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Topics - GendoIkari

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General Discussion / BGG.con 2018

« on: March 06, 2018, 11:27:14 am »

Registration was yesterday; going for 6th year in a row!

Amazingly, it's still not fully sold out. The last couple years sold out in less than an hour. So if you're thinking of going, go register now!

Dominion General Discussion / Right way to play when you can’t win?

« on: January 28, 2018, 11:50:20 pm »

So I just played an IRL 4 player game of all Nocturne cards. The Kingdom was:

Pooka, Werewolf, Guardian, Skulk, Blessed Village, Cursed Village, Druid, Necromancer, Cobbler, Tormentor.

The other players were someone who plays a lot but not online / competitively; someone who played a good bit I think, but didn’t know anything about Nocturne; someone who had played a few games of Dominion before but needed reminding of even the basic rules; and myself.

Anyway, I got off to a slow start; having got a $3 and a $3 because of Cursed Gold, instead of a $4. Eventually got 2 Pookas and was able to trash down. Lots of Hexes flying around. I was starting to put together a pretty good engine with both Village types; Werewolfs, a Druid, 2 Guardians for 1 per turn, a Necromancer, and a couple Skulks.

The problem was, by the time I was really doing anything good, 2 of the other players had bought several Provinces and started on Duchies, with the third having some as well. There were 4 left when I got my thing to be reliable, and even then it wasn’t fully reliable. So buying a Province was just bad for me, but I also had a really strong deck in terms of Hexing... and with my opponents having not trashed down; they couldn’t do much of anything.

So we went around like this for several rounds... they would buy low-level VP when they could; I would hex them a bunch if they hadn’t gotten a Guardian out, and I had no actual chance of winning at all. So... what should I have done? Although it was fun, I felt bad about the way I was playing... basically dragging the game on a bunch by just slowing them all down a whole bunch without actually increasing my chances of winning. Should I have just started buying Provinces even though it would eventually help end the game with my own loss? The game ended up taking a really long time, and most of it was due to me.

Rules Questions / Crown-Crown-Horn of Plenty-Villa

« on: December 17, 2017, 02:41:52 pm »

I'm almost sure this was already answered, but I can't find the thread.

What happens if you play a Crown A during your buy phase, choosing to play Crown B twice, choosing Horn of Plenty for the first time; choosing to gain a Villa with it?

So you play Horn of Plenty a second time now; but are you already back in your action phase now? So when you play Crown B for the second time, you now choose an action to play twice? Or, has Crown B already locked into the idea that it's being played during your buy phase?

Feedback / The FAQ board

« on: November 30, 2017, 10:52:20 am »

So I was wondering... what's the actual purpose of the Dominion FAQ subforum? Looking through the existing threads, it seems like most of them would properly belong in the Rules Questions subforum. A few other threads, like the currently active "Maximum Possible VP?", are actually asking questions that get frequently asked... but even so the thread really would make perfect sense in Dominion General Discussion. Or also possibly in Puzzles and Challenges.

When I think of a FAQ, I think of a fixed list of Questions and Answers, designed to give new users a place to look before posting a thread asking a question that they have. For it to work that way, it would have to be a board that only a few people like moderators can post in / edit.

Anyway, just some thoughts, because the way it is currently set up makes it a bit confusing to know what sort of content to expect when going to that subforum.

Other Games / Gendo's BGG.CON 2017 list

« on: November 20, 2017, 03:29:37 pm »

So here's everything I played this week. Some of them multiple times.

