Top 5 Games I Want A New Edition Of

5. Sword and Sorcery

When playing through the first box, I liked elements of this game. I thought that the puzzle of what you were doing on the board is interesting. But the more I played, the more repetitive it got. And the more the game was just a move, battle, battle, move. Your actions were almost always set in a predictable way.

Sword and Sorcery is one of those games that could improve in two ways. First, get a more varied scenario. There is always probably going to be an element of beat the bad guys. But make that element more interesting and dynamic in the game system. And make it so I don’t feel like I’m just doing the same thing over and over again.

The other one is the story. While some games feel like they live in a unique world, Sword and Sorcery does not. If the writing were to improve that would help the game a lot. The basis of the game, heroes being reborn to save a new age, that is interesting. But the rest of it just felt generic which is disappointing. It has a cool premise and pays off none of it.

4. Boss Monster

This one is tricky. There is a new campaign that added more to the game so maybe that already exists. But when I watch the videos with that crowdfunding campaign it seems more of the same, for me. Boss Monster is a game that I want to like in theory, but in actual execution is just lacking.

You build up a dungeon that heroes are going to go through and you want to attract them. If you attract them, you want your dungeon to be able to kill them. So it’s building the most efficient dungeon murdering path that you can. The issue is that not that much is going on in the game. Most of what I do isn’t that unique or different. You just put down cards with symbols for heroes and damage.

This one it’s harder to know how I want to improve it. I think that Brotherwise Games is on a better track with Overboss and Dungeon Karts where they are games set in the same setting but completely different. For Boss Monster, though, I want something that feels more creative in what I do. Because, a lot of the time it feels like I’m just locked into one thing.

3. Castle Panic/Xenoshyft

I got no major complaints on this one, really. A second edition would just be fun to have for Castle Panic. The game play is appropriately simple and I like that. But, maybe that is one area that I’d want to see more in it. But Castle Panic is a family game for families with younger kids, so I don’t want to ruin that.

Instead, what I think I want is just a new tower defense game. I want something that uses elements of what Castle Panic does but makes you be even more clever. And thinking about it, it might be that I want a new version of Xenoshyft instead. I love that game so much, and it’s a more complex tower defense game.

But give me somethings that combines the two. Less deck building, but more combos and big card play moments to keep waves of monsters from reaching the base. I think just adding in a little bit to what Castle Panic does would be a fun time. And something that could be supported with more. But the more I think about this, I think of other games that maybe cover it for me as well.

2. Dead of Winter

This one seems like a no brainer. And Plaid Hat has been doing some games with this Crossroads system. Whether or not they have the rights to do another Dead of Winter or that is still with Asmodee, I’m not sure. But I’d love to see a new edition of this game.

Firstly, get rid of the hidden traitor. The traitor can just tank the game too easily at any point. And it makes it tricky to teach the game. It’s no fun when the traitor is the person who knows the game. Or as a player who doesn’t know anything about it, and now you’re trying to be the traitor. Just make the game harder, if you need to, to win a scenario. There are plenty of games that are challenging without a traitor.

Next up streamline the game some and maybe provide some campaign like elements to the game. Or at least make it make sense in a way to chain standalone scenarios. That would be awesome, I think that Dead of Winter actually could be an amazing setting for a legacy game. But to do that, you need story outside of the game generating it’s own. And you need the sessions to be a little bit shorter. For a game with a fragile balance, Dead of Winter takes too long.

But please give me a new version of this game. Or something with a similar feel even if it can’t be zombies. But zombies really do work well, and to have a new game come out with the zombie theme, zombies were hot but they aren’t that hot anymore.

1. Charterstone

I know that this is unlikely to ever give me what I want. But Charterstone is a fun game, just not one that I really loved. Mainly because it’s a legacy game where the legacy elements are just okay. I think with what companies like Open Owl Studios are doing now, Charterstone shouldn’t be a legacy game anymore.

You make Charterstone a campaign game. And the legacy elements of unlocking new things, that can still happen. But now it’s about what you add to your board and is saved between each session. It’s not about a permanent sticker, it can be done with cardboard pieces. And you get a campaign sheet to mark instead of a box. But there isn’t a reason that it couldn’t work that way.

Then clean up a few of the unlocks and surprises which weren’t that surprising or interesting in the twists. They wouldn’t work for a non-legacy version, but they aren’t needed. And add in a bit more story. Honestly, get Open Owl Studios to do the production and Ryan Laukat to add to the story of the game and world and keep the Stonemaier core design, it could be amazing instead of just okay.

Final Thoughts

Each of these games are just on that cusp of being a great game for me. The furthest away from that is Castle Panic which mainly I say because I already like the game a lot. And I don’t want to remove the family nature of what game. So it’s really a new cool tower defense game that I’m looking for there. And that might be a list that I do. Take a mechanism or core idea and talk about what I’d want to see in a game like that.

But what are some games or a game that you’d like to see get a new and improved edition?

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Top 5 2023 Gamefound Campaigns

5. Vampire: The Masquerade – Milan Uprising

I want to be more excited about this one and I am excited about a lot of it. The part that I’m less excited about is that it uses the Teburu system. Now that technology I think is interesting and I likely will get it, eventually. But it’s not out yet and my rule of thumb is don’t buy the first generation of a tech project. This is the second campaign for a game for it, and I’m excited to see them adding more games. But while the game, a cooperative 1-4 player game set in the World of Darkness setting, the technology, I want to see an iteration or two of it first.

4. DANTE: The Invasion of Hell

What puts this one on my radar is that it’s from the same company as Chronicles of Drunagor. A game that I want to play more of, but I think it’s a group campaign game. I want to know if DANTE: The Invasion of Hell works better solo? And it does have a solo mode, plus, I like their other game, so this is going to be really interesting. And my guess is that this is going to be another big game. Campaign games are a weakness of mine, so DANTE also hit on that, if it looks like a good game to play on Malts and Meeples it is going to make it even more tempting to play.

3. Thorgal: The Board Game

Based off of a video game that I don’t really know, this is a cooperative storybook adventure game, much like my #4. This one looks much smaller which I appreciate. And I’m curious to know more about it. It’s from Portal games. I don’t always gravitate towards everything Portal does, but I’m also interested to see what they are going to try next. And Thorgal, this one is interesting me. Again it’s that cooperative adventure game that can be played solo, and we know I like games like that.

2. Witchbound

I really didn’t know anything about Witchbound going in, and now it is towards the top of my list overall. I’m going to do a list like that at the end of this post for Top 5-7 games. But it’s a solo story driven game about becoming the first witch in over 100 years. That is exactly my sort of game. I like the theme of the game, I love the artwork that I’m seeing, and overall, I think I’d really enjoy it.

