I backed this on KS and I'm VERY relieved to see this positive review. I love Power Grid. I love worker placement. I love "just above just above family weight". I don't like "take that". I haven't played the original game, but this game sounds perfect for me.
Thanks for the review guys! Zee's right, I like to think this game is more husband-wife friendly as it doesn't have the take that of the spies and planes on this. The game should hit stores this fall (maybe October but probably November).
James Mathe Energy Empire has become a favorite with our group when we (rarely) have more than 3 people to play with. The game is just so much fun building your engine better than everyone else. 5/5
No one in my group liked the planes/bombers in MP, so this sounds ideal. In addition, my wife, who happens to be from Hiroshima, would not play MP for obvious reasons even though i really liked MP's mechanics. Again, EE is ideal!
I know this game is already a few years old but I played it for the first time and really enjoyed, so much in fact I'm planning on getting it. I should also mention that I have not played the original Manhattan Project boardgame. As a gamer who enjoys worker placement I really liked the take on this mechanic. I wanna try the original game and see how I like that one as well.
I enjoyed the review's use of video editing to display close-ups of board sections, components, and game rules. Not used to seeing that kind of detail. I need to keep an eye out for more reviews like these.
For me the bombing never made sense in the Manhattan Project. Every turn you spent trying to bomb someone else meant a wasted turn since everyone is busy making progress towards their bombs. I loved the game otherwise, but the bombing seemed like a poorly thought out add-on mechanistically. There was much more interaction in buying the cards others wanted, blocking worker placements, and 'spying' on others (all of which I loved). Sold it despite really liking the game otherwise - this seems a lot better (though sad to see no spies :(
Just want to say that the "binding negotiations" of Manhattan Project are critical to the Air Strike part of the game. By negotiating deals with the next player to work together, you avoid or mitigate the net loss from aggressive actions in 3+ player games. It's also pretty critical to not let everyone max out at 10/10 fighter/bomber!
Work together how exactly? By aggressive actions, are you talking about bombers only, or also about spies and blocking workers? I've always played with 4+ players, and every game I had tried bombing someone else, it was clear soon and especially later in the game that it was a wasted turn, simply because the bombing only affects 1 player, and you'd have to do a LOT of bombing for them to be seriously affected (which means even more time spent building up bombers). For me, the rhythm and timing of everyone's worker placements was tight and crucial to grasp, because otherwise, as bombing did for me, you would skip a beat and just fall behind. The game feels to me seriously like a race (to the building bombs), and attacking someone else just screws you and your victim, while everyone else races ahead.
Something like, "I'll AS and destroy X's fighters if you AS and bomb X's buildings." Then you and your ally lose planes, and X loses planes and buildings. I agree it's tricky to find the right deals, and in a 4+ player game it's probably on #2 and #3 to take down #1, or figure out some potent king making threats, etc... you could also play with the variant 3x Air Strike space to make three-way deals possible!
I don't get what the difference / relationship is betwen this and Manhattan Project. Is it the same types of mechanics just tweaked / reskinned a bit? Ty for any info
The Manhattan Project is one of those few games that I have yet to decide if I like. That is, most games I can tell if I like it or will like it, in 1 play. I have played it twice, and still am uncertain. It took 3 plays of Shadows over Camelot for me to decide I did not like it. It took 2 plays of Formula D with different rules, to decide that I did like it, with 1 set of rules. So while I do want to try this, I still need another play or more of the original yet. We'll see.
Though I haven't played the original, the concept of the different workers you put out was interesting. I don't see that in this one. Is it something I overlooked?
Yeah the planes/bombers broke the original game for me. You always ended up with someone having an airport (because it got cheaper over time), then of course they built bombers/fighters, then the game made it more sensible for them to bomb one single player OUT OF THE GAME. Seemed harsh and something that messed with an otherwise great game. Maybe this standalone game is better.
I found Manhattan Project to be a disappointment. First and foremost, worker placement without much potential for blockage feels pointless. Then there's the burst-building that makes the game feel like a race with only a couple of laps to it. Sam and Zee didn't talk to the former issue specifically, but they at least spoke to the latter. I'm interested.
I find there is plenty of potential for blockage in the Manhattan Project. It plays into the whole when do you call back your workers because that frees up spots for everyone else. I love how the back and forth nature of placing and pulling workers. There's going to be blockage at any of the spaces that have only one spot. Especially with at least 3 players.
Well, you wind up building things on your mat that only you can use. There's the espionage option, but my experience has been that doesn't see much usage (because it gets jammed up for long stretches). I tend to think it should have a second worker space at five and maybe four players.
Another subtle difference in Energy Empire is that each turn that you work, you MUST play on the main board first, and which area you play in determines which of the three types of tableau cards you can use. Consequently, there's varying competition for spots on the main board depending on your emphasis and goals. Rarely is it 100% blocking, but the cost is sufficient that you often have to resort to back up plans, unless your a player with tons of excess energy.
Also note that the game is 1-5 players not 2-4 as mentioned in the video. There is a SOLO play rule set and enough components for 5 players.
I backed this on KS and I'm VERY relieved to see this positive review. I love Power Grid. I love worker placement. I love "just above just above family weight". I don't like "take that". I haven't played the original game, but this game sounds perfect for me.
