Game: Game of Thrones LCG, A

Thread: Re: Multiplayer: typical multiplayer game issues?

TrekkerMJ — 2008-11-21T21:10:16+00:00

I haven't cracked open the new format but I can tell you that multi-player AGOT is where this game particularly shines. The game does start off rather cautious as each player tries to build up their forces until they've got an appropriate force to rally forth. Yes, it seems like you can sit back and be defensive and some deck builds can. Most of the time you'll want to take the initiative and strike with your best. Dominance is generally a slow route to victory from my experience.

The multi-player role tokens definitely help build some natural alliances in the new set. Properly played you can keep yourself from getting hosed by a player as well as set yourself up very nicely against others. I think that is a nice addition to the game and the visual reminders of the minis is cool.

Here's a few thoughts for you about the game:

* Don't center around keeping one character alive. The books are brutal and the game reflects this. Anyone CAN and usually WILL die. If a character is a center piece to your plan, protect them with duplicates and 'save' cards.

* This isn't a dueling game. This is a power struggle. As such you've got to think attack and defense. Remember that sending a single character in an attack can be just as effective as sending an entire army at times. Even if you don't win they have to commit resources to block it. Attacking with a 1-strength character can be more effective than that 11 strength combo you've got.

* Power is where its at. You are going for the throne and all the dead bodies in the world won't win it for you if you don't have power tokens. Unopposed challenges, renown, and other methods are the key to victory.

* Make alliances but be very aware that they will crumble in short turn if you suddenly become the go ahead leader. Plan for being betrayed.

Hope those help out a bit. Multi-player AGOT is incredible so be sure you enjoy it to it's fullest!

Thread: Multiplayer: typical multiplayer game issues?

waddball — 2008-11-21T19:55:05+00:00

I haven't played yet, just read the rules and gone through a sample turn to internalize the flow, but it seems like if you were first or second in turn order, you wouldn't want to do any challenges, as you just weaken not only yourself to the downstream players, but also your target if they defend, so the downstream players clean up. So the best course is to stay static and play for Dominance, or just hope the "active" players don't look in your direction. Hope I'm wrong, but it reads like a serious case of "let's you and him fight." Can anyone with some multiplayer experience at this set me straight?

There's a lot of cool things going on here, and I like the support/oppose ideas, which I think are clearly intended to alleviate this common multiplayer game issue, but it's really easy to see situations where no support relationships exist, or only one.

Thread: Re: Can you Save the guy you pick when you lose a red challenge?

ynnen — 2008-11-21T18:36:25+00:00

Yes, the "save response" can be used to save a person selected as the claim from a military challenge.

The sequence would work like this:

1. Opponent initiates a Military Challenge, which you lose.
2. As a result of losing a challenge, your opponent earns his Claim.
3. You select one of your characters to die, per point of claim (so if the Plot he played was for Claim 2, you would need to select 2 different characters).
4. As a response to having a character killed, you could trigger a save effect, such as the Gilded Armor, or kneeling Ghost to save a member of the Night's Watch.
5. Instead of being sent to the dead pile, the saved character remains in play. If he was standing, he remains standing. If he was knelt, he remains knelt.

Thread: Can you Save the guy you pick when you lose a red challenge?

Dorque — 2008-11-21T18:22:58+00:00

Like with Gilded Armor, or a duplicate, or Baratheon Pirate Man, or Jon snow with Ghost, or...

Thread: Re: some issues with this game; please clarify.

joedogboy — 2008-11-20T07:59:46+00:00

One thing to keep in mind about the chapter packs is that not every player will want multiple copies of every single card.
The three of each cards tend to be utility cards that might find their way into multiple decks (although they don't always, and some end up living in the card box). Even if the set has two absolutely great cards that are single copies, you can pick them up for ten dollars.

Thread: Re: Someone please convince me that this is good with 2

joedogboy — 2008-11-20T07:49:48+00:00

The LCG Core set certainly works best with four (just using the boxed LCG core set game).
Many people thought the CCG worked best with two ("joust"), although some believe it was one of the few CCGs that worked extremely well in multiplayer ("melee").
The expanded LCG works well with two to six (core set/s with additional chapter pack cards).