Plus it seems like a shorter play time which if it’s a bunch of little bites of game play over several sessions, that’s great and what I’m looking for often versus the two hours of some of the bigger campaign games that can be played solo.

1. Elder Scrolls

This one is pretty easy to pick because it’s based off of a system that I like, Too Many Bones, with a theme that I find interesting, and a company I really like. This is going to be a premium game with an IP so I expect a big price tag for it, but I’m going to likely back it, just to see if it’s for me. Chip Theory really doesn’t disappoint and they always have a strong fan base, so I’m excited for this game.

And I’m excited to see how they can bring as big a world as Elder Scrolls into a board game. It seems like it’ll be a campaign game, but one where you can mix and match different campaign elements together or go through different shorter stories, so not a massive campaign.

I find it interesting that with the five games from Gamefound all of them are cooperative games that have caught my eye. Really, it shouldn’t be a surprise, I love cooperative story driven games that can be played solo. All of these fall into that category, some of them are very big, and others less so, but at least I’m consistent.

Top 3 2023 Backerkit Campaigns

3. Leder Games Project

So like I said, it’s a bit thin on Backerkit. That means that we get from them. And one of them is this Leder Games project. It’s on the list because when Leder Games puts out a game, I am interested in it. Even if it isn’t going to be for me. I’m not that interested in trying Vast, but the game itself sounds interesting. And that means that I’m going to check out what this is when they announce it officially.

I think I’ve heard rumors, and I might be off on this, but an easier to get to the table Oath style game was in the works. But honestly, I might be making that up, there’s a lot of news and I’m just doing it off of memory. If it is, it’s maybe one that I’d pass on, but it could also catch my fancy if it’s easier to table.

2. Wild Gardens

One of the few out there that has any information on it. I’d probably have the Leder Games project above this one if I knew more about it. But Wild Gardens looks like a pretty game of resource collection and completing goals. I’m not sure what else is going on in it. But looking at the cover, it’s a pretty game, and the artwork throughout the game looks great as well. I hope that the game play matches the artwork and is a nice relaxing game to play.

1. Gloomhaven Minis and RPG

Easily my Top 1 over there. You know that I love Gloomhaven and I will say right now, I am not backing the minis. You can hold me to that, but I do not need the minis nor would I really  have use for a lot of them. It’d just make Gloomhaven and Frosthaven harder to play. But I want to know more about the RPG.

I haven’t looked into it too much yet. I know that it is built around card play, or can be, like you have in Gloomhaven. And I’m hoping that they give you tactical opportunities for combat and then a lot of theater of the mind and opportunities to role play as well. If it’s just mainly combat focused with a bit of role playing thrown on top, I’m less interested. But I’ll definitely be looking into this one more.

Top 5 2023 Kickstarter Campaigns

5. Crown of Ash

This is one that I keep on seeing advertisements for on Facebook and is one that definitely interests me. Crown of Ash is an area control and worker placement game. But it isn’t a game that is stuffed full of big minis or things like that, it looks like a more reasonably sized game. I’m not sure it’s one for me, but I want to learn more about it. The cover is striking and overall, if it’s a good area control game and the worker placement makes sense, it might be one that I want to play. Area control and in your face isn’t my normal style, but I am curious about it.

4. Rove

So there was a fan expansion that I want to get for Gloomhaven, The Crimson Scales. It’s something that was created, with the blessing of Isaac Childres to work with his system. And it sounds really cool. Rove is from that designer who is now branching out and making his own game. It’s a big box 1-4 player cooperative fantasy RPG in a box. I’m interested in that. No shock to anyone there.

And I want to know what someone who has done work related to Gloomhaven can come up with. Because I fully expect this isn’t going to be a dice chucking giant campaign like Sword & Sorcery, so how are the lessons learned from The Crimson Scales going to build into this new game?

3. Stonesaga

It helps to put this on the list having played it. And I believe the beta playtesting is going on right now, if people want to check it out. But this is a cooperative game where you are playing as cave dwellers who are advancing their society, building up, and well, dealing with giant monsters that are a threat to the board.

This is a legacy game, which is fun, and one that has story and campaign on it, but it reminds me more of the level of story of a My City or Charterstone. The story matters, and they integrate missions better and story challenges better, but it only matters so much. Plus the artwork on this one is just great and when OOMM Games puts something out I’m interested.

2. Marvel United Multiverse

Should this be number one? I don’t know. I don’t need more of the game. But Marvel United is such an easy game to get to the table that I definitely want more of the game. I love the IP with Marvel, it works well for the type of game it is. And it’s a good cooperative game that I can pull out and play with almost anyone. It isn’t too light for gamers because the game is fast. And it isn’t too heavy for non-gamers.

Plus it doesn’t matter if Groot is your favorite character, Wolverine, Iron Man, or whomever, you can sit down and play as your favorite Marvel character. And I think that’s great about it, this is just going to be even more. Like I said, I don ‘t need more, but it doesn’t make the game harder to table, which is great.

1. Rogue Angels

Again, this one hopefully will be coming back to Kickstarter or some crowdfunding platform in 2023. I put it here, I just got to play another scenario and I still love the game. The characters are so much fun, and while similar, different in what they can handle. We lost part of the scenario I played on Sunday but were able to be the overall mission. You fail forward into the story versus redoing a scenario over and over and over again.

And the game play, every time that I sit down and play it, I can pick it back up again, which is great. All of that while having a lot of story, being cooperative, you know I’m in. I think it’s one that would work well for Malts and Meeples as well. It’s a big campaign, but it isn’t a sprawling table hog like some big campaigns.

Top 5 Upcoming Crowdfunding Campaigns

Let’s face it, these are mainly going to be cooperative adventure driven games. But out of the 13 that I have, sorry Backerkit we couldn’t get to 5. Which ones are the ones that I am most interested in.

1. Rogue Angels
2. Elder Scrolls
3. Marvel United Multiverse
4. Stonesaga
5. Witchbound

What Crowdfunding Campaigns Are You Most Interested In?

Let me know which ones interest you the most? Are there any crossover, do you want to get all the minis for Gloomhaven, it would be awesome, or is that just too much? Are there any that I missed. I was trying to find everything that I could, but I won’t lie, it’s tricky.

And even some of them, like Crown of Ash is one that was supposed, I believe, to come out in 2022. Rogue Angels did, but then needed to relaunch. So it’ll be interesting to see what comes up and where everything lands. Checkout other creators, like BoardGameCo I think does a quarterly list of things, though might be doing a yearly list of Top 10 he’s most excited for across everything. So let me know what I missed that you think I might like.

