Let's Talk AH Fantasy Wargames

Michael, stop being silly. If you didn't invent the 'better boardgamer than thou' routine, you did popularize it - that's, in part, how this website got started

No, it didn't. This website got started because I wanted somewhere to post op/ed style pieces that would have been drowned in noise on the BGG forums. That's it. The rest is explained in the Founding of the Fort piece I posted last week.

Anyway, Wolvendancer, I can't pick up fom your posts whether you've played the games Jeff is talking about, but of you have I'd like to know what you think of them. Dragon Pass especially.

Apropos of nothing I was thinking about this the other day and it struck me there were lots of cool ideas in Wizard's Quest that were worth keeping, even though I didn't much care for the design overall. Anyone know of anything similar out there, or a set of house rules to improve things?

MattDP wrote:
Apropos of nothing I was thinking about this the other day and it struck me there were lots of cool ideas in Wizard's Quest that were worth keeping, even though I didn't much care for the design overall. Anyone know of anything similar out there, or a set of house rules to improve things?

Isn't the orc thing in Wizard's Quest basically the Pandemic/Defenders of the Realm mechanic? So many build up, then they pop and spread to adjacent areas.

That's the main mechanic I remember--what were you thinking about specifically?

MattDP wrote: Apropos of nothing I was thinking about this the other day and it struck me there were lots of cool ideas in Wizard's Quest that were worth keeping, even though I didn't much care for the design overall. Anyone know of anything similar out there, or a set of house rules to improve things?

Matt - I was going to submit a review of Wizard's Quest discussing some of this on Tuesday. It is a game that holds a near and dear place in my heart.

a strange aeon wrote: That's the main mechanic I remember--what were you thinking about specifically?

Oh I hate the orcs. Too much overhead. I was more thinking the starting positions where players get to position their opponents treasures, immediately facing the conundrum of whether to defend the treasures themselves or make other, possibly unreliable, players do the work. Also I recall the positioning of the sorcerer and the hero was a similar double edged sword but I don't remember the details.

MattDP wrote: Anyway, Wolvendancer, I can't pick up fom your posts whether you've played the games Jeff is talking about, but of you have I'd like to know what you think of them. Dragon Pass especially.

Thought I'd addressed that pretty straightforwardly:

wolvendancer wrote: Now, to the point: I've never tried Elric, but mean to. Dragon Pass is an excellent game, and I still play it a few times a year. The 'gotcha' moments that happen always seem to grow organically from gameplay, at least when you and your opponent have a basic knowledge of the game, and it's tactical enough that it rewards clever play and situational awareness. I'd encourage you to give it a go.

Your point about the founding of F:AT is well-taken but not exactly what I was referring to; MB's march to his inevitable banning on BGG certainly raised the AT vs. Euro Grand Melee to popular awareness, and that was, as far as I noticed, when this website really took off. If you disagree, that's fine, and I could be wrong. It was a poorly worded off-handed comment, and not even an important one at that.

Space Ghost wrote:

MattDP wrote: Apropos of nothing I was thinking about this the other day and it struck me there were lots of cool ideas in Wizard's Quest that were worth keeping, even though I didn't much care for the design overall. Anyone know of anything similar out there, or a set of house rules to improve things?

Matt - I was going to submit a review of Wizard's Quest discussing some of this on Tuesday. It is a game that holds a near and dear place in my heart.

Is this review still forthcoming? I'd love to read it.

Yeah; our AC went out and have had to deal with that

Space Ghost wrote: Yeah; our AC went out and have had to deal with that

I can't imagine a better way of spending a sticky, hot summer day than writing a review of Wizard's Quest...it sounds like a kind of purgatory.

So, looking over ebay I see what appears to be two different game boxes for Wizard's Quest.

One has a more detailed castle containing some tall towers and an entry bridge along the left side of the box cover.

The other is a much less detailed castle without tall towers and an entry bridge along the right side of the box cover.

Anyone know what these covers mean? Different printings? Game still the same?

Don't want to de-rail this thread futher, but... I have a chance to acquire another AH Fantasy wargame- Dragonhunt. Does anyone have thoughts how this games plays? Is it worth playing? ect