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[rocksolidaudio]

Used to play a fair bit of HeroQuest when I was younger, I really liked it though the non-modular board was a bit limiting. Stumbled across two of the expansions a while back so I picked them up, although it's unlikely I'll get to play them.

fuck yes! i picked up a nice set at a garage sale for $5 recently.

 

[FnordChan]

Maybe my group was playing it wrong...

As someone who has played both a lot of Arkham Horror and a lot of Talisman, while I don't want to say you were playing it wrong, you were playing it wrong if you think that Talisman has less dice luck and more strategy. When I play Arkham with a group we spend a good amount of time discussing strategy: who fights what, who goes through what gate, at what point do we stop sealing gates and start beefing up for the final battle, how best to beef up, and so forth. I'm not saying it's perfect - sometimes you're left sitting around without anything desperately important to do - but there's always encounters to have that are enjoyable if you've embraced the RPG aspect of the game.

The part that may be throwing you is that Arkham Horror is designed so that you're going to get screwed occasionally; this is a Lovecraftian setting after all, with terrible things out to get you and the opportunity to lose sanity on a regular basis. You may have had the misfortune of starting off with a game where you just had god-awful luck all around. If you give the game another go, keep in mind that part of the joy of AH is in the exploration aspect, so as you learn how to beef up your characters, how best to tackle the monsters on the board, when to jump in a gate, and so on, you'll start to get a lot out of the game. Let us know if you give it another shot.

FnordChan

 

[YakiSOBA]

i just played 5 player risk last night (with the mission cards) ... just a question, how the hell does one capture and hold a continent that's NOT australia for gods sake (WITHOUT tremendous luck in where your starting territories are)

basically anyone (except australia) who ever captured a full continent never held it until their next turn... the moment someone got a continent, someone else nearby would roll in.. in games like this, how the hell do you hold one? save up cards, be VERY patient, and make your move when you have enough units?

 

[Tr4nce]

i just played 5 player risk last night (with the mission cards) ... just a question, how the hell does one capture and hold a continent that's NOT australia for gods sake (WITHOUT tremendous luck in where your starting territories are)

basically anyone (except australia) who ever captured a full continent never held it until their next turn... the moment someone got a continent, someone else nearby would roll in.. in games like this, how the hell do you hold one? save up cards, be VERY patient, and make your move when you have enough units?

Think tactical. Once you have a continent, only reinforce the front area's. That and try to have a card every turn.

 

[DieH@rd]

Overview video of the STARCRAFT boardgame.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=wGUL55WR69A

Nice.

 

[Eric P]

so our arkham horror bit was a bit of a frustrating mess

we had the rules, we had the print outs, we had the summaries and then we still couldn't find stuff without going online only to learn they had no purpose (activity tokens sprung immediately to mind)

then there was the bit where the three mythos cards we pulled in a row caused monster surges hosing us

then the rule ignorance made things all the more frustrating

but we played for like 4 hours and then i left because i have to get up early tomorrow and they're still playing

we're going to try to get together next weekend as well and try again since we have more experience.

there's a lot of minutia to the game

 

[Kodiak]

Been playing a ton of Shadows Over Camelot, Settlers of Catan, and Monsters Across America, all three are gems.

 

[FnordChan]

so our arkham horror bit was a bit of a frustrating mess

Did you have a chance to play a solo game first? That really helps you get a handle on everything before jumping in with a group. I had the pleasure of being introduced to the game by a bunch of experienced players, but even then when I got my own copy and introduced it to some friends who hadn't played it we still spent a lot of time going "Wait, okay, hold on, let's flip through the rules some. Man, this book isn't very well designed."

That said, hopefully having given the game one go you've got a much better idea of how everything works and are willing to give it another shot. Let us know how it goes; hopefully those flowsheets are helping.

FnordChan, official NeoGAF Arkham Horror apologist

 

[iapetus]

then there was the bit where the three mythos cards we pulled in a row caused monster surges hosing us

Monster surges aren't actually all that bad - unless you're playing with King in Yellow, of course. You can stand for the terror level to rise a reasonable amount, and the surges don't actually result in more monsters on the streets. And it actually slows down the doom track, which is nice.

If you want really bad luck, try getting a few rumors in play back to back. Those things can hurt.

 

[JzeroT1437]

Read it as "Beardgame-Age".

