That hyped up board game I avoided for years finally got me

I've been into board games for about 8 years now, but I always skipped Terraforming Mars because the theme sounded boring and the art looked like a spreadsheet. Last month at a local game cafe in Portland, a friend insisted we play it and I figured I'd just power through one round. Three hours later I was completely hooked on the engine building and the way every card opens up new strategies. The production value is still ugly as sin, but the gameplay itself is so tight that I stopped caring about the box art. It made me wonder how many other popular games I've written off for shallow reasons. Has anyone else picked up a game late and regretted ignoring it for so long?

3 comments

3 Comments

wendy8201mo ago

Three hours disappeared for me the first time I played Wingspan after thinking it was just a pretty bird game for years. It's wild how a great game can make you totally forget you ever doubted it.

keith_bennett17d ago

No way, three hours? That thing eats time like a predator.

max_hernandez2717d ago

Totally feel you on that @wendy820, it's wild how the game just pulls you in. What worked for me was setting a timer on my phone before starting, like 45 minutes, and then actually stopping when it went off lol. Still got to play a solid chunk and didn't lose the whole evening.