Board games

[champthom]

If you are collector, Champthom, you may want to check out a game called Class Struggle. It's basically a twisted version of Monopoly made by a Marxist professor I knew. I've heard it's not a ton of fun to play, but it could be kind of cool to explore or play once or twice. It's out of print but copies show up occasionally on eBay. .

Man, you're the second person I've met online who's known the guy who made the game. I knew a guy on another website I hung out with who was friends with the professor's son. I'd love to play the game, but like you said it's out of print and it can get pricey on eBay. I've heard that the rule book is more of an introduction to Marxist thought than a rulebook, but still sounds interesting.

Another out of print game I'd love to play is The Landlord's Game. For those of you who aren't board game geeks like myself, it's pretty much the game Monopoly ripped off. The point of the game was to show the inequity of capitalism and the benefits of a land value tax as proposed by economist Henry George. It was actually pretty popular, which is why Charles Darrow, the "inventor" of Monopoly changed it around, ditched the political overtone and market it as "Monopoly." There's a whole story behind it, there's probably a dozen articles detailing more than you ever wanted to know about the history of Monopoly. In any case, I've thought of trying to make my own board, as you can find a version of the board online, but my art skills and craftsmanship suck, plus I have no idea what all the various chance cards said and what the deeds looked like. BTW, Parker Brothers bought out the lady who invented the Landlord's Game for $500, so there hasn't been a printing of her game since the 30s, so it's impossible to find an actual copy of the game. Last time I heard someone was selling a copy, it went for tens of thousands of dollars.

The real fun is in games like Apples to Apples, or a more superior game : Cards Against Humanity. For a great social game that is enhance by a 30 pack of beer, these games are the bee's knees.

I just heard about Cards Against Humanity, it sounds like my kind of game. When they reprint a new edition, I'll probably pick up a copy. I also love Apples to Apples but you have to play it with the right people.

As an update, I've been getting more and more into Go and chess, trying to make a proper hobby out of the both of them. I'm slowly but surely figuring out what the hell is going on in Go, and I'm starting to have an idea on how to play chess well. You know that apparently, you want to get all your pieces into the center as soon as possible? See, that's because there's more moves than staying in the back ranks. Who knew, right? I manage to, uh, "acquire" 70 GB worth of chess instructional videos. I'm going to watch that shit and become a chess pro. Not like, an actual professional chess player but good enough to actually beat people.

 

[pickleniggo]

As an update, I've been getting more and more into Go and chess, trying to make a proper hobby out of the both of them. I'm slowly but surely figuring out what the hell is going on in Go, and I'm starting to have an idea on how to play chess well. You know that apparently, you want to get all your pieces into the center as soon as possible? See, that's because there's more moves than staying in the back ranks. Who knew, right? I manage to, uh, "acquire" 70 GB worth of chess instructional videos. I'm going to watch that shit and become a chess pro. Not like, an actual professional chess player but good enough to actually beat people.

I've never won a single game of chess.

 

[champthom]

As an update, I've been getting more and more into Go and chess, trying to make a proper hobby out of the both of them. I'm slowly but surely figuring out what the hell is going on in Go, and I'm starting to have an idea on how to play chess well. You know that apparently, you want to get all your pieces into the center as soon as possible? See, that's because there's more moves than staying in the back ranks. Who knew, right? I manage to, uh, "acquire" 70 GB worth of chess instructional videos. I'm going to watch that shit and become a chess pro. Not like, an actual professional chess player but good enough to actually beat people.

I've never won a single game of chess.

I've only won one game of chess in my life, against BlueSpike of all people. I have no idea how I did it, I forgot to save the moves, but I was like "Holy shit, I won."

