Barnes on Games: Champions of Midgard and Survive! Space Attack! in Review, Cthulhu Wars, Thunderbirds, new VPG titles

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If it were more sanely priced, I think it would be all anyone here would want to play.

But you know...I kind of think it wouldn't be the same without those obnoxious figures. I read a comment from Sandy Petersen that he chose the colors because he wanted them to be like old fashioned plastic dinosaurs.

God, I love that.

I've tried Cthulhu Wars twice. It didn't do much for me. I thought the pacing was off and it ended both times just when things started getting interesting.

That's quite enough talk about Cthulhu Wars now thank you. It's prohibitively expensive, especially for someone off the market for now, so I can't even think about it and yet... here I am, thinking about it.

No.

I did love the Survive re-theme though. I was very impressed at how much it felt like Survive, the bones of that game are clearly very strong. I do prefer the original setting simply because it's less common, but I have to admit that the reimagining was fantastic. After having played for years it's refreshing to have the game feel new again and the tiny rule tweaks are so subtle the game doesn't change much... but it's enough to feel worth it. I can actually see a good reason to own both. If your group is like our ... ie: Survive addicts.

I liked it enough due to that one play to make me seek out a trade I could tolerate for it. That ~rarely~ happens.

You have to really like minimalist designs and old-school wargames to like it. Not hex and counter type shit, but more like something along the Supremacy line, kind of. Definitely unique, definitely fun.

The big monsters do add some gravitas to it, I have to admit. Playing with giant, evil little dolls is pretty much always awesome. If you can't agree with the last sentence, this game pretty much isn't for you. I think if it had 1/4 size big bosses it would still rock, but I would be less interested in owning it.

Fun damned game. Can't wait until it gets here.

The hell with it. I'm going all in.
Between PM'ing Pete and Charlie, Michael's brief opinion of CW is sending me over the edge.

To subsidize the cost, I've been selling off some choice pieces from the collection. An added benefit is opened shelf space!

As an aside, I spoke with Sandy and Arthur at Gencon. Nice fellas. Sandy signed my CoC 2nd edition, and my Field Guide. When I criticized them both for their first KS, they assured me they learned a lot, and encouraged me to follow them in October. They gave me two CW minis and I was on my way.

While I'm not as impressed with the developing CW KS as I thought I would be, it's still an opportunity for me to get all this shit at once.
FYI - the new faction is going to be cast in pink.

drewcula wrote: Sandy signed my CoC 2nd edition.

Sandy knows you VERY well then....

ThirstyMan wrote:

drewcula wrote: Sandy signed my CoC 2nd edition.

Sandy knows you VERY well then....

Nah, he lets everyone and their uncle sign that thing.

Get this- I get a package yesterday and its a 2nd copy of Cthulhu Wars! I have two now! I'm sure it was a mistake, I've contacted them to see what they want me to do with it...maybe if I sell it and agree to pledge that amount...

I'm not going to lie. I would totally go all in, $600 for all expansions if I could afford it. Yeah, I could buy like 12 other games for that...but a) I don't want to buy and store 12 games b) the next 12 games I get will be review copies anyway and c) out of a given 12 games, I would still probably rather play CW.

One thing that I think really distinguishes CW is that unlike just about any other collection "centerpiece", it is something that somebody can see on your shelf, say that looks cool, and you can have them playing it in 10 minutes. You don't have to say "we'll set aside a Saturday to play it" or "I'll have to go back and study the rules" or "we have to have six people for it". It's really accessible. The playtime is literally in Eurogame parameters, the component density is low, you don't have to know 20 different decks of mini cards, setup is minimal, and the action is immediate.

The cost is an issue, sure. But you know, you don't drive a Lamborghini and argue that it should cost as much as a Toyota. I never thought I'd be arguing for "luxury" games, but I kind of get it...at least in regard to this particular design and product.

In a way, this game being so expensive almost makes it sort of the antithesis of the Cult of the New...it's not a $35 one-and-done throwaway. If you put into this game, you are (hopefully) investing in something to play for years to come. It's not a product of the "churn". It's designed and sold to be THE game. I actually have come to respect that...do I get a 1%er t shirt now?

Michael Barnes wrote: If you put into this game, you are (hopefully) investing in something to play for years to come. It's not a product of the "churn". It's designed and sold to be THE game. I actually have come to respect that...do I get a 1%er t shirt now?

I already have games that I've been playing for years and will probably be playing for years to come. They didn't cost $150 for the base and $700 for the whole package. I'm a little bit miffed about CW because it looks like the sort of game I would love, but in the Land of Sanity* over here there's no such thing as a $700 board game.

1%er t-shirts are so nouveau riche

* - Where Mega-Civilization is on the shelf...

duplicate post

wadenels wrote:

Michael Barnes wrote: If you put into this game, you are (hopefully) investing in something to play for years to come. It's not a product of the "churn". It's designed and sold to be THE game. I actually have come to respect that...do I get a 1%er t shirt now?

I already have games that I've been playing for years and will probably be playing for years to come. They didn't cost $150 for the base and $700 for the whole package. I'm a little bit miffed about CW because it looks like the sort of game I would love, but in the Land of Sanity* over here there's no such thing as a $700 board game.

After seeing it and holding it in my hand, I can absolutely guarantee that there's no reason this should cost consumers 150$. The cost on the game is probably 35$, delivered to Sandy's fulfillment center. Make no mistake, this is the single most overpriced game I have ever seen. The idea that one could drop $700 on ~one game~ kind of baffles me. Now, to be fair, at that price point it's a complete gaming system, but it most assuredly will not provide the same entertainment value that a 36" HD flat screen, Xbox One, and a half ounce of kush would at the same price.

Whoa now, I'm not saying the game is worth the price. It is premium priced out the ass, which is a polite way of saying that it is intentionally priced over the market to create a gravitas of luxury, exclusivity and superiority. It's how Apple sells computers.

There are some things in the box where I am kind of shocked that corners were cut...like the plain 6mm D6s. Come one, everything has custom dice. A $200 game sure as shit better have them. The player mats are thin cardstock. I've played $20 games that had punch board ones.

It's kind of like clothes...you may be completely happy with a closet full of Wal-Mart t-shirts and you don't see the value in an Yves Saint Laurent shirt. Or you may value that YSL shirt more than all of those Wal-Mart shirts. They both do the same fundamental thing, but there are other elements- some personal- that assign worth to them.

Price is totally the issue with this game, no doubt about it.

If he did a $75 version of the game with "normal" pieces, it would be all you guys would be talking about. But he's made over a million bucks on the premium pricing, so there's that too.

I would definitely look into a $75 version. Especially if I could get all the add-on content for a more reasonable price.

I get the premium pricing argument, but I guess I don't really get the motivation. Board gaming of this type doesn't have a massive consumer base, so pricing yourself out of large segments of the market doesn't seem savvy. Apple can get away with it because they provide something markedly different from the rest of the market and can continue to do so because of proprietary tech and IP. There's no such analogue in board gaming.

It's also strange to attach the terms gravitas and luxury to a thing that has CTHULU WARS printed in big-ass letters on the side.