Online Board Game platforms?

[Blackhawk]

From what I've been reading, expect a lot of current games to be pulled, disabled, or made premium in the near future until they work out some sort of royalty deal - or not.

[Ralph-Wiggum]

That would be a shame. I've kept my premium membership going even though my use of BGA has slowed down over the last few months. I didn't mind paying $4/month to support a site basically put together and run by 2 or 3 people, but I'm much less inclined to keep that subscription when that money is going to Asmodee.

[LordMortis]

I'm still using Boardgame Arena for most of my online board gaming. It certainly doesn't have the extensive library as TTS, but it does have all the rules in place and so will only allow you to take legal moves, which leads to, IMO, a much lower learning curve for any game. I would also be up for some games on BGA over the holidays, either real time or asynchronously, if people are interested.

Now owned by Asmodee. Involved publishers were not warned, and are not happy that the (often royalty-free) contracts they had with BGA in order to support a community effort are now in the hands of the board game Planet Eater.

Just reading this. I've been really enjoying BGA

That would be a shame. I've kept my premium membership going even though my use of BGA has slowed down over the last few months. I didn't mind paying $4/month to support a site basically put together and run by 2 or 3 people, but I'm much less inclined to keep that subscription when that money is going to Asmodee.

I bought a year up front. I think it was like $2 a month. I'll be bummed if they take stuff away. The premium part doesn't bother me. The cost allowed me to play games... with people... over the last year.

I'm not a big fan of Asmodee, though. I haven't bought a game from them since 7 Wonders where there were German components, mismatched cards, and general subpar QA for a very expensive game. When I complained they basically told me it's all the same, so piss off.

Honestly, once my money is going to them, my money is probably won't be going to them.

Too bad, while the server connections are sometimes slow, I like generally what they've done.


...


Also if anyone wants to friend there, send me a PM and I'll look for you. I find myself on there probably too much, usually in the evening between work and bed or sometimes for stupid amounts of time on the weekends.

[Lorini]

We'll have to see how it develops.

Been spending my online time on 18xx.games .....

[LordMortis]

I am intrigued by your ideas and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

I loved one of the 18xx games... I forget which. BGG's pics for 1830 look the closest but I think I played a different edition of that game and also played the PC version to death.

[Jeff V]

We'll have to see how it develops.

Been spending my online time on 18xx.games .....

The railroad games?

[LordMortis]

https://oldpcgaming.net/1830-railroads-robber-barons/

[Jeff V]

I am intrigued by your ideas and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

I loved one of the 18xx games... I forget which. BGG's pics for 1830 look the closest but I think I played a different edition of that game and also played the PC version to death.

The 1830 computer game was the best Avalon-Hill ever put out (History of the World was a close second but they made a few changes to the cards since it would require a lot of extra programming to handle it). My only problem with 1830 was the computer would collude against the human player, and that made it unfairly tough. I liked playing it with 6 friends, but it was 6 hour long game with lots of bookkeeping.

[LordMortis]

I am intrigued by your ideas and would like to subscribe to your newsletter.

I loved one of the 18xx games... I forget which. BGG's pics for 1830 look the closest but I think I played a different edition of that game and also played the PC version to death.

The 1830 computer game was the best Avalon-Hill ever put out (History of the World was a close second but they made a few changes to the cards since it would require a lot of extra programming to handle it). My only problem with 1830 was the computer would collude against the human player, and that made it unfairly tough. I liked playing it with 6 friends, but it was 6 hour long game with lots of bookkeeping.

It was a good approximation of the board game.

[Lorini]

I think that was the best board game software I ever owned, even compared to the apps now. You could do so much with it, and the AI was quite challenging. I wish like hell they'd move it over to an app or Win 10/Mac.

Yes, 18xx.games is a site where you can play 18xx games online. It's very well done and it even includes '30, but '30 is really dated now, there are much better 18xx games out now, both long and short. I love 18Chesapeake, 1822 (just came there) and 18CZ (in beta I think). I'm hoping to play '49 and '17 this weekend if I can find enough players

[Blackhawk]

I loved one of the 18xx games... I forget which.

Been spending my online time on 18xx.games .....

I swear, I had to look three times before convincing myself you two weren't talking about a porn game.

[coopasonic]

That's a lot of Xs. Is 18xx = 36x or 18x^2=324 Xs?

