OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

baelthazar · Post by **baelthazar** » Fri Sep 25, 2020 9:38 am

I got my Trove box and it is something else. Be aware, it feels like it weighs at least 10 pounds on its own and then you add the gazillion pounds of all your accumulated TMB content to it. You want to put it empty on a shelf and then add stuff to shelves, then add shelves back to box. Don't try to lift the filled Trove box. My only concern is for the long term longevity of such a monster box. That... and if I ever move again...

For the life of me I can't figure Stanza out. It's like my brain does not want to comprehend her mechanics.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Fri Sep 25, 2020 9:47 am

baelthazar wrote: Fri Sep 25, 2020 9:38 am Don't try to lift the filled Trove box. My only concern is for the long term longevity of such a monster box. That... and if I ever move again...

Does it feel like it's not sturdy enough to handle the load if you pick it up? Also, did you get a shipping notice with tracking info before it shipped? I got the "you'll be getting it soon" email earlier this week, but it was just prompting me to make sure my shipping address was up to date.

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Fri Sep 25, 2020 11:36 am

hepcat wrote: Fri Sep 25, 2020 9:47 am
baelthazar wrote: Fri Sep 25, 2020 9:38 am Don't try to lift the filled Trove box. My only concern is for the long term longevity of such a monster box. That... and if I ever move again...
Does it feel like it's not sturdy enough to handle the load if you pick it up? Also, did you get a shipping notice with tracking info before it shipped? I got the "you'll be getting it soon" email earlier this week, but it was just prompting me to make sure my shipping address was up to date.

I got the same. I have the FedEx and UPS services that tell me when people are sending me stuff so I'll find out when they create the label.

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Fri Sep 25, 2020 4:06 pm

Finally broke down and ordered Star Wars Outer Rim today. Been on my list for ages, Amazon had it for $50 today.

Fishbelly · Post by **Fishbelly** » Fri Sep 25, 2020 5:58 pm

baelthazar wrote: Fri Sep 25, 2020 9:38 am I got my Trove box and it is something else. Be aware, it feels like it weighs at least 10 pounds on its own and then you add the gazillion pounds of all your accumulated TMB content to it. You want to put it empty on a shelf and then add stuff to shelves, then add shelves back to box. Don't try to lift the filled Trove box. My only concern is for the long term longevity of such a monster box. That... and if I ever move again...

For the life of me I can't figure Stanza out. It's like my brain does not want to comprehend her mechanics.

I'm jealous, as I'm still waiting on my Trove Chest. At least I finally got my address verification email. Soon, my precious, soon.

I totally agree about Stanza, as I struggle with the timing of her abilities. I've been waiting for my Trove Chest to play again, but I definitely want to spend more time figuring her out.

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Sun Sep 27, 2020 12:47 am

Star Wars: Outer Rim arrived today. Just finished my first solo game, with my Han losing to the AI's Lando 10-8. I was a little skeptical about this one after some 'meh' reviews, but I really, really enjoyed it.

Quick question about choosing to encounter a token on a planet. If you win the skill challenge, are you required to take that person on as a crew member? For example: my two crew slots were all full when I won the skill test to acquire a third crew member on Naboo. Which do I do?

a) I have to take the new person on and release an existing crew member,
b) I discard her token (the equivalent of me gaining him and choosing to not bring him along), or
c) Leave her token at the planet

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Sun Sep 27, 2020 10:05 pm

Ok, it took me all weekend to slowly go through everything, but I finished a 7 day solo attempt (successfully) fighting Kollossum vs Gillie.

That's the final round where I had my backup plan completely filled so I rolled my attack, took out the Goblin and then activated the Broadhead for 5 points after being able to target the boss. I was on the easiest level and had found some loot that helped me a bit, but it still took smart use of traps and level-up skill dice to puzzle out the best way to approach each round.

What I'm realizing is so many of these Undertow monsters have extra skills that they seemingly introduced to make the combat more challenging - and that's what was taking me so long to play. Learning what those skills were and how to then think about each round and what I should be doing.

It really took making sure to level up base skills (Dexterity, Attack/Defense) as well as making sure to get things like Traps and then that Falcon to assist in damage output. The traps in particular were *critical* in defeating the boss, but they also helped in other combat encounters by really hurting baddies or in some cases tying them up and making it so they couldn't even hurt me.

