X-COM Enemy Unknown FFG boardgame.

Theoretically, every "event card" type game and co-op can benefit from that feature.

Imagine that big-ass Magic Realm style prep board arranged and executed by app. Or some AI deck. Or a simple card draw like Talisman that is self balancing (so you don't get gold all the time and not encountering any monsters). Or a dungeon crawler that is procedurally generated without having a convoluted generation system or a DM.

Well, this has been out for a while now. Anybody out there into it? It's certainly not mentioned much.

I brought my copy into the office, since the length should just about fit into a slightly long lunch. Taught it the other day, and it went over well. I did really wish I had some kind of reference cards for which things reset the alien die track during the resolution phase and which didn't.

I played it about ten times and really like it, but at this point it needs some new life or I'm probably going to sell/trade it off. I'm surprised that some kind of expansion (even just a digital one for the app) hasn't happened, especially with the new XCOM video game out earlier this year. Didn't sell as well as hoped, I suppose?

I get a sense that it was a big flopola. I think the app needlessly scared away people and it might have been perceived as a gimmick. Which is unfortunate because the game is really good - one of the more interesting recent co-ops. But like Grudunza, I felt like it had about 10 plays before it was done. I sold it after two groups of friends basically said they'd had their fill of it and it's pretty hard to solo it. So it went away and I don't miss it. Even though I liked it a lot and had a good time with it.

I think there was also some disappointment that it was more about the managerial side of XCOM than the man to man tactical stuff...but there are so many games in that space I think they went in the right direction with it.

Target Earth (Gen-X Games) is immeasurably better and more directly an analog version of the game.

Sadly, it's 95% Geosphere and 5% tactics. Still, it's awesome and cheap.

Looks weird. I'll check it out.

Michael Barnes wrote: But like Grudunza, I felt like it had about 10 plays before it was done.

This was kind of what I was afraid of. Some co-ops just kind of fall off once you beat them a couple times. Others don't because maybe they offer more variety or something? I worry that the static player roles might get boring. I dunno. I suppose getting 10 good plays isn't too bad but... eh.

The weird thing about x-com, despite its various missions (and randomizers), is that generally it feels the same across games. You have to do stuff quickly. That's it. The short time frame does not allow me to wallow in the experience.

I bought Barnes copy, played it a few times and enjoyed it, and sold it. Definitely repetitive and has a short lifespan.

From the BGG stats, XCOM has 5,290 people who bought it. That's probably 1/2 or 1/3 of actual sales, though. Most people aren't nerdy enough to go on a site like that and record everything they've purchased... or nerdy enough to go on a site like that to look up these kind of stats and then share them on a site like this. :oP

By most standards of modern hobby/designer board games, selling 10,000 or more copies (or even 5,290) would be huge and garner automatic expansions. By FFG standards, though, maybe not. And the license cost might be pretty hefty. By comparison, Eldritch Horror has 17,191 owners and something like 5-6 expansions. Actually, a better comparison would be Gears of War, another video game license, which shows 5,539 owners and does have one POD mission pack expansion.

Regardless, I'm a little surprised that some basic expansion hasn't come out with a few new missions, even just app-only. It would seem that an app exclusive expansion would be perfect for this game. But there again might be some cost issues, as far as programming the app for something that you sell for maybe $5 as an IAP. Not much profit there. Anyway, I am holding onto my copy for now on the chance that something new will be announced. At this point, though, I'm doubtful, especially with the release of XCOM 2 having already passed. That would have seemed an ideal time to plug an expansion.