nicoga3000
Saint Nic
How does Galaxy Defenders play solo? It looks pretty interesting...
New Board Gaming |OT2| On Tables, Off Topic
- Thread starter Karkador
- Start date
How does Galaxy Defenders play solo? It looks pretty interesting...
BattleMonkey
Member
The game concept and visuals are amazing, but the gameplay itself looks so mind numbing. The amount of steps required to do any simple thing is so over the top. When making basic hand to hand attack is more complex than the full turn order of most board games, you got a problem. I'm big into wargames and know complex, KD just seemed ridiculous.
NuffDREW4two
Member
There's an upcoming Kickstarter for ...and then we held hands. It's an abstract about two people repairing a relationship and staying together. Haven't played it myself, but the theme and the fact that it's designed for two is appealing. The link has Rahdo's videos.
nicoga3000
Saint Nic
How so? The impression I get from the YouTube videos is that the complexity simply comes from managing injuries and such. The combat seems pretty simple. I mean that without trying to sound confrontational, mostly because I only know what I know from YouTube and not demos or other updates/info.
If it turns out to be a chore to play, I imagine I'll be able to get my money back without much hassle (since I bought it for $275 and retail will be $400 with no intention of selling anywhere but the KD webstore).
BattleMonkey
Member
The 7 min long video or so released during the kickstarter where they just go over basic combat, and it's just one really long video to explain simple things like making an attack and dealing damage, and the whole video only covers a very tiny part of the game turn. When in any other game the whole attack sequence could be described in 1 or 2 min. A really complex game like Infinity with one of best miniature game rules out their for wargames can explain the attack sequence in a couple mins. The amount of steps involved in KD for what should be simple core aspect of the game seemed highly ridiculous and something that would get tedious with how many times you know it has to be repeated, and it's only ONE aspect of the game.
Like so many Kickstarters, it's a game that sold merely on the miniatures, it had met its funding by a huge margin before they even revealed anything about the game's actual rules.
The game scales dependant on player count. If your fine playing multiple roles I would go for that option.
Played solitaire today with 2 characters. The marine and hulk character. Completed the mission with my marine bleeding out.
I've read that taking 3 characters is the sweet spot, not too hard not too difficult. There are four optional rules to add to difficulty.
1 Friendly fire, your units can take damage from area damage attacks, grenades, satellite attacks etc.
2 Units facing ( line of sight ) front 3 hexes provide vision you could be blind sided if attacked from rear.
3 engaged, if your units are adjacent to enemy you can't attack other aliens (adds more realism to encounters).
4 High impact. Basically the way attacks are resolved means you roll amount of defense die relative to hits. If you create 7 hits you would roll 7 defense die. High impact means a maximum of 5 defense die, so 7 hits would automatically guarantee 2 hits before resolving. This works both ways for soldiers and aliens. Interesting thing is that I believe this was a fan based variant that the developer approved of and is in the rule book.
I'm going on a bit but back to your question of solitaire play I've played many solo games and have my own ways of dealing with ambiguities. You may come across a situation that the alien AI has 2 equal valid moves, be it distances to different areas being equal and prerequisite's being equal too. I always have a regular die sort out any 50/50 decisions for me. I mention this as some have seen it as a negative, I don't. An example may be an alien retreats two areas and fires. He may have two equally viable options. I let fate decide with a die. Cuts down on more fiddly rules and cumbersome mechanics. This game is fairly rules light for what it achieves.
Another solitaire point is how the AI react.
Aliens may activate based on
1 Type
2 All Wounded Aliens
3 Colour
4 Target most wounded Soldier
5 Target alpha agent (First player chosen that round)
And more that I can't think of. Basically you won't know when and where they will strike. Sometimes you may get a breather and now aliens activate.
Blips are on the map too. Basically radar signals. If at any point they cross line of sight they get revealed ( even if using units facing rule and your back is turned) these may be Humans (phew) or most likely enemy. End of round event cards may cause blips to show up and move them around the map so hiding behind a rock isn't a viable strategy lol.
There's plenty more but as a solitaire game it's fine. There's even an app to keep track of soldiers experience and equipment.
