The Board Game Thread - What have you Played recently?

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If you like Watergate, I recommend Blitzkrieg. A 2 player WW2 game that plays in 15 minutes.

Looks really interesting. My latest board-gaming was a few rounds of Thurn and Taxis with my wife. We're pretty evenly matched as players; I think each of wins about half the time. That's good, since it's hard to maintain interest in a game you always lose. About the only game like that we play is Boggle; I think in dozens of rounds I may have won once.
 
Played Exploding Kittens and Gloomhaven on Tabletop Simulator last night with two other friends.
I won EK with my collection of dildos. An inappropriate but fun light game.

We survived the first scenario of Gloomhaven. It's a good game and it felt close but I'm hard pressed to say I'd pay full price for it. Even the deepest discount I've seen of $80 seems like a lot.
 
I just plain don’t like the graphic design and style of gloomhaven. If they had a different artist, maybe...
 
My wife and I have been playing Inis - a dudes-on-a-map variant that features card drafting as the primary mechanic. The setting is of a fictional island being colonised by the ancient Celts, who bring with them the tales and deeds of Celtic lore. All players compete as Chieftans to try and proclaim themselves the one true High King or Queen of this new, fabled land.

The artwork is beautiful, and the gameplay itself is smooth and straightforward. We managed to finish two back-to-back games in less than an hour and a half, currently sitting at 1-2, with my wife winning the majority.

I think it's really cleanly designed - decisions are straightforward and tightly presented to the player, and there is not a lot of downtime nor does the game get bogged down with combat. Combat is quite simple but I really appreciate how tight the decision space is there; no rolling of multiple dice to figure out who does what, just some quick manuevres to keep the game flowing (and most importantly, get it over with quick so anyone not involved doesn't get bored).
 
Inis is great. I also like it’s cousin Cyclades a lot, which uses auctioning in place of card drafting.
 
I haven't done any board gaming lately, since it would have to be solo. It's funny (funny weird, not funny ha-ha), back when I could and did regularly play board games with a group, I also really enjoyed solo board gaming as a hobby. But with group gaming not currently an option, solo gaming is not appealing and I find I would rather watch a movie or go for a run.

I've even contributed a few of my games to the board game giveaway table at the library, and I'm considering giving more.
 
I really like this idea but my hoarding nature always gets in my way. :sad:

I feel ya. I like having collections and I'm definitely not into getting rid of stuff just for the sake of getting rid of it. But if I've owned a game for five or ten years and never played it, realistically, I probably never will.

Having the giveaway table at the library is a hugely helpful motivator, knowing that what I give away will probably be taken home and enjoyed by a family who likely can't do some of their normal recreational activities under pandemic circumstances.

The game giveaway table is a fairly recent addition to my library, btw. We just started it around Christmas time. The library has (or rather, had) a huge board game collection, but even in the Before Times when we had a twice-monthly board game night at the library, It was only the same ten percent of that collection that ever got played. So the library decided to give away the rest, a little at a time, and I've been adding a few from my personal collection.
 
The game giveaway table is a fairly recent addition to my library, btw. We just started it around Christmas time. The library has (or rather, had) a huge board game collection, but even in the Before Times when we had a twice-monthly board game night at the library, It was only the same ten percent of that collection that ever got played. So the library decided to give away the rest, a little at a time, and I've been adding a few from my personal collection.

That's really cool. My local library does not give away games, but they do sell them--mainly ones that have been donated--at their book sales. Unfortunately, since the pandemic there have been no book sales and they have stopped accepting donations.
 
I feel ya. I like having collections and I'm definitely not into getting rid of stuff just for the sake of getting rid of it. But if I've owned a game for five or ten years and never played it, realistically, I probably never will.

Having the giveaway table at the library is a hugely helpful motivator, knowing that what I give away will probably be taken home and enjoyed by a family who likely can't do some of their normal recreational activities under pandemic circumstances.

The game giveaway table is a fairly recent addition to my library, btw. We just started it around Christmas time. The library has (or rather, had) a huge board game collection, but even in the Before Times when we had a twice-monthly board game night at the library, It was only the same ten percent of that collection that ever got played. So the library decided to give away the rest, a little at a time, and I've been adding a few from my personal collection.
I was getting closer to that but between the pandemic allowing me to reach more like minded online gamers and online PbP I am now playing games I wouldn't have. That and reading about remorse for getting rid of things always convinces me to keep them
 
Over the holidays we played Escape the Dark Sector and enjoyed it very much. It is a cooperative sc-fi game that plays a lot like an RPG. It takes less than five minutes to set up and plays to completion in less than an hour. You play as a character escaping from a space station fill with various horrors and dangers. Up to four can play and teamwork is crucial.
 
