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The Official All-Purpose Board Game Thread — Page 2

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I just completed the post I started and accidentally posted a couple of days ago.  It's here, with links and pictures.  I'll post more shogi descriptions soon.

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^Reading about Railroad Tycoon, it looks like a fun game.  Perhaps one day I'll be able to give it a try.  I enjoy that sort of game, including the simple fact that one learns history and geography while playing, two subjects I really enjoy.  Thanks for the recommendation.  I'll let you know if I ever get the chance to play it :)

Well, I think it's time to discuss a few more small shogi variants, then perhaps mention a larger one or two.

Let's start with one of the larger small variants: Tori shogi

I find it truly odd that the article I link to claims that this is the smallest variant in the shogi family, as it is 7x7, so there are several smaller.  Nevertheless, I hear it is considered among the best of the variants, and it has a rather loyal following.  It looks interesting to me, but I'll admit that though I've tried most of the others, I've never really given this one a shot.  I think this is mostly because I've favored the smallest variants for their speed, except in the case of the original game.  However, I hope to give this a try now that I've got a regular shogi partner.

Dobutsu shogi is a unique variant that I've only recently learned about.

This 3x4 variant is sold commercially, and was invented by a Japanese female shogi master hoping to attract more children, especially girls, to shogi in general.  The piece moves are clearly printed there with the cute little animal illustrations, so you can see how weak the pieces are.  This is of course a good thing for games in such close quarters.  I can't imagine any possible way to checkmate the opposing lion (king) without your two of your pieces pressed against him and your lion providing support.  Looks fun, and I believe it'd be worth a try as well.

Nana shogi is a very tiny variant, using only 9 squares at 3x3.

There are two versions, one with stronger pieces, and one with two pieces weakened (which should have been renamed considering their new moves and that there are other pre-existing with identical moves, but I digress).  The weaker pieces make the game more even, as the first player has a big advantage.  This game is substantially different than other shogi variants for a number of reasons.  For one thing, like Kyoto shogi, pieces alternate their value with each move.  But instead of promoting/demoting between two faces, all the pieces are cubes and alternate between 4 different piece values.  This makes it exceedingly difficult for mere mortals to remember what will follow after one moves a piece.  Another difference is that the board starts empty and that the first moves are simply drops as players introduce their pieces into the game.  It's a hard game to play well, but it is certainly no simplistic game in spite of its size.

Gufuu shogi, invented by the same man as above, is barely still a shogi game in my mind.  However, it does still utilize drops and the basic premise of checkmate, so I suppose one could still consider it shogi, as different as it is.  It is merely a 2x3 game with two kings and two shared pieces.  Like Nana shogi, the board starts empty.

Players take turns playing those pieces, and only when checking your opponent's king does the checking piece remain yours.  Pieces here go back to being flat, and they don't even promote.  But they do rotate, so the direction of their attack changes.  The same goes for the kings.  They actually can be next to each other (without capturing), and only cannot when when one's forward (top, north, what's the right term?) side is facing the opposing king.  It's so different, a truly unique variant, perhaps very enjoyable, but only slightly still a shogi game.

There is one more game by the above inventor, a 1x2 game he calls Bushi shogi.  It is simply two cubes rotating and having their orientation act as attacks and defenses.  While it sounds like an interesting game, I simply do not see it as a shogi game.  I mention it here for completion's sake, but I do not see a point in describing it.  It simply isn't shogi.

There are other small games, but for now I'll hold on to those.  I do want to mention a game of indeterminate size because I think it's important to note its relationship with Nana shogi.  It is called Ki shogi, another game played with cubic pieces that alternate between faces.  Only this time there are six, not just four values per cube.  The promotion rules are pretty complex, but what I really like about this game is that the playable area is determined by the positions of the two kings.  One plays on a table of any size and imagines the grid, but really the edge of the game's playable area usually does not come anywhere near the edge of the table.  It just matters how players move their pieces with respect to each other.  Really a novel concept.  The following image shows grid lines, though they are really not necessary when playing.

Well, that's all for now.  I love shogi and its endless variations!