 

[AstroLad]

I'm definitely going to have to play solo Arkham Horror first before even thinking of trying to get my wife into it. That and I suspect she won't really get into the RPG elements very much, but trying to learn it together will definitely kill the game for the both of us I'm guessing. Will stick to Monsters Menace America and Robo Rally for the next few weeks.

 

[SCHUEY F1]

i just played 5 player risk last night (with the mission cards) ... just a question, how the hell does one capture and hold a continent that's NOT australia for gods sake (WITHOUT tremendous luck in where your starting territories are)

basically anyone (except australia) who ever captured a full continent never held it until their next turn... the moment someone got a continent, someone else nearby would roll in.. in games like this, how the hell do you hold one? save up cards, be VERY patient, and make your move when you have enough units?

We used to put a neutral country within Australia, it makes it a bit more interesting I think.

 

[Eric P]

Did you have a chance to play a solo game first? That really helps you get a handle on everything before jumping in with a group. I had the pleasure of being introduced to the game by a bunch of experienced players, but even then when I got my own copy and introduced it to some friends who hadn't played it we still spent a lot of time going "Wait, okay, hold on, let's flip through the rules some. Man, this book isn't very well designed."

That said, hopefully having given the game one go you've got a much better idea of how everything works and are willing to give it another shot. Let us know how it goes; hopefully those flowsheets are helping.

FnordChan, official NeoGAF Arkham Horror apologist

i did. i played it for about two hours to get a good handle on things and people had the rules sumaries beforehand but we still ran into issues.

we're going to get together again this weekend and try it again.

the thing is that through it was frustrating, it was also a lot of fun and everyone realized that a lot of the frustration was due to unfamiliarity.

 

[borghe]

ok, a couple of comments on the arkham posts here:

there is most definitely strategy involved. Right from the get go you need to plan what you're going to need depending on the GOO you (eventually) fight. Is it a GOO where you need an insane stat bonus, is it a GOO where you need trophies, what are its resistances/immunities, etc.

next, as far as playing the game, there is plenty you can do to improve your characters. The icons on the locations "supposedly" influence what kind of location it is and what kind of goodies it hands out. Go to a cash location for a decent chance at cash. Go to a green location if you want a good chance to avoid a gate from opening up on you. Of course locations with an inverse icon on it (white print black background) are guaranteed spots to grab something, and there is one for each of them item types on the board. Of course you'll need the appropriate fee, but money, spells, skills, allies, unique and common items... all can be purchased guaranteed for the right price.

much of the game until the End Battle is the same no matter what GOO you have. Sure some affect different monster types and whatnot, but yes, it's mostly the same and yes revolves a bit around luck. HOWEVER, and here's the important part... luck will only take you so far. Yes luck will keep you alive during the slumbering game, but it is ABSOLUTELY skill that will allow you to close gates in time to prevent the GOO from awakening or actually beat him when he does waken. If you lose the game, then it goes to show there is a lot more to it than luck.

Eric - Our first two games were pretty sloppy also. I think it's inevitable with a game that has as much going on as AH has. As others have said, playing a solo game first with 2-3 investigators helps. There is also an awesome turn/tip sheet on BGG (http://files.boardgamegeek.com/geekfile_view.php?fileid=22286) that really helps making it through the turns until you know them like the back of your hand. We seem to do a better job with fewer people (2-3) handling multiple investigators. Soon I think we're on the verge of trying like a 5+ player game though.

monster surges are a minor annoyance at best. You always have the monster limit in tact (unless you hit terror level 10) so the worst case scenario is you raise the terror level a few times. We've found that really the only time monster surges hurt are with Yig so far, as he has two conditions on his own to cause the terror level to rise (killed cultist and lost in time and space). Between those two and a few monster surges, you can end up with a terror level of 7-6 in no time.

 

[Eric P]

we launched in with 6 people all learning the game at once

heh

 

[iapetus]

monster surges are a minor annoyance at best. You always have the monster limit in tact (unless you hit terror level 10) so the worst case scenario is you raise the terror level a few times.

The exception to this is if you're playing the King in Yellow with the herald in play. If you are, then each time the terror level rises then either the doom track also rises, or a blight card enters play - blight cards represent major figures around Arkham going insane and have bad effects on gameplay.

Spoiler

Ma kills everyone in the boarding house (no more allies for you) and shuts up shop. The shopkeeper marks up all his stock by $3. Doyle Jeffries incites riots. Father Michael makes blessings virtually worthless (expire on a 1-5 role in the upkeep phase).

