Octopus Overlords

Smoove_B wrote:It really was a fun experience and being able to play with the designer while he was taking notes on what we were doing was cool as hell - almost like having developer's commentary enabled in a video game. I think that it's lite enough that it'll hit the table (both solo and with others) with increased frequency. I'm definitely excited to get my copy as well.

Also: I'm a backer and did not get notification about a shipping label, so bully for you.

I like that it's a lite game. I own all sorts of games that require a bit of set up which I enjoy but there are many times where I just want to jump in and play something. And I'm a big sucker for the post-apocalypse.

It was really quick to play and figure out. Between the various characters and the options for exactly what type of apocalypse you're trying to survive, the amount of game play from the core set felt like a really good deal.

So, the Kickstarter says Maximum Apocalypse is for "1-6 players" but the preorder store page says it's for "2-6 players". So is there really solo play?

Is there a Solo or Solitaire Mode?

Yes we have a solitaire / solo variant in the rulebook. Basically, you choose two survivors and then mash together their decks so that you can play from one hand and deck. This makes playing the game so much easier and faster and also creates some cool hybrid classes. Special Thanks to fellow game designer, Sam Bailey, for giving me the ideas behind this mode!

I don't remember if there is an ability to also just play two different characters as a solo player above and beyond the official variant created. When we were playing, I seem to remember that you're never discussing exactly what cards you have in your hand with other players, just a general "I can help" or "I have the ability to address that on my turn..." table talk.

Cool, thanks for that.

hentzau wrote: Tue Jan 09, 2018 11:26 am

hepcat wrote: Tue Jan 09, 2018 11:07 am Hey Hentzau, go ahead and grab this one so I can play it.

Western Legends is an open-world sandbox tabletop adventure for 2-6 players set in the American Wild West designed by talented newcomer Hervé Lemaître. Players assume the roles of historical figures of the era, earning their legendary status in a variety of ways. Gamble, drive cattle, prospect for gold, rob the bank, fight bandits, pursue stories, become an outlaw, keep the peace... the possibilities are darn near endless. How will you build your legend?

Was already eyeing it.

I was initially worried about the number of fiddly bits but after watching the play through saw that there weren't that many to keep track of. The General Store holder was a nice touch. When I saw that the proposed release date was Aug 2018 I said "ok, that's my birthday gift to myself." I'm all in.

To paraphrase AWS260: Because it's 2018.

I've got a few backed projects pending (DinoGenics!), but I don't see myself backing much, if anything, in 2018.

On the board game front, I'd rather focus on diving deeper into the very good games already on my shelf.

On the video game front, I'd rather just wait until a game releases, or at least hits early access.

On the "other stuff" front, who knows. In the past, I've backed a theatrical production on the waters of our local Superfund site, and my wife regularly backs Calamityware's projects. So I suppose something could come up.

The only thing I have my sights set on is the Aeon's End Legacy game that is supposed to happen this year. Aeon's End was my big pickup last year (sorry Hunt for the Ring) and I am really interested to see what they do with the Legacy format (and my son is also excited about it, which excites me even more). Apparently when you are done, the mages you build up in the legacy game can be used with the regular game.

Since I'm out of room on my shelves, I'm going to be cutting way back on the Kickstarters this year. Example: Modiphus is doing a Kickstarter for their new John Carter RPG, a genre of fiction that I dearly love. But I'm not joining the Kickstarter, I will wait for the actual release of the product. Same thing for their Fallout minis game, I am avoiding that one too. I do have a few items I'm waiting for fulfillment on though.

I'm not big into westerns but Western Legends looks fun. Anytime I hear about sandbox style games they immediately pique my interest but most seem to be either huge time sinks and/or have a million components and interlocking systems that make them hard to teach new players. Early impressions from play-testers also sounds promising so I'm in.

Fishbelly wrote: Mon Dec 11, 2017 9:34 pm Holy jeebus, Gloomhaven is freaking intimidating just to sort out, let alone begin playing. I have no idea how folks are playing this game with baggies and the like. I never buy game inserts, but if I hadn't picked up the Broken Token insert I'm not sure how I'd ever organize all these bits.

I decided to pop for one and my BT organizer for Gloomhaven arrived yesterday. Now I just need to make the time to organize the organizer...

