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[Board Games] - Skynet defeats Korean guy in an abstract strategy game. The end is nigh.

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  • AstaerethAstaereth In the belly of the beastRegistered User regular
    Mansions 2nd edition, or Eldritch Horror?

    ACsTqqK.jpg
  • ArcSynArcSyn Registered User regular
    Hedgethorn wrote: »
    My wife and I started Pandemic: Legacy a couple weeks ago, playing two characters each.

    We went 3-1 in our first four games, and have had a great string of luck: only a handful of cities had an outbreak in the first four games, and we even managed to notch seven disease eradications across those four games. Then, the night before last, we tried our hands at April.
    We went in with zero funding. I actually knew the plot twist that awaited us in April, having had at least some of the big moments of the game spoiled. Our game went very smoothly. The Quarantine Specialist kept CodA (yellow) in check while the Generalist, the Medic, and the Researcher targeted the other three diseases. Red and blue got cured without much ado. After the second epidemic and the introduction of the Faded, Lima quickly became City Zero with three Faded figures, but constant use of quarantines maintained an uneasy status quo in South America and Africa: two yellow cubes in Johannesburg, three yellow cubes in Khartoum, one yellow cube in Lagos, three yellow cubes in Mexico City, and three yellow cubes in Los Angeles, but no other Faded figures on the map.

    Then the third and fourth epidemics got drawn at the same time, leading to a pair of unpreventable outbreaks in Hong Kong and Essen. But still yellow was held in check.

    Six military bases were built. Blue was cured. Red was cured. But very few black city cards had been seen; most are stubbornly clustered at the bottom of the player deck, and the rest are spread across all four players.

    On her turn, the quarantine specialist Shares Knowledge with the Generalist in Delhi, giving the Quarantine Specialist a fourth black card. The researcher had two more black cards. The black disease had been upgraded twice so that it could be cured without an action; as soon as the researcher's turn came, she would be able to pass one card to the quarantine specialist and that would be a win. We only had to survive through two infection steps.

    The quarantine specialist draws three infection cards. Lima is one of them; the quarantine of City Zero is lifted. The situation on the board looks ugly, but stable. We just have to get through the medic's turn.

    The medic takes four actions, treating a collection of red cubes. We worry that the Faded in Lima are no longer quarantined, but the medic has no way to reach Lima. The medic draws her first player card. And then the second player card drawn...and it's the fifth Epidemic.

    A card is drawn off the bottom of the infection deck. It's Lagos. Three Faded are added to Lagos, and it's an outbreak. The Faded appear in Kinshasa and Sao Paulo, and the quarantine marker is removed from Khartoum.

    We shuffle the sixteen infection cards and draw four off the top.

    Lagos again. Outbreak. More faded in Kinshasa and Sao Paulo. Khartoum falls to the Faded and chain outbreaks. The quarantine of Johannesburg falls.
    Johannesburg. The Faded have taken over all of Africa.
    Lima. Outbreak. The Faded spread through western South America. Quarantines are broken in Mexico City and Los Angeles.
    Los Angeles. Outbreak. Mexico City and Lima chain outbreak. Faded appear throughout the U.S., popping up in Miami, San Francisco, and Chicago. Game over.

    In one infection step, we went from one Faded city to more than a dozen Faded cities. We were literally one action from victory; one action that was the difference between a localized concern and a intercontinental pandemic.

    General pandemic rule question:
    Drawing the epidemic infect city from the bottom of the deck should or shouldn't cause an outbreak if there are already cubes on the city?
    I can't look it up right now to check.

    4dm3dwuxq302.png
  • TimFijiTimFiji Beast Lord Halfway2AnywhereRegistered User regular
    Mansions is 1 player? I do have Eldritch Horror so I do play that one player sometimes

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    • AstaerethAstaereth In the belly of the beastRegistered User regular
      The 2nd edition can be solo'd, I'm pretty sure, because the app removes the need for a DM.

      ACsTqqK.jpg
    • HedgethornHedgethorn Associate Professor of Historical Hobby Horses In the Lions' DenRegistered User regular
      ArcSyn wrote: »
      Hedgethorn wrote: »
      My wife and I started Pandemic: Legacy a couple weeks ago, playing two characters each.

