Games ruined by BGG
Tim Taylor
United States
Port Townsend
Washington
-
I've been a gamer (and designer) for many decades, but have moved to a game-free zone. When I stumbled upon BGG, I got so excited! Here was a way to connect with gamers from all over the world, despite the fact I live in nowhere-land. Just reading others' opinions helps me still feel part of the gaming community. Wonderful!
However, as I read what some folks have written about games I love, I was forced to reevaluate my own opinions. As they say, "the scales fell from my eyes."
So here's a list of games I used to adore, but now don't enjoy any longer. I can now see all their shortcomings and blemishes. It's like when a cat first discovers the thrill of live prey; suddenly her old toys no longer hold the same fascination.
So, essentially, BGG has ruined these games for me. Of course, the great games I've discovered from BGG (and about which I could never have known otherwise) more than compensates for any lost illusions of a misspent youth. It is important to know that I am not complaining; I would much rather play great games than games which are merely OK.
Please feel free to include your own disillusionment here as well. This is my first GeekList and I could use all the help I can get. Merci mille fois BGG et vous!
-
Tim Taylor
United States
Port Townsend
Washington
-
One of the old Avalon Hill's last releases, up until a few months ago this was one of my favorite games -- a solid 10. Giant horrors trash the US until a showdown where only one monster will survive. What's not to like? Back in the day, we even crafted our own personalized behemoths. What fun!
Then I read reviews and session reports on BGG. What's this? The whole game comes down to a dicefest at the very end. In many ways, the entire initial 90% of play is pointless and a frustration (as Sartre would say). It all comes down to who can roll the best dice -- no strategy, no tactics, no gambits. Just dice.
Ugh. Everyone was right. There was plenty of campy theme, but that was all. It was just a long, drawn out "who rolls best" sort of game. So very American! How could I not have noticed? Love is blind...
-
-
2.
Board Game: Nero
[Average Rating:3.58 Overall Rank:7916]
Tim Taylor
United States
Port Townsend
Washington
-
This was one of the games that lead me to BGG. I was looking for errata and variants after having played several times. Although we had some fun and the game looked fabulous, I always felt as if something was missing. Apparently, what's missing is rules. This game rates lower than freakin' Monopoly and Kriegspiel. Wow! Is that even possible?! Really pretty, but no brains -- the lights are on, but nobody's home -- sort of game.
-
-
Tim Taylor
United States
Port Townsend
Washington
-
This one hurts! This used to be my all time fave. In college we used to play this sucker at least once a month. Great party game (i.e., the game becomes the party). But what do I read here on BGG?
Long downtime between turns, enormously long playing time, players can get knocked out of the running in the first few turns (especially true for Crete) and then have nothing to do but play the role of spoiler thereafter, the trading part of the game can easily be subverted, there are optimal strategies for some peoples, really needs at least six players to play right, competent play involves a "gang up on the runaway leader" mentality, and on and on and on...
Wow! And all of it so true! I'd never realized Civilization's many flaws. Compared to today's games, this one now seems hopelessly clunky. With so many better games to play, why suffer this antique?
-
-
Tim Taylor
United States
Port Townsend
Washington
-
Boy, I used to think this was the cat's whiskers. What a dope I was!
This game fares little better than the above. It suffers the same crippling problems as Civilization, barely ameliorated by an artificial game ending mechanism. Plus you get into the meat of the game only after about eight hours. Who has time for that?
What with Wallenstein, Vinci, and so many others, why waste time on this dinosaur? I'm seriously thinking of trading or selling Civ, Adv Civ, and the WXM as a bundle... But do you think anyone would be interested?
-
-
Tim Taylor
United States
Port Townsend
Washington
-
Another painful hit. This was the game that got my Shogun playing buddies into historical wargames. I always used to enjoy the slow unfolding of history as the game progressed. However, long playing time, serious downtime between turns, and a vicious "pummel the leader" aspect have soured me on it. I probably would never have realized its negative traits if I'd not been enlightened by BGG users. Still, knowing is better than not knowing.
-
-
Tim Taylor
United States
Port Townsend
Washington
-
Some of your thoughts thoughts on this game floored me. I'd never really considered it before, but in order to properly play this game you must be a lying blackguard. Only the most vile, lowest worm of a player can win. Duplicitousness alone is a survival trait. There's really no strategy nor tactics, just dirty deeds done dirt cheap.
Now that I think back on it, this game did cause a lot of hard feelings among my friends...
-
-
Tim Taylor
United States
Port Townsend
Washington
-
This was once of the first attempts to merge FRPs with board games. ICE took their MERP stats, divided by 20, and designed this game. As a template to run a fantasy RPG session in the later days of the Third Age of Middle Earth, this game excels. As a board game...
