Non-video games

[Patters]

Just wondering whether any of the 'thumbs' pay any games other than video games. I know there are some who have or continue to play magic. My house for this year are coonsidering dong a games night which includes varios incarntations of Munchkin, Fluxx, Chrononaughts, as well as my 24 year old versionof risk among other games.

[n0wak]

Knizia's "Tigris and Euphrates" is not only one of my favourite boardgames, it's also one of my favourite games period. So good. So bloody friend destroying.

Also like: Agricola. Puerto Rico. Dominion. Catan, too, I guess, but it's kinda tired now. Still great for introducing new people to eurogames though. Same with Ticket to Ride.

[LOPcagney]

Catan was my freshman year hall bonding activity. I love the game.

Munchkin I got for my brother and enjoyed.

I've heard great things about Diplomacy but haven't gotten to playing it yet.

[Patters]

In particular we have and play munchin cthulu or booty as well as fluxx 4.0, zombies or monty python

[Erkki]

I played Munchkin a lot about half a year ago, but I guess everybody got tired of it as we haven't played for a while now. Sometimes play various boardgames, but not very often.

[Psych]

I used to play a ton of traditional games before (The Haunt on the House on the Hill, Catan, Munchkin) and during (Magic the Gathering, way too much Catan) grad school. I even made my own card game by post it noting new pictures and rules on top of magic cards (it played like a mix of Munchkin and Magic).

However since then I haven't had anyone to play with .

[thorn]

I played Trivial Pursuit last week. It was the first time I played it with a set that had been published in the last decade and in a country I know something about, so I surprised myself by doing well.

I play Munchkin on occassion when friend's girlfriends aren't around to get bored.

I like Risk but I'm really, really bad at it. I'm completely incapable of planning more than one move in advance. Which is the same reason why I don't play Chess and why I own Thud! but haven't touched it in years.

[ethanThomas]

I'm currently getting into warhammer 40k. Any chance there are 40ker thumbs in the bay area?

[LOPcagney]

I used to play a ton of traditional games before (The Haunt on the House on the Hill, Catan, Munchkin) and during (Magic the Gathering, way too much Catan) grad school. I even made my own card game by post it noting new pictures and rules on top of magic cards (it played like a mix of Munchkin and Magic).

However since then I haven't had anyone to play with .

Magic will always have a special place in my heart. I've been playing on and off since Ice Age when I was in middle school.

If you, or anyone else, has Magic Workstation and wants to play, we should.

[wegten]

Oh man, Magic.

I have to say, I never liked playing magic – the fun was always in the deckbuilding. Not that I was ever any good at that.

Damn it, this means I'm going to have to look at my Thallids again.

[Scrobbs]

Not played them for a while, but when I do, it's usually Abalone or Go. I'm still pretty hopeless at Go, though.

[Twilo]

I play Magic pretty seriously, but aside from that, a board game I really like is Acquire. It's sort of an ugly-ass mix of monopoly and a stock market. It's kind of hard to find (our copy is one of the old 70's versions made by 3M, all the money have sweet drawings of rankin-bass-style tycoons on them). The strategy is really deep, you just have to get past the fact that it looks like some sort of Scrabble-based abacus.

Power Grid (based on theexcellently-named "Funkenschlag") is another nice one, but the scope for interaction is a bit low.

[Psych]

Magic will always have a special place in my heart. I've been playing on and off since Ice Age when I was in middle school.

If you, or anyone else, has Magic Workstation and wants to play, we should.

That sounds like fun, except the price is a bit steep. Can it play Elder Dragon Highlander?

[Patters]

Settlers of Catan is another fantastic board game.

[LOPcagney]

That sounds like fun, except the price is a bit steep. Can it play Elder Dragon Highlander?

I just use the freeware version. And sadly, I think it's only 1 v 1, but beyond that, it doesn't restrict you as far as how you play the game, it only gives you tools to keep track of what Magic-esque things are happening on the board (blocking creatures, dealing damage, etc.) so I don't see why you couldn't play 1 v 1 EDH.

[DanJW]

I've recently been exploring the murky world of indie tabletop RPGs. There's quite a vibrant community out there! www.story-games.com and The Forge are good places to have your mind blown with nerdgasm dice-probability analysis and 5-person social engineering and theories of shared improvisation. Socratic Design blog has collated a lot of the current models and theories. I'm considering having a shot at writing something myself.

Here's my personal pick of some of the best indie tabletop games, that are making big waves at the moment:

Dogs In The Vineyard - alternate history hyper-religious wild west. You play as an inquisitor/gunslinger type badass, out to kick ass and save souls. Conflict resolution based on poker-like stake raises; but instead of chips you bet with other peoples lives and consciences.

