[unofficiall weekender] What? Friday already?!

[sundancer 42985xp 3]

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Read all of this before you start as it will save any trouble later.

First thing you must do is make your “pledge”. It can be anything gaming related, big or small, and you don’t even have to finish it. No, in here, happiness is the road. Have fun doing whatever it is, but it is not a race. Accompany your work with pictures or we might think you are do something sinister and just using us for cover.

You are also presented with a few questions. It is to get the conversation started. Try and keep your answers ‘conversational’, no text speak, and certainly no “basically”. This is how we all get to know each other better. While you are here feel free to tell us a story, show a picture, joke, tales of love or woe, or just add your own little bit. This is the whole point…in here it is just us.

If you have never taken part before we may bark and bite, but we also like a cuddle! It is all done in the best possible taste and it is character building. feel free to give as good as you get.

A few other things to note: NO RELIGION & NO POLITICS! Glasgow pub rules are in effect. If you need to make a better point then it is fine, but don’t take the piss. And always keep it civil.

Play plenty of music to go with your work. Loud and through proper speakers. Write us a playlist of things we might not have heard before.

Now, after all of that there is only one ‘real’ rule in here and it cannot be broken: NO DICKS!

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Questions:

1. What is, in your experience and opinion, the most balanced game?
2. Have you ever play tested a game, gave feedback and if so, did it change anything? Tell us!
3. Has any update, errata, rules update totally broken a game for you personally? If so, what was it?

[warzanKeymaster 31125xp 3]

Amazing questions this week @sundancer – very difficult to answer lol

What is, in your experience and opinion, the most balanced game?

I found Drop Zone Commander to have a nice balance after it settled in.

Have you ever play tested a game, gave feedback and if so, did it change anything? Tell us!

No, I have played a number of games early in their development, but not ‘play testing’ I tend to give feedback on higher level aspects of the games design and communication etc – Playtesting should be a profession!

Has any update, errata, rules update totally broken a game for you personally? If so, what was it?

That’s a really tricky one and I cant think of one off the top of my head I shall ponder that though lol

 

A little bit of musak to kick us off this week.

Some Cyndi Lauper to keep you guys on your toes!

 

[bobcockayne 20723xp 2]

This weekend I’ll be mainly painting Battlemechs (again)

1) Panzer , the box never tips over! Actually a blast from the past WRG 4th Edition Ancient’s, I couldnt win no matter what army I had!

2) only my own ‘I’ve got the B movie Blues’!

3)X wing 2.0 wasnt going to spend fortune on updating cards, etc, to be honest not played it since.

[Anonymous 0xp 1]

Music – some epic heavy metal from Denmark!  First song from a 18 minute EP that is on constant rotation in my hobby shed at the moment.

Pledge – Finish my Nurgle Speeder… I really have painters block at the moment.  Not feeling it when I go to paint stuff.

My answers are going to be a bit shit, mainly as I don’t play that many games, I just buy stuff with the intentions of playing it!

What is, in your experience and opinion, the most balanced game?
Stone, Paper, Scissors is fairly balanced in terms of win rate for each choice… otherwise Poker – in the very long run the most skilful player wins but there is still a chance for lesser players if that is in your definition of balance.

Have you ever play tested a game, gave feedback and if so, did it change anything? Tell us!
Sort of but it was a computer game back in the 00s.  It was probably more early access and find the bugs than actual play testing.  Did the feedback change anything… no idea, it was such a bad idea of a game, it should never have been thought about, so I don’t know if it was ever released.

Has any update, errata, rules update totally broken a game for you personally? If so, what was it?
Some of the Hearthstone expansions have totally broken the game, meaning that you end up playing only two or three other decks which is boring as a boring thing.  I played a lot of Hearthstone for a while.

[piersParticipant 25489xp 3]

What is, in your experience and opinion, the most balanced game?

I avoid games that are ‘balanced’ in regards to tournament competition rules. I want to play toy Soldiers not indulge in zen like meditation over the most optimum list.

I prefer a game that has a narrative and sense of warfare more than a competition. With historical games, balance is less important. That doesnt mean it doesnt exist in a game… just not in the way most assume. It can be achieved in many ways.

Any game inherently designed to be a ‘tourney’ game, I dont buy. Not my thing.

Have you ever play tested a game, gave feedback and if so, did it change anything? Tell us!

Yes… literally my (part time) job with Battlegroup and NorthAG. It changes stuff all the time. We write and playtest, at times to remove balance… sometimes you want to skew things one way or the other.

Has any update, errata, rules update totally broken a game for you personally? If so, what was it?

