Good Game/Crappy Components vs Bad Game/Great Components

[Onacara]

My kids wanted to play a new game today so I went through the collection of games to find something new to play and they picked out Age of Mythology. Now I had heard this game wasnt the best but figured I would not judge it till I had a chance to play it myself. I had picked this up on eBay awhile ago for dirt cheap.

Upon opening the box in front of the kids (I had previously opened it and checked it all out) they were so excited. I mean who wouldn't be...there is alot of miniatures in the box and they are pretty cool.

So I start reading through the rulebook ...and while I think I have the basic grasp of it...somehow the game isnt falling into place. ..and then it hits me. The components is what makes this game...not the game itself. Its not a terrible game but it doesnt live up to the excitement you get when you see the minis.

Now we will give Age of Mythology another try..we probably will like it...but even if we dont I got a big box of cool components I can use to make prototypes for new games...in fact I may buy another copy if its as cheap as the last one just for the components.

Terra Nova is another game like this...not so horrible that I regret trading for it but just not fun enough to play over and over again. But it does come with some nice woden meeples and a bunch of small wooden hex tokens.


On the flip side...games like Okko and Dungeon Twister which we really enjoy don't have those awesome miniatures (well they do but they cost extra) but the cardboard pieces are just enough.

So what other games are out there that arent so great but have great components and vice versa? (I could use the parts )

[CheddarLimbo]

I have that old Milton Bradly game Dark Tower - the one with the electronic tower in the middle. It's an awesome piece of tech for the time it was made, and the board is cool, lots of neat little buildings, player pawns, a Dragon... But the game itself is pretty boring, really. If you know what you're doing at all, you can just roll through it without any trouble. And players of a comparable skill level have only random luck to decide the winner for them.

I'm starting to feel the same way about the new Fantasy Flight version of Talisman. I never played Talisman until it was re-released a few years back. I'd read all about it, though, and got excited when I saw the new version. The components are gorgeous, the boards and rich and colorful, the minis are excellent, the card illustrations are well done, there's Toads, and little coins for Gold...even the rule books are pretty. But everything in that game is "Roll a die and see what happens". It's like you aren't even playing the game, it's just unfolding randomly for you while you talk to your friends. The major decision to make for 90% of the game is "Left or Right?".

On the opposite side for me, is the original Cosmic Encounter. The board is plain, it used little cardboard chits for your ships, and a normal looking deck of cards along with the deck of Alien powers. But when you play, man, it's really something else. It's a wacky, cut throat, sci-fi romp where everyone's laughing and groaning and having a good time.

[Aldin]

Originally Posted by Onacara

but the cardboard pieces are just enough.

I think that's the key, "just enough". Some games need to be prettier than others to be worth playing. Few games are good enough to get away with being as ugly as sin. The best games are the ones where the components are good enough to justify playing even if the game was significantly worse.

~Aldin, who prefers gameplay over eye candy but thinks both are worthwhile in a complete experience

[wbdhoc]

The first game that lept to mind was the Halo Interactive Boardgame (I just this week picked up two copies at TRU for eleven bucks a pop: who's your daddy now double dip recession?). While the game play proves a dilluted hybrid between Heroscape and Star Wars Epic Duels, I don't quite understand the venom and vitriole players seem to harbor for it on BGG (I've given it some pretty "stress test" level test drives in the past few days and it holds up quite well) but will admit that Epic Duels is by far the superior vehivle for quick setup, fast table top combat. The pieces are amazing and make for apt additions to any Doom Board Game variants.

Miss Congeniality goes to either Quoridor or Project Kells/Tara. The former is a fairly spare looking abstract with great replay, especially as a filler or afternoon distraction (one of those games to play with the kids while a favorite movie plays in the background at Xmas, etc.). In regards to the latter, Tara looked like a puzzle box to yours truly at first blush but if you can get past the Sunday craft fair components, you'll find not one but three perfect "date night" abstract games that has good to excellent replay and of course holiday potential (green milkshakes and Tara today my little leprechauns).

Finally, I can't resist mentioning my favorite redheaded stepchild of dunegon crawl, Dungeoneer. Folks always wince at the prospect of a Dungeon crawl with no (you heard me right) plastic components but the gameplay is intuitive, fun and challenging, not to mention inviting to proxies - FFG minis, Heroscape, etc.

[Land-based AE]

Components are a major reason I can't take to Puerto Rico. Yes, I know it's BGG number 1 overall game but the little colored pieces of wood just annoy me.

Another game like this for me is Space Hulk. I hate the frail minis that come with the third edition, especially since a third of the Genestealers come on bases too big to fit in a game space.

Since I put those pieces in a box and started using Horrorclix Aliens in place of the stealers and AT-43 UNA soldiers as the Terminators (Colonial space marines) I've enjoyed the game much more.

[wbdhoc]

You know this ugly Ameritrash American chose to eschew Puerto Rico in favor of Blood Feud in New York and I've never lived to regret the decision. Take your precious, bloated BGG rating, sir! I've got little helicopters with working propellers.

[Onacara]

I gotta say that Puerto Rico falls into the "just enough" category...if they charged more for the game then I may argue otherwise.

Blood Fued NY is awesome as far as components go..never got to play it...but it is on my radar...for the cool components and also cause I love all things Mafia related.

[wbdhoc]

My only advice would be use paper and pencil (or print up little faux ledgers) for the money as using the actual monopoly mafia money proves a bit cumbersome. When I win the lottery (I said when!) and dilletante my days away purchasing the rights to OOP games for re-distribution (hang on there, Plague and Pestilence - Daddy's coming!) the first thing I'd change about Feud is the point system - needs to be a bit closer to Risk 2210 for expediency.

[Dad_Scaper]

I love Ticket to Ride but the tiny train cards come in a massive deck and need a *thorough* shuffle between plays. I have not found a way to shuffle them yet that doesn't involve spraying them all over the table and floor.