Game Review ideas

[soul seeker]

You may want to try it online to get some experience, but remember that the computer is hard.  So beginners would struggle to win unless you are a prodigy.   

As for expansions:  I love some of them and have been glad to have the variations. 
Though I have mentioned this in another thread (don't remember which one...it could be called "Dominion"), my opinion is as follows:
Intrigue:  Great set that gives players options (most young players and beginners find the cards confusing though).
                Also, it is another base game that when combined with the original can add up to 5 & 6 players.
Prosperity:  This set is great if you like to spend lots and lots of money.  It adds Platinum (worth 5) and Colonies (10 victory points)
              The scores are higher and the spending crazier.
Dark Ages:  This version really appealed to me because of the unique strategies it offers.  It is hard to explain how great this one is.
Cornucopia:  I kind of regret paying the price I did for this version...it should be a low priority.

Those are the 4 expansions I own.  There is also Alchemy, Hinterlands, and Seaside.  I've played with variations of these cards through the "Androminion" app.  In fact, if you can find it, then I suggest playing the Androminion app in the future to learn which cards you like.

[YourMathTeacher]

So the game is not normally for more than 4 players? What other expansions (other than Intrigue) will allow you to expand to 5-6 players?

[TheMarti]

You can play it with 5-6 players as long as you have the extra stuff to do so. The only thing that changes with 5-6 players is how many victory cards and how much money is used. There's a set you can buy that just has extra money and victory cards, but if you think you want to try out the other expansions (which add new cards), do that instead. I play Dominion weekly with two of my friends, and we use the Seaside and Intrigue expansions. There are "dud" cards in every set (you'll find ones you love and ones that you don't want to play with at all), but overall, the quality is great.

[Prof Underwood]

I like to emphasize the strategy in Dominion, so my favorite two expansions are:
 - Prosperity (the higher points lead to longer games, which decreases chance and increases the need for good strategy)
 - Seaside (the large number of cards that carry over abilities to future turns adds a huge element of planning ahead, which I enjoy a lot)

[YourMathTeacher]

So far it looks like two votes each for Prosperity, Seaside and Intrigue.

[STAMP]

Another possibility for a game review category is level of physicality.  Three of my favorite games are:

Sandlot baseball/wiffle ball: Probably the best game anyone can play here in America.  Wiffle ball is great when working with a limited amount of acreage.
Predator: Played at night in limited light.  Optimum locations are in the country or near woods.
Mud football: Parents generally balk at the lack of hygiene generated by this game, but if mom has a Kenmore washer this game rocks!

Look, no one said the games were restricted to indoor games.  If you'd like to split this topic yet again I'm completely open to it. 

As much as I have enjoyed redemption the past 13 years, I generally prefer outdoor activities.  Here's my favorite playground right now:

[Captain Kirk]

I play 2-5 Dominion games per week and have 5 sets.

I would go this order:
- Base
- Intrigue (to add 5/6 and lots of great attacks)
- Prosperity (more strategic games)
- you pick between Seaside, Hinterlands, Dark Ages. I chose Hinterlands before Seaside (I don't have Dark Ages yet).

Kirk

[YourMathTeacher]

Look, no one said the games were restricted to indoor games.  If you'd like to split this topic yet again I'm completely open to it. 

This thread is posted in the subcategory Board & Card Games, so yes there are restrictions. As much as I like you as a person, your continued attempts to derail this thread due to your own personal agenda is getting annoying, and is not even remotely humorous.

FYI, people that live in the inner city do not have the kind of access your suggestions require. Also note that not all parents support games that use limited lighting. My son had three of his teeth broken when he rammed into another kid in such a game. Needless to say, he does not enjoy them anymore (nor do I).

I would go this order:
- Base
- Intrigue (to add 5/6 and lots of great attacks)
- Prosperity (more strategic games)
- you pick between Seaside, Hinterlands, Dark Ages. I chose Hinterlands before Seaside (I don't have Dark Ages yet).

Thanks Kirk. This would appear to help end the tie. 

[STAMP]

As much as I like you as a person, your continued attempts to derail this thread due to your own personal agenda is getting annoying, and is not even remotely humorous.

As much as I mean no disrespect,

IM to be sent.

