Support NeoGAF

[SapphiCine]

I was looking at the Asmodee Wiki page when I noticed that they are in the process of acquiring F2Z Entertainment. Missed that news back in July somehow. What the hell, they are getting too frickin' big. I forgive GW for ending their deal with FFG.

 

[Keasar]

I was looking at the Asmodee Wiki page when I noticed that they are in the process of acquiring F2Z Entertainment. Missed that news back in July somehow. What the hell, they are getting too frickin' big. I forgive GW for ending their deal with FFG.

I still don't. I wanted expansions for Warhammer ACG and Forbidden Stars.

 

[Xater]

SUSD has been on point his year for sure, both in production and analysis in most if their reviews. Quinns was a consultant on Mechs vs. Minions too, and I'd honestly eat my hat if they reviewed it, but then again he has an actual writing and journalism background. Come to think of it while I do have differing tastes, the SUSD guys are the only ones I trust 100% in the field.

Same. I fall quite often in line with their recommendations. More than with Vassel at least.

 

[SCHUEY F1]

They announced the first Mansions of Madness 2E DLC scenario is coming this winter for $2.99. Fair price? I think it is decent. Assuming I play through it at least twice that's probably 4-6 hours of entertainment.

 

[SapphiCine]

Has anyone played The Big Book of Madness? Is it good solo? The art is rather attractive, I saw it at my local B&N, and I have a gift card. >_>

 

[Polioliolio]

They announced the first Mansions of Madness 2E DLC scenario is coming this winter for $2.99. Fair price? I think it is decent. Assuming I play through it at least twice that's probably 4-6 hours of entertainment.

Oh god.. App DLC?

Just when I was warming up to the idea of a mandatory app, this happens.
Ehh.... Eeeeehhhh.......

 

[malingenie]

Don't forgot when it hits zero it just means the Ancient One wakes up and you have to solve an extra mystery in most cases. Usually means you're screwed but last time we beat him after he woke up (was Yig I think).

I finally beat this game with the gf! Yogg sogoth was destroyed! Azatoth has always creamed us.

 

[Apenheul]

I got Trickerion last week and have played it twice now. I really love it but the way that the systems are inter-linked is so complex that one session takes hours because everyone goes AP. Might be one of the heaviest games I've ever played where every extra coin or shard counts. These are pictures from the first session (expansion excluded):

[img]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/iJRQjKhtHfZcKUgJ2jmdjE-YtGDd2xwuT1nVoZ5hDUIPQWir2IsOLm762Kt6_5fuBvgqFLfSFIi_5nS0dvHkbY1SSDKR7NlbDh3UepRiPZmMitN2tWu0yzKN2m8YM4V_bRX2nb42xXP8r-j1OVCQH0LVK-GsjSnmur5pf2dwDAaSa0cZORB2Qihx-Kjv4dRIld_qPqux8yvUrfO5kXNZZDI_uX5658Q6wVr1MffUER2mNHTxzqcE26kdJad3bvadb04KPiJv0OPiq_lOyFUSfz0TOU51GpDT1Ikx-6XoF39XkITVNF6G3E60zXEvG-CQyWHlo44fvZjJ0ZC2ECJEMsFWWxJCOhh-cPiWPE0N538Ys1kfMbrG5YpjSGLaIyi0gvLy_faxz5_MKnkbsQYqfA3rOFeRh_4hN1PmhcSa5umM0jO1GSptcH4ODAE9CStFLtVTIBwe3A5PKoQrqenFf17HGPMJaaTQKWgDLL9YopUPxBxQqQ2V-prArOs1zsl2vGhY-NyT64ojB9hm_ngs1Lbi1iaFFuUlE1f9ucQ6bb0u95YRlfIFUAyLDOwcLJQQESz8q8q_1cgk-hr9WkpegIoeFG-az9BPM-YN4v8j27RL_MIoFg=w1920-h1080-no[/img]
[img]https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/G8Dk7qk6NKRQqjd0g_DHEolrJ76H0f4azLvMfaRujMTwY3P892jl6zLma9z4yrx15RJp5v7taFucURvXeTTx40oJbV2iKsgIsVtnWJrJnMWjaYOzgAw1mM8n2aFwqI197xSx0wFvVNGJ8-CM5ccehjOlsSHEPt9EDNSTniCdw4p2Zf1mbILaxR2B47-uIjxYlrXjT-sKLOC7Uu9AfKPo2lIfJBDIQ3R3zT_gzKufScSaMxcb1STdV0veQ8xfo3a1GO5gb7dNgEI3uC3N0aynwkChsN_zOFAXJI9ELs1YmqlkqR9bVjrsBJm6ObMyKqDinMbm1lTgVWi04zuIe7y1EpZEFG9JdUWm-GdEcNUyKo2HOgzwaewpFCds4y2Nj4oDugg0YBn6c5Yy-dIH6yD_5v9l4vgkEiekh4XZJrVbp0dA51o2gg2NIUsDu7S-_fThLg9GtWGesWQwPdfyovJILFbX_zp8TSL9_3ACN76X-XKDAgZSWeczuZK8yzv-TvdiG-CmlfEydC4hC2-NWexU2WHtywVG31OVijzRDlibeFk8yOFOhiYIu23tDjfkr4CLI4isbEB1gUCpClJ5V0isq61FmQjUpTfsr-cDWV-SubBeCg5F8Q=w1920-h1080-no[/img]

