OO Boardgamers, what did you play this weekend?

[Zarathud]

I am ok with Nazis in war games so long as the player doesn’t revel in their cause.

Two high school wargaming friends were particularly joyful about playing the Axis or Confederacy. Looking back, they were prototypical small town white extremists who should have been on a “watch list.” One was the pencil necked geek trying to live a power fantasy, the other was a natural born survivalist. I’m afraid to look them up, even though we drifted apart quickly after I went to Chicago for college.

Another high school friend went stark raving college socialist and filmed the first local Starbucks labor drive. I realize our time together playing Car Wars primed him for wanting a post apocalyptic future.

[baelthazar]

It doesn't bother me playing the bad guys in board games, but I totally get people who don't want to. There are plenty of games out there, so if you're not comfortable or not having fun playing a specific role, there's certainly no reason to force yourself into it.

I know back in the day when I played PC war games like Panzer General and stuff like that, I always opted out of playing Axis powers if I had any choice in the matter.

See, I don't mind playing bad guys. I'm just sort of done playing THOSE bad guys (Axis). I even sort of stopped having an interest in GMTs Axis sub and plane games.

[Punisher]

I realize our time together playing Car Wars primed him for wanting a post apocalyptic future.

Ohhh.. it's not often that I find someone who played Car Wars.
This was my absolute favorite game followed closely Battledroids!
A couple of years ago I rebought everything available from Steve Jackson games web store for it. I think it's Warhouse 13 or something but not sure.
I still have some original stuff including a small case of B&W blank copies of vehicles. I spent a LOT of time printing them, pasting them to cardstock, and the coloring them.
I wish I had people near me to play. Not sure if I could still follow all the rules though.
I also went all in on the CW 2.0 KS they had even though I would have preferred a revamp of the original in the same scale as the original. Maybe a little bigger if they decided to also remake all the old cardboard ones as 3d minis.

[Zarathud]

We had a high school home brew version of Car Wars with GURPs for when we got out of the car. Each session was a scenario for teams of spy road warriors from different global factions to accomplish a goal. Winner would set the stage for the next scenario. The craziest was finding an alien civilization in Africa and getting caught, then finding my way to a research facility that sent me forward in time to figure out how the other factions were about to ruin the world by our alien contact, and stealing a Macross before returning.

I have the all-in Car Wars Kickstarter and painted my cars. Hepcat is also a fan, although he prefers to old rules I think. Personally, I’m waiting for the KS Uncle Al’s car load outs and scenario book. That will help get the game to the table more often.

[hepcat]

I have the all-in Car Wars Kickstarter and painted my cars. Hepcat is also a fan, although he prefers to old rules I think.

I do, but mainly due to nostalgia. I used to sit up all night as a teenager working on my cars for our weekend games. In the original rules, weight was also a huge limiting factor, so you could fiddle with the same build multiple times as you tweaked your design. The new one is still a lot of fun though. I'm never getting the original back in a similar format (although I did buy the re release of the original pocket edition a few years ago), so I'll take what I can get and love it.

[Punisher]

I'm ok with the new version but I prefer the scale of the older one as you could have a fleet on the table if you wanted.
I think we had at least 1 long campaign where we started from scratch and built up from there eventually having a very well protected transport convoy. At least 1 copter and tank IIRC.
Remember, Drive Offensively!

[hepcat]

Yeah, the scale was great for things like the mall map.

[Zarathud]

Or just get a big enough table to run the Double Drum massive mat. My long boardgametables.com aka allplay.com table is too small, sadly.

[Punisher]

Even then the maps are very basic compared to the original.
We spent a lot of time on that town map in the original because you had a lot of options.

[hepcat]

Continued on with our Frosthaven campaign Saturday. We won two, lost one. The game definitely feels harder than Gloomhaven.

I also found out that if you get Zarathud involved in a campaign game, he'll eventually get annoyed you didn't buy the organizer and he'll buy the damn thing for you.

