I feel there's a few issues with Mysterium's rulebook, and a weird mechanic with the guessing of other players' guesses that could trip people up. Haven't played Deception but that feels simpler theoretically.
Yea, the rulebook for mysterium isn't put together that well. My play group had to look up a YouTube video on how to play.
PSN: Reaper_Stragint, Steam: DoublePitstoChesty
What is the point of being alive if you don't at least try to do something remarkable? ~ Mario Novak
I never fear death or dyin', I only fear never trying.
I've found the perfect fit for my group that goes heavy on social deduction games which I usually can't stand!
Dark Moon plays great as what it was designed to be: a stripped down, shorter BSG. Pretty much plays like BSG with the space component removed. For a crises, you roll dice instead of use cards. Everyone rolls dice secretly behind a screen. 4 of the sides have negative numbers. Lots more opportunities for lying and plausible deniability as people claim they don't have anything to contribute since they didn't roll positive numbers.
It's got some insane $60+ prices on Amazon, but I snagged it from BGG market for $20 + shipping.
+6
jergarmarhollow man crewgoes pew pew pewRegistered Userregular
Lending a few party games to some non-gamer friends who are spending the weekend at a cabin. 5-6 people. Currently lending: Time's Up Title Recall and Monikers, Codenames, Spyfall, and One Night Ultimate Werewold. Would Mysterium/Deception: murder in Hong Kong be reasonable with no experienced player to explain? Any other recommendations?
I've recently been impressed with Bang! The Dice Game for this kind of thing. A short, low-rules, comparatively low-stress hidden role game. It might even be called deluxe filler, really, but I find myself pulling it out a lot, by request.
Speaking of Kickstarters, The Estates just launched today. It's a reprint of Neue Heimat, a long OOP super mean auction game which is supposed to be just great. If you like that kind of thing check it out. I'm definitely backing it.
Cool story in spoilers for those who want to go in blind to even possibilities:
I played some over the weekend and my buddy and I are now in some kind of alternate dimension. We are actively trying to earn the favor of some kind of snake ghost, but I think we were probably supposed to have finished doing that before we rang a spooky bell and got transported here.
I have one bullet left in the shotgun I found early in our mission, having used the other on a very rude skeleton that didn't appreciate the burnt offering we tried to leave on a scary altar.
The other option, altar-wise, was apparently to murder some sort of helper character we had no idea even existed.
+1
WearingglassesOf the friendly neighborhood varietyRegistered Userregular
Speaking of Kickstarters, The Estates just launched today. It's a reprint of Neue Heimat, a long OOP super mean auction game which is supposed to be just great. If you like that kind of thing check it out. I'm definitely backing it.
Damn, that looks like a very mean game, so many ways to screw over the other players (being the auctioneer, prematurely ending / lengthening a row of houses, putting a mayor on the unfinished row for negative points).
Advanced our Pandemic: Legacy S2 campaign on Saturday night. We lost May.
We are finding it real hard to get the Supply Centers down. We often end up with one or two plague cubes on the board during initial infections, which really sets us on the back foot - and that only gets worse as the campaign proceeds and the grid grows. We still haven't recon'd Europe or Africa, but we did finally open up the Middle East - which introduced the Hollow Men. By the end of the game, they were responsible for several cities becoming Forsaken (we decided to spend some points re-upping London so we have the chance to explore from there next game.
It's getting hard to figure out a solid strategy, and the HM are an added wrinkle we really didn't need.
Are you searching cities? You should've found some help by now.
But yeah dwindling supplies is a nuisance.
We found a Herbalist and located a new Haven, ans got some free supplies, but that's about it. We just never seem to have the time to search (and the player deck is getting bloated so it's less likely we pull them).
Removing plague cubes doesn't move the Doom Track back, so we don't put much stock in it.
Currently Playing:
The Division, Warframe (XB1)
GT: Tanith 6227
Mine came today, too! Wee! I also ordered and received additional sleeves from Mayday, a few too many in fact, but I may keep them if I want to sleeve the entire game for when the second box comes (it should be able to fit everything with the additional inserts).
