So today was twice as busy as yesterday! If you’ve been to Gen Con, imagine the entire conference center being one big exhibit hall full of booths. Then fill every table with people demoing games, and 5+ people standing around those games waiting to get their turn. That is SPIEL. Oh, and we can’t forget the people playing demo copies on the floor as well!
I did manage to take photos of almost every game requested in yesterday’s article. My own personal explorer quest! The only downside is that when you stand nearby a game to listen in, 80% of the time they’re speaking in German, so I couldn’t really give much of a take on the games. But I will be posting the photos I took later next week.
I did look for the Quarriors! expansion… they had a demo copy I couldn’t get a good look at, but I did confirm that it will not be released at SPIEL 🙁 I did check out Mage Knight, and it looked pretty cool. The figures come pre-painted which was a nice touch. I’m going to go there first thing tomorrow morning to try and get a demo in. Ascension: Storm of Souls was still getting shipped, and should arrive tomorrow.
The highlight for me was spending a couple hours with a demo deck of Star Wars: The Card game! It is in some ways similar to Lord of the Rings: The Card Game in that it is 1-4 players, cooperative, and has multi-staged scenarios that you battle through. My initial impression of the game is that it is NOT easy, you will win by the skin of your teeth, or loose horribly as destroyers take down your entire fleet! The rules weren’t finalized, and at times I felt it was a bit weighted in the Imperial side. But I think it will turn out to be an absolute hit since Fantasy Flight Games has done an excellent job with LOTR: The Card Game. It will also be a Living Card game so you can look forward to a fully supported game with many expansions full of new adventures, enemies and heroes!
Tomorrow will be our last day at the game fair, so we’re turning in to rest up.
I need to go some time!
X-Wing is very similar to Wings of War. If you like that game, you will definitely like X-Wing. If you don’t you may still like X-Wing, because it has some more to it than just maneuvering your planes.
REALLY looking forward to the Star Wars LCG. Did you happen to see the X-Wing Space battle game by FFG? Was wondering how that is coming along. Thank you!
I was wondering if anyone had a chance to play Crusoe, Quebec or Drum Roll at Essen. Would love to hear more about these three.
@Windlane
(Star wars card game by FFG)
The card game has three different areas where battles take place, only one of those 3 is space. The ships do give you resources so you can’t play with no ships from what I could tell. There were definitely all the iconic characters you would expect to see.
I was actually pleasantly surprised by this game. It is cooperative (all players are rebels). I thought the tension was really good.
Missed that you guys where there. I could have helped you out with the translations.
It sounds like the Star Wars game focuses on the space battles, or is it more than that?
Although the space battles would likely be fun, I like Star Wars because the characters are awesome.
Neat. I’d love to catch up with you guys and get the skinny on where this site is headed.
My personal pick for Spiel’11 is “Dungeon Fighter”. It has several tables in hall 9, near the Lookout Games and Heidelberger areas and it’s fast, so it’s easy to get in a trial game if your curiosity is piqued. “Dungeon Fighter” starts off as a silly dexterity based game of bouncing dice onto a target, and quickly turns into a even-more-silly-but-with-a-dash-of-strategy game as the difficulty ramps up. The basic idea is that the players are a bunch of braggart would-be adventurers and con-men, and the king has chucked them into a dangerous dungeon to prove themselves equal to their claims, or die trying. Players make their way through a series of lighthearted monster encounters by bouncing dice onto a target to score damage.
Strategy starts to creep in as you decide who gets to use which dice (that might activate different character powers) and which equipment you can stand to use. Equipment gives you bonuses in exchange for performing stunts during your die toss, and dangerous rooms or monsters may also force you to do other stunts at the same time. Figuring out how many complications you can add to your die toss and still hit the target becomes a decision with real game consequences. At some point you find yourself arguing that the group should let you spend the red die while throwing in mid-leap with your eyes closed. C’mon, guys. It’s not like I’m going to miss the target completely, and I’ll score an extra +2 damage and heal us all a point if the die comes up right. C’mon guys, I can do it!
Of course I’m here to trumpet my own game and talk to foreign distributors, but seeing as it’s not bound for the printers for another couple weeks, it’s not in the running. Lorenzo’s a friendly guy and his “Dungeon Fighter” is well worth giving a try.
Many people speak English very well here, but if you’re just watching its a bit harsh to ask them to speak in English for you. I do highly recommend google’s translator app though:)
Didn’t bring your translator? I think there’s an app for that.
@Andrew, yes. Star Wars: The Card Game will be an LCG with monthly 60 card expansions called Force Packs. We’ll be adding this game to the site very soon!
Is he card game set up to be a LCG?