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[zulux21]

I am a bit surprised that boardgamegeek rates it so low. Amazon has 70 5-star reviews, 1 4-star review, and NO reviews lower than that. That's a pretty outstanding breakdown for a game..

it shouldn't be to surprising as you have to make some adjustments to games when looking at ratings on boardgamegeek unless you adore euro worker placement games as those are about the only games that the community remotely rates properly.

If you answer yes and don't mind that you did;
is the game made somewhere then europe? add one point to the average score.
does the game use a mechanic of chance? add a half of a point to the average score.
does it take 30 minutes or less to play? add a half of a point to the score.
does it take less than 30 minutes to learn(by reading the included instructions, not from someone who knows how to play)? add a half of a point to the score.


granted these aren't hard rules especially when it comes to the chance one but it is typically what I do when I look at the ratings as they are pretty steadily off towards my views due to those factors, as board game geek seems to dislike things not made in europe, that use chance as a mechanic or that are quick and easy to play.

 

[Affeinvasion]

I love Valley of the Kings. I've yet to play a deckbuilding game that has the same feeling of ramping up of tension that happens towards the end. It's kind of funny too, because within the theme of the game you say "we are really close to dying"...time to put everything you can get into your tomb.

 

[Lyng]

Anyone doing 10x10 this year? I really enjoyed it in 2014, and we're actually going right down to the wire with 2x TTR, 1x BBTM, and 2x Castles of Burgundy left to play (TTR is already on the table).

It does give semi-weird/annoying incentives to play your 10x10 games over others, but honestly if you choose wisely I think it's a very positive thing. The only thing it really hurts is Cult of the New if you have limited playing time, but again I think for many this might be a good thing. Currently pondering which games to put on next year's list.

Great idea. Im game!
I almost exclusively play with my wife so it sorte depends on her too.
Anyways here is the list

1. Star Wars: Imperial Assault
2. Terra Mystica
3. Core Worlds
4. Robinson Crusoe
5. Bruges
6. Yedo
7. Sun Tzu
8. Warhammer 40K: Conquest
9. Lewis and Clark
10. Alien Frontiers

Tried to get as different games as possible. This should help my aquissition disorder

 

[Blizzard]

I love Valley of the Kings. I've yet to play a deckbuilding game that has the same feeling of ramping up of tension that happens towards the end. It's kind of funny too, because within the theme of the game you say "we are really close to dying"...time to put everything you can get into your tomb.

The very first game, my brother fell for that. He had all these amazing, powerful cards he had bought. He died with a terrible tomb because the deck ran out much faster than he expected, mwahaha.

On another note, I just gifted a copy of Libertalia to the local Barnes & Noble guy who usually talks about games when I go in. He was all surprised and happy about that, so hopefully he gets to finally try it. If I get around to writing more mini-reviews of games, I'll definitely try to include one of Libertalia since it's one of my favorites.

 

[Xater]

So I have not bought it yet but I've been thinking that maybe we could organize some play with Tabletop Simulator. We could get Skype going and maybe play stuff like Spyfall. That would be neat because getting that game is impossible and we could play stuff some of us might not get the chance to play with our own groups. I don't know, just throwing it out there.

 

[Neverfade]

Reminds me:

Spyfall.meteor.com

Easy way to play Spyfall whilst it's impossible to get.

 

[Karkador]

So I have not bought it yet but I've been thinking that maybe we could organize some play with Tabletop Simulator. We could get Skype going and maybe play stuff like Spyfall. That would be neat because getting that game is impossible and we could play stuff some of us might not get the chance to play with our own groups. I don't know, just throwing it out there.

I'm up for it

 

[Xater]

Reminds me:

Spyfall.meteor.com

Easy way to play Spyfall whilst it's impossible to get.

Ok that would be a cool free solution to play Spyfall. Well let's see if more people are interested.

 

[AstroLad]

After the wife and I got the kids to bed on New Year's Eve, we gamed until 11:30 to finish my 2014 10x10 challenge. #raisetheroof

 

[Yeef]

Finally got around to playing Evolution. Is a fairly fun and fast game and the rules are pretty simple. I enjoy edit.

Also played the Archer board game. It was amusing enough at first, even though the gameplay wasn't too great, but by the end we were all ready for it to be over. Can't see wanting to play it more than once a year, if at all.

 

[sasimirobot]

Just got Five Tribes in the mail today!

