D100 RPG's 1; Basic Role Playing

The first stream of d100ness we will look at, as it was the first of the d% games is Basic Role Playing.

Basic Role Playing or the in it’s generic form, the “Big Gold Book”, offers a universal RPG core system, based retrospectively on the games from Chaosium that came before it. Storm Bringer/Elric, Call of Cthulhu, Rune Quest, Elf Quest and the “Worlds” games all contributed to the BGB, making it a consistent, but flexible tool kit for any RPG format or subject. It could be a realistic one book option, but why stop there with so many expansions available?

BRP is effectively two sets of games for me. The generic game, with specific off-chutes and the big, all on it’s lonesome, Cthulhu branch. The Cthulhu games are the most consistent series, effectively holding the line (and company) together over the many years of it’s evolution.

The generic game has dozens of expansions covering anything from high fantasy to noir pulp. The mechanics used in most threads are consistent, but not identical so the BGB was produced to both unify and help disseminate these mechanics through the D100 world. I have an early edition and there are many. If you are looking, try to get the later ones, as there is more content, although most is available through the parent games.

Blood Tides, Future Earth, Aces High, Devil’s Gulch, Magic World, Super World etc. all share the same original core mechanics more or less and the BGB allows for expansion or streamlining of these with little effort.

The BGB allows the GM to add or subtract combat and spot rules, allow super powers, psionic’s, magic (various) or supernatural themes, or mix any combination desired.

Combat in particular gets a lot of options. As BRP is less overtly combat oriented than D&D style games, there is room to simplify or even soften combat, pushing the game in a more investigative direction or make it deadly and decisive.

This is where Cthulhu comes in under both umbrellas. With several monsters effectively immune to weaponry, investigation, both to procure secrets about and edges against the Old One’s becomes standard play, with combat a last, desperate resort. It is simplified in CoC, but deadly.

Call of Cthulhu has spawned many games through countless manufacturers, but it started here. Technically Delta Green should be in the above grouping, but who better to be the “Big Bad” in that universe than Cthulhu? Achtung Cthulhu adds pulpy action, WW Cthulhu is ultra dark and there are plenty of other options covering Rome through to Sci Fi including Victorian, Western, Dark Age and Renaissance. Sharing the BRP mechanics more or less, lets you play with the feel and period of interest you want.

Where does it sit?

The BRP/BGB series are my sentimental favourites, especially CoC, but lately they have also become my systemic favourites also. The only thing I dislike (a bit, not terminally) is the core dice pass/fail/crit spread mechanic and the resistance table, both of which are easily fixed 9something for a later post). Hit points with critical hit effects, rather than individual body locations are so much more practical for group combats and seem cleaner overall. I also prefer the initiative order rather than action point system. It is even possible to simplify CoC combat down to a d10 version, so it plays group combats like Savage Worlds.

What is it best at?

BRP is a good generic, low grit, low combat foundation. This may sound odd, seeing as all D100 games are considered gritty, but BRP has a lot of flexibility, starting at a semi lite core. Playing at the pulpy end suits it. If you want to start a game and see where it goes, this one is ideal. The players may start out as post WW1 adventurers and end up facing off against Cthulhu nasties, future Nazi’s in waiting, pulp villains toting weird science, regular monsters of legend or alien invaders. Alternatively, they may face nothing more exotic than a deranged lunatic or two.

I will use the BRP for Cthulhu and historical games at the pulpy end. Magic world is also likely my choice for a standard fantasy system.

One Basket To Hold All My Eggs?

As I hinted at previously, my intention at this point is to sell off all of my unused RPG resources. Most have been flicked through a few times over the last few years and I have to admit to a relentless collectors impulse with some of them, so the collection is always, pretty much pointlessly up to date.

I culled most recently a few years ago, looking up an old friend and off loading on him pretty much anything he wanted (lots of Hero System) and some things I said her might as well find a home for if he can. This was fitting, as he was the guy, way back in year 7 high school, who got me started on this journey.

What I kept was telling. All my d% games, some favourite Savage Worlds books, the Warmachine RPG (and miniatures game), 13th Age, Adventures in Middle Earth (for 5e), The One Ring, Mongoose Traveller 1 & 2e some light end supers games and The Mouse Guard RPG. This might seem like a lot, but if I had kept everything over the years, another 200+ D & D, Pathfinder, Traveller, Hero system or Cthulhu books would be added to my book shelves, some as old as 1980’s .

Two years later, or more accurately, 30 years later, where am I?

I have until recently been keeping up with 13th Age, but that has slowed and become less compelling. I also have to face the fact that I truly dislike level and class based games, even in their most palatable incarnation.

AIME and TOR would have been compulsively collected, but they were canned by Cubicle 7, with a new publisher about to pick up the baton using very different art.

MT 2e has been hanging there, feeling incomplete, but M-Space (with Frontier Space also) seems a much more practical way to scratch that itch and MT 1e still has it’s appeal.

Savage Worlds has frustrated with it’s new edition getting basically no solid support for the new edition.

The Warmachine RPG seems dead, as is the wargame locally.

Mouse Guard is safe. I doubt i would ever part with that game or the novels.

Most d% games are in a similar boat, with old systems dropped, only to be revived or replaced but their consistent mechanics always allow for a life line of some sort.

Time to look at what I need in my world to scratch that occasional itch.

My needs are simple.

I would like a foot in most genre camps, mechanics that can be explained to new or occasional players easily and preferably only one system with mechanics that I find logical, realistic. I also lean towards the heavier end of theming, better for deep story telling without the wizz-bang, who’s who of expected to smite monsters. I was once torn between Savage Worlds and d% games for my “one system” backbone role, but Savage Worlds has fallen away. I just do not like the system, nor it’s handling of some genres.

So, apart from some older or well loved games (MT 1e, DC Heroes, Champions 4e, Mouse Guard) that are really not worth selling or do offer a decent alternative occasionally, the only system(s) that fit the bill are the d% series of games.

Percentile (D100) systems cover most genres I am interested in and in the forms I generally like.

• They have games ranging from 40,000 bc to any period Sci Fi.

• They can go hard or soft, pulpy or super gritty.

• They are always bedded in a mechanically realistic system, with rare, but controlled forays into more “abstract” mechanics.

• They are the most hackable of systems, allowing me to do basically any other game with the core d% rules as is. Want Star Wars or Tolkien ported over, no problem.

There are several “threads” to d% games, many, but not all of which, I have at least a sampling of. In the following posts, I will explore the various sub-genres of d% gaming and their most likely uses.

Retro Mini-Review #4 Legend

The last game I want to touch on in my little list of old fave’s is Legend, another game by Mongoose publishing.

Legend is the Generic re-print of the defunct to Mongoose Runequest game, before it became on one hand the equally non-Runequest Mythras (from the writers of Legend and Rune Quest 6e) or “the other” Runequest 6e (the new one from Chaosium the original publisher, now in possession of the name again).

Confused? It matters not. The are all pretty much compatible anyway.

Little coat-pocket sized books, that will not win any awards for cover art, but are eye catching enough to get me on board impulsively while travelling to Melbourne a few years ago.

So, why Legend? I have no love of Mongoose as a company, except they keep re-publishing old games from my past. This game is not considered to be as evolved as Mythras (being the more streamlined version of the game that came after the game the writers wanted to make originally when they did Legend, being RQ 6e, but further refined). Regardless, I just like it for many of the same reasons cited previously.

It has an approachable, loosy-goosy feel with plain as you like presentation and little to no preciousness. A theme I have noticed in my gaming is a love for good (or even not) black and white pencil or line drawn illustrations. They maybe make me feel like the game is within my realm of expertise and pay-in? Or they may just remind me of good experiences from my past, before everything got too polished? Don’t know, they do however feel tactile, practical, familiar and not overly opinionated.

Mythras heroes and perfects the core ideas in Legend. Legend though offers a solid 95% foundation, with room to grow it your way. I have no issue with fiddling with Legend (or MT 1e, CoC 5e or WHFRP 1e). Mythras sits more in an “our way or the highway because we got it right” camp. Another small thematic niggle for me is Mythras has a Bronze Age theme, Legend is more traditional Dark Age-early Medieval.

Combat is one of the main reasons people try Mythras. it has a gritty, detailed and dramatic style, perfect for legendary battles. Legend has the basis for this with fewer options, but it has the ones you will want and room for the Gm to make up what is needed, even making it part of the “Combat style” skill grouping. The reality is, once a character has achieved a critical hit, they can put forward (or pre nominate if you play that way) any reasonable idea as their “special action”, even drawing from Mythras.

