Recommend me some games

Since I joined my local club in February I've been putting over 30 hours of gaming a month, far more than I expected and, notably, far more than my current collection can support. It's not that my games lack replayability or that I'm joining the cult of the new, it's that I'm playing so much I'm in need of some variety. I got Food Chain Magnate barely two weeks ago and I'm already three plays into it, that's really something.

I'm not looking for anything in particular, just any titles new or old that you think I might like, no matter the kind. Feel free to suggest something obscure or unique, as long as you feel it can compete with what I already own.

Here's what I have or plan to have (in cursive)

Heavy games. I like them all very much:

1825, plan to add at least another 18XX title
A Most Dangerous Time
Civilization
Dune
Food Chain Magnate
The Republic of Rome

The standards. If I had to reduce to five, this is what I would keep:

Cosmic Encounter
Steam: Rails to Riches
March of the Ants
Terraforming Mars
Android: Netrunner

Good games. Perhaps not as good as the games in the other categories, but they have earned their spot for now:

Chicago Express
Gearworld: The Borderlands
Liberté
Citadels
Intrigue
Ogre

I recommend:

Wiz-War
Tigris & Euphrates
San Juan
Puzzle Strike

But if you're gaming that much you should really try to get some campaign games going on like Frostgrave.

I think you would really like Argent: the Consortium. It's an utterly knives out worker placement that is not even close to as random as people seem to think it is. Play with 3 at most.

Sons of Anarchy - American biker gangs battling for advantage in illegal markets. Worker placement with combat, gradually expanding "board," potential deal-making, and a fluctuating commodity market based on supply from players.

Spartacus - Noble houses in ancient Rome competing for prestige through treachery, gambling, and gladiators. 3 games in one: take-that cards, auctions, and gladiatorial combats with betting.

Android - Cyberpunk detectives competing to solve a murder and a conspiracy, while handling serious personal problems. Heavy, very original, same setting as Android: Netrunner.

All 3 of these games feature variable player powers.

Spartacus is a must-have. I mean, a MUST. HAVE.

For four players, I quite like Redacted. For four or five, Cyclades or Mare Nostrum.

I got into a semi-argument with a friend that was offended that we were pretty obviously dealing drugs in Sons of Anarchy. And Spartacus hews close to its television show's boobs and blood origins. Personally, I haven't played those two games enough, and they're good games.

I'd add these:

Acquire
Chaos in the Old World, if you can get four players.
El Grande, if you can get five players.
Castles of Burgundy - if you want a point-salad Euro, make it a good one.

I'll recommend some classics that I've been playing lately:

Wallenstein has a unique battle mechanic and a really enjoyable balance between feeding and expanding. I have the old version which I think it's very similar to the new one.

El Grande seconded.

Imperial 2030 I've never played the original but this is a gem that rewards repeated play.

Modern Art If you enjoy auctions, you can't go wrong with this one.

RobertB wrote: I got into a semi-argument with a friend that was offended that we were pretty obviously dealing drugs in Sons of Anarchy. And Spartacus hews close to its television show's boobs and blood origins.

For my group, the ideological hurdle to overcome in Spartacus was definitely participating in slave auctions. Once you make peace with playing a bunch of deeply unsavory people, though, there's a helluva game to be had.

Spartacus is a must-have title.
Other recommendations:
Cthulhu Wars - fantastic if you can afford it and store it
Guards of Atlantis - possibly tougher to acquire, but super cool team-based MOBA board game. Highly strategic
Techno Bowl - awesome 2 player football game
Room 25 - really neat take on The Cube, and has lots of modes of play
Duel of Ages II - crazy team-based skirmish / adventure game
Frostgrave and Gaslands are a great time if you want to get into minis / matchbox

I could see your group going for Modern Art, good suggestion.

Seconded:
Acquire
Cyclades
Wiz-War
Tigris & Euphrates
Android
Spartacus

Also worth a look:
Maria/Friedrich
Kemet
Survive
Space Empires 4x

I recommend Steam and second San Juan. Also For Sale as a filler/warm-up/rain dance.

Seconding the following:

Argent - really the best worker placement game. It's Ameritrash Worker Placement and it RULES

Chaos in the Old World or Cthulhu Wars - Very similar games and at this point if you find a sale you can get CW for cheaper than the now sadly OOP CitOW. CW also has the wow factor and customization that CitOW lacks, despite CitOW being an all time great and CW being just short of that.

El Grande - Definitely in the same vein as both CitOW and CW, but different enough that it's worth owning plus one of the others.

Adding

Xia, legends of a drift system. You seem to like pick up and deliver, and this is one of the more fun games in that genre. It's one of those games where you CAN play till the game ends on points or whatever, but the better way to play is to just set it up and play till you get tired of it.

Here I Stand - My favorite heavy war game. Really needs 6 players to shine and takes a commitment from everyone to read and digest all of the rules because each power has very different paths to victory (I would argue that the religious powers are almost playing a different game.) Super deep, and very rewarding.

Warrior Knights - A 12 year old FFG remake of a 33 year old GW game. OOP and pricey but I feel like your group would take to it if you like heavier area control/4X games.

These are all great suggestions! They are surprisingly close to stuff I've been looking at, actually. Other than some niche games and the jank these are my kind of suggestions. Some thoughts:

Games I want to try first:

Wiz-War: I'm wary of this game. Chances are I'll like it and it's very well-regarded around here. But I'm not sure it has the strategic edge Cosmic Encounter has and I would be very dissapointed if that's the case even if it's fun.

