Great of you to address the community feedback so quickly by adding the option for the riser stickers, thanks for the hard work from everyone on the SM team!
I think Expeditions does a great job of feeling similar to Scythe while also offering a unique experience. We’ll done! I really like the exploration mechanism in Expeditions. I like the mystery of what you might discover when you flip over a tile to reveal a new location. I also like the quests and that the cards are between tiles. This really encourages players to travel around the map to specific locations. The theme and title of the game seem to fit the mechanics of the game pretty well!
Still enjoying the drip feed of info on this. The mechanics are so interesting and I can't wait to experience it. I hope you all are considering adding a more narrative element in a future expansion that explores this story more. It's so fascinating. I've been enjoying catching up on the lore. It's such a unique IP that explores war without being warlike if that makes sense. Would love more info on characters and their journey.
Thanks! There are some narrative elements to the worldbuilding of the game, and I considered adding them during the game, but I was really concerned they would disrupt the flow of play. But perhaps we'll do a campaign expansion at some point that focuses on the narrative.
Jamey, thank-you so much for doing this. These videos are great and show your commitment to connecting with the community. I'm a huge fan of all your games and by the looks of it, I know that Expeditions will be no exception. I can't wait to play it!!
I think it's fate that I bought and played Scythe for the very first time mere weeks before y'all announced Expeditions. This was always going to be an instant purchase for me, but the amount of care you put into these explainer videos made me even more proud to support you and your company. I absolutely cannot wait!
Crazy fun fact: my grand-parents emigrated from Poland to Argentina in 1920-1924. Playing Scythe always feels special to me for that reason. Now, here there's a sequel to it. This video was Great! Thanks or bringing this kind of Joy to table tops worldwide, Jamey!
Jamie, more videos like this please. As a lover of Scythe I immediately backed this and can’t wait for the release, which by the way, I love the fact I don’t have to wait two years like a lot of kickstarters, I get to play this in the summer!!! I’m also loving your support of Tapestry, can’t wait for the folded space insert. Last thing I will say, I was late to to Wingspan party, though the theme was not for me…….how wrong was I. Love it love it!!! Thank you!
Looking like an awesome game! Very excited to buying it and bringing it home. Thanks for your engaging and enthusiastic work in the board gaming community Jamey!
Thanks Jamie! I was so excited to see the announcement of Expeditions last week and loving the updates and further details. Scythe is my all time favourite game and my family have spent many sessions around the table, in fact it's the only game I can get them all together for! Thank you so much for this new design and the love and attention you have clearly put into this. I've always really enjoyed Scythe's overlay of game mechanics and theme. A world I'm thrilled to be able to now explore further! Also a massive thanks to Stonemaier for the awesome costumer support replacing a couple of soggy game components after a unfortunate drink incident (and this is why drinks don't go on the table!)
Really enjoyed the comparison! Intrigued about the rising sticker solution, card sleeves work pretty well for sliding cards under a board (and more importantly, each other) but that sounds like a fairly elegant solution as well. One of things I loved about Scythe when I first learned about it was keeping track of your power and popularity and it still remains one of my favorite elements in it. Knowing when to spend it and when to hoard it is really cool. I get a little bit of that from the power and guile tracks here, though it looks like those tracks only really apply to corruption whereas in Scythe they were tied into multiple other elements. Of course clearing corruption looks like a really important part of the game so I imagine that fluctuation might be more frequent. Did a double take at zombies card… I’m guessing it’s a “dead possessed by corruption” deal and I trust it feels thematic to the 1920+ world so I’m going to ignore my knee jerk reaction. But I could see that intriguing some family members who never fell off the zombie craze!
The way actions are selected is very interesting to me and I'm excited to explore how it plays out. I loved the top and bottom actions in Scythe, especially how their implementation nudged players towards planning ahead. Expeditions looks to be another hit with my group. Can't wait to get to try it. Thanks a lot for the video!
Congratulations with the design of this game! Apart from the wonderful art and some unique mechanics, there are two aspects I really love and with which you are giving us the feeling of really being part of this intriguing world: the companion animals can do their own actions and really feel like companions, and as you explained it so well: the huge mechs feel like our homes... Also a wonderful creative idea to create those stickers 👍
Was desperate to preorder this game although wasn’t 100%. After watching video, especially how you’ve listened to and acted on feedback so quickly which is incredible. I’m in. Well done Jamie, best in class game design and best in class community involvement. #SMknowsbest
Thank you! I appreciate you taking your time to decide if the game is a good fit for you. There's plenty more content to come to help with that decision. :)
This looks amazing I've only gotten a chance over the past weekend to check this out. I'm hoping the automa in this is just as good as it is for scythe
Probably my favorite aspect of Scythe is the fact that you put resources directly onto the map and need to constantly be defending them. I don't see this used in other games and it's such a brilliant mechanic that I wish it were. I think you could make an argument that the corruption tiles out on the map in Expeditions are similar to this aspect. You might not need to defend your own corruption tiles, but everyone will be racing to "steal" them from one another. Switching topics, out of curiosity, did Jakub create the sculpts for the mechs, or did someone else do that based on his art? Thanks Jamey, can't wait to get this one to the table!
