New Games Suggestions

[Fayth]

how cheap is cheap for bulk dice ` - `?

also yay agricola and ascension

[Bunnie]

The cheapest I can get a Chessex Pound-O-Dice for is about $17 USD, and it contains a random assortment of 100-120 hideous dice. For non-hideous dice, I'd actually be willing to pay a bit more, but this seems like the best value at the moment.

Also, if anyone has spare dice they want to give us, we're happy to take them.

[Fayth]

hideous, there are some pretty dice in there... probably =3... Ill show you my white dice next time I see you, theyre not hideous IMO and they come from chessex

[Scott]

Are factory defect dice really a thing we want? What level of defect do they have?

Also there are only two expansions for BSG.

[lirich]

Ack, couldn't figure out my password quick enough to respond before you guys actually went out to buy the games.

1. Hurray for getting Castle of the Devil! It's an interesting 4-8 player game based on hidden loyalties, item collection, and dueling. The game scales based on the type of people you are playing against which makes it great regardless of the crowd you're gaming with.

2. I feel like super-long eurogames (Puerto Rico, Agricola) are not really ideal for what the club is looking for - they take enormous amounts of time and effort to start and complete which also makes it difficult to find time for them in between classes. Feel free to disagree with me on this point but I feel like a lot of our club members only make it to wargamers during their breaks. Perhaps a few of these games are okay but multiples will clog our cupboards and only provide enjoyment for a few people. (These also tend to be some of the pricier games).

3. Small World is a great pickup. It's a game I own (with most of the expansions) that I would best compare to Risk - minus the dice and with more flavor and abilities. I'd recommend seeing how the other club members receive it before dashing out to pick up the expansions though (which don't add THAT much to the game imo - just more races and special powers).

4. I've come to accept that people in our club like Cosmic Encounter even though I cannot formulate the logic behind it.

5. Ascension and Elder Sign are games I've been on the fence about and have ultimately decided not to buy until I have actually tested them to determine whether they're worth adding to my collection.

6. How the heck did we have that much money to spend on board games? Are you telling me all the cans of pop I bought allowed us to drop (by my estimate) $800 (after tax) on board games? Do we run a drug trade on the side that is supplying us with endless amounts of cash flow?

All in all there are some great games, some good games, and some %*#& games in this collection which, I guess, makes it a decent haul for this year. BSG + expansions was basically an auto-include based on how much people have played it in previous semesters. Looking forward to trying out the new games!

[Bunnie]

The factory defect dice are mostly dice that are serviceable, but deemed too ugly to sell. There are a few true defects, like blank dice and d20's with 1-10 printed on them twice (treat them as extra-large d10's), but most are just ugly.

Puerto Rico and Agricola are definitely too long to play in an hour break between classes, but still not nearly as long as Arkham Horror or even BSG. We picked them up since they were so univerally recommended. I think the club will really enjoy them; people usually come in the evenings and play longer games, so I highly doubt they'll sit on the shelves unopened.

Ascension's been one of the most talked-about purchases recently; the club has tried it out a few times and it's always gone over well. I thought Elder Sign would be a better addition to our collection than Arkham Horror. It's faster and more streamlined, but plays almost identically.

The total didn't come anywhere near $800 for the games--they were puchased at heavily discounted prices either from Starlit Citadel or Craving for a Game (Buck still applies the Wargamer discount there, by the way). We basically spent this year's membership fees on new games. There's still plenty left in the bank for events/disasters.

[Espie]

Maybe you should get one more~

http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/62220/urban-sprawl

[lirich]

Maybe you should get one more~

http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/62220/urban-sprawl

Would not recommend getting Urban Sprawl until you've tried out Chad Jensen's previous game, Dominant Species.

http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/62219/dominant-species

Both games are quite heavy (2-3 hours) and are easily bogged down further by playing with players prone to Analysis Paralysis (AP).
(Also I have a copy of Dominant Species  )


If the execs are actually looking to pick up new games my suggestions (for now) would be:

Panic Station: http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/69552/panic-station
- Focuses on cooperative game play with an interesting, exponentially-scaling, traitor mechanic.

