Trashdome - Fury Of Dracula v Battlestar Galactica

Fury of Big D.

Maybe that will change if we re-vote two years from now. Since we're voting now, though ...

Fury of Dracula.

the*mad*gamer wrote:

Did you know that GW signed a deal with FFG in 2008 to publish and develop board games, collectible card games and role playing games based on Games Workshop properties?

Sounds like GW is a FFG goose stepper too.

"Android" bombed. Conan is in the shitter and BSG in the bargain bin.

FFG has to try to get SOME good games from somewhere!

You're right. Twilight Imperium, Runebound, Descent and Tide of Iron have been TOTAL flops.

Edit: Also, Age of Conan is a Nexus game. FFG just prints and distributes it in the US.

I can understand the frustration of hunters who don't have a clue where to look for Dracula. But there are plenty of cards that can help with that problem, plus there are Resolve points that can be spent on locating Dracula.

Compare that to Battlestar Galactica, where a Human player in the brig faces the prospect of extreme boredom and frustration. Seven to escape is low target number, but the player in the brig needs to overcome resistance from both unrevealed Cylons and skeptical Humans. At least a Cylon player in the brig can choose to reveal in return for some better options.

Why the FFG hatred? It strange how some of you passed the entrance test. I guess you'll need to see Olga again ...

FURY OF DRACULA is a real cool game, no doubt about it, it's one of my favorites.

And sure BATTLESTAR GALACTICA is a situational experience, it sucks with a boring group of players. But I got a great group, so you can all fuck off.

The pope's not a nice guy.

Vote: BSG

I have not seen a single TV episode, but I like the Paranoia RPG.

Schweig! wrote:

Why the FFG hatred?

Why does Weeks hate anything? Because it's getting him noticed. I'm concerned for him though...he's running through the sacred cows so quickly it won't be long until he's resorting to hating America, and then he'll have nothing left!

-MMM

Two great games. It's also an interesting pairing. Both are team games. Both have an evil player or players that the good team is searching to find. Also, both games have a similar pacing. I really like how the pacing of both games slowly builds to an exciting showdown. I know some people have complained about the slow parts of BSG and Dracula BSG but it's the slow parts of the game that actually make the showdowns great.

However, BSG is game I would play every week if I could. Fury of Dracula is game I like playing a few times a year.

Winner: Battlestar Galactica

first one where i've really played both several times.

Fury is best with 3 for me...and BSG is best with 5 or 6. so, given the choice between games, we would rather play fury than BSG, but usually have to many people, so we enjoy a good game of BSG...but I agree, there is more "game" to fury, while BSG is all about the people interaction

vote: fury of Dracula

This is really quite difficult but I am going to have to side with BSG, and that's based more on theme for me (I actually prefer the game Fury of Dracula, just not the experience as much as BSG). But I would play either one in a heartbeat. I think they're both awesome games.

I've only played Fury of Dracula, and continuing with my form of voting for games I've actually played, I cast my vote for Fury of Dracula.

But, I think once I get the chance to play Battlestar Galactica I'll like it better. FoD is pretty good, but there are things that I don't like that much about it. The hunt can go on for too long and the combat is pretty convoluted. I've only played as a hunter though, my brother keeps telling me to try as Dracula so I'll have to jump at the chance next time I get it.

KingPut wrote:

However, BSG is game I would play every week if I could. Fury of Dracula is game I like playing a few times a year.

Yeah my feelings too.

BSG Bitches!!


Watch me Mama, I'm Goose-steppin!!!!!

Fury of Dracula is one of the first bigger box games my wife and I got and we played it many, many times, going from 5 to 3 to mostly two player. It's a blast, not least because she loves playing the hunters, me Drac. But gradually she's gotten a bigger kick out of LNoE with the zombies as a Fury alternative. In terms of gameplay they are comparable at least in terms of horror theme and card/dice-based combat an we are zombie fans (the original Dawn by Romero)... so Drac has paled a bit. Which brings me to Battlestar - played twice with a lot left to discover. Like most people at this site, we love games with deceit and backstabbing & plenty of trashtalk - plus I liked the first season of BSG (haven't seen the others)... BSG is still largely undiscovered country for us but seems to have a lot of potential so I'm going with...

