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“Spiel des Jahres” Game of the Year 2017 winners

spieldesjahres.com

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Re: “Spiel des Jahres” Game of the Year 2017 winners

#71

Post by usrusr »

cableshaft wrote: post #40
peteretep wrote: post #19

I'm a digital nomad. I'd like something a bit more exciting than simple card or dice games, but space is at a bit of a premium. Any recommendations for games that have a lot of depth (and thus can be played over and over), are very quick to pick up the basics (so we can teach others), and are physically tiny (or can be)?

An iPad. Seriously, most board and card games either have or are in the process of getting an app nowadays. You can load that sucker up with hundreds of deep complex games with good A.I. and play them to your heart's content. Also, a lot of games have a lot of empty space in their box. I've been able to fit 6 games in the space of a Targi box, for example (great 2 player game that's deep but small, btw). I think I ma…

Just chiming in to second the praise of Tichu: the rules just feel so well designed with their careful blend of systematic regularity (everything adding up to easy 100s, no asymmetry between the for colors) and convention (most new players already know the combinations from poker) that is balanced by just the right amount of occasional chaos (when too man hands align into "bombs") and arbitrary detail (the bird and the dog, two of those specially marked jokers) to spice things up. Everything seems to have a purpose, whereas the arbitrary elements of evolved rulesets of traditional card games often seem somewhat random to me.

Re: “Spiel des Jahres” Game of the Year 2017 winners

#72

Post by awjr »

barbs wrote: post #65
awjr wrote: post #3

One of the more interesting games that, in the UK, had pretty much gone no where, was "Settlers of Catan". Then, around 1998 IIRC, it got a 10/10 in a gaming magazine and I think this, very much, spawned the revival of German board games on the UK games scene. Before then it really was mainly war games (warhammer et al), RPGs, and card games (Magic TG from about 1993 onwards). There are some absolutely fantastic game…

> There are some absolutely fantastic games out there, but just don't buy from the top X games. Know the size of your play group and buy to suit them. I agree to some extent - group size is just one factor. There's also mechanics and play-style to consider. Casual vs. Heavy, party vs. strategic, themed vs. abstract etc. I wholly agree that monopoly should be avoided though :). Sure, maybe if you play with certain rul…

Agreed, one of the most impressive games I have played is Terra Mystica, but only within our group when we are looking for something heavy. Phenomenal game mechanics.

Re: “Spiel des Jahres” Game of the Year 2017 winners

#73

Post by SilasX »

Agustus wrote: post #58
SilasX wrote: post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Okay, but to really make that point, you need: a) mechanisms to make the game proceed faster, and b) to play the "follow-up" second ruleset, where (AIUI) you use something like Georgist rules (the land value tax) where players are supposed to realize, hey, you can't monopolize under the LVT because monopoly rents just get taxed away.

As a heads up, speed is increased significantly by following the official auction rule: When you land on a property, you have the option to purchase it outright; or if you do not purchase, the bank will then conduct an auction of the property.

That's what I've heard, but it only solves the "getting all property bought up" problem. The other bottleneck is "getting some player to trade away the last of a color", which seems to be unchanged, right?

Re: “Spiel des Jahres” Game of the Year 2017 winners

#76

Post by fiatjaf »

Splines wrote: post #59
wolfgke wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Board games are so so so good these days, just avoid Monopoly. ;) According to https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Monopoly_(game)&o... Monopoly was intended as a way to demonstrate that an economy which rewards wealth creation is better than one in which monopolists work under few constraints. In other words and put much more harshly: Monopoly is played the right way if after a short time one player is happ…

Monopoly really shines in electronic versions, where book-keeping and rule enforcement is easy to do. There's no "free parking money pot" nonsense that just makes the game unnecessarily long.

It really shines in hell.

Re: “Spiel des Jahres” Game of the Year 2017 winners

#77

Post by epicide »

peteretep wrote: post #19

I'm a digital nomad. I'd like something a bit more exciting than simple card or dice games, but space is at a bit of a premium. Any recommendations for games that have a lot of depth (and thus can be played over and over), are very quick to pick up the basics (so we can teach others), and are physically tiny (or can be)?

Chess. Seriously. Just hear me out.

I'm mostly in the same boat traveling a lot for work. On my last trip, me and several coworkers/co-travelers started playing a lot of chess together and are continuing to have a blast.

I've been wanting to try to get into it for a while and I finally just did it. Don't read a bunch of stuff and psych yourself out. Just play and realize you're going to lose. A lot. You're _supposed_ to lose since somebody has to and there is no luck. Just learn from your mistakes.

It is a perfect travel game, though. It has essentially infinite depth, very easy to learn the few rules, and there are countless sizes and prices. It also adapts exceptionally well to digital and asynchronous versions.

For example, our group has been sending moves back and forth with chess.com's site and app. It's like communicating without having to think of things to say. I feel like I know these people better just by playing against them.

EDIT: also, it's simple enough that you could easily create a makeshift set if you don't have one available.

EDIT2: I've also had some luck adapting some games to work with playing cards and other simple pieces. A lot of games come with little thematic goodies that aren't really necessary in order to play. You should still consider buying the game if you like it to support the creator, though.

Re: “Spiel des Jahres” Game of the Year 2017 winners

#78

Post by jlg23 »

peteretep wrote: post #19

I'm a digital nomad. I'd like something a bit more exciting than simple card or dice games, but space is at a bit of a premium. Any recommendations for games that have a lot of depth (and thus can be played over and over), are very quick to pick up the basics (so we can teach others), and are physically tiny (or can be)?

Everything you can play on a chessboard[1]; you can buy cheap, lightweight plastic/rubber travel boards all around the world for about $1. Or you use a sheet of paper, draw your own board and play with crown corks. Or in sand with coconuts.

And you'll find people to play with even when you don't speak a common language; I have very fond memories of playing all of the staff of a bar in Copacabana, Bolivia, until sunrise (just knowing the little Spanish(es) I had picked up in the 6 months before) :)

Also, Dominoes, though a good set is rather on the heavy side.

[1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Checkerboard#Games_and_puzzles...

Re: “Spiel des Jahres” Game of the Year 2017 winners

#79

Post by scj »

caseydurfee wrote: post #69
scj wrote: post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you like Splendor, I can't help but recommend Finca. It has a similar method of acquiring victory points, but the wheel mechanism for gaining $CURRENCY adds just a little more depth. Side note: I'm processing BoardGameGeek.com data, and one of the goals I've set is around finding a game similar to these two. My best candidate at the moment is "Potion Explosion".

Century: Spice Road would be an obvious match for Splendor.

Looks good. I have a list of human recommendations that are contrasted to the analysis. Right now, human recommendations are winning by a landslide, and I suspect your entry will only help that.

Re: “Spiel des Jahres” Game of the Year 2017 winners

#80

Post by RangerScience »

epicide wrote: post #77
peteretep wrote: post #19

I'm a digital nomad. I'd like something a bit more exciting than simple card or dice games, but space is at a bit of a premium. Any recommendations for games that have a lot of depth (and thus can be played over and over), are very quick to pick up the basics (so we can teach others), and are physically tiny (or can be)?

Chess. Seriously. Just hear me out. I'm mostly in the same boat traveling a lot for work. On my last trip, me and several coworkers/co-travelers started playing a lot of chess together and are continuing to have a blast. I've been wanting to try to get into it for a while and I finally just did it. Don't read a bunch of stuff and psych yourself out. Just play and realize you're going to lose. A lot. You're _supposed_…

How do you feel about Go?
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