I need a new game... :(

Help. I just installed and tried to play DOTA 2 and discovered that OSX has some serious control issues with this game. Uninstalled it and sank into a deep depression.

I've gotten pretty bored with revisiting games I've already played. If you want to recommend a PC game please note that I'm not really looking for anything with an isometric perspective.

If you recommend a board game or card game that can be easily learned and played with 2-5 people and doesn't cost $100 and take 2 hours to set up and play then you win my undying gratitude.

Also, does anyone have any thoughts on Magic The Gathering? Can it be played casually or is it a perpetually unbalanced deck building game for neck beards? Please note that I currently have a week old neckbeard that I will be shaving presently, I merely use that term to designate activities that my girlfriend wouldn't want to participate in.

 

I thought we were supposed to ban those that did it.

 

Re:

huh?

 

He's been bombarding us with his polemic commentary and pop culture reference, and in this refined place, that should be ill tolerated.

Ban him or else, I'll threaten to do something I'm not stupid enough to do!

 

You sleek bastard, editing afterwards.

Also, Heroes of Newerth should work on OSX.
The resistance is a fun board game, take about 15-30 minutes to play, though you need to be 5-10 people.

Small world is 2-5 but takes around 2 hour to get done with, depending.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g_QRczGzXqw[/youtube]

MTG can be played casually with no problem. It can cost quite alot to get the cards and build you own deck, but the game in whole is quite balanced.
Also, you can have a house rule not to play with certain cards. (though the most broken cards are probably so expensive you don't wanna get them any way)

 

Sorry, I drank quite a bit of coffee yesterday!

Also - wobbler - thanks for the advice, the resistance looks like a lot of fun. I walked into my favorite cafe with a chess set on sunday and a bunch of people were all like "you like games?" Chess is sort of abstract, and visual and gives some people head aches so a party game like the resistance might be a lot of fun in the right setting.

Magic seems like it could be fun but my only problem would be convincing anyone else to play it with me. I think one of the sad things about games is sometimes their ubiquitousness works against them. Sometimes the question is - "Do you want to play games with your friends or do you want to seek out NEW friends who already play the game?" Life is complicated. Maybe I'll invest in a two deck starter pack.

-edit-
I figured out my problem with DOTA 2, apparently for macbooks they optimized it for two finger tapping - a function where two fingers tapping on the trackpad register as a right click. I had disabled this feature, but enabling it allows me to play DOTA 2 normally.

I haven't really made up my mind on this game just yet, I'll probably give Heroes Of Newerth a shot if DOTA 2 becomes irritating.

Since you recommended another MOBA, have you tried Awesomenauts? I was absolutely in love with that game for a while.

 

That's what I was going to suggest, it's been years (probably over 10) since I played MtG but picking two deck starter pack (where both decks are reasonably well balanced towards one another) seems like the easiest way to get into it without investing hours of your time. I remember when I got the original Goblin Wizard from The Dark, I had a boner that day.

 

The resistance is indeed a good party game that also works well with alcohol, since the rules are simple.
Yes MTG si one of those games that demand dedication in somewhat. And you need your friends(those you play with) to be on the same level. If you invest more than they do, it will get boring.


As for MOBAs I have only played Dota and HoN. I've been with HoN since closed beta and have grown a bit tired of them. Might check out awsomenauts.

As for chess, I regulary play on chess.com if you feel like going international.

 

I cannot recommend XCOM: Enemy Unknown enough. The perspective of the tactical battles is isometric, but the game is excellent, so deal with it.

Castle Panic fits the bill. It's a cooperative bard game that is easy to pick up for just about anybody who plays board games regularly. Reviews I've read online have accused it of being too easy, but I've played it with Pathfinder dice chuckers and it's posed a suitable challenge.

Magic: The Gathering is great fun. I play casually with about eight other friends and we get together two or three times a month to play. Typically one guy will purchase about three boxes of the latest release and we will draft out of those boxes. With prizes for the winners of the draft, it usually costs about $13 American.
That setup is suitable for me, but my good friend from that same circle just returned from the Pro Tour that was held in Dublin this weekend. We generally share the cards we pull from these boxes so this semi-pro buddy of mine has access to our cards (and we access to his) at a mitigated cost however, to hone his skills and increase the challenge of the people he plays outside of our casual draft group he has joined a local Magic team. Essentially, sharing a box with a group of friends will allow people to play the game and stay current for reasonably cheap and should also satisfy relatively competitive players.

 

Civilization: The Board Game. 2-4 players (preferably 4)
It's the only one I've ever played but I had an enormous amount of fun doing so. It takes a while to get into but once you've learned the rules they're easy to remember.

