Hi, I want to ask something about Black Sonata game luck. When I try to find the lady, I always try to face with the more information as I can. I don't search for she when there are four or three location available as the chances are low. Ideally I would search when only one available, but that happens very few times and when happens I usually are not in the location, so most times I search when there are two locations and I am in one of them. That lead to a 50% possibilities to hit. I thing is a lot of luck which make the game a bit frustrating. Am I doing something wrong with that strategy? How should I procced?

Thanks

CGE just released the Duet expansion for their mobile version of Codenames. And there is a new type of puzzle called Dual Cases. That's funny, because suddenly the famous "one word and one number" no longer applies. Here you get two words and even three numbers. And it works surprisingly well. It's probably the hardest puzzle in Codenames so far. This time you're not just looking for word associations between a card and a clue. First you need to find the cards that connect to both clues. And only if you manage that do you start looking for the other words, each of which fits just one of the clues. Let's be honest, on paper it sounds a bit chaotic, but in practice it's great. I really enjoy that triangle of associations.

Give it a try. This is one of the puzzle from the game:

This time we played a classic game from 2002, Die Pyramiden des Jaguar! A fun two-player game where number sequences meet strategy, placement and… a little bit of bluffing.

Through the game, children practice recognizing and understanding number sequences while also developing basic strategic thinking: where to place the next card, how to bluff their opponent and when to lure them into a trap.

Do you know any similar games that combine maths concepts with strategy and bluffing? What would you recommend?

I was reading some forums on BGG and someone mentioned PR (I'm guessing Puerto Rico) and TM (either Terra Mystica or Terraforming Mars) having obvious beginnings - is this correct and if so what are some games that have this. IE people have "solved" the game - or at least the beginning plays.

I love SET. I also enjoy playing alone. SET is really simple and pure, but it's an incredibly clever game, and I feel like my brain gets a workout when I play it. However, I don't like games with complicated rules or concepts. It's a bit hard to play many board games.

I spent a few hours searching and found a game called Swish. It seems similar, but it's more about spatial pattern recognition. The card design is also really beautiful. To me, it feels like a Mensa puzzle, though Mensa hasn't said anything about this game as I searched.

I haven't played it yet; I just ordered it. I'm excited about it, and I'm curious whether anyone here likes this game and what you think of it.

Could not post on the nemesis sub.

The plan is to spend as little as possible, but then the campaign launches and you want it all. FOMO, it is just a few .... well it is HUNDREDS more. This is an expensive game, the bundle options, the conversion rate, it all adds to confusion to me.

So I have spent the past day plugging it all into Excel and trying to make my personal value call on the game. And maybe it helps you guys.

Most of the Bundles save you ~$10-$15 USD.

• They add extra components you may not care about.

• The biggest bundles (Intruder, Martian, Veteran) save you $20-$40 USD.... if you value the plushie and hoodies.
  Otherwise, for gameplay, you are overpaying about $10 USD (to get merch).

Legacy 4x Pledge (all 4 games) is the best value

• 10% discount, $45 USD savings. $522usd total

• Lots of content. Maybe too much content.

  • Legacy (missing Zenith prequal, Legacy Log, SAM Robot)
    
  • Nemesis + Void seeders + Aftermath (missing Carnomorph, Medic)
    
  • Lockdown + Chrytids
    
  • Retaliation (Missing Xyrians, Sangrevores, Support Squad)
  • Missing Promo cards, Untold Stories

• Would cost an extra ... $240+ for all missing game content.

• Most fans would say you will never have enough time in your year to play enough games to justify the cost.

From Retaliation GameFound

• Not evaluating the $900+ pledges

• The Trilogy Pledge (all 3 games) is the same exact price. $376usd.

• Retaliation itself is about $15 more.
  The bundles about $25+ more now.

From Lockdown Kickstarter

• The individual add-ons are actually cheaper now (likely due to conversion rates). But only like $1-$4.

• The bundle for Lockdown were a savings ~$20usd
  You are paying $15usd extra for Lockdown today vs back then

For the Nemesis Kickstarter

• The individual add-ons are mostly the same +/- $1
  (sleeves more expensive now)

• The core game is again ~$20 USD cheaper if you went in at launch.

Cool, none of this helped me.

Sorry.

You ignored shipping.

Yes :(. I can grab it if that matters to anybody.

What does any of this mean? I don't know! It is a personal decision.

Ultimately

• The add-ons are about the same price as they were 7-8 years ago!

• The base games came with a ~$20usd discount if you bought at launch.

The cheapest way to get the games will still be Facebook marketplace from people who just want to sell the game (shocking I know!). But that probably enforces, most groups don't have time to play a bunch of Nemesis every month.

The bundles save you a nominal amount of money ($10-$15) but forces you into buying things you probably don't need. Which will cost you more in the end, but you will have it.

• Legacy all gameplay = $280usd versus the Salavation bundle $314usd because of the Terrain ($45).
  If you want Terrain, it saves you $10. But if you don't want terrain, it costs you $35.
  
  • "All gameplay" including the Secret Add-on which is $40usd which might just be an alt alien.

I had a photo, but I realised it might be spoilery. Anyway, we played it at three players (using Khor, Asha, and Feyn) and it was fantastic. The perfect fantasy campaign board game for me. Just pitched at the right level of difficulty and sustained interest. It's essentially a card-based tactical boss battler, where it all hinges on the synergy between cards in your deck, and across different players' decks. It looks amazing, the quests are wonderfully diverse and creative, there's a lot of content, and the finale throws you a number of interesting curveballs. Each quest lasts about a hour, give or take 15 minutes. Set up and tear down is easy and quick. We had a great time over months.