I'm not 100% I played it correct, but now that I have a point of reference start to finish I can go back and verify I did everything correctly. Some of the timing elements (when to bring enemies in, when to apply effects, etc...) did get a big confusing.

Despite the overall difficulty, still a big thumbs up. I'm in the right head space now to enjoy this game; I was not in 2017. Despite the cheaper price, I do see now why (I think) the original core set is still recommended to start with, assuming it's the difficulty curve.

I finished a round of Hostage Negotiator last weekend, and now Too Many Bones this weekend. In truth, this is the first time I think I've finished playing any type of solo board game in 6 months. It's been...rough.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Sun Sep 27, 2020 10:16 pm

I’m going to start a campaign of TMB after I get my trove chest.

But this weekend it was nothing but Arkham Horror 3rd edition. I still love this one, even if I can’t win it. The “codex” mechanic with story cards that come into play based on your actions was first used in Fallout the board game, I believe. But Arkham Horror really takes it up a notch.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Sun Sep 27, 2020 10:28 pm

I might need to take another look at that as I thought the reviews were mixed. Maybe it'll be on sale for the holidays.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Sun Sep 27, 2020 10:39 pm

I don’t think it got great reviews, but I enjoy it quite a bit. But I also love the codex cards from Fallout, so that is most likely the largest reason for my enjoyment. Replayability is a bit low though, in light of that mechanic.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Mon Sep 28, 2020 9:25 am

Speaking of Fallout, I'm just finishing up painting the last of the minis so I plan on tackling the game with the Atomic Bonds expansion this week. I played it a couple of times base, then wound up buying the New California expansion but didn't even open it. Figured it was time to really dive into it now that I can play every mission co-op.

I'm not one of the Fallout haters - I actually enjoyed it quite a bit even base game, largely due to my love of the video games. But I think Atomic Bonds is really going to turn it into a game I love.

baelthazar · Post by **baelthazar** » Mon Sep 28, 2020 9:38 am

I am not sure if you all feel this way or not, but I am finding TMB to have a lot of Magic: The Gathering-type energy. What I mean by that is that I am constantly sitting here going:

What is the timing on that?

When can I use this skill/fire my backup plan/activate that die?

Does this really work this way? How long does this effect last?

Case in point, I am playing a two-handed run of Patches and Nugget. The early stages for both of these two are HARD (I found you have to focus more on stats that skills in the early game) but they get their stride once Patches gets Toxins and Nugget gets Longsword and Bolo. I had this crazy hard fight that was part of the Goblin King's events, where a Goblin from Undertow (Goblin Broadcaster) brought in more creatures (Signal 2, so two more 1 pt baddies) and a Troll Sage and Troll Enforcer were ready to pound my Gearlocs to dust. Also, I had Chimp Sentinel that could only be damaged by Patches Bone Saw and Toxins or Nugget's Longsword (screw that Dodge skill).

Patches dropped pretty fast, but Nugget has a Reinforced Buckler (+Def Dice bonus every roll, no DEX needed) and used her Combat Prowess to get another +Def Die. So she was rolling +2 Def Dice every roll without spending Dex on them. Nugget used her bolo on the Troll Sage and gave it a -2 ATK die, which made it have 0 ATK (presumably for the entire battle). This meant that I could use it as a living wall, since it could not attack but it would not move away from Nugget (per the rules that say they never leave spots adjacent to targets). From there, I used her slingstones to whittle away the Troll Enforcer (who could not reach me as I was in the corner and the Sage in the spot above and Chimp in the spot to the left). Finally, exhaustion started to off the smaller baddies. I pulled out a win with some good rolls (she was rolling three ATK dice, the Longsword, and two bonus DEF dice).

I feel like (and here is the MTG energy) that I not only really gamed the system but that I played it wrong (or at least interpreted the rules in my favor). Since TMB is hard has HELL, I am not worried about that, but there are almost too many small rules and exceptions that it is difficult to keep them all straight. And, to be honest, their manual and player aids are not particularly well laid out or clear.

That said, I love MTG and, thus, I really love TMB. It is an unfair bastard of a game, but I sort of think that is part of the appeal.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Mon Sep 28, 2020 9:40 am

YellowKing wrote: Mon Sep 28, 2020 9:25 am I'm not one of the Fallout haters - I actually enjoyed it quite a bit even base game, largely due to my love of the video games. But I think Atomic Bonds is really going to turn it into a game I love.

