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OfChristandMen posted:This was good and quality but it disheartens me that we're playing this tomorrow night. Obviously Gloomhaven is beloved but this game seems maligned with analysis paralysis. Any recommendations for teaching the game? This file on BGG helps to illustrate to players all the different tile placement restrictions and serves as a nice guide for teaching the most complicated part of the game.
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Jul 31, 2018 00:14
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OfChristandMen posted:This was good and quality but it disheartens me that we're playing this tomorrow night. Obviously Gloomhaven is beloved but this game seems maligned with analysis paralysis. Any recommendations for teaching the game? Trust in Isaac
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Jul 31, 2018 00:31
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OfChristandMen posted:This was good and quality but it disheartens me that we're playing this tomorrow night. Obviously Gloomhaven is beloved but this game seems maligned with analysis paralysis. Any recommendations for teaching the game? On the other hand I've also played in solo and with 3 and 4 and it's played smoothly, although pretty long but that's more my group than anything, and we all enjoyed it.
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Jul 31, 2018 08:59
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FulsomFrank posted:Got the new Brass(es) in the mail on Friday evening, which was a lovely treat. Gorgeous game, real looker. Yes, you can only sell/buy to a port/foreign market if you are connected to a port. It doesn't have to be the closest, you can pick whichever port you want (or the foreign market). You go from link to link and score each individually, which means you want as many connections to the big cities as possible (as long as something has been placed and flipped on them). The advantage of the foreign market is that you don't have to flip a port in order to use it (keep in mind that a port can only be used once ever to sell cotton). This means that you don't need to worry about building a port for your cotton factory and can just flip the cotton factory by itself. Usually you want to sell to the foreign market as quickly as possible. Also income in Brass (at least Lancashire) is really unimportant and experienced players don't usually worry too much about getting their income up. Since you can just get 30 money easily, it's usually more important to score factories/mines several times (which is why some people don't even both building stuff that gets removed at the end of canal phase).
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Jul 31, 2018 09:47
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Thanks guys. I look forward to trying it many times in the future. It helped that both of us really like Via Nebula/Steam and there are a lot of similarities. I think the rulebook could have benefited from a couple more examples but I was pretty tired and trying to keep enthusiasm up.
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Jul 31, 2018 14:26
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FulsomFrank posted:Thanks guys. I look forward to trying it many times in the future. It helped that both of us really like Via Nebula/Steam and there are a lot of similarities. I think the rulebook could have benefited from a couple more examples but I was pretty tired and trying to keep enthusiasm up. Vua Nebula is not quite Brass Jr. It does have the same "you have to help other people score points in order to score more points" thing going on with the resources, but you have much more freedom to act. Of the two I prefer Via Nebula.
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Jul 31, 2018 16:25
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I played Coimbra over the weekend. Coimbra is like a mix of Troyes’ drafting and resource management (it even uses both coins and influence) and Orleans’ map usage and engine building but the gameplay is mushy and mechanically opaque like Lisboa (which I like despite the spinning plates analogy) but lighter. I don’t know if I’d choose to play it if other similar midweight Euros are available. The draft seems arbitrary since turn order is based primarily on the flags of a random flop of cards and dice every turn. The challenge is assigning the proper dice draft choice to cards but due to the cards’ weird abilities, each choice seems opportunistic and tactical. You’re supposed to be building an engine but it may never come to fruition depending on the dice rolls (because colors are tied to bonuses every round) and if the flags just happen to land on the exact cards you need to keep the turn order slot for the future. There’s also a weird rule about matching flag strength switching spots was described by the owner is supposed to be a catch up mechanic but could easily screw over the person still in last. Maybe it gets better with repeatedly play and knowing what cards exist along with better evaluation of the starting board state. But as it is, it seems like scythe - good if it’s one of your first Euros with the mechanics involved but nothing really compelling to choose it over others.