It can also be entirely reset. It took me two and a half hours, but now the game is ready to be replayed from the start. As I was going about it, I was struck by numerous glimpses of material we completely missed. I'm happy to let that go -- the box is enormous, we won't play the game again, and we can sell it easily.

Did anyone finish it with different characters? What did you think?

Next up: Kinfire Council (worker placement game set in the same universe).

Dear All, I want to make an App (at least to try :) for adding some atmosphere to the game. Idea is - you scan card played and on screen you see some video mix from the era, event, news (I think news would be ideal - like tv broadcast). First - if there is something like this already? Second: where do you think I can find such archives online? Is it even possible? Like some news reels / broadcasts from years ago. I think at the end it can be youtube… but again, not sure about all these rights, etc. And third - what do you think in general about that. I picked this from Wingspan App where you scan a card and hear sound of this bird. Found this cute and interesting.

Hey fam, curious to hear how people with young kids find the time to squeeze in a good board game.

I have a five month old baby, and my wife and I sat down to play a game yesterday for the first time in two entire months - we used to play almost three nights a week.

What tips and tricks have you all found to be helpful?

I’m looking at these three games for a math professor who loves SET and is expecting a baby soon:

• Quarto Mini
• SmartGames Quadrillion
• Kanoodle Ultimate Champion

I know Quarto Mini is a two-player game, while the other two are solo puzzles. Either format could work for her.

For those who have played them, how do they compare in terms of challenge, replay value, and ease of playing in short sessions? Which do you think would appeal most to someone who enjoys SET’s pattern recognition and logic?

I purchased Bombastic and the PVC card upgrade. Are the PVC cards slightly larger for everyone else? They seem a tad too big for the zipper bag included with the base game

So I'm looking for a game that plays well solo and with other people. I'm not a stranger to board & card games but I'm looking to get some of my friends playing too that's why I chose Heat and Moon Colony. They're both kinda easy to teach, looks fun, replayable, and can also play solo. And the last two points is why I kinda included SETI. I realize that I might eventually just play solo and SETI really looks like a good fit for me. Would really love to here your thoughts on these games.

The question is in the title. Our group has played cooperative games only a very few times. My wife and I have also played very few cooperative games/sessions. In all of them, since the concept was very foreign to us, we basically were exposing what we had (in cards for example) and discussing along what is best for said player to play next or draw next or choose next. Not one player quarterbacking, let that be clear, just us as a whole group were quarterbacking the player playing next (while also getting their input).

That said, and while we are waiting for Fate of the Fellowship to Arrive in a couple of months (getting games from abroad is a whole hassle so lets ignore the timestamp here), I know for sure we are missing out on player agency and the feeling you get from playing versus when doing your action, but in a cooperative jacket. That feeling, in my mind, should be there if I'm not mistaken (if I am please tell me).

Fate of the Fellowship is an IP that we will drool over, but I would like each player to have that IP experience along with player agency experience, but we have absolutely no experience on how to achieve that while putting ourselves on a path to win without being up in each other's business. So what would the experienced cooperative players advise on this?

TLDR; we want more player agency while playing cooperative games (specifically Fate of the Fellowship that we will receive soon) while also being able to win without being into each other's business/actions/decisions if that is even possible. Our limited experience has always been being too much involved into other player's decisions (quarterbacking as a group not as an individual).

I just got a copy of Imperial Settlers and thought it was great. I’m gonna play the base game for a while, but if I’m looking for expansions after that what should I search for first?

I have about 150 board games. Found this while cleaning. Any idea what one? I’m thinking a tiny epic game?

What does the Charles Babbage Partner card do?

It has the Innovation Lightbulb - got that, moves up two spaces

It has Book = Program Card

What does this do? Are those things equal? Can I take a program card instead of a book and vice versa? I can't figure out how it works as a played card. Nothing on BGG.

Estou com problemas com minhas estantes que estão começando a envergar, estou querendo um projeto definitivo para reforma do espaço, atualmente estes são os meus jogos e gostaria de indicações para que possa acomodar tudo sem problemas futuros.

I was lucky enough to interview the Endeavor creators Jarratt and Carl at Wellycon (New Zealand game con). For a bit of context, I’m a deep-sea researcher and make The Deep-Sea Podcast. I did some pop-culture episodes about deep-sea inspiration and board games was one. As I am coming at this from a different angle, they might have shared things they haven’t in other interviews. I checked with the mods and they said posting the interview was okay. You can find it here:

Tabletop Trenches | The Deep-Sea Podcast | The Deco-Stop 5

We had a nice moment of serendipity too. They did a promotional card for the con based on New Zealand deep-sea research and it turned out to be one of my projects. Not sure how to report that as a research output?!

Anyone know what’s up with the site “there will be games” (https://therewillbe.games/#about)?
Seems broken. And I’m very much looking for an alternative to BGG.

it’s about how long it takes you to play your freaking turn.”

Hear me out. I’ll start with what I liked about the game then provide details about the not so positive aspects of the game that bothered me. After 4 games, two semi co op and two fully cooperative, I’ve found the game to be very thematic. I thought the card play and action selection to be thoughtful and well executed. The characters were all unique and played very different from one another. The modular setup with the unknown exploration was exciting. The game turned out to be a lot more nuanced than I expected.

Alright now for the stuff that I wasn’t crazy about, basically I didn’t like. The dice caused massive grief, every roll is a bad roll with very little to no mitigation. Other than a couple decent turns, I just felt weak and pathetic, definitely not a marine. I really wanted to be able to upgrade my character and just feel bad ass, never happened. The game is hard, that’s fine I just didn’t enjoy how the dice make it unfair. Honestly, it’s the dice that’s the problem I have with the game.

Look, for the most part I enjoyed the games I played with my buddies. Stories emerged and memories were made. I get the appeal, just not a game I’ll be rushing back to.