Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Mordred

I just ordered a copy of Martin Wallace's Mordred . It was rather expensive, information about the game is scant, it has a mediocre rating on BGG. It seems like a crazy thing to do. This game could be really awful. For the same amount of money we could get something really cool that we know we like. So why did I do it?

  1. Mr. Wallace says that once the boat sails with the pre-orders there will be no more copies sent to the U.S. This could be BS, but it would suck if a month or two from now, or even a year or two from now to decide I really liked the game and wanted it and be kicking myself for not getting it when I had the chance.
  2. I can always sell it or trade it if I hate it. Right? This is of course the all purpose rationalization for plunking money down on an unknown.
  3. My birthday is in two weeks. I'm sure to get some cash as gifts - more rationalization.
  4. The profits go to charity.


So, other than the whole "buy it now or else" plus rationalize the expense, why am I even interested in this game to begin with?


I play with a lot of different people with extremely different tastes in games. Finding something that everyone likes and wants to play is difficult. Just this past week we had something of a debacle at my house for exactly this reason. Martin Wallace, however, seems to have been able to produce a number of games that please everyone - the wargamer, the eurogamer, and the ATers. The problem with the ones that everyone likes is that they are often too long to play frequently. Struggle of Empires isn't the kind of game you play on a school night, after dinner, with your friends who have to leave by 9 to get their kids to bed. Railroad Tycoon isn't the type of game you haul to game night, and try to play on the tiny table in the corner which is the only table available because all the people playing miniatures have hogged up all the space in the shop (plus those mini guys are so loud that it is impossible to explain rules to anyone anyway).


The scant information that I have been able to scrape together about Mordred seems to indicate that it could be the 45 minute game that could keep a mixed group happy. It seems like it would be easy to teach at a noisy game night. It has dice and action points. It has combat and building. It is semi-cooperative. It has city and castle bits (I am really, really, really hoping these aren't just different size cubes). On the other hand, it could be another, dry, abstract disappointment like Tempus. I guess I will just have to wait and see.

3 comments:

Olivia said...

KingPut bought Mordred 2 weeks ago also. For almost the same reasons:

1. KingPut's birthday is in August
2. Mr. Wallace in 45 minutes (no way it can't be done)
3. The cooperative yet competitive nature of the game was intriguing to me.
4. KingPut is a sucker for King Arthur movies, books and games. Even if the games all suck.
5. Limited addition = I have to get it now or else I'll never get it.
6. Nobody else I know has it (now Ubarose and Bobby tweaks will have it also).
7. It's for a good cause.

Unknown said...

HA! Either we're both suckers or we're both discerning collectors. Our game cupboards are seriously starting to develop a family resemblance. Speaking of which, did you get Buffy?

Olivia said...

Cody gave me Buffy for my birthday. KingPuts first Buffy game with the whole family was a big hit. I was the evil master, Nature Girl was Buffy, Ghost was Willow and QueenPut played the 2 guys. I thought I was playing smart (maybe too smart)and I even got in about 4-5 hits on Buffy while the Master had only taken 2-3 hits. I also managed to get my vampires indoors for daylight. Then Buffy (brave Nature Girl) runs up to the Master with a table legs and rolls 2 stakes. Dusted that quickly. But, I like that mechnism because it makes it possible for Buffy to come from behind to win the game.