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Jul 31, 2018 16:43
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I have recently played some games. Let me tell you about them. Modern Art - This game was a treat. Players draw hands of 6-10 painting cards and take turns auctioning them off. The cards have one of 4 (technically 5) different auction types that structure play. Rounds last until the 5th painting of any one artist (there are 5 artists) is played. The artist who had the most paintings sold that round is worth the most, same for 2nd and 3rd place. The 4th and 5th, if applicable, are not worth anything. Players then gain money according to how much the artists are worth, and the round begins anew. Artists get more valuable as rounds transpire as well; if an artist was the 2nd most popular in round 1 and the third most popular in round 2, those paintings are now worth 30 a piece. The kink here is that if an artist is not in the top 3 for a round, those paintings are not worth anything, even if they previously had value. Ties are handled by intrinsically having more valuable artists by card structure (5 artists with a distribution of 12, 13, 14, 15, 16) cards. I was very impressed with the interaction that the game afforded me. There is a real tension in trying to ascertain the tentative value that the other players are placing on paintings at each stage in the game, as well as trying to gauge which artists are going to be the most popular. My only complaint is that my version, CMON, should really have had the 5 symbols as a reference behind each screen. I may try to makes stickers or something. GKR: Heavy Hitters - This is the light skirmish game with 5 inch robot figures that released earlier this year. It was...not great. Turn structure was fairly simple; there are 5 phases. Deploy lets you summon 1 smaller unit for a max of 3, Move lets you move your figure around, Attack is where you play cards to damage other units, Tagging is where you mark a building (more on this in a bit) and gain Sponsorship cards, and then a Reset phase. There is a sort of action point allowance as you start with 5 energy per turn, and you have to spend energy on every action in the game except tagging buildings and moving or attacking with your little buddies. You may want to spend a turn summoning a unit and moving, or maybe you want to bunker down and spend everything on attacks. You can also spend additional energy at the cost of taking damage. Combat, which is the bulk of the game's time, is fairly simple. Players secretly and simultaneously play cards from their hand and then form a line a la Libertalia. The attacks then happen in order of the printed speed. Each card has a speed, energy cost, range, and damage value associated with it. If you spend the energy and are in range, you roll two dice to see if the attack hits. You typically need a 5 to hit the main units and a 7 to hit the smaller guys. If you hit, the defending player rolls dice equal to the damage of the weapon. Big units don't take damage on 5s and 6s whereas smaller units need 6s to avoid damage. Line of sight is interesting. You count the number of hexes between you and your target. If the shortest path(s) all contain buildings, you are out of sight. If there are multiple shortest paths, and there is a split between encountering a building and not encountering a building, then the unit is considered to be in partial cover, which adds 1 to the required value to hit the mech. Otherwise, you're fair game. There are also rules for alley shots and flanking which alter the values needed to hit the targets, but I don't feel like getting into that here. Players take damage by either permanently removing a card from their hand or the top of their deck from the game. Players start with a deck of 25 cards, which is the big unit's health, the player's possible decision space, and a scoring mechanism all in one. As you take damage, you lose choices and points, which is a tragedy. The game ends when 1 player dies, or a player destroys their fourth building. If the game ends by the death of a player, scores are tallied by counting the cards remaining in the deck and the number of spaces (max of 6 or 8) moved on the achievement board. Players move along the achievement board by either destroying a building, tagging the most buildings in a turn, having 3 smaller units out at the end of the turn, or landing a flank or alley shot. You get small upgrades (read: reductions in the numbers needed to roll for certain actions) as you move along the board. If the game ends by a player destroying their fourth building, then that player wins automatically. How do you destroy buildings? I have mentioned tagging a few times at this point. Near the end of the turn, if you or a smaller unit you control are adjacent to a building, you can insert your color of tag in the top of the building. There are a max of 6 tags that a building can hold, and it is destroyed of a single player has 4 tags on it. Destroyed buildings still prevent movement onto the space, but they no longer provide cover. In addition, you get sponsor cards for each building that you tag. Sponsor cards are pretty much just 'Take That' cards for the purposes of the game. There are some that help you rather than limit your opponents, but eh. That is a lot of words about the structure of the game. Why didn't I like it? The setup was a little too long for what it was. Players actually construct their decks at the beginning of the game. 25 card decks that consist of one Primary weapon (5 cards), two Secondary Weapons (4 cards each), and any combo of 12 optional cards (5 Deploy Smaller Unit cards that let you deploy at a reduced cost, 2 Flanking Defense cards that add +2 to your armor save rolls when attacked from behind, 2 of each of the 3 different types of Weapon defense cards that work the same way, 3 Orbital Strikes that trash themselves to do 2 damage to any target at any range, 2 Fake Shot cards that allow you to reroll if you miss an attack, 2-3 mobility cards that let you move around, and maybe some others). Players also choose 1 of 8 pilots with special abilities. The weapons are unique by faction, but the support cards and pilots are the same for everyone. The support units nearly identical, differing only in attack speed. In addition to the deck building, you will probably have to construct the buildings before each game. Each building consists of a base, a top, and a rectangular cardboard prism that you fold between the two. Once you assemble the