So I check the FFG news regularly, I love a lot of their games like MoM, Descent, LOTR LCG, IA obviously, etc.. but it made me wonder, are there any other board gaming companies like FFG out there?

I know FFG is known for their quality, which is top notch, and their aggressive board game models that really spank your wallet. Are there any other companies that have such a broad arc on different genres and IP titles?

Basically, I'm pretty new to board games and have been a FFG fanboi with IA being my gateway drug, I've seen a lot of cool looking games on kick starters but have yet to branch out. What other board game companies do you like/follow?

I wouldn't say they're comparable to FFG by any means, but Days of Wonder is a fantastic company that I love.

Their games have beautiful components, relatively simple rules, and... I don't know where I was going with this, but they're just a delight. Shadows Over Camelot is a pretty fun semi-cooperative hidden role game, I really want to pick Pirate's Cover, and Memoir '44 might appeal well to the IA crowd.

CMON

Days of Wonders but also CGE, Z-Man, Portal Games, CMON, Repos Productions, Rio Grande Games, Matagot, Iello, Blue Orange Games and many others I can't recall right now. Perhaps not the same ability to make a colossal game like Imperial Assault, but definitely they have many masterpieces in their catalogue.

Z-Man is now owned by Asmodee and the short-lived Windrider Games label which spun off from FFG was merged to it.

I don't really follow companies but games, trying to find something that would come close to BSG...

7 hours ago, a1bert said:

I don't really follow companies but games, trying to find something that would come close to BSG...

Dead of Winter and Shadows over Camelot

3 hours ago, Golan Trevize said:

Dead of Winter and Shadows over Camelot

Played both more than once, not even close. Betrayal at House on the Hill, Homeland: The Game, The Thing: Infection at Outpost 31, ...

But finding new games specifically for me/my group isn't for this thread, and we keep looking.

(We do have quite a few FFG games though, and some that are now Z-Man. Iello, Stronghold Games, TMG, etc.)

From what I understand, BSG is pretty much the gold standard for hidden role games.

I'm sure it doesn't compare, but I love how easy One Night Ultimate Werewolf is to set up and teach.

Anyway, Triton Games is making a campaign-style dungeon crawler with an emphasis on stealth mechanics in the Assassin's Creed IP. I've been following that one pretty closely, their kickstarter goes live soon. Any IA fans who enjoy that series would probably be interested.

1 minute ago, subtrendy2 said:

I love how easy One Night Ultimate Werewolf is to set up and teach.

We played the daylights (Daybreak) out of ONUWW. Was good for ~430 plays. We still play the Resistance/Avalon occasionally (when 5 players) - at 328 plays.

I'm waiting to see how the Harry Potter miniatures game looks. That should be out in a few weeks (Knights Models). Looks like a similar format to IA, though the 'tiles' seem to be boards next to each other rather than cardboard jigsaw style.

I was hoping that FFG might pick up and run with a Marvel style IA game, but I see Wizkids is going to destroy that idea (I sort of liked Heroclix, but the ordinary models and painting finally got to me).

1 hour ago, TheEldarGuy said:

I was hoping that FFG might pick up and run with a Marvel style IA game, but I see Wizkids is going to destroy that idea (I sort of liked Heroclix, but the ordinary models and painting finally got to me).

Man, I wish Marvel was better at making good board and video games (Spidey PS4 aside).

And the Wizkids thing looks fine, but I'm getting kinda weary of the "every IP gets a miniatures game" trend. I like stuff like IA that comes with a ton of other components and rules, but I really get the feeling that a lot of Wizkids consumer base is simply collectors rather than people who want to play the game. Not that there's anything wrong with collecting, but it's not a draw for me.

As others have noted on here, Z-Man Games is a great company. Pandemic: Legacy was the first game my gaming crew and I tried and it was phenomenal. You get a good crew to go through that game and you can play anything with them from D&D to poker to monopoly. You just learn how to have fun no matter what game you play.

One Night Ultimate Werewolf is also a great game, and if you like that you may also enjoy Betrayal at House on the Hill and its Widow's Walk expansion, which adds a campaign like element to it.

It's a significant investment, but I've heard Gloomhaven is the hot new thing right now. It sounds a lot like the thing that people with more RPG tendencies (i.e., me!) wish IA could be, just in a fantasy setting.

Can't go wrong with classics like Ticket To Ride and Settlers of Catan

I'd just go to Boardgamegeek, look up IA, and then browse similar games until you find some combination of categories that interests you. Don't be bound by loyalty to any one company, as they are all capable of making clunkers, and they all have their flagship title(s).

Random thought, but if you're looking for ideas for games:

Non-FFG Star Wars:

Risk: Star Wars edition is a surprisingly fun and quick game. It's nothing like Risk, actually plays more like The Queen's Gambit.

"Guys on a Map":

Cyclades- It's a great, relatively simple to learn area control game with a good variety of mechanics- bidding, combat, and even some very light civ building.

