TheRPGSite

So what's your favorite board game? And what's your favorite category of board games?

Mansions of Madness. Its the best at invoking a roleplaying game like experience.

Dungeon crawling board games, as they invoke a roleplaying game like experience.

I'm not sure if I can pick a favorite, but we've got a bunch that we enjoy:

Forbidden Desert - fun co-op game about finding the parts to an airship out of the desert you're stuck in racing against running out of water, being buried by a desert storm, etc.

Castle Ravenloft - co-op dungeon crawler based on Ravenloft + stripped down 4e rules.

Elder Sign - co-op dice rolling game where you try to "solve" adventures and keep the Great Old Ones out of the world.

A Touch of Evil - it's like a Hammer Horror movie in a box. (We only ever play it co-op, never competitively)

So yeah, co-op games are my favorite.

I like Wrath of Ashardalon, which is like/iusable with the Ravenloft one mentioned above.
I like Dungeon and Last Night on Earth.
I have Descent, but we have only played it a couple of times, similar to wrath, but a touch more complex. It's okay.
My buddy left his Arkham Horror here last week for me to decipher, but it looks way fucking complex so I have yet to tap into it.


Wrath is probably my current favorite. I like co op dungeon crawls the best. I am thinking of  modifying descent for that, actually.

Tannhauser is great.
Arkham Horror is great.
A Game of Thrones is good
Lots of love for Warrior Knights, Civilisation, Block mania,
But I love Backgammon, Go, Kwirkle, Axis and Allies, Diplomacy, Supremacy, Shogun (dispite the single winning strategy exploit) and the game I play most is scrabble.

We have a bunch of home brewed board games that were great fun and after the Thief campaign thread I have been working on a thief boardgame this week and I am basically done I think. So will play test it this weekend If I can get the board and cards printed somewhere.

Pulled out Lords of Waterdeep...not awesome, but quite playable.

I'm trying hard to put together a full, 4 player game of The Mage Knight Boardgame--it's a hypercomplicated multiplayer solitaire game, but still darn fun once you get over the hump of the rules and the insane amounts of tiny print.

Space Hulk. Perfect execution of theme, design, and nail-biting gameplay (as long as you don't wuss out and use the timer like you're supposed to). It's too bad it's really only two-player (and no, dividing up the marines really doesn't cut it).

I'm actually quite addicted to Le Havre at the moment, since I got it for the iOS.  Tigris & Euphrates a close second.

Before that my favorite was probably Chess, if I had to pick one, but it's been replaced by those two.

I love board games although I haven't played any in a long while.

Favorites include much of the old Avalon Hill line: Rail Baron (played a lot of that 25 years ago in college), Midway, Submarine, Titan, Merchants of Venus, Stellar Conquest, Civilization, Africa Korps, Kingmaker, Wooden Ships & Iron Men.

Others: Empire Builder, the original Illuminati (not really a board game but what the hell) Battle Tech, Talisman (only played it a couple times at a convention but it seemed pretty fun.)

Cosmic Encounter is one of the classic greats I have but never played. Circus Maximus looks fun too. Someday I'd like to play Dune with a full slate of people.

Quote from: Doughdee222;803761Cosmic Encounter is one of the classic greats I have but never played.

I dunno, I found it kind of swingy and random, especially with the gimmicky cards, ending games way too quickly and with too little real strategy beyond "gotcha!" Maybe we played it wrong.

We've played plenty of Carcasonne, and Ingenious. When we're not playing D&D, the group prefers to keep things casual, something that lets us talk while playing.

So interestingly enough, we're more into card games. Two weeks ago we played Uno for about 3 hours, and the last game ended so absurdly we needed 3 minutes to laugh our asses off, and 3 more minutes to recover.

I checked out some dice tower reviews this week and I am getting more into it than I was before. I really like Tom Vasel. He is like Kurt Wiegel from boardgames. Enthusiastic, straight to the point and not too much going into all the details, which would just slow it down.

I noticed there is some sort of a divide between Ameritrash and Eurogames. Is this really an American - European divide? Or are Ameritrash games more aimed at nerds like me with fantasy, sci-fi and horror themed games and Eurogames more aimed at a mainstream audience and families?

