What’s everybody like?
RPGs?
Board games?
Card games?
I recently bought Forbidden Island and it’s super addictive. Also been trying to get my head around RPGs like DnD and Ironsworn.
I have an entire room full of modern boardgames and tabletop wargame stuff. (Warhammer, ASOIF, Malifaux)
Usually buy Ameritrash style and narrative RPG boardgames , but I do like a good card game. My current top 3 boardgames are
Nemesis
Deep Madness
Reich Busters
All solo/co-op narrative miniature based boardgames.
Currently playing a solo/co-op Skirmish game called Space Station Zero, I’m in the middle of painting a squad for the game. Mostly I paint the miniatures for games but I do occasionally get to play them
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Backgammon or bust.
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I used to be a regular backgammon player when I lived in Japan, it’s a subtly complex game.
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Yep, easy entry for beginners but quite difficult to master. Really only started appreciating the strategy nuances when proper matchplay (first to n-points with doubling) is followed.
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Iran is the land of backgammon, so plenty of family and family friends play it. It’s weird to me that such an old board game has a big luck element with the dice role. There’s a Persian card game I like called Pasur, which is similar to Thirty-One, except you try to get to 11.
Only learnt backgammon this year. Way off really understanding the strategy nuances.
Any online education resources you’d recommend.
Anyone play bridge? Have it on my to learn list.
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Interesting. Wikipedia suggests it like the Italian card game of scopa, which I’m familiar with.
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My backgammon resource is my mum. Apparently the Persian and Turkish versions are different from the Western variation.
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I think the scoring system might be similar.
I agree it’s unusual that it’s become popular given the luck component but having played off and on for 30 years I have a couple of observations.
The points where luck is a true deciding factor are few and far between, high value doubles tend to even out over a single game and aways over a series, and getting the exact values needed to create an anchor or hit (or avoid a hit) don’t really happen very often if you’re playing with someone who has a grasp of basic strategy. So really, despite the dice rolls, its still very much a strategic game where the winner is usually the one who maximizes the benefit of the rolls they get.
If you want to practice, use a backgammon app that tracks both players points score so you can see how your playing style supports or interferes with the race to zero points.
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I played Blood Bowl once!
So you can play this without other people? Interesting.
I feel like most co-op games that don’t require a gamemaster can easily be played solo, since you don’t require another person to play against or somebody to narrate the overall environment. Forbidden Island is recommended for 2-4, but easily be adjusted for solo play, although with your own altered house rules with some things.
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Any sufficiently advanced collectible card game is indistinguishable from Magic
The Dragon Ball Super TCG is distinguishable from Magic then.
I have been playing D&D since just before covid, weekly or fortnightly. Such a great way to spend time with friends. It’s really quite simple once you get into it, I think it just helps to have a DM who has played a few times at least.
My partner and I have also got a lot of boardgames here. Wingspan is the current household favourite, with all of the expansions. I highly recommend it if anyone is after a game that can appeal to both experienced boardgame players and ones who are really not super into boardgames.
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This is my office/study, I have another 5-6 big box games in a cupboard and a stack of warhammer as well.
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I’d 100% listen to a podcast about tabletop games by somebody with a Scottish accent. If you’re looking for something to fill SFC time. 