Game: Downfall of Pompeii, The

Thread: Re: A Great 5 Player Game!

Wizuriel — 2008-10-12T04:29:26+00:00

you can actually order bits from http://www.spielmaterial.de/

I ordered enough tokens to play with 6 players and enough pieces so people can choose any colour they want regardless of number of players

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cvandyk — 2008-10-07T21:42:44+00:00

One of five building 11 cards (better quality image)

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cvandyk — 2008-10-07T21:38:22+00:00

One of four building 9 cards (better quality image)

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cvandyk — 2008-10-07T21:35:04+00:00

One of five building 8 cards (better quality image)

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cvandyk — 2008-10-07T21:33:14+00:00

One of three building 7 cards (better quality image)

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cvandyk — 2008-10-07T21:20:09+00:00

One of seven building 6 cards

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cvandyk — 2008-10-07T21:15:34+00:00

One of four building 5 cards (better quality image)

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cvandyk — 2008-10-07T21:11:51+00:00

One of seven building 4 cards (better quality image)

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cvandyk — 2008-10-07T21:01:20+00:00

One of five building 3 cards (better quality image)

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cvandyk — 2008-10-07T20:57:12+00:00

One of the five building 10 cards (better quality image)

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cvandyk — 2008-10-07T20:54:19+00:00

One of the four building 2 cards (better quality image)

Thread: Re: Official clarification on running out of people to place

cvandyk — 2008-10-07T02:56:58+00:00

Thanks for the thread. We just played the game for the first time and this is exactly what happened to us. Glad to hear we're not the only ones. I think for simplicity's sake we'll just call the eruption in the future if someone runs out. I think it looks kind of tacky to have other colours on the board.

Thread: Re: A Great 5 Player Game!

GSReis — 2008-09-30T21:57:33+00:00

For a better-looking result, you might use orange explorers from "Tikal". They are exactly the same. You would have to reduce the number of pieces per player to 18, but as you would have the same total number as in a three-player game (and more than in two-player), that shouldn't be a problem.

Thread: A Great 5 Player Game!

petegrey — 2008-09-29T18:51:00+00:00

We played a really good 5 player game over the weekend.

For preparation- we borrowed 20 orange cubes from Brass for a 5th player. Made sure every player got 20 cubes. To prepare the deck, we used the standard configuration for a 4 player game-which gave an additional 4 card start hand for a 5th player.

I have to say the game played out really well with this many players. It was really brutal and tight! Everyone playing was pretty vicious and cut-throat.

My overall impression is this: Pompeii is a great game, but not a terribly deep game. Its a fun, "take that" kind of game. Something akin to "Survive". While I can understand the point of having slightly less control of the board with 5 playing, I'd rather play it with 5 people than with just 2.

Overall, it's a great five player game that had everyone's keen interest and only took 45 minutes. And I will keep an extra 20 bits in the box to facilitate those 5 player games.

Thread: Re: 1st play with my children (ages 6 & 5) aka "You're gonna get lavaed"

cvandyk — 2008-09-25T02:05:54+00:00

Nice session report. Good to hear it plays with younger children as I will be picking this title up soon.

Thread: Re: The Downfall of Pompeii - Overrated or Underrated?

GeneSteeler — 2008-09-24T05:53:44+00:00

Solid Review and spot on. Pompeii is a great "very light" game. But it's always fun to play.

Last game my 10-yr old kept saying "sizzle!" in a very annoying manner everytime someone else was burnt. I made it my goal to "lava" her. Great fun.

Thread: Re: The Downfall of Pompeii - Overrated or Underrated?

BigBur — 2008-08-27T22:20:55+00:00

Man... I so want this game right now... My family would love it.

Thread: Re: Joe & His Relatives Versus The Volcano

Darius Hawthorn — 2008-08-25T07:35:00+00:00

Thanks for the review, Peter. Watch yer step lest I push ye into the fearsome maw of the volcano

Thread: Re: Joe & His Relatives Versus The Volcano

zeeb13 — 2008-07-28T22:36:47+00:00

How did you get 800 people in one space?

The key we found to getting 800 people in the one space was that if you completely ignore all rules and restrictions placed on the game and in addition collect a series of cubes, and meeples, and little silver scotty dogs from other games that can push you over the limit to at least 800 on one square. After that a win is all but guaranteed.

Thread: Re: Joe & His Relatives Versus The Volcano

Larry Welborn — 2008-07-28T19:14:31+00:00

cagriggs wrote:
zeeb13 wrote:
. . . 800 people - 800 spaces. . . .
Nice review to a game I want to buy - I appreciated your humor. But I do have one quick question: How did you get 800 people in one space? When we played, we were struggling to even get even 700 in a space, let alone 100 more. Clearly, having 800 would be a HUGE advantage over only 700 - potentially game changing even - so you've got to let me know your secret.

The relative rule. Plus, 800 people is not that great. A few people move, then the next thing you know you can only move 750 spaces or so. And don't even think of the horror of 750 people getting destroyed with one lava tile.

