Anyone playing Culdcept Saga?

[Justin_Bailey]

Culdcept Saga just came out for the Xbox 360 and just like the first game, I’m completely hooked. If you’ve never heard of it, imagine a cross between Monopoly and Magic: The Gathering. Yes, I know that sounds strange, but it’s actually great. Here’s a better discription from an article I wrote:

Players of Culdcept are known as Cepters. The goal of the game is to earn the target amount of magic power (called G) through a combination of collecting tolls, raising levels, and building chains. Players travel around the board passing forts and castles to earn extra G (like passing Go). Each board features several colored territories that a Cepter can claim with a monster (like buying a property). As players move around the board, they have to pay a toll (rent) if they land on another Cepter’s territory. A player can build chains and charge higher tolls if they own more than one territory of the same color (like a Monopoly if you will). During a player’s turn they are also able to buy level upgrades (Houses and Hotels) to force other Cepters to pay a higher toll if they land on their territory. If a player’s magic power goes bankrupt they have the option to sell their territories (like mortgaging, but not quite). And if a Cepter loses all of their magic, they’re Magic Depleted (or Bankrupt).

Like Magic, the monster cards can also fight. I’m excited because Namco added online play and because the computer no longer cheats in single-player.

So is anybody playing Culdcept Saga?

[fluiddruid]

I loved the original Culdcept (on PS2, I believe) and played the heck out of it. I’d recommend giving it a try if you like Culdcept Saga.

[Justin_Bailey]

@fluiddruid

I loved the original Culdcept (on PS2, I believe) and played the heck out of it. I’d recommend giving it a try if you like Culdcept Saga.

Oh, I already have Culdcept, but I think I like Saga better because the computer blatently cheats less.

[Gozu_Tashoya]

I’ve been curious about this game. Darn near buy-an-Xbox-360-just-for-it curious, but, strangely, not curious enough to read up on it.

The combat occurs when to player tokens/monsters land on the same property? Or can you, say, fight your way out of paying rent? (If only real life worked this way.)

How big a part is deck building, and how well-implemented is this? (I can imagine interfaces that range from “intuitive” to being utter illegible-card torture.)

[Justin_Bailey]

@Gozu Tashoya

The combat occurs when to player tokens/monsters land on the same property? Or can you, say, fight your way out of paying rent? (If only real life worked this way.)

Right, if you land on a square occupied by an opponent’s monster, you can fight or just pay the rent. If you win, you win the square and don’t have to pay rent.

@Gozu Tashoya

How big a part is deck building, and how well-implemented is this? (I can imagine interfaces that range from “intuitive” to being utter illegible-card torture.)

Deck building is important, but I’m 10 or 12 fights into the game and the “starter” deck has served me pretty well. The games gives you 50 cards to start with and I think I’ve switched out maybe 15-20. OK, so I guess it’s more important than I thought.

But deck building is easy. The game gives you options to sort cards by type, by color and by used/unused. You can also build multiple decks, but I’ve yet to feel the need. I love my water-based deck.