Board Games

[NobodyHere]

Anyone here play Arkham Horror LCG? If so how deep is the deck building in that game? I play the Lord of the Rings LCG but after so many expansions it seems building a deck has turned into a Herculean task. I'm looking for something with a bit lighter affair in that regards.

[PilotMan]

Looking for a comprehensive list of good games for a high school board gaming group. My son started a group last year with one of his friends and they've had a good turnout of students and teachers. Some weeks they've had to turn kids away, because they're basically using games that the kids own and bring in.

So, they need to start a collection either from the kids who participate or through donations. What is a good group of games for them to play? Looking for fairly quick games, that can involve a large number of players and games that aren't super difficult.

The main games that they played last year were Exploding Kittens, Sushi Go, Catan, and Dominion. There may have been a couple of others, but I'm not sure. So assuming they can perhaps raise a couple hundred what should they get to start the collection?

[ntndeacon]

I'm a cosmic encounter fan. Especially with each game being different with the various races.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Anyone here play Arkham Horror LCG? If so how deep is the deck building in that game? I play the Lord of the Rings LCG but after so many expansions it seems building a deck has turned into a Herculean task. I'm looking for something with a bit lighter affair in that regards.

I've only done the mini-campaign that came with the core game, but you don't necessarily have to spend a lot of time building a deck. It goes as deep as you want it to.

Originally Posted by PilotMan

Looking for a comprehensive list of good games for a high school board gaming group. My son started a group last year with one of his friends and they've had a good turnout of students and teachers. Some weeks they've had to turn kids away, because they're basically using games that the kids own and bring in.

So, they need to start a collection either from the kids who participate or through donations. What is a good group of games for them to play? Looking for fairly quick games, that can involve a large number of players and games that aren't super difficult.

The main games that they played last year were Exploding Kittens, Sushi Go, Catan, and Dominion. There may have been a couple of others, but I'm not sure. So assuming they can perhaps raise a couple hundred what should they get to start the collection?

My off-the-top suggestions would be Fuji Flush (plays up to 8 players), Kingdomino (only plays up to 4, but it's quick), Century: Spice Road (up to 5), Incan Gold (up to 8), Mascarade (up to 13), Tsuro (up to 8), and Citadels (up to either 8 or 9 - can't remember).

I'm not sure how many of those games are currently in print, though I imagine Incan Gold, Mascarade, Tsuro, and Citadels should be relatively easy to find. Not so sure about Fuji Flush and Kingdomino.

I'll let you know if I think of any more!

[tarcone]

Game club suggestions:

Codenames
Wits and Wagers

These two are really fun and easy to learn.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Second the Codenames suggestion. My own suggestions:

Coup
Bang!
7 Wonders (slightly less easy to learn, but very fulfilling and it plays up to 7)
Between Two Cities

[PilotMan]

I found a thread on BGG. What are your thoughts on these?

King of Tokyo
Deception: Murder in Hong Kong
Bang! ( I see Vince already recommended this one)
Two Rooms and a Boom
Monikers
Codenames (Multiple suggestions, this one is a sure thing!)
Happy Salmon
One Night Ultimate Werewolf
Wits & Wagers (tarcone with the recommendation)
The Resistance
Badge of Honor

Gonna get a list of the others that you've recommended too. Thanks for the lists!

[tarcone]

One more I thought of that is pretty loose with numbers:

Telestrations

[Vince, Pt. II]

Love King of Tokyo, but I think it's a four player max? Think Yahtzee but with giant monsters fighting over Tokyo and less (as in zero) pencil and paper.

The Resistance is basically Coup with less direction/guidance. While a very solid game, it takes the proper group to really shine, and depending upon the maturity level could easily lead to some ganging up/bad experience for people. It's a deduction/hidden roles game, and in the early going there is very little to go on.

[AnalBumCover]

If you don't mind the theme and the fact that you'd be pointing foam guns at one another, Ca$h 'n Gun$ is a fun game for 4-8 players.

[dzilla77]

Originally Posted by Vince, Pt. II

Love King of Tokyo, but I think it's a four player max? Think Yahtzee but with giant monsters fighting over Tokyo and less (as in zero) pencil and paper.

