Boardgames

[P4: Gritty Reboot]

Speaking of birthday gifts, I got Last Night on Earth: Timber Peak for my birthday last week. It's a standalone expansion for the Last Night on Earth base game, moving the setting to a mountain village. We got to play it last night with 4 players at the game shop. The humans had to defend the town's generators until dawn, and they succeeded (though zombies came within a die roll of winning at least twice). Great zombie game, for those not sick of the theme.

 

[TheMightyEthan]

I wish there were more turn-based video games.  I love them, and so many games like this seem like they'd work so well in a video game where you don't necessarily have to get a big group together, you can save and quit, doesn't take so long in one session, etc.

 

*Edit* - Civilization is the perfect example of the kind of thing I'm talking about, where it's basically a board game except it would be ridiculous to try to play on a tabletop (though I know a boardgame version exists).

Edited January 22, 2014 by TheMightyEthan

[P4: Gritty Reboot]

I know. Loved X-Com and the Civilization series for that reason.

[deanb]

 

Pathfinder: The Adventure Card Game: Rise of the Runelords.

 

It's sort of Munchkin meets D&D meets Sentinels of the Multiverse. It took a fair bit of set-up (since there's different piles of card types from Weapons to armour, spells, allies, items etc) and each character gets a different amount. Oh and each area (we had 3 people, so 5 zones) also has it's own amount of these cards it gets. Oh and each scenario has different zones too. But once you're set-up it's pretty easy to go through, you basically move between zones turning cards and either acquiring the "boon" you drew, or defeating the "bane", which can be regular monsters or the Villain or one of his Henchman you're aiming to defeat.

 

Your character card gives you various powers to play, and you can level up as you play the game (much like a regular tabletop RPG), so the overall aim is to play many many rounds. So there's actual progression in the game (kinda like Risk Legacy but not as destructive). Your deck you start with is your health, cards are discarded (which can be "recharged", basically healing up) or banished, which means they go in the box to be lost forever (that scenario). You aim to build up cards that give you various spells or weapons that can be used on bad guys (by rolling various sided dice). You "close" the zones so that one by one the amount of places the Villain is hiding and, and can be hiding at since he'll jump if defeated while there's still other zones open) then eventually squash him. Our second scenario we actually found the villain right away through a prophecy power my housemate used. Which meant we all went to other zones to close those and defeat the villain in one swoop. While the game is good on it's own it was decided it was super good once I started narrating between turns (I think folks forget I do have GM experience, just not with them lot) making it "like proper pathfinder". Oh we also had cheapo Hobbit promotional statue/toys thingies too. I was Bofur since I played Harsk the Dwarf. Harsk the Dwarf is a ranger, which doesn't fit in my head, but my ability to shoot between zones on other folks turn (only d4 damage mind) was much appreciated by all.

[TheMightyEthan]

@Hot_Heart: Has your newbie guide for Firefly The Game been posted anywhere? I'm getting the game tonight and wouldn't mind looking it over.

[Mr. GOH!]

Me too, HotHeart. Some friends are visiting me with a brand-spanking new copy of the game and I'd like to get myself and my girlfriend up to speed.

[deanb]

@Ethan: It's on Gdocs/Gdrive

 

@Goh: I can twiddle some things to let the document be read in progress, but that'd be up to Hot Heart.

[P4: Gritty Reboot]

Hot Heart is a real jerk, he probably won't let you see it.

[Hot Heart]

@Hot_Heart: Has your newbie guide for Firefly The Game been posted anywhere? I'm getting the game tonight and wouldn't mind looking it over.

 

Yeah, like Dean said, it's on GDrive. However, I've had some useful feedback over on BGG, so I've been tweaking it in a lot of places in the original document (GDrive can get a bit unwieldy and pasting back and forth is...not fun).

 

So, here's a link to the Word document that is nearly all up-to-date. It would be most useful to have some completely new players (or at least those who've only read the rulebook) give it a look and ask away if things seem to ambiguous or confusing.

