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Top Ten FFG Games - PART ONE

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24 May 2016 14:10 - 24 May 2016 14:38 #228034 by Shellhead

Jexik wrote: BSG I haven't played it in awhile and I never watched more than a few episodes of the show. (I jumped in in the middle of season 3 or something with a now-ex girlfriend). I didn't enjoy spending some of my weekend time that way. The game is actually pretty great and I'll still play it now.


You jumped ship just in time. The second half of season 3 is downward spiral into stupidity. I jumped ship after the season 3 finale and never looked back.
Last edit: 24 May 2016 14:38 by Shellhead.

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24 May 2016 14:36 #228035 by Jackwraith
Hm. Haven't played Rebellion, but I immediately look askance at any game listed as #1 after only a few weeks of release. The newness factor is just too prevalent. I also agree with other that the list feels a little too Star Wars-centric, but whatevs. I gave up on X-Wing when I decided that collectible games just aren't for me, anymore. I just don't have time to keep up with the meta and the only people in my area that play regularly are the tournament guys. I loved Netrunner, too but, alas... I agree with a lot of the list, otherwise, although ranking will always be hugely subjective, of course.

When everyone is saying "Runebound, 2nd Ed." do they meant the most recent version or the actual Second Edition, which basically just tweaked the first and changed the dice to 2d10 from 1d20? I will always love Runebound simply for the variety of adventures possible with the big and small expansions. That said, I'm not sure I would have put it in the top 10. I'll still play it anytime, but somehow it never struck me as something as transformative as games like CitOW or TI3. I probably would have added A Game of Thrones, as well, since the order system remains as unusual as that of Forbidden Stars/Starcraft, if different.

Similarly to Shellhead, I gave up on BSG after season 2, despite urging from several friends to give season 3 a try, since it supposedly really took off at that point (something about the writers collectively realizing that they took a wrong turn in season 2 and they were going to get canceled?) but I've never taken the time to go back to it and now it's off Netflix. We played BSG three or four times and my experience was that, unless you had a group really willing to engage the traitor mechanics, it wasn't as fun as it could've been. My group somehow just didn't grasp it so I ended up trading it away.

I think the expansions do nothing but make BB: TM better. More teams to choose from and more options to choose from (magic balls, stadia, contracts, etc.) It's definitely a favorite.

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24 May 2016 15:47 #228044 by Colorcrayons
Doom?

I know nearly everyone lauds the fantasy redesign in descent or refinement in rebellion, but with very very minor tweaks, Doom is a clean system. I don't think I've played a better video game to board game implementation from the viewpoint of how similar they feel and how easy it is to play.

I think as a two player game, this is my choice for best inhouse design by ffg, ever. From a design perspective, its brilliant. From a game play perspective, it could use refinement, but not to the degree they took it with descent.
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24 May 2016 15:50 #228045 by Chapel
Replied by Chapel on topic Top Ten FFG Games - PART ONE

Shellhead wrote: Rebellion is a re-working of Freedom in the Galaxy.


That in itself is so meta.
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24 May 2016 16:31 - 24 May 2016 16:58 #228048 by Mr. White

Egg Shen wrote: If the head of the company went on a public forum (BGG) and made claims that they came up with the design it was good enough for me.


Love ya, Egg, but surely you're a bit more skeptical then believing in whatever some corporate head says in public...

Even if not, there was a lot of back and forth all over gaming sites when this came out. At the end of the day FFG and the legion of SW fans were able to shout down the designer of WoW/G. Ultimately, ethics don't really matter, so long as we get what we want (see also: the sharing economy flap). I was actually disappointed in several people who went along and rewarded FFG for their poor handling of this...theme we prefer or not.
Last edit: 24 May 2016 16:58 by Mr. White.
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24 May 2016 16:36 #228049 by Michael Barnes
It really is unfortunate that FFG shit the bed with the Rebellion combat...if it had a resolution mechanic that was more in scope with the design and that didn't slam on the brakes, I think it would definitely be one of their top three in-house designs, easily.

I guess best then would be:

SW Rebellion
SW Armada
SW X-Wing
Chaos in the Old World
Battlestar Galactica
Blood Bowl Team Manager
Gears of War
StarCraft
Eldritch Horror
Rune Age

WORST would be:
Drakon
Horus Heresy
Civilization
Battles of Westeros
Mutant Chronicles CMG
Frenzy
Orcz
Delta V
Elder Sign

Not including reprints/distribution/licensed titles. If we figure that in, then Cosmic Encounter is the best thing they've ever released. And Rex one of the worst.

Android belongs in both the best and worst lists somewhere.
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24 May 2016 16:46 #228053 by el_skootro
With all due respect, Mr. Shen:

I read Chaos in the Old World as #3 and then TI3 as #2 and I got super excited for #1! And then .... hmmmm.

I'm starting to doubt your decision making skills.

Sincerely yours,
Skooter

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24 May 2016 19:39 #228074 by Amontillado
I can only say what I like:

Android Netrunner is one of the best games I've ever played ever.