The only thing that folks really hated about Fallout when it was initially released was that stupid victory point mechanic. It was capriciously random and could take you HOURS to get even one damn point, let alone win a solo game at the point count they considered a win (IF you could get that amount before the other faction won, that is.). I think the Atomic Bonds expansion was FFGs way of saying, "Whoops, yeah...that sucked" because they effectively remove that mechanic altogether if you use it.

I loved the codex story card mechanic, so I took to it almost immediately...and I don't even like video game based board games...or even the Fallout universe itself as a theme in a board game...all that much. Since they ported the codex mechanic over to Arkham Horror, I hope they do the same with some of their other upcoming board games too.

baelthazar wrote: Mon Sep 28, 2020 9:38 am I feel like (and here is the MTG energy) that I not only really gamed the system but that I played it wrong (or at least interpreted the rules in my favor). Since TMB is hard has HELL, I am not worried about that, but there are almost too many small rules and exceptions that it is difficult to keep them all straight. And, to be honest, their manual and player aids are not particularly well laid out or clear.

Sounds to me like you played it just right. TMB gives you a toolbox full of tools and it isn't cheating to use any and all of them in a game. I actually hope to find little tactical nuances like that when I'm playing.

As for the small rules and exceptions, the only ones I find annoying are the add ons that came later due to feedback from players that they should have caught while play testing. For example: you can't move diagonally...until the fatigue rounds. I'm not a fan of tacking on rules that contradict other rules just to provide some perceived notion of balancing that should have been built into the system organically to begin with.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Wed Sep 30, 2020 5:37 pm

Got through a game of FALLOUT with the ATOMIC BONDS expansion (2 random characters), so here are my thoughts:

Quick background on the new stuff:
- The entire agenda deck of the base game and New California has been replaced with an Activation Deck which essentially acts as an automa timer. This will tell you exactly what enemies are activating and whether the enemy faction will advance.
- Hidden mutation cards come into play that may trigger if you get enough rads - this never happened in my game so I can't really tell you if they're a good addition
- C.A.M.P. tokens (available as rewards) allow you to put down Fast Travel spots on the map. While I never got the opportunity to do this, towards the end of the game I was really regretting it as I started getting mobbed by enemies. I like this addition as thematically it fits with the video games, and it does give you strategic options late game so you're not burning turns just moving across the map to a tile you happen to need.
- Workshop Upgrades - this is absolutely my favorite new addition. In the previous game, getting a (thumbs up) as a quest reward just gave you an Agenda point towards winning. Now, these give you a Workshop Upgrade which is a powerful one-time or ongoing game effect. These were all REALLY good in my game (and getting 3 of them satisfied one of my winning conditions).
- End game goals - the biggest addition with this expansion is the complete revamping of the end game. Instead of having to obtain a certain number of Agenda points (base game) or advance your faction's track before the enemy (New California), you have to actually completely a main storyline quest on the scenario card AND have each character complete one side goal before the enemy faction reaches the end of their track.

Even though I lost my first game due to getting pummeled in the later stages, I had a blast. The new winning conditions really make you feel like this is an open sandbox world now, and you always seem to have meaningful choices on which quest to work towards. From a difficulty perspective it felt really good - when I lost I was headed towards my last quest objective, so a bit smarter play earlier on could have led to victory. I didn't feel that it was a cakewalk, nor did I feel it was too challenging. (Note: some folks on the forum say 2 characters is the sweet spot for solo play, and that certainly jibes with my session).

While I enjoyed many of the mechanics of the base game, this expansion really rounds out the package. While you're still on a timer with the enemy faction, it doesn't feel as overbearing as in the base game and it eliminates all the weird shoe-horning in of Agenda and faction movement from New California. Note - the new mechanics do mean certain quest options are now cut off from you (you can't complete quests that advance your enemy's agenda), but I never felt like this was restrictive. I had so much to do that this was never an issue, and you always have the option to play the opposite faction if you want to experience those quest choices.

