Anyone pick this up yet?

By Keggy, in Game of Thrones: The Card Game

Supposedly this is available in a few places. Just wondering if anyone that has it would be willing to give their impressions.

I just got it and the first thing I have to say is that it's absolutely gorgeous.

The box is the "deluxe expansion" size and there is absolutely NO way you can customize your deck. The plot card backs have a very beautiful image of the iron throne. The Lannisters and Stark have completely different card backs, the image of their crests.

50 card decks, which means games have very specific characters, but to FFG benefit, the game comes with 32 plot cards, which opens up a lot of possibilities.

Is it something the hardcore AGoT:LCG should get? Probably not. But it is exactly what it says it is; a game made to help get people into AGoT:LCG.

I can "see" expansions for this game, but only as 50 card fixed decks for the various houses. As long as FFG turns out tons of plot cards, the game has good short term potential.

I know a lot of this info is in the press release, but it is really well re-designed. I only hope the real LCG can change to that format, but of course not likely to happen.

Sounds like a great christmas present then! :)

How textheavy/complicated are the cards compared to the lcg?

I would love to see an expansion/stand alone game with two more houses and plot cards and the addition of multiplayer. They could even add a few stark/lannister cards for "mock" deckbuilding with the original, just to take the 'gateway to lcg' step a bit further.

I know it wont happen but if the lcg got this treatment as a remake, design-wise, i would be very happy. I'm not a big fan of moviestills but the overall card layout and design is so much better than the lcg imo. That has been a big factor to why i haven't bought the lcg though i have been intruiged by the mechanics.

Bolfa Fluffbelly said:

I'm not a big fan of moviestills but the overall card layout and design is so much better than the lcg imo. That has been a big factor to why i haven't bought the lcg though i have been intruiged by the mechanics.

No offense to the artists, it's just that the HBO-show is more a song of ice and fire to me. More dark and gritty with a lot of neutral colours contra the colourfull "classic medieval fantasy" style of the lcg (and i actually read the two first books before watching the series).

The ultimate would have been painted cards hbo-style ala the Star Wars LCG.

I do have to say a couple things about the game now that I've had some time with it.

1. Counters aren't centered. I know this is kind of a small thing, but I used to work for a board game company and if you're machine printing and pressing these counters, they absolutely have to be centered. Some of my power counter "crowns" and gold token "crests" were touching the edge of the counter…and that's no bueno if I were Quality Control. It's forgivable, but I've seen better alignment on other FFG games.

2. Card quality. I've read in a lot of places that the card quality isn't "official card playing quality with linen card stock" and that's true, but this isn't a game meant to be played into the ground. This is an introductory game meant to get people into the game. To describe it best, it's the kind of quality you'd see/feel on a glossy business card. If you don't like the quality, sleeve it. The design is so strong, the quality of the cards don't matter if you have it sleeved.

3. No "house" card. Instead, they replaced it with a pretty cool counter-thick banner of the house you're playing. Granted it's not the deluxe A Game of Thrones house placards that can double as bookends, but it's better than a simple card with the crest and the turn order. It's a good and bad thing. It's great in that power counters have a nice home and isn't interfering with the turn order text that's found in the LCG, but it's bad in that, because it's a game for newbies, a card with the turn order would have been nice since this is not a simple "untap, draw, play, attack" game.

Overall, I really like the streamlined rules and, even though it isn't compatible with the LCG, it's a great 2 player "no commitment to the LCG and all it's nuances, but here's the experience" or "if you want to get into it, but were afraid to" kind of game.

Like I said before, I hope FFG expands this game…even if it's just 50 card fixed-deck house expansions with more plot cards (a la "Game of Thrones: Baratheon vs. Targaryen, I'd be ok with that. But this is good for now.

I actually prefer the LCG layouts, and little things like the new design of challenge icons kinda bug me since they look stupid (to my eye). However its always cool to see stills from the TV show. No real value to an LCG player aside from a couple cards that are basically identical to their LCG equivalent, and could fit into a deck with sleeves, for some alternate art.

I will say that while a good number of the plot cards are rehashes, there's a good number that are completely original and have some really cool effects. Some would probably be overpowered in the LCG environment, but I'd still love to see the designers work these in because they'd be great.

One of my favorites is:

As Ready As We'll Get
5 Gold, 5 Initiative, 2 Claim
Skip your draw phase this round.

To radioactivemouse (i hate this forum sometimes…)

Something to think about?

From BGG;

"As a follow-up, I emailed FFG customer service the other morning about the misprinted cardboard sheet. They responded in an apologetic way a few hours later and immediately shipped a replacement sheet. Kudos to the quick fix, FFG! "

At the risk of being accused (and promptly immolated) for necromancy, i just got this game and wanted to point out why i picked this instead of the LCG

1. This game is based on the HBO series, giving the cards a style i can relate to.

2. I chose this game over the LCG because it is much easier to control the spendings from an entry point of view. I don't know how much is needed to get into the LCG, to be honest, but it is discouraging to see the amount of packs and expansions that might be needed or just fun to have. I already got Warhammer invasion, and getting into another LCG would be unmanageable for me.

3. Simplicity of the rules makes it easier when playing with non-gamers. I see this game as an evening fun provider, while the LCG fits the bill for more deckbuilding and competitive gaming groups (imho).

4. Lastly, since they got the licence for the HBO series, i doubt they won't expand this game at least once in order to get some profit out of it. I wouldn't be surprised to see other houses later on as the series develop, and who knows…hopefully a 4 player variant for it.

I wouldn't buy just the card game alone. Not enough cards, only like 50-60 cards each with a few repeats. I'd buy the 2 starter sets (Five Kings and Iron Throne) for another 30 dollars. Five Kings comes with a deck for each Stark and Targaryen, Iron Throne comes with Lannister and Baratheon. Adds 7 new plot cards, New locations for example and it has the same character cards but for the other stuff it's worth it, Especially when you get 2 good sized decks in 1 pack for the same price as a chapter pack that comes with just 20 new cards, 3 copies of each.

After that, if you like the game and wanna build on a certain house more, then you should try the expansions and chapter packs. FYI - Greyjoy and Martell expansions should be a must buy first so you have a solid deck to start with for each of those houses.

I hadn't played a "Living Card Game" before, and didn't realise this was a spin-off version of a standard type of game, so as someone who hadn't played battle card games before I have to say the simplified rules were NOT simple. Really people? These are simplified!? It's definitely worth looking at the second edition tutorial for basic consept rules and gameplay for anyone who isn't familiar first.

But the whole reason I'm here is to answer ambiguous card questions, hopefully they're here somewhere. eg. Are the Lanister Guards part of the Lanister House or just family? Who resolves first when using Shae? and when they say "Play" in the rules they mean "Marshal", that one took some figuring.

All that said. It looks like a REALLY fun game once you get the hang of it, but it's definitely a game for gamers. For people who like this Kind of game. I am TOTALLY going to get the second edition when it comes out. (Beautiful artwork.) I prefer the simple design of this version's cards to the first edition game though which is why I'm going to wait.

Final thoughts: Good game for gamers and show fans, but maybe wait for the second edition if you want more than a 2 player, and be prepared to look up clarification on a bunch of cards.

"Play" does not always = "Marshal." For example, you can play event cards outside of the Marshalling phase.