Do you play for the players, or for the game?

Boardgaming is a great hobby.  There is a huge variety of games to choose from.  More and more great games come out each day, and unlike some mediums of entertainment, almost all great games from the past continue to be great games now.  You don't need to buy expensive new computers to play the latest games, and you have no problem pulling out a game from 15 years ago.  Games promote social interaction, strategic and creative thinking, and just having something to do when you're bored, even when the power goes out.

But more importantly, board gaming is truly a social experience.  Unlike online multiplayer video games - of which the social interaction often boils down to pre-adolescent boys screaming profanities and slurs at everyone else - board games get groups of people interacting in person around an actual table, with no digital screens or wires in the way.

To build a city (A Review of Carcassonne)

[Editors note: The following is a Nemesis Review, featuring opinions from our in-house thematic-loving @futurewolfie and his ferocious opponent, the stodgy euro-loving @Farmerlenny. Make sure to read both opinions to get a better overall picture of the game!]

A lot of American games are based entirely on luck (or weird knowledge of an obscure subject). Mechanics such as "roll the dice and move that many spaces forward" are simple and easy to learn, but don't have any lasting value. In fact, it doesn't take long to realize that these games just... aren't very fun. Fortunately, there exists a number of games that are close equivalents to those weakly designed games that are still simple and easy to learn, but add some choices and elements of strategy that give the gameplay lasting value. To put it simply, they are fun.

Friday Question: What Is Your Favorite Combo?

Synergy. A strategy working in perfect sync. An engine with every part in its place. A game where the stars align and everything is going your way. It is a thing of beauty. Which brings us to this Friday's question: what is your favorite board game combo? Answer in the comments!

@FarmerLenny answers:
I make no apologies that my favorite Dominion card is the Swindler. Is it the most powerful? No. Is it a blast to play with? Of course! Even when I am the victim and have my coppers swindled for curses, I love this card. And the Swindler, being my favorite card in one of my favorite games that is one of the best games of chaining/comboing cards, forms the basis of one of my favorite combos: Spy and Swindler. The Spy forces each player to reveal the top card of his deck, and you decide whether that card stays on top or is discarded. The Spy also gives +1 card/+1 action, so you can easily follow this up with the Swindler. Oh, you have a copper on top? Take a curse. Oh, you worked hard to get that prize from a tournament? A curse will teach you not to get too haughty. Oh, you have a Province? Take a Peddler. (Peddler is another one of my favorite cards because of its diversity of uses.) Is this a power play? Probably not. But it sure is fun. And if the Spy reveals nothing fun to swindle on top, make the opponent discard it and try again.

@Futurewolfie answers:
 Clearly my Nemesis just loves hurting people, which, quite frankly, is not surprising. As for me, I prefer not to latch on to a single particular combination of cards and instead play the game in front of me—which is, perhaps, why I'm on a long streak of defeating @Farmerlenny in Dominion. My personal favorite combos involve a series of cards that let me go through basically my entire deck, which ideally would be loaded with plenty of treasure and a few extra buys. Bam! (Admittedly, I do like the classic move of remodeling a Gold into a Province, and then purchasing another province the same turn.) Not a lot of games allow great "combos" but another of my favorite games, Cosmic Encounter, allows for some pretty sweet combos if you get the right set of attack cards, flares, and artifacts in with your power to lay the big smackdown on your opponent. Whabam!

[Editor's note: the "long streak" @Futurewolfie speaks of is a single game.]

The self-propagation theory

A thought occurred to me after a game of Ascending Empires tonight, as I put the game away into my game closet.  I looked over the variety of games there, thinking about the ones I liked and the ones that just didn't seem to get as much playtime.  I picked up Munchkin and looked at it and thought about why Munchkin, despite it's enjoyable humor and appealing theme, didn't get played much anymore.

The last couple of times I played Munchkin, at least that I remember, one person got stuck around level 2.  Every time it was their turn, they kicked down the door to find either a monster far too powerful for them, or a new class or race that didn't really help.  They never became powerful enough to help anyone else... so they couldn't really play.  At least, not the main part of the game, the fun part.

