Board Game General /bgg/ - Card Edition

>BONUS QUESTION: Have you ever read a rulebook that seemed to resent the idea of explaining the game to you?

I thought that was the whole premise of the Ghost Stories rulebook. Probably written by Wu-Feng himself

I can't decide between terra mystica or battlecon to fill in for my free shipping. I have a severe lack of euros and 2 player games. What do I do!?

>BONUS QUESTION: Have you ever read a rulebook that seemed to resent the idea of explaining the game to you?

>What did you play during the weekend?
Thursday:
>Power Grid
>No Thanks! x2
>La Granja

Friday:
>Factory Funner
>Roll for the Galaxy (+expansion)
>Millennium Blades
>Battlestar Galactica (+3x expansions)

>Recent purchases or plans?
I have completely lost control of my spending habits as of late. Let's see, I've recently purchased...

>Steampunk Rally (Because I need a good 6+ player game that has meat on its bones)
>Homeland: The Game (Because I found it for $10 shipped on Amazon)
>51st State: Master Set Preorder Edition (Because it looks to be an even better version of Imperial Settlers which I deeply enjoy)
>The Big Book of Madness (Because I needed to hit free shipping at CSI when buying...)
>Battlestar Galactica: Pegasus and Exodus expansions along with the Broken Token wooden insert for the game (Because the game last Friday rekindled my undying love for the BSG)

I've also got a Kickstarter copy of Simurgh and its expansion on its way, should arrive late May or early June.

>Favorite card game/game that has cards as a big mechanic?
BattleCON, no doubt. My favorite game and my favorite card game, no holds barred.

Battlecon. Again and forever battlecon

Terra Mystica. Euro-wise the only game I prefer is Dominant Species, Le Havre is kind of tied with Terra Mystica I guess. And before you get ANY other 2-player game you gotta give Twilight Struggle a try, because it's fucking GOAT.

>What did you play during the weekend?
Escape from Zombie City, which is fine, but I prefer the classic version, Betrayal at House on the Hill, which I love even though the house setup/scenario combination was pretty awful and we played some Guillotine while waiting for the food to cool. A fun filler that one.
>Recent purchases or plans?
Well I backed the Ghostbusters II kickstarter. Other than that I don't have any big purchases in mind right now.
>Favorite card game/game that has cards as a big mechanic?
Does Legendary Encounters : Alien qualify ?
>When playing a board game, how do you strike a good balance between gameplay and socialization?
i generally play games that are on the lighter side so there's always room for friendly banter.
>Have you ever read a rulebook that seemed to resent the idea of explaining the game to you?
Nearly every Queen Games I have played. Escape from Zombie City is fucking awful, Dark Darker Darkest was a mess and the author had to release an entirely new one, Shogun's french rulebook is full of fucking errors. But Escape Zombie City is the one that fits the most your question, as it leaves half the game completely unexplained and you have to deduce some of the things by looking at the illustrations.

>what did I play
Not as much since I didn't see my friends and I didn't go to the meetup because Mother's Day weekend
However our group met Friday where we played
>Arcadia Quest
First play, and now I get why it gets praise. It goes out of its way to minimize downtime/rules bloat and maximize interesting choices
>Tides of Time
Interesting to play once or twice I think. It just doesn't have the variety of other drafting games
>Archaeology
Honestly, the make or break for this game is if you think rolling a 7 in Catan is fun. It's divided into two types of cards you can draw, one steals and the other forces you to put half your hand in the market. Pretty fun imo
>Clockwork Wars
Second play, unfortunately the guy who owns it didn't explain it well enough to the two new players. When one of them got wrecked second round (re: overextended) he got really frustrated and mostly disengaged. Can't blame him honestly. I was winning pretty handily thanks to my Hunter who could jump around all of my territory until I was targeted by an opponent who played 4 Intrigue cards on me, took control of a Shrine right next to all my shit, used her Operative to hold it despite attrition, then make a discovery there that gave the holder +2 army strength in all adjacent territories. She was able to handily take 4 of my territories with only 1 dude each before I could remove her control of the shrine. Wasn't even mad, it was a genius play
>recent purchases
I backed pic related on KS, might rescind later if I feel like it's too much money
>fav card game
More than 80% of my collection are card games. BattleCON/Dominion I guess
Lol nice question. Queen Games rulebooks come to mind. Very utilitarian. They all have the same the same layout across languages and even in different games, so there's no attempt at making each one feel like it's part of the game, let alone writing good copy like an overview or thematic background.
>Factory Funner
Ooh I want to try that

