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Board Game Reviews

Star Wars: Destiny By Fantasy Flight Games

While I had initially passed on it, Star Wars Destiny the collectible card game landed in November 2016 with a bang on the gaming scene and its clear over the last year it has gained momentum globally.  It celebrated its 1st birthday in style, enjoying a top 5 spot on the ICV2 most sold collectible card game on our little blue planet.  While I have been slacking on reviews the last few months (work, life, etc.) and the result of a very RPG focused agenda, I could not ignore this one any longer, I had to take a closer look.     Destiny has enjoyed a very quick road to success as far as collectible card games go, though it should come to the surprise of no one given that FFG was behind it.

It really just seems like Fantasy Flight Games doesn’t know how to fail and while it took some leg pulling to get me to shell out for a CCG (more on why that is later), I finally got behind the wheel, albeit belayed, to give this little Star Wars bird a thorough whirl.

Overview

Final Score: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star christmas_star(3.9 out of 5 Stars)

Star Wars: Destiny is a classic formula for a CCG dueling game on the surface.  Two players build decks and face off against each other trying to knock the other out to win the game.  Like all FFG games however, Destiny takes the theme, in this case Star Wars and pushes it a bit closer to its roots.   By making it about special Star Warsy signature characters with special powers and throwing  the entire thing on its head by adding specialty dice the game entered into an entirely different CCG genre than most card games fall into.  While not a white elephant, the genre today is quite thin competition wise.

The DCG (Dice Collectible Game) is a new genre that was only recently established, Destiny has really confirmed that this is going to be a thing now.

We have seen this emerging genre before in games like Dice Masters (its primary competitor), which has also been very successful (enjoying the no 9 spot of top 10 collectible games on ICV2 as of this writing).  Star Wars Destiny however boasts a powerful IP, the stupidly high quality components and original art work of  FFG and two of the most successful designers at FFG Corey Konieczka and Lukas Litzsinger. Suffice to say, it has a lot going for it out of the gate.  Today we look under the hood of this year old stud and see if it earns all of its accolades.

Components

Score: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star
Tilt:christmas_star

Pros:  High quality components made to last, dice in particular are extremely well done, awesome visual appeal that gets you in the mood.

Cons:  The box and storage are poorly thought out, the extra storage binders sold separately are not a whole lot better leaving you on your own to find a storage solution.

Star Wars: Destiny follows the very high standard that we have grown accustom to for games coming out of Fantasy Flight Games.  The card stock is the best you can get, the dice quality is amazing and the entire thing has a spit shine on it that will get you excited to play with the pieces.

It wouldn’t be Star Wars without a good Darth Vader card, FFG has done a great job with the art enhancing the experience and confirming that they are the best in the business.

The dice deserve particular mention here, I already mentioned Dicemasters which is the only point of reference in this rather small genre, but by comparison, Destiny blows it out of the water, it may just have the best dice I have ever seen in a dice game or any game for that matter.  The dice are big, colorful, clear and of the absolute highest quality.  They are a joy to roll, just the feel of them in your hand is going to get your gamer juices flowing. Compared to Dicemasters which, well lets just say it, was a big disappointment component wise, FFG really invested in Destiny’s signature component and it shows.

I love the fact that FFG understands what is important to gamers, if you are going to make a dice game, make sure the dice kick ass!

If there was any disappointment for me it was in the packaging, which I consider a “none review-able” item in terms of scoring a game, but I’m going to bitch about it anyway.  The absence of a storage solution will annoy you.   Booster packs are obviously a “rip them open” situation, which is fine, but there really is no good “box” to put your stuff in when it comes to Destiny.  The two player box has a very flimsy box that rips easily, which won’t last and it uses the side opening boxes all gamers loathe as do the pre-built expansion decks.  While the plastic casing inside was pretty good, giving you a place to put some of your dice and perhaps some hope of a solution to store some what you will ultimately collect, quite simply after opening the game and opening some boosters I was left with a mess of cards and dice with no where to put them.

The dice binders sold separately by FFG are pretty, but the design was poorly thought out.

FFG does offer Dice Binders, which would have been great even if sold separately, but I found the choice of being able to store 40 dice but only 44 cards only further fueling my frustration.  Basically a single deck has 10-14 dice in it, while having exactly 30 cards.  The binder is way too big for a single deck of dice, but far too small to have more than 1 deck because a lack of card storage.  It’s not a terribly smart accessory, leaving everyone trying to scramble and figure out an alternative storage solution.  It’s kind of lame enough to put things in a non-reusable box, but offering a pointless accessory is pouring lemon juice on the wound.  Suffice to say I was pretty disappointed, but luckily this component has nothing to do with the quality of the game so I mention it more out of frustration than any impact on the games score.

Theme

Score: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star
Tilt: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star

Pros: Fantastic artwork, quotable cards and familiar characters will delight the senses and give you that Star Wars feeling.

Cons:  Some might find the blending of eras and lack of cannon annoying, for the record, I do not.

The big advantage of using a big IP like Star Wars is that once you throw some pictures of Darth Vader on the cover, you already have a built in following to the theme.  When I judge a games theme however I’m trying to make a connection between the setting and the mechanics.  Does the theme influence the mechanics and shine through while you play, does it fuel the imagination or impact your sense of the experience, is there some sort of concept of time and place, does it tell a story through play.  All of those things help to enhance a game and are important if you are buying into a game hoping to get some replication of the Star Wars universe.  Does Destiny provide this?

The short answer is yes and no.  Its not exactly what I would call a storytelling experience.  The combinations can get pretty weird as the entirety of the Star Wars universe is blended into a single game.  You will see content from the Phanthom Menance, the old trilogy, the new trilogy, the cartoon and a bunch of stuff you probably have never heard of unless you are a die hard consumer of everything Star Wars.  While it maintains what I would call “The Star Wars feeling”, there really isn’t a sense of a story, time or place, but rather a kind of scramble of everything into a single game.  Now I would imagine most people will not really care, but the first time I built a deck I had Nute Gunray, Boba Fett and a Tie Pilot all in the same deck and that is only a slightly weird combination in terms of what is possible.  If your sense of cannon is easily offended and throws off your sense of Star Wars continuity, this game will abuse that to all hell as you mix and match characters, equipment and locations from pretty much every source and era of the Star Wars universe to make your decks.

Quotable cards like this, paired up with great art will put a smile on your face, but the effects don’t always connect mechanically to the theme.

To me personally this was more a quirk than a problem, everything in the game is definitively Star Wars and belongs in the theme as a whole and the whole concept of trying to maintain cannon in a CCG is far fetched anyway.  The theme shines largely through the fact that every card in the game is universally quotable and as a Star Wars fans playing cards like “He doesn’t like you” instantly takes me back to the movies.  That with the amazing art, is more than enough to give Star Wars: Destiny a well deserved passing grade.  Its very clear that the designers of the game were Star Wars fans.

If you are looking for a more thematic experience, one in which the cards mechanics are linked up to a thematic story and experience, I would venture to guess Destiny is probably not that game.  While it certainly houses Star Wars as an IP under one roof, its really more of a game about gameplay than trying to accomplish some sort of thematic tale of events, for that you might need to seek out the Star Wars LCG.  Even there however I think you would find that there is a general blending of “everything”, as this is really how most card games are, this one is no different.

Gameplay

Score: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star
Tilt: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star

Pros: Streamlined, easy to teach, easy to learn mechanic. Robust card pool with a wide range of deck building options make this dueling game a winner.

Cons: It’s a small game with big investment requirements, in particular if you plan to compete.  Casual players should approach with caution.

I think without argument when it comes to dueling card games, gameplay is without question the single most important element that needs to be done right for it to be successful, a moot point when one does a review of an already successful game, but none the less.  For any collectible games unfortunately there are many external factors that can really affect the gameplay experience,  in particular ones like Destiny that use the random booster concept.  While I won’t dwell here, I will say that I prefer the now well establish FFG Living Card standard which alleviates a lot of the anxiety and potential gameplay or balance issues randomness and investment differential can create.  When buying into a CCG this really comes with the territory and in many ways is an extension of the games “pre-game” deck building concept.  I will talk a bit more about my feelings about the CCG concept later, but let’s first talk about the gameplay in general.

Center stage in a CCG is always going to be deck building. Great thing about Destiny is you can grab a card, see what it does and immediately go off on a tangent on potential ways to build an entire deck around it.

On the positive side, the mechanics of the game itself and how it incorporates dice in particular is really well thought out here.  Destiny is a very tight and streamlined game, cutting out a lot of the nonsense of old school CCG’s like the “I can’t do anything” turns or “Mana screwed” issues, or “not enough cards dilemma”.  All that is eliminated and in a fashion that is both fair, consistent and reliable.  Each turn from the first to the last round is going to have you contemplating your plays one action at a time, rather than complaining about some shitty game state you find yourself in.  There is always something you can do, in fact, most of the time there are hard choices and tactical decisions that you must choose between which really fuels both deck building (the pre-game, game) and the constant re-assessment of the in progress game.  There is constant tension throughout, your always trying to solve some puzzle at every stage of the game.  You are rarely out of options.

I especially liked the fact that there are very few “no result” dice results, which is great given its a dice game and a part of your success will be affected by how well your roll.  You might not always get what you want and depending on how you built your deck you may or may not have things to control your dice, but because you can discard a card to re-roll dice and most dice generally have only positive results (something), your getting benefit from them most of the time in some way.  Its interesting as well how despite a pretty massive card pool, each card/dice combination brings something new to the table.  There are no “bad” cards really that I found, there are just cards that are clearly designed with certain types of deck builds in mind.  Sure, one can say that clearly some cards are more competitive than others, you will of course see the emergence of a meta where certain cards see more play.  That said however I found that when I zeroed in a character, a piece of equipment or even a certain mechanic, there was a deck waiting to be built out of it.  This creative pre-game deck building element of CCG’s in general is arguably one of the most addictive parts of the game, though your collection will dictate how much flexibility you have here and unfortunately this will also affect how balanced your experience will be.

The point here however is that there is a lot of design space when it comes to deck building assuming a robust collection and let’s face it, when it comes to card games like Destiny or really any collectible game, even miniatures, the concept of list building or deck building is a game in its own right.  You will spend countless hours contemplating “builds” and when discussing the game you will always be talking about it in terms of deck building.  This is part of the fun and really part of the gameplay of Destiny, trying to find that perfect combination of cards and tactics to win more than you lose.  On a competitive level you’re always working on trying to outsmart the meta and in a sense in competitive play I imagine this becomes an entire new level of gameplay where you know what people will play and your trying to build decks that can beat those decks.  This stacking of concepts gives Destiny many layers of game to explore but aiming to play competitively isn’t going to be the only driver to trying to find that perfect deck combination.  Its a built in feature of the game, serious, casual, competitive or not, you are going to be trying to build the best decks you can.

On a ground level there is much to like about Destiny but my favorite really has to be the hero design.  Each hero card has a two costs, a one die cost and a two die cost.  With only 30 points to spend on heroes, it means you are not going to have this “put the best you have in a deck” approach.  The cost is a huge limiting factor ensuring the most powerful heroes come with the drawback of limiting who you can partner them up with.  This tender balance is well done and while their are certainly some pretty great combination that formulate the competitive meta, the game really isn’t won or lost on heroes alone.  The deck you build that supports them is far more critical, in particular the equipment that brings in additional dice.  A seemingly innocent 10 point hero can be turned into an unstoppable machine of death with the right combination of gear and this both plays into the strategy of the deck building and the tactics at the table.  This all in turn helps to bring that tightness of play to the game.  Contemplating the possibility feels endless, even with a small investment you will discover countless combinations to try out, driving both the addiction to collect and to play.

