The polls that Rich has been putting on that show a large number of Solo, or mainly Solo players got me thinking.

Like many of you, I have mainly been a solo player. Sometimes I'll play two-player, but only with my wife. She is way less into it than I am, so this week I did some searching, and sent some totally out of the blue PM's to people, and I played today at one of our local stores with a total stranger. We got beat pretty good by the nameless things in Foundations of Stone, and then stomped by Massing. He was a really nice guy, and even though we didn't win once, I had a great time. Also learned to play a bit of CoC for the first time.

This wouldn't have happened if not for the random emails I sent out.

Lets start getting together more. Send out play invites to total strangers. Solo play is always fun, but multi-player, with another player just as into the game, was really great! More multi-player for all!

Paul

You mean… with… REAL people? But the world. Its so scary! And dont get me started on the sun!

while this is a good idea, and i wish you all the luck in your future multiplayer games, i think i will be passing on this

personal issues aside (such as my health, living in the middle of nowhere) i actually want to play by myself. the reason for this is that i can get some much more immersed in the atmosphere of the game, the lore, let my imagination do the work….for me at least its sort of like saying what would you rather do, read solo or with a group out loud? reading in your own mind lets you picture the scene better….

this of course will not be true for many people, as they play the game as a game (i not sure if that makes sense but you get my meaning) so i yes i can imagine what you said probably working

of course that wont stop me from playing a multiplayer game now and again if someone wants to meet me up in the far barrren reaches of northern england (where the sun actually never shines EyeDunno52 !) crack open a few beers etc.

or i could get really into it, and do a multiplayer roleplaying game….only we would each have to roleplay 3 different heros and all the allies each haha…the game table may get a little noisy with all that nattering

rich

PS. i am actually serious- if there are any players in Penrith/ Carlisle area then PM if you want to meet up…..(though this is probably something for the player meetup thread)

rich

I really like that reading analogy Rich. I think it is a great way to describe things, and what I like about solo play as well. Maybe most people on here are similar to you in that they play solo by preference primarily.

Finding someone else to play with can be rough. Sometimes it can be hard to make those contacts with random strangers. You kinda have to put yourself out there a bit. I guess I just wanted to post some success that I had and encourage others to do the same. (Sorry if this all sounds cheesy…)

And Eyedunno52, a huge sandstorm blew in while we were playing, so we actually didn't have to worry about the sun. We timed it perfectly.

impaulm said:

i totally get what youre saying, and its not cheesy. personally i think the main motivation id have for finding a gaming partner would be to talk about tolkien during play (surprise surprise haha)…my partner (actual partner that is), though supportive, hasnt really an interest in tolkien, so it would be nice to have someone to talk to in the flesh (though i have made some great friends on here so its not all bad!)

rich

After reading some of the debates you guys get into about the "ranged" keyword or if the Heavy handed axe applies its damage if the dwarf were attacking alone versus paired with another character, the very thought of playing multiplayer with some of you is exhausting. No offense intended, of course, but if I wanted to take a course on parsing and interrogating the English language, I'd sign up for a college class specializing in doing so. I'm here to play a game, and I play it the way it makes sense and have no patience for someone clinging to legalism to the point of making the game become a chore rather than what it was intended to be….a GAME!

schmoo34 said:

dont even get me onto the pronunciation of the tolkien names!!! we would be there all night and not finish the quest (j/k)

I bought this game with the main intention being I could wheel it out and let my friends play with me. Unlike the other LCGs this won't have the taint of no-one wishing to play with the guy with all the cards. We are all in this together.

To answer Rich's caveat. Since I am the one designing the decks I tend to design them thematically. No Eagles headed into Moria for example.

schmoo34 said:

I think anonymity is probably at issue when things go in these directions. In person, I bet most of these conversations would probably be done in two sentences.

I agree with you Schmoo34. It is a great game, and fun should be first.

@Rich: Isn't it Tolkien= Tall-king and Aragorn= Ear-of-corn? Right?

Coop game 3 players is amazing!!! I just play 3 games 3 players against Long dark and 1 game 3 players against Foundation of Stone.

Amazing!!! First is much more difficult then 1 or 2 player. Much more! Second you will see some amazing encounter deck combo which you will never see in solo or even in 2 player game. For example in long dark we get Massing in the deep and sure counter it. But it was last counter what we havw on the moment.

