Yeah, I got lucky that I had Protective Ward in hand when Shadow of the Past came up, which let me ignore it and discard it, so Mordo did not enter play. I haven’t looked through his cards, as I kind of like the surprise when the Nemeses come out, which I’m sure will happen eventually.
1 Like
Played my first game of Viticulture - Essential Edition. Solo, against the automata deck and a target of 20 at the end of 7 rounds. I got 23! It wasn’t easy though. The automata is a complete $%&! blocking off the spaces you need, which I guess will be no less stressful when other players do it.
Loved this. Great game. Takes about one full go through to get it, and then you’re ready and can’t wait to go again. The art is lovely, the gameplay is fiendish (so many beautiful plans that are absolutely not going to happen fast enough).
I got unlucky with some vicious “block 3 spaces” instead of the possible 1 early on, as well as initial wine orders for only the most expensive sparkling, but the “bonus” action counter you get every round when playing solo made all the difference. I honestly don’t think I’d do as well at 2-player when those bonuses aren’t available! I’ll use the visitor cards more for actions, I guess.
I also made rookie mistakes (hey, first game) like making a 9 strength wine when I could have made an 8 and waited for it to immediately age… but basically it’s just a relaxing, lovely time.
The box insert and packaging (small bags) are a bit rubbish. Half the pieces for each colour in 2 small bags instead of one big one (not divided by “all your meeples in this one, buildings in the other” - just some in each) and the cards don’t fit obviously into any of the insert spaces? It’ll do, but was much better once I’d rebagged a bit.
I think this is my first Stonemaier. I can see why it’s up the top of a lot of people’s lists - not too heavy, easy to bring new people into, very rewarding.
3 Likes
Humoured my daughter yesterday (tbh, she has a leg in a cast) and played Beat the Parents with her… Sad thing is, some of those questions I’ve had three or four times by now… and still don’t remember the answers. Looking forward to something more gamey tonight.
4 Likes
Last night we tackled mission 2 of LOTR: Journeys in Middle-Earth and wow, did that change our opinion of the game fast. The first mission was interesting, with exploring and things to poke and a level of opposition that only ramped up to daunting in the eleventh hour when there was a clear path to victory by fending off our foes and we had skills prepped and inspiration to spend. The second map…by turn 4 we were facing four groups of elite enemies and a boss who typically does around 6 damage an attack (spread across damage and fear, but enough to one-shot one of our party members if no defense is obtained and two-shot the others, not to mention ancillary effects from the attacks). No sources of inspiration but our skills and our bard’s harp (well, and defeating enemies, but that’s hard to do without spending inspiration). No chance to get an engine going. Just brutal combat against enemies that can counterattack every time and have enough armor to absorb basic attacks from all three of us without blinking. Now, all we need to do is defeat the boss, not the adds, but, well, that’s so much easier said than done. We quit because it was getting late and will try again next week, but we’re all pretty convinced we’ve already lost. And there’s nothing fun or interesting about that mission even if it were less insanely balanced. I think this game may exit our rotation quite rapidly.
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Mission 2 is insane. I don’t get it. But it can be done.
Spoilers and tactics:
If you rush to the corner to stop the reinforcements then the smaller enemies aren’t too bad (you get a tiny bit of inspiration from defeating them) but the boss pulls some tricks which make him basically impossible.
Some good news: it doesn’t matter if you fail it. There’s not big consequences, and you continue to 3.
Better news: I’m up to 5 or 6 now, and they get much easier. 2 is the odd one. That’s partly because you don’t have good cards in your deck yet - when you get more experience and add them, the game difficulty goes way down. It can also help to change profession and have a (in my case Pathfinder) start as a Burgular for this map, it gets them inspiration and hiding which makes all the difference when there’s nowhere to run.
And remember that you still win if one character goes down, so sacrificing one to take damage can work.
Mission 2 nearly put me off the game as well, but the next short map like this at 4 is so much easier, it’s just a bad design decision. Stick with it, 4-6 are brilliant compared to 2-3.
