hello just a suggestion, ive been following this channel since a very long time. im wondering why haven't you categorised a playlist for all the games you have given seal of excellence. people into this hobby would love to see that.
It's not based on Russia; it's based on Poland - it's culture, history, landscapes and national wearings. Painter is Polish and his artworks are remakes of one of the famous Polish painters like Chełmoński.
I would argue it's more of a broad stroke covering most Slavic cultures and landscapes, including old Crimea, westernmost Russia, Ukraine, Poland, etc... See Boris Olshankiy, Aleksandr Averyanov, Aleksey Yevstigneyev, etc...
jmwild1 According to the creator of this universe, 1920+, it is based in the Republic of Polonia. With the Saxony Empire in the west, Nordic Alliance to the north, Rusviet Union to the east and Tartar Cossacks (not sure about that name) to the south. I think it's safe to say we're talking about Poland here.
The Republic of Polonia is not in the center of the board, it is on the outskirts along with all the other regions. Tesla's factory is in the center. And with the expansion you add Japanese and Scottish(?) influences, also on the outskirts. It's based on an alternate "1920s Europa". We're talking mostly central and eastern Europe, before the Invaders from Afar expansion came along. We're not talking about present national boundaries, we're talking a broad range of cultures with many similarities. You'll have to cite where the creator of this universe said the game is based entirely on Poland.
10:52 Pardon me if I'm wrong, but I think that the amount of cards you can play in the battle is tied to the amount of units you have in that battle (units being mechs+hero).
1st play through last night... Steeeeep learning curve for us (Didn't watch this before play) But after you get the turns/mechanics down... This game is a MASTERPIECE!!! A+ Highly Recommended
I almost feel like this game should be judged as a work of art rather than a game, it's so beautiful. Give me Scythe Legacy so I can hang a messed up alternate history Europe on my wall!
Quick note for viewers. That end game tile shown about 4:45 indicates points for every structure built *ON* a tunnel (hence the arrow). There is a different one for structures built adjacent to tunnels. Edit: Oops! Ninjaed by Tom. I paused two seconds too soon. haha
Agreed! I hate these parts of the videos and I don't know why they do it! In real life, any game owner would skin you alive for doing that, lol. And I always wonder who cleans that up and reorganizes it. Probably not Tom; maybe he has unpaid interns and this whole tradition is just to torture them.
I played Gloomhaven with a friend last week and afterwards found the Dice Tower and Shut Up and Sit Down. There are like 10 different expensive games I want now and the list keeps growing, somebody help me.
Ask yourself how likely you are to play a certain game and how likely you want to play a game and then narrow down your collection and whenever you see a nice new game, ask yourself how likely you are to play that game.
should mention that none of the kickstarter stuff is exclusive. you can buy the basic retail version then buy any of the upgrades individually thru stonemeyer.
Well, I think the board extension is a necessary buy for the game. It makes the tiles larger. I recommend that as a must buy if you have the table space.
I was playing Scythe with couple of folks around the globe last night and they loved this board game. I am even thinking to buy it to play it with my wife and my friends
I played Scythe at a local board game group. At first it was very confusing to learn how to play, though after a few turns I got the hang of it. The pros are that the mech concept is very fun and the turns are very simple- choose your action for that turn and you can go while someone else is still playing, so you're not waiting long periods of time for someone else to go. The end game conditions are also something I've never seen before which I love. However, the game is very long- as someone who's more of a casual gamer I'm not into the heavy Eurogames that take close to 2 hours to play. I also forgot to use most of my card effects and my special ability because I spent a lot of time just collecting resources and figuring out the best strategy. I'd play again for the fun factor but the length of play isn't my style.
It's not often I get to play a game before the Dice Tower reviews it, but did this time. I had heard of it, not much, there was a Dice Tower video a short time back where Sam said he got to play this I think at a convention, and gave a short opinion on it. This last Monday, at my board game meetup, 1 guy who doesn't come regularly, maybe once every 5 weeks or so, had this at his table. I saw it and sad right away, "I wanna play that!" And so we did. We played a 4 player game but 1 player left 2/3 the way through. I attacked folks early, and spent too much power(?) and then got attacked and lost which set me back, losing the game in last place. I liked the game, but the mines/caves reminded me of Small World's caves, and don't like those. This is not a bad mechanic, but just one I dislike, it's a strategy I find more difficult to consider, remember, and plan for. If the caves weren't in the game, my rank would increase by 19 points on my top 100. But as is, it's currently my 56th favorite game.
how strong is interaction level between players? from review I imagine that anyone does turn for himself, eg. like Agricola no special interaction at all.
