What's playing at your table?

[Gretyl]

But at the end of the day, you're still just playing munchkin.

[daoist]

Munchkin Quest (the board game version) sucks. Every few weeks we try to play it at our board game nights. The game takes forever and each players' turn can take anywhere up to 15-20 minutes, giving the rest of the players ample time to fall the fuck asleep. Unless you're right next to each other you can't help/hinder combat, so there's not even that level of interactivity. Seriously, way to drain all the fun out.

[LucasPukus]

Played more stone age last night...still couldn't win, since so many points are revealed at the end. ARg.

Dominion and hanging gardens were played again. I LOVE DOMINION. We only played with some really basic card decks this time, but I want tobe able to hinder other players. The best part is that this game is not collectible and feels like a board game.

[begin_the_begin]

Played the Battlestar Galactica board game for the first time last night. Very good game. I drew the Cylon loyalty card right off the bat and it was a lot of fun trying to secretly fuck with the human players.

Munchkin Quest (the board game version) sucks. Every few weeks we try to play it at our board game nights. The game takes forever and each players' turn can take anywhere up to 15-20 minutes, giving the rest of the players ample time to fall the fuck asleep. Unless you're right next to each other you can't help/hinder combat, so there's not even that level of interactivity. Seriously, way to drain all the fun out.

Aw, shit. I was going to go out and blindly buy this game too. I was thinking, "How could this possibly be bad?"

On a related note, has anyone used the "Dungeon" set of Munchkin expansion cards? I was wondering if they were any fun.

[LucasPukus]

When you played, did the cylons win?

[Gretyl]

Dominion and hanging gardens were played again. I LOVE DOMINION. We only played with some really basic card decks this time, but I want tobe able to hinder other players. The best part is that this game is not collectible and feels like a board game.

That reminds me. I preordered Dominion from Thought Hammer back in February and they should be getting more copies in sometime this month. I'm so excited to play this!

[begin_the_begin]

When you played, did the cylons win?

No, when I played, Cylons did not win. However, since it was everyone's first time playing, we overlooked or misinterpreted a couple rules. Specifically ones that would have made it tougher for the humans to win. I'll be playing again soon, so we'll see how everything goes when we do it right.

[Little Bobby Tables]

That is pretty much my sentiments about Dominion. It's great is pretty much every way.

[daoist]

went to the mayhem 24 hours of gaming last night. I only played munchkin and D&D, but there was a prize auction and I got a copy of fluxx, so that's cool. Too bad I missed out on the couple of copies of carcassone and power grid they had

[LucasPukus]

Power grid is kinda fun. I over bid on some items the first time I played, so I want to try again for better/cheaper clean energy sources.

[Gretyl]

went to the mayhem 24 hours of gaming last night

Do they do this more than once a year? I might attend the next one.

[Gretyl]

Power Grid varies alot depending on skill, zone selection & plant distribution. I dig that game for its near-market dynamics.

[daoist]

tas can answer tha better when our inet is back on. i'm thinking of showing up for mayhem's sunday board gaming to see if i can sit in on a game of carcassone or powergrid to try out before i pay full retail (they are kinda pricey). i want to bring more diversity to our board game nights, these sound like good contenders. oh;ticket to ride too.

[LucasPukus]

Which ticket to ride version are you interested in?

[Tas]

Yeah, we do 24 Hours of Gaming once every 4-6 months. It's always a good time, and a great way to try out new stuff. I got to teach some new folks how to play BSG and Betrayal. Also LCR, the dumbest, greatest dice game ever. And we also did our traditional "live-action" Robo Rally.

But we also have a board game night every Sunday at 5. A great way to try out some new games.

Also, Re: Munchkin Quest, it's definitely a game you don't want to start late. But even then, the game kinda drags, with how long turns take, and you often just sit there wondering why you weren't just playing the Munchkin card game. Though I will say that two out of the three times we've played it at my place, Dao was drunk enough that he literally fell asleep at the table, then went off to bed. All in all, though, the card game's highly superior.