Mythras Imperative, the core of M-Space and other Mythras based systems also has an abridged version of the combat rules which I prefer, so Legend really is not any different.

Is it a complete Game?

Like the other games on this list, Legend can almost stand alone for the same reasons. The book is comprehensive enough to provide a decent standard fantasy, horror or historical Medieval to Dark ages game, with dangerous combat, magic and other systems to master and unlike most d20 games, nothing is a push over. It does lack some details though making it the only one of the four I have looked at that needs expanding. There is no Bestiary and no race outside of Human is represented in the core book.

Unlike the other games reviewed here though, the support materiel is cheap and to be honest hard to resist, so filling the gaps with Monsters of Legend, adding detail with Arms of Legend or Mythras Spear and Sail etc is no big deal. The best way to expand the game is to explore the background books available.

Unlike the other systems we have looked at, Legend really shines with more books. Samurai, Vikings and Pirates are handled in system with Legend format reprints of well respected older RQ2 books. Crusader monster hunters in Deus Vult and anthropomorphic animals from Historica Rodentia can be found in closely related expansions. Other periods can also be used with Legend like any of the RQ6/Mythras Arthurian Britain/Rome books etc. and most other BRP d% books can be used with only a little fiddling.

On the plus side, three or four Legend books only fill a coat pocket and cost about as much as a normal core book.

Is it relevant?

For some reasons d% games are seen by many as inherently “retro”, like a game mechanic can go stale or be bettered by something else over time. Dice are dice. The system written around them is the real key. The RQ and Warhammer renaissance we are in now is as valid as any other gaming process, probably more so, but I have to admit, I do wish they would move on with some older ideas (the RQ 6e Resistance table still, really?).

Just because it’s ancestors came out 40+ years ago, does not make it out of date which for gaming is a largely irrelevant measure anyway (what about the even older d20 systems, or even Chess?). Legend is streets ahead of many older d% games, but it does not make these redundant, nor do they force it to wear the “new guy” crown. It sits in the middle ground between solid older retro and the sometimes over polished new, without too much of either.

One of the really great things about d% games is their inherent versatility. Don’t like the core dice mechanic? use one from another game or make one up. There are many options.

Other stuff.

So who wins the award for most approachable? Legend is $1 for the core pdf and often $9.99 for the paper version. Warhammer 1e is tough to find now and MT 1e and CoC 5e are getting harder (but 6e is easily had). Most are available as pdf’s, the irony of which I do see, but the old school presentation lends itself to home printing (often much the same quality).

The award for support goes to the d% games as most things from most games can be used and none can ever be considered to be truly out of date.

So what makes an ideal “retro” RPG system for me?

1) An unassuming, un-precious presentation that invites pencil notes in the margins and hand drawn illustrations. The odd coffee stain should add character, not evoke tears.

2) A solid and realistic system that is flexible enough to handle most things, but does not feel the need to control everything.

3) A full game in a book if possible, with extras available, but no real urgency to get them.

4) An intangible something that transports me to a gaming table far far away in a time long forgotten (the ‘80’s), with pencils, dice, paper, coffee and friends on a rainy afternoon.

This has been therapeutic and has helped me to reach a decision that is as practical as it is scary. Die to seriously limited opportunity to play and even less desire to force the issue, I am going to seriously look at selling off all systems I have that are not d% based, with a few exceptions like Traveller 1e, which is not worth much to anyone here anyway. I have resource pdf’s of many (I don’t count these as real), so potentially they are accessible, but otherwise, out they go.

Retro Mini-Review #3 Call Of Cthulhu 5th Edition

Call of Cthulhu was my second love after Traveller.

It had many of the same draws as Traveller, with realistic systems, no classes, levels or mechanical abstractions and it had one major play style difference.

You were not meant to win, just surviving was an achievement.

I never really made the connection CoC had with many other d% games like Rune Quest until years later. CoC to me was an ideal game in itself and so very far away from D & D.

Lots of lovely stuff, more consistent and cross-compatible than the D & D monster has proven over the years (D & D the only game in the hobby large enough to survive 5 complete re-makes). The Orient Express adventure has recently been reprinted, but my (internally) near mint copy is yet to be played. Try playing a 30 year old adventure with current D & D.

D100 games always seem to be in the realism over game abstractions camp, some more than others. CoC straddles the middle ground.

It does not have the gritty granularity of the Runequest/Mythras camp (but could easily have this added), but is more hard core than many other BRP games thematically.

Editions 1 through 6 of CoC are effectively the same. Some rules came and went, some became more complex, a few less, but the mechanical base has stayed the same. Even 7e is basically the same and fairly compatible. Starting at 2e & 3e, 5e is now my poison of choice. Interchangeable with all the others with close ties to 6e, but with some simpler rules like Sanity, 5e was basically state of the art until 7e updated/changed the rules (literally), making all characteristics d% based, instead of d% generating (does not work for me). I have a massive collection of original adventures and period books, even the original Horror on the Orient Express expansion, and a pretty comprehensive Achtung Cthulhu (pulpy) and World War Cthulhu (dark) collections as well, all 5/6e compatible.

Is it a full game?

The basic book is enough. Extra books always add more content, but rarely rules. The several slim Companions are the only real exceptions and they are nice but not needed.

Like WHFRP, there is a lot to fear and plenty for the Gm to work with. A good story teller, someone who has read a few of the Lovecraft or Derleth books, should be able to get years out of it. The entire world in the 1920’s is significantly different to our world, harder and simpler with added monsters, so exploration and adventure are core principals as so much is unknown.

The book does not need to cover every eventuality as again the mechanics are a simple d% system with plenty of flexibility and to help for what is systemically possible. The characters skill set is your best guide. If something is not covered, there is likely a fix somewhere, because the system is in a shared ecosphere, with hundreds of contributors over dozens of games. Unlike D & D, there is an emphasis on non combat skills and story telling.

Monsters are many and often so powerful that your characters may have several encounters with them before they have even a small win. If Cthulhu is not your cup of tea, there are “regular” monsters also, so you could run an entirely conventional 1920’s “Supernatural” style campaign.

Is it relevant?

The game is current, just evolved and regularly comes up in “10 games you must play” lists (editions vary). The support material available is often still current also, such as Achtung Cthulhu, making it a solid choice from new.

Which ever edition you go with, the basic principles are the same. Discover secrets without losing your life or your mind.

Other stuff.

CoC is part of a large, semi cohesive family of games. The BRP (Basic Role Playing) family is deep flexible and almost fully compatible. CoC can be the gateway game or just one form of many. My own personal collection includes many of the old favourites, variations and derivatives although I regret selling off some like Elf Quest and some early Cthulhu books.

Percentage style games are not everyone’s cup of tea, but CoC is a very good fit for this system, so if you want to give a d% game a go, this is probably the most logical place to start, Cthulhu optional.

Retro Mini-Review #2 Warhammer Fantasy Role Play 1e

In the second of my retro wanderings, I want to look at Warhammer Fantasy Role Play 1st Edition (mostly the soft cover reprint).

With it’s roots clearly immersed in the Warhammer war game (not interested) and the Old World that comes with it, the 1st edition is still regarded as the “true” WHFRP game both mechanically and thematically.

There have been excellent clones (Zweihander) and re-boots (2e and 4e, but not the totally different 3e), but none have truly captured the feel of the early game and the typo corrected soft cover reprint book is a complete game in one volume.

I am lucky to be able boast even this meagre collection. I have more on pdf thanks to C7’s re-release of the adventures etc.

I have the very first hard cover book, that looks pleasantly aged, but sports a few small typos to go with it’s coffee stains. The near mint soft cover re-print was a lucky purchase a few years ago, before the 4e “revival”, bought through Noble Knight for reasonable money.

Apocrypha Now and The Restless Dead are nice to have, but not necessary. AN adds more character options, minor rules revisions and some useful “fluff” like travel locations and background items with some tied in adventures (taken from The Restless Dead) and TRD combines the same adventures into a longer campaign with several more, then fleshes out magic/magic items and the combat rules.

Is it a complete game?

Comprehensive is an understatement with this 360 + page book.

The character generation system is massive, replacing artificial, mechanical and limited D & D style classes (something I have learned to loath to a nearly unhealthy level) with actual medieval careers. The sky is the limit, but usually the filth of late medieval society is the launching point.

If you generate your character randomly as recommended, get used to a low born, grubby, possibly weak and usually poor human with a basic trade (Rat Catcher, Grave Robber, Scribe) not a higher calling. No Elven lords here (unless you are amazingly lucky). I read the WH Konrad books about the same time as this edition came out and that rags to riches story is a perfect fit.

