Board Games!

This forum is specifically for discussing non-Mafia games
(board, card, video, we're not picky)
.
Playing
such games should happen in the Mish Mash forum, of course.
User avatar
PJ.
PJ.
Hell in a Cell
User avatar
User avatar
PJ.
Hell in a Cell
Hell in a Cell
Posts: 4601
Joined: January 5, 2007
Location: somewhere better than you =*

Post Post #3525 (ISO) » Tue Jan 07, 2020 3:22 am

Post by PJ. »

In post 3521, hasdgfas wrote:
In post 3515, Equinox wrote:
In post 3507, PJ. wrote:If it's longer than 90 minutes, it's too long
any game shorter than 120 minutes does not feel like a game was played.
Past 120 minutes a game has to be very special to hold my attention.
This is probably my absolute limit for a game. Once you're cutting into that 2hr+ area of time(and even really 2 hours flat), the game needs to be as fun as playing 2 games. I just hate when I'm in like..minute 97 and I'm just like "man..this is kinda boring. The game seems pretty much set to be decided a certain way. I really wish I didn't have another 37 minutes of this." And I'm just sitting there, grinding out the end of this game in the name of politeness, while thinking to myself, "I'd really rather have been playing an entire game of Evolution or something"
Sometimes a sandwich is just a sandwich.
User avatar
Vi
Vi
Professor Paragon
User avatar
User avatar
Vi
Professor Paragon
Professor Paragon
Posts: 11768
Joined: June 29, 2008
Location: GMT-5

Post Post #3526 (ISO) » Tue Jan 07, 2020 5:16 am

Post by Vi »

I don't disagree with that line of thought... but I also only play games that I enjoy (and keep replaying them). 's why I would be okay if someone made me an offer for an airline-battered copy of Five Tribes, which shouldn't be a three-hour game but tends to turn into one.

With that said I don't really understand the appeal of games that are so short that you count your wins in sets, like Love Letter or Coup.
Everything you say and do matters. People will respond in ways you may never see. May those responses be what you intend.
User avatar
zoraster
zoraster
He/Him
Disorganized Crime
User avatar
User avatar
zoraster
He/Him
Disorganized Crime
Disorganized Crime
Posts: 21680
Joined: June 10, 2008
Pronoun: He/Him
Location: Belmont, CA

Post Post #3527 (ISO) » Tue Jan 07, 2020 5:28 am

Post by zoraster »

5 tribes is a game that is even more prone than most to analysis paralysis. It has the potential to be a 60 minute game, but there are just so many options and part of the game is just identifying options out on the board that it tends to drag on.

also i hate that 5 tribes is max 4 player. What's with that!
.
User avatar
shaft.ed
shaft.ed
dem.agogue
User avatar
User avatar
shaft.ed
dem.agogue
dem.agogue
Posts: 4998
Joined: August 15, 2007
Location: St. Louis

Post Post #3528 (ISO) » Tue Jan 07, 2020 5:38 am

Post by shaft.ed »

In post 3527, zoraster wrote:also i hate that 5 tribes is max 4 player.
speaking of which
anyone have recs for 6-8 player games?
User avatar
zoraster
zoraster
He/Him
Disorganized Crime
User avatar
User avatar
zoraster
He/Him
Disorganized Crime
Disorganized Crime
Posts: 21680
Joined: June 10, 2008
Pronoun: He/Him
Location: Belmont, CA

Post Post #3529 (ISO) » Tue Jan 07, 2020 5:49 am

Post by zoraster »

I know it's become a little passe, but 7 Wonders remains my recommendation for 6-7 players. It's just hard to get a semi-serious game with that many players down into 45-60 minutes because normal mechanics have people take turns, but 7 wonders is played simultaneously so you just play as fast as your slowest person rather than the cumulative speed of everyone. I think the "ideal" number of players for 7 wonders is more like 4 or 5 (because 7 players tends to make it very hard to track or do anything about what people at the other end of the table are doing), but there are lots of options for games of that size and few that I think succeed as well as 7 Wonders at that size.

