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[Gaming Truth]

Wait a damn minute.

This is a small world.

You were our demo guy? I think going by your image?

I'm the ginger dude who owns Pandasaurus.

Wait a minute, I'm now slightly confused. I also didn't actively seek any GAFers because I was running with a 14-large crew, so I was never alone at any point to meet up. Based on Stooge's comments earlier, I didn't run into him, but based on Joelseph's haul:

Were you the one who sent me on the quest to pick up Coup? I looked for Pandasauras all weekend, finally found it Sunday, and conducted a fetch quest to trade for a copy of Machi Koro from someone at the booth. It was Option C because I couldn't stay to demo Machi Koro through the end of the show

 

[Keasar]

*snip*

Pretty sweet job on those cards. I used to play some Yomi at the school to give it a couple of tries and thought it was pretty alright, but I was later quickly won over instead to BattleCON which I thought in the end did a better job of putting a fighting game on the table. Less random with having no card draws, tons of cool characters to play as etc. Sad thing is Battlecon requires some space to bring along if you want to take Devastation with you. Yomi I remember was a lot more compact.

 

[Binabik15]

Pretty sweet job on those cards. I used to play some Yomi at the school to give it a couple of tries and thought it was pretty alright, but I was later quickly won over instead to BattleCON which I thought in the end did a better job of putting a fighting game on the table. Less random with having no card draws, tons of cool characters to play as etc. Sad thing is Battlecon requires some space to bring along if you want to take Devastation with you. Yomi I remember was a lot more compact.

Yeah, it's pretty easy to carry arround and quick to play. I originally thought of getting it as a not-as-antisocial-as-mobile-gaming time waster for family gatherings, but after a dozen games I actually find it fun.

BattleCon is the one were you move around to show distance and stuff, right? I saw that after Yomi and thought it looked complicated and not as easy to get out of the way when my nephews decide to climb the table or something equally reckless.

 

[Phthisis]

Question:
Anyone able to give a good rundown of the difference between version 2 and 3 of Twilight Imperium?
Easier for newcomers to grasp?

I have 2 but as with most people, it doesn't leave the shelf except for a particular group ready to bust into something that is fairly complex. If version 3 improves, streamlines, or just clarifies I MIGHT double dip.

From what I understand, TI3 changed up a lot of the core turn structure and timing of phases significantly. It introduced the Strategy Card mechanic which dictates turn order and what phases of the game happen, and how those phases let other players take actions even when it's not their turn. Also the box art isn't shit.

That's essentially what I gather from people who played 2nd edition; I've never played it myself but it sounds like a much different game. I only know the glory of 3rd.

 

[joelseph]

Wait a damn minute.

This is a small world.

You were our demo guy? I think going by your image?

I'm the ginger dude who owns Pandasaurus.

Holy shit, what are the odds.. Very nice to meet you! I didn't even put two and two together, haha.

 

[Experien]

Played Dead of Winter last night...kind of glad I didn't buy it. It is pretty darn bland. There is like NO flavor at all and all the crisis are "we need X food, did we put X food? Good you don't lose moral." There is no story/reason behind the crisis and most of the stuff that happens besides the intro paragraph and the sometimes sweet crossroad cards.

Also, the intro paragraph was short and had little to no relation to the objective. It goes on for a few sentence about someone being bit and bleeding but none of that is part of the objective (it was just to deplete 2 search piles).

 

[piratepwnsninja]

Played Dead of Winter last night...kind of glad I didn't buy it. It is pretty darn bland. There is like NO flavor at all and all the crisis are "we need X food, did we put X food? Good you don't lose moral." There is no story/reason behind the crisis and most of the stuff that happens besides the intro paragraph and the sometimes sweet crossroad cards.

Also, the intro paragraph was short and had little to no relation to the objective. It goes on for a few sentence about someone being bit and bleeding but none of that is part of the objective (it was just to deplete 2 search piles).

