by AJEddy
Jesselargent81 wrote:
Maybe this isn't the case but it kind of sounds like you were hoping to play Pandemic legacy season one but just with a different story line AND upgrades?
In looking over the forums, I see that those who are disappointed in season two often speak nostalgically of season one.
I think that, if your group wants to find a way to enjoy the game you should really approach the game with your expectations of season one off the table and that might help. It's a game of exploration and survival and bringing your normal pandemic bag to the board might result in more bad experiences.
In looking over the forums, I see that those who are disappointed in season two often speak nostalgically of season one.
I think that, if your group wants to find a way to enjoy the game you should really approach the game with your expectations of season one off the table and that might help. It's a game of exploration and survival and bringing your normal pandemic bag to the board might result in more bad experiences.
There may be some truth to that, particularly with my wife and son. But I submit it is only a small factor at best. Let me frame it another way.
What endeared Pandemic to us is the wonderful game build around solving a very interesting, challenging and always slightly different puzzle. Character abilities, a player deck with good cards (Events), bad cards (Epidemics) and puzzle pieces (City cards). The player deck represents a clock for the game, as well as provides the timing mechanisms. What actions need to take priority, what actions can be postponed, when to use Events, when will Events show up. Interesting decisions and inputs. The timing in the player deck changing the puzzle and offering degrees of difficulty to the challenge. The Infection deck adding more interesting variance and timing considerations. But rarely - if ever - is the puzzle impossible to solve, nor is it ever so easy the game is boring.
Pandemic Legacy Season 1 threw in a bunch of twists, challenges and very interesting changes, but always remained true to the formula. The variance may have widened slightly, but again, never did the puzzle feel impossible nor overly simple. PLS1 was extremely fresh, exciting and still an engaging, addictive game anchored by a puzzle to solve.
Other games have done similar, and I really enjoy those as well. For the same reasons. Forbidden Desert being one that pops to mind.
The players are challenged to use their character abilities (which get used quite a bit), the event cards (which almost certainly will see play) and the timing of the other cards to solve a puzzle. And this is true of every game, with the puzzle and solution always being different enough to be interesting.
PLS2 (so far, still only through May) does not - in many games - provide the players with that same challenge. The brutality of the variance means many games don't even see character abilities used. Many games there is no puzzle solving, because the shitty end of the variance forced the players into performing mundane, but completely necessary, tasks. Often performing said tasks knowing they are doing so in vain. Many games will see no Events cards show up. And the distribution of the puzzle pieces (city cards) have a much higher likelihood of being extremely good or extremely bad.
Some stats and facts to illustrate my point...
- our record is 4-4 so far. We have had 2 landslide, boring as hell victories. Those were in no way the result of any decisions we made, but simply handed to us through dumb luck. We have had 3 "it is over before it even begun" losses. Again, the devastating loss having almost nothing to do with how we played but just the brutal punishment from bad luck. The other 3 games were interesting. So, we are 3 for 8 on enjoyable games.
- last game my son took our character who can build a supply center with just 3 cards (and 2 cubes). His favorite ability in Pandemic because he loves it every time he gets to help the team using fewer cards. He drew one...ONE ...city card in his first 7 cards! He only got around to using his character once, and that was toward the end of the game in a certain loss. No fun. NEVER happen in Pandemic. And that's not to say I want PLS2 to be just like PLS1. I am saying that the variance that exists in PLS2 makes the game a chore, and not a challenge.
- our average number of Rationed Events so far has been 4. In a regular game of Pandemic, and I submit also in PLS1, you will see 3-4 of those cards. The timing, and ultimate utility when they do show up, adding to the puzzle. But you can reasonably rely on getting 3-4 of those cards in the game, and plan on their use to help with the puzzle. We are seeing around 1 card per game. Sometimes 0 events, not once yet more than 2. We put the Skip the Infection step card in the deck all 8 games. We have yet to use the card; it has only been drawn once.
I am certainly ok with variance adjusting the difficulty of the challenge/puzzle. I am not ok with the variance adjusting the difficulty to impossible, nor to uninteresting and boring. And I am certainly not ok with how likely it is the variance in the game will do just that.
So far, in 5 out of our 8 games, we were not solving an interesting puzzle. Not even one with a twist that changed the difficulty in agreeable ways. Variance eliminated any possibility of getting/using the tools we needed to solve the puzzle. When there was even a puzzle to solve. Many of the objectives are not part of a puzzle at all, but doable only with 100% dumb luck. Draw the card = win. Don't draw the card = lose. And yet, other objectives are simply boring tasks, and not part of a puzzle. Tasks required to be completed so the game can progress, but not a challenging puzzle. Further, the ability to do those mundane tasks, often, comes down to the same variance that takes away from the fun.
Anyway, personally, I am still enjoying the game, if only because my approach is being propped up by hope things will improve. However, before they can improve, our group is tasked with some more boring work that will rely, significantly, on a lot of variance from an extremely bloated deck. Hoping once we get all our chores done we can get down to closing out the campaign with some enjoyable games.