 

EDIT: Be warned, it is a WHOLE 5.6MB. Because of pretty pictures. Also, if you see text in light blue, the intention is for that to link back to the relevant picture as a reminder.

Edited January 24, 2014 by Hot Heart

[TheMightyEthan]

Ooh, 5.6MB, that's going to take forever to download in 2001 where I live. If only I had sprung for that 56k...

 

[staySICK]

2001? Maybe I was privileged but I was rocking cable internet in '99, brah.

[TheMightyEthan]

Yeah, I'm actually fairly sure I had cable in 2001.  We would have only just recently gotten it though.

[TheMightyEthan]

So I played the First Time in the Captain's Chair Firefly story card with my wife today, and loved it. The scenario is that you borrowed money from Niska to buy your ship, and you have to get solid with two contacts and then save up $6,000 to pay him back. Between getting everything out and going over the rules and then actually playing it took us about 3 hours. My wife played super cautious, moseying about and not carrying contraband or anything, while I was fully burning back and forth across both Alliance and Reaver space. She had a lot more money for most of the game, because she wasn't hiring crew, buying equipment or burning up fuel money like I was, but my more aggressive strategy meant that toward the end I was able to do a couple high paying jobs and catch back up. She ended up getting back to Niska to pay him off two turns before me (I was so close that I went ahead and finished up even after she'd won). It would have been closer, we both finished our last jobs and started heading back on the same turn, but I got unlucky with a couple of Nav cards and she drew nothing but open space, plus her final job was closer to Niska than mine was anyway.

 

I wanted to go again right away, but she thought she needed a break (TWSS!). I'm trying to convince her to play another tonight.

[Hot Heart]

Ha, cool. It's a good scenario, and I'm glad you enjoyed it. Your game took longer than I would've expected, but I suppose you were both learning it? Did you get round to reading my guide thing?

 

But, really...you're saying your wife managed to beat you with only doing legal jobs? That's quite surprising. I mean, it's a perfectly fine strategy but crime pays so much better. Are you sure you didn't let her win?

[TheMightyEthan]

Well at the beginning I went full on retarded, forgot to do the thing at my starting place that I needed to do, flew to another planet, realized I'd forgotten and flew back to the starting place, forgetting to do the thing I flew to the second planet for... I seriously wasted like 5 turns and several things of fuel doing that. Really though I think the thing that screwed me was horrible luck with the Nav cards (througout the whole game, not just there at the end) and dice rolls. I don't think I rolled anything higher than a 2 the whole damn time.

 

We played again and it took less than half as long. I won this time. We're going to try one of the "real" scenarios tomorrow. I think with the beginner one it's a small enough amount of money that it's easy for one little stroke of good or bad luck to really change the outcome of the game. This second time I did a job that paid $3,000, which is half of the amount you're trying to get.

 

Yeah, I read your guide this morning, and I found it extremely helpful. I think it gave a much better idea of some of the nuances of how the rules play out than you would get from just reading the rulebook. And yeah, neither of us had ever played before, so there was a lot of agonizing over what to do, and checking the rules to see how things are supposed to work, etc.

[TheMightyEthan]

My wife and I played the beginner scenario with my sister last night.  At that point my wife and I had each played 3 games already, and yet my sister won!  Her victory highlighted what I think is a flaw in the beginner scenario: the amount of money is so low that you're better off not hiring crew or buying equipment and instead just keeping the $3,000 you start with.  I mean, with that money you're already halfway to the goal, she just did three low-paying but legal jobs and then sold some extra cargo she'd picked up.  She also REALLY lucked out with her burns, didn't draw a single breakdown, Reaver or Alliance Cruiser card (in comparison I drew the Reaver Cutter card twice and the Cruiser card once).  The only card she ever drew that actually stopped her was the customs check card, but even that time she was only one space short of her destination, so she just moseyed over there for the first action of her next turn.  I'm thinking if we play the beginner scenario again we'll probably up the payoff amount to $8,000.  It's still low so the game won't take forever, but it means you have to do more than the two jobs you start with to get the amount, and will encourage hiring crew and upgrading the ship so the newbs can experience a little bit more of the mechanics.