That's a good point that the corruption tiles being on the map are also similar to resources on the map. As for the mechs, Jakub illustrates them from multiple angles, and Heriberto Martinez is the 3D modeler.
I'm a huge fan of Roadside Picnic and Stalker, so I'm very excited to dig into this game! Have you read Roadside Picnic and was that a bit of inspiration for this?
@@jameystegmaier wow, I'm truly surprised to hear that! Your Tarkovsky name, the relative location of the setting, the mysterious properties affecting the landscape...they all scream Roadside Picnic/Stalker! Oh, you are in for a treat, Jamey!
I'm guessing you've played Istanbul but maybe not Istanbul with the Letters & Seals expansion. In Istanbul, there is a modular map with 20 locations (with the expansion), and each is numbered. The "letters" of the expansion title are things you pick up randomly, and they have numbers on them corresponding to the location numbers. I think there are 2 letters for each location. You get a small reward for "delivering" the letter to a location. So it's a bit like Expeditions in that you have a modular board, numbered locations, quests that you pick up that are associated with a particular number, to which you must move in order to gain the benefit. (Although in Expeditions there is one more step, which is satisfying the other conditions of the quest.) Anyway, it sounds like there's a similarity there, and since I like that mini-game in Istanbul, I'm looking forward to the Expeditions version of "pick up and deliver".
I appreciate how you get a really powerful turn after you take a refresh action. I'm curious, have you found that there is a average amount of player turns in a typical game?
I have to second how much I enjoy the idea of the supercharged turn, which offsets the short, simple refresh. Simple idea, yet a game charger in my mind!
@@zvnetzley9209 Thanks! It's a nice way to balance the quick Refresh turn (while still encouraging players to optimize in such a way that they don't need to refresh all that often).
I talk about that in this video at the end of the asymmetry section. Here's also the answer from the FAQ: Dual-layered mats are great in games where the mats hold dozens of tokens that, if upended, could cause chaos and frustration. That isn't the case in Expeditions, which only has 3 tokens on the mat. It would have significantly increased the price of the game, the boards wouldn't have fit well in the box without making it taller (further increasing the cost), and--most importantly--the added utility is actually quite small. Being able to slide the power, guile, and action tokens is easier than having them locked into place, and it isn't difficult to slide cards under the mat (plus, because of the pressure of the mat, they stay in place). Instead, as an option included in the game, Expeditions comes with 4 riser stickers per mech mat. These lift the mats above your playing surface enough to slide cards under the mat without the need to pick up any portion of the mat and risk tokens sliding around.
@@jameystegmaier I only had a 15 minute break so I had to skip sections of the video. Thanks for the clarification! 🤪 I haven't played Scythe in several months because I've gotten a bunch of new games recently. But the Expeditions announcement made me plan a Scythe night with my group. I'll be jumping back into Europa tomorrow night 😆
On sliding cards under the mat, I dont foresee any problems when playing on neoprene, but in a desire to assist: if the mat is punched from the back there will be a natural radius for the cards to enter
Thanks Jamey for giving some more depth to the game differences ! Do you plan a playthrough of Expeditions ? Or not, to avoid spoilers ? Excited to further explore the world of Scythe !
Danny: There will be playthroughs of Expeditions, but from people who specialize in them like Rahdo and Before You Play, as I don't have the setup for them (you can see this in my previous video that shows a few turns--I can only fit part of the map on my desk).
@@jameystegmaier any chance we'll get a play through from Jon Gets Games? Rahdo and Rodney are of course excellent, but I really like Jon's style and unlike Rahdo he usually shows 3-4 players. Jon is also very attentive to not missing rules (Rahdo is sometimes less careful). Jon also does a great job with explaining his thinking behind moves, which gives a viewer a little sense of the kinds of tactical and strategic decisions a game will force them to make.
I feel the lack of combat is a missed opportunity for me. I really like the look of Scythe though so I'll probably start there. The design in Expeditions looks really good though.
I certainly tested various PvP combat methods during the design process, but it did not fit with the mechanisms, flow, or theme of this sequel--it was not missed by playtesters at all when we removed it.
