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Tabletop Gaming, Models, and Minis => Other Games Around the Table => Topic started by: bayonetbrant on June 20, 2017, 10:58:07 AM

Title: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: bayonetbrant on June 20, 2017, 10:58:07 AM
Let's shift the discussion of wheat-trading sheep-shippers and other meeple-related gaming over here, and re-focus the other thread on sabres, bayonets, cannons, and cavalry.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: bbmike on June 20, 2017, 11:01:16 AM
Dang, now I have to find out what Munchkin really is so I can post in here.  :P
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: bayonetbrant on June 20, 2017, 11:03:23 AM
Munchkin is the awesome.

Not only did I once have my wife in a game of Munchkin, but we were playing at a football game tailgate, and laughing so hard that the rednecks on either side of us came over to see what was going on, ended up watching for a few, and one of them even jumped in the second game.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Staggerwing on June 20, 2017, 08:43:26 PM
Looking at my table, I have to ask: where does the game Household Budget Commander fit in? It has logistics and resource allocation, deception and heroic sacrifices, and even an occasional Holiday Stalemate.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on June 20, 2017, 08:51:19 PM
Did you try offering the IRS some sheep or iron?
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Staggerwing on June 20, 2017, 09:01:51 PM
I thought I'd try wheat first.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on June 22, 2017, 12:02:01 AM
Tried out Yokohama at the FLGS tonight.  Some of the ugliest game components I've seen since Eclipse but the game itself was interesting.  Simple mechanics but playing effectively is tough and it can be quite the brain burner.  I screwed up and over-committed with my buildings early on and got myself in a hole that took a long time to dig out of.  The winning player almost lapped me on the score track by the end of it. 

Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Arctic Blast on June 22, 2017, 05:43:16 PM
Picked up Antike II in the math trade that just finished last week. Going to read the rules tonight and hopefully get it on the table this weekend. I've been curious about it for a while, but just not enough to buy it new.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: jamus34 on July 07, 2017, 10:12:44 PM
Picked up and played code word with my folks. Fun game and very easy to pick up.

Also picked up ticket to ride and will be playing with the two older kids tomorrow.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: bayonetbrant on July 07, 2017, 10:16:26 PM
Which Ticket to Ride?
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: bayonetbrant on July 07, 2017, 10:16:52 PM
I'm going to get either City of Iron or Islebound on the table this weekend...
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: airboy on July 07, 2017, 10:49:46 PM
Set up to play - Pathfinder Adventure Card Game is out.
On the table to show my wife tomorrow upon her return: Munchkin Apocalypse and Star Realms that I either won or was given at LibertyCon.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: jamus34 on July 08, 2017, 06:49:15 AM
Quote from: bayonetbrant on July 07, 2017, 10:16:26 PM
Which Ticket to Ride?

Original (the US)
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: bayonetbrant on September 22, 2017, 10:23:48 AM
Raiders of the North Sea is about to hit the table today.  I gotta start getting games back on the table (made easier, at least in part, by mailing out the stacks of games I have here to the people I promised to send them to a while ago)
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on September 22, 2017, 10:48:11 AM
My group tried out Hellas, one of the two new expansion maps for Terraforming Mars.  The expansion doesn't add or change any rules.  It just adds two new maps which also include different end game scoring bonuses that players can bid on during play.  I was a bit surprised at just how much these new scoring bonuses affect strategy.  I didn't adapt to the new bonuses as quickly as the others and I ended up paying for it.  I came in last by a considerable margin. 
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: bayonetbrant on September 22, 2017, 11:08:52 AM
that's cool when they can just change a map and no other mechanics and get such a different play experience
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on October 05, 2017, 07:15:35 PM
One of the guys at my FLGS got his copy of the new game based on The Expanse TV series so we gave that a whirl last night.  I'm not sure why he decided to buy it as, of those of us who played, I'm the only one who's seen any of the show or read any of the books it's based on.  At any rate, it was a pretty interesting game. 

It's put out by WizKids and their reputation for churning out poor quality materials was reinforced further with this game.  The cards and counters are tiny and the cardstock is very thin.  A few of the cards and sheets weren't cut properly so some of the text was trimmed on one edge and a few cards had some warping.  Several of the wooden cubes were misshapen and we had more than a few rhombuses and trapezoids out on the map.

Speaking of the map, it's very minimalist and kind of bland yet it still manages to be a little confusing.  You see, the map is divided into 3 main zones (for some reason the outer planet zone is divided into 2 sub-zones but it's not clear on the map) but the background art has planetary orbital tracks that make it look as though there are more zones than their are.  You quickly get used to it but it's still poor design.

(https://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic3705247_lg.jpg)


Poor component quality and ugly aesthetics not withstanding, the actual gameplay was quite engaging.  It's a 2-4 player game.  Each player chooses a faction (The United Nations, Mars Republic, Outer Planets Alliance, or Protogen) and places their starting fleets and influence markers on the map.  Each faction starts with a unique tech as well.

Game play is card driven and borrows a lot from Twilight struggle.  5 cards are turned over and the first player chooses one (and possibly pays to take it depending on how far down the track it is.  Oldest cards cost nothing to take, newest cost two VP to take).  The cards each have an Action Point value of 2 - 4 as well as an event.  The player can either use the card for the action points and conduct actions such as building or moving fleets or placing influence markers on the map in sectors where they have a fleet or they can use the card for the associated event provided that their faction symbol is displayed on the card. 

