Octopus Overlords

OK, we just won our first game on literally the LAST move!

Very thrilling and fun gaming experience.

Our record is now 1-5

Not bad! I think it took me ten games or so to finally win.

Now once you get the hang of Pandemic you will really be ready for Pandemic Legacy. You win more often in pandemic legacy BTW, but it really takes pandemic to the next level.

I need to play classic pandemic again, I haven't played it since finishing Pandemic legacy earlier this year.

Xmann: If you have any interest in acquiring the On the Brink expansion cheaply, it's currently available for $14.84 as an Amazon Lightning Deal for Prime members. For non-Prime members, it becomes available as of 1:30PM PST / 4:30PM EST.

Anonymous Bosch wrote:Xmann: If you have any interest in acquiring the On the Brink expansion cheaply, it's currently available for $14.84 as an Amazon Lightning Deal for Prime members. For non-Prime members, it becomes available as of 1:30PM PST / 4:30PM EST.

I saw that somewhere else. Is it worth it and add much?

I'm hoping I can find a couple Cyber Monday deals on some news games.

Xmann wrote:

Anonymous Bosch wrote:Xmann: If you have any interest in acquiring the On the Brink expansion cheaply, it's currently available for $14.84 as an Amazon Lightning Deal for Prime members. For non-Prime members, it becomes available as of 1:30PM PST / 4:30PM EST.

I saw that somewhere else. Is it worth it and add much?

If you're a fan of Pandemic, absolutely.

IMHO, it's definitely the best of the available Pandemic expansions, and helps add significant depth, strategy, and variety to the base game. I'd say it's worth getting for the additional roles alone, but it also provides you with a nifty set of petri dishes to hold the cubes during play, which is another nice thematic touch. It does also provide additional options to ramp up the difficulty of the game, but they're all entirely optional, so you can add them if or when you feel the need for a greater challenge.

Xmann wrote:I'm hoping I can find a couple Cyber Monday deals on some news games.

Do you have any particular type of game in mind? Another co-op game or something else? Any particular theme that'd appeal to your family?

Anonymous Bosch wrote:

Xmann wrote:

Anonymous Bosch wrote:Xmann: If you have any interest in acquiring the On the Brink expansion cheaply, it's currently available for $14.84 as an Amazon Lightning Deal for Prime members. For non-Prime members, it becomes available as of 1:30PM PST / 4:30PM EST.

I saw that somewhere else. Is it worth it and add much?

If you're a fan of Pandemic, absolutely.

IMHO, it's definitely the best of the available Pandemic expansions, and helps add significant depth, strategy, and variety to the base game. I'd say it's worth getting for the additional roles alone, but it also provides you with a nifty set of petri dishes to hold the cubes during play, which is another nice thematic touch. It does also provide additional options to ramp up the difficulty of the game, but they're all entirely optional, so you can add them if or when you feel the need for a greater challenge.

Xmann wrote:I'm hoping I can find a couple Cyber Monday deals on some news games.

Do you have any particular type of game in mind? Another co-op game or something else? Any particular theme that'd appeal to your family?

We love Pandemic, but I'd like one or two more games to change it up. When we've played two or three games of Pandemic, I'd like something else.

I'm eyeing Zombicied or Letters from Whitechapel. Definitely something on the cooperative side of things. Also considering something I can do solo for myself like Mage Knight.

Xmann wrote:We love Pandemic, but I'd like one or two more games to change it up. When we've played two or three games of Pandemic, I'd like something else.

I'm eyeing Zombicied or Letters from Whitechapel. Definitely something on the cooperative side of things. Also considering something I can do solo for myself like Mage Knight.

Mage Knight's definitely a worthy choice, particularly if the notion of playing solo appeals to you. Though personally, I prefer the theme of Star Trek: Frontiers, which is a reimplementation of the Mage Knight board game. Other co-op games I'd also recommend:

• Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective (also an excellent choice for solo play)
• T.I.M.E Stories
• XCOM: The Board Game
• Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game
• Hanabi

Xmann wrote:
I'm eyeing Zombicied or Letters from Whitechapel. Definitely something on the cooperative side of things. Also considering something I can do solo for myself like Mage Knight.

