The wife and I have recently become addicts to cooperative boardgames. We first started when WotC released their Castle Ravenloft game and it's been non-stop from there I used to play MtG and L5R, but I'm the odd one out when I say - playing competitively against people gets boring. Playing with others against a common goal has been a breath of fresh air. Our latest enjoyments have been Defenders of the Realm and Sentinels of the Multiverse. Descent 2nd Edition has actually been a challenge. We are playing that coop as well since there are no "secrets" that only the DM would know. We just play both sides and it's been 50/50 on which side wins. The Lair of the Wyrm expansion was a bit disappointing with the secret rooms mechanic being something that isn't as great as it first seemed - but we could just be doing it wrong Everything else though is great in it For those that played Arkham Horror, what expansion would you suggest we get first? I think the general consensus has been the Dunwich one, does anyone know why or any others that would be better? There are so many! We were late to the party with AH and the few games we've played, it's been a crazy ride. This game really kicks you to the ground and beats the back of your head in with a shovel, all while calling you names. That's what makes it great though. The few times we were successful, we would stand up and cheer in amazement. This was an early shot of our gaming bookcase, lots of games we got are to play with our kids. Since this photo - we ended up buying a bigger shelf and almost filled that up. I'm psyched to eventually try out Card Hunter whenever it goes live or if I manage a beta key - since it fits into my family's gaming collection
I think it's worth playing; the campaign is a really great feature of the 2nd edition and it tells a genuinely good story with plenty of variation in how the game plays from adventure to adventure. What I'm not convinced of is how the competitive aspect of the game melds with the narrative and the focus of the theme - it varies from scenario to scenario (some are next to impossible for one side to win, assuming the other side is savvy) but it can be incredibly gamey, with a lot of the time the focus being on blocking or stalling the enemy rather than actually killing him. A potentially better approach (though I can't vouch for this as I've only played it competitively) is to either follow Strumiker's suggestion and go for a more co-op approach or just play it as a full on tabletop RPG-lite (and it IS lite). On the other hand, if you can reconcile the gameplay with the narrative then just playing it straight out of the box is still fun but we've definitely had a few moments at the table where it's been groans all around - cheesey play often abounds! I think in terms of the big box expansions then yeah, Dunwich is the one I got first and it's still my "go-to" additional board. Innsmouth adds a considerably higher challenge right off the bat, while honestly Kingsport has never seemed relevant (in terms of the board) but that may just be happenstance due to the random nature of the game. All of the these big boxes add something though - the Epic Battle Cards in Kingsport really shake up the end game if the GOO awakes (which we typically count as a loss anyway), Innsmouth adds personal story cards for every investigator which work really well, and Dunwich adds injury and madness cards which can be serious game changers. Miskatonic Horror doesn't seem to get as much praise as I feel it should either - that expansions is an absolute must have, and it skyrockets in value the more expansions you add. But I wouldn't start with it (in fact there's a good argument that it should be the final expansion you get... but you really should get it!). Finally the small box expansions are all great as well, but you won't get as much out of them as the big boxes (am I being captain obvious there?). I added to my collection with a big box and a small box at the same time, just going in chronological order, but you can't go wrong with any of them really as they're for the most part self contained.
Cletus is right on the AH expansions. The Card Expensions are adding a bit to the excitement of the Location Cards, but Dunwich adds a new part of town, increasing the difficulty, as it gets harder to keep the Terror level low. That was my experience, at least. I am a little bit jealous Strumiker. I hardly get my girlfriend to play any boardgames with me at all But since thats the only downside about her, I dont mind that much ;D
This is what I have played this month so far: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/plays/...ype/boardgame/start/2013-02-01/end/2013-02-28 Last Month: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/plays/...ype/boardgame/start/2013-01-01/end/2013-01-31 Highlights: Ginkgopolis Suburbia Clash of Cultures Terra Mystica Legendary: A Marvel Deck Building Game Android: Netrunner Planet Steam Love Letter
Thanks a lot Cletus and Grombak, I'll be adding Dunwich to my amazon wishlist It's hard to think at this time to really need more challenge in AH, since we don't really play it much - and I'm assuming it gets easier the more you can weigh your chances better as you get more familiar with what locations are what. We rotate through so many games that they all kind of keep fresh For those that like coop, I'm hearing great things about Robinson Crusoe: Adventure on the Cursed Island. Not really sure when it's supposed to be released, next month sometime I think. Supposedly oozes with theme and some interesting mechanics to it. Grombak, have you tried introducing her to anything light and cooperative? If not, I'd recommend Forbidden Island or Castle Panic. Both are very quick to learn and don't take too long to play. Forbidden Island is also pretty inexpensive on Amazon - We've made good use of our Prime membership over the year hah!
Wow! You have quite the variety of games on that list (even a few coop ones! ) How enjoyable do you find Agricola to be? It's the one non-coop game that I've been interested in trying, but haven't wanted fork over the $80-ish for it.
Agricola is good fun and even solitaire play is good, but for what you get, $80 can be a tough pill to swallow. I'd probably still purchase it but try for a sale/coupon/used. Also from the same designer is Le Havre which I actually prefer.
I'll have to keep an eye out for any good deals then, it seems like a nice light-hearted game. Do you recommend any expansion content for it? I wish you the best of luck! Make sure to use your Big Cute Puppy Eyes of Persuasion +2!
When all your friends are gym giants its kinda hard to be able to bust out a battle map and start putting pieces down.
Did it once on a amateur level it was funny as hell and i barely won in the last boxing round with like 35 sec left on the chess clock. Its a really weird but strangely entertaining sport.I have seen people on both sides of the spectrum try it boxers generally do better than pure chess players.
