Wasn’t starry rift going to have no box? (Cardboard sheets of tiles wrapped in cellophane, like suburbia 5 star) Has that changed?
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I assumed that there’s a box, so I’m talking out of my arse.
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There still could be. By the looks of things the expansion has grown beyond it’s original spec because of the delays. Could easily need a box now!
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The Legendary card games have got a few mentions recently: with The Matrix just out and Buffy, Alien, Bond… is there a good one for first timers, or one which clearly stands out above the others?
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I have only played the Marvel one, but it was the first, so likely good for first timers as the rules are probably at their most basic. That said, the villains are pretty easy, so most people agree it needs at least the Dark City expansion to really shine (which is hard to find right now, I think it’s between printings). I’ve heard World War Hulk is also good, but have not seen that expansion myself.
I have heard a lot of good things about the Alien one, though I believe it can become more adversarial than Marvel does.
IMO, there are better deckbuilders out there nowadays, but this was my first one, so even though we don’t play it much anymore, I still have a fondness for it.
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So far I’ve only played James Bond but it’s really good. I like card games where I get to feel clever (despite how clever I may or may not actually be). I found lots of opportunity to be clever in my limited experience with Legendary.
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I played the Alien one and didn’t think much of it—but that was on a thematic level. I’m not playing a character, I’m playing some kind of nebulous guiding spirit of the platoon sort of thing. Something like James Bond might work better there.
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There are two different styles. The original is Marvel. I love it. Buffy, James Bond, and Big Trouble in Little China are in the same style.
The other option is the Alien/Predator, X-Files, and Firefly style. It is called Legendary Encounters.
Encounters is generally regarded as harder and can do player elimination. It is full co-op with more ways for players to help on others turns and doesn’t count points.
Original is semi-co-op. Everyone loses together but if the player’s win there are points for a MVP. Some games are easy enough you focus on the points while others take full cooperation just to survive.
I massively prefer original and don’t like some of the mechanics that make encounters harder but that’s massively personal preference. Some people are the other way. Within each grouping - original or encounters - it is kind of just personal preference on which theme you prefer. They all play similarly. Only other difference there is expansions. Marvel has tons of them while BTinLC doesn’t, for example.
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Starry Rift has a box with art. The pictures make it look pretty shallow though.
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As mentioned elsewhere… I’d like to solicit your opinions on various versions of Agricola. (I have played the game… way back when…)
Let me guess anniversary box huge and expensive and all the OOP stuff in it is just for superfans…?
If not that, then what? New edition just basic game? Extra decks?
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I want to love Agricola. No, darn it, I do love Agricola in oh so many ways.
And yet, with a heavy heart, I think I’ve decided to see if I can sell on my copy at Airecon in March, as it just doesn’t get played enough except by me solo, and I don’t love it quite enough solo for it to pass my ‘would I buy it again after the flood/fire/earthquake?’ test.
I would say yes, absolutely, the giant anniversary box is only for Agricola obsessives.
The Farmers of the Moor expansion opens it all a up a bit/loses the focus a bit, according to taste. I like the extra things it adds, and prefer the game with it. But if what you like about Agricola is the stifling tightness and limited things to focus on, it may not be for you.
The extra decks are - well, they’re extra decks. We (when we do play) pick one of them and use it for a few games; there are various ways to mix them up together if you want to do that. They make the potential variety pretty much infinite, but they’re not necessary, as such.
I’ve only ever played the revised edition, so can’t comment at all on the original.
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I usually tell customers that Agricola is the worst game Uwe Rosenberg ever made. Which doesn’t mean it’s bad, just that almost everything he’s released since then has been Agricola-refinements.
You like the idea of Agricola, but you want it to be crunchier, deeper, more strategic? Caverna, Hallertau, or Feast for Odin are all way better.
You like the idea of Agricola, but you want it to be faster, more elegant, and more strategic? Nusfjord, Cottage Garden, or New York Zoo are all way better.
You like the idea of Agricola, but you want more player interaction? Ora et Labora, La Havre, or Gates of Loyang.
You like the idea of Agricola, but there are only two of you? Patchwork.
At the end of the day, the only “place” Agricola really has is “You like the idea of Agricola, and you like the gameplay to be super depressing where it’s a race to see who loses the least.” Then, yes, fine, Agricola is more depressing and everyone loses.
I got rid of my copy years ago. I still have Patchwork and New York Zoo, and the second Feast for Odin is available again I’m getting it back in my collection (I sold a buddy my copy and the next day at work we sold our last copy of Feast to a customer… I was nonplussed, because how long could it possibly take to get a restock… that was 2018…).
All of that rant aside, if you’re set on Agricola, yeah, just the basic. All of the additional stuff I’ve played (a whole bunch of additional Minor Improvements and Occupations) are fine, but none of it really changes with the core loop of “There aren’t enough places to put your workers and everyone will starve” at the heart of the game. I haven’t tried Farmers of the Moor, though. Maybe it helps?
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maybe i need to finally play Caverna. I like Odin but never got the animal breeding strategy running. Hallertau ist fine I guess. need to play again. maybe okay Agricola digital before doing something else
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I know lots of people who prefer Agricola over Caverna. Feast is just a totally different game (and breeding is a losing strategy without the expansion rebalancing).
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I need to try New York Zoo, especially as is on BGA.
Sold Agricola, and will be selling AFFO (plus Norwegians) at AireCon (unless @Marx wants a flight to Cardiff!)
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I definitely prefer Agricola over Caverna.
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I haven’t played New York Zoo, but I own and quite enjoy both Nusfjord and Cottage Garden, and I wouldn’t say either of them is even remotely similar to Agricola…
…and while I could just about imagine someone making a case for Nusfjord being better than Agricola, there’s no way on this green earth that Cottage Garden is!
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Okay, I think I have a plan now 
Both Caverna and Agricola are on BGA. My friend who is just beating me again on 7 Wonders Duel
(:
me: disgressing
I am not convinced that the 2nd expansion with the parliament which I am now playing for the first time, is something the game needed, the first expansion is really nice but also not necessary, base game has enough meat to chew on for a while
)
seems to have some brainspace currently (he’s doing AoC), I might convince him that we learn them both and play on our own time.
I am a huge Rosenberg fan. I currently own with no intention to sell (possibly unintenionally listed in order of how much I enjoy them):
- Nusfjord
- Sagani
- Bohnanza
- AFFO w/Expansion
- Oranienburger Kanal
- Fairy Trails
Possibly not forever but currently not even close to the sell-pile:
- Fields of Arle w/Expansion
- Hallertau
(at 8 games that’s more than half as much as I have Knizia’s and the same number as Cathala’s. One might think I have a a lopsided collection)
Additionally I have played and enjoyed apps of
- Cottage Guarden (I should have bought it at SPIEL but it was sold before I ever found it that year and then I had the app and now that isn’t enough and it’s OOP but I am not desperate enough to go looking for a copy)
- Indian Summer
- Patchwork
- Le Havre (not recently, I barely remember the game)
- 2 Player Agricola
- Agricola (also played not digitally sometime in the late 00s, also one of my first solos I ever attempted and I never won)
So there is some history there and always space for Rosenberg games on my shelves.
All that said, I think BGA first. Neither Agricola nor Caverna is going OOP anytime soon.
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Oh yeah?! Well, I respect your opinion and suspect it comes from a place of intelligent consideration. And I respect that enormously even if I disagree!!
So there!
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Aggressive Cognitive Empathy.
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