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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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Blackhawk »

Awesome. I'd heard that they were setting-flexible enough to be used for a variety of things, which appeals to me.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by hentzau »

Blackhawk wrote:Awesome. I'd heard that they were setting-flexible enough to be used for a variety of things, which appeals to me.
Yeah, I’ve seen a ton of different uses of PA. It’s a darling game over on the Lead Adventure Forum.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Skinypupy »

Warp's Edge arrived today, and I played my first couple games. I think I generally like it, but holy hell is it hard. In three games, I have yet to destroy even a single section on the lowest difficulty mothership. It's the one that requires you to destroy all the other mobs before you can attack it, and I never seem to have enough firepower to get through them all, even in the later rounds after my bag is built up.

I actually watched two "let's play" videos today to make sure I was playing correctly, and both of those ended in losses as well. So I guess I'm not the only one struggling. :lol:

Also got Paladins of the West Kingdom, but not sure I quite have the brainpower to start that one today.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by YellowKing »

Yeah it's a toughie. I've only won one game, and afterward realized I had forgotten to remove a token from the game for any damage done to my shields, so I couldn't really count it. And that's on the easiest mothership. :shock:
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by YellowKing »

Decided to check in on my Core Space order from the UK. It's out on the truck for delivery today. :shock: :shock: :shock:

That's 4 days from order to arrival. Holy crap. Apparently they have a distribution center in Florida. :horse:
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Blackhawk »

I've gotten all of my stuff from them really, really fast, and the shipments are all addressed straight from the UK. They're really fast.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Skinypupy »

After my 5th straight loss against the easiest mothership in Warp’s Edge last night, I’ve come to the realization that I simply don’t enjoy the frustration of overly difficult games. I get that nobody wants a game that they can breeze through with no challenge, but I find that I really don’t like games where winning is actually an extreme rarity.

I’m curious what solo games you have that fall in the “fun but not insanely difficult” category. A few examples that I would put into each, from my collection

Fun and not insane
- Star Wars Outer Rim
- Sanctum
- D&D Adventure Series
- Tiny Epic Galaxies
- Legendary Marvel

Fun but insanely difficult
- Street Masters
- Warp’s Edge
- Dungeon Alliance
- Mage Knight
- One Deck Dungeon
- Aeon’s End

There’s also a few that would probably be in the insane category that I simplify with some house rules. Gloomhaven, Descent/Imperial Assault, and Sword & Sorcery fall into this category.

I’m mostly just trying to avoid spending $$ on games that are going to just gather dust because they’re crazy hard. TIA
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by YellowKing »

Horrified and both Back to the Future games fall into my "sweet spot" category. They're all winnable on normal difficulty but not guaranteed. And there are easy tweaks to make them harder. Any of the Pandemics also fall in that range. I'd even go so far as to put the app-driven FF games like Mansions of Madness and Journeys in Middle Earth as in that range, though I would put them on the harder end of the range.

I have a couple of games on my shelf now that irritate me due to difficulty. One is Arkham Horror 3rd Edition. I have yet to beat the first scenario of that game, and got so frustrated I never even tried the other ones (I'm hard headed that way). I also shelved Folklore: The Affliction (probably permanently) for the same reason.

I haven't quite reached that point with Warp's Edge yet, but I think it's because I feel there's a puzzle solution there that I'm *just* missing that may unlock the secret. I've been taking long breaks between sessions with it though because I could definitely see myself getting aggravated with it.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Blackhawk »

I'd put Hero Realms and Shadowrun: Crossfire in the 'difficult' category (probably Dragonfire, too.) I'm tempted to add in Hostage Negotiator, but I think it is just my strategy that is off in that one. The Pathfinder Adventure Card Game would probably go into the 'not insane' category, but again, it requires getting the strategies down. If you just play blind, it'll feel insane.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Skinypupy »

Thanks for the suggestions.

Horrified has been on my “maybe” list for a while. Glad to hear it’s doable.

