by Garrett X

Welcome! This is the fifth in a series of blog entries dedicated to my Print & Play [microbadge=621] projects as I attempt to play through and evaluate most of my P&P collection this year. You can find the entire series on the link to the right - Crafty Chronicles.

On the table this month are these [microbadge=621] games:

Boxcars (P&P 66)
A Train themed Roll & Write with a Western design style where you are racing to get the most points by getting your trains loaded with grain, lumber, livestock, produce, coal and vehicles. One player will roll all 7 dice and select one number to use. The twist here is that they will take all the dice of that number and use it on their scorepad, and each other player may allocate only one of the chosen number to their scorepad. Players use their dice to fill up each train and the first player to complete a train will earn more points than anyone else who completes it. You may also assign your dice to Loaders which give you a special ability such as dice flips, rerolls and the ability to plus/minus dice. Each scorepad consists of six trains and once one player has successfully completed three trains it triggers the end of the game. All players finish that round and an additional final round so everybody has an equal number of turns, and scores are tallied for each completed train and boxcar. Player with the highest score wins!
Made: 2018 Played: 4 times
Worth it? :star::star::star::nostar::nostar:
An honourable mention from the judges of the Gen Can't Roll 'n Write contest of 2017 (http://www.gencant.com/gencantrnw-games-for-all/), this one is a fast and fun race game. I like how each train has different requirements like filling up the grain boxcar requires 1s, 2s and 3s but filling up the livestock boxcar requires your results to add up to 21. It provides a creative alternative to the 'write things in boxes' R&W. Also unique in this game is how the dice pool works. After the previous player has finished their turn, the next player takes all the dice they have used plus any from the pool that they wish to re-roll and rolls those dice. In that way, you are evaluating the dice pool in conjunction with your personal scoresheet. For example the previous player might have left two 5s which are helpful to you so you re-roll everything but the 5s for example. It's a decent Roll & Write and I liked it initially but I find it difficult to stay focused on one or two particular trains to get ahead. You want to take dice when they are plentiful in the pool so you can fill in as much as possible, but sometimes the dice aren't compatible with the boxcars you're completing at the time so my results end up scattered all over which is not the most efficient and leaves a lot of boxcars empty by game end. There might be too many trains I guess?

Can't Stop (P&P 88) NEW!
A pure press-your-luck dice game where you are racing against other players to be the first one to claim three of the eleven numbered tracks on the board. Every player has markers in their colour and on each turn must roll four dice, then combine them in pairs to make two sets of results. 3 white markers are given to the active player and marks which results they have taken that turn. Once all three markers are on the board and after every roll they must decide whether to stop or to press onwards. If they decide to press on, then only the numbers where the white markers are placed qualify as results. If the roll is successful then the white markers are advanced up the track accordingly. Once you decide to stop you replace the white marker with your own coloured marker. However, if you don't roll one of the required numbers then all progress is lost and it is the next player's turn. Can you stop? Or can't you?
Made: 2019 Played: 2 times
Worth it? :star::star::star::star::nostar:
A classic 80s Sid Sackson family game, this has been compared to quite a few dice games I own and has been mentioned so many times in different contexts that I thought I'd give it a try especially considering that people compare Extra! (or its re-working Can't Stop Express) to it and I didn't think just from looking that they were any kind of similar. I get the [tenuous] comparison now, but this one is clearly the superior of the two being much more interactive, way more dynamic, and incredibly more fun. I really love the racecar themed version I made here (printed and laminated) but there is also a really fetching ice mountain version and many other designs available in the Files section. I can see this one being a keeper.

Extra! (P&P 72)
A probability evaluation set collection racing Roll & Write game which is the oldest living R&W I've played to date. Roll & Write was a thing back in 1989? Who knew! With this one, which is actually a re-working of Sid Sackson's Solitaire Dice, you roll 5 dice and the results are used by all players. Each player looks at his own sheet and decides his fate by making two pairs of dice out of the 5 and recording the sum of each pair by an X, then the 5th die is recorded in the Extra chart. The Extra chart contains three columns of varying lengths so right at the beginning you have to employ a bit of probability awareness and 'decide' which numbers you think might appear most frequently. Whenever one of your Extra numbers appears in a die roll you must cross off one box and not use that number to combine in a pair. The game doesn't end simultaneously for all players but for each individual once they have X'd the last box in one of the three columns in their Extra chart. When the last player drops out the scores are calculated. Scoring is similar to Lost Cities in that once you start a row you begin immediately to score negative points until you are past the hazard zone and then there is a multiplier effect which ramps up the further you get along that track.
Made: 2017 Played: 5 times
Worth it? :star::nostar::nostar::nostar::nostar:
This one never grabbed me from the beginning but I can't really put my finger on why. The closest I can get is that it gives me a really negative feeling. Filling up the rows is ponderous and overwhelming and it feels like you'd never get past the negative zone, plus it's especially dice dependent once your extra numbers are locked in so sometimes you're forced into just starting to cross rows out late in the game. I don't feel excited to play it, and I don't feel that it's fun to try to get past the dividing line. I just feel...trapped...and frustrated. The fact that you usually score negative points in the game just adds to that depressing feeling. I can see that it bears a vague resemblance to Can't Stop, but that one is so much better that I can't see myself choosing this one over it ever. My gaming partner likes it (does he really though? or is just that his addiction to Roll & Writes is running deep?) :what: so I'm willing to give it a few more goes but I'm not keen on keeping it and probably won't.

JellyBeanstalk (P&P 56)
Winner of the Most Innovative Mechanic category of the 2016 1 Page PnP contest, this is a card and dice/cube dexterity game where you are trying to grow a beanstalk and collect the jellybeans of your chosen flavour by orienting them towards you. On your turn you roll a die (which represents Jack climbing the beanstalk) and do the associated action. 1 - Remove the top cube and card from the Beanstalk without touching the cube. Place the card at the bottom of the draw pile and the cube back in the cube pile. 2 - Either rotate the top card 90 degrees either way or move Jack onto the next highest leaf value on the card he is currently on (if he is currently on a ‘6’ then move him onto the centre leaf). 3 to 6 - Draw a card. Place the card on the topmost cube of the Beanstalk and place another cube on top to secure the card. This cube now represents Jack climbing up the growing Beanstalk. Jack must be placed on the leaf matching the die score you rolled and must cover the whole leaf. The game ends once the beanstalk is fully grown and Jack is on top, then each player tallies up their beans collected and the player with the most wins!
Made: 2016 Played: 5+ times
Worth it? :star::nostar::nostar::nostar::nostar:
I really love the premise of the game, the way it looks, and the mechanism of 'climbing' up the beanstalk, but honestly this is not really a game suited for P&P. I've made it three times out of different materials and every single time it was a fail. Either the gsm cardstock wasn't thick enough so I made it progressively thicker, or the dice were too heavy (even tiny 10mm dice!) so I ended up getting light wooden castles (https://www.spielematerial.de/en/castles.html) which still didn't do the trick. What happens is that quite soon in the game the entire thing overbalances and it's an exercise in frustration. I made this back when it was first released so the P&P files were only available for a short time as the designer was in talks to get it professionally published. While I have no idea if that's still the case, it's a better idea to be a published game where they can constantly test that the dice and card weights will be balanced more precisely. Too much work for too little payoff in my case. I've kept it around for ages now trying it on occasion here and there but it's just no good as is. The first P&P game to be axed from my collection this year.

