Ah, BattleLore. I’ve read the reports, the blog entries, the praise. How I wish you were mine, and how I must fight this temptation…
I really like Memoir ’44, and while I prefer the military theme to the fantasy (medieval warfare isn’t bad — I just get an allergic reaction when in contact with standard dwarves and elves), I do like all the new additions to the system and would appreciate a more complex game because Memoir is, in the end, a fairly simple system. But how I can justify the price, when I haven’t even played all the Memoir scenarios in the expansions I have?
And it wouldn’t be the end of it, really — I suppose there are new Memoir expansions coming (at least the carrying case!) and BattleLore, well, BattleLore will be an endless mire of expansion material. So, I suppose I must say no to BattleLore, at least until I’m clearly more wealthy…
Of course, there’s Commands & Colors: Ancients, with similar promises. That one is easier to turn down, though. The idea of putting hundreds of stickers to wooden blocks utterly terrifies me. The first expansion set, while interesting, is very, very expensive and has hundreds of more blocks and stickers. No thanks! Besides, it seems that BattleLore handles the various unit types in a way that’s a much more elegant.
I still can’t help to be tempted, though, and I’m afraid I might fall..
3 responses to “Resisting the temptation”
You should stop fighting the temptation. If you like Memoir but find it too simple, jump into one of the other alternatives–you won’t be sorry.
Putting the stickers on C&C isn’t really that bad and you could choose to sticker only one side since it’s easier to see the pieces when they’re laying flat on the board anyway.
I’ll be waiting to hear that you’ve given into your instincts and bought one of them. 🙂
If I’m falling for something, it’s probably BattleLore. I don’t find Memoir too simple, actually — I haven’t played it enough to get there. I might, had I actually chance to play it more often. So, maybe someday I will have need for more.
Then again, I thought about adding new rules to Memoir — I do have some ideas for special units and it would be nice to have a point system for creating battles on the spot…
However, if I find myself in Lautapelit.fi store in Helsinki with sudden surge of money on my bank account, I’m not going to be held responsible for the results =)
I am in agreement with you.
If you like the civil war, Battle Cry is great.
If you like WWII, Memoir ’44 is great.
If you like Ancients, Command and Colors is great.
If you like fantasy, Battle Lore must be great.
Let’s put this in perspective, what is the table time? I much prefer Memoir to Battle Cry…I just like the genre better which has neater cards. C&C does not work for me because I don’t care for that Era and I don’t like the blocks.
I know I would like Battle Lore….but, Memoir works for me and how many dice slugging games do your really need?