I don’t think I enjoy Back to the Future theme enough to buy a game. Same with Pandemic and Hostage Negotiator.

I love Hero Realms against others, but didn’t enjoy the solo mode very much.

I have the digital version of Pathfinder Card Game, and have a love/hate relationship with it. I generally love it, but it also has the dubious distinction of having the most RNG-related rage I’ve ever felt in my gaming life before. Ever.

Don’t know anything about Crossfire, will have to look into that one.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Blackhawk »

Skinypupy wrote: Sun Nov 22, 2020 5:22 pm

Don’t know anything about Crossfire, will have to look into that one.
To be clear, it is in the 'insane' category. It expects you to lose repeatedly, gaining just a trickle of resources on each loss, before you are likely to pull off a win. It's solo requires multi-handing (all four characters are required to be there for all but one mission, I believe.) That said, it makes great use of the theming and is fun once you get over the hump. Cliff.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Skinypupy »

Ah, never mind then. Thanks for the clarification.

Doesn’t sound like my sort of game.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Blackhawk »

Yeah, those weren't all suggestions. They were attempts to put some of the games I know into your categories.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Smoove_B »

Skinypupy wrote: Sun Nov 22, 2020 3:50 pm I’m curious what solo games you have that fall in the “fun but not insanely difficult” category.
Fun and not insane
- Street Masters (this can be adjusted +/- relatively easily)
- Marvel Champions
- Pandemic Find the Cure
- Aventuria LCG
- Xia Legends of a Drift System
- Pavlov's House
- Thunderbolt Apache Leader

Fun but insanely difficult
- Hostage Negotiator
- Death Angel
- Dungeon Alliance
- Dawn of the Zeds
- Doomrock
- Arkham LCG (this is probably easier if I was into creating custom decks, but I'm not)
- Gloom of Kilforth (I play this with random setups so difficulty can be all over the place, but it's usually tough)

I generally have found the Legendary card games to be above-average difficulty. I'm not sure about insane, but they're definitely on the harder end of solo play. If it looks like a curated list, it's because it is. I've given up on so many games that are just not fun for what I'm looking for. However, I can enjoy a really difficult game if there's a story that unfolds - regardless of whether or not I win. If it's a really difficult game that's just about scoring points or beating your previous high score? I'm generally not interested. Something like Death Angel or Dawn of the Zeds are perfect examples. Even Hostage Negotiator. It's difficult but there is a strategy and the story that emerges as you're playing is interesting (to me). If a game is grindy (like Dragonfire) or on a timer (like Descent and many of the 2nd generation Fantasy Flight titles), I generally avoid them.

So yeah, generally speaking, I'd likely enjoy losing a game like Dawn of the Zeds but not feel anything winning a solo game of Cartographers.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by hepcat »

I really wish they’d release a new edition of Assault on Doomrock. That game was just so incredibly original. I still find myself wanting to play it, even though it’s essentially broken in some cases (the zombie deck).

I don’t find Dungeon Alliance all that hard, but for some reason Marvel Champions kicks my ass every time I play. :?
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by baelthazar »

YellowKing wrote: Sun Nov 22, 2020 12:06 pm Decided to check in on my Core Space order from the UK. It's out on the truck for delivery today. :shock: :shock: :shock:

That's 4 days from order to arrival. Holy crap. Apparently they have a distribution center in Florida. :horse:
I made a mistake and ordered from a (from what I read reputable) California store named Game Kastle. They told me it shipped on Friday but my tracking number still doesn't work. :evil: That's what I get for choosing price break over known quantity.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by hepcat »

Okay, I just played two more solo games of Altar Quest and I'm back on board. I started the campaign from the base set and I'm having a blast. I did lose the first quest (friggin' Raglanders and their stench attacks on activating), but I had an epiphany while playing: if you're not doing a LOT of non action stuff on your turn in addition to your 3 actions, you're not playing the game right. This game is all about the combos. You need to be using your exhausts, your feats and your use cards left and right. That's also why the altar dice are there. You need to chain effects off them as much as you can.