I’m enjoying these progressive reveals. I haven’t pre-ordered, but I know I will (and will before 22nd Feb); however, it’s nice holding back - just to build up the excitement. That way when I do eventually come around to clicking on ‘buy’ it’s something I really, really want. Does anyone else put themselves through this or is it just me?!? 😂
Thanks Rob! People can also wait until after February 22--we're making plenty of copies--but that is when we can 100% guarantee that there will be a copy for you.
@@jameystegmaier I suspect that I, like many, simply want to order before the Feb 22nd so that you have a better idea of how many to accurately order. There's a lot of love for Stonemaier out there and amongst those fans one of the things they appreciate the most is the transparency. Thanks, as always, for the updates (and keep them coming) 🙂
I love Scythe (and Viticulture!). I've been itching to play it for a few days now. Expeditions looks awesome too. The 1920+ art is wonderful. I've always been curious about the picture behind you, next to the window. It looks like a map of Wales. Is it so? If you don't mind me asking, is there a special significance to it?
Why are the boards not double layerd lik ein scythe? That way tokens wont get misplaced so easily. Are there also placeholders voor the hex cards, otherwise they keep shifting on the table a lot.
Dual-layered mats are great in games where the mats hold dozens of tokens that, if upended, could cause chaos and frustration. That isn’t the case in Expeditions, which only has 3 tokens on the mat; as a result, the mats are not dual-layered. It would have significantly increased the price of the game, the boards wouldn’t have fit well in the box without making it taller (further increasing the cost), and-most importantly-the added utility is actually quite small. Being able to slide the power, guile, and action tokens is easier than having them locked into place, and it isn’t difficult to slide cards under the mat (plus, because of the pressure of the mat, they stay in place). Instead, as an option included in the game, Expeditions comes with 4 riser stickers per mech mat. These lift the mats above your playing surface enough to slide cards under the mat without the need to pick up any portion of the mat and risk tokens sliding around. Tiles shifting around on the table is not a problem in Expeditions.
I have a question on it's solo game play. I tend to end up half the time tabling a game solo at home. How will it work and stack up in this way to other games?
From what I can tell, Automa Factory did a great job with the robust solo mode. The full Automa rulebook is linked on our website for you to check out if you're curious. :)
Dual-layered mats are great in games where the mats hold dozens of tokens that, if upended, could cause chaos and frustration. That isn’t the case in Expeditions, which only has 3 tokens on the mat; as a result, the mats are not dual-layered. It would have significantly increased the price of the game, the boards wouldn’t have fit well in the box without making it taller (further increasing the cost), and-most importantly-the added utility is actually quite small. Being able to slide the power, guile, and action tokens is easier than having them locked into place, and it isn’t difficult to slide cards under the mat (plus, because of the pressure of the mat, they stay in place). Instead, as an option included in the game, Expeditions comes with 4 riser stickers per mech mat. These lift the mats above your playing surface enough to slide cards under the mat without the need to pick up any portion of the mat and risk tokens sliding around.
Currently there is no plan to increase player counts to that level, as I think it would cause core imbalances and significantly increased length and downtime. But perhaps I'll find a way to make it work.
Thank you for the video. Jamey, we know that your company always pay attention to details. Why did you decide to write actions on player mats using words, not symbols? English has short words comparing to many other languages. In Ukrainian you will need a smaller font or more space.
That's true, and localization partners could use icons instead of words if they would like (or add more space). But I don't think anything is clearer than the word itself. You don't need to memorize anything or add yet another icon reference--just play, move, gather, refresh. If the game only had a few icons in it, sure, we may have considered using icons instead of text, but Expeditions already has many icons.
Bit of a random question but with the Odin's Wrath Mech am I understanding things correctly by thinking you can acquire the 5 Map Tokens Glory achievement and then proceed to destroy those tokens for other resources while keeping that achievement?
There's a back to the mech mats so they can be randomized. The game is complete and is in production--no further changes can be made. I appreciate your request, but please understand that asking something like that of a publisher could easily add 6+ months of design and playtesting, which isn't considerate of the schedule we've already committed to for thousands of preorder customers.
@@jameystegmaier I understand and I agree with that. Let's say it's a suggestion for the expansions. Add new content using.. the other side. Did you ever consider to use the two sides of elements/boards as campaign elements? For example: let's say mission 1 goes to result 1 and then you move element 1/2/3 to dark side
@@marte1587 No, this isn't a campaign game. It's designed just like Scythe: You play it, and if you want to play it again, you set up from the beginning again for a new adventure. Perhaps someday we will make a campaign expansion as we did for Scythe, but that's not what the core game of Expeditions is.
@@danielgeorges3048 For those who want to paint the plastic mechs, I think there's a good chance we'll do that someday, but not as part of the initial preorder.