Asmodee still hasn't gotten back to me about my fucked up Kemet cards. I think I should just call them tomorrow to speak to a live person. I want my darn fixed cards, dang nabbit!
I picked up Coup on discount. I read it's a bad two-player game, but it's actually pretty good with some user-created variants. I can't wait to share it with more people.
My FLGS had a single copy of Century: Golem Edition and I almost panicked bought it. But I already have the original version, so it's not worth it. But, but, but... hrgh... those pretty crystals...
Edit: The official branded sleeves are all Maydays, and so many won't fit the cards without causing bending and damage. Ugh. The regular, non-branded ones fit fine, though. It seems like I got a bad batch with the Kickstarter. I will say, as frustrating as it's been sleeving some of these cards, I'd probably recommend it. The cards themselves feel pretty flimsy.
Dashui on
Xbox Live, PSN & Origin: Vacorsis 3DS: 2638-0037-166
Mine came today, too! Wee! I also ordered and received additional sleeves from Mayday, a few too many in fact, but I may keep them if I want to sleeve the entire game for when the second box comes (it should be able to fit everything with the additional inserts).
Asmodee still hasn't gotten back to me about my fucked up Kemet cards. I think I should just call them tomorrow to speak to a live person. I want my darn fixed cards, dang nabbit!
I picked up Coup on discount. I read it's a bad two-player game, but it's actually pretty good with some user-created variants. I can't wait to share it with more people.
My FLGS had a single copy of Century: Golem Edition and I almost panicked bought it. But I already have the original version, so it's not worth it. But, but, but... hrgh... those pretty crystals...
Edit: The official branded sleeves are all Maydays, and so many won't fit the cards without causing bending and damage. Ugh. The regular, non-branded ones fit fine, though. It seems like I got a bad batch with the Kickstarter. I will say, as frustrating as it's been sleeving some of these cards, I'd probably recommend it. The cards themselves feel pretty flimsy.
I've seen some similar comments online about the sleeves that come with the game. Reports are Serious Poulp has been helpful in getting replacements sent.
0
CaptainPeacockBoard Game HoarderTop o' the LakeRegistered Userregular
My daughter bought me Clans of Caledonia for my anniversary. Wanted to get me Stone Age but there weren't any copies in stock. Loves!
Cluck cluck, gibber gibber, my old man's a mushroom, etc.
Edit: The official branded sleeves are all Maydays, and so many won't fit the cards without causing bending and damage. Ugh. The regular, non-branded ones fit fine, though. It seems like I got a bad batch with the Kickstarter. I will say, as frustrating as it's been sleeving some of these cards, I'd probably recommend it. The cards themselves feel pretty flimsy.
Mayday are just really bad at making sleeves. Seriously.
Custom SpecialI know I am, I'm sure I am,I'm Sounders 'til I die!Registered Userregular
Hey, just got my 7th Continent tracking number! No updates on it yet, though.
We're going on a family vacation in early June and I'm really hoping I can get a few people interested enough to play a bit each day.
There's theoretically never going to be a way for me to obtain 7th continent if I haven't already so I should completely ignore whether it's good or not, right?
There's theoretically never going to be a way for me to obtain 7th continent if I haven't already so I should completely ignore whether it's good or not, right?
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but Serious Poulp may be selling some left over copies on their store? It could be worth keeping an eye on their website.
Dashui on
Xbox Live, PSN & Origin: Vacorsis 3DS: 2638-0037-166
There's theoretically never going to be a way for me to obtain 7th continent if I haven't already so I should completely ignore whether it's good or not, right?
There's theoretically never going to be a way for me to obtain 7th continent if I haven't already so I should completely ignore whether it's good or not, right?
Ignore it unless they do another Kickstarter. In that case, continue to ignore it.
Nice, my two small Valeria: Card Kingdoms expansions came today. I'm looking forward to playing that game with the event cards. I'm a big fan of Valeria. It's fluff, but enjoyable fluff. Everyone gets something every turn, whether you're the active player or not. And its modular nature means each game can feel a little different.
Asmodee finally got back to me. I'll be receiving replacement Kemet battle cards soon. Thank goodness. That's probably the game on my shelf I want to play the most right now.
