c/board-game-geeks

Just sunk $80 into a deluxe edition of a game that's basically unplayable

I picked up the 'Collector's Edition' of Endless Realms at a flea market last weekend for 80 bucks. The box is huge and the minis look great, but the rulebook is a total mess, missing half the setup instructions. Tried to play a quick 2-player round with my buddy and we couldn't even get through the first turn without arguing about what the symbols mean. Has anyone else fallen for a game that looked amazing but turned out to be a dud? I'm thinking about trying to sell it online but I'm not sure if anyone would want it.

Chose Azul over Patchwork for our couples game night and it was a huge mistake

Picked Azul because I thought the tile drafting would be more engaging than Patchwork's simple grid, but my wife got frustrated with the scoring after 2 rounds and we haven't touched that box since, has anyone else found a game that bombed with their partner despite good reviews?

Picked Gloom over Wingspan for game night and it flopped

Had to choose between teaching Wingspan or bringing my copy of Gloom to my group's Friday meetup in Portland. I went with Gloom because I was tired of everyone obsessing over engine builders. Thought the dark humor would be a nice change. Three people checked out after 20 minutes and two admitted they just didn't get it. Ended up packing it up early and playing Codenames instead. Has anyone else tried pushing a niche game on a group that backfired?

Dropped $80 on that fancy insert for Terraforming Mars and it still doesn't fit right

I spent 80 bucks on a wooden organizer that promised to hold everything sleeved, but the player boards barely slide in without bending cards. Anybody else have a Kickstarter insert that just made your box heavier?

Compared game night hosting styles and one side clearly wins

I used to run open board game nights at my local shop where anyone could drop in with any game, and it was chaos with half-finished games and people waiting around. Then I switched to a sign-up sheet with specific games listed two days ahead, and suddenly everyone actually finished their sessions and had fun. Why do we keep pretending spontaneous free-for-all works when structured planning clearly makes for better game nights?

Still don't get the hype around Legacy games

My group tried Risk Legacy back in March at my place in Chicago. We were six guys, all excited. By game three, someone had already wrecked a card with a permanent marker. Felt wrong to me. I get the idea of a changing story, but I don't want to ruin components forever. We finished the campaign, but half the fun was gone knowing I couldn't ever play that copy again. I ended up selling it for $20 on Craigslist. Give me a standard game any day where I can reset and replay. Am I the only one who prefers keeping stuff reusable?

My buddy insisted sleeving cards was a waste of time. Last Saturday I spilled coffee on his copy of Terraforming Mars.

He said sleeves were just extra plastic cluttering up the box. Dude took one look at the brown stain spreading across the ocean tile and didn't say a word for a full minute. Has anyone else had a friend change their mind after a disaster like that?

Is it gatekeeping or just experience? Ran into a guy at a convention last month in Chicago

I was at a board game convention in Chicago last month and asked this older gamer to explain the rules of a heavy euro game. He sighed loudly, looked at my group, and said "this one is probably above your level, try something lighter." Do you think he was just being honest to save us a bad time, or was he being a snob about his hobby?

Our game group argued for months about house rules for Catan, but after one night with the official tournament variant from the 2019 World Championship I saw the light.

The base game felt broken with 4 players since someone always got blocked in, but that streamlined trading rule and balanced resource layout kept everyone engaged for the full 90 minutes, so has anyone else tried using competitive league rules for casual sessions?

Had no idea a game rule book could be this bad

Bought a used copy of a 90s wargame at a thrift store. $5. Rule book was 40 pages. Took me 3 hours to figure out how to set up the board. The writer skipped steps. Assumed you knew stuff. I finally found an old forum post from 2008 that explained it in 2 sentences. Has anyone else wasted a whole afternoon on a rule book that made no sense?

Got a new board game group together 2 weeks ago and already regretting one player

I started hosting a weekly board game night at my place in Austin, and one guy keeps trying to negotiate rules mid-game like we're in a business deal. Last week he argued for 10 minutes about a setup rule in Settlers of Catan until I finally gave in just to move things along. Has anyone else dealt with a rule-bender and found a way to shut it down without killing the vibe?

