Jacob
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Board games seem to be having a Renaissance in recent years and I have recently started getting more interested in them. Doesn' t seem to be a thread about this. So which games do you own/enjoy?

We own:
Carcassonne - classic game of laying tiles and claiming territory.
Isle of Skye - similar to Carcassonne but with some extra layers of complexity including buying/selling tiles. Good fun.
Dominion - the original deck building game. Am a fan of this though apparently there are better deck builders out there.
Sushi go -fun but simple pass and pick game. I like this mechanic.
Tides of time - same mechanic but surprisingly greater complexity despite only 18 cards. Love this game.
Hive - great abstract two player game. Chess like but does not have a board.
Discworld Ankh Morpork - kind of area control. Fun but a bit random at times and a bit limited complexity.
Coup and Maskerade - fun but flawed hidden identity bluffing card games.
Suburbia - sim city like game. Not played this much but seems pretty good.
Welcome to the Dungeon - card game like playing chicken. More of a filler game.
Seven Wonders Duel - love Seven Wonders, and this 2 player version is great too. Very clever mechanics.
Big Book of Madness - great deck building cooperative game.
Pandemic - famous cooperative game. Not played it that much but well renowned.
Go - of course.

Also really like: Seven Wonders, Powergrid, Lost cities, Puerto Rico, Istanbul, Marco polo, Seasons, Splendour, Small World




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[Last edited by Jacob at 11-09-2016 07:54 PM]

Kallor
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There's dozens of great games but I just want to mention Love Letter. Fast, fast to learn, still gives you something to think about. (And go of course.)

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Insoluble
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Cool topic! We're somewhat into board games, but have friends that are hard core board game fans. I've played some of the ones you mentioned. Pandemic was a lot of fun, though I think we've only played it once. I liked the way you have to find ways to play to each of the different character's strengths. I'll mention some others that are favorites of mine:

Robo Rally: If you've never heard of this one it's definitely worth checking out. It has a bit of a DROD like feel in that you're manipulating several entities in a turn based way on a grid. Each player has a robot that they "program" with s set of commands at the beginning of each turn, then you get to watch how the turns play out. I think anyone who has experience with movement order puzzles in DROD will probably appreciate how crazy this can get.

Twixt: This is kind of an odd one. It's super simple in terms of rules and game pieces kind of like go. You are competing with another player to connect lines from one edge of the board to the other. It's nowhere near as deep as go or chess, but there's still some fun strategy involved. Also, the pieces and peg holes are super fun for my 4-year old to play with.

There are probably a few others I can mention too. But those are fun ones.

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Nillo
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I have a list of all my board games and thoughts on them on BoardGameGeek, for those interested: https://boardgamegeek.com/collection/user/Nillo?own=1&subtype=boardgame&ff=1

Currently, Through the Ages: A New Story is a big favorite of mine. I think it captures the feeling of civilization-building extremely well, and it greatly rewards long-term planning. I'm told that an expansion and an official app are being developed right now so I'm looking forward to that.

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Pearls
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I'm glad this thread is a thing.

Parsing your list a bit, albeit you aren't exactly asking for recommendations tailored to you ( I think ) I feel inclined to sort of flesh out some complements and supplements to your list.

Cooperative Games That Pearls Has Enjoyed:

Hanabi: This one is super sweet. It's a card game where you're trying to organize piles of cards by color and number based upon the cards in your hand, with the small catch that you are the only person who can't see your own cards, and no one else is allowed to directly tell you what any single card is.

Forbidden Desert/Island: Either of these games are in the vein of Pandemic, where you all have super powers and you are constantly reshuffling disaster back into your deck to give some sense of urgency. A little quicker to play than Pandemic, while still being fun.

Eldritch Horror: Popular from the "Ameritrash" genre, Lovecraftian flavors, team of investigators travel around the world to stop a big nasty thing trying to end existence or something. Drenched in theme, pretty enjoyable mechanically, but takes a little while to play. I prefer it over its much more famous predecessor, Arkham Horror, due to the (perhaps illusion) of more strategy.

Competitive Games Pearls Has Enjoyed That A Family Also Might


Hearts - I mean, this is like the greatest card game that isn't also Bridge. I think there's already a subforum on card games, but man, card games (the kind played with 52 cards) are just the best. I swear, my fascination with encryption started with Bridge, no joke. Bridge is a tough game, however, so I'm sticking Hearts, here. Or spades. Man, spades is cool.

Competitive Games That Will Make You Hate Those You Love

Battlestar Galactica










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Hey, w-wait, that's the guy who shamelessly promotes his own...

Dischorran
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Pearls wrote:
Hearts - I mean, this is like the greatest card game that isn't also Bridge. I think there's already a subforum on card games, but man, card games (the kind played with 52 cards) are just the best. I swear, my fascination with encryption started with Bridge, no joke. Bridge is a tough game, however, so I'm sticking Hearts, here. Or spades. Man, spades is cool.

You misspelled euchre.

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Pearls
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Dischorran wrote:

You misspelled euchre.
EUCHRE? I BARELY KNOW 'ER!

