Board Games

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by Pumpy Tudors

I have not played Fresco, but Alhambra frankly drags a little bit once you get above 3 players, in my opinion. It is a very good game, but I did a 5-player table at the World Boardgaming Championships, and it just felt really slow, even with a couple of experienced players. Then again, I can't say that Fresco is any better, but it's something to think about. For a game that has very simple mechanics (speaking of base Alhambra), it seems like it could or should move faster. Don't get me wrong, I do love the game, but I only love it at 2 or 3 players. I only "like" it at 4 or more.


I wouldn't describe Small World as a civ building game. It's entirely area control. It's just a matter of managing your armies for some length of time and then throwing them away when they get too weak or spread out. I like the game a lot, but just beware of one thing. If any of your kids don't like direct conflict, they're not going to be happy. The game practically requires that you attack and be attacked throughout. It's still a very nice, light-to-medium game.

Thanks Pumpy I have gotten some similar opinions on Alhambra and am leaning to Fresco. Playing the game with my tween girls or fiancee the theme ee may play better for them too.

[tarcone]

I splurged tonight. And Im having slight buyers remorse. Since I spent somuch money. But I have wanted this game for a long time. And it is an international game that I dont want to buy from Germany.
And, while Minature Market is starting to carry international games, I dont see this one coming in the future.
The game I bought is Turf Master and 2 of its track expansions.

This an outstanding game. Best racing game ever.

So I spent way too much money.

Oh well.

[tarcone]

Just found this game.

Techno Bowl : Arcade Football Unplugged.

It goes live on Kickstarter tomorrow at 9 am

Here is the BGG link

Techno Bowl: Arcade Football Unplugged | Board Game | BoardGameGeek

[tarcone]

Guys, 3 of us are about to start a Thunder Alley 4 race series on Vassal. We are looking for a couple guys to join.

We just finished a series. It took 4 of us 13 months to complete. But we did it.

If you can commit to a bunch of fun. PM me or respond.

And I won the last series. WOO HOO

[Flasch186]

Originally Posted by tarcone

Guys, 3 of us are about to start a Thunder Alley 4 race series on Vassal. We are looking for a couple guys to join.

We just finished a series. It took 4 of us 13 months to complete. But we did it.

If you can commit to a bunch of fun. PM me or respond.

And I won the last series. WOO HOO

How does one do it?

[tarcone]

Need vassal and dropbox.

Download Thunder Alley module and join the game. Actually play a game to familiarize yourself of how Vassal works.

Vassal is easy to use and a great platform.

Dropbox is where we put our logfiles.

[Flasch186]

Ive played the board game (cant get others to play ) Im DL'ing Vassal now. I have dropbox.

Im getting 2.01 TA mod

Ok, im good to go

Just tell me what to do

[tarcone]

Yes version 2.01

Plays just like the board game. And Vassal is pretty easy to use. play a quick game and tell me if you want to join.

We have a running thread at BGG we keep in contact on.

[Flasch186]

I already know I do. Lets do it

Whats the BGG thread and Ill bookmark it.

[tarcone]

Here is the current thread. Post there

Four to the Floor | Thunder Alley | BoardGameGeek

[tarcone]

And Awesome. Great having yoy aboard

[Vince, Pt. II]

This is more of a tease post than anything, but I got SeaFall in yesterday. It's a Legacy Game created by the brains behind Risk: Legacy. It took forever in development and reviews have not been glowing of late, but I am still very excited about a naval themed Legacy Game.

Tease post because I probably won't be able to play it for a while, so I won't be able to tell anyone about it until I get it to table.

[bob]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

This is more of a tease post than anything, but I got SeaFall in yesterday. It's a Legacy Game created by the brains behind Risk: Legacy. It took forever in development and reviews have not been glowing of late, but I am still very excited about a naval themed Legacy Game.

Tease post because I probably won't be able to play it for a while, so I won't be able to tell anyone about it until I get it to table.

Looking forward to reading your long term review on this. What I've read is that it eventually gets good and interesting, but you have to slog through a lot of crap to get there.

