Multi-player Pulp Alley: what are your experiences

[oabee]

If you have ventured into Pulp Alley scenarios with more than two players, I would be interested in your experiences.

I'm about to do my sixth Pulp Alley game at a wargaming convention. I have tried the following, each in a four-hour time slot:
    4 Leagues of 4 characters (3'x3' table)
    6 Leagues of 4 characters (4'x4' table)
    5 Leagues of 4 characters (4'x4' table)
    4 Leagues of 5 characters (4'x4' table)
    6 Leagues of 3 characters (4'x4' table)

The very first scenario was modified Smash and Grab (players had to obtain a Minor Plot Point before attempting the Major Plot Point), all the others were Hidalgo Fire. The only one which really pushed the time limit (and was the least satisfying) was the 6 Leagues of 4 characters.

Obviously I like Hidalgo Fire when using the bigger playing surface: the players' ability to setup anywhere on the table really gets the action going right away.

On Saturday Feb. 11 I'll be at Wintercon 2017 in suburban Detroit again. I was able to pick up MicroArts's Wolfsung's Streets Gaming Mat very cheaply, plus their Catwalk Set, so I'm going back to a 3'x3' table and will return to the modified Smash and Grab scenario, which worked VERY well the first time I used it.

I am planning on 4 Leagues of 4 characters again. There is always pressure at conventions, however, to include more players.
So let me know your thoughts on the subject.

Just for your information: A picture of the proposed terrain is below, which is very much a work in progress and lacking in any scatter terrain:



This was actually taken just before sunrise by a reconnaissance zeppelin and copies have been sold to various adventuring leagues at outrageous prices. The evil and nefarious Dr. Munro   has been rumored to be building some type of Infernal Device in the warehouse in the photo...some say it's a time machine   [obtained in the Renaissance Miniatures Kickstarter]....

[warrenpeace]

That's great looking terrain! Looking forward to the color shot, unless, of course, your game is in Black & White.

I tried 8 players with 6 figures each on a 4.5 ft x 6.5 ft surface, using two decks of cards at each end of the table, and players in 4 groups of 2 players each for national expeditions. That was way too much. Trimmed it down to 4 figures for each player for the convention, and tried to plug in a second GM at the other end of the table, and that didn't work too well either. Too many players, too big a table, but it did look spectacular, thanks to my housemate's excellent terrain and figures. The scenario didn't require the leagues to fight each other, and they didn't, but they fought animals and natives on the way to the objective temples in the middle of the table and got into big battles with the Terrors located in the temples.

Played in another game that convention with 5 players, and that GM ("Sinewgrab" here on LAF) is of the opinion that 5 players is the maximum for a game of Pulp Alley. That was a game played out on aeronefs over the surface of Mars, a very VSF setting. That game worked very well.

[colgar6]

We've played a few 4-player games at home; all have been very successful.  Here are some observations on tweaks that have been necessary:

• Table size needs to be a little bigger than for a game with just 2 leagues.  Not enormous, mind - just incrementally larger
• After our first game or two, we increased the number of minor plot points in line with the number of players.  Otherwise, we discovered that the game always went to the holder of the major plot point and it wasn't really worth any effort to pursue the less valuable ones.
• Playing perils can become very slow.  I think that it's important for all other players to have a chance to play a card on someone who has just triggered a peril, but unless the umpire keeps a tight rein on this then the process can take a long time as each player considers their options in turn.
• We found it necessary to use "activated" markers on figures, else keeping track of which models had already moved and which hadn't became difficult to remember.  Depending on your players, this might also apply to how many combats a character has been in during the current turn (in order to apply the correct penalty to shoot/brawl dice for multiple fights).

    Hugh

[oabee]

We've played a few 4-player games at home; all have been very successful.  Here are some observations on tweaks that have been necessary:

• Table size needs to be a little bigger than for a game with just 2 leagues.  Not enormous, mind - just incrementally larger
• After our first game or two, we increased the number of minor plot points in line with the number of players.  Otherwise, we discovered that the game always went to the holder of the major plot point and it wasn't really worth any effort to pursue the less valuable ones.
• Playing perils can become very slow.  I think that it's important for all other players to have a chance to play a card on someone who has just triggered a peril, but unless the umpire keeps a tight rein on this then the process can take a long time as each player considers their options in turn.
• We found it necessary to use "activated" markers on figures, else keeping track of which models had already moved and which hadn't became difficult to remember.  Depending on your players, this might also apply to how many combats a character has been in during the current turn (in order to apply the correct penalty to shoot/brawl dice for multiple fights).

    Hugh

• Agreed. The 4' table works well for me.
• More Minor Plot Points is a great idea which had not occurred to me. Consider it stolen!
• First choice for playing a peril starts with the player to the left of the activated player, who can play or pass, and if he passes the next player to the left gets the choice, etc. And I do allow the players to discuss things! And if the process drags I push the players to act, for heaven's sake! 
• We use the character cards to track status: once the character activates the card is turned horizontal. Markers are used on the cards to track multiple fight penalties and hits.

That's great looking terrain! Looking forward to the color shot, unless, of course, your game is in Black & White.

I tried 8 players with 6 figures each on a 4.5 ft x 6.5 ft surface, using two decks of cards at each end of the table, and players in 4 groups of 2 players each for national expeditions. That was way too much. Trimmed it down to 4 figures for each player for the convention, and tried to plug in a second GM at the other end of the table, and that didn't work too well either. Too many players, too big a table, but it did look spectacular, thanks to my housemate's excellent terrain and figures. The scenario didn't require the leagues to fight each other, and they didn't, but they fought animals and natives on the way to the objective temples in the middle of the table and got into big battles with the Terrors located in the temples.

