Board Game General /bgg/ - Modern Classic Edition

Last thread:
Pastebin:
>pastebin.com/NA2W929q

What's hitting the table this weekend, any game days/nights planned? It's convention season, been to any events nearby? New purchases after payday?

Other urls found in this thread:

youtube.com/watch?v=_uFfqq3mduE
survey
tabletopia.com/games/master-of-galaxy
arstechnica.com/series/ars-cardboard/
youtube.com/watch?v=ECNaOwtbp-c
geekandsundry.com/dice-placement-is-a-thing-and-here-are-five-games-that-do-it-right/
twitter.com/SFWRedditVideos

> who is bgg?

The age of bgg
>5% 21 or younger
>40% 21 to 30
>35% 31 to 40
>20% 41 or older

Been to a con?
>70% to 80% have

Gender?
>1 or 2 females
> the rest of us are male

Relationship?
>60% single
>20% qt3.14 gf/bf
>20% married


I wonder how close my estimations are...
>As for me:
Im 23 years old, male, single and never been to a con.
>Bonus fact:
started really getting into the hobby about a year ago and i have somewhere around 100 games.

>started really getting into the hobby about a year ago and i have somewhere around 100 games
This makes you a collector not a gamer, how many have actually hit the table?

>local games shop told me that Dominion 2nd Ed. will come out in August for my language (I assume that means September then)
I don't wanna wait...

There's a 2nd ed of dominion? I was "about" to buy the the old one.

Yes. The 2nd edition is already out in English for the base game and a few of the expansions, but it takes a while for translations, especially for the expansions.

Out of the original Camel Up and Camel Up Cards, which one is preferable?

>27 years old
>Haven't been to a con
>Male
>Have a beautiful girlfriend

A poll may be easier to keep your data in one place

> 49.5 years old
> Have been to multiple Cons
> Male
> Married

>Inb4 old-fag is old

>29 years old
>No Cons
>Male
>Married

I want an area control game.

There are problems with Inis.
There are problems with Cyclades.
There are problems with Kemet.
There are problems with Blood Rage.

Do I just keep playing El Grande? Why can nobody do better than this 20+-year-old game?

What about Shogun?
You can buy the expansions for el grande if you haven't.

Twilight Struggle, Tigris & Euphrates? There's an awful Dice Tower/WIP/Stronghold top 10 on it
>youtube.com/watch?v=_uFfqq3mduE

A little more than half of them but of course many of those have just been played once. I do consider myself a collector and a gamer. I have a game night tomorrow as well as sunday lol my biggest issue is having a regular gaming group that is as enthusiastic about playing as i am, i mean ai got a bunch of friends ive introduced to designer games n got them interested when at first they were doubtful. So i have people to play with. But i dont have structure and the types of games everyone likes kinda separates everyone into 4 or 5 groups which sounds micw but then again its been really on n off in terms of committment and i cant get stuff like level 7 to the table unless i wanna do a one on one type deal.

Anyways, you're half right if you ask me but wuddo i know lol i definitely had/have a problem with not spending my money on a bunch of games all at once, but dont we all have that problem?

I was thinking the same thing, gonna make one on survey-maker.com and post it unless someone else suggests something better

I just finjshed making it and took it myself and it says limited to 25 responses =-= its a test version for a free trial lol it totallt looked free!!

Ok guys here's the survey, I already submitted mine. it gives results immediately to the user in case anybody else is curious.

survey
monkey.com/r/8JQZQQX

see

What are your guys opinion on Smash Up? I saw it and the expansions on sale at my FLGS, but I wanted some thoughts on it before I pulled the trigger. Seems like a simple enough game but is it actually fun? My gaming group is usually 2-4 people. Occasionally 5-6 but that's fairly rare

>I want an area control game.
Erm, chess?

As long as you don't play competitively (it's a pretty crap tournament game) it's great.

