Hey There Little Red Riding Hood: A 20 Strong: Tanglewoods Core Set Board Game Review

The Twenty Strong system of solo games has released another...

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I am not a solo gamer, so any input I provide here is of questionable value, but my impression is that while there are difficulty level adjustments, they don't seem to have much effect? I agree with your overall conclusion which is that if you're trying to get people into the system, presenting them with a "Replayability means constant failure until your single win and then you don't feel like playing anymore" is not the best premise upon which to base a game.

The caveat here is that, as you note, there have been prior releases so perhaps this one wasn't aimed at the new Twenty Strong player? Unmatched does a similar thing in that they include the base manual in all their sets and then a smaller manual aimed at the characters and boards that are included with each particular set (if needed.) But the rules variations for new sets aren't huge, so you don't have to do the constant flipping between books that you had.

But, again, not my thing. I tried a game with an IP to which I am much more attached (Arkham Horror Card Game) and a similar steep climb in difficulty if you don't start out at the "0 challenge" mode and was simply not interested in delving into it any further.

Jackwraith wrote: The caveat here is that, as you note, there have been prior releases so perhaps this one wasn't aimed at the new Twenty Strong player? Unmatched does a similar thing in that they include the base manual in all their sets and then a smaller manual aimed at the characters and boards that are included with each particular set (if needed.) But the rules variations for new sets aren't huge, so you don't have to do the constant flipping between books that you had.

Well, this tanglewoods core set includes the 20 strong system AND Tanglewoods Red. So, they are using it as an intro (on some level) to the 20 Strong system. You can purchase Tanglewoods Red on its own. I just don't think it's the strongest Tanglewoods deck to intro with. I've played Tanglewoods Gold and I would choose it over Red to get into the system.