I went with the Y.A.S.S. option. Took a while, but I got everything in. I liked being able to print labels for the plano storage boxes. Well... except for discovering that somewhere along the way I misplaced a couple of the tokens. That has me scratching my head.

I actually ended up picking up more plano boxes in an effort to get all my Shadows of Brimstone stored "somewhat reasonably". And then I opened the town expansion. That screws everything up. But I'm thinking of leaving it alone in it's box and just getting everything else stored. Though not cleanly. I ended up with an extra plano box that is loose.

Jeebus these games love their tokens....

Yeah, I absolutely had to back Western Legends. I've really been trying to stop (and I've certainly slowed down KS backing), but this just looked too damn good.

I've only backed one Kickstarter in my life, but Western Legends may be the second. I absolutely love Westerns and miniatures. Put them both together and you just need to SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY.

Well crap, I don't want to be the only kid in school without one. I guess I'm in too.

As long as there's no solo rules I should be able to easily resist (I hope there isn't one. My poor wallet)

No, I don't think it would be possible to solo the game from what I've seen. There are special two player rules that include an AI system for "The Man in Black", but I think the game's sweet spot is 3-4 players.

The card art and game board looks really nice and has that Old West flavor. I think it would be a good addition to someone's collection.

reprint kickstarters are usually a pretty good bet. For anyone who is a Phil Eklund fan there is a kickstarter currently for Neanderthal & Greenland up on kickstarter. Both have been interesting to me for a while and I have enjoyed the thought behind Eklund's games. You can get either game separately or both of them together with this kickstarter. 2 games for $49... hard to beat. Anyways I'm in for both as these games are hard to find after initial printing.

Now that kickstarter ticks me off. I waited patiently to get a copy of the 2nd edition of Greenland, then a copy of Neanderthal when it released. Now there’s new editions with some changes I’d like...but I have to buy them all over again because there’s no upgrade kit available. This is one of the dangers of Kickstarter for consumers. There seems to always be a better edition just around the corner.

hepcat wrote:Now that kickstarter ticks me off. I waited patiently to get a copy of the 2nd edition of Greenland, then a copy of Neanderthal when it released. Now there’s new editions with some changes I’d like...but I have to buy them all over again because there’s no upgrade kit available. This is one of the dangers of Kickstarter for consumers. There seems to always be a better edition just around the corner.

It's a complaint about eklund games I've heard before too. I get it being frustrating. But I also want them...

Well, let’s put it this way, I dropped my western legends pledge and backed these two. I’m annoyed, but the games are absolutely fantastic. Even solo.

I think I’ll give my older copies to one of the Chicago gang. Of course, I want to see them Star Trek arena fight for them. I’ll get Zarathud to dress like the woman in the silver mini dress. I mean, he has to feel bad he’s only worn it that one time.

I've been tempted multiple times my Western legends but... I don't like using ai at 2 players and I am much more picky about buying games that don't inherently support 2 players. I just hope I get to play someone else's eventually.

And coincidentally, my copy of Eklund's Bios Genesis 2nd edition just arrived.

He's become enamored of small box/big concept games, it seems. I think the Pax series started it.

Edit: Good God, this is his densest "small box" game yet, I believe. My head is already spinning...and I only read the game overview page. Sheesh. Not sure if this one will make it to the table, but I'll try it solo once at least...unless my head explodes while reading the rule book further.

After some more reading I'm off the Western Legends train as well. I'm sure I'll pick it up eventually, but there's no way in hell I'm getting a 3-4 player game to the table this year. May as well wait until it hits retail or a second printing.

Plus with a GenCon trip being increasingly likely this year, I need to save some budget for that.

Book your hotel now. Also, plan on getting drunk with Harkonis and I at least one night.

hepcat wrote:Book your hotel now. Also, plan on getting drunk with Harkonis and I at least one night.

You could swing by and pick me up on the way down you know... I would even provide a pack of West Lafayette microbrew (which may or may not be an incentive, too early to tell).

coopasonic wrote: Thu Dec 07, 2017 5:03 pm No worries. It's frustrating, but not on you. I was excited for the table for a long time, now I am just kind of dreading it and I am not sure why. I assume I will get a table eventually. I believe they have halted shipments for the kickstarter until after christmas because shippers raise rates for the holiday.

