After Us – no astronauts were hurt in the making of this post!

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I grew up in Wisbech in the seventies.

Life was simpler. Despite only having three tv channels I think my tv and movie education was richer than the media bloat that we have now.

Holidays for me were watching which ever 1930’s serial the BBC had decided to show each morning. I loved Flash Gordon with Larry Buster Crab, King of the Rocketmen (the inspiration for Disneys The Rocketeer). I got to watch classic comedies from the likes of Harold Lloyd or Laurel and Hardy. I had Tarzan movies and tv show to enjoy. The Lone Ranger helped set my moral compass! I loved series like Champion the wonder horse, Skippy the bush kangaroo, and Whirlybirds, etc.

But one series both tv and movie that I loved was Planet of the Apes.

The tv show was great for the time, and like so many I watched at that age had fewer episodes than I remember. When I’ve looked into getting the series on dvd I’m like “no way was there just fourteen episodes”.

My memory of the show has me thinking it was formulaic for the time with the protagonists wandering from village to village fixing a wrong. Which seems to describe a lot of shows at the time such as Kung Fu, Logan’s Run, etc.

Mum and Dad even bought me a Planet of the Apes mask. It was plastic (light grey if my memory isn’t playing tricks on me), no hair, just something that went over the face held in place by elastic.

But after being left high and dry by the tv series when it ended I got to enjoy the cartoon series instead on (my memory wants to say) a Saturday morning.

I liked at the time how from that first movie and it’s shock ending, the movies, tv show, and cartoon expanded the world and lore. Although I was too young at the time to know what lore was, or pick up on the allegory/themes in the movies.

The Tim Burton, Mark Wahlberg reboot in 2001 was watchable, but despite its modern production values didn’t have the same impact emotionally as the original movie.

It’d be another ten years before we’d get more Ape movies that used modern sfx to create realistic looking apes and “remake“ the origin of the series. I love these movies. They did a great job of updating the franchise and it’s themes. I wish others would learn from this.

I’ve skipped the original book all this was based/inspired by (although my Audible library may be growing soon) as I’ve never read it. And back when I was enthralled by each new movie, and episode I had no idea there was a book behind all of this.

It had also escaped me there were also comic books expanding the universe. But thinking about it I shouldn’t be surprised. I need to correct this oversight soon.

So it’s fair to say I’m a fan. Not a hardcore fan that can quote chapter and verse about the lore or lines from the movies and shows.

Is it any surprise that I was then drawn to the theme of After Us?

UKGE exclusive box art on left, regular cover right

The nice thing is the French designer acknowledges the influence of Planet of the Apes on the game.

However that’s were it ends.

To be honest like the majority of deckbuilders the theme is so paper thin to be non-existent.

I love the art by Vincent Dutrait. It truly is beautiful.

What I like about this deckbuilder is the simultaneous play. It really does speed things up.

Having now played the game at five players and two players I think it worked well at both player counts.

I like that this stands out from a lot of other deckbuilders with it being a race to get to eighty points, and not all about inflicting as much damage as possible to the other player.

There is very little player interaction, with the little there is in the game being which reward you copy from one of your neighbours in the second phase.

But it has to be that way with the chaotic simultaneous play.

I love the arranging your hand of four cards each round so you complete as many frames as possible. As the only frames you can activate are complete ones. Incomplete frames get you nothing.

Not having the buy 5 points tile out made a big difference in the two player game. I definitely prefer the game without it.

Is it my favourite deckbuilder? No. But it is probably top of the list if I want to play a deckbuilder with a group of people. It’s fun.

It’s been a busy week

D&D, life, the universe, and everything, new arrivals, RPG, still alive

It’s been a busy and tiring week at work. Which has left me too tired to try and arrange any midweek gaming.

My attempt to get some gaming in last night failed. No one was free or interested in playing some roll and writes. And I had to turn down an invite to learn Marrakesh as it would have meant finishing too late.

So it looks like June is on course for being a slow month of gaming, and I don’t have a car issue as an excuse this time.

