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09 Oct 2015 15:37 #212245 by Shellhead

Gary Sax wrote:

Egg Shen wrote: Went over to Engineer Al's and Uba's and played games with them and Josh Look. Good times ensued.

First up was Camp Grizzly. I'm a horror fan and I've had my eye on this one for a while. I passed on the original kickstarter because I didn't think there was any chance it would end up being a good game. Well, I was wrong. It's a damn good game. I'll go even further and say that it's easily one of the best horror themed board games ever made. If this game came from a major publisher it would in the limelight. To be honest I'm glad it came from an indie company, because it gives the game this shoestring budget, we put our heart and soul into this kinda vibe. It's not flashy or overproduced. Good horror stuff is usually done independently and it just makes the game feel more legit. The gameplay itself is very simplistic, but it works great at recreating the 80s summer camp slasher film. If you like Friday the 13th, The Burning, Sleepaway Camp, Madman etc...then this game will probably strike a chord with you. It's a slasher film in a box. Otis, the bear mask wearing villain, feels dangerous, and can pop up almost anywhere. They nailed that aspect of the game. I found that the game forces you to have to make bad choices that feel thematic to the horror genre. People will split up, go to cabins alone etc... There is a deck of cards you draw from that provide plot twists and all sorts of events. You never know what is going to happen and I like that feeling of dread. Overall, the gameplay is very simple and doesn't try to do too much. It's random, but the end result is a very, VERY fun game. I'll be ordering a copy very soon.


Really interesting decision to go after the underlying mechanics of the horror film genre rather than the setting trappings---classic horror is defined more by the mood of surprise and dread, which would be easy to miss and just do a lazy create-and-kill-a-slasher arkham horror thing.


I own three different games based on slasher movies, and all three have taken an innovative approach to the design compared to most boardgames.

Camp Grizzly - The simplest of these slasher games, Camp Grizzly focuses on the basic elements of horror: violence, chase scenes, fear, and death. Then the components and some of the ideas bring in a dimension of campy fun. The game is co-op or solitaire, and the slasher is an npc with simple AI. I've only played CG once so far, but it is probably the best-designed of these three slasher games, with easy rules and a manageable playtime of 60-90 minutes. Unfortunately, the rulebook needs work. Certain concepts are not clearly explained in the rules, and the FAQ is almost as long as the original rules.

Slasher: the Final Cut - There is a very basic board, defining a house with five rooms and an area just outside the house. Each turn starts with a player laying down a scene card, and then each player has the chance to modify the scene with a plot twist. Scenes result in characters taking damage or gaining clues. When a player has enough clues, he becomes the slasher and tries to directly eliminate other players. The interesting part about this game is that players are operating on meta level, controlling a character but also sounding like scriptwriters in a brainstorming session. The game tends to run long (3+ hours for six players), but is great fun for at least the first 90 minutes, once players get the hang of the two types of cards.

Slasher Flick - This game is an rpg-lite treatment of the slasher genre. One character plays the Boogeyman, and the other players divvy up 13 victim characters. Each characters has a unique set of stats, including hit points, movement rate, weapon skill modifiers, and possibly even a strength or weakness. The rulebook is written on a meta level, using movie jargon for various sections of the rules, like Stuntwork (combat) and Props (weapons). The board depicts a compact rural estate, divided up into 13 "sets." Each hour of the night is handled in a game turn, and characters are often confined for the whole turn to the sets to which they are deployed. The game is fiddly with chrome rules and runs long (maybe 3-4 hours), but delivers great theme.
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09 Oct 2015 23:41 #212257 by hotseatgames
Two first-time games this evening.
A four player game of the age-old Agricola. While not as horrible as I expected it to be, it was dull and lifeless. It could have been about anything at all. It didn't even maintain its farming theme well. We all have our own farms, but only one of us gets to plow a turn? okay......