Dicht dran - No English publishing; it's a light quick card game kind of like 6 nimmt but with a more interesting risk management aspect.
Kingdomino - Great light game with some interesting strategy.
Merlin - Feld's newest game, co-designed with Michael Rieneck. It's lighter than most Feld, but still deep enough. Still point salad like. On my wish list.
T.I.M.E Stories, Under the Mask - Different feel that the base game. More about mystery and figuring out who's who than direct puzzles and cryptic clues to decipher. At least for most of it. Sadly I didn't get to finish it; we decided after 2 runs to come back and finish the next day... and then the next day became the day after that until there was more more chance to get to it. Now I need to figure out what I want to do with it; if I just play it again from the beginning some time, or try to finish where I left off (by myself; it would have to be).
Time's Up! - One of the few party games I'll play. It has a neat aspect of re-using previous clues and remembering what options are still out there.
Code Names - You all know this one.
The Oracle of Delphi - Feld's game from last year; no victory points at all! Still as good as I remember it; hopefully I'll get it soon.
The Castles of Burgundy; The Dice Game - New light spinoff of Castles. A lot simpler than last year's Castles The Card Game. It was ok, but probably too Yahtzee-like.
Temporum - I was glad/surprised to find out that they DID have the expansion; even though it wasn't listed. Just thought this once, but both people loved it and one ordered a copy right away. Played 2 games.
Tem-Purr-A - I reluctantly agreed to play this with my friends; I figured it would be just another Exploding Kittens or what-not. Something that obviously only exists because someone thought the theme would be funny/cute. Well it was an amazing surprise hit! It's like No Thanks! and Fuji Flush; with a press-your-luck element. Played it several times. It clearly has flaws, but it was a lot of fun every game. Bought it for $10.
Dominion; Nocturne - See other thread.
Photosynthesis - One of the most popular games there. Each player is a difference species of tree, fighting for limited sunlight to take over the forest. It was... ok. It actually really seemed like something that should have just been included in Pyramid Arcade (Icehouse pieces). Most of the components were basically just really pretty pyramids. The game needed something to prevent the exponential explosion of a player who gets an early lead; as well as a complete shutdown for a player who makes an early mistake.
Majesty for the Realm - Another pretty light game; it's like the set collection of Machi Koro without the random luck of the dice. Really good.
Russian Railroads - Sadly without German Railroads. Still my favorite worker placement game I think.
Who Should We Eat? - This is a game that clearly only exists because of the theme. It has an interesting idea where players can choose to work together, or betray one another and make it a versus game. The problem is that the balancing seems to make it so that you can't possibly win without killing each other. It was just frustrating mostly.
Queendomino - New follow up to Kingdomino. It adds a lot of new strategy / depth. Seems like it could have been just an expansion to Kingdomino; but I don't know how I would have felt about an expansion to a really light game that makes it that much deeper. You can combine the sets for more players; didn't try that.
The Castles of Burgundy - Classic Feld. Game took way too long due to most players being overly analytical (myself included), but it was a great close game.
Exit; The Pharaoh's Tomb - This was amazing. It's an escape-the-room puzzle in a box. Designed for one-time use; you pay $12 or so for a couple hours of entertainment for 4 or so people. I was really impressed with the types of puzzles they came up with. We were able to solve all but the first and the last one without any hints. A few puzzles felt too easy, but the game as a whole did not. I plan to get a few more of the sets. They have 6 now; more coming next year. A friend said he liked Unlock! even more, so I'll have to try that.
Sheriff of Nottingham - Meh, not for me. Very basic bluffing game. Just B.S. with a couple extra components.
Amerigo - Finally learned this! One of the only games I've ever bought without playing first; I can finally play my copy. A pretty simple Feld game that uses an awesome cube tower. It was good.
Lovecraft Letter - Another game that literally only exists because of the theme. It actually does add a fair amount to Love Letter though. But I think I prefer the more simple version for a game like Love Letter.
Pix - Like Pictionary, but with magnetic pixel art. It's good for a party game.
Tokaido - Simple set collection game; played it before. I'll play it again, but not in a hurry to buy it.
Ice Cool - Dexterity game where you flick little penguins around a house. Not much else to say about that.
Tichu - Always good. Also played Suicide Teacher, a variant where both teams must make a Tichu call every hand! If your partner has already played and didn't call, you automatically call. It's not as stupid as it sounds actually. It adds a lot of interesting decisions with forcing you to get better at evaluating your hand. Because now, even if you don't have a Tichu hand, you need to call if you think your hand is better than your partner's hand. Obviously, it would take longer to play to 1000 with this rule.
Johann Sebastian Joust - This counts as a board game, right? Well, it gets played at every board game con I go to. It's amazing. If you don't know, it's a PS3/PS4 game that uses the motion controllers. If your controller moves too much, you're out. The faster the music is playing, the faster you are allowed to move without getting out. That's it. Everything else is just doing whatever it takes to force other players out without getting out yourself. Played this for 2 hours; great exercise. Also, if you think "oh, I've seen people play that before"... you probably haven't seen it played the way some people were playing it... with the players literally giving other players piggy back rides to simulate being on a horse.

Dominion: Nocturne Previews / I played Nocturne

« on: November 19, 2017, 11:27:54 pm »

Darn online version making it so that me getting to play Nocturne at bgg.con is much less of a big deal!