Played 2 games with the GF, she won both of them. Will take it over to a friends house after this for a 3 player session. First impressions:

1. "Wow this looks complicated!", -GF. Lots of shit going on at first, tons of options at beginning of the game.

2. I thought the Djinns were cool and a great strategy would be to collect a lot of them. Not a good idea. Actually they are high cost in VPs for buy/use, and most of them are not that useful unless they fit nicely with your base strat.

3. Betting for starting position is very deep, but like Tom from Dice Tower mentioned, I can't easily get my head around how much is too much to bet, etc...

4. How many desert themed games do I own now? Kinda getting sick of it...

 

[disillusion386]

Okay, I'm doing the 10x10 challenge.

1. Dominion - my old roommates and I play this and all of its expansions to death. Shouldn't be a problem to complete.
2. 7 Wonders - love this game and just got the Babel expansion.
3. Pandemic - the GF enjoys this a lot, and I plan on getting the In The Lab expansion this year.
4. Suburbia - got this game last year, but only played it three times. Gonna try to really get into it.
5. Resistance - this is a hit whenever we have board game nights with casuals so it should get plenty of plays.
6. Castles of Burgundy
7. Seasons
8. Race for the Galaxy
9. Carcassonne
10. Netrunner - I actually don't have this yet, but I've been meaning to get into it.

 

[PittaGAF]

Did anyone by chance tried Forgotten Souls Descent expansion solo?
Is it any good?
(To be played solo of course).

And what are the chances that Imperial Assault will get (hopefully soon) a similar treatment? (I would have already bought IA and all expansions if it had coop mode out of the bat, as I would with SW:Miniature Game).

 

[Ohnonono]

I got a little cash around the holidays and my wife "made" me spend it on stupid stuff that I normally would not buy (I am prone to stick it in the bank because I am fucking paranoid.) I ended up with Shadows of Brimstone: City of the Ancients, and Eldritch Horror with the Forgotten Lore expansion. Everything I buy has to be solo friendly which made something like IA not possible. TOTALLY missed that Fleet Commander: Nimitz was out so that kinda sucks but maybe another time.

Looking forward to SoB as a complete replacement for D&D adventure games. I can put together miniatures fine cause I was in that hobby for a long time so I don't care about that stuff. Real estate for the game is my only worry. I may need to try to find some of those stand up card holders to keep all the decks on my table that you need. Eldritch Horror all depends on how big the board is. it looks like I should be fine to set it up and I have really been wanting something better than Elder Sign for my MYTHOS fix. I looks very fun and both games are full co-op.

I let you know how it goes once I get a couple plays in (if I ever do!) Both of them I would been too gun-shy to pull the trigger on but with my wife goading me I threw down on some big boxes of stuff.

 

[Merino]

Signing up for the 10x10 here too. Going to pick solely games that can be played with two since 95% of my gaming will be with the SO.

1. Agricola: All creatures big and small
2. Hanabi
3. Innovation
4. Through the Ages
5. Eight Minutes Empire
6. Elder Sign + exp.
7. Troyes
8. Stephan Feld game (Macao most likely but possibly replaced by Bruges or Castles of Burgundy if I decide to get those)
9. At the gates of Loyang (or if we end up not liking it Le Havre as alt)
10. Twiligh Struggle (this is going to be the hardest, only gotten it to the table a handfull times and I want to dig into it deep really badly)

 

[SCHUEY F1]

One game I have trouble getting into is the Game of Thrones board game. Just don't care for the mechanics much.

 

[AstroLad]

One game I have trouble getting into is the Game of Thrones board game. Just don't care for the mechanics much.

Yep, way too long for what it is imo. I can see why people enjoy it though. I think it implements the theme quite well, I'm just not a GoT fan so clearly not the target audience.

 

[Blizzard]

Yep, way too long for what it is imo. I can see why people enjoy it though. I think it implements the theme quite well, I'm just not a GoT fan so clearly not the target audience.

It also seems to really need dedicated players and the proper number of them. The only time I ever played it, I shall forever cherish, because I ended up having such an unfair advantage. I've read all the Game of Thrones books but I may not remember the faction names so I apologize in advance.

1. We only had 5 players, so one of the southmost regions was empty (Sandsnakes?).
2. I was the other southmost player (Tyrells?).
3. The only other neighbor who might have fought me for castles was the Greyjoy faction.
4. 1/2 or 2/3 through the game, the Greyjoy player got so bored or frustrated with the game, they decided all the Greyjoys died of venereal diseases, and he left to do something else.
5. Everyone else had been fighting each other in the north.
6. Everyone else shortly afterwards realized that I had uncontested access to enough castles to win the game, and there was nothing anyone could do about it. Oceans are too slow.

