Non traditional board games

[Kiyoshi]

I am also interested in what you think of Portal

For crying out loud - I asked if anyone else was going and wanted to meet and everyone was "nah, wish I could, me so jelly".

Must resist...

 

[GTanny]

been on a bit of a binge buying session recently, had a day out in Manchester and picked up:
Adventure time - Cards wars - Ice King vs Marceline and Epic - for the train ride home, by the time we left the kids were tired so we didn't get chance to play as they were cuddly... although my eldest daughter got 3 Vanguard G decks so we've for more vanguard.

then went to Sheffield and picked up Star Wars: Imperial Assault... wanted Descent for a while but a few reviews have called this Descent 3.0 so decided this would be good... not a massive star wars fan but more things to paint is always good.

unfortunately my wife now has a job meaning the time we get together has been drastically reduced so we haven't played anything in a few weeks which is disappointing but I'm going to get back into painting until we get chance to game again... also some very good painting guides on YouTube.

 

[blundaruss]

Guys

Looking to buy my brother a birthday present and he loves board games. Just wondering if anyone can suggest an accessible game he can play with his g/f and also when he has people round. Nothing too complicated but could lead to more complicated games in the future. A 'gatway' boardgame if you will!

 

[GTanny]

Guys

Looking to buy my brother a birthday present and he loves board games. Just wondering if anyone can suggest an accessible game he can play with his g/f and also when he has people round. Nothing too complicated but could lead to more complicated games in the future. A 'gatway' boardgame if you will!

Pandemic is a great gateway game that's simple enough and works with more people.

Forbidden island is very similar but slightly simpler. Both of these are co-op

Ticket to ride is a very good first game also if he's after something competitive.

 

[Tunney]

I really like Ticket To Ride, both as a first game and in general.

It's a fairly gentle introduction to board games as you can only do one thing per turn. This cuts down on the umm-ing and err-ing.

 

[Pestilence]

Agreed on those options. I'd add in Small World and Flash Point also. King of Tokyo maybe if he'd often have people round (it works with two players, but not as well as the others that have already been said).

 

[Psymonkee]

Carcassonne is worth a look too.

And Alhambra while I think of it!

 

[GTanny]

Also for a very simple card game (we play it as a family if we out for a meal as its 2-3 mins a round) look at the love letter games, they come in different themes, I own batman and adventure time but they all have the same core rules and gameplay.

Checkout YouTube as dice tower (tom vassel and co) have a video on gateway/my first board games but I personally I find them a bit hard to watch as they are very longwinded. Tabletop on geek and sundry is a much better show for actually showing you the games too.

 

[blundaruss]

Right so ive watched tabletop and narrowed it down to ticket to ride, forbiden island or munchkin. I know no one suggested this and from reading this thread i get the impression that munchkin is quite controversial, appears to be a love/hate thing for it? Anyway, it looked quite fun on tabletop and it looks relatively easy to pick up.

 

[Shamikebab]

I like Munchkin you just have to accept that it's a largely random, ridiculous game.

Can't go wrong with Ticket to Ride really, great game.

 

[GTanny]

I don't have Munchkin but I believe its 3+ players so wouldn't be able to play with just his gf, this is the reason I don't have it as most of the gaming is with my wife.

 

[Psymonkee]

Dare I say it - grab 2 games! 1 competitive and 1 co-op?

For 2 you could do worse than Carcassonne and Castle Panic

 

[blundaruss]

ahh! good point. Hadnt spotted it was for 3 players! :\

Thanks for all the suggestions. Need to make up my mind today otherwise its not going to be delivered in time! Decissions Decissions!

@ Psymonkee - 2 games for his birthday?? I love my brother, but I dont love him that much! he can have one for his birthday and one for chirstmas.

 

[maj]

King Of Tokyo on offer at the river place.

 

[blundaruss]

Awsome! got there just in time!

 

[JeditOjanen]

I don't have Munchkin but I believe its 3+ players so wouldn't be able to play with just his gf, this is the reason I don't have it as most of the gaming is with my wife.

Thank God, you've both been spared.

If you want something similar to Munchkin that plays with two, try Boss Monster. It's shorter, much less painful and actually has a game beyond "stab the leader until there aren't enough stab the leader cards to stab him any more".

 

[blundaruss]

Thank God, you've both been spared.

If you want something similar to Munchkin that plays with two, try Boss Monster. It's shorter, much less painful and actually has a game beyond "stab the leader until there aren't enough stab the leader cards to stab him any more".

cool. I will keep that game in mind. Any other recomendations for munchkin esk card games which are easy to pick up?

 

[Pestilence]

cool. I will keep that game in mind. Any other recomendations for munchkin esk card games which are easy to pick up?

Boss Monster is actually pretty good, even with two.

If you're predominantly going two player head-to-head, pick up Star Realms, Cthulhu Realms, Sellswords and Draco Magi.

Cthulhu Realms works out of the box with more than two (up to four, I think). Star Realms you'll need a second pack to add more players, and the others are two only.

None are basically the same as Munchkin... but that's not a bad thing.

There's also the various "Fluxx" games, which are generally quite fun for a quick blast.

One that nobody ever really mentions, but that gets a lot of play in our house, is GUBS. It's a cutesy-looking Gamewright game, but the actual play can be brutal and really quite tactical given the "push your luck" end game.

 

[blundaruss]

cool! I was only really looking for games they can play together and with friends once in a while. I will add them to the list though, they do look good.

 

[Bickaxe]

Played Bang! over the weekend, pretty good fun with simple rules and trying to figure out who is who.

Also, Exploding Cows which wasn't too bad and very simple to get in to.