eBaying Games

[shannon_a]

Thanks to good 'ole BoardGameGeek I've discovered that some of my old, unplayed, unloved board games actually have value, and thus can be turned into new, played, loved board games.

Such was the case with Avalon Hill's _Titan_. I have no idea why I bought it originally, other than the fact that everyone claimed it was a classic and that I had disposable income at the time. Perhaps I bought it after purchasing and enjoying Reiner Knizia's _Titan: The Arena_. I'm not certain. In any case, upon learning of the playing time requirements I was immediately put off, and have never dragged it out for a game. Thus, I had an unpunched, close to pristine copy sitting on my shelf.

When I saw Titan appearing on many collectors' lists over at BGG I realized I should sell it off. So, using all my best eBay etiquette, including copious descriptions and pictures, I made it available for sale on Saturday. Mainly because *I* like having the option, I also put it in a Buy It Now option for $150, the midpoint of the range I expected.

It sold within 24 hours, has already been paid for, and is now on its way to a new happy home, where it hopefully won't sit unused on a shelf for years. (Getting the money for it is nice, but I'm always thrilled at being able to find a collectable a good home too, if someone else will appreciate it more than I.)

And now I've turned the cash into a new set of purchases over at funagain.com, some for kimberly_a and I, some for my gaming group as a whole. Here's the order:

• Carcassonne: Inns & Cathedrals - K. & I have been playing Carcassone a lot.
  
• Carcassonne: Traders & Builders - Ditto. And I think this supplement adds a lot to the base game.
  
• O Zoo le Mio - A tile-laying/auction game I've been wanting to try out since its original release as ZooSim. Possibly for 2-player play, possibly for group play.
  
• Wyatt Earp - The final Mystery Rummy game, and supposedly one of the best (along with Jack the Ripper). Also, one of the Alea small-box games.
  
• Wooly Bully - A Carcassonne alternative about herding sheep.
  
• Digging - A Reiner Knizia game that I picked up mainly because it was cheap, and I figured I might as well get it before Avalanche Press drops it out of print.
  
• Mammoth Hunters - My Alea-Big-Box game purchase this time around, though perhaps the least well-liked of the series.
  
• TransAmerica - My other more serious strategy purchase, because DougO said it was OK. #2 in the DSP 2002, after Puerto Rico.
  

Ironically, I'm already waiting on another funagain order, which includes:

• Carcassonne: The Castle - A new Carcassonne game that I've been looking forward to for months, designed by Reiner Knizia.
  
• Carcassonne: King & Scout - A couple of tiles for each of the extant Carcassonne games.
  
• Mystery Rummy #4: Al Capone & The Chicago Underworld - Because K. & I liked the first 3 MR games.
  
• San Marco - An Alan Moon classic, on sale over at funagain.
  

It should be a good Christmas season for gaming ...

Comments

[dougo.livejournal.com]

Transamerica is OK, but it's definitely not serious strategy. It's mainly good because it's very easy to learn (2 mins) and quick to play (30 mins or less). I've played it maybe a dozen times and I don't think I've ever won, so I know it's not completely random-- but it's not clear you have much control over your own destiny.

I finally played Mammoth Hunters a couple weeks ago, and I reluctantly have to agree with all the other reviews-- it's too self-balancing (too easy to hurt the leader and help the loser), and too long. I like some of the mechanics, though, and I suspect the rules could be tweaked to encourage shorter games (e.g. giving some extra incentive to end a round). But I took it off my want list unless I see it for cheap.

And for what it's worth, Wyatt Earp came out before Mystery Rummy #4 (and maybe even before #3? I forget), so it's not the final one. And there's two more "History's Mysteries" rummy games with a third on the way, so the franchise is still going strong. They seem to get lighter and lighter, though.

ZooSim and Wooly Bully are both good Carc-alikes-- Wooly Bully is kind of a hard sell in our group, but I like it a lot. And I like Carcassonne: The Castle a lot too, although it has quite a different feel from the others because the placement rules are much less strict. I've never played Digging, but people say it's pretty dire-- it's Knizia's first design, I think, so I guess he hadn't quite gotten the knack yet. But I want to try it at some point anyway.

One final tip: Funagain is great, but there are many cheaper mail-order places these days, if you're cost-conscious: Boulder Games, Game Surplus, and Fair Play Games are some of the most-recommended places (I've had good experiences with the first two, haven't tried the third yet). But I think they're all east coast, so shipping times will be longer for you. There are some new places on the west coast, but I don't know how competitive their prices are: Gamefest, Boards and Bits, and Time Well Spent are the three I've heard about recently (the last is in Colorado). On the other hand, I bet you could start getting companies to send you free review copies given how many reviews you've been writing...

