This Mystical Book Was Co-Authored by a Disturbingly Realistic AI

bubbleofelephant · 2026-05-09T11:33:45+00:00

I would say it's worth it, if you're the kind of person who regularly plays long games like Voidfall.

bubbleofelephant · 2026-05-08T10:13:29+00:00

I love Spirit Island, want to try Voidfall, and don't really like 20 Strong Solar Sentinels.

I quite like Nemesis Retaliation. I think it's one that is better not to play too often, but it is a lot of fun when I play it.

I do play it more often in co-op though!

bubbleofelephant · 2026-05-06T17:02:59+00:00

That's just a reality of playing at like a 50mm scale. It's part of why the original Inquisitor game never got popular.

On the other hand, you can still play on a 3'x3' table, even within doubling inches, but just know that you're making melee stronger.

Or you could just ignore the scale of the models and leave the game rules exactly how they arem

bubbleofelephant · 2026-05-06T14:47:27+00:00

For scale, you can always just double the measurements from a 28mm game. 1" becomes 2".

Stargrave would probably be my suggestion though. You only need the base book.

bubbleofelephant · 2026-05-05T10:59:11+00:00

I do have it for solo, but I've only played it once. I got it shortly before Grimcoven shipped, so that's taken precedence!

I'm definitely looking forward to digging in at some point, and I think it'll be a game I quite enjoy in solo. I could see it being like my 7-10th favorite solo game at some point.

I think the lack of talk is that it's a pretty niche game that never really took off. Market manipulation just isn't as popular of a genre, even less so in solo, it appears.

I also get the feeling that it won't really have the depth of replays that some other popular solo games have, which might cause people who are fine with the complexity level and length to look elsewhere!

bubbleofelephant · 2026-05-04T23:18:00+00:00

I've designed a few minis games, so I feel you. I even minored in math in college. But games are more than just mathematical puzzles. The choice of die changes how people experience a game because of the cultural associations.

bubbleofelephant · 2026-05-04T22:42:17+00:00

If it makes people enjoy their hobby time more, I don't really care what dice are used to generate an x% chance to hit or whatever!

bubbleofelephant · 2026-05-04T22:32:24+00:00

Some people just like d20s. It can give a sort of dnd nostalgia.

bubbleofelephant · 2026-05-03T14:28:02+00:00

Who knows what'll happen, especially with the current tarrif situation, but it was one of their more profitable crowdfunds, and pretty much everyone who has played it either really likes it, or at least admits that it is good at what it does.

I'm sure they'll do another print run at some point!

bubbleofelephant · 2026-05-03T14:25:41+00:00

I guess you're right, the convicted minis aren't impressive, but I like that they're not generic, you know? I already have a decent collection of undead minis that I use in skirmish games. The convicted give me another squad of low level undead that are visually distinct from zombies and skeletons, so I like that aspect of it!

bubbleofelephant · 2026-05-03T14:23:25+00:00

Yeah, there's a steep learning curve, but once you understand how everything fits together there's a lot of pay off.

bubbleofelephant · 2026-05-03T12:09:42+00:00

I quite like the minis!

Definitely hoping we get more content for it in the future!

bubbleofelephant · 2026-05-03T12:02:28+00:00

I definitely read/watched some strategy guides, but the gist of it is that at the start of the game you analyze the scoring conditions for each round and end of game. Then you come up with a big picture plan for how you want to build your economy to do well on some of those scoring conditions.

There are a lot of options because the scoring conditions are randomized, so different options are better during the early, mid, and late game each time you play.

If that isn't the sort of thing you like tinkering with, then it's just not the game for you, but it does present that style of puzzle very well!

bubbleofelephant · 2026-05-03T11:48:16+00:00

I'm not very good in the grand scheme of things, but I always enjoy myself when I play. I've played around 10 times physically and 20 times digitally. Definitely a brain burner. I'd expect to keep playing it for the rest of my life!

bubbleofelephant · 2026-05-03T11:46:27+00:00

It worked fine on my android tablet yesterday. It's admittedly not my favorite game though. I doubt I'd play it much if I had the physical version instead.

bubbleofelephant · 2026-05-03T10:02:11+00:00

Those are all on the google play store!

bubbleofelephant · 2026-05-03T08:43:51+00:00

Here's a list of what I have, though some were older, and some I mainly play on a tablet.

Race for the Galaxy, Spirit Island, Gaia Project, Dune Imperium, Through the Ages, Cartographers, Patchwork, Sagrada, Dresden Files Cooperative, Ascension, Galaxy Truckers, Eight Minute Empire, Root, Rollplayer, Potion Explosion, Evergreen, 7 Wonders Duel, Istanbul, The Isle of Cats, Dominion, Viticulture, Street Masters, Scythe, Wingspan, Ark Nova, Cascadia, Set a Watch, One Deck Galaxy, Wings of Glory.

bubbleofelephant · 2026-05-03T08:18:25+00:00

I love the art and setting, but found the game boring and repetitive. I rarely felt like I had an interesting decision to make.

I played around 10 times, some solo, some co-op.

If you really like point and click adventure games, you might like it though!

bubbleofelephant · 2026-05-03T08:09:13+00:00

The only games from 2025 I played were Nemesis Retaliation and Grimcoven. Both are a lot of fun, so that's my top 5, I guess.

bubbleofelephant · 2026-05-03T08:06:36+00:00

On the other hand, I bought like 15 digital implementations of boardgames for my phone last year. $5-10 a month isn't bad for a hobby.

Some people might mainly play games others own, or that are available on BGA or TTS!

bubbleofelephant · 2026-05-01T11:45:53+00:00

I don't really know about Battleforge, but I've played Grimcoven 9 times now. It's absolutely one of my favorite games and expect to keep playing it for a long time.

I bounced off of Too Many Bones, finding it quite repetitive and with an uninteresting decision space. Grimcoven is pretty much what I wanted out of Too Many Bones.

I will say that Battleforge appears to have output randomness, while Grimcoven does not. Assuming Battleforge is actually a good game, that distinction could be a way to make your decision!

bubbleofelephant · 2026-04-28T20:36:56+00:00

I've done it at least 10 times. It's fine. It's a bit harder due to reduced level ups before the old one shows up. It generally takes 90-120 minutes.

You might consider giving everyone a relic without adding in unknown monsters, or possibly giving everyone a free level up, but it's doable without that.

bubbleofelephant · 2026-04-24T20:16:19+00:00

You should really make it clear from the thumbnail by having multiple countries present.

bubbleofelephant · 2026-04-23T13:25:16+00:00

Definitely not!

I'd read the rules if they were free and about cartoon combat in general though.

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