Just in case it's not clear, Letters from Whitechapel is a one-vs-many game. One player controls Jack while the other player(s) control 5 police officers searching for him. It recently went out of print but we prefer a similar game of the same basic premise, Fury of Dracula. It might still be available.

I'll second previous recommendation for Forbidden Island and/or Forbidden Desert, and Castle Panic if you want a pure cooperative game. Forbidden Island might feel like a lite version of Pandemic but we've always preferred it. The Wizard Tower expansion for Castle Panic is highly suggested too.

If Letters from Whitechapel is unavailable, I'd recommend Last Friday over Fury of Dracula. Fury is complicated, and adds too much of a Monty Haul aspect that I don't like.

Fury of Dracula is what's out of print (a victim of FFG and GW parting company) not Letters from Whitechapel. I believe an expansion to LfW has recently been released. FoD is more complicated, but we prefer it. The 4 hunters play differently, items and special events, the RPS like card combat when you do track down Dracula. LfW felt to us like a team based Battleship... "I move here. Did Jack move through 123? No. Did Jack move through 127? No."

Daveman wrote:Fury of Dracula is what's out of print (a victim of FFG and GW parting company)

And yet I still see it everywhere. FYI.

Yeah, I saw where Letters from Whitechapel isn't cooperative. But I've watched way too many youtube videos and read ton of reviews and it just seems like a great game. We are just trying to avoid any games that are competitive in nature.

I know it's out of print along with Fury of Dracula, so I want to grab them before I'm forced to pay ridiculous prices for them.

I'm really looking at something solo too. Mage Knight and Star Trek Frontiers both seem like something id enjoy.

Isgrimnur wrote:If Letters from Whitechapel is unavailable, I'd recommend Last Friday over Fury of Dracula. Fury is complicated, and adds too much of a Monty Haul aspect that I don't like.

Are you referring to the Last Friday that looks like Friday the 13th?

Yes. Played it with coop at BGGCon. A bit more complex than LfW, but it trades side goals every night for a bit of in-game variability.

Looks like Barnes and Nobles has a 30% off one item today and I'm trying to decide what game to get.

Wanted Zombicied or Letters from Whitechapel, but they are sold out.

I've narrowed it down to Dead of Winter, Harry Potter Hogwarts, and/or Fury of Dracula.

Any suggestions or any other ideas?

I think Dead of Winter is insanely fun with the right crowd.

hepcat wrote:I think Dead of Winter is insanely fun with the right crowd.

Considering Mansion of Madness since it will be <$60 after discounts

I posted a quick write up on Harry Potter Hogwarts Battle over in the What did you play this weekend thread. My wife and daughter loved it, I was OK with it, the theme is fun, but (having played a lot of other co-op deck builders) I wasn't knocked out by it. If this would be your first co-op deck builder, I would highly recommend it, especially if you like the theme.

hentzau wrote:I posted a quick write up on Harry Potter Hogwarts Battle over in the What did you play this weekend thread. My wife and daughter loved it, I was OK with it, the theme is fun, but (having played a lot of other co-op deck builders) I wasn't knocked out by it. If this would be your first co-op deck builder, I would highly recommend it, especially if you like the theme.

Definitely considering it. Never played a deck builder and not necessarily a fan of Harry Potter per say....

But I'm considering buying it as well.

Xmann, we should try and get together for some gaming one of these weekends. I have a bunch of co-op games, if you want to try some out. And while I try to avoid going south of 120th, it's not like you are that far away.

Xmann wrote:

hentzau wrote:I posted a quick write up on Harry Potter Hogwarts Battle over in the What did you play this weekend thread. My wife and daughter loved it, I was OK with it, the theme is fun, but (having played a lot of other co-op deck builders) I wasn't knocked out by it. If this would be your first co-op deck builder, I would highly recommend it, especially if you like the theme.

Definitely considering it. Never played a deck builder and not necessarily a fan of Harry Potter per say....

But I'm considering buying it as well.