Quote from: jan paparazzi;803894I checked out some dice tower reviews this week and I am getting more into it than I was before. I really like Tom Vasel. He is like Kurt Wiegel from boardgames. Enthusiastic, straight to the point and not too much going into all the details, which would just slow it down.

I noticed there is some sort of a divide between Ameritrash and Eurogames. Is this really an American - European divide? Or are Ameritrash games more aimed at nerds like me with fantasy, sci-fi and horror themed games and Eurogames more aimed at a mainstream audience and families?

I've started reading some of the criticisms and I guess two criticisms/differences are that Eurogames lack theme, or that often the theme feels tacked on. People have also said that they lack interaction between players, so you're all sorta playing against the game alone even as you sit together.

Quote from: jan paparazzi;803578So what's your favorite board game? And what's your favorite category of board games?

Impossible question. My collection of board games is only rivaled by my collection of RPGs.

Board games that I am currently enjoying the most (subject to change) are:

Thunderstone Advance
The Captain is Dead

Perennial Favorites include:

Lords of Waterdeep
Zombicide
Myth
Level 7 Escape
Chess (hard to beat a classic)

Game I am most looking forward to:
Xenoshyft Onslaught (backed the kickstarter)

Quote from: jan paparazzi;803894I noticed there is some sort of a divide between Ameritrash and Eurogames. Is this really an American - European divide? Or are Ameritrash games more aimed at nerds like me with fantasy, sci-fi and horror themed games and Eurogames more aimed at a mainstream audience and families?

There was a big gaming movement in Europe (mainly Germany) during the late 1990s and early 00's that introduced a lot of gaming mechanics with little or no luck elements, they were more like solving a puzzle. The key of these was that the mechanics were developed without a theme in mind, instead of the more traditional way of coming up with a theme and then developing mechanics to suit. These games tend to be abstract and have little or no player interaction.

Proponents of these games felt they were superior to more traditional games with some American games being held up as the "example" for these traditional games, and so used the term "Ameritrash" as a derogatory term. Fans of thematic games eventually reclaimed the term and used it as a badge of pride instead.

I think both terms are incredibly stupid, but Ameritrash bugs me enough I refuse to use it. I prefer "Thematic" games for what are called "Ameritrash" not only because a great many are anything but trash, but because a good number come from other countries, including in Europe. Thematic is also the category used by Boardgamegeek.com

As you can imagine there are a lot of games that sit partially in both camps (Lords of Waterdeep is the obvious example) and some which defy categorization.

Eurogames are mostly German. And those games do what Germans always do (even in video games) namely being a trade simulator. I think those games aren't even real competition for the thematic games. Catan and Carcassonne more or less replaced Monopoly and Risk in my view. They are big mainstream family games without much theme, because mainstream people have very little interest in sci-fi or fantasy. I can't imagine playing Descent with family for example. Such a game I would have to play with friends or with people who also play roleplaying games and CCG's. That's my 2 cents.

Anyway I like thematic games, but some eurogames can also be fun as long as they are balanced. I believe Caverna and Le Havre have more paths to victory. With Catan iron-to-cities is overpowered and with Carcassonne you better be counting all that grass. As soon as you know the trick the game isn't fun anymore.

I'm probably more of a boardgamer than an RPGer. I find it easier for find the time for boardgames, and I'm acquainted with a much larger group of potential boardgame players. I also play several distinct kinds of boardgames: euro games, thematic games, wargames, 2-player games, etc. and so I can choose a different boardgame or opponent(s) depending on my mood.

Even people who don't especially like euro games will admit that they sparked a renaissance in the hobby, and have inspired pretty much every boardgame designed in the last 10 years. The design team at Fantasy Flight, who are the publisher of flagship thematic games like Twilight Imperium, Game of Thrones, and Battlestar Gallactica, openly acknowledge euro game mechanics as the foundation for their designs.

Heck, even historical wargames have evolved in recent years owing to the cross-pollination of game mechanics with euros. Games like Sekigahara, Europe Engulfed, Twilight Struggle, and Fire in the Lake owe much to the carefully engineered mechanical elegance of euro games.

So I don't really understand the animosity between the two camps. We live in a golden age of boardgames.

