Ridiculous demo game stories

Games Sentinels of the Multiverse
1

Was visiting with some friends last night and their kids (ages 7 and 13) really wanted to try out Sentinels. The 7-year-old is amazingly bright and accustomed to playing more complex games, so the three of us gave it a shot. 

They picked Ra and K.N.Y.F.E., respectively. I took Legacy and – not surprisingly – I put us up against Baron Blade in Insala Primalis.

I didn't count on our lack of ongoing removal…

Two early backlash fields really put a dent in our options. Legacy was able to heroically intercept two devious disruptions (i.e., we got lucky, and I happened to have played a Heroic Interception the turn before a Devious Disruption came out – twice in a row), but that meant Legacy was incapped pretty quickly.

The 13-year-old realized that both the other characters could destroy ongoings if incapped and they discussed which character they should set up to survive and finish off Blade (which I thought was a great indication of how well they got the game). We set it up so the T-Rex would take out KNYFE, since it was going to hit one of them, anyway.

Eventually, after KNYFE was out, we felt we had a chance, especially since we hoped to send the T-Rex after Blade (as both Blade and Ra were at 8 HP). Ra just had to survive Blade’s next turn, and with Blade’s EoT damage what it is we didn’t think that would be too hard. 

Insanely, the T-Rex was joined by a pack of Velociraptors, and together they took Blade to 1 HP! We were really excited and entertained – cheers all around the table!

But Blade then proceeded to take Ra from 8 to 0 on his turn with a couple of shocking card plays and the EoT damage.  :cry:  (And that was with Ra immune to the Burn, which the 7-year-old was very proud of!)

We were SOOOOOOO close! 

Both the kids had a great time and enjoyed the game, even though we lost. Afterwards, we sat around talking about the characters, story, and options available, with me just answering all their questions. Very good time. They loved the art, the style, the flavor text, everything. 

As usual, the game just sells itself.  :wink:

2

I don't have good stories like that.   I'm surprised your friends didn't play along with their kids.  

3

My story is ridiculous not because the game itself was crazy, but because the player was just... odd.

Basically, I brought Sentinels to a gaming event to introduce it to new people, and have some fun. I got there when it opened, so there weren't many people to begin with. 

There was one guy who seemed interested and I explained it to him. I told him the mechanics, the theme, and the important factor "3-5 players". Now we were two people. The obvious answer to most veteran players is that "I can play 2 heroes since I know the characters, he plays 1". Simple, right? Nope. He refused that. He wanted one hero each. He was so adamant to do it this way, that he wouldn't play even if I played two. He honestly thought it would be fine. I explained to him that it will be hard and unbalanced, and that it's not intended for two heroes, but at least three heroes. He wouldn't relent. He assumed we'd be fine.

So, in a quick 20 minute game (with a set-up made for us to win in most normal circumstances) we lost big time. 

I asked him what he thought. He said something along the lines of "Way too hard, the game developers don't understand how to balance the game difficulty. They need to learn how to make a game properly." All I could answer was "It is meant for 3-5 players, and I did tell you it will be very hard, and we might not win." Still, he was convinced GtG's fault for being bad at what they do…

We didn't play it again. The other times I introduced again I never had this issue.

*start sarcasm* So a huuuge thanks goes out to GtG for making a game too unbalanced when it's not played properly, where the recommendations are written on the box, in the rule book, and on your website. Thanks for that! *end sarcasm*

 

 

4

Just a side not, KNYFE does has some Ongoing removal.

I am glad you had fun!

5

My kindergartener has begun to be interested, perhaps because her brother dressed as Bunker for Halloween. The three of us ran about 90% of an app-driven game last night after dinner, where she insisted on being Bunker. (He's O-X; I'm... having a lapse of memory. Wraith, maybe.) Ambuscade & Insula Primalis.

It's hard to keep her Bunker-loving brother from dictating her plays, but I think she's having fun so far. Hard to tell yet how much she's actually understanding, but that's for a Saturday when we can put the cards out across the dining room table & let her take as long as she wants to read the cards.

6

Partially because they have a newborn baby (and needed to deal with it), partially because they were socializing with my spouse, and partially because they weren't sure this was their kind of game. 

I'll keep working on them…  :wink:

[quote="UXM266"]

start sarcasm So a huuuge thanks goes out to GtG for making a game too unbalanced when it's not played properly, where the recommendations are written on the box, in the rule book, and on your website. Thanks for that! end sarcasm  
[/quote]

sigh Yeah, one of the things we've done at cons over the years is wander around, looking for folks playing the game. I've lost count of how many times we've found two people playing with two heroes. Usually, they're just confused at how hard it is, but when we explain the situation they are generally very thankful. :slightly_smiling_face:  (Even had one person come to the booth the next day with candy and drinks as thanks for saving them from their frustration! :open_mouth: )

[quote="Pydro"]

Just a side not, KNYFE does has some Ongoing removal.
[/quote]

Yeah, but it isn't useful when it doesn't come up!  :wink:

7

My wife and I brought the game to a party and played a five-person game against Citizen Dawn. She put up one of her better fights: she started with the upper hand, and after a three-hour throw-down we won with the plink off incapacitated Chrono-Ranger (played by one of the new people). We were constantly shouting and whooping, and the other guests playing Blokus and Stone Age all agreed that whatever we were doing, it looked like the most fun.