OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

All discussions regarding Board, Card, and RPG Gaming, including industry discussion, that don't belong in one of the other gaming forums.

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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by hepcat »

Got my copy of Machina Arcana this weekend. It looks interesting and it seems to have some solid mechanics, but I won’t know for sure until I get it on the table.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by $iljanus »

WYBaugh wrote: Wed Dec 25, 2019 1:11 pm Hey guys!

I've been perusing this awesome thread and would like to get a recommendation from the experts:

Board Game noob looking for a fun and engaging solo experience. Which would you recommend from the following?

The 7th Continent
Star Trek Frontiers
Street Masters
Star Wars Outer Rim
Target for Today
Mage Knight

Thanks guys and Merry Christmas!
Much easier to answer this on a full sized keyboard vs a phone or iPad so if it's not too late I'll throw in my two virtual cents.

So I own three of the games on your list: Star Trek Frontiers, Street Masters and Target for Today. I'll start with Star Trek Frontiers.

I only brought that to my table once but I did enjoy it due to the Star Trek theme. Playing solo was fine and various player aids that you can find on Board Game Geek were pretty useful. I did find I was running out of room on the table as more areas were explored so having some table space would be recommended. I also have the Return of Khan expansion which supposedly adds to the solo experience and even more importantly you get to go up against "the superior intellect" that is Khan Noonien Singh. You also can have the crew of the original Enterprise in the game along with the Enterprise-A so I think the next time I break out the game I'll be playing with the Khan expansion.

I recently received my Street Masters plus Aftershock all in a box as big as a small child pledge. I've played that maybe 3 or so times and I want to get it back on the table soon. You certainly get a lot of gaming fun in just the base game and if the discounts that were posted are still in effect it would be a front runner for purchase. Playing solo is pretty easy and I played with two characters which wasn't hard to keep track of at all. The cards can take up some table space but the actual game board where the miniatures move around and attack each other is not overwhelmingly large. The rules aren't too complex and with the number of characters you have in the box there are quite a few hero combinations you can play with, each with different tactical approaches.

If you didn't know from the threads I've posted, I'm a big fan of Target for Today which is the spiritual successor of the Avalon Hill game B-17 Queen of the Skies. Unlike the other board games, this one is what I like to call a "narrative" sort of game where you choose a bombing campaign, pick a type of plane and roll the dice to determine all sorts of things like the target, weather, attacks, etc. The amount of choice you have in the game is limited but I enjoy this type of game because I like being involved in an unfolding story and don't mind the limits on the choices I can make. There's quite a bit of referring to tables throughout the game but I didn't find it very cumbersome after a short while.

If I were limited to choosing just one, I'd go with Street Masters if it's still on sale due to the amount of game you get in the box. I'm pretty happy with all three of my purchases though and I also recommend if you haven't already, looking at playthrough and review videos for all the games you're interested in which can be found on Board Game Geek. That can give you more of a sense of what the game is all about when you see it played.

Good luck and happy to give advice on how to spend your money! :csmile:
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by WYBaugh »

$iljanus wrote: Wed Jan 01, 2020 4:54 pm
Much easier to answer this on a full sized keyboard vs a phone or iPad so if it's not too late I'll throw in my two virtual cents.

So I own three of the games on your list: Star Trek Frontiers, Street Masters and Target for Today. I'll start with Star Trek Frontiers.

I only brought that to my table once but I did enjoy it due to the Star Trek theme. Playing solo was fine and various player aids that you can find on Board Game Geek were pretty useful. I did find I was running out of room on the table as more areas were explored so having some table space would be recommended. I also have the Return of Khan expansion which supposedly adds to the solo experience and even more importantly you get to go up against "the superior intellect" that is Khan Noonien Singh. You also can have the crew of the original Enterprise in the game along with the Enterprise-A so I think the next time I break out the game I'll be playing with the Khan expansion.

I recently received my Street Masters plus Aftershock all in a box as big as a small child pledge. I've played that maybe 3 or so times and I want to get it back on the table soon. You certainly get a lot of gaming fun in just the base game and if the discounts that were posted are still in effect it would be a front runner for purchase. Playing solo is pretty easy and I played with two characters which wasn't hard to keep track of at all. The cards can take up some table space but the actual game board where the miniatures move around and attack each other is not overwhelmingly large. The rules aren't too complex and with the number of characters you have in the box there are quite a few hero combinations you can play with, each with different tactical approaches.

If you didn't know from the threads I've posted, I'm a big fan of Target for Today which is the spiritual successor of the Avalon Hill game B-17 Queen of the Skies. Unlike the other board games, this one is what I like to call a "narrative" sort of game where you choose a bombing campaign, pick a type of plane and roll the dice to determine all sorts of things like the target, weather, attacks, etc. The amount of choice you have in the game is limited but I enjoy this type of game because I like being involved in an unfolding story and don't mind the limits on the choices I can make. There's quite a bit of referring to tables throughout the game but I didn't find it very cumbersome after a short while.