Needlessly complex rules (to accommodate the RPG data), downright contradiction in the rules from one sentence to the next, combat rules that seem (to say the least) counterintuitive, and a total lack of rules' organization condemn this to board gaming purgatory -- although I'd use it as an RPG tool again in a heartbeat.
And that's not to mention Spotswood Coleman Charlton's (you read that right, gang) unhealthy fixation with "Transport Modes." The little dice representing rumors are cool, though.
-
-
Tim Taylor
United States
Port Townsend
Washington
-
I don't know how much I've played this game since 1980. Thousands of times? I've worn out four (count 'em, four) sets. I always made sure I had two copies on hand, just in case one was abducted by aliens. I loved the continuing adventures of the Znutar and her intrepid crew.
What do I read here? Unbalanced. Too chaotic. Dicefest. Stoner game.
Whoa, Dude! You are so ... That's just, so like ... What were we talking about?
Maybe it was the Z'gwortz...
-
-
Tim Taylor
United States
Port Townsend
Washington
-
This was my first D & D campaign map, just as it was for many of you grey-beards out there. So many adventures... And so much starvation and dehydration!
I never thought to look at Outdoor Survival as a game in and of itself. Eeuuwwww!
Still, it does boast one of the most hilarious Session Reports here on BGG:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/64586
-
-
10.
Board Game: Chess
[Average Rating:7.10 Overall Rank:251]
Scott
United States
Denver
Colorado
-
I was an avid chess player before I found the Geek and realized how many great games are out there. The comments hurt at first: no handicapping method, dry, abstract, analysis paralysis, anti-social and the like. I haven't played for months now.
In the end I don't think it was other peoples opinions that made me play the game less. It's mainly because there are so many games out there. After being a member here for a while, it becomes very easy be a sampler; someone who buys a game, plays it a couple times and then moves on to the next, newest, latest, greatest.
-
-
Jacek Nowak
Poland
Warsaw
Unspecified
-
I bought this game accidentaly in a supermarket (long time ago Ravensburger published San Marco and Tikal in Poland). I was a blast - the best game I ever played, the best game there is for a long time. Now I have about 60-70 games in my collection and many of them are better than the San Marco. I still quite value this game though and can imagine me playing it quite easily.
-
-
Matthew Fisk
United States
Spanish Fork
Utah
-
I had a 20 year break from boardgames. I was a D&D player in my early teens that also bumped into Avalon Hill games (although not a wargamer I enjoyed those with a fantasy feel).
In those days and with the ego of any teenager in hand, I somehow considered myself superior because I understood the AH rule system of:
1.2 If X happens see 2.3.1 otherwise read 1.2.1
So the more complicated the rules the more superior I was. Bring them on! Dragonhunt, Wizard's Quest all qualified in this department and I was the better for it.
20 years passed as College, Early married years, computer games and Magic: The Gathering pushed my board game years into distant history.
I see these old games on the shelf one day, decide I really did enjoy those days and go in search of a game my wife might enjoy, bump into the geek, read about these games and am forced to agree with what is said. A simple game that was made complicated with a heck of a lot of complex rules yes still come down to a lot of dice rolling and random chance.
My teenage ego enjoyed them, but now I have to stare reality in the face.
-
-
Greg Hinkle
United States
Cleveland Heights
Ohio
-
I found Cheapass games before I found the Geek, and lo it was Killing Dr. Lucky that held a place in my heart. I played it, I bought copies for friends, it was fun.
Then I came here.
But, DAMMIT, I still like the game! So what if I haven't played it (even once) since I found the Geek? So what if people get annoyed because they keep getting skipped? It's part of the game! (From what I remember...it's been so long...) So what if the game breaks if everyone is too stingy with their Failure cards and people leave the table all pissed off. It's all for fun, right? Right?
-
-
Jonathan Degann
United States
Westlake Village
California
-
I think that Monopoly is a fine game. I've been playing Euros for over 10 years, and games like Civilization, Euro Rails and Merchants of Venus 20 years, and I still think that Monopoly has lots to offer, particularly in its money management decisions.
However, Monopoly has become the pariah of games, and Monopoly fans have similarly become pariahs. The game has a rating far below what it would get if it weren't the official game to kick. And of course, this results in a situation where people won't play it with me. Nay, they are embarrassed to play it.
Shame.
-
-
David Bush
United States
Lexington
Virginia
-
I have fond memories of playing this as a kid. Many of the points made against it are valid; the map really has no bearing on the game, for example. The countries might as well be arranged in alphabetical order on the board, for all the difference it would make in terms of game play (but NOT in terms of game experience, of course.) And the event deck arguably adds too much randomness. But hey, it still seems fun to me. Maybe some game designer could come up with an improved ruleset.
-
-
16.
Board Game: Risk
[Average Rating:5.62 Overall Rank:6468]
Gerald McDaniel
United States
Lakewood
Colorado
-
How could this list exist without including this game?