Also, I want to spread the love of Formula D, but everyone just looks at the box and assumes auto racing = boring game.

[Gretyl]

Also, I want to spread the love of Formula D, but everyone just looks at the box and assumes auto racing = boring game.

What're its core mechanics & typical game length? Why do you like it?

[daoist]

you drive around a track and your speed is determined by your gear, which is a mechanized via polyhedral dice (1st gear is a d4, etc). So that's interesting. You have to slow down for turns or something. I think there's car upgrades you can get along the way.

[TeleportThis]

That is pretty much my sentiments about Dominion. It's great is pretty much every way.

Agreed. Played it for the first time last night. Definitely looking forward to playing it again.

[Tas]

you drive around a track and your speed is determined by your gear, which is a mechanized via polyhedral dice (1st gear is a d4, etc). So that's interesting. You have to slow down for turns or something. I think there's car upgrades you can get along the way.

Yeah, the strategy comes in where you have to weigh risk vs. reward to determine how hard you slow down into turns. If you go through too fast, you risk damaging or even wrecking your car. The basic rules of the game give a set amount of damage points, but there's an advanced rule set where you have separate parts of the car (body, transmission, brakes, tires) that take damage in different situations. There's also a street racing format added in the newest release (the game's been around for years as Formula De) which adds silly powers (e.g. the black guy likes his music, but once per race, he hears a bad song, and hence can throw his stereo out the window at another car! Not racist at all!) and nitro boosts. It's really simple, but can be deep if you so choose.

[begin_the_begin]

When you played, did the cylons win?

No, when I played, Cylons did not win. However, since it was everyone's first time playing, we overlooked or misinterpreted a couple rules. Specifically ones that would have made it tougher for the humans to win. I'll be playing again soon, so we'll see how everything goes when we do it right.

Played the game correctly this time. Cylons won by a good margin.

[Gretyl]

I realize I've yet to play Dominion (and I'm sure I'll love it), but anyone else heard anything about SmallWorld? It's shipping April 22nd and looks like it'll play like a lighter, faster, fantasy-themed Risk w/special powers & role selection.

The premise sounds delicious and exploitable with multiple expansions!

[Gretyl]

Oh man, I found the BGG iPhone app today: [free, iTunes]

This'll make my shelfchecking trips to Mayhem that much more productive.

[Tas]

Just a heads-up, to celebrate our 19th anniversary, Mayhem is giving a 19% discount on anything not already discounted from Friday thru Sunday. Get on that and buy yourself some new board games.

[Gretyl]

Timely VEISHEA discounting, verrah nahce. I may pick something up this weekend.

[Gretyl]

And the something was... Mission: Red Planet. Delicious, delicious steampunk!

[Little Bobby Tables]

After not playing it for a long time, got a nice 6 player game of Settlers in last night. I got my ass handed to me (I ended the game with 4 points), but it was good fun.

[daoist]

I picked up a Carcasonne set that has the original game and a few expansions. Can't wait to play it!

[Fuzzy]

played dicecapades the other night. that was a lot of fun.

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/29613

[Gretyl]

My copy of Dominion should be showing up via FedEx today. I can't wait to print out the box insert! *squee-hands*

[Gretyl]

Aww buckfeans. I just played 8 games over at Brettspielwelt.de. @_@

I gotta sit down & think.

[Gretyl]

I call Scientist!

[Little Bobby Tables]

just got 2 free magic decks in the mail and... kind of want to start playing again. must resist. at least these are kinda-sorta playable in the state they are in so I wouldn't have to buy anything more. just not a very nuanced or interesting game.

[nippletwister]

How did you get free magic decks?

I was thinking about magic again the other day, and about how I couldn't start playing if I wanted.

