Hey everybody - I'm a huge ASoIaF fan, and a longtime gamer. I consider myself primarily an RPG player but have gotten more into boardgames lately, too. The one thing I have never really gone for is card games as they have come to be understood. Never liked Magic , played a couple of games of Jyhad back in the '90s, and maybe a couple of games of the first release of the Game of Thrones CCG.

But I keep being interested in this LCG concept - can anyone tell me more about it? It seems to address my complaint with CCGs (and other randomized, booster-pack-selling crud like *clix) that the win goes to the biggest wallet. I like Battlelore because it is expandable but not collectable. Also, I'm intrigued by the fact that it looks like AGoT supports 4 players instead of just 2. Is that the case? If so, how is it as 4 player game? How does the board integrate into the play?

I own and play all of the ASoIaF boardgames - how does the card game compare?

Thanks in advance,

Jasko

I would say that you cant compare AGOT LCG with the board game at all. It is completely different game. FFG now supports the multiplayer (melee as we say) more that the singleplayer (joust) games by some advanced mechanics in the game. But the Joust game is still primary typ of game for a lot of players. The game will only look like the way you want it to play.

Since I never played Magic I cant really compare this game with it, but from what I heard AGoT is much better, mostly for the concept of 3 challange types.

Now with the LCG format you dont really have to spend a lot of money to make good deck, from experience I can say that for 200 $ you can make 4 different and even decks.

If you want more general information dont be lazy and go deeper in this forum, most of the topics you seek had beed discused over and over again. If you want some specific information ask here.

Jasko,

This description of the "Living Card Game" format by FFG is a nice summary (this is from before the website for this game was revamped; I'm not sure if this description got ported over): http://www.agameofthrones.com/news-lcg-guide.html

What is very nice about the LCG format is you can know, with absolute certainty, what you'll have for a given amount of money spent. If you'll be the only one buying (and thus supplying to other players) the cards, you can pick and choose what chapter packs to add and in what quantity. It's just as easy if your play will be confined to your circle of game playing friends to mutually agree on what the group will buy for building decks, keeping everyone on equal footing at a price point comfortable for everyone (with CCGs, you could have set some sort of purchase cap, but that was always ineffective since boosters were random resulting in someone lucking into the desirable cards while others did not). And if you want to play outside that circle (at local meetups or organized play events at a game shop), FFG's current OP program is pocket friendly --especial the "League" format-- compared to traditional CCGs.

FFG just put up a wonderful video tutorial that gives you an overview of the game basics in under twenty minutes (if the Flash video stutters, just pause it for a few seconds to allow it to buffer a bit): http://new.fantasyflightgames.com/edge_news.asp?eidn=404

Although slightly dated (the game now has an additional phase called Taxation and a slight modification to the Dominance phase), there's a fan created written tutorial (with card images) that is another very good description of the game's basics: http://tzumainn.com/agot/tutorial/intro/

The game plays very well in both head-to-head and multiplayer formats. I think FFG sees the "casual" player as more inclined to play multiplayer and the Core Set's constructed decks are geared towards that (some cards in the decks are good in multiplayer, but weak in head-to-head). FFG's Organized Play program, presumably for a somewhat more competitive casual player, currently caters more to head-to-head play. What's nice is the analysis/strategy and skills needed to win in the two formats are somewhat different, not to mention that multiplayer has a whole additional component added --the selection of "titles" each round that temporarily confer certain advantages and create certain relations between players (if you've every played the board game Puerto Rico or it's card game spin-off San Juan, it's similar to the role selection mechanic used there) -- such that, in my view, you get two somewhat distinct gaming experiences from one investment. As for the board's integration into the game, it is more an organizational/visual aid for use in multiplayer, but not essential for playing (in fact, the information tracked by the board and pawns --the selection of titles-- can be alternatively managed with title cards included in the core set).

There has been several threads started by new players or prospective players on this forum recently, so it would be worthwhile looking back over the last few pages of the forum and reading those threads for more info and other people's views. There are several people on these forums who are very insightful and happy to help with questions (for example, Old Ben tirelessly preserved rules discussions/interpretations posted on the game's old forum and Ktom continues to answer just about ever imaginable rules question), so if you can't find an answer, ask away.

LetsGo Red did a great job, but for sake of inclusivness here is a link to Kennon (a veteren) sharing his insight on the LCG which will soon be a series of articles:

mguinc.com/news_view.aspx

Lars said:

Good gosh, how did I forget that! I read that just the other day and commented on how it was good for just this purpose. My mind is truly addled.