The Board Game Thread

Fed up talking videogames? Why?

Do you play board games?

Hells yeah! I'm a board game geek!
53
46%
I don't but would like to get into them...
36
32%
You mean, like Snakes & Ladders? :shifty:
20
18%
No way! They're for nerds!
5
4%
 
Total votes: 114
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Hexx
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PostRe: The Board Game Thread
by Hexx » Fri Mar 29, 2019 4:19 pm

TV Dinner wrote:Got into the Arkham Horror card game in a big way recently. With so many different character choices I keep meaning to try and branch out and try the seeker or mystic classes but then I end up playing as Jenny every single time.


Jenny with the money :datass:

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Memento Mori
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PostRe: The Board Game Thread
by Memento Mori » Fri Mar 29, 2019 4:23 pm

Hexx wrote:
TV Dinner wrote:Got into the Arkham Horror card game in a big way recently. With so many different character choices I keep meaning to try and branch out and try the seeker or mystic classes but then I end up playing as Jenny every single time.


Jenny with the money :datass:

Jenny + Lone Wolf + Streetwise = :datass:

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Hexx
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PostRe: The Board Game Thread
by Hexx » Mon Apr 01, 2019 9:43 am

Pandemic Legacy 1 - April (Don't read unless you've played)

Well that took a turn! Didn't see angry rage monsters coming! That was a bit of a shock

April (Early) spiraled quickly out of control, and we lost [Having won the last 3 games the government decided we didn't need funding to stop the horrible, unreachable diseases. Thanks!)

No horrible scars etc, but the world just spiraled beyond what we could control. 2 took the researcher and the scientist - the Researcher just ended up following the scientist around to pass them cards (hoping for good draw). Didn't work and was ineffective.

April (Late) didn't go much better. Epidemic on turn 2 even with 2 money. Red diseases exploded everywhere. We fought back and managed to get in under control - but were so far up the outbreak track a loss looked certain.

We managed to pull it back and ended up winning on our last turn. Chuffing tense and 2 guys had to work out a very convoluted plan at the end to get the cards needed to the right persons (80% of the yellow cards were in last 1/4 of player deck).

Still we won (so they took our money off us) - but a lot of the world is now panicing - we've no one at level 4 yet though)

Upgrades - we've done 2 black cards into unfunded events (to make them less pointless) and 2 starting military bases (to help us go for the 6 base objective...if we want


This continues to be a very strong experience.

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Roonmastor
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PostRe: The Board Game Thread
by Roonmastor » Tue Apr 02, 2019 10:17 am

Good old April.
Keep posting these Hexx, I love hearing S1 playthroughs.

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Hexx
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PostRe: The Board Game Thread
by Hexx » Tue Apr 23, 2019 10:29 am

Pandemic Legacy - May

Won this first try. Very lucky with some card draw. To be honest every month of this could be the same review - excellent evolving rules, challenges and powers that keep it feeling fresh. Plus due to RNG nature of cards (and their impact) pretty sure no games are the same.

Roadblocks and a MurderColonel! But also now PlayerCards spawn CoDa. That's a nasty spin to keep track off.

TBH we breezed this (another in the group thought it was tightrope the entire time) - very lucky with decent card draw for Scienctist meant we cured Red  and Blue very early. Blue was soon eradicated, and Red exploded (avoiding an outbreak just) but we could manage it. Then a matter of positioning and Yellow.

Containment of Coda was name of the game - and the Faded Cities are starting to encroach into blue which is problematic. We only Roadblocked on city to try and stop an outbreak. Not sure we used roadblocks well.

Quarantine, Ops, Dispatcher and Quarantine were our team. The Dispatchers "move a pawn to a pawn" ability
is amazingly strong.

Double Upgraded Blue disease so easier to cure in future.


Also bought tickets and booked hotel for Birmingham Boardgame Expo :D

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Rex Kramer
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PostRe: The Board Game Thread
by Rex Kramer » Fri Apr 26, 2019 7:54 am

Dust off your wallets folks.

Bloodborne Board Game instantly crowdfunded, launching in 2020

Bloodborne’s voracious fanbase just can’t get enough, can they? Having recently celebrated its fourth birthday, the insanely popular PlayStation exclusive is now being adapted into a board game which was crowdfunded almost instantly.

It took 17 minutes for fans to scuttle from their Yharnam hovels and throw thousands of dollars at CoolMiniOrNot (CMON), the company behind the officially licensed tabletop game.

With an original funding goal of £155,000, the Kickstarter campaign now stands at an impressive £1.27m and keeps on climbing with 19 days to go.

Designed by Michael Shinall and Eric Lang, the upcoming board game looks to capture the essence of Bloodborne, offering a series of campaigns through Yharnam built for 1 to 4 players. You’ll explore an unpredictable network of cobbled streets, sewer tunnels, dungeons, and lairs while putting the board game’s intuitive combat mechanics to work.

