It seems to me that co-op/solo play is baked into the game in a fundamental way. From what I've seen in the rulebook, co-op play does actually look really compelling, especially because the game is scenario based and--as you also stated--the game has built-in "balancing" mechanics(i.e., escalation, power transfer, etc.) Given the various player count options, the scenarios, the baked-in AI/controller mechanics, the endless replay-ability based on team compositions, as well as the built-in "balancing" mechanics--I would argue that the game is a lot more than a simple one-vs-many game. You can tell that CMON has been reading BGG, and have learned from various game-designers who have added co-op/solo variant rules to countless games. The sheer number of optional game "modes", combined with the sheer number of characters, scenarios, etc., make this a "must buy" for me.
I’m backing all-in I’m closer to 50yrs old and these minis bring back a bunch of my childhood so the gameplay is the add-on for me I can’t wait to paint all these
I'm willing to pay the hundred and ten for the base game just to be able to paint the miniatures. They look amazing and miniatures aren't cheap nowadays anyways.
I bought rising sun based on your recommendation. I had an issue with one of the minis so i contacted CMON support letting them know of the issue. They responded 60 days later, which was today, stating their policy was to return it to the store. The store has a 30 return policy. I let them know this, but based on their response time I expect them to respond 60 days from now "too bad". What I'm saying is you're 100% right about their support.
Bruuutal. Sorry that's so ridiculous. I'll always be a Arcane Wonders fan because of their ultimate customer service for Sheriff (when they had the rights to it) when my bags broke. It's astonishing that CMON hasn't learned this yet, it can really make or break customers.
PS. Snoutspout is a firefighter. He literally squirts water from his trunk. The bottom of his axe is what his figure used to use to position his trunk for when you made him squirt.
Snout spout is a late add to the old He man cartoons. I had the action figure when i was a kid. He is an elephant man who sucks up water and sprays it out his trunk.
With 9 days to go this campaign, with all optional buy ins, is already at $370. There will be at least 2 more $50 "options"(Snake Men and Horde) plus however many little $15-$20 bits they throw on. This could easily touch $600. A game should not cost as much as my mortgage.
Yeah 600 seems right. I forget what X-Men United hit, but with the previous stuff from marvel united it hit something like 800 for the all in, it's just outrageous.
It does not, you'll pay for that later in the pledge manager (and at that point can also add-on any extras you may want but didn't pledge for in the campaign). Their shipping ranges I've always found to be fairly accurate for Canada at least
OHHHHH YEAHHHHH BRO! Thanks For Share This Wonderful And Mightful Video With All Us! Motu&Pop Ever In Whole Our Lifes Until The End! I Love All Motu&Pop Artists (Eric Marshall Gbagok!) And I Love All Motu&Pop Creators (Mark Taylor! Roger Sweet! Joseph Michael Straczynski! Larry Ditillio! Mattel! Filmation!) All In The Same Level Without Any Excepcions Ever in Whole My Life Until The End! Thanks To Our Beloved GOD The Show To Must To Go On Ever (About Our Beloved Motu&Pop)! (By Cesare Vivi 🇮🇹)!
This is my first KS. I’m in it for the IP. I’m in it for the minis. The game could be absolute garbage and I’d be buying this in a heartbeat. I can change rules, I can write up rpg scenarios, I can play them in agnostic tabletop rules games. But I can’t get nearly every base MOTU mini character anywhere else, and definitely not all of them with Grayskull (and hopefully Snake mountain). I don’t need dice. Or 3D terrain add ons. Or a floppy game board. I’m skipping all that. I can even skip some expansions immediately if the only carrot for them is a single NPC model, and buy them later. But $110 for all the characters included so far (and more to come) plus another $110 for a bunch of minions and Grayskull is an instant yes from me without a second thought. The IP is that strong for me, and I want my toys. Lol.
@@RoomandBoardReviews No worries, you made some excellent points in the video. The Time Machine campaign was definitely the turning point for me as well. I haven't supported a CMON Kickstarter campaign since, except for a single $1 pledge on the CMON Comics.