...now to get him involved in Middara, Dungeon Universalis and Chronicles of Drunagor. I believe those also have really nice organizers.

[Skinypupy]

I did two things this weekend. First, I tried Too Many Bones again and have come to the conclusion that this is simply not a game for me. I find it more stressful than fun, and have yet to even come close to winning in half a dozen plays (I’m not counting my first try where I missed half the rules). I tried it true solo today, as multiple posts said that playing 2-handed (which I had been doing) was actually much more difficult. Still didn’t make it past day 4 after drawing one mob with Taunt and Thick Skin (that I couldn’t hit on three consecutive turns) and another who kept poisoning me but I couldn’t attack (because Taunt). I packed it back up in frustration and will be putting it up for sale this week.

I decided to restart my Middara campaign instead. Been playing a ton of Final Fantasy lately, and was in the mood for a similar board game. I got a ways into the campaign last year, but sorta forgot everything that had happened so I just started over instead. It’s definitely still one of my favorites, even if I do have to house rule it a bit. Just a really fantastic experience.

[Isgrimnur]

Food Chain Magnate expansion The Ketchup Mechanism and Other Ideas up for preorder.

[AWS260]

This weekend I played Inis for the first time in a long time. Too long, really, since it reminded me that I love this game and ought to play it more frequently. I got off to a slow start, with only one figure on the map at one point, but my opponents (spouse + son) did a great job of targeting each other while I slowly built up in the background until it was too late to stop me.

I really ought to pick up the expansion. I've played with it once, and the introduction of islands + the "we need a king" rule essentially complete the game.

[Fardaza]

I finally broke Nemo's War out of the shrink and played 3 games of it last week. I lost all 3 times. The first and last game I failed because of the Imperialist Victory where there were no more open spaces to put ships. I lost the middle game because I didn't have (anywhere near) enough points. Even after reading some strategy forum threads on BGG, I still don't know how to score much higher. I'm about to give up on this game, but it gets such high reviews. It's also supposed to be great "after it clicks". That better happen on the next playthru.

[YellowKing]

I've never won Nemo's War and somehow still love it. I enjoy super challenging games though, and as a huge fan of 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (book and movie adaptations), the theme really appeals to me.

[Fardaza]

I never read the book.
I did enjoy playing it. I just like winning sometimes too.

[Malificent]

Been playing a bunch of Isofarian Guard with my wife. I love the bag building mechanics and the story is really good. It has an open world exploration feel that actually feels a little video game-like - you wander around and you can do the main storyline (or side quests or bounty quests) or you can just explore, getting events or fighting battles. Battles give you money or materials that can be used to upgrade your weapons/armor or to build out building in your home fort. Each campaign has 4 chapters and you play two characters per campaign - it is expected (though not clearly stated) that you should have item level quality equal to your current chapter. So, this, plus the open world nature leads to situations where you can choose to grind out materials to get the maximum level of buildings and weapon/armor as early as possible.

For example, there was a BGG thread where someone was complaining the later campaigns are too easy and then you find out the thread creator had levelled everything to the max in Chapter 2, Campaign 1. The game designer stated that all the Fort building is supposed to be optional and done over the length of the campaigns, but hey, if it can be done early, someone is going to do it. Very video game like.

Rules are a little scattered and that was slowing us down until we found the official rulepop, which has everything easily accessible. Some of the icons for things are occasionally hard to distinguish, either because of size or because they made a poor choice on the skill sheet how to illustrate level differences - second level chips are circled in purple to indicate 2nd level, but there are also purple chips of that type. You're supposed to get a black one, not a purple one, despite the circle. Things like that.

It's a bit of a table hog, but I think that's by design - the designers feel really concerned with the experience of the game. They could have made some pieces smaller, but being larger and having a character mini to move around the map creates immersion. And despite that, wife and I can get setup and pulled down in 5 minutes, thanks to a really well designed box.

