Octopus Overlords

Posted: **Wed Jun 01, 2016 11:51 am**

So starting next week I'm going to be spending 3 days a week with a group of about 15 people doing Music Man out at a state park here in IL. We're all being put up in two fairly large, really nice cabin/house things. We do the shows at 1, so we're done by 3:30, and the tradition is to spend the evenings eating, drinking and playing games. So, Im trying to rise to the challenge and come up with some good group games for folks with little to no experience with modern games. I don't expect everyone to play at the same time, but I'm really trying to avoid the inevitable "Let's play Cards Against Humanity!"

So far I'm thinking:

Crokinole (duh)
Codenames
Great Dalmuti
Sushi Go
Pairs
Love Letter
Qwirkle

I think those are all pretty safe. Ones I'm not so sure of:

Camel Up
Colt Express

Anything else someone can think of?

Posted: **Wed Jun 01, 2016 12:02 pm**

Bohnanza
Letters from Whitechapel

Posted: **Wed Jun 01, 2016 12:03 pm**

Oh, I was also thinking about Mysterium. That could be fun with the right crowd.

Posted: **Wed Jun 01, 2016 12:15 pm**

hentzau wrote:Oh, I was also thinking about Mysterium. That could be fun with the right crowd.

The right crowd. I am not part of it. Nor, I believe, was coop.

Posted: **Wed Jun 01, 2016 12:17 pm**

Isgrimnur wrote:
hentzau wrote:Oh, I was also thinking about Mysterium. That could be fun with the right crowd.
The right crowd. I am not part of it. Nor, I believe, was coop.

Remember, these are all theater artsy type people.

Posted: **Wed Jun 01, 2016 12:18 pm**

Fair enough.

Posted: **Wed Jun 01, 2016 12:22 pm**

hentzau wrote:Remember, these are all theater artsy type people.

I have to believe they would eat up One Night Ultimate Werewolf, no? I've never played, but I thought this was created as a more casual n00b friendly version of the actual game? I've also heard really good things about Codenames too so I think you're on the right track.

Posted: **Wed Jun 01, 2016 12:27 pm**

Smoove_B wrote:
hentzau wrote:Remember, these are all theater artsy type people.
I have to believe they would eat up One Night Ultimate Werewolf, no? I've never played, but I thought this was created as a more casual n00b friendly version of the actual game? I've also heard really good things about Codenames too so I think you're on the right track.

I was thinking of Werewolf, I need to investigate the One night version. Thanks for the reminder.

Posted: **Wed Jun 01, 2016 12:33 pm**

How about The Resistance: Avalon? I've always found it works great with a decent-sized crowd, and the theme works particularly well in making it more approachable for those unfamiliar with modern games; everyone can relate to Camelot, and the Arthurian legend (and treachery!). It also has the additional benefit of greatly simplifying the subsequent introduction of a more traditional Werewolf game, should you feel up to it (EDIT: since you participated in the Kickstarter for the Deluxe Edition of Ted Alspach's Ultimate Werewolf, you should definitely bust that out).

Posted: **Wed Jun 01, 2016 1:05 pm**

Isgrimnur wrote:Bohnanza

+1. You won't get 15 playing at once, but we've done 8 with no problem.

Posted: **Wed Jun 01, 2016 1:20 pm**

hentzau wrote:Oh, I was also thinking about Mysterium. That could be fun with the right crowd.

Let me know if you wanna borrow my copy.

Posted: **Wed Jun 01, 2016 1:29 pm**

hepcat wrote:
hentzau wrote:Oh, I was also thinking about Mysterium. That could be fun with the right crowd.
Let me know if you wanna borrow my copy.

i bought a copy after playing yours at OctoCon.

Posted: **Wed Jun 01, 2016 1:59 pm**

I was going to suggest Avalon as well. I think it can play up to 10. Very similar to Werewolf.

7 Wonders can play up to eight with the expansion and isn't too difficult to teach.

Posted: **Wed Jun 01, 2016 2:25 pm**

I would think Colt Express probably has too much going on for a big non-boardgame group.