I also backed Grifters: Nexus. I got a chance to play the original box and fell in love immediately. Crypt looks like a really interesting small-box game on Kickstarter, too. Zombicide: Invader went live the other day, as well, and naturally it's full of exclusive items. Blah. The other two projects don't have any of that garbage. It does look fun, $150 fun? Maybe not.
Dashui on
Xbox Live, PSN & Origin: Vacorsis 3DS: 2638-0037-166
0
Mojo_JojoWe are only now beginning to understand the full power and ramifications of sexual intercourseRegistered Userregular
edited April 2018
Well we played two more games of base pandemic before launching into January. We were one infection card away from victory. So of course it was a card that ended the game.
So sore. So bitter. Such a heavily marked board already
Mojo_Jojo on
Homogeneous distribution of your varieties of amuse-gueule
Picked up a copy of Captain Sonar at the LGS today. On Saturday I am attending a gathering where I'm sure I'll want to have the option for an 8 player game so I don't have to suffer through another session where we only play Codenames/7 Wonders.
Any helpful tips for teaching Captain Sonar? I managed to peel off one film from each of the clear sheets; there are still some small pits though, and it kinda looks like there might be another film, but heck if I can find them.
It's funny people mention pax and board games/crowds. My group decided to skip it and just rent a house for 3 days to get away and play board games. Way cheaper and got way more rounds of games in.
It's funny people mention pax and board games/crowds. My group decided to skip it and just rent a house for 3 days to get away and play board games. Way cheaper and got way more rounds of games in.
The big advantage of PAX was the giant library of games they had available for checking out. Tons of copies of tons of games. Pretty much all of the hot new stuff (4 copies of Twilight Imperium 4th edition, half a dozen copies of Blood Rage!) plus all the older hard to get stuff.
Though if you're not into trying new games and already own stuff you have friends who will already play, yeah no real point going to PAX for them.
arrrrrggggg. Continuing on the "how was Scythe the recipient of SU&SD's most negative review they've ever done?" line (with Eldritch Horror being the 2nd most negative), I just watched their review where they recommended Seafall, the universally panned game that I haven't seen one single person not dislike, as a boardgame to be celebrated for its contribution to the hobby. Seafall is the only game I've ever seen Tom, Sam, and Zee all passionately rail on.
It goes beyond personal taste to questioning if they even know what they're talking about. They recommend just playing Rex over Scythe. Wha?? That's like saying don't play Terraforming Mars when you could just play Cosmic Encounter.
It's a shame because no other reviewer even comes close to SU&SD's direction, production values, sense of flow, and humor. Just their final opinions are so...terrible. It's like inverse Dice Tower where I want to watch the overview and skip the final opinion.
I actually wish they would just hire themselves out as directors, videographers, and script doctors to reviewers without bizarro vision.
0
ArcticLancerBest served chilled.Registered Userregular
edited April 2018
Oh yeah, they did do that, didn't they? Heh.
That said, thinking about it, despite not revering Seafall (it's pretty clunky), I did probably enjoy the time I spent with it more than the time I've spent with Scythe. Seafall did have some great ideas in the box. It's just that the foundation of the game wasn't one of them. I feel like all Scythe has going for it is the art direction and production value. <_<
That's not what I remember? I can't watch the review as I'm at work but reading people in the comments saying it made them cancel their pre-order sounds like my memory that they pointed out plenty of problems with it is correct. Like doesn't Quinns say he say how he didn't finish the campaign because nobody was having enough fun to justify continuing?
I also don't remember their Scythe review being particularly negative.
Jam Warrior on
+5
38thDoelets never be stupid againwait lets always be stupid foreverRegistered Userregular
I got the impression that SU&SD didn't like Seafall from the review.
"We played halfway through it, and then had no desire to finish it" or something like that in the end of the video.
Also I think the Arkham Horror review was the most negative one I've seen them do. They really didn't like that one. Which now that I've not played it in over a year, yeah I'm not sure what to do with the huge thing.
I forgot to mention another great part about Dark Moon, the "BSG express" hidden traitor dice game: it finally solves the problem of how to balance out even number player games.
BSG always stumbled with that. It tried sympathizers. It tried Cylon Leaders. It tried Mutineers. None of them really worked.
