Study in Emerald Impressions?

Moongha Invaders with cubes/blocks/wood looks and plays awesome.
Moongha Invaders with minis...I just hope the game makes an appearance at some point.

Michael Barnes wrote: The idea that theme can be expressed by miniatures is ludicrous...unless we're talking about the "theme" that is actually "setting". Like Mads points out, the THEME generated by confronting an unstoppable mob is just as easily expressed with cubes as it is with figures. And the "resurrection" mechanic he talks about is actual theme...again, that does not need miniatures.

Miniatures are NOT always necessary, nor are they always the right product design decision. El Grande would look fucking stupid with a bunch of little figures on the board, its entire aesthetic would be altered.

Fuck right off with this insane hair-splitting regarding theme and setting, as if they cannot be expressed using miniatures. What you wear isn't a setting, man. I'm wearing a T-shirt, shorts, and flip flops, but I'm nowhere near a beach.

El Grande would look BAD ASS with a bunch of little cavalry soldiers in the box instead of nondescript little cubes. There's NO GAME that doesn't look better with models versus blocks of wood. Sorry, but you cannot possibly make that argument with a straight face.

You're so totally, utterly full of shit with regard to this whole theme/setting thing. TOTALLY.

SuperflyTNT wrote: There's NO GAME that doesn't look better with models versus blocks of wood. Sorry, but you cannot possibly make that argument with a straight face.

I really like the look and feel of Moongha with the block with stickers applied to them - It may actually be my favorite game as far as style and production. I think the combination of the blocks with stickers and the black/white/red color scheme all combines to create this package that delivers that 60's pulp double-feature feeling. Replacing the block with minis and I think it loses that feel.

But I will agree that by and large most games look better with minis. Usability sometimes suffers, but there's a reason why Risk went from wood blocks to little plastic men.

It's all a matter of taste, of course, and I have to agree that the Columbia block games look great all stickered up. I'd have to say that they'd look better in plastic a'la War of the Ring or something, but that doesn't make them bad to begin with.

My whole gripe with the "Theme/Setting" thing is that while it's fine in literature, I don't think it can be pasted as a whole cloth onto a board game.

Runebound's theme is adventuring, but it's setting is Terrinoth. Using Michael's thesis, if the models themselves were wearing Bahama shorts and Nixon masks, would they fuck up the whole aesthetic? I mean, Point Break models being played on a fantasy map with fantasy cards would totally blow the entire overriding theme of the game.

Heroscape robots doing battle in Valhalla is another proof - their aesthetic depicts the "setting" from whence they came, but the setting of the game is in Valhalla. The theme is "fantasy battle" but they have cross-setting models, and it works thanks to the fiction of the setting.

So, I think models definitely help the theme along, despite them being from disparate settings.

El Grande - cubes + miniatures = yuck

SuperflyTNT wrote: IPoint Break models being played on a fantasy map with fantasy cards would totally blow the entire overriding theme of the game.

You had me at "Point Break."

Screw theme/setting, this thing comes with its own baggies for pieces! I LOVE when games come with their own baggies for pieces!

SuperflyTNT wrote: There's NO GAME that doesn't look better with models versus blocks of wood. Sorry, but you cannot possibly make that argument with a straight face.

Jenga says that you are a LIAR!!!

Shellhead wrote:

SuperflyTNT wrote: There's NO GAME that doesn't look better with models versus blocks of wood. Sorry, but you cannot possibly make that argument with a straight face.

Jenga says that you are a LIAR!!!

Tier auf tier farts in your direction!

iguanaDitty wrote:

Shellhead wrote:

SuperflyTNT wrote: There's NO GAME that doesn't look better with models versus blocks of wood. Sorry, but you cannot possibly make that argument with a straight face.

Jenga says that you are a LIAR!!!

Tier auf tier farts in your direction!

As do about a thousand eurogames, where gameplay is designed to be minimalist and the packaging does best when it matches. Unifies the package. Even some non-euros are best without, with Risk being a prime example. I play on about five different versions in the Strategic Gaming Group sessions and the little guys look nice, but they're a pain in the ass because you have to stand them up and they're moved so much. Most of the time I'm fine with minis or meeples but at times they detract and at times they're a bother.

El Grande is a great example where the information interface is best served by simple geometric shapes. It gives the game a refined look too, which I think is a nice match for the gameplay.

S.