The game was so new that it wasn't available in the library until part of the way through the con. I was really glad to see that they got a copy.

Anyway, so I played a three player game with a couple friends who don't play very much Dominion at all. Using all Nocturne cards so that I could see as much new stuff as possible. Our Kingdom:

I opened Monastery and Necromancer to trash early. Eventually, built a fun thing that used Necromancer to play Tragic Hero from the Trash, giving +3 cards, +1 buy, gain a Gold every turn. With the help of 2 Ghost Towns each turn to make sure I could play everything. I also had a Bard and a Conclave in there somewhere. And a Shepherd once I had several Provinces. It was a pretty reliable Province + something every turn engine.

Got some help from an opponent who played a lot of Sacred Groves. One guy bought a Vampire but it only got used once.

Both players just resigned after it was clear I was simply buying a Province every turn; the game was no longer fun for them.

So what I learned....

- Even though I knew nothing about any individual card's strength; being a good Dominion player still carried a lot of weight in being good at Nocturne.

- Monastery seems really good. I don't think I ever trashed 2 cards in a turn with it, but the fact that it's non-terminal, and can trash Coppers from play, is super nice.

- This is obvious, but in a reliable engine, 2 Ghost Towns are a Hireling that also gives an extra action each turn. That's really good.

- Boons are good. You want them.

- Necromancer is great with one-shots. Unless they say "if".

Game Reports / Black Market is ridiculous

« on: August 11, 2017, 01:52:56 am »

Just played an IRL 3 person game. The Kingdom:

And out of that, out of a Kingdom of only terminal actions, I built an Apprentice-Fortress-Tactician-Hamlet-Bridge-Conspirator-Menagerie engine.

My opponents got a Sea Hag and Mountebank (one each) from Black Market, but they didn't do much. Partially because the first play of one opponent's Sea Hag discarded the other opponent's Mountebank.

Twice I managed to do Apprentice-Fortress. Only once did I manage to use Black Market + Tactician to play a bunch of treasure and then play Tactician.

I wonder how competitive Courtyard+BM would have been here, but that's boring.

Dominion General Discussion / The bad luck thread

« on: July 24, 2017, 08:44:07 am »

We have interesting moments, uninteresting moments, semi-interesting moments... but I don't see a thread for just complaining about bad luck.

Anyway, I had this come up yesterday in a IRL 2 player game:

I opened Silver/Potion so I could get a jump on Scrying Pool. My opponent opened Silver/Monument. Turn 3 was and no , so I bought a Monument. Turn 4... and no . Knowing my Potion had missed the reshuffle, I bought a second Potion.

Turn 5... Potion, Potion, Copper, Shelter, Shelter.

Although my opponent (who had only played fewer than a dozen games of Dominion before) played great with buying up most of the Cities and Monuments; I managed to pull off a win with Scrying Pools anyway.

Other Games / A Link to the Past Randomizer

« on: July 04, 2017, 02:56:55 am »

So when I'm unable to play Breath of the Wild because my wife is busy, I've found a new Zelda game to occupy my time... A Link to the Past Randomizer. This is a rom hack (actually a web-based software that hacks a rom you provide it) that randomizes the locations of all 200-some items that you get in the game from chests, bosses, NPCs, and things just sitting there in secret caves and such.

So while you normally start in your house and open a chest to get the lantern immediately, that chest could have anything, such as a Hookshot, Moon Pearl, or most likely just some rupees (nearly a quarter of all chest items in the game are just rupees).

So basically you have a lot of the skill and fun of regular Zelda 3, combined with a lot more puzzle solving, feeling a lot like an escape-the-room puzzle. You have to know where you can go without any items to check chests; then once you get something like the hammer, you have to know what new locations that opened up for you to check. Ultimately you need to get all 7 crystals to get in Gannon's tower and beat the game like normal.

The programming uses logic to ensure that it will never be impossible to beat the game (the hammer can't be in a chest that requires the hammer to get to).

If you're a fan of A Link to the Past, I highly recommend it. I've played through about 8 times now. My best time is 3:01. Speed runners who play the game in race formats competitively take about 1:30.

Website for the game.

