Note: I wasn't sure whether to post this in ~games or ~tech, so if it needs to be moved, feel free to put it where it belongs!

I've been playing my Playstation Classic a lot, and it's made me want to setup a full emulation box for my TV. I started looking into options and quickly got in over my head, so I'm hoping you fine folks can help me sort this out.

Caveat: I am somewhat techy, but not nearly to the same level as the average Tildes user.

Here is a rundown for what I'm going for:

• Systems: I want to be able to emulate up through the Dreamcast with no slowdown (or, at least, no slowdown as a result of my hardware--if it's natural to the original console or a limitation of the emulator, that's fine).

• Input: I want to use a wireless controller for input. Ideally six face buttons and four shoulders, so that it can easily stand in for almost all common controller layouts.

• Graphics: If possible, I'd like to be able to enhance the eye candy a bit with things like upscaling, increasing the internal resolution, and shaders. This would be nice to have, but is not a necessity. Running at fullspeed in the original with no enhancements is the target minimum, though.

• Footprint: Something up to the size of, well, a retro game console. I don't want a full PC next to my TV, but it doesn't have to be the size of a credit card either.

• Budget: Let's go with under $400 USD? Given the cost of a Raspberry Pi that seems like overkill, but I know the Pi can't do all the way up to N64/Dreamcast, and I'm not sure how much more power those need. That price limit is flexible if I'm being unreasonable with my expectations.

With all that in mind, here are my questions:

1. What hardware best suits my needs? I am not interested in building my own and am seeking pre-built solutions.

2. What controller is best? I'd prefer to have a one-size-fits-all solution, rather than swapping them out. Six face buttons would help make the Genesis, Saturn, and N64 feel more natural, but I suspect that might be hard to come by?

3. It looks like Retroarch is definitely the way to go for easy setup, but there seem to be a lot of different standalone options (e.g. Lakka, RetroPie, Recalbox). Which one should I go with? I should add that I really only care about ease of use and simplicity. I do not need something flashy, and the less friction in both setup and use, the better.

4. Any other tips, pieces of advice, or resources? I don't have a lot of experience with emulation, so a lot of this is uncharted territory for me, hence my uncertainty and need for guidance.

Hi there!

From time to time, me and wife enjoy playing 7 Wonders Duel on our weekends and we like that it's not that long because we always have to do other things. Of course, always playing the same game starts to get old (even though 7 Wonders Duel is quite great).

My wife was not totally excited by Jaipur, Santorini and Patchwork, for example. So, which board games would you recommend for two players where the playing time doesn't exceed 60 minutes? The board games don't need to be 2-player specific (like 7 Wonders Duel), though.

Edit: For future reference to other players. Besides the great recomendations in this post, I also found other very interesting 2-player games under 60 minutes. They are, Hanamikoji, Kodama Duo, Yokohama Duel and 13 Days: The Cuban Missile Crisis. I actually bought Hanamikoji because it's so cheap and fast. Great game too!

So I stumbled upon this streamer, KRX_ and he plays Cities Skylines in the evenings, when I have time after work to check it out. And it is relaxing to see someone build a city. He's playing Sims 4 right now, and it's still, it's like watching Bob Ross.

For those of you who may be too poor to afford the latest AAA titles, or just don't want to support policies like micro-transactions and "If you're offended, just don't buy it", there are many open-source and/or free games that can tide you over. Some of my favorites are:

• FreeCiv: A civilization building game based on Sid Meier's Civilization 1 and 2
• OpenTTD: A transport network building game based off of Chris Sawyer's Transport Tycoon Deluxe
• Dwarf Fortress: Not Open-Source - fortress colony management simulator with an additional RPG gamemode

Do you guys have any other free, possibly open-source games that you would recommend?

I know I'm late to the party, but do you have any recommendations, hidden gems? What's your favorite lately?

I've played most of the big games on console, so I would be looking for something that isn't on PS/Xbox.

Thanks!

Edit: I usually like puzzly games such as Limbo, Inside, Little Nightmares or story-driven epics like RDR2, God of War.

So I'm running a D&D 5e campaign, and so far have been doing "theatre of the mind". But it has it's limitations when I want the players to use actual combat strategy in some areas. I have experience a few years ago with using a 25mm paper grid for 3.5e and Pathfinder, which worked well because it was quick to draw a map with whiteboard marker.

Now I have a 3D printer, and I'm wondering if anyone has any dungeon tile recommendations, considering the following:

Firstly, are there any systems that are quick to assemble/disassemble as the players discover new rooms, or we need to clear table space?

Second, stability of the map is important. If a player knocks the map with their hand, will everything collapse, simply shift slightly, or is it rigidly held together?

Third, community: A larger community that contributes (and takes contributions) would be better than a propriety system that doesn't allow homebrew designs.