Argent: The Consortium: I'll be honest, I'm wary of any and all worker placement games because I have yet to play one that is actually good. I know that, technically, it's a form of drafting and there's nothing wrong with them on an instrinsc level, but they seem to be on the weaker end of design. I want to try this, because if F:ATies like it, there must be something about it, but I'll wait until someone brings it to the club. I'm not worried about its apparent randomness or hidden information, though.

Tigris & Euphrates: I don't actually know much about this game, despite having read of it. It doesn't seem a game where the actual play experience can be easily described so I want to try it first. My biggest fear is that I'm not sure this will hit the table with my group and there are a bunch of games (18XX, Dune, RoR, Steam) I want to push at the club.

Acquire, Modern Art: Want to check out for sure. I might actually get Modern Art or other Knizia game if someone dumps his old copy and I can trade for it.

Maria, Friederich: My club's toilets use these games' covers as signs. I'm not sure I would like them because they are wargames or pseudo wargames but I would like to try them for sure.

Here I Stand: Will sign up for a game next time it's proposed, seems something I could like or something that succumbs to the EON/Tresham steamroller.

Games I considered but ended up discarding:

Puzzle Strike, Space Empires 4X: These are either 2 player game or a team games that shine with repeat play with the same people. My group's player count is 3 and I'm not seeing the required repeat play at the club. A shame.

Chaos in the Old World: Used to play this a lot with my old group. It's a fantastic game, but, like Puzzle Strike, it's a 4-player only game that shines with repeat play with the same people. Logistics aren't there. Apparently this is expensive as hell now, though I'm sure the Spanish version is cheaper.

Spartacus, Warrior Knights, Cyclades: These games look fun, but they do not seem to be neither big personal hits nor classics. That is, they are games that would go directly to my third category and languish in comparison the "jank" that attracts me on a personal level or the actual classics. A friend of mine always laughs and tells me I'm a "seeker of epiphanies" for being so demanding and I must admit he's probably right. Still, if they pop up at the club I'll make sure to try them out.

Interestingly, the Spanish version of Warrior Knights isn't expensive. I see copies for 20-25€ with some regularity. The expansion was not released in Spanish, though.

Mare Nostrum, Wallenstein: Similar to the above. They are more well-regarded (I know Barnes loves MN) but they both require five players. And if I have 5 players at the club and I push for a game...can't I actually push Civilization instead? Or Dune.

Android: Well-known to be janky, which is good, but I'm not sure it's the right kind of jank. I have fun with games like Arkham Horror but mostly not because of the games themselves and I'm one of those guys that think calling a game an "experience" is a backhanded compliment. I would like to try it, though. Sadly I'm told there's not much of a connection to Netrunner.

Imperial: I actually chose between it and Chicago Express back in the day. Both games are rather similar and, at this point, I would rather move towards more niche stock market games like West Riding Revisited or whatever crap Winsome makes.

No. Just no:

Xia: This is the only game I've vetoed in my gaming group. In fact, it has been vetoed by two of us and the owner agreed the game needed tweaks. This game is seriously underdeveloped and the downtime is just massive. Seriously, I like long games, but this is a 3 hour game in which you do not play for 2 hours.


I'll look into San Juan, Sons of Anarchy, Redacted, Guards of Atlantis and other games I haven't heard about before. Frostgrave looks fun. I don't know if it's something I would actually play, but the idea of a skirmish game with wizards appeals to me. I've actually checked Battletecha and Necromunda before for that reason.

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Random jank I've been checking out, with no rhyme or reason:

Container: Looks like my kind of game, waiting for reprint to know more.
Darkstar: This game is mostly known for being illustrated by one of the guys who made a Dune redesign. And it actually does have a significant Dune influence. It's 4 players game, which is tough, however, and I would like to know more about it.
Divine Right: This game keeps popping up as a small classic and some people whose opinions respect really like it. But I don't know what's interesting about it or how well it holds up.
Down with the King/Henry VIII: Intrigue in the Tudor Court: Jank. But man, I like the theme and some of the ideas and they look Republic of Rome-ish, which I like. Apparently Henry VIII is less janky. BUT ISN'T JANK THE POINT?
Greed Incorporated: The concept is very intriguing as is the kind of negotiation presented. I'm not sure if it holds to repeat play, people are mixed on it at BGG but geeks are notably poor at strategy. Very expensive, I hope I can play it and see on my own.
Gunslinger: Cool theme, not sure if the effort ratio is worthwhile and whether I would push for it.
High Frontier: I think I might like this, but I would need to try. I suspect it's not quite there design-wise, but it might have personal appeal.
Magic Realm: Would like to build, would need to rope people but I know at least one guy that would join in. Not worth it for solo play, my CRT would get jealous.
Revolution: The Dutch Revolt: Intriguing. I love Tresham's games and I can get his two more famous ones to the table. Barnes thinks it's impossible for this game to hit the table regularly, regardless of how good it is. He might be right.
The Road to Honnoji 1576-84: This is a 4 player, Japanese-only wargame. The idea is that players conspire against warlord Nobunaga, if they don't, and Nobunaga makes it out alive, everyone loses. But only one player can win. This is interesting and I'm very curious about Japanese game designs. My only issue is that the game end is dictated by a random die roll, which is a terrible mechanic.
Roads & Boats: Legomancer hates it, it's expensive as hell and people compare it to Le Havre. This could either be a personal hit or a massive disspointment I would hate for the rest of my life.
Three Kingdoms Redux: Could go either way
Time Agent: Fascinating premise, awful graphical design and personal appeal. Grognards respect it, but do not put it to the level of the best AH or EON titles. Would jump instantly if it had a second edition, I respect Lehman's designs.

My gut is telliing me you would like Kremlin.