When last we left our heroes… #2

D&D, post mortem, RPG

In this session our party left the pirates lair. Found a row boat. Made their way to a neighbouring island. Got a lift to Mintarn and the town Queens Cove. Restocked some equipment, and accepted a job.

Post-mortem

SPOILER ALERT TO MY ADVENTURERS! The following part of the post contains spoilers for the up and coming campaign. You may want to avoid this part of the post and join me in a future one.

There was one oversight in the planning of the session. We hadn’t shared the location! We were back at The Luxe, and not the school. Once that little detail was corrected, we were ready to start playing.

Our session started with a person down. Apparently something had come up, and they couldn’t make it. Only letting the group know at the last possible moment, ie as we were all sitting at the table ready to start.

These things happen, it’s life. But a bit more notice would have been nice.

Before playing those of us present had a discussion lead by Jonathan about his announcement that this was likely going to be his last session (you can read his reasons explained eloquently here). I felt everyone was understanding and supportive, and could see Jonathan’s point of view.

So the actual second session started with a recap of the previous session. I started it off with the Matt Colville words that also give this post its name, “when last we left our heroes…” I then invited the players to recap the previous session. Which I felt was a bit spotty, missed one or two beats. But this was the first time, and I think it will “improve” over time as the group get more comfortable recapping this way.

I also told the players about their magic items. See below about this.

This session from my point of view once out of the pirates lair had a different focus. Where as the first session was more a dungeon crawl, once outside it was more “roleplay”.

As I said in the past more than once, I’m not that Matt Mercer, voices/acting type of DM. It’s not me.

But there was a lot of improv for me to do as the players explored the new locations. Which I felt started off shaky, especially with the jarl. But I felt more comfortable and happier with the Queens Cove interactions.

I managed to seed three adventure hooks, two in Mintarn. Setup a potential two more, although one of those had a warning. A warning that if the party attempted to rob the dragon they would most likely die.

The Angrath storyline was developed, the myth building up, and a rival pirate Vraska was introduced.

The group challenge for rowing the row boat I think worked well, despite the group failing. Blaming the failure not just on strong currents, but having a gnome controlling the rudder and not being able to see which direction they were going.

How did we handle being a player down? Ok! I let the players control the character when it came to combat, or for the group challenge roll for him. I think one of the most damning comments was at the end, when one of the players said (I’m paraphrasing here) that the session felt better without them there.

An adventure hook was also taken off the table for the time being. I think that Jonathan forgot he had the mysterious symbol on a bit of paper. It was frustrating that I could see the paper in front of him and he didn’t think to ask about it with the NPC’s they were interacting with. While Jonathan’s character was alone in Queens Cove I had a NPC bump into him and steal the scrap of paper off him. If he had given chase and got it back, I was hoping he’d start asking about it. But he didn’t. Although now he’s thinking what was so important about the scrap of paper.

As the players made their way through the Matt Colville designed intro adventure (I’d added this as an Easter egg to the groups taster session) they spent more time here than I anticipated. Especially for a dungeon that had literally zero monsters (apart from some skeletons if they triggered them). Which was interesting. The corridor trap from the actual pirates lair that the group triggered on their way out made them a lot more cautious.

This session was always going to be less combat focused and interaction focused. It also determined based on the player’s decisions what the third session is. The third session will see the players travelling to Mintarn as guards to Queens Cove’s tribute. So it will have a similar flow and feel to this session.

At the end of the session the players had passed a level up point. If you remember from a previous post we are using the Adventure League rules for advancement. So the group will be advancing their character to level 2 before the next session.

At the end of the session Jonathan was happier and found some positives.

The first was the session length. We stuck to a 2 hour duration. Which everyone seemed happy with.

We also spent time explaining to Jonathan why we were rolling for certain stats, and which ones. I’m not sure if he found this helpful.

Plus a good sign Jonathan will come back for session 3.

I failed to get some maps printed off before the session (drawback of not having a printer at home) and I felt guilty asking Jonathan again. So I improvised and used my iPad to display the relevant player friendly town maps and the Mintarn cluster of islands. I need to sort this out for our third session. The printer was an issue because I had also wanted to print out those item cards that I’d created. Which needs to be done for the next session.

