LotR 189 - Peril in Pelargir (3)

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My usual LotR opponent came over to continue our play through the Heirs of Numenor deluxe. Peril in Pelargir is a fairly low difficulty quest according the box (5), but it has kicked our ass a couple of times already. We did a bit of deck tuning after the last play, so we're ready to get back on it.

As usual, the first round in this quest is really tense, but we managed to squeak by it cleanly. We then stalled for a while to get to the next quest while building tableaus. It stayed pretty tense all the way along, with me losing Beravor to the assassin in Stage 3. Since she was out of commission with Local Trouble it didn't really matter much to our game.

The finale was absolutely clutch. With 1/15 progress and a 2 Threat enemy in staging, we came up 4 short to end it. But, I had a Late Adventurer in the persona of Erebor Hammersmith…and Protector of Lorien found me the last 3 cards for the win. What a great game this one turned out to be!

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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.