Topic of the Week: Who do you play with?

Boardgames
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I have a busy week ahead and only just noticed that it is Monday and I haven‘t made a topic. Hope this one is of some interest even though I know we had a discussion somewhere about this before. But I feel like it‘s been years and so maybe a new discussion could be had. Maybe things changed in the meantime?

Here are a few sample questions on your „social gaming environment“. Feel free to answer those or others:

  • Who are the people you play with?
  • What are occasions for playing boardgames for you?
  • How often do they happen?
  • Where do you play? At friends‘, at home, the pub, online?
  • Has any of this changed in recent years, how so?
  • Would you like to change anything about it? If yes, in what way?

Does your gaming environment influence what games you buy or play?

  • Do you buy games for certain player counts or avoid them?
  • Do you seek out or avoid particular themes?
  • What about game length and complexity?
  • Do people always play whatever you propose?
  • …
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  • Who are the people you play with? - I typically play games with my wife. Sometimes her brother will join in, depending on the game. We also have friends we have over, usually once or twice a month, and we will have some lunch and play games. Otherwise, there’s all you fine people who I have played with on BGA or in PbFs.

  • What are occasions for playing boardgames for you? - It’s a day ending in “y”? I mean, I try to leverage my birthday and Father’s Day to get larger or more complex games played, usually ones that have been sitting on my shelf of shame for too long, but overall I will play games anytime.

  • How often do they happen? - Not as often as I would like. My wife does indulge me quite a bit and suggests we play a game most evenings, but typically suggests smaller games that we can play in 30 minutes or less, and after a while I want something different. To be fair, our kids make it hard to play longer games, as even with the short games, we are typically interrupted constantly.

  • Where do you play? - Usually play at home. Occasionally for an event like my birthday, we will go to a friends’ place or crash the play space at our FLGS. This past year I have done a lot more online play using BGA.

  • Has any of this changed in recent years, how so? - As stated above, this past year I have really dived into BGA and played a lot more games that way. It’s been nice as a way to experience new games without needing to purchase said games, or to just play some favorites more frequently.

  • Would you like to change anything about it? - I would like more time that I could play games, and more people willing to try out all the new games I have that have not hit the table. I mean my wife is great, but she hates trying to learn a new game when she’s tired or stressed, and with our kids, unfortunately that encompasses all of our time!

  • Do you buy games for certain player counts or avoid them? - Because my wife is my primary gaming partner, I often do seek out two-player games, or at least games that seem to excel at two.

  • Do you seek out or avoid particular themes? - There are no themes I actively avoid, but will usually seek out Star Wars themed games, as it is one of my favorite IPs. If a game just looks too boring, though, I may avoid it. It’s hard enough to get a new game to the table, moreso if it looks like it’s going to be a boring slog.

  • What about game length and complexity? - Because of our kids, I now try to keep to games that suggest they last only an hour or so, as usually whatever the suggested play time is on the box, we will invariably go for 150% of that time. I do not tend to shy away from complexity, but if I am struggling with the rules, I know this game will likely not get played, as I have to teach it, and with a ruleset that is too heavy, I know my players just won’t follow.

  • Do people always play whatever you propose? - Don’t I wish! I do tend to pull out four or five games and leave it up to the group to pick what we play. That means there will usually be a new game or two to choose from, but usually I need to include at least one game everyone is familiar with, and often that’s what is chosen.

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Let’s see here…

Who are the people you play with?

My wife Maryse is my main gaming partner. Her late mum would also occasionally join in. We also have friends who play games and would like to come over or have us over, but life’s been complicated the last few weeks. One of Maryse’s friends, Yvan, is our most frequent third.

What are occasions for playing boardgames for you?

Whenever we both feel like it, LOL

How often do they happen?

Usually during week-ends. Weekday evenings tend to be busy, with errands and my training and neither one of us wanting to go to bed too late.

Where do you play? At friends‘, at home, the pub, online?

Mostly our home, occasionally a friend’s.

