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selection7

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board game suggestions?
« on: May 26, 2015, 10:34:32 pm »
+2

Short of the occasional trivia game or the typical games you can find on the walmart shelf, I've sort of stopped playing board games as an adult.  But I'm looking to get back into it.  Unfortunately, I don't know much about board games or where is the best place to start looking, and there's so many choices. 

Is there a particular website or other forum that board gamers know is the best for listing the breadth of games out there, reviewing the games, and allowing me to learn how the game is played (so I can decide for myself)?  Maybe I could youtube some gameplay videos eventually, once I've narrowed the choices down a bit.

I'm open to anything, including card based games with no board I guess, but preferably 3+ players and I'm roughly thinking of something like the Dungeon! Fantasy Boardgame that I used to play as a kid and no longer own.  But maybe if I were to play that as an adult I wouldn't find it deep/strategic enough?   Is there anything like that but better?
https://magisterrex.wordpress.com/2011/04/11/whats-in-that-game-box-dungeon-fantasy-boardgame/

Other games types I used to like that come to mind are Stratego, Treasure Hunt (though there's not much strategy to it, I liked the high concept), and Axis & Allies (for a while, until it became a bit rote because the best strategy is pretty much the same every time you play it).  But anyway, I'm mostly just looking to be pointed in the right direction.
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DG

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Re: board game suggestions?
« Reply #1 on: May 26, 2015, 11:03:39 pm »
+4

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jsh357

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Re: board game suggestions?
« Reply #2 on: May 26, 2015, 11:50:27 pm »
+1

Also reddit.com/r/boardgames has a tab for suggestions on the right hand side.
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jaketheyak

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Re: board game suggestions?
« Reply #3 on: May 27, 2015, 12:04:55 am »
0

I'm open to anything, including card based games with no board I guess

I honestly can't tell if you're trolling or not.

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and suggest you check out a game called Dominion.
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Voltaire

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Re: board game suggestions?
« Reply #4 on: May 27, 2015, 12:17:23 am »
0

Small World, Descent or SW: Imperial Assault, Betrayal at House on the Hill are some off-the-top-of-my-head titles it sounds like you should check out.
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ConMan

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Re: board game suggestions?
« Reply #5 on: May 27, 2015, 01:49:08 am »
0

I'm open to anything, including card based games with no board I guess

I honestly can't tell if you're trolling or not.

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and suggest you check out a game called Dominion.
It's possible that he came in via the boardgamestrategy.net page (or one of the other sites), in which case it's quite possible he hasn't heard of Dominion. Although he would then have to scroll past the entire Dominion section of the forum to reach the "Other Board Games" area.
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Re: board game suggestions?
« Reply #6 on: May 27, 2015, 10:55:02 am »
+3

Are you open to forum based games with no board or cards?
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selection7

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Re: board game suggestions?
« Reply #7 on: May 27, 2015, 07:51:08 pm »
0

Thanks all, those were the kind of replies I was looking for.  The problem is, so many games look good, but it's hard to tell without playing them, and I'm trying to avoid trial and error as much as possible. 
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selection7

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Re: board game suggestions?
« Reply #8 on: May 27, 2015, 07:55:44 pm »
+5

I'm open to anything, including card based games with no board I guess

I honestly can't tell if you're trolling or not.

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and suggest you check out a game called Dominion.
It's possible that he came in via the boardgamestrategy.net page (or one of the other sites), in which case it's quite possible he hasn't heard of Dominion. Although he would then have to scroll past the entire Dominion section of the forum to reach the "Other Board Games" area.
Actually, I simply googled "board games" and looked for a well-visited forum that seemed to be populated with serious gamers.  After about a dozen links I decided on this forum without even looking up what Dominion was...yes, I scrolled right past it to get to the forum that covers all games.  I figured you'd say if you thought Dominion might match my tastes.
« Last Edit: May 27, 2015, 08:01:48 pm by selection7 »
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selection7

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Re: board game suggestions?
« Reply #9 on: May 27, 2015, 07:58:39 pm »
0

Are you open to forum based games with no board or cards?
Probably not.  I'm looking for something in the vein of a "games night" game, and not something that takes more than an evening to play.
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eHalcyon

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Re: board game suggestions?
« Reply #10 on: May 27, 2015, 08:11:32 pm »
+4

I'm open to anything, including card based games with no board I guess

I honestly can't tell if you're trolling or not.