@@wbeytel 100%. If I didn't love Rising Sun so much and knew I was getting Ankh I'm right there with you. I was lucky to win a copy of Trudvang through one of their Facebook contests so I think that definitely helped erase some of my ill will, but God that was such a mess. I forgot how angry I was until reliving it through this haha
@@RoomandBoardReviews I prefer Blood Rage to Rising Sun but I still like Rising Sun quite a bit. Ankh just didn't appeal to me for some reason. I became even less interested after I watched almost all of the of Ankh play-through/preview videos that I could find. I hope it lives up to your expectations 👍
I really love this series. Are you planning on covering Tanares RPG? It's not quite a board game but it's based on the Tanares BGs and is at $1.6 million USD. You can even pledge a BG only pledge and a minis pledge which gives you more content for the BG. It might be a little late now though because there's only a few days left.
Thanks, I'm glad! I didn't end up covering Tanares with something like this mainly because I don't feel like I'm as well versed in RPGs to be able to comment on the value etc. But I do appreciate the heads up about it, sometimes it's easy to miss them - I almost missed Black Rose Wars because I wasn't expecting it to make it there
This game reminds me a ton of Conan by Monolith. I really loved He-Man growing up and would love to paint the minis. But just couldnt pull the trigger as it wouldnt get to the table. Keep up the great work.
Haha, I'm glad! Well, not glad you don't like nuns on the run, I love being a silly little abbess in training sneaking around at night, but I'm glad that comparison was helpful haha :)
As a fan of classic MotU, thematically this is an insta back for me. Especially seeing how they appear to be including every figure ever. But I was hoping for more of a skirmish stlye gameplay. I'm not that into 1 vs many. So I ultimately may not back it unless they release a game mode for multi-player skirmish or a team vs team mode. I guess we will see when they no doubt reveal the evil horde and the snake men. There will be plenty of factions at that point.
Oh yeah I forgot about the Snake Men! Maybe you could do a straight swap with someone in Europe for the 3 v 3 nature of the other one. My bet will be there will be enough demand to have special scenario devoted to a skirmish style, just so they can say they've thrown it in there, but with the respawning nature of the heroes, I don't know how that will be incorporated.
@@RoomandBoardReviews I already have a swap set up! So based on how cool the European version is compared to this one, I may just stick with Europe. But with each new figure release, the completionist in me want's to own both!
Was waiting for this video. The problem I have is during the live Dice Tower playthrough I promised I would pledge if Mike's character got hit with a rock (since rocks are his weakness), and he did in fact get hit with a rock lol. I think I even said All-in, oh boy. What do I do now Chris?
Being an 80’s kid, it was suppose to be an insta-buy for me. Thank goodness, FOMO and nostalgia lost. Your reasons were my reasons for not backing, except #2 as Massive Darkness 2 was my first KS campaign after getting into the hobby (buying Jenga) 6 months prior (I know), so I still havent been stung by CMON
Way you describe massive darkness 2 is exactly how I felt with Tanares Adventures. I'm already over it, and I backed it about a month ago! And yes, I'm sure I'll have some fun with it, but I'm not reading updates or caring about it that much. I'm relatively new to KS, but this taught me to be way more discerning, fast. Its the only KS I'm regretting so far. I probably shouldn't get He-Man because: 1) Didn't grow up in the 80's/have no nostalgia for He-Man (even if I find it charming). 2) I DID watch She-Ra even though it was before my time, but it is just an expansion here. 3) I'm more of a coop fan, and I share your concern that coop won't "really" be the way this game is meant to be played and enjoyed. Completely off topic, but can someone get the rights from Mainframe to make a Reboot board game? Maybe have it designed by Vlaada?
Oh boy, a Reboot game would be sick. That was such a good show, I was just talking about it the other day, hoping that it held up. That's the way to my nostalgia for sure.
