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[Board games] I choose poorly.

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Posts

  • MrBodyMrBody Registered User regular
    edited April 2018
    Cantido wrote: »
    MrBody wrote: »
    Digital Scythe Beta first impressions.

    The music...yeesh. It sounds like a rejected Silent Hill soundtrack.

    No undo option!!! There's a lot of really not obvious stuff that makes you do a lot of things you don't want to, and you can't undo them even within the same turn. Like I produced then clicked on the resource icon on a hex since I thought that would tell it I wanted that resource, but it actually deselects the resource and you have to click on a hammer to produce. Other unintuitive stuff includes moving resources and workers with mechs. You'd figure you'd just click on the resources or workers after you select the mech, but it's actually a really tiny slider bar in the bottom right.

    Where is all the artwork? You get tiny rows of icons instead of the player mats. Factory cards are also just icons with no art. At first I thought they couldn't get the artist's work for the digital version, but the art is there for encounter cards.

    They make it really hard to tell what your neighbors have on their mats. You can mouse over a tiny icon to see a dim, black & white view of their mat, but I couldn't tell what was on it. Do they have recruits? Upgrades? All you can tell is their mechs and structures, and that's only because you can see them on the board. You certainly can't tell from looking at their mat.

    As far as I can tell, there is no way to see other players' popularity, power, or combat cards. Even when you get into a battle it won't show you how much power and cards they have!

    Please give them that feedback. I want to want this. I don't get many opportunities to bring Scythe to the table.

    Yeah just found their feedback forum.

    The game itself it solid. They ditched the animated leader pieces which I could live without. The music...eh I can just turn it off.

    The UI really needs a lot of work though.

    And my first game ended suddenly. The final score screen came up, but nobody had 6 stars? Only options were to minimize to take a look at the board or exit.

    Best Steam thread: "I thought this was going to be like Iron Harvest"

    MrBody on
  • DarricDarric Santa MonicaRegistered User regular
    Yeah, I just tried the Scythe beta for a bit, and oof. It's rough.

    The action selection UI is bizarrely tiny. Like, I can't tell at a glance what action is which - and given that the actions move around depending on your player board, that's criminal. Also the lack of undo is just ... huh.

  • azith28azith28 Registered User regular
    azith28 wrote: »
    Dashui wrote: »
    azith28 wrote: »
    TimFiji wrote: »
    Dashui wrote: »
    azith28 wrote: »
    Got my 7th Continent core set last Thursday, and played it with my group this weekend. 5 hours went by very quickly. Everyone loved the game, and we cant wait to continue our play, even though we basically got completely lost and have to backtrack to even hope to get back to the objective path :)

    I just ordered a thousand card sleeves for my game. I've never done that before.

    I'm going to end up sleeving the entire game, too. It's not difficult for these cards to get bent. I've already done it on accident to one card. I figure I'll just order sleeves in spurts over the next five months until the second expansion comes, in which case all of this nonsense will actually fit in the boxes.

    An additional plus is that the sleeves do make it easier to pick through the cards to get the one I need.

    What kind of sleeves did you both get?

    Well i ordered the 200 option from the kickstarter and they are okay. I ordered more from
    https://www.maydaygames.com/collections/card-sleeves/products/square-card-sleeves-medium

    here. I got the standard, not the premium cause on boardgamegeek they say the premium make the cards too thick to fit in the box if you sleeve them all.

    I went with the 200 option from Kickstarter, too, and almost none of them fit. Welp.

    The officially-branded sleeves are premium thickness. I ended up ordering 400 premium sleeves from Mayday, as well. It's true they won't fit in the box if you sleeve them all, but the second box that comes in October is designed to do that. The original box will fit all the sleeved action, exploration, and recommended adventure cards, though (just over 400 cards, so my 200 duds didn't screw me over too much).

    How do the standard/penny sleeves feel, azith? The previous set of standard sleeves I bought felt crinkly and loose. I ended up swearing them off since then.

    I havent gotten the ones i ordered from mayday yet. just did that monday, but they were already marked as shipped, so should have them soon. the 200 i got with the KS fit, some snugly but did fit. i hear if you report the problem of yours not fitting to the 7th Continent people they will ship you replacements quickly.


