Curious if anyone else likes them. I was looking through Amazon and found a bunch of games that people freaking love, but I'd never heard of. I'm looking for games that are fun with 2 people, but slightly out of the box (aka, not chess, checkers, Yahtzee, Jenga, etc) After doing a little bit of looking around, I found these... Has anyone played Agricola? People compare it to Settlers of Catan only with 2 player game play capability. Heard it's pretty fun, and it's reviews on Amazon are solid as well. http://www.amazon.com/Z-Man-Games-7026ZMG-Agricola/dp/B001C7617Q What about Carcassone? http://www.amazon.com/Z-Man-Games-81006ZMG-Carcassonne-Edition/dp/B00NX627HW Ticket to Ride? http://www.amazon.com/Days-of-Wonder-DOW-7201/dp/0975277324 Also, not really a board game, and not for 2, but I just bought F*ctionary -- will check back once I actually play it. (Can't get good .com link) http://www.amazon.ca/f-ktionary/dp/B00JZPCJZK
Never played Agricola, but I hear it's great. Doesn't seem like a 2 player game. Carcassone is a good game. Take turns laying tiles to try to form cities, roads and farms that you alone control. Players can try to take over your stuff to split control. Seems pretty easy, but the strategy is pretty engaging after you've played a while. Still, not really a 2 player. You can (and I have many times), but it's more fun with more people, up to a point. Four is optimum, IMHO. Ticket to Ride is fun as shit, but no way it's good with two people. I should say that there's no way it's more fun with two. You connect train routes across the country (the base game is USA, but expansions introduce European countries). Others vie for the connections as well, pitting multiple people for the best routes (which are the longest and most difficult to complete). BattleLore is a great 2-player game. https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/25417/battlelore Arkham Horror is a monster of a game (in multiple ways). It can take hours to play, unless you suck and the Old Ones rise up and destroy you rather quickly. It's a co-op game where everyone plays on the same side to stop the Evil from invading. It's best with four characters, but you can easily play with two players, each playing two characters. In fact, that is the way I'm most used to. Keep in mind, it is massive in scale and time. Setting up and breaking down the game can literally take an hour. https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/15987/arkham-horror Seasons is a good two-player game. Lots of stuff going on. It can be hard to get a grasp on. https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/108745/seasons Also, this is now the official Board Games thread. If you like board games, you should join up at Board Game Arena http://en.boardgamearena.com/#!welcome. You can play a shit ton of games online, with real people, for free. A few of us are already there. I have a group started. agnkim is my username, look me up.
This morning on the subway I straight roasted three CPU players in a Catan + Seafarers, 18 to 6, 7, 7 in 40 minutes
Best board games (according to me, of those I've played). 1. Battlestar Galactica 2. Arkham Horror 3. Witches Brew 4. Dominion (card game) 5. Mage Wars Two of those, Gin Buckets , are great two player games I neglected to mention; Dominion and Mage Wars. Dominion is good for multiple people, but Mage Wars is solely for two players.
I love Catan, but I'm really bad at it. Risk will always be #1, but it's hard to get people to commit to a 4+ hour game that will most likely end in a fight.
For great co-op games check out Pandemic; Forbidden Island and Forbidden Desert. All really challenging games that's the team against the board. And I know the competitiveness makes it seem like co-op games won't be fun, but they are good ways to bring in friends into table tops
Libertalia is a fucking great game, but I've only played it at BGA. If you join up, make sure you play it. You won't regret it.
I'll check these out... My primary ask is to play with a chick when it's just us, basically. Most chicks I bring around aren't into video games or they suck so bad it's impossible to take seriously. However, a thought provoking game could work, like a board game. One problem, especially with a new girl, is the chastisement I may receive if I break out a box that looks like this:
Oh, you're playing with a chick. Yeah, BattleLore is uber nerdy. If it's a girl, I'd suggest "Hide My Penis Inside of You". My fav 2 player game with females.
Settlers of Catan & Dominion are the best games I've played. I play Settlers of Catan online from time to time. I've read/heard that Puerto Rico is the best board game out there.
love Arkham Horror, Pandemic, Ticket to Ride, Diplomacy. played Twilight Imperium once - took an entire day, but was a lot of fun. probably the nerdiest most involved game around - like requires Youtube tutorials to play. Machi Koro is a lot of fun - never played it with 2 people, but it'd definitely be doable.
Puerto Rico is really fun. I've only played it a few times, but enjoyed it. If you like Dominion, they have an online site that is great. https://www.playdominion.com/Dominion/gameClient.html I've been a board game geek for a looong time, and never played Twilight Imperium. I really want to, though.
It's mainly one friend who takes the time/money/energy to buy/learn these games and teach the rest of us. For TI, he legitimately made tutorial videos on Youtube to explain the different phases in the game. With him there and having watched the videos beforehand, setup only took about 1-2 hours...I can't imagine playing with a group from scratch straight out of the box. We took multiple meal breaks, but did make it to the actual end of the game (unlike most diplomacy games where you're like "fuck it, you've got this won" and quit).
