Board 8 > thirty-one tabletop games, ranked

Topic List
Page List: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 ... 10
SeabassDebeste
03/21/18 11:59:57 AM
#201:


The Mana Sword posted...
I've never actually played Bananagrams.

Tom Bombadil posted...
man I was gonna say bananagrams but I didn't think it counted as a dexterity game. I liked it the one time I played, though! My extensive Scrabble background served me well.

SeabassDebeste posted...
Can you trace your hobby to a specific day? Do you remember that day? Is it the same as the first time you played a game, or do you think it's different when you 'go into games'?


Hm, I could answer that a few different ways:
-I was always into tabletop games, although growing up I was only really exposed to the classic ones
-I started getting into....hobby games, they seem to be called?...when I was introduced to Catan in high school
-When I got to college, I kinda started my whole floor in on Catan and other games, and really enjoyed that.
-But probably the day I really became A Tabletop Gamer was the day I was told that you could play Dominion online for free.
-I seem to be kicking it up another level the last couple of months, now that I have more opportunities to actually play games with people.

I'm playing fast and loose with the genre definitions! I've also never played a full game of Scrabble, I think. Just Words with Friends.

I'd agree that if your obsession is deckbuilders, then discovering Dominion probably approximates your getting really into the hobby! Happy for you that you've gotten more chances to play games with humans! Change of circumstances for you lately?

The Mana Sword posted...
I've never actually played Bananagrams.

it's not life-changing, but it's efficient as hell. And those tiles make a really nice clacking sound.
---
yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness
... Copied to Clipboard!
Girugamesh
03/21/18 12:02:05 PM
#202:


Tom Bombadil posted...
man I was gonna say bananagrams but I didn't think it counted as a dexterity game.

Same! Love me some Bananagrams.
---
... Copied to Clipboard!
Cybat
03/21/18 12:34:36 PM
#203:


Bananagrams is great, didn't think it would show up in this list. Unfortunately one of my friends and I are noticeably better than the rest of the group so we don't play it much.
---
Is it crazy how saying sentences backwards creates backwards sentences saying how crazy it is?
... Copied to Clipboard!
Tom Bombadil
03/21/18 12:40:36 PM
#204:


SeabassDebeste posted...
Change of circumstances for you lately?


Bit! Wifebolo has given games a shot, and is more adaptable than either of us expected. And then we started regularly hanging out with a group that is amenable, AND some old friends moved into the area and are as into games as I am
---
Look at all those chickens
There's a hunger in the land, there's a reckoning still to be reckoned
... Copied to Clipboard!
SeabassDebeste
03/21/18 2:08:18 PM
#205:


Loving the love being given to Bananagrams!

banananor posted...
i've mentioned bananagrams in this topic before, it's awesome

you can set your own pace and competitiveness, it has good rubber banding mechanics so you never feel too terrible, it stretches my brain (i'm unpracticed/bad at scrabble types), and the whole experience is excellently tactile

not sure if there was a "moment" when i became a tabletop gamer. there were always just different games and different people to play them with. i think my dad ran a d&d adventure for the family called "Night of the Vampire" (complete with ridiculous audio cd) when i was young and that 100% sealed my fate

Yeah, I really like the way bananagrams tickles me mentally. Also, great story about your dad! Need to find someone to host D&D for me!

Cybat posted...
Bananagrams is great, didn't think it would show up in this list. Unfortunately one of my friends and I are noticeably better than the rest of the group so we don't play it much.

It can be a tough game to be dominated in if you have half your letters unplaced and don't have the intuition. Hearing this makes me want to make really sure my kids learn to read from a very young age.

