Gedd
1801
I know there’s quite a few Archipelago fans here. Can anyone speak to how it is as a two-player game? Usually these negotiation/hidden objective games don’t work well with only two people, but I noticed Rahdo did a runthrough of it (which I haven’t managed to finish yet). Does the War and Peace expansion help it in that regard at all?
Also, has anyone taken the solo expansion for a spin? I was surprised to even see there was one, but when I was looking up the base game it came up in the list.
hepcat
1802
Two player Archipelago is something I’ve yet to try…and probably won’t. Archipelago, for me, seems to work best with 4 players, 3 players being the base minimum I would try.
That’s because the game does have a healthy bidding system that makes turn order an oftentimes essential part of the game. It also gives players an incentive to bribe and extort each other, which is a big part of the fun for me. There’s nothing like NOT bidding for first place, then holding harvesting rights over someone’s head so that they make you second player (or even first if the harvesting they need is crucial to their win strategy).
When playing with two players, that’s all but gone. At least in any meaningful way.
War and Peace simply adds a bunch of evolution cards that force more player interaction. Nothing in it will enhance a two player game that I know of.
As for the solo game, I’ve played it and, while I enjoyed its puzzle game approach to the solo experience, I ultimately ended up agreeing with Tom that it really isn’t terribly reflective of the game. If you like puzzles though, I can recommend it. But just don’t go into it expecting to get a true taste of the full game.
So I really don’t want to spend any $$…but
Tragedy Looper
Legendary: Aliens
Cyclades: Titans
Terra Mystica: Fire and Ice are tempting me. Someone talk some sense into me.
hepcat
1804
Do you like Legendary enough to buy a re-skin? Personally, I played it about a half dozen times and then threw it in my closet, never to be seen again.
Tom_Mc
1805
I didn’t really like Legendary of the three Hero card games I considered at the time Sentinels was far and away the most exciting in thematic gameplay the Aliens theme should definitely be realized but why not reskin Awful a Green Things or let Gale Force Nine take a crack at another license.
The expansions you have listed I don’t know much about although I love what I’ve seen so far of Terra Mystica I haven’t played it enough to go to the expansion yet.
I bought Tragedy Looper because it’s got an appealing fresh take on deduction games. So I’d recommend that but it’s a soft recommendation as I haven’t got it played enough. The rules are out there and I think they do a good job of representing what the game is like especially the mastermind book which has a layout for how to teach the game.
Tom M
jsnell
1806
How many times have you played the base games? Why not more often than that?
Never buy an expansion for a game you haven’t put at least 20 hours into. If you haven’t played the game that much because the base game is not good enough, buying an expansion is just rewarding bad behavior (FFG…). If you like the game but just haven’t gotten around to playing it often enough, you’ve still got plenty to explore in the base game. The only reason you’re buying the expansion for a game you’re not really playing is to satisfy some kind of unhealthy packrat instinct.
(95% of Fire & Ice is very very good, though there’s one optional variant rule I’ll never play with. But the new map/factions are harder to play on/with, so adding them in before you’ve played quite a lot of the base game is likely going to result in a fairly miserable game for someone).
hepcat
1807
…unless that expansion effectively fixes some or all of the problems you had with the game. Core Worlds comes to mind with Galactic Order. As does Eldritch Horror with the Forgotten Lore mini-expansion.
Tragedy Looper is pretty neat but very deduction/decision heavy so it’s prone to take a long time (aka AP prone). I’m sure it would be ameliorated significantly by playing it a lot. It’s neat; I’m definitely keeping it. It really works perfectly with exactly 4 though so I’d keep that in mind. It works with fewer players but not more, and I’m not sure how satisfying it would be with fewer. It’s fun and challenging for both sides of the game… it’s not like the GM just works through a script or anything (although you are given one for the first scenario).
I’m not sure about replayability though. If it takes off you’ll see custom modules from people and probably an expansion, since they’re super easy to generate. However I imagine it might start to feel kind of samey after a while. That’s pretty much true for all games though so I’d only worry about it if you foresee yourself playing it more than, say, 20 times.
I played a couple rounds of Tragedy Looper with two and I think it works just fine. The heroes have a slightly easier time of it, though, as the single controller means there won’t be any issues coordinating. Also apparently several expansions already exist in Japan, and it’s sold out fast enough (Z-Man ran out of stock at the publisher level) that I think odds seem good it’ll be financially worthwhile to get them translated.
Does anyone own BioShock Infinite: The Siege of Columbia? If so, thoughts on it?
hepcat
1811
I played it at Gencon and wasn’t terribly impressed. It’s standard area control mechanics with cards that add flavor through video game references. If you’re a huge fan of the video game, you might enjoy it. But I didn’t find anything unique or thrilling about the core game itself.
Interesting, I thought the cool mechanic of the game was that you didn’t play as the protagonists that come through and fuck up your plans.
hepcat
1813
I’m not sure I would consider that a mechanic as much as a thematic choice.
The game isn’t as awful as most games licensed from popular franchises. It is Plaid Hat Games after all. They do make some pretty dang good games. But I just didn’t enjoy my time with it. To me it came down to “amass as many units as you can and then fight over your area” without anything that set it apart from the myriad of other games with that goal. But of course your mileage may vary. I know a lot of folks who hate Star Trek: Fleet Captains because they don’t like the mechanics of the game, but I love the theme so I still play.
The mechanic being they come and trash your army. Thematic that it’s the heroes fighting you. I like the idea of an equalizer/ random bad event you have to deal with. Not sure if you can influence their movement or not.
From The Dice Tower Twitter feed, a photo of the upcoming Deluxe Small World:
Love the miniatures! I see ones for mountains, pots of gold, the dragon, the catapult, fortifications, and troll lairs.
geewhiz
1816
I purchased Machi Koro and it is a big hit with my wife and kids (my wife actually asked me to play). :D
Plays fast with 3; about 30 minutes and with 4; I would say about 45 minutes. Everyone thinks it was best with 4 (more strategy involved because the Building cards run out faster). I do not think I would like it with two players.
I think this will be a great gateway game.
I’ve been looking forward to Machi Koro since it was reviewed on Shut Up & Sit Down months ago (was it out that much earlier in Europe?). Finally got it on Friday and I like it a lot too. My kids have played it as well. Certainly doesn’t overstay its welcome. The buildings that take money from opponents can feel pretty harsh–I think that’s the only thing that more casual players might not like. I’m assuming that the expansions (there’s one called The Harbor that hasn’t made it stateside yet) give you new buildings to substitute in for the current ones, so there’s a Dominion-like variability to each session. I have to say, that makes the game a lot more appealing to me, because I can imagine the currently available engines (forest/mine/furniture factory, etc.) feeling played out over time. Anyway, it looks to be a great quick game with nice, simple core mechanics.
geewhiz
1818
I am thinking could use only one purple type card every game to mix it up a bit until I can get my hands on an expansion.
Awesome, managed to snag a copy of Battlestations with some expansions for $60 from a local Ebay seller!
Battlestations Board Game
Galactic Civil War
Pax Galacticum
Pirates of Trundlia
Bot Wars
Deep Ones in Deep Space
Sharaleo, have you played it before?
