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I think I'm in a very small minority that quite likes the original imperial card as it's a pretty effective game clock. I find that Imperial 2 puts too much emphasis on Metacol Rex
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Mar 9, 2015 14:33
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Mojo Jojo posted:I think I'm in a very small minority that quite likes the original imperial card as it's a pretty effective game clock. It promotes conflict over the central planet.
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Mar 9, 2015 14:40
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Mojo Jojo posted:I think I'm in a very small minority that quite likes the original imperial card as it's a pretty effective game clock. Until that action card comes out that stops a character from being able to select a particular strategy card, then that player has a huge 2 VP penalty for the rest of the game.
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Mar 9, 2015 14:40
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Sheikh Djibouti posted:It's no problem for me to get the Shattered Empire expansion so I guess that's the way I'll go. Many thanks! Shattered Empire is almost an official patch to the base game. The second set of strategy cards is arguably better in every way. The new set of objectives it comes with help dissuade turtling a little better than the base game objectives too. Chomp8645 posted:Yes, this. Don't worry about any other home rules or balancing or modifying this or that. Just remove the Yssaril Tribes from the race selection process without comment. Everyone else can stay. There's only one other easy "hotfix" that I'd recommend looking into for a first time game. If anyone wants to play the Sardakk N'orr, I'd recommend giving them an extra carrier in their starting fleet. My theory is that FFG massively overestimated the N'orr's racial ability's strength and nerfed them in other areas to compensate for it. As is, they're easily the weakest race in the game with a painfully slow start with just the one carrier they start with. Yes, +1 to all combat rolls looks very impressive and scary, but fighting is such a minor part of actually winning the game that the bonus is pretty negligible. I have never seen anyone get into a lengthy conflict in a game of TI and actually win.
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Mar 9, 2015 15:27
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bobvonunheil posted:Until that action card comes out that stops a character from being able to select a particular strategy card, then that player has a huge 2 VP penalty for the rest of the game. Or one (or more) players is the last player and doesn't get their second round of 2VPs before the game ends.
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Mar 9, 2015 15:30
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Mojo Jojo posted:I think I'm in a very small minority that quite likes the original imperial card as it's a pretty effective game clock. I kinda agree, I think as long as everyone knows the person that stats with Imp is already in the lead, it makes galaxy construction interesting. Overall, though, I still prefer the SE strategies, but Imp 1 is still fine.
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Mar 9, 2015 16:40
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I also always recommend for first time players the use of one of the 'balanced' pre built galaxies on the FFG website. For the first game galaxy construction will both take ages and likely result in later game frustration as players realise how everything works and what they should have done in the construction phase. Save it for subsequent games.
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Mar 10, 2015 03:47
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I'm going to be playing for the first time in a couple days, in an 8 player game, using the Shattered Empire expansion. We picked out the races (randomly) ahead of time, and I've drawn the Jol'nar, who are not fantastic judging by the feedback in the thread. There are a few people who have played before, so I'm a little behind the curve. Another player who is the Hacan has suggested an alliance, trying to share a non-agression border and having a trade agreement. Knowing that you can't break trade with the Hacan, would I be shooting myself in the foot to accept? What type of strategy would give me a fighting chance here? I've read elsewhere that as an opening move taking Trade 2 is great to get the TG (6, three from the home system and three from the card), which can then be turned around using the Technology 2 card (which in this case WILL be played, since 8 players) to get micro and nano technology which will refresh the planet cards for the next action. But... Then what? Granted a lot will depend on the board layout, objectives, etc., but what should I generally look to be doing?
