5 ms·

Boardgaming has vastly increased my social circle and my life quality in a part of the world that is renown for the number of social shut-ins. I run a gaming c

by jbm 9y ago

Boardgaming has vastly increased my social circle and my life quality in a part of the world that is renown for the number of social shut-ins. I run a gaming club out of my apartment; I have gone from knowing very few people to having a constant stream of new people coming into my family's life. I couldn't ask for more; especially when compared to the alternative (only knowing people at work, having a narrow circle of friends, etc..) I am also glad my kids get to see their parents with friends. However, on the other hand... I don't find the new stream of games to be all that compelling. I don't get who will be picking up all of these new games. Every bg is a whole new set of rules to explain, and often, to people who are relatively unfamiliar with many other games. In most cases, I tell them "Let's play a few rounds and restart the game when you get used to it" because explaining everything is a futile gesture. Then you only get to play again 2 weeks later (in a best case scenario) and someone brings one of his games and the process begins again... and again. To get away from this, I have a very small subset of games I run in rotation at my place (7 Wonders, Power Grid, Pandemic the Cure, Race/Roll for the Galaxy, Catan). The group sometimes gets together separately for more complex games (Food Chain Magnate, Eclipse). There really is no place for another 12 games an year, even 12 good games, unless they are of the "dead simple" social / party game variety. I respect the creators very much, but I think diminishing returns are going to be kicking in if they haven't done so already.

deleted 9y ago
[deleted]
falsedan 9y ago
I find that having to internalise the rules & quickly explain them to a group really helps improves my teaching skills. Plus, since we're not always going to get everything right, we get to practice polite correction & acknowledging mistakes! I'm fortunate that our group is extremely cluey and can pick up new games after 15 minute rules summaries. > I don't find the new stream of games to be all that compelling. I don't get who will be picking up all of these new games. I feel the same, certainly for the flood of KS games. There's so many great games already published!
GlennS 9y ago
I think this is a different strokes for different folks thing. If there is an opportunity to learn a new board game, I usually take it over a game I've already played. On the other hand, I know a guy who just plays a few games of Catan a week.
cletus 9y ago
As per another comment I made here, people develop a tolerance or even appetite for complexity. I've actually played some games hundreds of times and still found nuances in the strategies. Simpler games tend to be "solved" much more quickly. What's more, absorbing and internalizing new games is a skill and you tend to start recognizing game mechanics from other games. Lastly, I wouldn't put any of the games on this list in the "heavy" category.
chris_st 9y ago
Sounds like you've got a great thing going there! Maybe we're more picky, but my game group typically does a new game every month. We find that a lot just aren't fun to play (in spite of reviews, etc.) We do go back and play old ones, and reading through the rules again goes faster the second, and so on, times. But, yeah, there are definitely too many games out there... which is a nice problem, in a way :-)
SeanBoocock 9y ago
Have you tried playing Citadels (https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/478/citadels https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/478/citadels)? It is an elegant card drafting game with simple rules and a lot of emergent depth. It sounds like it might fit in well with your gaming group.
- jbm 9y ago
  I have not, added it to my to-see list. I really like card drafting games and it seems like the complexity isn't that bad. "Moderate in-game text - needs crib sheet or paste ups" -- this is really hard to do with a half-Japanese group. I wound up asking my foreigner friends to get together to play Cosmic Encounter, just to avoid that.
paulddraper 9y ago
I love seeing new and inventive game mechanics. The ones you mentioned are great examples. 7 wonders - Your hand becomes your neighbors have next turn. Plus the simultaneous turns makes for a quick group game. Pandemic - Challenging location-based co-op play Race for the Galaxy - you and others decide which phases of a turn will happen (for everyone) Catan - hex grid; resources produced the same for everyone (depending on your assets); trade While I agree you can only handle so many games, I will definitely prioritize those with unique mechanics. And not everything has been invented.
- cm2012 9y ago
  Co-op play is a game changer, especially for most women in my experience.
  - Judgmentality 9y ago
    Why does gender matter?
    - paulddraper 9y ago
      You're asking the OP to offer broad conjectures explaining his observations?
      - Judgmentality 9y ago
        I don't understand why women would enjoy coop more than men. It just seemed like a strange thing to say so I was asking for clarification.
        paulddraper 9y ago
        For what's it's worth, I've noticed the opposite: Aggressive (usually male) players tend to dominate the decision making, effectively creating a one or two player game from a co-op.
mysterydip 9y ago
> However, on the other hand... I don't find the new stream of games to be all that compelling. I don't get who will be picking up all of these new games. There's (presumably) always new gamers to market to that are just starting their collection. If you did boardgaming x years ago you might not have settled on the games you have. I assume most enthusiasts go through the same cycle (with exceptions for collectors or whatnot).
- jbm 9y ago
  Maybe the games I play are a fingerprint which indicates when I started board gaming. :)

