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charlest wrote: I had GKR and got rid of it. The big knock at the time was that it's way too long for what it is. Did you not find that to be the case?
I mean the most important thing is that you're enjoying the entire play, and we do, but also no? The game definitely takes much longer on a first play than most skirmishes since you have to assemble and operate a deck that you know nothing about, but that goes away quickly and then you just slam through the 5 phases. Games with new players take about twice the time.
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It's still a very good game, but two things stood out to me. It is almost laughably cutthroat, esp with two. This is a knives out, fuck your opponent over game in an only slighty indirect way. Second, this game does not want to be as long as it is once you add tiles from the expansions in (traders and builders, inns and cathedrals were in). You need to cull out a certain number of tiles to make the game a more reasonable length and at least in my edition it's a real miss that they don't recommend culling a certain number of tiles out per expansion or something as an official rule.
As always, the winner was the winner of the brutal farmer main field battle, which is absolutely my beef with the game just like everyone else.
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Vysetron wrote:
charlest wrote: I had GKR and got rid of it. The big knock at the time was that it's way too long for what it is. Did you not find that to be the case?
I mean the most important thing is that you're enjoying the entire play, and we do, but also no? The game definitely takes much longer on a first play than most skirmishes since you have to assemble and operate a deck that you know nothing about, but that goes away quickly and then you just slam through the 5 phases. Games with new players take about twice the time.
Interesting. I sold it without having played it due to other competing games and needing some money at the time.
A couple of people I talked to said they couldn't get it under two hours, at least with four players, and it tended to drag.
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1. New thread cards: great addition. All it does is swap out the main game deck for a new one. This tweaks the point costs and mixes up the rewards (sometimes additional resources/reputation are gained, other times no tent can be placed). It's easy to add, easy to explain, and is an improvement, which makes it the best kind of expansion!
2. Amber mines: the main module for the expansion. This one is a mixed bag. It certainly makes visiting the Mine more interactive by adding a mini-exploration game, but it also slows down the start of the game as the Mine was usually a good way to get gems/gold to give a quick boost. It also adds the possibility of additional points by awarding points to the two players who put camps on the most amber. I feel like the main reason for this expansion was to give a purpose for food (it replaces skill as the requirement for placing tents in the Mine), which was pretty much pointless after you had 1 or 2 pack animals. We'll have to play a bit more to see how it works out with more experience, but as it is now it's just okay.
3. Magic: the Mystic's Hut was pretty crappy before, now you have a reason to go there! This slightly modifies the way treasure cards are drawn (keys off of exploration symbols in your party and not just a flat three) and also adds a magic track and spell cards. You can earn up to three spell cards, which are powerful one-shot abilities that can be reset by revisiting the Mystic's Hut. Spells are each worth one-point at the end of the game plus an additional two points for the top magic leaner. This is an alright addition, but feels more like it is trying to give a reason to visit the hut.
4. New General Store: this is 100% an upgrade to the worst building in the main game. The building now allows you to earn a coin AND take artifacts at the same time instead of either/or. If you do take an advanced artifact, you get to place a tent on the store. There is no reason not to include this module as it is simple to add and makes the building possibly worth an additional visit. In the base game, the only reason to go there is to take a coin. Getting additional artifact cards just slows you down.
5. Miner adventurers: factionless adventurers that have an added ability in the mine: when you place a tent, gain an additional coin. Simple easy addition, but has to have the Amber Mine added.
6. Magic teacher adventurers: one adventurer for each faction that has the added ability that they make moving up the magic track easier when visiting the Mystic's Hut. A minor change, but a little extra variety doesn't hurt.
7. Expert dice: each player can gain one of these the first time they visit the General Store. It replaces the 1-face with a reroll and the 2-face with a "keep or spend 1 food to reroll". A great addition and helps speed up the early game. It definitely makes quickly visiting the General Store a must.
8. Amber mine treasures/artifacts: new things to add to the base game decks. I will say that the Almanac (-1 coin/gem on all artifacts) is insanely powerful for a treasure. There is also a new advanced artifact that is relatively cheap, but is worth 10 points + 4 points for each advanced artifact including itself. Decent additions, but I am not sure that it is balanced with the core items.
9. Numbat animal companion: a new alternate starting pet. The rules change to allow players to draft their starting pet based on reverse order of prior game performance. The Numbat has three hearts so a player could feasibly explore on the second turn and place a tent without having had to visit the tavern. This would probably only be helpful if the starting adventurer pool was expensive or terrible.
10. Cooperative mode/minion cards: we have not tried this, but it looks like a fairly simple change to the game. Minion cards can be added to make cooperative mode tougher.
11. Two alternate event sets for two of the maps: these are two additional sets of events that replace the events for two maps in the base game. As it will probably take 30 games to exhaust the base game events (not counting character stories), this seems like a nice, but not essential add.
Overall, it is just an okay expansion that feels more like it is trying to patch a couple of weaker buildings in the base game (Mystic's Hut and General Store), while adding additional complexity to the most visited one (Mine). However, it is only $25, so it is still probably worth it for the two additional event sets, expert dice, new threat deck, and cooperative mode.
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The first game I played ended in a failed mission, but my soldiers were alive and limping along. The first location was a field that kept getting reinforced with recruits that kept shielding the more difficult targets. More grist for the mill that stopped my advance.
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- Disgustipater
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Most of this tracks with my wife and I. We (try to) steal each other's features all the time. However we do enjoy playing with a ton of expansions, though only use the rules from a few of them. I've come to see the big farm fight at the end as not worth the 3 or 4 meeples dedicated to trying to win it for the points received. But I suppose it depends on how close the score is. We usually end up in the 250+ points range. It's still our main game together.Gary Sax wrote: It's still a very good game, but two things stood out to me. It is almost laughably cutthroat, esp with two. This is a knives out, fuck your opponent over game in an only slighty indirect way.
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Campaign was low on experience, but pretty successful otherwise. Didn’t lose any scenarios (with some asterisks for missed rules and the like). Spent a lot of time admiring the general design of the campaign. Even with another year of design experience and player feedback, the Return changes were pretty mild, mostly adding variety and fixing a few small exploits that most but for the extreme hardcore probably missed.
Maybe I’ll try Forgotten Age again with an eye to the secret ending next.
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- hotseatgames
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It plays smoothly and I felt like I was mostly in charge of my own destiny. In general when I was presented with an option to roll dice, I chose that option because fuck it, why not? I came in last.....
The components are gorgeous, as is the art. My only real complaint is that you have these wooden chicken leg meeples that represent food, and they are a pain in the balls to pick up. I honestly would have preferred nice cardboard tokens.
I would play this game again. My biggest criticism is that the last turn feels like the first turn. There is zero drama in this game. It just... happens.
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