>pic related on KS
I'll take overpriced Cajon bags for $1000 Alex

Is Mage Knight worth the hype if you're going to be playing solo?

I'm fairly sure that's actually the generally recommanded player count.

>I backed pic related on KS, might rescind later if I feel like it's too much money
Check out kickstarter.com/projects/level3b/the-game-canopytm/description . Same ridiculous price point, same concept, but it looks like a much better product to my eyes. Larger, carries more, protects the games better, looks better, etc.

>up and coming games
Personally excited for
>Ponzi Scheme
>Innovation Deluxe
>Seafall (although I'll probably never get to play it)
>Plums
>Broom Service: The Card Game
>Great Western Trail
Between those two I prefer BattleCON
>cajon bag
Nice tip user, I'll check that out. If I find something similar for the portfolio cases I'll definitely un-pledge
Honestly thought I missed the boat on that one since I heard about it so long ago

Got Arkham Horror recently and holy hell are there a lot of cards in that one. I'm pretty sure my buddies and I played it correctly, but there are way more rules than I remember there being a few years ago.

Alright then, who's on-board the hype train for this beauty. Dominance ftw by the way, all you other hippies gonna get anomalied.

>Cajon bags
Five seconds on Google:
amazon.com/Meinl-Percussion-MCJB-Professional-Cajon/dp/B0006OHVMK
13.5" x 13.5" x 21" interior according to the page. Some comments say it is closer to 13" in width and depth, but the majority of board game boxes are 11.7" so it's plenty. In comparison, the Game Canopy is either 13" x 13" x 16" or 13" x 13" x 9" and the Vault bag is 12.5" x 12" x 16" in the main compartment. The Cajon bag is padded, like the Game Canopy and unlike the Vault bag, and the zipper is prevented from touching the contents like the Game Canopy. Price point is $50 for the Cajon bag.

Yeah, I ordered one. I've been wanting a better solution for carrying games for a long time. Was thinking about the Game Canopy, but man that fucking price point is murder. If I can get basically the same thing for under half the price and get it shipped right now, why not?

Anyone knows what are the new Xenoshyft rules?

I'm getting it next Saturday for $30

>What did you play during the weekend?
Nope, my girlfriend wasn't in the mood to play anything. Maybe this weekend.

>Recent purchases or plans?
A couple games I'm looking at, but I'm not sure yet:
Star Realms
Fury of Dracula
Specter Ops
Tales of Arabian Nights
T.I.M.E. Stories

>Favorite card game/game that has cards as a big mechanic?
Does Sushi-Go and Good Cop, Bad Cop count?

>Ask a card/bgg related question and answer the questions that you like.
Any advice on getting into a regular board game group? I'm starting to get deeper into the hobby and sadly none of my friends are as into it as I am.

The most important rule changes are to the rounds in waves. So in round 1 in any wave, draw 3 enemies per lane. Round 2, draw 4 enemies per lane. Round 3, draw 4 enemies per lane but switch out 1 enemy card (for 1-2 players) or 2 enemy cards (for 3-4) and insert appropriate wave boss card(s).

Basically 1 less enemy in round 1 and a guaranteed boss fight in round 3.

There are some other reveal effect changes that I can't remember. You should be able to look up the new Dreadmire rulebook for free.

That's a good deal

Any good and fun solo games, /bgg/?

I've been playing NH 3.0 and Zombicide Black Plague.

I've played Mage Knight maybe 10 times, which is criminally low in my opinion but I don't seem to often have the time to get to it with all the other games I have to play.

