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[Eggplantation]

I am looking to buy a new board game, and would love some suggestions as what to get! Dominion is great, but I also want to try others, and learn a new game with friends (important!) that I haven't invested many, many hours into practicing and reading strategy articles (yet ) and what not.

I have a few requirements:

• Can be played with 2 people
• Each game doesn't go for too long (less than 1.5 hours) but if there are absolute gems that go longer I will definitely consider.
• Has high replay-ability
• Isn't too similar to Dominion (preferably not a deck builder)

I have heard about games like Twilight Struggle and Android: Netrunner (although as I understand, this is a deckbuilder). Are they worth looking into?

What do you recommend?

[Kirian]

http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=9748.0

That thread is a good start!

[Twistedarcher]

Are you looking for a game that's good with 2 but can be used with more, or is a game that's only 2 player good?

[Drab Emordnilap]

Race for the Galaxy!

[blueblimp]

Well since the other thread has it pretty well covered for strategy games, here are a couple non-strategy games to consider.

Set (http://www.setgame.com/) is one of my favourite games. It's a pattern-matching card game that plays in just a few minutes. I wouldn't call it deep, but I've played hundreds (possibly thousands including computer play) of games of it and variants because the core concept is fun and elegant. What's the link to Dominion? Not much directly, but they're both accessible games that keep getting better the more you play them. I also know a lot of people who like both Set and Dominion, so there's a correlation.

Boggle (http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1293/boggle) is my favourite word game. It plays in just a few minutes. Like Dominion, the setup for each game is random but equal for all players.

[Eggplantation]

http://forum.dominionstrategy.com/index.php?topic=9748.0

That thread is a good start!

Ahh thanks! I had seen that thread before, and was what inspired to ask here. I looked for the thread before writing this, but couldn't find it or remember what it was called. In the end I decided to post this thread because I don't own pretty much any of the games shark_bait does, bar Dominion and am looking for a slightly different type of game (however not heaps different at all, now that I re-look over it). I will definitely give the thread a better look. Thanks for the link!

Are you looking for a game that's good with 2 but can be used with more, or is a game that's only 2 player good?

It needs to be good with at least 2 people, and I don't mind if it is only a 2 player game. More than 2 player is good as well, but not essential.

Thanks for the suggestions blueblimp and Drab Emordnilap! I was thinking of games more like strategy games, but I will definitely consider the others. My girlfriend and I often play scrabble, which I am pretty terrible at, but enjoy. So Boggle might be perfect. Shall check out Race for the Galaxy also!

[Kirian]

Other good 2P non-deck-builders:

Tash-Kalar
Lords of Waterdeep

[qmech]

Android: Netrunner (although as I understand, this is a deckbuilder).

Netrunner is a Living Card Game (LCG), which for gameplay purposes is the same as being a TCG.  So building decks is involved, but it's not incorporated into the game—you build your decks in advance and the game consists of playing them against each other.  I haven't played my Netrunner yet, so can't recommend whether it's worth picking up.  The core set is cheap.

Another cheap game that I've had a lot of play out of is Trans Europa.  This is one of the simplest possible train games: the goal is to link 5 random cities, and the strategy stems from the fact that you all share the same colour of track, so that it's possible to have other people do much of your work for you.  One round plays very quickly (less than 5 minutes between two players who know the rules), so a full game usually consists of many rounds with a score kept based on how far off the loser of the round was from completing their network.  There is a near-identical game called Trans America which I haven't played.

The most famous train game is Ticket to Ride.  It is a longer game than Trans Europa and plays very differently because now you can only use your own routes, and each route you might build has it's own cost (in terms of cards in hand) that you must pay to be able to build it.  In my experience Ticket to Ride goes down better with groups, although I like both.  They each have a lot of replayability as your goals in each game are at least partly randomly determined.

