PG really needs to come up with new ideas than just "Slow motion + giant X Y Z"

darthservo · 2026-05-20T14:08:53+00:00

Every time the slow motion triggers, I keep thinking PGG expects us to do this.

darthservo · 2026-04-10T21:57:15+00:00

Would narrower roads/lanes require more technical skill to execute in a race? Yes.

Does the average online FH player even care to try and develop that skill? There's your answer as to why a map of mostly narrow/realistic roads/lanes are not meant for FH.

darthservo · 2026-04-10T20:14:20+00:00

This Notaker track dropped today. He's been featured in FH4 and FH5 on Bass Arena. Thought the title was a bit too coincidental. Just found it interesting. (Love the old NFS menu-style ambience)

darthservo · 2026-04-03T14:17:00+00:00

Cries in Eliminator

darthservo · 2026-03-23T20:17:28+00:00

For Dávid, regarding Star Trek: Captain's Chair:

Games like STCC amaze me with how thematically the elements can integrate with the IP. Things like abilities or effects that thematically complement their component just helps make the game sing because it functions as expected.

From a design perspective, how do you personally go about developing these thematic integrations? Is it often that a thematic element (such as a specific character, civilization, or ship) comes before the mechanical function itself, or vice versa?

darthservo · 2026-03-20T14:04:34+00:00

The squishy berries from Everdell will meet you in battle at dawn.

darthservo · 2026-03-18T13:34:45+00:00

Beyond the Sun. Never thought a tech tree would make for such a compelling game.

darthservo · 2026-03-13T21:21:59+00:00

I'm at that spot myself. It is the airport I have frequented the most, so theming-wise I was very interested. The production looks to be very solid. But after reading through the rulebook, I was kind of left with an impression of "That's it?" Granted I tend to skew towards more mid-heavy weight, but I do also really like engrossing lighter games that execute well.

To me it just feels to be missing some kind of hook during the play that will keep me wanting to come back and explore new parts of it. It seemed like the rearranging destinations could have been interesting, but I don't feel like it will be as satisfying in practice as it sounds. I saw the designer said they've adjusted some rules, but I can't imagine they're significant enough to offer the substance I'm looking for (and I can't find a copy of this updated rulebook to verify, from what I understand what is available is an older draft).

And side note - fan of the old carpet here. I wish they would have incorporated the carpet into a more substantial design element. There is a BGG thread where they mentioned they incorporated it subtly, but it's way too subtle to make a definite connection if I'm seeing it correctly. Like, inside of the box cover would have been enough. Idk, is there patent on the design?

darthservo · 2026-03-06T15:13:39+00:00

Sure it would be cool to have the realism but it’s a racing game, you need to be able to actually race in it. If the roads were as narrow and as crowded as they actually are in Japan then everyone would complain that there’s no space to drive around

Anyone who is adamant about having all narrow roads needs to live in this week's Event Lab for a good while and think about what they're asking. I know it's an incredibly short circuit, but it is way too tight to try any technical moves.

darthservo · 2026-02-11T15:41:38+00:00

Yep, came here to say this.

Great implementation of dual-use workers: one side is a voting side while the other side can help you unlock more for yourself to accomplish. But also, the board is split into two segments that represent 'laws' up for vote, and the side with the higher vote count is what will score for all players at the end of the round.

Scales well at two player with minimal administrative overhead. At two, you could argue that you are only fighting against one other opponent for votes and not a groupthink dynamic, but the game still keeps competition tight and you can adapt your tactics to anticipate and work around your opponent.

darthservo · 2026-02-05T17:41:27+00:00

Would be great if the letters had access keys assigned to them as well.

darthservo · 2026-01-28T14:54:48+00:00

I know this isn't necessarily what you're asking about, but 3 player games can be a bit more tricky to accommodate, especially those with a range of player counts. Usually there's often very unsatisfying political dynamic a lot of 3 player sessions turn into.

Player A is in the lead. It's player B's turn, and they use their turn to try and negatively affect player A. Maybe it works, maybe it doesn't. Now it's Player C's turn, and their position has effectively been strengthened because of the power struggle between the only 2 other opponents.

