BGTG Comments

[Boardgames To Go] New comment on BGTG 91 - 2008 Year in Review (with Dave Arnott).

Tue, 28 Apr 2009 05:23:35 -0700 (PDT)

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "BGTG 91 - 2008 Year in
Review (with Dave Arnott)":

I really enjoy listening to your shows Mark... On my way to work this
morning, I found myself chuckling at your Pandemic - inspired "three
blue cubes in New York" comment in relation to a local flu
outbreak....and this is the same morning on which the national
headlines are all focused on the swine flu, and in particular its
outbreak in Queens...

Regardless, I thought it a very funny anecdote for the rest of us
boardgamers.

Keep up the great podcasts!

Keith



Posted by Anonymous to Boardgames To Go at 5:23 AM

[Boardgames To Go] New comment on BGTG 93 - All About Big City (with Eric Burgess).

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 17:23:24 -0700 (PDT)

Jeff Myers has left a new comment on your post "BGTG 93 - All About Big
City (with Eric Burgess)":

Same here, Mark!



Posted by Jeff Myers to Boardgames To Go at 5:23 PM

[Boardgames To Go] New comment on BGTG 93 - All About Big City (with Eric Burgess).

Wed, 22 Apr 2009 13:36:34 -0700 (PDT)

Davebo has left a new comment on your post "BGTG 93 - All About Big
City (with Eric Burgess)":

Enjoyed the cast Mark. Always enjoy the 'conversation' shows.



Posted by Davebo to Boardgames To Go at 1:36 PM

[Boardgames To Go] New comment on BGTG 92 - Game Awards (with Dave Arnott).

Fri, 3 Apr 2009 12:03:42 -0700 (PDT)

Dave Arnott has left a new comment on your post "BGTG 92 - Game Awards
(with Dave Arnott)":

"Also, I have these 200+ games in my collection"

Wow, Davebo, you have more games than I do. Of course, I discovered
early into this hobby that I wasn't much of a collector... and
by "wasn't much of" I mean that I really went crazy starting my
collection, but found, after a year or two, that I was happy to have it
be relatively small (by gamer's standards), and that after 150-ish
games, I was okay with that being my, uh... shelf capacity number.

So part of it's me. But I also wouldn't figure you to keep going past
200... though it doesn't completely shock me :)



Posted by Dave Arnott to Boardgames To Go at 12:03 PM

[Boardgames To Go] New comment on BGTG 92 - Game Awards (with Dave Arnott).

Thu, 2 Apr 2009 08:30:25 -0700 (PDT)

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "BGTG 92 - Game Awards
(with Dave Arnott)":

One of your best! Full of thoughtful commentary; though all your
podcasts are great!



Posted by Anonymous to Boardgames To Go at 8:30 AM

[Boardgames To Go] New comment on BGTG 92 - Game Awards (with Dave Arnott).

Thu, 2 Apr 2009 05:43:06 -0700 (PDT)

Chris Norwood has left a new comment on your post "BGTG 92 - Game
Awards (with Dave Arnott)":

Couple of things...

First, you didn't use the most current Games Magazine Games 100 list.
They always release their list in November(ish), and technically they
call it the list for the coming year. So the list with games from 2008
is called the 2009 Games 100 list. Anyway, here is the most recent
list: http://www.gamesmagazine-online.com/gameslinks/gameofyear.html

And speaking of the Origins awards, from what I understand, the list is
generated by some jury, but then voting is done at Origins by any and
all attendees. So, what makes it such a joke is that you don't have to
play or even know anything at all about a game to vote for it. And what
seems to usually happen is that companies with a strong presence in the
exhibition hall (such as Looney Labs when Treehouse won boardgame of
the year) or with name recognition (such as Starcraft) tend to win over
games that are actually better.



Posted by Chris Norwood to Boardgames To Go at 5:43 AM

[Boardgames To Go] New comment on BGTG 92 - Game Awards (with Dave Arnott).

Wed, 1 Apr 2009 19:41:31 -0700 (PDT)

davebo has left a new comment on your post "BGTG 92 - Game Awards (with
Dave Arnott)":

Dan's got the right of it. Buying a game is a big crap shoot. You just
never know who's going to like what, and for what reason. I find this
to be especially true for my kids.

