Trashdome - Twilight Imperium 3 vs Nexus Ops

WELCOME TO TRASHDOME!

This is the third in a series of bloody matches to the death. Show support for your favorite game so it will do better in the fight. You can support it by writing why you think its the better game and more importantly by betting on it. End your first post in this thread with the title of the game you're placing a bet on (i.e. voting for) so its clear to me when reading it later. You have until Friday when I tally the bets and declare the winner. The winning game may return for future matches, the loser will be dead. I will reserve my vote for any tie-breakers.

Although you should be familiar with both games, there is no rule that says you have to have played both of them. The only rule in Trashdome is this;

Two games enter! One game leaves!

First time I've played both games and I've got to say this is retarded.

TI3. Done.

Let's move on to the next pairing, shall we?

I haven't played either game, but I have studied both of them when scouting out games that I might be interested in buying. When I study a game, I look at pictures of components, session reports, comments, rules questions, and then finally talk to people I know who have played each game.

Twilight Imperium: Several of my friends have played it, and some acquaintances play it on a semi-regular basis but don't have room for another player in their group. All but one speak highly of the game. Unfortunately, the nay-sayer is a really close friend and a regular in my own gaming group. The overall impression that I have of Twilight Imperium is that it's a great game, but it will almost never get on the table with my regular players.

Nexus Ops: Nobody around here has played. Ever. Nobody around even owns it. Going by online remarks, Nexus Ops sounds fun, but ultimately somewhat unsatisfactory. Lots of chaos and mayhem, and then somebody wins, and the overall playtime is somewhat short, but possibly too long for what it is. My regular group might like it, but I'm not sure that I would like it much.

So I cast my fairly ignorant vote in favor of Twilight Imperium.

This is like 1-2-3 Kid versus Yokozuna. 1-2-3 Kid is exciting with his martial arts-based offense and lightning feet, but then Yokozuna gives him the Bonzai Drop and kills him. Dead. Then 1-2-3 Kid wanders off to have sex with Chyna.



Twilight Imperium

Nexus Ops for me. I really don't enjoy TI3's design, it's pretty lacking in game-shui. If it was between TI 2nd edition and Nexus Ops, though, I'd vote TI2.

Jason Lutes wrote:

Nexus Ops for me. I really don't enjoy TI3's design, it's pretty lacking in game-shui. If it was between TI 2nd edition and Nexus Ops, though, I'd vote TI2.

You rogue!

So what's 2 got that 3 messes up? Never looked into TI2. EDUCATE ME

Shellhead wrote:

Going by online remarks, Nexus Ops sounds fun, but ultimately somewhat unsatisfactory.

Right.

Shellhead wrote:

Lots of chaos and mayhem, and then somebody wins, and the overall playtime is somewhat short, but possibly too long for what it is.

Wrong.

Nexus Ops is fun, but the biggest problem with it is that all the games feel the same. I'm not entirely sure why this is so since there are various units and a varied bag of objectives. I suspect that the game is either too shallow or too simple (as in the different units and objectives not being different enough) - possibly both. But the end result is a game which seems very good at first but which rapidly runs out of interest over repeat plays.

I like Nexus Ops, but TI3 would win this for me. It's just too good, in spite of the monster play time.

MattDP wrote:

Shellhead wrote:

Going by online remarks, Nexus Ops sounds fun, but ultimately somewhat unsatisfactory.

Right.

Shellhead wrote:

Lots of chaos and mayhem, and then somebody wins, and the overall playtime is somewhat short, but possibly too long for what it is.

Wrong.

Nexus Ops is fun, but the biggest problem with it is that all the games feel the same. I'm not entirely sure why this is so since there are various units and a varied bag of objectives. I suspect that the game is either too shallow or too simple (as in the different units and objectives not being different enough) - possibly both. But the end result is a game which seems very good at first but which rapidly runs out of interest over repeat plays.

I like Nexus Ops, but TI3 would win this for me. It's just too good, in spite of the monster play time.

I agree Matt - not enough nobs to tweak to get the fun, replayability. Maybe individual player powers? But even then, what all can you do other than "-1 rubidium for your lava leapers"?

These are the first negative comments I've seen for Nexus Ops on this website.

Excellent!

C'mon - no fair match-up ...... TI3 after a 1st round (3 second) KO !

Nexus Ops is a great little game, but no where in the same league for comparison. It should have been up against one of the later Risk or A:A variants.
Starcraft would have been a better match for a good scrap in the Dome.

TI3

I never said Trashdome would always be fair matches.

Mad Dog wrote:

These are the first negative comments I've seen for Nexus Ops on this website.

Excellent!

The kind words about Nexus Ops on this site have always...ALWAYS been tempered by caveats.

"A great game...for what it is."

"For a light dicefest, this is one of the best."


You're removed Nexus Ops from its light dice-fest arena into the realm of games we'd always play should we have the time. Remove the time constraints (among other considerations) and it's like bringing a knife to a gunfight for poor Nexus Ops.





Which is still a great game. For what it is.

Ken B. wrote:

This is like 1-2-3 Kid versus Yokozuna. 1-2-3 Kid is exciting with his martial arts-based offense and lightning feet, but then Yokozuna gives him the Bonzai Drop and kills him. Dead. Then 1-2-3 Kid wanders off to have sex with Chyna.

HA!

Ken B. wrote:

Mad Dog wrote:

These are the first negative comments I've seen for Nexus Ops on this website.

Excellent!

The kind words about Nexus Ops on this site have always...ALWAYS been tempered by caveats.

"A great game...for what it is."

"For a light dicefest, this is one of the best."

"It's just too good, in spite of the monster play time."

No contest!

NEXUS OPS


Nexus Ops is a brilliant game because of the mission cards. These cards enable the game to be completed in a reasonable time and spares you the agony of marathon play so common with Twilight Imperium and Risk.

Skeletor would call you a "Nancy Boy" if the game time or complexity scared you away from Twilight Imperium but I would say just the opposite.

Only a "Nancy Boy" would be holed up in his room for 6+ hours playing this muddled mess of a game entitled "Twilight Imperium"

You might be thinking that I am almost endorsing Euros by complaining about play time and complexity but I am not.

"Nexus Ops" indeed has a theme, brutal competition and a "King of the Hill" aspect that truly defines Ameritrash.

"Nexus Ops" is lean and mean where "Twilight Imperium" is a lumbering clod.

The fight between these two games is best seen here:

Nexus Ops is Achilles:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIOPZxpjSX0&feature=related