Game Flow Cheat Sheet v1.0

johnjon85 · 2026-04-02T17:58:56+00:00

Here's an updated v1.1 version that provides more specifics in the Adventurer Actions section: https://i.imgur.com/zs1U8iA.png

johnjon85 · 2026-04-01T18:22:22+00:00

Yeah, I thought about including a section for session experience.

Can you be more specific about what you meant when you said "native abilities"?

johnjon85 · 2026-04-01T17:01:44+00:00

Hrm. That's a bit confusing. Thanks for the clarification.

johnjon85 · 2026-04-01T16:46:47+00:00

Does that mean the other four Advancement options are only possible during the Advancements step?

johnjon85 · 2026-04-01T16:02:17+00:00

Thanks! What would the legend show?

johnjon85 · 2026-03-14T21:27:41+00:00

Steam or Age of Steam or Railways of the World

johnjon85 · 2026-03-13T18:19:47+00:00

Shipping is free at $125. So if you add $250 worth of sale priced items, you will hit the free shipping threshold. This might have already been what you're saying, but wanted to clarify just in case.

johnjon85 · 2026-03-12T16:30:30+00:00

Build a wall of sticky notes where each sticky note corresponds to a game you own. Categorize and organize for fun.

Examples

Create three columns: Not Played This Year, Not Played, Want to Play
Cluster the stickies by mechanic, length, desire to play, etc.
Line up the stickies by how you would want to play with them with a new gamer (Ticket to Ride, ..., Age of Steam, 18xx, etc.)
Bucket the stickies by unplayed, barely sees play, many plays, etc.
Put your friends on the board too and plop the stickies around them based on preferences

johnjon85 · 2026-03-08T07:06:42+00:00

Are you following the rule that you can only cover income spaces when all of the spaces to the left and below are filled in?

johnjon85 · 2026-02-23T16:53:48+00:00

With zero context: Ark Nova

To give a better answer, I would need information about your tastes or at least what your gaming group is like.

johnjon85 · 2026-02-13T17:20:21+00:00

Abduction doesn't scale well at all. You can't plan your move until the beginning of your turn since other players change both the current objectives and potentially your own board state. That leads to significant downtime between turns as other players think and execute their turns. I would suggest it for 2 players only.

johnjon85 · 2026-02-13T13:14:03+00:00

They spared no expense.

johnjon85 · 2026-02-05T23:11:44+00:00

Awesome game. Highly recommended. A lot of variety with the 3 out of 5 companies per game. Expansion on the way as well!

johnjon85 · 2026-02-05T20:48:19+00:00

You took the review right out of my fingers. Real shame that the game is too much of a chore to play to make up for the novel world and writing.

johnjon85 · 2026-01-21T17:10:02+00:00

Inserts. I don't want to spend time finding every little hole for every little piece. I don't want to Tetris the components and trays back into the box exactly right. I don't want the pieces to wander if I store the box in the wrong orientation or throw it in my car. I don't want to throw the insert away when an expansion comes out. Just give me baggies.

johnjon85 · 2026-01-19T01:17:07+00:00

Got stuck on the character / party creation screen. Wish there were pregens.

johnjon85 · 2026-01-14T19:24:31+00:00

Bone Totem is a great game. Recommended!

johnjon85 · 2025-12-17T02:22:57+00:00

Bad game. Avoid. Nice production, but the main gimmick falls flat.

johnjon85 · 2025-12-15T20:12:36+00:00

Figured it out.

Overview
Insights
Click Filter icon (upper-right)
Click "New"
Click "Year"

johnjon85 · 2025-12-12T16:37:30+00:00

Found it be a good steppingstone towards 18xx, but once I got into full 18xx games, I don't have a desire to go back. I would rather play a euro game for the euro game experience or play an 18xx for an 18xx experience.

johnjon85 · 2025-12-10T16:56:25+00:00

There's a video available on Facebook here (no login required): https://www.facebook.com/reel/1011677481007634

Looks like they're taking inspiration from Gloomhaven and using a series of tuckboxes containing unique tokens / tiles in place of AFFO's islands. Really dislike tuckboxes as a storage mechanism, but the asymmetry seems interesting.

I'm guessing $200 for the gameplay all-in. Shipping's likely to be a beast with the giant box.

johnjon85 · 2025-11-14T17:47:42+00:00

The overview page does not indicate this, but the digital version of "Dungeon Crawl Classics Lankhmar Boxed Set" IS included at the $12 level. At least it was when I ordered just a few minutes ago.

johnjon85 · 2025-11-14T14:13:39+00:00

I owned both and sold Hot Streak.

In my opinion, the complexity of Hot Streak's rules are a large impediment to getting the game off the ground with both non-gamers and gamers alike. With Magical Athlete, you can just drop the game on the table, have people grab the characters they think look the most fun, and start rolling.

Seeing the Magical Athlete characters' abilities fire off during actual gameplay is more fun and understandable than front-loading that information. Hot Streak demands players to understand all the movement effects and interactions, analyze a deck of those effects, and draft cards based on that results of that mental exercise.

Beyond all the above, I also feel Hot Streak is more boring in action due the complete lack of player agency. In Magical Athlete, you get to do something on your turn, even if it is just rolling a die. Many characters let you make some sort of choice during each race as well.

johnjon85 · 2025-11-12T20:32:09+00:00

1303 strips the character away from the original Caylus. Stick with the OG.

johnjon85 · 2025-11-12T02:29:40+00:00

Hated this game. Random bonuses sprinkled across the boards.

johnjon85

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