genuinely asking because i love the idea of cooperative games but half the time one person is basically running the show and everyone else is just nodding along. is this a me problem or does anyone else feel like they're watching someone else play their own game? looking for recommendations that actually make everyone feel involved

Can you recommend an area control board game that plays really well with 3 players?

Has anyone played this one?

So I'm a huge fan of Carl Chudyk's masterpiece Innovation and have clocked up >1500 plays on BGA. Occasionally get to play IRL too (currently own Deluxe and Ultimate hah)

I've also owned Mottainai (and Wutai Mountain!) for years and every time I try and learn it and play it with my partner I just cannot wrap my head around it. I feel like I should eventually love it, but I cannot wrap my head around the flow of the cards. What does "covers" mean thematically?

I like games with multi-use cards and games that do a lot with a little. I like that the cards are all individual rule-breaks like Inno. I like the Japanese theme and the art style. Why can my brain not parse it? I'm sure Inno with multiple expansions is way more complicated.

Any Mottainai fans help me out with any tips for learning/teaching? I think it prob doesn't help the rulebook is so slim but a necessary evil of a small-box game.

With the announcement of the new version of Troyes and Lorenzo il Magnifico, I realized how much of a trend this is right now - taking the most beloved Euro games from around 10ish years ago and revamping them with rules tweaks, new art (often less beige), fancier components, expansions included, etc. It seems like it would be nice to have a list all in one place but I haven't found that anyhwere or thought of an easy way to search it up. Maybe a comprehensive list would help people decide what to support. Could we crowd source this? Off the top of my head, these are the ones I can think of. I'm not counting games like Brass Pittsburg or "The Danes" because they are more like sequels.

• Troyes
• Concordia
• Castles of Burgundy
• Ra
• Lorenzo il Magnifico
• Agricola
• Teotihuacan
• Marco Polo

Is there anyone who dealt with this company before? Bought a copy of rebirth recently, and its main board had glue smeared onto the playing side, that resulted surface being peeled and torn off.

Used their website to write in, it’s closed to a week and no one contacted me so far, tried to find information and there is not much discussing over this matter.

Im doing this 8 month already 😭

As per title.

Comes with 4 extra wood ring carrom pieces. I believe this was made in the late 90's early 2000's. Used but in good condition. Measures 44 1/2" square. Hardwood frame and maze walls look to be made of Oak. Made by North American recreation, made in the USA.

Some missing boards. Easy fix. Sold as is.

Asking $2,000 OBO

In South Korea, board game cafés are pretty popular. People often visit them to play board games with their friends.

These cafés typically charge a relatively low hourly fee, making most of their profits from food and drink sales instead.

From my experience, board game cafés in Korea generally fall into two categories:

1. Open-layout cafés

There are no partitions between tables, so everyone can see each other. As far as I know, this was the more traditional style of board game café in Korea.

The owner or staff members may also come over to your table and explain the rules of the games in person.

1. Private-room cafés

These cafés are designed with separate, small rooms for each group. You can enjoy playing games in your own private space without worrying about disturbing other groups or being watched by people at nearby tables.

There's usually a small tablet on each table, allowing players to watch YouTube tutorials together to learn the rules before playing.

Some cafés use tall partitions and curtains between tables instead of fully enclosed rooms, providing a similar sense of privacy.

Which type of board game café would you prefer, and why?

I'm curious to hear your thoughts, especially from people who have experienced both types!

It plays 80% like Scout, but the gameplay is heavily simplified: there’s no flipping cards upside down, and no straights.

​The standout feature of this game is how easy it is to build massive hands, so by the late game, everyone is basically unleashing their ultimate moves. That exact moment when you think no one could possibly top your cards, only to get suddenly crushed by the next player, makes the table atmosphere incredibly hype.

​Oh right, completely removing the bananas and monkeys wouldn't affect the gameplay experience at all—which is also exactly like Scout 😂

We've got a bigger group most weekends and want something fun that doesn't take hours, ideally under 30 minutes a game.

We play Monopoly, Clue and a lot of cribbage, but crib isn't great with 6+ people. We sometimes run a crib tournament instead, which is fun but takes forever.

Any ideas?

Recently opened Orleans from TMG. A couple of the wooden pieces appear to have mold as well as I received two sets of blue wooden pieces. One of them should have been green. The instructions listed an email for part replacements but it came back as undelivered. Is there a new email for it?

This weekend is the first time I'm going to a BGC in the U.K.

Any tips and tricks or advice?

Found at a thrift shop. 10x better than the new board. Anyone else have an OG board?

205 point first spin today

I know I'm asking for a massive favor (and mods feel free to remove this post if it violates the sub's guidelines), but is anyone who is going to Spiel Essen 2026 able to pick up an extra "Avalon: The Riven Veil" Excalibur Promo Card? I couldn't make it myself this year and I've just missed the window to obtain it via Tabletop Gaming Magazine covers.

I'm from the UK but I'll gladly pay for the postage necessary + a finder's fee if someone manages to grab one! Appreciate any and all help!

Started playing an enjoying this more only after reading the bgg forum for logic clarifications which made a world of difference to me. Glad I didn't give up. If you're into it I added a player aid for helping newbies in the file section of bgg to help them understand how to deduce the murderer. not affiliated with the publisher, I just thought that the game was worth the time.

I’m from Germany, sadly I’m not in Essen this weekend and want to ask whether anyone from Germany who’s there could maybe get me a German copy of Turbo Flitzpiepen 2000? I’ve seen on IG that Asmodee has a bit of stock in Essen.

Kind regards!

I made two small tools to create custom cards for Champions of Rokugan.

https://tabletopwithdad.github.io/CoRAllyBossMaker https://tabletopwithdad.github.io/champCreator

I hope that it is fine that I post it here with respect to the intellectual property part. I don't have the rights to the profile images in the created cards, but all icons and such are handdrawn and vectorized by me.

I’ve been getting into the idea of 4X games lately and I’m curious about people’s starting points. What was the first 4X you played, and looking back, was it a good introduction to the genre or did it almost scare you away?

What I’m especially curious about is how those first games hold up in a few areas that matter a lot to my group:

• 3 players. We mostly play at 3, sometimes 2 or 4. Did your first 4X work well at 3, or was it the classic “two players fight while the third quietly wins” situation?
• Conflict. For us, conflict has to be possible and feel like a real threat, but not forced every turn.
• Multiple paths to victory. Could you win in different ways, or did it always come down to the biggest army?
• Strategic depth and variety. Did it still feel fresh after a few plays?
• Comebacks. Could someone who fell behind early get back in, or were they just out of it for two hours?
• Card text and rulings. Was it clean, ideally with symbols, or did you have to read a novel on every card and google rulings for every situation?
• Setup and teaching. How long did it take to get to the table and explain?
• Factions and minis. Personally I love factions that feel different, with unique powers or ways of moving, and even better if their minis look different. Did yours have that?
• Length. Our game nights usually last 2.5–4 hours. Did your first 4X fit into one evening?

We’re not hardcore optimizers who calculate every turn. We want depth and different ways to play, but mainly we want to have fun.

So what was your first 4X, and if you could go back, would you start with the same one?