Best Solitaire Games

Grimnirsson · July 02, 2014, 01:49:31 PM

QuoteBut HH pretty much bombed (largely thanks to a needlessly over the top production in a pointless coffin box),

I suppose it pretty much bombed for the horridly done figures...and the fact that the large board had these far too small 3D terrain parts where the figures didn't fit. The game itself is great.

Nefaro · July 02, 2014, 05:36:27 PM

Quote from: Grimnirsson on July 02, 2014, 01:49:31 PM
QuoteBut HH pretty much bombed (largely thanks to a needlessly over the top production in a pointless coffin box),

I suppose it pretty much bombed for the horridly done figures...and the fact that the large board had these far too small 3D terrain parts where the figures didn't fit. The game itself is great.

Yup.

The look of the components turned me away when I saw them. It looked like a bit of a mess, despite FF's usual high quality.

Grimnirsson · July 03, 2014, 02:37:48 AM

The miniatures are definitely not of high quality...and from what I heard that was part of the deal with GW...'you get the license but don't make the miniatures too pretty...you know we make a living from selling these little pricey dudes...'

BanzaiCat · July 03, 2014, 07:36:52 AM

That was probably the point, wasn't it? To create crappy minis so you go out and buy minis and buy paint from the same company and build your own figures?

Of course, I've not known many companies to be that blatant about it.

Also I'd never heard of the HH boardgame, so I checked it out on BGG...it has over 7 stars in rating, which indicates a decent game. But the overwhelming opinion here is that it sucks. Very interesting. I would listen to the few opinions here and abide by them before I'd listen to the Internet, though, so at least I have that going for me.

Grimnirsson · July 03, 2014, 09:24:47 AM

No it does definitely not suck, we gave it an 8 out of 10 in our review:
http://wargamecenter.wordpress.com/2012/07/09/review-horus-heresy-ffg/
It's just fiddly with the crowded 3D terrain and breaks the immersion a bit if you are constantly annoyed by the ugly miniatures. But overall the game is really cool, you can trust the internet this time ;)

Nefaro · July 03, 2014, 12:36:34 PM

Horus Heresy was in the Fantasy Flight Xmas sale. I teetered on the fence regarding picking it up at the time, and almost fell off, but there was so much other stuff on sale that I also wanted (and didn't look so odd).

Arctic Blast · July 03, 2014, 01:06:44 PM

The problems with HH are 100% with the physical components...the game is actually solid. The minis are awful. The blow molded fortresses not only feel flimsy, they're actually a detriment to play. You cannot fit the numbers of units into them that you need to without bizarre piles of units or dudes cascading out over the walls. But the biggest problem with the game physically is the publishing of it as a coffin box. All they needed to do was make the board a 6 panel design (would have worked out the same as the Arkham Horror board, for comparison) and the entire game EASILY could have fit into a standard box. Instead, it's a coffin box that's 80% full of air. And because it's a coffin box, it released with a $75 online price point. Stupid, stupid, stupid decision. Not only did it bomb, it also helped destroy the entire idea of massive box games (for good and for bad).

The upside is that you can find cheap copies out there pretty much anywhere, and it is a good game (though the rulebook makes everything seem 1000 times more complex than it actually is). The downside is that even after buying a cheap copy, you're stuck storing that monstrosity.

BanzaiCat · July 03, 2014, 02:36:10 PM

It looks interesting, but if it's got issues components-wise, I'm out. I've still got a copy of World of Warcraft: The Boardgame, in the famous coffin box, that I got for free at Origins or GenCon eight or so years ago...and I've yet to play the bloody thing. (I think I posted something here many months ago stating how stupid I felt because I found the damn thing sitting on top of my hutch, after years of wondering where the hell it went). I still haven't broken it out to play it yet.

Gears of War does look interesting. I have a b-day coming up next month...maybe. I find that all my purchases, as few as they are nowadays, are of solitaire games exclusively.

Arctic Blast · July 04, 2014, 08:37:19 PM

Quote from: Banzai_Cat on July 03, 2014, 02:36:10 PM
It looks interesting, but if it's got issues components-wise, I'm out. I've still got a copy of World of Warcraft: The Boardgame, in the famous coffin box, that I got for free at Origins or GenCon eight or so years ago...and I've yet to play the bloody thing. (I think I posted something here many months ago stating how stupid I felt because I found the damn thing sitting on top of my hutch, after years of wondering where the hell it went). I still haven't broken it out to play it yet.

Gears of War does look interesting. I have a b-day coming up next month...maybe. I find that all my purchases, as few as they are nowadays, are of solitaire games exclusively.

