PDA

View Full Version : Fun game - how do we make it stay that way



Jwolf
07-22-2009, 09:31 PM
I really like War of the Ring. And I can really see a lot ofways to make the game unfun. I want it to be fun for everyone. The question is, how do we have units like Balrogs and Sauron be fun without making War of the Ring into Monsterhammer? Stone Giants are too good as well; I'm dropping mine for next tourney.

Darkwynn
07-22-2009, 09:49 PM
I don't think you will be able to expect by moderation of people and what they bring.


Some of the stuff is just way over the top its making me thinking twice about getting into the game.

Jwolf
07-24-2009, 12:18 PM
Well, you have a billionty guardsmen to paint and practice with, so don't worry about it for now.

Dragon Knight Of Rhun
07-31-2009, 10:33 PM
Well its hard methinks. It will always be hard to stop power gamers and those that just want to win from taking the unfun route just to win. I personally play in a group who loves the lore more than winning and so we find armies which may actually be tactically unsound but fit a theme. So really its about finding the right group of people in my opinion. :)


If the question really is how do we make it so everyone will keep away from crazy units like Sauron and Balrog? Well, I am not really sure. :(

iamaddj
08-01-2009, 12:30 AM
Well its hard methinks. It will always be hard to stop power gamers and those that just want to win from taking the unfun route just to win. I personally play in a group who loves the lore more than winning and so we find armies which may actually be tactically unsound but fit a theme. So really its about finding the right group of people in my opinion. :)


If the question really is how do we make it so everyone will keep away from crazy units like Sauron and Balrog? Well, I am not really sure. :(

Yeah, but Sauron and the Balrog suck. Ok maybe that is too harsh, they don't quite suck, but are not the game ending, all powerful killing machines people think they are. They are OK, but really very balanced. It is Ringwriaths that are the real problem.

Dragon Knight Of Rhun
08-01-2009, 12:56 AM
Yeah, but Sauron and the Balrog suck. Ok maybe that is too harsh, they don't quite suck, but are not the game ending, all powerful killing machines people think they are. They are OK, but really very balanced. It is Ringwriaths that are the real problem.

Oh ya I agree. The Nine Are Abroad formation is absolutely crazy.



Ive had trouble with Sauron, the Balrog I have yet to face.

Cryl
08-01-2009, 09:40 AM
I really like War of the Ring. And I can really see a lot ofways to make the game unfun. I want it to be fun for everyone. The question is, how do we have units like Balrogs and Sauron be fun without making War of the Ring into Monsterhammer? Stone Giants are too good as well; I'm dropping mine for next tourney.

The problem with WotR is that it's even less designed for tournaments than 40k or FB, I think it's the charging section that says something like "shuffle a little to make charges work" which is totally fine if you're playing a fun game but in the serious world of tournaments and competitive play that's not really a tight enough rule! Also a good number of the units are simply under or overpowered just because that's how they'd be in the Tolkien world.

That said a few more stringent restrictions on what a list can take and it'd be much more manageable. House / tournament restrictions on numbers of legendary formations and heroes wouldn't hurt, nor would more stringent restrictions on numbers of rare units.

WotR is a great game that's really fun to play but you've got to be prepared to moderate what you bring within the Tolkien background in order to make it fun for both players.

iamaddj
08-01-2009, 10:46 AM
The problem with WotR is that it's even less designed for tournaments than 40k or FB, I think it's the charging section that says something like "shuffle a little to make charges work" which is totally fine if you're playing a fun game but in the serious world of tournaments and competitive play that's not really a tight enough rule! Also a good number of the units are simply under or overpowered just because that's how they'd be in the Tolkien world.

That said a few more stringent restrictions on what a list can take and it'd be much more manageable. House / tournament restrictions on numbers of legendary formations and heroes wouldn't hurt, nor would more stringent restrictions on numbers of rare units.

WotR is a great game that's really fun to play but you've got to be prepared to moderate what you bring within the Tolkien background in order to make it fun for both players.

Sadly this is rather true, the game needs some control by tournament organizers in order to work well in that setting. The game is amazingly fun, I've played just over 100 games now (God I can't believe I played that much!) and maybe 2 of them where "bad games". The Downside to a system like this however that even in friendly play all it takes is one player who is willing to break the system and he can ruin it for everyone else.

@DKoR, The nine are abroad are OK, but its really the individual on foot ringwraiths that are the best. Multiple casting Pall of Night and Strength From Corruption, really can ruin the game, while nixing their special rules and different units is super powerful.

The Balrog is good, but he can still die to a bad rolled duel, (especial if he fails a terror check), or to Gandolf + a good hero.

Sauron can put out lots of hurt but is easy to kill, Legolas will do it if he gets with in 12 inches.

The Nine abroad are ok, but die to the Gimli Bomb.

Dragon Knight Of Rhun
08-01-2009, 11:48 AM
Yea I also believe its designed more towards friendly play than tournaments. Which is fine with me cause that's all I really play. But I can see how that would be a bone of contention. I hope a FAQ is released to ammend some of these things.

iamaddj
08-01-2009, 12:07 PM
An FAQ would be nice. We are having to work up a pretty extensive one for BOLSCON this year, but that promises to be a TON of fun.

Personal I hate the idea that games have to either be good for tourny play or for fun play, I think they can be good for both. I have found that in our community (Austin, TX) (and since we have one of the largest and healthy communities, this means something) that when tournament play for a game suffers, so does casual play. But it can be fixed!

Cryl
08-03-2009, 01:47 AM
Personal I hate the idea that games have to either be good for tourny play or for fun play, I think they can be good for both.

Completely agree with this, a well written ruleset should be suitable for both casual and competitive play. Although I completely understand that it's a lot easier to say this than to actually do this when putting a ruleset together... at one end of the scale you have the StarFleet Battles type rules which are massively offputting to new players in their scale and complexity and at the other something so loose that it's open to too much interpretation.


An FAQ would be nice. We are having to work up a pretty extensive one for BOLSCON this year, but that promises to be a TON of fun
Look forward to seeing this on the site, I'm interested to see what you come up with :)

Dragon Knight Of Rhun
08-03-2009, 12:05 PM
Look forward to seeing this on the site, I'm interested to see what you come up with :)

I too am interested to see this FAQ. My group may actually use it. Although then again, I sold my only working army to make my current one. So, I cant play for awhile. I will not be testing it myself. :D

Loki73
08-03-2009, 12:38 PM
I didnt like the LOTR minis at first. But when WOTR came out I bought the book. I really like it. Too bad there is no group in my area to play.

I'd say the best way to keep it fun is to keep up the enthusiasm of the local group. Special scenarios, slow grow leauge for new peeps, fair play tournies. Terrain building night for the club.

iamaddj
08-03-2009, 12:45 PM
I didnt like the LOTR minis at first. But when WOTR came out I bought the book. I really like it. Too bad there is no group in my area to play.

I'd say the best way to keep it fun is to keep up the enthusiasm of the local group. Special scenarios, slow grow leauge for new peeps, fair play tournies. Terrain building night for the club.

Those are all the right ways to grow a game. But the most important way of doing it is to just keep playing it, in a store or club house. Keep people noticing the game and seeing how much fun you have.