Has any of this changed in recent years, how so?

No, not really. We really got into the hobby during the pandemic, so…

Would you like to change anything about it? If yes, in what way?

I WOULD like to go to a board game afternoon/evening somewhere else, where we’re not hosting and I don’t have to explain the game, LOL

Do you buy games for certain player counts or avoid them?

Well, since my regular gaming group is me and my wife, any game I go for MUST be very good at 2. It may not be the optimal player count, but it absolutely must be very good.

Do you seek out or avoid particular themes?

Not really. Maryse doesn’t care about theme nearly as much as about good mechanics. So if a theme catches my eye, threre’s no trepidation there.

What about game length and complexity?

Not any more. We’re at a high enough level that I think we can handle a lot of stuff. The only constraint is that the game must be in French or entirely text-free (even then, I’d prefer a French-language version, just so I can use the right terminology when I explain it). Maryse does not speak a lick of English.

Do people always play whatever you propose?

So far, LOL.

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  • Who are the people you play with? - I used to play with the local Geek guild, they have a Napier Monday night game and there used to be a Friday Night locally in Hastings, but we stopped having that venue available, so now mainly I just play in the local library on a monthly Saturday event.
    From that group I have a couple of people that I meet with at their place as and when (once or twice a month? It varies). Also I play some games with the family, my daughters are 12 and 8 and like playing games like Raiders, Architects, Splendour or Flamecraft, plus the little one being a big fan of Ticket to Ride Europe.
  • What are occasions for playing boardgames for you? - Mainly, as mentioned before, day events in the local library, where we gather about 15-20 people at times to play games the second Saturday of the month, and the local yearly mini con in October/November
  • How often do they happen? - Gosh, I have to read the questions further down, I keep answering them beforehand. Monthly, and yearly.
  • Where do you play? - Family, mainly at home. Party games, at friends’ houses, and more “hobbyist” games at the local library or at my Guild’s mates house.
  • Has any of this changed in recent years, how so? - The weekly game night has sort of died for me since we lost the local venue on Friday night, as having other commitments in the week make driving to Napier on Monday nights inconvenient. Which has derived in the meetings at Guilds mates happpening more often (2-3 times a month on average) to fill the gap.
  • Would you like to change anything about it? - I would love for us to have a weekly games night in Hastings, I believe a couple of bridge clubs are being contacted locally to see if they would lend us the place one night a week. Also, there was an attempt by a local shop to host weekly sessions, but it was during working hours (a workday afternoon), so it obviously died quickly.
  • Do you buy games for certain player counts or avoid them? - Not necessarily. I like to vary things a bit, having party games (shorter in length) for larger groups, and mostly games for 3-5 players, the odd 6 sometimes. I may play the odd one on one game with family or wit Guild’s mates privately occassionally. I own some solo games, but I have stopped playing solo for at least a year or two now.
  • Do you seek out or avoid particular themes? - Anything sci-fi, fantasy or history themed is always a plus, but it varies. I don’t think I avoid any particular theme. Oddly enough, I am way more flexible with games themes than I am with movies or books, for example.
  • What about game length and complexity? - Normally, I tend to be all for longer games, but I am mostly surrounded by players that prefer the 45 mins to 1.5 hours games. I am resigned to leave longer games to the monthly or yearly events. Which is fine, at least I have chances for those.
    In the geek group I often play with a couple that are all for either heavy/beige euros, or trick taking games as fillers. Other than that, I can play a bit of anything. I soon can see if a complex game is not for me, I tend not to play it again.
  • Do people always play whatever you propose? - With my family, rarely. With the Guild, rarely as well, as there is such a large group and so many games, I often end up playing something I didn’t intend to initially (which is often not a bad thing). With friends that I play at their place, and with our ex-Hastings games night, I get/got to have more of a vote. But in general I am easy, I can play most games (except Killer Bunnies and Hanabi with the Hanabi mafia)
    [/quote]
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Once a month, with the local “JIGG” (Japan international gaming… group? guild?).

