This is very true, imagine, putting the whole solar system on your table. Not so easy! I love this game
I’ve also had Leaving Earth and the 2 expansions sitting on my shelf for about 2 years…just need to really get it out and start doing math!
So I was excited about a new 4x space game. Here comes Stellaris, but I feel like their model is solely based on, “what does everyone else on KS charge for a game” without looking at the content other big games have. I realize that they are smaller game company and also there seems to be a premium tax on kickstarter games but that thing costs as much as an Awaken Realms game with a lot, lot less bling.
I just got my tracked delivery dispatch confirmation for Red Rising. I thought it was only due in April, so that’s a nice surprise. Seems like lightweight fun. I’m looking forward to it.
Anyone have any good experiences with those “mysterious package” type mystery/puzzle subscription services? They look cool, but there’s a million of them now and I was let down by The Mysterious Package Company that ended up being 95% atmosphere, 5% puzzles.
Discovered over the weekend that the solo AI decks in Empyreal: Spells and Steam’s expansion (which I think I vaguely was aware existed but had little intention of ever using as I don’t play solo very often and would prefer to keep it to games designed around solo play) are actually supported for use in a sort of makeshift coop mode - since they can be used to substitute for human players in a multiplayer game, you can do 2v2/3v3/4v4 team games against an AI team. So I tried it out in TTS with my girlfriend. And you know what? it mostly works. It’s not really a simulation of a human player, of course, but at least at the 2v2 count they can do reasonably well thanks to the AI cards letting them often build much more aggressively than most human players will be in a position to do, and the fact that they get to deliver everything they’re on and eligible to deliver (i.e., connected to the appropriate city) at the end of the game before the human players do. And you can do fun engine-building and such, even do some light dickery to the AI players (though they don’t have captains, specialists, mana or spellcars so you don’t have the ability to steal, copy, etc on that stuff, and obviously won’t curse your name when you do drop wastelands on them or steal their resources). It’s a bit watered down compared to the PvP game, but it’s still pretty fun. We did win, but only by a few points each and the King’s Line AI managed to screw me out of a full delivery (knocked one crystal out so I couldn’t rush to deliver), so that didn’t help.
I watched a 3v3 game on the One Stop Coop Shop’s stream channel and that was much more one-sided in their favor. It seems like the AI struggles more the larger the board and thus the spaces between cities get. There’s a provision to give them extra starting trains that might help, conceivably, but I haven’t tried that yet. I’d also consider a house rule to give them a bit more freedom of motion - e.g. if their card would have them build track and they cannot in their current position, let them build one track on any non-wasteland/city terrain type, or something. That might overcompensate, I’d have to test it.
Despite NPI’s reservations, this sounds like an entertaining diversion:
I’m tempted.
The guys on So Very Wrong About Games have been raving about it.
@Vesper – You know if you’ll be getting Micro Macro: Crime City in any time soon?
That looks fun- but was totally off my radar. Looks like everyone is out of stock at the moment.
Catching up on new games!
Several reprints: Coatl, Trans-Siberian Railroad, Seven Dragons
New Editions: Tak, Perdition’s Mouth, Crisis Deluxe
Oh man. Tak by James “Cheapass” Ernest and Patrick “will never finish another novel” Rothfuss.
Seeders from Sereis Episode 1 Exodus is a terrible name, but at least it is a cool looking box.
I know nothing about it, but the art and theme for 7 summits speaks to me
Same. That’s some gorgeous graphic work and I’m also super-intrigued by the theme.
I’ve played all those other climbing games and they mostly are so close to really good. I started making my own with some of the systems from a few different games and thought I had some good ideas and then work, wife, kid, dogs, etc just took too much of my time…need to just go for it one of these days…life is short. Will check out 7 summits too.
I would like to see a game about rock climbing. There’s so much gear, so many systems and skills. I feel like there’s a rich vein there that no one has tapped.
That would be cool. I used to climb down at Smith Rock state park in Central Oregon. Now I’m picturing all the walls there and how to incorporate them into some game ideas. I wish I could retire sooner than later so I have time for projects like this.
Richard Scarry’s Where’s Waldo: True Crime
Jealous.