-
-
Tim Taylor
United States
Port Townsend
Washington
-
There's been renewed interest in this list of late, so I decided to add another game. Res Publica was my first introduction to the wild world of Eurogames. I was amazed and intrigued by the elegant (almost beautiful) game mechanics as well as the tissue-paper-thin theme. For several years this was one of my favorite filler games.
Then I read someone mention here on BGG that Res Publica was the good Doctor's take on "Go Fish"! That one stray comment really took the bloom off that rose for me. I've played since then, but now there will always be something "fishy" about Res Publica...
*sigh*
-
-
Tim Taylor
United States
Port Townsend
Washington
-
A long time ago, in a land far, far away, I used to think of Cosmic Wimpout as being unique. Since I've found BGG, I've discovered lots more dice games that are more than a little similar...
So this game has gone from one-of-a-kind, in my eyes, to one-among-many.
-
-
Renato Tavares
Brazil
Goiânia
Goiás
-
Not this one, the REAL ONE!!! So many games, so many geeklists... I can hardly find opportunity to date...
-
-
Mike Horsepool
Canada
London
Ontario
-
Ive never played this game, and now I more then likely never will.
This game has been so over hyped as the "Game That made gaming awesome!" or "The game that introduced me to gaming!" that I get ill just hearing the word 'settlers' in any context.
Im sure its a wonderful game, but you people have destroyed it before I had ever even seen a box for it.
-
-
Martin Deslauriers
Canada
Montreal
-
The simple thought of this game being played at a party would make some people blush and smile. Since "the picture" appeared on the Geek I just can't picture getting my friends to pull this one out... even after a few drinks. Just writing this post is making me nauseous. The Geek as ruined this small pleasure for all of us party-people looking for a cheap thrill. Curse you BGG CURSE YOU!
-
-
Tim Taylor
United States
Port Townsend
Washington
-
This game is representative of a whole genre -- the old-school hex and counter wargame. Before I found BGG, such wargames were my preferred poison.
Then somebody mentioned (in one of my GeekLists, I believe) that there had been mighty few innovations in wargames since the 1970's. Card-driven and phased-impulse wargames are still relatively fresh since they're based on design models from only ten years ago. But the "Igo-Yugo," hex-and-counter, CRT-based wargames are still recognizably derived from 1960's models like 1914.
I'm not saying wargames are at an impasse or have reached a dead-end. I simply have realized that these more recent games offered only the same buzz I got in 1970 playing Afrika Korps. Been there, done that.
My research on BGG has steered me towards more innovative, elegant wargame designs. Thanks to BGG, I no longer feel stuck-in-a-rut!
-
-
Tim Taylor
United States
Port Townsend
Washington
-
So here's another one. Our local Jefferson County Historical Society was putting on a "parlour games" day for youngsters (and the young at heart) at the Rothschild House museum. I suggested a popular card game of the time -- Flinch -- since it had recently been released in a 100th anniversary edition by Hasborg.
I learned the game, taught the nice docents how to play, and donated the game to the JCHS. While the game generated a lot of fun (and whooping and hollering among the girls playing), this game left me totally flat.
I had the feeling "Is that all there is?" It seemed utterly mechanical and devoid of any real decision-making. Plus, the main hook of the game, yelling "Flinch" if someone screws up, is only a mechanic to penalize inattentiveness. Flinch is a game that in my pre-BGG years I would have enjoyed as a light, quick playing, filler game. Now that I know of so many awesome card games (Fairy Tale, Citadels, Camelot Legends, Battleline, and so on), Flinch just seems like a waste of time. Here's what my comments are for the game:
"Card games sure have come a long way in the past century..."
Another game ruined by BGG! (or rather by my expanded awareness of truly great games)
On the plus side, my donated Flinch game is getting played every weekend, and people -- non-gamers -- are having a good time learning about what folks did for entertainment a century ago.
-
-
Dennis FitzPatrick
United States
Garden City
Kansas
-
This was one of my favorites growing up! Even found a copy years later and paid 52$ for it as a vintage game. And it had d10 my first exposure to dice other than the reliable 6-sider!
Then I came here...and here's what Scott Nicholson had to say:
"Well, I'm sure this was great when I was 8. I bought it again recently. Bleah.. so much depends upon the luck of what you draw and pick up from the board. Also, the luck of the roll can really make a difference."
Way to wreck my childhood enthusiasms.
-
-
Mike Neff
United States
Olathe
Kansas
-
This is the one that died with my discovery of BGG. This was our game of choice (along with Acquire), and we would play it nearly every other weekend while hanging out and having a few drinks. I tired of the length and luck, and began to search online for other gaming options when I stumbled on the geek. With so many better options, this will probably never see the table again.
-
-
|
|
You can find a range of opinions on just about any game on BGG. Puerto Rico rated extremely high but have seen comments about protecting "their precious PR...".
.). Sorta like life...
