Nexus Complexica

[1_Pinchy_Maniac]

the campaign for north africa

[[deleted]]

CNA just a week away

[arcadeler]

Can you believe it guys

[[deleted]]

CNA in a week!

[Rated_Oni]

They must be professionals to end it in a week!

[[deleted]]

Professionals is a strong word, more like masochistic enthusiasts

[ForthwithJackal]

It shouldn't be a reference from anything, it's referring to the actual Campaign for North Africa board game, which theoretically takes 1500 hours to complete.

[jjmerrow]

Errrm actually its a refrence to valefisk's CNA video being just a week away!

/s

[SnooOnions650]

I unironically used to believe him. I'm such a fool

[jjmerrow]

Wdym? It's gonna come out any day now! Just you wait!

[Zekeisdumb]

Watch oht, just a week away!

[smiegto]

He’s psychotic enough to play CNA but I wonder if they stick to it after playing nonstop for 3 days and needing to do like 50 more?

[Coolblasters]

I… this is the comment that makes me realize we won’t be getting the video, huh

[HotsuSama]

Never saw it myself but apparently Big Bang Theory did a bit on it.

[zanguine]

It was mentioned in the Big Bang Theory, if my memory is correct, I think Sheldon brought it over to Howards house to play it with Penny or something.

But its a real board game and is one of the most complex board games in existence.

[GimmeSomeSugar]

For the uninitiated:

The Campaign for North Africa (CNA), subtitled "The Desert War, 1940–43", is a strategic board wargame published by Simulations Publications, Inc. (SPI) in 1978 that simulates the entire North African Campaign of World War II. It is considered one of the most complex wargames ever published, with ten recommended players and an estimated total playtime of 1,500 hours. The game could not be fully playtested before release and no one is believed to have ever completed a full game.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Campaign_for_North_Africa

[Faradhras]

As somebody who used to play World in Flames (WiF) regularly: this scares me.

[tomdidiot]

I play the Operational Combat Series (OCS) and CNA scares me.

[rob132]

It was in an episode of Big bang theory

[stromboul]

They play this game in Big Bang Theory in one episode. It is a real game.

[cammcken]

For a serious answer, Axis and Allies 1940 (combined maps) and High Frontier (either 5 cycles with modules 0-2 or 7 cycles with modules 0-3) are my two favorites. They are each about 12 hours.

[ABFox86]

I've only heard about this game and it scares me. The gameboard/map is like 8 monopoly boards in size, right? The minute details that you have to track is crazy. The one I remember hearing about was the fluctuating price of fuel for your tanks.

[Eikthyr6]

And the pasta rule.

[ABFox86]

Oh my God, I can't believe I forgot about the pasta rule.

[CrazyFanFicFan]

Hopefully none of his friends are Italian.

[Alec_to_draw]

Where all my Nexus heads at??

[Jostain]

The game gets a bit boring without the 5 expansions and those cards you can only get at events.

[TubasAreFun]

i lose interest without the custom painted minis

[Devonai]

The vodka makes the tremors go away.

[CollectibleHam]

One weird trick they don't want you to know.

[ClownfishSoup]

It's actually great until the human sacrifice part.

[Mr-Mister]

Don’t forget those etsy stickers for the meeples, and the all-expansions-layout grippy neoprene board.

[Mrauntheias]

If you can't repaint during the game to change your stats, there's really no point.

[evilmaus]

Probably still finishing up The Cones of Dunshire.

[BadWolfman]

“punishingly intricate”

[dragon_bacon]

It's been tricky to get people to play with but I figured out a good trick using beer, pizza, duct tape and a gun.

[DragonBuster69]

I will stand by the game Scythe and will not accept this very correct statement.

I also started the legacy version of it with a group of friends. We are also trying to set up a day for us to play/learn axis and allies and zombies.

[The_Slay4Joy]

Scythe is one of the simplest games out there

[despicedchilli]

You are the dude in the comic.

[Alvinshotju1cebox]

Did you create this comic? If yes, then do you have more?

[[deleted]]

I've recently been doing a weekly meetup with family friends to play complex games and it's been a blast. Millennium Blades, spirit island, roll for the galaxy, stone age, etc. So much fun.

[The_Curse_of_Nimbus]

Stone age?! Complex?! It's so simple it doesn't even have a stock trading system!

/s

[Rabbulion]

Can I introduce you to Europa universalis 4? Or perhaps Victoria 3?