That’s not as often as I’d like, and even with ~30 people attending it’s harder than I’d like to find people willing to play anything that interests me.

Also sometimes kids games with the kids, in the vague hope that one or more of them grow to enjoy something other than YouTube and computer games.

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Who are the people you play with?
My wife and/or my son; my daughter for things like micro: macro, Chronicles of Crime, etc

Where do you play? At friends‘, at home, the pub, online?
At home.

Would you like to change anything about it? If yes, in what way?
No. Online doesn’t interest me at all, and trying a couple of board game groups just showed me that what I enjoy is playing games with people I care about, not the playing games per se (apart from playing solo, which is different).

Do you buy games for certain player counts or avoid them?
Now, I only buy games that can be played solo.

Do people always play whatever you propose?
Pretty much. Because I usually only propose things they’re likely to want to play!

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  • Who are the people you play with? - I organised a local boardgame group in the village so I generally play with them. My father in law also games a fair bit so we sometimes play games while my wife and mother in law are doing something else. My eldest (10 in two weeks - gulp!) is getting into games a bit more so I’ve been encouraging her. We sometimes play games with my wife and in-laws of an evening but it seems to be getting a rarer occurrence - my wife has severe long covid fatigue and often isn’t in a state to be able to play by the evening.
  • What are occasions for playing boardgames for you? - I’m generally always happy to have a game!
  • How often do they happen? - The village gaming group is fortnightly - other gaming happens very occasionally!
  • Where do you play? - With the boardgaming group, in a local pub. Its very quiet on a Thursday night (they don’t do food - its a very foodie pub usually!) so we generally have the extension to ourselves. Other than that, at home or at my inlaws.
  • Has any of this changed in recent years, how so? - Before Covid, the village boardgame group attracted quite a few experienced game players (who basically went to a different group most nights!) so we had some much more complex games. The group is mostly now made up of much less experienced players and numbers struggle to get over 6 (although that is changing I think), so we’re generally playing party games to make everyone feel included. I am trying to introduce slightly more complex games as we go…
  • Would you like to change anything about it? - Yes more time to play games!! As my wife’s fatigue is an ongoing situation, I generally don’t have time to do much as I’m managing the kids and the house most of the time I’m not working! I would definitely like to play more complex and longer games but I’ve stopped buying anything that can’t be played in 1 hour or less (preferably 30-45mins) and is pretty simple.
  • Do you buy games for certain player counts or avoid them? -I’d love to buy more 2 player games - I like the competition - but they just don’t get played very often. And as discussed above, I’m generally buying party games or games with high player counts. I’ve tried solo games but it doesn’t really grab me - I think I need to play with others. If on my own, I usually read a book.
  • Do you seek out or avoid particular themes? - Anything Roman usually gets my vote - I know its a cliche that men are obsessed with the Roman empire but I’ve had a long and abiding interest in the period - at one point, I could even tell you which Legions were posted where and the histories of some of them! I love Westerns as well so usually games set in that period attract my attention. But generally, I’m pretty open.
  • What about game length and complexity? - As discussed, mostly shorter, less complex games although I’d love to be able to get games like Food Chain Magnate or Twilight Imperium to the table but it ain’t gonna happen, so they’re just not in my collection.
  • Do people always play whatever you propose? - At the moment, yes as I started the group and I’m introducing people to the games.
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Who are the people you play with?

Club members - many became friends and end up doing “extracurricular” things like theatre or walks. There are 4 clubs that I go to, all near each other. There are a few more around but they are tad far for me. Despite living in London, I am not a London On Board regular. It’s in Central London and way too far. There’s a crowd there that plays Splotters but I’m not desperate enough for a trek. I can (and will!) mold some of my club members into Splotter fans. I swear this.

Overall, these people are great. The club where I’m one of hte originals have grown and proud to say that we are very inclusive and have a good mix of attendants.

There’s @EnterTheWyvern 's group, too, which I love playing with. Always a good time.

What are occasions for playing boardgames for you?
How often do they happen?

