/bgg/ Board Game General Shuffling Edition

I use overhand to break up what is on the top and bottom because they can easily be static throughout all seven shuffles.

Has anyone here played Cave Evil: Warcults? How is it? Is the campaign actually fun?

That pic makes no sense though

what do you not get about it? i didnt post it, but its just three pics with simple captions that make sense in context

Mixing cards throughly isn't well defined nor are the exact motions of an overhand shuffle

That's reasonable. There are videos on youtube that make the same point and do it in a way that makes more sense because a person talking can define what they mean and use different colored sleeves to make the randomization more apparent, if you're interested enough you can just search youtube for them.

yeah it's called an infographic

they're simple not accurate. I mean it doesn't even show how to stack a deck or cheat deal. fucking pathetic.

Played Above and Below for the first time last night with my younger sis and I lost by 10 points, 50-40. Granted, maybe I wasn't playing optimally because it was a learning game, but I can see where I'll be able to do better next time.

I keep hearing the Ryan Laukat games suggested as how to scratch the itch for narrative experiences, how'd you feel about Above and Below as a story user?

was it good tho? how old is your sister?

Can I get that Venn diagram in full?

Some of the encounters in Above and Below are nice, but as to making the game feel like a story, well not so much. At the end of the game, unless you try to remember or keep track of generally every encounter you went through, you won't really remember all the events, nor what they gave (except for the few that kind of stand out), as part of the short story of your village which is the game you just played. Also functionally, if you're playing to win, you don't really care much about the event itself but just the rewards you get from it. Let's say you could just tell me "blah blah blah blah" or invent a bullshit story instead of reading what's written but still leads to the choices in the bottom, then I'd just pick from the choices to see what happens.

Personally though, I don't really look for a narrative experience in a non-rpg boardgame, because for me, what I'm looking for in it is the competitive experience of navigating the system and doing better than my opponent/s, if you get what I'm saying.

The game's pretty good with you trying to develop your village as much as you can, but I kind of wish the encounters were cards in a deck instead that we could just cycle through instead of having to pass around and flip through the story book the whole game. I can see why they made it a book instead of having a big deck, though I still think overall, the deck would be easier to handle.
>how old is your sister?
old enough

Completely understand and mostly agree, normally I'd rather get a good RPG session or read a book if I want a story. That said lately getting my game group together is akin to performing dentistry at a zoo without anesthetic. Getting my RPG group together is like trying to convince someone to fuck a horse in the nose

what do you disagree with though? It'd be interesting for me to know where we diverge.

Sometimes I do want a story, but either there's not enough time, or energy to play an RPG. Or I think sure we could play something like Power Grid, but crayon rail just is so damn dry and I'm hungry for want thematic crunch. Can that be obtained in a game without it going full narrative Tales of the Arabian Nights? Sure, I could bust out Battle of Five Armies, or 1st & Goal or Adrenaline or whatever, they're all loaded with flavor. But that's more we create a good story from having a fun game night, not "here's a well written story that unfolds playing this game.

I love sitting down to a game and enjoying the system and hell yes every time I play something I'm going to try to win, but I have fun playing the game, not necessarily winning the game, so the journey's just as important for me. That means I don't want something like Betrayal (which has a mediocre at best system), or sit there reading the cards in Elder Sign (because that'd expand the game 3 hrs just for a hint of theme); but I'm never going to be as happy playing an 18XX as I am with something like TI3/4, not-Dune, etc.

Maybe it's similar to what makes co-ops so enjoyable for me, although it also helps I know each one played kills STEEV just a little inside.

you need to heat up some beans and get a copy of Great Western Trail

It's definitely high on the list of games I watching to see how they hold up in a year. Heavier games are harder to get on the table for me so it's gotta be very solid long term to even consider the buy. The beans aren't happening though

I think we're on the same page here. If it's a non-rpg boardgame, like Power Grid, as you mentioned, I'm not gonna be look for or expecting a narrative experience there. If it's something more flavorful like TI3, as you said, then sure, the narrative is how the game unfolds but what I'm talking about as narrative experience is from the in-game systems, like scenario books or encounter cards, or encounter charts. So that's what I mean when I'm not looking for that when it's a competitive game. Yes I'm just like you where I'd have fun even if I lose (no one expects to win every game) but of course, I'm also trying to win. Also I think for you, you're mixing narrative experience and thematic experience too much.

We shouldn't be including stuff outside the game systems, because then almost any game can be a narrative experience because of what's happening in the real world beyond the game itself.

It's already held up after one year, games which don't hold up tend to go away by now.

It released at Essen and promptly sold out, continuing the hype cycle for at least 3months more before it got into the hands of people who weren't rushing to grab the first copy sold. It's likely as good as people say, but I'd still like to see what people think once the NEW hotness drops this year at Essen and they compare, or better yet next spring when it's really had time to permeate and compare to other games.

That's fair that almost anything is narrative if you expand; and yeah a thematic experience and narrative are different. That said I do find myself wanting both (not necessarily at the same time) and anytime you say you want a strong story driven game the only thing I hear people say is Tales or Betrayal.

