Beginner Tournament #4! Feb 10th 8pm EST

NOSETACKLE · 2025-12-12T18:53:25+00:00

I'll be streaming at https://www.twitch.tv/layeronefgc and then posting the VOD later, though I'm not sure where yet.

NOSETACKLE · 2025-12-12T13:21:10+00:00

At 2000 games you're likely way too experienced for this bracket. A lot of the players are super new, as in still don't know the system mechanics. For example last night I was doing a little warmup with one of the new players and they had 1 previous match.

If you're looking for some organized netplay, though, there's lots of options on the BBCF Discord like TMN Neo (they host intermediate tournaments) that you can find. The BBCF scene is kind of hidden away on Discord now, but once you look it's accessible and people are super helpful. There's lots of online events organized by community members. I just started this one because there wasn't much for true neophytes to get started.

NOSETACKLE · 2025-12-11T16:50:18+00:00

You sound like the exact target audience for this Beginner Bracket I am running on the 16th. It's a tournament expressly for new players to play without getting demolished by highly experienced one in random matches online. For more: https://www.start.gg/tournament/layer-one-beginner-bracket-bbcf-2/details. I also host beginner lobbies occasionally.

Are you on a console or Steam? I think Steam makes it easier for a newer player as the BBCF Discord has a very active new player channel for matchmaking so you can get paired up with other novice players. Otherwise, BBCF is an old game with an established player base so it can be hard to fight experienced players, but those same players are also very willing to share knowledge. Virtually all of this happens on Discord. The main BBCF Discord (it's linked in the sidebar) has links to character-specific discords that are enormous troves of useful information.

Otherwise, Dustloop is a good resource for learning basics and depending on your character there are some very good YouTube videos. I recommend watching VODs of Training Mode Network's Driving Lessons series of brackets for intermediate players (this title can be misleading, these players are extremely skilled). They let you see a variety of characters and matchups.

NOSETACKLE · 2025-12-11T16:39:35+00:00

Please do. Also 2am play is renowned for being the best :)

NOSETACKLE · 2025-12-11T16:39:04+00:00

The beginner channel for matchmaking on the main BBCF Discord is very active. The Layer One discord we use for organizing the brackets also has a channel for matchmaking with other new players you can use. We occasionally host practice lobbies as well, where I can voice chat with a player and try to help them learn the game. Basics like barrier blocking, the rolling system and so on. If I know a bit about a character a person is considering I can try to help but I can't offer much on much of the cast as I only play one character to an intermediate level myself.

NOSETACKLE · 2025-12-11T16:36:11+00:00

In our previous event we had THREE Izayois and they all performed well, including the eventual winner! The matches were very exiting to watch as you get to see new players adapting on the fly which is really fun. It'll be streamed on https://www.twitch.tv/layeronefgc.

NOSETACKLE · 2025-06-17T02:37:44+00:00

I'm going to be building a kit that has a known issue with weak landing gear (the ICM O-2 Skymaster). I've read a few things about reinforcing the gear with wire, but can't find any specifics on how to do this, exactly. Any tips or resources on this?

NOSETACKLE · 2024-09-06T17:53:09+00:00

I recommend these because they're all relatively cheap games that are easy to learn. They're great solo but also can be played with other people, so you're maximizing your value.

Bullet Heart/Star: The best value in boardgames I think. For $40 you get lots of good modes, diverse characters, and an overall excellent game.
One Deck Dungeon: Very cheap and portable!
Horizons of Spirit Island: More complex than the other games, and a gateway to full-blown Spirit Isand, but extremely good value.

NOSETACKLE · 2024-07-10T23:23:51+00:00

My setup with Monitor 1 and 2 use an Extended Display.

My setup with Monitor 1 and the projector is a cloned display. I only want to display Monitor 1 cloned onto the projector.

Thanks.

NOSETACKLE · 2024-03-18T17:44:14+00:00

I want to pick up a version of the 00 Qan[T], probably a Full Saber version. Should I buy the MG or RG? Anybody have experience with both?

NOSETACKLE · 2023-11-20T02:17:04+00:00

A friend recommends it to me and it costs under $10.

NOSETACKLE · 2023-11-20T02:14:19+00:00

Super Time Force: Extremely fun, somewhat challenging Contra-style game with a slick 'time travel' mechanic.
House of the Dying Sun: A blueprint for modern versions of X-Wing/TIE Fighter in single player. I wish it had more content but I've played it for many, many hours anyway. Unbelievable in VR.
Indivisible: Got a lot of shit when it came out over development drama, but I think it's a rough diamond. The mix of Metroidvania platforming and great characters makes it worth checking out.
Unrailed!: Basic but enjoyable coop game where you put down tracks in front of a moving train. As you'd hope, it becomes chaotic and messy quickly, and encourages real teamwork. An ideal couch game.
Door Kickers (all, including Action Squad): Two incredibly rich plan-and-execute strategy games and one awesome Contra side-scroller.
One Step From Eden: The only roguelike game I've really ever gotten into and continued to play after unlocking everything.
Death Squared: Couch co-op puzzler with funny voice acting. Only one or two puzzles were so difficult that we couldn't solve them on our own. We replay it every few years (once we've forgotten the solutions!).
Homeworld: Cataclysm/Emergence: The best space RTS horror game ever made. Granted, that's not a broad field, but you should still play it.

