Solo Descent Session Report: Heirs of Blood Campaign - Edge of Dawn

Trying to push towards the finish of this original campaign. After my last beating, I changed up Syndrael from having a sword and shield, to just having a two handed sword to try and increase her attacks. There were two choices of scenarios, I simply chose the first of the two - Edge of Dawn. So here we go with penultimate chapter in my Heirs of Blood campaign. As a reminder, I track the raw play online using the D2E Tracker (this is really a great tool) - I am playing through the Heirs of Blood campaign for Descent 2nd edition using the RAMV system for solo play. In many ways, this system is like the Road to Legend computer system, but setup to play through the printed campaigns. Because there is no overlord, each round there is some variable effect in play. I am playing three heroes: Widow Tarha (mage), Tomble Burrow (scout), Syndrael (warrior) (yeah, trying to get by without a healer).

Also, there are some spoilers, so if you don't want to know about this campaign, don't read on.

Edge of Dawn - Encounter 1

Opponents: Sir Alric Farrow, Cave Spiders, Goblin Archers, Shadow Dragons

Travel Steps: while traveling, nothing of interest happened.

Each morning, the sun seems reluctant to rise, as if held down by the long and starless nights. One evening, after the darkness has swallowed the previous day all too early, a priest bursts into your tent. "It will not rise again!" he exclaims, his eyes wide and wild. "They have cursed the valley, and if you cannot break the curse by tomorrow's dawn, the sun will be bound beyond the sight of the valley forever.'" You leave immediately, heading directly for the cathedral that holds your only hope. Diving headlong into the frigid river, you swim across the dark waters and sprint for the crumbling spires. Somewhere within is hidden the sword of Arcite, also called the Dawnblade. It is only before the blazing edges of this sword that the curse can be broken and the light of day restored to the valley.

I have to traverse halfway through the dungeon to get a sigil, then take that the other way to get the sword (while fighting spiders, Alric, a shadow dragon and an incoming horde of goblin archers).

Round 1 - Event: Global when heroes open a door roll for a trap.

Goblin reinforcement added. Syndrael moves and opens door. Alric begins heading from his starting spot to the sword. Widow takes fatigue to move in a little then uses a blast attack on the spiders. In the best attack ever, she entirely eliminates the entire group. Spiders (no spiders!). Tomble - double move to get the sigil. Dragon moving in towards our party of heroes. Goblin master moves towards Syndrael and gets off a shot for 3 damage (down to 9). A spider reinforcement appears

Round 2 - Event: Dark Influence - Global when reinforcements arrive add an extra figure. Uncool event. Two goblin archers arrive. Tomble uses fatigue to get in close enough to grab the Arctite Sigil and then starts heading back the way he came - I set him so that Alric has to move adjacent to him to get past him. Alric moves and Tomble uses Caltrops which immobilizes Alric! He is forced to bash Tomble for 4 damage (down to 6). Widow moves up and uses a blast to hurt the master goblin archer, but the dragon takes no damage. The master cave spider attacks Tomble for 3 and poisons him. Syndrael uses her heroic feat, which allows Tomble to move again. She then moves and attacks the master goblin archer, knocking it out. The shadow dragon full on attacks Syndrael, but misses. The minion goblin archers attack Syndrael for 6 total damage (down to 3). Two spiders added as reinforcements.

Better run!

Round 3 - Event: Global when a hero recovers an HP, master and lieutenant figures move one space towards the hero and attack if they can. Tomble (with Sigil) moves and the does his heroic feat (disappears). Alric is immobilized. Syndrael does a double move towards the door that needs to be opened to get the sword. Spiders combine to hit Widow for 10 damage (to 1) plus poison. Widow never gets a turn as she is knocked out (see first note below) at the start of her turn by poison. The Dragon double moves to chase Syndrael down. The goblins move and shoot, KO'ing Syndrael. Spider reinforcements added.

Round 4 - Event: Dark Influence - Global small monsters get to add +1 shield to their defense rolls. Tomble fails his poison roll and is down to 2 hp. He reappears and moves and opens the door to the sword room. Alric stays in hot pursuit. Syndrael recovers 5hp and 1 fatigue. Spiders all move to close on the heroes. Widow recovers 4hp. Goblins have no LOS to targets and can't move in. The shadow dragon KOs Tomble.

Round 5 - Event: Instant - instant ends up causing 2 damage to Syndrael and Widow. Syndrael picks up the Sigil, uses a fatigue to slide a space and slams the door close. Alric moves. Tomble recovers 5 hp. Spiders KO Tomble and then move in and open the door. Finally, the last spider moves in and KOs Syndrael. Widow tries to move into range and attack something, but misses. The dragon actually has nothing it can do. The goblin archers make up for this by KO'ing Widow again. 

Round 6 - Event: Global -  whenever any figure it hurt, add +1 damage. Tomble recovers 5 hp. Alric moves and is finally adjacent to the sword (thus will win next round). Widow recovers 4hp. Spiders move in and KO Tomble. Syndrael recovers, but needed Tomble to still be in place. He's not, so even if she makes it through this round, she is out of position. Dragon moves in and KOs Syndrael. Alric will recover the sword without any opposition next round.

The hilt of Arcite's sword protrudes from a tall pedestal of obsidian. The sheath of black rock glows and glimmers, as if the sun itself were encased within. Alric grasps the hilt, but the sword does not immediately give way to his strength. Unable to withdraw the sword, the black knight places a foot against the pedestal and pulls sideways. A moment passes, then there is a sharp crack and the obsidian shatters. He raises the blade in triumph, but the stone continues to pop and break, and in a moment the floor gives way beneath him and he disappears into a cloud of dust and debris. 

Notes: 

• I was really unsure about the timing with being poisoned here - if a hero dies at the start of their turn to poison, are they done or do they just recover. I probably went the hard way (recover next turn), but I don't think it would have changed the outcome in the least.
• This was really close - I needed some luck at the very end. A hair bit of luck and I might have pulled it out. Instead, I did really well the first two rounds and then it all went to hell.
• This hero group has no defense and I really take a beating against these second stage monsters - especially the masters. 

Edge of Dawn - Encounter 2

Well, due to a house fire, it took me 6 months to finish this encounter. I didn't bother taking notes, I just wanted to play. Because I didn't have much clue as to the actual state of things, I re-played the first encounter. Because I had written up the first play, I left it above. For the replay, Tumble snuck past Sir Alric and grabbed the sword at the 11th hour. Owning the Dawnblade has changed the game for me. Here's what I know...

Opponents: Sir Alric Farrow, Lord Merick Farrow, Barghests, Flesh Moulders, Goblin Archers, Zombies

You try to flee, but you can feel some force compelling you deeper. Whether it is the call of the sword or a challenge issued by its master, you are not sure. All you know is that you cannot leave this place until the mage or you are defeated. 

I gave the Dawnblade to Syndrael. During the replay of encounter 1, Tumble pulled a search for a random item, which turned out to be a Rune weapon (and a good upgrade for Widow. With the weapon upgrades, I was able to pound my way through the second encounter and beat Lord Merick Farrow. 

Seriously, the weapons I had before were crap compared to what I ended up with. Shopping is random of course, but can make a huge impact. In fact, after the scenario, I ended up with Dwarves Fire Bombs for Tumble, giving all three characters really decent ability to wipe out hoards of monsters and control the board a lot better.