When you have enlisted something, you also get the benefit when you take that bottom action too, not just your neighbors. Thats why theres 3 dudes on the picture for enlisting
It was even better than we expected and when a friend who loves co-op games but not so much this style of game had his head explode at how good it was...it's good. I think the comparison with 7 Wonders is apt in that there are lots of differing actions(cf cards) that you can do but not that many and once you start playing you get the jist of them...but with each action costing different for each faction/player card it get more interesting. Having to think 3 or 4 moves ahead is chess like and the game doesn't invite combat due to loss in popularity and also the size of map where you can avoid combat if you want. Also the spread of your meeples and areas is slow which again is great as it means you are individually controlling your gains. It does pull together aspects of many different games into one that works with all of them and why not? It works so well and with the random player cards to go with factions means you'll take a whiole to even get the 'right' strategy. Brilliant game and a perfectly run Kickstarter which should be acknowledged as well.
your eclipse review was similar. euro-ish with a bit of combat. after the review eclipse got a lot of negative criticism from you and the rest of the dice tower team. now with a similar low combat game as far as i heard, you are all happy. did your taste changed?
Debating whether to by scythe next or underwater cities. Will mostly be playing two player. Was given terraforming mars recently and really enjoy it. Which one should I buy next?
That's simply because he liked Cry Havoc even more. He even said it's his favorite game of 2016 so far. But ultimately I think Cry Havoc is also the sort of game he generally enjoys more. So it really depends on what you like, I guess.
My two player games were excellent. I've played adjacent for instant confrontation and on opposite sides for a parallel play experience. The wife loves playing as Poland.
Scythe. Already predicting HUGE sales of this one, everyone who played it is going bonkers about it. I gotta get it... Call me up some Mechs, I'm going to conquer a few territories while I gather up the cash to get this one.. :P
Sam discussed this on a Convention video, I think. He liked it, and said he needs to watch the other players more closely than he initially thought. I also think Zee liked it too. I just can't remember which video they talked about it.
In fact, Sam even declared it his favorite game of June in the Board Blender Best of the Month Video. Of course it would still have been great to get a comprehensive account of his opinion. Maybe they Lack the time for Miami Dice in Convention season?
So this game seems pretty awesome and I'm seriously considering buying it. However, my group has recently started playing Twilight Imperium and I'm concerned that after playing that, Scythe will simply not hit the table when we could play Twilight Imperium. Should I still get Scythe?
I've heard twilight imperium is a pretty long game. Scythe usually takes my game group only 3 hours to play, so maybe if you want a shorter game than twilight imperium which is still pretty fun, you could get scythe.
Scythe is the one of the finest board games ever made. Every time the game plays differently if you choose your factions and player boards randomly. There are many paths to victory. Rozalskis art is damn pretty. About that combat... there is not a lot of it. (You will take in a part like 1-3 combats in a game.) But there is no stupid dice rolling. You have to make correct choices when to fight AND how much to invest in that battle. This game really shines in engine building. Every turn you have at least some (good) options to choose from what to do. The game is well balanced (only some minor complaints here and in this area Scythe will beat every game that FFG or say like GW has EVER released). The miniatures for the leaders are beautiful (mechs could be better looking). I highly recommend this game. 5/5 after 10+ play times.
It has bit steep learning curve (too many elements to explain before the game), but after that actual gameplay is not that hard. Biggest issue with my group was difference between nations (even when explained few times, people were still constantly surprised why somebody can move&build while they can only do move&deploy). It is simplier than Terra Mystica, Eclipse, Caverna, but more complex than Lords of Waterdeep.
Hmm, that sounds about right for what I was expecting. In terms of teaching new players, about how long would you say it would take to explain the rules? It took me about an hour to teach the Game of Thrones board game. That's the most complicated game that my group has tackled so far.
It should be similar. Took me probably 35-45 minutes to explain to group of quite experienced players, so up to 1 hour for less experienced sounds about right.
I've taught this game 3 times and I've gotten down to 20 mins. Explain all the actions on the board and show how it works on the board, then cover combat and scoring.
I've taught 17 people how to play this game now, some hadn't played anything more complex than Monopoly, and one person who hated board games (she went on to become our MVP and changed her tune about tabletop games). Scythe takes about 20-30 minutes to explain all the rules and the first game tends to be a little... 'free-floating' for beginners because there are SO many options they just don't know how to focus. But the game play itself is VERY fluid and on subsequent games everyone figures out real quick that they need to pick just a few things to focus on. I'd compare it to teaching Catan with Cities & Knights/Seafarers all at once, except Scythe feels less panicky - that is, until someone is down to their last star. :)
Looks quite interesting. I wonder how the solo game is honestly. I don't play many of them because I enjoy social interaction, but there have been a few that I've tried just for fun and found "decent." Overall, may have to go on my "want" list. Great review Tom.
I LOVE Scythe but I HATE some aesthetic/thematic details on it: 1) the ''Mine'' building should be renamed to ''Rails'' and been replaced by a steampunk train model! period! 2) the ''Popularity''symbol/token should be replaced by a crown symbol/token (heart is irrelevant for the game's theme) 3) the generic action pawn of the faction should be replaced by a small flag with the icon of the faction 4) the ''Upgrade'' cubes should be replaced by gears just like the icon itself 5) the ''Enlist'' action should be renamed to ''Medal'' and the tokens should be replaced by badges with 4 different ranks just like the ''Enlist'' symbol itself 6) the ''Army'' ugly insectoid symbols/tokens should be replaced by bullets symbols/tokens 7) Factions should have their own unique Monuments 8) Factory actions cards should be made by the same exact materials of the players boards so to fit exactly in the board like a fifth action 9) Armory should be replaced by a small factory building I m building my own deluxe Scythe version :)
Why steampunk? It's not the right era and The Factory was built by Tesla. There is no steam engine in this world. As for the rest, I'm really intrigued. I hope you post pictures of your monuments someplace. (I think the word is oilpunk but I'm not sure)
@@Yatsura2 Nope. you have Clockpunk in the Renaissance, Steampunk in the Victorian Era, Dieselpunk between the two wars, then Atompunk, etc. No steam and no victorian = no steampunk Scythe is dieselpunk, that's the word I was looking for when I wrote this comment.