I still think they need to hire someone to write their rules (seriously, the number of things that aren't answered in the rule book is embarrassing...you're making bank on these games so you have no excuse not to spend some on a damn writer), and the Quarantine quest should be immediately put through a paper shredder if you buy the kickstarter version, but I'm having a lot of fun now that I understand what I was doing wrong. That doesn't mean I'm going to win next time...but at least I won't feel like it was a grind and/or unbalanced to the point of ridiculousness.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Smoove_B »

You should go back and try Street Masters again now. The entirety of the game is trying to figure out how to do all kinds of additional "free" stuff each turn that exists outside of your normal actions - playing or using free actions or using special abilities, using items, etc... I had exactly the same feel playing Altar Quest *and* it adds in potential freebie stuff with the room furniture plus the risk/reward element for using one of the Altar Dice. It's amazing how it all comes together and it feels awesome when you pull off a crazy turn after using all kinds of freebies.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Anonymous Bosch »

hepcat wrote: Wed Nov 25, 2020 7:33 pm I still think they need to hire someone to write their rules (seriously, the number of things that aren't answered in the rule book is embarrassing...you're making bank on these games so you have no excuse not to spend some on a damn writer)
Amen.

Many's the time I've wished more game designers would at least consider hiring a capable editor for their rule books. I believe Paul Grogan, the British fellow who runs the Gaming Rules! Youtube channel, specifically offers a variety of rule book writing, proofreading, and editing services along with how-to-play tutorial videos and such through his web site. But it strikes me that such services remain a largely overlooked notion for the most part.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by $iljanus »

Anonymous Bosch wrote:
hepcat wrote: Wed Nov 25, 2020 7:33 pm I still think they need to hire someone to write their rules (seriously, the number of things that aren't answered in the rule book is embarrassing...you're making bank on these games so you have no excuse not to spend some on a damn writer)
Amen.

Many's the time I've wished more game designers would at least consider hiring a capable editor for their rule books. I believe Paul Grogan, the British fellow who runs the Gaming Rules! Youtube channel, specifically offers a variety of rule book writing, proofreading, and editing services along with how-to-play tutorial videos and such through his web site. But it strikes me that such services remain a largely overlooked notion for the most part.
DVG could stand to use their services.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Blackhawk »

And hire an editor who specializes in instructional materials. A prose editor may be great, but if he doesn't understand how to convey information he won't help with much more than grammar.

First, I don't know how many rule books have been made unnecessarily confusing simply by not layering their information in order (don't make heavy use of a term that you don't define for twenty more pages!) FATE (an RPG) is especially bad about this. The information required to understand the first chapters is scattered throughout the rest of the book, making reading the whole thing cover to cover required in order to read it cover to cover and understand it.

Second, give examples, with photos if necessary. If you are describing cards, show me a readable card alongside and let me see how your information applies.

Last, listen to your play testers. Give new players the written draft and let them learn the game. Write down what they misunderstand or have to ask about. Now you know what to fix in the next draft!

Oh, and if you are going to release it in multiple languages, have an editor who is a native speaker of the target language read over it after the translation. Not your friend Francois who took English in high school.

And this is more of a design comment, but lay off the effing iconography. I'm looking at you, Monolith. Yes, it means you don't need to pay for translations of some of the components, but if it also means that you're throwing a hundred or more obscure symbols at me, and I have to flip through the book three times for each and every card I draw, you're doing something wrong (I'm looking at you, Gotham City Chronicles by Monolith.) If you do need to use that much iconography, don't effing stylize it. Make it simple, clear, and easy to remember. Oh, and include a reference sheet with reminder text and a page number.

Which reminds me: if your rules are more than five pages, put in an index. An exhaustive one with alternate phrasings.

Bad index:

Attack: See Actions, Attack.