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Gloomhaven

Gloomhaven, and I’ll include Jaws of the Lion, is going to be a campaign game for the person who wants a lot of control over what they are doing. The card play in Gloomhaven is great and really smart. I love picking two cards, one to use the top of and the other to use the bottom. But if I’m slower than other players or the enemies, now I need to put flexibility into what I’m doing. Gloomhaven also provides great character progression. It isn’t too fast so you learn and can use and enjoy the new cards but then be gaining XP for the next new card.

I also think that Gloomhaven, the big box, works well for players who like the change it up. You retire a character after some time. You’ll hit your secret goal and it’ll be time to retire them and move on. If you get really attached to a character or a way to play the game, Gloomhaven won’t be for you. It is better for a game that changes everything up as you get new characters with how you play them.

Sword & Sorcery

As compared to Gloomhaven, Sword and Sorcery is light and small. Now it’s still a big box with a lot of minis in the box. But Sword and Sorcery is all about the dice chucking. The story is pretty light, the decision making space in where the story goes really doesn’t exist. But when it comes to optimizing how many dice you can have and roll, Sword & Sorcery does that.

Stars of Akarios

Stars of Akarios is an interesting hybrid. I would say that this game is for people who want something like Gloomhaven, though the game is very different, but set in space. You can watch game play here. But this is going to be your big space epic game, and probably the biggest space campaign game, at least until ISS Vanguard comes out soon.

But this is also the game for the person who wants a little bit of everything. There is some choose your own adventure. Tactical space combat and then space and planet exploration. So really a little bit of everything that you could do. And they manage to make all of them work, though you need to be in for the space combat because that is the biggest piece.

Pandemic Legacy

This is one I’d say three introductory campaign games. And Pandemic Legacy is a legacy game on top of that. This one, though, might be the best, because in Pandemic Legacy Season 1, if you’ve played Pandemic, you can basically jump in and play the game. If not, it’s an easy teach and a cooperative game.

This is really just a story driven version of Pandemic. It does introduce rules as you go along. But it ramps up players slowly. So if you know someone who is interested at all in gaming, this is a great option to start.

Tainted Grail

Moving to the other extreme, this is not introductory friendly. There are rules you kind of need to look up to figure out what is going on. And there will be situations where the rules maybe don’t explain everything. But Tainted Grail offers some of the best story experience I’ve had in a game.

The story is dark, the story is adult. And the game has a strong survival element as well. I really recommend this one on story mode. The game is still very hard at times. There are going to be combats where you just look at it and run away. But when you dive into the story, it is just so good. So much depth to the world and every expansion gives even more story that is just amazing.

Charterstone

Charterstone is a euro campaign game. It’s one that I think euro players will like, it is a campaign game, and it adds in things. I also think that Charterstone is also a good one for a budding euro player. It’s pretty simple to start and definitely adds in a lot as you go along.

The story for me on Charterstone is very weak, and I honestly thing it pretends too much with it. But the game play is solid. It is a good euro game. And for a legacy game, you can still it after. They even offer a recharge pack, as does the next one on the list as well. But I don’t know what I’d want it.

Aeon’s End Legacy

Aeon’s End Legacy is another one with a weaker story to it. But a story that I sound fun. You can watch the whole of the game over on Malts and Meeples, I’ll put the first part down below. But if you like deck building or are interested, this is a great spot to start.

I also think that this is a great game for players who want to make their own character. As a legacy game it allows you to build up your breach mage with the cards you want the way you want. Other games allow you to customize somewhat, here you really get so much choice over that. Deck building helps provide some of that, but also with the powers you get, it works nicely as well.

My City

Another legacy game on the list and another one that is really easy to get to the table. It is a tile laying game where everyone has their own set of tiles and a card if flipped over to determine which one to put down. There are additional rules that are added as you play further into the game, but it is never too much.

This is also a great campaign or legacy game for people who don’t have that much time. Or don’t have a big block of time. It’s easy to pull out and play a game that takes maybe 30 minutes. Then you do that again two nights later, and so on and it’ll never take you that long to be back up and running.

Pathfinder Adventure Card Game

Another one that I played on Malts and Meeples. This one is kind of like Aeon’s End Legacy, but instead of deck building through game play, this offers deck construction. So if you like optimizing your character to be good at some things, Pathfinder Adventure Card Game is good for that.

I also think that this works well for maybe the person who doesn’t have time to play Pathfinder. If you’ve played Pathfinder and done the adventures, you’ll get more into the story, recognize characters and places. But it’s less of a commitment than jumping into another campaign and planning out 3 hours every week or two to play, at least.

Paper Dungeons

Paper Dungeons is an odd one on the list. It is technically a campaign game, you play through cards with monsters to fight. But it doesn’t need to be, it can be a one off. Nor do I think the campaign is all that great. But if you really like roll and write games, and Paper Dungeons is a very good roll and write game, this is going to give you a heftier roll and write to play. And also one that I played on Malts and Meeples.

Sleeping Gods

Alright, one more that is on Malts and Meeples. Sleeping Gods is for the player who wants a weird fantasy world but also wants to be able to do whatever they want. All the other campaigns on the list give you a general order of doing things. Some might have side missions but generally they’re about the main story that is going through.

Sleeping Gods gives you fun card play and a lot of interesting powers and decisions. Now, I’d recommend that you get the sequel one, it’s coming out sometime probably next year. It’ll make a few things cleaner, like not having to control as many characters. But the one you can get now is great as well and the story tends to be one of the lighter ones and more fun. And the story works as well which is impressive with no real direction.

Risk Legacy

Another legacy game on the list and only one more after this one before the list is finished off. But Risk Legacy is going to be for the person who likes that in your face game. But whereas Risk can be annoying and take forever. In Risk Legacy the games are much faster, so it’s also for the person who likes that in your face but finds Risk way to long. I’m one of those people, so this one is a lot of fun when you want something very competitive.

Seafall

Finally, I had to put it on the list because I technically did play probably half of it or a bit more. This one I don’t really recommend. I think that there are elements of the game that work but most don’t. If you go back to Sleeping Gods where I talk about open world, that one tells a great story in spite of that. Seafall is also open world but it doesn’t tell a good story.

Also the games are just too long, so I really don’t recommend it for that. The longer you play the higher the points get, plus you unlock things so that means there is even more to think about. I want this to be so much better than it is, it had potential and it just falls flat.

Final Thoughts

13 campaign games on the list. And I thought about adding in Arkham Horror the Card Game, and when I get around to a campaign box for Marvel Champions. So clearly I love campaign games, but like I said, not all of them are for everyone.

If you are looking to dive into a campaign game, I really recommend probably three games as my top choices. Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion is a great small box version of Gloomhaven. And it’ll give you the exact same game just with less stuff and less cost. Pandemic Legacy is a good one to jump into as well because a lot of people know Pandemic. Start with Season 1 and it’ll be an easy way to see how much you like legacy games and campaign games. And finally, I think that if you want something bigger and maybe a bit more challenging, I recommend Sleeping Gods. I like it solo, but I think most people will like it at three players.

