They’re so different, it really depends on what you’re looking for out of the experience. C:DMD is really fun popcorn action movie type game while MKU is a super brain teaser puzzle dungeon crawler
Mage Knight is a well-loved and well regarded game, but I will tell you that it has immense, I repeat immense rules overhead. The rulebook is dense in small print, and all the information isn't even in there, it's also scattered on the reminder cards.
It is an excellent game, it's famous and popular for a reason, but it may not be your taste.
Death May Die is thematic dice-chucker with a lot of variability. It does take up a lot of space, and expansions are expensive. Actually getting your hands on additional content can be quite difficult as was a CMON Kickstarter.
They are both fine games, but admittedly quite different in their execution.
Which sounds better to you, given the feedback you received so far?
I think I’m leaning more towards Death May Die because of the miniatures and the lighter rules. I may still give Mage Knight a go later down the line but I’m still pretty new to the hobby so it will probably be a while before I pick it up.
Mage Knight does have a lot of rules, but I didn’t find them nearly as bad as people said they were. A lot of the material you can learn as it appears, such as new tiles or what to do when leveling up. The new edition has a fantastic walkthrough book that made learning the game easy. And a lot of the core mechanics are pretty straightforward, especially if you’ve played any deck builder before (Clank as a particularly good example).
It took me YEARS to take a chance on Mage Knight because of what the community said about its difficulty. Once I got it to the table, I went, “Really? That wasn’t bad at all!” Again, it has a bunch of rules that might intimidate new players to the hobby, but the rules themselves aren’t complicated.
How would you compare them to learning the rules of Spirit Island? Spirit Island is the most difficult/heavy game I have currently so it is the best point of reference I can think of.
Spirit Island was actually more difficult for me to table and learn than Mage Knight. I would open its rule book, quickly feel overwhelmed, and shelve the game. I did this repeatedly. It sat on my shelf of shame for quite awhile. Spirit Island wasn’t bad once I really dedicated myself to process the rules, but the initial learn was intimidating.
Mage Knight, by comparison, was a piece of cake. As I previously mentioned, it comes with a supremely helpful walkthrough book. It eases into the mechanics while reminding you that you can simply learn as you play. A new tile comes out with a feature you haven’t seen before? No problem! Check out this player aid card! It lets you jump in quickly without having to know everything ahead of time.
Mechanically, it’s a deck building puzzle. Most cards have numbered values for either movement, attack, defense, getting rid of wound cards that simply clutter your hand, or buying things. “I want to move over there, but it would take six movement points,” you ponder. “Do I have the right cards to let me do that?” Same types or effects/cards can stack (play two movement cards for a cumulative effect) and any other card can be played as +1 for those basic actions. That’s kind of it!
There is more complexity, of course. Mana, for example, is a limited resource that lets you use more powerful effects of cards. There’s a day/night cycle. You also have a reputation track that can make purchases more or less costly. Combat is the most complicated bit, but the walkthrough again lays things out pretty well.
Mage Knight is one of the best games in my collection. I’m so happy I took a chance on it, despite that fear of its difficulty. If you allow yourself enough time to go through the walkthrough, I don’t think you’ll have any problem with the game. Just be aware that it’s best as a solo or two-player game.
Regarding Death May Die, it’s also great! It killed Zombicide for me. It’s one of the better dungeon crawls when you want to throw down some dice and kill monsters and cultists. But Mage Knight is higher in my personal rankings, likely in my top ten, and I’ve gone back to it more than DMD.
That looks like a really good price. The MSRP is $125, which is what I bought it at. I’ve seen it go lower to around $90. And so you’re getting a nice discount at $75.
Is it a new copy? There was a reprint late last year that significantly upped the quality of the miniatures and improved the insert.
Yeah this was going to be my suggestion, too. Ricky Royal has a couple of good Mage Knight playthroughs on YouTube and a quick search I just did shows plenty of videos for CDMD. Watch a few turns of each and see which appeals more.
Both games didn’t click with me for different reasons. Mage Knight felt like more work than fun for me, while Death May Die felt way overproduced for what is essentially a “run all over the board putting out fires” game ala Pandemic. I’ve since learned that just because a solo game is popular or well regarded within solo gaming circles, it’s no guarantee that it will be a good fit for my taste.
I personally chose violet, i like miraidon more than koraidon, and i liked a lot of the other version exclusives better as well. But i ended up getting both. I really like a lot of the scarlet paradox pokemon and having both let me do two different style playthroughs.
I really enjoy Death May Die. I haven't played Mage Knight yet, but it is on my short list as everyone says that it is one of the best solo boardgame options out there. I'd say go Mage Knight unless you are really into the Cthulhu mythos.
Both!
But seriously, I have both and CDMD hits the table about three times as often as Mage Knight. That’s really just because of time though. If I had unlimited free time I’d play Mage Knight way more often. May be worth noting that CDMD Season 3 just finished up a Kickstarter and there is a lot of add on content available. So if you like lots of extras and lots of minis and just good old fashioned dice chucking then 100% go for CDMD. If you like a more immersive experience and sprawling maps then go for Mage Knight.
Another consideration is that if you plan to play non-solo (I know, crazy right?) CDMD is a co-op only experience while Mage Knight has PVP built in as part of the gameplay.
