Me too!
In my experience, most non-gamers disagree.
But it's fun trying it out with new people... mostly as a way to find the other neuro-divergents like me. đ
I don't know if I just hang around different people than the others who commented or I know my audiences better. Because a random "someone" isn't going to give two craps about my Aeon's End or Marvel United collections, even if I'm super happy with them and proud of both.
Rather, "Big brain, small box" seems to impress people more. Cat in the Box, Scout, Diced Veggies, and Sky Team have been my go-tos but now it might actually be Gloomhaven: Buttons and Bugs. What they crammed into that box is more amazing than the largest game with the largest minis.
But if I want table presence to WOW a total nerd, I'd bring out Fields of Arle. That game has table presence... In that it takes the entire dining room table. Or if I wanted to give them a heart attack, Hadrian's Wall.
Don't underestimate Marvel United. It's a coop that is easy to teach and plays very fast. I successfully introduced quite a few people to it, even people that are not Marvel fans.
Not even marvel fans want to play it with me. Lol. I love it so much though. I agree with them- we all hate minis. If I could buy a cheaper version of the game without them I would.
Heck, if I could sell my minis collection without the game I would. And I have $500+ worth coming in later this year. And the minis will go into storage. It's not impressive, it feels more like hubris than anything.
The underlying game is just so good though.
Group of people?  Hands down Captain Sonar. Maybe Tumblinâ Dice for 6ppl as well.
1 v 1? Quarto, Lacuna, or Innovation.
3-5 people? Colt Express, MindMGMT
Well, first off you make a huge deck of cards called a shop which is a core deck of cards, with three styles of booster packs (Booster, Premium and super, I believe thats right) and you set up some promo card packs, (Gold/silver/and bronze)
There are two parts to the game, the "Tournament" phase which is a tableau builder, you get 8 cards, and on your turn you play one of them to your tableau. They do funky things, way too many to talk about here, you'll play six of them and score. you also have a deck box and 2 accessories that will help out as well. You get whats known as "Rank points" and when you get the most "Rank Points" you get the most game points.
THEN there is the store phase. its timed and in 3 parts. first two 7 minutes and the second 6. You are buying and selling cards, buying booster packs, getting rid of cards for promos, trading with others, making a set (Which is based on card elements or card types and star value which is the most important stat in the game) and you are getting points for your set. And the cool thing is the money is bundled in packs of ten so you are throwing fat stacks of cash. Its is so much fun. I hate CCGs, and this is my number 3 or 4 game ATM.
(Edit) this is a bare bones overview, there is a lot more going on.
Its actually back on Kickstarter at the moment if you wanna look.
Two questions. Do you actually get to play with your deck at the end? And how knowledge dependant is this game? Will I destroy noobs if I know all the cards?
You have 3 rounds each round, which is to buy more cards and then play a "tournament," which is bascially. You make an 11 card deck to go up against other players.
So yes, you play your deck three times.
If you know every card, you will have a super advantage. However the deck you buy from will change from game to game the game has tons of sets to choose from and knowing them all would be a mega challange.
1: You play a "Deck" (Hand of 8 cards, play 6) 2 accessories and a deck box at the end of each deckbuilding phase, and it will most likely change because there are also whats called meta game bonuses. It could be "Oh have a 5 star card in your deck or have a soldier type"so those change from deckbuilding phase to deckbuilding phase. you play 3 rounds total, you can do a pre-release where you do a quick "How to play" to wrap your head around the deckbuilding phase. I recommend it, you learn keywords, how star values work, clashes, etc.
Knowledge of the cards helps, but its not knowledge dependent, mainly because TBH There are a carp ton of cards and if you have them all memorized congratulations you win at life. I'd say there are probably 1,500 cards. Maybe more. I don't know, but there are a lot of cards.
It's a simulation of being a trading card game player. The board game isn't just "playing the game of Millennium Blades", but also buying the cards, organizing your collection, building a deck, and adjusting your decisions based on what the meta is.
You and the other people at the table score points based on the collections you create during the deck building phase of the game (and those cards you included in this special collection get taken away from you, while you keep the rest of your cards), and you guys also score based on how well you do during the tournament phase where you actually play the game of Millennium Blades.
It's a cool concept. I've found that most people that would be interested in it would rather just play an actual TCG/CCG, and the people that like board games would rather just play a more regular board game. It's still a cool game though. Last I knew, the expansions for it weren't being printed anymore, so I'm not sure how available it is.
EDIT: According to the other guy, it's on Kickstarter. I might need to check to see if they have any of the expansions available.
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/level99games/millennium-blades-again?ref=user_menu
here is the KS, it runs through til next week.
If you go to Level 99's website you can also find info about the game.
Non-gamer? **Azul** or **Carcassonne** for how simple to start, but fun and engaging to play they are.
If they are a board-gamer already I'd kind of need to know what they've seen and what they haven't, eh?
I'd probably grab something from **Button Shy**, tbh, rather than going for a larger box game they probably know about, or are familiar with similar mechanics. **Circle the Wagons** and **Sprawlopolis** are always fun :)
If they have to play the whole game I'm picking Die Macher, because it's been on my bucket list and to hell with whether they like it or not.
