As far as Eclipse being easy to table, I think it is because of the storage of the components in the box. It makes it way easier to get the game out and set up. With regards to playing it and ease of learning, I use my sweet wife as a barometer. She really does not like Twilight Imperium, but found Eclipse to be a lot of fun and easy to get the flow of the rounds and the strategy. And we both love upgrading, so the ability to earn tech upgrades to your ships and such was really awesome. We played it at four, so I can't speak to how well it would play at three, but I imagine it would still be a good time.
Agree with this. I love Eclipse and yet I don't think it's 'easy' to play,, a few fiddly nuances to ship power, and upgrades etc make it, well, fiddly. More fun 4+ players BUT... Get 'connecting warp sector file off BGG to link players. Always use this when less than 6 players so people are connected to each other rather than the AI' Guardian' sector that comes with the game. The fun is playing with people!
Eclipse: Second Dawn is such a good game and the setup/cleanup is really easy. Once you know how to play, it's actually a pretty quick 4x and the actions are super straightforward. Three of my friends who were new to boardgames found it super easy to play and understand.
The storage makes Eclipse insanely easy to table. There is no game this large that I can table as quickly. Before you get rid of it, if you do, you should set it up once just to see how effective their storage system is as it sets a standard that all other games should strive to match. I wish CMON would learn the lesson here with CDMD, Zombicide, etc... It is good at 2, 3 and 5 players, but best at 4 or 6 (or even more if you fold in the expansion materials). It is my favorite 4X game. It avoids being too heavy (Twilight Imperium) and does an exceptional job of managing the traditional fiddly bits in such a game.
Eclipse (2nd edition) was one of the few games I bought completely blind. To this day it is our most played game. I would love to see your review/ thoughts on it, since most of the games you like, we like. We usually play in 4 and once you know the setup its not that bad. The actions you can take are pretty straightforward and in 3 players there will be less player interaction probably (due to additional guardians). The ship upgrades, the combat...and once you build up your armada..ah...I love hearing the screams of my frienemies
Sad to see Skull King go and without you playing it. That's the game that essentially got me into Trick-taking games. You should definitely try it before you let it go!
Eclipse is such a easy and great game, its still climbing on the BGG top list. The rules are streamlined and its not a "space opera" as in the same terms as TI since its more of a eurogame in that sense. Eclipse can easily be played in about 3 hours, or even less since you're mostly playing 3 player. If you're still on the edge, I would recommend to watch Shut up and Sit downs awesome review of it.
Agree with @foodfights. I just played Eclipse Second Dawn for the first time last week and I'm obsessed. Three player eclipse is great and easy to learn for sure, super fun to play. As mentioned, setting up is super easy, but only downside is putting it away, and making sure you have all the components in the right place.
You need to have a person with you to ask the hard questions when you do this. There are games I could totally purge if I had someone saying to me "are you sure?", "when was the last time you played this?" , "Are there games that you like better?", "Are there games coming out that would replace this?", "Can you get this game back?", I'd be down to 50 games. There was a lot more you could have purged.
Funny that Eclipse and three players was mentioned... Just as I played it yesterday with two of my friends, one of them new to the game. I and the other experienced player are of the opinion that three players might actually be the sweet spot for bringing Eclipse to the table. Sure, you are missing out on the diplomacy rules but the game still has a very nice and unique feeling due to the asymmetrical player count but also the potential for tactical sector placement. You have to be very careful about what and where you fight since when two people battle, the remaining player profits from that. Also, I find Eclipse very easy to explain since it's so damn intuituve with everything it does. You don't need to explain the last minutiae ahead of time. You can basically start playing after maybe 15 minutes and explain the rest as you go along. This is unlike many other 4X-games with heavy eurogame influences that have slick yet much more 'board-game-y' mechanics that need to be deeply understood. P.S. Always play with the alternate turn order rules. :D
@@Datskor Never had a problem with this. I usually handle the turn order wheel (well, hex) myself and explain how it works with one sentence: The earlier you pass, the earlier you go the following round. Yes, going in an order that is different to clockwise or anti-clockwise with just the start player marker moving can be confusing to some players but there are plenty of other games that do it. And it depends on what you mean by 'new players'. e.g. new to Eclipse but seasoned board gamers or new to board games in general. In the latter case I wouldn't even attempt to introduce them to Eclipse as their first gaming experience regardless of turn order rules. P.S. Just for reference - I really like Eclipse and I mostly consider myself a medium-weight board gamer, so that might mean something to someone. :D
I'm a little shocked you're getting rid of Mage Knight right before the Apocalypse Dragon expansion comes out. I guess a solo campaign is not something you're likely to play anytime soon though.
