Lord of the Rings LCG 2 & 3

Previous:
Next:
Tags

Knocked out a couple of games of the Passage Through Mirkwood scenario to get the rules and sequence of play installed in my mind. This is not an intrinsically difficult game, but there are some confusing aspects to the rules.

The first game I used the Tactics deck by itself, and got seriously smoked, again. I'm not seeing how this game can be won as the math seemingly goes against making progress, and good cards like Gandalf go right out of play immediately. Will have to dig through the forum notes. The Tactics deck just doesn't seem to be able to progress.

In the second game, I switched to the Leadership deck, and that made a huge difference as so many of the Ally cards can contribute will to the quest. I could tell the difference right away, as Ally cards with will appeared, and I was able to power through the first location and the first quest. Also, the heroes in the Leadrship deck have marginally better will, and that helps.

Now I need to play with the Lore and Spirit decks to see how they work.

Also, for the initial scenario, getting through the first quest is the hard one. The second quest is only 2 progress. In the second game above, I did draw the 0 progress 3rd quest. The other quest is 10 progress, and also require Ungoliant's Spawn out of play. So there are roughly 3 variants to this first scenario.

Previous:
Next:
Tags

What to play next?

Deciding what to play next is always a tough call when faced with a closet full of games, all of which were purchased with intent to play. Here's one I'm dealing with the decision.

  • Something New: this means both something new to me and a game which has been published recently, within the last two or three years.
  • Something Classic: I've acquired a number of games properly considered "classic" which haven't yet been played. The current example would be PanzerGruppe Guderian.
  • Something Again: mastery requires constant practice, which means playing games many, many times to allow nuance to appear.
  • Something Vietnam: as I'm on a Vietnam binge. I don't have all the Vietnam games ever published, but I can say that I have a lot of them, and probably more than most people.
  • Something Obscure: as it's fun to poke around in the dustier corners of game design.
  • Something Different: break away from the same old publishers and try a game from one of the new kids on the block. Or, conversely, dip into legacy with a classic tried and true.
  • Something Light: once in a while it's nice to actually finish a game all the way through in one sitting, in an hour or two.
  • Something Heavy: if possible, it's nice to set up something big and complicated which can be left out for days or weeks or even months, for a leisurely stroll through a very large or long game.

There are surely many more ways to choose, but the above method keeps me busy enough, helps me get both breadth and depth into my play, and provides me with a sense of progress.

The odd man out

When there is an odd man out:

  • Have a solo game ready to play.
  • Keep score or advise on a game in progress.
  • Referee a game in progress.