2 Likes
I agree about the box insert - or maybe I just haven’t worked out how to use it properly - but it’s my favourite worker placement game too. Rare as well that I just play one solo game at a time too, especially if the first one is a loss as I usually need to try once or twice more to beat my previous score. I’ll probably get the Tuscany expansion before too long but not sure that will get as many plays solo. I’m sure you’ll be fine playing with others though as of course you won’t have the time constraint of just the seven rounds to play.
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Yeah, I’m predicting I’ll lose quite a bit even solo - I gave myself the choice of 2x Mama and Papa cards and picked the one that gave me an extra worker right at the start, without that I simply wouldn’t have had the speed. And I have NO IDEA how to make enough money in this game, etc. But I have a terrific amount of “If I just stick to making THAT wine, and age the grapes a bit first, I can do X…” which means I want to get it out again today.
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You don’t need to make that much money but - at least playing solo - selling a field early helps to fund early purchases. Buying extra workers and depending on cards, the trellis, irrigation tower and larger cellar sizes are always useful, if not essential in most games. The yoke is a great help too. If you get lucky with visitor cards too they can make purchases cheaper. You can also send a worker to give a tour or just to earn one Lira - and use the bonus token to gain one Lira too.
There are some great solo playthrough videos and even in the ones where they fail to beat the automata standard target of 20 victory points, they might give you ideas and strategies to try next time. Some times though you just dont get the cards of course though, and in games where I fail in seven turns, I try that eight turn to at least get some more gametime in. And yes, I still find I fail about once every three solo games, but some games you’ll get 25 points or more comfortably.
3 Likes
Well, you can still win if one character goes down if you win that same action phase. I’m fairly sure that’s not on the table. But it’s good to hear later missions are more sane.
1 Like
So on attempt 3, I played a full albeit still somewhat error-prone solo against Lacerda … On Mars
This game is a monster in every aspect. It takes a bit to set up and tear down despite an excellent insert. It takes a long while to play. I still haven’t got all the rules down–especially for the bot–and that’s with reading them twice and printing out a summaries rom BGG for the rules and the bot.
It’s a table hog right from turn 1. And the complexity is just about what I expected, it hasn’t taken me this long to figure out how to get my “stuff” up and running in a game since… Agricola
(admittedly, I never figured out Agricola I just stopped playing it. I do wonder though if I were to play now with all the other Rosenbergs I know if it would be any easier, I doubt it though–oops getting away from my post here)
In any case: On Mars is beautiful. It has that depth I literally dreamed about and I have a very slight hope that if I learn it well enough to teach that I may convince my partner to play with me at least once.
End of game came about when colony reached level 3 and Lacerda’s second time through the deck had forced 2 of the missions to a close. I still have questions about the bot–mostly where he places tiles when he cannot add to a complex–and only noticed in closing the game I had forgotten to have him build his shelters and call his rockets. Also, bot got unlucky by traveling with the shuttle a lot initially and then getting stuck in Orbit just when the shuttle started slowing down after the colony leveled up.
I also played a two handed solo of Polynesia last night. Complexity doesn’t even play in the same league as On Mars, probably not even the same sport. But it’s a smooth little game that my partner is already excited to try because it has islands and sailboats.
Here's a little sneaky peek for those curious what the ending state of a game might look like
Left hand won by 8 over 6 points–although I was rooting for right-hand purple.
I’ll give a more detailed report on Polynesia when my head is not buzzing from trying to wrap itself around Mars.
14 Likes
Some games with our RPG group last night:
Mint Works, turn order matters a lot here I’m learning - first player is becoming more hotly contested as folks get used to the game.
Gem, been awhile for this one but it’s a nice little auction game in 15-20 minutes. Still enjoy it a lot.
Meeple Circus, this one was rough - had my act fall apart repeatedly in round 2 and almost lost it all in the final round (which I had to do with a hand over one eye - way harder than it sounds). Meanwhile one of the other players streaked ahead of all of us with massively tall structures and crazy points for red dudes.
6 Likes
Haven’t had much in the last few weeks, but I’ve gotten some lighter stuff in since current events have been mentally taxing for my group.