Big thumbs up from me. This has gone from a game that I played only a few times and shelved to one that I'm really enjoying and plan to keep on the table for some time.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Wed Sep 30, 2020 6:50 pm

As soon as I get done playing with the new expansion for Arkham Horror I plan on breaking out fallout with all its expansions. I’m happy to hear it’s good.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Thu Oct 01, 2020 9:24 am

I won The Commonwealth scenario last night in FALLOUT w/ ATOMIC BONDS. Had a couple of minor rules wrong first play through which made things a little harder on myself (I recommend reading the "common rules mistakes" files for the base game from BGG, it was very helpful).

If I have one minor nitpick with the game, it's that you can find yourself in a position where you're stuck having to complete a difficult side objective long after you've wrapped up the main storyline. I spent half an hour last night after completing the main quest just trying to get enough caps to finish my last side objective. It's not nearly as bad an issue as it was in the original game, however. And since your choices are ultimately going to dictate the game flow, you have to take some responsibility for coming up short at the end.

There are a lot of strategic nuances that I'm still figuring out, like not exploring too much early on before you power up, the importance of gear for dice mitigation, etc.

Also enjoying the unique character attributes that really change the gameplay. Last night I had the Ghoul who heals while walking through radiation, but has a lower HP max, and the Brotherhood Outcast who can only move 1 space at a time but has some fantastic power armor that turns him into a tank. Just the differences in the characters lead to drastically different strategies each game.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Thu Oct 01, 2020 10:33 am

You're going to make me bust this back out, aren't you? I played a bit with the kids when only the base game was available, then picked up New California last year. I haven't gotten back to it yet, but I do have enough store credit with Amazon to claim the Atomic Bonds pack.

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Thu Oct 08, 2020 10:20 am

After reading multiple reviews about how it's "Mage Knight-lite", I sprang for Dungeon Alliance with the Champions xpac this morning. It sounds like a very solid and crunchy solo game that uses some similar mechanics to Mage Knight, but doesn't have quite as much absurd fiddli-ness.

We shall see.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Thu Oct 08, 2020 10:47 am

Any thoughts on HELLBOY? They're coming out with a reprint October 30th and some new expansions.

The game/theme has always intrigued me, but I've heard everything from "meh" to "BEST GAME EVAR" reviews.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Thu Oct 08, 2020 12:53 pm

Skinypupy wrote: Thu Oct 08, 2020 10:20 am After reading multiple reviews about how it's "Mage Knight-lite", I sprang for Dungeon Alliance with the Champions xpac this morning. It sounds like a very solid and crunchy solo game that uses some similar mechanics to Mage Knight, but doesn't have quite as much absurd fiddli-ness.

We shall see.

I love Dungeon Alliance and I've sung its praises around here before. A couple of things to be aware of though is that it can be a LONG game if you play with more than two. And even solo you're looking at a few hours.

I love the addition of "questing" to the solo/coop game that they added on at the last minute before shipping off the first print run. I would try to find the 4 Adventure Packs they released with the last kickstarter as they add a bunch of great quest stuff too. You can find the rules for questing as a separate booklet within the box, I believe.

YellowKing wrote: Thu Oct 08, 2020 10:47 am Any thoughts on HELLBOY? They're coming out with a reprint October 30th and some new expansions.

The game/theme has always intrigued me, but I've heard everything from "meh" to "BEST GAME EVAR" reviews.

I'd heard that it was a very basic game without all the expansions, so that scared me off.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Thu Oct 08, 2020 1:07 pm

I love Dungeon Alliance, but it's a game that likely isn't what people think it is (a dungeon crawler). It's absolutely on the same wavelength as Mage Knight and very puzzly in execution. I like it, though I haven't played in long time. The reason I really liked it was because of the characters and how I can actually play 4 characters without feeling like I'm really trying to fully play 4 characters. I like true solo games (one character) so this was a bit of a surprise for me to find enjoyment with. However, the design is such that it really worked for me.

YellowKing wrote: Thu Oct 08, 2020 10:47 am Any thoughts on HELLBOY? They're coming out with a reprint October 30th and some new expansions.

The game/theme has always intrigued me, but I've heard everything from "meh" to "BEST GAME EVAR" reviews.

Did you read the comics? The art is magnificent and it really captures the feel of the comics in every bit of the materials they provide (character sheets, cards, tile art, etc...)