That's a keen observation, and you're right! I'm actually trying to keep most of the North a secret for now...not that it's a bit spoiler, but it's the type of thing to reveal over time instead of all at once. :)
Dual-layered mats are great in games where the mats hold dozens of tokens that, if upended, could cause chaos and frustration. That isn't the case in Expeditions, which only has 3 tokens on the mat; as a result, the mats are not dual-layered. It would have significantly increased the price of the game, the boards wouldn't have fit well in the box without making it taller (further increasing the cost), and--most importantly--the added utility is actually quite small. Being able to slide the power, guile, and action tokens is easier than having them locked into place, and it isn't difficult to slide cards under the mat (plus, because of the pressure of the mat, they stay in place). Instead, as an option included in the game, Expeditions comes with 4 riser stickers per mech mat. These lift the mats above your playing surface enough to slide cards under the mat without the need to pick up any portion of the mat and risk tokens sliding around.
I call them coins. We needed an easily recognizable icon for currency, and $ accomplishes that goal. Here's a note about this from the Scythe FAQ: "Jakub and I discussed in detail which symbol we should use for currency in Scythe, and we decided that the $ sign was the clearest symbol. Each coin in Scythe’s fictional 1920s universe is based on a different faction-there is no universal currency (the Euro didn’t exist yet). Yes, we could have created a new symbol, but it would have been yet another symbol for players to remember. We had the choice between making something up (which would have confused a lot of people) or using a universally recognized symbol for money. We chose the latter, especially since $ is used to represent currency for a number of real-world countries. This decision was well informed by discussions with backers and finalized during the original Kickstarter campaign."
Great of you to address the community feedback so quickly by adding the option for the riser stickers, thanks for the hard work from everyone on the SM team!
I think Expeditions does a great job of feeling similar to Scythe while also offering a unique experience. We’ll done! I really like the exploration mechanism in Expeditions. I like the mystery of what you might discover when you flip over a tile to reveal a new location. I also like the quests and that the cards are between tiles. This really encourages players to travel around the map to specific locations. The theme and title of the game seem to fit the mechanics of the game pretty well!
Thanks Kyle! That's exactly what I was aiming for. :)
Thanks. I am looking forward to getting this game to my table for myself and friends.
Still enjoying the drip feed of info on this. The mechanics are so interesting and I can't wait to experience it. I hope you all are considering adding a more narrative element in a future expansion that explores this story more. It's so fascinating. I've been enjoying catching up on the lore. It's such a unique IP that explores war without being warlike if that makes sense. Would love more info on characters and their journey.
Thanks! There are some narrative elements to the worldbuilding of the game, and I considered adding them during the game, but I was really concerned they would disrupt the flow of play. But perhaps we'll do a campaign expansion at some point that focuses on the narrative.
Looks fun! Excited to play. I really appreciate you explaining the design choices. I especially love the mystery/exploration aspect.
Thanks Chad!
Jamey, thank-you so much for doing this. These videos are great and show your commitment to connecting with the community.
I'm a huge fan of all your games and by the looks of it, I know that Expeditions will be no exception. I can't wait to play it!!
I really appreciate that!
I think it's fate that I bought and played Scythe for the very first time mere weeks before y'all announced Expeditions. This was always going to be an instant purchase for me, but the amount of care you put into these explainer videos made me even more proud to support you and your company. I absolutely cannot wait!
Thanks Michael--perfect timing. :)
I've played Scythe for a few years, but my game group finished the Rise of Fenris campaign the night before the announcement. It felt like fate!
@@qStep47 Perfect timing!
Excellent, you really did a great job! This game is going to be a hot seller!
Got all scythe and tapestry with all expansions. Can't wait for your sequel to scythe and tapestry expansion to come to reseller in Indonesia :)
Crazy fun fact: my grand-parents emigrated from Poland to Argentina in 1920-1924. Playing Scythe always feels special to me for that reason. Now, here there's a sequel to it. This video was Great! Thanks or bringing this kind of Joy to table tops worldwide, Jamey!
Thank you so much! It's neat that your family has its roots in Jakub's country. :)
Jamie, more videos like this please. As a lover of Scythe I immediately backed this and can’t wait for the release, which by the way, I love the fact I don’t have to wait two years like a lot of kickstarters, I get to play this in the summer!!! I’m also loving your support of Tapestry, can’t wait for the folded space insert. Last thing I will say, I was late to to Wingspan party, though the theme was not for me…….how wrong was I. Love it love it!!! Thank you!
Thanks Shane! I'll make more videos like these. :)
Looking like an awesome game! Very excited to buying it and bringing it home. Thanks for your engaging and enthusiastic work in the board gaming community Jamey!