Talking about equipment the biotech class can get a turret to deploy and a fully fledged GD209 (Robo cop reference) mech to stomp around the field. Miniatures, not tokens.
Guns can and will jam on you in the beginning. When you become more proficient in weapons this will ease. Even more so when you get to use Alien weapons. (These may not work at all until you've levelled up in Alien weapons experience) but they don't use valuable ammo just plasma beams.
I'm gushing a bit and it's still got that new shine on it for me but I read the rule book long before finally pulling the trigger on this. My son was the first to want this game. It doesn't do anything radically different. It's just shamelessly taking the best bits from other games and jammed it into one great package.
Cyclades just dropped under $50 on Amazon for me, sold by Amazon themselves with free shipping. I've been watching the price for a while -- is this a good buy or does it occasionally go on sale for much cheaper?
I also want both expansions, but I don't mind waiting on either the game or the expansions if there's a good chance of a bigger discount.
I also want both expansions, but I don't mind waiting on either the game or the expansions if there's a good chance of a bigger discount.
Ecto311
Member
This add on for chrome shows this graph for the game:
It's called Keepa box and it helps track what if any type of sale is going on. Especially for gold box bullshit.
Here are some more of the mice and mystics figures I am painting currently. Man the nulin oil works well. I get the same exact effect just watering down black paint though. Tried mixing red/white and a small amount of brown to paint over the pink tails. Looks good enough to me.
These don't have any of the oil applied.
Here are some pics after the oil was applied.
Thinking about doing a clear matte coat over them but not sure how all those different layers will turn out. Tons of opinions online for one way or the other so I will just play around with the bugs.
nicoga3000
Saint Nic
Those look good. I would definitely put a clear matte over after everything dries/cures fully. It will give a much less "wet" finish and also tends to bring the model together more.
antiquegamer
Member
I would do the clear coat because constant touching of the figures.
nicoga3000
Saint Nic
You should check this article out.
https://miniaturewargaming.wordpress.com/2015/08/17/imaginary-battles-with-toy-soldiers-yay/
Ecto311
Member
I will but I might get some different clear coat since the matte I have makes them really glossy looking compared to just paint
Reading that makes it sound like he just bangs them out quickly with that process. My way of painting it takes forever and they look the same or his better details. Really like the green eyes.
so I managed to play Robinson Crusoe today and despite some rough times learning the game (taught from rules) I think we played mostly correctly and ended up just barely losing (had the cards shuffled slightly different we would have won on the turn we were on)
still struggling to learn mage knight, I really wish I had someone to teach me that one as it's just so many little things... I feel it's a lot like arkham horror in that when you actually learn the game it's pretty easy to play, but until you learn it it's hard to learn.
still struggling to learn mage knight, I really wish I had someone to teach me that one as it's just so many little things... I feel it's a lot like arkham horror in that when you actually learn the game it's pretty easy to play, but until you learn it it's hard to learn.
Kitbash
Member
Getting a matte finish can be tricky because there are a number of ways it can go wrong. First, make sure you shake the can really, really well. A good couple of minutes (or whatever it says in the instructions), not just 10-15 seconds. If the matting agent isn't dispersed properly, you're basically spraying regular varnish on your minis.
Also, don't make the matte finish too thick. Something about light scattering within the thick coating -- you end up with a glossy effect all over again.
antiquegamer
Member
I learn both games watching Ricky Royal from Box of Delights on YouTubes. He does an excellent job of walking you through the games. There are also great player aids for both of the games on BGG. I find them to be very helpful while learning and getting back into the game after not playing them for a little while.
And yes both games are like Arkham, once you learn the steps and housekeeping, game is actually pretty simple.
Has anyone here played the Game of Thrones LCG? I know they're getting ready to launch the 2nd edition, so it's a great time to jump in. I love the series, but is the gameplay have enough depth? I watched FFG's tutorial, and it doesn't really seem like there's that much to the game, but maybe I was missing something.
Mavromatis
Member
I played the game twice or thrice and our group got rid of it. Only thing good about it is that it has a decent resell value due to series popularity.
JetBlackPanda
Member
I was leaving on a day trip yesterday and noticed a Catan board game at a yard sale. Pulled over and snagged simply catan for 5 bucks. Score.
