I think the player count discussion hits the nail on the head. I can easily see this game as boring with two players. (Which i find true in most Euros) but does something neat in that it encourages the 4 player game AND manages to keep play time and player down time tolerable at that full count. So maybe a 6 at 2players and add a pount per player to the rating.
I have really liked this game since I picked it up around Essen. I think it does something super interesting with the working swapping/investment mechanisms (which I’m surprised didn’t get mentioned in the final thoughts) and it just makes a lot of smart choices (that final round having a player take two turns in a row for instance). Yes the scoring is a bit wonky (though I do like how the objectives are “generated” through the game) and the solo is a bummer (I created a scoring system for the opponent to use instead of having the game be a high score play) but it’s one I’ve thought about a lot and have enjoyed introducing to a lot of new people. It’s also nice to just have a straightforward euro game right now, especially one that looks as overwhelming as this can be and it can still be a last game of the night. It lives in a weird niche for sure but I’ve been happy to recommend it for a lot of reasons since it’s release.
11:23 It's actually not the active player to place the marker. That is done in order (there is a disc that moves around the table no the next player every time the river is crossed) and every player places the same number of markers. But great explanation overall.
I have the same boxes on my Kallax. There’s a couple inch gap on the other side of the boxes - just enough to get your fingers in there to tug them out!
@@fredmcmack I have mine stacked like that, and no room for a finger in a Kallax. I have to pull from the bottom of the box to get it out. Although if I was playing a lot, I would set it up with the open view method.
Out of all the dice tower pple, I always find myself having the same taste as Tom 😬 For me celtae is a good, quick euro, easy to explain and take out to play 😉 nice find from Essen last year 👍
I love The Mico's art and looks well done, but all these middle ages games he's done sure are becoming indistinct. Like would most people walk by this and not just think it's a Garphill game?
I was wondering...would you folks ever consider making the "Dice Tower" score an average of the reviewers ratings? Only because in this instance, Zee and Milla had to smile and politely accept the 8/10 rating that now represents the Dice Tower? Just curious. Thanks for the amazing content, day after day!!
No, I've never considered it. I do that because any reviewer can give a game a good rating. If Mike had done the review alone, you wouldn't have noticed. :) If we did averages, almost no game would get a good rating.
This game visually looks like something from the North Seas trilogy. Also, seal of approval?!?! 2 of the 3 reviewers gave it under a 7/10. WTH??? This seem off
A seal of approval means that any single person gave it a 7, a seal of excellence is 8.5. That's why someone can hate a game and still get a seal of excellence. It's just one score above that threshold.
Mikes reviews are always so much higher than everyone else's, I'm starting to not trust his opinions on games. Seems he loves every game he plays. There is nothing wrong with that, just makes him a less effective reviewer imo.
I take no offense at all if you think I'm overly positive. My only pushback is that when you say "trust" it implies that I don't have integrity, and I strongly disagree with that. It may or may not have been your intention, but it certainly reads that way to me. If you find that you consistently think I'm more positive about games that you have disliked, I would propose that that would be valuable information to you, and therefore make me an effective reviewer. You would know that if I'm effusive about a game, you might want to avoid it. Either way, I accept this feedback with as open a mind as I can, and will continue to strive to do more than just give a score, but explain why or why not a game works for me. --Mike
@@thedicetower I was in no way trying to question your integrity. I meant that when you say a game is good, it is harder for me to determine whether that game is actually good, since you tend to lean high. Again, I don't think there is anything wrong with that, I am the same way with movies, a movie has to be really bad for me to say so. It is just hard for me to tell whether a game is truly great based on your reviews. Luckily there is no shortage of board game reviewers on UA-cam so I can quickly get a second opinion.
Hmm I am the exact opposite of you. However, I also watch The Dice Tower like everyday. So I've learned which reviewer aligns with my taste and which ones don't. Mike personally is the one I probably align with most. Also he may seem more positive than others but I would say it's because most of the time he can look at the mechanisms for what they are, not what he would want them to be. Whether he likes them or not, he can seem to judge them fairly. Maybe in wrong 🤷
@@icorruptoid Tom is also enthusiastic about many games that I think are completely forgettable. But you get the point: these videos are multi-reviewer, precisely so you can decide whose tastes are closer to yours. It is a mistake to think that one opinion is above all else. Don't think you know better than someone else, because that assumes you are better than someone else. Simply accept it if someone else thinks differently.
I think the player count discussion hits the nail on the head. I can easily see this game as boring with two players. (Which i find true in most Euros) but does something neat in that it encourages the 4 player game AND manages to keep play time and player down time tolerable at that full count. So maybe a 6 at 2players and add a pount per player to the rating.
