John Rogers
United States
Yakima
Washington
-
This expansion looks interesting and I'm looking for a map that can scale well from 3-5 players. Is there a copy of the rules floating out there that I can read before deciding to purchase?
-
J C Lawrence
United States
Campbell
California
-
John Rogers wrote: I'm looking for a map that can scale well from 3-5 players.
None of them do.
Age of Steam Maps - by number of players
-
John Rogers
United States
Yakima
Washington
-
clearclaw wrote:
See my issue here:
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/616421/needed-a-default-...
-
J C Lawrence
United States
Campbell
California
-
Understood. My London comes close-ish, perhaps the best of a bad lot, but it is not perfect for that requirement (there's a rules change across player counts). Without saying that London scales wonderfully, as it doesn't, I don't recall any others that scale well.
-
John Rogers
United States
Yakima
Washington
-
JC,
It appears as though the Zombies map here is essentially the same game on both sides but with differnt shapes to accommodate different player counts. Am I right or are they two completely different maps?
-
J C Lawrence
United States
Campbell
California
-
I don't recall the details of the maps and my copy is in the car and I'm not. I expect Michael will answer soon.
-
John Rogers
United States
Yakima
Washington
-
Thanks.
-
Breno K.
Brazil
BrasÃlia
Distrito Federal
-
John Rogers wrote: JC,
It appears as though the Zombies map here is essentially the same game on both sides but with differnt shapes to accommodate different player counts. Am I right or are they two completely different maps?
True, one for 3 players and one for 4/5. However, I would NOT recommend the zombie expansion with 5 players, unless you're ok with players going bankrupt.
-
John Rogers
United States
Yakima
Washington
-
BrenoK wrote:
I would NOT recommend the zombie expansion with 5 players.
Care to elaborate Breno?
Also, are the two sides essentially the same game just adjusted for different player counts or are they completely different experiences?
-
Michael Webb
United States
The City of Steel
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
-
The original map was the Michigan side, for 3 players. There was a huge amount of enthusiasm for it in my playtest groups, and people were upset because they often wanted a seat, but couldn't have one because it was only a 3 count map.
I went to the drawing board, and made a larger variation on the same theme, meant for 4-5 players, and that became the Western PA map. The only rules variation between the two maps is the number of shares that can be issued, as PA is much more terrain heavy and expensive to play. That's why I have the expansion listed as one thing, AoS: The Zombie Apocalypse. The sub-maps, I guess you could rate on their own merits, but they really are just meant to allow you to play the game at a wider range of scales.
FWIW, I don't think bankruptcy is a huge issue in 5 player PA, if I did, I wouldn't have published the map as is because I despise bankruptcy and raise share counts if I think it is going to be an issue. Issues like bankruptcy obviously depend on the group's play style and initial feel for the map though, and early plays of either map, especially in all-virgin groups can lead to some track laying decisions that...shall we say...cause problems by the mid to late game.
Aside edit: Forgot to address the main issue; no, I don't publish my rules online, as with most of the AoS expansion designers (I think Ted is the only one who does, and JC indirectly due to publishing through Ted). There are a couple of posts deeper in the forums that have the major details about how the map works and feels like if you're curious about that.
-
John Rogers
United States
Yakima
Washington
-
CortexBomb wrote: The original map was the Michigan side, for 3 players. There was a huge amount of enthusiasm for it in my playtest groups, and people were upset because they often wanted a seat, but couldn't have one because it was only a 3 count map.
I went to the drawing board, and made a larger variation on the same theme, meant for 4-5 players, and that became the Western PA map. The only rules variation between the two maps is the number of shares that can be issued, as PA is much more terrain heavy and expensive to play. That's why I have the expansion listed as one thing, AoS: The Zombie Apocalypse. The sub-maps, I guess you could rate on their own merits, but they really are just meant to allow you to play the game at a wider range of scales.
Sounds exactly what I'm looking for; essentially a default map that can scale well from 3-5 players with the same basic rules intact at all player counts.
As a bonus I'm a fan of games wherein a key component/resource (goods and cities) is finite and in immediate danger of running out (Zombies).
Sounds like fun. I'll put in my order this evening.
Thanks Michael.
-
|
|
