I played Foundations of Rome this weekend. I get that its wow factor hinges on the minis and the table presence, but man I feel bad for anyone who paid full price for it a few years ago. Gameplay I had found fine but in no way compelling. The owner had gotten it second hand for a solid price, and even he is already considering culling it.
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Anonymous06/07/26(Sun)16:09:07
>>98170878(OP) gotta debrief you can do that while setting up the next game if you want
>>98171036 At least they weren't retarded and made a version that just uses tiles and wooden pieces. It's objectively better in every single regard to that monumental pile of shitty plastic.
Reminds me of a guy I played Castles of Burgundy Special Edition with, he'd stop everybody everytime you placed a tile because he had to go find the correct mini. Had to do my best not to laugh in his face.
>>98171287 Sleeving your board is a sign of the new world order
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Anonymous06/07/26(Sun)17:42:40
>>98170878(OP) >Do you enjoy post game discussion or would you rather get into another game? I enjoy post game discussion a great deal and wish we'd dive deeper. Helps understand why some games don't work for some people and I find it really interesting to hear how different players approach a game and what aspects they found most fun.
That said, we rarely get a good post game discussion going.
>>98171287 >>98171456 If you arent sleeving at every step, are you really ever playing?
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Anonymous06/07/26(Sun)18:53:43
>>98170878(OP) >Do you enjoy post game discussion Naturally. I did notice an interesting trend though. After a 1v1 game the discussion is basically a breakdown of how the loser lost and how to improve. For 3+ players it becomes more about the narrative of how the game progressed and cool shit that someone did.
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Anonymous06/07/26(Sun)18:58:58
After the game is over, I generally try to get those nerds out of my house asap
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Anonymous06/07/26(Sun)19:20:58
>>98171287 >he doesn't sleeve his board If they didn't want this, they wouldn't sleeve the box when you purchase a game
I've played twice on TTS at 4 and we just played in person yesterday at 2 players (US v China). My feedback:
Plays better at 2p than 4p. The auto-influence cards are great at moving the game along. Plus the board state changes too much between turns to plan well at 4p. Unlike Hegemony, we didn't do any negotiating and bargaining (there's no reason to) so if that's your thing, you can skip this one. You should also only ever play with the Diplomacy & Dominance Market Ability cards (you don't need the other mini expansions or alternate growth cards). The D&D market cards are more direct conflict related so when they come out, there's a fair amount of jockeying to get them. The automa looks fine but you could do this game two handed with the auto-influence cards and it'd be faster. I can't imagine playing this with 3 automa.
We haven't tried the World in Turmoil expansion. The inserts are the quality you expect but are made with sleeved cards in mind so if you don't practice safe gaming, your cards are going to jumble around. I like having pieces in their own sections for setup, sort of like how the new Arnak box does it, where you can just take out a section and that has all of the money and another section for the bases and others for player pieces. The insert just puts everything in individual spots in the insert so you still have the box on the table or spend time dumping it out.
It's a fun game, probably more fun than Hegemony, but it's still a global conflict game so people are going to be hit or miss with the theme.
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Anonymous06/07/26(Sun)21:04:15
i just took the OG euro-pill i really like Bus, The Estates, Santiago, Tikal, Lost Cities, For Sale, Pueblo, Through the Desert what do i play next?
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Anonymous06/07/26(Sun)21:31:31
how do i get better at negotiation games? i'm terrible, no one will negotiate with me.
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Anonymous06/07/26(Sun)21:38:59
>>98172528 if you like Bus you might like other splotters, Food Chain Magnate, the Great Zimbabwe, and whatever else they have in stock.
>>98172528 Play The Great Zimbabwe, Duck Dealer, or Indonesia. Hansa Teutonica is also a banger. You liking Bus predisposes you to enjoying HT. You play any Knizia? Ra, Babylonia, Tigris and Euphrates may be up your alley. Calimala is also pretty good.
>Food Chain Magnate >Indonesia too long but i'm really interested in anyway. wondering if they'll be the exception. would love to hear from anyone else who generally hates games longer than 2 hours but loves these anyway.
>Great Western Trail >Hansa Teutonica i like these a lot, HT especially. GWT is good at 2 players but too long otherwise.
>Ra >Babylonia >Tigris and Euphrates >Calimala >The Great Zimbabwe all really good recommendations. own 2 but haven't played. will own 2 more. on the fence if Calimala is worthy of owning.
>Duck Dealer >Grand Austria Hotel not sure about these...
>You play any Knizia? oh yea he's my favorite. have played a decent amount. own even more but waiting for the right group or time.
