Octopus Overlords

Thanks hep, just grabbed it.

Has anyone played the "Print and Play" or "Print-on-Demand" game Iron Helm? I am considering grabbing a copy, for a light "5-minutes between work meetings" type of game that I can play in rotation to things like Final Girl.

I broke out SET A WATCH tonight just to see if it grabbed me enough to want the upcoming standalone expansion. I really enjoyed it when I bought it but haven't played it in a couple of years.

Short answer? Yes!

It's really an excellent solo puzzle, and has just the right mix of luck and strategy that I love. The game's biggest flaw is an absolutely atrocious rulebook that I hope they heavily revamped in the expansion.

The expansion is great, and the rule books have been significantly improved. They still have some flaws, but at least they don’t mention rules during the turn sequence that aren’t actually covered until you get to a different section that has nothing to do with it.

The only issue I have with the game is constructing the monster deck. It takes a little more time than I’d like. But if that’s my worst complaint, I think you can tell it’s a good game.

Hey Smoove, you ordered Combat! Vol 2 right? I got my copy a week or so ago and the counters are much better quality. I’m reading through the campaign rules and they’re really “meaty”. There’s a lot of stuff when playing in campaign mode that doesn’t even take place on the game board and the developer seems to have fused the traditional tabletop game with a very robust Target for Today or even D100 Dungeon like component. I’m going to roll up the stats for my squad soon and have them go through some basic training in England. Very excited about the campaign mode with all the different events that you have to roll for in addition to gaining XP and actually fighting on occasion on the battle map…or having my squad get bored because a few weeks pass between missions and they get into fist fights among themselves. Definitely glad I took a chance on the expansion!

Yeah, mine came as well. I am not entirely clear how )or why) he's been sitting on these for 18+ months, but I'm glad it was finally released. I only thumbed through the contents (it's absurdly heavy and dense with materials), but yes this seemingly adds so much to the game. It's almost like he's really turned it int a modern version of Ambush! with those campaign elements and skill advancements. I'm looking forward to messing around with it, but it really came at the worst time for me as work is ramping up significantly right now. I'm hoping there aren't errors and problems like the original game, but at least the creator is responsive on BGG.

Do any of you all have experience with the Loke Battlemap books? I was considering picking up the Sci-Fi book to use with my Core Space/Battle Systems terrain for use in Five Parsecs from Home.

Yes, I love the Loke Battlemap books - they're the ginchiest.

However, they're have grids so you either have to ignore them (and just use the art for theme) -or- adopt the optional grid rules from 5 Parsecs to play on them as they're laid out. If you just want them for the art work, I can confirm they're awesome.

I haven't used them for 5 Parsecs (though I do own space/cyber themed books), so I can't say I have practical experience with them, but in theory - sure, they should be super.

I have one of these, which seem to be similar.

The Loke books - small, big, giant?

Very similar - as you've noted, it's just a matter of size. I have all three sizes, plus the themed sets for Dungeons, Towns and Wilderness locations (all fantasy based). They also have optional static cling...things - all types of environmental features - rocks, trees, treasure chests, pit traps, towers, etc...

All the Loke stuff is plasticized so you can use erasable markers on them as well.

Everything is the same as the other brand I have, then, except for the binding.

Also, I love that I I get to play with Colorforms again.

I was going to call them Colorforms but I didn't know if anyone would get it.

Colorforms were awesome.

I see your Colorforms and raise you Presto Magix

YellowKing wrote: ↑Mon Feb 07, 2022 8:34 am I see your Colorforms and raise you Presto Magix

Colorforms, I believe I had. Not sure about Presto Magix. The kiddos has a giant pack of various vinyl stickers that we have had appear everywhere. So it is common for a scuba diver to be on the mirror or a UFO on the window.

So, say I want play a solo skirmish or RPG/skirmish hybrid miniatures game. Something that doesn't require a table the size of a football field, a 500-page rulebook, or a Warhammer-scale investment. If I'm wanting fantasy, I'm going to pull out Rangers of the Shadow Deep or the upcoming fantasy game from Battle Systems. If I want sci-fi, I'm going to grab Five Parsecs from Home or Core Space. If I want classic adventure, I'm going to pull out Pulp Alley.

