Coffee break games

[Nostromo]

I barely play games anymore. I don't have the time, nor the inclination. But once in a while I'm in the mood for a coffee break game. Here are some games that I enjoy playing.

There's Hoplites, a nice little card game based on the board game SPQR. But I'm not good at it I guess I'll get the hang of it eventually... And there are Samurai and Conan extensions. Its free and you can download it here:

http://digilander.libero.it/zak965/hoplites.htm

Btw, it looks even better with the enhanced cards.

Another game I discovered recently is the computer adaptation of Reiner Knizia's Samurai. Reiner Knizia, of course, is a well-known board game designer. He also designed the board game Tigris and Euphrates. I played Samurai once or twice and its a very elegant game. Games are short and fun! Exactly what I need!

http://www.klear.com/samurai/index.php

The computer adaptation of Magic: the gathering also looks fun, but I haven't tried it yet. Anybody tried it?

Any other suggestions?

[Barinthus]

Whee thanks for letting us know about this. I will take a look soon if I can get away from GW

[Kuciwalker]

Re: Coffee break games

GTA

[Nostromo]

Originally posted by Barinthus
Whee thanks for letting us know about this. I will take a look soon if I can get away from GW

This thread is about games that don't take over your life. A friend of mine wasted a ridiculous amount of his precious time playing World of Warcraft, time he'll never get back...

[Nostromo]

Re: Re: Coffee break games

Originally posted by Kuciwalker
GTA

I bought the GTA double pack for the Xbox. I finished GTA 3, but haven't started Vice City yet. And, no, GTA doesn't count as a coffee break either.

[Urban Ranger]

Re: Coffee break games

Originally posted by nostromo
The computer adaptation of Magic: the gathering also looks fun, but I haven't tried it yet. Anybody tried it?

The one I have seen is published by MicroProse. Which means it's ages old. The game is okay, not impressive. The good thing is you get to use all those nasty out-of-print restricted cards (Black Lotus, Moxes, etc.).

Are there newer versions out? All I have seen are assistants, not real games.

Originally posted by nostromo
Any other suggestions?

Risk?

[snoopy369]

Re: Re: Coffee break games

Originally posted by Urban Ranger


The one I have seen is published by MicroProse. Which means it's ages old. The game is okay, not impressive. The good thing is you get to use all those nasty out-of-print restricted cards (Black Lotus, Moxes, etc.).

Are there newer versions out? All I have seen are assistants, not real games.

The MicroProse one was decent, sort of fun anyway.

Now there's the real thing online - published by WOTC, online mostly, and very $$$ heavy. You actually buy packs online (for a similar price)... but a decent game all told.

[Nostromo]

Re: Re: Coffee break games

Originally posted by Urban Ranger

Are there newer versions out? All I have seen are assistants, not real games.

Yep, this one:

http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=magic/magiconline

Risk?

Never played that one. And I believe the games can be quite long, so thanks but no thanks... If I'm in the mood for that sort of game, I'll play my good ol' EU 2

[Nostromo]

Now there's the real thing online - published by WOTC, online mostly, and very $$$ heavy. You actually buy packs online (for a similar price)... but a decent game all told.

I never played the card game, but it looks really innovative. Its that expensive, eh? The basic game isn't that expensive, irc. But do you really need to buy all those extra cards?

[snoopy369]

It's as expensive as the basic game. Not expensive or expensive is a judgement call. You have to spend a few hundred dollars to have a decent deck at all, and several hundred to play regularly, plus keeping up with new cards.

[Urban Ranger]

Re: Re: Re: Coffee break games

Originally posted by nostromo
Never played that one. And I believe the games can be quite long, so thanks but no thanks... If I'm in the mood for that sort of game, I'll play my good ol' EU 2

I guess it depends on how long your coffee breaks are

You can always try gomoku which are usually quite short.

The Hoplite game seems to be too complicated to be a coffee break game anyway - unless your breaks are long

[Urban Ranger]

Originally posted by nostromo
I never played the card game, but it looks really innovative. Its that expensive, eh? The basic game isn't that expensive, irc. But do you really need to buy all those extra cards?

It depends. If all you play are seal deck tournaments, your expenses will be low. However if you try to keep up with all the versions and expansions and such, the game is a blackhole of $$$.

It was innovative once, but the game is now just silly, being a money mill for WotC.

[Nostromo]

The Hoplite game seems to be too complicated to be a coffee break game anyway - unless your breaks are long

At least, the games are short, on average less than 5 minutes.

[Adagio]

Originally posted by nostromo
I bought the GTA double pack for the Xbox. I finished GTA 3, but haven't started Vice City yet. And, no, GTA doesn't count as a coffee break either.

Did you miss all the news about the coffee mod?

[Nostromo]

Originally posted by Adagio

Did you miss all the news about the coffee mod?

I heard about the hot coffee mod, and I knew sex was involved, but I didn't knew why they called it "hot coffee", so I didn't get Kuci's joke. I just googled it, and now I know.