Octopus Overlords

I've currently got my eye on this one:

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I've found I really enjoy these tableau/engine builders. I absolutely love Wingspan, and have really enjoyed playing the Ark Nova demo on TTS. This one looks similar to Ark Nova in style/theme, but also has a co-op mode built in which means I could have a chance of my game group giving it a shot. Also it's dirt cheap for a KS game, and I like their KS philosophy - no stretch goals, it is what it is, but some nice component upgrades if you back it instead of waiting for retail.

YellowKing wrote: Thu Feb 24, 2022 12:15 pm I've found I really enjoy these tableau/engine builders.

Have you played 51st State by Ignacy Trzewiczek?

Smoove_B wrote:Have you played 51st State by Ignacy Trzewiczek?

Not yet but I've always had it on my radar ever since Martin G from Solosaurus called it one of his favorite solo games. Plus I'm a fan of Ignacy.

It's not my bag and I'm no expert, but I do know people seemingly *love* the engine building in the game. I wanted to like it - theme is off the charts - but it's just not my thing.

I started playing 51st State back in its first incarnation when it was fiddly, complicated and took about 30 to 45 minutes to explain to newcomers. And I loved it.

Then Ignacy made Imperial Settlers based on much of the mechanics of 51st State, but simpler. I enjoyed that, but it wasn't the same thing.

Then 51st State Master Edition came out and it was a hybrid of the original game and Imperial Settlers. While I miss the original, I probably would never go back to it simply because it's so tough to relearn/teach. And the Master Edition (which is now becoming the Ultimate Edition) occupies a place between the complexity of the original 51st State and the simpler Imperial Settlers.

Let's put it this way: I'm going to buy this game for the third time now. I have the original, the master and I'm buying into the ultimate edition now. I could get the upgrade pack, but after doing the add ons I would need to get everything that's in the ultimate edition, I realized it was only 10 bucks more to get it all in one box instead of trying to piece it together from upgrades.

Although you may find yourself wanting to take a shower after you realize you've just taken over a grade school to create a labor force for the first time.

Now that was just a quality strategic move to turn the school into a workforce. I was wondering if you would break down on 51st State.

I've only played a few games of Unsettled, but I'm all in on the additional planet content. A "shared not-dying experience."

I liked Unsettled. I just need to read the rules before we play again. I’d also like to play it more regularly due to its narrative nature. Sporadic game days are what killed Oath and King’s Dilemma for me. You spend too much time in between games it becomes difficult to remember what the heck happened last time. One offs you don’t have that issue though.

hepcat wrote: Thu Feb 24, 2022 9:55 pm I liked Unsettled. I just need to read the rules before we play again. I’d also like to play it more regularly due to its narrative nature. Sporadic game days are what killed Oath and King’s Dilemma for me. You spend too much time in between games it becomes difficult to remember what the heck happened last time. One offs you don’t have that issue though.

I thought Unsettled was more optimization puzzle rather than narrative driven?

I could have sworn there was an ongoing story the last time we played.

I'll get to play Unsettled for free as one of our game group went all-in on it. Looking forward to it. It was getting a lot of love in some of my boardgame FB groups even before the new KS.

I wound up backing EARTH after watching Quackalope's solo playthrough and some other impression videos. I also found a great video comparing it to Wingspan and Ark Nova, which is exactly what I needed. From that I gathered that it sits sweetly between those two games in terms of heaviness and length, which sounds perfect.

Also I added the playmat for hepcat.

hepcat wrote: Fri Feb 25, 2022 7:53 am I could have sworn there was an ongoing story the last time we played.

I honestly don't know - I passed on this the first time and I'm trying to decide whether I'm going to pass again. My group is an easy sell on narrative games. We do like Pandemic style coop optimization puzzle games - I just can't decide if *this* one is a fit.

There’s a story in Unsettled that each planet puzzle but no continuing narrative. Go to Planet X, start fixing some issue then complications change the puzzle, so solve it and do something to win before time runs out.

Zarathud wrote: Fri Feb 25, 2022 7:29 pm There’s a story in Unsettled that each planet puzzle but no continuing narrative. Go to Planet X, start fixing some issue then complications change the puzzle, so solve it and do something to win before time runs out.

I may be in the minority but I found Unsettled severely underwhelming. A friend pledged for it in the first Kickstarter. We played it with four about a month ago and I would never want to play it with four people again. It is a co-op game in the mold of there is only one right move on each players turn. Straying from the optimal course just means that you lose the game, so if you have a problem with quarterbacking, you will hate this game. As for the story, it's there in so much as flavor text is concerned but I never felt like it mattered. The writing is pretty solid for the most part but it never interacts with the gameplay, at least not in the planets we played. I tried to get into the story but no one else cared and when we did the 2nd planet we had already stopped reading it altogether.

So they just announced that Frosthaven (the follow up to Gloomhaven) has a new MSRP of 250 bucks due to the game growing way beyond the original scope, and due to worldwide shipping issues. Thankfully those of us that backed it are locked in at the kickstarter price, which was 100 bucks.

So yeah....HUGE friggin' savings if you backed this one.

I did.

I’m almost tempted to sell my copy once I get it for twice what I paid for it…or more.

