Sounds like we are on the same page.
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I see this conversation come up every now and than, and itās always the same points/counter points.
I think some games get referred to as āsolo but played with peopleā because itās mostly open info and can easily be alpha gamed. That said, I think thatās a group or player issue, not an issue of the game.
Donāt get me wrong, Iāve found myself attempting to direct the play, but Iāve also worked on trying to make it more conversational and seeing what other ideas might be at the table, or even what some wants to do on their turn. This is obviously easier with some games than others, but again, I think thatās on the players not the game.
Iām also always get the impression that this is more of an issue with very competitive gamers. Though that is also just based on conversations Iāve had, so not a lot of evidence. Just my impression.
Edit: I also want to be clear I donāt mean that as a criticism. Game in the way that you enjoy.
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I donāt think framing it as a āgroup or player issueā is helpful. There are coop games I might enjoy, and those are the ones that are significantly different from their solo mode, or impossible to play solo. Thatās regardless of who I might play with, so itās only an issue if all gaming preferences are issues, which sounds a bit odd.
I deliberately avoided the āalpha gamerā question, because that really wasnāt the point. Solo gaming and alpha gaming are related, but not equivalent. Even non-cooperative games can be alpha gamed, e.g, āOh, you donāt want to do that. You want to blah-blah-blah. Here, let me show youā¦ā just as some also have solo rules.
The point is only that some co-op games are designed in such a way as to be impossible solo (without special solo rules). One key way to this is to have hidden information that cannot be shared. Another is that the gameplay simply doesnāt make sense solo. The Mind and Codenames: Duet come to mind.
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I wasnāt referring your post specifically, more the general arguments that come up every time I see this same conversation.
I just donāt believe that because a game can be played solo, it canāt also work as a co-op. It can be true (my concerns with Frostpunk), but I donāt think itās always the case.
Sorry, I was generalizing. My point was more that I believe alpha gaming in something like Pandemic (or any coop with open info) is a player/group issue, not an issue of the game.
I donāt personally consider most coops, even with open info, to be just solo games played with people. Now, maybe thatās impacted by the fact that I have zero interest in solo gaming, but enjoy coops? I canāt say for sure but itās possible.
Again, Iām generalizing and wasnāt trying to insult anyone. More that I donāt see the concerns I have with games like Frostpunk to be common to the genre.
And I disagree with that framing, but itās not really something worth arguing about.
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Hooray!
As a keen soloer, I can take all these points, but sometimes people are just annoying.
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Imagine kickstarting a social deduction game or 12 months ago. :-/
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Looks to me mostly like a second chance to get the base game for people who didnāt jump in first time, but of course thereās new stuff here too.
Iāve only played the base game once so far but I like it a lot. Happy to answer questions about it. Not connected with the publisher.
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I hear alarm bells whenever thereās a āpledge in the first X hours to receive Yā gimmick on a project.
Iāve seen absolutely 0 talk about this, though it was originally released in 2018?
How are the acrylic pieces? Sometimes I like the feel of acrylicā¦ other times it seems cheap; I donāt know if thatās due to different types of acrylic or different moods of pillbox.
Itās becoming quite standard now, because metrics.
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The Kickstarter was in 2018. My copy arrived at the end of this August. That was manufacturing problems - as I understand it the multilayer cards looked fine in the photos but curled horribly during shipping. (Among all the usual KS woes obviously.)
Dan Thurot did a review.
Solid-feeling. Easy to grasp rather than slippery.
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Oh wow. I can back the game without the plastic. Iām totally okay with this!
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Iām not planning to pledge for this one, but I have been keeping an eye out for Captains of the Gulf after hearing Matt and Quinns discuss it on a podcast. Based on their coverage, it seemed a pretty flimsy design, but it still strikes me that they found it interesting enough to talk about.
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I heard SWVAG talking about Warfighter system, and they expanded to a fantasy theme for those who donāt like historical wars as theme. I didnāt notice this until now. 
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Those prices though ><
I thought I might bite, or at least nibble. Oh well, Iām sure itās worth the money if itās a system and setting you really enjoy.
Nah. Didnāt back. Despite COVID, Iām not too eager for solo games. The modern day theme appeals to me more, actually.
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I really like the look of
especially the different AI opponents, but it has a couple of warning flags:
- first created, zero backed
- no rulebook
If theyāve got a rulebook by the time the campaign closes I may jump in anyway.
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Townsfolk Tussle is finally up and running.
Looks great, but I do feel they have taken a bit too much āinspirationā from Cuphead. Fair enough having the influence, but to use the exact same colour palette and such similar character designs (with some almost look like tracings) is far too cheeky.
A lot cheaper than I expected though!
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