If they use the action points and not the event, other factions can then choose to play the event listed on the card provided their symbol is shown.  (Who gets to choose first is based on an ever shifting initiative track) or they can spend one VP to buy the event and hold it in reserve to be played at a later time.

Cards are slid up the track and a new one is turned over and the next player goes.  Interspersed through the deck are 6 scoring cards.  Players can draft one of these cards and then scoring occurs.  The player who elected to draft the scoring card gets to secretly choose one of the map sectors to be worth bonus scoring but each sector can only be selected twice and the bonuses get bigger as the game progresses.  The players who didn't play the scoring card get a chance to react by playing one of their saved events (if they have any) so it's possible to deny points to the one who elected to score.

After each of the first three scoring cards is played, each faction gets one additional new technology which gives them more options during play.


O.P.A. faction card
(https://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic3705133_lg.jpg)


O.P.A. tech advances
(https://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic3705132_lg.jpg)



Once the 6th scoring card is flipped, the game ends so it's possible that the game could end with only a small fraction of the deck revealed.

There's also a balancing mechanic represented by a ship called the Rocinante.  Whoever has the lowest VP total after a score card is played gets control of this ship.  The ship counts as a fleet and it also has 4 crew members with special abilities that the player can use during the scoring phase and it proved to be quite the spoiler in our game.

(https://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic3705172_lg.jpg)



I was pleasantly surprised by this one.  There was a decent amount of depth and some tense decision-making.  The other players enjoyed it as well despite knowing nothing of the show or the setting.  To be honest, there wasn't a lot of theme present.  Nothing about the gameplay really reminded me of the show, the characters, or the setting. 

If you like Twilight Struggle or the COIN games, you might want to have a look at this one. 
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: BanzaiCat on October 05, 2017, 08:43:56 PM
Wow, that's cool, SDR. I do like COIN and I enjoy this show, too...I had no idea there was a board game for it.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Arctic Blast on October 09, 2017, 02:51:50 AM
Played a bunch of Mechs vs. Minions on Saturday. Holy Hell is that game's production through the roof good. It's also a blast to play. I'll try to grab a few screenshots the next time I get it on the table.

Basically, it's something like Robo Rally, only it's total co-op. Each player has their own little mech, and you're drafting cards in a timed draft and adding them to your command line. You can stack up to 3 cards of a like type in order to create more powerful abilities. Then, each player goes through their line from left to right and executes. Each mission has different parameters, but you're primarily focused on killing minions. Then they get a turn. Every time one of them ends their movement adjacent to you, you draw a damage card. Some will force you to re-arrange your command line, others will cause a one off effect to your mech, but most cover up one of the 6 slots on your line. You can use cards you draft to reorganize and repair, but then you aren't stacking up abilities.

Really well done game. You can only buy it from Riot (the League of Legends guys. It's based on that property), but it's just absurdly well made. Shows what a company can do when they have billions to throw around.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on December 06, 2017, 01:31:18 AM
Tried out a negotiation style sci-fi game called Sidereal Confluence: Trading and Negotiation in the Elysian Quadrant.  It's for 4-9 players.  Each player selects a race and each race comes with their own special rules, abilities, tech, and components.  Players vie to colonize planets, develop tech, and produce goods which they trade back and forth in order to complete production queues to gain VPs.  It's a bit like I'm the Boss meets Cosmic Encounters with some Terraforming Mars and Race for the Galaxy thrown in for good measure.  The basic mechanics are fairly straightforward but there is a LOT to keep track of, especially in the latter stages of the game and it turned out to be quite a brain burner.  We set a rule allowing for only 10 minutes of trading/negotiation per turn but people routinely went over.  With a five player game, this led to a fair amount of down time as some players were suffering from AP while others just would not stop trying to wheel and deal.

It was a interesting game but not one I'd want to play every week.  I'm generally not the biggest fan of bidding/auction type games but there was enough going on in this one to hold my attention.  There is a great deal of replayability as each race plays very differently and you do have a lot of options/strategies available to you.  I can't imagine a 9 player game.  It would be a nightmare.  We did a 5 player game and I think 5-6 is the sweet spot.  Some of the guys had played before and said that the 4 player game was a bit too cutthroat as there just weren't enough resources being produced for anyone to get their engines going effectively.  There was definitely enough in the 5 player game, it was just hard to get the attention of someone at the other end of the table at times due to all the shouted negotiations happening at once.

(https://cf.geekdo-images.com/images/pic3807412_lg.jpg)



Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: bayonetbrant on December 06, 2017, 05:56:22 AM
thems a LOT of cards there
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Barthheart on December 06, 2017, 06:42:27 AM
Sounds somewhat like AH's Civilization or Advanced Civilization. With 7 people it can get quite hectic during the trading sessions.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on December 06, 2017, 08:45:28 AM
Quote from: bayonetbrant on December 06, 2017, 05:56:22 AM
thems a LOT of cards there

Yeah, it eats up a lot of table space.  That's a photo I cribbed from BGG although our game looked quite similar (minus the cookie).  I think the hardest thing to keep track of is the tech.  The purple cards are tech and you have to bid to buy researchable tech from a central pool. Then you have to commit resources to develop the tech.  The earlier you develop tech in the game, the more VPs you get.  If you do research a tech, you get to exclusive rights to it for a single phase (provided you've got the resources to use it after spending a whack to research it), then it goes into a common pool and everyone gets access to it.  Once certain techs are put in play, they allow you to enhance other techs you may have which let you upgrade more techs in a cascade effect. Trying to follow the cascade tree and work out which development path is best while someone's barking in your ear that they want all your food in exchange for the use of their fleet, half their quantum computing research output for two turns, and future considerations can cause a short circuit.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on December 06, 2017, 08:59:27 AM
Quote from: Barthheart on December 06, 2017, 06:42:27 AM
Sounds somewhat like AH's Civilization or Advanced Civilization. With 7 people it can get quite hectic during the trading sessions.