I tentatively considered it, but I'm from such an aggressive heart of euchre territory that we find plain old 5-card euchre to be pretty boring, and have elevated it to involve two decks, a more interesting bidding system, and more punishing yet flexible notion of "going alone." Most of my proximate compatriots find a mere five cards to be difficult to eke out meaningful decisions. I dunno, call us elitist or something.

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kieranmillar
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Heck yeah boardgames are awesome! I've played a whole bunch but only own a small selection of my favourites. These are:

Dominion + 4 expansions (Intrigue, Seaside, Prosperity and Empires) - I could play this game every day forever. It's the best. If you're looking to get it yourself then make sure to grab the 2nd Edition, which is a big improvement for the base game.
Carcassonne - A simple game that anyone can play, including my Nana, which is rare for boardgames (she's great with a deck of cards but just can't wrap her head around most other games). Has enough potential for cunning dickery to be fun with experienced boardgamers too.
Agricola - A lot more brain melting than the other games so only sees play with my more hardcore boardgamer group, but it's really good and has lots of strategy.
Pandemic - Coop vs the game. Was gifted to me last Christmas by a member of my family, is really boring. Not recommended.

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[Last edited by kieranmillar at 11-17-2016 09:09 PM]

Lucky Luc
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Dixit is a super beautiful game. Its rules are very simple, but it's a game that's doing a fantastic job and reminding you playing is not about winning, but about simply having a good time. The main reason why it works its stunning surrealistic artwork. Honestly, I think just looking at the cards is worth buying the game.

Also, if you're into abstract two-player strategy games, I'd like to shyly point towards Tak again. It still only exists online and in the hands of some people who're skilled and patient enough to build their own sets, but wow, I've spent a lot of time playing it lately, and the more I play it, the more I like it.

mrimer
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Great topic! As many already know, I love all kinds of games.

Here's my BGG list with some brief thoughts on them.

https://boardgamegeek.com/collection/user/mrimer?subtype=boardgame&ff=1

I have too many titles that I don't have time to play as much as I'd like. I'd like to get back into playing if I ever have time.

I enjoy abstract, Euro, Ameritrash and card games at practically all levels of complexity. I like thinkers, but also having a lot of excitement and emotion in our games as we play with our toys.

I love COSMIC ENCOUNTER and INNOVATION -- completely different genres and play styles, but both have a pile of special powers, and it's easy to get excited by each new play and make up fun stories off the cuff about what's happening in the in-game world as plays are made. Looking forward to trying IMPULSE.

CATAN and expansions got me into the hobby more seriously.

I've played a bunch of DOMINION, with various expansions. Also THUNDERSTONE.
7 WONDERS is interesting, and I'm looking forward to trying out DUEL.

Also, I like AGRICOLA and LE HAVRE.

Occasionally like brain-burners like POWER GRID and STEAM.

More "real-time" games like SPACE ALERT are exciting -- but, wow, do I feel stressed after finishing up a couple rounds of that.

GALAXY TRUCKER is also real-timey and fun, while less stressful...unless you're playing the higher levels.

JAB is a short, fun, real-time card boxing match.

I love GO. Played a bunch of CHESS, both seriously and variants.

STRONGHOLD's a fun asymmetrical siege strategy game with great theming.

I like HIVE.

Dexterity-based games like CLIMB! are unusual and interesting.

Co-op games like PANDEMIC, FORBIDDEN ISLAND (and getting DESERT soon) are fun for me. We tend to treat these more like a puzzle to solve. PANDEMIC LEGACY also looks like it could be fun but I don't really have a group to seriously play it with.

I like competitive co-op like CUTTHROAT CAVERNS.

Family/party games like DIXIT, NO THANKS! and FOR SALE.

I like euro dice games like YSPAHAN and KINGSBURG.

And so many others!

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Gandalf? Yes... That's what they used to call me.
Gandalf the Grey. That was my name.
I am Gandalf the White.
And I come back to you now at the turn of the tide.

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[Last edited by mrimer at 11-29-2016 07:49 PM]

Banjooie
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Hive - great abstract two player game. Chess like but does not have a board.

board games

but does not have a board

board games

ok

Tamsk
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Hive doesn't have a fixed board, but a board is (effectively) built from the pieces as the game progresses. It's boardier than a lot of the other games already mentioned, in fact.

benjemin281
Level: Roachling
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Hello there,

If you can please tell me which is the company provide catan board games?

mrimer
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benjemin281 wrote:
which is the company provide catan board games?

Not sure what you're asking for, but you could look here for some options:

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=settlers+of+catan+board+game

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Gandalf? Yes... That's what they used to call me.
Gandalf the Grey. That was my name.
I am Gandalf the White.
And I come back to you now at the turn of the tide.

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[Last edited by mrimer at 12-18-2019 05:41 PM]

hukolic
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I really love Tides of time, nice to see it mentioned here. Wish you play more games like this and develop your brain

Cognizant
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I fell in love with Jumbling Tower. Btw, playing it alone is almost the same fun as at with friends

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