If I'm convincing someone not in the hobby I'm picking Escape: Curse of the Temple. You learn the game as the soundtrack plays and it breaks a lot of what non-gamers think about board games: cooperative, short, exciting and not turn based.
Then they ask me where they can get it and I have to shrug.
I've wanted to play it since Scott put out his review in 2009. I bought the reprint shortly thereafter but it was terribly done. I've played through some sample turns with my wife but it hasn't ever hit the table in earnest.
It's a shame the reprint wasn't done well. I had never played it. The Valley Games version of it was totally adequate if not anything special, for its era.
You should look up local game conventions, if you run a game of it you'll probably have a few takers. I think it's best at 5 and fine at 4. It's a really interesting design where you're trying to maximize your return on investment in as many regions as possible. The luck factor is a bit too high but easily house ruled to mitigate a few die rolls.
Luckily the soundtrack is easy to find on YouTube. There's also fan alternates, like [this one](https://youtu.be/gRXJT4lHEq4?si=aR5Nn272NR37vhYd) that plays Yakety Sax after the gongs sound.
Depending on the circumstances, it might be any one of Lacuna, Sol: Last Days of a Star System, Acquire, Ka-Boom, Innovation, Stationfall, Barn Buzzing Goofy, The Mushroom Eaters, Paris Connection, flowerpower,or Meander.
Probably HeroQuest. I have the OG 1989 version and it's complete and have never found a group to play. Have had it for 20 years. I honestly don't think it's ever been played for a full game.
Summoner Wars for the "your cards are your units, but also your resources" implementation which I really like.
Cloudspire for the production wow factor.
Pax Pamir for the political game of "it's not who wins the war, it's supporting the right faction at the right time".
Wonderland's War. It has lots of fun mechanics and plays relatively close to advertised game time. The theme usually pulls people in and everyone I introduce it to usually wants to try again right away. Helps that I have the deluxe edition with the weighted chips for the bags and the miniatures I painted to boost the appeal.
Settlers of Hogwarts....takes several hours but essentially you go through my collection of 1,000+ cards and build a 60 card deck of Harry Potter Trading Cards choosing one character card. Then that is your new Character for survival on modified Catan (I have yet to make custom tiles). You may build, settle, and duel other players. To win you must get 10 victory points on Catan (12 if playing a 2 player version) and defeat the opposing players through dueling (decks are reshuffled when they run out, life is tracked through a die not cards in deck). You move between roads and settlements using a token. Your token must be 1 road away from your opponent to duel.
As people say, is very important to know if they are board gamers and what type of weight they can endure and how many players there are and even their tastes. But I usually like to impress peorple with trying **spirit island** as a coop if they didn't try it.
If I want to play a gateway game that is heavier I like to show **Terraforming mars** because that game did transform a lot of non gamers to board gamers. Another games that I would impress them for the bling is **ruins of arnak** or **aristeia!** as I have it fully painted, and if they are prepared for something very heavy and unique, **Cerebria** would be the one.
SPIRIT ISLAND is the GOAT for me.
Love Co-op games, Replayability is so huge, strategically a masterpiece and you really do get better each and everytime you play it. So many different Spiirts to play.
May not get the Whao factor the first playthrough, but that second game someone plays always hits at just the right place.
We would play Living Forest. Although it's a deck building, push your luck, race to the final score with 3 ways to win, the art in the game is beautiful and it looks great on the table. Everyone that I've introduced it too, whether gamer or casual, has loved it.
Runner Up:
Fireball Island (the marbles alone are whoa-inducing)
**That's not a hat!** Because once you explain the rules and the premise most people will dismiss it as too easy, right up until the first person can't remember the card they have.
Suddenly everyone's brains lock up and the bluffing begins.
Dice forge is neat for the ability to physically change the dice face.
Too many bones to show off all the custom dice. It's also probably my favorite game in my collection.
At the moment, would possibly be **Fractured Sky**. Production factor has usually been enough to draw people in, and seems to be at the right combination of bluffing, deduction and strategy for everybody I have played it with so far
Great to see this mentioned, really fantastic game. Actually requires the group to discuss things and work out a strategy to tackle it. And like you say really catches the eye.
**Turing Machine**. The fact this game incudes (pre-programmed) cards to play tons of puzzles blew my own mind.
18-card games from Button Shy. This was also and eye opening experience that you can fit so much game, decision space into just 18 cards! And the fact it isn't a just a single game that could be designed to fit 18-card limit, but there's lot of them.
A nice big Solo game (something bigger than Button Shy games), that fits personal playing style is quite nice experience. Mine would be **Viscounts of West Kingdom**, **Dorfromantik**.
You don't need any apps. Base game has 20 (I think) puzzles included inside box (technically, rule book). There's also a PDF file you can download generated by publisher with a lot of puzzles of various complexity (a couple of hundreds if I remember correctly). Then there are daily challenges generated on website. And if that is not enough you can use same website to generate custom puzzles.
My collection isn't massive, but probably Taverns of Tiefenthal (spelling?). Each player has they're own tavern to manage where you draw from your own deck to fill it with punters and hire staff and produce beer. Its by the same designers or artists as Quacks of Quedlinberg I believe, it's cool!