There are games that are fine to play with 6 players if everyone knows the game well and plays quickly, but that's hard to find when you're talking about 6+ people (at least one is going to be new to the game).

At a certain point you're better off going with party games or splitting into multiple games, honestly.
.
User avatar
Vi
Vi
Professor Paragon
User avatar
User avatar
Vi
Professor Paragon
Professor Paragon
Posts: 11768
Joined: June 29, 2008
Location: GMT-5

Post Post #3530 (ISO) » Tue Jan 07, 2020 6:10 am

Post by Vi »

In post 3527, zoraster wrote:also i hate that 5 tribes is max 4 player. What's with that!
have fewer friends

The players aren't any of the titular tribes though.

zor is correct about non-party 6-8 player games though. 7 Wonders is really the best option if you want something serious; if you'd rather not play that but don't want to play a social manipulation game you may as well run a TTRPG with those numbers.
Everything you say and do matters. People will respond in ways you may never see. May those responses be what you intend.
User avatar
PJ.
PJ.
Hell in a Cell
User avatar
User avatar
PJ.
Hell in a Cell
Hell in a Cell
Posts: 4601
Joined: January 5, 2007
Location: somewhere better than you =*

Post Post #3531 (ISO) » Tue Jan 07, 2020 9:15 am

Post by PJ. »

Besides 7 wonders: Citadels, Formula D, Captain Sonar(ugh so bad), Shadows over Camelot, and Mysterium(this might be considered a party game).
Sometimes a sandwich is just a sandwich.
User avatar
chamber
chamber
Cases are scummy
User avatar
User avatar
chamber
Cases are scummy
Cases are scummy
Posts: 10703
Joined: November 20, 2005

Post Post #3532 (ISO) » Tue Jan 07, 2020 9:31 am

Post by chamber »

Just One.
Telephone Pictionary
Decrypto
Code Names
(these are all party games)
Taking a break from the site.
User avatar
Equinox
Equinox
he/they
Shot Count
User avatar
User avatar
Equinox
he/they
Shot Count
Shot Count
Posts: 10105
Joined: April 12, 2010
Pronoun: he/they
Location: Los Angeles, CA

Post Post #3533 (ISO) » Tue Jan 07, 2020 7:54 pm

Post by Equinox »

In post 3525, PJ. wrote:This is probably my absolute limit for a game. Once you're cutting into that 2hr+ area of time(and even really 2 hours flat), the game needs to be as fun as playing 2 games. I just hate when I'm in like..minute 97 and I'm just like "man..this is kinda boring. The game seems pretty much set to be decided a certain way. I really wish I didn't have another 37 minutes of this." And I'm just sitting there, grinding out the end of this game in the name of politeness, while thinking to myself, "I'd really rather have been playing an entire game of Evolution or something"
In post 3526, Vi wrote:I don't disagree with that line of thought... but I also only play games that I enjoy (and keep replaying them). 's why I would be okay if someone made me an offer for an airline-battered copy of Five Tribes, which shouldn't be a three-hour game but tends to turn into one.

With that said I don't really understand the appeal of games that are so short that you count your wins in sets, like Love Letter or Coup.
i was semi-trolling with my remark about two-hour games, but here's a serious response, i guess: long games must have a mechanism to keep players engaged throughout or players run into the problem that panzerjager described. there are games that i think do a good job with this, such as spirit island. the classic example of doing this poorly is monopoly. even terraforming mars falls into that trap; with evenly-matched players, the game runs more or less smoothly, but it can become dragging very quickly for someone who is too far ahead or too far behind. for me, the sweet spot is somewhere between an hour to two hours, though i'll play something longer if it's a game i enjoy or if it's a gaming group who i know well (see: twilight imperium).

short games are good icebreakers or even breathers between two longer games. we played cockroach poker between a game of between two castles and terraforming mars, and that was a nice break to chill out and be goofballs between relatively serious games. outside of that, i wouldn't enjoy playing multiples of love letter or coup back to back, as fun as they can be.
User avatar
implosion
implosion
he/him
Polymath
User avatar
User avatar
implosion
he/him
Polymath
Polymath
Posts: 14328
Joined: September 9, 2010
Pronoun: he/him
Location: zoraster's wine cellar

Post Post #3534 (ISO) » Tue Jan 07, 2020 8:16 pm

Post by implosion »

Strongly second chamber's suggestion of Just One for 6-8 players. Great casual party game.

