OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

All discussions regarding Board, Card, and RPG Gaming, including industry discussion, that don't belong in one of the other gaming forums.

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wonderpug
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by wonderpug »

Instead of playing anything in my backlog, I went and bought Star Trek Frontiers and I'll be trying out the tutorial today. Nice job, enablers. : )
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hepcat
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by hepcat »

You won't regret it. I still love Mage Knight, but Frontiers is far more accessible.

Heck, I'm thinking of trying to push it on Seppe this weekend. I'll even play it multiplayer.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Smoove_B »

wonderpug wrote: Wed May 23, 2018 2:14 pm Instead of playing anything in my backlog, I went and bought Star Trek Frontiers and I'll be trying out the tutorial today. Nice job, enablers. : )
Hey, I spent 2.5 hours last night punching and sorting various game boxes. I think I made it through three or four before realizing just how much time had passed. That counts, right? :D
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by $iljanus »

wonderpug wrote: Wed May 23, 2018 2:14 pm Instead of playing anything in my backlog, I went and bought Star Trek Frontiers and I'll be trying out the tutorial today. Nice job, enablers. : )
My shields collapsed and I bought Frontiers and the Khan expansion. The rule book font is ridiculously small. But the scenarios in the Khan expansion look like a lot of fun. Since all the counters have been kindly punched for me by WizKids I should get it on the table. But right now Space Empires 4X is on the table and I enjoyed playing my first run through against the Doomsday Machines even though the poor inhabitants of Bethel and Terra ended up in the belly of the last Doomsday Machine... :cry:
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by wonderpug »

hepcat wrote: Wed May 23, 2018 2:19 pm You won't regret it. I still love Mage Knight, but Frontiers is far more accessible.
My biggest hesitation with Frontiers has been that I've tried and failed to get into Mage Knight several times over. I'm hoping the streamlining they did to the game mechanics helps me get into Frontiers, plus the theme has more appeal and seems like a better match for the gameplay.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Anonymous Bosch »

wonderpug wrote: Wed May 23, 2018 4:20 pm
hepcat wrote: Wed May 23, 2018 2:19 pm You won't regret it. I still love Mage Knight, but Frontiers is far more accessible.
My biggest hesitation with Frontiers has been that I've tried and failed to get into Mage Knight several times over. I'm hoping the streamlining they did to the game mechanics helps me get into Frontiers, plus the theme has more appeal and seems like a better match for the gameplay.

FWIW, I had much the same experience with Mage Knight as you. The underlying gameplay mechanics are truly ingenious, but Mage Knight's clunky fantasy theme just left me cold, and struck me as a poor fit for the game. So it just never really clicked for me. However, I found the Star Trek theme to be a much more compelling fit, which in turn made the game more relatable and easier to digest.

BTW, for those who enjoy pimping out their game components, I thoroughly recommend LITKO's 145-piece Star Trek: Frontiers Game Upgrade Set, which includes the following:
Litko.net wrote:ST: Frontiers, Game Upgrade Set (145)

Enlarge Image
(click to embiggen)

Set of 144 tokens and 1 dial.

Designed for use with the Star Trek: Frontiers* board game.

Complete upgrade set for your game. Upgrade those thin and fiddly cardboard tokens with thick durable and bright acrylic custom cut tokens.

Includes:

12- Command Division data tokens

12- Science Division data tokens

12- Operation Division data tokens

12- Captains Innovation tokens

12- Risk and Improvise data tokens

12- Unknown data tokens

4- Away Team tokens, 1 each of the 4 faction colors

8- Red Shirt Crew Damage tokens

15- Blue faction tokens

15- Yellow faction tokens

15- Purple faction tokens

15- red faction tokens

1- Game Turn dial
Speaking as someone that wasn't overly impressed with the quality of some of the game's original components (particularly the data crystals, which seemed a little too small and fiddly for my liking), this was right up my alley. Bear in mind, the link is for the complete upgrade set, but you also have the option to purchase the components separately if you prefer (e.g. Data tokens, Away Team tokens, Faction tokens, and Game Round Dial).
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wonderpug
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by wonderpug »

