Barnes on Games- Cthulhu Wars
The Big Green One.
This is it. Cthulhu Wars in review. We’ve already jawed about it a bunch here over the past week, but let’s put it on the books. This is a long review, I don’t usually go so long. But I felt it warranted it, and I get into some stuff that I don’t usually cover in my reviews- more extensive product and price talk in particular.
It’s all I think about in terms of games lately. I invited a couple of friends over last night to play, the first two guys I played it with, and there wasn’t even any email discussion about what we were going to play. It was just a given that it was going to be Cthulhu Wars.
But I am reluctantly playing other games, I guess.
The two new VPG games are interesting. Wings for the Baron, I opened it up and looked it over and thought “wow, this game looks boring”. It’s about German aviation firms competing for government contracts during WWI. Granted, I like esoteric subject matter and I love economic games. But this looked spreadsheety as hell.
But wow, it’s actually really neat. It’s very Eurogamey, but more on the simpler end of things. It kind of reminds me, in a way, of Industrial Waste. But it’s all done up in GMT-quality style- lots of B&W photos, Very Serious Historical Background, that kind of stuff. You pick two actions per turn and then they go off in a specific order. Your player mat is basically a tech tree, and the idea is that you improve the effectiveness of your aircraft by developing innovative technologies. Everything you develop gives you a DRM (this game speaks in wargame language) and you want to keep increasing effectiveness to keep up with the Allies- because you can wind up peddling junk planes that the German government doesn’t want. The techs are on research cards and some you have to have prerequisites to build. The research cards also have actions on them for a little take that play. You can also perform espionage and steal techs from other players.
So what happens is that at the end of actions, the government doles out contracts. You get a die roll’s worth, but you can only take as many as you have factories. Then they pay you in papiermarks, which are basically funny money that can be stripped away from you due to inflation. So you need to take Bank actions to buy gold the papiermarks. And all of this is going on while the war grinds on, reducing everybody’s morale. It can end with a German or Allied victory, which affects the value of everything at the end.
I’m really digging it, not one for everybody but I think folks that like business games or are interested in the subject matter will really like. Sag, this means you. Strangely I somehow managed to get two games with sort of similar concepts in at the same time, I also have Secret Weapons of the Third Reich sitting here from Calvinus Games.
The other new VPG release is The Hunt, and it’s…interesting. I’m not sure if I like it or not yet. It’s gothic horror, so that is a +1 right there. 3 to 6 players (yes, this means 6 is best but I played with 4 and it worked) are in a mansion. One of them is a monster in disguise. So you don’t know that, nor do you know what _kind_ of monster it is. So you have to do a little deducing to come up with that by searching the house and interacting with other players. This is how you figure out WHAT they are so you can sort out what to attack them with. It’s kind of strange, because it is basically kind of a fighting thing where you’re going up and stabbing folks to see what happens…and it TOTALLY rides on player honesty and the honor system. Which also means that a player can flub it up by accident and confuse everyone. It’s kind of experimental, and it isn’t as streamlined as some of the other social deduction games out there (which is, BTW, my least favorite genre of games I think) but there’s something worth looking at here. It’s Jeremy Lennert, the dude that did Darkest Night.
It’s not a physical board game, but if you download the Star Wars: Battlefront IOS companion, there is a little game in it that is more or less Castle Panic: Star Wars. I mean, it is REALLY like Castle Panic. There are some differences, but I think anyone who has played that game will see the similarities as soon as you see the screen. It’s simple but I’m really digging it.
Sag, this means you.
I was sold long before that, sir.
Years ago Adam Starkweather was pitching a similar concept for WWII right here on F:At. I wonder if this is the design he was considering for development.
Of course, I'm not buying either, so it's purely hypothetical.
Sax, that is totally valid. For me, if I'm going to buy a big bucks luxury game, my #1 concern is "is this game going to actually get played". I do not want a $400, $500 shelf toad that never gets played because it's too complicated, too weird, too long, too hard too teach others, or that requires too much commitment to get the most out of it. I want something that like I said, you can have someone over that sees it, wants to play it, and you can be in-game within 15 minutes. AND get a great gaming experience out of it that allows for beginner-level play as well as deeper material that comes out with experience.