@@Yatsura2 Wow so much class... sure you’ll never hear these words if you keep calling any sci-fi subgenres « steampunk ». You might want to slow down of the « f*cks » everytime you’re proven wrong on UA-cam. It’s childish and takes away all your credibility.
Played it as at a board-game meet-up at a local cafe a couple of days ago. It was OK, but nothing special, doesn't deserve the hype for me. Combat feels like it is an afterthought it should either be beefed up or removed. The individual factions are asymmetric but found the faction forced you into a specific play style, in addition once you get your production engine up and running the games starts to play itself and you are just along for the ride.
Since watching those Abyss reviews I kinda' wanted to look at "engine building" games to see if they would have the same weird attraction.....guess not. I also think thin combat is a monstrous waste of beautiful mechs....I think I'll make another coffee and go watch Andre's review again. It's gotta' be something man, this is driving me N.V.T.S. nuts!! Worker placement.....and Mechs? Man that goes together like squash smothered in caramel....
He said right at the end that he's seriously considering keeping it in his collection...my guess is that he does...you can tell he likes it a little more than he's letting on because he doesn't want to sound like he's caught up in all the hype. He'll keep it...unless maybe Sam or some others have a copy so he may not bother keeping one for himself since the people he plays with will already have it....doesn't exactly look like a game for the family so there is no other reason to have a copy if your friends already have it.
I always cringe when I see Tom drop all of the components at the start of his reviews...especially when it's a great game with very good components. :) BTW, this game is amazing and all of the extras that came with the Kickstarter will be available. Jamey doesn't do KS'ers that have exclusive perks just for those that back it. So, if you are willing to pony up the $, you can get all of the extras that we people who backed got.
He's addressed the issues with the component drops in a board game breakfast before and has joked about it on a video where Sam go angry because he was going to drop the X Wing minis Rebel Transport. The component drop will 99% of the time do less damage than that one mildly clumsy player we all know.
The combat system is good, it becomes about bluffing and being able to make your own choice, I am sick of dice combat in games. I played Rebellion recently and the dice combat in that game was horrid and for me made the entire game awful.
It's not futile, it's just a clunky implementation. Hidden bid+random card, and loser still loses their bid. The worse type of auction games are the ones were the losers also lose their bid, and it has the same feeling here.
Note if you are the defender and you lose you get to draw another combat card so you lose only the power you selected on the dial. Many people use combats they are sure they will lose to cycle low power cards for a chance at a better one.
You don't have to even fight through an entire play through, the game isn't that heavy, it just helps you, if you don't want combat stay away from people and bribe them to stay away from you
Mechanics are different, but the overall felt pretty similar to me. Collect resources / build /unlock abilities and rush to get your stars on the board.
Cry Havoc has a ton more combat and less engine building. Tom was arguably more enthusiastic about Cry Havoc, but Cry Havoc had no hype before he played it so he was pleasantly surprised, were as nothing has had more hype than Scythe in the last year and saying this lives up to that hype is a serious compliment - even though that leaves the player feeling the game they just played met their expectations rather than exceeded them. Cry Havoc is arguably the more innovative of the two games. But then Scythe is the better produced.
Stealing stuff from games you've done before is not a bad thing *Matt leacock* cough...Thunderbirds...*cough*...like Pandemic a bit but not like Pandemic...
Any game that takes five minutes of mathematical calculations to figure out who has won is lost on me. Beautiful art and interesting figurines don't count squat if the game is so complicated that it's almost random who wins. (And why did they choose a name that no one knows how to pronounce?)
how comes nobody realize that the author broke their theme by including DOLLARS in this game!!! DAMN! it's an uchronia in eastern europe COMMON!!! this is disgusting!
This review feels forced. Is Scythe really THAT good? I've played it about 10 times and it feels so slow, the lack of combat is disappointing, and your options are so boring. By the time it is done I never feel like I've accomplished anything. The fact that you are only considering keeping it in your collection says something.
+jaxommm They're more about simpler games. Nothing against them at all it just sucks we never play games like this. We usually only have a couple hours when we do get together and they prefer to play multiple games than just one.
I'm in the same boat Chris. It's not like I can force my friends to play these type of games, that wouldn't be much fun either. I've tried for years to push heavy games like Twilight Imperium, Game of Thrones, Arkham Horror. And most of the time these games get played once or I end up giving up and putting the components back in the box before we could even get the game setup. The most complex thing I can get people excited to play is Betrayal at House on the Hill but we've played it at least 75 times so I'm pretty done with it. It's hard looking at all these incredible games sitting on my shelf knowing they aren't being touched. I feel the biggest problem is these games take time to get enthralled with, and everyone always wants to quit 15 minutes in before the meat of the game has really started and all the mechanics and moving pieces have formed what the game will be. I love the simple stuff too the Uno's and Cards Against Humanity's of the world, but I'd love to get to play something deeper.
