LotR 83 - The Seventh Level (1)

Mar 3 2018

Round 1

Resource: 3, draw Zigil Miner.
Planning: none.
Quest: Thalin, Dain, draw Undisturbed Bones, no effect. Net +2 Progress.
Travel: none.
Encounter: none.
Combat: none.
Refresh: Threat 30.

Round 2

Resource: 6, draw Khazad! Khazad!
Planning: Narvi’s Belt on Dain.
Quest: Dain, Thalin draw Cave Troll, Threat 32. One damage on Dwalin from Goblin Archer.
Travel: none.
Encounter: Choose Cave Troll.
Combat: Dain defends, draw shadow Goblin Archer for no effect, Dain takes 3 damage. Dwalin swings for 6, 2 more damage on Cave Troll.
Refresh: Threat 33.

I don’t think I can win this one, the Cave Troll is too powerful for what I have on the table.

Round 3

Resource: 7, draw Protector of Lorien.
Planning: Play Protector of Lórien on Dain and Dwarrowdelf Axe on Dwalin.
Quest: Dain and Thalin, draw Goblin Spearman, net 0 progress. Damage to Thalin.
Travel: none.
Encounter: Goblin Spearman.
Combat: Dain defends, discard Longbeard Orc Slayer and Zigil Miner to get +2 defense, draw Goblin Scout for no shadow effect, one more damage on Dain. Dwalin defends, shadow Watchful Eyes for no effect and no damage.
Refresh: Threat 34.

Round 4

Resource: 8, Gandalf.
Planning: Gandalf, 4 hits on Cave Troll.
Quest: Dain, Gandalf and Thalin, draw Under Hall, net +3 Progress on Search for the Chamber.
Travel: Under Hall.
Encounter: none.
Combat: Dain defends, draw Goblin Spearman, put into Staging area. No damage on Dain, Dwalin kills Goblin Spearman for Threat 32.
Refresh: Threat 33.

Round 5

Resource: 6, draw Zigil Miner.
Planning: play Zigil Miner.
Quest: Dain, Thalin draw Plundered Amoury Threat 37.
Travel: none.
Encounter: Goblin Spearman.
Combat: Zigil defends, Goblin Swordsman. Dang. It goes into the staging area. Dain could have handled this one. Dwalin kill for reduction: Threat 35.
Refresh: Threat 36.

Round 6

Resource: 7, draw A Test of Will.
Planning: none.
Quest: Dain, Thalin, draw Hidden Threat, cancel with A Test of Will.
Travel: none.
Encounter: Goblin Swordsman.
Combat: Dwalin defends, draw shadow Goblin Tunnels for +3 Attack which is game over as Dwalin is dead.
Refresh: Threat

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.