By the way, the most fun I ever had at that game was back in the days when my friends and I all had, oh.... maybe two or three hundred cards each. Just enough that it was about chance and fun and not ultimate perfected deck strategy.

[Talenos]

I got two magic decks in the mail too. I forgot how I got them, but I do like sending in for free stuff so it didn't surprise me too much. Things sure have changed since 3rd edition.

[Reagraham Lincool]

How did you get free magic decks?

I was thinking about magic again the other day, and about how I couldn't start playing if I wanted.

By the way, the most fun I ever had at that game was back in the days when my friends and I all had, oh.... maybe two or three hundred cards each. Just enough that it was about chance and fun and not ultimate perfected deck strategy.

A buddy of mine got me started playing again. A few things that help with that exact issue are:

1. We have basically agreed that proxying cards is a-ok (so you don't ever have to spend money on that bullshit again, provided you've got enough cards to work as backs for your fake cards).
2. We have set up decks based around some playtype we discovered back in the day where all the cards in the deck are commons and you have to have at least one of each color and at least one land of each type.
3. The eternal "don't be a dick" rule (which dovetails with #1 and #2). If you're making a deck that uses proxies that cost a million billion dollars, you're being a dick. If you construct a deck based around the most overpowered commons available in the game, you may be a dick (although that game type is sufficiently restricted to make that a hard claim to make).

[Little Bobby Tables]

Wizards of the Coast was doing a free giveaway for a while. I think it was posted on Slickdeals. Got a 30-card green deck and a 30-card white deck, both creature heavy.

[Cody]

1. We have basically agreed that proxying cards is a-ok (so you don't ever have to spend money on that bullshit again, provided you've got enough cards to work as backs for your fake cards).

Me and a buddy used to play MtG back in high school. One day daoist came in and played with us, but his whole deck was just crappy cards with different names written on them in permanent marker. That dude's a total cheater.

[nippletwister]

If I'm remembering correctly, proxying was one of the reasons why I quit playing Magic. Seems ridiculous.

[Dragmire]

christ, i nerded it up tonight with Gretyl and Daoist (and Enigmatech, if he were still posting).

Zombie Fluxx
Citadels
Mission: Red Planet
Carcassonne

beer, wings, chips and dip, and Rock Band were also involved.

[Gretyl]

We even touched dicks!

[Gretyl]

But yeah-yowza. That was alot of gaming!

My tally for the day: 2x Dominion, 1x Shadows Over Camelot, 1x Carcassone, 1x Mission: Red Planet, with a dabblin' of non-table gaming in thar too. @_@

[Gretyl]

Oh yeah, after a session or two of Dominion, Enigmatech mentioned a card game called Legions tonight. He played it in the last week or so and was recommending it as a counter/complementary flavor. Hitting up BGG for that just gives me these items.

Which one, which one?!

[TeleportThis]

Oh yeah, after a session or two of Dominion, Enigmatech mentioned a card game called Legions tonight. He played it in the last week or so and was recommending it as a counter/complementary flavor. Hitting up BGG for that just gives me these items.

Which one, which one?!

Apparently it is actually called Tribune...oops.

[Reagraham Lincool]

If I'm remembering correctly, proxying was one of the reasons why I quit playing Magic. Seems ridiculous.

Is it more ridiculous than winning by spending a sufficient amount of money?

[Gretyl]

Well the latter is victory through capitalism, which is the game we all should be really playing anyway.

Duh.

[Reagraham Lincool]

Nah. I never play as the Morganites.

[daoist]

I don't see any problem with proxying if you're just playtesting.

But if your goal isn't to prep for a tournament, then why bother proxying? If you're not into it for the cut-throat tournament scene and just want to have fun with your friends, why bother proxying? It seems contradictory to me.

[daoist]

Next time I think there won't be any cooking so I get more time to play. I'm super duper <3 with dominion. Also learned carcassone and all the dangers of touching dicks.