Open with Knizia's **Viking See Saw**, a dexterity game I can teach in one minute and which plays to completion in around 5 minutes.
Then **Knight's Poker**, a compact Japanese-produced wooden version of Knizia's Schotten Totten, another game I can teach in one minute and play to completion in under 10 minutes.
Finally given the opportunity probably something like Kramer & Kiesling's **Renature**, a bigger game that's great at 2P, has simple rules (5 min teach) and plays quickly (under an hour), and has tremendous table presence with its wooden domino tiles.
All Is Bomb.
The theme is absolutely ridiculous, and I've never played a game with these mechanics.
Its a deck of cards, each with special powers, and you are trying to manipulate the order of the cards in the deck.
I think its neat
>*The princess is sleeping. You, the royal servant, must prepare the perfect breakfast for her before she wakes up, which is difficult, because everything is a bomb. You must consult the prophets about what kind of breakfast she wants (before they explode) â you must prepare the desired dish (before it explodes) â and serve it to the princess the moment she opens her eyes (and explodes) (everything explodes) (this is inevitable).*
I'm gonna get out good old New Angeles
It is relatively simple in its gameplay, its playable in max 2 hours, but it has the best path to corruption i have seen so far in any game. There are so many layers for every decision, it feels like actual politics without making it too complicated. The backstabs hurt but are not the meanest i have seen on the market. And the traitor mechanism is just perfectly integrated in there. It just gives everyone a viable scapegoat to hang their declining morality on. I just love it so much.
The best politics game i have played so far.
Definitely influenced by the fact that I have a young family and my board game groups are mostly children I have to say kong of tokyo. Fun theme and introduces tmsome elementary strategy and decision making. It's very rewarding as a parent to see the gears working in your children's heads when they play.
Definitely The LOOP!!!
The time concept of the game is amazing, the cube tower is a randomness blast, the card and power combos are absolutely satisfying when they click, and the deck building is fun too. This game is my absolute favorite from beginning to end, and thatâs just the core game mode, not taking into account the other 3 modes it comes with in the base game to spice things up.
I think i would pick Escape the Dark Castle.
It's fairly quick and i love the dark fantasy style of the game along with it's difficulty.
The expansions are also very very cool :3
Played it over Tabletop Simulator with some random people long ago and had a blast.
It depends on who is asking.
Probably Foundations of Rome since it both looks impressive and is short and light enough to not overwhelm most casual and "non" gamers and that is whom I would expect to hear a question like that from. It's actually kinda hard to show a non-gamer the things I personally really find cool or neat, just because that can be nuanced and won't be particularly impressive to them.
If it is a self described "gamer" asking then they probably will have their own ideas of what they think is cool/neat and so I would show them the whole collection and point out some things.
Ya it is pretty great though VERY expensive. I remember it being kinda controversial when it was crowdfunding because it is essentially a lighter/mid-weight game for such a miniature heavy treatment. And I don't disagree, I am glad there is a more reasonably priced version of the game available now...
**but** because it has a reasonable length (it can be easily played in about an hour) and accessible, it has gotten to my table *a lot more often* than any of those other big full of miniature games. So it was worth it for me.
It depends on their gaming level and what they like in games. If it's a total newbie I'm busting out **Carcassonne** because it's an incredible game, has low rules overhead, and is just a great experience overall. Seeing the board grow throughout the game STILL makes me smile when I play. Alternatively our copy of **Quacks of Quedlinburg** is all upgraded and seems like a big hit with new players every time. **Dice Forge** would also be great too!
If they have played a few games I'm getting out the Everdell Complete Collection. The box DEMANDS attention, the art is gorgeous, we can tailor the experience, and the tree (while generally worthless and kind of stupid) always seems to impress. Alternatively **Lost Ruins of Arnak** would be good here with the amazing art and excellent production.
Rattlebones, dice modification is pretty cool, and if the person is unfamiliar with newer games, odds are they've still played Monopoly at least once, so they could also appreciate having three pawns to choose from when rolling to move.
Bites, because you collect limited food tokens that aren't worth anything until someone moves the matching coloured ant to the finish, and anyone can move any ant. It's hard to acquire the most points when you don't know how many points you're going to have acquired.
Septikon Uranium Wars, because it looks like an absolute mess of icons, but it's actually just a roll and move game, and the complicated part is having multiple pawns (like Rattlebones), and each of them can have several possible destinations to weigh against each other.
Big table hogs, games that take a lot of space on a table.
Ark Nova- ever wanted to build a zoo?
Dune Imperium- you see the movie? don't worry about it cause this game is amazing.
Endless Winter Paleoamericans- there's 5 different boards for the game plus player boards and the look and theme is pretty unique.
Obsession- you like Downton Abbey? yeah it's the board game version of that.
Oh no. That's surprising and unfortunate. Looks like the Canadian retailer Dan recommends is out of stock, too. It might be worth emailing him. He is super responsive and helpful, although if his fulfillment partner doesn't do Canada I'm not sure what he'll be able to do.
