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Share your thoughts on my (potential) game collection

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25 Aug 2017 11:35 #253127 by Erik Twice
I think that keeping a good game collection requires a bit of planning. It's easy to fall into the trap of buying games because we think we might like them or because thery look cool only for them to gather dust on our shelves. We often get games that overlap with each other or that are simply inferior to other games we might play. Why play a generic worker placement game when you can play one of the best? Why play a poor negotiation game when you can play Dune or Cosmic Encounter? And so on.

My goal with this list is to keep those things in mind and prevent myself from getting clutter. I don't want many games, what I want is to have great playing experiences and having few games helps with that. I would rather play a game 40 times in a row than playing 20 games twice. If I burn out there's always time to get a replacement.

I've been meeting people to game and feel very optimistic about my chances to play so I'm willing to keep some of my heavier boardgames.

This is what I have in mind. Games I already own are in bold.

Heavy: I need to get people specifically for these games

1825 Unit 1,2,3 (2-7): At first I thought I wanted a bunch of 18XX titles. And, well, I do. But I won't be able to play more than 1-2 so better focus on one of my favourites instead.
A Most Dangerous Time (2): Love this game, I would love to be able to play it regularly but the only friend who would be into it is very luck-averse.
Dune (5-6): I'm starting to look for ways to print this. I think it's an easier sell than other heavy games and my group (3 people) would be into it so I only need 2 more.
The Republic of Rome (5-6): Should organize meetings to play this. Will try eventually.

Medium: I can bring the game to the average game night

Steam: Rails to Riches (2-5)
Terraforming Mars (2-4)
Android: Netrunner (2)
Liberté (4-5): One of the reasons I hope to increase my group size from 3 to 4.
Tragedy Looper (2-4): Slowly working our way through this game, we are 6 games in.
Intrigue (4-5)
Ogre (2): Should get this to the table more often but we are bad at wargames and the Ogre just steamrolls the other player!

Light: Can play with people who are not regulars

Cosmic Encounter (4-5): One of the reasons I want to get CE besides it being great is that it would be the perfect game to play with non-regulars.
Bang! (5-6): Not the best game but it's solid enough that I'm not going to bother to replace it.
Chicago Express (3-4)
Citadels (3-6)

Games that are not pulling their weight:

Traders of Genoa (4-5): This is a fantastic game but I wonder if I'll actually play it much. The issue is that I already have a bunch of negotiation games and this is the least likely to see the table.
Automobile (3-5): This is a neat game but I would never, ever play it over Steam. It's a fantastic recommendation but people who want a heavy economic game to play ocasionally with their groups but it doesn't play on the same league.
Condottiere (3-5): I don't think this game has a lot of strategy going on and would always prefer to play something else.

Random crap I'm interesting on but don't meet my standards:

18XX: I would love to play 1853 or my copy of 1843 but I know it won't happen. IF I can get people to play 1825 a few times with me I might get another but so far they are all shelf-toads.
Age of Renaissance: I loved this game when I first played it but if I play a Civ game I want to play it over and over and you can't do that with a game this long.
Continental Divide/German Railways: Chicago Express is starting to become repetitive so I thought about getting one of these if I can find them for cheap
A Handful of Stars: Still unreleased, want to test.
Great Zimbabwe/Container: Would need to play first with my group, also economic games will take a backseat until Terraforming Mars is burned out.

So, what do you think? I'm bored and think it would be interesting to hear your thoughts!

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25 Aug 2017 11:54 - 25 Aug 2017 12:04 #253131 by Jexik
I think there are some better options in the light zone, but it sounds like that's not really your focus. The thing about some light games is that they're so small that you could have 10 and barely increase the amount of money or space devoted to them.

Cosmic Encounter (4-5): One of the reasons I want to get CE besides it being great is that it would be the perfect game to play with non-regulars.

Yeah, Cosmic is good.

Bang! (5-6): Not the best game but it's solid enough that I'm not going to bother to replace it.

I like Shadow Hunters better, and if you want faster or are partial to Bang, I like Bang the dice game better.

Chicago Express (3-4)

I haven't actually played it so I can't comment. EDIT: Come to think of it I have played it once, but found it OK. It's definitely a better train game than TTR, but it's unlikely you'll create many new 18xx'ers from it.

Citadels (3-6)

I played this again recently. It's a classic for a reason.

