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Topic: The Boardgame Thread (Read 593586 times)
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Hawkbit
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Posts: 5531
Like a Klansman in the ghetto.
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Soln
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Posts: 4737
the opportunity for evil is just delicious
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Also seemed a bit overrated. Just Dominion with better theming.
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schild
Administrator
Posts: 60345
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If you want to call Thunderstone theming, sure. It's like the bland fantasy equivalent of Dominion.
Isn't this the one with a big drafting element though? I don't even remember.
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Goldenmean
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Posts: 844
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Better theming, but a much, much worse game with unnecessarily clunky rules. With that said, this new edition does seem to do away with some of the most onerous examples, and it's relatively slim pickings as far as competitive deck building dungeon crawlers go. Though if you just want a deckbuilder with a fantasy theme, I'd play any of Aeon's End, Shadowrift, Foe Hunters, or Hero Realms before playing Thunderstone, though it's worth noting that of those, only Hero Realms is competitive.
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schild
Administrator
Posts: 60345
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EDIT: CAVEAT - this seems to be a micro version of regular omen. Only a couple dozen cards. Not sure what the deal is with this one. I own like 4 different versions of Omen. Just buy Omen. https://www.smallboxgames.com/omen-edge-of-the-aegeanThat tiny box has more card game gameplay than most Magic sets (most recent Magic sets).
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« Last Edit: March 06, 2017, 08:27:39 PM by schild »
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Goldenmean
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It's a standalone expansion for Omen. There was a kickstarter for it that delivered a few months ago. No comment on quality because I've yet to get around to actually playing it or vanilla Omen yet.
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schild
Administrator
Posts: 60345
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It's a standalone expansion for Omen. There was a kickstarter for it that delivered a few months ago. No comment on quality because I've yet to get around to actually playing it or vanilla Omen yet.
While Omen: Edge of the Aegean is a stand alone game, the cards included in this game can be used with Omen: A Reign of War. At least theres that.
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eldaec
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Posts: 11843
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BGG voters think Scythe is the bee's knees.
2016 BoardGameGeek Winners & Runners Up
Board Game of the Year Winner - Scythe Runner Up - Terraforming Mars Runner Up - Star Wars: Rebellion
2-Player Game Winner - Star Wars: Rebellion Runner Up - Arkham Horror: The Card Game Runner Up - Hero Realms
Artwork & Presentation Winner - Scythe Runner Up - Mechs vs. Minions Runner Up - Inis
Card Game Winner - Arkham Horror: The Card Game Runner Up - Sushi Go Party! Runner Up - Clank!
Cooperative Game Winner - Mechs vs. Minions Runner Up - Mansions of Madness: Second Edition Runner Up - Arkham Horror: The Card Game
Expansion Winner - 7 Wonders Duel: Pantheon Runner Up - T.I.M.E Stories: A Prophecy of Dragons Runner Up - Dead of Winter: The Long Night
Family Game Winner - Codenames: Pictures Runner Up - Imhotep Runner Up - Quadropolis
Innovative Winner - Captain Sonar Runner Up - Scythe Runner Up - Vast: The Crystal Caverns
Party Game Winner - Codenames: Pictures Runner Up - Captain Sonar Runner Up - Secret Hitler
Print & Play Winner - Star Trek: The Dice Game Runner Up - Mini Rogue Runner Up - 30 Rails
Solo Game Winner - Scythe Runner Up - Terraforming Mars Runner Up - Arkham Horror: The Card Game
Strategy Game Winner - Scythe Runner Up - Terraforming Mars Runner Up - Great Western Trail
Thematic Game Winner - Scythe Runner Up - Star Wars: Rebellion Runner Up - Mansions of Madness: Second Edition
Wargame Winner - Falling Sky: The Gallic Revolt Against Caesar Runner Up - Liberty or Death: The American Insurrection Runner Up - Comanchería: The Rise and Fall of the Comanche Empire
Best Podcast Winner - Shut Up & Sit Down: The Podcast! Runner Up - Rahdo Talks Through Runner Up - Ludology
Best Board Game App Winner - Twilight Struggle Runner Up - Patchwork Runner Up - Mansions of Madness
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"People will not assume that what they read on the internet is trustworthy or that it carries any particular assurance or accuracy" - Lord Leveson "Hyperbole is a cancer" - Lakov Sanite
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schild
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Posts: 60345
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I refuse to believe the Arkham Horror card game is good. Anyone here played it?