I still have no notice from boardgametables.com, but UPS My Choice shows 3 packages (45lb, 45lb and 3.5lb) from funagain arriving on friday and two more (87.5 lb, 6lb) on monday, plus a 6th package (10lb) not yet in transit. so I guess I am getting a table after all!

Well, I said I was going to cut back, but I'm a sucker for Tiny Epic games.

Why don't you come down this year?

hentzau wrote: Wed Jan 17, 2018 12:06 pm Well, I said I was going to cut back, but I'm a sucker for Tiny Epic games.

Meh.

In my experience, the only worthwhile title from Tiny Epic Games has thus far been Tiny Epic Galaxies (along with its expansion). In comparison, the other titles have been rather lacklustre in one way or t'other. Alas, the zombie theme also strikes me as awfully prosaic nowadays. Still, if the game holds up and reviews well, I'd consider buying a retail version.

Anyone for Dead of Winter + Aliens (Nemesis)?

hepcat wrote:Why don't you come down this year?

I probably will, given how close I live. That said, I am now working a normal 9-5 schedule every weekday, so I may have to plan a vacation day.

Question about Biogenesis and Megafauna - I missed the KS, so how can I order these? Is this only through Sierra Madre? Will his be like High Frontier and basically barely hit retail?

baelthazar wrote:

hepcat wrote:Why don't you come down this year?

I probably will, given how close I live. That said, I am now working a normal 9-5 schedule every weekday, so I may have to plan a vacation day.

Question about Biogenesis and Megafauna - I missed the KS, so how can I order these? Is this only through Sierra Madre? Will his be like High Frontier and basically barely hit retail?

I believe so which is why I'm contemplating ordering them.

If I want Epic, I want Zombicide.

I received my miniatures for Vast: Crystal Caverns, a very nice update pack with rules/player board/cards, and the 3 new advanced roles which have 2 alternative player boards. Very nice, and it makes up for being so late.

My friend just Kickstarted his first game, a two player game of memory, strategy, and mind-reading called Project ALPACA. I've played the beta a few times and it was unusually fun for a two-player card game. If you're into that sort of thing, you should check it out.

Lordnine wrote: Wed Jan 17, 2018 1:29 pm Anyone for Dead of Winter + Aliens (Nemesis)?

So... yeah. I backed it. I'm not a fan of the hidden traitor mechanic, but it looks like they are committed to a fully co-op version. And since I'm way too lazy to actually learn how to paint (and take the time to do it), I may get their paint job as well.

Zarathud wrote:If I want Epic, I want Zombicide.

I received my miniatures for Vast: Crystal Caverns, a very nice update pack with rules/player board/cards, and the 3 new advanced roles which have 2 alternative player boards. Very nice, and it makes up for being so late.

Yeah I'm torn on this. I actually haven't liked the tiny epic games all that much... I find them ok but not amazing. Tiny epic galaxies has been good but I never have interest in playing it. Tiny epic kingdoms is the one I've actually enjoyed the most. Tiny epic Western I actually got rid of because I didn't like it. And tiny epic quest I haven't even bothered to open yet. I guess my problem is they are fine but not exciting.

But I do kind of like idea of this zombie game. But... I also already own so much zombicide when I need my fix. I'll watch it. Maybe pick it up. But leaning towards no.

TheMix wrote: Thu Jan 18, 2018 4:39 pm

Lordnine wrote: Wed Jan 17, 2018 1:29 pm Anyone for Dead of Winter + Aliens (Nemesis)?

So... yeah. I backed it. I'm not a fan of the hidden traitor mechanic, but it looks like they are committed to a fully co-op version. And since I'm way too lazy to actually learn how to paint (and take the time to do it), I may get their paint job as well.

Huh, the hidden traitor/goals is what really drew me to it. I have a problem with pure co-ops because they almost always fall prey to the Alpha gamer/group think problem, which kills the games for me. I like co-ops where something prevents players from always coming up with the "best solution" to a problem. Based on the gameplay I’ve seen, it makes me think it might be more of the game I want Deep Madness to be. That one might turn out good as well but I have to admit, it’s one I backed almost entirely on the theme.