Board Games General - "Huge Brain" edition

>> Anything on your 'must buy soon' list?

Android: Mainframe

>> What light / Party games do you like when 'I can't brain today - I have the dumb!' ?

Ca$h & Guns

Doesn't take a lot of deep thought, but the decisions still feel interesting and fun.

> Do you have a favorite 'Heavy' strategy game / what is it?
The heaviest game I own and easily my favorite one is StarCraft: The Board Game.
> Do you have a favorite 'Light / Abstract' Strategy game / what is it?
Neither are really very light (more medium) but it's either Kemet or
Neuroshima: Hex. Kemet is really great at 4+ and Neuroshima: Hex for me only shines at 2. Both are deceptively deep yet easy enough to understand on the first sitting.
> What game that you've tried surprised you most with its strategic depth when it seemed like it might be lacking?
Imperial Settlers. It looks like such a cutesy, naive game where nothing really happens, there are many paths to victory and all in all it's just a fun/fortiging way.

In reality it will fuck you up with the intricacies of the decisions you have to take, interaction is sparse and more akin to industrial sabotage than overt war and you really have to sperg your way to victory.
> What light / Party games do you like when 'I can't brain today - I have the dumb!' ?
Welcome to the Dungon.
> Anything on your 'must buy soon' list?
Not soon but if I manage to get 6 people without any social life I'll probably buy Virigin Queen or Here I Stand.

Yeah I'm actually thinking about picking it up kind of soon, and Comancheria as well when it's released, both games have great predecessors so it should be good stuff.

A decent Go set costs.
For one similar to you are looking at an investment of at least a couple hundred dollars.

What kind of budget were you thinking?

If you want a cheap set, look for a korean grocery store in your area, they should have a badukpan and stones for USD30-40. Particle board and glass stones, but it serves.

If you want high quality, what's your budget? Top-of-the-line sets use endangered trees and can go nearly as high as you want. The picture is a thick table board with low-quality wood, maybe only USD100-200?

Whatever you do, don't get some tiny set made by chess players who think all game boards must be 20cm square.

Here's a really nice set on Amazon being sold by Yellow Mountain Imports. At $160 it's actually a really, really good price.

amazon.com/Board-Double-Convex-Yunzi-Stones/dp/B000T8GE1W

Yellow Mountain Imports is probably your best bet for less expensive sets as well.

I'm not looking to buy one right this second, and I'm willing to invest a couple hundred in a quality set (considering what I once spent on MTG cards years ago that isn't unreasonable...) So, thanks for the advice. I'll do some research and see what I can find later. I have to bail for the moment.

Thank you very much! The link is greatly appreciated.

>shin kaya
spruce
picture looks like 3 two-by-fours glued together

>table board on legs
disdain for plebs.jpg

>double-convex yunzi
American.
Born.
Chinese.

YMI is decent sure but don't go for this one.

*eyeroll*

Are we really going to do this?

Spruce is the most common goban material and is perfectly nice. I sincerely doubt that user is going to be buying a Folded One Million Times solid one-piece kaya board. They barely exist to be bought at all, and the few that are available usually have shit grain.

>table board on legs

If this actually triggers you, I don't know what to say. Who gives a fuck?

>double-convex yunzi

Objectively best non-slate & shell stones.

>Spruce is the most common goban material and is perfectly nice
Sure, and calling it shin kaya is deceptive marketing. And if you get a board with real wood, at least get a single plank of *something*. Also: katsura is a thing.

>>table board on legs
>If this actually triggers you, I don't know what to say. Who gives a fuck?
Do you even know why floor boards have legs? It's for the sound when you place a stone. There should be a little echo chamber on the bottom too. Putting legs on a table board is like lipstick on a pig. You're putting in money and effort and it still won't sound right.

>>double-convex yunzi
>Objectively best non-slate & shell stones.
Since you're obviously not chinese-- you use upside-down single-convex stones to mark variations. Yunzi are just sintered glass anyway, you shouldn't pay extra for yet more mass-produced crap out of a chinese slave factory. Either get expensive and traditional, or cheap and modern.

Christ, I'm trying to teach you to appreciate the finer things. Get some taste.

So is Scythe worth the hype?

>I'm trying to teach you to appreciate the finer things. Get some taste.

You need to get some perspective. I understand the various elements that make up an aesthetically pleasing Go set. Single convex stones are not one of them, by the way. That shit is in laughably poor taste.

I also understand that most people - even a lot of people who take Go very seriously - are not willing to spend five hundred to several thousand dollars on a set.

You can get *some* of the elements that make up a perfect Go set for a reasonable price. I personally feel that is a reasonable compromise of materials, aesthetics, and cost.

You are free to disagree, but if you're going to try to be a snob about it? Go fuck yourself.