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Anonymous06/07/26(Sun)23:51:16
>>98173058 >on the fence if Calimala is worthy of owning. I wasn't a fan of Calimala. The area control played second fiddle to the action economy and the extra actions were mostly chaos.
>>98173058 >not sure about these... Grand Austria Hotel is the most tolerable multiplayer solitaire game I've ever played. I don't want to own it though. Duck Dealer was better than I expected it to be. If I ever get into print and play it will be on the shortlist of games to make.
>>98172628 >negotiation games 1. don't play shit that relies on negotiation. catan and CE are both shit. I don't know where or when that is a good mechanic. it's probably in ROOT, I don't even remember.
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Anonymous06/08/26(Mon)00:17:37
>>98173115 >Duck Dealer was better than I expected it to be what was the hook for you?
negotiation games i'm good at: Santiago - loved this one, can deal here. i do a lot better with auctions too. Lords of Vegas - still learning but i think i can do okay here Cosmic Encounter i've only played a few times - some were total hits, others were total misses. the negotiation was simple enough that it wasn't a problem.
negotiation games i'm bad at: Catan bored me to tears (and i couldn't make deals) Zoo Vadis played a couple times, it went over fairly well with the groups both times. DID NOT go well for me personally, couldn't negotiate anything. want to love this one. Bohnanza - again, want to love it. but can't trade for shit. everyone else was fast and loud. i'm not that.
>>98173249 51st State always good, always goes too quick. I love the 3 ways to use each card and the different faction balances, but I always go in swearing I'm only going to make deals, all deals nothing but deals and I end the game with like 4 deals (and 11 more points than the next nearest player bwahahaha)
Acquire is an interesting stock game that I think is a bit inscrutable at first, you really have go after small chains and be the majority stock holder and also get lucky with the dominant chains again being the majority stock holder. The strategery is in placing your tiles, of which you have 6 blindly drawn, and creating chains, then forcing the mergers you want without leaving juicy connections out for others. It's good but I can't help but think it needs more trains.
>>98173250 yeah it's the winter expansion so it must be cold in that room >>
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Anonymous06/08/26(Mon)00:48:02
>>98173244 >what's my issue? You're playing bad games. How do I know they are bad? They require negotiation.
>>98173348 look bro, i know i have at least a touch of the 'tism, that's why i'm struggling in some of these games. but don't go full autist. it's not automatically a bad game just because you have to talk to people and can't just math everything out. if you don't like them, that's fine. don't play them. don't be pic related.
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Anonymous06/08/26(Mon)01:08:26
i think i might want to try a cube rails game. Chicago Express, Wabash Cannonball, Ride the Rails, Irish/Iberian Gauge, Northern Pacific, Stephenson's Rocket.....what do i want? what's the difference? what's the draw for cube rails games? i generally like games that are 20-90 min, roughly 2.50 weight, high player interaction, low rules, i play with 2-5 players usually
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Anonymous06/08/26(Mon)01:09:30
>>98173393 >why does it hurt when I keep punching myself in the face? how do I make it stop hurting? gee stop punching yourself in the face maybe >OMG how could you suggest!!!!! Downvote!
maybe it's not just the 'tism maybe you're also a hard R retard.
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Anonymous06/08/26(Mon)01:11:55
>>98173420 ok we can pretend that's what you said and what i wanted if you want to bow out without admitting you were wrong
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Anonymous06/08/26(Mon)03:18:11
>>98173416 Chicago express and wabash cannonball are the same game I'd say it's the best cube rails game out there, but the current production is terrible, that map is murder on the eyes
>>98173200 The planning was very interesting, even when I had to pivot. I don't generally like long downtime in games but most of the game was collecting energy, which moved at a clip.
>>98173244 >i do a lot better with auctions too. Ever tried Medici? It's pretty good when you bluff your way out by tricking other players when buying stuff at higher prices while you get to hog all the greater value items for cheap.
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Anonymous06/08/26(Mon)09:43:27
Okay fags, lets hear it. I have HT big box and have only played the basic bitch version dozen of times, couldn't be fucked with extra tiles or other maps. The game is parched dry. It is so, so bland to me. What is the "optimal" version to play, or how do you enjoy your hansa?
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Anonymous06/08/26(Mon)10:08:52
>>98174969 East Germany is the best map of the three in my mind and the minds of my friends. No other expansion components, just the East is our default way to play unless we are teaching someone for the first time.
We've just received word from the Tok'ra that the system lords are planning a meeting where they'll play board games together and discuss forming a potential alliance. We need to infiltrate that meeting and replace their game with one that will make them hate each other for life. Any ideas people?