Next up was a 3 player game of Vault Wars. This game is by my buddy Jon Gilmour (Dead of Winter) and is basically an auction / bluffing game in which you try to get other players to pay money for trash while you get good stuff for cheap. I really liked it and hope I can get it to the table more in the future.
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10 Oct 2015 02:43 #212262 by Hex Sinister
Battlelore (Second Edition) is really good. Way better than Ancients which I don't regret selling at all. I'm a little surprised by this one because even though I had a feeling I would dig it it's even more fun than I thought it would be. Can't wait to expand my armies and I hope FFG continues to support this through one more faction, just for variety.
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11 Oct 2015 00:53 - 11 Oct 2015 00:58 #212280 by Cranberries

Hex Sinister wrote: Battlelore (Second Edition) is really good. Way better than Ancients which I don't regret selling at all.


Whoa, I braced myself for the wave of nay saying and criticism and then remembered where I was.

My son is teaching me Duel of Ages II one step at a time. We finished the melee scenario and it was reasonably fun. I'm looking forward to our next round, which will include ranged fire. Not looking forward to having to pay at least $140 for the Master set if we end up liking and playing this game.

Edit: there's one copy left for $130, with free shipping. This is the last of the inventory.
Last edit: 11 Oct 2015 00:58 by Cranberries.

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11 Oct 2015 02:33 #212282 by Hex Sinister
Buying the Master Set is painful but if you dig DoA it's worth it 110%. And then it's complete, finished, no fucking further purchases and none needed. I still haven't used half the characters and the item decks are enormous.
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11 Oct 2015 21:33 #212295 by stoic
This weekend my family and I played a three person game of Merchant of Venus (2nd ed.) with the "classic" rules. I traded for this game back in April, and, until this weekend, we just haven't had a large enough free time slot available to setup, learn, and play this game. Since we were newbies to the game, it sure took us a long time to setup all of the pieces. During game play, I really enjoyed how the alien cultures were discovered and how associated trade routes developed. I especially liked how the demand tokens flowed out of the bonus cup after goods were sold which made it seem worthwhile to travel to riskier and/or far away systems, outside of your bread-and-butter trade routes. As luck would have it, I was in last place economically most of the game, but, it was still fun playing catch up (when I play again, my plan is too purchase more factories). My son won our first game since he developed the most efficient trade routes and economic engines that quickly gave him the lead. We all liked the game, but, my wife hated the board's graphic design--she commented that she thought that it was just too busy--I didn't have a problem. We also had help sorting out the various alien cultures located at each system since the fellow who traded the game to me included some neat acrylic stands for the alien culture tokens.

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11 Oct 2015 22:01 #212297 by Gary Sax
Funny you mention it---I've got the start of a draft around here of one of those one mechanic reviews that's about the demand system used in MoV and how much it does with so little mechanically.
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11 Oct 2015 22:11 #212299 by scrumpyjack
The 'invisible hand' strikes again?!
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11 Oct 2015 22:22 #212300 by SuperflyPete
I played a party game called Bad Decisions which was a let down. It's like Cards Against Humanity without the comedy. They needed a writer BAD.

Also played a game I'd never heard of called of called Galaxy Command. Got it from MM to review, and as it turns out, we loved it. Production Quality is subpar and the graphic design of the player mats a little tragic (but amazingly functional) but the planet cards and other art is great. Really fun, short, cheap game that I'd call "filler +". My only bitch is that it's multiplayer solitaire to the core, and a little too random. Still love it.

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11 Oct 2015 23:40 #212303 by Cranberries
My almost-sixteen year-old son is slowly teaching me Duel of Ages II. We just played the ranged combat scenario. Highlights include Wild Bill Hickok sneaking around the base of a mesa to avoid getting shot by Boris Andropov, and Ace the football player who discovered a cache of molotov cocktails, then lobbing them at Annie Oakley to no good effect as she hunkered down in a building. Ace also found a horse and was roaming all over the field, while my opponent's players had a hard time discovering ranged weapons. The amazing Annie Oakley only had a rucksack and a mountain bike.

