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Kevin Klemme
March 09, 2020
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Kevin Klemme
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Kevin Klemme
August 12, 2019
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oliverkinne
December 19, 2023
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Mycelia Board Game Review

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December 12, 2023
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December 07, 2023
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River Wild Board Game Review

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December 05, 2023
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November 30, 2023
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November 28, 2023
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Spitfireixa
October 24, 2023
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October 17, 2023
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October 10, 2023
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Outback Crossing Review

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What BOARD GAME(s) have you been playing?

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15 Nov 2015 22:47 #215083 by Cranberries
I have been playing Ingenious with the kids on Sunday afternoons. Less fighting this time, and my eleven-year-old keeps crushing us. She said she likes to think about her turn during the entire game, which is her secret to winning. The force is strong in this one.

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16 Nov 2015 07:56 #215096 by Black Barney
Played two more matches of Arena of the Planeswalkers, this time as Chandra and then Jace. Chandra is Insanely strong. Won the match on my second turn. Jace is super powerful too but there's just too many options for my AP mind to handle. Reminds me why I don't like playing as the Axis in Axis and Allies, just takes me too damn long

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16 Nov 2015 08:10 - 16 Nov 2015 08:11 #215097 by JEM
Risk: Star Wars edition. Great fun, we played the four player game (myself and three players new to the game). The "gain a card" instant reward was well received and while we felt hopeless as the Rebels being unable to roll sixes on 30 dice to get the final spot on the shield generator track, we eventually 1-2 punched through the tie defences with our last X-Wing squadron to snatch the win. Great game for $24.

Shadowrun: Crossfire. Brutal game this time around, we were hosed in scene two. Still excellent.

Kingsburg. I need to play again, because we had a "problem player" who made the game drag out to almost three hours and a lot of frustration. I'm concerned about the key strategy appearing to be "roll high numbers" but it plays easily and I had fun with the mechanics (which are very light).

Blood Rage. First "real" play with other opponents. I tried to not overuse my familiarity from my couple of practice plays, and to highlight and warn about particular strong combos, but the nuances were not obvious to the other players. I went with a half-assed Loki strategy after turn one, stealing rage and gaining points for suicide. 2nd place player felt that 3rd place (we played three) made moves that were "kingmaker" in the final round. My perspective was that he kingmade himself by piling in on my pillages instead of letting me pillage with no battle. Also pointed out that most of the cards I used were passed around three or four times in the draft. This is a game that is going to need a group to become familiar with to really shine. I also feel it currently lacks the narrative potential of CitOW due to being more generic and opaque. Experienced players could alleviate that, and I think that the player-base could come up with some interesting ideas to solidify clans into roles, if that's what would help (locking in certain cards for each clan for Age 1 is the first thing I can think of).

Blood Bowl Team Manager. Some bad dice rolls, we called this after four rounds with one player having 38 points, 15 ahead of 2nd place. We played a three-player game, and the game really needs players familiar with how it works, and how to hold back runaway leaders. Still enjoyable.
Last edit: 16 Nov 2015 08:11 by JEM.

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16 Nov 2015 08:53 #215099 by charlest

Michael Barnes wrote: Thanks for digging into Blood Rage...I'm waiting on MM to get it in but I'm really interested in seeing it in action...mainly because I don't see what the fuss is about. It looks like another decent hybrid DoaM. Which I love, but is it the next big title in the genre? It seems like the reactions are either "OMG board game Jesus" or "it's alright- mehven point five".

I have heard pretty universally that the KS stuff is pretty disposable.


I've now played 6 games, 4 times where we had access to the KS stuff but didn't even use it. I haven't even used the expansions (available retail) that I have either. The base game is complete and boasts tons of replayability.

I've already let it be known but this game has blown me away. I think you need to be a fan of the hybrid type games to really enjoy it and get the most out of it because it's not exactly Ameritrash.

What I think it does really well at its core is that it's direct and quick. Like Cthulhu Wars, no time is wasted and you're getting to the fun immediately. There's not as much buildup and delay as Chaos in the Old World.

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16 Nov 2015 09:00 #215100 by SuperflyPete

JEM wrote: Shadowrun: Crossfire. Brutal game this time around, we were hosed in scene two. Still excellent.


HELP!!!

I can't figure out how to play this game. We never win. Ever. It's brutally difficult, and in many cases, if you're playing with ANY of the bonus point options, a setup may happen on turn one that cannot be beaten with the default hand of cards.

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16 Nov 2015 09:42 #215108 by JEM
I'll never say that Crossfire can't punch you in the trousers unfairly, but we have found some things that really help. Buying any card in the market that has an "Assist" power is huge. Even if it's the "wrong" colour for your character. We are always figuring out which obstacle needs to be killed first, maybe because it hits hard, maybe because killing it gets the orc enough cash to buy a card this turn, etc. It feels like Sentinels without all the chit-faff.