Odd, I didn't get blandness at all from the game. Each of the three times I've played it was very thematic, with everyone around the table piecing together the parts of the story as each turn went by.

 

[The Right Deal]

Played Galactic Strike Force last night and had a ton of fun, but man I feel like Greater Than Games are trying to make the fiddliest game ever. It seems like every player ends up with as much stuff to take care of as a villain does in SotM and taking care of a fleet of ships in three different sectors is no easy task. Despite that, I really enjoyed the game and I feel like the base set is much better than the SotM base set in terms of variety and customization options.

 

[Experien]

Odd, I didn't get blandness at all from the game. Each of the three times I've played it was very thematic, with everyone around the table piecing together the parts of the story as each turn went by.

Don't get me wrong, I want to give it another try but it isn't thematic at all. Sure you can add your own story but you shouldn't have to for this type of game. We normally add in our own story takes for thematic games so it doesn't add anything to games with no flavor to it. For these simple games, you need flavor text to make it enticing. Eldritch Horror is draw a card, roll a test, pass or fail but it is full of flavor text that makes it feel good.

 

[Keasar]

Yeah, it's pretty easy to carry arround and quick to play. I originally thought of getting it as a not-as-antisocial-as-mobile-gaming time waster for family gatherings, but after a dozen games I actually find it fun.

BattleCon is the one were you move around to show distance and stuff, right? I saw that after Yomi and thought it looked complicated and not as easy to get out of the way when my nephews decide to climb the table or something equally reckless.

That's the one. Its actually just as easy to play as Yomi once you get a hang of the rules. However, with all the bits, tokens and standups involved, if you have people inclined to climb on tables it might not be the best choice.

Still, very recommended to give a try if you ever get the chance.

 

[StoOgE]

Wait a minute, I'm now slightly confused. I also didn't actively seek any GAFers because I was running with a 14-large crew, so I was never alone at any point to meet up. Based on Stooge's comments earlier, I didn't run into him, but based on Joelseph's haul:

Were you the one who sent me on the quest to pick up Coup? I looked for Pandasauras all weekend, finally found it Sunday, and conducted a fetch quest to trade for a copy of Machi Koro from someone at the booth. It was Option C because I couldn't stay to demo Machi Koro through the end of the show

That was probably Nate at IDW. He was using Machi Koro to barter.

I snuck out on Sunday to drive back to NYC.

 

[Fruitbat Factory]

Just got Among the Stars this weekend from pre-order with Stronghold Games. My question is...these expansions, what? I like the idea of making the game 5-6 players but do I need BOTH expansions to properly do it? That is a lot of money even when on pre-order. Looking at each's components, Ambassadors says it has RULES for 5-6 player game but Expanding the Alliance (promos) comes with the necessary pieces for 5-6 like score marker, extra starter reactors, etc...

Anyone have knowledge on this garbage for Among the Stars expansions?

Ambassadors is the expansion you need. It makes the game much better.

Expanding the Alliance is a box full of promo stuff from kickstarters and conventions. It's isn't necessary unless you are a fan of the game and want everything.

Ignore the 5-6 players stuff, you don't want to play it with 5-6 players.

 

[Phthisis]

Played Dead of Winter last night...kind of glad I didn't buy it. It is pretty darn bland. There is like NO flavor at all and all the crisis are "we need X food, did we put X food? Good you don't lose moral." There is no story/reason behind the crisis and most of the stuff that happens besides the intro paragraph and the sometimes sweet crossroad cards.

Also, the intro paragraph was short and had little to no relation to the objective. It goes on for a few sentence about someone being bit and bleeding but none of that is part of the objective (it was just to deplete 2 search piles).

Plaid Hat Games is like the THQ of board game publishers. Games full of cool ideas that fall flat in execution. Happened with Mice & Mystics, Summoner Wars, and Dungeon Run as well.

 

[disillusion386]

Were there any updates at GenCon about the Babel expansion for 7 Wonders? Is there a release date yet?

