Poll: Board games on the Escapist

[Zarkov]

Recently, a show called Shut Up & Sit Down has appeared on the site (along with the delicious Matt Lees)! For those of you who don't know (I don't think many people have been watching it sadly), it's an excellent video series that reviews board games and in general supports board games as a relevant part of gaming culture.

About a month ago, I scoffed at the thought of playing board games. I was interested in video games, and video games only. I was stupid, because I also found SU&SD a month ago and it changed my view on gaming and game design altogether. I know this revelation may not be at all new, and that some of you, if not most of you, already play and enjoy board games. But I feel as though there's a generation of youth growing up without the context of board games in their life. I know that as an American teenager myself, I only knew about Monopoly and Risk. And past that, there were many board games that my parents played that I had no interest in. (Bad ameritrash, basically.)

But now I own four board games: Pandemic (an amazing board game that anybody interested getting into the scene should buy), Arctic Scavengers, Cutthroat Caverns, and a Game of Thrones: the Living Card Game. I plan on buying games like Cosmic Encounter, Cube Quest, Memoir 44, Splendor and many more.

As a result, I would really like to see board games become a big part of this website's community, and perhaps we could get a subforum for board games if it becomes popular enough. Honestly, I have no idea how I've lived 20 years of my life and not been board gamer.

What do you guys think?

 

[Thunderous Cacophony]

Board games can be a lot of fun; I never really got into them myself, but I see the appeal. I guess it's because everyone I could convince to play a board game is already playing an RPG with me.

About the forum, I'm currently surprised that the reorganization of the Escapist didn't split up gaming and off-topic into Video Games, Movies & TV, Comics & Cosplay, Tabletop, and Off-Topic. It seems like the forums should mirror the subjects the Escapist covers, especially if they want to promote the other ones.

 

[ohnoitsabear]

Is this going to just devolve into people listing off their favorite board games and talking about how awesome they are? Because I would be totally okay with that.

Anyway, I would love to see more board game content on the Escapist, as I love seeing this hobby promoted. And honestly, pretty much the only thing we have to do to get it is watch Shut Up and Sit Down, because if enough people watch that it will show the Escapist that we're interested in that kind of content, and they'll be more likely to make more of it.

Now, for some awesome games that you should all totally check out.

Avalon. Probably one of the best games with traitor mechanics out there, and is simple and short enough that anybody can get involved. It's also really fun if you role play it a little bit.

Settlers of Catan. I know most of you have probably heard of it, but it's still really, really damn good. If you're looking to get into board games, there really isn't a better place to start than here.

Android: Netrunner. Almost certainly the most popular "Living Card Game" that Fantasy Flight has come out with. It's like a CCG, only everything's reasonably priced and you know for sure what you're getting with every set of cards. And if you don't care about the whole collecting and building the best deck thing, it's still a blast with just the core set. I've only just started getting into this game, but it is awesome.

Power Grid. It's a game about building power plants, buying resources, and powering cities. It's also the best damn game I've ever played. I cannot recommend it enough.

 

[Zarkov]

Is this going to just devolve into people listing off their favorite board games and talking about how awesome they are? Because I would be totally okay with that.

Anyway, I would love to see more board game content on the Escapist, as I love seeing this hobby promoted. And honestly, pretty much the only thing we have to do to get it is watch Shut Up and Sit Down, because if enough people watch that it will show the Escapist that we're interested in that kind of content, and they'll be more likely to make more of it.

Now, for some awesome games that you should all totally check out.

Avalon. Probably one of the best games with traitor mechanics out there, and is simple and short enough that anybody can get involved. It's also really fun if you role play it a little bit.

Settlers of Catan. I know most of you have probably heard of it, but it's still really, really damn good. If you're looking to get into board games, there really isn't a better place to start than here.

Android: Netrunner. Almost certainly the most popular "Living Card Game" that Fantasy Flight has come out with. It's like a CCG, only everything's reasonably priced and you know for sure what you're getting with every set of cards. And if you don't care about the whole collecting and building the best deck thing, it's still a blast with just the core set. I've only just started getting into this game, but it is awesome.

Power Grid. It's a game about building power plants, buying resources, and powering cities. It's also the best damn game I've ever played. I cannot recommend it enough.

So you just hit the nail on the head, man! I'd love for people to start naming off their favorite board games.

With Power Grid being your favorite game ever, I can't imagine you haven't heard of Ticket to Ride. I recently listened to a Dicetower podcast in which the top 10 most necessary games to have in your collections was the subject, and nearly everyone that participated ranked Ticket to Ride as their top game. (With some mentioning Power Grid also near the top).