From there you have a slightly confusing magic system, which to me, a low magic adherent, feels right. Why should magic be easy and mundane. It should be hard to understand, harder to master and perform and it should reserve the right to end you, the wielder in the blink of an eye. Many feel the 2e magic system is better from a players perspective, but I much prefer the elusive, dangerous and mysterious form it takes in 1e. There may be a Wizard in waiting in your group, but be warned, they make 1e D & D cannon fodder Wizards look buff.

Unlike the 4e version, the game is clearly and logically laid out (yes, you can find the shield rules). You have to give it to the writers of this period, they had little to draw from, often writing the first of their kind, but still managed to kick goals regularly. Most modern games are direct descendants of these earlier games and not all are obviously better.

Even though the game does try to address almost any possible situation your players may find themselves in from Insanity to drowning, the mechanics always use a simple roll under d% mechanic, with plenty of “hand wavey” vibe. As I stated last post, I do not like a comprehensive (strict) set of rules, preferring a simple system with plenty of guide lines and freedom to choose. Play it by ear or by the rules, what ever. It can take it.

Combat, like careers is realistic (read lethal). Just like reality it can kill you quick, maim you or in other ways, often hilariously mess you up, not like a D & D fantasy world of physical damage meaning an abstract nothing until death (why is it d% games tend towards realistically lethal and d20 games are fancifully abstract and soft?). There is no resurrection magic and little magical healing. Try not to die. Try not to get maimed. Try.

So, fight if you need, but avoid it if you can. Anyone and I mean anyone can end you at any time. Coming away from several fights unscathed is unlikely and likely speaks to a blessed, cowardly or lucky character. Add to this the reality that you beginning characters are often ill equipped to easily deal with even an average ruffian or bandit and you see very quickly that violence, especially unprepared violence is likely an opportunity to roll up another character. This game is the philosophical opposite of D & D 4e or 13th Age.

The bestiary is effectively the same size as a full D & D monster manual but adds (1) world relevance and (2) more re-use value because every small encounter in WHFRP is a test, not a level based speed hump. The GM of this game will not be constantly scouring the web or old splat books for more new monsters for your party to smear. Every entry of this bestiary potentially has a story in it, maybe even a campaign.

It is also true that even though any creature could lay you low, the opposite is also true. You may slay a Dragon (probably not), but not because you have more hit points and do more damage, making it an auto kill. It will be the result of a clever plan, a village of help and some dumb luck.

Is it still relevant?

Like Traveller, it will not die, coming back in ever more re-makes, but none making the original redundant. Want your game a little more complicated, tight and “modern”, then try Zweihander or 4e, but before you do, remember what you are losing.

WHFRP 1e has a unique feel. It lacks balance, but so does life. It lacks inherent fairness, get over it. It is something so alluring that it will not go away, so before committing, maybe look at the original, before the pretenders.

At the end of the day, role playing needs a solid system to (as invisibly as possible) determine semi-random outcomes, a setting to pay into and a way of measuring achievements for full satisfaction.

In D & D it is levels, treasure/XP, and a catalogue of monsters slain, in WHFRP it’s as simple as making something of yourself in a cruel and unforgiving world.

Retro Mini-Review: Mongoose Traveller

I posted a ranty thing the other day and after having a civilised conversation with a local BAM store owner, rion take me to a bad place and removed it.

The point of the post; Modern games are very polished and evolved, but maybe, just maybe they are blinkering newer (or timid) game masters into believing they are the “one true way”. The fall out of that can be the utter confusion, frustration and general unhappiness that comes from perceived imperfection falling short. In a nutshell, be careful which gods you worship as none are perfect.

The post got a little carried away and somewhat off track, so with something more constructive in mind, I would like to introduce new players and reacquaint older ones with my top 4 table top RPG’s and some reasoning behind them.

Mongoose Traveller (1st edition).

A common thread that will run through all of these (semi)reviews is a feeling of GM hackable, low preciousness, seat of your pants amending as you go, that I feel is not only ok, but to a large extent integral to role playing. Role playing by it’s very (ancient) nature is improvisation. This is a two way street in games, with players improvising responses to GM’s improvised obstacles. Nothing puts me off a game more than a “mechanic for everything” game with little or no wriggle room.

Comes with holes? More like comes with opportunities and flexibility.

Very plain, just like the original 3 books in a little box.

It should also be said up front, that MT1 1e is only recently out of print, but is the best “retro clone” of the original Traveller I have used, being more like a second edition of the original than a full remake. If it was published in 1985 it would have fit in well. I could access the original, but I prefer MT 1e for it’s completeness and it is basically the same game.

I will also say, that I have MT 2e and a modern wonder of fine printing and refined rules it is, but it lacks two things.

It does not contain star ship design rules (should that matter-see above?) and more importantly, it does not take me to the roots of my Sci Fi past thematically. It does offer some cool ideas that can be cherry picked to make 1e smoother mechanically, which brings us back to the point above.

MT 2e is neat and tidy, glossy and all too “perfect”. MT 1e is a hackers diary of cohesive, but not “written in stone-pull it apart at your peril” ideas, with lots of simple, but appropriate black and white illustrations on plain paper that invites pencil notes and sticky tabs. The illustrations in particular take me back to my days reading 2000AD comics and Stainless Steel Rat books and trying to portray them myself (my friend Mark who introduced me to the game was way better).

Old school.

More like this please.

Is it a one book solution?

Yes it is. The book has guidelines or actual mechanics to develop worlds, star ships, vehicles, trade goods, develop characters and one of the best mini-game character generation systems ever (including the very real chance of dying) and all the mechanics needed to game these. There are a few things that the 2e core book does better or expands upon, but these can be easily ported over and many stem from commonly known house rules anyway.

Is it relevant?

The original system (that I once owned) dates back to the ‘70’s with a ‘70’s perspective on the future. Technology has obviously moved on, but that all depends on how you look at it. Ever played a “Rocket Man'“ style or a Star Wars themed game? Who says that science (fiction) in a galaxy far far away has to be a continuation of our history. MT 1e has updated some older ideas, but thematically we are still talking people manning ship’s guns, driving vehicles and shooting lasers, not automated systems as is more likely the case in our future. It is a game, a simulation designed to involve, entertain, immerse.

Other stuff.

The system is a basic and very clean 2d6 with mods and a nice little bell-curve. The original game was a little sketchy with a simple 8+ to pass > input GM data here, which was probably taking things a little too far in the “hand wave” direction. MT 1e tightens this up considerably. The idea of Boon/Bane dice, lifted from D & D 5e is not a deal breaker either, as I prefer mods for this game.

The book itself pays homage to the original set of three little black books, but is a larger format hard cover and has some illustrations. The original books lacked any illustrations at all, with the exception of some map sets, adventures and magazine articles. Traveller was illustration free or as I like to say “Imagination maxed”. MT 1e keeps the ‘80’s feel with the art on offer.

There is much more out there (I have a dozen or so pdf’s but no physical books), but to be honest, they are not needed to run a complete and immersive campaign for a lite space opera format or even a hard core “Aliens” style game. Most of the books are just collections of star sectors, star ships, NPC’s and equipment, which are part of the fun of being a GM.

In the interests of full disclosure, I am more likely to play M-Space these days, as I prefer d100 games, and I see it as a positive evolution of the game (more so even than MT 2e). I find the systems cleaner and more flexible than either with the added benefit of compatibility with other d% games and easier character (NPC) generation. The feel of M-Space is also a little more to my liking, ironically down to the sparse art, but that is a personal thing. Something that is not as subjective though is support. M-Space is alive and well supported.

The Curse Of The Progress Tokens

Meg and I have come to a worrying point in our 7WD games.

She has (narrowly) lost 6 of the last 7 games. Of those losses, one was military, three science and the closest others, by points.

Why?

The only difference in our play styles are the Progress tokens.

I rarely play a game where where I ignore them completely and if the “perfect storm” of re-draw options (Hades/The Mausoleum), or wilds (Law Token/Ishtar), comes about then it is a given I will have a crack, at winning a science victory or at least grab a couple of tokens.

To be honest, they are more powerful than even I realised.

Get the Strategy token and warfare is much more effective. Adding one shield each attack usually results in 2-3 more, so if you have say, a 2 shield wonder or God after playing 1-2, 2 or 3 shield cards, then you have won from “0”.

