OO Boardgamers, what did you play this weekend?

[$iljanus]

So Devil Boats (see previous post) is one of those narrative solo games in the vein of B-17 Queen of the Skies, Target for Today, The Hunters/Hunted, Silent Victory, etc. I guess it's called a narrative game because to me you're weaving a story through a variety of dice rolls on different charts which are dictating what's occurring but not all your choices influence the outcome. (probably would come out better explaining in person over a pint but oh well) Some people really don't like this type of game because they think there's a lack of choice or I guess "player agency". You're at the mercy of the chart rolls and don't get to make many meaningful decisions. I happen to really like these games because it is like a good adventure story unfolding and I think in the narrative games I own, the choices that you make are meaningful and there are enough of them to make me feel involved in the game. I do recommend watching game play videos for these types of games to see if it's your cup of tea since these type of games are a bit different from other solo wargame systems.

Smoove, I'd be curious about that US Ranger game the Pavlov's House designer is working on. Hopefully it's not a DVG product, I'm sad to say.

[Smoove_B]

That's my impression (I think) - that it's a matter of what you might have been expecting that determines whether or not you like the game. I get that the style/design isn't for everyone, but if you're into those narrative style thematic titles, this seemed pretty well-researched. Don't you start out each game trying to figure out which crew members have malaria? I mean, that's hard core. Your review on BGG seems to support what I've seen everywhere else - if you're into the theme and design, it's a fun game. If you were thinking it was some type of hex/chit style game, then you hate it.

I'm all over anything Ranger related (not a well-represented theme in war gaming, to my knowledge) so when I see something official, I'll be first in line....unless it's DVG.

[$iljanus]

That's my impression (I think) - that it's a matter of what you might have been expecting that determines whether or not you like the game. I get that the style/design isn't for everyone, but if you're into those narrative style thematic titles, this seemed pretty well-researched. Don't you start out each game trying to figure out which crew members have malaria? I mean, that's hard core. Your review on BGG seems to support what I've seen everywhere else - if you're into the theme and design, it's a fun game. If you were thinking it was some type of hex/chit style game, then you hate it.

I'm all over anything Ranger related (not a well-represented theme in war gaming, to my knowledge) so when I see something official, I'll be first in line....unless it's DVG.

You do start each mission with a malaria roll! And if your CO comes down with it...game ends.

And you’ll love this, one of the random events is...dysentery! And there are a ton of dysentery counters in the game. (Fresh water sources were a bit dicey in the Pacific Theater)

[Moat_Man]

I never post what I've played here, but now that I make videos about it, I might as well post the video

Thanks for posting your video. I enjoyed watching it. You play a lot of games I like.

[Skinypupy]

We played Dominion for the first time with everyone today and had a blast. Deck builders just seem to be in that gaming sweet spot with all the kids. Wonder Twin 7.7b actually won, which almost never happens (he tends to play whatever comes to mind first, rather than thinking strategically). The fact that we can mix up the deck and have a completely different game will be a big selling point for getting it to the table again.

I see there's approximately 3,285 expansions available for Dominion. Are any of them considered "must have"?

We've now played everything I got in Mrs. Skinypupy's massive Christmas gaming haul...except for one. Star Wars Rebellion is still glaring at me from the shelf. I've read the manual a couple times, but am having a hell of a time figuring out how it works solo.

[Anonymous Bosch]

We played Dominion for the first time with everyone today and had a blast. Deck builders just seem to be in that gaming sweet spot with all the kids. Wonder Twin 7.7b actually won, which almost never happens (he tends to play whatever comes to mind first, rather than thinking strategically). The fact that we can mix up the deck and have a completely different game will be a big selling point for getting it to the table again.