 

[piratepwnsninja]

Plaid Hat Games is like the THQ of board game publishers. Games full of cool ideas that fall flat in execution. Happened with Mice & Mystics, Summoner Wars, and Dungeon Run as well.

Weird that Mice & Mystics and Summoner Wars are really popular, then. I definitely wouldn't say they fall flat in execution, from both personal and anecdotal experience.

 

[zulux21]

woot just got confirmation that my acquaintance picked up tragedy looper for me...

now for the sad part... I don't think I will see him again until august 31st ><:

edit: actually I forget he works where my wife works, I should be able to get it tomorrow lol.

 

[Affeinvasion]

Summoner Wars is great and for spacial tactical card games I only like Pixel Tactics more. Mice and Mystics is perfect for its audience.

 

[Phthisis]

Weird that Mice & Mystics and Summoner Wars are really popular, then. I definitely wouldn't say they fall flat in execution, from both personal and anecdotal experience.

I just find them both boring and/or problematic. Mage Wars is a way better game than Summoner Wars IMO, and Mice & Mystics just has so many problems that prevent me from enjoying it.

I would really like to enjoy Dead of Winter. Got to find someone who owns it so I can give it a whirl.

 

[AstroLad]

I dig Summoner Wars as a light tactical game. A lot actually. Don't play it much though because the deckbuilding elements and importance of knowledge of what's in the other side's deck make it a little tough to play with new players.

 

[Gaming Truth]

Were there any updates at GenCon about the Babel expansion for 7 Wonders? Is there a release date yet?

The demoer at Gen Con said he was surprised there were no copies there (he found out the day before the con as they were unboxing/preparing).

That has to sound like it's in print right now and releasing real soon. I didn't get a chance to demo it to.

More importantly, Spartacus expansion by the end of the year!

 

[BattleMonkey]

I just find them both boring and/or problematic. Mage Wars is a way better game than Summoner Wars IMO, and Mice & Mystics just has so many problems that prevent me from enjoying it.

I would really like to enjoy Dead of Winter. Got to find someone who owns it so I can give it a whirl.

Prefer Summoner Wars over Mage Wars due to how simple it is to get SW on the table and going. Can just easily toss down a game quick and easy while Mage Wars is a far more fiddly and complex game.

 

[Affeinvasion]

Mage wars is the only game I've ever traded away because I couldn't stand how long it took to make a deck by putting cards in each of the pages.

 

[KingErich]

I dig Summoner Wars as a light tactical game. A lot actually. Don't play it much though because the deckbuilding elements and importance of knowledge of what's in the other side's deck make it a little tough to play with new players.

I had a chance to play Summoner Wars Master set with my brother over the weekend. I played it a few times on iPad. I have to say I had a blast playing it on the table. The game scratched the same itch Memoir 44 gives me. Less setup time to boot! Still have a tactical miniatures game but without the miniatures. Definitely, can't wait to play again.

After watching the demo of Warhammer: Conquest at GenCon. I preordered a copy. I have never owned a LCG before. I'll let you all know my impressions once I get my hands on it.

 

[parasight]

Played Dead of Winter last night...kind of glad I didn't buy it. It is pretty darn bland. There is like NO flavor at all and all the crisis are "we need X food, did we put X food? Good you don't lose moral." There is no story/reason behind the crisis and most of the stuff that happens besides the intro paragraph and the sometimes sweet crossroad cards.

Also, the intro paragraph was short and had little to no relation to the objective. It goes on for a few sentence about someone being bit and bleeding but none of that is part of the objective (it was just to deplete 2 search piles).

Played it last night and might have been one of the most tense finales to any board game I've ever played. Couldn't disagree more.

 

[daevv]

For those who didn't go and want a good sense of what Gen Con is like I suggest watching Rahdo's Gen Con Run Through. It's an hour long but covers not only the exhibitor hall but all the other halls and some rooms. Including my favorite places, the auction room/store and the Board Game Library!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q4UBT1dG47Y

Got my Gen Con stuff sorted today. Not including free promos and stuff I finished with 11 games/expansions/addons. Mostly smaller card games as my space was limited for bigger boxed games.

