OO Boardgamers, what did you play this weekend?

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Thu Feb 12, 2015 2:12 pm

This is a 3 day weekend coming up for me and most of my fellow Chicago gamers are busy. So I do believe I'm going to tackle one of the later scenarios of Navajo Wars. Game is already set up on my kitchen table and ready to go.

But what other solo game should I play this weekend?

My main choices:

Darkest Night with all the expansions
Pathfinder ACG (still trying to finish the first base set so I can go on to the next one)
Cuba Libre
Robinson Crusoe with the Darwin campaign
Mage Knight
More Navajo Wars
Tiddlywinks

TheMix · Post by **TheMix** » Thu Feb 12, 2015 2:26 pm

Did you pick up Tabletop Simulator?

Tao and I have been playing Sentinels of the Multiverse a bunch lately. We've been thinking of tackling something more difficult.

Point being that there might be non-solo options if you are interested.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Thu Feb 12, 2015 2:44 pm

Actually I do have Tabletop Simulator. Thanks for reminding me! I should see about getting a game of Twilight Struggle or Greenland going this weekend.

Next weekend we go back into the mines of Brimstone. It's been too long since I've played.

TheMix · Post by **TheMix** » Thu Feb 12, 2015 2:54 pm

Shadows of Brimstone is the one that I've been eyeing. I'd have to dig out my manuals, and probably get some character sheets printed up for keeping track of stuff, but I did play around briefly with the setup. I think the biggest hurdle will be getting over the need for the tiles to line up perfectly.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Thu Feb 12, 2015 2:59 pm

They do line up pretty well. At least enough that I'm not bothered by them in the least.

I was looking over the community made stuff for the game on BGG last night and I was pleased to find 7 pages full of material. Someone even created a full village for the Swamps of Jongo that adventurers can visit after a scenario.

I really think SoB is going to have legs. Especially when the expansions start hitting stores.

edit: oh wait, you're talking about the Tabletop Simulator version, aren't you?

hentzau · Post by **hentzau** » Thu Feb 12, 2015 3:11 pm

Hep, you should give a look at the HexCrawl variant they've been working on for SOB.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Thu Feb 12, 2015 3:13 pm

Oh, suh-weet! Thanks!

p.s. you still taking a pass on the Saturday after next for SoB? Or did I forget to invite you? If the latter, you're invited.

hentzau · Post by **hentzau** » Thu Feb 12, 2015 3:49 pm

Depends on when. I'm busy with Boy Scouts until around 2...

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Thu Feb 12, 2015 3:57 pm

Sending you an email so we don't clutter up this thread.

Chaz · Post by **Chaz** » Thu Feb 12, 2015 4:01 pm

I'm subscribed to SO MANY GAMES on Tabletop Sim. I really need to read some of the rules so I can try them out.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Thu Feb 12, 2015 4:39 pm

I've been playing around with the basic controls as that's where the difficulty lies for me. The games I've added, I mostly know already. But it's the nuance of how to distribute cards, tokens, etc. that's taking me a little time. Thankfully they keep updating it with more and more useful stuff that helps.

Also, I have to wonder how many of those ports will get pulled if the developer hasn't okayed them? I can't imagine FFG would be happy to discover an entire working copy of Eldritch Horror available in the workshop.

TheMix · Post by **TheMix** » Thu Feb 12, 2015 5:29 pm

I started with Castle Panic (which I own) because there isn't a lot going on. That helped me get more familiar with using the interface and controls.

And, as I noted above, Tao and I have been playing a bit of Sentinels. We'd played his copy a couple of times, so I'm familiar with it. And, again, it's not too complex.

There really aren't too many controls to remember. But practicing definitely comes in handy when moving stuff around. And getting used to how the containers work.

I've noticed that most of the authors seem to put a byline in that says "go buy the game" or "you shouldn't use this unless you own the game". But I also won't be surprised if some companies step in with DMCA orders (I think that's the one). I've already found that the Zombicide ones don't work because the author had to pull the artwork for the zombie pieces. At least on some of the downloads. I haven't figured out yet how to use my own artwork.

