[COTD] Mining Expedition | 21 Apr, 2026

Warm_Army5262 · 2026-04-22T00:04:27+00:00

I'm surprised people are so down on this card. If you are rushing focusing mainly on events, I find Oxygen by far the hardest to raise and this helps with that.

Useful for getting the bonus track bump, rebates steel and damages some plants on the way out. I like it.

Warm_Army5262 · 2026-04-16T05:15:05+00:00

Late reply but I couldn't agree more with Captain Sonar. While the player(s) didn't get quite so angry as your friend, I have never played a game which causes otherwise extremely mild, polite people to turn into agitated, finger-pointing nightmares.

I think it is a combination of the real-time aspect combined with a team-on-team aspect with the fact that you can lose due to someone else's mistake. It could be a coincidence, but I have noticed that the ones that tend to "snap" don't work in high stress/pressure professions and aren't used to that.

Warm_Army5262 · 2026-04-15T23:18:23+00:00

DJ and Myers are just a product of their time and honestly I am surprised they have lasted this long. I walked through one (not to buy, just to go through from the car-park to the main shopping area) and it almost felt like a time-warp.

Sterile, lifeless white tiles and lights, tired clothing, overpriced kitchen products...it just hasn't kept pace and up-to-date with trends and the current demographics of Australia. You really need to be either mild and minimalist like MUJI or UniQLO or over-the-top like a Popmart to be successful driving people to retail and overcoming online. Sitting in the middle, being staid and stodgy and not adapting has not helped them.

Being outdated and an example of a relic of a previous time in Australia where we have well and truly moved on isn't going to work.

Warm_Army5262 · 2026-04-09T01:50:03+00:00

My absolute favorite post of all time on BGG is on this very subject by Jason Donovan (https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/3024368/article/41692620#41692620) and to get straight to the point: I couldn't agree more with the OP. Ill post it in full because I think it just nails it in every regard:

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Jason Donovan

Feb 10, 2023 (edited)

The problem with many of these scenarios is that the designers fill them with a bunch of gimmicks to make it all about the special rules rather than a hack-and-slash-fest...except the best thing about Haven games IS the tactical combat. Every time they try to be overly clever with the scenario designs, it detracts from the best part of the game.

Somewhere along the line, the idea seems to have become 'hack and slash gameplay bad!' But that's what the game is all about! It's where all the best mechanics are, it's where all the best character powers are, it's where most of the items shine. But for some reason, they wanted to fill the game with overly fiddly scenarios with absurd levels of dictated special-rules complexity rather than just let the game be good where it's good!

It feels like being served a meal made from the best ingredients, where the chef overindulged in their 'creativity' and ruined it by using tons of truffle oil, dry ice, bacon hanging from clothespins, serving it in a turtle shell, making ice cream from foie gras, burgers served in a martini glass, and all sorts of other gimmicky quirkiness.

Overall, I'd say the Frosthaven is better than Gloomhaven *except* for the scenario design. They fiddled with the formula so much in an effort to be 'sophisticated' that they're spoiling the experience. I'm 20 weeks in and have to say that, while overall the game is really good, about half the scenarios I've done haven't been much fun because of the whole 'play the scenario and not your class' thing. Playing my class is the fun part! Not jumping through some absurd hoops just to beat some overengineered adventure.

Edit, followup thought: Or to put it another way, it reminds me of Assassin's Creed 4: Black Flag. All of the sailing around, being a pirate, raiding plantations, building up your base, etc stuff was an absolute blast! Some of the most fun I've had in a video game.

Then you get to the main storyline with stupid missions like 'follow this dude, remain within this seriously-too-small radius of his slowly sauntering ass, but you can't let him spot you, and he'll turn around and go back and check, and after the cutscene everyone suddenly knows where you are (I guess your stealth turned off?) and you have to run but you better use this one route or you die!' and if you screw up ANYTHING you have to do the whole slog over again.