If I were limited to choosing just one, I'd go with Street Masters if it's still on sale due to the amount of game you get in the box. I'm pretty happy with all three of my purchases though and I also recommend if you haven't already, looking at playthrough and review videos for all the games you're interested in which can be found on Board Game Geek. That can give you more of a sense of what the game is all about when you see it played.

Good luck and happy to give advice on how to spend your money! :csmile:
Hey $iljanus and everyone else...thank you for the thoughtful responses!

From reading $iljanus's posts I decided to go with Target for Today. I also picked up Onirim for me and the Mrs to play (hopefully she will). So this wil not be the last of the purchases so will definitely keep all of the recommendations in mind for the next spend.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by $iljanus »

Looking forward to your impressions and I hope you enjoy it as much as I have! Will gladly answer any questions you may have when you get the game.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Smoove_B »

Oh wow, somehow I totally missed the question. I would agree with $iljanus, though in truth I haven't played every single title on your list. However, given how much it feels like you're playing a classic late 80s / early 90s arcade fighter I think the chances of it being a winner are good. It has a very small footprint, it's easy to learn and will play quick. As your first game it might be a bit overwhelming with all the decks, but if you follow the tutorial or use Youtube, I am confident it's easy to learn.

The 7th Continent is great, but it's a more like reading a book or maybe playing an old school point and click adventure. Opinions seem very polarized, but I like it quite a bit. Not something I think I can play all the time, but it's enjoyable as a re-implementation of the 1980s game books (IMHO).

Mage Knight (to me) was a game that I understand why people love it, but it's not for me.

I think Target for Today is a solid choice and as a game that's truly solo, I think it's a smart move.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by wonderpug »

I can speak to Star Wars Outer Rim. I would say it has potential to be a fun solo game, but after two plays I didn't find the AI deck out of the box to be very fun. It seemed like it accelerated the gameplay too much, so that you didn't really have time to explore the character building and team-building side of the game.

That said, there are some fan-made AI decks on boardgamegeek that I'm really interested to try. I think one of them even got converted to a web-based version. If those make the AI player act a bit more organically, it could easily fix my annoyances with the solo game.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by tylertoo »

Smoove_B wrote: Tue May 08, 2018 9:43 pm My plan (I think) is to do a limited AAR (when applicable), but please, if you're solo gaming join in the fun.
More AARs puhleez.

My 2020 plan is to more regularly play the solo-able games I own (and not buy new ones). My list is now:

Space Hulk Death Angel
Deep Space D6
Unbroken
Sentinels of the Multiverse
Mice and Mystics
Zombicide: Black Plague
Judge Dredd

But filling up a good chunk of my cabinet is Gloomhaven. I had purchased and started the campaign more than a year ago, getting three scenarios in, before I lost track of where my two characters were in terms of their progression. So it sat on the table, unused, for a very long time, before I finally put it away.

Now, I'm not sure what to do with it. Part of my wants to dive in and start over, and commit to a scenario or two per week. Part of me thinks I'm better off selling it and focusing on smaller games like those above. Alternately, I guess I could play some of the non-campaign scenarios and see if it still grabs me.

Time is the great limiter. I also want time for PC gaming and reading.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Blackhawk »

That's my plan as well. I was given all four editions of the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game for Christmas 2018, plus have a few others that I really want to play/play more of. Off the top of my head:

Dragonfire/Shadowrun: Crossfire (which I enjoyed, although it had its issues.)
Deep Space D6
Sword & Sorcery
Mage Knight
Hostage Negotiator (once the Career expansion arrives)
Core Space (once I get the ebay crap straightened out)
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by hentzau »

Blackhawk wrote: Fri Jan 03, 2020 11:42 am That's my plan as well. I was given all four editions of the Pathfinder Adventure Card Game for Christmas 2018, plus have a few others that I really want to play/play more of. Off the top of my head:

Dragonfire/Shadowrun: Crossfire (which I enjoyed, although it had its issues.)
Deep Space D6
Sword & Sorcery
Mage Knight
Hostage Negotiator (once the Career expansion arrives)
Core Space (once I get the ebay crap straightened out)
Was going to ask if you had gotten anything resolved on your eBay purchase...
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Blackhawk »

I gave the guy a list. His response:
Okay, I'll track down the pieces and send them out. I'll let you know what I've found and when.
That was on Sunday the 29th. If I haven't heard from him by Monday, I'll contact him back. After that I guess I'm stuck contacting ebay. The thing is, I don't want to do a return. Replacing the few missing parts would still end up being cheaper than a new copy, especially when you take into account the drive I'd have to make to ship it back (the nearest UPS drop off is 30 miles from here.) The missing pieces can be replaced. I can order a pack of dice for ten bucks, and I can print out the ruler until they make a replacement available (they have one in the works.) The dividers I already built replacements for, the signs/box inserts are cosmetic. Only the 45 degree connector might be an issue, and that I could improvise something for.