I did use the initiative order cards from the Essentials Kit. The players liked those. Although I think I’ll tweak the way I use them to after the first round of combat. That way it remains a mystery about where the monsters are in that order until they actually take their turn.

Overall I think the session went well. Despite initial hiccups, being a person down, and implementing some things that made for a better player experience.

Undaunted unimpressed

game night

Last night Jonathan and I met up at the nearly newly refitted The Luxe to play his latest addition to his collection Undaunted: Normandy.

This game caused a bit of shock, and banter when Jonathan said he was getting it. Mainly because it is a deckbuilder. Jonathan doesn’t do deckbuilders. More accurately it’s a mechanic that would fail to make his top 100 mechanics. But would easily make his top 5 mechanics he does not like.

But the theme and the board/missions tempted him to part with his money.


We played the introductory mission, I was the allies, while Jonathan played the axis forces.

For the history books I won. And afterwards we discussed how we felt about the game.

I felt the game was ok. It wasn’t an unpleasant experience.

The deckbuilding side was ok. But not great. I really enjoy deckbuilders, like Star Realms/Hero Realms, Valley of the Kings, Legendary Marvel. Undaunted doesn’t come close to them. It’s not as bad as the World of Tanks deckbuilder (which was dire) and I’d put it above Thunderstone. What I missed was being able to combo cards. The nearest you get really is being able to bounce a played card back to your hand to be replayed. One tactic I did like was being able to force fog of war cards into your opponents deck. They are basically dead cards. So watering down your opponent’s deck is a great way to throw a spanner in the works.

The combat element really did feel tacked on. I didn’t use it once, but Jonathan did, and the dice just made it too random. I think out of 6 or so attacks he succeeded twice.

The missions, that are area control is an interesting idea. But for me makes the game more like Memoir 44. It’s cool that there are a load of different missions for players to play, great variety.

The theme of the game could be anything really. It is literally non-existent.

I almost feel that Undaunted couldn’t decide if it wanted to be a deckbuilder or a Memoir clone. And that indecision has hurt it overall. It doesn’t achieve either.

Having played the game I don’t get all the buzz it has been getting on the Facebook groups.

Have you played it? And if so what did you think?

Game played: Undaunted: Normandy

A first look at the D&D Essentials Kit

D&D, RPG

Until now a group of friends wanting to get into D&D had a single official option, The Starter Set (I look at the contents here). Yes over the Summer we got the Stranger Things D&D Starter Set (I look at that here). So technically my opening sentence was not quite accurate.

However WotC have now released a new option with the D&D Essentials Kit. Where as the Starter Set allowed you choose an included pre-made character and start playing. The focus of this kit is to create your own characters and start playing.

The essential kit comes with blank character sheets naturally, considering it’s focus.

It also has a cardboard deck box that is used to store the 81 included cards. These are a new addition to the beginner sets. There are cards for initiative order, magic items, character conditions, sidekicks and quests. A nice addition, making life as a DM a tad easier.

Also included is a cardboard DM screen. Which was thicker than expected, but still relatively flimsy. It is basically the DM Screen Reincarnated screen that you can buy.

Another addition is a double sided map that can be used with the players. On one side is a town map of Phandalin and on the other a region map of the northern part of the Sword Coast round Neverwinter and the Sword Mountains.

Both of these were much needed additions, and noticeable omissions from the Starter Set.

WotC have also started by the looks of it to add a second d20 die in the included dice. This allows players to roll for advantage/disadvantage by rolling both dice at the same time. Another nice little touch.

The rulebook and adventure book are bound a bit differently to the Starter Set equivalents. In the Starter Set they are more magazine like, and held together with staples. Whilst now they are more book like and glue/heat bound (I think that’s how you describe it). They also now have a cardboard outer cover that is the same type of cardboard used for the DM screen.

The rulebook has doubled in size from 32 to 64 pages. The additional pages cover creating your own characters, rules for sidekicks, more equipment and spells.

The rules allow you to create characters that are either a dwarf, elf, halfling or human. Which can have one of the following classes, bard, cleric, fighter, rogue and wizard. With background details provided for an acolyte, criminal, entertainer, sage and soldier.

The sidekick rules are a great addition that allow a DM and a single player to play D&D. The sidekick can be controlled by the player or DM during those sessions. But they are basically friendly npc characters that join the party.