Thread: Re: Joe & His Relatives Versus The Volcano

cagriggs — 2008-07-28T19:05:46+00:00

zeeb13 wrote:
. . . 800 people - 800 spaces. . . .
Nice review to a game I want to buy - I appreciated your humor. But I do have one quick question: How did you get 800 people in one space? When we played, we were struggling to even get even 700 in a space, let alone 100 more. Clearly, having 800 would be a HUGE advantage over only 700 - potentially game changing even - so you've got to let me know your secret.

Thread: Joe & His Relatives Versus The Volcano

zeeb13 — 2008-07-28T05:17:59+00:00

In the history of the world few events rival that of Mount Vesuvius and it's hell storm of bad times that it rained down on the poor folks of Pompeii. Sure there were other momentous disasters that rocked the world as we know it: Hiroshima, the assassination of JFK, the 1980's.

But answer me this? Did the 1980's let you throw people into a tiny plastic volcano? Me thinks not.

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The idea of The Downfall of Pompeii is that you are moving your people into the city during the first part of the game, only to realize that maybe it wasn’t the best real estate decision after all and then desperately scramble to get them back out of the city during the second part.

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The first half of the game consists of people placement. Pick up a card, play a card corresponding to a house on the board of the same number. Put your guy in that house, if there's somebody already in the house, you then get to place a relative in another house on the board. Yes, that's right, the ol' - I'm moving in with you therefore my cousin gets to go live over near the gladiators, they really like gladiators, they're from Nuceria, they don't get out much - trick. (That's some Ancient Roman humour for you there. THANKS WIKIPEDIA!)

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As you're pulling cards from the deck you may stumble across the OMEN card. The always fun OMEN card then allows you to toss one of your competitor's people into the volcano. That's not as horrible as it seems, it's a sacrifice! To appease the gods! Come on people, we're not just randomly tossing people into the volcano for FUN, it's for APPEASEMENT. Murder is okay if you're appeasing a deity.

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As the cards are drawn an A.D. 79 card with a big mean looking volcano appears. That means the volcano is rumbling and it could erupt at anytime, and by 'anytime' I of course mean 'when the second A.D. 79 card is drawn’.

Once the second A.D. 79 card is drawn and the volcano erupts all of your people placement goes to heck and beyond and it's up to you to help your guys and girls to the clearly marked exits and up the road to safety-ville.

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When leaving the city your peons that were once living safely in their houses now must make a run for it. They move a number of spaces across the board determined by the number of fellow soon-to-be-dead-people in the same square. So three people in the square with you, your guy gets to move three spaces. 2 people - 2 spaces, 800 people - 800 spaces.

It's a simple mechanic which makes for some more strategic decisions than a simple "i rolled a six. moving six places now. that be my mad skillz right there."

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During the second half of the game while you're moving your guys out of the city, you're also trying to dispose of your opponents people by placing 'lava tiles'. For some reason in Pompeii, and I'm sure this is historically accurate, lava sprung out of seven clearly marked spots around the city. You place your lava piece; hope to kill a few fellow citizens of the city who are a different colour to you (good to see racism was alive and well in Ancient Rome) and then you race your guys to the exit.

The person with the most survivors wins, which makes much more sense than the original rule which was "guy with third most survivors wins, because we hate you - the gamers."

]]> Note: Not my friends. 2nd Note: I don't even know these people. 3rd Note: If I did I'd probably ask them to use a coaster, cause I'm a tool.

Downfall plays great with three or four players, especially with non gamers/new gamers/my friends who for reason got a real kick out of throwing me into the burning recesses of a volcano. Two players, while less random, also suffers from being 'less fun'. We played a two player game last week where we ran out of people to put on the board before the volcano even erupted so we had to force the volcano to erupt. And let me tell you, forcing a volcano to erupt isn't as much fun as having fiery death rain down upon you while you've still got a half dozen people you want to get onto the board.

The Downfall Of Pompeii (or 'tDoP' as nobody calls it) is a great burst of family friendly fun. Who doesn't love throwing their brother, or sister, or mother, or father, or good friend, or close relative, or co-worker, or friend of the family, or acquaintance, or guy you used to go to school with, or weird kid down the road, or fat guy who sometimes comes around to your place to borrow some food, into a volcano?

Nobody. That's who.

Thanks to all the users whose photos I borrowed! quentin1, swuyau, kilroy_locke, pietlavens, sightreader and greatsage!

Thread: Re: Playing with the neighbors - or how this become by new gateway game of choice

trevlix — 2008-07-27T16:48:53+00:00

moldndecay wrote:
Sounds like a great time. Although I think you mean to write "is light enough to NOT scare someone away.

DOH! Thanks. Fixed.