The other two player game I have much experience with is Memoir 44.  This is a light war-themed game (as opposed to a full war game) with a large amount of luck, both in the cards that you draw and the dice rolls that decide battle outcomes.  The replayability comes from the large number of different scenarios that can be set up using the pieces in the box.  If Memoir 44 appeals it's likely to be either because you like the historical aspect (recreate the D-day landings!) or that you're not too old to enjoy moving plastic soldiers around a board.  The main downside of Memoir 44 is that it is strictly 2 player—there are variants for up to 8, but they're essentially just team play with distributed decision making.  It also takes a long time to explain the rules, so it doesn't see much use at big games nights; that said, most of the people I've played it with seem to have been quite taken with it.  So it's a bit of an odd one.

[yuma]

Race for the Galaxy!

second this for sure, complex but pretty good with 2 players

Innovation (at least the base is great for 2 player). this is now my wife's favorite game.

[ftl]

Ill second the recommendation of M44

[mail-mi]

Just got A Fool's Fortune, and that's a really fun 2p game.

[yed]

I second Tash-Kalar and Set

Kingdom Builder

[Teproc]

Kingdom Builder, which is also from Donald X, fits your criterion pretty well. Good wwith 2 to 4 players (5 with the Nomads expansion), very high replayability (the board and scoring system are randomized each game), but very different from Dominion.

Edit : Oh, and it's 45 to 75 minutes to play, depending on the number of players and the setup. Some setups can be AP-inducing, but I don't think I've ever had a game go past 90 minutes.

[shark_bait]

I'd recommend both Kingdom Builder and Stone Age. 

Both are playable and enjoyable with 2 players or up to 4. 

Kingdom Builder has a bit more variety due to the 8 choose 4 and 10 choose 3 mechanics of board construction and victory condition respectively however sometimes the random draw takes away from strategic decisions (although this can be taken into account by your exact settlement placement).  A game of Kingdom builder is around 30-45 minutes for 2 player and around 45-90 for 3/4 player.

Stone Age on the other hand is more tactical with each decision having profound influences on the game.  Variety is more lacking but the greater tactical depth makes up for it.  One thing I love about 2-player Stone Age is the denial mechanic.  This has a strong impact on decision making and makes 2-player better than 3/4 player imo.  You can deny in 3/4 player but it is easier to do in 2-player.  Stone Age is around 45-60 min for 2 Player and 60-90 for 4/4 Player.

[Teproc]

Kingdom Builder does have luck of the draw in it, but
1) It depends on the kingdom ! When you have a lot of "moving" powers (no idea how these are called in english but I hope you get what I'm saying), this helps reduce the impact of the draw a lot, especially horses.
2) You can do the Carcassonne-variant thing, where you draw 3 cards and chose one. Haven't tried it because I think the game would go insanely long in most setups though.

Overall I don't agree that Kingdom Builder is a lighter game than Stone Age, but Stone Age is very good too (haven't played with 2 but I've heard good things).

[popsofctown]

Oh man, I lost my copy of Memoir 44, which suck so much because it's such a blast.

Gosh I hate when I have unsavory flashbacks like this.

[Eggplantation]

Thanks for all the recommendations guys! Thanks a lot, even if I don't mention them in this post. It is great indeed. So it seems Race for the Galaxy, Kingdom builder, Stone Age and Memoir 44 are all pretty popular. I am definitely considering them, and I think I will watch demo's for them because they sound like cool games.

I did watch a bit of a video on Race for the Galaxy, and it looks pretty complex. However I am sure it just takes time to learn it. How would it go in a situation where you are trying to teach friends at a games night?

Also I remember reading LastFootnote's article on the 'Donald X. Variety Mechanic', and realised that I really enjoy games with that too, and is one of the big reasons that I like Dominion so much. It certainly adds a lot of replay-ability, and interesting game set ups. Kingdom builder sounds like it has a lot of this, which makes sense since it was made by Donald X.

Android: Netrunner (although as I understand, this is a deckbuilder).

Netrunner is a Living Card Game (LCG), which for gameplay purposes is the same as being a TCG.  So building decks is involved, but it's not incorporated into the game—you build your decks in advance and the game consists of playing them against each other.  I haven't played my Netrunner yet, so can't recommend whether it's worth picking up.  The core set is cheap.

