Board Games!

[VP Baltar]

Looking for legacy game recommendations for a group of 4.

We've played through many of the usual suspects (Pandemic 1&2, Gloomhaven, Betrayal, Charterstone, Aeon's End), so looking for something new. Good story always welcome, but fun gameplay is typically the priority. I kind of looked at Seafall, but read it was pretty broken. Anyone have any fun legacy games they'd recommend?

[VP Baltar]

Betrayal Legacy

And I know you already mentioned it but I really liked Pandemic Legacy 1&2 - particularly 2.

Yeah Pandemic season 2 was amazing. Very excited for the 3rd season. I enjoyed Betrayal, but it was quite unbalanced as a game. Still very fun, but you can't expect good play to win it for you haha.

I see now that Clank actually has a legacy version that came out recently, that might be where I land since I do enjoy that game.

[VP Baltar]

This isn't strictly a legacy game depending on how you define it (its also expensive) but I'm a huge fan or Arkham Horror LCG.

(There are 3-8 mission campaigns but nothing is permanently altered between campaigns).

I've heard good things. We do have one player who tends to need assistance with more complex games. When we played Gloomhaven, it was definitely alot of "you sure you want to do that?"

Is Arkham fairly complex?

[VP Baltar]

Yeah, I think that's the right move for our group. Thanks for the input!

[VP Baltar]

I've been Gloomhavening solo a lot recently
While it's fun and engaging, I think the way Personal Quests are implemented leaves a lot to be desired

Spoiler: minor spoilers

Since so many of them are 'kill X number of ys' and in a lot of cases, that monster type is far from plentiful, I find with some characters I'm making decisions based on 'is that more likely to spawn Forest Imps?'. And have even gotten to the point of checking all the scenarios for rewards to figure out which scenarios get unlcoked and chaining down three scenarios in each direction (narrator voice: there were no Forest Imps). It's gotten to the point where I'm essentially ignoring the legacy aspects of the story line because I'm tired of playing a certain class and want to unlock the next, but have no way of doing so. Maybe the forest imp one is a severe case (I've only found two scenarios with them, one I already completed and one that was locked), but have run into similar cases though not as annoying.

In this regard, the only retirement goal I've gotten that felt organic was the 'obtain 15 checks'. I know this is boring from a flavor aspect, but its the only time I didn't feel like I had to hunt around away from the actual lore with player motivations in a bad way. Better yet, it's essentially unavoidable unless you want to gimp your character. I wish (hope) there were more simple Quests like this (ie. spend X gold, drink X potions, enhance X cards, win X scenarios). They're great because you really feel the clock ticking down towards retirement. All of the kill x number of y ones can be annoying gamed to speed up or slow down progress at the expense of the legacy storyline

Getting a bad retirement goal is the worst!

It of course never fails that would happen to me when I would chose a character who seemed cool at first, but inevitably did not fit my playstyle. You can only throw out so many heals for your team as the tinkerer before you start getting jealous of that Brute broadsword swipe.

Does playing solo really limit the number of characters who are viable to play with? I have to imagine some of the support characters are kind of useless

[VP Baltar]

Is Gloomhaven worth the very high price tag?

I would suggest playing first if you can, but if you enjoy it, absolutely!

We have had it for more than a year and still regularly play even though we finished the main campaign long ago. There is just a lot of content there. There are still characters and secrets I haven't opened despite having probably 50+ sessions played.

[VP Baltar]

My group has recently started meeting again since we are all basically working from home and limiting outside world exposure.

We started

Clank! Acquisitions Incorporated

two weeks ago. I'm enjoying it quite a lot. The flavor is well written and funny, and I enjoy the light deck building play of Clank.

My only complaint so far is that the campaigns take a bit to set up and read through (maybe an additional 20 minutes depending on how chatty the group is being and how much sticker placement there is). Last night's game felt like it took us forever to actually get to the play. But it is pretty fast once everything gets rolling.

Overall, it's been one of the more fun legacy games I've played recently.

[VP Baltar]

I did not like root.

Why not? It's still on my to play list. Though I've heard people say the factions are unbalanced

[VP Baltar]

I'm soo excited for Pandemic Legacy Season 0 but I can't schecule any sessions with my usual Legacy group, we're all too busy. T.T

From the looks of it, it's going to be interesting. Not sold too much on the cold war theme but gameplay-side looks really cool.

I put my preorder in a few weeks ago! The reviews seem good.

[VP Baltar]

Strategically varied may be a better term than deep perhaps. The cards chosen tend to direct toward a clear winning strategy each game. Though my experience is limited to the base game (just put it on the table again last week actually!)

On a related note, what are the most fun expansions? I do enjoy that Dominion isn't a gigantic time sink if we just want to play something quick after dinner.

