What is your favorite board game?

[GreenLantern]

polak I am honestly getting worried about your mental health, no joke here.

Change that damn avatar it depresses me.

[polak]

Originally Posted by GreenLantern

polak I am honestly getting worried about your mental health, no joke here.

Change that damn avatar it depresses me.

Hahaha it's a funny caricature of my persona on here.

[troutman]

Race For The Galaxy AI:

http://keldon.net/rftg/

[octothorp]

I've only played Roll for the Galaxy once, but it really impressed me. I think I liked it more than the card game. I'm a sucker for dice allocation mechanics though.

[This post is terrible]

Originally Posted by octothorp

I've only played Roll for the Galaxy once, but it really impressed me. I think I liked it more than the card game. I'm a sucker for dice allocation mechanics though.

Me too, Kingsburg, Alien Frontiers and Troyes are some of my favorites

[Schraderbrau]

We had a board game night this last weekend and played Settlers of Catan fir the first time. Absolutely great game, had a blast.

We are planning our next game night and I'm looking at a couple of games to buy; either Pandemic Legacy or Mysterium. I hear good things about both. Anyone have advice on either?

[troutman]

I hear PL is a great game but it requires a commitment from a group to play it regularly?

I don't know Mysterium.

Dice Tower and Boardgame Geek are good game blogs with reviews.

[Atodaso]

Unless you have a committed group of 3 or 4, I would recommend buying the regular Pandemic (and the expansions) before jumping to Legacy.

I have yet to try Mysterium, but it's on my wish list.

I just wanted to state that Dead of Winter easily lives up to it's hype. Highly recommended, especially of you are a Walking Dead fan (but even if you're not).

[This post is terrible]

If your unfamiliar with board games in general Mysterium is great game that everyone can enjoy.

[Knalus]

Play regular pandemic instead of Legacy.

I'm in a play group who has been going through Legacy for the past 5 months, and we are only about halfway through. Although this legacy has been a better experience than Risk Legacy. Don't buy Risk Legacy.

[DoubleF]

Skip pandemic. It always turns into a dictatorship or people screaming at each other if the tactics don't match. Mysterium I don't know about, but it seems like an upgrade on Clue?

I've migrated away from board games. Too difficult to get buy in from a group. I'm into card games because I can actually get a group to play it casually. Good games to try after Catan IMO are...

- Tokaido (Shopping, praying, eating and traveling. Great game, should be in everyone's collection)
- Kings of Tokyo + Expansion (Silly monster attacking game)
- Power Grid (only if the group loves calculating. Great for accountants and engineers. Less great for casual players)

Card games

- Coup (Lying and special abilities. Be the last man standing)
- Family business (mafia game. More fun if you start chirping each other. Be the last man standing)
- No thanks (Collect cards or put a token out to skip it. Lowest point wins. )
- Love letter (easy 5 mins card game. Defeat one another with cards in your hand)
- Monopoly deal (Not played often due to stigma from the original board game, but this one is a solid card collection game that plays quickly unless you have too many idiots playing super defensively)
- Banana grams (Like scrabble but less structure. Even grandma can play it!)
- Saboteur (Who will be the dwarf effin shiz up so we can't get gold??)
- Uno


Cranium, pictionary, taboo and a few others are fun in some groups, but we definitely haven't played most of those recently.

[Atodaso]

Pandemic does have the stigma of there possibly being what is known as an "Alpha player" that dictates everyone's turns. But every time I've played where I'm not trying to teach it, everyone always enjoys it and wants to play again using different roles. It will depend on the type of players you are playing with though. I definitely wouldn't skip it.

I've heard Mysterium described as a cross between Clue and Dixit. It seems like a good party game.

Wits and Wagers and Telestrations are great party games to play to include kids and/or grandparents.

[dubc80]

My brother bought 7 Wonders on the weekend.

Pretty great game and easy to learn. We played with 3 players, but it can fit up to 7.

I like it cause there are multiple ways to win. Each player can choose their strategy based on the cards they have.

The game also automatically ends after a certain amount of turns so the games don't go on forever.

Would recommend.

