Slow clap I’ll allow it, but so what? I’ve won as Korne, Nurgle, and Slaneesh. Still working on a Tzeentch win, which I will say is the MOST FUN to play by far, and the hardest to win AKA THIS IS THE BEST EVER!
But ultimately an optimal play of CitOW is everyone knows every Chaos god and knows how to check them. I want to live the dream.
I don’t know Chaos in the Old World or Blood Rage very well. I’ve only played them once or twice each. But I wonder if Rising Sun pretty much obsoletes his earlier designs.
-Tom
I don’t think so.
Chaos in the Old World is all about CHECKS AND BALANCES with variable player powers. If everyone does too well, EVERYONE LOSES! Which demands that an optimal play requires everyone be familiar with every god. This rarely happens alas!
Blood RAGE is 4(or 5) tribes…completely identical on the onset, murdering for victory or defeat over drafting. DARFTING IS IMPORTION HERE!
Rising Sun…I have YET TO PLAY…(I need the package dammit) but it seems a lot different but still definitively dude-on-a-map…
Did you guys block? That game can only be for the block.
Rising Sun is a great example of why mechanics that work in the WW2 European theater don’t work in the WW2 Pacific theater.
Speaking of train games, it looks Railways of the World will be getting a 10th anniversary edition sometime this month. I own (and love) Steam, however I can’t seem to find anyone else who likes it as much as I do to play it with. I’m wondering if RotW might be a better option, since it is more open-ended. Anyone have any experience with it?
I would also love to pick up Age of Steam, but I’m concerned that it will have the same problem as Steam does now.
If you really do enjoy CitOW, I’d say it’s one of those games where the expansion is mandatory. It doesn’t quite solve the upgrade issue, but it does improve it. Plus the Skaven are an interesting 5th faction to shake things up.
Not sure about “dudes on a map”. It’s sort of like worker placement except you’re using power points instead of workers. Everyone does one at a time until there are no more, then you do a processing round, then it’s a new turn with refreshed workers/points. Instead of producing grain and vegetables, you’re producing armies. Other difference is you usually don’t lock others out of actions when you take an action. I would call CitOW, Cthulhu Wars, Cyclades, and Kemet such games (haven’t played Rising Sun). Not sure if Age of Empires III: Age of Discovery would fall under that or pure worker placement.
One thing i’ll say, I’m so spoiled by the “micro turn” approach (single action, pass to next player until no more actions) that I can never go back to “full turn” games, where everyone goes through their own complete big turn one at a time around the table until the game is over. It’s why I can’t stand Small World (way too much waiting and AP for what’s supposed to be a lite game) and I would never play Through the Ages in any form but asynchronous online (good lord I can’t imagine the kind of AP that takes place in a face to face session of that game).
I would radically disagree with this. First off, I personally much prefer Blood Rage to Rising Sun (from about 5 plays into Rising Sun, and around 25ish into Blood Rage.)
Other than both having crazy abilities that appear unbalanced in your first play, they don’t feel much alike on the table. Blood Rage plays really quickly. The board state changes slowly. It has a slow build-up to a few explosive battles. Blood Rage has lots of secret information in your hand that is key to how it works. Rising Sun is much slower and more chaotic. The board state can radically shift from turn to turn and only starts to become coherent if you negotiate with each other about what you’re doing. Everything in Rising Sun is open information to make good-faith negotiations easier.
I did get rid of my copy of CitOW after I got Blood Rage, however. They’re also substantially different games, but I’m tired of walking new players through the meta of CitOW to actually get to the part where it’s interesting. New players pick up on the Blood Rage table meta way quicker in my experience.
I love, love, Railways of the world. It is my second favorite game. In fact I played it last night with my wife and my brother and his wife. I’ve got the Western US map, the Europe map, and the England map. I will say that the default Eastern US map is the weakest, but is still fun.
I’ll also point out that, of the people we play with regularly, 4 other couples have either bought, or attempted to buy, copies themselves. That reprint will be great news!
