Full Metal Planete

So, while I'm waiting for the last of my trio of dinosaur based games to arrive and perhaps write up a blog about I thought I'd ask a few questions about another expensive game that has arrived that I'm eager to play.

Full Metal Planete

Now I'm pretty sure that back in the day there were full page ads in Dragon Magazine about this game and I was oooing and ahhhhing all over the place wishing that I could get this. The concept did sound very cool and the pieces looked boss. I think I recall the price tag was out of this world (as it is today) but I have a bit more disposable income and picked a complete copy of it up.

I was curious as to where people might place this game. Is it euro or AT? It has plenty of unit combat, dripping theme, and interaction; but is diceless, uses action points for everything, and ends in a semi-set number of rounds.

I'm hoping it is good, the 3 minute per player time limit seems to be very cool to kill off AP problems and add tension, the random sways of tides appear to be a great idea, and the ability to 'forecast' the tide is a boss concept.

I'm busy scanning components for preservation and converting the stock rules from French to English while I read the other user guides online.

Who's played this? What are your thoughts?

I'll follow this thread too--the only thing I know about FULL METAL PLANETE is that it's crazy expensive in the secondary market. That's it. What's all the buzz for? Is it worth it? Curious minds want to ...live vicariously, I guess.

I'd rate it as...perfectly fucking French. (This is a nod to Christopher Moore's Fool. Just read it.)

French games are often much more AT than Euro. Just look at the early Eurogames line and the current Asmodee stuff.

Full Metal Planete is perhaps a bit more chess-like than you want. That combat system is brutal...and 3 minutes feels like the blink of an eye while you are actually making your moves.

The two create a game that is practically nerve-wracking. Screw up and you can lose a couple of crucial units. After the first couple of turns, anyone can take out any single unit of yours, and there is very little you can do about it except to maintain a credible potential for response (which could take out two of their units.)

The game it most remind me of is actually an abstract called Conquest (Donald Benge). Conquest loses the SF and the ore, but adds an instant 2-move counterattack rule that makes for a freakishly hard abstract. And one that works better than the oft-maligned Feudal.

The Ludodelire line produced some amazing games. Many of them got rereleases in some form, save for Terrain Vague (which I have still yet to play. Must fix that very, very soon.) and a rather good Soccer management game called Footmania.

Oops. Left out a bit. For a taste of the game, poke around and find the PC/Amiga computer game. Good AI, and basically the same game.

jeb wrote:

I'll follow this thread too--the only thing I know about FULL METAL PLANETE is that it's crazy expensive in the secondary market. That's it. What's all the buzz for? Is it worth it? Curious minds want to ...live vicariously, I guess.

No problem Jeb. It may be a bit before I play this but I'll be sure to update here with my thoughts/rants/babbling.

There is a print and play version available along with serveral computer versions for different platforms. I can direct you to them if you are interested.

With inflation, I don't think I paid any more than the game was originally. But I don't have an ad in front of me with the original MSRP price either.

There is an official expansion that only contains a few modular board pieces (to replace/enhance the traditional static board. I see prices for this expansion going for as much as or more than the original game. I think that is just nutty absurd. That's also a reason I am scanning my components, so that I can make a PnP modular expansion.

One interesting fact about this game is that it came with a pile of real rubble. Mine was shipped from overseas and the sender did not properly pack the game. When I openned it up it looked like someone dug into a gravel pile and tossed a shovel full of crap throughout the entire game. Rocks and dust were everywhere.

It cleaned up ok though and after I had collected all the rubble I packed it away and replaced it with 100 plastic black gem counters - much like the ones in this ebay auction ( 370136508588 ). I was already using these as props in my game prototyping so they were easy to replace and are both cleaner and lighter than rocks. I think it fits the 'ore' better anyway and I can always choose to dump the original contents back in.

I'm also intending to artscow some custom tide cards (in English) and some other user created card expansions. I think the expansions work hand in hand with the action system so they might play well.

moofrank wrote:

Full Metal Planete is perhaps a bit more chess-like than you want. That combat system is brutal...and 3 minutes feels like the blink of an eye while you are actually making your moves.

The game it most remind me of is actually an abstract called Conquest (Donald Benge). Conquest loses the SF and the ore, but adds an instant 2-move counterattack rule that makes for a freakishly hard abstract. And one that works better than the oft-maligned Feudal.

The Ludodelire line produced some amazing games. Many of them got rereleases in some form, save for Terrain Vague (which I have still yet to play. Must fix that very, very soon.) and a rather good Soccer management game called Footmania.