It's a lot more chaotic in this one as there are many more things available for trade.  In addition to the different types of resources (3 minor, 3 major, 1 ultra as standard and one race has 2 unique ones), you can also trade ships, fleets, systems, access to your factories and research, and future considerations.  Lots of situations where player 1 was trying to get two of resource A from player 2 in order to get one C and two Ds from player 4 in order to get resource B and two ships from player 5 in order to be able to complete a research project and colonize an ice planet to lay off a debt from two turns ago.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on January 04, 2018, 10:29:25 AM
FFG released an app for Star Wars: Imperial Assault that acts as a kind of AI similar to the one used for Descent and Mansions of Madness.  I'd played a few rounds of the skirmish portion of the game in the past but I didn't care for it all that much as the way movement and ZOCs work felt a bit off to me.  (Units have no ZOC so enemy units can move right through your melee unit's square as if they weren't there). 


Anyway, I do like the app control for Descent and the game was on sale for New Year's at a FLGS so I snagged a copy (and then went and ordered all the expansions because...weak). 

I ran through the tutorial solo and had a lot of fun with it.  A group of 4 of us are going to give the coop campaign a whirl starting tomorrow.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Nefaro on January 04, 2018, 06:03:52 PM
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on January 04, 2018, 10:29:25 AM
so I snagged a copy (and then went and ordered all the expansions because...weak). 

:o

:notworthy:
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: BanzaiCat on January 04, 2018, 07:42:01 PM
Thanks for the reminder on that app, SDR. I have IA and three expansions and have YET to play the bloody thing.  :-\
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on February 26, 2018, 10:56:50 AM
Sidereal Confluence (mentioned above) has been getting a lot of positive buzz lately.  I ended up ordering a copy a while ago and it looks like it'll finally be arriving this week some time.  Hopefully in time for our usual Wednesday night session.




Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on March 09, 2018, 01:39:01 AM
Well that took way longer than expected.  Always a pisser when you support a FLGS and you end up paying more to get a game and then it takes 3 weeks to arrive.

Oh well, got it now.  Hopefully I'll get a chance to play in a few weeks time.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on March 31, 2018, 07:39:30 PM
Did a lot of gaming over the last week.  Played a 6 player game of Sidereal Confluence on Wednesday which was chaotic fun but I did quite poorly as I was playing the snooty elder civilization and nobody would take my condescending little award tokens from me.

Did Black Orchestra 2nd Ed yesterday.  It was fun but very frustrating.  We were only able to organize well enough to make two attempts on Hitler, both of which ended in failure.  We all ended up in prison just as the Normandy landings commenced.

We've been playing an app driven co-op campaign of Star Wars: Imperial Assault and we finally had time to get the group together to run the final mission today.  Lots of fun with an ending ripped right out of Rogue One for a finish.  Only two of our band made it out alive, the rest going down to lightsabers through the guts and force chokes but hey, at least the Wookie got a medal this time around.

We're going to try a co-op campaign of Descent next.





Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Nefaro on April 02, 2018, 10:00:07 AM
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on March 31, 2018, 07:39:30 PM

We've been playing an app driven co-op campaign of Star Wars: Imperial Assault and we finally had time to get the group together to run the final mission today.  Lots of fun with an ending ripped right out of Rogue One for a finish.  Only two of our band made it out alive, the rest going down to lightsabers through the guts and force chokes but hey, at least the Wookie got a medal this time around.

We're going to try a co-op campaign of Descent next.

I've been debating selling my unplayed SW: Imperial Assault lately. 

Punched the boards out, but never got it on the table.  Not that it's a bad game at all.  Just that I have more Descent 2e stuff, and they're pretty much the same game minus the themes. 

Would still keep IA, but if I ever get around to picking up more expansions, I want to stick with getting those for the same game since the content variety pays two-fold considering the apps.  Having only the core IA set puts it behind in that race.  Besides already having a couple expansions for Descent, I've also painted more than half the heroes in it.

Hrmm.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: BanzaiCat on April 02, 2018, 04:32:29 PM
LOL

I have IA, base game played one time (first scenario only), and two or three of the expansions as well plus lots of 'extra' minis too, most all unpunched/in packs. I don't want to sell them. Really would like to get to play them sometime.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: BanzaiCat on April 02, 2018, 04:37:10 PM
I have This War Of Mine on my table, finally.

A rather depressing game, but it does have its bright spots. It's very unique though. Might deserve a video review more than a written one but I'll see.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on April 02, 2018, 06:04:59 PM
Quote from: Nefaro on April 02, 2018, 10:00:07 AM
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on March 31, 2018, 07:39:30 PM

We've been playing an app driven co-op campaign of Star Wars: Imperial Assault and we finally had time to get the group together to run the final mission today.  Lots of fun with an ending ripped right out of Rogue One for a finish.  Only two of our band made it out alive, the rest going down to lightsabers through the guts and force chokes but hey, at least the Wookie got a medal this time around.

