Yeah, there’s little engine to it, which I think is the hallmark of deckbuilders. You can only buy one card a turn, there’s little card draw - it’s really an exercise in strategically tailoring your deck and deciding where to allocate (Recruit, Fight, or Store for later). In that sense, it’s a very odd duck in the DB family, in that it shares the core mechanic but so little of the feel.
We loved 7 Wonders when we got into the hobby. It was a step up from Ticket to Ride and was a great level for the time. Got loads of expansions for it. However, it went in the great cull earlier this year. I just don’t see when we’d play it. It had a lot of memories and there was an argument for keeping it for sentimental reasons, but I think I have better drafting games (sushi go), better light strategy games, better games for non/ early gamers and better 30-45 minute games.
4 Likes
Haven't posted in aeons.
-
Inca Empire - really enjoyed this. A lot of take-that and also mutualism involved. Defo a keeper if I have a larger set of shelves. But I don’t.
-
Pan tu nie stał! aka Great Wall of China is rethemed of an older Knizia game where you’re in Communist Poland and you’re queueing for items on various stores. Shenanigans are involved. Fun but I have bucket loads of small box games.
-
Reiner Knizia’s Amazing Flea Circus - Going down on the lower ranking games of Knizia is like going at the next pages of your Google search results. Flea Circus is for kids but nothing for hobbyists (even for someone who likes light games like me).
-
Pueblo - always love trying out a K&K. I’m surprised that I didn’t liked this one much. Too dry and not too exciting.
-
Milito - “too complicated Battle Line” by Martin Wallace
-
Modern Art - sold off the Korean version. Keeping the Oink and CMON editions. It was a hard choice.
-
Genesis - this one is a very cool game by Knizia. But it turns out, I can now reject good games based on their appearance if there’s nothing sets them apart.
-
Wildlife - this one is a Kramer. Dominant Species lite, they called it. It was good, but I have many more area controls with me.
-
Gypsy King - yooo that name. Simple old Euro, but the decisions are too few. Autopilot most of the game.
-
Lords of Xidit - very fun and unique. I would highly prefer Himalayas for the theme and how less fiddly the latter is.
-
Extraordinary Adventures: Pirates - El Dorado is much better.
-
QMG the Cold War - QMG 1914 is better.
-
QMG WW2 - This one has the best “fun” factor, but QMG 1914 is better
-
Irish Gauge - it always goes back to “I’d rather play Chicago Express”.
-
Heart of Africa - one of the coolest designs from Steding. But the theme is awful of African colonisation with awful attempt to mask African colonisation (moving traders around and kicking out other traders with a combat mechanism, when it’s quite obvious that they are armies fighting African and European armies). Also, bad bad bad rulebook and really bad graphic design. A lot of potential but oh well.
-
Mountain Goats / GPS / Sequoia - The 1st is the best of all the three, but this is below the quality of Bites and QE. the 2nd one is boring and the 3rd one is just an okay area control.
-
Trans Europa / Hellas - both meh games from De Longe (designer of Container). Hellas is bad.
-
Key to the City: London - highly prefer Keyflower
-
Barrage - I’m on the point where very good games like Barrage are getting kicked out because I only want 15 heavy games. Because even with 15, I cannot imagine myself getting these 15 played IN A YEAR. Barrage was just the weakest link. @EnterTheWyvern made a very good point in which the worker placement is a bit scripted at times.
-
Artus - a small box K&K, same size as Glen More. It’s good, but that’s it.
-
Assyria
-
Tonari
-
Ghost Stories - this one is an ouchie. Because I would rather play this one over any FFG Cthulhu themed dice rolling game they have. But have to prune. And that’s how it is.
-
Sumatra - one of the meh Knizia ones
-
Onitama - played it several times and I think I got what I want out of it. The Duke is more my style.
7 Likes
This was similar agony for me. Eventually, after I’d successfully banished Lau Tzu or whatever his name was twice I just didn’t have the energy to start over and try again. I respected the game but it was exhausting, and in the end I’m exhausted enough.
I only want 15 heavy games.
Sorry if this is off topic, but what are your 15 heavy games?
Haven’t posted in aeons.
I’m getting the impression you work full time as a curator at a board game museum?
2 Likes
It was Spirit Island who came around and be like: hey! our enemy bosses can have specialised buffs when you increase the difficulty and I was sold.
Sorry if this is off topic, but what are your 15 heavy games?
They aren't actually 15...
In no specific order
- 1817
- 1882: Assiniboia
- 1862: Railway Mania in the Eastern Counties
- 1849: The Game of Sicilian Railways
- Agra
- Vanuatu 2
- Terra Mystica
- Pax Pamir 2
- Through the Ages 2 (I sold this one, but there are new and old members who sang praises of TTA2! And then someone was selling a brand new for a good price and I thought “Lesssss go!”)
- Food Chain Magnate
- Roads & Boats (might sell)
- Indonesia
- Antiquity
- Dominant Species
- Pax Porfiriana
- Pax Transhumanity
- Tokyo Metro
- War of the Ring 2
- Imperial 2030 / Imperial
- Brass: Lancashire
I don’t know if I classify Imperial and Brass as heavy or medium games - rules-wise. They feel like mediums to me, but maybe that’s just me. Like, I don’t count Tzolkin as a heavy, for example, due to how streamline the rule set is.
