TRASHDOME: MEQ vs. Starcraft vs. War of the Ring vs. Warrior Knights

Ken B. wrote:

lj1983 wrote: seriously? you guys all put a non-essential expansion over trying one of the many great DOAMs that FFG has put out?

If you look at Peter's list, it appears he left out the &...don't know why he would just put the War of the Ring expansion alone.

Still, a pretty bitchin' expansion.

he left out the & probably because MattDp's list has "War of the Ring Expansion"...and I'm pretty sure Matt's played the base game before

UNDERCARD

I hung out in the casino bar and missed the fight. (Haven't played any of them so have no opinion.)

FEATURE FIGHT

A true heavyweight battle. I haven't played MEQ, so no opinion there. War of the Ring is near perfect as is, so the changes in the expansion aren't significant enough to get me to vote for it, despite it being a personal favourite.

So that leaves Warrior Knights and StarCraft. Warrior Knights is greatly improved by the expansion (the base game always felt like it wanted to be more "substantial" than it really is; the expansion adds a lot of meat). StarCraft is a game that I played too infrequently to ever really get into the flow of it. But while Warrior Knights has the same basic feel as some other DOAMs, StarCraft is unlike anything else I've played.

My vote, based on uniquness, goes to StarCraft. It scales pretty well (even playable just fine with 2), so this might not be as hard to get to the table, either.

Ken B. wrote:

lj1983 wrote: seriously? you guys all put a non-essential expansion over trying one of the many great DOAMs that FFG has put out?

If you look at Peter's list, it appears he left out the &...don't know why he would just put the War of the Ring expansion alone.

Still, a pretty bitchin' expansion.

I have several expansions that I haven't played, although I've played the base game. Ironically, Starcraft: Brood War is one of those. I just assumed that's what he meant. I suppose he could also have been referring to the battle games in the expansion. As far as the classic game goes, while I like the BotTA additions, I don't think it's a necessary expansion by any means.

Undercard

Vote: Catacombs (it's the only one I played)

Main fight.

I'd go in this order from best to worst:
Starcraft - arguably the best DOAM game ever made.
Warrior Knights - also fantastic, breaks my heart not to have this first but starcraft is a more out there design.
War of the Ring - (im assuming we are talking about WotR and not the expansion, otherwise move this to last) great game but a bit more scripted then the above two.
Middle Earth Quest - I was never as into this game as everyone else was on release, but I pulled it out this weekend for the first time in a year and had half a game and funnily enough it started to 'click' together. I was shaky as with the rules and now think I was playing several of them wrong (I'm pretty sure I was playing it that a rest action takes up your entire turn, whereas now my reading is it seems to just be something you do at the start of your turn - big difference!) Ironically I think it was playing Mage Knight which gave me an appreciation of MEQ, since the round limit and turn structure of the games feel similar. I need to re-read the rules and play this one again properly and give this another assesment I think.

Anyway - vote Starcraft.

I'm pretty sure Matt's played War of the Ring base game. I can't check because BGG is out. Maybe Matt can fill us in.

I was going to leave out the War of the Ring expansion but I was thinking this is an interesting Trashdome. Is it better to learn and play a new game like Starcraft or Warrior Knights or learn and play an expansion (maybe an unnecessary expansion) to a great game you've already played War of the Ring. I think War of the Ring would have won by landslide if it was War of the Ring 2nd edition or the base game vs. Starcraft.

Under card
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Junta

Feature Fight
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If it's only the WotR expansion we're talking about then my vote goes to Starcraft.

Thanks for the motivation guys. I won't comment until the votes are in, but just to clarify it is just the WotR expansion that's unplayed. I've played the base game several times (though not as much as I'd like).

I listed it separately because:

* I spent significant money on it and it takes up significant shelf space. Therefore it's just as much a shelf toad as any unplayed full game.
* Now that the upgrade kit (or an indelible pen) has rendered the balancing aspects of it obsolete I kind of feel it *is* a stand alone game.

Vote: War of the Ring

Haven't played MEQ yet.

Starcraft is good but not fantastic. Warrior Knights needs to be tweaked in order to not end just as things get interesting. Both games pale in comparison to Runewars, but that's not on the list.

I'll recommend Catacombs. It's also a fun and easy game to learn. JonJacob and I had a blast playing it one afternoon. He's been into flicking games for awhile so yeah he beat me but what he doesn't know is I have a flicking hockey game from Quebec that I don't think anyone here or on the Geek has seen (not listed).

I'll also go with Warrior Knights. I have both it and the expansion. It's not the best game in my collection but it's a pretty good game. War of the Ring IS a better game, but if you're looking to try something new: Warrior Knights. It's a lot of fun.

I've never owned or played MEQ so can't comment although I heard the ending was an anti climatic roll off.

grimnir wrote: Vote: War of the Ring

This man is wrong.

grimnir wrote: Haven't played MEQ yet.

This man is uneducated.

grimnir wrote: Starcraft is good but not fantastic.

This man is a heretic!

grimnir wrote: Warrior Knights needs to be tweaked in order to not end just as things get interesting.

This man is profound, insightful, wise beyond his years. If ever a game needed three more turns it's this one.

S.

War of the Ring and Junta.

He's most likely to find only one person for the biggie, and Junta is well Junta.

Sagrilarus wrote:

grimnir wrote: Warrior Knights needs to be tweaked in order to not end just as things get interesting.

This man is profound, insightful, wise beyond his years. If ever a game needed three more turns it's this one.

S.

You are playing with the expansion aren't you?

Mr Skeletor wrote: Middle Earth Quest - I was never as into this game as everyone else was on release, but I pulled it out this weekend for the first time in a year and had half a game and funnily enough it started to 'click' together. I was shaky as with the rules and now think I was playing several of them wrong (I'm pretty sure I was playing it that a rest action takes up your entire turn, whereas now my reading is it seems to just be something you do at the start of your turn - big difference!) Ironically I think it was playing Mage Knight which gave me an appreciation of MEQ, since the round limit and turn structure of the games feel similar. I need to re-read the rules and play this one again properly and give this another assesment I think.

Interesting thoughts on MEQ vs. Mage Knight. Last weekend I was playing Mage Knight with freudianslip27. Freudianship27 is a big fan of Mage Knight and Runebound. So he was asking about playing a game online. Unfortunately, Mage Knight and Runebound isn't on Vassal however, MEQ is on Vassal. I think MEQ could work as a 2 player online game.

War of the Ring --- without a doubt. Always fun and tense.


Junta or Catacombs---that was actually more difficult for me. I love them both...but I'll go with Catacombs. (for quick game, though, Junta: Viva El Presidente can't be beat.)

KingPut wrote: I think MEQ could work as a 2 player online game.

I'm down if you ever want to try.