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Mar 21, 2015 08:33
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Frush posted:I'm going to be playing for the first time in a couple days, in an 8 player game, using the Shattered Empire expansion. We picked out the races (randomly) ahead of time, and I've drawn the Jol'nar, who are not fantastic judging by the feedback in the thread. There are a few people who have played before, so I'm a little behind the curve. Hacan have the best trade agreements in the game, and YOU get the goods on their trade agreements. Plus if you really want to break the agreement, you can always just attack them as you're adjacent anyway. By giving you his trade agreements, he's adding an in-game incentive to not attack him (plus you're like almost the only other guy who gets a trade agreement worth 3 in the game I think). Also don't worry too much about strategy past the opening turn or two, because politics will obliterate any obvious lead a player gets. If you want to stay in the running to win, make sure to be claiming at least one public objective per turn, and try not to look too obviously threatening - your real goal is to be taking the 2 point public objectives in the closing turns of the game, or ending the game early if you happen to be ahead when the End the Game card comes out. [EDIT] Oh yeah, and Always Be Getting Command/Fleet/Strategy tokens. That's the easiest thing to forget. bobvonunheil fucked around with this message at 11:46 on Mar 21, 2015 |
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Mar 21, 2015 11:22
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Playing with eight for your first game is brave. If you're not the only newbie, you may want to rethink that. Mojo Jojo fucked around with this message at 19:40 on Mar 21, 2015 |
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Mar 21, 2015 13:02
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bobvonunheil posted:Hacan have the best trade agreements in the game, and YOU get the goods on their trade agreements. Plus if you really want to break the agreement, you can always just attack them as you're adjacent anyway. By giving you his trade agreements, he's adding an in-game incentive to not attack him (plus you're like almost the only other guy who gets a trade agreement worth 3 in the game I think). I was thinking along the same lines, I was just worried about it since he'll want my 3 value trade agreement as well, and other reading I've done suggests using that in the same way he is, i.e. as a disincentive to attack. I'd be 'using it up' to create an alliance which would likely make us both a bit of a target, though I would have one less border to worry about. From what I can tell, the Hacan are very productive and their starting system with three planets means he's likely going to be able to mass produce a fleet at my doorstep if its convenient, but it might give me time to tech up the ships a bit to where I'm competitive. Apparently lasting long enough is the trick against any experienced players since they'll just stomp you while you're weak. Mojo Jojo posted:Playing with eight for your first game is brave. Yeah, it was my thought too, but its likely at least one or two might not show up. Worst comes to worst, I'm expecting to get crushed my first time out and potentially for it not to get finished, though we've booked a ten hour timeslot, and have potentially more space after. I think its roughly half and half in terms of new players. This is a group that meet regularly for various games, so most of us have decent experience with more advanced board games (e.g. Civilization, eclipse, conquest of the empire, arkham horror, etc.). I've taken a good look at the rules, and while its a little overwhelming, it seems like the bulk of the difficult isn't the mechanics, its keeping in memory the vast number of potential strategies, different units and what they all can do, and remembering if people have bonuses and whatnot. But I have the .pdf on my tablet so I'll be able to easily reference. Other readings about the Jol'nar have suggested trying for a (fleet supported) War Sun by turn 4-5 if possible, and being somewhat aggressive with it as deterrent from attack, which might work better combined with a secure border alliance. Any opinions there? (Yes, keeping in mind that the objectives are the true...objective, just so as to not get stomped while going for them.) I guess that kind of goes against the 'don't look threatening' advice though. Frush fucked around with this message at 18:28 on Mar 21, 2015 |
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Mar 21, 2015 18:24
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Frush posted:I'm going to be playing for the first time in a couple days, in an 8 player game, using the Shattered Empire expansion. We picked out the races (randomly) ahead of time, and I've drawn the Jol'nar, who are not fantastic judging by the feedback in the thread. There are a few people who have played before, so I'm a little behind the curve. First of all, getting one of those valuable Hacan trade agreements is great. If you ever do need to break the agreement, then you can just swing a destroyer by, as mentioned. However, if the Hacan get your 3 trade agreement, then all you've got is a piddly 1 to buy off your other neighbor with, and that's not much, especially if you've got someone who starts really aggressive next to you. If the Hacan player is okay with your 1 agreement, then using the 3 trade on your other neighbor is an excellent way to keep yourself safe. Also, it's not that Jol'nar aren't fantastic. I mean, they aren't, but it's a specific sort of thing. Their primary ability is to get lots and lots of technology, but they have a -1 combat penalty. Here's how that plays out: you need combat bonuses just to be able to reach what other people have. Early on, you're a soft punching bag. Very late game, everyone has caught up to your advantages. It's the mid and mid-late game that you're best at. Additionally, any techs that provide non-numerical bonuses will be fully powered for you. There's a lot