LotR 123 - We Must Away, Ere Break of Day (2)

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Trying again with A Hobbit Goes Adventuring (v0.5). I did some card swapping to increment the version.

Initial hand:

  • Veteran Axehand
  • Dwalin
  • Dwarrowdelf Axe
  • Song of Travel
  • Unexpected Courage
  • Burglar Baggins

This is an interesting hand.

Encounter: Lots or None At All, Threat 31. Bummer.

Round 1

  1. Resource: 4, draw Stand and Fight.
  2. Planning: Song of Travel on Gimli, then Unexpected Courage on Gimli.
  3. Quest: Thalin and Bilbo, draw Wind Whipped Rain. Well, dang. I feel scooping, this basically put me a turn behind on resources. That really blows. Net +3 on quest.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 32.

I think perhaps I should mulligan for A Test of Will because the Treachery cards in this scenario are brutal.

Round 2

  1. Resource: 7, draw Foe-Hammer.
  2. Planning: play Veteran Axehand. Threat 31.
  3. Quest: Thalin, Bilbo draw Troll Purse. Net +3 Progess. Need to be careful here. Maybe don't quest next time.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 32.

If I could kill one of the trolls this turn, I'd bring it on.

Round 3

  1. Resource: 9, draw Unexpected Courage.
  2. Planning: play Unexpected Courage on Gimli.
  3. Quest: Thalin, draw A Suspicious Crow which is perfect, Thalin eliminates with a damage, there is no threat or progress increase. I just bought a turn back.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 33.

Round 4

  1. Resource: 11, draw Hasty Stroke.
  2. Planning: A need allies.
  3. Quest: none, draw Roast 'Em or Boil 'Em, 1 damage to Veteran Axehand. Threat 34.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 35.

Round 5

  1. Resource: 15, draw Feint. I'll need this one.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: none, draw Lots or None At All, Threat 37.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 38.

I'll have all 3 Trolls at once. This is not good.

Round 6

  1. Resource: 19, draw Quick Strike. Where are the Allies?
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: none, draw A Suspicious Crow, which has an implicit surge effect on When Revealed, which I didn't play last time. Reveal Lots or None At All. Threat 39.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: A Suspicious Crow.
  6. Combat: Gimli defends, shadow Roast 'Em or Boil 'Em, Troll, cancel with Hasty Stroke. Veteran Axehand kills the crow.
  7. Refresh: Threat 40.

I might just threat out.

Round 7

  1. Resource: 22, draw Gondorian Spearman.
  2. Planning: play Gondorian Spearman.
  3. Quest: none, draw Hobbit Lands. Threat 41.
  4. Travel: Hobbit Lands.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 42.

Round 8

  1. Resource: 24, draw Foe-Hammer.
  2. Planning: none, need Allies.
  3. Quest: Thalin, draw Roast 'Em or Boil 'Em. This destroys Veteran Axehand and Gondorian Spearman. Very bad.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 43.

Round 9

  1. Resource: 28, draw Stand and Fight.
  2. Planning: play both Stand and Fights to put Veteran Axehand and Gondorian Spearman back into play.
  3. Quest: Thalin, draw Lone Lands. Threat 45.
  4. Travel: none.
  5. Encounter: none.
  6. Combat: none.
  7. Refresh: Threat 46.

Round 10

  1. Resource: 28, draw Quick Strike.
  2. Planning: none.
  3. Quest: Thalin, Gimli, Nori, draw Wind-Whipped Rain which removes Unexpected Courage from Gimli. Net +2 Progress which clears Hobbit Lands (draw Citadel Plate), and completes stage 1. Calling it 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.