Arcade Lounges Boardgame Club

[SwamiLeoni]

I figured since this was the Arcade Lounge that we could allow it's big brother and predecessor a spot on the forum.

A little back story on my boardgame journey. Recently, with the pandemic and all, I've found myself playing more boardgames than ever. I've never really been into them and have only played them casually (Monopoly, Risk, Pictionary etc). Thanks to the YT algo, boardgame channels starting popping up on my feed, and tbh I've enjoyed them. It's given me a deep appreciation for the genre. There are so many different creative games out there that I'm sure many of you would find interesting.

So here's a thread for those of us who play (and future players!) where we can offer reviews, upcoming titles, and discussions on your favorite games.

My collection the last few months:

Friday: Friday is a solo game where you take control of a castaway who must avoid obstacles, challenges, animals and pirates through a series of adventures ment to test your wits. It's a deck building game that's easy to learn but hard to win. I've yet to win a game.

Wavelength: You have a wheel with colors on it, you get a category that is some sort of continuum like "bad actor" to "great actor" and then you provide a hint to your team on a range that you have to get your team to guess. Kind of hard to explain. This was one of the higher rated games, however, the people I played it with didn't enjoy it that much.


The Bloody Inn: A game that encourages you to bribe or kill and then bury your customers! Still, there's a lot of strategy in the box; manage your peasants, pay them, launder money, build an annex or five to bury the mounting bodies - and do it all without being caught by the police that could turn up at any time. I've only played this game once I have just gotten it so I am withholding judgement until I get get some more plays in.


What are games you like, dislike, recommend?

Here is my current collection.
https://user.myboardgamecollection.com/?nicromaniac

 

[Nova44]

Me and my fiance play Exploding Kittens with the 3 expansion packs

Othello - Strategy game

Villainous - Card game (has a Marvel version)

 

[Dinkin_Flicka]

Love that my kids are getting older and their attention span is a little longer to play some more involved boardgames.

some of the favorites to play with the with wife and with friends.

Splendor


This game is great. Easy to set up and games move pretty quick. Part deck building, part resource management. When play with 2 people it plays a little more strategic, but when you throw more players in, its a mad dash to collect resources before anyone else can snatch them up.

Takenoko


This is an awesome game if you like Catan, but looking for something a little more quick to play. SImilar to Catan where resource management plays a big part, but not nearly as strategic where you are trying to cut out other players. Each player gets 2 turns per round and it's more important to build your own point pool than try to block another player. Point cards are not shown to the other players, so you really have no idea what each player is trying to accomplish to gain points.

HeroQuest

I played HeroQuest a bunch at a friends house when I was a teen and loved it. It's like DnD lite. I ended up buying a copy off of Ebay years ago and played through the campaing with my nephews over like 10 years and they adored it. Hasboro just released an updated version and mine should be in the mail here pretty soon. Super fucking pumped to play this with my kids.

Bardsung

I actually ran across this Kickstarter when I was looking for a game to play like HeroQuest. I donated in like May of 2020 and it finally ships this month, so I am totally pumped for this game. Some of the things that seem really great about this game over HeroQuest is there is no need for a GM to lead the game and the board is built out randomly from a starter tile so set up is super quick to get into. Really excited to give this game a try.

 

[mb23100]

Aside from the popular ones everyone knows these are my favorite.

My personal favorite is Dead of Winter. Co-op zombie survival game with lots of different objectives and characters completely changing the dynamic of the game each time. It's very well balanced. Lots of story too if you're into that stuff.



1775 Rebellion. Hands down my favorite game for two people to play. Lots of battles and it can swing back and forth several times during the course of a game.


Scythe. Catan on steroids and with giant robots. It's best with three or more people though.

 

[Dinkin_Flicka]

Aside from the popular ones everyone knows these are my favorite.

My personal favorite is Dead of Winter. Co-op zombie survival game with lots of different objectives and characters completely changing the dynamic of the game each time. It's very well balanced. Lots of story too if you're into that stuff.

