Octopus Overlords

AWS260 wrote: Tue Nov 24, 2020 12:34 pm I love Nemo's War -- so much that I have no desire to get any expansions. The core game is wonderful, I don't need more!

Indeed, the base game is absolutely rock solid.

The expansions are all fairly small relative to the base game and while they do add interesting options and choices in how to play, the base game certainly provides a full and complete experience on its own. So the expansions are mostly optional chrome that tend to contribute more paths to victory or perhaps add more challenging and interesting ones. Although I must admit, I generally always prefer to play with the additional Nautilus Upgrades expansion included, because who doesn't want more upgrades to choose from?

Oh, dammit. I can't afford this.

...

Does it fit on a 32x32 inch table?

Blackhawk wrote: Tue Nov 24, 2020 1:20 pm Oh, dammit. I can't afford this.

...

Does it fit on a 32x32 inch table?

Yes, absolutely.

Most importantly, if you do get the game, don't be Smoove-ish; read a decent translation of the original '20,000 Leagues Under the Seas' prior to playing (i.e. avoid the notorious Mercier translation) and you'll have a blast with it. Also, be sure to check out the Nemo's War Tips and Advice thread, because some video playthroughs do get things wrong (e.g. I remember the Lines' tutorial video in particular botched perhaps the most crucial rule in the game, i.e. ship placement).

I've followed it, but I don't think I'll be able to back. Not this close to Christmas. I'm trying to pull off a special gift for the whole family, and it is really in question as to whether I'll be able to (I'm trying to replace our TV that's more than a decade old and having issues.)

The best thing about the game is that literally everything you need to know to play is printed on the game board.

It's not enough by itself to teach you the game, but as a way to keep you from having to flip through the rulebook every time you are trying to remember phases, scoring, etc. it is an incredible resource.

Backed immediately. Great game, but I also want to support VPG.

I saw this one referred to as an alternative to the Game of Life. I've always loved this type of theme, both in video games and board games. It looks like a really fun worker placement where the theme really tightly integrates. I don't play a lot of competitive stuff, but this one is right up my alley.

Unfortunately we in the US won't be getting it until after the first of the year. So no Christmas tainting for us.

...wait...let me rephrase that...

I could have sworn I checked the box to have all my Ehterfields stuff mailed at the same time but apparently not. I received a largish box this morning with I am guessing the base game. Guessing it weighs a good 20ish pounds. Have not opened it yet, planning to wait until Christmas week. Now if my order of Dice Thrones Adventures would just show up it would make this a truly happy holiday.

I finally received my Scale75 Instant Colors pledge. Took just under a month to get here from Spain.

I haven't had a chance to try them out yet, but I did come across these pics showing how they appear against different primer colors:

Tao wrote: Mon Dec 07, 2020 2:38 am I could have sworn I checked the box to have all my Ehterfields stuff mailed at the same time but apparently not. I received a largish box this morning with I am guessing the base game. Guessing it weighs a good 20ish pounds. Have not opened it yet, planning to wait until Christmas week. Now if my order of Dice Thrones Adventures would just show up it would make this a truly happy holiday.

I opened mine that arrived yesterday. Looks like a lot of fun but I worry it will be a long time before I get a chance to play it with with lockdown in effect. The worst thing is a couple people from my regular gaming group have moved away since this whole thing started.

I've been trying for two weeks to get through the manual; I cannot. I'm about to give up and spoiler the hell out of things and try to watch a tutorial on Youtube. I feel like a dummy because everyone is raving about how great Etherfields is, but the manual is...dense.

That is a common problem with all Awaken Realms games. I actually thought Etherfields was slightly better than normal.

I think the main issue is that my style of learning is to read the manual front to back for all games. This, of course, causes me problems with most war games and apparently Etherfields. Instead, some games expect you to just follow the setup instructions and start playing, following the in-game cues and just flipping into the manual when you have questions. That goes against how I do things, so resistance is high. I can appreciate that I'm likely part of the problem here, but if they just made a smaller ~4 page "read this first" guide, I think I would have felt better.

Sooooo....how's ALTAR QUEST holding up for everyone? Blacklist is going to be selling it until supplies run out on their website tomorrow, and wondering if I should take the plunge or not bother.

I like it the more I play it. But I keep getting my ass kicked.

I’ve got about 8 games under my belt (just finished my latest game about 2 hours ago, as a matter of fact) at this point and I still can’t decide which character I like most. They’re all very different, just like with Street Masters.

The only thing I’m not a big fan of is the timer mechanic surrounding the villain’s appearance. I know why they did it, but it just amps up the end game and turns it into a rush of enemies if you’re not careful.

