I'll hit you up on bga if I remember. I'd be interested in tzolkin, teotihuacuan, caledonian, caylus, city of the big shoulder. I could probably handle maediera. Also I have the through the ages app so that's an option, though I've only played the comp challenges.

I saw they have not alone which I really like (though more of a 4 or more player game to me). I find the decision making in not alone very easy. It's kinda poker like strategy even though people wouldn't say it is.

Do they have teo and city of big shoulders on there now? Big if true(edit: just checked; awesome!!)

I used to play Caledonia on there all the time; one of my faves

Add me and I’ll invite you to a game

added you, karnelchik who is a former pog/2p2er who scammed people and i used the name as a troll and now it's mine

our regular board game group (4 ppl) just finished playing pandemic legacy which i havent done a deep dive through this thread but i have no doubt its been mentioned and was excellent, looking for our next game, debated just getting season 2 or the prequel but think it would be nice to mix it up.

One of the guys bought Root and sent around some youtubes to watch but hasn't gotten any traction. I think the co-op style of pandemic worked well as one of the team is incredibly competitive (i.e. leaves after a game of catan without saying a word) any thoughts? I played dead of winter like 6 years ago which is co-op IIRC. loved the legacy format of pandemic so leaning towards just playing season 2.

I wanted to get them into dominion after playing it tons years ago (i think from hearing about it here) but not sure it still holds up also only ever played it digitally so not sure how high the bar to entry is, especially with the computer figuring out all the complex card interplay from memory and there is better out there now. IIRC it had a bunch of expansions which worked well digitally but not sure about physical sets

Whats the general thoughts on root, should we just suck it up and give it a crack? didnt jump out at me from the youtubes i watched

Pandemic Legacy Season 2 is a LOT different than S1. It very much is a game your group will absolutely love or absolutely hate.

I'd probably recommend playing Season 0 first.

Root is a good game but isn’t cooperative and it’s very asymmetrical...every player’s rules on how to play their game are completely different, so you need to determine roles in advance and then have each person learn their own role’s rules. Given this, it is tough to get traction on Root with more casual groups. People have to be willing to learn the rules.

For another cooperative game, check out Spirit Island...different enough from Pandemic but a good game that should be a hit with your group

Dominion is always good and it’s short games (20-25 mins) so if he loses one he can play again rather than storming off after spending 1.5-2 hours losing a game. Also, if you don’t use attack cards then nobody for him to be mad at.

Also, Catan is pretty unique in the rustling jimmies domain...someone who gets mad after that may or may not get mad after normal board games.

I thought root looked quite terrible but enjoyed playing, you need to have the right mix of factions so it self balances at least a little bit.

Based on your description I would give a thumbs down to trying root with that group.

I have been playing sologames for about 2y now, more or less, since my kids have no interest in playing anything heavy and I have no access to a local player group

If you have tried to play games like Eldritch Horror, Gloomhaven, Mage Knight solo, I just cannot imagine that you don't feel challenged.

Gloomhaven is an absolute brainburner. Open a room, see the monsters, predict their movements and plan ahead the use of your cards.

Eldritch Horror after every Mythos phase, the board presents you with various problems with different degrees of urgency and every turn you have to develop a plan: put out the biggest fires, develop your characters and advance in your Mysteries.

Mage Knight: see the terrain, which cards do you have available, which have already been used, which are still in your deck and what is the best way to advance to the highest level possible.

I agree that playing vs an other human being of the same kind of level as yourself brings an extra dimension to a game. But if you say that you don't feel challenged by sologames, i think you haven't played a proper sologame yet.

My wife hates games but my son (11) quite enjoys them so we have to find things that are good with two, plus cooperative games are good to balance with competitive ones so that we can both play hard without the fear of a tantrum when I lose.

I like corporative games, but it's hard to find ones that genuinely involve individuals making their own decisions (like hanabi say). When other people joined in with our pandemic legacy game it was a bit tricky as they were at a massive disadvantage to the two of us veterans and the danger was we'd just overrule whatever they wanted to do

We like Machi koro but the legacy version sounded a bit whatever.

Appreciate the thoughtful responses as always thanks. Seems like possibly worth giving everyone a pre defined root role and read up & strategise on that and try one game especially considering its already bought, if it doesnt work well then try pandemic season 0.