[Reagraham Lincool]

I don't see any problem with proxying if you're just playtesting.

But if your goal isn't to prep for a tournament, then why bother proxying? If you're not into it for the cut-throat tournament scene and just want to have fun with your friends, why bother proxying? It seems contradictory to me.

Because I have ideas for decks that I don't have cards for and an aversion to dumping any more money into MtG ever again.

[Gretyl]

Next time I think there won't be any cooking so I get more time to play. I'm super duper <3 with dominion. Also learned carcassone and all the dangers of touching dicks.

Can't wait to get my carcass... on! next time, dao.

Lisa might even play!

[Dragmire]

Lisa might even play!

LIES

[daoist]

I don't see any problem with proxying if you're just playtesting.

But if your goal isn't to prep for a tournament, then why bother proxying? If you're not into it for the cut-throat tournament scene and just want to have fun with your friends, why bother proxying? It seems contradictory to me.

Because I have ideas for decks that I don't have cards for and an aversion to dumping any more money into MtG ever again.

Right, but if you're just playing for fun, why bother proxying? Just have fun with the cards you have.

[nippletwister]

That was my thought.

[Reagraham Lincool]

I don't see any problem with proxying if you're just playtesting.

But if your goal isn't to prep for a tournament, then why bother proxying? If you're not into it for the cut-throat tournament scene and just want to have fun with your friends, why bother proxying? It seems contradictory to me.

Because I have ideas for decks that I don't have cards for and an aversion to dumping any more money into MtG ever again.

Right, but if you're just playing for fun, why bother proxying? Just have fun with the cards you have.

I don't think you really comprehend the amount of time sunk into it. There's only so much rearranging to be done. After a while, playing the same decks (even with the occasional tweaks) over and over is not fun anymore. Factor in the amount of metagaming that occurs (given that we're often playing multiplayer games) and it's a quick recipe for people deciding to box up their cards for another 1-2 years until the itch to play strikes them again.

[Gretyl]

Sounds like you play with shitty people.

[begin_the_begin]

I don't see any problem with proxying if you're just playtesting.

But if your goal isn't to prep for a tournament, then why bother proxying? If you're not into it for the cut-throat tournament scene and just want to have fun with your friends, why bother proxying? It seems contradictory to me.

In my case, the people I might be interested in playing with all have thousands of cards they've collected over the years, whereas I currently have none, as I sold my collection many years ago. I'm not ready to plunk down a few hundred bucks just to have a chance of competing with them. Proxying is the way to go.

Either way though, I think Reagraham's method is just fine. Magic is so huge in scope, much of the fun is derived from customization - trying out new decks and seeing what works well, even if you have no desire to play a tournament. It sucks to be limited by monetary reasons for what you want to do in the game - thus, one of the reasons I quit in the first place.

[daoist]

I don't see any problem with proxying if you're just playtesting.

But if your goal isn't to prep for a tournament, then why bother proxying? If you're not into it for the cut-throat tournament scene and just want to have fun with your friends, why bother proxying? It seems contradictory to me.

Because I have ideas for decks that I don't have cards for and an aversion to dumping any more money into MtG ever again.

Right, but if you're just playing for fun, why bother proxying? Just have fun with the cards you have.

I don't think you really comprehend the amount of time sunk into it. There's only so much rearranging to be done. After a while, playing the same decks (even with the occasional tweaks) over and over is not fun anymore. Factor in the amount of metagaming that occurs (given that we're often playing multiplayer games) and it's a quick recipe for people deciding to box up their cards for another 1-2 years until the itch to play strikes them again.

Given all of the hours of entertainment you've gained from this product, would it really kill you to feed the capitalist machine another $4 to repay them for that fun, and possibly have more? Right, I know you aren't guaranteed to get what you want. But that can be part of the fun too, making the best out of what you got.

Here's another way to get lots of cards for cheap (cheap being defined in dollars per fun)

Draft.