Thank you! :)
Thanks Jamie! I was so excited to see the announcement of Expeditions last week and loving the updates and further details. Scythe is my all time favourite game and my family have spent many sessions around the table, in fact it's the only game I can get them all together for! Thank you so much for this new design and the love and attention you have clearly put into this. I've always really enjoyed Scythe's overlay of game mechanics and theme. A world I'm thrilled to be able to now explore further!
Also a massive thanks to Stonemaier for the awesome costumer support replacing a couple of soggy game components after a unfortunate drink incident (and this is why drinks don't go on the table!)
I'm flattered that Scythe is your favorite game, and I hope I've done it justice with the sequel! We're always happy to help with drink-soggy bits. :)
Really enjoyed the comparison! Intrigued about the rising sticker solution, card sleeves work pretty well for sliding cards under a board (and more importantly, each other) but that sounds like a fairly elegant solution as well.
One of things I loved about Scythe when I first learned about it was keeping track of your power and popularity and it still remains one of my favorite elements in it. Knowing when to spend it and when to hoard it is really cool. I get a little bit of that from the power and guile tracks here, though it looks like those tracks only really apply to corruption whereas in Scythe they were tied into multiple other elements. Of course clearing corruption looks like a really important part of the game so I imagine that fluctuation might be more frequent.
Did a double take at zombies card… I’m guessing it’s a “dead possessed by corruption” deal and I trust it feels thematic to the 1920+ world so I’m going to ignore my knee jerk reaction. But I could see that intriguing some family members who never fell off the zombie craze!
Thanks for sharing that! You're right about "dead possessed by corruption". :)
Jakub's art + Jamey's gameplay design = stoopid good game. Can not wait for Expeditions.
The way actions are selected is very interesting to me and I'm excited to explore how it plays out. I loved the top and bottom actions in Scythe, especially how their implementation nudged players towards planning ahead.
Expeditions looks to be another hit with my group. Can't wait to get to try it. Thanks a lot for the video!
Thanks Dave!
Congratulations with the design of this game! Apart from the wonderful art and some unique mechanics, there are two aspects I really love and with which you are giving us the feeling of really being part of this intriguing world: the companion animals can do their own actions and really feel like companions, and as you explained it so well: the huge mechs feel like our homes... Also a wonderful creative idea to create those stickers 👍
Thanks Hans! Those are some of the aspects that drew me to Jakub's 1920+ world in the first place back in 2014. :)
Holy frick, the hexes are enormous. I love it.
Thanks! We needed them to be big enough for the cards (including sleeved cards) to fit in between the hexes.
@@jameystegmaier Nice, I thought it may have been a way to show off the beautiful art. Still could be for that reason as well. :)
Was desperate to preorder this game although wasn’t 100%. After watching video, especially how you’ve listened to and acted on feedback so quickly which is incredible. I’m in. Well done Jamie, best in class game design and best in class community involvement. #SMknowsbest
Thank you! I appreciate you taking your time to decide if the game is a good fit for you. There's plenty more content to come to help with that decision. :)
Thanks for the great video! I feel like I understand what to expect from Expeditions much better after watching 👍
Thank you! :)
That is great you and your team made changes to feedback so quickly. I don’t see that change that quickly.
The timing worked out to make it possible. :)
@@jameystegmaierthanks that got me to preorder my copy:) Is great to see your thoughts and thinking behind developing the game.
The picture looks good on that slanted wall :)
I like it too! :)
This game sounds great. Just pre-ordered. I’ve only ever played My Little Scythe, but this feels like a great exploration.
Thanks Jeff!
Good video, looking forward to the game, thanks.
Very helpful, cheers!
Already preordered! Awaiting impatiently.🤸
Thank you for your amazing voiceover work in the trailer!
This looks amazing I've only gotten a chance over the past weekend to check this out. I'm hoping the automa in this is just as good as it is for scythe
It might be even better--the Automa team has learned a lot over the last 7 years. :)
Probably my favorite aspect of Scythe is the fact that you put resources directly onto the map and need to constantly be defending them. I don't see this used in other games and it's such a brilliant mechanic that I wish it were.
I think you could make an argument that the corruption tiles out on the map in Expeditions are similar to this aspect. You might not need to defend your own corruption tiles, but everyone will be racing to "steal" them from one another.
Switching topics, out of curiosity, did Jakub create the sculpts for the mechs, or did someone else do that based on his art?
Thanks Jamey, can't wait to get this one to the table!
That's a good point that the corruption tiles being on the map are also similar to resources on the map. As for the mechs, Jakub illustrates them from multiple angles, and Heriberto Martinez is the 3D modeler.
I'm a huge fan of Roadside Picnic and Stalker, so I'm very excited to dig into this game! Have you read Roadside Picnic and was that a bit of inspiration for this?