Not really… see answer 1 above.

[sundancer 42985xp 2]

Ah, nice to see so fast reaction.

What is, in your experience and opinion, the most balanced game?

My experience is very thin compared to many other gamers here… so I’ll go with Blood Bowl. The LRB Version that was maintained while GW didn’t do anything. Just a lot of fun bashing into each other

Have you ever play tested a game, gave feedback and if so, did it change anything? Tell us!

A few but nothing ever major occurred.

Has any update, errata, rules update totally broken a game for you personally? If so, what was it?

I have to agree with @bobcockayne here. X-Wing V2 changed so much that I haven’t played since. But I bought the conversion kits and every new release since then (not the re-releases though) Don’t start to calculate how much that costs!

And now off to the kitchen! Need to make some tomato sauce for tonight!

[Anonymous 0xp 0]

@sundancer why do you have to make tomato sauce for tonight?  What’s for dinner?  I love food and cooking, it is why I am fat.  I’m making sweet and sour pork or my Northern Ireland version of it!

[sundancer 42985xp 2]

@robert nothing fancy. Noodles with minced meat and the before mentioned sauce….  (though the sauce is only for me. My Daughter and my wife don’t like tomato sauce… they use ketchup… *sigh* don’t ask… ;))

[Anonymous 0xp 0]

@sundancer I feel you, brother, as I come from a family of picky eaters, though I will eat anything… not food challenge everything but I can’t think of a food I don’t like or wouldn’t eat – maybe not monkey brain soup (wasn’t that in Indiana Jones?)  Certain chillis don’t like me though, Jalapenos in particular, they knock me out of routine for days on end.

 

[limburger 21709xp 1]

1) What is, in your experience and opinion, the most balanced game?

Tic-tac-toe is a perfectly balanced because equally skilled opponents are only ever going to get a draw.
I’d also argue that it is proof that a perfectly balanced game is boring as heck.

2) Have you ever play tested a game, gave feedback and if so, did it change anything? Tell us!
Although I’ve seen plenty of beta stage rules during kickstarter updates I never had time to test them.
Reading the developers thoughts during such playtesting stages was far more interesting, because it shows how tricky their job really is.

Playtesting is a job that deserves more credit than it’s given. In software development a good tester is worth his/her weight in gold platinum. I’m pretty sure the same applies to game development.
I therefor also believe that the average gamer is not suited to playtesting. They don’t know how to create test scenarios that allow them to make or break the game. Never mind providing feedback in a way that is useful.

3) Has any update, errata, rules update totally broken a game for you personally? If so, what was it?
I’m not a competitive player, so I’m not too bothered when rule updates make certain things ‘better’ or ‘worse’.
As such I also haven’t experienced a game-breaking update.
In my experience the (dis)advantages after the inevitable update tended to be minimal and were usually more the result of players discovering that their ‘winning’ strategy wasn’t working so they chose to complain about rules instead of fixing their own poor choices.

People simply don’t understand that ‘balance’ does not mean that X can defeat Y at any given time.
You can’t expect soldiers with pistols to damage tanks.

The ‘balance’ is in having a winning strategy available … retreating in order to survive and/or call in backup is a good strategy.
Wether or not you get to use that strategy depends on your opponent who isn’t going to roll over and die for your pleasure.

[sundancer 42985xp 1]

@robert it was “chilled monkey brain” and the soup had eyes. Also snake surpise and the big bugs *g*

[woldenspoonsParticipant 3557xp 2]

Sea cucumbers all round then.

1. I don’t play many greatly balanced games, certainly not the Geedubya ones. I guess there was a certain phase in Warmachine MKII where it was a brilliant fine tuned game where everything was broken so it was all fine.

2. Only computer games. Dawn of War always sticks in my mind. I play tested the hell out of that with my mega online guild.

3. Xwing MKII wishes it was Warmachine MKIII. Perfectly great and fairly balanced game gets a new release and ruins itself for all its fans. Sound familiar?

Ooh tunes.

That last one a little topical following events today in Manchester. ?

My pledge. I’m playing 40k tomorrow versus my work buddy. Should be fun, my list is filth.

[Anonymous 0xp 3]

This evening has mostly been getting ready for some games tomorrow.

My money is on the Dwarfs to steamroller those Germans!

Also did a little bit on the Nurgeeder

[sundancer 42985xp 0]

That nurgle speeder comes along really nicely.

 

[woldenspoonsParticipant 3557xp 0]

Finished game, got smashed but fun was had. On honour of @warzan @avernos @lloyd we loosely based our game on the Battle of Hastings.

Pictures when I can move again ?

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