 

[The Hunter]

As an update, I've been getting more and more into Go and chess, trying to make a proper hobby out of the both of them. I'm slowly but surely figuring out what the hell is going on in Go, and I'm starting to have an idea on how to play chess well. You know that apparently, you want to get all your pieces into the center as soon as possible? See, that's because there's more moves than staying in the back ranks. Who knew, right? I manage to, uh, "acquire" 70 GB worth of chess instructional videos. I'm going to watch that shit and become a chess pro. Not like, an actual professional chess player but good enough to actually beat people.

I've never won a single game of chess.

I've only won one game of chess in my life, against BlueSpike of all people. I have no idea how I did it, I forgot to save the moves, but I was like "Holy shit, I won."

You were up against a 13 year old boy, how could you possibly lose to that?

As for me, I've lost a lot of games, but I've beaten my friend once or twice. I also used to play a lot when I was 5 (I mean a loooooooooooooooooooooooooot), and I was in chess club for like, two years along with my brother. I remember competing once and winning four games until a girl whopped my ass.

 

[DevilDog]

I played Axis and Allies way back when...always got my destroyed by my brother(who is now at West point). He and his friend played this one game called "Europe Engulfed"...it took them a month per game. I could not understand how any game could take that long. Now that I remember it, Axis and Allies was great when I played by myself...I think I'll get back into it now. Oh yeah, we did A LOT of this card game called "Pirates of the Spanish Main"...little ships you built out of cards and then used to fight other card ships with. Supposedly the purpose of the game was to get gold...but all we did was sink each other. Most games we played, we banned the use of the captain unit cause he was OP. All I remember from that game was getting HMS Lichester in one pack...the Lichester was capable of fucking over any ship in existence...I figured out a way to make it the most overpowered unit in existence via use of less than admirable rule bending. Good times.

 

[Bob's Fries]

BEHOLD.

http://www.boardgame-online.com/

It's a multiplayer boardgame where you're trying to reach the finish line. But along the way, other players and the game itself will try to kill you to prevent you from advancing for 3 turns (unless you somehow reincarnate as an animal, which takes a long time). All sorts of items and tools can be used in the game as you sometimes start with in-game money to buy them.

Try this shit out. Good to pass time and all.

 

[Smokedaddy]

You know that apparently, you want to get all your pieces into the center as soon as possible? See, that's because there's more moves than staying in the back ranks.

I'd say you want to control the center, which may or may not mean occupying it.

But yeah, you want to get your stuff out of the back rank ASAP (exceptions are if you're planning to castle or something like that). You want to make your opponent fight your fight. If you are not strong enough to defend, attack!

Anyone ever play Traveller or any of the old Avalon Hill games?

 

[Surtur]

You know that apparently, you want to get all your pieces into the center as soon as possible? See, that's because there's more moves than staying in the back ranks.

I'd say you want to control the center, which may or may not mean occupying it.

But yeah, you want to get your stuff out of the back rank ASAP (exceptions are if you're planning to castle or something like that). You want to make your opponent fight your fight. If you are not strong enough to defend, attack!

Anyone ever play Traveller or any of the old Avalon Hill games?

I've heard of it. Isn't that the one where you can die during character creation?

 

[MysticMisty]

I like Clue, Scrabble, and Battleship. I like Monopoly but the only people I get to play with is with my family and they hate Monopoly. My sister loves Scene It but I fucking hate it so she gets her way more often. Mostly we play Yahtzee. I'd like to learn how to play tabletop RPGs (my boyfriend gave me his other copy of the standard D&D handbook but we've not joined a group). I have no fucking clue how to play chess.

 

[Smokedaddy]

One game I came to really love is acey-ducey. it's a sailor's take on backgammon, and is played on a backgammon board. The rules are along the same lines but with a few crucial differences. It's a little faster, a little more freewheeling, luck is (probably) less of a factor, and you have to plan ahead more. Of the two (acey-ducey vs. backgammon) I sincerely believe acey-ducey is the better game, but it never got the same acceptance -- probably because it was played by sailors on deck instead of by gentlemen in drawing rooms.