I've literally played on grid paper and spitballs and enjoyed it.
>tfw

> Do you have a favorite 'Heavy' strategy game / what is it?
Heaviest I get to play is Ankh Morpork
> Do you have a favorite 'Light / Abstract' Strategy game / what is it?
Gemblo, because my family actually want to play it.
> What game that you've tried surprised you most with its strategic depth when it seemed like it might be lacking?
Portal: The Board Game
> What light / Party games do you like when 'I can't brain today - I have the dumb!' ?
Word Whimsy is the best CAH alternative out there
> Anything on your 'must buy soon' list?
I'unno... the new Star Wars Risk?

>Portal: The Board Game
Alright, colour me intrigued. How the hell does THAT play?

We are in dire need of members. Enlist today! We want YOU for the /bgg/ Tabletop Simulator Steam Group army!

steamcommunity.com/groups/BoardGamesGeneral

Wednesday night, I'm in. That's when I'll be done with finals and papers and allow myself back on Steam.

There. I've joined. You faggots happy?

I thought we hated anime now.
Get your shit together /bgg/, what's it gonna be?

joining up too, btw

I think the fact that it's titled 'Autism'.gif might be a hint that there's a bit of fun being poked at the topic.

Also, /bgg/ is pretty split on the issue of anime. Hence people making fun of that OP who was butthurt about animu images. Personally, I don't give a shit one way or the other if images in "anime style" (which, of course, is a number of different styles) are posted as long as the discussion generally pertains to board games.

Speaking of whether or not things pertain to board games, does the Battletech board game belong here or is it close enough to a wargame in the more usual sense that it needs its own separate thread like 40k or something would?

Battletech does have its own general quite regularly, >

I joined but I don't have TTS...

are there any worker placement 'gateway' games besides Stone age and Lords of waterderp?

Five Tribes.

>Heaviest I get to play is Ankh Morpork
How heavy is it exactly. I just recently found out it exists and was thinking of getting it but I'm not sure how my group of new players would take it since we have a guy that needs to be reminded of rules in fucking Catan. And how is it for people who know nothing about Discworld. I'm the only one in the group that read the books.

Hi /bgg/ Im interested in expanding my board game selection.
Right now Im looking at Alien vs Predator, Hive, and Chaos in the Old World. Id also like to find a sports themed game thats easy enough for casual players. Any suggestions or ideas?

The hype is real.

I don't know man. Whenever I see or read about it the gameplay just seems so dull. What's fun about it?

You could give examples of the board games you like.

From the list you have given you can't go wrong with CitOW.

I don't know any sports games aside from Blood Bowl...

CitOW is one of the best games ever designed. Hive is overhyped garbage which is only known because some higher-up at MENSA became enamored with it.
Never heard of AvP but it's a 7 on BGG, meaning it either has no glaring flaws but no brilliant or clever mechanisms, or those flaws which it does have are balanced by said mechanisms. If you want a 3p wargame Triumph and Tragedy is the new hotness, but if you have three dudes who really like AvP I'd go for it.

Better than you probably think. I thought it was just going to be some meme game but it was surprisingly good. Not great, but I'd play again.

Hello page 10 my old friend

And here's everyone's latest enticement for something they probably don't need, but might well like anyway...

kickstarter.com/projects/antler-games/saltlands-sail-through-the-desert

Looks interesting.

Thank you 'Go-bros'. Anyone have suggestions for books on Go / Go strategy (Heiho) that they really like?

If you buy a really expensive set, does that make it a 'Go Pro'? (I know, I KNOW! Horrible pun, sorry.)

>examples of board games you like

Im pretty new to board games, here is what I have, and am looking to expand on:
Pandemic
Pandemic: The Cure
Zombicide + all expansions and stretch goals
Space Hulk
Puppet Wars
FFG's The Horus Heresy
Lanterns
Zombietown
Fast and Fthagn
Talisman
Imperial Assault
Tsuro

We've enjoyed them all except The Horus Heresy game, which felt more like work than fun.

Yeah its a toss up between AvP and CitOW. I have a couple more days to decide. Thanks for the input.

Have you ever played a shogi variant?

youtube.com/watch?v=vSDssAtbsGQ
I found Viticulture to be really easy to get a handle on
youtube.com/watch?v=lljft6AHIcU
It's not essential to be a fan of the books, but it definitely helps.

>Casual sports game
Blood Bowl Team Manager is a fun, fast beer & pretzels card game; plays 4 and has good replayability.
6 teams in the base game, all play differently. 6 more teams and rules variants in the expansions.

Yeah definately going to recommend Chaos in the Old World - you're missing a meatier strategy game.

