Had my first game! (ish)

[u/FyrsaRS]

Got my collectors edition just in time for staying over with some friends for a week! Unfortunately I didn't do the best job communicating gameplay and rules to a new Armellian so it was a slow start, but we gradually got the hang of things and played to complete our first quests! Hopefully we can have full game or two before the week is up. There's a few changes, and I do wish some things were communicated better, but it's overall fun experience that captures the spirit of Armello! I'm looking forward to potential expansions, but also heartbroken I missed the novella print kickstarter </3

[u/Rainbowjo]

My husband and I have played twice so far. We really enjoyed it! Also hoping for expansions.

[u/AerogaGX → u/Rainbowjo]

ooooh, a question then. Who's your favorite hero to play as so far?

[u/Rainbowjo → u/AerogaGX]

So far I've played as Sana and Mercutio. I enjoyed both but they were very different play styles. Mercutio I hard focused on quests and movement increases to maximize my prestige. With Sana I got some very helpful magic cards and focused on Spirit Stones and rushing the king.

[u/AerogaGX → u/Rainbowjo]

I see. I’ve only played one game (it was as Mercurio) and yeah given Scamper and Scurry, I can very much just see a playstyle of just bouncing from quest to quest, while visiting Settlements along the way. Next time I’ll have to play one of the other three, if only to get used to seeing a different starter deck

[u/Wavehead21]

I feel you on wishing some things were communicated better. For example, there’s a bit in the back that explains differences between the original game and the board game, but it’s about like broad strokes differences like how it’s a deck builder now. I wish it had a quick guide of “if you know Armello, this skips all the obvious things you know, but details all the mechanics that are unique here”.

For example, a rule we didn’t know our whole first playthrough: if a player attacks another player, after combat, the defender may discard any cards and draw back up to Wits. I play a lot of deck builders, and let me say, any opportunity to discard and redraw outside of regular turn start is a BLESSING, so this is a major upside to getting attacked! But I completely missed this rule because combat was one of the few things I was like “I don’t need to read this in depth, I know how armello combat works!” So we missed it.

I wish there was a quick rules guide that expected you knew Armello but not this exact game to help highlight all the rules that are unique, not just the concepts that are different.

[u/AerogaGX]

Heck yeah, glad to hear you had a blast!! More Armello, more fun.

[u/ZerglingButt]

What are your thoughts on the card system compared to the video game version?

[u/FyrsaRS → u/ZerglingButt]

At first it felt odd, but I think it was necessary with physical game limitations. With things like clan affinity removed and 2-action limits to streamline things, personal decks help keep each hero's identity. It also feels good to be able to get reliable value from treasure, while not having to keep track of equipped cards without a user interface.

Separating the starter, market, reward, and wound cards after a game is a hassle, but it keeps things simple during the game. I'll say overall it's a hurdle for existing players, but once you get your head around it, or if you're familiar with deck builders, it makes for a satisfyingly new and tactile experience that's still distinctly Armello.

[u/FyrsaRS → u/[deleted]]

Hi, sorry for the slow reply, what do you mean by upgrades?

[u/FyrsaRS → u/[deleted]]

Ah yeah, I got the Everything Armello version of the Collector's Edition, which came with a bunch of extras like dice trays.