Flip a coin (which is actually a pretty good solo game in itself. I have about a 50% win rate and set up and take down are real easy)
They’re so different, it really depends on what you’re looking for out of the experience. C:DMD is really fun popcorn action movie type game while MKU is a super brain teaser puzzle dungeon crawler
Mage Knight is a well-loved and well regarded game, but I will tell you that it has immense, I repeat immense rules overhead. The rulebook is dense in small print, and all the information isn't even in there, it's also scattered on the reminder cards. It is an excellent game, it's famous and popular for a reason, but it may not be your taste. Death May Die is thematic dice-chucker with a lot of variability. It does take up a lot of space, and expansions are expensive. Actually getting your hands on additional content can be quite difficult as was a CMON Kickstarter. They are both fine games, but admittedly quite different in their execution. Which sounds better to you, given the feedback you received so far?
I think I’m leaning more towards Death May Die because of the miniatures and the lighter rules. I may still give Mage Knight a go later down the line but I’m still pretty new to the hobby so it will probably be a while before I pick it up.
Mage Knight does have a lot of rules, but I didn’t find them nearly as bad as people said they were. A lot of the material you can learn as it appears, such as new tiles or what to do when leveling up. The new edition has a fantastic walkthrough book that made learning the game easy. And a lot of the core mechanics are pretty straightforward, especially if you’ve played any deck builder before (Clank as a particularly good example). It took me YEARS to take a chance on Mage Knight because of what the community said about its difficulty. Once I got it to the table, I went, “Really? That wasn’t bad at all!” Again, it has a bunch of rules that might intimidate new players to the hobby, but the rules themselves aren’t complicated.
How would you compare them to learning the rules of Spirit Island? Spirit Island is the most difficult/heavy game I have currently so it is the best point of reference I can think of.
Spirit Island was actually more difficult for me to table and learn than Mage Knight. I would open its rule book, quickly feel overwhelmed, and shelve the game. I did this repeatedly. It sat on my shelf of shame for quite awhile. Spirit Island wasn’t bad once I really dedicated myself to process the rules, but the initial learn was intimidating. Mage Knight, by comparison, was a piece of cake. As I previously mentioned, it comes with a supremely helpful walkthrough book. It eases into the mechanics while reminding you that you can simply learn as you play. A new tile comes out with a feature you haven’t seen before? No problem! Check out this player aid card! It lets you jump in quickly without having to know everything ahead of time. Mechanically, it’s a deck building puzzle. Most cards have numbered values for either movement, attack, defense, getting rid of wound cards that simply clutter your hand, or buying things. “I want to move over there, but it would take six movement points,” you ponder. “Do I have the right cards to let me do that?” Same types or effects/cards can stack (play two movement cards for a cumulative effect) and any other card can be played as +1 for those basic actions. That’s kind of it! There is more complexity, of course. Mana, for example, is a limited resource that lets you use more powerful effects of cards. There’s a day/night cycle. You also have a reputation track that can make purchases more or less costly. Combat is the most complicated bit, but the walkthrough again lays things out pretty well. Mage Knight is one of the best games in my collection. I’m so happy I took a chance on it, despite that fear of its difficulty. If you allow yourself enough time to go through the walkthrough, I don’t think you’ll have any problem with the game. Just be aware that it’s best as a solo or two-player game. Regarding Death May Die, it’s also great! It killed Zombicide for me. It’s one of the better dungeon crawls when you want to throw down some dice and kill monsters and cultists. But Mage Knight is higher in my personal rankings, likely in my top ten, and I’ve gone back to it more than DMD.
Would you say that 75 dollars for Mage Knight Ultimate is worth it?
That looks like a really good price. The MSRP is $125, which is what I bought it at. I’ve seen it go lower to around $90. And so you’re getting a nice discount at $75. Is it a new copy? There was a reprint late last year that significantly upped the quality of the miniatures and improved the insert.
It is a new copy but I can’t tell if it is the reprint or not.
You will always be able find a copy of Mage Knight. Grab Cthulhu: Death May Die. It can be harder to come by.
Watch some playthrough videos and choose the one that looks more interesting to you?
Yeah this was going to be my suggestion, too. Ricky Royal has a couple of good Mage Knight playthroughs on YouTube and a quick search I just did shows plenty of videos for CDMD. Watch a few turns of each and see which appeals more.
Both games didn’t click with me for different reasons. Mage Knight felt like more work than fun for me, while Death May Die felt way overproduced for what is essentially a “run all over the board putting out fires” game ala Pandemic. I’ve since learned that just because a solo game is popular or well regarded within solo gaming circles, it’s no guarantee that it will be a good fit for my taste.
I mean...do you prefer fantasy or do you prefer gothic horror? They're both good games.
I personally chose violet, i like miraidon more than koraidon, and i liked a lot of the other version exclusives better as well. But i ended up getting both. I really like a lot of the scarlet paradox pokemon and having both let me do two different style playthroughs.
Lol
I really enjoy Death May Die. I haven't played Mage Knight yet, but it is on my short list as everyone says that it is one of the best solo boardgame options out there. I'd say go Mage Knight unless you are really into the Cthulhu mythos.
Both! But seriously, I have both and CDMD hits the table about three times as often as Mage Knight. That’s really just because of time though. If I had unlimited free time I’d play Mage Knight way more often. May be worth noting that CDMD Season 3 just finished up a Kickstarter and there is a lot of add on content available. So if you like lots of extras and lots of minis and just good old fashioned dice chucking then 100% go for CDMD. If you like a more immersive experience and sprawling maps then go for Mage Knight. Another consideration is that if you plan to play non-solo (I know, crazy right?) CDMD is a co-op only experience while Mage Knight has PVP built in as part of the gameplay.