Thread: Re: Spoilers?

joedogboy — 2008-11-20T07:42:04+00:00

I started reading the books at the same time I started playing the game. By the time I "met" some of the characters in the books, I already knew a little about them from the game.
It didn't spoil anything for me, but it did give some clues.

Thread: Re: Quick newbie quection(s)

Wampa8jedi — 2008-11-19T20:10:49+00:00

istoptrucks wrote:
Hi,
Welcome to the game. Great choice!
Regarding your questions.
1) "Mutal enemies" works with 3 players minimum. It does not trigger if you play 2 players game ("(...)if you have more than one opponent").

Core Set is intended for multiplayer games. So If you play against one opponent only, I'd advice you to mix Plot cards from different decks so you can get the best out of 2 player game and all the Plots you have.

2) Yes, you can use/kneel multiple cards to reduce one card cost. You can even reduce a played card cost to 0 this way.

Enjoy your games!

Thanks for the speedy response--it's really appreciated

It's been awhile since I've played a CCG... going to take me a little while to get the hang of it.

Thread: Re: Quick newbie quection(s)

istoptrucks — 2008-11-19T19:01:04+00:00

Hi,
Welcome to the game. Great choice!
Regarding your questions.
1) "Mutal enemies" works with 3 players minimum. It does not trigger if you play 2 players game ("(...)if you have more than one opponent").

Core Set is intended for multiplayer games. So If you play against one opponent only, I'd advice you to mix Plot cards from different decks so you can get the best out of 2 player game and all the Plots you have.

2) Yes, you can use/kneel multiple cards to reduce one card cost. You can even reduce a played card cost to 0 this way.

Enjoy your games!

Thread: Quick newbie quection(s)

Wampa8jedi — 2008-11-19T17:28:49+00:00

Hey everyone,

I recently picked up the Core Set, and a few chapter packs. Having never before played a AGOT, I already have a question or two... and more will probably come up. Thanks for any insight!

1) The plot card "Mutual Enemies" reads "When revealed, if you have more than one opponent, choose an opponent. You and that opponent cannot declare Military challenges against one another this round."

To my newbie mind, the phrasing suggests that this plot card does nothing if you're playing a one-on-one match... correct?

2) Several Stark cards reduce the cost to play a Stark character/card... can I kneel multiple such characters in a row to stack their abilities and play a card for extra cheap?

Thread: Re: Taking the plunge

SkyGazer — 2008-11-19T15:41:22+00:00

Yes, diving into AGOT LCG right now requires a bit of a leap of faith that there will still be people around to play it. My sense from other forums is that, despite a level of discontent with the change to this new format from older players (apparently a matter of the game's survival from FFG's point of view), there is still more than just a mere nuclear group that is interested in this game.

As far as the LCG core sets being ultimately available as individual decks, I'm not sure about that. The cost of the LCG core/board game is $40. This includes 4 decks; thats $10 a deck. Chapter Packs are $10 a deck. So, even though you're acquiring extra boards and tid-bits with additional core sets, you're really just paying for the cards with the FFG pricing model. Obviously, FFG wants to you buy at least the four initial house decks so it doesn't seem likely they will break up the core set and sell them individually anytime soon. Of course, I really have no idea; this is just speculation on my part.

Thread: Re: Taking the plunge

Trump — 2008-11-19T14:13:53+00:00

At the beginning of the year I bought a bunch of cards and made a dozen decks. Got to play twice and the other player both times didn't seem very impressed. Seeing as how nobody wants to play it, I think I'll end up passing on the core set. In fact, I may have to consider the CoC core set instead. I don't like the game as much, but I can probably find players for it. I really love the AGOT books and it looks like I'll continue to wait for a game to enjoy that's based on the books.

