So I'm curious what everyone thinks of Fantasy Flight games.

I've been itching to find a good game company to start re-building my game collection ( my ex was brutal on my retention of game systems ). My girlfriend is a collector / gamer herself, altho new to CCG's I got her hooked on the original Netrunner ( I still have like 13,000 cards ) and Magic. I'm a huge fan of most of the genres that FFG seems to carry, we both love boardgames as well, and I hope to get her addicted to RPG's as soon as I can.

So my question is really a couple questions…

1. Have you purchased more than one game system from FFG?
2. If you answered YES to #1, what are they?
3. Are the games good quality materials? ( do they fall apart, fade, damage easily? )
4. Are the games well made 'games?' ( do they require a lot of errata, are they usually broken right off the shelf, do the rules make sense? )

My collection currently consists of D&D 3rd Edition, 3.5, Pathfinder, and some D20; GURPS (tons), Magic (way too much), Pokemon (don't judge), and Netrunner. As well as a misc. box that has beta-cards for Star Wars, Sim City, Vampire, and a few others that's I've forgotten.

I really like what I see of Fantasy Flight Games, but I haven't seen any of their products up close 'except' for Netrunner. And I absolutely love it.

So… give me your opinions… please?

I own several games from FFG. Netrunner, Infiltration, and the original Android game. I also have Descent 2nd Edition and Elder Sign. So far I've been very pleased with the quality of the components for each game. Everything is sturdy and holds up great. They always have great artwork that draws you into the setting. One issue is finding ways to store things since you get plastic bags mostly. That is easily fixed with some Plano or other brand storage trays though. Rules wise some games are easy to pick up on and you others like the original Android game are confusing even after several games. If you have the patience the reward of amazing games is worth it though. I can't recall any of their games being broken Out of box as well.

I love FFG. Great site, great games, really great quality of components.

Have you purchased more than one game system from FFG?

Yes

If you answered YES to #1, what are they?

Warhammer Invasion, A Game of Thrones LCG, Android: Netrunner, Lord of the Rings LCG, Dark Heresy RPG books, Rune Age

I also own some of their sleeves and they are my favorite sleeves. Nice even cuts, don't rip or tear or wear out easily.

Are the games good quality materials? ( do they fall apart, fade, damage easily? )

Never had anything fall apart or fade

Are the games well made 'games?' ( do they require a lot of errata, are they usually broken right off the shelf, do the rules make sense? )

Rules make sense and are fun to play. Overall games are really good quality and I have yet to dislike one. Sure I like some more than others but that is only natural but there is no FFG game that I hate. There are a bunch of them I want to get or plan to get soon. Next one will be X-Wing and Star Wars LCG.

Thank you both! Awesome!

I'm a huge/silent lovecraft fan and Warhammer is something I forgot to list as part of my collection. I'm starting to shift gears towards FFG fandom. I have GOT to get my girl into an RPG somehow…

Have you purchased more than one game system from FFG?

Yes, I own a few FFG games.

If you answered YES to #1, what are they?

Android Netrunner and X-Wing Miniatures.

Are the games good quality materials? ( do they fall apart, fade, damage easily? )

Everything I have seen from FFG is top notch. Very thick cardstock, quality print, great manuals. I've never had a problem with their quality. They make great stuff.

Are the games well made 'games?' ( do they require a lot of errata, are they usually broken right off the shelf, do the rules make sense? )

I suppose this depends on the game and its complexity. Of the games I've played by them, I'd have to say no, but I can't speak for all of their games.

Hope this helps!

1. Yes, I've purchased many FFG products. Probably a third to half of my game collection is made by FFG.

2. Currently own: Android, Arkham Horror, Blue Moon, Blue Moon City, Citadels, Descent (1st Ed), DungeonQuest, Dust Warfare, Elder Sign, Ingenious, Netrunner, Red November, Rogue Trader, Rune Wars, Through the Desert, Twilight Armada, and Wiz-War.

I have owned and sold/traded Tannhauser (OK, not my cup of tea), Rune Bound (1st Ed, never played it), Warhammer Invasion (gave it to a friend who could play i and World of Warcraft (the first one, a poor over-designed game)

3. FFG has highest quality components I've seen. Few companies come close.

4. Generally, the games are good. Fortunately FFG also makes their rules available as free PDFs before the game comes out, as well. Not every game is great or will appeal to everyone. Unfortunately there is often a very high expectation that the gameplay is superb, so a game that is only 'decent' can be considered 'poor' by some simply because the expectations are higher.

