[MamaProfCrash]

The Catan topic re-emerged and I thought that it would be fun to discuss other European Strategy Based Games.

We are currently playing Carcassone, Galaxy Trucker, Pandemic, Ascension, Dominion, 7 Wonders, Catan, Puerto Rico, Agricola, Ticket to Ride, Evolutiuon, Lanterns, Splendore and a few others either at the table or on our iPads.

Our Little Man, 4 1/2, plays the kids version of Stone Age, Carcassone, Ticket to Ride and Catan. He likes sitting with us when we play other games and loves Magic Labyrinth. He plays other traditional games (Cootie, Guess Who, Candy Land) but we are guiding towards the better games....

What are people playing? Are their folks who are interested or have played one or two games and want to know about other games?

I love how the Apps are allowing me to pick up new games and learn the rules and game play without needing the far more expensive table top games or an expansive gaming group or enough time away from Little Man to play a game. I know that there are a good number of games for the iPad and iPhone and an OK number for Android.

 

[NogDog]

I don't really get much chance any more to play board games face-to-face. I do enjoy the "Carcassonne" and "Ticket to Ride" apps on my phone, though it's not the same as the full social experience you get playing with real people at the same table.

 

[MamaProfCrash]

Yeah, the apps are great because you can play a bit but they are not the same as a game night. Do you play the AI or other people? I know that they both have that option.

 

[NogDog]

Yeah, the apps are great because you can play a bit but they are not the same as a game night. Do you play the AI or other people? I know that they both have that option.

I just play against the AI -- usually something to just fill 10-15 minutes here and there.

 

[MamaProfCrash]

I tend to play the AI as well. I used to play in the rooms but then I had a child and he has yet to give me the time to sit down and game for 30 minutes at a time. heheh

 

[Chad Winters]

The apps are really nice... Have you tried Small World?

Liked Galaxy Trucker

Not European Style but the Duke was a cool chess like game for 2 people

Castle Panic is a co-op game the little man might enjoy

I have Munchkin but haven't played yet

Have you tried Star Fluxx?

 

[Atunah]

I haven't heard of any of those. I tried to find some of them and have problems. Are they not in the android app store? I was looking for Carcassone as it was listed first, but all I see are guides and scorecard things, whatever that means. Is this not an actual game but a thing one has to write stuff down?

I am not on the up and up anymore with games it seems. I have nobody to play board games with anymore. We used to play board games a lot growing up in my family. So it all has to be online, or app and playing against a computer now.

 

[Chad Winters]

I haven't heard of any of those. I tried to find some of them and have problems. Are they not in the android app store? I was looking for Carcassone as it was listed first, but all I see are guides and scorecard things, whatever that means. Is this not an actual game but a thing one has to write stuff down?

I am not on the up and up anymore with games it seems. I have nobody to play board games with anymore. We used to play board games a lot growing up in my family. So it all has to be online, or app and playing against a computer now.

Ahh I'm not sure there are apps for the ones i listed
except Small World, it has a nice ios app

looks like it on google play
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.daysofwonder.smallworld2&hl=en

It has AI and you can play online against friends across the country if that helps. I bet some of us would play with you

 

[MamaProfCrash]

I have played Munchkin and Small World. I didn't like Small World but I love Munchkin, funny, funny game.

I know that there is an Android version of Carcassone because it is available on my sons Kindle Fire. I am not surprised by the score cards because the game is a pain in the ass to score, completed cities are worth two points a square plus two points for a shield, incomplete cities are one point a square, fields get you three points for each city they touch... There is a lot to keep track of. Seven Wonders has a bunch of score sheets also because it is another game that is a pain to score.

I know that game stores tend to have game nights so if you are interested in meeting some folks and playing games look for a game store in your area.

 

[NogDog]

...
Have you tried Star Fluxx?

I recently picked up Cthulhu Flux, but haven't played it yet. Maybe tomorrow night...

(Though at this point we've wandered pretty far from so-called "European-style strategy games". )

 

[NogDog]

By the way, as I mentioned in the binge-watching thread, the "Shut Up & Sit Down" site has a lot of good info on all sorts of board games, including many entertaining videos.

https://www.shutupandsitdown.com/videos-page/

 

[CegAbq]

...I was looking for Carcassone ...