Thread: Re: Playing with the neighbors - or how this become by new gateway game of choice

trevlix — 2008-07-27T16:45:11+00:00

aerhead wrote:
Did the names of the participants really have to be changed to protect the innocent? Are we going to harass them if we know that B's name is really Bob or Bill? Nice session report, I just find it a bit impersonal with the abbreviations.

Its more that I did not ask them if I could use their names so I did not want to put the names on there, even if its just first names, without permission.

Thread: Re: Playing with the neighbors - or how this become by new gateway game of choice

Yokiboy — 2008-07-27T07:28:32+00:00

eightbit wrote:
Great session report! This game is on my want list, I want to throw my in-laws into the volcano!

LOL! My in-laws have been staying at my house for close to a month now, and I've been trying to get this game to the table almost every night!

Thread: Re: Playing with the neighbors - or how this become by new gateway game of choice

eightbit — 2008-07-26T15:04:35+00:00

aerhead wrote:
I just find it a bit impersonal with the abbreviations.
Said by a guy not using his real name...

Great session report! This game is on my want list, I want to throw my in-laws into the volcano!

Thread: Re: Playing with the neighbors - or how this become by new gateway game of choice

moldndecay — 2008-07-26T08:51:53+00:00

trevlix wrote:

The games are quick (10-20 minutes each) and is light enough to scare someone away. I highly recommend this to anyone to use with first time players.

Sounds like a great time. Although I think you mean to write "is light enough to NOT scare someone away.

Although there are folks on this site who would be scared off by its lightness. You know who you are people...

Thread: Re: Playing with the neighbors - or how this become by new gateway game of choice

aerhead — 2008-07-26T06:15:39+00:00

Did the names of the participants really have to be changed to protect the innocent? Are we going to harass them if we know that B's name is really Bob or Bill? Nice session report, I just find it a bit impersonal with the abbreviations.

Sincerely,

D

Thread: Re: Playing with the neighbors - or how this become by new gateway game of choice

Yokiboy — 2008-07-25T23:16:22+00:00

Great session report. I've also found this game a great gateway title.

Thread: Playing with the neighbors - or how this become by new gateway game of choice

trevlix — 2008-07-25T18:17:32+00:00

I don't think the Downfall of Pompeii is really considered a gateway game. Usually people think of Settlers, Carcassone or Ticket to Ride. However, after playing this with my neighbors it has become our new gateway game.

A little background: My wife, D, is a budding gamer but our neighbors, B and T, are not. We've never played any games with them so when we all decided to have a cook-out we jumped at the chance to bring over something to play. We brought TtR and Downfall of Pompeii.

After eating, sending the kids off to play and pouring everyone some wine, we sat down. We let them choose and Pompeii was the choice. After setting up the game, distributing the pieces and explaining as much as we could to B and T, we decided to start playing.

In game 1, they were still learning the rules and how things went. I really consider this more of a practice game as most of it involved questions from B and T concerning where they could put pieces, how they could move them and so on. In the end, I won but it was mostly luck due to getting a few cards.

They liked the game so we started another game. B knew the rules pretty well but T was still a little shaky. (In her defense, she was on her 3rd glass of wine.) I was lucky to get some good placements early in the game near some exits. B got some good ones too and initially I thought he was going to win. By the time we drew the second AD.79 card everyone knew what to do and started racing for the exits. It was at this time D and I found out that B and T were REALLY competitive...and a little vindictive.

No sooner did the lava start flowing did B start to destroy any building with T's people in it. She started to retaliate. Fortunately for me, this left my guys fairly left alone and allowed me to get most of them out. I also got lucky at one point in that I was able to throw about 10 different people from everyone into the volcano by closing off a large section of the city. Game 2 went to me again.

Now that everyone really understood the rules we began the third and final game. This was the shortest game of the night but the most vindictive. It was a no-holds bar fight and NO ONE was safe...especially me. When the lava started flowing people were cast into the volcano left and right. In the end, I ended up only getting 5 people out due to the multitude of lava being thrown at my guys. The ending was close, but B won this game.

IMO, the Downfall of Pompeii is a great gateway game. The rules are simple enough to learn quickly but the various stages of the game make strategy important. The games are quick (10-20 minutes each) and is light enough not to scare someone away. I highly recommend this to anyone to use with first time players.

Thread: Re: Missing Pieces

rules_heretic — 2008-07-24T19:42:16+00:00

Randy Cox wrote:
voynix wrote:
On a side note, I really find this a peeve of mine. Would it have killed them to put equal amounts of colors in the game? As a result, when playing a 2 player game, you have to play the same to colors every time.I hear you, Brother! My wife and I were distressed that we had to play the two worst colors (in our opinions)--red and black. We had to keep a token in front of each of us at the start of the "Run for your life" phase, simply because these colors are so foreign to us that we couldn't remember who was who.

I think they should send us 11 extra blue and 6 extra yellow to make our game sets complete.

WHAT DO YOU MEAN WORST COLOR!?!?!?! What is more appropriate for the game than "on fire" and "burned to a crisp"???!!!???