 

[SCHUEY F1]

Oh god.. App DLC?

Just when I was warming up to the idea of a mandatory app, this happens.
Ehh.... Eeeeehhhh.......

Less expensive than the print on demand scenarios for the first edition MoM.

 

[AstroLad]

I finally beat this game with the gf! Yogg sogoth was destroyed! Azatoth has always creamed us.

Nice! My wife and I have a game night with another couple tonight (who are not heavy board gamers, but totally can handle heavier games like Dead of Winter) and I'm honestly tempted to bring it. But table space and length will probably prevent me from doing that. Unlike most of my other favorite games, I have a very specific Arkham-games (Elder Sign, Eldritch, upcoming LCG) crew that I play with and basically no one else, just b/c it's pretty intimidating.

Same. I fall quite often in line with their recommendations. More than with Vassel at least.

I think their TIME Stories review was the one that completely won me over. Because superficially you'd think they'd be into a "wonky" story-heavy game like that, but man did they absolutely wreck it in all the right ways (ending so brutal). That was a stark contrast too to 99% of the other big reviewers, many proclaiming it GOTY.

 

[antiquegamer]

Has anyone played The Big Book of Madness? Is it good solo? The art is rather attractive, I saw it at my local B&N, and I have a gift card. >_>

I played it a few times solo and it is decent but it's better with another player.

Oh god.. App DLC?

Just when I was warming up to the idea of a mandatory app, this happens.
Ehh.... Eeeeehhhh.......

Are you going to write and program scenario for them for free?

 

[JacksUsername]

So me and my friend just wrapped up production of our first board game! Pretty exciting experience overall, although we’re both pretty wiped now. We intentionally made it a simple game, since we wanted it to be party-friendly, but holy shit, do I have so much more respect for game design in general. It’s crazy how every small piece of text and instruction needs to be analyzed and tested, and I think of video games and the more complex board games, and so much needs to go into it. I always understood this from a high-concept level, but being in the weeds for a bit sheds such a better light on it.

Here’s some images of the game:

We’re publishing through The Game Crafter, which is a pretty neat site if you’re looking for a place to handle manufacturing and shipping, but there are some limitations. The biggest thing I wish we could change is adding more shipping options, since the 2-3 day can be a little pricy. If anyone’s interested, here’s the link to the game: https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/cryptic-creatures-standard-boxless We also have a boxed limited version coming out tonight.

Hope you don’t mind me sharing the shop link; if mods find it too much shameless promotion, I’ll gladly take it down. If anyone by chance does pick up a copy, I’d love to hear any feedback. I'm hoping that if I get PAX East tickets next year, I'll be able to bring it to the tabletop area and meet up with some people. There's also a cool board game cafe in Brookline that I really need to check out. If anyone else is developing a board game, I'd be happy to share any experiences we've had so far or be super open to feedback and critique. Thanks!

 

[Mr E.]