I found another group to play with initially - but over time of slowly increasing complexity I got my main group "leveled up" and now I can bring out a heavier game here and there and they usually get finished. The other week I brought out Tzolkin for the first time (with this group) and I couldn't believe it but we finished it and peopled enjoyed it! In other words it just takes time - you have to be patient, make sure you aren't jumping too fast to the heavy games, use a lot middle-weight games - and worst comes to worst find another group (on top of your original) to play heavier games with.
Another tip is to really research and prepare the rules explanation to make it as easy as possible. I will often watch tutorial videos to see how they explain the game before tailoring it for my friends. Sometimes I will actually talk to myself and essentially rehearse lines that I will use later that day. And then also ensure that I absolutely understand every part of the game without needing the rulebook. It's a lot of work but it is a lot to ask of people who may not otherwise be inclined to these types of games.
Tom Vasel is my absolute favorite review. He tells what it is and cuts through all he BS and just tells it how it is.
hello just a suggestion, ive been following this channel since a very long time. im wondering why haven't you categorised a playlist for all the games you have given seal of excellence. people into this hobby would love to see that.
no one would watch his videos featuring bad games. Just watch em all.
I agree!
@@Itsspelledketchup he does feature bad games lol… watch his Shadow era video if you really wanna laugh
It's not based on Russia; it's based on Poland - it's culture, history, landscapes and national wearings. Painter is Polish and his artworks are remakes of one of the famous Polish painters like Chełmoński.
I also find many references to Wojciech Kossak.
I would argue it's more of a broad stroke covering most Slavic cultures and landscapes, including old Crimea, westernmost Russia, Ukraine, Poland, etc... See Boris Olshankiy, Aleksandr Averyanov, Aleksey Yevstigneyev, etc...
jmwild1 According to the creator of this universe, 1920+, it is based in the Republic of Polonia. With the Saxony Empire in the west, Nordic Alliance to the north, Rusviet Union to the east and Tartar Cossacks (not sure about that name) to the south.
I think it's safe to say we're talking about Poland here.
The Republic of Polonia is not in the center of the board, it is on the outskirts along with all the other regions. Tesla's factory is in the center. And with the expansion you add Japanese and Scottish(?) influences, also on the outskirts. It's based on an alternate "1920s Europa". We're talking mostly central and eastern Europe, before the Invaders from Afar expansion came along. We're not talking about present national boundaries, we're talking a broad range of cultures with many similarities. You'll have to cite where the creator of this universe said the game is based entirely on Poland.
The best part in that the Polish army realy have a bear name Wojtek. He carry an ammo walkin beside soldiers 😃 great story, great game!!
10:52 Pardon me if I'm wrong, but I think that the amount of cards you can play in the battle is tied to the amount of units you have in that battle (units being mechs+hero).
correct
1st play through last night... Steeeeep learning curve for us (Didn't watch this before play) But after you get the turns/mechanics down... This game is a MASTERPIECE!!! A+ Highly Recommended
Bear in the game is inspired by real 'soldier bear' from Polish army: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wojtek_(bear)
Nice info! Something to bear in mind.
I almost feel like this game should be judged as a work of art rather than a game, it's so beautiful. Give me Scythe Legacy so I can hang a messed up alternate history Europe on my wall!
Quick note for viewers. That end game tile shown about 4:45 indicates points for every structure built *ON* a tunnel (hence the arrow). There is a different one for structures built adjacent to tunnels. Edit: Oops! Ninjaed by Tom. I paused two seconds too soon. haha
So much anxiety at 1:24. I have hundreds of little baggies for pieces and man oh man.
Gonna confess--that's the biggest thing I hate about most of these game reviews. Makes me shudder!
Yet another retarded comment about anxiety..
Agreed! I hate these parts of the videos and I don't know why they do it! In real life, any game owner would skin you alive for doing that, lol. And I always wonder who cleans that up and reorganizes it. Probably not Tom; maybe he has unpaid interns and this whole tradition is just to torture them.
I agree. Every time it freaks me out. And the hammer at the end. He once split a box smacking it and I almost lost the will to live 😂
I played Gloomhaven with a friend last week and afterwards found the Dice Tower and Shut Up and Sit Down. There are like 10 different expensive games I want now and the list keeps growing, somebody help me.
Martin King Go bankrupt you will thank me later
Ask yourself how likely you are to play a certain game and how likely you want to play a game and then narrow down your collection and whenever you see a nice new game, ask yourself how likely you are to play that game.
should mention that none of the kickstarter stuff is exclusive. you can buy the basic retail version then buy any of the upgrades individually thru stonemeyer.
Stonemeir is such a smart company.
9:30 Whenever your neighbors or you take a recruit action, that you have unlocked, you get the benefit from it.
what happened to Miami dice? wouldn't you want scythe and cry havoc be reviewed by miami dice? it usually handles the major releases
I think Sam's been taking a break and doing his own thing for a bit.