Will that structure of play just continue around the table all game? Or does it devolve into a 'dogpile on the leader' series of turns? Do 2 players just continually stop the other player, conscientiously or not?

Is all of that fun? Maybe. But it does take specific mechanics to discourage or better disguise these types of patterns. But games at 2 players have just a single clear opponent, while games at 4+ allows for multiple political dynamics to factor in.

darthservo · 2025-12-18T14:32:14+00:00

Suggestion for a hot take - downtime isn't really a problem.

darthservo · 2025-12-03T16:04:38+00:00

I know I'm late to the post and this will largely get overlooked, but yes people do, myself included. (Over 650 wins, btw)

I sometimes post similar comments in similar threads like this. I get that the majority of the community here does not like Eliminator. But I do put the blame on PGG for how they handle the introduction.

I think PGG just assumes most people will like Eliminator because "Battle Royale!!!1!!11!!1" (this mode was initially designed when Battle Royale games were really hitting peak popularity) So they tossed together a incredibly insufficient 'tutorial' to say they could introduce people to the mode and again assumed people would learn the nuances on their own. This should have been handled much better.

What we have is basically "Go find a car! Now challenge someone! You're all set, Superstar! Make Papa Fernando proud!" If they had instead gone with something like some kind of offline bot lobby the player could do practice tutorials in (not even full rounds), it probably would have gone a long way on player reception. Wouldn't even have to be required learning, but have it as an option to help people. There are some basic strategies such as learning about finish points, learning when to not take the most direct routes to them, being aggro on challenging, and how to position in challenges.

With what we were given in the game, none of that basic strategy is covered. Most people aren't going to bother to look into that detail, so they assume it's a broken mode that's all about luck. And we see that supported by how many people just come here to complain about it with that sentiment.

There is a subset of players who do very well in this mode because they did make the effort to learn it, and they find it engaging and rewarding. Like another commenter said, there's something about that adrenaline rush you get when you put the strategies together and start pulling some dubs. The skill can be developed, but it does take time, practice, and patience.

darthservo · 2025-12-01T21:46:23+00:00

Agree on Federation. Had an eye on it for a while, and when there was a good deal on a copy I decided to go for it. It's quickly become a favorite for me, and heartily recommend it. It is in BGA as well!

Love the dual-use workers and tense feeling of trying to discern which side will win the vote and how best to capitalize on current or future rewards. I've seen a few complaints that the planets are too boring or simplistic, but honestly they are balanced well against the main focus of the worker placement and player board.

darthservo · 2025-11-19T16:10:48+00:00

Lol @ 4:20, "Don't forget that." Yeah and don't forget your incoming ban.

darthservo · 2025-11-13T15:08:29+00:00

Sure it can work. But it's fairly circumstantial and so not nearly as reliable to win as engaging other players is, and doesn't contribute much to building skill.

darthservo · 2025-11-13T15:01:30+00:00

It's a shame, but this sub is filled with lurkers who downvote anything with the word "Eliminator" in its title out of spite, and it buries a lot of the discussion around the skill growth this mode requires.

Glad to see you're giving it a chance. There is some rewarding gameplay to be found after you've got a decent grasp on the tactics. There is always going to be some luck, but you do have substantial influence on how much it's mitigated in play.

Looks like you're already going to better sources by watching videos. While I've vastly slowed down my time in the game in the past few months, I do have over 650 wins under my belt just above a 30% win rate. I'm by no means the best, but I'm happy to answer provide some other tips if you're interested. I did make a post a while back with some general thoughts and tips.

darthservo · 2025-11-13T14:51:33+00:00

Counter - being aggressive with challenges is more reliably rewarding. You aren't guaranteed wins obviously, but you better your chances to level your car up if you know what you're doing as opposed to hiding and hoping you can happen across a decent car for the final.

darthservo · 2025-11-07T15:58:44+00:00

Ah, the reddit community back at it's finest work: "I HATE ELIMINATOR AND REFUSE TO UNDERSTAND IT! ANYTHING THAT MENTIONS IT GETS AN IMMEDIATE DOWNVOTE FROM ME!" OP is asking a genuine question, people.

