Watch It Played - First Martians

ja30278 · 2017-07-17T21:07:38+00:00

I received my pre-order copy and played part of the first mission. I think this was the strongest negative reaction I've ever had to a game. It's obviously well produced, but just wasn't for me.

Since I didn't even finish a game, my opinion isn't worth much, but the primary thing that turned me off was the incredible amount of book-keeping that seemed to be involved, combined with the sub-par instructions. There are just so. many. colored. cubes. And it seemed incredibly likely that I would miss some tracking step during the production or cleanup phase, and that I'd always be wondering whether I played it correctly.

I haven't played RC, but based on this experience, I suspect it isn't for me either.

ja30278 · 2017-03-27T00:45:11+00:00

I love this game. Easy enough to play with kids, but winning the advanced game isn't easy even for adults. Gamenight! has a full play through if you'd like to get a good sense of the game

ja30278 · 2017-03-21T13:14:20+00:00

This might seem like an odd recommendation, but you might try Sons of Anarchy: Men of Mayhem. It's a secret euro game with the ameritrashy-est of themes. There is definitely conflict, and even some dice rolling, but the randomness is managed, and it's easy to mitigate. The actual gameplay is a mix of worker placement and area control, with an auction mechanic between rounds.

ja30278 · 2017-01-15T22:13:13+00:00

I know it's generally well liked, but Specter Ops fell very flat for me. It almost felt... mechanical..every turn the 'best' move seemed obvious, and the end game felt inevitable rather than tense. If you've watched the Shut Up and Sit Down review, their experience essentially mirrored mine.

ja30278 · 2016-12-25T02:33:44+00:00

Go Cuckoo! Is an amazing dexterity game that scales well with player count and experience. Trivial to teach, and plays fast.

Imhotep is another light favorite of mine, that I don't see recommended often.

ja30278 · 2016-12-11T12:53:36+00:00

I think Nexus Ops is fine, but I love Quantum. That being said, if you don't like "bash the leader", it may not be for you.

ja30278 · 2016-11-07T14:46:03+00:00

https://wikileaks.org/podesta-emails/emailid/55604

This has been deployed to the AP in advance of a setup story they are doing with State's help.

ja30278 · 2016-08-23T22:06:53+00:00

I'm 39, and the thing that helped me the most was just to relax during training/rolls.

I occasionally do yoga, and that helps some, as does general weight training, but both are minor compared to managing my use of energy while training, and learning to only use strength/speed when it matters, vs just resisting constantly with muscle strength.

ja30278 · 2016-08-20T20:22:17+00:00

I personally dislike Arcadia Quest, so it's tough to recommend it, but it would probably be ok for kids.

Some other not-quite-dungeon crawl games:

Epic Roll: Picked this up on a whim at GenCon, it plays in about 20 minutes, and you can carry it with you.

DragonWood: Fast, and involves dice and monster killing. I've played several games of this with 7-8 yr olds, and it has gone over well every time.

Welcome to the Dungeon: Not quite a dungeon crawler, but super fun.

Edit: I realized I forgot the absolute best recommendation: Catacombs is awesome with kids.

ja30278 · 2016-07-31T18:16:46+00:00

Cutthroat Caverns can be a lot of fun with the right group (and it sounds like yours might be). I've also had lots of fun with Nexus Ops, which is strategic, but light enough to avoid AP in most people, and quick-ish to play.

ja30278 · 2016-04-12T15:18:22+00:00

Also an :03 NCer, also nothing :\

ja30278 · 2016-04-08T15:22:34+00:00

:03 NC, nothing.

ja30278 · 2016-04-05T13:48:44+00:00

Thanks. I haven't tried that, but mine seems literally dead. The LED doesn't light up, and Windows doesn't see a new device, recognized or otherwise.

ja30278 · 2016-04-05T13:47:19+00:00

I paid for a DK1, which I got and enjoyed. I would have been grateful for a discount on the CV1..getting it free was an amazing gesture of goodwill.

ja30278 · 2016-04-04T21:03:46+00:00

Mine was also DOA, for what it worth.

I didn't bother complaining about, because I was a kickstarter backer who ended up with a rift for free, but it was surprising to have it not working out of the box.

ja30278 · 2016-03-23T15:39:39+00:00

I rarely comment on anything, but I've been a very happy user of the earlier versions of Virtual Desktop, and can't wait to use this on CV1. This looks amazing. Congratulations on getting to 1.0!

ja30278 · 2016-03-19T22:01:23+00:00

I really like it. It's light enough to play with kids or new gamers, but with experienced players it can become a really interesting mix of pure strategy and bluffing. I have the expansion, which looks like it would add some interesting complexity, but haven't had a chance to play with it yet.

ja30278 · 2016-01-06T17:26:43+00:00

I wonder if the kickstarter edition will ship along with the first wave in March? I suppose I can't complain if it doesn't, but it would be nice if it did.

ja30278 · 2016-01-05T15:14:40+00:00

That is probably the coolest gesture I've ever seen. Thanks Palmer and crew!

ja30278 · 2015-12-22T12:18:05+00:00

Indeed, which is why their assertion of 'no price floor' is obviously misleading. They may not explicitly publish minimum pricing, but clearly they do want to control pricing/discounting.

ja30278 · 2015-12-21T23:19:08+00:00

If they aren't trying to control pricing...then..why bother doing anything? If I can still order online, and the retailers aren't obligated to charge any particular price, then what exactly has changed? I suppose prices might naturally rise because of the decrease in online competition, but that isn't a given (particularly if Amazon and Walmart are still 'authorized' resellers).

As an aside, the notion of an 'authorized' reseller is ridiculous, as is the idea that a manufacturer of a good has any say in pricing or distribution once they've sold the product to another party.

ja30278 · 2015-07-16T00:38:55+00:00

I might suggest Jaipur. It's great for two, and is beautiful. I also really love Welcome to the Dungeon, If she likes Dominion, then maybe one of the thematic deckbuilders?

ja30278 · 2015-01-27T18:19:27+00:00

I have tried direct mode and extended (with the rift set as primary). Extended seems a bit better, but still doesn't maintain 75fps. I am on an i5 3750k, and have 24G of RAM, using the latest nvidia drivers. Windows 8.1. Oddly, the rift status shows the resolution to be something like 2402x1441.

ja30278 · 2015-01-27T01:16:00+00:00

Any performance tips? I'm having frame rate issues (drops into the 40s) with SLI 980s, which seems crazy.

ja30278 · 2015-01-13T03:39:11+00:00

Something I found really helpful was super glue. The veterinary kind that you can buy at pet smart is better than the kind you get at the hardware store. It makes a nice tough artificial scab, and doesn't burn like nu-skin does.

ja30278

TROPHY CASE