3:18 I love wicked! So catchy- I'm going to be singing that all day!
I thought it was a Nada Surf reference :)
Well, I think the board extension is a necessary buy for the game. It makes the tiles larger. I recommend that as a must buy if you have the table space.
I was playing Scythe with couple of folks around the globe last night and they loved this board game. I am even thinking to buy it to play it with my wife and my friends
That Wicked shout out, 10/10.
was 3:12 a nada surf reference?? that's all i could think about!
Drakkan wicked
The exploration card mechanic seems like they'd make a great game all on their own.
I played Scythe at a local board game group. At first it was very confusing to learn how to play, though after a few turns I got the hang of it. The pros are that the mech concept is very fun and the turns are very simple- choose your action for that turn and you can go while someone else is still playing, so you're not waiting long periods of time for someone else to go. The end game conditions are also something I've never seen before which I love. However, the game is very long- as someone who's more of a casual gamer I'm not into the heavy Eurogames that take close to 2 hours to play. I also forgot to use most of my card effects and my special ability because I spent a lot of time just collecting resources and figuring out the best strategy. I'd play again for the fun factor but the length of play isn't my style.
Well it's certainly not Balloon Cup or Battle sheep. Those are quicker...
I've watched several videos about Scythe. But this video makes me want to buy it.
It's not often I get to play a game before the Dice Tower reviews it, but did this time.
I had heard of it, not much, there was a Dice Tower video a short time back where Sam said he got to play this I think at a convention, and gave a short opinion on it.
This last Monday, at my board game meetup, 1 guy who doesn't come regularly, maybe once every 5 weeks or so, had this at his table. I saw it and sad right away, "I wanna play that!" And so we did.
We played a 4 player game but 1 player left 2/3 the way through. I attacked folks early, and spent too much power(?) and then got attacked and lost which set me back, losing the game in last place.
I liked the game, but the mines/caves reminded me of Small World's caves, and don't like those. This is not a bad mechanic, but just one I dislike, it's a strategy I find more difficult to consider, remember, and plan for. If the caves weren't in the game, my rank would increase by 19 points on my top 100. But as is, it's currently my 56th favorite game.
BTW, I played with some kickstarter content. Wonderful art and components.
how strong is interaction level between players? from review I imagine that anyone does turn for himself, eg. like Agricola no special interaction at all.
0:16 Most hype in the last 365 days might not be scythe but was the multimillion dollar kickstarter for Dark Souls
Aren't they called Encounter cards and not Explorations?
When you have enlisted something, you also get the benefit when you take that bottom action too, not just your neighbors. Thats why theres 3 dudes on the picture for enlisting
Hehee when Tom sings Popular it made me so happy!! Game looks awesome I can't wait to try it out :)
I died with the Popular part
It was even better than we expected and when a friend who loves co-op games but not so much this style of game had his head explode at how good it was...it's good.
I think the comparison with 7 Wonders is apt in that there are lots of differing actions(cf cards) that you can do but not that many and once you start playing you get the jist of them...but with each action costing different for each faction/player card it get more interesting. Having to think 3 or 4 moves ahead is chess like and the game doesn't invite combat due to loss in popularity and also the size of map where you can avoid combat if you want.
Also the spread of your meeples and areas is slow which again is great as it means you are individually controlling your gains. It does pull together aspects of many different games into one that works with all of them and why not? It works so well and with the random player cards to go with factions means you'll take a whiole to even get the 'right' strategy.
Brilliant game and a perfectly run Kickstarter which should be acknowledged as well.
your eclipse review was similar. euro-ish with a bit of combat. after the review eclipse got a lot of negative criticism from you and the rest of the dice tower team. now with a similar low combat game as far as i heard, you are all happy. did your taste changed?
Dat hammer smash. Tom, have some mercy for those mechs :)
Seriously though, that hurts my soul
Thanks for the review!
Played it last week at a game night. Very interesting yet pretty complex.
Played it Monday at my game night.
Debating whether to by scythe next or underwater cities. Will mostly be playing two player. Was given terraforming mars recently and really enjoy it. Which one should I buy next?
I’m in the same boat! Which one did you end up getting?
I've never played any board games like this before but after watching your video this is going to be my first board game.
How'd it work out for you?
I miss old Dice Tower... just takes me down memory lane!
I loved the upgrade mechanism too - really fun game!
I hit "Like" as soon as it loaded. Just because you're you.
Just announced as game of the year at Dice Tower Con 2017...
Hey Tom, would you recommend Scythe or Cry Havoc? for 2 players especially
Anyone. Please advise. Tom seemed a lot more excited about Cry Havoc. Was that only because he made the review before playing this?
That's simply because he liked Cry Havoc even more. He even said it's his favorite game of 2016 so far.
But ultimately I think Cry Havoc is also the sort of game he generally enjoys more. So it really depends on what you like, I guess.
yep, it's also much cheaper
Not that much. You can pre-order Cry Havoc for 45$, Scythe for 53$. That's about 15%.
My two player games were excellent. I've played adjacent for instant confrontation and on opposite sides for a parallel play experience. The wife loves playing as Poland.