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt and suggest you check out a game called Dominion.
It's possible that he came in via the boardgamestrategy.net page (or one of the other sites), in which case it's quite possible he hasn't heard of Dominion. Although he would then have to scroll past the entire Dominion section of the forum to reach the "Other Board Games" area.
Actually, I simply googled "board games" and looked for a well-visited forum that seemed to be populated with serious gamers.  After about a dozen links I decided on this forum without even looking up what Dominion was.  I figured you'd say if you thought Dominion might match my tastes.

Actually, Dominion might not work so well just going by the games you've mentioned.

For something sort of like Axis & Allies, you could consider Kemet, which is a nice, action-packed dudes-on-a-map war game with an Egyptian mythology theme and lots of special powers.  For a more abstracted but also more accessible game, Small World could be what you need.  This is more of an area control game than a war game though.

For something like the Dungeon Fantasy Board Game... well, I don't know much about it.  It's like D&D in board game form?  I've been really interested in Assault on Doomrock which currently has a kickstarter campaign for an expansion.  The combined pledge actually looks like a good deal; I personally haven't committed because I don't know how much I would get to play it simply due to its length.  If that's not a problem for you though, it sounds perfect.  You could also look into the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game.  I could give more specific recommendations if you elaborate on what you like about the Dungeon Fantasy Board Game.

Stratego has a lot of hidden information and bluffing, right?  You could try something like Specter Ops, Letters from Whitechapel or Scotland Yard where a team of players is trying to hunt down one solo player with hidden movement.  Or you could cut out the board stuff and try something like The Resistance, Coup or Ultimate Werewolf.

I don't know what this Treasure Hunt game is; BGG has several games by that name.  If you describe how it works, I could make suggestions based on that too.
« Last Edit: May 27, 2015, 08:12:45 pm by eHalcyon »
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ConMan

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Re: board game suggestions?
« Reply #11 on: May 27, 2015, 09:24:11 pm »
+4

I can throw a few more broad suggestions for how to find games out there:

  • As already mentioned, http://www.boardgamegeek.com will give you a lot of information on just about any game you might care to find, although it doesn't do so in a particularly well-designed way (and many people have made the mistake of just buying the top-ranked game on the site only to find that it's very much not their cup of tea). However, if you have a shortlist of games you're looking into, it can be a good way to get a feel for what the game is about and whether it's generally well-regarded (anything with a score of 8-10 is very good, 6.5-8 is usually still a good game as well but maybe has some detractors).
  • On YouTube, the Geek & Sundry channel has a series called TableTop, hosted by Wil Wheaton of Star Trek: The Next Generation and The Big Bang Theory fame. The show aims to showcase games that aren't too complicated that work well with about 4 players, and while you shouldn't rely on it to get the rules right it can help you find games that look interesting. On the same channel are a few videos labelled "Not the Flog" which are vlogs by Wil, and in some of those he discusses games that he likes that don't fit the TableTop format.
  • Shut Up & Sit Down, at http://www.shutupandsitdown.com is a series of video and text reviews of games. Again, they can help you get a feel for which games you might like.
  • Other popular YouTube series that do reviews, gameplay demos, and other game discussions, include: The Dice Tower, Rahdo Runs Through, Watch It Played, GameNight and Starlit Citadel.