One of those times was with 1 other person. every other time was solo. While I didn't mind it with another person, the game is seriously meant to be played solo. A player's turn can be very long and there is basically nothing you can do on an opponents turn, leading you to simply sit there and wait. Add in 3 or 4 people and you'll be sitting there watching someone try 6 different combinations of cards in their hand to find the optimal solution for about 15 minutes before it gets back to you.

I tend to play a lot of solo games, and while there are certainly simpler, faster games that offer a pretty satisfying solo experience, nothing comes close Mage Knight if you're looking for something deep, complex, and frankly pretty damn fun to play alone.

Speaking of good solo games, has anyone here tried Mistfall before? Either solo or with a group. I've watched it played on youtube, but was wondering if anyone had some opinions on it after playing it yourselves. Looks like an interesting game but I don't want to drop 50+ dollars on it without a few more opinions.

>Pax Baltica
Looks very interesting, thanks for mentioning it. I will gladly solo it on Vassal.

Thanks for the insight. what are some other good solo games? I don't have much time to play with others for now

Try Maquis (has a pretty solid and mostly free mobile app), Cuba Libre and Churchill (both have solid bots).

>similar for the portfolio cases
I don't really see the point in unboxing all my games just for transport, but look up travel packing cubes.

That's actually the exact bag I've been eyeing picking up for my brother, started looking for one after he told me he wished he had the cash to back the canopy kickstarter, and I figured there had to be a better option. Too many companies out there are selling goods for 2x the price because it's "designed for games/gamers". I'd rather save my money for actual games.

I find the biggest problem that board games have is the amount of them that revolve around using cards to represent things. It's so dull.

Well for one thing, basically any co-op game is soloable. You just need to play multiple characters at a time.

That being said, here's a list of some games I've really enjoyed playing solo.

>Sentinels of the multiverse
It can be a little fiddly because there's a lot of cards going in and out of the play area and a lot of damage/status effects to keep track of, but playing this solo has kept me very entertained. The gameplay is honestly very simple; play a card, use a power, draw a card. But the game is very deep despite that, and playing three heroes at once make you feel like you're playing one giant super hero vs the villain.

>Darkest Night (pic related)
I never see anyone talk about this game, but this is definitely one of those games that plays better solo despite being a co-op game. That's because there isn't really a whole lot to do on each player's turn, and it can be pretty easy for someone to quarterback. Playing solo, you can take your time and think about what to do for each of your characters (play with 4). It's also a pretty tough game, which leads to some on-the-wire wins. The base game can be a little anti-climactic, but the 4th expansion adds an alternate win condition that makes things more exciting. Definitely play with at least the second expansion and possibly the 4th; they really improve the game.

>Ghost Stories
This game is fucking hard. Like really fucking hard. That being said, it makes for an excellent puzzle. Playing with friends is fun too for this game, but if you really want a challenge, try and go at this game alone.

>Forbidden Desert
Easily the lightest game I've recommended so far, because sometimes you want something simpler. This game is also fun with other players, maybe more so than solo, but it can still be a good solo experience. Seeing how hard you can make the game for yourself (higher starting difficulty, fewer characters, etc) is a good way to increase the intensity/longevity of the solo game.

(cont.)

Why?

I think it's better than dice for ensuring replayability of the game. For example, if both you and your opponent play different decks of cards, then with each played/drawn card you get more information - what is left in your and your opponent's draw piles.

Here's a couple WW2 submarine wargames that have gotten pretty solid feedback:

The Hunters
Silent Victory

GMT also has Comanchería coming out later this year, a sort of successor to Navajo Wars which was well-recieved.

Silent Victory looks really good, but really intense. What's the learning curve like?

Some games that aren't co-ops to follow.

>Ascension
Deck builders in general can often be solo'd, but ascension for me is definitely one of the best. It plays very quickly and smoothly, and the built in AI can be pretty tough to outrace. You can also increase the AI's difficulty yourself if you want by increasing the number of cards it "eats" at the end of every round. There's also an app version of the game that has an ACTUAL AI player that is fun to play on the go.

