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Admiralty Flag posted:Yeah, this is frankly insane. I consider it a public good of the thread to let me know who repulsive boardgsme industry folks are so that I can avoid them. I mean, I’m at vanishingly low chances of ever buying TfM now, having never played it somehow, but it’s good to know and it has a place in this thread. I agree, but would add that if we are not allowed to have a discussion about the charge, evidence, and nature of the Bad Thing then all this thread will be is a narrative. I have been told that my commentary on the Fryxelius' and my demanding of fair parsing of their activity amounts to "defending bigoted trash" and that I must stop, which I will. Not my forums. Consider the defense lawyer defending their client accused of theft and is of course pro-theft or why else would they be defending them?
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Sep 25, 2023 05:16
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You really just compared yourself to someone’s irl lawyer
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Sep 25, 2023 05:51
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As we all know, lawyers are inherently righteous and correct.
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Sep 25, 2023 05:54
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The constitution says everyone has a right to have someone defend their honor in the something awful boardgames thread, so if you think about it, my explanation of why brock turner did nothing wrong is a civic duty and a public service.
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Sep 25, 2023 05:55
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Pvt. Parts posted:I agree, but would add that if we are not allowed to have a discussion about the charge, evidence, and nature of the Bad Thing then all this thread will be is a narrative. As others have pointed out, you seem to think this thread is a courtroom and you’re a lawyer. It isn’t a courtroom. Mods are not restricted by the First Amendment. There is no standard of evidence to be met beyond what posters ITT ask for, and no legal consequences to the “accused” in this case, nor a presumption of innocence, because it’s just TG readers ITT. And assuming you aren’t being paid and are for some reason defending this family here as a hobby, I’d ask what exactly you expect to get. Starting a “define white supremacy” discussion doesn’t help either the Fryxelius family, their game company, and probably doesn’t help you either if the hill you want to die on (metaphorically) is “man who already showed trash opinion about AI might or might not also be a white supremacist but let’s give him the benefit of the doubt because [insert reason here].” You don’t like their games, and you haven’t come running to the defense of other designers accused of various things ITT. Why fight this fight, beyond sunk cost or being irritated at eating some sixers? Especially as you’re likely to eat some more if you insist on picking this fight in the name of defending someone you don’t know against a possible interpretation of their latest stupid AI-related post which seems reinforced by other available evidence. There may be game designers worth fighting for, but these ain’t them.
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Sep 25, 2023 06:17
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Sorry to horn in on this strange argument but I regret to report that I was unable to play Age of Innovation because my delivery of it was late. Instead we played another 3p game of Forbidden Stars. Leaving the Eldar out this time, I played the Orks. This proved to be a mistake for my opponents as the Orks are my strongest faction. I lost my factory early and I never built a new one. I spent the entire game as a wandering force, only building new units via their dominate, and never ships. Left to my own devices I could have probably secured all 4 possible objectives as a flex. My opponents just didn't know how to handle my aggression. Amusingly, I lost the game on a tie breaker because we agreed to some take-backs of some boneheaded moves (leaving empty voids for me to hop over) to make the game more interesting. I would almost say the Orks are too good at what they do, but I think I could counter them knowing what I know about how to play them. Next time we're going to load it up on TTS and explore some fanmade factions, which I am excited about.
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Sep 25, 2023 07:11
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Anyone coming for Knizia will have to go through me don't make me eat these words, doc
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Sep 25, 2023 07:27
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Bottom Liner posted:Anyone coming for Knizia will have to go through me I'll make a note of this for later, as I think he's due for a scandal in around 2026 
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Sep 25, 2023 07:39
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Bottom Liner posted:Anyone coming for Knizia will have to go through me He's rather controversial in my meetup because a bunch of the people are friends with Grail Games / David Harding.
