What BOARD GAME(s) have you been playing?

For flicking it makes fucking *worlds* of sense.

I'm still slightly skeptical of it for Oath, to be honest.

I was really pleased by Jim's decision to make the board in Cosmic Frog a neoprene mat, since I could see major problems with it being slick cardboard where the land tiles might slide around. It's not an upgrade, though. It's just the base package. Also, I have a review of War Chest sitting in the queue that mentions the tactile sensations of playing that game that are, to me, a huge part of its package. It's components are very nice (hefty unit coins, embroidered bags) and I really think that level of quality is part of what makes the game, aside from its overall design, which is excellent.

But, yeah, on the few Kickstarters I've been in on, the whole "game mat" thing and metal coins usually aren't a huge draw. They're nice, but not usually worth the extra $, IMO. In fact, Bendgar sold me a lot of the expansion and KS stuff for Rising Sun quite cheaply, which included the metal coins, but he had a good offer for just the coins from someone else, so I sent them back to him. I'm perfectly fine with the plastic ones.

Michael Barnes wrote: Yeah, cheap and ugly. The Gearlocs are just about the worst looking fantasy race ever. And this is coming from someone that owns Gelfling dolls.

I went back to look again because I thought maybe I was exaggerating.

www.boardgamegeek.com/image/3879875/too-many-bones

You mean this charming lad doesn't speak to you? What a scamp.

To be fair, their custom dice are fucking gorgeous, I will give them that.

I’m willing to bet those nightmare visages are the designers, friends, and family.

The dice look pretty bad really...that’s where the comic sans is.

Jack, I still have extra plastic ones if you run out.

Ben

Hi, am new here - so by way of introduction:

I play eurogames, MtG, deck builders, miniatures, other card games, some RPG, Mah Jong. Love strategy games/engine builders, but also simpler stuff if my brain is tired!

Current faves are Tribes & Brass: Lancs. My favourites change depending on my mood. Am playing Cosmic Voyage at the moment to review it. No spoilers

Harrie

This weekend we were in Columbus, so I stopped at a local store (Beyond the Board in Dublin) to check out the local flavor. It was a really nice store! I walked out with something of an impulse purchase: two volumes of Mike Fitzgerald's Mystery Rummy series: Jack the Ripper and Al Capone. Not sure what about these games called out to me at this particular moment, but I'm glad I listened.

My previous experience with Mystery Rummy isn't really with the series at all, but with Wyatt Earp, the version he made for Alea like twenty years ago. I liked that game okay, but it didn't survive a culling, and I think at the time I sort of resented playing an elaborate version of rummy. For whatever reason I find the format a lot more enjoyable now, even admirable in the way it repurposes a very familiar game into something that can be evocative, even thematic.

I've played a little of both games with my son. Of the two, I think that Jack the Ripper is the more thematic, evocative game, while Al Capone is more intuitive and generally more streamlined. Both are great, and it makes me want to actually chase down the other three volumes. It turns out this was EXACTLY the sort of game I wanted in my life right now.

I only know JtR and Wyatt Earp but I love those games. I listened to a fair few of those podcast episodes with Geoff Engelstein Mike did and really felt an affinity with his gaming attitudes and I think they come through especially in these games. Kitchen table with grandma or uncle Joe, you know; one part "family game", one part "traditional", and one part for the gamer. Breezy and sociable, but clever. Whack, slap some cards on the table, but watch out, because play can be really canny. And then some really sharp flourishes. I love that Wyatt Earp was partly inspired by Up Front. That's such a great thing, flipping to resolve.

Played WE last week with the family and introduced JtR to some students of mine a few weeks before who coincidentally were trying to design a JtR boardgame for a history assignment. The delight when someone went out for the first time and I had the ripper escapes card, after they'd let him escape 2 rounds in a row previously, was terrific.

san il defanso wrote: This weekend we were in Columbus, so I stopped at a local store (Beyond the Board in Dublin) to check out the local flavor. It was a really nice store! I walked out with something of an impulse purchase: two volumes of Mike Fitzgerald's Mystery Rummy series: Jack the Ripper and Al Capone. Not sure what about these games called out to me at this particular moment, but I'm glad I listened.

My previous experience with Mystery Rummy isn't really with the series at all, but with Wyatt Earp, the version he made for Alea like twenty years ago. I liked that game okay, but it didn't survive a culling, and I think at the time I sort of resented playing an elaborate version of rummy. For whatever reason I find the format a lot more enjoyable now, even admirable in the way it repurposes a very familiar game into something that can be evocative, even thematic.

I've played a little of both games with my son. Of the two, I think that Jack the Ripper is the more thematic, evocative game, while Al Capone is more intuitive and generally more streamlined. Both are great, and it makes me want to actually chase down the other three volumes. It turns out this was EXACTLY the sort of game I wanted in my life right now.

I used to work within walking distance of Beyond the Board, before the company I work for sent us all home to work remotely. It's a nice store, although I think The Guardtower is better. If you didn't walk down to Jeni's or over to Graeter's for ice cream, you cheated yourself.

I went to college in Central Ohio, so I’m intimately acquainted with both Graeter’s and Jeni’s. To my great benefit I might add.

Jeni's > Graeter's

hotseatgames wrote: Jeni's > Graeter's

Jeni's has a higher standard deviation than Graeter's. Higher ceiling, lower floor. The one time in my life I threw away ice cream was from Jeni's. It was Chocolate Coconut Curry, and it tasted like spicy hot soap. There's not a bad flavor on the Graeter's menu, and anything of theirs with chocolate chips is going to be awesome.

Dairy Queen > all “craft” ice cream

Michael Barnes wrote: Dairy Queen > all “craft” ice cream

Pure trolling!

Any Ohioans rolling through my tiny city of Findlay owe it to themselves to seek out Dietsch's Bros. It is the best ice cream in all the land. Puts Jeni's and Graeter's to shame.

Graeter's <anything> Chocolate Chip beats everything DQ, hands down. Would I turn my nose up at a chocolate dipped cone at DQ? No. But Graeter's isn't Designer Ice Cream so much as ice cream perfectly executed.