Kingdom Builder: Capitol (P&P 80) NEW!
In its published form, this is a small 2 tile expansion for Kingdom Builder. If the game board sections with either the harbour or the oracle are in play you place the capitol on one of the castles and at the end of the game you get 1 gold for each of your settlements built next to or up to 2 hexes away from the capitol.
Made: 2018 Played: 2 times
Worth it? :star::star::star::nostar::nostar:
I decided to P&P this one with the castles that I'd bought specifically for the beanstalk project above because although I'd originally got this in trade with my Kingdom Builder package it seemed sort of insignificant so I traded it away unplayed. Having tried it now it was as expected - easy to integrate and therefore easily forgettable. The base game of Kingdom Builder is already so rich just as it is that it seems unnecessary because it doesn't really change the game that much. Other than in rare instances such as with all of the Castle Panic promo towers, Carcassonne: The Phantom, and the Pie Town: Special Order Micro Expansion, I have not felt that any of the mini/micro expansions for the games I've tried over the years are truly necessary...or even memorable. I suspect it will be the same here.

Spring (P&P 65)
18 card microgame of garden building and cutthroat flower corralling. On your turn you draw a card and place it overlapping one or more symbols on another card, but you're only able to place like symbols over each other. After you place a card you may optionally place a token or a stick but not both. Tokens are single flowers used to cover up your opponent's flowers, while sticks are used as fences to separate flowers. They also lock cards in place so that further cards cannot be placed on top of them. The game ends when the last card is played and the player who then has the largest connected group of flowers in their colour wins!
Made: 2017 Played: 15+ times
Worth it? :star::star::star::star::nostar:
Repeat Offender of this blog segment as it was mentioned in Chronicles #4. It's springtime so 'tis the season, but I've been busy so I haven't been close to making the new version as yet. That should be done by next month...hopefully...

Tune in next month to see what other P&P games are hitting the table,
~Garrett :meeple:

by Shanedwyer2014

Anyone else hoping they can upgrade the cardboard coinage to some nice metal currency?

by mynameisthis

Aeon's End: War Eternal Content Breakdown and Review

Hiya all, this review does not go over Aeon’s End as a game, but it discusses Aeon’s End: War Eternal as an expansion. See here for my review of Aeon’s End. It's been over a year since my original Aeon's End review. Even though I hadn’t been actively working on my War Eternal review, I’ve still been playing Aeon’s End nearly every week in the meantime. Anyway, without further ado...

A couple notes:

The difficulty ratings are as printed in the game. I’ve included my personal difficulty ratings in parenthesis: (#/10).

For my own convenience, I’ve replaced the Aether symbol with "$", because of the similar shape and function. Putting it on the right side of numbers drives me insane though.

Nemesis

Umbra Titan
Difficulty: 3 (3)
Setup: Umbra Titan gains eight nemesis Tokens.
Health: 70

Unleash: If there is one nemesis turn order card in the turn order discard pile, any player suffers 2 damage.
If there are two nemesis turn order cards in the turn order discard pile, Gravehold suffers 2 damage.
OR
Umbra titan loses one nemesis token.

Additional Rules:
When Umbra Titan has zero nemesis tokens, Gravehold’s foundation is undermined. Gravehold collapses into rubble and the players lose.

Increased Difficulty (5): Setup: Umbra Titan starts with five nemesis tokens instead of eight.

Umbra Titan is a straightforward nemesis that allows you to enjoy Aeon’s End without extra frills. The slow countdown of nemesis tokens is provides good tension. However, the way increased difficulty rules decreases the starting nemesis tokens makes dealing with Unleashes more straightforward. If death isn’t seem imminent, you simply just can’t afford to discard any Nemesis tokens because Umbra Titan has multiple effects that discards them without unleashing. Racing against the clock with Umbra Titan tends to be a good time for both new players and experienced players.

Hollow Crown
Difficulty: 5 (6)
Setup:
- Shuffle all of the acolyte cards together and place them facedown to form the acolyte deck.
- Draw two cards from the acolyte deck and place them into play.
- When playing with beginner rules, discard the top card of the acolyte deck.
Health: 1

Unleash: Resolve the Blood Magic effect of the acolyte with the highest life.

Additional Rules:
- Hollow Crown cannot be dealt damage.
- When there are no acolytes in play at the end of any turn, the players win the game.
- When an acolyte is discarded, place it in the acolyte discard pile and draw a new acolyte.
- When multiple Blood Magic effects would be resolved at the same time, resolve them in order starting with the acolyte that has been in play the longest.
- When a player is exhausted, Gravehold suffers 4 damage instead of Unleash twice. Resolve the rest of the on exhaust effects.

Increased Difficulty (8): Unleash: Resolve the Blood Magic effect of each acolyte in play instead of the acolyte with the highest life without those acolytes suffering damage from their Blood Magic Effects.

Hollow Crown is currently my favorite nemesis. Each Acolyte does things a bit differently and some even damage themselves. I love having to decide which Acolytes I want to allow to activate and either focusing down one Acolyte or damaging them equally. Players also need to coordinate to if they want to avoid overkilling each Acolyte. The unique nemesis cards will make players groan, but don’t knock the wind out of them. Hollow Crown is just terrific. The only knock I have against Hollow Crown is that the Increased Difficulty rules have removes some of the decisions that you have to make against the normal Hollow Crown. You can no longer prevent one of the Acolytes’ activations by manipulating health. You also don’t get to consider the tradeoffs of tanking Acolyte activations that damage themselves. Hollow Crown just becomes twice as hard and half as interesting. It’s still worth playing just for the challenge though and Hollow Crown is still my favorite nemesis for how interesting the normal rules aret.

Magus of Cloaks
Difficulty: 7 (5 + # of players)
Setup: Magus of Cloaks gains four nemesis tokens.
Health: 35

Unleash: Magus of Cloaks gains two nemesis tokens.
OR
Gravehold suffers 2 damage.

Additional Rules:
- When Magus of Cloaks would be dealt damage, reduce that damage by the number of nemesis tokens he has. Then, Magus of Cloaks loses one nemesis token.
- Magus of Cloaks can never have less than two nemesis tokens or more than eight nemesis tokens.