>>98175167 We know from that raid back on Klaus XII that Anubis' favorite game is Catan. And oer my research on the ancient murals on Via Longis, he hasn't had a victory in 450 years. And didnt Thor hint at the System Lords holding some secret, old shame over Anubis' head? I think we can presss his bad taste and poor gamemanship to our advantage.
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Anonymous06/08/26(Mon)11:46:30
>>98174467 >Ever tried Medici? funny you ask - it's the last board game i bought. haven't played it yet. didn't even really plan on getting it but it was on sale for like $15 or something and i love Knizia. i'll try it soon, thanks.
i'm really good at manipulating people in social deduction games. i'm also really good at auction games. i guess that's why i assumed i'd be good at negotiation as well. >>98173244
>>98174969 No modules required. If the base game doesn't do it for you it may not be your game. I'd encourage you to only play it at 5 players, 4 is the worst player count and can lead to some mediocre games. I would try the new maps. They all play a bit different, and I think the base map is probably the worst(but it's the easiest to teach).
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Anonymous06/08/26(Mon)13:07:51
>>98175167 Cash n Guns Diplomacy Game of Thrones (especially with the expansion)
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Anonymous06/08/26(Mon)13:31:30
>>98175559 >(especially with the expansion) What value do the expansions add over base 2nd edition?
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Anonymous06/08/26(Mon)13:32:31
Disregard >>98175637 I didn't read the context and mistook that for an honest suggestion.
>>98175637 It adds the Targaryen faction(Daenarys) who has dragons and fucks everyone up from their own continent. If the entire table doesn't get their shit together and collectively invade her right of the gate they spend the next 4 hours getting bent over the table.
>>98175697 No but this is assuming the first 3 hours are the other factions fucking about not sending their entire fleet over the Narrow Sea
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Anonymous06/08/26(Mon)14:05:47
>>98174467 Never played Medici but from the rules it looks interesting.
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Anonymous06/08/26(Mon)15:29:45
>>98173416 i like the two Gauges, though they're different i like them both and they're the only ones I tried so far they do fit the criteria of fast, midweight, and interactive, but some people get confused over the payouts.
the difference is in how the share markets and the cuberail placements work. for example, in Irish Gauge, each company has a set number of share cards, each with their own minimum price, and if you own one (or more) then on your turn you may choose to extend the route. Or you could choose to ask for dividends, which you get by pulling cubes out of a bag to see which cities are profitable and thus which companies make money and how much of it you get is based on player-owned shares. Or, you can just declare an auction for one of the leftover shares, if you can pay the minimum price. So all the game happens in one phase (after the setup and initial auction, that is, but those are part of setup kinda so it doesn't count) in Iberian gauge, the shares are represented by spaces on a line you put your cubes in, with the first buyer setting the price from a range and giving that price in cash to the company coffers, and after the shares phase comes the operating phase where in order of where your cubes are in the line you take actions for the company, or do nothing if you just wanna troll a friend with 3 shares in Red company. it almost approaches 18XX but doesn't have share selling, track hex supply shenanigans, or even turn order based on share price.
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Anonymous06/08/26(Mon)19:10:03
>>98176261 Do you consider Gold Country a cube rails game or is a train theme required?
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Anonymous06/08/26(Mon)19:30:09
Had a good weekend of gaming.
Played Old King's Crown at 4 players, first time for all of us. It was good, chaotic fun, but not sure how much depth there is to it, maybe at 2 or 3 players. Feel like I almost made one of the group's biggest autists cry, he thought he was about to win the final battle of the game with some flash actions, but I still beat him, felt good for me. I guess that's one of my criticisms of the game, all the rewards for winning battles are pretty useless in the final round, except one, so everyone will put their heralds and everything they have into it. I suppose that might be intended as the final climactic battle, but it does make the game swing a lot around that.
Also played Dune at 5 players, our sixth unfortunately had to drop out. I won it with an unholy alliance between my Atreides and the Emperor in round 5. Bene Gesserits had me down to win in round 6 and was trying their hardest to slow us down but not too much. Would have been much better at 6 because the last player who wasn't in an alliance would have had more impact paired up with someone else. Harkonnens were the faction we were missing so that would have made battles more spicy I reckon.
Just in case anyone can use them, here are hi-res scans of the High Frontier 4 All Crew Promo cards with a colour calibration target. I don't know what needs to be done to make them suitable for print or inclusion in TTS or whatever so have left as raw as possible. I don't know how long I'll keep the download up, so please mirror and share to whoever might need them.