      We went 3-1 in our first four games, and have had a great string of luck: only a handful of cities had an outbreak in the first four games, and we even managed to notch seven disease eradications across those four games. Then, the night before last, we tried our hands at April.
      We went in with zero funding. I actually knew the plot twist that awaited us in April, having had at least some of the big moments of the game spoiled. Our game went very smoothly. The Quarantine Specialist kept CodA (yellow) in check while the Generalist, the Medic, and the Researcher targeted the other three diseases. Red and blue got cured without much ado. After the second epidemic and the introduction of the Faded, Lima quickly became City Zero with three Faded figures, but constant use of quarantines maintained an uneasy status quo in South America and Africa: two yellow cubes in Johannesburg, three yellow cubes in Khartoum, one yellow cube in Lagos, three yellow cubes in Mexico City, and three yellow cubes in Los Angeles, but no other Faded figures on the map.

      Then the third and fourth epidemics got drawn at the same time, leading to a pair of unpreventable outbreaks in Hong Kong and Essen. But still yellow was held in check.

      Six military bases were built. Blue was cured. Red was cured. But very few black city cards had been seen; most are stubbornly clustered at the bottom of the player deck, and the rest are spread across all four players.

      On her turn, the quarantine specialist Shares Knowledge with the Generalist in Delhi, giving the Quarantine Specialist a fourth black card. The researcher had two more black cards. The black disease had been upgraded twice so that it could be cured without an action; as soon as the researcher's turn came, she would be able to pass one card to the quarantine specialist and that would be a win. We only had to survive through two infection steps.

      The quarantine specialist draws three infection cards. Lima is one of them; the quarantine of City Zero is lifted. The situation on the board looks ugly, but stable. We just have to get through the medic's turn.

      The medic takes four actions, treating a collection of red cubes. We worry that the Faded in Lima are no longer quarantined, but the medic has no way to reach Lima. The medic draws her first player card. And then the second player card drawn...and it's the fifth Epidemic.

      A card is drawn off the bottom of the infection deck. It's Lagos. Three Faded are added to Lagos, and it's an outbreak. The Faded appear in Kinshasa and Sao Paulo, and the quarantine marker is removed from Khartoum.

      We shuffle the sixteen infection cards and draw four off the top.

      Lagos again. Outbreak. More faded in Kinshasa and Sao Paulo. Khartoum falls to the Faded and chain outbreaks. The quarantine of Johannesburg falls.
      Johannesburg. The Faded have taken over all of Africa.
      Lima. Outbreak. The Faded spread through western South America. Quarantines are broken in Mexico City and Los Angeles.
      Los Angeles. Outbreak. Mexico City and Lima chain outbreak. Faded appear throughout the U.S., popping up in Miami, San Francisco, and Chicago. Game over.

      In one infection step, we went from one Faded city to more than a dozen Faded cities. We were literally one action from victory; one action that was the difference between a localized concern and a intercontinental pandemic.

      General pandemic rule question:
      Drawing the epidemic infect city from the bottom of the deck should or shouldn't cause an outbreak if there are already cubes on the city?
      I can't look it up right now to check.

      If there's already a cube in a city, drawing it from the bottom of the deck is an outbreak. Then if it gets drawn off the top again, another outbreak.

    • RendRend Registered User regular
      I played a couple games of Captain Sonar on Saturday, and holy cow I could not be more pleased with how it went and how that game played. It was stressful in the best kind of way.

      We played with six, and it goes pretty well with the captain doubling up as the first mate, as the book suggests. I was legitimately amazed at how in-depth the engineer's job was. The first of the two games my team won by scoring four consecutive indirect hits. I did not know it at the time, but the enemy sub had us pegged exactly. I'm fairly sure the reason they were unable to defeat us by just scoring two direct hits as we were chasing them is that their engineer had crossed out a weapon system on the bottom where it couldn't be repaired without taking damage (which would have put them too far behind) or surfacing (which would be a death sentence considering we were currently firing torpedoes at them).

      Also there's no more exhilerating feeling than, as captain, getting a little elbow nudge from your radio operator and hearing them say "I'm pretty sure they're right here."

      ...and then you realize they're very close to you! They're in range!

      ...And then you realize holy god you're right on top of each other.

      Our first torpedo in the second game scored a direct hit on the enemy sub, and an indirect hit on our own. :p

    • CampyCampy Registered User regular
      Good to know that 6 players works well in real time. Though it certainly isn't making the wait for UK release any easier!

