A purchase from this week and 2 games delivered from KS. I will have to source some weak lemon drink soon I think.
The team play is partly what sold me on GoA. Very few games scale well IMO (itās a myth sold in marketing!). Games are either a 2p or 4p and never the twain shall meet. I could still be sold on owning both for that reason, but weāll see!
Because I have little to no willpower, and because it is nice to get things in the mail, I went ahead and ordered Chinatown. I remember not being very interested after SU&SDās review of the game, but the Letās Play they did last year really sold it for me. I have heard that this and Lords of Vegas scratch the same itch for some, but I saw enough reviews saying there were enough differences to own both. Weāll see if I agree, I suppose.
Chinatown is definitely one of those games that interest me, but I feel like none of my friends/family like to negotiate muchā¦ or at least donāt like to negotiate with me
Uhh, everyone: I did a thing. I did a pillbox thing.
I bought Aeonās End. But, ohā¦ oh I didnāt just buy Aeonās End; I bought way too much Aeonās End.
After the discussion in another thread, I subscribed to Aeonās End on BGG and started getting notifications whenever people posted about it. Well, I was surprised at how much activity there was: it brought even more attention to Aeonās End - enough that I browsed to the GeekMarket listings. It was there that I found a bundle of Aeonās End stuff. It was pricey, but not exceedingly so, compared to buying AE products new (itās currently between printings apparently and retail prices for it are off the charts). I had already looked at late pledging for the whatever-whatever expansion, but the add-on pricing for Waves 1-4 is really steep.
However, this bundle I found. Expensive? Yes, but no, not when you see the jaw-dropping amount of content that arrived:
- Aeonās End (2nd Edition)
- Aeonās End: Buried Secrets (cards still in shrink)
- Aeonās End: The Ancients (cards still in shrink)
- Aeonās End: The Depths
- Aeonās End: Into the Wild (cards still in shrink)
- Aeonās End: The Nameless
- Aeonās End: The New Age (cards still in shrink)
- Aeonās End: The Outer Dark
- Aeonās End: Shattered Dreams (cards still in shrink)
- Aeonās End: The Void
- Aeonās End: War Eternal (cards still in shrink)
- Aeonās End: Broken Token Organizer
- Another Broken Token Organizer
- Aeonās End: Accessory Pack 1
- Aeonās End: Playmat
My mind is reeling trying to do an inventory. So far Iāve discovered, of the packs of cards that are opened, only 1 of the randomizer cards was actually sent.
Anybody with experience with the A-series cards, let me know (I think itās The Ancients Accessory Pack). For whatever reason, some of the packs of cards are unwrapped, but the pack that starts with card A123 is still in shrink.
Also: I want to know why and where from came the two different series of non-designated cards. Like I have two different sets of cards numbered 10-33, 42-51, 100-119, 130-134, 140-159, 165-174, 180-184, 190-205, 215, 217, 222, 230-265. There may be more, but those are the ones Iāve inventoried so far (everything thatās not in a shrinkwrap)
As far as I recall, Aeonās End and War Eternal both use straight numbering rather than having a set designation.
The Accessory Pack cards are not needed to play the game; theyāre extra Sparks and Crystals so that you can leave each mage set up ready to play, rather than having to build their deck at the start of the game.
El Dorado and Welcome To are regularly played in our house. Always big hits with new people too.
Played both. My personal preference is to Lords of Vegas.
Chinatown is too arbitrary at the start, and then it pivots hard to predictable and mathsy somewhere in the middle. I dont have the appetite to play Chinatown anymore, when I can just play Bohnanza.
Lords of Vegasā randomness is more interesting. Sure, you have no control over what property you will get or which casinos we pay off but that bit is thrilling and the trading and dice rolling for reorganisation is always interesting.
Iāve found that, in Lords of Vegas you need to remind people they can trade by actually trading.
Once the lightbulb goes on itās a lot of fun.
Sweet baby Christ Jesus on a fish bike thatās a lot of Aeonās End.
I just bought the Targi expansion which Iām super excited about. Targi is one of the best beige 2-player games in existence.
I also bought a couple of sets of nice dice to play some of the Solo printānāplays that Quinns has been waxing lyrical about over at the old place.
Was playing Targi earlier today, such a good game. Would be interested to hear how the expansion plays.
I have been weak, and after all the money I have not spent during lock down, I ordered two games on sale online on my wish list, Werewords and Ticket to Ride- Europe. I admit that not having that many party games last Friday that are more āopenā to non-gamers did the trick. That, and the 10% discount too.
Nice looking boxes too, Mr Quinlank
Based on my grand total of one play for each game (so take my opinion with an appropriate portion of sodium chloride), Iām going to buck what appears to be the popular opinion and say I preferred Chinatown by a mile. Lords of Vegas is possibly objectively āthe better gameā but I just didnāt have as much fun, despite winning. Chinatown I had an absolute blast with despite getting decimated. It may have been a factor of ābeing in the mood for negotiationā at the time rather than the games themselves, but thatās usually a good indicator for me.
But still my favourite negotiation game of all time is Sid Sacksonās Iām The Boss, which I think is the negotiation game for people who donāt like negotiation games. Itās also the take-that card game Iāll reach for if itās one of those rare instances where Iām in the mood for a take-that card game.
Iāve been discovering Sid Sackson recently ā BGGās 1 Player Guild had a Bowling Solitaire championship, and Canāt Stop is the default ālearn the interface in a solo sessionā game on Board Game Arena.
Chinatown and the downfall of Pompeii
VOLT, Ā£17 delivered on eBay. Good news if true, and if not I can get a refund.
Picked up Detective, not entirely sure weāll like it
I want to get this - I think its one my family will play
Wouldnāt surprise me. I got it for Ā£20 from boardgamehut so it must be going cheap from distributors at the moment.