It’s pretty much part of my everyday life. Counting all 4 clubs together plus Wyvern’s group, I can, in theory, play the entire week. I’m not gonna do that. I’ve done that in my depression days and when I was grieving.

Where do you play? At friends‘, at home, the pub, online?

Pubs and restaurants. That’s why I sleeve my cards, even though I prefer the feel without them

Has any of this changed in recent years, how so?

Pretty much like this - with some changes - for 6 or 7 years now?

Would you like to change anything about it? If yes, in what way?

I stopped attending regularly now and noticeable enough that people have asked if I’m okay. I am okay.

Does your gaming environment influence what games you buy or play?

Yes. I have avoided 2 players and have sold a lot of my 2 players as in a bg club environment, you often play with more than 2. However, it seems that people are now more accepting of the idea of splitting a 5 free people into a table of 2 and 3. Improvement!

I have sold or selling off most of my 18xx games as the mania from Covid ease off. My collection is getting even smaller so I tend not to have my collection be influenced by who I’m playing with. I am already playing their games. I’ll keep what I want to keep.

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Here are a few sample questions on your „social gaming environment“. Feel free to answer those or others:

Who are the people you play with?
My 8 year old has the strognest interest, all the local clubs happen on noghts where I have another immovable family commitment. So outside of term time I head to one, with the occasional all dayer

What are occasions for playing boardgames for you?
It beats watching the TV, it gets me interacting with other people

How often do they happen?
My son? naytime we have the chance
The Club? Tuesday’s when my wife isn’t runnign a guides unit
All dayers? I heppens monthly but I make it about once a quarter

Where do you play? At friends‘, at home, the pub, online?
Yes, not so much online apart from one or games

Has any of this changed in recent years, how so?
My weekend availability is going up as my kids get older and need less attention

Would you like to change anything about it? If yes, in what way?
The preference for playing whatever KS arrived this week is strong outside of playing with my kid. My own availibilty but I chose to have a family, so them’s the breaks

Does your gaming environment influence what games you buy or play?

Do you buy games for certain player counts or avoid them?
2-5 is generally the range I aim for. I’m less averse to 2 player only now I can play with my son.

Do you seek out or avoid particular themes?
Not really, the art has to be good though to draw me in though

What about game length and complexity?
Interactive, under one hour is my jam. Not that I’m averse to longer games with the right people. Lots of local people love really complex games so I’ll play their copies. With the excepion of the 18XX games I don’t own a game with a printed play time of over two hours.

Do people always play whatever you propose?
No, but I try to be quite ammenable. At the Tuesday night there’s two slow players I try to avoid as it’s the difference between one heavy game and one heavvy game plus a medium game (and maybe a short game). They both want to craft the perfect move each time, rather than just taking the goddam move. I don’t feel bad as my playtime is far more limited than theirs, so I want to have a positive experience.

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  • Who are the people you play with?

Most often, some local friends—I met them through the local game group and they live just the other side of the valley from us (4). Once a month with some other friends as Thirsty Meeples (3-4). Occasional weekend gaming days, and some conventions (however many).

  • What are occasions for playing boardgames for you?
  • How often do they happen?

I’ll roll these together - it’s generally a scheduled thing or other stuff takes over. I suppose on average probably about once a week.

(And solo stuff is separate; I’m involved in running several solo challenges so that keeps going in the background.)

  • Where do you play? At friends‘, at home, the pub, online?

My place, friends’ places, some pub meetings (but I find many modern pubs ferociously noisy), conventions.

  • Has any of this changed in recent years, how so?

Had to drop the local game group because it was a thing too many while I was trying to get my blood pressure down (in general I have been getting annoying people out of my life, so congratulations you lot). (The local group used to be larger, but people drifted away a few years pre-pandemic and I can’t call that “recent” any more.)

  • Would you like to change anything about it? If yes, in what way?

I’d be happy to do more gaming, but I don’t want to drag people into it.

  • Do you buy games for certain player counts or avoid them?

