Mage Knight: 1st solo game!

so I decided to spend an afternoon to play Mage Knight. It was still in shrink and I was wondering if anyone wanted it but alas no biters so I decided to break it out and play to see if I am really going to keep this. And boy I am glad I decided to try it once on solo.

The last time I played it was in a 3 player game where we did not get to finish (as it took a really long time) and I only had a rough idea of the game. At that time my impression was still average and could not see what the hype is about.

So I decided to setup the Solo conquest game and after spending about 10 minutes or so setting up I was ready to begin. Gameplay wise it is rather straight forward and I did benefit from my previous play but I had to refresh myself again with the rules. I often have to flip between the scenario booklet and the main rule book to see what I have to do for the dummy player, what I have to do in the scenario and my general game play. I did get some setup wrongly because I took some rather handicapping rules from the first patrol and placed them into my Solo conquest scenario. That is the main reason why I think I could not win (and that's my story and I'm sticking with it! :D)

In anycase I got started off in a steady pace and manage to hire my first minion. Along the way I started to clear the mobs around the area so I could gain experience points and get more minions and better skills. I was getting quite good cards and good plays but once the Cities appeared, I was floored. The minions were so powerful that I doubt I could dent them without getting a lot of wounds. At the end of 6 rounds (3 days and 3 nights) I could not make a dent at the cities. Here are the images at the end of the game.

A few takeaways from the game:

1) It is a fun game but be forewarned it does take a LONG time. All in all i spent almost 4 hours setting up, checking the rules and actually playing. So I can imagine if we played the other scenarios and with more players it will take a very long time. That is kind of a downer for me as it will mean I need to find dedicated gamers to spend the time to play this.

2) The artifacts and spells are very very powerful. I did not see that in the previous game and they gave me a lot of benefits during this game.

3) Cities are really powerful to defeat. I will need to figure out a way. Also after checking up on the better mobs that I could hire if I used the packs correctly, I realized that it is possible. But i will need to be more daring to get more artifacts and spells to prepare myself for the city battles.

4) Ranged attacks are very useful because they allow you to defeat the enemy before they can even attack you. Best is if you can obtain siege attacks so that enemies with fortifications can be brought down easily.

5) Table space. This game requires a rather big table space so that you can lay out everything nicely and have a good view of what's happening. I doubt my current table can take more than 2 if we were to play comfortably.

I can see why this game has such appeal and rated so highly. However I will need quite a few more plays to appreciate all that is Mage Knight. There are several aspects which I have not tried yet (like PVP) and there are still a lot of scenarios to try. I will probably try a few more round of solo play before I am comfortable enough to play this with others. With the Friday group though there are a few experienced players already so perhaps we can get one of the epic scenarios going in another session. 

Weekend Boardgame: 20th April 2011

Friday night, our regular gaming group met up again. This time however we had only 4 and later on 3 as one had to leave. So what did we play?

Lords of Waterdeep!

The new hotness, Lords of Waterdeep ! Been wanting to try this out after hearing all the hype and almost every podcaster exclaiming its brilliance and fun factor. We played a 4 player game and true to what I have been hearing so far, it plays rather fast. There is just enough tactical and strategic decisions to make this worker placement game keep our interest throughout the game. There are not many opportunities for direct confrontation though except through the Intrigue cards, specifically the Mandatory quest cards. Still its very pretty, good component quality (except the cards, you will need sleeves) and is a good light/medium game. I want to try this during my Lunchtime boardgaming and see how it goes.

Initial Impression: Good

Siena - not very highly rated in BGG..

Next, we decided to give Siena a try. One of our group had bought this in an auction previously and has not had the chance to play it, so we decided to give it a go. The game itself is a combination of mechanisms we all know (auction, push your luck, worker movement) and at the same time it distinguishes itself with new (at least to us) little tricks. The painting you see is actually the playing board where you can place the generic wooden cube and it will represent different types of items (i.e. Courtesans to Corn to Wine). The 3 steps that you progress (from Peasant to Merchant to Banker) and the different areas of the board you will concentrate on as you progress. The money track on the board which also doubles up as a turn tracker. It is definitely a medium game and requires a few plays to get the hang of it. However when we played, it took way too long (almost 3 hours) and I felt the enjoyment vs the time spent turned me off from the game. Granted we learnt the rules there on the spot, I feel that I will not want to play this again.

Initial Impression: Average

Mage knight! Finally!!

Finally, I manage to try Mage Knight! Another latest hotness on boardgamegeek, I have been yearning to play this for some time before deciding if I want to get it for myself. So after one from the group left, the 3 of us continued to play this. In Mage Knight, you are a hero, and depending on the scenario, you will explore lands, rid the land of monsters, explore dungeons and even attack castles. The scenario we attempted was to conquer 3 of the 4 castles available on the map. Even though the theme is not new, the way the different mechanisms was waved into the game does make it quite fun for me. There is mana involved which uses dice to determine the mana available in the day and is used to activate the special versions of the spells you have. There is deck building which determines what your hero can do during your turn. There is a character progression which will improve the health and strength of your hero and will in turn improve your deck and the number of creatures which you can hire. All in all, as one from my group puts it, its "Heroes of Might and Magic" the boardgame version. We did not manage to finish it though as i think Siena sapped the strength and the time from us but I think I had a good grasp of it (except the combat portions) to think that I will get it when its 2nd printing FINALLY arrives on our shores.

Initial Impression: Good

So that was my friday night. Worse thing was my iPad had the left half of its backlight spoilt so I was frustrated at the end. Saturday morning, before my next boardgaming session, I brought it to be replaced. Luckily it was within the 90 days warranty so it will be a one-to-one replacement. I will just need to wait about a week or so.

ARGH!