I used to love Scythe but after 15 plays it feels like a chore now

Picked it up two years ago and thought it was the best thing ever for the first 8 or 9 games. But after hitting 15 plays with my group in Portland, I realized the endgame just drags with everyone turtling up and nobody wanting to risk combat. We switched to playing with the Rise of Fenris expansion and that helped for a bit, but the core problem is still there for me. Has anyone else felt a favorite game lose its spark after too many sessions, or is it just my group's playstyle?

3 comments

3 Comments

emma_wells8313d ago

Totally get the "long math puzzle with no payoff" thing, that's exactly how I'd describe it too. I remember one game where I spent like 45 minutes crunching numbers only to realize my best move was to skip my turn and pass, which felt pretty ridiculous for a game about giant mechs fighting. It's kind of funny how we all figured out the most efficient strategy is to just not engage with the combat parts at all. My playgroup joked that we should rename it "Pacifist: The Spreadsheet Game" after a while.

ward.anna13d ago

Hit 16 plays with my group in Seattle and felt the exact same wall. Once everyone figured out the optimal turtle strategy, every game turned into a slow crawl to 6 points with zero fights. We tried Fenris too but the base mechanics just couldn't keep us excited after that point.

the_jake13d ago

Man, hard agree. My Portland group hit the same exact wall around game 12 or 13. It got to where every single round felt like we were all just spinning our wheels building up production nobody wanted to use. We had one game where nobody attacked until the final turn, and the winner just walked into an empty territory for an easy 6 points. We tried the Modular board and even banned a few cards, but the magic was gone. The first few plays felt like this tense cold war, but now it's just a long math puzzle with no payoff.