I may have played the LONGEST GAME OF Villainous EVER. It lasted 2 damned hours. Ursula, Jafar, and Maleficent. We ended up in this pattern of remove curse to block Maleficent, recall Ariel from the fate discard, recall Aladdin from the fate discard. This went on forever, and all three of us playing recognized it, but for some reason just kind of kept playing out of spite, not for each other but for the game maybe? I don’t know, but eventually gave up and all agreed that we have no desire to pull the game back out for a good while. My group can be very prone to AP - we’ve had a game of Lords of Vegas last for a good 2 1/2 hours due to turns that take up to 5 minutes trying to weigh every single possible permutation of dice rolls. I’ve since had to institute a timer to cut down on this. That being said, we were playing quickly and all acknowledged that we weren’t having fun and that it was quite possibly one of the worst gaming experiences we’ve all had, and we have no one to blame but ourselves.
Played some Blue Lagoon. This game just fits in my brain really well. Even when I’ve been sure that I was doing absolutely terrible I’ve won by large margins (typically about 60 points or so). This is the ONLY Knizia game that I can claim to have any real talent at as I lose every other game of his with astonishing regularity. I’ve never played Through the Desert, so I can’t make a comparison, but Blue Lagoon plays so quickly and smoothly. I love the way the tension builds as you watch the board fill up or someone makes a move in an area you completely forgot about because you’re about to connect three islands, and one of them has two water on it, and oh dear god someone else just connected 4 islands and you completely missed your opportunity to block them! I’m going to try to get this to the table more.
Downforce on the Aloha Sands track. In a counter to the game of villainous, this was one of the most hectic, hilarious, and enjoyable games we’ve had. The ramps generate some really nice opportunities to just be awful to each other, and you can very quickly take the lead from each other. Final scores were 8, 5, and -1 with myself taking the win (that’s 2 out of something like 15-20 games). It’s not a brilliant game, and I can completely understand the criticisms, but it’s quick, it’s fun, and it’s mean with low stakes.
I played a 2-handed learning game of Obsession to get the rules and I’m seeing so much promise in this. It seems like it has great variability, good replay, multiple paths to victory (the hand that “won” was the one I had considered a lost cause until the last courtship season), and I really like the decision space and weight. I think my group will enjoy this, but I am concerned about AP (see above). Building up your estate seems very satisfying, especially when you can meet an objective. It also has that great moment where you regret not buying something you thought was useless to you three or four turns ago because you get a new objective card that would have netted you a solid bit of points had you taken a chance. I can see some people not enjoying the randomness of the tiles, but I think that creates a tension that I enjoy. There are enough in there that you can have a decent idea of what will show up, but can never be certain. I’m finding it to be very unique, and there are a couple of little things in the rulebook that could have been clearer, and it seems like a ton of information, but once you get it, you really get it. I don’t think it’s going to be a tough teach at all. I’m very excited to get a real game in.
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There is a no random variant where you just stack the tiles in the market according to a system given in the rules. I played a solo with it once. Both versions are fine for me. I think I prefer random though.
3 Likes
Played Ethnos for the first time in a while. It was just my wife and I, so only five tribes, two ages, and you have to make bands larger than the total number of control markers in a territory in order to place another one, not just your own markers. This is not a big deal at first, but once there are five or more markers in one area, it starts getting pretty hard to either extend your lead or to make a comeback to tie.
Our tribes were Wingfolk, Minotaurs, Trolls, Wizards, and Skeletons. I pulled off a decent lead in the first age, simply by playing larger bands than my wife, mostly because she relied on Skeletons more, so I got about 3 points per band I played to her 1. We were pretty even on the points from control markers, though I may have widened the lead by a little bit.
Second age we started really having problems putting down more control markers, meaning none of the territories changed who had control of them from the first age. My wife managed to put down a Troll-led 5 unit band, grabbing the 5 Troll token in the process. I managed to come back to tie her control in on region, but she acquired the 3 Troll token just after I grabbed the 4 and was working to get the 2 or 3. Needless to say, she held me off to get the points for that region.
However, we did pretty evenly in bands and she only got a few more points than I did from region control. So, despite her closing the gap a little bit, I won, 70 - 58.
I have to say, 2 player Ethnos just is not as fun as a 4+ player game. The card draw feels too random for the game to feel like a clever duel, and as the control markers accumulate, one has to consider just going for large to mid-size bands for points. Still a fun game overall though, but I feel it is just not really meant for a 1-on-1.