Apparently there are alt rules to make the game a little easier but it comes with everything to play a standard game as well.
The components and box are beautiful.
Apparently there are alt rules to make the game a little easier but it comes with everything to play a standard game as well.
The components and box are beautiful.
nicoga3000
Saint Nic
Mr E, you may have convinced me to grab Galaxy Defenders. More money being spent, ha.
I really need a table that's wider than a standard folding table on the cheap.
I really need a table that's wider than a standard folding table on the cheap.
Oops sorry bout that lol. Have you seen video reviews too. Joel Eddy's "Drive thru reviews" has a good explanation.
Each mission has a full list of all tokens and cards needed so you won't be digging back into the box. This will help you organise playing space. The map areas will vary on number of boards used but there all placed out prior to playing, unlike Ashardalon which grows dynamically. This will help your playing area too.
The GD website has extra missions to set up if you fancy something different from the base game.
Speaking of base game there are two further expansions. One has the agents go to the moon to take the fight to the aliens. This adds psionics (mind control), NPCs (Characters showing up to fight on your side) power suits and more Aliens and other stuff besides.
The second box has the agents go to the Aliens home planet to finish them off for good.
Dependant on your mileage this could get expensive if you go the whole hog. I don't own the other games but I will see how the base game pans out. There's lots of game in the base box though so it's recommended even if you don't want extra stuff.
Happy gaming.
Edit to add Ricky Royals box of delights channel has a mission play through too that gives a great overview of the game. Some early mistakes are made but he corrects them later on. His gun jamming up is pretty funny. I've not jammed as many times as him lol.
nicoga3000
Saint Nic
I read about some KS exclusive stuff. Is there any major impact to the game for the stuff you (of course) can't get anymore?
I think the KS exclusive agents would be the only thing I would want. The files for KS 1 agents are available for print and play if you proxy the minis themselves.
The extra Aliens are apparently a bit of a problem to introduce into core campaigns and seem to be specific to 5 missions available to download. They may create imbalance without testing.
Interestingly whilst I was digging around I stumbled upon a new KS project by the same team due to start in September. https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/170771/sword-sorcery
Info is very light at the moment. Swords & Sorcery is a fantasy based version. When pressed the designer has let it be known it's not a re skin of GD. It's said to have different movement and map system different combat system and enemy management. Promises to improve on GD.
Already they have addressed some complaints of GD.
Character elimination. Apparently when you die you have a "Souls" side to your player??? You can still interact??? Not sure how that works.
Integrating different enemy types. Designers have graded the enemy into 4 grades. When selecting your mission/campaign you can swap out for other compatible graded types. This would make KS exclusive enemy a lot more desirable and addresses my concern with the GD exclusive Aliens.
I'm going to keep my eye on this one. Won't release until 2016.
Edit to Add Gears of war is still on my top of the list wants. Don't want to pay the premium prices for it but I may cave in on pay day lol.
Ecto311
Member
I did a very slim light coat of matte krylon and rustoleum on a piece of card board last night. Today the rustoleum was more glossy than the krylon. Then painted one of the mice in krylon and it still has a glossy shine to it. I guess its better than having the figure become worn over time but still annoying I can't just get a matte finish right.
It is a good late day relaxation hobby though to paint these. Too bad my damn eyes don't like staring at something that small for so long.
antiquegamer
Member
I don't know how old you are but let me tell you it get worst past 45 .... my wife got me one of those magnifying lamp thing and it still doesn't help.
What I find with Krylon and other can spray stuffs is that they are thicker than the plastic model clear coat I used to use for my model airplanes back in the day (haven't build one in over 10 years). I used to airbrush my model aircraft with model clear "flat" coat which I suppose have much finer pigment (also airbrush also produce much thinner layer). If you really want flat finish may be pick up flat coat from hobby paint might produce better result?
To me the amount of sheen I get from using can spray clear coat is acceptable for board game miniature pieces as they are not going to be entering contest or have to be looking super realistic. I do understand your frustration, I see some Tamiya kits in the back ground so I assuming you do hobby model also.
