The great boardgame post, part 1
There are a couple of board games either coming out or being re-printed in the next month that I would like to get my hands on. As I'm still poor enough to buy the majority of my board games online where prices are 30-40% cheaper than in brick-and-mortar stores, whenever I place an order I generally buy multiple games at a time in order to maximize shipping expenses. Many online stores also offer shipping discounts if you spend enough money, usually in the $100-$150 ballpark.
When it comes to ordering games, I certainly don't have a problem finding games to round out the purchase. It's usually the opposite, in that there are more games that I'd like to buy than I can afford. However, when choosing what games to get I like to take into account their likelihood of being played. Obviously you can't always predict which games will be enjoyable, but I do my best to at least get good bets by reading reviews online. In the past, the decision was primarily based on whether or not it was a good two player game that Nat and I would enjoy. Nowadays, since we have regular gaming nights, I consider games that work well for more people and that I think our group would enjoy.
To help in determining what games I will be purchasing in the future, I'm going to make a couple blog posts aimed at getting everyone's feedback who attends game night. This post will be on getting people's opinion on the games I currently own, and the next post will be on getting feedback on possible new games I'm considering.
Without further ado, here are the games that we've been playing during game night. I'll provide a brief synopsis of each to trigger your memory. In the comments section, if you feel up to it rate each game on a scale of 1-5, where 1 sucks and 5 is a game you would never turn down. You can copy/paste this list into your comment to make life easier. Also include any thoughts either on specific games, or gaming mechanics in general that you like or don't like (delete games you haven't played). You don't have to rate things if you don't want to, heck even just saying which ones were your most/least favorites is helpful.
Games
Amun-Re: 3
Apples to Apples: 3
Boomtown: 3
Citadels: 3
Clans: 3
Incan Gold: 3
San Juan: 3
Through the Desert: 3
Ticket to Ride: 3
Wits & Wagers: 3
Here are the games:
 Amun Re Bid on provinces and build pyramids. Make sacrifices to the gods. Live forever! |
 Apples to Apples Party game, everybody knows about this game. |
 BoomTown Bidding on cards to build mines and saloons. Own enough mines in the same town and you become mayor. Winning bidders money is shared among losers. |
 Citadels Each round you pick a character to be from 8 possible. Each character gives you different special abilities. Goal is to use your butterscotch (I mean gold) to construct buildings in your town. Person with the most valuable town at the end of the game wins. |
 Clans Nomadic tribes are turned into villages. Five different colors of clans, each player is a color but it is kept hidden from everyone. Some epochs are beneficial/harmful to certain villages founded in specific geographic regions. Colors are scored throughout the game, and only at the end is it revealed who was who. |
 Incan Gold Simple gambling game. In or out: leave the cave with whatever jewels you've gotten so far, or keep going trying to get more. Treasure is split evenly among remaining adventurers. |
 San Juan I think Durham is the only one who has played this. City building game where you select roles each turn. Each role gives a bonus ability to the person selecting it, though all players can utilize the role on that turn. |
 Through the Desert Only Heidi has played this. The pastel camel game. Build caravans in the desert, make land grabs, connect oasis. |
 Ticket to Ride Train game. Collect card sets to build train routes across the country. |
 Wits & Wagers Trivia game with betting. You win if you guess the closest to the right answer (without going over), or if you bet on the correct answer. |
Thanks for your input!
(Thanks to BGG for the pictures.)
Here are my thoughts
Amun-Re: 5 -
Great game. The only luck is in the draw of the cards, and I love bidding for provinces. Most games are very close.
Apples to Apples: 3 -
As Nat said, this is a fun game as long as you set a limit for how many cards you need in order to win. Otherwise it can drag on overly long.
Boomtown: 5 -
I've only played this once, but it was really fun. I like how short it is, and the bidding/payout/card-selection mechanic is interesting.
Citadels: 3.5 -
When playing 2-player, this is a 1 or a 2. I would always prefer playing San Juan if only 2 players are around. But With more players the interactions and role selection becomes much more fun. I worry with 7 or 8 players, which is the max for this game, that downtime and analysis-paralysis between turns would get excessive, so I would guess the sweet spot for this game is 4 or 5.