As with most Kickstarter projects, Bloodborne: The Board Game comes tagged with a number of “stretch goals”. These are basically funding milestones – the more CMON raises for this project, the more it will continue adding to the game, from new playable Hunters, to extra dungeon tiles, and an expanded menagerie of cruel and demented monsters to fight.

Those who pledge $100 or more to the project will get a copy of the game when it launches in May 2020, along with an exclusive Kirkhammer wielding Hunter and any unlocked stretch goals.


https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/cm ... board-game

That looks really nice.

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Victor Mildew
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PostRe: The Board Game Thread
by Victor Mildew » Fri Apr 26, 2019 8:04 am

Oh damn yes please

Hexx wrote:Ad7 is older and balder than I thought.
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PostRe: The Board Game Thread
by Hexx » Thu May 09, 2019 12:57 pm

Azul - Stained Glass stuff

Finally played (an) Azul last night. And it's ok...I suppose. Didn't get all the hype.

Disclosure: I utterly HATE Splendor. It's "fine" mechanically - but in my experience you sit in silence for 45 minutes engine building and then someone wins. There's so much going on you have to focus so there's no social side. Which is largely why I'd avoided Azul

Azul - I disliked how RNG it was (RNG mat set up, RNG tiles, RNG bonus per round) - which felt it could really help or hinder you. Everyone's in the same boat obviously, but it felt inelegant from the start. There's still involvement in terms of planning and executing, but it still felt like a game were a good (but not overwhelming) proportion came down to chance of the opening draw. I'd play it again - but it wouldn't be my first choice. It's much better at letting you interacting/chat with other people though.

Lovely components though - but I hated the fact there was no way/points to make an aesthetically pleasing window display. You match the colours on the tiles (randomly laid out) who cares if they clash. Boo hiss!

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PostRe: The Board Game Thread
by Victor Mildew » Thu May 09, 2019 1:13 pm

Forgot to say that we played hemwick horror the other week. Took about 2 hours to set up and I think we made about 5 moves each over the whole evening because the rules are so vast and confusing :lol:

Hexx wrote:Ad7 is older and balder than I thought.
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Roonmastor
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PostRe: The Board Game Thread
by Roonmastor » Thu May 09, 2019 7:11 pm

Played Robinson Crusoe. Good game but like a really confusing version of Dead of Winter. Took 2 of us 4 hours to set up and play the starter scenario because of all the rule referencing.

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FatDaz
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PostRe: The Board Game Thread
by FatDaz » Fri May 10, 2019 10:01 pm

Finally found a copy of sub terra. Love it. Simple but enjoyable co op in style of forbidden island and burgle bros

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Hexx
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PostRe: The Board Game Thread
by Hexx » Tue May 28, 2019 3:40 pm

Arkham LCG : The Forgotten Age

So this was on easy. With 2 researched decks. And it was hard. So hard.

Barely completed scenario 1 (near defeat, 2 trauma for one team member, posioned, less starting resources next time, poisoned)

It got better as it went on (and you became familiar with the "tricks" of the campaign) - never outright failed, but came bloody close a few times and some sub-optimal endings. The mythos phase in this can snowball quickly - it's not a game for newbies, and I'm not sure I'd want to replay all of it. Some of the choices are obvious "choice how to suffer". Sometimes not until 3-4 scenarios later in ways you couldn't expect.

Some of the individual scenarios are good and do new things (Threads of Fate and Depths of Yoth are highlights. City of Archives is great, but can completely punish certain decks. And with potentially very bad long term consequences) but too many of them feature the Explore Mechanic (this cycle's gimmick). And the Explore mechanic sucks. (Basically chance to progress or just hurt yourself and get no where - each chance taking an action). I can see what they're going for - but it's too easy to make no progress due to RNG, and in a campaign where time matters a lot that sucks. It doesn't feel good.

By the end there was something like 20 unspent xp per character and got a winning, but not the best ending. (I think the decks were optimised pretty early on and worked well...Ursula Clues and Finn Evasion....I think I only killed 1 thing in the entire campaign!)

Probably better than Zealot, on a par with Dunwich [with planned decks] and below Carcosa.

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Hexx
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PostRe: The Board Game Thread
by Hexx » Mon Jun 03, 2019 12:09 pm

Hexx goes to the UK Games Expo!

Played

How to Rob a Bank - Liked this a lot. Pretty simple to explain and play. (2-3 robbers vs 1 Guard Controller). Basic RNG of layout and cards. Off you go. Looks simple, but complex plans can occur. My biggest concern would be it's "co op" but would be very easy for one person to dominate. [Might come up with a house rule on communication limits]

Time Stories - We only did a little bit of this to get "a feel" [as otherwise the scenario in the box would be ruined]. Seemed a good mix of puzzles and narrative - with strong mechanic foundations that can be expanded modually. Thematically strong (although calling the people you inhabitat while time travelling "receptacles" felt a bit Incel-y)

Azul - Good fun, but still don't get the fuss. Miles better than Splendor

Dice Lanterns - We stopped to play this as the signs were pretty. It's ok fun, but a bit light. £25 felt too pricey for what's effectively a very simple roll and write.