Most of your collection is RPGs, which I don't have much experience with FFGs RPGs - I pretty much only play the Savage Worlds system (the best RPG system in existence currently, in my opinion, and my group can - and has - used it with any setting we dream up). However, the quality of materials of the one FFG produced RPG I bought - the Rogue Trader CE - was good. I know people who do enjoy the game mechanics in their systems.

As for CCGs, FFG instead makes Living Card Games (LCG), and the LCG format is a more consumer-friendly format - for the price of ~4 CCG boosters you get all the cards you can use in a single pack (e.g 3 each of 20 different cards for $15, vs the same number of random cards for the same price).

Generally, if the theme and type of game appeals to me, and if it is made by FFG, I will seriously consider purchasing it. If you want to know more about a particular game then I suggest heading over to Board Game Geek (www.boardgamegeek.com)

Have you purchased more than one game system from FFG?
Yes

If you answered YES to #1, what are they?
The most notable are Netrunner, Warhammer:Invasion, Chaos In the Old World, Blood Bowl Team Manager, plus a few others that they don't produce any more.

Are the games good quality materials? ( do they fall apart, fade, damage easily? )
Some of the miniatures in Chaos in the Old World broke as soon as I got it (a couple were broken in the box). Never had any other issues, all the card components are good quality.

Are the games well made 'games?' ( do they require a lot of errata, are they usually broken right off the shelf, do the rules make sense? )
Warhammer:Invasion has quite a list of errata, it's a good game with some badly thought out cards in some of the earlier sets. Other than that I've got no complaints. Blood Bowl in particular is one of the best games I own.

About the only thing FFG produce that I really don't like is Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay. I don't like the rules, the mass of components needed to play an RPG or their interpretation of the background material.

That was perfect. Yeah, most of my games are theoretically RPG's… but since I play CCG's more, I have always considered my collection card-heavy.

The LCG model is amazing. When CCG's first came out it was 'the thing' and getting the right cards, coupled with collecting AND playing with them was a blast. But once I started paying attention to my money-flow the CCG model was broken for me. I'm quite excited to get start building a decent collection back up for those game group nights. Starting off with the new Netrunner and still dabbling in Magic has been fun but I am already looking ahead.

Does anyone know if FFG has plans to expand to a digital frontier with their LCG model? It's WAY past time for someone to put together a commercial model for online play of MULTIPLE game systems, not just Magic, so that player could gather together and change games between rounds but still 'digitally' hang out together.

Just wondering… thanks again to everyone donating their opinions.

1. Yes. I've also played more FFG games than I have purchased. Even further, I have read the rules for more FFG games than I have played.

2. FFG games I have…

purchased: Arcana, Blood Bowl: Team Manager, Hey That's My Fish! (Digital), Infiltration, Kingsburg (Digital), Rockband Manager, Rune Age, Through the Desert (Digital), A Game of Thrones LCG, Android: Netrunner LCG, Lord of the Rings LCG.

played: all of the above, plus Android, Battlestar Galactica, Citadels, Civilization: The Board Game, Cosmic Encounter, Elder Sign, Fury of Dracula, Gears of War: The Board Game, Kingdoms, Letter of Marque, The Adventurers: Pyramid of Horus, Tribune, Twilight Imperium: 3rd Edition, Wiz-War, Warhammer: Invasion LCG

read the rules: all of the above, plus Aye, Dark Overlord!, Blue Moon, Isla Dorada, Merchant of Venus (partial read through), Rex (also partial read through), Sky Traders, Call of Cthulhu LCG.

3. Of all the games that I own and/or have played by FFG, the components have always been quite functional. The only negative that comes to mind are the sizes of some of the game boxes. They often seem unnecessarily large, and usually that is only to accommodate the large rulebooks. It is especially annoying for the LCGs, where it would have been nice to have a thin, card-shaped box in which to actually store the cards contained within more appropriately without it taking up a lot of space. As it is now, I usually buy cheap card boxes and store my Netrunner and LotR cards in those.

The only game box that I felt was appropriately sized was the Rockband Manager box. It was just enough to fit the components, which is all you really need/want from a game box.

4. This answer would take a while if I were to go into full detail about my opinion of each game I've played, as I have a different opinion on each game, as well as my view of the pros and cons. To try and keep it short, all I can really say is that it depends on the game and the crowd with which you want to play. There are a few games (even ones that I've purchased) that I would under no circumstances recommend to you, such as Arcana. On the other hand, there are games that come highly recommended irregardless of the setting, such as Infiltration.

