Good morning everyone, please say hello to my good friend Professor Farkling. He’ll be taking the reins for me on this lovely Monday morning while I am engaged with other pressing matters. I hope to be back with some free time to update some more later this week, but until then, please enjoy!
(and now we have a tabletop RPGs category, just for you!)
-Endymian
Greetings fellow gamers, wanderers of the internet and/or opinion seekers!
I realize I’m a complete unknown here, but I have submitted this guest column to Endymian in the event he needs some coverage or blogging space during this busy time of his real life (as opposed to his internet life).
My online handle is Farkling, or Professor Farkling if you are feeling formal.
I am also a Gamer for Life, though of a different breed than Endymian himself. I’m far more critical than Endymian. He’s at heart a nice, enthusiastic guy. I am also less of a console gamer, and more of a pen and paper RPG person. However, as Endymian does NOT have an RPG category here at Gamer’s University, I will not spend my first shot at the pixels on something like ‘An in depth glance at the versatility of the 6th Edition Revised HERO System’
We can save a discussion or evaluation of various RPG’s for a site that is actively interested. *heh*
Boardgames are definitely one of the places Endymian and I find common ground (well, and certain Square products…). So I was going to beat him to the punch and give a short look at Dungeon Lords (from Z-Man Games). However, I felt it might be better to, say, establish credentials with his normal readers. So I shall give pocket commentary on the games he has reviewed.
Dominion
We are both fond of this game. We both suffer from being distracted by the shinies, or revenge or trying to find shields. It does not take long to learn. It is difficult to be a master. The next time Endymian and I play this like our most recent game, we are going to have to find a way to assault one of our fellow players. I think we need to actively interfere with him to win. He is very good at deck building.
It isn’t complicated though, even if we make it sound that way. The rules are fairly easy to follow, and include examples. Speaking from the point of view of an instructor, I have quickly taught this to both an 11-year old, and to non-gamers. The game is slick enough that if the medieval theme doesn’t put off your non-gamer spouse / friends, you should be able to get them to play through a few times. My non-gamer spouse likes it a lot, and has managed to distract me with shinies and bring in a few wins.
(My nephew say, if the medieval ruler thing does put off anyone, get the Seaside expansion to go along with it. Everyone likes pirates if there are no ninjas!)
One clarification. Combining an expansion to increase the players is designed for six players at most. When we have played with 8 we have been playing a little looser with the rules as written. We are also all veteran players, so the downtime between turns doesn’t stack up.
Thunderstone
I have played Thunderstone multiple times. I have played many, many hands of Dominion. I have played quite a few games of Tomb. Thunderstone is a Dominion style of Tomb in my eyes. However, it lacked the spark for me that Tomb and Dominion have. It is trying to be both style of game, and just doesn’t make the grade for me personally. I do like the mechanic for leveling up your adventurers. I also admire the need for ‘Light’ to penetrate into the Dungeons. The mechanic of using resources provided by the defeated monsters feels like it needed more thought, and the treasure system lacks something that I still can’t describe. Also, this is in my eyes, a game for gamers (as Tomb is). I could teach Dominion to my mother, and she would probably like it. She would try Tomb with her grandson. I can’t picture teaching Thunderstone to a non-gamer that didn’t like one of those games.
Additional observation: Thunderstone has more of a point than Dominion. There is a definite goal. ‘Kill the Monsters. Find the Thunderstone.’ I think the downside to me stems from the Thunderstone being the goal, yet not the win. Perhaps Endymian and I could discuss that online at some point. Perhaps Endymian and I should review the extra Dominion boxes instead.
Sorry for the massive post. I should be shorter and more to the point.
Thanks for reading. Let Endymian know if I should post more or be stricken from the rolls.
Cheers!
Farkling
