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I really enjoy Twilight Imperium, but it just takes way too long to play unless you have a group that is exceptionally committed. If you've never played it before, here is a link to a very useful 3-player tutorial:

http://www.preeminent.org/steve/game...me/index.shtml

Originally Posted by plasticbathmonki I really enjoy Twilight Imperium, but it just takes way too long to play unless you have a group that is exceptionally committed. If you've never played it before, here is a link to a very useful 3-player tutorial: http://www.preeminent.org/steve/game...me/index.shtml

all of my gaming buddies have played it at least once, most of them multiple times. so our games are pretty smooth. that being said, even a smooth game with experienced players can take upwards of 4 hours. i think the longest game we played was about 7 hours or so. i guess im lucky to have a group of friends that enjoy gaming that much.

Originally Posted by MSI Magus Already posted at BGG but wanted to post here too since I know you guys better. My wife got a great promotion at work recently which is awesome, but combined with her going back for her masters leaves us with less time then ever to game. I am really really missing playing board games so I wanted to find a way to play some more. It seems like the Ipad has quite the wealth of board games on it, but it is still a hella expensive device to just buy on a whim. Thus I wanted to get opinions from you all. so that said here are some questions! Anyone have an ipad and use it regularly for board gaming? Are most of the games pass around play only or do many of them have play against A.I bots? Do you feel it is really worth the high price point? Whats the DRM like? Do you own what you purchase and can I expect it to be there 10 years from now? Should I consider waiting for the IPad 2? Whats different about it and do Ipad apps run on it? Anything else I should know? Thanks in advance and sorry for so many questions, but when you are thinking of spending several hundred bucks on a tablet you want to have all the info in front of you!

I got the iPad just after launch, and we have our weekly gaming night, at which the iPad has become a popular choice. This week, we didn't play any physical board games. Everything we played was on the iPad.

Depending on the game, some are single player only and some are multiplayer pass and play. If you get an iPad, I'd suggest the following for multiplayer pass and play:

•Carcassonne
•Reiner Knizia's Ra
•Reiner Knizia's Samurai
•Kingsburg: Serving the Crown
•Hive
•Roll Through the Ages
•Medici HD
•New World Colony
•Small World

All of these have AI that you can add if you like, or play against human players.

Also, there are a lot of board game helpers that we find useful when we're playing actual board games. If you do pick up an iPad, take a look at these:

•MotionX Dice HD
•Score
•Chronolite - Timer
•Dice Bag

Is the iPad worth the price? I'm sure glad that I got mine. I use it all the time, and for a variety of uses. Obviously you shouldn't get one for word processing, but there are a lot of great things on the iPad.

I've never had any DRM issues. I share my apps across my iPad and an iPod Touch, and you can add devices if you get more. I've heard of people that have gone over the allowed number of devices (from replacement, or newly acquired devices), and have been allowed to transfer everything with a simple request to Apple. YMMV, obviously, but I've never heard of anyone that had an issue with that. Sometimes an app will be removed from the store, but if you had it before, you'll have it later.

The iPad 2 is still mostly rumored, but the whispers are saying that it will likely have a camera for video chat. I don't think that I'd find video chat all that interesting, but who knows what other interesting stuff they might come up with, app-wise. If they do announce a newer version there's always the possibility of finding a deal on the first version.

One final thing to consider is that it is an expensive device, and that's without all of the cool apps you're going to want to buy for it. Factor in a bit more for some of the better apps, but know that there are a ton of great free or super-cheap ones, as well.

Good luck with your decision!

