I can completely understand this takeaway, but I would submit those are all issues related to the steep learning curve. :( On the other side of that learning curve is a slick tactical game on a set of elegant maps where streamlined rules do a solid job of allowing from some pretty complex concepts. Also, it really shines when you get into some of the longer term progression.
So, yeah, not really a good game for demo’ing. :(
-Tom
I’ve only played with four and five, but my guess is that it’s less an issue of scaling, and more an issue of which factions are in play. With three, just don’t use Chaos or Earth. You definitely don’t want to drop Moon on a first-time player at any count. Also probably don’t use Invisible God, because they’ll just win in a game when no one really knows how aggressive to be. Maybe go with Sun, Storm, and Hell?
And report back here how it went!
-Tom
If anyone wants a City of Kings super discount, let me know and I will post a bogus $5 listing on BGG and force Tom to let it go for $2.50!
And building off that, I really wish someone would make a game combining the best parts of CitOW and Cthulhu Wars.
CW let you play with every upgrade each game, but every single setup was the same with the only variations being the random die roll outcomes for combat. It eventually degenerates into the Axis & Allies problem where you map out the optimal first turn and just slightly adjust it according to die outcomes from there.
CitOW had quite the balance problems, and you only got to play with one or two upgrades all game, and it was usually the same 2 upgrades. BUT the setup and flow were much more varied. The expansion half-solved the upgrade problem, but some of the factions now lived or died by a single spell card coming up and it was a little too RNG heavy.
Yikes. Thank’s for the response. I think I’ll pass on City and maybe get Champions of Hara. Then get sad that international shipping forever puts the expansion for it out of my price range :(
My gaming group is on a self-imposed buying freeze, save for expansions. Favorite games, like Eldritch, get played once a year at best. Between us, we have almost 100 games, and at least 50 of those are candidates for being in rotation.
One thing we have started doing is we rotate who picks for the night. That way, someone can get a game to the table they want to play in a timely fashion. There are 3 of us, so usually about once a month I get to pick. We usually meet on Fridays, but life gets in the way and we don’t always meet.
So, games like Scythe that I like, I can use one of my picks to play it. Other players have veto rights, of course. The on rule we have is the pick is only used when all of us are together. If one person can’t make it, and it’s my pick, that pick is held until we are all together.
The pick is for the entire night, too. If I want to play a series of quick games, like Small World or TTR, I can keep picking them. We usually play for about 4 hours, so it’s either one big game like EH, or a few smaller ones.
Final day of PAX I had a look at:
Warhammer Underworlds Beastgrave
A fairly straightforward squad tactical miniature with some card play. I really like the look of this game and suspect it’s only a matter of time before I pick it up. Also I knew that GW had the best miniatures, but seeing them in the flesh (and painting one with my son!), really hammered home how good these miniatures are.
Star Wars: Outer Rim
Didn’t get enough time with this game, but it felt a very similar implementation of the pick-up-and-deliver genre as Firefly. But much more theme and more happening each turn. My son was instantly sold on it and is going to be disappointed that it’s not the Star Wars board game he’s going to finding under the tree…
Vast The Mysterious Manor
This competitive adventure game in a haunted house has extreme asymmetry, with each player having completely different objectives and mechanics. I could imagine playing this again.
Sorcerer
This game has two players competing to destroy three battlefields. Each of you is a monstrous overlord and has a deck with monsters and powers you can deploy to destroy these different play areas. This game seemed extremely similar to FFGs [now defunct] CCG Warhammer 40K Conquest.
Cloudspire
Perhaps this games’ most notable feature is it continues Chip Theory Games’ house style of making board games that will survive the nuclear apocalypse. It’s all poker chips and neoprene mats in this competitive base destruction game. You release four successive waves of automate ‘creeps’ against each other’s bases. Seemed cool, but I can imagine the price tag putting off many.
My PAX haul was less impressive than Kadath’s, just a few games and free RPG things:
Played a game of Black Powder today. Been having a lot of fun with this Napoleonic miniatures game lately, and our games are slow getting larger and larger as well assemble (and paint) more soldiers. However, since our gaming club only has a 4’x6’ Warhammer table, we have had to decrease some of the measurements to increase the amount of actual maneuvering required. We tried playing with the measurements “as is” today using the full length of the table, but ended up having very little room to maneuver our formations. Really jealous of wargamers with access to larger tables!
My biggest surprise at PAX was the micro-games made by Chris Handy. I’d seen these before – they come in boxes the size of a pack of gum – but never tried one, assuming they were lightweight throwaways.
Lightweight, sure. Their rules are simple and they play in about 15 minutes each. But the ones I tried are proper games, well-developed and balanced, with interesting decisions throughout.
Bus – No, not the heavy Splotter game that was just republished (although I’ve also played that recently). This is pick-up-and -deliver in its purest form. Probably too luck-driven for some, since a lot can hinge on whether the available passengers are headed for destinations along your route.
Sow – A game about planting flowers that is confrontational, cruel and brain-twisting. My son hated it; I think I really liked it.
Shh – A co-op with one card for every letter of the alphabet. Players play cards in turn to spell words. Once you can’t spell any more words, the game ends. There are a couple more wrinkles, but that’s pretty much it. Very fast and fun.
Hue – This is a hard one to explain; you place cards next to and on top of each other to create contiguous colored shapes. You have three secret colors that you will score at the end, so you want those colors’ shapes to be as large as possible. It’s quite clever, but this one would benefit from bigger cards. It can be difficult to keep all of the overlapping cards lined up because they’re so small and light.
I never heard of it but we got two copies of base game and 2!of the expansion for $50 so decided to try it
App coming soon
https://www.poccade.com/?fbclid=IwAR3lCjsEArq7PaM9Fk5YUAKFa-l4mv826HA4ZAzrws2kDAbbeV5YouCk4Qg
Already on the store. That’s why I asked about it.
Cool keep us posted
I was right in the middle of my 2nd game of Gloom of Kilforth when my big box of Cthulu: Death May Die showed up today…so, gotta quite the Gloom game and try some DMD tonight. I need to spread out my game deliveries as I just cant NOT play a new game once it shows up.
Yes, I can set up another card table but that gets out of hand quick so my very encouraging Gloom game goes bye bye.
My kid said he’d play Cthulu and after having a good time with Nemesis, dont want to discourage any board game time with him…we’ll see how this goes!
Okay, first of all, you’re just going to make him mad if you keep misspelling Cthulhu’s name. Second of all, please report back about Death May Die. It looks like a boring-ass rote dungeon crawl with a forced Lovecraftian theme, but I’d love to be wrong.
-Tom
That was also my impression, and to be honest I’m kinda hoping it’s right. I don’t think there’s a single theme as well represented in my coop games as Cthulhu, and so to be able to wave one off would be a nice break for my wallet and shelves. Plus, like, I’ve already got a ridiculously oversized Cthulhu mini coming whenever Planet Apocalypse finally ships.
Seriously, y’all. If you want a Cthulhu-themed dungeoncrawl (with a strong helping of steampunk) , just get the Machina Arcana @Chaplin and I were talking about upthread. And hey, no minis to inflate the price ridiculously.
Man, I’m so out of the loop. I hadn’t even heard of this one. I notice it had an estimated release of 2019. How is a company with as much experience as Petersen games missing a target date so widely?
Pfft, as if I haven’t already ordered it.
-Tom
Nice! Like I said above, I’m still seriously tempted. Or should I pay $60 for a local dude’s copy of Mansions of Madness 2e? Decisions, decisions.
What’s all this rot about no true Cthulhu game?
