Hey, long time fan of Sentinels here, played tons of games with every hero and villain. I got my Oblivaeon box some time ago. I read through the rules, gave a look around, and I put it on the shelf. It looks way too fiddly and way too much bookeeping for me to even want to try it.
I've read through several comments on Boardgamegeek, while not everyone agrees, several people tried playing it and were not impressed with the Ultimate Bookeeping Mode of this game. Some reported a single game lasted for hours.
Please note that I'm not daunted by complexity - I like heavy Euro-style games. But the complexity has to be worth it. I'm not a fan of chasing consecutive card triggers like the rabbit in Wonderland.
I was wondering if I'm exaggerating things and whether Oblivaeon is not actually so bad. Some positive opinions that the bookeeping is worth it, and the gameplay is fun would encourage me to give it a try.
The game definitely takes several hours, but I don't know that it's because of fiddliness (at least, any more than Sentinels usually has). There is a lot going on and a fair amount to keep track of, but I think you'll enjoy it fine if you set aside some time for it.
-Better Believe It's Andrew
For what it's worth, my first time playing it was rules-taught with a player leaving halfway through, and we won in 2.5 hours.
If you like Sentinels, this is Sentinels cranked up to 11. If you use the hp tracker app, use it here. If you use other quality of play aids, use those too. If you think the game is still too fiddly, well, I guess that's your preference.
Rather than looking for people to convince you it's worth playing, just play it once. It's not like you are deciding whether or not to spend money on it, you already own it. Make up your own mind.
The first game can certainly take hours, and I highly recommend for the first game, one person takes responsibility for all villains and environments, without playing as a hero. (I do the same when teaching Arkham Horror)
Just try to keep in mind the phases of each turn, and keep things moving.
Also, I have an idea, which would take away at least some of the fiddliness: simplify Aeon Men. They're more complicated than they need to be, and having many different types in the same zone at once can really take time to figure out.
Here's my idea (which hopefully I can try a couple times over the next few days):
Put a Vassal card and a Locus card in each battle zone. No units are actually there yet. Reduce the aeon deck down to only 4 cards: 3 vassals and 1 locus. This will necessitate shuffling the deck a lot more, but with only 4 cards, it obviously won't take long.
When you add a vassal or locus to a battle zone, instead of playing a card for each, you just put a 6 sided die on or near their card, with the top number set to their maximum hit points.
I've done the math, and if you add up all the thralls, vassals, and warriors together, and divide them by the number of cards, you'll find an Aeon Vassal is the exact average non-locus Aeon Man, in regards to hp and damage dealt.
The only problem is the vassal's 'if destroyed by oblivaeon' ability is a lot more dangerous than either the thrall or warrior's, so to even things out, for every vassal destroyed by oblivaeon, roll a six sided die (1-3 vassal's ability triggers as normal, 4-6 nothing happens).
Any thoughts?
"It's all chaos. Be kind."