Tom Bombadil posted...
Bit! Wifebolo has given games a shot, and is more adaptable than either of us expected. And then we started regularly hanging out with a group that is amenable, AND some old friends moved into the area and are as into games as I am

This is great, really happy on your behalf!
---
yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness
... Copied to Clipboard!
SeabassDebeste
03/21/18 2:17:28 PM
#206:


also, if anyone wants to try to guess what's in the top 10, feel free! i won't be too specific yet, but a few pointers:

#10 is obscure enough that i'd be okay if people tried to use google on my previous hint to find it. it'll probably turn up.

two of the entries (which will be ranked together) are a 3 + 1 - as in 3 really similar games, plus one in the same franchise

there are three euros left on the game, including one that's by far the heaviest game here outside of AGOT:TBG

two are mega-popular games, and their names have almost certainly come up in these topics

one is an ancient mass market game that has been re-implemented by the hobby market, but i have the mass-market version on this list

one is an obscure lifestyle game based on a non-obscure IP
---
yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness
... Copied to Clipboard!
banananor
03/21/18 4:50:33 PM
#207:


i have no idea what any of those are going to be

makes the top 10 more exciting
---
You did indeed stab me in the back. However, you are only level one, whilst I am level 50. That means I should remain uninjured.
... Copied to Clipboard!
skullbone
03/21/18 4:51:44 PM
#208:


I know that Betrayal is probably one of the 10

"two are mega-popular games, and their names have almost certainly come up in these topics"

in that category most likely.
---
skull
... Copied to Clipboard!
BakusaiTenketsu
03/21/18 8:30:49 PM
#209:


I'd like to think Pandemic would be a top 10 table top game. Maybe Crokinole as well.
---
... Copied to Clipboard!
MajinZidane
03/21/18 10:08:26 PM
#210:


magic the gathering top ten
---
Virtue - "You don't need a reason to Boko United."
... Copied to Clipboard!
Naye745
03/21/18 11:59:48 PM
#211:


im betting on 10 board games
---
it's an underwater adventure ride
... Copied to Clipboard!
Girugamesh
03/22/18 5:11:58 AM
#212:


1. Clue

The original Mysterium.
---
... Copied to Clipboard!
SeabassDebeste
03/22/18 9:39:39 AM
#213:


got in my second game of terraforming mars last night, so if i were re-doing the list, it would chart, probably in the 50s or 60s. i admire the design a lot but learning the cards is such a steep barrier of entry that can make games drag out a really long time. if i played it like 5 times then it might rank high...!
---
yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness
... Copied to Clipboard!
The Mana Sword
03/22/18 9:51:37 AM
#214:


you should play it five times and redo the list then
---
... Copied to Clipboard!
SeabassDebeste
03/22/18 10:13:59 AM
#215:


last night there were three new players and two of them complained about the component quality
---
yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness
... Copied to Clipboard!
The Mana Sword
03/22/18 10:15:53 AM
#216:


Really? The player boards are a little flimsy, sure, but the cubes and cards all feel fine.
---
... Copied to Clipboard!
SeabassDebeste
03/22/18 10:45:40 AM
#217:


yeah, i think the player mat (and a bit of the graphic design) drew most of the ire. bumping a player mat results in some bad feels.
---
yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness
... Copied to Clipboard!
SeabassDebeste
03/22/18 11:48:43 AM
#218:


10. Dracula's Feast
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/159575/draculas-feast

Genre/mechanics: Social deduction, player powers, hidden roles, party game
Rules complexity: 3/10
Game length: 5-15 minutes
Player count: 4-8
Experience: 20+ games with 4-8
First played: 2017

Dracula's Feast is a simple hidden roles game themed around Dracula hosting a mascarade dinner party. Each role is a monster, such as a Werewolf, the wannabe Alucard, Van Helsing, or a Boogie Monster, and each has a special power that's generally used upon revealing your role. The goal of the game is to make a successful Grand Accusation - guessing each player's role.

On your turn, you can either query (ask a yes/no question about someone's role); ask someone to dance (if they agree, you look at one another's roles); or make a grand accusation (reveal your own role and name everyone else's). If you are correct on everyone's role, you win. Each character also has a special power.

Enjoyment - A big reason for my soft spot for Dracula's Feast - it's my only Kickstarter game. Owning it made me special! But also, it's a game that no one ever wants to play just once after learning the rules and the roles. You want to experience being the other roles, you want to take bigger risks after you were just one turn away, you want to just experience it again. It hasn't always brought the house down, but it's always caught people attention and been played more than once.