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Sep 25, 2023 07:44
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Astro7x posted:Played Root today for the first time. I just played the app for the first time in a while, and the game for the first time in several months, and that was my thought as well. I'm trying to get my online crew to play more heavier games, so Root is a nice midground that we all like. Still, I was struck by how long it took, even though I did request we leave the timers on for the game because I knew if we didn't it would have been the only game we got played. I like the animations and the visuals, but it takes longer than something cleaner like BGA. Sometimes I wonder if it would be faster if there was less interplay like Ambushes and Sappers but that would probably just make it more async friendly but still slow. As for the game itself, one guy picked Vagabond, one picked Eyrie and me (Cats) and the other (2nd Vagabond) were random. I had the best of my 3 games with the Cats, and could have won but the Eyrie tried to take a clearing of mine but just made it free for the Vagabond who was between us in player order. I focused on Workshops because I don't know the real strategies, which lead me to being able to craft Tax Collector late and Royal Decree which became 6 points. I was positively swimming in Bird cards, so I used Hawks for Hire or Overwork basically every turn. That did mean I had only 2 recruiters and Sawmills for a while since I jumped to 3 workshops early to create Scouting Party. My opening hand was 3 bird cards so I didn't want to craft those, so I placed my starting crafting piece essentially randomly, so that was slightly suboptimal. Doctor Spaceman posted:He's rather controversial in my meetup because a bunch of the people are friends with Grail Games / David Harding. Ooh ooh spill the  I joke, but it seems pretty obvious: they allegedly breached contract and Knizia pulled the rights, so they decided to try and save face by saying they didn't sell well as a form of sour grapes. The issue is it turns out that if you breach contract and then slag off your counterparty in a public blog post, sometimes you get sued. I remember it particularly because it's a real gently caress Around, Find Out kind of story, and because someone's Minature Market pre-order for Whale Riders was a running joke in the Discord for a while.
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Sep 25, 2023 08:07
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CitizenKeen posted:Anybody have feelings on Age of Innovation? A little late, but it's basically Terra Mystica patched to be balanced to pick up and play without being across the meta, so you haven't lost the game before you start. I'm sure that with so many elements randomised it probably won't be beautifully balanced, but it should be a more dynamic game than Terra Mystica. I still prefer Gaia Project's way of integrating the priest track into your ability upgrades, but there's room for both in my collection (and not original Terra Mystica)
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Sep 25, 2023 08:17
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Magnetic North posted:Ooh ooh spill the Yeah, Grail Games hosed themselves so hard I had to order a copy of Whale Riders from loving SPAIN, and it was loving worth it.
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Sep 25, 2023 08:40
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Magnetic North posted:Ooh ooh spill the A lot of the gossip is lost because for some loving stupid reason we use Slack instead of Discord and so all of the old messages get eaten. But there's a mix of people who really love his games, people who are friends with Phil and Dave, and people who don't like Knizia's games and will joke that that's the reason why. Doctor Spaceman fucked around with this message at 09:02 on Sep 25, 2023 |
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Sep 25, 2023 08:57
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Magnetic North posted:I just played the app for the first time in a while, and the game for the first time in several months, and that was my thought as well. I'm trying to get my online crew to play more heavier games, so Root is a nice midground that we all like. Still, I was struck by how long it took, even though I did request we leave the timers on for the game because I knew if we didn't it would have been the only game we got played. I like the animations and the visuals, but it takes longer than something cleaner like BGA. Sometimes I wonder if it would be faster if there was less interplay like Ambushes and Sappers but that would probably just make it more async friendly but still slow. Wait, you played a 4 player game with two Vagabonds? Yeesh. I MUCH prefer games without a vagabond, and luckily my play group all very much agree. I can't imagine how horrid that would be? Does it somehow level it out?
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Sep 25, 2023 10:25
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!Klams posted:Wait, you played a 4 player game with two Vagabonds? I also prefer the game without Vagabond as well, though I am less of a hater than some. With them 'competing' against each other for quests, we didn't seem to need to worry about the Tinker getting away with murder (though they were the one that won, it was circumstance of player order in this case). The Eyrie and I didn't fight that much, partially due to my weak recruitment power and desire to craft. One of the only combats I initiated was kind of a waste because they had Armorers but they would have still had it later in all probability, since a Vagabond was probably unlikely to want to make the first attack on their and instead make me and my limited actions do it.
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Sep 25, 2023 10:55
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Can some Train Barons here please come to my rescue and explain to me wtf the strategy is in 1822 and its variants. So far my understanding seems to be: - acquire minor(s) - acquire concessions that are close to those minor(s) - acquire private companies that don't suck - don't overbid for any of them I consistently come in distant second or worse and it is killing me because the game seems so completely operational in nature that I'm wondering if I'm just spending too much money in the initial auctions that it's hamstringing me in future SRs.