The included adventure Dragon of Icespire Peak is a collection of 9 quests where the party are based in Phandalin. The party select which quests to follow from a notice board within the town.

Naturally I’ve not had time to play any of them yet. But there does seem to be a sandbox feel to the way these are presented. The party start off being given a choice of 3 quests, once they have completed at least 2 of them, a further 3 quests become available. And like the initial quests, once 2 of the new quests have been completed a final 3 new quests are unlocked. The players are in control of which and when the quests get done.

The nice thing is if you have the Starter Set and The Mines of Phandelver adventure this new adventure can work as an extension to that campaign. Or even slot in as side quests during.

I do like Phandalin as a base location to adventure from, and that section of the Sword Coast. It’s a rich area to explore. However I do think that the Starter Set edges it over the Essentials Set for bringing the town to life with the information given. Particularly with it’s summary of the major NPC’s, and one or two more locations detailed. Although I do like the Phandalin tales table in the Essentials adventure book. If you have both adventures you are in luck and can use the information from both.

There are a couple of the quests that I’m going to straight up use in my homebrew campaign. They save me a lot of work. One can be used as is for a current adventure hook, and the other has given me an idea for a new one.

The adventure book also has a map key on the back cover. About time. WotC does forget to do these normally.

I like the Essentials Kit a lot. It fixes some of the omissions from the Starter Set, like the DM Screen, the players map, and one I didn’t know it needed the cards. Plus the addition of getting D&D Beyond comes to get the adventure on there, plus additional linked content (I don’t use D&D Beyond – criminal I know) and 50% off the digital version of the players handbook on there, makes this great value.

The decision a new group needs to make is do they just want to jump in and start playing (Starter Set) or create their own characters and play (Essentials Kit). Although if you own both, choose the appropriate way to get a character and then choose the adventure path they want to explore. Although as I said combine both into an epic beginners campaign is also an option.

Personally I think that the adventures are worth the asking price alone, and make great resources for more experienced groups as well. Phandalin is a great base to use for homebrew campaigns also.

Some issues playing D&D

D&D, RPG

My friend posted a comment at the weekend on this blog that expressed eloquently why they were not enjoying D&D.

I’m sharing here some of those points bought up not to dismiss them but to help others also feeling the same way. Maybe one or two of the points made will resonate with you. I’m also going to mention some things we are trying to see if they make a difference at our next session.

“There are so many different numbers that I’m simply confused. As I’ve mentioned in the past, if it was simply Skill, Stamina and Luck, and perhaps Magic (the classic Fighting Fantasy traits)…”

In D&D there are only six abilities that describe the character. I think what adds to the confusion is the skills. All of a sudden you have 18 additional stats to worry about.

And to be fair looking at the “classic” character sheet (left hand side of the image below) you can see where they are coming from. You can’t as a new player not look at it and be overwhelmed by all the different numbers on it. Particularly the abilities and skills.

So before reinventing the wheel I went looking for a simplified character sheet. And I found one. Here is the link to drivethrurpg for one I found, and sent to my friend to try (right hand side of the image below).

There is an additional simplified page for spells by the same author at that link.

Another thing to try and help with this is covered in the next point.

“I can’t make head or tail of the Player’s Handbook!”

Despite being on it’s 5th Edition the Player’s Handbook can be overwhelming, and not the easiest of things to navigate. Luckily WotC do have an alternative that distils the information needed by a new player to a more less cluttered format in the guise of the Starter Set Rulebook.

On the original post my friend did on bgg about their experience they were given the following advice. Which also ties in with the first point raised.

“…we try to make it easier for a new player by asking them to describe what they would like to do and then the DM walks through the rules for their description.”

Which is a very good suggestion also. One that I will try and do. It will be hard as I’m finding my feet as a DM as well. But it is something I should do.

“I don’t like the role play aspect the same as one or two others really enjoy (I’m not willing to get into character; that’s just not me)…”

I think I’ve said something similar about being a DM and the voices. I’m also on record about how I think internet RPG shows like Critical Roll et al with their professional voice actors, comedians etc give a false impression about what playing a RPG is like for the majority of players. Not only that but false expectations. What they do is provide great entertainment (for a lot of people, I sadly find them hard to watch). Which is their intent.

