Originally published at: https://boingboing.net/2019/04/26/whats-new-in-tabletop-gaming-4.html
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If it is still the record keeping nightmare that it has been I will pass. No offense to those of you who like that but I just do not want to deal with that level of detail anymore.
I really did like what WizKids did with the click base version but the quarterly release schedule drove me away.
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As someone who likes the record keeping hell version: you should look into Alpha Strike. It’s the streamlined version that plays really well and has none of the bullshit. A friend of mine ran a fudge/battletech RPG campaign and we eventually switched to it just to make sure that we were able to finish sessions in less than 5 hours.
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At university, when time was still infinite, we combined the phased movement and handling checks of Car Wars into Battletech (with a Mechwarrior RPG layer on top governing skill checks). This smoothed out the movement and hugely improved the interaction between light and heavy mechs.
OK, it wasn’t quick…
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Just got our hands on the new Journeys in Middle Earth game, which is more or less (from what it looks like) Imperial Assault, but Lord of the Rings flavored. There’s no dice, however, which is a big change. If the app works as well for setup and “DM’ing” as it does for Imperial Assault and Mansions of Madness, it should be smooth to learn and play.
Still learning the ins and outs of Root, which is one of the more fascinating, repayable board games I’ve tried in a long time. Housemate is designing and printing 3D tiles and figurines for the whole set and it’s a nice upgrade
This is what I really like about some video game recreations that are reverent to the original (Blood Bowl and the first Space Hulk come to mind) because they take away the drudgery of the mechanics they preserve.
however… multiplayer is a mixed bag (good on Blood Bowl, less than stellar for Space Hulk)
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Except Blood Bowl and Space Hulk are not record keeping nightmares. I don’t play BattleTech for the same reason I don’t play Car Wars and Star Fleet Battles.
Space Hulk is a bit of a game prep nightmare but otherwise simple beer and pretzels level rules.
Blood Bowl is also a pretty basic ruleset with record keeping only for in game events and post game things.
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The rules in the Beginner Box are definitely more streamlined, but that’s basically because of simply removing heat management and internal structure damage. I certainly think those concepts are important and wished they’d re-visited the rules and designed more modern mechanics.
I got the last release of Car Wars 4e, back in 2015, mucked around with it for a while and was reminded just how gnarly it was. It looks, from the demos of the forthcoming edition, that they’ve greatly streamlined those rules. But it’s going to take A LOT to get me to switch over from Gaslands (and I bet that’s going to be true for a lot of fellow Guzzolene junkies).
I too got into a little bit of MechWarrior and also appreciated the more playable rules and the click bases.
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Gawd, I love Blood Bowl. My son gave me the new plastic Dark Elf team for Xmas. Can’t wait to assemble, paint, and field those. So far, we have Human, Orc, Goblin, and Skaven teams.
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You are correct, and my comparison is weak; there’s much less damage to keep track of (it just limits your movement) and no PPCs cooling down in BB. 
(though Wizards can be seen as LRMs… kinda)
I’m trying to say the modicum of rules automation in those video games gives me hope that record keeping could be “left to the machines.”
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Another brutal reminder that Rick & Morty Season 4 is still not out yet.
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