And so on.

It makes the game very different, as it's even more important than normal to keep the monsters under control - though you still have to close and seal gates quickly to avoid surges.

 

[dreadfulwater]

It does suffer from the same problem as all fantasy RPG systems, though - magic-using classes suck at low levels (though you need one for healing) and become obscenely powerful at high levels. "I walk into the room. Half the monsters kill the other half, then I drop the survivors into the warp. Who wants the treasure?" It gradually changes from everyone else in the party having to wedge the mage into a corner and defend him with their lives to them having to beg him to leave them some monsters.

yeah, as the characters move up in levels, the game almost cries for a live GM to keep it balanced. but nobody wants to GM a Warhammer Quest game. thats the whole appeal.

 

[dreadfulwater]

Used to play a fair bit of HeroQuest when I was younger, I really liked it though the non-modular board was a bit limiting. Stumbled across two of the expansions a while back so I picked them up, although it's unlikely I'll get to play them.

damn, is that barbarian quest pack in german? I was going to ask you to sell it to me. I have the Kellars Keep already. need it in english tho.

 

[borghe]

though you still have to close and seal gates quickly to avoid surges.

this is really one of the biggest things we've found, and I even posted such back a page or so. Closing gates asap is absolutely paramount to winning the game. And if you're playing with Dunwich (and soon Kingsport) this becomes even more difficult as there are physically more spaces (and more distance) to traverse. Our first game we were very nonchalant about closing up gates. On the plus side it caused the doom track to slow down to a crawl. But as a negative it forced monsters to CONSTANTLY spill out into the street, and eventually saw at least one or more stationary monsters squatting on many gate locations.

Anyway, for me personally, I've already ordered the Kingsport expansion and plan on grabbing both KiY and CotP soon. I wish this was more pick up and play like Settlers, but as it is we have setup and clean up down to about 10 minutes each. I even have the baggies labeled and ready to go. About the biggest problem is the 4 hours (at least) that we've needed each time between setup and clean up.

 

[Wired]

damn, is that barbarian quest pack in german? I was going to ask you to sell it to me. I have the Kellars Keep already. need it in english tho.

Damn no, it's in the glorious language of the Kingdom of Sweden(tm)

 

[XiaNaphryz]

monster surges are a minor annoyance at best. You always have the monster limit in tact (unless you hit terror level 10) so the worst case scenario is you raise the terror level a few times. We've found that really the only time monster surges hurt are with Yig so far, as he has two conditions on his own to cause the terror level to rise (killed cultist and lost in time and space). Between those two and a few monster surges, you can end up with a terror level of 7-6 in no time.

Monster surges become more of an issue with a certain GOO in the Dunwich expansion - they cause a random location on the map to close for the rest of the game.

On a different note, Pandemic is a game I've been keeping my eye on for a while, and supposedly shipped out to retailers last week. It looks really interesting if you're into cooperative games.

Pandemic is a cooperative game from Matt Leacock.

Four diseases have broken out in the world and it is up to a team of specialists in various fields to find cures for these diseases before mankind is wiped out.

Players must work together, playing to their characters' strengths and planning their strategy of eradication before the diseases overwhelm the world with ever-increasing outbreaks. For example, the Operation Specialist can build research stations, which are needed to find cures for the diseases. The Scientist needs only 4 cards of a particular disease to cure it instead of the normal 5.

But the diseases are outbreaking fast and time is running out: the team must try to stem the tide of infection in diseased areas while also towards cures. If disease spreads uncontrolled, the players all lose. If they find the cures, they win.

The board shows earth with some big population centres. On each turn a player can use four actions to travel, cure, discover and build. Cards are used for this but the deck also contains Epidemics...

A truly cooperative game where you all win or you all lose.

Rules posted here.

 

[Eric P]

that looks really interesting

thanks!

 

[DevelopmentArrested]

 

[LazyLoki]

just played "warrior knights" for the first time. truly great, lots of interesting details. highly complex, but not too complicated once you get the hang of it.

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/warriorknights_about.html

 

[iapetus]

just played "warrior knights" for the first time. truly great, lots of interesting details. highly complex, but not too complicated once you get the hang of it.

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/warriorknights_about.html

Good choice. I'm not a big fan of wargames, but this one's got some interesting features to it. There's a lot to be learned past the first game, though.

