Octopus Overlords

coopasonic wrote:I played Zombicide: Black Plague with Z(6) and X(9) last weekend. The little one begged me to teach mommy all week. On Saturday, we got mommy involved in a game. It was possibly the easiest non-tutorial play I have ever had (partially because twice I forgot to spawn zombies). After that we went into Ticket to Ride mode. Despite the fact that I have 5 different version/maps, we played vanilla.

On Sunday, X(9) wanted more TtR so we played Nordic Countries two player and then Heart of Africa. It was my first play of Heart of Africa and I don't think it was interesting. I am looking forward to trying out the UK map, though I think it might work out to be a bit heavy for the family. We would have tried it after Africa, but my victory left my son in tears (literally). He was one action away from completing a 19 point ticket. He still wouldn't have won, but he was still pretty upset.

I think we need to get another co-op out.

Finished the weekend off with a two player game of Marvel Legendary (no not Legendary Encounters, I wanted the boy to WIN something!)

Introductory game of Hey, That's My Fish! went pretty well. My daughter chose a very clumped approach to her initial penguin placement, whereas I distributed my penguins fairly evenly across the ice floe. My son went even more unorthodox than my daughter and took several penguins over to the living room to shoot stormtroopers on the couch. End score was 35 fish for me, 37 for my daughter, 7 dead stormtroopers for my son.

Dino Hunt Dice also went over well with my daughter. It's very similar to Zombie Dice with a more G-rated theme. She was able to grasp that the red dice were the more dangerous ones, and she was extremely pleased with herself when she caught a red die T-rex.

Both kids really liked King of Tokyo, but I'm going to have to double check the rules/errata on a few points. I don't think you're supposed to completely ignore the dice and cards and just have fights with the cardboard monster cutouts hitting each other.

wonderpug wrote:I don't think you're supposed to completely ignore the dice and cards and just have fights with the cardboard monster cutouts hitting each other.

I'm pretty sure that an accepted variant as is throwing dice at the standees to knock them down.

Played through the desert last night. First time ever playing it, really enjoyed it. Probably will add it to my very long list of games I wouldn't mind eventually owning.

coopasonic wrote:I played Zombicide: Black Plague with Z(6) and X(9) last weekend.

Does it feel more like an RPG than previous entries in the franchise? I backed the kickstarter for a dollar, planning on upgrading. But Afflicted came along and I ditched BP for that. But I was interested in BP because it seemed to have quite a bit more character growth during a game than its predecessors.

The difference between Black Plague and the previous Zombicide games is armor. Bows replace guns and crossbows replace shotguns. It's just a paint job. There is no more character growth that I can see and I am not sure what might have given you that impression. You still search for better loot to kill stuff and then kill stuff choosing a couple skills through the game that help you kill more stuff.

coopasonic wrote: There is no more character growth that I can see and I am not sure what might have given you that impression.

From the kickstarter page:

Survivors find weapons, learn spells, battle zombies, and gain experience. The more experienced they get, the more powerful they become, but the more zombies rise to face them!

I've only played Zombicide a couple of times, and never past the entry level scenario(s), so if those things existed in the original series, I only experienced them to a small degree.

spells are loot just like weapons, so "learn spells" is just searching for loot
more experience = more power is just the at yellow you get +1 action, at orange you pick from two skills and at red you pick from 3 skills.
There are equipment items that require a higher experience level to equip, but none of them exist in the base set.

Yeah it's just zombicide with a fresh paint job. I regret having so much zombicide now.

Played Splendor a million times with by 5 year old. He loves it and is pretty good at it. At least, he beat his mom twice and me once. Also played 7 Wonders with another couple. My first time, and I was amazed by how similar it was to Splendor. It's basically two variants of the same game. Interesting.

I guess Splendor and 7 Wonders are similar in that you get cards that allow you to get better cards, but other than that basic similarity they feel pretty different to me. IMO, 7 Wonders has much more depth than Splendor with many more ways to win/strategies to take.

coopasonic wrote:spells are loot just like weapons, so "learn spells" is just searching for loot
more experience = more power is just the at yellow you get +1 action, at orange you pick from two skills and at red you pick from 3 skills.
There are equipment items that require a higher experience level to equip, but none of them exist in the base set.

