"New" Board Games

[Tim><]

Other games good for 2P or more that occur to me:

Stone Age (2-4, best with 3)
Through the Ages - A Story of Civilization (2-4, best with 3)
Agricola (1-5, scales well with all numbers of plays, currently the highest rated game on boardgamegeek)
Tigris and Euphrates (2-4, best with 4)
Ticket to Ride (not so great with 2, but playable)

[Tim><]

Oh and Pandemic is essentially the same game whether played with 2, 3 or 4. In fact, in can be played solo. If you have a domineering player in your group, you essentially are playing solo.

[Tim><]

Originally Posted by strategygamer

nope. one of the games i want to learn sometime, it looks good.

It's the ultimate heavy strategy, non-existent theme game. Draw your own conclusions as to whether or not you'll like it. There is zero luck - all the randomness is determined by the starting tiles on the road (chosen randomly), and the initial player order. No randomness after that.

[Tim><]

Originally Posted by strategygamer

that's true. kosmos is usually good for some good (and inexpensive) 2 player games.


"bean game" as we call it is a lot of fun, especially with a lot of people (like 6-7)


i'm a moderate carcassonne fan but i never understood that game. the regular (with river, trader & builder, other expansions) was good, and 2 player didn't take much away from that. just a different game since you really had to manage your meeples.

As a strategy game, Carcassonne really shines best with 2P. It's a lot less strategic with more. Some pure strategigamers will shy away from multis. Of course, it's more of a light fun game with many players.

[Tim><]

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.

It was just reprinted. It's considered by some to be the parent of modern strategy games. Variable player powers, negotiation, tons of expansions. Plays best with lots of players. Not my cup of tea, but for many it's their favorite game.

[Tim><]

Originally Posted by Entropy

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

Just got it. Played one 3P beginner game, and one 2P full game. I like it so far. You need a lot of time to play it though.

[Tim><]

Originally Posted by Person Man

We got Shadows Over Camelot for Christmas, and played it twice. It's a fun game, where each player takes the role of a Knight of the Round Table trying to win quests to earn White Swords. Quests that are lost earn Black Swords. When there are 12 or more swords in total, the game ends and the group wins if there are a majority of white swords, and lose if there are more or the same number of black swords. There are a few other ways the knights can lose, which makes it feel like you're never safe even when the team is doing very well.

In addition, one of the players may have randomly been assigned the role of Traitor. His objective is to conceal his identity while working to make the team lose. This adds a great element to the game.

The only quibble is that there are a lot of rules, and the rulebook is quite confusing. We played it once with a smaller group, and we did a lot of things wrong. The second time we played with a larger group, and I tried to explain it in a simplified way but they got lost before I was halfway through. The learning curve is quite steep, but once we felt like we knew what we were doing it was a lot of fun. The basic actions on each player's turn don't take very long so once a plan is set in motion the pace of playing is great.

If you like board games enough to get past the confusing rules, I highly recommend it.

It's one of those games best played with an experienced player for your first time. Then the rules seem simple.

[Tim><]

Originally Posted by strategygamer

p-man, i disagree about camelot.
even without a traitor, it is very difficult for the "good guys" to win, since you have to do the "bad thing" every turn, and some of the "bad" cards are really nasty. if the "good guys" can get the holy grail finished then you have a chance. i haven't played it in years so my memory may not be perfect, but i remember it was impossible for the heros to win.

Without the trator, it's pretty much solved. With an experienced group of players, even with a good traitor, the good guys rarely lose. With a beginner group, the good guys rarely win.

[Tim><]

BTW - if any boardgamers are in the NNJ area and would be interested in getting together for a game, please send me a PM.

[3.14]

Originally Posted by Tim><

Oh and Pandemic is essentially the same game whether played with 2, 3 or 4. In fact, in can be played solo. If you have a domineering player in your group, you essentially are playing solo.

Yes, that would be my biggest complaint about cooperative games. What I do like about Pandemic is that my wife and kids are hooked, and I'm trying my best to sit back and let them direct things. But if you read the longest Pandemic review thread on boardgamegeek (linked above), you'll see that the biggest complaint is that it does reduce to a complicated puzzle of sorts, rather than an interactive/competitive game.