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SnowDog posted:I think you're the fourth person I've seen reference PAX East. I'll be there, along with a non-goon RL friend who is my main gaming partner in crime, doing a lot of board gaming and RPG gaming. There have also been posts by BlueInkAlchemist and EVIR Gibson. Does everyone have the ability to use GroupMe? So android/iphone people can talk in the same group and you don't even need to install the app, get all the messages through SMS.
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Mar 19, 2013 15:13
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I'm about to get Tales of the Arabian Nights. What does everyone think about it?
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Mar 19, 2013 15:34
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Baron Porkface posted:I'm about to get Tales of the Arabian Nights. What does everyone think about it? It's more of an interactive story than a game, but it's fun. Play it with people who want to play it or they'll be bored.
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Mar 19, 2013 15:35
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Fizzle posted:I was glancing through the thread and didn't find anything particular about this... How many of us are going to PAX East? I'm bringing my trunk full of games and am going to be looking for people to play with all weekend. You can tweet me @fizzster if you want to meet up I notice Battlestar Galactica in your trunk full of games. Is it ridiculous to ponder attempting that at PAX?
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Mar 19, 2013 15:39
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Had the weirdest Twilight Imperium game this past weekend. I was the Xxcha Kingdom and the rest of our little group was the Mentak Coalition, Arborec, and Universities of Jol-Nar. Mentak started off with a very aggressive move. They took warfare and shot straight over to a system adjacent to Jol-Nar's home system and took it over. They used it as leverage against the squishy brainiacs the whole game, who worked out a deal to share the system with the Mentak. Meanwhile I took the Xxcha's Diplomats tech the moment I could, resulting in the ability to talk anybody out of attacking me the entire game. Actually, that's where the game got weird. There was a grand total of one fight the entire game beyond Mentak fighting the automated defenses around Mecatol. The only other fight was me fulfilling my preliminary and taking a system adjacent to an enemy's HS, and that fight was just one ground force versus two GFs and a mercenary. Beyond that we all just sat around with huge scary fleets that nobody wanted to try to test. The game ended with the Mentak getting one point ahead in VP, taking Bureaucracy and finding that Imperium Rex was the first Stage II objective available, he tossed it down and won. He was very much ahead in a lot of ways. Mirror computing is a ridiculous tech. A good thing that came out of this is that we're probably going to set up a monthly TI3 game, which is alright with me because I wasn't too happy that a game I shelled out well over $100 for was collecting dust on my shelf. I also consider it a win because it only took four hours to play instead of our usual six or seven. Plus we never had to crack open the rulebook the whole game, probably due to the lack of battles. LordZoric fucked around with this message at 15:51 on Mar 19, 2013 |
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Mar 19, 2013 15:48
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I'm looking for a three-player game, and based on the geeklist have a choice between Arabian Knights (I don't know how that's going to be received) Blue Moon City, Sky Traders, and Merchant of Venus. Which one should I go with?
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Mar 19, 2013 16:04
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Deviant posted:Cities fixes Science in 7 Wonders. Our highest score ever had zero green cards. I'd say this is probably true, but it's been too long since I played without any expansion. The "taxing others" black cards in Cities do help you against heavy Science which tends to be lower on cash due to borrowing resources from neighbors heavily to build whatever Science card they get. Heavy Science still wins for us, but we usually have enough people who understand now that they need to hate draft the Science cards and use them to build stages of their wonders or just pitch for $3. I rarely go heavy Science myself, and I'd say I win a decent amount of time...not any more than people who do go heavy Science however. I just don't like forcing heavy Science and being at the mercy of others. Heavy Science is also pretty hard to hide from others.
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Mar 19, 2013 16:25
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Baron Porkface posted:I'm looking for a three-player game, and based on the geeklist have a choice between Arabian Knights (I don't know how that's going to be received) Blue Moon City, Sky Traders, and Merchant of Venus. Which one should I go with? I like BMC of those.
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Mar 19, 2013 16:28
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BlueInkAlchemist posted:I will seek you out. My Enforcer schedule has not been 100% nailed down yet but I will hopefully know more by tomorrow night. For all the PAX East people this weekend, I made a groupme account to make setting up the games easily. Link is here https://groupme.com/join_group/3928292/Ub9Yny or email me at anonusername@gmail.com. You can even set it up so you can be added with just a SMS number.
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Mar 19, 2013 16:59
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Deviant posted:I like BMC of those. Do any other 3-player game pop into anyone's head?
