Octopus Overlords

Posted: **Sun Nov 28, 2021 10:14 am**

coopasonic wrote: ↑Sun Nov 21, 2021 2:56 pm Played a learning game of Final Girl. The connection to Hostage Negotiator is pretty obvious, but I think the location/rescue/killer mechanics make it more interesting, adding more things to do. I messed up one rule for the first half of the game that gave me some advantage that may have won me the game. Don't forget to increase terror when you get masks on the terror cards. I knew it was too easy, but didn't realize why until I got a terror card with two masks on it.

I will say that the difficulty will vary wildly depending on luck. If you can get your final girl her ummm... secret, the killer is in trouble, but odds are pretty long there. The schroedinger's death mechanic is pretty interesting too.

My copy has been bouncing around Illinois now for about two full weeks. It will get one town over, then tracking reports a local delivery exception, cannot deliver, and it goes to pending for a few days before the whole cycle starts again.

It’s scheduled for delivery yet again tomorrow, so we’ll see if the fourth time is the charm.

Posted: **Sun Nov 28, 2021 10:31 am**

Bought the kickstarter version of 7th Continent while it was on sale! It might be 2 weeks or so before they ship it. I can't wait to give it a shot.

I didn't know it was a survival game as AB said. That shouldn't matter to me though. I need something besides a dungeon crawler. Also, it looks like another year before the Robinson Crusoe kickstarter ships.

Posted: **Sun Nov 28, 2021 1:55 pm**

Fardaza wrote: ↑Sun Nov 28, 2021 10:31 am Bought the kickstarter version of 7th Continent while it was on sale! It might be 2 weeks or so before they ship it. I can't wait to give it a shot.

I didn't know it was a survival game as AB said. That shouldn't matter to me though. I need something besides a dungeon crawler. Also, it looks like another year before the Robinson Crusoe kickstarter ships.

There can be a tendency to overlook this, simply because it's so tempting to become distracted by all of the fascinating things to explore within the game that you're lulled into considering the vital crafting, hunting, and survival aspect of the game as more of an afterthought until it's too late. But even if you play using the easy mode, crafting, hunting, and survival remain an integral part of the gameplay and setting. That said, it's really nothing onerous. Just remember to keep the core loop of gameplay in mind -- i.e. explore, hunt, explore -- and you will have a blast with it. I know I did.

Posted: **Sun Nov 28, 2021 9:10 pm**

As a card-carrying member of the Cult of the New, I need to report on Final Girl as the KS was just delivered (to me) earlier this week. For those unaware, this is a re-implementation of Hostage Negotiator, a game that seems to have a love/hate relationship with people that play.

Right out of the gate, I'll say, they're similar - you get cards to play and then roll dice to earn successes, possibly mitigating your bad die rolling with items or discards. If you hate that mechanic, it's front and center in Final Girl. However - and this is the big difference - the addition of the tiny game board adds an entirely new dimension (har, har) to the game play. I know that one of the complaints about Hostage Negotiator is that it's quite abstract - it's a telephone call simulation, so not really a lot of action. But for Final Girl, you're moving around a thematic horror map and that changes the card and dice play enough that I think if you hated Hostage Negotiator, you might actually like this. The reason is that you're moving around the map and helping victims escape, searching for gear and avoiding the killer as they also move around and terrorize everyone.

The other thing that's rather impressive is all the elements that randomize game play. Even if you just purchased the core set and one of the themed boxes ("film reels") you get quite a bit of variety. Yes, you're always going to be playing at a specific location with one of two girls fighting the same horror monster, however, every game you randomize:

(1) Setup (location of killer, player and victims)
(2) Items
(3) Killer characteristics (revealed as things escalate, change game play mechanics)
(4) Final health status (last health point for killer and player is a hidden random token - might be zero, might be more health)

On top of that, all the sets are capable of being intermixed. So you can play Final girls from Set (A) against Boss (B) in location (C) (instead of playing Final Girl (A) against Boss (A) in location (A)) -- assuming you have multiple sets.

