Solotober 2021 - week #2

Yes, I'm still playing a different solo game every day for Solotober 2021. It's just been hard to find the time to report. So without further ado, here's week 2.

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October 11: Gate

Gate will go to our news writer Zerbique, after he's moved at the end of the year. I love the illustrations, but gameplay does not expand much upon the similar Wipers Salient that I prefer to play. I mainly played this to get a good look at the cards again. And nothing's changed - once it's gone I won't miss it.

October 12: Under Falling Skies

I really liked the Print and Play version, and I must say the retail one looks great and adds a lot of variety. Once you've reached the highest difficulty level of a city it's not much fun anymore, as you really need to be lucky with your dice rolls then. But right up until then it's a very nice dice allocation game.

October 13: Pandemic: Hot Zone - Europe [SHELF OF SHAME]

Ooh. Ehm. 😬

So, I enjoyed Pandemic: Hot Zone - North America (at the highest difficulty level). And this map is Europe. And it adds mutations, which is not only eerily timed, but also something I enjoy in for example Pandemic: The Cure - Experimental Meds. And there are nice new roles, that I recognise from other Pandemic boxes. All great in theory.

But I did not enjoy my play. There was not much excitement. Perhaps that's because I used the official solo variant. I'll try the game again as a coop, so with two or three characters that each have their own hand of cards.

October 14: Herbaceous

As I was packing for a vacation, I did not have much time to play. Herbaceaous to the rescue. You can always play that one. I scored 58 points, and was given the title "True Green Thumb Harvester". My real-life plants don't agree, but hey, escapism for the win.

October 15: Marvel Champions

I started my vacation playing two packs that had just arrived: War Machine vs The Hood. I had a good time. I love this game, and I haven't scratched the surface (I have hardly started deck construction). A lot of creativity went into the Hero Packs they're all thematic and play differently. Normally I don't care too much for the villains (I can easily play the same enemy 100 times), but this one has a nice twist with all the included encounter sets. This year Marvel Champions entered my Top-5 of solo games.

I forgot to take a picture while playing. This is what the packs looked like at home.

October 16: Astroforce

Another favourite of mine (not Top-5, but probably Top-10 this year) is Astroforce. It's a retheme of Star Trek: The Dice Game, and I've grown fond of the silly crew and situations that can be found in this version. The game started out as an extended version of Deep Space D-6, and for me this is the better board game. You set out on a journey of five missions, which improves immersion, there are more creative ways to use your dice, and it takes around an hour (instead of 15 minutes). Also, I've switched to the digital implementation of DSD6 for times I want a quick fix.

I tried a new ship, science vessel ASV Marie Curie, and boy did that one suck at combat. I lost my first session, immediately set up again. Lost again, tried again. Lost my third session. Ah, one more time. Etc. I played eight times. Lost eight times. Still fun.

October 17: Hallertau

Still in the vacation mood, I took another 2021 favourite off the shelf. Hallertau was very hard this time. I lost twice in a row. Turned out I was playing with the "Expert Deck", and well, I am no expert yet. It is a game that makes me happy, in an unexplainable way. As everything should be boring. Well, not completely unexplainable. The card play is great. You can work towards some very fun combos.

Hm. A picture of the end state of the game does not convey any joy. Everything emptied to scrape together some last victory points. 🙂

Until next time!

#Gate #UnderFallingSkies #Pandemic #HotZone #Herbaceous #MarvelChampions #Astroforce #Hallertau