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Sep 25, 2023 13:37
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Played a game of Meadow on the weekend. A neat little game where you build a tableau, putting cards on top of other cards that match icons, nothing too complex but a pleasant game. It has the thing I like where it has a pleasant, calming theme but I can still whisper "oh I can't believe you've absolutely screwed me like this" as someone takes a card I was looking forward to grabbing. My biggest issue with it is that it's far too long for what it is, I think the game's length could've been cut in half (or at least take 25% off the top) and still been pretty good. Also introduced some people to Scout, who immediately enjoyed it. Such a perfect little package.
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Sep 25, 2023 13:43
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I'm a big fan of Age of Innovation and backed its old Kickstarter. Its quite dynamic and leads to pretty good interactions with your opponents. I love when having a majority of outdated castles still lets me use cannonfire to steal major innovations from my friends due to them having moved on. Its like being North Korea
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Sep 25, 2023 14:40
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Upsidads posted:I'm a big fan of Age of Innovation and backed its old Kickstarter. Its quite dynamic and leads to pretty good interactions with your opponents. I love when having a majority of outdated castles still lets me use cannonfire to steal major innovations from my friends due to them having moved on. Its like being North Korea I think you're confusing whatever game you're describing with the newly released Terra Mystica spin off called 'Age of Innovation'?
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Sep 25, 2023 14:43
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Whatever game they are describing I want to play it.
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Sep 25, 2023 14:50
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CODChimera posted:does anyone have thoughts on the many Everdell expansions or is there a breakdown anywhere? Pearlbrook: Easily the worst one. Adds a new resource and worker type that completely screw with the action economy, and a new set of VP awards that can only be acquired with said new resource and are worth a wildly outsized amount of points. It is very pretty though. Bellfaire: The only expansion that plays well with other expansions. Opens up a highly not recommended 5-6 player mode, but the market board is nicely additive. Player powers are cool but YMMV on if they're worth their own complexity. Not my favorite expansion but I'd say if you only pick one, then this is it. Spirecrest: Like Pearlbrook but good. Adds the mountain area with its own scoring and tasks in a way that doesn't interfere with the base game. A good one to add some variety now and then but not a necessary experience. Side note: I adore the big critter meeples. Newleaf: Adds a bunch of new city cards and a new VP mechanic in the form of the train. Not game-changing but valuable if the base game is getting stale. My favorite of the expansions, probably. Mistwood: Legendary cards are kind of neat but other than that and the new player species it has little to add to the base game. It's mostly a single-player/co-op total conversion that I haven't played but might be fun if that's how you choose to live your life. I would personally rank them: 1. Bellfaire 2. Newleaf 3. Spirecrest 4. Mistwood 5. Pearlbrook With the caveat that I wouldn't call any of them necessary, and I would never play with more than one at a time. The creators wouldn't either, every instruction booklet explicit warns against doing so.
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Sep 25, 2023 15:22
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They’re describing Innovation
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Sep 25, 2023 15:50
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Yep my bad Also it good
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Sep 25, 2023 16:11
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The End posted:A little late, but it's basically Terra Mystica patched to be balanced to pick up and play without being across the meta, so you haven't lost the game before you start. I'm sure that with so many elements randomised it probably won't be beautifully balanced, but it should be a more dynamic game than Terra Mystica. I still prefer Gaia Project's way of integrating the priest track into your ability upgrades, but there's room for both in my collection (and not original Terra Mystica) Erm, I'm not sure it's quite *that* balanced. Some playtesters are already venting frustration about Illusionists being very unbalanced (imo, they are) and how you can get *extremely* unbalanced setups if you don't do the advanced drafting variant. There are some concerns about map set-up, etc. Let's just say that, imo, it's Terra Mystica for advanced players who wanted even more customization of their player powers. I'm excited to play it, but like TM, it's not a game that new players will play against oldheads and have very much fun -- in fact, I'd say TM is actually a better gateway to this style of game than AoI because players make even MORE high-impact decisions before the game starts that may ultimately enhance or deeply curtail their odds of winning before anyone ever takes a turn.
