card game NOOB

woodchuck

I know about magic; but i want to get into card games like 7 Wonders and Diplomacy; I have no physical store by me. I was wondering what net store and what games would be good for me to get into?

Neito

Amazon.

Rym

Amazon.

WindUpBird

Diplomacy is not a card game. Farthest thing from it. Here are card games you should get:

Dominion
Citadels
San Juan
Fluxx/Chrononauts
Illuminati

Also, get into board games. Card games are ultraportable, but limited in scope.

Rochelle

Welcome. Check out the Boardgame Category.

Better than that, this thread may have the most information in regards to your query.

But as WuB stated, if you're a Magic person you'd probably like Dominion, Thunderstone, and Ascension. There is a Dominion Big Box Pack that has the original with Alchemy & Prosperity expansions. Those are two of my favorite expansions. The price is a steal.

Byron

There is a Dominion Big Box Pack that has the original with Alchemy & Prosperity expansions. Those are two of my favorite expansions. The price is a steal.

I paid $100 at PAX East 2011, and that was supposedly a really great price at the time.

Apreche

Forget San Juan. It may be fun for you punk kids, but let me tell you something. They should change the name of San Juan to "Get the silver mines and win"

Matt

I know about magic; but i want to get into card games like 7 Wonders and Diplomacy; I have no physical store by me. I was wondering what net store and what games would be good for me to get into?

There are local places by you.

Sunshine Adventure Gaming
Florida Super Comics & Games

Go forth and game.

bodtchboy

Lost cities is a simple 2 player game.

Wings of War is a WW1 and/or WW2 dogfighting game played with cards.

I thought Munchkins was fun. I've only played it once. A lot of gamers don't like it anymore, though. Dominion is dominating the card gaming world right now.

Bohnanza is pretty fun, especially with the expansion packs. My wife isn't a gamer, but she likes that one.

Plunder CAN be fun. It is very dependent on what cards are drawn and how they are played. (It's a pirate/privateer game).

Bang! is a fun one. Best when played with 7 people and someone who knows the rules.

I like to get my games at Thoughthammer

Rochelle

Bohnanza is pretty fun, especially with the expansion packs. My wife isn't a gamer, but she likes that one.

I haven't played with the expansion. Every time I read the description I lose interest. I kinda want to buy the Fan Art edition just because they are so cute. But seriously, that is one of my favorite games to play every once in a while. I love shit talking and haggling trades.

InvaderREN

I'm having a TON of fun with Ascension - Chronicle of the Godslayer. Highly recommended, also, its cheap!

Matt

I'm having a TON of fun with Ascension - Chronicle of the Godslayer. Highly recommended, also, its cheap!

The original poster mentioned loving Magic. If that is the case, Ascension will probably be his favorite deckbuilding game.

As for Munchkin, it's funny but not necessarily fun. The humor on the cards is chuckle-worthy but there's not a whole lot of game there.

InvaderREN

@Matt True that, I was big into MTG and Ascension is really doing it for me.

Also, i've said it before - if you can Ebay a copy of Netrunner for cheap, its an amazing 2 player game, certainly one of the best 2 player CCG's.

.

Matt

I have a starter deck of Netrunner in my big box of CCGs that I never opened. I've heard it from others as well that the game really holds up well.

InvaderREN

I have a starter deck of Netrunner in my big box of CCGs that I never opened. I've heard it from others as well that the game really holds up well.

Far out, does it what. The rules are quite meaty, you might want to read up well in advance of playing/teaching someone. But if you have just one friend who loves CCG's, crack that sucker open and give it a go.

I need to search the show suggestion thread, but I REALLY want to nominate Ascension and Netrunner as two games for Scrym to review. Given that both are essentially 2 player games should help.

Matt

I have a starter deck of Netrunner in my big box of CCGs that I never opened. I've heard it from others as well that the game really holds up well.

Far out, does it what. The rules are quite meaty, you might want to read up well in advance of playing/teaching someone. But if you have just one friend who loves CCG's, crack that sucker open and give it a go.

I need to search the show suggestion thread, but I REALLY want to nominate Ascension and Netrunner as two games for Scrym to review. Given that both are essentially 2 player games should help.

I think Rym already shared his thoughts on Ascension somewhere on the forums. I believe it was something along the lines of "looked at it and solved it."

Rochelle

I think Rym already shared his thoughts on Ascension somewhere on the forums. I believe it was something along the lines of "looked at it and solved it."

Jeremy got the recent expansion and he and my M:TG playing friends really enjoy it, which makes sense.

I really like the art on the cards.

Man, I need to have a game night.

Apreche

I have a starter deck of Netrunner in my big box of CCGs that I never opened. I've heard it from others as well that the game really holds up well.

Far out, does it what. The rules are quite meaty, you might want to read up well in advance of playing/teaching someone. But if you have just one friend who loves CCG's, crack that sucker open and give it a go.

I need to search the show suggestion thread, but I REALLY want to nominate Ascension and Netrunner as two games for Scrym to review. Given that both are essentially 2 player games should help.

I think Rym already shared his thoughts on Ascension somewhere on the forums. I believe it was something along the lines of "looked at it and solved it."

I still haven't played it, but I've seen it at quite a few cons and game nights. Everything I hear suggests that it is Dominion on easy mode.

Rochelle

I still haven't played it, but I've seen it at quite a few cons and game nights. Everything I hear suggests that it is Dominion on easy mode.

Easy on set up/clean up.