> Expanding
Maybe some euro? Powergrid, Terra Mystica
Worker placement? Stone Age, Lords of Waterdeep
Social deduction? Code names, warewolf
Traitor? Battle Star: Galactica, Dead of Winter
Cards? Dominion, Race for the Galaxy
> More of the same
Coop: Ghost Stories
Zombicide, Zombietown: Last night on Earth

What genres interest you more? How many players do you usually play with?

>Finally complete Thunderstone Advance collection
>Hmmm might want to sleeve this since a few of the starter cards are showing some wear
>Start counting up numbers of cards
>around 2500 cards
>Don't want to do shitty penny sleeves
>2500 good sleeves is around $130 minimum

Fuuuuuuck.

You already went out of your way to complete an oop collection, you knew what you were getting into user. If you really don't wanna drop all that coin, go for Mayday sleeves, they're not top tier, but they're better than penny sleeves.

I just got into boardgames and have collected a very small collection. I have:

1) Risk
2) Pandemic
3) Betrayal at House on the Hill
4) Specter Ops

What else can Veeky Forums recommend, especially to branch out in other genres of boardgames? I'm the primary source of boardgames for my gaming group of around 4 - 5 people.

>What genres interest you more? How many players do you usually play with

Typically 4, sometimes 5 of us. I think I've decided to go with CitOW. I can get it and the Horned Rat expansion for less than AvP core set. AvP also looks to have a ton of addon boxes, which isnt really what Im looking for atm. Im already backing Dark Souls, and stashing $ away for Kingdom Death and a few of it's expansions.

CitOW it is, gonna head out in a bit to pick it up. Thanks for the assist user.

Yeah I was looking at this one. I think my flgs has it in their library, Im heading up there in a few so I'll take a look and see what its like.

Sounds like we're in a similar place as far as being kind of new and group size.

The games we have enjoyed most are lanterns and Zombicide. Though I think half the reason everyone enjoys Zombicide so much is because of all the pop culture survivors that I got with the KS.
Lanterns is a quick, easy, simple strategy/screw your friends over game thats pretty to look at.

What sort of themes does your group like? Do you guys like versus or co-op more? Are you craving a heavier game or do you like where you guys are at?

Some I would recommend as good starters to explore more concepts:
Stone Age (might appear daunting but is super easy to understand and play)
Ticket to Ride (I would recommend the Europe set the most)
Dominion and maybe an expansion (be careful here as you might end up compelled to collect it all)

And some light filler games including:
Love Letter
Codenames
One Night Revolution
Red7
Hanabi

If you give more info about what you and your group like or what you're looking for it can help zero in on things that will fit you and your group.

Catan yo

Scrabble. It's probably the most replayable board game.

Gemblo's good with 3+ players

I wish Xia had a skirmish mode or something. So many miniatures... so many of them never actually get used. I would love to give them more use

Holy crap, how much did you pay for that? Amazon prices are fucking insane...
I managed to get Towers and Numenera for relatively cheap, but I don't wanna throw that much cash into the other sets...

He probably got them when they were in print, before AEG became Love Letter: The Company.

I got everything besides Towers of Ruin and Caverns of Bane before i went out of print. Took me a while to find something with a reasonable pricetag.

Don't go to amazon or ebay for out of print games. They are usually SUPER overpriced. Go to the BGG market. Much better prices as well as the fact that they are usually from a person who cares about their stuff.

boardgamegeek.com/geekmarket/search?q=thunderstone advance

Oh, also make sure to actually read the item descriptions, a lot of people will bundle things together under a single heading.

For example I got everything for Battlecon Minus War Extended for $100. And everything was already sorted and sleeved.

I've had this for years and have never played it.

Which modern card game do you think is better and has made MTG obsolete?

Sadly, M:tG is not replaceable at this point. I don't see any other card game debunking it in the near future.
Only Netrunner has a serious competitive scene, and I doubt it'll have Magic's longevity.

I'm going to sell at a local (Puerto Rico) boardgame market group on Facebook.

I thought of selling Netrunner Core Set for 20(?), Battlestar Galactica for 25 and original Mage Wars Core Set for 25 too... are these prices ok? am I selling them too cheap or are the prices reasonable? I'm trying to get rid of them fast to get new games. It's way cheaper than local store and/or amazon/coolstuffinc/whatever if you consider shipping too

Way too cheap for battlestar and mage wars. But it will also mean you are sure to get rid of them if any buyer does their homework...

I don't mean it like that, sure, Magic: The Gathering will not die for now or maybe never. But there are superior card games to it or games that does what it tries to do better. From those game, which do you think is the best?

I don't care for competitive play, I play with friends and family.

30 maybe?
Battlestar's box is damaged, but the contents are intact. Mage Wars is like new, actually never played.

