Post originally by Stitch at 2003-08-27 10:09:43
Converted from Phorums BB System
...but I think you need a pretty decent-sized table. The durn li'l dice just, well... kept going. Off the table. Every throw.
We had slightly better luck with obvious "loft" throws (almost vertical throws) but then targeting becomes extremely tricky.
Add to that the way that movement and damage are not orthogonal (movement tips a die onto another face--which often changes the health of a die) and it just didn't feel 'right' too me. Which is a pity--I really wanted it to work, and I love most of the CheapAss line... but for some reason I just couldn't get into Diceland.
Post originally by Shannon Appelcline at 2003-08-27 10:24:19
Converted from Phorums BB System
Agreed about space requirements. I'd be curious about how small your table is, however. The table I've been playing on recently was definitely a step-down from previous game table sizes, but still worked OK. Is your table maybe too slick and thus the dice roll/slide a lot?
Nonetheless, I'm not sure I could play the game easily at *my* house because my dining room is pretty tight around the table, and I'm not certain there would really be room to throw.
Ironically, this has been the first CAG that I really liked. The others I played just seemed so non-strategic in their simplicity. I'm tempted to try out their hip-pocket line, however, since it looks to be cheap and strategic.
Post originally by Brad Weier at 2003-08-28 07:07:19
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You may also have been playing with the old rules (that come with the Deep White Sea set.) In the newer rules, when you throw a die, you have the option of shooting with it, activating it's special ability, or moving it. That last part is new, and really increases the value of movement. Also, some of the dice in the later expansions actually "heal" when they move.
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Shannon Appelcline wrote:
Ironically, this has been the first CAG that I really liked. The others I played just seemed so non-strategic in their simplicity. I'm tempted to try out their hip-pocket line, however, since it looks to be cheap and strategic.
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The Hip Pocket Line definitely has some strategic games. I'd recommend Steam Tunnel, Agora, and The Very Clever Pipe Game. I'd also like to recommend my favorite Cheapass Game, Girl Genius. It's a card game that appears at first to be pretty random. When played by two experienced players, however, it becomes quite a Chess match. Being able to look several moves ahead, taking control of a nearly frozen board, and forcing your opponent into bad moves is big fun if you like lots of thought in your games. (This game changes radically and loses much of its strategy when played by more than two people. It works, it just isn't nearly as mind-bending.)
Post originally by Alistair Hutton at 2003-08-28 08:21:11
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I like the idae of playing Girl Genius as a 4 player two team game with a team winnig when one player gets to 100.
The altogether crazier variant I would like to play is a 5 player game where each player is on two teams, one with the player on his left and one with the player on his right. A team wins when the total value it's score piles equals one hundred. You could aslso play it that at that point the player in the team that has the highest value score pile is the overall winner.
Post originally by jason at 2003-08-28 16:17:15
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Wow. I tend to think of my coffee table (where I most often play Diceland) to be very small and it works really well in spite of that. It measures a miniscule 2' x 4'. I've also played a few times on a 6' round table and a pool table (which works very well, most notably because of the non-slick surface). I always cover my table with a cloth before playing; it helps a lot.
Do check out the Hip Pocket stuff. Favorites are: Very Clever Pipe Game, Sarafi Jack, and Light Speed (which is similar in many ways to Diceland).
As a game designer and friend of James Ernest, I am glad to see how active this site is (and I'm sure James will be happy too). I wish we made more than card games at present, so they might be reviewed/discussed here with as much verve as the RPGs and strategy stuff.
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