For Dominion... This one? http://www.amazon.com/Rio-Grande-Ga...=UTF8&qid=1444312349&sr=1-1&keywords=Dominion
but yeah Arkham Horror is a shit ton of fun - especially if your group has a good blend of sense of humor, but still take it seriously enough to actually win. I don't think I've ever seen the monster/villain win
chicks love Machi Koro in my experience http://www.amazon.com/IDW-Games-665...TF8&qid=1444312859&sr=8-2&keywords=machi+koro If you do decide to get it though, I recommend the deluxe edition that comes with the expansion - it adds a whole lot to the game, improves some of the rules, etc
Those recommending Arkham Horror should try Eldritch Horror. It's generally considered to be a more balanced game. Two people can easily play with each player controlling two characters. My wife and I play it, and neither of us are really heavily into board games or fantasy or any that stuff, so I would say it has broad appeal. Agricola and Caverna are both good games (I've played Agricola but not Caverna), but they are not really two-player games. San Juan is a card game based off of the game Puerto Rico. San Juan is two-player friendly, and is a really fun game that you can play in under an hour. Don't let "card game" fool you, it plays like a board game because you lay your cards down and build a city. Lost Cities is a good quick game that two people can play in 15-30 minutes. Sometimes the thought of setting up and playing an involved game is too much, and Lost Citites is good for those occasions. I think Ticket to Ride is great, but you need three or four people. I have the app on my iPad and play it often when I'm on the plane, it's a good fast play and has excellent replay value.
Anyone ever play Munchkin? It gets a lot of hate on some board game forums but it's pretty fun and great for getting skeptical people to play a non traditional board game
Yessir. I don't know you, so please understand this is meant with no offense, but you must be playing it wrong. The "game" has an advantage on the players, it's stacked against you. Play wrong, and the players can lose quick (or, if you err on the side of the players, the players can win quick). Maybe you guys are just real good (or my group just sucks), but the villain wins quite a lot.
Yeah, Munchkin is a toss up. I've had a great time playing it and I've quit about half-way through because we are all so bored. It takes the right group, the right number of players (4-6) and the right mood. Last time we played, I hated it and couldn't wait until it was over. YMMV.
The D&D board games can be really fun. My son and I play Castle Ravenloft quite a bit (he stayed home from school a few weeks ago and his mom caught us playing). They are even more nerdy than BattleLore, though. It's not Dungeons & Dragons, just board games that use that feel. Castle Ravenloft https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/59946/dungeons-dragons-castle-ravenloft-board-game Wrath of Ashardalon https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/66356/dungeons-dragons-wrath-ashardalon-board-game I'm really hogging this thread. Sorry. I'm a board games nerd, fellas.
There's no substitute for drinking smoking and talking trash with your pals while settling. I don't think I'd enjoy the online or mobile experience
I've got Carcassone on my iPhone if anybody else wants to play. Used to play a lot with my ex, but haven't played much in recent years.
That looks awesome. Tell me more, tell me more. http://www.amazon.com/Asmodee-LIBT01USASM-Libertalia-Board-Game/dp/2914849877
Annnnd, has anyone played Five Tribes? http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L6JDRE0/ref=pd_luc_rh_sbs_02_03_t_img_lh?ie=UTF8&psc=1 And my buddy who has played many of the games mentioned ITT (loves board games), said his favorite is BANG! https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3955/bang
I am fluent in the workings of Holochess, Pazaak, and Sabaac. You can win big playing those. Han Solo won the Millennium Falcon off a hand of Sabaac. Beepwhoopbeepboop
Well, you are essentially the leader of a pirate ship, complete with a (large) crew. There are a prearranged group of treasures (booty) for each day, six days in all. You can see what treasures are available for each day at the start of the game. A chest (5 points), gems (3 points), goods (1 point), a cursed treasure (-1 point). Also a map (get three and they are worth 12 points, less than three they are worthless), a sabre (you can kill someone else's crew) or a Spanish Officer (which is hard to explain, so I'll skip it for now). You secretly send someone from your crew out each day to get booty. According to their rank is how they choose. A captain is rank 15 (higher = better) while a serving wench is rank 4, for example. Each crewman has some unique function as well. That serving wench can sell maps each night so they aren't worthless, for instance. After you use them, they go from your hand into your den. Each night (between choosing booty), some crewmembers have actions they perform. Your armorer, for instance, lets you gain 1 gold (point) each night for every sabre you've collected. Some crew members collect points at the end of the week. The carpenter, for instance, costs half your gold (points) to play but nets you 10 gold at the end of the week (if he survives... remember that sabre?). After all treasures have been collected, you move to round 2 and do it all again. Finally, round three where you do it one last time. Knowing what crew member to play when and what treasures to collect, paying attention to all those special nightly and end game powers, of your crew and the opponent's crew is key. Just a great game. Come over to BGA and I'll show you.
Never played Five Tribes. BANG! is great. Secretly, someone is the sheriff, deputies and outlaws. There is also a rebel (renegade? something). When all of one side is gone, the other side wins. The renegade (whatever) wins if he alone survives. Who you can attack is determined by where people sit at the table. At first, you can only 'reach' someone one step, so those on your immediate left and right. As you get better guns (with better range), you can attack people further away. It's a game where everyone harbors a secret (always fun), but it's not real serious. I'm forgetting some stuff, it's been a while, but would highly recommend. It's best with a table full of people, though. 6-8 is great.
Some classics that kick ass (I'm throwing card type games into this thread as well....that ok?) is cribbage. Great 2-3 person game. Of course chess is a must for anybody that likes games. A great game for strategy that goes really quickly is Machi Koro, most games are less than 45 minutes and really good game for 3-4 people. Settlers is great but need to play it more. But really, board games are awesome and such a fun night if you get a couple of people together. Have spent many moons playing Risk with my Nebraska friends and getting drunk and talking loads of trash.
no offense taken haha. I think we've played it 4 times - it's probably a combination of luck and being pretty good at the strategy of it.
I've never been a big fan of Risk. Too many dice. Not that I mind rolling dice, but the more dice you introduce, the less the game relies on skill on the more on luck, or at least randomness. Plus, it takes forever. And games where someone can eliminated (and thus are relegated to just watching) normally kind of suck. But, it's a popular game, so who am I to argue.