I'm with you on Mage Knight, I had a similar calculus with Star Trek Frontiers (or TrekKnight) several years ago. Fun game, impossible to remember and hard to relearn every time I brought it out.
Mombasa has been rereleased as Skymines, so you can cull Mombasa. It is a great game, it uses a mech that is also used in for example Blackout Hong Kong and Ieruzalem, it also has a few cool tracks.
Crown of Emara totally rules in my opinion. Fascinating double rondel. A tough hand management puzzle. You have to balance your engine building versus racing the other players to get actions first before they become more expensive/less rewarding.
Got rid of Concordia last year as well. It felt somewhat "wrong at the time but I haven't missed it, no one in my game group noticed or has asked to play it. An excellent game that just also fell into similar paths every game.
I lost my dad a little while back so I have to purge some games too, since we will have to live in a smaller home. It's so tough to pick which ones to let go.
I kicked concordia to a friend, so i could still play it. You could do similar with umbrella. Otherwise I'm betting 5$ it comes back. I'll have to remember this for next years purge to see if I owe you $. :D
It’s so hard to purge a game that I’ve never played (because what if it’s amazing! And I haven’t gotten my money’s worth) but it is SOOO freeing when I’m able to do it. Removes it from the to do list and creates more time to play the games that I know and love.
I know I'm gonna catch heat for this, but if you finished oathsworn (not that it was bad), I think you would find it a one and done. Before the shots come my way, I played it solo, with every character type, and had the overblown version. If you commit to 2 chapters a day (knock them out before noon and take the weekends off), you'll find much needed shelf space after 2 weeks.
I love playing campaign trail, great game that was reprinted 2-3 years ago. I'm big into politics and international studies but the area control mechanism is still super thematic and fun, also backed World Order for that reason.
Which expansion modules for Dreadful Meadows did you actively dislike? not sure how i feel about the confectioners stealing from each other but i enjoy the base game and i think it could use a bit of player interaction which the expansion modules do bring. i really didn't need the tower though i prefer the bag!
Have played Eclipse twice and it can be a bit to table. It's not a favorite of mine however, so take that as you will. It tries to be an exploration game and a conflict game but in doing so it leaves quite a bit up to just what-so-happens to be pulled from the bag (or flipped) or rolled on the dice. That means your game is half determined by luck of the draw (i.e. resources). Each time, the folks that did well were the ones that got great draws for their exploration tiles and the ones that struggled were those that found low resources. I prefer games like that to be much faster to table, more streamlined to play, or fairly evenly set up.
You've got way more games than I do. Plus you are getting way more new games than I do. Only 3 games from your list are in my collection. And I am not ready to let them go yet. Eclipse, Concordia and Hippocrates.
Im shocked about mage knight, but I completely understand. I also dont pull it out near often enough, because the same issue with you, I know im going to have to relearn a bunch of rules, especially the combat with how resistances and block work and Ill need to play at least 3 or 4 games back to back or within a month to make that worth it. I usually end up putting it back down and grab something else. I used to do it maybe every year, but now with more and more games, it is less and less frequent.
Alex, it sounds a lot like me - "I haven't played this in two years but it's such a good game". I do have some that are going, if I can just get them gone. Selling them is a tough thing to get done because shipping is such a beast.
Wow I'm surprised you still haven't played Anachrony. It has been in my top 10 since I played it 2 years ago. Fractures of Time expansion makes it even better. Taught it last year at LevelUp and people loved it. Rococo is highly regarded, another that is worth the play time. Mage Knight hurts. I love that game and can't seem to win that game at the same time. It is a puzzle I want to solve because it is so highly regarded.