Holy hell, Scythe is 5 years old? Covid really was a time warp.
Scythe. Already predicting HUGE sales of this one, everyone who played it is going bonkers about it. I gotta get it... Call me up some Mechs, I'm going to conquer a few territories while I gather up the cash to get this one.. :P
This game is so beautiful but I dunno if it'll ever see time at the table with the people I play with.
What a Wicked reference. 3:10.
Did it make it to your collection? We loved Viticulture, but ONLY with Tuscany.
Another great review! I was hoping that this would've been a Miami Dice review, though; I really wanted to hear Sam's and Zee's thoughts on Scythe!
Sam discussed this on a Convention video, I think. He liked it, and said he needs to watch the other players more closely than he initially thought. I also think Zee liked it too. I just can't remember which video they talked about it.
In fact, Sam even declared it his favorite game of June in the Board Blender Best of the Month Video. Of course it would still have been great to get a comprehensive account of his opinion. Maybe they Lack the time for Miami Dice in Convention season?
The board is almost as beautiful as the box art. A piece of art even Picasso himself would be proud of. This was better than the expanion Wing Gambit.
So this game seems pretty awesome and I'm seriously considering buying it. However, my group has recently started playing Twilight Imperium and I'm concerned that after playing that, Scythe will simply not hit the table when we could play Twilight Imperium. Should I still get Scythe?
I've heard twilight imperium is a pretty long game. Scythe usually takes my game group only 3 hours to play, so maybe if you want a shorter game than twilight imperium which is still pretty fun, you could get scythe.
By Agricola I think you mean Terra Mystica.
solid wicked reference bro
Scythe is the one of the finest board games ever made. Every time the game plays differently if you choose your factions and player boards randomly. There are many paths to victory. Rozalskis art is damn pretty. About that combat... there is not a lot of it. (You will take in a part like 1-3 combats in a game.) But there is no stupid dice rolling. You have to make correct choices when to fight AND how much to invest in that battle. This game really shines in engine building. Every turn you have at least some (good) options to choose from what to do. The game is well balanced (only some minor complaints here and in this area Scythe will beat every game that FFG or say like GW has EVER released). The miniatures for the leaders are beautiful (mechs could be better looking). I highly recommend this game. 5/5 after 10+ play times.
This game looks great, but it looks a little too involved/complex for my gaming group. How does it compare to a game like Lords of Waterdeep or Catan?
It has bit steep learning curve (too many elements to explain before the game), but after that actual gameplay is not that hard. Biggest issue with my group was difference between nations (even when explained few times, people were still constantly surprised why somebody can move&build while they can only do move&deploy). It is simplier than Terra Mystica, Eclipse, Caverna, but more complex than Lords of Waterdeep.
Hmm, that sounds about right for what I was expecting. In terms of teaching new players, about how long would you say it would take to explain the rules? It took me about an hour to teach the Game of Thrones board game. That's the most complicated game that my group has tackled so far.
It should be similar. Took me probably 35-45 minutes to explain to group of quite experienced players, so up to 1 hour for less experienced sounds about right.
I've taught this game 3 times and I've gotten down to 20 mins. Explain all the actions on the board and show how it works on the board, then cover combat and scoring.
I've taught 17 people how to play this game now, some hadn't played anything more complex than Monopoly, and one person who hated board games (she went on to become our MVP and changed her tune about tabletop games). Scythe takes about 20-30 minutes to explain all the rules and the first game tends to be a little... 'free-floating' for beginners because there are SO many options they just don't know how to focus. But the game play itself is VERY fluid and on subsequent games everyone figures out real quick that they need to pick just a few things to focus on. I'd compare it to teaching Catan with Cities & Knights/Seafarers all at once, except Scythe feels less panicky - that is, until someone is down to their last star. :)
I've played six games so far and love this game. It has quickly jumped onto the top of my list of games I will play at any time.
How many players did you play those games with?
The 115min are there, cause when someone is asking you "How long takes a game of Scythe?" "Mmmh, I think... ah the box says 115min and it's right!" 🤗
can anyone say what the approximate setup time is?
This video is really dark in sections. The review of the action board could be made more bright to be easier to see. Great review! thanks.
Looks quite interesting. I wonder how the solo game is honestly. I don't play many of them because I enjoy social interaction, but there have been a few that I've tried just for fun and found "decent." Overall, may have to go on my "want" list. Great review Tom.
The Automa is excellent. The movement will take you a couple rounds to get your head around, but after that it's super fast and slick.
Yeah, Automa is excellent. I was able to play it on Tabletopia before the game showed up. Quality work.
I don`t get it, where is the engine building part of the game?
In upgrading the player board and in producing materials&food.
I typically don't like Euro games so would I like this?
90-115 minues? Is anyone else annoyed by the fact they didn't just round up to 2 hours? lol
Bo Bandy I’ve never had a game go beyond 113 minutes. 😉
OCD?
i have (;
I LOVE Scythe but I HATE some aesthetic/thematic details on it:
1) the ''Mine'' building should be renamed to ''Rails'' and been replaced by a steampunk train model! period!