buildings, you can either follow a suggested map set up or make your own. If you make your own, you do have to take into account that tagging is a win can, so you can't just randomly drop them on the board. The entire set up process takes too long for what boils down to a light dice chucker. Getting to the game itself, you have offense, defense, and support cards in your deck with no way to manually churn through it unless you pick a certain pilot. You can get stuck with a hand full of weapons that don't really allow you to do much, or maybe you get no weapons and all support/defense. Regardless, there should be a better way to draw through the deck than playing a single pilot, taking damage, or playing the cards. I was actually okay with the dice and the LOS rules with tempered expectations, with the caveat that the rule book needs to make it more clear that the big units have an armor value of 5. In the actual gameplay of the game, it is pure chip taking. I won because my opponents got into a fight and the battle moved away from me. If I were strictly trying to win, I would have just hung around and tagged buildings while they did their thing. However, I was actively trying to get involved in the battle for the sake of the spirit of the game, and I barely got there. The result was me winning by like 20 cards. I think that there needs to be some sort of damage = point mechanism in addition to life to prevent the players from winning when they are uninvolved. I think that could even work thematically, as the factions are basically on a game show (tagging the building is basically advertisement for companies, which is why you get sponsor cards). My concern would be that it would encourage dog piling the weakest player. Maybe introduce a ranked thing? Hitting the player with the most health at the beginning of a turn yields 2 points per damage, 2nd place player 1 point, nothing for the other two? IDK, this is a new idea. It would make sense that the audience really favors exciting pilots. I also wasn't really fond of the sponsor cards. I would be fine with the ones that slightly enhanced your abilities, but I don't really like the idea of being able to play them on other players to knock them down. The TL;DR is that it could be a decent beer and pretzels dice chucking game, as it really isn't that complex. However, between the set up time and the chip taking/king making nature of the game, I think that it is way too expensive for what it is. Also, I get that the box is huge as it is, but come on, don't make me assemble the buildings every game!
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Jul 31, 2018 16:58
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I really appreciated the use of licensed real-world artists in Modern Art (whatever recent printing I played). The game is so lively visually.
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Jul 31, 2018 17:01
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Chill la Chill posted:I played Coimbra over the weekend. Coimbra is like a mix of Troyes’ drafting and resource management (it even uses both coins and influence) and Orleans’ map usage and engine building but the gameplay is mushy and mechanically opaque like Lisboa (which I like despite the spinning plates analogy) but lighter. I don’t know if I’d choose to play it if other similar midweight Euros are available. The draft seems arbitrary since turn order is based primarily on the flags of a random flop of cards and dice every turn. The challenge is assigning the proper dice draft choice to cards but due to the cards’ weird abilities, each choice seems opportunistic and tactical. You’re supposed to be building an engine but it may never come to fruition depending on the dice rolls (because colors are tied to bonuses every round) and if the flags just happen to land on the exact cards you need to keep the turn order slot for the future. There’s also a weird rule about matching flag strength switching spots was described by the owner is supposed to be a catch up mechanic but could easily screw over the person still in last. Maybe it gets better with repeatedly play and knowing what cards exist along with better evaluation of the starting board state. But as it is, it seems like scythe - good if it’s one of your first Euros with the mechanics involved but nothing really compelling to choose it over others. Sigh. I just ordered it from MM. I thought it might be like Lorenzo? Guess not.
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Jul 31, 2018 17:05
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Speaking of Modern Art, let me share the beauty of the Korean edition from Dice Tree Games, which comes with two sets of art (classics and Korean contemporaries), metal coins with RINER KNIZIA'S FACE ON THEM, and a heavy  WOODEN GAVEL. It's really beautiful.      They also make a great version of Winner's Circle 
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Jul 31, 2018 17:09
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Lorini posted:Sigh. I just ordered it from MM. I thought it might be like Lorenzo? Guess not. It might still be good with repeated play, I don’t know and I’m ambivalent about investing more time to find out. The draft is fine but I think that tying it to color is what makes it weaker mechanically. The idea is sound: use a different color that might be stronger if you really want a card. However, that color’s bonus is what you get at the end of the round. What if the only dice rolled throughout the game (there’s only 6 rounds iirc so it’s not like law of large numbers applies well) are good in orange but you’re all invested in purple? Sure you could take those orange cards or the orange invested player could take their cards but you’re encouraged to have equal stats (cards are tied to stat upgrades) for VP and card abilities are scattered throughout different colors. I’ve only played it once so like I said better recognition of card synergy may be needed to appreciate it but it did seem overly tactical and opportunistic I’ve never played Lorenzo
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Jul 31, 2018 17:19
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Bottom Liner posted:Speaking of Modern Art, let me share the beauty of the Korean edition from Dice Tree Games, which comes with two sets of art (classics and Korean contemporaries), metal coins with RINER KNIZIA'S FACE ON THEM, and a heavy The little easel is amazing.. Was looking at picking up Modern Art soon so this is an instant buy.
