c/board-game-geeks

Vent: A guy at the Portland game cafe totally changed how I see 'gatekeeping'

I was demoing a heavy euro game there last month and got stuck on a rule. This older dude at the next table leaned over and said, 'The rulebook's wrong on page 7, the designer posted a fix on BGG.' He wasn't being a jerk, he just wanted to help. I'd always thought hardcore fans were just trying to show off, but he was actually super welcoming. How do you handle it when you see a rule mistake at a public game night?

My friend told me to stop trying to win at Catan and just block people

Tbh, I always tried to build the longest road in Catan and lost. My buddy Mike said to forget winning and just mess with the leader by placing settlements to cut them off. Last game night, I did that to Sarah who was ahead, and she got so mad she couldn't expand. I ended up coming in second, which is way better than my usual last place. Has anyone else won more by just playing defense like that?

Pulled out my old copy of HeroQuest from the 90s for my nephew...

He looked at the tiny cardboard furniture and asked if we could use his Lego minifigs instead. We ended up building a whole dungeon with his bricks, and he was way more into it than the actual game pieces. It made me think about how we used to just accept those flat standees, but now even a kid expects something more... Has anyone else had a classic game totally changed by just swapping in a different toy or piece?

I finally gave up on my 'no expansions' rule after a game night in Tacoma

For years, I thought buying expansions was just a cash grab, especially for games like Catan. Last month, a friend in Tacoma insisted we try 'Cities & Knights' with his group. The new mechanics completely changed the game's pace and strategy, making it feel fresh again. I bought my own copy the next week. Anyone else have a game that a single expansion totally saved?

My friend told me my game explanations are way too long and it's killing the vibe

He said I spent 45 minutes explaining the rules to Scythe before we even touched a piece, and everyone was checked out. Now I use a 10-minute timer and jump straight into a practice round. Anyone else get called out for being the over-explainer?

My game group fell apart over a single rule in Terraforming Mars

We were three hours into a game last Thursday when a debate about the 'Standard Project' action turned into a full-blown argument. Now two people won't talk to each other, and our regular Tuesday night is cancelled. How do you handle a rules dispute that gets this personal?

I finally got why my friend's game group fell apart

I was talking to my buddy from my old college town yesterday, and he said his weekly board game meetup just stopped. He told me, 'We spent more time arguing about which heavy Euro to play than we did actually playing anything.' It hit me that we used to just grab a box and go, no fuss. Now it feels like picking a game is a whole project with spreadsheets and player counts. Has anyone else seen their group get too serious about the 'perfect' game night?

Rant: I used to think a good game night meant buying every expansion

The tipping point was seeing a friend's simple, worn copy of Ticket to Ride with no add-ons get played three times in an evening, while my giant box of Carcassonne stuff gathered dust. How do you decide when a game is 'complete' enough for your group?

Our weekly game night in Portland turned into a 6 hour rules debate over Arkham Horror

We started a new campaign last Friday and got stuck on the exact timing of the mythos phase for like 45 minutes. My friend Dave kept quoting a forum post from 2019 that contradicted the latest FAQ. It got so bad we almost called it quits before the first turn. Has anyone else had a game night derailed by a single confusing rule?

Tried two ways to teach my non-gamer friends Catan and one worked way better

Last weekend I had two different groups over, and I tried two ways to teach Settlers of Catan. With the first group, I just set up the board and started explaining all the rules at once, like how to trade, build roads, and get victory points. They looked totally lost after about five minutes. For the second group, I did something different. I set up a simple three-player board with basic numbers and just said 'the goal is to get to 5 points first, let's just play a few turns and I'll explain as we go.' We played a short game to 5 points, and they picked it up so much faster because they could see how the pieces moved and the dice worked. The difference was huge. The first group never really got into it, but the second group asked to play a full game right after. Has anyone else found that a short practice round is the best way to teach a new game?

I thought legacy board games were a dumb gimmick until my group finished Pandemic Legacy

My friend in Austin bought Pandemic Legacy Season 1 last year and I rolled my eyes at the whole 'rip up cards' thing. We played it over 12 sessions, and watching the board permanently change after we lost a city in June was wild. The story actually got me invested in a way regular Pandemic never did. Now I'm looking at other legacy games but don't want to buy a dud. What's one with a good story that isn't just a reskin of a game we already own?

Had to pick between a 4 hour Twilight Imperium session or my friend's birthday dinner

My group had our monthly game day set for this past Saturday, and we were finally going to start our Twilight Imperium campaign. Then my buddy Mike invited me to his birthday dinner at 7 PM the same night. I had to choose one because the game takes at least four hours to play a proper round. I picked the game day, figuring we could celebrate with Mike another time. It was a tough call, but the campaign setup was epic. How do you guys handle choosing between a big game commitment and other social plans?