Design - Dracula's Feast has excellent, simple components. The double-sided player aide explains each role on one side and entirely teaches the rules on the next. The whisper cards have shadowy whispers on the back, and they're differently shaded to distinguish between the two. The role cards are large, and the accusation cards - which are used during accusation and also serve to remind you what roles are in the game - have the same art, but on a smaller card. There aren't a ton of pieces, but DF nails it on all counts.

Oh, and the game itself is really pleasant, too. It's incredibly fast-moving (as long as you can track whose turn it is - the whispers and dances can make that a little confusing!) at one action per turn. Everything is intuitive, and each character has different incentives to ask different people questions. There's just enough deduction, since even when you are not acting, you should be paying attention to who initiates which actions, and what that might mean about their role. Like most great games, you'll generally feel like you wanted just one more turn instead of wishing the game were shorter.

I'm not convinced it's perfectly balanced at all player counts. Van Helsing always has a powerful role, and the Zombie and Werewolf are often favored as well. But it's a light enough game that that shouldn't matter, especially at lower player counts.

Future - With the right groups, I like adding the Advanced Roles. I also have the Cthulu expansion from the Kickstarter that I haven't had need to get to the table (as no single group has played the initial game quite enough yet!)

Bonus question - What game(s) do you take credit for "discovering" in your groups?

Hint for #9 - We're grouping three games together for #9 since they all come from a similar family. #8 reimplements the first of these games in a method that's becoming very trendy.
---
yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness
... Copied to Clipboard!
Tom Bombadil
03/22/18 12:20:20 PM
#219:


SeabassDebeste posted...
What game(s) do you take credit for "discovering" in your groups?


Settlers and Killer Bunnies in my college group
the existence of board games with my wife
Party Playoff with my normie friend
Near & Far with my most common group

are the ones that people got hyped over
---
Look at all those chickens
There's a hunger in the land, there's a reckoning still to be reckoned
... Copied to Clipboard!
cyko
03/22/18 12:52:05 PM
#220:


I am going with Pandemic and Pandemic Legacy for 9 and 8.
---
Yay - BkSheikah is the guru champion of awesomeness.
... Copied to Clipboard!
MartinFF7
03/22/18 1:11:49 PM
#221:


Just came across this topic and seems as good a place as any to check if somebody can help. I played Codenames for the first time a few days ago and I loved it! Don't think I've seen it yet here meaning it's ranked in top 10? So, that's nice.

Now I'm trying to find a single player version of the game that I can play in the meantime, I figured it'd be a prime opportunity for someone to have coded a single player variant using something like IBM Watson for word associations, yet it doesn't seem to exist yet??? Devastating.

If anyone does know a single player online version of the game, feel free to let me know, thanks...
... Copied to Clipboard!
Alanna82
03/22/18 1:21:39 PM
#222:


Hubby and I "discovered" dungeon dice at a convention when someone invited us to play. Now everyone we play with loves it. (Though the final expansion might not come out, last news was the developer caught a chronic disease. No news since then)
---
Don't mess with a Bunny!
... Copied to Clipboard!
MajinZidane
03/22/18 2:28:32 PM
#223:


Do you consider mtg to be a tabletop game?
---
Virtue - "You don't need a reason to Boko United."
... Copied to Clipboard!
trdl23
03/22/18 2:49:52 PM
#224:


Boko you still havent Cubed with me yet
---
E come vivo? Vivo!
... Copied to Clipboard!
SeabassDebeste
03/22/18 3:12:10 PM
#225:


MajinZidane posted...
Do you consider mtg to be a tabletop game?

I do! But it's borderline, and I have only played it once or twice. A lifestyle game like that is gonna have a very hard time making this list if I don't immerse myself into it. I played Yu-Gi-Oh! ages ago but it hasn't been part of my life as a hobby lately, so it also doesn't quite fit.