Dark Moon's solution is so simple you wonder why no one thought of it before. All it does is give the uninfected (humans) a more difficult crises deck to deal with and balance out that there's one more non-traitor over an odd numbered game (where the humans get an easier crises deck).
I just went back to watch this and they really didn't! In a section where Paul is talking about the various elements that make up Scythe he says if you want a game that concentrates on politics and deals with other players in a territory control setting you might want to try Rex first. They don't say Rex is better than Scythe. They say Rex concentrates on this particular aspect of Scythe to a greater depth so IF that's the main thing you're looking for then Scythe isn't the best option.
SU&SD's 'problem' is they try and give nuanced personal opinions taking into account the wider game field and varying things people want from a game, when some people just want objective scores and ranking.
If I remember correctly their take on Scythe was it is a game that embodies the “more stuff!!!” philosophy of Kickstarter and as a result does many things but does not particularly do any of those things well. Which is a perfectly reasonable opinion and similar to how I felt the one time I played Scythe.
So they recommend games that focus on less things but execute on those things better. And personally if I’m ever in the mood for a group game about politics and area control I am going to bust out Dune before I bust out Scythe every time.
Posts
Yea, the rulebook for mysterium isn't put together that well. My play group had to look up a YouTube video on how to play.
What is the point of being alive if you don't at least try to do something remarkable? ~ Mario Novak
I never fear death or dyin', I only fear never trying.
Dark Moon plays great as what it was designed to be: a stripped down, shorter BSG. Pretty much plays like BSG with the space component removed. For a crises, you roll dice instead of use cards. Everyone rolls dice secretly behind a screen. 4 of the sides have negative numbers. Lots more opportunities for lying and plausible deniability as people claim they don't have anything to contribute since they didn't roll positive numbers.
It's got some insane $60+ prices on Amazon, but I snagged it from BGG market for $20 + shipping.
I've recently been impressed with Bang! The Dice Game for this kind of thing. A short, low-rules, comparatively low-stress hidden role game. It might even be called deluxe filler, really, but I find myself pulling it out a lot, by request.
My BoardGameGeek profile
Battle.net: TheGerm#1430 (Hearthstone, Destiny 2)
Someone tried to sell me a bridge once, but I wasn't going to take that trick.
PSN: Wstfgl | GamerTag: An Evil Plan | Battle.net: FallenIdle#1970
Hit me up on BoardGameArena! User: Loaded D1
Speaking of fillers, the KS campaign for my game called Filler just launched. Y'know, if you're interested.
Selling Board Games for Medical Bills
Nice! I'm in WA, no shipping notification yet for me (hoping it'll be stealth delivered as a surprise).
Cool story in spoilers for those who want to go in blind to even possibilities:
I have one bullet left in the shotgun I found early in our mission, having used the other on a very rude skeleton that didn't appreciate the burnt offering we tried to leave on a scary altar.
The other option, altar-wise, was apparently to murder some sort of helper character we had no idea even existed.
Damn, that looks like a very mean game, so many ways to screw over the other players (being the auctioneer, prematurely ending / lengthening a row of houses, putting a mayor on the unfinished row for negative points).
I feel awkward talking about "filler" suddenly.
It's a mystery.
My BoardGameGeek profile
Battle.net: TheGerm#1430 (Hearthstone, Destiny 2)
Removing plague cubes doesn't move the Doom Track back, so we don't put much stock in it.
The Division, Warframe (XB1)
GT: Tanith 6227
That looks delightful! It is now $15 closer to its goal!
Mine came today, too! Wee! I also ordered and received additional sleeves from Mayday, a few too many in fact, but I may keep them if I want to sleeve the entire game for when the second box comes (it should be able to fit everything with the additional inserts).
Asmodee still hasn't gotten back to me about my fucked up Kemet cards. I think I should just call them tomorrow to speak to a live person. I want my darn fixed cards, dang nabbit!
I picked up Coup on discount. I read it's a bad two-player game, but it's actually pretty good with some user-created variants. I can't wait to share it with more people.
My FLGS had a single copy of Century: Golem Edition and I almost panicked bought it. But I already have the original version, so it's not worth it. But, but, but... hrgh... those pretty crystals...