I see there's approximately 3,285 expansions available for Dominion. Are any of them considered "must have"

I doubt there's any pressing need to immediately rush out and begin adding and acquiring expansions. Since you're playing with kids, it'd likely be prudent to begin with a simpler expansion that doesn't add too much additional complexity to the game, so Intrigue would be best in that regard. If/when you feel like adding more to the mix, the following guide from the creator of Dominion will help steer you in the appropriate direction (with kids, you'll likely do best to follow the recommendations in the 'LET'S START OFF SIMPLE' section):

Donald X.’s Guide to 12 Dominion Expansions

[hepcat]

Packing up my last game of Core Space when I realized that I only had 7 dashboards instead of 8. Argh. I sent Battle Systems a customer support request so we'll see how that goes. Oh well, as long as I don't have to deal with Asmodee on this kind of thing, I count myself lucky. I've had a surprising amount of luck getting customer support from most game companies when shipping defects occur. Hopefully Battle Systems keeps that trend going.

[hentzau]

Packing up my last game of Core Space when I realized that I only had 7 dashboards instead of 8. Argh. I sent Battle Systems a customer support request so we'll see how that goes. Oh well, as long as I don't have to deal with Asmodee on this kind of thing, I count myself lucky. I've had a surprising amount of luck getting customer support from most game companies when shipping defects occur. Hopefully Battle Systems keeps that trend going.

Yeah, BattleSystems has great customer support from everything I've heard. So far I've been lucky and have never had to contact thereabout anything.

[$iljanus]

Packing up my last game of Core Space when I realized that I only had 7 dashboards instead of 8. Argh. I sent Battle Systems a customer support request so we'll see how that goes. Oh well, as long as I don't have to deal with Asmodee on this kind of thing, I count myself lucky. I've had a surprising amount of luck getting customer support from most game companies when shipping defects occur. Hopefully Battle Systems keeps that trend going.

How did your game go? Get any phat space loot?

[hepcat]

The tutorial mission just gave me a chance to shake out the rules. It doesn’t rally play well solo since the objective is “get what you can and leave”. However, it did ramp up pretty quickly and I almost lost a crew member. I did lose all the civilians though. And I think the jam/misfire mechanic could use some work. The more powerful the weapon, the more likely it is to jam. While all the single dice weapons will never have that happen. I feel like that needs to be revamped.

I want to get cracking on the campaign soon as that’s where I think it will shine. The RPG aspect is what interests me. Well, that and missions with real objectives I could lose.

[$iljanus]

The tutorial mission just gave me a chance to shake out the rules. It doesn’t rally play well solo since the objective is “get what you can and leave”. However, it did ramp up pretty quickly and I almost lost a crew member. I did lose all the civilians though. And I think the jam/misfire mechanic could use some work. The more powerful the weapon, the more likely it is to jam. While all the single dice weapons will never have that happen. I feel like that needs to be revamped.

I want to get cracking on the campaign soon as that’s where I think it will shine. The RPG aspect is what interests me. Well, that and missions with real objectives I could lose.

Yeah, the intro scenario is a good shakedown cruise. And with a certain combination of cards and a bad dice roll things can turn south pretty quick.

I guess with a complicated powerful weapon, there are more moving parts that can jam? There are a few weapons that won’t jam though.

Don’t feel bad about the civilians. It’s a harsh universe.

[hepcat]

The jam/misfire mechanic just seems so capricious. It got to a point in my game that I just stopped using any weapon that rolled more than 2 dice...and even then I had a couple of turns lost to double jam icon rolls. It’s not the complexity of the weapons that determine it, it’s just anything that rolls more than one die may jam, while everything that rolls just one die won’t...ever. I would prefer a more thematic approach. However, the game is intended to be a hybrid board game/miniatures game, so I suppose it’s simplistic on purpose.

[EzeKieL]

Excellent video. Thanks for sharing Ezekiel!

Thanks!

[hentzau]

The jam/misfire mechanic just seems so capricious. It got to a point in my game that I just stopped using any weapon that rolled more than 2 dice...and even then I had a couple of turns lost to double jam icon rolls. It’s not the complexity of the weapons that determine it, it’s just anything that rolls more than one die may jam, while everything that rolls just one die won’t...ever. I would prefer a more thematic approach. However, the game is intended to be a hybrid board game/miniatures game, so I suppose it’s simplistic on purpose.