The Engineering token can sometimes be a game breaker. 1 point for any linked cards, applying to all even science and warfare cards, means you have options even late in the game. Add Urbanism and you make money while pressuring your opponent. Almost too mean.

The Architecture and Masonry tokens make building a breeze, paying you back for the lack of resources you likely suffered chasing science tokens.

These are the stronger ones, but even the less appealing ones like Mysticism or Theology can be strong at the right time in the right game (I actually got 12 VP from Mysticism purely by chance one game).

Until Meg gets a handle on taking Tokens or denying them to me, I fear the game has swung in my favour.

Everdell First Game

Actually our second game, but after I poorly explained the not fully understood rules, we cannot count the first one.

View from the top. The board is busy, but clear and after just 2 games, we are feeling pretty comfy with it (except the tree might have to go).

Simple enough to learn, thanks to a very nice and clear rule book, Everdell is deeper than it looks. There is a lot to think about in this game. Comparing it to 7WD, our current staple, it is a bit like playing the third age over and over. This is because not many cards in Everdell are one shot play and forgets and there are a lot of cards. Even the ones that are one use can often be replaced or discarded. Mastering the combinations, synergies and play order is a life’s work and that is the secret.

You start as a any small animal in winter would, thin on resources and options. This does not last long. By the Spring season you will either have something built or be on the way to something pretty big.

I was dealt the Palace and the Queen (honest, I shuffled the decks really well). This is one of those times where you probably wish you knew more about the game, because I doubt I will be this lucky again for a good while. This meant that I did little in Winter except collect resources (poorly), so I could roll these out.

Meg on the other hand build the Storehouse, which turned out to be a real giver.

In Spring, Meg again became the hoarder, I built my Palace, a farm and was well on the way to some other good builds. Meg was ahead of me in both number of builds and resources, so I was hoping that the quality and synergy of mine would pay off.

Lesson learnt; many way to win.

In Summer, we both started to warm into the process. We both missed combinations, but at no point in the game did we feel either left behind or systemically lost. Meg cashed in a stack of stuff, build a bespoke combination of constructions and critters and I added a Carnival, Juggler, Wife and a few others.

In Autumn, I finished badly. I had drawn the Amilla Glistendew Legendary critter card, that I mistakenly played free because I had the Queen (instead of replacing her). My problem, other than unintentionally cheating, was that I had again (like the first game), built all 15 spaces of my city, and a Lookout, way too soon. I still had a three meeples to play and a few resources. I had simply jumped too soon.

The meeples were not a major issue. I had actually qualified for a couple of events and had a few useful cards to place meeples on (some wasted by not having space).

Note to self; “Self, stop filling your city before the middle of Autumn. You have time”.

Meg did not actually fill her city completely, but still played a more balanced game.

Final (adjusted for cheating - minus Queen) Meg 39, Me 42.

We agreed it should be a draw, because of other factors not played through.

Take aways after the game;

Unlike 7WD, this is not a linear game with set processes as much as a “make of it what you can” sandbox style game. Sure there are seasons, mimicking the three ages, but that is really where the comparison ends. In that respect it is closer to Wingspan.

Where it differs (for us) to Wingspan is in the focus. The feeling of connectedness between the various cards, the board and the seasons was much clearer. Wingspan can feel like a bird appreciation excursion mixed with some hard to remember/translate icons and processes, rather than a straight win/lose game. Often the score almost seems irrelevant in Wingspan compared to game play (nothing wrong with that), where 7WD is all about the result.

Everdell for us falls somewhere in the middle. It feels looser, less aggressive or overtly confrontational than 7WD, but much tighter and more focussed than Wingspan. As we play it more, we will get a better handle on where we are at different points in the game, which will likely help us play more decisively and formulate better plans. It is surprising how you feel relatively powerless in the Winter season, then how much you can extract with some thought then and later.

Adding the Legends pack was a calculated risk, that won me the game as it turns out, but it did not feel like it unbalanced anything (see score). If you take out my luck with the Palace/Queen/Glistendew combo, Meg actually won the bulk of the game on effectively her first try. The Extra Extra pack blended in seamlessly.

Our Wonders games are, with few exceptions, very close in points, usually under 10*, mixed in with a few last gasp science or military victories (still lop sided in both). Meg suffered an 80-27 loss recently that we put down to the worst run of luck we have seen.

Everdell controls this well, making it very unlikely your opponent can run away with the game. Even if you are well behind coming into Autumn, this last season can offer almost as many opportunities as the previous three combined. In this way, it reminds us of Catan, which always leaves the door open for a storming come back.

Other thoughts.

The twig icons tend to blend into the art occasionally, but the number is clear, so you don’t miss that there is something there.

The tree is lovely, but dominates the board. We push it off the board, placing the event cards on the “roots” and the meeples still on the tree (at least until we can remember the seasons better).

There is so much, to explore especially for two. In a game we do not tap even half of the deck and in the two games, we came across quite different feeling options. Add this to forest and special event cards and the game has a lot of re-playability as is. Adding the little expansions as I did only made it deeper.

The cards fit into the dispenser-tree and the game insert with sleeves on. Brilliant.

*I even recently won three games in a row with a total spread of less than 10 points and almost lost one to a military victory. When Meg got the initiative back, she thumped me with a decisive military victory.

Thoughts On A Very Simple RPG System

I have been thinking far too much about this lately (RPG mechanics etc), but lets suppose I really wanted a very simple, generic rolling system that could be applied to nearly any situation, even one where a game develops itself, what direction would I go?

The minimum requirements of said system would be;

• Ease of math

• Open ended, or relatively so

• scale-ability

• story telling components

• accessibility (no weird dice, no weird mechanics)

There are plenty to pick from, but here are the likely contenders;

D6 dice pool.

The multi d6, 4+ to pass pool has become popular in more recent times. Many RPG’s and more than a few wargames have adopted this for it’s natural “squishiness” and flexibility. Based on a simple 50/50 chance, there are a few novel ways to apply it;

• A total of successes (4+), easy at a glance and special dice are available. This is compared to a required number, with excess or a short fall used to indicate complications.

• A total value of success/fail values (4-5 =1, 6 = 2, 1 = -1 or fumble). Harder to add up quickly without painting out dice spots, it does add story telling aspects. Help can be applied as each 6 = +1.

2d6 + stat and skill mods (basically any two).

The venerable bell curve solution favoured by early d20 haters (me included) found in most of the Traveller and the new Iron Kingdoms games, but surprisingly few others.

The spread of 2d6 is a little thin, making 3d6 enticing for higher powered games (and an option for higher powered elements of normal games), but adds math again and the 2d6 range mirrors realism. If super level powers were needed then the addition of more dice (as well as skills and abilities for stability), then scaling would be relatively easy, but weak vs strong opponent upsets not so likely.

So;

• 2d6 as a base. 36 discreet combinations with a strong curve and two ends that will come up often enough to be considered a real possibility.

• Natural 2 fails always, natural 12 passes with conditions if at all possible (i.e. test-able).

• 8+ to pass an unmodified test or vs an opposed roll.

• -/+ mods for abilities or skills (and help?) that max out at 5 for normals.

• -/+ opponents ability also possible

• -/+ mod for task difficulty usually in 1-6 range (up to 20 with supers). Most will be +/- 1-3.

• The 11 number spread, heavily curved, likely limits the useful range of very high power, so no Supermen here, not that system, but maybe Batman or Captain America?

• More d6 or higher mods for super or non human creatures (Gorilla strength)

• Doubles are critical successes/failures, (triples etc even more so). This is 1 in 6, but a simple chart assigns actual effects scaled to likelihood.

• Doubling/halving the task value with the roll changes advantage, time etc.

Basic % system

An old friend, never fully realised, using a simple d100 system. This one can be used to simply lift what ever is needed from my many d100 books. Most use the 2x stat system, many have crit systems etc, this is just a simplification of the mechanics, using the rules from the systems as needed.

• Base is 2 x stats + skill level for a 0 (untrained) to 99% range.

• Increasing skills is easy early, getting increasing hard further up.

• Double values are crit pass/fails with a sliding scale of severity.

• Coloured dice assigned for task difficulty (3 blue, 2 blue, blue/red, 2 red, 3 red etc). Blue dice are assigned as wanted (easier), red assigned worst way possible (harder), with red+blue (average) set as 10’s and 1’s.

DoT System

This one is already a favourite from my home grown Supers game (table top miniatures, not RPG).

The basics are;

• The number of dice = the strength/resilience/power of the test roll

• The type of dice = the skill/accuracy/speed (d4, 6, 8, 10, 12, 16 & 20 used).