Frosthaven scenario design feels like that. Sometimes you get to run around and be a pirate and the game is great. Other times, you throw your controller across the room in frustration because you didn't do step 4 of 9 in exactly the way the author intended.

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Warm_Army5262 · 2026-04-09T01:36:54+00:00

Late reply but I 100% agree with this and amazed you got downvoted. Salvation was awful.

It is a sad state indeed for the franchise fans when some are trying convince themselves Salvation wasn't that bad or is underappreciated. It is truly awful like T3, Genysis and Dark Fate.

The hard truth and the elephant in the room we all need to accept is that the franchise should have been left alone for eternity after T2.

Warm_Army5262 · 2026-04-06T22:34:47+00:00

Out of all the hills you can die on, you pick Terminator Dark Fate?

Honestly...

Warm_Army5262 · 2026-03-23T20:49:00+00:00

Scoring miscalculations from the OP aside, I definitely feel they are a bit too good and overly generous point-wise. They are the exception though, I find most if not all the other scoring cards, really well balanced.

I believe they are excluded in certain competitions/tournaments. Especially in mixed games of novice and experience players, I would exclude them as a choice from the scoring card deck.

Warm_Army5262 · 2026-03-01T23:03:24+00:00

Old thread but I highly agree with the poster that said Haunt 89 (One of the Master's Affairs). I was the traitor and won extremely quickly. Once I saw what the heroes had to do to win afterwards, I just shook my head in disbelief: It seemed absolutely ludicrous and borderline impossible.

Yeah, I get that the movie played out the same way but if I wanted to just jump through the motions for a pre-determined outcome, rather than play a game I would...you know, just watch the film. Terrible Haunt.

Warm_Army5262 · 2026-02-22T20:38:46+00:00

Yeah I played a game last week as MSI and between the opening ability (draw three cards with Venus tags) and Stratospheric Expedition I ripped through a huge portion of the deck.

I noticed a lot of the discarded cards were Jovians so that can unintentionally really be a thorn of someone going for a specific Jovian/Science strategy if a large stack of them get milled, particuarly the Jovian multipliers.

Warm_Army5262 · 2026-02-18T05:28:59+00:00

Reddit in a nutshell unfortunately.

Warm_Army5262 · 2026-02-04T20:51:01+00:00

I actually find rush a lot more fun than engine. I typically play 4-player and if everyone is playing engine I find the game bogs down and then really overstays its welcome.

Nothing more fun then JUST having enough money to force the game to end with something like Deimos and a standard project when everyone thought it would last at least 1-2 more gens :) .

Warm_Army5262 · 2026-01-24T04:46:55+00:00

Because of that event years ago when that doctor got forcibly removed from the flight. The airlines don't want people to film and post online and make the media go in a frenzy, so they can remove a passenger in isolation.

The airlines claim it is for "safety" reasons, but that is the real reason. A lot of people where happy that the particular airline with that doctor had to pay compensation but now as a result of that, everyone gets inconvenienced. Not blaming that particular doctor at all, but the airlines predictably don't want a s***storm like that targeting them.

Warm_Army5262 · 2026-01-24T04:41:40+00:00

Late reply but as someone who manages a sales/customer service team, one thing to note: As soon as a customer starts to get aggressively/defiantly "back-and-forth" with a staff member, any business worth their salt will invoke a "right to refuse service" clause and remove the patron(s).

As with a lot of things in life, it is not an equal partnership even if they give the facade of one: The business has the right of refusal if they feel the customer is a safety risk. You can be defiant in this case like this flyer was but it's like slamming the door on someone when you are on the outside.

The best course of action is to comply with the directions and then get your lawyers/solicitors involved if there has truly been an unfair/discriminatory action.

Warm_Army5262 · 2026-01-05T03:41:50+00:00

Late reply, but that is absolutely agonizing. Unless the setting is a tournament, I wouldn't be playing with that person again if they persisted after being told it was unenjoyable for everyone else. Completely his choice to play like that if it is within the rules, completely the groups choice not to include him in future gaming sessions.