Thread: Re: Missing Pieces

homiefud — 2008-07-24T19:25:16+00:00

I understand the different amount of pieces for different number of players. That's fine.

But what REALLY annoys me is that in the Contents section at the beginning of the rulebook, it states that there are 140 player pieces in 4 colors. 36+36+30+25 does NOT equal 140. Nor does 36+36+36+36. Would it really have killed them financially to put in another 17 freakin' pieces!

Thread: Re: Making the most of life during the downfall

scottsnew1 — 2008-07-24T09:54:23+00:00

jim,

loved your review! i think most geeks here would not like the game because it is too "light", but to me it sounds like great fun!!

Thread: Making the most of life during the downfall

jimmcmahon — 2008-07-12T16:03:41+00:00

79 A.D. began as a very good year in Italy. It was the height of the Roman Empire. The cities in the vicinity of Naples were doing very well with agriculture due to the fertility of the soil. Populations were growing. This brings us to late August and the city of Pompeii, and something is about to happen. Something bad...

The Downfall of Pompeii is a board game that recreates the last days of the city of Pompeii, just as Mount Vesuvius is having its way with it. Two to four players have at it, each struggling to be the one with the most survivors.

The game board is a nicely illustrated map of the city, with various buildings laid out in a grid. In one corner is a large circular hole in the board, but that gets filled in with the giant volcano. Maybe not giant in game sense, but giant compared to the little wooden people who may get tossed into it later in the game. The first part of the game has the players trying to build the population of the city. This is done by drawing and playing cards which let you place people into the different buildings of the city. At a certain point, someone will draw the first 79A.D. card. This signals the beginning of the eruption, with smoke bellowing and tremors tremoring. Your first thought, as a Pompaiian in this situation, must be for your family, so now when you play your people-placing cards you may get to place additional people into the city. Of course, there's always a the chance that you will draw an "Omen" card. If that happens, you get to choose any person in the city and lob them into Mount Vesuvius. This continues until the second 79A.D. card is drawn. Now it really starts to get hot. All the cards are set aside, and the people you were desperately trying to get into the city now notice that there is lava coming toward them, and they all desperately want to get out of the city.

In this part of the game, players now take turns drawing lava tiles out of a bag. There are six squares in the city that each have a different symbol on them. These symbols match up with a symbol on each lava tile. The first tile with each symbol is placed on the corresponding square. The player will draw a tile, place it, move two of their people toward the city gates, then the next player does the same. When placing the lava tiles, they are places next to any lava tile with the same symbol on it. If there happens to be any people on that square, they get chucked into the crater. If people get totally cut off from an escape route, they get dropped in as well. If the last tile gets placed, people left on the board are also deep fried. The winner is the player with the most survivors, and in case of a tie, the player with the fewest number of people in the volcano gets the victory.

I really liked this game. It looked like it was going to be a lot more involved than it was, but it turned out to be very simple and yet still was challenging. Choosing where to place your people, picking which ones to drop in the crater, and planning your escape all are things that should be thought through, because it would be easy to choose a plan which doesn't give as good a result as a different choice would have given. During the escape, you can feel the tension as you realize that you have several people across the town that are right next to a lava flow and at any moment they could become toast. Literally. I would definitely recommend this for someone who wants a lighter game, and it doesn't take long to play. The box says it takes an hour, but realistically it is more like 45 minutes. Just make sure you make the appropriate screaming noises when the people get tossed into the volcano.

Originally posted on Gathering Gamers here.

Jim

Thread: Re: The Downfall of Pompeii - Overrated or Underrated?

pHr0sT — 2008-07-10T15:46:38+00:00

custom golf clubs wrote:
I rate the game almost a 9 (8.9) to be exat. I will never turn down a chance to play this game. It is quick, fun, has some neat mechanics, and a nice screw your neighbor factor. A very good "gateway game" IMHO that is often overlooked as a gateway game.
I agree with what you say JP. I think it is overlooked as a gateway game. I have also read in the variants section about purchasing more wooden markers to make the game playable as a 5 or 6 player game. While this could contribute a lot more heavily on luck I think it would be a blast to play. So many different options to throw into the volcano!

Thread: Re: Defeat Snatched from the Jaws of Victory by My Spouse

JackFlash — 2008-07-08T01:48:52+00:00

Better watch out for that lava!

Thread: Defeat Snatched from the Jaws of Victory by My Spouse

raolsson — 2008-07-07T18:23:14+00:00

My wife Wendy and I played host to our friends Elaine and her daughter Amaya as they visited Baltimore from Ft. Lauderdale. I always look forward to their visits because my wife only seems to want to play games when they are in town. These are joyous days to be treasured. I keep a library of games at work for lunch, so I brought home the Downfall of Pompei as a crowd pleaser. After meticulously following the deck setup, our four-player game began.

