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[Nillo]

If you don't know about "Through the Ages" it's the 3rd ranked board game on BGG and works like a Civilization game with all the elements you would expect like science, culture, military conflict and great wonders.

I was skeptical about the gam at first because it doesn't have a map like some other Civ games do and instead uses a personal play area with cards and cubes that represent your buildings and units. Turns out that it actually works really well and you can still "explore" by colonizing other regions during the politics phase. In retrospect I would say while this game isn't as pretty as Clash of Cultures it does have deeper gameplay and I find it more interesting overall.

I also learned that it's possible to play it online on a website called Boardgaming Online and also on Board Game Arena (although Board Game Arena only has the old edition of the game so I wouldn't recommend that site). I wanted to check if there are any others willing to play this on TIGS and see if we might be able to start a TIGS online game. You don't need to have previous experience with the game, the only thing that's important is that you learn the rules by either watching a tutorial video or reading the rulebook. The recommended number of players is 3 but it can be played between 2-4 players and I'm willing to play against single opponents if you're interested in that.

[s0]

see? i told you TTA is good. vlaada chvatil is pretty much a game design god tbh. my only problems with it are slight sameyness because you play through the same cards each game, just in different order and the fact that it's ahistorical and eurocentric to an almost ridiculous degree. but mechanically it might be the best civ game.

believe it or not i only just created an account on boardgaming online, mainly because im not the biggest fan of digital board games, but i'd be up for a game tomorrow (too tired today to still start one), if we get 1 more person to join.

[ProgramGamer]

Might be interested, but probably will not be able to join because of schedule. What time do you guys intend to play?

[Nillo]

believe it or not i only just created an account on boardgaming online, mainly because im not the biggest fan of digital board games, but i'd be up for a game tomorrow (too tired today to still start one), if we get 1 more person to join.

Yeah you lose the social aspect when playing digitally which makes a considerable difference in the gameplay experience - a big part of my enjoyment is seeing other player's reactions to what is going on in the game etc. But even tho physical is better, I think digital board games are still fun to play and I've enjoyed Tabletopia a lot (although their selection of games is very limited).

Oddly enough, despite the name, the only thing you can play on Boardgaming Online is Through the Ages (old or new edition). Maybe they will add more games later? The UI is very barebones and functional. Which is the nicer way of saying it's hella ugly, haha. But I like that it automates the fiddly cubes that you would normally have to move around with your fingers when playing physical.

Might be interested, but probably will not be able to join because of schedule. What time do you guys intend to play?

I can start the game whenever you want. The way this website works is basically play-by-email and you can go to the website and take your move at any time. The players don't necessarily have to be logged in at the same time. (but it obviously plays much faster if they ARE logged in simultaneously, especially when resolving event cards that affect every player)

[Nillo]

I've set up a Skype group for the game. PM me if you want a link to it.

Right now I'm playing with Silbereisen and 1 other friend from outside the forums. It's possible to play multiple games on this website at the same time so I can pretty easily start another one if someone else wants to join in.

[s0]

Welp, these browser versions of board games are always in limbo. Even if the designer has given their OK (as seems to be the case with TTA), they can get shut down if the publisher decides to make an official version. This happened with the original dominion online for example. I wonder how the official TTA app will affect BGO when it comes out. Other than that there are things like vassal (2tedious4me) and tabletop simulator aka clumiest person in the world playing board games with two fingers simulator.

[Alevice]

i cant afford to join into skype, but i would be down to play a session

[ProgramGamer]

I'll send a message when I get home from work. Also, I almost never use skype because discord is superior, but if everyone still prefers skype then I'll go with that.

[s0]

we already started lol but we could make a second game

fair warning tho: the interface is not very good and probably bad for learning the game (i have the physical version and even i was confused at first). also this is a complex game, so you probably need someone to walk you through it.

[ProgramGamer]

Eh, I figured out how to play DF by googling my way through it, I'll be fine with this game.

[s0]

I went ahead and made a 4 player game. It's called "Tigsource game" and can be found via the "join game" option on boardgaming online.

the password is "howcareaoutthegraphic"

[s0]

i would still really recommend that we get together in some kinda chat outside of the game. both so we can ping each other when it's our turn and for teaching purposes. and casual banter ofc.

[Nillo]

I have Discord if people want to use that for the group instead. I don't really care about what software to use tbh

[s0]

i made a discord. PM me for the link.

[Superb Joe]

i thought this was going to be another topic for me to say which games have been good at which points in time, to which the answer was indiscriminately Streets of Rage 2, but it's another, different topic instead