It sounds a lot of negativity, but it's a really fun game with wonderful components. It just needs some polishing in a few places. I think they're going to kickstart a version 1.5 relatively soon. All the updated rules will get added to the rulepop, so I'll just be pledging for additional event cards and some other new content.

It's getting played 3-4 times a week and my wife and I love it.

[Smoove_B]

It sounds a lot of negativity, but it's a really fun game with wonderful components. It just needs some polishing in a few places. I think they're going to kickstart a version 1.5 relatively soon. All the updated rules will get added to the rulepop, so I'll just be pledging for additional event cards and some other new content.

It's getting played 3-4 times a week and my wife and I love it.

It was on my gaming table for 2+ months before I just needed to take a break; highly, highly unusual for me to play a board game that way anymore. I think you're absolutely correct - it just needs some minor polish and reorg as flipping through 5 different books can be a bit of pain. I tried playing a few rounds with the new suggested (optional) rules to adjust difficulty and movement and found them to be great as well.

I'm definitely going to get the updated items when the new KS launches. I was really nervous when the game arrived that it was going to disappoint me, but it really is a treat and finally a pleasant surprise from a long overdue KS project!

[Malificent]

It sounds a lot of negativity, but it's a really fun game with wonderful components. It just needs some polishing in a few places. I think they're going to kickstart a version 1.5 relatively soon. All the updated rules will get added to the rulepop, so I'll just be pledging for additional event cards and some other new content.

It's getting played 3-4 times a week and my wife and I love it.

It was on my gaming table for 2+ months before I just needed to take a break; highly, highly unusual for me to play a board game that way anymore. I think you're absolutely correct - it just needs some minor polish and reorg as flipping through 5 different books can be a bit of pain. I tried playing a few rounds with the new suggested (optional) rules to adjust difficulty and movement and found them to be great as well.

Discovering the rulepop (https://isofarian-guard.rulepop.com/#) made so much difference for the 5 different book issue. The rulepop has all the requirements for Fort Istra buildings, lists all the bounty quests, what mining/harvesting stuff is available where, a complete list of chip definitions, etc etc. Basically it combines several of the books, so now i just need the quest book and campaign book, and those don't need to get pulled out all the time.

[Smoove_B]

Yes, I did start using that too, though I do try to get away from electronics when I'm board gaming. But eventually I had to give in because it was so much faster to hit that site. It's a great resource.

[Malificent]

Yes, I did start using that too, though I do try to get away from electronics when I'm board gaming. But eventually I had to give in because it was so much faster to hit that site. It's a great resource.

Yeah, I've just gotten used to having my iPad handy when I game. I also have a TV in my main gaming space for projecting things like Frosthaven combat tracker or Forteller or this rulepop.

[Anonymous Bosch]

I finally broke Nemo's War out of the shrink and played 3 games of it last week. I lost all 3 times. The first and last game I failed because of the Imperialist Victory where there were no more open spaces to put ships. I lost the middle game because I didn't have (anywhere near) enough points. Even after reading some strategy forum threads on BGG, I still don't know how to score much higher. I'm about to give up on this game, but it gets such high reviews. It's also supposed to be great "after it clicks". That better happen on the next playthru.

Have a butcher's at the [Nemo's War] Tips and advice thread I created here several years ago, as you'll find plenty of useful guidance there. Nemo's War does have a learning curve and victories do not come easy, especially while you're first learning the ropes. But it definitely is winnable. Also, once you learn some basic fundamentals, such as how to correctly 'paint the board' during the ship placement phase and resist the temptations of moving too much, you'll almost certainly see your scores begin to improve. So, I would encourage you to hang in there, because I think Nemo's War still holds up as one of the most outstanding solo board game experiences there is, all the more so "after it clicks."

I never read the book.
I did enjoy playing it. I just like winning sometimes too.