I'm not familiar with either of them, and Jakub hasn't mentioned them as inspirations.
@@jameystegmaier wow, I'm truly surprised to hear that! Your Tarkovsky name, the relative location of the setting, the mysterious properties affecting the landscape...they all scream Roadside Picnic/Stalker! Oh, you are in for a treat, Jamey!
I'm guessing you've played Istanbul but maybe not Istanbul with the Letters & Seals expansion. In Istanbul, there is a modular map with 20 locations (with the expansion), and each is numbered. The "letters" of the expansion title are things you pick up randomly, and they have numbers on them corresponding to the location numbers. I think there are 2 letters for each location. You get a small reward for "delivering" the letter to a location. So it's a bit like Expeditions in that you have a modular board, numbered locations, quests that you pick up that are associated with a particular number, to which you must move in order to gain the benefit. (Although in Expeditions there is one more step, which is satisfying the other conditions of the quest.) Anyway, it sounds like there's a similarity there, and since I like that mini-game in Istanbul, I'm looking forward to the Expeditions version of "pick up and deliver".
That's really interesting! I like that system.
Man, this game looks really good. I think the contrast between this and Scythe will truly resonate with fans of the original! I know it does for me!
Thanks! I hope so too. :)
I appreciate how you get a really powerful turn after you take a refresh action. I'm curious, have you found that there is a average amount of player turns in a typical game?
That isn't something we tracked in blind playtesting, but I think it's around 20 turns.
@@jameystegmaier Thats a good amount. I'm sure it's a delicate balance to have plenty to do without overstaying its welcome.
I have to second how much I enjoy the idea of the supercharged turn, which offsets the short, simple refresh. Simple idea, yet a game charger in my mind!
@@zvnetzley9209 Thanks! It's a nice way to balance the quick Refresh turn (while still encouraging players to optimize in such a way that they don't need to refresh all that often).
I am happy that their is no combat. Less tension is more suitable for families 👍
Can't wait for this game! Are planning to produce double layered mats like in scythe so the cube doesn't slide around?
I talk about that in this video at the end of the asymmetry section. Here's also the answer from the FAQ:
Dual-layered mats are great in games where the mats hold dozens of tokens that, if upended, could cause chaos and frustration. That isn't the case in Expeditions, which only has 3 tokens on the mat. It would have significantly increased the price of the game, the boards wouldn't have fit well in the box without making it taller (further increasing the cost), and--most importantly--the added utility is actually quite small. Being able to slide the power, guile, and action tokens is easier than having them locked into place, and it isn't difficult to slide cards under the mat (plus, because of the pressure of the mat, they stay in place).
Instead, as an option included in the game, Expeditions comes with 4 riser stickers per mech mat. These lift the mats above your playing surface enough to slide cards under the mat without the need to pick up any portion of the mat and risk tokens sliding around.
@@jameystegmaier I only had a 15 minute break so I had to skip sections of the video. Thanks for the clarification! 🤪
I haven't played Scythe in several months because I've gotten a bunch of new games recently. But the Expeditions announcement made me plan a Scythe night with my group. I'll be jumping back into Europa tomorrow night 😆
One day you will design a game based on that Map of Wales, you have 20 years sir... ;)
On sliding cards under the mat, I dont foresee any problems when playing on neoprene, but in a desire to assist: if the mat is punched from the back there will be a natural radius for the cards to enter
That's a good point! In this case, though, the mats are pre-cut--they aren't on the punchboard.
Very interested in this beast. About to finally start a Fenris Campaign soon I believe. Who knows...maybe this could be the Circadians killer ;P
Ha ha...it sounds like Circadians is a different beast. I hope you have fun with The Rise of Fenris!
Thanks Jamey for giving some more depth to the game differences ! Do you plan a playthrough of Expeditions ? Or not, to avoid spoilers ? Excited to further explore the world of Scythe !
Danny: There will be playthroughs of Expeditions, but from people who specialize in them like Rahdo and Before You Play, as I don't have the setup for them (you can see this in my previous video that shows a few turns--I can only fit part of the map on my desk).
@@jameystegmaier You couldn't have chosen better teachers for this. (also on my toplist are Paul Grogan and JonGetsGames)
@@jameystegmaier any chance we'll get a play through from Jon Gets Games? Rahdo and Rodney are of course excellent, but I really like Jon's style and unlike Rahdo he usually shows 3-4 players. Jon is also very attentive to not missing rules (Rahdo is sometimes less careful). Jon also does a great job with explaining his thinking behind moves, which gives a viewer a little sense of the kinds of tactical and strategic decisions a game will force them to make.