by jbm 9y ago

deleted 9y ago

[deleted]

falsedan 9y ago

I find that having to internalise the rules & quickly explain them to a group really helps improves my teaching skills. Plus, since we're not always going to get everything right, we get to practice polite correction & acknowledging mistakes! I'm fortunate that our group is extremely cluey and can pick up new games after 15 minute rules summaries. > I don't find the new stream of games to be all that compelling. I don't get who will be picking up all of these new games. I feel the same, certainly for the flood of KS games. There's so many great games already published!

GlennS 9y ago

I think this is a different strokes for different folks thing. If there is an opportunity to learn a new board game, I usually take it over a game I've already played. On the other hand, I know a guy who just plays a few games of Catan a week.

cletus 9y ago

As per another comment I made here, people develop a tolerance or even appetite for complexity. I've actually played some games hundreds of times and still found nuances in the strategies. Simpler games tend to be "solved" much more quickly. What's more, absorbing and internalizing new games is a skill and you tend to start recognizing game mechanics from other games. Lastly, I wouldn't put any of the games on this list in the "heavy" category.

chris_st 9y ago

Sounds like you've got a great thing going there! Maybe we're more picky, but my game group typically does a new game every month. We find that a lot just aren't fun to play (in spite of reviews, etc.) We do go back and play old ones, and reading through the rules again goes faster the second, and so on, times. But, yeah, there are definitely too many games out there... which is a nice problem, in a way :-)

SeanBoocock 9y ago

Have you tried playing Citadels (https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/478/citadels https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/478/citadels)? It is an elegant card drafting game with simple rules and a lot of emergent depth. It sounds like it might fit in well with your gaming group.

jbm 9y ago
I have not, added it to my to-see list. I really like card drafting games and it seems like the complexity isn't that bad. "Moderate in-game text - needs crib sheet or paste ups" -- this is really hard to do with a half-Japanese group. I wound up asking my foreigner friends to get together to play Cosmic Encounter, just to avoid that.

paulddraper 9y ago

I love seeing new and inventive game mechanics. The ones you mentioned are great examples. 7 wonders - Your hand becomes your neighbors have next turn. Plus the simultaneous turns makes for a quick group game. Pandemic - Challenging location-based co-op play Race for the Galaxy - you and others decide which phases of a turn will happen (for everyone) Catan - hex grid; resources produced the same for everyone (depending on your assets); trade While I agree you can only handle so many games, I will definitely prioritize those with unique mechanics. And not everything has been invented.

cm2012 9y ago
Co-op play is a game changer, especially for most women in my experience.
- Judgmentality 9y ago
  Why does gender matter?
  - paulddraper 9y ago
    You're asking the OP to offer broad conjectures explaining his observations?
    - Judgmentality 9y ago
      I don't understand why women would enjoy coop more than men. It just seemed like a strange thing to say so I was asking for clarification.
      - paulddraper 9y ago
        For what's it's worth, I've noticed the opposite: Aggressive (usually male) players tend to dominate the decision making, effectively creating a one or two player game from a co-op.

mysterydip 9y ago

> However, on the other hand... I don't find the new stream of games to be all that compelling. I don't get who will be picking up all of these new games. There's (presumably) always new gamers to market to that are just starting their collection. If you did boardgaming x years ago you might not have settled on the games you have. I assume most enthusiasts go through the same cycle (with exceptions for collectors or whatnot).

jbm 9y ago
Maybe the games I play are a fingerprint which indicates when I started board gaming. :)