Doug_Beatty | Cheerful Ghost

I bought this game for my brothers birthday just because it

I bought this game for my brother's birthday just because it was a spiel des jahres winner. But we just left in the box for a while and didn't finally play it until the town got blasted with a snowstorm and there was nothing to do. We had no idea how to play the game at first, and it took a few games before any kind of strategies emerged. But then someone did some chaining with the villiage and we started to understand the concept of "building an engine". Got addicted to the game quickly after that! Love the whole series. My favorite game, for sure!

jdodson Admin wrote on 06/29/2012 at 03:47am

Ive seen this game as a staple in many stores and on a few shelves of people I know but I hadn't given it much thought. Sounds really interesting now.

We should play it sometime.

How many different strategies do you know of with this one?

Doug_Beatty Post Author wrote on 08/09/2012 at 12:31am

There are so many strategies that you can you take depending on the card set that you end up playing with. I think the base set has 25 "kingdom" cards out of which you only play any given game with 10 kingdom cards. So there is an incredible amount of variety that is inherent in the game if you choose the 10 kingdom cards to play with randomly (which I like to do). This provides lots of room for many types of strategies :)

We should play sometime!

jdodson Admin wrote on 08/09/2012 at 01:47am

Yeah, sounds like fun. I've got a few new games as well.

Doug_Beatty Post Author wrote on 08/21/2012 at 05:26am

You need to invite me ovet to your guys' house :)

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I love Ticket to Ride! It is one of my go to games when

I love Ticket to Ride! It is one of my "go to" games when wanting to play a board game with people that haven't played before. The rules are easy to learn, and all players in the game can feel like they are making progress towards their goals throughout the game (even if in actuality there are losing pretty badly). New players wouldn't even realize they are losing, really, and still have a sense of accomplishment at the end of the game regardless! The board is attractive, the pieces have a nice tactile sense, and the game overall has a theme that feels really integrated and natural rather than slapped on and made-up. Both young and old alike can play very successfully, and it gives a good sense of the geography of the United States as well.

jdodson Admin wrote on 04/16/2012 at 03:25am

Wife and I play Ticket to Ride on our iPhone's and love it! Haven't tried the original board game yet. We do, however, have Ticket to Ride Europe which is cool to bring out round friends.

Europe added the train station which allows you to make a connection if the rails are blocked. Kind of nice but people can get upset after interpreting the rules creative ways.

Doug_Beatty Post Author wrote on 05/28/2012 at 08:30pm

I finally played Ticket to Ride Europe a couple of weeks ago. The addition of the train station definitely added a new dynamic. I took over in the middle of the game for a friend, and the train station almost allowed me to salvage a strategy that had gone horribly wrong early :)

The other thing that I loved about the Europe version is that it helped me learn some locations of cities and territories I should have known from middle or high school, but wasn't paying attention at the time.

jdodson Admin wrote on 05/29/2012 at 05:48am

jdodson "The train stations are an interesting mechanic and can allow you to salvage a bad game. I like USA's simplicity and such as Europe seems to have more routes but more constrained. At least that's how it seems when I play Europe. Fun, but after playing many more games I think I like USA."

Doug_Beatty Post Author wrote on 06/28/2012 at 02:49am

We all love U-S-A! It's my favorite chant that busts out at the Olympics :)

But seriously, the United States board is pretty good and doesn't need to be added to. My philosophy in games is the less rules the better.

jdodson Admin wrote on 06/28/2012 at 02:56am

I agree. Simplicity is better.

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Settlers is the first euro-style board game that I ever

Settlers is the first euro-style board game that I ever played. Rules were pretty easy to pickup. Definitely has some element of luck since you are subject to random chance of which spaces are available to you at the beginning of the game as well as the roll of the dice during each turn. One unique thing is that psychology and group dynamics can have large affects through the ability to trade resources. Winning strategies mitigate the feast and famine of the rolls of the dice by diversifying the dice rolls that yield resources. It isn't my favorite board game probably because I lose at a greater rate than other games. I also hate it when the robber gets put on resources I am connected to and can't reap a harvest. It's best for my enjoyment to play games where other players can't actively "hurt" me :)

Doug_Beatty37

3 Posts

I bought this game for my brothers birthday just because it

I love Ticket to Ride! It is one of my go to games when

Settlers is the first euro-style board game that I ever