OO Boardgamers, what did you play this weekend?

Chrisoc13 · Post by **Chrisoc13** » Thu Jul 21, 2016 9:31 am

coopasonic wrote:
hepcat wrote:I'm still a little miffed at Portal Games for releasing a new edition of this already.
You do understand you don't have to buy it, right? I know it goes against all we hold dear, but it's an option.

For those of us with compulsion problems with board games... Not an option haha. I sold my copy though. Just didn't hit the table enough even though I love it. I'm going through another purge cycle. My dear galaxy defenders might be up since... It also never gets played and takes up huge shelf space.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Thu Jul 21, 2016 11:59 am

The only thing that annoys me about the new edition of Robinson Crusoe is that they'll most likely fix a lot of the issues people had with poorly written rules and play examples (let's face it, they kind of sucked), and add new stuff that might enhance the game. If they released an upgrade pack, I'd be fine with this. But I don't think they will be.

As for the subject of Galaxy Defenders, I simply cannot bring myself to part with it. I don't play it much, but when I do I fall in love with it all over again.

Archinerd · Post by **Archinerd** » Thu Jul 21, 2016 2:05 pm

hepcat wrote:The only thing that annoys me about the new edition of Robinson Crusoe is that they'll most likely fix a lot of the issues people had with poorly written rules and play examples (let's face it, they kind of sucked), and add new stuff that might enhance the game. If they released an upgrade pack, I'd be fine with this. But I don't think they will be.

As for the subject of Galaxy Defenders, I simply cannot bring myself to part with it. I don't play it much, but when I do I fall in love with it all over again.

What are the upgrades, can you just make a homebrew version to add to your copy of the game? That's what I would do.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Thu Jul 21, 2016 2:38 pm

You're an artist, I'm a schlub who can't cut a piece of paper without having to dial 911 within seconds.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Thu Jul 21, 2016 2:42 pm

I love the game enough that I'd possibly be persuaded to repurchase IF there were significant card changes and it added in official mechanics/scenarios etc that have come out since release.

As it stands right now, it's more likely I'll just pick up First Martians: Adventures on the Red Planet instead.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Thu Jul 21, 2016 2:45 pm

I'm definitely picking up Martians, with the caveat that if a revised edition comes out within the next year after that, I'm going to drive to Poland and shove my copy down Ignacy's goddamn throat.

Like I said about Crusoe, if they release an upgrade pack, I'd be happy. That would mean I could also play the fantastic looking HMS Beagle expansion I got a while back.

Chrisoc13 · Post by **Chrisoc13** » Thu Jul 21, 2016 6:55 pm

hepcat wrote:The only thing that annoys me about the new edition of Robinson Crusoe is that they'll most likely fix a lot of the issues people had with poorly written rules and play examples (let's face it, they kind of sucked), and add new stuff that might enhance the game. If they released an upgrade pack, I'd be fine with this. But I don't think they will be.

As for the subject of Galaxy Defenders, I simply cannot bring myself to part with it. I don't play it much, but when I do I fall in love with it all over again.

I know that's the problem I'm having. I literally never play it. But I just love it when I do. Now I'm doubting again.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Sat Jul 23, 2016 10:33 am

Managed to get through a co-op game of Zeds 3rd edition last night to try and learn the rules. We had three event cards left when the Zeds broke through to the Town Center and we lost. Definitely a lot to think about and I believe once I play a few more times and get the basic rules down cold, I can start focusing on the deeper strategy elements...at least until I need to level up and start adding more things to worry about.

I think I understand most of it at this point - it's really about reinforcing the movement rules and combat calculations. They're not difficult, it's more of following the steps that get you to figuring out exactly what part of the chart to check. I'm always better at learning games after I play a round or two and then re-read the rules with a practical perspective.

Regardless, it's quite enjoyable and it promotes lots of table talk - I like that. More so than any game in my collection, this feels like something I can grow into as it adds those layers of things to consider. With all the characters and event cards, I'd imagine at some point (level 3+?) the randomness of each game is going to start ramping up significantly. This is easily my favorite game imported from Canada.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Sat Jul 23, 2016 11:00 pm

Malifaux campaign, week one. Guild Riflemen are the shizzle. They tear apart anything approaching them if paired with Captain Dashel. I may not have won, but I certainly don't feel like I'm out of the campaign at this point. I made enough scrip to add a third riflemen next game. Now I just need to assemble him and paint the existing ones.

Then I got in a game of Shadows Over Normandie. Second game of the Lost Battalion campaign. The rule book is still crap, but we're getting the hang of it. I really wanna keep on playing it now.