    @Dashui I got my sleeves today. I sleeved my entire core game, they feel okay, will know better on saturday when i play it again but i dont think i have any complaints about the standard. I think i can tell the difference between the ones i got with the KS, and the standard actually feel a bit better. I might swap them out later for consistancy.

    Stercus, Stercus, Stercus, Morituri Sum
  • DashuiDashui Registered User regular
    edited April 2018
    azith28 wrote: »
    azith28 wrote: »
    Dashui wrote: »
    azith28 wrote: »
    TimFiji wrote: »
    Dashui wrote: »
    azith28 wrote: »
    Got my 7th Continent core set last Thursday, and played it with my group this weekend. 5 hours went by very quickly. Everyone loved the game, and we cant wait to continue our play, even though we basically got completely lost and have to backtrack to even hope to get back to the objective path :)

    I just ordered a thousand card sleeves for my game. I've never done that before.

    I'm going to end up sleeving the entire game, too. It's not difficult for these cards to get bent. I've already done it on accident to one card. I figure I'll just order sleeves in spurts over the next five months until the second expansion comes, in which case all of this nonsense will actually fit in the boxes.

    An additional plus is that the sleeves do make it easier to pick through the cards to get the one I need.

    What kind of sleeves did you both get?

    Well i ordered the 200 option from the kickstarter and they are okay. I ordered more from
    https://www.maydaygames.com/collections/card-sleeves/products/square-card-sleeves-medium

    here. I got the standard, not the premium cause on boardgamegeek they say the premium make the cards too thick to fit in the box if you sleeve them all.

    I went with the 200 option from Kickstarter, too, and almost none of them fit. Welp.

    The officially-branded sleeves are premium thickness. I ended up ordering 400 premium sleeves from Mayday, as well. It's true they won't fit in the box if you sleeve them all, but the second box that comes in October is designed to do that. The original box will fit all the sleeved action, exploration, and recommended adventure cards, though (just over 400 cards, so my 200 duds didn't screw me over too much).

    How do the standard/penny sleeves feel, azith? The previous set of standard sleeves I bought felt crinkly and loose. I ended up swearing them off since then.

    I havent gotten the ones i ordered from mayday yet. just did that monday, but they were already marked as shipped, so should have them soon. the 200 i got with the KS fit, some snugly but did fit. i hear if you report the problem of yours not fitting to the 7th Continent people they will ship you replacements quickly.


    @Dashui I got my sleeves today. I sleeved my entire core game, they feel okay, will know better on saturday when i play it again but i dont think i have any complaints about the standard. I think i can tell the difference between the ones i got with the KS, and the standard actually feel a bit better. I might swap them out later for consistancy.

    Whoa, you like the feel of the standards better than the premiums? Madness!

    If anyone else is having trouble with their officially-branded 7th Continent sleeves, someone found a good trick to make them fit. You just have to slide one of the dividers into the sleeve.

    Dashui on
    Xbox Live, PSN & Origin: Vacorsis 3DS: 2638-0037-166
  • ArcticLancerArcticLancer Best served chilled. Registered User regular
    edited April 2018
    Heads up on some unfortunate / sketchy board game news.
    A French publisher - Wonder Dice - is releasing an official Aliens game (Nostromo) using a rules set mostly stolen from a designer they had been in talks with several years earlier. There aren't really any real legal avenues available, so it's basically a call to boycott the game.

    ArcticLancer on
  • Jam WarriorJam Warrior Registered User regular
    Played Bloodrage for the first time today. Twice.

    It was... alright I suppose?

    Having heard it compared to Cthulhu wars I enjoyed it much less than my one game of that.

    There seem some oddities, like the massive points for destroying your boats, or the way I racked up a pretty massive score mainly via suicidal attacks and upgrades to capitalise on wholesale slaughter of my own guys.

    Which was tactical I suppose, just not massive fun.

    MhCw7nZ.gif
  • DarricDarric Santa MonicaRegistered User regular
    edited April 2018
    The giant end game point grabs are pretty much entirely what ruin Blood Rage for me. They're my biggest issue with Rising Sun too, but they're not as pronounced, and I enjoy that game much more as a baseline, so I'm willing to forgive it.