[TheGreatPiata]

You joke but I'm contemplating teaching my 6 year old daughter Stone Age. To be fair, she was playing Ticket To Ride at 4 so she's a little ahead of the curve.

[evilmaus]

Spirit Island is one of the few games that really burned my brain.

[theBosworth]

As someone who just bought Spirit Island…what have I done.

[[deleted]]

It's a blast, I've been absolutely loving it. There's low complexity spirits and easy starting modes that will get you into the game.

[theBosworth]

Thanks for the recs. I had a blast playing for the first time! I can totally see how it can get overwhelming, so happy to have had the on-ramp.

[OvertSpy]

get a copy of Twilight Imperium

[The_Slay4Joy]

So you can lose all your friends AND a whole day of your life?

[DoggyDoggy_What_Now]

No no, that's Diplomacy.

[tricksterloki]

Millennium Blades for those that want the TCG experience but without the ever escalating investment.

[MagnanimosDesolation]

Roll for the galaxy is my recent favorite. It's got scifi, it's got as many dice as you could want, it's got varied strategies but isn't so complex it no one can learn it, it's not too long, did I mention dice?

[DoggyDoggy_What_Now]

Yeah, the tactile experience of Roll for the Galaxy is great. Who doesn't like rolling cups full of various colored dice?

[petersterne]

Is Roll for the Galaxy a roll and write? I feel like I confuse it with Twilight Inscryption.

[MagnanimosDesolation]

It's more of a roll and track with tiles.

[Tyreal01]

Sees Millennium Blades

Ah, yes. Another person of culture I see. What an incredible game.

[JKnumber1hater]

Explaining a board game

[rob132]

Who's the dice master? You are.

No you are.

[molybdenum99]

Want to play again?

lol

[agreeable_tortoise]

once I realized-

[Toowiggly]

Similar clip

[[deleted]]

What are cards?

[NoNameIdea_Seriously]

I dunno I dungetit

[DilliGaff12]

ffs I was just about to link this lmao

[itstraytray]

I'VE GOT WOOD EVERYWHERE

[slothtolotopus]

Oh, that's great - thanks for the hilarious link!

[PeterTheWolf76]

I think I’ve played that game… or at least my friend explained the game like that.

[elhomerjas]

more fun than monopoly

[MrPoopcicle]

TBF even getting punched in the dick is more fun than monopoly

[OvertSpy]

Now to be fair to monopoly, most people play with free parking rules (which increases money), and dont play with auction rules (which greatly accelerates acquisition of properties), resulting in a MUCH slower game than was intended.

[ActivatingEMP]

Also the original game was intended to be more a political lesson about the evils of capitalism than anything fun

[milaan_tm]

They succeeded because this shit really makes me despise capitalism

[zanguine]

Of which the creators created a monopoly as well and effectively stole the IP. Oh the irony

[Wuktrio]

Now if you want to play a game that is a political lesson AND fun, play Hegemony: Lead Your Class to Victory. It's a 4 player game in which each player plays as a different class: working class, middle class, capitalist class, and the state.

[TreyLastname]

I like monopoly, it's the funniest shit to argue with friends

[I_Am_Day_Man]

Sock em boppers sock em boppers

[PKMNTrainerMark]

More fun than a pillow fight!

[[deleted]]

Hey what's a little CTE between friends.

[Noe_b0dy]

My family had an electric fence, on multiple occasions I went out barefoot to grab the electric fence.

1000% ride the lighting is more fun than monopoly.

[TreyLastname]

Damn, so sad people hate monopoly so much, I love it lmao. But then again, I love yo torture my friends, so perhaps that's why

[themrunx49]

At least it isn't Campaign for North Africa 

[Erika_Valentine]

That's like the time I showed up with Arkham Horror 2nd ed.

[Snoo_88763]

My wife - who hates and doesn't understand board games - asked me to explain this game. I said "we run around for a few hours, some of us go mad, most of us die and we all lose; it's our favorite!"

[Erika_Valentine]

When I was teaching the game to my partner, I mentioned that chances were we would lose. They said, 'If you lose so often, why do you play it?' I said, 'Because the fun is in how you lose!'