Dominion General Discussion / Peddler-type cards, part 2

« on: May 05, 2017, 01:56:13 pm »

So many years ago I made a post to list/discuss the Peddler-variants that existed. Well there are more now, so I'm doing this again:

Oasis: , with the drawback of discarding a card.
Market: , with a +buy.
Highway: , with the benefit of being worth more when you buy more. Also benefit for things like Remodel/Ironworks/etc.
Treasury: , with the benefit of putting back on top of your deck if you didn't buy a victory card.
Peddler: Variable cost, usually purchased for less than . Extra benefit for trash-for-benefits.
Tournament: , you only get the full benefit sometimes (every time early in the game). Also benefit of gaining prizes.
Bazaar (Thanks rinkworks): , gives an extra action also.
Poacher: , the closest thing we'll see to the Peddler, and the card that means we won't ever see a Peddler. Minor drawback in some games, sometimes no drawback at all. In some games the drawback could hurt a bunch.
Artificer: , added benefit of optionally discarding cards to gain another card. Like a weaker Secret Chamber tacked on?
Junk Dealer: , you get to (have to) trash a card from your hand when you play it. Doesn't feel like a Peddler because it plays much more like a cantrip trasher with a coin tacked on than a cantrip coin with trashing tacked on. But still clearly fits the formula.
Baker: , benefit of getting a coin token instead of a coin, which ranges from a little better to much better.
Emporium: , is often worth 2 when you gain it, but you have to clear out the top half of the pile before you can gain them.
Settlers: , with the drawback that it only works when you have a Copper in your discard pile. Big drawback if you can trash your Coppers.
Merchant: , drawback of only working if you play a Silver that turn.
Caravan Guard: , drawback of being a Duration, unless you use its reaction, in which case it's a normal Peddler.
Chariot Race: , only works if the card you draw is more expensive than your left-hand opponent's top card. But when it works, it's also a .
Ironmonger: , only a Peddler when your top card is a treasure. But always gives you something, and it's even better than a Peddler when your top card is a treasure you don't want, like a Copper.

Honorable mentions (these were in my original list, but I agree with those who said that they didn't really feel like Peddler variants):

City: , only level 3 Cities give you that full benefit, and they give you much more, too.
Grand Market: , gives an extra buy and an extra coin; cost is more than 6 in terms of ease of purchase.
Conspirator (Thanks rinkworks): , only gives the full bonus after 2 other actions, but the bonus gives an extra coin.
Mystic: , if Conspirator is an honorable mention, so is this. When it works, it's an activated Conspirator. Otherwise, it's just a Silver.
Venture: , has a virtual +1 action as a result of being a treasure, and its +1 card is always a treasure.

And interesting to note that with Adventures tokens, there's a whole bunch of cards that you can turn into Peddler+ cards; just add the + token to any cantrip, or add the +1 card token to cards like Lighthouse.

So 10 new ones (and 2 honorable mentions) since last time! That's a lot... only 7 of them throughout the first 7 sets, and now 10 new ones from just 4 new sets (and second edition sets).

Other Games / Breath of the Wild

« on: April 20, 2017, 11:17:33 am »

Ok, so there's a Switch thread where this game has been discussed a little bit, but this really needs it's own thread. I know several people here are playing this, so let's discuss it! Please use spoiler tags for spoilers; preferably with a non-spoilered note that lets people know if that spoiler is safe for them or not.

I'll start by saying I'm really blown away by this game. I'm a big fan of all Zelda games; and I had some reservations when I heard about the open-world nature of this game. I like to "100%" Zelda games, so I was worried that this game wouldn't allow that, and would be more about playing as much as you wanted until you had enough. But that doesn't seem to be the case; there's at least a few different ways in which you can consider the game to be "100%" done eventually.

But everything from the game play to the story; it's just so fantastic. Every time I play, it's so hard to put it down for the night. There's always just one more thing I want to do before quitting. I find myself spending the days thinking about what I'm going to get to do that night when I play next.

So my own progress... some minor post-Hateno but before-any-dungeon spoilers:

I recovered my first memory, and just love the way the story is playing out. Slowly learning about the past the way you do is probably the best storytelling that's been in a Zelda game so far. And the fact that you can (presumably) get these memories in any order, says a lot about the nature of the storytelling. Started taking pictures of everything I can find; I love filling out the compendium. Though I do really wish there was a way to add a picture to the compendium without saving the photo in the album... periodically having to go through and delete all your useless photos, while avoiding accidentally deleting the ancient photos, is annoying. But still spending more time just exploring than furthering the actual game. I love going to just random areas just to see what I find. Get so excited when I spot a new shrine, or activate a new tower.