We both killed an opponent, then called it when my son had to get ready for school tomorrow. We're slowly figuring out the game, but not really the nuances yet. I'm thinking this would NOT be a great game to bring to a room of six players with a wide range of experience with boardgames, so I'm just going to set up a game with the two uber-nerds at some other time.
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12 Oct 2015 10:49 - 12 Oct 2015 10:50 #212317 by RobertB
If my coworkers let me pick, we'll play stuff like this: we had a 6-player game of Eclipse this past weekend. Since some were new, we played Humans-only. Finals scores were 44-30-29 (me)-25-23-15. I painted myself in a corner on the Exploration tiles, and it took too long to unfcuk myself from that. At least that's the reason I'm going with. With the new players, it was about 6 hours from start to finish, including rules explanation. I think the newbies liked it.
Last edit: 12 Oct 2015 10:50 by RobertB.
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14 Oct 2015 16:23 #212447 by Scott_F
First up last weekend was Evolution with 4. I liked the game alot. I was the only person to go carnivore and ended up winning by 2 points. I can see the trait cards getting a little old and some combos being clearly great but I really enjoyed how going carnivore forced the entire group to change their behavior and go defensive. It allowed my other non-carnivore species to focus on gobbling more food with better non-defensive traits. With other groups I could see multiple people going carnivore or nobody at all and having that change the game, and the game is long enough to react to the other players species. I liked the game time too at around an hour with four. I picked up Flight and the promo cards from an auction a week ago and am waiting on the new Kemet expansion to order the base game of Evolution with it and possibly Argent.

Next new game was Abyss with 4. I didn't like this one as much, kinda an auction set collection thing with some weird deep sea artwork. Played in about an hour and everyone mildly enjoyed it. The unique part of the Lords cards was nice along with the locations giving players incentives to collect certain colors. Largely without interaction though and myself and another new player came in first. I remember this being a big deal when it came out and I don't see why, it doesn't do anything unique or really require greater replays to develop strategy. But as inoffensive games with weird art I guess maybe that works for some.

Finally played the game I brought, Cthulhu Wars with 4. Another 2 hour ish game with 2 new players. I tried Black Goat again and this time destroyed everyone. Blue made some pretty bad first and second round moves and was dead last all game. Yellow was pretty close but also missed some things, same with Cthulhu. I like this game more and more but the problem is whenever I bring this out I will be the only person who knows all the unit exceptions and the spellbooks for each faction so I should have an advantage most games. And it will only get worse once the expansion factions are out combined with neutral Great Old Ones and monsters and more spellbooks. Unless the other players are willing to play it enough to kinda remember all the factions - which is unlikely to happen given that I have 2-4 different game groups I occasionally bring it to. I'll still pay too much money for the next KS round but realistically the game probably won't get the use I'd like out of it. At the least it is a 2 hour game and is easy to teach without a huge amount of direct conflict, depending on the faction you choose.

Speaking of games that I will always know more about than the other players, ran a favorite, Chaos in the Old World, with 5 last night. I love this game and have about half of the minis painted - they look pretty fucking awesome. Bad news though I should really give up the dream of my main gaming group understanding this. I've ran it 5 times now in maybe 9 months, so not that often, and every time all of the players need a complete walkthrough of the game rules and make numerous mistakes while playing. They all swear they like it after the game is over, but Khorne wins 75% of the time because they all make dumbass moves and at least 1-2 players seem visibly frustrated with all the shit to remember each round. Like we had an event card that declared in one specific region only one battle dice is rolled per faction. And an event card that said everywhere a Skaven token is placed you can only use one chaos card. And that the Skaven faction count for unit cost when determining ruination. And on and on. I get it, its got alot of rules and exceptions because it is assymetrical and has depth to it and the game system isn't inherently logical. But its so good I always want to try. And for me it almost always fails. Maybe thats where Blood Rage comes in and to a lesser extent Cthulhu Wars. Damn I need a new gaming group...