Increased Difficulty (6 + # of players): Rules: Magus of Cloaks can never have less than three nemesis tokens or more than nine nemesis tokens.

Tapping away at Magus of Cloaks can sometimes feel very similar to Carapace Queen from the original core set. The difference is that players must eventually get access to some source of burst damage against Magus of Cloaks. This is a tricky nemesis that is market dependent and requires a slightly greedy style of play in order to get high damage spells. I can imagine Magus of Cloaks being hit or miss depending on the group. He feels much more balanced at 2 players than 4 players because a strong engine is so vital to dealing good damage. Magus of Cloaks can make players feel weak in a way that no other nemesis really does. Every now and then, Magus of Cloaks might suddenly shield up just as you are preparing to deal a ton of damage and it’s rough. A very unique nemesis.

Gate Witch
Difficulty: 7 (6)
Setup: Gate Witch gains one nemesis token.
Health: 70

Unleash: Gate Witch gains one nemesis tokens.

Additional Rules:
- At the end of the nemesis turn, if Gate Witch has five or more nemesis tokens and there is exactly one nemesis turn order card in the turn order discard pile, it accelerates time: shuffle a nemesis turn order card into the turn order deck, and Gate Witch loses four nemesis tokens.

Increased Difficulty: Rules (7): When Gate Witch accelerates time, it loses three nemesis tokens instead of four nemesis tokens.

Gate Witch is straightforward, but she can be quite a lot of fun to play against for experienced players. Often, I don’t even get to see more than a handful of Tier 3 cards before the game ends. You’re more likely to be a bit healthier when Tier 3 rolls around against Gate Witch, but you’ll also have to deal with them sooner than usual and survive more Tier 3 cards. If you can deal with Gate Witch’s minions quickly enough, drawing an additional nemesis card is not too bad for 4x unleashes. If you can’t quickly deal with minions, Gate Witch can overwhelm you with extra persistent effects, especially “Persistent: Unleash”. Since Gate Witch rushes through the nemesis deck faster, the variability added by basic cards from each additional core set is a bit more pronounced against her.

Nemesis Final Thoughts:
I enjoy all of the nemesis in War Eternal. They feel fair and thematic (except maybe Magus of Cloaks with 4 mages). Some people may not like that there isn’t a nemesis that forces you to spend extra aether or mess with your card draw in War Eternal, but I’ve personally always preferred deck builders without speed bumps. I think that Umbra Titan can feel overly challenging for players brand new to deck building. Furthermore, Hollow Crown is a massive jump in difficulty and even experienced gamers might find themselves stuck in the middle of that difficulty gap where Umbra Titan is too easy and Hollow Crown is too hard. Aeon’s End is meant to be difficult, but I absolutely endorse adjusting difficulty by changing the mage/gravehold/nemesis health or adding additional Tier 1 cards. These are great ways to give players a bit of an edge without affecting how interesting your decisions are.

Mages:

Dezmonia - Voidborn Prodigy
Open-Down-Right-Down
1x Oblivion Shard, 2x Crystal, 2x Spark
4x Crystal, 1x Spark

(0) Oblivion Shard (Gem)
Gain 2$ that cannot be used to gain a relic or spell.

Tempest Sigil - 6 Charges
Activate during your main phase:
Any player destroys an opened I or II breach and returns any spells prepped to that breach to their hand. That player gains a Sigil breach and places it where the destroyed breach was. Then, that player may prep a spell from their hand to a breach.

I’m not a huge fan of Dezmonia because of how inflexible Oblivion Shard is. It helps her develop her deck early on by buying gems, but later on it can make for awkward hands where you just use it to buy a charge. Sigil breaches are really cool, but they are expensive. They are amazing when combined with way to cast multiple spells from them in a single turn. They are also invaluable against Magus of Cloaks. Additionally, immediately prepping a spell is sometimes relevant for reacting to unexpected threats. However, in other cases the 12$ spent on opening a Sigil Breach would have made more impact if it had been spent on opening breaches or buying cards. Sigil Breaches also follow the same power curve of cards, where the later you buy them, the less value you get from them. Most Mages are perfectly happy to buy charges at the end of the game when it seems like buying more cards doesn’t provide much of a benefit. Dezmonia is a bit less happy to do so because another Sigil Breach may not be as good as many 5 charge abilities with only 3-4 turns left in the game. Playing Dezmonia requires players to find a balance between activating Tempest Sigil and buying cards.

Garu - Oathsworn Protector
Open-Right-Down-Down
1x Torch, 3x Crystal, 1x Spark
3x Crystal, 2x Spark

(0) Torch (Spell)
Cast: Deal 1 damage
OR
Cast: Focus any player’s breach.

Colossal Force - 5 Charges
Activate during your main phase:
Discard up to four of your prepped spells.
Deal 2 damage plus 4 additional damage for each spell you discarded divided however you choose to the nemesis or any number of minions.

Garu is excellent, but can have a really rough time if he doesn’t focus on opening at least one additional breach early on. Torch provides great value for a starter card. With Breach III and IV are oriented down and 3x starting sparks, Garu is a natural first target for focusing a breach with Torch. Colossal Force is absolutely great for taking a big chunk out of the nemesis in the end game sprint.

Gex - Breach Mage Adviser
None-Open-Down-Down
1x Shattered Geode, 3x Crystal, 1x Spark
4x Crystal, 1x Spark

(0) Shattered Geode (Gem)
Gain 1$.
You may place the top card of any ally’s discard pile into your hand.

Vimcraft Oath - 5 Charges
Activate during your main phase:
Destroy up to two cards in your discard pile that cost 0$.
Any ally draws one card and gains 2 life.

I love thinning decks, so I find Gex to be really exciting. The main frustration I run into is that it’s difficult to consistently have a discard pile to draw from with Shattered Geode in a 2 player game. It takes a lot of good planning to play well with Gex, but it’s great how she can cull an ally’s deck while getting an extra $ to spend at the same time. The end result is a higher quality decks for both players. If you do a sacrificial turn 1 and hold Shattered Geode, Gex can buy a 6 cost card on turn 2 while also positioning the Shattered Geode in a slightly better position for ensuring your allies have a discard pile. Gex really rewards communication and cooperation.

Mazahaedron - Henge Mystic
Open-Left-Down-Down
1x Worldheart Shard, 2x Crystal, 2x Spark
4x Crystal, 1x Spark

(0) Worldheart Shard (Gem)
Gain 1$
OR
Gain 2$ that can only be used to gain a card.
Place the next card you gain this turn on top of any ally’s discard pile.

Underearth Mantra - 4 Charges
Activate during your main phase:
You may gain a gem that costs 4$ or less from any supply pile.
Gravehold gains 4 life.

