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by CutGlass | updated 36 days ago
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3 | 2 comments | [+]by CutGlass | updated 2 months ago
2 | 4 comments | [+]by CutGlass | updated 2 months ago
1 | 5 comments | [+]I was thinking of doing something like that, and even bought #City of Zombies to try to encourage my kids to practice their maths. I think I like the game more than they do (I am a mathematician in my day job), but it turns out they are pretty keen on calculating their own scores and so forth in most games anyway.
I played D&D in the same group as my much younger brother for a few years too though, and he always passed the buck to me on anything he saw as tricky arithmetic. Which is ironic, given that most maths graduates I know actually stumble and make mistakes over basic arithmetic (me included).
I was able to start playing some more enjoyable games with my oldest once he hit about 5. Learning to read is a big game-changer there, too. Suddenly there were loads more games available, and as a bonus it can help them with their reading and maths!
It's good that you're getting some practice at doing things while extremely tired. ;)
Congratulations on the incoming addition to your family, though. I only discovered your reviews relatively recently (while looking for something Thunderbirds related) and I appreciate them very much. I hope you're able to continue doing so. Maybe we'll see some reviews of games for younger children in a couple of years?
by CutGlass | updated 36 days ago
3 | 2 comments | [+]I have that. My collection houses a few games I find almost painful to play, but which my kids love...
I also have some that were given as gifts, and I'm reluctant to clear them out too soon (some of them are unplayed, and I really should give them a try first).
I had it on in the background while I was working, so might not have been paying full attention for much of the time. One thing I noticed though, is that there were a few he put in the "Store" selection despite not seeming like he was going to play them again purely because he didn't think anyone would buy them. Those seem to me like games that shouldn't really be in your collection, and could either be given away or you need to just find the right price and the right person.
He also threw out a copy of #Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 that he said he had tried to play through with two different groups and given up on half way through each time. I agree that it sounds like it's not worth keeping, but perhaps there are components that could be repurposed elsewhere or offered as spares for anyone missing pieces from their own version? I haven't played it, so I don't know, and it might well be that this is already his plan and he just didn't want to get into those details in the video.
The discussion between @theDL and @nexttothemoon reminds me a little of an article that was discussed just last week though, about the luxury aspects of the hobby. It sounds as if @3MBG is soon to be losing both space and time, with space being a temporary issue that is intended to lead towards more space. So storing some games to have available later when the space isn't an issue doesn't seem problematic. The incredible time-sink that children can be is perhaps a calculation he'll have to revisit later on, though... ;)
Aren't individual user ratings based on a 5 star scale on this site?
I seem to have three games that are rated 5/5, but those look like they may be rounded up from BGG imported scores.
For BGG 10/10 scores, though, my answer would be none. I'm reluctant to ever give anything a perfect score. I don't feel like I can ever be certain that there isn't something better out there or coming along, and I don't want to lose that granularity of scoring. Even with that aside, I'm not sure I've ever played a game where I would consider it absolutely flawless under all reasonable circumstances.
Of course, I'm a statistician in my day job so my view may be affected by that.
The closest I think I'd go is for #Zombie Kidz Evolution as it just seems to really fit its rules well to both its theme and intended audience, and I've never had a bad time playing it.
I have different games in my "shelf of shame", for varying reasons.
The most obvious one is #Dune which I bought because I'm a big fan of the book and the game sounds amazing, but for some reason my children (ages 5 and 8) haven't read the books and don't want to spend 4 hours playing it with me!
I have #The Quest for El Dorado: The Golden Temples which I bought in a sale during the summer, but the first time I tried it my youngest son got bored and left pretty quickly, and it fell a little flat with my wife. We ended up not finishing the game. I still think it could go down well with my wife and older kid, but neither of them are keen to revisit it when we have other games they know they like. I have a similar problem with #The Legend of Korra: Pro-Bending Arena, where I misremembered a crucial rule and our first game took about three times as long as it should have. My son got fed up with it.
I bought #ElemenZ after a demo at a convention in 2018 as a gift for my son, as I thought he would like it, then realised it was more complicated than the demo had implied and he wasn't ready for it. For some reason I struggle to get through the rules and we still haven't played it.
I picked up #The Lord of the Rings for almost nothing in a charity shop once. The card decks, etc. are still in shrink and tokens unpunched. I keep thinking I should try it but can't decide if I'd be better off trading/selling it without opening everything up. The rulebook doesn't seem very helpful.
Finally, I got #Shadows: Amsterdam for Christmas last year, thinking it might work well with my kids as they also enjoyed similar games. I have absolutely no idea why this hasn't hit the table yet.
As a special mention, I have owned #Ca$h 'n Gun$ in some form for more than 10 years, unplayed. I never felt like I had the right group to try it. I finally got my wife and kids to play it with me last weekend, and now they're all obsessed with it and keep asking to play it again.
How old are your kids? Hang in there a bit longer, and your gaming may return. Mine are 8 and 5, and in 2020 the number of plays I've logged has exploded. I started using the BG Stats app in 2017, and something like 350 of my 500 plays so far have been in the last 12 months.