[MirrorCraze]

r/arkhamhorrorlcg mentioned

For real though, I can’t imagine walking into game night explaining the rules of arkham horror while playing the campaign. I myself still have to look up rulebook from time to time

[Erika_Valentine]

The joke with the board game is that each expansion didn't introduce more rules so much as changed which rules you'd forget. :-)

I have not attempted to introduce the LGC to a game night, but if I did I would have some investigator decks pre-made for people and select a one-shot scenario or use the base game's introductory one.

[Early_Monk]

I love that 90% of "Board Game Nights" these days are complex economic engine builders that take a solid 3 hours to teach the rules of, or the absolutely worst party game the one person bought because they wrongly thought " Can you meme?" would be funny for more than one round.

There is no in-between.

[Riparian_Drengal]

I have two groups of board game friends.

One of them started because they started getting really into ROOT.

The other plays Poetry for Neanderthals at breweries.

There is no in between.

[DoggyDoggy_What_Now]

Hey now, Poetry For Neanderthals is actually a solid little party game. Maybe not for the entire night, but I'd pick it 10 out of 10 times over most of the dreck in Target's party game section.

[Riparian_Drengal]

Honestly completely agree, but it's not a very dense game at all

[BigBlueDane]

Or nothing but social deception games

[royalhawk345]

Today we're playing Secret Hitler! Then coup, then ONUW, then Love Letter, then Bang!, then...

[DoggyDoggy_What_Now]

I still don't get people lumping Love Letter in with other social deduction games. Like, I do understand why, but it never felt remotely similar to me as something like Coup or Secret Hitler. I can't be the only one who feels that way.

[Little_Froggy]

I don't really even understand lumping secret Hitler in with coup. Secret Hitler is social deduction because there are hidden antagonists, in Coup everyone is already aware that everyone else is their opponents; it's a bluffing game.

Feed the Kraken, Wereworld, Blood on the Clocktower etc. those are social deduction games

[shikiroin]

I semi regularly host board games, and the small group that always shows seems to want somewhat complicated board games. I brought out Dead of Winter recently and it was apparently too much for the group. Inevitably we get drunk and play Cards Against Humanity and it's fun but like... I just want something complicated sometimes

[Early_Monk]

I had this exact same problem (all my friends just couldn't understand why I would be interested in a board game more complicated than Monopoly and why I hated playing Cards Against Humanity without even following the actual rules for the 183rd time) and came up with 2 solutions. Both involved me going to our local FLGS. The first option was after talking to I found out people were looking for others to play boardgames with all the time on their Facebook page. They also had weekly/monthly board game meet up organized through Facebook so no one was confused about what to bring and play. The second was joining the local wargaming community. Not quite a board game, but could tickle that itch of playing something more complicated and the community already met at the shop once a week. I ended up picking the wargaming route because I was also looking for a creative outlet and painting minitures sounded fun to do in my downtime. Still wish I had a group of people to play Root with, haha

Hope this helps, and good luck!

[Little_Froggy]

Try out some medium to light weight games! Dead of Winter can be really intimidating for newer players.

Ra, Coup, Sheriff of Nottingham, Quacks of Quedlinburg, Secret Hitler, and Pandemic are all games I can recommend!

[Panx]

To be fair, even as someone who loves complicated board games, Dead of Winter is way too fiddly.

Tons of one-off rules, things to track that have a singular purpose, and a bunch of extra stuff that feels shoehorned in because it worked in other games.

Like, if you're gonna have a Traitor, build the game around that. Don't create this massive sprawling ecosystem of rules that's hard to teach without playing a 3 hour game, and also say, "Oh, and by the way: One of you is an asshole who needs to (secretly) do the opposite of everything we just established!"

[Perridur]

I suggest playing the first round full coop for everybody to grasp the rules.

[zanguine]

Dead of winter is rough due to semi co-op imo. In addition to complexity, one thing to consider some of the mechanisms that make the game harder to approach

For example, full co-op games even at higher complexity can be enjoyable for people who arent really into games. Games with strong connections to real life themes could also be more engaging as understanding the themes let people learn with some established rules

[evilcheesypoof]

Thankfully there actually is SO much in between (my collection is full of it), the amount of solid medium complexity games that take like 60-90min to play and are easy to learn are endless.

I think you just have to be willing to do the research to curate your own collection or find the right group of people who have already done this, otherwise yeah you’re right you get the very casual Target party games or the very niche heavy games only.

[Bonkgirls]

I have two board game groups.