This wouldn’t be a D&D post if I haven’t mentioned Matt Colville. And his latest (at time of writing) video in his Running the Game series on this subject. I hope this helps folks out there.

My advice play the way that you feel comfortable. Don’t let others influence the way you play. It’s about having fun. Not everyone is into “Roleplay” (me included). That’s the beauty of the an RPG, it allows all types of play.

What advice would you give to these valid points?

The Fenland Gamers EDH/Commander Social Contract

Fenland Gamers, Game day, magic, MtG

Yesterday afternoon I spent a pleasant afternoon playing EDH/Commander with a couple of newish club members at our wonderful hosts The Luxe.

This is the second such session that we’ve held now. The plan is to have these monthly, with the next one for October already organised.

These sessions are promoted as casual games, and not competitive.

By casual I mean decks that are a power level no more than a 6 or 7. And to be honest a 7 might be pushing it. To help those planning to come along and play I share the following Commandzone YouTube video.

Which can be summed up with the following image for those that don’t want to spend time watching the video.

The WotC pre-cons each year usually fall in the 4/5 power level range.

I also add the following advice to prospective players wanting to come along and play.

“no mass land destruction and going infinite in a deck is also a no no for casual. It’s not fun.”

I think at the next meet up we need to discuss a cap on the number of extra turns or combat phases a player can do in a row. Trying to tread that narrow path of allowing them, and keeping the game fun for everyone. I think a group consensus needs to be arrived at. My current thinking is 2. But others may have differing opinions.

Naturally there is the unwritten rules such as “don’t be a dick”, and buying refreshments from our hosts and not bringing your own stuff. In fact they are written down now I think about it on the top of the Fenland Gamers Facebook page.

This is basically our social contract for our sessions. Which hopefully means that those attending will have a fun experience.

For me EDH/Commander is my favourite MtG format. I like the social side. Which combines with the political element. The cutting deals, fluid alliances, back stabbing/turning heal! Yes sometimes there is the element of betrayal. Sometimes being good at this part of the game gets you the win, despite having the weakest deck at the table.

There is also an ebb and flow to an EDH/Commander game that I like. One moment a player will be in the ascendancy, becoming the major threat. Deals and alliances are made between the others to control that threat. Once dealt with some-one else usually fills that power vacuum left behind.

I also love that in this format you get to play with cards that formats like Standard or Modern are unplayable. I like tribal decks, or themed ones. My big green stompy, horrors from the deep, and Scarab God zombie decks show this. There are creatures and spells in those decks that just never would see the light of day in other formats.

I’m happy if I get to do something cool during a game. If I win that’s an extra bonus. I didn’t win once yesterday. But I was doing cool stuff. Or I thought it was cool. So I was having a good time. And it can be pretty cool watching others do cool stuff.

For me when competitive EDH/Commander decks are used then we start to lose the elements of the game I get enjoyment from. I appreciate that others may like that side. But the cost of decks goes through the roof, and the game becomes less about having fun, and more about the win at any cost.

There is a reason the format became popular. I believe it is because of the casual nature of the format. Which is captured so well in the official philosophy document.

“Each game is a journey the players share, relying on a social contract in which each player is considerate of the experiences of everyone involved–this promotes player interaction, inter-game variance, a variety of play styles, and a positive communal atmosphere. At the end of an ideal Commander game, someone will have won, but all participants will have had the opportunity to express themselves through their deck building and game play.”

I’m hoping that our groups social contract reflects the formats philosophy, and enables everyone to have fun.

September 2019 Monthly Meet Up

Fenland Gamers, game night

Our hosts The Luxe are not quite there yet with the refit. But they sure are a lot closer than they were back in May. But more importantly now in a position to start hosting us again for game sessions.

It felt good to be back.

We advertise our meet ups on the clubs Facebook page as events. Members then say Going/Maybe/Not Going in response. Well some do. However the responses to events, or even questions such as “what days would you like sessions to be run?” is very low (about a 7% of members responded when I asked that question recently).

Before Jonathan and I leave the house we usually have checked the event to see how many are attending. It helps us decide which games to take along for the evening.

Last night we were expecting 5 in total. It’s that awkward number. Not large enough to split into two groups, and not small enough for the majority of games that are usually 4 players maximum.