I have really liked this game since I picked it up around Essen. I think it does something super interesting with the working swapping/investment mechanisms (which I’m surprised didn’t get mentioned in the final thoughts) and it just makes a lot of smart choices (that final round having a player take two turns in a row for instance). Yes the scoring is a bit wonky (though I do like how the objectives are “generated” through the game) and the solo is a bummer (I created a scoring system for the opponent to use instead of having the game be a high score play) but it’s one I’ve thought about a lot and have enjoyed introducing to a lot of new people. It’s also nice to just have a straightforward euro game right now, especially one that looks as overwhelming as this can be and it can still be a last game of the night. It lives in a weird niche for sure but I’ve been happy to recommend it for a lot of reasons since it’s release.
I like that the cover is just artwork and the title is on the side.
11:23 It's actually not the active player to place the marker. That is done in order (there is a disc that moves around the table no the next player every time the river is crossed) and every player places the same number of markers.
But great explanation overall.
That's of course correct. Thanks for the catch! - Mike
@@thedicetowerNo worries. Keep up the great content!
How do you get those Final Girl boxes out of the kallax, Mike!? haha
I have the same boxes on my Kallax. There’s a couple inch gap on the other side of the boxes - just enough to get your fingers in there to tug them out!
he played that game already, it can stay there.
it's that kinda game.
@@fredmcmack I have mine stacked like that, and no room for a finger in a Kallax. I have to pull from the bottom of the box to get it out. Although if I was playing a lot, I would set it up with the open view method.
Good discussion. A couple of rules goofs. On Build, the card color must match the citadel color. On Battle, spend the strength.
Out of all the dice tower pple, I always find myself having the same taste as Tom 😬
For me celtae is a good, quick euro, easy to explain and take out to play 😉 nice find from Essen last year 👍
Thanks Mike for seeing a good game ! Always good review and good arguments.
Mike must have Shipwrights on the table when this was filmed... !
Shipwrights Redux, and interested in the review, even though it should be arriving Monday.
great review, thanks!
I’m with Mike. Very similar feeling about the game 👍🏻. My rating 8-8,5.
As a Roman, I resemble Zee's remarks.
I love The Mico's art and looks well done, but all these middle ages games he's done sure are becoming indistinct. Like would most people walk by this and not just think it's a Garphill game?
Never really crossed my mind, to BE honest. The artwork is so distinct from the Garphill games...
I was wondering...would you folks ever consider making the "Dice Tower" score an average of the reviewers ratings? Only because in this instance, Zee and Milla had to smile and politely accept the 8/10 rating that now represents the Dice Tower? Just curious. Thanks for the amazing content, day after day!!
No, I've never considered it. I do that because any reviewer can give a game a good rating. If Mike had done the review alone, you wouldn't have noticed. :) If we did averages, almost no game would get a good rating.
@@thedicetower Ah, that makes a lot of sense. Thank you for the response!
very long video for a very mediocre game
very shot comment for a not very constructive point of view
This game visually looks like something from the North Seas trilogy. Also, seal of approval?!?! 2 of the 3 reviewers gave it under a 7/10. WTH??? This seem off
A seal of approval means that any single person gave it a 7, a seal of excellence is 8.5.
That's why someone can hate a game and still get a seal of excellence. It's just one score above that threshold.
Mikes reviews are always so much higher than everyone else's, I'm starting to not trust his opinions on games. Seems he loves every game he plays. There is nothing wrong with that, just makes him a less effective reviewer imo.
I take no offense at all if you think I'm overly positive. My only pushback is that when you say "trust" it implies that I don't have integrity, and I strongly disagree with that. It may or may not have been your intention, but it certainly reads that way to me. If you find that you consistently think I'm more positive about games that you have disliked, I would propose that that would be valuable information to you, and therefore make me an effective reviewer. You would know that if I'm effusive about a game, you might want to avoid it. Either way, I accept this feedback with as open a mind as I can, and will continue to strive to do more than just give a score, but explain why or why not a game works for me. --Mike
@@thedicetower I was in no way trying to question your integrity. I meant that when you say a game is good, it is harder for me to determine whether that game is actually good, since you tend to lean high. Again, I don't think there is anything wrong with that, I am the same way with movies, a movie has to be really bad for me to say so. It is just hard for me to tell whether a game is truly great based on your reviews. Luckily there is no shortage of board game reviewers on UA-cam so I can quickly get a second opinion.
Hmm I am the exact opposite of you. However, I also watch The Dice Tower like everyday. So I've learned which reviewer aligns with my taste and which ones don't. Mike personally is the one I probably align with most. Also he may seem more positive than others but I would say it's because most of the time he can look at the mechanisms for what they are, not what he would want them to be. Whether he likes them or not, he can seem to judge them fairly. Maybe in wrong 🤷
@@nerdyjawsh i definitely align more with Tom myself.
@@icorruptoid Tom is also enthusiastic about many games that I think are completely forgettable. But you get the point: these videos are multi-reviewer, precisely so you can decide whose tastes are closer to yours. It is a mistake to think that one opinion is above all else. Don't think you know better than someone else, because that assumes you are better than someone else. Simply accept it if someone else thinks differently.