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by Atodaso

Pandemic does have the stigma of there possibly being what is known as an "Alpha player" that dictates everyone's turns. But every time I've played where I'm not trying to teach it, everyone always enjoys it and wants to play again using different roles. It will depend on the type of players you are playing with though. I definitely wouldn't skip it.

I've heard Mysterium described as a cross between Clue and Dixit. It seems like a good party game.

Wits and Wagers and Telestrations are great party games to play to include kids and/or grandparents.

True. Skip perhaps is a stronger term. But as the next game after Catan (my understanding is it's a few people easing into the world of board games), I'd still easily say no for Pandemic. Perhaps as a 5th or 6th game maybe, but not 2nd or 3rd board game. It's a good game, don't get me wrong, but a poor choice for someone just starting to get their feet wet.

It's not a gateway game or a game that should be added too early to a collection IMO, it's still a game for the true board gamer and can accumulate frustration at the same level as Monopoly and Risk (which IMO are high enough levels to stop board games completely). My wife refused to play board games for like a month after Pandemic. We didn't boss her around either, she just ceded she had no idea what strategy to follow. She hella enjoyed Tokaido after we finally got her to play board games again.

The coop part is cool. But some people just dislike disappointing others and that affects their liking of a game.

[Atodaso]

Oddly enough, Pandemic was my gateway back into board games last year. But, you're right about it not being the ideal option for such a thing. If we're talking gateway games I would suggest Ticket To Ride and maybe Splendor.

[GreenLantern]

Ticket to Ride is a similar game to Catan but a bit more cut throat, your group might enjoy that.

If you have a group of 3-4 that are looking to commit to something then Pandemic is a great choice, or Descent for a dungeon crawler. I would buy it and play through at least part of it/read the rules ahead of time though because it will be a step up from the complexity of Catan.

Edit: Ahh Atodaso beat me to it, but there you go.

[CroFlames]

Do you guys set up your board games around a dining room type table or a coffee table type of deal?

I play games from time to time, but I'm looking to get a good setup going to encourage more family/friends to WANT to play.

Any ideas?

[GreenLantern]

Both actually. I run my Imperial Assault campaign at a friends place on a folding table with a little side table for me to do my GM things on that they cant see. Standard seating on chairs with some Star Wars theme music going in the background.

Then when I play more casually at a friends place, like many of the games listed in this thread, we play on his coffee table with some regular person music going, drinks, snacks.

I think for a game like Galaxy Trucker or Ticket to Ride the couch/coffee table set up is ideal. Promotes the social atmosphere and makes things nice and cozy. For a more serious take on a campaign strategy game you need the space of a large table and attention of your players so I like the regular table.

And no matter what you are playing on, phones go in a pile off to the side. Board games are about interacting with each other, leave the text messaging and Clash of Clan resource gathering until you are alone at home in the dark.

[CroFlames]

Couldn't agree more about the cell phones part and how games are about socializing

[DoubleF]

Originally Posted by CroFlames

Do you guys set up your board games around a dining room type table or a coffee table type of deal?

I play games from time to time, but I'm looking to get a good setup going to encourage more family/friends to WANT to play.

Any ideas?

Poker table or Majong Table work fine and are good to have for other gaming sessions. IMO. I love having edges so things don't fall off the table.

Failing those, dining room and coffee table are fine as well.

It depends on how some people view formality and the group of people. Some will be like Joy from inside out, "Hey, there's room! Let's set up. Let's play." Some will be like Sadness, "Oh, it's a hassle and so much work and I want to interact with you guys, let's just chat instead,maybe next time, I don't know the rules, I might wreck the game, I might hold you all back as I've never play before, I'm no good..." For such players, setting it up prior to them arriving goes a long way, but just telling them to can it and play it goes farther.

Partial agree on phones. I allow them to view text messages and updates etc. (ie: Flames game updates since I don't have cable) but disallow interaction with them such as texting, games etc. with the sole exception being phone calls. Those are ok. Most people chuck phones to the side anyways after hearing this rule. In fact, they love phone freedom. We'll have like a 5 minute phone break between games to reply texts etc. but quite a few actually prefer not to grab the phone till the night is over.