I've enjoyed every single game of Arkham Horror I've ever played.

I've enjoyed every game of Cosmic Encounter I've ever played, but I've never played with flares. Can anyone speak to how play differs with flares in the mix?

I've played BSG once and did enjoy it. From the point of view of theme, having a traitor in the mix works better by far with this game than any other game, such as the misbegotten rummy remake called Shadows over Camelot.

I've got Warrior Knights in the closet and CitOW, but I've never played the former and never busted the shrink on the latter. Maybe this year.
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24 May 2016 20:39 #228078 by Sevej
Replied by Sevej on topic Top Ten FFG Games - PART ONE

Mr. White wrote:

Egg Shen wrote: If the head of the company went on a public forum (BGG) and made claims that they came up with the design it was good enough for me.


Love ya, Egg, but surely you're a bit more skeptical then believing in whatever some corporate head says in public...

Even if not, there was a lot of back and forth all over gaming sites when this came out. At the end of the day FFG and the legion of SW fans were able to shout down the designer of WoW/G. Ultimately, ethics don't really matter, so long as we get what we want (see also: the sharing economy flap). I was actually disappointed in several people who went along and rewarded FFG for their poor handling of this...theme we prefer or not.


I hate to bring this up everytime this discussion come up, but you guys should learn to remember this single fact: Wreckage was published by FFG in 2003 and they use what can be a precursor to WoW system. Face down cards to decide steering, using cards as 45 degree templates, even X-Wing damage system can be drawn to this game. So WoW copies Wreckage, then X-Wing copies WoW... I guess this is where you should say everything comes full circle?

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24 May 2016 20:58 #228080 by Michael Barnes
When I played WoW, I thought "hey, this is like Wreckage".

It also really chaps my hide how poorly FFG handled using dice to resolve combat in their games without crediting Risk. And for ripping off Heroscape by having modular dungeon tiles and one player being the bad guy in Descent. They are game mechanic burglars.

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24 May 2016 21:26 #228082 by wadenels
Warrior Knights! It really isn't a reprint of GW Warrior Knights; only a few ideas survived the redesign.
Talisman! They've done so much more with it than any previous edition I think we can start giving FFG design credits on this one.

It's interesting how many really good games FFG has in the Star Wars setting. I wonder what the FFG catalog would look like if they hadn't landed the license. FFG is putting out some pretty solid RPGs these days too. FFG is a gaming juggernaut and I'm a little sad that their HQ in Roseville says "Asmodee" on it now.

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24 May 2016 22:38 #228085 by Amontillado
Well, is the FF Warrior Knights any good or not? I have an expansion pack for it too.

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24 May 2016 22:50 #228089 by wadenels

Chasch wrote: Well, is the FF Warrior Knights any good or not? I have an expansion pack for it too.


http://fortressat.com/articles-analysis/5340-warrior-knights-two-different-games-with-the-same-title

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24 May 2016 22:56 #228090 by Jackwraith

Chasch wrote: I've enjoyed every game of Cosmic Encounter I've ever played, but I've never played with flares. Can anyone speak to how play differs with flares in the mix?


Wait... wut? How do you play CE without flares?

Also, while I respect the design of Doom and the vision that basically brought the videogame to plastic life, the gameplay was so flawed that it just can't be considered among their best. If the Invader player isn't functionally retarded, there's basically no way for the Marines to win.
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24 May 2016 23:05 - 24 May 2016 23:15 #228092 by Mr. White

Michael Barnes wrote: It also really chaps my hide how poorly FFG handled using dice to resolve combat in their games without crediting Risk. And for ripping off Heroscape by having modular dungeon tiles and one player being the bad guy in Descent. They are game mechanic burglars.


I think you're confusing Heroscape with HeroQuest or something.

Heroscape has 3d modular terrain where armies battle it out over Valhalla.

Heroquest is a dungeon (not even modular) with a GM/adversary player.

C'mon, Barnes, I'll lose interest arguing with you if you can't keep your movies/games straight. :)

Seriously though folks, these are all the same arguments that came out last time. If you really buy Peterson's line that X-Wing to WoW is the same as WoW to Wreckage then there's nothing I can say that will sway you. Previous attempts years past, pointing out how it was designed to be similar to WoW until FFG lawyers stepped in and wanted the WoW crew unmentioned (I think this is when the Nexus/Ares thing was going down, so I don't know what legal particulars where happening due to that and the distribution deal with FFG) seems to have done nothing. Either way, to make the leap from Wreckage to X-Wing without giving any sort of acknowledgement or mention to what the WoW crew did (from gameplay, to packaging, to model design, etc) is completely blind at best and dishonest at worst. It's like if Screeching Weasel were like "What? The Ramones? No idea about that. We're just playing 50s tunes at a faster clip..." But whatever enables you to feel good about your hordes of Made in China plastic...carry on.
Last edit: 24 May 2016 23:15 by Mr. White.
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