But let me know what your favorite campaign games are? And how do you play them?

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For example, when I first got into board games and figured out that I loved deck building games, for example, I would get really excited about every new one that came out. Or the same thing with campaign games on Kickstarter, when I started on Kickstarter, I wanted to back all of them. Now, I try and be more discerning.

What Changed?

When you first get into the board game hobby, everything looks exciting and new. And this is generally the case for any hobby. But you buy a game, whether it’s Cards Against Humanity or Gloomhaven. You fall in love with the game. Then, any game that comes out that says it’s like that favorite game, you buy.

And then, over time, you look at your collection. You realize that you have six campaign games. You play two of them, and the other four are just sitting there. And you know on Kickstarter that you already have another four coming. When will you get to them?

Then, you play more games. You find more that you like, and you realize that even though a game compares itself to Cards Against Humanity or Gloomhaven, it isn’t as fun. This is the change that happens. You start to realize that you don’t need every game of a given genre.

Is This A Bad Thing?

For your wallet and for you, the answer is no. You don’t need every game that is like Gloomhaven. No one has the time for that. Even if you are a content creator who just does campaign games, and that is your full time job, it’ll take ages to get through all the games.

I look at the campaign game that I’ve played, between the four I’ve gotten through, not counting legacy games like Pandemic Legacy Season 1 (twice) and 2, Charterstone, Seafall, Aeon’s End, and Risk Legacy. But between Tainted Grail, Gloomhaven, and Sword & Sorcery, I probably have 300-350 hours into campaign games. Which is a ton of time. So being pickier with a campaign game is not a bad thing.

But Does That Hurt My Excitement for Board Games?

Yes, it does hurt it. But not in a bad way. A worse way to hurt ones excitement for board games would be to end up with such a daunting pile of games that you no longer want to play them. That it becomes too intimidating to pull anything off of the shelf. Or that it feels like work trying to keep up with everything new and exciting that is coming out.

I’m in a unique spot that I want to get in more new games to cover for Nerdologists.com and Malts and Meeples. But if I were just a normal person playing games, not doing this coverage, I don’t need to do that. And even for myself, I want to take more of a “just in time” approach with new games.

Doesn’t always work, sometimes I order something like Massive Darkness 2 with no plans for when I’ll play it. But generally I am trying to order games or buy them, right before I’ll play them. Crowdfunding is a clear exception to this. Generally you can’t get those right before you want it. But for retail games, I think to help stop burnout or even to help with being pickier, buying on demand can be the best plan.

Final Thoughts Excitement with Board Games

I think it’s easy to get burned out in a bad way. Especially if you are reading this. Why, because often times it means that you are following a lot of content. I know I watch The Dice Tower, Foster the Meeple, Tablenauts, BoardGameCo, Quackalope, GloryHoundd, and others. And I don’t watch all their stuff. But it can be a lot to keep up on and so many new games that you can learn about.

So, play more games. Have fun playing games, because that is the key. If it feels like there are too many, start becoming more selective on what you buy. Buy just in time. And limit how much content you consume. I recommend mine, obviously, but don’t just watch everything. Especially when it comes to previews. Maybe that’ll be a topic for the future, reviews versus previews.

But do you ever find yourself losing excitement over all of the new games coming out?

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Needless to say, that’s a lot of different ones. And that doesn’t even include games like My City, Pandemic Legacy Seasons 1 and 2, Risk Legacy, Charterstone, and I’m pretty sure I’m missing one or two. But why play a campaign game? Why play a game that has a story that when you’re done you can’t really play again?

The Case Against A Campaign Game

1. A Campaign Can Only Be Played Once
2. It Takes A Long Time To Play
3. They Are Hard to Get A Group For

A Campaign Can Only Be Played Once

Once you’ve played a campaign game you can’t play it again? You might be marking up a board or you might not be, tearing up cards, but you might not be. In either case, though, you play the story once and you know the story of the campaign, is there really that much difference? And why would I want a game that limits my game plays?

It Takes A Long Time To Play

You want to play the same game over and over again? What happens if you have a break and need to pick it up again, will you remember where you left the story? Do you leave the game set-up so that you aren’t doing the set-up and teardown every time?

They Are Hard To Get A Group For

And with that play time, how do you find a group who is up for that. What sort of plan do you come up to play with? We all have lives, so how do you get it to the table consistently?

The Campaign Game Rebuttal

A Campaign Can Only Be Played Once

This is not fully true. For some games it is a bit more and very much so for Legacy games. Though with a Legacy game often, Risk Legacy, My City, and Charterstone, they can be played after. But even in the case with a legacy game if you can’t, it is still a great experience. It is a story that can’t be told in a normal game.

And this is true for all campaign games. It tells a story that might not exist anywhere else. If you do only play it once, you still get an experience that is different than most games. Even your favorite games you might play five times a year, or maybe that’s just games that you like pretty well. So if you do get through a whole campaign, you end up getting your money’s worth from it.

Finally, not all campaign games can’t be replayed. While I am not sure I could go back and play Detective: A Modern Crime Board Game again, at least not without everyone else being new. There is still plenty in that game that I never saw. Gloomhaven has more scenarios and classes that I never played. Tainted Grail has tons of story and plot lines that I never went down. So yes, you can replay them, you just might know some.

It Times A Long Time To Play

Yes, this is true, but that is also part of the experience of an unfolding narrative in a game. In a shorter game, there might be a narrative that emerges, but by nature of the shorter experience and desire to be replayable, it’ll be less impactful.

So if you want to experience a whole narrative, campaign games are a great way to go. And while some can have one person running the game, most, as compared to an RPG which also matches up with a lot of these criteria, are fully cooperative. That means that everyone is playing the same game and doing the same things.

They Are Hard To Get A Group For

It is not much harder than getting a game group together. I play campaigns with two different groups, both offshoots of my game group. But expectations do need to be set when it comes to a campaign. I had one group fall apart because of life reasons, but still am maintaining the other two.

Start with letting them know the commitment. A campaign game is a commitments and they should know that. Also discuss frequency of play. A lot of times groups will fall apart because they are not frequent enough or too frequent. If they aren’t frequent enough, people forget how to play. Too frequent and it becomes a burden to play it. Know what schedule works for your group and try and stick to it.

Why Play A Campaign Game?

So we’ve looked at some reasons why you might or might not want to. And I do think that game group can be a valid reason if no one is interested in playing a campaign game. However, I think more people are than a lot of gamers might think. But why do I play them?