>Thunderstone
If you can find a copy of it that doesn't cost too much, it's a good game to have. Honestly I have more fun with a small group (3 players is usually best imo) but the solo game plays well too and it can be a nice break from Ascension if I'm still looking for a deck builder to play solo.

>Onirim, or any of the other oniverse games
I've only played onirim so I can't actually speak for the other games in the series, but I've seen them all played and just picked up castellion a week ago (haven't gotten to play it yet). Onirim in particular is one of the shortest and simplest solo games around, but it's extremely fun because of that. It's a great game to just have on hand, bring around while traveling, etc. Simple rules and mechanics but deep and fun enough that I can never just play one round.

>Caverna (and some other euro's)
The solo version of this game is basically just all about beating your previous scores, because there's no randomness involved from play to play. It's a lot of fun to try and maximize your scores each time, and trying new strategies, but the longevity of this as a solo game is technically limited. Still a good solo game for a while though, and great to play with other people as well.

I used to not like card-heavy games, but for the kind of complexity I enjoy in games, it's (probably) the most efficient way of having a large amount of randomizable, unique, fungible elements, and for having "rules that break the rules" style gameplay (that is, things on cards supersede the basic rules of the game by providing unique exceptions to them).

Now I remember - some of the best solo games I played are from Victory Point Games. States of Siege series to be exact.

Red Dawn is very a great entry and I heard many good about the Zulus on The Ramparts. Ottoman Sunset is very highly regarded too and if you manage to either see We Must Tell The Emperor or Malta Besieged in good condition, consider grabbing them - they are hardcore OOP after the author and producer had a disagreement.

There's also one game about zombie apocalypse, if that's your preferred theme. All in all, the series is worth checking out, especially if you are into historical games.

There's still more that I haven't mentioned (Pathfinder adventure card game, Descent with the co-op expansions, any of the D&D adventure system games, and a handful of others) but those are the ones that I've played myself and really enjoyed. Pic related is my shelf from a couple weeks ago as I was organizing it (posted it a few weeks ago asking advice actually) and in general I keep soloable games by my desk while multiplayer only games I keep in the living room, so anything you see here is most likely able to be played solo. There's also a lot of multiplayer games that have solo variants created for them by players that can be found online, so it's worth looking around.

Any other questions, ask away. I only get to play games with people once a week for a few hours, if that, so I love having a bunch of solo games on hand to scratch the board gaming itch when no one is around.

>don't see the point in unboxing all my games
I can think of three games I own that rarely see play because the boxes are comically big. I would prefer something soft and portfolio-sized with a lot of pockets, though I might get plastic cases from Container Store
Just saw Rahdo's video. I thought Trickerion looked unwieldy (still haven't tried it) but this looks awesome. First time I'm tempted to back a game for minis (though I probably won't)
I'm with you, especially for "thematic" deckbuilders. In Legendary, why is this "guy" I "bought" only "fighting" for me every 2-5 rounds. When people diss Dominion in favor of more thematic deckbuilders, I scratch my head because the theme never matches the mechanics in any satisfying way. Why not just play an actual Ameritrash game?

Thanks for all of the responses. I'm glad there are so many solo options out there

Speaking of containers, what are some of the best small sized containers you guys use to organize your games and their components?

No problem. Solo games are how I got into the hobby cause I initially had no one around who was interested in playing with me. I came from a strictly video-game oriented group of friends, who would much rather be holding a controller than rolling dice.

Anyone backing any kickstarters? I'm kind of interested in Saltlands and Dark Souls, but neither game really goes into depth and explains the gameplay so I'm hesitant to back them.

Bro, your collection seems similar to mine... why do you have both Mage Wars Arena core sets? I thought of getting rid of the first one, since the new one was updated or something right? Also how is lagoon, it's pretty cheap everywhere.