I've pretty much given up buying games that I've never played. I play
with enough people that introduce games to me that I just don't need to
take the risk anymore. Also, I have these 200+ games in my collection,
and no longer have the craving to build my collection. I say that, but
I still purchase quite a few games a year, but at least the vast
majority of them I've already played.



Posted by davebo to Boardgames To Go at 7:41 PM

[Boardgames To Go] New comment on BGTG 91 - 2008 Year in Review (with Dave Arnott).

Wed, 1 Apr 2009 19:36:32 -0700 (PDT)

davebo has left a new comment on your post "BGTG 91 - 2008 Year in
Review (with Dave Arnott)":

Logging computer plays is wrong, wrong, wrong, and I refuse to listen
to any logical arguments that may sway my opinion.

I enjoyed the show, however, after I mentally filtered out all of those
abomination plays. Perhaps I'll put out my own remix version of your
podcast, more fit for discerning adults.



Posted by davebo to Boardgames To Go at 7:36 PM

[Boardgames To Go] New comment on BGTG 92 - Game Awards (with Dave Arnott).

Wed, 1 Apr 2009 12:15:43 -0700 (PDT)

Daniel Brown has left a new comment on your post "BGTG 92 - Game Awards
(with Dave Arnott)":

When I was new to modern boardgames I looked to awards and top 10s to
lead me to games to try. Now that I have 100+ plus games, I do not pay
any attention to these awards. I know enough now to know that
recommendations from people I don't know or don't know anything about
are worthless. I get more useful information from this and other
podcasts, because I know about you and your taste and how they match
with mine. Even that can be very misleading. For example, I heard your
all about show on Medici and I thought I would not like the game. I
then played it and I and everyone in my game group really like the
game. On the other hand I heard you talk about Oltremare and I thought
that my game group and I would love the game. Not one of the players
liked the game.
So, in the end the only way I know to purchase a game is if I play it
and like it. But if I am going to take a chance on a new game, I don't
even think about awards. I will weight the thoughts of people I know
and respect and make a guess as to if I will like the game or not.



Posted by Daniel Brown to Boardgames To Go at 12:15 PM

[Boardgames To Go] New comment on BGTG 92 - Game Awards (with Dave Arnott).

Tue, 31 Mar 2009 23:04:30 -0700 (PDT)

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "BGTG 92 - Game Awards
(with Dave Arnott)":

Prompted by a comment in this episode, I started a BGG wiki entry for
the "A la carte" award. Have at it:

http://bgg.cc/wiki/page/A_la_carte



Posted by Anonymous to Boardgames To Go at 11:04 PM

[Boardgames To Go] New comment on BGTG 91 - 2008 Year in Review (with Dave Arnott).

Sun, 29 Mar 2009 09:22:42 -0700 (PDT)

Daniel Brown has left a new comment on your post "BGTG 91 - 2008 Year
in Review (with Dave Arnott)":

Thanks Dave for all the info on the Easy Play games. I appreciate you
taking the time to be on the podcast with Mark. I think Mark is at his
best sometimes when he has a partner on the podcast.



Posted by Daniel Brown to Boardgames To Go at 9:22 AM

[Boardgames To Go] New comment on BGTG 91 - 2008 Year in Review (with Dave Arnott).

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 18:17:19 -0700 (PDT)

Dave Arnott has left a new comment on your post "BGTG 91 - 2008 Year in
Review (with Dave Arnott)":

Here's the thing about Easy Play: when I compared them to Alea, I
didn't mean that the games from each were necessarily comparable.
Nothing in the Easy Play line is as good as Ra, or Chinatown, or Taj
Mahal, or Princes of Florence, or Puerto Rico. But nor are they trying
to be.

What I meant was this: like Alea, every game I've played (so far) in
the Easy Play line is a good solid game that I like. Someone there, in
my opinion, is doing a great job developing and overseeing their line,
but make no mistake, the Easy Play games are all meant to be
lighter, "fluffier" games. Fillers, as well as the Mike Siggins
coined "super-fillers."

