How do they stack up against the 'Faux?

[Dire Hoarcat Snuggler]

Without engaging in a bunch of trolling or fan-boy-ing, I'd like to hear some honest reviews (not banter) for the following skirmish games based on their own merits but ONLY IF YOU HAVE PLAYED THEM:

- Anima

- Freebooter's Fate

- Hell Dorado

- Infinity

- Pulp City

Rate any of the above that apply to your past experiences from 1 (crap that should never be played) to 5 (about as fun and well-designed as we already know Malifaux is). Please do not engage in broad rules comparisons, but keep your reviews constrained to what is good/enjoyable about the elements of the game itself when submitting a review. Think a BGG review, not a fan review. Also no arguing!

~J~

[Cats Laughing]

Hell Dorado - have played quite a fair amount, maybe close to my number of Malifaux games. Smaller board than Faux, alternating activation like Faux, but without any ability to mass-companion and alpha strike, which is nice. At best you can string two model's activations together, so you can take out a key model, but it's fairly difficult to wipe large swathes out at once.

There does appear to be an almost rock-paper-scissors aspect across the factions, and I'm not really happy with the starter box I was given. Westerners seem to have a shooty box set up in a game where shooting someone's face off can be very difficult. Imagine having guns that take 2 turns to reload in a 4 turn game... I've had much more success/fun once I swapped in some melee models, especially against the Saracens and their ~you can't shoot anyone within X" of my Djinn, who also speeds up my melee monsters~ boxed set. (Seriously? wtf...)

Interesting mechanic with the dice rolling (max dice you can roll is 5, but additional dice you should get can become rerolls). Also, melee combats are opposed, so activating and non-activating opponent are both at risk of taking damage (which makes really good melee models disgusting). Both models can take damage, so chance of a dual-death is fairly high. High DEF seems to be a key stat.

I would have to say that the terrain rules are even more integrated into the game than Faux's and possibly more annoying. Terrain placement is almost a second game in and of itself.

Scenario rules are interesting, though I feel some turn limits are too short.

Despite all the critiques above, I have enjoyed playing it and I think the models are very nice. A 4 compared to Malifaux's 5

[Dire Hoarcat Snuggler]

Thanks for the first review! I do like Hell Dorado for many of the above reasons... it's EXTREMELY fast-paced, and can feel a bit short, but does encourage re-play and reconfiguration of your army. I also like that the box sets start with 100 points and you cap around 200, with no auspicious mentioning of "giant epic-sized battles" &__&

We who play it in Tucson have already made the comparison between the Lost and Space Marines in terms of their obvious badassery and lack of tech, but that's not really a negative so much as it's something to come to terms with and beat with time and effort.

~J~

[nilus]

I too enjoy Hell Dorado but I have not played it in a while. How is the US rule book. I played with the french translated rules and I always felt that some card abilities or rules were just slightly mistranslated.

[Dire Hoarcat Snuggler]

The US rules book is extremely well translated. Words that could have several meanings in common language terms are unalterably clear in their meaning in the context of the rules. Special ability rules are easy to find, and with about 30 minutes of reading, you could be on your way to playing your first game. Mine only lasted 30 minutes at 100 points!

~J~

[Dire Hoarcat Snuggler]

So EdWeird and I are going to be playtesting V2 Infinity for the LGS today. I have the sectorial packs for Bakunin (Nomads), Military Orders (PanOceania), and Hassasin (Haqq-Islam). All I need to do now is dig up a few d20s and something that measures in cm! @_____@

Has anyone played Infinity's 2nd edition? Any thoughts?

~J~

[Mr_Smigs]

Infinity is wargaming on Geometry.

no, seriously. one of my favorites right now (tied with Mercs and Malifaux) because there is NO way to play over 300 points and finish a game in a night... there's just way too many "active response orders" (I shoot you, during your action) when you put more points on the table.

the promoter out here describes it as the Appleseed/Shirow wargame... think old 80s robot anime, and those tactics work...

there's a statement in the book that says "cover is important in Infinity".... which is the understatement of the year for that game... Cover is life.

it's also one of the few games I've played with rules for invisible deployments and delaying enemy drop troops (hacking their dropship)

Mercs is kind of "infinity light" .. half the models, half the actions... 1-for-1 activations with a max of 5 models. all the little nickle and dime rules are dropped (no rough terrain, you can move through it, or not.) to compensate for half-actions (you move, or shoot... rarely both)

very fast play, and quick to learn the basics.

Helldorado, IMO, is specifically designed for 2 strategies, close combat and exploiting the terrain. Guns exist to weaken targets strategically, not win fights. same with magic. if you're not in the opponent's face and hacking apart vital targets soon, they get the drop on you. (the rest has been covered above already.)

