Octopus Overlords

Way back when, I picked up DOA II with the master set expansion, so there's BILLIONS of characters. My storage solution was to use snack baggies. All the character cards are numbered. I took the counters for the characters numbered 1-10, put them in a baggie, and labeled it "1-10". Do that for all the characters. Now, when you draw your characters, you just go to the right bag, and now you only have to sort through ten counters instead of a billion. Maybe not as slick as Australian coin pages, but WAY cheaper.

Surprise, my P500 copy of the new COIN game, Liberty or Death came in today. The map is really pretty, and has a nice period feel that sets it apart from the other COIN games.

Now I just need to decide if I still want to pick up the Gallic War one they've got coming out in a few months. I suspect I do want to.

Chaz wrote:Surprise, my P500 copy of the new COIN game, Liberty or Death came in today. The map is really pretty, and has a nice period feel that sets it apart from the other COIN games.

Now I just need to decide if I still want to pick up the Gallic War one they've got coming out in a few months. I suspect I do want to.

Talon is supposed to be shipping soon as well. I keep thinking about the Gallic War game, but I just don't think the solo AI is going to work for me.

What's up with the solo AI in that one?

Chaz wrote:What's up with the solo AI in that one?

Oh, nothing special, I just had a hard time with the COIN AI in other games. It could be that the theme of the other games just did not appeal, whereas this one is very interesting to me.

Odd question for the group: I am going to sell my Zombicide Season 1 and the rest of my Season 3 KS extras - which includes two KS exclusive figures (one is Walt from BB and the other is Daisy Dukes from the Dukes of Hazard). Before I sell them, do you all think I should paint them? If you were looking to buy something like that, would you pay more for painted minis (and I think my painting job is fairly good)?

Played a 3 player game of Churchill yesterday. What a fantastic game. It's a CDG that plays out in two major sections: a conference in which you "debate" various issues using cards with strengths and special abilities to move those issues across a central spoke with 3 numbered tracks leading to each of the 3 leaders' "chairs" (Stalin, Churchill, Roosevelt); and then a war phase that sees you try to move your fronts across Europe and Asia towards Germany and Japan. The debate section is just incredibly fun, and after the first few conferences, you get an idea on what issues you should be bringing to the table to help your cause.

Victory points are accrued through numerous checkpoints on your war track, winning conferences, etc.. I wasn't terribly fond of some of the end game victory point conditions (if the Axis doesn't fall, you have to roll a die and subtract that value from your total VP in various amounts per player), but that's really my only complaint. It's an elegant, easy to learn game that I look forward to playing again soon.

Playing Twilight Struggle with my 12-year-old. It's his first time, but he has picked up the mechanics and done a good job with card play. I believe I'll win, but we're at turn 5 and he still has a chance.

He's a bit of a history buff and already has a good grasp of post-war / Cold War basics, and I'm enjoying the explanation of the history behind the cards. We're having a great time.

Next up for us is COIN Liberty or Death, since he really loves the American Revolution period and has read a lot about it. Hopefully it will arrive within a few days.

Isgrimnur wrote:

Isgrimnur wrote:Just demoed Sol: Last Days of a Star with the designer. It will be up on Kickstarter in January. It's pretty good, despite my last place finish.

I'll have pics and links later.

The Boardgamegeek page

Ryan states that it should be up on kickstarter in January.

Latest news is the kickstarter should hit on February 2nd. Have a video.

Just finished pandemic legacy. Wow! What a ride. That truly was an experience as much as it was a game. Just fantastic. Reverb though I only got 16 plays out of it I won't hesitate to buy season 2 day 1.


I've been eyeing time stories. Anyone tried it? Looks pretty interesting. Also a one off but I kind of like the idea of that.

My mercs recon arrived. I haven't had a chance to play yet. Looks decent.

I ended up getting a lot of games for Christmas and my birthday. Mostly small 2 player games which honestly work very well for me and my wife.