Its unfortunate however that to get the most out of pretty much every hero you will need to collect both dice for him.  The way the cost works out, if you buy 1 die for say 11 points, getting the second one might only cost you 3 or 4 points more.  Hence building decks with heroes for who you don’t have 2 dice for is extremely inefficient and doing so will definitely result in a sub-optimal deck that in turn will affect your rate of success in particular when facing more optimized 4 dice, dual hero decks.  This makes collecting a sizable collection that much more important to deck building and in general to your success in the game.

You have already spent 12 points on a character with 1 die and it will cost you 4 more to get the other die. It’s clearly the optimal decision but you can’t make it if you don’t have a second copy which puts you into that awkward space of either making a sub-optimal build or simply not use the card.

Many cards have zero cost, or are low cost, which means your success isn’t really driven by resource availability during a round entirely.  In fact you will spend most rounds with very few resources or sometimes even none and it does not prevent you from participating aggressively in the events of the round.  I love the fact that the game goes back and forth with each player getting a single action you, the end result is that you always have an opportunity to respond to the changing state of the game based on your opponents last play.   This fuels the game tactically as it ensures that while you can plan, you must constantly adjust.  Pulling off those deadly combos isn’t just a matter of fact, there is a counter to everything both in terms of cards you can field in your deck but also what order you make your plays, the timing of them and of course the always important results of the dice.  Battlefileds are also a part of the overall strategy of the game and can sometimes offer significant advantage to getting your timing right.  All this amounts to a consistently interesting and ever changing state of affairs on the table.   You might have a plan, a player takes one action and you find yourself completely re-assessing the entire round.  Things turn on a dime and I absolutely love that.

In short, the game-play is absolutely fantastic from a mechanical stand point, you have a lot of control over your destiny making this without question one of the most aptly named games in the FFG lineup.

There are low cost, 1 die cards like this one, but these are clearly meant to be paired up with the more expensive heroes, suffice to say 3 die decks are not completely out of the question and certainly designed into the game as an option.

A big part of your success in any match is going to be in the pre-game deck building, really a game in its own right and a core part of CCG’s in general.  You have a lot of choices to make here including which characters to use, what equipment, upgrades and support cards to add to your deck which in turn defines what dice you will have available in the course of the game and of course the all important event cards which is really where much of your subtle strategy comes from.   In many ways this is also the flaw of the CCG model because what cards you have available is a limiting factor of your collection, one that is largely randomly done through the booster concept.  Its particularly a problem when you are on a tight budget and you find yourself facing opponents with a more flexible income.  This differential can and probably will create some imbalances.  You might not have those 2 dice heroes, so you may find yourself facing 4 dice vs. your 2 or 3 from your limited collection and that is a major unbalance in the games structure.  In fact I found even after buying all of the starter packs and 2 of the big booster boxes I only have  5 heroes for who I have 2 dice, significantly reducing not only what parts of my collection I can make but in particular what types of decks I can make that are optimized.  Most of my decks are made up of 3 heroes 3 dice, simply because I have no other option and when facing a 4 dice deck I’m at a pretty severe disadvantage.

Suffice this is just part of the CCG model, for better or worse.  The question of course is, should this affect the games score and the answer is a simple no.  I can’t count being a CCG against a game if a CCG is exactly what it intends to be.  It’s a collectible game, collecting is part of the game, an expensive part and if you think that’s unfair than you should definitely skip this game, but it does not make Destiny any less of a game.  Mechanically speaking I have to rate the game with the assumption that I have the entire collection and in that capacity this is a fantastic game.

The caveat for me in the model is the 2 dice hero model balance of the game.  Essentially the game is designed on 30 points worth of heroes, however the average cost of a 1 die hero is about 8-12, and the average cost of a second die for the same hero is 3-5.  This means that if you spend points for 1 die of a hero, if you don’t buy the second die you have locked your deck into being a 3 die deck in all but the rarest circumstance with no way to work out the math any differently.  This creates an inherent problem with how collecting works, but more importantly it impacts greatly the global balance of the game where effectively a player who has a set of 2 die heroes of every sort will always be able work out decks to have 4 dice, but a person who does not have 2 dice heros to work with will be locked into the less optimal 3 die decks constructed from either 2 or 3 heroes.

To me the decision to balance the game this way hurts it. Only including 1 die in a booster, not to mention making all heroes “rare” or “legendary” at the least means that you will struggle to make use of your collection even if its fairly robust.  I for example don’t have any 2 die yellow (good guy) heroes in my collection which means all yellow hero (good guy) cards are effectively not used at all unless I want to play with a sub-par, 3 die decks which frankly after a few frustrating efforts I know well enough that it’s just not fun.   The disadvantage is too great against a 4 die deck.  Effectively these 3 die types of decks feel incomplete and can create a frustrating experience to say the least when facing a player who has a complete 4 hero deck.

I think this pain point is significant enough to affect the score of the game, to me, this is more a design decision problem than a CCG model problem.  Grant it, it can be overcome through collecting but personally I think there is a limit to how much a CCG model should impact the balance of a game based on collecting and how much a CCG model can demand before you can make use of your collection.  I would say right now, after 200 dollars spent, perhaps 10% of my collection is viable to be used in a deck thanks to this awkward hero/die pairing issue.  Most of the cards I can’t use are great and I would love to use them but the lack of the 2 dice hero pairings I need to do so means I have to build those less effective 3 dice decks. After a fair amount of testing it’s abundantly clear to me that 4 dice vs. 3 dice is more than just a disadvantage, it’s a serious unbalance, its not game breaking but not easy to ignore either.  In short, you need the pairings, its really not an option in most cases.

Still, from a stand

Replay-ability and Longevity

Score: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star
Tilt: christmas_starchristmas_starchristmas_star

Pros: The robust nature of CCG’s combined with FFG’s commitment to the product means this game likely has a long and bright future ahead of it.

Cons: To really get the full experience you are going to have to dive knee deep into this, with a constant push to expand your collection driving your replaybility.

The really nice thing about collectible card games is that we can generally rely on the publisher to continue to put out expansion after expansion for their game, in particular with FFG.  This in its own right gives Destiny a huge advantage in this category as we know it will be heavily expanded.  For CCG’s, expansion is also one of the most important categories as decks get old, cards get old and you are always going to be chasing a refresher.

There are a great many unique and interesting event cards that can significantly alter how events play out in the course of a game.  Much of the longevity of this game will rely on FFG constantly creating new cards that continue in this tradition.

Still lets assume for a second you don’t make a major investment in the game, how much can you replay that same 2 player starter deck before it gets boring and loses its polish.  The answer is more than you expect, but probably not enough. Considering the two player box is 30 bucks retail, I would say you get considerable bang for your buck, but CCG’s like Destiny beg to be expanded, its assumed you will deck build and it really is about finding new and clever ways to beat your opponents.  I think the 2 player set is a nice, cheap way to find out if you like the game, but in the end unless you expand your replay-ability is going to be fairly limited.

Personally after a few plays I was ready to start deck building and needed cards to do it with.  I think I got the 2 player set, played 4 or 5 times and ordered 2 booster boxes in the same week.   I managed to get it on a discount but by the time I was done ordering stuff I was a good 200 bucks into it.  The question now is how far will this take me?  The answer is not nearly as far as I had hoped.  Part of the problem is the dependency on 2 dice hero pairings.  As mentioned before after 200 bucks I still don’t have pairings for the vast majority of my heroes, in some cases entire sections of the game, for example I don’t have 2 dice for yellow heroes so my yellow hero cards really don’t have a home in any decks right now.  That was disappointing.   Suffice to say you will need to collect, trade and/or buy off the 3rd party markets to really get that replay-ability and deck construction possibilities going that this game is capable of and that is going to be a significant investment of your time and money.

Each time you add to your card and dice pool you are going to see worlds opening, new deck possibilities, new approaches and in turn more replay-ability.  Really this is typical of collectible games, their longevity generally relies on expanding your collection and Destiny is no different, but in my opinion its far more difficult to do with Destiny, due to the way the model is setup.

In general though I think the replay-ability is very good, there are significant variations in the different sets and new mechanics are introduced in each set that shake things up and refresh certain elements of the game opening up the reusing of cards you might have previously overlooked.  I also think with each new set the 3 hero, 3 dice combinations become more viable and competitive than before.  I noted that when building decks “digitally” with online deck builders with cards I don’t have yet I was able to construct some 3 dice, 3 hero decks that I believe would be a significant challenge for a 2 hero 4 dice deck.  Suffice to say I think some of these collection vs. balance issues can be resolved through mixing the sets and opening the door to more ways to replay the game.

I have high hopes for the longevity of the game, but CCG’s need to establish large card pools for that longevity to really stick.  Destiny remains a question mark in that department, I’m not 100% sure how far I will take the game, but certainly FFG is going to tempt me with the constant expanding.  I think Destiny has a bright future for the dedicated player.

Conclusion

Star Wars: Destiny is a challenging, varied and robust game that takes this genre to an entirely new level.  Its got the chops to be a great competitive game and its design streamlined to a point of near perfection.  It really is an absolutely fantastic game.

Unfortunately it’s CCG model not only comes with the standard economic trappings and overhead of a collectible game but is burdened by a core balance issue if you are not fully committed.  If you want to make reasonably competitive decks, even more so than typical CCG’s, you are going to have to invest heavily, perhaps more so than other CCG’s out there.

I would say for experience CCG players looking for their next challenge this is definitely one you should not pass up, but for casual gamers I think this is one to skip.  The 2 player game is too limited and getting into it uncommitted is going to be disappointing.  Its an all or nothing game in my humble opinion.

Best of List

Top 10 Underated & Overlooked Games

I haven’t done a top 10 list in a while and while I’m overdue for an updated top 10 games of all time list, I thought what we really needed on the blog was something more varied and interesting, a place for gamers to look to find something to play.  There have been a lot of really fantastic releases in the last couple of years and, not to mention other overlooked games over the years worth mentioning and while they might not compete against the spectrum of all games ever made, they are so worth your time that I thought I would make a list dedicated to games that everyone should be checking out that are commonly overlooked.

Legend of the Five Rings LCG by Fantasy Flight Games

When FFG first announced The Legend of the Five Rings LCG, long time fans of the original CCG shared both concern and delight.  The old CCG was really starting to show its age compared to modern designed CCG’s and LCG’s, but it was beloved by a very dedicated,  niche and vocal audience. Thankfully FFG has proven time and time again that when it comes to card games, they are the modern gold standard.  Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, Android Net Runner, Star Wars: Destiny and Akrham Horror are just among the short list of absolutely amazing card games that they have put together.  With talents like Lukas Litzsinger and Nate French just to name a couple superstars, your beloved franchises are always in good hands at FFG, but Legend of the Five Rings is without a question their crowning achievement when it comes to taking an IP and making it better in my humble opinion.

The core set is dirt cheap, the game is easy to learn and the art is amazing. For CCG players theír really is no reason to not try this amazing game.

I’m here to tell you that within the genre of Dueling games, despite amazing games like Star Wars: Destiny, Game of Thrones and Android Net Runner; Legend of the Five Rings is without question the best of the lot and by a large margin.  This is in my mind THE best complex, competitive card game on the market today and if you haven’t tried it you are truly missing out.