If you're not much of a book reader, here's a free audio book version you can listen to of one of the better Frederick P. Walter translations of the unabridged original Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas. Or, if you don't mind reading, here's the free eBook version.

[Skinypupy]

Been playing a bunch of Isofarian Guard with my wife. I love the bag building mechanics and the story is really good. It has an open world exploration feel that actually feels a little video game-like - you wander around and you can do the main storyline (or side quests or bounty quests) or you can just explore, getting events or fighting battles. Battles give you money or materials that can be used to upgrade your weapons/armor or to build out building in your home fort. Each campaign has 4 chapters and you play two characters per campaign - it is expected (though not clearly stated) that you should have item level quality equal to your current chapter. So, this, plus the open world nature leads to situations where you can choose to grind out materials to get the maximum level of buildings and weapon/armor as early as possible.

Isofarian Guard looks very cool, but I really, really don't like the art style at all. This feels like such generic fantasy and just...blah to me.

[Fardaza]

Thanks AB for the links. I'd already seen most of those, but still need to break the game out again.
I put it away and played a couple games of Roll Player: Monsters and Minions to cleanse the palate. I won both of those but with barely passable scores.

(I'm actually playing Warlords III: DLR on my computer right now.)

Not sure which game I'll put on the table next time.

[AWS260]

This weekend I played Barrage, the game that makes you say, "Dam it!" That's right, it's about hydroelectric power generation.

Barrage may be the meanest, tightest worker placement game that I've ever played, and I mean that as a compliment. Competition for action spaces is fierce, since arriving second often means paying twice as much. Competition on the map is equally fierce, since you can cut off someone's water supply by building a dam further upstream. It rewards careful planning - but everyone is constantly interfering with everyone else's plans.

It is a fantastic game, and I am terrible at it.

[paulbaxter]

We got in our normal couple of scenarios of Frosthaven last weekend, but Sunday afternoon was a special treat. Local game venue was hosting Blood On The Clocktower. I'd heard so much about it, so the boys and I headed over. We had a blast. Such a great deduction game. Hopefully they keep hosting it in the future.

[YellowKing]

Got a chance to play Forbidden Jungle tonight which my buddy picked up at GenCon. This is of course the fourth in the series of "Forbidden" games by Matt Leacock, and many folks like myself were looking forward to a return to form after the (minor) letdown of Forbidden Sky. (I still very much enjoy Forbidden Sky, but I rank it at the bottom of the series).

Forbidden Jungle has players landing on an alien jungle planet after escaping in their rocket ship at the end of Forbidden Sky. They then have to explore the planet (tile layout like the other games in the series), looking for a portal home and four crystals to power it. Unfortunately for our intrepid adventurers, the planet is inhabited by hostile bug-like aliens that don't take too kindly to intruders.

As in the other games, players each have a unique power depending on their role, and can perform four actions on their turn. Move to an adjacent tile, kill an alien (adult, hatchling, or egg), remove a spiderweb, flip a tile to explore it, or activate a machine on a tile. At the end of each player turn, you'll be flipping cards in which the environment fights back - aliens spawn, move, spin webs, or the threat level goes up (which eventually makes you draw more and more cards each turn).

The big gimmick to this game is that you not only have to find the portal and four crystals, you have to get the four crystals next to the portal. To do this, you'll have to find Destructor devices to destroy tiles, and Configurator tiles to move tiles in a bit of a "sliding puzzle" style. All while dealing with the aliens which can hurt you if they move on your tile and spin webs that prevent you from moving between tiles.

I'll have to say this one was a blast and while I still need to play Forbidden Desert again for a comparison, it easily vaulted above Island and Sky for me. The requirement to move tiles around adds a really interesting element to the game because you have to be careful not to put yourself in an unwinnable position. At $30 or less when it hits retail, it's an absolute steal and a fantastic low-complexity co-op game that everyone from newbies to veteran gamers can enjoy. I'm a big fan of all Matt Leacock's stuff, and this one's another winner.