I actually like the theme of Power Grid a lot more, but I've also heard that Ticket to Ride is similar but much more accessible.

Also, I really want Netrunner but none of my friends are interested in playing it!

 

[ohnoitsabear]

So you just hit the nail on the head, man! I'd love for people to start naming off their favorite board games.

With Power Grid being your favorite game ever, I can't imagine you haven't heard of Ticket to Ride. I recently listened to a Dicetower podcast in which the top 10 most necessary games to have in your collections was the subject, and nearly everyone that participated ranked Ticket to Ride as their top game. (With some mentioning Power Grid also near the top).

I actually like the theme of Power Grid a lot more, but I've also heard that Ticket to Ride is similar but much more accessible.

Also, I really want Netrunner but none of my friends are interested in playing it!

Ticket to Ride is for sure a fantastic game, and one that I should probably get around to picking up at some point (too many games, not enough money). It's another one of those great gateway boardgames that just about anybody can have fun playing.

I don't know if I would call it that similar to Power Grid, though. It's definitely more accessible, but that has less to do with Power Grid being inaccessible (first couple turns can be a little confusing, but usually when I play it everybody gets the hang of it pretty quickly; watch a video explaining the rules if you're concerned) and more to do with the fact that Ticket to Ride is just about one of the easiest games out there. I guess on paper they're kind of similar, but they both end up playing very differently. They're both great games though, and worth checking out.

What I would recommend if you want to try out more board games is to see if there are any shops in your area that have a game night. My experience with them is that the people there are generally really nice and totally willing to accommodate new players. Definitely worth a look.

 

[Zarkov]

snip

Ticket to Ride is for sure a fantastic game, and one that I should probably get around to picking up at some point (too many games, not enough money). It's another one of those great gateway boardgames that just about anybody can have fun playing.

I don't know if I would call it that similar to Power Grid, though. It's definitely more accessible, but that has less to do with Power Grid being inaccessible (first couple turns can be a little confusing, but usually when I play it everybody gets the hang of it pretty quickly; watch a video explaining the rules if you're concerned) and more to do with the fact that Ticket to Ride is just about one of the easiest games out there. I guess on paper they're kind of similar, but they both end up playing very differently. They're both great games though, and worth checking out.

What I would recommend if you want to try out more board games is to see if there are any shops in your area that have a game night. My experience with them is that the people there are generally really nice and totally willing to accommodate new players. Definitely worth a look.

Yeah, I have a friend that mentioned they were similar, but unfortunately I've not played either. I really like the idea of Power Grid though. Right now I've ordered Citadels because it accomodates so many different numbers of players and it just sounds really cool. You should check out Arctic Scavengers, I highly recommend it!

Funny you say that, because right around my college is a game shop that has Wednesday board game nights that I plan on going to sometime in the near future. I figure I could make a some friends and play some games that I'd never get a chance to on my own budget.

 

[King of Asgaard]

Boardgaming is an integral part of gaming culture and thus should be given far more emphasis than it has. Videogames are great and all, but it'd add more variety to the site, both in featured content and forum threads, if boardgames became more discussed.

As much as I love board games, the problem I have with them is that some of the best ones can only be played with 3+ people, and only my brother is a boardgamer (he got me into it in the first place). The rest of my friends can't be arsed, meaning that any kind of traitor mechanic centred game is out, such as Avalon or BSG.

Aside from that, board games are awesome. I'd say my favourite at the moment is Star Trek: Fleet Captains, because it's both a compelling game and a geek out session for trekkies. Production values are kinda crap; the ships look gorgeous, but the tokens and cards are rather ugly, and the manual is inexcusably unappealing.

Android: Netrunner is a close second. I've spent so many precious hours making decks.

 

[Zarkov]

Boardgaming is an integral part of gaming culture and thus should be given far more emphasis than it has. Videogames are great and all, but it'd add more variety to the site, both in featured content and forum threads, if boardgames became more discussed.

As much as I love board games, the problem I have with them is that some of the best ones can only be played with 3+ people, and only my brother is a boardgamer (he got me into it in the first place). The rest of my friends can't be arsed, meaning that any kind of traitor mechanic centred game is out, such as Avalon or BSG.

Aside from that, board games are awesome. I'd say my favourite at the moment is Star Trek: Fleet Captains, because it's both a compelling game and a geek out session for trekkies. Production values are kinda crap; the ships look gorgeous, but the tokens and cards are rather ugly, and the manual is inexcusably unappealing.

Android: Netrunner is a close second. I've spent so many precious hours making decks.

Just gonna have to get Netrunner and force my friends to play. Or maybe I'll just force my brother to play.

Either way, I really got to get it!