Good index:

Attack: See Actions, attack (p. 27)
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Blackhawk »

*pant, pant*
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Zarathud »

Combos you say? :drools:

Multiple chained (non-)actions? :puddle:

Temptress.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Skinypupy »

Tried Warp’s Edge again last night. While I thought it looked really interesting, this is definitely my least favorite game I’ve bought all year.

Even setting aside the crazy difficulty, it’s just really not much fun to play at all. I typically enjoy deck builders, but this one just hasn’t clicked in any way whatsoever. It’s getting very good reviews, so there must just be something about it that doesn’t jive with me.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Smoove_B »

Skinypupy wrote: Sun Nov 29, 2020 3:31 pmIt’s getting very good reviews, so there must just be something about it that doesn’t jive with me.
When I first made the switch into solo board gaming, I really had a problem with my disconnect between what everyone would rave about vs what I actually enjoyed playing. Solo really is a whole different monster, but once you figure out what kind of solo play you like (story/theme, point total, puzzle, etc...) then it really changes how you approach new games to purchase or try. Of course there's always exceptions, but if I've learned nothing else, I've learned what types of games I like to play solo and then how to avoid those I do not.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Isgrimnur »

I know for a fact that it will sell.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Skinypupy »

Smoove_B wrote: Sun Nov 29, 2020 3:59 pm
Skinypupy wrote: Sun Nov 29, 2020 3:31 pmIt’s getting very good reviews, so there must just be something about it that doesn’t jive with me.
When I first made the switch into solo board gaming, I really had a problem with my disconnect between what everyone would rave about vs what I actually enjoyed playing. Solo really is a whole different monster, but once you figure out what kind of solo play you like (story/theme, point total, puzzle, etc...) then it really changes how you approach new games to purchase or try. Of course there's always exceptions, but if I've learned nothing else, I've learned what types of games I like to play solo and then how to avoid those I do not.
I really thought I would like it. I generally enjoy deckbuilders (similar idea with this bagbuilder) and the sci-fi theme looked cool. The fact that every gameplay video I watched ended in a loss should have probably been a big red flag for me that this was going to be super-difficult and likely not my thing.

Oh well...at least it wasn't expensive.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by AWS260 »

I just wrapped up my first game of Aurelian: Restorer of the World, a solo game about restoring the splintered Roman Empire during the third century CE. It's a very well-designed balancing act, in which every single action is a trade-off. Your army is strong, and in battle can easily overcome most foes. But wars make the people increasingly unhappy and hostile to your rule. Sending an officer to govern a province will make the people happier, but weakens your army as soldiers leave the main force to stay with the officer. Etcetera.

In my game, Aurelian successfully overthrew the false emperors in the west (Postumus) and east (Zenobia), but failed to build the temples and walls that would secure the empire over the long term. Not a total disaster, but a loss nonetheless.

I'd definitely recommend this one to solo gamers, if the theme appeals to you. It's not too complex, plays fast, and forces you to make a constant stream of meaningful decisions. Good stuff.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by hepcat »

I just ordered Table Battles from their site. It seems to be fairly highly regarded. It does say it has high solitaire capability, but I don’t see how though.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by hepcat »

That looks fun, but I’ve got the entire Apex deck builder coming my way soon. I think that’s enough Dino action for a while. I also like that I can just buy the print and play expansion modules for Table Battles as they’re just scenario and formation info cards. They have quite a few available.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by YellowKing »

Received my copy of HELLBOY: THE BOARD GAME from the GameNerdz sale. This is one I've had my eye on for awhile, but never wanted to commit for the high price (compared to content) for the retail version. At half off, however, it was worth the plunge since I'm a big fan of the theme.

The game seemed to have the same polarized reviews as CTHULHU: DEATH MAY DIE, and after going through the tutorial I can see why. Very similar feel. Fortunately I actually really like C:DMD, so I think I'll wind up liking this one as well.