Whats the thoughts on dominion? In terms of my last comment:

"especially with the computer figuring out all the complex card interplay from memory and there is better out there now. IIRC it had a bunch of expansions which worked well digitally but not sure about physical sets" also looks like theres 10 or so different expansions and rule sets but i guess if we get the base version and its not a hit then not worth exploring more.


Interested to hear more on :

"Pandemic Legacy Season 2 is a LOT different than S1. It very much is a game your group will absolutely love or absolutely hate. I'd probably recommend playing Season 0 first. "

Is that general consensus?

Dominion is great and is fun and there are some huge number of combinations of cards to use in any given game.

I don’t see a reason it wouldn’t be a hit

So true, its the only 'higher level' game we roll out to more casual friends and I invariably get labelled too competitive because all i want is a non offensive deep game of catan. One where no one is ever truly behind because people realize who is in the lead (even if they are several VP behind) and rob them and trade well but usually ends up with someone casually trading away 3 cards to another player and giving them the win. My jimmies dont get rustled and i dont care about losing but ive been trying for a while to push a strong real competitive game and it surprisingly difficult even in a group of fairly serious board gamers

This seems very odd.

What do they like?

Sounds like they are fairly serious about one game: pandemic legacy, but not about a variety of games or heavier games.

I’ve found a lot of people don’t like learning the rules for new games but once they play the game they enjoy them.

So maybe try some heavier games that are quick to teach so they learn over time that there are tons of good games out there and it’s worth the time to learn them.

You can also try lighter games that have certain mechanics and then that makes it easier to explain other games.

Like Dominion is a great deck builder that they will probably enjoy and play a bunch and then they will understand the deck building mechanic that tons of games use.

And Istanbul is an easy to learn ‘pick up and deliver’ game and then teaching Yokohama isn’t difficult after that.

Splendor is a good pure engine builder and then you can move on to more complex engine builders.

Modern Art is a good pure auction game.

Etc

I've definitely encountered types who hate learning rules (and I'm that way about some games)

Quinns on shut up and sit down does a video on how to explain rules to people, which is a underratedly difficult. He says the first thing he does is explain the thematics of the game/what you're doing thematically/why the game will be fun. I don't care about themes much but some people do a lot.


I prefer people just watch a video on how to play because those people are normally better than I will be.

Yeah, this sounds correct.

In addition to what Nich said, try these.

Stone Age - Worker placement
Can't Stop - Press Your Luck
Sushi Go - Card drafting
Colt Express - Programming/planning ahead
Coup - Bluffing/Deduction
Airlines Europe/Ticket To Ride family - Set collection

I don't like splendor but objectively consider it to be a really good game.

Sushi go is important because drafting is a key mechanic

A lot of games with cards (like Terraforming Mars) need to use drafting to make it more strategic, so everyone understanding drafting strategy and what not is important and sushi go is a fun quick way to practice that strategy.

And then lots of games use other types of drafting (dice, tile, etc) or even just worker placement games where there are limited spots to get certain resources are somewhat similar to drafting, they just look and feel different. Choosing from a limited selection of good options and thinking about which one(s) might still be available when it gets back to you is an important skill in gaming.

So if I started a turn-based game of something, you'd both be in?

I'm halfway decent at Tzolkin, know the rules of Teotihuacan and Through the Ages but am horrible at both, and never played the rest.

Sure why not. Add me karnelchik

Kinda remember board game arena being fidgety with misclicks.

I’m always in for a turn based game

Real-time takes more planning, but turn based I’m in anytime.

Haven’t played tzolkin yet and barely TtA so would need to brush up on that. No problem learning rules for Tzolkin if y’all wanna play that; I’ve wanted to learn it for awhile.

Teo and Clans and City of Big Shoulders I’m good anytime along with Roll for Galaxy, Castles of Burgundy, Can’t Stop, Sushi Go, Terra Mystica, Innovation, Stone Age, Oh Hell!, Not Alone, Libertalia, 7 Wonders and For Sale

Also Yokohama! And downforce, Jaipur, hanabi

I'm thinking of buying mysterium for my sister. Anyone played it?

Yeah, we played it in POG a few times last month.

Good visual interpretation game.