Here's starting setup:

It looks a bit busy, and there is a lot going on, but if you've played Hostage Negotiator, this is only a little more complicated as you need to account for the boss and victims moving around the map every turn. The goal is to power yourself up and take on the killer before they get too powerful from moving around the map and killing victims.

Anyway, my first play is still in progress, but I'm really liking what I'm seeing so far - believe the hype you might be hearing elsewhere. I believe it's coming to retail (via VanRyder online store, maybe in random retail locations) and I would highly, highly recommend it based on the limited amount of time I've spent with it so far. Replay value is high and the addition of the board gaming elements make it less abstract and much more thematic (imho). They're selling the core box for $20 and each feature film (girl/killer/venue) for $20, which feels reasonable now that I have the game in hand. I don't know if one set is more difficult than the other so I can't really say which one to get if you're looking at one - other than recommending you go with a theme you're into.

As a purely solo game with a relatively small footprint, it's hitting all the notes I typically look for. Would recommend.

Posted: **Sun Nov 28, 2021 9:23 pm**

You didn’t buy the playmat?

Peasant.

Posted: **Sun Nov 28, 2021 9:31 pm**

I have a love/hate relationship with play mats. I've stopped blind-buying them which I fully acknowledge might turn out to be a bad strategy, but I'm full-up on mats I hate that are now taking up space.

I suspect they'll be available again in February of 2022 when the next KS for this series launches.

Posted: **Sun Nov 28, 2021 9:57 pm**

Hell, my game…and playmat….are apparently on an extended tour of the Midwest after hijacking the fedex truck they were on.

Posted: **Sun Nov 28, 2021 10:01 pm**

Mine spend exactly 7 days traveling from FL, which is pretty hard to believe. I had another KS ship 3 days after (from QML) and it was delivered a day before Final Girl. You can't explain that.

Posted: **Sun Nov 28, 2021 10:05 pm**

Two weeks and counting here.

Posted: **Sun Nov 28, 2021 10:47 pm**

My Final Girl shipping details:
11/17 6:26pm arrived at fed ex facility in FL
11/20 11:50am arrived at Coop's front door

For a SmartPost delivery, that is lightning fast.

Also, the playmat looks very much to be a nice to have, but wholly unnecessary item. There are a few decks that won't have a specific home without the mat but once you've played once it all falls into place.

On the difficulty side, the Poltergeist appears to be a serious pain, requiring you to find a specific loot item and escape. Poltergeist has movement inhibiting powers. Good luck with that. I've only played two scenarios but so far he goes on the bottom of the fun rankings for me.

Posted: **Sun Nov 28, 2021 11:00 pm**

To be fair, 95 percent of all playmats aren’t necessary. That doesn’t change the fact that smoove is a peasant for not getting one.

Posted: **Mon Nov 29, 2021 9:21 am**

Good to hear those comments. I'm regretting not backing FINAL GIRL a bit since I'm a huge horror fan, but the HOSTAGE NEGOTIATOR foundation scared me off. I bought HN at GenCon as an impulse buy (they had a hell of a good deal on Crime Wave bundles with a bunch of the promo packs). I've probably sat down 3 or 4 times to try to get into it and it never clicked with me. I even downloaded the app to try to learn it that way and I never did figure it out.

Posted: **Mon Nov 29, 2021 9:48 am**

I think it's a bit easier to get into than HN as well - because the cards your trying to get from the tableau are thematically more connected to what's happening in the game world (i.e. trying to fight the villain). In HN it's just...discussion points on the telephone. Here, you're buying cards to move, search and fight - all very different.

As a horror fan, I'm guessing you're really going to enjoy this as they very clearly created this as an homage to the horror genre. All the little details - items, quotes on the cards, art work, etc... make it clear this was something they were all very much into.

