I'm (again) looking through Symbaroum tonight. I picked up a set of 4 hardcovers on a Black Friday sale on an impulse, and the regret is real. (Along with the One Ring purchased on the same day - bad luck. But I normally love Free League's products.)
In the core book, we have like 70 pages of fluff before the game starts (a pet peeve). Mechanics are buried halfway into the book. When you do get there, the core mechanics of the system are hidden in thick paragraph narration and no charts or meaningful layout to draw your attention to what your players actually have to roll to succeed on a check, target numbers, or even the die type you use.
I feel bad just dropping these off at the FLGS for a massive loss on store credit to get what's likely going to be another disappointing game (Marvel? Root? Everyday Heroes?) But what else can I do besides keep them on my shelf, collecting dust until they're sold old no one wants them?
How do you research a game before getting it? Reviews tend to not cover things like layout, presentation, writing style, etc. (Which makes me wonder, what do they cover?) The FLGS has a middling selection (and what they do have is kept in shrink wrap), so looking at books in person is difficult. I tend to buy online based on good word of mouth - and it seems my tastes aren't in sync with what many people like.
In the core book, we have like 70 pages of fluff before the game starts (a pet peeve). Mechanics are buried halfway into the book. When you do get there, the core mechanics of the system are hidden in thick paragraph narration and no charts or meaningful layout to draw your attention to what your players actually have to roll to succeed on a check, target numbers, or even the die type you use.
I feel bad just dropping these off at the FLGS for a massive loss on store credit to get what's likely going to be another disappointing game (Marvel? Root? Everyday Heroes?) But what else can I do besides keep them on my shelf, collecting dust until they're sold old no one wants them?
How do you research a game before getting it? Reviews tend to not cover things like layout, presentation, writing style, etc. (Which makes me wonder, what do they cover?) The FLGS has a middling selection (and what they do have is kept in shrink wrap), so looking at books in person is difficult. I tend to buy online based on good word of mouth - and it seems my tastes aren't in sync with what many people like.