Anybody get Unhappy King Charles yet?

This just got shipped out a couple weeks ago to P500 preorder folks. There's not much of a response to this game yet on BGG, and I haven't browsed CSW yet for the latest. What little I did find likened UKC to We the People with complexity more along the lines of Wilderness War or Paths of Glory.

The topic definitely appeals to me and the map and cards are quite attractive. Can anyone sway me toward (or away from) this new CDG?

I have it, haven't played it though.

It looks great. Anybody that says this is anywhere near PoG in terms of complexity is full of shit. I don't think it's even close to WILDERNESS WAR, it's more like WE THE PEOPLE or HANNIBAL in a lot of ways.

I've just once-overed the rules but it looks to be exactly the kind of CDWG I really like- 3-4 hours, very playable, lots of historical detail, and a sense of humour about the whole thing. I'm trying to round up Billy Motion to play this sometime this week and I'll let you know if it tanks. I don't think it will though, it looks like a good one.

Yeah, I find the reaction to this one really confusing. It looks like WtP with a little bit more chrome. The rulebook and playbook are also really, really awesome IMHO--I read through them online. It's definitely something I'd like but I just don't see myself getting it for a while. I'll be curious to hear some reactions to it.

Isn't that what everyone wanted?

It's almost like people who haven't played PoG are saying that or something. I mean, UHKC has _one_ countersheet and 90% of the rules are familiar if you've played WtP, HANNIBAL, or even TWILIGHT STRUGGLE.

The playbook is really well done, it's one of the best I've seen. The rules are just right too.

Between this and FIELDS OF FIRE, GMT has some really great stuff out there that y'all ought to check out. And yes, I'm totally shilling the hell out of them because I got these games when Gene and co. offered 2 free games to anyone laid off in October and I think that is an _awesome_ gesture.

Very interested in Fields of Fire, I may buy that soon.

I was steering clear of this as I expected it to be quite complicated, but the posts in this thread are changing my mind very quickly. 3-4 hours? SALE IMMINENT.

Well now, be careful...I haven't played it yet so I can't vouch for the 3-4 hour timeframe. It seems right though, since you can do WTP or HANNIBAL in that much time and this game doesn't appear to be any more detailed or complex.

It's weird, the game is ranked higher on GMT's "complexity" scale than FIELDS OF FIRE and I think that's total bullshit.

Michael Barnes wrote:

It's weird, the game is ranked higher on GMT's "complexity" scale than FIELDS OF FIRE and I think that's total bullshit.

There's been a lot of frothing mouths about this at consimworld. It seems that the designer chooses the rating based off of what playtesters tell them, so in reality it is a totally arbitrary number.

I'm looking forward to trying Unhappy King Charles. Great period, great subject and I love CDGs. So we'll see when I get to try it out. Unfortunately my Arkham Horror expansions maxed out my game budget for the year.

Michael Barnes wrote:

Well now, be careful...I haven't played it yet so I can't vouch for the 3-4 hour timeframe.

Thanks for reining me in. I'll keep tabs on what folk are saying before committing my "hard earned" cash.

Well, I finished reading the rules and the playbook (which was excellent, as stated earlier).

I'll be buying it after we recover a bit from all the holiday-related expenditures.

JoelCFC25 wrote:

Well, I finished reading the rules and the playbook (which was excellent, as stated earlier).

I'll be buying it after we recover a bit from all the holiday-related expenditures.

Joel--if you're not in a hurry, you might want to hang on until I would suspect February, which will be about the time the Consimworlders start dumping copies after getting yelled at by their wives for spending money they didn't have. 3 months seems to be about the standard these days for recent Pxxx titles to hit the marketplace at a significant discount [my recent scores were the Napoleonic Wars update and Clash of Monarchs [again] for about 20% below preorder price both unpunched/unplayed].

I just ordered this.

Probably shouldn't have, but whatever. Can't wait to get it.

Lagduf wrote:

I just ordered this.

Probably shouldn't have, but whatever. Can't wait to get it.

I did too. My local wargame opponent has expressed some interest in We the People and Wilderness War, so I thought this would be a great one to add into the mix too. [Although I think our next new game is going to be Bonaparte @ Marengo...]


We're weak. Very, very weak...

Wonder if this title will make it onto ACTS at some point...seems it would be a perfect fit for that system. I'll let you know if I end up getting the game, maybe we can get a PBEM or two organized all up in here.

So far all I can say is that Unhappy King Charles could have greatly benefited from a couple player aids.

Otherwise, seems pretty cool.