Is there an upgrade kit for the instruction manual? Good god this is so poorly laid out. Mage Knight was the same way. It’s like they’re writing it out in prose like it’s a novel— like maybe the Silmarillion. Some of these game mechanics are not nearly as complicated as the instructions are making them appear.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Archinerd »

Show of hands, who keeps clicking on this thread thinking it's going to be about Star Wars?
I can't be the only one.
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Anonymous Bosch
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Anonymous Bosch »

wonderpug wrote: Wed May 23, 2018 9:42 pm Is there an upgrade kit for the instruction manual? Good god this is so poorly laid out. Mage Knight was the same way. It’s like they’re writing it out in prose like it’s a novel— like maybe the Silmarillion. Some of these game mechanics are not nearly as complicated as the instructions are making them appear.
Yeah, I wouldn't recommend trying to learn the game exclusively from the included manual, as it is rather Byzantine and much of the really useful info is spread hither and yon throughout the rulebook.

Instead, I suggest watching Ricky Royal's Box of Delights Star Trek: Frontiers playthroughs to develop a solid overall feel for exactly how the game plays, and also grab this handy quick reference guide from BGG. Between the two, you'll then find it much easier to refer to the rulebook just to fill in the gaps in your knowledge. That's what worked best for me, anyway.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by hepcat »

Archinerd wrote: Thu May 24, 2018 12:42 am Show of hands, who keeps clicking on this thread thinking it's going to be about Star Wars?
I can't be the only one.
I've had my hand up for like three hours, dude. I think I see a downside to asking for a show of hands on an internet forum.
wonderpug wrote: Wed May 23, 2018 9:42 pm Is there an upgrade kit for the instruction manual? Good god this is so poorly laid out. Mage Knight was the same way. It’s like they’re writing it out in prose like it’s a novel— like maybe the Silmarillion. Some of these game mechanics are not nearly as complicated as the instructions are making them appear.
I think using the walkthrough guide and playing through their example game is the way to go. I did that with Frontiers and Mage Knight and it made them both infinitely easier.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by YellowKing »

You guys are making me want to break out Frontiers again. I gave it a good whirl back when I first bought it, and even got a couple of 2-player games in, but I don't feel like it ever really clicked with me. Not to the point of "Best.Solo.Game.Evar." status at least.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by wonderpug »

I've got tickets to the 10pm showing tonight, and thanks for the the Ricky Royal Frontier walkthrough recommendation. Not through all of them yet, but the rules are making a lot more sense now.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by hentzau »

Archinerd wrote: Thu May 24, 2018 12:42 am Show of hands, who keeps clicking on this thread thinking it's going to be about Star Wars?
I can't be the only one.
hentzau wrote: Fri May 11, 2018 10:16 am Every time I see this thread title I think, for a brief moment, this is about a Star Wars game.
I see you have me on ignore again...
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Re: Hand Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Smoove_B »

If you dissidents don't pipe down, I'm going to change the title to something worse.

Speaking of which, I played through two chapters (?) of Black Orchestra last night and I can see why people are enthusiastic over this one.

Enlarge Image

Theme is off the charts and the actual game play mechanics are unlike anything else I've ever played. For those not aware, you're trying to assassinate Hitler in the years surrounding WW2. There's a card deck that simulates the various contributory events and puts pressure on the actors as you try to get them into a state where they're able to take action. That's over simplification, but the game is a mix of card play and dice chucking - always a fan. There's definitely randomness to it (both in the dice and what cards are activated), which I know drives some people nuts. It has a similar feel (to me) of Robinson Crusoe in that you're always trying to figure out the best move you can make when faced with what feels like insurmountable odds. And then you draw a card and something even worse happens.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Archinerd »

hentzau wrote: Thu May 24, 2018 10:36 am
Archinerd wrote: Thu May 24, 2018 12:42 am Show of hands, who keeps clicking on this thread thinking it's going to be about Star Wars?
I can't be the only one.
hentzau wrote: Fri May 11, 2018 10:16 am Every time I see this thread title I think, for a brief moment, this is about a Star Wars game.
I see you have me on ignore again...
But that's way back from page one! I can't be expected to re-read a whole thread before making one lame joke.
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A Patton's Best AAR

