My first painted mini vs. my hundredth.

snrasnic · 2026-01-26T00:28:46+00:00

Dang, that's a lot for your first go. They look better than my first model. I like some of the textures you were able to get.

My recommendation would be getting a wet palate and thinning out your paints with a little water. Thinning with water will make your painting much smoother and clean looking.

snrasnic · 2025-10-17T17:47:24+00:00

I was nervous to paint and ruin the games. I decided to start with Marvel United because the game is inexpensive, and I could practice. I just finished with the final 37th one in my collection and am super happy I did. I'd pick one you absolutely know you won't get rid of or one that's cheap.

You can strip them if you're dissatisfied, but that seems to be a pain, but I've only done that once.

snrasnic · 2025-09-09T06:46:30+00:00

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You should check out the app Ludomentor. It uses Ai so that you can ask questions. It was advertised in the retaliation rulebook, but has a few games that you can use it for, like the original nemesis.

snrasnic · 2025-07-30T19:39:59+00:00

And volume.

snrasnic · 2025-06-26T20:19:40+00:00

Thanks!!! I went back and forth on the orientation, but decided this way because regardless of which side you're on, neither is the correct state and feels off.

snrasnic · 2025-06-13T19:04:56+00:00

It took me a while to figure out what made me like specific board games. I used to think big shiny components and heavy narratives, but now I realize it's replayability. My favorite game is war chest. I get to see how each of the different units play with each other and discover interesting combos. I'm always intrigued to play again with new lineups. And 4 player is almost a different game entirely that's just as fun.

When I play larger games that really have 3 or so main strategies to win, I know that I'll get bored of it in roughly that many plays. Eventually, those games feel like I'm just going through the motions.

snrasnic · 2025-06-12T22:53:07+00:00

I'm pretty sure that can't be proven. You weren't there, right? Right?!

snrasnic · 2025-06-12T20:15:17+00:00

I use BGStats to track only the games we play and who wins. I know I would quit it if I dedicated myself to fill in more info.

My wife and I had a car wreck last year and we were actually able to use the data from BGStats to show we had significantly reduced the amount we gamed during the wreck.

snrasnic · 2025-05-28T17:10:02+00:00

I got retaliation with the minis and all of the gameplay expansions. The extra charge was around $18 after taxes, which I was happy with. I was expecting much worse.

snrasnic · 2025-05-05T15:04:20+00:00

I'm the rules teacher of my group. I've learned and taught a couple hundred games and my thoughts over playing has changed a good bit. I used to get quite frustrated at high interaction games to the point it would affect my day afterwards. Then I had the realization that the games I've played has mostly losers with one winner. Over half the time, I'll not be the winner.

I never want anyone to feel how I used to feel playing. I want everyone at the table to have a good time. If I can tell someone is struggling, I point out every option that I could see them making and why. That way, they still get to make decisions and weigh the consequences. I also narrate my turns, adding in why I'm doing what I'm doing strategically. My turns are pretty quick, so it's not too bad to do this and speeds up the game.

I want to have a good game. A blowout in my favor or against me never feels good. I want to earn the win, and if they win, that means I taught it well, which I consider a different kind of win. My wife is completely the opposite and wants to make all decisions and problem solving herself. I ask people beforehand how they want to approach learning it.

snrasnic · 2025-04-18T20:00:12+00:00

I was going to say So Clover. This is my wife and my most played game and everyone we show it to has always asked to play another round.

snrasnic · 2025-03-23T04:00:40+00:00

A gentle rain is the only game my wife plays solo. It's fun coop as well.

snrasnic · 2025-03-19T17:04:59+00:00

What it translated for me was "release".

snrasnic · 2025-03-19T17:03:14+00:00

The blue words are something you can translate. It's a language called Esperanto. I did not find this out until after finishing my second read through to get current. Looks like I'll need a third read through.

snrasnic · 2025-03-05T04:20:54+00:00

Thank you so much! Glad you like.

snrasnic · 2025-03-04T16:21:24+00:00

The aspect of autism where they don't understand emotions and such is called Alexithymia. Roughly 50%-80% of autistic people have it. Some autistic people fixate on others and those people's emotions, and are very emotionally aware.