Also, strange as it might sound, Ticket to Ride. The set collection mechanic is stupid, but the area control elements in it are top-notch. (You need Ticket to Ride Nordic if you play two or three players.)

why is it that games like senet or hnefatafl arent being sold in stores when a crapton of companies can make them since theyre historical domain

I was really looking forward to playing it, but found it really lame. We used all of the expansions, I think. I was the only first time player in the group but won in a landslide due to good combination/draws. It seemed like the whole group was glad to see the game end though, just really isn't much fun once you get past the cool theme/ mash up thing.

Because making the game is not the hard part.

And by making I mean printing, not designing.

Limited shelf space, no demand, and it takes attention/space away from games that are more interesting and sell better.

Also, every board game store I've been to has at least, 10 different Chess/Checkers sets, 20 different dice sets, 30 playing card decks, and a couple sets each of Go, Backgammon, Cribbage, Tarot, Mancala, Shogi, and probably some others I'm forgetting.

Also, those old games that aren't in stores? Most of them just aren't much fun to play. Senet, Hnefatafl, Patolli, the Royal Game of Ur, etc. I guess they probably went extinct for a good reason, while better games like Shatranj survived and evolved.

Anyone have an opinion?

Haven't played either, but at a glance the tactility factor seems to be part of the fun, so I'd go for the original. Especially since there are usually better card games.

That's what I was thinking. Thanks user

Collector starts somewhere in the 200-300 range bro. I got to 100 easily without even trying

Because people aren't going to buy it just because you can make it. I guarantee if you ask most people about those games they'd have no fucking clue what you were talking about. Plus most people in my experience barely ever want to play chess/checkers anymore. Good luck talking them into the ancient Egyptian equivalent. The people who want those games will seek them out online through a specialty retailer but it's impractical for a store to stock them

If they're not being played, they're not games they're collector's items. If you bought a couple dozen paintings you'd be an art collector, doesn't matter that museums have thousands more compared to you.

>but dont we all have that problem
You'd be surprised at the number of people in /bgg/ who don't. Plenty of anons in here have small collections and a few have even been pretty vocal about keeping the number under 10-20. Hell I got back into the hobby in my mid 20s last decade and the first 4-5 years back only picked up 20-25 new games and kept the tab under $200 to do it. Plus we always have lots of people lurk who are new to the hobby and just want to see opinions rather than buy everything all at once.

Can anyone who has played this give me their thoughts?

Play Dune.

Very scary in the right mood, and very funny otherwise. Quite worth the PnP.

Im thinking of purchasing mansions of madness 2nd edition. What am I in for?

Buyers remorse and post-purchase rationalization

chess

if a pawn takes a piece at the end of the board does it also rank up?

Yeah, it made it to the end of the board

New sci-fi 4X game. Kickstarter campaign launches July 18th. Keep your eyes open.

Going to PAX Unplugged. First con ever.

What should I expect?

This looks like garbage
Don't back this shit

>4Xs on box
>not 4X
why?

It looks more like a space-themed railgame.

Why?

Recently moved to Southern Brooklyn. Are there any good game shops around here? Is the hobby even alive in a city like NY?

Sorry user, but you'll have a tough sell - I really love 4x games, but Empires of the Void II already high KS and is due in December.

If it's anything like PAX East - then A LOT of board gaming nerds in one spot. I've met a lot of nice folks and tried a ton of different board games at East over the years.

Since the other user didn't do this - if anyone is interested - it looks like there's a free to play version of Master of the Galaxy available online.

tabletopia.com/games/master-of-galaxy

Anyone in the mood for a round of Sub Terra over at Tabletopia.com?