    • RendRend Registered User regular
      I also found it pretty comical how difficult it became IMMEDIATELY to draw a path through the water that made it difficult for the enemy radio operator to triangulate my location. If first mate and captain were separate roles I might have been able to focus more on that, but even so, it's pretty astounding how quickly your location can be found fairly exactly.

      I was also kind of taken aback that the silent running system didn't seem to completely stymie the radio operators. I expected it to be a near full reset, but at best it seemed to be a few turns of respite.

    • CampyCampy Registered User regular
      Hngghh, less and less easy...

      Hhhnggghhh, Pre-order made...

    • TimFijiTimFiji Beast Lord Halfway2AnywhereRegistered User regular
      Astaereth wrote: »
      The 2nd edition can be solo'd, I'm pretty sure, because the app removes the need for a DM.

      Well hot damn. The future of gaming.

      Switch: SW-2322-2047-3148 Steam: Archpriest
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      • crimsoncoyotecrimsoncoyote Registered User regular
        Rend wrote: »
        I also found it pretty comical how difficult it became IMMEDIATELY to draw a path through the water that made it difficult for the enemy radio operator to triangulate my location. If first mate and captain were separate roles I might have been able to focus more on that, but even so, it's pretty astounding how quickly your location can be found fairly exactly.

        I was also kind of taken aback that the silent running system didn't seem to completely stymie the radio operators. I expected it to be a near full reset, but at best it seemed to be a few turns of respite.

        Silent running is fantastic when you know the location of the enemy, but they have no idea where you are.

      • MNC DoverMNC Dover Full-time Voice Actor Kirkland, WARegistered User regular
        I present to you The Dover Household Championship trophy!

        o3623yob7lj2.jpg

        The wife and I decided that we have a lot of games (both physical and digital) that we neglect too often. Therefore, I bought us a custom made trophy and devised a weekly gaming challenge for us to participate in. Each week, we shall play against each other in a different game with the winner claiming the trophy as their own. Our trophy has a removable sliding name plate to update the winner after each game. Thinking ahead, I got a plate made for our daughter can join in the fun (when she's old enough)!

        x3ttqf5zm76s.jpg

        We actually started last week before the trophy was made. The wife was the winner in a BO3 games of Tetris. This week, she puts her title on the line against me in BO5 Star Realms:

        jzid1nu25d9h.jpg

        Need a voice actor? Hire me at bengrayVO.com
        Legends of Runeterra: MNCdover #moc
        Switch ID: MNC Dover SW-1154-3107-1051
        Steam ID
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      • Jam WarriorJam Warrior Registered User regular
        edited September 2016
        TimFiji wrote: »
        Guys I'm in the mood for a good one player game to hold me over until my game nights. I used to do Mage Knight (still awesome) but want something a little lighter I think. Any suggestions?

        Death Angel is a good fun little bit of single player masochism.

        Jam Warrior on
        MhCw7nZ.gif
      • mysticjuicermysticjuicer [he/him] I'm a muscle wizard and I cast P U N C HRegistered User regular
        @MNC Dover oh my god that's amazing

        narwhal wrote:
        Why am I Terran?
        My YouTube Channel! Featuring silly little Guilty Gear Strive videos and other stuff!
      • AstaerethAstaereth In the belly of the beastRegistered User regular
        So is Captain Sonar something you could play with some of the participants coming in by Skype? Or do you all have to be in the same room?

        ACsTqqK.jpg
      • ArcSynArcSyn Registered User regular
        Astaereth wrote: »
        So is Captain Sonar something you could play with some of the participants coming in by Skype? Or do you all have to be in the same room?

        It's got wipe off maps and boards so pretty much in person. I suppose you could make it work if they could look at or make boards.

        4dm3dwuxq302.png
      • MNC DoverMNC Dover Full-time Voice Actor Kirkland, WARegistered User regular
        "MNC Dover" oh my god that's amazing

        If I'm elected President one day, everyone will get a trophy!

        Need a voice actor? Hire me at bengrayVO.com
        Legends of Runeterra: MNCdover #moc
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      • InquisitorInquisitor Registered User regular
        TimFiji wrote: »
        Guys I'm in the mood for a good one player game to hold me over until my game nights. I used to do Mage Knight (still awesome) but want something a little lighter I think. Any suggestions?

        How crunchy do you want it? What themes do you like?

      • CantidoCantido Registered User regular
        MNC Dover wrote: »
        "MNC Dover" oh my god that's amazing

        If I'm elected President one day, everyone will get a trophy!

