Obligatory, narcissistic comments on the game

By Lilikin, in Runebound

So my thoughts on the game, let me first give you on what experience I am writing it from:

I am a big board/war gamer, played FFGs LCGs, some magic years ago and my favourite games are probably AH (partly due to Julia's assistance when she saved me from selling it), TI3, MK and probably right now Mice and Mystics with my daughter.

I own all the other Runeboard games apart from Runeage and love them all including the background and my only real regret is not being able to find a decent Descent group in my area :( .

I didn't play Runeboard 2.0 as I couldn't get all the add on's and I'm that kind of guy

anyway moaning over (for now)

Basic impressions of the game are positive, the mechanics are fresh (compared to other games in the genre like MK), The dice movement mechanics are great, even the combat mechanics from tokens which I was originally worried about were good.

Now I will make a quick confession, I only played it once and here is why:

When I first saw the game announced I was very excited, basically I had tried the Lotr LCG and loved the idea of it but felt that it was a little shallow, I have kept coming back to it but it just ends up in the same place every time. I was hoping that RB3.0 would be the answer to that, seasons of cards with different cards to change the experience over the season and a deluxe expansion as a bookend to the season with new Heroes, Boards, etc. They didn't need to be as quick to release like an LCG but a pack like the MoM adventure expansion's would have been awesome every couple of months would have been awesome.

I also understand that this was unlikely

Now I understand that this is simply an issue of expectation's and the bottom line is I am sure FFG have some supply issues with big lines like X Wing so me expecting massive support for what looks like a less popular game is maybe where the issue is.

However if you compare this to Descent, I got descent and I played it once with a mate then put it on the shelf for 18 months until there were some expansion packs out (It really felt like it needed it). The reason was it felt a little clinical and was obviously going to be expanded to hell and back, and that was fine I waited and it was awesome. With Descent however there was some big differences. Firstly ther first expansion was announced well before the actual game came out, I know there was a lot of moaning about Descent and the schedule but the box which was FULL of components and was a good price for the content but NEEDED more to make it really tick in my book. It feels like the have followed the same path with RB3.0, the price of what is in the box wasn't quite the same value for money as D2e but still feels like a quality purchase and more importantly it felt like all the original component's were going to last for the years of expansions to follow.

The place where RB3.0 diverges from Descent is in two primary areas and this is my worry to be frank

1) RB3.0 component's in two areas don't feel like they are going to last a) the dice are a good mechanic but are very silly to put together and really don't feel like they will be doing the sorts of games I was hoping to get out of them (QWorkshop order here we come(if they sort the other stuff out)). b) the Combat flipper things are curious, they already said they will be selling a supplement set of flippers, now I was under the impression that every flipper was unique so it's not like dice where someone across the table might want their own set, so why would you sell identical flipper unless they expect them to be damaged? Please tell me below if I am being dumb. Now if they are selling them for the damage potential then they will need to do the same surely for every flipper on the expansion. Now I know there was a green dice debacle in D2e where the add on dice didn't have a green dice in but surely if in a future expansion there is a new cool character with a cool ability or whatever then that flipper could be used a hell of a lot. Also surely there will be more generic flippers like the baddie ones we are already using. This doesn't make sense, FFG aren't stupid.

2) Obviously the game has been released for two months and not even a word on an expansion, some might call me greedy/whatever, but I feel while the contents of the box is worth the money in order for me to actually get around to playing it I will wait an expansion or two when the stuff starts fleshing the game out.

My overall conclusion on both of these issues that:

1) It has sold really badly so they are going MoM on the expansions (anyone know anything about this?)

2) There is a fundamental mechanics/manufacturing change to those two mechanics that was only picked up sometime after it was to late to stop the release but before they announced expansion 1 and they are looking at it

3) FFG only love Star Wars games...........

I know this sounds very negative and maybe the truth is RB3.0 just isn't for me but I just feel it really has potential in so many areas to be a good adventure story game but like D2e it hasn't quite got enough in the box to get me back again and again.

edit: Also would love some Descent tie in's for people that have spent the money on that (I know unlikely but would have been nice)

Lilikin

Edited by Lilikin

It's been christmas. News on everything is slow. I won't start worrying about a lack of expansions for this for at least a few more months yet. The game has expansion potential in almost every direction.