Pandemic Legacy could be considered one, since the story definitely drives how that game plays out it's ~20 sessions, but that brings with it a host of other issues.

>Pandemic Legacy could be considered one, since the story definitely drives how that game plays out it's ~20 sessions, but that brings with it a host of other issues.
I'm not really a fan of this trend with people and publishers making what're being called, "disposable boardgames", because I like high replayability in my games and frankly, I'm not that rich that I can dismiss buying a big boardgame that exhausts itself mostly after its projected lifespan.

>That said I do find myself wanting both
Let me ask you though, if when you want a narrative experience, doesn't it ever cross your mind that it would just be easier to play a single-player video game (with a narrative that's good enough for you)?

>it would just be easier to play a single-player video
It is, and I do; it's certainly more engaging than the passive action of watching a movie/TV, but I do tend to find the puzzles in board games more challenging than vidya. Also I do have a limited entertainment budget, so that means replaying games quite a bit, it takes away on both story front and challenge.

Except maybe Ghosts 'n Goblins, that game still kicks my ass 30 years later.

The pic is factually false, you only need around 42 moves with an overhand shuffle, not 10000.

You don't have to be rich, you and 3 fronds split the cost if it's a legacy game. Or do you not have any friends?

>you and 3 fronds split the cost

Always always, always, a terrible idea.

Splitting costs has worked out great for well over a decade with me and my friends. Why is it always, always, always a terrible idea? I'm curious to see how this will completely backfire on us.

Why are Tezla and Krang rated so far below Mage Knight and Lost Legion on BBG?

Mage Knight is a Vlaada game, expect +1 over what the voter would have put without a fancy designer name for just about every vote for it.

Tezla and Krang are expansions and have his name on them.

Every word in this tweet made me violently angry

...

Both are false, the amount of overhand shuffling needed is a direct proportion to how sticky the cards are.

What games have the most interesting cards?
Cards with unique effects, cards that alter the board state, cards that let you be an asshole to other players etc. I hate nothing more than glorified resource tokens and "2/2 thing, deal 1 damage to a thing" boring crap. Please no CCG cancer.

1000 Blank Cards

CitOW

>What games have the most interesting cards?
Oh come on that's pretty subjective

MTG EDH
Really, any non Pauper format that lets you use the older cards.

Race for the Galaxy.

>munchkin CCG
Why? Who thought this was a good idea?

Steve Jackson wants to build a fully working Ogre tank, plus Lang wants a bigger Scrooge McDuck money pool, Dicemasters proceeds just isn't big enough.

>Who thought this was a good idea?

Jews

Innovation

Anyone know when photosynthesis is going to be available for purchase?

This is a great OP, man. Village is such a great game.

Innovation is "unique" for sure. The rules is about as clear as Rolemaster's and it's as enjoyable as nailing your own dick to a plank, but it's unique.

Hey lads, I'm still pretty new to board games as I only own Scrabble and Carcassone with like 6 expansions. Can someone recommend me some more board games?

I'd like a board game that is easy to learn, doesn't matter if it is hard to master or not really. Just recommend me the must haves, please.

Check some of these out

it's a wonderful marketing idea

remember you can play some games before purchasing them. Look at the google and ios stores, boardgamearena.com, boiteajeux.net, etc

Thanks for this, lad. I've already ordered 3 from that list.

7Wonders is the most boring piece of shit I've ever played. Jesus this game was bad, is rating it highly some kind of meme?

No. But you may just dislike the genre.

Fuck yeah, Morels. I've never heard anyone talk about that game. I love it.

In my town, there's no board game shop, I just ordered online after looking them up a bit. I ordered 3 games so far to kill some time with my fiancee. The Duke, King of Tokyo and Sushi Go. They might be terrible for some but they looked kinda neat and easy for beginners like us.

sushi go is not the best at 2 players though. Still enjoyable, but really different from 3+

Well, one more reason to invite people over then. Thanks for the advice!

I wouldn't say any of those are terrible games. But also from the list in I'd recommend Hive (if you're a chess lover), flashpoint (if you want to work together to win/lose), and x wing (if you enjoy Star Wars or a skirmish game)

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll screencap this for the furture.

No problem! I totally forgot to suggest Jaipur and Hanabi too. Those are two more really solid (and cheap) games. Jaipur is an app too if you want to try it before buying it

I know that Days of Wonder changed the slave cards to fakirs after people complained about it. In the game you're still "buying" and "selling" people, but since they aren't called slaves it's now ok? Is this right or am I missing something?

Welcome to SJW logic.

Sincerely, I considered Hanabi at first but I still went for Sushi Go. I'll keep those two in mind too.

That's the old version

Also the group version if you often play with 3-6, should have coop and schadenfreude this week; last week was a shitshow with clients placing orders last minute every free day I had.

Through what means does /bgg/ keep themselves updated on what new games are coming out? I'm having trouble finding a source of news on the board gaming scene.

