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I'm gonna need some game-purchasing advice

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01 Jan 2019 07:46 - 01 Jan 2019 07:51 #288979 by san il defanso
Alright folks, I have some birthday money to spend, and I want to be the first person to ask game-buying advice on TWBG in 2019. Likely what I'll do is order whatever and then bring it back from the States after a trip I'm taking there in February. I have a number of axes that I consider when buying stuff...

  • Playable with a variety of player counts, though solo play is not a big selling point for me.
  • Potential for really creative game-play. By this I mean that there is either a potential for fun combos, cool player interactions, or allowing the player to find lots of different solutions to problems.
  • Potential for expansion, but in specific ways. I like extra content, but I like it best when expansions add to the stuff that's already there, not adding a bunch of extra rules that I will never be able to introduce to new players. Consider that I will likely buy a good expansion with the base game because they can be hard to find in the Philippines at a later date.
  • Some sense of longevity, as well as can be assessed.
  • Space and playtime. I don't mind big, long games at all, but I think very carefully before buying anything like that, because they are the hardest games to get played. Box size is a consideration because whatever I purchase will probably need to come back with me in my luggage.
  • Playable with kids. My son is now eight, almost nine, and I like playing stuff with him. This is honestly not an enormous necessity, but it's a consideration all the same.

No game has all of this stuff, but anyway here are the games I'm looking at.

Root - I'm a huge fan of the production with the little wooden dudes, and the artwork is just terrific. I also like the asymmetry. I always liked that aspect of Chaos in the Old World, but the dark theme was a bit of a turn-off for me. This looks like something that will be a little more appealing for family play, at least in a couple years. It's still a pretty hot game (should be back in distribution at the end of January) so I'm not sure if warts have started to show up. I'm also curious how it functions if there are less than a full complement of players, and how difficult to integrate the expansion content might be.

Spirit Island - This one is on my radar largely because of the theme and the comparison to more sprawling games, specifically Argent. I like games with simple structures but a butt-ton of options, so this looks like something I would like. Not sure how it compares to Argent in that regard. I know very little of the expansion. The game looks very complex so it's appeal might be limited, although the fact that it's co-op mitigates that.

Terraforming Mars - This has been out for a couple years now, and it seems like it has legs. I actually like Euro-style development games quite a bit, so there's a lot to like with this one. I also think it would be popular with several of my friends here, but the frequency that I get to play would be low. It also seems kind of long-ish, so that's further limiting. There are a number of expansions for this out there now, but I'm not sure which, if any, are much good.

These three all seem to scratch the itch of potential for creative play and expandability, though only Root I think has any appeal for my son at this point, and that's probably a couple years off. I'm open to other suggestions.
Last edit: 01 Jan 2019 07:51 by san il defanso.

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01 Jan 2019 07:58 - 01 Jan 2019 08:01 #288981 by Vysetron
Root > Spirit Island >>>>>>>>>>> Terraforming Mars

Root fulfils everything you want wanted except for solo. I mean there's a solo mode in the expansion, but that's not what Root is about. Some of the factions are more kid-friendly than others. If you really want to laugh, find the expansion and give them the otters. They're pretty simple and I bet giving the market price controls to a kid is hilarious.

Spirit Island misses the kid-playability and it's a table hog. Even though it's a coop there is a TON to micromanage and internalize. If that's ok with you the game is still excellent.

I don't like Terraforming Mars very much. Wanted to, but it's just a bloated card game.
Last edit: 01 Jan 2019 08:01 by Vysetron.
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01 Jan 2019 08:01 #288982 by san il defanso

Vysetron wrote: Root > Spirit Island >>>>>>>>>>> Terraforming Mars

Root fulfils everything you want wanted except for solo. I mean there's a solo mode in the expansion, but that's not what Root is about.

Spirit Island misses the kid-playability and it's a table hog. Even though it's a coop there is a TON to micromanage and internalize. If that's ok with you the game is still excellent.

I don't like Terraforming Mars very much. Wanted to, but it's just a bloated card game.


I don't need solo play at all, I only ever solo games for rules. I meant that I like a variety of player numbers but solo play is not really a big deal.

What can you tell me about the expansions for Root and Spirit Island?

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01 Jan 2019 08:10 #288983 by Vysetron
I totally missed the "not". My bad. I blame new year's.

Root's expansion adds 2 factions and some other stuff. The otters are traders and everyone wants what they're selling. Additional benefit would be that they play hands-up (because their cards are for sale) so rule questions and guidance would be easy.

Spirit Island introduces new spirits, more types of island hazards, and some other elements. The jungle spirit in that box in particular is a riot. I've only played a friends' copy so I'm not 100% clear on what's in which box, but I think it also contains the event deck? If so you definitely want it. The event deck in SI has led to some of my favorite moments in that game.
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01 Jan 2019 13:12 - 01 Jan 2019 13:14 #288989 by RobertB
I'll take a stab at showing where Terraforming Mars fits in there.

Player count - will play 1-5, best with 2-4. Specific game strategies will improve or degrade as that number changes.

Creative game play - that's probably the weakest category on that list. There are combos in TM, but they're definitely more of a 'turn A to B to C' nature than 'okay, that was cool.'

Expansion: The Hellas and Elysium expansion is two new maps and new end-game rewards, with no rules changes. The Prelude expansion adds a few additional rules, centered mostly around solo play. Venus Next and Colonies do add more mechanisms. Expansions can be mixed and matched.

Longevity - it came out two years ago, and it's probably still the most popular game at my local game club. If I don't want to get my ass kicked by the missus I can go down there and get a game going in about 10 minutes.

Space/Playtime - it's not small, spacewise. Four players at a folding card table would be doable but tight. Timewise, it's about 2 hours regardless of player count, since the map state determines the game end. More players == fewer turns. The Venus Next and Colonies expansion will make it a little longer, and the Prelude expansion will make it a little shorter.

Playable with kids - Maybe? There's a lot of arithmetic of the, "24 bucks, minus 2 for this, minus 1 for that means I owe 21. Four of these are worth 8 and 13 bucks makes 21," variety.

I like it a lot. It scratches a 'build stuff in the game' itch, with a little planning, a little dealing with fate, and a little screwage for the neighbor.
Last edit: 01 Jan 2019 13:14 by RobertB.
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