Thanks for the clarification, that actually changes heaps. Just came back from a family holiday, and my uncle who is awesome, brought a  MTG booster pack box of 36 packs so me and my brother and cousin could do a draft. We had a blast, and now I am really interested in CCG like that. So Android NetRunner might be perfect, since it plays like a TCG without actually having to collect heaps of good cards to make a good deck. Has anyone played it? Can anyone give me insight in how the game plays out, and how fun it is? I shall look up the thread on this too.

EDIT: Also the asymmetrical play of Netrunner intrigues me. Also a downside I can imagine with Netrunner is that it is quite difficult to teach new people, which I would have to do a lot of. How much harder is it to learn than say, Magic?

[Twistedarcher]

Memoir 44 is a good game, and I also like Agricola for 2 players (although it becomes much longer with 4-5 players).

I think RftG is pretty hard to get the first time, at least it was for me -- it's great if you're planning to play it over and over, but if you're going to be playing it with others who play infrequently, I would recommend staying away from it.

Also second the Netrunner recommendation.

[yuma]

I did watch a bit of a video on Race for the Galaxy, and it looks pretty complex. However I am sure it just takes time to learn it. How would it go in a situation where you are trying to teach friends at a games night?

Is the offline AI still available? That is how I learned how to play it before trying to teach it to my wife... I recommend that instead of slogging through a 2 hour game where you all try and figure out how it works....

This is where I was able to get it. I think it is still available until Goko gets it up and running... hahahahahaha.... Ha.... sigh....

[Ratsia]

Since Memoir'44 has been mentioned a few times, I guess it is worth mentioning that it has kind of been made obsolete by a few newer games, at least in terms of mechanics and balance. The newer games in the Command & Colors series, especially C&C Ancients and C&C Napoleonics, are quite a bit more interesting while having the same basic mechanics, and are generally considered better games at least in the sense of BGG ratings. They are somewhat more complex (Napoleonics being more complex than Ancients), but also not so clearly luck-based; to my knowledge Memoir lacks depth for any kind of competitive play and I've heard that the winning stats for the online version are not very promising regarding the skill/luck balance. That said, I could not find any hard evidence right now.

I guess Memoir'44 is still worth trying out if one prefers the WW theme and is happy with a bit lighter action, but otherwise I would recommend C&C Ancients instead. It shouldn't be any harder to learn and it should not take longer to play. Napoleonics is even better, but with the extra complexity and length it enters slightly different competition.

[Drab Emordnilap]

I feel like Race for the Galaxy's rules are very sturdy -- once you know how things work, you _know_ how they work. There's not tons of exceptions to have to know.

[Kuildeous]

I did watch a bit of a video on Race for the Galaxy, and it looks pretty complex. However I am sure it just takes time to learn it. How would it go in a situation where you are trying to teach friends at a games night?

One good thing about RftG is that there are visual aids for everyone. Nearly all of the icons are included on a reference card, and the game comes with multiple copies. I think there might be a couple that require the rulebook, but the gist of the game is pretty much encapsulated in that one card.

Now, expansions are a different matter, as they introduce some new icons. You can probably find a comprehensive list on one sheet at BGG.

[DG]

Race for the Galaxy is good but you ideally an experienced player should explain the symbols to newcomers in the starter games. San Juan is very similar game to RfTG but a lot simpler and underrated.

[Grujah]

EDIT: Also the asymmetrical play of Netrunner intrigues me. Also a downside I can imagine with Netrunner is that it is quite difficult to teach new people, which I would have to do a lot of. How much harder is it to learn than say, Magic?

It's not that hard. Biggest issue is a metric shit tone of terms, and you do need to know them to play the game (mechanics, but also game areas, like Corp's deck/graveyard/hand is RnD, Archive and HQ but Runner's are Stack, Heap and Grip). It is easier, I think, for newbies to play the Runner.

[Narz]

The only 2-player game that's stood the test of time with me is chess.  Very different from dominion.