Mister Sinewave posted:

If you want to make Dominion but better, one way would be to figure out how to have the same good elements of the gameplay but, oh, without the constant shuffling and re-shuffling. So much shuffling is just a chore (a chore solved by computer versions, I suppose.)

Tekopo posted:

Actually this opens up quite an incredible level of meta-gaming to the entire game. I want this game now.

Tippis posted:

If it's any consolation, bell curves is something I see game designers forget often for no apparent reason. The worst case I've seen was in an RPG where everything was rolled with 2D10. In particular, hit locations were decided by 2D10 on a table going from toe to head with each limb having a die score spread that depended on the size of the limb…

Note the choice of words there: die score spread. It did not take into account the probabilities of getting those scores. So somehow, you ended up having a 1:4 chance of hitting a person in the left arm, and roughly a 1:5 chance of hitting the torso.

Tippis posted:

Also, a 108–648 spread of outcomes seems to be very in keeping with the “balance” of the rest of the game.

Rexides posted:

I have only read the rules, but from the looks of it I see no reason why combat needs more than one die roll to resolve and there aren't any decision points to be made between turns. Also, I can't see any reason you shouldn't use abilities and consumable items that affect combat as soon as they are available. Maybe I am missing some intricacies that only become apparent when you play it, but that's my initial feedback.

homullus posted:

The board games in the series are fun, but I don't feel that they are very thematic for the individual topics (I don't have Drizzt, but I have the other two).

Prairie Bus posted:

Vlaada's games sacrifice mechanics for the sake of theme, and are probably the better for it.

Prairie Bus posted:

That's sorta what I mean- do the mechanics demand that a pet removed from the market add one meat to the stalls (or vegetable, or gold)? Mechanical robustness was sacrificed there - the game would be mechanically superior without that rule. These rules add mechanical fat to the game, but they make it better.

Bubble-T posted:

apparently they get a bunch of rules wrong and are sort of houseruling others, who'd have thought

malkav11 posted:

This bit sounds better than Descent 2e, frankly. Not that it's particularly good design, but I'd sure as gently caress rather subtract a fixed defense value than subtract a randomly rolled one like Descent 2e makes you do. Not because it's "less cumbersome", but because it's less randomness involved in combat outcomes. As the Overlord I routinely completely whiffed defenses in a way that made combat pretty onesided.

Robust Laser posted:

I know the imps in Dungeon Petz will work good in a pinch as caltrops, but are there any board games with pieces as dangerous as that, or even more dangerous?

Lord Frisk posted:

Gort posted:

Yeah, definitely this. The game falls apart when played in any kind of long-term league or tournament since some teams have tons of good ways to advance their players and others get diddly.

Gutter Owl posted:

Okay, that's another potential issue with Blood Bowl: The factions are notably imbalanced. It's important to note that this is by design--several teams are "comedy options" that intentionally exacerbate the dice mechanics, and are meant to be taken as a form of handicapping for experienced players.

Unfortunately, the joke teams aren't very well signposted. There's a line of small print text at the beginning of the team roster section, saying that certain teams are meant for experienced players only. But:

• The callout is easy to miss.
  
• The callout doesn't say why new players should avoid these teams.
  
• The callout doesn't differentiate between challenging but powerful teams (Dark Elves, Chaos) and complete joke teams (Vampires, Halflings).
  

So a new player can easily stumble into one of these teams, invest in the miniatures, and get stuck with negative play experience after negative play experience until they quit.

Additionally, even within a given "tier," teams are meant to be balanced across their whole careers, not for specific team values. For instance, a fresh Dwarf team has an advantage against almost every other fresh team, but gradually loses steam as the opposing teams gain crucial skills. Conversely, a Chaos team is basically a weak Orc team until mid-career, where their superior development options start to snowball. Over the course of a league, the imbalance evens out between early-career, mid-career, and late-career teams. But if a new player starts with a late-career team, they might not stick with the game long enough to survive the rough early career.

Megaman's Jockstrap posted:

The game fails at strategy. It fails at campaign play. It fails at making interesting decisions for your players. It's fine for a one-off game but please don't play league Blood Bowl.

bowmore posted:

I didn't totally hate it

Ravendas posted:

You're mostly describing Xia as well, that other new fly-around-in-space game.

Some Numbers posted:

Kemet.

Big McHuge posted:

Apparently doing something for free grants you the eternal gratitude of everyone and makes you free from criticism. Doubly so if you were the first person to do it.

Also I'm supposed to feel bad about criticizing Vasel because that is a petty thing to do.

What a bunch of horseshit.

fozzy fosbourne posted:

Is there any silver lining spin to exploding kittens? Is it possible that it brings any new people into the fold? My sunny disposition and awesome attitude makes we want to believe but I actually think "nope". Feels like the freemium of nerd games

Rutibex posted:

I like that you are more ashamed of the Heroquest than the Pokemon.

Zylen posted:

Now I'm a huge fan of Vlaada Chvatil, already owning Space Alert and Galaxy Trucker, so I'm pretty excited for the new arrivals. However I was wondering if there are any tips or things I need know before the boyfriend and I dive in - most likely with regards to Mage Knight?

tarbrush posted:

In fairness, his review picked that up. And given that the theme is bang on, either he's getting more discerning or the minigames are really awful.

Rumda posted:

Good look finding worthwhile reviews on anything if that's your sticking point.