by clarbri85
Gaglug wrote:
My group is a group of Pandemic veterans. It's always been a go-to game for us, and we love the original. We loved Pandemic Season 1. The overall plot was engaging, and we found the gameplay to be challenging and fun. My group ended up doing very well in Season 1. It was one of the best game experiences we've had.
We're through August now in Season 2, and I'm having trouble finding any fun at all in the game. The plot is boring with not a twist or a AHA moment (and I hear there may be some coming, but if you're 2/3 of the way through the game and one hasn't happened yet then you're doing something wrong with story).
Plus the game is extremely punishing, and it punishes you for doing things you weren't really supposed to be doing and then punishes you for not doing things fast enough that you weren't aware you were supposed to be doing.
[o]Oh you weren't aware that you get screwed unless you Recon areas quickly and will lose important upgrades if you don't prioritize Recon?
Ha ha, suckers![/o]
Plus with upgrades and gameplay strategy/prioritization, what is very obvious strategy now in hindsight wasn't an obvious strategy at start but you can't go back and redo so...tough luck for you.
Plus the game is very much a Lose more --> Lose more game where if you get behind the curve for any reason, you pretty much get sunk in the future. We had a few games of horribly bad luck like back to back Epidemics instantly ending games, and I'm not sure we're really recoverable at this point.
We're not having any fun. I don't even want to play anymore since it doesn't seem worthwhile to even try. You don't have enough supplies, you keep getting less supplies every month while adding more cities, and then the tempo of the game gets insane with the number of Epidemics and other bits that hit you and the fact you have no margin of error because any plague cube coming out marches you to a quick loss. We can't even get out of the gate without being halfway to losing because of the number of plague cubes that are out instantly on the board.
Unless we're doing something horribly wrong (which is possible), this has been the biggest letdown I've ever had in a game.
We're through August now in Season 2, and I'm having trouble finding any fun at all in the game. The plot is boring with not a twist or a AHA moment (and I hear there may be some coming, but if you're 2/3 of the way through the game and one hasn't happened yet then you're doing something wrong with story).
Plus the game is extremely punishing, and it punishes you for doing things you weren't really supposed to be doing and then punishes you for not doing things fast enough that you weren't aware you were supposed to be doing.
[o]Oh you weren't aware that you get screwed unless you Recon areas quickly and will lose important upgrades if you don't prioritize Recon?
Ha ha, suckers![/o]
Plus with upgrades and gameplay strategy/prioritization, what is very obvious strategy now in hindsight wasn't an obvious strategy at start but you can't go back and redo so...tough luck for you.
Plus the game is very much a Lose more --> Lose more game where if you get behind the curve for any reason, you pretty much get sunk in the future. We had a few games of horribly bad luck like back to back Epidemics instantly ending games, and I'm not sure we're really recoverable at this point.
We're not having any fun. I don't even want to play anymore since it doesn't seem worthwhile to even try. You don't have enough supplies, you keep getting less supplies every month while adding more cities, and then the tempo of the game gets insane with the number of Epidemics and other bits that hit you and the fact you have no margin of error because any plague cube coming out marches you to a quick loss. We can't even get out of the gate without being halfway to losing because of the number of plague cubes that are out instantly on the board.
Unless we're doing something horribly wrong (which is possible), this has been the biggest letdown I've ever had in a game.
Without knowing exactly what your board state is and what you're doing, I can't say for certain that you're doing something horribly wrong, but it sounds like something's definitely gone askew somewhere.
Regarding Your Spoiler Issue
[o]You do get a couple of prompts throughout the game that reconning is something that you need to do sooner rather than later - there are a few of the scratch off cards before each game that basically warn you "you need to do this soon" before you get any penalties. And after the first penalty, I would think your priorities would shift to making recons more important[/o]
Spoilers Regarding Your Supply Issues - Spoilers through...I think April Or May
[o]
You've accessed the Lost Haven in the Pacific, right? Because that would have bolstered your stockpile quite a bit.
There's another one like it - I am pretty sure the game "gives" it to you in August (or maybe September).
[/o]
Spoiler for a Game Mechanic/Exploration Thing - goes through the whole game, potentially
[o]
Have you found any of the labs? They're made mention of in the recon reports and some of the journal entries/archive information, and you get some co-ordinates off an archive report. You should search at places close by those co-ordinates.
[/o]