Patchwork- interesting design by uwe. Competitive quilting! Really it's an abstract game where you try to patch together a quilt Tetris style all while putting in enough buttons to earn a button economy big enough to keep expanding. Plays in around twenty minutes but feels great the whole time. Plus... It has a button economy...

Seven wonders: duel. I enjoy seven wonders, but it doesn't play well with two. Duel fits the seven wonders you're play into a small 30 minute game specially designed for two. It's really enjoyable, easy to learn, and quick. And it doesn't take much shelf space.

I also got le havre the inland port which I need to figure out how to play soon. It's a two player only version. Looks good, quick. Will see.

I also got imperial assault: hoth that I'm excited to get into. Just need to continue the campaign we started again.

Lots of good gaming ahead.

My only concern with Time Stories is that it seems to be a money sink. You purchase the base game for 50 bucks (or 33 online) and get an adventure...but after you play that, you need to continue buying expansions. There is almost zero replay value in the "stories" or expansions.

But if you're fine with that, I've heard it's a really fun experience. The Shut and Sit Down folks seemed to like it...but issued a big caveat about the lack of replay value.

My guess is that having a group to chip in and buy the stuff might alleviate some of the pain of buying into the series.

Chrisoc13 wrote:
I've been eyeing time stories. Anyone tried it? Looks pretty interesting. Also a one off but I kind of like the idea of that.

I actually played this for the first time last night on Table Top Simulator. First thing learned, don’t play it on TTS, it’s way too finicky with digital cards.

Overall I was a bit lukewarm on it to tell the truth. For a game that is all about the story, it felt awfully light. That’s not to say it’s bad, but after playing lots of Mansions of Madness, it didn’t seem that special. I guess one advantage might be if you just want a co-op experience without a dedicated GM, but I've always enjoyed that role anyways.

YK, get over here. I got a present for you. It's Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island...but on Mars. First Martians: Adventures on the Red Planet is by Ignacy and uses the same rules as Robinson Crusoe. Day one purchase for moi.

You're welcome.

hepcat wrote:YK, get over here. I got a present for you. It's Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island...but on Mars. First Martians: Adventures on the Red Planet is by Ignacy and uses the same rules as Robinson Crusoe. Day one purchase for moi.

You're welcome.

Yes please.

Oh my.

On the down side for me is the fact that it includes an app that you use with the game. I'm not a fan of this trend of convergence. I'm a bit of a purist. I like the tactile feel of a board game and those rough little bits that I can run my hands over, damn it. I really don't want this trend to speed up its pace until we're left with more digital and less analog.

hepcat wrote:On the down side for me is the fact that it includes an app that you use with the game. I'm not a fan of this trend of convergence. I'm a bit of a purist. I like the tactile feel of a board game and those rough little bits that I can run my hands over, damn it. I really don't want this trend to speed up its pace until we're left with more digital and less analog.

It depends what the app is doing. I am fine with app integration (I mean other than not actually having a tablet.. hope it is usable on my phone ) especially if it removes some fiddly bits and tracks that campaign stuff between plays.

I'm totally fine with app integration. If it means I have to do less shuffling around of decks for events and stuff, it's fine by me. Even better if it's tracking persistent states that go between games in a campaign or something.

I hate app integration because, in 10 years, who knows what the tech will be like and what can and can't run said app.

baelthazar wrote:I hate app integration because, in 10 years, who knows what the tech will be like and what can and can't run said app.

I know that's the common argument, and I can understand that. My thinking is that in 10 years, either:

1) The game won't be good enough to be worth playing in 10 years.
or
2) Some enterprising individual will have figured out a way to make the game playable, either by figuring out a physical replacement, or porting the app to current hardware.

It's possible 2 happens even if 1 is the case. I'm really not worried about it.

A good game should be worth playing 20 years from now, let alone 10.

hepcat wrote:A good game should be worth playing 20 years from now, let alone 10.

Board games seem to be in a place of very fast paced improvement right now so I’m not sure I would agree with this. Every year is seems like games are pushed forward where a game will come out to better refine an element of a past generation.

I think of Imperial Assault being an improved version of Descent. Or Blood Rage being an improved version of Chaos in the Old World. They may not be exactly the same experience but they are close enough to fill the same role.

