/BGG/ Board Game General

Simultaneous action selection, in any form. Anything from simple simultaneous votes on teams in bluffing games, to the simultaneous choice of attacks, directions for your dude to move around, chances to grab rewards, etc.

My favourite experience with it recently has actually been Rock Paper Wizard, which I've had huge success with as a gateway. The name gets even the least gamery people interested, and then I mention that you'll have to make silly shapes with your hands and they're normally in. Depending on the spell lineup it can actually be quite strategic, but it is usually just an explosion of nonsense, and it plays very quick. Cheap, too. And especially good if you're drunk. Definitely recommend it, unless you only game with a serious group.

My most tried and true game for it is one where it doesn't really look simultaneous to an outside observer, but all the choices really were made at the same time - Glass Road. By far my favorite Uwe Rosenberg game, it beautifully mashes up euro strategy with this mechanic. The absolute best part is once everyone's cards are locked down, the first one gets turned over, and the very poor bluffers at the table either make a funny little strangled sound or breathe a sigh of relief.

Ya, Kemet is my favorite game and I know you really like it so I really value your opinion as your tastes seem at least somewhat similar to mine. I have a chance to play CH every week at a huge meet up I get to go to so I'll likely try it there eventually but it keeps sliding down my list based on the negatives I keep hearing.

Absolutely recommend playing it and finding out for yourself. I can sit back and throw spitballs at it's flaws all day but I've yet to play a game of it that felt like a waste of time.

I went ahead and got a new copy for 49. I don't own any dungeon crawls and the two games I do have are pretty card heavy so I figure it would be nice to have something with dice.

So I'll have
>Mage Knight
>TMNT
>Millennium Blade

I guess I'll make my last two Raptor and Legendary Marvel and I should have a decent variety and be set for a while... unless there's an absolute must have board game I should add?

I like it more than RoboRally (although I haven't played the new rules version from Hasbro) and looking back it really deserved the SDJ in 2015. The fact it's mostly open programming means you can pay attention to what's happening, but those face down tunnels can screw things up just enough for you. Makes observant play rewarded, but there's still a bit of guessing what your opponents are going to do and bluff/double bluff feel to it. There's also a lot less "oh I'm totally boned" which makes it better for kids/new gamers, but maybe that's just my limited experience with it.

The special powers are prolly a lil too unbalanced, but considering it's a 30 minute game, and it's supposed to be a very light slapstick western I don't mind. Couldn't tell you about the expansions, though what people tell me it's like Ca$h n Gun$ expansions, they add cool stuff, but aren't needed and don't overwhelm new players.

Looks pretty cool for starting out desu

i hate legendary marvel but it's for reasons that are soley opinions so i won't bother to hate on it more than just to say i hate it.

was it hard for you to learn mage knight or millennium blades being new to gaming?

Haven't been able to sit down and play Millenium Blades yet with my friend considering he's been busy with our other friends wedding. Mage Knight sounded a lot more intimidating to learn than it was. I ended up watching a tutorial/walkthrough of it and am picking it up pretty quick. It's crazy just how much "game" board games have now, as well as how fun they've gotten.

or perhaps they were always good and I just got suckered in to the shiny graphics of vidya.

Also, as of yet my only real beef with Legendary is they went with the PC Nick Fury instead of the real one, but I haven't bought and played it yet so we'll see.

ya i was seduced by the electric gaming glitz for a while too but then call of duty 31:loljustbuyitcuzyourfriendsplayit came out and that was my wake up call

Triggering autists you say?

I spent $500 on pic related and I don't regret it one bit. I know many people think it's just a dumb plastic pusher but I actually really like the combat mechanics and all the different units and their different abilities and terrain. There's a lot going on tactically with so many decisions to make. Also playing as Greek gods and commanding monsters and heroes is so awesome. Can't wait to finally get it. It's gonna be a hit with my group.