If you or your family is more of a Marvel fan I also really enjoy the Legendary Marvel Deck Building game. It certainly has more replayability than HP (from what I have seen so far.)

TheMix wrote:Xmann, we should try and get together for some gaming one of these weekends. I have a bunch of co-op games, if you want to try some out. And while I try to avoid going south of 120th, it's not like you are that far away.

My wife loves board games perhaps more than me. She's all for getting together.

I found a board gaming pub in Denver that I would be interested in trying out as well.

Xmann wrote:

hepcat wrote:I think Dead of Winter is insanely fun with the right crowd.

Considering Mansion of Madness since it will be <$60 after discounts

I love Mansions of Madness (the new edition, that is). But I do need to add the caveat that the replay value of the game is low as of right now. You do get a bit more diversity in future attempts/replays of scenarios in terms of the map layout, monsters and clue placements, but the stories are going to be the same. With only 4 scenarios in the base game, that's not a lot of value in my opinion. But I think it will be eventually mitigated by in app scenario purchases.

That being said, I've had more fun with this game than I ever anticipated. I don't think I've ever played a game that didn't result in everyone enjoying themselves immensely. And although games can sometimes run a bit long, you always have the option to save a game in progress and return to it later.

hentzau wrote:If you or your family is more of a Marvel fan I also really enjoy the Legendary Marvel Deck Building game. It certainly has more replayability than HP (from what I have seen so far.)

I quite like Marvel Legendary. We have the base set and Secret Wars Vol. 1 expansion, which together provide a ton of variety -- and there are several more expansions available. The mechanics aren't deep or innovative, but they're easy to grasp, and the game just flies along once you get the gist.

I've read that some of the other Legendary games are better (especially the Alien game), but the Marvel theme really works for me.

Xmann wrote:Looks like Barnes and Nobles has a 30% off one item today and I'm trying to decide what game to get.

Wanted Zombicied or Letters from Whitechapel, but they are sold out.

I've narrowed it down to Dead of Winter, Harry Potter Hogwarts, and/or Fury of Dracula.

Any suggestions or any other ideas?

I think Fury of Dracula is one of the games being discontinued, so that could influence your purchasing decision.

Edit: yup. Here's the list.

I haven't played Legendary Marvel, but one of our gaming group buds is a big fan and he likes Legendary Encounters: Alien better. My rudimentary understanding is that the "Encounters" games are more purely co-op in that they can be played solo, while the "Legendary" games have card mechanics that require a minimum of two. At any rate, I'd highly recommend any of those - that whole game system is an excellent balance of ease of play, luck, and strategy.

Note, Xmann, I have a copy of LE: Aliens. If that's one you want to tackle.

TheMix wrote:Note, Xmann, I have a copy of LE: Aliens. If that's one you want to tackle.

Definitely would like to give it a try

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

Xmann wrote:Looks like Barnes and Nobles has a 30% off one item today and I'm trying to decide what game to get.

Wanted Zombicied or Letters from Whitechapel, but they are sold out.

I've narrowed it down to Dead of Winter, Harry Potter Hogwarts, and/or Fury of Dracula.

Any suggestions or any other ideas?

In terms of Barnes and Noble, I'd recommend any of the following, all of which appear to be eligible for the 30% discount:

• Star Trek: Frontiers Board Game
• Dead of Winter
• T.I.M.E. Stories

I bought Dead of Winter and Mansions of Madness.

Tempted to do Star Trek as well.

Xmann wrote:I bought Dead of Winter and Mansions of Madness.

Tempted to do Star Trek as well.

Seems like you're a bit over your 1 item quota... did you bring 3 family members?

Xmann wrote:I bought Dead of Winter and Mansions of Madness.

Tempted to do Star Trek as well.

Go for it! You won't regret it (since it also plays exceptionally well as a solo game).

FWIW, Miniature Market is currently offering Star Trek: Frontiers for $51.99 (you'll need to check what the cost of shipping is to your locale; it's typically $5.99 if you use their cheapest shipping method, though).

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

The answer is Kallax.

