c/board-game-geeks

Dropped $120 on a board game box organizer for my copy of Gloomhaven

Turns out saving 10 minutes of setup per session is worth it when you've got three friends already complaining about the time sink, has anyone else paid stupid money for plastic trays that actually work?

2 comments

eva_lewis•23h ago

That one weekend where every game night decision went wrong

Last Saturday, I hosted a game night for 5 friends and picked Terraforming Mars, but nobody wanted to play because they said it takes too long. Then we switched to Codenames and someone accidentally flipped the assassin tile on the first turn, ending the round in 30 seconds. Has anyone else had a game night where just picking the wrong game wrecked the whole vibe?

1 comments

charles_green•1d ago

Last saturday at the local game cafe was a total bust

I spent four hours at Red Dragon Games in Portland trying to get a group for Dune Imperium Uprising. Nobody wanted to play anything that wasn't Catan or Ticket to Ride. Has anyone else had a day where you just couldn't find the right players for a heavier game?

2 comments

ramirez.daniel•1d ago

I listened to that guy who said to sleeve your cards with penny sleeves only

He told me at a convention that cheap sleeves were fine for a game like Dominion, and after 10 plays, five cards have noticeable scuff marks. Has anyone else had a favorite game get wrecked by skimping on sleeves?

2 comments

lindaw29•2d ago

Chat with a game shop owner made me rethink my whole collection

Friday night I was at Dragon's Lair in Denver grabbing sleeves, and the owner Tom saw me eyeing a sealed copy of a niche Kickstarter game. He told me "you don't have to buy every weird game that looks cool, most of them never hit the table." Hit me hard because I counted 12 unplayed games on my shelf that I basically backed for the FOMO. How do you all stop yourself from buying stuff that just looks interesting but never gets played?

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keithyoung•2d ago

Overheard two guys at my local game store arguing if Monopoly is actually a good game or if it's just nostalgia

One guy said Monopoly teaches real negotiation skills and the other said it's just a random dice roller that takes 4 hours too long, so which side really has a point here?

2 comments

webb.christopher•4d ago

PSA: That old wooden meeple set from the 90s can warp your whole game board if you store them together

I left my copy of Settlers of Catan in a damp basement for 3 months and the wooden pieces expanded so much they cracked the plastic tray, and now I have to sand down every single one before I can even play again has anyone else had humidity ruin their components?

2 comments

eric_wright77•4d ago

Vent: Spent 6 years playing Catan wrong because I misread the robber rule

My buddy pulled out the rulebook last night after I got mad about a move he made... turns out the robber doesn't block you from building settlements on that hex, just from getting resources from it. I've been playing this since 2018 and nobody ever corrected me. Has anyone else found a rule they botched for years?

2 comments

susan350•4d ago

Finally stopped using the expensive store bought deck stain and mixed my own for under $20

I spent almost 3 years buying those $50 cans of stain from the hardware store for my deck. Every time I'd apply it the color would look fine but then peel after one winter. This spring I talked to a guy at the local lumber yard in Portland and he told me to just mix boiled linseed oil with mineral spirits and a little pigment. Did my whole deck for eighteen bucks and it actually soaked in deep. Been 4 months now and no peeling yet. Has anyone else tried making their own finishes or am I just lucky so far?

2 comments

nora_barnes•5d ago

Ditched Heavy Euro Games for Light Card Games, My Group Rebelled

I got tired of 4-hour sessions of Terraforming Mars, so last month I forced my group to play The Mind for a whole weekend. They hated it at first, but after 3 rounds of that silent communication nonsense, two of them actually admitted it was more fun than tracking resource cubes. Has anyone else here successfully swapped out a heavy shelf for something stupid simple?

2 comments

betty126•7d ago

I was dead set against solo board gaming until my buddy bailed on game night

For years I thought playing board games alone was just sad and weird. But then last month, my regular group canceled last minute and I had this new copy of Spirit Island sitting on my shelf. I figured what the heck and set it up for a two-handed solo game. Turns out, it was actually really engaging and I didn't feel lonely at all. I even got so into the strategy that I played three more rounds that week. Has anyone else here had a change of heart about solo gaming after being skeptical?

2 comments

anthony883•10d ago

Just realized I hit 500 plays on my board game tracker app last night

I've been logging every game I play since January 2022, and somehow I crossed 500 plays without even noticing. That number surprised me because I figured I'd maybe hit 300 tops in that time. Has anyone else kept a play log and been surprised by their actual numbers?

3 comments

barbararamirez•11d ago

Pro tip: Check your game night player count before inviting people

I learned this the hard way last Saturday. I used to just invite whoever was free and grab whatever game looked fun from my shelf. But after a 7 player game of a 4 player max game turned into a 45 minute rule argument, I started tracking my groups size before anything else. Over the last 3 months I shifted to picking games based strictly on how many people show up. It made a huge difference. Now I keep a list on my phone of which games work for 2 people, which for 4, and which for 6 or more. Has anyone else had a game night go bad because you had one too many or one too few players?