This is one of the least genuine sounding posts I've read in a long time. That, and the fact that you post this every thread is why people think you're a shill. Talk like a regular person if you want people to have real discussion with you. It has nothing to do with the game, no one wants to talk to you about it because you sound like a salesman as opposed to someone who really enjoys the thing.

That being said, have you gotten a chance to actually play it yet?

Just saying how I feel about the game. Perhaps somewhat defensive because people shit on it often.

Only played two games so far. I wanna keep it hidden from my friends so when it's finally here I can make their jaws drop with well over hundred awesome looking minis. We've never had such a game in my group so I hope it's gonna hit like a bomb.

Hey, that's Ilios

I asked if you played because I wanted to hear about the game itself instead of hearing you trying to sell how cool having dozens of miniatures is because I already own games like that. I also don't care about your gaming group because I don't know them or there tastes. This is why I say you don't sound like you're actually interested in discussion. Care to elaborate on the gameplay? I love the theme and the minis so I'm genuinely interested and they don't seem to be speaking english in the ks videos.

Well you start by drafting units. First each player chooses a god or titan and then spends his recruitment points on units such as monsters and heroes. Each unit comes with a number of activation cards and in some cases also with Art of War cards which let do you do special actions or use a units special power, such as Zeus's lightning. All the activation cards and AoW cards make up your deck. On your first turn, if you have a Zeus card in your hand, you could play it to deploy him on the board. After that whenver you play a Zeus card you activate him and can use him. Move around, attack, etc.

There's more but that covers pretty much the basics.

Here are some videos of demo games:
youtube.com/watch?v=9kQR6oFpp4U
youtube.com/watch?v=O9JGpPqz3dg

I am gonna watch this whole video but I fucking hate these people they just do games other people don't so i get fucked into dealing with their faggoty personalities all the fucking time. I hope that bald guy dies slowly whenever his time comes

I love getting environment kills there as Phara...

Best fuckin' OP pic in the last 6 threats (and I made the images used in most of the others lately).

As for 'favorite mechanic' - hmmm.... I do like hidden information (particularly hidden movement).

8/10 - would KEK again.

> Latest KS temptation?

Me and my 'Space 4x' obsession...

kickstarter.com/projects/953146955/empires-of-the-void-ii

The beast of wars guys are such humongous sellouts, but I think they're fine to watch. They got somewhat tolerable voices and rarely go on unbearable tengents.

They'd shill anything for a dime though.

Anyway, I didnt back Mythic Battles, but I think the biggest argument regarding the whole "it's just a box of minis" ordeal is the fact that the game was origianally released with shit cardboard standees and did get great reviews back then (there's one on the dice tower channel for exemple)

>That image
lol, made this lousy shop last thread

no i can't stand that bald faggot. I've seen plenty of his videos and nothing about him is ok with me. his jokes aren't funny and his personality is like chalk but he insists on upstaging everyone else on the show and it really makes things drag.

ya the game looks pretty cool actually but unless you pledge 500 like you'll only ever own half the game so its a hard pass from me. I like to wait until things are released to see if I like them and watch some honest reviews before I invest in anything that will eventually come to retail.

what does that mean in english?

I'm one of the autists so i saved it

Core box for 100 dollars gets you a lot of stuff. You don't need all that other shit. I only went for the core box and that's all I'm gonna need.

>that image
Oh boy, here we go.

Anyway my favorite mechanic would probably be the same as several other anons: simultaneous actions.

I kind of like 7 Wonders for that reason, everyone essentially conducts their turn at the same time. Reduces the 'down time' greatly.

ya but if you want that other stuff you'll just have to live knowing you can't have it. plus i don't like supporting ks campaigns that do that.

really praying that last sentence doesn't awaken the autists

The Comedy of Misters Shill and Manchild. I loosely translated it.

>Board game night with a few old friends, none of them really know board games
>Showed them Forbidden Desert, they loved it
>Showed them Ghost Stories, frustration set in

I mean, we'll play again, but probably not Ghost Stories. Am I overlooking something, or should you just never, ever hope to win or at least see the boss?

Reminder that you can report shitposting.