The smooth as silk mechanics, absolutely amazing deck building options and robust tactical play already makes Legend of the Rings a great game worthy to be on the list of best CCG/LCG’s, but Legend of the Five Rings in my humble opinion separates itself by being based on one of the most unique fantasy settings ever put to paper.  It feels like a proper medieval Japanese battle within the confines of a magical fantasy world where political intrigue and straight up warfare are constant.  Its a game of subtle moves and counter moves thematically linked to an era of Samurai, Legend of the Five Rings is a robust and very repayable experience.  Even with just a single core set you are going to find a deep tactical game and this very expandable game even in its infancy already gives all the others a serious run for their money.

New Angeles by Fantasy Flight Games

Of all the games to come out in 2016, this has got to be one of the most overlooked and underrated games on the market today.  I’m absolutely shocked that games like Gloomhaven, yet another re-hashed adventure game based on tired mechanics and premise can sit in the top spot on boardgamegeek.com while absolutely amazingly unique games like New Angeles are somewhere in the 900’s.  It’s like living in some sort of bizzare world where everything is opposite.  If there was ever a crime against boardgaming, New Angeles’s underrated status is without question one of this decades greatest atrocities.

Easily the top candidate for game of the year, this underrated gem belongs in every gamers collection.

New Angeles is  one of the best board games I have played this year and it’s definitely a contender for my best of all time list.  It embodies everything that makes board gaming a social experience while housing one of the most unique and intriguing mechanics that drives its engine I have seen in a long time.  To say its unique is kind of an understatement, its really the first time in a long time I have sat down to a board game and was surprised on all fronts.  How much fun I had, how social the game was, how mechanically well designed the game was and how almost instantly I wanted to play it again.  The word “tight” is over-utilized when describing games, but this is a game that is always close.  It has a betrayer element, a cooperative element, a competitive element and above all else its a bloody social experiment that must be experienced.

To me, if you are going to buy just one board game this year, New Angeles should be it.

Star Wars: Armada by Fantasy Flight Games

While it sits pretty on my top 10 list of best games of all time and has enjoyed considerable time in the lime light as one of FFG’s flag ship miniature games second only to X-Wing, I’m constantly shocked at how little attention this game gets.  I have talked quite a bit about this game over the last couple of years since its release, Star Wars Armada remains seriously underplayed and underrated in my opinion.  In my mind this is still very much the definitive “THE” miniatures game on the market today, if you have to pick just one, this should be it.  I’m very surprised to see how little attention it gets considering what it is, a game of capital ship combat in the Star Wars universe with what has to be one of the most tactical and strategic miniature games ever made.  I have played a lot of miniature games over the years and all I can say is that this remains among the best on all fronts.

Star Wars Armada is hardly an overlooked title, but it earns its place on this list because its quite literary a crime against gaming that this is not the single most played and most sold miniatures game on the market today. It’s not only the best there is, nothing comes even close to competing with it.

It’s the fine wine of miniature games and while I love my X-Wing and have in the past loved plenty of others that have come and gone, Armada is one of those games I can see myself playing indefinitely.  Its a gentlemens game that requires a commitment from a veteran gamer to learn to play it well.  Its a game of deep thought, one that will have you constantly re-evaluating every inch of its components, potential strategies and tactics.  FFG has taken amazing care of this one, despite a couple of dips here and there they always find a way to bring it back to its roots.

Above all else though I appreciate the fact that while its a miniature game it does not come with the weight of the miniature hobby.  Now I understand that many have a love for the assembly and painting of miniatures and construction of terrain, perhaps this is the reason for its rather underated status but to me the best aspect of the entire miniature hobby is the gaming and its here that Armada will focus your attention..  Its a game made for veteran gamers, so no apologies for length or complexity, but I also firmly believe that its very approachable even as a novice gamer to the hobby.  I would still recommend X-Wing to Armada for casual gamers, but if you are looking for a rich miniature gaming experience that will grab and hold your attention without all the painting and assembly, this is definitely your destination.

Runewars by Fantasy Flight Game

While my initial review of this game was good, one aspect of Runewars that had negative notations was that the fantasy world its based on was rather lackluster.  This still remains true and may actually be the reason why this game has been overlooked by miniature gaming fans, in particular warhammer fantasy fans used to a rich and elaborate game setting, but from a stand point of mechanics Warhammer Fantasy has absolutely nothing on this game.  Runewars makes Warhammer Fantasy look like a toy when stacked up against the intricately designed Runewars.

Runewars lackluster setting is no doubt responsible for its underrated status, but mechanically speaking this game blows the doors off of games rank and file competitors like the defunct Warhammer Fantasy.

What makes this game tick is the very clever dual dial action mechanic, unique for the miniature world but one that solves many of the issues I have with pretty much everything I have played in the genre before.  It boasts a lot of really unique and interesting models for the painters out there, but maintains a relatively approachable level of assembly making this a more inviting game for the novice trying to break in.  I personally love this game its really unfortunate that while my gaming group was hot and heavy at the start, the novelty wore of rather quickly.  My hope is that it bounces back because this is a game that is made to be played with plenty of list building and tactics to explore.   Highly underrated and while its too bad it has not been terribly successful, the plus side is that its very cheap to get into these days with much of its product line in the bargain bin.  It’s life might turn out to be short, but what has already been released is more than enough reason to invest.

FFG seems to be painfully aware of the generic nature of their core fantasy setting and are clearly taking action to remedy that situation. Who knows, perhaps a few years from now this criticism will have been quelled.

My advice is that if you have a friend that is interested, pick up a core box and give it a try, you won’t be disappointed.

Cluedo by Hasbro

A game from my childhood that has made a resurgence in my house thanks to my kids going through their childhoods.  No one is more surprised to find this game on this rather prestigious list of amazing must play games, but truth be told this is a classic family game for a very good reason.  It’s pretty fantastic.

Conceptually it’s a very simple game of deduction, but underneath it’s rather simple premise is a really fun and challenging social game.  Much of the game is played making deductions based on what you see, but there is also a “poker face” element to it where you try to decipher what people say to draw clues about potentially eliminating suspects, murder weapons and locations to determine the “who done it” of it all.

Most of us grew up with Milton Bradly classics like Clue, but some of these games are classics for good reason and Cluedo earns its stripes on this list today.

This has become a family favorite at home, currently wearing out our second copy of the game.  It’s hardly a week goes by that we don’t play it several times and as people get better and better at hiding their poker face if you will, the game becomes more challenging and equally more fun.

This in my book is a far superior family game option to many of the accepted standards like RISK, Monopoly or the always boring Game of Life.  More than that, I think this is actually a fairly legitimate gamers game that can actually work at a more traditional and exclusive gamers night.  I’m almost embarrassed to say but I actually love this game.  It hits all those social sweet spots and despite its multiple decade existence it holds up quite well.  For a great family game, look no further than this classic, it really works!

Star Trek: Fleet Captain

This is one of those games where loving Star Trek the TV shows and movies is an absolute must, but given that 99% of all Star Trek franchise games basically suck balls, perhaps it’s no surprise so many Trekies might have overlooked this one.

Star Trek: Fleet Captain is one of the most thematic games I have ever played, Star Trek or otherwise.   It is the Twilight Imperium or War of the Rings of Star Trek game, essentially, the entire franchise in a single box. I adore this game both because it’s an amazing game mechanically speaking but because it’s dripping with everything a Star Trek fan could hope for.  Explore the galaxy, experience Star Trek events pulled right from the series and films and fight fleet battles using the trickery and gadgetry of the Star Trek universe.

I have introduced this game to people who went from “I fucking hate everything Star Trek” to “but this game is awesome”. For a game to be so good that despite its overwhelming focus on theme it can turn your head even if you hate the theme is amazing, never seen that happen in any other game in my 30 years.

Thematic ships, characters and events all clearly linked mechanically to their role in the Star Trek universe give Fleet Captains a distinctly familiar feel.  While competitive, this is a storytelling game and you will find yourself in all too familiar situations only a true trekie would appreciate from Trouble with Tribbles to weird timelines, from the borg to liquid space, from cloaking devices to using your warp drive to do all kinds of crazy stuff it not designed to do, it’s all here.

Thanks to two great expansions, although not easy to find these days, Star Trek: Fleet Captains is a complete package, this is a game no Star Trek fan should miss.

Illuminati by Steve Jackson Games

This stone cold classic was once among the most played games I owned and remains as far as I’m concerned a permanent fixture of my collection.  Now it is a Steve Jackson game who I believe to be a very talented designer but with a rather odd approach to his games.  I find most people either love or hate his games, but while I would consider many of his games “classics”, this is the one I’m always surprised that people have never heard of.  At this point perhaps its just my age is showing given this game was released back 1987.

Games are often very personal things, memories in a box and while I love Illuminati it reminds me of a friend that died years ago and is probably the only reason I don’t play it anymore. It is however a fantastic social game not to be missed.

Illuminati is a card game driven by a giant fuck you mechanic that pits players against each other as they attempt to complete their Illuminati power structures to take over the world.  The trick is that each player has a unique win condition and because every play anyone can make can be interrupted by any number of players or supported by any number of players its really a game of chicken, deception, prediction, resource management, a bit of luck and more fuck you than is probably acceptable at a traditional family board game night.  This is clearly a game for gamers, in particular for groups that enjoy sticking it to each other.

The rules are relatively simple, but the gameplay is anything but, this is one of those games that if you win, you win because you have truly outsmarted and out played everyone else, you can’t get lucky here.  If you have never tried it and you are looking for a truly messed up social game, in particular among a group with a great sense of humor, this satire loaded game is not to be missed.

War of the Ring by Ares Games

While this one has been and remains still today on my top 10 best games of all time list and its hardly overlooked given its number 12 spot on boardgamegeek.com, I’m still amazed how in conversation when the topic of Lord of the Rings games comes up this one is seldom mentioned.  In my mind this is not only one of the best Lord of the Rings games ever made, its also one of the most thematic games ever made and quite possibly one of the best.  This isn’t just a game, its really an experience, one of the most intimate and elaborate board games for two players you could ever play.  For Lord of the Rings fans this is the ONLY board game I would ever dream of recommending as an absolute must have.  Its the entire Lord of the Rings story, structured with perfection into a single game.  Its clearly made by a fan for fans.

Its sheer epic scale and presumed complexity is probably why this game falls under your typical gamers radar, but this game while true to its scale is actually not that complicated to learn to play. Some games are just worth the investment and time they demand, this one is definitely among the most worthy you will ever find.

Now there are plenty of Lord of the Rings games, in fact, its a bloody brick ton and I have played many if not most of them and while there are plenty of gems, nothing compares to the experience of War of the Rings.  This is the ultimate Lord of the Rings experience, period.

Battletech by Altar Games

In 1985 long before every boardgame was turned in a miniature game the card board cut-up stand ups that came with this classic where good enough because we had imagination and gameplay ruled supreme over everything else.  More than that though the original 1985 Battletech game set remains THE best ever made and despite bloody decades of trying and failing hard to re-capture interest in this genre, the Battletech franchise still largely stands on this stone cold classic.

While miniatures are all the rage these days, this classic doesn’t need them. Mechanically this is a gem in the rough.

What made Battletech unique is that it took the concept of characters from RPG’s, the many stats and custom building, the attention to detail for each unit and the tit for tat balancing of weapons, armor, and utility gear and turned it into a pure thematic tactical war game.  It was back in those days referred to as Chainmail with robots.

The only game that I played more than Battletech back in the day was Dungeons and Dragons itself but unlike those early editions of dungeons and dragons that were terribly flawed mechanically, Battletech was design perfection and holds up as strong today as it did back than.  The fact that it was not reprinted unchanged is a shame, if any game deserves it its this one.

One of my favorite mems, I couldn’t resist, its true, its a long game, you have to make peace with it.