In short.....I recommend it, I love it, but I also think it can be punishingly difficult. At least until you wrap your mind around the need to do as many feats, reactions and exhausts as you possibly can each turn.

I've played twelve games and I still love it. I do find that difficulty level can be very wide, depending on your combination of heroes, quest, altar, villain, and threat. Some combinations have been very easy, where we never felt very threatened. But we've also lost a couple where we got crushed. But I love figuring out how to best use altar dice and my own rolls plus card powers and everything else. Very enjoyable.

I'm not nearly as well-played as others, but I really like it. The first game is going to be a slog, just because you need to spend time learning every single faction/deck and what happens each round. If you're the kind of player that wants to maximize randomness every single game, then every game is going to be a learning curve. However, my preferred way is to keep all the variables the same and just experiment with the character choices - the same way I play Street Masters. In this way you really speed up all the turns because you know the behaviors of the enemies and the general effects of the environment each round.

Either way, solo games are going to take 60-90 minutes once you get it down. If you are going to play with someone else, I'd assume closer to 3 hours. I cannot imagine playing this with more than 2 people unless everyone knows the game mechanics and is familiar with their character. Otherwise every turn is going to really drag out.

I think it's more focused and thematically tighter than Brook City. It's not as fast as Street Masters but the extra random mechanic of the rhune dice each round really adds to the decision matrix. I also really like the miniatures and all the room gear/decorations/furniture that's included. If you like Street Masters and want something that tilts into RPG mechanics, then this is what you're looking for.

I received my Dice Throne Legendary Collector pledge and there was a surprise .

I made an unboxing video:

https://youtu.be/R0zX-PiKfNY

If you don't want to watch it and just want the spoiler:

Oh, that awkward silence as you stare, and think, and think, and stare.

I'm glad that they're fixing it, though!

Geez, that's nuts. I was really hoping to get my S1 Re-rolled by year end, but now that I know people are getting 3, I guess I'll need to wait.

I really like Dice Throne. I bailed on the adventure game but I'm not opposed to reconsidering it if I hear good things.

I bought the original Dice Thrones box at a store and even it had issues (i had two of the pyro game mats and none of the paladin ). I had to write the maker directly...then he asked if I could ship the duplicate I had back to him. And he "let" me pay for the shipping.

I wasn't mad, to be honest. But I was a little surprised. You'd think now that he's got a popular product that he'd hire some help though.

Thanks for the Altar Quest replies everyone. I wound up passing. Would have been $150 shipped which isn't terrible for the core box and stretch goals, but I've still got Core Space AND Hellboy to run through. With two games in the pipeline and likely some arriving as Christmas presents, it was a bit tough to justify. Maybe if they do a retail version ala Street Masters down the road I'll pick it up, or I'll wait for the inevitable 2nd printing KS run.

You've got more than enough games to occupy your time, it sounds like.

YellowKing wrote: Wed Dec 16, 2020 3:22 pm Thanks for the Altar Quest replies everyone. I wound up passing. Would have been $150 shipped which isn't terrible for the core box and stretch goals, but I've still got Core Space AND Hellboy to run through. With two games in the pipeline and likely some arriving as Christmas presents, it was a bit tough to justify. Maybe if they do a retail version ala Street Masters down the road I'll pick it up, or I'll wait for the inevitable 2nd printing KS run.

How are you feeling about Hellboy? My FLGS has a copy and an expansion and I keep eyeing it, but much like you, I have several things in the pipelines plus several games hitting the table regularly, so I don't *need* it. But I'd be interested in figuring out whether it would hit my sweet spot.

Maleficent wrote:How are you feeling about Hellboy?

Unfortunately I don't know yet. I've been trying to get all the minis painted before jumping in. Work's been crazy so I haven't been in a big rush to get it to the table.

However, I was surprised to see it popping up on a lot of "favorites played in 2020" lists in my Facebook Solo Gamers group. Most people there really seem to like it.

If you have any love for the comics or even the original movie (can't comment on the remake), it's a no-brainer. The miniatures are extremely well sculpted and the game components really capture the feel of the comic art style. The game play isn't ground breaking, but it was something I enjoyed - not too heavy and not too lite. Basically you have a dice pool you're playing from that you need to decide spend now or save later knowing something bigger and worse is coming. My only issue was that as a non KS backer there's so much more you miss out on by not having all the KS related materials. If that doesn't matter to you and you're comfortable just getting core retail stuff, then I do recommend it. I'm kinda hoping there's going to be a KS reprint, but I haven't really heard anything.