Thread: Re: Taking the plunge

istoptrucks — 2008-11-19T14:12:39+00:00

2 of the 6 Chapter Packs from the A Time of Ravens expansion will be available soon [it is 6 Chapter Packs per expansion]. AGOT players are hoping to see 4 new Chapter Packs until the end of this year (but's hard to tell with FFG - the producer).

http://www.potomacdist.com/list.asp?code=1190

Thread: Re: Taking the plunge

wilk — 2008-11-19T11:01:31+00:00

Yeah, I definitely want to get on board, too. (I guess I'm not really cured of my CCG addiction. ) Like you, I did not have the time required to catch up with the extant card pool of the old CCG, so the new format allows me to start getting to know the game comfortably without having to deal with massive amounts of cards, decks, combos and so on.
Two questions: are we 100% positive that there will be no sales of the LCG singles? (3 core sets hurt bad, I can deal with 3 of each chapter pack Edit: of course, by this I mean e-bay or other secondary market sales, as in case of the CCGs ). Are the chapter packs already out or are they only announced and available for preorder?

Thread: Taking the plunge

SkyGazer — 2008-11-19T07:25:19+00:00

I've been interested in the AGOT CCG for a while but never really jumped in deeply because my attempts to build a reasonable pool of cards with the existing products, going back more than 4 years now, was just too daunting. I understand the frustration of some of the seasoned players who are comfortable with the older decks and the investment they made in them. For myself, I've probably gathered 600 cards or so in the older ITE and Five Kings decks just trying to figure out how to play the game, and I guess I'll not really be able to use these cards much. But I am happy for the new LCG format as it is essentially a reset of the game. I can get in on the ground floor, but that means, of course, getting three versions of the core set, which I've done, and getting 3 copies of each of the existing six chapter packs in order to be able to construct capable decks. I feel a bit silly having spent more on this card game than what I've spent over the last two years for all my other board game purchases, but I've gotten over it. Now I can just pace myself with the Chapter Packs which is a known financial outlay. So, I've taken the plunge. Anyone else getting into these waters?

Thread: Re: checklist of Chapter Pack cards?

SkyGazer — 2008-11-19T07:12:41+00:00

The only "legal" Chapter Packs that are in stores that support the new LCG format are the six packs from the "A Clash of Arms" series, which has black borders. The Chapter Pack decks are fixed so their contents are precisely what is listed in Tzumainn's site. Each Chapter Pack consists of 40 cards, representing 20 different cards (10 single copies of the first 10 cards and 3 copies each of the subsequent 10 cards). Again, all decks with the same title (i.e. "Battle of Ruby Ford") are identical. To accumulate the legal 3x of each card, you would still have to purchase three copies of each chapter pack. This will get you the 3 copies of the first 10 cards but then you will have 9 copies of each of the subsequent cards. Have fun!

Thread: Re: checklist of Chapter Pack cards?

DLongo — 2008-11-19T06:51:08+00:00

Is this definite? I mean, many of the Chapter packs have been out since before the core game was released.

So is it positive that these packs contain 40 preset cards...and not 40 variable cards...like they would be for the CCG?

And do the cards match the new LCG cards?

I am getting ready to order the core game...and I have no idea which Chapter packs to pick up. I wrote to FFGs and they stated that they will modify their site in some way to split the LCG off...so people can see what is available for the LCG as opposed to the prior CCG. But that does not help me at all now.

Help!!

Thread: Re: checklist of Chapter Pack cards?

waddball — 2008-11-17T17:35:23+00:00

MmmBye wrote:
All cards in the Chapter Packs are considered LCG.
Thanks. So basically, there's one "cycle" (6 chapter packs) that will look different (black bordered). Since the backs the same, no impact on play, and the cards fit in terms of rules and balancing.

Thread: Re: checklist of Chapter Pack cards?

MmmBye — 2008-11-17T17:20:40+00:00

All cards in the Chapter Packs are considered LCG.

Thread: Re: Should the chapter packs be tracked as separate entities?

LetsGoRed — 2008-11-16T23:35:57+00:00

Graham, I know second hand that the CCG has evolved some since its first days. But the current CCG leading into this Core Set is pretty much the same game. With the Core Set they added one additional mechanic, plus you have the rolls that were already introduced for multiplayer of the CCG, but nothing significantly different.

Thread: Re: Should the chapter packs be tracked as separate entities?