Letter Jam seems really good though I've only played it ~3 times and it only goes up to exactly 6, but it is best at 5-6. Not really the strongest recommendation, just a game that's on my mind since I got it recently.
In post 3523, Vi wrote:
In post 3522, implosion wrote:No Pun Included
this seems like the worst name for a commentator
The two main reviewers I'm a fan of atm are them and shut up & sit down, and I've found that they in particular tend to often say things that I really agree with. Specifically, in their review of letter jam they gave an imo very eloquent explanation of why Hanabi sucks that I haven't really been able to articulate to anyone. Along with the aforementioned terraforming mars review.
User avatar
implosion
implosion
he/him
Polymath
User avatar
User avatar
implosion
he/him
Polymath
Polymath
Posts: 14328
Joined: September 9, 2010
Pronoun: he/him
Location: zoraster's wine cellar

Post Post #3535 (ISO) » Tue Jan 07, 2020 8:20 pm

Post by implosion »

oh another really cool party game recommendation I got to play at one point a few weeks ago that BGG says is good with 6-8 is wavelength. It was a lot cooler than I thought it'd be, we played it cooperatively with just four (i think, might have been five) of us and we hit like three out of the first four hints we gave exactly on the nose and it was just really hilarious.

As an example, I had the astronomical task of having to come up with something on the scale of "unsexy animal" to "sexy animal" that was ever so slightly closer to the side of sexy. I went with "owl" and after some absurd debate they got it exactly. One of the more ridiculous moments in any game I've played.
User avatar
vonflare
vonflare
doot
User avatar
User avatar
vonflare
doot
doot
Posts: 3093
Joined: January 1, 2014
Location: Blue Gatorade Factory

Post Post #3536 (ISO) » Wed Jan 08, 2020 3:19 am

Post by vonflare »

best party games for a large # of players (other than mafia, of course) include Secret Hitler and 2 Rooms & a Boom
THIS POST IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT.
User avatar
implosion
implosion
he/him
Polymath
User avatar
User avatar
implosion
he/him
Polymath
Polymath
Posts: 14328
Joined: September 9, 2010
Pronoun: he/him
Location: zoraster's wine cellar

Post Post #3537 (ISO) » Wed Jan 08, 2020 6:11 am

Post by implosion »

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.
User avatar
Xtoxm
Xtoxm
EBWOXM
User avatar
User avatar
Xtoxm
EBWOXM
EBWOXM
Posts: 12886
Joined: November 30, 2007

Post Post #3538 (ISO) » Wed Jan 08, 2020 6:28 am

Post by Xtoxm »

every time ive played 2 rooms its felt excessively random
Smooth as silk when he's scum, and very much capable of running things from behind the scenes while appearing to be doing minimal effort. - Almost50
Xtoxm is consistently great - Shosin
you were the only wolf i townread at endgame - the worst
User avatar
vonflare
vonflare
doot
User avatar
User avatar
vonflare
doot
doot
Posts: 3093
Joined: January 1, 2014
Location: Blue Gatorade Factory

Post Post #3539 (ISO) » Wed Jan 08, 2020 8:05 am

Post by vonflare »

In post 3537, implosion wrote: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
THIS POST IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT.
User avatar
hasdgfas
hasdgfas
Jack of All Trades
User avatar
User avatar
hasdgfas
Jack of All Trades
Jack of All Trades
Posts: 5628
Joined: October 2, 2007
Location: Madison, WI

Post Post #3540 (ISO) » Sat Jan 11, 2020 10:15 am

Post by hasdgfas »