At a mechanical level there is a lot I like. It has a satisfying full game loop, one that rewards long term strategic thinking. Turns are 3 rounds long, with an auction after each one to determine who goes first. Early game everyone scrambled to put together a few short deliveries. Making at least one delivery on the first turn is essential.
But trying to get early income is balanced by maximizing long term points. Because your points per delivery are determined by how many links it passes through. Sure you could deliver that red cube to London, but if you can hold it, and deliver it to Manchester later it’ll be worth 6-7 points instead of 2. So you get rewarded for looking at the end game from turn 1.
The action cards help direct development, and are big boosts to early game income. I’ve bid ten thousand or more for first turn to get one before. The presence of major lines helps direct long term strategy without forcing it. It also helps push people into conflict as you tend to build towards each other with them.
But, and this is the big reason why it’s been a hit with so many different couples and groups, there is always some positive action you can take on your turn. There is always some track segment you can build, or a card you can take. Even if you are losing there is some objective you can pursue to try and improve your situation. And the income track is a hump. Midway in the game you max out income, after you start going down. This helps prevent runaway winners, as past a certain point the income drop off prevents you from doing too many builds. Early on long tracks and engine upgrades are hard, due to low income. Late game same deal, you’ve got a network, but upgrading it may take two turns of income, so you should be in point scoring mode. This means a player can be behind, but due to income may be able to build lines, and upgrade past, the leaders.
And that really is the key. You may be losing, you may know you probably can’t come first, but you never feel like you have no options. Even if it is simply trying to get your barons bonus objective, you can do that. So I give it my highest recommendation. If you like train games it is, IMO, the best.
And to illustrate that, I’ll simply say that when I started writing this post, I texted two couples we play with that it was in stock.
They bought it before I finished.
Asymmetrical Area Control
By the way, for people who were interested in Cthulhu Wars but would like a slightly cheaper alternative (and I do mean slightly), apparently the pledge manager for The Gods War (the semi-sequel to Cthulhu Wars, based on the long-running fantasy RPG setting of Glorantha rather than Lovecraftian lore. This is the setting for King of Dragon Pass, if that helps.) has been reopened temporarily and is accepting late pledges here:
https://app.crowdox.com/projects/1816687860/the-gods-war
We’re still talking $125 at the low end for the base box, $240 for both base box and the other faction box, and $100 each for the Monsters and Elder Races expansion or $450 for all of the stuff (including plastic minis for all the buildings and a big ol’ pile of setting PDFs), so not cheap by any reasonable standard. But better than paying retail for Cthulhu Wars.
I admit I’m tempted.
New plays for me this week:
Race for the galaxy: OK, not nearly as fun as Roll for the galaxy to me
Mysterium: HATED it.
Dixit: Had a mysterium feel, it was ok tho!
Taikenodo: Hmmmm, ok I guess
7 Wonders: Dug it a LOT
Between Two Cities GREAT. May buy a copy
Love Letter Special Edition: It really bogs down compared to the original. We had some analysis paralysis players tho, so maybe another few plays to get a good sense.
I also got my 2nd printing copy of Azul from Miniatures Market. They are shipping round the country now!
Ha ha, you had to play Mysterium.
-Tom
Mysterium is wonderful.
Does not compute. It’s very lightweight as a game but it works a treat with family and friends who don’t normally game. Flex those creative muscles while being totally confused by what your friend is trying to get you to discover. We love it.
If you hated it, stay well away from Deception. It’s basically a similar game with less set up where you play detectives solving a murder.
Holy moly…also shit!
What do you mean by open-ended?
So, I lost a game of Rebellion as Empire based on a ballsy move by the Rebellion. He set his base on Ord Mandel, right next to Coruscant. I never went there. I went around it, but thought from the beginning he was up near Yavin.
Well, what i’ve read is that there are many more options in Railways of the World. In Steam, the game can become pretty cutthroat, especially on many of the expansion maps. I’ve heard Age of Steam is even more competitive. This can be fun for experienced players, but can really turn off newcomers.
Of course nobody likes to lose, but if I were you I’d try to take solace that you have given your opponent a truly awesome boardgaming memory.