So me and my friend just wrapped up production of our first board game! Pretty exciting experience overall, although we’re both pretty wiped now. We intentionally made it a simple game, since we wanted it to be party-friendly, but holy shit, do I have so much more respect for game design in general. It’s crazy how every small piece of text and instruction needs to be analyzed and tested, and I think of video games and the more complex board games, and so much needs to go into it. I always understood this from a high-concept level, but being in the weeds for a bit sheds such a better light on it.

Here’s some images of the game:



We’re publishing through The Game Crafter, which is a pretty neat site if you’re looking for a place to handle manufacturing and shipping, but there are some limitations. The biggest thing I wish we could change is adding more shipping options, since the 2-3 day can be a little pricy. If anyone’s interested, here’s the link to the game: https://www.thegamecrafter.com/games/cryptic-creatures-standard-boxless We also have a boxed limited version coming out tonight.

Hope you don’t mind me sharing the shop link; if mods find it too much shameless promotion, I’ll gladly take it down. If anyone by chance does pick up a copy, I’d love to hear any feedback. I'm hoping that if I get PAX East tickets next year, I'll be able to bring it to the tabletop area and meet up with some people. There's also a cool board game cafe in Brookline that I really need to check out. If anyone else is developing a board game, I'd be happy to share any experiences we've had so far or be super open to feedback and critique. Thanks!

Have you played many modern board games?
I would class your design as "Vintage".

Looks like you've put effort in so I shall wish you the best.

 

[Noaloha]

Looking for input on ideal Elder Sign mix of base plus expansions for solo play. What think ye?

 

[JacksUsername]

Have you played many modern board games?
I would class your design as "Vintage".

Looks like you've put effort in so I shall wish you the best.

Thanks! I haven't actually checked out too many modern games. I was into collectible card games for a while, but when I moved to the suburbs after school, I was having trouble finding people to play with in a reasonable distance. Just moved back to the city and was really surprised how much social gaming has taken off in the last couple of years. It's kind of hard to figure out where to even start, but I think the best bet is going to those local stores and cafes and just trying out some games. This thread is also a huge resource, and didn't even know about it until a couple of days ago. I tend to like simple over complicated rule sets (the main reason I could never get into D&D), but it seems like there's options for everyone now. And thanks for looking at the design. I kind of like the "vintage" tag

 

[SapphiCine]

I played it a few times solo and it is decent but it's better with another player.

Thanks. When you say solo, do you mean playing only as one character? I've read on BGG that playing with three characters might be best for solo.

 

[antiquegamer]

Thanks. When you say solo, do you mean playing only as one character? I've read on BGG that playing with three characters might be best for solo.

Yes I usually play with three.

 

[Blizzard]

I got Trickerion last week and have played it twice now. I really love it but the way that the systems are inter-linked is so complex that one session takes hours because everyone goes AP. Might be one of the heaviest games I've ever played where every extra coin or shard counts. These are pictures from the first session (expansion excluded):

I saw that in a store a while back, but I'm glad I didn't get it. Looks very heavy.

We played 4-player Viticulture EE tonight. One player was pretty slow to catch on, since they get frustrated and tune out when rules explanation go very long. Unfortunately, worker placement games like that where you have to choose starting cards (mama and papa cards) pretty much need you to understand some rules first.

They caught on after a year or two though, and everyone was fairly close in the end. I ended up winning by only selling one wine, since I started with a cottage and got several points from cards while other players were struggling to get wine up and running.

 

[LunarKnite]

I saw that in a store a while back, but I'm glad I didn't get it. Looks very heavy.

We played 4-player Viticulture EE tonight. One player was pretty slow to catch on, since they get frustrated and tune out when rules explanation go very long. Unfortunately, worker placement games like that where you have to choose starting cards (mama and papa cards) pretty much need you to understand some rules first.

They caught on after a year or two though, and everyone was fairly close in the end. I ended up winning by only selling one wine, since I started with a cottage and got several points from cards while other players were struggling to get wine up and running.

I still have yet to play Trickerion even though I was a kickstarter backer. I really enjoy the heavier Euros, but Viticulture still remains as one of my top 2. I think base Viticulture is in the same level as Stone Age and Lords of Waterdeep as entry level or gateway worker placement games. But personally, the game shines with the Tuscany expansions when you add in the Mamas and Papas and the extended board especially.

