I enjoyed Earth, but Earth is a mess as well. Both these statements are true. Its a great sandbox engine builder and you can do a lot in it, but its such a messy game in many regards. Fun, enjoyable and clever, but just a little sloppy in places for me to truly adore.
I love the mess. I have a habit of saying "oooh I don't really care if I win" because I'm a liar, and while I'd like about Earth too, the last time I ended up playing twenty event cards, dropping asteroids and comets and supernovas on my island and the play group couldn't stop laughing.
Like this game a lot, but I do believe it suffers from a lack of player interaction still. It's a good thing everyone plays at the same time as the active player though. Curious to see what the expansion will offer too as it was just announced.
I know you aren’t an Ares Expedition fan. I’m a huge fan of it. I just kept thinking “I wish I was playing Ares Expedition”. Ares scratches the same itch as this one does. I’m sure you have one that scratches one too
Earth is very interesting to me. I like it for sure. But your points are very valid. It feels very open. Which is both good and bad, depending on how you see it and what you like in a game. It's mostly good for me. It feels good building a good engine; and when your cards come together well. It sorta fits nicely in between Wingspan and Ark Nova. I do think those two are better designed games overall, but Earth still has a place in my collection.
This is my wife's favorite game. It's one of my favs. I can look past the chaos since I got so many plays under my belt. I know what cards to gun for. I know what colors to major in. There's something mechanically well going on in this game when you familiarize the ins and outs of some cards and realize which combo best together.
Reminds me a bit of Meadow, which I was bored of after 2 plays. This definitely seems more interesting and deep than meadow, but would I rather play it over Gizmos or Furnace? Or something richer like Terraforming Mars? Probably not.
It's a strictly worse race for the galaxy, isn't it? I'm not sure even the iconography is better. Maybe a better theme/look, but it's stock photos, not art. At least it's brighter? Like others have said, though, race for the galaxy is so good that a strictly worse version can still be quite fun.
I dunno, race is just a much tighter game, but i also feel like its one where i cant really experiment much. Earth is just damned wide open with its combos and scoring, i feel both can exist. But i doubt the same people will like both. But just being a worse race? Nah, its too weird and wibbly for that
Played Earth a bunch on BGA, played a friend's copy once last year. So much of it felt like reinventing Race for the Galaxy to me, but if the cards were all devoid of personality and the action selection mechanism was more blunt. Every card feels so average that if I asked someone "What is your favorite card in this game?", they might not actually have an answer, or misremember the name. Doesn't help that you draw a billion cards every game and your starting setup is euro game mad libs. I shouldn't be too harsh though, I would gladly play Earth over a lot of other games that come out these days. Its proximity to Race for the Galaxy (my #3 game) makes me more willing to play it while also being more critical of it.
I definitely agree most of the cards are not very exciting by themselves. Ark Nova has cards you look for, and are excited to get when going for certain strategies. However, I do still think it's satisfying chaining all the cards together, even if all the individual effects are small. When you find all the right number of small effects and put them together you can do a lot.
Love this game, easily top 5 for me. It plays excellent at 2-5, comes in right at an hour for all player counts, +/- 10 min depending on each players AP.
Chaos is right. Nothing particularly great imo about this engine builder that others don’t also do, and this game has that race to the end and gets points for doing it which isn’t fun imo. I didn’t see the mass appeal of this game. It’s fine, and I’d play it, but I’ll just as easy look at someone’s shelf and say oh what about that one instead.
Plus each card has so many symbols and colours and factors to consider, and your hand size can easily get ludicrous. It's very easy to get overwhelmed if you're trying to optimise or strategise.
I hated this, the action selection felt really boring and obvious and running the engine fiddly and tedious. Everyone heads down with the simultaneous play, might as well have been playing a solo game. I’d rather watch an England football match… ok maybe not.
@@VoidVerification I think that is a bit harsh. I think the designers where going for an eco ethos oriented game. To mean about our personal connections to the environment. So it’s more personal than traditional oppositional games. It is an engine oriented game, for sure. So the programming or auto of the game is based on your personal tablue construction. So maybe from that your seeing the issue? But I would give the game a few goes before making ones mind up on your stance with it.
Yeah, i dont think its pure multiplayer solitaire at all. I very much kept and eye on what others were doing when it came to placing actions and what i chose. There is a ton of busy work, but i definitely felt the other players decisions impacting me. Merchants cove or railroad inc it was not.
I enjoyed Earth, but Earth is a mess as well. Both these statements are true. Its a great sandbox engine builder and you can do a lot in it, but its such a messy game in many regards. Fun, enjoyable and clever, but just a little sloppy in places for me to truly adore.
I love the mess. I have a habit of saying "oooh I don't really care if I win" because I'm a liar, and while I'd like about Earth too, the last time I ended up playing twenty event cards, dropping asteroids and comets and supernovas on my island and the play group couldn't stop laughing.
I enjoyed this video more than I did playing Earth.