of them, and a bunch of them are really far down the tree. Light/Wave Deflectors is an absolute killer tech that you've basically got exclusive access to, for example. Also, on the combat front, you want to use the stronger ships, unlike most races. With Cybernetics and Advanced Fighters, you can amass fighters that are exactly as strong as what the Naalu start with, after several techs. Don't do that. Instead, focus on War Suns, Dreadnaughts, and Cruisers, with Fighters as meatshields. -1 to combat rolls hurts War Suns and Dreadnaughts a lot less, after all. Remember not to be so obsessed with saving 14 resources minus discounts a round that you forget to build an actual navy. Also, if you're going to be spending a Command Counter every round activating Technology, and you only get two extra per turn, you're going to run out, and fast. There's a tech for that. Beeline it. As far as general newbie advice: -Objectives objectives objectives. It doesn't matter how many ships you have, what planets you've taken, or how many techs you have, or what laws you've passed. If you're not scoring objectives, you're going to lose. -The winners of a war are all the players who aren't fighting. Especially in an eight player game, there's six other players who will benefit from both of you losing ships. -Remember your free resources from Sarween Tools, especially if you've got two Space Docks in a system. Production Secondary can let you mass a lot of stuff for free that way, although even with two docks you're still limited to three units. Still, forgetting the Sarween resource has basically become a drinking game with my friends. -There's a basic Rock Paper Scissors among the ships. Destroyers beat Fighters beat everything beat Destroyers. Even if you've got five Dreadnaughts and two War Suns in a system, a fleet of two Carriers and twelve Fighters will probably trade evenly and cost a fraction of the resources.. Keep your big guys screened. -This is a 4X game, not a wargame. Territory, not ships, are power. -Never fight a land war in Mecatol Rex. EDIT: Frush posted:Other readings about the Jol'nar have suggested trying for a (fleet supported) War Sun by turn 4-5 if possible, and being somewhat aggressive with it as deterrent from attack, which might work better combined with a secure border alliance. Any opinions there? (Yes, keeping in mind that the objectives are the true...objective, just so as to not get stomped while going for them.) I guess that kind of goes against the 'don't look threatening' advice though. This is viable, but...War Suns are scary. Like, moreso than they are actually useful. Researching War Suns and getting them can be powerful, but it's often a one way ticket to death. Remember, for the price of a War Sun with a six fighter screen (15 resources), you can get a Carrier, six Fighters (6), and three Cruisers. You won't hit as much, but you can absorb more punishment and split up as needed. As well, you don't need to invest all twelve resources at once into one ship. And that Carrier/Cruiser combo is a lot less likely to make your neighbors nervous. That's not to say it won't work! However, before you decide on a War Sun plan, figure out if getting those twelve resources at once is going to be a big problem. You don't want to go on any expensive plan until you've figured out how to pay for it. Of course, on the flip side, the stuff that's cheaper in resources is more expensive in Fleet Supply and/or build limit. Definitely play to the board. A consideration is that you're playing with eight players. That means a four ring board but the planet allocation of a six player three ring board. You're going to be poor as hell, unless someone puts all the high value systems near you. Rosalie_A fucked around with this message at 18:47 on Mar 21, 2015 |
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Mar 21, 2015 18:36
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Also sound advice. Are there any ways to try and force the game to end towards what would usually be mid/mid-late game, when the advantages mean more? Sadly, this Hacan player is a schemer (as evidenced by the fact that he's already going for secret alliances before the game starts), and I'm sure is wholly intent on grabbing the 3-value trade agreement. Knowing that the Jol'nar are typically resource short, I am basically debating whether that's going to help me in the long run by providing easy resources every round through secure means (and you don't get resources from agreements made that turn, so the lack of interruptions on agreements could be nice) or hurt me more by ruining my ability to bribe. Theres no planned seating, so we'd just sit together to make it work, and I have no idea who will be on the other side.
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Mar 21, 2015 19:01
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The best (most fun) thing to do is to go in as his staunch ally, wait till he lets his guard down and then backstab him like a motherfucker because he's making alliances before the game even begins. Actual tips: - If Mecatol Rex is just defended by the neutral tokens and you can beat them, take it unless there is just 1 other player in range. If there are 2 or more players in range, their fleets threaten each other, letting you keep it by default (unless they make a deal) - Don't put a lot of poo poo on Mecatol unless you have it as a Secret Objective that you can claim at the end of that turn. - Never put a lot of ships in 1 system, action cards can lock them down. - Put space mines in important hexes. They are just about useless in actual use, but the threat of them hitting something is more important than actually hitting something. Actually, that last tip can be used for just about everything. As in most 4x games, a fleet that you can use is a shitload more dangerous than a fleet that has been used. As long as people can react to your moves, try to postpone them unless you can back-up your first strike with other threats. Which is why the Yssaril are so drat good, they can stall until they are the only ones left and do 2-3 moves in a row unopposed.
