And thus begins the music of Ice and Fire

After pondering for a while, I think that A Game of Thrones LCG (AGOT) deserves a dedicated blog by itself instead of sharing it with my Singing Vtes blog at the moment. So I guess my thoughts and ramblings of AGOT will come to rest here instead of pestering the vampires in torpor.

Well, my commitment to this game started about 3 weeks ago, when the little box of Agricola gamers' deck motivated me to top up my purchase at PI to S$200. Unable to find anything better to buy (at that time), I bought the AGOT core set plus a couple of chapter packs and deluxe expansions that were still lying around at PI.

Prior to the purchase I've heard much of the game, mostly from YY and G1, whom I derived much of the reviews of games from; and they have had many good things to say about the game. Added to that, I admit that I had been losing interest to play Vtes at an alarming rate, (despite my early promises to myself that I will be true to my unlife, afterall, being an undead without official support is tough) and was on the lookout for an alternative entertainment to park my disposable income.

I must say that the game is a delight. The trial session we had that night with Bann, Eugene and Darren was entertaining, and all of us could immediately see the potential of this game in replacing our void in losing our Vtes nights.

Why it is so? What is so good and unique about AGOT that it can actually challenge the (near-perfect) position that Vtes, a game with over a decade of fine-tuning and development, was giving me?

Let's just say that the game served much of my needs and preferences.

First, it is a multi-player game. Meaning, it involves a lot much player interaction than the vast majority of those one-on-one slug it out games. (Yes, Magic is one of those) I've always enjoyed multi-player games more than those "I beat you up and then you beat me up" games, simply because multi-player games generally retain my interest a lot longer, as it usually involves more diplomacy, negotiations, much more meta-gaming, and a lot less predictable than a two-player game.

Of course, not all multi-player games are good. Try Arcana and I'm sure you'll agree with me that bad multi-player games can waste a lot of time. AGOT, however, is one of those good ones. It has several unique killer points that makes it IMHO, one of the best multi-player games available in the market. To start with, I think the game is quite well-balanced out - there are no distinct "sure win" decks with deck power way above the others. This is apparent in the top decks of the world tournament scenes, since almost every house is represented there, rather than a particular deck type, or house dominating the environment.

The multi-player aspect is enhanced with some very interesting mechanic. The Titles selection, for example, is a good emulation of the predator-prey relationship in Vtes, and makes every round different, also creating interesting strategic decisions for players, going beyond decisions that only deals with asset enhancement - for example, being the Master of Coins may yield you 2 extra Gold Dragon this turn, but it may put you in a bad position if one is expecting the Hand of the King to be rather aggressive this round, which will then prompt one to perhaps consider the favor of the Master of Whispers. The Initiative aspect of the game is also rather unique, allowing the winner to choose the first player who will have impact on the order of plots resolution. All these decisions imply planning ahead and a clear idea of what one wants to achieve that turn.

The winning condition of the game and the way challenges are structured makes the game full of deals and counter-deals, and forced players to be always fighting against multiple enemies (especially when he's ahead), and never have long-term allies. I think the game has captured the theme of the novel series very well.

The other plus point of the game deals with the format it has - the Living Card Game format. I think that, for AGOT's game rules, FFG has captured the LCG format pretty well. By releasing chapter packs with 3 of every card, financing this game becomes rather easy for most players. Having only 1 chapter pack a month requires no more than S$20 per month in terms of maintainence, and I think that is really affordable.

The speed that my local community picks up the game is another plus factor for me. YY, G1, Bann, Fad and John have all committed to the game, and these are the people that I've gamed with for a while, are people I respect and like, and I know we're going to work together to make sure the game extends its popularity in the area. FFG, unlike White Wolf, also seems to be a better company in supporting their games - which is a very important aspect for the future of the game.

I'll be blogging about the game mechanics in detail some other time, but in summary, this game has captured the theme of the books very well, has a workable and balanced game system that is not commonly seen in the market, and has good support from the community and the owning company.

That is enough reason for me to commit to the game.

(o.o)