Big Boxed games:
Pathfinder Skulls and Shackles Base Set + Addon
Doomtown: Reloaded
Thunderstone Advance: Tower of Ruin. While walking around I found a vendor selling it for $20. Since I had room for 1 more big boxed game and with Imperial Settlers sold out and The Witcher not available to buy I had to get this for $20. Kinda sucked as later I found out ZMan released The Beagle expansion for Robinson Crusoe at the Con and I had no room left. Just as well though as The Beagle expansion was $40 at their booth. I know I can get it cheaper down the road.

Small Games:
TAU: A storytelling game where everyone dies happily ever after.
Ticket to Ride: USA 1910
Dragon Slayer
One Night Ultimate Werewolf
Lost Legacy: The Starship
Coup + Coup: Reformation

Already making plans for next year. It was so much fun! I met a lot of awesome people. You could go up to anyone at anytime and talk to them about gaming. I also got to meet some of my favorite authors/artists/youtubers (Margret Weis, Tracy Hickman, Larry Elmore, Ed Greenwood, RA Salvatore, Tom Vassel, Zee Garcia, Some Board With Life cast members, and Rodney Smith.

 

[ultron87]

Gen Con was indeed a good amount bigger this year. Added 14% over last year to get to 56,000 uniques.

The show certainly seemed a little more crowded on the floor this year, but I spent a lot of it elsewhere so it didn't bother me that much. The biggest crunch will probably continue to be on hotel rooms and event registration. Hopefully the organizers can secure more hotel rooms downtown for the block, because otherwise that'll start to get ugly. The events thing is mostly just on the back of the community and exhibitors.

They could probably make the show floor bigger again, but that'll just eat even more space out of the table space for all the tournaments and events in the TCG/Miniature/Gaming hall. They are locked into Indy till 2020, so they'll need to figure some solutions out.

 

[Gaming Truth]

I really thought it'd be bigger, but this is what I brought back this year:

New Games:
Discount Salmon
Lewis & Clark - The Expedition
Machi Koro

Old Games:
Eight Minute Empire
Goa
Sherlock Holmes - Consulting Detective

Picked Up for Someone Else:
Student Bodies

Games I Liked That Someone Else Bought:
Seasons

Games I Played But Ultimately Didn't Buy:
Epic Resort: Saw the Kickstarter they had a month ago, I just didn't feel the game. Playing it didn't dispel any of those thoughts
Five Tribes: Finally got to play it Saturday. Fun, seems replayable, but dunno if it's fight-the-crowd-at-10-am-for-$50 worthy.
Imperial Settlers: Saw the Kickstarter they had a month ago, I just didn't feel the game. Playing it didn't dispel any of those thoughts
Istanbul: Seems very fun and Euro-ey, but I balked at getting it for $50 cause it wasn't a Gen Con-debut item
Lost Legacy: Was fun, but not Love Letter fun. Played two games, didn't feel it was something I'd get
Sheriff of Nottingham: Yeah, no. It's a pure-bluffing game with fruits and contraband. The art is nice though
Subdivison: Fun game and a nice twist on Suburbia (demoed by Ted, the Suburbia designer!). The only real issues I had was the component quality. It seemed to be really small and thin wafers. Not something I'd immediately associate with $50.

If anyone's interested in my opinions on the stuff I liked, I'll post those thoughts too. I left them out because most of the stuff I got was not new and I'm at work, so I'm limiting my downtime

 

[Gaming Truth]

My Gencon, in a single image

Since your favorite vendor was apparently also Asmodee, what were your thoughts on Abyss and Hyperboria? We loved Lewis & Clark (new), Cash & Guns (new), Splendor, and Seasons.

Also, why didn't they demo Rampage this year?

 

[ultron87]

Where'd you find Sherlock Holmes at the show? I thought I looked in most of the general seller booths.

My guess it that Rampage is a nightmare to demo on the show floor. The meeples would be everywhere.