We're going to try a co-op campaign of Descent next.

I've been debating selling my unplayed SW: Imperial Assault lately. 

Punched the boards out, but never got it on the table.  Not that it's a bad game at all.  Just that I have more Descent 2e stuff, and they're pretty much the same game minus the themes. 

Would still keep IA, but if I ever get around to picking up more expansions, I want to stick with getting those for the same game since the content variety pays two-fold considering the apps.  Having only the core IA set puts it behind in that race.  Besides already having a couple expansions for Descent, I've also painted more than half the heroes in it.

Hrmm.

If it's already punched, why not download the app and give solitaire a whirl to see if you think it's worth keeping?

Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Nefaro on April 02, 2018, 10:17:29 PM
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on April 02, 2018, 06:04:59 PM
Quote from: Nefaro on April 02, 2018, 10:00:07 AM
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on March 31, 2018, 07:39:30 PM

We've been playing an app driven co-op campaign of Star Wars: Imperial Assault and we finally had time to get the group together to run the final mission today.  Lots of fun with an ending ripped right out of Rogue One for a finish.  Only two of our band made it out alive, the rest going down to lightsabers through the guts and force chokes but hey, at least the Wookie got a medal this time around.

We're going to try a co-op campaign of Descent next.

I've been debating selling my unplayed SW: Imperial Assault lately. 

Punched the boards out, but never got it on the table.  Not that it's a bad game at all.  Just that I have more Descent 2e stuff, and they're pretty much the same game minus the themes. 

Would still keep IA, but if I ever get around to picking up more expansions, I want to stick with getting those for the same game since the content variety pays two-fold considering the apps.  Having only the core IA set puts it behind in that race.  Besides already having a couple expansions for Descent, I've also painted more than half the heroes in it.

Hrmm.

If it's already punched, why not download the app and give solitaire a whirl to see if you think it's worth keeping?


I mean... I already have Descent, with it's app, and more content for it. 

Pretty much the same game; one being Star Wars, the other Fantasy.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on April 03, 2018, 09:59:42 PM
Right. But what's stopping you from trying Imperial Assault out?
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Nefaro on April 04, 2018, 09:21:30 PM
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on April 03, 2018, 09:59:42 PM
Right. But what's stopping you from trying Imperial Assault out?

Just setup time & flighty interests.

The reason I haven't sold it is because I would like to get some play out of it since I originally bought it for that purpose.  ;D

Recently got into the "sell it if it's not getting played" mentality.  Mainly because I'm running out of shelf space and want to free some up.  Already sold a few, but another list has been in the making.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: BanzaiCat on June 18, 2018, 09:01:48 AM
Just received this yesterday but haven't had time to open it or try it out. Out of town for the next few weeks so will definitely have some time at some point.

(https://www.gamesmen.com.au/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/590x590/cbcbef48e5e3bcce7c7ed908f20bc5b4/s/i/sid_meier_s_civilization_a_new_dawn_board_game_1_.jpg)

Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on June 21, 2018, 12:16:18 AM
I played FFG's Fallout boardgame tonight.  Nice production quality and there were some interesting mechanics but as though it lacked focus.  Most of the time each of us was just meandering across the map with no real plan in motion.  I'd like to give it another try with a different scenario to see if they play out much differently but I'm not sold on it.  Lots of flavour to it but I feel as though most of the enjoyment comes from exploration and reading the flavour text on the location and event cards.  Once you've gone through a scenario once, most of the unknown will be gone so I don't think there's much replayability.

(https://cf.geekdo-images.com/large/img/cRa741phoMu3bF_Z2j3oObx05EY=/fit-in/1024x1024/filters:no_upscale()/pic3953901.jpg)
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: bbmike on June 21, 2018, 07:26:42 AM
Quote from: BanzaiCat on June 18, 2018, 09:01:48 AM
Just received this yesterday but haven't had time to open it or try it out. Out of town for the next few weeks so will definitely have some time at some point.

(https://www.gamesmen.com.au/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/590x590/cbcbef48e5e3bcce7c7ed908f20bc5b4/s/i/sid_meier_s_civilization_a_new_dawn_board_game_1_.jpg)

Decent game. I like the sliding card mechanic.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: mirth on June 21, 2018, 08:07:58 AM
Quote from: bbmike on June 21, 2018, 07:26:42 AM
Quote from: BanzaiCat on June 18, 2018, 09:01:48 AM
Just received this yesterday but haven't had time to open it or try it out. Out of town for the next few weeks so will definitely have some time at some point.

(https://www.gamesmen.com.au/media/catalog/product/cache/1/image/590x590/cbcbef48e5e3bcce7c7ed908f20bc5b4/s/i/sid_meier_s_civilization_a_new_dawn_board_game_1_.jpg)

Decent game. I like the sliding card mechanic.

you should write a review
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: bbmike on June 21, 2018, 08:17:20 AM
We have nowhere to put those on this site.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Staggerwing on June 21, 2018, 07:31:29 PM
We need to get a whatchamacallit, 'front page'? or somethin' like that...
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: BanzaiCat on June 22, 2018, 07:19:39 AM
Civ: A New Dawn is surprisingly simple and has a mechanic where you cannot get knocked out of the game, which itself is quite interesting. I also really like the five-stage mechanic of utilizing card play to execute orders. I read the rules finally last night and hope to get a game in tonight after work. I don't have but a few small games with me other than this one so a review is possible if I'm not going all over the damn place this weekend (Saturday is pretty full).
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: mirth on June 22, 2018, 08:14:44 AM
Quote from: Staggerwing on June 21, 2018, 07:31:29 PM
We need to get a whatchamacallit, 'front page'? or somethin' like that...

