Random thoughts on Midhalla
Why? No, really, why? What is wrong with me?
So far this year I’ve backed one small game, two small expansions and a deck of cards. Doing real well. And suddenly I spent over €100 on one single game that I should not even like. It has everything that normally falls flat for me – let me count the ways:
Narration
Campaign
Deterministic combat
Tower defense
Useless minis
I also have no interest whatsoever in Vikings.
There are only one or two narrative games I enjoy playing. The more text to read, the grumpier I become. Flavour text suffices. Now Midhalla offers a campaign of 10 sessions. On the one hand I really don't want a campaign game to have many more sessions, on the other hand there's no playing it twice. Or rather, you will know where you “should” explore and the surprises will be gone from the main story.
I watched a full scenario playthrough by Paul Grogan (be warned that it is a real scenario from the game, so it contains spoilers). All 3+ hours of it, so I have not decided to back this game lightly. But I hate Legends of Andor, and am not that fond of Gloomhaven, so I was stumped. What had won me over?
Several things, really. But the most important one: your character levels up during a session. The enemies will come at you in three waves, and every time you survive a wave, you’ll get rewards. One of these rewards is an upgraded ability and it is cool to see your hero get more versatile or stronger and be able to handle the next (more dangerous) wave of enemies. Also, as you will have seen the monsters during the first wave, you’ll be better prepared for them the next two times. So as a player you’re also “leveling up”.
I also like the action activation system in combat. You pick two actions on your turn, for example “move 2” and “deal 1 damage”, but then these specific actions are unavailable on your next turn. It makes planning and timing very important. The characters play differently, and you can switch them out between scenarios to try out other ones. Which means even during one campaign, I’ll be able to experience all the roles.
Next: the enemies are all unique, and are randomly put on the board. This means the combat puzzle will always be different, and it makes up for the diceless fights. While preparing for the fight, you won’t know which enemy will pop up close to you and which in a corner that you can’t defend. So, yes, all the marketing buzz is true, “no luck, just skill”, but only as far as combat itself is concerned. You can still have bad luck or make uninformed decisions right before combat.
Even though the adventurers are represented by minis, all monsters are fortunately standees. I much prefer those, not being a painter. I just wish standees for the heroes were included as well.
And last: the rules don’t seem too hard. I was able to pick them up during the first round of play that I watched. There are quite a few keywords (to give both heroes and monsters varied abilities), but there’s a good player aid included. Also, the campaign works like Pandemic: Legacy in that when you win a scenario, the next one will be a bit harder, but when you lose the next try will be a bit easier. I really like that. It will never feel too punishing.
Oh well, I hadn’t planned on splurging on a crowdfunding game this year, but Midhalla managed to win me over despite all the preconceptions it triggered. And this by a first time indie creator. Well done.
Midhalla is our Solitaire Select for August, you can find the campaign on Kickstarter.
I seriously considered getting a prototype for it.
But 120€ for a worn-out copy with only three scenarios was a huge obstacle. I know we are not content creators and the blog posts I would have made have little reach, but still, I was expecting something less expensive, not the full out-of-the-factory price, while this price has been paid for content creator to expose the game. Content creator got their views for free, Midhalla got the word spread for their fee, so the prototype, at the end of this little exchange, had been already spent and it didn't seem appropriate that it would be valued that much.
Aaaaand cancelled.
That is a very regrettable turn of events. I guess you jinxed it by making it your KS pick of the year.
The usual curse: when my interest starts to grow for a game, the funding level decreases. This campaign is loosing backers with every passing day.
And it will worsen, I'm afraid. Next week, lots of games will launch, including the reprint of The Isofarian Guard. How many backers will drop all they pledged so far to free funds for the big one? That was a tactical mistake from the creators, they should have arranged the campaign to stop this week (it wouldn't have hurt to have a shorter one).
The creator also said in the comments section that even at the current funding level this campaign was a personal financial loss to him, which is always a bit sad.
Apparently the prospect of backing it has slowly rooted in more deeply into my brain. I did watch the Paul Grogan's video (very professional), well, not the whole of it, thirty seconds, thirty seconds there, and it did seem good.
I also watched the preview from Alex from Boardgameco. It's one of the most popular content creator and, weirdly enough, one of my favorites as well. He always include a "What I don't like" and "What others might not like" section in his videos, and I usually only listen to these. The negatives he offered did not bother me much - while I often rule out games because of the negatives he brings up.
I still have some issues with…
Excuse my random tangent: I'm vocal about disliking (or even hating) standees and I despise that we're in "minis or standees" world instead of using something else completely. But it got me thinking lately (I'm a proponent of tokens or custom meeples, cause I'm a weirdo)... I have this hp tracker I use for LotR lcg, cause it's super small and functional and has a big dragon art (not that THAT was the reason to buy it, just final push). It's acrylic dials with neodymium magnet in the centre. It works best from any tracker I've ever had. And I've seen 3d printed dials for Gloomhaven standees. And my idea is... why don't we have a dial with hp tracking…