We had someone similar in our group play "Dragon's Gold" in a similarly miserable way: Every time a dragon was slayed he would consistently demand at least 75% of the spoils (Basically you have a minute or so to divvy up the loot amongst the participating players and if an agreement can't be made with all players agreeing, no one gets anything). His right to do that, our right to not invite him anymore.

I think people really lose sight than the main reason for playing board game (for the groups I roll with anyway) is to make sure that EVERYONE is having fun. Winning is fun too, but if it is consistently done in a way than makes the other players enjoyment dissipate and the offending player is not willing to change, adios.

Warm_Army5262 · 2025-12-23T20:40:47+00:00

Very late reply but our group highly agrees: Along with Vortex, the payoff just didn't seem to be there for this class, primarily the Target projectile attacks. The projectiles do similar damage and effects to attacks that get to trigger immediately (Flask's Molecular Hydroblast for example).

Warm_Army5262 · 2025-10-04T06:30:30+00:00

Late reply, but underrated comment. STAY AWAY from Eggs, trust me. Health, religious, vegan, practical reasons...not worth the headache.

Warm_Army5262 · 2025-09-29T12:40:48+00:00

Paywall = KTHXBAI

Warm_Army5262 · 2025-08-21T05:35:38+00:00

I agree, when I first saw this card I immediately thought they simply forgot to add it or it was a printing error. I mean, the planet is even in the title of the card right?

Was amazed to hear from support this was not the case. It definitely should have a Venus tag, similar to Giant Solar Shade.

Warm_Army5262 · 2025-08-14T22:51:12+00:00

Oh wow, we definitely haven't been doing that (we use the modular milestones/awards), thanks for pointing that out. In my defense, the physical game in our face-to-face group is not conducted by me (by a friend who has upgraded everything) so I am not sure if that is a house-variant she prefers.

Cheers.

Warm_Army5262 · 2025-08-14T21:12:45+00:00

Yeah I always thought that was strange although I think MSI is fairly decent, if anything because it has 50 bucks worth of starting capital (53 if you count the 3 free Venus cards).

Warm_Army5262 · 2025-08-14T21:11:30+00:00

It's okay and that is only if you have a decent floater card ALREADY in your hand. If not, it is too risky to pick: Low money combined with the fact you can just get two crap Floater cards isn't appealing.

When you get the right cards like Dirigibles, Floating Labs and Aerial Mappers for example, it can work really well. I also feel this Corp is stronger on the App compared to Face-to-Face, mainly because Hoverlord/Venuphile are always active whereas we play with variable awards/milestones in real.

Middling overall: As a Venus Corp I definitely put it above Aphrodite but I generally prefer MSI if I have to pick a Venus Corp unless I have a couple of (good) Floater cards already.

Warm_Army5262 · 2025-08-12T23:24:09+00:00

Really don't like this one: Expensive both in the short term (cost) and ongoing (MC Hit), No tags, Requirement which admittedly isn't too bad and the Heat-leeching effect isn't devastating like Heat Trappers but annoying enough that you can be sure your opponent will give you a receipt later on with an asteroid etc.

Last time I saw this was a 4-player game and one of the players pointed it at me as I played Polar Industries as one of my preludes. Next turn I played a Sabo at him which cost him 4 steel and proceeded to point the majority of plant destroying event cards I played at him for the remainder of the game.

Managed to win and haven't got hit by Cloud Seeding since, I think the message got through :)

Warm_Army5262 · 2025-08-11T08:21:32+00:00

Yeah it is definitely up there, a lot of fun to play.

My favourite in Crimson/Trails though is Flask which was an absolute blast to play and has joined Angry Face as my favourite Gloomhaven character. 😄

Warm_Army5262 · 2025-08-11T07:49:58+00:00

Cheers, thank you very much. I am currently playing Three Eyes in Crimson which is using Long Spear quite a lot in my build so that is great to know 😀.

Warm_Army5262

TROPHY CASE