I had the core set but ended up getting rid of it because yes, it is kinda limited. I think Mantic shot themselves in the foot and made the KS version worth so much more because of all the additional content you were able to get through stretch goals and add-ons. I liked the game play mechanics and the miniatures were really good as well. I'm not sure if I'll get in on the reprint, but it's definitely something I'd recommend to anyone that is a fan of Hellboy.

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Thu Oct 08, 2020 1:12 pm

hepcat wrote: Thu Oct 08, 2020 12:53 pm
Skinypupy wrote: Thu Oct 08, 2020 10:20 am After reading multiple reviews about how it's "Mage Knight-lite", I sprang for Dungeon Alliance with the Champions xpac this morning. It sounds like a very solid and crunchy solo game that uses some similar mechanics to Mage Knight, but doesn't have quite as much absurd fiddli-ness.

We shall see.
I love Dungeon Alliance and I've sung its praises around here before. A couple of things to be aware of though is that it can be a LONG game if you play with more than two. And even solo you're looking at a few hours.

I love the addition of "questing" to the solo/coop game that they added on at the last minute before shipping off the first print run. I would try to find the 4 Adventure Packs they released with the last kickstarter as they add a bunch of great quest stuff too. You can find the rules for questing as a separate booklet within the box, I believe.

I ordered the base game and the Champions xpac. The "Adventure Packs" only seem to be available on their website, so I'll probably see how I generally like the game then maybe grab those as well.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Thu Oct 08, 2020 1:14 pm

Smoove_B wrote: Thu Oct 08, 2020 1:07 pm I love Dungeon Alliance, but it's a game that likely isn't what people think it is (a dungeon crawler). It's absolutely on the same wavelength as Mage Knight and very puzzly in execution. I like it, though I haven't played in long time. The reason I really liked it was because of the characters and how I can actually play 4 characters without feeling like I'm really trying to fully play 4 characters. I like true solo games (one character) so this was a bit of a surprise for me to find enjoyment with. However, the design is such that it really worked for me.

I think my almost zen like love of Tower Defense games has made me susceptible to these types of games. Mage Knight, Dungeon Alliance, City of Kings...they all play like optimization puzzles, which I find incredibly fun. Sadly, they drive a lot of folks nuts too, though. Dungeon Alliance does add that little extra oomph though with the campaign mode and quest stuff. That is what makes the theme shine through the puzzle...for me, at least.

Skinypupy wrote: Thu Oct 08, 2020 1:12 pm
I ordered the base game and the Champions xpac. The "Adventure Packs" only seem to be available on their website, so I'll probably see how I generally like the game then maybe grab those as well.

Oh, you'll have plenty of to play with, trust me. As I said, they added on the adventuring (or questing...whatever they call it) as sort of a "nice to have" feature at the last minute...then fully fleshed it out and added a crap ton of stuff for it in the base game. But if you do decide you like it enough to grab the adventure packs, you get your money's worth with those. Most game makers would include just a few cards and charge you 10 bucks or so for each pack. Dungeon Alliance packs a bunch of cards in each one....along with counters, new rules, etc..

edit: you know, I really need to stay out of this thread come thursday or friday. I'd already set aside Thunderstone Quest with the Barricades expansion for a solo game tomorrow night/Saturday afternoon, but now I want to play Dungeon Alliance.

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Thu Oct 08, 2020 1:35 pm

I've been looking for something that scratches a similar Mage Knight itch, without completely destroying my brain with it's complexity. I like MK, but it's just...too much. From the reviews I watched, this sounds like it could fit that bill pretty well.

It's supposed to be here tonight (yay same day delivery), so I'll report back later.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Fri Oct 09, 2020 2:42 pm

I went through the LEGACY OF LO PAN expansion for BIG TROUBLE IN LITTLE CHINA. My thoughts:

The expansion has your heroes following Lo Pan (whom you failed to defeat in the main game) through various timelines with the aid of a time-travel enabling hourglass. As I mentioned in a previous thread, the expansion makes some fairly radical changes to the original game by stripping it of the open world design of Act I and instead putting your heroes through a tightly controlled narrative. On the upside of this, it leads to an even more cinematic feel, and you really do feel like you're playing out a sequel to the original movie. On the downside, it does limit replayability a bit since you'll know most of the story beats and choices.

