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[Cataphract]

I think the revised version of Arcana is pretty good, also Rune Age is a good one.

[jotheonah]

I played a game from RG about beans - something like Bohnanza? Anyway, it was surprisingly fun and interesting.

[eHalcyon]

I played a game from RG about beans - something like Bohnanza? Anyway, it was surprisingly fun and interesting.

I've played it before and it's pretty neat.  Link:

http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/11/bohnanza



If you're looking for 2-player games, I highly recommend Hive:

http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/2655/hive

[jotheonah]

Yeah, I'm don't put a huge emphasis on flavor, but I was like "Seriously? BEANS?"

But mechanics-wise, not too shabby. It sort of bugged me that the gold coins are just facedown bean cards, because it removes cards from the deck seemingly at random for the second two times through. I wonder how the game plays if you score with markers instead.

[Young Nick]

I thought Bohnanza was better known! It's a fun game, albeit there is lots of politics. It's been a staple in my gaming group.

If you didn't make face-down coins, the game would lose a lot of strategy. There's something to be said for remembering how different the deck will look on its second and third passes. What I don't like is how you use those coins for purchasing a 3rd bean field. If I remember correctly, you can pick and choose which coins (aka which beans) you purchase the bean field with. It's always felt like a weird, unfair way to manipulate the game to me.

Don't play with the expansions; they are not worth it. Do not play it competitively; the politics makes it far too frustrating.

[eHalcyon]

One other game I really liked when I was younger was Bang.  It's partially a hidden information game, like Mafia.  Anyone familiar with it?  More recently I've been playing a Chinese rip-off of it called San Guo Sha.  While it is largely a re-themed carbon-copy, it actually makes the game so much more fun via the myriad of different characters.

[ftl]

Bang! is a lot of fun, I have it and get to play it on occasion. Best with 5 or 7 players IMO.

[theory]

What I don't like is how you use those coins for purchasing a 3rd bean field. If I remember correctly, you can pick and choose which coins (aka which beans) you purchase the bean field with. It's always felt like a weird, unfair way to manipulate the game to me.

This is incorrect: you must use your "most recent" coins.

[Young Nick]

What I don't like is how you use those coins for purchasing a 3rd bean field. If I remember correctly, you can pick and choose which coins (aka which beans) you purchase the bean field with. It's always felt like a weird, unfair way to manipulate the game to me.

This is incorrect: you must use your "most recent" coins.

Gah! I forgot about that. Still, it feels wrong to put coins back. I would rather you subtract the 3rd bean field price after the game's end. I played with the wrong rules for at least two years (something about how we thought you could plant a bean, instantly harvest it, and then plant another bean in the same field) so it does not surprise me that we were doing this wrong, too.

[questioneer]

Just played 7Wonders over the weekend.  This game is definitely as good as Dominion.  Fast, easy to play and complex at the same time. 

Shadows over Camelot is great also for cooperative game- anybody will seem to play it and it gives a great experience.

I think the trend in boardgames is for more fast games like Dominion that still add some complexity with expansions and such.  Games that take over 90min are tedious to most, though I like a long wargame like Axis and Allies or War of the Ring 3-4 times a year.  Catan is a tweener- still can play it in around 60-90min.  Games like Puerto Rico, Agricola and Le Harve are just too long though simplier types of these games are being made now.

[WanderingWinder]

7 Wonders is sorta neat, but there's so many different paths that seem a little random, but moreover it lacks depth. I would say it's good, but not as good as Dominion.
Also, when you say Catan.... I assume you mean Settlers? Or more precisely, this is the name of the Xbox version of settlers, but there are several other "Catan" games: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Settlers_of_Catan_games

[Ozle]

7 Wonders is alright, but suffers really really badly from Kingmaking unless all the other players are of equal skill.
Enough that I would never consider it anything more as a way to pass the time rather than a must have for a proper gaming night.

This affects a lot of games of course, but in a passing game its increased and in 7W its just too much for me.

Settlers of Catan is good, as is Carcassonne, but then both of those are classics.
I just recently purchased Stone Age which is enjoyable, but im not sure on its longetivity.

Dominion is still the only real one with such great replayability for me

[jotheonah]

How do people feel about Carcassone expansions? Do they significantly improve the game? Are some better than others? What about that one with the dragon? Dragons are cool.

[jotheonah]

Would it be (A) cool or (B) kinda lame if Dark Ages had a Dragon card?

[Ozle]

Dragons are extremely cool, but I dont think it adds much to Carcassone unless your bored with the general game.

Inns and Cathedrals is a must buy expansion for me, as it makes Roads actually useful to have again (and Cities more useful)

And Builders and Traders works from there as well (making cities more valuable) and also allows farms to be scored early

Both make the game less dependant on stealing ownership of one big farm to win at the end.

[Ozle]

I dont have many of the smaller expansions, because I know they wouldnt get used every time.

In the same way my friends ask that we sometimes dont include Alchemy from Dominion sets we own.

[Donald X.]

How do people feel about Carcassone expansions? Do they significantly improve the game? Are some better than others? What about that one with the dragon? Dragons are cool.

Hunters & Gatherers is a standalone that's basically a fixed version of the main game. I recommend always playing it over regular Carcassonne. And then it only has one expansion, and that one a mini, and I've never played it.

[Cataphract]

Omen-Reign of War is a killer game!

[Teproc]

How do people feel about Carcassone expansions? Do they significantly improve the game? Are some better than others? What about that one with the dragon? Dragons are cool.

The original expansion, with Cathedrals and Inns, is almost essential. Cathedrals add an interesting dynamic to big cities, making them both risky and extremely profitable in certain situations, which makes the meadow-war less important.