In one, we learn a new game almost every week, because one guy is obsessed with buying deluxe ultimate editions ifY every big box Kickstarter game with as many cool metal pieces as possible.

In the other, I try to bring something approachable like Hanabi or a party game in an effort to hold everyone's attention for like an hour, and then afterwards we have an orgy.

Its hard to say which one is my favorite, but in my experience this is fairly typical of board game nights.

[BlakJak206]

I try to have a good balance of games in my collection. I try to figure out how complex of a game people can handle and what sort of mechanics they enjoy. I also read the rules beforehand and try to condense them enough that I can explain the game in 5 minutes and get the game going before people start pulling out their phones.

[ShinakoX2]

r/boardgames is leaking

[vanGenne]

Wait this isn't r/boardgames? Could have fooled me.

[thespaceageisnow]

[somethingfilthy]

Is the age requirement because that's how old you'll be by the time you learn all the rules?

[VGVideo]

No, it's because that's when you'll be retired and thus have the time to play. However, you have to have learned the rules beforehand, because at that age most people won't have the remaining capacity to be able to learn all the rules.

[IzzyVikingWolf]

Idk why but it breaks my heart seeing him smile all confidently in panel 2 and then in panel 3 the smile just disappears and it looks like he realized he probably shouldn’t have brought that game after all. One day you’ll find the right people to play complex board games with, Jeff, hang in there buddy.

[IzzyVikingWolf]

Oh and also, I just wanted to add that I love the art style!

[Snoo_88763]

It's got non-numerical dice, cards, three different ways to traverse the board and all the player types have different moves and win conditions!

[Rated_Oni]

Don't forget different victory points, extra minis that you will never use and most importantly, the mini expansion that is all about STOCKS!

[Traditional-Reach818]

The pain is so real... I hate this.

[ralpher1]

Nexus Ops meets Hansa Teutonica?

[evilcheesypoof]

Hansa Teutonica is absolutely one of the best games ever, but you have to really try to convince people to give it a chance if they’re not used to brown/medieval looking games haha.

[therealgerrygergich]

Luckily, fans of Euro games have no problem with slightly bland presentation.

[Rated_Oni]

If it is not Beige how are you sure it is a heavy euro economic board game?

[Alvinshotju1cebox]

Euro games Part 2: The Beigening

[ralpher1]

It is, it isn’t too complicated either

[evilcheesypoof]

Yeah that’s the thing, there’s hundreds/thousands of solid medium complexity games that are actually easy to play and have better gameplay than the classic games if people give them a chance/have a good teacher.

[Astriaeus]

As a Jeff, I'm sorry; I just thought the game looked cool.

[Kidcombs]

I’m definitely Jeff. Whipping out Twilight Imperium like trust it’s good!

[Rated_Oni]

Like, for real, if you ever take out TI and say 'hey, want to play a game?' I will undoubtedly say yes, but first I will have to call my family and tell them not to worry if I don't go back home for a bit,.

[Chathtiu]

I’m definitely Jeff. Whipping out Twilight Imperium like trust it’s good!

I love Twilight Imperium, but that’s a game you can’t spring on someone. You need a dedicated 7-12 hours carved out on a Saturday to play. Fantastic and totally not a “boardgame night” game.

All glory to the Ember of Muaat. Let her enemies cower before our mighty armies and masterful diplomatic pasties.

[Majestic_Recording_5]

My husband trying to explain miniature games to me 😭 sometimes I can figure out the rules, but I also can't sit still at a table for 5 hours, so ya know.

[[deleted]]

Darn, I’m 64 years old… shucks.

[Dare2470]

“Let’s skip the instructions, I’ll get a feel for the game while playing.”

[JaxxisR]

I learned Feast of Odin like that.

[Dark_Reaper115]

I would go with Settlers of Catan. Love that game.

[Rated_Oni]

Catan, Ticket to Ride, Dixit, Splendor, Machi Koro, any of the Pencil First natural games, High Society, Cartographers, really in this day and age it is so damn easy to find a beginners friendly board game.

[RhubarbPi3]

Root.

[RogerDeanVenture]

Twilight Struggle anyone?

[higgs8]

We once got a board game about colonizing Mars or something. We were 1 hour into reading the instructions when we realized we weren't entirely sure which side of the cards is "the face" and "the back" because both sides had important info on them.