Hope that makes sense.
---
yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness
... Copied to Clipboard!
SeabassDebeste
03/22/18 3:59:08 PM
#226:


so uh

my hint for 9/8 (and the writeup for it) was actually for 8 and 7

you guys will get over it though

8. Pandemic / Forbidden Island / Forbidden Desert
7. Pandemic Legacy (Season 1)

Genre/mechanics: Cooperative, player movement, hand management, set collection, legacy game (Pandemic Legacy)
Rules complexity: 5/10 (Pandemic, Forbidden Desert), 3/10 (Forbidden Island), 6/10 (Pandemic Legacy)
Game length: 40-60 minutes (Pandemic, Forbidden Desert, Pandemic Legacy), 30-40 minutes (Forbidden Island)
Player count: 2-4 (Pandemic/Legacy/Forbidden Island), 2-5 (Forbidden Desert)
Experience: 10+ plays of Pandemic, 20+ plays of Forbidden Island, 4-6 plays of Forbidden Desert, all of S1 Pandemic Legacy
First played: 2012 (Forbidden Island), 2013 (Pandemic), 2015 (Forbidden Desert), 2016 (Pandemic Legacy)

In Matt Leacock's series of games, you cooperate with the other players to save the world from disease, or explore a sinking island, or save yourself from a desert. In any case, you're generally collecting a set of cards or items to solve the puzzle (to research the disease, or capture cool artifacts, or discover the buried parts to your airplane), moving your pawns across a map, reducing the threat level (infection, flooding, sand dunes). Stall too long and the circumstnaces will overwhelm you.

Pandemic Legacy is among the first Legacy games - a finite campaign experience meant to be played with the same group over multiple sessions. Over the course of one "year," it tells a story about a regular infection in a regular Pandemic game that mutates badly, and the intervention that is needed beyond your usual CDC theming. Characters get upgrades, cards get removed, and the map gets modified over the course of the game; meanwhile, the scenarios can change the goals game-to-game.

Enjoyment - Forbidden Island is the first cooperative game I played, and the first one where I learned it solely through playing by the rulebook. It's the one I've played the most, since I blind-bought it, the simplest, and among the most focused in strategy. It is super-light but has the look and 'experience-ish' feel of a centerpiece game.

So after a while, I ordered Pandemic. And ironically... it only hit the table once at home. It felt physically fiddly to have to put those cubes on each city (and it didn't help that I was stacking them). It was Forbidden Island-esque, but with a less visually appealing design and more text to parse and a grindier, less whimsical feel to it. And I wound up knocking down stacks for the outbreaks, which was annoying. So it didn't get played again until much, much later - at which point I felt it was a great change of pace from Forbidden Island.

Bananagrams was Ground Zero for the hobby gaming for me, and Blood Bound was one of my favorite experiences from that day. But was it a week? or a day? later - that we were invited in a smaller group to play some more games. Forbidden Desert was the final game of the evening, and it felt like a bigger, more interesting Forbidden Island. We played two or three consecutive games that night, and after the "I'm glad we tried that" feeling toward BANG! and Ticket to Ride, this was something that felt immediately gripping... and actually made me want to go deeper.

Pandemic Legacy is the last game I played with the friend responsible for hosting countless game nights before she moved away, breaking up our four-person core. In an era where our most replayed games were Pit and Jungle Speed, scrounging out the time to play a dozen sessions of Pandemic Legacy in three months was quite the experience. We finished December of the game on the floor of her apartment with almost all the furniture packed up.
---
yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness
... Copied to Clipboard!
SeabassDebeste
03/22/18 3:59:12 PM
#227:


Design - The basic premise behind Pandemic (and copied in Forbidden Island) is really neat - you have an Infection Deck that the board "plays," targeting the board, and a Player Deck form which you draw cards to try to solve the crisis. The problem is that the Player Deck has some nasty surprises for you, which intensify the situation and cause the same cities to become infected over and over. Since that slate of cities is effectively random at the beginning of the game, each game is different because of it. It's elegantly designed.

You can't fully talk about Pandemic (this entire family of lighter-weight, perfect information coop games, really) without addressing the "quarterback" or "alpha player" issue. Reasonably, you can describe Pandemic as a single-player game, as there's no mechanism in place preventing the strongest player from dictating each other player's moves. As a result, your experience will depend on your crowd. I think the best way around it is to play with people who are able to let others make decisions while being willing to offer their own thoughts when asked for them. A friend of mine prefers the no-talking variant, which seems pretty damn brutal.