Negatives.... hardly any. As mentioned before, the Wii U has a very annoying thing where the gamepad screen flashes the whole time; we literally had to cover it with post-it notes to stop the annoyance. And if you play with the pro-controller for increased comfort, you lose the motion controls. It annoys me that they would have made both the Wii U and Switch pro controllers compatible with both; so it would just be "pro-controller" and "pro-controller+ with motion controls". Why do they need to be non-compatible??

Um, I don't like that outside chests respawn. Clearing all enemy camps could have been a fun 100% challenge. Then again, with the limited nature of weapons; they had to make sure that you couldn't end up in a theoretical state of weapons all being gone.

Not a fan of having to choose between hearts and stamina with each upgrade. Also related to my "completionist" nature; I want to get all the upgrades; not have to choose between them.

But hey, those are all minor complaints compared to the positives.

Other Games / Fabled Fruit

« on: April 04, 2017, 02:38:41 pm »

Has anyone played this? It's a really neat game that takes the concepts of Pandemic/Risk Legacy, but simplifies it down a bunch, and doesn't cause permanent changes to the set.

Basically, it's a super-simple set-collection / worker placement game, where you start out with 4 each of 6 different cards available. When someone "purchases" a card (which is the game winning condition, to be the first to purchase a certain number of cards), it is replaced by the next card from the "legacy" deck.

So you start out playing with cards #1-6. Each time you play, you are playing with higher and higher numbers, up to #60 (I think). And, the further you go into the deck, you get new and more complex mechanics. The actual rules of the game never change, but the new cards provide their own new rules.

So it's kind of like playing a bunch of Dominion games, where you start with the recommended first game set from the base game; and then every time you play, you replace a few older cards with newer cards from later sets; until eventually you are playing a complex game of Adventures and Empires.

I've played a few games; but haven't done a "full campaign".

Dominion Online at Shuffle iT / Tutorial?

« on: March 13, 2017, 02:54:00 pm »

I just noticed that there doesn't seem to be a tutorial. Is this something that's planned / in the works? Seems like an important feature for trying to get new players.

Dominion General Discussion / Why you should always read the Secret Histories carefully

« on: February 22, 2017, 10:46:22 am »

I generally look through the Secret Histories, but not necessarily read them carefully. Well I was just randomly looking through the secret history of second edition cards, and came across what is probably the greatest Donald X joke I've seen on this forum. Under the entry for Tribute:

Quote

I'll say it for everyone: it wasn't the greatest card in the world; it was just Tribute.

Dominion Online at Shuffle iT / Kingdom randomization

« on: February 18, 2017, 10:32:00 pm »

Has anyone else noticed the Kingdoms seem very un-random? I own just base and prosperity for now (Prosperity was copied from Goko). I play a lot of 1 on 1 against the bot. When I don't like a Kingdom, I'll resign immediately and then click "ready" to start a new game. Well I just did that several dozen times, and noticed a few things that I can't believe are just coincidence....

- The games were heavily biased towards base instead of Prosperity. I never saw a Kingdom with more than 2 Prosperity cards on any board, when it should be about half and half on average.

- Certain cards repeatedly showed up. To make sure it wasn't just in my head, I just recorded the last 8 Kingdoms I got... well, I recorded the occurrence of 5 particular cards that I noticed a lot. Here's part of the last 8 Kingdoms:

1. Chapel, Village, Smithy, Festival, Witch
2. Chapel, Village, Festival, Witch
3. Chapel, Festival, Witch
4. Chapel, Smithy, Festival, Witch
5. Chapel, Smithy, Festival, Witch
6. Chapel, Smithy, Festival, Witch
7. Village, Festival, Witch
8. Chapel, Village, Smithy, Festival, Witch

As you can see, 7/8 Kingdoms had Chapel, 8/8 had Witch and Festival, 5/8 had Smithy, and 3/8 had Village. And this pattern had existed long before I started recording those 8 Kingdoms.

Has anyone seen anything like this?

General Discussion / Go pats!!!!!!

« on: February 05, 2017, 11:44:01 pm »

Boston forever!!!!!!

Woooookkiioooooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Other Games / Oracle of Delphi (and other games)

« on: January 30, 2017, 02:49:55 pm »

Went to a local board game convention this past week, spent all Thursday evening through Sunday evening playing non-stop board games.

Ok, so I actually stopped for sleep on Thursday and Friday nights. But not Saturday night; that was literally non-stop.

