Thank you for the super thoughtful review, Carlo! Carefully balancing out variability and randomness in order to maximize the interesting decision space and tension is something we always do our best to get right. We are really pleased with how Cascadia turned out, and it was such fun to work with Beth, Randy, Kevin, David, Dylan, and all of the folks at AEG to make Cascadia what it is today. Very glad to see the community responding so positively to it. Thank you for the kind words and we hope that Cascadia continues to be fun for many years to come!
Absolutely, happy to help spread the word! Thank you for watching. And I got so focused on the randomness aspect of the game that I think I overlooked some of the other people on the team who contributed to Cascadia, or how impressive it is for a debut design from Randy Flynn. Everyone involved did a great job and the quality of your games speaks to the quality of the people on your teams. Looking forward to playing Cascadia for a long time and also seeing what you all come up with next!
Such a thoughtful review. I bought Cascadia in November and taught it to my 89yo father and brother. They learned it easily and really enjoyed the game. We played more at Christmas and my husband who is not an avid gamer also enjoyed it. I agree that it is a modern classic, a great combination of easy rules and good crunchy decisions.
An EXCELLENT review of a fantastic game. One thing I love about this review is that I don't feel like you are over hyping this game. You're not wrapped up in it, you're presenting a flatout opinion about it with no pretence. After playing Cascadia once I definitely knew I needed to add it to the collection, so thanks for introducing the game to me!
Thanks, Braiden! I worried it might come across like a little too much, but I just think it does so many things well. Happy to hear about how much you enjoy it too.
Hats off to a great game from a perspective we don't often see. I'd actually be interested in seeing more under the hood stuff with regards to game design. As far as Cascadia goes, it's the new gateway game I'd recommend to new players, in the same breath as Ticket to Ride and Carcassonne. It's gonna even take Azul's place and bump it off to the gateway+ tier. It's a classic. I have a couple of nitpicks which I'll happily discuss over on AYCB's discord server (hint hint nudge nudge, join the discord server, they have delicious cookies!)
I’ve wanted to ply this ever since I first saw it. Something about making one pick that gives you two things that builds a tableau really appeals to me. I even think there is an outside chance I could find other players.
Exactly! The way those 2 options combine - the habitat tile and the wildlife token - always makes it a tough decision. Cascadia feels like it could end up being one of the most "agreeable" games in someone's collection, if you know what I mean. That game that nobody will ever turn down or complain about... might not be anyone's favourite but you play it a lot because it's the one game that everyone communally enjoys most.
After much hesitation, I finally ordered Cascadia! It’s due to arrive in a few days and I look forward to trying it. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this game vs Meadow. Meadow is my new favorite game and while the gameplay of Meadow and Cascadia appear to be very different, I do see some similarities. Both are lighter weight, nature-themed, have a bit of randomness in terms of what cards/tiles come out, and require some tough decision-making. Meadow has been that game that I play over and over again attempting to better my score. It’s my “just one more time” game! I’ve only had it for three weeks and I’ve already played over 20 times. I look forward to seeing how Cascadia stacks up although based on your review, I think I’m going to love it!
Meadow is one that I think Dylann was looking to buy at some point. If not, maybe we'll try it out at a local game store or some other place, we definitely want to try it and if we get our hands on a copy we'll definitely talk about it on the channel at some point. I was somewhat interested in it before but seeing you gush about it like this has moved it up the list for me!
Good video. I have wanted to get this game, but I’m growing overly tired of victory point calculations at the end of a game. I prefer games that end other ways such as objective based or a race to a certain score. I really like the theme of this game, but from reading the rules it feels like a the trend that I’m disliking. I wonder how you feel about the end game scoring on this one. But, I do realize I’m somewhat a minority in my feelings towards game end conditions. I really like game end conditions from games like these: The Crew, Istanbul, El Dorado, Race of the Galaxy, Marvel Champions, Pandemic, Viticulture, Undaunted, Whitehall Mystery, Santorini, etc.. I have also wanted to get Renature, but worry I will dislike the scoring.
