Octopus Overlords

I know there are fans of the game here, so I figured that I should probably mention this book I just picked up off of Amazon. I think you can also get it directly from the publisher, but I believe the price is the same. It arrived today in the mail and it's pretty much what I've been looking for to get off my ass and get playing. Now that I have the imported Canadian coin pouches for organization and my buddy modified the PDF to work with with the pouches, I can get organized and start learning.

Not only are the rules updated, but it does include a FAQ and strategy guide. Everything is full color and there's a handy index.

Ooh, nice. I wonder if they have a PDF of the updated rules available. I'm not sure I want to drop another 30 bucks on the game. It's one of my faves but I don't play it much.

Edit: Nope. Sigh...ordered.

It is a nice book, and I'd imagine for a veteran the strategy section is probably quite useful. It's rather detailed and it even warns you not to read through it if you like figuring things out on your own. Apparently the game is much, much deeper than many people give it credit for. Similar to HeroScape, it seems like there's real value in selecting very specific characters for your team - ones that have power synergy with one another. That's actually what killed HeroScape for me - designing teams that were ridiculous together. I much prefer random team creation and just working with the luck of the draw, but I guess if you're into selection and design there's huge potential here.

Smoove_B wrote:That's actually what killed HeroScape for me - designing teams that were ridiculous together. I much prefer random team creation and just working with the luck of the draw, but I guess if you're into selection and design there's huge potential here.

This is what kills most serious deck builders for me. I don't want to spend the time optimizing my deck to win. I just want to play and see what happens.

Smoove_B wrote:It is a nice book, and I'd imagine for a veteran the strategy section is probably quite useful. It's rather detailed and it even warns you not to read through it if you like figuring things out on your own. Apparently the game is much, much deeper than many people give it credit for. Similar to HeroScape, it seems like there's real value in selecting very specific characters for your team - ones that have power synergy with one another. That's actually what killed HeroScape for me - designing teams that were ridiculous together. I much prefer random team creation and just working with the luck of the draw, but I guess if you're into selection and design there's huge potential here.

I cancelled my order because I honestly don't read strategy guides (which is why I suck at games). And if the rules are any different than the latest version of the manual you can download from their site, I'll be miffed. I shouldn't have to pay for the rules for a game I already bought.

Can you see any difference in the rules section of that manual versus the rules compendium in the master set? I'm assuming you have the master set, by the way.

hepcat wrote:Can you see any difference in the rules section of that manual versus the rules compendium in the master set? I'm assuming you have the master set, by the way.

I can confirm that the Rules Clarification in this book uses the updated 2015 rules clarification on the website and it seems like the included rules are also the 2015 updated Master Compendium version, also from the website. The change log for the Master Compendium rules (last page):
Not sure what was done for the 2015 update, other than possibly minor edits and layout for book preparation?

Ah, thanks. You didn't have to do that much work on my account though! But I certainly appreciate it.

It sounds like I'll be fine with the updated master compendium then. I've spent way too much since gencon, man.

It's only a matter of time. Napoleon on a dinosaur must ride again!

It was actually Napoleon in a gyrocopter. I had Bob the survivalist on a pegasus throwing bombs at annie oakley as she sniped at an alien beast.

Duel of Ages II generates the best damn stories of any game I own, I do believe.

So yeah, I need to break it out again...soon.

Hmmmm....I feel a sense of deja vu. But I can't quite place my finger on it.

That's a lawsuitin'.

(I'm guessing of course)

Smoove_B wrote:That's a lawsuitin'.

(I'm guessing of course)

Perhaps. Or it could just be the same artist recycling some of their previous work.

BTW, as to the original topic, I noticed the following on the Worldspanner FB page:

Worldspanner FB wrote:The Duel of Ages II Codex is now here. It looks so good. Two ways to get it.

On Amazon, see below.

Or, for the ones paying attention here… If you are in the continental U.S. and use Paypal, drop me a email at [url=mailto://spitfireixa@gmail.com]spitfireixa@gmail.com[/url] and ask for the Codex. We’ll make a PayPal deal, $24.99. That's a small price break and a free advance Dusties hard copy along with it. Supplies are very limited.

So you can save a wee bit by ordering directly, with a free hard copy of the Dusties book thrown in for good measure.

The only reason I would want the codex is for the updated rules, but since they're the same rules available on their web site, it's just not worth it for me. Besides, I can use that 25 bucks on more important stuff...

...like more games!

hepcat wrote:The only reason I would want the codex is for the updated rules, but since they're the same rules available on their web site, it's just not worth it for me. Besides, I can use that 25 bucks on more important stuff...

...like more games!

True, though there's certainly something to be said for being able to keep a high quality indexed and properly-bound hard copy of the Master Compendium rules handy. I know some users keep a hard copy of the PDF on hand, but that's unlikely to compare to the quality of a professionally-bound book (and, in terms of printing costs, likely wouldn't be much cheaper than buying the book, anyway).