Then, Builders & Traders is really good. The architect is cool, and it again goes in the way of re-balancing the game by making cities and roads more attractive, so that every game isn't decided on meadows.


7 Wonders doesn't really suffer from kingmaking. Bad players are rarely presented with the choice to make somebody win, since the somewhat complicated point system makes it so people only have a vague idea of who is leading.

But yes, if your neighbors are bad, you'll probably win. Which is why you should play at 3-4 players if you want a really strategic game. There's still the luck of the draw, but... we're Dominion players, aren't we ? Luck of the draw is what gives the game replayability, along with the 14 wonders and the expansion(s). At 5+, it's much less strategic, but it's still a fun game with solid strategic elements that plays in less than an hour, which there aren't a ton of others when you're that many.

[Cataphract]

Another card game that I like, is Palastgefluster... a great 3 - 5 player "take that! / screw your neighbor game". Very affordable too, try to get it if possible, its a German release only... but not language dependent.

[DStu]

Palastgefluster [...] but not language dependent.

Except for the name. Here, I'll donate an 'ü' for you...

[Captain_Frisk]

How do people feel about Carcassone expansions? Do they significantly improve the game? Are some better than others? What about that one with the dragon? Dragons are cool.

Hunters & Gatherers is a standalone that's basically a fixed version of the main game. I recommend always playing it over regular Carcassonne. And then it only has one expansion, and that one a mini, and I've never played it.

Also - Carc: The Castle is an Excellent 2p version of Carc.

[Razzishi]

I first played Seven Wonders a few weeks ago and was really impressed with the mechanics, but found with 6 newish players it was pretty random.  Still, I loved the mechanics as someone who loves drafting Magic, so I looked a bit more into it.  I've played it online at jeuxsurunplateau.com a bunch in the last week and have found it rather intriguing (even if it is in French).   After playing 20 games or so and reading up a bit I think with 3 players it's very nearly as deep as Dominion; in such a game, everything you do effects the whole board and you theoretically know where every single card of that age is after the first card is drafted (you just don't yet know which guilds you haven't seen).  There are a ton of things to pay attention to, and each decision you make will probably have implications on the way the game will develop.  In large games you really can't expect anything to come back, but in 3-player you can pretty well guess what you're going to get back around.  The ability to foresee what things might happen as the game progresses is a very important skill and adds significantly to the depth of the game.

There are a few things I'm not a huge fan of though.  First, you have to memorize costs that are sometimes a bit random if you want to get better; I'd much prefer if things were standardized in some way so that it wasn't just straight-up memorizing.  Second, and this ties in with the first, you don't know what guilds you're going to see until you actually see them and their costs are all over the map.  Worker's requires at least one of each raw material, Trader's one of each manufactured good.  Two of them have 3 Wood, two of them have 3 Clay.  They just don't lend themselves to memorization, and the incentive to memorize them is lower than for the other cards, so it's pretty random when it comes to being able to build the guilds that are in each game.  Third, I think the game is slightly too short.  I think I'd prefer one more play per age or perhaps 3 more plays Age 3.  That said, having a very restricted number of plays is part of what makes the game hard to master, and currently 2 plays per pack each Age balances the 3 player game quite nicely (part of why I think 3 more Age 3 might work).

So yeah, after playing a bunch of 3-player, I'm not too keen on playing 6- or 7- player much; it almost feels like the difference between Monopoly you play as a kid vs. the real rules.

edit: Ok, I'm probably overstating the depth of the game after thinking more about it, as Dominion is seemingly bottomless while Seven Wonders most certainly isn't.

[jotheonah]

New games I played at Connecticon (main focus was being on panels, but did have a little time for gaming):

Revolution! Weirdly simple but fun - can see this being great for a person who wants to host game nights with impatient/new to gaming people. The strategy is remarkably complex, in a rock-paper-scissors kind of way. I imagine playing it with friends would be totally different than playing it with strangers.  Maybe a few too many bells and whistles that drive the price up - would love to see a travel edition or other bare bones version.

Innovation I think I need to play this like 3 more times to have a verdict. To quote a meme "Can't tell if swingy and luck-based or I just suck."  But I can see it being really, really fun once you get to know the cards. Would love to hear more from veteran players.

Puerto Rico Yes, I finally crawled out from the rock I've been living under, etc., etc. But I definitely do see the appeal this has for so many people. The setup felt SO LONG, but I'm sure it qoes quick once you get into it.  Definitely seems to have a large strategy space and not all that much luck involved. Only got to play a 3-player game and didn't finish it, but enough to get the knack. Probably won't buy, but I hope someone I know does.

Tsuro Been wanting to play it since I saw it on Tabletop. It didn't disappoint. Very pretty board and pieces, too. I appreciate the simplicity and the aesthetic.

[Kuildeous]

I do like Revolution! There's an annoying little method where someone can get a lock on some of the good stuff, but I don't remember all of it. I mostly remember that you get a buttload of coins and use those to get Force and Blackmail in the lower corners, which you can then use to get more coins. Although, "lock" is a strong word. The other players can break it, but they have to recognize the threat and be willing to divert their own resources to do something about it. In such a competitive game, that can be kind of difficult. Still, I don't know if that lock is enough to really win, since that leaves plenty of other spaces open for other players to exploit. I do like how brutal it can get, especially at the end when Spy and Apothecary can make or break the game for you.

I am in the same boat as you regarding Innovation. I played it once. I feel like I woke up after an ether bender. I'm not wholly sure what I did in that game. I'm willing to give it another try, but it just didn't do it for me.

I agree that Puerto Rico's setup is kind of annoying. With experienced players, I could see starting the game without putting the buildings out there. Set up the buildings while others are playing. Of course, that cannot be done with the expansion. Fun game, but setup is a pain.

I've played a few games of Tsuro. Simple but elegant.