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Sep 25, 2023 17:40
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FulsomFrank posted:Can some Train Barons here please come to my rescue and explain to me wtf the strategy is in 1822 and its variants. So far my understanding seems to be: Yea, it sounds like you have the basic idea down. A few of the other significant questions are your initial par, whether you want to start your first company before or after the 3s break, and if you should try and open a second company before the 5s break. In base 22 the Es almost always rule supreme so you should always be thinking about how you're going to get one into your lead company.
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Sep 25, 2023 17:46
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Narsham posted:As others have pointed out, you seem to think this thread is a courtroom and you’re a lawyer. It isn’t a courtroom. Mods are not restricted by the First Amendment. There is no standard of evidence to be met beyond what posters ITT ask for, and no legal consequences to the “accused” in this case, nor a presumption of innocence, because it’s just TG readers ITT. No, I explicitly said I don't think this is a courtroom with some inalienable rights or whatever; it's a forum with rules that I will follow (or GTFO). I'm just saying that I think the status quo is bullshit because it's (as if) defending someone against charges for something is the same as defending that very thing itself. That is obviously wrong. As for why bother? Because I think it's wrong to cherry-pick people's words and misrepresent their position to the ends of committing public reputation assassination. I know people hate white supremacy and bigots a lot, and I do too, but it actually matters that we found the bad guy. Ghost hunting in not only unfun, but fruitless. Serotoning fucked around with this message at 18:38 on Sep 25, 2023 |
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Sep 25, 2023 18:35
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Pvt. Parts posted:No, I explicitly said I don't think this is a courtroom with some inalienable rights or whatever; it's a forum with rules that I will follow (or GTFO). I'm just saying that I think the status quo is bullshit because it's (as if) defending someone against charges for something is the same as defending that very thing itself. That is obviously wrong. I am, however, going to politely request you cut this poo poo out.
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Sep 25, 2023 18:59
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So today with the embargo dropping, it's the first time I knew that Ticket to Ride has a Legacy version coming out in November by Rob Daviau and Matt Leacock (and Alan Moon). It looks great! https://www.polygon.com/tabletop-games/23885707/ticket-to-ride-legacy-legends-of-the-west-review-spoiler-free My favorite legacy games tend to be the ones where the base game is a solid foundation to build off of, and the rulebook appears to keep the base game (nearly) exactly the same, so I'm very excited to see what all the unlockables bring to the table. Pryce fucked around with this message at 19:37 on Sep 25, 2023 |
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Sep 25, 2023 19:29
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My understanding of it is that once you complete the, relatively, short campaign you'll have created a unique version of the game that you can play endlessly. Which honestly? Hell yeah.
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Sep 25, 2023 19:33
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Infinitum posted:My understanding of it is that once you complete the, relatively, short campaign you'll have created a unique version of the game that you can play endlessly. Next stop: Cumtown
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Sep 25, 2023 19:40
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FulsomFrank posted:Can some Train Barons here please come to my rescue and explain to me wtf the strategy is in 1822 and its variants. So far my understanding seems to be: 22 is a game about synergy; it's getting a minor that works well your concessions, and getting privates that work well with both the above (some privates - like the mail contract, permanent trains, 10xphase work well with anyone, but, for example, a Pullman isn't much use if you've just got cities in your area). If you're not looking at the upcoming bid stacks, you're playing 22 wrong. A lot of it is understanding which minors are good and which majors are good, and either getting them, or forcing your opponent to pay through the nose for them. You can win with a worse company if your opponent paid a £70 premium for his LYR presidency but you got the Midland for face value. The big issue with 22 that make it hard to parse for people new to the game, is what major is good can depend on what track (and what minors) have come out - for exmaple, GWR is a bit of a dog without a friend to build track for it, because the bits of west of London are mostly empty, but with, say, a friendly M17 or an M18 to build track for it, it becomes a lot more valuable. And this is where we come back to the bid stack - it tells you where the track is getting built. Companies near lots of track are usually in 18xx stornger than companies stuck out on their own in the middle of nowhere, so even if a company is a bit of a dog normally, like the SWR, if the Minor stack has Ms19-23 all clumped together very clsoe to the top, the SWR becomes a lot more viable (not good - but like, something you'd accept as a second prize if you got outbid for the LYR).