Innis - Played this before, but spotted a demo to let a friend try it. Really solid area control/drafting game that combines a lot of different mechanics. 2nd edition box isn't as pretty.

Artemis Project Guy I met selling stuff recommended this - glad he did otherwise I'd have passed the booth by. Solid little dice roller, auction and worker placement game. Looks overwhelming, but very solid when it gets going.

Word Jam Hanabi meets Decrypto. I thought this was really good, but was annoyed when it wasn't for sale.

Star Wars: Outer Rim Really didn't like this. A simpler Firefly the game (good) but also...boring. There's no player interaction (might chance if more people chased bounties) but in a 4 player game I basically sat bored when not on my turn.

Keyforge Showed a friend this just to try it. It's still Keyforge and I don't get its huge appeal. Son and Dad playing next to us didn't seem impressed either.

Sagrada A pretty stain glass dice roller. Not sure I'd buy it. There's a lot going on so you don't really talk, and might be too RNG with such a focus on the dice. So pretty though

Dice City from the library for easy play in Hilton at night This was fine, but unremarkable. Too much RNG to be a satisfying engine builder and a combat focus seemed too strong

Left with Time Stories (£26 in Chaos Cards...was expecting £35), Bank Robbery (£25) and Artemis Project (£48)

Spreading over 2 halls was good shout - and even on the much busier 2nd day (didn't stay for the 3rd) it wasn't uncomfortably ram packed.

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PostRe: The Board Game Thread
by Tafdolphin » Mon Jun 03, 2019 12:17 pm

Nice round-up! Shame about Outer Rim, but I'm with you on Keyforge. It's fun once or twice but I don't get the lasting appeal.

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PostRe: The Board Game Thread
by Hexx » Mon Jun 10, 2019 5:01 pm

Pulsar 2849

Continues the theme of "looking really complicated, but is actually simple once it gets going". Very pretty, very thematic. Nice little roll and strategy game. Dice are used to move, activate actions or purchase upgrades, and players choose their dice from a communal pool. 

Solid and fun - I don't think it did anything revolutionary, but everything it did it did well. Also only has a few (although still different) routes to victory - so it's hard to go entirely wrong. (I think being too diverse might be though?)

Black Orchestra

I loved this. Failing to kill Hitler (in a serious and seemingly historically accurate..ish game) shouldn't have been that much fun. The actual mechanics are quite light (mixture of dice rolling, card management and pick up/delivery moments) - but it's thematically heavy.

I don't think it's one that you could play too regularly (I don't think the game is deep enough) but was something different.

Our team of incredibly unmotivated (and therefore with limited actions) but somehow highly suspicious conspirators repeatedly getting arrested en masse broke us. We should not have laughed as our careful assignation plan turned into a inescapable farce...but we did. If you "play to win" this might not be for you. Play for fun with friends who can laugh as chance/fate smashes them? Go for it

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Nun
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PostRe: The Board Game Thread
by Nun » Tue Jun 25, 2019 11:51 am

Any of you guys played 'Root: A Game of Woodland Might and Right'?

Debating whether or not to pick it up as I'm a big fan of the aesthetic and the idea of an asymmetric strategy game but having to potentially teach my whole group the rules for their faction each time we want to play sounds like it might get tedious.

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Rex Kramer
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PostRe: The Board Game Thread
by Rex Kramer » Wed Jul 03, 2019 9:01 am

Kickstarter launched for a Shovel Knight board game.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pa ... geon-duels



$70. Tempted as there seems a whole bunch in the box.

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Roonmastor
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PostRe: The Board Game Thread
by Roonmastor » Wed Jul 03, 2019 9:34 pm

Nun wrote:Any of you guys played 'Root: A Game of Woodland Might and Right'?

Debating whether or not to pick it up as I'm a big fan of the aesthetic and the idea of an asymmetric strategy game but having to potentially teach my whole group the rules for their faction each time we want to play sounds like it might get tedious.


Not played it. Shut up and Sit Down made it look rather good interesting though.


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Hexx
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PostRe: The Board Game Thread
by Hexx » Wed Jul 10, 2019 3:42 pm

Pandemic Legacy - July

We lost the first go of this badly. Second go we walked home. Still brilliant

In the first one we rushed our Colonal, the only kill machine we had, to the wrong area of the board. It was needed to contain a non-coda outbreak, but on reflection we should have let it happen. Additionally we didn't build enough bases so he could get killy. We did the search for the virologist in one go though :slol: so that's done forevery

Attempt to we focused on our newly recruited Soldier, Private Dancer. Whenever he leaves a city, someone dies :datass:

Game went much smoother with him moving around CODA zones quarantining and killing on his way out.

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PostRe: The Board Game Thread
by Tafdolphin » Wed Jul 10, 2019 5:45 pm

Rex Kramer wrote:Kickstarter launched for a Shovel Knight board game.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/pa ... geon-duels



$70. Tempted as there seems a whole bunch in the box.


Have any board games based on video games been any good? Dark Souls is apparently quite naff, same with DOOM and XCOM and Fallout was outright bad.

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