BATTLESTAR GALACTICA

Interesting. Both are good games, possibly even great ones, but both are largely dependent on players to do the "right" thing in order for them to be much fun at all.

If the GW FoD is in the dome with BSG, then my vote goes to BSG. The old FoD blows. Don't get me wrong, it does deserve the praise it gets for the way it recreates the mood and circumstances of the book with a board and cards. Beyond that, though, the game is long, boring, and way too luck driven. Once you've got your stakes, "stormy seas" cards, and your wafers on the bottleneck cities, it's just a matter of burning through the deck until your get a card that forces Drac to give up his position. No thanks.

The new FoD's movement rules for dracula are silly and contrived, but as far as I am concerned they're a godsend. You're actually on a hunt in the new one, as opposed to being on a wild goose chase in the old. The maturation of events keeps a wussy Dracula player from turning the game into an interminable bore. There's just more incentive for both sides to get into the thick of things from the jump, which gives the game more immediacy and tension.

So, if it's a choice between the NEW FoD and BSG, the choice is a little harder, but I think FoD is a little better. I played BSG before I saw a single episode of the show, so I can definitely say it stands on its own without the license. My group has had some really fun times with BSG, but as I've said before, if the Cylon players don't destroy the Galactica right after they reveal themselves, the game becomes a boring processional thing. I've also found that I've given less and less of a shit who the Cylons are the more games I play, because even if I figure it out, what am I going to do about it? If they're not playing enough off-color cards during skill checks to give themselves away, they're not really doing the humans any harm. If they are, I think I'd still rather have them sabotaging skill checks or messing with my head than activating heavy raiders or wasting FTL prep cards on their turn.

I'd recommend either game to a fan of the source material without an reservation, but if that's not an issue, FoD is a bit more consistent with delivering the fun.

Ooh, this is the toughest Trashdome matchup to call yet.

BSG has gone over well so far when we've played it, but even though I haven't had any lame sessions I spotted the potential for them. Still, I'm very glad to have it in my collection.

Fury of Dracula (FFG) has been a rip-roaring good time without fail. Maybe it's just the people I've played with, but everyone gets into it. I prefer to play without the Evasion card so Dracula doesn't get the luxury of a mid-game reset. One line that we all remember was a game when I was Dracula and the rest of the guys were, while slightly intoxicated, discussing amongst themselves which hunters should move where and why. One guy shouts "The only way out of Eastern Europe is THROUGH ZUGBUG!!!11~" (doing a hatchet job on Zagreb, haha). Obviously the "40 ounces of Dracula killing fury" bottle of Mickey's wasn't doing him any favors.

Vote: FURY OF DRACULA

The last several times that I've played FoD, I've hit on a solid strategy for hunters.

When you don't know where Dracula is, draw from the event deck early and often. Also, nobody should take the train at this point, because you could roll an X and miss your chance to draw an event. Worst case scenario, the clock runs through a whole day and then you get a resolve point to spend, to reveal the leftmost unrevealed location.

Now the strategy shifts: stop drawing event cards. Period. As long as you are within a few locations of Dracula's current location, do not draw event cards. Item cards are still fair game, at least until every hunter has at least one weapon against Dracula and one weapon against gypsies.

If by chance Dracula manages to give hunters the slip, at least it won't be a total reset like Evasion, so there is still hope. Plus there are a couple of helpful cards in the item deck. If you get really stuck, start hitting the event deck again, but know that you are risking the dreaded re-set card.

With one exception, this strategy has consistently delivered taut, thrilling games, with the hunters beating Dracula 2:1. The one outlier game involved an aggressive Dracula who beat up Mina and Seward and matured one female vamp for the win.

Although I have played BSG more recently, I must say that FoD is the superior game. BSG can produce a more complex dramatic environment than FoD (although both games score exceedingly highly in this area), but, for me at least, more plays have revealed that there is not as much to explore as a player in BSG. The main flaw with BSG is that the entire game is driven by the crisis deck, which can be unreliable, and, in any event, makes the game purely reactive and tactical. Dracula, on the other hand, is driven by the bluffing and deductive reasoning of the players, which leaves more room for creativity, especially strategic creativity. BSG is about anxiety and crucial moments; Dracula is about the hunt. Both are impeccably thematic, but Dracula's theme is better suited to a game.

VOTE: Fury of Dracula