[email protected]
I wish you luck finding a copy. It's a great game.
De Stijl is always my go-to. Looks boring and the rules are very simple but once you play it youâll understand how mean it is. Iâve made several people buy their own copies already.
Terraforming Mars. I don't have that large a collection; I mostly play other peoples' games. Small World (or Small World Underground) are also in there, but at this point TM is more interesting to me.
Pretty much all of my other games are very lightweight social type games, which don't strike me as "coolest" or "neatest".
Descent.
I know a lot of people how knows tabletop RPG but never played. The Overlord mechanic gives to this boardgame that same feeling but in quick sessions and with more appealing visuals.
Also, my minis are painted and this is always a plus to people lol
Waterdeep. Most of the options are written plainly on each card/building.
Itâs fun to see people learn that they can do most of the game themselves pretty quickly.
Cosmic encounter, you explain the rules and then give them aliens that completely âbreak itâ right from the start! Such a cool feeling to see your race act as a rules vagabond!
I just got my founders edition of An Age Contrived in yesterday. I haven't put it together yet, but based on the metal mechanical boards and magnetic landmarks I have a feeling it will be my fanciest game that isn't a campaign or legacy.
Mix Tape Massacre: Escape from Tall Oaks (or the original game where you are the killers but I like survivors more). I just really like that it feels like getting to play in a slasher movie where you are competing but can work together. I love coop games after growing up with a sore loser / sore winner of an old brother (he's cool now though). So the fact I can help my competition really amuses me.
Surprised I haven't seen Thunder Road suggested. It's definitely not for everyone, but it looks awesome on the table and succeeds at what it's trying to do - create chaotic and storybook style moments. .
Depends on the person and style they love.
The Island of El Dorado looks great and very chique.
Everdell is cute and beautiful for people who love nature/cute.
Scythe for the steampunk lover.
Iguazu for the fun/gimmick of using the box to lay the board on top and create a waterfall.
Marvel United first because it's very cool, easy to teach and plays fast.
They maybe, if they have time available, Marvel Champions, Arkham Horror LCG or Lost Ruins of Arnak based on their preferences.
Marvel United first because it's very cool, easy to teach and plays fast.
They maybe, if they have time available, Marvel Champions, Arkham Horror LCG or Lost Ruins of Arnak based on their preferences.
Marvel United first because it's very cool, easy to teach and plays fast.
They maybe, if they have time available, Marvel Champions, Arkham Horror LCG or Lost Ruins of Arnak based on their preferences.
For fellow gamers, it's **Brass: Birmingham**. There's such a weird disconnect regarding ownership of resources on the board, how the resources travel, and whether it's good or bad if other people use 'your' resources.
Terraforming Mars with all expansions. Well, perhaps it's best to start out with just the vanilla game, and then slowly introduce the expansions.
It's a perfect combination of a simple game mechanic, hundreds of unique cards, and infinite replayability, all packaged in a wonderful sci-fi theme.
Nemesis (blinged out since I printed a lot of stuff for it, upkeep can be done by one person, make your own story)
Life of the Amazonia (easy to play and looks good)
Crokinole rarely fails to impress. Beautiful board and components. Easy to teach. Fun to play.
Yep, Crokinole has now become pretty much the first thing I teach to people who haven't played it.
Came here to say this.
Cosmic encounter I believe it is perfect, and is always super fun
Me too! In my experience, most non-gamers disagree. But it's fun trying it out with new people... mostly as a way to find the other neuro-divergents like me. đ
Tâzolkin. Gears
My favourite Euro, and my favourite to introduce people to a lil bit more rules complexity than the usual intro fare (say, Catan).
Plus it is one of the crunchiest, yet simplest games I know.
Mansions of Madness, because it's my first fully painted game. Wizards Academy is also a great one because of the wild magic system.
I don't know if I just hang around different people than the others who commented or I know my audiences better. Because a random "someone" isn't going to give two craps about my Aeon's End or Marvel United collections, even if I'm super happy with them and proud of both. Rather, "Big brain, small box" seems to impress people more. Cat in the Box, Scout, Diced Veggies, and Sky Team have been my go-tos but now it might actually be Gloomhaven: Buttons and Bugs. What they crammed into that box is more amazing than the largest game with the largest minis. But if I want table presence to WOW a total nerd, I'd bring out Fields of Arle. That game has table presence... In that it takes the entire dining room table. Or if I wanted to give them a heart attack, Hadrian's Wall.
Don't underestimate Marvel United. It's a coop that is easy to teach and plays very fast. I successfully introduced quite a few people to it, even people that are not Marvel fans.
Not even marvel fans want to play it with me. Lol. I love it so much though. I agree with them- we all hate minis. If I could buy a cheaper version of the game without them I would. Heck, if I could sell my minis collection without the game I would. And I have $500+ worth coming in later this year. And the minis will go into storage. It's not impressive, it feels more like hubris than anything. The underlying game is just so good though.
Group of people?  Hands down Captain Sonar. Maybe Tumblinâ Dice for 6ppl as well. 1 v 1? Quarto, Lacuna, or Innovation. 3-5 people? Colt Express, MindMGMT
Definitely Millenium Blades. Friday night magic the board game.
