Red Dust Rebellion - Straight Up Solo with John LaRuffa

[@wmarclocher]

Really liking Notebook LM, turning out to be a great reference tool Thanks for the run through, this is the heaviest of the COIN volumes (having played vol. 1, 2, 7, 11 and the multipack and ICS vol 1 and 2) this video has helped. I'm curious though on why you have so many Population chits on Earth. I believe those get adjusted up or down to whatever the level that EarthGov confidence is at during the Dust Storm - Reset Phase.

[@JohnLaRuffa]

Yes. They adjusted down but my Earth Confidence was pegged at 10 for most of the game so after each reset, I kept having to add 3 more population markers during each Flashpoint phase.

[@bookaddict777]

Thanks for the video on this one, John. It just shows me that it would probably never get played at my house even though the game looks cool.

[@JohnLaRuffa]

@@bookaddict777 glad to have helped! These games are certainly intriguing, but I don’t think they will ever have mass appeal due to the serious heavy lifting it takes to learn and play and how long they take to complete.

[@phinori]

One thing worth keeping an eye out on with the AI tools for board game rules is to read the part it references in the rulebook because it can give wrong answers very confidently, clearly contradicting the rules section it is referencing.

[@JohnLaRuffa]

Good heads up. Thanks!

[@jensagren3093]

The great thing in Notebook LM, after you have uploaded the rules, is that it points out and can display the referred sections which it's basing the answers on, in a separate window to the left of the replies.

[@realdealastrology9]

The enemy movement is *exactly* why I don't like COIN games at all. That exact aspect. I'll never forget playing Liberty or Death about the American Revolution. When I had to move the enemy under various actions, it was such a headache that I just stopped playing and sold it off. It's unfortunate how after *all* these COIN games, they can't streamline enemy movement well. Pretty sad, if you ask me.

[@JohnLaRuffa]

I understand. What I usually end up doing is just learning what the bot intends and then move it accordingly.

[@elqord.1118]

Agreed

[@jensagren3093]

I'm also using Notebook ML for all the games I play. It's soooo smooth. 🙂

[@JohnLaRuffa]

I just love asking it questions and seeing it answer me like someone who knows the game cold! Love it!

[@konikniov7069]

Great video I'm waiting for the review of Rome fate of the empire and also I'm playing creature caravan solo. Easy to play easy to learn and very fun. You can play two bot at once.

[@JohnLaRuffa]

I hope to have that review done in the next couple of days. I have not looked at creature caravan because I have sold most of the games that I have bought from that designer but now I will take a closer look.

[@SoloedQuest]

Would you say this is a good entry point for someone new to COIN games?

[@JohnLaRuffa]

Certainly. I think this game is very approachable and the systems and rulebook make it the right place to start if you want to get into this type of game.

[@Geisler89]

Never had much luck with the bot flowchart action charts or even the newer cards. I like the fan made apps that just give you the action.

[@JohnLaRuffa]

@Geisler89 I checked that out which is a great solution to the priority charts but what I didn’t like is that I had (and essentially so) to enter in all the changes to the board state so the app new what was going on. Of course there is no way around that, but it took away from the immersion for me. However, I love that the app exists because I can see many people choosing to play this way instead of going through the priority charts.

[@gregorys9629]

I actually disagree with John here, Red Dust Rebellion is quite a heavy COIN. The best entry point imo would be Vijayanagara - a COIN-lite game released earlier this year which can be played solo in under 2 hours. Otherwise Cuba Libre is often cited as the best starting point.

[@JohnLaRuffa]

@gregorys9629 you are probably right. I have never played the games you mention here but I have heard they are very approachable. I am just comparing this to the ones I have played.

[@florianschoppler4001]

Did you just say 6 hours long game after knowing the system!? Oh my god.. that is not what I was looking for. Didn’t know coin games take that long. Then I just have to say I am not the audience for soloing that game

[@JohnLaRuffa]

You might play them faster than I do and game lengths can vary a bit but I would say you are talking 5 minutes per card and you may draw all 36 of them. That is 3 hours right there. Then you probably have 10-20 minutes for each dust round and 2-5 minutes for each flash point phase of which you probably have 10-15 of those per game. Toss in a handful of longer AI turns on some of the cards and the 20 minute setup and you are looking at 6 hours. It’s a game I have to play over multiple sittings.

[@florianschoppler4001]

@ since I am an AP guy it will be 8 Hours for me. No thanks 😅😂

[@JohnLaRuffa]

@florianschoppler4001 oh yeah. This would be a slog for AP guys like yourself.