Post originally by Very Helpful at 2004-07-07 08:38:29
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Excellent and informative review. I've been keeping a general eye on the stuff FFG releases and I've been very curious about this one. I feel much better informed now.
Post originally by Envious at 2004-07-07 12:16:12
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I really enjoy your reviews, but I've got to know: How do you get your hands on so many games? Do you purchase them all? Borrow them? Perhaps you're an accomplished international game thief?
Thanks again for the detailed reviews, and keep 'em coming!
Post originally by Shannon Appelcline at 2004-07-07 12:19:10
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I buy some, I get some as comped review copies (as with this Runebound), and I occasionally play a friend's game, then hold it hostage until I've finished a review.
Post originally by Gargoyle at 2004-07-07 15:08:21
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Once again, an excellent review. Props for cranking these up every week.
Anyways, there are couple things I'd like to mention about Runebound, both of which have come up quite regularly in discussions on Boardgamegeek.
First, it seems that the game is really meant to be played with 2-4 players. It was advertised as such for a long time and 5-6 players seem to have been a late addition. As you said, the downtime tends to become too long for 5-6 players and I've also noticed that there might be balance-issues as well. The encounters run out before the characters are necessarily ready to defeat the red challenges. So I'd recommend playing only with 2-4 players.
Second, the rules of Runebound are incredibly flexible, so it is really easy to add your own adventures, characters, rule variants and ideas. Thus you can also balance the difficulty the way you want it to be (this bears a mention as some have complained about the easiness of the basic adventure). One thing I'd personally like to recommend as a very good house rule is giving the heroes (or allies, if they are attacking) 1 exhaustion if they fail during a combat phase where the opponent would do 0 damage. This makes the game bit more challenging and gives a nice additional function for the exhaustion.
Anyways... Runebound is a very entertaining game and if FFG keeps up the quality in the upcoming expansions (which I am already waiting really, really eagerly), it's bound to be a classic. Strongly recommended.
Post originally by Leroy Van Camp III at 2004-07-07 21:09:12
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"I feel like the two biggest issues in the game (little player interaction & long downtimes) are fairly endemic to this category of games. When players are bouncing around, apart from each other, and engaging in their own little stories, then these issues are pretty likely to come up. So, I can't fault Runebound too much for them, though I still note them."
We girlfriend pick this game up and we played a game last weekend. I have to agree that the downtime between turns is a drawback to the game. It was our first game and we were playing with 6 players, so it was bound to go slow, but I think even with 4 players it might be a problem.
I picked up Dungeoneer a few days ago, and haven't had a chance to play it yet, but it seems a better in this regard, as a player may be hit with an encounter on the active player's turn, pulling you into the action. Plus, you can play cards on other player's turns. Thus players are more likely to have something to do even when it is not their turn.
It is too bad Runebound doesn't find a way to involve the non-active player in a similar manner.
Despite this, I enjoyed our game of Runebound and like it. We will likely be picking up the expansions.
Post originally by darklite at 2004-07-08 09:48:22
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It's too easy to win if you get a couple of allies and a weapon. Characters can buff themselves up to levels where they just can't lose. If everyone else is losing experience tokens then victory is a forebone conclusion.
Post originally by tldenmark at 2004-07-08 10:48:25
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I bought Runebound as soon as it came out, and got a chance to play it over the weekend. My game group loves it! So I have to give it my highest recommendation.
I'm most impressed by the system itself. I had hesitations about the movement dice, but they're brilliant! The combat is sweet. The production values are top notch. And most of the art is good or better.
My criticisms are really minor, if I had to nitpick I'd say the downtime and lack of player interaction are the only weaknesses I see in the game. I think the skill system would be stronger if there were -less- skills, so that each skill would become more important and come up more often during play.
Linear Mode