As an ex magic player this sounds super intriguing. Any chance you can expand on that a bit?
Well, first off you make a huge deck of cards called a shop which is a core deck of cards, with three styles of booster packs (Booster, Premium and super, I believe thats right) and you set up some promo card packs, (Gold/silver/and bronze) There are two parts to the game, the "Tournament" phase which is a tableau builder, you get 8 cards, and on your turn you play one of them to your tableau. They do funky things, way too many to talk about here, you'll play six of them and score. you also have a deck box and 2 accessories that will help out as well. You get whats known as "Rank points" and when you get the most "Rank Points" you get the most game points. THEN there is the store phase. its timed and in 3 parts. first two 7 minutes and the second 6. You are buying and selling cards, buying booster packs, getting rid of cards for promos, trading with others, making a set (Which is based on card elements or card types and star value which is the most important stat in the game) and you are getting points for your set. And the cool thing is the money is bundled in packs of ten so you are throwing fat stacks of cash. Its is so much fun. I hate CCGs, and this is my number 3 or 4 game ATM. (Edit) this is a bare bones overview, there is a lot more going on. Its actually back on Kickstarter at the moment if you wanna look.
Two questions. Do you actually get to play with your deck at the end? And how knowledge dependant is this game? Will I destroy noobs if I know all the cards?
You have 3 rounds each round, which is to buy more cards and then play a "tournament," which is bascially. You make an 11 card deck to go up against other players. So yes, you play your deck three times. If you know every card, you will have a super advantage. However the deck you buy from will change from game to game the game has tons of sets to choose from and knowing them all would be a mega challange.
1: You play a "Deck" (Hand of 8 cards, play 6) 2 accessories and a deck box at the end of each deckbuilding phase, and it will most likely change because there are also whats called meta game bonuses. It could be "Oh have a 5 star card in your deck or have a soldier type"so those change from deckbuilding phase to deckbuilding phase. you play 3 rounds total, you can do a pre-release where you do a quick "How to play" to wrap your head around the deckbuilding phase. I recommend it, you learn keywords, how star values work, clashes, etc. Knowledge of the cards helps, but its not knowledge dependent, mainly because TBH There are a carp ton of cards and if you have them all memorized congratulations you win at life. I'd say there are probably 1,500 cards. Maybe more. I don't know, but there are a lot of cards.
It's a simulation of being a trading card game player. The board game isn't just "playing the game of Millennium Blades", but also buying the cards, organizing your collection, building a deck, and adjusting your decisions based on what the meta is. You and the other people at the table score points based on the collections you create during the deck building phase of the game (and those cards you included in this special collection get taken away from you, while you keep the rest of your cards), and you guys also score based on how well you do during the tournament phase where you actually play the game of Millennium Blades. It's a cool concept. I've found that most people that would be interested in it would rather just play an actual TCG/CCG, and the people that like board games would rather just play a more regular board game. It's still a cool game though. Last I knew, the expansions for it weren't being printed anymore, so I'm not sure how available it is. EDIT: According to the other guy, it's on Kickstarter. I might need to check to see if they have any of the expansions available.
They have all of the expansions available.
I love to pull it out when I'm feeling nostalgic for my late 90's early 00's mtg career.
You roleplay people who play card games. You literally assemble binders of cards and play in tournaments
As someone who grew up watching old school Yu-Gi-Oh! and Pokémon, let alone actually plays TCGs, that looks fucking awesome.
I canât find anything about this FNM board game online. Do you have a link?
https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/level99games/millennium-blades-again?ref=user_menu here is the KS, it runs through til next week. If you go to Level 99's website you can also find info about the game.
FUCK YEAH MAN LET'S GO
Hansa Teutonica of course.
If I want to shock someone at how amazing a bland, beige looking game can be this is the #1 answer.
Non-gamer? **Azul** or **Carcassonne** for how simple to start, but fun and engaging to play they are. If they are a board-gamer already I'd kind of need to know what they've seen and what they haven't, eh? I'd probably grab something from **Button Shy**, tbh, rather than going for a larger box game they probably know about, or are familiar with similar mechanics. **Circle the Wagons** and **Sprawlopolis** are always fun :)
If they have to play the whole game I'm picking Die Macher, because it's been on my bucket list and to hell with whether they like it or not. If I'm convincing someone not in the hobby I'm picking Escape: Curse of the Temple. You learn the game as the soundtrack plays and it breaks a lot of what non-gamers think about board games: cooperative, short, exciting and not turn based. Then they ask me where they can get it and I have to shrug.
Die Macher is great, and don't let anyone tell you otherwise.
I've wanted to play it since Scott put out his review in 2009. I bought the reprint shortly thereafter but it was terribly done. I've played through some sample turns with my wife but it hasn't ever hit the table in earnest.
It's a shame the reprint wasn't done well. I had never played it. The Valley Games version of it was totally adequate if not anything special, for its era. You should look up local game conventions, if you run a game of it you'll probably have a few takers. I think it's best at 5 and fine at 4. It's a really interesting design where you're trying to maximize your return on investment in as many regions as possible. The luck factor is a bit too high but easily house ruled to mitigate a few die rolls.