After we get the treachery card which one going to location and make every enemy when revealed surge. After we get orc drummer he surge another 4 or 5 enemies and put threat level to 28 or something. Boom! We lost!! I just seat with open mount like a idiot. Looks like i play this game first time!

The game is really shining with more players(in second cycle).Now for me is boring to play alone or even with 2 players cose you just miss so many cool combos and game situations what game can bring for you! We decide to play 4 players game. Even if we dont have enough players each will play with 2 decks.

I really suggest this to everyone. From this prespective designers make a really cool job!

I actually only play this multiplayer, to be even more specific we play this only 4 player. Each deck has its job and is tuned to help the others in just the right way. It's a lot of fun and were always looking for more players here in sunny Santa Cruz, CA!

It looks like I'll be doing some 3/4 player games this weekend for the first time. I am really looking forward to it!

impaulm said:

Hey, me too! I'm hoping to get a good group together. It may fizzle down to just a 2-player game, but I hope not. I'm looking forward to reporting on it next week.

We had a big play evening today. Play 4players game and 2 players game.

MAO is really crazy difficult with 4 players! We lost all 2 games. MAO is still the best and more difficult quest in the game at the moment.

Also i got SAF and play 4 players game against it. It was very easy. Cose if you have enough allies to feed Balrog for a while you can equip your heroes and easy throw him into the pit.This quest is going to be more easy with more players instead LD and MAO which ones is going more difficult with more players.

Then we play SAF with 2 players and find the lock for win this quest really easy. Hama and Beravur is the best combo. Hama play feint and prevent Balrog from attack and Beravur allow draw cards for Hama player to be sure he always have cards in hand to cycle Feint. Really boring and easy! Hama and feint cycle kill all quest mechanic! There is again some mistake of designers. Or it was the idea? Sound strange for me…………

My conclusion: some quests is much difficult and cool with more players and some dont. Some quests more cool with less players. Scale of the game is better then before and some quest like a LD really shining in coop!

Glaurung said:

did the balrog never get a counterspell on him? that sorta ruins the hama/feint trick…also, feint would only work for one attack, yes? meaning, the balrog engages with each player separately. so, unless you had more than 1 feint in your hand, it only cancels an attack against one player, not all players (i think i'm right on this…).

Dain Ironfoot said:

Balrog try to get counterspell but we always manage to cancel it.

Feint is combat action and prevent enemy attack this PHASE. Whole phase.So if enemy cannot attack whole phase he attack no players right? Sounds really weird but this is a rules.

Yesterday i try to play against SAF solo. Lost all the time! Can survive but cannot make enough damage to Balrog to throw him in to the the pit……..

Glaurung said:

duh. you are right! that's what i get for not looking up the card text quickly.

schmoo34 said:

I am totally with you on this one.

Troymk1 said:

Or straight to Mordor with Frodo on the back and drop the ring straight into the mountain. Job done.

Does the ring appear in this game btw? I have not heard it being mentioned once.

daftpunk9050 said:

i think its likely we shall see it

PS.. you may find this interesting - Why couldnt frodo use the eagles?

richsabre said:

This is a frequently discussed subject when people talk about LOTR. I agree they would not make it close to the mount doom. The point was as also explicitly said in the books when they formed the fellowship of the ring, that a small group going by land would be hard to discover. Fleet of Eagles would be hard to miss. And Sauron definitely had means to stop even a fleet of eagles. We all know it, everything happened in the story for a reason.

Good to see you enjoying multi-player Glaurung.

It's completely true, while some quests become quite easy with 3-4 players, some quests ramp up their difficulty dramatically.

Crazy card combos can also come about by drawing the extra encounter cards. I don't know how many times at a Dallas Games Marathon I have been hosting a 4 player game that we think we're going to win then it is snatched away by some amazing happenstance

Instead of feeling cheated, most players want to buckle down and try again!

Troymk1 said:

Just played 4-player for the first time today, doing the first scenario of the Hobbit expansion. Had a blast, but I have never seen my threat increase that quickly, and I have never seen 8 cards come off of the encounter deck in a row. Multiplayer presents it's own unique challenges as opposed to solo play.

Yeah Hildargo, that was really rough!

I'm glad you could come out. I had a great time!