[PB74] Tarkeel and civacs Game of the Year

[Mjmd]

Base games are usually better than expansions.

[Tarkeel]

Base games are usually better than expansions.

It really depends; this coming from a person who's something of an expansion hoarder. Some games really benefit from the variety, while other expansions are more like balancing patches, and some are just bloated.

[DaveV]

I haven't seen anyone trying to start a game with base Civ 4.

[Mjmd]

There is a pretty obvious difference between computer games and board games. Computer games have a more sure chance of success and it takes more capital and therefore more pressure to get something out the door. They know they can patch errors and oftentimes expansions or dlc is part of the profit plan from the beginning. A lot of board games have no idea if they will be successful enough to get an expansion produced and you can't just push a patch out. For them its either swim or sink. To be fair, there are a lot that sink.

[klops]

I played Catan only a few times, just some minor expansion (don't even remember). Not bad but didn't get me hooked.
"Carcassonne" on the other hand... yeah, I invested a couple evenings, I'd say. Expansions are very mixed imo, some did add more tactics while leaving the basic principle, but others did interfere too much or were just not interesting enough to add complexity.


Interested how the naming scheme will go on after "catan". Are there other towns? (Seems I am a noob in that field)

[Tarkeel]

Replayed the turn since Ramk had to restart the game for worldsize changes.

There is a pretty obvious difference between computer games and board games. Computer games have a more sure chance of success and it takes more capital and therefore more pressure to get something out the door. They know they can patch errors and oftentimes expansions or dlc is part of the profit plan from the beginning. A lot of board games have no idea if they will be successful enough to get an expansion produced and you can't just push a patch out. For them its either swim or sink. To be fair, there are a lot that sink.

Well, lately there's been a few Kickstarter games where the expansion is launched before the main game has arrived in the hands of backers. It's not common, but I've seen it.

I played Catan only a few times, just some minor expansion (don't even remember). Not bad but didn't get me hooked.
"Carcassonne" on the other hand... yeah, I invested a couple evenings, I'd say. Expansions are very mixed imo, some did add more tactics while leaving the basic principle, but others did interfere too much or were just not interesting enough to add complexity.


Interested how the naming scheme will go on after "catan". Are there other towns? (Seems I am a noob in that field)

Carcassonne is definitely on the shortlist of names.

[Qgqqqqq]

Gloomhaven?

I can barely distinguish Catan from Cities and Knights, and it feels like it's much better for it. Seafarers, otoh, never felt like it added all that much. Were there other expansions?

[Tarkeel]

Gloomhaven is actually not on the list; it's not family oriented enough I think. The wiki article (linked in the first post) has a full list of shortlisted games, and suffice to say that there are good games not listed.

There's been a ton of Catan expansions/standalones over the years, but Cities & Knights is the one that I burned out on. In my experience it takes the game from 45 min to 2+ hours, and for that time investment there are other/better games I'd like to play instead

[Qgqqqqq]

Fair. It's what I grew up on - big family games of C&K over the summer, which I would ritually set up the map for and then we would all spend an afternoon/evening on. I've not revisited it in years, so it might well not hold up.

[Tarkeel]

Turn 1 (3960 BC)
Plemo and Xist did not settle in place, and Commodore popped a hut-tech this turn. Will we be as lucky?


Nope, but gold isn't the worst either, but now we can turn on tech for AnimalHusbandry. Scout will most likely swing north then east in a circle.