The Resistance is basically Coup with less direction/guidance. While a very solid game, it takes the proper group to really shine, and depending upon the maturity level could easily lead to some ganging up/bad experience for people. It's a deduction/hidden roles game, and in the early going there is very little to go on.

KoT plays 6.

[ColtCrazy]

The more KoT has, the more brutal it becomes.

[Vince, Pt. II]

Originally Posted by dzilla77

KoT plays 6.

I have forgotten the face of my father.

Also, it's been way too long since I've played King of Tokyo.

[Pumpy Tudors]

Originally Posted by PilotMan

I found a thread on BGG. What are your thoughts on these?

King of Tokyo
Deception: Murder in Hong Kong
Bang! ( I see Vince already recommended this one)
Two Rooms and a Boom
Monikers
Codenames (Multiple suggestions, this one is a sure thing!)
Happy Salmon
One Night Ultimate Werewolf
Wits & Wagers (tarcone with the recommendation)
The Resistance
Badge of Honor

Gonna get a list of the others that you've recommended too. Thanks for the lists!

Deception: Murder in Hong Kong is a great game. It gets conversation going, and the traitor(s) can have a lot of fun misleading the investigators.

I didn't care for Two Rooms and a Boom the one time I played it, but I was playing with about 12 experienced players, so they knew strategies about it that I couldn't grasp. If everybody is learning it at the same time, it might be fun, but it's hard to mix experienced and new players, in my opinion.

Happy Salmon is pretty funny, but it's over in about 3 minutes. I enjoy it, but I only play it once every 6 months.

I'm personally not a fan of Werewolf games, but I know how popular they are. One Night Ultimate Werewolf would probably be a good one.

[AnalBumCover]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

Anyone here play Arkham Horror LCG? If so how deep is the deck building in that game? I play the Lord of the Rings LCG but after so many expansions it seems building a deck has turned into a Herculean task. I'm looking for something with a bit lighter affair in that regards.

With my limited exposure to the game (I've only played two sessions so far), if you're playing a campaign, your deck building between each scenario is limited by spending the experience points you earned from the previous scenarios.

So you'll start your campaign with your initially constructed deck for each investigator, then you play your first scenario, earn experience, then expend that experience to, say, change an asset card or upgrade a skill or spell card. Take that upgraded deck into the new scenario, and that's it.

[Thomkal]

Lords of Waterdeep is now available on Steam, which is great news. It's on sale for 30% off (about $10) through the 8th.

[Buccaneer]

After many months of playing Talisman Digital Edition, finally got tired of it (hard not to win), I bought Elder Scrolls: Legends, a strategy card game based on Tamriel (with a Heroes of Skyrim expansion pack).

Ok, all familiar themes except for one slight problem. I have never played a game of this type, ever. So now I am having to feel like an 8-yr old and learn of something basic as to what a 'deck' is, how to build one or the thought process of how to choose a class (two attributes) and why.

I started to play the solo campaign and picking up the mechanics ok (it's just a basic card game of War on steroids with pretty pictures) but I'm just going with what they give me when I chose a cool avatar.

Reading a bunch of articles and they help, except they assume at least knowing how you chose your deck. If any of you are familiar with this game, can you point me to some basic sites on the thought processes in choosing attributes/class and deck building?

[Warhammer]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

After many months of playing Talisman Digital Edition, finally got tired of it (hard not to win), I bought Elder Scrolls: Legends, a strategy card game based on Tamriel (with a Heroes of Skyrim expansion pack).

Ok, all familiar themes except for one slight problem. I have never played a game of this type, ever. So now I am having to feel like an 8-yr old and learn of something basic as to what a 'deck' is, how to build one or the thought process of how to choose a class (two attributes) and why.

I started to play the solo campaign and picking up the mechanics ok (it's just a basic card game of War on steroids with pretty pictures) but I'm just going with what they give me when I chose a cool avatar.

Reading a bunch of articles and they help, except they assume at least knowing how you chose your deck. If any of you are familiar with this game, can you point me to some basic sites on the thought processes in choosing attributes/class and deck building?