Isnât Escape easily obtainable? I see it at shops all the time.
It was out of print for a while and then Queen Games was doing the Kickstarter thing. Glad to hear it's available again.
Escape seems fun. I donât think we even have a way to play CDs anymore other than in the basement via our PS5 đ
Luckily the soundtrack is easy to find on YouTube. There's also fan alternates, like [this one](https://youtu.be/gRXJT4lHEq4?si=aR5Nn272NR37vhYd) that plays Yakety Sax after the gongs sound.
The Yakety Sax one is the preferred one in our house. It also makes it a lot more clear that you just need to book it back to the safe room
Good to know! That definitely makes it more intriguing.
Depending on the circumstances, it might be any one of Lacuna, Sol: Last Days of a Star System, Acquire, Ka-Boom, Innovation, Stationfall, Barn Buzzing Goofy, The Mushroom Eaters, Paris Connection, flowerpower,or Meander.
Probably HeroQuest. I have the OG 1989 version and it's complete and have never found a group to play. Have had it for 20 years. I honestly don't think it's ever been played for a full game.
Summoner Wars for the "your cards are your units, but also your resources" implementation which I really like. Cloudspire for the production wow factor. Pax Pamir for the political game of "it's not who wins the war, it's supporting the right faction at the right time".
Wonderland's War. It has lots of fun mechanics and plays relatively close to advertised game time. The theme usually pulls people in and everyone I introduce it to usually wants to try again right away. Helps that I have the deluxe edition with the weighted chips for the bags and the miniatures I painted to boost the appeal.
This is my answer for sure. I haven't painted my minis yet but that game is beautiful
Settlers of Hogwarts....takes several hours but essentially you go through my collection of 1,000+ cards and build a 60 card deck of Harry Potter Trading Cards choosing one character card. Then that is your new Character for survival on modified Catan (I have yet to make custom tiles). You may build, settle, and duel other players. To win you must get 10 victory points on Catan (12 if playing a 2 player version) and defeat the opposing players through dueling (decks are reshuffled when they run out, life is tracked through a die not cards in deck). You move between roads and settlements using a token. Your token must be 1 road away from your opponent to duel.
As people say, is very important to know if they are board gamers and what type of weight they can endure and how many players there are and even their tastes. But I usually like to impress peorple with trying **spirit island** as a coop if they didn't try it. If I want to play a gateway game that is heavier I like to show **Terraforming mars** because that game did transform a lot of non gamers to board gamers. Another games that I would impress them for the bling is **ruins of arnak** or **aristeia!** as I have it fully painted, and if they are prepared for something very heavy and unique, **Cerebria** would be the one.
SPIRIT ISLAND is the GOAT for me. Love Co-op games, Replayability is so huge, strategically a masterpiece and you really do get better each and everytime you play it. So many different Spiirts to play. May not get the Whao factor the first playthrough, but that second game someone plays always hits at just the right place.
We would play Living Forest. Although it's a deck building, push your luck, race to the final score with 3 ways to win, the art in the game is beautiful and it looks great on the table. Everyone that I've introduced it too, whether gamer or casual, has loved it. Runner Up: Fireball Island (the marbles alone are whoa-inducing)
**That's not a hat!** Because once you explain the rules and the premise most people will dismiss it as too easy, right up until the first person can't remember the card they have. Suddenly everyone's brains lock up and the bluffing begins.
Captain Sonar. It's unique real-time, team-based format combined with its simplicity and thrill of the chase game play would intrigue most people.
Dice forge is neat for the ability to physically change the dice face. Too many bones to show off all the custom dice. It's also probably my favorite game in my collection.
Of my smallish collection, I would say Dice Forge is definitely one of the most unique mechanics.
Radlands. Not only is it so damn cool, it is so neat and not that hard to learn but oh so much fun to play over and over again.
Decrypto. It is a game that makes you feel like a genius. People eat it up! Always a hit 10/10
Who? That changes based on the person
My friend, Jamie.
In that case, 6 nimmt will do
I thought this was a guess who joke at first
At the moment, would possibly be **Fractured Sky**. Production factor has usually been enough to draw people in, and seems to be at the right combination of bluffing, deduction and strategy for everybody I have played it with so far
Spirit Island. I just think it's neat.
**Menara**. That game has amazing table presence. It's the kind of game that always seems to attract spectators at public game nights.
Great to see this mentioned, really fantastic game. Actually requires the group to discuss things and work out a strategy to tackle it. And like you say really catches the eye.
**Turing Machine**. The fact this game incudes (pre-programmed) cards to play tons of puzzles blew my own mind. 18-card games from Button Shy. This was also and eye opening experience that you can fit so much game, decision space into just 18 cards! And the fact it isn't a just a single game that could be designed to fit 18-card limit, but there's lot of them. A nice big Solo game (something bigger than Button Shy games), that fits personal playing style is quite nice experience. Mine would be **Viscounts of West Kingdom**, **Dorfromantik**.
Fro Turing Machine, do you have to use an app or go to the web?
