Games that surprised you...

[ej]

This weekend I played Venus Needs Men. I played it with 4 other players and it was quite enjoyable. I also liked Caylus Magna Carta (I haven't played the actual Caylus game yet, though). Aquadukt looked like crap when I got my copy, but a friend wanted to play it and I have a much higher opinion of it now.

So what games have you tried that surprised you?

[paradox22]

Saboteur... It's a card game where your all dwarves and your mining a tunnel, but one among you is a saboteur and he's trying to keep you from getting to the gold, by making you go in the wrong direction and causing cave ins . Played it at a Con (strangely enough, with you EJ LoL) and really really enjoyed it.

Check it out here: http://www.boardgamegeek.com/game/9220

[Jexik]

Heroscape. First thing I did when I opened the RotV box was flip open the rule book. The story made me laugh out loud. I had so much fun playing the game though.

[Wytefang]

Actually, I'll have to agree with Jexik - HeroScape would be the main one. Because I'd seen it in Target, I just assumed it was one of the kid games with catapults and shooting targets and stuff like that. Never bothered to even read the box because of that. If only it'd been at a Hobby Store (FLGS), I'd have discovered it when it first came out instead of way, way later.

My second choice would probably be UFS (CCG) by FFG/Sabretooth. I got a chance to play this at work the other day and now we're all in a small lunch league. It's surprisingly engaging and since it uses characters from all the fighting games (Soul Caliber, Street Fighter, Darkstalkers, etc) it feels familiar. The game mechanics are remarkable in capturing the actual feel of playing a fighting game at the arcade. You have attacks, blocking, and other cool abilities and the art is spot-on. A very fun CCG, all things considered. You can read it about it at our site (www.fantasyflightgames.com) or on www.Boardgamegeek.com, also, of course).

[Dreaded Gazebo]

Vegas Showdown is always the first one that comes to mind. Like all of the recent Avalon Hill games the box art is atrocious and I don't like gambling so I didn't think the game would appeal to me much. Turns out it's an extremely fun bidding/building game.

Cuba also surprised me. At first glance it just looks to be highly derivative of many other games and it just didn't sound all that much fun. After trying it out, though, I was really surprised by the game. There are lots of ways to win and some fun player interaction when voting on laws to pass at the end of each round. I went from zero interest to getting my own copy pretty quickly.

Finally there's Fairy Tale. Here's another game where the artwork really doesn't do the game justice. One look at the box and there's simply no way I would've ever thought to pick this one up. After hearing great things on The Dice Tower, though, I decided to give it a go and I'm glad I did. It's a fantastic filler card game where card drafting is really the primary mechanism. The artwork is actually a little bit of a hindrance but it's a really great, fast game.

[LilNewbie]

One of the games that surprised me was an FFG Silver Line game called Orkz.

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/orcz.html

We played this several times and enjoyed the heck out of it. The game mixes cooperative and "screw-you" themes into one game. You want to defeat other players to win at specific battlefields but you also want to keep everyone going in the game so you can eventually win in the end. The game can win if you don't work together (i.e. everyone loses). Combat uses a "paper-rock-scissor" type of resolution as each unit has another unit it defeats and another unit that defeats it.

All the games we played were 3-player. We figured that 4-player would be just as fun.

Newb.

[ej]

Agreed about Vegas Showdown. I was hesitant about buying the last one at our TRU here for $10, but thanks to the Geek I went for it. Saboteur IS a good little card game I'd recommend to anyone who likes traitors in their midst.

Another that surprised me... Memoir 44. I don't like BattleLore that much, but justscott bought Memoir 44 and I played a scenario with him. I like it a lot better than BL. If I had to explain why I'd probably say that it's simpler... easier to understand what's happening on the board thanks to the different-colored pieces (my eyes have trouble with the banners in BL).

[Malechi]

One that surprised me was I'm the Boss. It is a fun little "screw you" game, but don't play it with the win-at-all-costs crowd as there will be blood by the time it is over!

[insomnimaniac]

My wife bought Gravedigger by Reiner Knizia. It was time well spent. She had a great time and I was just trying to stay afloat. I didn't think much of it at first, but it was pretty good. I can see it being more fun with 3-5 players and not just two.

[soberman]

Originally Posted by insomnimaniac

My wife bought Gravedigger by Reiner Knizia. It was time well spent. and not just two.

Every time I think I've heard of all of his games, another one comes up. This man must be as ubiquitous as God. The few I've played make me want to have his babies.

EDIT: Okay, here's one that surprised me: Magic: The Gathering. I just sat there and thought, "Is this it?" What a disappointment.

Another one was Dungeons & Dragons. We all just sat around a table pretending to be in a dungeon, and threw dice down once in a while. Without any visual representation of what was happening, I couldn't get into it. Oh, and I suck at math. (Read: abstracts)

(Please don't come after me with brickbats and torches in the dead of night.)
__________________
now playing: 16 Horsepower Live DVD disc 1- Brussels, September 2002

[cavie]

Politico - very easy to learn, compact, and good replay value.

[insomnimaniac]

Originally Posted by cavie

Politico - very easy to learn, compact, and good replay value.

This is one that I'm horribly upset that I missed out on. Drats! JJ, when you reprinting?