I should make a point not to play it again so I can preserve my winrate. I do think it was long, clunky, and even though I'd read the books, not super appealing.

 

[hort]

Okay, I'm doing the 10x10 challenge.

1. Dominion - my old roommates and I play this and all of its expansions to death. Shouldn't be a problem to complete.
2. 7 Wonders - love this game and just got the Babel expansion.
3. Pandemic - the GF enjoys this a lot, and I plan on getting the In The Lab expansion this year.
4. Suburbia - got this game last year, but only played it three times. Gonna try to really get into it.
5. Resistance - this is a hit whenever we have board game nights with casuals so it should get plenty of plays.
6. Castles of Burgundy
7. Seasons
8. Race for the Galaxy
9. Carcassonne
10. Netrunner - I actually don't have this yet, but I've been meaning to get into it.

Do it. Its a fantastic game.

 

[SCHUEY F1]

Yep, way too long for what it is imo. I can see why people enjoy it though. I think it implements the theme quite well, I'm just not a GoT fan so clearly not the target audience.

I'm a big GoT fan and still don't like it, lol. Just not my style of game I guess.

 

[shiftplusone]

So I asked in here a few days(weeks?) ago about good 2 player games for me and my wife to play.

We eventually decided on the LOTR LCG and it went over really well, so thanks! I really liked the way the game flows and she liked the multiple decks all playing differently so that one was a good get.

someone also recommended pixel tactics. We like the idea of it but it seems to be sold out almost everywhere we look.

Then I found this...

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/level99games/pixel-tactics-deluxe?ref=category

I think im going to back it and just get all of the shit for it. thanks everyone!

 

[Faiz]

I've never played Talisman before. The iOS version was on sale, so I decided to try it.

The Axe card says "you may build a raft when you are in the woods or the forest".

At the beginning of my turn it's automatically making a raft because I'm in the woods, consuming my turn. I'm full of object cards, so it makes me get rid of one. I don't want a raft yet, so I drop the raft.

And I'm in a loop, because I don't get to move, and at the beginning of my next turn it's automatically making a raft again, even though the damn card says MAY, making it an option.

I googled the handling of the card and it doesn't appear my understanding is wrong here. I mean, it's pretty clear. So this seems like a really big really awful bug.

Talisman players, am I looking at this/doing something wrong?

 

[nicoga3000]

Is this thread only for physical copies? I picked up the Talisman digital deluxe on Steam Sale and was hoping to ask about it here...

I've never played Talisman before. The iOS version was on sale, so I decided to try it.

The Axe card says "you may build a raft when you are in the woods or the forest".

At the beginning of my turn it's automatically making a raft because I'm in the woods, consuming my turn. I'm full of object cards, so it makes me get rid of one. I don't want a raft yet, so I drop the raft.

And I'm in a loop, because I don't get to move, and at the beginning of my next turn it's automatically making a raft again, even though the damn card says MAY, making it an option.

I googled the handling of the card and it doesn't appear my understanding is wrong here. I mean, it's pretty clear. So this seems like a really big really awful bug.

Talisman players, am I looking at this/doing something wrong?

It took me a while, but here's how I'm pretty positive it works.

If you have the Axe and are in the correct space, you can choose to craft the raft. The raft is another object, so it takes up an inventory slot. You need to have at least 1 free slot in your object inventory to craft and use the raft. So assuming you 2/3 objects, the raft would make 3/3 and you can proceed.

How it works, is that if you craft the raft, you don't roll/move that turn. Instead, on your next turn, you have the option to cross the river. Upon doing so, the raft is discarded. However, you may also choose to roll that turn instead of using your raft. If you do this, the raft is STILL discarded.

In order to use the raft, it MUST be in your inventory. So if you have 3/3 and craft the raft, you would be at 4/3. At that point, you are forced to discard. If you choose to discard the raft, because it goes away next turn, my understanding is that it cannot be placed on that tile. Instead, it is immediately destroyed.

Hopefully that makes sense; basically, in order to use the axe/raft combo, you must have at least 1 free space in your inventory the turn you intend to craft the raft.

 

[PittaGAF]

I've never played Talisman before. The iOS version was on sale, so I decided to try it.

The Axe card says "you may build a raft when you are in the woods or the forest".