As it was the first time out for three of the players, we spent a lot of the early game going over the rules and where to place citizens. Once Vesuvius came up the first time, the relatives started filling up the neutral buildings. As the game explainer, I was the target for the majority of the Omen cards, but as soon as Elaine and Amaya noticed that Wendy had more of her citizens on the board than anyone else, the target soon changed. I sat back, confident that the Vesuvius card would arise, but we kept going around and around until the very last card.

In my last game at work, one friendly player won by not letting the lava flow in its natural course: towards the other players' citizens. This was not a problem in our game. Everyone quickly got the idea that taking out the other citizens helped one's own citizens out. While there were no self-harming sacrifices, the lava action was pretty impressive. Amaya went to an early lead getting six citizens out. Elaine finished up with seven, and I had eight. When Wendy, who was convinced that she had lost quite early in the game, came up with eight citizens in front of her, we had to go to the volcano for the tie breaker. And it was not pretty. I had more citizens in Vesuvius, so Wendy took a clean victory.

The next game we played was Ticket to Ride Europe, which ended up being the game that we played for the rest of our time together, but I think Pompei will come back to our gaming table again.

Thread: Re: The Downfall of Pompeii - Overrated or Underrated?

custom golf clubs — 2008-07-07T15:26:38+00:00

I rate the game almost a 9 (8.9) to be exat. I will never turn down a chance to play this game. It is quick, fun, has some neat mechanics, and a nice screw your neighbor factor. A very good "gateway game" IMHO that is often overlooked as a gateway game.

Underrated IMHO.

Thread: Re: Anybody tried playing with 5-6?

pHr0sT — 2008-07-07T14:48:28+00:00

If anybody wants to combine an order to get more octogonal bits to save on shipping and price, let me know! I'm interested in getting 2 extra colours for a 5 - 6 player game as well!

Thread: Re: The Downfall of Pompeii - Overrated or Underrated?

pHr0sT — 2008-07-07T14:32:31+00:00

Furunkulus wrote:
I think this is a very fun game and is in the same vein as Survive! I have enjoyed my copy a lot. It is a light and fun game that does allow for some clever decisions. Out of the games I have introduced at our game nights this one is always a crowd pleaser.

I wish there were more games like this one.I have looked at Survive! and wished it was still in print as it seems right up my alley. Perhaps ebay or a trade here may be the best bet to grab a copy.

tickmanfan wrote:
Good review. I was sold after seeing the picture of a hand ready to drop someone into the volcano. This will be on my next large order.Yeah, that is a great picture, I was actually going to take one very similar but saw this one and was like crap, too late. I'm glad to hear this will be on your next order. Let us know how it is for you!

I just played this again 2 times last night as a 2 player and was getting more strategic. First game I saved 15 guys, and the 2nd game I save 21! I won both games handily and am hoping it wasn't just luck. Looking to replicate these results as soon as possible!

Thread: Re: Anybody tried playing with 5-6?

smithhemb — 2008-07-07T13:00:05+00:00

Finally -- a US source for bits. I found shipping from Germany prohibitively expensive. But I've finally found the octagonal cylinders through a US source: www.boardgamebits.com.
I think 10 mm x 10 mm is the correct size. And we decided that green and purple are the best add-on colors. YMMV -- we have a regular who MUST BE GREEN, LOL!

Thread: Re: The Downfall of Pompeii - Overrated or Underrated?

tickmanfan — 2008-07-07T12:00:10+00:00

Good review. I was sold after seeing the picture of a hand ready to drop someone into the volcano. This will be on my next large order.

Thread: Re: The Downfall of Pompeii - Overrated or Underrated?

Furunkulus — 2008-07-07T06:44:09+00:00

I think this is a very fun game and is in the same vein as Survive! I have enjoyed my copy a lot. It is a light and fun game that does allow for some clever decisions. Out of the games I have introduced at our game nights this one is always a crowd pleaser.

I wish there were more games like this one.

Thread: Re: The Downfall of Pompeii - Overrated or Underrated?

sroney — 2008-07-06T19:33:49+00:00

pHr0sT wrote:
Simply put, Downfall of Pompeii is a fun game. It's one that when you pull it out to play, you know you'll have a good time with it. Well maybe I should say, most of the time you'll have a good time with it. The reason I say this is because in a 3 or 4 player game, some players decide to team-up on someone which will greatly decrease their chance of winning the game. Because the Omen cards are random, this creates a lot of luck in the game which can put players at a disadvantage. Unfortunately for me, since i'm the one who has all of these games, I'm usually the one being picked on. Now I don't mind it at all, and still enjoy myself when I play.

I have had a similar experience with being picked on, and agree with your overall assessment as well.

Thread: Re: The Downfall of Pompeii - Overrated or Underrated?

pHr0sT — 2008-07-06T17:13:06+00:00

Drew1365 wrote:
As for the criticisms that it's got too much luck: after 15 games, most of them two-player against the same person, I haven't found a winning strategy yet.
That is good to hear! Well not the fact that you lose all the time, but the fact that luck probably doesn't totally determine the winner everytime. In the last 2-layer game I played, we made a rule that if you drew an Omen card twice in a row, the second one just canceled out. It came into effect once, and I think it is a good rule o put in place.