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Mar 19, 2013 17:24
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Baron Porkface posted:Do any other 3-player game pop into anyone's head?
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Mar 19, 2013 17:25
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Through the Ages 
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Mar 19, 2013 17:31
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Tekopo posted:Through the Ages This. I also like Mage Knight with three people. Of the choices listed, I would choose Merchant of Venus. Tales of Arabian Nights is like a more interesting Talisman. This is not a bad thing in my opinion. Not something I would routinely show up for a game event to play though. Definitely something that if I was hanging out and people wanted to play something light and dick around; fantastic. Even better if drinking is involved.
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Mar 19, 2013 17:39
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Tekopo posted:I played Eclipse for the third time ever (I first played it when it came out) and I'm still completely ambivalent about it. I like how you upgrade ships, I like how you use actions/keep track of resources, but I hate the random tile draws, the fact that some rewards are much better than others, the fact that you can still be in the running without interacting with other players at all and mostly I hate the dice-based X+ combat. Still, it's an easy to play game but I just don't feel like it's one that I would play over and over again. I don't mind the randomness in Eclipse at all. There's so many ways to make up for unfortunate rolls. Stealing research, starting player advantage, discovery tiles, early aggression, etc. If you miss a money cube from an unfortunate hex draw keep in mind that money cube may not give you an extra action without strategic bankruptcy so it's not worth as much as you think it was. I feel like Eclipse is the only game with random factors that I feel truly evens itself out by Round 9 if you play well and adapt your strategy to what you're given. You might have 1 in 100 games where you are legitimately hosed out of all possibilities of winning as a result of randomness. Arbitrary number but that reflects my opinion. First Time Caller fucked around with this message at 17:51 on Mar 19, 2013 |
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Mar 19, 2013 17:49
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I'm trying to decide between Werewolf: Ultimate Edition or Resistance 2nd Ed. for my first traitor game. This week I plan on playing my unopened Dominion, Android Netrunner, and 1 of the aforementioned 2. I'll probably be able to round up 5 people at most for the bigger games; maybe 6 total. Any thoughts? Maybe another traitor game suggestion?
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Mar 19, 2013 17:50
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Avalon! It's the best of both games, and no one gets eliminated during the game. 
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Mar 19, 2013 17:58
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First Time Caller posted:I don't mind the randomness in Eclipse at all. There's so many ways to make up for unfortunate rolls. Stealing research, starting player advantage, discovery tiles, early aggression, etc. If you miss a money cube from an unfortunate hex draw keep in mind that money cube may not give you an extra action without strategic bankruptcy so it's not worth as much as you think it was. I feel like Eclipse is the only game with random factors that I feel truly evens itself out by Round 9 if you play well and adapt your strategy to what you're given. I don't think Eclipse is a bad game and I would play it again because there's so much I like about it, but dice-fests aren't really something which is why I can't see myself playing it again and again, even though it somehow manages to both deep and easily accessible, something that's not easy for a game to accomplish.
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Mar 19, 2013 18:03
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SatelliteCore posted:I'm trying to decide between Werewolf: Ultimate Edition or Resistance 2nd Ed. for my first traitor game. This week I plan on playing my unopened Dominion, Android Netrunner, and 1 of the aforementioned 2. I'll probably be able to round up 5 people at most for the bigger games; maybe 6 total. Any thoughts? Maybe another traitor game suggestion? I'm going to try and pick up Room 25 very soon for a Traitor game, I love The Resistance, but Room 25 seems a little more interactive for some of my players who really felt bored with The Resistance.
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Mar 19, 2013 18:07
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Dre2Dee2 posted:Avalon! It's the best of both games, and no one gets eliminated during the game. I'll second Avalon. I hate the base Resistance's plot cards since they just put a full stop to the game as people discuss (argue) about who to give the cards to. The Lady of the Lake in Avalon fills the same role while being more elegant, and I think the extra, optional roles are way more interesting than anything the base Resistance has to offer. The only real downside is that "You're a spy!" rolls off the tongue a lot better than "You're on Team Mordred" or whatever.
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Mar 19, 2013 18:10
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The only thing I don't like about Avalon is the 1/X chance of just guessing merlin and winning a game for the spies.