At the beginning of my turn it's automatically making a raft because I'm in the woods, consuming my turn. I'm full of object cards, so it makes me get rid of one. I don't want a raft yet, so I drop the raft.


And I'm in a loop, because I don't get to move, and at the beginning of my next turn it's automatically making a raft again, even though the damn card says MAY, making it an option.

I googled the handling of the card and it doesn't appear my understanding is wrong here. I mean, it's pretty clear. So this seems like a really big really awful bug.

Talisman players, am I looking at this/doing something wrong?

By any chance, did you put the axe card in the queue? (So it's automatically used that as soon as it's your turn?)

If not, it's a bug.
I play Talisman digital daily and it never happened to me.
Usually you use the card (pressing your inventory and selecting it) as you said, by choice to get the raft and cross the river.

 

[Faiz]

By any chance, did you put the axe card in the queue? (So it's automatically used that as soon as it's your turn?)

If not, it's a bug.
I play Talisman digital daily and it never happened to me.
Usually you use the card (pressing your inventory and selecting it) as you said, by choice to get the raft and cross the river.

In the what? LOL I didn't know there was such a thing. It's possible I did this accidentally.

Thanks, man, I'll go look.

 

[Palmer_v1]

In the what? LOL I didn't know there was such a thing. It's possible I did this accidentally.

Thanks, man, I'll go look.

With spells, you can queue them by single clicking then, I think. It pushes it upwards in the bow a little to show that it will be used at the next opportunity.

 

[Neverfade]

Oceans are too slow.
[/LIST]

Every single game of GoT I've won (and that's the majority of them I've played) were directly helped out by clever ocean positioning. People love to leave their flank unguarded.

 

[Faiz]

With spells, you can queue them by single clicking then, I think. It pushes it upwards in the bow a little to show that it will be used at the next opportunity.

Yeah I just came back to post this - the queue is only for spells.

Anyway, I dropped the axe, picked it back up, and the same thing is happening again. Axe is automatically makin a raft as my turn begins in the woods or forest.

 

[Neverfade]

Anyone here played Talisman and Relic?

Does Relic make any changes for the better?

 

[MjFrancis]

Zombicide has been discussed a good deal in these threads, but I had no idea that it even existed until Wednesday. Some here had recommended the original season, but I saw that it was $100 on Amazon and hesitated since it sold for $66 quite recently on some sites (though being out of stock now). Yesterday the price spiked to $140 on Amazon and it's generally above $120 on eBay so I decided I'd pass on the original Zombicide and instead buy Prison Outbreak and Toxic City Mall for just under $100 together.

If I enjoy what I get I'll buy Rue Morgue and Season 1 (when it is reprinted) but I'll abstain from the Kickstarter preorder business. I've had a collector's streak in the past but these can get so expensive that I'll be content with the boxed releases. I liken the secondary market characters to ridiculously expensive DLC that doesn't necessarily add much to the game.

If anyone has any advice or experiences with these games I'd love to hear it. It seems to be a simple game with a lot of potential, like a bunch of guys who played Risk growing up took the Gears of War board game and gave it a Left 4 Dead theme instead.

 

[Xero]

I've played tons of zombicide. My coworker has damn near everything for it. Going over to play rue morgue with him tomorrow actually. Keep note you can download the sheets for bonus survivors, you just wont have the minis for them. I think its a great game, its easy for most anyone to pickup, and it really nails that feeling of being swarmed by a horde of zombies better then any other game. Keep note they have a rule that most people I know house rule differently. If you fire a long rage weapon into a space their are priorities on who it will hit
1. walkers
2. fatties
3. runners

So you can't just snipe the runners in a big group with your ranged weapons unless you have a sniper rifle. However in another survivor is in the same tile, they immediately take damage first no matter what. Which most people agree is stupid. So some house rules have been, if you fire into a space with another survivor but don't hit anything the survivor takes a hit, or they take a hit on a 1. Or other variants.

Its also very open to make your own scenarios very easily. My coworker largely does this, and he isn't like some big long time d n d guy or anything, he just loves the game, and its very easy to come up with your own stuff to do, for scenarios. One other note, if you are playing with 2 people only, they will want to control 2 people each.

 

[Palmer_v1]

Zombicide has been discussed a good deal in these threads, but I had no idea that it even existed until Wednesday. Some here had recommended the original season, but I saw that it was $100 on Amazon and hesitated since it sold for $66 quite recently on some sites (though being out of stock now). Yesterday the price spiked to $140 on Amazon and it's generally above $120 on eBay so I decided I'd pass on the original Zombicide and instead buy Prison Outbreak and Toxic City Mall for just under $100 together.