Now I just wish the expansions weren't so darn pricy. $75 for an expansion? Even Fantasy Flight is going "Geez, dude."
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by baelthazar »

Damn people...

Got my first game of Core Space in over the weekend. It took about 30 minutes to set up and I hate the girders (but surely I will get over that). I was automatically tempted to buy the backup terrain, not only to have more but also to have replacements if something gets bent or damaged. No doubt the setup is amazing, once it is done.

I ran the Salvage Run mission with Cpt. Arianna, Roykirk, and Gak. I kitted out Arianna so that she could eventually be a dual-pistol wielding force who could shoot as an effortless action (Soldier - Weapon's Expert - Level 2). Gak I made Support with the skill that lets him do an extra move or assault. Roykirk I made Tech with a skill in repair (because the manual told me to do that). My only sticking point was the token bag thing - it is a bit confusing about the whole "rare items" thing. The way I interpreted it was that I needed to random select the number of large rare tokens it told me to do (in this case 1) and then select out the rest of the large tokens needed to fill out the crates, then pop them in the bag and draw them out into the crates. Then do the same with the small tokens. Then put ALL the small tokens back in the bag for general searches. Maybe I did that wrong, but I only did one general search.

At first I was like, "hmm, this doesn't seem too active, given that I am playing solo." Without the second player, I began to wonder if the game wouldn't be dynamic, as I could just run up and open all the crates, then get out. :lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Boy was I foolish. I got deep into the station and started looting. I was semi unlucky that I kept getting melee weapons, rather than ranged ones, while Gak already has 2 close assault and Arianna was specifically geared towards pistols. Then Roykirk managed to loot a rare pistol (4 dice, short range only) and had to make his way to the captain to trade her for it. She also found an energy pistol (2C/2M - Ability to burn up all ammo for more dice). So with her skill, she could dual shoot at 5 dice, with effortless action. Not bad.

Then all hell broke loose. At first, the harvesters came and we offed them as they got close. But this upped the alert level (the first shot of the round adds to it), bringing us closer to devastators. One waltzed in at the top of the map and just murdered a poor NPC. Then he came for us. Trying to get away from some harvesters put Gak into direct line of fire of him and, due to some lucky rolls, a crisis was averted. You really have to rely on hiding from Devastators, to force their linked actions into two moves, otherwise you are going to get turned into giblets by their weapons. We were trapped in the right hand hall and needed to get to the bottom left of the map - with the big central room going to be a "killzone" if we weren't careful.

Then an assassin spawned at the north part of the map. That thing moves fast and is deadly. He managed to catch up with Arianna in no time, and would have defeated her outright if she hadn't had the skill - Reflexes - to avoid all close assault hits in an attack. She needed to get away, which meant risking attacks of opportunity. Gak had a nice rifle with auto fire +2, which managed to cull the devastator (another one spawned right after, however) and Arianna blasted the assassin after disengaging with it. Harvesters were also all over, becoming speed traps.

Even worse, Harvesters spawned right at the airlock, effectively blocking me from running to the exit. We had to rely on breaking LOS with the Devastator, while also cleaning out the Harvestors and holding off a second incoming Assassin. Health was low, stims were gone, skills were used up, and ammo running short. If I hadn't drawn an event that allowed me to kill one Purge member, up to Assassin level, I would have lost. It may seem crazy, but I killed a Harvester - not due to danger but because his positioning prevented me from getting past to the airlock. A judicious use of pistols allowed me to duck the devastator and get to the room right in front of the airlock.

I knew that, if I rolled a Purge spawn in that room, it was all over. I particularly knew if it was a Live One (we were up to Charged Level), I was especially toast. The spawns ended up being out of LOS and across the map - a reprieve. We ducked into the Air Lock and got out of there.