…but I won’t. I’ll play it. I don’t have that kind of self control.

But man, is this an indication that we’re soon to see games routinely being sold for 200 bucks or more? I remember when the hundred dollar ceiling was considered verboten.

Fortunately my gaming group buddy KS Frosthaven so I'll play for free.

I must admit, however, that the prospect of diving into that one is both exciting and terrifying. It took us over a year of weekly gaming sessions to get through Gloomhaven and Forgotten Circles. With Frosthaven, we could very well be looking at an exclusive 18-24 month commitment.

Per the email update, the price increase is due to 1) including a lot more things (cards, monsters, scenarios, storage space, etc.) than originally planned and 2) shipping is *much* more expensive now than when the Kickstarter campaign was live.

Still, $250 is bonkers. But I’m sure they’ve done research to know that they’ll still sell at that price.

The thing is, I don’t believe the shipping burden will be the same with retail sales. They usually sell through distributors, I believe. And they normally have pretty extensive shipping networks because they’re….well….distributors.

Sorry - I meant the freight shipping from the manufacturing factories in China to distributors.

Would the distributors pay that, or would the maker? The first one was such a sellout hit that I would think retailers are lining up to get the sequel in their stores.

But I may be completely wrong. I’ve not spent any time on that side of things. Well….any side, to be honest.

hepcat wrote: Sun Mar 13, 2022 8:02 pm Would the distributors pay that, or would the maker?

I believe that producers pay the shipping from manufacturer to distribution warehouses. Then retailers buy lots from the distributors. So the costs of freight get absorbed into the manufacturing/production costs and passed on to the consumer.

At least that seems to be how this works for Kickstarter projects.

Just got my shipping notice for AuZtralia Big Box. I have the core game, but this will include the two new expansions and a new box big enough to hold all of the content. The big box includes organizing trays which is fantastic, because the original game's box was so bad I wound up making my own foamboard insert.

Really looking forward to this one. AuZtralia is the game that broke me into more euro-style gaming, and led to purchases of both Dune: Imperium and Lost Ruins of Arnak which I probably would not have touched beforehand. The TaZmania expansion includes a solo campaign, which, along with the new box, was really what pushed me over the edge into backing this one.

I just got Dead Reckoning - from AEG. No notification it had shipped or anything, it just showed up on my doorstep today.

YellowKing wrote: Tue Mar 15, 2022 1:22 pm Just got my shipping notice for AuZtralia Big Box. I have the core game, but this will include the two new expansions a new box big enough to hold all of the content. The big box includes organizing trays which is fantastic, because the original game's box was so bad I wound up making my own foamboard insert.

Really looking forward to this one. AuZtralia is the game that broke me into more euro-style gaming, and led to purchases of both Dune: Imperium and Lost Ruins of Arnak which I probably would not have touched beforehand. The TaZmania expansion includes a solo campaign, which, along with the new box, was really what pushed me over the edge into backing this one.

Wow! I really wish I had kept my pledge. They ended up getting this out much earlier than I would have thought.

RMC wrote: Tue Mar 15, 2022 2:23 pm I just got Dead Reckoning - from AEG. No notification it had shipped or anything, it just showed up on my doorstep today.

Neat, that means mine should be arriving soon too!

I'm weak. Listened to Boardgameco's review after a long day at the office, and bought into Hamlet: The Village Building Game. How can you resist Donkey Meeples?

If it's as fun as Townsfolk Tussle, I'd play. Speaking of which....

huh...

I…wait…what?

Guess it’s time for me to create my dream rpg based on the music of Tiny Tim.

DM: "You see a guitar-ilisk in front of you. He looks hungry. What do you do?"

Player: "Be aggressive! B-E Aggressive!"

DM <smiling>: "Epic."

I've always wanted to create an RPG based on rogue CPAs.

Make an amortization role. If you fail, you owe the beholder last year's revenue minus social security withholdings.

hepcat wrote: Thu Mar 17, 2022 9:15 am I've always wanted to create an RPG based on rogue CPAs.

Make an amortization role. If you fail, you owe the beholder last year's revenue minus social security withholdings.

Would you have to calculate the present Value of the dollar today vs teh future value to determine if you hit or not?

I've got this, Bob Linderfell said as he drew his +1 Vorpal Slide Rule

RMC wrote: Tue Mar 15, 2022 2:23 pm I just got Dead Reckoning - from AEG. No notification it had shipped or anything, it just showed up on my doorstep today.

Did you do the All In or the All Gameplay level?

hepcat wrote: Thu Mar 17, 2022 11:09 am

RMC wrote: Tue Mar 15, 2022 2:23 pm I just got Dead Reckoning - from AEG. No notification it had shipped or anything, it just showed up on my doorstep today.

Did you do the All In or the All Gameplay level?

All in. So all the little bits. I am a sucker for pirate stuff.

I did the All Gameplay so I wonder if they're shipping the All In first, and then the others afterwards.

My biggest Kickstarter project to date - Conan by Monolith - is finally in the 'waiting for the damned email' state. This will be followed by the 'swear about UPS/Fedex' state, followed by the 'sitting on a shelf' state.