2023-05-18T18:11:10Z
So this makes me think that I might be that 1 in 6 player who would âget itâ, but also I have zero interest in trying to play dozens of games with five other players who donât in an attempt to train us all up to a level where the game finally clicks.
What do @lalunaverde and @EnterTheWyvern think of this review?
2 Likes
âEasy to learn; Hard to masterâ is apt. I have only played it with 4, and keen to play with 6 and 8 too see how the payer count works. And with Wyvernâs group, we enjoyed our 2 plays of it. Trying not to speak for all of them, but rather comment on how I observe the group: the four of us understood the depth of GOA2 and understood the magic of the upgrades and the team dynamics. Do we suck? Yeah. No shit. 2 plays. We suck. But we found it engaging. But then this is also the same group that plays 18xx and doesnât get discouraged by a gameâs opacity. Of course, @EnterTheWyvern might contradict me on this. So wait for his take.
I will return with another post once Iâve played more with members of my bg club of varying interests and way of thinking and see how it works. The skill gap issue does exists, but I feel that the solution would be to switch characters. But I need to see it first.
Tbh, other than describing what GOA2 does, this is a useless review. I wouldnât be able to make a decision based on this. And it implies that it is some kind of a lifestyle game.
5 Likes
I have nothing to add personally other than to mention that @lalunaverde and @EnterTheWyvern both share opinions here that very closely mimic those among my other online groups who have played. Weâre talking about a local sample size of like, 6? But still, the comments were equally enthusiastic and very much of the âHoly crap you gotta at least try thisâ variety.
1 Like
The friend in our group who came more from a computer game background whoâs played the most MOBAs asked how I can be so good at this game having never played a MOBA. To me it reminds me a lot of miniatures wargames. Having played over the years plenty of them it I do get really strong vibes, I think maybe Malifaux might be the closest. Thereâs something similar in the ordering of activations and the positioning for threat ranges. Itâs obviously not a 100% comparison. I suppose the other thing it has a strong similarity to is the World War 2 Wings of Glory. That would I presume give it similarities to X-Wing. I also think my first comparison was Battlecon.
Maybe all those comparisons give credence to the reviewâs premise that it is close to a lifestyle game. Battlecon I moved on as it was too difficult to get played. I felt you needed a committed group who mostly met in even numbers and didnât mind pairing off. I think this game has an advantage of timing that we often meet as a 4 now and so thatâs a good number for this game.
I think the bit I donât really get is the comment about a lack of âcylindersâ. Sure there are turns when not much happens by way of hitting things and you can get blocked out but they are often consequential events. The game would be boring if your attacks most often killed enemy heroes. The balance between attacking/defending minions and the different ways you can achieve it is interwoven with the cards being your action resource and your health and then you have things like your best movement card is almost always your best attack card. Successful attacks require coordination and set up, so unless youâre in to planning this game will probably fall flat for you. One of our players is a bit moaney and has been on the losing side twice thinking everyone elseâs characters are better than theirs. Itâs always because theyâve not assessed whatâs the effective cards theyâve got and donât think through the consequences of where they are placed for their next turn. Alternatively Iâve really enjoyed it because I can assimilate my characters and other characters quickly enough. Last time we played myself and @lalunaverde won by getting smashed in the first fight. Lost both our characters and a push in one round. We then sat and talked about what went wrong and how to avoid that again. The information is usually fully available fast enough to overcome surprises even with new unfamiliar characters. Maybe not so much with a disparity in skill levels. Like Iâd not expect to do anything other than lose in a landslide in double quick time if I were to play you at Twilight Struggle. So maybe the caveat in this game is how it still behaves like a 2 player game where a lack of balance in skill across the teams will make it very unsatisfying for the newer players against people who know what theyâre doing. I imagine in a club situation having 10 games under your belt and playing with three new players could be a tricky one to manage, depending on the attitude of the players. I wouldnât want to be in that situation with the people I know who dislikes Food Chain Magnate as they played against experienced players first game and so lost handily which made them say the game was shit rather than get interested to learn how to play.
7 Likes
Add this to the list of games that I think look cool but have no realistic chance of ever playing. Enjoyed the review though, and itâs great to see Matt again regularly.
5 Likes
I think I would like this game but with my current gaming opportunities it is unrealistic to think I could get this to the table over all those other games I own. If someone else had a copy, I would totally play.
4 Likes
I think itâs a game with a very high potential skill ceiling (like actual MOBAs) but I think itâs immediately exciting and rewarding and all four of us were excited about the one play we managed. My problem is that I almost never have 4 players, let alone 6 or more.
4 Likes
Wasnât this one of Efkaâs "Game of the Year"s? I think it wasâŚ
Usually if both NPI and SUSD like a game, I will also like it. But Efkaâs efervescent love of the game does make it sound really good?
Doesnât matter, way too expensive for my collection at this point. But cool!
2 Likes
I think this is also where I fall.
4 Likes