• The test (unless a set value and number of successes, is opposed with the winner (highest roll and/or highest quantity of the highest rolled value) wins by the number of successful dice (effect).

So 3d12 is more skilful, but weaker than 6d10. If the d12 test wins it will likely have less effect, while the d10 potentially has more strength of effect, but cannot roll as high, so may be outmanoeuvred. This allowed me to have fast, skilled supers (Antman small 2d20) take on strong, less adroit ones (The Hulk 10d8) with similar effect. It can also be applied when anything with variation is tested such as movement (resilience/speed) or even groups of mooks, who are treated as one figure, losing one figure/dice per “hit”.

Big issue is breaking one of the main rules, accessibility (lots of weird dice), but things can be worked out.

Any of the above can work and i will likely use all of them at one time or another.

Next time, characteristics.

Seven Wonders, Where To Next?

As much as Meg and I have taken to 7WD, there will be an inevitable drop off in interest. There has to be eventually, even though Meg has stated she still feels there is so much more to discover (and we have not even tried the Agora expansion).

Last night for example, I won a science victory as events all pushed me that way (2 options to raid the discards,The Great Library, that did offer up the Law token and The Gate in my first Pantheon space, allowing me a chance at Ishtar-but not to be). The second was a semi military win to Meg, who put so much pressure on me fighting her off, I ended up with only 28 points to her 55 and that was with the Economy, Masonry and Engineering tokens coming into the Third Age.

With eventual restlessness in mind, I have been looking at some more games to spice things up.

It’s tough.

Meg has limited experience in games, but has developed some trends I can work with, even work towards.

Star Trek Catan was a firm favourite. It was tight, concise, logical and played well, so Meg took to it even with the Trek theme tacked on. We tried it again recently, but after Wonders, it was seen as too light, too random. So, she has grown out of over loose, light weight and random games.

Wingspan is well respected, but lacks the fast play, clear goal feel of Wonders. We play it with little urgency, which is quite the opposite to Wonders, where the planning starts from minute one. This one is saved for occasional long nights where some gentle immersion is desired over a more decisive and competitive 30 mins.

Ticket To Ride London is a nice light game. We have house ruled it for better 2 person play (I re-painted some buses to make 2 larger sets (24) and we draw 2 cards blind each turn). Still a filler, still fun, but light.

Tides of Time/Madness, clever and beautiful as they are, they did not take. Too little and too much going on at the same time. We did try a “first card of each round is hidden” variant with some more success, but it looks like a hard no on that one.

KIngdomino has gone the way of Catan, being too light now for anything but a nostalgic filler or party game.

Cthulhu Pandemic is still in the frame. Meg admits that she feels like it is more a leader/follower game, not a true team game as she still does not get the tactical options. Quarterbacking, no matter how much you try to avoid it, does happen with co-op games, whenever one player is more experienced or aggressive than another.

Pandemic Fall Of Rome has not been given a run yet, but I am hoping that the different dynamic to regular Pandemic/Cthulhu (very limited movement, semi predictable barbarian “pandemics”, random combat results), so it will make for a better 2 person team vibe. The reality is with this one, two players will often have play effectively their own game.

TE Galaxies Blastoff is liked. Similar in depth and scope to a Catan/7WD love child it has faster to set up than either and deeper, more logical in game play than Catan. This one seems to be “filler A” at the moment, but may potentially strengthen. I also have TE Defenders/The Dark War, so maybe some light there, but I have been told TE Zombies is not on the table (literally). Good thing both of these can play solo fine. We have also twigged that this one is deeper than we first thought.

Carcassonne is also a good filler for a low stress night of time killing.

My big hope is for Everdell (the base game, Legends and Extra, Extra mini expansions are coming). This looks to be a good progression from 7WD in several ways;

• It plays a little longer than 7WD, but not all night (roughly as long as our normal 3 games of 7WD or bit longer than a game of Wingspan).

• It has a similar draw-to-build feel as 7WD and Wingspan, but with a different application.

• It may add some more flexibility and variety compared with 7WD.

• It may add more focussed compared to Wingspan.

• It uses familiar processes like meeple placement (TE and Carcassonne), city building (7WD), 4 seasons (7WD), resource collecting (Catan), but all together in one apparently smooth mechanical soup.

• It is as beautiful as Wingspan, but more accessible (cute) with a stronger story focus.

• It sets up faster than most.

• It has several expansions for fresheners as needed, with more in the works.

• Plays solo as a deal breaker.

Well, we shall see.

Mini Me

As it started, so shall it end.

The last part of my Armada collection arrived recently, placed gingerly on a shelf next to, coincidentally, it’s bigger, small game version.

Like a shark and it’s young, the X Wing Raider looks more to scale than the Armada Star Destroyers. The big one above monsters the Victory and Imperial classes. The X Wing ship is actually undersized for that game, the Armada one oversized, but that is the reality of gaming, always forcing reality into a practical simulation space, which is why 20mm WW2 tanks don’t shoot 10 actual metres in wargames.

Personally, I think the Raider and CR-90 Corvettes (and Hammerheads etc) should be flotillas in the game, but I am not going to send this little shark back.

Seriously cool little ship.

Notoriously hard to play well, being a bit of a contradiction in role and play style, this little ship (all 40+ points of her) will balance out my Imperial Rebellion in the Rim fleets perfectly.

As a flak platform and a pursuit/striker, it will escort the Victory class, doing basically everything that SD can’t (flak, go fast, respond, look cool), while the Victory adds the squadron control, raw toughness and ranged firepower the little ship lacks. This fleet (The Dominator) will be the simple work horse, along with my Imperial class (Intimidator) , double Gladiator (Hunter) and Onager (Destroyer) 200 pt fleets.

The X Wing Raider was my first Huge ship, launching me into phase 2 (of sooo many phases) of my X Wing collecting, the Armada version is my last*.

So it ends,

how it began.

*Armada, especially the Clone Wars is not done with yet, but with no announcements, it is hard to plan and X Wing, especially new TFA era ships will be auto-buys.

Ways Of Winning Seven Wonders Duel pt1

I am no expert, but I do have a reasonable grasp on 7WD duel and have had enough experience to have done or have had done to me most of the ways of winning the game.

I am not talking about the 3 winning pathways, but the ways of getting there.

Civil Builds

It is possible to get a winning horde of points without many Gods or Wonders.

For this, Blue cards are the easiest path.

All those wreaths.

Victory points are the core of the game*, but looking at the cards on offer, almost all are a pathway to points, not points straight up.

Blue cards however, are effectively “minor” wonders and the best continuous supply of points in the game.

They offer;

• A total of 67 points (if my quick math is correct), more than any other single resource type.

• The 3 First Age builds are free or nearly so, and all are linked.

• Remember that 3 coin = 1 VP, so even the First Age ones are effectively worth 9 coin, some later ones are equal to 21.

• 4 builds are equal to or better than many Gods, progress tokens or wonders in VP .

So, lets look at ways of getting them.

Age I

In the First Age, taking the free or near free, 3 point cards is never a bad idea. All 3 are linked and on balance are the most points you will likely milk out of the First Age, unless you manage an early wonder.

Age II

The Second Age brings the possibility of the linked cards from the First Age bearing fruit and maybe acquiring some progress tokens if you have made good early choices.

Masonry is the obvious one, reducing the cost of all blue cards by 2 resources. This is especially good in the Third Age where the unlinked 7 pointers come up, but it will also make some cheaper blue’s free to even a resource poor player. If you get this early in the Second Age it can be used on potentially 11 cards.

Engineering has the potential of making the 4-6 point linked cards cost 1 coin for each investment (also good for reds and greens). My favourite token at the moment, it can be a little disappointing if you take it late in the game and luck runs against you, but with some cards falling your way, it can be brutal. To be honest I cannot see a scenario where it does not at least pay it’s way.

Urbanism is an ideal mate to Engineering, effectively making building blues (or reds, or greens) a money making venture.

Age III

The Third Age offers a game winning 36 points in blues (still equal to or greater then any other points resource), but unless you have made some sound investments before hand, it can be the “Age of the Blues” in a bad way.

Both unlinked 7 point cards are as expensive as wonders to build and the 5 and 6 point cards are linked, but if bought unlinked, are similarly expensive. Points are better than coin, so even a 10 coin, a 5-7 pointer is probably worth it (unless your opponent has the Economy token), but it is still surprising how many of these get burned in the last Age.

