853 replies to this topic

[MSI Magus]

Time for yet another recommend something to magus topic! My fiancee drives me insane since she has no hobbies at all. She reads a fair amount and slowly is getting into video games, but she still has no driving passion. This leads to her being right up my butt most nights because she is bored! I love spending time with her, and I love it when I am playing a game and it strikes her interest as many do. But when I am playing something that she has no interest in watching(Mass Effect, Culdcept, any FPSer) she will drive me insane if I try to play while she is home. So I want to find another activity I can do with her when she gets home that we both will enjoy. I have Rock Band and we play it a lot but we need something else to do as well.

So I am thinking board or card game. The problem is she has traditionally leaned toward really simple stuff like uno or connect 4 where I play stuff like Risk and Magic the gathering. I do play the simple games with her, but I cant play them for hours on end. And I got her to pick up risk and she loves it now when we have 3 or more players, but she wont even give magic a look both because it looks really complicated and because she has a bias against it(which she will admit)since the only people she ever saw play it were the loser kids in high school.

So I need a board/card game that has enough depth to keep me interested but at the same time is simple enough that she can learn it in a single play through. I also would prefer if I can pick up the complete game for $30-$40. I have heard a lot of great things about Catan but I wasnt sure how hard it would be for her to learn and if you needed all sorts of Xpacks or figures or anything to play. I also just heard of Domion from the guys at gamers with jobs. They said its $50(though I have seen it cheaper)and comes with everything you need. But I was hoping people here would have more to say about it.

Any recommendations are appreciated. Thanks guys!

Edited by MSI Magus, 11 March 2009 - 12:59 AM.

[georox]

Zombies!!!
You can play with just the original game, and buy expansions/use them as you wish. It is fairly simple too.

http://www.twilightc...nc.com/zombies/

[MSI Magus]

Zombies!!!
You can play with just the original game, and buy expansions/use them as you wish. It is fairly simple too.

http://www.twilightc...nc.com/zombies/

I will look into it for myself ot play with my little brother and others but I doubt she will go for it. Maybe because its a game she will be in general she loathes zombie stuff(I love zombie movies and games).

[georox]

:O

BLASPHEMY! MADNESS! INSANITY!

I fear for you sir, I fear.

[MSI Magus]

:O

BLASPHEMY! MADNESS! INSANITY!

I fear for you sir, I fear.

Hehe ya like I said I love the, but she hates em. They have always made her squirm but she atleast enjoyed certain ones....before she meet me. Since meeting me she has had to watch far too many bad zombie movies

[georox]

Slightly off-topic, but try watching Repo! The Genetic Opera with em. Just claim it is a really good musical.

[MSI Magus]

Slightly off-topic, but try watching Repo! The Genetic Opera with em. Just claim it is a really good musical.

Hehe I will look into it....and damn you even if she wont want to play it and we are supposed to be saving money because she might loser her job I am soooooo buying zombies. It looks like a lot of fun and my little brother will have a blast playing it with me.

I would still like suggestions for a game she is more likely to play but in the mean timeI have a quick zombies questions.

How good are the Xpacks? They worth picking up right away or should I hold off on them? I see auctions for just the game but then some for the game and xpack which are cheaper then buying each individually soooo.

[BlueLobstah]

If she likes Risk, she might like Settlers of Catan as well. Its also a good excuse to get friends to come over since the more people you have to play it, the more entertaining it gets.

The game itself costs $40-50, you only need the expansion packs if you want to have more than 4 people play or you want to expand the base gameplay with some additional stuff, otherwise you don't need anything beyond what you get with the main set. I highly recommend it.

[MSI Magus]

If she likes Risk, she might like Settlers of Catan as well. Its also a good excuse to get friends to come over since the more people you have to play it, the more entertaining it gets.

The game itself costs $40-50, you only need the expansion packs if you want to have more than 4 people play or you want to expand the base gameplay with some additional stuff, otherwise you don't need anything beyond what you get with the main set. I highly recommend it.

Ya and I dont think we would ever have more then 4 people play. The highest number we have ever gotten playing risk, rock band or any other game is 4 so I just dont see 5 happening. Good to know that with Catan I dont need to grab the Xpacks.

Damn I just wish I would have thought of all of this the other day when I was at downtown Ann Arbor. Could have bought the games in person and had them to play when her cousins come to visit this weekend.

Other then comic shops do you guys know of other stores that carry Catan and Zombies? Maybe I can still pick them up before the weekend. Her cousin is like queen goth girl so she would think zombies is uber cool.

[georox]

I can't say I know any mainstream stores that would have it. Check local hobbyshops, my best advise. The zombies expansions are pretty good, but make sure you like the base game first. If you enjoy the base game, the expansions just really add on. I will say you may end up wanting a Bag o Zombies fairly quick to add more figures though, at least if you end up with as many on the board as I normally do...