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The GameStop in the Bloomington College Mall now has tabletop games. Ticket To Ride, Lords of Waterdeep, Magic The Gathering... Weird, like they don't make enough money off of reselling video games?

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I wonder if our GameStop has board games as well.  We have too few game stores here where I live.

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darth_ender said:


I wonder if our GameStop has board games as well.  We have too few game stores here where I live.
It's apparently something to look for. The GameStop in my town doesn't have board games. Very odd.

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Are you still checking out TableTop?  Any new games you've tried?  Any recommendations?

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I've not watched any TableTop in a year or so. I feel ashamed. However, we did get Cards Against Humanity, which is hilarious if you don't mind saying/reading horrible things. Which is the idea.

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I should probably list some more shogi variants, though my descriptions will be briefer on most of them, particularly those that interest me less.

Yari shogi is a slightly smaller than normal variant, at a size of 7x9.  It is very similar in setup to regular shogi as well.  However, as regular shogi is very forward oriented with its pieces' moves, this game took that concept much further, (quite frankly, to a less enjoyable point, in my opinion).

Whale shogi is simply another small shogi variant (6x6), this time with all the pieces named after whales or dolphins.  It's a fun variant, but nothing to write home about.

The inventor of the above game later enlarged on his concept and created Great Whale shogi, utilizing a similar theme, but on a, 11x11 board.  It seems interesting and there are some powerful pieces, but again, I'm not sure I'm that excited to try it.

Now here are some games I can sink my teeth into.  Hex shogi (follow the two links here and here) seems like an interesting translation to a hexagonal board).  What's more, the inventor thought that the principles inherent to three player chess games (see the petty diplomacy problem descrption) would not be so pronounced in a shogi game.  Therefore, he invented Three Player Hex Shogi.  I've never played it to see how right he was.  However, I can't help but wonder if a shogi-style game naturally mitigates the problems normally found in such games.

However, there is another shogi game that has gone to even greater lengths to rectify the natural problems with three player strategy games: Kokusai Sannin Shogi.  Like Hex shogi and Three Player Hex shogi, Kokusai Sannin shogi is played on a hexagonal grid.  It has special rules about making alliances, a promotable king with immense powers and some new victory conditions.  I've always wanted to try this out if I could actually find a third player to play with me.  I'm sure Ric would play, but I don't know if anyone else would want to join.  I've heard it is the best chess-type game to try and solve the above mentioned petty diplomacy problem.

Four player games are not so problematic as three, as they are naturally filled with more balance, and often players can work as allies.  Yonin shogi is a good four-player game.  It's cooperative and can be played on a regular shogi board with two sets of pieces (though Yonin shogi boards are square, while regular shogi boards are slightly rectangular due to their elongated cells).  I'm really interested in trying it out, but again, I'd need some more willing participants here.

And I will end this post with a final game: Chu Shogi, which as of this posting, RicOlie_2 and I are in the very early stages of playing.  Chu is considered by many to be the best large variant.  At 11x11, it's pretty big.  On the other hand, Chu Shogi means Middle Shogi because back during its time of invention in or around the 14th Century, it was actually derived from Dai Shogi (meaning Large Shogi), while the 9x9 game that preceded shogi in its current form was called Sho Shogi, or Small Shogi.  In other words, this was a medium sized game!  There are several games that are even larger!  But to our standards today, this is certainly a large variant, and again, this is supposed to be one of the best.  It has several interesting pieces, but the star of the show is the Lion, a piece more powerful than the Free King (a piece that moves exactly like the Queen in our chess).  Here is the setup:

The lion is the piece on 7j and 5c.  It moves like a king in chess, one square in any direction, but has the right to move a second time from that square.  Thus it may capture two pieces, capture a piece and return to the starting square, or if there is a vacant adjacent square, simply pass a turn.  In addition, its first move need not be impeded by any intervening pieces; the lion may jump and then land on the second square!  Though it lacks the range of the free king, it is a devastating piece that is very difficult to stop.  But because of some somewhat complex rules regarding the trading of lions, the only real effective defense against a lion seems to be one's own lion.  I'm excited to finally play this game against a human!  Hopefully it lives up to all the hype :)

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One project I have been working on is a hybrid of Star Wars Risk, and my own star wars wargame system for space and ground combat. I added elements of diplomacy, Insurgent rebellion, Spying, espionage, Industrial production, supply lines and the movie characters. I use both the clown war and OTS versions of the game to bridge the two.

