Oooookay. "Desert of Athas." There is a tile here that is entirely water. There are several shore tiles. There are two 3D DOCKS in here. And a bizarre kind of 3D wagon thing.
This isn't a bad tile set. It isn't Athas, though. Unless Athas has changed quite a bit since my day.
I did like the adobe building and the little kiosk, though. More of these would be good.
THE GOOD: Lolth. Ogremoch. More ogres, more gnolls, more variety in what we already got... plus Fourth Edition stats for critters we knew and loved in previous editions... and some excellent new additions! Some nice new fill-in info for some of the older ones, too.
THE BAD: I took away one star because they recycled SOME of the art. Not all of it. Not even most of it. But I've seen some of that art before, and at these prices, we can do better than that. I yanked another star because some of these critters feel very much like "filler" to me. Crauds -- angry crustacean environmentalists? Dark Ones -- homicidal thieving midgets? We haven't done this before? Did we need "Catastrophe Dragons?" Oh, and when did Catoblepas become Shadowfell creatures?
Flawed, but still worthwhile. We could do better. Recommended, but don't spend the rent money on it.
WotC brings its Dungeon Tiles set into the third dimension! This is quite good. I liked the fact that you can disassemble the stone staircase, and by assembling it with the inside out, it becomes a wooden staircase! The other threedee props are equally as good, and at a price I like.
The rest of the set, not so much. It's interiors and wooden floors. If you don't have any inn tiles or maps or mats, it's a good deal, but I've got plenty, and would have preferred more of the 3d stuff. Here's hoping they release a set in the near future consisting ENTIRELY of threedee props we can use to death; I'd gleefully add another star or two if that's what this set had been.
They're the same cardstock as every other set of dungeon tiles they've released, and some reviewers here have complained about the durability question. Here's a tip: get some white glue. Dab some on your finger. Carefully dab it off your finger onto the edges of the tiles. Let dry thoroughly before use. You have now extended the working life of your tiles by at LEAST 50%. I look forward to seeing how this works with the threedee pieces...
GROWING HUNGER expands the original boardgame, and adds replay value to a game that already had a lot of it. More scenarios, more zombies, more options, more characters, more cards, more EVERYTHING, including new modular boards to change the shape of the game yet further. My only beef was that it's a tad bit expensive for what you get -- it costs pretty close to the cost of the original game! If you like LNOE, though, this one's a must have.
Can't say enough about this one -- it really hits the "zombie movie" trope dead on. Players control mobs of zombies, or groups of stock characters you'll recognize from a dozen movies (the ones shown on the box include the local priest, a cute farm girl, the sexy nurse, the tough jock, the spooky loner/town drunk, the spunky high school girl, the Sheriff's son with issues, and the Sheriff...). You assemble a modular game board representing the town, and play tactically (cooperatively or competitively, depending on the scenario) to defeat the zombies, achieve a goal, escape in the truck, or other objective, depending on the scenario you've chosen to play.
Both the Zombie player and the Hero player draw from card decks that allow them to alter plot elements... or interfere with each other. (Cards include "hero runs out of ammunition suddenly" that a Zombie player can hit a hero with, and Heroes can find weapons, ammunition, and tools in their deck, for example).
The game is surprisingly tense and scary (particularly played in a dark room with appropriate music). It feels very much like an interactive zombie movie... and you never know who's going to win... and who will die.
HUGE amount of replay value, due to the many scenarios (and more available for free on their web site!) If you like zombie movies and you like board games, this one's a no-brainer (oh, WINCE, bad pun...)
The worst I can say about it is that the music CD isn't all that great. The game itself, on the other hand, is arguably the best zombie game on the market.
You know, it occurs to me that our society might have more faith in our currency if more of it had beer printed on it. Seriously, though, we're talking ten coins, identical, each roughly the size of a US quarter, real metal, identical to the one seen above except in size. They heft nicely, and add considerable flavor to any NPC interaction involving money. And they have beer on them! What's not to like?
So, Paizo, when do we get the coins with strippers on them?
These are good. Surprisingly, they look EXACTLY LIKE THE PICTURE, although way smaller -- not quite the size of US pennies. Then again, they're real metal, copper colored, and are very convincing Goblin Towne Currency. They're good for adding flavor to any game, and they're way cheaper than the whole Campaign Coins set!
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