The campaign is divided into 7 primary quests you must complete in order to defeat Lo Pan, but they are timed with a Time Token ticking down at the end of each enemy round. You can spend Hourglass Tokens earned through quests to rewind the Time Token back, thus buying yourself more time. And some quest resolutions will reset the Time Token entirely. As you complete primary quests, you'll earn rewards like Audacity, Hourglass Tokens, items, etc.

On the other hand, running out of time in a quest (due to taking too long or suffering too many deaths) will vault you into another time period and a new quest, leaving you empty-handed. This is a slight caveat to my point about lack of replayability - quest pass/fails will change the direction you travel through the campaign, so it's likely you will experience different side branches of the main questline on multiple playthroughs.

PROS:

- The expansion makes an already narratively thematic game even more thematic. While you lose some of that playing solo, I think this would be a blast with a full group of friends reading the flavor text and making group choices

- The expansion allows you to do more of the most fun parts of the first game - running around leveling and fighting bad guys. It moves at a very brief clip, so you almost never have a turn where you're wasting actions or running around town doing extraneous things. Because the time counter is ticking down every round, I felt myself playing much more aggressively which was fun.

CONS:

- Way too easy with two players. I may try to 3-hand or even 4-hand this one, as they didn't address any of the scaling issues with the base game. And in fact maybe even made them worse. While the game has always tended to err on the side of making the heroes feel powerful, I wound up at end game with 6 or 7 Hourglass Tokens to burn.

- In relation to the above, I never felt that running out of time really penalized you enough. Sure you might miss out on some Audacity, Chi, or other minor rewards, but you're so powerful by the end game that I'm not sure those things really matter. I failed two quests outright and was still plenty buff enough to make it through the end game. Again, I think this is a scaling issue, and may be MUCH different when playing with 4 players.

Overall, however, I had a blast with this expansion and while it retains many of the flaws of the original game, I still love it. I like that it gives me a new way to play, and I dare say if I ever get a chance to break this out with a group again then the expansion campaign would probably be my preferred way to play. It smooths out the somewhat abrupt game flow transition of the base game into something that makes a bit more sense thematically.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Mon Oct 12, 2020 3:21 pm

YellowKing wrote: Thu Oct 01, 2020 9:24 am I won The Commonwealth scenario last night in FALLOUT w/ ATOMIC BONDS. Had a couple of minor rules wrong first play through which made things a little harder on myself (I recommend reading the "common rules mistakes" files for the base game from BGG, it was very helpful).

I'm playing through the Far Harbor expanded scenario (uses all the map tiles) and I'm having a blast. Atomic Bonds does "fix" this game for me. Playing it yesterday, I realized it's a pretty smart dungeon crawler now. It has meaningful leveling, great loot/gear, crafting, a robust questing system and, with Atomic Bonds, it's got an end game you can actually plan for (for the most part).

Two big thumbs up on this expansion. I would call it an essential one.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Mon Oct 12, 2020 4:19 pm

Glad you're enjoying it hep. I found it particularly intriguing because I don't have many games that allow you to do open world sandbox type leveling before you decide to take on the victory condition. City of Kings and Big Trouble in Little China allow it a bit, but their time constraints feel more limiting to me than Fallout's does.

hentzau · Post by **hentzau** » Mon Oct 12, 2020 7:12 pm

I've really gotten into Roll and Write games during the lockdown, and I've been gathering lots of them to play with friends using zoom and a webcam showing the dice. While they are competitive games at their heart, each one can be played solo where you just try and beat your high score. The games we've been playing so far have been:

Railroad Ink - Roll dice with roads and railroads on them and try and create road and railroad lines that will score you points. Comes in a couple of variants, Blazing Red that adds volcanos and meteor hazards and Deep Blue that adds Rivers and Lakes.

Welcome To... - Build the perfect suburban neighborhood! Using cards that are flipped over it allows you to write a number on a street, and possibly an extra feature, like a fence or a pool (if the house is zoned for it) or invest in advertising or what have you. Really fun game, lots of terrible, terrible choices to make.

On Tour - Everyone has a map of the United States or Europe. At the start of the game, everyone has the same 4 states marked off with the same four numbers from 01 to 100. Cards are turned over showing regions to write a number in, and two 10 sided dice are rolled. You have to make two numbers with the dice, and write them in a region. If you write them in the exact state showing, you get bonus points if your route goes through that city. Only had two games of this so far, but it's a lot of fun and a bit of a brain burner.