Ah, got it, thanks. I feel a little better about passing on it now. zarathud has a ton of zombicide, so if i get the itch to play I'll just go over to his place.

Chrisoc13 wrote:Yeah it's just zombicide with a fresh paint job. I regret having so much zombicide now.

Yeah that's why I liquidated all of my old stuff in anticipation of black plague. There's just not a very good reason to have it all. I am looking forward to the second shipment because I am tired of having no options for survivors.

Ralph-Wiggum wrote:I guess Splendor and 7 Wonders are similar in that you get cards that allow you to get better cards, but other than that basic similarity they feel pretty different to me. IMO, 7 Wonders has much more depth than Splendor with many more ways to win/strategies to take.

Definitely agree that 7 Wonders is more complex/interesting, but the number of similarities were striking

Both:
-rely on victory point style scoring,
-More than one path to scoring these points (for splendor.. only 2), where its valuable to fund complementarities between these paths (so you can double dip)
-Have X diference resources and with purchases requiring a fixed number of each
-Permanent resources filling in/subsidizing temporary ones.
-have three "levels" of cards
-require balance between investing and producing/consuming
-require making a medium/long-run "path" plan but willingness to deviate
-require thinking about how your path might be affected by your neighbors' paths. (and you can affect them)

They just felt overall very similar to me, as compared to two other randomly selected top-shelf games.

Ok - I can see that. They certainly do share more similarities than you probably find by comparing either to a random game. I guess I just don't want to see all the similarities since I really like 7 Wonders and really do not like Splendor.

I've had two Pandemic: Legacy sessions since last we left off, so let's see what happened!

When we last left our intrepid adventurers, we were coming off a stinging loss in September.

We started the back half of September determined to regroup, and that we did. Through teamwork and very careful play, we managed to eke out a victory and head into October. However, there was a weird feeling of malaise settling over the group - nobody really seemed enthusiastic, and our heads weren't in the game.

October was a complete and utter disaster. Not only did we not win, we were annihilated - not even coming close to finishing an objective. Everybody was running around doing their own thing, we were focusing too much on things that didn't matter, and it cost us dearly. We left the game session discouraged and irritated at how poorly we played.

Last night we came back in feeling refreshed and ready to turn our fortunes around for our second attempt at October. We totally changed up our team make-up, deciding to focus all of our efforts into a single important objective at all costs. This strategy worked beyond our wildest expectations. Not only did we knock out the objective quickly, we found ourselves in a position to set ourselves up for some important strategic upgrades heading into November. We were so far ahead of the game, we actually delayed winning by two rounds so we could prime the board for an easier time in November.

November was us basically anticipating what the end-game in December would look like, and advancing towards those objectives pre-emptively. We had another crushing victory, to the point that unless the game throws us a complete curveball, I think we have an excellent chance of cruising through December next week on the first attempt.

Current record:

Total games: 10-6
Month W/L: 10-1

Since Legacy will be finished next week win or lose, we're already deciding what to play next. Current consensus is that we'll probably go for Robinson Crusoe & the Cursed Island, since we love difficult co-op games. I've also got Ghost Stories waiting in the wings.

Lately I've been playing a lot of Cards Against Humanity...<<makes it even more fun when you turn it into a drinking game to go with it>>

We tried a 3 player variant of Dicemasters friday night.

Totally different strategy.

Recently played a couple of new games I've really enjoyed-

Through the desert. Great route building abstract. Added to my wish list for when it gets reprinted. Very much enjoyed it.

Torres- another currently out of print game that I really enjoyed. It's an unofficial member of the mask collection. Also added to my wishlist for when a reprint comes. Tower building with limited actions and movement. Really fun game.


I lost, but did manage to get pretty high up on a couple of the towers. Really great game.

Relic runners- not a new game, I've owned it since launch, but this game is much more fun than it gets credit for. It's days of wonder so the production quality is top notch, and with the right group the route building can be very intense. Played a few games of it this weekend after having not played it since the summer it came out. I have to say I'm surprised it didn't get more love at launch.

In splurge news... I ordered a nice crokinole board which will be arriving Tuesday. Honestly can't wait. I'm hoping it's as beautiful as the pictures. I'll post some when I get it.

Days of Wonder announced an expansion for Five Tribes, involving thieves this time. Nice looking small expansion with a nice twist, easy to add. Rules are already up on Dow website, and it looks solid.