What about other genres? Two specifically come to mind: post apocalyptic and old west. I have miniatures for both. Now, clearly Pulp Alley can be adapted to a variety of genres (as long as you're keeping within the pulp style), but I was wondering if there was something more focused.

Dracula's America now has solo rules and they're free. I love the whole concept of Dracula ruling America during the mid 1800s.

As for post apocalyptic, look no further than Fallout Wasteland Warfare. It's all you need for that. And the core set is pretty cheap. Usually 60 bucks or so. It has VERY good solo rules...which also includes the ability to add crafting, base building, etc. to your solo games.

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Tue Feb 08, 2022 11:24 am post apocalyptic

Look no further than Scrappers or Zona Alfa, both by Osprey publishing. Scrappers is like Gamma World / Sci-Fi and Zona Alfa is inspired by STALKER.

Regardless, Osprey have quite a few thematic rule sets that all pretty much play the same and don't require specific minis or terrain. I think all play in 3x3 areas. There's no campaign or story (unless you make one) so in terms of true solo, neither will play like RoSD. But if you're just looking for a game you set up and fight yourself as both sides? Both would work.

I didn't know about the solo rules for Dracula, so that's awesome - thanks.

Excuse my ignorance, but I've never played a skirmish game before. Do they have pre-set scenarios or something to tell you what terrain/minis etc are involved? Or do you just throw a bunch of random stuff on the table and go at it?

YellowKing wrote: ↑Tue Feb 08, 2022 2:41 pm Excuse my ignorance, but I've never played a skirmish game before. Do they have pre-set scenarios or something to tell you what terrain/minis etc are involved? Or do you just throw a bunch of random stuff on the table and go at it?

Depends on the game. Some - like Rangers of the Shadow Deep - have scenarios or even campaigns. Others are just army lists and rules.

The only thing that really defines a skirmish game is that it is in the genre of wargames that include such luminaries as Warhammer, but at smaller scale. 3x3 or 2x2 instead of 8x4, 12 figures on a side instead of 60.

I do love Fallout:WW but man are those some icon intensive rules. Tons of little tokens with icons and tons of icons on the player cards. I think my love for the game is driven by the lore/background/beautiful minis more than anything.
If you love Fallout, it really captures the feel. Especially once you get into settlement building and scavenging and the like.

Thinking about it I’ve almost talked myself into wanting to play it again.

Old West? I’d really stick to Pulp Alley. I’ve played almost every straight western Minoan game (only played Wild West Exodus once, and Dracula’s America held no interest) and none have solo rules to speak of. Pulp Alley could easily be converted to an old west game. When Dave starts working on his genre books I’m hoping I can help out with the Wild West one.

Double post. Oops.

I got a crazy bee in my bonnet and ordered Frostgrave and its solo ruleset Perilous Dark. I'm contemplating what to do for maps/terrain. I have a regular table, and could obviously set up something like Heroscape terrain or similar stuff to use. Even the building blocks in Heroscape could form rivers, hills, etc., although the scale might be off. I also contemplated a Loke Battlemap - but I think those max out at 2x2 feet and Frostgrave is optimal at 3x3. I also have a boatload of The Fantasy Trip stuff, although I'm not sure that will be much help.

Any ideas on the best path to take? Alternatively, I could generate maps on the PC and run the game virtually using something like Roll20. That isn't my preferred way to do it, but it would be easy.

For games like Frostgrave, breaking line of sight is critically important. I can't remember how much elevation is used (it's been a while), but when I was playing I just marked off a 3x3 area on a blue tablecloth with some painter's tape and set up in those boundaries. I have 3D terrain, but you could easily use an appropriate set of 2D terrain - something like Dungeon Craft, though I don't think anything has a winter/ice theme (if that's important).

Because you're playing without hexes or squares, that's why I just use a colored tablecloth and tons of scatter terrain.

Gah, I'm still waiting on the advanced rulebook and the Dangerous Days expansion for Core Space to ship. They've been on preorder now from an online place that specializes in Core Space stuff for like two months now. I hate this shipping crisis!