Super Skill Pinball 4-Cade - Newest one, and the one that I keep playing solo. You are given a table and backglass, four tables in all in the box. Roll a pair of dice and choose one of them to use to fill in a box. The ball has to keep traveling down the table until it reaches the flipper area. You have to fill in a box above each flipper, and if you can, you can send the ball back up the table to another area. This one is a ton of fun. And just like playing regular pinball, you can get some good streaks going and keep the ball in play, but other times, drain city. It even has a nudge and tilt mechanic built into it. Only played one table so far, but I keep coming back to it to play (High Score so far is 154.)

Anonymous Bosch · Post by **Anonymous Bosch** » Mon Oct 12, 2020 7:54 pm

hentzau wrote: Mon Oct 12, 2020 7:12 pm I've really gotten into Roll and Write games during the lockdown, and I've been gathering lots of them to play with friends using zoom and a webcam showing the dice. While they are competitive games at their heart, each one can be played solo where you just try and beat your high score.

FWIW, I thoroughly recommend Silver & Gold when playing with others:

Distant islands, golden treasures - who hasn't dreamed of them?! You are in luck because the treasure is in your hands. You are holding Silver and Gold: pure, addictive gold by Phil Walker-Harding (Sushi Go, Imhotep, Baren Park). Players must rain X's down, rapid-fire, in the right configurations to close out island cards and hit the right bonuses before they can jump to the next card.

Silver and Gold is a game of luck, bad luck, quick manipulation, and exhilaration. You've found your fortune!

Also, you can usually find it sold fairly cheaply at most Target stores.

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Mon Oct 12, 2020 8:14 pm

hentzau wrote: Mon Oct 12, 2020 7:12 pm Super Skill Pinball 4-Cade - Newest one, and the one that I keep playing solo. You are given a table and backglass, four tables in all in the box. Roll a pair of dice and choose one of them to use to fill in a box. The ball has to keep traveling down the table until it reaches the flipper area. You have to fill in a box above each flipper, and if you can, you can send the ball back up the table to another area. This one is a ton of fun. And just like playing regular pinball, you can get some good streaks going and keep the ball in play, but other times, drain city. It even has a nudge and tilt mechanic built into it. Only played one table so far, but I keep coming back to it to play (High Score so far is 154.)

This one is definitely on my list.

AWS260 · Post by **AWS260** » Mon Oct 12, 2020 9:31 pm

Skinypupy wrote: Mon Oct 12, 2020 8:14 pm
hentzau wrote: Mon Oct 12, 2020 7:12 pm Super Skill Pinball 4-Cade - Newest one, and the one that I keep playing solo. You are given a table and backglass, four tables in all in the box. Roll a pair of dice and choose one of them to use to fill in a box. The ball has to keep traveling down the table until it reaches the flipper area. You have to fill in a box above each flipper, and if you can, you can send the ball back up the table to another area. This one is a ton of fun. And just like playing regular pinball, you can get some good streaks going and keep the ball in play, but other times, drain city. It even has a nudge and tilt mechanic built into it. Only played one table so far, but I keep coming back to it to play (High Score so far is 154.)
This one is definitely on my list.

I love the fact that the designer had two very different games published within a week of each other: Super Skill Pinball 4-cade and Versailles 1919.

hentzau · Post by **hentzau** » Tue Oct 13, 2020 2:07 am

Skinypupy wrote:
hentzau wrote: Mon Oct 12, 2020 7:12 pm Super Skill Pinball 4-Cade - Newest one, and the one that I keep playing solo. You are given a table and backglass, four tables in all in the box. Roll a pair of dice and choose one of them to use to fill in a box. The ball has to keep traveling down the table until it reaches the flipper area. You have to fill in a box above each flipper, and if you can, you can send the ball back up the table to another area. This one is a ton of fun. And just like playing regular pinball, you can get some good streaks going and keep the ball in play, but other times, drain city. It even has a nudge and tilt mechanic built into it. Only played one table so far, but I keep coming back to it to play (High Score so far is 154.)
This one is definitely on my list.

I’ve played about six games today on their beginner table, Carniball. I’m averaging about 120 a game right now. It’s simple and addictive.

(And it has a really small footprint so it’s easy to keep it out and play a ball in about 10 minutes.)