1. The Narrative Experience
2. Consistent Gaming
3. The Epic Scope
4. Digging Into A Game

The Narrative Experience

I talk about this a lot. I love games that give you story that you can explore. You’ve seen me play Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon, some and Sleeping Gods. Even Pandemic Legacy Season 1 gave story to delve into. And I love when a game gives you story like that.

It is interesting, because the ones that I really love give me flexibility in that story. Gloomhaven more so in how you build and play your character. But Tainted Grail and Sleeping Gods allow you to branch out into the world and see more of what is happening. And they don’t tell you how you need to play it, yes, there are targets you go for, but there is always more to explore.

Compare that to regular Pandemic, or a lot of other one off games, they don’t offer the same story. Now, there is story that emerges in those games from the choices that you make as a player. Which is the same for a campaign game. But the players need to bring a lot more of the narrative to the game.

Consistent Gaming

This is also kind of a rebuttal to it being long and finding a group. For myself and other gamers, consistently gaming is amazing. So often it is hard to set aside time to play games, but with a campaign game, it forces you to do so. Like I said, it’s about that developing that rhythm. And a good campaign game will draw you in with the story it provides so you want to keep coming back to it.

It is a knock, actually, that I have against Gloomhaven. The story is less compelling than the game play. I love the mechanics, but the story could and should be better. But the game play kept me coming back over and over again. That cycle of playing cards and figuring out the strategy for a scenario is amazing. But a campaign game helps hook you to come back for consistent gaming.

The Epic Scope

A campaign game also can have much more epic scope to it. I own other games that have epic scope, The Reckoners or Atlantis Rising are two examples. Pandemic, even, with trying to save the world from diseases. But while you play, those games, that scope is just smaller than what you can get in a campaign game.

Tainted Grail, yes, you are trying to save Avalon, how is that different than Pandemic and saving the world? Well, it is different because what you need to do builds and changes as the game progresses. It might be finding the grail, but now you need to complete a ritual or more in the game. It just keeps building and building until you reach an epic finale to the game.

Digging Into A Game

And now, this is one that is very much for Gloomhaven, but it allows you to dig further and further into the game. And with that, you get to explore and understand the mechanics of the game and the character(s) that you are playing so well.

In Gloomhaven it is that card loop of playing two cards to do the top action on one and the bottom on the other. It just makes for a fascinating puzzle that then you can augment and optimize with items and figure out what is going to work best for you.

Final Thoughts on a Campaign Game

The scope and epic nature of the experience really pull me in. And they are some of the best stories I’ve found in a game. Now, the experience won’t be for everyone. And I think the biggest reason is that sometimes they are just harder to get to the table. If you’ve watched Malts and Meeples, you know I like to play them there. But without a gaming table, I have one now, it is a lot of work to set-up and tear down every time for one to two hours of gaming.

But if you can find a group, I believe that they are worth checking out. And there are so many themes out there. I look at what I have coming in, Frosthaven another game in the Gloomhaven world. Then HEL: The Last Saga a fantastical Viking mythological game. ISS Vanguard is an epic space exploration adventure. Rogue Angels when that comes out is going to be a more boots on the ground dungeon crawl space game. So there is likely a theme for everyone out there, including lighter fantasy like Adventure Tactics or Cora Quest for the whole family.

What is your favorite campaign game?

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Games Coming to Crowdfunding in 2022

Slay the Spire

This one I’ve been waiting on for a long time. In fact, the first two are ones that were supposed to come out in 2021 and then didn’t for some reason or another. Might be supply chain wanting them to hold back, but Slay the Spire, I believe that this one is because of development on the game. They weren’t completely happy where it was, so they wanted to refine it more. I give them credit for delaying for that reason.

But if you aren’t familiar, Slay the Spire is a video game that uses deck building to go through a rogue-like game. You start out as a character, fight monsters, get cards as rewards, as well as relics, potions and more. Sometimes curses even get added to your deck and you want to avoid those. I am really curious to see how this translates to a board game, because the deck building will obviously work. But will the game play as smoothly as the video game?

Iron Forest

Iron Forest is the other one, from the makers of Ice Cool. This game does some of the same things as Ice Cool with flicking. But it does some different things. Mainly that there are two levels. So you launch up from the bottom and go to the top. I got to mess around with this a little at GenCon in 2019, and it was fun. And that only was launching penguins.

This is a bigger game than Ice Cool. While Ice Cool is great silly fun, it doesn’t have many rules. Iron Forest looks like it will be more of a game. And it looks like it is team versus team. That is different and intriguing as to how it will work. But I hope it won’t end up being too complex. What I love about dexterity games is when they are easy to get to the table and play.

Unsettled

We went from two that were delayed to two that are reprints of games. Unsettled by Orange Nebula is a big space game. But it is different from something like ISS Vanguard which is a massive campaign. Unsettled is maybe more like TIME Stories, not with an over arching story that doesn’t matter too much. But because it plugs and plays a lot of different planets into the main system.

This is a game about exploring those planets and trying to complete objectives. But each time you play it’s its own separate game. And each planet has it’s own puzzle to work with as you try and do your job and leave before time runs out.

I almost backed this when it was on Kickstarter before. But I didn’t and now with reviews coming out, I wish that I had backed it. The new Kickstarter I’m sure will give me an option to get the base game, which might be all I need. But because of the plug and play nature, it is going to add in even more planets.

Sea of Legends

The other game that is coming back is Sea of Legends. This is a pirate game that changes up every time that you play it. If you watch the Top 10 of the year over on the Dice Tower with Chris, Camilla, Wendy and Roy, Camilla talks about how it works. But the app gives you a different story depending on who your lover and nemesis are. Plus gives you a lot of ways you can win.

This is another game that I almost backed. It was fairly expensive, and with a poor deployment of the app initially, I’m okay that I didn’t. But the concept of the game seems great. I like the variability that the app can provide as well for the story. If it had been cheaper used, I might have picked it up already from my FLGS.

Dark Quarter

This might be the one I know the least about, or close to it. And this one I think is coming to crowdfunding, but I don’t know for sure. But Dark Quarter is a game from Lucky Duck Games and Van Ryder Games. Van Ryder is known for their graphic novel adventure books and more. Lucky Duck Games for Chronicles of Crime and Destinies.

They are working together to create a darker version of something like Destinies. Destinies is a competitive adventure game where you are trying to complete your destiny. It’s kind of that Time of Legends: Joan of Arc type of setting. Dark Quarter is going to be set in French Quarter of New Orleans with monsters around in the summer of ’81.

This one is really interesting but I’ll know more after I play Destinies, which is coming to me soon. Now, this won’t be a 1 to 1 comparison between the two games, but I think it will help me decide. The theme is definitely right up my alley though.

Marvel Zombies – A Zombicide Game

Of course Marvel Zombies is on the list. I’ve talked about this one a bunch already. But basically you are superheroes who have been turned into zombies. But maybe you can play as the heroes as well fighting off zombies? I need more details on it eventually, but it’s Marvel and Zombicide so I’m interested.

