A have a long-term question which I’ve just been reminded of by seeing Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread getting a lot of attention in the Pearple’s Choice awards:
Which of the VERY EXPENSIVE games do you think are worth it?
Back in 2020 A feast for Odin could cost £100, now it’s down to £60-70. In fact, there are many games around £70.
Some though remain silly, Gloomhaven is £140, Elder Scrolls 2nd era is… infinite money, and Arydia is frequently around £250.
Back in the day, A feast for Odin was considered the best and worth getting, high up on BGG. With crowdfunding and tariffs pushing prices higher now than back then, are there any titles that you feel are worth £100 / $140?
No, maybe?, and no (in regards to Oathsworn, Kinfire, and Return to Dark Tower).
I haven’t played Kinfire. I have played the other two. Oathsworn is fine, it’s aggressively fine. The writing has problems (not least of which is a few scenarios that say something akin to “You can pick ANY of the following choices! Any of them! But if you pick option 1 you are punished and forced to pick again, if you pick option 2 you are punished and forced to pick again, option 3 you are punished and forced to pick again, and option 4 sucks, but at least you don’t have to pick again!”). And Return is a gimmick. The game is fine, it’s a perfectly acceptable Pandemic clone, but you are paying an AWFUL lot for a stock-standard Pandemic clone. Whether that’s worth it to you or not… well, I don’t think so.
There are expensive games that are “worth” it. Twilight Imperium is still $100+CAD, and it’s exceptional. Sekigahara is expensive and great. Even some of the miniatures-heavy games are worth the expense, no question (Inis, Cyclades, Kemet… I really like Aristeia, and it’s getting a new edition, but it’s not SUPER expensive I don’t think).
The problem is that a lot (if not most) really expensive games are Kickstarter games, and those tend to be of questionable value because they’re made by people who are very good at making sculpts and making digital renders of their sculpts to drum up interest, and not necessarily by people who design good games. There are exceptions, obviously (my new version of Inis was KS), but they are exceptions, IMO. Most KS games are disappointing very quickly, and there are companies that do nothing else but produce disappointing KS games (Awakened Realms, I’m looking at you…).
“Fully expanded games” are a thing too, even if one can buy them piecemeal.
Xia: Legends of a Drift System plus the Embers of a Forsaken Star expansion, which I consider essential to play since it fixes some easy-win bugs from the base game, is about £115 in the UK right now. I would personally want to add an insert (£40 Folded Space, or 3d-print) to make setup quicker. (But every copy comes with painted minis and metal coins.)
Imperium Classics + Legends + Horizons is about £96. You can get it on the installment plan by buying Classics first (best selection of low-complexity civs), though I’d suggest using the Horizons rulebook to learn from.
PitchCar - yes! I have the base + Expansion 1 + Expansion 2 + The Cross. Expensive but yeah
Cthulhu Wars - out of stock in the UK but I’d guess it’ll be roughly around £100 just for the base. And then you will fork out some more for the faction expansions (because they are awesome) and the High Priest expansion which allows more tactics using the High Priest unit. Mine might have cost me £600-800 if I can remember correctly?
Glory to Rome - I will still buy the cartoony version as I don’t mind the art from that. But I got the Black Box edition…
Inis Legendary Edition - only if you’re that hot and bothered about Inis like I do. Otherwise, just get the base. Or buy the Seasons expansion to have a 5th player and just add Islands expansions, if you want a slim ruleset.
Guards of Atlantis + all of the hero packs - the best team game I’ve played. But take caution as it is rather deep that it’s gonna be a lifestyle game. The SUSD review mentioned that part.
Food Chain Magnate + Ketchup expansion + BoardGameGeek’s QoL upgrades - easily would cost around £200
Cosmic Encounter - bought the whole shebang, except for Cosmic Odyssey. Still the undisputed trashiest game ever.
There’s a guy locally selling “everything Cthulu Wars” for 50,000 yen (~£250), down from 100,000 yen (~£500), with another guy saying that is (both prices are) insanely cheap but he already has everything. But no-one has bought it for almost a year.
If I had a spare room for it, I might have considered it…
I really want a copy of Chaos in the Old World, but given that’s £360 for the only one on sale I can see in the UK right now, I was looking at Cthulhu Wars too. CW would be easier to get the table anyway.
As with almost every question, the answer is ‘it depends.’
If a bunch of you are going to play a game dozens of times and have hundreds of hours of fun, then £150 or more is good value. If you’re going to solo it once and find it rather dull, that would be a ghastly waste of money.
I don’t think many people play many games dozens of times, so logically few if any games are ‘worth’ large amounts.
I’m just hoping the new Snowdonia with the Grand Tour will be worth about £90 to me…
Geekgroup.app let’s me filter for games with an estimated worth of >100$ (online sales are the base for this apparently). This does not include games that are expensive because of the many expansions I might own.
Expensive Base Games. Mostly not recommended
The ones marked in bold are those that might be worth the money. But even with those I am not sure.
Frosthaven: actually for Frosty and Gloomy I would these days probably recommend getting the app. I have had trouble getting either to the table. Yes the experience is different because tables are tables and digital is … more solitaire. But the games themselves are great and provide good value.
Blood on the Clocktower: I loved our forum games, love the idea. My copy remains unplayed. Do not recommend buying this.
Oranienburger Kanal: great game. But if this is so expensive (there is a new version), get Nusfjord instead.
Wonderland’s War: I like the idea so much and yet it has not truly been played enough to warrant the money. Get Quacks instead. Cheaper and easier to bring to the table.
Xia: Legends of a Drift System: I have all 3 of the big space exploration things. If this is your thing… see if Firefly or Outer Rim are more your jam. If I had to reduce to one of these, it would probably not by Xia. Outer Rim and Firefly are still fighting about it.