Here's a review.
Two expansions (Fame and Fortune & Wisdom and Warfare) have been released, but I haven't tried either of them out.


It might look a bit messy, but it's really quite easy.

 

I got The Witcher when it was brand new. If you can get it for free it's worth your while. The second one is even better and I look forward to the third coming soon.

As for castle panic; I haven't played it but watched Table top of it and found it a bit to simple. But in our group we try to get together for 8 or so hours when we play.

 

I don't really play many board games, but one I remember as being good was Puerto Rico. It's similar in style to Settlers of Catan, and is well balanced strategically - there isn't any particular guaranteed winning tactic, so you always have to adapt based on the other players. It also doesn't take that long to finish, compared to other games.

If you want to try out the game and see if you like it (and practice before taking on your friends), there is a free computerized version with A.I. opponents called Tropic Euro. The game is exactly the same, though there are a few cosmetic differences (e.g. changing the names of resources), possibly to avoid copyright infringement.

 

I've heard good things about Puerto Rico but have never played it. I've played San Juan several times and my understanding is that it is practically a mini-game contained in Puerto Rico. San Juan is a card game so it is simple to set up and not difficult to understand.

 

1 week game-need update.

Ok so I realized I had a ton of steam trading cards amassed from hours of playing various games. When you "craft" them together you get 3 things, 1 random emoticon and 1 random profile background based on the game from which the cards came, and you also get 1 random coupon for a game on steam. I got a coupon for 90% off of Serious Sam 3 BFE, so I bought that for the reasonable price of $4.

Also, the day I mentioned that GoG was giving away the Witcher free with any purchase... that was the last day of the promotion so I missed out on that.

I DID however get the new humble bundle and I'm definitely enjoying Anodyne so far - its basically a "depressive tribute to Link's Awakening" which is as cool as it sounds. The only weapon you get is a broom, and the game tends to follow a bizarre brand of confusing dream logic. The bundle also came with The Bard's Tale, but that looks terrible to be honest. Highlights were the inclusion of Worms Reloaded, and Ticket To Ride + 2 expansion maps, and Broken Sword Director's Cut - these three games are a bit of a nostalgia trip for me. Another game, "Greed Corp." seems interesting but the mac version hasn't been added to steam so I'm not sure if multiplayer will be available unless I'm able to use the Steam activation code. The honorable mentions go to Incredipede - a strange puzzle game where you build arachnid-like creatures out of bones and muscle - and "Organ Trail" a goofy, 8 bit, zombie survival take on the classic Oregon Trail.

I've also figured out my problem with DOTA 2's controls, so I've managed to play 6 games of that - miraculously with a 3/3 win/lose ratio. I can only say I was of any use in 2 of the games, lol.

Also I managed to get a few people to play chess in public which was fun.

If any of you have Ticket to Ride, or Worms Reloaded, or if you are interested in playing Dota 2 please feel free to add me on steam. My screen name is currently "Final Combat '95"

Also if anyone wants any Steam coupons I've got quite a few which expire very soon, they are as follows -
-25% off of Volgarr the Viking - (11.99 - > 8.99)
-66% off of Portal 2 - (19.99 -> 6.80)
-10% off of the new Shadow Warrior reboot - (39.99 -> 35.99) not such a great deal honestly.
-75% off of Revenge of the Titans - (9.99 -> 2.49)
-33% off of Foul Play - (14.99 -> 10.04) ---------- I have two copies of this coupon.

The only one I'd really recommend would be Portal 2 -_-
Shadow Warrior looks amazing but its a bit pricey for my taste, Volgarr The Viking will surely go on sale for $3 eventually, Revenge of the Titans is tower defense and I hate that genre... Foul Play is a multiplayer beat em up with interesting looking artwork and a theatrical theme, definitely unique, but also sure to go on sale in a few months.

If any of you want one of these coupons you're welcome to them, otherwise they'll likely just sit in my inventory and expire.

Finally - Wobble if you ever want to play chess online how are we to coordinate that?

 

portal 2 is great.

Chess is not the best for that.

It's either through email, via facebook (since I just log in through facebook) or searching for username.

Ha, now I found my homepage

Just make an account and send a challange.

 

GoG are currently offering Dungeon Keeper Gold Edition for ~2$. Just saying.

 

There's your problem.

 

I like my mac. It's lasted 6 years and counting.

Also I just got a new operating system for free and they fixed a backdoor the NSA was using to spy on people.

Now I can go back to selling yuns on the bilk chode.

Sa da tay...

JK about the bilk chode.