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Jul 31, 2018 18:14
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I have their version of Winner's Circle, it's pretty sweet.
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Jul 31, 2018 18:17
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DogCop posted:The little easel is amazing.. Was looking at picking up Modern Art soon so this is an instant buy. Has the Dicetree version started distribution out here? I’ve been meaning to sell a copy I brought back from Korea last year and was hoping to get a bit of a premium on it
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Jul 31, 2018 18:30
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Fellis posted:Has the Dicetree version started distribution out here? I’ve been meaning to sell a copy I brought back from Korea last year and was hoping to get a bit of a premium on it yeah they just put up orders for US. $10 shipping.
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Jul 31, 2018 18:32
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Fellis posted:Has the Dicetree version started distribution out here? I’ve been meaning to sell a copy I brought back from Korea last year and was hoping to get a bit of a premium on it Yeah it just released yesterday. Got my tracking number and it’s already on its way. Tracking service says it should be here within 6 months! 
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Jul 31, 2018 18:33
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Suddenly Susan posted:I've been working on my ability to better discuss and critique games lately so here are a couple of effort posts. This was based on one play of the finished game, correct? Not sure where the gencon version was last year. I feel like you need a few more plays of a complex logistic game to really have it click. E: read it again and the main criticism seemed to be “its fiddly” but not a lot about the actual mechanism of play Fellis fucked around with this message at 18:44 on Jul 31, 2018 |
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Jul 31, 2018 18:38
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Bottom Liner posted:yeah they just put up orders for US. $10 shipping. Chill la Chill posted:Yeah it just released yesterday. Got my tracking number and it’s already on its way. Tracking service says it should be here within 6 months! Welp gently caress me, I guess. Shoulda dumped it in the gencon auction to try to get some FOMO for people who didnt know
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Jul 31, 2018 18:41
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Are there any other foreign versions of games with better components? The Brazilian release of Coup comes to mind.
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Jul 31, 2018 18:41
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DogCop posted:Are there any other foreign versions of games with better components? The Brazilian release of Coup comes to mind. *(I know of a few other versions with similar but different art)
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Jul 31, 2018 19:06
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Fellis posted:This was based on one play of the finished game, correct? Not sure where the gencon version was last year. I feel like you need a few more plays of a complex logistic game to really have it click. The game I played at Gencon last year was complete gameplay systems wise it was just with non-final art and there may have been some balance tweaks. I really like the idea of a logistics game and everyone in my group does as well. Our biggest hurdle with the game stems from the physical components and visual design. In the days following playing it I thought of numerous things that I could do to improve the visual processing of the game including laser cutting acrylic risers of differing heights to better differentiate the tiers of buildings and replacing the disks players use to denote ownership and access with a cones for ownership and rings that can slide onto the cones to indicate access; the cones could even sit on something to show the type of terrain the building is on so the tile wouldn't have to be picked up again. I have a 3d printer and a laser cutter and could do all those things and it would make playing the game way better at least for my group, but I don't know that FoG is good enough to justify all that effort when the in person game is still going to take longer than it should for something of it's complexity. Speaking of complexity, the game isn't overly complex and it is always clear what one needs to do to achieve something. The issue is that it can take a long time to achieve something fairly basic do to the slow accumulation of resources. I'm hesitant to review or critique a game without fulling understanding it, and these are my thoughts after only 2 plays. I will say that we understood all the rules(from both the rulebook and being taught the game by Isaac) and the goals and how to achieve them, but the game still failed to be satisfying and unlike lowlands there has been no discussion since we played of how someone would do something differently or of any memorable moments in the game. I think that comes down to it being a puzzle more than a game in a lot of ways and I hope it gets a nice online a-sync multiplayer implementation someday because that would make me want to play the game again.