Dorque — 2008-11-16T22:29:17+00:00

joedogboy wrote:
The core set (LCG) should be listed separately from the CCG. They are different games - different game systems sharing a common rules set.
The CCG cards are not going forward into the lCG, and players may end up in different camps.

I don't think each chapter pack needs it's own listing.

Although, a BGG feature that allowed game expansions to be listed as a sublist within the game listing would be good (stand alone expansions would rate their own entry).

I used to play the CCG a few years ago, and I just got to play the new LCG last night. It is an entirely different game. The CCG and the LCG absolutely need to be separated in to different game entries since they share some mechanics and that's it. It's like saying each of the Ticket To Ride games should be combined in to one entry because they share mechanics. This is a stand alone board game with cards as the main component. NOT a CCG. The CCG is cool, but a totally different game.

Thread: Re: Core Game Now on Sale

shadow9d9 — 2008-11-16T20:47:13+00:00

Thanks, I didn't see it there because I had game of thrones core as my search. Timewellspent does seem to have it, but just doesn't label it as core.

Thread: Re: Core Game Now on Sale

waddball — 2008-11-16T18:25:16+00:00

shadow9d9 wrote:
Only funagain of the normal board game sellers has it. Any suggestions of where to get it discounted?
www.timewellspent.org

Thread: Re: Core Game Now on Sale

shadow9d9 — 2008-11-16T16:04:29+00:00

Only funagain of the normal board game sellers has it. Any suggestions of where to get it discounted?

Thread: Re: Core Game Now on Sale

waddball — 2008-11-14T19:02:15+00:00

Wampa8jedi wrote:
Per FFG, any and all chapter packs (including those released over the past few months) are part of the LCG... those cards (plus this Core Set) are also the ONLY cards permitted in the new main tournament rules.
So do "Song of Summer" and "Winds of Winter" have white borders? Based on the pics here, the whole "Clash of Arms" cycle ("Calling the Banners", "Battle of Ruby Ford", etc.) are black-bordered.

Thread: Re: checklist of Chapter Pack cards?

waddball — 2008-11-14T17:59:10+00:00

SkyGazer wrote:
OK....I answered my own question. All of the various cards and chapter packs are presented, comprehensively, on Tzumainn's excellent AGOT site. http://tzumainn.com/agot/cards/ as indicated on the Links section of the BGG page. - thanks!
One thing that isn't clear (to me, anyway) is whether the cards are LCG (and thus built for the new rules, and have white borders) or CCG (older). I guess if the pack doesn't say "LCG" on it...? Or are there some new format chapter packs out there that don't say LCG? It's all a bit muddled right now, and FFG's site doesn't help.

Image

LetsGoRed — 2008-11-14T16:42:36+00:00

A Game of Thrones LCG - Core Set (U.S.) - uploaded with FFG's permission

Thread: Re: Spoilers?

LetsGoRed — 2008-11-14T14:24:20+00:00

I don't believe so. I've read all of the books so I'm having a hard time recalling when characters are introduced, but I believe most of the ones in the core set appear in the first book. For those that don't, you might see a name you don't yet know, but I don't think that does much to divulge anything meaningful about the books you haven't read. Some cards may have abilities that, once you know the complete story, you might say "ah, that's a clever connection to the books", but they are still abstractions such that I don't think playing with them before reading all the books is going to reveal anything. I can think of one Plot card in the game that may be a little too suggestive about an actual story event, but it's an older card not in the Core Set.

Of course, the solution is to hurry up and read those books!

Thread: Re: Someone please convince me that this is good with 2

HuckmanT — 2008-11-14T03:14:48+00:00

Thank you to all for such good responses. I'm looking forward to getting into the system with the Core Set, and my wife is as well! Winter Is Coming to Charleston.

Thread: Spoilers?

shadow9d9 — 2008-11-14T02:32:23+00:00

If I buy the core set, will any of the cards spoil the series if I have not read it yet past the first book? Thanks.

Thread: Re: Core/expansions when playing with wife...

