What game is hitting your table?

[Bix Conners]

I played Sentinels at BGG.CON John and did not care for it that much. Probably because I was never really a comic book person.

I don't didn't know you had such good taste.

Fixed that for you.

[Jolo]

I played Sentinels at BGG.CON John and did not care for it that much. Probably because I was never really a comic book person.

I don't didn't know you brain damage.

Fixed that for you.

Which is odd, because I just updated my ks order to get Shattered Timelines in May.

[Colin Dearborn]

I am a comic book guy and I also found Sentinels of the Multiverse a little flat.


Too little choices, it was usually pick out your best damage card and play it......then wait till it gets back to you. Maybe different characters offer more options. I was playing the female Nick Fury character.
If I am going to play something with Super Heros it will still be Heroclix, although the new Marvel Legendary sure looks tempting.




On another note I got in a couple plays of Eminent Domain this weekend. Much better then I first heard. It is a true deck builder with some very nice options, I look forward to getting in a few more plays in the future.

[Jolo]

Did you guys play with the expansions? I find Absolute Zero & the Argent Adept to be more difficult to play. Characters like Ra & Legacy are much easier to play as they are straightforward. Tachyon, because you want to maximise her damage when she attacks, will cycle through the deck fast, Nightmist is very difficult to play, as I still don't have the hang of her.

[Bryce Robinson]

Munchkin, Maori, Jungle Speed and Dreadfleet.

[celticgriffon]

Managed to play two more games last night - Kingdom Builder and LOTR (Knizia co-op).

I think Kingdom Builder is fantastic.  It is a wonderful puzzle.

I forgot how much fun LOTR co-op is... It has been a while since this hit the table.  It is abstract in exactly the correct way.  We played with the Friends/Foes expansion and got absolutely hammered in Bree and Moria.  This led to a full party demise by Shelob's Lair.  Michael Barnes on Fortress Ameritrash calls it a brilliant masterpiece (although most of us will agree War of the Ring is the defacto Tolkien game).  I couldn't agree more.  It is extremely clever.

Michael

[Mac Grassick]

The Christmas holidays provided some good down time & with that come game time. I played a couple games of Wizard which seems to be the go to game for some of the family members that are nervous about some of the big boxes up on the game shelf. I do enjoy the game, especially when I can spoil someone's plans with a timely played wizard.

I purchased City of Thieves & the King of Ash expansion. I was pleasantly surprised with the game. It looked to be a very simplistic game after reading through the rules, but once I was sitting across the table from another person, the game played out much differently than I had expected. The round consists of 4 phases. Draw a card, move the militia, player movement &/or 1 action, pretty straightforward. The goal of the game is to have more ducats than the other player. To get ducats you open chests around the board or lay down some smack on your opponents & steal their goodies. It ends up being a game of reacting to the other players as much as anything.

The base game had some disappointing elements to it. There are 4 gang of theives to choose from but the stats are all identical. The only thing that made them different is the appearance & individual special abilities. To me this is an oversight. With some small tweaks to the 3 stats(move, attack & mind) it could have added some variety & depth to the gangs. The special abilities are great but, for me, it left me wanting more.

The expansion, to my delight, fixed my concerns. Along with a new area to delve into, they addressed the weakness in the gangs' statistical similarities. Each gang had a 5th member that they could substitute for any one of the 4 original members. You still only get to start with 4 members but it adds some variety. You also get the option to, instead, recruit 1 of 2 Mercenaries if you would like. Variety, I like it. This completely resolved the earlier complaint for me.

The expansion also adds a number of twist from the base set as well as an option for a campaign, stretching over multiple game scenarios. The base game is good, but for me, you must have the expansion to really enjoy what this game has to offer.

[R Newell]

The wife and I tried out Eclipse.  She creamed me (31-24), largely due to my stubborn insistence on taking control of the centre hex.

First off, it's a great Euro game, borrowing almost as much from Through the Ages as it does Twilight Imperium 3 (good pedigree).  Secondly, *phew*, it's not a TI3 killer like it's so often been advertised, so I'm not going to have to worry about "retiring" one of my favourite games.  I think people who think Eclipse has made TI3 obsolete probably weren't fans of the latter to begin with.  Playing them actually doesn't feel all that much alike, despite the similarities.   So I'm quite content to own and play both.

If there's one thing about the game that surprised me, it's how simple it is (partly thanks to a great rulebook and player aides).  Super easy to teach.

[R Newell]

Lucky for me, the wife's feeling indulgent this weekend.  A day after playing Eclipse, we played two games of Mage Knight: one competitive scenario (Mines Liberation) and the Full Cooperation scenario, in which she was the Wayne Gretzky to my Harold Snepts. 

We incorporated everything from the expansion except General Volkare (though this figure is the bulk of the expansion).  So far I'd say Lost Legion, while it adds plenty of variety, is unnecessary.  I've become a huge fan of the game (possibly a new favourite?) so I'm still glad I own it, but it's not something a Mage Knight player would miss much if it was removed.

[Bix Conners]

Games Played Last Week 2013-01-13 to 2013-01-19
Express x1 @ Bixbys
This is a cool little card game that I have played a couple of times now. I would like to try the team variant. Good filler and solid game in the collection. This play was three players.

Core Worlds x1 @ Bixbys
This is my third play and I enjoy this game more with each play. I do not think I will ever have a deck builder in my top tier of games, but this has some interesting decisions to explore. This play included the expansion. This one is certainly climbing the charts.

Guillotine x1 @ Bixbys
Fun little filler. I enjoy this as an appetizer once in awhile. I played a lot of this with my Nephew in Nova Scotia a few years ago. Good fun filler that is quick to teach and play.

Las Vegas x1 @ ChewsDay Challenge
I really enjoy this as an ice breaker at public gaming events. It is quick and easy to teach. I really like the copy I made and carry it around in a Crown Royal bag.

Kakerlaken Poker x1 @ ChewsDay Challenge
Another silly ice breaking game that gets played at ChewsDay Challenge. This was a four player game. I lost; which means everyone else won.

Guillotine x1 @ ChewsDay Challenge
Played this again at ChewsDay Challenge.

King of Siam x1 @ ChewsDay Challenge
Got to try this at ChewsDay Challenge and I think this game is a real gem. As I was learning/playing the game, it became obvious that the simple game has hidden depth. Would like to play a few more times to explore this one.

Fighting Formations x1 @ Bixbys
Mark M and I are learning this game and decided to play this again. (We played a couple of weeks back and butchered the rules). We played scenario-0 again and this time the rules pretty much fell in place. With the mechanics now in place, we hope to play a few more times to delve into the strategy of the game. I really like the Order Matrix.

1st & Goal x1 @ Lancaster's Taphouse
The location says it all. This is a pretty decent game for a pub. I think it will be one of my "go to" pub games for awhile. We only played a half. That seems the right length for a game.

World Without End x1 @ Bixbys
This was my second play of this. I am really impressed with this game design. The event card and how it is oriented when played creates some interesting choices. Definitely want to play this one some more.

Aton x2 @ Bixbys
Learned this game and played a couple of quick games. Clever 2 player game. This is perhaps pub worthy.