Originally Posted by Jek Porkins I got the iPad just after launch, and we have our weekly gaming night, at which the iPad has become a popular choice. This week, we didn't play any physical board games. Everything we played was on the iPad. Depending on the game, some are single player only and some are multiplayer pass and play. If you get an iPad, I'd suggest the following for multiplayer pass and play: •Carcassonne •Reiner Knizia's Ra •Reiner Knizia's Samurai •Kingsburg: Serving the Crown •Hive •Roll Through the Ages •Medici HD •New World Colony •Small World All of these have AI that you can add if you like, or play against human players. Also, there are a lot of board game helpers that we find useful when we're playing actual board games. If you do pick up an iPad, take a look at these: •MotionX Dice HD •Score •Chronolite - Timer •Dice Bag Is the iPad worth the price? I'm sure glad that I got mine. I use it all the time, and for a variety of uses. Obviously you shouldn't get one for word processing, but there are a lot of great things on the iPad. I've never had any DRM issues. I share my apps across my iPad and an iPod Touch, and you can add devices if you get more. I've heard of people that have gone over the allowed number of devices (from replacement, or newly acquired devices), and have been allowed to transfer everything with a simple request to Apple. YMMV, obviously, but I've never heard of anyone that had an issue with that. Sometimes an app will be removed from the store, but if you had it before, you'll have it later. The iPad 2 is still mostly rumored, but the whispers are saying that it will likely have a camera for video chat. I don't think that I'd find video chat all that interesting, but who knows what other interesting stuff they might come up with, app-wise. If they do announce a newer version there's always the possibility of finding a deal on the first version. One final thing to consider is that it is an expensive device, and that's without all of the cool apps you're going to want to buy for it. Factor in a bit more for some of the better apps, but know that there are a ton of great free or super-cheap ones, as well. Good luck with your decision!

Thank you sir! Wrote all those games down and will take the advice into consideration.

I got the chance to try out Forbidden Island this weekend. I really enjoyed the cooperative aspect to it and the means of making it more difficult. It also doesn't hurt that we picked it up for only $8 at Borders.

Got my Ipad last night(I got an Ipad 1 since the Ipad 2 was not a huge upgrade and I got a 64 GB for $450 with accessories). Both me and the wife are loving it already. Having access to all these board games is just sooooo cool! It was really nice to lay in bed last night playing Carcassone and Small World after my wife fell asleep. Looking forward to trying out some board games my wife would normally never ever play

I was thinking of picking up Pandemic this weekend at my local game store since I have some family coming to town. Any CAGs have it or played it? I want a good co-op game and this seems pretty popular. How different does each game play out? Lots of variety?

I have Pandemic. It's a pretty decent game. Easy to pick up and play. It's very hard to win (unless you play it on easy mode). Requires a lot of communication and interaction to win.

The downside is (and what maybe makes it most interesting) is that the strongest red personality is going to end up 'bossing' everyone around and telling them what to do. This can lead to some contention depending on who is playing. With the wrong mix, people will eventually just stop having fun because one person runs the whole game.

To do well at it, you can't really afford to make a bad move. So the game ends up being a lot of 'well, do you think I should do this?' discussion and so each players turn ends up practically being voted on by everyone else. There is very little individual choice.

It's a game that would be perfect for some sociology study

As far as coop goes, BSG is far better, but more complicated.

Personally I hated it and so did my wife, but the couple we played it with loved it. They also said we made some rule mistakes that after being fixed made the game more enjoyable so /shrug. It is also a very popular game so again take us hating it with a grain of salt. As for variety, yes it seems like it should have a good amount of variety since you never know where bugs are going to pop up.

On another hatefull note the wife and I finally got to play Catan. When we played with a couple whos company we enjoy it was ok but overall we thought it was pretty average. When played on the Ipad me against her against an A.I character....my god did we hate it.

Originally Posted by thrustbucket I have Pandemic. It's a pretty decent game. Easy to pick up and play. It's very hard (unless you play it on easy mode). Requires a lot of communication and interaction to win. The downside is (and what makes it most interesting) is that the strongest personality is going to end up 'bossing' everyone around and telling them what to do. This can lead to some contention depending on who is playing. With the wrong mix, people will eventually just stop having fun because one person runs the whole game. It's a game that would be perfect for some sociology study

/nod we found the same thing happen. It seemed right off the bat people could tell who was best at the game(me and the other guy playing)and then the other players(or wives)either did what they were told(god that sound horrible)or were constantly asking us for advice(which they always followed).

