Board Games!

[vonflare]

anyone here play mage wars: arena?

[vonflare]

no

[vonflare]

coup is great fun I like it

[vonflare]

2 rooms and a boom looks fun but you need like 10+ people

[vonflare]

My group just finished our DnD story arc, and we're taking a break until September. My week will feel so empty now.

[vonflare]

Lords of Waterdeep is a fun game

[vonflare]

you could just use some other token instead of the meeples like chess pieces or something, so they're visually distinct, if the problem is color-blindness

[vonflare]

I like the concept of diplomacy but its hard to get 7 people together who are willing to go through all the simultaneous-action-resolution every turn

[vonflare]

The AQW card game is weird, both in a good way and a bad way. Like, I can see what they're trying to do but the nature of the game makes it play completely differently from the intended way. There are a few cards that are so powerful you basically try to cycle the deck collecting these cards, while also playing around them, and then using a combination of the OP cards as a win condition.

It actually makes the game more interesting than it otherwise would be, as it would probably be a game of attrition, and instead its about collecting a win condition, like getting a Dracolich and then a bunch of counters to protect it, so you're basically invulnerable, or getting Doomknight and Rare Hunter to basically add the entire discard pile to your hand, or getting Paladin and the Tele-Whoops to give your opponent the Paladin, and then using Paladin Slayer to basically OTK them. Or Wizard + a bunch of spells, I guess.

But there's so many ways to screw with your opponent's win condition (like From Behind, Chaos, and Grasping Roots) that you're never really secure and you always have to be careful what you commit to the board. It allows complex and meaningful decisions in a game which seems simple at first glance.

[vonflare]

Then you are on the wrong website

[vonflare]

best way to teach someone Android:Netrunner? Which faction should I have them play as first game

[vonflare]

best way to teach someone Android:Netrunner? Which faction should I have them play as first game

Don't

hm?

do you not like netrunner?

[vonflare]

Stratego is an underrated classic

[vonflare]

what is a topper

[vonflare]

I just want a gaming table with slightly raised edges so dice will never roll off

[vonflare]

D&D is definitely not as good as Charterstone.

how is this even a reasonable comparison? They're not even close to the same genre of entertainment.

That's like saying, "yeah, lasagna is definitely not as good as 8-ball pool"

[vonflare]

are all your opinions bad or just the ones you post on this site

[vonflare]

a strong statement coming from someone who creeped my youtube channel and responded with a screenshot of my face last time you disagreed with me...

[vonflare]

Ever thought u were the person that makes dnd bad?

I start playing hearthstone on my phone. TAZDINGO!

[vonflare]

I like asymmetric games too.

The problem is the more complex an asymmetric game is the less balanced it tends to be.

[vonflare]

but two rooms and a boom sucks

sorry reck, this opinion is objectively bad

[vonflare]

two rooms and a boom only really works well with like 20+ people IMO and that's a big fucking issue

I've had many fun games of 2r1b with ~10 iirc

it depends on the people, not the amount

[vonflare]

Clank is a pretty good board game. Like dominion but dungeon-delving-themed

[vonflare]

Argent: The Consortium - Trias (6, me) vs. Mannheim (3) vs. Jesca (3)
I am the absolute worst Neutral player in history. I managed to scrape up 2 IP at the end of round 4 for my second merit badge (including the one I started with). While my opening Mark was 2nd Most Influence (I didn't win it). The votes favored me really well; I put my other three Marks on cards that were relevant exactly when I got them and no later (Most Divinity and Most Planar Studies in round 3, Most Mana in round 4), and I correctly called Green going for Most Wisdom (beating them to it) and accidentally picked up Most Int along the way.

I've never played this game but reading this post-game report has me intrigued

[vonflare]

to clarify, your Mage Wars is basic Mage Wars and not Mage Wars: Arena?

also, interested in Quarriors. What shape are the components/cards in?

[vonflare]

There are slight differences but yes they are essentially the same

[vonflare]

yeah dominion is pretty great

[vonflare]

best party games for a large # of players (other than mafia, of course) include Secret Hitler and 2 Rooms & a Boom

[vonflare]

imo 2 rooms and a boom is not fun at all until ~10 players, mediocre until maybe ~14, and really shines when you get to ~20. Which is great because there aren't many games that do that, but it is so optimized for big groups that playing it with fewer than that many people usually just doesn't have enough chaos in it to be all that interesting ime.

I've had a good time with 9 players

but yeah it really shines with a something-teen number of players

[vonflare]

yes me too

I like worker placement games

[vonflare]

I'm sure someone will bring it to a scum meet someday

[vonflare]

not sure if this counts, but anyone here played Cultist simulator? While not

technically

a board game, it certainly can feel like one at times, and it has a lot of borrowed elements from, like, worker placement games

[vonflare]

Even mechanically, the randomness in catan isn't brutal. Sure the dice play a large role in the game but there are many ways to

mitigate

the randomness. Putting all your settlements on 6's and 8's might seem mathematically sound but it means that you're getting your resources in big bursts while other players get a lesser but consistent stream that allows them to wheel and deal while you twiddle your thumbs waiting for that magic 6 that will give you 2 wood, a clay, and an ore. Not diversifying your numbers can make randomness feel more impactful.

You might also be undervaluing ports, I know I did when I was new to catan. It's another way of mitigating randomness, allowing you to change resources you don't want into resources you do. And finally, having deeper game knowledge that comes with just playing more games will also help. If there's a mountain and a pasture right beside each other with a 5 and an 8, and you confidently slam your settlement between them in the setup phase because 5s are good and 8s are really good, 4 turns later when you want to expand you are going to be thinking to yourself "man I need to build a road but I never get any clay, I'm having some bad RNG."

Knowing what resources are valuable in different stages of the game can help you manage your expectations regarding the RNG. and if all else fails, you can use the Catan Event Cards (sold separately within the Traders & Barbarians expansion) which simulate a die roll but guarantee equal distribution because it's a deck of cards with evenly weighted die results on them.

[vonflare]

if the players are all evenly skilled then yes, randomness plays a major role, I'd say just as large a role as your skill in negotiating trades.

But my definition of "frustratingly high random" is that the randomness plays a consistent role in deciding the outcome between a good player and a bad player, which is simply not the case.

[vonflare]

7 wonders is a better intro to the hobby of tabletop games than catan imo. Other intro games I recommend are Dominion, Lords of Waterdeep, and Boss Monster.

[vonflare]

if you want a deck builder, dominion is a better intro game imo. Teaches all the core concepts of deckbuilding without any added fluff.

klank! is probably a close second though since the only 'fluff' it adds is a board and movement/combat mechanics

[vonflare]

I personally had no problems with the regular iteration

But I've never played In Space so I might just be blind to the problems and I'll shout 'HOW COULD I NOT HAVE SEEN' when I finally do play In Space

[vonflare]

i didnt even know clank had a legacy mechanic

have I been playing it wrong?

[vonflare]

this new game Oath looks pretty amazing