"Trudvang the development took too long..." I almost spit my lunch out when you said that..we're still waiting for fulfillment. Its 2024...hey it could be worse you could be waiting for Madeira Collector's Edition or Manchukuo or Onimaru. Oh did I leave out Hyperspace?
His 5 reasons sumed up 5- The kickstarter stretch goals are probably not worth the price for backers. 4- If you don't like planing your moves ahead, then the game might not be for you. 3- if you don't like the one vs many gameplay, then the game might not be for you. 2- CMON the company produces good games but has bad reputation as well, because in regards to kickstarters they have a history of changing the vision of what was orginally promised, spending to long with production and generally being crappy to their backers when they need support or somethings gone awry. 1- Don't back it just because of the CMON brand name.
Hey Chris! Yeah so I was flying high after I finished the first season of the new He-Man series on Netflix, when I saw this kickstarter and I was ripe to go all in on it. But I remembered your video on Black Rose Wars: Rebirth(which I did end up getting), and decided to actually go through the campaign and the gameplay thoroughly. I came up wanting, it just didn't tickle my personal fancy, decidedly I am not backing! Thank you for your videos, to help people make better decisions in our favorite hobby!
Definitely wasn't just me either, I know quite a few people went through a similar thing. I think I got less mad about it because they sent me a copy of Green Horde instead of the stretch goals box that I purchased, so they sent the stretch goal box later and was lucky enough to get green Horde in the deal. So it definitely helped lessen the sting a bit, but I was upset for a bit for sure.
I pledged both games....Masters of the Universe is just too nostalgic for me. I'm glad both games have vastly different gameplay which makes it buying both not too outlandish.
Haha, yeah that's true, they do seem like they'll feel different. I think CMON's appeals to me a bit more mechanically, but hope you love both of them!
I've been binge-watching stuff on MOTU and UA-cam reccommended you. I loved your points, they're all very concise and you speak in a very hypnotic and smooth way. This was a nice watch. That being said, I was a big MOTU fan as a child and I've always wanted to have that Castle Grayskull playset as a kid, so I am getting this game :D Bizarrely enough, I didn't feel as interested in Ankh as you seem to be. So I guess your points do make a lot of sense. Cheers, mate, hope you enjoy the game!
So, I'm in a different place than you for #1. I backed the despite it being a CMON game. I hate the way they run their campaigns. I hate the abysmal support they provide for the products whether that's answering rules questions or simply handling customer service issues. I don't think that they care about their customers. And, I don't think they care about most of their games beyond the paycheck which is why they can bloat them with content. I love the IP. They're hitting me in the nostalgia with this product. And, yeah, I just want to play toys with my friends that have some decent rules to make it a working game. But, I wish it was a company like IDW that was bringing the game to me. Having to pay CMON to get a He-Man game is a bitter pill for me. I only back one of their games about every two years, because most of their content is devoid or originality. They love going back to the Zombicide and Arcadia Quest cash-register.
I definitely get that completely, but honestly good on you for getting yourself something you'll enjoy (hopefully!) and not denying yourself because of the company itself. I also have had my issues with CMON like so many others, so I really feel that pain haha.
Very disappointed with CMON, I was able to buy some exclusive figures for the game... but when I wanted to buy the game on kickstarter, I found out that they didn't ship to Portugal, despite being in Europe and I never understood why...
I think you misinterpreted that point. If people want all the stuff that's great. If people feel like they NEED all the stuff and their Kickstarter addiction won't let them contemplate not getting it all, that's a different consideration and chances are they should walk away because there's going to be a lot of bloat. A lot of cool bloat that if you want it's great it exists, but not to people who feel like it's the Only way to experience the game. Because it isn't - the base game for most people will be more than enough.
Man i really needed this type of video. I love He man and mini's games but i am trying to stop buying new games. I am not even looking at the kickstarter page hahaa. Thanks
"Lots of things you really really really don't need" How dare you. I need the banner and ladder minis for uhmm.... immersion! Reason #3 is why I will be passing up on this one. Thanks again for the great video!