General Con Advice 1/2
>Expect to be tired after the first day, and dead by the end of the weekend.
There is a lot going on, you will prolly do a good bit of walking, and games drain your brain pretty good if you're playing them non-stop
>General rule for cons is 6-2-1 (hrs sleep/meals/showers per day)
PLEASE GET THE 1 IF NOTHING ELSE. Every year at Gencon there's ~5 times a day where the stench is so bad you can taste it and there's just no excuse for it. If you're a bigger gamer and you know you sweat, carry deodorant with you and reapply if need be.
>bring snacks with you
it's easy to forget meals, and end up tired and with a monster headache, portable stuff can prevent that.
>don't just eat grease/fried stuff
You will be a wreck if you eat crap all day every day you're at a con. Eat some fruit and veggies from time to time so you're not on the shitter day 3-4 crying (my nephew learned a good lesson at WYC this year)
>carry a water bottle.
Summer cons are hot and sweaty even indoors. If you're averse to chlorinated city water get some tea bags (helps with the tired) or some of those Mio/Koolaid/etc squeeze bottles to help disguise it. A 2nd polycarbonate water bottle is excellent for storing snacks you don't want crushed in your bag (caramel corn for the gf)
>don't try to do everything
There's never enough time, you will lose sleep or food or both and feel worse.
>comfortable shoes
Make sure they've got support and are comfortable walking around in all day. If you need to buy new, get em a week ahead so you can break them in. Wool hikers socks are good to prevent blisters if you're prone
>phone charger is good, spare battery is better
Meeting up with friends, checking the interwebz, maps, etc, you'll run it out easy every day.
>bring cash
You're not going to need a lot, but it's helpful to have some on hand for splitting bills, getting through lines faster, sometimes vendors will give % off for cash

2/2
>try to keep your bag light
Similar to shoes, you need to think of it like trail hiking, you're going to carry that all day off and on, and if you buy anything that's extra weight
>take vitamins/aspirin/benadryl/etc
There's those effervescent vit C tabs that're really good at keeping people on their feet too
>hand sanitizer
Wet wipes are also a good idea and I find easier to keep on hand
>get a map
local area/convention center/hotel. one on your phone is nice, a printed one on 50-110lb stock can be rolled up and put in a pocket (having everyone's schedule is good too)
>find a room/restaurant/cafe/whatever that's out of the way
There's plenty of smaller alcoves that are just outside the main convention halls, and getting just a few feet of space and fresh air is massive. Even better if there's a low traffic/CLEAN bathroom nearby
>look up any designers going to be at the con
If one of your favorites is there, bring the rulebook (lighter than the box) and a sharpie so you can have it signed, even better if you can get a pic with the designer to put inside the box lid
>eat at odd hours or make reservations if you want to eat out
1130-130 is generally busy, try to go 30 minutes earlier or later, or maybe an early dinner at 4
>don't overschedule
7-8hrs gaming seems to be a sweet spot for your first time. It'll give you time to explore, get something to eat, breathe, etc
>make sure not to schedule MUST DO events back to back
nothing wrong with having lots on your schedule if you're ok with dropping out of events
>have a strict budget
TOYS! TOYS! TOYS! TOYS! TOYS! TOYS! you will overspend if you're not careful
>talk up the vendors day 1-2 buy days 3-4
Unless it's an early release, or you know the game is going to sell out, chatting up a vendor can get you a deal the last day when they don't want to take stuff home. Ask questions (even if you know the game) they'll remember you, let them think you're waffling and they'll cut a deal to get a sale
>HAVE FUN

There are LGSes in Brooklyn for sure. I can't remember which one was more highly recommended but there's Brooklyn Strategist, Compleat Strategist, Twenty Sided Store, and Kings Games.

Thanks sounds like all around good advice

Lots of meetup groups in NYC. I live in queens and attend ones in Queens and Manhattan, but I know there are some in Brooklyn.

Bring a DS. You won't get near my as many streeetpasses as you would at an anime convention, but you will get enough to sit down and /constantly/ receive puzzle pieces.
Which is a terrible use of time, but it's a decent option while walking or during short waits.

>it's a decent option while walking or during short waits.

Or you know, you could engage your eyes and brain and look around. Fucking millenials always needing to be glued to some mobile idiotbox or another.

>bait
Anyhow ask a man who just bought 150 dollars worth of legendary anything.

>bait
And why exactly is it bait? Maybe it is too much to ask of todays braindead youth to take an interest in the world around them, especially when we've got more money than sense twats like you with your glib replies and general stupidity.