>Favourite mechanic
Probably the "cards in hand/deck as HP/money" mechanic, there's something that feels just right about throwing cards in hand to pay something, then getting more cards in hand thanks to your engine. Race for the Galaxy, San Juan, Netrunner, and Middle Earth Quest come to mind. Someone suggested Mottainai, I should get to finding a copy one day.

It's not "shill you shitty game" edition faggot.

>should you just never, ever hope to win
No you got it right, that's the game you bring out when you want to be frustrated. If you want severely hard but possible try Samurai Spirit, or Pandemic + Lab, or Flash Point on the hardest level and using as many hot spots as you can.

I really enjoy tactical games (I think it's tactical over strategical, I still confuse them at times) that force me to constantly revise plan I've created to win. I love the thrill of trying to weasel out of situations others try to put me in while doing the same to them.

That said, the only games I have that fit that description are Carcassonne and Blokus. Any recommendations on some other games that are highly tactical to add to my collection?

Are there any board games that have a particularly 80's cartoon feel to them?

or if there are any decent 80's board games based on cartoons that works too.

Can anyone explain to me the difference between a war game and a game with war?

venom assault has a very GI Joe feel

What board game is the MOST thematic for you? Where the theme really comes through in the mechanics and on some level you really feel like you're doing whatever it is you're doing in the game?

It's blurry, but in terms of board games a war game is more about simulating war while other games can have war in them without being simulation-oriented.

8.5/10

to me a wargame is about playing out a war and all the things it entails. a game with war is a game where you fight battles but you also have to do other things to win, even if those things only help the war effort. so if you have to manage resources and recruit soldiers and build some type of engine then thats a game with war. if you put models on the board against your opponents and see who is left standing/who accomplished the objective then that's a war game.

all this is imo

Archipelago.

Steev's autism aside (tech up to torpedoes faster if you want to fight) Eclipse is gangster. I like how that works with resource cubes on whatever planets which shows you on your sheet how much shit you're getting. Feels like a space empire in a way that TI doesn't for me.

Kingdom Death really pushes a "group survival" method of thinking that I'm also pretty fond of.

>Can anyone explain to me the difference between a war game and a game with war?
The difference is that in one case a 60 year old autist will screech at you for calling it a wargame and in the other case they won't.

What's everyone's favorite two-player games?

Keep an eye out for ironclad when it hits kickstarter soon.tm

BattleCON. Hands down. Smartest game I've ever played. Only problem with it is that it's very skill based, so unless you and your opponents are evenly matched it'll skew heavily and people tend to get discouraged by losing repeatedly.

My collection is small but I think I would say Onitama, even though it's just mini chess. I also have the core set for Star Wars X-Wing Minatures but I haven't had a chance to play it yet

Ashes, Onitama, The Duke, BattleCON, 7 Wonders Duel, and though it probably doesn't count I really like Guild Ball.

Eldritch horror definitely feels like fighting a cruel ancient god with how badly you can get screwed by chance sometimes, otherwise TI3 for that grand space emperor feeling.

Aside from Terra Mystica? X-wing really feels like a dogfight where you're trying to out think your opponent, angle for the best shot, stay out of their sights, etc. That said a lot of dogfight games are able to get that part of the experience across thematically.

Ca$h n Gun$ (especially with the team variant) is really starting to feel like being in the movie Reservoir Dogs around our table lately. Trying to talk the other guy down so you don't have to shoot, but still get your way, regardless of whether your gun is loaded and you're willing to fire.

X-wing, Netrunner, Jaipur, Santorini

>and though it probably doesn't count I really like Guild Ball.
Guild Ball may not but I'll bet Kickoff! does
It comes in a box, has a board, and doesn't require any assembly -- close enough for my money. You really could treat it as a 2 player standalone board game and never touch the rest of the range.

That's exactly what I have.

Torpedoes already get bought instantly when they show up. But I'm more than willing to concede that we might not be playing as aggressively as we should.