[Lorini]

Too much math. So I cannot answer.

[coopasonic]

You play Euros, we know you can math!

[Zarathud]

Euros require the fun math of interrelated combos. The new math of train tracking is not as fun.

[Lorini]

You play Euros, we know you can math!

Uh I don't recall 18x^2=324 Xs in any of my games, just sayin:)

[Isgrimnur]

He squared the 18.

[AWS260]

Nidavellir has ^2 scoring mechanic. 18 hunter ranks would be worth 324 end-game points.

[LordMortis]

Been back on BGA, as I am up and not driving. We've been playing Space Base a lot which plays fantastic online. Redrun is thinking about setting up a discord server. If he does, I'll have to get a mic.

[Blackhawk]

You probably want a headset if you don't have one. Mic plus speakers is it bad combo.

[Montag]

Just joined BGA and I have been impressed. Ark Nova is done really well. The Android app is working fine. My brother and a friend have been on BGA for quite some time and they have stated more games have been added at a quicker pace since Asmodee bought BGA.

[LordMortis]

So thanks to Montag, I've been doing a lot of BGA asynch/turn based gaming. I've been mostly happy with it, only I find that no matter what time I start games, people like to play their turns sometime between 21:00 and 05:00 Eastern two player. So then, I find myself with too many games open. Still, it's been main gaming time for probably more than a month running. I'm really enjoying the leisurely way to discover new (to me) games (Hadrian's Wall, Heat, Forest Shuffle, Challengers, It's a Wonderful World among others) and to relearn some long forgotten ones (Race for the Galaxy and Agricola as examples).

We never did get a discord server going and I'm OK with that. I can type and play.

[LordMortis]

So... I play a lot on BGA and a lot of people from Europe "thank you for playing" after they win (always only after they win). Is that supposed to be same as "Good Game" and do they do not understand the passive aggressive connotation of game show "wah wah" or is it an intentional ambiguous jab? Now knowing, I never respond, as you can play same people over and over if you have same interests in game... So I end up being passive aggressive and meet their message with silence after I lose. At the same time, I don't ask directly because it might very well just be me being crazy sensitive about a stranger for no reason. I suck at social queues.

[Blackhawk]

What do they say when you win?

[LordMortis]

What do they say when you win?

Usually "GG" for good game when we are both present, which is the standard unless there is a particularly interesting dynamic and then it's "GG" followed by an observation. "GG" is what most people stay if they say anything. OtOH, a particularly interesting game where I lose and no additional comment seems like it ought to said, "GG NP" for good game, nicely played.

[Smoove_B]

There was a surprisingly lengthy discussion last month on BGG about the problems with saying "GG" after playing. In short, I think it can be problematic in very specific and some of it is possibly cultural.

Claude Shannon was right.

[LordMortis]

Heh,

Just say something else instead. Like "Thanks for the game". That's just as polite and can be sincere, even if they played poorly. And if they did play poorly, it doesn't smart in the same way that "good game" does.

Only I literally have never seen anyone say this after losing. Only after winning, and again, culturally speaking that sounds like "thank you for playing" to the loser. Though it's probably me being too sensitive and knowing how we trash talk when actually sitting a table together.

And now to read the thread...


Edit 16 pages, oh lord, not so much... I guess I'll stop with the gg except among friends, especially as "thanks for the game" is the one that is insulting to me.

At least I know it's not just me but I guess it's time to stay silent at game conclusion. Crazy.

I once had someone get mad at me for not sending a message to them to alert them that they were running out of time in our live match... you can't win with everyone and with some people, you absolutely never will.

I had a guy go off on me for the whole entirety of the rest of the game before plonking him for "?" him if he was still there after he ran out of time.

[Blackhawk]

GG is well established. It's been around forever. I probably first saw it in WoW close to 20 years ago. It's just a generic acknowledgement, not a statement about the quality of the game. There's also "GGWP" (Good Game, Well Played), but that's more recent - not more than a decade or so old. They're not thought-out statements meant to be relevant, just general courtesy. I look at that thread, and, honestly - some people just overthink things.

With that said, I never use it. I'm a fast enough typist that two three words are almost as fast, and "GG" is just being lazy. It's double-tapping a key, not making an effort. Some people probably have it on a macro.

Unless something stood out in the game, I usually just thank them for the chance to play with them for a while. That is to say, my generic end-game chat is, "Thanks for the game."