So while you probably could play the same game in 20 years, do you really think you would want to when newer versions become available?

Even if a game box flat out said "not playable after the year 2035", would that really be enough to deter you from buying a game you were interested in today?

The number of games that are seeing second or third editions is still greatly outnumbered by the ones that aren't.

We were given Imperial Assault and one expansion for Christmas, and finally ran the tutorial mission yesterday to get our feet wet. Having played both Edge of the Empire and X-Wing it felt familiar, but the mechanics went surprisingly fast. Hopefully the full rules don't clog it up too much.

wonderpug wrote:Even if a game box flat out said "not playable after the year 2035", would that really be enough to deter you from buying a game you were interested in today?

That's not something that bothers me, as that wasn't one of my issues. but can you imagine the outcry in the pc thread if EA sold a game that had that warning on it?

For EA, 2035 would be an improvement over current standards.

hepcat wrote:A good game should be worth playing 20 years from now, let alone 10.

I agree with this. But the consternation about the app-supported games always seems to happen before release, which is before we know if it's a good game or not. If it winds up being a good game, and I have to start thinking about how I'll play it after the app stops being supported by hardware, that seems like a good problem to have. A bad problem would be "I bought this game that requires an app, and it turns out it sucks." At that point, you complain about the crappy game.

This isn't even a new problem. The Dark Tower relied on a pretty finicky piece of 80's electronics to be playable. If you're willing to shell out the money, you can still get that game, and either fix up the electronics, or get the app version of the tower that someone made for fun. So yeah, still not worried about app-supported board games.

coopasonic wrote:

hepcat wrote:On the down side for me is the fact that it includes an app that you use with the game. I'm not a fan of this trend of convergence. I'm a bit of a purist. I like the tactile feel of a board game and those rough little bits that I can run my hands over, damn it. I really don't want this trend to speed up its pace until we're left with more digital and less analog.

It depends what the app is doing. I am fine with app integration (I mean other than not actually having a tablet.. hope it is usable on my phone ) especially if it removes some fiddly bits and tracks that campaign stuff between plays.

Doesn't solve the problem for me, I consider having to use an app to be fiddly and tedious.

Archinerd wrote:Doesn't solve the problem for me, I consider having to use an app to be fiddly and tedious.

More or less how I feel. (Not based in any kind of real experience, of course.)

However, I did grab a free app that I use when I play Sentinels of the Multiverse. It allows for MUCH easier tracking of health.

hepcat wrote:A good game should be worth playing 20 years from now, let alone 10.

My thoughts exactly. I have also sold games from 20 years ago because they were collector's items that people still wanted. I am not sure I agree with the idea that "games are in a rapid state of improvement now," so I do not anticipate games 20 years from now being so much more awesome than the best ones today. I think what we are seeing is boardgaming's return to popularity and grace after an extended hiatus. What I mean by that is that boardgaming had a development, release, and sales highlight in the 90s, but dropped off dramatically in the early 2000s. By the late 2000s it was ramping up again and, I believe, is hitting a zenith again now. It is weird to see boardgaming in the mainstream in college, drop off while I was in grad school, and now come back to the mainstream now that I am out of grad school.

For heaven's sake, we have an officially licensed Cthulhu Monopoly and Cthulhu Yatzhee (with an awesome Cthulhu dice cup). The geeks won the culture war of the 2000s and now boardgaming is back!

For ChrisOC, Robert Florence has a write up on T.I.M.E. Stories on RPS:

https://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2016/0 ... es-review/

That being said, Robert tends to gush when he writes about games. It could be that he only decides to write about games he likes or it could be that he just loves games.

The wife was out of town this past weekend. Did a ton of stuff with the kiddo on Friday and Saturday. By Sunday we were content to hang out at home. She got bummed when I turned of football, since she'd had gotten used to my full attention for 2-straight days, so we came up with a compromise. I'd have it on in the background and we would make a board game. She recently watched Zathura (sp?) and Jumanji (sp?) and wanted to make a game like that. It took us 3 quarters of the Pats/Denver game to make the about 60 cards (the hazards) and the 4th quarter to make the board. We played 3 straight games to much joy and happiness.