[shannon_a]

Thanks for all the notes.

I'm not expecting to be particularly excited by Mammoth Hunters, but the little numbers on the first 7 Alea boxes have encouraged me to collect the set, and this is the only one I haven't played that's still in print in English. (I still need to get Princes too, but I'm not sure when I'll play it again, as our group is mostly doing a new game every Thursday, and so it's a hard sell for me. Maybe when I sell my next eBay game ...)

I have the first History's Mysteries game and was quite disappointed with it. Very boring play and it doesn't work well with two players. Nonetheless, I'll probably pick up the other because I'm interested in Fitzgerald's card design. Mystery Rummy #5 has been announced for 2004, by-the-by. Bonnie and Clyde.

A Carc-alike was indeed what I was looking for with Wooly Bully, but I get the impression that ZooSim is quite a bit different with its auctioning and tourists and such.

Sad to hear about Digging, but it was a very cheap purchase that I mostly got for interest value.

Funagain theoretically has a lowest-price guarantee, so this time around I gave them about $10 of price-lowering matches from Boulder Games. We'll see if they're good to their word and if they delay my order as a result. If not, they've got my continued business. If things are delayed, however, because of having to check the prices, I might as well go with the East Coast companies. We'll see if they get my order out Tuesday or Wednesday like they should.

[shannon_a]

And, yeah, I do actually get a decent number of free review copies. Rio Grande just happens to be one of the companies that's not hot on reviews, and they're doing a lot of the German imports. If you looked through my listings you'd see most of the games are Rio Grande or else smaller or foreign companies.

[wolflady26.livejournal.com]

My goodness, how many Carcasonne expansions are there, anyway?

*boggle*

[shannon_a]

There's the original Carcassonne.

And two expansions for it: Inns & Cathedrals (originally called just "The Expansion") and Traders & Builders.

There are two little 12 tile sets, which were giveaways at game fairs in Europe. The first, The River, is packaged as part of the original Carcassonne. The second, King & Scout, is now being sold as a little $5 item.

In addition there are two related standalone games, which use the Carcassonne system, but aren't afraid to vary it. Hunters & Gatherers is a very well-balanced neolithic game. The Castle is a brand-new two-player-only game by renowned designer Reiner Knizia; it departs from Carcassonne's ideas the most, but is still 100% recognisable.

So, 2 expansions, 4 expansions, or 6 expansions, depending on how you count them. If you're looking to get started, I suggest either Hunters & Gathers or (from what I've heard) The Castle, as each is a very solid, yet simple, game from the get-go. If you like them you can have fun with the variety possible in the original Carcassonne and its supplements.

And don't be afraid to get the German copies of the games, as all the pieces are entirely language independent and thus can be played easily by those who don't sprechen the Deutch.

[shannon_a]

Of course, The River and King & Scout may not be available any more in the German. Not sure ...

[wolflady26.livejournal.com]

Wow, it's good to know there are so many variations.

I just bought the original last weekend, and my husband and I have already stayed up to three am playing it. I have also played the original expansion and Traders & Builders. I wasn't that thrilled with Traders & Builders, but I do want to get Inns & Cathedrals.

I saw the Castle at the toy store at the same time I bought my version. The prices on both were great, only about $8 apiece. I was tempted to try The Castle, but I preferred having one that more than two people can play.

I don't think The River came with my Carcasonne set - at least, there are no rivers in it. King & Scout sounds interesting, a $5 expansion definitely sounds like it's worth it.

I've been dying to try Hunters & Gatherers since I first heard you and kimberly_a talking about it, but I haven't seen it sold around here.

I really love the game, it's so simple and yet has so much variety and strategy behind it!

[shannon_a]

> I don't think The River came with my Carcasonne set - at least, there are no rivers in it.

Yeah, I think it's only packaged in the Rio Grande version, not the Hans Gluck Im original.

> King & Scout sounds interesting, a $5 expansion definitely sounds like it's worth it.

It does look to change the tenor of things even though it's just 12 tiles, though again I bet you'll have to go to Rio Grande Games.

[wolflady26.livejournal.com]

I'll take a look around after I get back to America on Friday. I do have the Hans Im Gluck version :)

[shannon_a]

My guess, by-the-by, is that there are different attitudes between American & German gamers.

In Germany the gamers are more casual and more family-oriented, and so there isn't as much of a collect-them-all mentality, while in America the games are played by more serious geeks, and we want to track down and capture every single supplement for a game.

Thus, a couple of 12-tile sets that were one-time giveaways in Germany and are permanently available out here in the U-S of A.