Chaz · Post by **Chaz** » Thu Feb 12, 2015 5:36 pm

Yeah, my problem is that I kind of want to use this to demo games that I'm interested in, but don't have access to a copy of. So I'm stuck learning the game and the interface at the same time. I've got similar issues trying to learn games with Vassal.

I suspect that the hammer's going to come down on a lot of these games at some point, which kind of stinks. The down side of steam workshop support is that I'm guessing they're a lot more able to actually pull the files off your computer, as opposed to a Vassal module where once you've got it, you've got it.

baelthazar · Post by **baelthazar** » Thu Feb 12, 2015 7:49 pm

Now the publishers of Cthulhu Wars seem to be ignoring my emails. Just a "hey, we understand and we intend to fix this" would be great. But nothing. I'm getting highly impatient and worried that my sizable investment is going up in smoke. I know they have supposedly sent me two copies, but neither has reached me - it shouldn't be my responsibility to get my items delivered, but theirs, right?

Not sure what my next step will be. It has been a month since the first one shipped. It isn't like I am being unreasonable.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Thu Feb 12, 2015 8:25 pm

If he (Petersen) has a confirmation of any type from the carrier, I'd ask for that. Then you can start harassing them. If he won't provide it, I'd start to worry he's not on the up and up. Once a package is turned over to the carrier, it really becomes their responsibility.

Lordnine · Post by **Lordnine** » Thu Feb 12, 2015 10:15 pm

baelthazar wrote:Now the publishers of Cthulhu Wars seem to be ignoring my emails. Just a "hey, we understand and we intend to fix this" would be great. But nothing. I'm getting highly impatient and worried that my sizable investment is going up in smoke. I know they have supposedly sent me two copies, but neither has reached me - it shouldn't be my responsibility to get my items delivered, but theirs, right?

Not sure what my next step will be. It has been a month since the first one shipped. It isn't like I am being unreasonable.

Have you tried posting over on Boardgamegeek? I'm going to assume they are just swamped, but if there is something fishy going on, a post there might get some attention. I know at-least a couple people from the company are active there, including Sandy himself.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Thu Feb 12, 2015 11:19 pm

Played through Fallen tonight and I'd definitely give it a big thumbs up. It's a great mix of cards and dice with RPG elements tossed in for fun. It feels very well balanced, which is rather impressive. No way I'm going to pay for the Kickstarter exclusives, but I'll purchase any expansions or add-ons released. Highly, highly recommended. The game flow is great and rather intuitive.

baelthazar · Post by **baelthazar** » Fri Feb 13, 2015 12:13 am

Lordnine wrote:
baelthazar wrote:Now the publishers of Cthulhu Wars seem to be ignoring my emails. Just a "hey, we understand and we intend to fix this" would be great. But nothing. I'm getting highly impatient and worried that my sizable investment is going up in smoke. I know they have supposedly sent me two copies, but neither has reached me - it shouldn't be my responsibility to get my items delivered, but theirs, right?

Not sure what my next step will be. It has been a month since the first one shipped. It isn't like I am being unreasonable.
Have you tried posting over on Boardgamegeek? I'm going to assume they are just swamped, but if there is something fishy going on, a post there might get some attention. I know at-least a couple people from the company are active there, including Sandy himself.

I'm going to hope they do the right thing. I did post over at BGG and I am not the only person this has happened to, so that is... er... good? I did notice they were selling and shipping preorders already, which made me a bit more miffed. They really need to fix their shipping errors with KS backers.

Hep, they did get a signature confirmation, but the USPS never scanned it in. It looks like their logistics company, Newgistics, is crooked.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Fri Feb 13, 2015 9:21 am

I ordered Star Wars: Imperial Assault last night. Tom Vasel's gushing review finally pushed me over the edge, and Amazon had it for $66.

I'm actually more excited about painting the minis than the game itself. My gaming buddy is out of town for a couple of weeks, so I was thinking of painting all of them, then just having an ordinary game night. Act like we're going to play Memoir '44 or something then BOOM! Drop the complete set in front of him, fully painted and ready to go.

hentzau · Post by **hentzau** » Fri Feb 13, 2015 9:53 am

Between me and my buddy I have a metric shit-ton of the pre-painted WotC Star Wars minis. So I should't have to do any painting at all to field a fully painted set. Well, except for maybe the characters.

