Need advice for a heavy boardgame.

[magnum108]

At the beginning of this year I started playing modern boardgames. Until now, I only played classic games. Such as checkers, backgammon, bridge.
I want to try some heavy boardgame. But there is a small problem: I can't choose at all.
Maybe you can advise? Terra Mystica? Feast for Odin? Caylus? Carnegie, ......?

[cigma]

Do you ask the readers which games THEY like best or which games might suit YOU? If the latter, please give us more information.

I can see that you already played Tzolk'in, Great Western Trail, Puerto Rico and El Grande. Which of them do you like best and why? If you liked some game, it might be worth to find out about other games of the same designer. Are you interested in specific mechanisms or themes? Is the time it takes to play a whole game important to you?

Generally speeking, I'd say there is one main difference in complex games: strategy or tactic. In strategic games (like Tzolk'in) you can plan forward for several rounds, because the information you need is open. In tactical games there are short time changes (often caused by cards, like in El Grande, or blocked actions, like in Puerto Rico) and you have to play more flexible.

Some other games on BGA which could be interesting for you:
Agricola, The Castles of Burgundy, (Lost Ruins of) Arnak, Barrage, Tapestry, Gaja Project, Through the Ages I + II, Clans of Caledonia, Marco Polo + Marco Polo II, Russian Railroads / Ultimate Railroads, Teotihuacan, Yokohama, La Granja, Troyes, Nippon, Chocolate Factory, In the Year of the Dragon, Homesteaders, Assyria, Signorie, Dungeon Petz, Chimera Station, Tinner's Trail, Hawaii, Madeira, The Ruhr and maybe more...

I think this list (manually extracted by me from the all-games-list) is sorted by popularity, so if you are interested in finding players easily, prefer the ones which I suggested first.

I am a tactical player, and my favourites out of these games are Puerto Rico, The Castles of Burgundy and Troyes

[magnum108]

Wow, thanks a lot for the detailed answer.
El Grande was my great discovery. I fell in love with this game.
Puerto Rico, Great Western Trail, Tzolkin is not my favourites - I just try it sometimes. Maybe one day I will fall in love with these games too.
What I like most in El Grande? - hmm maybe because it's tactical, I also like the territory control, this game is also balanced. El Grande is marked as having only one point for interaction, but I think there's a lot of more interaction between players. For example, the Tigris & Euphrates are amazing because of their interaction.

Okay, so now we have three points that I like: **Tactical, **Area Majority / Influence, **Interaction. The length of playing time is not important.

From your list, Tapestry looks interesting.

P.S.-How many years do you play boardgames? You know a lot.

Do you ask the readers which games THEY like best or which games might suit YOU? If the latter, please give us more information.

I can see that you already played Tzolk'in, Great Western Trail, Puerto Rico and El Grande. Which of them do you like best and why? If you liked some game, it might be worth to find out about other games of the same designer. Are you interested in specific mechanisms or themes? Is the time it takes to play a whole game important to you?

Generally speeking, I'd say there is one main difference in complex games: strategy or tactic. In strategic games (like Tzolk'in) you can plan forward for several rounds, because the information you need is open. In tactical games there are short time changes (often caused by cards, like in El Grande, or blocked actions, like in Puerto Rico) and you have to play more flexible.

Some other games on BGA which could be interesting for you:
Agricola, The Castles of Burgundy, (Lost Ruins of) Arnak, Barrage, Tapestry, Gaja Project, Through the Ages I + II, Clans of Caledonia, Marco Polo + Marco Polo II, Russian Railroads / Ultimate Railroads, Teotihuacan, Yokohama, La Granja, Troyes, Nippon, Chocolate Factory, In the Year of the Dragon, Homesteaders, Assyria, Signorie, Dungeon Petz, Chimera Station, Tinner's Trail, Hawaii, Madeira, The Ruhr and maybe more...

I think this list (manually extracted by me from the all-games-list) is sorted by popularity, so if you are interested in finding players easily, prefer the ones which I suggested first.

I am a tactical player, and my favourites out of these games are Puerto Rico, The Castles of Burgundy and Troyes

[RicardoRix]

You're right to try and tap into the reason why you like a board game. If it's player interaction, then you may find that Euro games can sometimes be lacking. And then the more you play 'interaction' board games, the more you realise that it can involve a heavy amount of diplomacy (or just stay out the fight) to become the winner.

I would suggest TerraMystica, as it has the area control feature. And maybe Quantum - which is quite heavy player interaction fighting.

2-player games can have much more direct player interaction because there is no ganging-up problem. So there are many battle/fighting games like Memoir44. My personal recommended though would be Innovation 2 player. IMO the best game on the site, and something completely different.

[cigma]

El Grande was my great discovery. I fell in love with this game.
Puerto Rico, Great Western Trail, Tzolkin is not my favourites - I just try it sometimes. Maybe one day I will fall in love with these games too.
What I like most in El Grande? - hmm maybe because it's tactical, I also like the territory control, this game is also balanced. El Grande is marked as having only one point for interaction, but I think there's a lot of more interaction between players. For example, the Tigris & Euphrates are amazing because of their interaction.

Okay, so now we have three points that I like: **Tactical, **Area Majority / Influence, **Interaction.

You mentioned El Grande and Tigris & Euphrates as two of your favourites, which are not the most heavy ones. So maybe you might also check these medium weight games who match your criteria: Iwari, Kahuna and Kingdom Builder (another one of my favourites).

P.S.-How many years do you play boardgames? You know a lot.

To be honest, I have played most but not all of the games I mentioned in my list.

And yes, I think I know a lot of games, because I never stopped playing

[Timopheus]

Gloomhaven - 10kg.

[ahyangyi]

Indeed, Gloomhaven is also the "heaviest" game I physically own

Dominion is a surprising competitor. It might look "light" at the first glance, but, expansions do add up...

[FT3]

Lift with your knees

[Jeronimon]

Okay, so now we have three points that I like: **Tactical, **Area Majority / Influence, **Interaction. The length of playing time is not important.

Based on these preferences Memoir’44 might fall into your wheelhouse.
Memoir’44 has recently been implemented on BGA and a lot of accomplished players are migrating over from the Memoir’44 online version that will be terminated around April 2023. So if you do go for Memoir’44 be prepared for stiff competition

Some of those dudes have been playing Memoir’44 for years and years on the board and online.
But I feel it is also a welcoming community where almost all payers are friendly and helpful (until you face them across the board of course )

Edit: not a heavy game regarding the rules but if you play this against experienced players the small nuances and moves do tend to make it a brain teaser sometimes. We regard it as about 25-30% luck and 70-75% skill.

[magnum108]

Okay, so now we have three points that I like: **Tactical, **Area Majority / Influence, **Interaction. The length of playing time is not important.

Based on these preferences Memoir’44 might fall into your wheelhouse.
Memoir’44 has recently been implemented on BGA and a lot of accomplished players are migrating over from the Memoir’44 online version that will be terminated around April 2023. So if you do go for Memoir’44 be prepared for stiff competition

Some of those dudes have been playing Memoir’44 for years and years on the board and online.
But I feel it is also a welcoming community where almost all payers are friendly and helpful (until you face them across the board of course )

Edit: not a heavy game regarding the rules but if you play this against experienced players the small nuances and moves do tend to make it a brain teaser sometimes. We regard it as about 25-30% luck and 70-75% skill.

Thank you sir. I'll try memoir44. It looks like not very heavy and dificult game.