Guards of Traitor's Toll- Anyone read the rules/tried the game?

[Rick]

Or you could just cut the bases off and glue them onto cobbled bases. I did it with a lot of the Frostgrave figures, although I mostly used the paved bases (and snow basing!), also did the same thing with Perry, Gripping Beast, Wargames Atlantic and GW - not too difficult with a sharp knife and a hard surface.

[Ultravanillasmurf]

I did wonder about cutting them off the bases.

Not sure if the WA plastic is amenable to cutting with a knife, I was wondering about a razor saw, which I have used previously.

[ChaosChild]

I haven't tackled the GoTT minis, but I have quite a few other WA minis and they all come with puddle bases. They're no more difficult to remove with clippers and a knife than any others.

[Rick]

They're really not too difficult - the trick is just to keep the blade angled to you only cut the base off, not cutting through part of the foot!
I generally reserve the razor saw (or the saw-toothed steel cutting disc for my rotary drill) for metal figures that I want to remove from bases.

[tomrommel1]

I got the game for my son as a present, lets see what he says

[Psychopomp]

I have to admit to a lot of interest in the game and its premise, but custom dice and cards put me off somewhat.  I've been heavily burned on that front by Fallout: Wasteland Warfare.

How cluttered with these geegaws is the game?  Would I find myself compelled to get the expansions to get the additional plot cards and such?

[zemjw]

I'm guessing "yes" - https://greyfornow.com/collections/guards-of-traitors-toll

The expansion comes with 90 new cards, including new plot ones.

I'm still planning to buy it, but I agree it is an annoying approach

[mikedemana]

I have to admit to a lot of interest in the game and its premise, but custom dice and cards put me off somewhat.  I've been heavily burned on that front by Fallout: Wasteland Warfare.

How cluttered with these geegaws is the game?  Would I find myself compelled to get the expansions to get the additional plot cards and such?

Anything the Mad Lord does is fascinating and I will eagerly read and enjoy, but I admit it would be the above reservation that I would have to actually purchasing the game myself...

Mike Demana

[Psychopomp]

After seeing that the 02 Hundred Hours expansions eventually have gewgaw-only releases, I gave in and ordered the Guards bundle.  This will give me everything out now, and hopefully any neat stuff that comes in further expansions will be purchasable without a box full of minis with some patience.

It'll be months yet before I'm done remodeling and have my painting table back, but I wanted to go ahead and have this game locked in given all the looming uncertainty at the moment.  It just hit too many items on my gaming checklist.

[Maxromek]

I got the starter set before Easter and had  ago at the solo training mission.

I think the game is certainly interesting - BUT - a lot of it I would term "simulation" rather than "playing". To elaborate, your guards move in a randomized manner meant to simulate them walking about and patrolling. You have limited control over them UNITL something draws their attention. Only then do you have control over their actions. I think this might have been necessary to fulfil the premise of the game.

The next thing worth discussing is the identification of suspects. Basically, as the game unravels, players have to identify certain miniatures based on indicators. These can be equipment, activity or just a general vibe of the miniature. Say you need to identify an entertainer - that could be a miniature playing a flute, juggling or looking like its mid-dance. There is a big scope for discussion whether a certain miniature fulfils the identification criteria, so for 2+ player games, I can see this becoming either a great and fun moment or a big point of contention. I very much enjoyed that aspect, but again, I only played solo.

As for custom cards and dice, I think their use is justified given the degree of simulation needed to really convey the idea of these being groups of guards on patrol on a random Sunday evening. The playthrough I did really felt like I was controlling such a patrol, so I am okay with them.

Overall, this is an interesting game and I am definitely keen on playing it more. It does require quite a bit of scenery to really pull it off, and an investement in painting the civilians, but I reckon it's worth trying.

I have separate issues and praises for the Wargames Atlantic miniatures that are attached to this project, mainly WA having parts that didn't make it onto the sprues on their promotional material, inside the rulebook and even on the box art.

[SteveBurt]

We played through the training mission last night. I’ve not painted the civilians yet but I have loads of suitable figures from various collections.
The busy village of Gallows Halt

Another view

The game plays well, although the business of identifying and moving civilians twice a turn is a bit fiddly. Planning to speed that up with cards with a picture of each character with their name, then you just draw a card. The cards will also go on the plot cards when they becomes suspects, allies, or people you can get stuff from.
The guards found the contraband, killed the violent suspect after a long struggle, subdued the sneaking suspect, but the fleeing one got away.

Enjoyed it a lot. There is a real narrative, RPG style to it, and the multi-player co-op play works well. You are all trying to arrest suspects, but you want your team to get the credit.

[Dentatus]

Nice looking game.

And "Gallows Halt"... Perfect name for a village.

''S'not the drop that gets you. It's the sudden stop at the end."