Double check the rules on misfires Hep. If in one game you had that many misfires, you may have been doing something wrong. Out of all of my games I can only remember one or two misfires.

[Blackhawk]

Packing up my last game of Core Space when I realized that I only had 7 dashboards instead of 8. Argh. I sent Battle Systems a customer support request so we'll see how that goes. Oh well, as long as I don't have to deal with Asmodee on this kind of thing, I count myself lucky. I've had a surprising amount of luck getting customer support from most game companies when shipping defects occur. Hopefully Battle Systems keeps that trend going.

Yeah, BattleSystems has great customer support from everything I've heard. So far I've been lucky and have never had to contact thereabout anything.

I had to contact them. I bought a copy off of ebay, and several items were missing. I wrote them and told them straight out that I got the game second hand and asked if I could buy the missing pieces (the range ruler, one of the dice, something else I think.) They sent them to me free of charge, even though they knew they hadn't received a dime of my money yet. They earned my trust doing so, and I've made several purchases from them since then (are you listening, Asmodee?)

[AWS260]

A couple of new-to-me games this week:

A War of Whispers: Great game of hidden alliances and influence, as you manipulate empires into wars so that your (secretly) favored empire comes out on top. The gameplay is very smooth and intuitive, with a track around the edge of the circular board that takes you through each phase of a round. Unfortunately, the rest of the board is a graphic design catastrophe: the colors are so dark and muddled that it's very difficult to distinguish key features. It feels like a game that went through a ton of gameplay testing with prototypes, but almost no usability testing with the final product.

Greed Incorporated: An economic game about producing, trading, and selling resources. But really it's about accumulating a bunch of cash in a business, then manufacturing one bad year so that you (the CEO) get an enormous golden parachute when you're fired. That's now your personal money that you can use to buy fancy billionaire stuff, which is what actually wins the game. Very clever and funny, although it loses some tension in the last couple of rounds, when everyone is just rushing to crash their companies as quickly as possible.

[hepcat]

Packing up my last game of Core Space when I realized that I only had 7 dashboards instead of 8. Argh. I sent Battle Systems a customer support request so we'll see how that goes. Oh well, as long as I don't have to deal with Asmodee on this kind of thing, I count myself lucky. I've had a surprising amount of luck getting customer support from most game companies when shipping defects occur. Hopefully Battle Systems keeps that trend going.

Yeah, BattleSystems has great customer support from everything I've heard. So far I've been lucky and have never had to contact thereabout anything.

I had to contact them. I bought a copy off of ebay, and several items were missing. I wrote them and told them straight out that I got the game second hand and asked if I could buy the missing pieces (the range ruler, one of the dice, something else I think.) They sent them to me free of charge, even though they knew they hadn't received a dime of my money yet. They earned my trust doing so, and I've made several purchases from them since then (are you listening, Asmodee?)

They sent me an email early this morning asking for my address so they can ship me the dashboard I'm missing. Battle Systems, Chip Theory Games, Ion Games...they ALL have great customer service. FFG USED to have it too, but the horror stories I hear about them since Asmodee took over keep me on edge with their games.

Double check the rules on misfires Hep. If in one game you had that many misfires, you may have been doing something wrong. Out of all of my games I can only remember one or two misfires.

They're pretty straight forward. You roll two of the jam/misfire icons and you jam up firearms. Same with close combat, although you can choose to do a light or heavy swing.

I just had crappy luck yesterday afternoon. I rolled two jams with two different characters within three turns after they found great weapons. It just seemed odd that they factored jams into the rules based solely on the number of dice you roll...and made it so that one die weapons can't possibly jam. Not a deal breaker, just something that annoyed me slightly while playing yesterday.

[$iljanus]

I was missing a particular wall connector (or maybe lost it) in my Core Space game and just bought it from Miniature Market but I was pretty confident that Battle Systems would probably have sent it out.

