Board games?

[Hathe]

Originally Posted by MrGraham

I don't have the attention span for puzzles anymore and trying to find an indoor hobby to share with the girlfriend that doesn't involve looking at a monitor/tv.

Have you tried sexual intercourse?

[Zehn - Vhex]

Seafarers made the map bigger, which is really what I was looking for. Almost considered buying another settlers of catan box just for even more delicious map goodiness. I want to make like a 500 hex grid for an epic 8 hour game.

[tad10]

Originally Posted by MrGraham

Any of these good for just 2 players? I've read a few wiki entries of suggestions and a lot sound like they probably wouldn't be near as fun with 2 as with 4+.

I don't have the attention span for puzzles anymore and trying to find an indoor hobby to share with the girlfriend that doesn't involve looking at a monitor/tv.

Try the Catan Card game. Designed for 2 players. Settlers of Catan Card Game, The | BoardGameGeek

[tad10]

Originally Posted by Szlia

Tried a new thing the other day called Aye, Dark Overlord! It must be the kind of thing game theoricians scratch their head about, because it is somewhere in a gray territory between competitive and colaborative gaming... Let me explain: it's a story-telling game where you try to explain to the Dark Overlord why the mission he sent you to do was a complete failure and how it was not your fault. You have some topic cards, some cards to shift blame and cards to stop another's player story and force him to incorporate a brand new topic in his blame-shifting appology.

The mother of all games in this genre is Tales of the Arabian Nights. Usually hard to find in English - but well worth it if your group likes the story telling genre and usually drinks while playing ;-)

Tales of the Arabian Nights | BoardGameGeek

[Szlia]

Tales of the Arabian Nights sounds pretty interesting... I'll check if someone around me has a french version (maybe it's less rare than the english one, I see they ebay the game for $100!).

That said an older game in this storytelling vein is Once Upon a Time. I only payed it once and a long time ago so I don't remember if it was any good. What I do remember though is that the first player is the one with the longest beard!


As far as MrGraham question goes, the first thing that comes to mind is the host of two players card games. I can't really recommend anything in this area, but I have some friends who really enjoy the Game of Throne card game. Myself I played recently a number of games of Blue Moon. It's an entertaining game but not so well balanced and with a significant luck factor. Also I am playing with someone who bought all the different army decks for the different factions, so we can mix things up. The two factions in the base game are pretty well balanced at least...

As far as board games go, many wargames are for 2 players. Complexity and mechanisms greatly vary from buffed up Stratego to oddities like 1981's Okinawa where the japanese troops are only revealed when the american army finds them (pretty tense game that one). Now, maybe it's not something you or your girlfriend would be into (I am not too fond of wargames myself unless they get very abstract like... chess or go).

[Axire]

Guess this must be an American Thing?

I played some Hero Quest about 16+ years ago. However its impossible to find anyone to nerd it up with here in the UK!

[Tancred]

I've just ordered Barbarians and Traders Catan Expac and the Game of Thrones boardgame for my birthday. And Left4Dead. And the latest Horus Heresy novel "Mechanicum".
That's for my 40th birthday. What a frikkin nerd
Still I hear all those people that grew up are having their midlife crisis about now. Balls to that

[Hathe]

Brought settlers of catan out to my parents house yesterday. Took about 30 minutes to explain the game to them then we played a full game. I was pretty surprised, they actually enjoyed the game (they're in their mid 50's). My girlfriend is pretty competitive so she was pissy most of the game, so I tried keeping things diplomatic and wasn't overly aggressive until the end. One hell of a game for 4 people. I can only imagine how much more fun the game will be with 5-6 players and the expansions.

[Szlia]

Bump from page 29837!

We played a game of Battlestar Galactica and it was pretty entertaining. There might be a little problem though with the balance between control and luck, because looking back at how our game unfolded, it would have been almost impossible for the humans to win. So while the game was fun, in the end the humans felt they had no chance and the traitors felt they did not have much to do with their victory.