Edit: The official branded sleeves are all Maydays, and so many won't fit the cards without causing bending and damage. Ugh. The regular, non-branded ones fit fine, though. It seems like I got a bad batch with the Kickstarter. I will say, as frustrating as it's been sleeving some of these cards, I'd probably recommend it. The cards themselves feel pretty flimsy.
I've seen some similar comments online about the sleeves that come with the game. Reports are Serious Poulp has been helpful in getting replacements sent.
Mayday are just really bad at making sleeves. Seriously.
We're going on a family vacation in early June and I'm really hoping I can get a few people interested enough to play a bit each day.
Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but Serious Poulp may be selling some left over copies on their store? It could be worth keeping an eye on their website.
Check eBay. My copy may go up on there.
Ignore it unless they do another Kickstarter. In that case, continue to ignore it.
Asmodee finally got back to me. I'll be receiving replacement Kemet battle cards soon. Thank goodness. That's probably the game on my shelf I want to play the most right now.
I also backed Grifters: Nexus. I got a chance to play the original box and fell in love immediately. Crypt looks like a really interesting small-box game on Kickstarter, too. Zombicide: Invader went live the other day, as well, and naturally it's full of exclusive items. Blah. The other two projects don't have any of that garbage. It does look fun, $150 fun? Maybe not.
So sore. So bitter. Such a heavily marked board already
Any helpful tips for teaching Captain Sonar? I managed to peel off one film from each of the clear sheets; there are still some small pits though, and it kinda looks like there might be another film, but heck if I can find them.
The big advantage of PAX was the giant library of games they had available for checking out. Tons of copies of tons of games. Pretty much all of the hot new stuff (4 copies of Twilight Imperium 4th edition, half a dozen copies of Blood Rage!) plus all the older hard to get stuff.
Though if you're not into trying new games and already own stuff you have friends who will already play, yeah no real point going to PAX for them.
It goes beyond personal taste to questioning if they even know what they're talking about. They recommend just playing Rex over Scythe. Wha?? That's like saying don't play Terraforming Mars when you could just play Cosmic Encounter.
It's a shame because no other reviewer even comes close to SU&SD's direction, production values, sense of flow, and humor. Just their final opinions are so...terrible. It's like inverse Dice Tower where I want to watch the overview and skip the final opinion.
I actually wish they would just hire themselves out as directors, videographers, and script doctors to reviewers without bizarro vision.
That said, thinking about it, despite not revering Seafall (it's pretty clunky), I did probably enjoy the time I spent with it more than the time I've spent with Scythe. Seafall did have some great ideas in the box. It's just that the foundation of the game wasn't one of them. I feel like all Scythe has going for it is the art direction and production value. <_<
Perhaps I can interest you in my meager selection of pins?
I also don't remember their Scythe review being particularly negative.
"We played halfway through it, and then had no desire to finish it" or something like that in the end of the video.
Also I think the Arkham Horror review was the most negative one I've seen them do. They really didn't like that one. Which now that I've not played it in over a year, yeah I'm not sure what to do with the huge thing.
BSG always stumbled with that. It tried sympathizers. It tried Cylon Leaders. It tried Mutineers. None of them really worked.
Dark Moon's solution is so simple you wonder why no one thought of it before. All it does is give the uninfected (humans) a more difficult crises deck to deal with and balance out that there's one more non-traitor over an odd numbered game (where the humans get an easier crises deck).
No more dumb neutered half measure roles.
I just went back to watch this and they really didn't! In a section where Paul is talking about the various elements that make up Scythe he says if you want a game that concentrates on politics and deals with other players in a territory control setting you might want to try Rex first. They don't say Rex is better than Scythe. They say Rex concentrates on this particular aspect of Scythe to a greater depth so IF that's the main thing you're looking for then Scythe isn't the best option.
SU&SD's 'problem' is they try and give nuanced personal opinions taking into account the wider game field and varying things people want from a game, when some people just want objective scores and ranking.
So they recommend games that focus on less things but execute on those things better. And personally if I’m ever in the mood for a group game about politics and area control I am going to bust out Dune before I bust out Scythe every time.