I can help a bit. The colors correspond to specific race combinations, wood elf is red/green, they play by using minions that are good at killing weakened minions, or hit hard, but are fragile. High elves are blue/gold, they use a lot of spells, but are lacking in big minions.

The value of selecting a race is at levels 23 and 32 you get race specific legendary cards. From what I understand, you get a weighted chance for race specific cards every odd level.

Also, if you enjoy the game, you can watch streamers on Twitch for a chance for free loot (drops reset every six hours). The stream can run in the background, but you can get gold, soul gems, and legendary cards. For this to work, you have to link Twitch to your Bethesda account.

Regarding deck building, a lot depends upon the type of deck you are putting together. I run a minimum of 28 minions and as many as 38 in my decks. You want to limit your deck size to minimize the random draw factor and make your deck more consistent.

[AnalBumCover]

Arkham Horror LCG

Holy shit this game is fantastic. I just finished the campaign in the core set (3 scenarios) and I'm just sitting here in awe of the experience.

I can't wait to crack open the first expansion The Dunwich Legacy and see where my investigators take me next.

[weegeebored]

Originally Posted by AnalBumCover

Star Wars: Rebellion just arrived at my doorstep. So excited about getting this game, but I know it's light years before it gets played with my group. For now, I'll just watch some playthroughs and learn the rules.

Have you played this yet? Reviews seem to be positive. My group consists of three players and this seems more like a two-player game. I believe there are rules for 2-on-1 (two players on the Imperial side) but I am not sure if that would play well.

[ColtCrazy]

Absolutely love Rebellion. At Origins, it was my group's best game experience with my team winning on the last possible turn by finding and destroying the rebel base. Excited about the new expansion.

[Buccaneer]

Originally Posted by Warhammer

I can help a bit. The colors correspond to specific race combinations, wood elf is red/green, they play by using minions that are good at killing weakened minions, or hit hard, but are fragile. High elves are blue/gold, they use a lot of spells, but are lacking in big minions.

The value of selecting a race is at levels 23 and 32 you get race specific legendary cards. From what I understand, you get a weighted chance for race specific cards every odd level.

Also, if you enjoy the game, you can watch streamers on Twitch for a chance for free loot (drops reset every six hours). The stream can run in the background, but you can get gold, soul gems, and legendary cards. For this to work, you have to link Twitch to your Bethesda account.

Regarding deck building, a lot depends upon the type of deck you are putting together. I run a minimum of 28 minions and as many as 38 in my decks. You want to limit your deck size to minimize the random draw factor and make your deck more consistent.

Thank you, that helps! What I was missing was the distributions of low, medium and high value cards. You don't want to have too much low ones are they will wipe your table or too many high ones that prevents you from playing for several turns. But with 28 low value minions, that's a 50/50 chance of drawing one early and apparently they can be boosted if enough survive. I guess in the end, I have about 107 cards available to make a deck and just have to do trial and error to get the right combination and curve.

[Warhammer]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

Thank you, that helps! What I was missing was the distributions of low, medium and high value cards. You don't want to have too much low ones are they will wipe your table or too many high ones that prevents you from playing for several turns. But with 28 low value minions, that's a 50/50 chance of drawing one early and apparently they can be boosted if enough survive. I guess in the end, I have about 107 cards available to make a deck and just have to do trial and error to get the right combination and curve.

As you finish the initial campaign, the game opens up quite a bit. Just make sure to take Tyr when you can,I've been kicking myself over that one.

I enjoy the game quite a bit, and feel it is well balanced between the colors. One of the things to remember is lane management. There is a time you want to play in the field lane, and times you want to play in the shadow lane. Also, rather than investing gold into individual packs, once you are done with the campaign, there are some introductory decks that are 500 gold each, I highly recommend getting a couple of those to get your collection kickstarted.

[JonInMiddleGA]

Originally Posted by Warhammer

Also, rather than investing gold into individual packs, once you are done with the campaign, there are some introductory decks that are 500 gold each, I highly recommend getting a couple of those to get your collection kickstarted.