If nothing else, I could ask him to foot the bill for the replacement parts.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Smoove_B »

And this guy had good eBay feedback for prior transactions? Sorry you're having a problem and I hope it doesn't stain the game for you.

tylertoo wrote: Fri Jan 03, 2020 11:33 amMore AARs puhleez.
I'm not great at remembering to come here and AAR things (ironically), but I'll try. Haven't really been gaming for almost a month now. Been mentally processing what I still have coming via KS and what's sitting on my shelf, untouched. I did a lot of sorting, punching and organizing as I do enjoy that part of the hobby as well. Spent some solo time building miniatures too as I hadn't done that in forever. Likely going to have a serious examination of my collection and unload another batch of games. I'm really trying to move away from being a collector and try to keep games I'll play. For a while, my space was not a limit, but money was. Now money isn't the problem and space is. As much as I enjoy looking at a literally wall full of games (and then some), it's also a bit paralyzing when I try to think about the time (as you pointed out). To quote one of the greats:
Logen Ninefingers wrote:You have to realistic about these things.
Or maybe:
Logen Ninefingers wrote:You can never have too many knives.
I think that's how I got into this mess. :D
Maybe next year, maybe no go
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by tylertoo »

Smoove_B wrote: Fri Jan 03, 2020 12:15 pm Now money isn't the problem and time is.
I adjusted this for me. Finding time is the huge issue.

Meanwhile, a question: is there an OO solo board gamers guild on BGG?

And a bit of news: the creator of Deep Space D6 is kickstarting a sequel that has multiplayer:

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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Smoove_B »

tylertoo wrote: Fri Jan 03, 2020 12:36 pm Meanwhile, a question: is there an OO solo board gamers guild on BGG?
Not quite, but there's a 1-player guild. It's a double-edged sword. It's great because you get to read about so many different types of solo games you'd never think about. It's bad because you're constantly resisting the urge to add more solo games to your collection. A great resource, but I also think reading along has made things worse for me (because it's so easy to just have something shipped in 2 days from Amazon to try out).
And a bit of news: the creator of Deep Space D6 is kickstarting a sequel that has multiplayer:

I wish him well. I was part of the D6 reprint that took almost 2 years to ship. I know he had mental health issues and I don't begrudge him too badly as he did eventually provide what was promised. But I think he burned a lot of bridges and customer goodwill. I think someone mentioned it in the KS thread here and their impressions were (IIRC) the price seemed high for what it was.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Blackhawk »

Smoove_B wrote: Fri Jan 03, 2020 12:15 pm And this guy had good eBay feedback for prior transactions? Sorry you're having a problem and I hope it doesn't stain the game for you.
five year account, 30 positive, zero negative in the last twelve months. Looks like 63 lifetime positive.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by AWS260 »

The solo mode of Era: Medieval Age is really fun. Plays fast, almost no setup time.

Image

This was my best solo result to date -- 95 points. I got lucky with the disaster rolls, with only one building lost during the game.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Tao »

Happen to be in NJ visiting family, took a ride with my sister to the mall and we stopped by Barnes and Noble...just picked up Marvel Champions+Captain America Hero Pack (sold out everywhere) +Ms. Marvel Hero Pack (sold out everywhere)+Green Goblin Scenario (sold out)for $90 bucks. So if your looking Barnes and Noble has stock.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by $iljanus »

WYBaugh wrote: Wed Jan 01, 2020 10:35 pm
$iljanus wrote: Wed Jan 01, 2020 4:54 pm
Much easier to answer this on a full sized keyboard vs a phone or iPad so if it's not too late I'll throw in my two virtual cents.

So I own three of the games on your list: Star Trek Frontiers, Street Masters and Target for Today. I'll start with Star Trek Frontiers.

I only brought that to my table once but I did enjoy it due to the Star Trek theme. Playing solo was fine and various player aids that you can find on Board Game Geek were pretty useful. I did find I was running out of room on the table as more areas were explored so having some table space would be recommended. I also have the Return of Khan expansion which supposedly adds to the solo experience and even more importantly you get to go up against "the superior intellect" that is Khan Noonien Singh. You also can have the crew of the original Enterprise in the game along with the Enterprise-A so I think the next time I break out the game I'll be playing with the Khan expansion.

I recently received my Street Masters plus Aftershock all in a box as big as a small child pledge. I've played that maybe 3 or so times and I want to get it back on the table soon. You certainly get a lot of gaming fun in just the base game and if the discounts that were posted are still in effect it would be a front runner for purchase. Playing solo is pretty easy and I played with two characters which wasn't hard to keep track of at all. The cards can take up some table space but the actual game board where the miniatures move around and attack each other is not overwhelmingly large. The rules aren't too complex and with the number of characters you have in the box there are quite a few hero combinations you can play with, each with different tactical approaches.

If you didn't know from the threads I've posted, I'm a big fan of Target for Today which is the spiritual successor of the Avalon Hill game B-17 Queen of the Skies. Unlike the other board games, this one is what I like to call a "narrative" sort of game where you choose a bombing campaign, pick a type of plane and roll the dice to determine all sorts of things like the target, weather, attacks, etc. The amount of choice you have in the game is limited but I enjoy this type of game because I like being involved in an unfolding story and don't mind the limits on the choices I can make. There's quite a bit of referring to tables throughout the game but I didn't find it very cumbersome after a short while.