2 comments

the_amy•12d ago

Shoutout to the person who told me to stop sleeving every single card

I used to think if you didn't sleeve every card in your collection, you weren't a real board game geek. I spent like $80 on premium sleeves for Dominion back in 2019, and it took me three hours to sleeve everything. Then I realized I only play that game with my cousin twice a year, and the cards are fine. A guy at my local shop in Portland told me to only sleeve games that get heavy rotation or have rare cards. I was skeptical until I played his unsleeved copy of Catan that still looked brand new after 50 plays. Now I only sleeve my top 5 most played games and save the rest of my money for new expansions. Has anyone else stopped being a sleeve fanatic?

2 comments

webb.christopher•12d ago

Can we talk about the 3 hour setup time for War of the Ring?

I timed it last Saturday and it took me 47 minutes just to sort out all the minis and cards before we even rolled a single die, has anyone else found a faster way to get that game on the table?

2 comments

the_miles•12d ago

Hosting a game night with family vs. my regular group is a completely different beast

Last month I tried to get my cousins into Terraforming Mars after we always play Catan at Thanksgiving. I spent 20 minutes explaining the phases and they kept mixing up the resource cubes... it was a mess. Then this weekend I brought the same game to my regular Friday crew and we set a new personal record for fastest game at 2 hours. The difference was all about knowing your audience - my cousins just wanted something light and social, while my group loves diving deep into complex rules. Has anyone else had a favorite game totally flop with the wrong crowd?

2 comments

wyattbennett•13d ago

Finally painted 50 miniatures in a row without stripping a single one

I've been painting Warhammer minis for about 8 months now and always messed up the first 5-10 in a batch. Last weekend I hit 50 straight without needing to strip any. What changed? I switched from those cheap craft store brushes to a $12 Windsor Newton series 7. The difference in control was night and day, no joke. Has anyone else found a single tool that just clicked for their painting game?

2 comments

the_kevin•15d ago

Used to sleeve every single card but now I only do expansions

I was that person who sleeved everything from base game to promo cards after I got a drink spill on my King of Tokyo copy back in 2017. But last month I realized I had like 200 sleeves on cards I never touch and it felt wasteful. My buddy Jason pointed out that I only play with certain expansion decks anyway so why sleeve the whole box. Now I just sleeve the 40 cards that actually hit the table and my wallet is way happier. Has anyone else cut back on sleeves after a certain point?

2 comments

reese550•16d ago

Hit 100 board game plays this year and I'm shook

I keep a play log on BGG and last night I realized I crossed 100 plays for 2025. That's double what I did last year and I'm honestly surprised because I didn't feel like I was playing that much. The number that got me was 47 different games played too, which means I'm not just replaying the same few. Has anyone else tracked their yearly plays and hit a milestone that caught them off guard?

2 comments

troykim•17d ago

Unpopular opinion: that $80 foam core insert I bought saved my game nights

I used to think fancy foam core organizers were a waste. Then I spent $80 on one for my collection of big box games last month. Before, setup took forever and pieces went everywhere. Now my group gets through games in half the time. It honestly changed how I feel about storage. Has anyone else tried a cheap insert and had it work better than they expected?

2 comments

patricia_king23•17d ago

I finally read the stats on how many board games actually get Kickstarted vs delivered

Saw on a blog called The Dice Count that nearly 30% of funded board game Kickstarters from 2018 still haven't shipped, and that kind of blew my mind given how everyone raves about crowdfunding success stories - has anyone else seen numbers like that for a specific year?

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skyler_craig•18d ago

Why does nobody talk about that awkward silence when you teach a game wrong

I tried teaching my group Brass Birmingham last Saturday and spent 20 minutes explaining the rules. Turns out I completely forgot how the canal phase ends and we all played three rounds totally wrong. The worst part was when my buddy looked up the rule online and just said 'uh, this isn't right.' We all just sat there staring at the board for a solid minute. Has anyone else had a game night derail because you botched the rule explanation?

2 comments

jake_kelly24•19d ago

Question about that player who always house-rules everything

I joined a group at my local shop in Portland about 2 months ago. The guy running it, Mike, said everyone gets to draw 2 cards on their first turn instead of 1. I thought it was just to speed things up, but after 5 games I noticed it totally breaks the early game balance. People would skip building resources and just go for victory points because the extra card gave them a huge head start. I finally asked him where he got the rule and he said he just made it up years ago and it stuck. Now the whole group thinks it's normal. Has anyone else dealt with a game leader who adds permanent house rules that mess with the designers intent? We're trying to break this habit but nobody wants to hurt his feelings.

2 comments

felix385•21d ago

Just crossed 50 plays of Spirit Island and it finally clicked

I've been playing Spirit Island on and off for about 8 months, and last night I hit my 50th play logged on BGG. Something just flipped in my brain and I finally won a game against Prussia level 6 without sweating bullets. Has anyone else had a specific number of plays where a heavy game suddenly made sense for you?

2 comments

ivan873•23d ago

The shift from heavy euros to light party games in my group over 5 years

I remember back in 2018 my group would sit down for a 4 hour game of Terraforming Mars or Caverna every Friday night. Now if a game takes longer than 45 minutes, half the group loses interest and pulls out their phones lol. I think what changed was when three of the guys had kids and suddenly free time got real scarce. Last month I tried to bring out Brass Birmingham and two people literally groaned. So now my shelf is full of stuff like Codenames, Just One, and Wavelength. Even I miss the deep strategy sometimes but I get it. Anyone else have their group switch from heavy games to quick ones as life got busier?

2 comments