Anima failed to impress me. I don't even remember the rules anymore and I read them less than two weeks ago.

[Dire Hoarcat Snuggler]

Thanks, Mr. Smigs, for your reviews!

I have to agree for the most part about Anima... it's VERY pretty (model-wise), but the rules are just kind of an accessory to the theme. It does play a lot like a team-battle of Final Fantasy, but that's its one redeeming quality. Some of the combos are just plain broken, unfortunately

~J~

Edited September 28, 2011 by Dire Hoarcat Snuggler

[Mr_Smigs]

So EdWeird and I are going to be playtesting V2 Infinity for the LGS today. I have the sectorial packs for Bakunin (Nomads), Military Orders (PanOceania), and Hassasin (Haqq-Islam). All I need to do now is dig up a few d20s and something that measures in cm! @_____@

Has anyone played Infinity's 2nd edition? Any thoughts?

~J~

didn't you just say that?

thoughts:

if you're just learning, focus on Burst and ARO rules to start. Don't bother with hacking or any of the strange deployment.

the game mechanic isn't the most intuitive (Roll low, but as close to the target number as possible to hit... but roll high to save against damage...)

remember the order pool is dynamic and re-calculated each round.

[Dire Hoarcat Snuggler]

My computer was stuck on loading my update to the thread before and after I opened my laptop, so there is my answer. I've edited it to say something else now

~J~

[Mr_Smigs]

right on. no worries... hoped the extra info helped...

we've got an "Infinity guy" up here in PHX at Outpost who's lookin at organizing another newbie tournament (the prizes are awesome, last one was an engraved chunk of glass big enough you could beat someone to death with it...)

prolly in a couple months... (more when I know) and we'd love to get more people into it...

[Eyespy]

- Freebooter's Fate

I can't speak for the gameplay aspects of Freebooters Fate, but the models outstrip any other game system I've ever seen, with a corresponding level of painting skill required to get the best out of them.

Sculpted by Werner Klocke, they make great display pieces for the more advanced hobbiest.

One day I'll pick up a starter box or two and actually play a game, right after I finish every other model I have sitting around waiting to be painted

[Dire Hoarcat Snuggler]

@Eyespy - my gf and I have a full set of Pirates and Goblins going. We HAVE YET TO PLAY A SINGLE GAME OF IT, however! ... still need another one of the unique "spanish" fate decks, and at nearly 14 USD a pop, that's not high on my list of priorities. Goblin box alone was almost 65 USD, and then some of the single minis are nearly 20 bucks (#*&@# PIRATE QUEEN!!!). The import overheads and the fact that Werner can't make heads un-fat and hands of the right scale might be a turn-off to some, but with the entire range being his minis, that turns right around and gives the whole game a surreal and consistent stylization, and doesn't bother me so much in particular. Some of the aspects of gameplay I remember from my first read-through seem kind of neat, if not being altogether representative of real pirate fights ... so I can't really speak much on gameplay either, I guess.

~J~

[gregdorf]

- Anima

- Hell Dorado

- Infinity

- Pulp City

Rate any of the above that apply to your past experiences from 1 (crap that should never be played) to 5 (about as fun and well-designed as we already know Malifaux is).

I have played and keep models for all these games, and I think they are all decent to good games.

Anima tactics is a very small scale skirmish game with most players have between 5 and 7 models at an average game size of 300 points or levels. It can be very fast game system with most games lasting between one hour to one and half hours. Plus side is each character has a very unique feel or style of play to them and the way you can structure your force you can usually take what models you like. Downside this game can feel very random at times, and should be played between 200 and 300 points. I would give it a 3.5 with 5 being the best.

Helldorado: I am still fairly new to this game, I have a personal rule of if there is not published book with rules in english I will not play it. I enjoy this game, it is again a small scale skirmish game that plays very fast. Plus side is the game is cheap to get into, $60 will get you to 200 points in most lists. Downside, there is not a lot of option out yet and knowing all of the abilities and effects seem to take a bit more time. my rating 4.