Weekly many shops that sell magic have a draft event. It works like this.

You pay an entry fee equal to 3 packs of the latest set plus a little bit extra. They'll give you the right packs you need to play. You don't open them yet.

They sit everyone down at a table (or multiple tables, hopefully, if enough show up) and you open a pack of cards and look through them. You pick one and keep it, and pass the rest of the cards to the left.

You do the same thing for the next two packs, reversing direction each time.

In doing so, you build a deck for yourself to play in the subsequent tournament.

The store provides land for everyone to use (you have to give that back at the end so they don't run out), but you get to keep the cards you want.

So then afterwards you play a tournament against the rest of the drafters. There are prizes (usually premium cards).

Now, as someone who just wants a lot of new fun cards to play with, this process is very beneficial to you:

1. You're guaranteed to get 45 cards, but you get to pick them.
2. Your criteria for picking cards are different than most drafters. You want fun cool quirky cards that would be fun to build decks around. Everyone else wants cut-throat awesome cards to brutally beat ass at the tournament. You will have plenty to pick from.
3. You get to play the game a bit. You aren't going to do great drafting a deck of fun cards, but at least you will get to play and hone your skills.

All in all, it's a decent night of entertainment for $15ish

[Little Bobby Tables]

We got slaughtered in Arkham Horror last night (again). I have yet to participate in a winning game. I went the entire game last night without any encounters.

[Reagraham Lincool]

Given all of the hours of entertainment you've gained from this product, would it really kill you to feed the capitalist machine another $4 to repay them for that fun, and possibly have more? Right, I know you aren't guaranteed to get what you want. But that can be part of the fun too, making the best out of what you got.

Well getting the cards I want is pretty important. Why? Because after all the drafts and boxes I've purchased, I've already got tons of random cards which could theoretically form cores of decks, except they're often missing components that make them really functional. Spending more money on cards I don't want that only may help me put my existing cards to good use when I could just proxy cards for $0 and stop thinking "boy this card I have sure would be good if..."

Here's another way to get lots of cards for cheap (cheap being defined in dollars per fun)

Draft.

Weekly many shops that sell magic have a draft event. It works like this.

You pay an entry fee equal to 3 packs of the latest set plus a little bit extra. They'll give you the right packs you need to play. You don't open them yet.

They sit everyone down at a table (or multiple tables, hopefully, if enough show up) and you open a pack of cards and look through them. You pick one and keep it, and pass the rest of the cards to the left.

You do the same thing for the next two packs, reversing direction each time.

In doing so, you build a deck for yourself to play in the subsequent tournament.

The store provides land for everyone to use (you have to give that back at the end so they don't run out), but you get to keep the cards you want.

So then afterwards you play a tournament against the rest of the drafters. There are prizes (usually premium cards).

Now, as someone who just wants a lot of new fun cards to play with, this process is very beneficial to you:

1. You're guaranteed to get 45 cards, but you get to pick them.
2. Your criteria for picking cards are different than most drafters. You want fun cool quirky cards that would be fun to build decks around. Everyone else wants cut-throat awesome cards to brutally beat ass at the tournament. You will have plenty to pick from.
3. You get to play the game a bit. You aren't going to do great drafting a deck of fun cards, but at least you will get to play and hone your skills.

All in all, it's a decent night of entertainment for $15ish

Right but then I have to pay money to be around a bunch of smelly neckbeards and play whatever random cards I can raredraft from whatever crappy block happens to be out this season. I guess I just don't see the point anymore. I need to do something with the random assortment of cards I already have. Deciding that they're either good enough to use or throwing them into the proxy-back bin seems like the right decision, especially given that it saves me money on a game for which I have already spent way too much money and that it will produce the new decks required to keep the game interesting.

[Reagraham Lincool]

Sounds like you play with shitty people.

Why do you say that?

[Gretyl]

We got slaughtered in Arkham Horror last night (again). I have yet to participate in a winning game. I went the entire game last night without any encounters.