Clans: 5 -
Great game, but only good for 2 or 3 players. Any more and it becomes too chaotic.
Incan Gold: 3 -
Simple filler game that is a good way to kill time waiting for people to show up, or between other more heavier games.
San Juan: 4.5 -
I really like this game. I enjoy the multiple paths to victory, and how quickly it can be played. It's also nice that each player can do something on every turn, so there isn't a lot of down time.
Through the Desert: 4 -
Another great game, but really only for 2 or 3 players. Too chaotic with more. I love making land grabs.
Ticket to Ride: 3.5 -
Fun game. I would consider it good, but not great. I like playing it but I often don't crave to play it, like I would Amun Re or San Juan. There is an expansion for the game that makes it more difficult (read: confrontational) that I will likely get in my next gaming purchase that may add new life to this game.
Wits & Wagers: 3.5 -
Great party game that works really well in large groups. The nice thing about this game is while it is a party game, there is also some strategy that goes with it in how you bet. It can sometimes be annoying that I often have no clue what to guess for the questions, but that doesn't overly bother me.
Overall, I really like the strategy games with a reduced amount of luck the most. But I'm up for a good party game when we have a big crowd.
My ratings are similar to Adam's
Amun-Re: 5 -
If only I could remember all of the rules!!!
Apples to Apples: 2 -
I've never really liked this game. The judge's comments can be funny, but it's pretty random with little strategy.
Boomtown:
We should try this one out sometime soon, since it seems to be well-liked.
Citadels: 3.5 -
I'd be willing to try this one again to see how it plays with everyone more familiar with the rules.
Clans: 3 -
This one was pretty good, but I only played it once. I'd be willing to play again, but there's others I'd rank higher.
Incan Gold:
San Juan: 5 -
I would like to play this game with 3-4 people at least one more time to see how it changes, but I like how dynamic this game can be. If Puerto Rico is as good as this, I recommend it to be the next to buy. I'd chip in a few butterscotch if it helps!
Through the Desert:
I am patently against pastel camels.
Ticket to Ride: 3
I agree that this is a good game, especially as an initiation for people new to game night.
Wits & Wagers: 2.5 -
This one is all right. It frustrates me because I wish I knew the answer outright, and therefore how to bet.
My rating
Amun-Re: 5
-This is one of my favorite games because I like the various ways you can win. It's complicated but not too much so and isn't as long as a lot of other strategy games, which can drag on.
Apples to Apples: 3
-I really like Apples, but I do think it drags if we don't set a card limit. It's also a game that's only good in big groups and while I wouldn't necessarily turn it down, I think it's better in moderation.
Boomtown: 5
-I really want to play this game again! I think it's funny and I like the wagering aspect and player interaction.
Citadels: 2
-I'm rating this low because I've only played it 2 player and it sucks as a 2 player game. I can't comment on how well it went last week with a larger group.
Clans: 4
-I would never turn this game down, but I do think it's more limiting with players. I think 2-3 players are best.
Incan Gold: 3
-This is a good filler game with a large group and I haven't gotten bored of it yet, but I could see that if we played it too much I would.
San Juan: 4
-This is a great game, but it's also one of the games Adam and I have played the most together, so it loses a notch just for that.
Through the Desert: 3
-This game is fine but I don't ever "crave" playing it. I think it's funny with the ridiculous camels and it's fun trying to screw each other over.
Ticket to Ride: 3
-Again, like San Juan I really like this game, but I've played it so often that it gets ranked lower.
Wits & Wagers: 3
-I like the wagering aspect, but as with other party games I don't tend to rank as high because they're best in moderation.
My own:
Scattegories: 4
-I really liked playing this at Heidi's house the other day (thanks for the yummy food, by the way). I'm not sure how long it would hold my interest, but I hadn't played it in so long it was a fun change of pace.
I would also like to break out Thurn & Taxis and Attika and see how well they play with more than 2 players.