Waiting just outside and plotting to find their way in...
- Hegemonic
- Pax Renaissance
- 18Ireland
- 1848: Australia
- 18Mag
- Successors
- Planet Steam
- Wildcatters
- Lignum
- Madeira
And that’s why Barrage got booted.
I’m getting the impression you work full time as a curator at a board game museum?
You joke but I found myself in this position. I don’t recommend. They don’t even pay me.
7 Likes
Games I have sold/traded away:
Zombie 15: the real-time decision making gets lost in the real-time fumbling of pieces. Just didn’t hang together.
Samurai Spirit: the theme did not come through for me, and as an abstract math exercise I found it lacking.
Takenoko: another Bauza game, another failure to integrate mechanics and setting. I just ignore Bauza games these days.
San Juan: not a bad game, but I just greatly prefer Race for the Galaxy.
Games I probably should get rid of, but haven’t:
Agricola: keeping only because I know some people who are really good at Agricola, and games that people I know are really good at are rare.
(Sid Meier’s) Civilization (the board game): a sprawling mess, but one I have only played once. I’d like to get more plays out of it.
3 Likes
I’ve been on the look out for it for ages, but it doesn’t seem like anyone has it (over here at least) 
1 Like
Just when I think I’ve got you pegged you go and upend a box of Trains on me.
2 Likes
I. Love. Agricola.So much.
Funny how I read that potential tradeaway as a personal attack - which it of course is not. Emotions are a strange thing 
1 Like
Yeah, I’m just not into worker placement generally, and specifically not worker placement where one of the spots is “take the first player marker”. I don’t know why that rubs me the wrong way, it just does. I like first player bidding, and first player moving around the table due to just about any other mechanism.
But in any case I haven’t played Agricola enough to offload it yet. It’s hard to imagine a situation where I will get around to doing so though.
2 Likes
Word is it’s in Alpha over at Boardgamearena! Probably the revised edition with the new decks, though.
3 Likes
Seeing all of these culled is helping give me motivation to get some of my games moved on. I have a few piles that are slowly growing as new games come in, but I’ve never made much effort to actually_do_ anything about it.
A few small ones will probably get donated, but I’d like to sell some of the larger ones. Bah…just need to get started one weekend, lol.
3 Likes
A few out recently
Street Masters soooo glad to have shifted this. It’s fine, but I had the full KS with Aftershock so the box was far too mahoosive for an average game. Primal really kicked this one in to touch by just being similar vibe but much more fun. Pleased to have not lost money on this too.
Sushi Go Party it’s fine, again the box is too big.
Cosmic Encounter I’ve had fun over the years but my group who enjoyed this has fractured so now it’s nostalgia.
Modern Art this game is so tight and clever that always falls down to whoever is left of the worst player wins. A good game that relies on an even playing field to work.
Also shifted 2 Marvel United Expansions as the game is poop and it’s just painting fodder.
Now to decide if I should reactivate my FB account to try and sell more sooner maybe 
4 Likes
If you’ve got out. Don’t go back!
6 Likes
Don’t worry for the last 4 years I’ve occasionally opened it for selling games and close it down again as soon as they’re all confirmed delivered and no issues. Maybe that makes me the FB equivalent of a social smoker?
3 Likes
Sold a handful of small box card games recently, mainly because I played them so rarely. If people want to play boardgames, they usually want something a bit more substantial, and I’m not one to take games with me unless someone asks. Also, some can be played (not exactly, but vaguely similar rules) with a pack of playing cards.
Cockroach Poker
Skull
The Mind
I sold The Lost Expedition mainly because it’s fine and I probably only bought it for the Tintin-esque art.
Cryptid because I don’t play with people who are reliable enough to avoid game-breaking mistakes, and Treasure Island is a friendlier alternative.
Letters from Whitechapel after finally coming to terms with the fact that I would never choose to play it over Whitehall Mystery.
Chronicles of Crime was a big dud for us. Think Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective with bad writing. Our reaction was similar to the Unlock! games - huge potential in the system, but let down by the quality of the puzzle(s).
Exploding Kittens is a game that I apparently had in the house. I have no memory of ever acquiring or possessing it. I had never seen it until I was going through the coffee table. It may be someone else’s, but I don’t know who and it doesn’t seem like they were missing it.
4 Likes
It is indeed. As is Ginkopolis, which I fancy trying. However, I’m swimming in Great Western Trail on BGA at the moment so trying to learn something new isn’t really on the agenda.
2 Likes
What exactly did you do to gain alpha access? Gingkopolis is definitely worth a try. Glad to hear it is on here already 
should be relatively easy to grasp, turns are pretty simple.
There used to be a guideline of 50 different games played, not sure if that’s still true. Basically, go to the alpha forum and apply for the particular game that interests you.
It’s 750 plays (total) of 50 different games. I’d played tons of Innovation and Race For the Galaxy and had 650 of 40 games so pushed through on some total crap!
3 Likes