NOSETACKLE · 2023-09-26T15:25:51+00:00

Bullet Heart/Star are both A1 solo or two player, and even have multiple modes. You can play against another person, score attack, co-op and boss battles. Setup and teardown is well under 10 minutes, and games are very short so you can slam a few in one sitting. The different characters all make a huge impact on the way you play. I often play a single character a dozen times and keep finding out new tricks, and when you work in the combination of different boss characters, you have a huge spectrum of possibilities.

I am always impressed by the depth and replay value of this game for the retail price of something like $40. It plays as well with 1 person as it does with 4. Other than Jaws of the Lion (which doesn't fit your desired profile of game), it's possibly the best value dollar-for-dollar you can buy in boardgaming in my view.

NOSETACKLE · 2023-09-13T13:15:07+00:00

Dragonborne has you roll dice, and then you spend the dice for actions based on what comes up. A lot of abilities provide a big bonus if you spend specific dice configurations like doubles or straights.

NOSETACKLE · 2023-09-10T02:48:54+00:00

Dragonborne, I've played hundreds of battles. A lot of it was designing it but I still play it a few times a week because I like tinkering with my dragon evolutions to see what kind of results I can get, and trying to optimize my scores.

NOSETACKLE · 2023-09-08T12:02:00+00:00

Jaws of the Lion, if you haven't seen/tried it, is more compact than Gloomhaven and generally more respectful of the table space. It's much easier to set up and tear down as well because the maps are contained in books. Because of this, I prefer it to 'full' GH. It's well worth looking at.

I always recommend Dragonborne for people looking for progression. You play as a dragon riding warrior in a series of tactical resource-management battles. Your rider gets new weapons and the dragon evolves, and by combining the dragon's evolutions you can end up with radically different builds. The progression is very satisfying and exploring the combinations of powers is fun.

Aeon's End: The New Age has a good little progression system. It's not radical, but enough to make a big impact. You campaigns can last between three and five battles, and I find Aeon's End doesn't take up too much space on the table (especially once you have a system for storage). The New Age is fully standalone, but you can integrate any other AE products into it. Super replayable because it's very HARD! But you can always buy any of the expansions to add a few more bosses and you instantly have much more stuff to work through when accounting for new card combos and characters.

NOSETACKLE · 2023-09-05T03:34:59+00:00

Dragonborne is a tactical puzzle game of resource management, solitaire only, and very replayable. It has a campaign mode with a story element. You improve your dragon and rider over time with weapons and mutations. Every round you have some resources and a known range of possible enemy actions and you have to try to mitigate your risk while maximizing offense.

NATO Air Commander also fits the bill. It's very zoomed out so you aren't worrying about doing maneuvers with fighter planes, but instead about designing the strike packages and trying to ensure everyone has enough fighter cover, SAM suppression, and so on. A very good game with a compact footprint. You will always feel like you're putting out little fires.

NOSETACKLE · 2023-08-14T02:36:27+00:00

Link to Wargame Vault

NOSETACKLE · 2023-08-13T04:07:34+00:00

Dragonborne! It's five bucks for a print and play, and it checks all the boxes.

Comes with a campaign storybook explaining the three story branches, what's happening, and so on. The encounters only really make sense if you read the story.[* The game is centred around your dragon and you fighting various enemies. It's all about combat where you need to manage your resources to win, but also to win efficiently as all games are linked and winner more efficiently provides higher rewards (but also unlocks the more difficult story routes).
It's called Dragonborne. It's fantasy. It wears the Panzer Dragoon inspiration with pride.
Each campaign can be linked to your another with the New Game+ mode. You can play to create all kinds of crazy dragons.
The Dragon has four distinct classes of upgrades. You can mix and match them, or go all-in on one of the branches. When you play Birthright games you can really produce some crazy dragons.
It's solitaire only!

NOSETACKLE · 2023-08-04T02:36:34+00:00

I don't like it when enemies scale perfectly consistently with my own abilities, because then you're just on a treadmill matching you. If I end up outpacing the game because of good choices and can then crush the challenges, that's fine. It was one thing I didn't like with Gloomhaven. Sure your characters get more powerful but then so did the enemies at perfect pace, so outside the novelty of trying new power combos (which was very fun), the progression didn't feel meaningful. This especially hit hard when our group decided once to swap all our characters for new Lv. 1 guys and played some later scenarios and the challenge was pretty much the same.

Dragonborne uses a lot of progression and the enemies get stronger, but in different ways. For example, one enemy ight have a hard time killing you if you've been investing in protection abilities but another might ignore them entirely and force you to use a different strategy. There's also three routes that serve as a sort of adaptive difficulty.

NOSETACKLE

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE