Online Board Game platforms?

Defiant · Post by **Defiant** » Fri Mar 13, 2020 3:47 pm

Given the current situation, I'm curious about online boardgaming platforms.

Ones I'm aware of:
Tabletop Simulator
Tabletopia
BoardGameArena

And of course, individual board games in Steam and the Play store (eg, Ticket to Ride, Smallworld, etc)

Any other suggestions?

AWS260 · Post by **AWS260** » Fri Mar 13, 2020 5:15 pm

I haven't used it, but https://yucata.de is well-regarded and has a bunch of eurogames.

Defiant · Post by **Defiant** » Fri Mar 13, 2020 9:05 pm

Thanks. I remember actually playing on that some years ago. Not as great an interface as BGA, but it works.

AWS260 · Post by **AWS260** » Mon Mar 16, 2020 10:58 pm

I signed up for Board Game Arena this evening. I did the tutorial and a 2-player game of Race for the Galaxy against a stranger. From the little I've seen, it's very impressive. It's not a physics simulation like Tabletop Simulator, just a clean, playable presentation of the game.

Username is studs_terkel, if anyone else is on there.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Mon Mar 16, 2020 11:03 pm

Not sure about board games, but I did see that Fantasy Grounds is on sale via STEAM until 3/23. I understand a new version is coming at some point, but I figured I'd add it here. I have no experience with it, nor do I own a copy.

Archinerd · Post by **Archinerd** » Wed Mar 18, 2020 12:52 am

Defiant · Post by **Defiant** » Wed Mar 18, 2020 8:08 pm

From what I hear, BoardGameArena is only running on 5 servers or something like that - so I recommend buying a subscription if you can so they can afford more and be able to support more people.

https://dominion.games/index.html offers Dominion.

AWS260 · Post by **AWS260** » Thu Mar 19, 2020 11:19 pm

Anyone up for scheduling some online board game time this weekend? Tzolk'in, Love Letter, whatever...

wonderpug · Post by **wonderpug** » Thu Mar 19, 2020 11:35 pm

Has anyone tried Tabletop Simulator in VR? Is it a decent implementation?

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Sat Mar 21, 2020 1:17 am

Despite having owned Tabletop Simulator forever, I've never messed around with it enough to become anywhere near competent with it.

Nothing like a good old-fashioned global pandemic to get you learnin' real fast! I was telling my gaming group buddy about it and he immediately bought it and jumped into figuring it all out.

By the time we met up this evening, he had all the basics down and brought me up to speed very quickly. We wound up playing base Pandemic, partly for the irony and partly because it was a game we knew well enough that rules wouldn't be a distraction as we learned the interface.

I'll have to say, once I got the hang of things, I was amazed at how immersed I got into the gameplay and nearly forgot we were playing digitally. The in-game audio was adequate aside from some infrequent brief stuttering.

I would also love to hear any VR impressions. I've got a Quest but no Oculus Link cable so I wasn't able to try it.

Ralph-Wiggum · Post by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Sat Mar 21, 2020 8:30 am

AWS260 wrote:Anyone up for scheduling some online board game time this weekend? Tzolk'in, Love Letter, whatever...

I would definitely be up for something. Since I’m generally just stuck at home, I guess any time works.

AWS260 · Post by **AWS260** » Sat Mar 21, 2020 3:20 pm

I think I'm already committed for the weekend at this point, but I'll post if things change.

gbasden · Post by **gbasden** » Wed Mar 25, 2020 12:33 am

Has anyone tried Tabletopia? I haven't quite wrapped my head around the funding model. I mostly play TTS, but I have a friend who really dislikes the interface.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Wed Mar 25, 2020 9:12 am

Our weekly Gloomhaven group got together and actually pulled off a complete session in TTS last night. We're using the Handsome Gloomhaven module which is really well done (after a bit of learning curve).

We all work together so we used our Skype for Business accounts for audio. I then shared my screen with Gloomhaven Helper up on a second monitor, so everyone could see the monster attacks and initiatives. Worked really, really well.

We're running through Isaac Childress's forum campaign. He's done four previously I think. Basically he releases a new scenario every week on the BGG forums, and then after everyone has played it, they vote on which direction it will go. Then Isaac creates a new scenario for that direction and so on through 10 linked scenarios. It's a lot of fun, and works well since he recommends starting from scratch with Level 1 characters. So we are able to play it completely isolated from our primary GH campaign.

I think TTS is going to be a real blessing over the course of this quarantine. We've already stockpiled a bunch of things we want to try.

Ralph-Wiggum · Post by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Fri Mar 27, 2020 1:30 pm

I have been using Boardgamearena the last few days and it seems like they have a pretty good implementation for a wide variety of board games. I ended up subscribing, at least for this month, so that I could host games and never be booted out due to server overload. The nice thing about hosting games is that I can invite people who have free accounts; that is, only the host needs to subscribe. This is all to say that if anyone wants to play any of the games BGA has, either in real time or asynchronously, I'm happy to host.