LetsGoRed — 2008-11-12T21:28:45+00:00

I would say it depends on the competitiveness that you'd both want to have with the deck building aspect of the game. If you both want to be able to build a deck that you believe is optimized for your strategy, then you would need to consider buying more than one core set (full blown competitive players will buy three core sets just for themselves in order to have a full playset (3x of each card) for deck building --that's still cheaper than what people had to pay under the old CCG format). If instead you can agree to split up the six houses each taking three and some ground rules on how to split up cards that aren't affiliated with any one house, then you can buy one core set and as few or many of the chapter packs as you wish and still have plenty of customization potential for a game that is a lot of fun to play.

Thread: Re: Someone please convince me that this is good with 2

LetsGoRed — 2008-11-12T21:13:07+00:00

Tim, the game does play great with 2 players. In fact, before this Core Set, the game was presented as a two-player game first that could also be played multiplayer. As was said above, the primary difference is you don't use the title cards when playing two player. I typically play it head-to-head rather than multiplayer. Note, however, that the Core Set was put together with multiplayer in mind, such that the decks contain some cards that make sense in multiplayer where negotiating and striking temporary deals are part of the action but would very likely not be used in a deck built for head-to-head. Using the four decks to build two decks should allow you to mitigate that (and you can easily undo that as each card as letter indication which pre-constructed deck it comes from), and you can continue to customize if you wish with the existing chapter packs now out or with the new chapter packs scheduled to follow. Chapter Packs are regularly released fixed (that is, not randomly packed) sets of new cards.

Thread: Re: Core/expansions when playing with wife...

MmmBye — 2008-11-12T16:58:21+00:00

That is correct mostly, but if you each want to pick out houses you prefer then you might be able to get by with only one of each. the only sticking point would be the neutral cards that you both want to use.

Thread: Core/expansions when playing with wife...

shadow9d9 — 2008-11-12T16:41:31+00:00

If I want a customizable experience, would I have to buy a coreset for both of us and each expansion for both of us?

I see this as the only way we could both customize without being limited. Is this correct?

Thread: Re: Core Game Now on Sale

Wampa8jedi — 2008-11-11T19:34:33+00:00

Dorque wrote:
ColtsFan76 wrote:
Now if we can just make it crystal clear on their website and this BGG entry what is and what is not a part of the LCG. The CCG really should have been kept it's own entry.

Omg, yes. I am totally confused by this. It looks like some chapter packs came out before this LCG core set. How can that be? And how do my existing cards from past blocks fit in to the LCG game?

Per FFG, any and all chapter packs (including those released over the past few months) are part of the LCG... those cards (plus this Core Set) are also the ONLY cards permitted in the new main tournament rules.

Thread: Re: Review of new LCG Core Set

Dorque — 2008-11-11T19:01:56+00:00

Grimstax wrote:
Summary: Yes, you can use any cards, but not in any "official" event. I hope that helps.

Sweet, thanks for the summary. I understand why I got that box of 5 Kings for $3 now. The Core-forward style will be good since I have some friends who want to jump in.

Grimstax wrote:
P.S. That's why the white borders that everyone hates; it is so they can easily tell what is usable and what isn't, I think.

And I think the white boarders prevent card-marking because if you ding the edge of a black bordered card you get a spot of white.

Thread: Re: Review of new LCG Core Set

Grimstax — 2008-11-11T18:50:12+00:00

P.S. That's why the white borders that everyone hates; it is so they can easily tell what is usable and what isn't, I think.

Thread: Re: Review of new LCG Core Set

Grimstax — 2008-11-11T18:48:15+00:00

Dorque wrote:
Could you please summarize how my collection of Val. and 5 Kings edition cards fit in? Are they now a totally different and incompatible game, or can they be pulled forward in to the LCG?

It's kind of a complicated answer but I will try to explain as best I know. I'm assuming you are talking about Valyrian and Five Kings.

The Core Set introduces a new mechanic where gold is gained in coins and there is now a mechanism to spend it for abilities, plot cards, etc. and then it is put back in the pot at the end of the turn (taxation phase). It even counts toward dominance in the dominance phase.

This means that cards in sets like Valyrian and Five Kings were not designed with that mechanic in mind. You could still keep gold from your muster no matter what card gives you the gold. In game terms, those cards are completely compatible with any new releases.