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Mar 19, 2013 18:14
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Baron Porkface posted:I'm about to get Tales of the Arabian Nights. What does everyone think about it? I love Arabian Nights. At first there's seemingly little choice in the game, you just select options and pray for the best, but eventually you'll notice a correlation between the options and your own personal skill set. It's thematically spot on with its source material in that you can go from filthy rich vizier one turn to a poor rear end pauper outlaw the next. I would encourage players to choose morally ambiguous actions in some cases. Sometimes beating, attacking, and enslaving people will yield unexpected rewards. Tekopo posted:I don't think it breaks the game but I just feel that some of the random elements detract from the final game. One example is the combat points: I don't understand why an extra random element was added to the game with the apparent only aim of not allowing point counting in the end: a flat bonus based on what you beat might be better (at least for me). Also, the results of combat can be extremely swingy so even if the luck 'events out' you might still get completely dice-screwed in the final round of combat that always happens. Case in point, I won last night because a single interceptor rolled a six while having antimatter with no computers, thus destroying a dreadnought and taking over a system worth 2 points + 3 from a monolith. If this 1/6 shot hadn't occurred, I would have been second instead. You just described a scenario I enjoy. A game decided by 5 points is a close game and if the opponent had a clearly superior strategy they would have been further ahead in the running. You took a risk and the risk paid off. Even from a military standpoint it makes sense. A destroyer is a small boat with superior, focused firepower and it can put a hurting against a larger but more versatile craft. I'm also assuming you had bombs because if you didn't you would have to roll against their population (unless it was a system with no population). There you go, another a point in your favor. In the case of people doing well with no interaction, this is a strike against the other players. If you want to isolate yourself your best option is to go deep into sector 3 territory but sector 3 tiles are garbage. There are three tiles with two planets that don't require advanced technology (one of them is ancient), one tile with 3 planets (double ancient), and only a handful of white planets. Majority of the tiles are worth 1 VP and there are only a few artifact tiles. The only way you can really be in the running going backwards is if you keep your 2VP bonuses but then you'll really be hurting for resources in the long run unless you get stations early (and I'll drop everything, even trade money and materials to boost research and snatch up stations and orbitals if I see you isolating yourself). The best way to stop isolated players is to push in on them. I'll ignore an aggressive neighbor if it means going down an isolated player's "pipe." Drop some starbases behind me, call that scorched earth.
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Mar 19, 2013 18:29
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How is 3-player sid meiers civilization?
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Mar 19, 2013 18:33
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al-azad posted:You just described a scenario I enjoy. A game decided by 5 points is a close game and if the opponent had a clearly superior strategy they would have been further ahead in the running. You took a risk and the risk paid off. Even from a military standpoint it makes sense. A destroyer is a small boat with superior, focused firepower and it can put a hurting against a larger but more versatile craft. I'm also assuming you had bombs because if you didn't you would have to roll against their population (unless it was a system with no population). There you go, another a point in your favor.
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Mar 19, 2013 18:44
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So who's going to be at Labyrinth in DC this Thursday for the board game night? I keep meaning to go to these events, and I keep managing to come across something that needs to be done right then and now (which prevents me from going).
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Mar 19, 2013 18:53
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Avalon it is then. Thanks guys.
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Mar 19, 2013 19:25
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Tekopo posted:The only thing I don't like about Avalon is the 1/X chance of just guessing merlin and winning a game for the spies. What about the X/Y chance that the good guys randomly choose the right guys for the mission each time? That said I know what you mean, but it's a small price to pay for a more interesting game (vanilla Resistance gets very samey quick)
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Mar 19, 2013 19:30
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I find Blue Moon City to have a glaring flaw: going first tends to make you win. If everyone is of equal skill, the person with the most turns wins. Also, to win the game requires more resources for later "points", and so the first person to get those resources, again, will win, as they'll need less. I think the game is pretty good, and enjoyable, but until I figure out a variant or a houserule that fixes these problems, I am no longer willing to play the game.
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Mar 19, 2013 19:42
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Baron Porkface posted:I'm about to get Tales of the Arabian Nights. What does everyone think about it? According to the BGG, these games from my list play the best with three: Android, Among the Stars, Through the Desert, Dominion, Agents of Smersh, Caylus (Boardgame), Descent: Journeys in The Dark Second Edition, City of Remnants, Lords of Waterdeep, Tales of Arabian Nights, Eminent Domain & Merchant of Venus (second edition).
