Initial impressions were on the extreme spectrum of the scale. People were either pledging to never ever get close to the game again or announcing that it was the most revolutionary game they ever played (Michael Barnes actually said both things in the same review).
Time passed and less extreme views appeared here and there and now that I’ve played it I feel confident enough to give my opinion, so I’ve gathered the most frequent questions I’ve seen on the forums and interviewed myself.
(I tried to be as honest as possible, but I’ve been Known to fool myself before, so be forewarned).
1. Is it pretty?
Oh, yeah, man! Fantasy Flight once again does not disappoint. The art has personality and the game on the table in its full setup sure impresses. The evidence tokens need a bag, as they are difficult to shuffle, and a turn clock for every player would have helped to speed things a little bit. Also, a reference card for the NPCs wouldn’t hurt. All minor quibbles and most of them are already addressed by the nice folks of BGG.
2. Is it long?
Yes. It is a long game to teach and people tend to get a little bit lost in their first plays. The game is very simple, but there are a lot of things to keep an eye on and the task can be classified as daunting, tedious or involving, depending on your background.
I’m used to long games but I’ll never play this one with 5 players. I’ll probably aim at 3 players, to keep downtime to a minimum and everyone interested. Even so, if one of the players has Analysis Paralysis (AP) the game evening might be doomed.
3. Why?
There are two tasks in the game that can be real time sinks. First, the cards that you play are most of them conditional. You have to wait until specific things happen to play them. This leads to a lot of rereading and rechecking, you can do this while it is not your turn and sometimes you do, but, in practice, new cards constantly arrive in your current turn and you tend to pay attention only on the dark cards in other people turns. It is not anything terribly long, but it can add up.
Second, the murder mystery is tremendously effective in the mystery department. It can be very difficult to understand what is really going on with all that hidden information. Some players try to make sense of the thing, trying to keep tabs on who placed what evidence on whom and AP can hit hard here.
4. Tell me more about that murder investigation.
Frankly, it is dull. It is blind betting with a huge point variation. Sure you can use the snitch, sure you can use the reporter, but if you invest too much time on them you will lose the game, because you will be left behind in the puzzle and in your personal plot, both of which are much more accessible in terms of guaranteeing points. Basically, your best bet is to just invest on the murder only if you have nothing else to do or if a good opportunity comes up.
5. So is the murder investigation disappointing?
Yes. Not because it is not based on a deduction mechanism, but because it is uninteresting and random. And if you keep pulling the 1 in the evidence pool, it can be tremendously unrewarding.
6. And the cardplay? Is it really nasty?
The cardplay is good and probably the best part of the game. It can be damaging, but if you read your detective tips you can dodge the more nasty ones.
7. But don’t you think that’s limiting?
Yes, a little bit. When detectives start to avoid certain places or try to reach other ones you feel that you are a little bit on rails because that’s not a condition reserved to that game, but you always have to behave more or less in the same manner.
But it doesn’t hurt the replayability of the game because there is always another detective to play and you can maneuver to avoid some things, like entering a seedy location when everyone has already played their dark cards, or playing yourself some good cards to get you out of a bad spot.
Best part of the game. Unbalanced and unpredictable? Maybe... But the fun kind of unbalancing and unpredictable. And after you get to know the cards, the game dynamic changes.
8. Tell me more about the puzzle.
It is ok. It is the most reliable source of points and it tends to become complete very quickly in all the games I’ve played. I can live with that. That’s thematic, as you are trying to get the big picture before nailing the criminal. HOWEVER, making lines and diagonals is totally anticlimactic and the detectives that have advantage here can hack points like there’s no tomorrow if you are not careful.
It works, but there are a lot of little idiosyncrasies here as well (is it really worth it to dig deeper?, etc.). HOWEVER, the thing is admittedly cool, to the point that several players couldn’t care less if it is ubber balanced or not. It adds to the fun.
9. And the plots. Are they fun too?
Yeah... But to be honest, they can get old pretty fast. You will read and find the outcomes interesting. Once, maybe twice. If you own the game, I’ll advice against reading everything beforehand to get the most of them.
But the quest for good baggage presents interesting challenges and you can get into a tug of war with some players. It doesn’t pay off to get out of your way too much to mess with the plots of the others, but if you hit them where (and when) it hurts more it can really make a difference.
10. And what about the nice cars?
Movement is novel, fun and well implemented. The toy factor of the cars is huge.
11. So the game is not perfect, but has its moments, but I guess the theme makes it all worthwhile, doesn’t it?
Yes and no. The setting is fantastic, the characters are great, the artwork is evocative of the theme, but there is no story here (duck).