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Fri Feb 13, 2015 10:13 am

https://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame ... board-game

Just when you thought (well, I thought) the D&D adventure system was dead.

hentzau · Post by **hentzau** » Fri Feb 13, 2015 10:18 am

I doubt if I'll be picking that one up. We played quite a bit of Ravenloft, but barely touched Wrath of Ashardalon and Legend of Drizz't. Or however it's spelled.

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Fri Feb 13, 2015 10:50 am

hentzau wrote:I doubt if I'll be picking that one up. We played quite a bit of Ravenloft, but barely touched Wrath of Ashardalon and Legend of Drizz't. Or however it's spelled.

Same here and I sold all 3 when I got Galaxy Defenders. The system is much more interesting.

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Fri Feb 13, 2015 10:55 am

Alchemists has finally reached generally availability. Anyone pick it up?

I managed to get over my interest in Kanban, but I still feel an itch when I look at Alchemists.

MythicalMino · Post by **MythicalMino** » Fri Feb 13, 2015 7:19 pm

Smoove_B wrote:Played through Fallen tonight and I'd definitely give it a big thumbs up. It's a great mix of cards and dice with RPG elements tossed in for fun. It feels very well balanced, which is rather impressive. No way I'm going to pay for the Kickstarter exclusives, but I'll purchase any expansions or add-ons released. Highly, highly recommended. The game flow is great and rather intuitive.

I have nothing but good things to say about Fallen. I did buy the kickstarter stuff (including the Adventure Packs)...and I do not regret it at all. There is so much that I love about this game.

Hey, Smoove, try this variant:

Reward Tokens: The winner draws 3 tokens, then chooses one. The loser then chooses one of the two left, then the 3rd reward token is discarded.

My son and I really felt that this made it so much "better" to really try to win the challenges.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Fri Feb 13, 2015 8:25 pm

I'll consider it. We'll probably play through another half a dozen or games before I consider monkeying with it to make sure we have everything down. Regardless, it's always nice to play a game that lives up to the hype.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Fri Feb 13, 2015 8:51 pm

Smoove_B wrote:Played through Fallen tonight and I'd definitely give it a big thumbs up. It's a great mix of cards and dice with RPG elements tossed in for fun. It feels very well balanced, which is rather impressive. No way I'm going to pay for the Kickstarter exclusives, but I'll purchase any expansions or add-ons released. Highly, highly recommended. The game flow is great and rather intuitive.

You evil bastard. You evil, evil bastard.

Seppe had mentioned he might pick this up. But if it's in stores, I may not be able to resist thanks to my tax refund arriving today.

MythicalMino · Post by **MythicalMino** » Fri Feb 13, 2015 9:03 pm

I have been saying this was an awesome game for the last page or so...I even gave a sorta-kinda review earlier...

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Fri Feb 13, 2015 9:05 pm

I stand behind my evil recommendation.

My buddy was trying to figure out what it reminded him of. It's such a mix of different games. We are both big fans of dice chucking games and even though the dice element is rather simple for this game (which player registers more "hits" each challenge), it's the added layer of cards and RPG dungeon crawl theme that make it fun. It seemed very well balanced and the cards were all well detailed so you knew exactly when to play them and what they would do. It is sort of a mid-weight game in my opinion. There's more to it than a quick filler, but it never felt like we were bogged down and in for 3+ hours of play to resolve something. There's a good balance of luck and strategy - knowing when to play cards and when to hold back is definitely critical. I think the thing that impressed me most is that the end game (where the two players fight head-to-head) is really just the same mechanic as the story portion of the game - but elevated so that each fight for the card has both players doing everything they can to win (because your resources are refreshed after the card is won or lost). This is different than the story cards where you have to carefully balance what skills, monsters, equipment, etc... you'll use because you never know exactly how it will all unfold...