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Mar 19, 2013 20:02
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LuiCypher posted:So who's going to be at Labyrinth in DC this Thursday for the board game night? I keep meaning to go to these events, and I keep managing to come across something that needs to be done right then and now (which prevents me from going). I'm usually there nowadays
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Mar 19, 2013 20:36
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Tekopo posted:That's the thing, it wasn't my interceptor, it was someone else's interceptor. So the risk wasn't even mine. One guy got isolated in our game because we had a big three way brawl and he was just kind of forgotten because he didn't attack anyone even though it would have been advantageous to me, and although he ended up third he only came third by two points. Don't misunderstand me, I did find the game fun and it made for a compelling finale to the game but I just wish the combat was something slightly better than "roll a bunch of dice, hope you get lucky", but this is just down to personal tastes at this point. I think overall Eclipse is a pretty good game. There are so many ways to modify the number of dice and their effectiveness that I feel like the randomness of space combat couldn't be represented any other way. The odds that a better built fleet will win more than they will lose is pretty decent, and combat slightly favors the defenders and not the aggressors most of the time. My only gripe with the base game is how strong plasma missiles are, but that poo poo is somewhat fixed in the expansion so it doesn't matter as much.
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Mar 19, 2013 20:46
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Will Lords of Waterdeep be less valuable to someone who isn't familiar with Forgotten Realms?
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Mar 19, 2013 21:31
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Not in the slightest; it's not a terribly flavourful game.
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Mar 19, 2013 21:39
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Baron Porkface posted:Will Lords of Waterdeep be less valuable to someone who isn't familiar with Forgotten Realms? You don't even have to be familiar with fantasy.
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Mar 19, 2013 21:40
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Baron Porkface posted:Do any other 3-player game pop into anyone's head? I like Alhambra with three (or even two).
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Mar 19, 2013 21:43
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Baron Porkface posted:Will Lords of Waterdeep be less valuable to someone who isn't familiar with Forgotten Realms? It's basically "Worker Placement Game: Place your action indicator and slide your cubes". The mechanics work well and it is fun, but the cards might as well say "Cost: 3 white cubes, 1 red cube. Effect: Gain twelve victory points and three currency tokens". The "Fighter's Pit" should be called "Red Cube Generator" the "Skullduggerer Docks" (or whatever the gently caress it is called) should just be called "Place pawn here to play card."
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Mar 19, 2013 21:57
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systran posted:the "Skullduggerer Docks" (or whatever the gently caress it is called) should just be called "Place pawn here to play card." I once jokingly called it Waterloo and it stuck, though none of them realized it wasn't right and I didn't bother to correct them.
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Mar 19, 2013 22:19
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JoshTheStampede posted:You don't even have to be familiar with fantasy. Agreed, it's basically a minimalist worker placement game with fantasy tacked on as a kind of theme. Also, finally found a copy of Among the Stars and I am looking forward to unboxing it!
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Mar 19, 2013 22:21
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Baron Porkface posted:I'm about to get Tales of the Arabian Nights. What does everyone think about it? As long as you like the idea of a choose-your-own-adventure board game which doesn't even pretend to have any real strategy or overall context for the events you'll run into, it's cool, and the writing is spot on. You may want to consider reducing the required number of story/destiny points to end the game, depending on the number of players, as it can drag on a bit. You'll probably need to experiment a bit to find a number that works for you. I find that too high a goal will drag on, but too low will mean you won't get to do many of your quests, or get enough skills to start getting the better outcomes, which I think is necessary to add a feeling of progression to the game. Also look up houserules on BGG for the "Grief-stricken" and "Sex-changed" status cards, as most people agree they are unnecessarily harsh.
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Mar 19, 2013 22:25
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Soma Soma Soma posted:There are so many ways to modify the number of dice and their effectiveness that I feel like the randomness of space combat couldn't be represented any other way. The odds that a better built fleet will win more than they will lose is pretty decent, and combat slightly favors the defenders and not the aggressors most of the time.
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Mar 19, 2013 22:31
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LordZoric posted:
Mentak is very strong, early game. Mirror computing is nuts, especially combined with their other racial that gives them 2 TG for *participating* in a space battle (Salvage Operations) and the transfabrication tech. They become a dynamo that just feeds off themselves (and combat). Other races can catch up and give them a fight in later rounds, but early game, they're super tough. I enjoy playing Xxcha, too. I believe they're an undervalued race, by a large portion of TI3 players. The latest expansion helped beef them up abit, too. Since most space combats are decided in the first round, their -1 to all enemy combat rolls is a strong offensive tool. And, with their racial techs, being able to dictate what gets voted on, or when people get to attack you, give them additional flexability. You just need a ton of strategy counters, if the board takes notice of you. Also, I would house rule them to start with two additional ground forces (four, instead of two), otherwise they're kind of hamstrung during initial expansion. I rambled a little, but it sounds like a fun (if abit different) game you had.
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