Thanks! And that's fair about the scoring. Leaving the scoring until the end makes it so that if you're losing by a lot, you only find out at the end, which has some pros and cons. You won't feel out of it early on, but at the same time that can make it tough to know where you stand and what you have to do to get back in it. Overall, I like the way the scoring works in this. There are different categories and it never feels like you can do everything you want. I agree with you though, I really like it when games find other ways to end and/or determine a winner and you've given a bunch of great examples of that. I REALLY like Renature, and in that one most of the scoring happens during the game, only some of it is left to the end, and I have no issues at all with scoring in that game.
@@AllYouCanBoard Thanks so much for your reply. I haven't played Renature yet, i want to. I have Mexica, which i guess is it's big brother (or sister, whichever) and I like that a lot. The scoring feels focused and not all over the place, which gives it a good visible strategy. I'm guessing Renature probably feels the same.
Oh definitely, this one's much more laid back and less frustrating than Calico, but it still gives you a lot to think about. Both games are really good and they're different enough that I'm glad I own both.
We love love cascadia! Definitely a new modern classic! My biggest gripe is the player count. It's such a great family game I wish more people could play. I've considered buying a second game to combine them for a larger player count option.
Hmm, I suppose it could work with extra tiles but it might throw off the balance of all the habitat and wildlife amounts, and even the end game scoring for the habitats, I'm not sure how it would even work with more than 4 players. It might even work better to just play two separate games with separate copies if you have that many people, rather than combining them and playing all together.
Overboss is good, I like it but I don't love it the same way I love Cascadia. Overboss is more similar to Calico because they have a specific board with a certain number of tiles you have to place (12 in Overboss, and I think around 23 in Calico), and in Cascadia you have complete freedom to build wherever you want, in any direction with any tile. I think Calico does the limited space thing better and I like it quite a bit more than Overboss, but I still like Cascadia more than Calico. It's just so relaxing and enjoyable to play but still gives you a lot to consider on every turn.
@@AllYouCanBoard Thanks for your reply. I made a conscious decision to buy Overboss instead of Cascadia due to the theme and thinking the mechanics are the same. Are you planning to keep both in your collection or now that you have Cascadia, will you the cull Overboss from your collection?
@@meeplechat5046 I actually don't own Overboss. If you've seen it on the shelf behind me - that's Dylann's copy and it made his top 50 games of all-time recently. I've just played his copy a couple times, but I have no plans to get Overboss.
Yeah it keeps selling out even after it restocks. Don't worry though, I imagine they will keep reprinting the game as long as it keeps selling so well. So you might have to wait but you should be able to get a copy, hopefully soon!
It's in really high demand right now but if you check boardgameoracle.com you can see if it's in stock anywhere in your region. Either way, I think they'll keep reprinting this game for a while because it's going to continue to sell. So even if it takes a while, you'll get a copy eventually, hopefully soon!
Love the entangled decision-making in this game. Not as agonizing as Calico in terms of feeling crunched on space, but love that each decision is difficult but important. Wish the player count could accommodate 5 or 6 though. Need more lazy-susan games like planet unknown for simultaneous drafting.
Well said! Definitely not as brutal as Calico. Different games for different occasions, both excellent, but so far I'm liking Cascadia a bit more. Also - I backed Planet Unknown and will definitely feature it on the channel once I get it and play it a bunch.
What are your thoughts on Cascadia? Where does it rank in 2021 releases for you?
Thank you for the super thoughtful review, Carlo! Carefully balancing out variability and randomness in order to maximize the interesting decision space and tension is something we always do our best to get right. We are really pleased with how Cascadia turned out, and it was such fun to work with Beth, Randy, Kevin, David, Dylan, and all of the folks at AEG to make Cascadia what it is today. Very glad to see the community responding so positively to it. Thank you for the kind words and we hope that Cascadia continues to be fun for many years to come!
Absolutely, happy to help spread the word! Thank you for watching. And I got so focused on the randomness aspect of the game that I think I overlooked some of the other people on the team who contributed to Cascadia, or how impressive it is for a debut design from Randy Flynn. Everyone involved did a great job and the quality of your games speaks to the quality of the people on your teams. Looking forward to playing Cascadia for a long time and also seeing what you all come up with next!
Such a thoughtful review. I bought Cascadia in November and taught it to my 89yo father and brother. They learned it easily and really enjoyed the game. We played more at Christmas and my husband who is not an avid gamer also enjoyed it. I agree that it is a modern classic, a great combination of easy rules and good crunchy decisions.
