I had already made my decision and backed this yesterday, but really glad to see another excellent video playthrough from you two. This seems like a deceptively simple game to teach and play but with great depth of strategy.
Gorgeous art direction by Ian. Looks like a fun variation on Blue Lagoon. I like the seals and the necessity to reach your colored track. Makes blocking and placement intriguing.
At 18:23 does Naveen take two actions in a row? He placed an envoy with a seal, then says he needs to get a bonus and places another envoy but the only bonus space he hit was the 3 additional points. Did a turn just get skipped? Oh actually, after rewatching it, it looks like he takes back that turn. You can see that the envoy he placed with the seal is removed, the disc moved back down, and his score drops back 3 points.
Definitely didn't recognize some crucial spots to both help myself and block Monique off at the same time. Whenever she took a key spot I was kicking myself!
Interesting, thanks! We really like Blue Lagoon, even with just two players. So I like this a lot, though I can see your point about how open it is. Have you enjoyed your two-player games despite the different feel from higher player counts?
Also, I understand if you aren’t at liberty to say. :) I must say, Naveen…when we play Blue Lagoon, I have the same issue. My husband will be laying the groundwork for some huge network and I will suddenly go “wait, what just happened?” 😂 I don’t always look for those blocking moments, but I can see how this one would necessitate it
Hi Alicia! We both really enjoy Blue Lagoon especially at 3-4 players. We can't fully give an opinion as this is a sponsored video. I will say that in a 2 player game (the only count we were able to get tabled) it felt like you really had to keep track of your opponents options. Trying to prevent them from snatching up all the seals is super important.
at the 12:05 mark, do you only count your groups that are next to the town for scoring? I thought it was 2 orange groups + 1 blue group + herald = 4 bumps
NVM I got my question answered -- its its 1 bump if its the first group or 2 if there's someone else adjacent to it, never more than 2 unless there is a herald
Hi there, during this moment I (Naveen) needed an extra bump on the pink track in order to land on the 3 Pts space. Since I was one short, my piece had to end on the highest space of the previous section. Hope that makes sense!
Those three games are all more restrictive as to where you can place your next tile and spread out from. I would also say that they are all less complex than Cascadero. Cascadero lets you place a tile on any open space on the map, but it brings an added layer of considerations with the tracks and combos. Much of the game is about timing when to make connections with specific towns to trigger timely advancements and combos on the tracks. Imo, because of the unique interplay between the tracks and the map, it doesn't feel like any other tile layer out there.
I also get a feel of Ticket to Ride in this game with connecting routes & scoring points, along with aiming to have "longest contiguous track" in a sense with linking the 3 same town colors. All of those decisions point to the timing on WHEN to place and WHERE. Considering if this would replace TTR for me 🤔
No player boards, lots of meeples, simple rules, network...I see no reason not to back this. Literally none. The question is whether to get the deluxe components or not XD
The game is little to simple for me to back. The farmers variant looks like a must. But i rather just play hansa tetonica that does what this game does on steroids...
I think this game is only good with 4, but also i hate games that are races and if you know you can't catch up then there's no point to continue playing So i will pass on this one
Thanks for checking it out, there's also a roll 'n write version of the game which we made a video for. If you want to watch it, the link is in the description.
@@BeforeYouPlay yeah, maybe that, thank you. I just not feeling good about these tactic placing, positioning etc (heart of the game) - it's coming from abstracts and Dr Knizia really like these mechanics. Sigh
@@BeforeYouPlay no need to apologize it’s just a game. Just putting my thoughts out there that Knizia games can be bland. I like how Naveen adds the thematic ties in even though its pretty hard to do with knizia games.
@@WarIsNoMoreCold it’s possible to have minimalistic mechanics and have a theme integrated in a balanced way. Theme is so thin with his games that you could change it to many different things and the game would still work the same. That’s how it’s bland.
Check out their campaign here! - www.kickstarter.com/projects/bitewinggamesnick/cascadero-and-cascadito-zoo-vadis
I like naveen’s role as the “theme reminder” here
You guys are so likeable! My wife and I check your videos first, before playing a new game. Keep up that great content!
This game looks very elegant. I love this video. Love you channel!
I had already made my decision and backed this yesterday, but really glad to see another excellent video playthrough from you two. This seems like a deceptively simple game to teach and play but with great depth of strategy.
The return of Reiner's hexes! Count me in ❤
It's a Reinerssance, baby!
Gorgeous art direction by Ian. Looks like a fun variation on Blue Lagoon. I like the seals and the necessity to reach your colored track. Makes blocking and placement intriguing.
Such a breezy looking euro. Love it!
At 18:23 does Naveen take two actions in a row? He placed an envoy with a seal, then says he needs to get a bonus and places another envoy but the only bonus space he hit was the 3 additional points. Did a turn just get skipped?
