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 export (3 of 29) by David Childers, on FlickrAlright Dice Tower Con is over and was a pretty good weekend, especially since I managed to avoid giving Tom Vasel a penny and another goon gave me a parking pass on top of that. I was only there a few half days and one long day but I played a few new hotness games and a lot of old good stuff with some fellow goons and met some new friends that live near me with good taste in gaming. The CSI ding and dent sale and con-goer flea market got me some great additions to my collection: Arkwright Antiquity Sekigahara Keyper Here's everything I played Fake Artist x 4 Deep Sea Adventure x 3 Insider x 3 Root x 2 Onitama: Way of the Wind (demo) Antiquity x 2 Reef x 3 Giant Azul x 1 Lisboa x 1 Century Eastern Wonder x 1 Great Western Trail x 1 Roll Player x 1 Lowlands x 1 Gaia Project x 2 Keyper x 2 Race for the Galaxy x 3 Sekigahara x 1 (not a full game) Few games that stood out: Antiquity - Wow this is my jam. Even easier to learn than FCM and more open but more punishing. The game is mean, and not just in player interaction which has pretty slow ramping up. Played 2 and 3 player and both games were under 90 minutes which blew my mind. It's all about planning and reading the map and the alternate victory conditions are really smart. Reef - I like this more than Azul, but Azul is the better game. You can make big plays with correct planning that feel a lot more satisfying than the biggest Azul plays, aside from forcing someone else to take a lot of negatives. There is little interaction in this, aside from taking a card someone else is going for. Most turns are low action and just draw a card and that's it, yet I still really enjoy planning my reef around scoring cards I'm holding. Planning for the end to score a few big cards is also satisfying. Overall it's even easier to teach than Azul but not as clever and the production while nice isn't as good either. Lowlands - This game doesn't work at 2. The dyke system looks good but really needs 3+ to function as intended. I want to try it again, but I'm sour after my one play and I still suspect that the gimmick of the semi-coop dyke isn't interesting enough for this to hold up after a few plays. Keyper - I just talked about in a post above. Not as good as Keyflower but still good and I'm happy to have it as another mid weight euro. Great Western Trail - The best game from Stronghold Games and the one that should be getting all the hype instead of Terraforming Mars. Such a great game of managing a lot of possibilities and pacing. The buildings and variability do a lot for this one and make me want to try it many more times. Lisboa - Brilliant design, but I think this is the opposite style of what I want in a heavy game. I like games with a lot of openness and complexity in the decisions, not in the spinning plate balancing this felt like. You only have a few choices each turn but the ramifications are deep and branching. The theme was really well integrated and his design process comes through strong in that way. Gaia Project - Definitely replaced TM for me now after 5 plays. Taught a dad and his 10 year old son and we played with a friend of mine that is great at TM and the 10 year old spanked us, which was rad. Root - Easily the most interesting thing I played this week and I suspect will make a huge splash when released. Played the Marquis and Alliance factions so far and was able to work out a path to victory both times. Also watched a friend play a full game as Vagabond and he got an allied victory with the Eyrie. The asymmetry is just right and the mechanics are very thematic. Good example: Woodland Alliance was setting up a revolt in one of my big areas with a lot of my cat warriors. It was a fox zone so I made a deal with the Vagabond to give me a fox card for an item he needed so I could attack the Alliance there and take out their sympathy. Thematically he was giving me intel on those pesky foxes and their mumbles about rebellion for an item they just crafted for me only to turn his back and run as I slaughtered them  . Game is real good. Interested in seeing it at other player counts. Sekigahara - Only got to play for an hour but what a beautiful game. First real wargame experience but I think it set the bar too high to enjoy other's that aren't this elegant. Here's some pics  export (18 of 29) by David Childers, on Flickr export (20 of 29) by David Childers, on Flickr export (6 of 8) by David Childers, on Flickr export (3 of 15) by David Childers, on Flickr export (5 of 15) by David Childers, on Flickr export (9 of 15) by David Childers, on Flickr export (13 of 15) by David Childers, on Flickr export (15 of 15) by David Childers, on Flickr 2export (1 of 15) by David Childers, on Flickr 2export (2 of 15) by David Childers, on Flickr 2export (4 of 15) by David Childers, on Flickr 2export (5 of 15) by David Childers, on Flickr 2export (6 of 15) by David Childers, on Flickr 2export (7 of 15) by David Childers, on Flickr 2export (8 of 15) by David Childers, on Flickr 2export (10 of 15) by David Childers, on Flickr 2export (11 of 15) by David Childers, on Flickr 2export (12 of 15) by David Childers, on Flickr 2export (14 of 15) by David Childers, on Flickr 2export (15 of 15) by David Childers, on Flickr
Bottom Liner fucked around with this message at 06:20 on Jul 9, 2018 |
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Jul 9, 2018 06:14
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StashAugustine posted:we had an attempt at a pandemic legacy pbf but it died a few months in Does anybody still have the link for this? And/or the Risk: Legacy PBF?