How would people find such a thing?
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Staggerwing on June 22, 2018, 05:48:05 PM
Quote from: mirth on June 22, 2018, 08:14:44 AM
Quote from: Staggerwing on June 21, 2018, 07:31:29 PM
We need to get a whatchamacallit, 'front page'? or somethin' like that...

How would people find such a thing?

I've heard rumors of something called 'hoppertext' or or is it 'hoopertext'? Supposedly it will be able to magically transport you to other places.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: mirth on June 22, 2018, 05:53:55 PM
The interwebz are vast and mysterious
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Staggerwing on June 22, 2018, 07:44:55 PM
I want to reboot to Restore Point 01/01/1989.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on July 26, 2018, 06:42:09 PM
I put my copy of Black Orchestra up for sale today on FB and the listing didn't even last 3 minutes before it sold.  I dutifully trundled off to the post office to ship it to the buyer and, while I was at the mall, I swung by a game store that I don't often frequent.  I was surprised to see that they had a copy of Mage Knight on the shelf as I thought it was sold out everywhere.  Decided that I'd spend my Black Orchestra money (and a bit more) and picked this one up along with the Lost Legion expansion.  I've heard good things about it but I've never seen it played and don't really know much about it.  Just been sorting the components and watching some Let's Play videos.  Looks like it might be quite good.




Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on July 30, 2018, 10:59:32 PM
A buddy came over this evening and we tried out the tutorial scenario for Mage Knight.  It was a lot of fun but I can see it dragging out with more than 3 players.  Tonne of down time between turns.  Looking forward to taking a crack at the more complex scenarios next week.

Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: BanzaiCat on July 31, 2018, 05:51:45 AM
I haven't tried Mage Knight, but I have Star Trek Frontiers, which is supposed to be Mage Knight but with a ST wrapper.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: bbmike on July 31, 2018, 07:24:05 AM
Yeah, I have Star Trek Frontiers as well. I've looked at the rules and put it away as the rulebook looks a lot like my Calculus I textbook.  :P
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Barthheart on July 31, 2018, 08:17:45 AM
I have Frontiers as well. The rule book is verbose and some of the actions are a bit complicated... at first.

Go through the example game play with all the pieces out. It's actually not that hard a game, but there are a lot of moving pieces.

I've only played it once and found it kind of meh... by that maybe because I'm not really a dungeon crawler... But I need to get it on the table again to give it a fair chance.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: BanzaiCat on July 31, 2018, 11:54:14 AM
My copy is still in shrink! ;D
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Barthheart on July 31, 2018, 12:23:17 PM
Is it for sale?
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on July 31, 2018, 03:10:29 PM
If you play competitively, it isn't really a dungeon crawl.  It turns into a hand optimization, area movement blocking, initiative bidding points-salad style game with dick moves and hurt feelings.   

So there's that....
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on July 31, 2018, 03:13:23 PM
I kickstarted this what feels like ages ago.  The games finally arrived today.  Love the artwork and the production values are great but I'm not really feeling any desire to play either right now.  Kinda turned off engine optimization games these days.

(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/848/41960699800_c56619fe92_h.jpg)
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: BanzaiCat on July 31, 2018, 07:10:36 PM
Quote from: Barthheart on July 31, 2018, 12:23:17 PM
Is it for sale?

I believe it is on my list, yes.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on July 31, 2018, 09:23:03 PM
It's not.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: mirth on July 31, 2018, 09:25:45 PM
http://instantrimshot.com/index.php?sound=priceiswrong&play=true
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: BanzaiCat on August 01, 2018, 06:47:37 AM
I might change that at some point today. Everything is in flux right now.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: mirth on August 01, 2018, 08:04:39 AM
It'll all smooth out once you hit 88mph.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Barthheart on August 01, 2018, 12:00:14 PM
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on July 31, 2018, 03:10:29 PM
If you play competitively, it isn't really a dungeon crawl.  It turns into a hand optimization, area movement blocking, initiative bidding points-salad style game with dick moves and hurt feelings.   

So there's that....

Yeah... but I'd need to have friends for that to work....
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: BanzaiCat on August 01, 2018, 01:05:05 PM
Updated to add ST: Frontiers. Asking $50 as it's still in shrink, unopened. It's currently going for $60.98 on US Amazon, though granted that is Prime and there's shipping as well. Might go a bit lower on shipping; just depends as it's not a size that will fit in a priority mail box (at least, none of the ones I've been able to scrounge from two different local post offices).
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on August 02, 2018, 11:56:20 AM
I set up Brass: Birmingham on the table to run through a few turns to get a feel for it (all while speaking with a terrible approximation of a Brummie accent).  Love the look of the game.  Not sure if it's for me though.  Little too abstracted for my tastes.

The map is double sided with a day and a night version for some reason. 


(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1815/43807023771_2bc8f7cb04_h.jpg)


(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1795/43807023641_d91c8be185_b.jpg)
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: bob48 on August 02, 2018, 12:32:15 PM
I've been looking at this as well. The big advantage I have is that I do have a genuine Brummie accent :-)
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: airboy on August 02, 2018, 08:08:00 PM
I'm playing a lot of mansions of madness.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on August 26, 2018, 09:50:41 PM
I picked up a new game called Detective: A Modern Crime on Friday and tried it out with a group of actor friends today.  It was quite interesting.  It's a co-operative game where 1-5 players are given a crime to solve within a set amount of time. Once the time limit is reached, players must answer a series of questions to see how well they did on their investigation. What makes the game different is that you need to use the online app (which functions like a police computer database) as well as the actual internet to conduct research and examine clues. 

