I tried out 18xx.games this week and was pretty pleased with it. Nice to do it asynchronously too, but we ended up all hopping on our devices and working through over 1-2 nights to finish.

IF we've got enough for a game here (and it played well enough with 3) I'd be happy to organize something like 18Chespeake. Happy to schedule a teaching call also to walk through how the game works and some basic strategies.

heddleston said:

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Ooh I'm interested too. I've always wanted to play but I just don't live in an area where I can get enough people to jump in with me.

Also, was wondering about a CCG/TCG/LCG/whatever that I could play casually on the cheap with a kid. I'm assuming that's Pokmon's wheelhouse, but also know there's the discontinued Transformers game. Any ideas?

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Star Wars: Destiny is the best CCG hands down. Fantasy Flight stopped producing it, but a bunch of people who worked on the game formed their own 501.3c to keep it going. They've released their second set as of the end of January, and the game has never been better.

That's awesome. I've looked at getting a starter set of that but wasn't sure if I'd be able to find anything beyond that. I love a good dice chucking element. edit: just got the 2-player starter set on amazon, ill see if i can get a game of that going and if i like it i can just go with these new fan made sets.

If you have any questions, shoot them my way. I'm a designer on the ARH sets coming out now.

That's freakin awesome, thanks. I've never truly dived in to the ccg scene so it's definitely gonna be a learning experience. With these sets y'all have made are they intended to just be played by themselves or can you mix sets/generations together? It's gonna be pretty casual so i don't necessarily need to building meta deck or anything.

The new sets are made to be completely interchangeable with the FFG sets. Literally a continuation of the game going forward. The only difference is that the new cards are free to download, print, and play yourself. Folks are doing professional printings of them as well, but that is completely unnecessary.

There are a number of groups currently making new cards for the game, with various levels of funding, manpower, and organization. The largest of these is the group I do design for, A Renewed Hope (ARH).

There is so much to dive into with Destiny. Organized play is starting back up. There are weekly online, TTS tournaments run by people all around the world. There are quite a few Discord servers devoted to different aspects of the game. Some are for things like the ARH group above and some are for things like linking up with people around the world to play over webcam or TTS. There's even a great new limited format based on Magic's JumpStart.

FFG designed an incredible game. Personally, I think it's the best CCG ever, and that's coming from someone who has played them since 1994. Unfortunately, FFG is much better at creating games than they are in running a business. The quality of the game got me heavily involved in it from Day 1, and I've been fortunate to become a bit of a spokesman for the thing. I can go into many more details if you like. Feel free to email me at trey[AT]kingwoodhobbies[DOT]com. I'm also happy to answer more here.

Game I'm playing a lot right now:

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/283355/dune




Game I'll be playing when it arrives:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1162110258/darkest-dungeon-the-board-game/description

I bought Dune in December and have only played it once, but it was fantastic. I need those deluxe pieces though.

DanHo2010 said:

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I bought Dune in December and have only played it once, but it was fantastic. I need those deluxe pieces though.

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I played Dune once with a group of 6 after I bought it awhile back and then couldn't get it to the table for awhile. Finally playing it regularly using a board game saving table and my kids being old enough to play it. Love the game though. Once everyone knows the rules, it plays fast and is fun.

Quad Dog said:

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Bumping an old thread searching for a recommendation.
My son has been showing interest in a Table-top RPG. He's mention D&D because that's all he's heard of. He's 11 and pretty smart, but a little immature (aren't they all.) I'm a stereotypical engineer, so something with more structure would be better for me. If it relies on a ton of creativity, it won't be my strength. I'd expect it would be me and him playing mostly with his friends occasionally, or if his younger sister can be persuaded.
I used to love playing Hero Quest growing up (too bad my copy disappeared when my Mom moved) so I'm leaning towards something like that out of familiarity and nostalgia.
Reading on a few other places, these are my leading candidates:

• Descent: Journeys in the Dark - This has a companion app that can act as DM so he and I could play together, which sounds like a cool feature.
• Star Wars: Imperial Assualt - He already loves Star Wars, so this seems like a good one.
• One of the D&D Adventure System games like The Legend of Drizzt, Temple of Elemental Evil, or Castle Ravenloft. These seem to have more structure than traditional D&D, which I think would be good for me.

Any suggestions on those, or anything else I'm missing?

TIA

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We bought and enjoyed Imperial Assault thanks to recommendations. We've also played Gaslands some too. Thanks for the recommendations. He's now saying he liked Imperial Assault, but wants something with more character creation. He didn't like being forced to pick an already created character. We even made a few Imperial Assault characters and played them after watching the Mandalorian.
Is there anything it there similar that allows more and incorporates character creation? I think he prefers something he can can create every game. He really likes making up different teams and cars every game when we play Gaslands
TIA again

I think most board games are going to force you into playing a premise character similar to Imperial Assault. I am struggling to think of anything that has the depth of a RPG when creating a character but here is what I thought up:

Adventure Tactics - just finishing this game up with my 11 year old and while it has some production issues (boards warping), it has some of the best character upgrades and combos of any game I have played. It is light and fun for the kids but is a game I look forward to getting back to the table.

