Octopus Overlords

Blackhawk wrote:

Anonymous Bosch wrote:Also, just to clarify, the Duel of Ages II Basic Set is currently still available direct from the creator for $49 with free shipping. Elsewhere it's now mostly unavailable or significantly marked-up in price (e.g. it's currently $69.99 + $6.99 shipping on Amazon). So if at all interested, I recommend grabbing a copy while you still can.

I really, really like the look of it, but I think the length of play would mean that it would rarely get to leave the shelf.

Bear in mind with Duel of Ages II, length of gameplay can vary widely, and is largely up to you. If you go to the Resources section of the Duel of Ages web site and look at the Duel of Ages II Master Compendium PDF, you'll find a list of numerous different types of games and scenarios, along with their approximate lengths. The point being, you can make a scenario as large or small as you wish, and play for a longer or shorter period of time (e.g. fewer map platters with smaller teams = faster game). The scenarios range from 1 hour all the way up to 20. There are also rules for timed play, if time is limited. Or you can play a "Rush" scenario, which tends to be designed for a faster game (though in terms of DoAII, "Rush" refers to a different method of scoring, with points for crossing the map and escaping, rather than the pace of play). I've played several games of DoAII using the "Dual" scenario (two map platters, two adventure labyrinths, and six characters per team), and have always had a great time, with games lasting no longer than 90 minutes at their longest. So rest assured, you needn't feel like you're forced into playing an excessively lengthy session if that's not your cuppa.

Well, then. I will reconsider. Thank you.

The problem with long games is that we only really get the time to play a couple of times a month. When we do, we pick games based on our mood, and since it is the end of the week for me, I'm often really, really worn out. As such, long games get picked less often, and after they've sat on the shelf for a couple of month, that's compounded by knowing I'd need to re-learn the rules if we pick it.

I forgot to mention during my post from yesterday that with Shadowrun Crossfire it was highly recommended that you obtain the High-Caliber Ops expansion. From what I recall, not only does it "fix" some issues people had with the base box game play, but it adds additional missions or objectives, which was the biggest complaint against the base game that I saw. If you're putting together a wish list, I figure I should at least mention it.

I will note that as well. Unfortunately, it seems to be the least available game on my list.

Yeah, I think it went out of print back in January or something? It happened pretty quick and the prices immediately went through the roof. From what I understand, they were (the developers) working on more expansions and/or another edition, but had their resources locked into releasing the Dragonfire game this year (allegedly this month). That game isn't even out yet and I think 3 expansions are coming out within 30 days of its release - which is completely different than how Crossfire was supported. Anyway, from what I understand, once Dragonfire is out the plan is to return to getting Crossfire back out again along with more content. At this point just being aware it exists is probably half the battle.

Hey BH...if you can't find FYM, I'll be willing to part with my copy.

(See? I'm learning to let go...)

hentzau wrote:Hey BH...if you can't find FYM, I'll be willing to part with my copy.

(See? I'm learning to let go...)

Oh, damn - that's tempting. The kids and I watched the TableTop together, and we all agreed that it would be a great fit.

I still won't know until after GenCon, as I don't know how much money I will be walking in there with (there is one 'mystery' fund that is still an unknown, long story.) I promised myself I wouldn't touch that money until after the con, and I've already broken that rule once, for which I feel horribly guilty (I found a rare comic book for $20 that I've been looking for forever and couldn't pass up.)

Blackhawk wrote:

hentzau wrote:Hey BH...if you can't find FYM, I'll be willing to part with my copy.

(See? I'm learning to let go...)

Oh, damn - that's tempting. The kids and I watched the TableTop together, and we all agreed that it would be a great fit.

I still won't know until after GenCon, as I don't know how much money I will be walking in there with (there is one 'mystery' fund that is still an unknown, long story.) I promised myself I wouldn't touch that money until after the con, and I've already broken that rule once, for which I feel horribly guilty (I found a rare comic book for $20 that I've been looking for forever and couldn't pass up.)

