Lost Treasures of the Eurogames Reclamation Project

I've just posted a Geeklist on 'the other place' inspired by this thread:

Against the hotness - modern classics for hobbyists

It's not just 'euros'. It's older games in general.

Michael Barnes wrote: Those oddball Kramer games that slipped through the nets.

Here's a Kramer title I've NEVER heard mentioned here or anywhere else (haven't tried the Search function though): Market of Alturien, probably because of its dismal rating on BGG. I got it as a door prize at a gaming event over here and it's been a hit with large groups (5-6). Dice movement, pawns, paper $$, even a thief. You need lots of players to jostle for position, even at 5 players I felt there was a little too much breathing room. Heck there's even optional rules to add "investment" cards. Not Great, but definitely fun once in a while with a large and rowdy crowd enjoying a few libations. Probably fun with kids too.

2 player games: Roma (Stefan Feld) and that Starship Catan are pretty good. Roma suffers from needing to know what each card does, so learning games can be tedious, however it's very cut-throat and can play in 10-20 minutes.

VonTush wrote: And Valley of the Mammoths?

Nah, this is a chaotic and unforgiving DOAM through and through, with player elimination. Still fun though.

Anyone remember that game with the witches flying on brooms/vacuum cleaners? That would probably be a fun family racing game. Edit: Techno Witches!

Richard Launius used to say "I'll tell you what, that Roma is a good game".

I played it a lot at AGF with one of the employees that really liked it...fun, but yeah, you've got to to know the cards or you're doomed.

Starship Catan was pretty interesting...not sure why it didn't stick with me though.

Valley of the Mammoths I've never played, it's actually one of those pre-Settlers Eurogames that has a lot of nasty business in it.

Now, Techno Witches...you can buy that game for $5 on Amazon right now. But here's the thing. I think it is where somebody at FFG got the idea for the flight path thing. It uses a similar method, with curved and straight pieces to lay out your flight line. But there's a programmed movement thing, where you take pieces (all different!) and try to work out what you'll need to get around without crashing. It's a neat game, for $5 I might grab one for the kids.

I'm surprised you haven't played Valley of the Mammoths -- I predict that you would love it. You should try to find a copy of that; really good.

Frank always threatened to make me play it but it just never happened. It's on the list as of...now.

I got a loyalty gift card from AT&T so I bought a couple of cheapies...Journey to the Center of the Earth and The Swarm. Total outlay, with shipping- $40. The Swarm was $6. It looks really weird. It's one of those Kosmos "based on a book" titles, something about some kind of intelligence in the sea wreaking havoc and sending out whales, giant crabs, and tsunamis. You have a research team and you're trying to explore and trace a path to the queen. But there's some Survive-like meanness in that you can send said whales, giant crabs and tsunamis to hit other players and eat their VPs.

I don't know why I'm so excited about JTCOTE...I guess it's because I really like Euro-style adventure games. They don't fuss around with a bunch of bullshit and usually have really simple, facmily friendly mechanics.

Hmm...Return of the Heroes...there's one nobody talks about anymore...


Looks like my big trade isn't going to happen, which sucks. It had Africa in there, I'm not willing to go $40+ for it but I would have had it in this pile. Same with Around the World. I have a line on a copy of Manila that I'm hoping pans out...trading about equal for it, Brief History of the World.

Starship Cataan always disappointed me because the game is building a spaceship to haul goods and blast pirates out of the sky. Right as you start to get a good ship and on the cusp of blasting the big pirates the game ends. So it's about building your ship not actually using your ship, greatly disappointing.

Checked on Valley of the Mammoths pricing...rasselfrackin'...$60-$80, Asmodee considering reprint but that was last year...

And I'm sure if they reprinted they wouldn't have the cartoon cave-lady boobies.

Oh yes, that was always a big deal somehow...

Speaking of Asmodee reprints...god damn it, I regret selling that Evo reprint they did...that was one of the best looking games out there and it's a good one too. I loved the illustrations in that. Now it's $$$.

From 2033-2006, I primarily played Euros. The ones that stick out in my mind right now are:

I'm The Boss
Attika
Emerald
Goa

And I grew tired of Puerto Rico rather quickly, but I still own San Juan.

I wouldn't consider Goa or Puerto Rico to be family games. They really fit more into the (and I fucking hate this term) "gamers games" category. The type of games that pretty near ruined board game nights for me.

Yes, "Gamer's Games" suck...And that's what held me back from trying Robinson Crusoe for so long, I was expecting Mage Knight and ended up with something much, much different.

So, all reasonable avenues that I've tried for Duell have not panned out. Who has a copy they're willing to trade/sell me? This and Fjords are the two games that I regret trading and haven't reobtained yet.

Yes, I think there is a pretty clear distinction between "gamer's games" and "family games".

Found a copy of Asara, a recent Kramer family game, for $13. Couldn't pass it up. SDJ nominee, 45 min., Ravensburger, etc. Man, I am really digging his family games. Always have, really. Going to solo Bison here in a minute.

Thiiiiiiis close to Manila. It all hinges on whether this dude likes TI2 (WTF) tomorrow night. If he does, he goes with a trade for it. Hope he hates it!

TI2 is good!

I like some "gamer's games", but they rely on a willing group already familiar with certain concepts and are significantly more difficult to teach than family games. Last night we played Leaping Lemmings for the first time in a long time and it was easy to appreciate how much a simple ruleset makes for a good play experience right out of the gate.

Yes, definitely. "Gamer's Games" are where I start really wanting a game to be Great and not just great too. I want something back in exchange for the effort. Crusoe, Mage Knight and so forth...but with the pull and play family games, I think there's much more room for a game to be little g great...and just fun. I'm getting a lot more value out of my collection as a whole lately, playing more titles, by bringing back more of the pull and play stuff.