Most complicated game?

Shamikebab said:
That I've played, probably T'zolkin.
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I've Played T'zolkin and found it frustrating (and dull) but not complex. The board looks cluttered though and I think that makes it feel more complex than it is.

I own a lot of medium to heavyweight Euros and of them Agricola and Caverna are probably the most complex.

I want to give Madeira a try as that is supposed to be a brain burner of high order.

 
Taken as a whole the most complex game is indisputably Magic: the Gathering, which has literally hundreds of game mechanics and over 10,000 unique cards. Luckily it compartmentalises easily.
 
I have an unpunched copy of Omaha Beachhead that I've been trying to learn the rules to for a couple of years. I'm working on being able to teach it before I try to find a willing opponent. Then there was the first wargame I ever played, I can't even remember the title (something Napoleonic), but 6 hours later, I'm not entirely certain what happened.

In terms of Euros, I don't really think that I've had any problems... Agricola isn't so much complex as overwhelming (strategically).

For thematic games, Mage Knight struck me as being excessively convoluted, but I've only played a couple of times.
 
Of game that i've played, i'd say Mage Knight is tricky as most games I can pick up solidly enough in one playthrough, but this required a few (expecially with it adding a fair few extra bits in the full rules).

Still worth it though.
 
Apopcalyptic said:
For thematic games, Mage Knight struck me as being excessively convoluted, but I've only played a couple of times.
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It's a lot a different mechanics wrapped into one game. That's why it feels so convoluted.

Apopcalyptic said:
lol. I've never played one myself, but there was a room at Midcon last year devoted to train games. The 18xx series looks....dry...
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Horses for courses. I like a good train game but most of 18XX is stock and I'm not a fan of stock games although Airlines Europe is good.
 
Horus Heresy: The Board Game.

Excessively convoluted and boatloads of mechanics and rules that seem shoehorned in just because they could, combined with a setup that takes so long I could paint a whole squad of tactical marines in the time it takes to ready the board.
 
SickAsAParrot said:
Some of the old hex-map-and-chit wargames were ridiculously complicated, I have a few I've never been able to fathom out, Gulf Strike, Central America, Flat-Top. Advanced Squad Leader had a reputation for being particularly difficult IIRC.
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Advanced Squad Leader is the most complex board game that I've ever played. I've heard that some of the space battle games in the 1970s were even worse, requiring a knowledge of calculus.

Early editions of 40K and D20 RPGs are just as bad as Advanced Squad Leader, IMO.
 
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