Thanks to the digital world of PDF’s and the fact that the original game actually had no miniatures, you can basically print and play this one today and its well worth the printer ink to do so.  This overlooked and forgotten classic deserves your attention, especially if you are a modern miniatures gamer.  You will find that not only do the rules hold up, they are far superior to a vast majority of miniature games today.  Clean, hardcore robot battles, what else could a person possibly ask for.

The 18XX series by lots of people

While this is not a single game, it does have an original “classic” that most people who do play it know well, 18:30 Railroad and Robber Barons.  This entire series is built on the core premise of operating railroad companies, manipulating stock markets and constructing railways.  In on its own its very much a niche game, often maintained to be for “hardcore” gamers or “those train people”, but as a gamer, both casual and series to me this is one series of games that is severely under played, overlooked and misunderstood.  Its almost as if the community that surrounds it enjoys its “cult” status, but the truth of the matter is that its far more approachable than its typically made out to be.

It isn’t going to win any beauty contests, but 18XX games have it where it counts.

Sure its a bit more complex, but I know plenty of people who play far more complicated games than this, in fact, several games on this list I would consider far more complex than 1830 and while certainly some of the sub-versions of this series get quite deep there are a wide range of levels in this series worth recommending.

To me this series represents the best of the economic line of games, you would think given that games like Monopoly are among the most played/owned games in the world, economic games would get far more attention than what is typical for a game series like 18XX.  None the less, if you like playing with play money, this game is really among the best out there with deep strategy, cut-throat tactics and replay-ability on a scale few games achieve.  Worth the investment.

Gaming Articles

Winter Hibernation Reviews

It’s been a while since I have written anything for the blog, which tends to happen around winter time.  Here in Sweden, winter is a cold, dark, bitter experience that leaves one lethargic and unmotivated.  It’s a kind of hibernation where bringing up the strength to do anything but eat and sleep is difficult.  By February however the light comes back, the snow fall makes everything bright and you start to get your energy back.

Now even though I have been in my winter hibernation that is not to say no gaming has taken place, in fact there has been quite a bit.  I thought it would be great just to do a single article to get myself caught up by doing some mini reviews and drop some tips for a few games my group and I have been playing.   This is going to be a real mixed bag however because while we played quite a few new boardgames, we actually rotated back into some miniature gaming and role-playing games as well.

Lets get right into it.

Dungeons and Dragons 5th Edition

While there has been plenty of board gaming, this winter D&D 5th edition really took center stage for my gaming group as we put together a weekly wednesday night game that has become almost a religion for us.   Our campaign is set in the Forgotten Realms and has after over 20 sessions already reached many of those classic D&D heights like fighting dragons, giants, hobgoblins and much more all the while ranging the gambit from city life, dungeon crawling, wilderness adventures and everything in between.  It’s been an absolute blast.

Its new but feels classic, 5e got it just right!

For me personally D&D is a staple of role-playing, really my go to game for a great RPG experience and it has been so for nearly 30 years.  I have played every edition ever put out extensively, really you could say from a perspective of experience I’m about as veteran as you can get.   I was playing D&D when Gygax was a young man. That said however, despite 30 years of D&D I have rarely ever enjoyed the game as a player, which is why this particular campaign has been so much fun much for me.  Not being a GM not only gives you a very different perspective on the game, but allows you to appreciate the rule system in a very different, very personal way.

One thing I can say about 5th Edition D&D is that its probobly one of my favorite versions of the game from a strictly non-nostalgic perspective.  Meaning that I love it for what it is, a fun RPG, while being the fuel for what I consider a classic D&D experience.  It finds a kind of middle ground between classic/old school D&D and modern game design,  while simultaneously remaining rules light enough not to throw role-playing under the bus, but rule-sy enough to keep you interested in reading the books and exploring its nuances.  I still think 1st and 2nd edition offer the most in terms of the spirit of the game as Gygax intended it, not everyone would agree with me, but a fact doesn’t require you to believe it (burn!) but as a modern system, 5e is close enough to that old school method that in the hands of a good DM you can still get those nostalgia moments reminding you of your childhood.

The classics in their original form can still be enjoyed thanks to the Wizards of the Coast reprints.

For anyone who has never played a role-playing game before,  I highly recommend 5e as a place to start.  The rules are simple and streamlined, while the writing is done well enough to inspire your imagination.  If however you’re a 1st or 2nd edition player that has skipped all of the modern, post Gygax versions of the game, if there was one to try, it would be 5e.  Definitely a fantastic game, it gets my stamp of approval.

Twilight Imperium 4th Edition

When FFG announced that they would be putting out a new edition of one of my all time favorites after nearly 10 years of 3rd edition, my body was ready.  I certainly owe this blog a much closer and deeper review than what I’m about to do here, but suffice to say that like always Christian T. Peterson and his team do not disappoint.

This is the epic upgrade you have been looking for.

Twilight Imperium 4th edition takes the established formula of the 4x epic classic and brings it one step closer to perfection.  It remains the robust and dynamic experience we have come to expect while smoothing out some of the rough edges from the previous edition.  It still comes  with all the same flaws inherent to a game like this, namely its nearly unbearable length of play and rules weight.  I personally however accept and embrace it as is,  the depths of this games tactical and strategic lengths is well worth the 6+ hour investment you will need to make to play it.

I still believe that its a 6 player or nothing type game, you simply do not get the full experience with 3, 4 or 5 players, each suffering from various balance issues.   For the inducted veteran, 4e is well worth the coin for the upgrade and like always my suggestion to the uninitiated but interested is, tread carefully.  TI4 is not a board game, its a hobby and the price tag and time investment is too high to have the 5 kilo box sitting on your shelf collecting dust.  Be sure that you have the 6 man gaming group ready to dive in with you, if your twisting arms to get people to play, my suggestion is skip it. This is a game made for hardened veterans and fans of heavy science-fiction board gaming, everyone else is going to hate it.

All that said, for TI fans, this is another step towards that ultimate science-fiction gaming experiance.

New Angeles

By far this years smash hit for me is New Angeles.  I fell in love with this game after a single play as did my gaming group and for good reason, its fan-fucking-tastic.  Definitely a contender for game of the year, New Angeles is a negotiation, backstabbing joy ride that dare I say has effectively created a new genre of board gaming.

This is probably one of the best FFG board games since Twilight Imperium 3rd edition.

Its populated with some clever mechanics, it looks amazing on the table and its driven by a really cool science-fiction theme, all things that speak to me, in on itself enough to recommend it.  This however is really just the icing on the cake,  the real meat of this game is how it establishes the feel of a political drama that plays out in discussions and debates driven by the very difficult to predict motivations of the players.  This is almost a social experiment of sorts, where much of the fun of the game is trying to deduce what the hell people are really up to, what their goals really are and who they are actually playing against and for.

Absolutely love this one, I haven’t played something this fresh since the perfect Blood Rage.  This is one of those games that belongs on every gamers shelf.

I will be doing a full review of this one sometime in the future.

Star Wars Armada

My gaming group has a tendency to cycle in and out various types of gaming, we will go through board game, miniature game or role-playing game phases at unpredictable intervals.  When we go in however, we go big and hard like porn stars.  Star Wars Armada for quite a long time was THE game for us, in fact its one of the few games we have as a group participated in official tournaments, something that was entirely new to us.  We even have a store and regional champion in our midst.

Just as quickly however it fell out of favor, but not because we stopped liking it or anything, its more that we simply got into something else and like yesterdays news Armada got set aside.   Well recently Armada made a comeback and suddenly we are buying into the new wave 7 ships, building lists and planning events.   Why?  Because Armada remains without question one of the best miniature games on the market today.  Yes its a bit heavy and I totally understand why it doesn’t compete in popularity with the likes of X-Wing and 40k, but from a perspective of game design, mechanics and sheer epic size and feel, it is among the best there is.  This is the gamers miniature game, its far less about rolling dice, painting mini’s and list building and far more about planning and execution.

FFG has done a great job of keeping each wave relevant, but it’s far from perfect.

For me personally the fact that there is no fussing about with painting and assembly is a huge plus, but really of all the selling points of Armada, capital ship combat in the Star Wars universe has to be at the top of the list.  It shines thematically as much as it does competitively.  It’s a game of layers upon layers of depth, a game of strategic and tactical subtlety which results in an endless stream of lessons as you get better at the game and gain a higher understanding of its nuances.  There is already so much strategy to explore in this game with what has already been released and with each new wave they throw in the next curve ball that has everyone scrambling and re-assessing everything to find that new key strategy that brings them the wins.  Its a fantastic experience that no miniature game fan should miss.

Now it comes with a disclaimer label and I’m not going to sit on a pedestal and tell you everything is rosy, there are some issues.  Like all miniature games it kind of suffers at the hands of the competitive meta math mining where certain combinations one can say are at the very least stupid, if not outright broken.  In the case of Armada these combos are effective but not overwhelming, yet sufficiently irritating to kick of more than a handful of forum debates.  Combos often abused by the masses creates this effect of negativity that can let some of the steam out of the game.  Right now in Armada I’m a bit cranky about the activation spam lists and mechanics like Relay which I don’t think really fit the games core premise.  This sort of thing however is quite normal in miniature games and in local groups like mine its a none issue. In our group  people create clever lists, but they always maintain that the premise of the game is about capital ship combat and fun is always paramount.  So long as your gaming group adheres to some restraint, these mechanical loopholes are usually not a problem.

X-Wing remains the king of the hill for the general masses, its light nature, simple rules and quick gameplay is hard to compete with.

All and all I think Armada remains the best option for gamers looking for a proper miniature gaming challenge, but generally I tend to still recommend X-Wing for most gamers over Armada.  X-Wing is quick to play, easy to learn and maintains that fun spark, though like Armada is has a few rambunctious nuisance upgrades and ship that can really throw a wrench into the ferries wheel.  Armada I find is a bit too heavy for most as well, like I said, its a gamers game, even I burn out on it eventually as it requires a lot of thought and energy to stay competitive, but if you strand me on an island with one miniature game, I rather it be Armada over anything else.

Sid Meier’s Civilization: A New Dawn

I was really excited for this one, in fact I bought it kind of blind without really reading reviews or investigating the game much.  This was mainly because it was FFG at the helm and the game was from the same designer that brought us the amazing New Angeles.

It looked good from a far, but ended up being far from good.

I don’t want to say I was disappointed, it was a considerable improvement over FFG’s previous lackluster attempt at bringing us the classic PC game to board game form, but I was not blown away by it either.  Far more Euroish than is good for it, the game while streamlined and a fairly straightforward experience lacked that feel of building up a civilization you might be seeking in a game with the word Sid Meier in the title.  It lacked epicness if I can invent a word and for a game that takes you from the stone age to the future age, you think this would be the one focal point for the designers.

It’s kind of a typical Euro fair with rather obtuse mechanics and abstracted to the point where you realize it could just as easily had a different theme entirely.  You don’t really build much in the game, the differences  between nations and their strategic choices is quite benign and, like FFG’s previous attempt, they failed to produce a good combat system which is also a key feature of Sid Meiers game and it should be here as well.  Oh and I really hated the art style of the board game with as much disdain as I have for the art style of the new PC version.

It was an ok, one might say below average game. for me the search for the ultimate Twilight Imperium like epic for the civilization building genre continues, this was definitely not it.  It fell short of expectation and I don’t foresee it getting a whole lot of table time in the future.  Through The Ages and Nations remain the two reigning champions of this genre even though neither is played on a map.

18XX Series (1830 Railroads & Robber Barons)

One thing I got really into this winter is the 18XX series of games. These economic railroad and business management games really sparked my nostalgic love for classic PC games like Railroad Tycoon, Transport Tycoon and Capitalism.  Now I will say this up front, this is not a genre of games my local gaming buddies are into so I have to scratch this itch outside of my normal channels, hence it has hindered my efforts but I can say without reservation that there is real magic here.

