

I also played Core Worlds for the 2nd time last night. It's great. It has crap for interaction, but it's been fun so far to build up an army. Has anyone else here played this one?

I've been looking at that one. I may have to pick this up at Origins.

[hentzau]

I have declared it to be Boardgame and Pizza night at the Schloss Hentzau. Will be teaching the whole family Lords of Waterdeep. We'll see how my 9 year old fares with it. We've so far avoided heavy strategy games with the kids, they prefer games like Talisman and Castle Panic and Castle Ravenloft. It will be interesting to see how they do with their first Euro-style game.

[hepcat]

I have declared it to be Boardgame and Pizza night at the Schloss Hentzau. Will be teaching the whole family Lords of Waterdeep.

or, as they call it amongst themselves, Lockdown.

[Boudreaux]

or, as they call it amongst themselves, Lockdown.

Heh, yeah I thought of doing the same thing here tonight. It's been raining all day and should continue through tomorrow, so the kids won't be playing outside like usual. But in order to play any boardgames, I'd pretty much have to shut off power to the house. Even then, I'd have to figure out how to circumvent the DS/iPod problem.

[coopasonic]

or, as they call it amongst themselves, Lockdown.

Heh, yeah I thought of doing the same thing here tonight. It's been raining all day and should continue through tomorrow, so the kids won't be playing outside like usual. But in order to play any boardgames, I'd pretty much have to shut off power to the house. Even then, I'd have to figure out how to circumvent the DS/iPod problem.

EMP!

[Turtle]

Alright, assuming the distributor is on the ball about shipping, I should be getting Rex in, aka the Dune boardgame remake.

[SpaceLord]

After playing Lords of Waterdeep around 6 times, I've got some strategy thoughts on it.

There better be a damn good reason you complete quests that don't give you your lord's 4-point bonus. I've been neck and neck with someone, and I complete 1-2 more quests of my type and win.

Some of the quests I always look out for:

There's a Piety quest that gives you a cube of your choice for free at the beginning of every round. It's great if you can complete by turn 2 or 3.

There's a Commerce quest that gives you a black cube every time you take an action that gives you gold. That's really useful as well.

The best quest in the game is an Arcana that lets you double up on an occupied round space once per turn. It's cheap, and it's incredibly useful, making the whole game easier.