MythicalMino · Post by **MythicalMino** » Sat Jul 23, 2016 11:24 pm

Star Trek: Frontiers & Millennium Blades arrived yesterday....

Played Frontiers last night. This one is a winner. I love Mage Knight...when I can take the time to relearn how to play it. This one just seems to work better. I know that the two games are practically the same, but some of the changes just makes more sense to me. Plus, love the theme. Star Trek, in my opinion, does not feel "pasted on", and fits better with the gameplay than the fantasy theme did. The game is gorgeous. Just really like it.

Millennium Blades. What can I really say about THAT one, other than...WOW!! Level 99 Games blew me away with their BattleCon stuff (love that one, too), and this one just adds to the list of incredible design & components that they have put out. The game itself doesn't look like it will be too difficult, but there is a lot of game there. I just backed the kickstarter reprint/expansion, which will add much more (including the 2 promo sets from the original kickstarter!). I have always enjoyed the idea of the TCG/CCG/LCG type games, but just could never really be dedicated to them. I really enjoyed the Star Wars LCG. I played Magic for awhile (love the art), dabbled in Yu-Gi-Oh....but the dedication (speaking of both time and money) to having the game become such a part of my life kept me from really getting into it. With Millennium Blades, I can experience that thrill of the chase in just about 2 hours time. Great looking game all around. My boys and I have it set up on the table to play tomorrow afternoon, so really looking forward to it!!

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Sat Jul 23, 2016 11:46 pm

Yeah, I've got about three games of ST Frontiers under my belt now, and i still want to play more. It feels a little easier too...in both rules and difficulty. Which is not complaint.

MythicalMino · Post by **MythicalMino** » Sun Jul 24, 2016 12:46 am

Yeah, I gotta agree with you. I want to play other games, but right now, Frontiers is just at the forefront of my mind...can't play it enough!

Have you played any of the BattleCon games, or Millennium Blades, by any chance?

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Sun Jul 24, 2016 7:14 am

I have played Millenium Blades and I own Argent. For some reason, Blades just didn't click with me. Although I may just need to play it with more than two. But I love Argent.

Chaosraven · Post by **Chaosraven** » Mon Jul 25, 2016 9:06 am

Picked up a couple Bohnanza variants set, "Ladies & Gangsters".

Gangsters is a single or 2 player game where there's an "auto" Dummy player, the Gangsters. Plays much like Bohnanza, with a potential Screw Your Neighbor as the Gangsters "tax" Beans from you if they match the Gangster fields.

Ladies is a 3-5 player with variant Beans, the Lady and Baby (to go with the regular Gent) Beans. Ladies have a higher Value for redemption, but Baby beans earn Zero coins. Most recent planted goes on top, planting a Baby allows you to move a Lady up 2 spaces. Redemption uses the top Beans for coins, so Ladies get redeemed and aren't around for the later game. Fun variant if you enjoy Bohnanza.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Thu Jul 28, 2016 8:35 am

We picked up a fourth for Robinson Crusoe last night and SON OF BEETCH!

I thought the game would be somewhat easier having an extra (real) person, but I totally forgot that the roof/shelter material requirements go up. We completely floundered the first game and didn't even get a shelter in place until round 5 or 6, by which point we were pretty much screwed.

Game 2 we fared a little better by focusing on shelter early. We also scored three awesome adventure cards - clothes which turned a snow cloud into a rain, boxes to prevent food from rotting, and a hammock which added a determination token to the rest action. However, even that wasn't enough to keep us from going totally out of whack.

In the end we managed to put ourselves into a position to nearly win, but we were all so banged up there was no way we could survive another night.

It's both frustrating and delightful that we haven't been able to pin the right strategy down yet. It seems like every avenue we go down in terms of focus still winds up biting us in the end.

Chrisoc13 · Post by **Chrisoc13** » Thu Jul 28, 2016 12:51 pm

I need to get some of my unplayed games to the table. I have an embarrassing number (continuing to grow) of games that I own but haven't played. Top of that list currently:

- Scythe (cave wait to play this)
- Roborally
- Isle of sky
- Campaign manager 2008
- Star wars rebellion

I need to get the to the table. I actually had scythe set up and ready when the baby started crying and the game never got played. Maybe this weekend.

Side note I decided to unload galaxy defenders after all. Got 350 for it all so I'm happy. I didn't make money, but I came close to breaking even and hopefully someone enjoys it for the beauty that it is.

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Thu Jul 28, 2016 12:53 pm

Chrisoc13 wrote:Side note I decided to unload galaxy defenders after all. Got 350 for it all so I'm happy. I didn't make money, but I came close to breaking even and hopefully someone enjoys it for the beauty that it is.