If you're looking for long, very deep, and very involved gameplay, I would recommend Android, and maybe Civilization. If you want quick, easy fun, Infiltration, Kingdoms, Rockband Manager, and Elder Sign are good choices. If you're looking for moderate length games, Blood Bowl: Team Manager, Tribune, Gears of War, Rune Age, Kingsburg, and Citadels are all decent choices. Keep in mind that I come from a background of CCGs and board/card/tile games, and don't have any real interest in miniatures or RPGs.

randomblink said:

I've heard nothing about such things, but I do not think it is likely - it is a fairly niche market (not nearly as big as some think) and would require them to find the right developer and practically hand over creative control for it to be done right. Too many things have to go right for it to work out well - it took WotC years to get MtG Online where it is now, and I'm not convinced it's as good as it needs to be.

Given the market is so small and niche, more products added to it would actually dilute the playerbase in such an environment more than it would grow it.

Have you purchased more than one game system from FFG?

Yes.

If you answered YES to #1, what are they?

Android:Netrunner (as soon as the reprint is available), Call of Cthulhu and LotR LCGs (considering), Elder Sign, Dust Tactics, Dust Warfare, and X-Wing.

Are the games good quality materials? ( do they fall apart, fade, damage easily? )

Thus far, everything I have purchased has been top notch (materials-wise). Their writing and editing ability sometimes leaves something to be desired, necessitating immediate errata. This was mostly with Dust Warfare (complete drivel IMO).

Are the games well made 'games?' ( do they require a lot of errata, are they usually broken right off the shelf, do the rules make sense?)

As you are writing this under an LCG forum, I assume you mean as pertaining to LCGs, which I am new to and only have a passing understanding (so far). Again, so far things seem to have been well play tested, and work out of the box with some minor errata or FAQ, which are quickly posted to their support section. Dust Warfare seems to have been a one-off, and rushed to completion, while the other games I have played or experienced seem much more solid and playable out of the box.

Cheers,

James

I realized a little while ago that half the surfaces in my apartment are covered in LCG cards; one table has several A Game of Thrones decks in various states of construction and disarray; my other table has my Lord of the Rings cards on it; and a TV tray by my door has my Netrunner cards.

So yeah, I play multiple FFG games. I physically own several LCGs (and I'll be picking up Star Wars when it comes out), and I've played several others (A Game of Thrones: The Board Game, Arkham Horror, Battlestar Galactica) and loved them. I also have Elder Sign: Omens on my phone.

This is exactly what I was looking for…

Seriously, thank you all. I'm ready to start building a good game collection again and it looks like FFG is my kinda company. One of the things I really like about FFG besides the game options is this site. The community, listing of game systems, rules, and blogs are all amazing! I still haven't played a single game of Netrunner, altho I've bought two boxed sets and have double orders in with my local game company for every expansion. I like what I see so far and I am completely excited about Netrunners' new future.

Keep em coming tho, if you have more input on FFG. I'm seeing a mainly 90% good 10% bad posting. I am more than open to hearing the bad as well. My only really negative experiences with game systems are few and far between.

If you want to build a good collection of games, don't just stop at FFG. I recently picked up Mage Wars and it's brilliant. Check out some of the videos online and their site.

1. Yep.

2. I have purchased Arkham Horror (all expansions up to Innsmouth), Blood Bowl: Team Manager, Death Angel: Space Hulk, Android: Netrunner, Chaos in the Old World (and the expansion)… In addition, I have a regular board game group who have purchased several other games (Descent + Expansions, Mansions of Madness + Expansions, Twilight Imperium + Expansions, Rex, Android: Infiltration, etc).

3. Fantasy Flight components are fantastic. Straight up. Durable, well made, spiffy looking, etc.

4. Okay. Here is the deal, and take this with a grain of salt. Fantasy Flight has gotten significantly better in recent years, but they still have issues here. Our game group has a series of running jokes about Fantasy Flight rules. Put simply, seeing a game without some sort of errata (or the necessity of an FAQ) from Fantasy Flight always surprises us. Now, generally, the erratas aren't too bad (and as I said, they have been getting), but they do occasionally have some very bad days.

The counterpoint I've found is that they do get the errata out and address issues, so hey. Take it as you will.

Generally speaking, I like Fantasy Flight, but they could use some work in the release rules department.

Then again, Android: Netrunner has been bloody amazing (and errata-less).

1. Yes

2. Android netrunner, twilight imperium, and the entire Anima RPGs system

3. All the punch-tokens came out clean, without tearing. Taking all the ships off the sprues for TI took a lot of time, but the moles were fine, with nothing crazy misaligned. All the cards have held up great and the bindings on the anima books are great, especially compared to their size.