[ricknub]

Maybe you've already considered this, but if not, you might want to take a look at Ticket to Ride. The initial explanation of the instructions is a little complicated, but the gameplay itself is very simple on the surface.

And what about word games? Boggle and Scrabble are staples of my game collection for when my girlfriend and I are bored.

[MSI Magus]

Maybe you've already considered this, but if not, you might want to take a look at Ticket to Ride. The initial explanation of the instructions is a little complicated, but the gameplay itself is very simple on the surface.

And what about word games? Boggle and Scrabble are staples of my game collection for when my girlfriend and I are bored.

I have heard ticket to ride mentioned a few times on gamers with jobs too. Will look into it. As for boggle and those kind of games we have a bunch. We have boggle, scrabble, upwords, monopoly, sorry and all sorts of kid board games already. Looking for something wtih a lot more depth for myself.

And sweeeeet found a place about 8 miles from my house with zombies, the xpacks and bag o zombies. They are a bit pricy compared to ebay but might go out and grab it anyways since I have kids coming this weekend. I am actually really freaking excited for this for some reason.

[RanchLizard]

Agricola. It's complicated at first, but REALLY fun. Can be found for about $50 online, but worth it.

[Over easy]

There are some sites that let you play Catan online free. If you know the instructions, then maybe you can test this with her without spending money to buy the game first. But for a board game like this, you probably need to see and play the real thing first before trying it online. It's a first impression thing.

Hmm.... I may look into Zombies myself too.

[MSI Magus]

There are some sites that let you play Catan online free. If you know the instructions, then maybe you can test this with her without spending money to buy the game first. But for a board game like this, you probably need to see and play the real thing first before trying it online. It's a first impression thing.

Hmm.... I may look into Zombies myself too.

Actually I was thinking that maybe I should download the XBLA demo and if it piques her interest then buy the full version(I have several 1,000 MS points sitting around anyways!)and from there if she still keeps interest buy it.

In the mean time I am deffintly going to grab Zombies in the next couple nights and will probally grab atleast the Mall/Clown Xpack and bag of zombies if all 3 are cheap enough.

[BigSpoonyBard]

Barnes and Noble carries Settlers of Catan. One thing to note, it's no good as a two player game. You really need at least a third person (what with all the trading and whatnot). If you have a third or fourth person, there is no game I would recomend any higher. One that is good for two players is Carcassonne. It's a pretty simple game with enough strategy to keep you going. My wife loves to play it. And of course, Ticket to Ride and Lost Cities are good as well. The cool thing is that all four of these games are available on Xbox Live to try out before you buy any of them either in physical form or the arcade form.

[MSI Magus]

Just got back from the local comic book store and picked up Zombies and the University and Mall Xpacks. Feel free to keep the suggestions coming, I think that we will play this this weekend and then in the next few weeks we will pick up Dominon or one of the other games.

[crystalklear64]

Cosmic Encounter

New version just came out.

http://en.wikipedia....osmic_Encounter

Influence

The possibility of an organic and completely different experience every time one plays was clearly one of the influences in the design of the very successful card game Magic: The Gathering. Magic designer Richard Garfield has often cited Cosmic Encounter as being influential in the design of Magic, going so far as to say, "[Magic's] most influential ancestor is a game for which I have no end of respect: Cosmic Encounter."[citation needed]

[Antic]

A fun card game that I enjoy playing with a bunch of people (4-7) is Bang! It's really best if you have 7 people, but can still be fun with 4. Here is a link to it with a description...

http://www.boardgame.../boardgame/3955

The site as well can be helpful in finding other games if it seems like it's not your cup of tea.

[georox]

FOUND IT!

http://www.slugfestg...m/games_rdi.php

This game is *awesome* with four people. Demo'd it at GenCon this year, forgot to buy it due to not wanting to carry it around all day when we tried it, then we couldn't find the booth. It was really fun though.

[MSI Magus]

A fun card game that I enjoy playing with a bunch of people (4-7) is Bang! It's really best if you have 7 people, but can still be fun with 4. Here is a link to it with a description...

http://www.boardgame.../boardgame/3955

The site as well can be helpful in finding other games if it seems like it's not your cup of tea.

Thanks for the website. Will look into it. I also found a guy on youtube that does reviews of board games and even did a crazy multi video post where he does a run down of his top 100 board games of all time.

Just finished opening up and reading through the 3 zombies I bought. It seems hella cool. I get the rules after just sitting and reading through the manuals and I dont think I will have to reread them much. its also cool how easy it will be to alter the rules of the game. Think this will be the perfect game for a small get together with younger people.

