Not just me then. (Well, I haven’t bought it yes, though I’m thinking about it, but I have struggled with the rules.)
2 Likes
I get it and if you want to solo… the solo is pretty good, quite unique and horribly explained and a bit on the fiddly side. My guess is that the game is even harder to learn if you only have the legends box as the civs in that one are more complex on average and diverging from standard rules creating more edge cases etc. I am keeping both boxes for now because after learning the solo mode I found the variability that is inherent in that solo system enticing. Not that I have played as much as I have wanted.
I let a couple of real sweeties go today as I continue to knock out games starting to languish and for which I don’t see much of a future. Sheepy Time was the first to go, to a friend in the game group (2 copies among us still!).
The second is a bit of a shocker as I’ve let my Rallyman GT collection go. As I’ve become more accustomed to solo gaming, I’ve found my appetite has developed and I’m favouring either my “morning coffee” quickies or incredulously lavish affairs. There’s no question I could dive deep and push my games of Rallyman well into the latter camp, but I just don’t seem inclined to do so. The online upkeep is too closely associated with the gameplay and it ends up being antithetical to my wont as a (hermit-like, being honest) solitaire gamer.
5 Likes
Heretic, etc. Outrage before breakfast. 
1 Like
I would like to play Heaven and Ale and Meeple Circus if no one else wants them please.
Are these in Cardiff, if so I can save you the postage and collect them
2 Likes
Yeah. You’re just in the nick of time. I was just about to drop them off. I’ll hold those to the side.
3 Likes
Cheers
That looks like Newport Road. Are you still in the area? I’m not far from there
2 Likes
It was. I’m back home now they’re in my car!
I live just near City Road/Albany road
I can PM details if you want!
3 Likes
I’m considering offloading Fury of Dracula, still New in Shrink.
Reasons to Go:
- “Gothic Horror” is not on the list of themes that appeal to my household or larger group. It’s a barrier to entry.
- That market price right now…
- For hidden movement, Pandemic On the Brink and Whitehall Mystery aren’t pure subs but do very well
- For long, storytelling type experiences, TI, Eclipse, Dune, Sidereal Confluence… a lot of games there for me to play instead.
Reasons to Stay:
- That market price… once it’s gone, it’s gone. Who knows when it may come back?
- It seems like nothing else really does what it does. Hidden Movement AND 1 v many Overlord AND something of a narrative arc. I can get any one of those elsewhere in my collection. Do I need them all in the same box?
All to say, curious what other have decided on this game and if anyone would nudge me one way or the other.
I’m always looking for painless ways to shrink my collection, but when I can do that and also balance my budget it really focuses the decision.
3 Likes
Depends on why you’re keeping it. I kept it for nostalgia like Cosmic. I miiiight end up playing it once a year, but that’s cool with me. Kondo did ask does it sparks joy. It does to me. Now, that depends on you.
2 Likes
I’ve never played it. I grabbed it for $26 just because and have been keeping it for strength of reputation and the “what if this becomes relevant” question. When I have time in my life for 3 hour games again, Sidereal and Eclipse will definitely be first. FoD would be a contender after that.
1 Like
You can always try it on the app (though last time I checked the app was confusing and difficult to play).
FWIW, I donated my copy of 3rd edition (I think it was 3rd) in my first big purge in 2018 and haven’t missed it since then (the only game I actually miss from that purge is Bridges of Shangri-La, meh). As you say there are other hidden movement games and other big event experiences and if it will never see the table and you have no personal nostalgia for it…
We played my copy once: I was Dracula, I killed everyone and they all hated me, said the game had an unfair bias in favor of Dracula. Never got back to the table again.
3 Likes
Yeah, I’m about to dive into the app to help me decide. The tutorials are all broken and the graphics are very weird, but it’s better than no exposure at all.
Thanks for sharing your own experience with the game!
2 Likes
Barring a hunter win, you are looking at an, at least, 3 hour long game of Fury of Dracula going into it the first time. With experience, that can probably get cut down to 2.5 hours, maybe 2. Dracula definitely has an advantage against newer players, as the hunters really need to coordinate well in order to track him down, and then actually pen him in once he is discovered.
All that said, I do like FoD, despite rarely getting to play it (my copy has only been used twice, and the first time only got through about one week of play before I had to pack it up and leave). Part of it is nostalgia for the first edition, which I played in high school. But another is that I truly do not have a game that does all that this one can. There are better hidden movement games, as far as it goes with pure deduction, but none that I can think of that offer the thematic trappings of FoD. The blend of hidden movement and combat, with all the traps that Dracula can place in the hunters’ paths, it just blends together in a satisfying way for me.
YMMV.
3 Likes
Jaws has emerged as the only contender. It’s got that hidden movement thing but as the hidden entity you’re actually trying to attack (first half of the game, swimmers. Second half of the game, Richard Dreyfuss). Much simpler and shorter (and more universal theme)… seems well reviewed critically but middling praise from the playing community.
2 Likes
More than happy to don the cape if people want to do it pbf again.
3 Likes
I have that, but have yet to get it to the table.
1 Like
Hellboy is a game I love, and have now sold. I feel like, if you need to choose between “Frogmen: Feat. Hellboy” and “Hellboy: Feat. I dunno, you name it!”, you’ve made a mistake somewhere. If they were able to pack “enough” into the absurd KS base box I could have lived with it, but when the fact is that you needed (minimum!) two enormous boxes to contain what represented a fulfilling HB experience, you’ve really taken the piss.
I de-box games all the time, and I recycle vac-trays like an animal, but this was all so dense and gloriously organized, I couldn’t fault it for its efficiency. All the worse, then, since it would never be any smaller. And that’s ignoring it’s incredible component efficiency! Just the same, it’s only the second game where I’ve experienced stress over “the glut” (Gloomhaven the first) and it had to go.
I sought this one out for over a year, and still would recommend it to anyone looking for a top-of-class dungeon crawler, but it’s too much for me, for what it offers. Shadows of Brimstone and Fortune and Glory remain the only two games for which I’m willing to commit such vast shelf space.
4 Likes
I do really like Hellboy and love the art (ten years ago I hated the art), and had heard that it’s actually a decent game so have been pretty tempted on this one. But I struggle to justify the space commitment of anything KS that requires multiple big boxes. Got Gloomhaven and that’s my lot. Might try to pick it up at some point for a play through and then move it on. Thanks for the insights on storage.
1 Like
Recent sales / giveaways:
- Kingdom Builder (I want to play Winter Kingdom instead)
- Marvel Loveletter
- El Grande (sorry @lalunaverde my copy would never see the table because everyone that would play with me has a copy or lives away far enough I need to use BGA anyway)
- Istanbul
- Through the Desert (the used copy I bought was a bit shabby and maybe that was the game that made me figure out how highly I value the pristine state of my games–maybe buying a copy when the new version comes.)
- Squaring Circleville–had the ad up for ages and the other day finally some had interest!
3 Likes