I'm glad MythicalMino had been talking about it, otherwise I never would have seen it. I totally missed the Kickstarter or was on KS overload when it was being run.

MythicalMino · Post by **MythicalMino** » Fri Feb 13, 2015 9:09 pm

"I think the thing that impressed me most is that the end game (where the two players fight head-to-head) is really just the same mechanic as the story portion of the game - but elevated so that each fight for the card has both players doing everything they can to win (because your resources are refreshed after the card is won or lost)."

If I am understanding correctly...I believe you are mistaken. The only thing that refreshes is the DL's monsters if all 4 have been used. Other than that, you have to really plan what, when and where to use your resources...

At the beginning of the Final Battle, everything is refreshed (all creatures for the DL, all equipment for the Hero), and both DL and Hero gain 5 Fortune (Ultimate Ability is NOT refreshed automatically). Then as each player utilizes creatures and equipment, they are tapped, and cannot be used again until they are refreshed by a card or ability. The Final Battle is also Best 3 out of 5 challenges...

ALSO....regarding the KS. I felt it was one of the best game purchases I have ever made...and I also got the Adventure Packs. A splurge, yes...but in my opinion...more than worth it.

Smoove_B · Post by **Smoove_B** » Fri Feb 13, 2015 10:06 pm

MythicalMino wrote:At the beginning of the Final Battle, everything is refreshed (all creatures for the DL, all equipment for the Hero), and both DL and Hero gain 5 Fortune (Ultimate Ability is NOT refreshed automatically). Then as each player utilizes creatures and equipment, they are tapped, and cannot be used again until they are refreshed by a card or ability. The Final Battle is also Best 3 out of 5 challenges...

Oh, ok I'll need to go back and re-read the rules because yes then, we were doing it wrong. But they certainly felt epic with each final battle card having us both set with untapped cards and 5 fortune.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Fri Feb 13, 2015 10:32 pm

Sorry MM, I know you've been raving about it for a while. But I'm only now beginning to hear more than a few folks saying the same. I tend to only get worked up over a game when there's a crowd around it.

Or it has Cthulhu in the name.

YellowKing · Post by **YellowKing** » Sat Feb 14, 2015 2:36 pm

My copy of Imperial Assault arrived today, and the minis looked even better in person than I expected. The AT-ST is a thing of beauty, and easily seems worth $15-$20 all by itself.

My wife is sick and my mom is keeping the kids, so daddy's going to be staying up late tonight painting!

Chrisoc13 · Post by **Chrisoc13** » Sat Feb 14, 2015 3:50 pm

For some reason I really struggled to put together the AT-ST... I should have softened the plastic probably. Great game, can't wait to play it again.

I played Robinson Crusoe a couple times solo this week and... I managed to finally squeak out a win! It wasn't castaways, it was scenario 3 but still I was happy to finally get a victory. I do believe it is an easier scenario though. Still really enjoy that game.

Also played some Star Realms for the first time. Pretty impressed with it as a quick little deck builder that can go anywhere and it is only $10! I also downloaded the app for my phone, not bad at all and free for the easy level. Looking forward to getting some more star realms in.

MythicalMino · Post by **MythicalMino** » Sat Feb 14, 2015 6:27 pm

Another game of Fallen vs. my son, Jacob.

I was the Dungeon Lord (Norathra, one of the KS Dungeon Lords, uses a mechanic called Blood Tokens, which help power up her Power Cards) and Jacob was Merace (one of the retail heroes).

We did the first 3 Story Cards of the Dark Tower Adventure Pack...I ended up losing the Final Battle (3 - 1). Another good game, though. Going into the Final Battle, it looked pretty good for me (DL), but things did not end up that way. The last challenge in the Final Battle was an Intelligence Challenge...I got stomped, losing the 3rd challenge. Oh well...

Chaz · Post by **Chaz** » Mon Feb 16, 2015 12:40 pm

So Fire in the Lake is a lot of game. I've been playing this solo game by playing all the sides by myself. It's been going on for a week and a half now, and I'm maybe a quarter of the way through the deck (full game length). I'm going really slow because it's mentally taxing trying to shift my thinking from one side to another. They all have very different goals and ways of getting there, and it's tough having to shift mindsets so frequently. I think I'm going to muscle through this game, and then try one with the AI bots.

