Hi, I want to buy a beautiful ameritrash (great detail to the physical elements of the game) horror-themed board game. I just want it to be the one with the best mechanics and most "fun". I would like to hear some ideas but also some arguments I can use to convince my LGS buddies to play it.
I have been checking out Kingdom Death, I have not bought it because even tho it's beautiful it is also expensive as fuck and people have told me is not a good game.
I have also considered Zombicide: Black Plague, but there is some loud dork in my group who claims is the most awful shit ever made.
Then there is The Others, which I will not buy because a friend already owns it and sometimes he even fucking remembers we like to play it.
I have also considered the Dark Souls game, which I played at a game store in another city. Is not bad, but I kind of dislike the node layout of the board and the movement mechanics. I know very little of the Bloodborne game.
I could go for a LCG or a deckbuilding like Dominion if the cardboard is of great quality, is the Cthulhu LCG a multiplayer game or is it 1 vs. 1? How is it?
I had a fucking blast playing Betrayal at the House in the Hill at a cousin's house and it is the one game I am currently considering to buy (even though the minis are a bit meh), but I would like to read Veeky Forums thoughts before buying anything.
To be honest, I could even go for an Euro-style horror-themed game, but I have not heard of such a thing (zombie placement mechanics instead of worker placement????).
James Nguyen
Have you considered Mansions of Madness?
Xavier Williams
>Mansions of Madness
Seconding this, it's superior to Betrayal in basically every way.
Gavin White
nope, and it has, i just Googled, a trove of minis and pretty stuff, is it good and """"""fun"""""""? Does it play like Betrayal?
Lucas Carter
Well, Betrayal does have the fun cooperative/competitive side with one player becoming the bad guy, but the downside is that some of the Haunts are a lot less interesting than others.
Although I am very interested about the upcoming Betrayal Legacy. Focusing the game on fewer, better Haunts and having some sort of permanent progression seems like it could make for a very fun experience.
Eli Cook
Mansions of Madness 2e is kind of a boxed horror board game. It comes with a companion app which stores data, runs monsters and has events occur as your investigators explore various environments in a lot of different scenarios, trying to discover clues, unravel mysteries and defeat monsters before things get out of hand. It's Betrayal-esque without the, well, betrayal mechanic.
Joseph Evans
so, you also build the mansion out of random, predetermined tiles as you explore it? does it has the element of one of the players eventually betraying the party or is it about a game master versus a players party? I like it is Cthulhu themed
Leo Barnes
*Boxed horror RPG
I always manage to gloss over important words
Ryan Fisher
>Betrayal Legacy Considering the kind of “social circle” the developers are part of given the guest writers of the WW expansion, I shouldn’t be surprised that those hacks are trying to cash in on the Legacy meme now.
Thomas Parker
so, it allows full cooperative mode without a game master (the app is the game master)? I think I have seen the app at the android store.
Xavier Gray
I don't know about you, but Legacy has never struck me as a meme. I've played both Risk and Pandemic legacy campaigns to completion, and they're some of the most fun I've ever had with a board game.
The only meme, really, is that you can't play a legacy game after you complete it. When the campaign is over it's still a 100% functional game, just one that is unique to you and your playgroup. My friends still bust out our old Risk Legacy map from time to time, remembering the battles that shaped the world as we fight over it.
Oliver Powell
Pretty much, yeah. The app acts as the GM.
Samuel Allen
Arkham/Eldritch Horror Kingdom Death
Those are the ones I own at least.I
Samuel Lee
there's also planet apocalypse, which is still just a kickstarter and might either fail to deliver (on time or completely) or might just suck balls the minis are cool, but the board seems more like a progress track towards apocalypse than a spatial board But, the minis are pretty
Matthew Perez
well, I'm not buying anything until I get home tonight, but I have to admit that game is making my bones moist.
Benjamin Edwards
It's worth keeping in mind that it is a Fantasy Flight game, which is a double edged sword. It guarantees high production values and a lot of support in terms of expansions, but also a higher base pricepoint than you'd see from another company. Still, Mansions of Madness 2e is some good shit, and there's enough scenarios to make it well worth the money for the amount of gameplay you can get out of it.