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Goldenmean
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It is very good... for what it is, which is a cooperative thematic storytelling campaign experience in the Arkham universe. It's a big improvement over what they did with the Lord of the Rings CCG because it's campaign based instead of scenario based. LotR pretty much required you to construct a deck specifically for every scenario, which was an interesting puzzle, but it didn't feel very thematic. In Arkham, each investigator only gets to make very small tweaks to their deck in between each scenario in a campaign, so it feels a lot more like one character evolving over time, and they seem to be putting a lot of nice consequences for your choices down the line in the campaign.
It's the only game I'm playing at the moment other than Gloomhaven, which is pretty high praise for me, but you and I don't see eye to eye on cooperative/PvE things, so I'm not at all sure you'd enjoy it. The card pool is too shallow and the design in general isn't very Spike-friendly at the moment.
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Goldenmean
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Also, Scythe's definitely a good game, but Great Western Trail still gets my vote for best game of 2016. And I'd place Colonists and Feast for Odin above it as well.
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schild
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Posts: 60345
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It is very good... for what it is, which is a cooperative thematic storytelling campaign experience in the Arkham universe. It's a big improvement over what they did with the Lord of the Rings CCG because it's campaign based instead of scenario based. LotR pretty much required you to construct a deck specifically for every scenario, which was an interesting puzzle, but it didn't feel very thematic. In Arkham, each investigator only gets to make very small tweaks to their deck in between each scenario in a campaign, so it feels a lot more like one character evolving over time, and they seem to be putting a lot of nice consequences for your choices down the line in the campaign.
It's the only game I'm playing at the moment other than Gloomhaven, which is pretty high praise for me, but you and I don't see eye to eye on cooperative/PvE things, so I'm not at all sure you'd enjoy it. The card pool is too shallow and the design in general isn't very Spike-friendly at the moment.
Yea we dont see eye to eye on this. This game sounds like total garbage. Heh.
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schild
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Posts: 60345
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It doesnt even sound like a card game. It sounds like a user-assistd shell script.
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lamaros
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BGG users, as a faceless generalising force, have terrible taste for generic lifeless drek.
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eldaec
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Posts: 11843
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Its the pathfinder card game remade by the guy who did LotR and GoT card games. I've always found pathfinder style role playing card games tiresome but they appear to have become a thing.
Also Arkham is a terrible theme but people have bad taste so....
Looking at that list makes 2016 a pretty mediocre year compared to 2015.
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"People will not assume that what they read on the internet is trustworthy or that it carries any particular assurance or accuracy" - Lord Leveson "Hyperbole is a cancer" - Lakov Sanite
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Goldenmean
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Calling Arkham Horror a remake of the Pathfinder card game is a pretty big stretch. Has someone said that in an interview I missed or something? It shares a lot more of its DNA with the LotR card game, which predates Pathfinder. The only way it veers more Pathfinder than LotR is that it layers a random number generator on top of the card based gameplay, though it uses a chit/bag system and not dice. And I agree that Pathfinder is mostly tiresome, but that's partly because the play is basically always the same in all of the scenarios, and partly because the D&D-esque dice system make your choices feel unimportant next to the luck of the roll. Arkham doesn't suffer as much from either of those problems. Scenarios vary wildly from each other (much like they did in LotR), and the luck of the chits you draw can be mitigated much more easily than Pathfinder's dice.
But yeah, if you don't like cooperatives, or hate the Arkham universe, it's not going to change your mind.
Also, I'm curious what exactly was so great about 2015? 2016 seemed like one of the best years in gaming to me. Here's 2015's list for comparison. Personally, I think both lists are poor representations of their year, but 2016's is still better than 2015's for me.