Anyway, of all the things (old and new) that I played, I was pretty enamored with Oracle of Delphi; played it 3 times. It's Stephen Feld's newest game, and for those of you who don't like Feld because you don't like point salad...

It's a Feld game with no victory points!!

See you get "prestige points" instead; totally different! Ok, no, I'm kidding, there literally are no points; no score.

The game is a race to complete 12 tasks before your opponents. Felt like Temporum in that way. So it's still a Feld game, and you can tell if you know his stuff. It takes some mechanics from Castles of Burgundy in terms of dice usage and action selection. But it's definitely not just a clone of anything.

So it has a variable map/board setup that gives a lot of different options. Not just like Catan where you change which type of hex goes where; but the actual shape/layout is varied and random. You could have a game where the map is a long skinny corridor if you wanted. The basic idea is that you are sailing around this world, fighting monsters, picking up and delivering goods; discovering new islands, etc. Somewhat minimal player interaction; though by taking a good you are depriving your opponents of that good.

Other games I played include a bunch of Dominion games that went from about 2:30am until 6:00am on Saturday night. A mix of Base (2nd), Intrigue (2nd), and Empires. Each game had a Landmark, and I lost or tied instead of won 3 out of 4 games due to not paying enough attention to it. Landmarks are important.

I also finally learned/played Merchants of Venus. It was the original edition from way back when; I hear that the newer publishing messes a lot of stuff up. It was fun, but long.

Dominion Online at Shuffle iT / Do bot games affect ranking?

« on: January 25, 2017, 04:02:37 pm »

Especially bot games where you resigned? I've resigned dozens of games against the bot at the very beginning because I didn't want to play that particular kingdom. If bot games count, I'm going to have a terrible ranking.

Game Reports / Fast game madness

« on: January 20, 2017, 01:29:10 pm »

Played this randomly-generated kingdom last night, IRL, 3 player.

So we know right away it was going to be a ridiculous and fast game. Jonts opened Nomad Camp / Masquerade / Haven, while I pulled 3/4 and opened Masquerade/Ironworks. The 3rd player opened Nomad Camp / Haven / Haven.

I thought getting a bunch of Ironworks was important for pile control and to be able to get the most Fortreses and Masquerades quickly, but I forgot that money was important too. So while I was thinning and gaining cheap cards faster than the others, they were able to hit for King's Court while I couldn't get there. Jonts put his + token on Fortress and managed to get just 4 of them before the pile ran out (I had 4 also, player 3 had the other 2).

So while I was struggling to get actual economy, we began to see after only a few turns that Jonts had built a deck that should be able to 3 pile with a couple points pretty quickly. Player 3 and I got a Duchy instead of building anything, and while Masquerades were still getting played plenty, I started holding onto every Estate I could find. I even twice used Ironworks to grab an Estate.

So Jonts has everything he needs for a great turn. Fortresses are gone; and there's just 1 Haven and 4 Ironworks left. He uses KC-Fortress to get money and cards and actions; then KC-Ironworks + another Ironworks to drain all Ironworks. He produces money, and buys a Province and the last Haven for what he's pretty sure is the win.

Then I look through my deck, and I've managed to amass my Duchy and 4 Estates. With all the Masquerades flying around, there's no way he could have tracked that I had that many Estates. So I win, 7-6-3.

The ironic thing is that in the previous game (a much more boring drawn out slog), I bought the last Province to end it and give him the win.

Other Games / Weird Kingdom Builder stuff

« on: December 09, 2016, 05:52:53 pm »

So I bought Kingdom Builder finally recently. Just opened it last night. It had some weird contents; in terms of internationalization; wondering if anyone knows about this.

So normally the game comes with 25 land cards, and 10 distinct scoring cards. That's what was listed for the contents on the box and in the rulebook.

My copy had 2 separate "packs" of cards each wrapped separately. Pack A had the 25 land cards and 10 scoring cards, but the scoring cards were in German. Pack B had 5 separate sets of the 10 scoring cards, in 5 different languages... including German!

So all in all I have 60 scoring cards instead of 10; and 20 of them are double-copies of the German ones.

So while including multiple languages of cards could make sense for making it international... there was only 1 rulebook, in English! A lot of games include multiple rulebooks for different languages; but I've never seen multiple sets of cards for different languages.

On top of all that, it includes 4 HUGE ziplock bags. No idea why. At first I thought they were just extra large bags for the player components... but the player components were already each inside their own appropriately sized ziplock bags. And those 4 ziplock bags were also together in another giant ziplock bag. So many bags.