Colton Ortiz
thanks, dub-man
Nicholas Morris
speaking of FF, there is also the DOOM: Boardgame
Anthony Torres
Somewhat related question from not-OP user:
I've been thinking about making an Ameritrash horror-themed boardgame, where players play the part of mad scientists and build creatures using cards to compete in tests of "skill" and luck. Players would advance along a game board with their monster token, coming up against plastic challenges that, depending on how they're set up, require different skill rolls and abilities to complete. Basically, it's a complicated version of Mouse Trap.
However, I also want there to be opportunities for backstabbing and battle royale. Would it fatally unbalance a game if I had mechanics for players attacking other players?
Is it un-fun if I limit combat to only a few attacks or only at specific times, and with specific negative effects on the players progress along the board? Or does that make combat too detrimental and players are less likely to fight one another?
Angel Taylor
If the whole point of the game is based on building creatures using cards (which has been done before by a few games, but is a good mechanic), then clearly attacks should entirely be used to steal cards from another players monster, forcibly adding it to yours instead. To balance it you could have some sort of catchup mechanic, like Rage or Indignation tokens, that you could spend to pass challenges or to get new parts, still making it a downside but giving you opportunities to close the gap.
Nathan Jones
That sounds like a good idea. I didn't consider having players steal parts off one another, just fighting to the death or taking off a card.
My original catch-up mechanic was just giving the losing player a chance to draw a new card from the deck, or putting in a "mob" mechanic where the peasant mob finally storms the mad scientist's castle and the players without monsters could use that as a chance to rebuild. But your idea about tokens sounds much better for game balance.
Julian Phillips
Kingdom Death is the patrician choice for a horror boardgame. Pretty much as ameritrash as it can get. I don't know who told you the game sucks but here is user telling you the game is fucking awesome. Yes it is a bit pricy if you didn't get it in the kickstarter but if building and or painting nice models is up your alley you can't go wrong for the price. If you are only interested in a game and not the hobby aspect I would steer clear of KD though because that is where a lot of value comes from. Between building the models and playing the game , your dollar value per hour will be very low. Anyone who says it sucks either opened their box and said "WTF I have to put this shit together?" or looked at the price and said "WTF this sucks". I have not heard much complaining from anyone who knew what they were getting into
Brayden Smith
>Would it fatally unbalance a game if I had mechanics for players attacking other players? no, as long as you have either soft or hard brakes stopping the leading players to shit on the guy last and as long as shit is not too swingy (1st and last constantly exchanging places) > limit combat to only a few attacks or only at specific times I don't think that matter what matters is that the winning player and everyone behind him are only at arms reach of each other score-wise, otherwise it becomes like risk and memepoly where you lost two hours ago but the game will drag for many hours more
Owen Harris
>Pretty much as ameritrash as it can get. >patrician choice pretty much, it's the cadillac of ameritrash horror I might eventually buy it by the end of the year by piling together extra disposable income from my still-not-completelty-certain-it-will-happen raise The person who told me it sucks is a hobby person like myself, his complaints were that very little happens between battles and what happens is mostly meaningless for the greater arc of the game, also that is a pain to put away and place back on table, he bought is and uses the White Lion mini for RPGs but I have never been able to convince him to bring it to the store (or unbox it the few times I have been to his apartment)
Carson Fisher
Well fuck, see if that idiot will sell it to you so he can recoup some of his "losses". Otherwise keep an eye out for the next core game sale I guess.
I love it. The only issue I have is that every expansion has been sold out for months and from what I've heard from others and seen in scans is that the the two with alternate campaigns, and several other quarries add significant variety to all phases of the game. I need something because it swiftly turns into farming Lions and Antelope between fights with the stars of the campaign: the nemesis encounters. I need my alternate campaigns and and additional quarries Poots you cunt. Do you really not want more of my money?
Blake Powell
If you are not in a hurry like OP watch for it on black friday this year , I can almost garuntee there will be a decent discount on the core game Wave 2 is shipping march 7th give or take a bit depending on where you are in the world. After wave 2 is well underway Poots will be listing all 12 existing expansions on his web store. He just wont want people who order from his store getting expansions before a bunch of the backers, but they are coming
Matthew Brooks
>I have been checking out Kingdom Death, I have not bought it because even tho it's beautiful it is also expensive as fuck and people have told me is not a good game.
Sounds like you've been lied to.
There are some valid minor criticisms to be had, but all in all it is still a fairly good game.
Carter Sullivan
>very little happens between battles and what happens is mostly meaningless for the greater arc of the game
Sounds like the player is the problem here.
The discussions had during the settlement phase and hunt phase are incredibly entertaining among all the groups I've played with.