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× Talk about the latest and greatest AT, and the Classics.

The 7th Continent

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30 Sep 2015 18:00 - 04 Jul 2018 12:24 #211657 by jay718
The 7th Continent was created by jay718
Just checked this out on BGG, and I don't remember seeing it mentioned here. It's a sprawling choose your own adventure styled game where a continent iis built with map cards and every choice has lasting repercussions. It's a pretty interesting concept, but I can see the final product being a real shit sandwich as hardly any of the final art has been completed and the whole thing needs to be translated. Anyone been following this? What do y'all think?
Last edit: 04 Jul 2018 12:24 by ChristopherMD.
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30 Sep 2015 18:32 #211658 by Michael Barnes
Replied by Michael Barnes on topic 7th continent
- Z-Man, FFG or Asmodee handling it? Could be really interesting.

- Kickstarter? Shit sandwich.

That may be a bit harsh, but it's likely going to be close to the case. I'm seeing more and more these interesting, possibly innovative designs that are Kickstarters that wind up a boondoggle because there isn't the professional level development or shepherding from concept to product that these kinds of things really need.
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30 Sep 2015 19:44 #211662 by Wetworks
Replied by Wetworks on topic 7th continent
I got in as an early bird although I probably won't keep it. $5 early bird discount for a $100 pledge is kind of weak imo. The project just seems expensive atm, you're paying almost full retail pricing + shipping for a project not due out for a year. However, a full season of Pathfinder Adventure Card Game on CSI is $120 which is about the same as the all in price of 7th Continent.

In the end I'll just wait for 35% off MSRP + free shipping from an online store.
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30 Sep 2015 20:15 #211664 by iguanaDitty
Replied by iguanaDitty on topic 7th continent
It's a neat concept but the severe icon salad plus the somewhat convoluted explanations that are out there already make me think this could easily be a mess. Plus there's apparently some gameplay involving spotting tiny hidden numbers in various images; while I love the similarity to gamebooks that had hidden sections you could only find by adding obscure numbers together or whatever, in practice I think I will hate the implementation.

Hopefully I'm wrong and I can play it in a year or two. In the meantime I should get around to the several gamebooks I already own.
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30 Sep 2015 20:29 - 30 Sep 2015 20:38 #211665 by Sagrilarus
Replied by Sagrilarus on topic 7th continent
It's written by two guys named Ludovic and Bruno. It almost HAS to be good.

S.
Last edit: 30 Sep 2015 20:38 by Sagrilarus.
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30 Sep 2015 22:12 - 30 Sep 2015 22:13 #211667 by Grudunza
Replied by Grudunza on topic 7th continent

iguanaDitty wrote: It's a neat concept but the severe icon salad plus the somewhat convoluted explanations that are out there already make me think this could easily be a mess. Plus there's apparently some gameplay involving spotting tiny hidden numbers in various images; while I love the similarity to gamebooks that had hidden sections you could only find by adding obscure numbers together or whatever, in practice I think I will hate the implementation.


This was my feeling, exactly. Seems like it might be interesting, but also seems convoluted and confusing, and as Barnes says, probably lacks the development that so many Kickstarters need. I'll wait to see reviews of the delivered product.
Last edit: 30 Sep 2015 22:13 by Grudunza.

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01 Oct 2015 00:24 #211670 by Frohike
Replied by Frohike on topic 7th continent
In a way, I think these are the types of odd projects for which the Kickstarter model was originally conceived, but the culture around KS publication now has bloated the perceived value & crowdsourced expectations for these products beyond the designer's capability to actually fulfill them.

A cool concept like this might have been worth the investment from a moderately sized niche crowd of interested buyers who are willing to put up with some of the inevitable jank and Frenglish that would come with this Fighting Fantasy simulator.

Now it's mostly just a 600% over-funded investment bomb keyed to the KS-fueled Cult of The Future, where "early birds" and exclusives create demand based on nothing other than the fear of missing out on the next big thing, and the potential rancor of disappointed backers & armchair designers is commensurate with this heightened cocktail of fear mixed with expectation. It's an overwrought and agonized way to create stuff like this.
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01 Oct 2015 08:49 - 01 Oct 2015 08:59 #211678 by Wetworks
Replied by Wetworks on topic 7th continent
Undead Viking couldn't stop raving about the game on his podcast, starts at 1hr, 21 minutes.



It's making me reconsider dropping my early bird.
Last edit: 01 Oct 2015 08:59 by Wetworks.

