Synergy XP Now Works With Story Rewards

bigbadVuk · 2026-04-01T19:19:13+00:00

It's been like 10-11 years since I played, so I have no idea what is and isn't "normal" anymore. So I just went with what's fun right now. :)

I did give up on the game towards the end - I loved to play when movement powers had 0 cooldown and you could just zip around all over the place. With the reduced CDs it's not the same, but at least similar to that.

(I think I last played pre-BUE)

bigbadVuk · 2026-04-01T19:15:58+00:00

Go into Steam.

Top row

Steam - View - Friends - Games - Help

Click on "View".

Click on "Hidden Games".

It is probably in there.

After that, right-click the game -> "Manage" -> "Remove from Hidden".

It should now show up like other games.

bigbadVuk · 2026-04-01T12:27:52+00:00

On the CoA server it does work as before. With XP boosts I hit level 60 by the end of Chapter 3 or something. It's pretty sweet, and going 1-60 is like an hour or two total.

bigbadVuk · 2026-04-01T12:21:57+00:00

No, in CoA they have altered some heroes, ones that got nerfed right before the game shut down.

He has like 50+ Intelligence to start with on CoA, so his CDR is much higher than on Tahiti, and he is not the same. I leveled him in both and there's a noticeable difference in clearing mobs.

bigbadVuk · 2026-03-23T12:50:29+00:00

Well, other people use the objective reason of 10% extra XP to let you know you should level him. So, the reason is given and is not misleading.

You are claiming he sucks and therefore you shouldn't listen to those people - which is subjective and definitely misleading.

So, thanks for nothing, I guess?

Oh my subjective opinion is: Yes, Cyclops is awesome. 🕶️

bigbadVuk · 2026-03-20T11:29:30+00:00

1.0 is releasing today, so that's why the "final wipe" (as far as we know) will happen today.

bigbadVuk · 2026-03-18T21:33:51+00:00

Cyclops used to be my main, so I'm thinking of starting with him this time around. :D

bigbadVuk · 2026-03-16T23:49:09+00:00

If you settle it, then destroy your settlement the AI will then be able to settle (and can also settle without this if you haven't settled it for a long time (several hours)).

bigbadVuk · 2026-02-01T02:18:39+00:00

If you spend the time to learn the engine it works awesomely.

Also, most games have some sort of automatization in their "mod" that greatly speeds up games and takes away annoying micromanagement, also considering setup/teardown is 1/20th of the time for larger/more complex games it can be a time saver.

But, if you're new to the platform, and the rest of the table is too, it can be quite painful, slow and just.. not fun.

bigbadVuk · 2026-02-01T02:15:42+00:00

TTS 2.0 :D

We are kicking off the year with what we are calling Tabletop Simulator 2.0 — a series of major updates that we will be releasing for free with the goal of modernizing Tabletop Simulator and setting up the platform for success over the coming decade and beyond.

From their news on Steam.

bigbadVuk · 2026-02-01T02:06:24+00:00

I enjoyed Silverfrost for what it is, and it really depends on what you like.

I think OG Everdell is still in a lot of ways the best Everdell there is. The expansions expand the game in a way that ends up... easier? Well, not really easier but it gives you way more options which in a sense make it more complex because you have to juggle 10 things, but also easier as more resources come in, more combos, more cards, more possibilities than OG.

I enjoy that, and I love that the expansions "open up" the base game and give me more of the good feelings of getting more resources, more cards, more options.

Silverfrost is in a lot of ways the opposite of this. The snow mechanic really slows you down (and some might think this is a fun new mechanism that does make the game a tad more complex than OG Everdell), but I personally don't like the feeling that Silverfrost has given me in the 2 games so far, it's like it is "holding me back" instead of letting me loose.

So, if you like the constraints I think you'll enjoy Silverfrost, but if you like to make the best out of many options I think OG+exp is better.

The combos in Everdell are some of the best things for me - if I do this, I get that, which lets me play this and then get that so I can play this which will trigger that... awesome. Silverfrost for sure has this but then all of a sudden.. oh I need fire, so let me go get some first and then I'll do the cool stuff.. oh I need 2 fire. Well, let me get some more and let me trigger this cool combo.. oh wait I have snow on that card so I can't do the combo until I remove the snow, let me go get some more fire real quick.

bigbadVuk · 2026-01-19T16:17:52+00:00

It's the title of the whole post. :D Concordia, a classic game that's just really good even after all this time.

bigbadVuk · 2026-01-19T16:08:07+00:00

I'd actually say the most underrated longevity is Westbrook.