If I enjoy what I get I'll buy Rue Morgue and Season 1 (when it is reprinted) but I'll abstain from the Kickstarter preorder business. I've had a collector's streak in the past but these can get so expensive that I'll be content with the boxed releases. I liken the secondary market characters to ridiculously expensive DLC that doesn't necessarily add much to the game.

If anyone has any advice or experiences with these games I'd love to hear it. It seems to be a simple game with a lot of potential, like a bunch of guys who played Risk growing up took the Gears of War board game and gave it a Left 4 Dead theme instead.

Pros:
Great theme
Lot of variety
Plays up to 6 easily
Completely co-op

Cons:
Set up/Tear down time
Games take a while
Way too easy

Basically, in the time it takes to setup and play a 6 player game of zombicide, we could have played several other games, and due to some of the balance issues with extra survivors, etc, it was pretty much a guaranteed win with very little danger. A lot of my friends like the game, but we all admit we need to houserule or omit some stuff to make it worth playing more. For reference, I have all but like 3 characters from the first two seasons.

 

[SCHUEY F1]

I don't think set up is too bad personally (also depends on the scenario and how well you have stuff organized).

Once you get more than one season I highly recommend customizing the weapon and spawn decks.

 

[EYEL1NER]

Hanks for the heads up on Zombicide S1 going up in price. Must be between print runs. I only have Prison Outbreak and Rue Morgue right now with the rest of the S3 stuff on the way. I'll have to keep an eye out for S1 now.

 

[wanders]

Hello everyone I have an extra copy of For the Win if anyone wants to trade with me or I can sell it. I REALLY WANT TO GET RID OF IT

Actually, while I'm at it, I also have 2 OOP Thunderstone expansions: Dragonspire and Doomgate Legion.

Edit: Im hoping this type of post is acceptable if not ill take it down.

 

[Toma]

So I played a whole night of Quantum now. I posted my initial impressions 1-2 pages back, but now I am absolutely sure that I love, love, love, LOVE it. I will definitely replay it countless times and its guaranteed to be one of my favourite board games... ever.

The graphic design is pleasing, the mechanics are elegant and allow for simple learning of the rules, the abstract idea of ships being re-rollable dice with different abilities is just brilliant and stays fresh all the time, strategic decisions are important while still leaving enough room for lucky encounters to bring the whole room to an uproar, the replayability is through the roof through an endless amount of map variations (which even alters how you approach the session with more combat or more exploration), the simple rules allow for TONS of tricky and highly entertaining maneuvers and it was just an all-out fun experience with 4 players tonight, attacking and defending planet positions.

The game isnt out in Germany, so I paid the overpriced UK import price (50€ I think?), but it was worth even that. Its just so, so, so good. Everyone in our group loved it, one of the other four is looking into buying it (despite it being expensive) and the only reason a third person isnt buying it is because he only plays board games with me anyway.

Hot damn do I love this game. I want this game to marry another awesome game and have many Quantum children. Highly recommended. If anyone wants me to rave more about it, let me know


Edit: Bonus Beauty Shot

Edit2: Tabletop Simulator version
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=274490687&searchtext=quantum

 

[Blizzard]

Every single game of GoT I've won (and that's the majority of them I've played) were directly helped out by clever ocean positioning. People love to leave their flank unguarded.

Good thing I stopped after winning one game then. I might have had my own ships or defenses anyway, but no one else's ships were anywhere close enough to get around the entire continent in time to stop me.

 

[SCHUEY F1]

Picked up the 10th Anniversary edition of Ticket to Ride. So nice!!

 

[Neverfade]

Good thing I stopped after winning one game then. I might have had my own ships or defenses anyway, but no one else's ships were anywhere close enough to get around the entire continent in time to stop me.

My point was: Poor play on your opponents behalf doesn't mean the ocean game is too slow.

 

[Blizzard]

My point was: Poor play on your opponents behalf doesn't mean the ocean game is too slow.

To be more nearly correct, I should say that in that game, oceans were too slow for anyone to make it around by the time they realized I was going to win.

As I hopefully made clear in all the other points, I had multiple unfair advantages in that game, and I do not mean to judge the game based on those particular advantages. I did not care much for the gameplay or theme even aside from the advantages, however. I assume this is personal taste.

 

[Karkador]

Picked up the 10th Anniversary edition of Ticket to Ride. So nice!!

