Board games

[Varislintu]

So, who is the winner?

The game. The Ancient One awoke, and we didn't stand a chance.

I played another game alone with 4 investigators, and lost that one too. I was already weak after having failed a chance to win the whole thing, and the I drew a "Dhole". That monster is badass.

Actually Arkham Horror is boring to me now. We've never lost the game and according to my experience it's impossible to do. Probably that's because my friends explained us rules while we were playing for the first time.

That sounds really strange -- it's not famous for being an easy game to win! How many investigators do you usually play with?

After our first game, I went to Board Game Geek and read a "Hints for beginners" thread and noticed several things we had done wrong (for example, we thought that when the Outskirts fill up with monsters and it is emptied, you empty all monster that were going there that turn. But actually you only empty the full Outskirts + the monster that oveflows it, and if there were even more monsters coming, they go to the now empty Outskirts). There's certainly a ton of details to learn.

I think right now, I've been bitten by the Arkham Horror bug. I can't wait to start another game, but on a Monday after a workday I feel a tad too tired to focus properly.

[Varislintu]

I played another game alone with 4 investigators, and lost that one too. I was already weak after having failed a chance to win the whole thing, and the I drew a "Dhole". That monster is badass.

Oh, oh, and my Photographer was devoured. Just like that, when in the Other World. And he was my strongest investigator at that moment, powerful both in physical and magical battle and he had good spells and items, and 7 clue tokens (!). And just like that, he was gone.

Ironically, I randomly drew the Photographer again as a replacement investigator. But all the starting skills and items I drew for him were weak. I got the +1 knife, for goodness sake!

[Lada]

Actually Arkham Horror is boring to me now. We've never lost the game and according to my experience it's impossible to do. Probably that's because my friends explained us rules while we were playing for the first time.

That sounds really strange -- it's not famous for being an easy game to win! How many investigators do you usually play with?

4 -5, but I've never played alone, usually there are 4-5 real players, we play with a big company and have hot discussions of what we should do... and I don't own the game, I come to visit freinds and we usually play. But, there is a guy who plays strategy games since childhood and has been working in a firm that sells these games, maybe that's why we always win He has crazy mathematician's brains and sometimes takes all responsibility saying what everybody should do. Now I need to play alone to realize if the game is really that difficult or easy, though I'm still sure that it can't be that difficult.

I think right now, I've been bitten by the Arkham Horror bug.

I was hooked by Mr. Jack. During a week we've been playing in it every evening But unlike Arkham Horror, it's short, about 30 min. to lose or to win, so we played even several times. Now we're thinking about buying a new game, but which one? Any ideas about other cooperative games?

[Lada]

Oh, oh, and my Photographer was devoured. Just like that, when in the Other World. And he was my strongest investigator at that moment, powerful both in physical and magical battle and he had good spells and items, and 7 clue tokens (!). And just like that, he was gone.

Ironically, I randomly drew the Photographer again as a replacement investigator. But all the starting skills and items I drew for him were weak. I got the +1 knife, for goodness sake!

One day you will win and will winning all the time since then, that's how I see it

[Varislintu]

One day you will win and will winning all the time since then, that's how I see it

Thanks! But it is a pretty hard game, so I'm not sure of that. (Are you sure you've been playing it with box rules and not house rules?) Also, the dice can occasionally have a lot of power. I've been reading the Board Game Geek forum, and someone said that once, they failed to get a single 5 or 6 with 27 dice throws. Against like a cultist or something, that requires just one hit. So you can strategise all you want, and then if you get unlucky at a really inopportune moment, your whole strategy can unravel.


A couple more games down the road, I think the rule I find most frustrating is that you lose half the investigator's clue tokens if they go insane or unconscious. It's not easy collecting five clue tokens to seal a gate. And if there are already a few gates in the town, very few new clue tokens appear. And even if you have a gate token, using it to buy two new clue tokens costs at least another turn, if not two. Basically, having an investigator go unconscious or insane is for that reason a huge hit to your game. Especially if they were half way through the Other World when it happens, because of all the time that gets lost in sending them there again. And you can't even trade clue tokens between investigators.

But there's not really much you can do to protect your investigator from unconsciousness or insanity. To close a gate, you have to send them to Other World, where they will have two risky encounters. You can't predict what skills will be tested in those encounters. I'm not sure yet what strategy is best for this problem.

[Lada]

(Are you sure you've been playing it with box rules and not house rules?)

I don't undertsand you, there's a game and there are extenstions for it. I've been playing both a basic game and game with two different extentions, they have some other rules but not that different from the basics - addon of the playing field (don't know the right word for it in English), bloody Pharaoh walking around the town and some more "bad guys".

So you can strategise all you want, and then if you get unlucky at a really inopportune moment, your whole strategy can unravel.

I asked the owner of the game once again if they had ever lost it. She said "no" and according to her it's quite unbelievable to loose as soon as you understand and remember all the rules. I can believe that dice may be very cruel and some players are simply unlucky but personally I haven't played the game enough times to confirm if it is possible or impossible to lose. I played it like a guest who is told the rules through the game.

And I think I can't help you to create a better strategy because I don't have a game right now and don't remember precisely what we were exactly doing to avoid all these traps...

[Varislintu]

(Are you sure you've been playing it with box rules and not house rules?)