 

[LazyLoki]

definitely, i'm looking forward to our next game

 

[XiaNaphryz]

that looks really interesting

thanks!

Something to tide me over until the English version of Agricola ships!

 

[kaiwing]

I recently got into board games again after going to the NY Comic-con (I am going this year). I used to have The Real Ghostbusters one which had a staircase that you had to climb while hoping that player dropped skulls didn't randomly knock your guy all the way down. So while doing a walk down the board game aisle at Toys R' Us I picked this up just to see if it was as good as the box showed. It was.

Betrayal at House on the Hill

Site
http://www.wizards.com/default.asp?x=ah/prod/betrayalhouse

Online Demo
http://www.wizards.com/avalonhill/hoth_demo/hothdemo.asp

My friends and I were addicted to this game for months since anyone can become the traitor and there are 50 random scenarios with the house made up on the fly by the players as they explore it.

From there I needed more and got quite a few more recently:

Runebound and ALL the expansions, World of Warcraft and ALL the expansions, Descent and etc, Doom, Monsters menace America, and for parties Cranium 2007 edition never fails to entertain. Runebound is fantastic. Easily very fun although with six players be prepared to play 4+ hours for one game. Time flies since its good so it's not bad. Monsters Menace America would be the board game equivalent of the PS2 game War of the Monsters. Quick games (60 minutes) and pretty fun and a good game to introduce the newbies, although Cranium is the perfect game for that. Right now we're playing Doom which is VERY fun since one is the Invader and has to kill with the monsters the other marines. Hopefully next month I'll get to Descent.

Descent

Runebound

Doom

Twilight Imperium

World of Warcraft

Video Review

http://www.archive.org/details/bgws_042

And last but not least I got this in perfect complete condition for $1 at a garage sale:

 

[XiaNaphryz]

Thoughthammer is about to ship out my Pandemic order, awesome.

 

[Eric P]

my issue with doom and descent are that it's still pvp. i'd rather they were players vs the board coop

 

[Chairman Yang]

Oh, and my favorite boardgames are:

A Game of Thrones

Same here, and not just because I'm a fanatic about the books. The game is just amazingly well-designed. There's no dice-rolling; a simple, flavorful, and flexible rules set; a focus on dealmaking and diplomacy; and some self-balancing mechanisms.

I've only played the first expansion (Clash of Kings) once, but it seemed to really enhance the game and correct some of the original's minor flaws.

The second expansion (Storm of Swords) I know very little about. Has anyone here played it? How is it?

 

[platypotamus]

my issue with doom and descent are that it's still pvp. i'd rather they were players vs the board coop

I must be playing descent wrong? There's been no PvP... or are you counting the Overlord as a player?

 

[Eric P]

I must be playing descent wrong? There's been no PvP... or are you counting the Overlord as a player?

i was counting the overlord as a player

 

[XiaNaphryz]

The second expansion (Storm of Swords) I know very little about. Has anyone here played it? How is it?

No idea, I'd check BGG's forums for some reviews.

 

[AstroLad]

Just ordered a nice new haul:

Last Night on Earth: The Zombie Game
Lost Cities (RGG 124)
Twilight Struggle Second Edition '07 (The Cold War 1945 to 1989)
1 x Ticket To Ride

Really looking forward to all of them.

Impressions from my last haul:

-Mr. Jack is absolutely an incredible two-player game. There are 8 characters on the board, one of whom is Jack in disguise. One player is "Jack" and tries to conceal his identity or escape while the other tries to uncover and catch him. It's incredibly simple and short so it's easy to play multiple rounds. There's an expansion as well that I'll be picking up.

-Monsters Menace America is just boring. Don't know how you could screw up a cool concept but the game consists of choosing a monster and having him stomp across the board basically to increase his HP or gain powers while you also control worthless military units that try to take marginal amounts of HP from the other monsters. After the arduous main game is done, you fight against the other monsters by rolling dice. That's the entire endgame. At least the game has some cutesy elements. I may try it with more players some day but I really hesitate to subject more people to it when I have so many better alternatives.

Finally, Robo Rally's casual gamer appeal continues to astound. Played with about four new sets of friends and they all absolutely loved it. Game needs to come out on XBLA or get an expansion (to the new version) ANYTHING.