[booradley]

What is the best basketball "quick-play" game that can easily be used for high school competition? Basically, I want to rate teams based on Points per Game, Points Allowed per Game, and perhaps tempo (shots per minute/game). Ability to generate individual stats welcome, but lack thereof isn't a dealbreaker.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by booradley

What is the best basketball "quick-play" game that can easily be used for high school competition? Basically, I want to rate teams based on Points per Game, Points Allowed per Game, and perhaps tempo (shots per minute/game). Ability to generate individual stats welcome, but lack thereof isn't a dealbreaker.

Off the top of my head (assuming they're still around following his death, last I saw they were), the Downey Games quick play series _might_ have something that allows homebrewed ratings like that.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

Off the top of my head (assuming they're still around following his death, last I saw they were), the Downey Games quick play series _might_ have something that allows homebrewed ratings like that.

JIMG is spot on. Ultra Quick basketball or Player of the Game are thee options really. If you changee your mind as far as a pull play game Classic Colleege or Pro basketball followed by Hoops and Tom Moink basketball (TMG) are the way to go.

[Umbrella]

Originally Posted by booradley

What is the best basketball "quick-play" game that can easily be used for high school competition? Basically, I want to rate teams based on Points per Game, Points Allowed per Game, and perhaps tempo (shots per minute/game). Ability to generate individual stats welcome, but lack thereof isn't a dealbreaker.

Avalon Hill had a game called March Madness. I haven't played in years, so my memory is a bit hazy, but here goes. It had rules for creating your own teams. You rated your starters on PPG, and then for everyone else, they are collectively the bench, also rated on PPG. You also had a defensive rating, based on PPG allowed. These rated from A to F, except defense, which was A to C. For high school, you may have to tweak this a little, since it is based on a 40 minute, pre-shot clock game.

Here are some examples based on real teams from cards in the game.



I don't remember how coaches ratings were determined, so you would need to use your own judgement. From there, you played certain strategy cards pertaining to various defenses and strategies. Box and 1, full court press, zone, etc. If I remember correctly, there were some tempo options in these cards. I also think the coaching rating determined how many cards you could use. Here are some examples.



The colored dots represented positions that could use the cards. Dice rolling is involved, and you determine how many points each player plus the bench scores from a table. At halftime, repeat and rinse.

The game was designed to play the entire 64 team (at the time) tournament, so the individual games were pretty quick. It was pretty fun, and the scores were generally realistic, based on the era of the game.

According to BGG (which I give credit for the attached pictures), there is a vassal module, so you might want to check it out.

[tarcone]

What exactly do you mean by "quick-play"?

Do you want a coaching sim? Or do you want a game that you can create players and teams and play in 30-60 minutes? Or both?

[booradley]

Originally Posted by tarcone

What exactly do you mean by "quick-play"?

Do you want a coaching sim? Or do you want a game that you can create players and teams and play in 30-60 minutes? Or both?

I'm looking to resolves a game in 5 minutes or less. I also need a quick methodology to rate a lot of teams. The focus is on replay, not coaching, although a little light strategy would be nice.

Thanks for all the help thus far!

[ColtCrazy]

March Madness is exactly what you want. Takes some time, but it is easy to rate new teams. Games play in 10-15 minutes once you get the hang of it. I played a whole tournament once in a week.

I've actually made cards for the 2016 NCAA Tourney teams that I sell on ebay but would share with the FOF crowd if they want. I plan on making some more tourney years. Also have a few modern great teams I either made or found when I did my all-time tourney last year.

[booradley]

Great - I will give this a look!

[booradley]

I know you've been dying for an update on this, and I am accordingly pleased to tell you that I was able to purchase a copy of Avalon Hill's March Madness for $5.99 off ebay, with free shipping. It's like they're giving away happiness!!

Anyway, thanks again.

[Thomkal]

Tabletop Season 4 starts tomorrow on YouTube:

TableTop SEASON 4 Is Coming TOMORROW! - YouTube

[bob]

Thought this was interesting:

How a Board Game Helps DoD Win Real Battles - GovTechWorks

[mckerney]

Star Wars Destiny is going to be a very expensive habit once cards are actually in stock.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Originally Posted by bob

Thought this was interesting:

How a Board Game Helps DoD Win Real Battles - GovTechWorks

Cool article, thanks for posting.