Defiant · Post by **Defiant** » Fri Mar 27, 2020 11:29 pm

Another one to the pile, this one having Azul, Century Spice Road, etc: https://mattle.online/

Anonymous Bosch · Post by **Anonymous Bosch** » Fri Apr 03, 2020 4:18 pm

FWIW, Tabletop Simulator is $9.99 on Steam until April 7.

The implementation of Arkham Horror LCG - Super Complete Edition alone more than justifies the asking price IMO. But thousands of other free games are available through the Workshop, though quality can be hit or miss as they're often unofficial. Titles available as paid DLC are usually an official implementation of the relevant game though, and tend to be excellent quality.

AWS260 · Post by **AWS260** » Fri Apr 03, 2020 4:48 pm

Anyone interested in scheduling a Saturday night game on Boardgamearena? I could set up a Zoom on the side for trash talking.

I would be up to play pretty much anything they have. So far I've used it for Tzolk'in, Red7, Innovation, Targi, and Race for the Galaxy.

AWS260 · Post by **AWS260** » Fri Apr 17, 2020 10:41 pm

I will reiterate my offer of an online game this weekend. I'll teach you Cosmic Frog!

AWS260 · Post by **AWS260** » Tue Apr 21, 2020 4:19 pm

I'm scheduling a Cosmic Frog game on Tabletop Simulator for this evening ET. I have at least one local friend on board, looking for a couple more. Drop me a PM if interested.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Sun May 03, 2020 8:39 pm

I finally just sat down and played around with the Undaunted and Ashes implementationa for TSS. Then Saturday I played both with Seppe for about 4 hours. It really isnt as hard as I thought it would be. It all became second nature for us after a little while.

Next up, the Doomrock port with all the expansions and ports.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Mon May 11, 2020 12:51 pm

Anonymous Bosch wrote: ↑Fri Apr 03, 2020 4:18 pm FWIW, Tabletop Simulator is $9.99 on Steam until April 7.

The implementation of Arkham Horror LCG - Super Complete Edition alone more than justifies the asking price IMO. But thousands of other free games are available through the Workshop, though quality can be hit or miss as they're often unofficial. Titles available as paid DLC are usually an official implementation of the relevant game though, and tend to be excellent quality.

And Asmodee brought out the copyright hammer a week or so ago and had this removed. They're also going after quite a few others.

I really hope they don't drop Ashes Rise of the Phoenixborn. It's OOP now. But apparently Asmodee doesn't care and they're going after those as well.

Anonymous Bosch · Post by **Anonymous Bosch** » Mon May 11, 2020 2:35 pm

hepcat wrote: ↑Mon May 11, 2020 12:51 pm
Anonymous Bosch wrote: ↑Fri Apr 03, 2020 4:18 pm FWIW, Tabletop Simulator is $9.99 on Steam until April 7.

The implementation of Arkham Horror LCG - Super Complete Edition alone more than justifies the asking price IMO. But thousands of other free games are available through the Workshop, though quality can be hit or miss as they're often unofficial. Titles available as paid DLC are usually an official implementation of the relevant game though, and tend to be excellent quality.
And Asmodee brought out the copyright hammer a week or so ago and had this removed. They're also going after quite a few others.

I really hope they don't drop Ashes Rise of the Phoenixborn. It's OOP now. But apparently Asmodee doesn't care and they're going after those as well.

Alas, Asmodee/FFG is seemingly pursuing a similarly short-sighted approach towards user-generated content as Games Workshop. Of course, having said that, they do have every right to do so. Because realistically, the vast majority of TTS mods are essentially taking copyrighted material, reproducing it without permission, and making it public. Which obviously allows anyone to play the games they're based upon.

FWIW, I backed up all of my TTS mods, including Arkham Horror LCG - Super Complete Edition, before this happened using the same method described in the initial post of the BGG thread discussing the Asmodee/FFG TTS take-downs (because I fully expected the hammer to fall on such TTS mods eventually):

Boardgamegeek.com wrote:Asmodee / FFG Seem to be taking down all FFG games on TTS.... there still seems to be many still up, but some very prominent mods like Kaos's and the ArkhamLCH Complete has been taken down.

I would recommend that any mods you like, go and back them up completely and save them somewhere. This is probably a best practice you should do with any mod you like.

You can get the backuptool here...
https://www.nexusmods.com/tabletopsimulator/mods/263

Click on the mod, download all assets and then right click "save". This will make a copy of the mod data for archiving. You can then "install" the mod back when you wish.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Mon May 11, 2020 4:37 pm

Hell, I didn't even get TTS prior to the takedown.