Work wise I’ve stepped up the job search as the clock counts down to the end of my temp contract. Apparently there is a full time contract, they are timetabling as if I’m there next year. However I’ve not seen anything yet to sign.

At the start of the week the latest promo packs and solo mode for Rolling Realms arrived. It’s getting to the point now that an alternate storage solution needs to be found for the game. I think with the Encounters promo pack that comes out at the same time as when the game does that’s it. The limit for everything in the original game box has been reached.

So yesterday out of the blue my pre-order of Tome of Beasts 3 by Kobold Press arrived.

I am a big fan of the Kobold press pocket editions of their books. I love the format. It’s so handy. Goes nicely in a bag to read on public transport or in bed. I just love it compared to the larger books like the Monster Manual.

I currently have two other of their creature books, Tome of Beasts 2, and Creature Codex. With the updated Tome of Beasts pre-ordered (out next month if memory doesn’t fail me).

For me I actually prefer these Kobold Press offerings to the official WotC equivalents. They feel fresh and fire the imagination more. The art is amazing. Which helps fire that imagination.

There is also the benefit that unless your players also have purchased the books that they are unlikely to have come across the creatures in them. So when they encounter one it’s a surprise and refreshing to them also.

I’m looking forward to flicking through the pages of this latest volume and seeing what grabs me.

A Post UKGE Gaming Session

Game day

On Friday whilst at the UKGE, after hearing my plans to only do two days of the expo, Ben invited me to join him and Diego Sunday afternoon to play games.

It was an invite I accepted and said I would see if Jeff was free. Which he was.

So come Sunday afternoon I was at Ben’s abode playing games with Ben,Jeff, Diego and Charlene.

Well not entirely true, the first game I played was with Jeff and Ben only as we waited for the other two to arrive.

That first game was Vivarium. It was a brand new game for all three of us.

Vivarium is played over seven rounds, where you get two turns to draft a card. These cards count towards contracts that you have that will score points at the end of the game, or are more contracts. There is a small majority thing going on at the end of each round based on a tile shown at the start of each round. The winner gets the tile and scores it at the end of the game. During the round the tile gives you some bonus if you draft a card type indicated on the tile.

It was a fun little game. Pretty themeless. It had an interesting tie breaker mechanic that the player that was later in the turn winning the tie. The drafting mechanic using domino like tiles was interesting.

I think that this would be a nice little filler game.

With everyone present we played the deluxe 20th Anniversary edition of Amun-Re. I even had chance to sleeve it that morning without having to buy any new sleeves at the expo.

I love the new art used in the new edition of the game. I also like the quality of life improvements such as larger text on the game board, regular 63mm x 88mm cards instead of those smaller cards. The paper of the rulebook is similar to that used by Stonemaier games for the Wingspan rulebook. The new double pyramid models and bricks are nicer. You could argue that the 3D temple is too large. But I do like it.

When you add in some of the modules new to this edition like we did the table presence goes up with these cool 3D models on the board.

Yes we used the idols module which with our player count added two idols to the board. With the Pharaoh module also added the bidding phase became a bit more cut throat, particularly the two spaces with the idols on. We also had the promo cards shuffled in as they didn’t change the game play.

I enjoyed what the modules bought to the game. But I could easily play without them.

Our third and final game of the day was After Us.

The art looks amazing on this game. It’s the same artist as the new edition of Amun-Re, Vincent Dutrait.

This was an interesting experience.

If I said the game felt chaotic it’d be an understatement. It mainly felt this way because of the simultaneous game play when activating your tribe. I enjoyed the playing four cards and placing them in any order so that you could complete boxes by joining two half boxes on the edges of the cards. You only got to activate complete boxes for their ability. Which could be gaining resources, or trading resources for a benefit.

Although this is a deck-builder, I didn’t feel like I was playing a deck-builder. I think that was due to the chaotic nature of the game.

I did like that any purchased cards went on top of your deck. But you could only purchase one card per round.

Because of the simultaneous nature of the rounds the game played pretty quickly. But that might also have been helped by the tile in play that allowed you to buy five victory points for five batteries. I don’t think I’d play with that tile next time to see if the game feels different.