Post by raydude »

If you're interested, here's the link to the solo boardgame: Patton's Best

Sgt Hodges knelt on the ground next to his men. "Everyone all right?"
One by one his crew checked in. His driver and assistant driver were ok.
Willams, his gunner, had a light wound in his thigh. Simpson, his loader was complaining about
a ringing in his ears.
"Must have been from AT round that whizzed past you on the way out the turret," said Williams.
"You're lucky to be alive."
The driver, Pvt Torrets, was fine, but the assistant driver, Tribiani, had his arm banged up.
"What do we do now Sarge?" asked Simpson.
"We wait for dusk and head back to HQ. Shouldn't be long. Damn shame that we got knocked out
at sundown. I was beginning to get used to Stella. Now we have to break in a new tank.".

Hodges closed his eyes and recalled the events of the day. It started out easy enough. The morning briefing said the company was breaking out from the front lines and advancing; the next phase of Operation Cobra. Expected light enemy activity and clear skies. His crew even got an early kill - a light weapons team around 1030 hours. Williams put an HE round right through the window opening, blasted them to bits...

1130 Hours
His driver saw it first. "German armored car, right front! 250 yards, behind the stone wall."
"I got him!" yelled Williams.
"Fire!"
"On the way!"
The HE shell shot out and exploded behind the German vehicle. "Overshoot, 25 yards, adjust fire."
A high pitched whistle jolted the crew.
The radio crackled. "Stella! AT gun to your front, 300 yards!"
"Driver, forward, find us a hull down position."
The crew frantically tried to find the AT gun but it was well hidden and choosing its shots carefully.
"We're going to try and flank it," called his platoon leader. "Sit tight."
WHAM! A German AT shell pierced the hull armor of a Sherman tank which shuddered to a stop, smoke billowing from the small hole.
"They got Brankowski! All guns fire!" The tanks of 2nd platoon start returning fire, but their shells fail to find the range.
Hodges continued his search, eyes scanning the forward sectors. "Does anyone see the gun?"
"Got it!" cried his loader. "AT gun, forward, in the treeline. I can't ID it!"
"Driver, halt here. Everyone try to get a bead on it. We need to figure out what's hitting us before.." Another whistling sound of an AT shell cut him off.
"Christ, he's shooting at us, Sarge!" yelled his gunner.
Suddenly the AT gun blossomed in a orange yellow burst and smoke cascaded to the sky. "AT gun down." said the voice of Sgt. Josephson.
"Thanks Mark. I owe ya one," radioed Hodges.

1530 Hours
"Target! Marder III, 400 yards!". A German self-propelled gun. Not as fearsome as a STUG III, but still dangerous at that range.
"Target."
"Fire!"
"On the way!"
The shot exploded short, throwing up a clod of dirt and smoke in front of the German SPG.
"He's backing up," cried Hodges. "Keep your eyes on him!" It was no use, they lost it as it sped behind a copse of trees.
A series of explosions rocked the tank. German artillery fire poured down, killing and wounding two squads. Third tank platoon advanced on the flanks, knocking out the SPG and AT gun just as Hodges crew regained contact with it, now positively identified as a Pak40.

1900 Hours
Company HQ
Sgt. Hodges made sure his driver and loader were squared away before leading his wounded, including himself, to the aid station. He bumped into the platoon leader. "You did good out there Hodges. Well, until that last part. Don't ever try to take on two AT guns by yourself again, ok?"
"Yes sir. How did we do today sir?"
"Well, my unofficial count says we killed two light weapons crews, one MG team, three armored cars, three SPGs, and two AT guns. Oh and we advanced and captured 15 sectors. Not bad for our first day."
"Casualties?"
"Third platoon lost two tanks. Some of their crew made it. With yours that makes three tanks KOed. Looks like you got lucky though. Everyone made it. The infantry teams lost about three squads worth. Mostly due to the German arty."
"Another day on the job sir?"
"You got it. Only in Patton's Best."
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by YellowKing »

Took down the Magus of Cloaks in AEON'S END: WAR ETERNAL today.

Solo but using two mages. He's a real bastard because he gains damage shields every time he unleashes. So it's a constant battle of whittling his shields down enough to punch some damage through.

