They take a bit of getting used to, and to be honest can make the game feel a bit bloated on the odd occasion. But once you get used to it, the expansion adds some nice options.
2 Likes
I would really like somebody to tell me why I like Battle for Rokugan so much. That game is bloody fantastic.
I can tell you why I love Netrunner, though. The action/click system gives you such a high level of control over what actually happens each game, helping to avoid those games that happen in things like MTG where you just Mulligan into oblivion and never stand a chance. The interaction between players is so unique. You’re not just playing cards onto the table and comparing their numbers, you’re actively finding weaknesses in your opponent every single game, and it changes from turn to turn. Both players constantly have the ability to try to change what is important right now. Does your opponent have a significant money lead? Make the game about finding the right cards instead. Is your opponent creating an impenetrable remote server? Pressure their central servers instead! There are tonnes of options at any given moment, and half of them actively interact with your opponent.
The biggest reasons I love Netrunner though, is the people who play it. I have never felt so safe, and so supported by a larger community. I have been banned from groups for my attitude towards harassment before now, and the Netrunner community instantly took a stand whenever I had to defend myself. This is reflected in the stories told by the characterization and events that happen in the game world. There’s never a default to ‘The straight white man’ or whatever, and people who are marginalised today are shown to be present both in power, and also against it.
I love this game so much, and I love its players and creators even more. 
9 Likes
I am seriously considering Battle for Rokugan to be my next war game acquisition… it is tight with Inis, Kemet and Cyclades, but the theme of the Legend of the 5 Rings is very compelling…
1 Like
I’m not very familiar with the wider Legend of the Five Rings context, so I always considered the theme of Battle for Rokugan to be “pseudo feudal Japan” and therefore not very imaginative. I still think it’s a good game though, even with a theme I don’t like! I like the ability to bluff when you put your troops down, and it feels more strategic than Inis because the card drawing doesn’t affect what you can do as much (I also like Inis).
Kemet is definitely in the solidly ok category. Last time I played it, one of the other players announced that there was a single “correct” strategy and proceeded to destroy everyone else. That took it down a few pegs on the fun scale.
Another plus point for Battle for Rokugan - it comes in a very sensibly-sized box!
1 Like
I haven’t played L5R at all, for whatever that’s worth. I didn’t know it was based in that until a little while after I got it.
Kemet suffers a little from there being a few very powerful powers that synergize to become almost unbeatable. You can counter the strategy with other very powerful combinations, but the problem with that is that if one player buys two of these aggressive powers, the rest of the table is inclined to buy the good defensive stuff to stand a chance. That splits them across the table, and nobody can actually beat that player. That’s how we found it.
Eventually the game just became “Everybody tries to assemble some broken contraption based around red powers”, and when everybody gets in each other’s way, the person who committed to that the least wins. I think the game can start to balance itself, and when people aren’t doing broken things, the rest of the system is fantastic. It’s cleverly designed to make the game highly interactive, and to make that interaction fair and skill testing.
Kemet is one of my favourite combat systems I’ve ever played, but I do think Battle for Rokugan is an overall better game.
2 Likes
My favorite game is not one that I would ever call the best game. Over at BGG, I have ranked some games a 10 but not my favorite game. Oh well.
It’s Legendary: The Marvel Deckbuilding Game.
I love deckbuilding. It’s one of my favorite mechanics, quite probably my single favorite. I’m slightly persnickety about my deckbuilders though. I don’t like the kind with set piles to buy that never change like Dominion. My problem there is that I’ve made all my decisions and done all the thinking possible by at most 2/3 of the way through the game, usually MUCH less, and after that I’m just going through the motions, like a robot running on someone else’s programmed code. I’m just bored for usually the last half of every game. In Legendary, the available cards to buy and the actions to take are constantly changing. So you can have an overall strategy and a plan for your deck, but then you still have to pay attention, adapt and actually think, as the game continues.