Some personal faves (among the 350 or so I've played and rated):

• El Grande
• Paths of Glory
• Innovation
• Age of Empires III
• Combat Commander
• Le Havre

It's worth noting that I don't have any RPG-like or dungeoncrawl games on that list. When I want to play an RPG, I play an RPG. Most of the RPG-like boardgames are pretty lacklustre, and a poor substitute for the real thing. I play boardgames to challenge and engage a completely different part of my mind than RPGs.

Quote from: jan paparazzi;803970Eurogames are mostly German. And those games do what Germans always do (even in video games) namely being a trade simulator. I think those games aren't even real competition for the thematic games. Catan and Carcassonne more or less replaced Monopoly and Risk in my view. They are big mainstream family games without much theme, because mainstream people have very little interest in sci-fi or fantasy.

I disagree. It may have been true in Germany 10 years ago that Catan had more mainstream appeal. Back then, what we call hobby boardgames were mainly German family games. But in North America today, it's geeky themes that sell, and the audience is young geeks.

Look at Lords of Waterdeep. It's essentially a medium-light worker placement euro game with a D&D theme pasted on. And it's enormously popular because of the D&D theme. Today, it's very difficult for a game to break out in the market unless it has a fantasy, sci-fi, superhero, or horror theme.

The Hotness list on boardgamegeek looks very, very different today than it did even 5 years ago. Nowadays, it's dominated by thematic games aimed at 20-something American geeks - the Big Bang Theory crowd.

My favorite, but rarely played these days, is Avalon Hill's Advanced Civilization.

Of what we play now, I'd have to go with Settlers of Catan. By far it gets the most gameplay, and has been the case since we first picked it up almost 2 decades ago.

Quote from: Haffrung;804119I disagree. It may have been true in Germany 10 years ago that Catan had more mainstream appeal. Back then, what we call hobby boardgames were mainly German family games. But in North America today, it's geeky themes that sell, and the audience is young geeks.

Well, maybe there is a difference between the USA and Europe. Maybe geeky themes are more mainstream in the USA.

Quote from: Haffrung;804119The Hotness list on boardgamegeek looks very, very different today than it did even 5 years ago. Nowadays, it's dominated by thematic games aimed at 20-something American geeks - the Big Bang Theory crowd.

This is where I don't agree with you. If you look at the ranking on boardgamegeeks you see Terra Mystica (2), Through the Ages (3), Agricola (4), Puerto Rico (5), Caverna (6), Eclipse (8), Power Grid (10), Castles of Burgundy (11) and Le Havre (12) all in the top 12. And they are all eurogames. Boardgamegeeks are known for being pro eurogames. Fortress Ameritrash is pro thematic games.

Anyway I like thematic games a lot, because I can geek out over them. I can  see myself playing them at the local Magic the Gathering playnight, but not with other people outside of the geeky world.

Quote from: jan paparazzi;804155This is where I don't agree with you. If you look at the ranking on boardgamegeeks you see Terra Mystica (2), Through the Ages (3), Agricola (4), Puerto Rico (5), Caverna (6), Eclipse (8), Power Grid (10), Castles of Burgundy (11) and Le Havre (12) all in the top 12. And they are all eurogames.

Games typically achieve high rankings on boardgamegeek after years and many thousands of ratings. So there's a lag between current popularity and rankings. But look at the Hotness list - which is the game pages getting the most views -  it's dominated by thematic games.

Star Wars: Imperial Assault
Scythe
Shadows of Brimstone: City of the Ancients
Viceroy
Conan: Hyborian Quests
Dead of Winter: A Crossroads Game
Spyfall
Xia: Legends of a Drift System
Biblios Dice
Rum & Bones
Android: Netrunner
ZNA
Terra Mystica
Mysterium
Star Wars: X-Wing Miniatures Game
Kill Shakespeare
Imperial Settlers
Roll for the Galaxy
Star Realms
Mage Knight Board Game
Alchemists
Eldritch Horror

Quote from: jan paparazzi;804155Boardgamegeeks are known for being pro eurogames. Fortress Ameritrash is pro thematic games.

That was true 5 or 6 years ago. Not today. The membership of BGG has more than doubled in the last 4 years. Very different crowd going there today - much younger, and dominated by fantasy/sci-fi geeks who are new to boardgaming. It's all Star Wars, superheroes, space ships, and zombies now.

I don't play many boardgames. The ones I do enjoy are all thematic to a large extent. I like immersive boardgames where the theme is an important part of the experience.

Arkham Horror
Fury of Dracula Revised
Conquest of Planet Earth

Zombies!!! is actually a rather crappy game but can still be a lot of fun.

Quote from: misterguignol;803610I'm not sure if I can pick a favorite, but we've got a bunch that we enjoy:

Forbidden Desert - fun co-op game about finding the parts to an  airship out of the desert you're stuck in racing against running out of  water, being buried by a desert storm, etc.

Castle Ravenloft - co-op dungeon crawler based on Ravenloft + stripped down 4e rules.

Elder Sign - co-op dice rolling game where you try to "solve" adventures and keep the Great Old Ones out of the world.

A Touch of Evil - it's like a Hammer Horror movie in a box. (We only ever play it co-op, never competitively)

So yeah, co-op games are my favorite.

I also enjoy co-op games the most.

I've seen several reviews claim that the Castle Ravenloft boardgame is a somewhat repetitive and boring experience.

Elder Sign is kind of fun, even though it's basically just rolling dice  until you get the right scores. I mean, the theme is 'painted on' kind  of thinly.

I have been looking at Touch of Evil several times, but the campy artwork keeps turning me off of it. Granted, Hammer Horror *is* campy, but the character portraits in Touch of Evil take it to a whole other level of campiness.

Quote from: Haffrung;804175Games typically achieve high rankings on boardgamegeek after years and many thousands of ratings. So there's a lag between current popularity and rankings. But look at the Hotness list - which is the game pages getting the most views -  it's dominated by thematic games.

That was true 5 or 6 years ago. Not today. The membership of BGG has more than doubled in the last 4 years. Very different crowd going there today - much younger, and dominated by fantasy/sci-fi geeks who are new to boardgaming. It's all Star Wars, superheroes, space ships, and zombies now.

Ok, cool. Thanks for the info. That's the fun thing about this forum. I learn something new almost every topic. Is Shadows of Brimstone cool? I already saw it a long time ago on kickstarter and it looks pretty neat. There are a lot cool boardgames and such on kickstarter btw.

Quote from: 3rik;804216I don't play many boardgames. The ones I do enjoy are all thematic to a large extent. I like immersive boardgames where the theme is an important part of the experience.

Arkham Horror
Fury of Dracula Revised
Conquest of Planet Earth


I've seen several reviews claim that the Castle Ravenloft boardgame is a somewhat repetitive and boring experience.

Elder Sign is kind of fun, even though it's basically just rolling dice  until you get the right scores. I mean, the theme is 'painted on' kind  of thinly.

I have been looking at Touch of Evil several times, but the campy artwork keeps turning me off of it. Granted, Hammer Horror *is* campy, but the character portraits in Touch of Evil take it to a whole other level of campiness.

Maybe is Mansions of Madness up your alley? I believe it has the same characters as Arkham Horror and it is Lovecraftian horror.

Quote from: jan paparazzi;804225Maybe is Mansions of Madness up your alley? I believe it has the same characters as Arkham Horror and it is Lovecraftian horror.

I'm good with just Arkham Horror and Elder Sign. FFG recycles a lot of the artwork for each Lovecraft-themed game they produce. I'd prefer something with a different "feel" for a change. Also, from what I've read about them, FFG's other Lovecraft-inspired games don't offer anything that makes them as appealing as Arkham Horror.

I'm ever so slowly warming up to Touch of Evil, though. I really like black powder era Hammer Studios style horror.

I really like Arkham Horror, especially for its ease of set up. There was also a bit more strategic ebb & flow depending on the Mythos faced and party composition and time on the board. Was more abstract board-gamey, but setup and play was just enough to keep it engaging, Mythos-y, and less of an evening investment.

I like Mansions of Madness in some ways even more, because it feels even closer to roleplaying a scene, a sense of being there in the tactical sense than abstract. However the fiddly pieces create lengthy setups and that just sucks out the fun. I think we've gotten it down from about 2.5 hours that first time to about 1.5 hours now; the setup might be the scariest thing about the game itself. Really should be a computer game with all the bookkeeping (and is?, gotta check my iPad Elder Signs Omens video game catalog advert).

I don't really like Elder Sign Omens. Feels like shit spiral Yahtzee with a thin Mythos pretense. Glad I got the $6 app instead of the way more expensive board version. I keep returning to it because I love the art and flavor text, but I've given up trying to make it anything more. If you have accursed dice luck, like I do, in everything, the game is a waste of time.

I tried to like Power Grid, but... it's another "guess where's all the truly valuable stuff! turn this lever over here to trigger goodies five steps from now!" Eurogame. I try to mess with those games by metagaming and listening to what seems to be the most fought over item, then hyper-focus on imploding its comborrific reward system.

There was another Eurogame one that was about the age of discovery and had a Cube Tower to determine resource allocation... I also have miserable luck with that, but at least it screws everybody over. And I didn't get proper rules explanation, so at the end when I found out I overbid on basically crap and didn't combo it right I just quit. What's the point if I have to sit and scrutinize the oblique rules umpteen times and it's nowhere near as strategically involved as war games. edit: Found it, it's name is Amerigo. Ugh, what a bad experience that was. Comes nowhere close to the Crossfire threshold.

Speaking of which, I am now a GMT junkie. I heartily recommend Labyrinth the game based on the War on Terror, where you play either the USA or Jihadis. The game does have indirect conditions, so it does feel a bit Euro, but it also is pretty good with a solid opponent (and or its kickass CPU for solitaire). Set up is a breeze and a great cooperative or competitive challenge.

Twilight Struggle, GMT's most popular product, though is nowhere near as good; terribly swingy in terms of cards, and they essentially play their order themselves (remember, I have abysmal luck). After eight straight games where every hand played itself because all the other options were so bad and I kept losing as either side I just gave up on it. Last three of those games I played with an open hand to show, no joke, I have crazy bad luck and that the hands played themselves.

Currently we're following that Labyrinth designer and his latest series called COIN, where he explores four-way co-operative, counter-productive contests. His latest about Vietnam War, Fire in the Lake, is extremely cool. Buddy is gunning to buy another two of the four-part series, getting the Cuba revolution one and the Afghani War one. They're like limited print runs as there's such a small market that he can no longer get the Colombian Drug War one. Hopefully more people find his stuff so as to spur another print run.

The COIN stuff is amazing so far: imagine a four-way contest where you have a supposed ally, against two mutual enemies, but you can openly cannibalize your ally's victory condition for your own benefit. Fire in the Lake van also be played solitaire, of any side, and anywhere up to four players. Can also be played historically or non-historically, comes with various period scenarios, etc The only downside is it is a much heavier setup time than usual GMT games I've played. However if you are willing to invest a few days into getting into the strategic groove and getting the rules down pat, it is such an intriguing mess of strategic and tactical play.

That's it so far. Most of the other stuff I've played recently hasn't really wowed me (Talisman and its endless extensions (also known as "more tedious Monopoly, with magic!", that D&D Waterdeep cube game, reprint of Descent, Cosmic Patrol, Forbidden Island, etc.). I sort of have devolved into a Crossfire threshold: if you're not as fun as competitively shooting BBs at your opponent's disc in a center arena, get a better game. Dueling tops and spinjas are more fun than a lot of the Eurogame and retread classics (really? the world needed another re-skinned Monopoly?) of today.

Quote from: 3rik;804216I've seen several reviews claim that the Castle Ravenloft boardgame is a somewhat repetitive and boring experience.

I kind of feel the same way. It begs to be house-ruled, that's for sure. Luckily, the components are super nice and re-usable for other games (mostly great miniatures).

Quote from: Opaopajr;804274Speaking of which, I am now a GMT junkie. I heartily recommend Labyrinth the game based on the War on Terror, where you play either the USA or Jihadis. The game does have indirect conditions, so it does feel a bit Euro, but it also is pretty good with a solid opponent (and or its kickass CPU for solitaire). Set up is a breeze and a great cooperative or competitive challenge.

I love GMT games. Combat Commander Europe has to be in my top ten board games. Command and Colors Ancients is terrific and easy to play with any crowd. I've got a soft spot for eurogames, so I've enjoyed Dominant Species.

I've been debating on getting Here I Stand or Virgin Queen, but the time invested with such a large crowd is better spent playing rpgs. Manoeuvre looks great and will probably be my next GMT purchase.

Another thing I love about GMT, they make sturdy boxes. I bring board games when I travel, and I've never had a ding or dent in a GMT box.

Quote from: jan paparazzi;804155This is where I don't agree with you. If you look at the ranking on boardgamegeeks you see Terra Mystica (2), Through the Ages (3), Agricola (4), Puerto Rico (5), Caverna (6), Eclipse (8), Power Grid (10), Castles of Burgundy (11) and Le Havre (12) all in the top 12. And they are all eurogames. Boardgamegeeks are known for being pro eurogames. Fortress Ameritrash is pro thematic games.

You seem to be defaulting 4X games to being Eurogames. 4X games, however, predate the Eurogame movement, feature lots of simulation-based mechanics, and generally feature the "token extravaganza" that's deemed characteristic of "Ameritrash" games.

I'd thought Eurogames were actually typically rather un-simulationist: a bunch of tactical mechanics with a theme painted on afterwards.

Quote from: Justin Alexander;804447You seem to be defaulting 4X games to being Eurogames. 4X games, however, predate the Eurogame movement, feature lots of simulation-based mechanics, and generally feature the "token extravaganza" that's deemed characteristic of "Ameritrash" games.

Which game on that list isn't a eurogame then? You could discuss Eclipse being 4x, but imo it's a eurogame in disguise. Agricola, Caverna, Le Havre, Terra Mystica and Burgundy are 100% eurogames. Power Grid is a train game, but I consider that a bit euro as well. Through the Ages might not be a euro, but 4x. So you might be right about that one.

Quote from: jan paparazzi;804632You could discuss Eclipse being 4x

In much the same way that we could discuss Interstellar being a science fiction movie.

But, yes, the two 4X games on your list are the games I was talking about when I said that you were misclassifying 4X games as eurogames.

Quote from: Justin Alexander;804447You seem to be defaulting 4X games to being Eurogames. 4X games, however, predate the Eurogame movement, feature lots of simulation-based mechanics, and generally feature the "token extravaganza" that's deemed characteristic of "Ameritrash" games.

The earliest 4x game I can think of was Stellar Conquest from Avalon Hill in 1975. I used to have that game. While things have changed over the years in that genre in board games, I can definitely see Eclipse as being a descendant of SC and decidedly not "Euro".

Quote from: Doctor Jest;804762The earliest 4x game I can think of was Stellar Conquest from Avalon Hill in 1975. I used to have that game. While things have changed over the years in that genre in board games, I can definitely see Eclipse as being a descendant of SC and decidedly not "Euro".

The Dice Tower guys think Eclipse is a euro and not space opera. Sam hates it and he loves Third Emperium and Exodus Proxima Centauri. He even said about Empires of the Void "This is the game Eclipse wishes it was.". I can't help it. I just love a good troll.

Quote from: jan paparazzi;804763The Dice Tower guys think Eclipse is a euro and not space opera. Sam hates it and he loves Third Emperium and Exodus Proxima Centauri. He even said about Empires of the Void "This is the game Eclipse wishes it was.". I can't help it. I just love a good troll.

They're wrong then. Eclipse draws heavily from Eurogames, but it's definitely not one - too random, too focused on combat and politics for one.

I am a huge board gamer - I've played a few hundreds of board games certainly. My favourites tend to draw more towards strategies with good inter - player interactions, though I also greatly enjoy operational games (recently mostly ACW due to my friends' influence). I think my top five'd be Twilight Imperium, Twilight Struggle (where I very much digress with Opa's opinion on it - it's a game where you need to learn that your hand's not your friend, it's your enemy you need to know how to handle), Here I Stand, Runewars and from Eurogames, Power Grid.

