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Modern Board Games: and why you should play them (2022)

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Re: Modern Board Games: and why you should play them (2022)

#61

Post by nogha »

thom wrote: post #29

I think you should play modern board games, but can we agree that there are both good and also heinously bad lessons to learn from them? Far too many board games want to be computer games, and seem to think it's trivial to have 20 different piles of crap to set up at the start, and then a dozen different pieces of state to track in your little corner of the table during what will inevitably be a complicated five-phas…

I agree. I generally bounce off those sort of games.

I gravitate towards games that have simpler rulesets with deep gameplay. I’m a big fan of Reiner Knizia but also Phil Walker-Harding and David Thompson.

Re: Modern Board Games: and why you should play them (2022)

#62

Post by order-matters »

thom wrote: post #29

I think you should play modern board games, but can we agree that there are both good and also heinously bad lessons to learn from them? Far too many board games want to be computer games, and seem to think it's trivial to have 20 different piles of crap to set up at the start, and then a dozen different pieces of state to track in your little corner of the table during what will inevitably be a complicated five-phas…

>Far too many board games want to be computer games

very concise way to nail the root cause of this problem. I dont think it is intentional. I am developing my own board game right now with my brother, currently playtesting with close friends with solid results, and due to growing up with video games I cannot tell you how often we have had to confront the urge to add a state tracker here or a system there or maybe if we use cards with stats on them then .. etc. because a lot of our love for games has been influenced by video games. We managed to overcome that and keep things fun and simple, but we also have the luxury of working on this over the past couple years in our spare time and not pressed to meet a deadline or other corporate constraints. By that I mean when we hit a wall that could be solved quickly by increasing the games complexity, we are able to step away for a while until a good idea hits us.

there is certainly some room to bridge the gap between video games and board games, to have systems the players dont need to learn but operate in the background while still enabling tabletop interaction - but i dont see how to do it on a budget, so maybe a future project. we need projector enabled coffee tables to get popular in general or something maybe

Re: Modern Board Games: and why you should play them (2022)

#64

Post by davidee »

If anyone's looking for a good, quick, 2 player game, Sky Team was a lot of fun. My partner and I are always on the lookout for quick, but strategic 2 player games and this hit the spot.

It's cooperative and has enough variety to keep it at exactly the right balance of fun/challenging.

Similarly, if you're looking for a wild 8 player game -> captain sonar. It sounds confusing until you start playing and then the light bulb goes on and you can't get enough.

Re: Modern Board Games: and why you should play them (2022)

#65

Post by knappe »

faizshah wrote: post #53

I tried a few, the only one that really meshed with me in terms of competitiveness, strategy, constant pivoting and wide decision space is Dune Imperium Uprising. My group started with wingspan which was fun but we ended up hating how much it became just pure chance. Dune was basically the opposite you have an element of RNG from deckbuilding, you have multi-step planning and if someone else takes your move you have…

Give terraforming mars a try. Massive replayability with a lot of expansions to add to replayability and the theme is really really good. It isn't a worker placement game but you do get a lot of RNG from card drafting each round. The drafting is really great for strategic play as you can see what your opponents picked and build a plan around it

It is also a fantastic 2 player game. My wife and I have played hundreds of matches and it was our go to game during the pandemic.

PSA: don't bother with the steam edition. It has been plagued with bugs and is honestly more infuriating to play as the bugs can be game breaking. And the bugs have been around for years.

Re: Modern Board Games: and why you should play them (2022)

#66

Post by Taikonerd »

davidee wrote: post #64

If anyone's looking for a good, quick, 2 player game, Sky Team was a lot of fun. My partner and I are always on the lookout for quick, but strategic 2 player games and this hit the spot. It's cooperative and has enough variety to keep it at exactly the right balance of fun/challenging. Similarly, if you're looking for a wild 8 player game -> captain sonar. It sounds confusing until you start playing and then the ligh…

Agreed that Captain Sonar is awesome, if you can find 7 other players that are into it.

It's a rare thing: a real-time board game. No turns!

Re: Modern Board Games: and why you should play them (2022)

#67

Post by 2muchcoffeeman »

faizshah wrote: post #53

I tried a few, the only one that really meshed with me in terms of competitiveness, strategy, constant pivoting and wide decision space is Dune Imperium Uprising. My group started with wingspan which was fun but we ended up hating how much it became just pure chance. Dune was basically the opposite you have an element of RNG from deckbuilding, you have multi-step planning and if someone else takes your move you have…

If you aren’t finding Arcs or Root “deep” or competitive enough you’re probably playing it wrong. Both have war game elements and a lot of subtle shenanigans you can play.

If you’re pure euro gamers but need a bit more interaction maybe try Brass Birmingham, Food Chain Magnate, 1846, City of the Big Shoulders, Inis, Kemet.

Re: Modern Board Games: and why you should play them (2022)

#68

Post by davidee »

wellthisisgreat wrote: post #2

Any particularly complex or sophisticated board games HN likes to play? Curious what kind of games appeal to the HN mindset

Ark Nova. It's not Agricola-scale, but it has some similar "move maximization" vibes.

You can also play it on Steam if you can't find a crop of folks to sit down for three hours with you (though you can run through a full game against the computer in 35 minutes).

Re: Modern Board Games: and why you should play them (2022)

#69

Post by jonl247 »

amoshebb wrote: post #41

Are there any good low-stakes games for a regular game night? I'd love to try to host something like a poker night, but without the sour taste of gambling. Poker has lots of great qualities: people can drop in and drop out of, pick up quickly, not require so much focus that it precludes whitty bantz or idle side conversation. Are there some modern games that fit this shape?

The Gang: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/411567/the-gang

This has become one of my favorite low-key games. It has a great poker "feel" without being as complicated.

Re: Modern Board Games: and why you should play them (2022)

#70

Post by almostdeadguy »

thom wrote: post #29

I think you should play modern board games, but can we agree that there are both good and also heinously bad lessons to learn from them? Far too many board games want to be computer games, and seem to think it's trivial to have 20 different piles of crap to set up at the start, and then a dozen different pieces of state to track in your little corner of the table during what will inevitably be a complicated five-phas…

100% agree, I think the past 10-15 years of changes in the hobby have been profoundly negative.

- The trend towards videogame-ifying board games

- The trend towards "cozy" games, i.e. games that are not interactive, have no potential to produce negative emotions, and focus on a solitary optimization puzzle.

- The kickstarter-ification of games that focus on early release exclusives, excessive plastic, aesthetics over game design, etc.

I really urge players today to look at some of the games from the 90s to early 2000s if they're interested in getting into the hobby. Seek out some of the "classic" hobby games. Even some games predating that are fantastic, but you will also run into a lot of over-the-top simulationist war games during the 80s period.

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