Thanks, Karen! That warms my heart to hear about your 89yo father playing Cascadia, that's just awesome.
An EXCELLENT review of a fantastic game. One thing I love about this review is that I don't feel like you are over hyping this game. You're not wrapped up in it, you're presenting a flatout opinion about it with no pretence.
After playing Cascadia once I definitely knew I needed to add it to the collection, so thanks for introducing the game to me!
Thanks, Braiden! I worried it might come across like a little too much, but I just think it does so many things well. Happy to hear about how much you enjoy it too.
Just got this game, great review sir!
Hats off to a great game from a perspective we don't often see. I'd actually be interested in seeing more under the hood stuff with regards to game design.
As far as Cascadia goes, it's the new gateway game I'd recommend to new players, in the same breath as Ticket to Ride and Carcassonne. It's gonna even take Azul's place and bump it off to the gateway+ tier. It's a classic.
I have a couple of nitpicks which I'll happily discuss over on AYCB's discord server (hint hint nudge nudge, join the discord server, they have delicious cookies!)
Thanks, Dino! You might get an extra cookie for that one 😉
I’ve wanted to ply this ever since I first saw it. Something about making one pick that gives you two things that builds a tableau really appeals to me. I even think there is an outside chance I could find other players.
Exactly! The way those 2 options combine - the habitat tile and the wildlife token - always makes it a tough decision. Cascadia feels like it could end up being one of the most "agreeable" games in someone's collection, if you know what I mean. That game that nobody will ever turn down or complain about... might not be anyone's favourite but you play it a lot because it's the one game that everyone communally enjoys most.
Ecosystem card game with a bag mechanic. Looks good. Thanks for the video.
No problem, thanks for watching!
After much hesitation, I finally ordered Cascadia! It’s due to arrive in a few days and I look forward to trying it. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this game vs Meadow. Meadow is my new favorite game and while the gameplay of Meadow and Cascadia appear to be very different, I do see some similarities. Both are lighter weight, nature-themed, have a bit of randomness in terms of what cards/tiles come out, and require some tough decision-making. Meadow has been that game that I play over and over again attempting to better my score. It’s my “just one more time” game! I’ve only had it for three weeks and I’ve already played over 20 times. I look forward to seeing how Cascadia stacks up although based on your review, I think I’m going to love it!
Meadow is one that I think Dylann was looking to buy at some point. If not, maybe we'll try it out at a local game store or some other place, we definitely want to try it and if we get our hands on a copy we'll definitely talk about it on the channel at some point. I was somewhat interested in it before but seeing you gush about it like this has moved it up the list for me!
Easily one of the best of 2021 for me. I love it! Max currently owns it, but I fully expect to buy my own copy once it becomes more widely available!
Why buy your own copy when you can wait for Max to inevitably cull his? 😁
I bought this game for a family Christmas gift and we haven't played it yet. Maybe this coming weekend!
I hope you enjoy it!
I think this seals the deal for me. Definitely going to buy this now.
Knowing what you think of Carcassonne, I think you'll really like Cascadia. Not as interactive as Carc but still great for different reasons.
@@AllYouCanBoard that was kind of where my thoughts went as well.
Good video. I have wanted to get this game, but I’m growing overly tired of victory point calculations at the end of a game. I prefer games that end other ways such as objective based or a race to a certain score. I really like the theme of this game, but from reading the rules it feels like a the trend that I’m disliking. I wonder how you feel about the end game scoring on this one. But, I do realize I’m somewhat a minority in my feelings towards game end conditions. I really like game end conditions from games like these: The Crew, Istanbul, El Dorado, Race of the Galaxy, Marvel Champions, Pandemic, Viticulture, Undaunted, Whitehall Mystery, Santorini, etc.. I have also wanted to get Renature, but worry I will dislike the scoring.
Thanks! And that's fair about the scoring. Leaving the scoring until the end makes it so that if you're losing by a lot, you only find out at the end, which has some pros and cons. You won't feel out of it early on, but at the same time that can make it tough to know where you stand and what you have to do to get back in it. Overall, I like the way the scoring works in this. There are different categories and it never feels like you can do everything you want.
I agree with you though, I really like it when games find other ways to end and/or determine a winner and you've given a bunch of great examples of that. I REALLY like Renature, and in that one most of the scoring happens during the game, only some of it is left to the end, and I have no issues at all with scoring in that game.