I'm not a player but I was curious about the game in general & did a little reading, happened upon this discussion that goes into more detail about just why those deck purchases are good & what order you want to grab them.

fwiw
The Definitive Guide to "What do I spend my gold/gems on" for new players. : elderscrollslegends

[Buccaneer]

Originally Posted by JonInMiddleGA

I'm not a player but I was curious about the game in general & did a little reading, happened upon this discussion that goes into more detail about just why those deck purchases are good & what order you want to grab them.

fwiw
The Definitive Guide to "What do I spend my gold/gems on" for new players. : elderscrollslegends

Thanks for that. So when you get new cards (however you obtain them), you evaluate how they would fit into your deck, what cards to take out? Or do you run multiple decks to make best use of good cards?

[Warhammer]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

Thanks for that. So when you get new cards (however you obtain them), you evaluate how they would fit into your deck, what cards to take out? Or do you run multiple decks to make best use of good cards?

My preferred deck is a blue/gold half elf deck. However, I have roughly 10 decks put together depending upon mood (or what I want to beat down child #2 with). It also helps for daily quests to have multiple decks.

[Buccaneer]

I got through most of the story chapters without too much problems until I get to the last one (Lord Naariffin). No matter which deck I choose, I don't come close to beating him. I'm close to level 10 and that will get me the Hammerfall deck, so maybe that will help. Do I just keep trying and hoping he has bad card draws? I'm also think of modifying one of the decks but right now, I don't have a feel as to what would be the specific cards I should have to beat him. Any advice?

[Warhammer]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

I got through most of the story chapters without too much problems until I get to the last one (Lord Naariffin). No matter which deck I choose, I don't come close to beating him. I'm close to level 10 and that will get me the Hammerfall deck, so maybe that will help. Do I just keep trying and hoping he has bad card draws? I'm also think of modifying one of the decks but right now, I don't have a feel as to what would be the specific cards I should have to beat him. Any advice?

I do not remember what he had. Can you give me an idea of what cards he is playing?

The only issue I had with the campaigns, there are a few battles where it does come down to card draw for the AI.

[Buccaneer]

Originally Posted by Warhammer

I do not remember what he had. Can you give me an idea of what cards he is playing?

The only issue I had with the campaigns, there are a few battles where it does come down to card draw for the AI.

Warhmer, by Round 4, he's pulling 3-4 attack cards plus buffs and the starts pulling these crazy OP cards. I know it's the boss fight, but still.

I guess my question is more general. What kinds or types of cards should I be looking to put in to counter an aggressive enemy? Go aggressive myself and hope I get a head start? Or get more defensive or neutralizing cards? It seems that no matter what deck I try, I don't come close to winning, unlike all of the other chapters.

I appreciate your help and patience with a newbie? I know my questions are too generous.

[Warhammer]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

Warhmer, by Round 4, he's pulling 3-4 attack cards plus buffs and the starts pulling these crazy OP cards. I know it's the boss fight, but still.

I guess my question is more general. What kinds or types of cards should I be looking to put in to counter an aggressive enemy? Go aggressive myself and hope I get a head start? Or get more defensive or neutralizing cards? It seems that no matter what deck I try, I don't come close to winning, unlike all of the other chapters.

I appreciate your help and patience with a newbie? I know my questions are too generous.

If I recall correctly, you have a primarily red/gold deck at that point. I would go the token route with imperial reinforcements combined with war cry. Play as many guards as you can early to weather the storm.

Having a 5th Legionn trainer maker then summoned legionaries 2/1, war cry increases them to 4/1 on the turn they attack. It is possible to have this at round 4. Resolute Ally. An help as well if you have a primarily gold deck?

Ideally, a blue/gold deck is great to counter aggression with direct removal cards. Unfortunately, you probably don't have the cards to run that yet.

[Buccaneer]

Thank you, Warhammer, for all your help. I was finally able to be that boss by getting draws while he got bad draws. Then I went into the Solo Arena and got really stupid and stubborn and blew through 600 gold without winning anything. Now I'll go back and learn, reading that solo arena guide and doing practice games first.