It’s hard for me to judge Mazahaedron because of how unique his Worldheart Gem is. It’s difficult to determine if it’s better to speed up someone else’s deck development or your own. The mage he gives cards to needs to prioritize opening breaches thinning their deck in order to maximize the benefit they draw from the free cards. In my opinion, if there’s not much card destruction available, it’s better to mostly play Worldheart Gem like a Crystal and play Maz like a normal damage dealing Mage. His breach’s aren’t too bad. Maz’s ability severely limits how strong of a supporting role he can play. Healing Gravehold is nice, but gaining a 4 cost gem with 4 charges really doesn’t do much, especially late game. Maz’s Worldheart Gem is better if he buys a lot of gems, but his charge ability isn’t an amazing way to spend all that aether when the game reaches a point where you’re done buying cards and just need to close out the game. Maz is always going to feel a bit awkward because of all these conflicting elements, but he’s a fun little puzzle.

Mist - Voidwalker
Open-Left-Down-Down
1x Amethyst Paragon, 3x Crystal, 1x Spark
3x Crystal, 2x Spark

(0) Amethyst Paragon (Gem)
Gain 1$.
Any ally may prep a spell in hand to their opened or closed breach(es).

Exalted Brand - 6 Charges
Activate during your main phase: Cast up to three different spells prepped by any number of players. For each spell cast this way, place that spell into any ally’s hand.

I’m not sure how they chose which characters got a second version, but I like this version of Mist more than the original. The secondary effect on her Amethyst Paragon constantly comes in handy and allows for some interesting deck manipulation opportunities. Put simply, there are hands you can set up for opening turns that can only be done with Amethyst Paragon. Mist’s ability also allows for really ridiculous burst damage. This damage happens over the course of two turns since the spells return Allies’ hands. One bit of awkwardness is that if you target your own spell, it has to go into an Ally’s hand. If you’re playing a two player game, that can mean one mage could end up overloaded with spells. However, Mist is great even if you only ever use her ability once as a finisher. Great unique, great ability, good breaches... Mist: Voidwalker is just a solid mage overall.

Quilus - Breach Mage Assassin
Open-Open-Right-Down
3x Crystal, 1x Extinguish, 1x Spark
3x Crystal, 1x Extinguish, 1x Spark

(0) Extinguish (Spell)
Cast: Deal 1 damage.
If this damage causes a minion from the nemesis deck to be discarded, Quilius gains a Trophy token.

Quietus Vow - 5 Charges
Activate during your main phase:
Deal 2 damage for each Trophy token you have.

Quilus is a bit weak. Collecting trophies can be doubly inconsistent because the number of minions in the nemesis deck is random and you often can’t afford to let them stick around just so Quilus can take the last hit. Furthermore, even if you do manage to collect trophies, Quilus’ starting setup often doesn’t give her much room for buying charges. She can’t afford a 4-cost card until turn 3 without doing a very awkward sacrificial turn 1 that I don’t particularly recommend. She’s a fun concept, but needs a lot of support and luck in order to perform as well as other mages. I’d recommend playing around with a few variants if you really like her general concept.

Ulgimor - Shadowkin Beast
Open-Down-Right-Down
1x Coal Shard, 2x Crystal, 2x Spark
3x Crystal, 2x Spark

(0) Coal Shard (Gem)
If you have 2 life or less, destroy this.
Otherwise, gain 3$, gain 1 charge, and suffer 2 damage.

Eidolon Shroud - 6 Charges
Activate during your main phase:
Gain 6 life.
If you are exhausted, any ally gains 5 life instead.

I love Ulgimor. A huge part of this might be because his healing capabilities are perfect for a 2 player game. I also just enjoy being forced to constantly consider when it is a good time to buy charges, because the free charges from Coal Shard simply doesn’t cut it. Coal Shard is a bit like taking out loans so you can buy big cards and then going back and paying off those loans after your investments start paying off. Coal Shard generally allows Ulgimore to get off to a roaring start which he coast on for the rest of the game. He can just focus on buying big efficient cards and then buy charges on his smaller turns. If he can get a bit of help opening breaches or destroying a couple Sparks, Ulgimor will start pumping out damage very quickly.

Yan Maga - Enlightened Exile
Open-Right-Right-Right
1x Illuminate, 4x Crystal
4x Crystal, 1x Spark

(0) Illuminate (Gem)
While prepped, when you focus or open one of your breaches during your turn, deal 1 damage.
Cast: Deal 1 damage.

Imperium Ritual - 5 Charges
Activate during your main phase:
Gain a card from any supply pile. If you have four opened breaches, any ally gains a card from any supply pile and places it on top of their deck.

Yan Maga is one of my favorite mages because of how greedy you can play him. Illuminate allows him to deal with Tier 1 and some Tier 2 minions much better than almost any other mage. This allows you to heavily focus on economy without feeling too hard a pinch for early damage. I love trying to rush Yan Maga’s breaches open so he can hand out big cards, but I find it’s only viable in a 2 player game. In a 4 player game it’s much more important to output consistent damage throughout the game, usually off just 2 or 3 breaches. Ideally you would have a spell like Jagged Lightning or some Relics that can let you work your way towards having 4 open breaches while also putting out consistent damage. Spells with “While prepped” abilities are also good because they allow your extra breaches to provide additional value.

Mage Final Thoughts:
I think the mages in War Eternal are all excellent. They take a lot of risks and end up feeling a lot more unique than the mages from the original set. Those risks didn’t all completely pay off though. Mazahaedron and Quilius noticeably struggle to feel as powerful as other mages in Aeon’s End. However, power level is not indicative of how interesting the gameplay is. While the numbers Quilius and Maz put out tend to not be up to par, they create decisions and strategies that other mages don’t.


Market Cards

(3) Dread Diamond (Gem)
Gain 2$.
You may discard a prepped spell. If you do, gain an additional 1$.

Any 3 cost gem that gives 2$ and has an ability worth using is pretty good in my books. This definitely qualifies. I typically don’t use this ability more than once or twice a game.
But a 1$ jump in a card purchase can be very impactful. This can also help a bit if you bought more spells than your breaches can support.

(3) Frozen Magmite (Gem)
Gain 2$.
You may place the next card you gain this turn on top of your deck.

Another 3 cost gem with a useful ability.Dread Diamond’s extra $1 is situationally great but this ability is consistently strong. It essentially gives you one extra use out of all the cards you buy with this Frozen Magnemite. That’s more impactful than the value you’ll get off most 3 cost gems.

(3) Volcanic Glass (Gem)
When you gain this on your turn, you may spend 2$. If you do, any ally gains a Volcanic Glass and places it on top of their deck.
Gain 2$.

This is basically a 3 cost Jade in my eyes and I don’t even buy much Jade when it’s available. I’d rather have one person with a 5 cost card over two people with a 2$ gem, even on turn 1. The extra Volcanic Glass goes on the top of an ally’s deck though. That be worthwhile in some extremely fringe situations.

