LotR 111 - Shadow and Flame (2)

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Taking a second crack at Shadow and Flame with my trusty Deeds of Dwarves deck.

I do not believe it will work any better than the first crack, but if I can get 3 rounds in, that would be very interesting.

Initial hand:

  1. Narvi's Belt
  2. Parting Gifts
  3. Untroubled by Darkness
  4. Durin's Song
  5. Longbeard Map-Maker
  6. Forest Snare

The initial encounter card is only Durin's Bane. I believe I played it wrong the first game, by adding one more encounter to the solo setup. No wonder I only went two rounds that game, and why I think I can get three rounds this game.

Round 1

  1. Resource: 3, draw Untroubled by Darkness.
  2. Planning: none, save everything for now.
  3. Quest: Ori, Thorin and draw Goblin Swordsman. Net +2 Progress.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none
  6. Combat: none
  7. Refresh: Threat 1

Ok, this is a bummer as Durin's Bane triggers on Threat 1 or above. If it was Threat 2 or above, I could conceivably get another round out of it. How can threat be controlled with the current card pool? Need to do a lot of card reading.

Anyway, on to the next round.

Round 2

  1. Resource: 6, draw Narvi's Belt.
  2. Planning: Play Narvi's Belt on Thorin. This is where I need loads of low cost allies to help absorb the upcoming blows from Durin's Bane.
  3. Quest: Thorin, Ori, draw Chance Encounter. Since there are no enemies in the discard pile, Surge for Goblin Swordsman for net +1 Progress.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: Durin's Bane with Thorin defending, shadow Fiery Sword, great to get that out of the Encounter deck so early! Not that it matters, Thorin is killed with 5 hits.
  7. Refresh: Threat 2.

I'm calling this game here and going back to the deckbuilding board.

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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.