Also Broken Token wooden game organizer inserts. Maybe even add BitBoxes to those Kallax, but we'll see how they work out when they arrive.

I would recommend King of Tokyo. It's competitive, but quick in pushing your luck with the dice. Everyone gets a chance to beat up on the player scoring points in Tokyo, who can attack everyone else back.

Also on the lighter side is Welcome to the Dungeon. Players play chicken about having to make it through a dungeon. Each turn, each player drafts a monster card and decides whether to chicken out or stay in. If you stay in, you must either add your monster to the dungeon or leave an item of equipment behind. If you're bluffing about going into the dungeon, you add difficult monsters. If you're serious about going into the dungeon, you add easy monsters or remove weak equipment. If you're messing with the other players, you can do that too. Eventually, someone has to brave the depths and finds out if they win or die.

Smallworld is an excellent territory control game that builds competition into the game mechanic. You start out with a race with a special trait, then deploy that race's population into the map. The weaker races have more population, and combat is a simple Euro mechanic of play enough population to overcome your foe. The foe will then lose a population, then retreat any remaining population to other spots. Eventually, you will run out of population and your turn will end. As you suffer attrition, you must choose strategically when to skip your turn and then pick out a new race with a new special trait for next turn. Cutting your losses and starting over is the most critical decision in the game. It's a great way to get revenge or come back from behind.

I also recommend Lords of Waterdeep as a nicely tuned worker placement game. You send a messenger to "pick up a guy from the inn" (or other location) and send them off on some foolhardy quest to score Victory Points. There's some intrigue, but it's mostly about temporarily blocking the other players but not getting so caught up that you're unable to complete your own quests.

If you want to eliminate the head-to-head competitiveness, Roll for the Galaxy is a winner. You build your own space-faring empire and use the combinations to power an engine -- to get cards, build techs, colonize planets, produce or trade. The main player interaction is choosing which of the 5 actions (cards, tech, colonization, production or trade) you activate. If no one chooses getting cards, no one draws cards that turn. There's a great balance between focusing on your own goals and riding the coattails of your opponent's goals. In Roll you're also subject to the whims of the dice you're rolling which are geared to benefit certain strategies/actions.

Xmann wrote:I bought Dead of Winter and Mansions of Madness.

Tempted to do Star Trek as well.

While I think Mage Knight is a bit deeper (and to be fair, it has the advantage of numerous expansions), the theme, the more relaxed learning curve, and the more forgiving mechanics found in Star Trek Frontiers usually means I put it on the table over its older brother when I'm looking for a solo game.

hepcat wrote:

Xmann wrote:I bought Dead of Winter and Mansions of Madness.

Tempted to do Star Trek as well.

While I think Mage Knight is a bit deeper (and to be fair, it has the advantage of numerous expansions), the theme, the more relaxed learning curve, and the more forgiving mechanics found in Star Trek Frontiers usually means I put it on the table over its older brother when I'm looking for a solo game.

Cool... snagged a copy from B&N.

hepcat wrote:

Xmann wrote:I bought Dead of Winter and Mansions of Madness.

Tempted to do Star Trek as well.

While I think Mage Knight is a bit deeper (and to be fair, it has the advantage of numerous expansions), the theme, the more relaxed learning curve, and the more forgiving mechanics found in Star Trek Frontiers usually means I put it on the table over its older brother when I'm looking for a solo game.

Amen, I totally agree.

I was seriously impressed by just how much better the theme fits and works with Star Trek: Frontiers vs. Mage Knight. Also, given that Star Trek: Frontiers is still only months old, there's a reasonable likelihood that further expansions for it will be forthcoming. If/when Star Trek: Frontiers has two or three more expansions, it'll easily become the better game for me, as it definitely streamlines the right aspects of Mage Knight to enhance gameplay. That being said, there's certainly no shortage of content included with the ST: F base game; it only seems that way relative to all the available content for Mage Knight. In fact, if memory serves, I believe more missions are included with the ST: F base game than the Mage Knight base game.

I've seen a couple of recommendations in here for Forbidden Island and Forbidden Desert and am wondering if you would recommend one over the other.