I actually printed out the updated rules compendium on a color printer and then spiral bound it. I'm that much of a dork.

On the subject of the illustrations above, Brett is apparently aware of it...and is none too happy.

Yeah that's a violation. That's a work-for-hire illustration. Well...

hepcat wrote:I actually printed out the updated rules compendium on a color printer and then spiral bound it. I'm that much of a dork.

One of my gaming buddies is a lunatic and he would have done that if I'd asked. The other thing that I really like about the book (I know you said you didn't care to read the strategy) is what they label the "Card of Glory" - the card that best maximizes or takes advantage of the skills or traits of the character. As someone still trying to grasp all the rules, it helps me to understand the bigger picture a little better. I'm not a min/max player by any means so the chances of actually seeing (and benefiting from) the "best" card is likely slim. But if I can use that information to help grok the rules and strategy in general? I'm a fan.

Speaking as something of a neophyte to Duel of Ages II myself, I thought others may appreciate a nifty tip a friend shared with me for pimping out the game, and significantly enhancing and improving gameplay in the process.

One minor problem we'd noticed with the game was that character tokens could be somewhat difficult to distinguish on the boards. Anyway, similar to the 63-slot coin album pages mentioned in the OP used for better organization, and once again tapping into the esoteric hobby of numismatics, the woman with whom I was playing mentioned that she'd used "coin capsules" to protect her Forbidden Stars order tokens, as shown in this thread on BGG:


Click to embiggen.

So, she helpfully suggested that appropriately-sized coin capsules may also work well to give DoAII character tokens greater presence on the map. I was unfamiliar with the notion myself, but she was absolutely right on the money. They work splendidly, making it much easier to distinguish units on the map (particularly with hexes that contain muliple units), and give the tokens a pleasant poker chip-feel and quality while in play.

For those interested, after a little Google-fu, I discovered that Lighthouse brand coin capsules, sold in packs of 10 with a 23.5mm internal diameter, are almost tailor-made for the job. They're the perfect size to accomodate DoAII character tokens, and just a few 10 packs are more than sufficient for most games of DoAII (since you only require enough capsules for the total number of characters used in play during a game).

Needless to say, I'm now also giving serious consideration to using such coin capsules to enhance other games in my collection, too.

Interesting. It never occurred to me (even after going down the coin-collector path for general storage) that these types of things existed. Thanks for the heads up, and I agree they might have value in other games as well. With just a little over a week left in the Summer of 2016 organization project, these are a great final addition. Thanks to you and your friend.

Agreed. That's awesome. I don't have or play DoA II but now I am thinking about where I could use these.

Sleeves for your tokens!

Hmmm...I wonder if they're easy to put on/take off? If so, I could just order about 4 10 packs and be set. Otherwise I'd have to order hundreds of those things and it would get pretty costly.

But I completely agree with you about what they bring to the game. It may not seem like much, but having poker chip-like pieces is so dang satisfying in comparison to those little tokens. That's one of the reasons that the Hoplomachus series is so fun.

hepcat wrote:Hmmm...I wonder if they're easy to put on/take off? If so, I could just order about 4 10 packs and be set. Otherwise I'd have to order hundreds of those things and it would get pretty costly.

But I completely agree with you about what they bring to the game. It may not seem like much, but having poker chip-like pieces is so dang satisfying in comparison to those little tokens. That's one of the reasons that the Hoplomachus series is so fun.

They snap open/closed fairly easily, yet securely (no adhesive necessary). So you certainly needn't keep every single character token in the game permanently within a capsule of its own. Also, while that would be possible, it would make storage and organization of all the numerous tokens much more cumbersome, as they would then be too large for the 63-slot coin album pages, which work so well.

Does anyone have any additional tips on storage and organization of this particular behemoth?

Currently, I have all the platters, in their frames, stored within the Master set box, with everything else in the Basic set box. I followed Smoove's example of using the 63-slot coin collector pages to keep all the Character, Henchman, Pet, Sentinel and Monument tokens neatly sorted and organized. Character and regular cards are held together in bundles using Hugo's Amazing Tape, in a similar layout to what's depicted here:


Click to embiggen.

However, once I get all the cards sleeved, I'm thinking an 800-count BCW deck box may be a superior option for card organization (at least for all the regular-sized cards). I have the rest of the tokens and counters in Zip-Lock baggies, though I'm mulling over perhaps incorporating a spare GMT counter tray I discovered buried in the back of a cupboard.

Anyway, I'd be interested to find out what others have used to further improve storage and organization of this prodigious product (particularly anything that eases and optimises set-up and break-down of the game, such as the coin collector pages).

I'm still just using the boxes the two sets came in, combined with sandwich baggies to hold all the pieces/parts.