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Mar 21, 2015 20:53
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Well, that was a thing. He had 7 of 8 people show up, which actually would've been fine if some of them would simply learn to plan their turn ahead of time. We're talking the 'spend half an hour on the tech card because they are having a conversation and then want a tech but haven't planned what they want' type deal. We ended up finishing after 13 hours. I didn't realize just how much luck played into this. We set up the galaxy, and I got assigned to a sector that was basically empty. Two tiles with planets on them and a bunch of empty space with a supernova. All the asteroid fields were on the other side of the board, making the tech I started with useless. I immediately lost half my fleet trying to take what few planets there were, which were hiding fighter ambush tokens and the like on them (a few other people, including my Hacan ally did as well). Also managed to open up a wormhole beside my home system that linked me right to the L1Z1X player, who'd gotten lucky and a bunch of resources and built three destroyers. Oops. Fortunately, I managed to spam a bunch of PDS units with deep space cannons and obliterated his force before he got to my home world. After that I was effectively out of the game though, and built a revenge force just to counter attack and take his home world if I could. All of the objectives I hadn't gotten were combat-focused, and my secret objective was to hold Mecatol Rex with a space dock and four dreadnoughts. I ended up taking the trade strategy a few times (had last pick of cards a few times due to some unfortunate circular speaker designations), and used it to break all the L1Z1X players agreements, and then only approved ones that weren't with him, which ended up shutting him out of trade agreements for the rest of the game. Then the Embers of Muaat player took him out before I could, so I just backdoored that player instead, taking his home world and telling him the Jol'nar were re-subjugating his people. I'll call that a win on principle. The game ended with the Embers player winning by using the imperial strategy to qualify for a 2 victory point card which put him jn the lead, and then to put the imperial Rex card next. It was a good play. Royally pissed off the player who finished second though. I thought you couldn't qualify for victory points when someone else had your home world (which is the other part of the reason I'd invaded the Ember homeworld) but apparently that's only in the first and second editions, and in third edition you simply can't complete objectives during the status phase, and the imperial strategy still let's you get victory points. Some takeaway points: -Number of players isn't a big deal, as long as they are all *being focused* -Politics didn't have a huge effect, but being able to assign the speaker token can wreck peoples day -If its feasible, get the tech that let's you have a third command counter back (thanks for that suggestion!) -Carriers full of fighters are very much more effective than unsupported dreadnoughts (always support your big things!) -Getting micro and nano tech is great too. After the first turn I got them, everyone else saw that and got them too. -Allying with the Hacan is fantastic, not only for resources, but for the ability to trade action cards -The trade card is great, but really, holding planets is where a lot of your resources come from -Invading any planet with a hidden effect token is a huge risk, so be prepared to lose any carriers and troops you send out -The phrase 'the only winner of a battle are those who didn't fight' is absolutely correct -Take the Naalu out if playing with first timers who aren't used to this type of game. They really mess up the ability to plan -As Jol'nar, save up enough to use the tech secondary reach turn if possible, but don't pay 8 for a third tech, build fleets.
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Mar 23, 2015 18:54
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Frush posted:The game ended with the Embers player winning by using the imperial strategy to qualify for a 2 victory point card which put him jn the lead, and then to put the imperial Rex card next. It was a good play. Oh boy. Who wants to break it to him? e: Also clarify if you actual mean he used the Imperial strategy and took two points or he used the bureaucracy strategy and a two point objective. Using Imperial to score a two point objective doesn't make sense without waiting for the end of round. You guys hosed it up but now I want to know how. ee: Distant Suns on a first play 
Meme Poker Party fucked around with this message at 19:23 on Mar 23, 2015 |
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Mar 23, 2015 19:07
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Frush posted:The game ended with the Embers player winning by using the imperial strategy to qualify for a 2 victory point card which put him jn the lead, and then to put the imperial Rex card next. It was a good play. Royally pissed off the player who finished second though. I thought you couldn't qualify for victory points when someone else had your home world (which is the other part of the reason I'd invaded the Ember homeworld) but apparently that's only in the first and second editions, and in third edition you simply can't complete objectives during the status phase, and the imperial strategy still let's you get victory points. quote:Important Exception: A player may never qualify for a Public or Secret Objective Card if he does not control all the planets in his Home System.
