Help me plan a camping trip (epic game, Pathfinder vs Arkham Horror, etc)

#1

I meet a couple of my college buddies for a game day a couple times a year. We usually just buy a couple pre-made Magic decks since we know the mechanics and don’t take the time these days to deck build. I have long dreamed about getting together with them for entire weekend and it seems that this year we will finally get to do a camping trip. Now I’m struggling with how to prepare.

I plan on bringing a pop up canopy with screened-in sides to put over our gaming table mainly so we can play long into the night without too many bugs on us. I’d like to keep my games nice, but humidity alone might be a problem. At this point, I am going to consider any games I bring to be a cost of the trip and if I ruin them or lose pieces, so be it. I’m sure Magic will make it to the table and I also plan on bringing Blood Rage and Inis. I’m looking for some other recommendations, though. There will be three of us.

First, I’ve been considering bringing an epic game. Thus far, I’m debating between Twilight Imperium 4 and whatever the newest version of Sid Meier’s Covilization is. TI4 sounds promising because I’ve heard that for as big and dense as it is, it isn’t a hard game to learn.

Second, I’d love a card game with progression. If I had done this a few years ago, I would have bought and entire Pathfinder Adventure Card game campaign, but recently Arkham Horror showed up. I am really torn between the two for his occasion. On one hand, I really like the RPG character advancement in Pathfinder. I know AH has it to a lesser degree, but can you make a deck that really feels personalized? Also with AH, do I need two base sets if I also get some of the deluxe expansions? For three players would I need multiple copies of the expansions?

I know the question is a little vague because I could theoretically bring any game with me, but does anyone have any experience camping with games? Any recommendations? Any thoughts on the games above?

#2

I don’t think TI is good with three. It ends up being two players scuffling and the third angling for the best position on the winner.

The AH LCG needs two base sets for two players, IIRC, so you would need at least three. This isn’t a problem if everyone is okay buying their own and pooling the cards, but I looked at doing this and discarded the idea due to cost. It does let you come up with very individual decks though.

Democracy Under Siege is an option. Not that hard to learn, but has an epic feel, and its for 2 or 3 players. In that vein, there’s also Triumph and Tragedy. DUS is more political, T&T is more about fighting WWII (just not necessarily the historical one).

If you want a card game, maybe take a look at Ashes? I think that’s a more reasonable proposition. The one LCG I will recommend is Doomtown Reloaded. You can have 3P competitive, with a different faction for each player.

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#3

I think Magic will take the competitive game spot for us, since it’s a long-time staple. Ashes is great, though.

#4

Have done it regularly. For Sale is one of our go-to camping games. It travels easy and offers a decent amount of cutthroat-ness and decision-making. It’s not exactly a narrative driven game like the ones you’ve mentioned, however.

Another big hit (with a very small footprint) are the “escape room” style games. I prefer the EXIT! brand, but the UNLOCK ones are good too. Both are really just a deck of cards. EXIT has some extra bits in the box, and UNLOCK requires an app on your phone.

I could see AH being a good camping game, too. The core set allows 2 players to play, so you’ll need another core if you have a third. If you’re looking for customization to personalize decks, you’ll want to invest in boosters and maybe a deluxe pack or two as well. The cards in the core deck are limiting for 1st level characters. If you get the first deluxe pack and all its boosters, you’ll have more than enough game to play over the course of a trip. Probably don’t even need that much, but I’m worried that you’ll hit a wall if you only plan for the scenarios that come in the core box.

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#5

How do you set up, physically? Am I going overboard with the screened canopy idea? I camp plenty and generally don’t mind bugs, but if we game late in to the night, I just don’t need them swarming our table; weather protection is nice, too.

#6

We bring a pop-up canopy that has a bug screen wrap-around. Keeps most of the flying bugs out. We then use candles, etc. to keep the mosquitoes away, too. Not sure they actually do anything, other than make us feel better, but it’s not bad having some candles lit, anyway.

The biggest issue is wind. For the most part, if it’s too windy to play a card game (it has to be pretty windy) we’ll whip the iPad out and do something pass-and-play. I bring along a big-ass power pack solely for recharging my ipad/phone. As you can probably tell, we’re not backpacking to remote locations…when we camp it’s family-style where we pull up the van, set up our tent,etc. If you’re backpacking where size/weight is an issue, then a canopy and ipad are probably out of the question.

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#7

For this particular we will be using a drive-in site, so I’m free to pack just about anything I want. If I were backpacking, I’d probably stick to Hive, Exit, and a couple Magic decks.

#8

I confess that having three players would make me want to try Maria, which is famously well-designed for exactly that number. But it’s not much like the other games you have in mind.

I’ve only played Pathfinder Adventures, not the physical card game, but I would prefer the AHLCG for your purpose. It seems to me that progression is mechanically stronger in Pathfinder, but narrative and agonizing choices are much more impressive in AH. I think my ideal, in your position, would be two cores and then the big expansion and a few myths packs from whichever of the three cycles out currently appeal to you. The Dunwich cycle stays mostly in MA, and expands on the events of the Dunwich Horror. Essex County Express was particularly great, and is early in the cycle (as I recall, it hit a great stopping point two mythos packs before the end). The Carcosa cycle involves the play The King in Yellow; I’ve only played the first three scenarios, but the writing is friggin’ incredible, and it sounds like the action moves to Paris in a later mythos pack. If you’re into further globe-trotting, the newest (still incomplete) Forgotten Age cycle takes you to Mexico, where I expect you’ll encounter some cyclopean ruins. Seems to have a bit of an Indiana Jones, I mean Monterey Jack, feel to it.

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#9

Ok, I think I’m moved towards AHLCG, but I do want to clarify a point:

Everyone keeps recommending 2 base sets, and that is fine, but is it necessary if I have a deluxe expansion? (Note: I can’t stand this about any of the FFG LCGs)

#10

My guess is that’s it’s possible to build three legal decks with only one core and a large set, if you choose to focus on non-overlapping specialties. You might be a little low on tokens in some rare circumstances, but they’re easily proxied. The trouble is just how much authorship you want to feel over your deck, and how strong do you want to make them. For me, that’s pretty minimal—I’d rather play on a low difficulty with decks over which I have limited control than spend a lot and build a finely-tuned machine. That just doesn’t suit the theme, in my experience. So, as long as I can choose a general archetype, I don’t need specific cards much, and I would think that would be a common perspective in the context you’re describing. But that’s very much a thematic gamer rather than a power gamer perspective, and I’m still impressed at how well the game allows both.

#11

I don’t plan on doing any deck building prior to playing. I don’t mind building a powerful deck over the course of a game naturally, but I’m not going to min/max a deck or anything; I’ll probably throw ina reward that looks cool - if I earn it - or something like that. I’m the same way with Pathfinder. You can technically build your character’s starter deck, but I don’t care to. I’d rather improve naturally over the course of the game. Besides, outside of a few divine spells, in Pathfinder my characters’ decks won’t have many of my starter cards by he time we reach later Adventures.

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