I like HN, but this is definitely an improvement on the game design. I could almost see HN being reworked into a SWOT-style game where you have someone on the phone *and* you're sending a team of officers into a environment (office building, bank, movie theater, etc...) to clear out bad guys by moving meeples around a map.

Posted: **Mon Nov 29, 2021 10:03 am**

Sigh...and my copy (including the playmat) JUST got rescheduled yet again for tomorrow. That's 7 times it's been rescheduled now over the course of two weeks.

Posted: **Mon Nov 29, 2021 4:51 pm**

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Sun Nov 28, 2021 9:10 pm As a card-carrying member of the Cult of the New, I need to report on Final Girl as the KS was just delivered (to me) earlier this week. For those unaware, this is a re-implementation of Hostage Negotiator, a game that seems to have a love/hate relationship with people that play.

Ok...

So, where does its very bizarre name come from?

Posted: **Mon Nov 29, 2021 5:05 pm**

The final girl is a trope in horror films (particularly slasher films). It refers to the last girl(s) or woman alive to confront the killer, ostensibly the one left to tell the story

Posted: **Mon Nov 29, 2021 5:08 pm**

Fardaza wrote: ↑Mon Nov 29, 2021 4:51 pm
Smoove_B wrote: ↑Sun Nov 28, 2021 9:10 pm As a card-carrying member of the Cult of the New, I need to report on Final Girl as the KS was just delivered (to me) earlier this week. For those unaware, this is a re-implementation of Hostage Negotiator, a game that seems to have a love/hate relationship with people that play.
Ok...

So, where does its very bizarre name come from?

From the 'Final Girl' slasher/horror movie trope:

tvtropes.org wrote:The simplest definition of this is "the last character left alive to confront the killer" in a Slasher Movie. The character in question tends to follow a certain set of characteristics. The most obvious one is being (almost) Always Female. Especially in older works, she'll also almost certainly be a virgin, remain fully clothed, avoid Death by Sex, and probably won't drink alcohol, smoke tobacco, or take drugs, either. Finally, she'll probably turn out to be more intelligent and resourceful than the other victims, occasionally even evolving into a type of Action Girl by the movie's end. Looking at the Sorting Algorithm of Mortality, you could say that the Final Girl is a combination of The Hero, The Cutie, and the Damsel in Distress — which obviously gives her a very low deadness score. The Final Girl is usually but not always brunette, often in contrast to a promiscuous blonde who traditionally gets killed off.

Posted: **Mon Nov 29, 2021 5:41 pm**

hepcat wrote: ↑Mon Nov 29, 2021 10:03 am Sigh...and my copy (including the playmat) JUST got rescheduled yet again for tomorrow. That's 7 times it's been rescheduled now over the course of two weeks.

And they just dropped it off. The tracking for this was a mess.

Posted: **Mon Nov 29, 2021 5:45 pm**

Maybe the play mats made it too heavy to transport, slowing them down?

Either way, glad you finally received it. Looking forward to hearing if your thoughts align with mine. (and I guess coops?)

Posted: **Mon Nov 29, 2021 6:17 pm**

I just took the playmat out of the box. While doing so, I felt a tear welling up as I thought of those people who had to play Final Girl without one.

Sometimes this world is too cruel.

Posted: **Mon Nov 29, 2021 11:48 pm**

I ended up with 3 new games, thanks to all recommendations.

I received Nemo's War today and I'm currently reading the rule book and watching some play through's in anticipation of giving it a go tomorrow. I got this on Amazon for $45.

I purchased Robinson Crusoe on sale on Amazon for $39. This is scheduled for delivery Wednesday. My wife enjoys playing a game on occasion, so I thought she'd like this as well as myself.

Finally, i purchased 7th Continent tonight from Amazon. Ended up only paying $39 because I had some store credit.