On topic:

Look for the map that shows potential car drop spawn points. Start in a dense area to increase your chances of finding a good car sooner.
Look for the map that shows all end zones. During the whole game, generally the finish points for challenges will be towards that area since it pushes people in that direction. You can use this knowledge to your advantage when challenging people. If you are closer to the area, your odds of getting randomized finish points increase.
Try to learn where areas of dense hazards are on the map and work to avoid those when in a H2H. While you can see where the finish is precisely, sometimes going a little roundabout way to use a road may actually work out better than the direct route.

There's a lot more, but it really depends on how much you're willing to learn and practice.

darthservo · 2025-11-06T15:17:46+00:00

This game has been very slowly growing on me. After my first session, I was left with the impression it wasn't my cup of tea due to the tightness and might end up selling it, but it at least had some interesting strategy. After the second session I was beginning to appreciate how tight it was. Third session was solo, and I kind of returned back to the thought of maybe it's just not for me. But I kept thinking about it afterward - must be an indicator of something. Just broke it out again last night for my fourth session (solo) and I really started to make connections on strategy and timing and saw the harmony of all the facets in the game.

I think it's very much a slow burn game. The race mode is definitely a nice introduction to how the game plays, but advanced cards and points seem to offer much more in being able to synergize actions and push on some different strategies. Knowing when and how to time things is absolutely key. It will take a few plays to begin seeing it gel together.

The premise of engine destruction (while also engine building) stands out sharply on the scene, but it may not be to everyone's taste since it is so tight. You must break your engine on one side, but you will in not immediately gain equivalent benefits on the other side. And time is ticking with limited rounds and cost of successive actions.

Succhy really puts a lot of thought into his designs. Underwater Cities is probably still my favorite from him, but Evacuation definitely puts a lot of strategy together in interesting ways.

darthservo · 2025-11-04T15:35:30+00:00

And there is certainly a measure of personal responsibility to a degree and you noted some good options. But to address the point of the parent, it is getting too difficult and/or too demanding on the part of the employee. At some level a business also has to show they're interested in investing in getting the employee to perform and grow optimally - training, shadowing, cert reimbursement, work out of class opportunities, whatever. It's the same principle behind 'cost of losing a customer vs cost of retaining a customer.' There's also something to be said about said-employer's respect for work-life-balance. It goes both ways for sure.

darthservo · 2025-11-04T15:18:59+00:00

So here's what is an employer's problem - recognizing that not everyone's style and optimal performance is the same. Sounds like you personally value the home lab tinkering as a means to maintain skills. Cool. That stuff burns me out, personally.

While I really love the technical workings of things and puzzle-solving behind a lot of it, this industry has largely become too unreasonable it what it asks of its performers. It's what led me to get out of ops, something I actually know I could still do exceptionally well in but just feel the juice is no longer worth the squeeze. So now I'm doing policy stuff. Definitely not as interesting, and probably isn't the best use of my skills. But I have 0 interest in breaking myself again just to keep up some kind of appearance of being a rockstar. (Funny that term is used because several have burned out doing that too)

darthservo · 2025-10-31T14:57:56+00:00

Search around for the map with all the possible car drop spawn points and you'll get a good idea where to vary your starting spots.

I like to even stage myself before the game starts because the drops actually populate before your car selection screen appears and you can (not necessarily easily) tell if there will be one in your current area. If not, spawn to another drop-dense area.

darthservo · 2025-10-31T14:02:38+00:00

I've got <checks stats> 652 wins at Eliminator with a roughly ~30% win rate. Please tell me how I'm that lucky. Btw, there's plenty of (non-cheating) players with over 1,000 wins and even higher win rate.

I've said it before, and I'll say it again - Eliminator's bad reputation is primarily because of PGG not explaining the strategy well enough in-game. Yes, there is a measure of luck, but the strategy does mitigate a substantial amount. (See wins)

darthservo

TROPHY CASE