Pandemic Legacy's gameplay modifications are really neat. (spoilers for the game - it does have a storyline) The faded figure minis are also awesome, and the military twist is foreshadowed but still managed to catch me off guard. Always something new to think about, though it's considerably fiddlier than Pandemic. I thought the change in direction in December was fantastic.

Forbidden Desert has something different going on from Island or Pandemic. The game has a lot of elements that don't integrate quite as seamlessly - there's no "focus on this problem area" strategy ;you have to worry about the sun and about water (and refilling your water occasionally); you can lose for some reason due to a bunch of sand falling on a desert, which doesn't exactly make a ton of sense. But I really like some of the other ways it works - the subgoals aren't printed on your player cards, but rather on the board with locator tiles. The spatial aspect is fantastic, as you shift the modular desert tiles into the empty space. And perhaps shallowly, I adore the plane mini - you literally assemble the little model plane, and if sucessful, you place your pawns in it and fly away. HOW FANTASTIC IS THAT.

Future - Because the games are a puzzle, I tend to enjoy sharing them with newer gamers more. For that purpose, Forbidden Island is the fastest to play and the simplest to teach, and those are reasons enough to love it. But it's fun to save the world in the thinkier Pandemic, too. And of course, I haven't played Desert enough to tire of it at all - as I don't own it - so I'm still super-eager to explore it.

Pandemic Legacy S1 probably won't be touched again, but it was a great ride. And since we've replaced the friend who left our city, Pandemic Legacy S2 has a good chance of hitting the table someday. Someday...

Bonus questions - What is your favorite cooperative game? What is your favorite series of games? Do you like Legacy games?

Hint for #9 - the most generic eurogame theme of all time attached to a fighter jet
---
yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness
... Copied to Clipboard!
The Mana Sword
03/22/18 4:05:55 PM
#228:


here is my favorite picture of pandemic

WFtVFOS
---
... Copied to Clipboard!
trdl23
03/22/18 4:19:37 PM
#229:


Pandemic is really high-variance in my plays, and it irked me for a faster cooperative game to be THAT swingy.

I love Arkham Horror, which also has some swingy cards, but the difference is that you always expect something terrible from the Mythos Deck, and it never just says lol everyone loses.
---
E come vivo? Vivo!
... Copied to Clipboard!
SeabassDebeste
03/22/18 4:53:21 PM
#230:


The Mana Sword posted...


what specifically do you dislike?

trdl23 posted...
Pandemic is really high-variance in my plays, and it irked me for a faster cooperative game to be THAT swingy.

I love Arkham Horror, which also has some swingy cards, but the difference is that you always expect something terrible from the Mythos Deck, and it never just says lol everyone loses.

yeah, you can lose pandemic (all of these games, really) with no recourse due to an unlucky infection deck or bad sequencing of hazard cards in your draw deck. doesn't necessarily make the process much less enjoyable to me, since winning still requires a combination of skill and luck!
---
yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness
... Copied to Clipboard!
Epyo
03/22/18 9:07:04 PM
#231:


I also hate pandemic. I feel like pandemic is the most quarterbacky coop I've played. It's easy for someone to start quarterbacking, AND it's also the most effective way to play. This is strictly against what I think board games are for, a playground where you can do whatever strategies and tactics you want, not having to worry about what someone else wants you to do.

Haven't played legacy though (although I know it wouldn't be my cup of tea, I only like a game if I can explore it 100s of times, deeper and deeper)
---
People who don't finish their sentences
I'm a Castlevania superfan! Ask me anything!
... Copied to Clipboard!
The Mana Sword
03/22/18 9:36:04 PM
#232:


Yeah, I dont like coop games to begin with so thats one strike against it. And like someone said, the game can spiral out of control real quick if youre unlucky and thats extremely unfun, especially when you feel like youve been doing well up to that point.