    Cthulhu Wars and Inis are better than both, I reckon.

    Darric on
  • Evil MultifariousEvil Multifarious Registered User regular
    Yeah, I think Blood Rage would be a much better game if it didn't have massive swingy combos that dwarf previous rounds. I don't think that kind of card power is suited to drafts.

    I would really enjoy it with pared down card power, so that drafting the right cards was less of a dominant factor, but some people love those big sweeping score changes

  • Custom SpecialCustom Special I know I am, I'm sure I am, I'm Sounders 'til I die!Registered User regular
    7th Continent is here!
    Got the 200 sleeves and they feel good, haven't had any fit issues sleeving action cards. Can't wait to find some time to start exploring with my wife!

    XBL: F4ll0utBP | STEAM | PSN : CustomSpecial | Bnet: F4ll0ut#1636
  • MrBodyMrBody Registered User regular
    Yeah, I think Blood Rage would be a much better game if it didn't have massive swingy combos that dwarf previous rounds. I don't think that kind of card power is suited to drafts.

    I would really enjoy it with pared down card power, so that drafting the right cards was less of a dominant factor, but some people love those big sweeping score changes

    Well geez you guys tell me this after I just buy it and still have it sitting there in the shrink wrap.

    Cthulhu Wars I'd still enjoy but its big weakness is the asymmetric ecosystem being easily compromised by just one new player. With Bloodrage you get to custom create your own asymmetry every game instead of being committed to one from the start.

  • PowerpuppiesPowerpuppies drinking coffee in the mountain cabinRegistered User regular
    MrBody wrote: »
    Yeah, I think Blood Rage would be a much better game if it didn't have massive swingy combos that dwarf previous rounds. I don't think that kind of card power is suited to drafts.

    I would really enjoy it with pared down card power, so that drafting the right cards was less of a dominant factor, but some people love those big sweeping score changes

    Well geez you guys tell me this after I just buy it and still have it sitting there in the shrink wrap.

    Cthulhu Wars I'd still enjoy but its big weakness is the asymmetric ecosystem being easily compromised by just one new player. With Bloodrage you get to custom create your own asymmetry every game instead of being committed to one from the start.

    I don't agree these criticisms are a problem, at all, and I think blood rage actually has a shallower learning curve than Inis. Maybe you'll be as blind to its faults as I am!

    sig.gif
  • jergarmarjergarmar hollow man crew goes pew pew pewRegistered User regular
    MrBody wrote: »
    Yeah, I think Blood Rage would be a much better game if it didn't have massive swingy combos that dwarf previous rounds. I don't think that kind of card power is suited to drafts.

    I would really enjoy it with pared down card power, so that drafting the right cards was less of a dominant factor, but some people love those big sweeping score changes

    Well geez you guys tell me this after I just buy it and still have it sitting there in the shrink wrap.

    Cthulhu Wars I'd still enjoy but its big weakness is the asymmetric ecosystem being easily compromised by just one new player. With Bloodrage you get to custom create your own asymmetry every game instead of being committed to one from the start.

    I don't agree these criticisms are a problem, at all, and I think blood rage actually has a shallower learning curve than Inis. Maybe you'll be as blind to its faults as I am!

    I get what you're saying about the learning curve, and this is certainly subjective, but for some reason losing in Blood Rage can be more frustrating. "He had THAT combo?! <throws cards in air>" When I lose at Inis, I usually feel more like, "Argh! I gave him that win. Another game!" But Blood Rage is sometimes just more visceral fun than Inis, like if you get a creature that really matches what you're trying to do overall.

    So I sort of agree with Multifarious, except that I don't think it's easy to say which game is better. After all, Dominant Species and Keyflower are unabashedly all about long preparation and huge end-game scoring combos. And, you know, pretty good games. But it's a game type that can be hard to share with new players.

    When I was a child, I had a fever...
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  • InquisitorInquisitor Registered User regular
    I enjoyed the one game of Blood Rage that I played even if one player was up to some pretty silly suicide boat combos I don’t quite remember.