The cards also vex me and I'm hoping I can just convince my buddy to create/print/fold/glue tuck boxes for them, as provided on BGG. Unfortunately they're sized for unsleeved cards so that likely wouldn't help you anyway.

Smoove_B wrote:The cards also vex me and I'm hoping I can just convince my buddy to create/print/fold/glue tuck boxes for them, as provided on BGG. Unfortunately they're sized for unsleeved cards so that likely wouldn't help you anyway.

Indeed, that's why I'm considering the BCW deck box myself, given that it's designed sufficiently to accomodate sleeved cards, and costs <$6 inc. shipping on Amazon. Well, that, and I'm about as patient and crafty as a T-rex, and the deck box ought to work exactly as the DIY card storage tray on the official home page:



Once I have everything sleeved, then it's just a matter of creating the dividers for use with the 800-count BCW deck box, instead. Though, even if I were sufficiently patient and crafty to create the DIY printable foamboard trays, I think I prefer that the BCW deck box also includes a lid.

Having said that, Hugo's Amazing Tape does work surprisingly well for a quick n' easy means of card storage and organization (it certainly lives up to its name for any collector of modern board games; once you try it, you begin to wonder how you ever got on without it).

I think I'd need to see the amazing tape in action first. I spent a few years living in Missouri and I think it had an impact on my ability to just believe things. I do also wonder sometimes how nice is must be to be able to play games without a burning desire to organize everything to what some might call an unhealthy degree.

I do normally sleeve my cards, but the Duel of Ages decks seem rather sturdy. Hopefully I don't regret my choice to leave 'em naked.

Smoove_B wrote:I think I'd need to see the amazing tape in action first.

Throw it on your Christmas wishlist; it makes for a great stocking stuffer for any board gamer. It has the fantastic quality of only sticking to itself without leaving any sticky residue, making it infinitely reusable. It also doesn’t bind, crush, or decay like a rubber band. While I use it primarily for board games and such, it's become an indispensable addition to my household tool box, as I've also used it for all sorts of other odd jobs around the house (e.g. holding/clamping glued parts, cable management, and securing spools of twine/paracord/rope).

Smoove_B wrote:I do normally sleeve my cards, but the Duel of Ages decks seem rather sturdy. Hopefully I don't regret my choice to leave 'em naked.

True, but my way of thinking is that it's likely to go completely OOP within the very near future, making the cards nigh impossible to replace should the worst happen. So even though the full series (Basic + Master) requires ~800 regular card sleeves plus ~200 DixIt-sized sleeves, I figure it's a worthy investment for a game intended to last a lifetime. So I'll probably just grab a 10 x 100 pack of KMC Perfect Size standard sleeves, along with a couple of packs of Mayday Magnum Gold sleeves for the Character cards from Amazon.

Augmented my copy of Duel of Ages II with some additional bling, by adding a full set of Wound/Damage PennyGems and JumboGems to the mix.

For anyone unfamiliar with the notion, PennyGems are basically sheets of metallic stickers with a polyurethane dome. You take two and attach them to either side of a penny (or quarter for the JumboGems), resulting in a superb-looking token. The polyurethane is nicely rounded and provides a great texture that's smooth, but not slick. In fact, they're somewhat grippy, so they stick to one another a little and stack easily, and do not slide around while on a card or board. The coin inside provides a pleasant heft, that makes them feel reminiscent of glass gems or beads, but are easier to pick up and handle. They're available in a wide variety of colours, themes and designs, and even dedicated sets specifically designed for Android: Netrunner.

A sheet of regular Wound/Damage PennyGems allows you to create forty tokens, with a single point of damage on one side, and two points of damage on the reverse or, if you prefer, two sets of twenty tokens with identical values on both sides. A sheet of JumboGems allows you to create eight quarter-sized tokens, with five points of damage on one side, and ten points of damage on the reverse, or two sets of four tokens with identical values on both sides:

Regular Wound/Damage PennyGems:


Wound/Damage JumboGems:

(click to embiggen)

They'd be a great upgrade for anyone that just owns the Basic Set of DoA Ii which doesn't include any wound/damage tokens, and also makes for a nifty upgrade over the cardboard tokens included with the Master Set.

Your going to shame me into blinging out my copy, aren't you?

hepcat wrote:Your going to shame me into blinging out my copy, aren't you?

I don't know if you've yet tried using PennyGems, but be warned! With a games collection such as yours, it could turn into a costly proposition. They're such a simple idea, but are a real pleasure to handle, and significantly enhance the experience of the games with which they're used.

Looks like a neat addition to many games.

Zarathud wrote:Looks like a neat addition to many games.

Indeed, one aspect that may work in hepcat's favour is that they're designed to be used fairly universally (e.g. I'll likely also use these particular tokens with other games, such as Flick 'em Up).

Thanks, I think I will check these out.