Played in another game that convention with 5 players, and that GM ("Sinewgrab" here on LAF) is of the opinion that 5 players is the maximum for a game of Pulp Alley. That was a game played out on aeronefs over the surface of Mars, a very VSF setting. That game worked very well.

• I thought 6 players with 4 characters was too much, although the game went well, mainly because I had fun players!
• I only use one deck, but I have EVERY expansion card deck, so it's a very large deck. Size matters.
• I agree with Sinewgrab that 5 players is probably the maximum. My games at Drums at the Rapids were both like that, and they were very well fought. I think the main factor giving a convention game where there is a definite time factor is as much the number of characters as the number of players. I'm trending to limit games to 20 characters or less.
• And the game will be in color...I'm still working on getting the catwalk finished and finally got the base coat on last night. Once I do a bit of weathering I'll post a proper color photo. 

[/list]

[whomever1]

  My time running Pulp Alley at a convention didn't go all that well--I was only able to get a couple of people to play, as I had picked a time slot with too many other things going on. However, since I think it is a good thing to tout for PA I gave both players a copy of the free Quickstart rules, and the free card set so they'd have something to hold onto after the game.

[warrenpeace]

I had little colored beads to indicate whether a character had activated or engaged in combat or was wounded. Most of those were on the table. Will look better when on character cards instead.

The fewer elements each player has the easier it is. Since I come from a wargaming background, rather than RPG's, I really like the gangs in Pulp Alley. Those allow more figures in play, which makes it look more like a wargame, even though each gang is itself a single character. Both Sinewgrab and I used gangs in our games. Mine were NPC's, some black natives with spears and shields or bows, and one was a gang of crocodiles.

[oabee]

This is how we do our player cards. "POW!" tokens mark multiple fight penalties, skulls mark hits. I color code all dice: all D6s are yellow, D8s are black, D10s are red, D12s are green.

[oabee]

By the way, there are many types of skull markers/counters/beads out there. These are from Litko. They have several options. Mine came from these choices:



The POW! markers are based on 4ground's 20mm bases:
http://www.4ground.co.uk/painted-bases/20mm-diameter-bases
I got some 3/4 inch round labels and printed the POW! graphic on them, then stuck the labels on the counters. Avery has a free template you can download to print the labels on your computer.



Or you can go the Pulp Alley (USA) or Sally 4th (UK) sites and purchase their MDF token set!

[Chris Abbey]

http://wargamesbuildings.co.uk/epages/950003459.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/950003459/Products/SFPA001

We've played quiet a few games at shows. Our next is at Hammerhead in March.
Limiting characters per player, and actively encouraging decision making is the key!

[Wolf Girl]

This is how we do our player cards. "POW!" tokens mark multiple fight penalties, skulls mark hits. I color code all dice: all D6s are yellow, D8s are black, D10s are red, D12s are green.

This is really close to how we do it too. And I like how you put the dice types on the cards. Very clever! 

To help remember "activations" we simply turn the character cards sideways when they activate and turn them all back straight at the end of the turn.

I've seen Dad run a bunch of games with 5-6 new players and it goes very smooth. Obviously he has the advantage of knowing the rules  well, so maybe 6 players won't work for everyone. But he's really good at keeping the players focused on the scenario.

Pulp Alley is designed for 1 to 4 players, so we don't make any adjustments if we have less than 5 players, unless it is just intended to be a demo game.  For demo games we might reduce the number of characters per league, but that's about it.

[oabee]

This is really close to how we do it too. And I like how you put the dice types on the cards. Very clever! 

I have found, especially when teaching the game to newbies, that color coding is a great aid, especially because the d8s and d10s look so similar. "No, no George...roll the RED ones! the RED ones."   

[Wolf Girl]

Agree 100%. That is why we recommend and play with our Mixed Dice set -   http://store.pulpalley.com/product-p/1350.htm

Having different colors for the different dice types is pretty helpful.   

[Sinewgrab]

Huh, I had never thought to color code the dice.  That's a great idea.

I definitely feel that 5 is the maximum, and even then I try to make sure that there are no more than 5 'characters' per side, even if one or more of those are gangs for a higher model count. It just seems to slow down too much when you go over 5, and I have usually run into more loss of time and interest because the gits start forgetting who did what.  I now use that as the standard for my convention games, and, because I run the engraver at a sign shop, I have plenty of tokens to use.

[FramFramson]

I DID think to colour code my dice, but by player and not type. I'm not sure if your version wouldn't have been better... 

[Malebolgia]

http://wargamesbuildings.co.uk/epages/950003459.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/950003459/Products/SFPA001

We've played quiet a few games at shows. Our next is at Hammerhead in March.
Limiting characters per player, and actively encouraging decision making is the key!

Honestly I prefer your Pinned tokens for multiple fight penalties. I prefer single tokens to having to use multiple tokens to represent an effect:

http://wargamesbuildings.co.uk/epages/950003459.sf/en_GB/?ObjectPath=/Shops/950003459/Products/%22Pinned%20Tokens%22

And I did several multiplayer games. My favorite is to use a Leader, Sidekick and 2 Allies. So light leagues that go fast.