I'm a huge fan of the Resistance, and it could give you something to play if you ever have more than 6 and still want to play a game. I'm not sure if Cards Against Humanity is a thing in Spain, but blah! Also, Codenames! You can play this with just about anyone, and scales from 4-10 pretty well. Is there a spanish version? You could always do Pictures.

I also think that some kind of more old school light to medium euro would be good. Like a Settlers of Catan, El Grande, or Power Grid. Something intuitive and interactive like that. Nexus Ops also usually plays well with 3. (I can see now that Chicago Express probably fills this slot for you).
Last edit: 25 Aug 2017 12:04 by Jexik.
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25 Aug 2017 12:31 #253132 by dragonstout
Cosmic Encounter is my favorite board game ever, and many of the people I've played it with almost immediately went out and bought their own copy, despite owning nearly zero other board games. That said, several of the people I've played with end up thinking it's the worst thing ever. For that reason, I'd be wary of putting it in the "games to play with non-regulars" pile. It's a great litmus test, though: people who like Cosmic tend to be people I WANT to be regulars.
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25 Aug 2017 13:33 #253136 by the_jake_1973
If you are looking for a two player game that will last for many sessions and gets better with each play, Twilight Struggle should be considered for the shelf.
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25 Aug 2017 15:02 #253141 by SuperflyPete
You need more Ferox in your life
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25 Aug 2017 16:01 #253147 by san il defanso

dragonstout wrote: Cosmic Encounter is my favorite board game ever, and many of the people I've played it with almost immediately went out and bought their own copy, despite owning nearly zero other board games. That said, several of the people I've played with end up thinking it's the worst thing ever. For that reason, I'd be wary of putting it in the "games to play with non-regulars" pile. It's a great litmus test, though: people who like Cosmic tend to be people I WANT to be regulars.


I would agree with this, although as a counterpoint I would add that most of the people whom I have observed NOT enjoying Cosmic Encounter were already seasoned gamers. I think most people outside of the hobby are more ready for its unique blend of chaos and negotiation. People who have more iron-clad expectations of what games "should be" might be a harder sell.
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25 Aug 2017 16:23 #253150 by Michael Barnes
A surefire way to ensure that your game collection is filled with games you will never play is to try to categorize what games you need for what categories, player counts, levels of experience, etc. I've tried to do that before, and what happens is that the game you have picked to be your "in case we have four players, ages 35-40, who have past experience with Star Frontiers, and only 45 minutes to play" title never gets played.

It sounds dumb, but the best thing to do is to just collect the games you like for whatever reason and that's all. Don't try to appease an audience with your collection. If you get together with other folks and there isn't ANYTHING that you can play in your games and NO ONE has anything else.that you can play...then just do something else! The thing is, people will adapt to what is there if they have an inclination to play games at all.

That said, the ten games you should have in your collection - and these will cover just about any set of circumstances apart from those that call for party games - are:

1) Settlers of Catan
2) Cosmic Encounter
3) El Grande
4) Wiz-War
5) Fury of Dracula
6) Acquire
7) Modern Art
8) Dungeonquest
9) Space Hulk
10) Tigris & Euphrates
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25 Aug 2017 16:48 #253152 by stormseeker75
Just slap Codenames on the end of that and you have big groups covered, too.
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25 Aug 2017 17:28 #253161 by Michael Barnes
Actually I was thinking Bohnanza over Codenames. It handles 7.
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26 Aug 2017 19:09 #253190 by Motorik
The "awesome light games anyone and their grandma can have a hoot with" segment of your game collection is sorely lacking if it doesn't include at least one of the following: For Sale, No Thanks, Pit, Can't Stop, Liar's Dice, Bohnanza, Wyatt Earp, Adel Verpflichtet, Dragon's Gold, Las Vegas
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27 Aug 2017 07:20 #253198 by Erik Twice
Hey, thanks a lot for the comments.

Jexik wrote: I think there are some better options in the light zone, but it sounds like that's not really your focus.

Yeah, for me it's something very secondary. I don't meet my non-regular friends enough to justify replacing Bang! with a better game but there are times in which I've wanted to play with them and couldn't because all I had on offer was Citadels, a game with a 5 player requirement and a train game.

I think Cosmic, which I want on its own terms, can pull double duty here: Something to play with both non-regulars and my usual group.

