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Messages - R Newell

#761
Game Discussion / Re: What game is hitting your table?
August 28, 2012, 11:17:13 AM
Quote from: Matt Robertson on August 28, 2012, 11:14:50 AM
I would really like to give Mage knight a go this fall when my schedule opens up a bit.

That'll work, since it'll take me the rest of the summer to figure out "how to do what when" with these two rulebooks.
#762
Game Discussion / Re: What game is hitting your table?
August 28, 2012, 11:03:11 AM
Mage Knight

I recently bought this because I have no will power and should keep my credit card at home.  I played about half a solo game on Friday night before quitting because I was overly distracted by Ghost World, which I haven't watched in about ten years.  That and the table at the family cabin was too small to fit the game properly.

I really liked what I played (and I hardly scratched the surface) but I just don't like Vlaada's (the designer's) style of presenting complicated rules.  It's too... conversational for me, and I don't like that he spoonfeeds the reader for an initial neutered game rather than giving me the tools right off the bat to play the game as it was meant to be played.  I think next time I try to teach it to myself I'll use its other rulebook, which looks more traditional in its presentation.  (Yes, this game comes with two rulebooks.)
#763
And now Nuts! is on my "must own" list.  I love games that tell such a strong narrative.
#764
I got in a few sessions of some Victory Points Games solitaire games in the past week or so: Nemo's War and Astra Titanus (both by the designer of the Fallout computer game).  I think I prefer Astra Titanus, a game in which my fleet of starfighters is up against an invading, AI controlled Titan starship.  I'm now 4-0 playing the first 2 (of 9) scenarios, so I'm having an easier time than I thought I would, but I can see looking ahead that the good times for my fleet are about to come to an end.  Nemo's War is also a good one, but it seems that, no matter how well I think I'm doing, my ending narrative is always (and I'm paraphrasing here): "You suck."  (I've also been itching to dust off my other solitaire game, Hornet Leader, before I forget all the rules.)

I also got the wife to indulge me and put off cleaning out the basement storage and instead trying out Mansion of Madness.  We ended up playing through the first scenario twice and the second scenario once, with me as the Keeper and her playing two investigators.  Very fun, with some very cool narrative moments, but boy is it fragile.  It's also a quicker game than I expected it to be, though the set-up is a chore.
#765
Good idea for a thread.  I occasionally post at www.fortressat.com, which has similar threads to this (for board games, video games, movies, etc.).  They tend to get a lot of activity.


I just hosted a bunch of friends at my house for the long weekend, so we played games pretty much straight from Thursday night to Monday morning (especially tiring because I'd just gotten back from a vacation/work conference).  Games played were:

Summoner Wars  Got in three games of this.  Love it, but I'm wincing at the number of expansions there are.  Only $10 a pop, but there are a lot of them.

Sentinels of the Multiverse  Also three games of this.  Very fun, but can go a bit long if your only plays are to slowly whittle the villain by 1 or 2 points (of like 100) at a time.  Good variety in the number of characters and scenarios, but strangely very little variety within the characters and scenarios because there are so many duplicate cards.

Blood Bowl: Team Manager  Got in two games of this.  Despite the name, I think it does a better job of simulating the micro-level "coaching" of your team more than the "manager" part, since player placement is in my control but the management enhancements are random card draws.  Gets a bit busy near the end once you've got a bunch of team upgrades in front of you.

Mord im Arosa  Also two games of this.  It's a gimmicky novelty (only game I can think of that's based on listening for pitch), though I appreciate that it's novel more than I deride it for being a gimmick.  I surprisingly dominated both games I played.

Chaos in the Old World  First time I've played this since it first came out, but I was playing against a few guys who had much more experience.  About halfway through, I realized I wasn't going to win on dials or VP (I was playing as the blue magic dudes), so I was playing for the total corruption with all players losing.  I managed to squeak out my "win" with one player one dial advancement from winning and another at 48 of the needed 50 VP.

A Game of Thrones  First time I've played this in almost four years, but the TV show had us ready to brush the dust off.  I was playing as the Lannisters in a five-player game.  I was never in a position where I could attain seven cities, but I ended up finishing third at the end of 10 turns with four cities, with the winner having five.

Citadels  Played once.  I never feel like playing Citadels, but then I always enjoy it when we break it out.  I think I finished in the middle of the pack.

Red November Played once.  I passed out.  A fire killed me.  I think the sub was destroyed by the Kraken but I had run off to do some hosting duties once my gnome bit it so I missed the end.

Twilight Imperium 3 First time I played this in three years.  I truly forgot how much I love this game.  My sleep-deprived, beer-addled brain made the stupidest move in the history of board gaming, decimating my fleet and greatly limiting my mobility for the rest of the game (which took about 10 or 11 hours), so I finished in... fourth or fifth out of six.  Still, had immense amounts of fun.

The Resistance  Played three times.  I can't act, and I have no poker face, so I can be easy pickings when I draw a spy card and I try to act like I'm part of the Resistance.  My new strategy, which worked pretty well, is to do the opposite and act like I'm a spy when I'm actually a part of the Resistance.  A bit nonsensical, but necessary for me to not get picked out everytime I draw the spy.

Space Hulk: Death Angel Played once.  This is quickly climbing my list of favourite games.  Very fun co-op that also is a very fun solitaire game.

Quarriors Played once.  I like the idea of a dice-based deck-builder, but I'd need a few more plays to see if it's got the same kind of legs as a game like Dominion.

I'm tired again just looking at that list.  Games that were played that I missed out on included Merchants & Marauders, Eclipse, and Red Dragon Inn.  I also wanted to get in a game of Earth Reborn with the last fella to leave on Monday, but I was too wiped.  I was asleep within an hour of the last guy leaving.

Incredible weekend.  I hope to do it again this year.