Lol, thanks Jacob
Fantastic Factories is my king for simultaneous tableau engines
Me and the Mrs love Earth. Nice review as always mate.
Like this game a lot, but I do believe it suffers from a lack of player interaction still. It's a good thing everyone plays at the same time as the active player though.
Curious to see what the expansion will offer too as it was just announced.
I know you aren’t an Ares Expedition fan. I’m a huge fan of it. I just kept thinking “I wish I was playing Ares Expedition”. Ares scratches the same itch as this one does. I’m sure you have one that scratches one too
Me too! Much prefer AE.
Had a fun time with this one for similar reasons but yeah goes a little long for the experience, even at 2p.
Earth is very interesting to me. I like it for sure. But your points are very valid. It feels very open. Which is both good and bad, depending on how you see it and what you like in a game. It's mostly good for me. It feels good building a good engine; and when your cards come together well. It sorta fits nicely in between Wingspan and Ark Nova. I do think those two are better designed games overall, but Earth still has a place in my collection.
This is my wife's favorite game. It's one of my favs. I can look past the chaos since I got so many plays under my belt. I know what cards to gun for. I know what colors to major in. There's something mechanically well going on in this game when you familiarize the ins and outs of some cards and realize which combo best together.
Reminds me a bit of Meadow, which I was bored of after 2 plays. This definitely seems more interesting and deep than meadow, but would I rather play it over Gizmos or Furnace? Or something richer like Terraforming Mars? Probably not.
It's a strictly worse race for the galaxy, isn't it? I'm not sure even the iconography is better. Maybe a better theme/look, but it's stock photos, not art. At least it's brighter?
Like others have said, though, race for the galaxy is so good that a strictly worse version can still be quite fun.
I dunno, race is just a much tighter game, but i also feel like its one where i cant really experiment much. Earth is just damned wide open with its combos and scoring, i feel both can exist. But i doubt the same people will like both. But just being a worse race? Nah, its too weird and wibbly for that
I'm still lost and confused 😂 I need to be on Mars or other unknown planet
Earth or It's a Wonderful World?
Its a wonderful world, easily. I love that game. Earth i think is a fun mess for now, but i suspect it won't stay around forever
Played Earth a bunch on BGA, played a friend's copy once last year. So much of it felt like reinventing Race for the Galaxy to me, but if the cards were all devoid of personality and the action selection mechanism was more blunt. Every card feels so average that if I asked someone "What is your favorite card in this game?", they might not actually have an answer, or misremember the name. Doesn't help that you draw a billion cards every game and your starting setup is euro game mad libs.
I shouldn't be too harsh though, I would gladly play Earth over a lot of other games that come out these days. Its proximity to Race for the Galaxy (my #3 game) makes me more willing to play it while also being more critical of it.
Nothing you said is inaccurate, its a mess. Yet somehow, i still had fun with it ;) I'm not sure its a keeper though, for all those reasons.
@@3MBG I like a good mess sometimes. That's why I own Millennium Blades! And Antiquity! And Mage Knight!
I definitely agree most of the cards are not very exciting by themselves. Ark Nova has cards you look for, and are excited to get when going for certain strategies. However, I do still think it's satisfying chaining all the cards together, even if all the individual effects are small. When you find all the right number of small effects and put them together you can do a lot.
Love this game, easily top 5 for me. It plays excellent at 2-5, comes in right at an hour for all player counts, +/- 10 min depending on each players AP.
Love this game, easily top 5 for me.
Chaos is right. Nothing particularly great imo about this engine builder that others don’t also do, and this game has that race to the end and gets points for doing it which isn’t fun imo. I didn’t see the mass appeal of this game. It’s fine, and I’d play it, but I’ll just as easy look at someone’s shelf and say oh what about that one instead.
I don't think I've actually heard the AP-inducing criticism elsewhere. I'd like to try this one at some point and see for myself
There's just such an open decision space.
Plus each card has so many symbols and colours and factors to consider, and your hand size can easily get ludicrous. It's very easy to get overwhelmed if you're trying to optimise or strategise.
I hated this, the action selection felt really boring and obvious and running the engine fiddly and tedious. Everyone heads down with the simultaneous play, might as well have been playing a solo game. I’d rather watch an England football match… ok maybe not.
Lol, brutal
The expansion does introduce interaction to the game, if that helps. But I get it, that it’s multiplayer solitaire...
It would multiplayer solitaire if I actually played it myself. It just feels like I am administering a game that plays itself.
@@VoidVerification I think that is a bit harsh. I think the designers where going for an eco ethos oriented game. To mean about our personal connections to the environment. So it’s more personal than traditional oppositional games. It is an engine oriented game, for sure. So the programming or auto of the game is based on your personal tablue construction. So maybe from that your seeing the issue? But I would give the game a few goes before making ones mind up on your stance with it.
Yeah, i dont think its pure multiplayer solitaire at all. I very much kept and eye on what others were doing when it came to placing actions and what i chose. There is a ton of busy work, but i definitely felt the other players decisions impacting me.
Merchants cove or railroad inc it was not.