[Fardaza]

Four of us played Forbidden Island about a year ago and really enjoyed it. We got two games in. The first one we lost, and the second game we won. I haven't been able to play it since. It's been overtaken by Cascadia and Cartographers as our go-to introductory games.

That, and we hardly ever get to play with a group.

[Montag]

Recent plays:

ISS Vanguard - Have about 6 missions in now. Very well done with the organization for setup and tear down. They have a 3 ring binder with pouches for cards. After the 2nd play through I was really seeing this shine. I hope it holds up.

World Wonders - first impression is a bit meh. I would rather play Planet Unknown for the polyomino tile placement. I need another play to give a proper evaluation.

Cosmoctopus - solid fun. Right level of sophistication. Played with just my wife and then a 4 player game. Everyone liked it. Nice mix of engine building with the mix of resource gathering by moving Icky.

R Eco - fun little card hand management game with play under 30 minutes. Will be a good filler game for my Meet Ups.

Upcoming games I am looking forward to playing - 3 Ring Circus and Ancient Knowledge. Demoed Ancient Knowledge and I have read the rules. I really think I am going to like it.

[YellowKing]

Two friends of mine backed Weirdwood Manor so last night we decided to give it a go on Tabletop Simulator. The devs have a remarkably good official mod for it. I remember being really impressed by the prototype at GenCon 2 years ago, and my buddy got to play the real deal at this year's GenCon.

Weridwood Manor is one of those games that isn't particularly hard to learn rules-wise, but I feel has a significant learning curve in terms of strategy. You play characters (each with 3 unique powers) that are exploring a circular manor trying to defeat one of the three very unique-playing boss monsters inside. Hindering your attempts are scarabs emanating from the central throne room, too many of which can blight a room (remove its powers), and which also hinder movement.

The big gimmick in Weirdwood Manor is that the house shifts as time passes, with both an inner and outer ring of corridors rotating. This opens up certain rooms and closes off others, so that you're constantly having to manage the maze.

This game has a LOT of mechanics. There is resource management (powers and some cards require resources to play). Some superficial elements of worker placement (each room bestows a certain benefit, so each turn you'll be trying to position your character to gain...something). There's attack/block dice combat. And there's time management in the form of how you play cards (playing cards in certain positions advances time in different ways). And there's RPG-esque character development (earned XP in the game must immediately be spent on improving your character). Did I mention dice management? Throughout the game you also have the opportunity to forge new dice to use in combat.

It's definitely a fun game with so many moving parts (literally!), but it's going to take some time for me to process what exactly the overall strategy is. As with most co-op games, there are many ways to lose and only one way to win. In our game (which we haven't finished yet), we've struggled to determine where exactly our focus should be and probably won't make it out alive. Be on the lookout for this one when it finally releases, it's definitely a unique entry in the co-op category and seems like it will offer a ton of replayability.

[YellowKing]

Have been messing around with burncycle after getting the KS second printing in this week. For the absolute life of me I can't remember why I went all-in on this game. I love Chip Theory Games, but I knew going in that this was a divisive title and hell, I didn't even really know how to play or what it was like. So I'm still scratching my head how I got into the mindset to drop $200+ on this thing.

Well, what's done is done so I've been making the best of it, and I'm having a lot of fun so far. The stealth awareness mechanic reminds me a lot of Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood of Venice (which in turn is based on V-Commandos), so if you're used to dropping awareness markers behind you as you sneak around you'll feel right at home.

The components are up to the usual CTG high standards, even including a card tray and token cups which was an excellent touch. It's quite a table hog, but I was able to get a layout that works for me (ignore the whiteboard, those were rules reminders for Halls of Hegra):



The one thing the game has going for it is that there are some really interesting mechanics here. The whole "burncycle" concept of having to manage and maintain your action pool is really fascinating. There's a ton of player agency here, and you're constantly balancing taking the action you want vs. taking the action that will be the most optimized (and thus the most efficient).

