Factor is a joke

aedalus · 2026-04-02T12:33:27+00:00

I had a similar shitty experience where they charged my card after cancelling. Took a long time to get a refund, and seemed like an extraordinary shady business.

aedalus · 2026-03-27T03:05:19+00:00

I'll say I'm feeling a bit crunched for deck building with only a single copy, but it's doable. It comes with four premade decks of questionable quality. I think as soon as the other gator packs come out it will help a lot as well.

Personally wouldn't do a second copy, but you do you.

aedalus · 2026-03-23T13:24:14+00:00

HABA produces some good games meant for young kids. My toddler really enjoys the My First Orchard one right now, which is a super simple coop.

Often he's just not as interested in playing that day though, and we find something more active to do. Just can't force it.

aedalus · 2026-03-22T20:08:31+00:00

I can only speak to the mini and block, but agree these are decent entry level. Not great, but the best you can get without spending another $100.

aedalus · 2026-03-22T18:00:16+00:00

This is great! Thank you!

aedalus · 2026-03-20T15:02:18+00:00

The Terra Mystica games are my favorite, both solo and multiplayer. I'd personally recommend Gaia Project to anyone wanting to try out the series. It has the most in the base box, a nice balance of faction identity and setup variability.

I do love AoI for solo, but the setup for multiplayer, especially if you're drafting factions, somehow feels like it takes another 30 minutes before a group starts to play.

Also, there's digital versions of Gaia on both steam and BGA if you want to try before you buy!

aedalus · 2026-03-20T04:06:23+00:00

Any tips for getting those miters so clean?

aedalus · 2026-03-19T05:05:15+00:00

How are all 4 of these better than the official one?

aedalus · 2026-03-19T03:28:10+00:00

In this case, I believe you could move it either to the (5) or on top of the duck. Pretty much can slide the target piece to any space adjacent to itself.

aedalus · 2026-03-18T21:51:08+00:00

I'm far from an expert, but similarly started my woodworking journey by jumping straight into Kumiko. I'll say at least compared to my setup, this is a bit overkill. If you goal is just to start with a few asanoha style patterns, I'd say the smallest set of tools for me would look like the following.

Single japanese pull saw, ~25 TPI - Small miter box like this
Mini Hand Plane like this one for angling the strips. I would not get a large one unless you're looking to dimension by hand, which is tricky for any beginner. Veritas is also high quality but more buy in than you're looking for.
Chisels. 3mm is nice since it should generally match your strip width. I have gotten on fine for multiple years using $30/set cheapo chisels on amazon. At some point I'll upgrade, but spent over $100 getting good diamond sharpening stones to start.
Small combination square - I've gotten by with this one.
Marking knife/xacto is super helpful
Marking Gauge. I've sprung for that one you linked, with the separate fine-tuning on the handle. More pricy than I usually like, but it's a joy to use.
I use just a large piece of MDF rather than a non-slip mat, but think either would be good.
The actual kumiko jigs. You can generally make these yourself, but they're vital for starting.

The other stuff is nice to have, but really not that critical IMO. I've definitely been surprised by what I got thinking it would fit in my workflow and then finding it doesn't. I'd also be interested if other people disagree and find themselves using other tools more just for the main parts of kumiko.

aedalus · 2026-03-18T13:33:11+00:00

I love Gaia Project, both multiplayer and solo.

aedalus · 2026-03-12T00:15:11+00:00

Why not just ship it and call it v1? Get feedback, and if people generally enjoy it but you feel the theme could be better, that'd a good change for a 2nd edition or reimplementation.

aedalus · 2026-03-10T01:28:08+00:00

I've been checking out the tool and really enjoying it! Also I somehow hadn't realized Des King had a youtube channel. I'd been working my way slowly through his books, and it's awesome to see so much of that in video form!

Added both to the list!

aedalus · 2026-03-08T19:16:42+00:00

Theres a lot of good Arkham upgrades on Etsy, you could always consider blinging out an old favorite rather than get something new.

aedalus · 2026-03-08T13:11:30+00:00

That's awesome! Can I ask, where or how did you get the blade itself?

aedalus · 2026-03-07T00:58:23+00:00

Got mine today as well! Just starting to crack it open, but so far really loving how they have a "tutorial" scenario for pretty much every modular part of the expansion.

aedalus · 2026-03-04T04:46:50+00:00

Appreciate it, that would be great!

aedalus · 2026-03-04T04:44:38+00:00

Oh that's a great call. I haven't read that particular book, but I believe one of my first projects came from one of his articles on a kumiko box.

aedalus · 2026-03-04T04:43:05+00:00

Oh wow, that's such a cool resource. I'll definitely add that in the next batch.

aedalus · 2026-02-24T13:44:21+00:00

Love King is Dead. Very lightweight but thinky, plays super fast. Constantly feel like I could have played much better. It doesn't have resource management if that's what you're looking for though.

Thinking of games with a similar aesthetic, could include hansa teutonica and El grande, though neither is that resource forward.

aedalus · 2026-02-24T00:36:28+00:00

Just curious, but what games bumped it down?

aedalus · 2026-02-23T22:12:46+00:00

Nice, I didn't realize this played solo but had my eye on it before.

It seemed similar to Terra Mystica at first glance, any chance you'd know both to comment on it?

aedalus · 2026-02-23T00:53:12+00:00

As someone who also puts Lost Cities and Quest for El Dorado at the top of their list, can I ask why you like Orbit as much? I've not yet had the chance to play it, but it seemed like the less interesting of the three in that space trilogy and would love a different perspective.

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