We are skipping a movie party tonight to play some Eldritch Horror on Tabletop Simulator. I understand there is some moral gray area playing boardgames on TS but since I have paid for the hardcopy game along with all expansions I feel it is okay to play the game on TS while we are unable to meet in person.
 
We are skipping a movie party tonight to play some Eldritch Horror on Tabletop Simulator. I understand there is some moral gray area playing boardgames on TS but since I have paid for the hardcopy game along with all expansions I feel it is okay to play the game on TS while we are unable to meet in person.
I feel like if you paid for the board game then the TS version should be no big deal
 
Got to play a bit of Oak & Iron yesterday. We spent about 3 hours at it and got through 4 turns, but called it quits without finishing because by that point we'd gotten so many rules wrong that it felt pointless to continue. Still enjoyed it, but the rulebook is kind of poorly organized where terms are only defined when first referenced in the book without any kind of index. So we're fighting a battle and referencing the Combat section, following along and applying damage we see that a ship has become Shaken, but nothing in that section says what that means. Had to go flipping through until we found the definition of Shaken under the Movement section, for no reason other than it being first mentioned there. It's a really annoying method.
Organization aside, we actually really enjoyed the mechanics of the game. You really have to think about and plan your movement because ships can't just stop and turn on a dime. Combat is quick and fun, there's a good level of complexity and variety in the ships and upgrades you can outfit a fleet with, and the presentation of the whole game is quite engaging. I could see this being in regular rotation for us once we've internalized the rules more.
 
Played Root last night. Won as the Eagles. No Turmoil through the whole game. Got very lucky with cards and the players play style. Slaughtered then 30-16-14.
 
Played Root last night. Won as the Eagles. No Turmoil through the whole game. Got very lucky with cards and the players play style. Slaughtered then 30-16-14.

Wow. No turmoil through the whole game is unusual. It’s no surprise you won :smile: My guess is next time, the other players will be gunning for you as Eyrie early on, making it much harder.
 
Wow. No turmoil through the whole game is unusual. It’s no surprise you won :smile: My guess is next time, the other players will be gunning for you as Eyrie early on, making it much harder.
Yeah I got lucky getting a lot of bird cards. I jammed most of them into movement which for most of the game meant I wasn't in danger of turmoil. I learned from previous games to squash the woodlands alliance every chance I get.
The third player was the mole people. It was his first time playing them and he is naturally cautious so he didn't keep me in check like he should have. The Woodlands alliance player is usually the most aggressive and deep player but didn't watch me close enough and was getting poor cards on top of it. By the time they realized I was going to be close they were trying hard to put me in turmoil via blocking my ability to build. I was able to battle and eliminate enough undefended buildings/markers that I won before the build phase happened.
 
Tried Wizards' Rock, Paper, Wizard yesterday with the fam. Decent game, made splendid by my four year-old's enormous gusto in making the spell hand gestures and fraggin' his brothers with Fireballs. He made my wife lay out all the spell cards so he could cast every spell in the deck at her. :grin:
 
I recently purchased Infinity Gauntlet: A Love Letter Game and Marvel United. Both are excellent light weight games with the Marvel IP.

We have now played every villain in the base box of Marvel United. It’s a great game and looks to surpass Horrified and Pandemic for our easy to get to the table cooperative game. Widely enjoyed theme, short run time, and satisfying game play.

The three different villains provide different play experiences too. Really interested in seeing how the expansions shake up the base formula with traitor mechanics, campaign play etc.
 
Played Back to the Future: Back in Time. It was another great cooperative game based on an accessible IP. Prospero Hall are knocking it out of the park. Same formula as Horrified but had a very different feel overall.
 
I've been playing a bit of Rocky Mountain Man when time permits, and in doing so also wrote a journal to accompany it.

It's a fun little table-rolling and card-pulling game of exploring and mapping the wilderness of the rockies and mesa between Colorado and the Great Salt Lake in the early 1800s.

I've also been designing/playing my own small title, a solo game around survival in a harsh icy wasteland - inspired by the events of the lost Franklin expedition.
 
I've been playing a bit of Rocky Mountain Man when time permits, and in doing so also wrote a journal to accompany it.

It's a fun little table-rolling and card-pulling game of exploring and mapping the wilderness of the rockies and mesa between Colorado and the Great Salt Lake in the early 1800s.

I've also been designing/playing my own small title, a solo game around survival in a harsh icy wasteland - inspired by the events of the lost Franklin expedition.

That sounds very cool. It is designed as a solitaire game, then?
 
That sounds very cool. It is designed as a solitaire game, then?
You can play 2 players, but I would say it's foremost a solitaire game where you uncover the story as you play.