Take your time, BH. It's not going anywhere.

I'd be willing to part with zombicide, but it's the medieval version... and I would consider Crossfire as well, but if we are willing to let them go, what does that say about them?

The best improvement with Zombicide Black Plague is actually the player dashboards. Hmmm, now I am thinking about playing again.

I have way too much Zombicide. Way too much, and I even got rid of the black plague stuff and with just the basic stuff it is too much.

Random thoughts.

You didn't like Black Plague?

I finalized the list by adding a few expansions to games I already have and like, then noted a few other significant things I want to keep an eye out for but always forget to check on on the back side.

Thanks for all of the varied advice on the list, by the way. It altered some of my choices significantly, and added a few things that I hadn't even heard of (or at least hadn't paid attention to) in the past.

wonderpug wrote:You didn't like Black Plague?

No I think it's fine. The dashboards are much better than the base game, but I like the time period of the base game better. I think I'm the only gamer who's not into fantasy themes that much. I'm not opposed to them, I just like other themes better. For me the original theme is a better fit, and I like the original weapons etc better. Like I said I already have too much Zombicide so I didn't need a re-skin of the original with some minor changes (and better dashboards). But I think it's a great game and for people who prefer the fantasy theme I would recommend it highly.

For me, the original's classic movie references makes zombicide work.

coopasonic wrote:

Smoove_B wrote:Keep it up and soon enough you'll be asking us for board game storage recommendations.

The answer is Kallax.

On sale

Isgrimnur wrote:

coopasonic wrote:

Smoove_B wrote:Keep it up and soon enough you'll be asking us for board game storage recommendations.

The answer is Kallax.

On sale

Yep. This was a perfect timing sale, because I am about a day away from having my game room completely packed up and moved out. Then I paint, and put down a new floor, and then assemble a metric shit-ton of these shelves. I'm going to head over there on Friday morning and buy a 4x4, 4 4x2's, and a couple of 2x2's.

Wow. We're moving an Oak bookcase out of the kid's playroom and these were the intended replacement. I'll have to get there first!

I've never looked at Ikea before, despite hearing all sorts of stuff about them being a go-to for college kids. Did they change? Were they always that expensive?

Compared to real furniture, Ikea is still cheap.

I don't think I've ever paid over half of what Ikea is charging for comparably sized pieces. I have half a dozen $35 bookshelves, for instance, that look like they'd cost $90 there. I can only imagine what 'real' furniture would cost.

If it's not particle board, it's not cheap.

Isgrimnur wrote:If it's not particle board, it's not cheap.

My coffee table isn't particle board.

Neither is my...

Um...

Oh! My TV stand is metal and glass.

Isgrimnur wrote:If it's not particle board, it's not cheap.

I'm a little confused. Isn't most everything IKEA sells particle board? My Kallax shelves certainly are... I mean you could use a different word for little bits of wood pushed together I guess.

Some IKEA stuff is, some isn't. The real costs there come from the engineering.

I think one of the main differences in pricing of the ikea stuff is the finish. I've had plenty of cheaper sets of bookshelves that are particle board and a decal on the outside to make it look like real wood, but Ikea generally uses real veneers on the outside of the particle board furniture. We did our whole kitchen from Ikea and are very happy with it, plus saved ourselves about 10K in the process.

I'm stealing my post from last year, with some tweaks. The idea is to give myself a board game reference list to take with me to GenCon that includes publisher, MSRP, actual online retail price, and a personal rating as to how good of a fit it is for my needs. I'm not going to be spending anywhere near what I spent last year, so I want to narrow things down a bit. I've also got DinoGenics coming in a few months, and Batman coming next Spring.

Here was last year's criteria, which is still pretty accurate:
And here is the one new criteria: I'm primarily looking for games that have come out in the last 18 months. I still have my list from last year that covers all the games prior to that.

While we're here, what's the world on expansions for either Carcassonne or Settlers of Catan?