 

[Experien]

Games I Played But Ultimately Didn't Buy:
Epic Resort: Saw the Kickstarter they had a month ago, I just didn't feel the game. Playing it didn't dispel any of those thoughts

Could you elaborate on your thoughts on this? Especially since you played it and all reviews online are glowing. I almost Kickstarted it and now sort of regretting it and really want to pre-order it.

 

[BattleMonkey]

Gen Con was indeed a good amount bigger this year. Added 14% over last year to get to 56,000 uniques.

The show certainly seemed a little more crowded on the floor this year, but I spent a lot of it elsewhere so it didn't bother me that much. The biggest crunch will probably continue to be on hotel rooms and event registration. Hopefully the organizers can secure more hotel rooms downtown for the block, because otherwise that'll start to get ugly. The events thing is mostly just on the back of the community and exhibitors.

They could probably make the show floor bigger again, but that'll just eat even more space out of the table space for all the tournaments and events in the TCG/Miniature/Gaming hall. They are locked into Indy till 2020, so they'll need to figure some solutions out.

They can expand floor space for the show, but they were tapping pretty much the whole hall for events and such, but they could reorganize stuff to move less popular events to other places or cap the less popular events that are constantly being done and never fill up.

Like this year the arcade they set up was in a big room, but they only had like 6 arcade machines sitting in it, huge waste of space that could have been used for other events.

The hotel situation is pretty much not going to get better, everyone is at capacity and only new hotels will help, and that's not going to happen any time soon.

 

[piratepwnsninja]

Where'd you find Sherlock Holmes at the show? I thought I looked in most of the general seller booths.

My guess it that Rampage is a nightmare to demo on the show floor. The meeples would be everywhere.

Was going to ask the same about Sherlock. I so wanted to find it for the wife.

As for what I think...I'll have to get back to you. I get a pretty good feeling from the rules, which I read prior to the con for most things, but didn't actually deep anything on the floor. Honestly my overall floor time the entire con was probably under six hours with all the other events I was doing and such

 

[BomberMouse]

I'm loving everyone's impressions on different games.

Anyone played Colt Express? that looks fun.

 

[Gaming Truth]

Where'd you find Sherlock Holmes at the show? I thought I looked in most of the general seller booths.

Cool Stuff Inc. (board game booth). It was in the Dings and Dents section. The box was dragon-punched in the back, so they sold it for $25. Between it being impossible to find and the universal reviews, it was an insta-buy when I grabbed it Thursday morning (11 a.m.?)

My guess it that Rampage is a nightmare to demo on the show floor. The meeples would be everywhere.

But the rules are totally against meeple flinging, and money trumps annoyance. Speaking of annoyance, that Whistle Man at Asmodee ...

 

[piratepwnsninja]

Also, why didn't they demo Rampage this year?

Just read on BGG that the reason it wasn't there is because:

"Due to copyright issues Rampage is now called Terror in Meeple City. We were unable to get copies in time."

 

[Experien]

Just read on BGG that the reason it wasn't there is because:

"Due to copyright issues Rampage is now called Terror in Meeple City. We were unable to get copies in time."

aka I should buy it on Amazon for $37 and have it as a collector's item?

 

[StoOgE]

Just read on BGG that the reason it wasn't there is because:

"Due to copyright issues Rampage is now called Terror in Meeple City. We were unable to get copies in time."

I know this is a joke (I assume), but I always wondered how they avoided whoever owns the rights to the arcade games wrath.

Oh, it isn't a joke.

the ghost of Midway has appeared.

 

[Gaming Truth]

Could you elaborate on your thoughts on this? Especially since you played it and all reviews online are glowing. I almost Kickstarted it and now sort of regretting it and really want to pre-order it.

