One thing to consider is that whilst you may own a board game collection, it typically requires others to make the most of it. If you have a reliable group of repeat players, then you will ultimately play the games that they enjoy as much as those that appeal to you. So your collection will likely have some games that are other people’s favourites. The upshot of this is that the same holds true for you - you can play games in your friends’ collections without requiring ownership.
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Oh, I like the look of that! Going to aim for Diamant as the first push-your-luck, but given how much I like Lost Cities and other “collect while denying” games I think Coloretto would definitely fit.
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You don’t need to buy TI4. You need to befriend someone who already owns it - much cheaper 
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El Grande is great, but damn difficult to find unless you go with getting the German version and adding translations.
As an alternative, you can’t really go wrong with any of Kramer and Kiesling’s “Masks Trilogy”. Mexica is the most streamlined, but Tikal and Cuzco (formerly Java) have their own charms. Torres is also a similar option, but it’s uglier and fiddlier.
Ethnos is also an excellent (and very cheap) area control option, if you don’t mind the generic fantasy theme.
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Yeah, El Grande and Pax Pamir 2nd are very much on the “In my dreams, keep checking ebay” wishlist as opposed to any realistic one.
And Inis is just nowhere to be found in the UK.
I’m so annoyed I missed Pax Pamir 2nd and Obsession on Kickstarter!
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I’d say Inis and PP2e are more likely to come back into stock as they’re recent and have been highly praised. (Another Kickstarter for PP wouldn’t be surprising - or possibly as an add-on for a related KS.)
El Grande is in that weird space where it’s been OOP for a while and you’re waiting for a publisher to get their act together on realising that they could do well if they invested in a new version with new art and/or a new theme.
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PP2e will be an add on for the upcoming John Company 2e KS - potentially might be orderable alone on the KS. With Werhle going indie, it’s difficult to say when PP2e will be out at retail.
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I saw Ethnos above and this reminds me: I would recommend Iwari. Pricier than Ethnos, but I prefer this one.
If you cant find it, try to find Han, which is the predecessor of Iwari.
It became my go-to light area control, while I end up with some qualms with Ethnos and sold it.
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Ah, looks like Iwari is retail very soon after the KS. Thanks!
Forbidden Island is great, I agree. The art really makes it shine. It also draws you into the “adventure of the game”, rather than just looking at it “meta or mechanics fashion” so to speak.
Another one that’s good for this, that I don’t think has been mentioned yet, is Lords of Waterdeep. Yes, it’s worker placement, but it’s done so well it sort of takes you away from that more meta view of the game mechanics and instead sucks you into the idea of hiring adventurers to sort out all these missions to basically make you Top Lord. Great on an ipad too, if you fancy trying the cheaper electronic version before you take the plunge and get the physical version.
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I’m in a minority but I also think Lords of Waterdeep is amongst the most thematic worker placement games. A lord operating in the shadows and sending agents out to recruit adventurers to fulfil quests to subtly improve your position and fulfil Machiavellian schemes makes about the best sense possible for worker placement.
Also I agree about it’s quality. It’s been so cleanly developed and is so focussed on a straight up Worker Placement that it really achieves what it set out too. As a corner stone or intro I think it might be the best. Especially good with those new to hobby games.
Having said that I personally prefer New Bedford. The expansion is an almost must buy. Maybe the base game has 2 games in it before the expansion is nearly mandatory. For me it is the main WP game I keep. Fast snappy game with well applied random elements to keep tension throughout the game. I no longer own LoW because of New Bedford.
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This, very much so. I love games that I know will not hit the table often, due to length, number of players or taste of the people I play with. So those factors have a lot of weight.
Also, my collection is very much dictated by what I can find a good prices, and what is available in NZ, which has its perks.
That looks like a good start. Depending on your personal flavour, and circumstances, I think you cannot be very wrong with that list.
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Thanks @Marx, that’s great advice. Even though I know it is going to cost my wallet some dollars, thanks a lot for that post.
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aka China
aka Web of Power
Not identical, but all essentially the same game.
The newer versions have additional expansions/boards. The Kickstarter exclusives for Iwari came to some rather ridiculous number of variants. I would have backed that, as I’ve never found a copy of Han to upgrade my beloved China; but I disliked the new art/theme so much that I left it alone.
I love games that do more than you expect with a small number of rules, and China has always been high up on that list for me. I love to teach people to play it, because it’s so simple to learn, fast to play, and yet it’s quite delightfully clever and satisfying.
It’s a very different game to Ethnos IMO. I guess the core loop of Ethnos is also simple, but there are so many special-case rules that the explanation was an absolute disaster the first time I tried to introduce people to it (whereas China only has about a half dozen rules).
Both are excellent games, though.
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Yeah, Dice Tower just reviewed the new edition of Iwari literally yesterday, and mentioned China as the version they had previously.
I don’t mind the art on new Iwari at all, I’ll keep an eye out for the eventual retail.
That’s an awesome review!
I love everything I’ve read about Nemo’s War except… the difficulty. But we’ll see, there’s no way I’m not getting it to find out.
Edit: The reviews have also confirmed that I very much want Nusfjord and Everdell.
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Thanks very much folks 
Nemo is great, because you can adjust the difficulty. For example, your first time out you can claim an upgrade for free (instead of spending ship resources on it), and you can push things back on the notoriety track, which means more dangerous ships get introduced to the game later than usual.
It’s a difficult game to gauge difficulty on really, as the motive you choose dictates how you play, so you might have to play one motive a few times to learn how to best play that style. Either way, it’s a real ride from start to finish. I’ve felt proper tension building up at the end of the game as the finale unfolds.
Yes, it’s dice driven, but it works on mathematical averages, and learning and gambling on when to exert resources is a big part of the game.
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Do you know people who can teach you games, or help you out with rules queries?
I ask because I remember the first time we tried to play Agricola out of the box…it was tough, and the learning curve was steep. Dominion, on the other hand, was very easy out of the box.
I don’t, and I don’t have many friends who are into heavier games. But I have a lot of patience for watching full playthroughs on youtube and reading BGG rules clarification threads!