That's not a question about legendary at all. I'd be more then happy to talk to you about it if you want though.

Go back to bed grandpa.

excuse me sir, please take the survey. thank you.

>terrible use of time, but it's a decent option while walking or during short waits
The massive amount of people playing Pokemon Go at Gencon last year............ it was basically bumper cars on the sidewalks.

>And why exactly is it bait?

Because you suck at teaching?

Rather than presenting the notion that looking around while wandering the Con is a great way to find pick-up games, make new friends, and check out new / previously unknown board games, you came off sounding like 'snobby dickhead'. (And in case you didn't know, many of the Cons - like PAX - are well known for their gatherings of hand-held console fans who are looking for a chance to make new contacts and gain new loot.) Any other questions about why folks are reacting to your comment the way they are?

You have to wait for the elderly to finish their constitutional you know, you young whipper-snappers! ;)

And in case I'm not the only one who was unaware - apparently Ars Techinca has a section of board game reviews...

arstechnica.com/series/ars-cardboard/

If I've learned anything is that videogame review sites are total shit, I'd rather get the opinion of some literally who with a youtube channel than a "game journalist".

>most respectable journos take early retirement in the last 15 years
>entire field now plagued with assholes who don't know how to investigate/review/cite/verify/have a shred of integrity
>journalists all have incestuous relationships with whoever they're supposed to cover
You shouldn't trust any media right now, print's dying of sepsis and the internet has always been a giant Ganges river of shit. Then again I'm an old man who's prolly too cynical to be trusted either

Thanks user, I shall try to remember this for the day when I actually become a congoer

There's plenty of good videos/blogs out there too, Dice Tower, Chaz, I think even SUSD did one that's halfway decent with basic info like this. The taking care of yourself is a biggie (and easily forgot), but I'm always trying to find new ways to do make the experience better.

If you're in a major metro area I highly suggest looking for a small regional/suburban Con to get a feel for it. They're often in single hotels, have fewer vendors and more gaming, and a good way to find what kind of scheduling works for you. Also a lot cheaper (especially if you're parking at the hotel and can load your car up with a big cooler and tailgate your meals), some are free, and a good way to meet local gamers.

If you're doing a big con for the first time the best thing I can suggest is to under-schedule yourself, and spend the first year getting your bearings. Get home, take lots of notes on your experiences, and go back year 2 with a plan. Every year my friends and I debrief a week after when we've had time to think, and try to figure out what pissed us off the most and how not to repeat it.

You guys over do it. I just go, walk around, play some games, and otherwise have a normal day as if I was on holiday.

>over do it
That's pretty much everyone in the hobby in some aspect or another

>just walk around play games
If you're doing a big con and you don't get your tickets/events scheduled ahead you're likely not playing anything. Hell at Essen they have rushes from the doors every morning to get a seat and playtest games. When I do local cons I don't plan anything though, it's just show up and spend the day with friends in whatever city I'm visiting.

>as if I was on holiday
Yeah that's why we turn off the phones/work email, tell everyone to fuck off for a week. But I don't want to come back from vacation having eaten poorly and feeling like shit, or missing 3 hrs of sleep a night so by the end of the weekend it's like you missed a full night's sleep. My friends and I are all old anyhow, most of our notes each year are "damn that place's food sucked I don't wanna waste money there again, write a note because we all have alzheimers"

22
Yes, but anime. Going to a comic book/movie con this month
Male
Virgin

I don't trust any professional reviewers at all. With video games especially, but not limited to.
It's all a giant fucking marketing campaign, that's what reviews are. Even if the site isn't plastered in ads of the product they're "reviewing", it's still all written by journalism rejects in desperate search of a job, often with limited knowledge and a crippling fear of going against the grain.
I'd much rather get advice from a bunch of jaded neckbeards on a hobby forum, picking the most bitter cunts specifically. At least they nitpick everything to the tiniest bits so you can make a better guess yourself if it's any good.

