"New" Board Games

[Bushchicken]

We've had a lot of success with Alhambra for two and it expands really well up to six. Though, the Vizier tokens (which you can easily make yourself) from the first expansion are necessary for five or six players.

[CaptainDingo]

I love playing Carcassone 2 players, and it gets even better with 3-5. Its probably been my favorite board game the past few years.

[otley]

Ticket to Ride is pretty awesome, although I lose most of the time....

[Ultimate Anyone?]

Originally Posted by otley

Ticket to Ride is pretty awesome, although I lose most of the time....

Gee, that sounds familiar - MrsUA won the first 5-6 times we played that as well. I finally broke my losing streak about a month ago.

[otley]

Frequently taking extra tickets seems to be the path to "winning big", but also the path to "losing big" if you don't do it right...

[UNCORRELATED LAY]

I have an "old" board game that is both out of print and one you probably never heard of. . . .

Cosmic Encounter. Could possibly be the best 4/5 player game I have ever played.

[strategygamer]

Originally Posted by Ultimate Anyone?

Gee, that sounds familiar - MrsUA won the first 5-6 times we played that as well. I finally broke my losing streak about a month ago.

Originally Posted by otley

Frequently taking extra tickets seems to be the path to "winning big", but also the path to "losing big" if you don't do it right...

strategy depends on which map you're playing (usa, europe, marklin, swiss)
in usa, keep only the long ones that go to the corners (portland, seattle, ny, montreal, pitt, miami, atlanta, la, phoenix, you get the point), and build 4s 5s and 6s the whole way. the 3-link route from la to phoenix goes quick, so if you need it, you wanna jump it quick. more relevant in a multiplayer game, but still helps.

europe - they fixed that, the "long road" doesn't work as well anymore. always keep the long ticket, and try to hug the northeast and north-central areas of the board (between paris and moscow). grab the 8 at the top if you can - no rush, it's tough to get since there are only 12 of each card, 14 wilds = 26 total cards to help, you need 9-10 to get it because of the tunnels.

marklin - not really sure, played like 5 times, only 2 player. but take a lot of long tickets, the short ones tend to be out of the way more. the points from passengers are nice, you can win without them though. (translation: you want some, but don't spend your entire game worrying about them.)

swiss - take tickets till your eyes bleed. they don't recycle through, so once they're gone, they're gone. country to country can get you some HUGE (50+) points from tickets.

[barry]

Originally Posted by UNCORRELATED LAY

I have an "old" board game that is both out of print and one you probably never heard of. . . .

Cosmic Encounter. Could possibly be the best 4/5 player game I have ever played.

I think Hasbro starting printing a version of this since they acquired Avalon Hill. I say "version" because this game has been reprinted several times and the game has been slightly different each time.

[UNCORRELATED LAY]

Originally Posted by barry

I think Hasbro starting printing a version of this since they acquired Avalon Hill. I say "version" because this game has been reprinted several times and the game has been slightly different each time.

Avalon Hill printed a copy. But that too is out of print.

If available pick up the Mayfair Games version. If you do, PM me. I have a couple extra copies of the "more Cosmic Encounter" expansion. Adds more powers, rules and options.

I would sell cheap ($10)

[Entropy]

Anyone heard of, or played, "Through the Ages: A Story of Civilization" that could give me opinions on it?