[Warhammer]

Originally Posted by Buccaneer

Thank you, Warhammer, for all your help. I was finally able to be that boss by getting draws while he got bad draws. Then I went into the Solo Arena and got really stupid and stubborn and blew through 600 gold without winning anything. Now I'll go back and learn, reading that solo arena guide and doing practice games first.

Great news! Glad to help.

If it makes you feel any better, I did the same thing with arenas. Ever since the expansion came out (Skyrim), PvP arena is much better than solo arena. Also, ranked is probably easier than casual for you. In casuals you will get paired with people of a significantly higher level, whereas ranked you will settle into a spot where you will have games you can win regularly.

If you want to play some friendly matches friend me, my user name there is ElGrandeWhammer.

[henry296]

They just the released the digital version of Through the Ages for mobile. It has gotten very good reviews and the board game is highly rated. Has anyone played the digital game yet? Any comments in general on the pros/cons of the board game?

[ColtCrazy]

I think the board game is the best civ style game out there. Extremely deep and some interesting mechanics, like how you upgrade your buildings and how workers upgrade as well. Wish it could solo is my only gripe, so I am excited to get the apps. Of the civ style games I have played, I would say:

1. Through the Ages
2. Nations (w/expansion)
3. Clash of Cultures
4. Nations Dice

[tarcone]

Ive seen nothing but great things about this game on IOS. I havent played it, but the reviews I have seen say it is top notch. Great implementation of the game.

[Autumn]

Good to hear, I love that game.

[QuikSand]

Has anyone played Gloomhaven? Sounds like a board game incorporating bits of D&D style character-centered dungeon crawling and role playing.

Have heard good things. Looking for something to lure my 11 and 8 year old daughters into more complex gaming...thinking this might be a good angle. I think they'd go for the semi-cooperative approach, and the long-arc concept.

[kurtism]

Won't post the link because it is Kinja, but check Kotaku for an interesting article on "The Notorious Board Game That Takes 1,500 Hours To Complete."

[ColtCrazy]

I haven't played Gloomhaven, but Sword & Sorcery has the elements you mentioned. You play heroes through a dungeon crawl. You can choose to play as a campaign, one adventure after the other where your characters can gain experience and powers. There's a D&D style book to pushes the story. It's complex to start but once you get the flow of the game, it's not that bad at all. I really enjoyed it.

[Thomkal]

Get Ticket to Ride free on Steam, and register/enter for a chance to win the Europe version

https://www.tickettoridewithmax.com/en

[tarcone]

Twilight Imperium 4 is on the boat.
Should be in peoples hands by mid November. I cannot wait. I really want to get into this game.

[PilotMan]

Originally Posted by kurtism

Won't post the link because it is Kinja, but check Kotaku for an interesting article on "The Notorious Board Game That Takes 1,500 Hours To Complete."

hxxps://kotaku.com/the-notorious-board-game-that-takes-1500-hours-to-compl-1818510912

It was a fun article. I loved the designer's quote:

Berg has never completed a playthrough of The Campaign For North Africa. The game never received any of the compulsive testing required to iron-out inconsistencies and balance issues that are usually present in a freshly inked rulebook. Berg didn’t care. He never saw the point. “When I said ‘let’s publish this thing’ they said ‘but we’re still playtesting it! We don’t know if it’s balanced or not. It’s gonna take seven years to play!’ And I said ‘you know what, if someone tells you it’s unbalanced, tell them ‘we think it’s your fault, play it again.’”

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by AnalBumCover

Arkham Horror LCG

Holy shit this game is fantastic. I just finished the campaign in the core set (3 scenarios) and I'm just sitting here in awe of the experience.

I can't wait to crack open the first expansion The Dunwich Legacy and see where my investigators take me next.

I enjoyed the game as well and just ordered the expansion.

The last(??) saga expansion for the Lord of the Rings LCG came out recently too. This is will probably be my last purchase for the game.

[Galaril]

Originally Posted by NobodyHere

I enjoyed the game as well and just ordered the expansion.

The last(??) saga expansion for the Lord of the Rings LCG came out recently too. This is will probably be my last purchase for the game.

