Hello all!

I just picked up this game yesterday, and have had the opportunity to play a single 2 player game to completion and three 2 player games we didn't have time to finish.

I'm still getting the hang of the rules, but my biggest question is that of average game length. The one game we finished took 2 hours. We hoped that that was mostly because of our uncertainty with rules and our cards, but the games afterwards we played for an hour and ran out of time. Are these typical 2 player game lengths? What about multiplayer? Is that shorter or longer?

I've played Magic for six years, so it's impossible not to compare the 2 games even though I've already realized they are very different. Do I have any hope of getting my Game of Thrones games down to the 20-30 minutes that a "quick game of Magic" takes?

Any suggestions on speeding up play?

I've greatly enjoyed the game, and I'm very optimistic about my involvement in it, but I'm really hoping every game doesn't take 2 hours!

Thanks!

Yep - 25-30 minutes should be no problem once you have developed some greater familiarity with the rules. and the mechanics.

Tourney matches are set at 45 minutes in length, and its rare that they go to time.

multiplayer cna be quite a bit longer - upwards of 90 minutes or more, dedpnding on teh numebr of players. one of teh msot memorable games I was involved in included six players (one for each House) that went on for the better part of an afternoon, before the Stark player pulled out the win.

Later, when you know about the cards and everything the game length depends mostly on the deck you and your opponent play. There are a "rush" decks that try to win as soon as posible so you can end the game in like 10-15 minutes. And there are "control" decks that like to control the game at slow speed so it can last longer, especialy when 2 players play control decks against each other.

In our meta we have a 60 minutes limit for tourney joust (1v1 game), If you play longer it is always a draw. In melee (multiplayer) we have usually limit 2 hours in 4 players game, or less in 3 players game. Sometimes we can finish earlier and sometimes in takes long. Anyway it always depends on the players, their decks and strategies etc.

The game length also depends a little on the matchups and deck constructions. Some houses and deck constructions usually need about an hour to pull out a win (Lannister decks are often a candidate here) , others could win rather quick (Baratheon and Greyjoy). You will have quicker games if both houses have access to cards that allow a quick win- e.g. lots of renown charachters or cards like martial law.

Stag Lord said:

Tourney rounds are set to 60 minutes, aren't they? But yeah, they rarely go to time except in large, national-level tourneys.

The 2-player games you played: were they with the Core Set decks unmodified? If so, that could be a huge part of the length. Those decks are designed primarily for multi-player and, with very few options for repeatable card draw or search, depend a lot on the luck of the draw. Once you customize the decks, get multiple copies of key cards into them and develop your own focus, the game length will improve a lot.

I'm facing the same problem with length and new players, and I'm pretty much determined I'm going to have to buy a second Core Set to get around it. I intend to build simple decks that emphasize each House's main strength (Stark kill, Baratheon renown, etc.). For simplicity's sake, I'll probably build a decent 30-card deck and then double everything up (obvious exceptions for "limit 1 per deck" cards, etc.).

In addition to the other benefits that have been mentioned, I hope that by reducing the total number of different cards in each deck to about 30, repeated plays will be more predictable (which will more quickly move the thinking away from the tactical and toward the strategic), and the card-learning curve will be shallower.

Did you use Reset Plots?

In Coreset are only Wildfire Assault and Valar Morguhlis. So if you have not played this Plots on each site you have really quick 10 or more Charcters. So it's almost unpossible to get unoppossed. An other possibility to make pressure is to play with more 2 Claim Plots.

An other mistake some new players make is to defend all Challenges. I have seen this quiet often this slow the game and they can't make Re-Attacks because all Charcters are kneelt. If you are more familiar to the game you can build Rush Decks, than you have a good chance to finish a game in 20 minutes.

Of course you can't build a really good rush deck in the LCG environment - but whatever. I know where the thought is coming from.

ktom said:

FFG's current tourney rules say 50min-70min for joust. We've typically been using for League nights a 45 minute clock. At the 45 min mark all games still being played are deemed in their "final round", playing until finishing the round and recorded as a draw if no one reached 15 power --so we're using approximately a 50 minute time limit.

Old Ben said:

Not any Lanni I have ever played myself...but games I have to wait for in the final 8 of Worlds? Okay, that was long...