Originally Posted by thrustbucket As far as coop goes, BSG is far better, but more complicated.

Yeah, we have BSG. I was just hoping to find a game that is 100% co-op (ie no cylons) and that was a little easier to teach. Probably the biggest problem with BSG is playing it with new people, it's like you have to plan half the night to do it.

Originally Posted by RAMSTORIA Yeah, we have BSG. I was just hoping to find a game that is 100% co-op (ie no cylons) and that was a little easier to teach. Probably the biggest problem with BSG is playing it with new people, it's like you have to plan half the night to do it.

I think once you have the rules down you could easily teach it to others. The problem is more that as has been stated most new comers will just defer to the opinion of those that know the game. Then again I think this is going by non board gamers. It seems most people I try and teach a new game to get really intimated and flustered, if you have a group you regularly play with it may go 10x better.

Shadows Over Camelot is great, too, but does have a 'traitor,' similar to BSG.

I picked up a Game of Thrones the other day with a 40% off Borders Rewards coupon. I haven't had a chance to run through it, but I got a small group coming over Friday to give it a test run. From the video footage I saw online, it shouldn't take too long to pick up. The only real handycap is not knowing the cards very well.

Oh, and I was actually trying to buy Pandemic instead, but it was out of stock.

Originally Posted by plasticbathmonki Oh, and I was actually trying to buy Pandemic instead, but it was out of stock.

One of the local stores I call said the manufacturer is out of stock and currently producing another batch. So pretty much everyone is out of stock right now (called 4 stores today). Might just order it from Amazon this weekend.

I'm actually about to bust my boardgame budget for a few months by buying a sealed 1979 edition of Avalon Hill's Dune for $100 from a local collector. It's one of those classic favs that they just won't rerelease.

Speaking of Avalon Hill, I finally found a box in our basement that had a few of our old AH games (really, they were my brother's, but he gave them to me years ago). I've got Amoeba Wars, Twixt and Ambush. I remember liking Amoeba Wars and Twixt is a good abstract strategy game. Ambush was my attempt to get into the games my brother really liked, the impossibly complicated Advanced Squad Leader. Ambush is actually a single-player game and it was pretty clever how it worked, but I just couldn't get into it. I can't wait to play the other two with friends. We've got a gathering coming up next month so I'm going to read up on the rules and I'll try to convince my kids to give them a try as well.

A friend of mine made me aware of Cheapass Games, appropriately enough. Has anybody played any of their games? They idea with them is that you use the pieces and parts you have from games already in your library, and play new games with them. So money from Monopoly, pieces from some other game, etc.

Originally Posted by crunchewy A friend of mine made me aware of Cheapass Games, appropriately enough. Has anybody played any of their games? They idea with them is that you use the pieces and parts you have from games already in your library, and play new games with them. So money from Monopoly, pieces from some other game, etc.

Before I Kill You, Mister Bond and Kill Doctor Lucky. Remember paying $4.99 for each of those when they came out. Medium-sized, white envelopes with the silhouettes of the main character. Cards that look printed on construction paper. The epitome of cheap. Man, I loved Cheapass Games.

Originally Posted by Kilraven Before I Kill You, Mister Bond and Kill Doctor Lucky. Remember paying $4.99 for each of those when they came out. Medium-sized, white envelopes with the silhouettes of the main character. Cards that look printed on construction paper. The epitome of cheap. Man, I loved Cheapass Games.

In a really confusing, non-Cheapass move, they actually released a dedicated full version of Kill Doctor Lucky, and an expansion. That made me really scratch my head.

Most of the Cheapass Games are pretty fun, but none of them are of real long-term interest, I'd say. For the few dollars you'll pay, it's hard to go wrong, though.

I got my tax return this week, so I think I might have gone a wee bit overboard. I picked up Small World, Pandemic and Ad Astra today. I've got some folks coming over for Pandemic tomorrow, but I'm hoping to get the rules for Small World down so we can run through it as well.