Anyone play these card games?

[cruehitman]

I have several other card games that I had gotten and am delving into. Has anyone here played any of these, and if so, what are your thoughts?

-24 CCG
-WCW Nitro CCG
-WWE Raw Deal CCG
-Testimony of Jacob Hollow (not really a CCG, but definitely a full fledged horror themed card game)
-Herocard Nightmare (again, not really a CCG, but in the same vein)
-Hecatomb CCG

[Pawn III]

I've played 24 and HeroCard Nightmare.

24 for fun for a bit, but it died so quickly it didn't hold my interest. I honestly can't remember very well how it played, but I've got a binder full of cards.

I wrote a review for Scrye on HeroCard Nightmare. Haven't played the game much since then. I really liked the deduction part, but I think it would be a better game without the card system overlay.

Nightmare Review
by Bobby Goodman III

Nightmare by TableStar Games is a contest of deduction, cooperation, and, eventually, self-preservation. You take on the role of one of four characters who have been sucked into a bad dream, where killers stalk the players through a twisted landscape. You have foreknowledge of three important things: First, you know for a fact which of the five killers will end your life--the Beast, Zombie, Stalker, Cultist, or Leviathan. Second, you know the place of your demise, one of the seven locations that are part of the game map. And third, you are certain that if you can avoid the killer and stay away from that fateful place longer than the other players, then you will be the one--the only one--to awaken safely.

So the most important part of game play is deduction. Based on how your opponents act, move, and respond to attacks, you have to figure out which killer and place they are scared of. Then, its only a matter of getting them together with their nightmare. Keep in mind though that they are also trying to find out what you fear, and will send your killer in pursuit while they maneuver you into position for the kill.

TableStar’s Nightmare game has a lot of good thing going for it. The components are excellent. The rulebook is printed in full color with plenty of map and card illustrations. The game comes with four decks of cards--one for each hero--and cards to represent killers and places. All the artwork is well-done and helps express the dreamworld atmosphere. You also get seven thick hex-shaped tiles for the map, which can shift into different positions as the dreamscape changes. Finally, there are six colored plastic figures, each representing a killer and the dreamer. Each figure is sculpted in its own unique nightmarish mold.

Nightmare also has an interesting system for conflict resolution. Called HeroCards, this is the deck that goes with each character. Basically, the deck contains attacks, blocks, and a few unique special cards. Card play is limited by a resource management system that resolves around the attributes of your character--Body, Mind, and Soul. HeroCards is also customizable, meaning you can change what’s in the deck or an even use a deck in a totally different HeroCards game (of which there is currently Cyberspace, Champion of New Olympia, Rise of the Shogun, and Orc Wars.)

Nightmare’s metagame is also entertaining. While you move the dreamer, map pieces, and killers and then use your cards to attack to scare, you must pay close attention to people’s reactions. They must admit after a successful attack if they are scared, which means their killer is present or the location is the one they fear. However, multiple characters can become involved in each battle, adding attack or block modifiers. Who joins in on an attack, or avoids one, can be telling (or be misinformation if they are a canny player). As the end of the game approaches, you have to start eliminating your opponents, preferably the ones you think have started to figure you out. All in all, it makes for some fun interaction as the drive to survive kicks in. This, however, is also the biggest drawback to the game--the elimination of players. Whoever gets figured out early and gets killed off has to sit around while the others keep playing, but that’s the nature of the last-man-standing victory condition.

As board games go, Nightmare is fairly complex. It takes a little bit to get a handle on the card playing part. The deduction part of the game is easy. Anyone who has played Clue as a kid will get it. But its these two levels of game play that can put players off at first. However, experience pays off as you learn the intricacies of the different character decks, which also provides replayability. You have four decks in the game to choose from, each with it own style of play, plus you can go as far as to customize or replace them using cards from other games. If you enjoy deducing secrets and the horror genre, Nightmare is a solid choice for game night, especially if you are a fan of customizable card games.

[Shaolin Yautja]

Oct 7, 2011 22:46:16 GMT -5 cruehitman said:

I have several other card games that I had gotten and am delving into. Has anyone here played any of these, and if so, what are your thoughts?