@@StevenStJohn-kj9eb I'm happy to ask Jon about it, especially if he can commit to a specific timeframe.
Ah so the blood rage kind of assymetry coming from choices. Like a bit with the mech mats.
Exactly!
I feel the lack of combat is a missed opportunity for me. I really like the look of Scythe though so I'll probably start there. The design in Expeditions looks really good though.
I certainly tested various PvP combat methods during the design process, but it did not fit with the mechanisms, flow, or theme of this sequel--it was not missed by playtesters at all when we removed it.
@@jameystegmaier Good to know, glad to hear it was tested at least!
I’m enjoying these progressive reveals. I haven’t pre-ordered, but I know I will (and will before 22nd Feb); however, it’s nice holding back - just to build up the excitement. That way when I do eventually come around to clicking on ‘buy’ it’s something I really, really want. Does anyone else put themselves through this or is it just me?!? 😂
Thanks Rob! People can also wait until after February 22--we're making plenty of copies--but that is when we can 100% guarantee that there will be a copy for you.
@@jameystegmaier I suspect that I, like many, simply want to order before the Feb 22nd so that you have a better idea of how many to accurately order. There's a lot of love for Stonemaier out there and amongst those fans one of the things they appreciate the most is the transparency. Thanks, as always, for the updates (and keep them coming) 🙂
I love Scythe (and Viticulture!). I've been itching to play it for a few days now. Expeditions looks awesome too. The 1920+ art is wonderful.
I've always been curious about the picture behind you, next to the window. It looks like a map of Wales. Is it so? If you don't mind me asking, is there a special significance to it?
Thanks, Pepe! Indeed, that is a map of Wales. I visited Wales around 15 years ago and picked up the map, and I've proudly displayed it every since. :)
@@jameystegmaier Cool! Thanks for the answer!
Why are the boards not double layerd lik ein scythe? That way tokens wont get misplaced so easily. Are there also placeholders voor the hex cards, otherwise they keep shifting on the table a lot.
Dual-layered mats are great in games where the mats hold dozens of tokens that, if upended, could cause chaos and frustration. That isn’t the case in Expeditions, which only has 3 tokens on the mat; as a result, the mats are not dual-layered. It would have significantly increased the price of the game, the boards wouldn’t have fit well in the box without making it taller (further increasing the cost), and-most importantly-the added utility is actually quite small. Being able to slide the power, guile, and action tokens is easier than having them locked into place, and it isn’t difficult to slide cards under the mat (plus, because of the pressure of the mat, they stay in place).
Instead, as an option included in the game, Expeditions comes with 4 riser stickers per mech mat. These lift the mats above your playing surface enough to slide cards under the mat without the need to pick up any portion of the mat and risk tokens sliding around.
Tiles shifting around on the table is not a problem in Expeditions.
The game looks very interesting, when will all the heroes and animals be revealed(if there are heroes)?
I'm not exactly sure about the timing of showing the cards, but you can actually see all of their profiles in the rulebook, which is available. :)
I have a question on it's solo game play. I tend to end up half the time tabling a game solo at home. How will it work and stack up in this way to other games?
From what I can tell, Automa Factory did a great job with the robust solo mode. The full Automa rulebook is linked on our website for you to check out if you're curious. :)
Was there a reason you didn't go with a dual layer mech mat to avoid the tokens from moving around
Dual-layered mats are great in games where the mats hold dozens of tokens that, if upended, could cause chaos and frustration. That isn’t the case in Expeditions, which only has 3 tokens on the mat; as a result, the mats are not dual-layered. It would have significantly increased the price of the game, the boards wouldn’t have fit well in the box without making it taller (further increasing the cost), and-most importantly-the added utility is actually quite small. Being able to slide the power, guile, and action tokens is easier than having them locked into place, and it isn’t difficult to slide cards under the mat (plus, because of the pressure of the mat, they stay in place).
Instead, as an option included in the game, Expeditions comes with 4 riser stickers per mech mat. These lift the mats above your playing surface enough to slide cards under the mat without the need to pick up any portion of the mat and risk tokens sliding around.
Just wondering if there will be an expansion for this game like scythe that will make it 7 or 8 player?
Currently there is no plan to increase player counts to that level, as I think it would cause core imbalances and significantly increased length and downtime. But perhaps I'll find a way to make it work.
Thank you for the video.
Jamey, we know that your company always pay attention to details.
Why did you decide to write actions on player mats using words, not symbols? English has short words comparing to many other languages. In Ukrainian you will need a smaller font or more space.
That's true, and localization partners could use icons instead of words if they would like (or add more space). But I don't think anything is clearer than the word itself. You don't need to memorize anything or add yet another icon reference--just play, move, gather, refresh. If the game only had a few icons in it, sure, we may have considered using icons instead of text, but Expeditions already has many icons.
