One house rule we use that dramatically speeds up the game is open-hand resources. No more asking "Does anybody have...?" incessantly. Just look around and get ready for your trade. The bulk of game time is actually just trading.
We also remove the bandit and rolling an 7 is an automatic free resource for the roller and a re-roll. This helps unblock a lot of players in the beginning who are just sitting around waiting forever for a brick or similar.
With these changes games are easily 2x or 3x faster.
Did you also play with the development cards open-handed? That would be a twist, too, because a lot of the end game is about wondering whether or not your opponents' cards gave them points advantages, whether they were going for largest army, and so on.
I just don't find card counting to be a very fun or useful game mechanic.
Can I take a pencil and paper to my games? Does this really enhance the strategy?
(For the record, I have no opinion on the value of hidden vs public information as a design decision in Catan.)
Monopoly card becomes a lot easier to play optimally as well.
I usually advocate playing no-rob-on-2-point players. (taken from the xplorers online version)
I enjoyed trading as a kid in Monopoly and friends but boy does it kill a game
it is due to bandit that most people hide their resources, so removing it is a must if you want transparent trading.
I love this. It feels like what Bananagram did to scrabble.
Scrabble -> Waiting turns
Bananagram -> Everyone plays at the same time
The difference in fun is 10x.
We will use your app to see how it plays out. We might just end up implementing it :)
I searched apparently ‘Space Alert’ is the most popular real time board game? Can anyone vouch or recommend one that is known for being real time?
https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/31481/galaxy-trucker is of course fantastic. But more than 50% of the game is not real-time and, as in several Vlaada Chvatil games (e.g. Dungeon Lords), you have to enjoy kind of watching the game play itself for a while.
Of course there are also many party games involving a real-time deadline, such as https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/219215/werewords and https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/134352/two-rooms-and-a-b... .
Galaxy trucker has a good app and would recommend it both on mobile and in real life. Sidereal Confluence is highly complicated, high investment game that's based on frantic negotiation, I can't recommend it unless you're seriously into games.
Not The most popular though, according to this list. From the top 10 I only played Galaxy Truckers and Space Alert, both of which I really enjoyed.
If you consider simultaneous turns as a restrained form of real time, then ‘tabletop moba’ Guards of Atlantis 2 is really quite good.
Whereas I never really get sick of space Alert. It's tricky and engaging and interesting and depends a lot on the group.
The most popular real-time board games are probably Set and Bananagrams.
All three of these games are great, I'd recommend any of them that look appealing to you and that you think you can convince people to play.
Edit: There's also a star-trek pastiche game with two teams that was big a few years back, I never liked it but people enjoy it, can't remember the name.
I'd love a proper Legacy style version of it. I bought the expansion but it seems to add a lot of complication without enough value.
It also reminds me of a free to play online settlers of catan game from 15-20 years ago. There was no time limit on turns, so people could just grief the game by going AFK.
In Conflict alway let the priority player go first. ON 7 move the priority indicator and new priority player moves robber / priate.
Captain Sonar is the one you will actually convince people to play though, because it is conceptually cool, even if it's kind of meaningless.
Kites if you'd like a cooperative one.
* Jaipur
* Azul
* Seven Wonders Duel
* Five Tribes
* SplendorThe game objective is to use the rotating 10 types of cards in the middle and always available upgraded coins to buy victory points. Can be very strategic with two players and is lots of fun because the 10 cards in the middle always change game to game. With even 1 expansion it really improves the flavor.
Patchwork is a great older game for 2.
Also another vote for Splendor Duel. The original Splendor is probably my favorite game and Duel is the better version for two players.
Seven Wonders Duel
Jaipur
Wingspan
Pan Am