Bluffing/hidden information. It's the only real thing that can stop me calculating your entire game

Game feels choking like you can never do anything

Red7, Splendor, and Carcassonne are our main ones.
All of which are games that can be played casually by just about any non-gamer you meet, but also satisfyingly scale to some very advanced play. So it's cool when we're bluffing and sandbagging at each other in an intense mindgame of Red7, someone asks to join, and we can just switch to the Easy Rules and deal em right in.

Be heard this before. Can you expand on it or do others have an opinion?

Why is hex and chit such a dirty thing now? What the fuck is up with you plastic ponies insisting that games have to be over produced to insanity now?

...

but if it costs less than 300 dollars and has no kickstarter exclusives how could it possibly be a quality game?

> Can anyone explain to me the difference between a war game and a game with war?
"War game" implies the game has historical accuracy. These are games that try to simulate actual historical battles.

Patchwork.

Dumb frog poster

never heard that definition before, and i don't think it's a good definition personally. is warhammer not a war-game? if it's not then what would you classify it as? a skirmish game? but what about epic 40k then, that's certainly not a skirmish? dystopian wars is more in depth than most historically accurate war-games, what do you call that then? what about weird ww2 war-games, are they also not a war-game just because some of the troops have jetpacks or whatever? i just think isolating the term war-game based on theme and historical accuracy doesn't achieve anything.

but i don't play any war-games anymore so maybe I'm out of the loop.

No, you're fine. It's just historicalfags bring prissy.

I can second his opinion. I was not a fan of Cry Havoc. It's a game where you may very realistically get single digits worth of actions before it ends. It's balanced on a knife-edge where drawing a tile with 3 trogs on it vs. the normal 2 can lose you the game and yet also has a runaway leader problem due to how VPs are scored. And when the leader runs away it rewards them with it by ending the game before you can react.

Because appearance matters. People want to play games that look and feel as good as they play. Really this is the big contribution that the American board game market brought to the table -- even euros are becoming more and more dressed up. Presentation is enjoyable. It's not the only thing, but if given the choice between two games, both of which are good, and one looks good while the other looks like it came out of a commie-block factory people will choose the former.

I had already calculated that you would make that response, simpleton. find an easier hobby if your moves are this easy to predict.

to keep things board game related, have you ever gone to a casino and counted cards? you sounds confident enough that you could pull it off

All the games you like are bad has a video explaining it perfectly.

Okay but price IS a thing and not everyone wants to even go overboard on one type of material. I actually prefer counters because they're simpler and can have info printed directly like Space Empire 4X. That's why I think overproduction is a fad--you are ultimately pretty limited until Clix stop being copyrighted

Thanks, that's a real shame. Cry Havoc looked like it'd be a lot of fun

personally i think it's not a fad but i think eventually they will start publishing deluxe versions with models and basic versions with chits or stands or whatever and i actually like that idea

Genuinely I've wanted to. I'm very practiced at blackjack and craps throws. Unfortunately I've had the following problems:
-total scared cat. Those security guys seem serious
-friends who already have done this that confirm they can spot it, kick you out, and list you before you make real money
-crippling smoke allergy and asthma
-until recently never had a job that permits the initial bankroll large enough to do it

i can tell you with 100% certainty that the whole "i'm scared, they'll stop me" is absolute bullshit. they won't even look at you unless you're making tens of thousands of dollars or being suspicious as shit outside of your success. and if you're doing this to make tens of thousands of dollars then you're just getting greedy. it could fund a fun weekend in vegas

>never heard that definition before
It's the one used by actual wargamefags.

>and i don't think it's a good definition personally.
I agree, but whatever.

>is warhammer not a war-game?
According to wargamefags anything fantasy-themed cannot be a wargame. They're all about "accuracy" and "realism".