The Dawnblade allowed Syndrael to hoist a shield, which helped keep her in the fight a lot, and the massive damage I was doing (well, 8-9 a shot feels like massive at this point) let her take out multiple monsters a turn. 

Merick 's body glows as you slide the Dawnblade into his chest. Rays of light spring from his eyes and wounds, then his flesh flickers and disintegrates into a pile of ash. There is a long stillness in which you wait for some farther assault, but none comes. Instead, a light breeze glides across the floor, sweeping the ash upward through a hole in the ceiling. You sheath the blade and retreat back into the morning sun. 

More Painting

More Descent painting! On BGG, Chris Graves (voodoochyl) does a monthly Painting Challenge List - mostly these are lists that participants throw up whatever they think they'll get done in the month. Sort of an accountability list. 

Well, for the first time in a long time, I got through my list! The last item on my commitment set was the Crow Hags, which were pretty basic - blue and white, with some blood on the front of their clothes. I pretty much went with the exact same scheme as everyone has done, sticking to the simple game artwork.

In finishing these three figures (along with the previous post's Demons and Skeletons) I finished the Treaty of Champions set of figures. 

As a whole set, this might be (top to bottom) one of the better sets I've finished. I was happy with how pretty much every figure in this set turned out. From adding stubble to an otherwise boring armor clad hero, trying tattoos on the dwarf, adding a bit of glowing fire to another, doing a magma sword for a demon, etc - I enjoyed the work of all of these.

And since its only the middle of the month, I went ahead and added some additional items to my plate. I decided that the next set I'd start to work on was the large expansion box - Shadow of Nerekhall. 

First up I decided to get the stupid rat swarms out of the way using Army Painter Speed Paints. I went with having the master set be a large hoard of albino rats and used the blood paint for their eyes (which was 100% the right choice). Having painted up Mice and Mystics, I knew the exact right paint out of my set to use for the tails (and if I had been more ambitious about them, could have done the ears too). Turned out that just doing the tails and eyes was the perfect amount of detail to make these dumb mob figures into something at least a hair more interesting. And they were simple to get done. Next time - Tinashi the Wanderer (hero). 

Descent Painting Totals: 96 monster figures, 34 hero figures, 12 lieutenants done - 12 monsters, 1 hero completed in 2022

Painting Descent 2022

 It has been a while...

A long while since I took out a brush and put some paint to a plastic mini. So, I figured I'd better set a goal for the month of June. The goal? Finish a couple of figures which would complete a couple of the sets I've had for a while now. To this end, I started with some new paints. I ordered the mega set of Army Painter speed paints (which is the AP answer to Games Workshop's Contrast Paints). My hope is that I can quickly finish some of the monster sets without getting bored and yet still have them look ok. Well, they work about the same as contrast paints and they do look good (though I still can't take a decent picture to save my life...)

The first one I did was a skeleton archer. I had done all of them but one. Here are three of them - can you tell which one was the Speed Paint and which were the Contrast Paints (the red one is SP)? Sadly, I have lost one of the figures (there should be five, I have four). 

But, the point was to try the new paints out and shake off some rust. The fact that the most recent one looks almost exactly like the older ones was a good sign (I mean it has been a loooong time since I painted anything).  

Next up I decided to finish a crypt dragon that I started about two years ago (seriously). I had finished the first one back in February this year, but then we had a house fire and I hadn't gotten around to finishing the other. Until now. 

The picture itself is a little bluish tinted, but as you can see, I mostly just wanted to put some color on them and then detail them a little with some blood and bones.

BTW, the Citadel Technical Blood paint is awesome. I really love that stuff. It looks so good, especially in this kind of scenario. 

I could have spent more time on wing details, but honestly I think that the level of detail I have here is exactly right for a mini that is likely to be on the table for about 10 minutes. That was the point of the speed paints and contrast paints. Don't spend 4 hours per figure here, you'll never "payoff" that time. Speaking of payoffs...

The Crypt Dragons finished off the Guardians of Deephall Hero and Monster set, so here it is in all its glory. I wish I had the Speed Paints when I had done the rest of the monsters for this set. Oh well.

I also painted up ONE hero. 

At some point a couple years back, I found the Visions of Dawn Hero and Monster set for sale - 95% painted up (decently too). This was a set I wasn't particular interested in painting, but at the right price, I was happy to own it. The one lone figure unpainted in the set was Nara the Fang. So here is Nara done with Speed Paints. 

When I finished blocking the figure in, I actually wasn't happy with the color - it was far too bright, so I hit it with some Army Painter Strong Tone. I was fairly surprised how decently the figure ended up, because Strong Tone always looks really dark to me, but the highlights still show up decently. I touched up a couple of small things and changed the color of the stone blades and called it good.

Last thing I did was paint up one of two Demon Lords. This was a real test of the speed paints as this was a larger figure from scratch that I really didn't want to spend a lot of time on. The picture here shows a "before and after" (really just the other Demon Lord in its primed state). I did a zenethil prime to give the speed paint something to color (I originally just primed the figure in black). 

This figure was almost all done in speed paints, except for the horns and feet claws (I can't help but go back and dry brush horns). I may have also touched the sword and belt thing with a touch of metallic paint.

Although the color is pretty basic, the speed paints really did their job and the figure looks pretty good for such a low amount of effort.

My plan for the master version is more red/brown rather than straight brown, just not sure how well the color will work. Luckily, a little water after the figure dries will take the color right off. Some folks are calling this a flaw in the speed paints, but to me it makes it super forgiving and easy to fix mistakes. Like ridiculously easy to fix (and avoid). It does mean that layering with thinned paints isn't going to work well, but there are a couple ways to avoid accidentally removing colors - besides, I'm not using speed paints if I'm going to layer colors - the point is quick and easy.

Well, I did a count to see where I'm at. I counted all the figures I've done and all the ones I have left to do. 

Total number of painted figures:

• 88 monsters figures
• 34 hero figures
• 12 lieutenants

Unpainted figures remaining (currently owned):

• 79 monster figures
• 18 hero figures
• 2 lieutenant

Uggg. How do I still have about as many monsters left to paint as I have already completed? I'm never going to get these done. Dreams.

If you want to see the whole of everything I've done, check out my never ending geek list on BGG.

SpaceCorp - New Game Thoughts

How I got Here

At the start of each new year, I take my Christmas money and find a high end game that I wouldn't normally get and go ahead and get it. Last year I went with Lacerda's Escape Plan, which was ok (I've only played it two player and would like to give it a shot with 3-4). 

This year I wasn't set on any one particular game of interest. I considered another Lacerda (Kanban EV), but wasn't set on getting  that by any means. While browsing through various post of folks selling games, the GMT SpaceCorp 2050-2300AD game (and expansion) caught my eye. I headed over to BGG to look for information and realized that at some point, I had already looked into this game before. In fact, I had read a review by Brian Bankler (whose tastes I trust) which had put me on the fence about this game and then I simply forgot all about the game.

His opinion was that this is a good game, marred by a few cards that can swing a long game. I do not mind long games that are enjoyable, but it frustrates me to play a long game and have one or two luck-of-the-draw cards/tiles/roll-of-the-dice/whatever suddenly destroy the last 2+ hours of clever puzzle solving and out maneuvering of your opponents. Twilight Struggle (which is an amazingly good game) has this issue with its Bear Trap (and the US mirror) cards. Dominant Species has this to some extent, in my opinion, where one or two of the cards can give players extra action pawns for the rest of the game (failing to get those actions is usually brutal). 

