I have been putting the finishing touches on the latest version of my board game Supernatural Selection. In short, it is a deck building game with dinosaurs and aliens. I have a couple of designs/mechanics that haven't really been utilized in other deck building games. I will be bringing the latest version to PAX East, and would be delighted to run a play test of the game with anyone who is interested. I am hoping to get some good feedback from people who really know board games.
I played Unexploded Cow last night. The concept is simple: its 1990s and there are two bad things. One there are cows with mad cow disease, and two there are WW2 bombs that have not detonated in France. You decide to combine these things for profit. They re-released it from CAG in a deluxe edition.
I played Unexploded Cow last night. The concept is simple: its 1990s and there are two bad things. One there are cows with mad cow disease, and two there are WW2 bombs that have not detonated in France. You decide to combine these things for profit. They re-released it from CAG in a deluxe edition.
What is up with these re-releases of ancient games? Unexploded cow is one of those things you find in every cruddy old game store on that shelf everyone ignores. You know, where everything on the shelf has been there since the store opened, and it has never sold.
I played Unexploded Cow last night. The concept is simple: its 1990s and there are two bad things. One there are cows with mad cow disease, and two there are WW2 bombs that have not detonated in France. You decide to combine these things for profit. They re-released it from CAG in a deluxe edition.
What is up with these re-releases of ancient games? Unexploded cow is one of those things you find in every cruddy old game store on that shelf everyone ignores. You know, where everything on the shelf has been there since the store opened, and it has never sold.
This version has color in it! However I do agree, the re-release kickstarter boom is nice for those who have not experienced the Cheap Assness of the games.
There's been tons of reprinting over the past few years, and it's not just Kickstarter. Days of Wonder is reprinting a lot of its older titles, Fantasy Flight has cranked out so many (Fortress America, Nexus Ops, Wiz-War, Dune->Rex, Borderlands) and the list just keeps going and going.
I've heard a lot of people say there really aren't many in-demand old games left, so I don't think you'll be seeing many more high-profile reprints for a while. We're down to stuff like Unexploded Cow, which is probably easy money.
I'm hoping that Z-Man Games, or I guess more accurately Filosofia now, reprints El Grande. This is a game that doesn't deserve to be out of print. A True "classic."
That's always the first game that comes to mind as one I see on that cruddy game store shelf and every convention library, but I have never played it.
There are definitely a lot of games that haven't been printed anytime recently, but most of the highest-demand ones have had new versions in the past few years. Go on BoardGameGeek and look at some of these "grail game" GeekLists from 2004-2007 with people moaning about wanting copies of games that are impossible to find, like Merchants of Venus or Betrayal at House on the Hill. Most have been re-done since those lists were made.
I've never actually seen Nuclear War, but I have to add a funny anecdote. One of the guys in one of my local game groups has an incredibly cool game-playing daughter who won the Nuclear War world championship tournament many years ago. She was only 11 at the time!
I don't go into crusty old game stores very often, but I had a day off from work two weeks ago, and the X-Wing Wave 2 ships were so late in getting put up on Amazon, that I decided to stop by a local store I haven't been to yet since I moved. Lo and behold they had the crappiest of crappy old game shelves. Dusty copy of Ticket to Ride: Switzerland sitting right there for normal retail price. If only I'd been there a year earlier before they reprinted it! Easy $100 profit flip.
I'm thinking of trying out a different board game club tomorrow. The local one in Leeds has a lot of "that guys" and no girls. The one in York is run by someone I know and she says it's 50/50 male and female.
I'm thinking of trying out a different board game club tomorrow. The local one in Leeds has a lot of "that guys" and no girls. The one in York is run by someone I know and she says it's 50/50 male and female.
Which group in Leeds? Because I know of two, one is wargamers (Leeds Battlebanker) so yeah that is pretty much 100% guys but the other is called Meeples and has plenty of girls everytime I have been to it at the Vic. I was put off by the gaming group in York (Beyond Monopoly), assuming it is the one near the trainstation when I went to a games fair in York by their in your face "We are the the friendiest group in the world ever, please come and play games with us, we are really friendly". It made them seem like a cult.
I attended the board game club in York. I think I've figured out how they (unknowingly) keep out undesirable guys - they have a buffet that consists almost entirely of quiche. And as everyone knows, most undesirable guys don't eat quiche.
The group was not to my liking though. They didn't know the rules to what they were doing and regularly collectively chose to just do the more fun thing. We played Battlestar Galactica and it seemed more like an excuse to share the geekery of the show trivia when it came to your turn. And that's not a geekery I've ever followed.