In post 3526, Vi wrote:With that said I don't really understand the appeal of games that are so short that you count your wins in sets, like Love Letter or Coup.
I love these for killing time and joking around with friends, but not for more "serious" play. Love Letter is a classic "waiting for food while out at dinner" game for my group. There's not actually tracking of how many rounds each person won, we just play until the thing we're waiting for happens.
jdodge1019: hasjghsalghsakljghs is from vermont
jdodge1019: vermont is made of liberal freaks and cows
jdodge1019: he's not a liberal
jdodge1019: thus he is a cow
User avatar
Vi
Vi
Professor Paragon
User avatar
User avatar
Vi
Professor Paragon
Professor Paragon
Posts: 11768
Joined: June 29, 2008
Location: GMT-5

Post Post #3541 (ISO) » Tue Jan 14, 2020 2:06 pm

Post by Vi »

EXCEED Fighting System (Season 3 demo)-- Ken (like 12, me) vs. Ryu (0), and then Ken (0, me) vs. Ryu (5)

I got a demo from a not-a-loot-box, and decided I would try it out. I know it's overly cliche to compare it to L99's other two-player fighting simulation (the BattleCON line), but look, that's my prior experience. Some thoughts...

*Much, much, much more approachable. Street Fighter theming goes a long way toward a system that's much more like a slugfest. Doesn't require advance knowledge of the deck and what you play is only loosely tied to its consequences. Also has a pretty cool name. Nothing I just mentioned is true of BattleCON, which is something of a duel where you can usually point to a single mistake that made you lose, causing it to become a pseudo-lifestyle game as you learn how not to throw games away while amplifying small differences in skill into blowout games.
*I dislike that as the game goes on, reading your opponent's discard pile to see which cards
cannot
be played is strongly encouraged.
*The game is basically a punchy variety of poker, which I'm not good at.
*I do appreciate that, especially as Ken, you can basically spend several turns in a row Striking and feeling confident that you can own your opponent by throwing cards down with the power of literal aggressive mind games :]

I'm not sure it's a better game than BaCON as a well-designed system and I'm not sure it's a game that I'm ever going to be as good at as I am with BaCON, but it is a much better game in the sense that I feel like I can actually get this to a table within a single eternity without massive forcing. Given that it fits into my feels-pretty-strategic two-player game niche. I don't have an urge to evangelize it or purchase the actual boxed products but I also kind of want to proactively keep it, which is better than baseline.
Everything you say and do matters. People will respond in ways you may never see. May those responses be what you intend.
User avatar
Vi
Vi
Professor Paragon
User avatar
User avatar
Vi
Professor Paragon
Professor Paragon
Posts: 11768
Joined: June 29, 2008
Location: GMT-5

Post Post #3542 (ISO) » Sat Jan 18, 2020 11:55 am

Post by Vi »

Argent: The Consortium -- Jion (7, me) vs. Burman (4) vs. Riflam (1)

Riflam player was new, but watched a how-to video before playing. A much simpler board this time, but it was heavy on Marks. Handicapped myself terribly with a bad mage draft (2x Green B, good; 1x Blue A, not so much) and getting pushed out of Chapel A, so Influence and Marks kind of ran away from me. Scored lots of votes by virtue of rolling hard on Research/research items and sneaking Most Consumables out at the end because no one was going for it. The Burman player tried contesting my Wisdom and we spent the most of the fifth round fighting over Library B's second slot. Drew Most Sorcery as my first Mark, grabbed the 2x Sorcery Research Supporter Round 1, and didn't see a Sorcery spell on offer until round 5. Kinda lucked into Most Technomancy considering my first two spells were orange purely because they were better than the alternatives.