You know... EASY to play.

My favorite is probably the lightest one: FINITO. In fact, this is
really more of a puzzle-race than it is a game, kind of like Take It
Easy but with a die. Or Wurffle Bingo, if it were actually Bingo in the
sense that all players are "racing" to finish their board first. There
is no player interaction, so this is definitely going to be a
hit-or-miss game, and it is light light light - we usually play 3 or 4
games of this in a row, and that only takes us about 30 minutes total -
but most people I've introduced it to have enjoyed it.

BURGENLAND is probably next, but this one's only for 2 players. Be
warned though: the first few games you play can be total blowouts, as
it takes a game or two to assess risk/reward here.

I've only played DRACHEN WURF once, but it's essentially a more gamery
version of Yahtzee Free-For-All. In fact, the similarities bewtween the
two of them are enough that I totally thought they were from the same
designer (Yahtzee being the US licensed version), but they are
surprisingly not related at all.

You can go to boardgamegeek for more detailed descriptions, but what
all three have in common is DICE, and the risk/reward (and luck) that
comes with that. Me, I like "family" dice games, as well as "family"
games that use dice (I'm using that "family" tag to separate dice games
from, say, wargames or D&D, neither of which I care for). And what's
cool is that these three use dice in very different ways from each
other.

But if dice ain't your thing...

Then maybe try BIG POINTS. No dice here. And though this is my least
favorite, it is arguably the game considered to be the "best" in the
line by most other people. And I can see why, as it's a fine, solid
game, similar to Tutankhamen, but has kinda the same problem for me as
Tutankhamen, and that's the end game scoring/kingmaking, though it's
dealt with MUCH better in Big Points. And my "least" is relative here,
I'd be willing to play this if someone suggested it.

I haven't played, or even seen, the others: TIKI TOPPLE or the one I
suspect could be my new favorite, LOS BANDITOS - Knizia's dice version
of his card game, Schotten-Totten, a game I already rate a 10.

But again, none of these are, say, higher than 7's for me. And other
than Finito, I haven't really played them a lot to see how they "wear."
It was just a really cool surprise last year to see such a nice level
of consistancy from one line.



Posted by Dave Arnott to Boardgames To Go at 6:17 PM

[Boardgames To Go] New comment on BGTG 91 - 2008 Year in Review (with Dave Arnott).

Fri, 27 Mar 2009 17:29:36 -0700 (PDT)

Dave Arnott has left a new comment on your post "BGTG 91 - 2008 Year in
Review (with Dave Arnott)":

Hey, All,

Been sick for that last few days.

Settlers Variant: I know it as Settlers Turnier, as that's what it is
called on Brettspielwelt. I'm pretty sure that's German
for "Tournament," but I couldn't find any links online that explained
it (something just for BSW, maybe?), so here it is...

The ONLY difference is in initial placement. Place your first
SETTLEMENT and road as usual. Player 1, then 2, then 3. Then place in
reverse order, but this time with a CITY and a road. Player 3, then 2,
then 1. And then, starting from Player 1, all players place a THIRD
road - Player 1, then 2, then 3. This road must, of course, follow
road-placement rules, building off of one of your existing roads, or
your settlement or city.

Then play the game as normal, starting with Player 1.

Oh... your initial starting cards are given out as in the NORMAL game
and are NOT doubled even though you placed a city to collect them. So
the most commodity cards you can start with is still 3. But, of course,
your production during the game is doubled on your city numbers, like a
normal city would.

It's a much faster game, as you might imagine, since all players have
greater production, and also start with 3 VP now instead of 2VP... and
also, due to the extra road, you will usually have an immediate spot to
build on, assuming an earlier player's third road didn't totally cut
you off :)

But in addition to being faster, having that second placement be a city
seems to tighten the board up for some weird reason, which was always
my one problem with 3-player Settlers: the board was too open, with not
a lot of fighting for position.

I have only played this variant online, by the way, but I can't imagine
I'd like it any less face-to-face.



Posted by Dave Arnott to Boardgames To Go at 5:29 PM

[Boardgames To Go] New comment on BGTG 91 - 2008 Year in Review (with Dave Arnott).

