LotR 87 - Into the Pit (16)

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Using a drastically revamped The Deeds of Dwarves incorporating both Hobbit saga boxes. Pure dwarf progression doesn't seem to have enough quest to get through Into the Pit barring some extremely lucky encounter draws.

Initial hand:

  1. Veteran Axehand
  2. Dwarrowdelf Axe
  3. Goblin-Cleaver
  4. Gloin
  5. Veteran Axehand
  6. Swift Strike

Initial encounter: Goblin Follower.

Round 1

  1. Resource: 3, draw Bofur.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Thalin and Dwalin for 4W, draw Cave In which is surge since there is no progress, Signs of Conflict, Threat 31 surge Crumbling Ruin exhaust Dain discard Durin's Song. Net 3 P on East-Gate.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Goblin Follower.
  6. Combat: Goblin Follower is undefended, draw shadow Patrol Leader, put 3 hits on Dain.
  7. Refresh: Threat 32.

Round 2

  1. Resource: 6, draw A Test of Will.
  2. Planning: play Veteran Axehand to chump Goblin Follower. This is the best of bad moves, there is no really good move for getting out of this situation given the cards I have.
  3. Quest: Thalin, Dwalin for 4W, draw Goblin Scout for net +1 progress on East-Gate. Thalin puts 1 D on Goblin Scout.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Goblin Follower is engaged.
  6. Combat: Veteran Axehand defends, draw shadow Branching Paths for no effect. Dain swings for net 1 Damage on Goblin Follower.
  7. Refresh: Threat 33.

Round 4

  1. Resource: 7, draw Dwarrowdelf Axe.
  2. Planning: play Dwarrowdelf Axe on Dain.
  3. Quest: Thalin for 2W, draw Goblin Swordsman. Threat 35.
  4. Travel: none
  5. Encounter: Goblin Follower engaged, Goblin Swordsman engages.
  6. Combat: Dain defends Goblin Follower, draw shadow Dark and Dreadful deal 1 D to Dain. Exhaust Dwarrowdelf Axe to play Goblin-Cleaver to put +3 D on Goblin Follower for the kill. Dwalin defends Goblin Swordsman, draw shadow Crumbling Ruin for no effect.
  7. Refresh: Threat 36.

Round 5

  1. Resource: 9, draw Durin's Song.
  2. Planning: play Durin's Song on Dwalin, Gloin, Dwarrowdelf Axe on Dwalin.
  3. Quest: Thalin, Gloin for 5W, draw Watchful Eyes place on Dain. Net +2 Progress on East-Gate.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Goblin Swordsman engaged.
  6. Combat: Dwalin defends, draw Cave In for no effect. Durin's Song means no D on Dwalin.
  7. Refresh: Threat 37.

Round 6

  1. Resource: 8, draw Untroubled by Darkness.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Thalin, draw Fouled Well play A Test of Will to cancel When Revealed effect. Threat 41.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: Goblin Scout.
  6. Combat: Dwalin defend Goblin Swordsman, draw shadow Patrol Leader which cancels all damage to this enemy. This will probably cost me the game. 1 D on Dwalin. Goblin Scout defended by Gloin, draw shadow Goblin Tunnels which is a +3 which kills Gloin.
  7. Refresh: Threat 42.

I'm not seeing a win here. For a location-heavy scenario, I seem to be drawing a lot of enemies.

And it just occurred to me I'm playing this one totally wrong, again. Goblin Follower engages immediately, but none of the other enemies

engage until East-Gate is cleared. Calling this one here.

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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.