Best Game for Asynchronous Turn Play?

[Estelion]

Hello All,

I'm very new to this site, i ended up here trying to find someway to play boardgames with my friends who are now scattered in different cities.

So with that in mind, which game you ppl like to play 3-4 players in turn based (asynchronous) mode?

I know a game could run for a long time, but there are some who are going to be innately better for turn based mode.

Hope you can help me and sorry if this was alredy asked and my searchfu wasn't good.

Hope to read from you!

[alexsim]

Estelion-

I recommend that you start with a game you all know, or are at least familiar with. That way, you and your friends can focus on learning the interface instead of learning the game rules.

If you can't find a common game, you might start with the "Awarded Games" - all of those are good (Puerto Rico stands out as a great game that scales well for 3-5 players).

In general, I think worker placement games work well played turn-based (there tends to be a lot of downtime waiting for other players when played in real life). Stone Age and Tzolk'in stand out (Tzolk'in is a richer, but more complicated game; Stone Age is pretty easy to learn). Card games tend not to work very well this way, because the individual turns are so short (Race for the Galaxy, Hearts, K2).

If your friends are reluctant to jump in cold, you might try starting with a scheduled time when you can all log on at once. Ideally start a group chat session via Skype or something similar. (In-game (text) chat works fine, but voice will be a lot easier for some people). You can play a real-time practice game, or even start your async game and play a few turns just to get things started.

[squarerootofthree]

In addition to the good tips from alexsim, I'd add that my preference for async turn-based games leans toward games where you can take multiple actions on your turn. Quantum is kind of ideal for this because you can take multiple actions on your turn (until someone gets the clever or stubborn or dangerous cards ). This means there's less downtime when you make a single action and then have to wait for the next person, etc. Takenoko and Tzolk'in are also good games where you can do a few actions at once which really helps to speed up the game.

[Joe90UK]

From a game speed perspective, I have found that games like Puerto Rico and Stone Age tend to take a long time to complete, especially if you are all playing at different times etc, as more often than not you are waiting for others to be online for a quick decision.

The best games I have played tend to be when you can all be around at a similar time - still better to play turn based though, just in case 'real life' gets in the way

Hope you find the games you are looking for, but for me, Quantum/Takenoko and K2 do work well.

[Estelion]

Well, thanks a lot for all the replies!!!

I will try to create a live session at least to explain the rules of a game, i alredy played Quantum but i'm a little bit concerned when some1 got the cards that can activate all and any turns.

I will check the other games and will let you know my results, thanks a lot!!