What doe everyone think of Rahdo? I personally find him patronizing and rambly at times

Well I only do small cons.
Fuck going to events where you get drowned in people and it's some sort of race.

>we don't like games where you fight
>my wife tells me I don't like games where you fight

He's a cuck and I find him annoying as fuck.

I get that; if I didn't have family that lived 10 min from downtown Indy, and there was no room/board cost I wouldn't do Gencon on a bet. Helps I started going when it was still smaller too.

Two problems
>he only reviews games he already knows he's going to like (unless someone paid him to review a game via KS)
This means everything is a rave review and there's no baseline
>ADHD combined with a shaky camera at times
It's not quite so bad I'm nauseous but it's not good

Skip to 1:06:30
>youtube.com/watch?v=ECNaOwtbp-c

This stuff should be in the pastebin that no one ever updates.

>get mini painted for new player in PFS group
>next mario kart mat
>pvc pipe storage
>dawn patrol 6 piece map
>ammo crate inspired storage
>finish group reco chart
>finish kids chart
>finish schadenfreude chart
>update pastebin with con info/tips
Added it to my gaming to-do list, but I'm headed to bed soon. Tomorrow is gonna be a long day doing landscaping but then I'm off til Thursday and wanted to get 3+ of the hobby shit cleared off my desk. Pastebin would actually be an easy one, most of my advice posts like that are already in a couple word documents. If people want con info added I actually have a list somewhere on my computer of all the small/regional cons.

All good advice.

Also, remember to just relax and have fun. Don't stress out about scheduling 6 gorillion games. Go with the flow. Be friendly and try new games.

While I can appreciate his enthusiasm, his disjointed style while trying to present game play means I don't often watch his videos. I much prefer the likes of Rodney Smith, or folks with a similar style when I'm trying to learn how to play a game. For straight up game reviews I'll look at a lot of different sources - though I tend to prefer reviewers who can list the mechanical features of a game and why they think said mechanics work / don't work in the game. Reviews that are simply "Like what I like! Stop liking what I don't like!" turn me off.

>This stuff should be in the pastebin that no one ever updates.

I've updated it repeatedly. Not that anyone reads it to notice.

Any of you guys going to cons in the next few months? It would be cool to game with fellow /bgg/ lurkers.

>Don't stress out about scheduling 6 gorillion games
Way way way too late for that
>spend two weeks finding events for family/friends leading up to event tickets going live
>end up with cobbled together 3rd/4th options, schedule pretty good 2-3 games a day
>4 weeks pass, final chance to buy tickets before they're shipped this weekend
>filling in with free events because fuck it why not, we'll ditch them anyhow
>gf suddenly decides she's coming to gencon for the first time ever. buys badge, asks what we're doing and what day we're headed down to my sister's
>cue nuclear meltdown
Pic related was the starter sheet I built from, now I'm staring at it again trying to figure out how to juggle shit around to get her into maybe one event every other day

>This means everything is a rave review and there's no baseline

No, it means that that IS the baseline. If you're looking for two player games with minimal player conflict then anything he plays might be worth a look. Also, you can usually tell if he's going through the motions in his final thoughts - "My wife and I enjoyed it quite a bit" = Shit sucks don't bother.

>schadenfreude chart
Now you've caught my interest. Post the unfinished list.

>What's hitting the table this weekend, any game days/nights planned?
Just got back from game night. We played Millennium Blades and Stockpile. Had a person who is not completely new to modern boardgames but not really a regular. I think I might've won him over to coming more often. We all had a great deal of fun.

>It's convention season, been to any events nearby?
I do happen to have a sci fi convention I attend. Being the first year I'll be attending after really diving into the hobby, I think I'll visit the game room and really try getting into a game rather than awkwardly look in and be too scared I won't manage to understand the rules.

>New purchases after payday?
I'm going to be responsible. I have 40 games, 2 of them I have yet to actually play and 8 of them have 2 plays or less. All my bases are covered, I know the rules, I just now need to keep hosting using what I have, which is a LOT.

hey, survey user here.