I still want to purchase Core Space, Pathfinder Adventure, and maybe even Rangers of the Shadow Deep (miniatures has always intrigued me, thank you Blackhawk). I was very tempted to purchase on a couple occasions Mage Knight, but the complexity scared me off. I also have on my want list Spirit Island, Everdell, and Terraforming Mars.

Lastly, I'm very tempted to learn Dungeon and Dragons. Is there an OO virtual D&D group i might consider joining if I decide to give that a shot?

Posted: **Tue Nov 30, 2021 10:12 am**

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Mon Nov 29, 2021 5:45 pm Either way, glad you finally received it. Looking forward to hearing if your thoughts align with mine. (and I guess coops?)

I set it up late in the day yesterday and started a game. So far, my impressions are really favorable. The playmat is sturdy yet rolls up without any issues. Every spot on the playmat is clearly marked and there's a space for everything.

As for the game itself, I quickly realized in my first turn that the playmat was fantastic in the way it helped me with organization. I knew where everything was and I could easily find it all, even in the heat of a tense turn.

I think it was my third turn where things got rough. The killer was getting close and that's when the playmat came through yet again. The large font helped me see what rolls I needed to defeat him!

I'll try to finish my game after work tonight, but I can honestly say that playmat is a wonderful piece of engineering.

Posted: **Tue Nov 30, 2021 11:23 am**

You might have found yourself a niche reviewer position. Have you considered setting up a Youtube channel to film your gaming mat thoughts and feelings? I am being 100% serious.

Posted: **Tue Nov 30, 2021 12:04 pm**

I could add it to my channel "Things Daehawk Eats"....

in all seriousness though, the playmat really isn't necessary. They didn't even put a turn overview on the damn thing, like the one found on the horror track placard. I had to tuck mine under the left edge of the playmat so I could refer to it. It's nice having all the spots marked where things go though. But unnecessary, to be honest.

I also picked up the miniatures pack, and that isn't really a big deal either. However, it is nice to have that extra oomph thematically when playing.

The mystery box though? Pure gold. ABSOLUTELY unnecessary, but I love it all the same as a fan of...a certain movie. I really need to paint it.

Posted: **Tue Nov 30, 2021 12:17 pm**

Yes, the miniatures are wholly unnecessary. Nice, but optional. With the play card summary inserted under the mat, it's no longer a level, flat play area. Good luck.

And yeah, the surprise made me chuckle. I agree 100% about painting and displaying.

Given what they've been teasing with shipping updates (the latest including the P-5000 Power Work Loader), I think it's pretty clear where they're going for the next series. I definitely more interested in the storage solution because that's at least 30% of why I board game.

Posted: **Tue Nov 30, 2021 12:23 pm**

I'm in for any new "movies", I'll say that much. They've got a great formula that has an enormous amount of sources to draw from.

I watched the Rodney Watch it Played video instead of reading the manual and it taught me all I needed to know. If you're even remotely interested in Final Girl, I recommend watching it too.

Spoiler:

I love the variability of the final health token, the random dark powers you reveal at certain points for the villain, and the mix and match setup in general. You get a LOT of replay value with just the core and even two movie boxes. This is a small game that feels truly epic when playing.

p.s. don't forget to look UNDER the plastic organizer trays in each of the movie boxes. There's a special surprise for each final girl that you add to any of her games.

Posted: **Tue Nov 30, 2021 2:56 pm**

hepcat wrote: ↑Tue Nov 30, 2021 12:04 pm I also picked up the miniatures pack, and that isn't really a big deal either. However, it is nice to have that extra oomph thematically when playing.

The mystery box though? Pure gold. ABSOLUTELY unnecessary, but I love it all the same as a fan of...a certain movie. I really need to paint it.

I did go in for the minis myself but they seem even more unnecessary than the playmat. I don't see myself actually using them. Also, they look small and kind of pathetic compared to the CMON stuff I am used to.

