Freethought & Rationalism Archive

LHP Adept · 03-03-2003, 07:35 PM

Advanced Civilization, Titan, and Settlers of Cataan (and its variants) are among the games I have enjoyed greatly.

But there are three more I would like to recommend that have not been mentioned here.

Acquire (Avalon Hill): Draw tiles from a bag and place them on the 12-by-10 square board to create and expand hotel chains. Buy stock in the hotel chains. When mergers occur, majority shareholders get bonuses.
Great for 4-6 players (for 2-3 players, not so great).
Warning: If you get one of the newer sets with cheap cardboard pieces, ignore the childish once-per game actions (3 free, buy 5, etc.). The original version didn't have them, and the change was not an improvement.

Outpost (TimJim games): Build factories to increase your space colony's production. Use production cards to bid (auction-style) on technology cards to reach 75 victory points before the other guys.
Up to 8 players. The more the merrier. One of the few games that's good for 6+ players, and geniunely better with a larger group.

Shogun (Milton Bradley): Also called 'japanese risk' but MUCH better than Risk, IMO. The map is of Japan, the period is late 1500's. Provinces produce income, which can be used to buy troops, build forts, or hire an assassin. More involved than Risk.
Best with 4-5 players.

PopeInTheWoods · 03-03-2003, 07:54 PM

Diplomacy is a great geek board game, and it's even better played by e-mail over a long period of time.

Andy

Bookman · 03-03-2003, 09:01 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by LHP Adept
I respond:
Bookman, that's just not so. The ast is only 100 pts per box. Cities are 50 each, and much easier to lose. Buying/not buying a single civ card can mean a difference of over 200 pts.
Playing as Babylon or Egypt, the standard strategy is to accept the fact you're going to bump (your head into the wall) once at the start of the Early Bronze Age and don't sweat it. No biggie.
The bigger problem, in our experience at the Dragonflight convention, is that in an 8-hour scheduled timeblock, we rarely have time to finish a game.

Perhaps the folks that I played this game with and I weren't aggressive enough in attacking the leader. For the most part, we seemed to conclude that direct action against another player hurt you both and was therefore a losing proposition.

If I'm wrong, it's certainly not the first time.

Bookman

JonathanChance · 03-03-2003, 09:56 PM

Ahh, Yes Axis and Allies, one of my favorites!

I once played a game that lasted over eight hours!

Ab_Normal · 03-04-2003, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Giorgia
And nobody has mentioned Nuclear War? The most bizarre, tongue-in-cheek game even invented -- ever see the bumper sticker "Do you have change for 10,000,000 people?" ? That came from Nuclear War. I especially like the expansion set, with the space platform and the orbiting missles which can land on the launching "nation" if the player forgets to drop them in time.

My Nuclear War story: my husband first played it at a friend's house, decided he really liked it, and told me all about it. It was November - I was thinking, "Finally, I can get him something he wants for Christmas" - and the bastard goes out and buys the game and the first expansion for himself before Xmas. I coulda slapped him.

I've laughed until beer came out my nose when somebody forgot their cruise missile and it dropped on their pointy little head. [Nelson]Ha ha![/Nelson]

edited twice because sentences that change tense in the middle make the Baby Jebus cry. Jeez, I need some sleep...

Verithrax · 03-05-2003, 09:43 PM

Chess.
The best game ever.

Lasseman · 03-06-2003, 07:02 AM

what's this?
No mention yet of what must one of the funniest games around:

JUNTA!

In this game, which takes place in the latin paradise of Republica des los Bananas, you play different posts in the cabinet such as president, general, chief of security and such. You get to cheat in elections, start revolutions and assassinate your opponents. The winner is the player with the most money in his swiss bank account at games end.

Howay the Toon · 03-06-2003, 09:06 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by JonathanChance
Ahh, Yes Axis and Allies, one of my favorites!

I once played a game that lasted over eight hours!

WIMP

Us ASL players sometimes have campaign games lasting months.

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03-03-2003, 07:35 PM	#51
LHP Adept Junior Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Seattle Posts: 42	Advanced Civilization, Titan, and Settlers of Cataan (and its variants) are among the games I have enjoyed greatly. But there are three more I would like to recommend that have not been mentioned here. Acquire (Avalon Hill): Draw tiles from a bag and place them on the 12-by-10 square board to create and expand hotel chains. Buy stock in the hotel chains. When mergers occur, majority shareholders get bonuses. Great for 4-6 players (for 2-3 players, not so great). Warning: If you get one of the newer sets with cheap cardboard pieces, ignore the childish once-per game actions (3 free, buy 5, etc.). The original version didn't have them, and the change was not an improvement. Outpost (TimJim games): Build factories to increase your space colony's production. Use production cards to bid (auction-style) on technology cards to reach 75 victory points before the other guys. Up to 8 players. The more the merrier. One of the few games that's good for 6+ players, and geniunely better with a larger group. Shogun (Milton Bradley): Also called 'japanese risk' but MUCH better than Risk, IMO. The map is of Japan, the period is late 1500's. Provinces produce income, which can be used to buy troops, build forts, or hire an assassin. More involved than Risk. Best with 4-5 players.

03-03-2003, 07:54 PM	#52
PopeInTheWoods Veteran Member Join Date: Feb 2001 Location: Rochester NY USA Posts: 4,318	Diplomacy is a great geek board game, and it's even better played by e-mail over a long period of time. Andy

03-03-2003, 09:56 PM	#54
JonathanChance Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Stevens Point, WI Posts: 538	Ahh, Yes Axis and Allies, one of my favorites! I once played a game that lasted over eight hours!

03-05-2003, 09:43 PM	#56
Verithrax Regular Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Brazil Posts: 146	Chess. The best game ever.

03-06-2003, 07:02 AM	#57
Lasseman Junior Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Stockholm, Sweden Posts: 36	what's this? No mention yet of what must one of the funniest games around: JUNTA! In this game, which takes place in the latin paradise of Republica des los Bananas, you play different posts in the cabinet such as president, general, chief of security and such. You get to cheat in elections, start revolutions and assassinate your opponents. The winner is the player with the most money in his swiss bank account at games end.

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