The Resistance: http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/41114/the-resistance
- Mafia-ish party game for 5-10 players. Quick games and pretty easy to learn.

Belfort: http://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/50750/belfort
- A Euro with a few different quirks and new ideas in it. Came out quite recently.

There's gotta be SOMEONE in this club that actually plays Euros, right? Otherwise Augustine wouldn't be recommending another one.
(I need to meet these people  )

[Espie]

I would second Panic Station, haven't played, but heard some very nice things about it.

[Bunnie]

New year, new board games. If anyone's got suggestions, feel free to post them and we'll consider them when we make our board games run. I'll also add the games that got suggested last year to the list.

[GitS]

i'll channel richard and say 5x Lords of waterdeep.  and 5x netrunner.

[lirich]

I feel a good overall focus for the club when it comes to purchasing board games can be boiled down to two questions:
- Is their a general consensus that the board game is/will be popular?
- Does the game provide a different experience that is lacking from our current games library?

Additionally, I feel that quicker games that are easy to learn tend to see more play than 2+ hour, 50+ page rulebook games. They also tend to be more accessible for newer club members who've never played a board game more complicated than Catan. Ex. Club copy of BSG purchased last year wasn't opened until last night.

With the above in mind, my $0.02 on new board games:

Games I would seriously recommend buying
Lords of Waterdeep
- The hype for this game is well deserved. A fast semi-euro, worker placement game based on the city of Waterdeep that is easy to teach with a typical play-time around 1 hour. Very flavourful too.

Racko
- A quick filler game (rounds typically take less than 10 minutes) with a good mix up skill and luck. No knowledge of the english language needed to be able to play the base game. Add in the special card variants/bonus point rules at your own peril.

Longer, more complex games that might appeal to more seasoned gamers
Eclipse (Not from the Twilight series)
- A spacefaring 4X game (Explore, Expand, Exploit, Exterminate) with a "short" estimated time of 2 hours (compare to its older brother Twilight Imperium which has an estimated time of 4+ hours) that is receiving large amounts of praise online (currently rated 5th overall on Boardgamegeek). Very thematic and adds a dimension of board game that the club seems to be missing at the moment.

Mage Knight
- A free for all adventure, questing game that offers deep gameplay and complicated decision making. Estimated time is around 4 hours. PvP optional variant. Nothing like the miniatures world that shares the same title and definitely not for the faint of heart. The people I've played it with have really enjoyed it and it is also receiving praise online (11th overall on BGG).

Mice and Mystics
- Based on peoples' interest in Pandemic and Descent, M&M is a cooperative, adventure/questing game. Scenarios typically take around 1 hour. Sounds interesting but I have yet to try it myself.

Lastly, a few extras that might appeal to various crowds
Samurai
- A tile placing exercise that is simple to learn but features surprisingly deep gameplay. Estimated time is 1 hour or less for four players (max). John likes to complain about Genghis Khan screwing him over by invading in a fishing boat while also insulting Christianity through his focus on collecting buddhas.

Say Anything
- A party game that is useful as an icebreaker. No holds barred - say anything you like. Gives people a good opportunity to get to know each other. Estimated time is less than 1 hour.

Everything else already recommended sounds okay and if you're set on getting them I won't try to sway your decisions.

[Bunnie]

First round of new games were Shadows Over Camelot, Bang!, Descent, 7 Wonders and Lords of Waterdeep. I'll cross these off the list and add the new suggestions. We're planning to buy at least one more round of games this term, so if there are any more suggestions, we're happy to hear them.

We own Samurai; it's in a side cabinet. I'll pull it out and see if anyone wants to try it.

[Particle_Man]

A wacky and small rpg is The Shab-Al-Hiri Roach - good for large groups of players and even comes with a plastic roach!

http://www.bullypulpitgames.com/games/roach/

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/12/12312.phtml

[webservice@growbiggerpenis.com]

A wacky and small rpg is The Shab-Al-Hiri Roach - good for large groups of players and even comes with a plastic roach!

http://www.bullypulpitgames.com/games/roach/

http://www.rpg.net/reviews/archive/12/12312.phtml

I still remember the last time we ran this game. It was a bit ridiculous, but overall, a glorious experience.