$iljanus · Post by **$iljanus** » Tue Oct 13, 2020 6:58 am

hepcat wrote:
YellowKing wrote: Thu Oct 01, 2020 9:24 am I won The Commonwealth scenario last night in FALLOUT w/ ATOMIC BONDS. Had a couple of minor rules wrong first play through which made things a little harder on myself (I recommend reading the "common rules mistakes" files for the base game from BGG, it was very helpful).

I'm playing through the Far Harbor expanded scenario (uses all the map tiles) and I'm having a blast. Atomic Bonds does "fix" this game for me. Playing it yesterday, I realized it's a pretty smart dungeon crawler now. It has meaningful leveling, great loot/gear, crafting, a robust questing system and, with Atomic Bonds, it's got an end game you can actually plan for (for the most part).

Two big thumbs up on this expansion. I would call it an essential one.

I've been waiting for Atomic Bonds to come out but forgot about it until seeing this. Placed the order last night and looking forward to getting this back on the table!

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Fri Oct 16, 2020 1:06 am

I've played through my first three games of Dungeon Alliance. The first two I played with the "Basic" deck (the generic cards that are weaker, but any character can use them) and I completed both of those games with scores of 38 and 32. The third game I used the actual character decks, and got absolutely slaughtered in the third round. Seems like playing with the actual character decks is significantly harder, primarily because there are very few options to add movement if you don't get lucky with movement items or abilities in the draft offer.

I have really enjoyed the strategic nature of it all, with it having a very similar feel to Mage Knight, but without nearly the complexity. I haven't mixed in either quests or the Champions xpac yet, those will both be on tap for the weekend.

8/10 rating so far, and we'll see how it fares with the additional content.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Fri Oct 16, 2020 8:57 am

Add in questing next time and forget about a score. I personally cannot stand solo/coop games where your goal is to simply get a high score. I like something substantial behind my end game goals, and the quest variant adds that for me. You'll find the rules for the quest variant in the supplemental rules booklet.

If you like that, then you can grab some adventure packs as that's essentially what they expand upon. If you still prefer the score only base game method, then the only things that the adventure pack will add for you is more monsters and treasures...which is actually still pretty good, now that I think about it.

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Fri Oct 16, 2020 9:07 am

hepcat wrote: Fri Oct 16, 2020 8:57 am Add in questing next time and forget about a score. I personally cannot stand solo/coop games where your goal is to simply get a high score. I like something substantial behind my end game goals, and the quest variant adds that for me. You'll find the rules for the quest variant in the supplemental rules booklet.

I'm not a fan of chasing high scores either, and was actually kinda disappointed that was the end result. Will definitely need to start mixing in quests.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Fri Oct 16, 2020 9:31 am

And at least try it once in competitive mode. It's a blast with all the kill stealing. In my last 3 player game, I pissed off my wife's friend who had built up enough to take on one of the bigger monsters...only to have me sneak through a hidden passage on my turn, pop out and put on the finishing touches to get some sweet XP off her. She wouldn't talk to me the rest of the evening, she was so mad.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Fri Oct 16, 2020 10:11 am

hepcat wrote:I personally cannot stand solo/coop games where your goal is to simply get a high score.

Hear hear! I can't stand them either. I left behind "beat your high score" about 40 years ago at the arcades.

I don't really like ones where you have to beat an AI opponent's score either, though I do own a couple. They don't get nearly the play time as the games I have that are story driven though.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Fri Oct 16, 2020 11:51 am

By the way, my first solo outing in Fallout the Boardgame with Atomic Bonds and New California ended last night in a loss. I had the goal requirements ready, but I got sidetracked by exploring vaults and didn't concentrate on the scenario goal. I lost due to the faction power track ending the game. That's on me though. It does allow for more freedom to explore, but it STILL has a main win condition that you need to at least TRY to adhere to.

It was a blast though. You can really see the components they carried over to Arkham Horror third edition in it.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Fri Oct 16, 2020 1:18 pm

It's on my short list. I have Atomic Bonds and New California, but I want to get the NC miniatures painted before I start.

I've fallen out of the board game routine in the last year or so. First when Michelle moved back in causing me to lose my gaming space, then when the pandemic hit and shortly thereafter when my tabletop group imploded. I'm trying to get back into that routine now.