-24 CCG
-WCW Nitro CCG
-WWE Raw Deal CCG
-Testimony of Jacob Hollow (not really a CCG, but definitely a full fledged horror themed card game)
-Herocard Nightmare (again, not really a CCG, but in the same vein)
-Hecatomb CCG

I have seen Hecatomb CCG, never tried it, but if you did what was it like? Was it easy to learn?

Also, have you ever heard of or played UFS (universal Fighting System) CCG or VS System?

I thought those 2 are very interesting and surprisingly VS System is now dead despite it uses many licensed material from DC Comics and Marvel.

I've always wanted to try 24, but it just died way too quick. And from what I heard, the designers of the game really screwed up when they decided that the deck should be no more or less than '24' cards.

I'm guessing the pacing of that game was way too quick or something. I mean 24 card decks??? That means it's fairly easy to get to the cards you need withing a few turns.

They also had those boosters called tactical packs or something and it included 2 starter decks if I remember.

I was too reluctant to invest in another card game after my experiences with yugioh which almost everyone locally played and that let me down greatly. Although now I will play every so now and then with a Trolling deck ;D ;D

Although I did have my moments with it, that game became a total mess.

Aside from AvP, yugioh and magic the gathering (very few times for MTG) I didn't really play any other boardgames or ccgs/tcgs. Moreso I couldn't find anyone else into other things other than naruto or yugioh locally.

So instead for me it's mostly just retro old school 90s video games, older consoles and DOS stuff, and some older stuff for Windows PC , and the standard cards used for Poker, Blackjack, etc.,..

I do collect Terminator CCG cards but haven't really decided to invest in many of those cards yet since I have not found enough players locally interested in AvP CCG to attempt the crossover scenarios with Terminator cards. Although I'll keep trying.

[cruehitman]

Well, I have the starter decks for 24 as well as over 500 cards for it. I've heard pretty good things about it actually and the cards are so cheap anymore. I understand that "deck building" can leave something to be desired due to only having 24 cards in the deck. But from what I understand it's supposed to be fast paced and frantic just like the tv show was. I haven't tried it yet, but it looks cool and if it can somewhat duplicate the pulsing frantic feel of the show, I feel it'll be worth playing! I'll let you know my thoughts when I get a chance to try it.

I got to try The Testimony of Jacob Hollow today. Pretty damn cool. The more people that play the better (2-6 players). Two players is still pretty cool, but once you start getting 3 or more, the dynamics really start to change and the game starts to shine. It's a real horror themed game, fighting ghost, demons, fiends, etc while trying to supposedly uncover what happened to the 214 people that lived in the town of Castle Bay, and why they all died. You'll uncover locations, try to earn investigation points, fight monsters. Oh... and backstab backstab backstab...lol. There are some really wicked cards in the set. I actually won a copy of the game off eBay for $0.99 and only $2 shipping. So well worth it. If you can find it cheap, get it. It's a fun multiplayer game, and I'll write a more indepth review here coming soon.

I planned on trying out a few of those other games I mentioned above... but a little thing called AvP ended up calling my name! ;D

[killigula]

I was a playtester for 24. It was a fun game but the company got bought and the game got dropped. I think I still have the PDF for the unreleased expansion lol. The 24 card deck actually worked pretty well. The problem I personally had was that they made way too many characters with the Lethal characteristic. It was too easy to just fill your deck with Lethal characters and wipe out your opponent's forces. There were definitely other gameplay mechanics that they tried to push but Lethal was just too good lol...

I played Hecatomb when they released it at GenCon in 2005. I still have the t-shirt. It was decent enough. For whatever reason I never followed it after the first set...

As Shaolin Yautja mentioned you should check out UFS. I have a group that plays religiously and we hit up Worlds every year at GenCon. They have a new set coming out in December. Can't wait! www.jascogames.com/ufs

[cruehitman]

Actually got a chance to try out the Raw Deal CCG finally. If there are any wrestling fans here at all, there's a good chance you'll love this game! I got to build two decks (Rhyno and Jeff Hardy) so far, and have pitted them against each other to test it out. It truly feels like a wrestling match with all of the reversals, holds, etc. It's got a real back and forth feel where one opponent can actually retain control for a good while, only for the the other player to make a comeback and make a good attempt to win. Highly recommend! Out of the card games I've seen and gotten a chance to check it, it ranks up there as my favorite alongside AvP of course!!