It felt like a very classic game of Argent, but I also feel like my perspective should probably be discounted considering how not-close the game was...
Everything you say and do matters. People will respond in ways you may never see. May those responses be what you intend.
User avatar
popsofctown
popsofctown
She
Survivor
User avatar
User avatar
popsofctown
She
Survivor
Survivor
Posts: 12356
Joined: September 23, 2008
Pronoun: She

Post Post #3543 (ISO) » Sun Jan 19, 2020 1:43 am

Post by popsofctown »

I wanna play that game.
"Let us say that you are right and there are two worlds. How much, then, is this 'other world' worth to you? What do you have there that you do not have here? Money? Power? Something worth causing the prince so much pain for?'"
"Well, I..."
"What? Nothing? You would make the prince suffer over... nothing?"
User avatar
vonflare
vonflare
doot
User avatar
User avatar
vonflare
doot
doot
Posts: 3093
Joined: January 1, 2014
Location: Blue Gatorade Factory

Post Post #3544 (ISO) » Sun Jan 19, 2020 5:09 am

Post by vonflare »

yes me too

I like worker placement games
THIS POST IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT.
User avatar
PJ.
PJ.
Hell in a Cell
User avatar
User avatar
PJ.
Hell in a Cell
Hell in a Cell
Posts: 4601
Joined: January 5, 2007
Location: somewhere better than you =*

Post Post #3545 (ISO) » Sun Jan 19, 2020 6:03 am

Post by PJ. »

People will play worker placement games but not PLACE themselves at work, smh.
Sometimes a sandwich is just a sandwich.
User avatar
Lady Lambdadelta
Lady Lambdadelta
She/Faer
Rise of the Phoenix
User avatar
User avatar
Lady Lambdadelta
She/Faer
Rise of the Phoenix
Rise of the Phoenix
Posts: 25197
Joined: August 31, 2010
Pronoun: She/Faer
Location: formerly in a Rage

Post Post #3546 (ISO) » Tue Jan 21, 2020 9:11 am

Post by Lady Lambdadelta »

Argent is so fun.

People who have TTS can play it online if they want? Cpuld setup an MS game night for Argent.
Yes my Lord, but questions are dangerous, for they have answers.

13 heads and counting now, plurality is adaptive. If our experience might help you,
click here
.
If you wish to
speak to one of us
, we are Niamh, Rhiannon, Rhea, Aisling, Saoirse, Selene, Aoife, Fírinne, Aurélie, Lyra, Airna, Fiadh and Laoise.
Soar on wings of retribution and set the world ablaze
User avatar
Vi
Vi
Professor Paragon
User avatar
User avatar
Vi
Professor Paragon
Professor Paragon
Posts: 11768
Joined: June 29, 2008
Location: GMT-5

Post Post #3547 (ISO) » Tue Jan 21, 2020 1:04 pm

Post by Vi »

In post 3546, Lady Lambdadelta wrote:Argent is so fun.

People who have TTS can play it online if they want? Cpuld setup an MS game night for Argent.
I have TTop, and have played Argent with it.

Playing the game with five people or with more than two new players would likely stretch the definition of game "night" fwiw.
Everything you say and do matters. People will respond in ways you may never see. May those responses be what you intend.
User avatar
vonflare
vonflare
doot
User avatar
User avatar
vonflare
doot
doot
Posts: 3093
Joined: January 1, 2014
Location: Blue Gatorade Factory

Post Post #3548 (ISO) » Tue Jan 21, 2020 1:05 pm

Post by vonflare »

I'm sure someone will bring it to a scum meet someday
THIS POST IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT.
User avatar
chamber
chamber
Cases are scummy
User avatar
User avatar
chamber
Cases are scummy
Cases are scummy
Posts: 10703
Joined: November 20, 2005

Post Post #3549 (ISO) » Tue Jan 21, 2020 3:31 pm

Post by chamber »

In post 3547, Vi wrote:
In post 3546, Lady Lambdadelta wrote:Argent is so fun.

People who have TTS can play it online if they want? Cpuld setup an MS game night for Argent.
I have TTop, and have played Argent with it.

Playing the game with five people or with more than two new players would likely stretch the definition of game "night" fwiw.
I hate myself enough to consider doing this depending on when.
Taking a break from the site.
Post Reply

Return to “The Arcade”