...and I am considering buying it again. If Galaxy Defenders had an app to do the deck setup and manage the campaign and such.. it would be... ok I can just play XCOM.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Thu Jul 28, 2016 1:09 pm

I saw the Scythe collector's edition in my local game store and I was practically drooling over it. I just kept circling it like a lion stalking its prey.

No way I could afford to spend that much on a board game right now, but boy did it look purty.

Zarathud · Post by **Zarathud** » Thu Jul 28, 2016 1:21 pm

I am drooling over Scythe, but more excited that Vast:The Crustal Caverns is about to ship. I expect my copy will arrive while I'm at GenCon. Highly asymmetrical game for 1-5 players. The hero is trying to kill the dragon. The goblins are trying to kill the hero. The dragon is trying to wake up and escape from the hero. The dungeon is trying to trap and kill everyone. The thief is trying to steal the treasures and crystals which everyone else needs. Each role has its own rules. Some first reviews claim it's genre defining, and worth many plays.

Lordnine · Post by **Lordnine** » Thu Jul 28, 2016 2:11 pm

I saw that (Vast) back when it was on Kickstarter and admit the component quality turned me off. Concept sounds great through.

$iljanus · Post by **$iljanus** » Thu Jul 28, 2016 3:18 pm

I think my copy of A Distant Plain was just delivered. And now my journey into the wonderful world of COIN boardgames begins!

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Thu Jul 28, 2016 4:40 pm

Set it up on your kitchen table, crack open the Playbook and follow along with the scenario they play through. That's the best and easiest way to learn a COIN game.

Chrisoc13 · Post by **Chrisoc13** » Thu Jul 28, 2016 5:36 pm

coopasonic wrote:
Chrisoc13 wrote:Side note I decided to unload galaxy defenders after all. Got 350 for it all so I'm happy. I didn't make money, but I came close to breaking even and hopefully someone enjoys it for the beauty that it is.
...and I am considering buying it again. If Galaxy Defenders had an app to do the deck setup and manage the campaign and such.. it would be... ok I can just play XCOM.

That's the thing I think it's a great game. One of my favorites but... The set up takes forever. The rules are a bit fiddly especially as a single player experience, and they never made an app that worked on phones etc. With all of that and the amount of space it took up and knowing I would likely never really get it to the table again... I finally had to let it go. Especially since it's value was probably only going lower.

And my collector's edition of scythe took the first spot on the shelf it left...

$iljanus · Post by **$iljanus** » Thu Jul 28, 2016 8:45 pm

hepcat wrote:Set it up on your kitchen table, crack open the Playbook and follow along with the scenario they play through. That's the best and easiest way to learn a COIN game.

I'm hoping to do that when we get back from a trip. The playbook and rules make for some interesting reading. Probably a playthrough video or two with a beer would be nice too.

MythicalMino · Post by **MythicalMino** » Fri Jul 29, 2016 7:36 pm

The boys and I just finished a game of Millennium Blades. Such an awesome game!

I started out with the fire starter deck, but immediately turned most of it in for collection points snd started working on a light and mage deck, thanks to a Vault of Lights deckbox. Most of my mage cards came from the Rubber Ducky Crusaders R packs.

I won the 1st tournament. The 2nd, Jacob won (i scored 138 Rank Points, he scored 140 Rank Points). After the 2nd tournament, I was still in the lead, but only by 3 Victory Points. The third tournament, once again, went to Jacob.

Tge final VP score: Jacob w/ 111....me w/ 99....Christian w/ 75.

A whole lotta fun. Seriously, if you have ever been into a CCG/TCG, you owe it to yourself to check Millennium Blades out....the game this time took us about 2.5 hours, and it was a blast the entire time.

Chrisoc13 · Post by **Chrisoc13** » Sat Jul 30, 2016 8:14 am

Played a game of Food Chain Magnate. Been looking forward to playing this for a very long time, but finally my friend brought it to the table yesterday. It was a 4 player game. For all of use except my friend it was our 1st game. My friend had played it twice online only and been smoked.

For those of you who don't know much about it you are a magnate running a restaurant chain. You start as just a CEO running the chain with a only a single location. You hire staff, train them, advertise food and drinks, hire cooks, errand boys, price managers, managers, and eventually even property managers who an develop property around you and even open new locations.

You market to create demand at certain houses, and then whoever has the best price for the items the houses demand get the business and get paid. The whole game is all about just having the most money. That is the entire point.

I started off going the marketing and training strategy. I hit the milestones of perpetual advertising and also not having to pay as much of my staff. I then went a drinks only route and steamrolled the competition by becoming the first CFO. I kind of stumbled into the strategy but somehow ended up with huge amounts of money. Just huge amounts of money. Nobody had played before so by the time anyone figured out how to stop my machine it was too late.

