2702

Very true. Just kind of surprised. I like to think I am the most knowledgeable guy about games being released, but this one came out of nowhere.

2703

Because if there’s one thing Vast needs, it more sides to play…

I can’t imagine how all these factions come together with the old factions. Vast is plenty weird and ungainly with the core box and the one expansion it’s already got.

-Tom

2704

Some of the complaints about Vast seem to be less complaints about the game and more about the difficulty of learning it. One that always stuck with me, though, was that you were really locked into constantly bullying your appointed target, and that if circumstances ever compelled you to hit someone else’s, it would almost surely just lead to yet another party winning.

2705

The Mysterious Manor (and expansion) is a separate set. The Kickstarter page does mention scenarios that bring in some Crystal Caverns content, but as far as I know it’s not intended that the two be mixed by default.

2706

I probably won’t be able to play either one for a while, but I got both Tapestry and my Trickerion big box this week. Pretty stoked!

2707

Oh, absolutely. Vast is a great game and I’m bummed I don’t get to play it more often. The problem is that everyone at the table has to learn x different games, where x is the number of people at the table. And unlike Root, there is no unifying structure to start from. It’s a bit insane.

A friend of mine got Tapestry and was complaining tonight about how she really didn’t like it after her first playthrough. But pretty much everything she described about it made me want a copy. :(

-Tom

2708

I would consider getting Tapestry, weird iconography, silliness and balance issues included, if it cost about $30-40 less and replaced those silly painted buildings by polyomino tiles that match the design style of the rest of the game (rather than clash with it), don’t obscure the view as much and properly fit the player board tiles (straight edges).

They inflate the price, the box size, the weight, the waste and the illustrator would no doubt have added more beautiful artwork that matches the rest of the game if they were tiles.

Pretty much every reviewer and boardgame podcast has issues with the gameplay ((like being at the mercy of certain civ and tapestry card combos and which neighbour who you are sitting next to). So that one is a pass for me, especially given the price and those component design issues.

2709

See, now that’s how you get me to not buy a game. Bravo, @Wendelius! Why can’t my friend be more like you?

-Tom

2710

Ha! I would congratulate myself on saving you money. But, to be fair, it seems to be a marmite type of game (do you have marmite in the States? If not, lucky you :) ). And some people really enjoy it. So I might have talked you out of your game of the year.

2711

Yeah, my Tapestry enthusiasm has cooled somewhat since the heady days of September, but I’m hopeful.

2712

I just sold my unwrapped copy. I’m ok with it seeing as how I have Cloudspire and Nemesis both scheduled to arrive on Tuesday!

2713

Ouch. Star Wars Rebellion Rogue One expansion flashbacks…

I’m not even sure why people are into X-Wing at this point. None of the ship releases in forever have been recognizable franchise icons, and barely any of the older ones are still viable. It might as well be generic sci-fi space battle game.

(so who splurged on the $200 super star destroyer model?)

2714

I quite liked my one play of Tapestry. Among heads down, point grabbing games, I think it’s pretty satisfying due to some really nice combos that come together towards the end of the game.

I’m not planning on grabbing a copy for myself, though. It feels like a combination of games I already own and love and would rather play. Building the points engine isn’t as satisfying as Russian Railroads (which also has more meaningful player interactions). The action combos remind of Ganz Schon Clever but that does it in a much tighter package. And I’d rather roll with the punches through history with Nations for that tactical nature that the tapestry cards bring. I also find the setup and put away to be annoying due to the city minis.

But I don’t think I’ll turn down a play of it if someone else offers. It’s really satisfying if you pull off some late game combos and not too long if you don’t. I think the complaints about luck are overblown, but possibly only because the game is much quicker and lighter than I think people were expecting it to be. That said, I’ve only played it once.

2715

As a dedicated X-wing player, I have to say that literally everything you just said is 100% wrong.

Now if you had said this last July? It would largely have truth to it (though triple defenders are pretty iconic for nerds of a certain stripe). But currently the strongest ship in the game is probably the Delta 7 Aethersprite, aka the Jedi starfighter. Say what you will about the prequels, it is a pretty iconic ship from it. Same with the N-1, also another high performer.

Also Darth Vader and Soontir Fel in his TIE Interceptor are arguably the best pilots in the game, bar none. And if you want to tell me Darth Vader and the TIE Interceptor aren’t classic, then I am going to call you certifiable.

We also just had, prior to the last points update, 6 months where the best squad, by far, was Rebel Beef. Which always had X-wings and B-wings. Usually had Princess Leia in a U-wing. And occasionally had Y-wings.

Han in the Falcon and Luke were also another frequent, though more variance prone, list with good success.

A classic TIE swarm is still one of the best performing lists in the game. It sees less play than its performance simply because it has been a staple since game inception. Boredom is the only reason it isn’t dominating.

Boba Fett? Still very good. Tough to use to the full, but Boba and friend (often either the Mandalorian Fang fighter or Shadows of the Empire Starviper) has taken a few high end events.

No, the game is in a fantastic spot. Almost every ship is at least competitively viable, sorry TIE Agressor, but nobody really cares about you. Premier events have been won by a bunch of squads, and the points balancing allows them to mix up the meta or to nerf unfun combos.

As for releases they have mostly been updating old ships to 2.0 with proper new releases, so new players don’t have to hunt out of stock items and get conversion kits. And releasing prequel/ sequel ships. They just releases the Y-wing from the prequels, and the geonosian fighter. Sure the OT factions haven’t had a new ship in a year now, but they have gotten new options, and we are getting a narrative play kit with additional pilots and crew soon. Given how many more ships they have than the prequel (new to 2.0) and sequel (split from Rebels and Empire with 2.0) factions, it makes sense to focus on new content for them rather than dig up continually more obscure EU ships.

2716

I thought maybe he meant Armada and I was going to correct that also, but yeah X-wing is back and better than ever. I’m still on the fence about actually spending money to upgrade.

2717

So worth it IMO. The points changes really have helped keep the game fresh, and meant OP and NPE cards/ combos can get nerfed heavily, and quickly.

Forward deploy Tripsilons, I spit on your grave. By far the least fun thing I faced in 2.0. And your life was short, thankfully.

But I’m also a semi competitive player. I’ve participated in a number of competitions and tournaments since 2.0. And actually won a decent amount of store credit as well. In the neighborhood of $300 credit and prizes.

2718

In case…

2719

Btw, speaking of TEH NEU GAMEZ, this just arrived (preordered) and anyone who wants to come over and play is welcome.

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2720

The biggest problem with X-wing 2.0 is the cost of upgrading for 1.0 players. As a casual player who owns just enough 1.0 ships to have some options when I’m skirmishing with my friends, I can’t tell you how angry it makes me to have to spend $200 to upgrade. That’s $32 for the core set, then $24 - $40 for the five (!) different conversion kits I’d need to upgrade my ships. Because Fantasy Flight decided to expand the faction roster from two in 1.0 to five in 2.0, so my Slave 1, OG Y-Wing, and Force Awakens Tie Fighters will be useless if I don’t buy a conversion kit for each of them. I bought in to X-Wing with full knowledge of Fantasy Flight’s penchant for rapacious business models, but even I never suspected they’d pull something like this.

2721

There’s a way that game could be really hilarious. Hard to tell from the promotional materials if they pull it off. The testimonials are pretty great though. If they really wanted to do it right, they’d release a counter expansion called “Red Pill” or “IDW” or “Heil Hitler” or something.