chemslayer

Besides Gloomhaven, I have to shout out Race for the Galaxy. The physical version isn't bad, but the digital is so well made and so snappy, and with the AI I can play a full game in 5 minutes. Just wonderful experience

Came here to say the same. The rules and upkeep is so finicky in the real version, and the digital just handles it. The digital version is still kinda janky, but miles better

Ha I figure I'll get that "finding a group" problem solved after I've got the game, will be easy I'm sure 😅

I have no idea who Carmichael is outside of this so I'm glad to hear your confidence!

If you have a micro SD in the slot, and then you take off the back case (which is what I assumed happened here because of the upgrading), it will snap the SD card in half. You just have to remember to remove your card before taking apart the deck

Doom slayer inspiration?

Definitely. I'm not gonna pretend just the core gives you much in the way of options, but the starter decks are truly god-awful and can be vastly improved just by taking out some wtf cards and replacing them with stuff good for your role (eg Daisy should not have knives)

And isn't the price much higher etc...

Haha, I did have that exact thought when I was posting 😅 Although imo the barrier to entry is lower for the base game, and once I know I like a game I don't mind spending, so that's my idea behind it.

I did bounce off AHLCG the first time, and even sold it off. The "starter decks" they give you are god-awful and it really does feel like you're at the mercy of random bullshit, but once you learn enough to deckbuild half decently (or look up the "better starting decks" published on Arkhamdb) the game feels much more rewarding, and the amount of nonsense you can get up to is amazing. There's still the occasional bad luck (it is Arkham after all), but the game and strategy feels much more in your hands.

Didn't even think of trying Spirit Island on TTS, maybe I'll give that a go to see how I like it!

Haven't tried Spirit Island yet! To be honest, the big price tag kind of scares me from casually trying it(esp since I hear the consensus is you want the branch & claw xpacs too to really make it great).

It might be cheating since it is only sorta a board game, but my favorite is the Arkham Horror LCG. So much content, each campaign has its own quirks and twists, and the deckbuilsing is incredibly deep, especially with the experience leveling up system. One of my favorite board games overall

I wonder if/when the digital implementation will get updated to 2E. I played the OG back in the day, and there's a benefit to the tactileness of a real board game, but the digital handling all the AI, upkeep, and rules makes it so much easier to play

Not personally a fan of 7 Wonders, while I enjoy drafting as a mechanic I don't feel like it has enough heft to make an entire game out of it.

I LOVE 7 Wonders duel! The gameplay and decision trees get really interesting, and especially playing against the same opponent repeatedly whole metas and strategies develop and get beat and repeat. Never tried the xpacs, as I feel the base game is so tight and interesting and I worry about adding extra bloat into such a lean system

Ooo tough choice! I'd go with either Prosperity or Dark Ages, for complete opposite reasons.

Prosperity has a lot more support for "big" plays (big money, big actions, big engines), along with platinums and colonies, so it can be a lot of fun to get up to much more nonsense than usual.

Dark Ages on the other hand, lends itself to more grindy, clever engines. The themes of trash value, as well as low-cost stuff and ruins, really lets you get into the mud and grind a pile of dirt until it miraculously creates gold. The addition of shelters to replace the starting estates is really fun too, and gives the starting deck a little more oomph and utility.

Back to the wall, I guess I'd pick Dark Ages, as I love me a battle of attrition. But either of these are great, and tbh any of the original expansions are wonderful! (I can't give an opinion on the new age expansions since I own none of them)