2) the ''Popularity''symbol/token should be replaced by a crown symbol/token (heart is irrelevant for the game's theme)
3) the generic action pawn of the faction should be replaced by a small flag with the icon of the faction
4) the ''Upgrade'' cubes should be replaced by gears just like the icon itself
5) the ''Enlist'' action should be renamed to ''Medal'' and the tokens should be replaced by badges with 4 different ranks
just like the ''Enlist'' symbol itself
6) the ''Army'' ugly insectoid symbols/tokens should be replaced by bullets symbols/tokens
7) Factions should have their own unique Monuments
8) Factory actions cards should be made by the same exact materials of the players boards so to fit exactly in the board like a fifth action
9) Armory should be replaced by a small factory building
I m building my own deluxe Scythe version :)
Why steampunk? It's not the right era and The Factory was built by Tesla. There is no steam engine in this world. As for the rest, I'm really intrigued. I hope you post pictures of your monuments someplace. (I think the word is oilpunk but I'm not sure)
@@guyonyoutube1803 It certainly has steampunk feel to it.
@@Yatsura2 Nope. you have Clockpunk in the Renaissance, Steampunk in the Victorian Era, Dieselpunk between the two wars, then Atompunk, etc.
No steam and no victorian = no steampunk
Scythe is dieselpunk, that's the word I was looking for when I wrote this comment.
@@guyonyoutube1803 Dude, nobody cares. You are literally the first person that ever used those words to me and I couldnt give less fcks.
@@Yatsura2 Wow so much class... sure you’ll never hear these words if you keep calling any sci-fi subgenres « steampunk ». You might want to slow down of the « f*cks » everytime you’re proven wrong on UA-cam. It’s childish and takes away all your credibility.
Agricola meets Seven Wonders meets Powergrid O_o
Been waiting for this one for a while. Thanks, Tom.
Definitely on my buy list
Game of thrones or scythe ? Which one are better?
Dune.
I will stick with Euphoria, it looks a good game but nothing looks new.
Did you keep it?
Played it as at a board-game meet-up at a local cafe a couple of days ago. It was OK, but nothing special, doesn't deserve the hype for me. Combat feels like it is an afterthought it should either be beefed up or removed. The individual factions are asymmetric but found the faction forced you into a specific play style, in addition once you get your production engine up and running the games starts to play itself and you are just along for the ride.
Wow. So Cry Havoc replaced Blood Rage?
From the Cry Havoc review, I think the box is in place of Dead Of Winter. Still, what a replacement.
+Shad0wSix could have been a sequence of rearrangements
You can still see Dead Of Winter over Tom's left shoulder.
+Shad0wSix highly doubt it replaced Dead of Winter.
Sound volume is way too high on this video. Don't you have tools in your video editing software to avoid that kind of problems?
Seems fine here. Don't you have volume control tools on your playback device to solve these kinds of problems?
no issues here
sounds fine here too.
Sound is really bad indeed. Low quality and there is a hissing noise
The gain is too high. I guess he'll turn it down eventually.
Since watching those Abyss reviews I kinda' wanted to look at "engine building" games to see if they would have the same weird attraction.....guess not. I also think thin combat is a monstrous waste of beautiful mechs....I think I'll make another coffee and go watch Andre's review again. It's gotta' be something man, this is driving me N.V.T.S. nuts!! Worker placement.....and Mechs? Man that goes together like squash smothered in caramel....
Huh... not "into my collection?" Or is that just included in "Excellent?"
He said right at the end that he's seriously considering keeping it in his collection...my guess is that he does...you can tell he likes it a little more than he's letting on because he doesn't want to sound like he's caught up in all the hype. He'll keep it...unless maybe Sam or some others have a copy so he may not bother keeping one for himself since the people he plays with will already have it....doesn't exactly look like a game for the family so there is no other reason to have a copy if your friends already have it.
9:06 that needed to be done
I always cringe when I see Tom drop all of the components at the start of his reviews...especially when it's a great game with very good components. :)
BTW, this game is amazing and all of the extras that came with the Kickstarter will be available. Jamey doesn't do KS'ers that have exclusive perks just for those that back it. So, if you are willing to pony up the $, you can get all of the extras that we people who backed got.
He's addressed the issues with the component drops in a board game breakfast before and has joked about it on a video where Sam go angry because he was going to drop the X Wing minis Rebel Transport.
The component drop will 99% of the time do less damage than that one mildly clumsy player we all know.
I love the drops! I think he said that only once was there ever any damage.
I'm so confused.. I wanna like this but who knows... I learned a lot... it's just so much then I have to teach my friends...lol
Ah, you can play solo! Zee will be pleased!
This is a two hour game. Remember Zee only plays 10-15 minute fillers.
This is soooooo pre-ordered.72 Euros just disappeared into thin air.
Scythe is simply astonishing and definitely one of the best board games ever created, a true masterpiece! :)
Compare to the cover of the Depeche Mode album "A Broken Frame".
This game is epic. Epic!
The die in the intro sounds like Gir
never heard of that one XD
love it
This game is like a better, more exciting version of Terra Mystica.
That was the initial inspiration.