The only person really interested in playing something other than Sushi Go or Codenames with me is my brother in-law. We want to play some larger scale war games, but most of the ones recommended are 3+ players. A lot of the Skirmish games look good though

>What's the learning curve like?
Don't know as I haven't played it, but been quite interested for a while now. That said, I've skimmed through the rules a bit and nothing strikes me as too bad really. First few games might be "learning" games that require a bit more rules consultation but after that I reckon it'll flow along pretty nicely. Also a fair amount of the rules are outlined on the tables you'll use when playing it. This wargamer gnome has a pretty good review (conclusions at the 21-minute mark):

youtube.com/watch?v=P-KtbB4cK9I

I get that the some boxes are stupid (hello Machi Koro) but I mean they unboxed TtR and Catan on that kickstarter, neither of which ever seemed terrible to me.

amazon.com/Plano-Double-sided-StowAway-Tackle/dp/B00DN7CBNQ

I tend to hate the idea of dumping all a game's pieces into a Plano instead of building an insert, but every so often I'll grab one of these. Especially good for a game that has a lot of conditional trackers/counters, dungeon crawlers etc.

I'd estimate that's technically a third of my collection. Like I said, I keep all the strictly multiplayer games in the living room, and the table they're on is starting to sag under the weight of all those games.

I have two so that I had enough components/card to play a 4 person game easily. There's other ways to do it, but it's pretty cost effective and just easier to buy a second set. I got the original set a while back at a convention, and then by the time I wanted to get the second set for 4 players, the original was no longer available so I got the newer set. As far as I can tell there's no major differences between the two sets. All the cards are the same to my knowledge. Just some new art on the board and included books, and maybe a few other small details. It's really nice to have more copies of all the cards too.

Lagoon is cool. I've been really meaning to play the solo version, just haven't had the time to sit down and learn it as it seems a little complicated for how small the game is. I played it only once with 2 friends of mine. I liked it a lot more than they did frankly...I can see why, it's kind of a weird game. The artwork is PHENOMENAL and the mechanics seem like they make for a cool thematic game, but frankly the game boils down to "how do i move my tokens in the most efficient way possible?" This is why I want to try the solo version. It really feels like an intense puzzle game, which isn't always good for multiplayer. Because of how cheap it is, I would recommend it, but maybe look into a video or two before you pick it up. TLDR: it's interesting but not for everyone.

I feel you. I do have a group now adays that meets up once a week for a few hours, which is usually just me and 2 of my friends. They're definitely able to play the larger games I try and bring to the table (we just went through our first game of terra mystica the other day pretty successfully) but they tend to like the more medium level or light games. It's even worse if one or two other people come by which happens every couple weeks. Not that I don't enjoy playing red dragon inn, coup, or other games of that nature, but it sucks when I'm trying to get something big to hit the table and everyone's eyes glaze over. Solo gaming is honestly where I get my heavy games fix.

Yeah I wouldn't plan to store everything in the container permanently. I'd use it more to keep the play area and table more organized and to have an easier place to grab counters and such out of

I want to find a group in my area. But I tried using meetup and there are really only casual party game players. I want to go to Dragoncon to see their board game section, but I'd be afraid I'd be left out or sitting at a table by myself with a game in front of me

The best thing I can recommend is getting a small group of core friends who are at least somewhat interested in board games, and slowly involving them in heavier stuff. I was lucky that the two guys I usually play with are used to intense video games, so the transition to heavy board games wasn't too hard. Some other people I start with much simpler stuff and try to very slowly work them up. Coup is a really good intro game for people, because it introduces them to a theme that isn't usually associated with the basic board games most people play (monopoly, clue, etc.) and it's got some of the simplest rules. It's also really fun, great for a number of players, and goes quickly. Something like king of tokyo or red dragon inn is a good next step. Introduces a few more components and rules, but still keeps everything basically simple. More importantly, these games are fun for gamers of all levels so you can still have fun even if you're used to heavier stuff. Not everyone is gonna want to go to the next level of games but the only thing you can really do is try and push the level of complexity their used to one game at a time. I have some of the people who don't usually come by that are more into party games coming this week, and I'm going to see how they do with cosmic encounter. For most of us on this board, simple as fuck game. For someone who's most intense gaming experience is RDI or Fairytale, it could be a pretty daunting task.