I think it's the kind of a game where an experienced gamer will absolutely crush newer players. And it can have a serious runaway leader problem. Not to mention that it can have an issue with being a bit... mean. All that being said... wow. I love this game. It is just a fantastic game. I loved it. And not just because I won. I loved the idea of creating this food chain, and having to work on hiring the right staff, and not over expanding. It was fantastic. All around it was just a great experience. I'm going to have to order my own copy. Great game.

paulbaxter · Post by **paulbaxter** » Sun Jul 31, 2016 9:24 am

For the first time in a long time we got out Mice and Mystics yesterday. It's absolutely my youngest's favorite, and for once his brothers all felt like playing it.

M&M manages a couple of things simultaneously: First, it's a brilliant role playing game for young kids. The theme is really appealing and it comes with pre-made story telling. But on the other side, there's a billion little pieces in the box and the rulebook is really awful. My best compromise has been to just try to interpret the rules in whatever way keeps things moving along and keeps the kids happy. This isn't entirely satisfactory for my oldest who's a bit of a rule stickler.

So somehow this is both the best and the worst game for kids.

MythicalMino · Post by **MythicalMino** » Sun Jul 31, 2016 8:27 pm

Played a solo game of Star Trek Frontiers and "won" (sorta kinda but not really).

I gave myself an extra 3 rounds....and I was on the last round even with that. I also made the first Borg cube be 4 and the second be 6. I managed to take out the last Borg cube right at the very end of the 9th round. Like I said, I "won".

Still....had a great time playing it. I really don't know how ppl are able to win in 6 rounds or less and with the stronger Borg cubes....

Chrisoc13 · Post by **Chrisoc13** » Mon Aug 01, 2016 8:34 am

Great gaming weekend. First was good chain magnate as I said earlier (which I of course ordered right away after one play it was that good) and second got my first game of scythe in.

Two player game of scythe. I'm looking forward to a four player game soon but I did really enjoy it at two. We happened to pick two factions at opposite sides of the map which put combat and interaction to a minimum but still the game clearly is very good. I think it will be better at higher player counts.

It's funny that both games are expensive ($100+) but the production quality is just so different. Food chain magnate is good enough I don't mind but when paying that much you just kind of expect a little more in terms of components. Scythe is on the opposite end. Just absolutely beautiful in every regard, especially the collectors edition.

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Mon Aug 01, 2016 9:46 am

I got to play games!

I played Burgle Bros with X(10) and we won pretty easily... mostly because I forgot to thin the patrol decks for two players (oops). Our loot... Gemstone, Mirror and... Chihuahua. It was a bit of a shock to find that little dog in the safe... and he is clearly *not* potty trained.

Then I taught X(10) and the wife to play Evolution. The kid picked it up pretty quickly but the wife really didn't get the idea until much later in the game. We'll call it a learning game and not really consider it a win... my score was more than the sum of theirs (thanks huge hard shelled foraging scavenger). I'm really looking forward to Climate adding a bit more variability to the game (that I have only played twice

).

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Wed Aug 03, 2016 9:38 am

Tomorrow begins Gencon. I've already read the rules for Star Trek Ascendancy and hopefully I'll be able to snag a copy tomorrow afternoon. If I do, I'm betting it hits a convention table soon after. I really like what they're doing with it. It really is a big ol' 4x board game. But it has some strikingly simple mechanics for combat (both military and cultural based) that help keep it intuitive.

The real beauty of the game can be found in the rather unique modular game map. There's no board, there's just a series of space lanes and connected star systems that are put out as you play. The game can effectively be limited in time by how big of a table you play on. So if you wanted time to explore, build and fight on a grand scale, you could play on a big ass table and go for 6 or more hours. But if you play on a smaller one, you can go 3 hours or less.

Chrisoc13 · Post by **Chrisoc13** » Wed Aug 03, 2016 11:09 am

I'm bummed I'm missing Gen con again. Ascendancy is on my list of must have games coming up. Of course that list is long... Seafall is the other big one on it releasing at Gen con.

Zarathud · Post by **Zarathud** » Wed Aug 03, 2016 11:20 am

I have Ascendancy, Scythe, Mystic Vale, Back to the Dungeon and more X-Wing on my GenCon buy list. Vast is shipping to me next week.

Interested in seeing demos from IELLO, Asmodee and CGE. SeaFall and Pandemic Cthulhu look interesting, we'll see what the others like more. Hoping to see more Mage Wars and Game of Thrones expansion product. Looked through the 400+ new items on Boardgamegeek and realized I'd like to play the games I have more often.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Wed Aug 03, 2016 11:40 am

I could go for another game of Blood Rage, myself.