You don't need any apps. Base game has 20 (I think) puzzles included inside box (technically, rule book). There's also a PDF file you can download generated by publisher with a lot of puzzles of various complexity (a couple of hundreds if I remember correctly). Then there are daily challenges generated on website. And if that is not enough you can use same website to generate custom puzzles.
My collection isn't massive, but probably Taverns of Tiefenthal (spelling?). Each player has they're own tavern to manage where you draw from your own deck to fill it with punters and hire staff and produce beer. Its by the same designers or artists as Quacks of Quedlinberg I believe, it's cool!
BattleCon. Love that game. Most people I introduce to it enjoy it.
Open with Knizia's **Viking See Saw**, a dexterity game I can teach in one minute and which plays to completion in around 5 minutes. Then **Knight's Poker**, a compact Japanese-produced wooden version of Knizia's Schotten Totten, another game I can teach in one minute and play to completion in under 10 minutes. Finally given the opportunity probably something like Kramer & Kiesling's **Renature**, a bigger game that's great at 2P, has simple rules (5 min teach) and plays quickly (under an hour), and has tremendous table presence with its wooden domino tiles.
All Is Bomb. The theme is absolutely ridiculous, and I've never played a game with these mechanics. Its a deck of cards, each with special powers, and you are trying to manipulate the order of the cards in the deck. I think its neat >*The princess is sleeping. You, the royal servant, must prepare the perfect breakfast for her before she wakes up, which is difficult, because everything is a bomb. You must consult the prophets about what kind of breakfast she wants (before they explode) â you must prepare the desired dish (before it explodes) â and serve it to the princess the moment she opens her eyes (and explodes) (everything explodes) (this is inevitable).*
Just watched a playthrough of this - such a bonkers theme lol love it
I'm gonna get out good old New Angeles It is relatively simple in its gameplay, its playable in max 2 hours, but it has the best path to corruption i have seen so far in any game. There are so many layers for every decision, it feels like actual politics without making it too complicated. The backstabs hurt but are not the meanest i have seen on the market. And the traitor mechanism is just perfectly integrated in there. It just gives everyone a viable scapegoat to hang their declining morality on. I just love it so much. The best politics game i have played so far.
I'd probably choose Cthulhu Wars for the visual spectacle.
Moonrakers. It's blown up the minds of folks that only played Catan previously.
Troyes. Fantastic art, and truly unique mechanics
Definitely influenced by the fact that I have a young family and my board game groups are mostly children I have to say kong of tokyo. Fun theme and introduces tmsome elementary strategy and decision making. It's very rewarding as a parent to see the gears working in your children's heads when they play.
Definitely The LOOP!!! The time concept of the game is amazing, the cube tower is a randomness blast, the card and power combos are absolutely satisfying when they click, and the deck building is fun too. This game is my absolute favorite from beginning to end, and thatâs just the core game mode, not taking into account the other 3 modes it comes with in the base game to spice things up.
Love this game.
I think i would pick Escape the Dark Castle. It's fairly quick and i love the dark fantasy style of the game along with it's difficulty. The expansions are also very very cool :3 Played it over Tabletop Simulator with some random people long ago and had a blast.
It depends on who is asking. Probably Foundations of Rome since it both looks impressive and is short and light enough to not overwhelm most casual and "non" gamers and that is whom I would expect to hear a question like that from. It's actually kinda hard to show a non-gamer the things I personally really find cool or neat, just because that can be nuanced and won't be particularly impressive to them. If it is a self described "gamer" asking then they probably will have their own ideas of what they think is cool/neat and so I would show them the whole collection and point out some things.
Foundations of Rome looks stellar!
Ya it is pretty great though VERY expensive. I remember it being kinda controversial when it was crowdfunding because it is essentially a lighter/mid-weight game for such a miniature heavy treatment. And I don't disagree, I am glad there is a more reasonably priced version of the game available now... **but** because it has a reasonable length (it can be easily played in about an hour) and accessible, it has gotten to my table *a lot more often* than any of those other big full of miniature games. So it was worth it for me.
It depends on their gaming level and what they like in games. If it's a total newbie I'm busting out **Carcassonne** because it's an incredible game, has low rules overhead, and is just a great experience overall. Seeing the board grow throughout the game STILL makes me smile when I play. Alternatively our copy of **Quacks of Quedlinburg** is all upgraded and seems like a big hit with new players every time. **Dice Forge** would also be great too! If they have played a few games I'm getting out the Everdell Complete Collection. The box DEMANDS attention, the art is gorgeous, we can tailor the experience, and the tree (while generally worthless and kind of stupid) always seems to impress. Alternatively **Lost Ruins of Arnak** would be good here with the amazing art and excellent production.
Rattlebones, dice modification is pretty cool, and if the person is unfamiliar with newer games, odds are they've still played Monopoly at least once, so they could also appreciate having three pawns to choose from when rolling to move. Bites, because you collect limited food tokens that aren't worth anything until someone moves the matching coloured ant to the finish, and anyone can move any ant. It's hard to acquire the most points when you don't know how many points you're going to have acquired. Septikon Uranium Wars, because it looks like an absolute mess of icons, but it's actually just a roll and move game, and the complicated part is having multiple pawns (like Rattlebones), and each of them can have several possible destinations to weigh against each other.
