OT: Favourite Boardgames
 

since there are posts about favourite computer games, i was curious if there are some more boardgame addicts around here besides me

my favourites:

- Agricola
- Axis & Allies revised
- Settlers of Catan
- Talisman 4th (FF version)
- Munchkin (if that classifies as a board game...)

Re: OT: Favourite Boardgames
 

Board games? Would chess count? :)

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oh damn of course ! i have to add chess and Mühle to it

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Nibelung, Shark and Saratoga and Risiko of course that a classic.

What's Muhle?

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Love boardgames. My all-time favorites are probably:

- Race For the Galaxy (best all-around)
- Ra (best auction)
- Galaxy Trucker (most amusing - love watching your ship get split in half in a meteor storm and losing all the precious cargo :) )


I am waiting to try Cutthroat Caverns - just got it but looks fun. I tried War of the Ring this weekend, massive 2 player war/strategy game. We didn't get close to finishing but look forward to giving it another try now that I (kind of) know how to play.

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Mühle is the german word for Nine Men's Morris

I never heard of those games you guys posted :D , except risk of course

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And I've never heard of any of your games, very amusing!:)

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well im checking yours out at boardgamegeek.com right now. great site by the way.

and oh you MUST check out talisman and agricola !

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I defenitly played Shark the most, it's a sort of economy based game, similar to monopoly in a way,
Nibelung is a fantasy world with giants and magic cards, very good,
and Saratoga is a war game, with infantry, ships, airplanes and so on.

Oh, and Stratego was a damn good game too!!!

You got me interested now.

Re: OT: Favourite Boardgames
 

well agricola is like a peaceful RPG. you are a farmer in the 17th century and have to survive and maybe become wealthy and raise a family. sounds weird, but its so much strategy in it. very deep game and can be played solitaire as well.

talisman is a classic RPG game. typical fantasy, you can choose between 14 different characters, which are quite unique. a high luck factor in it, but you never really notice it. slaying monsters, collecting treasures, fighting other players. talisman has it all :)

saratoga looks like hardcore strategy...
shark looks very interesting...

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I played Talisman all the time in high-school / college. Great beer and pretzels game - very funny to make it to the end and get the Horrible Black Void or be turned into a toad. The 4th ed. looks nice but I haven't bought it - I think I permanently burned myself out on Talisman in my youth.

Played Agricola once a few weeks ago and really liked it.

If you want another fun game, check out Cash N Guns. Its exactly like the Mexican standoff in Reservoir Dogs...

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Since it hasn't been mentioned, Tigris & Euphrates is an excellent game. I also quite enjoyed the computer version of the board game Dominion (no s).

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talisman has a high replay value with all the different characters and the big amount of adventure cards, which drive the game. the characters seem to be really imbalanced though. i played with a priest yesterday and literally had zero chance against the warrior

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Shogun (now called samurai)
Settlers an honourable mention as the one I have played most, quicker and more newbie friendly

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Games that have hit the table more often than others in the past year:

Memoir '44
Wings of War
Europe Engulfed
Last Night On Earth
Runebound
Talisman
A Touch Of Evil
The Great Space Race
Victory At Sea (miniatures game)
Arkham Horror
Tomb

And as soon as I get around to painting my minis and my opponent gets around to purchasing his, there will be lots of Secrets of the Third Reich action going on...

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Good games I've played in recent years in no particular order:

Battlestar Galactica boardgame
Android
Risk 2210 AD
Runebound
Dune
Puerto Rico
Settlers of Catan
Race for the Galaxy

Also Munchkin and Lunch Money if they count.

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Besides most of the Avalon Hill games,

1. Risk

2. Chess (of course)

3. Pente

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Oh yeah...Stratego WAS a great game also

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I work with a board game fanatic, so I've had a chance to play a ton of great ones over the years. Some of my favorites:

Power Grid
Age of Empires 3
Domaine
Goa
In the Year of the Dragon
Attika
Brass
Agricola
Puerto Rico
Ticket To Ride

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lol, well noones said apart from chess what I played

Chess
Chinese Chess
Go
Othello
and Monopoly is always good for a waste of time

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do you have some more games on your "to-get" list ? well i do:

1. Starcraft - Has very good reviews and i loved the PC Game
2. Runebound - like Talisman, but more advanced
3. Tide of Iron - expensive but still cheaper than Tabletops

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+1. I haven't played Ra yet, but it looks like DC and I am sharing some sentiments here. There's tons of other good board and card games, for example, Rummikub and Go are games that I'll always be interested in. Most important is the social group that you're playing the games with, too, of course.

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Most of my suggestions are up already, but if you haven't tried Carcassonne yet (and its many expansions, but try the base game first) then you're missing out. It's a great game to bridge the gap between "serious" boardgamers and the occasional player.