(4) Scoria Slag (Gem)
Gain 2$.
If the nemesis tier is 2 or higher gain an additional 1$.

One of the best 4 cost Gems in the game. It can be picked up in the first two turns on most mages and helps deck/breach development go really smoothly. Picking up two of Slags is not too hard and gets you in range of discarding tier 2 and 3 power cards without too much sacrifices.

(4) Breach Ore (Gem)
Gain 2$.
OR
Focus your closed breach with the lowest focus cost.

This gem seemed really awesome to me at first, but it’s actually just average. Each individual effect can be found as part of various 3 cost cards, but having the choice between the two costs costs a premium. Breach Ore is worth picking up over a 4 cost spell early on just because it’s a gem, but it’s noticeably less powerful than Scoria Slag or Diamond Cluster (from the original set).

(5) Erratic Ingot (Gem)
Gain 2$.
Gain an additional 2$ if there is at least one nemesis turn order card in the turn order discard pile.

This gem is incredible. Many mages can buy a 5 cost gem on turn 2 with a sacrificial turn 1. Having 4$ from one card on turn 4 makes for great deck development. In a 2 player game, it’s very easy to make sure that for at least the 3 or 4 turns after you buy Erratic Ingot, it’s always in your second hand of the round. This is important to do as it makes it more likely that you get the bonus. So buying it on turn 2 with the sacrificial turn 1 is one way to set this situation up from the start. If you’re playing with the (frankly superior) 4 player turn order variant,the odds of getting the bonus aether is also in your favor.

(6) Bloodstone Jewel (Gem)
When you gain Bloodstone Jewel for the first time on your turn, gain 3$.
Gain 3$.

This card is decent. I believe that vanilla 3$ on a 6 cost gem is still worth it because aether is flexible and helps deck development without adding clutter. The extra 3$ from Bloodstone Jewel’s ability in the early to mid game is almost always helpful. Usually it focuses your Breach III.

Sacrificial turn 1 with Mazahaedron and a turn 2 Bloodstone Jewel is one of my absolute favorite moves. Giving someone a 6 cost gem and picking up a 3 cost gem for myself is a GREAT way to open a game.

(2) Mage’s Totem (Relic)
Destroy a gem or relic you played this turn.
OR
Destroy this. Gravehold gains 1 life.

Anyone who has played a lot of deck builders knows that thinning your deck is great and Mage’s Totem is pretty good at thinning your deck at a very low cost. However, a thin deck is only as good as its best cards. You’re making your deck a bit better each time you use Mage’s Totem, but Mage’s Totem itself lowers the quality your hand and deck until you get rid of it. Buying it too early very quickly turns leads to filling your deck with 3 cost cards. Depending on the mage, you may want to wait as long as turn 5 before picking it up.

(3) Fiend Catcher (Relic)
You may destroy a card in your hand or discard pile. Reveal the top card of the turn order deck. If you revealed a nemesis turn order card, you may place that card on the bottom of the turn order deck.

Everything I said about Mage’s Totem also applies to Fiend Catcher. Fiend Catcher has the further disadvantage of being unable to destroy itself. The turn order manipulation is sometimes great, but very often irrelevant. I still like picking one up because of how strong thinning your deck is. Just make sure you buy it it on the second hand of a round so you have a discard pile when you draw it.

(3) Conclave Scroll (Relic)
Gain 1 charge.
If this card’s supply pile is empty, you may destroy the top card of any ally’s discard pile.

When activated, Conclave Scroll is probably pretty cool. Without the secondary effect, it’s pretty awful compared to a 3 cost gem which gives 2$ that can be used in any number of ways. Buying 5 Conclave Scrolls is a lot to ask and thinning your deck is not always going to be better than developing your deck by picking up gems instead. Plus once you have 5 cards that destroy cards from discard piles in the game, it doesn’t take too long before no one has any discard piles to target.

(4) Carn Compass (Relic)
Any ally may prep a spell in their discard pile to their opened or closed breach(es).

This could be really cool with an ally that has a big spell, but then you’re at the mercy of turn order to make it happen. Often you just don’t have a discard pile to target at all. Buying a 4 cost spell for yourself is generally better and more consistent.

(4) Primordial Fetish (Relic)
Focus any player’s breach.
OR
Destroy this. Gain 3 life.

Pretty good card. Always gets good value and allows you to put more money towards spells instead of opening breaches. The ability to destroy itself for a nice heal is very important.

(6) Vortex Gauntlet (Relic)
Cast any player’s prepped spell. Return that spell to that player’s hand.

A very situational card. Like Carn Compass, you’re at the mercy of the turn order. It’s usually better to have a 6 cost card that will do 6 cost things every time you draw it than buy this 6 cost relic that will sometimes do 6 cost things. Vortex Gauntlet is best when paired on your own big spell in order to squeeze in a bit of extra damage with less breaches. That kind of combo can be tricky to set up and be disrupted by nemesis effects though.

(3) Thoughtform Familiar (Spell)
Cast: Deal 2 damage.
Deal 1 additional damage for each of your other prepped spells.

Thoughtform Familiar always deals way more damage than it probably should. It doesn’t feel overpowered but the game is easier with Thoughtform Familiar than with any other 3 cost spell. It’s kinda like what Scoria Slag is to 3 or 4 cost gems.

(4) Kindle (Spell)
While prepped, during your main phase you may also prep one Spark to the breach that this spell is prepped to.
Cast: Deal 3 damage.

Kindle is just a good spell overall. It allows you to bump up your damage output early without opening additional breaches. Kindle makes Tier 1 and Tier 2 minions a lot less devastating than they sometimes can be. I like that you have to stay on your toes to make sure it stays paired with a Spark.

(4) Jagged Lightning (Spell)
Cast: Deal 3 damage.
You may discard a card in hand. If you do, any player focuses their closed breach with the lowest focus cost.

Solid card. Everyone usually needs to open at least one additional breach and Jagged Lightning takes a bit of friction out of that while also dealing damage.

(4) Carbonize (Spell)
Cast: Deal 3 damage.
Reveal the top card of the turn order deck. You may place that card on the bottom of the turn order deck.

This card is great. Making sure players have a chance deal with threats that appear after a nemesis turn is critical. You’ll probably place Player Turn cards on the bottom of the deck with Carbonize more often than you place Nemesis Turn cards on the bottom of the deck. It’s not immediately apparent how much being able to do that helps, but by the end of the game it’s easy to see all the rounds where it was important.You just consistently have more time to deal with threats as they appear.

(4) - Pyrotechnic Surge (Spell)
This spell must be prepped to two adjacent breaches so that this card touches both breaches. This fully occupies both breaches.
Cast: Deal 4 damage. You may destroy a card in your discard pile.

