Yes, I was impressed by 2v2. I imagine it's better than 4 player FFA. Can't really imagine wanting to try 4 player FFA now anyway, since this has carved itself a niche as being one of the few games I've played that works great with teams (excluding dedicated team games)

I was going to write it off as too long and too many units and techs and abilities to keep track of for a non-Starcraft fan (e.g instead of rock-paper-scissors units, it's rock-paper...- 13 units-...-scissors). Great to try it once, but too much homework for a less streamlined game.

Then I did some reading and thought about the game, and screw it, I want to play again. Great that Paul and Kweku/Ama both own this, since it's likely forever OOP. The order and tech systems are cool. Love how you queue up the orders (a little like the video game, I think?)

Thanks for teaching, Paul. This is one of those games I never want to teach.

Paul was on the run from Turn 1, and I had mineral shortage from Turn 1. On the defensive the whole game, and we both broke down in Turn 4. Think I should have colonized the mineral planet earlier.

2v2 was better than your average 2v2 conquest game, thanks to the special victory conditions and order tokens. But still haven't found the complete 2v2 conquest game that differentiates greatly from 1v1; think a game needs to be specifically designed with that goal in mind.

Starcraft is a little unnecessarily messy. I almost prefer Game of Thrones, which uses the same Petersen hidden action-token mechanism but is much more streamlined overall.

David, do you think Stracraft 2v2 is not sufficiently different from 1v1? I thought the fact that you don't know your teammate's hidden orders made teamwork actually meaningful.

When we played, we allowed communication between teammates but they had to be open. So if I told Ralph that (if possible) I'd like him to cap one of Paul's (build) orders, I had to say it publicly and let Paul hear our potential plan. I feel that the hidden token placement mechanism is really enhanced by teamplay in a true meaning of the word.

2v2 is not bad, best 2v2 conquest game I've played so far. Better than all others where 2v2 is just glorified 1v1. But still waiting for an awesome 2v2 conquest game. I like that one side can club while the other goes for victory or special victory, and also the order-token thing (but you can't place them wherever you want, so not that many options for coordinating).

but you really need a dedicated group to play

It was fun enough - and I love good quality bits - but the size of the box means I will never own it.

I've played several times and have never seen anyone eliminated. I would say that something would have to go very wrong for a player to get eliminated in this game, either by the player it happened to or the other players not taking advantage of the right opportunities.

The card driven combat system is VERY poorly executed... I tried playing this game with every player aid I could find, and studied the combat mechanics for probably three hours... I STILL have no idea how it works. It is simply incomprehensible. It's too bad, but I DID find a person who was willing to pay for my copy and is painting up the models.

This game is pretty easy to get through, just have everyone know the basics beforehand (and they really are easy basics).