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Mar 23, 2015 19:22
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Frush posted:The game ended with the Embers player winning by using the imperial strategy to qualify for a 2 victory point card which put him jn the lead, and then to put the imperial Rex card next. It was a good play. Royally pissed off the player who finished second though. I thought you couldn't qualify for victory points when someone else had your home world (which is the other part of the reason I'd invaded the Ember homeworld) but apparently that's only in the first and second editions, and in third edition you simply can't complete objectives during the status phase, and the imperial strategy still let's you get victory points. Yeah unsure if you were playing with Imperial I or Bureaucracy. Either way, he didn't actually win. Imperium Rex instantly ends the game, not allowing anymore qualifications for any objectives or additional victory points. SU&SD made that very same mistake in their let's play video of TI3. Don't worry too much, our group got impossible amounts of rules wrong the first three or four times we played. The most egregious was we kept our command counters we spent on activations every turn, whoops! Frush posted:-Invading any planet with a hidden effect token is a huge risk, so be prepared to lose any carriers and troops you send out Our group never plays with Distant Suns tokens for this very reason. It can completely cripple a player early on if they get a bunch of bad ones.
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Mar 23, 2015 19:27
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Even if Muaat was able to score objectives something was still wrong because there is absolutely no method in the game to reveal Imperium Rex but score before it takes effect. I'm guessing it was Bureaucracy and they revealed two cards (one of them being Rex) and he illegally scored before Rex took effect. If this is the case then the move was doubly illegal: once for scoring after Rex was revealed, and a second for doing so with an occupied home world. LordZoric posted:The most egregious was we kept our command counters we spent on activations every turn, whoops! Holy cow that must have been a funny game by the end.
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Mar 23, 2015 19:27
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We realized something was Very Wrong about 3/4 of the way through the game, and one of us finally checked the rulebook. Suddenly, the Leadership card become a lot more attractive.
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Mar 23, 2015 19:51
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I saw a youtube video once of some dude who recorded a spontaneous rules argument in his TI3 group (their first game according to the description) on his cellphone. They didn't seem to really have any idea how objectives were scored. Someone was trying to claim the "I now spend whatever resources/influence/trade goods" objective. This is the shortened and paraphrased version of how it went... I spent that many resources during the turn building ships, now I get the objective! No it doesn't count during the turn, the card says "I now spend", so you have to spend them now. That's bullshit I don't have the resources now. You have the trade goods, use those. Ok fine I'm spending the trade goods. I'm gonna build these ships with them at the homeworld *places ships* See there you go! Now you get the victory point.I wanted to scream.
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Mar 23, 2015 20:06
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drat I wish I could get my friends to play this game. Every few years I manage to get it out but then they basically have to learn the rules again and it ends up being an all day marathon session.
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Mar 24, 2015 01:06
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drat Dirty Ape posted:drat I wish I could get my friends to play this game. Every few years I manage to get it out but then they basically have to learn the rules again and it ends up being an all day marathon session. The bane of many-a-TI3 players.
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Mar 24, 2015 02:27
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Chomp8645 posted:Oh boy. Who wants to break it to him? Sorry, I did mean bureaucracy, my mistake. Some of the switches between the normal and expansion get muddled. LordZoric posted:Yeah unsure if you were playing with Imperial I or Bureaucracy. Either way, he didn't actually win. Imperium Rex instantly ends the game, not allowing anymore qualifications for any objectives or additional victory points. SU&SD made that very same mistake in their let's play video of TI3. Don't worry too much, our group got impossible amounts of rules wrong the first three or four times we played. The most egregious was we kept our command counters we spent on activations every turn, whoops! He used bureaucracy to get the points, which I guess is disallowed. I argued that it was a blanket rule, he said it was an exception to the rule. I think I looked up something that might've implied something quick, and after 13 hours kind of just let it go, since I wasn't winning anyway. Yeah, I would probably not play in future if the Distant suns rule was in effect. Crippling a couple players early on from two or three bad ones is EXACTLY what it did. Chomp8645 posted:Even if Muaat was able to score objectives something was still wrong because there is absolutely no method in the game to reveal Imperium Rex but score before it takes effect. I'm guessing it was Bureaucracy and they revealed two cards (one of them being Rex) and he illegally scored before Rex took effect. You're right, come to think of it, I'm not sure how he got to look at and rearrange the objective cards and score on them. Maybe an action card?