 

[SapphiCine]

Sleeved and looked over the SHeath Angel expansions, minus Mission Pack 1. Maybe I'm missing something but the Deathwing squad seems rather underwhelming for the most part. I get the focus on support tokens but some of these abilities are mediocre especially given how precious each token is. You'd think they would be better at generating tokens. Yellow's special attack is just plain bad. Also I may have been applying extra scrutiny towards them in noticing art inconsistencies and how superfluous and misleading the flavor text can be.

On the positive side, I'm looking forward to using the Tyranid expansion. Not in combination with Deathwing, that's for sure. 😒

 

[Blizzard]

I still have yet to play Trickerion even though I was a kickstarter backer. I really enjoy the heavier Euros, but Viticulture still remains as one of my top 2. I think base Viticulture is in the same level as Stone Age and Lords of Waterdeep as entry level or gateway worker placement games. But personally, the game shines with the Tuscany expansions when you add in the Mamas and Papas and the extended board especially.

The EE version has the mamas and papas, but I haven't seen the extended board. I thought EE was handpicked elements from Tuscany, but maybe it's worth getting Tuscany expansion(s) as well?

 

[antiquegamer]

Looking for input on ideal Elder Sign mix of base plus expansions for solo play. What think ye?

Core Elder Sign is pretty easy, and of the three expansions, only one Unknown Forces is really meant to fully integrate with the core box. The other two Gates of Arkham and Omens of Ice replaced the Adventure Deck completely and personally I think they both make the game a lot better and which one you want to pick is depend on what you want. I personally think Gates is probably the best of two though, Omen is pretty thematic and I really like the snow and blizzard theme. Gates turn Elder Sign into a light version of Arkham Horror and it's great for solo play, hard but not impossible and while it still is a dice game in the vain of yathzee, it has enough stuffs on top that you do have to make tough decision.

If you really the type of wanting or have the need to mix everything (I used to be that way but now I actually prefer my expansions to be modular and only add in what I want to the core and remove them) you probably could add in all the monsters from the expansions though some of the expansions monsters are much tougher I think than the core set. I normally either play core with Unknown Forces if I just want the vanilla experience.

 

[antiquegamer]

This is sort of adjacent, but I do wish there were more top-flight women reviewers or podcasts. Has anyone found any they'd recommend? Suzanne does a KS segment on Board Game Breakfast but I really don't care for KS. I tried a few podcasts too but they were really short. Would love to get a perspective that's not just white-guy gamer all the time.

Blue Peg Pink Peg has a female co-host, Christina. She is new to gaming but I usually enjoy her takes on gaming in general. She is married to one of the host (Rob, which is my favorite of the four probably because his taste in gaming is pretty similar to mine) and I really enjoy the dynamic between the two. (It was pretty funny when she found out he spend $250 on Kingdom Death KS.) They used to have two females and two males but replaced one of the girl with a guy . I like them all but one of the host, Jeremy, sometimes really annoy me like when he rated Kingdom Death a 0 because he oppose to the theme (He is a bit of a prude, and dislike anything adult related in board game).

Happy Mitten also has a pleasant female co-host, they also get into business side of board game which I also find pretty interesting.

 

[Vard]

The EE version has the mamas and papas, but I haven't seen the extended board. I thought EE was handpicked elements from Tuscany, but maybe it's worth getting Tuscany expansion(s) as well?

Viticulture EE has some hand picked elements from Tuscany, but not all. I've read/heard that Tuscany EE elevates the game even further (especially the extended board) so I've got that preordered. It comes out sometime this month, and there is a promo card bonus for preordering too. More info: http://stonemaiergames.com/games/tuscany/tuscany-essential-edition/

 

[AstroLad]

Core Elder Sign is pretty easy, and of the three expansions, only one Unknown Forces is really meant to fully integrate with the core box. The other two Gates of Arkham and Omens of Ice replaced the Adventure Deck completely and personally I think they both make the game a lot better and which one you want to pick is depend on what you want. I personally think Gates is probably the best of two though, Omen is pretty thematic and I really like the snow and blizzard theme. Gates turn Elder Sign into a light version of Arkham Horror and it's great for solo play, hard but not impossible and while it still is a dice game in the vain of yathzee, it has enough stuffs on top that you do have to make tough decision.