At the start of the game, each player chooses a character to play and each character has a unique ability as well as a skill token that they commit to a common pool.  If there are less than 5 players, the unused character cards are flipped over and become NPC consultants that add extra skill tokens into a common pool.  Skills consist of perception, research, tech, interrogation, or wild and are added into a pool of authority tokens.

Each starts with some explanatory text in a case book followed by a list of available evidence, persons of interest, and crime scene/point of interest locations that the players can investigate.  The players decide as a group on how to proceed.  All officers must act together (no splitting up the group) and once an action is chosen, players either use the app/internet to look up information or pull a numbered card from a case deck made up of 100+ double sided cards.  Each action eats up a number of hours (traveling from location to location on the city map also eats up time) and may also require the use of a skill or an authority token.  Information is then revealed and this may provide new leads or require players to decide if they want to spend more time/tokens in order to dig deeper and possibly learn more from a given suspect/location/piece of evidence.

Each regular day lasts from 8 am til 4 pm after which the investigators can either call it quits for the day or they can decide to work overtime and continue working.  Each extra hour worked past 4 pm causes stress which will lower your end game score.  There is a hard limit for the amount of stress you can incur in a scenario and if that limit is reached, the investigation ends and players must go to the final quiz even if they hadn't reached the case's time limit.

The game comes with 5 cases, each of which should take 3-4 hours of play time to resolve.  The cases tie together into a grand campaign and clues found in case #1 may not become relevant until case #3 for example.

The game reminds me a bit of the Sherlock Holmes games, but this is much more involved.  They throw a tonne of data at you and the time limits imposed means that there is no way you'll be able to follow up on every lead/clue before time runs out. 

We did reasonably well on our first case and managed to crack it with a 70% score.  Everyone enjoyed themselves and wants to continue on with the story but we all thought the writing was a bit weak (they really like to spend a lot of time discussing what everyone eats and drinks along the way) and some of their attempts to make things sound gritty and noire are laughably bad.  The case itself was very interesting though and the fact that much of it was based on real world events that you can look up on wikipedia added a lot to the immersion.   

If you like solving crimes and don't mind some cringe-worthy exposition, you might want to give this one a whirl.

(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1889/30424828378_19bbc50e2b_b.jpg)


(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1890/42483933130_c5fe93df73_b.jpg)


(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1859/43385566345_e61e301d76_b.jpg)


(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1885/42483932800_d8062e010f_b.jpg)



Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Staggerwing on August 27, 2018, 07:14:13 PM
'Rupert Owens' looks suspiciously like Tony Shalhoub.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on August 27, 2018, 08:12:03 PM
Tony Shaloub was arrested for indecent exposure?  Nice!

Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Staggerwing on August 27, 2018, 09:08:23 PM
I'm sure it was all a misunderstanding.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Nefaro on November 06, 2018, 11:23:03 AM
Learning some Arkham Horror LCG.

With a few others on the periphery, waiting in the long line of games in the wings.

(https://i.postimg.cc/d1ZgqvwP/Arkham-LCG.jpg)
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: W8taminute on December 06, 2018, 12:11:45 PM
Finally started playing Twilight Imperium 4th edition after struggling to get up the nerve and energy to play it.  Below is the situation just prior to executing the first action phase of the first round.  I'm playing a three player game against myself.

(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fgrogheads.com%2Fforums%2Findex.php%3Faction%3Ddlattach%3Btopic%3D19834.0%3Battach%3D13790%3Bimage&hash=6abe256767f3d6e45134953e0508f0033a1c965c)

Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: jamus34 on December 31, 2018, 08:16:42 PM
Quote from: Silent Disapproval Robot on August 02, 2018, 11:56:20 AM
I set up Brass: Birmingham on the table to run through a few turns to get a feel for it (all while speaking with a terrible approximation of a Brummie accent).  Love the look of the game.  Not sure if it's for me though.  Little too abstracted for my tastes.

The map is double sided with a day and a night version for some reason. 


This one is pretty high on my WANT list.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: W8taminute on January 02, 2019, 01:52:28 PM
And here is the situation after three complete rounds of play.  No one has scored any victory points yet but all three races are claiming systems in their immediate areas.  However the green player (Sadakk N'orr) and the yellow player may (Barony of Letnev) soon bump into each other.

(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fgrogheads.com%2Fforums%2Findex.php%3Faction%3Ddlattach%3Btopic%3D19834.0%3Battach%3D13850%3Bimage&hash=e7c9f8d236164cbfe8ffaa55c2a7c61b9c0b97fa)

Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: W8taminute on January 06, 2019, 04:28:36 PM
Near the end of round 7 we have our first act of violence in the galaxy.  The yellow player attempted to sabotage green's command orders by playing an action card to delete one of green's orders.  Green in turn played an action card which stopped yellow's attempt ending yellow's phase.  Next up, green played a 'plague' action card to take out some of yellow's infantry.  They rolled two 5's (needed 6 or less to succeed) and took out two infantry units.  The stage is now set for war between these two powers!