GreenEclipse wrote:
Really the only thing I don't like about the game is the omen cards; they just add a pointless random screw-the-leader thing to phase two.
I think the Omen cards are an important part of the game, but don't think there should have been 7 of them. Or actually, maybe 7 in a 4 player game, 5 in a 3 player game, 3 in a 2 player game shuffled into the deck would be better. Who knows, I guess it all depends on how much you like throwing people into the volcano! I like it, think it's part of the game, so will probably keep all 7 in there.

Thread: Re: The Downfall of Pompeii - Overrated or Underrated?

GreenEclipse — 2008-07-06T06:26:42+00:00

I really like this game. It's got a pretty decent amount of luck, but a lot of it boils down to knowing how to manage your risk -- when to give up on people, and when to save them. Nice balance between luck and strategy, and the theme is a lot of fun. What could be more gloriously triumphant than throwing your opponents' pieces into a volcano after you burn them alive? Really the only thing I don't like about the game is the omen cards; they just add a pointless random screw-the-leader thing to phase two.

Thread: Re: The Downfall of Pompeii - Overrated or Underrated?

Drew1365 — 2008-07-06T02:12:23+00:00

Very nice review. I tracked down the game before its U.S. release, and have been enjoying it immensely. I think the theme is what makes this game work. A placement-and-race game on a lesser theme (or themeless) would probably not get much notice. But as you say, this one draws in players. Volcano? Awesome.

As for the criticisms that it's got too much luck: after 15 games, most of them two-player against the same person, I haven't found a winning strategy yet.

Thread: The Downfall of Pompeii - Overrated or Underrated?

pHr0sT — 2008-07-06T01:02:18+00:00

The Downfall of Pompeii
BGG Rating = 7.2/10

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I made the purchase of Downfall of Pompeii on pretty much a whim. I had checked the reviews and seen it before at BGG, and had read some mixed reviews, some people saying it was a great filler, others saying that the luck totally ruined it for them. After having played the game a few times now, I decided to write my own review. This review will not contain an overview of the rules, as other reviews and files here on BGG will provide you with that information.

Components = 8/10

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Upon opening the box, you will first find a large but sturdy gameboard. The gameboard folds in half, and also comes with a hole in it for the volcano. The board itself is well designed, has colorful and attractive artwork which incorporates the theme rather well. I have no idea what the real Pompeii city looked (looks?) like but this does the job for a boardgame. The box itself I wish would have been a little smaller, and I don't know why a quad fold-board wasn't used. The instructions are well illustrated and come with examples. This is always a plus in any rulebook. The initial set-up of cards is a little confusing to read at first, but after a play or two, you should have it down pat.

You will also find cards depicting people from the city of Pompeii. The cards again have great artwork, they tell you how many of each are in the deck, and are easy to understand. The Omen cards and AD 79 cards also have great artwork. One minor gripe is that I wish they would have made one AD 79 card showing the volcano getting ready to erupt, but not fully erupting. By doing that it would have made more sense, but I guess that was the designers choice. There are also lava tiles and a red bag for which to draw the tiles from. The lava tiles are sturdy (think Carcassonne width) and are also easy to understand. The bag itself is well made and provides an excellent storage solution for the tiles.

The game also comes with multiple cylinder shaped wooden pawns for use as the people inhabiting Pompeii. There are 36 red and black colored pawns, 30 yellow, and 25 blue. This is to indicate how many pieces are used for how many players. While I understand the idea behind this, I still think they should have just made 36 of each color so people could choose the color they wanted to be when playing the game. Limiting to just two colors in a 2 player game isn't that big of a deal when you think about it, but some players always play with a certain color. If you are one of those people, this game might drive you crazy. The volcano itself feels like a light plastic, that you bend and is slotted together. A minor gripe is that it has to be assembled and disassembled at every play as it is too big to fit in the box when assembled.

Overall, the components are well-made and are a high quality. The cards aren't too flimsy, the tiles are a nice thickness, which all together should mean a game that will last a long time through repeated plays. I paid $36 dollars for this because it is a Mayfair game, and would recommend you shop around a bit to get it a bit lower. I think $36 is a fair price for this game, but in the same order I also received Thebes, which I paid a shade under $36 for and the quality and quantity of components in that game are top-notch and feel like you got what you paid for. Not saying you do not get what you paid for with this game, just think the price should have been about $5-$6 dollars lower.

Fun Factor = 8.5/10

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Downfall of Pompeii is one of those games that attracts those not playing. They see this gameboard full of color with a volcano protruding from it which immediately grabs their attention. What does this mean? In my opinion, it makes it an excellent game for all of those non-gamers.

