War or Devastation? I'm inclined to go for the latter, because bigger = better, but I cannot find it anywhere (and have only managed to find one copy of War)...

EDIT: Belay that, I have found things. Now I just have to justify spending the money... Eh, maybe for my birthday or something.

I already did! I got it at your recommendation (or maybe someone else here). It is really great.

I recommend Devastation, although availability is hurting it. There's a reprint promised soon.

They've already done the Devastation reprint - it should be on a boat I think.

War should be going on Kickstarter for a reprint (upgrading the art/components to match Devastation, including errata, but otherwise it will be the same so if you already have War you are fine) - it will also include new promos I think.

BattleCON is probably my favorite 2p competitive game.

I won't/can't choose BattleCON vs Sentinels, because they are such different experiences.

That said, I am really strongly considering trying to make some of the Sentinels heroes and villains as BattleCON characters (possibly battlecon chars as sentinels decks also?) 

EDIT: Worth noting that Legacy already is a playable (promo) character in BattleCON if you get the Devastation Kickstarter promo pack.

I LOVE battlecon! Again I found it due to the Kickstarter crossover and mostly backed at first due to the Legacy promo. I’ve got a very picky opinionated friend, and played it with him and instantly put it on his bgg wishlist.
It has a common ground element with >G stuff by having such a richly thought out backstory and setting, which is something that always appeals to me.

I don't care much for the backstory, but then I never did with Mortal Kombat, Tekken, Streetfighter... It's kind of fun playing some of the same characters in Seven Card Slugfest though!

Blue Haired Meerkat - Go for Devastation, the War Reprint is coming soon but will be smaller, and the Devastation box looks awesome. I half regret getting War when I did as I'd have been better off waiting. I'm waiting for a friend to visit his family in the states so I can cheekily ask him to pick up the Extended pack for Devastation that rebalances War for those who have it (in addition to extra goodies for Devastation) - the shipping and customs hit is just brutal for such a small item.

What surprised me is the depth of the game, it's subtle, but can be a real brain-burner. I read a blog where Brad Talton was talking about how the game emerged from his desire to create a game that used all mechanics, so each fighter has very different mechanisms for how they fight. Really must get more people to play it, though sadly the board game group in London have a "no 2 player game rule" which I might ask if I can bend by running a 4/6 player tournament since I have some spare boards that I can set up battles on

Yeah, I'm waiting on the War KS to see if they offer the errata/upgrade pack for a minimal charge to existing War owners since I dont really want to buy a brand new game.  I didn't back the Devastation KS due to not having really "found" KS until after it and Shattered Timelines had ended, much to my eternal chagrin.  I would love to own Devastation, but I'm goign to have to wait for the reprint to hit the OLGS's so I can get it at a discount.

I just recently got a copy of Devastation, and my group LOVES it, as do I. If any of you are looking to set up some online matches, hit me up. I looked on the BattleCON forums, and they're pretty dead. I'd love to play more with you fine folks.

They're reprinting War? When? Can someone throw me a link to this announcement?

It hasn't been officially scheduled yet, but they mentioned it on their Devastation kickstarter page.

Also, since we have a topic going now, what are everyone's favorite/best/least favorite/worst characters?

I NEED SPECIFICS. SPECIFICS OF BATTLECON!

Reprint war: Devastation Kickstarter update #122

Coming Soon

We've neglected reprinting War for far too long, but now that all the artwork is ready, we want to give you the opportunity to own the classic that started BattleCON, in crisp new artistic glory. We hope to launch this project around the end of April, but we'll see. Better to make sure we handle all our current responsibilities (Argent) before we jump into a brand new thing XD

But either way, I'll let you know when the time comes!

The BGG forums play-by-forum section is usually pretty active.  You can find opponents there as well.

Shameless plug:

I am working on a statistics project for BattleCON similar to (and inspired by) the Sentinels Statistics Project.  If any of you fine upstanding folks could offer matches to help build the database, I would appreciate it!

I honestly prefer the first printing of War from a functional standpoint.  The artwork is of inconsistent quality without a unified presentation, but I love the fact that I can bring the game anywhere in a box the size of a MtG Fatpack.  Devastation is a beautiful game and a lot of fun, but I hate lugging it around.  Storage is a hassle, and the best ways I've seen it organized involves pumping more money into modifying the box or outright ditching it for a new container.  I don't deal with that in War.  I love both games (and am happy to have hard copies) but I wish the storage could've been a bit more functional with Devastation.  I think BattleCON went a bit overboard with its stretch goals on that one.

I was first exposed to Devastation, however, so I mainly enjoy characters from that set.  My favorite in War is Zaamassal and I love playing with Joal and Shekhtur in Devastation.  I even got to have a lengthy chat in person with Zaamassal's creator a few months ago!

I have the really crappy/buggy BattleCon app on my phone. Just from playing that little demo there's a nice amount of depth for how simple the engine is under the hood. Idk if that's War or Devestation or both. The clockwerk soldier dude, he's my jam. There's only a small batch of characters to play. Wish I could see more. 

I can fit 4 characters (sleeved) + tokens into a standard Ultra Pro deckbox.  Not sure how many you could fit into a fat pack, but I would guess at least 1 full flight.

Use the card backs from a character you arent using as your arena spaces.  When we are going out, my wife and I each pick 4 random characters and throw them in a deck box - easy portable gaming.

Part of War.  I don't think it has everything?

It has very little haha

I played the app and got super excited about it. Bought War. Haven't gotten anyone to play it with me in the year-ish since. Ah well.

I'm less excited now. It turned out to be one of those games I would enjoy if it weren't for all the other people that play it.

So really more of a demo/teaser for the analog game, then?