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Mar 24, 2015 02:39
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Frush posted:You're right, come to think of it, I'm not sure how he got to look at and rearrange the objective cards and score on them. Maybe an action card? Bureaucracy lets you vet the top two cards (one goes into play, the other back on top of the deck) and when it's played it first reveals objectives equal to the number of bonus tokens on it. So the order of things is this... 1) Reveal Objectives from bonus tokens (THIS HAPPENS WHEN YOU PICK THE CARD, NOT WHEN YOU PLAY IT). *Card is played during the turn* 2) Draw two cards, put one back and reveal the other. 3) Score an objective you qualify for. Thing is the Imperium Rex card clearly says to immediately end the game when it is revealed. Since Rex is revealed in step 2 and scoring cannot occur until step 3, there is no way to play Rex and score before it is activated, nor is there any way to score before it being revealed. I'm guessing that he either scored a card revealed in step 1 immediately (illegal) or scored in step 3 as if Rex ends the game after the full Bureaucracy action instead of immediately(also illegal). e: VVVV It does, fixed for clarity. Meme Poker Party fucked around with this message at 02:59 on Mar 24, 2015 |
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Mar 24, 2015 02:48
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Chomp8645 posted:Bureaucracy lets you vet the top two cards (one goes into play, the other back on top of the deck) and when it's played it first reveals objectives equal to the number of bonus tokens on it. So the order of things is this...
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Mar 24, 2015 02:53
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Frush posted:
Twilight Imperium really benefits from having someone who is willing to talk for several hours straight and keep the game moving and let everyone know what's happening and urge them along. Or at least, that's the way I've always done things. Lately I've felt as though a loaded handgun to point and say "if you spend the interturn checking Facebook instead of figuring out what you're going to do one more time, we're having a talk." Maybe I should get the guns from Cash 'n' Guns for that. Also, yeah, luck is a thing. It's a thing throughout a large part of the game, but if you've got a bad starting draw and everyone else dumps their crap on you, then it's a little unpleasant. Unfortunately for Jol'Nar, they don't exactly have the ability to say "well, if you give me all your crappy planets, I'll just have to take your good ones" early on. Additionally, wow, Distant Suns with a new player at the table. Distant Suns is the sort of option you use when you've got 3-6 experienced players and want to twist things up. It's designed to slow down the early game and make the initial expansion round less formulaic. It's not the sort of thing you use in a seven player game unless you really wanted to burn time. I'm glad you enjoyed what you did, and I'm sorry that the setup wasn't favorable to you. Unrelated: There's clearly a bit of TI interest among some players, and it's a game that's hard to get done face to face. No plans yet, but what would you guys think of the feasibility of a PBP or a teamer LP in one of the appropriate subfora? Obviously, you'd need to adjust a couple of things (mostly action cards, I think), and it'd go on for basically eternity, but I've had the idea bouncing around in my head and was wondering what other people thought.
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Mar 24, 2015 09:35
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I think a Pbp game was attempted before in TG and there are quite a few on BGG. For keeping the pace of the game up, I would act as the turn order tracker for my games. Players were encouraged to pre-plan and as soon as they had declared their intention for the turn, as long as it didn't affect subsequent players, we would move down the turn order fairly quickly. For build orders, one other player would check the build math/resources while the action moved on. We got fairly proficient at it although my own turns suffered a bit. While I am aware of the power of the Yssaril, why would the Mentak be considered a top-tier faction? Is it the racial techs?
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Mar 24, 2015 09:55
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Their racial techs let them extract profit from failed attacks. Their flagship shuts on L1z1x, Letnev and Jol-Nar. Their racial ability to shoot first with 2 cruisers and steal trade goods synergize with their techs. Their home system and leaders aren't bad either.
