Board and Card Games

[bjessee]

Civ and ASL?  No one wants to throw in Magic Realm, Starfleet Battles, Dune, Hannibal, Titan?  (the last three are cheating since they have been reprinted lately).  Feels weird to talk about games that are about as old as me.

@tall, My vices are many, but wargaming is not one of them.  I have heard a bit about ASL, but the perceived level of complexity is more than I am brave enough to tackle.  What other wargames do you enjoy?  I have occasionally thought about dipping my toe in the dark side, but I have no idea where to begin.


@plastiqe, Are you playing with the Advanced Civilization expansion?  I heard that was a significant improvement.  I had the opportunity to play it once and passed; I have regretted not joining that game.

For those unfamiliar with Civilization, it is the golden standard of civilization-building board games.  In fact, a holy grail of game design is the "Civ-lite"--a game that gives the epic feel of Civilization but plays in a fraction of the time (say 2-4 hours).  Maybe the best effort so far is Through the Ages.
It is believed that this board game was used as reference when Sid Meier created his Civilization computer game which has spawned its own board game which has spawned a revision.  So now you can play a board game based off a board game based off a computer game based off a board game.


@arth, I am trying to refrain from talking about CCGs here despite really wanting to make a recommendation.  I will also avoid talking about RPGs despite DnD 4.0 feeling like a cross between a board game and an MMO.
Game of Thrones is a great story, great show, and great game.  There is a second edition out now which fixed some issues with the first (hooray, ports!).  We do not play this as much as we should, but there are just so many great games out there, most things do not hit the table as much as they should.
Doom! and DungeonQuest are designed for sadomasochists.  Abandon all hope of winning and just have a good time.  I remember being flabbergasted when Fantasy Flight released rules to make Doom harder.  Was that really an issue?
HeroQuest sounds familiar, but the others are all new to me.  "New" is probably not the best word to describe them, though.

[tallguy2241]

@bjessee ASL is indeed the pinnacle in wargame complexity, but it can be learned in stages. And even though it's been around for 20+ years, it still has a dedicated following. Look at the Starter kit modules for a more painless way to get started with it.

GMT Games has a good selection of wargames, many of which use a card driven game system. "Twilight Struggle" (on the Cold War) is one of my current favorites.

I teach high school history, and am trying to find good games to use in the classroom. I've been dusting off "Diplomacy" the last few years...the kids love it!

And I totally agree about Advanced Civilization. It makes the game more playable, and you can set a time limit.

[plastiqe]

My uncle is a high school history teacher and he has his students play Diplomacy!  Omg tallguy2241.. are you my uncle?  : P

Diplomacy is fun at first.  I don't think the map is balanced and it's not newbie friendly at all if you have experienced players up against new players.  Probably a lot of fun with a bunch of kids on teams tho.

[bjessee]

I have owned Diplomacy for several years now, but I have never gotten it out to play it.  I am not sure I have a group that could endure being stabbed in the back.  Some of them are...touchy.

I am pretty familiar with GMT, actually, though mostly in their non-wargaming works.  I own and have played (just not mine) Twilight Struggle.  I won because my opponent called a meeting; it was bizarre.  I know it was top-ranked on the Geek for a while.  I have heard Battle Line is a great, fast two-player card game.  Dominant Species was great if a little long.  Leaping Lemmings was fun.  I heard Urban Sprawl is awesome.  I have played Eighth Air Force, and I call it Random Wingman.

As for historical games, I have enjoyed Founding Fathers though it only plays 4.  My wife is an elementary teacher, and their curriculum includes American history, so I have been trying to talk her into giving it a try.
There is also Britannia (3-5) which is about, unsurprisingly, the history of Great Britain.  I thought it felt a little like Risk with a predetermined "best" strategy, but when those strategies are followed, it covers the history fairly well, I suppose.

[bjessee]

Double post FTW!

In honor of the Draft III draft finally finishing, I thought I would go over some games that include a drafting mechanic.


7 Wonders - Drafting at its best
Each player plays as one of the seven wonders of the world (or 8 if you have the promo).  The game plays over three ages with each age involving a draft of seven cards.  Players must decide how much to focus on resources, military, science, culture, economy, and even building their wonder.
One of the great benefits of this game is its speed.  The game is great fun but can be played in well less than an hour regardless of the number of players.
There have been two expansions.  The first adds leaders and another round of drafting.  I have not played the newest one.
Highly recommended.


Fairy Tale - A Genuine Surprise
Each of three rounds players are dealt five-card hands and draft.  Then the players must play three of those cards in whatever order they choose.  Some of the cards give points based on how many you have.  Others give points based on how many of another card you have.  The combinations and strategies are numerous.
I was not expecting much from this when a friend asked me to play it, but I had such a good time that I needed my own copy.  It is a fun and fast game.



There were also two other games that involved a draft in some way I saw on Wednesday but did not get a chance to play--Smash Up and Seasons.

Smash Up lets players draft two decks of cards to "smash up" to make a play deck.  The true fun lies in the crazy combinations you can have--Ninjas and Pirates, Zombies and Robots, Aliens and Dinosaurs, Mystics and Fae.  The guys seemed to have a good time, and it played quickly.

Seasons lets players draft nine cards that they will draw over three years.  Each round players roll dice which change as the seasons do.  Players draft the dice which determines what they get for their turn.  Players must balance cards, resources, summoning level, all while maximizing their score.  It looked like a neat game, and those that played it seemed to really enjoy it.

[DoubleCapitals]

Nerco post.
Anyway, never played most of them. Bang!, however, I've played quite a few times, and I'm playing a forum game adaptation now.
I also find diplomacy fun, bu tI've never been able to play it IRL, but only online.

[TribalTrouble]

I love Dominion. Awesome 'Card' Board game. (Labeled as Board Game because of the way its in a box but w/e, it is really a card game, and for $50 you get hundreds of cards! ^^) \

Lots of expansions to it, but altogether, still works as 1 main game. Pretty fun, the art early on is rather ugly, but the latest expansions have started getting really good art!