    Each of the big area control games (Blood Rage, Kemet, Chaos, Cthulhu, Doninant Species, etc) have their own pros and cons, high points and ugly wrinkles. Having multiple of them in a collection makes perfect sense.

  • PowerpuppiesPowerpuppies drinking coffee in the mountain cabinRegistered User regular
    I really enjoy blood rage even when I lose and I don't really know why. I found losing in rising sun to sometimes be actively boring and I'm not clear on what the relevant difference was. Perhaps blood rage is shorter? But it's not that short...

    sig.gif
  • Evil MultifariousEvil Multifarious Registered User regular
    Inquisitor wrote: »
    I enjoyed the one game of Blood Rage that I played even if one player was up to some pretty silly suicide boat combos I don’t quite remember.

    Each of the big area control games (Blood Rage, Kemet, Chaos, Cthulhu, Doninant Species, etc) have their own pros and cons, high points and ugly wrinkles. Having multiple of them in a collection makes perfect sense.

    Absolutely. And they all have that interdependence between players that means one person who doesn't know what's going on can very easily throw the balance way off, as people have said. Best to find the ones your group enjoys and will play regularly so everyone has the killer instinct.

  • PowerpuppiesPowerpuppies drinking coffee in the mountain cabinRegistered User regular
    I would love to play chaos or cthulhu wars and it's not very feasible due to learning curve and somebody in my group and length of CW. I won't buy Vast for similar reasons.

    sig.gif
  • Evil MultifariousEvil Multifarious Registered User regular
    Do you find CW goes long? With 5 it's usually about 2.5 hours, 2 if someone gets a strong endgame and jumps ahead (which is rare because we curbstomp the leader very aggressively, sometimes too much so)

  • CantidoCantido Registered User regular
    edited April 2018
    Speaking of Mans on a Map games
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aM_dfxxXNIE

    Kratos didn't kill them, they merely fled to space

    Cantido on
    3DS Friendcode 5413-1311-3767
  • DarricDarric Santa MonicaRegistered User regular
    I'm excited for that. The Kickstarter ETA got pushed back by about 6 months though. :|

  • CantidoCantido Registered User regular
    Darric wrote: »
    I'm excited for that. The Kickstarter ETA got pushed back by about 6 months though. :|

    I wished I funded it back then: why the hell did the playtime change from 3-4 hours to 2? I would have backed it if I knew it was shorter.

    3DS Friendcode 5413-1311-3767
  • MrBodyMrBody Registered User regular
    Brace for impact on incoming "Lords of Hellas is hella fun" reviews.

  • Evil MultifariousEvil Multifarious Registered User regular
    No, no. Kratos killed them. I saw it. I squeezed both thumbsticks to drive his thumbs into a god's eye sockets. These must be different ones.

  • SaurfangSaurfang Registered User regular
    I would love to play chaos or cthulhu wars and it's not very feasible due to learning curve and somebody in my group and length of CW. I won't buy Vast for similar reasons.

    I actually have a pretty different experience with CW; our games are typically 1.5 to 2 hours. My group is pretty familiar with the game, though.

  • IvelliusIvellius Registered User regular
    Y'all need to stop talking about these games because it's just making me add things to my mental wishlist.

    (I'm a huge sucker for dudes on a map games. I've wanted Cthulhu Wars ever since I saw the Kickstarter.)

    Me elsewhere:
    Steam, various fora: Ivellius
    League of Legends: Doctor Ivellius
    Twitch, probably another place or two I forget: LPIvellius
  • CantidoCantido Registered User regular
    Ivellius wrote: »
    Y'all need to stop talking about these games because it's just making me add things to my mental wishlist.

    (I'm a huge sucker for dudes on a map games. I've wanted Cthulhu Wars ever since I saw the Kickstarter.)

    I don't know why but I find Cry Havoc too exhausting with insufficient satisfaction playing it. I'll play Scythe and enjoy it all the way through, though.

    3DS Friendcode 5413-1311-3767
  • PMAversPMAvers Registered User regular
    No, no. Kratos killed them. I saw it. I squeezed both thumbsticks to drive his thumbs into a god's eye sockets. These must be different ones.