Simply put, Downfall of Pompeii is a fun game. It's one that when you pull it out to play, you know you'll have a good time with it. Well maybe I should say, most of the time you'll have a good time with it. The reason I say this is because in a 3 or 4 player game, some players decide to team-up on someone which will greatly decrease their chance of winning the game. Because the Omen cards are random, this creates a lot of luck in the game which can put players at a disadvantage. Unfortunately for me, since i'm the one who has all of these games, I'm usually the one being picked on. Now I don't mind it at all, and still enjoy myself when I play. The only time I have gotten mad was in a 3 player game where a certain opponent placed a tile killing one of my guys even though they knew I was in last place. They could have played that tile in another square killing 2 of the other opponents. That slightly irked me and felt like I was being kicked after I already fell to the ground. I ended up losing that game bad if you were wondering.

But all in all, this game is a hoot to play with the right people. Getting to throw other people's playing pieces into a volcano is just something you have to experience to fully enjoy. Making noises as you throw somebody in the volcano will often make you smile with glee, as the other player will give you a look to kill. It's one of those games that you play with your friends and family to have a fun experience. As this is what I mainly use the game for, that is why I rate it an 8.5 in the fun factor. If I played this as a gamer's game, the high percentage of luck in a 3-4 player game would definitely lower the fun scale for a heavy gamer who wants strategy in his or her games.

Replayability = 7.5/10

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Replayability. One of the most important traits of a good game. I want games in my collection that will be played and played lots. Ones that may sit on the shelf but at any time can be pulled down and want to be played. In my opinion, Downfall of Pompeii fits into the latter of the previous statement. I think it is one of those games that can be pulled down at any time to be played and will be enjoyed. This is definitely a 'gateway' type of game and an excellent one at that. The reason I say this is because it allows people to experience a lot of different things while playing. It has you drawing cards, placing people, throwing people into volcanoes, drawing tiles, placing tiles, trying to escape the city, and you get to do that every single time you play the game! Because of this, I think it shows great replayability.

The one thing that may drop it's replayability is the fact that it is a game with a hefty dose of luck which means a new player could beat an experienced player their first time playing. For me, this isn't really a big deal, and I enjoy the challenge. I'm not saying there is no strategy in this game at all, because there really is. With more plays you start to see the better positions on the map, which exits get used more as well as other strategies. For example: some try to get their players out as fast as possible, while others move ones that are threatened first. Others try to group people together so they can move farther their next turn. I like grouping my people with other colors as they will have to make a choice to sacrifice themselves to kill me. The laying of tiles in a 2 player game is much more strategic than a 4 player game where someone looking extremely safe can be killed off when you turn comes again.

Overall, this game sees a lot of playing time right now, and I like to pull it out at a lot of game nights. With 2 players there is a bit more strategy involved, and I like playing the 2 player games. 4 player games have a high amount of luck, but are always fun-filled and help make it an enjoyable game. I think it scales well and can be played for any amount of players from 2 - 4 depending on what type of mood you are in.

Overall = 8/10

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Overall, I currently rate Downfall of Pompeii a solid 8 out of 10. I do find it is a very good game that I am usually willing to play and recommend to play. It is best to play this game when you want a light-medium game for a nice evening with some friends or family. It will evoke fits of laughter, and sometimes even rage. I enjoy playing it and can't see that changing in the future. Some might see the volcano as just a gimmick, but to them I say, it's a damn good gimmick because it improves upon the theme and makes it stand-out from other games.

As for overrated vs underrated, my rating would indicate it's an underrated game, but I think it actually is right where it should be here at BGG. It is currently ranked number 179 and has a nice 7.2 rating. I can see my rating perhaps dropping to a 7.5 - 7 over the next couple of months/years, but I doubt it will ever drop below that. Therefore, I think the rating is fair where it is. I don't know how well this game is known, it isn't owned by a terribly huge amount of people, but if people do their research beforehand and buy this game knowing full well what to expect, then I believe they will enjoy it and it will become a great addition to their collection.

Bottom line: Downfall of Pompeii is a fun game that can be played with non-gamers to introduce them into this great hobby of boardgaming. It immediately attracts attention, and has just enough strategy to keep you coming back for more. Do not let the luck aspect of this game keep you from purchasing it. It is a great game deserving of it's rating and one that should be added to your collection if you are the type of gamer who plays games to have a fun experience with others and is not focused on winning or losing.

Thread: Re: Great Customer Service!!!

Furunkulus — 2008-07-03T18:35:24+00:00

Mayfair has always had great customer support. They have replaced missing pieces quickly and free of charge and have always shipped their items very fast.

Thread: Re: Four players, one goal

Raharanor — 2008-07-02T04:21:43+00:00

MerricB wrote:

When the smoke cleared, and the survivors of the eruption gathered across the bay to look at what once was their home, we discovered that Josh had saved only 3 of his people, Randy had saved 5, and Josh and I had saved 7 each.

The tiebreaker was on how many people we'd failed to save (and had been thrown into the volcano) - once again, 7 each! (Randy had lost 11!) So, Josh and I were declared the joint winners.