2015 BoardGameGeek Winners & Runners Up
Board Game of the Year Winner - Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 Runner Up - Codenames Runner Up - 7 Wonders Duel
2-Player Game Winner - 7 Wonders Duel Runner Up - Tides of Time Runner Up - Baseball Highlights: 2045
Artwork & Presentation Winner - Mysterium Runner Up - T.I.M.E Stories Runner Up - Above and Below
Card Game Winner - 7 Wonders Duel Runner Up - The Grizzled Runner Up - Arboretum
Expansion Winner - Ticket to Ride Map Collection: Volume 5 – United Kingdom & Pennsylvania Runner Up - Roll for the Galaxy: Ambition Runner Up - Five Tribes: The Artisans of Naqala
Family Game Winner - Codenames Runner Up - Mysterium Runner Up - Between Two Cities
Innovative Winner - Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 Runner Up - 504 Runner Up - T.I.M.E Stories
Party Game Winner - Codenames Runner Up - Mysterium Runner Up - Flick 'em Up!
Print & Play Winner - Dune: The Dice Game Runner Up - Deep Space D-6 Runner Up - Beyond Baker Street
Solo Game Winner - Tiny Epic Galaxies Runner Up - Hostage Negotiator Runner Up - Baseball Highlights: 2045
Strategy Game Winner - Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 Runner Up - 7 Wonders Duel Runner Up - The Voyages of Marco Polo
Thematic Game Winner - Pandemic Legacy: Season 1 Runner Up - T.I.M.E Stories Runner Up - Blood Rage
Wargame Winner - Churchill Runner Up - Triumph & Tragedy Runner Up - The U.S. Civil War
Best Podcast Winner - The Secret Cabal Gaming Podcast Runner Up - Shut Up & Sit Down: The Podcast! Runner Up - Rahdo Talks Through
Best Board Game App Winner - Splendor Runner Up - Galaxy Trucker Runner Up - Star Realms: Gambit
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Rasix
Moderator
Posts: 15024
I am the harbinger of your doom!
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Granted I have probably the least experience with modern board games as anyone commenting in this thread, but I like the Arkham Horror LCG. I like the theming, the art, the pace of gameplay, and how the character classes/decks work. I was deciding between it and the LOTR LCG, but complaints about the difficulty being absurd at times, and the fact that I don't really care about the LOTR universe made my decision easier. It can be a bit too random at times with bad chaos token pulls causing things to spiral out of control even on the easiest setting (there are card to manage this). Solo play can be a bit more difficult due to each class having some glaring weaknesses, but again there are ways you can offset this in deck construction. The campaign is well done and the branching outcomes are a really compelling aspect to it. I don't get a lot of time to play it, because the theming/art is inappropriate for my son and my wife doesn't give a shit about Cthulhu or boardgaming outside of playing things as a family. Hogwarts battle will probably end up working for them once my son actually gets interested in Harry Potter. Castle Panic works for now, but the boy cheats way too hard at it for fear of losing. Overall, I'm satisfied the purchase, and will be starting up the Dunwich horror campaign with a new character. As an aside, the amount of cards for this are going to end up being absurd, and I'll probably have to stick the campaign/scenario cards in another storage container at some point.
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« Last Edit: March 08, 2017, 09:27:26 AM by Rasix »
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-Rasix
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Goldenmean
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Posts: 844
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Yeah, the LotR card game recently overflowed the 3200 card storage box I was keeping mine in. I'm sure Arkham will get there eventually.
For the moment I'm just keeping all of the player cards in binder sheets, all of the "shared" scenario decks in one baggie, and all of the unique scenario decks in another baggie. I can make it fit in one copy of the base box for now, along with the chaos bag, rules, tokens and baggies containing the decks for all of the investigators currently running through the campaign, but I doubt that'll last to the next campaign. Fortunately, I bought 4 copies of the base set, because I am a crazy person.