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Jul 9, 2018 06:18
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What the hell is the game with the board that takes up two tables?!PMush Perfect posted:Does anybody still have the link for this? And/or the Risk: Legacy PBF? I kept the Pandemic Legacy thread bookmarked for a long time, but I just recently deleted it.
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Jul 9, 2018 07:07
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Some Numbers posted:What the hell is the game with the board that takes up two tables?! Mega Civilization I think.
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Jul 9, 2018 07:09
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Some Numbers posted:What the hell is the game with the board that takes up two tables?! 6 tables! 18 players Hour per player Mega Civ!
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Jul 9, 2018 07:40
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What game is pictured in 3 of 15? And how is Starship Samurai?
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Jul 9, 2018 12:45
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How is Eastern Wonders? Me and my wife fell of Spice Road hard and I got rid of it. I figure you need Spice Road to get the most out of Eastern Wonders.
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Jul 9, 2018 13:00
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Bottom Liner posted:
I'm gonna sound like a broken record because I always say this, but there's at least one more that you can play, and yeah, Napoleon's Triumph and Sekigahara basically set the bar for wargames and nothing else I've played has come close elegance wise.
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Jul 9, 2018 13:27
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Bottom Liner posted:6 tables!  Also, requesting titles of Bottom Liner posted:
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Jul 9, 2018 13:40
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The first one is antiquity, the second one is Road & Boats. EDIT: not so sure about the second one actually.
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Jul 9, 2018 13:46
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efb
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Jul 9, 2018 13:47
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Smashing thru literal walls of unknown forces with a tiny elite force a fraction of their number feels so good in Sekigahara. Likewise suckering in blocks upon blocks on feints and trash talk alone is 
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Jul 9, 2018 13:48
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Ooh that My Little Scythe looks great, I'm getting a copy of it at Gencon for my niece, and those big cute minis and bright art is going to be right up her alley. Can't wait.
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Jul 9, 2018 13:55
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drat looks like I need to pick up Root
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Jul 9, 2018 13:57
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Media Bloodbath posted:drat looks like I need to pick up Root extremely same
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Jul 9, 2018 14:41
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Bottom Liner posted:Lowlands - This game doesn't work at 2. The dyke system looks good but really needs 3+ to function as intended. I want to try it again, but I'm sour after my one play and I still suspect that the gimmick of the semi-coop dyke isn't interesting enough for this to hold up after a few plays. Dang, wish you had a more positive take on Lowlands. I'm still pretty stoked about it given the Internet's consensus on it, and I can definitely see that it wouldn't be worth playing at 2P. Hopefully I'll like it more!
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Jul 9, 2018 14:56
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PMush Perfect posted:Does anybody still have the link for this? And/or the Risk: Legacy PBF? https://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3783779 has a link to the risk pbf
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Jul 9, 2018 14:57
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Sounds like fun, BL! However, Bottom Liner posted:Great Western Trail - The best game from Stronghold Games Excuse me but
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Jul 9, 2018 15:22
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God, I forgot I MSPainted eye patches onto Jack Nicholson for that game. 