Also waiting for news on expansions for Forbidden Stars, Star Wars Armada, Merchant of Venus (unlikely?), Imperial Assault, and probably a few more I can't recall right now. I haven't had a chance to play my new Eldritch Horror expansion yet, so asking for news of the next one seems churlish. :)

FFG likes our money, and they like good games. Patience we must have.

(Goes back to stalking the front page.)

I wouldn't say I'm quite as down on the game as the OP, but I am getting the same vibe from Runebound.

I'm already finding it starting to go a little stale and in need of expansion...

Don't get me wrong, I love the mechanics, the pieces, the board and the whole scenario concept. It just needs... more?

Scenarios I feel were the biggest letdown. They were great the first few times I played but they lack the depth and intricacies that could have been there.

The adventure decks for example. Seeing the same creatures over and over really does take away from it. I know that additional cards are added based on the scenario, but I think having a smaller default pool of adventure cards, and more scenario specific ones would have given it that bit more immersion. More story, more impactful events, more interesting exploration rewards.

Same goes for the story cards. Perfect example is the undead scenario. They essentially go like this. Zombies appear here, zombies appear here, zombies are in a city this time, zombies appear in this other place. It samey and uninteresting. The Margath ones are better I think, with the fallen hero where you get another character's token etc. These are unique and interesting. That said, it did still have its "place a lore here, spend an action to take a lore" majority.

I'm on the same boat though, I do enjoy the game but I'll be waiting for the next expansion before I jump back into RB 3.0.
The mechanics are all sound, it just lacks the depth and content, but I do think a well designed expansion can fix all of the above!

Edited by mitchjmiller

The core set is just the skeleton for the real RB experience, I'm pretty sure of that. There are too many hints here and there in the rules giving the idea of new maps coming, and new items and encounters and scenarios and all the rest. So, we know for sure something's coming, it's just a matter of time.

Games require time to develop. A lot of time, more time than many of you could think / imagine, especially if you want the final product to be solid. From the day an alpha test begins to the day of the gamma version of the product is made available, sometimes 12 months could pass. Some other times 18. Some other times even more time. You have to consider you usually work X months on alpha stage, then it's one or two months hiatus to prepare for the beta, then it's another month for the beta test to be run, or more if there are problems, then everything's sent to the printer, the game is announced and it's 4 to 6 months more before it's made available. So, it's a long process (and there's no secret on that, it's enough that you check some designer's diary over bgg or check the production times for any KS project to see how my rough estimate could be veridic). The fact that a specific game has no news for upcoming products doesn't mean, honestly, much. Some companies announce games eons before the release (GMT for instance, with the P500 policy); some other companies announce games when they are close to the release. FFG belongs to the latter category: PoD products are announced on the day they are made available, other games are announced 4 to 6 months before hitting the mass market.

I don't know anything of the future of RuneBound, but we all know the game was a most wanted for a long time; Chris Peterson said "let's bring RuneBound back" during his InFlight report in 2015 and it had an impact, and I'm sure they are aware that there's a host of fans ready to get RB-related products as soon as they are on the market, so, I'd be surprised if they let the line die or receive no love for much time. Clearly, I'm not expecting anything as big as IA or Descent or X-Wing (these games move a lot more money, and all the rest), but things will come. It's just a matter of being patient.

Just my two cents on the matter, nothing more

I wouldn't say I'm quite as down on the game as the OP, but I am getting the same vibe from Runebound.

!

Edited by Lilikin

Eldritch Horror was begging for an expansion at launch too and it took about 5 months before Forsaken Lore hit shelves. FFG has a lot on their plate right now, I wouldn't worry too much about it yet.

This game really needs expansions. I keep wanting to play it, but then realize I only have to scenarios to choose from, and so I don't play it. In fact, if they don't release expansions, I feel like it would have been better not to have scenarios after all, and just have a generic, but variable way to play it.