Plus it’s from CMON so the sculpts are amazing. Including the giant 2.5′ or so tall Galactus that actually can be used in the games. That is just crazy. I did just back Zombicide: Undead or Alive, but this one, when it comes in, might replace that because I don’t know if I need two Zombicide Games.

Jurassic World: The Legacy of Isla Nublar

I haven’t gotten many of the dinosaurs games that have come out. Or at least many of the bigger ones. I have Draftosaurus which is great, plus Welcome to Dinoworld and Dinosaur Island Rawr ‘n’ Write. But this might be the first big box one I get because of one word, legacy. I love legacy games and dinosaurs.

I don’t know much about this game, it is probably the one I know the least about, that or Dark Quarter. But coming from Funko, yes, they make board games, I’m very curious. And it’s interesting that Funko is taking this to Kickstarter because they could just make it. I think they want to gauge the level of interest. And if it does well, then what I’m expecting will be a big box will go to retail.

But I really like the aesthetic of this. And I hope that it’s an interesting legacy game. Funko has been putting out good games, and not that complex games. If this is on the complexity level of legacy games like Aeon’s End Legacy and Pandemic Legacy that’d be perfect. I also imagine this will have more story than something like My City or Charterstone.

Catapult Feud: Hydra

This wouldn’t be on my list, except I’m getting the base set and the siege expansion on Saturday. This is a game, or activity, where you are launching attacks with catapults or other weaponry at your opponents castle. And you literally are launching them.

You build up your castle, put your guys on it. Then you take turns firing your projectiles at the other persons castle until their soldiers are knocked down. It’s a silly idea, and I have no idea what the Hydra is going to add. Maybe another way to attack? But I’m going to check it out. I don’t know how much of this game I need, but if I like it a lot before the Kickstarter comes out, then I might back it.

Rogue Angels

I wrote on Rogue Angels, as a preview, not too long ago. You can read my preview of it here. I am not putting it on the list because I previewed it. It was genuinely a really fun time. The story is solid, not the best, not the worst. The game play is really slick. I love the card cool down system.

This is another space campaign game, though. And I know I want to back Unsettled and have ISS Vanguard coming. With that said, this feels different. ISS Vanguard feels like a grand space odyssey. Unsettled is smaller planet missions. Rogue Angels is more story driven than either of them. So I do think Rogue Angels feels and seems different than other space games I have or have coming or want to buy.

Astro Knights

This is another one that I’m assuming is going to come to Kickstarter, why because Aeon’s End always has. And this is the successor to Aeon’s End. I believe that Aeon’s End is completely done now, maybe they’ll do a big box but the game is. Astro Knights looks like it will have some similarities but also build upon it.

I really am curious about this one because I love Aeon’s End. And I doubt that this will replace it for me. But I could also see wanting to have both to try them both out. And if this starts to grow on me, who knows. I really like the art for the game, though, so that’s always a good thing. I think the art is better than early Aeon’s End art.

What Crowdfunding Are You Excited For?

I did some quick research, not a ton for this list. I know some because I am part of a lot of board game groups and go to BGG (Board Game Geek) but still, I know more people will know a whole lot more than I do. If there is a different one you’re interested in, let me know. I want to look into more games always. But what from my list is the most interesting to you?

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If it’s not obvious, I clearly love campaign games. I have a lot more on my shelf from Pandemic Legacy Season 0 to Midarra: Unintentional Mallum Act 1, to Destinies, all that need to get played. Plus there are more on the way including a massive game, Frosthaven, the follow-up to Gloomhaven. Yet, compared to a lot of gamers, I’ve played a lot of campaign games. So how do I get a consistent group together?

Talk About Campaign Games

Talk with people about playing a campaign game. It sounds obvious, but I think a lot of gamers forget to do this. I forget to do this with people who might be interested in a campaign game. I own many other games that aren’t campaign games, so I sit down and play those with a lot of people. People who might want to play a legacy game or a campaign game, but I don’t mention it.

Now, it does come with a balance. I have one friend who I could play a campaign game with, but I don’t. Why, because while we had fun playing Sword & Sorcery, I realized I wasn’t playing my other games as much. So now I game with him every other week, and it’s just pulling games that maybe don’t get play that much off the shelf. Heavier games that are a one off, or teaching him new games that I’ve gotten. So it is a balance, but if you don’t mention campaign games, people won’t know it’s an option.

Define a Schedule

This one is tricky, especially as you get older. When I was in college I probably could have gotten stuff together easier. Or played campaign games more often. If I’d played Dungeons and Dragons then, I probably would have played for an eight hour session every week, or maybe every two. Now my schedule doesn’t permit that. The same is true for the people I game with. We have work, other activities, and kids in some cases. All of those things eat into gaming time.

On the flip side, we now need to get it scheduled more than before which means that we play more consistently. When younger, it is easy to go months if you aren’t thinking about it. You play for hours, but when you stop, you might not play for a long time again. Because I need it on the calendar to know I can play, that means we have a consistent schedule.

For both campaign board games and Dungeons and Dragons, I play every other week. The Gloomhaven/Tainted Grail group meets every other Tuesday. Dungeons and Dragons is every other Thursday. I keep, or try to, them on opposite weeks. That means that the one player who overlaps doesn’t have two evenings in one week are taken up and the same for me.

It is important to define it also so people know the commitment level. A full Saturday once a month might be what you need, or even weekly. Figure out what works for you and your players.

Be Flexible

This goes against what I said, or might seem like it, but I don’t think it does. Flexibility is scheduling is important. There are different reasons that people cancel and flexibility is important for that. I’ve had my Dungeons and Dragons game shift by a week multiple times, and that is fine. We know the schedule, every other Thursday, and try and make that work, but adjust when need be.

Now, there are more valid reasons for being flexible sometimes. If someone keeps on missing because they just don’t feel like it that day and that causes you to cancel, that isn’t being flexible. That’s them not being interested and they can be dropped from the group. Likely, campaign games weren’t for them. But lie things, working overtime, a kid who is under the weather, car troubles, those sorts of things need to allow flexibility.

Know Your Campaign Players

Finally, know who your campaign players are. I talked about before how I have one person I game with regularly not with campaign games. He’s played them with me before, but doesn’t always love a long campaign. He dropped out of Dungeons and Dragons recently because it’s too long for his focus and style, which is fair. Dungeons and Dragons is a massive commitment. I’d play a shorter campaign board game with him, and have with Sword & Sorcery, but I know he isn’t my big campaign game player.

On the flip side, I’ve played Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon and Gloomhaven with the same two people. And that’s taken us years to get through, I think coming up in February will be four years of us playing games. Gloomhaven took up most of that time, but Tainted Grail will as we wait for Frosthaven. I know I can campaign game with them.