        Quit pandering to the filthy Millennials and get off my lawn!

        3DS Friendcode 5413-1311-3767
      • TimFijiTimFiji Beast Lord Halfway2AnywhereRegistered User regular
        Inquisitor wrote: »
        TimFiji wrote: »
        Guys I'm in the mood for a good one player game to hold me over until my game nights. I used to do Mage Knight (still awesome) but want something a little lighter I think. Any suggestions?

        How crunchy do you want it? What themes do you like?

        Not sure what you mean by crunchy! I like most themes, but fantasy or space are delightful

        Switch: SW-2322-2047-3148 Steam: Archpriest
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        • RendRend Registered User regular
          Astaereth wrote: »
          So is Captain Sonar something you could play with some of the participants coming in by Skype? Or do you all have to be in the same room?

          You would have to enforce table talk in some way, but I could absolutely see it working on skype. The skype person would need their own copy for the boards though.

        • MNC DoverMNC Dover Full-time Voice Actor Kirkland, WARegistered User regular
          Cantido wrote: »
          MNC Dover wrote: »
          "MNC Dover" oh my god that's amazing

          If I'm elected President one day, everyone will get a trophy!

          Quit pandering to the filthy Millennials and get off my lawn!

          Oh no good sir, these will not be participation trophies. Winner takes all!

          Need a voice actor? Hire me at bengrayVO.com
          Legends of Runeterra: MNCdover #moc
          Switch ID: MNC Dover SW-1154-3107-1051
          Steam ID
          Twitch Page
        • MaclayMaclay Insquequo Totus Es Unus Here and ThereRegistered User regular
          TimFiji wrote: »
          Guys I'm in the mood for a good one player game to hold me over until my game nights. I used to do Mage Knight (still awesome) but want something a little lighter I think. Any suggestions?

          I pretty much only play solo, but rather than list my entire collection this is some of the lighter stuff that's been in my mindspace recently:
          Forbidden Desert - Survival in the ever shifting sands.
          Friday - Some idiot shows up on your island, you need to make him leave.
          Samurai Spirit - A group of samurai defend a village against raiders.
          Space Hulk: Death Angel - Took me a while to properly come to terms with this one, but as long as you're solo it seems to live up to the hype.
          Agent Decker - Currently Print and Play, pay what you want. Physical version expected this year. Early days, but feels like solo Star Realms.

          I'm also thinking about Hostage Negotiator, there was a KS for a standalone expansion but not really sure what I want to do yet.

        • TimFijiTimFiji Beast Lord Halfway2AnywhereRegistered User regular
          I got forbidden desert! Love that game. I'll check out all these. Thanks!

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          • TimFijiTimFiji Beast Lord Halfway2AnywhereRegistered User regular
            Space Hulk seems really neat

            Switch: SW-2322-2047-3148 Steam: Archpriest
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            • InquisitorInquisitor Registered User regular
              TimFiji wrote: »
              Inquisitor wrote: »
              TimFiji wrote: »
              Guys I'm in the mood for a good one player game to hold me over until my game nights. I used to do Mage Knight (still awesome) but want something a little lighter I think. Any suggestions?

              How crunchy do you want it? What themes do you like?

              Not sure what you mean by crunchy! I like most themes, but fantasy or space are delightful

              Like how complicated of rules do you like, how much time do you spend looking around in charts and tables and stuff.

              I never got into solo boardgaming myself but was considering it for a while and almost got into it. A lot of the stuff I was looking at was more military or historical themed solo games though. Stuff like Thunderbolt Apache Leader with its persistent campaign or things like Field Commander Napoleon.

              I think Victory Point Games does some more fantastical solo games like Nemo's War or Astra Titanus, but still, most of there stuff has more of a historical bent.

            • TimFijiTimFiji Beast Lord Halfway2AnywhereRegistered User regular
              Oh I don't mind complicated. When I play mage knight solo I keep it on my dining room table for weeks at a time as I take my turns.

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              • KetarKetar Come on upstairs we're having a partyRegistered User regular
                Astaereth wrote: »
                So is Captain Sonar something you could play with some of the participants coming in by Skype? Or do you all have to be in the same room?

                You could do it with the 2 crews in separate locations, connected via Skype. I don't think it would work well at all with members of the same crew spread to different locations though.

              • AstaerethAstaereth In the belly of the beastRegistered User regular
                @TimFiji Robinson Crusoe comes to mind. Super crunchy, great for soloing.