Solid damage. Card destruction is always solid too. However, the benefits of the deck thinning is offset by the loss of tempo from having to open up extra breaches. The easier it is to open your breaches, the better Pyrotechnic Surge is. I usually only buy one copy of Pyrotechnic Surge and always try to buy it on the first hand of my deck rotation so I’ll have a discard pile when casting it.

(5) Aurora (Spell)
While prepped, once per turn during your main phase you may gain 1 charge.
Cast: Deal 3 damage.

This card is great. Solid damage with free resources. Buying an Aurora usually gives you at least one free charge ability activation a game. If you have extra breaches, holding this in your breach can be good on some mages. It’s not as simple as comparing 1 charge to 3 damage. You’re generating value that you wouldn’t be gaining while Aurora is rotating and don’t to redraw it. I still end up having to cast it every turn with most mages though.

(5) Fiery Torrent (Spell)
Cast: Deal 2 damage.
Deal 2 additional damage for each other Fiery Torrent prepped by any player.

This card is really interesting, but 5$ is expensive and Fiery Torrent requires players to have a lot of open breaches to hold onto their Torrents until the time is right. If you have a big deck, it’s better to hold your copy in your breach while someone with a thinner deck casts their copy every chance they get. It feels like you’re not contributing, but at least you don’t have to redraw spells you don’t cast.

(5) Celestial Spire (Spell)
Cast: Deal 3 damage.
If this card’s supply pile is empty, any ally draws a card.

Free damage that replaces itself is good in any deck builder. However, because of how long it takes before you start getting to draw cards from Celestial Spire, its overall performance for a 5 cost card is average.

(5) Convection Field (Spell)
Cast: Deal 4 damage.
OR
Cast: Deal 2 damage. Any ally may destroy a card in hand.

This card looked really good to me at first, but destroying a card from an ally’s hand still lowers the quality of their next turn. 4 damage on a 5 cost spell is respectable though. Also, Convection Field is really nice against enemies that have shields that reduce damage to 1.

(6) Conjure the Lost (Spell)
Cast: Deal 5 damage.
You may destroy this. If you do, Gravehold gains 4 life.

5 damage on a single spell is good. The ability to heal Gravehold in a pinch is good. Conjure the Lost is definitely good. However, 6 cost spells often do things more broken than Conjure the Lost. I’d buy it over almost all 5 cost spells though.

(6) Nova Forge (Spell)
While prepped, once per turn during your main phase, you may gain 2 that can only be used to gain a spell.
Cast: Deal 4 damage.

Speaking of doing broken things… Nova Forge deals respectable damage and makes it dead easy to really quickly ramp up the damage in your deck. Very powerful card. It’s so effective at what it does, I usually don’t feel a need to keep Nova Forge prepped because I’m already buying so many strong spells.

(7) Reduce to Ash (Spell)
While prepped, at the start of your casting phase reveal the top card of your deck. You may destroy the revealed card.
Cast: Deal 4 damage.

This card sounds great, but it’s hard hard to make it consistently destroy the bad cards in your deck. The card at top of your deck at the start of your casting phase is often one of your good spells. Pretty disappointing for a 7 cost spell. I’d buy it over most 5 cost spells, but not over many 6 cost spells.

(7) Equilibrium (Spell)
While prepped, when you suffer damage reduce that damage by 1, to a minimum of 1. Cast: Deal 4 Damage.

This card is so situational. I think in most games I have it in the market, it prevents 0-2 damage altogether. You really can’t afford to hold it in your breach instead of dealing damage, so whether or not the damage reduction is relevant is based on luck. When considering the charge from leftover $, there are a number of 5 cost spells I’d buy over Equilibrium.

(8) Crystallize (Spell)
This spell must be prepped to two adjacent breaches so that this card touches both breaches. This fully occupies both breaches.
Cast: Any player reveals their hand. Deal 2 damage for each gem in that ally’s hand.

The 10 damage dream! This card is better with more players since it’s more likely you’ll have an ally with a hand full of gems. If you play with Crystallize in mind it probably deals an average of 8 damage or so. Obviously it’s hard to rate a card like this, but I’ve found that it usually performs well for how I play. I like having at least one Mage with a strong charge ability focused on generating aether for dealing with nemesis powers. Crystallize helps convert what that mage’s economy into a bunch of damage for ending the game...


Market Cards Final Thoughts:
The market cards in War Eternal all feel fairly uniform in power level, with only Volcanic Glass and Conclave Scroll being marginally underpowered in my eyes. In fact the cards feel consistent with the power level across all the smaller expansions as well. I like this because it makes it so that there’s no single dominant strategy with a given market. At the same time you have cards like Fiery Torrent and Crystallize which encourage players to play in a way that would be otherwise unusual.

Overall Final Thoughts
I have a minor preference for War Eternal over the original Aeon’s End. The nemesis overall are more interesting and present different challenges. The market cards are consistent in power level and don’t have any cards that are always the best thing to buy in a given market. The mages in War Eternal aren’t as consistent in power level, but are more unique in their gameplay. Overall, War Eternal is a solid iteration on the original and makes me excited for what’s to come. If you plan on playing Aeon’s End with people who are not experienced with deck building, I would recommend starting with the original core set. It is more straightforward and has a more reasonable difficulty curve.

What about Legacy?
I really don’t even know how to compare Legacy to the two core sets. If you love deckbuilding and you’re trying Aeon’s End for the first time, playing through the Legacy campaign is the best way to start. If you own either of the base sets, Aeon’s End Legacy is not the best way to expand your game. It has some very fun and interesting nemesis, but you’re also paying for cards with power levels that aren’t very consistent with the other sets. If you’ve already finished Legacy and are wondering which set core to pick up next, I’d give the original core set a slight edge even though the artwork doesn’t totally match. Prince of Gluttons and Crooked Mask offer a more different play experience from Legacy’s nemesis than what War Eternal offers. Also there are strongest cards cards in Legacy that are on par with the strongest cards from the original core set. War Eternal doesn’t really have anything that reaches that point (maybe Thoughtform Familiar?).

by ThatsWhatJenniSaid

My husband bought Cyclades some time ago, but after watching a few reviews of the game describing it to be slow building, he just couldn't work up the enthusiasm to get it on the table for play. So when I recently ordered Kemet directly from Matagot, I added the C3K Creatures Crossover Cyclades/Kemet Expansion (which allows players to use the monsters from each game in the other game) into my cart as well because I'd read that really spices up each of the base games, especially Cyclades.

We have a regular group of friends we play area control/combat games with and I invited them over for a Cyclades game night a couple of weeks ago once the expansion arrived. When we finally opened Cyclades, I was very impressed with the component artwork. Just as with the box cover art, the illustrations drawn by Miguel Coimbra and used on the game components are lovely and well suited for the Grecian theme. The miniature figures used in the game are detailed nicely. It’s a pleasure to play immersed in Miguel’s artwork and the images are all family friendly.