Of course, in both games you can mitigate the issue by simply excluding the card(s) and it doesn't significantly change anything or unbalance the game (in DS, it can actually help to reign in the length of the game). From what I had been reading, it wasn't one or two cards that throw things off in SpaceCorp - there are a number of those cards that might do that, so I've been hesitant. Until now. Initially when I had looked into the game, I was not interested in solo plays. With the way things are now with COVID, I'm trying to scratch that gaming itch a little with something solo. I have games I play solo now - Descent, Arkham Horror: TCG, Marvel Legendary, Marvel Champions, and Eldritch Horror - but nothing engine building or puzzle solving like this. And yes, any number of games I own have some kind of solo system, but GMT does an excellent job of putting together solo play for their games - it doesn't feel tacked on like most euro games that have some solo system often do. Also, weird random stuff is a lot less bothersome to me when playing something solo. 

So, I pulled the trigger. I was able to get that twice played copy and a new copy of the expansion for $70+shipping - the base game alone goes for over $80 on Amazon. I'm hoping it at least keeps me busy for a couple of plays solo and assuming I enjoy it, I'll probably be able to get it to the table at some point (someday) for real face-to-face play.

The Game Arrives

First thing to note, the box arrived and I picked it up - it felt like it had bricks in it. It was heavy. After unpacking the two boxes, I just should have known better. GMT game boxes are among the best made - they are super thick and sturdy (and gloriously glossy and great looking in a minimalist way). Their boxes are probably so decent, because they just don't skimp on the game stuff. People might look at pictures of the games and just see a bunch of chits and assume the components are crap. Their components are are not. 

I opened the box for SpaceCorp (leaving the Ventures expansion sealed) and found it mostly full - the game boards are nice and heavy and thick, the rules books are standard GMT fare (which is to say - thick paper rules). I believe Chad and Kai Jensen helped with game development and the rules, so I'm excited to dive into the rulebook (says nobody ever, but if the rules are as well as the Combat Commander rules, they should be good). 

One thing I was surprised at - the main box is deep and still it is FULL. Based on pictures I've seen, so is the expansion box. Fitting it all in one box is just not going to happen (no big deal). Based on the amount and quality of stuff, you can't say you aren't getting your money's worth from GMT games.

Spreading it out all over the table, the game looks reasonably minimalist despite this being rated almost right in the middle of GMT's complexity scale. The game is primarily a card driven game and there are well over 200 cards (220 to be exact) and they are printed on nice thick card material. There are also a couple small handfuls of cardboard tokens and a few wooden player bits. The player boards are nice and heavy with a glossy finish and the game boards are also thick, with a nice matte finish. There are also player cards on good yardstick and two sets of rules (solo and multiplayer). 

Getting Started Solo

How hard can this be right? Just read the rules and set things up... I started reading. But the light wasn't great in my room, so I went looking for the PDF of the rules to read on my iPad instead. GMT is great about posting rules and links on each of their games for which there are such things. Rules found. Oh look -  a link to a solo play session and files for a smaller side board (not sure what that means or why I might need it, but I might, sooooo). Smaller SpaceCorp Solo Sideboard Solution from Ones Upon a Game - not too much longer after that, I'm printing out the file onto full sticker sheets and looking for chipboard to mount it on. I mean - hey, these are awesome. **(After playing with the smaller board, I realize that my old eyes need the full sized cards to see, and I have the table space, so went back to what the game gives you). Did I mention I sleeved the cards too? I did. The cards are decent but the backs are black, so any wear is just going to be very obvious. Anyway... back to the rules.

Solo play look like they came up with a good way to drive what the opposition does. At the bottom of the cards is one simple thing that indicates the action that the other guys do. Clean, simple, and no extra materials needed just for solo. Cool. Maybe a little random, but it works. Pax Transhumanity does something like that - just use the cards themselves to drive solo play. 

In the end, the AI isn't really AI. It simply does the best it can to simulate what other players might end up doing. It's random and unpredictable of course, but it does a really great job of simulating the flow. Sure, you can't predict which cards it will take/remove from the display. You can't plan on where The Competition will move nor when they will be able to build. But if I was playing a multiplayer game and not paying attention to the other players, but just took in the situation on my turns, it would likely be spot on (except for maybe how fast The Competition can reach the far end of the system you are in). 

Oh, and I got destroyed. I probably played a rule or two incorrectly, but that was mostly my not understanding or forgetting something. Overall, the rules are good. My biggest quibble to the rules was finding things I thought I had read. I was usually right on, but couldn't always find that elusive sentence easily. Otherwise, there are examples and things are clearly explained. The logic for when The Competition explores and builds took a minute to understand, but I finally worked it out.

Solo Play

As for the game - the first era is fast. It gives you that quick taste of things to come. The game design is amazingly good in that when you move to the next era, the rules then explain the handful of new things that are being introduced. It is like adding a small expansion to a game you know. It is perfectly executed.

The second era is more expansive and exciting and longer - there is just more stuff. It is still the same game of tactics and slowly improving your abilities, just more so than the first era. And when you are in the heat of it all, suddenly the era ends and you are pushed into the vastness of the galaxy and the final era. And just like before, the rules layer on a few more things that are easily absorbed. One more expansion to the game. Also just as before, the final era feel much more expansive. And yeah, the mechanics match the theme. It takes a lot of effort to move between the stars and even when you reach a star system, it takes a minute or three before you can do anything. Of course, we aren't just visiting an asteroid or a moon in one system, we are visiting a whole star system with multiple places to explore (which you do all at once), so the gains are also that much grander.

It is really amazing how well done this space exploration game matches the theme given that there is no real "tech tree" like most games of this kind. Tech levels are handled by the era cards and "just advance" as you move into the next era. It is also not really an engine game. You do improve your infrastructure and can gain breakthroughs/advances (special abilities that give you small advantages), but that isn't the meat of the game by any means. This is about discovering things to increase your income.

This is almost a 4X game, but you aren't really conquering and "territory" doesn't really mean anything beyond nabbing a contract (goal) or two for profit. It is more like a 2.5X game - explore, exploit, kind of expand. That doesn't make it a bad game at all, you just have to recognize it for what it is. This is a race to the stars to exploit the universe for profits! And the theme here really ties in. Heck, lots of games cover early technology from horse travel to the modern era and the revolutions of technology in-between. This is the same sort of thing, but the "landscape" isn't the earth, it is what is out there beyond our world. 

Ventures Expansion

After my first play, I figured I might as well bust out the expansion for my next go round. Opening this (heavy) box revealed a stack of player boards and a small set of cards. There is one replacement card and a couple (literally) new cards to add into the era decks). There are also new contracts for each era that will get randomly selected to add a little new variability to the game. The meat of this though is the new player boards. Each board hosts a unique faction that has different abilities and handicaps giving players some asynchronous direction to playing. For solo play, The Competition also follows suite with unique challenges. My first play with the expansion stuff pitted me against D.P. Roberts (if you get that reference, you probably inferred that they are indeed pirates). I love that this sort of in-joke is awaiting you.

Now, much like how each era added just a small (yet important) layer of changes/additions to the game, the Ventures expansion does the same with the player boards. Everything in the expansion is top notch (thick, glossy boards, same quality cards, etc), but it almost feels like this is how the game should have been out of the box. Based on what I've read, fans of the game seem to universally like this expansion and wouldn't play without it. I don't think the game is so overly complex that first time players couldn't jump in here either. That being said, the retail on the pair is a hefty $132 - I got a deal on the pair, but I'm not sure I'd have been willing to pay full retail. You certainly get a lot (especially by weight) and the game is fun (I'm looking forward to playing multiplayer). There are certainly a lot of other games out there in this price range that I wouldn't want to slog through, but this game hits the mark for theme and exploring the galaxy (a little at a time). I imagine that multiplayer keeps you involved the whole time, because each player's turn is one simple action that rarely takes much time nor effort to complete. A first play may take a little while to work through, but subsequent plays should pick up the pace considerably.

On the GMT scale, this is just below "medium complexity" and I think that's spot on. In multiplayer, I can see the complexity being pretty much based on figuring out your competition as much as anything. This is right at the top of their scale for solo play and it was obviously designed that way. An entirely separate rule book for solo (a good rule book) and a system that is easy to learn makes handling The Competition simple and not distracting in the least. Again, the company's rating is spot on. The thing is - solo isn't just easy to do, its interesting. A lot of games have a solo mode, but it becomes and efficiency exercise. This probably has some level of that, but it doesn't feel scripted in any way. The scripted-efficiency puzzle is what I really dislike in solo experiences, so SpaceCorp gets a huge thumbs up from me for solo play.

Session Report: Return to Descent - Journeys in the Dark

Well, it has been a while since I played, but here we are in a new year and I think seeing posts of people playing their Descent: Legends of the Dark has made me want to break out my game and get back to playing a little. 

Of course, it has been such a long break for me from the game that it took me a while to set everything back up and re-figure out each of my heroes and the RAMV system again. Plus, I apparently need to keep better track of what I was doing (I'm pretty sure I decided to only use the base game (no exp stuff at all), no lieutenant expansions and so forth - i.e. basic and straight-forward).

So now we return to the next chapter in my Heirs of Blood campaign with the Lord of Flame, the second chapter of my Phase II set of quests. As a reminder, I track the raw play online using the D2E Tracker (this is really a great tool) - I am playing through the Heirs of Blood campaign for Descent 2nd edition using the RAMV system for solo play. In many ways, this system is like the Road to Legend computer system, but setup to play through the printed campaigns. Because there is no overlord, each round there is some variable effect in play. I am playing three heroes: Widow Tarha (mage), Tomble Burrow (scout), Syndrael (warrior) (yeah, trying to get by without a healer).

Also, there are some spoilers, so if you don't want to know about this campaign, don't read on.

Lord of Flame - Encounter 1

Opponents: Lord Merick Farrow, Flesh Moulders, Ettins

Travel Steps: while traveling, I found a health potion, got caught in a landslide (Syndrael lost fatigue points), and then some minions ambushed me and everyone lost a life and fatigue)

You are patrolling the main road with a few soldiers when a young elf steps out from behind a tree directly  beside you. You barely perceive her motion, and only one of the soldiers notices, reaching for his blade. "Peace," she whispers, "I come with information. I am a spy within the enemy camp." You motion for the

soldier to return his sword to its sheath and she continues. "For three weeks I have lived in the tree above Merick's tents, gathering information. This morning, I overheard Eliza speaking with him, requesting that he travel to the Ix'Halanrha caves at the southern end of the valley, and secure the power of the ancient elementals that reside there. I escaped before he left, but you don't have much time. You cannot allow him to master those beings." You leave the soldiers to their patrol and the young elf leads you along a secret path toward the mountain. It is long into the night before you enter the hidden valley that rests beneath the caves. A near-invisible path winds its way to the far side, flanked on either side by a few decrepit shacks. To your surprise, many of the windows are aglow with candle light. You approach quietly, but then see Merick waiting for you. "I'm not sure how you found me- " you realize that your guide has disappeared "-but it won't happen again. You are a pesky bunch. Anyway-" the doors to many of the shacks burst open, spilling forth a wave of sickly flesh moulders. They charge toward you, calling spheres of dark energy into their hands.

This encounter was easily the worst I've played - and I don't just mean in the result, I mean that it was not interesting nor fun. The setup here is basically - Merick will try to run off the map. Based on the layout, if you don't immobilize or stun him immediately, he will freely get away by the 4th round. Oh, and he gets a head start - the heroes do not get a first turn. Secondarily, the flesh moulders will run around creating water and fire pits - the more they make, the worse it will be for the heroes in the second encounter.

Round 1 - Event: Instant - remove a search token.

As I noted, the heroes do not get a first turn of actions. Merick runs for it. The flesh moulders head to their spots to start creating havoc. The Ettin moves and blocks the passage for the heroes. Next round, Merick will go past the ettin and then it will be over, end of story.

Round 2 - Event: Global - after attacking, monsters attack again.

Widow moves and then attacks. She needs 6 range and misses. I forgot just then to use fatigue to close the range, but my rolls were such (even with re-rolls) that I couldn't have hit at 4 range. Merick runs past the ettin. Syndrael double moves and is in place to keep the ettin from moving more. The flesh moulders start making water spouts. Tomble finally gets involved with a move and search, finding a health potion. The ettin hits Syndrael twice for a total of 9 damage. Arf.

Round 3 - Event: Global - if a hero heals and is near a monster, the monster heals too

Syndrael manages a couple of damage and a stun on the ettin. Merick is almost out after another run. Tomble moves and attacks, but can't get through the ettin's defense. The flesh moulders are making more water and now a fire spot. Widow moves and attacks the ettin for 1 damage, a push back of the ettin, and immobilizes him. Despite this, the ettin can still attack and knocks out Syndrael.

Round 4 - Event: Heroes each lose 1 fatigue

Tomble moves and is then able to remove a water spot. Merick escapes and ends the first encounter so all that was left to do was count the water and fire spots (the number influences something in the second half).

Waves of flame issue from Merick's body. He stares into your eyes and calls out a command in an unknown tongue. You try to strike a killing blow, but are unable to draw close enough. Merick ignores you, descending into the ancient temple. 

Notes:

• There was just no good way to play this. I'd have needed to be super lucky with Widow to have hit Merick and immobilized him (which still probably wouldn't have been enough to follow up with a stopper after). 
• Due to my own poor memory, it took me about 6x longer to setup and recall what I was doing than to play these three rounds (the fourth really didn't count).
• I always setup poorly and the first hero I want to use is in the back. At least once I'd like to not do that.

Lord of Flame - Encounter 2

Opponents: Lord Merick Farrow, Elementals, Ettins

You enter the ancient structure carved into the rock. Glyphs etched by a forgotten culture decorate the walls. They ripple beneath the light of your torch, changing color and sometimes shape. A sudden blast of searing air rushes past you, and the passage fills with light. At the end of the tunnel, a mass of fire, water, earth, and air swirls into a living form. It speaks words you cannot understand, but that sound similar to those that Merick had spoken. A moment later, the mage approaches the creature from a side passage. You move forward silently, not interrupting their conversation. Their voices grow in intensity and volume: they are arguing. Suddenly, the elemental lurches forward with a roar, consuming Merick within its body. The savage forces of nature churn and crash about the mage, yet you see him standing safely within. Merick flexes his hand up and out, and all at once, the creature explodes in every direction. More appear around him, but these are silent and obedient to his will. He turns and points at you. "Kill them," he says.