[VP Baltar]

Pandemic Season 0 is shipping shortly wheeeee

[VP Baltar]

So much hype! Although, we need new partners for this season i think

[VP Baltar]

Same. Our friends moved like 40 mins away, and that feels like a very long drive to make that many times. But at the same time, I feel weird finishing the trilogy without them. I also don't know how challenging it would be with just two players.

[VP Baltar]

We did the intro game + the January month for S0

It seems fucking impossible to get both objectives completed. There's just not enough time before you're hitting too many incidents.

We are several months in now (because what else are you going to do!), and I will say this challenge doesn't get easier! You have to be super efficient each turn, and even then it can come down to cards.

incident control is super important, and can be challenging due to travel. Making teams is really helpful to deal with those while you are working on objectives. The other thing is you can replay the month and start with any previously finished objectives completed. We have had a couple months where it took two playthroughs to get both objectives. Bad part is you risk more surveillance on the board.

[VP Baltar]

ironically, the spike in cases due to the pandemic has made making progress on my Pandemic Legacy S0 game very difficult!

What month are you on?

[VP Baltar]

ironically, the spike in cases due to the pandemic has made making progress on my Pandemic Legacy S0 game very difficult!

What month are you on?

feb

Oh no! So much terror to come. Hope you can get back to it soon

[VP Baltar]

I have proceeded to order Dominion.

Also, so far my fiancee and I are still really bad at Gloomhaven. We haven't played in a bit, but we keep nearly dying.

You try reducing the difficulty level as you're getting better at Gloomhaven?

[VP Baltar]

Yeah, I was thinking of low key halving our difficulty without telling her, tbh.

I don't think there is anything wrong with that. It takes a minute to get used to card management and stuff. Playing a few easier scenarios can take that pressure off so you can do more strategic analysis to figure out what works for you and what doesn't.

I also feel like having complimentary starting classes can help. Early game, I think you almost have to have someone play the Brute so you can do enough damage to win. Our first few games, we tried to play as the Tinkerer and Spellweaver, and it was a complete disaster.

[VP Baltar]

That's a good combo! It's just a matter of getting the hang of it. I feel like we played the Black Barrow about 10 times before we felt confident we understood the game enough to move on

[VP Baltar]

Two Minis though? In a two player setup, it literally might just be the strongest class in the game.

You have to unlock Angry Face. Just as or more powerful!

My partner and I currently have Angry Face/Two minis as our party and it is a hilarious wrecking crew even in boss fights.

[VP Baltar]

I confirmed, it is Angry Face. I needed to see the picture.

Working toward that retirement like a boomer with three vacation homes.

[VP Baltar]

They do call it Triforce on the Gloomhaven reddit I think

[VP Baltar]

ok so go to april in pandemic s0 tonight

BIG QUESTION PLEASE HELP

are the extra assets you get at the end of each month only usable that month for purchase? or do they go into a "shop" of some kind? bc it just is like "open the door" and then nothing in the rulebook says anything about assets available for purchase

It's like a shop, they build over time. Some months we felt like we didn't have much good to buy and just stuck with counter-surveillance. You'll unlock more as the game goes on.

[VP Baltar]

Challenge mode engaged

[VP Baltar]

Dominion is a good "quick" game in our house. Azul is another one you might consider if you want some simple strategy that plays in 15-30 mins

[VP Baltar]

we got to june! man this game is getting complex as fuck

Spoiler:

Have you had infection cubes on the board? We were able to stop the trials and didn't have to deal with those. Felt like it was complex for us without even dealing with those.

[VP Baltar]

Mindthief has some really great cards as you level up. By level 8 or 9, it is a really hard hitting character you'll be reluctant to retire!

[VP Baltar]

So we had a positive test in my office and are staying in while I make sure not to infect, last night the fiancée and I restarted our two player Gloomhaven with her on Scoundrel me on Brute. Turns out we both took a quest that gives us the sun class. What happens if we finish it with it already unlocked?

Whoever unlocks it gets first crack. Other retirement is just a wasted reveal unfortunately. You could house rule and draw a new retirement card so you are at least making it more exciting for yourself

[VP Baltar]

So we had a positive test in my office and are staying in while I make sure not to infect, last night the fiancée and I restarted our two player Gloomhaven with her on Scoundrel me on Brute. Turns out we both took a quest that gives us the sun class. What happens if we finish it with it already unlocked?

Also I finally did everything right and it's more fun. Have 26 exp because we got ten from our road event

See page 48 of the rulebook: Unlocking a character that has already been unlocked earns a random item design and side scenario.

After playing a year of Gloomhaven...still learning rules we got wrong

[VP Baltar]

just play on TTS

Heathen

[VP Baltar]

Does anyone here consistently win at Spirit Island? I feel like this game is a real struggle fest for us sometimes. I'd guess my partner and I win only about 50-60% of the time, and I really don't feel like I have a good grasp on strategy.

