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Merissa (12051 KP) rated The Huntress (Tales of Pern Coen: Bloodlines #2) in Books
Mar 14, 2023
THE HUNTRESS is the second book in the Tales of Pern Coen (Bloodlines) series and continues on from The Hunter.
A blast from Conor's past makes herself known but the war has changed both of them. Rhian is just coming into her own strength so will she fight for Conor if needed?
I thoroughly enjoyed book one and commented on the mix of Celtic names and fantasy places. This one is even better, with more details given about the Spirits of the land and what they represent.
This series definitely gives me a Roman Empire vs. the Druids of Mona feeling, with a better outcome for the druids, hopefully!
The ending was absolutely wonderful. The only thing I wanted was a bit more into the ending of a certain sorceress. It just felt as though it was over a bit too quickly, as in, blink and you miss it. Not enough for me to knock a star off though.
A fantastic partner to The Hunter and HIGHLY recommended by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
A blast from Conor's past makes herself known but the war has changed both of them. Rhian is just coming into her own strength so will she fight for Conor if needed?
I thoroughly enjoyed book one and commented on the mix of Celtic names and fantasy places. This one is even better, with more details given about the Spirits of the land and what they represent.
This series definitely gives me a Roman Empire vs. the Druids of Mona feeling, with a better outcome for the druids, hopefully!
The ending was absolutely wonderful. The only thing I wanted was a bit more into the ending of a certain sorceress. It just felt as though it was over a bit too quickly, as in, blink and you miss it. Not enough for me to knock a star off though.
A fantastic partner to The Hunter and HIGHLY recommended by me.
** same worded review will appear elsewhere **
* A copy of this book was provided to me with no requirements for a review. I voluntarily read this book, and the comments here are my honest opinion. *
Merissa
Archaeolibrarian - I Dig Good Books!
Vindolanda
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Purple Phoenix Games (2266 KP) rated Lagoon: Land of Druids in Tabletop Games
Jun 12, 2019
One of the best parts of the board gaming experience is finding a fun group of people with whom to play! Sometimes, though, coordinating a game night is easier said than done. We all must occasionally forego the group experience and face the world as the Lonely Only. But fear not! The world of solo-play is a vast and exciting realm! What follows is a chronicle of my journey into the solo-playing world – notes on gameplay, mechanics, rules, difficulty, and overall experience with solo variations of commonly multiplayer games! I hope this will provide some insight as you continue to grow your collection, or explore your already owned games!
Lagoon is a land of harmony and balance. Or at least it WAS until the rise of humanity. The three spiritual energies that once existed in a perfect equilibrium are now fighting for dominance and control over the destiny of Lagoon. Each energy has amassed a following of druids who are working to ensure that their chosen energy is victorious! Which energy will you choose to serve, and will your choice be the correct one in the end? There’s only one way to find out!
Lagoon: Land of the Druids is a game of tile placement and exploration. You are the leader of a circle of druids, and they will do your bidding throughout the game. On your turn, you will take any/all of these five actions: Move, Summon (add one of your reserve druids to the play area), Explore (add a new site tile to the table), Invoke (use a Site Action), or Unravel (remove a site tile from play). You can perform as many of these actions as you want, as long as you have the appropriate resources to spend. Each tile in the game is double-sided, and each side has a unique action/ability associated with it. Strategy is everything – which tile side should you choose to bring into play, and how can you best use the available abilities to benefit your chosen energy? You also have to keep an eye on your opponents because they might be trying to undermine your plans to help their energy achieve success! The game ends when all tiles have been explored, and then players count up points dependent upon which energy was ultimately dominant. The player with the most points is the winner!
As a solo game, Lagoon plays similarly to the multi-player game. Instead of competing against other humans, you are playing against an AI opponent (fondly referred to as “AJ” in the rulebook). On its turn, alternating with yours, the AI executes three steps – Explore, Unravel, and Invoke (perform an action dependent on which druids the AI currently has in play). Each of those steps is explained in more detail in the rulebook. The game ends as in a normal group game, and the player (either you or the AI) with the highest score wins.
The first thing I should mention are the solo rules themselves – they are very wordy and contain lots of ambiguity. It took me a couple of read-throughs before I felt comfortable trying to play, and even now I still keep the solo rules easily accessible when I do play. With so many moving elements in this game, clear and concise rules are necessary for an unencumbered game.
When I say there are a lot of moving elements, I mean it. At any point, you could have up to 5 druids in play, with access to up to 5 unique site powers to invoke in addition to the basic actions you can take on your turn. And on top of that, your druids are spiritually connected, so a druid on one site can use the power of a different site as long as you have a druid there as well. There are also lots of opportunities to combo powers this way, and unless you’re 100% focused, you could lose track of what you already did or forget to pay for an action. And in a solo game, you’re not only tracking this for yourself, you also have to make sure you’re executing the AI turns correctly. There’s just a lot going on and it can be easy to accidentally skip a step.