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Mar 24, 2015 11:25
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The key barrier to entry for more games of this at the moment is the size of my table. Even fully extended it only allows a three player game And a larger table won't fit in any of the rooms. Stupid terraced housing
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Mar 24, 2015 16:13
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Trasson posted:Twilight Imperium really benefits from having someone who is willing to talk for several hours straight and keep the game moving and let everyone know what's happening and urge them along. Are you me? My voice is always hoarse the next day after a game of Twilight Imperium. I spend most the game cross-referencing three different rulebooks too. Mojo Jojo posted:The key barrier to entry for more games of this at the moment is the size of my table. Even fully extended it only allows a three player game Get a huge pinup board, play the game on a wall 
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Mar 26, 2015 17:37
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bobvonunheil posted:Get a huge pinup board, play the game on a wall Mount all the tiles on sheet steel. Magnetize all the minis and markers.
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Mar 26, 2015 18:31
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bobvonunheil posted:Are you me? This is actually pretty fun to do if you get a big sheet of metal to back the board components with, and magnetize your pieces. It takes a while, but it's pretty fun. Though, if you're like me, you might need to make a footstool for other people to reach the top of the board. Since I'm 6'6", and I'm not interested in hanging something low enough that I'm always bending over to read text or whatever. Refrigerator magnets are perfect for pinning cards and stuff, too. You can even get ones printed/pressed with insignia or a theme you like--like constellations, alien heads, or whatever you want to print out/paint/draw yourself.
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Mar 26, 2015 18:32
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bobvonunheil posted:Are you me? Only if you got the game as a wedding present. In which case, why the hell did I spend ten dollars on another account instead of archives or something? That said, I know the pain of being unable to speak after a round of TI. So worth it though. Unrelated: Has anyone tried any of the two player variants out there? I ask because I have a friend who tends to slow the game down 'cause he's less familiar with it than the other players, so getting him more experience would help out a lot. I could always round up another person or two, of course, but a good deal of my friends have sworn to not play another game of TI with this guy unless he speeds the hell up.
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Mar 26, 2015 21:52
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Trasson posted:Only if you got the game as a wedding present. In which case, why the hell did I spend ten dollars on another account instead of archives or something? Somewhere in your house is a room that you never remember going into covered floor to ceiling in printed-out posts of photoshop phridays, with annotations in red marker, and connected by a web of yarn and pushpins, all of which surround this image: 
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Mar 26, 2015 22:15
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I've played this game three times, and we've never finished a game. Mostly because we have 8 players and games are far enough between that everyone forgets the rules. I think the closest we got was somebody getting 6 victory points. It goes so slowly for us. We've always chosen race randomly, and I've gotten the Hacan all three times. I like just getting large amounts of resources and buying my way out of any potential problems. It was fun. I would play again, hopefully with fewer people and a longer window of playing.
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Mar 26, 2015 22:29
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Trying to go from cold straight into an eight player game of TI3 is a disaster. I can imagine it permanently turning people off the game. Distant Suns question - bearing in mind I'm working from my memory of the variant here (slap a token on all non-home worlds, reveal when you do a takeover, and I can't really remember what the types of encounters are). Is it feasible to do some kind of risk/reward sorting? Or are there too few tokens? I'm thinking that the crippling events would only be present in the centre couple of rings and the outer bits would be safer. Ideally, you take all the nulls and low-positive events and use those to do the outer ring, then slowly add the second tier events for the next ring on so on. Ideally you'd need more tokens per ring than planets. I should probably have waited till I get home and had a look to see how viable this is, as I do like the little random tweaks but don't like the ability for a player to effectively end up a full turn behind everybody else.
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Mar 27, 2015 12:12
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Mojo Jojo posted:Distant Suns question - bearing in mind I'm working from my memory of the variant here (slap a token on all non-home worlds, reveal when you do a takeover, and I can't really remember what the types of encounters are). Is it feasible to do some kind of risk/reward sorting? Or are there too few tokens? I can't remember the specific breakdown, but this is an official rules variant in one of the books. You sort the chits into two piles, not adding in the supreme 'gently caress you' results (or some of the more powerful bonuses) until the outer ring and every hex adjacent to a homeworld is full of the lower tier counters.
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Mar 27, 2015 12:46
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That probably explains where my idea came from
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Mar 27, 2015 13:56
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Speaking as someone who actually likes distant suns, I'd strongly recommend playing with the variant if you're playing with the counters. Running into 3 hostile fighters or an automated defense system on turn 1 can just destroy you.
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Mar 27, 2015 15:03
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