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There is one aspect where I think digital board games are superior: you don't have to spend time setting up, putting away, or resetting the game. If there was a

There is one aspect where I think digital board games are superior: you don't have to spend time setting up, putting away, or resetting the game. If there was a way to do that in the analog version as quick as the digital ones, then I would more willing to participate. Another thing might be "saving" the state between long sessions: you can use a camera phone for certain parts, but its more difficult for when there are secrets and you need a neutral 3rd party (e.g. a card hand). Edit/Update: My mistake. I've seen a few photographs of people playing D&D (even the ones in the article), and it seemed like there was more of a board and initial conditions represented by many pieces like board games. I've played board games like Settlers and Monopoly where set up requires more time and effort. Sorry again.

nouveaux 8y ago
Digital board games are superior in almost every way except face to face player interaction. For games with a high level of complexity, the analog version is always terrible. Forgetting to move a bit when the game state changes is always a sore point. Unfortunately, these games are generally more challenging to port to digital as well. For more casual games, I prefer to play in person with a beer in hand. (PS My day job is running a game store. If anyone needs a recommendation on a board game, let me know.)
- dragonsngoblins 8y ago
  This isn't entirely true: physical games allow house ruling, even to the point that the game could be considered a new game. I also disagree that the analog version is terrible in high complexity games compared with the digital version, because for the groups I play in the overhead of the complexity causes analysis paralysis... the automation of a digital version doesn't really help that much in my experience
- usmannk 8y ago
  I'd love a recommendation on a starter game (or a few!) if you find yourself with a minute! I play with a group who, including myself, are novices when it comes boardgames. Between 3-6 players most of the time. We found ourselves getting really into Puerto Rico and recently tried Terraforming Mars but didn't _love_ it. I think TR would be better on a second playthrough when we actually know the rules though :). I played Battlestar Galactica once as well and found it great! Looking at boardgamegeeks is a bit intense with the selection there so I'm hoping you might have a narrower range to suggest.
  - jrochkind1 8y ago
    Settlers of Catan is of course super popular/famous for a reason -- it's fairly easy to learn, the games are short, and it's well-balanced and fun (until you get sick of it). Ticket to Ride is one of the simplest to learn fun "fancy" board games I know. My current favorite is Power Grid, which I don't think is much more complicated than Puerto Rico, if any. If you can do Puerto Rico, you can do a game that isn't the _simplest_ out there. The more of em you play, the easier other ones are to learn.
  - SubiculumCode 8y ago
    Agricola Dominion Pandemic are classics for a good reason.
  - nouveaux 8y ago
    Terraforming Mars is my favorite game. I think its worth giving it another try. I would remove the Corporate Era cards for now. These are the cards with the white triangle near the bottom left. Here are some games I would suggest for a group that likes Puerto Rico: -Lords of Waterdeep -Castles of Burgundy -7 Wonders (scales well to 6 players) -Pandemic Legacy (co-op) -Clank -Azul -Splendor These all have different mechanics and feel, so it is a good starter set. Let me know if you have more questions. Hope you enjoy these!