Sounds like those of us that preordered the new 51st State should expect it this week. A lot of folks have already got theirs, according to the hoopla on BGG.

hepcat wrote:Sounds like those of us that preordered the new 51st State should expect it this week. A lot of folks have already got theirs, according to the hoopla on BGG.

That was quick.

They initially stated late April or May, but I assumed it would be later. It's a nice change of pace for a game to be on time for once.

Chrisoc13 wrote: In splurge news... I ordered a nice crokinole board which will be arriving Tuesday. Honestly can't wait. I'm hoping it's as beautiful as the pictures. I'll post some when I get it.

Not playing, but...

I finally got off of my butt and put my Fantastic Four expansion (still in shrink) for Marvel Legendary up on Ebay. I've had it for about a year, bought it for $20 when I heard it was out of print with every intention of playing it, but I never did.

Got $162 for it.

I feel a little bad, taking advantage of the scarcity and market. But not that bad.

hentzau wrote:

Chrisoc13 wrote: In splurge news... I ordered a nice crokinole board which will be arriving Tuesday. Honestly can't wait. I'm hoping it's as beautiful as the pictures. I'll post some when I get it.

I have wanted one ever since playing on your board at octocon several years ago, but the price of a nice one kept putting me off. But I realized a little while ago I kept buying all of these games I wanted slightly less than Crokinole, so I finally pulled the trigger. I put the order in the first week of April and got word a couple of days ago that it was ready and being shipped. It's from muzzies. I like the look of the board and have read good things about them. So I've been planning to get the board from them for a while, happy I finally pulled the trigger.

Also I wouldn't feel too bad about capitalizing on the scarcity of an item... I've done that before... and might be doing it again soon offloading some of my Zombicide stuff.

Chrisoc13 wrote:

hentzau wrote:

Chrisoc13 wrote: In splurge news... I ordered a nice crokinole board which will be arriving Tuesday. Honestly can't wait. I'm hoping it's as beautiful as the pictures. I'll post some when I get it.

I have wanted one ever since playing on your board at octocon several years ago, but the price of a nice one kept putting me off. But I realized a little while ago I kept buying all of these games I wanted slightly less than Crokinole, so I finally pulled the trigger. I put the order in the first week of April and got word a couple of days ago that it was ready and being shipped. It's from muzzies. I like the look of the board and have read good things about them. So I've been planning to get the board from them for a while, happy I finally pulled the trigger.

Also I wouldn't feel too bad about capitalizing on the scarcity of an item... I've done that before... and might be doing it again soon offloading some of my Zombicide stuff.

I demand pictures!

Star Wars Rebellion hit the table this weekend, after a few weeks off for vacation and other stuff. We hit two milestones for the first time: the Rebels blew up the Death Star (hooray!) and the Empire won (boo!). Attacking the Death Star was particularly fun -- due to a confluence of events, the battle took place in the presence of a huge numbers of leaders, including Luke, Obi-Wan, Darth Vader, the Emperor, Grand Moff Tarkin, Mon Mothma, and a couple of others.

And my copy of the new Master Set for 51st State was just dropped off. You certainly get your money's worth. There's quite a bit of game there for 50 bucks.

Looking forward to a day of playing the old version, then trying the new one for comparison's sake.

Blah Canada post was wrong about estimating my delivery date so no crokinole board today. Also they rarely update where your package is. Like two updates in the last 5 days. Guess I've gotten used to Fed ex and ups which are usually spot on day wise and have at least daily updates so you know exactly where it is. Well I hope for tomorrow then.

Has anyone played Nations or Through the Ages (either the first or second edition?)? I would like to have an historically based civ building game that's a bit heavier than 7 Wonders (which is really more of a card-drafting game with a civ theme than a true civ building game) and these two games seem to be the highest rated options. For those that have played both, any preference of the two?

I haven't played through the ages so I can't compare the two, but I have played nations. I enjoyed nations quite a bit, but not enough to add it to my collection. Primarily because my gaming group has a copy so I don't need my own copy and the play time is significant enough that it would be a barrier. But it was a very enjoyable game, though the end of the game starting gripping players with a bit of paralysis (at least from what I recall), but otherwise it was pretty smooth. I also remember two of us got out ahead and nobody could catch us so it wasn't terribly forgiving.