If it looks complicated, its because it is. I would rate it at a 10 out of 10 in terms of complexity of rules, so be sure your up for it, there are far simpler train games out there for the less initiated.

The 18XX series has you running transportation empires, building them from scratch and over decades of time you slowly but surely develop your railroad business with a keen eye on the economic fluctuations of the stock-market and the cut throat competition of the other players.  This is definitely what I would call ”High Complexity” gaming, its rather slow and requires a general love for the genre and perhaps a bit of nostalgia seasoning.  Still it has this great attention to thematic detail giving you a really authentic sense of time and place.  I ended up picking up several of these games including 1830, which is among the first and perhaps most famous in the genre.

I recommend this title with a caution that there is nothing ”easy” about getting into these games, its definitely and absolutely for hardcore veteran gamers with a specific economic simulator itch to scratch.  You will read the rulebook several times before anything clicks and you need to play several games before the lights really come on, then you can spend a few years playing the virtually hundreds of titles in the genre each with its own take on the same premise.  But in the right group, games like this are truly a gamers greatest reward, a unique experience on a level of gaming most games never even come close to.  If you love railroad economic games, this is the final frontier in the genre, but be warned its not for the feint of heart.

Seven Wonder Duel

This is a game that I introduced to my 9 year old daughter in hopes that I might turn her into a proper gamer.  I failed with my son who went the cool route becoming a guitar jamming rockstar but my daughter is a lot more like me and took to Seven Wonders Duel like a moth to a flame.  Sometimes you love a game because you love the people that play it with you and Seven Wonders Duel definitely falls into that category for me.

There is strategy on many levels in this one with a lot of dynamics, it really has that infinite replay-ability thing going for it.

My daughter and I probably play this game at least 3 or 4 times each week and I give no quarter when I play her.  She beats me frequently, fair and square and that in itself makes me love this game even more. Its not complex by any stretch of the imagination, but far more complex than I would have expected a 9 year old to grasp.  True, my daughter is smarter than your average bear, but I actually believe this game to be quite kid friendly.  Its colorful, the rules are fairly simple to remember and because you don’t actually count up the score until the end, it keeps their attention as they ”hope for the win”.

I definitly like Duel better than the original, it has a quaint family game quality and the fact that its specifically designed for two players means my daughter and I never have to beg the none gamers in the family to join us.

Great game, highly recommend it, in particular if you are trying to induct one of your kids into the board gaming hobby or trying to turn your wife into a gamer.

Legend of the Five Rings

This FFG reboot of the classic CCG is born out of one of my favorite fantasy settings of all time, so upon its announcement I pre-ordered without hesitation.  It found its way on my most anticipated games of the year list and its one of the few that did not let me down.

In Legend of the Five Rings you take control of one of the many uniquely themed clans with different flavors of stereotypical medieval Japanese samurai from the world of Rokugan.  Its a very unique and rather specific setting that might not speak to everyone but in terms of a dueling card game it does a fantastic job of setting up a very engaging head to head match.  For me the theme is everything here however and I absolutely adore the art in this one.

Maybe its just my love for Japanese themed art, but Legend of the Five rings gets a 5 out of 5 stars for theme adaptation from me based on the art alone.

I can’t say for sure that I will become a collector, I may just stop at the core set, but I think this is a really thinky game that is easy enough to teach that you can just spring it on someone, yet has that almost expected depth we have grown accustomed to from FFG card games.  Its always my hope that I will show it to someone who falls for it giving me a chance to drive deeper into the game, but so far no one in my group has really taken the dive.  Its not surprising, among my gaming group most of us have our preferred go to card game, so its more common for one person to collect rather than everyone getting into it.  Among my gaming group we already have Star Wars The Card Game, Game of Thrones 2nd edition and Lord of the Rings.  In each case there is just that one collector that supports the game for everyone elses enjoyment and I think Legend of the Five Rings will fall into that same category.

All and all though, of all the FFG dueling card games that have been put out over the years, this one is right up their with Game of Thrones for me.  It has that tightness of gameplay that ensures every match is really close, while also producing that ”lets play again” feeling that you get from a great game.  So far everyone I have showed it to enjoyed the game, but it hasn’t exactly blown anyones doors of.

Sometimes it really does just come down to theme, if you like that medieval Samurai theme, this is definitely the game for you, it handles the material wonderfully.

Arkham Horror

My love for Lord of the Rings the card game goes quite deep, but unlike 99% of the games on my shelf, I have bought this one for entirely selfish reasons as I play predominantly solo and that’s the way I like it.

Arkham Horror is the new cooperative card game from FFG and offers that same solo opportunity as Lord of the Rings, so I very naturally jumped at the chance to explore it.

If your a fan of Lovecraft, this is an absolute must play. Easily one of the best games in this setting I have played and that includes all the board games.

Right out of the gate I was captivated by how richly the gameplay captured the pulp horror theme, between the locals, the types of cards the limitation and tightness of resource and the really imaginative scenario’s.  The one complaint I always had about Lord of the Rings was that the campaign mode was a bit lackluster and linear, I absolutely adore the handling of campaign mode in this game as you can effectively play through the entire story-line with the same characters.  Upgrading equipment and cards as you go, tracking stats between plays and experiencing different branching of the same story or repeat plays.

The card play itself is very good, I still prefer Lord of the Rings over this one, but that’s because I think Lord of the Rings is more of a deck builder.  Its more focused on strategies and overcoming obstacles through the act of preparation in constructing card combinations that are designed for a specific task.  In Arkham Horror deck building is kind of a afterthought really, there is some, but your mostly focused on playing the game and making clever use of the resources you have rather than trying to out smart the scenarios with clever deck building.

I also prefer this one more in a group as compared to Lord of the Rings which I play almost exclusively solo.  This one works well with 2, 3 or even 4 players and if you pick up the expansions you can really make a whole night out of it.  Still its actually quite fun and quite challenging solo, I have definitely burned quite a few evenings hunched over the table trying to unravel the mysterious of the underworld.

Great game, highly recommend it, another hit by FFG who are quickly gaining a reputation for producing some of the best collectible card games in existence.

Conclusion

And with that you are caught up.  That was more or less my winter.  We of coursed played many of the games I have covered in previous reviews, this certainly wasn’t everything but definitely among the most notable.  I have quite a few reviews to write and I definitely want to get back into some What Makes It Tick articles.   The hibernation is over, time to get back to some writing.

 

 

Gaming Articles

D&D Theory: Why Old School?

Recently I have gotten myself into a 5th edition Dungeons and Dragons game as a player, as well as wrapped up a second season as a GM in my Game of Thrones RPG game while simultaneously preparing a new RPG for online play with my friends back in the states. Suffice to say, role-playing has suddenly become “it” in terms of where all my gaming time is going. In so doing I have been kind of jotting some notes down for future articles, the loot from many conversations and I realized this week I finally have enough to put one together. In today’s D&D Theory article I’m going to be musing about the concept of “Old School Gaming”, which I think is a very relevant topic these days given the rather sudden shift of Wizards of the Coast to return the game of D&D to a more classic or old school state with the release of 5e last year.

Now I say Classic/old school state with a grain of salt as the exact definition of what that is, is a bit murky. After all D&D is 40+ old, has had many editions, sub-editions, clones and spin-offs and as such what is “classic” or “old school” is probably different for everyone depending on which generation of the game you started in and how far back you go.

Whether you love old school D&D play or not, you should thank it for some of the wonderful settings it produced.

As such I think it’s relevant to first identify what “old school” gaming is, which as I found was a deep and fairly complex, albeit interesting topic that took me quite a bit to get my head around. The question really is, is it a “feeling”, is it a “mechanic” or is it some sort of “conceptual design or philosophy”? All good questions and today I’m going to try to answer them!

I started my research in perhaps the most obvious place, first edition of D&D and tried to identify what in that early version(s) of the games like Basic, Expert and Advanced rules system differs in approach, feel, design, mechanics etc. as it compares to modern systems like 3rd, 4th and 5th edition of the game.

At first, it was quite unclear to me. While certainly the mechanics were different in many respects, the fundamentals where very much the same, D&D as a concept in 1e is really not any different than any other edition that has come out since. To me it was clear that early editions of D&D weren’t as streamlined, and refined, there was certainly a lot less standardization and quite a bit more limitations on character classes and races, and players in general. Though I can’t imagine how having those limitations and lack of rules clarity really altered the experience for the better. Fewer options sure, but I didn’t find anything within the scope of the mechanics that couldn’t be accomplished in a modern RPG if you really wanted to include it or exclude it as the case may be. A DM for example could simply say “hey in my game Dwarves hate and never use magic so they can’t be any kind of Arcane caster”. Is having the limitation as a rule in the book as opposed to an option for the DM “old school”? I don’t believe so, there had to be more to it.

The realization didn’t really strike me until I read and was reminded of one very unusual rule in 1st edition AD&D called “XP-Treasure Conversion”. The basics of this rule was that if a character hauls out treasure from a dungeon of some sort and brings it back to a safe place like a town, the value of that treasure can be converted into XP. Gygax explains and reminds us in the DMG (paraphrasing here) that while the rule doesn’t make narrative sense, D&D is a game and games have rules and this is one of them. Simply put, the rule was there to remind and motivate players (not characters) that the premise of the game is that the players characters and their alter egos (PC’s) are in fact treasure hunters. Another words that the core premise of D&D is that you go into dungeons, kill monsters and take their treasure.

Now I would imagine a modern gamer would have a real problem with that explanation when defining what they do when playing D&D. After all, what that rule & premise suggests is that the cliché about D&D is a less a myth and more a fact. That D&D really is just a light hearted adventure game about going in dungeons, killing monsters and taking their treasure. I think most modern gamers would disagree with that assessment of what D&D is. The question is however, is that the source of “old school” or “classic” gaming mentality, another words is that the goal of “old school” gaming to capture that feel of this classic premise?

While I think at this point I was getting close, I don’t believe this was it in its entirety. One clear aspect of early editions of D&D was that the game itself was very unforgiving. This concept of the dungeon crawl as a core, was layered by the uncanny deadliness of the game itself in particular as it applies to the core premise of fighting monsters. Simply put, fighting monsters in early editions of D&D was extremely dangerous, something to actually be avoided hence it was at odds with the core premise on which its founded. Mind you when I say deadly, I really mean it. I recall in the 1st edition AD&D days, having one or two characters die each session was fairly common. 1st level characters were so fragile most of the time you would make 2 or 3 in advance, create them without back story’s, hell sometimes without a name and put them in the game to see which of them survived long enough to hit 2nd or 3rd level at which point you would flesh them out a bit and give them some much needed dimensions.

The most notable aspect of all of this was that none of it had anything to do with the story of the game. The premise of the game, the deadliness of the game, and this concept of detachment from characters, it all pointed to one thing. It was less a game about story and more a game about, well the game. Putting that question to old school gamers came with its own reactions as they rejected the idea that the game was not about story. In fact, they adamantly insisted that old school gaming was “real role-playing” and what they do in modern editions is “playing CRPG’s”.

The logic was that the story wasn’t about individual characters, the story was about the world and its events, the characters were parts in it. Sometimes those parts were small, insignificant and short lived and sometimes those parts were epic, elaborate and detailed. Your roles in the game might change periodically as a result of death of an adventurer, but the story lived on with new characters. A campaign was bigger and more to them than any individual character and they were adamant at saying that there was no detachment from their characters, but rather the solemn reality that adventuring life was dangerous as it should be and the results were often tragic. Interesting concept and I think Shakespeare would agree!