If I were limited to choosing just one, I'd go with Street Masters if it's still on sale due to the amount of game you get in the box. I'm pretty happy with all three of my purchases though and I also recommend if you haven't already, looking at playthrough and review videos for all the games you're interested in which can be found on Board Game Geek. That can give you more of a sense of what the game is all about when you see it played.

Good luck and happy to give advice on how to spend your money! :csmile:
Hey $iljanus and everyone else...thank you for the thoughtful responses!

From reading $iljanus's posts I decided to go with Target for Today. I also picked up Onirim for me and the Mrs to play (hopefully she will). So this wil not be the last of the purchases so will definitely keep all of the recommendations in mind for the next spend.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Fishbelly »

Tao wrote: Thu Jan 16, 2020 9:34 pm Happen to be in NJ visiting family, took a ride with my sister to the mall and we stopped by Barnes and Noble...just picked up Marvel Champions+Captain America Hero Pack (sold out everywhere) +Ms. Marvel Hero Pack (sold out everywhere)+Green Goblin Scenario (sold out)for $90 bucks. So if your looking Barnes and Noble has stock.
They're available online from B&N as well. (mine just arrived today, woohoo!) They're selling it at msrp, but I believe they still have all 3 expansions available. I know what I'll be playing this weekend. :mrgreen:
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by YellowKing »

I'm picking up Marvel Champions this weekend (and probably the expansions). My FLGS has all of it in stock.

I don't need another game, but the hype is too powerful and I love my FF money sinks.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Smoove_B »

It's definitely fun and plays great solo. Definitely go on BGG and print out the custom deck dividers. The fact that they didn't include them with the core set is downright criminal.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Daveman »

For whatever reason I'm mildly addicted to Marvel Champions... have played nearly 30 times, only 2 games with other players. I love that you can play it truly solo (controlling just one character, not juggling 2+). The deckbuilding options are fairly simple at this point but it's interesting seeing how Aggression Iron Man plays vs. Justice Iron Man, trying to come up with a good deck vs. a particular scenario, etc. Not to mention how different the heroes all play out and feel different.

I played Aggression Iron Man and got a good feel for how he plays vs. all of the Core Set villains on normal difficulty. I played a game or two as Spider Man and Black Panther against those as well just for fun. I wanted to try out expert difficulty before moving on to the Green Goblin and that's when I hit a wall. Normal Rhino is a joke but the same Iron Man deck that can steamroll normal difficulty was a dud against Expert Rhino. Iron Man is all about taking time to get his suit together and then he becomes a multi-tasking god but there's little room for error in Expert Rhino. Iron Man has the lowest starting HP of any hero and I lost count of the 1st or 2nd round defeats I had simply because Expert Rhino killed me or got a lucky Scheme draw and finished his straightforward main scheme before I could do anything about it.

So I started coming up with a deck that could deal with Expert Rhino specifically and settled on Protection Captain America and he's been my favorite by far. He reliably handles Expert Rhino, Expert Klaw and has come really close to Expert Ultron (I blame never having Shield Toss in hand, his only AOE tool in this deck, at the right time). With that in mind I made a Black Panther deck (he's got a great AOE attack) and um, with one small cheat I managed to take down Expert Ultron on what was otherwise going to be the last turn.

Green Goblin has been an interesting challenge on normal difficulty in both his scenarios. I got pretty cocky toward expert but I'm happy playing normal Green Goblin for now, and trying out the remaining heroes. Tried out Ms. Marvel last night and that was a very different experience.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Fishbelly »

Smoove_B wrote: Fri Jan 17, 2020 10:14 pm It's definitely fun and plays great solo. Definitely go on BGG and print out the custom deck dividers. The fact that they didn't include them with the core set is downright criminal.
Agreed. I printed the horizontal dividers by Lee from the BGG page, added some thick lamination at the print shop, and they work wonderfully (other than my stupid brain-fart assumption the dividers are supposed to fit in the slots of the insert). My wife loves to pimp out games for me, and found some decent divider systems on Etsy and other places, but I'm totally happy with the free files. I think they look great.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Tao »

So as mentioned, I watched a bunch of play through videos and went to a live demo event before buying Marvel Champions. I have now played about 10 games using the pre-built Rhino vs. pre-built Spiderman and pre-built Captain Marvel. I have lost EVERY game, WTF?

The first 2 or 3 games I got a couple of rules wrong but I am pretty sure I have everything down pretty solid now and I simply cannot stop Rhino from filling his scheme card in 2 rounds. I have gotten phase 2 Rhino down to 8 or 10 health several times and in each case he is able to fill the scheme card in one or two rounds to end the game before I can finish him. I am reading posts on-line how people are finding this game "way to easy".

I just finished a game where I played just with pre-build Spiderman, I played slowly and built up a good number of upgrades and support cards before flipping Rhino, I kept his threat down to only 1 or 2 or even zero. When I finally made the move to flip Rhino I had 2 web kicks in my hand, and he only had 2 threat on his primary scheme, I really felt like I had this one as a win. I managed to wipe out Breakin and Takin in a single round so only had one extra encounter round but in one round he gained enough threat to increase it to 5 and then at the end of my turn I had to shuffle my deck, drew an encounter card, it was a nemesis and added 2 more threat to the scheme, game over...again. I have lost to that exact same scenario more than once.