Two winters in, my group had:


- Failed to reach the rendezvous
- Made good friends with the Shoshone and Ute Yampa tribe
- Had one of my crew get married to a Shoshone
- Lost half my crew in a bitterly blizzard-filled winter after failing to build a winter Cabin in time - including the newly weds :sad:
- Replenished crew and supplies, venturing into the mesa
- Unintentionally massacred a hostile Cheyenne party after they took a dislike to us
- Gotten lost, a lot
- Made a fair amount of money and nearly reached the Great Salt Lake!

I'm on the third summer at the moment but had to pack it away for a while.
 
I'm going to have to try Rocky Mountain Man. In the mean time I have been playing a lot of Fleet Commander Nimitz. It's a solitaire wargame of WWII in the Pacific. The level is very strategic, with a turn representing two months of campaigning. This is the best solo wargame I have ever played. Nothing inspires thoughtful decision making like the fear of having to emerge from the basement and admit to my wife that the Japanese have taken Midway or Samoa again. She knows just enough history to say "That never happened, did it? What did you do wrong?"
 
My wife and I have been playing Inis - a dudes-on-a-map variant that features card drafting as the primary mechanic. The setting is of a fictional island being colonised by the ancient Celts, who bring with them the tales and deeds of Celtic lore. All players compete as Chieftans to try and proclaim themselves the one true High King or Queen of this new, fabled land.

The artwork is beautiful, and the gameplay itself is smooth and straightforward. We managed to finish two back-to-back games in less than an hour and a half, currently sitting at 1-2, with my wife winning the majority.

I think it's really cleanly designed - decisions are straightforward and tightly presented to the player, and there is not a lot of downtime nor does the game get bogged down with combat. Combat is quite simple but I really appreciate how tight the decision space is there; no rolling of multiple dice to figure out who does what, just some quick manuevres to keep the game flowing (and most importantly, get it over with quick so anyone not involved doesn't get bored).
Played this twice recently, in person with another Couple, and online using Tabletop Simulator against three of my friends in the UK.

I can confirm, at four players, it's still stellar! The best Area Control game I own!
 
We have now played every villain in the base box of Marvel United. It’s a great game and looks to surpass Horrified and Pandemic for our easy to get to the table cooperative game. Widely enjoyed theme, short run time, and satisfying game play.

The three different villains provide different play experiences too. Really interested in seeing how the expansions shake up the base formula with traitor mechanics, campaign play etc.

So we have now played every expansion from the first KS. It’s so good. Simple basic chassis that handles traitor mechanics, campaign play, and significant variants like Sinister Six.

The X-Men KS looks to add 1 v Many play, twin and triple villains, and also team play 3v3 and 3v3v1. So many different ways to play, along with each of the villains working differently, make it a lot of fun as you apply the basic strategies learnt across all games in different and evolving ways to try and win against the specific hurdles in the game.

It’s a good difficulty too. A challenge without being overbearing and able to be modified up and down with new challenges and removing wild cards.
 
Marvel United - X-Men Kickstarter has just finished. At just shy of $6m, it is CMON's biggest KS and the 7th most funded tabletop game KS of all time.

 
I just don't understand how people can get behind those chibi-things. They look like Baby toys.

Oh well, it's not like I've ever been tuned into what's popular.
 
I initially wasn't that impressed but I have come to like them quite a bit. The artist is definitely chibi inspired but he has his own style which is a less cutesy. As miniatures, they are simply fabulous.

Oh and the gameplay is also excellent, which is ultimately why you should get the game :smile:
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I initially wasn't that impressed but I have come to like them quite a bit. The artist is definitely chibi inspired but he has his own style which is a less cutesy. As miniatures, they are simply fabulous.

Oh and the gameplay is also excellent, which is ultimately why you should get the game :smile:
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Shame, if they had just made the characters look normally proportioned, and not like dysmorphic infants, I would have been in hook line and sinker
 
Each to their own. The game is doing exceptionally well, so I am guessing CMON are pretty happy with their design choices.
 
As I said, I've never been in touch with what's popular.

Except like that brief 6 month period in the 90's that swing music came back in style
 
My favourite animated Marvel show was Avengers Earth Mightiest Heroes. I am planning to watch it again given how much fun I am having with Marvel United.
 
huh, never seen that one. Wasp looks cute.

My favourite Marvel cartoon is of course Spectacular Spiderman.
 
It was released around the time of Spectacular Spiderman and both are highly regarded. Steve Kenson, designer of Icons and Mutants and Masterminds, consider Avengers EMH to be his favourite supers animated show if I recall correctly, and I know he also thinks highly of Spectacular Spiderman.
 
It was released around the time of Spectacular Spiderman and both are highly regarded. Steve Kenson, designer of Icons and Mutants and Masterminds, consider Avengers EMH to be his favourite supers animated show if I recall correctly, and I know he also thinks highly of Spectacular Spiderman.

I'll have to see if I can hunt down some episodes online
 
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