View attachment 902128

1775 Rebellion. Hands down my favorite game for two people to play. Lots of battles and it can swing back and forth several times during the course of a game.
View attachment 902130

Scythe. Catan on steroids and with giant robots. It's best with three or more people though.
View attachment 902129

Scyth has been on my list for a while. Last Christmas my wife did a coin flip between Scyth and Terraforming Mars, as they were both on my wishlist and I ended up with TM. TM is a solid game but a bit to long to play with young kids around. We'll play more when the kids get a little older.

Dead of Winter is really cool. Took us a bit to get through the instructions and play without referencing, but once we had it down it's super fun. A favorite to in introduce friends to.

I got my wife Photosynthesis for Christmas this year. It's super interesting and there is a lot more strategy involved than it looks. We've only played a two player game so far, but you can tell that adding additional players will add a ton of depth.

 

[THEfightsAREfixed]

 

[mb23100]

Scyth has been on my list for a while. Last Christmas my wife did a coin flip between Scyth and Terraforming Mars, as they were both on my wishlist and I ended up with TM. TM is a solid game but a bit to long to play with young kids around. We'll play more when the kids get a little older.

Dead of Winter is really cool. Took us a bit to get through the instructions and play without referencing, but once we had it down it's super fun. A favorite to in introduce friends to.

I got my wife Photosynthesis for Christmas this year. It's super interesting and there is a lot more strategy involved than it looks. We've only played a two player game so far, but you can tell that adding additional players will add a ton of depth.

Scythe is cool but you really need three or more to play. With two you barely interact if at all some games. There is actually a way to play solo but I haven't tried it.

 

[SwamiLeoni]

Love that my kids are getting older and their attention span is a little longer to play some more involved boardgames.

some of the favorites to play with the with wife and with friends.

Splendor
View attachment 902107

This game is great. Easy to set up and games move pretty quick. Part deck building, part resource management. When play with 2 people it plays a little more strategic, but when you throw more players in, its a mad dash to collect resources before anyone else can snatch them up.

Takenoko
View attachment 902109

This is an awesome game if you like Catan, but looking for something a little more quick to play. SImilar to Catan where resource management plays a big part, but not nearly as strategic where you are trying to cut out other players. Each player gets 2 turns per round and it's more important to build your own point pool than try to block another player. Point cards are not shown to the other players, so you really have no idea what each player is trying to accomplish to gain points.

HeroQuest

I played HeroQuest a bunch at a friends house when I was a teen and loved it. It's like DnD lite. I ended up buying a copy off of Ebay years ago and played through the campaing with my nephews over like 10 years and they adored it. Hasboro just released an updated version and mine should be in the mail here pretty soon. Super fucking pumped to play this with my kids.

Bardsung

I actually ran across this Kickstarter when I was looking for a game to play like HeroQuest. I donated in like May of 2020 and it finally ships this month, so I am totally pumped for this game. Some of the things that seem really great about this game over HeroQuest is there is no need for a GM to lead the game and the board is built out randomly from a starter tile so set up is super quick to get into. Really excited to give this game a try.

There was a lot of HeroQuest hype there for a while. I think a new or revamped version dropped on Kickstarter. I’ve seen a few YouTube videos of people making their own dungeons and they looked awesome. It’s definitely a game on my radar. I’ll also check out Bardsung. Are they both Dungeon Crawlers?

Splendor is another classic I’ve never played but it’s available at pretty much every big box retailer I’ve been to. So I’ll definitely grab it at some point. Scythe is another highly rated game but I don’t think my gf is ready for that. I’ve been slowly trying to get her into gaming and so far we have played Azul, Fox in the Forrest, The Bloody Inn, Bandido and Secret Hitler. She didn’t like The Bloody Inn because it was a little difficult for her to follow.

