Board Games

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Arcaus_sl

shitlord
1,290
3
If you like quarriors, check out dice masters. Eric Lang improved on the design by quite a bit. It's collectible but you can play straight out of a starter and have a decent amount of fun.
 

Fury

Silver Knight of the Realm
499
25
Quarriors is pretty fun. It's a dice game that I feel is kind of a mix between Dominion and Magic: The Gathering. Lots of luck involved obviously but I had an itch for a dice game and this definitely scratches it in a really fun way.

Race for the Galaxy is of course fun, and the expansion just adds more stuff to do.
Quarriors is fun and fast. We play with one higher level win than normal for points and one extra empty for it to end, if that makes sense. With 4 players, 10 points is pretty easy so we do 15. 3 players 20, and we just don't play with 2 players since there is always more players than that at my place. And you got it right, lots of luck in it.

Race for the Galaxy is also a pretty nice game, although we've found that there are a couple of break the game cards that I've convinced most players to not use. The double planet play card is the biggest one, since it literally allows miliary strong players to end the game very fast with tons of points. But aside from that, again super good game play and pretty fast to play.
 

moontayle

Golden Squire
4,302
165
If you like quarriors, check out dice masters. Eric Lang improved on the design by quite a bit. It's collectible but you can play straight out of a starter and have a decent amount of fun.
DiceMasters runs into the same problem Magic does: Some people are willing to spend ridiculous amounts of money on it and it's hard to keep pace unless you do the same. If you have a few friends simply willing to get the starter pack, it can be a lot of fun though.
 

Amzin

Lord Nagafen Raider
2,917
361
Does anyone know if any of the 7 Wonders expansions aren't worth getting? I'm tempted to just try and save some cash and grab a set of the game + expansions online if I can find it (eBay or where ever), but if any of them are trash I could skip it. Wife really wants us to own it but I feel like just the base game is not that interesting.

I was planning on grabbing XCOM this week with a B&N coupon but after reading the rules online, I feel like it is not a good game for my group. I should just replay the PC game for my fix :p

I've still got two coupons though, so want to get a couple of things from there. Strongly considering getting Catan: America even though it has like one of the lowest ratings for Catan, it just looks neat. Cheaty Mages, Ticket to Ride (whatever they have on the shelf, we have none) also possibilities.
 

Fury

Silver Knight of the Realm
499
25
Does anyone know if any of the 7 Wonders expansions aren't worth getting? I'm tempted to just try and save some cash and grab a set of the game + expansions online if I can find it (eBay or where ever), but if any of them are trash I could skip it. Wife really wants us to own it but I feel like just the base game is not that interesting.
All of the 7 Wonders expansions are good. The Leaders one is the best imho, but each expansion has added better and better to the game as a whole. I'd recommend getting all of them. I consider 7 Wonders to be the best game our group has picked up over the last couple of years, and it's become the goto game over Puerto Rico.
 

Conefed

Blackwing Lair Raider
2,850
1,702
Played a few games of Splendor and it seemed like a decent Dominion variant.

Ordered Arena of the Planeswalkers because I'm a Heroscaper.
 

Uriel

Blackwing Lair Raider
1,776
2,193
If you were to skip a 7 wonders expansion, it'd be Tower of Babel, it's definitely the weakest, but still a decent addition to probably the best game ever.
 

Amzin

Lord Nagafen Raider
2,917
361
Alright, thanks guys. I'll see what I can dig up. B&N coupons are great for getting board games but they very rarely seem to have expansions for anything outside Catan, even with 3 giant B&Ns within 20 minutes of my apartment.

I forgot about Puerto Rico too, loved that game, although I never won so hard as I did the first time I played it.
 

faille

Molten Core Raider
1,854
454
XCOM is a great game, but I can see how it might not suit everyone.

Played Roll for the Galaxy recently and really enjoyed it. Can't wait to try it again now that I know what to do since I haven't played Race yet.

Think my next purchase is going to be Viticulture, even I haven't tried it yet. Seems like the expansion is more interesting and appealing than the base game, but figured I should start with that before spending too much.

Anyone know when Twin Shadows is supposed to be released?
 

Haus

<Silver Donator>
12,704
49,335
My wife and I were at a con this last weekend and she picked up this game...
rrr_img_104487.jpg


Now she's putting up the anime/hentai/yaoi signal for her crew to come over. May god have mercy on my soul.
 

Mountain Man_sl

shitlord
113
0
DiceMasters runs into the same problem Magic does: Some people are willing to spend ridiculous amounts of money on it and it's hard to keep pace unless you do the same. If you have a few friends simply willing to get the starter pack, it can be a lot of fun though.
Yeah I decided against Dice Masters based on a lot of the Amazon reviews saying it wasn't much fun unless you can dump a good amount of money into it. Granted, Quarriors is pretty expensive too, but I also felt like my wife would like Quarriors better. She doesn't like direct conflict. She doesn't mind the creatures duking it out in Quarriors though. In the end, I just don't like collectible games at all. I like having access to everything.
 

moontayle

Golden Squire
4,302
165
Yeah I decided against Dice Masters based on a lot of the Amazon reviews saying it wasn't much fun unless you can dump a good amount of money into it. Granted, Quarriors is pretty expensive too, but I also felt like my wife would like Quarriors better. She doesn't like direct conflict. She doesn't mind the creatures duking it out in Quarriors though. In the end, I just don't like collectible games at all. I like having access to everything.
I dig the living card games like Netrunner. It's still collecting, but at the same time you only miss out on cards if the set runs out of print. Takes FFG forever to reprint too. Still, better than random.
 