I think at the moment the jury is out on this game. It needs more plays.

For me this was a perfect way to finish off the UKGE weekend. Playing some of our purchases with friends. Thanks Ben for hosting. And thanks everyone for your company and making the afternoon.

The 2023 UKGE Experience

UKGE

And that’s a wrap.

Yep another UKGE done and dusted.

So how was it for the first real expo for me since we came out of lockdowns and other restrictions?

Well it was busy. Very busy.

Which the official provisional figures show (see tweet from yesterday below). With the 32k unique attendees, we are seeing approximately a 10k increase in unique attendees over 2022. Which doing some quick mental maths and just plucking a number out of midair, gives us somewhere in the area of a 45% increase. Not a bad guess as the calculator has told me it is in-fact 43.5%.

Before I go on about the expo itself I have a story about the hotel to regale you with. I should warn you this post is going to jump all around the timeline like a badly written lost Back to the Future script.

The Hotel Saga

Let’s jump back in time to last Thursday morning when Jonathan called The Saltley Inn to confirm his booking. Whilst on the phone with the Saltley Inn he kindly also checked on the bookings for the rest of us also planning to stay there.

It turns out there had been an error in my booking and I was only booked in on the Friday night, and not the Saturday as well.

This was no good to me I was planning on being at the show all three days. I’d paid for three days parking at the NEC. What bloody good was one night to me?

So I tried to cancel the booking with the plan of driving to the expo each day.

Sadly the Saltley Inn wouldn’t let me cancel for free (they saw it as my error that should have been picked up back in January when I booked, they have a point). So I said if I was going to pay for the room anyway that I would not be cancelling.

I’m going to jump now to Friday evening and arriving at the Saltley Inn. I’ll talk more about Friday at the expo once this tale is over.

I arrive at the address of the Saltley Inn. It’s not obvious where the hotels parking is, so I park on side street next to the Inn.

Inside I approach the woman behind the bar to check in.

All I can tell you about the next few moments as I was checked in is that this was a very uncomfortable experience where I was most definitely made to feel like an inconvenience.

Oh and a heads up the Saltley Inn requires photo id to check you in. A fact not mentioned on the Inns Booking.com description. It was lucky that I had some with me.

I did ask about the hotel parking and was told about a blue gate on the side street to go through. If only there had been a sign of some sort identifying it as belonging to the hotel and their parking. At best without being blocked in there was space for three cars. Hardly adequate for a twenty room inn.

My room for a double was small. There was no tea/coffee making facilities in the room. So how was I to make a hot drink if I wanted one, especially in the morning when I woke up?

I definitely had to draw the blinds to the room considering that the first floor bedrooms of the terraced houses on the street next to the inn looked directly into the room. Being able to draw the blinds was a fluff that involved climbing on the bed, and reaching up to the cord mechanism that was three quarters of the way up the window. I think it is fair to say not easy to get to.

Not long after being “settled” in my room I needed to make use of the en-suite facilities. There was not much toilet paper on the holder, and no sign of a spare roll anywhere in the room. Even worse was were they had put the toilet roll holder. Not to one side within easy reach. Nope it was directly behind you above the cistern.

There was no free Wi-Fi, or hotel Wi-Fi (as you can pay for at a Travelodge). No if you wanted Wi-Fi so you weren’t burning through your data plan then you could pay the extortionate BT Wi-Fi fees. Not an ideal solution at all.

I was beginning to think that I had had a lucky escape not having to spend a second night in this over priced unwelcoming inn.

Once Charlene and her family had arrived and got settled in I met up with them to see if it was just me that the bar staff/receptionist had an issue with. It turns out their experience of checking in was similar to mine. It wasn’t just me. It was the grump behind the counter.

Charlene also dropped the breakfast bomb as well. If we wanted breakfast at the inn then that was only served after 9am! Was the Booking.com description just a work of fiction.

What hurt even more was Charlene was paying half what I was for her double room! and I booked earlier!!

