map pieces

By johnwoo, in Descent: Journeys in the Dark

i have the core set.
after finishing the first 9 quests i noticed that some of the map pieces suffer from the following problem: the glue is not strong enough and the map pieces begin to part from the carton. the reason for this is because not all the pieces are easy to assemble. on some parts i need to use a bit preasure, and some parts assemble very easy.
i already sent 2 messages to fantasy flight customer service, but i did not get any respond.
what can i do?

FFG is 'reknowned' to have some of the best customer service. I wouldn't be too concerned they won't get to you. If you haven't heard from them in a week. Try again. But give them a little time, I suppose they have 'quite' a few calls in, every day.

thank yuo very much

i will try again next week.

I had a figure that was only partially there (looked like the mold wasn't full up of plastic), FFG took about a week to answer, but fully replaced the figure for free no questions asked, no need to send in the defect, whatever. Great service, but their response time is a bit slow, bear with them.

I hate to say it, but I would expect FFG to say that is normal wear and tare. A mismolded figure is a manufacturing defect, cardboard map tile showing separation after 9 quests is normal use. I would suggest you just get apply a some amount of white glue with a toothpick and fix them yourself.

edroz said:

I hate to say it, but I would expect FFG to say that is normal wear and tare. A mismolded figure is a manufacturing defect, cardboard map tile showing separation after 9 quests is normal use. I would suggest you just get apply a some amount of white glue with a toothpick and fix them yourself.

I would tend to agree, but there's no harm in asking.

It all depends. Partly it's the fault of the cutting not being particularly consistent (causing the pieces to not mesh well) It also could be partly a poor glue job (as can happen sometimes if the glue is not refilled/replaced/cleaned frequently enough and the application gets thin or patchy)

On the other hand, if someone is openly destructive with the tiles, of course they're going to see wear and tear. I think this person's case isn't one of those, however... Doubly so since he only very recently got the game.

Ultimately, it's a tossup. If it were me, I'd probably give the consumer the benefit of the doubt and replace the tiles in question (depending on how many he wants replaced) since it's the best option for PR.

1) first of all let me say that the customer service of fantasy flight is the best that i know of. i had some problems with arkham horror and they replaced those parts without any difficlties.

2) i think that after 9 quests, all the map pieces should still be in perfect shape.

3) i looked in the "shop" section and i saw that i can only but the dice set for the game. why cant we buy the map pieces too, especially because they are delicate and tend to worn down?

taibo said:

1) first of all let me say that the customer service of fantasy flight is the best that i know of. i had some problems with arkham horror and they replaced those parts without any difficlties.

2) i think that after 9 quests, all the map pieces should still be in perfect shape.

3) i looked in the "shop" section and i saw that i can only but the dice set for the game. why cant we buy the map pieces too, especially because they are delicate and tend to worn down?

I just bought the core set but, from what I can see, one of the main selling points of this game is that we can design our own maps and quests. It would behoove FFG to provide packs of extra map pieces so that ever more complex maps could be built. Of course, they may have done just that in the expansions...

taibo said:

i have the core set.
after finishing the first 9 quests i noticed that some of the map pieces suffer from the following problem: the glue is not strong enough and the map pieces begin to part from the carton. the reason for this is because not all the pieces are easy to assemble. on some parts i need to use a bit preasure, and some parts assemble very easy.
i already sent 2 messages to fantasy flight customer service, but i did not get any respond.
what can I do?

The fact that the board peices don't all fit together nicely is a common problem with Descent (and Doom, too). Some of them fit well, others require forcing, a few are even loose. This, in my experience, is something they either can't or won't fix. Having said that, I don't really find it to be a big problem. I'm just careful when I'm taking the bits apart to do so in a way that avoids fraying the edges. I've owned Descent for several years now and played countless games with my friends, and my peices are still top notch despite having the same problem. (secretly, I've even been known to bang a few peices into place when assembling the board - the critical moment to avoid this sort of damage is when taking them apart.)

I'm not saying FFG won't help you out. These guys are amazing, really the best customer support I've ever seen. And I used to work in customer support, so I know the counter-issues that cause so many companies to "clamp down." I think there's a very good chance they'll replace you damaged tiles. The main reason I'm posting this is because, frankly, the replacement peices will assuredly suffer from the same problem, so I'm hoping I can help you avoid damaging your new/existing tiles.

As I said, the secret is to be careful when separating the tiles. Move them apart slowly and keep your fingers pressed on both sides of each interlocking "hook" as you take them apart, so that the cardboard inside is never pulled away from the paper top and bottom parts. If you're thinking this will dramatically lengthen your pack up time, well, you're not wrong. Usually when I'm packing up I quickly pick up segments, letting the loose connection naturally fall apart, and then I just pile the tiles into the box (before anything else, so they're on the bottom) even though some of them will still be connected. I then disassemble the tighter connections later on when I have time (later that night or later in the week, whatever) I only worry about the tight connectors during pack up if I have to separate them to make the chunks fit flat in the box.

Maybe if I didn't love FFG games as much as I do this added caution would annoy me or make me think twice about buying further FFG games, but the fact of the matter is I've yet to be disappointed by an FFG game, in terms of entertainment, and the customer service has rapidly dealt with any manufacturing concerns that have come up (which have been few.) I guess what I'm saying is that experience has shown me that FFG is worth the trouble of a few details like these tiles. Your opinion may vary.

taibo said:

I just bought the core set but, from what I can see, one of the main selling points of this game is that we can design our own maps and quests. It would behoove FFG to provide packs of extra map pieces so that ever more complex maps could be built. Of course, they may have done just that in the expansions...

In fact that's exactly what the expansions have done. Many of the new tiles have special artwork, but many also serve as extras of "standard" tiles from the base game. More corners, more rooms, etc.