What KICKSTARTER(S) are you BACKING and WHY?

Finally taking the plunge on CW. When it first rolled around I thought it looked great but the price.... Then i start seeing how everyone is enjoying it and that it really is a great game. Very hard to come by so now that OS2 is shipping to the dustributirs and OS3 is starting I'm all in. This is going to cost a pretty penny but I know I can probably pull this out weekly and have 6 to 8 player games. Hell I'm thinking of starting a tournament.

SebastianBludd wrote: The four expansion factions all play a little differently so some of it is going to come down to your personal preference.

- Windwalker is a slow-rolling, late game beatstick that is hard to beat if not kept in check (I own this one but have not played with it yet).

- Opener of the Way is a "tricky" faction that has all kinds of weird tricks (Yog Sothoth is a gate, units that survive battles can be mutated into more powerful monsters, and there is a power where they can move other factions' gates to different areas) which makes it more difficult to play well but the way it plays is unique amongst all factions (I own and have played with this one).

- Sleeper is also a "tricky" faction that has ways to remove its units from the board to protect them from attack, as well as a power that lets them pass their turn (without forfeiting further activations for the round, which is what normally happens when you "pass" as your Action) so they can go last when everyone else is out of power, and thus get up to some unopposed shenanigans with the power they've been hoarding. (I own and have played against this one, but have never played as the Sleeper).

- Tcho Tcho is the one I know least about and word in the forums on BGG is that they're broken. I couldn't say as I just received them as part of my OS2 shipment.

My order of preference is Opener of the Way, Sleeper/Windwalker, Tcho Tcho. OotW is just so weird and interesting, and Yog Sothoth is one of the "classic" Great Old Ones and is a nice addition alongside Cthulhu, Shub Niggurath, Nyarlathotep and Hastur.

As for the Custom Dice Pack, don't bother. They do nothing that regular d6's don't do. For instance, when you roll for Blight with the King in Yellow faction, there's no reason the d6 needs to have the Hastur symbol on it, it's just cosmetic (and your vanilla copy of CW will come with d6's, anyway).

Instead, I would advise you to scrape up $3 to add to the $12 you would have spent on the Custom Dice Pack so you can afford the High Priest expansion. In fact, I would advise anyone to get High Priests before they got anything else to add to the base game. In addition, if you print out the Unique High Priest PnP expansion (refer to the Omega Rulebook pdf, it's just 5 or so cards), you can use them with the HP expansion and add more variety without a lot of rules overhead or (additional) storage issues.

Opener of the way is very fun but it's a faction that sits on the knife's edge. You can lose very hard or win equally as hard. Much of the faction's power is based on timing and using your once per game abilities.

All three of the original expansion factions are great (Opener, Sleeper, Windwalker). I think Windwalker was previously too strong but they've since nerfed it slightly and it feels much more in line. Tcho-Tcho does feel too strong and they are a bit boring to play. I expect a minor change at some point.

You guys should kick this into its own thread. This is a lifestyle game that is worthy of an extended discussion.

David, if you just want to dabble, I'd say just buy the core set, which is still available at retail (at least at MM, probably some other places). There is PLENTY of game there. As others have said, the custom dice are a big fat so what. They ain't that neat.

If you decide you like it and want more, then you can buy, it looks like, everything in Onslaught 3. The "must haves" IMO are the High Priests, at least two factions (I would go with Windwalker and Opener of the Way), Great Old One Pack 1 (for some neutral stuff), and at least one extra map (I'd choose Yuggoth).

It's a daunting proposition to get into this game at this point.

It is, but it is absolutely worth liquidating some of your lesser games to do so.

The Kickstarter for Argent 2nd edition is live and I think I'm in.

Gary Sax, what is your opinion on the Summer Break and Mancers expansions? Worth picking up with the core set?

I dont back many Kickstarters but i was backing Zombicide Green Horde and bailed out towards the end. I like Black Plague well enough but started looking at the price and figured I might not see all of this stuff on the table. Once I got the email from Peterson Games that OS2 was complete and retail would soon be available I quickly rescheduled and rearranged my finances for that.

Frohike wrote: The Kickstarter for Argent 2nd edition is live and I think I'm in.

Gary Sax, what is your opinion on the Summer Break and Mancers expansions? Worth picking up with the core set?

Thanks for this, I went in for the upgrade edition immediately. Though I'm not sure if I have a huge use for the mages since my wife added magnets and painted wooden discs to the garbage base mages to accomplish the same thing, which have sentimental value.

Tentatively, I would say yes? Technomancers is a "more" expansion---not as essential as something like Forbidden Lore for Eldritch Horror but along the same lines. There's still tons of variety in the base game, so that's actually a bit of a compliment. 1) It adds rooms, supporters, items, etc. The items tend to be a little bit more niche and off the wall and better for experienced players, but nothing about the game is super complicated even in the expansion. 2) I never play any of the scenarios so that's a bust to me. Not because they're bad but because I don't feel bored with the base scenario variety---after 25 games. 3) It also adds a new faction and mage type which is focused on research. They're fun, very balanced and make logical sense in the game. I never play without any of the additions from the expansion except for scenarios. I added them into the game after my second game, I believe.

For Summer Break... eh? New beach themed items are, again, just another way for the game to get into interesting board states so I can't complain but none of them jumped out at me besides a couple interesting high cost ones (keys IIRC). There's only one thing that is really good in Summer Break, and it is what amounts to an intro scenario you can play with overwhelmed players (the tableau and game state, as others have mentioned, are completely overwhelming and initially inscrutable). THAT is a good addition, and IMHO should be in the base game rather than here.

It's a little tough because on some level when you add stuff to Argent you're just adding more situations. You're creating more iterations of possibly weird board and mage situations to dynamically combo and puzzle through for 5 turns---while being blasted by fireballs and the like. But that's also sort of the joy of the game and what separates it from much more rote and static worker placement, so I think that's kind of a significant plus for these expansions. Neither drastically alter the game unless you do one of the scenarios in Technomancer.

I'm backing Cthulhu Wars Onslaught 3 for $200.
I adore Lovecraft, the Cthulhu Mythos, Sandy Petersen, and this ridiculously big board game.

I'm hosting a five player game tonight!

Love me some 'Opener of the Way.' Tonight we crack open the 'Sleeper.' An out of town/country guest is spending the weekend [for tomorrow's DreadBall tournament], and since he's from Canada - it only made sense. He's the 'Sleeper.'

I backed 'Green Menace,' and I'm truly questioning why. WHY? I don't think it'll see much table time. 'Massive Darkness' delivers in August, and I must swear/vow to myself: IF MASSIVE DARKNESS SUCKS, I MUST PURGE IT ALONG WITH ZOMBICIDE. The crossover decks are theoretically a major appeal.

I'm considering a pledge for 'Who Goes There?' On the other hand, I may just chill out and see if the game gets any lovely reviews once it hits retail.

I backed some photography equipment. It's tech I know I'll use.

I backed my first video game, and it finally delivered last month. Friday the 13th. It was a mess at launch, but the developers have done much to make improvements. It still has a lot of bugs. However, the theme is so rich and spot on! I play with five other friends in private matches and we scream like little girls. It's a riot.