4. Twilight Imperium is a beast of a game. Huge sprawling 4x game. It has a fairly big errata, mostly small rule clarifications, a few important ones, like unit costs being misprinted on all the faction cards. The FAQ is even bigger, but most of it is intuitive.

The anima RPG has a bunch of errors, it's a Spanish system translated into French, then into English. It could use an official errata and FAQ but it doesn't really have one. You have to hit up forums for answers.

Android netrunner is so far amazing. No card errata? Awesome. The rule book did have some errors in it's timing graphs, but those are fixed in the FAQ.

FFG makes some great games with great components, but the rule books almost always have some errors.

randomblink said:

1 - Yes. Runebound & Card Expansions, Wings of War, Talisman, Arkham Horror, Tide of Iron, Game of Thrones LCG, LotR LCG, and Netrunner LCG.

2- See above.

3 - FFG is well known to produce some fantastic components. Probably the best in the industry. If Ameritrash is your thing, FFG is your nectar!

4 - Depends on the game. I will say that every game gets errata if it's coming from a company that cares about their products and gamers.

My overall opinion.

+ Great customer support.

+ Nice range of products that appear to be well managed. They weren't afraid to cut & run from Tide of Iron when it was apparent it was a turd.

+ Great group of in house designers and artists. They also know when to contract artwork and to whom it should go. The artwork in LotR and AGoT is amazingly good in many cases.

+ They always have a little something in the pipeline once you're in a system.

- Their printing / shipping schedules can be very unpredictable.

- Their prize support is very poor.

- The whole handling of the World Championship Weekend has been full of mistakes from the get go.

- Their reprint schedules for LCG packs can be hard to understand at times (particularly true in the AGoT LCG)

I have various different FFG products, and I have enjoyed all of them. Component wise they are usually terrific (though consequently quite pricey).

However, as some have mentioned, rules are a slightly dogey issue. Someone I know basically says "Don't buy first edition anything from FFG". Now, this is overstating it, but FFG doesn't write tight rules sets and their proof reading sometimes is bad (this is most commonly a problem with their big books, ie their RPGs, which always have errors in them). However, this usually doesn't make a game unplayable, and I generally find that if you play any abiguities how they feel they should work, you usually end up matching the errata/FAQ, usually showing the reason that something is not precisely stated is because they haven't realised there could be an awkward (but at least initially RAW) interpretation. I certainly wouldn't make it a reason not to buy a game, as I have never come across a crippling flaw, and they do errata things.

Have you purchased more than one game system from FFG? Yes

If you answered YES to #1, what are they?

Lessee…Anima, Battlestar Galactica, Cosmic Encounter, Elder Sign, Game of Thrones: LCG, Lord of the Rings: LCG, Netrunner LCG, and X-Wing.

Are the games good quality materials? ( do they fall apart, fade, damage easily? )

I have not seen quality materials in many companies; this company is definitely among the top 5.

Are the games well made 'games?' ( do they require a lot of errata, are they usually broken right off the shelf, do the rules make sense? )

Out of all the games I have, I'd say FFG has a knack of creating excessively complex and overly bogged down games. It's not to say that this is a bad thing, but it's not always a good thing. Most FFG-native games (not talking about any reprints) have far too much errata to really have a good time right out-of-the-box. Some games (such as Game of Thrones: LCG) need you to consult the online-available FAQ, which is sometimes bigger than the rule book. Unfortunately, I have stopped collecting Game of Thrones: LCG for this reason.

But once you "get it", the games are very deep and have many layers of gameplay. Battlestar Galactica is a great game when everyone is on the same level. The LCG lines are great…if you get in on the ground floor. I have played Warhammer: Invasion and am really curious about Call of Cthulhu, but because they have years of expansions already out, I feel like I'm really not getting the full experience and I'm not about to spend the hundreds of dollars to "get current". I just got X-Wing and I'm really liking it so far. Reprints are very well done. They certainly take it to the next level and if you want something to start with…Cosmic Encounter is a no brainer.

But it's up to you. If you want longevity, get in on X-Wing and Netrunner while it's still new.

sounds like all youve played are RPGs and CCGs for the most part. I suggest trying to play a wide variety of other styles of boardgames, you may not realize how much variety is out there. I like a few FFG games I own, and love Netrunner especially, but glad to have a broad collection. FFG specializes in nice production values and theme heavy games, but there are lots of thinky interesting games that other companies do better. i suggest finding a boardgame meetup and try stuff with victory points and wooden cubes to push around, its very different that role playing or strategy card gaming.