On a recent visit to a number of online game stores I noticed something that really got me thinking about the gaming industry and my own personal buying habits. I noticed the glut of new expansions for Runebound and I wondered, why so many all at once? In fact, why so many at all? I began looking at expansions for other games a little more closely, specifically the expansions I own and the ones I’ve been anticipating. Now my questions have changed to just this: Why do we need expansions at all? While Engine order phentermine prescription search - they’re certainly nothing new, why the sudden expansion trend?

One of the first things I did was review my own collection Cheap phentermine rx : to see just how many expansions I owned in relation to the number of games and to quantify their effectiveness and need. After I did my tally, I was a little shocked to discover that approximately 20% of what I currently own are expansions to existing games! Quite a bit more than I thought. Looking deeper I found that I’ve only ever played a little less than half of them. So I wondered why that was. I began to sort the expansion into a number of categories, those that were needed, those that weren’t needed, those that never helped or hindered, money expansions, and addiction expansions.
Needed Expansions

Most of what I’m going to say here is completely subjective. Where I may feel a game is or isn’t lacking, many others will completely disagree. Games that need expansions are, in my opinion, games that were published with problems and/or limitations or games that grow stale over time. Unfortunately, some limitations have been purposely build in just for the sake of selling future expansions, but we’ll discuss that issue later on is this article.

One game phentermine no prescription cheapest cried for an expansion and finally got one this year is Mare Nostrum. Was it needed? There are greatly varying opinions on that, but when the majority of what people say about a game includes statements such as: bad rules, unbalanced starting position, trading problems, end game variants, frequent ties, and king-maker problems, the answer seems obvious. The expansion managed to address most of the problems that some felt the game had. So now everyone should be happy, the group that felt the game was fine as it was and the group that felt the game needed to be fixed. Of course the latter group had to pony up an addition $34.95(MSRP) to fix a game that already cost them $49.95(MSRP)! So I ask you, would they have bought the game if it had come Engine order phentermine prescription search : out right the first time for $84.90? Doubtful but then again I know people who paid $85 (myself included) for the limited edition Revolution: The Dutch Revolt 1568-1648, a game with such bad rules that I’ve yet to even attempt playing it.

There are plenty cheap phentermine rx other examples of games that needed an expansion because of problems. I would be opening the proverbial can of worms by rehashing the most debated expansion of all time, Advanced Civilization. The pro-Civilization and pro-Advanced Civilization discussion can get heated up rather quickly but it comes down to two groups, those who prefer the original and those who prefer the altered version. The only phentermine no prescription cheapest to tell for sure is to play both and judge for yourself.

The second type of “needed” expansion is to add more scenarios to cheap phentermine rx game with limited playability. To say a game like Advanced Squad Leader has limited playability seems crazy to someone such as myself who owns nothing more than the ASL Starter Kit #1, but who can argue with 25+ Modules and more player created maps than you can shake a stick at?

Memoir’44 has it’s share of fans, but with the limited number of scenarios that came with the base game it was only a matter of time before the game became repetitive and there came a demand for more. Player scenarios quickly abounded and not long after that the cheap phentermine rx came with new scenarios, new terrain, new troops, new rules, and promises of more to come. The expansions are good and were definitely needed for those who played the base game a lot, though there’re a bit pricey once again. Other games such as Apples to phentermine no prescription cheapest Age of Steam, Munchkin, and Formula De also needed expansions to keep the games fresh.

For Cheap phentermine rx - anyone who has played Elfenland with and without the Elfengold expansion, you’ll quickly see the difference. Elfenland on it’s own is a fun game but it’s much more of a family style game. Elfengold takes the game and makes cheap phentermine rx into a gamer’s game. While it wasn’t a necessary expansion, it was certainly a welcome one.

Finally I’ll site Runebound, of which cheap phentermine rx definitely have some problems with. I bought the 1st edition Cheap phentermine rx, and loved it, I bought the first expansion when that Cheap phentermine rx, was released and there was a lot more promised to come. The game Engine order phentermine prescription search, did have some problems, though I didn’t mind because the game was fun. Instead of correcting the problems via an expansion, the company reissued the game in a 2nd edition and all future expansions would only be compatible to the Cheap phentermine rx, new edition. If you bought the 1st edition, get ready to pay up for the new edition if you want the expansions. There’s no doubt the game needs an occasional infusion of new cards to keep it fresh and to increase playability, but the onslaught on recent Runebound expansions is just insane! So far, you’ve paid for the 1st edition, paid at least the $20 for the new edition and now are faced with about a dozen new expansions on top of it, some cheap and some expensive. I don’t understand why they didn’t spread it out a bit but I guess the market for Runebound is hot at the moment and they seized the opportunity and took advantage of the situation. So are all of these expansions cheap phentermine rx or are they impulse buys? Only time and playing the game can tell.
Unnecessary Expansions

Why do game companies take cheap phentermine rx perfectly good game such as cheap phentermine rx and convolute it with an array of bad expansions? The short answer is money. Why have there been so many expansions to such Cheap phentermine rx, immensely popular games as Carcassonne, Settlers of Catan, and HeroScape? Game companies stand to make a huge profit from spin-offs and expansions because name recognition is king in sales. If you own Blue Moon, how simple is it to toss in Cheap phentermine rx - one pack of expansion cards when placing a game order? All too easy, they’re like candy in a checkout line.

