Well, this time I just ruined my thumbnails trying to peel the plastic off at the edges. Though in the past I have used a sharp knife to dig into the plastic and pull it up. But obviously if you aren’t careful you can scratch the standee.
League of Dungeoneers’ acrylic standees taught me something though. These things come in sheets, like regular standees would. And it’s insanely easy by comparison to pull the plastic off while the standees are still in the sheet. Then just pop em out. Why is LoD the only one delivering them that way?
Edit: Also, when LoD did theirs the thin plastic layers weren’t cut. Just the acrylic underneath was. So, must be an alternate manufacturing process?
I’ve spent the whole weekend playing Pauper’s Ladder. I’m actually working on an expansion for the game. If I can pull it off, it should be really interesting, and kind of a new way to play the game.
Has anyone played Witchcraft? I picked it up on a whim at my FLGS last week based on the size (it’s small - pen for scale), low cost, ratings on BGG and its ranking on the top 200 BGG solo list. I’ve got a few games in and I like it a whole lot. There’s a ton of games packed into this truly small package. It’s highly thematic with exceptional art. The gameplay is very puzzly and strong. It reminds me of Touch of Evil, in that you are trying to defeat a big bad (several in this case) over three acts while trying to influence the village elders. I love its centering of strong women as the heroes attempting to save the day (albeit misunderstood by the village). The small package somehow manages to pack a 10 scenario narrative campaign in with each scenario offering a new mode of play which can be played as a one off. It’s a really solid and challenging 30 minute solo experience which was totally off my radar and I highly recommend it.
I’ll be eager to hear your thoughts if you get around to making a video on it. After a few games, I can say it is difficult. I have yet to win on the normal mode. The first mission of the campaign is significantly easier, acting almost as a tutorial in that it’s simpler in focus, and really is the scenario that new players should be playing. I’m surprised that isn’t explicitly named in the rulebook.
Played our first game of Horror on the Orient Express - fun game!
There are a lot of things to juggle - clues, monsters, passengers, the vampire, sanity, health.
We got taken out with the train about half way to the destination. We had identified three cultists and were pretty sure on a fourth passenger. My character (retired gunslinger) lost his last health to a portal effect, while our dilettante was on his last point of sanity. So it would have been curtains ( ) pretty soon even if they hadn’t got me.
I’ve been excited about this one. But I know it’s got so many bits and my wife is getting rotator cuff surgery next week, making her one-armed for about 8 weeks… I think we’re gonna have to wait until after that heals. I keep seeing pretty happy players though!
Finally got enough plays of The Waste of Parts to form an opinion. It’s fun and thematic but the parts make it more expensive than it needs to be for what it is. As a put-out-the-fires sort of game it’s not going to contend with Arkham Horror or Darkest Night. But it will be easier to teach and get on the table for people who want lighter strategy. But I’m not sure it’s worth it at the price point it’s at. If anyone wants to hear a deeper analysis I have a larger comment about it on BGG I can copy/paste to you. But I didn’t want to spam this forum with a huge thing when I could just give y’all the gist of it.
So my wife is getting shoulder surgery and we pulled out some games that won’t require a lot of physical manipulation from her while we play during her recovery.
Which means Space Kraken is finally up next. I had a couple of people ask me about it on here and I still don’t have any playtime. But I read the quick start tutorial to get a sense of round structure and I’m pretty excited to dive in when my wife is feeling up to it. Currently I’m printing copies of rulebook pages out and using the clear sticker “foil” that came with my version to convert the fillable elements from pencil use to dry-erase. The thought of using pencil and eraser in the manual & expansion books leaves me uneasy, so I’m not gonna do that.
Lately my table has been all about SAKE (Sorcerers, Adventurers, Kings and Economics), an Estonian TTRPG by Rainer Kaasik-Aaslav. I’ve been playing it for so long I’ve honestly lost count, and I helped the designer along the way by playtesting mechanics and throwing ideas around. I even made it into the thanks section of the book
It’s at the heavier end for me: you run your own domain, trade and sail between ports, and sometimes end up besieging a castle. Our last session we went the adventuring route instead and ran into a wolf god who was not happy to see us. Oops. Luckily it all worked out in our favor in the end
Tonight we fancied some co-op gaming so broke out Spirit Island. One of the great things about this game is the variable complexity of the spirits, so someone who is a real gearhead can pick a complex one while someone after a hard day at work can pick a more straightforward one.
We managed to win by destroying all the towns and cities while at Fear Level 2.
I’ve been learning Pulp Alley, an action-adventure narrative skirmish game, and it is excellent, possibly brilliant, maybe one of the best games I’ve ever played. It has some of the best combat in any game I’ve played. It feels dangerous and dynamic. I also love the full freedom to play in an genre or setting, and you can even mix and match genres and settings in a single game. You can play a band of fantasy warriors against Nazi Werewolves, with ninjas and aliens, in the old west. I also love that’s a skirmish game that isn’t all about fighting, but instead focuses on collecting plot points and creating fun and interesting stories on the table.
I’ve purchase almost everything they have for sale. Got the starter set, the characters book, the 2nd edition scenarios book, the solo cards and expansions, the character cards, and the horror deck. I went a little crazy, like I sometimes do.
) pretty soon even if they hadn’t got me.