Hateyou

Not Great, Not Terrible
<Bronze Donator>
16,632
43,268
Got my pre-ordered Ashes game today and I am impressed. The cards, dice, box, everything is high quality and gorgeous. I think it's the best looking game I've ever owned. Playing it later this week with a buddy and I can't wait.

Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn | Store | Plaid Hat Games
Played this tonight and it's a lot of fun. There is a lot of strategy and the cards/characters play quite a bit different from each other, the deckbuilding possibilities are going to be pretty crazy with this game. If you are a fan of LCG's this one is definitely worth playing. Can't wait to play it again.
 

Delly

Trakanon Raider
2,995
634
Played this tonight and it's a lot of fun. There is a lot of strategy and the cards/characters play quite a bit different from each other, the deckbuilding possibilities are going to be pretty crazy with this game. If you are a fan of LCG's this one is definitely worth playing. Can't wait to play it again.
Whats it play like? Similar to MtG?
 

Hateyou

Not Great, Not Terrible
<Bronze Donator>
16,632
43,268
Whats it play like? Similar to MtG?
I did feel some Magic influence but would not describe it as 'like Magic' when discussing it. The dice are broken up in to separate types and cards take different types/amounts to cast and you can load your side with different amounts depending on which cards you put in your deck, sort of like mana and deckbuilding in Magic. The symetrical-ish back and forth turns also felt like Magic-ish. I also felt some slight Netrunner in the synergies between the cards. Almost every card feels like it has synergy with other cards/Summoner abilities and even during our first match we were both like 'whoa you could use this with this to do this!' Netrunner I always feel myself having to decide between several actions whereas Magic I pretty much knew 'this is what is the best action right now', although I haven't played Magic in 15 years so that may be different nowadays.

One thing I liked is that is you get a main action, and a side action each round and most cards use those up to cast, summon, or attack, so there are never really any insane run-away-omg-wtf-just-happened turns like Magic would tend to have. It felt a little more balanced in that respect. You also have a permanent hero (Rather than just *you are the summoner* like Magic) with different abilities/stats/board make up, and the dice/mana themselves have thier own abilities too. I feel like it adds a little more dimension/personality to the decks. Also it's a LCG unlike Magic, and when you buy the starter box you have every single card made, with as many copies of the cards that are allowed in the decks.
 

icarr757_sl

shitlord
107
0
I did feel some Magic influence but would not describe it as 'like Magic' when discussing it. The dice are broken up in to separate types and cards take different types/amounts to cast and you can load your side with different amounts depending on which cards you put in your deck, sort of like mana and deckbuilding in Magic. The symetrical-ish back and forth turns also felt like Magic-ish. I also felt some slight Netrunner in the synergies between the cards. Almost every card feels like it has synergy with other cards/Summoner abilities and even during our first match we were both like 'whoa you could use this with this to do this!' Netrunner I always feel myself having to decide between several actions whereas Magic I pretty much knew 'this is what is the best action right now', although I haven't played Magic in 15 years so that may be different nowadays.

One thing I liked is that is you get a main action, and a side action each round and most cards use those up to cast, summon, or attack, so there are never really any insane run-away-omg-wtf-just-happened turns like Magic would tend to have. It felt a little more balanced in that respect. You also have a permanent hero (Rather than just *you are the summoner* like Magic) with different abilities/stats/board make up, and the dice/mana themselves have thier own abilities too. I feel like it adds a little more dimension/personality to the decks. Also it's a LCG unlike Magic, and when you buy the starter box you have every single card made, with as many copies of the cards that are allowed in the decks.
Watch it Played on Youtube has a pretty good break down of the rules and a few rounds of gameplay. Looks very positive.
 

Hateyou

Not Great, Not Terrible
<Bronze Donator>
16,632
43,268
Watch it Played on Youtube has a pretty good break down of the rules and a few rounds of gameplay. Looks very positive.
Yeah, every one of the Watch it Played for this game that have been released so far are great. I watched them all before we played and they were helpful on understanding deck makeup and round/turn structure.

The 'Thoughts & Strategy Posts' here are good reads.Ashes: Rise of the Phoenixborn | Strategy | Forum | BoardGameGeek

The Preview links on this page go through every card and summoner and talks about the strategy/usage of each card. Great reads for understanding initial strategy concepts.Ashes | Games | Plaid Hat Games

Friend talked to these guys at Gencon today. They said they are going to release small expansion every 3 months, and large ones every once in a while. Initially just new cards, and probably new dice down the road.

Also for those who hate the randomness aspect of dice, there are a lot of ways to change your dice rolls, from cards and abilities that specifically do it to the built in mechanic of 'meditating' which is...discard cards from your board, hand, or deck to change the faces of the die to whatever you want. For those who hate the randomness of card draws, they do a good job mitigating that as well. Both players choose their first hand at the beginning of the game. No more bad first draws. Also the meditate mechanic which allows you to change your dice face, also allows you to mill through any cards you don't need at that moment (You redraw up to five at the beginning of the next full round). Of course there are also cards and abilities that allow you to draw more cards, tutors, etc. Finally the deck sizes are 30 cards, so you really see your different cards pretty quickly. Both of us commented at the end that we never felt like we were at a disadvantage due to shitty card draws/dice rolls like other card/dice games.
 

Njals

<Bronze Donator>
827
717
My Exploding Kittens kickstarter showed up and it's fun. Not incredibly deep but is fun with my 6 and 8 year old daughters and pretty much the perfect length for multiple games (about 10-15 minutes). Should get to try the NSFW deck in a couple weeks when family comes up to visit which should be the exact same game but with random nipples and swear words. Steampunk Rally will be here Tuesday next week which sort of looks like a variation on Race for the Galaxy. Not sure how well it will play with the kids but should be a blast the next time I meet up with my game group.