I do hope that Asmodee doesn't go full Games Workshop (I stopped playing their games years ago due to their policies and attitude.) Especially given the number of games they have acquired.

hentzau · Post by **hentzau** » Mon May 11, 2020 7:30 pm

I'll be honest...the use of IP on services like TTS has always bugged me. Game mechanics, OK, fine, you can't copyright those, I get all of that. But whole scale copying cards and art? That always struck me as wrong. It doesn't bug me much that they're trying to protect that.

(Note...not trying to change anyones mind or throw shade on folks that do use those services. It just isn't for me.)

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Mon May 11, 2020 8:29 pm

I can understand that. I guess because I’m from a group that used to play vassal adaptations that gmt and other game designers would upload themselves as a way to get people interested in their games, I see it more as a marketing tool at the end of the day. I‘ll try a game out on the service and if I like it, I’ll buy it. And if I already own it, I have no problem playing it with others. It’s the same as me bringing a game to a friend’s place to play. They don’t have to buy a copy to enjoy mine, and they may even end up getting it for themselves after trying it.

AWS260 · Post by **AWS260** » Mon May 11, 2020 9:15 pm

FWIW, there are quite a few free TTS implementations that are designer-approved, like Pax Pamir, Dinogenics, and Cosmic Frog.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Mon May 11, 2020 9:19 pm

I need to try Cosmic Frog. I do love his other games.

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Fri May 15, 2020 2:49 am

i'm interested in a concentration of abstract strategy games ... also known as 'oldies': Go, Chess (all variants, including Shogi, Xiangq, iChaturanga), Mancala, Backgammon... what's the best online site for these?

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Tue May 19, 2020 12:32 pm

I think www.boardgamearena.com is your best bet.

AWS260 · Post by **AWS260** » Tue Sep 22, 2020 5:19 pm

This review has me seeing Tabletopia in a whole new light.

AWS260 · Post by **AWS260** » Thu Oct 15, 2020 11:02 pm

Premium games on Tabletopia are free for the next 7 days with the coupon code AWSHUX.

This is because the online replacement for SHUX, awSHUX, is happening this weekend.

Ralph-Wiggum · Post by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Fri Oct 16, 2020 8:51 am

Nice. They have a pretty good selection of relatively newer games. Might give them a try this weekend.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Thu Dec 17, 2020 5:57 pm

Came by looking for just this sort of thread and was hoping for recommendations. What can people say about Tabletop Simulator as I don't see an easy way to see the library of mods developed to know if I want to sink $20. I won't feel bad about playing copyrighted game because I pretty much would just be seeking to play games owned by me or the people I'd be playing with.

Also I see one platform missing:

http://brettspielwelt.de/Spiele/

This was something I used years ago.

Finally, I'll be at home a week plus over XMas to New Year, no work, so if people have recommendations and want to play, I could be your huckleberry.

AWS260 · Post by **AWS260** » Thu Dec 17, 2020 11:30 pm

Tabletop Simulator mods are listed on the workshop page: https://steamcommunity.com/app/286160/workshop/

Browse to your heart's content!

I would also be up for some online boardgames over the holiday week.

Tao · Post by **Tao** » Fri Dec 18, 2020 2:19 am

I've had Tabletop Simulator for a couple of years and I think it's very good. The interface isn't as slick as some of the newer offerings, although there are a good number of scripted games. The big draw however is I don't think any other platform can compete right now for the sheer volume of games available. I think it's also recognized as a forerunner by game developers as at least 3 or 4 of the recent KS I backed have put up demos on TTS. Having said that I would wait until the Steam sale before buying, think it starts on Tuesday, TTS is frequently 50% off during the various sales and IIRC they sometimes offer packages for multiple copies.

Ralph-Wiggum · Post by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Fri Dec 18, 2020 10:20 am

I'm still using Boardgame Arena for most of my online board gaming. It certainly doesn't have the extensive library as TTS, but it does have all the rules in place and so will only allow you to take legal moves, which leads to, IMO, a much lower learning curve for any game. I would also be up for some games on BGA over the holidays, either real time or asynchronously, if people are interested.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Fri Dec 18, 2020 9:02 pm

Registered in BGA and have been learning the UI with redrun.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Fri Feb 12, 2021 10:11 am

Ralph-Wiggum wrote: ↑Fri Dec 18, 2020 10:20 am I'm still using Boardgame Arena for most of my online board gaming. It certainly doesn't have the extensive library as TTS, but it does have all the rules in place and so will only allow you to take legal moves, which leads to, IMO, a much lower learning curve for any game. I would also be up for some games on BGA over the holidays, either real time or asynchronously, if people are interested.

Now owned by Asmodee. Involved publishers were not warned, and are not happy that the (often royalty-free) contracts they had with BGA in order to support a community effort are now in the hands of the board game Planet Eater.

Ralph-Wiggum · Post by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Fri Feb 12, 2021 10:42 am

Ah crap.