Playtesting: Hobgobble's Eve, Chap 2.

Me and The Professor threw down Chapter 2 for the Garden State Gaming Society this week. Unlike the first session where we had 2 players, this round we had 7 players (the perfect number of WEGS players in my book). This allowed me to step out of the game as a player and into the role of Kreator (judge). The Prof was fully in charge of the minions and innings. All players were new to the game with the exception of the 2 who returned from Chapter 1. Arkreation took about a half hour, then we plunged into the game. The Arks were:

3 Gnobbit Tricksters
2 Warriors (1 Humnz, 1 Goblin)
1 Elf Mage
1 Elf Ranger

Chapter 2 starts the Arks off in a cave prison, the entrance to which is guarded by 7 Hobgoblins and a Giant Rat. The chapter took about 2 hours to finish, and was wicked fun from the start. The players were a great mix of solid board gamers and rpg veterans; all had plenty of game experience under their belts and took to the game system far too well, far too quick; making the game that much more challenging for the Minion Master. The players were having a rollicking time of it, and the only thing that slowed the game down was the deliberation by the players as to what course of action was best (and that was a blast to watch).

From a playtesting standpoint, I'm considering this one Santa's gift to me! With a table full of new players, a couple who now own book-n-card sets, this was a great way to end the year.

Playtesting: Hobgobble's Eve

Last week, me and The Professor threw down a Hobgobble's Eve playtest for the good folk of the Garden State Gaming Society. We only had two players, so I jumped in on their side as a Sage (imagine that!). The Prof had the job of Kreator/Minion Master and did a great job of beating us down in the first encounter with a trio of fowl turdragons (turkey-dragons). I did my best as the team's Sage, but by encounter's end found myself quite low on spoints; alack, the problems of liberal spell-tossing! All said and done, I had a blast jumping in on the player side, which I don't get to do very often. There's something to be said for this from a playtesting standpoint: it's easy to run the game and be in control, but it's critical to see the game from a player's view. You gotta know how the dice feel on that side of the table, too!