Thu, 26 Mar 2009 19:22:20 -0700 (PDT)

Daniel Brown has left a new comment on your post "BGTG 91 - 2008 Year
in Review (with Dave Arnott)":

Enjoyed the podcast. I have never really keep track of what I have
played. I tried a little on BGG but it just is not me. I really don't
care and I only did it to be able to participate in the nickel and
dimes. I care more about what other people have played because that has
helped me find some cool gems. I am not off to learn DOG.



Posted by Daniel Brown to Boardgames To Go at 7:22 PM

[Boardgames To Go] New comment on BGTG 91 - 2008 Year in Review (with Dave Arnott).

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 11:44:19 -0700 (PDT)

jphageman has left a new comment on your post "BGTG 91 - 2008 Year in
Review (with Dave Arnott)":

Great show as usual.

This is more aimed at Dave. (Not sure if he checks here).

He mentioned a few times the easy play line. I recently stumbled across
them and would like to see a quick ranking/summary of the games by Dave.

Which are his favorite and why?



Posted by jphageman to Boardgames To Go at 11:44 AM

[Boardgames To Go] New comment on BGTG 91 - 2008 Year in Review (with Dave Arnott).

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 09:51:30 -0700 (PDT)

Mark Johnson has left a new comment on your post "BGTG 91 - 2008 Year
in Review (with Dave Arnott)":

There was one nicknamed the "Settlers of Iowa" after the shape of the
map with some hexes removed. The idea was to reduce the map so that a
3-player game had the same tight competition for good spots that the
normal 4-player version does. I'm not sure if that's what Dave meant or
not.



Posted by Mark Johnson to Boardgames To Go at 9:51 AM

[Boardgames To Go] New comment on BGTG 91 - 2008 Year in Review (with Dave Arnott).

Mon, 23 Mar 2009 03:53:30 -0700 (PDT)

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "BGTG 91 - 2008 Year in
Review (with Dave Arnott)":

Can you tell me the name and gist of the 3-player Settlers of Catan
variant Dave alluded to?
Thanks.



Posted by Anonymous to Boardgames To Go at 3:53 AM

[Boardgames To Go] New comment on BGTG 90 - Veto-Proof Game Night (with Ryan Wheeler....

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 06:49:33 -0700 (PDT)

Mark Johnson has left a new comment on your post "BGTG 90 - Veto-Proof
Game Night (with Ryan Wheeler...":

Peter, all I can remember right now is that my great-grandfather came
to the US from SmÃ¥land. At one time I knew the name of the town, but I
don't recall just now. Is that a notable area for boardgaming in
Sweden? :-)



Posted by Mark Johnson to Boardgames To Go at 6:49 AM

[Boardgames To Go] New comment on BGTG 90 - Veto-Proof Game Night (with Ryan Wheeler....

Tue, 17 Mar 2009 12:14:02 -0700 (PDT)

Anonymous has left a new comment on your post "BGTG 90 - Veto-Proof
Game Night (with Ryan Wheeler...":

Mark,
Well SmÃ¥land does not have any major cities so I don't know how much
gaming is going on there. SmÃ¥land is actually famous for the Swedish
dialect they speak,deep forests and that people for some reason are
considered cheap. I don't know if this dates back to the rough times
when a major part of SmÃ¥land emigrated to the US. I don't know if you
read The emigrants by Vilhelm Moberg? Great read anyway.
http://www.amazon.com/review/R2PMZX2B1DJF2X
Also our hero author Astrid Lindgren who wrote books like Pippi
Longstocking and Emil came from SmÃ¥land not to mention IKEAs founder
and still owner Ingvar Kamprad famous for being not only very rich but
also quite cheap. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingvar_Kamprad
Cheers



Posted by Anonymous to Boardgames To Go at 12:14 PM

[Boardgames To Go] New comment on Can you see me?.

Mon, 16 Mar 2009 02:26:55 -0700 (PDT)

Trond Braut has left a new comment on your post "Can you see me?":

yes, I can.



Posted by Trond Braut to Boardgames To Go at 2:26 AM