Other Games / New (and old) games at BGG.CON

« on: November 21, 2016, 06:31:46 pm »

Played so many games! Brief reviews/descriptions:

Love Letter - Started out with this while waiting at 5:30 am in the line, waiting for them to open.

No Thanks! - Great short filler, also while waiting in line.

Sushi Go - My first new game, last of the waiting in line games. Fun and simple drafting game. I wouldn't want to play it all the time, but I liked it.

Dominion: Empires - You guys might have heard of this one. It's the latest expansion to this deckbuilder called "Dominion". Anyway, 4 player game; played the first recommended Empires-only set. I won with some mish-mash engine of Patrician/Emporium, Forum, and a bit of Sacrifice. I should have had more Villa, because I had too much money and no +buy.

Code Names Pictures - Just what you think it would be. Can't say if it's better or worse than the original. Just a different take on the same thing.

Crokinole - Flicking/dexterity game. Always play a bit when I go. Want to get a board some day.

Fuse - Great stuff, though the novelty has worn off a bit compared to when it was new.

Machi Koro: Bright Lights Big City - I didn't know there was a new version of Machi Koro. Not until we started to set up and I realized that most of the cards were different. I'm not a fan of rotating supply in general; Dominion is so great partly because everyone has equal access to the cards. But this definitely had a bit more depth and strategy than the original Machi Koro. Only problem is that it's a bit longer; and that's the type of game that I want to be short.

Jungle Speed - Already knew this one; a fun neat reflexes /dexterity game.

Castles of Burgundy - Taught this one; always good.

Deep Sea Adventure - Really fun silly/short game. Want to get.

Temporum - Taught it twice.

Snitch - An unpublished game that I played with the guy who created it. Neat real-time deduction/memory game.

T.I.M.E. Stories - Best new game I played! So very good. A controversial game it turns out, as a lot of people HATE it. But I absolutely loved it. Like a legacy game, you can't really play it more than once... but unlike a legacy game, you REALLY can't play it more than once. At least not the base set. There's other expansions, which are additional stories to play though. It's basically like an escape-the-room puzzle, but with actual board-game play elements. It does what Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective does, except so much better. I really, really liked it. I actually did play the base set a second time, so that I could introduce it to my friends... who hated it.

Strike - A super-light short game where you throw dice at other dice.

Tzolk'in - Learned this and played it twice. Great game; now on my wish list.

Betrayal at House on the Hill: Widow's Walk expansion - Everything Betrayal is, and more. Except it turns out that the rules STILL haven't managed to clarify questions that come up in the scenarios. At least not for the scenario we got. I was the traitor; it appeared I was going to win within 1-2 turns of the haunt beginning, but ended up losing through a long series of bad luck.

Jolly Roger - Ugh, I actually had some fun while playing this, but I wouldn't play it again... it's basically Munchkin.

Star Trek Panic - This was great! I haven't played Castle Panic (or Munchkin Panic obviously). But this is a neat game; on my wishlist. Only problem is that it takes a little too long for what it is; and the missions aren't all that varied. An expansion would actually be nice.

Terra Mystica (with Fire & Ice expansion) - Hadn't played this in a long time; even longer since I used the new races. I won with the Yetis. I think we played all the latest expansion errata correctly.

Hanabi - Played a bunch of rounds with this with 3 other people who are super good at Hanabi. I'm just ok at it. It's scary how these guys were on a different level... playing cards correctly where I never would have figured out how they knew it was a safe play, etc.

Caverna - Second time playing this; really good. Better than Agricola I think. Just so very expensive.

Fuji Flush - Fun light quick card game. A bit like Linko, except Linko had a bit more strategy.

Amis Cube - A build-the-structure style puzzle game. Good, but not great.

Saturn - I play this every year; a great balance/dexterity game. Super rare; can't find it for under $200 used.

Pix - The only type of Pictionary I'll play.

Dr. Eureka - A bit like Dimension if you know that one... a make your thing look like the other thing puzzle; but with a bit of dexterity too.

When I dream - This was interesting. A cool party game with a neat concept. One play with his eyes closed is trying to guess what's on a card; other players are giving him one-word hints one at a time, but certain players are trying to get him to guess wrong. So Code Names with Cylons.

The Golden Sails - A Russian game that's not published in America. Interesting 7 Wonders-like drafting stuff. Wasn't a huge fan.