I used Krylon on these guys and I do notice they are a touch more sheen than before but it also gave them nice smooth surface and no more paint rubbing off them.
Here with little more light, you can kind of see the sheen on them especially when they catch light in certain angles but for me it was good enough for the table top gaming. (Ignore the gem drops, I put gloss coat on those to try to make them look like glass but fail miserably. I haven't been able to make those gems or glass vial parts look like glass instead of painted plastic).
Here I just finished putting clear coat can spray on Star Wars minis couple days before. I don't think they look too terrible being a bit more "glossier", it sure beat having to apply more paint on them. Vader and Imp Officer helmets were almost strip of paint around the edge by the time my son and I finished with our campaign.
I agree painting is fun and relaxing, even my wife starts painting miniatures with me which is very nice to spend time doing thing together. The only bad thing is her miniatures look a lot better than mine! I haven't paint in the last few days because of work and the fact that entire southwest Washington is covered in smoke from the fire and seeing those nice Mice & Mystics figures you paint really make me want to paint something. (I usually paint outside because it's nice and bright which is better for my old eyes).
I played a very limited bit of the 1st edition right after it changed to the LCG format and while I liked the game, ultimately ended up being turned off by the bloat and shoehorning they had to do to make it work for the changeover. Additionally, I just fucking hated the Deadly keyword.
Just got a copy of 2nd edition this past week and its solved all of my problems with the game. Even Melee (the multiplayer variant) is streamlined, and thankfully is ready to go right out of the core instead of being added in a later expansion.
My biggest gripe about 2ED is you absolutely HAVE to have two cores to do ANY deckbuilding. As it is, there's JUST enough cards where you're only decision is: Who do I want as my House and who do I want as my Banner? There's not enough to make any variations on that past a couple neutral swaps with just one set. And of course its near impossible to find more cores right now and if you do they're pretty cost prohibitive.
That seems to be the way it is with almost all of FFG's LCGs (at least the ones I've played). The core set is enough to give you a taste of the game, but doesn't have enough cards of particular factions to do much deckbuilding. The only one I bought multiples of was LOTR, and that's because I got the other two used. If I do try GoT 2E, I'll wait for Coolstuff to get it, so it won't be as costly.
nicoga3000
Saint Nic
This is definitely a loaded question. Since you said you've done plastic kits before, that leads me to believe you've done SOME modelling. However, for the sake of argument, I'm going to leave that assumption at the door. Not everyone has an airbrush setup.
Everything between the block here is paint/hobby stuff, so ignore it if you aren't into that.
===========================
Cheap/Intro to hobby
- Go to a big box or craft store and pick up some cheap Craft Acrylics (~$0.75-0.99/bottle)
- Pickup a set of cheap brushes
- Get a can of white primer (any brand would is fine as long as it's not lacquer based)
- Get a cheap plastic palette like this
- Buy a dip (Polyshade or Ronseal)
- Buy a can of Dull Cote or something similar. Flat matte coating.
Do a very simple basecoat over all your parts in the color you want. After the coats dry, dip the mini, shake it off lightly, and let it dry for a day. Once that's done, shake your can of Dull Cote vigorously (I like the Testors brand...expensive, but it's given me the best results so far), and do a nice dusting of the painting mini. This will take the shine from the dip off and also bring the colors together.
Easy, cheap, and quick.
Intermediate/serious about getting into the hobby
- You want to invest in a "miniature specific" primer if you can. I prefer Army Painter, but there are others. Some swear by Krylon and such, but I'd rather spend a little extra on one form a hobby store and feel a little better about it.
- You COULD get by with cheap brushes, but if you actually want to get into the hobby, buy yourself some nice brushes. There are TONS of articles on this out there, but you want real Kolinsky Sable (no synthetic stuff). I like Winsor & Newton Series 7 - expensive, but great brushes.
- Paints...For this "tier" of hobby, I'd actually suggest Citadel or P3 paints. Both are great coverage with the right dilution, both have a great range of colors, and both have a great track record. Some might suggest Reaper paints here, too. I don't like them, but it's personal preference.
- Thin your paints to the consistency of skim milk.
- Multiple layers of one color > one heavy layer
- Base, highlight, shadow -> these are your three major layers to start with. The order of shadow/highlight is model and painter specific.