If you really the type of wanting or have the need to mix everything (I used to be that way but now I actually prefer my expansions to be modular and only add in what I want to the core and remove them) you probably could add in all the monsters from the expansions though some of the expansions monsters are much tougher I think than the core set. I normally either play core with Unknown Forces if I just want the vanilla experience.

As an experienced Elder Sign player (not 1P though, mostly 3P, a little 2P), big +1 to this whole post. Base is cool but if you are an experienced gamer I would maybe play it a couple times just to get a feel for the game, then just go straight into Gates. At this point they should honestly create an ES 2.0 with Gates integrated into the base. What they did with the original mechanics and scaling of the difficulty is just fantastic (both in Gates and Omens, though I too slightly prefer Gates).

 

[Polioliolio]

Less expensive than the print on demand scenarios for the first edition MoM.

Are you going to write and program scenario for them for free?

I'd prefer you get a bunch of new scenarios at once, in a box, with new figures and whatnot. Or maybe a pack of codes with new physical stuff. It probably works best for the way the game is now (haven't played either version yet, but had been thinking about it), but I just loathe the nickel and dime method to DLC.

I'm put off enough by video games doing it that. Part of why I got into board gaming was to escape the worst of video games.

If all it really is, is just new scenarios, with no new physical content, or no new content at all except new text arrangements, yeah, it would be nice if the developer had the good will to release free new content to give their 80 or 90 dollar game longer legs.

If by the time I were to pick this up, there are 30 odd individual things to buy at 3 bucks a pop, I'll probably just buy something that isn't testing my willpower and wallet.

This can exist like this, it's nice to see variety, and all kinds of experiences can and should exist, but I pray it doesn't invade tabletop gaming en masse.

 

[Blizzard]

Viticulture EE has some hand picked elements from Tuscany, but not all. I've read/heard that Tuscany EE elevates the game even further (especially the extended board) so I've got that preordered. It comes out sometime this month, and there is a promo card bonus for preordering too. More info: http://stonemaiergames.com/games/tuscany/tuscany-essential-edition/

Thanks for the heads up. $20 isn't bad, and sounds better than ordering the entire Tuscany set when I already have Vitaculture EE.

 

[SCHUEY F1]

I'd prefer you get a bunch of new scenarios at once, in a box, with new figures and whatnot. Or maybe a pack of codes with new physical stuff. It probably works best for the way the game is now (haven't played either version yet, but had been thinking about it), but I just loathe the nickel and dime method to DLC.

I'm put off enough by video games doing it that. Part of why I got into board gaming was to escape the worst of video games.

If all it really is, is just new scenarios, with no new physical content, or no new content at all except new text arrangements, yeah, it would be nice if the developer had the good will to release free new content to give their 80 or 90 dollar game longer legs.

If by the time I were to pick this up, there are 30 odd individual things to buy at 3 bucks a pop, I'll probably just buy something that isn't testing my willpower and wallet.

This can exist like this, it's nice to see variety, and all kinds of experiences can and should exist, but I pray it doesn't invade tabletop gaming en masse.

Some guy on BGG was going through the app code and found mentions of a new expansion with some characters,monsters, tiles and two new scenarios. So we will get a mix of stand alone scenarios and expansions.

Edit: Some free scenarios would be nice for sure. Like on Halloween.

 

[LunarKnite]

The EE version has the mamas and papas, but I haven't seen the extended board. I thought EE was handpicked elements from Tuscany, but maybe it's worth getting Tuscany expansion(s) as well?

VEE has what Tuscany called the first tier of modules for base Viticulture. That includes two sets of Visitor cards, Mamas and Papas, and the property tiles, all of which I think are necessary to play, which is why they made VEE in the first place.

Tuscany EE adds the new, extended board which adds much more depth to gameplay without adding much complexity as you are just going from the two seasons to four seasons for the most part. I haven't played with the Structures module yet, but I like the idea of having unique cards to obtain that give special powers, passive and active. And then lastly are the special workers, which is a nice addition. Since you only get 2 to choose from each game out of the possible 9 or so, they give more variety, but I also think some are innately better than others in terms of general usefulness. YMMV, but I think the extended board by itself is worth it.