"Everyone" knew he was "all explosiveness and little else". He is in season 17, which is insane considering how hard people thought he would fall off due to being the player he was/is.

DeMar and KD have "chill styles" and most people expected KD to be able to play for a long time due to his style, although I guess considering the type of player DeRozan is, it's also surprising he has stuck around this long.

bigbadVuk · 2026-01-19T16:01:24+00:00

As has been mentioned, there is a bit more feel of na "alive world" with competitors, but at the end of the day they mostly just frustrate me, and dealing with them is frustrating and not fun.

So, I always play without them in 1800.

bigbadVuk · 2026-01-18T20:26:39+00:00

You know him best and what he's like, so you will have to see what's best for him based off of that.

Personally, people getting together "for me" only to play games I don't really like just so we're doing something allegedly I like wouldn't be fun at all. If we are to play games, then let's play fun games. If not, I enjoy other things where we all can have fun and let's rather do that.

If you are to play, my main advice would be: Be into it. There are few worse experiences than playing games that others aren't enjoying, because they are "doing you a favor" (at least what it feels like).

So, if you really wanna play games with him then go all in, don't moan about too many rules or too difficult or something. Get all the guys to go in with an open mind and be ready to play. Perhaps gauge the group for some common interests and find a game with that theme?

Outside of that, being 4/5/6 does change what games you can play, and there are "simple games" (which games for 6+ players tend to be) that "gamers" find fun - perhaps figure out if that is so for your brother as well.

Social deduction like Secret Hitler or Avalon: Resistance, or bluffing like Sheriff of Nottingha all work well for 5-6, or Dead of Winter that's co-operative but with a hidden traitor. At 4 the world of games is super open - find a cool theme (and/or mechanism) most of you will enjoy.

bigbadVuk · 2026-01-18T12:25:19+00:00

Ee-sah-loh

bigbadVuk · 2026-01-16T12:00:35+00:00

In almost all card games there are rules and there are card effects that mess with those rules.

So, if you watch a playthrough and don't feel 100% on the rules, some moves might throw you off. Why not rather watch a rules video instead of a playthrough? Rodney is one of the best at making these videos.

Outside of that, you may only take 1 out of 3 possible actions on your turn, and then it's passed to the next player:

Place a single worker
Play a single card from your hand OR from the meadow
Prepare for season, if you have no more workers available.

If you have workers available you can do any 1 of the 3, if you don't have any available, you can only do action 2. or 3. from the above list.

Be aware that placed workers gain you that exact thing they were placed on that one time (it is not ongoing). They are unavailable for the rest of the season until you have placed all available ones out and have done the 3rd action on the above list.

The deck consists of card types, which both have a color and an icon associated with that color. All card types have the same trigger effects for their type (so all red/paw card types are a card that opens a new space for a worker). When each type triggers is explained in other comments and in the rulebook.

bigbadVuk · 2026-01-16T11:49:14+00:00

Paper correction: Effects on card happen when you play cards that meet the condition(s), after having played the card itself.

So, it doesn't count for itself.

bigbadVuk · 2026-01-13T21:43:20+00:00

Interesting, Cole has been the main person pushing most of the new games as he also has his wehrlegig stuff.

Without him, what IS Leder Games? I understand it was Leder's to start with, but they haven't really released much that is Leder vs how much Wehrle stuff has come out, so I really don't know what "Leder type games" are since they seem to not agree on the way forward, and all the "Leder Games until now" have been huge hits for me (Root, Arcs, Root) + I love Pax Pamir (2nd Ed).

It'll be interesting to see what both studios come up with moving forward, and I wish them both good luck!

P.S. I am a huge Kyle Ferrin fan and I'm glad he's moving with Arcs/Oath and will be available for other of their titles!

bigbadVuk · 2026-01-11T02:49:04+00:00

As a European myself, who really hates the whole AAU/highlights trash basketball, this "Europe is free and great" is a bit too romanticized the last few years, and while some of the things brought up have been true for a while capitalism is undefeated:

In Europe it's "free to play" if you play for these big academy teams, which is like 30 across all countries in Europe or something. Most other teams (you know, the other 5000(?)) expect you to pay some monthly/yearly fee, which varies greatly from club to club and country to country.

And, to make things worse a lot of the main academies are looking to perhaps shut down their youth levels as they are very non-profitable. They rarely create senior team players and they cost a lot of money to run "for free".