To be fair Ive only played it a few times, but none of my plays were particularly enjoyable. Havent played the legacy variant.
---
... Copied to Clipboard!
Tom Bombadil
03/22/18 10:12:13 PM
#233:


are there co-op games that aren't quarterbacky? Pandemic is my only real experience with 'em (and marvel legendary I guess but that's only semi-co-op)
---
Look at all those chickens
There's a hunger in the land, there's a reckoning still to be reckoned
... Copied to Clipboard!
Tom Bombadil
03/22/18 10:14:55 PM
#234:


Legacy games really intrigue me but I haven't tried one yet

I came very close to buying charterstone instead of near & far but it just felt like too much commitment
---
Look at all those chickens
There's a hunger in the land, there's a reckoning still to be reckoned
... Copied to Clipboard!
SeabassDebeste
03/22/18 10:15:26 PM
#235:


Tom Bombadil posted...
are there co-op games that aren't quarterbacky? Pandemic is my only real experience with 'em (and marvel legendary I guess but that's only semi-co-op)

limited communication and "overwhelming information" games can do this, i believe
---
yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness
... Copied to Clipboard!
Great_Paul
03/22/18 10:15:44 PM
#236:


The Grizzled is pretty good for avoiding that because everybody has their own hand of cards and you can't share info on what you have.
---
Bear Bro
It's kinda coincidental how like in most games pigs are evil.
... Copied to Clipboard!
The Mana Sword
03/22/18 10:17:55 PM
#237:


Legacy games are neat, but the base game still needs to be good. Risk Legacy was fun because it helps build on a base game thats still good. Seafall is bad because the core of Seafall kinda sucks even if the legacy elements are alright.
---
... Copied to Clipboard!
cyko
03/22/18 11:52:14 PM
#238:


I loved Pandemic Legacy. It was a great experience. In my experience, the best way to fight quarterbacking is to have 4 players of equal skill. When everyone at the table has an opinion, it encourages different moves.

As far as coop games that are hard to quarterback, having a real time aspect really helps. Fuse is one of my favorite coops for that reason. Xcom is also pretty good.
---
Yay - BkSheikah is the guru champion of awesomeness.
... Copied to Clipboard!
redrocket_pub
03/23/18 12:03:37 AM
#239:


I can't say much about what I think about Legacy games without some spoilers, so here we go:

Spoilers for Risk Legacy and Pandemic Legacy:

I like the idea of Legacy games in theory, but one thing I absolutely require is that you still have a playable game after the campaign is over. This is what my group enjoyed about Risk Legacy. After the campaign is all said and done, we have our very own unique Risk board, but one that can still be played indefinitely into the future if we want. This is why we passed on Pandemic Legacy, because it was spoiled that the game renders itself basically unplayable after the events of December.
---
Blasting off
... Copied to Clipboard!
Simoun
03/23/18 12:41:39 AM
#240:


Never got a chance to like Pandemic. Everytime I see it it just makes me want Arkham Horror instead. They're both a bit similar but theme wins me over
---
It's not so cliche anymore when it's happening to you.
... Copied to Clipboard!
SeabassDebeste
03/23/18 9:36:39 AM
#241:


i wish i could play arkham horror. but the playtime and reputation put me off of buying it and i don't know anyone who has it. maybe i should plan on trying it next time i go to the meetup at the store.

seafall i demoed at gen con and sadly didn't find anything enjoyable (other than the flavor text) during the run.

i recently played azul for the second time so it would chart if i did the list today... very neat little abstract with fantastic components in the splendor vein. probably would rank in the middle of the list, 40s or so, but if i owned it and could play it a ton, its ranking could rise a lot.
---
yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness
... Copied to Clipboard!
trdl23
03/23/18 9:42:23 AM
#242:


Clearly you need to come up to Michigan and play it with me. Its a long playtime and a lot of micro, but the challenge and exhilaration is worth it.

That being said, the base game is good but not great, so the Dunwich expansion is mandatory to get the full experience.
---
E come vivo? Vivo!
... Copied to Clipboard!
SeabassDebeste
03/23/18 9:59:58 AM
#243:


oh god, i need to play the expansion too?!
---
yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness
... Copied to Clipboard!
trdl23
03/23/18 10:08:05 AM
#244:


The expansion actually makes the game go faster.
---
E come vivo? Vivo!
... Copied to Clipboard!
Naye745
03/23/18 11:17:42 AM
#245:


Have you played season 2 of pandemic legacy yet?
---
it's an underwater adventure ride
... Copied to Clipboard!
SeabassDebeste
03/23/18 11:27:21 AM
#246:


i haven't, but it's on our radar!
---
yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness
... Copied to Clipboard!
SeabassDebeste
03/23/18 11:38:38 AM
#247:


9. Concordia
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/124361/concordia

Genre/mechanics: Resource management, area control, engine-building, card-drafting, action selection, hand management
Rules complexity: 8/10
Game length: 60-120 minutes
Player count: 2-5
Experience: 3 games with 3, 5 players
First played: 2017

Concordia is about trading goods in the ancient Mediterranean. You have colonists who sail and build settlements, which generate resources. The gameplay in Concordia is entirely card-driven - you have access to your entire deck of cards in your hand, and on your turn you simply play one to take the action. Some of the cards allow you to purchase other cards (added immediately to your hand). You do not need to play every card - resting as your action refreshes your hand. The cards are worth VP depending on your board state.

Enjoyment - It's kind of mind-blowing how much I enjoyed this dry, boring eurogame. Trading in the Mediterranean is almost a memetically generic theme in a eurogame. But after playing it, I had it on my mind non-stop for months. I deliberately sought it out at the game store to play because it's so dope.

Design - It's all about the elegance in Concordia. Like so many of well-designed games, your turn in Concordia is one action. It takes a bit to learn each card's power and perhaps the cost of each structure (and setup is something of a bear), but once you get that, it's intuitive as hell - one of the least fiddly eurogames of its weight. There are no rounds or phases, so there's literally zero "accounting" work.

The other aspect about playing Concordia that's so rewarding is that it's an extremely nice, constructive game. There's some area control to it, but it's not as vicious as Settlers of Catan, for example - if someone occupies the city you want, you can still build there, at a higher cost. One of the best ways to gain resources is the Prefect action, in which you choose a region and have all the cities their produce goods. Doing so grants you a bonus resource, and everyone there gets resources. No annoying dice like in Catan! Whoo!

Taking the Prefect action in one area technically denies another player from using the same Prefect action there to get the bonus resource... but it will be available again once someone takes the Restore action using a Prefect card - you reset the regions for Prefect, and you get paid coin for each region you've restored. Again, it's constructive interaction, and it feels good.

The scoring in Concordia is pretty great, too. This can be tough to explain to people, because it's opaque: each card is worth X victory points, where X represents your board state. For example, each "Mars" card gives you two points per colonist. So if you have three Mars cards in your deck and six colonists, then you'll get 18 points. Due to the multiplicative way this works, it's important both to build your board and to draft cards for VP (and their actions, of course).

Finally - and I love this - there's an incentive for ending the game. The player who reaches 15 cities, or drafts the final card from the marketplace, receives the Concordia Card, worth 7 VP. Each other player then gets one turn except for the game-ender. Pretty damn good incentive to rush a bit, or prepare yourself to make high-valued plays at game end.

Future - Highly considering buying Concordia. Now that I've played it three times the "itch" is scratched, but it's something I'd want to bring to the table frequently, and to have the power to do so.

Bonus question - What is your favorite "trading in the Mediterranean" themed eurogame? What game surprised you with how much you liked it, based on its genre?

Hint for #6 - a eurogame that's the opposite of Concordia in fiddliness and elegance, which got a second edition ten years after the first
---
yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness
... Copied to Clipboard!
th3l3fty
03/23/18 11:43:55 AM
#248:


Concordia is great stuff

I've never had a bad experience in all my plays of it
---
thelefty for analysis crew 2008 imo -transience
I have a third degree burn in flame-o-nomics -Sir Chris
... Copied to Clipboard!
Tom Bombadil
03/23/18 11:48:40 AM
#249:


oh that sounds pretty great
---
Look at all those chickens
There's a hunger in the land, there's a reckoning still to be reckoned
... Copied to Clipboard!
SeabassDebeste
03/23/18 12:56:51 PM
#250:


i think it would be tough to have a negative experience playing concordia, aside from the usual caveats about people taking too long or not grasping the game

and in fairness, that does suck
---
yet all sailors of all sorts are more or less capricious and unreliable - they live in the varying outer weather, and they inhale its fickleness
... Copied to Clipboard!
Topic List
Page List: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 ... 10