So, I did end up talking about the value of board games, but I was going to cover more Kickstarter topics last night. Then a big box of Descent: Journeys in the Dark came in and I decided it was worth unboxing it. That is a big game in a really big box, and it is a good way to talk about value in board games. Because some people had already made up their minds, prior to it coming out, that it wasn’t going to be a good value. But is it really going to be the case or not?

The Game

So, like I said, I unboxed Descent: Journeys in the Dark from Fantasy Flight Games. This game has a massive box for a massive amount of terrain and minis, though less minis than you might think. This is going to be a story game which has you on a tactical map, going through scenarios and locations, fighting monsters, learning their weaknesses and progressing the story.

What drew me to this game was that it was a new jumping off point for Descent. If you want to read my initial write-up on the game, you can see what they were talking about with the announcement here. But there were a number of things that interested me. The 3D terrain was cool, but a new app was really interesting. I liked the engine that they’d built the previous Mansions of Madness, Lord of the Rings: Journeys in Middle-Earth, Descent 2nd Edition, and Star Wars: Imperial Assault on. But it could have been polished, so I’m hoping that this app will have more polish to it. I haven’t played with it yet.

Board Game Value

But talking about Descent: Journeys in the Dark, led into the topic of value in board games. And I talked about this in a few ways, but one of the biggest is will a board game retain value. For example, I have a lot of campaign games. Will I play those games multiple times, I doubt it for a lot of them but maybe. I think with Gloomhaven I might play it again, but who knows. Others, I know I won’t like Sword & Sorcery. The question is can I sell it for what I paid for it?

But more than that, what games offer good value in what you are getting with them? Something like Descent: Journeys in the Dark, are you getting the “stuff” value that you might get form a Kickstarter like Arydia: The Paths We Dare Tread or Chronicles of Drunagor? And what makes the value of those two better than, say, a cheaper game like Earthborne Rangers?

But also how much do you think about the value of what you are getting? Is that something you factor into a game that you buy or a crowdfunding that you back?

The Drink

So I had another Old Fashioned, not that different than normal. However, this one was made with Japanese whiskey. Also something that’s not that odd, but I talked a little bit about how Suntory Whiskey and in particular their Toki whiskey is a fairly common one in Japan. From people who have visited Japan it seems like it’s the common one used for mixed drink.

Upcoming Streams:

8/12 – Aeon’s End Legacy Game 5 8 PM Central

8/18 – Aeon’s End Legacy Game 6 8 PM Central

8/23 – A Top 10 List 8:30 PM Central

I was thinking for the Top 10 list that I might do the Top 10 games that I’m likely wrong about. These are games that either I love though they have flaws or games that I don’t like but a lot of other people do like them. What is it about them that I like better or that maybe I should like better in the games. Let me know if you think that topic sounds interesting.

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