 

[Blizzard]

It does look like Tuscany EE cuts most of the fancy expansions -- cheesemaking, tomato etc. making, mafia stuff, and secret goals.

The red items are cut: http://stonemaiergames.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Tuscany-Expansions-Where-Are-They-Now.jpg

 

[SapphiCine]

Played a game of SH: DA with the Deathwing squad and that was a disappointment. I made it to the final location with only one marine down and then I drew the Genestealer Lair. Thought they could handle it and I was wrong, things went south quickly. No one aside from the Librarian has the offensive power to deal with large swarms and all it takes is one bad roll to fuck you over. So yeah, don't think I'll be using them again.

Also the resupply event card is bad and unthematic. >:|

 

[AstroLad]

Played a game of SH: DA with the Deathwing squad and that was a disappointment. I made it to the final location with only one marine down and then I drew the Genestealer Lair. Thought they could handle it and I was wrong, things went south quickly. No one aside from the Librarian has the offensive power to deal with large swarms and all it takes is one bad roll to fuck you over. So yeah, don't think I'll be using them again.

Also the resupply event card is bad and unthematic. >:|

Interesting. Most of the reviews say power levels are on par or even slightly better than base teams. Haven't busted it out myself yet though. References:
https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1177867/review-space-hulk-death-angel-deathwing-space-mari
https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/771968/detailed-look-new-deathwing-space-marines
http://fortressat.com/blogs-by-members/3203-blank-15654282

edit: you may find this helpful too:

The Deathwing plays very, very differently from the Blood Angels (and I mean really
differently). Trying to use the same gameplay or tactics you used with the Blood
Angels, will lead to a bitter defeat with the Deathwing.

https://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/106614/deathwing-complete-guide

haha sounds intimidating

 

[Shadow_FFVI]

Just played The Manhattan Project and Spyfall.
Both were great for completely different reasons and now I must buy them.

 

[SapphiCine]

Interesting. Most of the reviews say power levels are on par or even slightly better than base teams. Haven't busted it out myself yet though. References:
https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/1177867/review-space-hulk-death-angel-deathwing-space-mari
https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/771968/detailed-look-new-deathwing-space-marines
http://fortressat.com/blogs-by-members/3203-blank-15654282

edit: you may find this helpful too:

https://boardgamegeek.com/filepage/106614/deathwing-complete-guide

haha sounds intimidating

I would definitely like to hear your thoughts when you do use them. On paper I think they have some interesting abilities but the execution may be lacking. I feel what I experienced exposed a gap in their design. Though I may have made some poor tactical decisions.

 

[AstroLad]

I would definitely like to hear your thoughts when you do use them. On paper I think they have some interesting abilities but the execution may be lacking. I feel what I experienced exposed a gap in their design. Though I may have made some poor tactical decisions.

Yeah if you are into analyzing the design you should honestly read that dude's guides. They're insanely detailed and thoughtful to a degree I've rarely seen for even the heaviest eurogames. I just treat it as a dice-chucker myself though haha.

 

[Iced]

Just played The Manhattan Project and Spyfall.
Both were great for completely different reasons and now I must buy them.

I loooooove me some Spyfall, but if I ever want to play it with a large group, we always end up playing Codenames instead. No fun allowed!

(Codenames is fun, don't get me wrong, but Spyfall is almost literally pure fun in a box.)

 

[LunarKnite]

Interesting. I prefer Codenames much more than Spyfall. Then again, I'm not too fond of social deduction games.

In acquisition news, I finally got my KS copy of Vinhos Deluxe edition, and the box is huge. It feels bigger than The Gallerist. Or maybe it's more stuffed. Can't wait to try it out, but I'm not sure if I want to try the original ruleset first or the new one.

I also got to play Terraforming Mars as my only game played this past week. It definintely lives up to the hype I've been seeing everywhere. Just a really fun engine-building game with interesting and difficult choices every turn.

 

[-tetsuo-]

Tabletop Simulator is an amazing piece of software.

 

[BattleMonkey]

I like Spyfall, but find it actually kind of difficult for some people to really understand. Codenames everyone seems to get, but some aspects of Spyfall just takes a while for more casual players to get, or it's too simple for some people to really understand maybe.... like they are looking too deep into it?