Speaking of Seafall, I may end up getting that as well (if it doesn't sell out within minutes...as I suspect it might). Then grab the gang from our pandemic legacy game and give it a serious go.

hentzau · Post by **hentzau** » Wed Aug 03, 2016 3:15 pm

hepcat wrote:I could go for another game of Blood Rage, myself.

Speaking of Seafall, I may end up getting that as well (if it doesn't sell out within minutes...as I suspect it might). Then grab the gang from our pandemic legacy game and give it a serious go.

Plaid Hat stated that they were going to have VERY limited numbers of copies of Seafall. Let me know if you get it.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Wed Aug 03, 2016 3:17 pm

I have a feeling that they'll be long gone by the time I get down there tomorrow afternoon.

oh, and it takes up to 5 players. If I do get it, and the original crew from Pandemic signs on, you want to fill that fifth chair?

hentzau · Post by **hentzau** » Wed Aug 03, 2016 3:26 pm

hepcat wrote:I have a feeling that they'll be long gone by the time I get down there tomorrow afternoon.

oh, and it takes up to 5 players. If I do get it, and the original crew from Pandemic signs on, you want to fill that fifth chair?

I would love to if I can find the time.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Wed Aug 03, 2016 10:41 pm

Just got back from a Robinson Crusoe win (finally)!

Three-player game this time, first scenario. We got lucky with equipment cards and had a lot of weapon upgrades, so we were able to take advantage of hunting early on. Combined with a quick discovery of natural shelter, we had adequate lodging in place by the time weather rolled in.

The only time things got hairy was in the back half of the game, when we realized we had no animals in the hunting deck and no way to get the pelt we needed to finish the mast (+3 wood for the pile). So we dropped everything and poured all of our efforts into generating wood. We wound up winning in Round 12 thanks to our early shelter preparation and careful juggling of health. Very satisfying win, as our plan to delay the woodpile as long as possible paid off.

Definitely looking forward to the new scenarios, however, as I've played the first one probably upwards of 20 times at this point. 2 through 4 I've only played a couple of times each, and never played five, six, or the downloadable scenarios.

MythicalMino · Post by **MythicalMino** » Sat Aug 06, 2016 7:39 am

Last night....a game of Millennium Blades (my two sons and me). I won....115 - 107 - 95. The game finally "clicked" for my oldest boy....and in fact, he probably would have won if my other son wouldn't have flipped THE key card on his Tableau.

Next, two 2-player games of Epic. I bought the Tyrants expansion packs. I really like this one. A game each vs each boy. I won both....but Christian came very close to veating me.

Today, Star Wars Rebellion is set up....

Chrisoc13 · Post by **Chrisoc13** » Sat Aug 06, 2016 7:44 am

Got a second game of Food Chain Magnate in this week. This time it was a 2 player game. What a fantastic game it is. I played against my wife, I thought I had her easily beat as I went the training route and had loads of high level staff building up for a huge turn raking in tons of money. She went slow and steady. But in the end she managed to beat me by a fair amount all in one turn by discounting her prices to bargain level prices and just bringing in all of the customers. Luckily for her I had heavily developed the neighborhood the turn before.

The game plays just as well 2 players as it does 4 players, which is fantastic. It's certainly not a gateway game and is very deep, there is no randomness after the initial setup (which really just leads to variable set-up). I initially thought the level of theme in the game would really bother me, but it actually has a ton of theme, especially once you realize the 1950s theme. The tiles are a bit plain, but they get the job done and are very easy to use. Overall this game has really climbed to being one of my favorite games of all time. One of the few games I rate a ten.

She's about to crush me in this turn by getting all but one house to go to her restaurants.

In other news it's gencon week... sad to be missing it... but I have been enjoying the coverage still. FFG had their in-flight yesterday, lots of good things coming out of it. Mostly I'm interested in their Star Wars products, but they have lots of great products coming out. They announced wave X of X-wing (now there are 9 announced ships we are waiting on... Wave IX, X, and heroes of the resistance).

Most exciting to me though is that they announced an app for Imperial Assault, finally I will be able to play cooperatively. I hope they release the already released campaigns into the app. I know they haven't for Descent but hopefully they handle this one a little differently. Along with that they announced Jabba's palace expansion, with Jana and Rancor's joining the game, and finally a Jedi Luke. Good stuff ahead for Imperial Assault.

And a new expansion for XCOM, which is nice, I was worried they were done with XCOM but it's good to see they aren't.