    I just imagined a card game where you're playing as various gods trying to direct Kratos at their enemies and be the last one standing while trying to avoid his ire.

    persona4celestia.jpg
    COME FORTH, AMATERASU! - Switch Friend Code SW-5465-2458-5696 - Twitch
  • Ah_PookAh_Pook Registered User regular
    Speaking of Kratos I was at GameStop picking up God of War earlier today and they had a thing where if you but a new release game you get 20% off a collectible which happens to include boardgames, so now I have a copy of Crystal Clans for some reason? I had some trade credit and stuff. The art is real nice, and it looks like a fun take on dueling cards.

  • MrBodyMrBody Registered User regular
    But that was the main reason I picked up Blood Rage over Inis or Rising Sun: ease of picking up. I breezed through the rules of Blood Rage and am confident I could teach it in 5 minutes. It would take someone longer to pick up all the card possibilities, but the basic tools are very accessible.

    Rising Sun and Inis I started going through the rules and had to take breaks. My takeaway impression was "I could see there being a deep, rewarding game here, but when am I ever going various groups to not only try it, but stick with it enough to full learn?"

  • ArcticLancerArcticLancer Best served chilled. Registered User regular
    edited April 2018
    I mean, I guess the rules to Inis are written across 7 pages.

    Looks up rules to Blood Rage
    Mmmmokay.

    ArcticLancer on
  • DashuiDashui Registered User regular
    The only thing I got stuck on with Inis were some of the terms. But for the most part, you just do what it says on the cards. Move some units here. Maybe pick a fight there. Put down a new tile. If you get that and the three victory conditions down, you're 90% of the way there.

    Xbox Live, PSN & Origin: Vacorsis 3DS: 2638-0037-166
  • PowerpuppiesPowerpuppies drinking coffee in the mountain cabinRegistered User regular
    edited April 2018
    yeah I thought Inis was slightly harder to learn but both were way easier than rising sun. Once you play a turn of Inis you're set.

    I agree the triskel/season distinction is poorly explained. It's very easy to confuse that with card color.

    Powerpuppies on
    sig.gif
  • MrBodyMrBody Registered User regular
    edited April 2018
    I mean, I guess the rules to Inis are written across 7 pages.

    Looks up rules to Blood Rage
    Mmmmokay.

    Look, man. I'm just reporting which one was easy to pick up and understand immediately and which was one filed under "maybe take another look later".

    MrBody on
  • PowerpuppiesPowerpuppies drinking coffee in the mountain cabinRegistered User regular
    Do you find CW goes long? With 5 it's usually about 2.5 hours, 2 if someone gets a strong endgame and jumps ahead (which is rare because we curbstomp the leader very aggressively, sometimes too much so)

    oh we don't have a copy

    i was holding off buying one for both dollars and playtime reasons

    maybe the second one is not a thing, but 2.5 hours is already a bit long for us now that one guy has kids and we don't get started until 7:30

    core worlds is listed at 60-90 minutes and it took us 5 hours somehow wednesday night

    sig.gif
  • FryFry Registered User regular
    PMAvers wrote: »
    No, no. Kratos killed them. I saw it. I squeezed both thumbsticks to drive his thumbs into a god's eye sockets. These must be different ones.

    I just imagined a card game where you're playing as various gods trying to direct Kratos at their enemies and be the last one standing while trying to avoid his ire.

    Doesn't the Bioshock Infinite boardgame have a little bit of that? Where you're trying to direct Booker at the opposing faction?

  • Ah_PookAh_Pook Registered User regular
    edited April 2018
    Post Gloomhaven thoughts: it's exactly what it looks like, and I'm glad I never caved to the hype and bought it personally. Id play it again if the situation was right, but the amount of stuff to sort through and set up and fiddle with is just way beyond what i care about for this kind of thing. That said, the gameplay was interesting and fun and the potential for building your characters and party looked engrossing so I can see the appeal. But yea not for me personally.

    Ah_Pook on
  • CaptainPeacockCaptainPeacock Board Game Hoarder Top o' the LakeRegistered User regular
    Fuselage wrote: »
    If anyone is going to the Megagame in Seattle today, I'll be there on Control! Hope you have a good time :D

    @CaptainPeacock I'd love to hear about how it went, I've always thought megagames were a great white whale that I want to try.