My working list:
This isn't by any means a shopping list. Just the games that have caught my eye and that passed my research unscathed. I'll keep a printed copy on hand so that I can quickly reference my thoughts on a game (there is also a notes column) and what I can get it for online. I'll be surprised if I buy more than three or four off of the list, maybe far less if any of them are the more expensive titles (like Conan.)

One interesting tidbit I noticed. About 90% of that list is the same as last year's. I used the old list, removed a few items, changed a few ranks, and updated the online prices. With maybe two or three exceptions, every game's online price increased, anywhere from $3 to $15, not counting those with inflated prices due to going out of print. The two or three that dropped dropped no more than $2-3.

There are some good titles on that list. Small World has always been a big hit with us, even just 2-3 players. There are several expansions to it, but they're all in the "just adds more stuff" category and completely optional. The core aspect of the game is that there's a pile of races (Skeletons, Wizards, etc.) and another pile of special powers (Flying, Berserk, etc.). You start the game by creating combos from those two piles You can have Flying Skeletons, Berserk Wizards, etc. The expansions all just add more races and powers to the mix so that's nice, but there's a lot in the core game to play many many times and never have the same combos come up.

Our top game from the past year or so has been Inis and I'd recommend it. It's a good 2 player game, great with 3, and while it supports 4 we feel 3 is the sweet spot. Players have clan figures on a modular board and take turns moving clans around, starting fights, adding more clans, building castles and temples and so on, all in an attempt to claim one or more of 3 victory conditions. The core gameplay revolves around a card draft each round. There's a deck of 13 action cards, each card lets you do one specific thing like move clans, add clans, build a castle and so on. You deal 4 cards to each player (burning one card each round so not every possible action will be available) and players pick 1, pass the rest, repeat until everyone has a hand of 4 cards.

So the card draft is key, but there's only 13 cards to learn so it doesn't take too long to pick things up. The drafting mechanic is great because so often you'll look at your hand and realize you want all of them but can only take one, but then realize that would mean passing a card to your neighbor that would be a bad idea. We also love combat in the game because there's no luck. You generally have the option to retreat or attack, and when you attack your opponent simply chooses between losing a clan or losing an action card in his hand. Losing a clan is bad because your presence on the board is key to winning, but losing a card means that one less thing you're able to do this round.

I could go on and on, but I think it's a game that might meet your criteria and I was released in late 2016 I believe. Look it up on BGG and check some reviews. Shut up and sit down did a great review of it.

Recently, I've been immensely enjoying Nemo's War (2nd Edition) from Victory Point Games (one of these days I'll type up an overview for Smoove's OO Solo Board Gamers Guild thread). While it's undoubtedly a solo game first and foremost, it does also support co-op and semi-competitive co-op play for up to four players, and has an MSRP of $75.

As a solo game, it's definitely among the best there is, though I haven't yet tried playing co-op.

I will second Inis.

I also recommend Spirit Island where you cooperatively fight off settlers.

CMON's Blood Rage is a great game, as is Rising Sun. The Kickstarter extras were mostly unnecessary.

My newest obsessions are Century: Spice Road and I'm looking forward to playing Century: Eastern Wonders. Spice Road is simple, fast engine generation to collect and cash in on resources via cards. Eastern Wonders makes movement/placement/exploration do the same thing. They can be combined, but that's not needed (and maybe redundant).

My 2 favorite games from the past 18 months would have to be Great Western Trail and Champions of Midgard. If you can get demos of them I highly recommend doing so.

Thanks. I'll look into those (except for Blood Rage, which already made the cut.)

I'm pretty unlikely to buy a new game that hasn't had the chance to get a bunch of reviews in yet. Even with Kickstarter I'll check the developer's records. I can't afford to buy enough games to buy duds!

Zarathud wrote: ↑Sat Jul 28, 2018 10:41 pm I will second Inis.

I also recommend Spirit Island where you cooperatively fight off settlers.

Strongly agree with both of these. Inis is my favorite recent competitive game, Spirit Island my favorite recent co-op.