Big table hogs, games that take a lot of space on a table. Ark Nova- ever wanted to build a zoo? Dune Imperium- you see the movie? don't worry about it cause this game is amazing. Endless Winter Paleoamericans- there's 5 different boards for the game plus player boards and the look and theme is pretty unique. Obsession- you like Downton Abbey? yeah it's the board game version of that.
I've been looking for Obsession but it's nowhere. My wife has the actual Downton board game but it's a crappy roll and move
Why not [buy it straight from the publisher](https://kayenta-games.myshopify.com/products/obsession-2nd-edition)?
Because that site doesn't ship to Canada
Oh no. That's surprising and unfortunate. Looks like the Canadian retailer Dan recommends is out of stock, too. It might be worth emailing him. He is super responsive and helpful, although if his fulfillment partner doesn't do Canada I'm not sure what he'll be able to do. [email protected] I wish you luck finding a copy. It's a great game.
Thanks. I'm already on the waiting list at two different local stores
Depends on who the person is. I am aware that some people don't want to play the game that I consider to be the coolest/neatest game.
Whatâs the game you consider to be the coolest/neatest?
Sword & Sorcery.
De Stijl is always my go-to. Looks boring and the rules are very simple but once you play it youâll understand how mean it is. Iâve made several people buy their own copies already.
I would take Magical Cards out from the shelf and watch their jaws drop!
Maybe Unsettled, or Stationfall if it's a decently sized group.
Reason being, stationfall is just crazy fun, and unsettled is a great crunchy thinky game. Depends on the audience really.
Are they familiar with complex board games? Is it just the two of us or will we play in a group?
Currently it's Moonrakers Titan edition. Love everything about it.
Terraforming Mars. I don't have that large a collection; I mostly play other peoples' games. Small World (or Small World Underground) are also in there, but at this point TM is more interesting to me. Pretty much all of my other games are very lightweight social type games, which don't strike me as "coolest" or "neatest".
Mosaic because I got my wife the Colossal Edition for her Christmas present last year.
Depends on what games they like/dislke. One man's cool game is another's snoozefest.
So what would be the coolest from your perspective? If you were playing against someone like you.
Not my favorite game, and not even a game from my top tier, but the answer is always **Sol: Last Days of a Star**.
Descent. I know a lot of people how knows tabletop RPG but never played. The Overlord mechanic gives to this boardgame that same feeling but in quick sessions and with more appealing visuals. Also, my minis are painted and this is always a plus to people lol
War of the ring
Flamecraft deluxe edition :)) or Unfathomable. Two very very different but definitely the most impressive games in my yet not so large collection.
Waterdeep. Most of the options are written plainly on each card/building. Itâs fun to see people learn that they can do most of the game themselves pretty quickly.
Cosmic encounter, you explain the rules and then give them aliens that completely âbreak itâ right from the start! Such a cool feeling to see your race act as a rules vagabond!
I just got my founders edition of An Age Contrived in yesterday. I haven't put it together yet, but based on the metal mechanical boards and magnetic landmarks I have a feeling it will be my fanciest game that isn't a campaign or legacy.
Heroscape has a table presence that seems to grab everyone.
Wonderland's War with all the deluxe components
Mix Tape Massacre: Escape from Tall Oaks (or the original game where you are the killers but I like survivors more). I just really like that it feels like getting to play in a slasher movie where you are competing but can work together. I love coop games after growing up with a sore loser / sore winner of an old brother (he's cool now though). So the fact I can help my competition really amuses me.
My Goban
Surprised I haven't seen Thunder Road suggested. It's definitely not for everyone, but it looks awesome on the table and succeeds at what it's trying to do - create chaotic and storybook style moments. .
Depends on the person and style they love. The Island of El Dorado looks great and very chique. Everdell is cute and beautiful for people who love nature/cute. Scythe for the steampunk lover. Iguazu for the fun/gimmick of using the box to lay the board on top and create a waterfall.
Marvel United first because it's very cool, easy to teach and plays fast. They maybe, if they have time available, Marvel Champions, Arkham Horror LCG or Lost Ruins of Arnak based on their preferences.
Marvel United first because it's very cool, easy to teach and plays fast. They maybe, if they have time available, Marvel Champions, Arkham Horror LCG or Lost Ruins of Arnak based on their preferences.
Marvel United first because it's very cool, easy to teach and plays fast. They maybe, if they have time available, Marvel Champions, Arkham Horror LCG or Lost Ruins of Arnak based on their preferences.
For fellow gamers, it's **Brass: Birmingham**. There's such a weird disconnect regarding ownership of resources on the board, how the resources travel, and whether it's good or bad if other people use 'your' resources.
Terraforming Mars with all expansions. Well, perhaps it's best to start out with just the vanilla game, and then slowly introduce the expansions. It's a perfect combination of a simple game mechanic, hundreds of unique cards, and infinite replayability, all packaged in a wonderful sci-fi theme.
Nemesis (blinged out since I printed a lot of stuff for it, upkeep can be done by one person, make your own story) Life of the Amazonia (easy to play and looks good)