The game scould have been designed to be a bit faster, you draw cards at the start of your turn so you have to read them all every turn and then assess what you should do. If you could draw the cards earlier you could plan to make a move more effectively.
The game scould have been designed to be a bit faster, you draw cards at the start of your turn so you have to read them all every turn and then assess what you should do. If you could draw the cards earlier you could plan to make a move more effectively.
You cannot draw the cards early because you have to use them for the tests at the end of every turn. Also there is only a small selection of cards in each colour anyway, so after a couple of plays, you know what they all do by name or picture alone.
Of course the main problem with the game is the rule about not allowing to say what you are putting into the tests but are still able to talk about it. Leading to not so subtle sentences such as "I can put a middleish amount in" "I can put in a small amount" Or just "I've got this"
Played my fifth game of The Princes of Florence and can honestly say It's a great game. It's really short and really easy to teach which make it a great filler game. My favourite aspect of the game is how much control you have over your victory points and income with the end of the Complete Work action.
I go to my local gaming store on their game night and I'm starting to notice how many of "that guy" are there. You know something is wrong when someone tells you "wow you really like games with as little randomness a possible". My close friends aren't even boardgames geeks and they still play better and take their turn faster.
Princes is the second German style board game I ever learned and it will hold a special place in my heart because of that. I really wish the people I play with would let me bring it out every nice in a while just for old times sake.
There is nothing wrong with skill based games. Ignore them. Some people like games that are totally random while others like none. It's all preference. I will also say that those kind of statements alone don't make someone that guy, IMO. It just means they don't get what I explained above.
Lords of Waterdeep: Simple worker placement game, I beat both a buddy of mine and Chuck (head of tabletop) with 171 points, and smoked the two new guys at the table. It is a crank the wheel type of game that's ok, I'd pick it up if I see it in the bargain bin.
Copycat: Yes it is a ripoff but it is nice. I ALMOST had the game but couldn't buy the one card that I needed to ensure victory (10 VP card instead I could only grab the 6 VP) I got my deck down to EXACTLY 10 cards with all the crap removed to the point I guaranteed myself the maximum amount of actions and placement on any position on the board without anyone having the ability to block me. There are also achievements in this game and I laughed at how that was implemented. I also would need to see this slightly discounted in order to pick it up.
Ticket to Ride America: I somehow won with only three destinations and longest route by simply going in locations where people simply didn't block me, all on the west coast as well.
Carcassonne with cities, phantom, Mega Meeple, and River 2 expansion: Got my ass handed to be due to someone stealing my farm of death.
Alhambra: I won with the double 3 walled building fountain technique.
Coldguy: What's the 3 walled building fountain technique? I play Alhambra with my mum sometimes as it's the only game that we can both agree on its quality.
Coldguy: What's the 3 walled building fountain technique? I play Alhambra with my mum sometimes as it's the only game that we can both agree on its quality.
You know those "U" shaped wall buildings? Put then next to the fountain and start a loop around on three sides, ensure you have at least one open tile for flexibility.
ie. C F _ U
That would be a 7 point wall right there, sorry for the bad wall interpretation.
Hello and good day, has anyone played the Game of Thrones board game? It has a nice bgg ranking but I'm wondering if its mostly cause of fan service? The emphasis on alliances/betrayals sounds like it would be mad fun tho.
I played it for the first time a few weeks ago. It was pretty good but I wiped the floor with the experienced players by playing aggressively relatively early.
It's got a maximum number of turns. It's got direct competition with player elimination, unfortunately you're more likely to be effectively eliminated before the end game but you can sort of catch up with the politics of the other players and play kingmaker.
There's a co-op bidding mechanic to fight the wildlings that the game generates. A card mechanic for battles that'll see you lose options over time. You have to secure supplies from areas on the board for getting a maximum army size. And there are three tracks that give a benefit for outranking the others at - for example one player holds the iron throne and is the king and that player chooses who wins in all situations where the players numerically draw.
I'd say it's an excellent design but it is for players who like their complex games.
Hello and good day, has anyone played the Game of Thrones board game? It has a nice bgg ranking but I'm wondering if its mostly cause of fan service? The emphasis on alliances/betrayals sounds like it would be mad fun tho.
I have, its a simplified territory control game, I like them a little more meaty but for a simple one that goes with a theme I think it works.
The game does some really, really cool things and I am personally a fan of it. Will try to expand later, but if you decide to play, make sure you do the following: - Use a copy of the 2nd edition, which includes all of the expansions built into the game (and make it a lot better) - Play with no less than 5 people, preferably the full 6. Game is kinda meh with 4 or less and I'd play something else. - If you are playing with people unfamiliar with complex games, take advantage of the video tutorial on FFG's website
Thanks for the info people. Would ya'll say it is sort of more or less or equally complex in comparison to Power Grid? I've played that w/ my friends and they all enjoyed it a lot, but I'm not sure if something more like Eclipse (w/ all the micromanaging) would go over well.