Infinity: This is one of my favorite games, it is fairly complicated game system at first to learn but after you have it most rules disputes can be worked out logically. You need more models for this game, most people tend to build list around 10 man units. Unlike the other skirmish games this is one has one players (active player) spending all of his order pool (action points) with the second player responding to the orders that his models can see spent. This game requires a fair amount of terrain and and plays very fast. Turn off for some people is the crit system, if you roll exactly your to hit number modified on a d20 you cause a crit, and the super man aspect of the game. my rating is 4.5

Pulp City: a great game that I never get to play. It is a low model count, most games you play x number of levels and most supers are level 1 or 2, you have to build your list as evenly as possible so an average game level which is 8 will have 3 level 2 supers and 2 level 1 supers. The game is very interactive with terrain elements and bystanders. The game is scenario driven. Down side the early models can suck fairly bad and it is difficult to get games in. Plus side there are is a planet of the apes faction now and there are going to be giant monsters in the near future for your supers to fight against. my rating 4.5

[Dire Hoarcat Snuggler]

Great brief reviews! I'm agreeing so far with most all of these comments. Hell Dorado is great, quick, brutal fun. The problem is with that one getting over the paper-rock-scissors effect. With Anima, there are some very obvious builds that work better than others, and a few really bizarre combinations that stomp everything into the ground. This can be objectionable if you're not adequately prepared for it. I've liked my minimal exposure to Pulp City so far, but I would like its model range and its rules to improve... couldn't tell you specifically how, but ... yeah.

~J~

[Dire Hoarcat Snuggler]

You're welcome?

[Orboros]

You're welcome?

Don't feed the troll!

Anyway, i'm playing Infinity regulary and i love it. All the reactive stuff just ads a really nice twist to the game.

I also started Anima 2 weeks ago so i cant say much about it but the first impression was surprisingly good.

[Koschai]

You guys didn't ask for it, but have you checked out Cool mini or Not's Dark Age: Apocalypse? It's set post apocalypse with a "Book of Eli" meets "Mad Max" feel though set on an alien world so in addition to all the humans you have indigenous aliens, etc.

A mid way point between Warmachine and Malifaux its a skirmish game, closer to Faux in model count but more like Warmachine in its straight up playstyle as opposed to combo's and synergies. Using a D20 roll low (lower is always better) with 1's and 20's being crit successess and fails respectivly. An alternating activation and AP based system it has some shooting but certainly favors assault with fast moving models and brutal combat that has you rapidly peeling models giving the game a very fast paced bloody feel.

Attractive models (for the most part, though I have heard opinions vary) and a variety of factions that are balanced but come with thier own flavors I think its a pretty solid game. Starter boxes are $40-60 and come with around 300 points, a full "tournament" game being 500 points.

We've been enjoying playing it recently and while I personally prefer Malifaux I would give it 4 to Malifaux's 5.

Edited October 4, 2011 by Koschai
typo's

[gregdorf]

I had the old dark age stuff, it is based on the art work of bramm (I am sure spelled the name wrong). Anyway the models have odd poses with some good stuff. The scale is much larger then typical skirmish games. I personally will not buy or play this game. My stance has nothing to do with the game but how the company behaved towards me. Now it has been a number of years and things could have changed but I am not going to spend my little free time to give them another chance.

[Koschai]

Without getting anyone in trouble, what did they do?

[Dire Hoarcat Snuggler]

That might be a bit OT due to the OP.

I will remind the people who post here that this discussion has a specific range of mini games to talk about, and the discussion is based on those skirmish games which are affordable, small-scale, can fit in one small carry-on, are popular, and are regularly found in LGSs.

Carry on with any further commentary after reading the OP if necessary.

~J~

[gregdorf]

Without getting anyone in trouble, what did they do?

There was honesty issues and when I called them on it they blamed the problem on someone else. I will not go into details here on the forum, the problem is in the past and I would not want to hijack a thread for something silly.

[Koschai]

Okay thanks, just curious and sorry for any percieved thread jacking. I have no experience of any of the games in the OP but do have an interest in Helldorado. I just thought, based on the spirit of the OP, a brief review of Dark Age might be welcome as it runs in the same pack.

[beowulfthehunter]

I actully prefer Helldorado over Malifaux I prefer the sculpts of the models and the over all gameplay which is fast and brutal. My only issue is the slow release scedule and the fact no one plays in my area.

Anima is a really great skirmish game with some nice models once again. They also suffer from the same issues as above. I do feel as if some of the tactics in the game rely on being lucky.

Infinity is a very complex set of rules with some awesome models. However, the ammount of terrian needed is kind of a hit to the wallet or clock if you have to scratch build it. Again no one plays in my area. I just sold off my Aridina models that have sat dormant for over 3 years.

[Mr_Smigs]

Ok, additional commentary from a player I was helping get back into Malifaux this weekend...

Combat Style... this was actually a big concern of theirs,

in Helldorado and Infinity combat have active defender,

when you attack (specifically in melee) an enemy model, the opposed roll can result in the attacker taking damage as well.

this does change the strategy notably from "get the Alpha Strike" to "manage damage mitigation" when planning for the turn.