Quarriors Mini-Review

A game that has been on everyone's radar, it seems, is Quarriors. I mentioned that I had the chance to try it at GenCon, and since then, I've played it a few more times. I don't feel comfortable giving the game a full review treatment after my limited number of plays, but I wanted to help you, dear reader, make an informed decision about whether this game is worth your gaming dollars. It's also best if you know at the outset that dice games are not my favorite. I typically favor cube and card games. So, please, take this opinion with heaping spoonfuls of salt. (And if any of my concerns are mitigated by playing the game more, let me know in the comments! I would like to be fair.)

Friday Question: Are You a Dissenter?

Maybe it's hipster contrarianism. Maybe you really are special. In any case, for better or worse, there's that one game that everyone else seems to love that you can't stand. Or, conversely, there's that game that everyone else hates but that you can't get enough of. Does this describe you? That's this Friday's question: Are you a dissenter? Do you disagree with popular (or friends, or the Indisputable BGG Top 100) opinion about a game? Tell us about it in the comments!

@FarmerLenny answers:
I realize @Futurewolfie might go crazy about this one, but I'm not a huge fan of Cosmic Encounter (gasp!). I don't dispute that others are justified in their love for it (and I like it much better with the Cosmic Incursion expansion), but it just doesn't deliver the goods for me. It feels too random and imbalanced for my tastes, and it's hard to get a handle on what I'm supposed to do. I realize others will respond with "You need to read the other players," blah, blah, blah. It's just my dissenting opinion: it's not for me. I'll still play it, I just need space between the plays to cleanse my palate. More recently, I have a dissenting opinion on Quarriors, but I'll save that for a forthcoming mini-review. Of course, on the other end, I love Canasta, which too often is derided as a game for old ladies. Clearly, those who say such things have never played in my household.

@Futurewolfie answers:
"Hipster contrarianism"? Well, I guess @FarmerLenny was a hipster before hipsters were cool, so he would know about that kind of thing. Anyways, I feel like "dissenter" is a strong term, unless we're talking about dissenting against @FarmerLenny's cruel tactics and ganging up on innocents whenever he can. I dissent against meanness.

I like to think that I mostly just dissent against things that are... you know... dumb. For example, when I tell people I like board games, they almost always ask, "You mean like monopoly and risk?" I didn't even capitalize those names, I dissent against those games so much. I used to like Munchkin, but the last few times I've played it has kind of sucked for one person, so I'm starting to generally dissent against that game. It doesn't help that they keep rehashing the same game over and over with different names. I also dissent against games that have better alternatives... for example, Werewolves. I mean who doesn't love a game whose entire point is to vote who doesn't get to play anymore? I realize that it supports a large number of people... but the more people, the longer the first guy has to wait. Play the Resistance, or if you have more than 10... play... I dunno... Caveman Telephone.  Dissent!

For the record... I am a little crazy about @Farmerlenny's rejection of Cosmic Encounter. That's pretty much the best game ever. At least, it's my favorite game. (Although Ascending Empires, you are a hot contender. Hot!)

Do you dare dissent against games that people love?

Flying Solo

Not this kind of Solo

Do you ever play board games "solo"?

For a very long time, the thought never occurred to me that you even could play a board game by yourself.  I mean, what would the point be? Board games are designed to play with other people. Where is the challenge, the tension, the excitement, in knowing exactly what every other "player" is going to do?

Building the Glorious Empire! (A review of Eminent Domain)

I got my copy signed at GenCon. Woohoo!

[Editors note: The following is a Nemesis Review, featuring opinions from our in-house eurogamer, @Farmerlenny, and his deadly enemy the thematic space-loving @Futurewolfie. Make sure to read both opinions to get a better overall picture of the game!]

Eminent Domain from Tasty Minstrel Games, until just recently, was the largest board game success story on Kickstarter. It more than doubled its funding goal and attracted a lot of attention along the way. But lots of things can succeed in hype. The question remains: is the game itself any good? The short answer is yes, it is good. The long answer? Check out our detailed review below.