Just Dale of Merchants 2 right now. The original DoM has gotten a lot of love from reviewers, but can't be bought anywhere (that I know of). It's a cute, light deckbuilder where you're destroying your deck as you're building it. A lot more hand control than normal for a deckbuilder, and an interesting race target instead of a VP farm which most deckbuilders have. Plus, it has the remaining stock of DoM1 on hand, and those ship immediately after the campaign. Also, the art is so fucking adorable.

Dark Souls doesn't honestly look all that great to me. Maybe it'll be good, but it feels too light for my tastes.

Salt Lands looks like a trainwreck. That's a game I'm definitely waiting on reviews for. Just too much shit going on, too many bits, too many cards, and yet it looks like a standard regular ameritrash adventure game.

I've only backed Xenoshyft Dreadmire.

I have Dark Souls on reminder, because I'm not sold on it yet either. I was hoping for more coverage of gameplay and playthroughs before deciding.

Thank you, I got rekt... even with the new rules.

Joel Eddy liked it, I trust him more than Vassel (Who disliked it)

>Dark Souls doesn't honestly look all that great to me.
This, more of the same.

Miniatures would be my only interest in Darks Souls. The game doesn't really matter to me.

I'd rather back a full Bones line, you get a ton of good quality minis for less cash.

>Bones
>good quality
u wot m8
I mean, I'm not all that sure that the Dark Souls minis will be that great either (the preview images for the characters are honestly rather grody looking, and they say they're made from the final molds), but Bones are pretty much just crap.

Yeh well, they're not superb, but as far as cost/quality goes they're a pretty good deal for tabletop RPGs,
I'm not looking for a display piece, and I can't paint that well either, so they do nicely.

Ouch, better luck next time xenobro.

I really want to pick up Magic Realm because it seems like the best RPG-in-a-board-game experience out there, but reading the unofficial third edition rules PDF feels incredibly daunting, I would have given up easier if I was reading the first or second edition rules. I should probably print out Magic Realm Light 30 first as that looks to be a good distillation of the rules

>What did you play during the weekend?
Nothing, but had games night at work tonight. Played Tsuro, Code Names, Cash n Guns, and Avalon. Overall a good time. The only problem is we have a lot of people coming and going so it's rare to really play games that you can sink your teeth into, but even I don't want to spend 2-3+ hours after a day of work playing something.

>Recent purchases or plans?
Always up for buying X-Wing minis. Thinking of getting Telestrations for another fun party game. Also really interested in Mysterium, but not totally sold on it. And always on the look out for a game that's good at 2p that my girlfriend will actually enjoy, but it's a struggle and almost feels like she's less willing to try things out recently.

>Favorite card game/game that has cards as a big mechanic?
The physicality of a board and having game pieces is actually a big draw for me, but for pure card games, I like Coup, Love Letter, and Sushi Go. I think the lack of board suits fast, simple games more.

My favourite card mechanic might actually be Gears of War where the cards in your hand are also your health. It feels so disastrous seeing both your options and your health go down at the same time. I hope it comes out with a survival horror retheme or something, I think it would suit it better than the Gears theme.

>Ask a card/bgg related question and answer the questsions that you like.
What's the right balance between trying to introduce games to someone who has some interest in the hobby vs being pushy about stuff they might not actually like all that much?

Welp, I've just made a liar out of myself. Backed Anachrony. And I was doing so good this season too.

Anachrony is a medium to heavy worker placement euro where you can requisition resources and workers from the future and instantly get them -- but then later in the game you'll need to build time machines and send those very same items back in time to keep the timeline clear as well as increase your time travel expertise which, of course, is endgame scoring. So you're simultaneously receiving goods to set up your engine with and also creating a demand for goods which you can fulfill for points later on in the game. Mix in some neat worker placement with multiple classes of workers and a meteor that shows up 2/3rds of the way through the game which wrecks the main game board and it seems like a winner.

Oh, and 55mm exosuit minis. Because why not.

>exosuit minis in a worker placement euro with cool mechanics.
I'm supposed to hate this genre, what's going on?

