[Brian,
Sunday October 18, 2009 at 7:38pm]
Required Rules Reading
Now that I've read the Dungeon Lords rules, I'm totally getting that. (When Z-Man releases it). I just realized, though, that I'm way behind on Vlaada's games ... I still haven't tried Space Alert or League of Six.
Actually, while it's not my thing at all, so is Dungeon Lords...
I see this game also has "training missions". I am honestly very tired of every single one of his games having separate rulebooks and/or multiple training missions.
On a side note, I just recently started playing my copy of League of Six, and it's a decent game.
If those sounds like serious problems, well, what can I say, I still like it, sort of. There aren't a lot of good coops, and a mission is short - but you really need to play 3 in a row or so to get a satisfying gaming experience. On the other hand, there isn't a ton of range in the package, especially given the raw rules complexity, which is significant for this class of games.
So as I say, I'm torn. I do like it, but recognize it's non-trivial problems, and it's been hard to put together a group that likes it enough to go through the learning and figure out the tricks to not making those infuriating minor mistakes and get to the point that it's reliably fun.
Oh, I'm not _that_ far removed from your opinion, Chris - I didn't find the game worth keeping, and I agree with your comments on the game, save for finding it less tedious than you did.
I just think the clever bits make it worth playing once. They were enough to sucker me in on my first play; my second play was enough to convince me that it wasn't the type of game I'd be pulling out again.
So perhaps I should have said - it's worth playing someone else's copy.
Have to give the DL rules another read or three before deciding....
I like Space Alert, but it requires a fair number of conditions to get a good game (right number of players, right level of engagement, playing a few times in a row).
Dungeon Lord seems quite different from all his other games. There were a few cards in there that were confusing, but all in all, it worked. Even those who did poorly enjoyed the experience. I don't know how interesting a seriously competitive game of DL will be; I didn't get to see one.
League of Six, however, by Chvatil's fellow CGE designer Vladimir Suchy, did not fare well with my group. We tried it both with and without the expansion and felt it lacking either way. It's very processional and you don't feel you necessarily get rewarded for your good decisions or punished for your poor ones. Kind of boring and just not that good, IMO.
By the way, Graenaland, one of Chvatil's earlier designs, showed promise, but only with the advanced rules.
Last Train to Wensleydale can have as many as 108 goods plus 61 passengers/locals + 8 tokens/player...
In Shipyard, though, there are 5 trains, 20 ship segments, 5 canals, and 24 employees to consider EACH TURN!!! The first three types of tiles are resupplied each turn. Plus, you have to look at the position of the markers on no fewer than three rondels. And, oh yeah, there's eight actions you have to choose from. Each of the actions is fairly simple, so maybe the game moves along once you get accustomed to it, but my first thought is, this might be the epi-tome of information overload/AP. We'll see.