I voted for "losing to my own stupidity", which I find very frustrating at times. I don't mind losing to an AI particularly, and view them as similar to a computer game in some ways.
Humans are pretty variable though. I've played against some smug people who I'm desperate to beat. I've got a friend who is just phenomenal at nearly all games and I don't ever feel bad losing to him. I'm extremely pleased and proud if my kids manage to beat me fair and square in a game.
I did something similar in a D&D game I was in. It was primarily because half of the players bought some "precision" dice and I was curious to see if a difference was detectable, but I also was curious because one player seemed perpetually annoyed and complaining that he was being unlucky and the dice were letting him down.
I tracked 1913* rolls on 6 or 7 different d20s rolled by 7 players across a number of sessions. Pretty much every result was as you would expect (about 5% each) and no player seemed notably more or less lucky than the others. The precision dice didn't seem significantly more balanced than any of the others, really.
I'm pretty sure that I was enjoying the game more than the bloke complaining about his dice, though, I think a positive mental state even when things are going badly has a pretty big effect on how you perceive things. Of course, shortly after I stopped logging the dice rolls I had a session with about 20 rolls for my character and my highest number all session was a 5, so outliers do happen on occasion.
* Edited. I said about 1200 before but I've just looked up the exact number.
That would be fantastic.
There is a BoardGamePrices.co.uk at the moment though, so you've got some competition (or potential partner?).
I have actually tried to do this a little with BGG rankings from reviewers, and the Group options at:
Essentially, I just set up a group called Reviewers and added in the BGG usernames of every reviewer I could find (plus myself). Then there's a section in the Insights tab that compares how well your ratings match with everyone else in the group. It's kind of a clunky way of doing it though, and I'd certainly appreciate a better approach here!
Amusingly, it turns out that the lowest match I had was with Quinns from Shut Up & Sit Down. I love watching the reviews, but apparently we don't like the same games.
Thank you for making it an optional setting. North American prices aren't of much use or interest, here in the UK. ;)
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Online Gaming Superstore! Discounted Prices! Board Games, Minis, Magic: The Gathering and supplies in stock!
SponsoredI wouldn't say that the thread necessarily needs to be excluded, but perhaps we don't need to see the actual post text in the "User Activity Feed" summary section? Even if only for posts with the Spoiler flair?
I take your point that there is a spoiler tag available that people should use, but if someone forgets it could still ruin a surprise for others skimming through.
It's probably not a major issue, but I thought I should at least prompt the discussion.
Two copies of Altiplano?
It really does.
It also means I've bought too many games for Christmas at a time when I'm trying to cut back on how many gifts each kid gets. Looks like #Zombie Teenz Evolution is going to be a gift for me, now...
Does getting caught up in the explosion of popularity of #Catan count?
My university games club (mostly RPGs at the time) acquired about 4 or 5 copies between us (thinking about it, I might have been the first) in about 1997 and the weekly games sessions became recurring constant games of it. So much so that I started to find it a bit tiresome and wanted to get back to the roleplaying games more.
I still appreciated the board games though, and despite CCGs taking most of my money for the next few years I still picked up and played the odd board game here and there (#Ticket to Ride: Europe, #Munchkin, #Roborally) until I was in a position where I had the space and enough available players (i.e. my kids) that expanding my collection considerably was an option.
I also conveniently discovered a few years ago that two of my oldest schoolfriends (I've known them since the late 80s or so) started having regular weekly games and host a twice-yearly mini convention where they live (which is sadly not close to me). So talking to them and meeting up at conventions helped drive my interest.
All four of us play most of the games I buy, so nobody in my immediate family questions this a great deal. I also try to cycle some out now and then to make room.
More extended family might wonder, but none of them has ever said anything that I know of. My sister's collection probably rivals mine in size anyway.
I'd have a harder time justifying my purchases of roleplaying games, since I haven't had a regular group for a long, long time now. I'd probably claim I just like reading them, but if I'm honest with myself I'm not getting through the reading quickly enough that it makes total sense.
True, though most of my video game purchases are now digital. Whereas board games take up a lot of space and are pretty visibly a part of our household 'stuff'.
I think kids are an interesting aspect, besides the obvious financial considerations. I have an (almost) 6 year old and an 8 year old.
They do take up a lot of time. I seem to spend a large chunk of every weekend taking them to various activities that are good for their health and wellbeing, and half of every evening trying to wear them out enough that they'll go to sleep easily. If I didn't have kids, I'd have more free time to myself.
At the same time, I can almost guarantee that any evening I want to play a game one or more of my children will play with me (and my wife, usually). These tend to be shorter, simpler games, but they're old enough now that our tastes are overlapping more and it's far from a chore for any of us.
Also, like @sludj says above, I am in the UK and I get a little jealous every time I see a Reddit post with someone's new games room. It's simply not feasible for me (I'm working from home these days, out of my kid's bedroom while he's at school). However, if I didn't have children I'd likely have enough space for a small games area.
So my kids mean I've lost some time and some space but gained some social capital that means I can make use of the time I do have for playing board games.
They're pretty cool, too. ;)
I think my 3D printer is probably my most useful game accessory.
CutGlass 17 days ago |
But you would only need 7!