DVG has been shitting the bed though with the amount of errors in their games lately and the corrected materials are free but you have to pay shipping. That was fine for a short while but has now grown tiresome. Also it kind of sucks if you happen to live in Europe and have to shell out a bunch of Euros/Pounds for shipping which turns out to be a lot more than the value of the item itself.

[hepcat]

I was missing a particular wall connector (or maybe lost it) in my Core Space game and just bought it from Miniature Market but I was pretty confident that Battle Systems would probably have sent it out.

Was it one of the two that have the slight bend in it for 45 degree angles? If so, there are ONLY two and I thought I'd lost mine as well until i found it at the very bottom of the bag. I really wish they'd tossed at least one extra in the bag.

[Smoove_B]

In related news, today's free mission is a fully solo Core Space adventure - Hull Breach:

This week’s free download is a solo mission designed for lockdown gaming. Lots of new players have picked up Core Space recently, and this mission is playable using just the starter set.

The Aldrin College for Gifted Students is a prestigious school, but unlike most it cannot be found on the surface of a planet – it’s on board a space station! While this has its benefits, it does leave it more vulnerable to attacks from the Purge… Their latest assault has pierced a hole in the hull, and your job is to board the station and rescue the students before they get sucked into space, or suffer an even worse fate at the hands of the Purge!

[$iljanus]

I was missing a particular wall connector (or maybe lost it) in my Core Space game and just bought it from Miniature Market but I was pretty confident that Battle Systems would probably have sent it out.

Was it one of the two that have the slight bend in it for 45 degree angles? If so, there are ONLY two and I thought I'd lost mine as well until i found it at the very bottom of the bag. I really wish they'd tossed at least one extra in the bag.

Yeah I think that's the one. Dumped out the bag and really looked hard but no luck. They were cheap enough at Miniature Market and I figured it was worth having extras in case I lose more. Now I have a lot of extras...

Oooh, a new scenario! Definitely love how Battle Systems supports their product. Thanks Smoove!

[hepcat]

That really doesn't strike me as a solo-centric mission as you could just save one and then leave. I wish they had clear objectives that you either finish or lose. However, I could see it as great for a campaign to get more cash. That would create the incentive to do more during the mission. I think I'll add it to my campaign as a side mission when I get started.

Yeah I think that's the one. Dumped out the bag and really looked hard but no luck. They were cheap enough at Miniature Market and I figured it was worth having extras in case I lose more. Now I have a lot of extras...

You can order more? Cool, I'll have to keep that in mind...because I WILL lose some of those bloody things.

Their terrain reminds me so much of the Terraclips stuff from WorldWorksGames. I used to love those.

[$iljanus]

That really doesn't strike me as a solo-centric mission as you could just save one and then leave. I wish they had clear objectives that you either finish or lose. However, I could see it as great for a campaign to get more cash. That would create the incentive to do more during the mission. I think I'll add it to my campaign as a side mission when I get started.

Yeah I think that's the one. Dumped out the bag and really looked hard but no luck. They were cheap enough at Miniature Market and I figured it was worth having extras in case I lose more. Now I have a lot of extras...

You can order more? Cool, I'll have to keep that in mind...because I WILL lose some of those bloody things.

Their terrain reminds me so much of the Terraclips stuff from WorldWorksGames. I used to love those.

Actually I’ve been getting the company wrong and I ordered the clips (and an expansion while I was at it) from Troll Horde Games. Smoove suggested them as a vendor for Battle Systems stuff and I wasn’t disappointed using them. They have a section dedicated to Battle Systems items!

[hepcat]

Yeah, turns out the amazon store I ordered the base game from is Troll Hoard Games. They ended up getting it to me about a week and a half ahead of the projected arrival date from Amazon. Really quick shippers, I will say.

[$iljanus]

Yeah, turns out the amazon store I ordered the base game from is Troll Hoard Games. They ended up getting it to me about a week and a half ahead of the projected arrival date from Amazon. Really quick shippers, I will say.