Twilight Struggle is being delivered tomorrow and it’s one I’m playing with my pops. Really looking forward to that one as it’s a period of history he really enjoys. Radlands is another coming this week that I’ll be playing with the gf. I bought the deluxe set so at least it’ll look colorful. Pandemic Legacy is waiting for us when she feels comfortable enough to play it and not get bogged down.

You’ll have to let me know how Photosynthesis is. Have you played quacks of quedlinburg by chance? Everyone that talks about it seems to love it. I almost grabbed it but I have a few games I need to play first.

 

[rikwebb]

Me and my fiance play Exploding Kittens with the 3 expansion packs

I played that for the first time a few months ago, one of my brothers bought it and we gave it a try

 

[SwamiLeoni]

Played Twilight Struggle with my Dad tonight. No matter how many times I read the rules and watched videos, I know we messed up in more than one area. I’m sure the game is great once you can establish a solid flow, but man, it is not an easy one to pick up and play. I’m still interested in it and I see the value, just need some practice.

 

[SwamiLeoni]

Finally got Radlands to the table last night. My gf and I only played one game because my little man was having stomach issues. It's a 1v1 card duel with one deck. I'm pretty sure we made some mistakes but understood most of the mechanics. I'm going to watch a few playthroughs later today to see how others play it to get a better idea of what we may have gotten wrong. So far though, I like it. The materials used are top notch and the cards are on another level. They're almost plastic like so you don't need to add any protective layer. As a huge Mad Max fan, I love the theme. The cult leader was definitely inspired from Immortan Joe.

@Dinkin_Flicka, I also received my Big Box of The Quacks of Quedlinburg which includes the Herb Witches Expansion. The Dice Tower is having their top 10 games of all time and the Peoples choice for #7 was Quacks. I haven't played it yet, but by all accounts its an amazingly fun family game. I saw you mentioned you have an 8 and 11 year old, so it might be one you could consider looking into.

 

[jnes]

Highly recommend Tokaido. Very casual game that anyone can play, plus the art and the pieces are absolutely gorgeous.

 

[Dinkin_Flicka]

Finally got Radlands to the table last night. My gf and I only played one game because my little man was having stomach issues. It's a 1v1 card duel with one deck. I'm pretty sure we made some mistakes but understood most of the mechanics. I'm going to watch a few playthroughs later today to see how others play it to get a better idea of what we may have gotten wrong. So far though, I like it. The materials used are top notch and the cards are on another level. They're almost plastic like so you don't need to add any protective layer. As a huge Mad Max fan, I love the theme. The cult leader was definitely inspired from Immortan Joe.

@Dinkin_Flicka, I also received my Big Box of The Quacks of Quedlinburg which includes the Herb Witches Expansion. The Dice Tower is having their top 10 games of all time and the Peoples choice for #7 was Quacks. I haven't played it yet, but by all accounts its an amazingly fun family game. I saw you mentioned you have an 8 and 11 year old, so it might be one you could consider looking into.

these look pretty great, will definitely check these out. Always looking for something new to play with the kids.

I did just get my HeroQuest set in the mail on Monday, but haven’t done much more than look at the pieces. Going to get a round in with the family this weekend. I missed one of the early expansions that were sold out at the time of my preorder. It was just a new Knight character that had the male and female miniatures. Nothing huge, but only $15. Having an extra character to choose from is always nice. Trying to find it now it’s released and it’s sold out everywhere. There is one on eBay for $299. That’s some serious scalping. Hoping that now it’s officially launched that they release more of the Knights.

 

[Nova44]

Finally got Radlands to the table last night. My gf and I only played one game because my little man was having stomach issues. It's a 1v1 card duel with one deck. I'm pretty sure we made some mistakes but understood most of the mechanics. I'm going to watch a few playthroughs later today to see how others play it to get a better idea of what we may have gotten wrong. So far though, I like it. The materials used are top notch and the cards are on another level. They're almost plastic like so you don't need to add any protective layer. As a huge Mad Max fan, I love the theme. The cult leader was definitely inspired from Immortan Joe.

