Just had a number of games in quick succession and I got to admit the shiny paint on this game is starting to come off.

1. The dice are already starting to slide from their original spots, really is shabby
2. The combat feels like noughts and crosses (Tic Tac Toe for americans) There is an optimal solution based on the available options (and a random element) and once you find it the combats become stagnant and far too long and a simple dice roll would be better. My opposite number just look at the chits then say yeah 3 points to you 1 to me etc etc
3. The combats take far too long for more than 2 players, I couldn't imagine sitting there for that long if the other two players were fighting (1 as themselves and 1 as the monster obviously)
4. Randomness can pretty much kill you with very little you can do with it. Things like the need to min max to beat a hard scenario (undead dude with only two players swatting zombos) then you draw the sorcerers card where all your attacks are useless and you just about go into headbutt mode to get anywhere.
5. The game I think is stuck between two worlds a lot of the time. Let me give you an example. The game is too long and too short, It's too long as physically it take a few hours for a game even after a few recent games so no need to touch the rulebook and it's still too short in that I don't feel in all that time my character has progressed and with no campaign play this is all the more stark a contrast. I like long games and short games but having a game that's so long feels shabby.
6. I didn't play any of the previous runebounds but let me compare it too two other games
   1. Runewars, it feels like the summer phase with the Heroes turns of that game plus some extra mechanics for combat/shopping etc. But with long boring combats and none of the awesome armies bit.
   2. Mage Knight. This is in reality what it's competing with and frankly it fails against it mainly because where mage knight battles procedure take ages once you get it down its as quick as showing your cards against an already visible enemy and some fights where you just turn over the token being a case of risk management. Runebound has no risk management there is luck which pushing it squarely into the Ameritrash arena, but then the story isn't there for it to thrive there, the best Ameritrash is about mitigating risk and great stories but not here.

All in all it feels like an incomplete experience, my hope is the new big expansion will be the expansion that everyone says you need it to make it a complete experience so I'm not giving up on it yet and there is talk of a new combat system for team play so we will see oh and I hope that I can find some 3rd party dice.

Anyone else have similar issues with the game/think I am talking Gash?

I too shelved runebound, for me it's just a bad game that doesn't even compare favourably to the previous edition.

I do hope the new big expansion may fix things.

well as an opposite view i sold mage knight due to its rule fiddly complexity, some of that game was excellent but i hated trying to calculate all the effects in combat, ice and fire in particular were a maths equation. i prefer runbound 3rd edition as i can go on an adventure, reveal a story (in my head partially) as i go and end up trying to beat the end boss. It is also time limited through the tracker. I agree its a one or two player - but then mage knight never made it to a two player for me due to its length. Also i like a bit of randomness.

we all look for different things from games, i personally wanted something easy to play, soloable, where i could quickly recall the rules after a month or two gap and just get on with an adventure. i couldn't do that with mage knight as there was too much to remember again with all the skills and triggers and effects.

but these are two good adventure games for me, so you can pick whichever one you prefer.

I'm actually enjoying Runebound 3e more than previous editions. I had everything for 2e including all of the class decks.

First major plus is controlling monsters in combat for your opponents. This really reduces the downtime and allows you to interfere with the other players. We are ruthless to each other when it's our turn to be the monster. The while thing is much more engaging than the static roles from 2e.

Second, the smaller area of the board and fewer cities keeps the game more focused. 4 market stacks instead of 8 helps with finding items you want. The many towns, forts, and shrines allow for more options for resting.

Third, instead of leveling up the skills and abilities allow for more variety in character development. I really enjoyed some of the combos I figured out so far. Definitely need more characters but that's a small gripe.

Last, the 3 types of challenges really mix up the game play. You can avoid combat if you want and still develop your character. This was not really possible in 2e.

I could go on but I suggest you just get the game!

i sapose you played the game more times than me. agree that its not perfect. but i havent found another good fantasy competitive game that feels like dungeon crawling

1. do you have another cost efficient suggestion?

2. with 7-8 games total and not in close timeframes i didnt see that. you might be correct

3.1 manual suggests to move on while the other 2 still in combat. complaining for something adressed from manual itself?

3.2 if we are 3 players we allow player waiting to help for the vilian choices

4. its a sandbox game. without randomness it wouldnt work. for me, with a game like this or eclipse is all about the journey. i dont care if a loose. too much randomness balance games often

5. i prefer games with campaign. but then its not always the same group on the table. this game gives you enough upgrading and a full expirience in just a session. until now all players left satisfiend from the table even if they loose. evn though is taking too long

6.1 i thought runewars heroes was the bad part of runewars

6.2 as far as i know mage knight takes double the time. and runebound can be played with non hardcore gamers. even my wife can take it

once more. its not perfect. i hope i find something to replace it. not found it yet

On ‎19‎/‎06‎/‎2017 at 3:24 PM, georgioos said:

i sapose you played the game more times than me. agree that its not perfect. but i havent found another good fantasy competitive game that feels like dungeon crawling

1. do you have another cost efficient suggestion?

2. with 7-8 games total and not in close timeframes i didnt see that. you might be correct

3.1 manual suggests to move on while the other 2 still in combat. complaining for something adressed from manual itself?

3.2 if we are 3 players we allow player waiting to help for the vilian choices

4. its a sandbox game. without randomness it wouldnt work. for me, with a game like this or eclipse is all about the journey. i dont care if a loose. too much randomness balance games often

5. i prefer games with campaign. but then its not always the same group on the table. this game gives you enough upgrading and a full expirience in just a session. until now all players left satisfiend from the table even if they loose. evn though is taking too long

6.1 i thought runewars heroes was the bad part of runewars

6.2 as far as i know mage knight takes double the time. and runebound can be played with non hardcore gamers. even my wife can take it

once more. its not perfect. i hope i find something to replace it. not found it yet

lots of good points above to answer the answerable:

Randomness: I dont mind random, but it needs to be done right, where you are mitigating against the odds rather than a whole game turning on its head.

Mage knight does take longer but not when you know the rules then it becomes actually a pretty quick game

haven't seen third party dice yet