It was a hell of a game though. I went with super slim decks with high damage in the hopes of burning him down. The strategy worked to a point, but he really ramps up by Stage 3 and I was hanging by a thread.

Finally beat him with both mages at 1 HP and Graveholt at 7! And it literally came down to 1 turn order card. I had just freshly shuffled the turn order deck, and if the Nemesis came up I'd lose, if either player came up, I had cards staged to win. Drew a Player 1. Needless to say I was happy to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat and move on!
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by hepcat »

Fired up a solo game of Nemo's War yesterday afternoon. Still haven't finished it. I had forgotten how easy it is to get lost in the theme of the game. It's just fun, pure and simple. And it's easy to pick back up after months away from it.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Smoove_B »

I'm slowly working my way through Fallen Land, a game I'm really enjoying quite a bit. It's 100% Ameritrash and I would imagine for those that hate randomness this game would be like Kryptonite. However, there's definitely strategy and you need to make smart decisions about how you tackle various problems and/or equip gear.

The game (so far) feels like a mix between Fallout and Wasteland. You're playing as a faction that has survived a nuclear war and now trying to rebuild civilization. You win the game by gaining prestige and/or increasing your faction health. To do that, you complete quests and upgrade your encampment. If you're playing with others there's potential to trade goods as well as play "take that" type cards that will hinder progress.

There are random quests and challenges located on the game board as well as more story-specific quests that might require cooperation from other factions to complete. I'm just learning the basics so I don't know exactly that would work in solo mode, but there are official solo rules that were printed as part of a small expansion. I'm more or less unofficially solo at this point, and really just seeing how much I can get done in 10 rounds. Here's a shot of the setup - it takes up a bit of space:

Enlarge Image

A few things to note - the cards - so many cards. The giant piles to the right of the board are the action deck (cards that modify what you can do on your turn) and the spoils deck (items, gear or events you receive as rewards). The size of those decks should hopefully indicate the ridiculous amount of content this game provides.

In the card tray there are encounter decks for each of the map areas (plains, mountains and cities) as well as the specialized story quest deck. To the far right is the character deck and when you start the game, you're dealt 6 random characters, 5 of which you use to create a party. The 6th goes face down in your settlement and would technically be "hidden" from another player. If something happens to your party or you want to swap out characters, that's the pool you'd pull from.

Here's a bit of a closer shot of the character area and the 5 characters I started with, equipped with gear that improves their skills:

Enlarge Image

Note the mix of character types. A "road warrior", a survivalist, a priest and a computer programmer. The 5th character has amnesia - and may be able to unlock her memories depending on what you find in the wastes. You place the characters around the settlement board and associate them with a colored triangle "crown". When you're trying to complete skill checks you roll a die that matches that color and assign that result to a specific character. So you can roll a fistful of dice and just sort them out all at once. Sometimes the adventure cards tell you to perform a check on the Red character or just the Blue one - you never know if your adventures will involve one or more characters. There's also a spot for a vehicle. I have a "Dork Squad" car and a trailer in tow. This increases my speed on the map and allows me to carry more salvage as I roam around.

As part of my first turn, I left the settlement and had two adventures. Here's what those cards look like:

Enlarge Image
Enlarge Image

Very similar to the Fantasy Flight style (I'm not even sure they originally created it) where you read a card, perform a test and then apply the result(s). If you go back and look at the character cards, you can see stats in various areas (combat, mechanical, medical, survival, diplomacy) and that number is what you're checking against when you're rolling the dice. Earn enough successes and you pass; not enough you fail. You add gear to each character that gives them a bonus to skills and sometimes there's gear that everyone is given ("party gear") - like the machetes (increases combat for everyone). This is where it gets a bit thinky because you need to be rather strategic in how you apply the bonuses. The system for skill resolution is one created just for this game - it takes a bit of getting used to, but now that I understand it all I can resolve things rather quickly.

On top of all that, certain characters get additional bonuses when you give them certain items. So for example, if I can find a shotgun for my "road warrior" it gives him an even greater combat bonus. There's also potential to get more skill increases based on how you upgrade and improve your settlement.