This is my first LCG, never played LoTR and I understand this is supposed to be quite a bit easier but I am not seeing a solid strategy. I get that I have to juggle two resources, health and threat, right now threat seems to be the bigger issue as it is guaranteed to accumulate every round and can seriously spike. I am just not seeing how to keep threat down, damage the villain and maintain my health simultaneously. I guess I will watch a few more videos and maybe try building a custom deck and see how it goes.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Fishbelly »

Tao wrote: Sat Jan 18, 2020 1:55 pm So as mentioned, I watched a bunch of play through videos and went to a live demo event before buying Marvel Champions. I have now played about 10 games using the pre-built Rhino vs. pre-built Spiderman and pre-built Captain Marvel. I have lost EVERY game, WTF?

The first 2 or 3 games I got a couple of rules wrong but I am pretty sure I have everything down pretty solid now and I simply cannot stop Rhino from filling his scheme card in 2 rounds. I have gotten phase 2 Rhino down to 8 or 10 health several times and in each case he is able to fill the scheme card in one or two rounds to end the game before I can finish him. I am reading posts on-line how people are finding this game "way to easy".

I just finished a game where I played just with pre-build Spiderman, I played slowly and built up a good number of upgrades and support cards before flipping Rhino, I kept his threat down to only 1 or 2 or even zero. When I finally made the move to flip Rhino I had 2 web kicks in my hand, and he only had 2 threat on his primary scheme, I really felt like I had this one as a win. I managed to wipe out Breakin and Takin in a single round so only had one extra encounter round but in one round he gained enough threat to increase it to 5 and then at the end of my turn I had to shuffle my deck, drew an encounter card, it was a nemesis and added 2 more threat to the scheme, game over...again. I have lost to that exact same scenario more than once.

This is my first LCG, never played LoTR and I understand this is supposed to be quite a bit easier but I am not seeing a solid strategy. I get that I have to juggle two resources, health and threat, right now threat seems to be the bigger issue as it is guaranteed to accumulate every round and can seriously spike. I am just not seeing how to keep threat down, damage the villain and maintain my health simultaneously. I guess I will watch a few more videos and maybe try building a custom deck and see how it goes.
I had the same experience the first few plays, and worried I was either doing something drastically wrong, or I was simply terrible at this game.

I think one of the issues is the game can be a bit more swingy while playing one hero. Playing against Rhino, once you have the side scheme "Breakin' and Takin'" out & you're drawing 2 encounters a turn, it's much easier to get bad draws and tack on a ton of threat. It happened to me playing Spidey 3 games in a row. I never lost to Rhino from damage--it was always threat that did me in. I also often felt I would take out Rhino the next turn, only to be blindsided by an added 6 threat from two encounters.

Playing 2 heroes, it's easier to mitigate threat while still doing damage to the villain, but of course that makes the game longer. I'm still playing a lot of single hero games, just to quickly learn how they work. Occasionally I hit a bad draw, but I'm beginning to feel the rhythm of the game more and sense when I need to pull back and be more defensive.
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Daveman
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Daveman »

Tao wrote: Sat Jan 18, 2020 1:55 pmat the end of my turn I had to shuffle my deck, drew an encounter card, it was a nemesis and added 2 more threat to the scheme, game over...again.
*flips table*

Why is this point buried in the Rules Reference and not covered in the Learn to Play guide? Unless I missed it just now in my mad scrabbling through the pages. I had read online about 10 games in that when the Encounter Deck runs out you add an Acceleration Token to the main scheme which is also not covered in the Learn to Play guide. *sigh* Guess all my games are cheats now :P

Rhino is a very straightforward, but unforgiving fight. There isn't a lot of room for error and a swingy card draw, all of his attack-boosting cards, the "Villain scheme again" card and/or any surges can kill you or complete his scheme out of the blue. The best advice I can give is to find the right times to switch between hero and alter-ego. Low on health but threat is OK, go alter-ego. Threat is high, stay in hero mode.

Back to the subject of rules and getting things wrong... something this game does different (at least to me) is that an exhausted card can still use various effects on it that don't require exhausting. Iron Man, for example, can exhaust for various reasons and then flip over to Tony Stark. Even though he's still exhausted, you can use Tony Stark's card draw ability.
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YellowKing
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by YellowKing »

I won my first game of Marvel: Champions, basic Spidey starter deck vs Rhino starter deck. I'm pretty confident I made no rules mistakes, other than an early error in which I was revealing boost cards *before* I decided whether to defend. I caught that within a couple of rounds though, and it wouldn't have made a difference in the outcome. It was a bit of a squeaker, with Spidey down to 3 health before hitting Rhino with 2 back-to-back Swinging Web Kicks to knock him out.

Thing I really liked:

- The decision on what cards to spend for resources and what cards to play is *really* interesting. It's also particularly satisfying when you start figuring out the most efficient move and combo something to take out a minion or wipe out a scheme.

