A friend of mine has got me into some "geeky" gaming that has become a real hit at my house. We've been playing Ticket to Ride and Forbidden Island as a family, while my buddy and I have been playing Ascension, Resident Evil, and Dominion.
Are there any other cool board/card games out there that I should check out? I mean, I've seen the spiel des jahres lists, but I'd love some first hand thoughts on cool games. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Amnorix:
That one I don't know.
I remember back in the day the publisher of Axis and Allies also had two other games, a samurai game I never played, and a game called "Fortress America", which put the American player on the defense trying to defend against a futuristic assault from the east (Russians, basically), west (Asians) and south (South Americans). It was a pretty good game. Not as good as A&A but not bad.
I went looking for it a few yeasr back as I have kids now and figured they'd like it. It's out of print, and it was over a hundred bucks to buy one on eBay. :-)
And this thread made me look for it and now it looks like prices are WAAAY down. I will likely pick one up soon. Thanks CP!
Originally Posted by AndChiefs:
I've also introduced many peoples (males and females) to Settlers. I can't name one that didn't want to play again.
My wife hates it. She doesn't like Carcassone, either. I don't dislike Catan, but it's not my favorite game, either. I find it to be a little boring. [Reply]
Originally Posted by htismaqe:
I had the original Axis and Allies and Fortress America. Was never able to find their other two games but that was way before eBay and all that.
Originally Posted by NewChief:
Tried to talk my son into buying Junior Settlers the other day with his Easter gift card for Target. He settled on the Zombies vs. Wrestlers dice game instead (which is pretty fun) as well as Farkle (which he destroyed me at last night).
This is a pretty good news clip on the rise of board games amongst Millenials:
Just did the nerdiest thing I've ever done. Went to board game night at Tabletop Game and Hobby in Overland Park.
It's exactly how you'd picture it in your head.
Anyway, it was awesome. And I'm a total geek. Played Eldritch Horror. Love it. Didn't get to finish, but it was a great game. Steep learning curve, but easy enough once you get going. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Pitt Gorilla:
You should probably go out and buy Splendor, if you haven't already done so. Simple, yet elegant.
Picked up and loved splendor, fun game. Does anyone have suggestions on other board games that are 2 player. So far my wife and I have picked up Rivals For Catan, Splendor and Forbidden Island. We like playing board games but a lot of times we can't get a group together to play. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Sorce:
Picked up and loved splendor, fun game. Does anyone have suggestions on other board games that are 2 player. So far my wife and I have picked up Rivals For Catan, Splendor and Forbidden Island. We like playing board games but a lot of times we can't get a group together to play.
There used to be literally NO good options for two player games. It's better now, but still not that great.
Collectible card games are often made specifically for two player. Magic is iconic, of course, and you can just buy starter packs and start there. Half the fun, I think, is building decks, but you need to buy more cards to do that. There are many other CCGs out there, however. Fair Warning: they can be a bit of a financial black hole.
Star Fleet Battles is a great game for two players, but older, and VERY math intensive. The rules are beyond daunting. I would suggest not getting into that without someone to teach you. It's basically a game by engineers, for engineers.
Silverton, another old game which is likely out of print (Ebay) can be alot of fun with just two. God help you when Cripple Creek gold craps out after only two turns!
Dominion is another card game, but not really a collectible card game. It comes in a box, and you build your deck as you play. Infinite variations on the game play, especially with expansions.
Carcassone plays very well with just two. It's a quick game, with interesting strategies despite the simple gameplay.
Cribbage, of course, is a great card game for just two players.
I don't know how many Arkham Horror is designed for, but I've done it with three players, each playing two handed (so there are 6 "characters"). Much more of a cooperative, us-against-the-game, system, you could certainly do two players each playing two characters, and see if you can survive the insanity!
Ticket to Ride is perfectly do-able with just two. The board is pretty wide open, however, so it's nto really optimal.
Agricola is a great game. Plays better with more than two, but is playable with two.
Can answer questions on any of these if you like. [Reply]
Originally Posted by Silock:
Just did the nerdiest thing I've ever done. Went to board game night at Tabletop Game and Hobby in Overland Park.
It's exactly how you'd picture it in your head.
Anyway, it was awesome. And I'm a total geek. Played Eldritch Horror. Love it. Didn't get to finish, but it was a great game. Steep learning curve, but easy enough once you get going.
This reminds me. My old guys D&D group (now disbanded) was playing at a local gaming store one night. A bunch of cosplayers came in and were hanging out. They were like buying candy from the front, looking through books, and just acting otherwise regularly besides the fact they were dressed as like trolls and werewolves and shit. My group couldn't stop laughing at them for some reason. I guess it was just the incongruity of a guy dressed up like an elf, drinking a Monster or something.
After a while, we stopped laughing and then went back to our game, "Silvani the elf slinks down the hallway, attempting to evade the notice of the..."
We all sort of guiltily looked at each other and realized we shouldn't be casting stones. [Reply]
Originally Posted by NewChief:
This reminds me. My old guys D&D group (now disbanded) was playing at a local gaming store one night. A bunch of cosplayers came in and were hanging out. They were like buying candy from the front, looking through books, and just acting otherwise regularly besides the fact they were dressed as like trolls and werewolves and shit. My group couldn't stop laughing at them for some reason. I guess it was just the incongruity of a guy dressed up like an elf, drinking a Monster or something.
After a while, we stopped laughing and then went back to our game, "Silvani the elf slinks down the hallway, attempting to evade the notice of the..."
We all sort of guiltily looked at each other and realized we shouldn't be casting stones.
I've never done any LIve Action Roleplaying (LARPing) or anything else involving costumes, at a Con or otherwise, but yeah, I'm in no position to throw stones at anyone for geekiness.
It's also my understanding, second-hand of course, that LARPing leads to much sex afterwards. Apparently instead of going to bars to get drunk and hook up, LARP geeks put on costumes, get drunk, and hook up. :-) [Reply]