I'll second (or third or whatever) Spirit Island. Our group almost exclusively plays co-op, and it's probably the most strategically deep and rewarding co-op game we've played in the last 2 years. The learning curve (in terms of strategy, not rules) is a little steep, but I love that it forces you to think outside of the box of traditional co-op games.

I haven't played the Branch & Claw expansion yet but it gets rave reviews. I'm planning on picking that up eventually.

I'll toss out a few we're wanting to check out at GenCon this year:

RENEGADE - This one gets a lot of hype in the solo board gamer group I joined on Facebook. As an IT guy, it's also right up my alley. Deck--builder where you're battling AI-enabled servers? Yes, please. We've got tickets for the teaching session of this one on Friday.

THE RECKONERS - As mentioned in the GenCon thread, we pre-ordered this one for pick-up. Made Tom Vasel's #1 looking forward to at GenCon list. Big pluses for me - based on the book series by Brandon Sanderson, who's my favorite fantasy author at the moment. Also fills a unique niche in our collection we haven't covered with the dice rolling. And play is simultaneous, so this one's quick - they're claiming 75 minutes which isn't bad for a co-op that supports up to 6. Biggest downside is cost - the base is $99 right out the gate for a game that essentially has no board. However, it does have some really nifty custom trays that I guess eat up the bulk of that.

BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA - This one's out already but I'm hoping it makes a presence at GenCon. Another one getting a lot of hype in the solo forums but supports up to 4. Everyone seems to love this game, assuming you love the movie.

LEGENDS OF SLEEPY HOLLOW - This one will only be in demo form at GenCon, but it looks like Mice & Mystics/Stuffed Fables with a slightly more adult theme. Love the concept of the townsfolk investigating Ichabod Crane's disappearance. And cool minis are always a plus.

Also looks like TOO MANY BONES will have a big presence this year, with the UNDERTOW standalone expansion coming out. Definitely want to check that out.

Also the RISE OF FENRIS expansion for SCYTHE sounds pretty incredible, adding a co-op campaign mode. I don't own the base game, but I'm really considering picking it up just because of this expansion. Also, the Automa rules for SCYTHE are supposedly very good even if you want to play the base game solo.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Sat Jul 28, 2018 11:16 pm Thanks. I'll look into those (except for Blood Rage, which already made the cut.)

I'm pretty unlikely to buy a new game that hasn't had the chance to get a bunch of reviews in yet. Even with Kickstarter I'll check the developer's records. I can't afford to buy enough games to buy duds!

Here's a Dice Tower review of Nemo's War, FWIW. Though I think the tutorial videos from Lines42 do a superior job of elucidating how the game actually plays.

Yep, already watched that and added it to the list. I usually look at a few things. I look at the price. I go to BGG and look at community recommendations for number of player, game time, and complexity (I don't mind complexity for solo games, but prefer it a little lower for group games.) I look at the components and theme. I'm a sucker for thematic games. Then I read or watch a review or two, not to get the 'score', but to get a feel for the game. Then I add it to my list if it seems that it's a good fit, add the data, and give it a rating, which is a combination of the practical factors (fit, price, etc) and my personal mood.

So that means that every suggestion here is 30 minutes to an hour of research. But I'll go into GenCon knowing what is a good fit, what's a good buy, and what I can get cheaper off of Amazon. It's especially useful in the Thursday morning crush around the Coolstuff Inc scratch-and-dent shelves.

As an aside, a friend got me an all-in on the Batman: Gotham City Chronicles game coming out next spring as a birthday present. It just came to my attention that its 160+ miniatures are scaled identically to the vastly overpriced (~$20 miniatures) Batman Miniature Game. The rulebooks for the BMG are free online. I may look into picking up some basic templates at GenCon, and I'll have gotten a complete (and expensive) bonus game for almost nothing.

Although I'm tempted to pick up a Red Hood and/or Deathstroke from their line. The models for those two in Chronicles don't look right.