Wits and Wagers?
Mumbly Peg?

Posted: **Wed Jun 01, 2016 3:20 pm**

Another fantastic ice-breaker, particularly with a diverse crowd, is Telestrations, AKA Eat Poop You Cat (i.e. the free game upon which Telestrations is based):

BoardGameGeek.com wrote:Description:

Each player starts with a piece of paper and a pencil. At the top of the paper, each player writes a sentence. Then they pass the papers to their left. The next player "draws" the sentence a la Pictionary, then folds the paper so only the drawing is visible and passes it to their left. The next player looks at the drawing and writes a sentence that they think the drawing represents. This continues until all players have their original paper back. At the end, all players unfold their paper, and much hilarity ensues as "I am the Walrus, koo-koo-ca-choo" becomes "Hitler and I danced the night away in a disco."

The game continues until everyone runs out of paper or everyone has added something to each paper, always ending on a sentence.

Eat Poop You Cat does not comport with the BGG guidelines for what constitutes a game, but is kept in the database by popular demand and administrative fiat.

Trust me, this has consistently been one of the most hilariously amusing games i've ever played with large groups. If you're interested in giving the free version a whirl, there's some handy resources to be found in the relevant files section at BGG (e.g. a PDF list of popular quotes, sayings, and idioms that make for good starting sentences, along with premade printable forms for playing the game).

Posted: **Wed Jun 01, 2016 3:24 pm**

Telestrations might be a big hit with this group. I've seen it, never played it, now I think I need to get it. Good suggestion!

Posted: **Wed Jun 01, 2016 3:54 pm**

Two Rooms and a Boom?

Posted: **Wed Jun 01, 2016 3:56 pm**

If I remember correctly, he wasn't all that impressed with it. Although to be fair, I was running it when he tried it. So a better teacher might make him love it.

Posted: **Wed Jun 01, 2016 4:02 pm**

BTW, have you tried playing your Deluxe Edition of Ultimate Werewolf yet?

Because that's practically tailor-made for an occassion such as this, when you'll be hanging out with a large eclectic group that has a flair for the dramatic (i.e. performers from a musical). All the moreso if you've never hosted a Werewolf game before, as there's a wealth of great tips and advice to be found in the manual. Also, the excellent artwork and components makes for a superb way to introduce the game, and firmly establish the theme, for newbs.

Posted: **Wed Jun 01, 2016 4:17 pm**

Anonymous Bosch wrote:BTW, have you tried playing your Deluxe Edition of Ultimate Werewolf yet?

Because that's practically tailor-made for an occassion such as this, when you'll be hanging out with a large eclectic group that has a flair for the dramatic (i.e. performers from a musical). All the moreso if you've never hosted a Werewolf game before, as there's a wealth of great tips and advice to be found in the manual. Also, the excellent artwork and components makes for a superb way to introduce the game, and firmly establish the theme, for newbs.

I never have broken out out. It actually was on my list of games to bring, but I forgot to put it on there.

Posted: **Thu Jun 02, 2016 1:45 am**

hentzau wrote:
Anonymous Bosch wrote:BTW, have you tried playing your Deluxe Edition of Ultimate Werewolf yet?

Because that's practically tailor-made for an occassion such as this, when you'll be hanging out with a large eclectic group that has a flair for the dramatic (i.e. performers from a musical). All the moreso if you've never hosted a Werewolf game before, as there's a wealth of great tips and advice to be found in the manual. Also, the excellent artwork and components makes for a superb way to introduce the game, and firmly establish the theme, for newbs.
I never have broken out out. It actually was on my list of games to bring, but I forgot to put it on there.

BTW, don't forget to grab the free Ultimate Werewolf Timer App for your phone/tablet (you can see how it works here). It definitely helps simplify moderation and keep gameplay flowing smoothly, while also adding some additional thematic flavour.

Posted: **Fri Jun 10, 2016 10:17 am**

So another aspect of this that I forgot to remember to add is that the group will by and large be fairly drunk once we get going.