@Dinkin_Flicka, I also received my Big Box of The Quacks of Quedlinburg which includes the Herb Witches Expansion. The Dice Tower is having their top 10 games of all time and the Peoples choice for #7 was Quacks. I haven't played it yet, but by all accounts its an amazingly fun family game. I saw you mentioned you have an 8 and 11 year old, so it might be one you could consider looking into.

These look awesome, might have to look more into them.

 

[SwamiLeoni]

Highly recommend Tokaido. Very casual game that anyone can play, plus the art and the pieces are absolutely gorgeous.

Beautiful game I think my gf would love. Thanks for the recommendation, I've added it to my list.

these look pretty great, will definitely check these out. Always looking for something new to play with the kids.

I did just get my HeroQuest set in the mail on Monday, but haven’t done much more than look at the pieces. Going to get a round in with the family this weekend. I missed one of the early expansions that were sold out at the time of my preorder. It was just a new Knight character that had the male and female miniatures. Nothing huge, but only $15. Having an extra character to choose from is always nice. Trying to find it now it’s released and it’s sold out everywhere. There is one on eBay for $299. That’s some serious scalping. Hoping that now it’s officially launched that they release more of the Knights.

HeroQuest is on my to-play list. Copies seem to be trickling out but they're still around $125. I'm not sure if they'll go lower anytime soon. Are you planning on painting the minis? It doesn't seem like its too difficult and could add some flavor to the game. Also, Etsy could be a good place to look for some replicas. Not 100% exact, but I've purchased a few things and have liked them.

These look awesome, might have to look more into them.

Would recommend the Radlands Super Deluxe because of the dope box and the mats but it's not needed to play. Haven't tried Quacks yet, but man I'm excited for it. It seems like such a silly game but I like the Push-your-Luck style games. I might even jump on the premium pieces on BoardGameGeek or Etsy.

 

[Dinkin_Flicka]

Beautiful game I think my gf would love. Thanks for the recommendation, I've added it to my list.



HeroQuest is on my to-play list. Copies seem to be trickling out but they're still around $125. I'm not sure if they'll go lower anytime soon. Are you planning on painting the minis? It doesn't seem like its too difficult and could add some flavor to the game. Also, Etsy could be a good place to look for some replicas. Not 100% exact, but I've purchased a few things and have liked them.



Would recommend the Radlands Super Deluxe because of the dope box and the mats but it's not needed to play. Haven't tried Quacks yet, but man I'm excited for it. It seems like such a silly game but I like the Push-your-Luck style games. I might even jump on the premium pieces on BoardGameGeek or Etsy.

I would like to paint the minis, but there is not a chance in the world where I get to the paint the minis where my 8 year old daughter would insist on painting one as well. While I love my daughter, I don't want her to ruin my toys.

I've looked on Etsy quite a bit and if I can't find the expansion characters I'm just going to get some 3D printed minis and print out the character cards. They actually have a female character set for sale that I will likely buy. I don't really care about having the female versions, but my daughter absolutely does. Thankfully in the remake the elf character came default as a female soy daughter called dibs.

On to other games that are great fun for adults but fun for younger kids as well.

Dragonrealm



This game is part dice roll and part deck building. It has two different rule sets. One simplified rule set that is fun for kids and a more advanced rule set that employs more strategy. Plays pretty fast and easy to teach, so great intro game with friends.

Kings of Tokyo (Kings of New York also available)



We bought this game for my younger nephews not knowing about it. They loved it and when we played it with them got hooked. Dice rolling game where everyone picks a Godzilla level monster to take over the city where everyone attacks each other and last one standing wins.

 

[SwamiLeoni]

I would like to paint the minis, but there is not a chance in the world where I get to the paint the minis where my 8 year old daughter would insist on painting one as well. While I love my daughter, I don't want her to ruin my toys.

I've looked on Etsy quite a bit and if I can't find the expansion characters I'm just going to get some 3D printed minis and print out the character cards. They actually have a female character set for sale that I will likely buy. I don't really care about having the female versions, but my daughter absolutely does. Thankfully in the remake the elf character came default as a female soy daughter called dibs.