Basically roll the dice, move your piece, pull a card, and act out what the card says. Things like mole rat attack, tornado, fart in your face (the rules explicitly state that you have to give the other player a reasonable opportunity to try for a real fart ), quicksand, and so on. It was a blast.

Mom came home and was completely flummoxed as we played a game with her.

BGG

Polish publisher Portal Games is hosting Portalcon 7 on Jan. 23, 2016, and as part of that event designer Ignacy Trzewiczek is announcing titles that you can expect to see from Portal in 2016, with three of these titles being 51st State: Master Set, Cry Havoc, and First Martians: Adventures on the Red Planet.
...
51st State: Master Set is likely a collection of all things 51st State, but exactly which things will have to wait until later — possible when Trzewiczek runs through his announcements at Portalcon 7, which he plans to share via Periscope.

I know there's been some 51st State discussion here before.

51st State and its refined follow up New Era are two of my favorite games. I'm looking forward to finding out what Ignacy is going to do with this gem of a game. It's got a bit of a learning curve, and some of the balancing rules are tough to follow, but it marries theme and gameplay fantastically.

edit: just watched the teaser trailer for 51st State Master Set and I have to say, I'm less than impressed. The artwork has changed (the original had great art that captured the theme perfectly) and it seems they're going to dumb it down, if the lack of any variety in the icons on the few cards they show are any indication. I'll wait and see before I pass judgment though.

I view my board games as having the lifespan of the next new hotness.

I have almost TWO complete sets of (Talisman Second Edition and Fantasy Flight). It was one of our regular games in high school but owned by my nemesis. Having complete set(s) makes me happy -- but there's little chance we play again.

I have a friend that owns and loves Talisman and Arkham Horror. Hell, he once set them up to be played simultaneously.

baelthazar wrote:

hepcat wrote:A good game should be worth playing 20 years from now, let alone 10.

I am not sure I agree with the idea that "games are in a rapid state of improvement now," so I do not anticipate games 20 years from now being so much more awesome than the best ones today.

I'm curious about this and the games you think really hold up. Like I think of the games I played back in college, Settlers of Catan, Carcassonne and things like that. While I thought they were great back then, they feel badly outdated to me now. If someone really wanted to play them again, I would be OK with it, but I would rather play games that I feel do the mechanics in deeper, more interesting ways.

I find myself playing Roborally, Arkham Horror, Runebound 2nd edition and many other decade or older games from time to time. A good game is a good game. It's not like video games where the graphics get better, and the basic gameplay can be improved by technology.

hepcat wrote: It's not like video games where the graphics get better, and the basic gameplay can be improved by technology.

But if you enjoy older games, that is perfectly fine, I just think that mechanics have improved a lot. Even your examples of Arkham Horror has been brought in line with more modern games through expansions and Runebound has a new edition.

Actually, a game I just played this weekend, The Fury of Dracula 3rd Edition is a game that has been around for a long time, saw a pretty big overhaul with the newest edition and is generally considered much better for it.

Some examples, Lordnine, would be History of the World, Aquire, Risk 2150 (and Godstorm), Fortress America (the new version is not all that different), Wizwar (ditto), Twilight Imperium Second Edition (in some ways inferior to 3rd, in some ways easier to play), and of course the rereleases of games like Diplomacy. Not to mention the Imperial games (and the rondel system) and games like El Grande and Alhambra are still popular. Most of the games listed as the top on BGG either had editions around 15-20 years ago or are largely untouched. Twilight Struggle is at least 10 years old (my copy is around that) as I remember playing it in ~2005. EDIT - I was right on the dot here - it came out in 2005.

Memoir 44 predates me having an iPhone (the time when iPhones are ubiquitous), as does the edition of Battlelore that is considered classic (and I have heard better than the blandly themed new edition). Ticket to Ride also comes to mind.

Ok... So that was a lot more than I intended to say.