Thanks for the review guys! Zee's right, I like to think this game is more husband-wife friendly as it doesn't have the take that of the spies and planes on this. The game should hit stores this fall (maybe October but probably November).
James Mathe Energy Empire has become a favorite with our group when we (rarely) have more than 3 people to play with. The game is just so much fun building your engine better than everyone else. 5/5
No one in my group liked the planes/bombers in MP, so this sounds ideal. In addition, my wife, who happens to be from Hiroshima, would not play MP for obvious reasons even though i really liked MP's mechanics. Again, EE is ideal!
I know this game is already a few years old but I played it for the first time and really enjoyed, so much in fact I'm planning on getting it. I should also mention that I have not played the original Manhattan Project boardgame. As a gamer who enjoys worker placement I really liked the take on this mechanic. I wanna try the original game and see how I like that one as well.
MP is one of my favorite games ever, top 5. Thanks for the review guys, I'll have to try to check this one out
I enjoyed the review's use of video editing to display close-ups of board sections, components, and game rules. Not used to seeing that kind of detail. I need to keep an eye out for more reviews like these.
I don't know why but Zee's rules explanations are better for me to understand than Tom's...
i love the mega thick worker tokens.
i loooooove themmmmm
Looks awesome. Can't wait to pick it up.
For me the bombing never made sense in the Manhattan Project. Every turn you spent trying to bomb someone else meant a wasted turn since everyone is busy making progress towards their bombs. I loved the game otherwise, but the bombing seemed like a poorly thought out add-on mechanistically. There was much more interaction in buying the cards others wanted, blocking worker placements, and 'spying' on others (all of which I loved). Sold it despite really liking the game otherwise - this seems a lot better (though sad to see no spies :(
Just want to say that the "binding negotiations" of Manhattan Project are critical to the Air Strike part of the game. By negotiating deals with the next player to work together, you avoid or mitigate the net loss from aggressive actions in 3+ player games. It's also pretty critical to not let everyone max out at 10/10 fighter/bomber!
Work together how exactly? By aggressive actions, are you talking about bombers only, or also about spies and blocking workers?
I've always played with 4+ players, and every game I had tried bombing someone else, it was clear soon and especially later in the game that it was a wasted turn, simply because the bombing only affects 1 player, and you'd have to do a LOT of bombing for them to be seriously affected (which means even more time spent building up bombers).
For me, the rhythm and timing of everyone's worker placements was tight and crucial to grasp, because otherwise, as bombing did for me, you would skip a beat and just fall behind. The game feels to me seriously like a race (to the building bombs), and attacking someone else just screws you and your victim, while everyone else races ahead.
Something like, "I'll AS and destroy X's fighters if you AS and bomb X's buildings." Then you and your ally lose planes, and X loses planes and buildings.
I agree it's tricky to find the right deals, and in a 4+ player game it's probably on #2 and #3 to take down #1, or figure out some potent king making threats, etc... you could also play with the variant 3x Air Strike space to make three-way deals possible!
I don't get what the difference / relationship is betwen this and Manhattan Project.
Is it the same types of mechanics just tweaked / reskinned a bit?
Ty for any info
The Manhattan Project is one of those few games that I have yet to decide if I like. That is, most games I can tell if I like it or will like it, in 1 play.
I have played it twice, and still am uncertain. It took 3 plays of Shadows over Camelot for me to decide I did not like it. It took 2 plays of Formula D with different rules, to decide that I did like it, with 1 set of rules.
So while I do want to try this, I still need another play or more of the original yet. We'll see.
Though I haven't played the original, the concept of the different workers you put out was interesting. I don't see that in this one. Is it something I overlooked?
Yeah the planes/bombers broke the original game for me. You always ended up with someone having an airport (because it got cheaper over time), then of course they built bombers/fighters, then the game made it more sensible for them to bomb one single player OUT OF THE GAME. Seemed harsh and something that messed with an otherwise great game. Maybe this standalone game is better.
Thanks for the great review!
You need a new name for the reviews: SHORT PUNCH REVIEWS :-D
Snap, Gotta buy this.
I found Manhattan Project to be a disappointment. First and foremost, worker placement without much potential for blockage feels pointless. Then there's the burst-building that makes the game feel like a race with only a couple of laps to it. Sam and Zee didn't talk to the former issue specifically, but they at least spoke to the latter. I'm interested.
I find there is plenty of potential for blockage in the Manhattan Project. It plays into the whole when do you call back your workers because that frees up spots for everyone else. I love how the back and forth nature of placing and pulling workers. There's going to be blockage at any of the spaces that have only one spot. Especially with at least 3 players.
Well, you wind up building things on your mat that only you can use. There's the espionage option, but my experience has been that doesn't see much usage (because it gets jammed up for long stretches). I tend to think it should have a second worker space at five and maybe four players.
Another subtle difference in Energy Empire is that each turn that you work, you MUST play on the main board first, and which area you play in determines which of the three types of tableau cards you can use. Consequently, there's varying competition for spots on the main board depending on your emphasis and goals. Rarely is it 100% blocking, but the cost is sufficient that you often have to resort to back up plans, unless your a player with tons of excess energy.
Theme is king and this game is boring