There is more luck involved because of the cards you are able to purchase are random and when you see a card you want to get, you may not get it by your next turn. That does involve more of a challenge in changing up your original strategy on how to maximize your deck.

The difference between Dominion and Ascension is that the cards you are able to get may not be the same that your opponents can get and vice versa. Also certain "types" of cards have nice bonuses when you get more of those types.

You also pretty much have the ability to get honor/victory points every turn.

Neito

I still haven't played it, but I've seen it at quite a few cons and game nights. Everything I hear suggests that it is Dominion on easy mode.

Honestly, yeah. I still play it because it's stupid easy to set up compared to Dominion, but I'm getting pretty close to solving it.

Matt

I've heard good things about the expansion but know very little about it.

Like most board games, there is a time and a place for it. I think Ascension falls into that same appetizer category that 7 Wonders does. It definitely has that randomness factor. I was kind of put off by one round I played where an opponent bought the best cards available to him, most of which were constructs, and later I busted out the "destroy all of the constructs" card. It completely ruined his game, there was nothing he could do, and it just felt sort of silly. That's just the deal with games where you've got heavy randomness. Sometimes you're going to have a round where you all go "what the fuck?"

Rochelle

Like most board games, there is a time and a place for it. I think Ascension falls into that same appetizer category that 7 Wonders does. It definitely has that randomness factor. I was kind of put off by one round I played where an opponent bought the best cards available to him, most of which were constructs, and later I busted out the "destroy all of the constructs" card. It completely ruined his game, there was nothing he could do, and it just felt sort of silly. That's just the deal with games where you've got heavy randomness. Sometimes you're going to have a round where you all go "what the fuck?"

Just like M:TG, which makes sense due to the people who created it.

Overall, I still prefer Dominion > Thunderstone & Ascension.

Matt

Overall, I still prefer Dominion > Thunderstone & Ascension.

Dominion - loved it
Ascension - liked it
Thunderstone - made me want to jump off of a bridge

Edit: On the discussion of deck-building card games, I would encourage people to check out Puzzle Strike and Nightfall. As far as I can see, they are the only other two games worth checking out in what is now a very crowded genre. Played them both and enjoyed them.

Rochelle

Edit: On the discussion of deck-building card games, I would encourage people to check out Puzzle Strike and Nightfall. As far as I can see, they are the only other two games worth checking out in what is now a very crowded genre. Played them both and enjoyed them.

Oh yeah, Puzzle Strike. I keep forgetting about to check that game out. Must remind self & Jeremy.

Apreche

It does seem like more and more of the new hot games are the warm-up variety. What new board games out there are serious business entrees?

Rochelle

It does seem like more and more of the new hot games are the warm-up variety. What new board games out there are serious business entrees?

Seems most don't want to cater to those who are hardcored into a corner.

Matt

It does seem like more and more of the new hot games are the warm-up variety. What new board games out there are serious business entrees?

I would say check out Fresco from Queen Games which is awesome. Also, all of Martin Wallace's games are deep thinker economic euros, and well made. Last year he put out London and Automobile, both of which I own and enjoyed (if I had to choose one of the two, it'd be Automobile). This year he's putting out a Discworld themed game but I've never read any of those books so some of it may be lost on me.

GMT put out a really complex game last year called Dominant Species that garnered all sorts of awards. I haven't had the chance to play it but it looks deep as hell and is all about evolution/natural selection, which means the theme ties well into the mechanics if it's a harsh game. When theme meets mechanics, you've usually got a winner on your hands.

If you're looking for a good 2-player strategy game, check out Confusion by Stronghold Games. I've set this game up and read the rules and it looks AWESOME. I'm having someone over tomorrow morning to play a few times, and I'll report back on how it goes, but buzz is already strong. It's abstract strategy at its core, but its got a Cold War theme slapped on it with some beautiful components.

Byron

GMT put out a really complex game last year called Dominant Species that garnered all sorts of awards. I haven't had the chance to play it but it looks deep as hell and is all about evolution/natural selection, which means the theme ties well into the mechanics if it's a harsh game. When theme meets mechanics, you've usually got a winner on your hands.

Your description sounded really cool, so I asked my board game friend about this. Apparently he is a bit of an aesthetic person and had me compare an image of it (which he isn't interested in for superficial reasons) versus an image of Tikal (which he does like). What I took away was how similar the two games look.

It almost looks like you might be able to play Dominant Species using the Tikal board.

Matt

Your friend has successfully identified a common six-sided shape we refer to as a hexagon.

The deal with GMT games is that they will not have the high-end production value you may see from a Days of Wonder, Fantasy Flight, or Rio Grande release. GMT caters to the "hardcored into a corner" American style war gamer (Dominant Species is a bit outside the box for them considering their standard fare). This niche appeal means they only have guaranteed sales of about 500 units on any game they produce, so initial print runs of a game don't have the financial backing needed to pay a graphic designer. If a game of theirs really takes off, such as Twilight Struggle, they will eventually put out a new version. The deluxe TS is BEAUTIFUL but the original was poop. I wouldn't be surprised if Dominant Species got a facelift, should its sales stay strong.

InvaderREN

Pretty much everything said about Ascension is correct. Its less deep than Dominion, more random, but its popular and really fun. Sure, it might not be "hardcore" and probably easy to solve, but then I'd still love to hear a show on it.

And I will again say, if you DO want a hardcore 1 vs 1 card game, with a steep learning curve that rewards intelligent play: Netrunner.

Just a starter will do. It plays fine out of a starter

Sure, it's dead, but whatever. No game is really dead, just forgotten.