I have both (well, the second to last edition of Through the Ages, anyway).

Nations was pushed as an easier version of Through the Ages, and to some extent that's correct. There aren't as many fiddly and unintuitive rules as there are found in TTA. Still, I enjoy TTA for its depth, which Nations still isn't quite up to (even with the latest expansion).

Another thing to mention is that in TTA, you can oftentimes run away with the game by focusing on military power (although I'm not sure if that's been addressed in the new edition, to be fair). They directly addressed that in Nations by making warfare far less painful for the loser. And they did it in a fairly decent manner, I believe.

Nations also plays quicker. It wasn't uncommon for a game of TTA with 4 people to take us all day at times.

My suggestion would be to take stock of what type of gaming group you have. If they love heavy games that can take all day, go with TTA. If they would prefer something with more meat than 7 Wonders, but a little easier to grasp than TTA, go with Nations.

edit: just found this in a review for the new edition of TTA regarding military.

From a gameplay standpoint, the biggest changes dealt with the military system. In the original game, military could be extremely overpowered and unbalanced due to the Tactics system. In TtA, military is represented by players building military units: infantry, cavalry, and artillery. Each turn players would draw military cards that might include Tactics cards which gave military strength bonuses based on different groups of military units. For example, a Medieval Army card would give a 2 strength bonus to every infantry-cavalry pair. A problem arose when one player would draw Tactics cards while the others would not. That player’s military would grow far beyond what the other players could achieve due to nothing but a lucky card draw. This problem has been eliminated due to shared Tactics cards. In the new game, when a player plays a Tactics card—for one military action point—it’s played to the center of the table. Each player may then, by spending two military action points, use that Tactics card. Thus, by playing a Tactics card a player only gains a military action point, and not the solitary use of that Tactic card’s ability.

It also appears they have new art for the latest edition of TTA. The last editions all looked like they were drawn by a drunken 4 year old.

Thanks for the help guys. My group is definitely not one that would want to take all day to play one game (as much as I might want to!), so perhaps Nations is the better option. Are there other Civ games I might be missing that are worth considering?

Keep an eye out for Seafall, coming this fall. It's a legacy version of a Civ game. It's probably going to sell out quick, though.

hepcat wrote:Keep an eye out for Seafall, coming this fall. It's a legacy version of a Civ game. It's probably going to sell out quick, though.

If it did not require 3+ players, I would be all over it. This is a great idea.

I am really looking forward to the legacy city-builder being developed by Stonemeier Games (is that right, the Scythe guy).

Ralph-Wiggum wrote:Thanks for the help guys. My group is definitely not one that would want to take all day to play one game (as much as I might want to!), so perhaps Nations is the better option. Are there other Civ games I might be missing that are worth considering?

I really enjoy clash of cultures. It's big on technology advancement with a robust tech tree. Many different ways to win. Wonder creation. Military. Science. City building. The expansion really takes the game up a notch with individual cultures and tech trees for each culture, but is sadly out of print and rather difficult to come by. Still it's in my top ten games of all time even without the expansion.

We finished Pandemic: Legacy last night!

We guessed one of the objectives correctly for December, but the other caught us a little off guard. We finished one objective quickly, but were in danger of losing the second and needed three turns to ensure a victory so:
Victory! What a fantastic game. I was talking with my friends afterwards and we agreed that it was the best board game experience we've ever had, and in terms of group gaming experiences in general ranked right up there only behind D&D.

Overall we kicked this game's ass:

Total games: 11-6
Month W/L: 11-1

If/when Season 2 comes out, it will be pre-order, Day One, drop everything and play event.

Yeah I agree. It'll be a day one purchase for me too. Fantastic experience.


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Tried the Rainbow Draft with packs 2 player with LordMortis.
Not a fan.

Played 2 player constructed, then headed to a friends for 3 player Variant (Attack the Center) games.

Opened a box of Civil War between 3 of us.

Much fun this evening.

My Teen Titans are rocking!

OH and what's with the "UP TO" 8 cards in the Civil War rulebook? Can I play just 5 characters with 4 dice per?

Really? I loved the one rainbow draft I played. What didn't you like about it?

As for the wording in the rulebook, I thought I'd read "up to 8" in earlier versions as well? I'd always assumed you could play 5 characters with 4 dice each, if you so choose.