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Jul 9, 2018 15:22
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Randalor posted:What game is pictured in 3 of 15? And how is Starship Samurai? Gaia Project. And to quote So Very Wrong About Games “Starship Samurai. It's, well... It's called Starship Samurai. And it is a game.” I didn’t play, just watched a bit and it’s extremely standard Plaid Hat Games stuff. Rad Valtar posted:How is Eastern Wonders? Me and my wife fell of Spice Road hard and I got rid of it. I figure you need Spice Road to get the most out of Eastern Wonders. It’s more of a game than Spice Road but still pretty light. I would definitely choose this any time over SR and while the combined game looks interesting it still looks like a light game that requires a full game investment. I’d say try Eastern out if you get a chance, it’s a fine game for what it is. Speaking of Plaid Hat: Smash Up - Overwatch edition  https://www.plaidhatgames.com/games/guardians Bottom Liner fucked around with this message at 16:39 on Jul 9, 2018 |
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Jul 9, 2018 16:35
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Randalor posted:What game is pictured in 3 of 15? And how is Starship Samurai? Games from top to bottom Root Antiquity Lisboa Gaia Project Mega Civilization Keyper Antiquity again Great Western Trail Low Lands My Little Scythe Starship Samurai Reef Rising Sun Rise of Tribes Century Eastern Wonders Roads and Boats Cthulhu Wars Council of Four Onitama Way of the Wind Montana Rad Valtar posted:How is Eastern Wonders? Me and my wife fell of Spice Road hard and I got rid of it. I figure you need Spice Road to get the most out of Eastern Wonders. Spice Road is a separate game and while there are rules to incorporate it I haven't bothered to look at it and don't care to do so. Eastern Wonders is more of a traditional board game with a lot more interaction and changing board state. It's still a game about turning cubes into different cubes but there's a lot more room to play competitively.
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Jul 9, 2018 16:40
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Did your 18 player game of Mega Civ go well? I'm tempted to go balls to wall and schedule one but the thought of getting 18 of my flaky friends to commit is as daunting as the game itself. How does it work exactly? Can the East only trade with the East and West with West? I think putting hard timers on negotiation and tech acquisitions would be essential. I need to get a display stand or something that people would use for sports cards or whatever to set up for people to easily see and grab things as opposed to sucking up an entire table or two with the cards. Christ I love that game.
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Jul 9, 2018 16:41
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FulsomFrank posted:Did your 18 player game of Mega Civ go well? I'm tempted to go balls to wall and schedule one but the thought of getting 18 of my flaky friends to commit is as daunting as the game itself. Hah I did not play that. The guy that owned and ran it was so happy to see it being played though and enthusiastic all day. They had a separate table row for the card displays and stuff and they used a big wooden display to have everything standing for ease of view. By the end of the night they had a crowd and like 3 or 4 people announcing and helping run everything. It was impressive and awesome to see something like that.
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Jul 9, 2018 16:51
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Rad Valtar posted:How is Eastern Wonders? Me and my wife fell of Spice Road hard and I got rid of it. I figure you need Spice Road to get the most out of Eastern Wonders. I tried both Eastern Wonders and the mashed up rules with both Century games. I think pure Eastern Wonders is better than Eastern Wonders+Spice Road. Removing the market row removes much of the luck involved in it. And forcing everyone to use the trading engines on the board creates more interaction than when people can fill in the gaps in their trading engine using lucky cards. It's also just more fun to see your little houses sprawl everywhere as the game goes on. But I wish the tiles were bigger, since that same sprawl can make it difficult to see the symbols underneath all those wood pieces. It's still ultimately a game about turning cubes into different colored cubes over and over. But I enjoyed Eastern Wonders far more than Spice Road. golden bubble fucked around with this message at 17:04 on Jul 9, 2018 |
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Jul 9, 2018 17:02
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If I already have Terra Mystica and the expansion, is Gaia Project different enough to justify buying it, or is it more of a reskin with some rule tweaks?
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Jul 9, 2018 18:00
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FulsomFrank posted:Did your 18 player game of Mega Civ go well? I'm tempted to go balls to wall and schedule one but the thought of getting 18 of my flaky friends to commit is as daunting as the game itself. You can trade with everyone but the trade cards must be kept separate for drawing and discarding. I think having stacks per color is fine. There’s already a player aid and you should a menu version anyway so nobody has to lo O through stacks to find out what they do.
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Jul 9, 2018 18:02
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Randalor posted:If I already have Terra Mystica and the expansion, is Gaia Project different enough to justify buying it, or is it more of a reskin with some rule tweaks? Not yet. I'm sure it will expand though. Unless space is your jam, keep TM+expans
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Jul 9, 2018 18:11
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One thing I like about Terra Mystica is the round bonuses system which, among other things, provides a clear goal to aim for our round (which all add up to big gains if sustained.) Does Gaia Project keep this system, it one just like it? It wouldn't be what I like about TM without it, frankly.
