LotR 95 - Into the Pit (24)

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More adjustments to dwarf deck, almost half allies now, going to try hard to get the swarm going without regard to anything else. I'm interested to see what happens if I can get the swarm actually played. If so, I may be able to catch up on locations and whatnot.

Initial hand:

  1. Sneak Attack
  2. Fili
  3. Gloin
  4. Erebor Record Keeper
  5. Second Breakfast
  6. Sneak Attack

Initial encounter draw: Many Roads, which is no effect buts swarms for Patrol Leader, which is a bummer.

Round 1

  1. Resource: 3, draw Longbeard Map-maker.
  2. Planning: Play Erebor.
  3. Quest: All, draw Stairs of Nain, net +4 P.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 32.

Round 2

  1. Resource: 5, draw Narvi's Belt.
  2. Planning: play Fili, which is to play Kili as well.
  3. Quest: Thorn and Ori, draw Watchful Eyes which goes on Dain, and that's ok for now. Net 0 on questing.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 33.

Round 3

  1. Resource: 6, draw Erebor Hammersmith and Kili.
  2. Planning: Narvi's Belt on Thorin.
  3. Quest: Thorin, Ori, draw Goblin Swordsman. Net +1 P.
  4. Travel: none
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 34.

Round 4

  1. Resource: 8, draw Erebor Record Keeper and Erebor Hammersmith.
  2. Planning: play Erebor Record Keeper and Gloin.
  3. Quest: Thorin, Ori, Kili and Gloin for 12 Will, draw Crumbling Ruin, exhaust Erebor Record Keeper, draw Narvi's Belt and discard Record Keeper. This clears East-gate and puts 4 on quest card.
  4. Travel: First Hall, Threat 37.
  5. Encounter: Patrol Leader and Goblin Swordsman.
  6. Combat: Fili defends Patrol Leader, shadow Goblin Swordsman which goes to Staging and Fili is dead. Thorin defends Goblin Swordsman, shadow Branching Paths for no effect, Thorin takes 2 hits.
  7. Refresh: Threat 38.

Round 5

  1. Resource: 10, draw Durin's Song and Dori.
  2. Planning: play Dori and Erebor Hammersmith.
  3. Quest: Thorin and Ori for 7 Will, draw Goblin Follower. Dang. Already too many enemies. If I don't get a Gandalf to take one of these out, I'm in trouble. Net +3 to clear First Hall and add 1 to quest.
  4. Travel: Stairs of Nain. Can't risk Bridge of Khazad Dum yet.
  5. Encounter: This is going to suck. I have 4 enemies engaged, and there is nothing I can do other than suck it up and take the damage.
  6. Combat: Dain defends Patrol Leader, shadow Cave In for no effect and one hit on Dain. Kili defends Goblin Follower, shadow Dark and Dreadful, Kili finished. Gloin defends Goblin Swordsman, shadow Branching Paths for no effect, Gloin takes 2 hits. Erebor Hammersmith defends against Goblin Swordsman, shadow Goblin Scout for no effect, Hammersmith takes 2 hits. Pay 1 lore to ready Thorin from exhausting Record Keeper. Play Durin's Song on Thorin to get enough hits to kill Goblin Follower. Draw Dark and Dreadful for Watchful Eyes, this kills so many I'm now under 5 in play again. I think that's the game because I'm too low on resources to get enough into play next turn, and there are too many enemies to deal with. We'll see.
  7. Refresh: Threat 39.

Round 6

  1. Resource: 5, draw Second Breakfast.
  2. Planning: play Erebor Hammersmith.
  3. Quest: none, draw Zigil Mineshafter, play Cave Torch and draw Stairs of Nain, increase threat to clear it, Threat 41, add three more for Threat 44 from Bridge of Khazad Dum.
  4. Travel: none
  5. Encounter: all in staging.
  6. Combat: Erobor defends Goblin Swordsman, shadow Signs of Conflict Threat 46 and 2 hits on Hammersmith. Dori defends Patrol Leader, shadow Lightless Passage for no effect, but Dori takes 3 hits and is dead. Ori defends Goblin Swordsman, shadow Goblin Tunnels for +3 Attack, Ori is dead.
  7. Refresh: Threat 47.

I have no chance so I'm stopping here.

I almost got a swarm going. I think I'm going to do stats on this scenario, count all the cards to get an idea of relative frequency of, for example, enemies. I keep getting wiped off the board. From counting, there are 15 enemies in this deck. The last two games, I think I've drawn a bit more than average.

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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.