Concordia is leaving my collection aswell. The playing experience always seems to end up worse than i remember it. The first 80% of the game where the focus is on the map is crazy good, then to suddenly be determined/ruined by the card market rush in the end. Wish the game was designed differently. Looking forward to your review! Reviewing game at end of their ownership is even more insightful if you ask me
Hi Alex, don't believe that you have never tabled Mombasa. Yes it is a massive Euro but it is a very thinking person game. You should give it a go before you purge it. Best at 3 or 4.
Eclipse It's by far one of the best 4X games and can be deceptively fast-paced and easy too learn. Good at 3, but best at higher playercount IMO. For new gamers i would say it takes about 1 hour pr player depending on AP. For more experienced players can be about 30 min for each player Msybe the best standard boxinsert game that i know of... I would pick one of the races, Humans, Descendants of Draco, Mechanema or Planta to get the best chance to have a smooth game experience.
As far as Eclipse being easy to table, I think it is because of the storage of the components in the box. It makes it way easier to get the game out and set up. With regards to playing it and ease of learning, I use my sweet wife as a barometer. She really does not like Twilight Imperium, but found Eclipse to be a lot of fun and easy to get the flow of the rounds and the strategy. And we both love upgrading, so the ability to earn tech upgrades to your ships and such was really awesome. We played it at four, so I can't speak to how well it would play at three, but I imagine it would still be a good time.
Agree with this.
I love Eclipse and yet I don't think it's 'easy' to play,, a few fiddly nuances to ship power, and upgrades etc make it, well, fiddly.
More fun 4+ players BUT... Get 'connecting warp sector file off BGG to link players. Always use this when less than 6 players so people are connected to each other rather than the AI' Guardian' sector that comes with the game.
The fun is playing with people!
Eclipse: Second Dawn is such a good game and the setup/cleanup is really easy. Once you know how to play, it's actually a pretty quick 4x and the actions are super straightforward.
Three of my friends who were new to boardgames found it super easy to play and understand.
The storage makes Eclipse insanely easy to table. There is no game this large that I can table as quickly. Before you get rid of it, if you do, you should set it up once just to see how effective their storage system is as it sets a standard that all other games should strive to match. I wish CMON would learn the lesson here with CDMD, Zombicide, etc...
It is good at 2, 3 and 5 players, but best at 4 or 6 (or even more if you fold in the expansion materials). It is my favorite 4X game. It avoids being too heavy (Twilight Imperium) and does an exceptional job of managing the traditional fiddly bits in such a game.
Eclipse (2nd edition) was one of the few games I bought completely blind. To this day it is our most played game. I would love to see your review/ thoughts on it, since most of the games you like, we like. We usually play in 4 and once you know the setup its not that bad. The actions you can take are pretty straightforward and in 3 players there will be less player interaction probably (due to additional guardians). The ship upgrades, the combat...and once you build up your armada..ah...I love hearing the screams of my frienemies
Sad to see Skull King go and without you playing it. That's the game that essentially got me into Trick-taking games. You should definitely try it before you let it go!
Eclipse is such a easy and great game, its still climbing on the BGG top list. The rules are streamlined and its not a "space opera" as in the same terms as TI since its more of a eurogame in that sense. Eclipse can easily be played in about 3 hours, or even less since you're mostly playing 3 player. If you're still on the edge, I would recommend to watch Shut up and Sit downs awesome review of it.
The video I've waited all week for
Alex, you’ve GOT to try Skull King before dumping it!!! My family loves trick taking games, and it is hands down our favorite!
Agree with @foodfights. I just played Eclipse Second Dawn for the first time last week and I'm obsessed. Three player eclipse is great and easy to learn for sure, super fun to play. As mentioned, setting up is super easy, but only downside is putting it away, and making sure you have all the components in the right place.
You need to have a person with you to ask the hard questions when you do this. There are games I could totally purge if I had someone saying to me "are you sure?", "when was the last time you played this?" , "Are there games that you like better?", "Are there games coming out that would replace this?", "Can you get this game back?", I'd be down to 50 games. There was a lot more you could have purged.
Funny that Eclipse and three players was mentioned... Just as I played it yesterday with two of my friends, one of them new to the game. I and the other experienced player are of the opinion that three players might actually be the sweet spot for bringing Eclipse to the table.