Hold on folks we are now going to jump forward to Saturday morning.

I had plans for the expo which meant I needed to be there by 8am. So I was up, showered, packed, and ready to hit the road by 7am.

Guess what the Saltley Inn doesn’t have at that time of the morning? Any staff. The bar is locked up securely. So I ended up putting my room key through their letter box, and messaging them that I had done that. Good job I didn’t need toilet paper.

And that is the end of my bad experience at The Saltley Inn. A place I intend to never return to.

No for our next time jump…

A bloody early start

It’s dawn, five am to be precise. A little chill in the air for the Friday morning. But I had a plan. I needed to be on the road by five thirty.

I wanted to be at the NEC by eight at the latest.

After filling up at the local Tesco, and finding out their cash machine was out of order (are any cash machines in Wisbech working at the moment?) I was on the A47 and heading towards Peterborough.

At Eye I pulled into McDonalds and got my standard breakfast order Double Sausage Egg McMuffin Meal with a latte., and was back on the road.

An hour and a half later I was at the NEC pulling into the East 1 car park.

After a gentle relaxed stroll from the car park to the expo I was in a small queue outside Hall 3 waiting for them to allow folks to buy/collect their tickets for the expo.

I decided I’d cut my losses and just do two days this year and head on back late Saturday afternoon.

At 9am as the Hall 1 doors opened I made straight to the shop and drop to get a box for the day (best £3 you will spend at the expo folks).

After a wonder round Hall 1 I was just about to make my way up the stairs to look round Hall 2 when I saw Ben coming down the stairs.

Don’t tell Ben this but I did rather enjoy spending time with him at the show.

Later in the morning I bumped into Sarah of Board games in Minutes who I follow and talk to on Twitter. Sarah came all the way from the US to attend the expo. That’s dedication.

However Sarah is so nice and friendly. I didn’t get a chance to play any games with her at the show. However Sarah did tell me about one of the shows hot games After Us. A game that did seem to tick a few boxes for me, such as deck building, theme (Planet of the Apes), art (which looks amazing). Sadly that days allocation had already sold out. I would have to try and get a copy Saturday before that days allocation sold out if I was interested in getting it.

My big purchase of the day was the Alley Cat reprint of Amun-re 20th anniversary edition. They had the deluxe edition and the regular. I went with the deluxe edition. I felt lucky that had copies to sell as it was only just being sent out to backers.

I also managed to meet up with my friend Byron and try his latest prototype currently called Tabletop Skirmish.

I liked the game a lot and shared my thoughts with Byron on the game. I do try and give honest opinions and constructive feed back. So if I said I like it I like it. Can’t wait for the Kickstarter.

I also managed to get a couple of samples of the coffee bags that WotC/Hasbro are offering on their new D&D themed coffee subscription service! Talk about diversifying. I’ll be trying that coffee later in the week.

The nice thing about Friday was I did bump into friends throughout the day. It sounds like I was meeting lots of people, but it was four or five at most.

I think that is the highlight for me of going to the expo.

Are you ready for our next time jump?

Saturday

My breakfast was a subway breakfast roll from a garage on the way from the Saltley Inn to the NEC. I also ended up buying a load of different flavoured Dr Peppers and Fanta to try with Mum when I got home. Hey in my defence these were imported American flavours that we don’t get in our supermarkets.

As I was queuing outside Hall 2 ready to dash and get a copy of After Us I got a message from Marcin. Could I pick up the last copy of the Outlive expansion from Firestorm Games as soon as the doors opened?

I don’t like disappointing friends, but I had got there early to get my hands on a copy of After Us. So I told Marcin I would go there straight after I got my game.

I was at the front of the queue for Hall 2 and still there were people already queuing for After Us before me! How? I call shenanigans.

Ok what was special about After Us? Well it was the UKGE exclusive box cover art that had Big Ben on it, instead of the regular Eiffel Tower art. Plus there was only one stand selling it with a limited supply. It was definitely one of the hottest games at the show.