Still I believe I’m right at least in one thing. I believe early editions of D&D were less about a focus on characters and more of a focus on players. I believe there is a lot of evidence to support this theory and I also believe within that logic is actually the reason that “Old School” is a premise that is different from modern gaming. I don’t believe it’s purely rules or feel related,  some part of this movement is about nostalgia.  Still I think there is a concrete difference that is identifiable between modern D&D and early (1st edition) D&D as a design concept.

That premise or concept if you will is the difference between Character Centric game design and Player Centric Game design. I will define both but it’s worth noting up front that these aren’t always rules driven concepts nor are they mutually exclusive in that all RPG’s have some Character Centric elements and some Player Centric elements. It’s just that in 1st edition D&D, the Player Centric design is both more prevalent and more firmly defined as a part of the expected flow of the game and vice versus for modern game design as Character Centric systems.

Old School RPG’s are definitely about nostalgia, but Old School design is a lot more than that.

Ok so let’s define Player Centric and Character Centric Design. The principle is really quite simple.

Character Centric design means that by the logic and premise of the design and by the implementation of mechanics into the game, a player character is the focus of the rules and ultimately the mechanics of that character are what drive the resolution of challenges and conflicts. Another words, when a players character is faced with a problem, there is a mechanical property on his character sheet that is designed to address it via mechanical rules.

For example, if a player needs to search a room, in a Character Centric design, that players character will have a skill or attribute available that he or the GM can activate to resolve the search and determine if the character finds what he is looking for. So a player will say, “I search this room for the magic ring, I think it’s here somewhere” and the GM determines “Ok make a search check, let’s see if your character finds it”.

It’s worth pointing out that Character Centric design doesn’t mean the GM is obligated to character centric play, a distinction with a difference. However it is kind of presumed that when you make a skill check, as a player you roll the dice, you know what the result is and hence know if you succeeded or failed the check. Hence if you find nothing, you know it’s not here, else you find it, vice versus if you fail you know you have failed hence you know, it might still be here, but you just didn’t find it or the ring may in fact is not here in the first place (boy that’s a mouth full!). You can also further layer this by having the GM make the roll in secret, in which case you have no information about whether or not you fail the roll, hence, if your GM tells you that you find nothing you don’t know if it’s because the ring is not there or if it’s because you failed the check and simply didn’t find it.

Creating characters in AD&D was something you did often, because they died often. Fortunately in a Player Centric design, what is on your character sheet is not nearly as important to your success as what’s in your own imagination.

Regardless however as a Character Centric designed mechanic, the activity of searching is mechanized and the results are determined with the dice.

In a Player Centric design the challenge and obstacles of the game are instead directed at the player, and it’s the player who is expected to resolve these challenges through a narrative exchange with the GM as opposed to a function of mechanics associated with his character.

Taking the same example of searching for the ring, in a Player Centric design, the GM would describe the room and situation and the player would feed the GM instructions about his activities. For example he might say, I check under the bed, in the mattress, under the pillows, all the drawers in the dresser, I search for loose floor boards and check behind the paintings and so on. The GM in turn would respond to the activities of the player. It’s presumed the GM knows where the ring is hidden so if the player says, I check in the flower pot, he finds the ring, otherwise he does not.

The point here is however that there is no mechanical function of the character that assists or somehow affects the outcome of “searching the room”. The event exists purely in the narrative, a strictly player driven resolution and it’s typically (or at least it was the case in 1st edition) because no “search” mechanic actually exists. There is no search skill, you don’t make attribute checks. It’s simply a narrative exchange between the GM and the player.

1st ed. AD&D didn’t really add skills untill later supplement books, triggering the concepts that lead to more Character Centric designs.

Again just like Character Centric design, Player Centric design is not limited or somehow unable to switch and become Character Centric at the GM’s discretion. A GM might call for some sort of dice roll based on the attributes of the character anyway, perhaps asking him to roll his IQ or lower to see if he finds the ring. It is however just like Character Centric design, outside of the premise or core function of the rule-system, it is in a sense a “GM call”.

This concept of Player & Character centric design however is a core fundamental difference between “old school” D&D and “New School” D&D. Original AD&D is very much a player centric design, while modern games starting as early as the end of 1st edition AD&D with expanded books like the Survival Guides and 2nd Edition core transitioned into a more Character Centric design with each new edition. By 4th edition the adherence to Character Centric design was so firm, it even went so far as to add “skill challenges” to avoid Player centricity as much as possible..

I think in part why Old School gamers look at modern system and make classic comments like “That’s not real role-playing” is because the game they know is heavily buried in Player Centric play, which is by nature much more narrative as it lacks the ability to resolve challenges and obstacles with mechanics.

The main commonalty all D&D systems share is that they are all, since the very beginning, purely character centric in the execution of Combat. For some reason, no one argues or has issues with combat being purely character centric, but in other areas of the game there is a never ending discussion as to what degree a game should be player or character centric.

The cliches and myths about D&D being about going in dungeons, killing monsters and taking their treasure is a definitive core of the game supported by its mechanics. However combat itself is squarely Character Centric.

One thing to note however as mentioned earlier is that combat in 1st edition AD&D was very deadly and unforgiving and as such, just by the sheer volatility of characters, the meta of characters in its own right is very player centric. So while combat might not be player centric at all in any editions of D&D, most of what’s involved around it in early editions is and I think this is also a part of the definition of “Old School” gaming. As my friend pointed out, the game is about the campaign, about the story and the events in the story and while it’s focused on characters to a degree as they act as our avatars, it’s clear that all players understand that sooner or later their characters will die and they will make a new one, but the game is not over. They as players steer the avatar and it’s their decisions, their actions, their activities that bring the resolutions to conflicts, not their characters (in the meta of course) hence it doesn’t matter which character you are using all that much as their mechanics are not involved outside of combat.

Making characters and doing so considerably more frequently than in modern design is just part of the experience of old school gaming. In Character Centric games, characters getting killed is not desired and considered more of an “event”, as it’s their abilities, skills, attributes and powers that drive conflict resolution and in essence much of the narrative. They are an important component of a players success. Character Centric designs is why we have terms like “Character Build”, as the avatar is not just a representation of a character in the narrative sense for the player, but also his abilities, skills and influence over conflict within the confines of the game. In essence in Character Centric play, the player has considerably less influence over the success of his character as he is reliant on the mechanics to resolve conflict as opposed to the player’s narrative exchange.  I will point out that I think its weird that no one has issue with overcoming challenges with character centricity in combat, but for some reason its a big fight when it comes to resolution for conflicts outside of combat.  Weirder still are the exceptions like pick pocketing and climbing walls, suddenly, its ok in 1st edition AD&D, but only for the thief class, for everyone else, I guess you just die trying?  The logic of this player vs. character centric design is a strange beast.

The use of modules in many ways is also part of the decor of early D&D play, but its not like it ended there. There were more modules produced for 3rd edition D&D then all other editions combined.

It’s expected in Character Centric games that characters are relatively safe and they walk into dangerous situations that are kind of rigged in their favor mechanically. Which is why things like CR ratings, the concept of balanced encounters, death rolls and other survival mechanisms exist in modern games, it’s all in the name of saving characters from death but more specifically in the name of preserving the importance of the narrative. Characters are an intricate part of the story, not because of their narrative but because of their mechanics and removing them from it, is in general bad. It means a new character needs to be made and the story components of the previous characters are lost, in particular for the player, as well as the mechanic advantages that reigned in his success. In a way in character centric games, characters have a greater importance.

The question is then which is better? Get ready for me to drop some life affirming knowledge, the answer is modern is better and the reason is that it’s the same fucking thing!

You might argue about old school mechanics vs. new school mechanics, but to me, Old School art blows what we put out today out of the water 10 fold.

In the end, any sub-system, mechanic or function that is added in a system becomes “available” anything that is omitted is “unavailable”. Availability however does not require or assume use, its simply there and as a GM in any system be it 1st or 5th edition, the decision, the ruling if you will of what mechanics to use and when to use them is entirely up to you. Hence in a fully Character Centric game, you can with virtually no effort go fully Player Centric at any time. Its 100% fully backwards compatible, however in a Player Centric system you cannot just “switch” to a character centric system as the rules do not exist for you to use and fall back on. If search doesn’t exist, you can’t make a search check and as a GM you’re going to have to make a mechanic up on the fly to fill in for the missing rule, if the search does exist and you want to play out a search scene, simply don’t allow the check. The obvious logic is obvious!

That said, there is a problem with running a Character Centric system in a Player Centric style, which is of course player expectation.  Consider that a players character is his investment, hence in a Character Centric system, the player invests points, or other advancements into various skills and abilities.  If as a GM you choose to go Player Centric and ignore those aspects of their character, you are kind of cheating them out of their investments.  Hence, if you are a GM (like me) who has a Player Centric style (aka old school) then you should stick to Player Centric systems if for no other reason than to ensure expectations match the result and you are not ignoring parts of the mechanical character the player might deem important to his role/story or whatever.

Old School gaming is all about enforced limitation. I find it odd that because the rulebook tells you something is not allowed, or simply by omission makes it unavailable that this somehow makes a game better than one in which all options are available to use at your discretion. It’s a silly concept and I actually hate conversations like this with Old School gamers even though, on this little blue planet there is no bigger old school gamer than me.  Still, I do understand it from a player perspective that if a mechanic exists, in particular as it applies to characters, it should be used and used often.  You wouldn’t deny someone spells or combat abilities that their character can perform, hence you should not ignore other aspects that are on the character sheet either.

If you ever wonder if new school designers have any affection for old school gaming, you need look no further then the latest releases from Wizards of the Coast. Strahd is as old school as you can possibly get, his appearance in a 5e module should quell any doubt about where modern designers loyalties lay.

I adore limitations, deadly game systems, player centric gaming, Gold to XP conversions and all that great stuff, but at the same time I don’t see why having a lift on limitations in a book, or having safety nets in a system or the absence of a Gold to XP rule changes anything at all. I’m a damn GM, if I want or don’t want something in the game, I snap my fingers and it happens. I don’t care if there is a search skill, if I say “there is no check, if you want to find something tell me how you are looking for it”, we are instantly in Player Centric gameplay, the system cannot stop me, I’m basically the god of the game. It is however a problem if I want to make a skill check and the rule for it is not available, and then I’m forced to invent shit on the fly. I don’t really see how that will result in a better experience old school or otherwise!

Hence Character Centric games do not change anything for me at all, I actually largely prefer them because it really just gives you more options on how to handle stuff. Even as an old school gamer I recognize that sometimes, stuff is just irrelevant and I want to get through a scene quickly. Skill checks are great for that. Oh your searching this room, go ahead make a check, oh you failed, great, scene done. I don’t have an obsessive need to waste time on irrelevant shit in my game and I don’t believe this makes me “new school”, it just means I’m a good GM, I know how to spend session time to keep the game fun and interesting.

Of the many things that are unequivocally classic, Keep on the Border should be a picture in the dictionary by the definition of the word.

Now I will say this. I adore, I mean truly love 1st edition Advanced Dungeons and Dragons and I will happily run a campaign anytime. I think Gygax’s work is absolutely fantastic, I love the light hearted adventure and the player centric concepts of dungeon delving, for me D&D IS going into dungeons, killing monsters and taking their treasure. Is that simplistic? Is it really role-playing? Hell I have no idea, I just know that it’s absolutely fun and I love doing it in the confines of the many restrictions and funny concepts of 1st edition. I love 1st edition modules, I love its deadly nature, I adore the natural progression of meta characters from farmers with a rusty dagger to Lords of Castles and everything in between. I love watching beloved characters getting killed, I love creating new characters, I love everything about the system. I am, without a doubt an Old School gamer.