Sure, you are missing out on the diplomacy rules but the game still has a very nice and unique feeling due to the asymmetrical player count but also the potential for tactical sector placement. You have to be very careful about what and where you fight since when two people battle, the remaining player profits from that.
Also, I find Eclipse very easy to explain since it's so damn intuituve with everything it does. You don't need to explain the last minutiae ahead of time. You can basically start playing after maybe 15 minutes and explain the rest as you go along.
This is unlike many other 4X-games with heavy eurogame influences that have slick yet much more 'board-game-y' mechanics that need to be deeply understood.
P.S. Always play with the alternate turn order rules. :D
Hmmm that's interesting I find that playing with alternate turn rules can be confusing to new players 🤷♂️
@@Datskor Never had a problem with this. I usually handle the turn order wheel (well, hex) myself and explain how it works with one sentence: The earlier you pass, the earlier you go the following round.
Yes, going in an order that is different to clockwise or anti-clockwise with just the start player marker moving can be confusing to some players but there are plenty of other games that do it. And it depends on what you mean by 'new players'. e.g. new to Eclipse but seasoned board gamers or new to board games in general. In the latter case I wouldn't even attempt to introduce them to Eclipse as their first gaming experience regardless of turn order rules.
P.S. Just for reference - I really like Eclipse and I mostly consider myself a medium-weight board gamer, so that might mean something to someone. :D
Just got draft and write records for christmas, don't tell me it's a cut!!
I'm a little shocked you're getting rid of Mage Knight right before the Apocalypse Dragon expansion comes out. I guess a solo campaign is not something you're likely to play anytime soon though.
I'm with you on Mage Knight, I had a similar calculus with Star Trek Frontiers (or TrekKnight) several years ago. Fun game, impossible to remember and hard to relearn every time I brought it out.
Fury of Dracula is the reigning king of my shelf of shame going on like 4 years now. Definitely a hard one to table with my groups.
Mombasa has been rereleased as Skymines, so you can cull Mombasa. It is a great game, it uses a mech that is also used in for example Blackout Hong Kong and Ieruzalem, it also has a few cool tracks.
Crown of Emara totally rules in my opinion. Fascinating double rondel. A tough hand management puzzle. You have to balance your engine building versus racing the other players to get actions first before they become more expensive/less rewarding.
Got rid of Concordia last year as well. It felt somewhat "wrong at the time but I haven't missed it, no one in my game group noticed or has asked to play it. An excellent game that just also fell into similar paths every game.
I lost my dad a little while back so I have to purge some games too, since we will have to live in a smaller home. It's so tough to pick which ones to let go.
I kicked concordia to a friend, so i could still play it. You could do similar with umbrella. Otherwise I'm betting 5$ it comes back. I'll have to remember this for next years purge to see if I owe you $. :D
It’s so hard to purge a game that I’ve never played (because what if it’s amazing! And I haven’t gotten my money’s worth) but it is SOOO freeing when I’m able to do it. Removes it from the to do list and creates more time to play the games that I know and love.
I know I'm gonna catch heat for this, but if you finished oathsworn (not that it was bad), I think you would find it a one and done. Before the shots come my way, I played it solo, with every character type, and had the overblown version.
If you commit to 2 chapters a day (knock them out before noon and take the weekends off), you'll find much needed shelf space after 2 weeks.
Crystal Palace may be on your radar from The Brothers Murph. I believe it's one they often praise and put highly on their lists.
I love playing campaign trail, great game that was reprinted 2-3 years ago. I'm big into politics and international studies but the area control mechanism is still super thematic and fun, also backed World Order for that reason.
Super Fun Tip: play this video at 75% speed and he'll sound like your drunk friend at the end of a great night.
Which expansion modules for Dreadful Meadows did you actively dislike? not sure how i feel about the confectioners stealing from each other but i enjoy the base game and i think it could use a bit of player interaction which the expansion modules do bring. i really didn't need the tower though i prefer the bag!
The one with the cards was fine, the other two made it worse for me, just more fiddly and less fun
Have played Eclipse twice and it can be a bit to table. It's not a favorite of mine however, so take that as you will. It tries to be an exploration game and a conflict game but in doing so it leaves quite a bit up to just what-so-happens to be pulled from the bag (or flipped) or rolled on the dice. That means your game is half determined by luck of the draw (i.e. resources). Each time, the folks that did well were the ones that got great draws for their exploration tiles and the ones that struggled were those that found low resources. I prefer games like that to be much faster to table, more streamlined to play, or fairly evenly set up.