I am curious about the Lord of the Rings card game I am huge Tolkien world fan, the books mostly but the movies were good in there own right. I am have never done deck building and am not someone to sit around trying to build the perfect decks or have pre made decks. I have read that is where this game shines and also that you really need multiple copies of the big box sets. Are these fair criticisms? I would likely play the game solely often but also with one of my kids at times. I would mostly be looking for a game like this if it had great theme and was fun as opposed to a math class.

[NobodyHere]

Originally Posted by Galaril

I am curious about the Lord of the Rings card game I am huge Tolkien world fan, the books mostly but the movies were good in there own right. I am have never done deck building and am not someone to sit around trying to build the perfect decks or have pre made decks. I have read that is where this game shines and also that you really need multiple copies of the big box sets. Are these fair criticisms? I would likely play the game solely often but also with one of my kids at times. I would mostly be looking for a game like this if it had great theme and was fun as opposed to a math class.

Well I'll start off by saying that I've probably spent well over $500 (in increments) on this game so you know I enjoyed it. And on a extremely petty note I'm kind of veering away from card games because Fantasy Flight arbitarily IMO raised the prices of buying things online.

Where the game shines is the theme and the gameplay. And I really enjoy the game once I get my decks built. I play solo two-fisted (I basically pretend I'm two players) because many card abilities affect other players.

Officially you only need one core set for 1-2 players and two core sets for 3-4 players. Some people recommend getting two core sets for 1-2 players because of some of the cards. Every subsequent expansion gives 3 copies of each player card. The core set gives 1-4 copies of each card. The balancing of the cards wasn't quite exact yet at the beginning of the series so the core set gives 1 copy of some very powerful cards (Unexpected Courage I'm looking at you).

I don't know how much money you expect to put into the game, but early on deck building is easy but that's because you have a limited amount of cards to choose from. Get to where I am and there's 700 cards belonging to various spheres and having various traits.

Also with the standard rules the game is quite hard and the harder quests may require some specific deck-building (Some say the last quest in the core set is near impossible with just the core set cards). There is an official easy mode listed in the manual too.

As for this being a math class, there may be some global rules introduced by cards that you have to be constantly aware of. It shouldn't be a bother to veteran boards gamers

[Warhammer]

Originally Posted by Galaril

I am curious about the Lord of the Rings card game I am huge Tolkien world fan, the books mostly but the movies were good in there own right. I am have never done deck building and am not someone to sit around trying to build the perfect decks or have pre made decks. I have read that is where this game shines and also that you really need multiple copies of the big box sets. Are these fair criticisms? I would likely play the game solely often but also with one of my kids at times. I would mostly be looking for a game like this if it had great theme and was fun as opposed to a math class.

I still think the best game for any Tolkien fan is the old METW card game. You used to be able to pick up core sets relatively cheaply, and just focus on METW and the first two expansions, I think they were The Dragons and Dark Minions.

The game plays out as you are marshaling resources together in the fight against Sauron. You play as one of the wizards and you can have several parties out adventuring to bring in the different factions, items, etc. Your opponent plays hazards against you as you adventure to different areas, the more difficult the area, the harder the hazards could be.

I loved it. It was tough to get your head around, but there were several different play styles. One was to go dungeon delving for items, you could re-establish the dwarven kingdom, you could put Aragorn on the throne of Gondor, you could work to take out the Nazgul, and of course, if you dunk the Ring, you automatically win.

One of the other mechanics I loved was corruption. Sure, you could load up a few characters to be absolute bad asses, but if they had to make a corruption check, you might be saying goodbye to quite a bit of stuff.

[NobodyHere]

Is a CCg really that available?

[Carman Bulldog]

7th Continent is in the middle of a massive Kickstarter right now and reviews on BGG are extremely positive. Taking the plunge on everything would be pretty expensive. Has anyone played this yet?

[ntndeacon]

I played Coup for the first time last night, and before we knew it we were on game 6. Very quick game play.

[mckerney]

Originally Posted by Carman Bulldog

7th Continent is in the middle of a massive Kickstarter right now and reviews on BGG are extremely positive. Taking the plunge on everything would be pretty expensive. Has anyone played this yet?

Haven't played this one, but was excited to hear from a friend that he was backing this. I almost did the first time around.