The intent was to capture what I felt were the best elements of some of the Star Wars strategy and space sim PC games, and convert the concepts into table top game. Reason being is, I got tired of endless patches, glitches and computer hardware upgrades with PC gaming but I really enjoy SW type military games. With nothing non PC being made  made for that genera sense the late 80's early 90's when WEG was around. The exception is WOTC miniatures. Anything "collectible" is not my cup of tea.

It is just me and one buddy coming up with something we enjoy without being mired by concerns of complexity. I used to be very enthused about discussing board games on other sites but the over use of lingo terms and constant discussion about "complexity" became a real drag, so lately I have limited my discussions and projects to just my one buddy who just works on development of a fun and engaging system without all the preconceived notions that come out of board game sites like BGG. But new minds and fresh ideas, maybe.

The biggest stumbling block so far has been the hand off from the Clone Wars to the OTS version via Order 66. Otherwise the system has gone well and we have enjoyed play testing. I have the facilities to allow something like this to remain up for long periods of time. When finished it will become a long term campaign that we can play in regular sessions.

The final result is intended to be a complete capture of The Galactic Civil War with the results determined by the players instead of the scripts of the movies, though as said the characters of the movies will be involved in their "historical" contexts.

It is not a "Balanced" game in the current sense of the word. The balance comes from the strengths and weakness of the two sides. Victory comes from exploiting those weakness and maximizing your strengths. As the rebellion you are a slow burn militarily. You must start with creating the Alliance, securing sources of weapons for a military and create diplomatic relations to gain manpower. Its a game of cat and mouse until you can establish enough support to engage the Imperial Military at all. The Imperials have the might but if the Rebels become successful in turning Systems more and more of Imperial strength must be tied down in subduing those systems, and less can be used to search for and crush rebel strongholds. Pesky guerrillas cause havoc about the galaxy and obfuscate Imperial production and expansion. Both sides need to watch out for privateers and other seedy elements from time to time as well.

We have developed our own version of a cannon list so that amount of vehicles and troops involved doesn't get nuts. If we included all Content we would be swamped. Still, it is an ambitious project but we wanted the "ultimate" game and as we have only ourselves to please we can design as we like.

As always I dont organize my thoughts before I write so sorry if its a bit discombobulated.

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That sounds pretty cool! You'll have to share pictures some time.

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I'm something of an avid Cones of Dunshire player.

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RicOlie_2 said:

That sounds pretty cool! You'll have to share pictures some time.

 I can eventually but they probably wont be very flashy or exciting to most. 

We use card stock cutout for most piece right now. When its all finished we will print up some pieces. Thing is, as its not anything I can make money back off of, and I am poor, I have to limit my investment to just a few office supplies and cannibalized board game pieces to make then thing. I am not very artsy either. We Use Nato APP 6 symbols for the ground units. For the space we have used WEG with hand drawn Capitol ships but wanted more variety so we use cardstock hand drawn counters for that now too.

Yep it surely wont win any art awards but thats okay for us.

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I still want to play Dejarik.

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Gen Con is this weekend in Indianapolis. We're going Friday. Anyone else from the boards heading up?

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Started playing Pandemic Legacy: Season 2 with my wife and a couple friends. It’s a great game so far. Only played the “prologue” but so far it looks to be a lot of fun.

 
We played Season 1 a little over a year ago, and were given the option to name the ingame diseases.

TV’s Frink said:

chyron just put a big Ric pic in your sig and be done with it.

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Tries to Facebook stalk people with the Katarn, Maul, and Kenobi without success

I think those aren’t really your names!

In reality, as an appreciation for your preference for games with a theme, I do think that looks interesting. I enjoy both abstract and themed games, especially if the theme is immersive. Sounds like a fun game!

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Tobar said:

I still want to play Dejarik.