Lord of the Rings LCG
Hornet Leader

It's a cool IDEA, but I'm not sure I think it would be much fun to play.

I've never been sold on worker placement mechanics though.

There's a Rahdo runthrough up for it as well. I know he's not the most beloved guy around here, but he shows enough of the game mechanics that it satisfied me. It's actually not even all that complicated despite the enormous amount of components. Get stuff from the future, decide how many suits to prepare for your workers, place workers, cleanup, rinse repeat.

youtu.be/wazfYs9wrVs?list=PLmQverenaaqJniV6edqldO5vVZFhvh-su

>Not liking worker placement
What kind of monster are you?

>I know he's not the most beloved guy around here

Whoa whoa hang on. I think you'll find that Rahdo is universally adored thank you very much.

He's got virtually no spine for vicious competitive games and that drives me nuts.

But yes, he's remarkably adorable for his age.

I used to think so, but it seems every time I bring him up on these threads I get shit for it. I like the guy personally, but I can admit that his videos are not for everyone.

Why would you get shit for expressing your personal taste?
Ah yes, Veeky Forums. You're not allowed to have an opinion here.

>Played
Splendor, Evolution, Forbidden Desert, Bang dice

>Wishlist
Dominant Species and Dungeon Petz/Lords on top of the list atm, no actual solid plans to buy anything. Kinda broke right now. Tempted by the LotR LCG but all the expansions turn me off, I'd rather spend that kind of money on several games instead of just one

>Card stuff
Pretty much all my games have cards in them. Netrunner as a 'pure' card game, CitOW as a card-support board game, Pandemic as a card-driven coop

>Question
What's a game that's considered 'good' that you wouldn't touch with a thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole?

What a scatterbrain. Who the hell gets analysis paralysis while doing a solo game overview? Fuck.

>What did you play during the weekend?
Pandemic: The Cure and Chaos in the Old World

>Recent purchases or plans?
Chaos in the Old World

>Favorite card game/game that has cards as a big mechanic?
Im pretty new to boardgames, Im not sure if I have one. I have FF's The Horus Heresy, and Puppet Wars Unstitched - both of which use cards and no dice. Of these two Puppet Wars would be my preferred game.

>Question
Should I get Ticket to Ride or Descent next?

I'm interested, but after watching the full runthrough and reading the rules I'm a bit concerned with the sheer amount of randomness in the design.

The research dice are punishing.
The paradox die has a crit face and a blank.
The availability of literally everything is randomized to some extent.

I don't see it being a problem while you're learning the game - there are enough moving parts that that could take quite a while. But eventually you are left with a situation where optimally efficient play means gambling hard on what is going to show up in later turns. You're going to find yourself hanging the entire game on being able to build a 4-era time machine which may or may not ever present itself to be built. Or someone is going to get lucky with their research rolls and run away with the game. Or you're going to roll double-paradox three eras in a row and get steamrolled by anomalies.

I worry it's going to be one of those games where the more skillfully you & your opponents play the less control any of you have over the outcome.

Which expansion should I get first? Are there any expansions that are shit?

I would recommend Ticket to Ride if you're looking to spread your collection into other directions since you don't have much in the way of lighter more euro sort of games.

However since you don't have any games like it I'm not sure if you'll like it as it's a rather light game compared to what you do have. That said it's a great game to play with the family or people who aren't into super thick themes.

>What did you play during the weekend?
Nothing. Two friends are doing Overwatch, one is dealing with family drama, and I finally picked up dark souls 3. So not a lot of board gaming is getting done recently or probably soon.

>Recent purchases or plans?
2400 card sleeves to finish sleeving my Thunderstone Advance collection. Got in on Xenoshyft Dreadmire slacker backser stuff. Also I've got a cart sitting at coolstuff with $400 of stuff I want as well, but I'm resisting the urge to buy it all at once.

>Favorite card game/game that has cards as a big mechanic?
Currently Battlecon. Loving it.