Ankh: Gods of Egypt: I only have the base game. Nice idea, I should have got Blood Rage instead. Wouldn’t recommend spending the money on this one.
Dwellings of Eldervale: I think the new space version might be worth it. But I haven’t tried. My first big KS disappointment. Do not recommend.
Earthborne Rangers: Oh well. In theory I like it. In practice this game feels so stressful. Different from Arkham TCG stress but still stressful. If you are really good at deck construction and love that enough… I am sure there are better ways to spend your money.
Voidfall: overly complex euro. I have the super-expensive version with the minis and the stupid insert. The insert is the reason I bought it. I have since fallen out of love with the concept of the plastic inserts, they SUCK. If you feel you need a 4x game converted into a resource management euro get the standard no frills edition. Not recommended
Hoplomachus: Victorum: I don’t like chip theory games. Too expensive due to costly production. I still have hopes I might houserule this one at some point. Not recommended.
Marvel Dice Throne: Bought because my partner likes dice. Seen the table once or twice. I even got the Deadpool pack as well. If you like Yatzee … a lot. Not recommended.
Unsettled: this one is one I haven’t had time for properly because last year was last year. Still on the fence. My plays were good.
Assault on Doomrock: Ultimate Edition. SVWAG talked me into this. It’s not for me. It’s probably a good amount of content for the money. But still: Not recommended.
Castles of Mad King Ludwig: Collector’s Edition. I really like tile laying. But it turns out the everything edition is just too much for someone who previously only played on the app. For such a simple game (at heart) the big edition is just too expensive. Not recommended.
Cyclades: Legendary Edition. Too new on my shelf of shame to judge.
Firefly: The Game – 10th Anniversary Collector’s Edition. We recently got this to the table at last and it did what I wanted it to. But this could be hard to acquire. Outer Rim is the one I would recommend above the other 2.
Unconscious Mind: another KS disappointment. Very beautiful art though. I got the super-big edition with everything, hence the price. Not recommended.
Zombicide: 2nd Edition: I have tons of Zombicide content and once upon a time it was on my table every other day. I had no idea this edition was so expensive. But I guess minis games always are. I only got the basic box because I already have the 1st Edition Boxes (all of them). Unsure about recommendation because it’s a fun silly zombie game. There are probably others out there that do something similar cheaper.
Formerly owned: Superbig Everdell Everything Box. Proved too much to me. Sold it to friends who love it and I now own Farshore which is a better fit for my table.
Games I spend a lot of money on with expansions that are worth it (if the games in question are your thing)
Spirit Island (surprised anyone?). I have everything. I wish the big wooden box from the Jagged Earth Kickstarter was … better? But still… best game ever. But it is already very good with just base game and first expansion. So as Roger said: buy in installments.
Imperium X: I own all three and a playmat and a big wooden insert. It does not see my table often. But it’s probably the best Civilization boardgame I own/have played.
Terraforming Mars: I have spent a lot of money on this game for all the expansions, playmats… the only thing I don’t have is a big box or a commercial insert. But this can be bought in installments as well. Basegame and Prelude is really enough for most plays.
RoboRally 30th Anniversary Edition and all the expansions: because Robo Rally is Robo Rally. But unless you have a sufficient amount of nostalgia for it, it may not be worth getting this particular edition. Though I read the new base game lacks something, I just don’t know what.
Lost Ruins of Arnak: I have all the expansions and the new big box. The insert in the big box sucks (personal opinion, I think this mess of plastic is what finally drove me over the edge. Voidfall was the first super sucky plastic insert and this one finished the task). Arnak is still great. I do not recommend the latest additions though from the big box unless you have really played Arnak to death. (I still prefer Dune: Imperium, but for reasons to do with people I play with, Arnak has been played more)
Obsession. Since I have all the expansions, it probably turned into quite the expensive box. Very lovely. I do not play often but this one is just so nice and thematic. Prefer it solo though. There are (even official) ways to take some of the teeth out of competitive play.
I probably have a few more games that I spend a lot of money on. But as can be seen above the really expensive base games are rarely worth it in my opinion. The ones I really recommend have become expensive due to expansions.
I agree. Having played the game so much, I would not want to miss out on the variety of the events and the tokens, especially the 3 provided in the first expansion (I never remember the name). They add some very good elements and I really like the two spirits that come with it. Everything else: completely optional. First expansion adds a bit of depth and variety that I think most people who enjoyed plays of the base game would appreciate. (see details here)
I bought and sold Chaos at around 80-100 quid - I honestly forgot. Chaos is a bit inflexible - only at 4 - if you’re playing games at a bg club, that can be awkward.
The order of getting CW expansions:
First, High Priest and 1 faction expansion so you can play it at 5
Then, if you want more factions - these are the ones that aren’t complicated:
Opener of the Way
Sleeper
Windwalker
If you think CW is still awesome after playing it more with these, and you have a lot of people wanting to play it, get the 6-8 player Earth map and it feels epic.
You still want more? You have multiple options: you can have the same gang that you already have and get some Independent Great Old Ones which you can recruit during the game OR change the scenery a bit and grab more maps.
OR more complicated factions - and these are:
Tcho-Tcho
The Ancients
Bubastis
Daemon Sultan
The Invasion (you have to grab a copy of Planet Apocalypse though)
Then you reach the bottom here. Independent monsters?? hahahaha. Sure, if you do ever reach this bit with Cthulhu Wars. I’ve been trying to convince Wyvern to add in Indie Great Old Ones for a while now after we’ve been playing the latter factions and new maps. That’s where we are.