I generally don’t buy things that don’t work at 4P; the one I really miss from the larger group days is The Resistance.

  • Do you seek out or avoid particular themes?

Not in the context of what a group likes. I suppose some of my aversion to boobalicious art is a feeling that other people wouldn’t like it and that would embarrass me.

  • What about game length and complexity?
  • Do people always play whatever you propose?

I have a large collection and I’ve played more games than many people I play with, so I end up playing the standard first game a lot more than I’d ideally like to. These days I’m less prone to auto-buy an expansion, because I know I may not get to use it much. But being fair to the people I play with most they’ll go for pretty much anything I propose.

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I love all your answers :slight_smile:
Feels like I get a peek inside your gaming. Thanks :smiling_face_with_three_hearts:

Who are the people you play with?

  • I have a friend I play with on BGA only–b/c distance
  • I have a friend who occasionally comes over for 2 player games (her family also likes games, see below)
  • We have 2 families with (teenager) kids that we play games with
  • Most of my friends (and family) will play games if asked, but those above are the ones that ask themselves
  • My partner is a rare Mitspieler these days but we still play on occasion and he always joins group games.

What are occasions for playing boardgames for you?

  • When we meet our friends with kids eventually someone will ask to play a game. Especially at our place.
  • Dedicated boardgame nights with the other collector family
  • Boardgame vacation with said family (this only happened once so far but needs to happen again)
  • Online Boardgamenight with colleagues
  • NachSPIEL is an event I have organized after the fair for a few years where I invite all the locals that are a bit more into games. It usually got about 10 people. Last year I couldn’t do it because after the move I just didn’t find the time.
  • I play a lot of solo games these days, it was starting to be a thing for me even pre-pandemic.

How often do they happen?

  • BGA / solo-gaming: almost daily
  • 2 player games probably twice a month
  • Dedicated boardgame nights used to be monthly. Now… a few times a year.
  • Boardgame night with colleagues was about once a quarter. Since the project is over… they are trying to organize one for next week… but I doubt it will continue after that.

Where do you play? At friends‘, at home, the pub, online?
Either at home or at our friends or on BGA.

Has any of this changed in recent years, how so?

  • BGA is a recent addition and I like it a lot. It’s like an on-going conversation with my friend except we don’t always chat on the side.
  • In the last few years my partner stopped playing games in a 2 player setting with me almost completely, as I got deeper into the hobby and he couldn’t or wouldn’t follow. Now our skills are very disparate and I win too much. Also my penchant for heavier and longer games like Spirit Island isn’t helping.
  • Our monthly gamenight with friends died because during the renovations we just didn’t find the time.
  • Friend coming over for 2 player games is something new.

Would you like to change anything about it? If yes, in what way?

  • I want to organize more dedicated boardgame nights. We still haven’t settled down completely post-renovations. There was some general upheaval recently that simply prevented me thinking about such stuff.
  • I also want to get back to playing Gloomhaven and/or Frosthaven with my partner. He still enjoys those two a lot and I just haven’t had the energy for the setup.
  • I have a few friends who would totally play Splotters and Wehrle games if only I organized a gamenight. I need to do this.

Does your gaming environment influence what games you buy or play?
Absolutely.

  • Solo-modes. Especially non-automa solo modes. I look for those. But I still buy games without solo-modes–ocassionally if something looks really convincing :wink:
  • I have a friend who doesn’t like games in English so I sometimes wait for translations
  • I rarely buy 2-player only games because those just don’t work with my partner at all because they are usually too competitive. My other 2 player Mitspieler seems to prefer longer heavier stuff like Revive and Spirit Island
  • I don’t buy games with a playercount of 3+ unless they are party games. I need to learn the rules and teach almost always and I find learning such games difficult because I need to play a game to have good rules retention and playing 3 handed goes beyond my ability for most games. Since I never know if a game I learned will hit the table… I just never get these played.
  • At least one friend really doesn’t like SF/F themes but I admit that this doesn’t change anything when I consider games because in the end its the mechanics that count over theme for most of my friends.
  • These days I always consider game length and complexity and try to gauge if there are occasions when this will hit the table and certain games really need a solo mode to make up for lenght and complexity. Without solo mode I won’t buy games anymore (I have 2 unplayed Splotters, I admit) that last over an hour or have a complexity that goes beyond Kennerspiel level.