Why such a weird box size? Is that final I'm assuming?
It's the size needed to fit everything in the box. Yes, it's final.
Wait, there's zombies in this world setting?! I'm going to need more details on that, haha.
Kind of. :) The parasites in the meteorites can possess people and animals.
Bit of a random question but with the Odin's Wrath Mech am I understanding things correctly by thinking you can acquire the 5 Map Tokens Glory achievement and then proceed to destroy those tokens for other resources while keeping that achievement?
That's right!
Will players need to read text on their cards or will iconography be sufficient? Thanks
Expeditions is quite language dependent--they will need to read text on cards.
could you please create player mats double face, with standard / alternate powers / setup ? It's a wast of space from my point of view
There's a back to the mech mats so they can be randomized. The game is complete and is in production--no further changes can be made. I appreciate your request, but please understand that asking something like that of a publisher could easily add 6+ months of design and playtesting, which isn't considerate of the schedule we've already committed to for thousands of preorder customers.
@@jameystegmaier I understand and I agree with that. Let's say it's a suggestion for the expansions. Add new content using.. the other side. Did you ever consider to use the two sides of elements/boards as campaign elements? For example: let's say mission 1 goes to result 1 and then you move element 1/2/3 to dark side
@@marte1587 No, this isn't a campaign game. It's designed just like Scythe: You play it, and if you want to play it again, you set up from the beginning again for a new adventure. Perhaps someday we will make a campaign expansion as we did for Scythe, but that's not what the core game of Expeditions is.
@@jameystegmaier thanks for explanation!
Does the ironclad edition REPLACE the plastic mechs or do you get a metal set in ADDITION TO the plastic ones?
If you buy the standard version, you only get 5 plastic mech miniatures. If you buy the Ironclad Edition, you only get 5 metal mech miniatures.
Thanks for the clarification!
Will there be an option to buy a plastic set of mechs if we purchase the Ironclad version?
@@danielgeorges3048 For those who want to paint the plastic mechs, I think there's a good chance we'll do that someday, but not as part of the initial preorder.
Again, thank you for the clarification. I’m happy you understand why I would like both :) . I also may not trust certain gamers with my metal minis!
Are the cards standard sized? I think I’ll want to sleeve this game
Yes, they're 63x88mm cards.
I don't know if it's on purpose, but I kind of like that you are not revealing the #20 location so we can wonder what we will find there
That's a keen observation, and you're right! I'm actually trying to keep most of the North a secret for now...not that it's a bit spoiler, but it's the type of thing to reveal over time instead of all at once. :)
Everybody likes Big Macs.
Are the mech mats going to be dual layer?
Dual-layered mats are great in games where the mats hold dozens of tokens that, if upended, could cause chaos and frustration. That isn't the case in Expeditions, which only has 3 tokens on the mat; as a result, the mats are not dual-layered. It would have significantly increased the price of the game, the boards wouldn't have fit well in the box without making it taller (further increasing the cost), and--most importantly--the added utility is actually quite small. Being able to slide the power, guile, and action tokens is easier than having them locked into place, and it isn't difficult to slide cards under the mat (plus, because of the pressure of the mat, they stay in place).
Instead, as an option included in the game, Expeditions comes with 4 riser stickers per mech mat. These lift the mats above your playing surface enough to slide cards under the mat without the need to pick up any portion of the mat and risk tokens sliding around.
Will there be a campaign?
The core game is not a campaign game. Just like Scythe, it's a game designed to be completely reset each time you play.
@@jameystegmaier makes sense. I hope the core does well and a campaign is added. We really enjoyed the campaign and Mad Tesla!
Everything seems fantastic - except that the currency is called Dollar. Giant mechs in 1920 makes more sense than dollars...
I call them coins. We needed an easily recognizable icon for currency, and $ accomplishes that goal. Here's a note about this from the Scythe FAQ:
"Jakub and I discussed in detail which symbol we should use for currency in Scythe, and we decided that the $ sign was the clearest symbol. Each coin in Scythe’s fictional 1920s universe is based on a different faction-there is no universal currency (the Euro didn’t exist yet). Yes, we could have created a new symbol, but it would have been yet another symbol for players to remember. We had the choice between making something up (which would have confused a lot of people) or using a universally recognized symbol for money. We chose the latter, especially since $ is used to represent currency for a number of real-world countries. This decision was well informed by discussions with backers and finalized during the original Kickstarter campaign."
@@jameystegmaier Thanks for the detailed explanation!
Wait, why am I not hearing any audio🤔???
Can you try again? I've confirmed that the video definitely has audio.
@@jameystegmaier works great, sorry, must've been something on my side😕