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Jim

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8
Go to the Lost Cities: The Card Game page

Lost Cities: The Card Game

66 out of 69 gamers thought this was helpful

Strong Suits
– The strategies are easy to pick up, and the games go fast
– The illustrations are nice for such a simple game
– If you are going on a trip, you can save space by just taking the cards

Weaknesses
– It can get old fast (not much depth), so this is a game you’ll pull out every once in awhile
– It has a nice treasure & expedition theme, but in the end it’s a numbers game
– This game is mostly luck-of-the-draw, so it can be frustrating

Suggestions
During the first couple of turns you have to make big decisions that can greatly affect how your round goes. For example, do you risk playing a point card rather than waiting for the investment cards that can multiply your points at the end. Do you play a couple investment cards, even if you don’t have any other cards for that expedition? Do you discard a high value card, and risk your opponent taking it?

During the game you’re allowed to count how many cards are left in the draw deck, so you know when the round is going to end. Draw cards from the board instead of the deck if you need more time to lay your cards down. Or if you see your opponent a few turns away from completing an expedition, you can try to end the game early by drawing from the deck.

Summary
Buy it if … Your looking for a quick to learn 2-player game that is fun to pull out every once in a while, and portable enough to bring on a trip.

Don’t buy it if … You want more depth in the treasure hunting aspect. It’s well produced, but in the end it’s a numbers game.

9
Go to the Thunderstone page

Thunderstone

75 out of 78 gamers thought this was helpful

Strong Suits
– Hero cards you buy can be leveled up to do even cooler things
– Solitaire (1-player) variant is almost more fun than playing with others
– Every expansion provides more game depth and better card storage

Weaknesses
– The card edges can easily get roughed up so you might want to sleeve them
– If you’ve never played a deck building game like Dominion, it can take awhile to get the hang of things
– The games can take a long time… 60-120 minutes.
– It can take awhile to set up and take down the game, but not too much more than your typical Dominion game.

Suggestions
When playing a game like this for the first time, try buying each village card and hero card to get a feel for how they work. You might think that a card is pointless, but once you’ve got it in your hand, you start to see the strategies behind each card.

If you find your games are taking too long, choose monsters that aren’t as tough. Or, rather than choosing three monster types, choose two, and shuffle the thunderstone into the bottom 5 monster cards.

Don’t be discouraged by the box and card separators that come with the base game. You’ll soon be wanting to buy an expansion, and the expansions come with better card storage.

Summary
If you’re a fan of Dominion, and you like fantasy games, this is for you. The illustrations are on par with Magic: The Gathering, and the added depth of the game mechanics are a breath of fresh air after playing Dominion. It’s only been out since 2009, and there are already 4 great expansions for it, each adding new mechanics and endless combinations of cards, making each time you play a unique experience.

9
Go to the Pandemic page

Pandemic

171 out of 176 gamers thought this was helpful

Strong Suits
– A game where everyone works together
– Very challenging yet fun
– You can change the difficulty level from easy to insanely hard
– Easy to teach to others

Weaknesses
– It can kill the fun if one person is telling everyone else what to do
– You will lose, especially on the higher difficulty levels (this may motivate rather than discourage, depending on the group you’re with)
– Certain “roles” may be more fun to play than others.

Suggestions
The key to enjoying this game as a group is to give the Dispatcher and Medic roles to the right people in your group! Sure you are “supposed” to hand them out at random, but I suggest you give the Dispatcher to the person in the group who is the most outspoken and most likes to control situations. I’d then give the Medic to the quietest person in the group, that might typically get overpowered in a collaborative situation.

The Dispatcher has extra abilities to move people around the board, which is great for a “leader” personality. The Medic has an awesome ability to go through and cure lots of diseases, which makes someone with a “follower” personality have a lot of fun and help out the group in a big way.

Summary
I love this game! The theme of viruses spreading over the globe, is one that almost any gamer or non gamer can enjoy. This is a big reason my wife likes this game as well, because it isn’t dragons or zombies or anything too fantastical.

If you’re looking for a game you can play with others instead of against them, this is a MUST HAVE for your game collection. You’ll find you’re communicating with everyone in your group the whole time, as opposed to other games where you might rarely say a word to anyone until the end of the game.

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