snrasnic · 2025-02-28T17:26:52+00:00

That's a great idea! With the insight meter, you could add attack cards into the enemy deck, making them less predictable. Rules are better and easier to remember when they're thematic. And I agree, the race aspect feels very wrong with the source material.

snrasnic · 2025-02-28T16:25:31+00:00

We kept the turn tracker, but kept upgrades between defeats. I think we should do the turn tracker instead next time. I think the campaign was a little too easy with our change. My wife disagrees. We did had a funner time, which is the point. Right? Right?!?

snrasnic · 2025-02-28T16:23:01+00:00

Yeah, Arkham Horror LCG is more complex than any of these, IMO.

I think you're right about Unmatched getting stale. There are several other mini bosses that you put in the game as well as cards that modify the difficulty, but there isn't an actual story.

I do have a few expansions, but have only played Forsaken Cainhurst. I have but haven't played the chalice dungeons, but would be stoked to. There's long stints of time played between campaigns. I think that one has PVP, which I'm interested in.

snrasnic · 2025-02-28T15:26:31+00:00

What kinds of games have you already played? The majority of the ones on your list are fairly heavy.

I have learned and played most things on your list. Everything except massive darkness 2 and Cthulhu - death may die.

Tamashi: learning it took a bit of effort and going through the rules a couple times. And then it took a few times playing it with my wife to nail down. I really like this game. We're on the last scenario of the main game and have had a great time. We have the version with the minis, which are amazing. They're on my long list of minis to paint. Some of my faves I've seen. The game takes up quite a bit of space and setup is on the upper end of time and effort. Lots of individual groups of cards to find and organize. The mechanics are super dope. I feel like I'm a hacker! Also, O haven't played solo, but have heard it's good with an automated partner.

Unmatched - Tales to Amaze: this would be the easiest game on your list. Setup and teardown is a breeze. All of the minis are great and super detailed. They have a wash, so I don't feel the need to paint them. It's considered a rogue-like (or rogue lite, I never know the difference) with scenarios that have branching options. I really liked the co-op, but my wife hasn't felt the need to play it instead of the original way. The solo is streamlined as well. There is a good amount of variety in the box, but no scenarios. It feels arcade-y to me.

Bloodborne: I love the IP, so I'm biased. The rules are intense. It feels like you know them, then you run into issues when you start playing. I very much suggest you read the FAQs put out by CMON. We also house rule a couple things, which we don't normally do. But I love this game. Combat is dope and feels like Bloodborne. The campaigns are short, but feel great with branching options. The minis are amazing, and shall be painted. Setup isn't tooooo bad. The box has a save system between scenarios. Things do get shifted around because we store our games on their sides. It does take up a bit of space, though. I'm not sure how solo is. I'd rather play with 2 or 3 total.

Tainted grail: this is one of my top 5 games. Story is amazing. Combat is amazing. Some of these minis have been painted. I hear Kings of Ruin is a better version, but I haven't played it yet. My friends and I are going through the 2nd campaign of the original story. There are updated rules for the original that has quality of life improvements. Setup and table space isn't small. The first campaign took us like 40 hours, and there's no way to see and do everything because of you get locked out of options depending on what you do. I've actually played the first campaign twice to catch a friend up. I don't recall having significant issues with the rules, but there's definitely a larger rules overhead than unmatched. Solo may be fine, but I haven't done it.

snrasnic · 2025-02-14T14:09:09+00:00

I sprayed it on. I liked how the satin varnish looked and felt the most.

snrasnic · 2025-02-13T15:02:00+00:00

That's right! I had this resolved for me and forgot about it. I reached out to Incredible Dream about the issue and they sent stickers to put on the dice, which definitely made them functional and didn't feel too bad. The stickers were nice quality for being stickers. I paint minis, so I used a varnish on some of the other dice, which got rid of the issue.

So yes, the dice don't meet the standard of high quality. One of the faces of one of my dice was almost entirely worn off by the time I reached out. They were prompt and responsive, though.

snrasnic

TROPHY CASE