I've seen a few systems (openlock, openforge, and almost any keyword combination that I can think of is on kickstarter), but I'm finding it hard to get a feel for how popular the systems are, and how well they actually work when on the table.

Does anyone have any recommendations on a good system? I guess i'm most interested in the game flowing smoothly, but I'm not opposed to going to a blank paper grid if that's really the better solution.

Just as with the Wii, I think the motion controls are a big and fun feature of the Switch.

I have already searched online, but could not find a list of games that have motion controls (and in what way). I did see some attempt to put it on Wikipedia, but it was removed due to being too specific to be on Wikipedia itself.

If anyone found anything or is willing to help out, we could collaboratively write one up. What the best place for it would be, I do not know yet, but WikiData pops to mind.

I see votes, but I see no comments ...no idea how to interpret that.

I've played and enjoyed Neverwinters Nights, Baldur's Gate, Icewind Dale, and Planescape: Torment. I was wondering if you guys could recommend some games in a similar style that I've overlooked. Thanks!

I've found a few really, honestly fantastic open source games and I'd like to share them and discover some new ones too.

Firstly, NullpoMino is a fantastic cross-platform Tetris clone. It's highly, highly customizable and is lots of fun to play. It's got a great community over at Hard Drop, and if you like Tetris - you'll like NullpoMino. However, there are a few issues with it; one in particular being the relatively low skill ceiling of Marathon. The skill ceiling is very low (compared to other titles such as the NES edition), but this is solely exclusive to Marathon as far as I know. It turns into a test of patience rather than skill. Another issue is with installation; as the game was made for 32 bit systems it is rather slow, and it's finicky to run on Linux. However, it is a fantastic Tetris title (and open source!)

Another good open-source game is Osu! I've never played it competitively, but it's a fair bit of fun to play with friends and is a great game. It's cross-platform, although I've only ever played it on Windows, and it has a nice community. Fantastic game that I don't see mentioned too much.

The last game for this post is SuperTuxKart. It serves as a great kart-racing game, that's fun and has a low barrier to entry. Graphically, it's not drop-dead gorgeous, but it's not bad at all either. It's decent solo, and a lot of fun with friends. Would highly recommend. Cross-platform and available as a snap.

Looking for VR game suggestions. Turns out there's a lot of crap to dig through to get to the good stuff. Give me your best of the best. I'll start us off:

Multiplayer - Arizona Sunshine, Pavlov, Rec Room

Single player - Sairento, Beat Saber

Last month my dad had a stroke. Miraculously he didn't lose much functionality at all, though he does have some minor cognitive issues that we're working on in rehab - mainly memory. Accordingly, we want to find some games he can play on his tablet to help keep his mind active and focus his attention. But the mobile game market is hard for me to navigate and sort through for what I'm looking for.

I need games that're about a dollar or less and don't have in-app purchases. Basically games you could give to your kid and trust that they're not gonna be psychologically manipulated into wanting to empty your bank card or something like that.

Brain teasers and simple puzzles are ideal for sharpening his mind but any game that's good clean straightforward fun will work. I don't think he's going to be able to handle anything with a whole lot of moving parts like an RTS right now, for instance.

I can't afford to spend much on this and I don't know what kinds of games will interest him most so I want to give him a lot of choices. I've already looked through a couple of the other mobile game rec threads on here and I'm checking out the games listed there, but I was hoping you all could help me think of some stuff more geared to my situation. Any pointers even just on where to go looking or what to google would be appreciated. Cheers!

Edit:

Thank you all for being so supportive! I've added a bunch of the games you recommended, and I also found a couple nice lists that I thought I'd add here for anyone else interested.

Short List of Totally Free Games

10 Completely Free Mobile Games

Stay awesome tildes!

What horror or dark-themed games would you recommend, and why? No spoilers please.

Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/sale/halloween2018/

GOG: https://www.gog.com/games?page=1&sort=popularity&tab=on_sale

Humble store: https://www.humblebundle.com/store/promo/halloween-sale/

I grew up playing DOOM, but if I were to boot up the original game I would find it frustrating to play by modern standards (e.g. mouse movement?!). Thankfully, there are a ton of source ports that modernize the engine and make the game more accessible to current gaming sensibilities (e.g. WASD-movement). They're basically community remasters of the game.

It got me wondering about what other games have strongly benefited from tools that exist outside of the game itself.

Examples of what I mean:

1. Source ports (e.g. DOOM)
2. Community bugfixes (e.g. Vampire: The Masquerade - Bloodlines)
3. Restored/extended content (e.g. Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic II)
4. Significant mods (e.g. Frostfall for Skyrim)
5. Rulesets/challenges (e.g. Nuzlocke Challenge for Pokémon)
6. Anything else that doesn't fit the above categories

I really like the "idea" of fighting games, as I like playing against others and outplaying them, guessing their moves and the mind games etc. But the only fighting game ive legitimately enjoyed was Ultimate Marvel vs Capcom 3, and id like to play something more recent.