Cyclades components include a three piece main playing board constructed out of heavy cardboard; thick cardstock for player screens; cardboard markers, gold pieces, God tiles, and buildings; plastic coated cards; plastic minis for the player fleets and the mythological creatures; and two 6 sided dice. Everything is well made and came in complete and perfect condition on the long journey over from Europe.

The theming overlays the game mechanisms well and I was easily able to use my imagination to get into the spirit of the characters. As players, we are leading independent Grecian cities in a race against one another to build metropolises while the Gods watch and help as requested. We also have several powerful mythological creatures we can call on for assistance, and with the C3K expansion, we are able to recruit the creatures from Kemet as Egyptian troop reinforcements as well.

In each round of Cyclades, players bid on a God to assist them in building/moving their troops, building/moving their ships, accumulating philosophers, accumulating priests, or building up their gold reserves. Each God also permits the construction of one type of building: port, fortress, temple, or university. Players may also bid on mythological creatures and/or Egyptian troop reinforcements which have a variety of beneficial powers. After bids are won and paid, income is paid to all players based on the number of prosperity markers under their control. Then players take turns executing their chosen actions, using the powers of the Gods and creatures they won during the bidding portion of the round. After all players have completed their actions, there is a check to verify whether any player has met the win condition (accumulation of two metropolises), and if not, the next round begins. There are three paths to a metropolis in Cyclades: build all four types of buildings and convert them to a metropolis, accumulate four philosophers and turn them in to build a metropolis, or conquer an existing metropolis controlled by another player.



The gameplay is really well balanced. There was no runaway leader in any of the games we played; we were neck and neck the entire time and typically everything came down to the last round where it could have easily gone to any of us. This suspense also lends to the replayability of the game. In what would prove to be the last round of our most recent 4-player game, every player had one metropolis and we were all eyeing ways to obtain a second for the win. I was just about to execute my brilliant strategy to conquer my husband’s metropolis to win the game when I realized that if I did that, everyone would still have a turn after me and one of the other players could attempt to conquer my original metropolis that I would have to leave unguarded to conquer my husband’s. Oops! Change of plans. I shifted my strategy, and in a preemptive strike, I attempted to conquer the metropolis of David, which was within reach of both my island and my husband Christopher’s. The odds were against me based on our troop counts and I knew it was a long shot, but if I managed to kill David’s troops and capture his metropolis, then he wouldn’t be able to advance on my metropolis on his turn. As is my luck, I lost the battle and on his turn he successfully conquered Christopher’s metropolis for the win, which brought David’s metropolis tally to two. My husband had no actions of interest that he could execute on his turn. The final player, Dale, snuck onto my island to conquer my metropolis in a move I didn’t see coming. He used the special movement power of an Egyptian troop reinforcement creature and it was an easy takeover from there. This brought his metropolis count up to two also, but he didn’t have enough gold to win the tiebreaker over David, so David won. I was disappointed with my loss, but I’ve already noted several different strategies that I’d like to test out in upcoming games.

------------------------------------------------------------
Win Condition: build two metropolises

Inputs: building constructed, combats won, philosophers collected

Strategy Tip: It’s much easier to conquer someone else’s metropolis then to do the hard work of building your own. Be prepared to fight.
------------------------------------------------------------
I do understand the comments made by other reviewers with regard to the slow build of the game. It’s an area control game without much opportunity to extend the areas you control in the beginning of the game. It takes several turns to build up enough troop strength and to gain the proximity to other islands required to conquer them. That reduces the overall amount of combat during the course of the game as compared to Cyclades’s sister game Kemet or other area control games such as TI4. However, I think Cyclades is still a keeper because of the competitive intensity that erupts near the end of the game and the fantastic theming. We have 800+ games in our collection and this is the only one with warring Grecian fleets backed by mythological creatures. The Egyptian reinforcements add another interesting dimension to the game, and if you already own Kemet the ER mini expansion is worth the small investment.
-------------------------------------------------

Publisher: Matagot
Players: 2-5
Actual Playing Time (vs the guideline on the box): About 2.5 hrs
Game type: Area Control/Area Influence, Auction/Bidding, Set Collection, Dice Rolling

Rating:



Jenni’s rating scale:
OUI: I would play this game again; this game is ok. I probably would not buy this game myself but I would play it with those who own it and if someone gave it to me I would keep it.
OUI OUI: I would play this game again; this game is good. I would buy this game.
OUI OUI OUI: I LOVE THIS GAME. I MUST HAVE THIS GAME.
NON: I would not play this game again. I would return this game or give it away if it was given to me

by markblasco

The first expansion for Space Base has a lot of wonderful additions, and is a worthy addition if you felt like the original game could use a few more mechanisms and some more dice to roll. Before I say more, though, it's worth noting that this expansion does have a light story element to it (which can be skipped completely with no problems whatsoever), so for people who want to go through it without knowing what is coming next, please consider the rest of this to be filled with spoilers.

Now that it's just us who love spoilers, let's get into it. This expansion starts with a pseudo campaign element, with a light story that slowly introduces the new mechanics. While I love the idea of it, I think it's not important at all to go through if you just want to add in more stuff. Me and my wife went through about a third of the story cards before she declared it was "too much nerdery", and we then proceeded to add everything in.

The expansion has new cards that further allow you to manipulate which areas you score, including arrows that point to the left, and diagonal arrows, which allow you to trigger your red abilities when it's your turn, or your blue abilities when it's not. Additionally, there are 4 additional clear dice, with cards that give you the ability to roll those on your turn, gaining the rewards they trigger on your board. Charge up a few of these cards and you can roll 2,3,4, or more times on your turn.

More fun and impressive than these cards, though, is the new bag full of mini dice (probably around 20-25 of them or so). These dice are blank on all sides except for one, and there are 2 different modes in which they can be used.

The first mode lays out these dice in a row of 6, which can be purchased using space ship tokens. These are a new currency, with cards that can earn them for you. As you acquire the spaceship tokens, you spend them to buy the new dice, which can get you money, income, points, or even charges and more space ships. The best part, you'll be rolling these dice on every turn (even your opponent's turns) in a 2-3 player game, or just on your opponent's turns in a 4-5 player game. This is a fun change, which adds in little bonuses from time to time, and it feels really nice when you've acquired a few of them to be rolling a handfull of dice every turn. Very satisfying.

The other mode has you battling against the world eater, and uses the dice in a different way. Instead of being able to buy the dice with spaceship tokens, you're going to be rolling a black die with the blue dice every turn. On 2 of the 6 sides, there is a picture of the world eater. When you roll this symbol, you'll pull out 6 of the small dice and roll them as well. Then, you get to make a choice. Either you spend a spaceship token to get all of the rewards listed on the small dice, or you don't spend a token, and you lose all of the rewards listed. Sometimes the dice are all blank and it's an easy decision, but sometimes there will be a lot of points, or income, or other tempting benefits, and if you don't have a lot of spaceship tokens, it's a hard decision.