- The delicate balance between hurting the boss and managing threat is pretty brilliant. There were instances where I thought I had Rhino on the ropes when a scheme surge forced me to change plans.

- The ability to switch between hero and alter-ego is a fascinating mechanic, and even more impressive considering how thematically relevant it is. Generating that one resource you need as Peter Parker, getting a card out, and then changing into your Spidey suit to take the battle to the boss is just ridiculously fun and cool.

Things I didn't like:

- This is not a knock against the game, but a personal thing - I love deck builders, but deck construction games terrify me. I did enjoy Arkham Horror LCG, but primarily because I was playing with a friend who would coax me through the deck construction process. When it comes to building a custom deck, I get analysis paralysis big-time, and usually wind up frustrated. I'm sure I'll get more comfortable with it as I become familiar with the cards, but for now I'm staying in my safe little starter deck space.

- No dividers. :grund: I know, it's beating a dead horse to complain about the primary complaint about this game, but I had to say it.

Other than that, absolutely love it and already have the big playmat on pre-order.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Tao »

Marvel Champions rules - there are two books, even though the second book looks like a reference it actually contains quite a few important rules like what to do on a reshuffle.
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YellowKing
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by YellowKing »

Quick note - as a makeshift divider solution, I just used some extra dividers and foam inserts from Legendary Encounters: Alien. While they don't fit the pre-made "slots" in the Marvel Champions insert, it doesn't really matter. I like this better since it leaves a ton of room to add expansion content.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Anonymous Bosch »

Boardlandia sells Marvel Champions Card Dividers, FWIW:

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Tao
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Tao »

Just wrapped up another game with the pre-built Spider-man vs. pre-built Rhino again.

Had some really bad draws early on and took some bad hits, at one point I was down to 2 hit points for a few rounds and things did not look good. I then drew Nick Fury and used the extra card draws which netted me an Aunt May and a Helicarrier and I was able to swing the game back in my favor.

A few more rounds and I was sitting with Avengers Mansion, Helicarrier, Aunt May, Black Cat, two web-slingers, and a threat removal card on the board with three Web Kicks in my hand plus a few other cards so I made the move to flip Rhino, he had 8 health at the time.

Spider-man was down to six hit points and Rhino had Charge and Ivory Horn along with a Hydra Bomber in play. I couldn't take the 7 guaranteed damage so I needed to end the round as Peter Parker but figured not a problem as Rhino had no threat on his main scheme. I flipped to alter-ego and used Aunt May to heal back to full health (10).

Rhino added one threat counter for villain phase one (1 threat), then I drew a boost card for villain phase 2 and it was Highway Robber so +3 threat plus Rhino's 1 (5 threat) then the Hydra Bomber added one threat (6 threat). Now's its time for encounter cards, 2 since I still have Takin and Breakin in play, first card flipped is Advance, add one threat (7 threat) game over. :grund: Just for S&G, the next card was a nemesis card that would have also added another threat. Zero to 8 threat in a single villain phase with a villain that only needs 7 to win. I am now like 0-11, thinking I will see if someone at my FLGS wants to make a trade for something else. :(
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YellowKing
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by YellowKing »

I won a game against pre-built Rhino using pre-built Captain Marvel. It is neat to see how the different characters play.

Captain Marvel doesn't have any strong attacks, so she relies much more heavily on allies and support. I found that I was easily able to keep Rhino's threat under control, but struggled to knock him down health-wise. After a good 20 minutes of play I only had him down 2 on his first phase.

However, as I built up a stable of support and allies, I slowly started to turn the corner. While it was a bit of a grind, I was able to wear him down. Very satisfying win, as it required a completely different play style. Can't wait to see how the other characters vary.

My goal right now is to beat each villain with each hero solo. I don't know how realistic that is in terms of balance, but I'm going to give it a whirl.

Sorry to hear about your frustrations, Tao. I try to never end a turn with a minion on the board or a side scheme in play. I know that's not always possible, but I'll throw away handfuls of cards if I have to in order to make it happen. The added attack/scheme is just too dangerous.

Also I found that both the Spider-Woman and Mockingbird Basic cards are phenomenal. Mockingbird stuns an enemy when she comes into play, and Spider-Woman confuses when she comes into play. Using them you can essentially get a "free" turn of not being attacked or schemed. They were critical in my Captain Marvel win.

I'm officially down the rabbit hole with this one. Going to go pick up Captain America, Ms. Marvel, and Green Goblin today. Between Arkham Horror LCG, Mansion of Madness, and Journeys in Middle Earth, I may as well start direct depositing a portion of my paycheck every week to Fantasy Flight.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Daveman »

Have you done any deckbuilding? Even simple stuff could help... as Aggression Iron Man I found Haymaker to be useless so I ditched that early on. You should have some idea about cards that you rarely put into play, try swapping stuff out. Or go with another aspect, or hero... or both!