[MSI Magus]

Ok so I played the Demos on XBLA of Catan and Ticket to Ride(will try Carcasone soon). Catan seems pretty damn complicated to learn but like in the long run would be simple. I had an ok time with it but think I will hold off. Ticket to Ride really freaking rocked though, I can see where it will be a great board game for 2-3 people. However which version of the game do I buy? Looking on ebay there are seriously like 10 different versions of the game. Remember I am looking for simple and cheap.

[BigSpoonyBard]

Ok so I played the Demos on XBLA of Catan and Ticket to Ride(will try Carcasone soon). Catan seems pretty damn complicated to learn but like in the long run would be simple. I had an ok time with it but think I will hold off. Ticket to Ride really freaking rocked though, I can see where it will be a great board game for 2-3 people. However which version of the game do I buy? Looking on ebay there are seriously like 10 different versions of the game. Remember I am looking for simple and cheap.

It should just say Ticket to Ride. Sometimes they'll show Days of Wonder on the listing, but that's the company publishing the game.



Edit: The cheap one I found sold minutes after

[Igorthegreek]

You mentioned that your fiance plays Uno. Have you considered trying some bidding and trick taking games like Hearts, Euchre, or Spades? What's great about these types of games is that many of the mechanics are shared between them. Hearts is pretty easy, and can be played with just a standard deck of cards. Then you can move onto Euchre, Spades, or even Rook, which is only 5 bucks at most places. I've heard there are some other good games in this vein like "Wizard" but I can't personally attest to their quality.

For most of them you will need four people though. Some of them you play with a partner which can be fun, either going with or against your significant other.

Settlers of Catan is a great game. It'll take a few playthroughs to get the hang of it, but I've succeeded in teaching lots of people who have no time for most games.

Also I really enjoy Reiner Knizia's "Samurai." Not very complicated, but devilishly interesting.

Carcassonne is also fairly easy and fun. A good gateway game.

[MSI Magus]

It should just say Ticket to Ride. Sometimes they'll show Days of Wonder on the listing, but that's the company publishing the game.



Edit: The cheap one I found sold minutes after

Thanks, I thought that might be the one to pick up but many of them were saying Days of Wonder....so I wanted to make sure I wasnt getting an Xpack. I will probally pick it up as well as some more zombies Xpacks(if we enjoy it tonight)and then Carcosone(just played the XBLA version and liked it)and then Catan last. Besides the fact that I had the least fun with Catan and I think it might be too complicated for many of the people I play games with it also just doesnt seem a good 2 player game where stuff like Carc and TtR can be.

[BigSpoonyBard]

Thanks, I thought that might be the one to pick up but many of them were saying Days of Wonder....so I wanted to make sure I wasnt getting an Xpack. I will probally pick it up as well as some more zombies Xpacks(if we enjoy it tonight)and then Carcosone(just played the XBLA version and liked it)and then Catan last. Besides the fact that I had the least fun with Catan and I think it might be too complicated for many of the people I play games with it also just doesnt seem a good 2 player game where stuff like Carc and TtR can be.

Catan is definitely not a two player game. It can seem daunting at first, but honestly, once one person knows the rules, it's very easy to explain to other people. So if you learn the game, you'll be able to get other people going very quickly. And once you do get the game down yourself, you'll be hooked.

[willardhaven]

Parchesi: The Classic Game of India.

[MSI Magus]

So the zombie night went over pretty well. Me and the fiancee love it. Little too complicated for the girls but they still enjoyed it. I won both games by a large margin....need to remember to let others win sometimes too so they keep having fun!

Has anyone ever played any of the following board games?

Civilization
Munchkins
Dragons Laird
World of Warcraft
Mr Jack

We just got back from the comic book store where we bought Ticket to Ride and while we were there these games caught our eye. WoW and Civ looked like they had a shit load of depth and were right up my ally where the other 3 games caught my fiancees eye. I cant find any info on DL, Mr Jack or Munchkins on youtube though so hoping people here have played them.

[georox]

I'd say ignore licensed games (Civ, WoW, etc.)

Get Munchkins, everything I know of it screams awesome, haven't played it myself, but it's something I trust. I still say that one Dragon Inn or whatever it was I linked above is EXTREMELY fun.

[MSI Magus]

I'd say ignore licensed games (Civ, WoW, etc.)

Get Munchkins, everything I know of it screams awesome, haven't played it myself, but it's something I trust. I still say that one Dragon Inn or whatever it was I linked above is EXTREMELY fun.

Ill check out dragon inn. Why do you say to stay away from the licensed stuff? The guy at the board game shop was recommending stuff and said it was really good but far too complicated for beginners.