Posted: **Tue Nov 30, 2021 3:01 pm**

90 percent of what CMON is trying to sell you ARE the miniatures. Final Girl isn't really gunning for that market.

I'll continue using them happily.

Posted: **Tue Nov 30, 2021 6:45 pm**

hepcat wrote: ↑Mon Nov 29, 2021 5:41 pm
hepcat wrote: ↑Mon Nov 29, 2021 10:03 am Sigh...and my copy (including the playmat) JUST got rescheduled yet again for tomorrow. That's 7 times it's been rescheduled now over the course of two weeks.
And they just dropped it off. The tracking for this was a mess.

Boo! Yesterday, I saw Van Ryder had Final Girl on their webstore, so I ordered the whole lot (except the playmat, which was out of stock). I got shipping notice today. I was really hoping to see if my order would beat Hep's KS!

Posted: **Tue Nov 30, 2021 6:56 pm**

Hey Hep, can you PM me what was in the mystery box? It was KS exclusive, so I missed it buying retail. I really wish I had kept my pledge.

Posted: **Tue Nov 30, 2021 7:28 pm**

After watching Rodney's playthrough I think I'm going to order the core set and one film. I could see all the Hostage Negotiator mechanics in there, but they made a bit more sense to me with this theme. Who knows, maybe it will even make me appreciate Hostage Negotiator more!

I do like that you can just keep adding on in $20 increments.

Posted: **Tue Nov 30, 2021 7:39 pm**

baelthazar wrote: ↑Tue Nov 30, 2021 6:56 pm Hey Hep, can you PM me what was in the mystery box? It was KS exclusive, so I missed it buying retail. I really wish I had kept my pledge.

No need to PM, I think a spoiler is sufficient.

Spoiler:

YellowKing wrote: ↑Tue Nov 30, 2021 7:28 pm After watching Rodney's playthrough I think I'm going to order the core set and one film. I could see all the Hostage Negotiator mechanics in there, but they made a bit more sense to me with this theme. Who knows, maybe it will even make me appreciate Hostage Negotiator more!

I do like that you can just keep adding on in $20 increments.

Do yourself a favor and at least get two movies. You’ll get a ton more playability that way…and it’s only a little more. You won’t regret it.

Just completed my first game with Laurie and Hans. It came down to the wire, but I lost on a bad final roll. Incredibly thematic though as I kept trying to shepard survivors to safety…and the goddamn killer just kept getting faster and stronger. Loved it and I’m now setting up the same game, but with Reiko. The game gives me the same feel as Street Masters in some ways, if that makes sense.

It’s insane that I have 4 other killers, 4 other locations, a mini expansion “vignette” and 8 other final girls to try…in any combination.

…and that playmat? Whoo.

Posted: **Tue Nov 30, 2021 10:44 pm**

I agree - more variety is a solid plan. Though thematically, I'm not sure I'm into all of the expansions I have, so I'll need to see how they play.

However, since my money isn't tied up in neoprene futures and I have space, I did pick up a copy of Paper Dungeons - a true dungeon scrawler (roll and write). I'm more or less becoming obsessed with these kinds of games after discovering Fleet earlier this summer. It hits a perfect spot for me - complexity, space, length of time, and most importantly - dice. My bandwidth has been severely limited so these roll and write games let me do *something* with minimal effort. As much as I want to bust out something heavy, it never seems to work out. I have a few more of them coming Vengenance Roll and Fight and Three Sisters (creator of Fleet dice game), so plenty of solo fun in the coming days. I need a vacation. Or retirement.

Posted: **Tue Nov 30, 2021 11:05 pm**

I backed Vengeance based almost solely on the fact that David Turczi is a co designer. Same reason I backed Perseverance. He designs games that are euro in their mechanics, but incredibly thematic. Plus, he’s the best solo AI designer working right now.

Posted: **Wed Dec 01, 2021 11:15 am**

Neat, Van Ryder Games has a tool on their site you can use to create custom Final Girl characters.