 

[SCHUEY F1]

Same here, and not just because I'm a fanatic about the books. The game is just amazingly well-designed. There's no dice-rolling; a simple, flavorful, and flexible rules set; a focus on dealmaking and diplomacy; and some self-balancing mechanisms.

I've only played the first expansion (Clash of Kings) once, but it seemed to really enhance the game and correct some of the original's minor flaws.

The second expansion (Storm of Swords) I know very little about. Has anyone here played it? How is it?

In the Fall they are releasing a Core set for the AGOT card game, which comes with 4 fixed decks, a board, tokens, and some game pieces. Good way to possible lure people to the card game.

 

[Chairman Yang]

In the Fall they are releasing a Core set for the AGOT card game, which comes with 4 fixed decks, a board, tokens, and some game pieces. Good way to possible lure people to the card game.

Yeah, I heard about that, and will definitely look into it. Collectibility is the worst part of CCGs, so I'm glad I won't have to worry about it with this set.

 

[Flynn]

Who is psyched for Agricola?

Also, Knizia has yet another game coming out: Battle For Olympus

The last serious tabletop game I played was Descent -- we started a campaign, but I fear it's falling apart already (after four or five sessions). We has a rules argument over the game's line-of sight. Things got a little ugly.

 

[chickensoup]

Finally, Robo Rally's casual gamer appeal continues to astound. Played with about four new sets of friends and they all absolutely loved it. Game needs to come out on XBLA or get an expansion (to the new version) ANYTHING.

True, on all counts.
A couple of us started playing at work in our lunchtime a while ago, and we've now got most of the office hooked on it. When we were playing Settlers or TtR, the best we had was a couple of people showing mild interest when walking past, but never wanting to join in. Robo Rally really does have that Magic Ingredient 'X'.

And they desperately need to start reprinting those expansions. Someone sold some on ebay a few weeks ago: the cheapest was $50 (Grand Prix), the most expensive went for $130 (Crash And Burn). Now I like the game, but that is truly ridiculous for a couple of new boards.

 

[AstroLad]

True, on all counts.
A couple of us started playing at work in our lunchtime a while ago, and we've now got most of the office hooked on it. When we were playing Settlers or TtR, the best we had was a couple of people showing mild interest when walking past, but never wanting to join in. Robo Rally really does have that Magic Ingredient 'X'.

And they desperately need to start reprinting those expansions. Someone sold some on ebay a few weeks ago: the cheapest was $50 (Grand Prix), the most expensive went for $130 (Crash And Burn). Now I like the game, but that is truly ridiculous for a couple of new boards.

I think the appeal of the game lies in the simplicity of the objectives and gameplay. "Race to the flags using these cards" is about as complicated as it gets so people can get into it really easily (vs., e.g., "collect x# of corn pieces and stone pieces to build y building which enables you to get z points if your opponent hasn't played a preemption card"). And yet the beauty of the game is all the chaos that results when you have four or more robots racing to the same flag, which is what seems to hook people. Most other games either the objectives are too abstract or removed or the mechanics are too complex.

I could be wrong but aren't many of the elements of the expansions integrated into the new WotC version? Thus at least rendering them incompatible even if the new version doesn't fully integrate the old expansions. (WotC version owner here).

 

[chickensoup]

I could be wrong but aren't many of the elements of the expansions integrated into the new WotC version? Thus at least rendering them incompatible even if the new version doesn't fully integrate the old expansions. (WotC version owner here).

I've got the 2005 Avalon Hill / WoTC reprint myself. From what I understand, they did take some bits from one of the later expansion packs (Crash and Burn v2) and tweak the rules slightly, but there have been so many different boards, reprints, variants and versions it's hard to keep track.

The first round of expansions all added new board elements such as oil, spikes and ledges (there seems to be a good list here) that didn't survive the reprint. And the base game is so flexible that there's no reason why those expansions wouldn't still work. At worst, the boards in the old set might be a different size, but that's easy to fix up. But at $50 min, there's no way I can justify buying one even as an experiment.

 

[AstroLad]

I've got the 2005 Avalon Hill / WoTC reprint myself. From what I understand, they did take some bits from one of the later expansion packs (Crash and Burn v2) and tweak the rules slightly, but there have been so many different boards, reprints, variants and versions it's hard to keep track.