Hobbyist
The extreme end of it all. I consider the hobbyist to be the people who are actively looking to improve their painting game and are SERIOUS about painting. They may be growing in the hobby or they may be competitive/CMON 9+ level painters. Airbrush setup (for large surfaces), multiple ranges of expensive brushes (W&N, DaVinci, etc), multiple ranges of paints...If you're getting into the hobby for the true hobby side of things, this is your bag. The major difference between this and the previous tier?
Vallejo Model Color paints.
These are, hands down, the best paints for painting miniatures out there. I know some people don't love them, but the people who are winning the painting competitions are almost always using VMC paints. Not exclusively of course, but they have a large collection of them. VMC has a HUGE selection of color and great pigmentation. The biggest gripe newbies have with this range is that it's very hard to get used to. You have to dilute your paints, and you will be doing 3+ layers to get ONE color on (I honestly had to do 6 or 7 of ONE color once to get the coverage I wanted for the base coat). But you will get the results you want.
One of the other gripes people have with VMC is that the tone of the paint jobs is typically very...Real. Those fantasy and sci-fi rich colors are found more in the P3, Citadel, Reaper range. So often times, people have multiple paints from those ranges as well to compliment the VMC stuff.
===========================
My suggestion? Looking at those minis you posted, I would consider grabbing some cheap brushes and look into some P3 or Citadel paints. I have a HUGE line of P3 paints and love them for brush painting. Citadel paints are also amazing from what I've heard - I haven't used them for well over 10-15 years, but they've improved since them and don't dry out as bad <second hand info>.
There's definitely some hobby level painting there, so if you're looking to get to that point, start buying some cheap plastic or Reaper Bones stuff and get to work on practicing. It's a VERY relaxing and zen like hobby. But it can also be frustrating because you want to see results and have ideas in your head on how to get there, but getting onto your canvas can be extremely difficult at first.
If you do get into it, post your results/progress.
Hey guys, totally new to board games, but wanted to ask for opinions and share an experience.
I was at Geek Kon in Madison, and a vendor sold me on Hanabi and The Resistance 3rd Edition. My girlfriend and her family love playing things like Crowns, Risk, Youker, and Settlers of Catan together, so he recommended these two. Played the games with them last night and we loved them! My girlfriend was so happy to try it.
So I immediately went to getting The Resistance expansions, but because I'm a guy who can't stand not having all gameplay options and content available to me when I play (a holdover from my video game DLC habits), I was deadset on the Kickstarter edition for The Rogue Agent and Sergeant modules. I was gonna pay $40 plus $5 shipping on Amazon, but I nabbed it from a guy who was selling it for $25 plus $5.25 shipping on BGG. It has a small dent and rip on the card stock box but the cards are sealed. No alt art Coup cards. Think that's a good deal? Just double checking my purchase, as I don't know too much, but competing prices seemed to show it was.
Finally, what's the best way to acquire the Plot Thickens cards? I don't want to pay for the entire 2nd edition, since alternate art isn't important to me. Should I just make my own stand ins for this set, since it isn't a pool blended in with any of the other cards? If so, is the best way to make your own cards card stock and card sleeves?
Thanks for opinions and advice ahead of time guys! I think this might be a good gateway for both me and my GF into a designer board game hobby! Considering she isn't into video games like me, it's something we could both enjoy.
I was at Geek Kon in Madison, and a vendor sold me on Hanabi and The Resistance 3rd Edition. My girlfriend and her family love playing things like Crowns, Risk, Youker, and Settlers of Catan together, so he recommended these two. Played the games with them last night and we loved them! My girlfriend was so happy to try it.
So I immediately went to getting The Resistance expansions, but because I'm a guy who can't stand not having all gameplay options and content available to me when I play (a holdover from my video game DLC habits), I was deadset on the Kickstarter edition for The Rogue Agent and Sergeant modules. I was gonna pay $40 plus $5 shipping on Amazon, but I nabbed it from a guy who was selling it for $25 plus $5.25 shipping on BGG. It has a small dent and rip on the card stock box but the cards are sealed. No alt art Coup cards. Think that's a good deal? Just double checking my purchase, as I don't know too much, but competing prices seemed to show it was.