In working through Expert Rhino I had the same issue as you... his 7 Threat main scheme is very tight and vulnerable to a sudden surge, plus he can hit like a truck and end your game by killing you as well. My first thought was, stay in hero mode so he and his minions can't scheme. That means you need to focus on staying alive. I chose Captain America and Protection to do so.

Deck Created with CardGameDB.com Marvel Champions Deckbuilder


Total Cards: (40)

Identity:
Captain America (Captain America)
Steve Rogers (Captain America)

Ally: (5)
1x Agent 13 (Captain America)
1x Black Widow (Core Set)
1x Luke Cage (Core Set)
1x Mockingbird (Core Set)
1x Nick Fury (Core Set)

Event: (15)
2x Fearless Determination (Captain America)
3x Heroic Strike (Captain America)
2x Shield Block (Captain America)
2x Shield Toss (Captain America)
3x Preemptive Strike (Ms. Marvel)
3x Tackle (Ms. Marvel)

Resource: (5)
2x The Power of Protection (Core Set)
1x Energy (Core Set)
1x Genius (Core Set)
1x Strength (Captain America)

Support: (6)
1x Steve’s Apartment (Captain America)
3x Med Team (Core Set)
1x Avengers Mansion (Core Set)
1x Helicarrier (Core Set)

Upgrade: (9)
1x Captain America’s Helmet (Captain America)
1x Captain America’s Shield (Captain America)
2x Super-Soldier Serum (Captain America)
1x Armored Vest (Core Set)
2x Indomitable (Core Set)
1x Down Time (Ms. Marvel)
1x Endurance (Ms. Marvel)


He starts the game with his Shield in hand and with that in play he has 3 DEF and Retaliate 1. Retaliate alone is very nice as a gradual source of damage to the villain and it also means lesser 2-3 HP minions will kill themselves off eventually if you can't deal with them directly (this is HUGE against Ultron). So you have a good 11HP to start, 3 DEF that can go to 4 if you use Armored Vest. Captain America can spend a card to untap so you're more free to exhaust and defend and still do a main action next round. Indomitable gives you another way to untap when defending. Add in his Shield Block (0 cost card, negates all damage from an attack) and allies to throw in Rhino's way in emergencies (especially Luke Cage... his Toughness absorbs one attack for free then he's still around with 5 HP to do so again).

All that alone seemed like it would give me good protection but I didn't realize the hidden gem of Cap/Protection... stun. His Heroic Strike does 6 damage and stuns if you spend a physical resource. Protection's Tackle stuns and does 3 damage if you spend a physical resource. Combined with Mockingbird that's 7 cards in my deck that can stun, and a stunned Rhino is very easy to handle. That gives you the freedom to stay in hero mode without being attacked so you can deal with the small amount of threat that builds up and dish out damage to the villain and minions. If you get a card draw that lets him attack anyway once he breaks stun, you have all the options above to deal with the damage. 7 stun cards has proven pretty reliable... sure you'll have times when you don't draw one but I've often kept a villain stunned 2-3 rounds in a row.

The deck isn't bad at dealing with threat either. Cap has 2 Thwart and since he can refresh himself that can mean 4 threat removed one round. He has 2 copies of Fearless Determination that give him +1 Thwart for the round and lets you draw a card. That's 6 threat removed one round if you untap to Thwart twice. Agent 13 is his unique ally and she removes 2 Threat when she comes into play and has 2 Thwart. I often use Med Team solely to keep her alive so she can keep removing threat.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Smoove_B »

I didn't (and probably wouldn't) get into the custom deck building and have only played ~4 games against Rhino using the tutorial Spider-Man. What (I think) was critical to learn is when to switch between hero and alter-ego side. The other thing was that I was likely doing wrong was being too protective of my allies - not wanting to use them up and "saving them" for a bigger move. I think once you figure out the rhythm of the game turns and how to time your card plays, it does come together. As someone that was familiar with Arkham and LotR the mechanics of this game were difficult, it really was that slight tweak allowing you to change into a hero or revert to a safe alter-ego. That absolutely changes the flow of any turn and can make the difference in how a round plays out (current or future). I guess I'd describe the game as a tug-of-war and sometimes you have to give up a little bit in your current round knowing that the next round you're (likely) going to come back and do something bigger.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by hepcat »

I have the core set and man, I cannot win a game no matter what. 3 failures so far. But I’m good with that. I like a good challenge. :D

Fun game too. I wasn’t expecting much, but this surprised me. It’s not Street Masters good, but it’s a light alternative when I don’t wanna lift my 97 pound SM box off the shelf.
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YellowKing
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by YellowKing »

So far I've won solo with every starter character against standard Rhino except for Black Panther. That one was just a fluke - I had him completely on the ropes ready to win the next turn, but he drew two attacks back to back and killed me. Practically any other card and I would have won. Total record is 4-2.

My thoughts on each:

Spider-Man: There's a reason he's the suggested starting hero. Good balanced character who's easy to play and doesn't require any particular strategy.

Captain Marvel: Captain Marvel is more of a leader than a fighter, and thus she lacks the huge attacks of some other heroes. I found her play to be more of a whittling away at the boss with heavy reliance on her allies. However, I really enjoyed this as it made the game go on a little longer and allowed me to really see all the different mechanics at play.