They are! And I think they’ll be one of my go to non-Amazon vendors for all sorts of Battle Systems materials. Go small business and all that!

[hepcat]

I do have one question about NPC movement for Core Space. When rolling the chance die and you're told to use the arrow on the die for movement direction, do you first "right" the die so that the number on it is readable? Or do you use the arrow direction as displayed on the die where it landed? If the former, you're only ever going to move left or right, I discovered. But with the latter, you sometimes get directions that could go either way.

[$iljanus]

I do have one question about NPC movement for Core Space. When rolling the chance die and you're told to use the arrow on the die for movement direction, do you first "right" the die so that the number on it is readable? Or do you use the arrow direction as displayed on the die where it landed? If the former, you're only ever going to move left or right, I discovered. But with the latter, you sometimes get directions that could go either way.

Now I’ll defer to Hentzau of course for the final word but you let the die fall where it falls and go that direction. If they run into a wall and can’t go further they just stop. I’ve also been playing it where if a NPC is against a wall but close to a door and the arrow is pointing through the wall, the NPC will walk along the wall then through the door, going in the direction of the arrow. Also like Hentzau said below if they bump into an obstacle like a table the NPC would move around it.

I’ve found that the NPCs make pretty reasonable “decisions” based on the die result. Sure sometimes it’s a pain in the ass because you needed to talk to one and they’re moving away from you but that mimics the real world and is part of the fun. It also makes it tempting to just shoot them if they have an item of interest you need but keep running away. I think how you run your crew is up to you...

[Tao]

Crew member #1: Excuse me can we speak to you for a moment?
NPC: I am sorry, I am late for an appointment <as he hurries away>
Crew member #2: crack! crack!, crack!
Crew member #1: What the hell Jayne!!

[hentzau]

I do have one question about NPC movement for Core Space. When rolling the chance die and you're told to use the arrow on the die for movement direction, do you first "right" the die so that the number on it is readable? Or do you use the arrow direction as displayed on the die where it landed? If the former, you're only ever going to move left or right, I discovered. But with the latter, you sometimes get directions that could go either way.

Follow the arrow as the die lays. Lies. Whatever. And if you encounter an obstacle, go over/around (depending on the NPC/Purge type. Some purge can climb over obstacles.) I always play if they encounter a wall and have more movement, they just keep moving generally in the direction that the die was pointing. Sometimes that will get them trapped in a corner, but they usually leave the next turn. Usually.

And just wait until that roll transforms them into a Live One. Fun times that. Fun times.

[hepcat]

Thanks. I was playing that initially, but during my game yesterday I got it into my head that perhaps I was supposed to be doing it the other way. When you play so many games, there's always a voice in your head that tries to get you to doubt the rules in some weird way. And this was my instance of that.

[baelthazar]

Yeah, turns out the amazon store I ordered the base game from is Troll Hoard Games. They ended up getting it to me about a week and a half ahead of the projected arrival date from Amazon. Really quick shippers, I will say.

They are! And I think they’ll be one of my go to non-Amazon vendors for all sorts of Battle Systems materials. Go small business and all that!

I have bought (or been gifted) most of my Core Space stuff from Troll Hoard Games. I am very impressed with them.

[Skinypupy]

Walked into my local game store to see if they had a copy of the Intrigue xpac for Dominion...walked out with this.



Sigh...I am a weak, weak man.

[hepcat]

You’ll enjoy it. If you have any questions, just ask. I’ve got a LOT of play hours under my belt at this point.

[Smoove_B]

Have you played Street Masters? I only ask because this is slightly more complicated and likely a bit more difficult to get your brain around. But in terms of variables and value in those two boxes? Effectively limitless replay value.

[Skinypupy]

Have you played Street Masters? I only ask because this is slightly more complicated and likely a bit more difficult to get your brain around. But in terms of variables and value in those two boxes? Effectively limitless replay value.

