[Board Games] Daily Amazon Deal

[YellowKing]

Amazon is running another board game deal - up to 40% off select strategy board games:

Linky here (via OO Amazon link)

Some notable titles:

Splendor - $19.99
Forbidden Island - $10.50 (<-- absolute steal)
Five Tribes - $35.70
X-COM - $29.99
Ghost Stories - $24.99
Lost Cities - $23.99

Though there are a ton more.

I'm going to pick up something but I haven't decided yet. Again, I welcome any recommendations. For my part, I highly recommend Ghost Stories at that price.

[Isgrimnur]

Splendor is an excellent palate cleanser of a game. The rulebook is 4 pages. It plays quickly, but allows for some strategy. It's also pure Euro. No direct player conflict. And for me to like a game like that is saying something.

[YellowKing]

Here's a link that helps categorize the deals by discount level:

BoardgameLinks Deals

[MonkeyFinger]

Secret link...

[Ralph-Wiggum]

I'm not a huge fan of Splendor; I still haven't figured out if there's any strategy other than taking the best card you can each turn, especially in a 3 or 4 player game. In a 2 player game, there's perhaps a bit more strategy since you can more effectively block your opponent.

On the other hand, Five Tribes is one of my favorite games. Usually you have many options each move and so planning ahead and sticking to a strategy can really pay off. The only problems with Five Tribes is 1) you really need at least 3 players for it to work well and 2) the multitude of options can lead to serious analysis paralysis for some players.

[stessier]

Thanks for the heads up - just added a bunch to my Christmas list!

[Smoove_B]

I'd really love to order Ascension (again), but when I did it earlier this year I was sent the 2nd edition - twice. Both times I was told I'd be getting the third edition. What the hell, maybe I'll give it another try and take a screen shot that shows the 3rd edition box.

[YellowKing]

I'd like to own Flashpoint:Fire Rescue at that price, but I already have so many Pandemic-style outbreak management type games that I fear it would feel redundant.

Right now I'm leaning XCOM, though it would need to play well with 2 players for me to bite. Still trying to find some good 2-player reviews.

[Smoove_B]

Right now I'm leaning XCOM, though it would need to play well with 2 players for me to bite. Still trying to find some good 2-player reviews.

From what I understand, it's pretty much like playing the video game. So if splitting up a squad of soldiers into two smaller groups for each player to control sounds like a fun way to play XCOM, there you go. By all accounts it looks like a really cool game, though I've never actually played it.

I think my buddy plays Flashpoint:Fire Rescue with his older kid (8) and it seems to be enjoyable - more so than chasing diseases. YMMV.

[Lassr]

Forbidden Island already sold out at that price.

[Lordnine]

Right now I'm leaning XCOM, though it would need to play well with 2 players for me to bite. Still trying to find some good 2-player reviews.

I think you may find XCOM overwhelming with only two people. It’s certainly playable but you both will be controlling a lot of things. The game works around the idea that you have very limited time to plan your turns. Since every role allocates resources to at least one other person, part of the fun is seeing how bad they messed up and finding out what you are stuck working with for the current problem.

I tend to like playing the Tech officer, so it’s my job to research new equipment for the military officer. The problem is if Command didn’t allocate much budget for me, I’m stuck researching sticks and stones instead of Plasma Rifles. In which case the Military officer wants to kill me instead of the aliens.

[telcta]

Thanks for recommending Splendor. I bought this today to take to our company holiday party for their Yankee Swap gift requirement. Most people will probably pass it up and I'll grab it (or I'll get stuck with the scalp massager again), and who knows, break it open that night and get a few games in.

[MonkeyFinger]

Right now I'm leaning XCOM, though it would need to play well with 2 players for me to bite. Still trying to find some good 2-player reviews.

I would suggest you watch this video review of the game if you haven't already. Not only is it very well done, it should also let you know if the game is your cup of tea.

[coopasonic]

Amazon is running another board game deal - up to 40% off select strategy board games:

They are doing it again.

I wasn't really tempted by anything (my CSI order with Splendor just shipped on Friday ) until I got the very last item. Heavy Steam for $42 is pretty tempting... The rest I either own, have owned or have no interest in.

[Chrisoc13]

Amazon is running another board game deal - up to 40% off select strategy board games:

They are doing it again.

I wasn't really tempted by anything (my CSI order with Splendor just shipped on Friday ) until I got the very last item. Heavy Steam for $42 is pretty tempting... The rest I either own, have owned or have no interest in.

Some tempting options, but I already own most of the good deals. But San Juan is tempting. Don't have that yet. But for those without bloated collections there are some really good options there.

[YellowKing]

Only two I'm really interested in are Flashpoint: Fire Rescue and New York: 1901 - any thoughts from anyone on those two?

[coopasonic]

We've probably talked about Flashpoint a dozen times, mostly some of us saying we prefer it to Pandemic.

I prefer it to Pandemic. Pandemic feels like solving a puzzle. Flashpoint feels like fighting a fire. It's pretty kid-friendly as well, though they might not like losing. I can't play with the cat victim because my son will flip out if the cat is killed.

[Chrisoc13]

I loved flashpoint fire rescue. But I eventually got rid of it because it was a lot like pandemic and I prefer pandemic. The mechanics are nearly the same, except dice driven not card driven. Great game though, just don't expect it to be too different from pandemic. Because the general idea is the same.

[Defiant]

I prefer it to Pandemic. Pandemic feels like solving a puzzle. Flashpoint feels like fighting a fire. It's pretty kid-friendly as well, though they might not like losing. I can't play with the cat victim because my son will flip out if the cat is killed.

For the most part I agree with this. I think the big reason for this, though, is that Pandemic is much harder, and quite often you need to make exactly the right selection of moves (and have luck in the cards) in order to win, whereas Flashpoint gives you more flexibility.

[hepcat]

I love Flash Point and I doubt I'll ever go back to Pandemic. Although I've yet to see what the expansions bring to the table for that latter game.

[YellowKing]

I've got too many games sitting unplayed so I decided to just sit this one out. The only thing I picked up was that Enchanted Forest game for the kids - looks like something they'd have fun with.

[Archinerd]

I loved flashpoint fire rescue. But I eventually got rid of it because it was a lot like pandemic and I prefer pandemic. The mechanics are nearly the same, except dice driven not card driven. Great game though, just don't expect it to be too different from pandemic. Because the general idea is the same.

I prefer Pandemic too. Flashpoint was fine, but it felt a bit fiddly compared to Pandemic to me.