Friday Question: What Is Your Favorite Two-Player Game?

Everyone loves those gaming sessions where the stars align and everyone shows up. Options abound—games with a large group or several splinter groups. The synergy. In any case, people are happy and games are played. However, this isn't always the case. Or for some of us, this isn't even often the case. Which leads to this Friday's question: What is your favorite two-player game? Feel free to answer in the comments! (I appreciate the suggestions.)

@FarmerLenny answers:
My favorite game that is strictly two-player is probably Jaipur. I love the trading element and the constantly changing strategies based on what your opponent does. It moves quickly, offers good choices, and it's a game that really engages both players. If I'm thinking in general of what game I enjoy the most when there are only two players available, I would probably say Dominion. Dominion is a great two-player game. Some of the attacks are less nasty (notably Torturer--he can't stack as easily), but this might be a good thing. The experience is very different from a game that involves more players, but it's still excellent fun with two. In fact, I think the good tension is higher in a two-player game than a game with three or four players.

@Futurewolfie answers:

I actually don't own any two-player only games. I mostly get games to play with my board gaming group, which means that more players is often better than less. However, it is even better when games support two players, and not in an awkward, work-around variant that isn't very fun. I play two-player games most often with my wife (and second-most-often with my nemesis above), and the game that hits the table most often is Dominion. As @Farmerlenny mentioned, it's a different experience from four to two players, but the two-player game is still tense, competitive, and fun. Carcassonne is another great two-player game that hits the table a lot.

I've found that Tobago, though supporting two players, is a lot better with three or four (although two-player was significantly more fun after we knew what we were doing). Another game that supports two players is Race for the Galaxy, but while I enjoy it, I think it is significantly more fun with three or four.  

I'm always looking for great two-player games (especially if they support more), so leave your favorite two-player games in the comments!

Once More Unto The Breach (another look back at Gencon)

@Farmerlenny shows his excitement 

Not to beat a dead horse, but since this was not my first run at Gencon, I figured it was worth sharing my thoughts as well.  If you read yesterdays post you already know that myself, @Farmerlenny, and our friend Blake, all attended Gencon over the weekend with many thoughts towards finding and playing new games to share with our readers here.  We hit up the floor friday and saturday, saw a lot of sights, and played a lot of games.  Here are my thoughts, and a coupla photos.

A Newbie's GenCon Wrap-Up

On Thursday night after work, @Futurewolfie and I and our friend Blake piled into the car and drove to Indianapolis for what is billed as "the best four days in gaming." This was my first time attending GenCon, and I didn't quite know what to expect. I can certainly tell you that I didn't expect to see as many costumes as I did, or steampunk outfits, or scantily clad anime lookalikes. I did, however, expect to see and play board games, and here GenCon 2011 did not disappoint.

I demoed several games, played even more with friends, and overall enjoyed the experience. Below is a list of the new games I tried and what I thought about them. (Keep in mind that these are general impressions—I only played some of them once!)

Forbidden Love, or, The Box That Sits

A brief disclosure: I am a packrat, from a family of packrats. Cleaning out my grandma's house was an exercise in patience and archaeology. We sounded walls to find all the hidden compartments, each of which was filled with another item "for a rainy day." This mind-set—born, no doubt, in the Great Depression—was passed on to her children and eventually her grandchildren. And beyond its practicality for life, it has found its way into my hobby.

Save the multiverse! (A review of Sentinels of the Multiverse)

[Editors note: The following is a Nemesis Review, featuring opinions from our in-house thematic-loving @futurewolfie and his ferocious opponent, the stodgy euro-loving @Farmerlenny. Make sure to read both opinions to get a better overall picture of the game!]

If you've ever wanted to join a superhero team made up of your friends, to fight a supervillain with plans to conquer the world... Sentinels of the Multiverse might be the game for you. Sentinels is a cooperative card game in which each player chooses one of  ten superheroes to team up against one of four supervillains within one of four possible environments. Sentinels of the Multiverse will be released at GenCon later this week, but you can check out our impressions below.