As soon as this was setup, I was pretty sure I'd lost. The map has two routes to the room at the end. The heroes have to RACE into that room and beat on a monolith in FIVE turns or less. With three heroes, I needed to deliver 15 damage to the monolith to win. Making things worse for me, the open group I drew was Ettins. That put a big old master Ettin in the room guarding the monolith. Between the heroes and their target was the Elemental OR a longer path with lava to cross. The AI was going to target whomever was close to the monolith, so I was going to have to play it a little and hope I could get one hero in early and get a little lucky.

Round 1 - Event: Dark Influence (global, ongoing) - small monsters (for me, just Merick) get +1 shield

Syndrael used her heroic feat right out of the gate to move her and Tomble forward. Since she was right on top of the Elemental, she attacked and did 6 damage. Merick moved and moved again to engage. Tomble moved, then used his heroic feat to disappear (it lets you re-appear next round 4 spaces away, so I'd have options). The Elemental retaliated against Syndrael for two damage (down to 3 life left) and then withdrew. Widow double moved to get as far as she could forward. The Ettin AI moved the ettin forward and he opened the door to head towards the heroes.

Round 2 - Event: Global - monsters add: spend a surge to give a random condition.

Syndrael double moved forward to draw the Ettin. Merick attacked the Widow, but failed (X) and then moved to engage. Tomble appears on the other side of the lava and runs for the other door, which he opens. Elemental spends a fire token to get a free "fire" attack on Syn for one damage (down to 2). It does another attack which was blocked by defense and then withdraws. Widow runs for the monolith room, as the Ettin is going to simply head for Tomble. The Ettin moves and attacks Tomble for two damage (down to 6).

Round 3 - Event: Heroes may remove a global effect (the last one)

Syndrael uses her move and then her ability "Oath of Honor" which lets her jump to be next to Tomble and attack the Ettin, but she caused no damage. Merick moved and then engaged Widow. Tomble double attacked the monolith and missed the first time (come on man!) and caused 1 pt of damage the next. The Elemental attacked Widow, but she escaped with a single damage scratch (down to 9). Widow attacked the Ettin twice, but missed due to range and then "X" missed. The Ettin missed his attack on Tomble, but managed to grab him and toss him away.

Round 4 - Event: Instant, discard all monster effects (none had any)

Syndrael moved in to attack the monolith and missed. Merick followed that with a move and then missed his attack on Widow. Tomble ran back in and attacked for 2 more damage to the monolith. The Elemental again attacked Widow, and scored a hit for 3 damage (down to 6). Widow attacked the Ettin twice but missed both from range. The Ettin attacked and missed Syndrael, but tossed her for 1 damage (leaving her at 1). 

Round 5 (last chance) - Event: Global - anyone with a condition that gets wounded, suffers an additional wound

At this point it is all or nothing. I do the math and doubt I can pull this off. Syndrael moves and attacks but only gets 1 damage in on the monolith. Merick attacks Widow again, but scores only a single damage. Tomble double attacks the monolith and manages a total of 2 more damage. The Elemental attacks Widow for 3 damage (dropping her to 2). Widow uses blast on Ettin and scores 2 damage on each of the Ettin and the monolith - the two heroes avoid damage. On the second blast, she again hits but this time knocks out Syndrael. It doesn't matter, that was my last chance

Merick suddenly appears at the center of the room, suspended in the air and shielded within an orb of fire. His face contorts into an expression of ecstasy or pain. "They are mine to control," he shrieks. His head rolls about on his shoulders erratically and his eyes grow dark like a mounting storm. He chatters more words you cannot understand, and the room begins to break apart, spinning chaotically around you. you flee for the exit at the sound of Merick's insane cackling.

Notes:

• I looked and saw very little chance for a win here. Knowing that the Ettin was going to be a road block and impossible to put down I could only get to the monolith as fast as I could. My play in the first couple of rounds worked pretty decently and I'm pretty sure I couldn't have gotten into position any faster than I did.
• There are dice in the game, so sometimes things just don't play out well. That being said, I rolled pretty badly when attacking. I ended up getting in 10 damage (of 15 that I needed). I needed just a couple of the attacks to land, but couldn't generate much offense. 
• This group doesn't really handle big tough monsters well. I can't generate those big damage turns and Widow (my range attacker) has nothing to add range when the dice suck. The last two quests could be rough.
• This encounter was dumb in that Merick is front and center in the thing, but defeating him wouldn't have mattered - only damaging the monolith mattered and my tank isn't brutish enough.

One more quest and then the finale - almost done with the Heirs of Blood campaign. I hope the next quest is not so tight.

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Random Thoughts on Heavy Games

Thanks in part to a number of videos from Paul Grogan of Gaming Rules! I've had heavier games on my mind a bit lately. Some of that (I'm sure) has been the last 18+ months of not really playing this kind of game. To be sure, there are some heavier games online, but I think normally, heavier games end up (for me) on the table only a couple times a year at best. 

So first, what is a heavy game? I don't mean physically heavy like Gloomhaven, but rather mentally taxing. The rules don't have to be complicated and fiddly or have weird terminology, but for me, heavy means - the game decision tree is opaque. Its like trying to find a path through a forest - you can follow someone else, but that is not going to get you out of the forest first, so you have to pick your own path. Once you pick a path (or at least start down one), it isn't always clear the whole way which way to go and someone could cut down a tree to clear their path, which falls on yours making your choices harder. Ok, enough of the forest analogy - the point being, there is enough going on that it isn't always easy to figure out what to do and trying to figure out other player's paths on top of that? Good luck. That to me is a heavy game - a game where my brain is going full steam the whole time and I may or may not fully see how things will play out. It isn't even that the game is tactical, but rather - understanding a strategy to take is complex enough to give your brain a workout.

On The Boardgame Geek, gamers can rank a game's weight from 1-5. Now, this (by their own admission) is a vague definition, but with enough input, probably has normalized enough to mean something along the lines of what I describe above.

That being said, some games to me are heavy just because they hurt my brain. A great little two-player example of this is Medici vs Strozzi. This is rated right in the middle of the scale at 2.45 - and realistically, the rules and mechanics are simple enough, but for a two-player game that doesn't take but 30 min to play, it hurts my brain - the choices are just hard (to me).

Of course, not being able to grok a game doesn't make it "heavy", it could just means it isn't my thing. I like those games where my brain is going the whole time and I don't really notice how long the game is taking. I like those "ah ha!" moments where something clicks and I pull of something clever - those keep me coming back for more every time.

So what are some of my favorite heavy games? Die Macher came to mind. My one learning game was long, but so interesting the whole time. So far, just about anything I've played from Vital Lacerda (except for Escape Plan, which wasn't as dense as the others I've played). That list includes: CO2, Vinhos, and The Gallerist (Paul Grogan's teaching/playing of Kanban EV started this, so I really want to play that too). A friend says that Lacerda games are complex for complexity's sake, but I still enjoy his games and hope to play more of them at some point.

I like Madeira a good bit (BGA has Madeira online, my only caveat is there is a lack of move confirmation/undo) -  for whatever reason, the mechanics and interplay all clicked and I can "see" this heavy game better than others. The same designer also did Nippon (also on BGA), which is a hair lighter than Madeira, but for whatever reason, I suck at. Both are still interesting games and if you like heavy games, you should give them a couple plays.

