Short version?

[Mazlynn]

Hi everyone! I've come in and lurked in the forums before, but just finally got around to registering.

I picked up the OOTS game a while back, and have been loving it with one exception - the length. I've found it can be difficult to convince friends to give up that much of a chunk of time to play an extended game, and usually by about 3/4th of the way through, we end up with "Team get player A to win", "Team get player B to win" and "Team let's just end this thing so I can go to bed". We've played with anything between 4 and 6 players, and find that the same boredom/frustration point happens every time. The last dungeon floor before reaching Xykon always seems like slogging through to the end. When we played a 6 player game at New Years eve, we by mutual assent chopped off the last (4th) floor because we all wanted to get to the end, but I'm not sure if that would work with smaller parties - dropping the dungeon below 3 floors would seem to make the game too easy.

So, has anyone come up with any good 'short short version' rules for the game? I saw it mentioned in another thread, so I know I'm not alone in wanting some! I've been thinking it should be fairly easy to do by either increasing your starting schticks and loot, decreasing dungeon length/ requirements to reach Xykon, or both, but I haven't tried doing so yet so I have no idea if it would balance.

[apegamer]

Yup, it's long. We've heard that a lot.

And we're working it! Keep you eyes on this forum over the next couple of months for information on things we're working on to make the game shorter.

[Mazlynn]

Yup, it's long. We've heard that a lot.

And we're working it! Keep you eyes on this forum over the next couple of months for information on things we're working on to make the game shorter.

Awesome! The full length version is fun, but it would be sweet to have a shorter version so we can pull it out on a whim on a lazy evening instead of having to plan a day around it. :)

[The Giant]

The quick-and-dirty short version is to simply deal 3 more shtick and Loot cards to each player at the start of the game. Most of the length comes from getting players powerful enough to handle the lower levels.

However, as my colleague said, we are working deep in the GITP/APE laboratory for a more comprehensive solution to this common concern.

[Bookman]

The quick-and-dirty short version is to simply deal 3 more shtick and Loot cards to each player at the start of the game. Most of the length comes from getting players powerful enough to handle the lower levels.


Now that's clever *notes this down*



However, as my colleague said, we are working deep in the GITP/APE laboratory for a more comprehensive solution to this common concern.

Make sure you don't make any freaks of nature.

And unplug the Jacob's ladder when you're done!

[smellie_hippie]

Yup, it's long. We've heard that a lot.

And we're working it! Keep you eyes on this forum over the next couple of months for information on things we're working on to make the game shorter.

The quick game would be beneficial, but I also have an appreciation for the longer version of the game. I mean, come on... most of us here are gamers, and nobody sits to play a wimpy 2 hour D & D session. So in most cases, the game as is will meet an evening of gaming.

The short version would be great for getting together with non-gamers, family, and others generally unfamiliar with the OOTS comic. I say this because I don't want to give the impression that I am dissatisfied with the game. On the contrary... I LOVE IT! :smallbiggrin: :smallbiggrin:

It has also been said that familiarity with the rules will speed game-play. That goes without saying.... but when you open it for Christmas, you set it up right away and try fumbling through the rules as you play. One idea that I had wondered about was a posting on the website here the short version of the rules (thread I started elsewhere but no responses). I navigated the site and APEgames and found the full version, but having a link you could email your buddies to read before you show up and crack open the box sounds like a good idea to me...

p.s. sorry if that was crossing thread topics... and again, GREAT GAME!!

[Edna]

The quick-and-dirty short version is to simply deal 3 more shtick and Loot cards to each player at the start of the game. Most of the length comes from getting players powerful enough to handle the lower levels.

However, as my colleague said, we are working deep in the GITP/APE laboratory for a more comprehensive solution to this common concern.

I think we'll give the quick-and-dirty fix a try next time. Our family has JUST finished our first game (we started on 12/30, but have only had an hour here and an hour there to play), and we have been unable to use our dining table for the last ten days! I think our next game will be shorter, though; we spent a lot of time learning the rules, and we also just moved into a new house on 12/28, so we've been a little busy :smallsmile:

The winner this time was our seven-year-old daughter, who did a GREAT job playing Haley. She ended the game with a huge stash of loot, and when a particularly large loot pile disappeared in the dungeon collapse, she turned to me and said "ZEEBLAH"!

Edna

[wrath]

The quick-and-dirty short version is to simply deal 3 more shtick and Loot cards to each player at the start of the game. Most of the length comes from getting players powerful enough to handle the lower levels.

However, as my colleague said, we are working deep in the GITP/APE laboratory for a more comprehensive solution to this common concern.

I like the quick and dirty idea, it could be called starting wealth for high level characters :amused:

[Crooth]

Another way we experimented with a shorter version was to just put Xykon on the 2nd or 3rd level and follow the rules for including monsters. That means that the base monster count is reduced and the bonus is reduced.

If you wanted a really short game and put Xykon on the 2nd level, that would mean his level would have a Battle Size of 2, and +2 Defense.

I seem to recall that this short game ended up giving Roy and V an advantage - which probably means you should play them if given a chance :).

[Totally Guy]

To make the game shorter I would allow stairs to be found on a higher roll, 5 or less for example. This would be good for getting smaller floors with stairs closer together for easier access up and down.

The drawback is the harder fights down there with fewer shticks. If we can find stairs early in our 2/3 player games we go down first to withdraw NPC support from the players on the easier floor. It's usually the player that can survive lower down that cripples everyone else by hogging the NPC support to win the better fights that dominates.

[The Giant]

The drawback is the harder fights down there with fewer shticks. If we can find stairs early in our 2/3 player games we go down first to withdraw NPC support from the players on the easier floor. It's usually the player that can survive lower down that cripples everyone else by hogging the NPC support to win the better fights that dominates.

This is very true. My experience is that if you can go down a level and survive, you get a big advantage in terms of power from killing more monsters per turn and picking up more Loot. One of the main strategy decisions in the game, IMO, is deciding when the right time to "make a break" for the 2nd or 3rd floor.

[Kiero]

The quick-and-dirty short version is to simply deal 3 more shtick and Loot cards to each player at the start of the game. Most of the length comes from getting players powerful enough to handle the lower levels.

Have to give that one a try.

When we tried to speed things up, we used a combination of the method suggested here (http://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/137035) (effectively taking a leaf from Talisman with the Battle Deck as Adventure Deck), starting the characters with all four starting schticks and six Loot, and one less level. Two players (who'd played before) finished a game in under an hour and a half.

New players is the biggest deal on time, you can easily spend the first hour getting them familiar with how the game works. After that and on subsequent plays its much faster.