The combat system is good, it becomes about bluffing and being able to make your own choice, I am sick of dice combat in games. I played Rebellion recently and the dice combat in that game was horrid and for me made the entire game awful.
Remove the combat and it's easily a 9-9.5/10 for me. But as it is it's a 7/10.
Is the combat so futile that it actually derails the overall design?
It's not futile, it's just a clunky implementation. Hidden bid+random card, and loser still loses their bid. The worse type of auction games are the ones were the losers also lose their bid, and it has the same feeling here.
Note if you are the defender and you lose you get to draw another combat card so you lose only the power you selected on the dial. Many people use combats they are sure they will lose to cycle low power cards for a chance at a better one.
You don't have to even fight through an entire play through, the game isn't that heavy, it just helps you, if you don't want combat stay away from people and bribe them to stay away from you
That sounds worse
Felt like an upgraded version of euphoria to me.
How so? I don't get the connection.
+Matthew White main aim is to get stars out on the board.
OK. But the main mechanics seem so different, upgraded Euphoria hardly seems adequate.
Mechanics are different, but the overall felt pretty similar to me. Collect resources / build /unlock abilities and rush to get your stars on the board.
seems to me that board games today are more and more mimic video games...
I think the board games came first actually 😅
After that Cry Havoc review, trying to decide between the two.
Cry Havoc!!
Cry Havoc has a ton more combat and less engine building.
Tom was arguably more enthusiastic about Cry Havoc, but Cry Havoc had no hype before he played it so he was pleasantly surprised, were as nothing has had more hype than Scythe in the last year and saying this lives up to that hype is a serious compliment - even though that leaves the player feeling the game they just played met their expectations rather than exceeded them.
Cry Havoc is arguably the more innovative of the two games. But then Scythe is the better produced.
This game is epic. But yea, combat is the worst part. Still, 5/5 game.
Stealing stuff from games you've done before is not a bad thing *Matt leacock* cough...Thunderbirds...*cough*...like Pandemic a bit but not like Pandemic...
scythe is great but they overpowered the red (russian) team
Any game that takes five minutes of mathematical calculations to figure out who has won is lost on me. Beautiful art and interesting figurines don't count squat if the game is so complicated that it's almost random who wins. (And why did they choose a name that no one knows how to pronounce?)
If you cant pronounce "scythe" then it makes sense that uou have trouble with math
You are supposed to take coins when adding up your points... then just count your coins. My 8 year old does it.
Damn this sounds confusing..........
the rules i mean
Bigger is batter? Come on...
Stop the hammer part, pains to see.
I love it! Woohoo, Hammer time! ;-p
Can't touch this!
Either this game is VERY complicated, or this video is....
how comes nobody realize that the author broke their theme by including DOLLARS in this game!!! DAMN! it's an uchronia in eastern europe COMMON!!! this is disgusting!
sad
Stève SIKATI it has Mechs, and you are upset about the currency breaking the theme?
Hyperbolic much?
Euro-style point-taking game pretending to be a 4X.
This review feels forced. Is Scythe really THAT good? I've played it about 10 times and it feels so slow, the lack of combat is disappointing, and your options are so boring. By the time it is done I never feel like I've accomplished anything. The fact that you are only considering keeping it in your collection says something.
Well, I kept it, so there's that.
YES! It is really THAT good!
Scythe is way too overrated...
This game is so beautiful but I dunno if it'll ever see time at the table with the people I play with.
why not?
+jaxommm They're more about simpler games. Nothing against them at all it just sucks we never play games like this. We usually only have a couple hours when we do get together and they prefer to play multiple games than just one.
I'm in the same boat Chris. It's not like I can force my friends to play these type of games, that wouldn't be much fun either. I've tried for years to push heavy games like Twilight Imperium, Game of Thrones, Arkham Horror. And most of the time these games get played once or I end up giving up and putting the components back in the box before we could even get the game setup.
The most complex thing I can get people excited to play is Betrayal at House on the Hill but we've played it at least 75 times so I'm pretty done with it. It's hard looking at all these incredible games sitting on my shelf knowing they aren't being touched.
I feel the biggest problem is these games take time to get enthralled with, and everyone always wants to quit 15 minutes in before the meat of the game has really started and all the mechanics and moving pieces have formed what the game will be.
I love the simple stuff too the Uno's and Cards Against Humanity's of the world, but I'd love to get to play something deeper.
I found another group to play with initially - but over time of slowly increasing complexity I got my main group "leveled up" and now I can bring out a heavier game here and there and they usually get finished. The other week I brought out Tzolkin for the first time (with this group) and I couldn't believe it but we finished it and peopled enjoyed it!
In other words it just takes time - you have to be patient, make sure you aren't jumping too fast to the heavy games, use a lot middle-weight games - and worst comes to worst find another group (on top of your original) to play heavier games with.
Another tip is to really research and prepare the rules explanation to make it as easy as possible. I will often watch tutorial videos to see how they explain the game before tailoring it for my friends. Sometimes I will actually talk to myself and essentially rehearse lines that I will use later that day. And then also ensure that I absolutely understand every part of the game without needing the rulebook. It's a lot of work but it is a lot to ask of people who may not otherwise be inclined to these types of games.