Finally, what's the best way to acquire the Plot Thickens cards? I don't want to pay for the entire 2nd edition, since alternate art isn't important to me. Should I just make my own stand ins for this set, since it isn't a pool blended in with any of the other cards? If so, is the best way to make your own cards card stock and card sleeves?
Thanks for opinions and advice ahead of time guys! I think this might be a good gateway for both me and my GF into a designer board game hobby! Considering she isn't into video games like me, it's something we could both enjoy.
Hey guys, totally new to board games, but wanted to ask for opinions and share an experience.
I was at Geek Kon in Madison, and a vendor sold me on Hanabi and The Resistance 3rd Edition. My girlfriend and her family love playing things like Crowns, Risk, Youker, and Settlers of Catan together, so he recommended these two. Played the games with them last night and we loved them! My girlfriend was so happy to try it.
So I immediately went to getting The Resistance expansions, but because I'm a guy who can't stand not having all gameplay options and content available to me when I play (a holdover from my video game DLC habits), I was deadset on the Kickstarter edition for The Rogue Agent and Sergeant modules. I was gonna pay $40 plus $5 shipping on Amazon, but I nabbed it from a guy who was selling it for $25 plus $5.25 shipping on BGG. It has a small dent and rip on the card stock box but the cards are sealed. No alt art Coup cards. Think that's a good deal? Just double checking my purchase, as I don't know too much, but competing prices seemed to show it was.
Finally, what's the best way to acquire the Plot Thickens cards? I don't want to pay for the entire 2nd edition, since alternate art isn't important to me. Should I just make my own stand ins for this set, since it isn't a pool blended in with any of the other cards? If so, is the best way to make your own cards card stock and card sleeves?
Thanks for opinions and advice ahead of time guys! I think this might be a good gateway for both me and my GF into a designer board game hobby! Considering she isn't into video games like me, it's something we could both enjoy.
Not sure what's different in 3rd edition resistance but I think most people prefer the Avalon edition overall. It gives some players special roles and abilities and does away with the plot cards. Plot cards seem to bring unnecessary confusion and feel fiddly while roles seem perfect for the game.
Also for making your own cards you can use a service like artscow, but I can get by with sleeving a magic card and sticking a printout in front of it.
From my research, the expansions Hidden Agenda and Hostile Intent take the additions from Avalon plus some more modules added on. 3rd edition Resistance has updated art, but does away with the 2nd editions plot cards. Like I said, I don't like limiting gameplay options, but Avalon doesn't seem to have anything HA and HI don't have.
Thanks though, because from what I read, a lot of people liked how it threw a monkey wrench in the works. It's nice to get a contrary opinion.
And thanks for mentioning Artscow, never heard of that!
Well if you're dead set on it and in the US I can mail you my extra set of plot thickens cards. Just PM me a mailing address and I'll send it out sometime this week.
If you do get into it, post your results/progress.
Thanks for all the info! Still need suggestion on which weathering paint to use though
My biggest problem is that I only pained robots before, and I like a clean look for those so weathering was never a concern. These things though are different and a super clean look would probably seem off.
nicoga3000
Saint Nic
Someone on eBay had a set of the Kickstarter Galaxy level up for $295. I shot him an offer of $200 just to see, and he accepted. So I'm getting, well, everything there is right now for a pretty great price (base, all expansions, exclusives, etc). A big bite to chew, but worth it after the videos I watched.
Crikey you don't hang about, hope you enjoy your purchase. If you plan on playing solo and you like what you see then there's no problem. If it was me I wouldn't add to much at the beginning, better to add as you experience the game. You may fry your brain lol.
Happy dice chucking.
Sorry for double post but I wanted to address the forum with a quick question if I may.
Out of curiosity how do you select your games, what influences you the most? Reviews, designers, videos, rule books, mechanics, theme etc.
I am at the stage for me that reading the rules I can generally get a feel for the game. Many people hate reading rules but downloading to the iPad makes good toilet material.
Any others read rule books prior to purchasing?