 

[Xater]

I like Spyfall, but find it actually kind of difficult for some people to really understand. Codenames everyone seems to get, but some aspects of Spyfall just takes a while for more casual players to get, or it's too simple for some people to really understand maybe.... like they are looking too deep into it?

I had exactly the same experience. Codenames for some reason works with everyone, Spyfall really doesn't. Spyfall in that sense is just like Resistence. Both worked and didn't work for exactly the same people in my experience.

 

[Megalosaro]

One of my gaming group can't make it on wednesday, so we are going to hold off on descent. We're going to play pandemic or runebound instead.

What should I expect.

 

[Blizzard]

I like Spyfall, but find it actually kind of difficult for some people to really understand. Codenames everyone seems to get, but some aspects of Spyfall just takes a while for more casual players to get, or it's too simple for some people to really understand maybe.... like they are looking too deep into it?

I've played Spyfall with two different groups and I'm not a big fan.

Group 1: Really casual players, typically playing games like Yahtzee. They had no idea what sort of questions to ask and were confused about the concept of each person having a role in a mystery location, and the spy not knowing the location etc. Most of them seemed to dislike it.

Group 2: Bunch of engineers, typically playing more complicated games (the occasional euro, luck-pushing games, card games). They played with some rule, maybe a house rule, that people could act, make noises, make gestures etc. to roleplay. They also kind of had no idea about questions to ask. They sort of liked it but I was lukewarm.

In both cases, it was SUPER easy to locate the spy, and everyone basically had to work together and play nice to let the spy win. We kept doing things like asking questions that would instantly reveal the spy if they answered vaguely/incorrectly. Or, asking questions that involved the picture on the card, until we ruled that illegal. Particularly if there are 8 players, the chances of someone asking the spy a question are pretty high before the spy has a chance to learn much.


In contrast, pretty much every group I've played Codenames with enjoys it.

 

[AstroLad]

I had exactly the same experience. Codenames for some reason works with everyone, Spyfall really doesn't. Spyfall in that sense is just like Resistence. Both worked and didn't work for exactly the same people in my experience.

Haha yeah; I definitely fall in the "doesn't like Resistance/Werewolf" bucket and don't care much for Spyfall either. I think it was my last attempt at "but this social-deduction game will be different I'm sure!" The one that I feel actually is pretty different is Deception: Murder in Hong Kong, but even that one people who don't like social deduction I can't really convince on (even though I don't like social deduction, but do enjoy Deception).

 

[Shadow_FFVI]

I loooooove me some Spyfall, but if I ever want to play it with a large group, we always end up playing Codenames instead. No fun allowed!

(Codenames is fun, don't get me wrong, but Spyfall is almost literally pure fun in a box.)

I also like it more than Codenames.
Manhattan Project was the first Worker Placement game I play, and I loved it.

 

[Dreavus]

I've played Spyfall with two different groups and I'm not a big fan.

Group 1: Really casual players, typically playing games like Yahtzee. They had no idea what sort of questions to ask and were confused about the concept of each person having a role in a mystery location, and the spy not knowing the location etc. Most of them seemed to dislike it.

Group 2: Bunch of engineers, typically playing more complicated games (the occasional euro, luck-pushing games, card games). They played with some rule, maybe a house rule, that people could act, make noises, make gestures etc. to roleplay. They also kind of had no idea about questions to ask. They sort of liked it but I was lukewarm.

In both cases, it was SUPER easy to locate the spy, and everyone basically had to work together and play nice to let the spy win. We kept doing things like asking questions that would instantly reveal the spy if they answered vaguely/incorrectly. Or, asking questions that involved the picture on the card, until we ruled that illegal. Particularly if there are 8 players, the chances of someone asking the spy a question are pretty high before the spy has a chance to learn much.


In contrast, pretty much every group I've played Codenames with enjoys it.

I'm not really a fan either. Most of the game is people trying to twist their questions so they don't give anything away, and everyone answers super vague.

What kind of questions were you asking to get the spy right away? Anything too specific and the spy can just call out the place. We never referred to the picture but I could see how that would be a bit unfair.