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Jul 31, 2018 19:55
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Pierzak posted:Polish* version of Glory to Rome? I believe said illustrations were made for the Polish edition and then licensed back to other euro countries.
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Jul 31, 2018 20:01
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Anyone tried Nyctophobia at a Con or otherwise? I'm kind of a sucker for weird games and it looks like something Nate Hayden would make.
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Jul 31, 2018 20:11
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Bringing a convo from discord to here, the Paradox Worm is probably one of my favourite cards in any TK deck.
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Jul 31, 2018 20:20
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Polish version of Castles of MKL also has distinctly superior graphics.
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Jul 31, 2018 20:28
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Tekopo posted:Bringing a convo from discord to here, the Paradox Worm is probably one of my favourite cards in any TK deck. Let's expand it a little. It has a warp effect: "Upgrade 1 enemy common piece. You may then discard your pending being" A pretty easy summon pattern No actual ability. This has a variety of uses. One heroic piece short of flaring? Want to swap heroic pieces to get a red conquest? Just want to cycle your hand? Want to upgrade something to heroic so you can do a heroic destruction? Very few summons have quite that many uses. It's really cool!
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Jul 31, 2018 20:45
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DogCop posted:Are there any other foreign versions of games with better components? The Brazilian release of Coup comes to mind. The English version of Mysterium has a better game.
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Jul 31, 2018 20:59
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T-Bone posted:Anyone tried Nyctophobia at a Con or otherwise? I'm kind of a sucker for weird games and it looks like something Nate Hayden would make. I wasn't impressed by it. Production quality is incredibly cheap (it is a game they shopped to Target) which isn't a good look because this is a game designed to be manhandled. The board itself is that kind of cheap, thin plastic insert that will probably split on one edge then end up ripped in half. Gameplay wise there just isn't much there. Because you're blinded the badguy has to maneuver your hand to your piece every single turn. The game consists of being groped blind until you manage to navigate your fingers to the goal. We played against a vampire and the person demoing said directly "yeah, this villain wins like 80% of the time so to have a good game you really need to fudge some things" and I just lost all interest right there.
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Jul 31, 2018 21:02
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Lichtenstein posted:I believe said illustrations were made for the Polish edition and then licensed back to other euro countries. Also, did I remember correctly that you used to praise WH Diskwars around here, or did I confuse you with another goon?
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Jul 31, 2018 21:09
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Yep, still shedding tears at the skaven regiments we'll never see.
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Jul 31, 2018 21:24
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Jedit posted:The English version of Mysterium has a better game. What’s different?
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Jul 31, 2018 21:30
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Digirat posted:What’s different? The final mystery. It prevents cheesing the game by using the number of clues given to signify the position of the correct card.
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Jul 31, 2018 22:08
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Anyone want to buy Root for me at GenCon and ship it to me? Pretty Please 🙂
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Jul 31, 2018 23:01
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I have no idea how good Sonar is but it’s 2 player and was only $10 at Target, also grabbed Codenames Pictures for $5. On a side note I didn’t realize it’s impossible to find Viticulture EE, I’m hoping they reprint it soon.
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Jul 31, 2018 23:26
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Lorini posted:Anyone want to buy Root for me at GenCon and ship it to me? Pretty Please 🙂 No need to pay con prices when you can get it from any online retailer this month for $40
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Jul 31, 2018 23:49
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Bottom Liner posted:No need to pay con prices when you can get it from any online retailer this month for $40 I do see it for ~$40, but not releasing until September.
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Jul 31, 2018 23:51
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Rad Valtar posted:I have no idea how good Sonar is but it’s 2 player and was only $10 at Target, also grabbed Codenames Pictures for $5. On a side note I didn’t realize it’s impossible to find Viticulture EE, I’m hoping they reprint it soon. Sounds like new copies of V:EE and T:EE will be out and about in August.
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Jul 31, 2018 23:54
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Some Numbers posted:I do see it for ~$40, but not releasing until September. Yeah I kinda wanted it early but that's fine, thanks for letting me know.
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Aug 1, 2018 00:47
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Lorini posted:Yeah I kinda wanted it early but that's fine, thanks for letting me know. assuming it’s not immediately sold out in vip hours I can try and grab it for you if you’d still want it. Do you want the expansion as well? Also anyone have more questions for Cole Wehrle post them here, I’m going a video interview with him about Root this weekend. Check out his excellent designer diaries if you haven’t, the Lizard Cultists one is especially great.
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Aug 1, 2018 03:06
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