Re: OT: Favourite Boardgames
 

Another vote for Ra. It really is a good auction game. Although if you like auction games then Modern Art is also pretty good. And For Sale for a quick card auction game.

Bonanza (Bean trading card game) is very good and quite unusual.

For the heavier 'Euro' style strategy games I like Power Grid and Puerto Rico, but Agricola is just OK. Too much luck/variability in the usefulness of the cards for my liking while the none card part is almost pure skill/analysis paralysis. It just doesn't sit well together.

I quite like Europe Engulfed but if I am playing a 'modern style' wargame I much prefer the Card Driven system to the hidden strength block system of Europe Engulfed. So I would take Barbarossa to Berlin or Paths of Glory.

And Dune is of course a classic. And I still like the old style 1829/1830 type railroad games, but they are slow.

Re: OT: Favourite Boardgames
 

No one has mentioned Magic Realm?
It takes a long time to set up, and much of the desired features have been replaced by using computers to play games, but its still a fond memory of mine as far as board games.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Magic_Realm

Re: OT: Favourite Boardgames
 

1. Settlers of Catan
2. Settlers of Catan
3. Settlers of Catan

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presumably those are different versions of settlers? ;) hopefully the first is Cities & Knights, I find that the best (unless playing with really slow people)

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Yeah, points for auction games. Modern Art was a lot of fun, but now I need to upgrade. I'll look up this "Ra" everyone is yaffing about.

Yeah, Power Grid is pretty fine, but I have to disagree on your views on Agricola. I also used to squaff some cards straight down, but then I happened to play some solitaire (which basically all about min/maxing). I was really suprised by the hidden power of some cards. Sure, some require elaborate planning or right conditions to work, but when they do..

Besides, if you get struck by sucky cards (I once ended up with 3 different plows and 2 proffession that allowed to plow more stuff), you can just play the base game, while the other suckers are busy getting their fancy things together, you just grab the resources under their eyes and breed like a bloody rabbit.

Re: OT: Favourite Boardgames
 

Haven't played many board games recently, but my old favourites were Kingmaker, Britannia, and Axis & Allies.

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Among many...

Settlers of Catan
Talisman
Lord of the Fries
Roborally
Silent Death

I spent a lot of time playing Starfleet Battles (cue obvious comments of 'what, a couple of turns then?), and have some fond memories.

I have a copy of Magic Realm, but haven't managed to play it more than a couple of rather sketchy games to try and get the hang of the rules. It looks really interesting and deep, but is a touch complex.

Edit: I didn't mention Junta!

Re: OT: Favourite Boardgames
 

that magic realm looks awesome ! too bad its out of print and damn expensive :( would have bought it immediately

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I always thought Roborally would make such a fine computer game ...

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i never tried roborally ot other "pseudo" sport games. Bloodbowl might be interesting, there is even a pc game coming out this year

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Roborally is no sports game. It's a showcase of Murphy's law and scheduled-driven insanity.

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Can be a lot of fun though :) You need to be careful about flag placement as it can suffer from someone getting a lead and no one being near them to hit / bump them off course.

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Here is a list with links to a ton of board games that have free computer versions.

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There are sites that still love the game (nothing seems to ever die thanks to internet). Some sites have downloadable printable files for all of the game pieces and board pieces. And the Manual. So you could create one of your own. The ones Ive looked at also have various player suggested add-ons (old world version of modding) which they nicely separated so that you can get the original game then later get the add-ons if you want.

There is also a SourceForge project trying to recreate the game as a computer game which I feel it is PERFECT for. But nothing has been done on that for a long time.

Re: OT: Favourite Boardgames
 

I'll second the recommendations for:

Carcassonne
RoboRally
Arkham Horror
Talisman

If you're interested in seeking out OOP titles, I'd also recommend:

Dungeonquest

I have a special fondness for tile-based, build-the-board-in-play games, and this is a particularly deadly dungeon.

Merchant of Venus

Imagine an economic game somewhat similar to Rail Baron, but with the origin and destination cities' locations randomized at the start of the game, and kept hidden until a player explores them, and you have a pretty good picture of how MoV plays.

Re: OT: Favourite Boardgames
 

For anyone interested in Magic Realm, I strongly recommend the fan-made "third edition" of the rules, which are mostly a reorganization of the official "Legendary Lost Second Edition" rulebook.

I wish I could join in the recommendation of the game itself, but frankly, I enjoy setting up the board more than I do actually playing the game. I occaisionally shuffle and deal out the board tiles just to relax and look at the patterns the paths & passages form.

Re: OT: Favourite Boardgames
 

Yay, Dungeonquest!

A friend owns that, and he's recorded some years worth of statistics on it. The odds of dying seem to be at least 50%, and the chance of raiding the lair and escaping is much smaller.