As I was about to purchase my copy of After Us I saw that they also had the Outlive expansion Marcin wanted. I could kill two birds with one stone. Boy was I happy.

Midday saw those of us from Fenland Gamers at the expo for the day meet up for the traditional group photo.

I briefly bumped into Sarah in the morning. For some-one surviving on so little sleep during the expo she looked in remarkably good shape, and alert. Not sure how much of that was caffeine fuelled. She had purchased a rather stylish gaming bag. It looked very fabulous.

The other game I bought was Trek 12: Himalaya and it’s expansion. It’s a roll and write about climbing in the Himalayas with a “campaign” mode.

I also splashed out on a set of clay gaming chips to use with boardgames. They aren’t cheap but they are top end chips.

By mid afternoon I was getting tired and decided to call it a day for my time at the expo.

It was off home after an enjoyable two days at the expo punctuated by the hotel from hell experience.

My May 2023 Gaming

bgstat, by the numbers, gaming stats, stats

Thanks to the car taking me out of action for two weeks my May gaming was pretty sad.

But to be fair those games I did get to play were pretty cool and played with friends.

  • Star Wars: The Deckbuilding Game;
  • Letters from Whitechapel;
  • A Game of Thrones: The Board Game (Second Edition);
  • Terra Mystica;
  • War of the Ring: The Card Game;
  • Amun-Re;
  • Libertalia: Winds of Galecrest;
  • Red Rising;
  • Cat in the Box: Deluxe Edition.

I’m hoping this weekend at UKGE a couple of them will join my collection.

Oh and today saw the release of four more promo packs for Rolling Realms. Three are the standard based on third party games. With the fourth being a new solo campaign for the game that can be used with the majority of cards with the game (yes that includes promos too) called Beyond the Realmiverse.

And yes within minutes of them going on sale they were in the virtual basket and ordered.

Rolling Realms will be in my bag for UKGE.

The Remaining Two Days of the Long Weekend

Game day

The remaining two days of the English (there wasn’t a bank holiday in Scotland) long weekend were spent gaming.

Sunday saw Marcin and I playing War of the Ring card game.

It was a game he’d wanted to try. And I don’t need much of an excuse to get the game (or any game really) to the table.

Unlike my first game with Nathan where we played The Fellowship scenario. Marcin and I played the two player duel scenario. I do want to try the full four player experience. But I think that playing it as two players and managing two decks each is too clunky.

Marcin played the forces of Sauron, whilst I played the Free people.

Sundays Gaming

It took us nearly three hours to play our game. But it was fun. I love the depth this game has. Those decisions you have to make with your cards. Whether to play, discard or eliminate. It’s tough. Each decision doesn’t just impact your current play and battlegrounds but future turns and the options (ie cards) you have available.

There is an expansion coming out that apparently adds solo and co-op to the game. But shouldn’t these have been in the core game from day one? If that is all the expansion adds then I won’t be getting it. I want more cards. Maybe official scenarios for the remaining two books.

However I bet you are all wondering who won our game. Well it was a win for Sauron once again. Which is a long winded way of saying Marcin.

Bank Holiday Monday saw Marcin playing host again but this time to Jeff, Diego, Dave, and myself.

Our first game of the afternoon was Libertalia Winds of Galecrest.

A poor scoring first round for me gave Dave enough of a cushion for the rest of the game to comfortably get the win.

Our second and final game was Amun-re by Reiner Knizia.

Although out in 2003 a game I’d never played before.

I really liked the game.

Bank Holiday Monday Gaming

The auction mechanic is fun. Particularly when you hit the second era and the plots come up for auction again. The competition to win an auction becomes more cut throat as the plots now have (or should have) pyramids on them also. Which makes them more valuable to get for end game scoring, especially those with two pyramids on.

I could see this in my collection.

Despite the odd rule mistake, which does taint the win, Dave claimed victory for a clean sweep of wins for the afternoon.

I can’t say a big enough thank you to Marcin for hosting the two days gaming. And I didn’t even steal the cute dog he was dog sitting either.

This sounds like a broken record but this has been three great days of gaming with friends that I’ve really enjoyed. A perfect long weekend.