I also had a group I played Pandemic Legacy games with, but I don’t think I’d campaign game with them anymore. They were always hard to pin down in terms of scheduling. And lately, they’ve been even harder. One of them was part of the Charterstone group and even with just one, they were still hard to nail down for that. So I moved away from playing campaign games with them. Knowing who will be consistent enough is important.

Are They Worth the Effort?

Clearly for me they are worth the effort. Campaign games give great experiences at the gaming table. They are completely different than playing a one off game because the story emerges around you most of the time. There are twists and turns that simple cannot exist in a regular game.

That isn’t to dismiss other games. Normal single session games still give very good and I still play them a lot. There is just something about a campaign game and a shared experience that is different. This can be a legacy style campaign game or just a campaign game, either are very good. And you get to know that feel of the group you are playing with. You know all your styles and really develop how you play a campaign game.

Have you gotten through a campaign game or are they on your radar? Have you found a good group to play with?

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My Experience

Now, I’ll start off by saying, I am not the only person I know who owns board games that I play with. I have friends who own other games and different games. I don’t try and repeat games that they have too often. Though there are some, Root for example, that I want my own copy of but I do own a lot of the games that we play.

For me, I don’t consider this to be a bad thing. If “Friend X” owns a game and I want to play it but they aren’t around to play it, or I want to introduce it to a different group, I can’t if they own it. Now this isn’t a problem too often, but something like Mysterium which I think would be great around Halloween and I wouldn’t have minded playing last game night, I couldn’t because I don’t own it. I’d be introducing it to a new group but I couldn’t because I don’t own it.

I also don’t mind because I have the space to store the games. Granted, that space is filling up a fair amount, but there is still space for some more and I rotate games in and out because, that makes sense. If I were a collector, I’d have to reconsider what I was doing, but I’m a gamer first and a collector second when it comes to board games.

The Disadvantages

This isn’t to say that being the main game buyer doesn’t have some disadvantages, it does. Mainly the space and money involved. Like I said, I rotate games out of my collection, this generally lets me buy new games. And that’s a lot of fun to be adding new games into my collection, but I also make the decisions, generally, on what leaves.

When I look at a game in my collection, I ask myself, will I play it, but more so, will I pull it off of the shelf to play. There are some games that I look at and I know I won’t. Will I pick to play Splendor, the answer is no. But as the owner of that game and the owner of games for my group do I need to keep it around? That one stays around because my wife likes it, otherwise I’d have gotten rid of it.

But what if it’s someone who I only game with sometimes. If it is their favorite game am I going to keep it in my collection for the two times a year that I might play with them and that they’d request that I take it off the shelf? It is using up real estate in my collection. Often one thing that I do is if I am going to get rid of a game that someone else might like, I’ll offer to sell it to them, give them first crack at it. Yes, it means they need to bring it, but it means I have more funds and space to get more games.

It also means that you’re lugging more games around. If you’re the only one with a big collection in your group, you need to bring a variety of games to the game nigh, or host. And if you don’t have a specific theme or focus for what game you want to play, you can lug around a whole lot of games that you don’t end up playing. That sounds like not that big a deal, but if you don’t know what big game you might play, it is a lot.

The Advantages

You always have the game to play whenever you want is the biggest one. You don’t need to ask someone to bring something, you already have it. Now, that means that people ask you to bring things, but I don’t consider that a disadvantage, in fact it can help you know what games are likely to get played so you don’t need to bring as many.

I also like it because it means that I always have games to introduce people to. Now, I might have my go to games that I use, but I don’t always have to use the same ones. If a person likes a certain theme, I can pick out that theme to play with them. I have the variety of games always at hand for whenever I want to play.

And really for me the sharing the hobby part is the biggest thing. If I have a game for most any and every occasion, it means that the hobby can continue to grow. It means that I’ll have new people to play games with. That means that the other more complex games or different games that I want to play will get played more often. This is really the case with campaign games as well. If I have a campaign and I can get new people into gaming, I have more people to play those games with. And if I don’t have the games I can’t do that.

How To Balance Board Game Buying

One issue is that people can expect you to have everything. Or they will want you to keep that one game that they like or get more like it. Obviously that’s not really feasible, so how do you keep from just having stacks of games around that people might want to play?

The first big thing is to rotate your collection. Now, maybe you are a collector and you just want to keep stuff. I don’t think that everyone needs to be a collector though. I have around 300 board games. Do I need to add another 300, it doesn’t make sense. If I have 600 board games I won’t play all of them. In fact in my challenge this year, I’ve played around 70, so that’s not that huge a percentage.

I could have 600 games but I’d still probably only play 70-100 of them a year, that means, assuming no overlap it’s going to be 6 years to get through all of them. That’s unreasonably long. I most likely won’t be playing only unique games. Most likely I’ll be playing the same 70 to 100 games most years.

Next, ask for help in buying games. When Frosthaven came to Kickstarter, I knew it was a campaign game that I wanted to play. I also had a specific group I played Gloomhaven with. Those people will be who I play Frosthaven with as well. So I asked them to chip in a little money. When I got Charterstone to play with a group, we decided to split the cost. The same thing happened with Risk: Legacy.

For getting something like the newest version of Ticket to Ride, I wouldn’t ask. But a campaign game, and extended shared experience with a specific group, ask. People might say no, and then you have to decide if it’s worth it. Or they might say yes and gladly help.

Are you the game owner/buyer in your group? Is there someone in your group who is?

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The Game

So last week we talked about legacy games and I want to talk about the twist in this legacy game. So spoilers ahead if you are just reading and not watching the video.

Aeon’s End Legacy bills itself as a 7 chapter legacy game. I think it could go up to 10 games maybe 12 if you lost and replayed as many times as you could. So how does it feel to have an 8th chapter as a surprise in there. Jamey Stegmaier, when he was playing it didn’t like that twist. And he talked about what a legacy game should be. I don’t agree with everything he said and Charterstone, to me, was a weak legacy game. But I can see his argument about the surprise chapter.

For me, it doesn’t matter that there is an 8th chapter to play through, because I am playing it solo. But if you have a group that is going to change. Maybe someone can’t play the next time you would, maybe someone is moving, maybe there is a new game everyone was excited to get to the table. As a solo player, it just means that I have another week of streaming for a game that I’m enjoying. And Jamey’s issue wasn’t that the game wasn’t fun, it was that it was a surprise extra game you needed to play for the full story.

So, should a legacy game have a big twist? That’s a question for another time.

