Jump to content

Rogue Ruffian

User
 View Profile  See their content

  • Posts

    66

  • Joined

  • Last visited

 Content Type 

Blog Entries posted by Rogue Ruffian

  1. Rogue Ruffian
    Welcome to Rogue's Refuge! As I have been a brony for a long time, and an avid CCG player for even longer (yes, I had first edition Magic the Gathering cards - dating myself), it's crazy to me that it took me so long to get into the card game. Now, however, that little oversight is resolved, so let's saddle up!
     
    As the title says, this is a complete and unbiased first impression. I have seen a little bit of the game, but never owned any or played a hand before. For anyone unfamiliar, I hope this gives a good intro. For veteran players, forgive any beginner's ignorance. I have not yet played a full game yet. That will come later.
     
    First off, the cards are nice, durable, and well detailed. My most extensive experience with a CCG I have is Redemption, as I have been playing for 14 years now. That is the gold standard of material - a tad thicker, a good coating so finger prints stay where they should (elsewhere!), but without the feeling of industrial cardstock. MLP isn't up to that level, but is far beyond other games - Yu-Gi-Oh is a tad thinner and collects prints like none other. The worst offender is the horrendous Inuyasha CCG - exceedingly cheap. I was worried a bit about MLP, but for the most part my fears were unfounded. The cards are above average in material quality, so they can be played without sleeves, though I wouldn't recommend that. Properly sleeved, they'll last a long time - much longer than other games. Stored unsleeved, they seem like they will survive.
     
    Starter deck construction, however, leaves a tad to be desired. I understand the mechanics of the game, and can see that the starters are not chock full of power cards. This is understandable, as the goal is buying more (I get it - business is business) and building one's own deck, but other games have done better. Redemption, again, is phenomenal, as each starter comes with mega-power cards. MLP certainly has a good mix of higher grade cards, and a base to build on, but also has a few too many low power cards. One or two is ok, as sometimes LPs can work to a strategy, but I can tell when I build a lot of original are going to end up in the scrap heap and will more than likely not be used again. A shame, but this is common in all CCGs.
     
    The extras are nice, but unnecessary. I would have preferred a MLP Theme D20 to keep track of action points, but that's just me being excessively nerdy. The included action counters are good, and will easily fit in a deck box. The playmay is enormous, and unfortunately my uncoordinated self already ripped it in the unfolding. I'm a terror with roadmaps. I can definitely see it being helpful for younger players, so I like how detailed it is. The rulebook, though small, covers the necessary concepts well - it even answered a few questions I had while reading about the game that I figured I would need an online reference for.
     
    All in all, I'm pleased with it thus far, and will be getting some more starters and packs soon. I hope this has, at the very least, been interesting, and I will add (much) more after a few preliminary games. Thank you for reading!
  2. Rogue Ruffian
    This will be short and sweet. I wanted to love MLP:CCG, and the overall concept of the game - achieving goals and helping people (rather than slaughtering your opponent) - appealed to me. I'm a huge Euro board game player, so I'm very comfortable around victory points. The problem was the fit. Simply put, everything works, but doesn't work well together.
     
    Once I discerned how to actually play the game, more by reading guides online than the rules, I found the problem. The clunkiness of the mechanics and the poor book drains the hopeful joy of the source material. The basic concept was simple - have enough power with friends and buffs, confront a problem, solve it, get points. But you also get points for solving it first......what? Solved is solved, right? Nope....because of reasons.
     
    Honestly, and this can be seen as a cop-out, the problems of the game are hard to describe. It's very similar to trying to explain why a video game controls poorly. Relating the problem is sterile, as control is an experiential concept. Other CCGs can be explained easily why they fail - bad concept, broken mechanics, boring gameplay. MLP:CCG doesn't really suffer from these. Taken individually, the basics seem to work, and are very similar to modern tabletop games. It's hard to explain why it doesn't work, it just simply....doesn't. The concept fits (somewhat) with the show. The mechanics, once learned, are functional-ish. The gameplay is somewhat slow, but syncs with the bright, bubbly feel of the universe.....kind of.
     
    The core problem is, MLP is a great show and setting - it just doesn't fit into a CCG well. A devoted fan, capable of tweaking the setting just a bit (put your torches and pitchforks away - sometimes it's ok to sacrifice a bit of authenticity for gameplay) could make a phenomenal co-operative board game based in Equestria. I would buy it in a heartbeat. Direct competition, in the MLP universe, just feels off, and leads to problems that shouldn't be present in an MLP game.
  3. Rogue Ruffian
    There are some jobs certain people shouldn't have. I shouldn't be a lot of things, but one thing I DEFINITELY should not be is a rulebook writer for games - they would each weigh 16 lbs, fall off shelves, injure innocent children, and I would be in court 9 days a week being sued. I would want to cover every concept in depth to make sure what has happened to me in my gaming life never happens to others.
     
    I stand by what I said in my first impression - the rulebook is concise and covers the necessary mechanics well. When playing, however, using the rulebook needs to be a quick affair - find the necessary concept or term, get the definition, and get back to the game. Generally, this is accomplished by gameplay examples or a faux-playthrough included in the text, along with a helpful glossary in the back. The examples given are far from all that helpful, and the glossary has about 10 words in it.
     
    There was one major flaw, which now that I know of it I can work around it, but if one isn't aware, it can be frustrating. The layout of the rulebook is a mess. It gets the basic flow - card structure, mechanics, turn order. The problem is that it break down concepts in a weird way. It points out the different parts of the card (the first section, card structure), but doesn't define their function fully until they come up in play (section 3, turn order). As a cover to cover read, this works fine - it doesn't overwhelm the player looking to get the basics. When trying to find something when teaching another player, however, it's a hassle to find what you need on the spot. I attempted the first game with my wife - a very intelligent woman, we play a variety of table top and card games, and she does well with all of them - and it quickly became frustrating trying to find answers to questions. We eventually called it, and decided to come back to it after we both had thoroughly read the rulebook (this will be my third time doing so).
     
    As I've played many games, I can see the potential in this, but the rulebook needs a major overhaul. This may simply be the Canterlot Nights rulebook issue, as this is the set I have. I will be buying starters from the other sets, and comparing the books. You win this round, you inanimate object, but I'll be back........
×
×
  • Create New...