Tbh all of netrunners weird terminology and shit helped me immerse myself in the theme
Granted I've only ever played online and with other casual friends but I feel like it does a good job with the theme

I agree with you. Which is why I was so upset when a friend of mine got kicked out just for being up 9000. Maybe he was being more suspicious than he knew. Regardless, I have a lot of other hurdles to clear. For now, I uselessly squander my love of math on games and arguing on the Internet

>Really this is the big contribution that the American board game market brought to the tabl
I would say there's more thematic presence as well in the hybridization that's happened the last 10-15 years, but it's definitely A big contribution made by Western vs German games. Also your argument is the best one I've read in a while why people should stop complaining about over-produced games. Saving that pasta

Price is a thing, sure, but I'm not really convinced that you're making a good argument by citing GMT who historically way overcharges on games. Like seriously, Space Empires 4x has one mounted map, some dice, a rulebook, a play book, and four thin, low-quality counter sheets for $65 MSRP. I don't think that that's a good example of a low-price game.

And just to point out, you know MBP? It initially released with just counters. Exactly like you're talking about. It got great critical reviews and bombed at the market. Pic related is a component shot for the original release of the game I just nabbed off BGG for you.

Presentation matters. For mass market it's not enough to play well, it also has to look good doing it.

>uselessly squander love on the internet
well you're in good company. and ya he must have done something, i know a few people who have won way more but they were winning a few grand (each mind you) at one casino they moved to another and did this daily for a week. i watched them and had some free drinks, so win-win for all of us

>It got great critical reviews and bombed at the market.
Or maybe it isn't really that good of a game. Reviewers are idiots.

Not to be overly antagonistic to the point of being petty, but I did want to point out some things:

Presumably, this game you backed hasn't shipped yet. And if the underlying game bombed...the evidence you just presented is that you, at best, don't know if it'll be good. And at worst, KNOW it will be bad. I'm not sure that's a very strong argument.

Price is always a concern. If you want to spend a shitload of money on a game with vastly more premium pieces than would be necessary for the average consumer, go ahead. Most people don't have that kind of money though, so it makes it a very niche market. You're talking the difference between something overpriced at $60 (which sold out nearly instantly, by the way) and something overpriced at $500. That's a big jump and the meat of the game ultimately has to carry that weight.

To defend myself somewhat, I'd like to go on record and say that I rarely pay any MSRP on overpriced games, especially GMT or FFG. However, I've actually pre-ordered Space Empires 4X using the P500 method at $42. That's a really good deal for a modernized hex and counter wargame.

Obviously any release that's "just counters" or "just minis" is going to be a niche appeal, but the people willing to make that transition narrow considerably when the game is even $100, much more when $500. Look at Mechs vs Minions. An INSANELY overproduced game with love and joy baked into every particle. And yet $75. Not that all games have to compete with that margin, but customers can only handle so much premium priced product before they're tapped out. That's why it may be a fad. KDM sold out both times, so I'm willing to be wrong. But when I played the game, it didn't really carry the weight of its price in my opinion.

That's also possible. I haven't played it nor am I invested in it; I took one look at the MB:P KS and said to myself "self, do I really need another 2 player game?" and the answer was no, I already have BattleCON. And Guild Ball. And more. I just know of the existence of MB and that there was a small community of people who swore the game was brilliant even before the KS came around.

Regardless of whether they're right or wrong, it can't be denied that "overproducing" the game made it go from being a tiny sidenote of history to being a big name. And I put it in quote marks because really, it's not overproduced, not for its genre. Skirmish games like that usually do have models; MB was a bit of an oddity in the genre.

I clarified in my last post, right as you made yours, I didn't back MB:P. I just brought it up as a counter point.

>and something overpriced at $500
It's a skirmish game. At $500 for buying everything it's actually *underpriced*. If I were to go out and buy everything available for Guild Ball or Malifaux or Infinity it would cost me way more than that. You're not supposed to buy the whole range -- you'll never use the whole range.

Compare apples to apples man. You're not doing that and it's making your argument weak and specious.

Looks good and cheaper than I expected. I'll watch a couple reviews but I'll probably be picking it up.
Looks more /m/ to me, but I'm definitely interested. I'll keep an eye out for the KS.

