Board game: Buyers Beware
13Just thought I’d offer a warning to my fellow board gamers. I got a copy of the Game of Thrones Catan game for Christmas. We opened it to play it for the first time last night and discovered that it’s just a complete mess. There are numerous typographical errors on the box, the rules, some cards and the player boards. The game claims to include basic Catan, but there are roads, ports and development cards missing which would mean you’d be playing an incomplete version. According to the contents listed on the box, the games were all shipped missing player components, development cards, and wildling figures. Rather than make good on the box contents, the company is now claiming that’s a misprint and the components provided are the correct ones (even though this invalidates the claim that it includes basic Catan). Even with the revised contents list I am still missing one road from my copy. All in all, it’s just a complete fuckup. This is an $80 board game that was a big expense for the friend who gave it to me. It was such a shame to see his pride in this cool gift turn to disappointment when we realized how bad the quality control was for this game. Made me want to punch someone in the nose on his behalf.
So I advise against buying the first edition of this boondoggle of a game.
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Thanks for the head’s up @moondrake. Can your friend get a refund mehbe?
@therealjrn I think he got it online and it’s a big, heavy game that’s already been punched. It would be a pain to return. If I’d bought it myself I’d do it to make the company understand this is unacceptable, but he didn’t say anything about sending it back and I’m certainly not going to bring it up. I can make the missing roads in ceramics, we can ignore the ridiculous typos, and live without the missing wildling. The two missing development cards are the only thing we cant compensate for. Fortunately I have basic Catan and many expansions so we don’t need this version to be complete for that.
If you’ve already bought the game, here’s a link to the four pages of corrections from the manufacturer.
https://images-cdn.fantasyflightgames.com/filer_public/a4/b5/a4b5e261-fda8-4984-89f4-17ed72f86b07/agot-catan_errata__faq_171214s.pdf
@moondrake What does this mean, “Note: Those responsible for these errors have chosen to take the black in lieu of harsher punishments.”
I’ve never heard “take the black” before.
@cengland0 Game of Thrones reference- it means to join the army defending against ice monsters and zombies. It’s a reprieve for criminals. And pretty damned funny.
@cengland0 I didn’t see that part. That’s pretty dang funny actually. It’s a Game of Thrones reference. Service was once honorable, when the Night Watch stood against hordes of the walking dead, but those times fell into myth, and rather than send their best soldiers to fulfill their obligation to the border guard, the nobles send riff-raff and criminals. When you’ve been accused or convicted of a crime or are in some way surplus to your family, you can “take the black” and become a member of the Night Watch. It’s actually kind of a silly idea since the role of the Night Watch is to defend the northern border against marauding barbarians. I expect the author was thinking romantically of the French Foreign Legion. But having your border patrol made up of unwanted sons and convicted rapists and murderers is obviously a flawed system.
@moondrake @sammydog01 thanks. I’ve never seen a single episode of Game of Thrones so I had no idea.
What company did this?
How about giving them a low rated review on Amazon?
Or self-representing and taking them to small claims court in EP? That might be fun for an organized brain/soul who does not quit. Like you.
Your filling fee would be about $200?
And they would have to hire a law firm?
Just the pleasure in costing them the legal costs …
I bet there is a class action on this.
@f00l Many times when you win a court case, you can get the defendant to pay the filing fees.
@f00l Of course that presumes they’d even show up or pay. My understanding of small claims court is that it is not up to the courts to force them to pay (could be wrong though).
@Kidsandliz
If they lose, you can embarrass them. Attach assets.
One state govt whistle blower here was wrongly terminated. He followed internal procedures and was blocked.
So he sued. And won. The state refused to pay.
So he attached the Alamo.
Tx paid.
@f00l If the judge finds it frivolous they can charge the filer for court costs. But dinging them on Amazon is a good thought.
@moondrake
How is suing over the company failing to make good on missing pieces of the game likely to be seen as frivolous? Seems a low risk.
@f00l If the court doesn’t think Fantasy Flights going to pay them, they can hit me up for costs. I’ve heard of it happening locally.
I just tried to post a review at Amazon and it’s blocked, only verified purchasers can post a review. Fortunately several others have posted warnings but it’s not an open review process.
@f00l
Now that is a riot
@moondrake are you allowed to reply to their reviews (the ones posting warnings?). You could put your review there then. Not totally out in the open but at least it is there and some would read it.