The network segment turn that follows your bot turn is essentially a mini-game, but has real world consequences to the main game. So there's another strategic layer you have to take into consideration as you're playing.

I can see why the game could be polarizing, as the emphasis is very much on pure stealth. Those looking for combat or something dungeon crawly will be disappointed. Also the brain burn is very high - this is not a game you casually throw on the table for a quick round. A complete 3 floor mission can take several hours, and the strategic depth rewards sinking a lot of time into learning your bot powers and the nuances of gameplay.

So far, cautiously optimistic and looking forward to diving in a bit deeper.

P.S. This game has perhaps one of the best Learn to Play books I've ever experienced. It holds your hand through several turns of a complete floor mission, and if you're still needing assistance there is a PDF on the CTG site that finishes the floor off step by step explaining each concept as you go. It was an absolutely incredible learning tool and by the time I stepped through it start to finish I felt extremely confident in my ability to hit the 2nd floor on my own.

[Zarathud]

We played 2 floors of Burncycle at GenCon. It’s an interesting puzzle where you get the feeling of unlocking your character’s potential as the difficulty ramps. Gorgeous, but I’d agree you really have to work at balancing the various mechanics. I came away happy I didn’t back it, but would play someone else’s copy.

[AWS260]

Tzolk'in is so good. I just wrapped a family game with spouse + spawn, and it was really close, despite the three of us pursuing very different strategies. It's tight and challenging, and the gear mechanic works so well.

[AWS260]

This weekend I played Shikoku 1889, the new edition that just came out. More importantly, I played it with my spouse and 13-year-old, neither of whom had played an 18xx game before, and they liked it. We didn't quite finish the game because of a family obligation (for 18xx heads, we called it after we had broken the 6-trains but before the diesels), but we played more than enough for everyone to wrap their brains around the game.

It's only been two years since I played my first 18xx game (the previous edition of 1889), and I'm ready inflicting it on my family.

[coopasonic]

Just overpaid for a copy of Heat: Pedal to the Medal shipped from the UK. It's the first time I have seen it in stock since I heard about it. Flamme Rouge but better is all I needed to hear. Supposed to show up next week.

[Daveman]

Heat is still my top game of the last year. Plays great with any number of players or solo. A very nice implementation just started on Board Game Arena this week.

[Fardaza]

Just overpaid for a copy of Heat: Pedal to the Medal shipped from the UK. It's the first time I have seen it in stock since I heard about it. Flamme Rouge but better is all I needed to hear. Supposed to show up next week.

Not sure how much you paid for it. I just saw someone asking $100 in the virtual flea market at BGGCon next month. But, that does mean waiting another month and a half to get it.

Still don't know if I'll be coming down to Dallas again this year. It's looking more and more like not.

[coopasonic]

Just overpaid for a copy of Heat: Pedal to the Medal shipped from the UK. It's the first time I have seen it in stock since I heard about it. Flamme Rouge but better is all I needed to hear. Supposed to show up next week.

Not sure how much you paid for it. I just saw someone asking $100 in the virtual flea market at BGGCon next month. But, that does mean waiting another month and a half to get it.

Still don't know if I'll be coming down to Dallas again this year. It's looking more and more like not.

Slightly less than that, so win! It actually would have been quite a bit less, but international shipping aint cheap.

[Daveman]

Looks like Miniature Market has a batch, reported first a few hours ago and still shows 20+ in stock...

https://www.miniaturemarket.com/dow9101 ... c0&irgwc=1

[YellowKing]

HEAT looks really good, I watched a solo playthrough last night. Very tempting, as I don't have any racing games and it's certainly different from anything else in my collection. Particularly interested in the Championship mode and making a bit of a campaign out of it.

I'm not in a rush though as I still have a ton of Oathsworn to get through and 20 Strong will be showing up before the end of the year. I'll throw it on the wish list to pick up at some point down the road.