I haven't actually played it so I can't comment. EDIT: Come to think of it I have played it once, but found it OK. It's definitely a better train game than TTR, but it's unlikely you'll create many new 18xx'ers from it.

It might not seem like it, but it's actually is a great introduction to 18XX. It's accessible and fun, sure, but it's a pure Winsome train game and it dabbles in some of the same concepts. Still, it's a great game on its own right, the fact that it prepares people for 18XX is just a bonus.

Michael Barnes wrote: A surefire way to ensure that your game collection is filled with games you will never play is to try to categorize what games you need for what categories, player counts, levels of experience, etc. I've tried to do that before, and what happens is that the game you have picked to be your "in case we have four players, ages 35-40, who have past experience with Star Frontiers, and only 45 minutes to play" title never gets played.

It sounds dumb, but the best thing to do is to just collect the games you like for whatever reason and that's all. Don't try to appease an audience with your collection. If you get together with other folks and there isn't ANYTHING that you can play in your games and NO ONE has anything else.that you can play...then just do something else! The thing is, people will adapt to what is there if they have an inclination to play games at all.

While I think your advice is sound, I think categorization helps me keep things in perspective. Ideally I would own Advanced Civilization,1853, Titan and a hundred other games and they would all get played but, in practice, they would sit on my shelf doing nothing. I'm not exaggerating, either, this kind of games really attract me.

And, hey, my gaming time is limited and the more games I add to my collection the fewer plays each one of them gets. Sure, Twilight Struggle is cool. But is cool enough to justify halving the time I dedicate to A Most Dangerous Time? Game time is mostly zero-sum, if you dedicate time to a game it's time you are not playing something else.

That said, the ten games you should have in your collection - and these will cover just about any set of circumstances apart from those that call for party games - are:

1) Settlers of Catan
2) Cosmic Encounter
3) El Grande
4) Wiz-War
5) Fury of Dracula
6) Acquire
7) Modern Art
8) Dungeonquest
9) Space Hulk
10) Tigris & Euphrates

Havent played most of these, sadly.

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27 Aug 2017 10:47 #253208 by DukeofChutney
Dune and Republic of Rome are great aspiration games, and they are great games but it is very difficult to get that satisfying experience out of them. You don't just need willing players, you really need players with the right temperament and experience as both can just crash out early with an easy win for one player/team or conversely drag out. When they hit that sweet spot its great but i think realistically you need a regular group for either game. I'd consider picking up a coin game. If you can get it played regularly, and its actually fun with your play group then getting a regular Dune session in might be realistic.

I second any recommendation for Bonanza. It is the best light card game, and might be the best trading game. Also look at Tichu as you are the type of gamer who might have the mind for it.

With 2 player 'war' games i'd stick with a Most Dangerous Time until you feel done with it, then look around at whats in print and sparks your imagination most and grab that. I tend to think the really good 2 player games are worth dedicating to for a season or two to get the depths out it. You can easily buy loads and play them once and never really appreciate them.
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28 Aug 2017 14:37 #253247 by Erik Twice
Those are some good thoughts, DukeofChutney. I think I have good people to play both games, though I predict it might be harder in the case of Dune.

In my experience, it's not that hard to have a good game of The Republic of Rome because it works well as a one shot. That is, it works well even if you only play it once a year or if you have newbies at your table. The reason for this is that the game is purely negotiation-based and finesse is not important, as long as you know what your options are (Bribe, buying votes, making someone go to war, protection rackets), you'll do well and the game will be fun. I feel comfortable telling people I've gamed once or twice before to join in, having to read the rules beforehand is enough of a filter to do the rest.

Dune seems harder because, from what I know, it requires and rewards repeated plays. It's not a game that will be in top form if you only play it once and that, ideally, should hit the table with some regularity. That is, I can't bring new people to each game or it won't be fun.

So far I have 5 people for sure. My regulars and me (3) and two older guys who are friends of one of my regulars and whom I've palyed with a couple of times. So I'm one short for a full-set of Dune but I'm confident I can get them to play and I'm told 5 player Dune is not actually worse than the full set (Please recommend me which faction to leave out). Still, my goal is to increase the number of regulars and if I get one more guy I can easily see myself playing full-set Dune regularly.

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28 Aug 2017 14:49 #253248 by Da Bid Dabid
Leave out Bene Gesserit unless someone loves them from the book. Then you can leave out the Guild (Guild is much much easier faction for rookies).
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