Do people always play whatever you propose?
More or less. I usually come prepared with at least 3 games: 1) A party game, 2) a game that is a little more accessible and 3) the one I would love to get to the table. If I offer all 3, they usually pick 2). And then I have to teach it. I guess the type 2 games are mostly easier teaches and I probably tend to push those when I am tired instead of the type 3 games.

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I suspect a lot of us here are more “into” games than many other gamers we know (I mean, we’ve jointed a forum that’s largely about games). Certainly I am. As a result I try to lean back and encourage my friends to suggest games so that it’s not always what Roger feels like playing tonight.

When I was hosting game days at home, which I want to do again, about 1/2 or 1/3 would be for a specific long game declared in advance, and that seemed to work quite well—a bit of extra time for me to do any setup, and people who are already enthused for that specific game.

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From my (partially-voluntary) soloist perspective:

  • Who are the people you play with?
  • How often do they happen?

My “social gaming environment” is non-existent or, at best, barely existent. I have no regular gaming group at all, only know a couple of people in the general area who play any such games, and hardly ever see the friends with whom we have indulged in casual/party games with any more - so virtually every gaming experience I have is solo. Added to the fact that at this time of year, I am often too busy or too tired to focus on gaming after work, so it can be several weeks between play any games, even alone.

  • What are occasions for playing boardgames for you?
  • Where do you play? At friends‘, at home, the pub, online?
  • Has any of this changed in recent years, how so?

Almost all of my experiences are solo games, played on my dining table - which isn’t huge but extendable to about 5 1/2 feet by 3 feet, say, maybe 160cm by 90cm - when I have an evening or weekend afternoon with little else happening and am energised/motivated to play anything. It has generally been like this for about 20 years or so, certainly since last living with my brother in London in the early/mid 2000s. The only other major change to my environment is the lack of private space to leave a longer game set up on the table when I am not around - as my many cats would cause havoc with the components if I wasn’t minding them during play.

  • Would you like to change anything about it? If yes, in what way?
  • Does your gaming environment influence what games you buy or play?

Would I change anything about my environment? Not really, assuming I’d still be mostly playing solo; I love my cats and wouldn’t want to lock them out of a room just for the few chances I get to play games that might last longer than an hour or two. I would of course love to find other local gamers but the heavy and random work schedule I have, especially between Easter and Halloween, means that commiting to regular/scheduled game meets is very difficult. I’d love to find local players and get some games in, but that won’t realistically happen until I have more and regular free time to devote to gaming sessions. Online gaming - such as asynchronous on forums or hosted sites - is something I will look at more; I did enjoy the few forum games I played here, but I had more time for them even two or three years ago than I do these days.

  • Do you buy games for certain player counts or avoid them?

It’s not all doom and gloom, though: I enjoy my own company and almost all of the games I have can be played solo, or at least work well enough playing as two players independently. These days I would not buy another game that isn’t playable solo until even occasional group gaming returns and, even then, it would likely be a light/party game rather than anything even approaching a moderate complexity.

  • Do you seek out or avoid particular themes?
  • What about game length and complexity?

I don’t have any particular themes I avoid, although I have lost interest in a few mechanics and styles of games. I’m bored (or frustrated) by a lot of deck-builders and games with little beyond dice-chucking at the moment but still greatly enjoy worker placement and economic games, “Pandemic”-like puzzle/strategy games and lighter/shorter adventure/RPG-in-a-box titles. My gaming opportunites rarely allow for longer games as I’m unlikely to have more than two uninterrupted hours to enjoy, so shorter games are essential for now, and those are usually less complicated. For example, Eldritch Horror and A Touch of Evil are much better and more rewarding gaming experiences for me than Horrified, but the overall game time of the later means that I will think about getting it out much more often, especially considering setup and teardown. Even among my solo worker placement favourites, the speed of Maquis means it will get to the table far more regularly than even Nusfjord or Viticulture, let alone Le Harve. Much as I’d love the thought and opportunity of an all day session playing a single epic title - as I could do in my teens at weekends playing one RPG for 8-10 hours at a time - the chance for that is miniscule.