[TimMierz]

Not to derail, but some of my favorite games that can fit 6 people, not counting party games:

If you could re-post this under the thread Game Review Ideas, that would be appreciated. 

Sure, here we go. Some games I like that fit 6 players (sometimes more), now with minor commentary!
Power Grid
Modern-classic economic strategy game. Playing well requires a lot of foresight, and the game is quite interactive.
Sticheln
My favorite trick-taking game. On a rough level, it's similar to Hearts where each player chooses which suit they want to have give them negative points.
The Resistance
One of my favorite hidden teams games, it's pure psychology and deduction. Plays quick, tends to be tense fun. I have no experience with Avalon.
Shadow Hunters
A messier but still fun hidden teams game. Besides the two primary teams who want to eliminate each other, some players are "neutral" characters with unrelated win conditions.
Incan Gold
Super simple but addictive press-your-luck game.
Drakon
Building and exploring a dungeon. Highly interactive, fairly random, but with employable strategy.
Malta!
Don't lose. Highly interactive, fairly random, but with employable strategy.
Battlestar Galactica
Rather complex hidden teams game. Long and tough but rewarding.

Malta!

I've heard some strange things about the creator of this game..... or was it that his last name was hard to spell....   

And if he says his name backwards, he gets sent back to his home dimension.

Is there a strong reason you don't break up into 2 or more games when you have that many players?

Not really. Our playgroup is a mix of ages from 10-50 years old, so we are not overly competitive. We have found that larger groups are more fun, even though we do have issues with downtime. Imagine playing an 8-player Settlers of Catan with Cities&Knights, Rivers, and Fish. 

I would much rather NOT imagine that, thank you. Shudder shudder.

Another reason I like smaller groups in playing games is that you get to interact personally with the other players better. It's easier to bond with 2 or 3 people at a time than with 8. (For me at least.) As the personal element is the reason I tend to prefer table games to video games, the chance to go deeper works better for me.

[Josh]

I would go this order:
- Base
- Intrigue (to add 5/6 and lots of great attacks)
- Prosperity (more strategic games)
- you pick between Seaside, Hinterlands, Dark Ages. I chose Hinterlands before Seaside (I don't have Dark Ages yet).

Thanks Kirk. This would appear to help end the tie. 

Not sure if you are still looking for opinions on this, but my favorite games are with Prosperity cards.  I like Intrigue, Seaside, and Hinterlands, but Prosperity is the most fun, IMO.  Intrigue and Seaside are simpler cards, so they are best to branch to from the Base set; Hinterlands is more complex. 

[YourMathTeacher]

I realize that this thread is almost a year old, and I have no interest in rehashing the idea, but I wanted to respond to a few specific points in this thread related to game choices (for those who are interested in such information).

I've played Pandemic a couple times.  The game was exciting and fun, but the theme was a little off-puting to me, mainly because it seemed kind of morbid (lots of people die) and humanistic (we can solve all our own problems).  I certainly see your point that it is non-violent, however, and I agree there.

I have not played Pandemic, but I have Flash Point: Fire Rescue, which I understand is almost identical. I was reminded of Bryon's post above when I first got this game, because I too wanted a different theme. This game is also cooperative, with all players being firefighters trying to rescue victims trapped inside the building and stop the spread of the fire. My 7-year-old loves it just as much as I do, so much so that I bought one of the expansions (2nd Story). We have yet to survive a two-story fire, but we like the challenge since we were able to beat the original board consistently. We have played the game with several different groups, all of varying ages, and everyone has enjoyed it. 

The Resistance is basically the greatest game of all time. But I would recommend buying "Avalon" instead. It's the same game with some enhancements that add more complexity.

I ended up getting the Avalon version, per Alex's recommendation above. I have only played once, with a group of six, and we enjoyed it.

I play 2-5 Dominion games per week and have 5 sets.

I would go this order:
- Base
- Intrigue (to add 5/6 and lots of great attacks)
- Prosperity (more strategic games)
- you pick between Seaside, Hinterlands, Dark Ages. I chose Hinterlands before Seaside (I don't have Dark Ages yet).

Kirk

So far I have followed Kirk's recommendation for Dominion. I think we are ready to try Prosperity. Intrigue definitely had plenty of attack cards, but I was certainly not ready for nasty combos like Torturer-Masquerade, especially when Throne Room was mixed in.