Re: OT: Favourite Boardgames
 

I have the new Munchkin Quest Board Game (Munchkin... with a board). It uses a similar board generation mechanic. I would like to play it more before making a real opinion, but overall I like it (though it is a little light on the roleplaying and immersion side, as is to be expected).

I second Race for the Galaxy. Amazing game. Though it is a little light on player interaction, and there is a certain level of luck in getting the good cards.

Power Grid is a little too easy to fall behind in, though I would never say no to playing.

I deeply enjoy Puerto Rico. I don't like Settlers as much (maybe because I haven't it played it that much).

Some games I like that haven't been mentioned:

Torres (Very fun, with a lot of options to change up gameplay. Mostly unique "building" feel that is well communicated.)

Maharaja (Nerve wracking and well designed. I find it extremely suspenseful, which is the best and worst feature. It suffers from a lack of strategies after a number of plays.)

Princes of Florence. A nice game that I would like to play more. It has many good bidding/building mechanics that make for interesting decisions.

Starcraft (I *LOVE* this game. Feels like the computer game, and always enjoyable. The only two downsides are the length, which is long, and slightly arbitrary victories. I feel like a fight to the death is more thematic, but that would take days.)

Goa (A bidding game I like a lot, though I haven't played it much.)


And finally, I am surprised no one has mentioned Diplomacy yet. I feel like it has had an immense effect on the way I think about any territory-based, simultaneous resolution game (*ahem*Dominions*ahem*).

Re: OT: Favourite Boardgames
 

Talisman balanced???? I don't think so!


Anyway spieledejahr spelling?? has tons of good recommendations.

Some games I have loved:

Cosmic Encounter
Swords & Sorcery - best board game simulation of magic I have ever seen.
War of the Ring
Stellar Conquest
Berlin'85
Blood Bowl
Kremlin
Down with the King
King's N Things
Junta
Ceasar at Alesia
Fortress America
Wreck of the USS Pandora
Squad Leader -Dzerjhinski Tractor works scenario
Mythology

Re: OT: Favourite Boardgames
 

Oh I loved Britannia. Kingmaker suffered from the Ireland problem.

Pax Brittanica was awesome as well. History of the world wasn't bad... OH yea.. I loved Magic Realm...

Miss games by Wham.

Re: OT: Favourite Boardgames
 

i said they are NOT balanced

Re: OT: Favourite Boardgames
 

If we're digging back into old games:

Illuminati (Not the collectible card version)
Nuclear War (& Escalation)

More card games than board games, I guess. Neither at all serious, but an awful lot of fun.

From "The Boy Sprouts are using Orbital Mind Control Lasers to control the Mafia?" to "Woof! Any one have change for 20 million people?"

Re: OT: Favourite Boardgames
 

Ah, memories. Both of those games were very fun. I was especially partial to Nuclear War/Escalation. Apparently, there was a third game in the series, called "Nuclear Proliferation", but I never tried it.

I was actually so enthralled by the Nuke series of games that I created my own version, called "Islamic Jihad". (Not politically correct, but I was in highschool at the time.) Imagine a game about global terror, but using the Nuke War/Escalation framework. I made the game with 3.5" index cards, and I played it a few times with my friends. Then we went back to RPGs. :)

Hey, how about the Ogre series from SJ Games? Those games were a lot of fun.

Speaking of SJ Games, does anyone remember Car Wars? That game (and the zillions of expansion sets) was my addiction during middle school. A laser in a turret + a cyberlink = Shoot out everyone's tires!

Good times, good times....

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I own both of those, in the original editions (the ones that came in plastic envelopes).

Re: OT: Favourite Boardgames
 

Well I'm surprised no one mentioned Dark Tower(Electronic_BoardGame):
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dark_Tower_(game)

Takes about 3mins to setup and great fun!

EDIT: After reading the wiki details I see why not many people played this great game. I wonder if I can find this great game stored away at my brothers... considering it's a collectors item.

Re: OT: Favourite Boardgames
 

I remember Car Wars and AutoDuel. There was talk of an MMORPG for it but I dont think it ever happened.

I also remember Black Tower. Excellent game.

Re: OT: Favourite Boardgames
 

Omega Virus was pretty cool when I was a kid. Other than Electronic Battleship I think its about the only one Ive ever had that you could play by yourself although it was way to easy to win before the timer ran out without anyone to fight against.

And of course Risk 2210 and Godstorm. Cranium and Balderdash.

There was a board game I had when I was a kid that I cannot remember the name of for the life of me Id love to be able to find it but its kinda hard without knowing what it was called. Most of the players played as these Psychotic Rambo Like Bunny Rabbits trying to steal carrots and stuff from some Farmer and I think someone could play as the Farmer and his Dog to try and kill the rabbits. I think you could go to the Mailbox when you had cash or something and order things like Bear Traps and Flame throwers and stuff I dont remember for sure its been like 20 years.