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I really like that aspect. It seems like just the perfect amount of random and it adds a great layer to the decision of which objective cards to get rid of. I really appreciate that moment in a game where you’ve gotten rid of something because it seemed too risky, the pieces fall into place, and all you can do is think “my god, what have I done?!”
3 Likes
I know. I think it’s a nice puzzle to figure out a way to play with just what’s available. In the other version you basically have to know all the tiles to play an optimal game of Obsession. This is fine when doing a solo challenge or when you play with someone who hates any randomness at all.
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Did a tutorial game of Maximum Apocalypse with my friend Ed last night. Interesting if fairly light mechanics - individual survivor class decks, scavenge decks with fixed, limited contents, and a gradually escalating wave of spawning monsters as you explore. Also a ticking hunger clock. The inventory limits are brutal. Overall it was no challenge at all - we barely took damage and did not find ourselves especially needing a lot of our survivor cards, but then, it was the tutorial, which is explicitly supposed to be very easy. We still are looking forward to trying it again with some of the proper scenarios and eventually harder monster sets. (I have a complete set, arrived middle of last year, but hadn’t gotten a chance to try it until now because only recently was a TTS mod added to the workshop and I haven’t had it as a top priority for solo play.)
2 Likes
I’ve been trying to catch up on my SUSD podcast feed, as part of that effort, I was delighted to hear the guys talk about Fleet: The Dice Game. After hearing them talk about it, I decided I needed to take a closer look and try out the solo mode, as preparation for potentially introducing it to my partner.
I’ll say that I greatly enjoyed the game, but I feel the solo mode has a ceiling to how good it can be. There were several opportunities where I was, likely, grinning from ear-to-ear as my two page roll-and-write sheet were satisfyingly triggering combos… however, in the solo game, there is a very nasty and nearly depressing automated opponent that steals away your options.
So, I probably won’t try it again as a solo game, but I will get a couple of sets of sheets laminated up to play with my partner, assuming I can convince her to play a game about fishing boats and the dice that power them.
7 Likes
(this time in the correct thread!)
I played a co-op round of The Lost Expedition with a work friend today (my first time not playing solo) and, to my complete amazement, not only did all three of the explorers make it to the lost city, but they were still in pretty good condition, and we had a few resources left! This never happens – usually, if I manage to win a game, it’s a solitary bedraggled survivor dragging themselves across the line, and on their last legs. It felt genuinely strange to have such a successful outcome!
I had to explain to my friend that this wasn’t how the game usually went : )
They also got right into the story-telling aspect of the game, which was awesome, and were interested in playing again in future; so it was a decidedly fine outcome all in all.
6 Likes
Played a tutorial game of Aristeia! on TTS with a buddy who I usually play Infinity with (in the Beforetimes).
Two quick points:
- It continues to be a lovely game, albeit slightly too dicey, but bright and colourful and full of really interesting decisions.
- It is still a pain in the butt to teach, especially when there is a 3rd player who is very enthusiastic but isn’t a particularly good teacher.
The game includes a “How to Play” guide which is not a “How to Play” guide. What it is is a walkthrough of your first few turns with specifically scripted results… which makes it incredibly boring to walk through. And then the “rulebook” itself is organized alphabetically, so when one of your Aristos is “killed”, do I look up the rules for “killed”? No, that’s not what they call it in-game, they call it “fragged”… nope, not under that either. “Benched”? “Knocked out”? “Sent to the infirmary”? Oh, here it is, under “Face-to-Face rolls”. Obviously…
sigh
Anyway, it made enough of an impression on my friend that he thinks he’ll pick it up, which is great! I never got to play it (4 or 5 games at Adepticon 2019 being the one exception, and I came in third despite those being my first 4 or 5 games of Aristeia at the time!).
Aside: Speaking of bad rulebooks, has anyone played/read the rules for Lost Ruins of Arnak? I read them to do one of my livestreams (the game store I work at is doing twice weekly livestreams to try and keep engagement with our customers up), and there’s a rule I don’t understand that seems pretty critical:
- On your turn, you can either play cards from your hand for their stated movement values, or you can send one of your archeologists somewhere. But sending workers somewhere requires movement points, which requires you to play cards… it’s very chicken-and-egg to me. Am I just missing something?
2 Likes