I’m ok with pure deck building games where all you are doing is building a deck through game play, but I prefer ones where you are building a deck to do something else. In Legendary, you are building a deck of superheroes to fight supervillains and prevent a mastermind from accomplishing an evil scheme. Or you can be the villains fighting the heroes or mix and match because, hey, it’s comic books. Even if you’re only familiar with the movies you know the likes of Magneto and Loki switch sides every 5 minutes.
So Legendary has a lot of something I love generally. It rises to the top of deckbuilders for me partly because the theme. I’m a geek and love Marvel comics and just have fun with it. But it rises to the top far more so because it’s just so incredibly versatile. There have been SO many expansions at this point, it had better be, but even with the base game and one big expansion, the different possibilities become near limitless. Every mastermind and evil scheme makes for a completely different game experience and then there’s what team of heroes go into the game to fight them and what mechanics and synergy (or not!) they have. Whatever my mood, if I want a quick punchy game or a long thinky game, an easy win or a challenge we’ll lose many times before we figure out how to beat it, I can find the setup in Legendary.
It’s just FUN and I’m never not in the mood to play it because whatever mood I’m in, it can adapt to meet me.
6 Likes
I don’t think it’s peculiar. I’d rather play The Crew on a games night than the most of the BGG top 100.
This is my thoughts when I played Birmingham. Sold it last year when it was out-of-stock hot stuff, thanks to SUSD recommendation. Then, I saw Lancashire on a sale and played it. I still have it today.
Battle for Rokugan is special! No armies on the board, yet it’s so tense with its delicious bluffing. And the game is indeed in a very small box.
I’ll just treat this is a Top 10 thread. Why not? 
I used pubmeeple.com 's ranking engine to sort out my games. It’s a series of “Would you play X or Y?” questions. I’m fine with the result. As you can see, I prefer player interaction and tension between players. Minimalism is also valued.
1.) Inis - This and El Grande can switch places and it’ll be fine. One of my first games thanks to SUSD. I’m still in love with the theme and the art. I love the fact that it’s not a game of aggression, but it;s about positioning and manoeuvring.
2.) El Grande - One of my first games, thanks to SUSD. Today, you get all of these baroque area control games, and I still come back to this game which can be taught within 5 minutes, since the depth is in the interplay between players and the random action cards every round.
3.) Die König von Siam/The King is Dead - 2nd edition will be out this Summer, I think. All players have the same hand of 8 cards, no randomness, but the game doesn’t feel repetitive to me. You’ll play it under an hour and make 8 tough awful decisions.
4.) Tigris & Euphrates - it’s my fave Knizia. How can a tile-laying game be so tense and confrontational?? I agree with a lot of people say when they feel the rise and fall of kingdoms in this game as they go to wars.
5.) Dominant Species - it’s a heavy “El Grande”, in my opinion. It’s definitely swingy with the random power cards every round, and our group loves it because of the drama it causes on the table. However, I end up removing the cards that gives more “workers” since they are always the obvious moves in our meta. They also prolong the game. Still, I always have good experiences with this game even when my friends wipe me off the map.
6.) Imperial 2030 - only after playing those weirdo train games made me appreciate Imperial more to the point that it’s one of my fave now. The game remains very dynamic, and has this ebb and flow on the board between world powers. Strangely, for a no-luck open information game, there’s no scripted openings.
7.) Innovation - Arms Race: the Card Game. Build a combo, score pts and/or attack your opponents; and if it’s no longer working, build a new one! It’s not immaculate like the King is Dead, but it’s wild and thats why I love it.
8.) Modern Art - the best auction game for my taste. It’s not the multiple ways to auction a painting that makes me nuts about it. It’s the nuance of the commodity speculation, knowing when to buy a painting or not, or which artist to buy from, or sell a painting from which artist. Even the decision of which round you sell which paintings is really cool. The lack of intrinsic value of every painting is what makes this so fluid and dynamic.
9.) Cthulhu Wars - Yep. The coffin-box big-plastic kickstarter game that goes over £100! But this game is a winner to me due to how simple the standard rules are, and the depth of the game is introduced by the asymmetry on every faction. Quinns nailed it in his review. I also love how they handled asymmetry in this game. It lifts you out of restrictions and let you roam, rather than put horse blinders on you and go for a certain strategy because it’s the most efficient way for that faction.