This whole post is kind of a brain dump, but I really love this game mainly because of the theme and the narrative that evolves from all the randomness. From what I understand it took over 13 years to create and they've said it includes over 600 written pages of text; I can absolutely believe it. It takes a bit to set up and you do need to run quick math every time you're checking a skill - adding up all your gear, character and possibly settlement bonuses when you're making a check. Some people probably hate that, but when you're playing solo and taking your time I haven't found it to be too difficult.

I think this game is a hidden gem and would recommend it in a heartbeat.
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Anonymous Bosch
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Anonymous Bosch »

Smoove_B wrote: Fri Jun 01, 2018 9:34 am I'm slowly working my way through Fallen Land, a game I'm really enjoying quite a bit.
Did you get the Kickstarter version?

I was considering the retail edition a while back, but I recall reading that the Kickstarter version has an additional 116 cards and miniatures that are not included with the retail edition. It always bothers me when that's done, making the retail version of a game seem like a lesser, inferior choice. I could live without the miniatures, but that's a LOT of cards, which dissuaded me from the retail version. I decided to hold off until their next KS campaign, in the interest of perhaps acquiring the 'full' version of the game.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Smoove_B »

No, I purchased it retail (along with the first expansion). Those additional cards aren't KS exclusives so in theory they're something that could be offered in the future. While it sounds like a lot of cards all at once, the truth is that the number is split across the ~7 decks that you use for the game. Honestly, it doesn't feel like the game is missing anything based on what I have. The miniatures are really just tokens - 3D renderings of the faction logo/symbol. They might be nicer if they were painted and maybe if I was playing with more than one person having them easily identifiable would be an issue, sure.

EDIT: I just saw this message on their FB page:
The original 108 cards of the Kickstarter content will be available soon, for those of you who have been asking! Here is the new box cover, by our new artist Aaron J. Riley. We will also be returning to Kickstarter soon. Enjoy!

Eventually we will redo all of the artwork--perhaps 2nd edition? You have to remember there is about 800 pieces of original art, we invested out of our own pockets over the thirteen years of development before we even hit Kickstarter. :) Even Magic The Gathering and all the classic games had humble origins... As a company, we are moving forward and we promise you can expect great things. Nothing is more important than you all, our customers and fans. And we aim to please.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by $iljanus »

And Amazon has the base game in stock. And thanks to Smoove’s strong endorsement Amazon has gotten more of my money. And of course I bought the expansion too.

I’m excited about some of the encounters I’ll be having in the game. I’ve heard there are Terminators...
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Smoove_B »

I really, really like it. I will double down on my original statement and strongly praise it.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Smoove_B »

Started and fished a game of Hermann Luttmann's Invaders from Dimension X. It's part one of three and I own the first and third titles (no idea why I skipped #2). It took me about 2 hours, so I think the estimates are pretty close.

This shot (I think) was taken from around round 5, after all my units for the mission entered the map. I was actually doing pretty good and had an earlyu amazing attack roll that took out the Overlord - the boss alien.

Enlarge Image

I had a blast and I think it's because it's lite and fast enough to not get bogged down in any type of analysis paralysis. The design of the game is really a stripped-down war game. It's stripped down because the game's AI is totally random. Normally this would be insane, but it makes perfect sense here. Why? Because you're soldiers fighting these alien creatures from a completely different dimension. Sometimes they randomly go inactive. Or warp around the map. Sometimes they attack, other times they go dormant. It's not our place to try and figure out why, only to complete the mission.

In this case I was tasked with moving specific units from the left side of the map to the right side before the timer ran out. I was so close - so very close, but in the end, the random chit pulls stopped me cold. Because I hadn't resolved my mission I had to pull a random victory chit for the enemy and it was "Summoning". If they had 8 or more units on the board, they won. It was a sad day for humans - the Kay’otz had 10 - victory for the Invaders.