...serenity now....serenity now

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Wed Feb 16, 2022 12:34 am For games like Frostgrave, breaking line of sight is critically important. I can't remember how much elevation is used (it's been a while), but when I was playing I just marked off a 3x3 area on a blue tablecloth with some painter's tape and set up in those boundaries. I have 3D terrain, but you could easily use an appropriate set of 2D terrain - something like Dungeon Craft, though I don't think anything has a winter/ice theme (if that's important).

Because you're playing without hexes or squares, that's why I just use a colored tablecloth and tons of scatter terrain.

It occurred to me that I got the "extras" pack with my Tanares KS that includes a lot of plastic walls. I also have the ruins from Heroscape. I might even have some old Castles and Catapults blocks from ages ago. Not to mention my kiddo grew out of Duplos recently, leaving me with those. Wouldn't these all be useful for Frostgrave, particularly if I just tossed them down on a table? It seems like the large part of the game requires ruined city walls.

For more prestige offerings, I suppose I could go for Battle Systems stuff like this: https://battlesystems.co.uk/product/fantasy-citadel/

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Wed Feb 16, 2022 12:34 am For games like Frostgrave, breaking line of sight is critically important. I can't remember how much elevation is used (it's been a while), but when I was playing I just marked off a 3x3 area on a blue tablecloth with some painter's tape and set up in those boundaries. I have 3D terrain, but you could easily use an appropriate set of 2D terrain - something like Dungeon Craft, though I don't think anything has a winter/ice theme (if that's important).

Because you're playing without hexes or squares, that's why I just use a colored tablecloth and tons of scatter terrain.

Or even this:
https://battlesystems.co.uk/product/ruined-monastery/

With their 3x3 map?

I love Battle Systems stuff, but it's much more money and you have the overhead of building (it takes practice) and then either disassembling and storage or storing them after being built. If space isn't a problem, go nuts!

You can get copies of that stuff domestically, likely cheaper. I am a fan of Troll Hoard Games as my vendor of choice for all things Battlesystem. They maintain eBay listings and even an Amazon store if you have credits or its easier.

Troll Hoard is where my order is currently sitting.

They have FANTASTIC customer service, by the way. I've messaged them a few times on facebook about an issue with the order and a couple of requests for shipping updates, and they always respond quickly and very politely.

And I completely agree with you on the overhead (storage, assembly, setup, etc). I'm just trying to get my money's worth out of what I have and adding a few things I thought might help me enjoy it more. Plus, I've spent the last 3 weeks painting the miniatures for it and want to at least see the pretty colors on my table.

baelthazar wrote: ↑Wed Feb 16, 2022 2:56 pm Or even this:
https://battlesystems.co.uk/product/ruined-monastery/

With their 3x3 map?

The Battle Systems stuff is fantastic. It's what I use for a variety of things, mostly because I have no real way to store a lot of crafted terrain. They have snow-covered versions of many of their buildings, which would be great for Frostgrave (as far as I grasp the setting - I've never actually read it) when combined with one of their winter mats.

Beyond that I will steal this post from the solo RPG thread where I was responding to a similar terrain question about Rangers of the Shadow Deep (which is related in multiple ways to Frostgrave.)

Blackhawk wrote: ↑Sun Dec 26, 2021 5:46 pm Super-cheap terrain:

1. Get a table
2. Get a sheet (preferably an earth tone rather than Scooby-Doo, but whatever floats your boat)
3. Lay books on your table where the hills and shapes need to be.
4. Lay the sheet over the whole shebang.



Super deluxe stretch goals!

• Buy some construction paper - cut out blue rivers and brown roads. Make them all the same size at the ends (3" is good), and make sure that the shapes all end on one of the paper edges.
• Super cheap trees! (alternative: Hit the Christmas closeouts for miniature 'village' trees.)

The four levels of buildings, from cheap and easy to signing the divorce papers:

Level 1: Squares of paper, Legos, Lincoln Logs, small food boxes from the kitchen, empty Tupperware, books, you name it.
Level 2: Free papercraft! and Free papercraft!
Level 3: Retail papercraft! and Retail papercraft!
Level 4: Top-quality collapsible heavy card terrain by Battle Systems, the makers of Core Space.
Level 5: 3d printer
Level 6: Black Magic Craft DIY. Also, RFDHobyy and The Game Smith.