If I get around to it, I'll post the official Irene St. Rules. (Irene St. is a little blowoff between Motor and National in a somewhat iffy part of west Los Angeles where you hear a lot of sirens at night, an integral part of the gameplay.)

Differences between it and backgammon include:
1) you start with no counters on the board; you have to roll everything into your inner board by exact count.
2) rolling out has to be by exact count. If you have a counter on (say) the 1 of your outer board, and you roll fives, that's too bad. You have to roll a 1 to bear it off.
3) Like backgammon, doubles count for four of the number rolled -- but the luckiest roll in acey-ducey is of course the ace-deuce (1 and 2). If you can move the 1 and the 2 (not always possible) , you get to "pick your doubles". For example, you roll acey-ducey, move the 1 and the 2, then pick double sixes and move six four times.
4) because of a string of strange coincidences that happened on Irene St. one Friday night in '89, when you roll an acey-ducey you have to make a noise like a police siren.

It leads to hilarious complications. If you get your outer board solidly occupied (at least 2 counters on every point) and manage to send your opponent to the bar, you get to keep rolling until something opens up that he can hit or at least roll onto. Also, if you have counters on every point of your outer board when rollin' out time comes, an acey-ducey can remove six counters if you planned it right. The "sevens" point, the first point beyond your inner board, is important to occupy because there's no way your opponent can put a counter on the 1 point of his outer board -- so when he gets around to rolling out, an acey-ducey does him no good because he can't take the 1. On the flip side, this also means you have two counters on way back on your inner 7 late in the game, and have to cross the entire board to roll them out.

It's a lot less complicated that I made it sound, but a clear description needs more than this wee post. Trust me.

 

[Surtur]

Since Pathfinder was canceled tonight I will be playing Betrayal at the House on the Hill.

 

[Bgheff]

Since Pathfinder was canceled tonight I will be playing Betrayal at the House on the Hill.

I love that game

 

[Surtur]

Since Pathfinder was canceled tonight I will be playing Betrayal at the House on the Hill.

I love that game

It was alot of fun. I played with my sister, my brother, my cousin and my uncle. It took us forever to get the Haunting (I think we had 8 Omen cards out), and finally we get there and find out that my cousin who had the highest Might would betray us. His goal was to kill one of us and bring us to a certain location as a sacrifice to gain immortality and open the gates of Hell. I was the first one he got too and he kicked the shit out of me, since I was the Professor. I did bareley survive and crawled away to go heal up, since I had a medical kit, while my sister and my uncle fended him off with an axe. I had healed my self up and found an event that boosted my Might up a bit and was going to go join the fight, when my brother decided to stop hiding in the chapel and pop a cap in my cousins ass with a revolver. I will be playing this again soon.

 

[2_CUTE_2_BOLT]

Settlers of Catan is fucking epic. (When you find people to play with)

Cards Against Humanity is great when you are drinking with your friends also.

I even saw that Age of Mythology was made into a board game, but I never got to try it...

 

[champthom]

We should all play board games online sometime. You can play Catan online, that's a good game, plus there's sites like BrietSpielWelt (sp?) where you can play some popular board games online.

 

[cheersensei]

Arkham Horror is one of my favorites. I also enjoy a good game of monopoly now and again. But with my friends, we're more tabletop gamers (D&D and ect). I'm very tempted to pick up Settlers of Catan since I've heard good things about it.

 

[Surtur]

We should all play board games online sometime. You can play Catan online, that's a good game, plus there's sites like BrietSpielWelt (sp?) where you can play some popular board games online.

I'd be down with that.

 

[José Mourinho]

It's been a long time since I played Monopoly. Loved playing it.

 

[Ian Brandon Anderson]

I know the primary focus of this part of the forums is vidya, but I do enjoy a decent board game here and there.

Anyone else on this forum into boardgames at all? If so, which ones and why? What are your rituals if you have a group you play with? Other tabletop games are fair game for discussion, too.

 

[exball]

Best games, coming through.

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