I have Street Masters. Enjoyed it, but the theme did nothing for me. My understanding is that it’s a similar game with a high fantasy theme, which should be right up my alley.

[Smoove_B]

Ah, ok. Yes. Its the same mechanic (modular decks) with some slight tweaks to the game play. The added variables (room elements, rhune dice) add extra chaos and options, which I think can give some people analysis paralysis. I think the theme works great and I love the game. Your first run is going to be a bear, so as hepcat pointed out, ask questions. It's not going to be as nimble as Street Masters (one of the reasons I love it), nor as compact (another), but I do like Altar Quest more than Brook City.

[Skinypupy]

Side note: This game has officially blown up my gaming shelves. Gonna need to start looking at a new storage solution.

[hepcat]

Two things to be aware of right off the bat:

Most of the quests make you create two decks out of the cards that they consist of, but they’ll have the same back.

Traps are not considered enemies, even though they’re found in threat decks. The wording is important at times.

It took me about two games before I got into the swing of things with AQ. After that it became my most played game the last few months. But if your first impression is disappointment, give it another go. That’s what happened with my first try. But I gave it another shot and it won me over.

[Skinypupy]

Just finished my first Altar Quest game and thoroughly enjoyed it. Played as the Cleric with "The Search" mission and the frog enemies. Went through the first few turns thinking it was WAY too easy...until I realized I was only activating the Villain, but hadn't been drawing a Villain card during that step as well. Whoops. Needless to say, it got much more interesting once I started drawing Villain cards. Ended the game by making a mad dash back to the staircase with three mobs in tow, reaching it with just 3 HP to spare.

I'm sure it's because this was just the starter mission, but the game immediately felt both far less confusing/complex and far more engaging than Street Masters. Theme goes a long way for me, and this one has it in spades. I love the minis, the artwork is great, and the way skills, mobs, and the environment all work together is really fantastic. I was wildly impressed by my first playthrough.

A few quick questions:
1. Does exhausting a card count as an action? I could have sworn the rule book said it didn't, but just re-read and couldn't see it anywhere.
2. Is there a hand size limit?
3. I assume you always factor your character's armor into "Resist" tests, correct? Or is that only on physical attacks?
4. If you attack the same enemy multiple times during your turn, does their armor resist the same amount on each attack? Or is it "used up" after the first strike?

[hepcat]

A few quick questions:
1. Does exhausting a card count as an action? I could have sworn the rule book said it didn't, but just re-read and couldn't see it anywhere.
2. Is there a hand size limit?
3. I assume you always factor your character's armor into "Resist" tests, correct? Or is that only on physical attacks?
4. If you attack the same enemy multiple times during your turn, does their armor resist the same amount on each attack? Or is it "used up" after the first strike?

1. Nope, nor do "use" cards and "feat" cards. You want to use as many of those you can each turn to maximize your turn. In addition, this has a smaller tableau footprint in comparison to Street Masters (in my opinion, at least) as there aren't many cards that stay in play after you play them, so you'll be playing cards and discarding them more than you did in SM.
2. Nope
3. armor works against any inflict test damage, but NOT against any resist damage. Thematically, the latter is poison, magic, etc.. that wouldn't be stopped by a leather jerkin or a chainmail shirt. Also, anything that "deals" damage goes through armor straight to hit points as well.
4. armor works against every single attack. Each attack would be diminished by the armor value of the target (as long as they were inflict based damage, of course).

I also am not a fan of the theme in Street Masters, but I honestly love that game simply because it's hella fun. Brook City I'm still not a fan of as they moved the victory conditions onto the case cards and in many cases, made the game drag on as you have to get through that entire deck to end things. AQ does essentially the same thing with the quest decks, but they avoided that late game drag that kills BC for me by making the decks streamlined and timed via the location mechanic and the villain cards (you usually have a set amount of turns to win...or you start getting swamped with enemies until you either barely escape or you die).

I would rank Street Masters still at the top of the list, with AQ being close behind and BC a lot lower on the scale.