Just getting a couple of starters.

So the question is, without spending a fortune on rares and promos, what singles are good choices to grab as we start into the game?

thanks

Navia Dratp was remaindered a while back, and you can still pick up cheap boosters if you look around.

There were two expansions; Unleashed Darkness and Resurgence, each containing 15 new figures. A case of each (12 boosters, 36 figures) will give you a complete set and some left over. This is more cost-effective than buying the singles at present, because of the low cost of boosters.

Resurgence, $.95 per booster at Dave & Adam's Card World:
http://www.dacardworld.com/gaming/search.das?nPar=2&Search=n...

A bit of judicious googling/ebay watching should get you unleashed darkness at similar prices.

If you're set on buying singles, you'll find a complete piece listing here:

http://www.naviadratp.net/battle-piece/list

... personal favourites (basic sets excluded) are ones with low dratp cost and/or good pre-dratp movement:
http://www.naviadratp.net/battle-piece/viskunmateus (Visk = my favourite piece)
http://www.naviadratp.net/battle-piece/kanimiso
http://www.naviadratp.net/battle-piece/nemchant
http://www.naviadratp.net/battle-piece/papillonera
http://www.naviadratp.net/battle-piece/laynard
http://www.naviadratp.net/battle-piece/kairas
http://www.naviadratp.net/battle-piece/neso

Stephen you are obviously a Navia fan and a fan of abstracts, so query, would Navia make your top-25 abstract strategy game list ?

I'm not Stephen Tavener, but I am a Stephen.

Navia Dratp recently made my top ten games of all time list. Meaning -- it would definitely make my all time top abstract list.

That's pretty hi praise

I just did my top 25 abstracts (my favoured kind expect for Warmachine and Magic)

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/33633

I was curious how I might view it, as just looking at pair of starters.

I think that once you get the starters and play a few games, you will know if ND is for you. The prices are steadily dropping, so waiting a month on getting boosters is likely not a big deal.

I saw that you started a thread on the balance between the red and the blue, but even though I feel the game is well balanced, after playing it you will know if the pursuit of other figures is worth it.

Yep. I currently rate the following abstracts a 10:
Amazons
DVONN
Go
Gyges
Hex
Mambo
Navia Dratp
Octi
PÜNCT
Quantumgame, The
Santorini
TAMSK
Trax
TZAAR
ZÈRTZ

well that is interesting for sure, although not sure it means I will love it as much given only a couple of your 0s are on my top 25, or even on my radar as far as interest goes *smile

ah yes the confusing definition of what an Anstract is, a debate that always comes up.

in my world abstract are those wonderful games in which their is no imposed luck, ei the roll of dice, drawing of cards, grabbing unseen pieces from a bag.

they are known elements, leaving the game decided by the minds of the players.

the idea of devoid of theme has never made sense to me, since it would leave out doizens of games, chess being the top since it's rather clearly war themed, and even hex is basically themed around building a wall.

I am quite satisfied Navia is an abstract

So to you, the "abstract" game is one with perfect information. Would you consider Niagara an abstract game?

I can see how perfect information makes a good cue. It just seems coupled with abstract, rather than it's essence.

I have never played/seen Niagra and the info hhere is ratther scarce.

But games like Terrace, Gridiron football, Chase, etc all fit, whereas for me Backgammon does not, you roll dice, Ta Yu is not sdinc you pull pieces from a bag etc.

I have a top 25 Abstract game geeklist at

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/geeklist/33633

Well, if you can get a cheap case of either set, go ahead and do that. That'll should be all you ever need to buy from that set, and will provide plenty of variety to your games.

If you can only find singles, here's my recommendations:
Needed: Hansa, Viskunmateus. These are probably the strongest pieces in each set; I would probably increase their costs by a point or two if I were King of the World. They are also interesting to play: Hansa's bouncing off walls can drive chess players bonkers, and Viskunmateus can switch between a chess knight and a short rook almost at will.
Good: Midrah, Kanimiso, Kapinahs, Nemchant, Chakrabat, Laynard, Nergalgamesh, Kairas. These are decent pieces, and open up some fun metagame space.
Everything else is pretty much a wash: there are some fun combos and tricks in there, but nothing stands out (IMHO). Pick up whatever you can find cheap .

(Oh, and don't worry about rares and promos. They are exactly the same as the "commons", just with different coloring schemes. The only reason to worry about them is if you are playing in official tournaments: you can only have two copies of one piece if one of the copies is a rare. For home games, just play with two common pieces and call it good.)

Firstly, let me say that I'm hesitant even to post this because it seems like I'm harping on it. Still, I'm very interested in what really does make an abstract strategy game. Why is it different? Why call it abstract?

Have you played Imperial before? I never have (it's on my wishlist though), but after reading a recent review, I found out that this too is a perfect information game. No cards, no dice, no nothing. And yet Imperial could hardly be called "abstract".

As I think on it, Age of Steam is also a perfect information game (and a terrible brain burner).

Anyone else have any input on this issue? Does "Perfect Information" == "Abstract"?

well I make it perfect information

you mentioned Age of Steam never played

but this pic shows dice

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/image/37238

Mostly, yeah. I usually add "two players only" to the list of requirements, although that then excludes Chinese Checkers. Mostly I don't worry about it too much .

yes most are 2 player although I canmn think of various exceptions, kendo in 3 or 4 player mode, Lancer, etc

You're right!

"For each half of the chart at a time, one player rolls as many dice as there are players and then places then takes cube(s) from the corresponding columns and places them on the cities on the board with the same number."

I guess Age of Steam doesn't fit the complete information criteria.