It has a lot of little rules, but once you learn it, the decisions are not difficult. It flows easily, but the end of game scoring is unusual and kind of dramatic. I enjoyed playing it, and want to try again now that I know what to focus on.
Had a single play of it solo and yeah, the steam feels pretty easy to get. But my 1st impression is that 2 players is probably the most abundant steam will be. Also, the game has multiple punitive mechanisms which you probably overcompensate for on the 1st game ? I can see myself accepting a few extra green/yellow environment tiles since their conflict rewards are great and you can effectively accept the penalty in steam on the short term.
Thanks John. I was very interested in your thoughts on this game and how it stacked up to the other heavier Essen releases. This was one I had on hold for purchase. How difficult would this be to get back to the table in between plays over time.
I would say if you play it 3 or more times before you shelve it initially, you will be Ok. The main difficulty of this game is the first learning of it and keeping track of everything. I am going to make a teaching video because I don’t want to have to learn it cold again, but, since you only take 2 fundamentally different actions, I don’t think it will be that hard to remember with a little bit of a brush up. I am comparing this to Lacerda titles where you can take 4-8 completely different and complex actions. That’s much tougher.
I’m still struggling to fully grasp/learn every rule and game flow of Men-Nefer, which you did not say was quite this complex. With this game likely being more complex and tighter than Men-Nefer I’m gonna have to pass. I appreciate you putting that out there as I love most games from Devir.
I did make a teaching video for both games if that helps. I would say that Men-Nefer presents easier choices to make while Daitoshi is much more opaque in how things will affect others, making it harder to grasp for me at least.
I totally agree with that assessment. Men Nefer has a lot going on, but the decisions are easier, especially once you settle on a couple areas of focus. I’ve only played Daitoshi once and it’s a lot to take in and resources are a lot more restrictive. I came here to see what you thought of the solo.
I like Nucleum better for sure. It seems a bit more complex in some ways than Nucleum, but easier in others. It’s probably too different to compare outright though. Nucleum decisions seem easier to make I guess to me.
This looks like a game designed specifically for me.
Thanks as always for the great review!
Great to hear!
It has a lot of little rules, but once you learn it, the decisions are not difficult. It flows easily, but the end of game scoring is unusual and kind of dramatic. I enjoyed playing it, and want to try again now that I know what to focus on.
Agreed.
Had a single play of it solo and yeah, the steam feels pretty easy to get. But my 1st impression is that 2 players is probably the most abundant steam will be. Also, the game has multiple punitive mechanisms which you probably overcompensate for on the 1st game ?
I can see myself accepting a few extra green/yellow environment tiles since their conflict rewards are great and you can effectively accept the penalty in steam on the short term.
Agreed!
Thanks John. I was very interested in your thoughts on this game and how it stacked up to the other heavier Essen releases. This was one I had on hold for purchase. How difficult would this be to get back to the table in between plays over time.
I would say if you play it 3 or more times before you shelve it initially, you will be Ok. The main difficulty of this game is the first learning of it and keeping track of everything. I am going to make a teaching video because I don’t want to have to learn it cold again, but, since you only take 2 fundamentally different actions, I don’t think it will be that hard to remember with a little bit of a brush up.
I am comparing this to Lacerda titles where you can take 4-8 completely different and complex actions. That’s much tougher.
I’m still struggling to fully grasp/learn every rule and game flow of Men-Nefer, which you did not say was quite this complex. With this game likely being more complex and tighter than Men-Nefer I’m gonna have to pass. I appreciate you putting that out there as I love most games from Devir.
I did make a teaching video for both games if that helps. I would say that Men-Nefer presents easier choices to make while Daitoshi is much more opaque in how things will affect others, making it harder to grasp for me at least.
I totally agree with that assessment. Men Nefer has a lot going on, but the decisions are easier, especially once you settle on a couple areas of focus.
I’ve only played Daitoshi once and it’s a lot to take in and resources are a lot more restrictive. I came here to see what you thought of the solo.
@JFitzsimmons agreed!
How would you compare this to Nucleum? Is it heavier and more complex? And ultimately, which one do you like more?
I like Nucleum better for sure. It seems a bit more complex in some ways than Nucleum, but easier in others. It’s probably too different to compare outright though. Nucleum decisions seem easier to make I guess to me.