The Shab-al-hiri Roach - semi lovecraftian social politicking black comedy, within a 1920s university country campus. If you allow an ancient Sumerian psychic cockroach (discovered by the archaeology department) to infest your brain, you will become hugely influential over the other faculty and studentship - at the cost of your soul. Sometimes the cockroach will infest your brain anyway.

Lacuna part 1/second attempt - a postmodern "incomplete" crazy paranoiafest. You play as MIB style agents in something like a cross between The Matrix and Psychonauts. A mind-fuck in every good way possible.

Sufficiently Advanced - far-future scifi written by a physicist. All technology based on theoretically possible science - no bunkum. Still crazy planet-destroying stuff though. You work for quantum computer AI's who receive messages from their more advanced selves further in the future. Oh and they run the patent office - in the post scarcity future, IP is the only thing with inherent value. Now free to download.

Mouse Guard - been winning lots of awards this one. You play a mouse. With a sword. Swashbuckle up some evil weasels and survive against the elements. Based on some lovely looking graphic novels, and very suitable for introducing youngsters to roleplaying.

Plus tonnes more. Seems like tabletop ludology is having something of an explosion right now.

Edited August 30, 2009 by DanJW

[toblix]

I've recently been exploring the murky world of indie tabletop RPGs. There's quite a vibrant community out there! www.story-games.com and The Forge are good places to have your mind blown with nerdgasm dice-probability analysis and 5-person social engineering and theories of shared improvisation. Socratic Design blog has a lot of the current models and theories. I'm considering having a shot at writing something myself.

Here's my personal pick of some of the best indie tabletop games, that are making big waves at the moment:

[...]

Plus tonnes more. Seems like tabletop ludology is having something of an explosion right now.

This shit is off the hook, etc. I wish I knew people who didn't think stuff like that was retarded.

[mr.miffmiff]

I play Dungeons and Dragons (Tabletop, not online, obviously). And I play MUDs. They can't really be considered video games. Games, yes. Video, no.

[n0wak]

Those that like Magic and the deck building, but hate the constant need to buy shit and the millions of cards and rules clarifications should really check out Dominion. It's a pretty awesome Eurogame. Not technically a boardgame, as it's all cards, but it essentially plays like one.

The trick with Dominion is that you build your deck during the game. It's kind of hard to explain without going into too much detail, but it's ultimately a game of balancing your various cards and hands on the fly.

And Duels of the Plainswalkers made me want to get back into Magic (used to play from Ice Age to about two sets into the Tempest block) but the lack of any deck building put me off so much. MTGO is just too daunting, and actual card playing with people is too smelly and weird, unless you have friends that play (I don't.) So boo for that.

[Nachimir]

I've been playing a bit of Carcassonne lately, and quite like it. It's a nice easy game to teach others, but there are still strategies to be discovered.

I also bought a digital copy of My Life With Master, and am looking for a group of people to play it. It's looks excellent; the character attributes are weariness, self-loathing, and love.

Fluxx

I like Fluxx less every time I play it. It basically seems to be a diversion for n minutes until someone happens to win, but we're finding it's rare for anyone to plan to and succeed in that plan. Marek asked once on Twitter why no game has a "race card". I think Fluxx would be the ideal game for something this capricious

Me and some friends started this games night in Nottingham recently, and we've found that video games look damn anti-social when they're being played next to this kind of stuff. We'll apparently be trying Catan this month or next.

[miffy495]

Much love for Dominion. That game is fucking rad. I have three good friends who work at three separate gaming shops now. Between them, there's always something to play. Our Wednesday games night is always full of interesting stuff they've signed out from work and want to try. We've been playing so much Dominion lately that Russell has gone for it and bought the game and its expansion. Highly recommended by me.

[LOPcagney]

I play Dungeons and Dragons (Tabletop, not online, obviously). And I play MUDs. They can't really be considered video games. Games, yes. Video, no.

How could I forget. Been playing D20, Gurps, and various home-brewed systems for the past 2 years. I love it.

[syntheticgerbil]

How about Clue(do) again?

[LOPcagney]

This sounds like the place to put this. Hopefully I'm not the only one who makes up alternate rules to existing games and we can all share some stories.

A blog I used as a sort of diary of the various games we came up with. My favorite is still ClueChess, but I'm also interested in the idea of bringing in strategy to games (like Candyland) which have virtually no strategy in their original forms.

[Scrobbs]

I used to play Quest for the Dragon, but ended up rewriting the rules totally to make it a bit harder. Remember it being quite good fun though. Must have been about 12.