I like Chess and Go quite a bit. Other abstracts too. I don't mind abstracts because they aren't pretending to be anything but the game they are, no pasted on themes. They are often highly interactive.

I've wanted to play Conquest for a long time as well but haven't had the opportunity.

Frank, do you know what caused Ludodelire's demise?

moofrank wrote:

The game it most remind me of is actually an abstract called Conquest (Donald Benge). Conquest loses the SF and the ore, but adds an instant 2-move counterattack rule that makes for a freakishly hard abstract. And one that works better than the oft-maligned Feudal.

Frank, I'm a huge fan of Feudal (haven't heard it maligined or praised, either way though). Is Conquest a better game all around?

A lot of folks feel that Feudal is essentially broken. The only case I know of is there are a couple of unassailable castle defenses.

I do think Conquest is more interesting. The fact that there is an overall limit on your moves keeps the amount of overall motion in check. The 2 move counterattack means you can have small formations that can stay with internal support. The end result makes a game that feels more like a wargame with little formations moving around--and having to worry about battle tactics. It ends up being a lot of very small, very hard puzzles.

And it has the logistics thing where you can pile stuff on a boat.

As to Ludodelire. Their games cost a fortune to make. They were barely scraping profit on each game, and they were expensive, and didn't quite sell enough to survive. I suspect the idea was to make a small run at 0 profit in order to get the game seeded, then make and sell a lot more once it became wildly popular.

That said, if you don't have a copy of the Eurogames Valley of the Mammoths, GET ONE! It is one of the great AT games, done before Bruno shifted to smaller bluffing games. The end conditions are wacky---we tend to put a time/year limit on play and declare a winner by general agreement. The actual game can run on for hours and hours and hours sometimes.

moofrank wrote:
"The game it most remind me of is actually an abstract called Conquest (Donald Benge). Conquest loses the SF and the ore, but adds an instant 2-move counterattack rule that makes for a freakishly hard abstract. And one that works better than the oft-maligned Feudal."
My saviour! I've been tempted by FMP off and on, now you've given me a reason for it to be permanently off. Conquest is definitely one of my all time favourites.

Space Ghost wrote:
"Frank, I'm a huge fan of Feudal (haven't heard it maligined or praised, either way though). Is Conquest a better game all around?"
Absofragginglutely!

Notahandle wrote:

moofrank wrote:
"The game it most remind me of is actually an abstract called Conquest (Donald Benge). Conquest loses the SF and the ore, but adds an instant 2-move counterattack rule that makes for a freakishly hard abstract. And one that works better than the oft-maligned Feudal."
My saviour! I've been tempted by FMP off and on, now you've given me a reason for it to be permanently off. Conquest is definitely one of my all time favourites.

Space Ghost wrote:
"Frank, I'm a huge fan of Feudal (haven't heard it maligined or praised, either way though). Is Conquest a better game all around?"
Absofragginglutely!

Did I miss the part where Frank said anything close to ... FMP isn't a good game?

Reading the rules and synopsises it seems to have a lot going for it (other than the outlandish price).

Of the various Conquest versions out there, which one is the best? I see a 2 player, a 4 player, and a "Grand" Conquest version.

FMP is good. In some ways more interesting than Conquest (ore collection, tides, and the nerve-wracking part about your only defense being threat and hope.)

Conquest has the extreme puzzle aspect and counter attack thing.

I've only ever played 2 player Conquest. At a guess, I'd say that FMP is a better multiplayer game. Conquest's success (for me) relies so much on trying to figure out how to "crack" a formation. Two or three players working together could rip a formation to shreds without much thought.

Plus the Ore objective in FMP is going to work better than the Take the Base model in Conquest (and Feudal).

Mr MOTO wrote:
" Did I miss the part where Frank said anything close to ... FMP isn't a good game? "
No, of course not. I'm just armouring myself against being tempted into paying an outlandish price!
" Of the various Conquest versions out there, which one is the best? I see a 2 player, a 4 player, and a "Grand" Conquest version."
I have all of them but I've also only played two player. The four player would work as a two player but definitely not as a three player. It adds a city on a central island and capturing spaces reduces all the other player movement. Grand Conquest adds some new pieces an an alternative road network for one of them. If you get Grand Conquest you could play the other two by ignoring some rules, though the map would be different. (I hope my memory is accurate.)

Ebay auction: captcomic also has a second copy available.

That said, if you don't have a copy of the Eurogames Valley of the Mammoths, GET ONE! It is one of the great AT games

Absolutely, and it's a great DOAM game to boot.