Brief update ahead of UKGE

rant, UKGE

I’ve already said what my plans are for this coming weekends UKGE.

The car parking for the three days has been paid. Saving me a fiver according to the official website. Which is better than nothing and worth doing. Unlike getting your tickets to UKGE in advance which has absolutely zero benefit.

I’m not sure how the attendance for the expo will be effected by the two day train strike starting on the Friday. It will naturally mean some won’t be able to attend. But in any significant numbers? We’ll have to see.

I’ve caught some coverage about the expo online. Sometimes these content creators/social influencers (same thing as far as I can tell) just annoy me with their bad takes, factual errors, etc. In this case it’s not being sure about their facts. At least do some basic research before opening your mouth! And these are the folks the expo organisers court, give press passes to.

But the excitement is building for the weekend. I’m really looking forward to being at the expo.

Dragons on the Iron Throne

Game day, game of thrones

After a week of doing nothing gaming wise and silence on here I finally have something to write about!

There was no gaming Friday night. However half term did get a good start with a game of A Game of Thrones the boardgame second edition on Saturday afternoon.

Dave (Stark), Jeff (Targaryen), Jonas (Arryn), and myself (Baratheon) gathered together to fight for control of Westeros and to sit on the Iron Throne. That left Greyjoy, Lannister, Martell, and Tyrell becoming vassal houses.

Our battlefield was the base game plus the Mother of Dragons expansion and the awesome playmat (below).

We also used the Tides of Battle deck during combat.

Usually I’d use either the A Feast for Crows or the A Dance With Dragons expansions for the relevant player count. They can still be used with the Mother of Dragons expansion. But not in the same way. However I love how the Mother of Dragons turns the unused houses into vassal houses that are controlled by the players.

Control of those vassal houses can change each round. So you are in that difficult position when using them of trying to use them for your own tactical advantage. But not leaving them in a state that if controlled by someone else they can hurt your plans.

You can watch our game condensed down to a thirty odd second video below.

I decided to look at the history books of my game plays that is the bgstat app, and I have never won a game of AGoT! Never!

And yet I love the game.

I get to play with my friends. I love the banter, dealing and backstabbing. And that’s before I even start on the other aspects of the gameplay/mechanics that I love.

Our game only went five rounds before Jeff and his dragons won.

A great afternoon gaming. A great way to start the half term.

Sunday Afternoon Gaming is Back!

Game day

The plan was is Clack could make it we’d play three player Scythe. Otherwise Dave and I would play Star Wars the Deckbuilding Game and War of the Ring the card game.

However I wouldn’t know until Dave got there which plan we’d be doing. So I had no idea how many tables to get out or which game to set up. I hate not being able to get the setting up done in advance of folks turning up.

It looked like it was plan B. It’d be Dave and myself gaming.

We started off with Star Wars the deckbuilding game.

Dave was the “good guys” as he described them from the movies in their white armour, aka the Empire. Whilst I was the rebels. We used the suggested first/learning game setup from the rule book, with the optional rule allowing you to bribe neutral cards from the Galaxy row and place them in the discard pile and not your deck. The victor would be the first person to defeat three bases of the opponent.

Our first game was over relatively quickly with the rebels rushing the empire bases to get the win.

We enjoyed that first game so much that we wanted to play again.

Our second game we used the Whole Galaxy rules which basically means you are using all ten base cards. You are also playing the first to four bases defeated. It’s described in the rule book as the way the game was intended to be played.

It was another rebel victory.

Our remaining games were with the secret base rules. This is where apart from the starting base you choose four other bases and the rest go back in the box unseen. So your opponent has no idea what bases you have chosen.

I like this version of the rules. It gives you moments in the game where when you have to select your next base you regret not having one of those you put back in the box as it would be better for where the current game is.

We played three games using the secret base rules which saw an empire comeback to level the score at 2-2. Luckily the decider was won by the rebels.

So we spent the afternoon playing Star Wars the Deckbuilding Game with the War of the Ring Card Game not getting a look in.