[Ned Doolittle]

Is there any board game that involves elves, dwarves, orcs figures and you like roll dice to attack and roll dice to defend? Almost like a mixture of Risk and like Warhammer? I want to play with my 8 yr old. Right now we made up our own game using his knights and skeleton figurines (think cowboy and Indians figurines) using dice and it's quite intricate more or less considering he's only 8. But other than the guy we designate as our general (for the knights) and 3 headed dragon figurine (who controls the skeleton army) who have more hit points there isn't much difference between an archer fighting a swordsman as far as our game mechanics go so I'd like something more official on a nice game board (we made our own "board" on a huuuuge sheet of paper, it's divided into two sides, one side is forests where the human knights start and the other side is lava and skull mountains where the skeleton army start off). I want a game board that looks like some of those cool Warhammer type battlefields. He's into LOTR A LOT hence wanting the elves, dwarves theme.

Thanks.

[CleBrownsfan]

Originally Posted by Ned Doolittle

Is there any board game that involves elves, dwarves, orcs figures and you like roll dice to attack and roll dice to defend? Almost like a mixture of Risk and like Warhammer? I want to play with my 8 yr old. Right now we made up our own game using his knights and skeleton figurines (think cowboy and Indians figurines) using dice and it's quite intricate more or less considering he's only 8. But other than the guy we designate as our general (for the knights) and 3 headed dragon figurine (who controls the skeleton army) who have more hit points there isn't much difference between an archer fighting a swordsman as far as our game mechanics go so I'd like something more official on a nice game board (we made our own "board" on a huuuuge sheet of paper, it's divided into two sides, one side is forests where the human knights start and the other side is lava and skull mountains where the skeleton army start off). I want a game board that looks like some of those cool Warhammer type battlefields. He's into LOTR A LOT hence wanting the elves, dwarves theme.

Thanks.

Maybe Battlelore Second Edition?

[Vince, Pt. II]

Maybe Mage Knight? That's an incredibly complex game, though.

[tarcone]

Wizards Quest.

No elves or dwarves. But Wizards, Dragons and Orcs.

Its OOP. But you should be able to find it on BGG. Think a little more complex than Risk. But not overly so.

There are variants over on BGG as well I believe.

[Honolulu_Blue]

Defenders of The Realm might fit the bill.

It's essentially Pandemic with a D&D twist.

It's a co-op game, so it's easy to teach and play with a kid. The rules are pretty simply. You each have a hero and have to fight off four separate encroaching armies - undead, orcs, demons, and dragon people - and kill their generals before they reach your capitol.

There are figures for all the heroes and enemies.

[Ned Doolittle]

Cool, thanks for the suggestions. Battlelore and Defenders of the realm seems to be in his wheelhouse.

[tarcone]

Castle Panic is also a great game.

This might fit the bill also.

[Umbrella]

Originally Posted by Ned Doolittle

Is there any board game that involves elves, dwarves, orcs figures and you like roll dice to attack and roll dice to defend? Almost like a mixture of Risk and like Warhammer? I want to play with my 8 yr old. Right now we made up our own game using his knights and skeleton figurines (think cowboy and Indians figurines) using dice and it's quite intricate more or less considering he's only 8. But other than the guy we designate as our general (for the knights) and 3 headed dragon figurine (who controls the skeleton army) who have more hit points there isn't much difference between an archer fighting a swordsman as far as our game mechanics go so I'd like something more official on a nice game board (we made our own "board" on a huuuuge sheet of paper, it's divided into two sides, one side is forests where the human knights start and the other side is lava and skull mountains where the skeleton army start off). I want a game board that looks like some of those cool Warhammer type battlefields. He's into LOTR A LOT hence wanting the elves, dwarves theme.

Thanks.

I've got a game called Hero Quest. Check it out on BGG, and let me know if you're interested. Now that the kids are grown and out of the house, it is just collecting dust.

ETA: Wow, I just did a price search, and apparently this game is going for hundreds of dollars on ebay and amazon. Who knew?

