Trashdome: Fury of Dracula vs. Specter Ops

Now that Fury of Dracula is going out-of-print does this permanently bury in unholy ground its classic immortal status in the hidden-movement game category? What about the new-kid-on-the-block, the more modern and streamlined, cyberpunk Specter Ops? It even has a new IOS App coming out to aid with tracking hidden movement and book keeping.

Will Specter Ops drive a stake into Fury of Dracula, or, will Fury of Dracula suck Specter Ops dry?

People will still be playing Fury of Dracula in a year. Maybe 20 years. And they've already been playing for 20 years.

Specter Ops is practically forgotten less than a year after release.

Nuff said.

FoD has the benefit of pretty much being first to (widespread) market with this sort of gaming arrangment. It's the top of mind title in this genre. So, whether or not it's the better game it will endure if no other reason than that.

Would there be a FOMO RUSH if Spector Ops were going out of print?

Either way, I've played many iterations of FoD, but never even touched a Spector Ops box.

Vote: FoD

The closest I came to Specter Ops was at B&N watching a guy crawl around on his hands a knees making a tower of BGG trade bait, Specter Ops was two of the blocks in the tower. I chuckled to myself but continued with my business that brought me there, buying a copy of Fury of Dracula.

I've played both, although I've only played Specter Ops once. Each game has its merits:
Specter Ops:
- shorter playtime
- easier to grasp
- gorgeous board

Fury of Dracula:
- cooler theme
- more engrossing

I'm curious how the Specter Ops app will affect things. I enjoy both games, but if I had to pick one, and I do, it's Fury of Dracula.

Specter Ops is practically forgotten less than a year after release.

If Specter Ops is forgotten a year after release, then it's a minor tragedy. I thought it was one of the best games of 2015, still play it regularly and I've never not had fun with it. Except for the time with a bunch of newbies when we caught the agent on the second turn, but still.

It's a fantastic distillation of theme and all the fun bluffing and deduction that make hidden movement special into an easily-learned, fast-playing package. I'd say it was almost top of its genre tree.

Except that the only game above it on the tree is Fury of Dracula.

Sorry, Specter Ops. You deserve more love than you're getting, but you're up against one of the all-time giants.

MattDP wrote:

Specter Ops is practically forgotten less than a year after release.

If Specter Ops is forgotten a year after release, then it's a minor tragedy. I thought it was one of the best games of 2015, still play it regularly and I've never not had fun with it. Except for the time with a bunch of newbies when we caught the agent on the second turn, but still.

It's a fantastic distillation of theme and all the fun bluffing and deduction that make hidden movement special into an easily-learned, fast-playing package. I'd say it was almost top of its genre tree.

Except that the only game above it on the tree is Fury of Dracula.

Sorry, Specter Ops. You deserve more love than you're getting, but you're up against one of the all-time giants.

I'm a big Specter Ops fan too, Matt. Don't give up the fight. It's still on my shelf after culling many times.

I can't in good faith give Spector Ops the vote over Fury of Dracula. Just can't do it.

However, I'm with Matt and Charlie...big fan of Spector Ops over here. It's probably my second favorite "hidden movement" style game. Plus, it's got a fucking werewolf. My big thing when I play Spector Ops is that I find both sides to be incredibly fun. When you're trying to hide from the hunter's you're like, "Fuck, all of their abilities are OP!". And at the same time they're thinking, "Shit this guy could be anywhere...plus he still has cards left". As a result I find that I love playing either side and find both to very interesting. It also works well at almost any player count...and it does a pretty interesting "traitor" mechanic when using a full five players. I really admire the game and wish I got to play it more often.

I feel like they're different enough to have both on my shelf. Shit, my shelf's got three different hidden movement games. If I want something that focuses entirely on the hunt, I pull out Letters from Whitechapel. If I want something on the shorter side that's a little more fighty, Specter Ops. If I want the full long game, confrontation thing, Fury of Dracula.

If Specter Ops had come first and used a Dracula theme, would any of your opinions be reversed?

I have not played Specter Ops, but the current B&N clearance sale has a copy and I am curious about it. I can probably wait until 75% off as B&N has failed to actually mark any of the board games as clearance or move them to the bins, even though they still ring up as clearance.

Spector Ops is what $17.99 at B&N right now?

I wouldn't think twice about it if I were interested. You can barely get a large 2 topping pizza for that price...

I think it's cute that people are talking about Specter Ops.

I think Specter Ops is the better game. In Specter Ops, I’m engaged regardless of which side I’m on because the tension is more even-handed. For Fury, if I’m not Dracula, I’m probably bored. Sadly, I kept Fury and traded Specter Ops. Fury is bloated with tokens and event cards, a drawn out combat system and rules split over two books. None of that shit adds much to the game. It's more themed components. I'm going to cut and paste that last sentence when we trashdome Star Wars: Rebellion a year from now.

Specter Ops isn't my thing. FOD FTW

barrowdown wrote: If Specter Ops had come first and used a Dracula theme, would any of your opinions be reversed?

I have not played Specter Ops, but the current B&N clearance sale has a copy and I am curious about it. I can probably wait until 75% off as B&N has failed to actually mark any of the board games as clearance or move them to the bins, even though they still ring up as clearance.

One of my students works at BN. I wonder if he'll stash a game for me until it hits 75% off. No, that would be evil and wrong.