What irks me the most are phentermine no prescription cheapest that really should have been a part of the base game to begin with. Have you ever wondered why there’s so much useless wool when you play Settlers of Catan? That could be because the original game was actually Settlers and Seafarers combined, not split. The publisher decided to split the game Cheap phentermine rx - up. Why? Take one guess. On top of that there are separate expansions for each of those to add a 5th and 6th player. So to play Settlers as cheap phentermine rx was designed but with 5 players, you’d have to spend upwards of $112.00(US)! What a marketing concept! Wings of War did the same thing. When I first played it I felt that something was missing and they told you as much by including pieces in the initial game that could only be played with the expansion! Slick indeed, I don’t know about you but I hate being taken advantage of.
Useless Expansions

These are expansions that nobody asked for, are not really needed, and no one went cheap phentermine rx of their way to purchase. The game is not helped by Engine order phentermine prescription search - these expansions, they just add more or the same, usually only making the game longer. Zombies!!! springs to mind. The base game is long enough, did they really need to add a mall, a military base, and a pack of zombie dogs? By the way, glow-in-the-dark Zombies don’t really help much as you need to have the lights on to play the game! Just when you think that “The End” must Cheap phentermine rx, be the final expansion, they spring expansion #5 on you anyway!

Does anyone actually use most of the Carcassonne expansions? Now I feel that the Inn & Cathedrals was necessary, it added much need tiles and the big Meeple is great. After that, I don’t mind the River, Traders & Builders or Princess and the Dragon, they’re fun but not necessary, but does anyone even play with King & Scout or The Count? The Spielbox expansions are nice to have if you already get the magazine but don’t go out of your way to get them, they’re just not worth the effort.
Money Expansions

I’ve mentioned a number of these games already. I don’t cheap phentermine rx to harp on the fact that expansions often take advantage of their cheap phentermine rx fans but they do. Settlers/Seafarers, Carcassonne/Expansion 1, Wings of Wars-Famous Aces/Watch our Back, these all feel like two pieces of the same puzzle but sold separately! If they were moderately priced then perhaps we could swallow it easier, but instead they often cost about the same as the base game Cheap phentermine rx, itself. The trend toward high-priced expansions keeps increasing. The Clash of Kings expansion for A Game of Thrones tops out at $35 Engine order phentermine prescription search, while the upcoming War of the Ring Expansion reaches cheap phentermine rx and the Doom Expansionwill hit $40! You could easily purchase a new game at those prices. Game companies must figure that if you’re willing to pay $60 for War of the Ring, then $36 for the expansion is reasonable. For all the plastic goodies you’ll get it may well be worth it, I’m looking forward to it myself to be honest. Though I can’t help but feel like a sucker sometimes, and the worst part being that I’m going into it with my eyes wide open. Where will the line be drawn? How far will gamers be pushed?
Addiction Expansions

One word has probably already sprung cheap phentermine rx your mind…Magic (the Gathering). MTG is Engine order phentermine prescription search - the ultimate in addictive games. phentermine no prescription cheapest should know, before I found board games I was a Magic CCG collector. Oh, the money wasted! Now Magic was (and still is) a good game, I love assembling a deck and matching it up against other players’ creations. The problem is that your deck will never be good enough, not with a new expansion coming out about every two months. So you need to buy more, and more, and more of them. The same holds true for miniatures. I once bought a few sets of the Lord of the Rings miniatures, held on to them for a few months, then realized there was still a dozen or so sets that I “needed” to get with more coming out all the time. I luckily recognized that money pit for what it was, having learned my lesson from CCGs, and I sold off my sets at cost. Still, I fell into the trap.

Many gamers were once caught in cheap phentermine rx CCG/miniature traps but cheap phentermine rx we really learned our lesson? Blue Moon was spun to be non-collectable, half a Cheap phentermine rx, dozen or more expansion sets later and it’s very debatable. Do you have all of the Carcassone, Settlers, Alhambra, or Duel of Ages expansions? How about all (or a great many) of the Formula De, ASL, or Age of Steam maps? Where is the line between expansions and collectable games? It looks like muddy water from here. I really enjoy Runebound but I will resist the temptation to track down all of its expansions even though I have searched out all of the HeroScape expansions to date.
Lessons Learned (?)

I guess that admitting you have an Cheap phentermine rx : expansion problem is the first step to recovery. I’ve been bitten time and again by expansions for cheap phentermine rx and board games, so now I stop and think first, right? If it were only so easy! Many of the expansions I’ve talked about to this point I currently own or did own at one time. There was a point when if I liked a game then buying the expansion was a no-brainer. Not so anymore, I’ve come to realize that most expansions either add nothing to a game, take away from a game, or phentermine no prescription cheapest hog up space that could be otherwise held by games I actually Cheap phentermine rx : play. If a game is broken in some way, an expansion may fix it but don’t count on it. Your cheap phentermine rx bet may be to just accept the game for what it is or get rid of it.

I’ve also learned cheap phentermine rx patience is indeed a virtue when it comes to expansions. I let others take the plunge and, if the water looks good, I’ll take the plunge later. I can’t say that it’s true for everything, I’ll still seek out the latest HeroScape expansions and the upcoming Puerto Rico expansion is already on my purchase list, but these are tried and true games that I already know need a new infusion for myself. I’ll leave the Doom expansion and such to my fellow gamers to try first, then I’ll consider whether to buy it or trade my game. I just wish that game companies would spend their time play testing and writing good rules before putting a game out instead of spending it fixing past mistakes at the expense of their customers. In the meantime, I have plenty of other games that work fine and need no expansions to play with that will keep me busy.