Disgustipater wrote: Plastic gates have always seemed like a bad idea to me. You are taking an already crowded area and making it smaller.
Especially when the Black Goatlings can control them. I don't think they'll fit.
Plastic gates, yeah...I dunno, that's on my "maybe not so much" list. The cardboard ones are fine (but are really kind of chintzy-looking compared to everything else) and I was wondering about the Dark Young on them too.
It was actually worth my $1 pledge to get Mr. Petersen's updates...he digs into design ideas, explains what everything does, etc. The neutral stuff actually sounds really neat, things that anyone can buy and use. That could add quite a lot of depth to the game.
SuperflyTNT wrote: While you're at it, make up some cards for the factions that give them boosts every time they gain X amount of points or something.
There's been some discussion on that topic to make asymmetrical faction powers for Nexus Ops. I haven't experimented with it. You?
www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/836321/tech...gy-sets-each-faction
www.artscow.com/Member/FileManager.aspx?folder=3283703&album=1
www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/1379745/nexus-ops-factions-variant
stoic wrote: ...... and calculate non-Euclidian geometry....
Wow, I do that all the time. Does that mean I'm a Cthulhu worshipper? Is that the same as a physicist?
ThirstyMan wrote:
stoic wrote: ...... and calculate non-Euclidian geometry....
Wow, I do that all the time. Does that mean I'm a Cthulhu worshipper? Is that the same as a physicist?
I'll consult Cthulhu and Lovecraft's interdimensional shade when I next see them in the swamp.
So, this happened today:
The bits seem smaller now. The box seems like it's mostly empty. Shellie has the battle foam in it and it makes sense...mine has bags.
The more I think about this the less I am seeing $150.00 in value there. Mine is a KS version, and I'm not seeing any stretch goals or anything.
If they were painted, totally $150.00 or even $200.00 but unpainted, I just don't see a hundred fifty dollars in the box.
dfour wrote: Tell me more about how you're not seeing the value, so I can stay strong and not give in in these final days.
- There's only 30-40 miniatures in the box. Granted, they're big, but still, there's not a lot.
- The cardstock is thin. The copy I got was sleeved and still my reference cards are bent up.
- Player mats are thin cardstock as well.
- The box is as empty as Yig's soul. The box is HUGE and mostly empty. This means less structure. My box had torn corners and seams.
- It's a far better-than-average DoaM, based on one play, but it's not 100$ better.
- 50$ per expansion is STEEP AS FUCK. 13 models, 6 cardboard counters, a thin character sheet....and that's 50$? Suck a dick.
- The "grandiosity" wears off. I played in Mass on Oct. 20th or so. It's not even a month later and now I'm looking at my copy thinking "I remember them being bigger"
I hope this helps. I'd be in for $100.00-$120.00 but for $150.00 I think it's a bit much. If it had a built-in 5th faction I'd be all over it.
I'm toying with the idea of asking my crew if they will split the cost of this + a 5th faction. I'm not rich enough to own a $200 shelf turd. If dudes put money in then it would get played. And I know for sure this would be a perfect game for everyone since we all have roots in CoC + DoaM. I dunno, it makes me feel greasy to ask lol.
And the dice...they really bug me. You can buy a $25 game that has custom, etched dice. But in CW you literally get stock D6s...little ones. Black, not even green or something.
The board is fine, but nothing special and it's visually pretty bland...this is one place I will compare it to CitOW, which had a GREAT looking board. In a $60 product.
The figures really do make up for those disappointments, I'm sure they were quite expensive to sculpt, mold and assemble (a couple are multiple pieces). And this is some hard ass, "toy grade" plastic, not the brittle or bendy stuff game minis are usually made of.
If the game were made on a bigger scale by a larger company, I think they could have hit their margin target without cutting those kinds of corners.
The game is so good I overlook some of that...but there again, it's up to you to do the math and determine if it's all worth it.
I know I can overlook a lot of shit when I get something free. If someone moves and I get thier kitchen table, for example, the nicks and scratches don't bother me, but If I paid for it at a garage sale, I'd be far more critical.
Just my 2c.
With regard to THIS game, I'd love to know their budened cost. If they're not clearing 75$ a copy then they suck at life.
The shipping bill I got for receiving my copy from St Louis was $14.50 + 3 for insurance