 

All of that said, even losing that game is really fun.  And I would have only been two turns behind her except I got stopped by the Alliance while burning across their space to try to finish my final smuggling mission for the payout.  Kinda hard to get paid for delivering contraband when the feds impound it all.

[Hot Heart]

That is a little unlucky with the nav cards, but I suppose it happens. You did remember not to shuffle in the Reaver Cutter and Alliance Cruiser cards right away since the game was 3 (or more) players, right? Also, was your sister not Solid with Harken from those legal jobs and, therefore, able to ignore the Customs Inspections anyway? (So many little things to remember...)

 

But, yeah, even losing can be fun (unless you get really unlucky like my friend...) if you find the theme amusing enough. I think half the fun is joking around with friends about some of the funny circumstances the game throws out. Like why one of Nandi's whores is considered Wanted compared to the others ("butt stuff" was the best answer) or when one friend hired Kaylee as well as Bester (aka. whom Kaylee replaced). I just had to ask him, "What do you need two mechanics for?" and, of course, he had to reply, "I really don't."

 

As for tweaking the Story Cards, I'm all for it. I think Desperadoes or Harken's Folly would make for a nice step-up, whereas if you're going to do Niska's Holiday I would halve the amounts for the last two goals (2 Jobs then $6,000), though I think the roadblock in that one is really the first Goal.

[TheMightyEthan]

Oh fuck, no. The first three games we'd played had just been my wife and me, so I'd gotten too used to just leavingit in the deck.

[deanb]

Monopoly Quick Cash

 

It's terrible. It's meant to be for kids but the rules are quite hard to follow (I think there may be an issue of reconciling Monopoly rules adult's know with the kiddie rules), it comes with a "Cash machine" that you pop a credit card in and it spits out money and chance...slips (essentially Chance is replaced on the board with "cash machine"). It ends when someone goes bankrupt, which was my little brother who didn't even get around the board once. We continued on anyway but it fell apart when we realised we'd gone where the rules weren't built to follow.

 

I much prefer the Junior Monopoly of my youth that was just regular monopoly but set at a fair ground with cheaper prices.

[Hot Heart]

My friend's review of Terra Mystica! http://pressxordie.com/2014/02/03/roll-6-or-die-guest-review-terra-mystica/

 

I must say, considering he doesn't really do creative writing (except during self-appraisals, waheeeyyy), the review reads well.

[TheMightyEthan]

I wish I had a nerdy boardgame group to play games like that with.  

[P4: Gritty Reboot]

Here I am with my nerdy board game group

 

[Hot Heart]

Ugh, I did it finally!

 

Firefly: The Game - The Starter's Guide, now all prettyfied and with clickable links for the examples.

[Hot Heart]

Oh, and that Sentinels of the Multiverse tablet version has a gameplay preview video now. Due later this year (hopefully).

 

I can see ways in which it will be great (easy setup, automatic tracking of everything) but also how it might be tricky to get a decent overview of certain effects before they occur (e.g. 'this environment card deals the hero target with the second lowest HP, H melee damage') among other things like checking the trash/discard piles (one hero has a mechanic related to this, and so do a few villains). I could see a sort of way to fix that first issue though (place the appropriate icon on the 'effecting' card, so you can see what it's targetting).

 

As for general criticisms and more insight, well, there are more details over here.

Edited February 10, 2014 by Hot Heart

[Hot Heart]

Hnnn...seeing that Firefly: Out to the Black game for £20. Though it doesn't sound great, it looks entertaining enough and different to stuff I've played before...but I'll never get to play it...but it's £20...