There is a secondary issue, however, which is that FFG is looking to get new players involved, so for tournaments and leagues, any cards from before they published in Chapter Pack form, are not allowed. You can use the cards with your friends, but they won't be allowed in tourneys or leagues, except maybe in some sort of "Legacy" format. FFG doesn't want new players to feel like they have to buy a bunch of old cards to be competitive on the tournament level. Needless to say, this has ticked off some of the people who've been playing for a while.

Any Chapter Packs are supposedly okay and "A Song of Ravens" (I think that's what the last batch of CPs were called) was supposedly written with the LCG change in mind (I just happen to not like some of its mechanics). I am encouraging new players to only play with the Core Set and anything that comes out afterwards. That is just personal advice; not the company line.

Summary: Yes, you can use any cards, but not in any "official" event. I hope that helps.

Thread: Re: Review of new LCG Core Set

Dorque — 2008-11-11T17:58:50+00:00

Could you please summarize how my collection of Val. and 5 Kings edition cards fit in? Are they now a totally different and incompatible game, or can they be pulled forward in to the LCG?

Thread: Re: Core Game Now on Sale

Dorque — 2008-11-11T17:51:35+00:00

ColtsFan76 wrote:
Now if we can just make it crystal clear on their website and this BGG entry what is and what is not a part of the LCG. The CCG really should have been kept it's own entry.

Omg, yes. I am totally confused by this. It looks like some chapter packs came out before this LCG core set. How can that be? And how do my existing cards from past blocks fit in to the LCG game?

Thread: Re: Someone please convince me that this is good with 2

istoptrucks — 2008-11-11T08:44:11+00:00

I have never played AGOT multiplayer, but always the 2-player game and it just rocks!!!

And if you have read the books you will love to connect the both and discover how different saga themes, characters and events are translated into this card game!

It has a two decks starter for so called "Iron Throne" edition [Starks vs. Lannisters], 2 decks starter for "5 Kings Edition" [Starks vs. Targaryens], and a recent 4 starters Core Set [Starks/Lannisters/Barethons/Targaryen]. All those decks are fixed, not random, and ready to play out of box. All starters have different cards that you can mix later for your own strategies. I recommend all those products and wish you great games!

Thread: Re: Review of new LCG Core Set

shawn_low — 2008-11-11T06:10:00+00:00

Thanks for the review. It might be good to mention the specific components in the box (240 cards over 4 decks, etc).

Not bad value. RRP $40 for four decks, board and bits. A quick look on ebay and you can find starters ranging from $7 upwards.

Great way to keep the game alive and yet make it appeal to a wider audience!

Thread: Re: Someone please convince me that this is good with 2

HuckmanT — 2008-11-11T04:35:25+00:00

Okay, thanks for your quick reply! My wife and I both have lots of experience with M:TG and others (Netrunner, Shadowrun:TCG), and I've read the rulebook, etc. I just didn't get a good feel for whether the 2-player game was solid. Your comments are appreciated!

Thread: Re: Someone please convince me that this is good with 2

BrianMaynard — 2008-11-11T04:32:10+00:00

Works great with 2 you just don't use the roles (Master of Coin, Hand of the King, ect).

The game was originally designed for 2, but multiplayer works great as well. Offical tournament support has moved away from one on one towards multiplayer, but both are fun.

I've been playing for 5 years.

Just realize this is more a card game like Magic The Gathering than a board game. They've just moved the distribution method from random booster packs to fixed chapter packs.

Thread: Someone please convince me that this is good with 2

HuckmanT — 2008-11-11T04:22:25+00:00

I noticed at the top of the page that this game (with 4 votes) is listed as "Best with 2 players". I am hoping to purchase this (the LCG Core Set) to play with my wife, who is a huge fan of the books. Is the 2P game "tacked on"? Does it work without significant adjustment?

Thread: Re: Core Game Now on Sale

ColtsFan76 — 2008-11-11T03:00:01+00:00

Now if we can just make it crystal clear on their website and this BGG entry what is and what is not a part of the LCG. The CCG really should have been kept it's own entry.

Thread: Re: Core Game Now on Sale

RecklessJester — 2008-11-11T02:16:06+00:00

It's about time.