I'd recommend it in a heartbeat if you're looking for something that has that war game hex and chit feel, but doesn't burden you with complex rules or layered charts. It's very straight forward and fast to play. There's also a surprising amount of strategy as you need to figure out the best order to activate your soldiers to get the most out of your turns. Some have called it a great introduction to war gaming or a war game "lite". I'd agree with those only if you don't find them offensive (I don't). I think there' s great story that emerges as you're playing and to have crafted such a slick AI system that seemingly works quite well is rather impressive.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by MonkeyFinger »

Very nice. Didn't realize Tiny Battles Publishing was a Mark H. Walker thing and their game list is very threatening to my wallet. Any experience with the other solitaire game I saw there - Rifles in the Ardennes? They have any other solitaire titles? I couldn't find a way to search for them other than serial clicking. :(
-mf
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Smoove_B »

I mentioned Rifles in Ardennes in the regular board gaming thread a few months back - it's one of the reasons I wanted to start this thread. I love Rifles - it's a surprisingly deep game for what seems like a really simplistic set of chits and game board. There's actually a ton of strategy and it really does a great job of creating (what feels like) a squad-based war game without a hex map or miniatures. It's not complex by any means, but you really feel like you're on a patrol mission and need to respond to events as they unfold. They have a print-and-play option (I think) for $10 but I am too lazy and not crafty at all so I just had a copy shipped. I'd definitely recommend messing with the Tiny Battle shopping cart a bit as I think you can get two games shipped for the price of one (it's a flat rate), mainly because they're just bagged manuals, a folded map and some chits. They seem to have everything on perpetual sale (a few dollars off), but they might also have a summer sale coming up (I have no idea).

In addition to the above two, I also own Attack of the 50 Foot Colossi (which is part 3 of the Invaders series) and Dead Reckoning, but I haven't spent any time with either of those (yet).
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by MonkeyFinger »

Nice, thanks Smooth.
-mf
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Smoove_B »

I've spent the last few nights playing The Cards of Cthulhu and I'm feeling a bit mixed. First, I'm a sucker for all things Cthulhu; I'm not someone that will ever tire of the Cthulhu Mythos as a setting or theme. I think fundamentally that might be my issue here. Yes, broad strokes - you're trying to stop the Old Gods from returning. And you're doing that by randomly fighting minions and horrors that come out of a deck, constantly trying to figure out the best place to focus your attention. But other than the art, there's no additional story or theme. It's not a deep game by any means, and it's quick to play and learn. The problem is, if I had an hour or two, would I play this? It's not bad, but I can't help but think I'd rather just set up Elder Sign. Not that Elder Sign is deep game either, but there's a bit more going on as you move around the map. For this game, you're just drawing cards (a lot of cards) each round and rolling dice to kill them. I might need to play it some more, but I think it's solidly a "meh" for me right now.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by hepcat »

I have everything for Cards of Cthulhu and I have to say I mirror your sentiment almost to a T. It really is just flavorless for the most part.

Picked up Black Orchestra after playing it at Origins this past weekend. What a great little game.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by YellowKing »

What's your guys thoughts on GLOOMHAVEN solo?

Our gaming group has a copy, but we haven't started it yet. Even when we do start it, I don't see us ever committing to it the length of time it would take to complete a full campaign.

For this reason, I'm really thinking of just picking up my own copy for solo play. However, that's a good chunk of change for a game I sort of already have access to. I'm just curious as to how fiddly it would be to play multiple characters, since I'm sure I'd want to play through the campaign proper and not limit myself just to the true solo scenarios.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by hepcat »

It's great solo. You'll have to run two characters at least. And since you'll have "perfect knowledge" of the timing of character actions, you'll need to bump the level up by one with each scenario (unless you just house rule it out). But it's a blast all the same.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Smoove_B »

I've had Gloomhaven partially set up at a dedicated table in my basement now for a few months to play solo, and every time I sit down to try it intimidates the hell out of me. I got it as a game I fully intended to solo (like KD:M) but with the drop in/out ability for other players it seemed like it would be an even bigger home run. I just need to force myself to get over it and just play, but man...it's a beast!
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by coopasonic »

Smoove_B wrote: Wed Jun 20, 2018 12:58 pm I just need to force myself to get over it and just play, but man...it's a beast!
The actual gameplay really isn't that complex, it just looks it. Yes, there are a lot of chits and bits, but mostly they just supply visual variety.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by YellowKing »