Lord of the Rings Journeys in Middle Earth: this is my favorite game, love the exploration, and how card play is incorporated instead of dice. There is also a good leveling up system, but you are picking a starting hero and going from there. Character building is not as deep as Adventure Tactics but I think more strategic and tactical, but also more serious of a game. It is a game that requires an app.

And I have to mention that Hasbro is releasing a new version of Hero Quest this year, so heads up.

Given you sons age and what he is looking for, I highly recommend checking out Adventure Tactics.

Tickets for the BoardGame Geek Con in Dallas go on sale in ONE MINUTE!

EDIT: Got mine! Very excited to attend for the first time!

Bryan98 said:

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Tickets for the BoardGame Geek Con in Dallas go on sale in ONE MINUTE!

EDIT: Got mine! Very excited to attend for the first time!

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Anyone else going? They just opened the hotel room block today.

I would love to one year, but it won't be this year

Fleff said:

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I would love to one year, but it won't be this year

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This is going to be my first year. Been wanting to check it out for some time. I already go to PAX South every year.

I've been playing the following lately:
Ankh: God's of Egypt: it's in the same vein as Blood Rage, very good

Architects of the west Kingdom: really fun and dynamic worker placement game with a lot of player interaction

Started playing through Gloomhaven Jaws of the Lion

DubFalls said:

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Started playing through Gloomhaven Jaws of the Lion

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I never made it to JotL. I started in on OG Gloomhaven, but could never find anyone to play it with me. Far too complicated for the family.

We're actually doing the new Descent, though. It's much simpler. In a good way.

Anybody get any good games for Christmas? Or any favorite games of yours that have hit the table recently?

I've really enjoyed the copy of Space Base I received. You roll 2 dice which always gives you rewards to buy upgrades for you and your opponents' future rolls. Fun stuff.

I am not a abstract player but we got Quarto, it is an advanced tic tac toe, super fast, and really enjoy it.

I also am starting to get into a miniature game with my 12 year old. Bought starter box for Star Wars Legion.

gctxag said:

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Anybody get any good games for Christmas? Or any favorite games of yours that have hit the table recently?

I've really enjoyed the copy of Space Base I received. You roll 2 dice which always gives you rewards to buy upgrades for you and your opponents' future rolls. Fun stuff.

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Nope, but I did FINALLY crack open my Carcassone box I have had hanging around for more years than I care to comment on.

Great game!

The Hunger is an awesome game.

Just got this last week and am enjoying it quite a bit.

Been a long time...but picked up/picking up some new games recently.

Cascadia - nice lightweight game, quick to play and good for a 2/3 person sit down.

Meadow - love the look of this one, watched a few videos but haven't yet sat down with it (just got it in yesterday).

Destinies - never played an app driven game before, so kind of excited about this one. Still waiting on delivery.

Sleeping Gods - Might be a bit heavy for my family play group - but given the coop nature maybe I can pull it off. Looked too fun to pass up. Still waiting on delivery.

Anybody else got anything new this year?

Also, if anyone in Austin/Round Rock wants to get together for some game nights just let me know!

Here are some recent plays of mine:

Sagrada - Great dice placement game that has 100 translucent dice that you place on your board to make a stained glass window. Its very much in the same vein of Azul but my preference is Sagrada out of the two. I havent played Cascadia (I'd like to) but I have to imagine it allows for more open placement than Sagrada.

Lost Cities - My favorite 2 player only game, it's a simple, hand management / push your luck card game that I could play hundreds of times and never get tired of it.

Sonora - a flick and write game that kind of feels like Crokinole and Gon Schon Clever were combined. A fun game but just a tad too many fiddly rules.

Picked up a BUNCH more games recently. I'll post thoughts as I get playtime.

Space Base - Wife and I both LOVE this game. Relatively simple, but thinky enough to not get bored. Love this as a 2-player game but I know it can play with more. Takes a bit of space on the table and IMO is perfect at 2. We love the no downtime aspect of this game since you are get to count stuff on your opponent's turns. More people need to try this one out! Going to try out one of the expansions for this soon.

Lost Cities - I like to think of this one as competitive solitaire. Really simple to learn. A little lite for my tastes.

Jaipur - Another quick/lite game. I liked it better than Lost Cities. Great "filler" game if you only have 30 minutes.

Too Many Bones. Really liking this one as a solo game playing 2 handed. Really love all the quality bits but it's a fun dice roller as well! Rules are many and can be a bit vague at times...but in this type of game I'm ok with it, especially playing solo.

I don't think it is a game to try and optimize, just have a bunch of fun playing it for what it is. That is probably the best way to approach most games

nm

Looks like I now have something to do during tonight's rainy weather!

Picked up Undaunted Normandy recently to introduce my oldest son to wargaming. The card deck management mechanic is interesting for tactical small unit action. As a traditional old school wargamer (PanzerBlitz, Squad Leader, etc.), it's natural to focus too heavily on unit placement. But winning requires you to manage your deck properly too. Light and lots of fun.

Picked up Unfathomable and Sub Terra. I love these types of horror board games!

MTG LOTR coming this Summer with 1 lottery ticket
https://magic.wizards.com/en/products/the-lord-of-the-rings-tales-of-middle-earth

Oh damn!