I don't undertsand you, there's a game and there are extenstions for it. I've been playing both a basic game and game with two different extentions, they have some other rules but not that different from the basics - addon of the playing field (don't know the right word for it in English), bloody Pharaoh walking around the town and some more "bad guys".

Sorry for the confusion -- with "box rules" I meant the rules that are sort of official and depend strictly on the rule book in the box, and with "house rules" I mean adapted rules that families or other groups often develop in order to overcome frustrations that they encounter in the official rules. Some make their house rules easier, some make them harder.

So you can strategise all you want, and then if you get unlucky at a really inopportune moment, your whole strategy can unravel.

I asked the owner of the game once again if they had ever lost it. She said "no" and according to her it's quite unbelievable to loose as soon as you understand and remember all the rules. I can believe that dice may be very cruel and some players are simply unlucky but personally I haven't played the game enough times to confirm if it is possible or impossible to lose. I played it like a guest who is told the rules through the game.

And I think I can't help you to create a better strategy because I don't have a game right now and don't remember precisely what we were exactly doing to avoid all these traps...

Oh, don't worry! I'm just babbling about the strategy stuff because I'm really into this game right now -- I'm not directly asking you for hints and help.

But, well, don't take this as me being obsessive or doubtful about your success with the game , but I did see a compiled statistic mentioned on Board Game Geek, where 900-something games had yielded a 54% victory rate. The regular Arkham Horror players also joke about how cruel and hard the game can be. So, it might be that your friend has been using house rules -- and that's fine! And if that's not the case, then I lift my hat to you guys for being so good at it.


In unrelated news, I played a couple of games with the investigator Mary the Nun on the team. She is really unpredictable. She's weak, but in the first game I managed to draw her a couple of really nice spells, which made her invaluable to the team. But on the second play, she was just useless. Some people make it a house rule that she can't lose her blessing, ever. I think that is actually reasonable. It's really her only strength. Without a permanent blessing, she isn't a very balanced character in comparison to the others. Unless you want extra challenge, of course.

[Lada]

Sorry for the confusion -- with "box rules" I meant the rules that are sort of official and depend strictly on the rule book in the box, and with "house rules" I mean adapted rules that families or other groups often develop in order to overcome frustrations that they encounter in the official rules. Some make their house rules easier, some make them harder.

Oh, I've never heard about "house rules" before, that's something new for me. I don't know anyone who would invent their own rules for existing game... People do invent their own games, like me when I was 10 or 12, but that's just a different story

But, well, don't take this as me being obsessive or doubtful about your success with the game

No, never thought about that

And if that's not the case, then I lift my hat to you guys for being so good at it.

ok, we take this as granted I'll tell my friends

In unrelated news, I played a couple of games with the investigator Mary the Nun on the team. She is really unpredictable.

I remember we avoided to play with this character lol, maybe that was our "house rule"?

[Varislintu]

Oh, I've never heard about "house rules" before, that's something new for me. I don't know anyone who would invent their own rules for existing game...

I would say it's not as much about inventing, as it is about customizing. There are a variety of reasons why people do it. Sometimes, there simply are no box rules for certain game situations. Then you're forced to make up a house rule. Other times, people have a group they often play with, and a certain game can be either too hard or too easy for that group. So they modify the box rules a little. For example in Arkham Horror some people have the house rule that Mary the Nun's blessing can't disappear. The point of house rules is to make games more fun and less frustrating.

With Arkham Horror, which has very complicated rules, it seems to be that some people accidentally play with house rules in many ways, and only find out about it after years of playing. I read that there was once a convention with a program/panel called "You've been playing AH wrong". I can totally understand why -- the AH rule book is not worded the best way, and easily leads to misunderstandings.

ok, we take this as granted I'll tell my friends

I remember we avoided to play with this character lol, maybe that was our "house rule"?

Yeah, I guess that would count.

[Johanna]

With Arkham Horror, which has very complicated rules, it seems to be that some people accidentally play with house rules in many ways, and only find out about it after years of playing.

I kind of did that with Carcasonne, I first played it with friends who knew all the details, so I didn't have to really know all the rules, only keep the important ones in my mind until game night was over.

Fast forward a few years and I thought I knew the rules but had forgotten a couple of details, and then add playing the game with total newbies. Instant house rules! And we even checked the rulebook regularly to see what stuff gave points and not, but no one discovered that we didn't play by the exact rules.

[Sol Invictus]

What are your house rules for Carcasonne? I bought the game some time ago, but it seems boring as hell

[Johanna]

What are your house rules for Carcasonne? I bought the game some time ago, but it seems boring as hell

Ours are that you can place a guy on any city tile, no matter whether or not that tile will connect to another city tile in the same city.

I love that game, especially with 'box rules', since then you really have to think strategically

[Varislintu]

I love that game, especially with 'box rules', since then you really have to think strategically

Yeah, I like it too. I think Carcassonne manages to strike a balance where it's usually hard to do so: you can reasonably well play in a group with mixed "seriousness". The hardcore players can concoct intricate strategies involving fields and overtaking cities, while the more casual players in the group can go for the more immediately rewarding or obvious strategies like roads or monasteries. And the luck element still keeps both kinds of players at a reasonably level playing field.

It happened to us once that in a group of five players that the three strategists nullified each others' games (a battle over fields) and one of the zero-strategy players consequently won with a landslide.