I do believe however, the argument that someone who plays modern games is “not really role-playing” or that it’s somehow a different experience is quite ridiculous. I hate these old Gonards that think their way is the right way, or even that somehow they do it differently than the rest of us. It really is absolute bullshit. I can turn 5e into 1e in a two page document, hell I can run a D&D game without you even knowing what system I’m using. It really is not that hard to add limitations, it is however hard to design RPG mechanics on the fly.

Rules are just that, rules, they are not the definition of role-playing nor do they quantify your style as a GM. You can be old school in the new school. It’s a different cover, different rules, but we are still the same GM’s.

So there you have it, research complete. I can say without question that I understand Old School gaming, there are far more nuances then that of Character & Player centric play, but at the end of the day, role-playing games is a dynamic, infinitely diverse activity. Quantifying it fully is not really possible and while I do think it’s more than just a “feel”, it’s definitely achievable in all its glory in pretty much in any system. Sure, many things about modern system irk me. A Dwarf Wizard? Get the fuck out of here with that nonsense! But that’s my world, I share it with Gygax and 1st edition, but using a modern system does not exclude its implementation. I don’t need to use 1st edition to get rid of Dwarf Mages. I might prefer it (sometimes), but I don’t see how using a system that allows it, or allowing it in a system that doesn’t creates a disparity of classifiable groups like Old School and New School. I do think Old School is a thing, but I adamantly reject the idea that Old School is only achievable in Old School systems, or that somehow adding a rule like a skill check, or offering some extra options to a character some how breaks “old school” gameplay.

I’m just going to put this here because its one of my favorite modules 🙂

Well this brings us to an end, I know that many of you role-players out there have had this conversation and  so I hope that perhaps you found something useful in this little theory-crafting article!

Board Game Reviews

Board Gaming Super Weekend II: Quick Reviews

Last year my gaming group got together for a two and half day super gaming weekend event where we did absolutely nothing but play board games taking only short breaks to eat and sleep. It was one of the most memorable and exhausting gaming events I’ve had in a long time.  There is absolutely nothing like having 2 full days of freedom, in particular for me as a father and husband, but to spend it with your favorite hobby and gaming buddies is just pure unheard of luxury.   When summer rolled around this year, there was no question that we needed a repeat and this weekend, its exactly what we got.

Today I’m going to go over every game we played, doing overviews of the games we played and offering up a few tid-bits of insight of the event and games we played.  Enjoy!

Sheriff of Nottingham

Pros: Easy to learn, quick to play, creates lots of tension and funny moments.

Cons: Requires a social group for the interaction to work.

We kicked off the event with Sheriff of Nottingham, a punchy social game of deception that creates great table atmosphere and in the hands of a wacky gaming group of long time friends like mine immediately endears itself, tapping into our natural group dynamic humor.   Its really tailor made for friends that love nothing more than pulling one off on each other and Sheriff gets right down to the root of its core without a lot of fluff and unnecessary mechanics and components to get in the way of it.  Yeah you might say its less a game and more a social activity, but its clever, fun and keeps you engaged.

Most of the game revolves around the anxiety of trying to smuggle goods past the Sheriff or as a Sheriff, trying to figure out who’s lying to you.  Trade Good cards are put into a little sealed bag as players declare to the acting sheriff the goods they are supposedly moving into Nottingham.  If the Sheriff checks the bag and you lied, you have to pay for your failure, if he checks and you told the truth he pays you and if he doesn’t check you earn on the contents as well.  In short you earn gold for your success, and pay up for your failures,  the one with the most gold at the end of the game wins.

The best and most tense moments are when the Sheriff is looking at your sealed bag and you know its full of red cards. Thankfully Bribery is allowed.

This simple mechanism alone might fall flat in some less social and less out going groups, its definitely geared more towards extroverts but I think Its great for families or small dinner parties and certainly for any group of friends who enjoy a bit of confrontation and deception.  Great game, its accolades are well deserved.  Alcohol is recommended!

Hero Realms

Pros: Well balanced, works with various player counts, lots of strategies to explore.

Cons: Can be a bit hostile in a free for all, not everyone will appreciate its cut-throat nature.

This one we as a group picked up right before the event and all but one of us had never played it, it was without question one of the most pleasant surprises of the event.  The Star Realms infused fantasy card game seasoned with all of the character expansions was put on the table in a 5 man free for all.  This one definitely had some teeth, starting out slow as players built up their decks, it quickly turned into a hostile and very bloody all out war where rivalries formed, alliances were broken, bringing out the games asymmetrical nuances in an almost a Magic The Gathering stylized bash that had everyone sitting upright.

Epic is another great fantasy based card game I tried this year worth your attention.

Now I really like Star Realms, but something about a Fantasy Setting using the same mechanic with some Asymmetrical classes with what I think was a cleaner balance over Star Realms really made this take on deck building shine.  It had a more refined tracking system for health, more synergies for each color and a bit tighter deck building. More importantly it worked a lot better as a multiplayer game then a duel.  In Star Realms games generally were not particularly close, as one player would more often than not run away with it.  It felt like with Hero Realms you were better equipped to stay within the same power ranges.  I also like the fact that all colors had very strong and viable combos without the need to supplement across different color branches while also functioning well when mixed.  In Star Realms for example I always felt like some colors like Yellow just didn’t work on their own.  Now grant it we had expansions for Hero Realms where I have only ever played vanilla Star Realms but as a whole I liked this version of the game a lot better.  The theme just fired on all pistons for me and my gaming group unanimously agreed.

All the best parts of Star Realms made it into Hero Realms.

Great game, another Gamersdungeon.net recommended title for anyone who loves a nice crunchy fast paced card game.

REX

Pros: Lots of politics, alliances and betrayals, plenty of tactics and strategy, well rounded races.

Cons: Mechanics are showing their age, a bit too long for what you get out of it and can end rather anti-climatically.

The Twilight Imperium version of Dune got a mixed reception from the group, a game that once graced my top 10 list, REX is a bit of an enigma.  Its a mechanic that is the better part of 40 years old and while Fantasy Flight Games refreshed it quite a bit, its deeply Asymmetrical to the point of confusion.  It really rely’s on all players having a really good understanding of all of the components, mechanics and of course racial powers in play or that could come into play.  Veteran gamers will pick up on it quickly if the rules are explained well and you go over everything thoroughly but this added time compiles one of the games main problems, the length of the game.

Sometimes games are great, sometimes they are bad, and other times they are great for the right group and terrible with the wrong group. Its not always about great design, but the right audience.

The game had its moments, I wouldn’t say it was a complete dud, among them  was the mini game of forming and breaking alliances, betrayals and varied winning conditions which created a lot of atmosphere and even the more reluctant players had to admit that REX created some tense situations and tough choices worthy of table time.  It does suffer however from a couple of flaws that some mechanical modernization could probably fix.

More than that though one the key problem with the game is that its definitely too long when it goes to 8 rounds and our game did.  Its been my experience that most games don’t normally go to 8 rounds and even when they do their is a big climax at the end, but in this and previous sessions of the game with this group this it just took far too long and ended fairly anti-climatically doing little to sell it to a group who had been disappointed by it before.

The old Dune didn’t look so bad, but these days its damn near impossible to get a hold of. Thankfully REX is a very authentic replication of this classic.

I think some groups might find the deception, alliances and betrayals and varied winning conditions very satisfactory, but I think for my group REX had its last chance at the table, in particular given the sheer volume of great strategy games in this genre available as alternatives.  My group thrives on social play elements like deceit and betrayal, but REX accomplishes this at a snails pace with a lot of gotcha mechanic overhead which doesn’t sit well with them and I understand that.  I still like the game, I don’t think its quite ready to be cut from the collection, but between this last play and the last time it hit the table about 3 years ago its definitely a dust collector.  I would probably recommend this one with caution, do your research and make sure that this is the type of game that would appeal to your group.

Exodus: Proxima Centauri (Revised Edition)

Pros: A much better alternative to the bore-fest that is Eclipse.

Cons: Far too long, very fiddly, some overcooked and insufficiently tested mechanics.

I picked this up a while ago on sale and while I had played it a couple of times with some casual gamers, this was the first time I introduced it to my gaming group.  Suffice to say the reception was less then stellar ranging from “I fucking hate this game” to “It didn’t suck that bad”.

The sales pitch of this game is that its a shorter Twilight Imperium, much in the way Eclipse was and the truth is that in the 4x genre of board games there is one king and everything else trails so far behind its barely worth mentioning.  Eclipse was absolutely, in no way comparable to TI3, in fact, to claim so is just blatant nonsense.   While I think Exodus came a hell of a lot closer, I would still say its a lot closer to being an offshoot of Eclipse then it is one of TI3.  It had a lot more spark and interaction then Eclipse, but It was nowhere near the experience of TI3.

It certainly looks like Twilight Imperium and so did Eclipse, but in both cases gameplay is far from it.

More importantly the “shorter version” pitch wasn’t really true either.  Between setup, explaining the rules and playing the game to completion we were well into 5+ hours and I’m certain I could have clocked a game of TI3 with 5 players at just a tad bit longer then that and it would have been a far worthier use of our precious gaming time.

There was nothing inherently wrong with the mechanics of the game, it certainly tapped into the 4x genre, but I just felt most of the mechanics were lackluster by comparison to TI3 and as such it kind of suffered as a result of trying to fill those shoes, much in the way most attempts at 4x games do for me.

The political element was rather boring and unnecessarily overcooked.  The impact of politics ranged from irrelevant to a minor point of interest.  The combat system was ok, but typically predictable, results rarely surprised us.  I like the concept of the WMD that could be fired to screw people over, but it seemed pointless since it really didn’t help you score.  It acted more like a deterrent to action, which had the resulting effect of an action-less game most of the time.

There is an expansion for the game, but given the reaction of the initial plays of this game I’m not sure its worth investing in this one any further.

I think the biggest issue with the game was its fiddly nature, in particularly movement which while conceptually cool as it mimicked simultaneous movement was a slow, fiddly, painful experience.  In particular given that most of the time simultaneous movement had no real strategic impact or value.  It really didn’t matter much until the final rounds of the game and even then it sort of felt like you couldn’t control the board as a result so there was no way to isolate ships and trap them.  Ships would slip past fleets and the only way you could catch people would be to guess their movement actions.  I suppose that’s an ok way to do it, but it felt like it was less about strategy and more about guessing right.

I’m not saying it would make a difference in gameplay but great looking mini’s like these might have left a better impression. I fear that I judged this game based on a comparison to Twilight Imperium, rather then on its own merits.

As a whole the game didn’t thrill us, it wasn’t without its entertaining moments but it was definitely not worth a 5+ hour time slot in our board gaming weekend.  This one is a hard pass for me personally and most of the gaming group concurred.  I may give it a another shot in the future, but the stink of this last game is going to take some time to wash off before I work up the interest to try it again.

Raise Your Goblets

Pros: Easy to learn, quick to play, creates lots of tension and funny moments.

Cons: Requires a social group for the interaction to work.

This quirky social game is definitely among my favorites to play with my gaming group, less for its “game” elements and more for its inherent ability to setup hilarious table talk and create funny moments. Among a group of close friends, trying to poison each other in a game of wits and memory is a great formula, especially if you add some real cocktails to the mix which we of course did.

By and large this is a filler game, so it certainly doesn’t have that “lets get together and play Raise Your Goblets” energy on which to base a game night, but its quick to play, easy to learn and accommodates a wide range of group sizes which I think fits the bill of a warm up game quite perfectly.  I think this would also qualify as a really great family game, so you have that extension of possibilities for it to hit the table.