...now where's that Bea Arthur photo directory on my pc.

Posted: **Wed Dec 01, 2021 11:28 am**

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Tue Nov 30, 2021 10:44 pm However, since my money isn't tied up in neoprene futures and I have space, I did pick up a copy of Paper Dungeons - a true dungeon scrawler (roll and write).

Where did you find your copy??? I've been wanting that for a couple of months now!

Posted: **Wed Dec 01, 2021 11:31 am**

Fardaza wrote: ↑Wed Dec 01, 2021 11:28 am Where did you find your copy??? I've been wanting that for a couple of months now!

I found a listing on Amazon from a vendor known as "Global Gaming Warehouse". I was rather surprised to see a Miniatures Market return label on the box when it arrived yesterday. The only vendor selling it now on Amazon is a known scammer (they take pre-orders months in advance without having actually secured copies from the publisher and refuse any attempt to refund when they can't deliver). I think I just randomly lucked out. I have a friend that thinks I secretly operate a warehousing import/export business related to board gaming. It might be true.

hepcat wrote: ↑Wed Dec 01, 2021 11:15 am ...now where's that Bea Arthur photo directory on my pc.

There needs to be a Final Golden Girl total conversion.

Posted: **Wed Dec 01, 2021 11:38 am**

Xmann wrote: ↑Mon Nov 29, 2021 11:48 pm I ended up with 3 new games, thanks to all recommendations.

I received Nemo's War today and I'm currently reading the rule book and watching some play through's in anticipation of giving it a go tomorrow. I got this on Amazon for $45.

I purchased Robinson Crusoe on sale on Amazon for $39. This is scheduled for delivery Wednesday. My wife enjoys playing a game on occasion, so I thought she'd like this as well as myself.

Finally, i purchased 7th Continent tonight from Amazon. Ended up only paying $39 because I had some store credit.

I still want to purchase Core Space, Pathfinder Adventure, and maybe even Rangers of the Shadow Deep (miniatures has always intrigued me, thank you Blackhawk). I was very tempted to purchase on a couple occasions Mage Knight, but the complexity scared me off. I also have on my want list Spirit Island, Everdell, and Terraforming Mars.

Lastly, I'm very tempted to learn Dungeon and Dragons. Is there an OO virtual D&D group i might consider joining if I decide to give that a shot?

Your tastes seem to parallel mine.
I've had Nemo's War in my Amazon cart twice in the last month. Just haven't pulled the trigger.
I'm (im)patiently waiting for my Robinson Crusoe Collector's Edition kickstarter. I see that it's been pushed back to late this year.
I grabbed the 7th Continent kickstarter edition during Serious Pulp's Black Friday sale. I think it's supposed to be here within a few weeks.

Mage Knight has been on my radar for a year now. I'm just afraid that if I get it, I'll never pull out Gloomhaven again.
Core Space and Spirit Island have been calling me too.
My copy of Terraforming Mars has been sitting on the shelf since I played it a lot to get me through my COVID days back in August 2020. It was good, but didn't grab me enough to want to pull it out again.

I see from your avatar that you're a Tennessee Vols fan? Do you live in TN?

Posted: **Wed Dec 01, 2021 11:55 am**

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Tue Nov 30, 2021 10:44 pm However, since my money isn't tied up in neoprene futures and I have space, I did pick up a copy of Paper Dungeons - a true dungeon scrawler (roll and write).

Oh, that looks cool. That might be the first game to tempt me to break my 'no more games' rule.

Posted: **Wed Dec 01, 2021 1:50 pm**

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Wed Dec 01, 2021 11:31 am
hepcat wrote: ↑Wed Dec 01, 2021 11:15 am ...now where's that Bea Arthur photo directory on my pc.
There needs to be a Final Golden Girl total conversion.

Except that wouldn't be Bea Arthur. That would be Betty White. Who, I think we can all agree, would kick the monster's ass.

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