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Sep 25, 2023 19:42
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This is pretty neat quote:The history of the American railroad evokes long-lasting tropes: Probably a good way to acknowledge the history, while noting the romanticised version they're presenting doesn't match real world events.
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Sep 25, 2023 19:49
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Pryce posted:My favorite legacy games tend to be the ones where the base game is a solid foundation to build off of, and the rulebook appears to keep the base game (nearly) exactly the same, so I'm very excited to see what all the unlockables bring to the table. The Watch It Played video dropped too. I won't mention the specifics in case anyone wants to go in completely blind, though the video does not contain any terribly meaningful spoilers, and nothing outside the first game at all. It looks cool, though it seems there is a slightly greater emphasis on having the same players, which while ideal for the legacy versions of Pandemic and Clank, they were not super harmed by a shifting team for various reasons. My group never really got into TTR, but playing on the app and against people on BGA, it's a darn solid light game. It's popular for a reason. Of course, that reason is scientifically known to be TRAINS. Infinitum posted:Probably a good way to acknowledge the history, while noting the romanticised version they're presenting doesn't match real world events. I'm sure some might feel it's a bit of a 'cake and eat it too' moment but I'm just glad what will likely be a big game is including such a statement, which should help normalize their inclusion in future games.
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Sep 25, 2023 20:01
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Memnaelar posted:Erm, I'm not sure it's quite *that* balanced. Some playtesters are already venting frustration about Illusionists being very unbalanced (imo, they are) and how you can get *extremely* unbalanced setups if you don't do the advanced drafting variant. There are some concerns about map set-up, etc. I think we're in agreement - if you're doing the simple setup it might end up wildly unbalanced, but doing the 'advanced' draft (which really will become just 'the' way to set up the game really), it's a better way to balance factions than the VP auction method.
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Sep 25, 2023 22:12
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The End posted:I think we're in agreement - if you're doing the simple setup it might end up wildly unbalanced, but doing the 'advanced' draft (which really will become just 'the' way to set up the game really), it's a better way to balance factions than the VP auction method. I just don't see any circumstance under which I would allow Illusionists at my table. Getting a discount on power actions (which are already highly coveted) AND getting a substantial VP award for using them is just nonsense. I've never seen a TM race essentially spotted 15 to 21 VP a game just by virtue of existing, but that's what Illusionists are. Just baffling that the designers had no qualms about the balance there.
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Sep 25, 2023 22:21
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i think VP auction mechanics are a massive copout for balancing problems, to be honest. you're just shifting the burden of balancing the game onto players' metagame valuation abilities.
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Sep 25, 2023 22:36
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Impermanent posted:i think VP auction mechanics are a massive copout for balancing problems, to be honest. you're just shifting the burden of balancing the game onto players' metagame valuation abilities. Yep, that's my primary gripe about TM classic. If you're playing casually you're walking into uphill battles without knowing it, or worse, if there's a player who knows the meta and the rest don't, how are you supposed to rebalance the game? At least with AoI, you can do things like leave the illusionists out of the draft entirely.
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Sep 25, 2023 22:53
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Impermanent posted:i think VP auction mechanics are a massive copout for balancing problems, to be honest. you're just shifting the burden of balancing the game onto players' metagame valuation abilities. I kinda agree, but having a decent strategy pressure release valve for veteran players to enjoy the game with at highest levels is something that VP auctions do great. Because you will never "perfectly balance" a game, especially given the limited resources available to the average board game developer. Maybe something that the AI revolution can do for board gaming as a whole is provide a cost effective way for developers to rapidly balance playtest their games. (USER WAS PUT ON PROBATION FOR THIS POST)
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Sep 25, 2023 23:38
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VP auctions do make some degree of sense with games that have variable setup. Not only does balancing for all possible setups get impractical, being able to judge the setup is a more interesting skill than "I bid 10 VP on these guys because they're OP."
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Sep 26, 2023 02:05
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vp auction is a lazy fix, a good game designer would go the extra mile to issue a decree of adjustment, just like jamey stonemaier  +15 victory points per opponent, it even scales! that’s balance.
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Sep 26, 2023 02:12
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