Edit to add I expect decent components, I'm not a graphics whore but I don't want rubbish, I have some war games so I'm not snobbish with paper maps etc.
Out of curiosity how do you select your games, what influences you the most? Reviews, designers, videos, rule books, mechanics, theme etc.
I am at the stage for me that reading the rules I can generally get a feel for the game. Many people hate reading rules but downloading to the iPad makes good toilet material.
Any others read rule books prior to purchasing?
Edit to add I expect decent components, I'm not a graphics whore but I don't want rubbish, I have some war games so I'm not snobbish with paper maps etc.
nicoga3000
Saint Nic
Yeah - I mean, base game would run me $60 or so. Expansions for another $50 each if I like it ($15 for the Elite Agents or whatever it is). So I figured the base game + all expansions = $175. Toss in all bonus KS exclusives, etc. for $200? Sounds like a plan.
As for your other question...
I watch YouTube reviews, 1 or 2 parts of a Let's Play (usually the 2nd and 3rd if there are multiple parts since the 1st is setup and component overview), skim the rules, and check out reddit/geeklists. I don't go as far as to fully read the rules, though. That almost never gives me a good enough measure of the enjoyment I'll get because a LOT of my enjoyment of gaming is from the tactile experience of it all. As silly as that sounds, it's why I love playing things with lots of dice or card games (my Ascension collection says hi) - the feel and sound of it all is fantastic.
A good example of the whole thing is Dungeon Roll. Blizzard here suggested it to me. So that was my first "OK, my eyes are open" moment. After watching a quick "how to play" video of the game, I was sold. The rules on their own make the game sound kind of terrible (also they are written poorly). But after playing the game, I love it!
Saw this on BGG.
Board game inserts and CCG storage boxes to organize your game shelf and allow for more games expansions.
https://www.kickstarter.com/project...inker-tinker-maker-game-inserts-and-ccg-boxes
Board game inserts and CCG storage boxes to organize your game shelf and allow for more games expansions.
https://www.kickstarter.com/project...inker-tinker-maker-game-inserts-and-ccg-boxes
hahaha I actually do exactly the same. Download the pdf and read the rules on ipad while on the loo. Gives me the best idea about whether or not I will like a game.
Usually if I think a game looks cool from a review I go over the rules to make my final purchasing decision. Unless the rules of the fame are so simple that the review completely explained them.
I've got a "fair" size collection. So I'm at the point where I'm trying to round off my collection with different mechanics and player counts etc. for example I wanted a 1 vs many player count game. I was interested in Letters from Whitechapel (still am to be honest). I didn't fancy playing it with my 11 yr old though. Picked up Specter ops which he fancied more.
Wife thinks I'm mad lol. I keep telling her it's an investment. Video games depreciate quickly. Board games if looked after retain value. Go up if out of print and desirable.
I have Ashardalon which I find "hard" in an artificial way if that makes sense. Turn an encounter card and it could be game over. Throw one D20 for combat can be really unforgiving. My son enjoys it but he fancies Sc-Fi more. I read and downloaded GD rules and realised it could be more forgiving. It has luck but it can be mitigated with devices, upgrades etc. I find it best to saver the campaigns over a period rather than burn out on a game. I regularly rotate games we play to keep them fresh.
I'm rambling.
I'm gonna guess you have a big collection. When I started I found the rule books to some a chore. Still do if written poorly, mostly due to language barriers etc. read so many that I can get the flow of a game pretty much spot on.
Edit I've got rules on the iPad to stuff I don't own lol.
I have about 40 games so I don't think its big. Then again I sell games if they turn out to be bad.
Yeah in general if I feel in the mood for a headache I'll try to read a portal games rulebook.
I mostly get interested in a game if it seems like it would cover a niche in my collection. I like having a variety of games for different occasions. After that, I might watch a review, but only to get a grasp of how the game works. Reading and understanding rulebooks can be difficult for me if I don't have the game in front of me.
Sometimes it's the games ambition. Robinson Crusoe has one of the biggest faq's around. Simply it's the combinations of cards and permutations they present.
I don't own Mage Knight but I've read the rules. I think I would have issues fast tracking rules clarifications in that book. That's where the Geek is handy for player aids etc.