The first night there the only thing that we played was Telestrations, and that was a pretty big hit. Everyone seemed to really enjoy that one, although I'm not 100% sure that I got the sequencing down correct. But everyone had fun with it.

Second night, after the eating and the drinking, the inevitable game of CAH came out, and I good naturedly played along, but man it was torture. There were way too many people, and we had a 13 and 14 year old playing as well, and I was really uncomfortable with that.

But after that was done, I broke out Werewolf. It was really late, so we only got one game in, but everyone seemed to really take to that one, so we're going to dig into it earlier next weekend and hopefully get a few games in.

Posted: **Sun Jun 12, 2016 6:47 pm**

Wits and Wagers is pretty good for a party game.

Posted: **Sun Jun 12, 2016 9:04 pm**

Qwelf is quite good for theater people. Plays nicely to their strengths. I find that most theater folks, or at least a good chunk of them, are fairly nerdy, so really any decent game that can be taught relatively quickly could work.

I brought Camel Up over to some theater friends to play, and they enjoyed it quite a bit. That said, I think Colt Express would be even better. It's a real hoot unless you're playing with a bunch of dead fish.

Posted: **Sat Jun 18, 2016 7:55 pm**

Hey hentzau, I recently acquired a new game that I think would pair up perfectly with Colt Express, namely Flick 'em Up!:

BoardGameGeek.com wrote:

The cities in the West are not the safest place to be. In the disc-flicking game Flick 'em Up!, you can become an outlaw and rob banks, free prisoners, attack innocent bystanders... or you could become the Sheriff and try to protect the people of your city from these bandits!

Relive the great adventures of the West, face your enemies in street duels, use different guns and tactics to get what you want. You can follow the scenarios or create your own—the choice is yours, cowboy!

It plays with 2 - 10, and it absolutely nails the Western theme like no other board game I've played (the components and wooden box are also top-notch). But to return to the subject of this thread, it's also incredibly newbie-friendly and easy-to-teach, and what could be cooler than a Western-themed Crokinole-style shoot-out, with a variety of different scenarios to follow (or the ability to create your own)? Have a butcher's at this Youtube vid to see how it's played.

I'm tellin' ya, if you don't already own it, it deserves to be part of your collection. ASAP.

Posted: **Sat Jun 18, 2016 8:02 pm**

OctoCon, fall, 2015:

Posted: **Sat Jun 18, 2016 8:44 pm**

Posted: **Sat Jun 18, 2016 8:49 pm**

Anonymous Bosch wrote:

It doesn't look so good on a stark white table. But it certainly wouldn't have flicked well on my vinyl mat.

Posted: **Sat Jun 18, 2016 9:06 pm**

hentzau wrote:
Anonymous Bosch wrote:
It doesn't look so good on a stark white table. But it certainly wouldn't have flicked well on my vinyl mat.

Another option could be felt/speed cloth tabletop covers, especially if you could find 'em in a suitably Western-themed colour (I have a custom one for my primary gaming table that I ordered several years ago, I think on eBay or Etsy, that wasn't terribly expensive). Works great for card games and such.

Posted: **Sun Jun 19, 2016 6:52 pm**

Would any of these options prevented Sheriff Hentzau from gunning down my outlaws and letting them bleed out in the street?

Posted: **Sun Jun 19, 2016 8:09 pm**

Archinerd wrote:Would any of these options prevented Sheriff Hentzau from gunning down my outlaws and letting them bleed out in the street?

Alas, if anything, it may ease Sheriff Hentzau's ferocious enforcement of the law (particularly considering his aptness for Crokinole). Dynamite or the ol' Winchester rifle are likely your best bets against such a ruthless foe.

Posted: **Sun Jun 19, 2016 8:46 pm**

Your outlaws deserved to be gunned down, like the mad dogs that they were!

Octopus Overlords

Looking for game recommendations for a large, diverse group

Looking for game recommendations for a large, diverse group

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