2 player async/pbem games to play (non IOS)

[riadsala]

Hello,

I'm looking for some suggestings of good 2 player games to play. I'm really enjoying A Few Acres of Snow and Frozen Synapse, and am now hooked on the format. So I'm now looking for something a little deeper/longer. I've joined in with a couple of games of Dominions 3 and Solium Infernium*, but they both require more than 2 players.

Any suggestions? Something around the length/complexity of War of the Ring seems like it would be perfect, but while there's an online client, it looks like a pain to use, and would it support PBEM?

There are loads of games on http://www.yucata.de/en and http://www.gametableonline.com/ but i'm not familiar with them.

* we should totally get a 3MA Solium Infernum or Domnions3 game going!

[Procyon Lotor]

I'm a big fan of Advanced Tactics Gold. Two player games on a randomly generated medium-sized mirrorish map are a ton of fun in this game. I highly recommend it.

[Destrin]

I'm looking for some suggestings of good 2 player games to play.

That is the tricky bit, the majority of decent 2 player games aren't asynch, they're real time (the War of the Ring client included). The other games I prefer to play asynch are all multiplayer (Brass, After the flood to name a couple of good ones).

I think you can play Thunderstone at Yucata, that works fine 2 player and I like it as a game - it's not deep strategy like some others but it is a fun game.

If your partner is a patient person and tech-savvy my best recommendation would be to look at some of the Vassal modules available. Vassal allows you to play almost anything you could play on a board online with the downside that it's not going to do any rules enforcement for you, it is exactly like moving counters around a tabletop, with all the rules cockups you would expect if it's your first time playing. However, if your partner is patient and interested in exploring other games it really is a good way to play some games you might not otherwise get the chance to play.

Keep an eye on GMTGames.com, they will be releasing a PC version of Twilight Struggle soon and frankly it will be criminal if they don't include a pbem mode in that!

[Illykai]

There are loads of games on http://www.yucata.de/en and http://www.gametableonline.com/ but i'm not familiar with them.

Of the Yucata games I strongly recommend Hey That's My Fish (seriously) and Saint Peterburg as pretty solid 2 player games. Balloon Cup and Thunderstone are also reasonably good, plus Dominion on BSW as you mentioned.

[Julian Murdoch]

A few acres of snow on Yucata is just brilliant, and really lends itself to async.

[Matttutor]

That is the tricky bit, the majority of decent 2 player games aren't asynch, they're real time (the War of the Ring client included). The other games I prefer to play asynch are all multiplayer (Brass, After the flood to name a couple of good ones).

I think you can play Thunderstone at Yucata, that works fine 2 player and I like it as a game - it's not deep strategy like some others but it is a fun game.

If your partner is a patient person and tech-savvy my best recommendation would be to look at some of the Vassal modules available. Vassal allows you to play almost anything you could play on a board online with the downside that it's not going to do any rules enforcement for you, it is exactly like moving counters around a tabletop, with all the rules cockups you would expect if it's your first time playing. However, if your partner is patient and interested in exploring other games it really is a good way to play some games you might not otherwise get the chance to play.

Keep an eye on GMTGames.com, they will be releasing a PC version of Twilight Struggle soon and frankly it will be criminal if they don't include a pbem mode in that!

I would second Vassal. (http://www.vassalengine.org) I was reluctant to try it out for the reasons set forth above. But, I jumped in and have found that it is really great! Yucata is a lot of fun and does a really good job. But, for some reason, I find I'm learning the games I'm playing thru Vassal better. Maybe it has to do with actually moving the pieces and understanding the rules enough to enforce them! With Yucata, it is easier to jump in and try things out, but things just happen and you may not really have a good sense why or why not. Did that make sense?

Vassal is not that complicated to use and ranges well beyond the wargames that do dominate the list of modules. I've only just started using Vassal and I'd be happy to help you (or others) out, as best I can.

BoardGameGeek has a huge list of sites that offer online real-time and turn-based/PBEM play - http://boardgamegeek...om=Online_Play# Caveat - some of these listed links appear to be dead.

[Berzee]

Bumping this old topic to say that I just finished a grueling yucata game of A Few Acres of Snow and it was lovely. I didn't understand what "asynchronous" games even were when I got Frozen Synapse, but now that I do, I might have to go back and revisit that too.

Anyhow, now that I've dredged this up I might as well ask if there are any new developments in this area since last May? These sort of games fit very nicely into my life, since I generally have a dozen or so minutes to scamper away and look at the internet of an evening, but not enough time for a full game of anything really. Now that I understand the appeal of PBEM games, do I finally get my official MATURE ADULT badge?

Two final thoughts:

1) For an asynchronous board game about primarily beavers, A Few Acres of Snow left me in a shattered heap of nerves, eyes and fingers twitching, dreaming of future strategies while watching my present ones crumble in a useless parade of bateaux. Excellent. So if anyone would like a fresh noob to stomp in a AFAOS game, feel free to send an invite to Berzee on yucata

2) When I wrote "MATURE ADULT badge" just up there, my weary eyes imagined that I had made a typo even though I hadn't, and for a second I saw the words "MATURE ADULT badger". Now I'm conflicted about which of those I truly desire.

[riadsala]

I've mainly been playing Go recently... the Dragon Go Server allows for aysnc play, and is ideal as I can get away with taking a few turns during breaks at work.

I'm trying to slowly work my way towards a shodan ranking