Labyrinth: The War on Terror

Started by airboy, June 22, 2020, 03:36:29 PM

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airboy

I'm strongly considering buying Labyrinth: The War on Terror.

Have any of you played it?  If so, what are your thoughts?

Geezer

I bought the base game and the expansion.  Played the base game once solo.  Never opened the expansion.  It was OK but it didn't grab me like I hoped.  I'm at the point where having to thumb through the rules every time I want to do something is just too much work.  YMMV.
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Tripoli

Quote from: airboy on June 22, 2020, 03:36:29 PM
I'm strongly considering buying Labyrinth: The War on Terror.

Have any of you played it?  If so, what are your thoughts?

I've played the board game about 5 times. I also have the computer game, but haven't played it.   It is an excellent game.  It does a good job of simulating the major "muscle movements" of the GWoT.  It would be a good teaching aid for a course on the GWoT, but it is also a good game in its own right. The US and the AQ are closely matched so that it is an entertaining game, but it also is a good jumping off point for a discussions about various aspects of the GWoT.
"Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?" -Abraham Lincoln

Jarhead0331

How is the pc version for solataire play?
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al_infierno

Sorry to add to the followup questions, but how similar is this game to the COIN series?  I absolutely love Fire in the Lake and Cuba Libre, and it looks like I'll feel right at home with this title.  Is that a reasonable thing to assume?
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airboy

I looked at Steam and it is:
1] Early access
2] $12.99
3] Has issues - like all early access games.

I have Twilight Struggle for the PC - unplayed like so many games.

airboy

Quote from: al_infierno on June 22, 2020, 06:05:32 PM
Sorry to add to the followup questions, but how similar is this game to the COIN series?  I absolutely love Fire in the Lake and Cuba Libre, and it looks like I'll feel right at home with this title.  Is that a reasonable thing to assume?

There are a bunch of reviews on boardgamegeek.  There are many comparisons to Twilight Struggle. 

From what I've been able to gather from reading the most favorable BBG reviews, the game is highly asymmetric.  Muslim fanatics have a very hard time establishing terror cells in well run countries, get a freebie in Islamic Rule countries, and have difficulty everywhere else.  US runs into severe long term problems with invasions - but soft power is not the hammer drop that invasions are.

It seemed very interesting to me - which is why I asked for feedback from those who have played the game.

JasonPratt

Labyrinth is definitely NOT MUCH  like the COIN game system. It's a rather more complicated version of the TwiStrug engine.

For the same topic on COIN, you want A Distant Plain.

I own the early access of Lab on PC, and I'm finding it a lot harder to grasp than TwiStrug. Not that I'm complaining, but I look at it and think, man, my limited ergs should be spent toward playing something else.  :buck2:

Note that while TwiStrug on PC (and crossplay on other devices) runs flawlessly, the DLC addition which allows some pre-turns with extra cards to generate alternate setups, arrived broken and has been abandoned. But the main release contains most of the alternate game modes, and they run fine as far as I've ever been able to tell. (Perhaps with newly reforged ties to porting GMT's boardgame stable, Playdek or Asmodee or whoever they are will come back to fix the TwiStrug DLC, or have done so already...?)
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Tripoli

Quote from: JasonPratt on June 23, 2020, 12:21:28 PM
Labyrinth is definitely NOT MUCH  like the COIN game system. It's a rather more complicated version of the TwiStrug engine.

For the same topic on COIN, you want A Distant Plain.

I own the early access of Lab on PC, and I'm finding it a lot harder to grasp than TwiStrug. Not that I'm complaining, but I look at it and think, man, my limited ergs should be spent toward playing something else.  :buck2:

Note that while TwiStrug on PC (and crossplay on other devices) runs flawlessly, the DLC addition which allows some pre-turns with extra cards to generate alternate setups, arrived broken and has been abandoned. But the main release contains most of the alternate game modes, and they run fine as far as I've ever been able to tell. (Perhaps with newly reforged ties to porting GMT's boardgame stable, Playdek or Asmodee or whoever they are will come back to fix the TwiStrug DLC, or have done so already...?)

A Distant Plain is an excellent COIN game.  If anyone wants to give the Labyrinth computer game a go, drop me a PM.  I'm actually curious to see how well it ported over from the boardgame.
"Do I not destroy my enemies when I make them my friends?" -Abraham Lincoln

Yskonyn

Funny this thread was started cause I literally JUST got the complete Laby set.
Played the tutorial and its excellent, but time consuming.

Next up is to take the game to my old man and learn it together. Fun times ahead!
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airboy

I just ordered the latest printing from GMT because it had a mounted map.  I also picked up the old game: Fury in the West.  I'm trying to pick up one other game that is very old and out of print.