10.) The Estates - This game is mean. It has a closed economy, except when you’re embezzling. So when you pay loads for something, you’re giving that player a lot of firepower in future rounds. The game can be swingy, yes. A game that doesn’t have rules about negotiations but makes you go for temporary alliances. A game that allows you to over punish a player, but also allows the punished player the opportunity to crash the game, in return. Oh the Estates, why are you so cute on table but so mean?
On 11. it’s Battle Line/Schitten Totten. Yep. Still my fave 2 player small box game. It’s basically confrontational gin-rummy.
My fave fillers are Wildlife Safari and Goodcritters. The former is a commodity speculation by Reiner Knizia, like Modern Art but as a filler. Goodcritters is my fave bluffing party game, similar to Cash and Guns.
8 Likes
Well if we’re doing pubmeeple rankings… 
Based on games I have recorded >1 play of on BGG, and slightly adjusted because I got Brass twice:
| Rank | Game |
|---|---|
| 1 | Root: I love the combination of asymmetric play and the woodland theme (Lizard Cult FTW). I think it gives a great structure for storytelling, and I really enjoy the way the factions interact… Except the Vagabond shakes fist |
| 2 | Pax Pamir (Second Edition): Another great theme. The restriction to two actions, but with the possibility of bonus actions if you manipulate the favoured suit make all the choices in this game really interesting. There seem to be many paths to victory and the whole thing feels very tense (and backstabby) |
| 3 | Brass (either): AKA “You can’t do that: the game”. The constant weighing up of whether benefiting your opponents this turn will benefit you more in the long run makes my head hurt, in a good way. Another game with a theme that I can get into, and bonus opportunities to be rude about various British towns/talk with a terrible Brummy accent. |
| 4 | Sagrada: Spatial and logic puzzles are my jam, (I also like Barenpark, Railroad Ink, Tiny Towns…) and this is my favourite. The fact that you have to think about colour and number placement is very appealing, and the pretty-coloured dice don’t hurt! |
| 5 | Wavelength: This has completely replaced Codenames for me (shame my husband doesn’t like it). It produces some really interesting/funny conversations, and gives some interesting insights into how my friends think. |
| 6 |
Tzolk’in: Worker placement games  . Worker placement where you have to think multiple turns ahead because parts of the board move…
|
| 7 | Wingspan: It’s charming, lets you build a satisfying engine, has pieces that look like Cadbury mini eggs, and I can convince my family and colleagues to play it. What’s not to like? |
| 8 | Scythe: More asymmetric factions, but this time with mechs and a quest for efficiency (I did say I liked puzzles). I especially like to play using the unofficial encounter book. My group got a bit tired of Scythe after playing through Rise of Fenris, but I’m looking forward to playing it again and being able to pick and choose rules from the campaign. |
| 9 |
Just One: Another opportunity to see into the minds of my friends. Could easily be done with a pen and paper, but the tiny whiteboards are more fun 
|
| 10 |
Sidereal Confluence: I normally hate negotiation games. Probably because I am so exceptionally bad at it. I think it’s the more structured nature of the negotiation in this game that appeals to me, and it’s rare to find a heavier game for so many players. This is the game I optimistically take to every convention, and then try and talk at least 5 other people into playing it with me 
|
Believe it or not, I do play and enjoy quite a lot of older games (I think Brass is the oldest one on this list), but these are my current faves 
9 Likes
Cole Wehrle should be pleased with that list =)
My own pubmeeple list:
| Rank | Game |
|---|---|
| 1 | Innovation Deluxe: A great civilization-esque game that isn’t an engine-builder. You exploit an advantage for as long as it lasts, then flail about looking for the next game-breaking edge. |
| 2 | Twilight Struggle: All the tension, all the time. And I love the challenge of hand-management and figuring out when to push and when to bluff strength. |
| 3 | Pax Pamir (Second Edition): Backstabbing and shifty alliances, another great game that isn’t an engine-builder and in which you exploit an edge for as long as it lasts. |
| 4 | Galaxy Trucker: Anniversary Edition: The game with the highest skill ceiling of all - you can always play faster. Also, silly fun at any level when you handicap yourself into oblivion. |
| 5 | Napoleon’s Triumph: Currently riding high on this list, my first and only wargame, unique in that it is entirely deterministic and all about hidden information. |
| 6 | Through the Ages: A New Story of Civilization: Another interesting look at the civilization genre that is more of a traditional engine-builder, but levels the playing field by doing away with a map, so everyone borders everyone else all the time. |
| 7 | Mage Knight Board Game: The best of high fantasy, playing an avatar that has moods and won’t always do what you want them to, when you want them to do it. |
| 8 | Race for the Galaxy: The best fast and light card tableau builder with a theme I love. |
| 9 | Mottainai: Packs a lot into a small package. |
| 10 | Tash-Kalar: Arena of Legends: A smart game of creating and destroying patterns of Go-like stones on a grid. |
Four entries for Vlaada Chvatil, but the top three are all different designers.
