Quite clever game!
Sun, 07/31/2011 - 04:24
I was introduced to the Inevitable board game at 7th Dimension Games in Jenkintown, PA. I managed to play two games and enjoyed myself immensely.
The first game (played under the Election Day variant) saw me cast as ACME, which would have worked out so much better if my fellow players would not have stayed mostly away from the Mailbox. The winning player was my friend Liz, who was playing as the Living Dead. She adopted the strategy of spending HappyTime in the Institution, collecting $500 each turn to reduce the power that she was automatically regenerating. She later made a Deal with the Devil and managed to commit herself to the Sanitarium for six turns, regenerating power all the way through, expressly expecting the rest of us to weaken each other up, and then using the cash that she had earned to purchase diplomas through mail, raising her intelligence by just sitting at the Mailbox. As to myself, I ended up playing to a death and do not resuscitate, figuring my best way to win was to try and make HappyCom-9 win before time was called, which I failed to do. Liz ended up winning without the Swing Votes coming into play, as even six straight 0 rolls would not have thrown the election to HappyCom-9. I was told by one of the creators, who I admit that I do not remember his name, that it was the first time he had ever seen such a strategy attempted by the Living Dead, and the first time he had ever seen the Living Dead win.
The second game was won by a player playing as the Mafia. After it became apparent that I was not going to win controlling the Time Travelers, as the dice just were not with me, I ended up purchasing some Combust-o-Pills and paying the Taxi Driver (Liz) to take me to the hospital so I could kill her off as well, as we intended to jointly win the game as the Clone Police. The turn before Liz would turn into the Police (as she got to her second turn after death first), our friend the Mafia player went for an election, ensuring that neither Liz nor I could win - as if he lost the election, the game would be over and no player would have been the Clone Police yet. He managed to roll well enough for his Swing Votes that no roll by HappyCom-9 would have lost the game for him. The game was won in the span of an hour. I later found out after the game that I was unlikely to have gotten the victory, as I was left hoping that Liz would not serve the warrant to end the game before I had fully turned Clone.
All in all, despite not winning, it was Inevitable that I would enjoy the game!
Mon, 08/01/2011 - 03:52
#2
ACME taking matters into its own hands and The Institute
As ACME, one good strategy to employ is to be "generous" and purchase everyone a Smart Phone when on the mailbox. That way everyone is always one passed turn away from the Mailbox.
And after thinking about Liz's first-moves strategy of hopping inside the Institute right away, a re-reading of the rules about how the Institute works revealed that she would not have been able to stay in her pod turn after turn. She would have had to come out and then pop back in -- an oversight on my part as the demo runner, for sure. Still an excellent strategy for the Living Dead, though -- it would take a few extra skipped turns, but brilliant first moves for the Living Dead for sure.
-- Lex (the guy whose name could not be remembered)
Sun, 07/31/2011 - 18:37
#3
Neat!
A few thoughts:
1) 7th Dimension Games looks like a great game store. Very nice!
2) When I read your description of the Living Dead's strategy, my first thought was: "Hey, they have to roll to move to gain Power!" Imagine my surprise when I read their Group Data Sheet and discovered I was wrong. That seems like a very difficult strategy to counter, but I have a few ideas for how to do so: Threat of insanity via Dead Raccoons once they finally leave The Institute. Black Cats (to prevent the Living Dead from landing on spaces that lead to the center of the board). Forced turn loss via Flypaper Packages (Oh wait, those aren't in the game yet. Heh, heh, heh.).
3) If players aren't using The Mailbox enough, and you're playing ACME, offer them discounts on merch. "I'm running a special sale for the next... (*roll a die*) four rounds. Purchase at least two items at The Mailbox and I'll refund half of the money you spent." If players fear you, make it so appealing... so advantageous to buy items from The Mailbox that they just can't afford *not* to do so. Also, when you have another player who's obviously on the path to victory (The Living Dead), there's a great opportunity to play off the other players' fear to make them buy high-impact munitions (Nuclear Missile, anyone?).
4) The Time Travelers can be tricky to play. When playing as the Time Travelers, Rocket Rollerskates and the inner circle of the board are your friends. Rocket Rollerskates are your friend because they help normalize your movement (with 7 being the most common result), and your power is all about moving. The inner circle is your friend because the effects in the middle are more potent (the highs are higher and the lows are lower) and your power helps you avoid the worst effects and hit the good ones. Keeping a Lucky Rabbit's foot or two around (just in case) is a good move too. There are several spaces in the inner circle with a cash-equivalent value of $200 (the cost of a Lucky Rabbit's Foot) or more, so it's a fair exchange.
I'm glad you enjoyed Inevitable. Thanks for taking the time to write up your experience with it. I hope you get to play again soon. If you do, I look forward to reading about that adventure too!
Tue, 08/02/2011 - 15:28
#4
Another way to get to the
Another way to get to the Living Dead would be to attempt to keep them out of play - preferably in the Jail, but the Asylum would be okay as well. It would inevitably require more teamwork than usual, to have enough arrest warrants/dead raccoons for this to work. There's no real way to attack them (even Nuclear Missiles won't work) so going after money and influence works well too. The Living Dead start with a very low intelligence, so if you can keep them from having enough money to buy Diplomas, it'll keep their combat stats and score down. Get to them while their power is low and mug them - take their money and items away! Time at the Network would chip away at the large amounts of influence they may earn from players fleeing combat. Or, just let the Post-Apocalyptic Beasts handle them. (Since the Living Dead gain a bonus from combat without a weapon, and the Post-Apocalyptic Beasts don't take damage unless a weapon is used in combat...)
Liz (the Living Dead player)
Your post got me to thinking... Another anti-Living Dead strategy (that actually helps you advance toward winning the game) would be to ramp your Power and Power max as rapidly as possible, ideally getting above the LD, then get Rocket Rollerskates, Combusto-Pills, and a Clone Replacement. Challenge the LD to combat and blow yourself up with the C-Pills.
Remember: The Living Dead can't use The Hospital or get re-cloned...
" Because your cellular matter is so decrepit, you may not make use of Clone Replacements or be entered into the ICU at the Hospital."
Hopefuly, you've brought them down to zero, or nearly zero. Pop your Clone Replacement and you're back up to full Power, while the Living Dead have a long, slow regenerating slog to catch up to the rest of you.