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14 Oct 2015 16:42 #212450 by Legomancer
This is my latest On the Table blog post:
====

On the Table: No Longer On the Table

Played a few things recently, most notably Theseus, which is always a good time, and Nexus Ops. Some other stuff we haven't played in a while, such as Evolution, Olympos, and, reaching way back, Taj Mahal also got some table time. But I'm not here to talk about those. I'm here to talk about these:

That's 51 games that are all going bye-bye. There's a mixture of stuff I just plain didn't like, stuff I like well enough, but it's not my first or second choice to play, and stuff I like, but which never seems to get on the table. Also a few things where there are newer editions I have, so I don't need the old one.

The list is here , but unless you're local to me and I don't have to mail it to you, don't ask about anything just yet. I'm first going local with it, then I'll figure out how I want to get the postal service involved.

Two of those games are Abyss and Pandemic: Contagion. We were at Barnes and Noble this weekend and they were having their red dot clearance sale. Usually these things are picked over by the time I get to them, since I don't go to B&N very often, but this time there were some good deals to be had, and I grabbed these two plus Survive! for good prices. At the time I thought, "This is a good deal for these, but am I making a mistake?" and the answer was 66% "yes".

Abyss is nothing special. A fairly average game that feels like it was originally designed to be something else and then turned halfheartedly into an underwater thing. Nothing to get excited about there. It's got a thing going on that's sort of like an auction except it's a little bit safer if auctions give you dangerous heart tremors. You get cards, use them to buy nobles, and use those to buy locations or whatever. You can also go fight sea creatures in a thing that seems completely tacked on. It went into this pile after a single play.

I remember thinking Pandemic: Contagion was okay when I played it at GenCon a couple years ago, but the two plays we had of it this weekend were not great. In the first I screwed up a couple rules, so we weren't playing right. In the second we got the rules right and the game suffered for it. Basically it's possible to extend yourself to the point where, in the final two rounds, you can't really do anything. I guess we know that now but at the time we were all, "uhh, this is not too fun." I checked the FAQ to see if it said anything about this and the advice it gave was "don't do that". Into the trade pile.

When I sent this list to a local guy I've only recently started playing games with, he asked me what should be a simple question: "How many games do you have?" It took a while for me to answer. See, if you ask BoardGameGeek, it says 298. But it counts things like expansions, including promos that consist of a single card. So that's nuts. Filter out expansions and you get 227. Even that, though, is a tricky number. Some stand-alone expansions are still included, as well as things like Spades and Cribbage, which are standard deck card games I added because we occasionally play them. But technically I "own" every such game. It also includes things like Trivial Pursuit which, yeah, I own, but it's not on my game shelf. It's down in the basement or something and will probably never get touched again. Maybe I should de-list it. Eliminating most of these edge cases reduces the count down to 211. That 211 also includes the 51 games above I'm looking to escort of the premises. So that would get me to 160 afterwards,

160 games is a lot of games. And many of those have survived several such purges. So the reason that things like Abyss or Artifacts, Inc aren't sticking around is, they have a lot of competition. And the way I've been feeling lately, I'd rather dive deeper into that stack of 160 games than try out yet another worker-placement-only-this-time-with-fancy-hats game that, at best, is "good enough". I'm okay with, from here out, being really picky about what else goes on my shelves.
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14 Oct 2015 18:19 - 14 Oct 2015 18:20 #212456 by Frohike
The fuck is Wiz-War doing in there?

Edit: all of the other discernible stuff... yup.
Last edit: 14 Oct 2015 18:20 by Frohike. Reason: because reasons
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14 Oct 2015 20:41 #212460 by Cranberries
We were at Barnes and Noble this weekend and they were having their red dot clearance sale.

Be back in a minute. We have one a few blocks away.
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