>Ask a card/bgg related question and answer the questions that you like.
One thing that bothers me about dungeon crawls is that if you 'miss' an attack, you've basically wasted your turn, having accomplished nothing and likely put yourself in a less advantageous position. This can lead to intense frustration as large parts of the game ends up depending just as much if not more on random chance than any real strategy as most dungeon crawls have no way to mitigate dice. I personally think that having null turns, where it would have been just as effective to stare blankly at the board for a few minutes and then pass the dice to the next person, don't belong in modern games just as much as roll and move in chutes and ladders.

Are there any dungeon crawls that include forms of dice manipulation/mitigation or other similar mechanics that ensure you can get something done on your turn? Like in Roll for the Galaxy, you can always use 90% of your dice for SOMETHING. even if the lineup isn't optimal you can still get SOMETHING done on your turn.

It's just not fun to have the game stall until someone gets the required roll to proceed. Or for the game to whoop up on you because you of a bad roll.

I know of Gloomhaven that uses cards and a deck instead of dice, but are there any other dungeon crawls (especial co-op) that take a better route than just 'pray to the dice gods'?

I'm on the Saltlands train right now and I am disappoined by the lack of Stretch Goals: basically we will have the same box as in retail and perhaps at the same price... Probably going to drop that pledge before the end.
I pledged Outlive too and so far the campaign is great. Moreover I had the chance to test the game beforehand and it's really good.

Is Middle Earth Quest considered a Dungeon Crawler? I think it has a nice diceless system. Basically you have a deck of cards which symbolizes your "hp" but also gives you battle actions and are used for movement. You can rest to to regain the cards, and can train to gain new ones.

It sounds dry but it's suprising how well it works in practice.

>What did you play during the weekend?
Quartermaster General : The Great War. Right now it's in blind test phase but it's gonna be good. I played the Central Powers and beat my friend by a landslide, so he was pretty pissed.

>Recent purchases or plans?
New edition of Mare Nostrum should arrive in a month or two and I bought a used version of God's Playground
>Favorite card game/game that has cards as a big mechanic?
A few acres of snow
>What's a game that's considered 'good' that you wouldn't touch with a thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole?
None. There are "good" games that I don't like very much (Jamaica, Machi Koro) but I would not say that I would not touch them with a thirty-nine-and-a-half foot pole.

a question for Veeky Forums: would you play a Tales of the Arabian Nights kinf of game that would take place in Camelot, with King Arthur, Knights of the Round Table and shit?

Sell me on Outlive. What's so good about it?

I really like the dis-placement worker mechanic. It's an Eurogame, but with a strong theme.
There is a lot of interaction between players: there is an interesting "pressure" mechanic that happens when a player moves a meeple with a stronger strenght in a zone when another player has a weaker strenght active meeple. So you can "bully" a bit oher players, who will have to spend ammunitions or give you resources, but you can't be obliterated by other players.
When I played I faced a lot of mini-dilemmas, always wondering what would be the best for my shelter and how would the other players likely act.
But don't be fooled, it's an eurogame, there is no dice, so if that's not your thing, don't get fooled by the minis they added during the campaign. The base pledge is a good deal, so don't go for the collecor box if you're not that hyped by the game.

>a question for Veeky Forums: would you play a Tales of the Arabian Nights kinf of game that would take place in Camelot, with King Arthur, Knights of the Round Table and shit?
Depends. Will your source material include Middle English courtly romances?

>>Favorite card game/game that has cards as a big mechanic?
>A few acres of snow
Check out Hands in the Sea, might very well be of interest to you.

will do, thanks for the tip

If you want just more Flash Point, get Extreme Danger; full box with special minis for each role, new explosive stuff, multi-level, etc. If you want to change things up the most, get Dangerous Waters and play the submarine map, 1 exit makes it a completely different game. After those two, maybe Honor & Duty, Urban Structures, and then either Vet/Rescue Dog, or 2nd Story last. None are shit, but 2nd Story adds things that are already in Extreme Danger, and the Vet/Dog is just an extra 2 roles + minis. They play differently enough, but not really needed.

Hello page 10 my old friend

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