Now, WoW the Boardgame is an example of a coffin box game that really did not that massive container. Big board, tons of plastic, tons of cards, player boards, and so on. There is no way that would ever have fit into a standard game box. And the coffin boxes in general were loaded with contents...until HH and the original edition of Runewars.

GoW is really good. Get it. :)

Ubercat · July 04, 2014, 10:04:09 PM

You don't think that Runewars warranted a coffin box? I don't know how I'd manage if I was stuck with the 2nd edition smaller box. The big one is actually perfectly sized for me. I have a Plano box inside the box that holds all the little cardboard bits.

Since I'm painting the minis, I don't even keep the painted ones in the box any more. With paint on them I can't just throw them in bags so I bought a separate army case from GW (the double sized one that runs about $100), which will be about perfectly sized when all the minis are painted. Right now they're half done and the GW case is about half full.

Even with half the minis not in the box, it's still pretty full.

Nefaro · July 05, 2014, 11:52:22 AM

Quote from: Ubercat on July 04, 2014, 10:04:09 PM
You don't think that Runewars warranted a coffin box? I don't know how I'd manage if I was stuck with the 2nd edition smaller box. The big one is actually perfectly sized for me. I have a Plano box inside the box that holds all the little cardboard bits.

Since I'm painting the minis, I don't even keep the painted ones in the box any more. With paint on them I can't just throw them in bags so I bought a separate army case from GW (the double sized one that runs about $100), which will be about perfectly sized when all the minis are painted. Right now they're half done and the GW case is about half full.

Even with half the minis not in the box, it's still pretty full.

I have the 2nd Edition. It's a tight fit but all is fine.

Then again, I haven't felt the need to squeeze a tacklebox inside of it. ;D

Arctic Blast · July 05, 2014, 06:02:38 PM

Quote from: Ubercat on July 04, 2014, 10:04:09 PM
You don't think that Runewars warranted a coffin box? I don't know how I'd manage if I was stuck with the 2nd edition smaller box. The big one is actually perfectly sized for me. I have a Plano box inside the box that holds all the little cardboard bits.

Since I'm painting the minis, I don't even keep the painted ones in the box any more. With paint on them I can't just throw them in bags so I bought a separate army case from GW (the double sized one that runs about $100), which will be about perfectly sized when all the minis are painted. Right now they're half done and the GW case is about half full.

Even with half the minis not in the box, it's still pretty full.

I'd say that the Revised Edition coming out in a smaller box pretty much proves that it was an unnecessary format for that game. Aside for that one board tile (which was simply split in two in the reprint), nothing in there needed the coffin box.

Nefaro · July 05, 2014, 09:12:57 PM

Hell, the reprint even has one of those typical Fantasy Flight cardboard inserts that takes up some of the box space for little gain.

If I were smart, I'd stock up on some more of those inexpensive plastic hobby "bead boxes" that can fit into them, for holding components. I took the inserts out of Mage Knight, Arkham- and Eldritch Horror and put the pieces into them. Makes it a cinch to just pull it out, open that up, and grab the tokens & such straight from the box while playing. Even fits into the smaller FF boxes with some room left for cards & the rest. I think there are around 19 spaces in each one and I cut up and put in some foam to hold the Mage Knight monster tokens in a tight stack, since they get shuffled and pulled from.

Was around 2 bucks apiece at Hobby Lobby IIRC.

Arctic Blast · July 06, 2014, 09:32:19 PM

Quote from: Nefaro on July 05, 2014, 09:12:57 PM
Hell, the reprint even has one of those typical Fantasy Flight cardboard inserts that takes up some of the box space for little gain.

The only reason for those to exist is to hold contents in place during shipping. That's it. Personally, I ditch 95% of box inserts anyway. Even supposedly useful ones often end up being so fiddly that they aren't worth keeping.

I have put so many game components into Plano boxes that people must think I'm the most prolific fisherman of all time. ;D

Nefaro · July 07, 2014, 07:09:21 PM

I ordered the Eldritch Horror: Forsaken Lore expansion.

http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgameexpansion/154842/eldritch-horror-forsaken-lore

It looks to address my complaint with Eldritch Horror - needing more cards all-around. The original was a bit thin on that content, and this expansion adds another ~75%. O0

I've debated picking up some Arkham Horror expansions in the past, but put it off while waiting to see if Eldritch Horror had been streamlined better. It certainly was. Takes up less space, less "fidgety" stuff like the stat sliders that was just an annoyance. I was happy with Eldritch but the card variety wasn't as good as even the base Arkham set. Hopefully this fills it out, as it should've been.