It is weird because usually, I feel like after 10+ plays of a game, you kind of start to get more efficient at your play, but it is always reinventing the wheel everytime I play this one.

Do people tend to stick with one spirit and just get really good at that style? Is 2 player harder than 3 or 4 player?

[VP Baltar]

That's actually really helpful. Maybe I get too caught up early game trying to contain invaders, when I should be taking actions to place presence and gain cards/energy.

[VP Baltar]

Blight on the board usually does nothing early (it kills dahan which is annoying but not usually that harmful, if you're placing presence in safe places it shouldn't usually kill any) until it flips the card.

So are you stacking presence on the same lands early rather than trying to spread on the board for card reach?

[VP Baltar]

In terms of when we lose, I feel like it usually due to cascading blight, which is a function of not containing invaders.

We most often win when we just focus on a fear generation strategy, but that can end in a blight vs. fear race.

[VP Baltar]

That's helpful. I definitely rarely completely reveal my tracks by placing all my presence, instead focusing on the cards I have and trying to maximize effectiveness each turn so we control invaders. Next time we play, I'll go for more presence placed early.

[VP Baltar]

Or I'm fucking up somehow!

[VP Baltar]

There are a few rules that are easy to mess up (the most common one i believe being that blight cascade only cascades to one adjacent land

Just to clarify, the originating land still gets a second blight placed, correct?

Also, when you are describing playing on different difficulty levels, what do you mean? I wasn't really aware of any difficulty scaling other than not playing with the Healthy/Blighted island cards.

[VP Baltar]

add an adversary
they have scaling difficulty levels on their cards

Oh interesting! We hadn't done that yet because we were not winning enough! I figured the adversaries just made the game even more difficult

[VP Baltar]

I've also come to realize I have issues with 'not playing the game optimally', in that I don't enjoy games much if people aren't making best or near best plays

This is an interesting question. One couple we play with is frustrating on two fronts of this. One of them is constantly scrolling instagram during play and barely pays attention when it is their turn. The other person works out the effects of all possible plays to the Nth degree on their turn.

I've found both styles can be very frustrating for me. I mostly just want to keep a game moving (particularly if it takes hours to play), and want people to have fun rather than being focused solely on winning. I also acknowledge I shouldn't probably try to force my optimal game environment onto my friends, so.....

[VP Baltar]

if this didn't describe me

I never would have suspected!

[VP Baltar]

For me its more like trading with someone in Catan that will essentially win the game so that you can build a town next turn

What kills me is when I try to explain to people how they are just letting others win, and they still do it anyhow.

[VP Baltar]

Power Grid is really cool.

Feel like I'm getting mixed messages in this thread.

[VP Baltar]

I felt like the first couple games of clank legacy were mediocre, but it got better quick. The flavor is fun. We had one game left wen the pandemic really started to get bad over the winter. I feel like it will be an anti-climatic end since our group has likely forgotten everything at this point.

[VP Baltar]

That does seem like a challenge, particularly since the front half of the game has plenty of mechanics added.

The plus side of the legacy is that you get rewarded a ton for exploring in terms of game entertainment, so even if we forgot where we were in the story, it should be enjoyable regardless. This is the first clank version where I was fine risking dying in the dungeon just to unlock some more goods for the group.

[VP Baltar]

Didn't notice this until my brother pulled about 6 straight of his own color

Haha, that's an ouch

[VP Baltar]

Oh my god power grid is even more miserable than I suspected who chooses to do this??

Haha, really? I like Power Grid. What do you hate about it?

[VP Baltar]

I suppose I do not take playing it that serious where I try to calculate cost-benefit of all options. Definitely necessary if the goal is to always win, but I usually just try to make the best judgments I can on quick review.

Perhaps putting a time limit on power plant selection would give your group more fun and less number crunching?

[VP Baltar]

And ban the calculators!

[VP Baltar]

Yeah, that's a hard mindset shift to make, especially if multiple people in the group play like that. You'd basically feel forced to play that way.

[VP Baltar]

Big brain dump! You've reignited my interest in wanting to play Wingspan. I had initial excitement for that game and then I kind of forgot about it, and then when I thought about it again, it was like, 'eh, is this going to be good?' My partner and I play 2-player most often, so that's good to hear that's the best iteration of that game.

I just recently picked up

Beyond the Sun

, which has been fun the first few times we've played. You essentially invest resources into various technology trees that help you explore space and gain victory points. The space exploration piece has the potential to be a little competitive, but the tech tree aspect is a nice, non-competitive balance to that portion. Overall it's pretty fun and moves quickly once you get the hang of it.

We also played a few games of

Isle of Skye

this past weekend, and I just love that game (despite losing). I think it's because I enjoyed Price is Right so much as a kid and the psychological game of pricing tiles and bidding really takes me back to that. Trying to guess what the optimal market price is going to be is very fun.