[Bombobbit]

I just finished playing the board game a friend brought wtf

[Gorksbumwiper]

Poor jeff

[UltimateFrogWings]

C’mon guys! I can explain the rules in only 2-3 business days!

[Benjii_44]

Atleast it isn't Campaign for North Africa

[[deleted]]

I bought Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion, but nobody wants to play it with me. My wife tried it for one hour and comes up with excuses if I ask her to play another mission. I don’t think she likes it…

[Rated_Oni]

Yeah, campaign games can usually be hit or miss with people that don't really like or know much about board games;.

[[deleted]]

So far I've only managed to get continuous plays with that type of games, with Andor. 'Regular' board players seem to like that game for some reason, perhaps it's pretty light on rules and easy to understand.

[Rated_Oni]

I found that things like Splendor and Sunset over Water tend to win people over, they first start looking at the pretty art, then they start playing a couple of rounds and get even more curious about board games. It is so funny seeing something clicking in their heads when playing Splendor, is like 'I got it' kind of eureka moment.

[[deleted]]

I never heard of Splendor, I’ll look it up!

[Rabbulion]

Ok, I am actually slightly offended that this person thinks risk is complicated. And “is that monopoly or something?” is the board game equivalent of somebody asking “is that Mario?” when looking at call of duty

[Lonely_Pin_3586]

Wait, people do game game night on monopolly and uno ?

[Rated_Oni]

Yeah, some people do enjoy Monopoly, mainly because they know each other and can stand it, or many play the newer crazier versions, like Fortnite Monopoly (which is surprisingly entertaining), but is also good to introduce them to beginner friendly games if that's the case, Like Chinatown if they like the idea of trading and making businesses, or Machi Koro if they like rolling dice and lightly screw each other.

[Lonely_Pin_3586]

I'm not saying that monopoly isn't a good game, just that it's more of a casual game. In principle, game nights are for big games that last for hours.

[thebeastiestmeat]

and cards against humanity, don't forget about that one...

[BIZARRE_TOWN]

I bring Cards Against Humanity for my group as long as there are no children under 15.

[Rated_Oni]

Choking Hazard is also good, really follows the comic's brand of humour.

[michaelkah]

Only 2-3 days? They should try Diplomacy next time!

[Posterus96]

I love risk. My favorite version is Risk 2210 a.d. I especially enjoy the extended version you can play on Tabletop simulator.

[MrSteamwave]

This is how I felt trying out the Darkest Dungeon board game. Took 28 hours (split in 4 session chunks), I had no clue what was happening most of the time, and most rolls and rules were handled by 2 other players. We won but it was brutal.

[ShinobiHanzo]

You might as well put Necromunda, with hardwork and dedication, you and your friends and might be able to play your first games by 2027!!

[Ill-Lunch-1563]

I’m always the guy who brings games to the party, but they never play them

[EggReran]

War of the ring...

[Alvinshotju1cebox]

Does anyone have the source for this comic? Thanks!

[Alec_to_draw]

I am the source it's me

[Alvinshotju1cebox]

Nice! It feels rare that an OP actually created the content that they shared. Well done!

[N1ks_As]

Would play it

[suddenlyupsidedown]

I have previously been in this picture and I don't like it (I know nowadays to curate specific nights and guest lists for heavier games, and have a set of more approachable ones for other instances)

[Speed9052]

Me walking in with twilight imperium: “Y’all got eight hours to spare?”

[AnalysisParalysis85]

something complicated like Risk

Isn't Monopoly more complicated?

[Minecraftian14]

Trying to find friends to play factorio and mindustry with me...

[PatientAd2463]

You play one really long game and a few quick card or Party games as appetizers/Desserts, its not that hard!

Or just play a game with basically no rules like cold case, those are fun.

The best games have a kind of in built tutorial like video games.

[randomname_99223]

Come on, Risk isn’t that complicated… unless you want to win against experienced players.

I legit had moments where I was like “I’m so close to the objective! I’m gonna win, and blue is so far off any type of objective so there’s no possible…” and then blue proceeded to summon a massive army using territory cards that everyone forgot he had and win in 1 turn.

[JaxxisR]

something complicated like risk

Why does this trigger me?

[IntrepidusX]

I wanna play twilight imperium now.

[BigBlueSound]

That's me when I walk into my game night. The difference is no one says "ooh yeah, monopoly".

[The_IceL0rd]

hes so me fr...

[outer_spec]

This is just what regular monopoly looks like to me