When I looked at it from the kickstarter, it looked like:

• a basic deckbuilder: basic because you can only upgrade 2/3's of your starting hand, and only in limited ways. You can't acquire cards beyond this
• a basic worker assignment: you allocate workers from your deck and there's a little juggling between acquiring Gold and acquiring Flair. The assignment of Heroes is basic, yet non-intuitive at the same time.
• a basic encounters game: I can't think of the names of games like this off the top of my head, but there's a mechanic to flip the monsters' deck and see what comes up.

Playing it shored up the three bullets above. The choices for deckbuilding were extremely limited and, even in the four-player demo, not tense (spots are claimed once used for the round). The management of Gold/Flair is a bit boring. Do I want Gold or Flair this turn? Do I really even care if tourists leave? The encounters went completely out-of-control in our demo, slamming the same player four times in the same round. Also, the game seemed really long (> 1 hour) since you have to exhaust the encounters deck to end the game.

A game name popped up in my head when I typed the last sentence above. Don't know if it's fair to associate, but it well represents what I thought as I played it: Munchkin

 

[Experien]

I know this is a joke (I assume), but I always wondered how they avoided whoever owns the rights to the arcade games wrath.

Rampage was owned by Midway who closed in 2009.

 

[Faiz]

I know this is a joke (I assume), but I always wondered how they avoided whoever owns the rights to the arcade games wrath.

Oh, it isn't a joke.

the ghost of Midway has appeared.

Welp, time to stop putting off the purchase.

 

[StoOgE]

So, Battle at Kemble's Cascade is super swell.

I thought the dudes actually slid down the tracks and was slightly disappointed that they didn't, but the game works pretty well. Lots of tactical pew pew space action.

Reminds me a bit of Lost Valley actually in the power up department.

 

[AstroLad]

I'm onestly pretty amazed they appeared to have done all that without a license.

 

[Neverfade]

Imperial Settlers in stock at several places like CSI, MM, and Cardhaus.

Copy get.

Also bought Betrayal and Pandemic during the Amazon sale as I find myself entertaining newer gamers/non gamers more and more.

 

[fenners]

Imperial Settlers in stock at several places like CSI, MM, and Cardhaus.

Copy get.

I took a punt on it too, along with Splendor/Machi Koro/Thunder Alley. Better be good, it's rare I do a "big" order like this.

 

[Neverfade]

Machi Koro

Preorder yes? I didn't miss this being in stock somewhere did I?

 

[StoOgE]

Preorder yes? I didn't miss this being in stock somewhere did I?

Would be news to me if it were.

About 2-3 weeks out on it.

 

[fenners]

Yep, pre-order for Machi Koro. CSI.

 

[SillyEskimo]

I finished painting my first batch of Zombicide zombies. I chose the Toxic Zombies as my first group because it is a small batch of 30 and it's by far the easiest color scheme. I just need to decide on what I'm going to do with the bases, knowing that whatever I choose will also be done to the remaining 2 zombie types.

The "black and white" color scheme is simple to do. I painted 30 Toxic zombies with 3 colors in about 4-5hrs tops. I think I'm going to do the red Berserker Zombies next, which is another 30, and finally the regular walkers which is around 100 I think?

Anyway, here's a sneak peek for those who care. Once my basing is done, I'll post the entire group of Toxic Zombies together. They look great on the table!

 

[platypotamus]

Rampage was owned by Midway who closed in 2009.

I believe Warner Brothers owns all their old IPs

 

[joeyjoejoeshabadoo]

I finished painting my first batch of Zombicide zombies. I chose the Toxic Zombies as my first group because it is a small batch of 30 and it's by far the easiest color scheme. I just need to decide on what I'm going to do with the bases, knowing that whatever I choose will also be done to the remaining 2 zombie types.

The "black and white" color scheme is simple to do. I painted 30 Toxic zombies with 3 colors in about 4-5hrs tops. I think I'm going to do the red Berserker Zombies next, which is another 30, and finally the regular walkers which is around 100 I think?

Anyway, here's a sneak peek for those who care. Once my basing is done, I'll post the entire group of Toxic Zombies together. They look great on the table!

I saw your previous post, what a great idea. These look great.