But the reason I bumped the topic is Tribune: Primus Inter Pare. It's a very neat game with very simple mechanics, but as complex as you want it to be. The beauty of the game is that to win you need to complete a number of objectives out of a list (5 out of 6 in our case, but you can choose different lists) and to do that players compete for cards that can themselves be obtained through different means (some bought, some auctioned, some known, some unknown...). So it's really fuzzy logic at its best, where every choice you make has multiple consequences at different levels, for you and for the other players. I am looking forward to play more of this.

[Vilgan]

Also bumping due to finding a really good game.

We picked up Dominion this weekend, and its a really awesome game (imo) for couples. It'll play with 2-4, but unlike most 2-4 player games... it is a solid and fun experience with 2. We've played 5 times so far (bout an hour per game I think), and had a blast every single time.

How it works is: you have a deck of cards. Initially it is really small (7 copper cards and 3 estate cards). Each turn, you draw cards, use the cards to improve your deck in some way, and then put the stuff you just bought (along with what remains of your hand) in the discard pile. Once you go through the deck (only 2 turns at the start), you shuffle the discard pile to remake your deck and now you can draw the improvements you bought. For example, I might spend my 3 coppers to buy either a woodcutter or a silver. Whichever I buy, they go into the discard pile at the end of the turn and improve my deck (and potential draws) henceforth. Each game you play with 10 copies of 10 improvements (woodcutter, smithy, library etc) out of a total possible 25 improvements. This lets you mix/match for variety and what improvements are available (and what strategy your opponent uses) significantly impact what might be a good strategy for you to follow.

Anyway, just thought I'd give a shout out for this game as finding good games for just the girlfriend and I has been a bit of a struggle. Dominion delivered 110% and we'll probably play it on and off for a very long time to come. Its also currently ranked #6 on board game geek which is pretty impressive

edit for linkage:

Amazon.com: Rio Grande Games - Dominion: Toys & Games

Dominion | Board Game | BoardGameGeek

[darkblue]

Will recommend two new games aswell.

Small World | Board Game | BoardGameGeek - [60-80min, 2-5 Players]
A very fast game where, quick to setup and play. An updated version of the game Vinci.
"In Small World, players vie for conquest and control of a world that is simply too small to accommodate them all. Small World is inhabited by a zany cast of characters such as dwarves, wizards, amazons, giants, orcs and even humans; who use their troops to occupy territory and conquer adjacent lands in order to push the other races off the face of the earth. Picking the right combination from the 14 different fantasy races and 20 unique special powers, players rush to expand their empires - often at the expense of weaker neighbors. Yet they must also know when to push their own over-extended civilization into decline and ride a new one to victory!"

Android | Board Game | BoardGameGeek - [180+min, 3-5 Players]
Takes alot of time to setup and play, but worth it. Complex game with lots of different ways of "winning".
"Android is a board game of murder and conspiracy set in a dystopian future. Detectives travel between the city of New Angeles and moon colony Heinlein chasing down leads, calling in favors, and uncovering the sinister conspiracy beneath it all. The detectives must balance their pursuit of the murderer against their personal lives and their inner demons. Android’s innovative mechanics ensure that no two detectives play alike. Will you play as Louis Blaine, the crooked cop tormented by guilt and loss? Or will you take the role of Caprice Nisei, the psychic clone who struggles to retain her sanity while proving that she’s as human as anyone else? Whoever you choose to play, you’ve got just two weeks to solve the murder, uncover the conspiracy, and face your personal demons."

[Szlia]

Android is intriguing. The BoardGameGeek page has two director's cut versions of the rules. Did you play only with the original version or did you also try these official tweaks?

[Fungul]

Backgammon

[darkblue]

Originally Posted by Szlia

Android is intriguing. The BoardGameGeek page has two director's cut versions of the rules. Did you play only with the original version or did you also try these official tweaks?

Original version, but have been planning on trying out the "Directors's Cut" version.

[Linbog]

Originally Posted by Szlia

Android is intriguing. The BoardGameGeek page has two director's cut versions of the rules. Did you play only with the original version or did you also try these official tweaks?

The "Directors Cut" is NOT official in any capacity, the guy who made it chose the name as a nod to Blade Runner and as a promotional gimmick. Sadly it seems to have worked.