I love it personally, most of the gaming group concurred, this one is a keeper.

Lords of Waterdeep (with the Skullport expansion)

Pros: Classic worker placement formula done right, very thematic for a Euro designed game.

Cons: Can be a real brain burner, the Skullport expansion is a must.

Lords of Waterdeep is in my mind one of the best worker placement games out there, perhaps trumped only by Empires: Age of Discovery.  Its thematic, interactive and deeply strategic not to mention somewhat asymmetrical.   Its always been popular in my gaming group and it see’s several plays each year like clockwork going as far back as I can remember.  Its appearance at the big gaming weekend was no surprise to me at all and what’s great about this game for us is that we know it so well so everyone is always really competitive.  Our game ended up with everyone scoring at least 120 points and the winner was upwards of 150.

Lords of Waterdeep has real longevity in our group, a big part of that reason i think is that we are all avid D&D fans and we know our D&D worlds well.  The theme really works for us though I have read many reviews of the game calling it “theme-less” which always sounded ridiculous to me, but I suppose if you aren’t into D&D, it might just come of as a rather generic fantasy layer.  For D&D fans however every card is a reminder of RPG games from the past and their are nuances and inside jokes that come to the surface after years of playing for us.

As a whole Lords of Waterdeep is a more thinky, strategic engagement so its not a game that produces a lot of energy.  Games are usually quiet and contemplative, with everyone racking their brains for their next big play.  Its also got a bit of an edge over most worker placement Euros thanks to the direct “take that” intrigue cards which can create a bit of hostility and rivalries, though this is a fairly light layer in the game, it won’t appeal to everyone.  At its core its all about resource management, playing to the strengths of your lord of waterdeep and picking your quests wisely to squeeze the most points out of every situation.  The corruption mechanic of the Skullport expansion is an absolute must in my opinion, I would never play this game without it.  It creates a far more interesting and diverse risk vs. reward twist to the game that I think otherwise would be a lot more static.

There is a lot of mastery in this game, plenty of tricks, clever tactics and long term strategies to deploy, nuances that you pick up through repeated plays.  This makes this a game of exploring new tactics each time you play and while I don’t think it has that “lets play it again” draw, it does have that long lasting classic feel to it that keeps you coming back with breaks in-between.

Definitely Gamersdungeon.net approved!

Dead of Winter

Pros: One of the best games for people who love betrayal mechanics, very challenging co-op.

Cons: Can be hit or miss depending on how events play out in the game.

Dead of Winter was the highlight of last years event producing a very memorable game and actually shifting the game back into my top 10 list for a brief moment in 2016. This time around I ended up being a traitor in the game but unfortunately I botched it really bad and in the scenario we were playing when you are exiled you are removed from play.  The colony ended up surviving and accomplishing their mission without my help or interference and everyone won the game except me and one other player who was exiled as I deflected blame on him and managed to confuse the group for a brief moment.

It was an interesting game but in the end it breached some of the issues I have had with it in the past.  For me Dead of Winter is kind of a swingy game, sometimes when everything falls into place and the suspicion and tension of the game rises to climaxes its a thrilling experience.  Other times it can just kind of land flat for various reasons, most often the fact that their is no traitor in the game and everyone realizes it or the mission is so hard the game ends pre-maturely.

I think its a great game, but whether it succeeds or fails to entertain on any given evening can vary.  Sometimes its fantastic, sometimes its just kind of bleh.  Win or lose however the game has a great setup to create tension and tough choices between your loyalties to your own mission and the loyalties to the colony.  You kind of have to win two games and because everyone has their own agenda there is a tendency to suspect people of being traitors whether their actually is one or not.  I think much of the games entertainment value depends on all players having a vested interest in succeeding but pushing the limits to do whatever they can to complete their own end game goals.  Of course if there is a traitor, all the better, though the game can often end up being unwinnable as a result so its a bit of a catch 22.

Its not in my top 10 anymore, but its always good for a play or two on any gaming evening, I certainly give it my stamp of approval with the cautionary that it doesn’t always hit on all of its pistons.

Road Rally USA

Pros: Easy to learn, fast to play, very clever with lots of tension.

Cons: None that I saw, its a great filler.

A member of the gaming group picked this up on a sale and we gave it a twirl since its a relatively quick game.  Our expectations were quite low but this one actually pleasantly surprised everyone.  Its a good quality racing game built around a track and card mechanic to make the cars go.

Players effectively play matching colored cards to move cards around the track trying to stay in the lead in case someone decides to score one of their checkpoint cards.  The trick is that you do not refill your hand automatically.  There are three colors, green, yellow and red, each with increasing values, but you draw cards only on the lower colored cards.  Green gets you two, yellow gets you one and playing matching red cards yields you none.  The result is a kind of hand management where you are trying to stack colors and make big moves at the right time to score at different checkpoints.

There was also a great catch up mechanic where at certain points on the track when your last you get to draw additional cards as well as various positions on the track where you could reshuffle your deck (at the gas station) or stack your deck at the mechanic shop.  Hence there is a element of timing and trying to land on specific points on the track, all the while trying to stay ahead to score points.

Very smart, simple and fast game that keeps the tension high and the race close.  It was a lot of fun, definitely worthy of table time.  I expect we’ll see this one hitting table more often in the future at our regular gaming events.

Avalon: The Resistance

Pros: Without question one of the best deception/deduction games on the market today.

Cons: Must have a minimum of 5 players to play and need at least 7 or 8 to use the various special characters that enhance the game.

Without question one of my favorite deception/deduction games, this is more a social activity then a game but its always a hit at our gaming events and it was this time as well.  We ended up playing it half a dozen times.

While the concept is quite simple, this game creates a tremendous amount of table talk as players accuse each other of being traitors and trying to figure out who’s on who’s team.  Well balanced and always super fun regardless of which character you end up playing.

Which character you get changes a great deal how your personal role in the game will play out, but there are no bad roles, they are all really fun.

This was probably the highlight of the event this time around, though in my experience with the game so far it has always hit it out of the park.  Easily one of the best filler games in my collection.  The only real drawback is that you need a minimum of 5 players to play the game and to use the special characters and optional rules you need about 7 or 8.  Hence, its not for your typical gaming nights.

Deception: Murder In Hong Kong

Pros: A deception/deduction game leaning heavier on the deduction aspect, but does it very well, definitely the best in its unique genre.

Cons: Can hit or miss depending on how difficult the clues are.

Another deception/deduction game, this one has you trying to solve a murder based on clues provided by an oddly silent forensic expert who gives you enigmatic one word clues.  With limited guesses you must determine which of the players is posing as an investigator, what murder weapon he used to commit the crime and what clue he left behind at the crime scene.

Its really just kind of a fun, silly game, but surprisingly thinky.  In our group the forensic expert player typically creates a narrative of the crime at the end of the game to depict his thinking behind the clues he provided, which always creates a laugh as we discover the bizarre way our friends brains work.

Always a fun time, but not always a particularly great game, this one seems to hit the table pretty regularly since I bought it, a bit of a group favorite but sometimes games can be a bit flat depending on the difficulty of the clues.

Personally I think its great, but has diminishing returns.  It scored a 4.00 in my Quick review of the game and while I stand by it, I think between Avalon and this, I would choose Avalon.  This is mainly because it can miss fire sometimes when the clues are obvious leading us right out of the gate to a solution, or so unrelated and obscure that its physically impossible to figure out.  I have actually found that its a much bigger hit among non-gamer or casual gamers than it is among veteran gamers, but still it seems like my group gives it the stamp of approval and so do I.

Assault Of The Giants

Pros: Clever tight mechanics, quick game despite being fairly deep on the strategic scale.

Cons: Asymmetrical missions are so tight it feels like your on rails.

This is one of the few games in the lineup where my opinion and that of my group don’t see eye to eye.  Its beloved by many members of my gaming group for its tactically rich, asymmetrical gameplay and I do get that.  Its a tight game where each type of giant has a very specific goal and while you attempt to complete your own quests, you have to get in the way of your opponents just enough to keep them off track.  In concept its fantastic and normally it would be right up my alley, in particular given its thematic D&D roots, but I find it has a several problems that spoil it for me.

For one, the entire game boils down to 9-12 actions you will take in the entire game.  That’s it.  More than that of the 9 -12 actions you will take, some amount of them, depending on the game, that are less of a choice and more like “must take”, actions.  I understand the goal is to keep the game short and sweet but this feels extremely limiting taking the concept of a tight game to extremes, to a point of feeling like the game is over far too soon but more specifically feeling like its on rails.

There is a lot going on in this game given its simplicity mechanically.

This in turn impacts the second problem which is that because you have so few actions to take, between trying to accomplish your own scoring conditions and trying to stop other players, you simply don’t have enough moves to address the majority of threats or opportunities.  You will take a path and once chosen your pretty much committed to it for the rest of the game.  There is no time to alter plans.  In a typical game you will make 1 to 2 moves and 1 to 2 attacks and that’s it.  In all games I have played of this certain actions you simply will never take unless you have already lost like recruiting.

Another issue is the concept of targeting a player.  If another player decides “I’m going to stop you”, there is not a whole lot you can do about it and you losing the game is almost 100% assured.  He might not win, but preventing a player from winning is very easy.

Finally this is a game of king making

In the end you might be able to affect one or two players, or even successfully defend a position somewhere but you are depended on other players to spur into action and contribute to blocking each other.  If a player is left alone that you can’t reach, or if someone decides to block you instead of your neighbor your fate is pretty certain.  The impact of an all out attack can very much take both players out simultaneously and open the door for a 3rd and this at least with my limited experience with the game is usually how it goes down.

Now I will say that I’m by no stretch of the imagination an expert in the game, so I’m sure there are nuances and deeper strategies that can be employed to improve your chances of winning, I have no doubt about that.  To me though, between the tightness of the game, limited available options and dependency on other players to block the people you can’t, I feel like I have too little control over my own fate.  I also feel like the missions for the Giants are so linear, that you’re practically on rails in terms of the actions you have to take to score points.

Its not that I don’t like the game, but it just feels just a bit too anti-climatic.  Its certainly clever and I completely understand why people like it, but it would not be my first pick.  Its not something I would put into my collection, its a lot more fluff then substance in my opinion.  On the behalf of my group however I can say that they would give it their highest recommendations, from me I will just say that I don’t mind playing it, but I wouldn’t recommend it to anyone.

Conclusion

While there were some misses we had a fantastic weekend of gaming.  The lineup of games this year varied dramatically from the social activity type to the super thinky.  We saw some Euro’s, we saw some Amer-trash.  We played some new games and some old classics.  To me it was a near perfect weekend.

For those of you planning an event like this, I can offer a few pieces of advice based on this weekends experience.

For one, I think when you get your friends together for a 2 day event, that is not a time to test out new games.  Not unless you are certain that its up their ally.  We played some games where we new certain players were not going to enjoy it whether it was because of the type of game it was, its genre or what have you and I think that was a mistake.  I believe that a weekend like this should be all about playing games you know and love, games you know are going to fire on all pistons and everyone at the table will be thrilled to play.  That’s one chance for the next event I certainly will put forth.

Another thing I recommend is that you consider having one or two “main event games” and perhaps even consider making a list of games you plan to play in advance.  This way players can prepare a bit by reading up on rules and you can find out if a game on a list is something someone doesn’t like so that you can adapt it.  A big event like this should be a weekend for everyone, where everyone is fully on-board and psyched for every single game your going to play.

That’s it for this year, hope you enjoyed the article!