If you are using the just the base game, the Third Age may cough up the Magistrates Guild. This is more a reward for chasing blue cards than a winner in it’s own right. 1 VP and 1 coin each blue for this guild card may seem a little tame (as most are to be honest), but if you are already chasing blue’s it might realistically net you up to 7-10 of each.

*

Can you win with just Civil builds?

Probably not, but you can come close and ignoring them is often worse and more insidious than ignoring a war savvy enemy. A solid base of blue cards can take the urgency out of building wonders, winning wars and chasing Gods, allowing you to pick your best and easiest builds.

Meg regularly and effortlessly seems to amasses 30+ points in blue cards, starting off the scoring tally with a consistently depressing thud. I often blame card sleeves for my losses. The glare have under lights sometimes hides Meg’s cards from me across the table. Not convinced? Me neither ;).

*In the basic game military and science victories are very hard to get. Like Tic-Tac-Toe, with a little experience the 7WD core game makes it pretty easy to see both coming and kill them off easily enough, but with the Pantheon expansion, this is harder to do by possibly up to half as much.

Coming Of Age

Meg and I have played 7WD duel now, pretty much exclusively or the last 2 months. In that time we have established a few things;

• Meg wins most of the military victories

• I win all the science victories

• The Gods have balanced things out and opened up new opportunities

• On points, Meg is the most consistent and wins just over half the games

• I play more experimentally, for better or worse, but I will possibly have an edge long term*

• By experimenting and (over) analysing, I have discovered a few tricks*

• Catan is dead to us except as a party game

Last night Meg had as she put it, a “coming of age” moment. Our first game came down to a 1 point win to me 68-67. Meg had the distinction of, we think, the highest losing score outside of a science or military win (often accomplished by relinquishing points and resources to your opponent).

The second game had a twist, one Meg and I will remember for a while.

Late in the Second Age, I managed to get the Strategy token (+1 shield every war card). Starting from +1 I think, I quickly pushed up to the last space before victory, in part thanks to a re-draw of a 3 shield (thanks Hades).

I also had The Divine Theatre wonder, that I had used, but now my clever gambit was to un-build it using Anubis and re-build it to get Mars, known to be in the unused deck. There were other war cards in the deck, but no guarantee I would get them.

I broke it to Meg that the writing was on the wall. To abandon all hope. Treat it as a teachable moment.

Oh the arrogance!

Loaded as usual, she played an even cannier gambit, grabbing The Gate, then Ra and taking (stealing!!!) my un-built wonder out from under me! I eventually won the game on points, but it was a hollow and uncertain victory.

The illustrious cast of characters.

From here I can only see Meg getting more adventurous, so 7WD will be clicking up a notch.

She has also started taking progress tokens :I.

Possibly my best tactic now will be to introduce new games. You know, muddy the waters a bit.

*I also have more time, a greater tactical interest and less on my mind.

Really Great Game Of Seven Wonders Duel

Epic game tonight, well 3 actually, but one, the first, really stood out.

End of the Third Age and 6 Gods, The Gate and 6 Progress Tokens are in play.

The War Track is on the last space (on my doorstep). 4 more shields came up after that, but no Mars or Wonder to access, and I scraped through.

I have 0 resources (2 gold cards, but no brown, no grey), Meg was plenty, but I still have 4 Wonders built (thanks to Architecture) and a wealth of blue cards (thanks to Masonry), Meg has 3 Wonders built.

I am sitting on 4 Science icons (with all 8 of the Age I & II science cards thanks to Hades) and Ishtar. Three more came into play, but Meg managed to deny me, while I denied her War cards.

Unusually, but not surprisingly, we were both near broke at the end.

No military victory, no science victory, only a reasonably strong points victory (to me surprisingly) 68 to 57 thanks to 2 Temple cards (sacrificed by Meg to deny me science cards and the win).

Meg won the next 64 to 61 despite me having my new favourite Engineering Card early and then I pulled off my second military win ever using The Mausoleum for a sneaky 3 shield card re-draw, early in the Third Age.

In comparison to the first game these seemed tame.

Our play has definitely stepped up.

The Process Of Choosing A New Game

7WD has been our firm favourite over the last few weeks. I honestly cannot see a time when we will tire of it and subsequently retire it (as we have Catan), but I would like to spice up the choices, offering a couple of similar options with other qualities, such as a slightly different feel, faster set-up, a smaller footprint or box size.

So, Tiny Epic Galaxies Blastoff was given a run last night.

Glare compliments of cards sleeves :). Great art, great feel, but icon heavy.

Meg is open to new games, but I really need to pick my nights better. Tired and stating up front she was not keen, I pushed. I had the advantage of reading the rules, reading some reviews and watching some videos (as well as 30+ years of gaming). She did not.

This game should fit the bill of “like 7WD but different enough to make a difference”. It has depth, tactics, multiple paths to victory and a little messing with the opponent. It also has the bonus of playing with 3-4 so we can share.

Something I also like is the quick set-up and pull down. The only thing that will kill (slightly temper) 7WD in the long run is setup time.

The icon based cards are stunning and fun, but a lot to take in on the first go. Even with some familiarity, I found the difference between the 2 resources and 2 planet build elements a bit subtle.

However, all obstacles considered, Meg won.

I did not give her the game, I just let what was rolled play out, although we did skip the “follow” rules for now as that was something I played towards and clearly had a better handle on.

On the last turn, she had nearly 30 points and picked a card out from her hand I had not even seen giving her a 5 and 7 point planet sweep (I was helping a little).

Hopeful signs.

The most useful thing I find with a game like this is a cheat sheet, especially one that explains the iconography to new players. The back of the rule book has one for the planet actions, but not the basics of the game.

Hoping this will smooth out any doubts.

I have only failed once so far to find a good game and that was with King of Tokyo Dark Edition. That game is not great (read; pointless) with 2, but I am working on a fix*. Most games need at least a go or two to click, but some are just not a good fit.

ed. Next night, cheat sheet aside, Meg was on top of this game and “can see a future for it”.

*Mixing up the roles of the different monsters in different environments, using the whole map (Tokyo City, Tokyo suburbs, Tokyo Harbour, the Ocean), possibly limiting cards to set monsters and starting with a random 1-3 (or built to theme) and changing the combat rules to more a direct confrontation tactic and less a “happens regardless” theme. This is likely going to be an all claws count, winner (with most) takes the space. Some cards are problematic, but I will work on ways rounds that.

I am also exploring the idea of energy being needed to active a card each time, not just buy it. This would allow for a fixed pre-build style game.

Pandora's Box(es)

Tiny Epic Games are a series of games well known by some, but a mystery to many.

I discovered them recently while looking for I remember not what, but anyhoo, they are now a mild obsession with me.

It seems, they get under some people’s skin and they have mine, although I will be keeping a lid on too much spending, because as good as they are, it is important to remember that sometimes there is a full sized game as good or better and often not a whole lot more expensive and diversity is always good.

Stick to the ones that play your song.

I recently received my kick starter extras for TEDefenders & The Dark War. These took a while (lost somewhere in the U.S. before turning up on the system three weeks later (the same day Auspost emailed me to abandon all hope). These are available through the Board Game Geek store (who were amazing through this whole saga offering refunds etc) for most of the Tiny Epic series and many other games also.

I must admit to being in a bit of a funk waiting for these (I managed to build my entire Armada collection in the time between ordering and receiving these last TeD bits), so I had lost some interest, but on arrival, I cracked the two diminutive boxes open again, sleeved everything, annoyingly before I photographed them, and lay it all out. It covered an entire 3x3 X Wing mat.

The two boxes are really tiny, but what they hold is not. Curiously, many who complain about the games cite their table size being too big, which I find a bit crazy. As they say on the box, tiny but epic. Do you really want an actually tiny game?

The game is played on a board made of separate mats, basically the size of the box, that spread out to about the same size a many full boards. TETactics actually uses the box as a 3d map element. TeD has 7 mats, provided a second time, but differently in the TDW expansion.

Please excuse the photos, I sleeved all of the cards, making them harder to de-glare, but there is enough info to get the idea. They are about paperback size each, so the game’s footprint is about the same size or bigger than Ticket To Ride London or Catan.

To make a tiny game epic requires a few factors.

Each element need to have multiple options and in TeD/TDW there are many.

The board in TeD is set, but in TDW each area has two sides (friendly/unfriendly).

Player characters, the people you will be in the game, total 23. Keep in mind you can play with 1 to 4 a game only, so it may be many games before you see some at all and the combinations are next to endless. There are multiples of the base races (Elves etc) and one each of the more obscure races of the Augmore setting. Everyone of them is interesting and they fit their back story consistently with gorgeous art. These are on the same size cards as the mat panels (huge).

