Deck Building Games

JonJacob wrote: 4/ DC the DBG - for playing drunk with non gamers.

I'm glad at least one other person likes this game. It's dumb but lots of fun.

mads b. wrote: I've tried the IOS-versions of both Nightfall and Thunderstone and was impressed by neither. Maybe having the physical cards would make me appreciate the theme more, but I'm not sure. Ascension is a good game in IOS, but ultimately shallow.
.

The Thunderstone IoS implementation is one of the worst board game ports I have seen. If you can believe it, its better than it used to be. Originally it was released requiring a Facebook login and network access. After howls of outrage, they changed it so you don't need Facebook. But IIRC you still need an internet connection. And it is still painfully slow.

mads b. wrote: I've tried the IOS-versions of both Nightfall and Thunderstone and was impressed by neither. Maybe having the physical cards would make me appreciate the theme more, but I'm not sure. Ascension is a good game in IOS, but ultimately shallow.

In real life I've tried Dominion which is a very good bad game. It's soulless and uninteresting, but I can't deny it's a good game. I would probably play it if the right people asked, but I'll live happily ever after even if that never happens.

Rune Age is an entirely different beast. The Runewars scenario is great and feels like a card version of a DoaM game, but the coop/solo scenario is very good as well. I like that the game actually has a theme that fits with the deck building, namely that just because you have x of y units in your army, doesn't mean they're ready for battle when and where you need them. I haven't tried the expansion, but I'm looking forward to it.

I haven't played the physical version of Nightfall, but the iOS version is a little hard to get into because there. are. so. many. points. where. the. gameplay. breaks. up. Well, at least playing multiplayer, I never play against the AI.

I'm kinda glad my Rune Age didn't go in the math trade, now I just need to crack it open and get some plays in.

hotseatgames wrote: The physical game far exceeds the iOS version. Here's why:

There are far more cards in the real thing
Online MP takes too long, with constant back and forth
The complexity of the game makes the iOS UI a bit much

Too right. Nightfall is abysmal on iOS. It's a horrible experience.

And that's a huge iOS fan saying that.

I second that statement (Duke's). Nightfall is an abomination.

I have determined that I have an opposing position to Nate in this case: Virtually all deck building games are so droll and boring that were they a person, I would not cross the street to piss in their mouths if their guts were burning with a white hot flame.

Unlike the man in the UK, I would not kick a burning deckbuilder in the nuts so hard that I'd tear a tendon in my foot. I'd simply chortle while it burned, chanting "X X X X" the whole time.

I didn't really like Dominion, I ~hated~ Ascension (which is weird because I was OK with the iOS implementation), and Thunderstone wasn't really all that shit hot. Quarriors at least gives me something to do...roll dice...which is one of its few saving graces.

I don't know why people are so fascinated by them.



(Not me)

I found I prefer Ascension and PA: Gamers vs Evil on iOS simply for the ease in finding and playing a game, but if I can mix mediums I'd put my list like this:

Rune Age
Quarriors
Ascension
Core Worlds (Based on the one time I got to play it. I have a feeling it gets better with more plays.)
Dominion

Rune Age is fantastic, and with the expansion it's more fantastic.

Quarriors is a blast once you add in the buy 2 rule, and the expert culling rule (I prefer the score glory OR cull version) makes the game feel like I imagine it was supposed to originally.

Ascension plays fast, and is super easy to teach. It's not the deepest game around, but is fun for what it is and gives you just enough "draft" feels to be enjoyable if you like that sort of thing. I wasn't a fan of the Penny Arcade game (which felt fiddly) until the iOS version. Still fiddly, but iOS puts the effort level bar so low it is still on my phone.

I never really grokked Nightfall, and Dominion hasn't been played enough to burn out which appears to be one of the biggest knocks against it.

Here's our F:AT rankings of Deck Building Games:

#1. Ascension - 37
#2. Nightfall - 33
#3. Dominion - 31
#4. Puzzlestrike - 30
#5. Rune Age - 24
#6. Thunderstone - 20
#7. Core World - 18
#7. Quarriors - 18
#9. Marvel - 11
#10. Penny Arcade - 9
#11. Resident Evil - 8
#12. Shadowrift - 4
#13. Trains - 2
#13. DC - 2
#14. Eminent Domain - 2
#15. Artic Scavengers - 1

The top 4 will fight it out next week.

#1. Ascension
vs.
#4. Puzzlestrike

#2. Nightfall
vs.
#3. Dominion