A very, very entertaining game. We'll play it again, I'm sure.

It was actually me and Merric finishing as equal winners...once again my name is left out when I win in any way

Thread: Re: Four players, one goal

Yokiboy — 2008-06-30T12:31:58+00:00

Nice session report, as always, Merric. I've become quite a fan of Downfall of Pompeii myself. Everyone loves throwing people in the volcano and the gameplay is very fun and fast moving.

Thread: Re: Love the game anything else out there like it?

Yokiboy — 2008-06-30T12:28:53+00:00

Yeah Vineta sounds great. Going on my wish list...

Thread: Four players, one goal

MerricB — 2008-06-30T05:05:52+00:00

Following our game of Zooloretto, we moved on to one of Randy's new games: The Downfall of Pompeii.

This was a game I was totally unaware of, but now, having been made aware of it, I really would like a copy for myself!

It is a fairly simple game. In the first part of the game, you play cards which allow members of your family to settle Pompeii. In the second part of the game, you continue settling, but you get bonuses for placing family members where other people have already settled. Oh, and occasionally someone vanishes mysteriously...

In the final part of the game, the volcano erupts and you alternate playing lava tiles and trying to get your people out of Pompeii before they're buried or their escape routes are cut off.

All in all, it's a lot of fun.

In this game, Randy was the most effective at getting family members into Pompeii, but Josh was very good at drawing Omen cards and removing them. (Josh, Rich and Randy all drew Omen cards; I didn't get even one!)

Then the volcano erupted, and Randy discovered that having a lot of people in the centre of the city wasn't such a good idea. His escape routes closed off fast. Josh had the fewest people in the city, but was hurt badly in the initial eruption. So, he concentrated on making it a bad day for the rest of us.

And was.

When the smoke cleared, and the survivors of the eruption gathered across the bay to look at what once was their home, we discovered that Josh had saved only 3 of his people, Randy had saved 5, and Josh and I had saved 7 each.

The tiebreaker was on how many people we'd failed to save (and had been thrown into the volcano) - once again, 7 each! (Randy had lost 11!) So, Josh and I were declared the joint winners.

A very, very entertaining game. We'll play it again, I'm sure.

Thread: Re: Love the game anything else out there like it?

Furunkulus — 2008-06-30T02:48:57+00:00

Drew1365 wrote:
Vineta is new, doesn't have high ratings (yet?), but has a very Pompeii/Survive-ish theme to it. Plus a Clans-like bluffing system. You and the other players are Norse gods collectively sinking an island, but you're trying to preserve your own "followers" and section of the island without letting on which those are.

I just got it, and haven't yet managed to get it to the table.

Now thats what I am looking for. Thank you very much.

Thread: Re: Love the game anything else out there like it?

Drew1365 — 2008-06-30T01:24:50+00:00

Vineta is new, doesn't have high ratings (yet?), but has a very Pompeii/Survive-ish theme to it. Plus a Clans-like bluffing system. You and the other players are Norse gods collectively sinking an island, but you're trying to preserve your own "followers" and section of the island without letting on which those are.

I just got it, and haven't yet managed to get it to the table.

Thread: Re: Love the game anything else out there like it?

Mr.Baggins — 2008-06-30T01:06:48+00:00

Furunkulus wrote:
Thank you. I have a copy of Pandemic on order at my FLNGS. I will look into Lifeboats and see how that goes.

Be advised that Lifeboats, while a lot of fun, needs a bare minimum of 4 players, and only shines with 6 (in my group's humble opinion). We just played it list night, 6 players, and it was an absolute delight.

Also be advised that someone is bound to get mad at some point. In our group, that only adds to the fun... but your might be otherwise. If you or your friends are the type to dislike Diplomacy, you will probably not enjoy Lifeboats.

Thread: Re: Love the game anything else out there like it?

Furunkulus — 2008-06-30T00:41:59+00:00

Thank you. I have a copy of Pandemic on order at my FNLGS. I will look into Lifeboats and see how that goes.

Thread: Re: Love the game anything else out there like it?

Yokiboy — 2008-06-29T11:28:59+00:00

I don't really know of another game like Pompeii, but would also like to find out if there are some.

Pandemic sort of shares the "disaster" theme, but it's not the same game experience as Pompeii - although both are great games.

Thread: Re: Love the game anything else out there like it?

robmderrick — 2008-06-29T05:26:05+00:00

Rette Sich Wer Kann (Every Man for Himself) aka Lifeboats. Not a game of altruism, but pure self interest. With voting.

Thread: Re: 1st play with my children (ages 6 & 5) aka "You're gonna get lavaed"

wmshub — 2008-06-29T04:38:15+00:00

Yes, this is a great family game. I've been playing with my daughter since she was 4. Making dying screams as people go into the volcano is mandatory.

I also "role play" (ie, make my people run screaming from lava) rather than trying too hard to max out my score. That gives us a good close game and we both have lots of fun.