Boardgames.

[Ulminati]

All I'm saying is, if you don't play Twilight Imperium, you're a fag.

 

[SCO]

This topic really highlights the dire state of crpgs in terms of settings.

 

[villain of the story]

AND game mechanics! In our CRPGs, everything eventually comes down to combat where you can get past an obstacle one way or another. In board games, situations or events that you can not just "grind over" are aplenty so the shit gets real but the game goes on.

 

[Destroid]

If you want an epic game that will take hours and hours, I recommend Dune, although I believe it is out of print. There are rumours that the Twilight Imperium designers were working on a remake but lost the rights and so have re-themed it to a TI spin off, time will tell.

Dune has a very cool mechanic in that you can strike a deal with another player about any aspect of the game (soldiers, money, a piece of information you tell them, future movements of units), and you are bound to it. But otherwise you are free to lie your ass off.

 

[DakaSha]

http://www.keldon.net/rftg/
And you can even play it against the AI that will whip your ass over and over until you lose interest

Although its more like playing against a bunch of solitaire players competing for the best score

 

[Heechee]

+1 for Dune . I believe the French version is still in print or at least very easy to get (I have two copies, one unpacked). This game is pure awesome, IF you have at least 4, ideally 6 players. The mechanics are good on their own, but they also reflect the theme oh so very well. Be careful with the expansions though, I wouldn't recommend them for a new group. Some of the Dune sessions I participated at were the very best gaming experience I ever had, taking into account all the pc games, boardgames and pen and paper games I played.

I generally prefer the "waros", or "weuros", that is the games which lie somewhere between the typical american wargames and the more or less abstract and dry eurogames. Dune is one of such games, but there are others I would like to recommend:

The End of the Triumvirate (Das Ende des Triumvirats) - Game exactly for three people. Set during the Roman Civil war, it's more of an eurogame, but also an extremely cutthroat affair. Very well balanced, fast (about 1 hour) and tense. It's real knife fight in a phone boot, as they say.

Some of the games designed by Martin Wallace (Warfrog/Treefrog) are quite good. The best in my opinion is Liberté and After the Flood. Clever mechanics and rich theme (French revolution in case of the former and Ancient Mesopotanian kingdoms in the latter).

Shogun has been mentioned. It's a good game, but it's previous version (almost the same mechanics, but different theme) called Wallenstein has a better map (in terms of gameplay).

Also try Guerilla . Great card game, mechanics are total mindfuck, strong on theme too.

As for some non-hex wargames:

Twilight Struggle and Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage are both good card-driven wargames for two players.

You may also try Battlelines, awesome and somewhat hardcore, purely card-based wargame on operational level, Stalingrad theme.

These days I find so much more enjoyment playing boardgames compared to pc games. It's one of the few entertainment areas that haven't declined (almost on the contrary), as good new games are released regularly. It's also funny how boardgames are often regarded as even more nerdy thing than pc games around where I live.

EDIT: Added some pictures.

 

[Castanova]

http://www.keldon.net/rftg/
And you can even play it against the AI that will whip your ass over and over until you lose interest

Although its more like playing against a bunch of solitaire players competing for the best score

I have RFTG but no one ever wants to play it. This AI is pretty damn good, too. So far my best in the default 3 player setup was to lose with 29VP vs the winner with 30VP.

Edit: scratch that, just won by 1 VP. Gotta try out the expansions now.

 

[Destroid]

heechee, if you've never played Cosmic Encounter you should give it a go, it is the core gameplay system that Dune is based on.

 

[Elwro]

Guys, have any of you played Arkham Horror with some expansions? Frankly, I find the original game long and complicated enough, but do the expansions enhance the experience?

 

[RatFink]

Guys, have any of you played Arkham Horror with some expansions? Frankly, I find the original game long and complicated enough, but do the expansions enhance the experience?

yeah this please! im kinda on the fence about them. i might want to start with the card expansions, but yeah id like to know too.

+anyone tried Mansions of Madness yet?
http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_ ... p?eidm=136
from the reviews i really do get a boardgame boner from this!

 

[Heechee]

http://www.keldon.net/rftg/
And you can even play it against the AI that will whip your ass over and over until you lose interest

Although its more like playing against a bunch of solitaire players competing for the best score

Awesome

Anyone up for a game of RTFG? Send me a PM.

 

[DakaSha]

http://www.keldon.net/rftg/
And you can even play it against the AI that will whip your ass over and over until you lose interest

Although its more like playing against a bunch of solitaire players competing for the best score

Awesome

Anyone up for a game of RTFG? Send me a PM.

Hmm. Its technically possible to play with multiple codex fags.. maybe i should try getting back into. fuck is it hard to play well though

 

[mediocrepoet]

I like Shogun (not the same game as mentioned before) later called Samurai Swords - probably so as not to be confused with this other game. I don't know that it's currently in print, though.

Axis and Allies is good, of course.

More recently, the Castle Ravenloft D&D boardgame isn't bad. It plays sort of like "4E D&D-lite" where the board and card draws play the role of the DM. There are various scenarios that you can play that'll give you the objective and each player plays a member of the adventurer party. It's entirely cooperative though - when one person dies, the game's over.