The Beer

So again, I am going with the very crushable tart ale, Key Lime Supreme from Surly Brewing Company. Sometimes you just want a beer that is easy to drink. The Supreme line from Surly are all very easy drinking beers. And while they might not be the most complex beers that is fine. It is better to crush something like them versus a lager or a pilsner which are generally considered pretty easy drinking. This just offers more in the way of flavor that I really appreciate.

Upcoming Streams

Monday, August 30th at 8:30 PM Central – Top 10 Games That I’m Probably Wrong About But I Still Love
A follow up to this past Monday’s list of games that I don’t like but you very well might like. You can find that whole list here.

Wednesday, September 1st at 8:00 PM Central – Aeon’s End Legacy Chapter 8
We’ll see if I can wrap up this final chapter in a single go or not.

If you want to know when I go live, you can checkout Malts and Meeples YouTube page, click the subscribe and notification button and you’ll know when new live streams are coming up.

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What’s A Legacy Game?

A Legacy game is a non-replayable campaign game. Basically you are possibly unlocking rules, changing the state of the game board, character boards, or components of the game as you play through a series of games. The experience of the game is mainly going to be contained in those plays of the game. Some are not playable after the fact and some are playable. And a lot of them have you destroy game components.

So, for some examples, Pandemic Legacy unlocks new rules as you play through up to 24 games, once you are done, there are no rules to continue playing because it wouldn’t be easy to play base Pandemic on that board. Charterstone on the other hand you can play after the fact. As you unlock rules, you end up with a game that is customized on the board but that you can play again. Gloomhaven is not really a legacy game because while you put stickers on the board, the game is completely resettable with minimal effort or you can easily ignore what is on the board.

What Do I Look For In A Legacy Game?

1. Good Mechanics
2. Evolving Mechanics
3. Story
4. Unlocking New Content/Story
5. Unlocking or changing state mid game session
6. Unique Characters

Good Mechanics

This basically means that I want a fun game. If the game doesn’t work, isn’t balanced or isn’t fun, I don’t want play it. While I pay attention whenever anyone puts the word Legacy on a board game, I still want it to be a good game. This will obviously differ for people depending on taste, I might not like a euro legacy game as well, for example, but you might be. So good overall game play that is fun.

Evolving Mechanics

I also want the game play to change over time. If I start with the game and nothing changes except adding a few stickers to the board, I’d be less interested in it. As much as I want story in a game, for a legacy game, how I play needs to change as well. This can be different objectives, but I like it when they add in rules.

Story

So, I just mentioned story, I want an interesting story in the game. Both Pandemic Legacy and Aeon’s End Legacy might not have a ton of story to read, but you get it from the game and from the cards in the legacy deck. But the story also needs to make sense. For Seafall the story is too scattered and in Chartertone, it is less story more just random text with tiny choices on them. So give me a story that makes sense, and just enough to keep things moving.

Unlocking New Content/Story

Obviously, I want to unlock new things as well. I like it when I can unlock new pieces for the game. Pandemic Legacy has some great moments across all the games where it just says, here is something new. Aeon’s End Legacy gives you story and moments where things change, you open up something new and there are different cardboard tiles that you use. But also just additional story, stopping and reading a card, or discarding a card you won’t read are a lot of fun.

Unlocking Or Changing Mid Game Session

I also really like when that story happens during the game. This isn’t something that I need, but something I prefer. I like when I stop and open a box or read some story cards during the middle of the game. There is just something exciting knowing you unlock something new. The idea that when you start a session the story might be different or how you play might be different by the time you end.

Unique Characters

Finally, I like feeling as if I am unique in a game. This is generally true, but I think it helps out a lot with legacy games. It is one spot where you can add in stickers, powers, give new or more options and you feel like you are different. I generally want this in a game though. If I am playing a character, give me something unique to do. And I appreciate it when I can become more unique as I go.

Are All Criteria Equally as Important?

No, I don’t know that all of them are. For me the story, the game play being fun, and the progression of the mechanics are what is most important to me. I think the unique character gives it a cooler factor to what is going on. Also, stopping mid game to unlock something is really cool as well. But I don’t think that is a requirement for a good legacy game. Aeon’s End Legacy is a good legacy game but doesn’t unlock anything during the middle of a game.

Let’s Do An Example

We’re actually flipping the script from sometimes, and I’m going to go with Seafall, a legacy game that I thought was okay at best and sometimes just bad. Let’s see what that one got wrong from my list, or got right.

Good Mechanics

To start off, we are going to go with a negative here. The base mechanics of the game are fine. They are fairly luck dependent on rolling dice, and really too much so. The level of mitigation just wasn’t there. So things that took a while to work towards could just be destroyed really quickly. And other things, that you developed throughout the game could just be there for points and you’d never use their ability.

Evolving Mechanics

Now, they did add mechanics throughout the game. But I’m not sure that the ones they added in were that great. The base mechanics of the game stayed the same. So as the board became bigger and you pushed out further in your exploration, everything just took longer. So while we got new advisors, new decks of cards to use, and new islands to go to with new symbols and spots on them, they didn’t evolve in an interesting way.

Story

This is also a negative. The story was supposed to be an interesting pirate story. And I think that it could have been. However, the story was all over the place. You would explore a location and get random story. It was only the few times when you opened up something big that you’d get a big chunk of new story.

Unlocking New Story/Mechanics

That actually brings me to the next one here, how it unlocked. We got a major piece of story and then got the hints of that major piece of story after the fact. Because you could pick the passage for the type of spot you explored, story was not really in order. And because of that, unlocking story was weird. It was also weird how you could unlock three things in one game and then nothing for the next five. There was no progression between games really.

Unlocking or Changing Mid Game Session

This it got right, actually. You unlocked a lot of big stuff during the game. In fact, sometimes you could unlock a lot of it, which made already long games go even that much longer. That wouldn’t have been that big a deal, if the game had been very interesting. But you had a chance to progress story and find out cool things as you played.

Unique Characters

Finally, I think they did a solid job with this. Everyone started out with their own ability. You got to keep an advisor as well. But unlike something like Aeon’s End Legacy or even Pandemic Legacy, you never really built it that much further. It was basically how you built out your ships, which could have been interesting, but it wasn’t. I wanted to upgrade my town as well, not by just giving me an extra point, but letting me keep a building. Make the buildings harder to get but when you get them, you get to keep them.

Seafall almost was a great game. There were just too many things that got in the way of it. And it was also a game that said it was for a lot of players and honestly, might have been best at two or three. Though, you’d get through the story way slower. I think there is a good game potentially hidden in there, but it needed more focus overall.

Will This Work For You?

I think, like the campaign one, that this actually works pretty well. Keep in mind that all parts aren’t made equally. If the game is good and engaging then it’s more interesting and I’m willing to put up with less in other areas. But generally, I want to feel a consistent sense of progression throughout the game.

What is your favorite legacy game? Or do you not play legacy games?

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