10 Pitfalls Board Gamers Should Avoid
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These are the 10 pitfalls to avoid when getting into board games.
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Credits:
All the photos at UK Games Expo were taken by Ben Broomfield:
Dice Tower clips are from:
Videos of Hospital Patient and beer drinkers are taken from:
“The Castles of Burgundy” by yoppy is licensed under CC BY 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit .
“Twilight Struggle: Europa” by nachof is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0. To view a copy of this license, visit .
“Twilight struggle example” by Ezra.loeb is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. To view a copy of this license, visit .
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Fantastic advice… we have so many games on the "To Sell" pile now and some of them have really destroyed getting others out.
We also have the "Wingspan is a sedative" gene… while two of our closest gaming friends who also own it love it and always look at it lovingly on game night.
I think the only big advice you're missing is "Home Rule the heck out of games to make them enjoyable". Gloomhaven vs JotL > Loved JotL hated Gloomhaven with a passion. The refinement in JotL takes a lot of the griiiiiiiiiiiind away. Also, as it's effectively 5e, we just dumped a few other rules across like "If the end of mission returns you to base, get all the gold", cause what sort of derpy adventurers would leave it all behind?
The theme-blindness piece is hysterically funny! … … And true.
I get mocked relentlessly for sleeving cars and… honestly… it's just a fun part of my group dynamic. I take it happily because it makes people smile, but… after five years, I am beginning to see the point of not sleeving cards.
9:59 sick burn
Point 8: "You are now vilified by the BGG community."
Haha i just realised you slowly influenced my wardrobe… over the years i slowly started buying shirts and i keep wearing them open with a simple tshirt underneath! Anyways, love the video, keep up the good work
"Only hearing the positivity, but ignoring the talk of raw meat and jelly."
This was probably a Quinns review.
You Sir, are simply the best reflected, funniest and smartest boardgame reviewer here. I really love your videos. Even if im german and maybe not understand everything you make me laugh out loud several times! And hopefully your well reflected words help me climbing out of my pits! Thank you alot! Really<3
Great video. I would pit another category into it. Obsession about Spiel de Jahre. I know friend who is buing games just from this categry, winners or just nominants. 🙁
I have the great luck of having a board game club/association in town. It's an immense blessing and privilege to be able to borrow and play games from a collection bigger than any person could own, and where the older titles have been curated over multiple years. Especially since I'm the one deepest in the hobby within my friends group (and have no one whom I could share/trade with). Borrowing the games allows me to find out how much I really like titles, and most importantly, how much my friends engage with them before taking the decision to buy or not.
Over time, it gets easily noticeable, which games one starts to miss, which ones friends ask about to play again, and which ones you want to love but will probably never play.
And obviously, it makes it easy to find players or to discover new titles just by spending some time at the clubhouse.
Our local game store also offers a rental service, but for a higher fee (usually 5-15€ per title, depending on MSRP), I did that for a long time before I discovered the club. I paid more than a single game would have cost me that way, but I don't have to manage storage or to feel the guilt of not playing/liking it enough to justify the price.
I'll soon be through with my studies, thank you for making that video before I have the time and the money to take bad decisions. ^^'
Totally guilty of that theme blindness, Im a total sucker for any scifi/robot/space games even though some are just so bad but I just couldnt get rid it due to the theme.
I only sleeve games that require constant handling/holding. I have friends that like to riffle shuffle, but its so much easier to shuffle with sleeve by pushing the cards together.
Also watching your card being handle by sweaty hands just kill me slowly on the inside.
That's very important video with years of advice, a lot of us will ignore either way 😅
Haha, I am glad to know that my Twilight Struggle struggle wasn't unique. I do see how it can get easier with time and the card play isn't all that complex really. It's not as heavy as it seems, but it is time consuming. I will gladly play it again but I want to set aside 4 hours again before I do. 6 if it's a new player.
