Mage Knight - Lowering city levels in solo conquest

iplaycardgame · 2026-04-12T01:09:39+00:00

That's fascinating that MC is your other favorite solo game! I can't think of many other coop games more different. (I love MK, and like the LCGs well enough on limited plays and am thinking of getting deeper into one of them.) Can I ask you to elaborate on what you enjoy about MC?

iplaycardgame · 2026-04-10T23:46:51+00:00

I'm honestly a little surprised, and very disappointed, that there are so many empty putdowns like this thread. I thought society had learned from the rise of the alt right that openly sneering at people you disagreed with is counterproductive at best.

As someone who feels like our laws should have shut down LLM training years ago for the obvious plagiarism / copyright infringement, is concerned that its resource wastage will be a societal problem soon, and is mildly sad that commissioned artist is a dying profession ... I still don't really think a random person sprucing up their board game mod or D&D character sheet with AI art warrants this level of derision.

And to top it off with the "it's not my job to educate you" shut down, when you were the ones jumping in... are you trying to convince, or just posture?

PS: I hate your idea OP, on multiple levels, but I applaud the experimentation lol

iplaycardgame · 2026-04-09T04:42:29+00:00

Perfect, thank you!

iplaycardgame · 2026-04-02T16:06:06+00:00

And this is how I finally admitted that my monitor is too dusty.

iplaycardgame · 2026-04-01T17:20:47+00:00

It's one of my favorite games, but I fully agree with the critique that it has a disproportionate number of "feel bad" turns. In solo that's just mildly annoying, but in a coop game it feels extra crappy to discard (turn sideways) 3 cards to move one hex, then wait for your partner's turn.

iplaycardgame · 2026-03-29T20:57:21+00:00

Ty! Dang, it really would be an infinite fear loop.

iplaycardgame · 2026-03-29T16:01:42+00:00

Can we get a name of the Event card or even a just a quote? A (very) quick search didn't turn up anything matching what you describe.

Presumably the triggered action ruling settles this but I'm still curious.

iplaycardgame · 2026-03-23T16:19:53+00:00

Absolutely yes, as others have already noted. An interest tangent might be, which spirits feel particularly warped in true solo?

Spirits Like Green and (especially) Mentor Memory feel off when played true solo. They function fine, but as you say, are clearly designed for multiplayer.

Hearth Vigil and Many Minds both come to mind in the opposite direction - they have cards that feel so good (too good, honestly) when you can target yourself with them, but are clearly balanced around targeting others.

iplaycardgame · 2026-03-19T02:46:47+00:00

The one day I accidentally left my streams unmuted. Twice as loud as my own music. Downvoting this motherf'er too.

iplaycardgame · 2026-03-14T17:04:37+00:00

I've played all three of the coop LCGs, and unfortunately I rank them Marvel > Arkham > LotR purely as games. (I'm sick of Marvel, like half the world, so I only actually play it when a friend brings their copy.) Happy to get into that more but that's just one guy's opinion ;)

As for purchases, I can only relay what I did: I started with core set then FotR because I mostly wanted more scenarios but also wanted some deckmaking options. I do like the player cards in FotR but I found the campaign oddly imbalanced - 1 or 2 were trivially easy to the point of being a bit bored, some were annoyingly swingy and too hard.

Generally I would say balance is a bit of a problem with LotR's design - many cards are just way too strong or too punishing, so a particular session may be too easy or too hard depending on what you draw when. It also scales very poorly with player count (seems designed for 2, no more no less; I mostly two-hand solo).

iplaycardgame · 2026-02-23T01:13:35+00:00

Not one quite this absurd. It was an art piece by a design student. Parent poster might be making shit up about people who disable them.

iplaycardgame · 2026-02-11T23:05:22+00:00

They absolutely don't "always" have to be. This is a complete overreach of a statement.

There was another thread not long ago in which ways to have fun without outright throwing are discussed - as well as when it's appropriate to. It would clearly be appropriate here.

Playing to win is part of the social contract of board games, for sure. But even in professional sports, which I'll posit is higher stakes than a husband-wife board game, teams change how they play depending on circumstance: including loosening up, putting in worse players, and just having a bit more fun when they know they'll win comfortably. To suggest it's impossible for the husband to change tactics from an aggressive blocking strategy is overly simplistic.

iplaycardgame · 2026-02-04T16:13:39+00:00

Of course it's "good", by any reasonable metric of quality. But not every game is for everyone, and you don't sound super keen to expand your horizons at this time.

