Fantasy Trip Cards of Destiny

I backed this the whole way, of course. And it showed up today along with the Pocket Box games, a print copy of a general OSR style dungeon that I actually have a small credit for in the back, and the box of fishing supplies which are now wrapped as a Valentine's present for my wife. Who is out fishing at this very moment (well, the moment I am writing this at any rate).

So I first went through the pocket box games - Classic Ogre, GEV and Shockwave, the expansion for Ogre and GEV. Small board tactical games of "combat in the 21st century". We're in the 21st century and I really hope there are no Ogre MK anything out there! Anyway, these are reprints of the original versions in sturdier pocket boxes that have a strong similarity to VHS tape boxes. These are 1 on 1 games, and I may bring them to the office for those game nights when there are just two of us (game nights post-work are pretty sporadic, and we've yet to bring anyone in outside of the developers group. Despite my continued asking). The games are basically reprints of the original but with modern materials. Interestingly (and I forgot this part) they include both the uncut counter sheets and cut counter sheets (think the cut ones were one of the stretch goals). For those who never got those $2.95 games in a zip-lock back (then they moved to thin plastic clamshell cases, and invariably the hinge plastic broke after repeated use), these were small games with a heavy-paper map, sheet of counters you had to cut yourself, and a small rule book. When they moved to the plastic cases I think they included a little tiny d6 as well. These games can be quick games, and I had both Ogre and GEV. And sucked at both: I have little to no tactical nor strategic sense when it comes to games. But nostalgia plays big, so I went with those two games, and avoided the all-in of $200 worth of games I will never play.  Those games, like TFT, moved back to Steve Jackson after all these years. Melee and Wizard were originally pocket games as well, and I still have the Melee box and map. The counters are somehow long gone from that worn out box after hauling it around for almost 40 years. But I do have the original Advanced Melee and Advanced Wizard rules.

Now, the Cards of Destiny. Another big box, but somehow I was a little disappointed. I think because, while I am actively GMing a game, and may get to play as well, a lot of what is in there is actually better suited as PDFs (which I also have). The random dungeon creator is a lot of hex-shaped cards that you can create a random dungeon, and the interior of the top box has the random tables for filling said dungeon. While the occasional entirely random dungeon crawl is fun, I always wonder what all those creatures and treasures are doing there. Animals have to eat and drink!

The good stuff includes a lot more character cards, including Octopi! Octopusses! More than one Octopus. And Orcs, and wizards. So being able to draw random opponents, with dry-erasable stats, is nice. The new set of megahex tiles have some really nice images, such as pits, ladders going down pits, giant spider webs, and bridges. I was lacking bridges the last few times, so I think those are going to come in handy. What I need to do is somehow organize them rather than just a big pile in each box. My favorite part is the creature cards - my initial review looks like they will be great to use, and it is really good that they also have indicators as to what sort of places they live: plains, woods, caves, etc. A lot like the old wildlife cards my son collected when he was little, each month getting a new set of cards. Hmmm - I can see a Fantasy Trip monthly subscription that gets you a dozen new creature cards each month. Although I've already something very similar via Patreon I suppose, although it is all electronic.

I also have 3 more folders - not sure why I keep collecting folders but they are both nice and useful - each different folder has a different subset of the rules on the back, so they also make convenient game aids.

With two player card sets, I'll probably give 1 set to my players. It is a set of cards that help with combat. A set for engaged, not engaged, and hand to hand. Such as in the disengaged set, You may move up to your entire MA but have no further actions. So it encapsulates your options. And it comes with dry erase character cards as well as a dry erase pen, and a tuck box.

And those big metal dice - huge and heavy. I thought I got 2 of each but somehow ended up with 3 dragons and 1 wizard die. Dragons are cool but I may look back at my pledge to see if something got missed or I just misremember.

Now to what I think is disappointing me a bit. All that plastic. Every thing comes in its own plastic bag. I can understand this from an inventory management perspective, but it is a LOT of plastic. And while the various tuck boxes are nice, for some sets of the cards I may see about using notebooks with card holders as I think they will be easier to transport to the game sessions. And the play mats, while physically nice, will have limited use I think. The one with the river and bridge has the most possibilities, but that Octopi one does not have a lot of maneuvering space and with its odd layout, seems to lend itself to many scenarios. Or I may just be lacking in imagination.

And it may also be a fair amount of buyers remorse, especially with some major re-plumbing happening soon (I am replacing the filtration systems in my house as the original ones I had put in almost 20 years ago are failing, especially the one for the acidic water. I do not want microleaks in my copper plumbing due to getting eaten away by the water! And huh, I can see that as an issue for an older starship in Traveller, the plumbing breaks down. Hmmm).

I am happy with getting all this, and most if not all will get used, so that is a good thing. But I think I am also getting worried that sometimes I am just getting stuff to get stuff. The entire FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out). I need to counter that with JOMO (the Joy Of Missing Out). I have managed to bypass a few KS that I realized I'd never use, so perhaps I am making some progress.

Oh, and I did receive four more fantasy coin sets: Drow Elf, Wizard, Alchemist, and Alien. Sadly they did not come with those little velvet bags, so I got a bunch of tiny burlap bags. And may use those for other things as well - it was like 50 for $12, so I've plenty for various game aids. I feel the Alchemist and Wizard coins will be common in my Puddlejumper area, as that is one area that wizards and magic users go to practice foul magics.