I am in the market for a new game but struggle a bit to decide which one! Most of the reviewers on youtube I find obnoxious, trying to hard to be funny and often not really useful. How do you decide? Especially if you cannot play the game beforehand?
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I keep a big list of games of potential interest and continuously research them. Over time a few bubble to the top (in terms of my interest).
For research BGG is invaluable of course, especially the game-specific forums and comments. I take ratings into account but with a big grain of salt. I read the rulebooks, watch videos too (playthroughs are the best but reviews too). If there is a good online implementation (especially BGA or Yucata) I definitely give that a try. If there is a TTS module I load that up too even if I don’t have anybody to play with, it can be a good way to examine the components.
Research can be almost as much fun as actually playing :)
In short I have to be excited about the game, I have to have some level of understanding of how it plays and the price has to be right.
Thank you very much for sharing. I do have a list, its not very big, and will usually have like 5-6 titles. I was then thinking, ok, but how do I decide now. So I tried watching some videos about the games and the first two I tried, basically destroyed the game! Mind, these are very popular games we are talking about. So I figured that the reviewers are a bit too biased and I might not align with them on the things they like and not like. They did make some compelling points though that did resonate with me.
The last game we bought was Ark Nova, we knew almost nothing about the game at the time, sure heard that it has a high score and won some awards but thats about it. We are very happy with it.
Before that, we bought Arnak almost the same way. And…we dont like the game that much. We played a bunch of 2 and 3 player games but none really clicked and it felt like min/maxing from turn 1 and if you screw up, tough luck, the game is over.
If I see a game that strikes my fancy, I put it on a list to try it on tabletop simulator with my group. Especially during birthday season we try a lot to find a good game for someones shelf, with each their own inspiration. Games we can’t test are out of the running, that shit is too expensive to gamble and there is always similar competition that is available. Some games never leave TTS, if we feel like automatic setup and scoring is a big part of making the game fun and not a chore.
- Did Dr Reiner Knizia design it?
- Is it a Cube Rails?
- Who will I play it with?
- Does it cost under £50?
- Does it play up to 5?
- Is there a rulebook online?
- Do my geekbuddies rate it highly?
- What does it do in my collection?
I’m looking for realistic answers to 6 out of those, before I’ll consider it
I take a very long-winded approach. I try to find a copy of the rules online, and then read through it (which is the first thing I would do if I had gone out to buy the game).
Then, instead of watching a review, I try to find a play through video to see how it plays out. The video isn’t completely devoid of colorful commentary or random banter, but it does give me a realistic expectation of how long the game truly takes.
I generally know whether I’d appreciate a game or hate it from reading the rule book. The video just saves me the cycle of buying, trying, and returning if I’m on the fence.