BGG news posts, BoadGameBreakfast, the shills who post here, it's not too hard if you spend 5 minutes a week skimming the big names

>Get descent 2nd ed
>Heirs of blood is now the default included campaign
Aw yiss

The people who complain about such things are idiots. Why do you expect better?

>tfw my group started a campaign
>other players have been stalling on it for a long time
man my group sucks.This warhammer 40 K bullshit needs to fucking stop

As pointed out, you're talking about a group of people who are both cowardly and immature. They'll piss and moan about "slaves" in a fictional game setting to get a game maker to change the game, but do jack-shit about real slavery, etc, in the 'here and now'. And to them this counts as a substantive victory. (Lets ignore the fact that an entire race, the Djinn, too are used as cannon fodder in the game. Because bitching about that would cross their imagined line into 'but they'll mock me' territory.)

Thanks for the correction, I realized I didn't save the newest version cause I'm a dummy

Have the unfinished kids one too

Strongly agree if you enjoy Star Wars X-wing is worth it, but honestly because once you've got a core set you've got the tools for a half dozen good games. Tourney format requires shitloads of cash and you play the same thing over and over and over for months, but the game system gives you everything for oddball formats like furball, double obstacles, no unique/no doubles, mario kart, HotAC, epic (if you buy the big ships), and a shit ton of missions both FFG and fan created. Just remember the community also makes Veeky Forums look rational; it's schizophrenic between the people who shit on everything, those who think everything is perfect, and new people who don't know what they're walking into. Such is the curse of all lifestyle games though I think

I don't like to be reminded of realistic death in my boardgames

What are/is the best Star Trek games?

So don't do the exact same thing as your forefathers and peers. You can make it into the books if you adventure or make enough wagons.

Plus, you can always rush your death by encountering enough of the plague.

"Eat it Jeremiah! I caught the plague while working the farm! History will remember me!"

The ones where they realize the theme doesn't work as well in board games and redo them as generic fantasy/sci-fi.

Serious answer: ST Panic, Fleet Captains, Ascendancy, Frontiers, Star Fleet Battles

Start Trek Panic, Five Year Mission, and Fleet Captains carry the theme pretty well imo.
Ascendancy doesn't.

>Five Year Mission
Ugh, it's paper thin themed Roll for it, only worse because you've got turns where you're not doing shit. I'll grant Ascendancy is too long and far too much downtime; but the factions are fun asymmetrical, the tech and building your fleet is cool, and the components aren't shit. GF9 went all out but released a flawed game (though people who like all day adventures or full weekend TI3 will love it), Mayfair cheaped out on production and slapped a licensed IP on a weak co-op.

Ascendancy is a good game imo.
It just isn't really "Trek."
Again, imo.

A guy in my group is getting Gloomhaven and invited me to play off-group nights. I find the disposable games idea abhorrent if only because I can't live with freaking normie idiots slapping stickers down like they're four years old.

that's false all that matters is how fucking good you are with your hands

LOL make a board with sharpie and bottlecaps or poker chips

That's fair; I think part of the problem is Trek isn't combat oriented like SW, so when designers slap the theme onto combat games they're not quite as good. Harder to sell a game that's all pacifist negotiation and virtue signalling though. I always felt Xia could easily be themed ST because of the sandbox aspects.

1. join a group
2. play as many new games as possible
3. avoid filling your shelf with stuff that looks or sounds neat
4. never buy into the hype machine (don't buy before 1 year)

seriously I got shit on my shelf and I'm like "why did I even think this would be good (dungeon time)" or "why did I buy this again (51st state)"

the worst part is everyone is going to want to go easy mode and bury me in games for christmas- even if I hand pick everything I'm going to have some shit because there is literally one game I might actually want and I am waiting to play a 2nd time before I decide.

did you not see the CASUAL across the top?

how is Flash Point really?

King of New York is supposed to be > KoT

have yet to verify for myself

also these are terrible to read, mini ass icons. it's not like you're pushing the size limit... well or wouldn't be if you were using jpg

also Duel is not 7Wonders and you're probably doing it wrong.

Which of these might be OOP soon?

How much should I be playing to win as the overlord in descent?
My understanding is that the game is supposed to be "everyone go all out", but by the sheer amount of things the overlord can play with, winning for the heroes seems incredibly hard.

>how is Flash Point really?
It's like Pandemic's evil twin almost. You've got the same action point allowance for turns, you're moving around the board trying to put out fires (outbreaks) but that's secondary to the win condition so it's more about managing the board than eradicating.

It's got randomness though (deck vs dice, explosives/hazmat, hot spots) which give it a different feel, and on top of that the game is modular. Playing with kids? Do the family variant. You want a bigger challenge, use more hotspots and hazmat, need to tune it down don't use the ambulance rule (anyone outside is saved, instead of getting to the vehicle).

>editing the old version
King of NY is the better game for gamers, but for new to the hobby people Tokyo is far superior. Also if you're having a hard time reading the boxes maybe you need to upgrade your prescription.

Magic Labyrinth maybe? I've only ever seen it on Amazon, though that might be the publisher not distributing to places like CSI/MM. Are you buying games ahead of having tiny people?