If it's really too much, start out with a 5 karma skill on one or two of the characters. We are at that level now.

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16 Nov 2015 11:30 #215119 by Joebot
Thanks to everyone here on F:AT who gave me helpful advice on which variants / rules make for the best game of Wiz War. I played with my brother and a buddy of ours, and it was the first time playing for all of us. The game was exactly as advertised -- short, bloody, and fucking hilarious. My brother won in a landslide, which sucked.

You find yourself saying the most ridiculous things in this game, like, "I'm going to burn down your Rose Bush with my Boomstone," or "Get ready for Power Thrust, bitch!"

I know I'm 30 years late to the party on this one, but this game is a blast, and I can't wait to play it again.
The following user(s) said Thank You: Cranberries, Not Sure, aaxiom, stoic

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16 Nov 2015 12:41 #215136 by SuperflyPete
I wonder if the use of the "new" rules is why I didn't like it..?

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16 Nov 2015 15:56 #215167 by Michael Barnes
You know what "new rules" I've decided I don't like? Merchant of Venus. Back when I tried them a couple of years ago, I thought they were alright. But man, I set up a game for me and a friend last night and halfway through re-learning the "standard" rules, I said "you know what, fuck this shit" and decided we'd just play the old fashioned "classic" ones. So it took like ten minutes to sort out what doesn't get used for those, and all of that stuff went into a freezer bag. That may never be opened again. Hey, the "classic" rules are fun, light and really neat! We didn't really play to a set dollar amount, we just piddled around buying low, selling high and so on. I had been sort of considering putting it on the block what with Xia in town, but it is a very different kind of game really closer to Merchants and Marauders in that it's more of a "commerce adventure". I love both. Xia ships on the MoV board worked nicely.

Played some Kemet last night too...it's not a great two player game, but my friend asked for it. I kind of forget how cool that game is...so aggressive. It got me wanting to look at the Ta-Seti expansion that I think is about to come out in the US. I just destroyed him, Ancestral Elephant early on and domination of the temples. I
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16 Nov 2015 15:57 #215168 by Black Barney
no need to finish. we get it.
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16 Nov 2015 16:52 #215175 by Michael Barnes
Oh, let me finish...

I then just proceeded to pound and pound and pound him. It was sort of embarrassing really. So much of what was going on must have resembled a date with Black Barney, notorious Internet Canadian.
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16 Nov 2015 17:04 #215176 by SuperflyPete

Michael Barnes wrote: Oh, let me finish...

I then just proceeded to pound and pound and pound him. It was sort of embarrassing really. So much of what was going on must have resembled a date with Black Barney, notorious Internet Canadian.



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16 Nov 2015 17:57 #215185 by Hex Sinister
Played Civilization for the first time in decades, not counting one ill-conceived 11pm game several years back. There were only three of us, which I thought was going to suck, but it was actually surprisingly good. There's still a lot to like about it - the rules are very simple and you can really focus on the play. The board just really fucking sucks. The spaces are so miniscule and cramped that it really makes things difficult. Some are smaller than the actual chits. Probably just an old man complaint but it was the number one annoying part of the game. We played for about 7 hours and at that point everybody was getting frazzled so we called it. I couldn't bear one more accounting phase. Aside from the usual spousal drama that happens every time we get together it was a good time.
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16 Nov 2015 18:07 #215187 by Michael Barnes
Unlike Diplomacy, Civilization is one I still love very much. Yet again, the reality is that I probably won't ever play it again. It is RIDICULOUSLY inefficient with player time. The "technology" of the game is WAY outdated. But the design itself is brilliant and it is actually quite simple. And it is actually pretty good with only three players. But yeah man, it just goes on and on and on. There still isn't really anything else quite like it, although I would say that Mare Nostrum probably got the closest to it. Clash of Cultures is probably the best game to date in that entire genre (assuming that we are retiring Advanced Civilization due to "inactivity"), but Civ...man, nothing could touch it in the late 1980s/early 1990s for me. I traded my copy to Chapel and I do actually miss it from time to time, just looking over and seeing that game...
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16 Nov 2015 18:50 #215191 by Hex Sinister

Michael Barnes wrote: Yet again, the reality is that I probably won't ever play it again.

This is what I thought, too. But my friend was fiending so I said fuck it. I'm glad I did. What's cool about it is that it's easy enough for novices to get into. His 18 year old son had no problems getting right into it. But yeah, on and on until the break of dawn... we'd play this at the local con until my voice was thrashed and my eyes crossed.
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