Yes we both thought the game was that much fun that we were happy just playing that.

There are some nice touches to this deckbuilder that make it standout. Some I’m only coming across for the first time, others I am familiar with.

I think the first most obvious difference is the galaxy row or trade row. Only being able to buy your own faction cards or neutral ones is huge, and can be annoying if the cards hate you and it is full of the other sides cards! But the fact that you can attack the other sides cards in the galaxy row to remove them, and get a benefit for doing so is a nice touch.

Then there is the force and the tug of war that can be. The benefit of having the force with you is that some cards require you to have the force to trigger a more powerful benefit. For instance Darth Vader does even more damage if the empire has the force.

I like the bases and the benefits they give you either as you reveal them or as an on going ability.

There were some turns were I was getting some nice synergies/combos and drawing extra cards, getting cards for free and into play straight away.

It’s not a big thing but having the two coloured cubes to track attack and resources during your turn is really handy. It does stop you losing track and miscounting, well greatly reduces it.

Then you get fanboy moments as characters like Luke and co appear in the galaxy row and you hope that your opponent doesn’t track them before you get a chance to buy them.

The game itself has characters from the original trilogy and Rogue One. Although there are some notable characters missing. In one game I was just missing Luke to complete having the whole gang.

I really like the game. I think when I introduce Nathan to it so will he and I’ll be buying a copy for him.

Two copies does allow you play a 2v2 game for which you have to download the rules from the FFG website.

Look the bottom line is if you like deckbuilders, especially the aggressive ones like Star Realms then you will like Star Wars the Deckbuilding Game.

Star Wars Unlimited Some Thoughts

news, rant, star wars

Last week FFG dropped a teaser trailer (embedded below) on YouTube for a new Star Wars collectible card game (ccg) called Star Wars Unlimited that is coming out in 2024.

And you know what the world needs is more opinion based on the very scarce information that is out there from the over represented demographic that I am part of.

I know nothing about the game play, price model, etc. So what follows is pure speculation and blue sky thinking.

FFG are not strangers to the ccg model (Star Wars Destiny, Keyforge) despite being more known for creating the lcg model and using that.

But there are a few hurdles FFG need to over come to make Star Wars Unlimited a success that isn’t just a flash in the pan.

These are the same hurdles that the Disney Lorcana ccg will also have to overcome when it comes out later this year.

The first hurdle being supply of the initial release. FFG have not had a good record on this front. Grossly underestimating demand, and long delays before getting more produced and into shops will damage the sales and take up of the game. It happened to Star Wars Destiny and also to some extent Keyforge. New players need to be able to easily get their hands on the game after trying it. FFG haven’t had a great record on this front so far.

Next up is the release schedule of the sets/expansions. Another area FFG did not have much success with in the past. But then neither have Plaid Hat Games with Ashes, or Wizkids with Dice Masters. Wizkids and FFG had delays that clashed with the following set. So you ended up with small delays between sets, no time to explore the new stuff. It ended up messy and expensive. With Ashes it was long long delays between sets that helped kill it off.

FFG also need to get the number of sets released in a year right. Which I believe is going to be three. WotC in their attempt to gauge more money from players have been releasing a ridiculous amount to product in a year. For me and my wallet I think FFG have hit the right amount to release.

Organised play (OP) is one area I think FFG have always been weak. But going from the YouTube video (below) it looks like they have learnt a lot from WotC.

I’d like to see more about the prize support. But with pre-releases being a thing now, draft, limited formats. We are in for more of an MtG experience I hope.

I’ve yet to see what the Lorcana plans are for OP. But OP is the life blood of the game that along with the availability will determine if the game has legs (if we assume the game play is good).

Rotation. There has to be rotation. Which sets are legal for the Unlimited version of standard and for how long. Obviously there has to be their eternal format as well where all cards can be played. Plus how will they handle bannings? But I’m sure they will release those details in the following months.

I think if they can solve these issues then we should have a hit on our hands that won’t be more than a flash in the pan.

I have some thoughts on the first look video contents but they are for another day.