With all of that being said, is this a good expansion?

YES!......mostly.

Let me explain. I love all of the elements of the expansion. The new ways to manipulate your board with arrows are great, the new dice you roll are great, the spaceship tokens and new modes of play are great. All of it is great! I was surprised to find how much I enjoyed playing the world eater mode, it added an amazing level of tension throughout the game without feeling punishing. The other mode, buying dice to roll on everyone's turn, really added a ton of enjoyment for everyone. So many dice, all the time!

Best of all, it all fits in the core box insert, no need to throw it out or keep the expansion box.

Unfortunately, with all of this greatness, comes a cost. You see, all of those things are fun, but none of them actually help you score many points or win. Once you've added in all of these cards, the ratio of point and money cards has gone down noticeably. The games take longer, because you can't build up your money or points nearly as quickly. The first time we played with the expansion, about half way through we realized that there were no point cards out to purchase, and the one person who had bought a few early on was able to win while everyone was stuck near zero. Every game we've played since adding the expansion has taken longer than before, and while some of us don't mind that at all, some people felt like it made the game too long for what it is.

So, overall the expansion adds a bunch of fun stuff, and the additional dice really add another level of fun and excitement. If you like Space Base and wanted there to be more, this is the expansion for you! If you felt like Space Base was a bit too long or complex in the first place, than you might want to pass on this one. Personally, I won't ever play the game without it.

by alekhine

Week 1 Apr 29 - May 5

(featuring a rematch of last season's Mark-Ralph championship series)



Peter (PeterK1) @ Dave (grassquit)



Phillip (ExWallStreetGuy)
 @ Mark (frunkee)


Mike (Mikefitz)
 @ 
Phillip (ExWallStreetGuy)


Steven (oppedlow) @ Dave (grassquit)


Peter (PeterK1) @ Eugene (robble03)

Mike (Mikefitz)
 @ Patrick (xblgorthon)


Tom (alekhine)

 @ Alex (alpec73)

Alex (alpec73) @ Eugene (robble03)

Ralph (DragonCat)
 @ Tom (alekhine)



Mark (frunkee)
 @ Ralph (DragonCat)


Patrick (xblgorthon)
 @ Steven (oppedlow)

by Jack Spirio

Good catch

by MarkFresch

Hey guys. I'm really sorry for the delay on this.

I lost my dog last week, my sister had a baby and now I'm in the middle of final exams.

A real emotional rollercoaster as you can imagine :soblue:

I promise it'll be up soon, and I thank you for your interest and patience!

by d0gb0t

@Jens: You can buy the mat for example here...

https://www.fantasywelt.de/Star-Wars-Outer-Rim-Game-Mat

There should be more german online shops selling it, though.

by senorcoo

That would be great, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

by olothstar

thanks for taking the time. this will be helpful to discuss online when i don't have my game in front of me.

by cirdan

paultro wrote:

1. If I had the monument card which allows me to use philosopher action for 2 coin
I assume I can use the modifier ability to pay 8 coins.

You're right, you can use the modifier ability and pay up to 8 coins to perform the philosopher action to train the new polulation you want to train (in combination eg. with the concerning hometown or the theater card).

Rulebook page 9: You may use this Modifier Ability when you perform a “Philosopher” action to choose how much you want to pay (any amount from 1 to 8 coins), rather than the amount printed on the action. This lets you pay the exact cost of the new population you want to train.

paultro wrote:

2. Train 1 additional population modifier
If I paid 4 coin to pick any 1 of the population if I used this modifier
I would be restricted to just the 2 cheapest.

Also rulebook page 9:
You may use this Modifier Ability when you perform a “Philosopher” action to train any 1 additional population that is within the cost range of what you paid, without paying any additional coins. Thus you may train 2 people when only paying for 1, or 3 people when paying for 2.

So with this ability if you paid 4 coins you would be allowed to train 2 arbitrary population or 3 population out of the 2 leftmost columns. In the first case you're not restricted to take the the 2 cheapest.

by igknight

I've seen a game on KS that was a Monopoly auction game. If it was fully funded you 'MAY' get a copy of the game if Hasbro bought the game from them and published it.

The entire campaign was to show Hasbro that there was interest in the game.

While I think it made a few dollars so people could comment on it, it was eventually taken off KS. This was a project that was clearly using the Hasbro Monopoly name, logos, and images for a campaign that you may or may not get (according to the actual pledge levels).

While I understand that KS isn't going to go check to make sure that someone has the authorization to use another companies IP, copyrights, or what have you, I cannot understand how this one made it past them.

I don't know if KS took it down or the creator finally did, but that (and a few others that ran about the same time) proves that KS does not have our best interests to heart.

Personally, I think they would have to have had multiple complaints against Kolossal to have gone this far (or even looked into the issue). I, however, have confidence in the games I've backed with them.

by alexdrazen

I see. I'd probably recommend the rotor city or moving Wheeling southeast or southwest by 1 hex, then.

Having 2 connected cities next to each other with 7 cubes accessible to any connection just feels... weird. I don't think any ROTW city has an initial cube number higher than 5.

by Couple_of_Meeples

I mailed Eagle-Gryphon yesterday asking about UK delivery.

They got back to me within 30 mins and said they were being shippped this week, so it should not be too long before delivery.

Looking forward to playing it for sure!

by BlackSheep

crinaya wrote:

kzinti wrote:

We don’t permit running multiple projects at the same time is its own statement.

I don't know why people are trying to make this more complicated than the statement spells out.

No one is refuting that part. But Papillion ended before Ravager began. Folding Space was Maple Games, which is not Kolossal Games unless someone has proof otherwise.

According to Kickstarter, both Maple Games and Kolossal Mikro are Ian Birdsall. Go click on their pages and check for yourself. And those are the campaigns that were running simultaneously.

If they're two unrelated companies that use the same verified identity on Kickstarter, then you can't really blame Kickstarter for thinking they're the same person.

by fallawayde

thank you for your answer. at the moment I am not yet familiar with the game and don't know what type of cards these corruptions belong to. are these cards with the grey backside of the equipment cards? these I haven't counted yet. however if the corruptions have the black backside of the nemesis cards then it's only 58+6 strikes in total.

by Hoogard

Yes, let's all play TM "Go fishing"-variant :)

by chaps357

Remember though that once you've pass, you are immune to attacks

by RobAntilles

Chernobyl wrote:

you can also download and print your own globe surface of mars

https://astropedia.astrogeology.usgs.gov/download/Docs/Globe...

big image, didn't want to preview it in the forum

That is really nice. Any Idea how I could get this on a hexaball, without it looking crappy. I would have to print in on an extremely flexible material.