The Swamp

Tonight I'll be on a Twitch stream with my board game friends:



Link to back the game:

People watch people playing board games online as well? What a time to be alive.

People watched people guess what jobs people have in 1950.

To be clear, I don't give a fuck what people do with their time. I get Twitch for the most part even if it isn't my thing. Seems like it would be harder to follow what's going on with a board game but I imagine with a couple of cameras it's doable.

One of the biggest influences to board games over the last half decade was Wil Wheaton and his Tabletop YouTube channel. Since then numerous similar channels have spawned.

And naturally any niche hobby will have their enthusiasts. In a digital world that means streaming and podcasts.

Next weekend is the biggest board game convention in the USA in Indianapolis called GenCon.

538 article from 4 years ago: Crowdfunding Is Driving A $196 Million Board Game Renaissance

And here's the Kicktraq hotlist: https://www.kicktraq.com/hotlist/

Board games are a ginormous percentage of Kickstarter projects. So, yeah. This is a pretty big hobby.

Kevin Draper, former editor of Deadspin, with an intriguing article for the New York Times: Should Board Gamers Play the Roles of Racists, Slavers and Nazis?

The concept has merit, but I'm not so sure it needs some doom and gloom sub headline of "After the cancellation of Scramble for Africa, where do board games go from here?" There are certainly problematic elements in some games, but does that mean I need to be guilt tripped when playing them?

There are lots of games with lots of themes. Acting as though the entire market is going to crash down because of it is silly.

GenCon started today and it seems like he wants clicks.

I would agree with you that there should definitely be an aspect of escapism inherent to a game. But you might want to keep an eye on the guy who always picks Germany in Axis and Allies a little too enthusiastically.

(When I used to play that about twice a month with a pretty regular group we drew out of a hat after a while. I think it was because I got too good with Britain. Long range bombers, baby!)

A_B wrote: ↑Thu Aug 01, 2019 3:23 pm I would agree with you that there should definitely be an aspect of escapism inherent to a game. But you might want to keep an eye on the guy who always picks Germany in Axis and Allies a little too enthusiastically.

(When I used to play that about twice a month with a pretty regular group we drew out of a hat after a while. I think it was because I got too good with Britain. Long range bombers, baby!)

There was some controversy about this when 5 Tribes came out. I have the original version that uses "slaves" as an objective card you can spend. They changed it in more recent printings to "servants" or something similar. I guess you could consider it offensive if you try hard enough, but being that its thematically ancient Egypt, I didn't get the big fuss about it, but apparently it irked enough people to change it. It's a weird line if you think too hard about it. You don't want to be revisionist and act like things weren't what they were, but I guess you don't lost much by choosing not to glorify those actions.

A set of Pokemon cards just sold for more than $100,000 at auction

If you would have told me 20 years ago to spend my lunch money on Pokemon cards because it could by me a house when I was an adult, I would've been floored. Man, I wish my dad collected these cards and Magic cards instead of garbage ass baseball cards and coins.

To think that in the 80s and 90s baseball card companies tried to recapture the magic of cards made in the 50s and 60s when the actual "will be worth $$$ in the future" cards were the ones you actually did something with besides stash away.

A_B wrote: ↑Thu Aug 01, 2019 3:23 pm I would agree with you that there should definitely be an aspect of escapism inherent to a game. But you might want to keep an eye on the guy who always picks Germany in Axis and Allies a little too enthusiastically.

(When I used to play that about twice a month with a pretty regular group we drew out of a hat after a while. I think it was because I got too good with Britain. Long range bombers, baby!)

And you can put a development base in Canada to pipeline your bombers!

Johnnie wrote: ↑Tue Aug 13, 2019 7:30 am A set of Pokemon cards just sold for more than $100,000 at auction

If you would have told me 20 years ago to spend my lunch money on Pokemon cards because it could by me a house when I was an adult, I would've been floored. Man, I wish my dad collected these cards and Magic cards instead of garbage ass baseball cards and coins.

To think that in the 80s and 90s baseball card companies tried to recapture the magic of cards made in the 50s and 60s when the actual "will be worth $$$ in the future" cards were the ones you actually did something with besides stash away.

As someone who's played magic a long time, and has old cards, the really under valued part of this is you would have had to keep them in minty minty fresh condition to get this sort of thing, absolutely no playing with them.

This is true. But I never played Pokemon, so I would've been Magic centric all those years anyway.

And these days I'd only want to play commander if I'm playing Magic. It's a cooler format and you only have to buy 1 of any card instead of a set of 4.

Monopoly sucks just because, but this guy had a problem with this version of it:



And look who got triggered:

What I appreciate is how people don't know the history of the game. Monopoly was designed to show the problem of concentration of wealth. But it is constantly used in memes and such to support the side of the argument the game was intended to teach against.

So, big day. L-Jam4, one of the two reasons I started this thread, just got his first win against his very proud dad. It was a case of me getting overly cocky with my Queen, recklessly losing her way too early, and me tipping over the king in disgusted surrender like I would against any casual player. A win is a win, though, and even though I won functionally a practice game after we just played it out, it still counts.