In case anybody was curious as to what the results look like so far, here are the basics:

26 total people responded

>>Age
7(26.92%) are 18 to 24
16(61.54%) are 25 to 34
2(7.69%) are 35 to 44
1(3.85%) is 45 to 54 (49.5)

>>Gender
did you guess it?
100% male, 26/26

>>Relationship
10(38.46%) are married
11(42.31%) are single
5(19.23%) have a boyfriend or girlfriend

>>Convention
12(46.15%) have been to one
14(53.85%) have not

I doubt that I'm the only autismo who was curious, so i hope that this has satisfied some of you out there! I wonder how many of us there typically are in these bgg threads... anyways thanks to everyone who took the short survey.

Anybody late to the game who wants to take it:
survey
monkey.com/r/8JQZQQX

Probably the most well adjusted general in Veeky Forums.

I used to take video game reviewers seriously until MGSV came out and literally everyone gave it a 10/10.

On a side note, the YouTube channel "superbunnyhop" is actually really good. He isn't a shill and provides actual criticism for games

Which dice placement game should I get? I can't decide between the two of them.

I've played both and after trying Marco Polo I never went back to Alien Frontiers. AF is a fine game but ultimately feels like an early version of what could have been a great game. Like they had a cool idea that was actually good and tried it out a couple times and it turned out to be pretty good but then they didn't try to make it better or work on the details. The initial idea was good so that's where they left it. MP feels like it's been refined and refined and refined to the point where everything is just a harmony of excellent gameplay. Every little aspect of the mechanics in MP is just so wonderful. Everything works together so smoothly.
So unless you are really, really, really into the sci-fi theme of AF I'd definitely suggest MP over AF.

I was going to suggest also looking at Roll for the Galaxy and Quantum, but after reading this user's reply - , now I want to play Marco Polo...

;)

>survey
monkey.com/r/8JQZQQX

Not bad user, out of 33 unique posters in this thread, 29 people have done the survey. (And apparently /bgg/ is 'No Grills Allowed'.)

There actually is one of these super close to me, and it's pretty cheap with the discount that my local Meetup organizer gets us, but I have zero interest. Board gaming plays fourth fiddle to Larping, RPGs, and fucking POKER. There aren't any vendors, based on the website it's organized extremely poorly, and there's no guarantee that I'll find any players honestly. Meanwhile I could go to my free weekly Meetup where my friends are and play great games.

Troyes

There isn't a list yet really, it was an idea I had when I was editing the wife/gf chart back in March and Steev was on a "crush your enemies" rant against co-ops. Off the top of my head, Survive, Galaxy Trucker, Cosmic, Robo Rally, BSG maybe, Space Alert, Ghost Stories, TS, Cash n Guns, Dune (and not-Dune), Diplomacy (GoT), probably some push your luck games, probably a dexterity game section. It's been low priority, but mostly because games that are good to watch the horror spread on your friends' faces, tend to also be on other recommended lists anyhow.

Yeah, there's definitely a difference between "good regional con" and "hey we have our normal meetup in a hotel this week, and it costs $25 to get in". I'll drive 4 hrs to go to WYC because it's got a full vendor hall with some fun stuff, lending library, large PFS/D&D halls, and there's 2k? gamers there playing for free, or you can drop $25 on a membership and get a swag bag with a couple games, t-shirt, random crap. You couldn't pay me to drive the 10 minutes to DaveCon in my town where they charge $22 to do open gaming and the crowd size is like 150.

I going on a summer trip with 3 other people. What game should I get with me?

2 of us are into gaming, then one likes/is good at games but is not into the hobby only casually, and the final one hates board games (only enjoys poker but he sucks at it).

geekandsundry.com/dice-placement-is-a-thing-and-here-are-five-games-that-do-it-right/

>Wheaton
Really? Just search mechanic on BGG for dice rolling + worker placement

How does one get won over with wargames if one doesn't particularly care for them? I'm talking about me.