The thing I dislike most about playing Lagoon solo is that I have to make decisions for the AI. When placing tiles on AI turns, I get to choose which side to play. When the AI unravels a site, I get to choose which site to remove. It’s hard to play this game honestly because I can just choose whatever will benefit ME the most, and not necessarily act in the AI’s best interest. Obviously, a human opponent would do whatever they want for themselves, but in a solo game I am in control of my opponent. The rulebook does offer ways to alleviate this, but I either honestly forget to refer back to the rules for certain situations, or I just choose to ignore the suggestions. I know, I know, that sounds like a personal problem. And I guess it is. I just don’t like the responsibility of having to play two competing sides because it is hard to stay honest. Since this game is so dependent on strategy and personal decisions, there is no good way for an AI opponent to be successful.
Lagoon: Land of the Druids is a complex game that requires more strategy than you think. That being said, I don’t like to play it solo. Each turn offers lots of opportunities, but so many options can be overwhelming. Having to make decisions for the AI is not enjoyable for me because I am aware that I do not always make the best decision for the AI – it’s just hard for me to consciously make decisions detrimental to my game. The idea of this game is neat, but the execution of the solo rules (from their editing to their actual gameplay) just doesn’t work well for me. Give it a try solo if you want, but you’re not really missing a lot if you don’t.
https://purplephoenixgames.wordpress.com/2019/03/11/solo-chronicles-lagoon-land-of-the-druids/
Lagoon is a land of harmony and balance. Or at least it WAS until the rise of humanity. The three spiritual energies that once existed in a perfect equilibrium are now fighting for dominance and control over the destiny of Lagoon. Each energy has amassed a following of druids who are working to ensure that their chosen energy is victorious! Which energy will you choose to serve, and will your choice be the correct one in the end? There’s only one way to find out!
Lagoon: Land of the Druids is a game of tile placement and exploration. You are the leader of a circle of druids, and they will do your bidding throughout the game. On your turn, you will take any/all of these five actions: Move, Summon (add one of your reserve druids to the play area), Explore (add a new site tile to the table), Invoke (use a Site Action), or Unravel (remove a site tile from play). You can perform as many of these actions as you want, as long as you have the appropriate resources to spend. Each tile in the game is double-sided, and each side has a unique action/ability associated with it. Strategy is everything – which tile side should you choose to bring into play, and how can you best use the available abilities to benefit your chosen energy? You also have to keep an eye on your opponents because they might be trying to undermine your plans to help their energy achieve success! The game ends when all tiles have been explored, and then players count up points dependent upon which energy was ultimately dominant. The player with the most points is the winner!
As a solo game, Lagoon plays similarly to the multi-player game. Instead of competing against other humans, you are playing against an AI opponent (fondly referred to as “AJ” in the rulebook). On its turn, alternating with yours, the AI executes three steps – Explore, Unravel, and Invoke (perform an action dependent on which druids the AI currently has in play). Each of those steps is explained in more detail in the rulebook. The game ends as in a normal group game, and the player (either you or the AI) with the highest score wins.
The first thing I should mention are the solo rules themselves – they are very wordy and contain lots of ambiguity. It took me a couple of read-throughs before I felt comfortable trying to play, and even now I still keep the solo rules easily accessible when I do play. With so many moving elements in this game, clear and concise rules are necessary for an unencumbered game.
When I say there are a lot of moving elements, I mean it. At any point, you could have up to 5 druids in play, with access to up to 5 unique site powers to invoke in addition to the basic actions you can take on your turn. And on top of that, your druids are spiritually connected, so a druid on one site can use the power of a different site as long as you have a druid there as well. There are also lots of opportunities to combo powers this way, and unless you’re 100% focused, you could lose track of what you already did or forget to pay for an action. And in a solo game, you’re not only tracking this for yourself, you also have to make sure you’re executing the AI turns correctly. There’s just a lot going on and it can be easy to accidentally skip a step.
The thing I dislike most about playing Lagoon solo is that I have to make decisions for the AI. When placing tiles on AI turns, I get to choose which side to play. When the AI unravels a site, I get to choose which site to remove. It’s hard to play this game honestly because I can just choose whatever will benefit ME the most, and not necessarily act in the AI’s best interest. Obviously, a human opponent would do whatever they want for themselves, but in a solo game I am in control of my opponent. The rulebook does offer ways to alleviate this, but I either honestly forget to refer back to the rules for certain situations, or I just choose to ignore the suggestions. I know, I know, that sounds like a personal problem. And I guess it is. I just don’t like the responsibility of having to play two competing sides because it is hard to stay honest. Since this game is so dependent on strategy and personal decisions, there is no good way for an AI opponent to be successful.
Lagoon: Land of the Druids is a complex game that requires more strategy than you think. That being said, I don’t like to play it solo. Each turn offers lots of opportunities, but so many options can be overwhelming. Having to make decisions for the AI is not enjoyable for me because I am aware that I do not always make the best decision for the AI – it’s just hard for me to consciously make decisions detrimental to my game. The idea of this game is neat, but the execution of the solo rules (from their editing to their actual gameplay) just doesn’t work well for me. Give it a try solo if you want, but you’re not really missing a lot if you don’t.
https://purplephoenixgames.wordpress.com/2019/03/11/solo-chronicles-lagoon-land-of-the-druids/
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