With that player count in mind, I decided to take Lords of Waterdeep, and some smaller “filler” games that supported that number of players.

So after arriving early and getting the table and seating set up with the help of the lovely on duty staff. Imagine my surprise when The Usual Suspect turned up, after the day before specifically changing his Maybe attending status for the event to Not Attending. He’d changed his mind!

WTF?!

Gavin arrived with news that Jonathan was going to be late.

So instead of starting a game of Lords of Waterdeep, we cracked open Coup.

I blame Game the Game on YouTube for me throwing Coup into the bag. They had recently put up two episodes of it being played (base game and with the Reformation expansion).

I could have thrown in the Reformation expansion. But considering that the majority hadn’t played before I stuck with the core game.

After losing the first game, Jonathan arrived just in time to join in for the second. Which I also lost.

Our main game of the evening was Lords of Waterdeep. Which hadn’t seen table time for two years. It was long over due.

It was lucky for The Usual Suspect that I also had the expansion with me so it could support 6 players. But to do that I’d have to use one or both of the expansions. I went with just mixing in the Undermountain expansion.

It’s the logical expansion to go with when two thirds of those playing hadn’t played the game before. It doesn’t introduce anything new to the game mechanic wise. You basically get three new actions spaces, and some more intrigue, quests, buildings and lords to shuffle in. Unlike the skullport expansion that introduces corruption, and just over complicates things for the first time player.

So after setting up and explaining the basics of the game, we set off recruiting adventurers, completing quests and hopefully expanding the influence of our secret lord of Waterdeep.

I managed to get the win. Not my best score. But I broke the 100 barrier, so that was something.

Everyone but The Usual Suspect enjoyed the game. But I’m beginning to think he’s not a worker placement type of person. His plays are sub optimal. Like giving me a mandatory quest on the final round, when I had no open quests left. And no intention of getting another one. His optimal play would have been anyone else but me. Because they all had quests they could complete. It’s something I’ve noticed with Viticulture as well. And we won’t mention the Stone-age debacle. There is something about worker placement not clicking there.

Anyway another great evening of gaming.

Games Played: Coup, Lords Of Waterdeep

What’s in a name

D&D, RPG

SPOILER ALERT TO MY ADVENTURERS! The following post contains spoilers for the up and coming campaign. You may want to avoid this post and join me in a future one.

A few years back now I read a book that was part of the history of The Lord Of The Rings. I can’t remember which volume it was. I also read a bio on the author as well. So the following is probably a mash up by my poor memory. But between the two books I remember that whilst writing The Lord Of The Rings the language and names used by Tolkien were based on Old English (his speciality). The reason for doing so was to give a feel of a history, an authenticity when read.

I want that in my D&D sessions.

You saw a snippet of that (or an attempt) in yesterday’s post where I created Sealby. I tried (and those that know better will decide how successful I was) to create a name for the settlement that felt authentic, given the Norse influence.

Luckily for names we are pretty well supported in D&D, and to be fair these can be used in other systems as well.

For starters there is Gary Gygax’s Extraordinary Book Of Names. This book is amazing. It has name lists from a really wide range of cultures and languages (past and present) from around the world. Plus tables and methods for creating more. So “to get names from the book, simply assign names from the lists, or generate them using the tables.”

Naturally my focus at the moment with this book is Norse names but when my campaign moves to the more traditional D&D Western Europe medieval fantasy influence I’ll switch over to Anglo-Saxon names.

The next handy source is an appendix in Xanathar’s Guide to Everything. Appendix B is character names, organised by non-human and human names. This is great as a handy tool to create quick names on the fly using the lists provided. Roll a d100/percentile, then look at the appropriate table (based on race and gender) to get a name.

There are also numerous websites that will also generate names for you randomly at the click of a button. Just google some, play with them and bookmark your favourite.

I used google to also find some handy sites that talked about the Norse influence on UK place names. But do I really need to tell you about this? Surely that’s a given these days.

My preference is the first two sources. With Gygax’s tome it’s very detailed, I’m learning at the same time. And is ideal for preparing my campaign, when I have the time to indulge in this sort of depth. Whilst Xanathar’s is ideal to have on hand for that on the fly moment when you need to name an npc.

How do you generate authentic names for your campaign?

