Gaming Necromancy: Yu-Gi-Oh Dungeon Dice Monsters

So I ended up at the gaming store around home (it's called Wilkies' Wonderful World, it recently relocated closer to Lunenburg). While looking for sleeves I managed to find something quite surprising. Most people will scoff, but I assure you this one item is surprisingly good for where it comes from. This is the item in question:

Cartoonish? oh yes. Fun? I'd say so.

Now this game had a crazy short run, so this is kind of necromancy that's taking place here (pentagram in pig's blood isn't pictured, but present). The system is pretty simple overall, and it's fun impressively considering the source material (god Yu-Gi-Oh just looks awful). The spin-off in this case actually is a good time though. The rules can be found here.

Now, I will admit, gaming necromancy isn't for everyone (even without dealing with pig's blood). There are a lot of times these games or systems die off for a reason. Usually it has to do with one of these factors:

1) the game or system is too complicated (re-read a second edition D&D book, see if you can still make sense of it anymore).

2) The game is over simplified and just turns out to be boring

3) the release timing is poor and it gets left in the dust (least common one but it can happen).

4) support issues/ bad tie-in

Note that not all of these factors apply to every game all the time, but usually if you look into something that fell through without updating you see these reasons pop up. A few good games suffer from the last one sadly. I would include this, along with heroscape (out of the games I've played), D&D Miniatures, Star Wars Miniatures and apparently Dreamblade (notice a theme appearing here?).

This dragon symbolizes the worst support for miniatures games ever. Ever.

I would argue that no one of these factors alone usually does a system in, but the most common ones that do tend to be 3 and 4. The second factor is also a common one, and is interestingly enough the main one that can kill a game by itself (and for good reason too). A game being complicated usually won't kill it, but it does makes finding people to play it with a hard sell. Axis & Allies (as an example) tends to have a rough go of it, and it isn't even overly complex compared to some things (cough*twilight imperium*cough).

Phd. required, but not included.

The biggest problem with this particular copy is that it was clearly second hand. It's missing the board and the "dungeon tiles". There's something fun about this though, because I do have a chessex play mat (takes care of the board), that can have dry erase markers on it (takes care of the tiles). It will end up a touch different (I don't remember what the tiles look like), so it may end up changing some to accommodate it, even though it'll still be the same game (moreless).

All I need to mod a game.

I guess the end is rejoice! there's usually a way around all kinds of problems when it comes to gaming, especially with barely supported, out of date systems that you hold dearly.

Maybe someday you too, can profit off old systems and a healthy dose of laziness.

Ta for now.