Did you ever see the thread where…oh, what’s his name…some French-speaking member here…anyway, together we translated some rules originally devised in French into English? If I find that thread, I can post it here so you can give it a whirl.

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I’d be down for a game of Risk. Clue, Royal Game of Ur, and Scrabble are good. I’ve had my eye on Jamaica.

The blue elephant in the room.

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Just played Web of Spies a couple times. Dead simple gameplay, goofy at times. In terms of strategy, it’s a simple deckbuilder merged with Kill Doctor Lucky and all his Family and Friends and Casual Acquaintances and Anyone Who Ever Said Anything Nice about Him on Facebook. Easy on the brain, beer-friendly, bloodthirsty, highly recommended. You can kill people with a speedboat, what’s not to like about that?

Interested to hear more about Pandemic Legacy: Season 2. I’m in the middle of a multiplayer-logistics-stalled campaign of Season 1 and it’s fun and interesting (I hadn’t played any other “Legacy” games before), but I wouldn’t yet recommend it without some reservations. More importantly, what did you name your diseases? Inquiring minds.

Anyone ever played Galaxy Trucker? I’ve only played it a few times but it was a complete riot. Fair warning: I think I may have a soft spot for audacious game design, regardless of how well it actually works out in practice.

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CatBus said:

Interested to hear more about Pandemic Legacy: Season 2. I’m in the middle of a multiplayer-logistics-stalled campaign of Season 1 and it’s fun and interesting (I hadn’t played any other “Legacy” games before), but I wouldn’t yet recommend it without some reservations. More importantly, what did you name your diseases? Inquiring minds.

We named the diseases after Star Wars characters based on saber colors. Yellow was Katarn, Red was Maul, Blue was Kenobi. We actually had our fourth player move away mid-season during Season 1, but our third player had a good setup for her to Skype in to play remotely. We enjoyed it enough that when I got Season 2, I hit them both up again to play it the same way. This means I’m having to scan all of the components (as they are revealed) and upload them to Google Drive in a shared folder so she can read everything. She said she’s going to get a copy for herself to use on her end, but that won’t help with seeing legacy cards and stickers on the board.

Yes, if you’re going to play Pandemic Legacy, you need everyone to commit to playing at least one game (which takes about 90 minutes) at least once every couple of weeks. Less frequently than that and you start to forget the storyline. We managed to get in an average of two games per session, and every week or week-and-a-half. At some point we all got so excited about what was coming next that we couldn’t wait to play again.

What month are you currently on?


(that’s me on the right.)

Anyone ever played Galaxy Trucker? I’ve only played it a few times but it was a complete riot. Fair warning: I think I may have a soft spot for audacious game design, regardless of how well it actually works out in practice.

I’ve only played the mobile app, and I didn’t enjoy it very much. I might have liked it better as the physical version, because at least then I’d be playing it with other people.

TV’s Frink said:

chyron just put a big Ric pic in your sig and be done with it.

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chyron8472 said:

We named the diseases after Star Wars characters based on saber colors. Yellow was Katarn, Red was Maul, Blue was Kenobi.

Funny, black was our COdA too. We just came up with names that sounded like stuff we wouldn’t want to catch in real life. Yellow was weeping pox, blue was creeping ennui (hey, it’s what Europeans get, okay?), and red was crimson slough.

What month are you currently on?

We’d just finished May, faded spilling outside the black borders, so, so, very screwed.

I’ve only played the mobile app, and I didn’t enjoy it very much. I might have liked it better as the physical version, because at least then I’d be playing it with other people.

Oh yeah, that part where you build your spaceship and watch the universe pulverize it with random crap… that’s a lot of fun because people are with you laughing at your completely arbitrary misfortune. Alone I think it would just be dumb and frustrating.

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CatBus said:

We’d just finished May, faded spilling outside the black borders, so, so, very screwed.

If I remember right, June gives you some good stuff to help. No spoilers, though.

Our City Zero was Istanbul, and we did manage to keep COdA out of red and yellow. However, it did jump into Western Europe and freaked us out because it could have easily jumped from Madrid to North or South America.

TV’s Frink said:

chyron just put a big Ric pic in your sig and be done with it.