You've got way more games than I do. Plus you are getting way more new games than I do. Only 3 games from your list are in my collection. And I am not ready to let them go yet. Eclipse, Concordia and Hippocrates.
Im shocked about mage knight, but I completely understand.
I also dont pull it out near often enough, because the same issue with you, I know im going to have to relearn a bunch of rules, especially the combat with how resistances and block work and Ill need to play at least 3 or 4 games back to back or within a month to make that worth it. I usually end up putting it back down and grab something else. I used to do it maybe every year, but now with more and more games, it is less and less frequent.
Keep Eclipse. Its easy enough, and pretty great!
I finally solved my issue with Alex talking so fast by slowing the playback.
Hippocrates - thank you!!!!
Make sure to comment on Patreon/Kofi!
Curious what's the longest you have kept (or would keep) a game on the to-be-played shelf without tabling it before it becomes a cull?
Unsure...but my guess is 5 years or so
@@BoardGameCo Wow, now that's a long-term strat. Playing for the end game scoring haha
Alex, it sounds a lot like me - "I haven't played this in two years but it's such a good game". I do have some that are going, if I can just get them gone. Selling them is a tough thing to get done because shipping is such a beast.
How does he or any of you get rid of games easily? Is Alex just like giving them away or how does he know he'll get a buyer in some way so fast?
dont forget to add titans to your purge list
What was the game that you said was hidden gem, in the black box? I couldn't make it out...think it was shortly after moving Jeckyl and Hyde.
Wizards of the Grimoire
Thanks!
Wow I'm surprised you still haven't played Anachrony. It has been in my top 10 since I played it 2 years ago. Fractures of Time expansion makes it even better. Taught it last year at LevelUp and people loved it. Rococo is highly regarded, another that is worth the play time. Mage Knight hurts. I love that game and can't seem to win that game at the same time. It is a puzzle I want to solve because it is so highly regarded.
This Anachrony with fracture time is top 5 for me
Concordia is leaving my collection aswell. The playing experience always seems to end up worse than i remember it. The first 80% of the game where the focus is on the map is crazy good, then to suddenly be determined/ruined by the card market rush in the end. Wish the game was designed differently. Looking forward to your review! Reviewing game at end of their ownership is even more insightful if you ask me
Hi Alex, don't believe that you have never tabled Mombasa. Yes it is a massive Euro but it is a very thinking person game. You should give it a go before you purge it. Best at 3 or 4.
I love how 30 became 20.
We don't talk about Bruno....or this.
Royals is surprisingly fun! Just played it for the first time a month ago.
Oh Mombasa is a grail game for me. Played Skymines and liked it. Heard that Mombasa was still a little better.
You should give Skull King a try!
Skull king is amazing!! One of my favorite games.
Send them here!
You should play Skull King at least once. Would take 30 minutes max. One of my favorite trick taking games. It is good!
I saw BioHack on your shelf. It’s an ok/decent game very narrow replayability-limited creatures to build.
Eclipse It's by far one of the best 4X games and can be deceptively fast-paced and easy too learn. Good at 3, but best at higher playercount IMO. For new gamers i would say it takes about 1 hour pr player depending on AP. For more experienced players can be about 30 min for each player
Msybe the best standard boxinsert game that i know of...
I would pick one of the races, Humans, Descendants of Draco, Mechanema or Planta to get the best chance to have a smooth game experience.
“Mage Kinght is too long for what it is” says Alex. SMH…you commit blasphemy.
I am SHOCKED you're getting rid of Mage Knight!
It's overdue...it';s an amazing game that I never fully devote myself to.
dont get rid of Love Letter Batman its sort after these days
No not Mage Knight! 😓
Mage Knight...Nooooooooooo
Sad, Royals one of my favorites.
Morning Alex
Good morning :)
I love Royals. It is in my all time top ten, and it is my favorite gateway game to bring in people new to gaming. Fantastic area majority game.
Purges are just too negative to watch
I'd take Royals!!! Lol.