I don't sleeve my games, but my buddy Dave sleeves some of his games, that he plays religiously and fulfill some other arcane criteria that he knows but I don't. And… I can respect that. But "don't sleeve all your games" is a solid rule.
I fully agree with you on sleeves with the exception of deckbuilding games that require a lot a shuffling, like Star Realms. Not because of wear and tear but because it helps a whole lot when shuffling 😂
Filling the void is really tough… I just got BG Stats app and will be back-logging all of my logged plays so I can get all the stats. But I do think it is fun! And I will keep logging everything in the future. I am crafting a few abstract games so I don't need to buy them, and I am doing a bit of Print and Play for some smaller card games. I think if you enjoy it, and it has become your "main" hobby, just enjoy it and have a good time!
I have never had a problem hating popular games. For example, Castles of Burgundy is shit game with a pretty clever action mechanism, totally destroyed by a point system that is afraid players will feel bad if they ever feel behind and with no arc what so ever.
Thank you for another very useful video. I bought Talisman: Star Wars and realized that I broke your 3 first rules. I bought it because it was new, I love the Star Wars theme and my son loves Mace Windu (there was a miniature of him inside). When I read the rules I realized that the game was bad for me and I haven't played yet.
As for pitfall 4, when I buy a game I play it unsleeved. If I decide to keep it and the gameplay demands it (a lot of cards and shuffle often) then I sleeve it. I definitely will tell people to avoid number 1, 2, 3, and especially 6 pitfall.
I was agreeing with most of the video but then you said you didn’t like Twilight Struggle so I immediately disregarded everything you said and started resleeving my 4000 Marvel Legendary cards
Damn you for making some good points…
I have seen too many damaged cards not to sleeve. A lot of games are unplayable with marked cards.
Thank you, I share that approach with you and happy to have the same thinking about it
The only reason I started to sleeve my cards was because once a friend of mine couldn't get the card of the table so he used to much force so he bent the card, was my favorite game aswell
Spot on. Nice
There are scenarios where sleeving is almost necessary though 😅 we bought the last expansion to Dune Imperium which changes a card in your starting hand and because we played the game so much it’s now absolutely obvious to everyone around the table if you have that card in hand 😅 and even with party games it can be important. Some cards in copy of top ten got scratched pretty badly and now you would know who has the 4 😂 I do feel a bit attacked though 😂 great video
My wife and I really live Terraforming Mars, and we introduced it to friends and family, and had a friend spill beer on the cards, two cards are now basically destroyed, you can hardly see what the card is, but we still pkay it like that. However, we keep that copy to play with, and have ordered a new copy of the game to sleeve and keep, because we know we would still play the game and that thw copy we have would one day be destroyed.
17:30 It's partially a thing of the past too, at least for me.
Back when there wasn't so many games, you had more time to read the rules of any game that did come across. Now I have so many rule books on my computer that I know that I will never read them all so anything past 20 pages will only be read if I have a real big reason to think that it will work for me.
"No, I don't sleeve my game. I have 7 children" – Tom Vasel.
"there is War and Peace, Crime and Punishment – thats 4 books already right there" 💀💀💀
After checking the comments, I think we would need to create some 'Sleevers Anonymous' group to talk about our experiences. Because it's completely normal to buy Dragon Shield Brushed Art sleeves for games I don't even play so often, right? 😂
Fantastic video, thank you for being the best (and only) board gamers therapist I know!
9:51 – 10:03 😯
"I hated all of them. I didn't like the games either." I love your style of humour, such a provocateur you are. 🙂
I feel lectured on how I should approach my hobby and to be honest, I do not really like that. Several of your opinions make sense but eventually it is about the personal experience and what sparks joy for the people playing, collecting, even sleeving their games.
I cull my game collection on a formula based on "how much I like the game" / "how big is the box".
So the bigger the box (meaning more work to carry to game nights), the easier it gets cut from my collection.
In the other end, some small games I like less can stay longer.
I am a selective sleever. I think card games you play a lot and your favorites deserve sleeving for sure.