Thanks, I may pull the trigger on it then. It's one of those games I could see myself really getting immersed in, and I don't think I'm going to get the full value out of it without my own copy. I watched some rules videos and it looks pretty straightforward. I love the concept of a diceless dungeon crawl.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Smoove_B »

Speaking of diceless dungeon crawls, I'm waiting for the update, but I might try to get Perdition's Mouth to the table sooner than later. It's a euro (i.e. diceless) dungeon crawler and I'm quite curious to see how it compares to Gloomhaven in that respect. I don't think it's as strong on the story/campaign elements, but the mechanics are slightly different. There are cards but there's also two roundels with various spokes that dictate both character and monster options. You move around the spokes based on the cards you play. It's...different, but I'm trying to puzzle it out.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by hepcat »

coopasonic wrote: Wed Jun 20, 2018 1:18 pm
Smoove_B wrote: Wed Jun 20, 2018 12:58 pm I just need to force myself to get over it and just play, but man...it's a beast!
The actual gameplay really isn't that complex, it just looks it. Yes, there are a lot of chits and bits, but mostly they just supply visual variety.
And using gloomycompanion can take a lot of the fiddly out of the game as you replace a bunch of cards with an easy to use web app on your tablet.
Smoove_B wrote: Wed Jun 20, 2018 1:38 pm Speaking of diceless dungeon crawls, I'm waiting for the update, but I might try to get Perdition's Mouth to the table sooner than later. It's a euro (i.e. diceless) dungeon crawler and I'm quite curious to see how it compares to Gloomhaven in that respect. I don't think it's as strong on the story/campaign elements, but the mechanics are slightly different. There are cards but there's also two roundels with various spokes that dictate both character and monster options. You move around the spokes based on the cards you play. It's...different, but I'm trying to puzzle it out.
I wrote a mini review of it quite some time ago around these parts (well...in another thread).

In short: it's a love/hate relationship with me. I'm utterly fascinated by it...but it almost completely removes the carrot on a stick of leveling up that is a staple of other dungeon crawlers. In PM, you actually get weaker as you play. It's almost a board game version of the Darkest Dungeon video game. And when you remove that carrot on a stick, you better have some damn fun game mechanics to replace it. And I'm not quite sure PM does.

HOWEVER, I still can't bring myself to get rid of it. AND I backed the 2nd edition for the upgrade kit. There's something there...but I feel like I'm going to have to work to find it. And when I do, I'm not sure it will have been worth it. But much like Myth, I can't bring myself to part with it because of the potential it may have.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by YellowKing »

OK, Gloomhaven's on the way. I may have to sell some games just to make room in my closet for that beast. I've got a little table setup in the office I can leave it on indefinitely for a long campaign.

The only problem now is I'll have to paint double the minis (I already committed to painting the group's copy). :doh:

That's just one of those "signature" games you have to have in your collection. It took a bit of cash away from my GenCon budget, but my original plan was always to go up there to play games, not buy them and figure out a way to get them back home. :D
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Smoove_B »

YellowKing wrote: Wed Jun 20, 2018 4:10 pm OK, Gloomhaven's on the way. I may have to sell some games just to make room in my closet for that beast. I've got a little table setup in the office I can leave it on indefinitely for a long campaign.
Fair warning - it took me 3 hours to punch and sort the Gloomhaven materials. I am not exaggerating.
hepcat wrote: Wed Jun 20, 2018 1:48 pmBut much like Myth, I can't bring myself to part with it because of the potential it may have.
It's probably best we're not local. I already have an enabler board gaming friend and you and I seem to sync up more often than not on these things. I'm actively trying to get rid of stuff while at the same time, new things are coming in the door. I guess it's a hobby...
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by YellowKing »

Smoove_B wrote:Fair warning - it took me 3 hours to punch and sort the Gloomhaven materials. I am not exaggerating.
Been there, done that. I helped punch my friend's copy and assemble his Broken Token insert. 6 hours. :shock:

I am a little concerned about organizing it. I'm not about to drop another $50-$60 on an organizer so I'll have to figure something else out.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by coopasonic »

The BT organizer is really pretty nice and quite handy.I really need to go back and glue it. :oops:
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