>Way too cheap for battlestar
The game's MSRP is $50. 50% off MSRP is actually pushing it for an opened game.

BGG marketplace is your friend, start at the highest price listed for the condition your copy is in. That way if you really want the sale, you can always go down if someone wants to haggle. Keep in mind the marketplace data is skewed high though, because you take a 3% hit from Paypal.

boardgamegeek.com/geekmarket/pricehistory/thing/37111

>highest avg price listed for your copy's condition
I can't type today.

Thank you.

So, Dark Souls: the Board Game.

>bosses have fixed attack cycles making them completely predictable once you go through the deck once
>the boss they saw fit to show as an example in the gameplay video had an attack pattern so incredibly easy that two naked level 1 no upgrade no item characters could easily beat it if they weren't controlled by retards
>the game has no failure state, dying means you respawn at the bonfire along with all the mobs in the dungeon
>you can respawn infinitely
>you can respawn the monsters infinitely, meaning if you somehow still have difficulty with the game you can just level grind the regular monsters
>all of this has been confirmed by the developers

They should've titled it Dark Souls: Prepare to Visit Candyland. What a fucking joke. I seriously hope you guys aren't backing this.

Every single thing except the second you listed is true of the actual game though.

That one is really worrying though.

The thing is, mechanics that work in video games often do not work in board games. Grinding is one of them. No loss state is another.

Even if the game is actually legitimately hard, I want the *game* to tell me when I'm done. I don't want to smash my head against it for an indefinite amount of time until I give up. Giving up on a board game is just an incredibly sour experience.

Attack pattern changes once you get the bosses health done so low though.

Einstein's brain was actually slightly smaller than average.

It shuffles once, with a new card added. So you do the same thing you did at the start -- play conservatively and heal constantly until you see the new attack pattern. Then resume dodging 90% of its attacks and whittling it down.

I'm backing it for all the KS exclusives because one of my friends LOVES Dark Souls and is waiting for the retail edition, so I'm just gonna sell it to him at cost.

Are there any YouTube channels other than The Dice Tower where you can watch videos a few hours long of people just chilling out and playing board games? Not really trying to teach you a game or review it, but just letting you watch through a fixed camera while they all hang out and play games.

I enjoy having TDT's long-ass game marathons on in the background while I work on grad school bullshit, but I'd like to mix it up.

Spoony recorded a game of Battlestar Galactica he played with his boardgaming buddies.

Speaking of The Dice Tower, is Jason Levine a "that guy" in TDT's group because he's awkward and gets on people's nerves a lot, or does he avoid it because he absolutely loves games, isn't a sore loser, and seems to be a really nice person (I mean, fuck, he buys his nieces and nephews new games every time he visits because he loves how happy it makes them to open/play a new game)?

SUSD has done a few, though heavily edited.

>selling netrunner

He's awkward and a lil spazzy, the live feeds from GAMA were painful to watch, but I think they enjoy playing with him because he's always enthusiastic and they seem to rip on each other quite a bit. He clearly tires them out a bit at times, but if he was that terrible they wouldn't keep playing with him, or put him in their videos. Hell Tom's rant on bgb this week was about gaming groups and how he wants people to feel a little welcome, if you're a little weird that's ok because we're a little weird.

Yeah. I think part of why I wondered is that I'm way less awkward than he is, but still have a tendency to tear apart every interaction I've had once I go home, worry that I got on everyone's nerves and pissed them off, and so on.

Knowing that being well-meaning and a good friend is enough to be welcome in a group of people would go a long way toward not worrying so goddamn much.

Board Game replay is pretty good for this, although how they review games is mostly through immediate post game banter.

Hey, I did it too when I needed quick cash. Wife did not take to it, and I didn't really have any one else to play it with. Never got a single data pack either. And I really enjoyed it too. The summer it was getting previewed I had already been looking up the original game and seeing what I could buy off of Ebay, so I was pumped to order it.

Now, things are so far gone in that game, and I have an already significant amount of two player games that friends and SOs enjoy, the door is bolted shut. Ah well.

Do people actually buy Netrunner sets?
Bored AF of the release cycle and haven't pulled it out in a while anyway. Should probably have bailed when Jackson H. was selling for $25.

I like Node Lan Party's D&D sessions.

Damn, son.
Probably where it would have gone for me if the wife hadn't gotten into it.

Almost every modern card game is better and has made MtG obsolete.

>Only Netrunner has a serious competitive scene, and I doubt it'll have Magic's longevity.

Check out DBZ's tournament attendance. Bigger than Netrunner's.

The various FFG Living Card Games are all good options.

Game of Thrones LCG recently got a reboot and is in an excellent place. Probably the best MtG replacement option for the moment. Legend of Five Rings will be getting the LCG reboot treatment next year.

The others are great too.