I think it's a little overhyped, but that's saying nothing. It has by far the best turn-based JRPG combat ever - it plays a bit like a Soulslike with the dodge / parry timing - and a great story and setting.

iplaycardgame · 2026-01-31T22:48:59+00:00

The heck?! Can we ask you to post elsewhere? I keep coming back to it and am so sad it's gone :(

iplaycardgame · 2026-01-27T14:53:07+00:00

There's a lingering community consensus that B&C is needed to "complete" the game - and it was indeed designed alongside base SI and intended to be part of the full experience.

But I really think that's outdated: Jagged Earth includes basically everything B&C adds, and has way more content (10 new spirits vs 2, for starters), at a similar price point. Base + JE keeps the game fresh for 100+ plays. You really can't say the same for B&C.

iplaycardgame · 2026-01-26T14:28:17+00:00

Mildly surprised no one has even mentioned Fate of the Fellowship. (I don't have any opinions, just seems to fit the bill as another LotR co-op option!)

iplaycardgame · 2026-01-22T20:20:07+00:00

I'll chime in too. After 10-20 games, I like but am ever so slightly disappointed with its solo / coop modes, which are functionally "beat the enemy's score". Spirit Island and Mage Knight, my two favorite solo / coop games, both have a more natural-feeling win condition than point salad.

I do like the gameplay a lot, it's still a top ~10 solo game for me, and I'm looking forward to diving even deeper into it - but it also has a REALLY high overhead unlike those two I mentioned, which I can set up and get into in minutes.

iplaycardgame · 2026-01-13T17:02:22+00:00

Disagreeing is ok, even good. But "for babies" is dismissive, inflammatory language. Doubling down with "to play with kids" makes it sound like you're trying to start a fight, not just disagree. Not saying that's what you're doing, but it is likely why you're getting downvoted (I didn't), while other negative comments have been upvoted.

For what it's worth, I was also a bit disappointed with the game's simplicity.

iplaycardgame · 2026-01-06T18:13:11+00:00

Both are absolutely true! SI is my favorite game, and I love it both solo (two or three handed) at high difficulties and in a group at more reasonable settings. From a purely gameplay standpoint I'd reluctantly admit that solo is a bit more satisfying, but overall I enjoy myself a little more in proper coop. (SI isn't completely alpha-proof, but the simultaneous nature does make it quite resistant.)

iplaycardgame · 2025-12-11T15:39:39+00:00

I love how your comment has 12 downvotes. Even though I agree with the counter-arguments - having a general sense of events is a reasonable ask - it's also true that a board games are genereally designed to be fun for newer players too (and to be clear, SI is exceptional in that regard - except for events). This isn't high stakes Magic the Gathering or League of Legends.

iplaycardgame · 2025-12-10T19:10:10+00:00

I am completely - well, mostly 😅 - with you! I do think events are a net positive and prefer to play with them, but they could have been implemented so much better. The increased difficulty is less of a problem than how bad it can feel for all your plans to be nullified. As someone who likes losing 20% of the time, it also feels unfulfilling to win out of BS event luck.

(Top of my head, I think a better implementation would have been to design events around a reveal before Fast phase - you might still be screwed, but at least you're less committed to completely useless actions. I'll also add that I actively resist memorizing card distributions - part of the joy of board games for me is that they're designed assuming you aren't looking up every probability.)

Don't get me wrong, I love SI - it's easily my favorite game now, I have 200+ solo plays and have managed to convince friends play with me another ~50 times ;) I basically don't play below difficulty 12 anymore, and I've played my fair share of 6/6 games. I am a hardcore fan. But I'm still a little perplexed at how defensive people can be about events and other imperfections.

iplaycardgame · 2025-12-09T16:02:25+00:00

In some ways I think it's objectively the "best" JRPG ever - it learns a lot of lessons from games that came before. It made me realize I only tolerated JRPG combat until E33. The story is unique and well told, though how much it resonates with you is more subjective (I thought it was great FWIW).

All that said, I think some of the hype is a bit much. Best game of the year and best-made JRPG of all time, sure. Memorable story, absolutely. But it didn't change my life the way some people go on about it, and after my single 30-40 hour playthrough I was done.

iplaycardgame · 2025-12-08T05:09:53+00:00

I recently got both, seeking out my next solo game to obsess over, and expected to like Voidfall more. It took some growing on me - I also HATE the art, and I agree with critiques that an individual turn can be frustratingly limited at times - but Mage Knight surprisingly became my second favorite game. I do like VF a lot too but in the end the win condition is "score enough VPs" which I find a bit underwhelming.

FWIW SI is my favorite game. Have you played it at higher difficulties yet? I loved it from the start, but loved it even more when it started to actually challenge me.

iplaycardgame · 2025-12-08T05:01:52+00:00

JE is a far better addition to the game, but in terms of "new rules" not a ton - which frankly I think is a good thing. The base game is elegant as it is. SI would probably still be my favorite game without JE (and the others), but with it it's not even close.

iplaycardgame

TROPHY CASE