[Glengoyne]

Originally Posted by Ned Doolittle

Is there any board game that involves elves, dwarves, orcs figures and you like roll dice to attack and roll dice to defend? Almost like a mixture of Risk and like Warhammer? I want to play with my 8 yr old. Right now we made up our own game using his knights and skeleton figurines (think cowboy and Indians figurines) using dice and it's quite intricate more or less considering he's only 8. But other than the guy we designate as our general (for the knights) and 3 headed dragon figurine (who controls the skeleton army) who have more hit points there isn't much difference between an archer fighting a swordsman as far as our game mechanics go so I'd like something more official on a nice game board (we made our own "board" on a huuuuge sheet of paper, it's divided into two sides, one side is forests where the human knights start and the other side is lava and skull mountains where the skeleton army start off). I want a game board that looks like some of those cool Warhammer type battlefields. He's into LOTR A LOT hence wanting the elves, dwarves theme.

Thanks.

Somebody mentioned hero quest. That sounds very close to what you are looking for. The base game isn't ridiculously expensive, but the expansions are prohibitively priced.

The base game of hero scape is also right in the wheelhouse of what you are looking for. It isn't too expensive even though also out of print.

Either of these are right what you are looking for.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by Ned Doolittle

Cool, thanks for the suggestions. Battlelore and Defenders of the realm seems to be in his wheelhouse.

Ned I had gone on a similar search for many months and found Dungeons and Dragons Conquest of Nerath.
It is like Axis and Allies or Risk meets LOTR and would recommend it.

[Warhammer]

I second Battlelore. Another good one might be Descent.

[PadresFan104]

If anyone is in the Las Vegas area this weekend, we (PLAAY.com) are having a "Hockey Blast" tournament, and I will be demo-ing our new golf game, "History Maker Golf," as well. Here are the specifics:

When: 12/10/16, 12pm-6pm
Where: Meepleville Board Game Cafe, 4704 W Sahara Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89102

No registration needed, drop-ins welcome! If you stop by, look for the guy wearing the Penguins jersey, that will be me.

[tarcone]

Cool. Have fun with that. Sounds like a blast.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Sounds awesome! I will unfortunately be at a wedding I'd rather not go to.

[Glengoyne]

Originally Posted by Warhammer

I second Battlelore. Another good one might be Descent.

These are good options. I thought descent may be a bit complex and adversarial for an 8 year old.

The dungeons and dragons games in the Castle of Ravenloft series could also work. Though that is more of a dungeon crawl.

[Izulde]

Originally Posted by PadresFan104

If anyone is in the Las Vegas area this weekend, we (PLAAY.com) are having a "Hockey Blast" tournament, and I will be demo-ing our new golf game, "History Maker Golf," as well. Here are the specifics:

When: 12/10/16, 12pm-6pm
Where: Meepleville Board Game Cafe, 4704 W Sahara Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89102

No registration needed, drop-ins welcome! If you stop by, look for the guy wearing the Penguins jersey, that will be me.

Sure, I head out of town for the weekend, and an FOFCer shows up.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Risk Legacy is only $25 at Amazon today.

Amazon.com: Risk Legacy Game: Game: Toys & Games

[Vince, Pt. II]

Awesome. An absolute steal at that price.

[tarcone]

Yes. get it if you can.

[Lonnie]

Great price, I picked it up.

[tarcone]

I have a dual solo session going on right now. I am in the middle of my Thunder Alley season. 12 races with all the tracks available. And Im also playing Fortress America.

I jump back and forth. Its cold and wintery out. I have to go ref a little league tourney. Only 3 games. Once I get home, I think Im back in my room and playing some more of both.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Another good one for cheap. Pandemic Legacy for $40.

Amazon.com: Pandemic Legacy Blue Board Game: Toys & Games

[QuikSand]

Two recent pieces from 538 that seem to belong in this thread.

Designing The Best Board Game On The Planet | FiveThirtyEight

The Worst Board Games Ever Invented | FiveThirtyEight

[Lonnie]

Anyone in the thread use Tabletop Simulator? I picked it up on Steam for $10 and it is a really cool 3-D board game simulator. Tons of games on the workshop.

I mainly bought it to play X-Wing, but there is so much more available from the community. I quickly added several from my colleciton: Paths of Glory, Command and Colors Napoleonics, 1960: The Making of the President, Arkham Horror, X-Wing and Armada. Now I'm going through each to see the quality of these fan made modules.

Anyone else tried it out? I like Vassal, but this is the much less clunky version. It even has built in voice chat.