You’ve got it about right, once you add in the amended “cylon actions” cardboard that goes on their part of the board and the plastic basestars. Pegasus is one of those “depends” situations: it makes the game easier for the humans, undeniably, and it does add some more useful options for both slow and active turns. For four person I say sure, for 5-6 I tend to favor streamlining as much as possible in order to avoid long turns. If everyone’s comfortable with the rules, then no big deal.
Also, make sure you go over the cylon leader missions briefly with the group if someone is going to be one. That’s not supposed to be secret information (the options) apart from which one the leader actually has for that game. IMO guessing at that mission is a lot less fun than trying to find hidden cylons, but people can rarely resist the allure of being one. Oh, and make sure you airlock the whiniest player at least once…it’s worth the morale hit!
Got in some good gaming with our own Dean O’Donnell, Jonathan Crane, and Rob O’Boston last Saturday. About six games got played on two different tables. I played Summoner Wars, Road Kill Rally, and the new Betrayal at House on the Hill.
Summoner Wars is probably my favorite game right now. You can play a match in 45 minutes, the mechanics are tight, and I love the tough decisions and second-guessing that come into play as you get to know the various factions.
Road Kill Rally was fun, but took longer and felt draggy in a way it hadn’t in any of my previous plays. Maybe it was player fatigue level. I still really like the game, though.
Betrayal was fun too. I’m happy with the all the corrections they made over the first edition (though the figures are still ugly as hell). It’ll be perfect for Halloween gaming with my students in the coming weeks. I picked up Arkham Horror and the Dunwich expansion recently as well to try out with them, hoping it’ll be more engaging than the last few times I tried it circa 2006.
Anyone here play Greed Inc.?
I’m interested in it, but have heard mixed reviews.
Fantasy Flight just released the promo trailer for Civilization: The Board Game coming (likely) in November. It looks really cool and I especially like the idea of how the tech pyramid works: you have to build a pyramid of technology with the lowest techs on the bottom and building up. My only concern is how it’ll play with two players since that’s all I’ll be able to really play it with. I might wait for reviews before buying, but it certainly will be one I’ll be watching.
FFG just announced the next expansion for Battlestar Galactica: Exodus, available this winter.
FFG just announced the next expansion for Battlestar Galactica: Exodus, available this winter.
Wow. While I think this is great for fans of BSG, I can think of quite a few other games that are in more desperate need of an expansion. But, with as quickly as FFG is churning out games these days, I guess it’s not that big of a deal.
dogbert
1567
So, Lorini, ignoring animals vs creatures, how was Dominant Species?
This week’s gaming night was a six player Antike that descended into analysis paralysis & near king-making. About two-thirds into the game, a “noob” had to make a decision to side with either of the two leaders… Unfortunately, the player he decided to go with didn’t quite have enough legions to get the temple he needed, causing the game to just die in speed & drag out for another 40 minutes. Essentially four of the players in the game were done at that point with no chance of real points or winning… And the game just draaaagged.
I just got Summoner Wars recently and I’ve been having a blast playing it. Orcs and Goblins are my favorite so far. I know I just got it, but has anyone had any experience with the Fallen Kingdom or Vanguard expansion packs? They look interesting.
I just got those expansions but haven’t had a chance to try them yet. I like the game enough that my next project is a custom board for it, but I haven’t decided the best way to do it yet. I might burn or carve one into a piece of wood, but I’ve heard that people at BGG have made some fold-up boards using 20x30 pillow cases from Artscow.com, and that place just happens to have a pillowcase sale going on this week (2 for $12 shipped). Decisions, decisions…
Hey, Lutes – you wanna make an awesome board layout in Illustrator and pass it along. :)
Is Summoner Wars a CCG? Or are the various armies/products contain fixed cards?
Hey! No distracting the artist! Now we’re never going to see the end of Berlin!
It’s fixed. Starters come with two armies, and then you can get individual army expansion packs.
Good point, but his Summoner Wars board is sure to be a thing of staggering beauty. And probably only take him ten minutes to whip up. And then we could use it as a pillow. Think about that.
I’ve played with them a bit in the past couple of weeks, and I love them.
First match was Goblins against Fallen (played by the venerable Dr. Jonathan Crane, above, a SW noob), and Goblins creamed the undead through a combination of swarming and unlucky rolls on the doc’s part. Then I played two successive matches against a friend at school, with him as Fallen and me as Vanguards. Fallen won handily both times, thanks to their ability to keep bringing units onto the field and some smart event play on the part of my opponent.
I’m pretty much an SW fanboy at this point. I feel like they really nailed down some tight mechanics, and so far I have found all of the factions to be fun and balanced. I’m ready to buy anything Plaid Hat puts out.
Ah, if I only had the time! You don’t want to drop the cash for the official board?
Lorini
1575
I can’t even give away Anitke because of this. It’s just not that good of a game.
I really enjoy Dominant Species and am glad I bought it. I may not play it this weekend, but I plan on playing it next and am looking forward to learning more about the strategies involved.
OK. $11 for the wood + $20 for an engraving tool + $5 for stain + the fact it’ll likely look like crap when I’m done = time to get the official board.
peterb
1577
I’m auctioning off a bunch of my boardgames on BGG. Would posting the link here violate forum norms of behavior?
PM Tom about it, as I know from personal experience that he’s extremely uneasy about letting people sell or announce sales here.
peterb
1579
Nah, that’s all I need to hear - nothing to see here, move on.
I don’t think you’d violate any rule if you posted your BGG username, which would now serve the same purpose as posting a link :)