Thread: Core Game Now on Sale

ColtsFan76 — 2008-11-11T01:45:04+00:00

The AGoT: LCG is now for sale on FFG's website.

http://store.fantasyflightgames.com/a-game-of-thrones-card-g...

Thread: Re: checklist of Chapter Pack cards?

SkyGazer — 2008-11-02T17:21:40+00:00

OK....I answered my own question. All of the various cards and chapter packs are presented, comprehensively, on Tzumainn's excellent AGOT site. http://tzumainn.com/agot/cards/ as indicated on the Links section of the BGG page. - thanks!

Thread: Re: Should the chapter packs be tracked as separate entities?

joedogboy — 2008-10-30T07:09:32+00:00

The core set (LCG) should be listed separately from the CCG. They are different games - different game systems sharing a common rules set.
The CCG cards are not going forward into the lCG, and players may end up in different camps.

I don't think each chapter pack needs it's own listing.

Although, a BGG feature that allowed game expansions to be listed as a sublist within the game listing would be good (stand alone expansions would rate their own entry).

Thread: Re: Should the chapter packs be tracked as separate entities?

Haze01 — 2008-10-20T09:41:42+00:00

Seperating expansions is a good idea for the sake of having ratings seperate, and keeping track of releases.

However, in most cases, I don't think expansions need a whole page to themselves. In fact, I feel giving them a whole page to themselves can create a variety of problems.

A selection of such Problems

- Keeping up to date. Games in a series should be linked to each-other, either directly in each games' information block, or indirectly by having each game link to a BGGwiki article with an ever-updating list. The problem with this is maintaining this information for every new release.

- Relating to the above, if a user is subscribed to a game's page, they won't recieve notice when an expansion is released if it's simply added to the database and the page they're subscribed to is not updated.

- Recording plays. It's perfectly acceptable for me to play an Iron Throne deck against your Ice and Fire Deck, or for me to use a custom deck containing a mix of all sets (within the current rotation or otherwise), but what did I play? Iron Throne? Ice and Fire? No, I played "a Game of Thrones CCG".

- Message boards. If the sets are seperate entities, there might not be a suitable place for general discussion of the game as a whole.

- Confusion caused by BGG's flawed search engine. Take a look at what comes up when searching for HeroScape - the search isn't organized by date of release, nor by "most hits" or "relevance", so the actual base set is quite difficult to find. In fact, that game appears to have multiple core sets, which make the search results even less helpful. At least one of the things cluttering up the results is an entry for a single promo mini. Searching for "settlers" returns different results than searching for "catan", and the most important game is buried in the search results - even if you searched for it by it's entire name!

I feel that games like Magic: The Gathering and a Game of Thrones CCG benefit greatly from the "living game" label. The expansions aren't really seperate from the game, although the game can be played as though they were.

I think that, until a better system is developed for expansion entries, BGG should aim for fewer entries, especially from collectable games that could be considered "living games".

As for renaming the entry, I don't really care. BGG has some naming conventions in place (#s 6&7 are the most relevant), but the change is really minor so I personally wouldn't care.

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jsper — 2008-10-16T04:52:25+00:00

Image of spanish edition by Edge

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Hininsul — 2008-10-13T14:45:27+00:00

Sixth chapter (expansion) pack box – Spanish Edition

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Hininsul — 2008-10-13T14:40:20+00:00

Fifth chapter (expansion) pack box – Spanish Edition

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Hininsul — 2008-10-13T14:39:48+00:00

Fourth chapter (expansion) pack box – Spanish Edition

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Hininsul — 2008-10-13T14:39:21+00:00

Third chapter (expansion) pack box – Spanish Edition

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Hininsul — 2008-10-13T14:38:35+00:00

Second chapter (expansion) pack box – Spanish Edition

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Hininsul — 2008-10-13T14:38:01+00:00

First chapter (expansion) pack box – Spanish Edition

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Hininsul — 2008-10-13T14:37:12+00:00

Base Set for AGOT, LCG – Spanish Edition

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Kodeir — 2008-09-30T20:47:44+00:00

The Battle of Ruby Ford chapter pack card breakdown