50% OFF Board Game Sale at Barnes and Noble

[netherspirit]

Originally Posted by Snotwalker 8000

I'll have to check this out as well. Thanks for the heads-up.

By the way, any advice on what games they have that would be good and typically enjoyed by the wives? I introduced my wife to Carcassonne a few months ago, and she LOVES it, but is generally VERY picky about what games she will or won't play. (unfortunately, heroScape is one she refuses to try... )

What games have a similar feel in terms of balance, strategy/luck, and quick to set-up/play as Carcassonne does? For those with game-picky wives/GF's, any suggestions to look at?

Also, does the Inns and Merchants, or Dragon expansion for Carcassonne add much to the game in terms of enjoyment?

Lots of questions there...

For other 2-player games there are some great Geeklists over at BGG, here is one that is titled The Ultimate Games for my Spouse/Parter list. Check that out. There are more, if you have some time go check them out. boardgamegeek is an invaluable resource if you know how to use it.

Without going into too much else, there are a lot of good games in the Kosmos 2-player line. I would recomment Lost Cites, Baloon Cup, and Odin's Ravens. Those are all very small, simple games that are a lot of fun. If you want something a little deeper from the Kosmos line Jambo is great.

As for Carcassonne, there is a thread about that. It got deleted so I had to recreate it and its still missing all my reviews of the different expansions. There are a couple there, so that might help. I wouldn't recommned the Princess and the Dragon if its just you and your wife, its very confrontational and kind of goes against everything that Carcassonne is about. Inns and Cathedrals however adds some new scoring mechanisms and its almost a must have. Also Builders and Traders adds some new meeples and more new scoring options. Both of those are almost "must haves" if you like Carcassonne.

Here is the Carcassonne thread.
http://www.heroscapers.com/community...er=asc&start=0

If you have any more questions let me know.

[Dreaded Gazebo]

Originally Posted by Snotwalker 8000

By the way, any advice on what games they have that would be good and typically enjoyed by the wives? I introduced my wife to Carcassonne a few months ago, and she LOVES it, but is generally VERY picky about what games she will or won't play. (unfortunately, heroScape is one she refuses to try... )

What games have a similar feel in terms of balance, strategy/luck, and quick to set-up/play as Carcassonne does? For those with game-picky wives/GF's, any suggestions to look at?

Check out Oceania. It's a small two player tile-laying game in the same vein as Carcassonne except you are exploring islands in the ocean. It's extremely simple, even less complex than Carcassonne and it plays in about 10-15 minutes. The game is beautiful, simple and fun.

I haven't played it with my wife yet but you might also want to take a look at Tsuro. It's another tile-laying game where you are moving along paths on the tiles trying to keep yourself from running off of the board before your opponents do. It's really simple and fun... I'm not sure if my wife likes it yet but I think she'll enjoy it, it seems right up her alley. You should be able to find this at Barnes & Noble right now, and at 50% off it's just under $13.

One last Carcassonne-esque game I've heard good things about but haven't played is Fjords. Like Oceania it's also just for two. The game is a little different because it takes places in two phases: first you put tiles down and try to claim some starting land, then once all the tiles are out you try and grab the remaining land. I haven't played it yet but I've been very interested in it and hope to try it out one of these days.

While not really similar in gameplay to Carcassonne, I would highly recommend San Juan. It's a card game that is all about really basic hand management. Cards represent buildings that you can build and whoever has the most valuable town at the end of the game wins. What's so brilliant about the game is that the cards in your hand are not also the buildings you can build but also your currency. You can generally only have 7 cards in your hand; if you want to play a building with a cost of 3 you'll need to play it and discard three other cards, resulting in a total of 4 cards getting played and 3 left in your hand. I think there's something about that mechanic that is so very simple yet appeals to lots of people.

Hope that maybe gives you some starting points!

[Snotwalker 8000]

Thanks for the tips, Nether and DG!

[TweetyBird]

I dropped by B&N today and couldn't find any of the games I was hoping for. Maybe I'll try another location tomorrow.

[aardvark22]

Hit 2 central Mass B&N's today-Millbury and Worcester. Millbury pretty much had nothing of interest to me(lots of Uno, Suduko, and CSI type stuff). Worcester was loaded-several copies of Carcassonne , Age of Mythology, Niagra, Roborally, Axis & Allies, Tsuro, I'm the Boss, and Dead Mans treasure.
I picked up A&A, AoM, Tsuro, and Dead Mans all for $60! Hopefully some of the others will survive to 75% (85% with B&N member card)! Tsuro was fun but very light though real pretty too. Dead mans was ok certainly worth the price and with 2 young ones I'm sure it will get played often enough. Fairly impressed with the components in AoM but haven't read the rules yet, ditto for A&A. They also had some Hordes minis but not on clearance unfortunately.

If there are several locations near you its worth checking all of them-selections will vary.
Also does anyone know how long before they go to 75%?

[Stealth Dodge]

I wish the one I went to had Carc. The Brookline MA had almost everything else I wanted but no Carc

[KingArthur1976]

Just wanted to say thanks "Nether" for the heads up. B&K didnt have much left but I did pick up a copy of Carcossonne for 50% off!!

[Rodriquez]

wow sweet

I got carcassone, age of mythology, and roborally.

cheers
ROd

[peterm]

Don't forget a 15% off coupon. It worked for me on Roborally and Niagara.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/promo/....asp?PID=14565

[ej]

I want to thank you too, Nether, for this info. I go to B&N on an irregular basis and would've missed this if you hadn't posted. I only picked up Tsuro, though. They had Roborally but I decided that it'll probably never be played (I had it once before... can't recall what happened to it). At half of $49 I decided I didn't want to eat into my potential TRU BOGO money. I was hoping to finally pick up Settlers of Catan but there were none to be had. They had one Carcassonne but I already own it. Although I wonder if playing with two sets would be any fun...

[AgentX-127]

Originally Posted by peterm

Don't forget a 15% off coupon. It worked for me on Roborally and Niagara.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/promo/....asp?PID=14565

Thanks for the coupon, peterm.

And thanks for the heads up on the 50% discount, netherspirit.

I found Carcassonne, Niagra, and Robo Rally.
I made myself put Robo Rally back, but I think I'm going back with the 15% coupon today.

[yagyuninja]

Originally Posted by peterm

Don't forget a 15% off coupon. It worked for me on Roborally and Niagara.

http://www.barnesandnoble.com/promo/....asp?PID=14565

Thanks, but shoot!

I already picked up roborally. Now I guess I'll have to return it and buy it back with the coupon.