Update on planning session 2 #2

D&D, RPG, session planning

SPOILER ALERT TO MY ADVENTURERS! The following post contains spoilers for the up and coming campaign. You may want to avoid this post and join me in a future one.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the two settlements I have to populate for the second session. The first being the Northlander village and on Mintarn itself Queen’s Cove.

For this campaign I’ve decided not to use a pre-existing settlement from a published adventure. I had thought about Phandalin. I really like what WotC have designed there. But I want to save that and the others for another time/campaign.

These will be the first settlements I’ve created from scratch. Luckily there is a lot of great advice online and in the DMG.

The DMG gives us the following questions that we just might to think about when designing our own settlements.

“Consider the following questions as you create any settlement in your world:

  • What purpose does it serve in your game?
  • How big is it? Who lives there?
  • What does it look, smell, and sound like?
  • Who governs it? Who else holds power? Is it part of a larger state?
  • What are its defenses?
  • Where do characters go to find the goods and services they need?
  • What temples and other organizations feature prominently?
  • What fantastic elements distinguish it from an ordinary town?
  • Why should the characters care about the settlement

The guidelines in this section are here to help you build the settlement you want for whatever purpose you have in mind. Disregard any advice here that runs counter to your vision for a settlement.”

The omnipotent Matt Colville in his Running the Game series has these couple of relevant videos.


Another YouTube video I like is by Dael Kingsmill.

In the rest of this post I’m going to use the questions from the DMG as prompts to help me create the Norse inspired Northlander village.

After some semi-light googling on Norse names/words I’ve come up with the village name Sealby. -by is the Norse for farmstead, village, settlement And considering that there is a seal colony on the far side of this island that the Northlanders living there would name the settlement along those lines. And considering how the Norse named the Faroe Islands (Sheep Island) I think that the Northlanders would have named this island along similarly and call it Seal Island or Sealay. With the -ay being Norse for island.

What purpose does it serve in your game?

This is a settlement that the party visit after getting through Angrath’s lair. It allows the party to “recover”/rest and get a lift via boat to Queen’s Cove on Mintarn. The boat journey is also a chance to give information to the party about The Red Rage of Mintarn.

How big is it? Who lives there?

The population of the village is 40+. This is a Northlanders settlement. It has a crew for the Knarr ship (see notes), plus light guard for settlement whilst ship is away.

What does it look, smell, and sound like?

Like the Vikings that inhabited The Faroes the island is treeless. So the homes are built out of rock and turf. Livestock has been bought to the settlement, basic cattle, chickens, sheep.

Who governs it? Who else holds power? Is it part of a larger state?

This is the “embassy” of the Northlanders with Mintarn and the Moonshae Islands. Plus Angrath the pirate. Whom the Northlanders have a truce/agreement with.

The settlement is governed by its jarl, who also acts as the ambassador for the Northlanders. The ambassador answers to a council of jarls that represent the various islands that make up the Northland kingdom.

What are its defenses?

Semi circular earth works, guard tower by the west gate. Gates at east and west of village.

Where do characters go to find the goods and services they need?

The islands’ economy is very dependent on livestock and harvesting the products of the sea, particularly fish, whales, seals and birds. So the characters will have no problem getting food, and goods that are by products of the hunting. They can get equipment repaired.

What temples and other organizations feature prominently?

Not applicable this time.

What fantastic elements distinguish it from an ordinary town?

Not applicable this time.

Why should the characters care about the settlement?

This settlement will get them to Mintarn and particularly Queen’s Cove.

I created the following map for Sealby based on the Foteviken Museum viking village map.

I can’t stand it, I know you planned it

first look, game night

Mid week I got a pleasant, but big surprise, when my Kickstarter copy of Sabotage arrived.

I really was taken aback when the delivery driver handed over the package. It was massive. I had not been expecting a game this big.

When I opened the box and looked inside you can’t help but be bowled over by the high production values of this game. The 20 cardboard tokens are really thick, chunky things. Probably twice as thick as ones I’ve seen in other games. Which translates to a satisfying feel when holding them. The inclusion of two game trays, the really cool minis. I think the only company that equals this sort of quality is Stonemaier Games. These two companies are setting such a high bar for others to match.

