[following on from What Should I Play? (Help me decide)]
Last night, I did manage to find some energy to play. Under Falling Skies was the clear winner of the poll, so that’s what I got to the table.
I think, I’m finding, that “crisis management” games are not my thing. I lost. I was 2 research jumps (which is I think like 13 research points on the basic scenario?) from winning. My city had only taken 1 damage when the mothership landed. I know, intellectually, that I could have easily won by letting more ships through and spending just a few more dice on research. This is basically the same conclusion I have with Pandemic: yep, I could have won if I had just let a couple of more outbreaks happen to afford me the action-economy to cure the last disease.
So, I think I’ll give UFS another shot tonight, but ultimately, I think it might end up on the trade pile. Not because it’s a bad game, but rather it’s a game that doesn’t stimulate my brain in the ways I’m looking for. Or, perhaps, rather it pokes my brain in uncomfortable ways, and I just don’t need that – I’ve always got a copy of Pandemic I can fall back on.
I actually set up for a retry of the base game, Roswell, last night. But after the first die roll, I just couldn’t be bothered to lean my brain into it.
At the time, there was a 3-way tie in the poll for 2nd place. Clinic, Empyreal: S&S, and Fantastic Factories. Knowing that my brain wasn’t up to a huge task, I did get Fantastic Factories down off the shelf and familiarize myself with the rules. My impression of it is that it’s a pretty big sandbox; the action menu at any given time is slightly larger than I think I prefer – but I also expect that once you learn the lay of the land of said sandbox, the reasonable action menu is quite narrow.