The Actual Table

#1605

I was questioning how you playtest COIN games like Pendragon or Fire in the Lake, but maybe because that’s because I don’t understand the COIN chassis.

From what I’ve seen the majority of it is getting card/action costs and benefits ‘right’. IIRC FitL had some card tweaks in its 2nd edition; these were mainly to do with faction priority on the cards, and I believe some events were dialled down. Individual cards aren’t so difficult to get ‘right’ (they will always vary with context), but some of the ongoing events/effects seem to cause them some trouble.

Do you disapprove of Pendragon on historical grounds?

Perspicacious as always, sir.

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Finally found another player happy to play through all of Gloomhaven: JotL with me, and we promptly did a whole day of it, polishing off ten scenarios. I got to play the Hatchet, and have been having massive amounts of fun dancing through battles, throwing axes at everything that moves, and not getting hit unless it’s absolutely unavoidable. My partner in mostly-legal-activities however is the Red Guard, tanky by nature, and loves to get into a melee, surrounded by enemies, as multiple cards of his damage all adjacent enemies.

We’ve had exactly one scenario prove to be almost too much for us, as I ended up kiting a bunch of enemies away from him, only to take the sort of beating usually reserved for stepchildren, but otherwise we’ve only been victims of our own overconfidence. I keep taking too many active cards, which are powerful while out, but this serves to effectively shrink my hand to such an extent I have a hard time not resting a lot. We have had a couple of last-turn finishes now, which have been some skin of the teeth stuff; in one case I had to run back to my favourite axe, scoop it up, and hurl it at the last enemy and kill it, with my very last card, and in another my partner cleared a set of obstacles in one mighty leap to reach an otherwise-impossible objective, again, last card of the last turn. At this rate JotL will not last us very long, and I will have an excuse to pull GH from storage and get it played properly.

1 Like
#1606

I love Gloomhaven classes!

1 Like
#1607

It’s been 3 years since I did my Top 25 Games of All Time (played by me, anyway), so it was time to update it since I’ve now played over 400 games.

Here’s the first entry, 25-21.

3 Likes
#1608

I haven’t played any of those! I need to pick it up a bit.

1 Like
#1609

I got to play a couple of games of oath, 5 player. All new players to oath. In fact, it was the first time the box was opened so we got to experience/were subjected to the mandatory tutorial scenario, with packs of cards opened in order and the game set up being hidden on cheat sheets inside those packs.

On reflection, I can understand why the first game in such a structured way. Our second game went off the deep end in the second players turn when they failed to take the keep in the mountains, and played a bandit chief into the keep to spite all the other players. Wonderful emergent gameplay, but absolutely not conducive to a good first play experience.

Our final turn involved a trading faire, which allowed us to trade in ways we otherwise wouldn’t be able to. This blew out the final turn to an hour while we negotiated. After all was said and done, the winning player changed 5 times in the final turn. The winner was eventually determined by a dice roll, but it didn’t feel cheap, and the losing roller was invited to join a strong empire as a citizen in the next game.

I didn’t want to like this game. I’d not felt the hype for it, but the hype was evident. It won me over with the integration of its theme and the skill/randomness ratio. It leaned heavier into randomness than I would expect would have worked, but it pulls it off. I’m just hoping the trading cards don’t come up too often as my group can’t help themselves but negotiate every little detail.

5 Likes
#1610

Mission #12 in my Storm Above the Reich campaign is up!

Things are starting to look up, but will that continue?

#1611

The 2nd installment of my Top 25 Games Played of All Time - 2022 Edition is up. Forgot to post it here!

2 Likes
#1612

The only one of those I’ve played as Root and my thoughts mirror yours. I’ve only played at the table once but I’ve played the app many times. My favorite faction is actually the Lizard Cult. I also find the Riverfolk fascinating but I have no idea how to be competitive with them. Eyrie is my favorite vanilla army.

2 Likes
#1613

I think the new expansion is shipping soon and I can’t wait!
The only issue I have is which factions are best played together, which I think the designer will educate us on.

#1614
2 Likes
#1615

So bought Ark Nova this weekend and just wrapped up first game on table, 2 players.

Worked well
theme - so well done here, really feels like building and running a zoo
Variety - like wingspan, each card is a unique animal. And so many!
Simple depth - you can only do 5 actions, but so many ways they can play out and power up.

Could be better?
Some of the rules were a little vague, but will work out in practices
Components - not the same quality as SM games or other higher end kickstarted I am used to. Not bad, but could be better
Storage - Nothibg to hold cards in. Ofd

3 Likes
#1617

The next installment of my Top 25 Games Played of All Time is now up (this time #15-11)

3 Likes
#1618

The only one of those I’ve played is Wingspan and I quite enjoy it. That said, Wingspan is an interesting example where theme and production make a good game even better. The game is certainly good but there are better engine building games out there. I am a bit of a bird fan myself, though, and that production is excellent.

5 Likes
#1619

Same here, I only know Wingspan from that list, but it has become one of my favorite digital games in the past year.

3 Likes
#1620

I have no idea what people see in Wingspan. Throw a stone and you hit a balance issue with a SM game. You’re all drunk.

Pax Pamir, OTOH, is one of the best games ever made. Very few games like it, unique setting, and excellent mechanisms suited perfectly to the theme.

4 Likes
#1621

I can’t find Pax Pamir or I would buy it based on the comments here alone.

As for Wingspan, it is the theme that wins me over. I’m not a crazy birder but I do have a number of feeder, can identify many birds by sight or call, get excited when I attract the rare species, etc. The game appeals to me greatly. On top of that, it is light enough that I’d consider it a gateway game so I can play it with many people.

Edit: I checked the BGG trades for Pax Pamir and someone is looking to trade it for Space Hulk Death Angel Card Game, which I own plus the Deathwing expansion. That’s a tough one for me; I haven’t played it in a decade but I have a hard time letting go of OOP games…still, tempted…

2 Likes
#1622

Make sure you get (if you get) Pax Pamir, 2nd Edition. I wasn’t wowed by the first edition but the second one was aces.

And yes, Wingspan is superb. I scoffed at it initially, too.

I bounced off Watergate when my wife and I reached a game end state that the creators swore was very rare. Too many other great 2-player games.

1 Like
#1623

theoretically yes.
but too many balance issues. some combos are simply over the top.

1 Like
#1624

What was the Watergate condition you mentioned?

#1625

I think it was running out of cards at the end. There’s a whole thread on BGG devoted to it.