Also, if you're specifically looking for a game that captures a certain amount of that "Go into the dungeon and kill stuff" feel of old-school Dungeons and Dragons (which I'm guessing Dungeon! was trying to do), then I've heard many good things about Descent: Journeys in the Dark. Like D&D, though, it requires one person to take control of the scenario and pit monsters against the other players, who play the heroes. There may be some other games in the same genre that fit you and your group better in this list.
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Re: board game suggestions?
« Reply #12 on: May 27, 2015, 10:11:13 pm »
+2

If you want to sample some games for free, boardgamearena.com has a decent variety of cool games to try.  Most of them are entry level, a few are more complex.  Get some friends to play with you or join random games (you can spectate as well).
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Re: board game suggestions?
« Reply #13 on: May 28, 2015, 12:29:50 am »
+5


Actually, I simply googled "board games" and looked for a well-visited forum that seemed to be populated with serious gamers.  After about a dozen links I decided on this forum without even looking up what Dominion was...yes, I scrolled right past it to get to the forum that covers all games.  I figured you'd say if you thought Dominion might match my tastes.

That's crazy. If you google "board game forum", this forum is like the 5th result! How did this happen, guys?
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Re: board game suggestions?
« Reply #14 on: May 28, 2015, 04:28:25 am »
+2

(anything with a score of 8-10 is very good, 6.5-8 is usually still a good game as well but maybe has some detractors).

Man, only 7 games on BGG score better than 8!

My general rule of thumb is:
7.5+ Excellent, but might not be my cup of tea
6.5+ Probably Good
<6.5 Might still be worth it

Then, when you've found a game that looks intriguing, you read the Reviews. Almost every game rated more than 6 has multiple reviews, of which many are very high quality.
And don't fall in the trap of buying stuff just by rating/rank. :)
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Kuildeous

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Re: board game suggestions?
« Reply #15 on: May 28, 2015, 08:18:39 am »
0

Well, in that case, welcome to the forums.

I love Dominion, as do most people here, but I would understand if it's not your cup of tea. I haven't been on Goko in a while, but I believe you can join for free. You can only play the base cards, which is enough to see if you like it. Be warned: If you do like it, you'll want to buy the expansions and that way lies madness….er, hundreds of dollars. Still, the variety of the game gives it great replayability.

In addition to some of those other great pieces of advice, I suggest you check with your local gaming shop. Hopefully you're in a town that has one or more. Gaming stores vary in terms of how much attention is given to board games, but they usually carry some. Ask the owner if there are any demo copies you can check out. Find out if there is a dedicated group that meets on a weekly basis and get in on some games there. Online gaming can be fun, but I really do enjoy the sensation of sitting around a table with other like-minded individuals and getting that face-to-face interaction…less so if some of them have bad breath or strong BO (hazard of being a geek).

Man, Dungeon takes me back. I used to play the hell out of that game. I dare not play it today as an adult, because I fear it would shatter my childhood memories. It just seems too luck-based of a game. And while it's thematic, there are probably equally thematic games out there that have better mechanics.
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Re: board game suggestions?
« Reply #16 on: May 28, 2015, 08:26:07 am »
0

I love Dominion, as do most people here, but I would understand if it's not your cup of tea. I haven't been on Goko in a while, but I believe you can join for free. You can only play the base cards, which is enough to see if you like it. Be warned: If you do like it, you'll want to buy the expansions and that way lies madness….er, hundreds of dollars. Still, the variety of the game gives it great replayability.

Well, you can still play with the expansions if you can find other people hosting games with them. You need to buy the expansions if you want to host games with them yourself, though.
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Re: board game suggestions?
« Reply #17 on: May 28, 2015, 01:21:22 pm »
0


Actually, I simply googled "board games" and looked for a well-visited forum that seemed to be populated with serious gamers.  After about a dozen links I decided on this forum without even looking up what Dominion was...yes, I scrolled right past it to get to the forum that covers all games.  I figured you'd say if you thought Dominion might match my tastes.

That's crazy. If you google "board game forum", this forum is like the 5th result! How did this happen, guys?