So there really weren't any hidden gems of the 80's-90's?

Just played Millennium Blades coop. It's functional, but the game definitely shines more with player competition. I'm not shelving it forever like Star Realms coop, but I can't see myself pulling it out too much. Was intensely close though, pulled ahead by one point in the end remembering Cardine's coop power.

That's not something I'm doing on purpose. I'm only using the information put in front of me. My argument isn't that the game doesn't deserve to exist, or you're having badwrongfun if you want to back it and play it. Just that for me, and I think a vast majority of the market out there, those kinds of price points don't get carried by the actual meat of the game in most cases. Just using Kingdom Death as an example again: I found it to be very enjoyable at what it does right but very annoying at what it doesn't do well (which can be a lot). Some of its mistakes turned me off from buying it because I expect better from that price point. It's sort of living in this world where people expect it to be graded better because of the minis, but really it has to stand on its own two legs. The minis are cool, definitely, but the gameplay is heavily flawed in the math department in several areas.

My ultimate point (that they are a "fad") is not meant to be disparaging in any way. Just that the price-to-game-value being doled out by these KS projects appears to be saturating the market super fast. And even if it weren't, it's so niche that I can't imagine any long-term presence of this sort of component abundance. If you enjoy this sort of thing, much like Legacy games, I suggest you dig in now.

>buy everything available for Guild Ball or Malifaux or Infinity
Selling them piecemeal is actually what's causing that inflated price to begin with.

Asymmetric games, like Chaos in the Old World or Here I Stand. Players having differing win conditions makes seeing who's winning harder and gives way more replayability. The down side is that having both experienced and inexperienced players at the table easily leads to a wildly unbalanced game.

>see they did a power ranger game
>get hype
>the art looks perfect
>see how cheap it is everywhere
>think it's odd that it depreciated in value so much

... and then I saw the actual game. Flimsy paper stands and the rules sound more tedious than anywhere near fun. A real shame considering how the art looks.

Also, speaking of asymmetric games I wholeheartedly recommended the ones in COIN series each I've played thus far has been a delight.

So I went and took a look at the MB:P KS page since if the two of us are going to be shitposting about it at least one of us should be informed, you know? What I can say is, it's definitely exploitative in the regular old kickstarter sense. KS exclusive shit everywhere, gotta buy it all here's your giant optional addon bundle to get everything and then here's another which is $100 more so you can have a custom storage tray and an RPG book and more dice and terrain etc etc. I always hate campaigns like that. That said, outside of those non-gameplay things, it's actually $400 for everything, and just the core game + stretch goals was a whole $100. And that right there is quite a pile of stuff -- looks like a total of 12 different gods (factions? not sure) plus a lot of various units. That's already more content than the original Mythic Battles plus both of its expansions (at least it appears to be from here).

So really, what they're guilty of is adding a lot of expansions and then preying on people's need to own everything. That latter part? Definitely bad. But when people want what you're making and so you make more of it... is that really a sin, user? Seriously, can we fault them for that? Pic related was their all-in gameplay bundle. Each of those big boxes has what appears to be a new faction to play.

And, I mean, I hate to break it to you but if you think this is a fad then this fad's been going on since at least 2012. The MB:P campaign is a straight out copy of CMoN's campaign model. It's nothing new. It's been going on for years, and we're gonna see another exact copy of that here in a couple of days when Rising Sun hits KS.

Really, I'm not getting the sense that what you're railing against really exists outside of Kingdom Death and Cthulhu Wars. MB:P isn't overproduced -- there's just a lot of shit there and they suckered some fools into buying too much of it. But that's not what overproduction means.

Just bought Aeon's End + Depths expansion
And Core Worlds + Galactic Orders expansion
And Patchwork

How'd I do? I put a lot of thought into this order, so I'm hoping these games are as good as they seem.

This is probably a stupid question, but how does 7 Wonders play with just 2 people? Getting Duels is likely the better choice, but there's a possibility for a third player for 7 Wonders every now and then