I've sadly soured on Arkham Horror and Labirynth (I have about 20+ games under my belt on both accounts, to be fair) - Labirynth for me suffers from what Opa believes TS suffers, the cards are just too unbalanced (Osama Bin Laden played against US in first turn basically means game over in 1st scenario). The asymmetric gameplay was a fun experiment however, even if ultimately I found it too quirky. Arkham Horror is just too bland - underneath all the polish and pieces, is a game with very little actual cooperation, like a bit better Talisman. Good game if you're drinking and talking, bad one if you've met to play challenging board games, I find. And don't get me started on the problems of add - ons. I've never seen a game where, if you have 2 additional boards, both see any major or even minor action.

As for the Ameritrash vs Eurogames discussion - the original term Ameritrash as I've seen was mostly to refer to games where the mechanics are actually definitely poor, and the game makes up for that with huge amounts of "flashy bits", such as figures, cards, illustrations, chits, etc. etc. It might've been hijacked by Eurogames elitists, but I've definitely never used it in such a context as to describe, say, Last Chance for Victory.

If anyone'd ever like a round of Here I Stand via Vassal (or other such large, time - consuming strategies, heh), give me a shout. The problem with such epic games is the time consumed - last time I played HiS, we spent 9 hours, and we'd have to call the game a draw if the Pope didn't win the last - round victory thanks to Copernicus and some other card combo. You know you're in the deep end when Twilight Imperium is a shorter game (which is basically 2 - 3 hours + 1 hour * number of players).

Surprised no one has mentioned my favorite: original Axis and Allies.
Honorable mentions include Enchanted Forest (great with kids), Lords of Waterdeep, Heroquest, and The Farming Game.

Quote from: Rincewind1;804765I've sadly soured on Arkham Horror and Labirynth (I have about 20+ games under my belt on both accounts, to be fair)

Sounds like a good return on investment for most board games. I'd be sour if I "figured out" a game by the 5th-7th play.

Quote from: Sacrosanct;804767Surprised no one has mentioned my favorite: original Axis and Allies.
Honorable mentions include Enchanted Forest (great with kids), Lords of Waterdeep, Heroquest, and The Farming Game.

Played that one. Axis and Allies. Fun, but huge amounts of downtime. Does this game still counts as a wargame? I see people excluding A&A and Risk as well on top 10 lists of wargames. If it isn't a wargame, then what is it?

Quote from: jan paparazzi;804772Played that one. Axis and Allies. Fun, but huge amounts of downtime. Does this game still counts as a wargame? I see people excluding A&A and Risk as well on top 10 lists of wargames. If it isn't a wargame, then what is it?

Time I'll never get back.

Seriously... They're properly Area Control and Area Influence games with a military theme (stronger in A&A than Risk, you can re-skin Risk as anything).

Quote from: Shipyard Locked;804770Sounds like a good return on investment for most board games. I'd be sour if I "figured out" a game by the 5th-7th play.

Well, to be fair, most of those Arkham games were over literal beer and pretzels (and vodka. Lots and lots of vodka). And, more importantly - I never played Arkham more than 2 - 3 times without a new expansion, so it's a game I find much dependant on expansion life support.

Quote from: jan paparazzi;804632Which game on that list isn't a eurogame then? You could discuss Eclipse being 4x, but imo it's a eurogame in disguise.

Eclipse has a strong theme, variable player powers, high player interaction and player elimination. All of those things are antithetical to Eurogames. If you had to make a list of things that were definitely not Eurogames, all three would be on that.

Quote from: Rincewind1;804765They're wrong then. Eclipse draws heavily from Eurogames, but it's definitely not one - too random, too focused on combat and politics for one.

Exactly. Strong theme, high player interaction, variable player powers, player elimination: those are about as antithetical to the Euro design ethos as you can get.

QuoteIt might've been hijacked by Eurogames elitists, but I've definitely never used it in such a context as to describe, say, Last Chance for Victory.

Indirectly it was here: http://opportunityfire.com/index.php/2014/02/07/first-take-on-last-chance/
"it has none of that trendy, post-Ameritrash bling"

And Fortress: Ameritrash seems to like it. https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?id=163011548113&story_fbid=10151689287703114

Today it generally means "strongly thematic games" http://islaythedragon.com/guides/guide-to-gaming-ameritrash-vs-eurostyle-whats-the-difference/

Alright, I know which one I want for Xmas:

1st & Goal

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5TknEBEak-0

You can't get more American than this.