Not from this incognito session.  Looks like Google knows you.
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Re: board game suggestions?
« Reply #18 on: May 28, 2015, 01:26:38 pm »
0

Even on my normal session it didn't even show up in the first 5 pages, so I'm not sure what's going on there.
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Re: board game suggestions?
« Reply #19 on: May 28, 2015, 01:27:49 pm »
+1

In a normal and incognito session they were both the same, the 5th result.
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selection7

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Re: board game suggestions?
« Reply #20 on: May 28, 2015, 08:24:38 pm »
0

Well, I've got lots of resources now, so I'll get started looking!  Thanks again to everyone, including ConMan and jsh357 for suggesting video reviews and a way to try games out directly.

I don't know what this Treasure Hunt game is; BGG has several games by that name.  If you describe how it works, I could make suggestions based on that too.
Sorry, treasure hunt is actually called Lost Treasure.  It's the one with the scuba picture on the front and it uses an electronic keypad that let's you "search" for gold & silver on the game board.  I wouldn't give it a high score for strategy required but for an older game, they implemented the electronic element really well.  But really I was just trying to name games  that were markedly different from each other to help show my interests in general.

As for the Dungeon, game...I liked the stats based battles and the sense of exploration/adventure.  That probably doesn't narrow things down much. 
« Last Edit: May 28, 2015, 08:30:15 pm by selection7 »
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selection7

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Re: board game suggestions?
« Reply #21 on: May 28, 2015, 08:52:30 pm »
0

Hopefully I can find multiple games of different types, for variety.   

But in particular something with strategy, specifically where there's not just one or two clearly superior strategies that, once all players have figured that out, there's no point in deviating from it, and the game just becomes luck once you know what everybody is going to do every play session. 

I suppose a game like that would have to have some way of randomizing the start conditions.  Either that or the game conditions change throughout the game randomly.  A bad example would be whether or not you draw an Ace from the deck because that's just luck; a better example would be if a die roll were to change what the red squares do for the next ten turns, so you can't pre-decide your entire strategy.<--just a hypothetical I made up for the sake of example
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Seprix

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Re: board game suggestions?
« Reply #22 on: May 28, 2015, 09:23:28 pm »
+1

Best Board Games:

Monopoly

Tic-Tac-Toe

Checkers

Candy Land

Snakes and Ladders
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Re: board game suggestions?
« Reply #23 on: May 28, 2015, 09:46:59 pm »
+1

Quote from: Drab Emordnilap
That's crazy. If you google "board game forum", this forum is like the 5th result! How did this happen, guys?

Not from this incognito session.  Looks like Google knows you.

That was a search in incognito mode.

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Re: board game suggestions?
« Reply #24 on: May 28, 2015, 09:48:45 pm »
+3

Hey, Checkers isn't that bad.


Actually, I simply googled "board games" and looked for a well-visited forum that seemed to be populated with serious gamers.  After about a dozen links I decided on this forum without even looking up what Dominion was...yes, I scrolled right past it to get to the forum that covers all games.  I figured you'd say if you thought Dominion might match my tastes.

That's crazy. If you google "board game forum", this forum is like the 5th result! How did this happen, guys?

Not from this incognito session.  Looks like Google knows you.
The reason it is the fifth result is because this forum literally goes by the name "board game strategy forum". See http://boardgamestrategy.net/, the forums lead here. It's exactly the same website as forum.dominionstrategy, Theory just added that name once this forum started to talk a lot about other games like Innovation, Power Grid, Twilight Struggle, and lots of forum games of various types.

Also, why are people hesitant to recommend Dominion? It totally meets the criteria you've been describing. He doesn't even seem to like the other games he mentioned all that much. One of the key aspects of Dominion is that each game has a kingdom of 10 cards which are decided randomly. These kingdom cards determine how the game will go, but you still have plenty of choices with which kingdom cards to get and when to get them. Some kingdoms may have a strategy that is far better than the rest, but it is not always easy to find on the first playthrough, and most people don't play a given kingdom more than once, leading to endless variety. And, even in the case where both players recognize the best strategy, there will surely be lots of nuanced decisions in how best to execute the strategy. It seems like you're looking for replayability, and Dominion has the most of that of any game I've ever played.

Seriously, Dominion is the best game.
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