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Re:Board games are back, thanks to lessons designers learned... by dep_b on Thursday November 30, 2017 @06:48PM (#15820740)
7 Wonders is played to death here. Catan and Ticket didn't spark that much fanatism, people wanted to play but they wouldn't be planning and calling a week ahead. The thing about 7 Wonders is that you keep learning new stuff about the game, every game is different and new players still can win their first game with a bit of help, luck and wits. But if I lose (and I lose plenty of games) I'm always intrigued why I'm lost and what I could do next time, it never really feels bad. Also people that cannot deal with setbacks, somebody else doing something that thwarts their strategy or losing (I shall refrain from naming them ;) ) never get angry with this game.

Looking into buying a dungeon crawler now (cool map and miniatures preferred) and another game like 7 Wonders, perhaps Puerto Rico.

Re:Board games are back, thanks to lessons designers learned... by barrkel on Thursday November 30, 2017 @07:28PM (#15820968)
I think the complexity in 7 Wonders is, how should I say, "cheaply" generated. That is, the complexity is right there in the details, and there are so many details. I far, far prefer emergent complexity than that kind of explicitly designed complexity. It's a kind of complexity that rewards nerding out and learning combos and chains.
Re:Board games are back, thanks to lessons designers learned... by kmnc on Thursday November 30, 2017 @08:22PM (#15821225)
This is a valid criticism of these types of games, and in worker placement games in general. Most try to get around this by releasing expansions that add more random elements that encourage strategic play more so then just action optimization. Then the complaint is that luck plays too great a role. It really just comes down to how much gambling you want in a game, which usually adds a lot of dynamic play. Some hate that kind of thing in board games for some reason.
Re:Board games are back, thanks to lessons designers learned... by Abundnce10 on Thursday November 30, 2017 @07:32PM (#15820981)
> I far, far prefer emergent complexity than that kind of explicitly designed complexity.

Can you recommend any games?

Re:Board games are back, thanks to lessons designers learned... by mikepurvis on Thursday November 30, 2017 @07:40PM (#15821026)
(not the OP, but I feel similarly)

Dominion. The strategy arises from observing how the specific cards that are part of any given game interact with each other.

Agricola. There's a lot of "designed" complexity here too, but a good deal more arises, particularly when you look at planning the critical eight first actions, and the path to the first additional family member.

Re:Board games are back, thanks to lessons designers learned... by b0rsuk on Friday December 01, 2017 @10:54AM (#15824552)
"Codenames" is a clever word game. It has a downside that it requires at least 4 players. There is a board of words (each word is on a double-sided card and there are a few hudreds). One person on each team has a diagram with certain words (array indices) he must communicate to another team members. He does that by saying a word (word association) and a number, which means how many words he's communicating. For example, if there's a ring, a journey, and a monster you could say "Hobbit 3". Unlike a similar game, Dixit, this one has better longevity as it doesn't promote saying very obscure things only one person in group will know.

Neuroshima Hex! is a bit nerdy looking, but it's simple without expansions. Retro apocalyptic setting with mutants and evil robots. A knife fight in a telephone booth, plays well up to 4 players. You fill up the hexagonal board with your troops (they mostly don't move) rotating them so that they will hit the most enemies. Then it either fills up completely or one of players plays Battle token, and everything goes off like a chain reaction. Units hit in melee or shoot in order of their initiative. High interaction, tight mechanics. Most people prefer it as a duel game though. You can play it online too.

Re:Board games are back, thanks to lessons designers learned... by ck425 on Friday December 01, 2017 @02:02AM (#15822433)
Carcassonne is one of the best examples of this imo.
Re:Board games are back, thanks to lessons designers learned... by b0rsuk on Thursday November 30, 2017 @11:58PM (#15822038)
Lords of Scotland is a fiendishly tricky game that appears simple at first. It's very quick to teach, but there is both strategic and tactical aspect to it and many non-obvious paths to victory. Beware of high player interaction (some people like it, some are hurt). It's rather chaotic in higher player kinds, you need to appear relatively harmless to win.

Tigris and Euphrates is an old classic that has very few tile types to place, but they result in complex outcomes. I can't say very much about it because I only played it once on a game show, but it's on my to-buy list.

Re:Board games are back, thanks to lessons designers learned... by v-erne on Friday December 01, 2017 @02:16AM (#15822477)
I cannot recommend Tigris and Euphrates enough. It used to be at the top of BoardGameGeek in the old days. Some of my friends likes to sell it to newbies as 'its like chess, but for four person'. By the way, author of this game (Knizia) is a master Board game builder and has created many more games worth looking into.
Re:Board games are back, thanks to lessons designers learned... by Nition on Friday December 01, 2017 @03:39AM (#15822720)
Ticket To Ride does that well IMO. Really simple rules yet I still can't work out any sort of optimal strategy to play.
Re:Board games are back, thanks to lessons designers learned... by kmnc on Thursday November 30, 2017 @08:31PM (#15821253)
Blood Rage is great, and unlike many games of its kind player interaction and combat actually works.
Re:Board games are back, thanks to lessons designers learned... by accountantbob on Thursday November 30, 2017 @09:02PM (#15821364)
Blood Rage is wonderful. The combat is so great since losing can be a winning strategy.
Re:Board games are back, thanks to lessons designers learned... by falsedan on Monday December 04, 2017 @11:06AM (#15844871)
I guess the GP is a fan of abstracts.
Re:Board games are back, thanks to lessons designers learned... by batmansmk on Thursday November 30, 2017 @07:31PM (#15820980)
Dungeon crawler wise, gloomhaven and Imperial Assault are my favs.
Re:Board games are back, thanks to lessons designers learned... by dep_b on Thursday November 30, 2017 @09:18PM (#15821432)
Yeah Gloomhaven is massive...very tempting!
Re:Board games are back, thanks to lessons designers learned... by remybach on Friday December 01, 2017 @06:53AM (#15823299)
I don't have first-hand experience, but I've heard Mice and Mystics is pretty good introduction to dungeon crawlers.