Fred Dorfman

[Fred Dorfman @marlowespade]

@factorygames @mattiecone I ditched this for the Star Trek reskin/streamlining by Andrew Parks, but either way... the core game is an absolute masterpiece of design.

[Fred Dorfman @marlowespade]

Rewatching X-Files from the beginning. Finished the first season, easy to see how it became a hit. Duchovny brings a perfect blend of noir and dry humor, and Anderson is out-acting everyone by miles even when she's not carrying the ep. Creepy, stylish direction. Love it.

[Fred Dorfman @marlowespade]

@CharlieTheel @ErikTwice I think it falls down spectacularly in playing fair with the player, though, and it desperately needs some sort of signposting for the narrative, because the medium can't quite cash the checks the narrative writes due to its complexity. Would buy a 2nd edition in a heartbeat tho.

[Fred Dorfman @marlowespade]

And now, back to John Hiatt and bourbon.

[Fred Dorfman @marlowespade]

Cried tonight playing Corey K's THE INITIATIVE. Anyone who's ever had a child with self esteem issues might do the same. It's a brilliant game, I wasn't expecting this level of narrative involvement.

[Fred Dorfman @marlowespade]

@captainraffi I'm welling up just looking at this. Thanks, and good on ya.

[Fred Dorfman @marlowespade]

@hotseatgames @factorygames I was going to say either "deck building" or "traitor mechanic" 😂

[Fred Dorfman @marlowespade]

Truth. Never leaving my collection.

[Dan Thurot @DanThurot]

Well, Comancheria is very good.

[Fred Dorfman @marlowespade]

@factorygames I was thinking James Bond or Aeon Flux, but yeah - totally agreed.

[Fred Dorfman @marlowespade]

Tonight: Blackstone Fortress is in the paint shop so: Assassinorum: Execution Force. A fun, soloable WH40K stealth (?!?) game I play once every few months. Old school GW design - dice heavy, rules light. Credit where it's due, paint job by (and purchased from) @factorygames

[Fred Dorfman @marlowespade]

@factorygames It's really kind of genius in that it recognizes that the core exciting element of agency in "crawling" is not who finds you but what YOU find when revealing a room and how YOU react to it. Randomizing rooms means it only NEEDS the one scenario. Pretty tight and focused, dig it.

[Fred Dorfman @marlowespade]

Still the only States of Siege game worth playing IMO - Cruel Necessity, a captivating (and hard as balls) game about the English Civil Wars. And yes, it's the old VPG "pizza box" edition. Love the laser cut wood counters and the charcoal smudges.

[Fred Dorfman @marlowespade]

Hot take: most superhero movies aren't even as good as the end credits to Iron Man 3.

[Fred Dorfman @marlowespade]

I will take the elegance of Christopher Reeve's "gliding into a casual walk" over the Iron Man Nose Tackle stance any day of the week.

[Michelle Lovretta @lovretta]

Petition for superheroes to land on the ground like normal fucking people again 🙏

[Fred Dorfman @marlowespade]

@direGoldfish This Is Not A Game 2

[Fred Dorfman @marlowespade]

The "toyetic" dimension of Core Space can't be ignored. This is a game that's fun to set up, to say nothing of playing. Thank God it takes the "good enough" approach to mini gaming, you can absolutely use this to introduce kids to tabletop gaming.

[Fred Dorfman @marlowespade]

@CharlieTheel @factorygames I was liking it a lot and then the soundtrack just kicked it into the next gear. It's the space western I always wanted.

[Fred Dorfman @marlowespade]

Good grief, @CharlieTheel and @factorygames were right - Core Space is an absolute gem. Throw on the Rebel Galaxy soundtrack on Spotify and get to the goddamn space piratin'. Finally, a soloable scifi miniatures game worth my time and arguably the dollars.

[Fred Dorfman @marlowespade]

Note to boardgame designers: literally every minute of setup time is a minute where players are asking themselves, "Why isn't this just a computer game?".

Not saying it's right; just saying it's true in 2021. Try to make setup either engaging or short (ideally both).

[Fred Dorfman @marlowespade]

https://t.co/EFYxVXaDLk

David Byrne and St. Vincent trading verses with a brass band on Wild Wild Life is what I needed today (h/t to @dholly64 ).