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Soln
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Posts: 4737
the opportunity for evil is just delicious
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1. Arkham Horror LCG is good. Very story driven, progression play. 2. BGG is drek 3. There's a new CMON KS on: http://kck.st/2lZADxW
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Soln
Terracotta Army
Posts: 4737
the opportunity for evil is just delicious
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Dr. Mark Hercules Herman unwraps his latest bounty: Pericles
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eldaec
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Posts: 11843
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That CMON kickstarter confuses me. It doesn't have 300 pledge options and early bird schemes out the wazoo, also it seems to be a real board game and not just a box of miniatures and dice.
I'm conflicted. I might end up pledging because of the beautiful things despite the fact I know it will not get enough table time. In summary, I have no self control.
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"People will not assume that what they read on the internet is trustworthy or that it carries any particular assurance or accuracy" - Lord Leveson "Hyperbole is a cancer" - Lakov Sanite
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Teleku
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https://i.imgur.com/mcj5kz7.png
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Hmm, yeah, Rising Sun does look tempting. We'll see if I can hold off on it or not. Also, what's with the BGG hate? The rankings in general are fairly accurate and helpful I think. Anybody have any thoughts on the Heavy Hitters kickstarter?
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"My great-grandfather did not travel across four thousand miles of the Atlantic Ocean to see this nation overrun by immigrants. He did it because he killed a man back in Ireland. That's the rumor." -Stephen Colbert
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Ironwood
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Look, I know it's really, really old, but is the Digital Edition of Talisman a true representation of the board game ? Because it fucking sucks on first play.
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"Mr Soft Owl has Seen Some Shit." - Sun Tzu
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Teleku
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Posts: 10510
https://i.imgur.com/mcj5kz7.png
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Never played the original, but as far as I can tell, it's a direct translation (don't know about the thousand expansions they've released for the digital version since).
And yes, it's a long drawn out kick in the balls.
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"My great-grandfather did not travel across four thousand miles of the Atlantic Ocean to see this nation overrun by immigrants. He did it because he killed a man back in Ireland. That's the rumor." -Stephen Colbert
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lamaros
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Posts: 8021
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Hmm, yeah, Rising Sun does look tempting. We'll see if I can hold off on it or not. Also, what's with the BGG hate? The rankings in general are fairly accurate and helpful I think. Anybody have any thoughts on the Heavy Hitters kickstarter? BGG is a good database, and I happen to organise a gaming group I go to through there. But that's about it.
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eldaec
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Posts: 11843
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BGG is also fantastic for rules questions.
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"People will not assume that what they read on the internet is trustworthy or that it carries any particular assurance or accuracy" - Lord Leveson "Hyperbole is a cancer" - Lakov Sanite
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Lucas
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Posts: 3298
Further proof that Italians have suspect taste in games.
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Look, I know it's really, really old, but is the Digital Edition of Talisman a true representation of the board game ? Because it fucking sucks on first play.
Yeah, Talisman can be a slog (especially without alternate endings provided by some xpacs and/or house rules that shorten the playing time) but I still love it, no matter the slightly dated mechanics I played the digital edition and it's basically a 1:1 conversion, yes. You can say the following about any digital tabletop game, but given the peculiar laid-back, popcorn munchkin nature of the game, the "let's see what happens with the next card" while moving around the board, Talisman is definitely best enjoyed with a physical edition. In the digital version, everything happens too quickly (which you can consider a good thing compared to the physical edition) and you lose all of the above I just described and even more than in any other digital conversion, game becomes too intangible, you end only noticing the dated mechanics but miss the fun (which is subjective, yes) in between.
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" He's so impatient, it's like watching a teenager fuck a glorious older woman." - Ironwood on J.J. Abrams
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grebo
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Posts: 638
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I got a play of Scythe at Total Con.
I wouldn't even call it a good game. It's a pretty game, but there's zero depth. It honestly feels like it was designed by elementary school kids after they played a game of Eclipse and watched some anime. I love things like Madeira and Terra Mystica though, so YMMV.