As spy my strategy is to just call stop instead of answering, and just guessing with what I have so far. Usually goes badly though. The game just feels bad when you're the spy IMO, especially when it's a new player and they're trying to learn the game.

 

[Blizzard]

I'm not really a fan either. Most of the game is people trying to twist their questions so they don't give anything away, and everyone answers super vague.

What kind of questions were you asking to get the spy right away? Anything too specific and the spy can just call out the place. We never referred to the picture but I could see how that would be a bit unfair.

As spy my strategy is to just call stop instead of answering, and just guessing with what I have so far. Usually goes badly though. The game just feels bad when you're the spy IMO, especially when it's a new player and they're trying to learn the game.

If it's the first 2-4 plays of the game, the spy won't have everywhere memorized, and reaching across the table to grab the cheat sheet with places instantly gives it away.

If the spy tries to be sneaky and just drops their eyes to look at the cheat sheet, it instantly gives it away. If everyone had a copy of the cheat sheet it might help.

If anyone asks a question about the picture, the spy is doomed so we made this illegal.

If someone asks the spy a question like "How's the weather" or "Can you see the sky" or "Where are we going" etc., the spy has to 50/50 guess if it's an outdoor/indoor location, or if it's a train/plane vs. fixed location. If they guess wrong or try to dodge the question, they're instantly out.


In summary, it feels like a game people have to work to enjoy, instead of just easily enjoying, in my limited experience. With some groups I'm imagine it's fun.

 

[AstroLad]

If it's the first 2-4 plays of the game, the spy won't have everywhere memorized, and reaching across the table to grab the cheat sheet with places instantly gives it away.

If the spy tries to be sneaky and just drops their eyes to look at the cheat sheet, it instantly gives it away. If everyone had a copy of the cheat sheet it might help.

If anyone asks a question about the picture, the spy is doomed so we made this illegal.

If someone asks the spy a question like "How's the weather" or "Can you see the sky" or "Where are we going" etc., the spy has to 50/50 guess if it's an outdoor/indoor location, or if it's a train/plane vs. fixed location. If they guess wrong or try to dodge the question, they're instantly out.


In summary, it feels like a game people have to work to enjoy, instead of just easily enjoying, in my limited experience. With some groups I'm imagine it's fun.

Yeah I saw that the picture thing isn't really in the rules, but it's a general principle of social-deduction games that I think is reasonably applied to Spyfall (and I think consistent with designer intent though haven't dug up the BGG thread). I also wonder whether actually forcing people to answer consistently with their individual "role" would make things better for the spy. Because then you force answers that might not necessarily make obvious sense to everyone but are true for that individual (like a janitor at the stadium or whatever), making it a little easier for the spy. I totally think the biggest obstacle for non-experienced groups though is the one you flag -- just not knowing all the locations cold. Really makes it tough. At least the spy does get a chance to review the list though. You almost just have to really clearly walk everyone through all the locations at least once before starting.

 

[SapphiCine]

After a three hour long struggle for survival against the Tyranid swarms, two of my Space Marines escaped the Space Hulk.

 

[Dryk]

It does look like Tuscany EE cuts most of the fancy expansions -- cheesemaking, tomato etc. making, mafia stuff, and secret goals.

The red items are cut: http://stonemaiergames.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Tuscany-Expansions-Where-Are-They-Now.jpg

I've been looking into it lately because I'm about to preorder Tuscany EE and most people that have the original said that they never use the modules that got cut anyway. The main loss is the extra meeples for all the different special workers really. The extended board seems like it completely changes the dynamics of the game. Because there are four smaller seasons there's less opportunity for people to jump ahead and cut in.

The wake-up chart is really different too. There are bonuses at the start of every season instead of during turn selection, and going last is the only way for the first player token to change hands. In addition to that the person with the first player token must go first on the wake-up chart. You retrieve your workers and choose your new position as soon as you pass in winter. So passing early can get you a better spot for the next year but it also frees up all of the spaces you used.

 

[Dreavus]

After a three hour long struggle for survival against the Tyranid swarms, two of my Space Marines escaped the Space Hulk.

Holy shit, nice!

How many marines did you start with? Was there a mega death turn that killed everyone or did you lose guys here and there? Haven't played myself in a while but I love that game.