The enemies of these heroes are as diverse. All of the expected nasties are represented, along with a Ghost ship! These all play (very) differently, meaning there is no one true way of winning the game and you have no clue what is coming.

18 “big bad” epic monsters and 6 lesser generals for the campaign version of the game. The big cards are the huge Gamelyn big ones (double standard), the generals are standard size.

Before you meet these, you must face some Dire enemies. These are also pretty mean and a test of any character. They do come with a reward though in the form of one of the 20 Artefacts, that empower the player characters (below).

3 for each region, all sporting something extra.

But before you get to these there are even more obstacles, the minor nasties, that usually take the form of plagues of nuisance creatures.

Each card has a first and second region effect. Not all regions are treated equally here, with the less civilised areas copping a worse go of things first up.

Not everything is an enemy though.

When defeated, the Dire enemies reveal an Artefact.

20 of these, each with a matching ITEMeeple plastic equivalent to stick on your meeple. These physical parts are optional, but cool.

In the TDW, experience points are added to the mechanic, addressing the one play issue from the base game, dead turns.

XP allow the characters to do more things or do them differently and to buy skills. Skills unlike Artefacts are easier to come by, are generally more applicable and nearly as powerful. Almost endless synergies here between characters, skills, artefacts and their effect on various enemies.

Pick your option from 16.

TDW adds the cards above for the campaign and experience options.

There are also plenty of 3D elements to the game.

The manticore is a recycled HeroClix I got in a job lot (oddly it never looked right in the clix range, too small, but is a decent copy size wise of the cardboard one in the game and spot on to the card art. There is also a tree that I intend to replace with something more impressive and sturdy, but the wagons are fine.

All 20 Artefacts have a plastic model, the dice and little ships are for the raider fleets (TDW), as are the storms. Most of what you see comes from The Dark War expansion.

The reality is, once sleeved it does not all fit back in the boxes (the cards alone only just fit). The plastic boxes I use are actually nearly the same dimensions as the original boxes, so all three fit in another shoebox sized container with my full TE/UTE collection (another box this size holds both UTE games).

Now, time to try this puppy out.

I already have Ultra Tiny Epic Kingdoms and Galaxies, Blastoff and now Deluxe Zombies coming, so probably time to call it done….., but there are Pirates and Dinosaurs and Cowboys and Dungeons and Quests. So many, so small :).

Gaming Fulfilment Using A Bare Bones Approach

BB 1e is my unabashed obsession and consequently most people in my gaming circle have either embraced it, or at least come into contact with it superficially.

I feel the need to explore it fully, more deeply in some way before the inevitable end point comes.

The object; To allow the full range of Bare Bones X Wing 1e ships to get a run, over a reasonable period of time with some applied order to the proceedings. Preferably I would also like to be able to recount stories of the fights in some relevant form, keeping the legend alive so to speak. I came late to this, so some catching up is needed.

The method: A loose campaign system with minor but fixed squad building controls and a desire to stick to that process.

The Commandments that shall be followed:

• Squads will be formed in a logical and StarWars storyline acceptable fashion in 30 or 60 point limited builds (either depending on composition) which may also contain a “bid” value for initiative.

• All squads will contain at least 1 named, unique Pilot.

• These will be employed in 60, 120 or 180 point forces as desired on the day.

• Squads will be limited to the ships available to us/me (no triple U-boats).

• Lost unique Pilots and upgrades will be respectfully “Removed In Perpetuity” (RIP) from the build roster, with a brief description of their combat record and final battle.

• The Empire and Rebel player may take up to 60pts in a Scum ally and/or mercenary faction in a 120 or 180 point force (Empire picks first).

• Scum may be fielded as a 2 faction alliance or 1 faction with/without mercenary forces.

• Upgrades are limited to only what is allowed in BB (no Titles, Mods or EPT’s). Some upgrades are allowed to specific ship/pilot combos in lieu of Titles and some upgrades are faction limited.

• All Pilots are allowed as available considering the above restrictions.

The idea, which should be pretty obvious, is to allow a pair or several players to play a series of games over some extended time (maybe months, likely years), exploring all of the pilots available in BB in a “storyline” fashion. These will be recorded and go into “legend”. If a pilot is flown well, their part in the overall tableau will be secured. If not, their story will end abruptly.

Losses will be felt, champions celebrated.

A soft landing early on would likely be generic heavy squads, with the gradual addition of the better pilots as confidence (and losses) mount.

Magic looking, but easily lost for the duration.

I hope this has the desired effect. I would like my hero pilots to have some success, but really want to avoid those same-same squads, giving each and every ship and Pilot a go.

My fervent hope is that X Wing 1e will get a decent send off and some cool memories before time and apathy takes it off the gaming table. I feel a good campaign is always the best way to accomplish this.

*

*Imperial; Tie, Interceptor, Adv Prototype, Advanced, Defender, Phantom, Aggressor, Bomber, Punisher, Lambda, Decimator.

Rebel; A/X/E/B/Y Wing, ARC-170, Z95, VCX 100, Attack Shuttle, HWK-290, YT 2400/1300, Sabines Tie.

Black Sun; Viper, Z95, Kihraxz, Y Wing, HWK

Tansarii; Scyk

Binayre Pirate; Firespray, Z95.

Protectorate; Fang, Firespray

LOK Revenant; Scurrg

Assorted Merc and Cartel; Scyk, Z95, Kihraxz, Viper, Y Wing, Scurrg, GA-1, HWK, YV-666, JM 5000, Aggressor, Firespray. Some are shared with above.

**This could be added to with BBx (expanded), which includes;

Huge ship; Cargo, Hard-point, Crew and Team (still no Mods), optional Titles (in Lieu of Pilots).

Rebel; K Wing, Sheathipede, GR-75 Transport, Auzituck and U Wing (Rebel not Renegade).

Imperial; Striker, Reaper, Gozanti.

Scum; Kimogila, Lancer, C-Roc.

Upgrade; Harpoon Missiles, Tractor beams/Ketsu Onyo, Krennic and select other upgrades/effects left out of BB for simplification.

Practice What You Preach

Funny story…..

Last night Meg beat me twice out of 3 games in 7WD, both military victories.

The words I had committed to only the same week came back to haunt me.

Ignore warfare at your peril.

I lost one game mid Second Age. Quite a feat. She said it was like I was in a world of my own and she just pushed and pushed with no response. I even had a chance to save things last moment, but was so wrapped up in my own plans I failed to notice the problem. One thing I did well/badly was to buy Neptune, hopefully dissuading her in her militant quest, but what it actually did was switch me off from watching her.

Game 2 saw me getting it together, winning a decently tight game that looked closer than it was (about 60 vs 50 points).

The last game and second military win was even crueller.

I was on top in every way. I had progress tokens (one of the ideal synergies of Engineering and Urbanism) netting me a fortune (we had to break out the spare coin), plenty of points of all types, a host of “A” grade Gods (including Aphrodite, The Pyramids and both 7 point civil cards) and a general feeling of wellbeing (smug superiority). I had so much going on I was running out of table space!

What I was not ready for was a multi hit of a 3 shield build (revealed), a Wonder with money and a repeat turn leading to Mars and another 3 shield build (also a reveal) all in the space of 3 turns! There were only 4 cards left on the table. So close.

What was even dumber was the unbuilt and free to build wonder (Colossus) sitting in front of me :0.

In Meg’s own words, a military victory was not even in her thoughts at the start of the Age.

Moral of the story;

Read what you write, practice what you preach and remember, 7WD is a game of balance.

Finally Finished Armada

I have finally finished my Armada fleets.

After resisting a Profundity expansion, because it does not fit with my sharks vs whales dynamic, the Rebellion in the Rift expansion arrived, vindicating my decision.

This campaign will bring stability to the galaxy, but not peace to all.

Today, out of the blue, I googled “Raider Expansion Pack” and one turned up at normal shelf price, in country and with reasonable freight.

The Raider was seen as an optional ship*, but on purchasing it and adding it to my fleet lists I realise it does several things for the Imperials that they likely need, hopefully without unbalancing the feel of the two fleets.

The Imperial “Rim Fleet” consists of;

• Imperial Class (commander of the region and flagship for the Intimidator fleet)

• Onager Class (commander and reason for the experimental Devastator fleet)

• Victory Class (command ship of the Enforcer fleet)

• 2x Gladiator Class (one works with the Victory above, the other commands the Hunter fleet)

• 2x Assault cruiser/carrier flotillas, escorting the Intimidator and Devastator fleets.

