Huh. See, I have the opposite view. I mean, i’ve never played Kingsburg, but I like AF more than Troyes (or other dice-heavy games), because of you don’t like the randomness, you can invest in tech and locations to essentially make it irrelevant.
I purchased the Guards! Guards! novel before playing my first game, so it was fun seeing some of the characters I’d read about portrayed on the cards. It’s my first Terry Pratchett novel and I highly recommend it.
You can get caught up pretty fast with all the movies out. Start with The Colour of Magic and The Light Fantastic. Those used to be streaming on Netflix but weren’t the last time I checked. Going Postal and Hogfather also have some high quality movies. Soul Music and Wyrd Sisters have some lower quality TV series, but they are still hilarious.
I love the game. Its not the deepest game in my collection, but its so easy to pick up and play that it hits the table a lot in my house.
That’s what great about Troyes, though: randomness is minimized because you’re using the other players dice to offset what you didn’t get on your own roll.
I don’t like AF as much as Troyes, but it’s better than Kingsburg – Kingsburg feels so limited in strategy and options, even with the necessary expansion.
Like Troyes and I love Kingsburg but for some reason AF doesn’t do it for me. I own it, but I’m not sure I will play it again. Something about it just doesn’t do it for me. Maybe I should give it another play
I had no idea such movies exist! Thanks for the info!
Fair enough, I will admit that my plays of AF have never been as DantesWitness described where anyone really got the screwjob on the dice because of those techs. My problems were more how those abilities killed the flow of the game with my crowd.
I think the dice-as-worker mechanic is kind of a neat one, and it certainly has been a mini-fad in recent years, but ultimately I think all of these games are somewhat shallow in the long run for it.
Okay, I’ve finally gotten a hold of a copy of Eclipse and I’m in love. It’s scratching the Twilight Imperium itch without having all the strings of an 8 hour game. Played one partial practice game and two full games at the 2 player level. Can’t wait to see what 3 and 4 players will be like.
davidf
5289
Ok, really amazed and impressed with the Dr Who solo adventure game. This Agents of Smersh/Tales of the Arabian Nights meets Dro Who.
The game is amazingly thematic, narrative, faithful and fun and best of all free!
Well worth a look!
On a side note, Ive really been enjoying playing the Buffy baord game again. Very deep and thematic for a licensed product, I’ve decided to put together a home made mod to include all the seasons and include some custom made cards, artifacts, characters iconic from the show. Provide a little more accuracy to the various scenarios. Very happy with what i came up with,such as Season 7 scenario has the scooby gang can spawn random slayers to help defeat Caleb, and replacing Oz after season 4 with Spike etc. Riley and Giles are playable, Cordy gets -1 fight dice when evil attacks her as she isnt seen as a threat, but she has pretty poor fight and magic and only 1 of each support card.
You mean this Buffy game? I actually got that as a gift years ago but never played it. Maybe I should give it a try.
davidf
5291
Yes that one. Its very fun actually, thematic, fairly easy to learn, and deceptively deep. Its the card system that gives the characters that feeling of variable powers and very reflective of the source materials when you think about it. I’ve had a blast, and even my wife and normally non gaming type really enjoyed it, and has agreed she would play it with me if we alternate between this and her favorite game, dominos.
It has a few things that could be done to improve, like reference turn cards and scenario cards, but that’s really made it fun for me to make some semi professional looking add ons for the game to make it really pop. Only thing missing now are minatures!
I spent a surprising number of hours playing Cards Against Humanity last weekend. If you have the right group, it’s one of the funniest things I’ve ever played. If not, well, you probably shouldn’t admit you own it.
And I picked up my copy of Eclipse today - very excited!
Amazing! Wish I could draw like that.
David,
I’ve played the Dr. Who game and was also really impressed on what the designer did with it. How this guy didn’t get it published is beyond me. It’s fantastic.
Have you played Smersh? It sounds cool, but I didn’t dive in on the kickstart for it.
I know I owe you guys some pics from the epic Arkham Horror game.
davidf
5295
I know right? Best print and play game I’ve played, and I want to say, ever! Hard to imagine a better one out there. :)
I haven’t played Smersh, read the rules and read a few play reports from people who have and I’m really excited to get my kickstarter copy. So thrilled in fact…I also kicked in for his Ace Detective kickstart.
Honestly, with the lull in good PC titles (that I enjoy), Ive gone a little boardgame crazy lately. :)
davidf
5296
I’m also in to this Kickstarter for Sedition Wars for a crazy amount of money ($225!!!). The tiles and minatures and concept are like crack for me, made from the same guys that brought you Zombicide.
Published by the Zombicide guys, totally different design team behind it AFAIK.
Smersh, Ace Detective and Sedition Wars? David, I think you’re my new best friend. I’m pretty excited about Ace Detective and though I can’t buy sedition wars I really want to play it. I expect some awesome session reports from you on all three.
I’m now waiting for Viva Java and Tammany Hall (Man does it suck to wait so many months for a game I’ve already purchased)
My boardgame lives! If anyone cares about my ongoing effort (6 years long and counting) to design and publish a pulp adventure boardgame,I’ve started blogging the latest playtest over at Fortress: Ameritrash.
JM1
5300
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Unintended I guess? Is http://fortressat.com/blogs-by-members/3347 what you wanted?
Also, congratulations!