Iron Man: Iron Man is completely reliant on his suit, and I found figuring out his alter-ego strategy to be quite difficult. Iron Man's hand size is limited by the amount of upgrades his suit has, so you have to be very careful on when to switch. I failed spectacularly on my first outing with him, but the second one I managed to get a couple of upgrades out early which helped me eventually win. The feeling of "building" his suit is particularly thematic with this one, so I had a lot of fun with him.

She-Hulk: OP! OP! For you guys who can't seem to win a match, take She-Hulk for a spin. She's a pure damage machine, but also has the ability in alter-ego form to stop threat cold. Playing her, I literally had the boss at half health before he took his first turn. Completely steamrolled Rhino with just her standard deck. It was never even close.

Black Panther: This is a really fun hero. Like Iron Man, he is also very dependent on upgrades. However, they don't do anything until he plays his "Wakanda Forever!" ability, which then triggers them all in any order. The last upgrade triggered has a bonus effect, so you can really play around with the most efficient way to play them. This hero is all about getting those upgrades out as fast as possible, but he has assistants and Vibranium that help with that. His only downside is that I never really found much of a reason to switch to his alter-ego form after the first round because it's a passive ability that just gives you a free upgrade during setup.

If I had to pick a favorite so far, I'd struggle to choose between Iron Man and Black Panther. Both have a similar "build your suit" mechanic that makes for a lot of interesting decisions. I'd give the slight edge to Black Panther only because triggering all of his upgrades at one time is just a lot of fun and can lead to some spectacular combos.

Hoping I can try Ms. Marvel and Captain America tomorrow.

I think I pretty much have standard Rhino's number at this point, so I'll probably try something else soon. Now that I've got a decent handle on how the heroes vary, I'm really excited to see how the bosses differ.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Smoove_B »

YellowKing wrote: Sun Jan 19, 2020 11:52 pmNow that I've got a decent handle on how the heroes vary, I'm really excited to see how the bosses differ.
I haven't tried it yet, but I did pick up the Green Goblin pack because of his boss mechanic. Namely, he's more like a hero in that he alternates between the Green Goblin and Dr. Osborne sides depending on his insanity level. I originally was ambivalent to getting it, but once I heard the mechanics, it sounded like a really interesting change to what I'd seen already in the base box.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by Fishbelly »

YellowKing wrote: Sun Jan 19, 2020 11:52 pm She-Hulk: OP! OP! For you guys who can't seem to win a match, take She-Hulk for a spin. She's a pure damage machine, but also has the ability in alter-ego form to stop threat cold. Playing her, I literally had the boss at half health before he took his first turn. Completely steamrolled Rhino with just her standard deck. It was never even close.
I completely agree, She-Hulk is super fun to play. I'd read online before trying her out that she was one of the weakest starting heroes, and I avoided playing her for a while. After giving her a couple plays, I went back and made sure I wasn't playing something incorrectly. How could players rate her so poorly? She-Hulk can deal great amounts of damage, and can handle threat just as easily. She instantly became my fave to play solo against a tough opponent.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by AWS260 »

I received Champions of Hara for xmas and have played it solo a few times now.

It's very fun. I love the card action mechanic, the variety among the characters, and the art/graphic design. And I've already played it as many times as I played Mage Knight, despite owning the latter for several years.

But boy, the manual is a real barrier to entry. The setup section is difficult to follow and missing critical information (I had to look online to figure out which location the bad guy is supposed to start on). A bunch of core rules only appear in the setup section, not in the section on how to play the game. It's clearly the product of a first-time designer/developer.

And I really, really dislike how the manual presents the different play modes: "First play a competitive game with these rules. Then play a series of three co-op scenarios, each with different rules and player counts. Rinse and repeat for each of the five characters." Just give me the competitive rules and the co-op rules, thanks. Put the scenarios in a separate section or campaign book.

Despite these issues with the rule book, the core gameplay is fun and thinky, with plenty of variety. I'm trying to figure out how best to teach it, since sharing the manual will only confuse people.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by hepcat »

I didn't find the manual that bad, to be honest. But that may be because I've encountered some truly awful rule books lately.

And you don't have to play the competitive mode to unlock the coop games. They tell you it's purely optional in the rules:
This is the recommended way of experiencing Champions of Hara, but is not mandatory – players are free to select and play whatever game modes they wish
The only thing that was confusing me a bit initially was the flow of the dawn/dusk cycle, which is why this player aid is really, really helpful. It's also great for teaching people the game, so print multiple copies out and give each player one.

I also have trouble remembering which side I played a card to on the table, but that's more on me. What I ended up doing was turning them like they suggest, but leaving them in that state until my next turn so I knew what I had played/how I'd played it.
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Re: OO Solo Board Gamers Guild

Post by AWS260 »

I've been sticking to scenario #2, thanks to Tom Chick's description of it as the "no frills, full enchilada Champions of Hara." And it's really good! Think I'll try branching out to some other scenarios soon.

That player aid is super-helpful. I keep a printout of it in the box.
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