@@AllYouCanBoard Thanks so much for your reply. I haven't played Renature yet, i want to. I have Mexica, which i guess is it's big brother (or sister, whichever) and I like that a lot. The scoring feels focused and not all over the place, which gives it a good visible strategy. I'm guessing Renature probably feels the same.
I'm going to have to suck it up and order this one. My family loves Calico so I know this would be a hit as well.
Oh definitely, this one's much more laid back and less frustrating than Calico, but it still gives you a lot to think about. Both games are really good and they're different enough that I'm glad I own both.
I just bought it and can’t wait to play it today!
I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!
@@AllYouCanBoard I do! I can’t wait to play it again! 👍
We love love cascadia! Definitely a new modern classic! My biggest gripe is the player count. It's such a great family game I wish more people could play. I've considered buying a second game to combine them for a larger player count option.
Hmm, I suppose it could work with extra tiles but it might throw off the balance of all the habitat and wildlife amounts, and even the end game scoring for the habitats, I'm not sure how it would even work with more than 4 players. It might even work better to just play two separate games with separate copies if you have that many people, rather than combining them and playing all together.
@@AllYouCanBoard I agree. Which is why I never pulled the trigger because at that rate we could just be playing different games. Sigh.
How does this compare with Overboss which has a similar mechanism. Which do you like better?
Overboss is good, I like it but I don't love it the same way I love Cascadia. Overboss is more similar to Calico because they have a specific board with a certain number of tiles you have to place (12 in Overboss, and I think around 23 in Calico), and in Cascadia you have complete freedom to build wherever you want, in any direction with any tile. I think Calico does the limited space thing better and I like it quite a bit more than Overboss, but I still like Cascadia more than Calico. It's just so relaxing and enjoyable to play but still gives you a lot to consider on every turn.
@@AllYouCanBoard Thanks for your reply. I made a conscious decision to buy Overboss instead of Cascadia due to the theme and thinking the mechanics are the same. Are you planning to keep both in your collection or now that you have Cascadia, will you the cull Overboss from your collection?
@@meeplechat5046 I actually don't own Overboss. If you've seen it on the shelf behind me - that's Dylann's copy and it made his top 50 games of all-time recently. I've just played his copy a couple times, but I have no plans to get Overboss.
I was undecided on this one till now. Looks like a safe buy. 👍
Definitely a safe buy. Even if it doesn't end up as one of your favourites, I think most people will at least enjoy it, if not love it.
Great job!
Thanks, Scott!
Love this game. I find it simple to grasp and difficult to master. A great teach and an overall fun experience
Yeah, they executed perfectly on what they were trying to do with this game. Relaxing and very puzzly.
Okay, you sold me.
I will get a copy.
My GF gave me a choice at Pax, Parks or Cascadia. I can't wait to add Cascadia to my collection though. lol
Parks is pretty good, I just tried it on BGA recently, but I think I like Cascadia more.
@@AllYouCanBoard I just liked the illustrations on Parks better, but haven't gotten the chance to play Cascadia yet. Hopefully soon! XD
Great game. We really enjoy it
One of my favourite games of last year, if only there were copies in stock :(
Yeah it keeps selling out even after it restocks. Don't worry though, I imagine they will keep reprinting the game as long as it keeps selling so well. So you might have to wait but you should be able to get a copy, hopefully soon!
@@AllYouCanBoard Yep I'm waiting patiently haha. Until then can still play it on tts at least.
I'm hoping my lgs gets this game in again it was gone before I had a chance 😔
It's in really high demand right now but if you check boardgameoracle.com you can see if it's in stock anywhere in your region. Either way, I think they'll keep reprinting this game for a while because it's going to continue to sell. So even if it takes a while, you'll get a copy eventually, hopefully soon!
Love the entangled decision-making in this game.
Not as agonizing as Calico in terms of feeling crunched on space, but love that each decision is difficult but important.
Wish the player count could accommodate 5 or 6 though. Need more lazy-susan games like planet unknown for simultaneous drafting.
Well said! Definitely not as brutal as Calico. Different games for different occasions, both excellent, but so far I'm liking Cascadia a bit more.
Also - I backed Planet Unknown and will definitely feature it on the channel once I get it and play it a bunch.