I got the Android app from Amazon back in December 2013 when Amazon used to do a Free App of the Day. Haven't ever played it though. My Android game playing is mostly limited to a Backgammon app and Solitaire.

But these other physical board games sound very interesting. Still trying to master Catan though.

 

[MamaProfCrash]

There is no mastering Catan but it is fun trying.

We played Lords of Waterdeep and Evolution: The Beginning this weekend. Good games. I was surprised at how easy it was to pick up Lords of Waterdeep, I thought it would be far more of a pain in the ass. Evolution is fun and plays fast. It is really easy to learn and can be purchased at Target.

Our four year old enjoyed Catan Junior. It is pretty close to the real thing but with a Pirate theme and the rules a little back lax. There is no two ship spacing, trading can be done at a market and at a 2 for 1 deal that type of thing. But you build everything, buy cards and move a Ghost Pirate from Spooky Island to the board.

Ascension is my go to iPad game. I do enjoy Puerto Rico, Stone Age and occasionally Catan. I used to play the hell out of Ticket to Ride but play it less these days. I need to give Lords of Waterdeep a go, I own it but have not played it. 

 

[NogDog]

Played Settlers of Catan (with expansion for 5 players) on New Year's Eve (and into 2017 a bit). The dice didn't go my way early, allowing me to get cut off from the lumber port I really wanted; and from that point I was never really a threat -- though I managed to get the largest army, lifting me up to 7 points before the winner got 10.

 

[MamaProfCrash]

We have been playing Pandemic: Legacy a lot recently and really enjoying it.

Pandemic, the original game, is a cooperative game where each person takes on the role of a specific character (Medic, Researcher, Logistics Dude, that type of thing) and you are trying to stop the outbreak of four diseases. Your team of scientists are running around the globe trying to cure the diseases and then eradicate them. It is a challenging game requiring coordinated actions between the different players. Each character has a specific ability, the Medic can cure all the illness in a city in one action while everyone else has to take one action to cure one instance of illness in the city. We had about a 50/50 win rate.

Pandemic Legacy: Season 1, has your team chasing after outbreaks over the course of a year. With each play you change the board, the characters. You have different objectives, the diseases can mutate and become impossible to eradicate or easier to cure based on how you do. There are scenarios for 12 months and you have two attempts to beat the scenario for each month. You can end up with cities that are hit so hard they are rioting and it is harder for you to get in and treat. You can end up with permanent research labs across the globe. You can add abilities to characters (my Medic can now treat adjacent cities and can predict the next outbreak by looking at the top two city cards at the beginning of the turn). Characters can develop scars, like PTSD by being in a city when it riots, which can make it harder for them to do their job.

It is awesome because the game changes with how you play and what decisions you make. It is a ton of fun. But you have to be willing to much with the board and characters and tear up cards and all sorts of other things that people like my Brother simply cannot do.

Pandemic Legacy: Season 2 is going to be released soon. We are hoping to have finished the first season before the second season drops. But I highly recommend the game.

Pandemic is available as an IPad/IPhone app if you want to check it out. Legacy is not available but you will get a feel for the base game and how it works if you buy the app.

 

[NogDog]

I now have "Dead of Winter: The Long Night" sitting on my dining room table and waiting for me to round up a few players. It's semi-cooperative, in that each player has a secret objective which can allow them to win more than the other players, as long as the zombies (who are game-controlled) don't win; plus there's a roughly 50/50 chance one player will be a secret "traitor" who wins if they complete their objective and the zombies "win."

 

[MamaProfCrash]

I like games like that. I want to get Secret Hitler which is a semi-cooperative game that is suppose to be really good but it requires a minimum of 5 people and we rarely have that many people over for games.

 

[Andra]

We have the Carcassonne big box and I have the app on my Androids and maybe a Fire or two.  I like playing with some of the expansions and it's really fun to play on the tablet and try to outsmart 3 computer-generated players.
We also play Ticket to Ride and have recently picked up a few of those expansions as well.  I have the anniversary edition of the board game and it's great.  But the board is huge.  It's hard to see everything when you are the person looking at it upside-down.

 

[MamaProfCrash]

Carcassone is fun. I have not played many of the expansions yet but I do enjoy it when we pull it out. Ticket to Ride is great. I need to play bot more on my IPad, I tend to automatically go to Ascension even though I have a ton of games on it.