I live in Texas. The concept of basements is lost on builders here (or they have some other reason to not use them.) Great way to mount the projector.
One of the advantages of felt is that the miniatures settle down into it just a bit, especially broad ones like ships, and so they much less likely to get accidentally bumped.
For games with grids and no unit facing (e.g. Blood Bowl) this doesn’t matter, but it was quite nice for Man O’ War where the placement, range, and especially facing could make a huge difference. Much less potential for “tape measure” and “bump” arguments.
JoshV
3825
Don’t you guys have tornadoes? I thought one was supposed to hide in the basement and then talk to your companions and watch all the flashbacks that then occurr…
Texas soil does not lend itself to making basements/shelters cheaply. Beneath a few layers of dirt is a thick underlayer of red clay, a thick, slightly moist glop that is incredibly difficult to excavate (hell if you’ve post-holed around the area you’d know exactly what I am talking about).
— Alan
Reldan
3827
Just wanted to say that after a couple plays I’m really liking Star Trek Fleet Captains.
To preface things, I don’t think it’s worth $100. Based on the components included I’d probably say $45-$50 would be a fair price for what you actually get in the box. Given that the game itself is fun and replayable enough I’m not sad that I paid $70 for it in the slightest.
Having played a 2 player and 4 player game, I think it actually works best as 2 player. The 2vs2 merely plays just like a larger scale 1vs1, doesn’t add a whole lot and mostly serves to make the turns take longer. That said, I don’t think there are a lot of really slick and great 1v1 games out there, so that alone makes this one stand out (I’m not a huge fan of the various 1v1 wargames, and aside from those you’re mostly left with Space Hulk and Twilight Struggle for large scale 1v1 board games).
A lot of games of this sort would rely on scripted scenarios and complicated setups, but ST:FC dynamically generates all of this for you in a very simple and straightforward fashion which actually works. The longest part of setup probably is just shuffling the hexes together and dealing out the board. Ease of setup really sets it apart from other 1v1 games for me.
What. You’re going to have to narrow that down quite a bit before it makes sense.
I’m a computer guy, not even a decent home self repairer… Thanks. I knew the clay was around in the OK area, didn’t know it was that prevalent here.
Reldan, I know the game is good, but the whole component thing really bugs me, especially at 100.00. Whomever is running the Wizkids name seems to have really tried to up their profit margin on this one, and it is biting them back. (A disclaimer, I have not owned or seen in person the minis or components.)
Yeah, I’ve got stacks and stacks of 1v1 games that I like, though most of them are a bit heavy for the crowd I usually game with.
Claustrophobia is the very definition of adapting the Space Hulk tactical combat genre to easy to teach, quick to setup gameplay. I’m looking forward to A Few Acres of Snow this winter, to be sure, in an entirely different Martin Wallace wargame bent. I don’t know, it’s basically my favorite player number even if it doesn’t get the playtime it should proportional to how much I enjoy it.
ckessel
3833
No kidding. 1-on-1 is an option I rarely get to play and has plenty of great choices. Twilight Struggle, Duel of Ages, War of the Ring, Conquest, Stronghold, Field Command. That’s just off the top of my head, a bunch of 2 player games I’d be happy to play. I’ve got others in my closet (War Angel for example) I’ve never even been able to get to the table.
Some news in the world of iOS Board Games taken from BGG.
Codito’s pushing Through the Ages and Le Havre out 'til early next year, but they seem to be sticking to their guns that Tigris & Euphrates will be out this month.
Nothing new on Summoner Wars, Caylus or Cyclades, all due this month.
The big news is really that Playdek (Ascension, eventually Summoner Wars and Agricola) has signed deals with a bunch of board game developers, including Eagle Games/Gryphon Games, Lock ‘n’ Load and Rebel Games. Most exciting (to me) is Christoph Boelinger of Ludically. Considering the apparently aborted XBLA game, I imagine this means Dungeon Twister iOS, but an Earth Reborn fan can dream.
Cyclades is out for iPad. I’m afraid to buy it because of the mangled English in the description and the fact that I can’t tell if it has an AI.
Word on BGG is that it’s 2P only; no AI.
No online mulitplayer either. At this point I wonder if they bothered to code rules enforcement.
Reldan
3839
I’m not huge on wargames. That’s a matter of personal taste - there are plenty of wargame aficionados out there and a slew of games to suit them.
I’m fine with card games, but I’m not talking about them here or comparing to them. I don’t hold, for example, Magic to be relevant as a point of comparison for the kind of board game ST:FC represents.
I’m not generally a fan of games that require setting up scenarios, or games with extensive set-up requirements. Usually a game has be be really damn good to get me past this hurdle. I’ll gladly play Blood Bowl on the computer but am not likely going to deal with the fiddly bits and print outs to play the live game.
I’m also not saying that there are none or even few great 1v1 games. However, discounting wargames and card games people tend to trot out a fairly limited list of the same good 1v1 games. To which I will gladly add ST:FC.
I meant more card/board games like the finer Knizia vintages and the like. I don’t include collectible games on principle.
But yeah, clearly makes sense for you. I just look at my closet full of 1v1 games of titanic quality and sigh.
