Dusted off the iPad today, for gaming … 
6 Likes
Man, I must reinstall Elder Sign at some point. Bought all the expansions, but don’t think I ever actually beat them.
3 Likes
I also just played Elder Sign last week after a very, very long hiatus : ) And I played 2 of the 4 investigators you did, oddly enough! I do not play Jenny, though I know she’s a great character. I always play the detective and the psychologist, and the woman who gets red and yellow when visiting other worlds. The fourth is variable.
I hadn’t realized there was a third expansion that had been released, so that was a pleasant surprise. Looking forward to playing through that.
Thank you for saving the world : )
1 Like
I had zero flying units 
1 Like
Elder Sign is imho still the best solo digital boardgame ever.
I wish they updated it for X devices and made it universal (even if I bought everything on both iPad and iPhone).
I’m still undecided which expansion I love most.
1 Like
To each it’s own I guess.
Basically you trade one bane for another.
Archers are priority targets / baiting them with positioning if possible.
Flyers usually have good speed so no doubleattacks against them. They need some help against Knights but by midgame I could scratch all but the most powerful mages from the list of threats.
Also older FE games had many axe users in early chapters and very few in late chapters by the time the air squad takes off.
Axes best Spears but if no one around uses them all the better for the Pegasi.
So Mobility and speed for crappy defense and high resistance.
I tried it the other way round once…Knights and Berserkers etc clunking about the battlefield…not fun at all
You are lucky and in for a threat.
I don’t remember which was the last released…the Egypt one or the Alaska one (Cthulhu the underwater one was the first it if I recall well) but both are incredibly awesome imho.
Alaska is the most difficult imho, it has even 3 different endings (each one is cooler than the previous one).
Ah the memories of being attacked by pack of wolves!
2 Likes
Played FAITH by Airdorf recently. Looks like an old Commodore game and sounds like it, too, although it’s too big (20.5MB) to have ever actually been one. Really great, creepy sound design and definitely worth the whole one American dollar I paid for the deluxe edition (standard is free!). Now on to FAITH II: THE FAITHENING
1 Like
I have a game night coming up and one of the guys coming doesn’t play games that often. He introduced me to Catan a decade or so ago, and I’ve played Puerto Rico with him once, but that was quite a long game. I’m looking for games that balance a little euro with a little theme/luck/whatever that are easier to learn for the infrequent gamer but also fun for those of us who usually play more complicated games like Terra Mystica or Scythe. Right now, I have my eyes on:
Champions of Midgard
Mission: Red Planet
Viticulture
And I’ll probably get Wingspan if I can find it because I like birds.
Does anyone have any impressions of any of these games and how they may work in my scenario? Thanks!
Elder Sign is amazing … and it was even more so when it was first released (although the separate apps is total nonsense, of course).
It’s sad that there wasn’t more content. But FFG’s digital “strategy” has always been completely baffling, so it’s not worth anyone’s time worrying about it.
I think I might dive back in, too. I’ve come within a single die-roll of beating the Cthulhu campaign — so frustrating, but also a great gaming experience at the same time.
3 Likes
Can’t beat Catan.
1 Like
I haven’t played any of the games you listed, unfortunately, though I’ve watched Wingspan, and I think it would absolutely fit your preferences. I don’t think it’s readily available yet, however.
So allow me to suggest Sagrada. It’s got a drafting mechanic which feels euro-ish, and you can scale the difficulty for each player (based on how hard their tableaus are), so the heavy gamers will still have a challenge. It plays pretty quickly and it looks great too. And the 5-6 player expansion (not that you need it) adds a clever thing to the overall game at any player count that makes it even more approachable for infrequent gamers. It’s a really solid, easily teachable game that people often ask to play again right away.
Of course, I agree entirely with @Baelnor that you can’t beat Catan.
Yeah, I’ve frittered away many hours with the iOS version of Elder Sign. I think the Egyptian expansion is the best of the three expansions, but they’re all good.
FWIW, I find it’s winnable about 1/3rd to 1/2 the time if you pick a well balanced set of investigators. If you let the game pick you four investigators at random, then yeah, you could go a long time looking for your first win.
2 Likes
I have Sagrada and we love it. It is a good recommendation, though.
Wingspan is said to release this Friday, so I’ll have a week to hunt one down. I’m not going to pay through the nose for it, though, since it will be readily available at some point. I’m getting spring fever, though, even though the wind chill here is still in the negatives. I’m excited to bring In my orioles and hummingbirds and blue jays…Wingspan is certainly releasing at the right time of year, theme-wise.
2 Likes
Elder Sign’s been sitting on my iPad forever without a single try at it … I probably bought it on sale and stuck it in the “To Be Played” folder. I really shouldn’t buy anything else until I empty that folder out. But that’s an example of a game I know I should like if I just try it … just like Darkest Dungeon, which I finally got into. I really can’t play more than one long-running game on my iPad at a time–that ends with me abandoning my runs in every game.
1 Like
Must be said that ‘normal’ Elder Sign games last 20 mins up 1 hour top, and all games are self contained (nothing carries over)…so you should play it nonetheless 
3 Likes
Damn it all … don’t ask me to multitask!
(I think I was under the impression that Elder Sign games were somewhat like Pathfinder Adventures and there was a campaign, not self-contained games.)
No.
Each game/run/campaign…or better…each Ancient One has his own story (you have to defeat him) plus the expansions have full fledged stories (sometimes multi part and with different endings, many cutscenes and special rules) but each game is on its own with randomized events/adventures.
It’s much more a boardgame with a cool (multiple) stories than an adventure game.
Each game is self contained…think a gaming night playing a borgame.
Normal games are less than one hour…expansions are way more complex, varied and longer (and super cool imho).
So play it 
3 Likes
All this Elder talk had me replaying it just today.
Almost defeated Itaqua.
Almost
Still a glorious game (with really damn nice graphics and effects).
Now I’m hooked once again, I thought I was Cthulhu free after playing it furiously for months/years.
Sorry not sorry.
3 Likes
Ah well, at least I was on the same page with a game you actually like : )
One last suggestion–Downforce. Now, I know, it’s a racing game and you and your group likely are not racing fans (neither are we), but don’t let the theme put you off. It’s a really strong game with an elegant, easy to learn game mechanic. You play cards to move your race cars. Simple. But most of the time when you move your own cars, you also are forced to move other players’ too. So there’s a nice amount of strategy and each player has a stake in each other player’s turns. Alongside trying to win the race, you also get to place bets at various points on who you think will win. So even if your car is lagging behind, if you bet successfully, you can wind up being the winner at the end.
I’m not one for racing IRL or for betting, but I really enjoy this game. The components are really nice too. It feels, to me, about the same weight as Sagrada for most people.
Though if you can find Wingspan, probably just go with that!