Your videos always make taking a dump even more enjoyable.
#8 Haha 😄, you have a kid now, you can definately say good bye to long and heavy games for a number of years.
We have Frosthaven in the closet waiting for it's time, when we have the time (and energy).
(And before someone comments that Frosthaven is not heavy, it is to us AT THE MOMENT)
Sorry to hear you didn’t enjoy Twilight Struggle as much as me and my partner — it’s our favorite 2p game, and the gameplay for us is sooooo evocative of the push and pull tension of the Cold War! (Though it took until the third play for us to really groove with it, haha… so I can’t say I don’t understand your experience 🙃)
But! Your point about light games being equally fun is spot on 💯👌🏼 We recently got Lost Cities after seeing it in one of your reviews, and it’s already #2 on our Best 2PG list 🙌🏼 Every time we play it, we end up playing 2-3 more rounds than we expected to, so… thanks! 🙏🏼
When we game, we drink. So yes, I didn't feel too bad when a friend poured beer over my sleeved Terraforming Mars cards. We wiped them off and that was that. Can't even tell which cards took a bath
+
So much hate towards Di Caprio! 😂
I just love playing my favorite Games over and over again. When I‘m playing new games, most of them are fine but it’s rare that they are exceptional. Whenever we play my favorites, we have an absolute great time.
Play your favorites more often, don’t chase the next new game just because it’s new to you.
Some salient points here. It's always worth questioning our approach to the hobby, so that we aren't left regretting decisions, particularly those that may have a financial impact.
Others often mock me for my need to sleeve my games. The way I look at it is that the environment in which they are played often has a major say in me wanting to protect components as much as possible. Meetups at pubs/bars, even conventions, where the persons playing sometimes aren't familiar to me and may not take as much care with the game as I would like. Yes, I even sleeve games like Cockroach Poker. It helps with resales (for non-party games primarily), as it can be shown that the game was well looked after.
The "Cult of the New" and "FOMO" is definitely an issue, and one I personally have tried to steer clear of. I will only back games on Kickstarter/Gamefound from publishers and designers that I am familiar with, as I have been burnt too many times in the past on flashy IPs and promises.
I've tried to cull my collection many times, thankfully I am limited on storage space which helps. That being said, the memories we have playing games can often lead to a strong emotional attachment, even if it hardly gets played anymore. I sold off my entire Battlestar Galactica collection some time back, and whilst I was hesitant at the time given I had many fun moments whilst playing it, I can thankfully say I haven't regretted doing so as the money went on more important things. It's important to see that games are just an avenue to social interaction and bonding with those across the table – well, unless you are one of those people that primarily play solo. I guess in that case, setting up a mirror across the table would suffice!
0:58 This book comparison is gold. Don't be afraid to (re)discover older classics and introduce them to people new to the hobby!
While I agree with 7. Going to conventions is great… Conventions lead to a lot of the other bad behaviors. Where do you see the MOST people sleeving games? Conventions. Where are you 100% going to buy a game that you may never ever play? Conventions. You get so swept up in all the excitement for the new and for whats trending.
It took me a few times to realize some of the best fun at a convention is the back rooms with the old games and 12 people and not the front rush to try the newest hottest releases.
What was the videos about modern relationship called 🤔… "red pills" 😎 this is the same but for board gamers 😏
P.S. Sleeves, OMG how many I bought and how mush time I spent on "sleeving" cards 🤦♂
And now I am off to buy "The Castles of Burgundy" …
Wait, doesn't everyone shower in the evening normally?
I think the biggest thing board gamers should avoid is…elitism. yes we know your flavour of the month game is more intricate than Uno,Clue,Scrabble or Monopoly but hardly anyone is playing it! One thing that deters me is when a gamer launches into some weird dissing of classic games
I bought Voidfall, feels like I'm been thrown in the deep end of the pool and learning to swim, Lol
4 great books right there…hilarious, well played sir