How's everyone? Had a couple general questions. I'm a big D&D dork looking to stretch my legs from DM'ing every once in a while, and I have decided to turn my attention to board games for a while. Being a fan of HP Lovecraft I decided to make Arkham Horror my first pickup and so far it has been fun My question comes to this: I have grown up with Doom. It was my first real experience with PC gaming (I was always more of a console kid growing up). And I look at this game and see a chance to get in on that old school fun (I realize this is based more on the newer Doom series). I am looking at a couple other FF board games, namely Starcraft 2 and Battlestar Galactica. In comparison to Arkham Horror, what is the complexity of this game? I'm asking for the sake of some friends that would likely be playing with me. Is it easy to pick up? Arkham Horror wasn't that complex after you play through at least 1 game.

Can anyone give their thoughts?

KidKreole said:

I wold say the complexity is about on par with AH. If they can handle the learning curve for that game, they should be able to handle this one, too. I haven't played Battlestar myself, but I'd say SCtBG is roughly the same, too.

In terms of atmosphere, Doom does a fantastic job of replicating the suspense and terror of the video game series (IMHO.) It's true that the artwork is based on Doom 3, but the monsters aren't all that different from the classic game, so aside from a visual redesign I don't think there's much difference. Of all the base game monsters, I think only the trites are new to Doom 3. (I suppose you could debate about the zombies seeing as they aren't soldiers, but whatever.)

If you want Doom, though, you should pick it up now. The game has been out of print for a couple of years now, and FFG isn't making any more. If you've seen a copy at your FLGS, you might want to snap it up ASAP! The expansion set is great and all, but the base game is fine by itself. I wouldn't hesitate to pick up the base game based on availability of the expansion.

Starcraft also does a great job of replicating the "feel" of the video game, although the terrain is different (hopping from planet to planet instead of being on just one.)

I actually think Doom is easier to learn than AH, StarCraft, BSG, etc. It's less 'abstract' in some of its mechanics and more straight-forward. I mean, a marine's turn is deciding on move+attack, move+move, attack+attack, or a move-or-attack/guard-or-dodge-or-aim. The rules are simple, though the situation on the board can make things more tactically complex.

However, I also think Doom is a LOT more difficult on the "team" side (i.e. the marines) than those other games when first playing. Most new players dislike the game because they feel it's too tough on the marines and "way unbalanced" and then don't want to play again. If you can stomach a couple games, you start to find that it's not really that unbalanced, just more unforgiving on the marines. For the first few games, I recommend downloading FFG's "difficulty" mod (see the Support section) and play at the easiest difficulty level. This way the marines feel like they have a fighting chance and can then make it more difficult as the game goes on.

-shnar

Oh, and I should add, the boardgame surprisingly feels a LOT like the video game (Doom 3 that is). I originally picked it up because it looked a lot like Space Hulk (and that's my all time favorite game) but after playing I was surprised at how much like the game it plays. The marine-respawning, the ammo pressure, the not-incredibly-tough-but-always-there monsters, etc.

If you like Doom3, you'll like Doom: The Boardgame.

-shnar

Thanks for the info guys Didn't know Doom was out of print. It's up for a steal on Amazon, so I may snag it there.

KidKreole said:

Really? How much? The 1st Printing of Doom had silkscreened dice where the images rub off after a few games. The 2nd Printing of Doom came with engraved dice. To get a custom set printed from Chessex, it's something around $30, just for the dice. Last year, FFG's holiday sale put Doom up for $20, I bought 2 copies, just to get to the dice. If Amazon has a similar price, we should let the community know so they can get good dice...

-shnar

Amazon.fr seems to have a copy of the expansion (in English) here , for quite a reasonable price (35 euro), Amazon.de has several copy of the German edition of the base game, and one copy in English ( here ), Amazon.co.uk has some copies of the base games in Enlish ( here ) and Amazon.com has 4 copies of the base game ( here ) and 2 used copies of the expansion ( here ) but for a high price (almost 100 bucks)

Wow, looking at the expansion on Amazon and eBay. Are they out of print too?

And what is the deal with the dice? Is there nowhere to order new dice?

KidKreole said:

Correct on both counts. This game has long been out of print, as well as its expansion, so anything you find now will probably start being jacks up in expense, and good luck finding dice...

-shnar

KidKreole said:

Yes, sadly. The license between FFG and Id Software to produce the game (and its components) has expired, several years ago (2007, maybe? I don't remember exactly.) As a result, FFG isn't allowed to produce any more copies of anything, as much as they might like to. I'm sure that the dice alone would still sell reasonably well among people who already own the game, but alas, they aren't allowed to make more and their old stock is long dried up.

Actually, I bet you they *could* make the dice, since they don't need to label them as "Doom" dice. IIUC, FFG holds the intellectual property for the components of the game, just not the visuals and Doom name, etc. So the Dice are most likely FFG's copyrights.

-shnar

The doom etched dice are feasable since there are no distinct markings, pictures, doom logo or anything that resembles id's intellectual property on them, though i would assume this would be something that they would have to relable as something generic to be able to sell them, unfortunately though, if id wanted to be jackasses they could still potentially have a case that they are selling components to a licensed game without the license.