My current mild obsession has been with Pax Transhumanity. This little (literally - the box is like 5"x5"x3") game packs a lot into a little. Having had no experience with any Pax game, I didn't know what to expect, but what I found was a lot of videos trying to explain the game (and IMO, not doing a great job). The problem with the explanations is that there is a bit of "clever" terminology for actions (moving cubes from your finance board to anywhere else is called one thing, returning them is called something else rather than just saying "return your cube to wherever). The rulebook itself is dinky (small box) and half the page is taken up with the designer's notes about XYZ - great for flavor, but nothing other than a distraction to understanding or finding information you want. The ONE saving grace of the rules - they do self-reference certain thing well (in order to do ABC, you must first do the DEF action (see C4)), but it still took me 2-3 videos and reading the PDF of the rules online (so I could actually READ the text) before I felt like I could try to play the game. Part of the problem with learning the game is that you do have to understand the terminology of the game as cards have abilities  defined in the game's terms. So even if the card's power means "return all the cubes to the owner's WEALTH box" it might say, "Divest all agents on the card". Now generally, this isn't a big deal because the only markers you have that would be on a card would be cubes, but it doesn't lend itself to learning the game on your own. 

BTW, play it I did - solo. Maybe 1/2 a solo game, then it got late and I got tired. So here is what I discovered: solving the difficult/heavy puzzle solo is boring to me. Pax Transhumanity at least isn't an efficiency puzzle per se (the solo for the Gallerist for instance really does feel like that) - its a race against an "AI". Still, this game is one where it was clear to me after a couple of rounds that it might be glorious with other real people, but only against real people. (I say might, because I'm not sure how I feel about the way you win and the way you go after others - I need to play to know for sure). 

Maybe I just miss those long evenings squinting at a game for hours on end with my friends. Here's to hoping that changes someday soon. I think we all need a little of that. Until next time...

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New to Me on BGA in 2020

For me, 2020 saw a huge increase of my playing games online. I discovered Board Game Arena (BGA) early on this year and they have been steadily rolling out new games all year long - in fact, they have made games live every day in the month of December. Now, this list isn't about the quality of the BGA implementations of games, but rather about the new games I've learned or been exposed to this year because of BGA. So here they are and some brief thoughts I've had about those games.

Games I played before that I didn't remember much about...

Seasons - this odd little game has you collecting little magic resources that can be used to buy the cards you are holding which can help with abilities and/or score you points during or at the end of the game. This was ok, but after a couple games I decided I didn't have as much control over my destiny as I'd have liked.

La Granja - this little farmer game has a set of cards that can be placed onto your farm in a couple of different ways, so you have to figure out how to build your engine - once you place the cards, you can't reuse them elsewhere. Then, you create goods and try to take them to market to score points and hopefully screw your opponents out of being the best local farmer they can be. This seems clever at first glance but somehow feels repetitive after a little while. I'd rather play online than face-to-face because the cards are a pain to deal with on the table, but even then, this is only a couple times a year game I think.

Via Magica - this was not "new". Turns out its a re-themed version of Rise of Augustus (aka Roman Bingo). Light little BINGO game that is a decent family game. The re-theme is a little "loud" in the art department, but its still pretty much the same game. 

New Games...

Palaces of Carrara - this is a Kiesling and Kramer game where players are grabbing various grades of rocks in order to build buildings in their play area. The better the grade of stone, the more that a building can be worth to a player in terms of money or points. There is a little balancing act between fast builds and quality, as well as scoring or getting money (which you need to get the better stuff). Nothing fancy here, but a well balanced game that isn't too heavy.

Teotihuacan - I first saw this at a convention and it looks fantastic on the tabletop. After a couple of plays,  I'm just not enthralled with it. I can't quite put my finger on what I'm missing or why this is super popular with other players, but it just doesn't float my boat.

Clans of Caledonia - The slightly less complex (yet similar feeling) of a Terra Mystica-like game. That isn't quite right, but its close enough for me. It didn't quite hit the right notes with me either and I'm hard pressed to say what I didn't like, but it just didn't engage me.

Off the Rails - This is a little dash and grab deal where players are trying to build a route of rail for their mine cars so they can run in and get the goodies before the other players and before the mines collapse (which is a lot like the lave phase of The Downfall of Pompeii). This suffers from the same issues as Pompeii - the randomness takes out all the fun of dropping a pile of rocks on your competition.

Bandido - I'm not much for co-op games, and playing them async is painful. This is a little (very little) puzzle game that might be good brain scratching for 6-9 year olds.

Lucky Numbers - Aptly named this game is. It really isn't that hard to figure out how to play your numbers on your board, but luck of the draw plays a HUGE amount in determining whether you'll win or not.

Welcome to New Las Vegas - Like its "Roll and Write" brother Welcome To..., this is another game where pairs of cards are drawn and you start filling in your sheet trying to make your picks worth more than the other players. Both of these are available on BGA and are well done if you enjoy "flip and write" games. Vegas is different enough that its worth giving a whirl a time or two.

Marrakech - this is a little abstract game with a die. Its pretty light and the die can do you wrong most of the game, but again, its a light little game.

Small Islands - this tile laying game has one central play area that is expanded by the players, each who are trying to achieve a secret goal. You can try and push your luck, or go for a quick goal each round, depending on how things shape out. Not a load of depth, but an enjoyable lighter distraction.

99 - this is a trick taking game using a standard deck of cards where you are bidding on how many tricks you will take (trump is randomly set). The tricky part is that bidding is done with cards from your hand, based on the suit (not the value on the card). This means that you have to account for NOT HAVING THOSE CARDS in your hand. Its a tricky little game that probably plays best live or at the table. Online, async is a little slow.

Big Time Soccer - sorry, this is one giant NOPE sandwich for me. It might be ok as a quick 2-player filler (if and only if you are a fan of soccer). Otherwise, there is really not a lot of strategy, just playing cards quickly and then rolling a die to see if your shot made it or not. In one respect, it is like soccer - a whole lot of back and forth nothing happens, and then suddenly someone launches a shot at goal (which you know isn't going in). Yeah, it is not any more thrilling than my description. Are there interesting choices? Only whether to play or not (don't).

Piraten Kapern - If you like quick dice games ala Martian Dice, Zombie Dice and so on, then here's Piraten Kapern. How's this one different? Well, I postulate that someone said, "How can we add randomness to a quick dice game?" - the answer is of course, add some cards that change things each turn. I like Martian Dice for what it is, but Piraten Kapern is just a little too much. Maybe if the cards were a little more even, but they are not balanced, so you can get screwed on a card and the other players can get helped a lot. I'll stick to Martian Dice.

Flaming Pyramids - speaking of random chaos... If you like games with a lack of control, here you go. Nothing complicated, just hope you can play your cards without getting stuck blowing up half the pyramid and having to take more cards.

Luxor - A little bit of hand management with your movement cards, a little bit worker placement (you move your explorers) and a little bit of a race game. Something of a family game - its a little hard to describe. I only played it once, but it was ok.

Abstracts

Mapmaker: The Gerrymandering Game - One of the most thematic of the group, this is is exactly what it sounds like - an area control game where you act basically like a corrupt state government representative drawing lines on the map to your advantage. Theme aside, this works pretty well with the hex based layout. Nothing surprising, and nothing special either. Good teaching tool for students to understand what gerrymandering means.