Although there is a minor blemish on the Sabotage production, there is a misprint on a character card, and text missed off the spies player boards. Plus some boxes don’t fold out fully when used. But stickers are being sent out to correct this. Along with a video showing how to correct the box issue.

It took me a couple of days to get my head round the rules. Which involved a few readings of the thin rule book, looking at the official FAQ, watching YouTube videos, and reading the odd bgg forum post. So I think it would be fair to say that the rule book isn’t the best. Although the little first turn booklet is a nice touch.

Once I was happy with how the rules worked in my own head I felt confident enough to ask Jonathan if he fancied a learning game of Sabotage.

Friday evening then was spent at The Luxe with a bunch of heroic spies attempting to foil the evil plans of a gang of ruthless villains by trying to infiltrate the villains lair and destroy their doomsday devices.

Jonathan played the villains, whilst I played the spies.

The game trays make set up so quick and easy. You just hand the players the relevant tray and they have everything they need.

Boy does this game have table presence. With the box between the players acting as a screen this takes up a lot of space.

This game is either a 1v1 game where both players play 2 characters each. Or it’s a 2 player co-op once the app is out, or finally it’s a 2v2 game. Although the 1v1 option isn’t explicitly mentioned in the rules, and is an assumption I made that made sense.

The main mechanics of this game are a battleships/hide and seek/hidden movement type thing, and programmed actions. Which combine really nicely.

The round structure is simple, roll dice, plan actions, take actions, clean up. Which is nice. And it flows really quickly.

Both sides are asynchronous. The villains earn extra dice to use for actions in a different manor to the heroes, and they gain more powerful action tiles differently too. What I like is that both sides have a way to mess with the other player and get rid of those extra dice the other side are using.

Each character feels unique, having a core set of action tiles, but then unique more powerful ones to obtain.

I like that when you take actions you are giving out partial information. Some actions don’t get announced, just performed. Whilst others you announce the action name and that’s it. The other player then has to guess what you did for that action. Take for instance the spies move and scan action. The spies don’t declare the move part, but they do the scan. The area you scan, either a quad, row or column gives the villains a clue to where the spy is. But the problem is a scan action may not be just with the move. There is an action that just scans, and can be any where on the board. So it could be misdirection also.

So you are getting this incomplete information all the time. That you are trying to base decisions on. I like that.

In away Sabotage reminds me a bit of Spectre Ops, but with both sides hidden!

I liked the game, it’s fun. Would like to try it with the app, and 2v2. But it worked as a 1v1.

Luckily for the world the spies narrowly managed to disable to doomsday devices and save the day. Which means I won.

Oh the title of this post, it’s the first line of the song Sabotage by the Beastie Boys. Predictable I know but it had to be done.

Throne of Eldraine Trailer Released

magic, MtG, news

Yesterday WotC made some MtG announcements.

First up the official trailer for Throne of Eldraine was released.

I really like this trailer. It continues the high production values started with the War of the Spark trailer/teaser.

I didn’t like that War of the Spark trailer. It looked amazing. But the animation, particularly of the people in it just didn’t look natural. Plus the facial expressions, especially Liliana just didn’t convey any emotion. Plus there was a story of such but not a great one. It didn’t sell the set for me.

Now this new trailer fixes all the issues I had and mentioned above with the previous trailer.

For me this trailer almost gets up to the level of the Pixar shorts. I know some will hark to Shrek for the feel of this. But I love the fact there is a story being told, with some sort of battle going on in the background.

The animation of the gingerbread couple, and the emotion on the iced faces is really good. The human animation has improved as well.

I think the trailer sells the fairy tale element of Throne of Eldraine really well. However the Arthurian legend side doesn’t really come across.

Ok here is that new trailer…

This was followed up with the announcement of the sets that are coming out in 2020.

At the start of 2020 we return to Theros and it’s underworld. Q2 sees an all new plane, Ikoria. Which is a monster world, where we get to play monsters and make monsters apparently. Coreset 2021 is Teferi themed. And the year closes with a return visit to Zendikar and it’s original adventure world.

There was also a look at the new Brawl decks Commanders that are coming out for Throne of Eldraine. Which didn’t inspire me. They also said Brawl is coming to Arena (still dead to me) and marks playing Arena can play Brawl now.

What did you think of the announcements?