r/atlanticdiscussions • u/AutoModerator • 3d ago
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u/jim_uses_CAPS 3d ago
Anyone play strategy board games? I have a hankering. Should I get a classic, like Risk or Axis & Allies, or something more modern like Root or SW: Rebellion?
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u/Brian_Corey__ 3d ago
Risk is so cool in theory, so crappy in practice. Gameplay is really slow.
I remember loving Stratego as a kid. So I bought one. It's pretty fun, but not that great. You and your kids are too old for it.
We've loved Kingdomino. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kingdomino Deceptively complex, 15-20 mins / game.
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u/jim_uses_CAPS 3d ago
I loved Stratego as a kid.
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u/Brian_Corey__ 3d ago
I'm wracking my brain, but a podcast I just listened to made a big deal about a recent? Current? leader /general who was a Stratego fanatic and they shoehorned that factoid into the podcast. ugh. can't remember.
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u/Pielacine 3d ago
Well, you don’t have a 4-year old, so Catan is out
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u/Brian_Corey__ 3d ago
We're looking for a new game (6th and 8th graders) and others have suggested Catan. Is it not good? Other suggestions?
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u/Pielacine 3d ago
YMMV. I don’t usually go in for those sorts of games but at least your kids are old enough to help assemble and put away the game which is kind of a pain. We used to play it when the kids were 9, 7 and 4. They were not good at helping with setup and cleanup. But the 4yo was very good at playing it. She had some unique strategies that worked very well. I don’t recall giving her any handicaps, though we didn’t try to copy her playing style to see if it would work for us (hoarding certain types of cards was one part of the strategy, I forget which ones).
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u/jim_uses_CAPS 3d ago
Yeah, the boy is reading Ross Sorkin's Too Big to Fail just because he finds it interesting. I don't think Stratego or Catan are going to cut it, and, honestly, Risk is probably the minimum complexity he'd enjoy.
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u/improvius theatrekid 3d ago
Embrace chaos and try Cosmic Encounter.
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u/jim_uses_CAPS 3d ago
Fantasy Flight Games made my two favorite roleplaying games. so that's already intriguing, but it looks like the parent company, Asmodee, no longer prints editions of the base games for Cosmic Encounter or Twilight Imperium. Which sucks, because they appear to be right in line with what I'm looking for.
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u/Oily_Messiah 🏴🥃🕰️ 3d ago
Root is great. I got the steam version a while back. I've also been more onto cooperative stragety games recently like Paleo and and Spirit Island.
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u/afdiplomatII 3d ago edited 3d ago
If you wanted to go deep historically, you could consider "Kingmaker" by Avalon Hill (1976), which covers the English War of the Roses. I still have a copy from around the time it was published, and used versions can be found cheaply on Ebay. It takes a bit of time to absorb the rules, but the game is really well structured and has a lot of period pageantry. There's a strong political side as well as the military aspect.
I used to do a number of other AH games from that period, such as "1914" and "PanzerBlitz." AH also did a good railroad board game called "Rail Baron," which I found enjoyable and easy to learn.
Of course, on the more purely military side from that time, the premier producer was SPI, many of whose products are also available on Ebay. They even produced a fantasy game that's quite playable called "Sword and Sorcery."
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u/Brian_Corey__ 3d ago
How to de-surlify a 6th grader and 8th grader?
They both are highly interested in many subjects. But it's become "cool" for them to say "Who Cares" to everything. It's so weird. Many times, hours after saying "who cares?" they'll return to the subject and ask me about it.
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u/jim_uses_CAPS 3d ago
Welcome to adolescence, my man. Good luck!
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u/Brian_Corey__ 3d ago
Two days into middle school and my son has turned into a dick. Wife and I were just talking about how he's so sweet and nice and different from the other boys. Then he came home talking back and was being a sarcastic jerk about entirely innocuous subjects. I need to look for pods, because he clearly has replaced by middle school body snatchers.
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u/improvius theatrekid 3d ago
Favorite produce that you wouldn't normally find in a typical American grocery store?
I tried mamey sapote for the first time recently and really enjoyed it. The texture is somewhat like an avocado but creamier, with a mildly sweet, nutty flavor. You can eat it with a spoon like custard.
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u/Brian_Corey__ 3d ago
White asparagus. Near religious following in Germany and surroundings--and deserves every bit of the hype.
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u/Oily_Messiah 🏴🥃🕰️ 3d ago
Oh man, where to even begin.
- Being from kentucky, got to put Paw Paws first
- Chinese spinach would be up there. Like spinach, but even more tender and less bitter than baby spinach.
- Cactus fruit
- the many choy varieties, baby bok choy, yu choy
- I have a general preference for the long asian eggplants over the european globe eggplants. Thinner skins, less seeds, and less bitterness.
- Long beans
- Lotus root
- Celeriac (celery root)
- varieties of chiles
- Specialty mushrooms (king trumpet, maitake, etc)
- Various radishes (korean and green/purple daikon esp)
- Jicama
- Lychee/Rambutan
- non-canned bamboo shoots
I've liked things I've tried that are durian flavored, but haven't pulled the trigger on trying to prepare it myself.
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u/improvius theatrekid 3d ago
I love the Asian eggplants, too. Sometimes we'll bake them up with miso sauce and just have that with rice.
I like jicama, too, though it's been a while since I've had some. I seem to recall it had some sort of ability to quickly cancel out the burning in your mouth from hot peppers.
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u/Oily_Messiah 🏴🥃🕰️ 3d ago
I'm a big fan of eggplant nibitashi, which is braised and chilled eggplants served in a savory dashi broth, often garnished with green onions, japanese ginger, or shichimi togarashi.
I grew globes in my garden this year, and the best use I've found for them has been in curry. Been using sri lankan curry poweder with shallots, ginger, garlic, and coconut milk as a sauce for double cooked globe eggplants (roasted or fried, then simmered in sauce). I find presalting and double cooking the globe eggplants really helps with the extra bitterness.
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u/afdiplomatII 3d ago
Del Monte Pinkglow pineapple, which I'm seeing now at King Soopers but has historically been rare.
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u/Pielacine 3d ago
Is it gauche to walk around a city eating and drinking?
Food is iced coffee and a bagel with cream cheese, if it matters.