    - Sean1708 8y ago
      I played Splendor for the first time a couple of weeks ago when I visited my parents and immediately bought my own set, it's just such a simple premise that lends itself really well to interesting tactics.
    - usmannk 8y ago
      Thank you! We actually did remove them, and all started with the “starter” corporation. I think there’d be more variety next time when we don’t. Also we know not to end the game so quickly now!
  - 2muchcoffeeman 8y ago
    If you like Puerto Rico you are probably past the gateway stage. Similarly strategic games I can recommend - Concordia, 5 players. 6 with Venus expansion. - Lords of Waterdeep. 5 players. 6 with expansion iirc - Istanbul. 5 - Power Grid. 6. - Dominant Species. 6. - Eclipse. 6. - Dead of Winter. 5. - Tiny Epic Galaxies. 5. Filler game. - Agricola. Current edition is 4. 6 with expansion. - 7 wonders. Up to 8 iirc. - Scythe. 5. 6 with expansion. - Viticulture. 5. - Pandemic. 5. Just stick to the top 100 until you know what you like. Anything in the top 100 is good even it’s not particularly to your taste. You’ll get a good taste of what makes a good game. But once you have a good idea, you’ll find games you enjoy in the top 1000 or so. Edit for formatting.
- alexgmcm 8y ago
  What would you recommend for 2 players? (often I can only play with my SO)
  - nouveaux 8y ago
    Without knowing what kind of games you like, I can safely suggest Splendor and Azul. Both plays well with 2 and scales up to 4 equally well. If you like more strategy, Lords of Waterdeep. There are some excellent 2 player games as well. I would start with Patchwork. If you like something more heavy, 7 Wonders duel is an excellent game.
    - alexgmcm 8y ago
      Azul and Patchwork seem really good. Thanks for the suggestions! :)
dragonwriter 8y ago
> There is one aspect where I think digital board games are superior D&D is not a board game, though a grid and figures of some kind are a useful play aid for combat; and for that part, there are virtual tabletop (VTT) systems (and digital character sheets, both integrated with VTTs and independent of them.)
stcredzero 8y ago
There is one aspect where I think digital board games are superior: you don't have to spend time setting up, putting away, or resetting the game. Back in the 80's, a group of friends and I played Car Wars post apocalyptic vehicular combat game. (Think Mad Max from the 1st movie. We had the "Sunday Drivers" unmounted add-on.) We spent most of the weekend setting up, and got through 2 minutes of game time.
sudosteph 8y ago
Yeah, back when I was playing competitive card games I was trying to figure out a way to put nfc chips or something in card sleeves and scanning them with my phone as a way of rebuilding game state later when you have to pick up and leave. Didn't really get past the idea phase, and I imagine scanning 60 cards would get pretty tiring anyhow.
tetha 8y ago
Those are actual board games. The setup of a p&p like D&D or call of cthulhu consists of me getting our 8 sheets of paper, 4 pencils with rubbers and 2 dice. The worst part is finding a time slot with 3 - 5 people.
- SubiculumCode 8y ago
  and...finding people to play with if you aren't already in that crowd and have a family/full-time job.
egypturnash 8y ago
While you can fool around endlessly with miniatures and terrain and whatnot if you wanna, setting up a game of D&D mostly consists of emptying out your bag of cool shiny polyhedral dice onto the table, throwing in a few bucks for pizza, and pulling out your character sheet. Mostly it's just about making up a story with the other players, with a handful of rules and dice to put some randomness into the outcomes.

