Shadowrift. Received yesterday, first game today. A lot of setup for such a compact box, compared to Runeage it simply has more scenarios that can be played cooperatively, albeit two-handed. On the other hand, there are no PvP card effects like in Runeage. The flow is also more pleasant than in other rather brutal coops, but at least the Drow felt too easy. Deckbuilding is also not as pronounced, there is actually no thinning, but various bloating and even late in the game you quickly have a hand without an attack. The goal is also less to eliminate the monsters, but rather to survive until you have closed the rifts, which is noticeably less action than, for example, in Shadowrun: Crossfire. Definitely needs more rounds on the table for a final verdict.
Archive April 2015
Shadow of the Elder Gods. Arrived today and immediately played a solo game with two investigators. Interesting mechanics with the threat deck, which is randomly assembled and combines open threats on the front of the cards with hidden threats on the back at the bottom of the stack. This way, even if you know the cards, the combination is unpredictable. And the best part: the game is downright tiny. Tiny Epic Cthulhu, anyone?
Lost Legacy. A playtest with Juliana, but she had some issues with the game, which is much more about observing the other players, deduction, and bluffing than about strategy and tactics. Let's see if it makes it to the table again, it is quite interesting, but rather something for 3+ players.
Sentinels of the Multiverse. Recently went to Rook City and searched for Plague Rat with my tried-and-true team of Wraith, Haka, Ra, and Tempest. It was a damn close call, but ultimately successful, even though Tempest and Ra went KO - Ra through self-mutilation, he just plays with fire too much. Haka was the boss in this game, Wraith also did good work but mainly her thing this time was to survive. Tempest is still a boss even when KO.
A Call to Arms indeed delivers some interesting heroes - Theoden could bring Rohan back to the front again, as a swarm deck benefits from cheaper allies. And his weapon is quite a hammer for a Spirit hero. And Treebeard is also very interesting - provides very good attack or quest for a few life points, which you can easily repeat in Lore. The only downside is that I then have to think about which Treebeard I want to play, because the ally version is also very good. But for example Aragorn or Elrond with Athelas brings him back on his feet quickly after he briefly went amok. Ok, 13 threat is heavy, but on the other hand, this could be a real Lore fighting machine.
RedJak's Automated Overlord Variant. Ok, I think this makes Descent really interesting - the Overlord automation offers real coop and solo - and Descent is a living game system with many expansions.
The Lord of the Rings: The Card Game. Saruman visited Celeborn and Galadriel and went on a picnic tour down to the Anduin. But of course, Saruman and Grima are doomed, so the picnic wasn't really relaxing. Hill Trolls are just real picnic poopers. Well, with the help of Gandalf, who dropped in briefly, and a series of Wood Elves, they somehow managed to pull it off, even though Galadruel really messed up with her mirror. Grima with the keys is really practical and Galadriel can keep the combo well in check. Saruman as a thug is also not to be sneezed at, especially his blanking helped against the troll, which I had to stop until Gandalf came. It went quite well, but still bumpier than the Elrond deck.
Waggle Dance. Since we've been playing Paperback a lot lately, today we're back to the bees. Always enjoyed playing this, it runs quite smoothly for us. Although I only narrowly won today because I really played poorly at times ...
Paperback. Hah! Juliana starts developing her own strategies! Simply cleared the 8 cent fame cards in the midgame and beat me 34 to 25.
Paperback. Another two-player game with Juliana and she clearly beat me 44 to 30, even though I had a good start, but she had a few big moves and thus the more valuable glory cards, while I often failed by the last cent for the next level. In the rematch, I then won 55 to 20, in the two-player game, acquiring the only 15-point glory card is usually the victory. Special success: Juliana asked if we could play! Second special success: she also wanted a second game!
Paperback. Played as a digestif after the Legends, okay, maybe it was a bit too brain-burning after the big game, but it was a lot of fun, even with four players. The funniest part is definitely the discussion about whether a word exists or not. My final Hussar's hat brought me the victory by a narrow margin.
The Legends of Andor: The Star Shield. And again an evening with The Legends of Andor, this time with The Star Shield. A solid victory that surprised us a little in the end because it went so smoothly - ok, there was some dice luck, but still, the strategy worked perfectly and the planning was spot on and I think we didn't break any rules. Cool.