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01 Oct 2015 13:06 #211715 by Frohike
Replied by Frohike on topic 7th continent
He uh... tends to rave about a lot of kickstarters.
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01 Oct 2015 13:12 #211717 by quozl
Replied by quozl on topic 7th continent
I don't trust the judgment of anyone who makes a 4 hour podcast.
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01 Oct 2015 13:12 #211718 by Legomancer
Replied by Legomancer on topic 7th continent
Yeah, on the rare occasion I look at a KS there's always a video from him and a few other regulars praising it to the heavens.
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01 Oct 2015 16:56 #211741 by Wetworks
Replied by Wetworks on topic 7th continent
If it was just Undead Viking doing a kickstarter promo video I wouldn't give it much thought. Like always, I look at the gameplay and see if it's something that I want to play. However, Ricky Royal, Rhado and Undead Viking have been praising the game. Then Undead Viking does an hour long segment on his podcast of the game, you wouldn't do that unless you really liked the game or was paid a boatload of money. I don't think anyone would pay him large sums of money to talk about their game on his podcast which probably gets 400-500 views.

As to long podcasts, I love Joe Rogans 3+ hour podcasts. It really lets him get into interesting discussions with his guests, a refreshing change from the sound bite driven media we have on t.v. and radio.

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31 Aug 2017 17:33 - 31 Aug 2017 17:33 #253540 by wadenels
Replied by wadenels on topic 7th continent
A day short of 23 months later...

I Kickstarted 7th Continent and have one 2-player game in now... and I'm super happy with it. I don't think it needs a bunch of repeated plays to see what's on offer and have an opinion on it, so here's my 3.5-hour single-play writeup:

You can get everything you need to know about the gameplay from the rulebook and videos that are already out there. Basically it boils down to staring the game on a card in a lost continent and a Clue to the Curse that haunts your dreams since your last expedition to the continent. From there you'll take actions available on the cards that make up the board -- exploring, searching, hunting, etc -- until you've resolved the Curse. The items you get can drastically change your tactics as you play. Having a Raft and Paddle, for example, will have you taking risks across water you otherwise wouldn't take. Having good hunting gear makes a big difference in how you approach things you find on the continent. The card artwork is fantastic and has gameplay elements built into it, so you need to pay attention to the terrain you're on.

The turn order is weird; there isn't one. A player just takes an action. When they're done any player can take an action, including the same player. Group decides. Other players in the same area can help, or not. Repeat until dead or victorious. You can split the party and have one group take all the actions while the other just sits there, you can stay together and always help the same player take all the actions, or whatever you think is going to work best. It's really open-ended that way and it worked great with two players, but I don't know how well it would work with more players or an alpha player, but alpha players suck anyway and I've never felt that was a game design problem.

The continent offers a lot to do, but action resolution is always the same. You decide how many action cards to draw for their symbols, and then you see if you drew enough to hit a target number. You can modify the difficulty with items or by expending more effort. Most actions will let you draw a number or more cards, so why not draw as many cards as possible? Because when the action deck runs out you are at risk of dying with every card draw. Once the pile is exhausted you have to shuffle and draw from the discards. If you draw a curse card while doing this you lose the game. Period. No backsies. Hunting and things will let you put cards back in the action deck, which freezes the discard pile drawing situation until you run out of action cards again, which you probably will. The entire game is a balancing act of trying to take (and succeed at) actions that matter and will help you while avoiding wasting action cards on things that are of middling benefit.

The game is slightly scripted by the Curse/Clue cards you choose to play. The exploration part and the unveiling board give lots of replayability, but
Warning: Spoiler!


The game can be a little bit fiddly, which should be evident as you will need to find (and sometimes put back) numbered cards in a 1000+ card deck. The game comes with dividers to keep this manageable, but there's still a bit of "Hold on, let me find that card!" that interrupts the suspense from time to time.

I really dig adventure games that have a goal but are open-ended on how you get there. The 7th Continent is that type of game. Once you know how to solve a Curse the replayability might take a hit, but the game is really more about the journey. There are ways to adjust the difficulty, play with multiple Curses, and other things you can add/remove to switch things up though, so there are ways to spice things up.

The 7th Continent sits somewhere between Robinson Crusoe and Tales of the Arabian Nights. It'll present challenges and create a solid story of exploration, survival, and either victory or untimely demise. It can take a long time to play, but the Save Game system implemented actually works. Serious Poulp is launching another Kickstarter last week of September, and if there are any new Curses or other expansion material I'm getting all of it.
Last edit: 31 Aug 2017 17:33 by wadenels.
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31 Aug 2017 18:59 #253546 by cfmcdonald
Replied by cfmcdonald on topic 7th continent
One thing's for sure, it's not a shit sandwich. It's one of the most lovingly and carefully crafted games I've ever seen.
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01 Sep 2017 08:59 #253567 by charlest
Replied by charlest on topic 7th continent
I opened my copy last week and am pumped to play this one. Was chatting with Efka (No Pun Included video reviewer) about this at Gen Con, and he said he had to apologize to Isaac because 7th Continent had claimed his top game of the year.

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