One Night - Always good. Less good when there's 1 drunk guy who just claims to be the werewolf at the start of each discussion.

Kingdomino - A neat city-builder type thing; way simpler than Between Two Cities; but for a 15 minute game it's great.

Kana Gawa - Kind of like Coloretto if you know that one. Really nice production design.

Potion Explosion - Basically Candy Crush, the board game. Somewhat neat, but too gimmicky.

Innovation - First time playing anything but 2 player. It's quite different with 4 players. I got Mathematics early, and though that meant I was going to do great... but yeah that just doesn't work in 4 player.

Coloretto - Second time playing this one. Neat short game, a bit like No Thanks! but more involved.

So there you go, that's what I've been doing the last 5 days. Today is the worst day of the year, as it is the longest I have to go until BGG.CON starts again.

Dominion General Discussion / Second edition set icons

« on: November 21, 2016, 02:19:13 pm »

I'm a bit slow here, I just now saw that the second editions of Intrigue and Dominion have different set icons. Dominion slightly altered; Intrigue completely different.

I'm just wondering, what's the reason for this? Is it because "Intrigue Second Edition" should be considered a different set than "Intrigue First Edition"? Or just because Donald or Rio Grande was unhappy with the original icon and wanted a new one? It seems weird for the cards that are in both editions; having multiple set icons. Though I suppose if we think of it in MTG terms, many cards have multiple versions with different icons from different sets (and often even different artwork).

Other Games / Designers and home made sets

« on: November 20, 2016, 05:54:02 pm »

Quote from: Donald X. on November 14, 2016, 08:04:26 am

Quote from: Jimmmmm on November 13, 2016, 05:26:11 pm
Did you set them straight or let them have a go at teaching you the game?
Neither; something like, "I have played that a lot actually, but I have other stuff to do tonight."

For a while I preferred not to advertise that I was that guy. Someone would say, oh it's your own homemade Dominion expansion, and I would say, yes, yes it is. And someone at the table would laugh, and maybe the person would find out the deal, maybe they wouldn't. Certainly other people would sometimes helplessly blurt it out, or point me out if someone brought up Dominion at another table.

But then one evening a couple that was leaving said "huh you made your own homemade copy of Kingdom Builder," and seemed disgusted as they left. So now I just say I'm the guy. I don't lead with it but when it comes up, yes, this is my own homemade Dominion expansion, pause for chuckles, but we are playtesting it for publication, I am the Dominion guy.

So I'm at BGG.con, and I see some guys playing Roll for the Galaxy. In addition to the normal stuff and the expansion stuff, they're using some dice with little paper taped to the faces with do different icons. I ask "is this a home made expansion or something?" One of he guys points to another guy who was teaching the game and says "he's the designer". I look up at the name badge, and there's Wei-Hwa Huang. I geeked out a bit.

Dominion General Discussion / Lurker

« on: September 29, 2016, 03:47:21 pm »

I want to talk about Lurker, because it seems awesome.

In a Solitaire game, Lurker sounds like it becomes ridiculously strong. Like, there's not very many Kingdoms where I wouldn't open double-Lurker.

So in a 2 player game, it becomes a weird thing where if you open one, your opponent almost has to also open one. But you almost never want to be the first person to play it, so what do you do if you draw it before your opponent? You can trash a Ruins with it, that sounds like fun.

So as long as your opponent has a Lurker remaining in his shuffle, it sounds like the right play is to treat it as a Treasure Map; never play one unless you have 2. I'm assuming of course a situation where there's not currently an action card in the trash.

And hey, what do you do when you draw King's Court + Lurker? Of course you pretty much always play it, because worst-case you're just breaking even. Unless you think your opponent also has a King's Court + Lurker.

So anyway, I'm guessing that Lurker looks a lot stronger than it is, simply because it's its own "bane". But the fact that you have to buy one if your opponent does means that it is strong in that way at least.

Or, am I wrong about everything, and a simple journey-token version where you gain an action every-other-play isn't as strong as it sounds? Of course I'm assuming the presence of good action cards also. Especially with things like King's Court, Goons, and Grand Market. But even for good s, it still sounds great.

Dominion General Discussion / Treasure Chest kingdoms

« on: September 28, 2016, 03:36:10 pm »

Maybe this has been done before... but with 11 sets now (let's ignore Promo's for this purpose), we can make Kingdoms that have no more than 1 card from each set. So, what are some good Kingdoms that have no duplicates? Bonus points for having cards that represent their expansion.