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For me, it’s a stressful situation when a friend who isn’t into games asks me to pick one to play. Not job interview stress levels but certainly up from seeing said friend

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That‘s a thing I think about a lot. Which of my games can be played with which of my friends. Unless I am very tired, I admit I have some fun putting together sets of games to propose. I am just not always keen on teaching which is why I always include games I can easily teach.

As @RogerBW said bigger games that have complex teaches require planning in advance with most people. I rarely did that in the past few years. But I really want to do that for a few of my big games still at 0 plays.

When someone who doesn‘t play a lot of games asks me what to play, I have a few goto games I pick out. Standards that I know well and have little trouble teaching.

  • Azul
  • Cascadia
  • Space Base
  • Just One for higher player counts

And if they are standing in front of my collection and try to pick something that is not a good fit I would always talk them out of that.

I also get asked for general recommendations by quite a few people and I have a lot of fun recommending games.

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  • Who are the people you play with?
    I have a regular group which was @lalunaverde and 2 others, a former colleague and someone I’ve known via gaming for longer than I care to admit. One of the great things is we’re all up for heavy games as well as lighter fare. This is the group that played a lot of 18Mex together. It can get very competitive and at least one person is very good at getting complainy when things aren’t going their way. But it’s almost always fun and the chance to get to play games at a competent level and replay titles over is great. There are a few others that will supplement often for the more thematic or warry games (Cthulhu Wars…)
  • What are occasions for playing boardgames for you?
    Was regular, now not so much. I have a games room so I hosted most often one week night and on Sundays. Sunday for heavy longer games.
  • Where do you play?
    Yep, the games room. It’s also my home office and painting area. Set of Kallax and a 4 foot square table with a rim around to hold a neoprene mat in place. Luxurious aside from the room not being quite wide enough for passing.
  • Has any of this changed in recent years, how so?
    Becoming a dad recently has really scuppered gaming. Maybe when he sleeps through the night I might get an evening games back in again every so often but that could be wildly over enthusiastic. New born phase means I won’t leave my wife to struggle even harder after I’ve been working all day.
  • Would you like to change anything about it?
    I’d like to play more and have the opportunity for the long hours sessions but the boy is worth losing that for, so yes and no.

Does your gaming environment influence what games you buy or play?

  • Do you buy games for certain player counts or avoid them?
    I don’t get 2 player only games mostly. They often struggle if I own them in that I’ll always play against a rotating cast of opponents and so my experience will soon outstrip any opponent. I don’t have much need for party games so I rarely buy big layer number games.
  • Do you seek out or avoid particular themes?
    A friend OD’d me on poor Cthulhu themed games so I spent a long time avoiding them. Now the most game I own is that theme. I don’t seek out trains, just loads of great games are train themed. I avoid anything that is too boobular in art or embarrasing theme wise I think. Although I’ve never been put off by the theme of Hanamikoji so maybe I’m just dissonant.
  • What about game length and complexity?
    All of them, just be good.
  • Do people always play whatever you propose?
    They have to most often. We usually start with some discussion of what to play though. My house often leads to me splitting votes and sometimes just deciding. When @lalunaverde isn’t around sometimes I just choose a euro I want to play that he won’t like.

A more general point is yes, my gaming group does influence what I buy and will select. I want to play games everyone at the table is in to enough, partly politeness but also partly it just lifts the atmosphere so everyone has a better time. Also that feedback loop influences what I’ll look for. I buy less euros now as someone doesn’t like them so that influences for sure

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