I'm way more excited about Feast for Odin.
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Why don't you try our other games?
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Goldenmean
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Posts: 844
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That CMON kickstarter confuses me. It doesn't have 300 pledge options and early bird schemes out the wazoo, also it seems to be a real board game and not just a box of miniatures and dice.
I'm conflicted. I might end up pledging because of the beautiful things despite the fact I know it will not get enough table time. In summary, I have no self control.
It's Eric Lang. He's as good as you get as far as ameritrashy type designers go, and this is most similar to his earlier game Blood Rage which is actually a genuinely good fairly-euroey game that just happened to have really amazing miniatures. Also, I would be flabbergasted if they didn't end up having an extra few hundred dollars worth of optional add-ons before the campaign ends.
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jgsugden
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Posts: 3888
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This new KS has been described as a mix of Blood Rage, Diplomacy and Shogun. I bought Blood Rage for the minis and ended up with a game I really enjoy. I think I'm getting this one because I have confidence in the game and I'll end up with some extra minis I will enjoy. As for there being only one pledge level - they have a history of adding Add-ons once they get your foot in the door.
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2020 will be the year I gave up all hope.
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Teleku
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Posts: 10510
https://i.imgur.com/mcj5kz7.png
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Yeah, Bloodrage is legitimately a great game. Guess I'll just have to throw $100 at them instead of an extra hundred at the F13 donation drive.
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"My great-grandfather did not travel across four thousand miles of the Atlantic Ocean to see this nation overrun by immigrants. He did it because he killed a man back in Ireland. That's the rumor." -Stephen Colbert
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eldaec
Terracotta Army
Posts: 11843
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I got a play of Scythe at Total Con.
I wouldn't even call it a good game. It's a pretty game, but there's zero depth. It honestly feels like it was designed by elementary school kids after they played a game of Eclipse and watched some anime. I love things like Madeira and Terra Mystica though, so YMMV.
I'm way more excited about Feast for Odin.
I disagree there is no depth. And at my local meetup it is the Terra Mystica crowd who are still playing it. My issue with it is that the theme doesn't really connect with the underlying efficiency puzzle. Which is almost worse than having no theme. In TM, the puzzle is there on the surface unobscured by theme, in something like Food Chain Magnate - the theme is so well integrated with the puzzle that they support each other. In Scythe the theme hides the puzzle and makes it less interesting. Also it plainly isn't as good as a top tier euro. Agree about Feast For Odin - its not nearly as much a multiplayer solitaire as it looks, best Rosenburg game in years.
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"People will not assume that what they read on the internet is trustworthy or that it carries any particular assurance or accuracy" - Lord Leveson "Hyperbole is a cancer" - Lakov Sanite
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eldaec
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Posts: 11843
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This new KS has been described as a mix of Blood Rage, Diplomacy and Shogun.
It has certainly been described that way, but I don't really see it from the KS page. Reads more like a mash up of Puerto Rico, El Grande, and Cosmic Encounter. Which sounds way better.
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"People will not assume that what they read on the internet is trustworthy or that it carries any particular assurance or accuracy" - Lord Leveson "Hyperbole is a cancer" - Lakov Sanite
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eldaec
Terracotta Army
Posts: 11843
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Hmm, yeah, Rising Sun does look tempting. We'll see if I can hold off on it or not. Also, what's with the BGG hate? The rankings in general are fairly accurate and helpful I think. Anybody have any thoughts on the Heavy Hitters kickstarter? My thought is that it is made by Cryptozoic, so I expect mediocrity.
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"People will not assume that what they read on the internet is trustworthy or that it carries any particular assurance or accuracy" - Lord Leveson "Hyperbole is a cancer" - Lakov Sanite
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jgsugden
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Posts: 3888
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... It has certainly been described that way, but I don't really see it from the KS page. Reads more like a mash up of Puerto Rico, El Grande, and Cosmic Encounter. Which sounds way better.
What are the Puerto Rico elements you're seeing?
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2020 will be the year I gave up all hope.
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