Not on KS (so if you've vowed to stop backing KS projects, this is a technical exception), but Awaken Realms has launched ISS Vanguard on GameFound:

SS Vanguard is 1-4 players co-op campaign Board Game experience. Players are controlling 4 different, asymmetric sections (security, recon, science, engineering) onboard ship ISS Vanguard. Base gameplay is divided into landing on planets and discovering its secrets and managing the ship in between missions, where you can recruit new crew members, research materials, produce new equipment, landers and ship modules. You can expect a lot of epic stories, hard gameplay decisions, some real sacrifices and consequences of your decisions!

Think of it like a mix of 7th Continent and Mass Effect - you have a crew, you explore space and planets, you upgrade abilities and gear - all kinds of stuff going on. Lots of optional miniatures involved, but $99 for a core pledge + stretch goals. Initially I wasn't interested, but now I am watching.

Yeah, I'm really interested in it as well. Technically I could swing it after passing on Townsfolk Tussle and Freedom Five, but I need to watch some playthroughs first.

I've come to like both BoardGameCo and the Quackalope - our observations/likes really overlap. In particular for the Quakalope he really focuses on story/narrative, which is my #1 reason for playing a solo game.

I also really like Boardgameco and his rambling.

End-of-the-year pending Kickstarter status check:

Categorickell card game (est. January, but there hasn't been an update since October so who knows)
LAAB "art newspaper" (est. Jan-Feb)
Oath board game (est. March-April)
The Transcontinental board game (est. late summer)
Glorantha: The Gods War board game (est. late '21)

Only have two:

Crokinole board - originally slated for November, got pushed to January due to COVID. However, very confident it will make Jan.

Middara - this one was set for Q3 2020 but got pushed again and again. Now they're locked on February, but I don't see any reason they shouldn't make that date based on the updates.

I'm still on the fence about FREEDOM FIVE, even though I know it's hitting retail. It feels like one of those games I'll regret not getting the minis version. I tossed in a few bucks to keep my options open, so I'll decide when the Pledge Manager opens next month.

I am here to make you all feel better about yourselves. Waiting on...

Sons of Faeriell
Feed the Kraken
The Warp
ENDLESS WINTER
Campaign Trail: Second Edition and Green Party Expansion
Windward (Expansion & Big Box)
High Rise: The UltraPlastic Edition
The Thing - The Boardgame
Rurik: Stone & Blade
Daimyo - Rebirth of the Empire
Turris
Perseverance: Castaway Chronicles
Intrepid
The Age of Atlantis
Nemesis Lockdown
Kemet: Blood And Sand
Sheol Board Game
Excavation Earth -This one should be delivering soon.
Ankh: Gods of Egypt
� Aquanauts - Discover the Deep �
Stars of Akarios
Steamwatchers
WHO GOES THERE? 2nd Edition
Conan: the Conqueror - Adventure Mode Expansion
D.E.I. - Divide et Impera
Foundations of Rome
Divinity Original Sin the Board Game
Titan
Beyond Humanity: Colonies
Sleeping Gods
Company of Heroes Board Game
Tsukuyumi: Full Moon Down
Cthulhu Wars: CATaclysm
Shadow Tactics - the Board Game
Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon
Solomon Kane

Lordnine - wow! I actually do feel better now about my KS.

Dice Throne Adventures/ Season One Rerolled
Batman: The Animated Series Adventures
Sanctuary: Keepers Era
Etherfields - Wave 2
Frosthaven
Daimyo: The Rebirth of The Empire
Uprising: Curse of The Last Emperor
Twisted Fables
Street Masters: Tide of The Dragon
Dungeon Universalis
Freedom Five
Scale75 Instant Colors
Scale75 MiniPedia

I have a few KS and now Gamefound pledges cooking but nowhere near that many! Thanks for posting!

Of course it's a slippery slope since I can look at your lists and think "I don't have nearly as many pledges so what's one more...?"

I've mostly been a good boy with a couple major slips but I'm in recovery again.

Crack The Code - Mar 2021
Final Girl - May 2021
Steampunk Rally Fusion - Aug 2020 (Est late Feb 2021 Fulfillment)
Burgle Bros 2: The Casino Capers - May 2020 (On the Boat End of Dec 2020 - Feb 2021 fulfillment?)

I'm at Lordnine levels of backing, though in fairness so many of them are late and allegedly being shipped in the next 60 days. I've cut down considerably but I have a backing-backlog that needs to clear. I'm at the point where my KS spreadsheet is organized into active projects, late with no specified shipping date, and 2nd or 3rd wave materials coming.

I've really toned it down this year. A couple of miniature painting campaigns, and most of the rest was expansions/follow-ups to stuff I already have, save for the Level Up.