Ask Lemmy

Favorite and least favorite strategy games: Shogi

No real reason. Just something I picked up one day out of boredom on mobile and really liked. It's also my least favorite because I suck at it and sometimes make really dumb mistakes.

Favorite chance game: basically anything where there's a roll of the die, a swish of a card turning over, or a clip of a coin. I love randomness, so I don't have a problem with games of chance if I'm not betting anything.

Least favorite: gonna have to agree with OP on this one.

• Strategy favorite: Inis
• Strategy least favorite: Draughts
• Chance favorite: Two Up
• Chance least favorite: Baccarat

Strategy favorite: Root - it's rules-heavy, but each faction functions completely differently, and the art is fantastic.

Strategy blah: Axis and Allies. It's more of a history lesson than a game, and I've never heard of a game taking less than four hours.

Chance favorite: Egyptian War (goes by other names, I think). Technically it's not pure chance, but mostly (which is probably why I like it).

Chance blah: Left Center Right. The most mind-numbing experience.

For the record, Bingo isn't dull if you play it the way those older ladies do, with like 12 cards at a time. Then it's just a rush of anxiety. Still not fun, but not dull.

I like the mix.

I don't like any pure chance games. Some 20%-30% strategy is needed before I find it fun.

On the other end, I like chess, but only with human players. Not computer chess. It needs human mistakes, and I make my human mistakes as well.

Pure strategy favourite: Terra Mystica, as long as you are happy with a fairly rules-dense game.

Pure chance favourite: Snakes and Ladders

Strategy favourite: EU4, before mission trees were added (too railroaded now). Yes computer game. It's asymmetric, meaning you can choose to start in stronger or weaker positions.

Honourable mention: Go, chess, or other games with one page rules and emergent complexity.

Strategy bleh: any of the modern points based board games that take longer to read the manual than play the game. Catan is the only one I tolerate here, as it has enough people that know the rules that you don't need to reread it for everyone's benefit every time. If the game needs a GM to handle the rules, you cannot know enough about the rules to form a strategy while only playing it rarely.

Chance: Cribbage, in two player version. Well, admittedly you can still outplay the other player. But to outplay them, you need a fast and intuitive grasp of statistics. Selecting the cards for the crib is the biggest strategic advantage here, and it's more of a weighted odds thing.

Chance bleh: Blackjack. You have no way to affect the outcome. There is a right way to play (over a large enough number of hands), and that is it.

Hybrid: soft spot for Texas Hold 'em. It's a good hybrid of chance, strategy, and straight up social skills. No other game seems to rely as much on reading people, and you can do this right or wrong in dramatic fashion.

Lastly: D&D is the best of everything. The rules are long, but the DM looks after details (or you can wing it and no is grabbing the book to check). It has the reach of Catan, meaning you aren't learning new rules at every table. There are social elements, chance elements, tactical elements.

Strategy I like:

Stratego. I just have a knack for this one and play it to death.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/1917/stratego

Twilight Imperium with all the expansion packs. I have third edition, haven't tried fourth which came out 2017.

https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/12493/twilight-imperium-third-edition

Chinese Go.

Motherfuggen SCRABBLE!

Chance I like: Buckshot Roulette

Chance I dislike: slots and other trash tier gambling games designed to make you lose more than gain.

Dislike strategy: I can't get into Chess. I don't know if Aphantasia is hampering my abilities here. I didn't try long enough to really know yet so it's just more of a bad first impressions grudge. Maybe one day I'll meet a friend who likes Chess.