Jealous! That version is definitely nice.

 

[Neverfade]

I have no objections to you disliking the game -- different strokes and all that. I'm just sort of boggled at how zero of four opponents couldn't even reach you to attempt to put up a fight -- that board is crowded even in a 5 player game.

 

[BattleMonkey]

Problem with having over 300 games in collection, is constantly having to reread game rules. Since we keep getting new games or wanting to play something different each week, when we go back to a game, we often have forgotten much of the rules and it requires us to reread. Sometimes for games its no problem, but so many bigger games just need some serious reading time dedicated to them, and also means more chance of forgetting the rules down the line.

 

[Neverfade]

Order arrived.

Hnnnng:

So many lovely dice!

Edit: Oh poo -- they're silk screened, not etched. Hope these hold up.

 

[Blizzard]

I have no objections to you disliking the game -- different strokes and all that. I'm just sort of boggled at how zero of four opponents couldn't even reach you to attempt to put up a fight -- that board is crowded even in a 5 player game.

They could have, the Greyjoys in particular. They just decided their priorities were elsewhere until I had expanded onto the empty half of the bottom continent, and then my Greyjoy neighbor abruptly ragequit. I'm guessing the land unit setup in the middle of the map was such that attacking me there was not fast or feasible, but it's been a long time so I may be forgetting details.

It was a freak occurrence and I liked winning in a funny fashion but I would hardly expect it to happen often.

 

[Neverfade]

I wouldn't feel any sympathy for the Greyjoy's: They have it easy

 

[MjFrancis]

[snip]

[snip]

Thanks for the impressions. I hope it isn't too easy, but I wouldn't mind making house rules to keep things challenging if that's necessary. The ability to easily customize the game to my tastes is appealing.

Hanks for the heads up on Zombicide S1 going up in price. Must be between print runs. I only have Prison Outbreak and Rue Morgue right now with the rest of the S3 stuff on the way. I'll have to keep an eye out for S1 now.

I have no doubt it will be back in print within a few months. I found a blog comment where it was mentioned that they had sold 150,000 copies of Zombicide to distributors as of last July. They've come a long way from the 5,000-ish pledges from the original Kickstarter.

 

[fenners]

Typically Zombicide comes back into print & easy availabilty when the new kickstarter season hits stores. January/February at this point, I suspect.

Played through quite possibly the hardest Zombicide mission I've ever tackled tonight, from Rue Morgue - M09 – NOSOCOMEPHOBIA. There's only two spawn points (with the dice rule from Rue Morgue) but the map setup is utterly unforgiving with a giant hospital that spawns when you open the only door into it.

Loved it despite failing miserably

I think the biggest problem with all these seasons/expansions/configurations of Zombicide is nailing the spawn + item decks for a particular session; the wrong setup greatly affects the difficulty level either way, and there's not enough clear direction/guides for how to mix all the options effectively IMO.

 

[SCHUEY F1]

Typically Zombicide comes back into print & easy availabilty when the new kickstarter season hits stores. January/February at this point, I suspect.

Played through quite possibly the hardest Zombicide mission I've ever tackled tonight, from Rue Morgue - M09 – NOSOCOMEPHOBIA. There's only two spawn points (with the dice rule from Rue Morgue) but the map setup is utterly unforgiving with a giant hospital that spawns when you open the only door into it.

Loved it despite failing miserably

I think the biggest problem with all these seasons/expansions/configurations of Zombicide is nailing the spawn + item decks for a particular session; the wrong setup greatly affects the difficulty level either way, and there's not enough clear direction/guides for how to mix all the options effectively IMO.

I have it so special zombies are less frequent and I limit each zombie type extra activation card to one each.

 

[BattleMonkey]

I think the biggest problem with all these seasons/expansions/configurations of Zombicide is nailing the spawn + item decks for a particular session; the wrong setup greatly affects the difficulty level either way, and there's not enough clear direction/guides for how to mix all the options effectively IMO.

Yea I think the game balance is a huge mess in Zombicide, it's essentially them pumping out content non stop without properly testing it, as they want the players to customize it as they see fit, so building ideal scenario play and balance requires lot of trial and error play.

Wouldn't be too bad to me if the game wasn't so big and kind of a pain to set up. Pretty much why the expansion stuff is mostly ignored now since I think base season 1 Zombicide was their only truly balanced product. Base game is great and recommended, but the rest.... not so much unless your hardcore fan of the game who has to have more.