@moondrake
I wonder why amazon blocked reviews by other outside purchasers.
Is the game area so filled with phony reviews and passions? It’s not like the game is a knock-off product from overseas, however much it might look like one at the moment.
That’s a bummer. Thank you for the head’s up.
I always hate going to store like Barnes and Nobles and seeing this giant section board games like “Only look here if you have enough friends to board game.” I wish there was a play to rent board games to try for a month (in case the game sucks.)
@Targaryen I like the idea, but it would probably be expensive to make sure they were returned with all of the pieces undamaged
@Targaryen Have you tried Meetup and its clones? It’s a good place to find people to game with.
@Targaryen Super nerdy, but I find it helps a lot to watch playthroughs and/or reviews on YouTube. I’ve played enough games that I get a pretty good feel for how I’ll like a game, and how anyone I’d potentially be playing with would like a game from a video or two.
Also, there are quite a few board-gamers here, not a bad place to ask!
@Targaryen They have board game cafes places you can go for like 10 bucks a day. Ours has a pretty big library where I try stuff I’m wary about.
@Targaryen Board game bars are starting to be a thing. You should see if you have any locally. There is a really nice one near me that has over 100 games and a bunch of tables including a Looking For More table so you can play games with other people.
Another big problem is counterfeit games on Amazon and eBay-- I tried to buy my sister a copy of the sold out “Cards Against Humanity - For Her”, the pink version. I found an Amazon seller with one for about $40 (a few $ more than originally offered for, which I thought was understandable). Anyway-- It came from China, and is most certainly a counterfeit.
@caffeineguy
Report it then.
@f00l I bought my son some sort of Pokemon game that was a counterfeit many years ago from an Amazon seller. Amazon didn’t care.
That’s what I’ve heard. Numerous claims on Amazon about counterfeit product. Amazon just enjoys the money and doesn’t worry about stolen patents.
!personal favorite… [ It’s the revolutionary card game where you win by getting a head! This irreverent and humorous card game takes place during the French Revolution. Players represent rival guillotine operators vying for the best collection of noble heads over 3 rounds. Each round, 12 nobles are worth varying points, depending on their notoriety. During your turn, play action cards to change the order of the line so you can collect the best nobles. Will you be skillful enough to bribe the guards and collect Marie Antoinette? Or will you lose points for beheading the Hero of the People? Heads are going to roll - the player with the most points at the end of the game, wins! For 2 - 5 Players, Ages 12 and Up. Contents: 110 cards and rules of play. Gender: Unisex.1]
@DrLysergic I had some reward points still left to blow on somethings…this deck is going to be one thing. It sounds like it’s simple enough for me and the Grandkids to figure out…
Second the reccomendation of this game. Is one of my staples when a fast game is needed, or the group may not be up to something complex. Plays fast and usually has just the right level of potential betrayal to get fun table trash talk, but not harsh murder-y feelings at the end.
@awilkey Nothing says “family night” better than fewer harsh murder-y feelings at the end!
@therealjrn Exactly. Inspiring feelings of hate and homicide is what Diplomacy is for.
@awilkey lol it’s also quite entertaining to to read what the cards say or represent
I had good success with FFG when I emailed them. I bought the x-wing miniatures starter set, and it was missing 2 upgrade cards (one being r2-d2 which was selling for 10 bucks on ebay). I emailed them, and they sent me replacement cards without any hassle whatsoever, and at no expense to me.
Then a week later I found the cards I thought were missing in the damage deck.
@JekiTheRogue Rather than replace missing parts at great expense, they’ve decided to claim that the parts list is wrong, and the parts shipped were the correct number. You can play the GOT version without these missing parts if you overlook all the typos (they’ve released four pages of corrections on a maybe 10pg rulebook). But they claim you can also play basic Catan with this set. It’s not complete with the components shipped. If you are familiar with basic Catan, you’ll understand: no 3:1 ports, no monopoly cards, 14 roads per player. This despite the fact that the rules talk about all these things as if they’re there. People new to Catan who think they are getting two games in one are getting really shortchanged here.
Really shocked to hear this about FFG. That’s a huge name in the game industry, and I can’t believe they’d have such shoddy qc and that they wouldn’t make good on the screw up. Sorry to hear about it, and I feel bad for your friend.