Comments
I've heard a lot of people say there really aren't many in-demand old games left, so I don't think you'll be seeing many more high-profile reprints for a while. We're down to stuff like Unexploded Cow, which is probably easy money.
http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/713/nuclear-war
That's always the first game that comes to mind as one I see on that cruddy game store shelf and every convention library, but I have never played it.
I've never actually seen Nuclear War, but I have to add a funny anecdote. One of the guys in one of my local game groups has an incredibly cool game-playing daughter who won the Nuclear War world championship tournament many years ago. She was only 11 at the time!
I don't go into crusty old game stores very often, but I had a day off from work two weeks ago, and the X-Wing Wave 2 ships were so late in getting put up on Amazon, that I decided to stop by a local store I haven't been to yet since I moved. Lo and behold they had the crappiest of crappy old game shelves. Dusty copy of Ticket to Ride: Switzerland sitting right there for normal retail price. If only I'd been there a year earlier before they reprinted it! Easy $100 profit flip.
I was put off by the gaming group in York (Beyond Monopoly), assuming it is the one near the trainstation when I went to a games fair in York by their in your face "We are the the friendiest group in the world ever, please come and play games with us, we are really friendly". It made them seem like a cult.
The York group is a new one. It's a themed cafe, called Lucky Days.
The group was not to my liking though. They didn't know the rules to what they were doing and regularly collectively chose to just do the more fun thing. We played Battlestar Galactica and it seemed more like an excuse to share the geekery of the show trivia when it came to your turn. And that's not a geekery I've ever followed.
The game scould have been designed to be a bit faster, you draw cards at the start of your turn so you have to read them all every turn and then assess what you should do. If you could draw the cards earlier you could plan to make a move more effectively.
Of course the main problem with the game is the rule about not allowing to say what you are putting into the tests but are still able to talk about it. Leading to not so subtle sentences such as "I can put a middleish amount in" "I can put in a small amount" Or just "I've got this"
I go to my local gaming store on their game night and I'm starting to notice how many of "that guy" are there. You know something is wrong when someone tells you "wow you really like games with as little randomness a possible". My close friends aren't even boardgames geeks and they still play better and take their turn faster.
There is nothing wrong with skill based games. Ignore them. Some people like games that are totally random while others like none. It's all preference. I will also say that those kind of statements alone don't make someone that guy, IMO. It just means they don't get what I explained above.
Lords of Waterdeep: Simple worker placement game, I beat both a buddy of mine and Chuck (head of tabletop) with 171 points, and smoked the two new guys at the table. It is a crank the wheel type of game that's ok, I'd pick it up if I see it in the bargain bin.
Copycat: Yes it is a ripoff but it is nice. I ALMOST had the game but couldn't buy the one card that I needed to ensure victory (10 VP card instead I could only grab the 6 VP) I got my deck down to EXACTLY 10 cards with all the crap removed to the point I guaranteed myself the maximum amount of actions and placement on any position on the board without anyone having the ability to block me. There are also achievements in this game and I laughed at how that was implemented. I also would need to see this slightly discounted in order to pick it up.
Ticket to Ride America: I somehow won with only three destinations and longest route by simply going in locations where people simply didn't block me, all on the west coast as well.
Carcassonne with cities, phantom, Mega Meeple, and River 2 expansion: Got my ass handed to be due to someone stealing my farm of death.
Alhambra: I won with the double 3 walled building fountain technique.
ie. C F _
U
That would be a 7 point wall right there, sorry for the bad wall interpretation.
It's got a maximum number of turns. It's got direct competition with player elimination, unfortunately you're more likely to be effectively eliminated before the end game but you can sort of catch up with the politics of the other players and play kingmaker.
There's a co-op bidding mechanic to fight the wildlings that the game generates. A card mechanic for battles that'll see you lose options over time. You have to secure supplies from areas on the board for getting a maximum army size. And there are three tracks that give a benefit for outranking the others at - for example one player holds the iron throne and is the king and that player chooses who wins in all situations where the players numerically draw.
I'd say it's an excellent design but it is for players who like their complex games.
- Use a copy of the 2nd edition, which includes all of the expansions built into the game (and make it a lot better)
- Play with no less than 5 people, preferably the full 6. Game is kinda meh with 4 or less and I'd play something else.
- If you are playing with people unfamiliar with complex games, take advantage of the video tutorial on FFG's website
For today only I think as it's one of their "Daily Sales"