That's probably gonna be my next game purchase (even if it won't be for 3-5 months). Still hafta play with my Power Grid expansions (picked up power plant deck 2 & the China/Korea maps), and a friend's getting SmallWorld delivered on Wednesday.

[Gretyl]

Sounds like you play with shitty people.

Why do you say that?

Any time metagaming threatens gaming, you're in one of two situations:
- you're playing Werewolf! on ST
- you're playing with shitty people

In my case, those are the same situation, but I thought I'd be generous and adjust for those who still like ST's Werewolf!

[daoist]

Given all of the hours of entertainment you've gained from this product, would it really kill you to feed the capitalist machine another $4 to repay them for that fun, and possibly have more? Right, I know you aren't guaranteed to get what you want. But that can be part of the fun too, making the best out of what you got.

Well getting the cards I want is pretty important. Why? Because after all the drafts and boxes I've purchased, I've already got tons of random cards which could theoretically form cores of decks, except they're often missing components that make them really functional. Spending more money on cards I don't want that only may help me put my existing cards to good use when I could just proxy cards for $0 and stop thinking "boy this card I have sure would be good if..."

Here's another way to get lots of cards for cheap (cheap being defined in dollars per fun)

Draft.

Weekly many shops that sell magic have a draft event. It works like this.

You pay an entry fee equal to 3 packs of the latest set plus a little bit extra. They'll give you the right packs you need to play. You don't open them yet.

They sit everyone down at a table (or multiple tables, hopefully, if enough show up) and you open a pack of cards and look through them. You pick one and keep it, and pass the rest of the cards to the left.

You do the same thing for the next two packs, reversing direction each time.

In doing so, you build a deck for yourself to play in the subsequent tournament.

The store provides land for everyone to use (you have to give that back at the end so they don't run out), but you get to keep the cards you want.

So then afterwards you play a tournament against the rest of the drafters. There are prizes (usually premium cards).

Now, as someone who just wants a lot of new fun cards to play with, this process is very beneficial to you:

1. You're guaranteed to get 45 cards, but you get to pick them.
2. Your criteria for picking cards are different than most drafters. You want fun cool quirky cards that would be fun to build decks around. Everyone else wants cut-throat awesome cards to brutally beat ass at the tournament. You will have plenty to pick from.
3. You get to play the game a bit. You aren't going to do great drafting a deck of fun cards, but at least you will get to play and hone your skills.

All in all, it's a decent night of entertainment for $15ish

Right but then I have to pay money to be around a bunch of smelly neckbeards and play whatever random cards I can raredraft from whatever crappy block happens to be out this season. I guess I just don't see the point anymore. I need to do something with the random assortment of cards I already have. Deciding that they're either good enough to use or throwing them into the proxy-back bin seems like the right decision, especially given that it saves me money on a game for which I have already spent way too much money and that it will produce the new decks required to keep the game interesting.

All I'm saying is that if you like the game, you should reward the makers instead of stealing it. Occasionally proxying is just fine, especially when testing for tournaments. But if you're going to make a habit of running lots of proxies all the time, you just need to man-up and redesign your decks to not need those cards, or go buy them.

Local gaming stores are really hurting, especially now. Buying new cards helps. After market cards helps even more.

[Talenos]

Cut out the middle man, buy them on eBay direct from the seller. Then at most, only one person gets ripped off instead of two.

[daoist]

We got slaughtered in Arkham Horror last night (again). I have yet to participate in a winning game. I went the entire game last night without any encounters.

That's probably gonna be my next game purchase (even if it won't be for 3-5 months). Still hafta play with my Power Grid expansions (picked up power plant deck 2 & the China/Korea maps), and a friend's getting SmallWorld delivered on Wednesday.

Wait you have power grid?

Next game night that's going in your bag, mister. And we're going to play that even if it means there's no time left for touching dicks later.