Sorry, but I really don’t think that all the mechanisms are well integrated to the theme. I’ve never felt I was solving a crime, that’s for sure. I also often felt that the actions to grab good baggage were disconnected to the plot (some aren’t). Ok, the puzzle works most of the time and the car is hugely thematic. But the real problem is that all the text (and there’s lot of them and some of it really good and interesting) are totally disconnected with what you are doing. Sometimes the action coincides with the text, but things do not get together.
Sure, if you throw some imagination on it, it will pay off, but after sometime, my group were reading the cards just for their effects and ignoring completely the flavor text, both to speed up the gameplay and lack of interest.
It does not happen with Arkham Horror and I think Michael Barnes nailed it when he said that the text in Arkham is hugely connected with the location you are in, and so the story develops much more naturally. I’ve had more fun browsing the cards before the players arrive than during the game itself.
But it is great flavor text, so it means you have some good material if you are willing to make some effort or, better yet, if this kind of immersion comes naturally for you and your group.
12. What about the deep strategies you can come up with mixing all those elements?
The game is not really difficult in terms of strategy. It is difficult to judge all the information you have at your hands in any given time. After all, you have to keep an eye in three different VP systems, but all the systems are actually simple and not really integrated (with some exceptions).
The better you know the cards and the characters, the better you will know the game, and there are a lot of cards to know, but the timing of the cards is most on the obvious side. There’s not complexity in terms of gameplay mechanisms or strategic choices, there is complexity in terms of volume of content.
And due to the "take that" nature of some of the cards, the lottery on the murder investigation and the random draw of the puzzle pieces, anything can happen. This game is not about well thought movements, it is about going with the flow with the best of your abilities. Overanalyzing here will just add time.
To give you an example, one of the characters doesn’t have any favors of one ally. The ally token is printed and in the game, but there are no card or action that can make this favor available. Some people think that Fantasy Flight is setting us up for an expansion, but it does feel more like a mistake.
But does it hinder the character? Well, she was in all our plays and it didn’t make any difference - there’s just too much chaos. Sometimes in the game it is not just difficult to tell who is ahead, but some people can’t even tell if they are doing well themselves. But, to be fair, most of the time the sense of progression is there because there is always something to do.
Most games that use powerful cards or abilities also have a clear leader, so the other players can gang up on him (Cosmic Encounter comes to mind, just to remain in Fantasy Flight and even Kevin Wilson territory. And I know actual ganging up is not allowed in Cosmic Encounter, but alliances and powers tend to hurt the leader more than anyone else).
As that information is difficult to gauge, ganging up in Android is based on hunch or deduction - it is a kind of a metagame that sometimes works and sometimes don’t. In short: leave your glasses home and bring your boxing gloves. Ruthless cardplay and opportunity management will bring you more results than carefully planning your next three turns.
13. But is it fun?
I’ve had players that asked to live midgame, players that liked it (not loved it) and players that assumed that didn’t get some parts of the game and were willing to play again, my wife included in this last group. Those were the guys that had most fun, because they had no pretensions with the game. They felt overwhelmed from the beginning and weren’t playing to win, just to have fun, and fun they did. The most competitive ones were the most frustrated (me included).
Since then, I’ve had one play with the game modified with some house rules inspired by some suggestions I got here and some of my own design. I found the experience much more rewarding and will play again with those modifications.
14. So the game is broken?
No. It not only works, it is also something innovative and bold and clearly a lot of love and hardwork went into the design. Criticism is easy, make a game like Android is not, but I’m trying to be honest with my opinion because our gaming money is also something difficult to come by and an impression about the game might help you out.
Chances are, my house rules will make more eyes roll than the original set of instructions.
I do feel it is a lot like Descent:
1. Long;
2. Unbalanced;
3. Great bits;
4. Unique;
5. In desperate need of some house ruling to fit perfectly in my tastes.
6. And with a fanbase that will tell me that the game is only long and unbalanced because I either played by the wrong rules or played it poorly and that the game is fine as it is. Well, they might have a point.
15. Any final words?
I hate to state the obvious, but this game is not for everyone. Try before you buy it would be the perfect advice, but I’ve already written that much, so I will risk a recommendation:
1. If you think I missed the point in several issues, the game is probably for you and you probably already bought it.
2. If you value the gaming "experience", and love to create moments and histories based on the game you are playing, this game is for you. Even more so if you dig the setting.
3. If you really love "take that" moments and likes when the flow of the game changes with just one play, you might like it.
4. If you value elegance and well integrated, balanced systems, you might want to pass this one.
5. If your tolerance for abstraction in your Ameritrash is low, you might wanna pass this one.
Numbers 4 and 5 are somewhat subjective, but that’s the best I can do. Oh, hell! Just try before you buy it, ok?
Last edited on 2009-03-12 23:26:32 CST (Total Number of Edits: 1)
Posted Sun Feb 1, 2009 6:07 am
