I keep being tempted by the expansion decks, but have decided (for now…!) that actually what comes with the base game is plenty. I can’t imagine ever actually finding it less than enough; it’s just that ridiculous ‘it exists so I want it’ temptation that makes me want the expansions. And even then I’d only want the first couple.
So my vote is for base game. It’s great as it is, nothing more is needed.
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Well, given that lots of places are selling the base game at the same price as the Big Box (around £45-50), and I can get the Big Box for £32, I’ll probably go for that.
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Well, if you’d said that the big box was substantially cheaper than the base game, my advice might have been different!
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Yeah, it was a pleasant surprise from a site I hadn’t used before, will see how it goes. Big box goes up to £55+ online so I didn’t hesitate!
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I had a die in my copy and roll that to see which deck to use. So i dont always use the default
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Also, we use this variant where the Building C cards are given to the players at the start and can only be built at the round you were suppose to receive these cards.
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What sort of games do I like? Just fave this geeklist: boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/375000/sics-approved-games
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Rebirth? It’s so pretty, I see it’s compared to Kingdom Builder. I have that and that’s staying in my collection.
If not, what other games fit into scope of a simple map tile layer for 2+ players?
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Using the simple method of suggesting things that I can see from my seat right now… How about Beacon Patrol or Taluva?
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Long shot, but I rather like Small Islands. On BGA.
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Regarding Rebirth, I’ve read up on it heavily and concluded I would like it, but no urgency to grab it. Hopefully play one day.
Thinking solely where the map is shared…
Simple map tile-layer for 2+ players (somewhere, Reiner Knizia puts on a cape):
Pretty Pure:
- Samurai
- Gazebo (second edition of Qin)
- Babylonia
- Maya (1e) / Seagrass (2e) - I’m itching to try it out Play Seagrass Online
- Carcassonne
- Steam: Rails to Riches
- Switchbacks
Adjacent
- The Glade
- Foundations of Metropolis
- Go
- Hive Pocket
- Ginkgopolis
- Through the Desert
- Harvest ハーベスト
- Habitats
The Glade and Habitats each have your own map to lay tiles on, but other forms of interaction that distinguishes them from personal tile layers like Cascadia.
I’d recommend pretty much all of these except caveats on Switchbacks (which I suspect is just a worse version of Japanese Harvest), and Habitats (which is good but possibly more fiddly than it’s worth).
Thus the problem for Rebirth.
I can expand on any of these or filter down if you have a certain flavor you’re seeking out.
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These two are a given, but I’m waiting on Gazebo 2nd edition, comes with all the boards on an actual board. See last played game for the start of my Samurai adventure
I presume you mean Steam Power, could be one to try.
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I was actually thinking about Rails to Riches. Yes it’s a train game, but laying tiles to compete for routes on the shared map is pretty central. Felt part and parcel to me. The basic ruleset there is pretty light, setting it apart from Age of Steam.
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Land vs Sea is a map tile-layer for (specifically) 2 players, and the basic game is simple insofar as it’s extremely easy to get started.
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BGG says 3-6, I’m guessing there’s a two player map
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Anyone played Pergola?
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Also Meadow, while I think about it?
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Meadow is wonderful.
It isn’t fast, so I’m not sure I’d play it with more than three unless I didn’t mind being quite leisurely.
The first expansion, Downstream, is great as well. More of the same, mostly, but more of the same means more things you want to do, and there’s no way you’ll be able to do all or even most of them.
And every card is a work of art, even the ones with gross bugs. 
(I could have sworn I’ve gone on about Meadow before, but a quick search isn’t turning anything up, so I guess it wasn’t here.)
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Yes, I was reminded that I meant to check out Meadow by a review online saying the art was amazing.
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My wife and I played the first scenario from the Meadow: Adventure Book yesterday and enjoyed it quite a lot. It changes up the game in a very different way than Meadow: Downstream—on the surface more gently, but it may have shaped my play more dramatically nonetheless. So I continue to recommend the game highly. 
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