nouveaux 8y ago

Digital board games are superior in almost every way except face to face player interaction. For games with a high level of complexity, the analog version is always terrible. Forgetting to move a bit when the game state changes is always a sore point. Unfortunately, these games are generally more challenging to port to digital as well. For more casual games, I prefer to play in person with a beer in hand. (PS My day job is running a game store. If anyone needs a recommendation on a board game, let me know.)

dragonsngoblins 8y ago
This isn't entirely true: physical games allow house ruling, even to the point that the game could be considered a new game. I also disagree that the analog version is terrible in high complexity games compared with the digital version, because for the groups I play in the overhead of the complexity causes analysis paralysis... the automation of a digital version doesn't really help that much in my experience
usmannk 8y ago
I'd love a recommendation on a starter game (or a few!) if you find yourself with a minute! I play with a group who, including myself, are novices when it comes boardgames. Between 3-6 players most of the time. We found ourselves getting really into Puerto Rico and recently tried Terraforming Mars but didn't _love_ it. I think TR would be better on a second playthrough when we actually know the rules though :). I played Battlestar Galactica once as well and found it great! Looking at boardgamegeeks is a bit intense with the selection there so I'm hoping you might have a narrower range to suggest.
- jrochkind1 8y ago
  Settlers of Catan is of course super popular/famous for a reason -- it's fairly easy to learn, the games are short, and it's well-balanced and fun (until you get sick of it). Ticket to Ride is one of the simplest to learn fun "fancy" board games I know. My current favorite is Power Grid, which I don't think is much more complicated than Puerto Rico, if any. If you can do Puerto Rico, you can do a game that isn't the _simplest_ out there. The more of em you play, the easier other ones are to learn.
- SubiculumCode 8y ago
  Agricola Dominion Pandemic are classics for a good reason.
- nouveaux 8y ago
  Terraforming Mars is my favorite game. I think its worth giving it another try. I would remove the Corporate Era cards for now. These are the cards with the white triangle near the bottom left. Here are some games I would suggest for a group that likes Puerto Rico: -Lords of Waterdeep -Castles of Burgundy -7 Wonders (scales well to 6 players) -Pandemic Legacy (co-op) -Clank -Azul -Splendor These all have different mechanics and feel, so it is a good starter set. Let me know if you have more questions. Hope you enjoy these!
  - Sean1708 8y ago
    I played Splendor for the first time a couple of weeks ago when I visited my parents and immediately bought my own set, it's just such a simple premise that lends itself really well to interesting tactics.
  - usmannk 8y ago
    Thank you! We actually did remove them, and all started with the “starter” corporation. I think there’d be more variety next time when we don’t. Also we know not to end the game so quickly now!
- 2muchcoffeeman 8y ago
  If you like Puerto Rico you are probably past the gateway stage. Similarly strategic games I can recommend - Concordia, 5 players. 6 with Venus expansion. - Lords of Waterdeep. 5 players. 6 with expansion iirc - Istanbul. 5 - Power Grid. 6. - Dominant Species. 6. - Eclipse. 6. - Dead of Winter. 5. - Tiny Epic Galaxies. 5. Filler game. - Agricola. Current edition is 4. 6 with expansion. - 7 wonders. Up to 8 iirc. - Scythe. 5. 6 with expansion. - Viticulture. 5. - Pandemic. 5. Just stick to the top 100 until you know what you like. Anything in the top 100 is good even it’s not particularly to your taste. You’ll get a good taste of what makes a good game. But once you have a good idea, you’ll find games you enjoy in the top 1000 or so. Edit for formatting.
alexgmcm 8y ago
What would you recommend for 2 players? (often I can only play with my SO)
- nouveaux 8y ago
  Without knowing what kind of games you like, I can safely suggest Splendor and Azul. Both plays well with 2 and scales up to 4 equally well. If you like more strategy, Lords of Waterdeep. There are some excellent 2 player games as well. I would start with Patchwork. If you like something more heavy, 7 Wonders duel is an excellent game.
  - alexgmcm 8y ago
    Azul and Patchwork seem really good. Thanks for the suggestions! :)

dragonwriter 8y ago

> There is one aspect where I think digital board games are superior D&D is not a board game, though a grid and figures of some kind are a useful play aid for combat; and for that part, there are virtual tabletop (VTT) systems (and digital character sheets, both integrated with VTTs and independent of them.)

stcredzero 8y ago

There is one aspect where I think digital board games are superior: you don't have to spend time setting up, putting away, or resetting the game. Back in the 80's, a group of friends and I played Car Wars post apocalyptic vehicular combat game. (Think Mad Max from the 1st movie. We had the "Sunday Drivers" unmounted add-on.) We spent most of the weekend setting up, and got through 2 minutes of game time.

sudosteph 8y ago

Yeah, back when I was playing competitive card games I was trying to figure out a way to put nfc chips or something in card sleeves and scanning them with my phone as a way of rebuilding game state later when you have to pick up and leave. Didn't really get past the idea phase, and I imagine scanning 60 cards would get pretty tiring anyhow.

tetha 8y ago

Those are actual board games. The setup of a p&p like D&D or call of cthulhu consists of me getting our 8 sheets of paper, 4 pencils with rubbers and 2 dice. The worst part is finding a time slot with 3 - 5 people.

SubiculumCode 8y ago
and...finding people to play with if you aren't already in that crowd and have a family/full-time job.

egypturnash 8y ago

While you can fool around endlessly with miniatures and terrain and whatnot if you wanna, setting up a game of D&D mostly consists of emptying out your bag of cool shiny polyhedral dice onto the table, throwing in a few bucks for pizza, and pulling out your character sheet. Mostly it's just about making up a story with the other players, with a handful of rules and dice to put some randomness into the outcomes.