In the game itself, things are going super not well for the insurgents. The NVA have been getting hosed pretty badly by the cards, with them almost always going late in the turn order, so they're having to take lim ops, or just get passed over. As a result of that, they're seriously hurting for troops on the board, and haven't been able to mass for a push into the south yet.

Without the NVA posing a threat, the VC are getting the full attention of the combined US and ARVN forces, which isn't great for them either. They've made some attempts to get more bases operational, but every time they mass enough units to do so, the COIN forces come in and take them out, and also just knocked them down to three bases total, which is going to hurt their attempts to rebuild their numbers. The VC may have to fall back to spreading out on the LoCs for a bit. They might try and build some bases in Laos or Cambodia, but that puts them at risk of getting subverted by the NVA. Maybe they'll declare a truce for a bit while the two of them rebuild.

Man, I really want to play this face to face some time.

Ralph-Wiggum · Post by **Ralph-Wiggum** » Mon Feb 16, 2015 6:02 pm

ChaoZ wrote:
Ralph-Wiggum wrote:I just ordered King of New York. Looks like a fun game that's different than anything my group normally plays.
Over Christmas, I bought my young relatives a copy of King of Tokyo and bought King of New York for me. I watched several playthroughs before buying it and it seemed to be the way to go.

King of New York has a bit more meat to the game and eliminates the turtleing strategy of KoT where players just tried to score victory points through rolls.

That being said, I've found that although the game plays six, it seems to quickly whittle the players down to four, at which time the game slows down and more strategy kicks in. I would like to hear your experience after you've played a few games.

I played it twice this weekend. Once with a group of 3, once with a group of 5. In the 3 player game, we didn't really know what was going on and one player won pretty quickly. The 5 player game lasted a bit longer, although 2 players got knocked out within a couple of turns. I haven't yet figured out the nuances of strategy (if there are nuances) yet. I have a feeling, though, that there isn't as much strategy involved in some of the other games we play and so I'm not sure it's necessarily a game that my group will keep coming back to (like we have for 7 Wonders)

I also played Acquire for the first time. It seemed like an interesting game; I played it with 3 people and it worked well. But it seems like it might be a bit too straight forward with 2 players.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Tue Feb 17, 2015 4:26 pm

I made it to a board gaming club last weekend. I watched a game of Age of Empires III, which I think I would enjoy. I played Castille which is not my favorite. And then I played some resources management card game that a guy kick started that I didn't care for at all.

But most importantly, I made it out of the house to do something social. I think that's now twice in the last six months or more. It's been so long that I was very seriously anxious about just leaving the house for something other than work or grocery shopping or seeing my parents. But what's to damned awesome is that board gamers truly are my peers. They make my anxiety ridden ass feel comfortable in only like an hour or so. Than you world for gamers.

I hope I am up for going out to another gaming club event this weekend, though the commute is much further and I need to do housework and taxes, so we'll see.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Tue Feb 17, 2015 5:22 pm

I have to say LM, I am probably more like you than anyone else. So I know the feeling.

I picked up a retail copy of Fallen thanks to the recommendations from MythicalMino and the follow up ravings of Smoove. I doubt I'll pay a hundred or more dollars to get a copy of the kickstarter extras, but the retail copy I have seems to contain more than enough for many a game.

I WAS all set to play an impromptu game with Zarathud last night after he asked if he could stop by to get his reaper miniatures and paints, but he wussed out at the last minute. Hopefully I can sneak in a game this Saturday with Seppe before the main group arrives for a day of Shadows of Brimstone.

Zarathud · Post by **Zarathud** » Tue Feb 17, 2015 9:57 pm

Next time, I'll bring the kids over to paint Reaper Bones and play Munchkin Treasure Hunt all night.

My 5 year old Bug painted her baby Bones dragon black with blue and green wings. She's all excited about painting his dirt base this Sunday....and has run off with her 2 paintbrushes.