Shoutout to the guy who brought a 3D printer to our local game night

For years I thought custom organizers were a huge waste of time, but after seeing his perfectly fitted trays for Eclipse that cut setup from 20 minutes to maybe 5, I'm totally convinced. What's the best resource you've found for learning to design your own inserts?

Can we talk about the guy who brought a laser level to set up Catan?

Last month at our local game cafe, a player spent 15 minutes ensuring the hexes were perfectly aligned. Has anyone else seen a prep step taken to an extreme like that?

Just hit 100 logged plays of my copy of Agricola and it's basically a history book now

I was updating my stats on BoardGameGeek last night and the number popped up. The box is held together with tape, the resource cubes are all shiny, and the player boards have permanent dents from where we've pressed the pieces down. My wife pointed out that the 'Major Improvement' cards have little grease stains from snack nights. It's wild to think about all the arguments over who gets the first grain and the quiet victories from a well-timed plow. Has anyone else's copy of a game gotten this physically worn from pure love?

PSA: I keep seeing people call a 4 player game 'full' when the box says 2-5

At my local game night in Columbus, three different groups last week said they couldn't join a game of Ticket to Ride because it was 'full' with four players. The box clearly says 2-5, so they were turning away a potential fifth. This matters because it cuts down on options and leaves someone out. I had to point to the player count on the box each time. Does your group have a hard rule about only playing at the max player count listed?

A game night in Akron made me stop trying to win every single time.

Finally beat that solo scenario in Gloomhaven after three months of trying

I got stuck on the 'Inox Encampment' mission for my Cragheart. The problem was the first room with all the traps and the archers. I kept running out of cards before I could clear it. Last night I tried a new plan, using my backup attack cards first and saving the big ones. It took me exactly two hours and seventeen minutes to finish the whole thing. Has anyone else found a better way to handle that opening room?

Hot take: teaching new players by starting with the full rules is a bad idea

I run a game night at a local cafe in Bellingham, and for years I'd start new players with the full rulebook. It was a mess, with people zoning out halfway through. Last month, I tried something different with Root. Instead of explaining everything, I set up a simple goal: 'You're trying to get 30 points, here's how you get them.' We played one round with open hands, letting them ask questions as things came up. After that single round, they knew more than my old 20 minute lecture ever taught them. The game moved faster and everyone had more fun. I think we get too caught up in 'proper' teaching and forget that playing is the best teacher. Has anyone else found a game that really clicked with a 'learn as you go' approach?

Spent $300 on a custom foam insert for my Gloomhaven box and it was a total waste

I thought it would save me setup time, but it actually makes pulling out the map tiles and monster decks MORE annoying. The cuts are too tight, so everything gets stuck, and now the box lid doesn't close right. Has anyone else had a bad experience with a specific insert brand and found a better way to organize this beast of a game?

TIL my friend's game group has a 15-page charter document for their Gloomhaven campaign.

They spent 3 hours debating rule arbitration procedures, which made me realize some of us take the 'geek' part of board game geek way more seriously than others, has your group ever gotten that formal about a game?

I was looking through an old game store receipt from 2005 and the price of a starter set shocked me.

I was cleaning out a closet and found a receipt from a game store in Portland. It was for a Warhammer 40k starter box, the one with the Black Templars and Orks. The total was $39.99. I checked online for what that same kind of starter set costs now. It's over $150. I remember saving up for weeks to buy that box after school. We'd play on a sheet of plywood in my friend's garage. Now I see people with whole rooms dedicated to painted armies. It's not just the money, it's the scale of everything. The hobby feels bigger and more serious now. Has anyone else dug up an old receipt or price tag that made you pause?

Just found out how many board games were published in a single year

I was looking up some rules for a game online yesterday and fell down a rabbit hole. I ended on a site that tracks board game releases. I saw a number that made my jaw drop. In 2023 alone, over 5,000 new board games were published worldwide. That's more than 13 new games coming out every single day! My collection feels tiny now. I thought I was keeping up by buying a few games a year, but that's nothing. It's wild to think about all those games being designed, printed, and shipped. It makes me wonder how any game even gets noticed. Has anyone else seen a stat about our hobby that just blew their mind?

I finally tried playing Catan with my family instead of my usual game group.

Always played with my serious gamer friends. Tried it with my parents and sister last weekend. Explained the rules way simpler, focused on trading. They loved it, played for two hours straight. Anyone have other gateway games that work for non-geeks?

Warning: Our game night almost ended a 15-year friendship over a rules dispute in Catan

It started with a sheep trade and escalated to yelling about the robber placement for 45 minutes straight. Has anyone else had a simple game turn into a relationship stress test?