One of the things I like best about BCon is the strategic depth.  Similar to Chess/Go/Checkers, there is no element of luck.  Everything that happens in the game is a result of a player decision.  There is minimal hidden knowledge (the only thing hidden is what attack each opponent is playing right before revealing).  You always know exactly what cards your opponent has in hand and exactly what their capabilities are.

There is a really deep mind-game involved as well.  

Player 1: "I have this awesome attack"

Player 2: "I know you have that awesome attack, but I have this perfect counter"

Player 1: "Yes, but I have this different attack that could counter your counter"

Something of an "I know that you know that I know that you know…", but it really allows for a lot of strategic and tactical play, and even defeats are very satisfying.

Often, when I lose a competitive game, it is because of a bad dice roll, or a poor card flip (can even happen in Sentinels).  However, a loss in BattleCON is either because I made a mistake or because my opponent outplayed me.  Each defeat makes me a better player.

BattleCON cannot replace Sentinels, but in our house it has fired every other competitive game.  (BattleCON and Sentinels are the only two games we regularly keep in an easily accessible space in the living room.  All other games are in the closet in the back with the Hard Hat sign on the door).

I haven’t played Devastation enough to get a feel for all the characters yet but I really love the mobility of Tanis, she pretty much has free reign of the fight with her popping in and out of different puppets.

My friend David and I both find that we are surprisingly more competent with the Advanced and Master tier characters than we are with the more simplistic ones. His best characters are Malandrax, Tatsumi, Lixis, and Aria, while mine are Gaspar, Clive, Tanis, and Kaitlyn.

There is a $15 Devastation Extended Edition pack that includes the rebalances for War characters, so I don't know if they'll do a dedicated seperate War rebalance pack. I get the impression that it's only available from the company themselves which further complicates things. They did say something about having them available to print online but I can't find them, and have had no answer on the forum

As for a favourite character, I always try to learn a mix of characters, and haven't had enough games to really get a favourite. I suspect that it'll change as I get more experienced anyway

If any of you fine folks will be at Gen Con, I'd love for us to do some in-person games later in the evenings as the convention halls close. Craig, you up for it?

Possibly. I make no guarantees.

I'll be at GenCon, and I'm up for it. I also am up for online play; I've done PBF games over at BGG. The official forums don't support spoiler-text or editing of posts, which makes it impossible there.

Brad mentioned the War reprint kickstarter coming in 2 weeks in a recent twitter update.

Going into PAX East  I had all intentions in the world of staying up and playing games all night with folks after the convention hours.

It never panned out that way at all haha.

Heh. Difference is, this is my town. No stress of travel and learning my way around. It's surprising how much difference that can make.

@imprimis5, I'd also love to play it with you sometime when we're both in Indianapolis. (I live in Bloomington.)

Hit me up. I never leave.

If anyone's ever in Kansas, I'm always up for a game.

Well, I pledged on the new campaign at the $175 level. I'm not convinced that'll stand until the end, but it's there for now. It's one of those games that I really like but have a hard time selling to friends. Especially my boyfriend (my only real two-player game companion), since he doesn't much like fighters in video game form.

Well, I don't like fighters either (except Smash Bros) and I LOVE it. The huge differences to me are:

1.) there are no button combinations to memorize, so there's 0 chance you won't know HOW to pull off the attack you want. It's all about knowing WHICH ONE to use.

2.) The turns are simulaneous, so you don't have to worry about not having quick enough reflexes to land a hit. It's PURE strategery; no speed, finesse, or random luck involved.

3.) each attack has a 2-turn cooldown, so you won't get unfairly beaten by some noob spamming one really good move the entire time.

I love it too, but it always bugs me when people claim there is no random luck involved. Simultaneous reveal of actions IS a random element. I'm totally OK with that, but I'd just like to see it acknowledged for what it is.

Both players get to choose what they play, and so I wouldn’t say it’s completely random. The results are random only in the sense that there’s normally no way for players to know what their opponent has chosen, but random implies that there’s no choice when a choice is definitely being made.

I would suggest there's a difference between "random" and "unforeseeable".

I know a lot of people opinions on the two games, but Yomi just started a KS too.

Hidden information/decisions does not equal random chance. There is absolutely no random element of luck in that regard within BattleCon. Sure you can play it as just random selection of cards with no thought (I guess that would be akin to a button basher in video gaming) and turn up some decent results due to chance, but that decision can be made due to analysis of your opponents options (all of which you know) which is best for them to play, which is best for you to play, what they expect you to play etc... 

I think you're confusing the unknown with randomisation, the former in theory could exist in the game (but not necessarily) but the latter certainly doesn't.

My absence from the Internet has almost cost me this opportunity! Thankfully there's three days left and I can pledge to their Kickstarter! I'm glad I came back.

Man, I will totally duel you.

Not if I duel him first. And you. At the same time because you can totally do that in this game.

Don’t worry, you guys–come August, we’ll have days for me to whoop both of you. I’ll make it quick.

Make sure  you let me in on it too! Come over to Olathe some time?

And a forum game won’t work because…

Forum games totally work! They do it over on BBG, all you need is a middle man. The two players send their cards to that person and when both have done so, that person post them.

Edit: Or did you mean that GtG would probably get annoyed if their forums started getting a lot of post of people playing another game?

No, he was asking WHY a forum game wouldn't work. Imagine a ? at the end there.

I've been totally enjoying forum games! It's a very different experience, leading to much more thinking about individual moves. You don't always need a middleman if you trust each other and use spoilertext.

FYI: Checked with The-Powers-That-Be, and they are fine with folks doing PBF games of games they didn't create / aren't involved with, so long as those threads are in the Off Topic forum.