Quote from: Doctor Jest;804888Indirectly it was here: http://opportunityfire.com/index.php/2014/02/07/first-take-on-last-chance/
"it has none of that trendy, post-Ameritrash bling"

And Fortress: Ameritrash seems to like it. https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php?id=163011548113&story_fbid=10151689287703114

Today it generally means "strongly thematic games" http://islaythedragon.com/guides/guide-to-gaming-ameritrash-vs-eurostyle-whats-the-difference/

Well that's plain silly, but I guess the terms change and I can but accept it (harbouring perhaps some bitter resentment over just how much actual meaning is lost when you start to place such a diverse group as board games into two camps) - I'd have never even thought to put LCV into the Ameritrash vs Eurogames debate. It's just a wargame (or rather - a very good one, I quite recommend - so far my score is 1:1, losing a skirmish of Iron Brigade with Hill's forces pushing, but managing to hold Barlow's position in the north).

A few I like, that haven't been mentioned in this thread so far:

History of the World
Avalon
Shadows over Camelot
Bohnanza
Memoir '44
Marvel Legendary
Castles of Burgundy
Yedo
Ticket to Ride
Love Letter
Eminent Domain
Trajan

A Eurogame based on Tropico would be cool. A lot of flavor, resource production/processing and on top of that a political layer.

Quote from: jan paparazzi;805194A Eurogame based on Tropico would be cool. A lot of flavor, resource production/processing and on top of that a political layer.

There is Havana, though it's based on Baptiste's Cuba, and it's all about economics. There is also upcoming game about Cuban Revolution though.

Quote from: Rincewind1;805209There is Havana, though it's based on Baptiste's Cuba, and it's all about economics. There is also upcoming game about Cuban Revolution though.

I already know Cuba and Junta. I will check this one out. They should combine the economic and political sides in one game somehow.

I like RPGs more, but I probably play board games more often (its just easier to get people together for, no prep required by anyone, just sit down and play).

I tend to prefer Thematics over Eurogames, but there are exceptions (I really really like Takenoko for instance, which is a lightweight euro about growing a garden for the Japanese emperor and watching a panda eat it.)

Probably my favorite board game at the moment is Marvel: Legendary. I love deck building games, and I really think its the best deck builder made. The mechanics are great, and the variety in each game is huuuuge. Plus it helps that I love Marvel superheroes.

I also find myself really like coop games. Pandemic and Defenders of the Realm (Fantasy Pandemic with Dice and Larry Elmore art) are both standards to pull out and play at my house.

Also, Risk: Legacy is pretty awesome if you've never played it. The whole "campaign" aspect and changing rules and board and not knowing how its going to change is pretty amazing.

Quote from: jan paparazzi;803894I noticed there is some sort of a divide between Ameritrash and Eurogames. Is this really an American - European divide? Or are Ameritrash games more aimed at nerds like me with fantasy, sci-fi and horror themed games and Eurogames more aimed at a mainstream audience and families?

Around 2008 or so ameritrash was used as a derodatory term and garnered alot of ill will. Its rarely used anymore. I came to despise the term really. But then I have no use for the various snobs and hatemongers in the board gaming community anyhow.

As for games liked.

Theres alot. But a few tops on the list are.

Awful Green Things from Outer Space by the venerable Tom Wham.
HeroQuest
Mythos (CCG)
Survive!
Wreck of the BSM Pandora and Voyage of the BSM Pandora
Intruder
Damocles Mission
Clue
Warhammer Quest
Battle Masters (wargame)
Mutant Chronicles: Siege of the Citadel
Wargods of Aegyptus (wargame)
Dungeon!
Battletech (wargame)
Various board games from Dragon like Elefant Hunt. Also by Tom Wham.

and recently

Monsterpocalypse (wargame hybrid)
HeroScape (wargame hybrid)
Mice and Mystics
Barbarian Prince (pnp)
Robo Derby Express (pnp)

And various others.

The Print-n-Play community has really taken off in recent years with come interesting efforts, some of which went on to see publication like Robo Derby Express.