I've got way into the boardgames since moving back to the UK, and seems that's mirrored by quite a few of you guys as well.

had a few buds inc tom1860 to visit a few weeks ago and enjoyed Rising Sun, Bloodrage, Zombicide Black Plague, Auztrailia, Firefly and The Others as well as some fillers.

any of you guys on boardgamearena, suspect I will be on there a bit going forward user ID is BFM

Sweet, that's awesome to hear! And if and when I ever travel to the UK I know where board game night is.

Welcome back!

Johnnie wrote: ↑Thu Aug 15, 2019 8:02 am This is true. But I never played Pokemon, so I would've been Magic centric all those years anyway.

And these days I'd only want to play commander if I'm playing Magic. It's a cooler format and you only have to buy 1 of any card instead of a set of 4.

I played a bit of magic, but dislike the "who spends the most will have the best deck" aspect intently.

I scratch the deckbuilding itch now with dominion to some extent but more recently have loved playing Aeon's End solo or with my 12 year old, such a good game with loads of replayability

L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Thu Aug 22, 2019 9:11 pm So, big day. L-Jam4, one of the two reasons I started this thread, just got his first win against his very proud dad. It was a case of me getting overly cocky with my Queen, recklessly losing her way too early, and me tipping over the king in disgusted surrender like I would against any casual player. A win is a win, though, and even though I won functionally a practice game after we just played it out, it still counts.

so cool playing games with your kids and seeing them figure stuff out.

we play a lot of co-ops with our kids so we can win/lose together and also great when they work together instead of bicker. I find chess difficult to play unless players are at least somewhat evenly matched, so kudos to you for making it work and keeping l-jam4 motivated enough to keep on trying

zumbaredux wrote: ↑Tue Sep 10, 2019 10:06 am

Johnnie wrote: ↑Thu Aug 15, 2019 8:02 am This is true. But I never played Pokemon, so I would've been Magic centric all those years anyway.

And these days I'd only want to play commander if I'm playing Magic. It's a cooler format and you only have to buy 1 of any card instead of a set of 4.

I played a bit of magic, but dislike the "who spends the most will have the best deck" aspect intently.

I scratch the deckbuilding itch now with dominion to some extent but more recently have loved playing Aeon's End solo or with my 12 year old, such a good game with loads of replayability

Fun fact, if you kept as many magic cards minty fresh as that pokemon collection you could probably buy a house in CA instead of KS.

Commander is quite social, and with a $40 pre-built deck that you can play for a long time. The deck you buy is not necessarily worse than if I bring a $5k deck (old cards that are out of print are big $$$ and aren't necessarily good).

If you are interested in Magic at all, the new MTG Arena game on PC is quite good for new players, and is free to play for the basic decks.

blundercrush wrote: ↑Wed Sep 11, 2019 6:13 pm

zumbaredux wrote: ↑Tue Sep 10, 2019 10:06 am

Johnnie wrote: ↑Thu Aug 15, 2019 8:02 am This is true. But I never played Pokemon, so I would've been Magic centric all those years anyway.

And these days I'd only want to play commander if I'm playing Magic. It's a cooler format and you only have to buy 1 of any card instead of a set of 4.

I played a bit of magic, but dislike the "who spends the most will have the best deck" aspect intently.

I scratch the deckbuilding itch now with dominion to some extent but more recently have loved playing Aeon's End solo or with my 12 year old, such a good game with loads of replayability

Fun fact, if you kept as many magic cards minty fresh as that pokemon collection you could probably buy a house in CA instead of KS.

Commander is quite social, and with a $40 pre-built deck that you can play for a long time. The deck you buy is not necessarily worse than if I bring a $5k deck (old cards that are out of print are big $$$ and aren't necessarily good).

If you are interested in Magic at all, the new MTG Arena game on PC is quite good for new players, and is free to play for the basic decks.

My son is heavy on MTG arena....he is very strong

wlu_lax6 wrote: ↑Wed Sep 11, 2019 6:25 pm

blundercrush wrote: ↑Wed Sep 11, 2019 6:13 pm

zumbaredux wrote: ↑Tue Sep 10, 2019 10:06 am

Johnnie wrote: ↑Thu Aug 15, 2019 8:02 am This is true. But I never played Pokemon, so I would've been Magic centric all those years anyway.

And these days I'd only want to play commander if I'm playing Magic. It's a cooler format and you only have to buy 1 of any card instead of a set of 4.

I played a bit of magic, but dislike the "who spends the most will have the best deck" aspect intently.

I scratch the deckbuilding itch now with dominion to some extent but more recently have loved playing Aeon's End solo or with my 12 year old, such a good game with loads of replayability

Fun fact, if you kept as many magic cards minty fresh as that pokemon collection you could probably buy a house in CA instead of KS.

Commander is quite social, and with a $40 pre-built deck that you can play for a long time. The deck you buy is not necessarily worse than if I bring a $5k deck (old cards that are out of print are big $$$ and aren't necessarily good).

If you are interested in Magic at all, the new MTG Arena game on PC is quite good for new players, and is free to play for the basic decks.

