Those minis look fun!
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I have the base Wildlands and I still havenāt gotten it to the table. Iāve heard really good things, thoughā¦ really should try it one of these days.
Let me know if the expansions are worth tracking down!
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Iāve played it once on a TTS mod. For me itās a mixture of interesting and desperately frustrating (the latter is something I get with many Euro-flavoured designs, that whole āhereās an obvious thing that thematically you should be able to do at any time, but you canāt do it because you donāt have the right cardsā); I imagine if one put in the time to learn the decks and work out tactics for a particular faction it would be more enjoyable.
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All I can say at this point is that I really enjoy the solo play in the 2000AD-themed variant, and I picked this collection up in significant part because the newer Ancients expansion for the original game has a more advanced solo mode that I was sure Iād like (and also because the sets can be mixed and matched).
See Search results for 'dark judges topic:399' - tekeli.li forums, including unofficial SU&SD discussion for some earlier reports on playing Judge Dredd: Helter Skelter with the Dark Judges solo rules.
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For me it was the multi-use cards which really sold me on it ā being able to put the cards in your hand to different uses for different characters in your team, but having to sacrifice certain options (perhaps sacrificing a team member entirely) in order to achieve what you want to do the most.
Plus the ability to choose how many cards to play on a turn, allowing you to build up your hand and then go big on a later turn, or press your luck while youāre running on empty.
And yes, thereās plenty of luck, and sometimes your cards donāt let you do anything you want to do (but in hindsight that can be an entertaining narrative too : )
The game plays quickly, so I havenāt found that aspect to be a problem.
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Been looking to venture in to something a little heavier than Iām used to, so bought the new edition of Great Western Trail. Player turns seem fairly straight forward, but the decision space looks pretty huge which I think is ideal. Will hopefully get it to the table soon.
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Hateeples for Meeples?
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Great Western Trail is wonderful, one of the best games weāve played. Whatās great about it is that everything is worth pursuing, so youāre never stuck with nothing to do, but at the same time you never have enough to do everything, so there are interesting decisions everywhere.
Big hit here. Hope you all like it as much as we do.
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@Deviates @Simfers there are some async games of Great Western Trail happening on BGA between people on this forum.
If youād like to try it, give me your BGA usernames (you donāt need to be premium members) and I can add you to a game (if that sounds a bit gatekeepery itās because itās an alpha game at the moment and Iām the only one who has played enough rubbish games to get alpha access)
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Thanks for the invite! I donāt have a BGA account (yet), but I may just look into that at some point. Time, as always, is the issue. 
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Once Iāve learned the game in the table, Iāll be sure to take you up on that!
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After deciding to retool my collection to better represent my personal gaming pursuits and desiresāto say nothing of the realities of a child rearing lifestyle, the axe has come down hard on a number of holdouts. A couple of these were big ticket items, and more than a few were coffin boxes, so with space regained and a few fun bux earned, here I am in this damned thread. 
Fun weirdness though, both intended for solo play as is typical with my adventure trash:
Secrets of the Lost Tomb including Fate and Fortune. Iāve wanted this for a long time and a copy had been staring at me in a FLGS for ages and I never noticed it. The power of atrocious font selection. This is now my ugliest game, surpassing even Container, and inclusive of my other acquisition today.
Shadows of Malice with Seekers of a Hidden Light. I donāt know what the heck Iām going to think of this one, but itās a Felli so Iām expecting something weird and special.
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Yeah, theyāre pretty neat! This isnāt as good a photo detail-wise, but I wanted to see what all of the Wildlands miniatures I now have looked like together. I really should have done this in daylightā¦
Thatās the Helter Skelter teams on the single cards, with the Dark Judges behind them; the original Wildlands teams on the still-wrapped decks with The Adventuring Party behind them; and the Ancients in the back row. (All sitting on one of the half-sized boards from Map Pack 2.)
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Although Iām still far more likely to be seen with an RPG than anything else I do occasionally pick up other sorts of game. A lightly used copy of Evil Hatās Zeppelin Attack! with the expansion deck included arrived earlier in the week. Reviews seem to agree that it goes on a bit longer than it should, but the theme is appealing so Iāll see how it plays.
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Kickstarter arrival for Aeonās Endā¦ big box #6, is that? Original, War Eternal, Legacy, New Age, Outcasts, Legacy of Gravehold. Yup. I really ought to play this some more! In normal times I get in about 20-40 demo games of the latest version at Essen, and barely play it at any other time.
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My useful box arrived with much delayā¦ so much I had considered asking them if they had ordered any at allā¦
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My resolution for the year to purchase fewer games continues strong (not!) as I just ordered Stronghold: Undead from CSI, which is on sale this week for $30.
I remember the SU&SD video for the original Stronghold and it looked really interesting (S2:E2 7:52 mark), if somewhat mathsy. Everything Iāve read says this is an improvement over the original game. I am hopeful I can get this one to the table now and then.
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I lose my composure yesterday, and I nearly ordered Jaws of the Lion second hand plus stickers set (still in shrink) for $60. Luckily, when I enquired about it, it was already being sold to someone else. Phewā¦
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I picked up Pitchcar Mini yesterday, which basically forces me into a hunt for whatever extensions I can find (potentially including a second core box). Iām very happy to have found a copy of this; (Big!) Pitchcar is a game I simply donāt have space to store or even play, yet that hasnāt kept me from considering it for several years. The mini version comes with some quirks associated with scaling down a game which uses physics for its mechanism, primarily the weight of the discs and the kind of power you can expect to put behind them; I happen to like this, however, and I think it makes for a better home experienceā¦ provided you can add some track complexity via the aforementioned extensions.
You definitely lose something when the scope of a design changes like this. In the full version youāre making shots that run so long, even big straightaway flicks can be a reason to cheer. Thereās an element of ādriveā to the shots that just canāt be replicated with a product less than half the size. What you donāt lose is the immediacy of play and the fun of direct competition. The time it takes to complete a race is also scaled back relative to the big game, so running a tournament is fast and easy, and the shots might be easier to make overall, but good luck making them (legally) when the board is a nightmare of traffic.
Anyway, suffice it to say Iām bloody thrilled to have acquired this one, and it goes proudly into my (frankly amazing) little dexterity games pile.
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