It had alot of personality, each character felt different enough despite the size of the roster, and it was easy enough for a casual like me to get into while still not feeling too easy. Out of the new fighting games ive tried Fighterz, but it doesnt have enough character variety (not a dbz fan), the new MvC has a bad roster, Street fighter was too technical and idk boring? MK is very clunky, ive tried tekken but it didnt really grab me, and skullgirls hasn't either.
I want a game I can stick with and get good at, but the mainstream titles don't really appeal to me, does anyone have a suggestion?

Hello, I am fairly new to the gaming world and I am looking for just some fun and relaxing games to play by myself. I play almost exclusively FPS and action games and I want to branch out. Although, I found Civ V which is super addicting and I love it.

Anyways, thank you!

Rogue like elements are used by lots of games. I'm interested to know which ones you think work, which ones you think don't work, and why.

Feel free to interpret rogue-like however you want. In my mind I have procedural generation, perma-death option, and some kind of turn-based strategy.

I've played a few games on Android that are bizarre and wonderful, and nobody else seems to know them. Philipp Stollenmeyer makes nice, tactile, casual puzzle games with a clear and chunky aesthetic and great sound. Verticow, Zip Zap, Burger, and Okay? are four I can recommend. His art is very Monty Pythonesque, and the games just feel cool to play.

I also tell everyone I know about a game from 2014 called Always Sometimes Monsters. This game was telling an inclusive story before it was cool. It seems to have been made in RPG Maker, and is set in a modern city. There is no combat, just being a person, having conversations, running errands, and trying to accomplish your goals. The dialogue is realistic and sharp, and the story unfolds in a very satisfying (if a bit tropey) way.

I made a friend online a couple weeks ago -- this guy posted his game called Amethlion to an android forum. It's an open world crafting RPG and he was selling it for a buck fifty. I jumped at the chance to play a cool little pixel art adventure and actually get to interact with the creator. It's buggy as all hell, but it is very cute and pretty fun. The creator is a very nice person and has been very grateful to hear my bug reports. Dynamic Zero is the name of his company, and he made the game solo with his brother making the music. It's a family affair and I think that is just so sweet.

What mobile games are you all into these days, if any? And if the answer is none, how come?

Hey all! I got a switch early this year and I've been loving it so far. I've been browsing the store and there seems to be a ton of cool little indie titles. Any recommendations for some really fun ones?

I love strategy games and RPGs. I would also love any recommendations for games that my GF and I could play together as well.

I don't play mobile games very often but every now and then I want to load up something a bit more substantial than your average mobile game without having to log hours like Fallout Shelter. I played something called (I think) Pixel dungeon in the past that was a sort of roguelike and I enjoyed that. What do you guys play and recommend?

I went through the topics and did not see a previous on on this, so I am curious what your current favorites are, from both a single player experience offline (no pvp or multiplayer mode) or MMORPG wise?

Bonus points for new MMORPGS and undervalued titles which are just fun and engaging to play. I have to have the ability to get up and walk away at a moments notice for work purposes, so pvp and requirements that I spend a lot of continuous time are hard to find in a fun game, even if I do not get called away like that for days at a time. I am into strategy more than FPS, but all are welcome!

My friends and I just finished our first run through EDF 4.1, and we had a blast. We each accumulated about 60 hours in the game doing so. Some of that was probably spent goofing around on other classes or strengthening up a bit for the three or four missions we got stuck on. All in all though, I'm amazed that it took us that long to get through.

Actually, I'd say that's my response to this game in general. For something I had never really heard of, it was surprisingly good. The game was ridiculous at the start with the giant bugs but as it went it somehow just got crazier and crazier. The scale of the game was just fantastic in terms of enemy variety and size. The hilarity of the B movie writing paired with the outrageous gameplay made it an uproar between the four of us.

The progression system was decent and probably the weakest point. The sheer amount of equipment was a big plus, since it's always exciting to see something new at the end of a mission and find out if it's any good or not, but it was pretty easy to identify an optimal strategy for each mission. There were some classes of weapons (for ranger at least) that were outright useless in a practical sense, which is disappointing. The variety in weapon design is great, but it's unfortunate that it couldn't be more balanced.

Are there any other games that really scratch this itch? I can think of a lot of four-player co-op games that don't really fill that void. EDF is too fast-paced, has too many good "wtf moments", and has too enjoyable a progression system. For those of y'all on ~ who have played it: what other games did you enjoy that were sort of alike to EDF 4.1?