(https://www.grogheads.com/forums/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fgrogheads.com%2Fforums%2Findex.php%3Faction%3Ddlattach%3Btopic%3D19834.0%3Battach%3D13862%3Bimage&hash=10fdc4184b41c10e8eccd7c5280de94ababaa861)

Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: jamus34 on August 18, 2019, 05:27:12 PM
No pictures but I ran 2 solo runs of Feast for Odin the past week.

first game was a pretty abysmal 53; second game a much more respectable 86.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: BanzaiCat on August 21, 2019, 05:07:27 PM
I got Star Wars: Outer Rim to the table a couple of weekends ago. I played Lando versus the bot/AI's Han Solo, and had my thrusters handed to me (lost 10-5). Solo has a huge advantage in movement though so I need to try it again as a different character and with a different AI opponent.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: airboy on August 21, 2019, 09:27:23 PM
This year I've had (in order):

1] Mansions of Madness

2] Buffy the Vampire Slayer

and currently
3] Big Trouble in Little China

My wife played 1 & 2 with me.  I'm learning Big Trouble in Little China but got hung up on home issues for a bit.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: BanzaiCat on August 22, 2019, 08:44:26 AM
Quote from: airboy on August 21, 2019, 09:27:23 PM
and currently
3] Big Trouble in Little China

My wife played 1 & 2 with me.  I'm learning Big Trouble in Little China but got hung up on home issues for a bit.

Let me know what you think. I have had this for a couple of months without playing it (big surprise, I know!). I've heard very few, if any, negative comments about the game, but then again most of those gushing over it are admitted fanbois of the film (which is fantastic, by the way).
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Nefaro on August 22, 2019, 11:43:31 AM
Quote from: BanzaiCat on August 22, 2019, 08:44:26 AM
Quote from: airboy on August 21, 2019, 09:27:23 PM
and currently
3] Big Trouble in Little China

My wife played 1 & 2 with me.  I'm learning Big Trouble in Little China but got hung up on home issues for a bit.

Let me know what you think. I have had this for a couple of months without playing it (big surprise, I know!). I've heard very few, if any, negative comments about the game, but then again most of those gushing over it are admitted fanbois of the film (which is fantastic, by the way).

Played one game with a buddy.  We definitely enjoyed it.

The game required enough group planning, and was a close-run thing for a good stretch.  Plus the little narrative stuff added some extra flavor.

The carryover to the finale stage was pretty cool, too.  I recall we offed one of the three storms (Thunder?) so he wasn't in the final climactic part post-board flip.  Yet each of them will still have some negative effect on you, even if you don't have to fight them along with the others at the end.  In our case, the final map board was flooded with water which hampered our movement and made us really have to cooperatively strategize to achieve the win conditions.

Definitely gonna be playing more in the future, and the minis went on my "to paint" list.  O0
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: BanzaiCat on August 23, 2019, 11:45:39 AM
Yeah, that Lightning character mini is pretty badass. 

(https://images.beastsofwar.com/2017/01/BTLC-lightning.jpg)

:dreamer:
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Nefaro on August 24, 2019, 03:09:24 PM
Quote from: BanzaiCat on August 23, 2019, 11:45:39 AM
Yeah, that Lightning character mini is pretty badass. 

(https://images.beastsofwar.com/2017/01/BTLC-lightning.jpg)

:dreamer:

The minis in BTiLC are good.  Should be fun painting those since they're a change from my usual fantasy and sci-fi stuff.

Although, after seeing the horde of minis in my recently acquired Hellboy KS edition board game, I'm leaning towards doing those earlier.  Big and quite clean looking molds.  Good shit.  \m/
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: airboy on August 24, 2019, 04:51:23 PM
The mini's are all very nice.  They also come with a foam tray specific to each mini with a picture overlay so you know which piece goes where.

Not going to paint them though.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Nefaro on April 12, 2020, 09:59:47 PM
Did some Darkest Night 2nd Edition a couple days ago, solitaire.

Although I lost my first game or two of 1st Edition years ago, I seem to have the winning method down now.  Won the last two games of 1st edition, and now my first of 2nd edition.  May have to ramp up the difficulty a bit next time.

Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: jamus34 on April 13, 2020, 09:12:14 AM
Waiting on my copy of Too Many Bones to arrive.

Also looking to run Tapestry solo.

Tough being in a house where either kids aren't into games or are not old enough.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: airboy on April 13, 2020, 09:54:31 AM
We will play another scenario of Secrets of the Lost Tomb.  Then I'm setting up Pacific Tide and perhaps either Legend or Streets of Arkham for Mansions of Madness.  This is driving me to set up two tables.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: ArizonaTank on April 13, 2020, 10:18:16 AM
Planning to play 1960: The Making of a President with the wife this week.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Nefaro on April 14, 2020, 03:37:08 PM
Quote from: jamus34 on April 13, 2020, 09:12:14 AM
Waiting on my copy of Too Many Bones to arrive.

Great game.

Has been pretty brutal, the first couple games I've played, but I expect that from co-operative ones.   O0

The components are amazing, too.

Dug it so much after my first play, last year, that I ordered multiple expansions right afterward.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: airboy on April 14, 2020, 04:34:09 PM
Too Many Bones is running $250 on Amazon.  For that you can get all of the Mansions of Madness material.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: jamus34 on April 15, 2020, 01:52:13 PM
Quote from: airboy on April 14, 2020, 04:34:09 PM
Too Many Bones is running $250 on Amazon.  For that you can get all of the Mansions of Madness material.