7 Likes
Except when you play me!
Even then =)
Nearly always one mistake away from nuclear war.
3 Likes
I really need to get my hands on this game. But it is so hard to find. Schwerkraft discontinued the German version and I only ever saw it on a single one of the webshops I frequent and waffled too long. BGG Market has only US copies. Bezoshop is 56€ and up and it’ll take a month to get here.
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I love Tash-Kalar. Whats your thoughts on 3-4 players??
3 Likes
I have the original Innovation with the nice magnetic box, I didn’t realise it was so hard to get hold of, or is it the Deluxe that’s hard to find?
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3 is a bit rubbish, because you can only play a “death match”, but the high form with two teams is great.
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It’s out of print. I think the Asmadi version is the gold standard. We got the Iello edition plus an expansion last year on eBay.
It should only be £25 new.
Glory to Rome is even worse
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I’ve not even tried eBay yet but it feels like 3rd edition basic version is hard to get. German eBay boardgame market also feels meh usually–either rubbish games or really expensive.
A story of waffling at your disgression
When I joined this place, I saw several people recommend the game. Also there was that news thing about the designer. I like civilization games on principle, so I was immediately interested. Then I saw it at the first online store I checked for 20€ and Bezoshop for around 30€… obviously it wasn’t difficult to get. I had it in my shopping basket for a while but had never ordered from that shop yet and waited and waited and waited and when I ordered from them the first time around xmas it was on backorder. After that I never even found another online shop that has it listed and Bezoshop now wants minimum 56€ and 4 weeks delivery. FLGS is hopeless with such things.
I am hoping for a reprint or a used version somewhere surprising…
I was hoping to simply order it directly to a friend in the US and have my partner pick it up on his next business trip but atm it seems like it’ll be a while before another business trip to the US is happening…
Having it posted by the friend is a nono, she would obviously do it and probably pay for the game, too but we tried that before with a pair of customized Converse shoes and let me just say: the German customs office is strange and slow. So I’ll just wait. The hunt for a game is fun, too. I’ll appreciate it all the more when I find a copy.
Anyhow, this is the kind of thing that causes FOMO down the road.
4 Likes
I know this feeling well. I’ve paid over the odds for a second hand Agricola for the same reason.
2 Likes
My favourite game is Space Alert. It was the first game I ever baught for myself. Since I love Sci-Fi it just seemed very appealing when I saw it while searching for something Trek related.
The first session was horrible though. The most complex game I played before was Catan. I - young and naive as I then was - thought I could invite people over and then basically read the rules out loud and we start playing. It was so bad…so very bad.
But everybody was exited enough by the premise that we gave it another try the very next day, this time better prepared. We had a blast!
After that I became more and more interrested in the hobby and now consider myself an avid boardgamer. Maybe it would have happened somwhere down the line anyway, but for me it was Space Alert. And that’s why it’s my favourite game
9 Likes
Just to be clear: the Asmadi 3rd edition. Because there’s an Asmadi 1st edition and I won’t recommend that if you can get the latter ones. The IELLO is the 2nd edition.
There’s also the Deluxe edition of the 3rd one, which is the base + all the expansions.
4 Likes