A buddy of mine joined me in TTS and we collaborated on a solo play of Earth which I just backed on KS. I figured two heads would be better than one trying to learn it, and we ended up having a blast.

The general gist of the game is playing cards from your hand to a 4x4 tableau to maximize scoring. While thematically this is mostly plant life, it feels like a somewhat heavier version of Wingspan. Heavier in that you have much more freedom in building your tableau/engine, with a lot more synergies and meatier actions to take.

Taking any of the four actions nets you the major benefits of that action, while giving the Automa (Gaia) some minor benefit. Then Gaia takes her major action from a 6-card deck, which grants you a minor benefit. The game ends when either Gaia runs through her deck twice (12 rounds), or you complete your tableau. At that point, final scores are tallied.

There were a lot of things I really loved about this one. As mentioned, it's slightly heavier than Wingspan and I loved the vast array of scoring possibilities before you. My one minor gripe against WIngspan was that you can sometimes feel a bit constrained to adjust strategic focus on the fly, whereas I felt Earth gave you a slight bit more flexibility to respond. And while I absolutely love Ark Nova, Earth is slightly lighter and takes less time to play while still giving the same general feel.

We wound up beating Gaia on Beginner difficulty, but based on the one game it still felt incredibly well balanced. Had we not prevented Gaia from a key scoring opportunity and failed to complete one of our objectives when we did, we'd have lost by a thin margin.

Great game, big thumbs up from me.

A guy who lives nearby is selling two games that I've had my eye on: Sleeping Gods for $80 and Descent 3rd Edition for $80, or he'll give me both for $150. Good prices, and they're both in good condition, its less than a ten minute drive and so I don't need to pay for shipping.

So my four options are:

• Buy both!
• Buy Sleeping Gods
• Buy Descent: Legends of the Dark
• Buy neither because I already have a backlog!

Space is not an issue. Time is an issue, and I suppose I should watch my spending. I love dungeon crawlers, that's my main thing. I also love open world games. Shit.

Thoughts? Talk me out of/in to one of those options!

Buy both.

Don’t meet in a Walmart parking lot after 10pm.

Buy both...
...and send me whichever appeals to you the least!

They're going to be very different games. I don't have experience with the new Descent, but it does seem to be very well liked.I think it will come down to how much you like the system and whether or not using app bothers you.

Sleeping Gods is going to be more like playing an 80s fighting choose your own adventure style book. It's more about exploring and story (IMHO) than Descent - which is more focused on story choices and tactical combat (again, just based on my past experiences). It's going to be closer to playing a D&D module than Sleeping Gods (which is closer to reading a Fighting Fantasy book).

Very different and you're certainly going to get your money's worth out of both if you're into them. I'm in the camp that says buy them both, mainly because I'm an enabler.

For $80, I'd say the new Descent is probably worth it. It's a decent app-driven dungeon crawler with some interesting mechanics, even if the story and writing are terrible and the gameplay is fairly simple.

For the $180 my dumb ass paid for it on release? Probably not.

SkinyPupy wrote:For the $180 my dumb ass paid for it on release? Probably not.

I went in on it with my gaming group ($40 a piece) and we still haven't played it. I have possession of it and ran through a couple of scenarios solo just to try it out, and it seemed fine. Though I think it's one I'd rather roll through with the group than solo.

Heck, we may never get to it. My group is famous for just buying crap we'll never have time to get around to. And I know when Frosthaven hits later this year, that's all we're going to play for the next year and a half.

I've been enjoying Descent, but I didn't have to pay for it because it was a Christmas present from my mom. If you can get my mom to buy a copy for you, then I definitely recommend it.

hepcat wrote: ↑Mon Feb 28, 2022 10:54 pm Buy both.

Fardaza wrote: ↑Tue Mar 01, 2022 10:30 am Buy both...

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Tue Mar 01, 2022 10:52 am I'm in the camp that says buy them both,

Guess what I'm doing on Friday