Oh actually, after rewatching it, it looks like he takes back that turn. You can see that the envoy he placed with the seal is removed, the disc moved back down, and his score drops back 3 points.
yeah, but its definitely missing a part where he explains he is taking it back, or they forget to cut the 1st play
Got some heavy Cube Rails vibes from this one... (I love cube rails, so thats not a bad thing lol)
Excellent coverage again guys :)
Thank you so much!
I thought Naveen was going for a surround at the start. I would love to see how this plays out with more players I'm sure it gets crowded fast.
Definitely didn't recognize some crucial spots to both help myself and block Monique off at the same time. Whenever she took a key spot I was kicking myself!
Before You Play + Knizia? Name a better combo.
Reiner Knizia and Ian O'toole? Shut up and take my money :D Nah, let me watch this playthrough just to be sure.
Haha!! Hope the video will help you make your decision!
cool
Wow. what a great game. I am in.
Wow, Monique kicked your butt! Great playthrough. :)
Interesting, thanks! We really like Blue Lagoon, even with just two players. So I like this a lot, though I can see your point about how open it is. Have you enjoyed your two-player games despite the different feel from higher player counts?
Also, I understand if you aren’t at liberty to say. :) I must say, Naveen…when we play Blue Lagoon, I have the same issue. My husband will be laying the groundwork for some huge network and I will suddenly go “wait, what just happened?” 😂 I don’t always look for those blocking moments, but I can see how this one would necessitate it
Hi Alicia! We both really enjoy Blue Lagoon especially at 3-4 players. We can't fully give an opinion as this is a sponsored video. I will say that in a 2 player game (the only count we were able to get tabled) it felt like you really had to keep track of your opponents options. Trying to prevent them from snatching up all the seals is super important.
@@BeforeYouPlay thanks, that is helpful!
at the 12:05 mark, do you only count your groups that are next to the town for scoring? I thought it was 2 orange groups + 1 blue group + herald = 4 bumps
NVM I got my question answered -- its its 1 bump if its the first group or 2 if there's someone else adjacent to it, never more than 2 unless there is a herald
You got it! 👍@@benhsu42
In Latam cascar means "to beat someone up", my mental image of "cascadero" was certainly different
9:00 Did Naveen make that move just for demonstration purposes? Or did he not see how it could help Monique?
at 11:45 shouldn't Naveen have gotten 3 point as well?
Hi there, during this moment I (Naveen) needed an extra bump on the pink track in order to land on the 3 Pts space. Since I was one short, my piece had to end on the highest space of the previous section. Hope that makes sense!
Not a game for us, but fun playthrough!
How does this compare to other similar games?
Blue Lagoon
Kingdom Builder
Through the Desert
Those three games are all more restrictive as to where you can place your next tile and spread out from. I would also say that they are all less complex than Cascadero.
Cascadero lets you place a tile on any open space on the map, but it brings an added layer of considerations with the tracks and combos. Much of the game is about timing when to make connections with specific towns to trigger timely advancements and combos on the tracks. Imo, because of the unique interplay between the tracks and the map, it doesn't feel like any other tile layer out there.
I also get a feel of Ticket to Ride in this game with connecting routes & scoring points, along with aiming to have "longest contiguous track" in a sense with linking the 3 same town colors. All of those decisions point to the timing on WHEN to place and WHERE.
Considering if this would replace TTR for me 🤔
Yew
No player boards, lots of meeples, simple rules, network...I see no reason not to back this. Literally none. The question is whether to get the deluxe components or not XD
Ian…Mmmm
Crazy how talented Ian O'toole is!!
The game is little to simple for me to back. The farmers variant looks like a must. But i rather just play hansa tetonica that does what this game does on steroids...
In this game you play as the government's PR/Spin team spreading propaganda. The best propagandist wins! lol
Haha pretty much 🤣
I think this game is only good with 4, but also i hate games that are races and if you know you can't catch up then there's no point to continue playing
So i will pass on this one
hm..didn't like it, but thanks
Thanks for checking it out, there's also a roll 'n write version of the game which we made a video for. If you want to watch it, the link is in the description.
@@BeforeYouPlay yeah, maybe that, thank you. I just not feeling good about these tactic placing, positioning etc (heart of the game) - it's coming from abstracts and Dr Knizia really like these mechanics. Sigh
It's really annoying that Ian O'toole puts a grainy, textured look on EVERYTHING. It looks like it got all scraped up. Hack.
Another bland Knizia game.
Sorry this one isn't for you. 😢
@@BeforeYouPlay no need to apologize it’s just a game. Just putting my thoughts out there that Knizia games can be bland. I like how Naveen adds the thematic ties in even though its pretty hard to do with knizia games.
I think Knizia is a very minimalistic designer rather than bland, so he adds theme just enough to help you remember stuff. It surely works.
@@WarIsNoMoreCold it’s possible to have minimalistic mechanics and have a theme integrated in a balanced way. Theme is so thin with his games that you could change it to many different things and the game would still work the same. That’s how it’s bland.
@@ctvisions if that's what you mean with bland than I love bland games. Knizia is the game designer that I have the most games in my collection.