What a ride. This was the tone of the mid-game on:
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baelthazar
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by baelthazar »

I am also pretty convinced that I am upping my pledge to All in on the new stuff. This is the minis combat game I have been looking for well... forever.
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Smoove_B
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Smoove_B »

:D

Great write up. I love how the AI works in this game - that rising threat level that still has randomness to it. If they are really working on a fantasy version of their Core Space mechanics, I'm going to go broke.
Maybe next year, maybe no go
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$iljanus
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by $iljanus »

I gotta clear off some space to set up a Core Space game! Enjoyed the AAR. Luckily for me and my wallet I'm not interested in a fantasy version of the game but I think they'll do a great job making it.

The good thing about an all in First Born pledge is all the cool add ons that will ship with it.
Black lives matter!

Wise words of warning from Smoove B: Oh, how you all laughed when I warned you about the semen. Well, who's laughing now?
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hentzau
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by hentzau »

You got the items correct. If the loot load out shows rare items, you replace common items with them. I usually draw from the bag and put the items in a cup, then randomly draw a rare item and then mix those up and place them in the crates. Then I will usually mix up the crates, just to make sure I didn't accidentally see an item when drawing. Or, I'll get one of my kids to do it so I make sure I don't know. :)
“We can never allow Murania to become desecrated by the presence of surface people. Our lives are serene, our minds are superior, our accomplishments greater. Gene Autry must be captured!!!” - Queen Tika, The Phantom Empire
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hentzau
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by hentzau »

Well, my first game of Under Falling Skies ended with the mothership descending before my research team was able to unlock the final key to defeating the aliens. Image

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Yeah, this didn’t go well at all. I need to advance the excavator faster, do a better job of controlling the fall of the ships, the fall of the mothership...basically everything.
“We can never allow Murania to become desecrated by the presence of surface people. Our lives are serene, our minds are superior, our accomplishments greater. Gene Autry must be captured!!!” - Queen Tika, The Phantom Empire
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YellowKing
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by YellowKing »

Finally got HELLBOY: THE BOARD GAME to the table (Tutorial scenario) and here are my quick takeaways:

- I can see why this gets compared to Cthulhu: Death May Die. While it's a bit simpler overall, it has much of the same feel of tile exploration, spawning minions, culminating with big boss fight.

- I had to hit the rulebook quite a bit on the first go-round, but by the end of it I was chugging along pretty good. There are quite a few things to keep up with (mainly remembering all the minutia of upgrading/downgrading dice), but it started to click to the point I was starting to do it naturally by the end of the scenario.

- I can tell this game could potentially get HARD. Base dice are practically worthless, and bad rolls seem to be extremely common. I did wind up beating the tutorial scenario on the first try, but that's with some minor rules flubs (pretty sure I forgot to downgrade dice for additional enemies). I may go through it again now that I have a firmer grasp on the rules.

- There are several mechanics I really like in this game. I love the result die, as it adds an extra bit of excitement to a rather boring "count the pips" action check. There were times in the game where it saved my bacon...or screwed me over.....and I liked that added thrill. And since 5 out of 6 faces are "good," it helps alleviate the pain of bad rolls more often than not. I also liked all the character specials and items - they make you feel powerful when you're using them, but they also have costs. Figuring out the most opportune times to burn your powerful items/skills added another layer to the puzzle that I really enjoyed.

Looking forward to getting into some "real" case files over the holiday break, but so far I think I'm going to like this one a lot. It's light enough that I feel like I'll be inclined to play it regularly, but seems challenging enough that I don't think I'll be able to just blow through it.
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hepcat
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by hepcat »

Got a copy of Pavlov’s House as a present, then stopped by my FLGS and grabbed their last copy of Zona The Secrets of Chernobyl. It’s an adventure board game set in the world of Stalker. It looks fantastic and has some pretty good reviews. I’ve been eyeing it for a while, so when I saw a copy on their shelf at a discount, I snatched it up. Hopefully I’ll get in a game this week since I’m not visiting family back in Ohio after all. We’re having a late Christmas after my folks get the vaccine.
Covfefe!
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