I bought direct from Chip Theory. Although I think stock was limited so they might be sold out right now hence the gouging.

And it did deliver today (finally,) so I will give it a go tonight.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Nefaro on April 25, 2020, 01:54:25 PM
Quote from: jamus34 on April 15, 2020, 01:52:13 PM
Quote from: airboy on April 14, 2020, 04:34:09 PM
Too Many Bones is running $250 on Amazon.  For that you can get all of the Mansions of Madness material.

I bought direct from Chip Theory. Although I think stock was limited so they might be sold out right now hence the gouging.

And it did deliver today (finally,) so I will give it a go tonight.

As did I, right before they previously sold out.

I suppose repeatedly selling out of stock is a good indicator of it's popularity.  Their last Kickstarter, for the randomized end boss creator, raked in a pretty huge amount.  Included Core reprints of course.

Think I liked it most due to the wide variety of player powers.  Even though the core game mechanics aren't very difficult, despite the somewhat disorganized bits of the rulebook, each character still has it's own play style and varied level-up build options.  Seems like you could play the same character (yes, solitaire character is possible) multiple times and end up with a different build focus every time.  Plus all the powers largely being tied to the custom dice is great, so if you like dice-chucking and character building a bit like an action-RPG, then it's worth a look.  Even at the cost for the big Core game.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: jamus34 on April 27, 2020, 11:42:46 AM
Yeah, it can be fiddly with some of the rules. I understand that they are trying to keep the printed manual to a minimum as that is literally the only component that will wear out but there are so many things that are either not explained at all, explained poorly or straight up confusing.

Don't get me wrong, I love the game so far. But each game I have made mistakes. For example first time playing Tantrum I didn't realize you have to "buy" his Rage upgrade dice. I also missed some monster innate abilities and character innate's here and there too.

All that and the quirks being said I still really like it and look forward to when I can get it on my table again next weekend.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: jamus34 on May 06, 2020, 10:03:55 AM
oh yeah, with the recent Cloudspire expansion kickstarter I pledged and picked up the following:

Cloudspire base game set (Also includes a dice tray and promo pack)
TMB - Ghillie, Tink, Nugget, Gasket
TMB - Undertow
TMB - 40 days in Daelor
TMB - Adventure Mat and Ally Pack

I also grabbed a chip tray so I can use my premium TMB health chips across both games.

probably went a little crazy but sanity is at a premium right now.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Victor on December 21, 2022, 07:38:46 PM
I find the holiday season is the only time when I get close friends and family around the battle for the time commitment to play Republic of Rome. Great game!

It's complex, it's time consuming but it's like Diplomacy if you were all one country instead of 7. As a bonus, you can play with more or less players than the standard 4 and there's a VASSAL module for it too.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Phantom on January 13, 2023, 02:00:49 PM
Playing Wilderness War at the moment (yes, this IS a wargame) but reason for posting here is that I was considering buying Pax Renaissance 2nd Ed (a semi-wargame) - anyone have any opinion on this? Don't worry about complexity - I play COIN games & own High Frontier.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on January 13, 2023, 04:14:14 PM
I like it quite a bit .  The gameplay itself is really not that complex.  Learning it is harder than it should be due to the obtuse rulebook (A Phil Eklund staple) and the large number of symbols in use on the cards. Once you do learn the system, it all just sort of clicks and gameplay flows quickly and seems logical.  I'd recommend watching some let's play videos on YouTube and trying a few solo hands until you get a handle on it.

I think the biggest drawback is that you only use a small fraction of the available events cards in any one play session.  While this does mean there's a lot of replayability, it also means that sometimes the cards just don't mesh with one another properly.  When they do, it creates some tense and memorable gameplay.  When they don't, it can lead to some lopsided wins or playthroughs with little player interaction.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Phantom on January 15, 2023, 08:24:20 AM
Thanks - that sounds positive. I'll give the videos a shot, but on the face of it it sounds like my type of game.
Regards
 
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: JasonPratt on January 15, 2023, 10:53:11 AM
It doesn't quite count as "table", but my Crisis Grogs group has been binging hard on 18xx games for a while now, at the site "18xx.games" where fans and owners of the series use the forum engine to adapt games for computer play.

Play runs very smoothly, even on alphas and betas (and there are a lot of full releases, too), and can be played live or asynch with easy transitions between them.

For those who don't know, the 18xx series are railroad management games where instead of each player running one railroad and carrying freight, each player bids and buys certificate ownership in any number of available companies, hopefully profiting thereby. If a player owns a minor corporation, or the director's cert of a major, the player becomes responsible for managing that railroad on the game map by laying or upgrading track, placing offices in large cities (from which train routes can run, which can also block runs by other companies), and buying or upgrading trains including replacing obsolete trains as tech progresses. Each version of the game system has special quirks (sometimes mis-called "MacGuffins" by fans, though they aren't plot devices with unimportant details ;) ) and when fans especially like one recipe of quirks designers will often spin off sub-games along that line.

A few dozen 18xx games are available for play on the site for free registration.
Title: Re: Non-Wargames on your table right now
Post by: Silent Disapproval Robot on January 15, 2023, 12:28:14 PM
Quote from: Phantom on January 15, 2023, 08:24:20 AMThanks - that sounds positive. I'll give the videos a shot, but on the face of it it sounds like my type of game.
Regards
 

I found this one to be the best walkthrough of the rules.  The Heavy Cardboard one is also OK but a bit long.