War of the Ring- Classic game, basically the LOTR version of Star Wars Rebellion.

Non IA Skirmish:

Magic the Gathering: Arena of the Planeswalkers is somewhat similar to IA skirmish, but with an MTG fantasy theme.

Scratch that Eldritch Horror Itch:

The new Buffy the Vampire Slayer boardgame is really similar to Eldritch Horror. In some ways, such as with more satisfying combat and easier travel, it's even more enjoyable.

10 hours ago, subtrendy2 said:

Man, I wish Marvel was better at making good board and video games (Spidey PS4 aside).

They don't really make them themselves, so much as they license out Marvel IP's to other companies to make games out of.

Upper Deck's Legendary series of deck building games is pretty fun. I didn't go down the expansion rabbit hole and stopped after the first few, being more than happy with the line-up.

The Legendary engine overall I think works better in the "Encounters" spin off line with Aliens, Predator, etc, but you could theoretically drop Marvel characters into any Encounters game and have Spider-Man team and Deadpool team up with Ripley and Hicks to fight off the xenomorph invasion.

Has anyone seen/played the Legend of Korra game? I see it on my local store shelf - my kids enjoyed the two Avatar cartoon series - and it makes me pause for a moment each time.

If you wait November/December WizKids is going to publish Mage Knight Ultimate Edition that includes a reprint of the game plus all expansions. That's THE game!

@FrogTrigger

If you like board games with lots of miniatures, I think CMON is your most comparable outfit.

They tend to launch all their new products out through Kickstarters so to me that would be the best place to purchase anything they make going forward, as the value on content is always better that way versus trying to get it at retail, assuming you're realistic to know you're probably going to be an "all-in" or close to it kind of player.

If you're into IA or other FFG titles with lots of expansions, I'm sure you know if that describes you or not.

Be warned with Kickstarter and other crowd-funded games; fulfillment always ends up going longer than planned. Some companies do it better than others. New games from relatively untested designers/publishers on there can be a crap-shoot, so do your homework and ask a lot of questions on Boardgamegeek.

One company I have a soft spot for that isn't mentioned here is Flying Frog Productions, which are often erroneously abbreviated to FFG to much confusion.

Last Night on Earth, A Touch of Evil, and Shadows of Brimstone are all lines they have that I've enjoyed, though they have other series of games as well.

CMON games and Plaid Hat games are my favorite publishers besides FFG, and honestly I mostly only like FFG because of their Star Wars license and Cosmic Encounter license.

14 hours ago, Tvboy said:

CMON games and Plaid Hat games are my favorite publishers besides FFG, and honestly I mostly only like FFG because of their Star Wars license and Cosmic Encounter license.

❤️ Mice and Mystics ❤️

On 10/12/2018 at 10:21 AM, subtrendy2 said:

Man, I wish Marvel was better at making good board and video games (Spidey PS4 aside).

Marvel is Disney now. And Disney has made it abundantly clear that they do not give a rip about video games. They'll never invest the money it would take to do it themselves, and they'll never give up the creative control necessary to have someone else make great games for them. So we just have to sit around and hope we get lucky like we did with Spidey.

18 hours ago, Pollux85 said:

Marvel is Disney now. And Disney has made it abundantly clear that they do not give a rip about video games. They'll never invest the money it would take to do it themselves, and they'll never give up the creative control necessary to have someone else make great games for them. So we just have to sit around and hope we get lucky like we did with Spidey.

True.

We really lucked out as board gaming Star Wars fans. Imagine if we got an FFG equivalent for video games.

3 hours ago, subtrendy2 said:

True.

We really lucked out as board gaming Star Wars fans. Imagine if we got an FFG equivalent for video games.

I swear the biggest missed opportunity Disney ever did was shutting down Lucasarts as soon as they bought it. Lucasarts was one of the greatest game companies in the 90's and they could have finally had the capital and the new IP's needed to make it great again. And Disney went and sold the rights to EA. They just don't get video games. It's a shocking lack of inquisitiveness and willingness to take risk for such a successful company.

What about traditional fantasy style games, nothing geared towards stealth or vampires or anything like that, but traditional fantasy. I don't even consider Terrinoth to be traditional fantasy based on the way magic is handled through runes. I think more along the lines of Dragonlance or LOTR.

Are the DND co - op dungeon crawlers good?

6 hours ago, FrogTrigger said:

Are the DND co - op dungeon crawlers good?

I actually enjoy them, but don't find there is a lot of depth to them. Simple but fun.

11 hours ago, FrogTrigger said:

What about traditional fantasy style games, nothing geared towards stealth or vampires or anything like that, but traditional fantasy. I don't even consider Terrinoth to be traditional fantasy based on the way magic is handled through runes. I think more along the lines of Dragonlance or LOTR.

Are the DND co - op dungeon crawlers good?

I kinda like Lords of Waterdeep in the traditional fantasy genre... short and sweet, with the options of spicing things up with the expansions.