u/Marksman1977

She’s an author many praise but I haven’t read yet. What are her best books in your opinion?

All of them are race betting games of the 2020s. For those who have played them, which one do you prefer?

She wrote:

• Jonathan Strange & Mr Norrell
• Piranesi
• The Ladies of Grace Adieu and Other Stories

He likes that type of game quite a lot: Agricola, At the Gates of Loyang, Caverna, A Feast for Odin, Fields of Arle, Hallertau, Reykholt, Atiwa. So we’ve farmed in Germany, China, Fantasyland, Iceland, Ghana, etc. He uses similar mechanisms from game to game but manages to make them feel different. Some games are tight while others more open. Some games are light while others heavy. Maybe I’m wrong but there isn’t a designer with this many farming games. So what do you think about them? Do you like them? If not, what other farming games do you like?

I’ve discovered I like this type of game. It hits a sweet spot I didn’t know. My favorite is Grand Austria Hotel. What are some other games?

Note: Please no stonemaier games, I already know them.

He says that, in general, the themes of eurogames are about servitude because you’re meant to “appease the king“, “gain the queen’s favor”, or “please the rich/businessmen/aristocracy”, so they’re about being subservient and “knowing your place”, but American games are about “forging your own destiny” with adventures and that their main theme is power. He mentioned there are exceptions but that’s essentially how it is. Is this a common stereotype? I’m not familiar with the history of board games to really I agree or disagree with him.

I’ve been thinking about this lately. More games are being published than ever, production quality is insane, and designer names actually carry weight now. By every metric, this should be the golden age.

But some people argue older designs had a purity that today’s games have lost. Some say today’s games are too derivative and not as good. Others think we’re not even close to the peak yet.

So what do you think? Golden age: past, present, or future?

I know about the Oniverse (and other inPatience games), For Northwood, Buttons & Bugs, 20 Strong, Solo Game of the Month. What else is out there in a small package?

Every other day I discover a new game that I didn’t know had a solo mode, and I always wonder if there’s people who find out about a game’s solo mode and when they play it, they are surprised it’s good. Has this happened to you? Has a game‘s solo mode, official or unofficial, surprised you (in a good way)?

For example:

• Leder Games makes games with 4-letter titles (Oath, Root, Vast, Ahoy)
• Pack O Games makes games with 3-letter titles (Bog, Sly, Irk, Mad, Nut, and so on).
• Friedemann Friesse makes games with a green color palette and an F title (Friday, Fabled Fruit, Formidable Farm, etc).
• Daniele Tascini makes games with T-word titles (Tiletum, Teotihuacan, Tzolk’in, etc)
• Richard Garfield makes games where you can obtain special skills that “break” the regular game in interesting ways
• Stonemaier Games makes games where not only the theme is boring but also the gameplay
• Kris Burm makes games in the abstract strategy genre and they all use hexagons in some way
• John D. Clair makes games that use a card crafting system where you can upgrade your own cards thanks to the use of card sleeves

What are some other ones you know?

I’m considering getting some of these games to play solo, can you tell me your opinion in case you’ve played them?

• Grand Austria Hotel
• Nusfjord
• Great Western Trail: New Zealand
• House of Fado
• Obsession
• Lost Ruins Of Arnak
• Come Sail Away
• 51st State
• Empires of the North
• Rome: Fate of an Empire
• Age of Innovation
• Gaia Project
• Dune: Imperium: Uprising
• Tiletum

I love Captain’s Chair. One of the best games I’ve played. But a great deal of why I like it is the cards. I love games that are card driven. What is Voidfall like? How similar are they? I know it’s not card driven but I’m interested if it’s also good despite not having that. I’ve never been a huge eurogame player if I’m honest but recently some of them have started to click and resonate with me. Maybe it was counting points at the end of eurogames that I disliked (so tedious lol), but I’m willing to go through that if the gameplay is good.

I’m talking about this page The Sub's Favorite Solo-able Games. It was last updated in 2017 and never again. That’s almost a decade ago. The account that created it has been suspended even. Can we update this page with the current info? I think a form for people to fill would be a good idea. I might be interested in organizing it if the mods agree, or maybe someone else can do it. What do you think?

According to BGG, the 5 most popular are: Rome: Fate of an Empire, Dieson Crusoe, Okinawa: The Last Battle of WW II, Dicemancy, and The Cursed Castle. Only one of these is in stock, I think.

I’m patiently waiting for my copy of Radiance (supposedly it will be shipped this month) and I was thinking about getting one of the games already available from their store. Which one do you like?