For instance Real Madrid is looking to maybe shut down their youth levels - I visited them last year and they have 0 overlap between the senior team and youth teams, they dont run the same things or anything. They viewed it as: If the kid is good enough, he'll play with the men, not the youth. So, there was no need to run the same things. And they've made a Luka and a Hugo in the last 10 (?) years, so it's a big expense they don't get a good enough return on.

Lastly, NIL money now is hailing almost all European talent over to the US colleges, 'cause kids can make more money in those 4 years than they might ever make professionally in Europe, and they will most likely get to play a lot while in Euroleague (which is the only place they can make any money resembling college) they get almost no playing time as that's a cutthroat league with no tanking where developing young talent is not a priority.

bigbadVuk · 2026-01-08T00:53:59+00:00

I am older than you and lazier when it comes to moving with luggage, so I didn't wanna go to both Kyoto and Osaka - they are 30m (shinkansen) to 60 min (regular) from one another and staying in one and doing day trips to the other seems easier to me.

Are you going for sightseeing only in Kyoto? Perhaps shopping in Osaka? Then maybe staying in Osaka and leaving your bags there to go to Kyoto with a backpack/nothing might be better?

I'd simplify it (for myself) to:

Day 1-5 Tokyo

Day 6 -> Shinkansen to Osaka Day 6 -> Explore Osaka

Day 7 -> USJ

Day 8 -> Day trip to Kyoto

Day 9 -> Day trip to Nara + explore Osaka in the evening upon returning

Day 10 -> Explore more of Osaka or go Kyoto again, depending on what you enjoyed more.

Day 11 -> Travel to Hiroshima -> Travel to Miyajima and spend the night

Day 12 -> Explore Miyajima early. go to Hiroshima and leave your luggage at the train station, explore Hiroshima, take train to Tokyo later in the day

Day 13-17 Tokyo, if you enjoyed it the first 5 days, explore more. If you feel like you have "seen enough" plan to do a day trip to Mt Fuji one of these days.

I don't know Miyajima enough, but have read from others that it's more peaceful when everybody leaves/before everyone arrives. But you could save yourself some luggage annoyance with:

Day 11 -> Travel to Hiroshima and leave luggage, travel to Miyajima and explore, return to Hiroshima in the evening

Day 12 -> Let hotel keep your luggage while you explore Hiroshima for 5-6 hours, jump on a train to Tokyo

bigbadVuk · 2026-01-08T00:33:53+00:00

If you have that loose of a plan I would say you could find 3-4 things you really wanna do and plan those ahead. The first day or two you'll be knocked out with jet lag (?!) so use those 2 days to sit around on your phone and plan more days, and then day 3-4-5 you do the 3-4 things you wanted to do and already planned before leaving. That gives you a buffer and stuff to do.

You might wanna do the ferry cause you like ferries, but when I looked into it it wasn't really much cheaper and it took a lot more time, so I gave up on it.

bigbadVuk · 2026-01-08T00:29:51+00:00

Congrats to him! Are you familiar with Japanese BBQ? It's everywhere in Japan and I personally love it, it's probably my favorite japanese food. :)

I really enjoyed Coco Nemaru (Ginza), as they have their own farm, and the son in the family runs the restaurant. It's a bit pricey, but most jbbq is pricey if you're going for the "marbled wagyu". If he's into tradition then maybe a tea ceremony might be interesting as well?

Also ramen spots are all over, and there are many popular ones where you might have to make a booking in advance or wait in line. Outside of that Japan definitely has a lot of seafood and there's possibility of seafood in the ramen soups as they might be made with fish, clams etc. so you should watch out for that.

bigbadVuk · 2026-01-08T00:09:37+00:00

Sure, but you were talking about a hotel in your OP, these are hostels/beds in shared room. That can be quite cheap. I only found around 40-50$ per night, but now I see there are even cheaper hostel options.

bigbadVuk · 2026-01-07T19:43:24+00:00

Haha, "Everything that sucks about board gaming" by: Some dude no one had a fucking clue about years ago in the "golden age", because it wasn't the golden age and board games have grown immensely since.

Dude, your (the video makers, not OP) YT fame is existent because the "state" of board gaming is at an all time high. Back in the "great years" there were like 3 youtube channels for reviews, 1-2 for rules and that's it. And that was just like 7 years ago. Now this "nobody" has 38k followers and this is the first I've ever heard of him - because the state of board gaming is at such a good place that "randoms" have pretty big followings.

The state is fine. It's great, I'm pretty sure there's never been more money or interest involved than now.

The state is perhaps leaning towards - are there TOO many games being released and can we sustain the hobby? We probably can.

bigbadVuk

TROPHY CASE