Post by Vespid on Jan 5, 2011 10:51:45 GMT
Let's have it: a discussion on Tabletop/Board/Card/Dice/Combination games.
Despite not really having anyone to play with, I purchased Anti-Monopoly and Blokus a few months back.
I've not really touched Anti-Monopoly other than looking at the rules (purchased this one solely to see how it differed from regular Monopoly). I must say that the tone of the game seem highly biased against Monopolists. It may be mathematically unbiased... but the authors have some serious issues against monopolies (and probably rightfully so in some cases). Instead of the Community Chest and Chance cards, it splits in to Monopolist and Competitor cards and to read them is a case of trying to contain laughter at the blatant disrespect the creators have for Monopolists. If you are playing the game as a Competitor, you generally tend to get a bit of a head start because you can start building houses on your properties as soon as you purchase a title deed card whereas Monopolists have to own two of the same colour in order to start building. Competitors generally charge lower "fairer" rates. Monopolists generally start at the same rates, but quickly raise prices for equivalent things (i.e. the difference between 4 houses at Competitor rates and Monopolist rates is substantial) and a longer game tends to favour the Monopolists. Apparently, the end game tends to drag a bit with prices not really being big enough to cause a true wipeout at a rapid rate, unlike regular Monopoly.
Blokus is an amazingly simple-to-learn-difficult-to-master abstract strategy game and done quite well. The idea is to place all your pieces down before everyone else. The basic rule is that, after your first move, you can only play your pieces so that they touch in the corners. Your pieces can not play side-by-side to each other. Once you get the basic strategy of "aim for the middle as quickly as you can", it's anyone's guess as to who will win. Of course, more experienced players will do better... but there can be some wonderful masterstrokes whereby you cut off an opponent's main options and open up numerous ones for yourself. The game will also frustrate you when you see a perfect spot for a piece that you have already played...
I think you should still be able to find an online version of Blokus to try out on the Blokus site.
All in all, I rate this a solid 10 out of 10 and recommend it to everyone with even a passing interest in board games and/or thinking games.
I downloaded a version of "Hex", a game supposedly designed by John Forbes Nash (remember the film "A Beautiful Mind"? Another Simple-Yet-Difficult-to-Master abstract strategy game, the idea here is to link one side of the board (made of hexes) to the other side. Apparently, it is mathematically proven that the game must always end up with a winner. The version I downloaded is called "Hexy" and features a crisp AI that can trounce you if you make a mistake. I like it. You should find a copy.
I also have a two player version of the game Focus. The AI on this can be insanely difficult if you don't know what you are doing.
I intend to look up and maybe join the forums of BoardGame Geek to find new games to play solo, as well as getting tips to improve games/rules that I make up on my own.
(I have something like 4 or 5 projects on the go at the moment. I swear that I will finish one set of rules sometime this millennia. I know how to make that work: I'll make it a New Year's Resolution)
So... Your board/tabletop games?
Despite not really having anyone to play with, I purchased Anti-Monopoly and Blokus a few months back.
I've not really touched Anti-Monopoly other than looking at the rules (purchased this one solely to see how it differed from regular Monopoly). I must say that the tone of the game seem highly biased against Monopolists. It may be mathematically unbiased... but the authors have some serious issues against monopolies (and probably rightfully so in some cases). Instead of the Community Chest and Chance cards, it splits in to Monopolist and Competitor cards and to read them is a case of trying to contain laughter at the blatant disrespect the creators have for Monopolists. If you are playing the game as a Competitor, you generally tend to get a bit of a head start because you can start building houses on your properties as soon as you purchase a title deed card whereas Monopolists have to own two of the same colour in order to start building. Competitors generally charge lower "fairer" rates. Monopolists generally start at the same rates, but quickly raise prices for equivalent things (i.e. the difference between 4 houses at Competitor rates and Monopolist rates is substantial) and a longer game tends to favour the Monopolists. Apparently, the end game tends to drag a bit with prices not really being big enough to cause a true wipeout at a rapid rate, unlike regular Monopoly.
Blokus is an amazingly simple-to-learn-difficult-to-master abstract strategy game and done quite well. The idea is to place all your pieces down before everyone else. The basic rule is that, after your first move, you can only play your pieces so that they touch in the corners. Your pieces can not play side-by-side to each other. Once you get the basic strategy of "aim for the middle as quickly as you can", it's anyone's guess as to who will win. Of course, more experienced players will do better... but there can be some wonderful masterstrokes whereby you cut off an opponent's main options and open up numerous ones for yourself. The game will also frustrate you when you see a perfect spot for a piece that you have already played...
I think you should still be able to find an online version of Blokus to try out on the Blokus site.
All in all, I rate this a solid 10 out of 10 and recommend it to everyone with even a passing interest in board games and/or thinking games.
I downloaded a version of "Hex", a game supposedly designed by John Forbes Nash (remember the film "A Beautiful Mind"? Another Simple-Yet-Difficult-to-Master abstract strategy game, the idea here is to link one side of the board (made of hexes) to the other side. Apparently, it is mathematically proven that the game must always end up with a winner. The version I downloaded is called "Hexy" and features a crisp AI that can trounce you if you make a mistake. I like it. You should find a copy.
I also have a two player version of the game Focus. The AI on this can be insanely difficult if you don't know what you are doing.
I intend to look up and maybe join the forums of BoardGame Geek to find new games to play solo, as well as getting tips to improve games/rules that I make up on my own.
(I have something like 4 or 5 projects on the go at the moment. I swear that I will finish one set of rules sometime this millennia. I know how to make that work: I'll make it a New Year's Resolution
)So... Your board/tabletop games?