My son is heavy on MTG arena....he is very strong

MTG is very good, and Arena is a good implementation of it.

The Magic bug, specifically Commander, has caught me again. Lo and behold it's the healthiest format for casuals and, no shock here, the one that board gamers get into because of the multiplayer aspect. Thankfully I didn't sell off my commander cards and I can buy singles for cheap to make decks.

In the meantime between scouring EDHREC for deck ideas, The Magic Subreddit for hidden gems of cards and combos, TCGPlayer for card prices, and watching The Command Zone YouTube channel (Cassius Marsh the NFL player is on some episodes), I'm still board gaming.

Recently, I was able to unload a few games I didn't play at a board game garage sale while also acquiring a few things I will probably play. (Got rid of the Dead of Winter expansion, 7 Wonders Duel, Star Wars Imperial Assault, and some crap called Draconis Invasion. Took in Black Orchestra, Kemet with the expansion, and a small box game called Anansi.) I also won Manhattan Project: Energy Empire and received Irish Gauge in the mail.

Tonight was game night. We played a roll land write called Brikks (it's just like Tetris), Pipeline (some people's game of the year - it was ok), and the aforementioned Irish Gauge (decent, small train game that we butchered the rules to so we'll have to try again).

Lolz

Best Board Games of 2019

Wingspan
Pax Pamir 2nd Edition
The Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-earth
Res Arcana
Star Wars: Outer Rim
Tiny Towns
Jaws
Pipeline
Undaunted: Normandy
Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Warcry

I've heard of all but Undaunted and have only played Wingspan (decent, but not worth the level of hope surrounding it), Pipeline (really good, but needs a couple plays to get the "engine" and Mark down), and Tiny Towns (awesome, quick abstract game). I'd also put Warcry in the "miniatures" realm. Fundamentally different from a board game.

A game to also look into, and a deck builder like the description of Undaunted, is Clank: Legacy Acquisitions Incorporated. It's awesome.

As for my collection, I've added Irish Gauge, Black Orchestra, & Kemet & the Ta-Seti expansion. Also added Ragusa, Teotihuacan w/expansion, and Crown of Emara.

I sold off a few games (and want to sell off about 5 more), but I've also backed some on Kickstarter:

Yedo, Isle of Cats, Smartphone Inc, Madeira, & Donning the Purple. I'm also FINALLY expecting Sorcerer's City to be here next week. Damn game is 9 months overdue.

I just spent an undisclosed amount of money on a Crokinole board...

I'm excited to get it.

BSF21 wrote: ↑Wed Oct 02, 2019 7:07 am I just spent an undisclosed amount of money on a Crokinole board...

I'm excited to get it.

I like to think that YOU don't even know what it's gonna cost until you get it.

A_B wrote: ↑Wed Oct 02, 2019 7:08 am

BSF21 wrote: ↑Wed Oct 02, 2019 7:07 am I just spent an undisclosed amount of money on a Crokinole board...

I'm excited to get it.

I like to think that YOU don't even know what it's gonna cost until you get it.

It was in CAD, so I guess that's kinda half true...

I recently learned the official term for using all 7 tiles in Scrabble is called a "Bingo". I don't like it. I'll continue to call it a "Grand Slam".

Aaaaand the latest episode of South Park is fucking amazing.

(The message board wants to embed this as a video. Fix the space, copy, and paste.)

h ttps://southpark.cc.com/full-episodes/s23e07-board-girls

ETA

Every board game reference in the latest episode of South park with links.

[+] spoiler

So not only is Magnus Carslen the best chess player in the world and the highest ranked ever, he's also pretty good at Fantasy Premier League Football.

L-Jam3 wrote: ↑Tue Dec 10, 2019 1:53 pm So not only is Magnus Carslen the best chess player in the world and the highest ranked ever, he's also pretty good at Fantasy Premier League Football.

The skill set is really not that dissimilar. I'd bet if you polled the best fantasy sports players in the world, you'd find that most of the them probably excel at stuff like chess, poker, backgammon, etc.

Not saying it isn't impressive of course, just saying it tracks with what I would expect of people who excel at math-based games of strategy.

I certainly agree. But he's 6th out of 7 million. Not 6th percentile. 6th overall. Meaning only 5 dudes out of the 7,000,000 playing this game are better. That's utterly insane to me.

Keith Law's latest pieces:

Top 10 of 2019

The 25 best board games of the 2010s

Tell you what... this thread always comes through with the Santa heat. Seems like every year im buying a game referenced by someone on here.

Here's a game that I highly recommend. It's the perfect mid weight Euro that isn't too complicated.

Everyone who has played it with me has loved it. It's finally back in print after all these years.

In fact, if you like this game, there's a solid chance you'll like heavier games too.

Seems appropriate...

"It's all about the cones."

Magnus Carlsen breaks record for longest unbeaten streak in chess history

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2020/ ... ss-history

GOP state senator wants legislative pages to stop playing 'Secret Hitler' at work

🤣🤣🤣

Doesn't say whether they are playing with the Trump pack, but I'm hoping they are.