Thursday 17 March 2016

More Distractions



So I did it - supported my local games store and purchased Agricola. Its a hefty boardgame and seems to have plenty of variation with different occupations, minor improvements in the 100s!! Having said that we had a run through last night (on the family mode) and it played reasonably easy - in fact almost too quick to seem to do enough.
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Agricola
In some ways it plays a lot like Lords of Waterdeep in terms of resource management etc except with scoring held to the end. Will definitely be playing this again but with all the rules included and give you a real review.

However blog posts may take a back seat, not only is American Football going really well but we've just got Series 5 of Game of Thrones (yes I know that we are a series behind and) and it may take up a lot of our time (restarting from Series 2 to extend the experience).

Monday 14 March 2016

2 Player Games





So as my previous post stated, having to scale back dramatically on things but hopefully will get painting back on go once things settle down. Anyhoo I have just purchased my copy of the most recent Tabletop Gaming Magazine (a really well edited piece of work). I haven't read through it all but one article I was very interested in was Top 10 games for 2 players as this is mostly what I do with the missus. The biggest problem I have with 2 player games is that obviously you can't have a defector and backstabbing - either its 1 on 1 or fully co-operative and I really enjoy these games (think Battlestar Galactica, Diplomacy, Game of Thrones).

The article has rekindled my interest in getting Agricola and JT seems interested so I might look for a set. In meanwhile these are my top 5 based on what I have, what I like and what JT will play (so Wargames are out):
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Elder Sign setup

1. Elder Sign: A cooperative battle against an Ancient One. Yes its the diddy one, yes its a bit easy if you're just playing on basic settings, but its a lot of fun and really good if you've had a break from gaming to get back up to speed. Really want to get a few expansions to increase difficulty but its so good. Especially if you actually read the room descriptions and get into the mood of things. Fantasy Flight Games
2. Lords of Waterdeep: European style boardgames are the best. As long as you explain the concept that just because you're losing doesn't mean you're actually learning. I am all about getting a game as close as possible so I will usually try and play a slow game when playing these games with new gamers but there are so many different ways of playing for such a simple game. Again expansions add to the game to add yet another layer of depth. Also they're not just cubes - you're sending adventurer's off on missions. Role-playing non role-playing games makes everything better. Wizards of the Coast
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Lords of Waterdeep
3. Carcassonne: The king of European Style games. I don't think I need to explain why this is here. For me a great intro game which (I'm sorry for offending) blows Settlers of Catan out of the water. Also MEEPLES!!! Z-Man Games
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Carcassonne
4. Pandemic. Another great co-op game and one that can infuriate. Just when you think that you can close off a disease, another outbreak flares in Santiago (just about the most out of the way place in the world it seems). Really tempted to give the Legacy version a go. Z-Man Games
Outbreak - Pandemic.
5. Magic The Gathering. I have a confession. I love blue - Izzet all the way, and I love big blue creatures and interactive Dragons (Hypersoar Dragon anyone?). I know I'm an awful person. Sorry Day 9Wizards of The Coast.

So there is my Top 5 games that can be played by 2. If you agree/disagree - got other recommendations let me know. I'm always up for trying more.