                ACsTqqK.jpg
              • DirtmuncherDirtmuncher Registered User regular
                @TimFiji you could also look into shadowrun crossfire.
                A fun and challenging single or multiplayer "rpgish" game. You can level up your character between missions to get bonuses, but it also increases the difficulty.

                steam_sig.png
              • InquisitorInquisitor Registered User regular
                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dFQwKz1F4s

                Funky hearing Shut up and Sit Down not just heaping praise on a Legacy game.

                I think they've put me off of picking it up.

              • Magic PinkMagic Pink Tur-Boner-Fed Registered User regular
                TimFiji wrote: »
                Astaereth wrote: »
                The 2nd edition can be solo'd, I'm pretty sure, because the app removes the need for a DM.

                Well hot damn. The future of gaming.

                As much as I love Mansions 2nd, it only beats the original out in set up time and the ability to solo. Nothing compares to having an actual intelligence behind the house trying to kill you.

              • TimFijiTimFiji Beast Lord Halfway2AnywhereRegistered User regular
                @TimFiji you could also look into shadowrun crossfire.
                A fun and challenging single or multiplayer "rpgish" game. You can level up your character between missions to get bonuses, but it also increases the difficulty.

                You just reminded me I won this game two years and never opened it! We have a winner!

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                • WACriminalWACriminal Dying Is Easy, Young Man Living Is HarderRegistered User regular
                  Inquisitor wrote: »
                  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dFQwKz1F4s

                  Funky hearing Shut up and Sit Down not just heaping praise on a Legacy game.

                  I think they've put me off of picking it up.

                  Huh. This is not what I expected.

                  Think I'll put off my purchase until the price (maybe) comes down a bit. I have a group that's just starting on Risk Legacy this week, and I fully expect once we finish it we'll do Pandemic. Maybe by the time we finish Pandemic, I can come by a copy of Seafall cheaply, or there'll be some other Legacy game that comes more highly recommended.

                  It's a shame. I really dig the theme.

                • Ah_PookAh_Pook Registered User regular
                  I haven't watched the SUSD one yet but the two Dice Tower videos so far about Seafall have not enticed me overly much. It sounds like a kinda boring pick up and deliver game that lasts a long time, and the legacy aspects don't sound super interesting. I'd definitely still try a game of it if someone I knew was all hot for it, but eh.

                • ArcSynArcSyn Registered User regular
                  Unfortunately it seems like the theme is killing it. They just didn't make sailing exciting. I know he was trying to design a legacy game made to be legacy, but may have been better if he licensed one again.

                  4dm3dwuxq302.png
                • ArcSynArcSyn Registered User regular
                  edited September 2016
                  TimFiji wrote: »
                  @TimFiji you could also look into shadowrun crossfire.
                  A fun and challenging single or multiplayer "rpgish" game. You can level up your character between missions to get bonuses, but it also increases the difficulty.

                  You just reminded me I won this game two years and never opened it! We have a winner!

                  I got it, iirc from Magic Pink, and it's fun and I love it but man it can be brutal.

                  If playing solo, run 4 characters.

                  ArcSyn on
                  4dm3dwuxq302.png
                • FryFry Registered User regular
                  ShadowRun: Crossfire is a game I really want to try, but am nervous enough about that I can't make myself just buy it outright.

                  My game store started a thing recently where they buy used games from people, check that the components are all in order, then resell the games as "certified pre-owned" at half of MSRP. They've had a remarkably good turnover in decent games. And it's a good excuse to unclutter my closet.

                • MNC DoverMNC Dover Full-time Voice Actor Kirkland, WARegistered User regular
                  I am the new champion after defeating my wife in Star Realms 3-2. The games were pretty close, with some determined by just one turn!

                  Now I must prepare for next week to defend my title!

                  Need a voice actor? Hire me at bengrayVO.com
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                • FishmanFishman Put your goddamned hand in the goddamned Box of Pain. Registered User regular
                  While SeaFall sounds like it might not have the universal appeal of Pandemic Legacy, I think I fall into the niche of gamers for whom it would still give a good time. Unfortunately, I'm not sure the same could be said of my regular group, so if I get it, I run perhaps the worse of both worlds - loving it, but being stuck in a campaign that got abandoned a third of the way through because no one else wants to play it any more.

                  X-Com LP Thread I, II, III, IV, V
                  That's unbelievably cool. Your new name is cool guy. Let's have sex.
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