Random guy at a con told me my dice tower was too loud

He said it sounded like rocks in a blender every time I rolled. Swapped my acrylic tower for a felt-lined wooden one and now the table is way more chill. Anyone else get called out for their noisy gear?

PSA: That $60 'wooden' board game insert on Etsy is actually MDF and warped in 2 weeks

I crunched the numbers on Monopoly's win rates and it flipped my view

I spent an evening last month digging through boardgamegeek.com stats on Monopoly, expecting the usual complaints about luck. What surprised me was that players who focus on orange and red properties win nearly 60% of games, not the expensive dark blues like Boardwalk. Am I the only one who thinks the community overstates the luck factor when there's a clear strategy that works?

Can we talk about how Terraforming Mars beats Ark Nova for replayability?

I know everyone's been raving about Ark Nova lately, but after 20 plays of each, I just don't see it. Terraforming Mars has this open ended feel where you can pivot strategies mid game based on what cards show up, while Ark Nova feels like you're locked into a zoo plan from turn one. Am I missing something or do others find Mars has way more variety per session?

Sat in on a Blood on the Clocktower game at PAX Unplugged and it flipped my whole opinion on social deduction games

Watching a demon bluff their way through 45 minutes of accusations without saying a single lie made me realize I've been playing Werewolf all wrong for years, how do you even learn to read people that well without speaking?

I was convinced Scythe was overrated hype until I actually played it 6 times in one weekend

My buddy kept pushing me to play it for like a year and I always dodged it. Looked like a weird euro game with a giant board and too many pieces. Then we had a cabin trip last month with nothing but rain and that was the only game he brought. First play I was confused and honestly kinda bored. But by the third game I started seeing how the faction powers and combat timing actually work together. By game six I was already planning my next moves while other people were taking their turns. Has anyone else had a game they wrote off completely that ended up becoming a favorite after being forced to actually play it?

Spent 45 minutes looking for a single tile piece in my closet

I was setting up Carcassonne for game night last Friday. Opened the box and realized the tile with the little monastery was missing. Dumped everything out, checked under furniture, even looked in the trash. Turned out it had slipped under the insert tray inside the box the whole time. Has anyone else had a piece vanish into a box void like that?

Went to a local game cafe last weekend and saw a guy flip a table over a lost game of Catan

Happened at Dice & Drafts in Austin around 11pm on a Saturday, dude was dead silent the whole game then just snapped and flipped the whole board - has anyone else seen someone take a board game way too seriously in public?

Rant: That Kickstarter game I backed for $80 that never shipped

I threw $80 at a fancy board game on Kickstarter back in 2021 because the minis looked amazing and the campaign promised delivery in 9 months. Two years later, the creator ghosted everyone and I got nothing but a few angry forum posts for my money. Anyone else get burned by a hyped Kickstarter project that just vanished?

My buddy Dan made me rethink how I play cooperative board games

We were playing Pandemic last weekend and I kept trying to quarterback everyone's moves. Dan just calmly said 'hey, maybe let them figure it out, that's the fun part.' At first I got defensive but then I noticed the group started talking more and actually coming up with cool plans I never would have thought of. It hit me that I was treating the game like a solo puzzle instead of a team experience. Has anyone else had to dial back their control issues in co-op games?

Hit 50 game nights in a row with my group last Saturday, never thought we'd make it

Chose a 4 player co-op over a competitive game for game night. Best call I made all year.

Heard two guys arguing at a coffee shop about heavy board games and it got me thinking

I was grabbing a latte last Saturday and overheard this one guy insisting that any game over 3 hours is just bad design. His friend fired back saying Gloomhaven and Twilight Imperium are masterpieces. I kept my mouth shut but it made me wonder if we overcomplicate things just to feel smart. Do you think there's a sweet spot for game length where the mechanics don't drag?

Appreciation post: Hit 200 plays on Wingspan and it got me thinking

I hit 200 plays on Wingspan last weekend. That number surprised me. Never thought a game about birds would be my most played. But it makes sense now. Its the perfect weight for my group. Not too heavy, not too light. But I'm starting to wonder if the expansions actually improve it or just add clutter. Anyone else hit a weird milestone with a game you didn't expect to love this much?