    Extraordinarily good fun. It was the second run ever of this game, Age of Flint. Think Stone Age with real people. The tribes each start with six people, but there are also hermit players that live on their own. The hermits must fend for themselves, but the tradeoff is that they get to communicate with the spirits. Yes, there are yet other players who are spirits! They are playing their own game, meddling in the lives of mortals in an attempt to boost their own power through worship. The unique part of this game is that teams are fluid. Players can leave and join tribes throughout the game. Tribes can split or even merge.

    I ran the Exploration table, which was one of the actions a tribe member could take each round. Each tribe starts out only knowing the area around their village, so they need to send out explorers to expand their knowledge of the land and fill in their map. The tribe must be fed and their starting hunting grounds won't last forever... plus, there are things to find in the world that are more valuable than food.

    In addition to exploring the land at my table, once a tribe finds something interesting they can send spies to investigate further: secret places, ancient temples, other villages. That is where we control members get to flex their creative muscles :D

    Cluck cluck, gibber gibber, my old man's a mushroom, etc.
  • DashuiDashui Registered User regular
    I finally played Star Realms. That's a lot of fun! It's not necessarily a short game, though. That surprised me. Even excluding the rules explanation, it was a long, tough fight.

    Xbox Live, PSN & Origin: Vacorsis 3DS: 2638-0037-166
  • Mojo_JojoMojo_Jojo We are only now beginning to understand the full power and ramifications of sexual intercourse Registered User regular
    Dashui wrote: »
    I finally played Star Realms. That's a lot of fun! It's not necessarily a short game, though. That surprised me. Even excluding the rules explanation, it was a long, tough fight.

    In my experience games always end in under ten minutes. It's why you can overlook the heavy randomness. How long was it taking you?

    Homogeneous distribution of your varieties of amuse-gueule
  • ArcticLancerArcticLancer Best served chilled. Registered User regular
    Mojo_Jojo wrote: »
    Dashui wrote: »
    I finally played Star Realms. That's a lot of fun! It's not necessarily a short game, though. That surprised me. Even excluding the rules explanation, it was a long, tough fight.

    In my experience games always end in under ten minutes. It's why you can overlook the heavy randomness. How long was it taking you?

    I do remember one game that took solidly 30-40 minutes because the market flop by turn 2 was a bunch of very costly outposts (whatever the space stations are called), so it took a while to hump through this massive chunk of stations which were then all we had in our decks and thus a bunch of guard points to chew through on both sides every turn.
    That game was a real bummer ... =_=

  • A Dabble Of TheloniusA Dabble Of Thelonius It has been a doozy of a dayRegistered User regular
    Fuselage wrote: »
    If anyone is going to the Megagame in Seattle today, I'll be there on Control! Hope you have a good time :D

    @CaptainPeacock I'd love to hear about how it went, I've always thought megagames were a great white whale that I want to try.

    Extraordinarily good fun. It was the second run ever of this game, Age of Flint. Think Stone Age with real people. The tribes each start with six people, but there are also hermit players that live on their own. The hermits must fend for themselves, but the tradeoff is that they get to communicate with the spirits. Yes, there are yet other players who are spirits! They are playing their own game, meddling in the lives of mortals in an attempt to boost their own power through worship. The unique part of this game is that teams are fluid. Players can leave and join tribes throughout the game. Tribes can split or even merge.

    I ran the Exploration table, which was one of the actions a tribe member could take each round. Each tribe starts out only knowing the area around their village, so they need to send out explorers to expand their knowledge of the land and fill in their map. The tribe must be fed and their starting hunting grounds won't last forever... plus, there are things to find in the world that are more valuable than food.

    In addition to exploring the land at my table, once a tribe finds something interesting they can send spies to investigate further: secret places, ancient temples, other villages. That is where we control members get to flex their creative muscles :D

    It's so good! I played in it's first ever run at SHUX. And hung out with the designer and some controls after dinner. Great fun.

    vm8gvf5p7gqi.jpg
    Steam - Talon Valdez :Blizz - Talonious#1860 : Xbox Live & LoL - Talonious Monk @TaloniousMonk Hail Satan
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