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Jul 9, 2018 18:25
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Gaia Project is far better than Terra Mystica two player however.
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Jul 9, 2018 18:31
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Mister Sinewave posted:One thing I like about Terra Mystica is the round bonuses system which, among other things, provides a clear goal to aim for our round (which all add up to big gains if sustained.) Yes, it keeps this system. What you might find an interesting change is that it also has variable end-game point award conditions (two are selected) so that largest network isn't always something that's scored as was the case in TM (which added three variable second conditions alongside largest network in Fire and Ice but always scored largest network regardless)
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Jul 9, 2018 18:32
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I got the TM app on sale and it bummed me out because, while I could see the pieces of a game I would love, it was just too much game to effectively learn on the phone.
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Jul 9, 2018 18:33
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Re: Gaia Project finer points: That's great to hear, thanks!
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Jul 9, 2018 18:41
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Randalor posted:If I already have Terra Mystica and the expansion, is Gaia Project different enough to justify buying it, or is it more of a reskin with some rule tweaks? It's overpriced right now but definitely a better game in every way for us. Changes I like: cult tracks are fleshed out into tech tracks that grant you abilities, income, and tech tiles (that are variable in setup) as you move up them races asym powers are more defining and powerful and give you a lot stronger direction to build to (but not in a limiting way) round boosters are generally more balanced and better (and they removed the money bonus for them accordingly) variable map setup magic system is refined and integrated into many races' powers in interesting ways (like the zerg faction that has a hive mind cube that moves like 1 but spends like 3) only plays 4 but 5 player TM was a total slog so I don't mind that change resource trackers on player boards instead of bits to manage is good That said, TM is getting another expansion with a whole new set of races that are incompatible with the old ones and probably a lot of other new stuff to basically make it a 2.0 edition so you might want to wait and see what that's about. Also, I got to check out Eclipse 2.0 components at DTC and the trays are really impressive. It's going to be a really good production.
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Jul 9, 2018 19:07
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Can anyone speak on the quality of the Geek Chic Dropship Tables they were selling a couple of years ago? I know the custom poo poo was pretty good but other than PR stuff I don't see anyone talking about actually buying one (the Dropship). Also, I feel like a 4x3 table is kinda small but I've only ever used that kickstarted table which I think is maybe a foot longer.
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Jul 9, 2018 19:11
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Teabag Dome Scandal posted:Can anyone speak on the quality of the Geek Chic Dropship Tables they were selling a couple of years ago? I know the custom poo poo was pretty good but other than PR stuff I don't see anyone talking about actually buying one (the Dropship). Also, I feel like a 4x3 table is kinda small but I've only ever used that kickstarted table which I think is maybe a foot longer. Do you know a third party selling them? Because Geek Chic went out of business last year.
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Jul 9, 2018 19:22
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al-azad posted:Do you know a third party selling them? Because Geek Chic went out of business last year. That definitely was news to me. A Geek Chic table was always on my 'if I ever have a shitton of disposable money' list after seeing the one on Tabletop.
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Jul 9, 2018 19:48
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Bottom Liner posted:Great Western Trail - The best game from Stronghold Games and the one that should be getting all the hype instead of Terraforming Mars. Such a great game of managing a lot of possibilities and pacing. The buildings and variability do a lot for this one and make me want to try it many more times. To be fair SHG lost GWT back over to Eggertspiele (owned by Plan B), so not surprising they haven't made a bigger push to promote it.  But yeah, way, way better game than Mars.
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Jul 9, 2018 19:56
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SettingSun posted:That definitely was news to me. A Geek Chic table was always on my 'if I ever have a shitton of disposable money' list after seeing the one on Tabletop. The same with everyone else. But nobody ever had enough disposable money.
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Jul 9, 2018 19:56
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Merauder posted:To be fair SHG lost GWT back over to Eggertspiele (owned by Plan B), so not surprising they haven't made a bigger push to promote it. Well Plan B needs to take that Azul money and promote it then!  It's going on my trade-for list for sure, great mid weight euro that I could get played a lot.
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Jul 9, 2018 20:02
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Bottom Liner posted:resource trackers on player boards instead of bits to manage is good Huh, I like having resource bits because I budget and plan by making little piles in slightly different orientations/spacing. It helps me think bigtime.
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Jul 9, 2018 20:04
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