Interesting! Thanks for the impressions. Yeah I am very much enjoying the ride here but even more interested in playing again to feel the measure and tempo of it a little better.
You note the length and difference in Starfarers, the pacing in this game, particularly on the mechanics side is noteable.
I like the way he plays with elegant little spinning mechanics like Shielding and allows you to pop them pleasantly.
Dice Throne just showed up on my radar and seems like a good fit for my collection - I’d love to hear some impressions.
Yeah, I’ll be pretty disappointed when my copy gets here if the solo mode sucks. That said, I think i can convince my son to play it with me if so.
Dont worry it is. Its different than the regular multiplayer rules but certainly viable and I had fun. The multiplayer rules played solo may be better, thats what I am going to try next.
The solo bot though abstracts all of the opposing players, so it feels like a force rather than something you can outwit or maneuver around.
It maybe a bit easy, or prone to chance as I just won my first game handily. Possibly I also got some rules wrong.
I like it. I think I will like it more after my second play with the other rules. I went into this blind so I didnt really know what KIND of game it was. I still dont in some ways. The multiplayer rules will add a lot to my understanding I think.
Its a very tight race game that surprised me. But is also a tableau engine builder with map elements plus an exploration game, with various little mechanics here linking or adding on. The fact that it plays fast is a huge plus. I just wish the scenery on this enjoyable ride was more thematic, varied & chromey.
Dont get me wrong I came away with a story from the game, which is what I wanted. But I also felt the game could help more with providing seeds for such stories.
Its got a unique scope which makes it interesting in and of itself.
Yeah so this isn’t a terrible game.
Summary, everyone gets to play a Disney Villain, up to 6 of you, and you each have a different objective to win. Because your fellow neighbors are also villains, they’re more than happy to slow you down and make sure the heroes and the allies get in your way.
What’s kind of interesting about this game is everyone is kind of playing a different game because the villains play very differently. Now sure the turns are/play the same, move here do the actions available here, but like Ursula doesn’t actually use her allies to defeat the heroes like the others do, she has contracts (I think that’s what they’re called). I played Maleficent and she’s all about getting her curses down which can be quite difficult to do since a couple of them are undone if she even moves to the location they’re at. Jafar seemed to have a lot of cards especially designed for the frequent harassment of his fellow villains but a freaking story about what he needed to do himself to win, and Captain Hook spent most his time trying to open a location to beat Peter Pan who showed up in the middle of the game. Meanwhile the Queen of Hearts just croquette her way to victory. Little John was doing… something.
I think the board geek crowd might try to pass this over because it’s licensed and is Disney of all things. It’s actually fun to play, the art is great, I mean really nice art and the figures, for plastic, wow. It’s simplistic as what you do per round but the complication is in the cards and those objectives, and they kept themes and characters to each villain (Peter Pan is only in Hook’s deck.).
Components look really good, but I feel like I might have to sleeve the cards. The art is really great but I could see rubbing card issues after only the first play through.
Now we played 6 players and that might be just 2 too many mostly because it’s really hard to keep track of what everyone is doing. With four you can probably see everything whereas I, and others, had trouble keeping track of those across the table.
Don’t overlook this one simply due to the Disney label. They have a lot of crappy or party game games out there, but this can stand by itself.
Perhaps I missed it, but I’m late to this thread and a search didn’t find anything conclusive…
Can someone recommend some 2-player card and/or board games? I’m all eyes/ears for everything, but bonus points for co-op (it will be easier to convince my wife if they’re cooperative.)
Thanks in advance!
Ooh, this sounds interesting, I love the villain angle but would’ve overlooked it due to the Disney label. Thanks for the heads up!
Yeah the box is beautiful, and you can find the game pretty much everywhere. I’ve looked at it several times, which my friends know, so they bought it for me. Everyone kind of left afraid to take on Jafar, but I’m convinced a few playthroughs will alleviate that fear. It’s greatest strength and weakness is probably going to be the same thing… the villains play very differently, so if you wind up with one no one wants to play that’s trouble. Not that I am some expert, but I’ll happily volunteer to try him next time. I’m convinced if Jafar hadn’t entered an hour long war with Captain Hook, he might have gotten further.
Are you looking for 2-player specifically, or games that play well with 2 players? How complex?
My girlfriend, who does not tolerate rulesets with any degree of complexity, likes these competitive games with simple rules:
I’ll also suggest Caverna: The Two Caves (2p only), but it is a little bit more complex.
There are strangely very few 2p-only co-op games. There are many co-ops that play well with 2 players though. If you haven’t played Pandemic, that’s a good place to start. You might try to catch a few of Richard Ham’s playthrough videos. He plays almost exclusively 2 player (with his wife, Jen) and is always evaluating games for how they play with 2 players. And he loves coop games, in fact, he’ll decline to review any game that is overly competitive (mean.) Here’s a relatively recent top 10 list from him detailing his favorite 2 player only games:
Thanks for the swift response Matt!
Good questions. For the 2p vs plays well with 2p: both is fine, but I expect something designed specifically for 2p is likely going to be better from that perspective.
How complex? Complex games are fine as long as we don’t have to consult the rulebook frequently. And something not-for-kids (teen through adult) is generally preferred, but after we understand the rules, it shouldn’t take more than 1-2 hours to play (I doubt my wife will play something that requires an hour+ to setup, not counting my time to get the playing surface/board established.)
I think the Arkham Horror LCG is at its best with two players.
It’s possibly a little on the complex side if you or your wife are new to gaming, so do your research first. Also, being a Fantasy Flight game means there is a ton of additional content for purchase so, y’know, slippery slope and all that… 🙂
Which also makes it half the price!
Yes… that feels like it must be true.
There a a ton of games that are 1 vs 1, specifically designed for it. I will have to think about the co-op piece though. Many of the co-op games can be played with like two people taking on the role of two or something like that but specifically designed for it… hmmm.
Huh…
I am intrigued. Might have to look into this more.
Spirit Island works two player, and is co-op.
In the 2-player space, I think it is hard to beat Lord of the Rings: The Confrontation
Just stick with the classic version.
I recently got Legends of the Five Rings. I am still learning the game though.
For 2 player card games, you’ll find a lot of recommendations for both Lost Cities: The Card Game and Jaipur. They’re lighter games, and you can play both in less than 30 minutes. My wife and I have played quite a bit of both of them and always enjoy them.