On to other games that are great fun for adults but fun for younger kids as well.

Dragonrealm

View attachment 905341

This game is part dice roll and part deck building. It has two different rule sets. One simplified rule set that is fun for kids and a more advanced rule set that employs more strategy. Plays pretty fast and easy to teach, so great intro game with friends.

Kings of Tokyo (Kings of New York also available)

View attachment 905343

We bought this game for my younger nephews not knowing about it. They loved it and when we played it with them got hooked. Dice rolling game where everyone picks a Godzilla level monster to take over the city where everyone attacks each other and last one standing wins.

Thanks for the recommendation. I have seen King of Tokyo a few times and know it’s a highly rated game but I’ve never heard of Dragonrealm. I’ve been wanting to get a Dice game but haven’t jumped into one yet so this is a good motivation to snag one. I’ve also been interested in Clank! Legacy but haven’t done much research into it.

 

[Dinkin_Flicka]

@SwamiLeoni
Ended up grabbing Quacks of Quedlinburg from your recommendation in this thread. Me and the wife opened it up last weekend and watched a "how to play" video and super overwhelmed with how many components there were and how to play. We didn't end up having enough time to play that night but had some friends over last night and broke it out to play through.

It only took our group 1 round to figure out how to play, and it was a lot easier than we originally expected once we got into it. Super fun game and everyone was constantly swearing and anxious about digging in their bag of ingredients. We all had a few drinks in us, so there was a lot of exploded potions from terrible life choices.

All in all this game is fantastic. Fun for the group, easy to learn/teach, plays quickly, and the best part is everyone takes actions at the same time so no waiting for your turn. While I still like longer games like Catan and Terraforming Mars, those games take a long time and the whole group has to want to be in for a long game.

 

[Bob Gray]

I have a terrible KickStarter miniature game addiction. My closet is currently full with all in editions of Zombicide 2nd edition, (And I just backed Marvel Zombies), and I gotta get started on painting up my Nemesis board game minis.

The eldritch series is really fun,. though. Eldritch Horror, Mansion of Madness, etc. Which reminds me I need to keep painting my Death May Die game.

 

[SwamiLeoni]

@SwamiLeoni
Ended up grabbing Quacks of Quedlinburg from your recommendation in this thread. Me and the wife opened it up last weekend and watched a "how to play" video and super overwhelmed with how many components there were and how to play. We didn't end up having enough time to play that night but had some friends over last night and broke it out to play through.

It only took our group 1 round to figure out how to play, and it was a lot easier than we originally expected once we got into it. Super fun game and everyone was constantly swearing and anxious about digging in their bag of ingredients. We all had a few drinks in us, so there was a lot of exploded potions from terrible life choices.

All in all this game is fantastic. Fun for the group, easy to learn/teach, plays quickly, and the best part is everyone takes actions at the same time so no waiting for your turn. While I still like longer games like Catan and Terraforming Mars, those games take a long time and the whole group has to want to be in for a long game.

Very cool. Glad you guys enjoyed it. I actually tried it for the first time with my GF last week. She can get easily frustrated if games are too complex and she was already grumbling during the "how to" video because it was long and at face-value seemed like it would be confusing. TBH, the one we watched seemed really daunting at first. But like you said, once you get up and running the game flows incredibly well and it's easy to learn and play. We didn't try the Herb Witches Expansion which came in the big box since it was our first time, but we can tell it's a game that we will enjoy playing for a while. I've considered spending on premium pieces in the Etsy store. They're not that expensive and I think they add a little more to the game.

I'd be interested to see if your little ones like it.

My GF picked up a few games for me for Valentines. She got me Everdell, PanAm and Takenoko. She took a shot in the dark at what she might think I would like and all of those sound interesting. We still haven't started our Pandemic Legacy Season 1 yet. We've played several games of the original so that's also on our list.