The first round of expansions all added new board elements such as oil, spikes and ledges (there seems to be a good list here) that didn't survive the reprint. And the base game is so flexible that there's no reason why those expansions wouldn't still work. At worst, the boards in the old set might be a different size, but that's easy to fix up. But at $50 min, there's no way I can justify buying one even as an experiment.

At a minimum I would love to see a dedicated expansion for the new version but I know that, along with my hope for an XBLA version (seriously, is any board game better suited?) are pie-in-the-sky stuff.

 

[AstroLad]

ps: also starting to get into 1960: the making of the president. want to get into the game before twilight struggle gets here as i doubt i'll have the time or inclination for both at the same time.

 

[Flynn]

ps: also starting to get into 1960: the making of the president. want to get into the game before twilight struggle gets here as i doubt i'll have the time or inclination for both at the same time.

I enjoyed 1960 quite a bit. I'll be interested to hear what you think of it.

 

[AstroLad]

I enjoyed 1960 quite a bit. I'll be interested to hear what you think of it.

just from the learn-the-game run-through we had i like the strategy/luck balance. it seems that people in BGG tend to criticize any game where luck is anything more than a marginal element, but for me i want the luck calibrated to where a new player with a full understanding of the rules has a modest chance of beating an experienced player. not looking for chess, more for poker where anyone can step in and have fun and yet there is depth worth learning beyond the superficial mechanics.

btw Risk Black Ops going on ebay for $300+ with 2 days of bidding to go. nice. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...67&ih=007&category=19096&ssPageName=WDVW&rd=1

 

[Flynn]

just from the learn-the-game run-through we had i like the strategy/luck balance. it seems that people in BGG tend to criticize any game where luck is anything more than a marginal element, but for me i want the luck calibrated to where a new player with a full understanding of the rules has a modest chance of beating an experienced player. not looking for chess, more for poker where anyone can step in and have fun and yet there is depth worth learning beyond the superficial mechanics.

btw Risk Black Ops going on ebay for $300+ with 2 days of bidding to go. nice. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...67&ih=007&category=19096&ssPageName=WDVW&rd=1

In our playthroughs the experienced player (Twilight Struggle vets) beat the newcomers every time. But the defeats weren't overwhelming.

It's mind-boggling to me that they're not putting out a gaming shop version of Risk Black Ops.

 

[Evlar]

Who is psyched for Agricola?

Also, Knizia has yet another game coming out: Battle For Olympus

The last serious tabletop game I played was Descent -- we started a campaign, but I fear it's falling apart already (after four or five sessions). We has a rules argument over the game's line-of sight. Things got a little ugly.

Just came in to ask whether anyone had their hands on Agricola. I'm very interested.

We've just been playing Settlers recently, with the Cities and Knights expansion. It makes for a long, rather complicated game but the expansion offers a lot more opportunities for interesting decision-making and chances to punish the players in the lead. We also use a shuffled card deck in lieu of dice rolls which flattens out the tendency of odd strings of rolls (five 9s in 15 rolls or whatever) screwing with the game balance and strategy.

 

[AstroLad]

Games came in today--Lost Cities is quite fun. I can see why it wasn't that well received on XBLA put it's a great game for my wife and I to play over dinner (it's become a favorite along with Mr. Jack).

Going to try Last Night on Earth tonight as well as getting in our first full-fledged game of 1960 later. Twilight Struggle looks intense. Kind of funny that the board is basically laminated posterboard and the package in general was much smaller than I expected, but it's no less intimidating. Going to wrap my head around 1960 before diving into that one.

Seeing as how I like Lost Cities, think I'm going to pick up Battle Line too.

edit: i should add that lost cities is probably one of the dingiest games ever in terms of aesthetics. never mind that you could easily make your own copy of the game in all of five minutes, but the art is terrible throughout and there are only maybe ten different pieces total. thank goodness the gameplay is good because when i saw the package i thought yikes.

 

[Flynn]

edit: i should add that lost cities is probably one of the dingiest games ever in terms of aesthetics. never mind that you could easily make your own copy of the game in all of five minutes, but the art is terrible throughout and there are only maybe ten different pieces total. thank goodness the gameplay is good because when i saw the package i thought yikes.

The flavor and the card game mechanic are only tangentially connected. I think the XBLA game actually improves on this a little -- really cementing the theme, that you're managing expeditions.

 

[XiaNaphryz]

Astrolad, there are some nifty user created pieces over at BGG that you might want to look into for Lost Cities.