Naga Parbat - Also a thematic abstract. You know, if mountain climbing was about capturing animals for their magic abilities to rearrange the world. This isn't a bad little two-player game, but it does feel a bit limited. All the games I played were pretty close score wise, so while it seems like it offers the ability to make really clever moves, I'm not sure it really does, since its not easy to create any distance in the scores.

Tash-Kalar - This is something of a puzzle game - figure out how to layout your pieces in a way to play your special cards in hopes that something might then let you take a scoring card. There just doesn't seem to be a good way to do all that unless you are lucky enough that everything aligns.

NXS - pronounced Nexus. This has a little theme tacked on, but is an area control game on a hex board with pieces whose moves and "attack" are shown on the edges of the pieces. I liked this, but it was a little hard to (for me) to grok/see.

Quantik - another pure abstract that is damn fast. Like 4-6 moves and done fast. Don't make a mistake or you are done. 

Circle of Life - I really liked this one. I'm not good at it, but I liked it. There are lots of things to try and figure out in such a basic game. The board is a Hex board and you place one small hex piece each turn. The larger shapes you end up creating are limited in size to 4 pieces and each possible shape can eliminate exactly one other shape and is eliminated by exactly one other shape. The goal is to try and capture 20 pieces of the other player. Really a cool little design.

Top of the Heap

Circle of Life - Again, great abstract game that I can see playing more of in 2021

Palaces of Carrara - a nice middle of the road euro (the medium games appeal to me the most for async online play.

99 - I love card games, just not so much online/async. I imagine this is great face-2-face. I'd happily play this real time online.

Sadly, I just don't see a lot of changes in the world in 2021 as far as the pandemic is concerned, so I suspect that there will be a fair bit more online games coming. Catch me online on BGA (nogardtla) and on Yucata.de as (tatsu).

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The Dunwich Legacy Cycle: A Light Review, Part I

This is a light review for the entire Dunwich Legacy Campaign for Arkham Horror:The Card Game, which includes the deluxe box (which begins the cycle with new investigators, two scenarios, and a number of cards across all the attribute sets) as well as all six of the chapter packs. I will do my best to avoid spoilers to the stories, but information about the new cards for the investigators is readily available everywhere online there are deck databases. Mostly, I'll try and indicate how good the story is and whether the scenarios are fun because of the way they are setup. This does not include the followup set Return to the Dunwich Legacy. I'm going to record my impressions as I work my way through the campaign, so it'll be an odd combo of session reports and reviews.

The Dunwich Cycle was released in 2017 and was the first campaign set delivered by Fantasy Flight Games (FFG) for the game. It very recently (early summer 2020) was reprinted by FFG. If you are interested in getting into the game with a full cycle of available stuff, this is a great time and place to start. Because I was able to get the full set all at once, I elected to open all the packs and make all of the investigator cards available from the outset. For the investigator cards, FFG randomly spreads them out throughout the cycle and there is no "logical" order to them and no reason to wait until you get to a particular chapter before using those cards. For a new cycle, you would normally have to wait - I had the luxury of not needing to do so. Because of this, I won't give impressions on the cards each "set" contains - I've already mixed them all together.

I put together decks for a couple of new investigators to give them a try. The new investigators are limited to the standard cards, one area of expertise and five (5) level zero cards from any of the other sets, which gives them a slightly interesting flavor of your choosing. 

For this playthrough/review I choose to play with: Jim Culver and Jenny Barnes. 

Jim is solidly based on using Mystic cards (purple), so I built him around cards that allow him to investigate and fight using his spells and then things to either ward off the horrors that come from dipping into the mystic world or healing those wounds. 

Because a lot of those skills/spells are willpower based, I also leaned a little towards cards that increased his willpower. I wasn't planning that he'd be the fighter, but a couple of his spells let him use his willpower to damage the bad guys, so I'm hoping he can at least hold his own.

Jenny Barnes is a dilettante who is an above average jack-of-all-trades. She is solidly based on Rogue cards (which I really enjoy. She rakes in the resources which lets her gets solid cards into play, including her twin guns. 

A lot of the rogue cards let you avoid the fight and some let you get in a parting shot/sneak attack after exhausting the bad guys. She also has a few tricks up her sleeves (wait, she doesn't have sleeves) and she is actually a really good all round investigator. I'm not sure being a jack of all trades is the way to go, but we'll find out.

Dunwich Deluxe Set

There are two scenarios to start the campaign and you get to decide on the order they are played, with some variation in setup based on which you do "earlier" in the evening. This is a nice touch for replaying the campaign, because you can immediately add some variability just by switching this up. I started the campaign, promptly got savaged and resigned before anything interesting happened. I then took so long to get back to the game that I couldn't recall anything that happened (which was nothing), so I restarted and had a much longer and more interesting session with the Extra Curricular Activity scenario (which takes place at the famed Miskatonic University). The scenario is interesting, albeit a little straight forward, with a fun little twist towards the end.

The second starter scenario (which could be considered a part II to the first scenario depending on how you look at it or want to count it) - The House Always Wins is a nice change of pace from "the normal run around and test knowledge to gain clues" using a twist that changes up how you get clues. I enjoyed how it worked thematically and it appears to have setup some things down the road of this cycle. 

Overall (storywise), the deluxe set seems to be a good starter. The pair of scenarios make for good 1-2 punch combo for setting the stage. The new investigators are interesting as well and altogether have set my interest for the remaining cycle, which is what the setup should do. Lots of new cards to look at and delve into for your deck building fun.

The Miskatonic Museum

The first scenario pack didn't disappoint (despite  some comments I have seen that the story didn't feel like it fit). I don't want to give a whole lot away, but I will say that I like that they included a number of location cards which means replays of this scenario should be valid and new feeling (at least for a second spin). It does use the tried and true - location you want shuffled into the bottom half of the location cards - trick, which means there is a sort of a forced timer where you have to grind through to get to the location (a little like the forest scenario (last scenario) from the base game).

In my playing, I ended up SUPER frustrated by locked doors and barriers (and some bad bag draws), which is just how things go sometimes. I felt very well equipped (deck-wise), but the encounter deck setup is designed to frustrate you and luck was not with me at all this evening - Jenny went down for the count due to a hex.

Minor spoiler! I did enjoy one minor story element where I met an ally and keeping him alive through the night meant not having to add a bad chaos token to the bag for the rest of the campaign. This plot point was not over bearing, just a nice little addition.

The Essex County Express

The second of the the scenario packs takes place on a train! A train that you are forced to race through to try and reach the engine before bad things happen. As with most of the scenarios so far, there are multiple locations that are randomized for your play through to make the scenario more replayable. Both investigators were defeated (the toils of the investigations are stacking up on me), but I was also one draw from "winning" (Jim Cutler was already pummeled out of the game, but Jenny had a chance).

This scenario felt slightly shorter than the others thus far, though that might have been partly the forced urgency of the scenario. Things have been fun to this point, though the story thread through each scenario has not been particularly strong thus far. Individually the scenarios have been good, just not tied together with anything other than the bits to start each scenario. 

I'm at the halfway point of the campaign now, and so far so good. The story has evolved a little slowly, but I've been getting peeks and hints. The individual scenarios haven't been bad. Despite having some fun cards for my team, I certainly don't feel in control or overpowered at all - which is how it should be for a game with this kind of theme. I'm excited for the second half of things to come.