• Several smaller ship/squadrons (Decimators, Shuttles and various Scum mercenaries)

• 26 squadrons

What they lack is;

• A speed 4 pursuit ship to support faster squadrons. It may fit in with the Hunter fleet or possibly the Enforcer fleet (switching the second Gladiator to the Hunter fleet), adding much needed flak and speed to a Victory class core.

• A points balancer (the Imperials are a soft 50 points behind the Rebels)

• Some Flak* (although squadrons are the Imperial edge here)

• A decent evader* (again squadrons)

The Raider fits like a glove. I will get one only citing the issues below* and the reality is only one turned up.

*The issues with the Raider are it’s “balancing” effect and application.

The difference in feel between the two factions is to be nurtured, even championed. The Assault Frigate, Profundity and Raider could all rob their opponents of some of their uniqueness (big vs small dynamic), but in the AF and Raider’s cases, it will be stretched equally in opposite directions, but hopefully not broken. The Profundity however is still on the back burner and will again unbalance things.

The other issue with the ship is it’s twitchiness, being notoriously hard to use well. One ship amongst 1000 odd points is not going to make a mountain of tactical or mechanical difference and conversely may make the difference occasionally.

Plus, it is a gorgeous model!

A Beginners Tactical Guide To Playing Seven Wonders Duel; Part 4

Money

Money in 7WD, like life in general will not win the game, but a lack of it can really hamper your chances.

Age I

The starting pool of 6 coin is enough to get some things done, but other than burning cards, there is only The Tavern for 4 coin which is also a linked build to the Lighthouse in the Third Age. The tension between buying, hoarding in the First Age is a tough one to address. You need resources and/or science builds and/or you need to wage war and your starting cache only goes so far.

The only things that are free, are a set of 3 single brown resources, 2 blue civic cards, the Guard Tower and the Tavern. Everything else will cost or needs an existing, built resource. A little luck helps, but the reality is, you will likely need to choose what you will favour and what you will discard for coin within the first few turns.

Age II

Things open up here quite a lot.

The Gods may provide up to 19 coin, Wonders even more (but spread wider) and The Brewery with 6 coin can also appear. Things do of course start to get dearer and with fewer freebies on offer (1 each of the grey resource builds, The Brewery and anything you can already build), it is still possible to come out of this age well balanced and cashed up.

The Progress tokens become a genuine possibility in the Second Age. Urbanism, Economy, Poliorcetics and Engineering all offer ongoing income or build savings, some even make building and waging war profitable. These are best taken earlier rather than later. Agriculture is a mediocre choice as it is a one-off (weaker in the long run than an ongoing source), so is often best left for the Third Age.

Do not ignore warfare here either. The easiest way to bleed your opponent of money is with aggression. Defensively paying 1-2 coin to avoid a 5 coin hit is a wise economy or take Neptune and cut off the option.

Age III

Depending on the path(s) you have chosen, money may or may not be vital for victory in this Age, but a lack of it can cripple your plans. The reality is though as the Age goes on, money will likely head off an enemies quick victory and stem the flow of easy points. The best civil builds, the remaining Gods and science cards can all turn the game here, made super frustrating if you cannot afford them.

Forward, ever forward, takes your opponent further from victory.

The Gods

The Gods have changed the balance of 7WD, in our opinion for the better.

They offer several new features to the game, even changing the core turn structure.

Purchasing a God allows you to in effect skip a turn. This means if you look ahead, you can avoid a poor build or burn by buying a God even if the God’s effect is negligible.

Gods have added effectively double the options to gaining 12 coin, a re-draw of a discarded card, 9 VP, or replace a science token with a “wild” icon. They also offer new features like messing with the war track, changing the Age deck, stealing builds and science icons and even taking or un-building Wonders.

Ishtar. My personal favourite. If Ishtar is in play, a science victory or a pairing is more likely. She has single handedly opened up the science path as she can be taken outside of the progress token path.

Nisaba. A slow one to “get”, Nisaba is equally a good thief of a needed science icon or a spoiler of sets.

Enki. Probably the weakest of the three, Enki provides another path to progress tokens, weaker than the Great Library, but often easier to get.

Mars. Having 2 shields in the Pantheon can make bursts of aggression easier. If you see one or two good Third Age war cards looming, have a Wonder in the wings and Mars to buy or the Strategy token, a run of 6+ shields over a couple of turns is on the cards. War is now much less predictable or controllable than the Godless pathways of the base game. Ideally you could also play him to guarantee one of those looming warfare cards.

Minerva. Minerva offers a potential 2 shield defensive hit (three shield card spent to take her space), which is weaker than Mars who guarantees 2 shields. She is wasted early on a 1 or 2 shield card, but at game end she can save the day (and has). We almost house ruled that she stay on the board making a “dead” space for your enemy who is forced to use a 2 or 3 shield card to pass over her and has to “jump” back over her if repulsed into her space. We may still revert to this as it makes her immune to 1 shield cards and it makes 1 shield cards are effectively 2 shields for the defender in reverse and the pretty counter stays on the board.

Neptune. Quickly becoming a favourite of the defensively minded. The ability to hit your (winning) opponent for 5 coin and save you 5 coin you may be likely to lose if not winning the war is a great tactic. It can take the wind out of a warlike opponent’s sails.

Aphrodite. Pretty straight forward, 9 VP which only the Pyramids can match and she may be free with offerings. This is one of the most thieved cards in our games. Even at 7 coin she is worth it, because you just swung the game 18 points in your favour.

Zeus. Still a puzzler, Zeus has in theory a very powerful ability, but in reality we have used him only once and for mediocre effect (Meg trashed a Temple card, denying me a possible 7 points). Really only of value in the last Age, being forced to use Gods when taken makes you sweat on the timing for their best use. We would probably prefer if this one was “remove any card from the game, be it discarded, in play or in a players city" (but not from an unplayed Age), but maybe we are missing something.

Hades. This one is a better option. The ability to re-draw war or science cards can be part of a clever master plan, and he can also be a cheap way of re-claiming a un-buyable discarded (I once used him to buy the Arsenal for free using a sacrifice token the turn after I discarded it).

Astarte. Astarte is better than you might think. Money or VP, she is good value either way. Almost as good as Aphrodite or The Pyramids in VP and more coin than all but two other sources, with the option of being spent somewhere more lucrative.

Tanit. 12 coin! One of only two sources.

Baal. Baal can be the one who breaks that build deadlock or can be just a bit of a spoiler. Suddenly you are one up, your opponent one down. Used with Economics and Anubis would be fun. Break your opponents Wonder, then take the 2 brown needed to make it, then charge for the privilege.

Anubis. Likely the most self inflicted effect in the game. Destroy your own Wonder just to build it again? Why not if you have the resources for a free or cheap build you can re-gain shields, coin, repeats or other one off features (making 3 re-draws, 2 God deck choices and an extra progress token possible). Some effects are pointless, like VP and resource allowances so be careful. If the opportunity comes to tear down an opponent’s hard to build Wonder, or even better take it out last turn so there can be no re-build, then go ahead, but I will wager most uses for Anubis will be self inflicted.

Isis. This one is a game flipper. In one of our games, she built the one unbuildable Wonder that caused a domino effect, single handedly building 4 wonders in a turn! Sure other factors may have had a similar effect, but each time she comes up only Aphrodite is more coveted.

Ra. Only played once and in a losing game, Ra will likely have a great game some day soon. The chance of building 5 Wonders and leaving your opponent only 2 left to build seems pretty inviting. He can be especially useful if your resource pool is at odds with your Wonders, which can easily happen.

The Gate. At double cost, this one tends to be a filler, but think about it’s power. If you have placed the bulk of the Gods, then you are likely aware of the front God on several decks. Ishtar and Nisaba double play? Minerva or Neptune and Mars to ruin someone’s war plan or Baal, Zeus or Hades at the right time. You have effectively a surprise God card to play when needed. If it is on your side of the track, it will almost always be too dear for your opponent. If the Gods have opened up the game, The Gate has opened up the Gods.

Desirable; We feel Ishtar, Aphrodite, Isis, Tanit, Mars, Astarte and Hades are the stronger and less situational options, but are also the most predictable.

Situational; Zeus, Ra, Nisaba, Baal, Minerva, Neptune, Enki, Anubis and The Gate can all turn a game, but are less of an automatic choice.

The situational Gods can be the dangerous ones. There is a lot to watch in 7WD, so it is often the less commonly used elements that turn games out of the blue and I feel that getting to grips with these less common ones can be the key to consistent success.