I don't wanna be the guy who says, "Hey, if we choose battle we might win!" and then we go on to suffer heavy losses.
I do wanna be the guy who says, "Hey if we choose battle, we might win!" and then we go on to an amazing victory.
Mighty fine shindig.
Mal ,'Shindig'
Gaming 1: You are likely to be eaten by a grue
A thread for the discussion of games: board, LARP, MMORPG, video, tabletop RPG, game theory etc. etc. and all attendant news, developments and ancillary subjects thereof, as well as coordinating/scheduling games either online or IRL. All are welcome to chime in, talk about their favorite games or learn about gaming of any sort.
PLEASE TO WHITEFONT SPOILERS for video games, RPG modules or anything for which foreknowledge of events might lessen one's enjoyment of whatever gaming experience.
Laga - Jun 17, 2009 7:59:15 am PDT #2347 of 26133
You should know I'm a big deal in the Resistance.
Gudanov - Jun 17, 2009 8:05:43 am PDT #2348 of 26133
Coding and Sleeping
The MEH decrees RISK a poor and uninteresting game because you are right -- there is nothing else you would do. Leaving aside the sheer randomness of the combat system, whining in RISK is amplified because losing positions get established very quickly, it is very difficult to engineer come-back wins without poor play by someone else (which usually elicits accusations of game-throwing), and there is only one possible route to victory.
RISK was the boardgame that always ended badly in college where my friends were too competitive. A few bad rolls and pissed offness ensued. My favorite boardgame was Junta (if anyone has heard of that one). It went well with my high school friends who didn't take double crossing personally, NSM with my college friends who did take the double dealing a bit personally.
Sean K - Jun 17, 2009 8:19:02 am PDT #2349 of 26133
You can't leave me to my own devices; my devices are Nap and Eat. -Zenkitty
My favorite boardgame was Junta (if anyone has heard of that one).
I played Junta exactly twice, and really enjoyed it. I would love to find a copy and give it a try again.
Gudanov - Jun 17, 2009 8:20:52 am PDT #2350 of 26133
Coding and Sleeping
I loved that the manual emphasized that you should "cheat" as much as possible.
Sean K - Jun 17, 2009 8:23:53 am PDT #2351 of 26133
You can't leave me to my own devices; my devices are Nap and Eat. -Zenkitty
Yes, Junta was very effective at getting the players to act like they were (or wanted to be) in charge of a banana republic.
Sean K - Jun 17, 2009 8:24:56 am PDT #2352 of 26133
You can't leave me to my own devices; my devices are Nap and Eat. -Zenkitty
And Jess, I'll fire up a couple of Conquer Club games shortly.
Random McNasty - Jun 17, 2009 8:29:44 am PDT #2353 of 26133
AKA Raq's Husband
I have played Junta a couple of times (first in high school and more recently in Greece) and I agree it is fun -- the assassinations, the double-dealing, the graft. Good times, good times. My only quibble is the mini war game that I felt was a bit grafted onto the structure of the game. It certainly captured the flavor of a banana republic environment, but I think I would have prefered a more abstract (and quicker) mechanic -- maybe a card play system, or a vote system. Our Junta games usually ran 5 to 6 hours, which is certainly outer edge for my tolerance for any one game.
Still, for its time Junta was really pretty unique and very forward leaning. Between that and Dune we whiled away many an hour.
Gudanov - Jun 17, 2009 8:32:29 am PDT #2354 of 26133
Coding and Sleeping
My only quibble is the mini war game that I felt was a bit grafted onto the structure of the game. It certainly captured the flavor of a banana republic environment, but I think I would have prefered a more abstract (and quicker) mechanic
Yeah, the coups really disrupted the fun. I suppose that's true in reality as well.
Pete, Husband of Jilli - Jun 17, 2009 9:54:04 am PDT #2355 of 26133
"I've got a gun! I've got a mother-flippin' gun!" - Moss, The IT Crowd
I have heard of Junta. It is a game I must track down one of these days.
When, y'know, I unplug myself from the 360.
billytea - Jun 17, 2009 1:26:35 pm PDT #2356 of 26133
You were a wrong baby who grew up wrong. The wrong kind of wrong. It's better you hear it from a friend.
I have never played Junta. I do, however, own it, and look forward to the day when I can give it a whirl.
BSG
Policy on side conversations is I'd rather avoid them. My feeling is that in a F2F game of BSG, it wouldn't really be part of the spirit of the game, so I'd rather avoid it here too.
Conversely, you can talk to me as much as you like, though I don't promise I'll be helpful.