Nine Great Games (as far as I'm concerned)

You may have seen this pic-art you can build on Pub Meeple. I finally got around to making one (because you know, COVID, and I was bored). It was a little harder than I thought it would be. Figuring out the first six of them were pretty easy, but the last three were tough. I had to really start playing scenarios out in my head to figure out which game I'd rather play of X vs Y vs Z. 

And some great games missed the cut. Games I'd play in a heartbeat, but with a caveat (like with the right people). With the games that made the cut, I'd pretty much play anytime, with anyone new or seasoned in the game. I'd be happy to teach the game, or "test my mettle" against an expert. Anyway...

Honorable Mentions

These are the ones that I love, but it'd depend on the situation and players, so they didn't make the nine.

• Tichu - I love card games and Tichu (and three handed, Chimera) is such an excellent game that it was hard to leave off the list. But... it is a partner game and knowing your partner makes a difference in how much you enjoy the game. It just missed the cut.
• Marvel Legendary - I love this game, but the tabletop version takes work to setup, play, and teardown. And when COVID locked us down, I played a bunch solo. And then I found Marvel Champions which scratches a similar thematic itch, but with less effort. Again, just missed the cut today. Still a great game.
• Samurai - oh I really really love this game. Against players of equal skill. Everyone has to know how to play and play at all player counts. Want to learn? I'll teach you, but the weak player tends to throw the game to the player after them, which means I rarely get to play this.

The Nine

At least as of today, if someone wanted to play these games with me, it'd be a no brainer. If I was at a convention, I'd play one of these over anything else almost without hesitation. I'm going to start with Combat Commander (I have written about CC a lot of times) because it might be my favorite game of all time, but I'll do the rest in the order of the pictures rather than trying to rank them.

Combat Commander: Europe (and Mediterranean)

If you just opened the box and looked inside, Combat Commander looks like your standard GMT grognard affair - folded paper maps, tons of chits in little trays, and decks of cards. Behind the somewhat spartan war-game look hides an amazing game. I am not a wargamer. I don't care about trying to replay historical battles to change history. The thing I love about Combat Commander is that every game is more than just a game, its a whole experience. I can remember so many specifics about games of Combat Commander that I've played - and so do the people I've played against.

And it isn't just some moment of the game that was awesome, the entirety of each game has this narrative that is immersive. It is as if you were thrown into Saving Private Ryan or Band of Brothers. The chaos of war grabs hold of you and there are moments where 15 minutes into the game you are sure you have no chance of surviving for another 15 minutes and then suddenly that machine gun that had all your units pinned downed jams and reinforcements arrive, giving you new life. Or a fire starts and the wind shifts and the blaze is headed your way and you are forced to give up the cover of buildings you were in. And that stalemate you had with the Russians is suddenly your units out in the open running everywhere to get away from them before they can open fire.

It is simply an amazingly good time. 

Viticulture + Tuscany

I wrote a review of Viticulture a while ago and if you want the in-depth details, please, go read it. Suffice to say, when combined with the Tuscany expansion, Viticulture is a really good worker placement game about owning a vineyard (and possibly an orchid and garden and cheese factory). I really enjoy the theme and the gameplay and the options - there are lots of ways to score points and win. You can literally win without ever making wine (which doesn't sound thematic, but whatever). 

Unfortunately, I think most people are only ever exposed to the Essential Ed. of Viticulture, which is just ok - it feels like half a game after experiencing the grandeur of the full Collectors edition. If you play, it has to be the big board with structures and specialty meeples. Trust me.

Power Grid

Is there any boardgamer out there that hasn't played Power Grid and needs me to explain it? It is simply one of the best auction Euros ever made. It is the perfect blend of auctions, positioning and timing and back in the day, my game group would play this every week (which happened with no other game ever). Some people complain that it is too "mathy". There is some math, but it isn't just a counting exercise by any means. If you think it is, you are playing with the wrong crowd. I'm also not the only person that thinks this. In competition for "best game of all time" PG has finished at or near the top FAR more than other games.

Orléans

Orléans is one of those games I took a flyer on, having read a good preview of, and it turned out to be even better than I could have expected. Its a bag builder, worker placement, euro-point salad kind of deal. We have a bunch of expansion buildings for the game, which give it a nice bit of variability in the approaches we take each game. (on a personal note, I like this one a lot because I can't seem to beat my love - she kicks my ass every time we play either head-to-head or with others).

I love that the bag draws force you to play tactically, but it isn't just tactical play, you have to have a plan as well. Just talking about this one means I'm going to get this out sooner rather than later I think.

Kingdom Builder

Kingdom Builder is one of those fast playing abstracts with variable abilities (which you earn due to your placements on the board) add variable scoring, which makes each game a little like a puzzle and you have something amazing. Because of the limited size of the board, it plays differently with different numbers of players but ultimately it works pretty decently. There is a little randomness in where you can place, but smart choices can mitigate that. When you have a REALLY bad streak of luck, you can get screwed, but games are fast, so you don't have to feel too bad about a bad luck streak. This is way under-rated.

Eldritch Horror

Let's call this the "spiritual successor" to Arkham Horror (2nd ed). For a tabletop game, I think this might be the finest Lovecraftian game FFG has produced. This is a big co-op game of investigators trying to stop the end of the world from bizarre terrors and cults that are worshipping horrific beings from other realms. If the theme is not your cup of tea, then you aren't going to like this one, but I find this another great game that tells a decently coherent story (unlike AH 2nd). The fact that there are all these little story bits and that it can all be tied together so well is a testament to the design. When you start adding in the expansions, you have an almost endless set of stories. Like a lot of co-ops, when things start going bad, it can be hard to stop, but in a game where the mood is grim from the start, it just fits.

Steam

This is the revision of Age of Steam, that as far as I'm concerned, cleaned up the rough edges of AoS. Both are good games, I just think the mechanics here are cleaner (and the game isn't so brutal to new players). If you've never played either - it is a train game. You are building track to move goods from one point to another (before someone else does). You have to be able to play both for the moment as well as being able to plan ahead, because if you don't, your future "now" is going to suck. And you are not in a vacuum - the board is not wide open, its cut throat and tight. Despite a small set of things to do in the game, it is wonderfully thinky and meaty.

Ticket to Ride

Has anyone not played Ticket to Ride? There are at least what? 4-5 base versions, countless expansions, great app versions, a web version, etc... Its popularity speaks to what a good game it is. It is a great family game for casual players and yet is interesting enough to keep gamers coming back to it. This is one of the few games I have played an app version of that I like equally as much in both formats. I also really like that the expansion maps just tweak the game, but tweak it enough to make each map fresh and different feeling. It is also great at player counts from 2-6, which is amazing as well.

Crokinole

This might be the least well known of the games on the list. Some boardgamers "know of" Crokinole but have never played due to lack of access to a board. Boards are big and largely expensive (relatively speaking). I got my board about 13 years back and baring an accident, it'll get passed down to my daughter someday. My appreciation for my one-of-a-kind Crokinole board aside, this is as simple a dexterity game as there could be. Take turns flicking disks, trying to slide your disks as close to (or into) the center of the board, while knocking or blocking your opponent's disks. A good board should be slicker than ice, so control and accuracy are important and what make this such a great game of skill. This is great head-to-head or in teams. The most important rule of the game? You have to always have at least one cheek on your chair.

And yes, like I said, I'd play pretty much all of these at the drop of a hat. They are all great games that I love for one reason or another.