This is the first time I've seen one of your videos, but I'll definitely be checking out more. I always feel the pull to go all-in, but have rarely done so. United X-Men was a rare one but though my OGS (401 Games) the preorder was notably cheaper than the KS (hoping maybe for the same with this! Lol). As someone with minimal nostalgia, I feel less pull for the Defense of Castle Greyskull and the plastic Greyskull than some. $70 is a lot for one scenario. The 3D terrain though? I love miniatures games and the table presence that brings. I'm going for $1 and will wait and see. This is 100% my type of game (especially as a 1v1), and I've enjoyed Shinalls work in the past. The theme is just ridiculous enough to work for me too. Edit: sorry for the novel! Lol
Thanks a lot, I appreciate that! Oh man, that pull to go all in is my ever struggle. I was just talking about the Etherfields campaign the other day, after I had first played Nemesis and then immediately wanted everything Awaken Realms produced from there on out, haha. I thought to myself, oh yeah, I'll just get the base pledge and then maybe the sundrop and then as SOON as someone in the Toronto Board Game Swap (401 games has great prices, they're usually my go to as well!) group said they were organizing a group buy, I was like, where do I sign up, haha. I can definitely appreciate the terrain, but for me I don't think I appreciate it enough to have to store it all. Brews and Board games has a great How To video about creating his own Gloomhaven terrain, and I imagine you could do something similar with most of this since it's also hexagonal. Although definitely not that big old greyskull, haha.
Great and measured video as always. I'm genuinely surprised it's making this much money this quickly. There literally was just another He-man IP game like a month ago. How many He-man fans are there ?
There's such a He-man boom happening right now, I'm so surprised. Although in retrospect, that's probably why the games are coming out now, since the new series has dropped as well. It is bonkers though, especially without the entire Europe market (well not the entire one, I know some people are doubling up)
I was not aware of cmons poor customer support issues. I’ve only ksed all-in their rising sun game and it’s the only cmon game I own I am a gm of rpgs already, but do dread being the 1 in the game. It’s why I refuse to play the mystery game with the ghost, as I dislike the theme.
If you own one CMON game, Rising Sun is the way to gooooo, it brings a smile to my face anytime anyone mentions it haha. I almost got rid of Mysterium the other day, but ended up bringing it over to my friends house and we had a good time - that's always one of those games where when I look at it, I think, oh I'm not going to have fun with this, but was nice to be pleasantly surprised.
I 100% thought I was going in on this but I am just not that into this type of game. Very nostalgic for the IP. I am already backing Mythic Battle Rag which is my foolish back of the year.
for licensed IP games, your #5 point is definitely going to ring true for a lot of folks. CMON is nobody's fool, so they know to hide the must-have content behind pay-walls. so far for the MOTU campaign, it's She-Ra. i'm not familiar enough with the IP to predict the next $50 expansion, but be sure it'll be something that He-Man fans will feel all but forced to buy. thankfully, i'm not a superfan of He-Man, and i will be content to get just the core and maybe She-Ra, assuming i pledge at all. (who am i kidding, we all know my $1 pledge will be magically transformed into a $150+ wallet buster. :p ) great vid, as always. :)
It's so surprising and equally not surprising at all that She-Ra isn't included. Of course she isn't - it's such an easy way to convince people to get that expansion. But maybe she'll be a stretch goal like Nightcrawler, give people someone to cheer for, haha.
Great vid as always. I haven't been in the hobby very long so your insights are always welcome. When I look at this game I objectively know that it's not for me. But if I look at the campaign as a whole, all I can see are $$$. The IP and the fact that it's a CMON game just seems like it's an easy back and flip to fund games I'm actually interested in... But again, I'm new so maybe it's not that easy
I think there will definitely be people in Europe especially who will want copies, because of the licensing exclusion. My thought on flipping games is that if you're not interested in playing them, I'd never get them. Something like this, it's true you could purchase and play and probably sell down the line, but then you also have to worry about sorting out shipping, or dealing with the logistics of it, which after you pay for the shipping twice, doesn't necessarily work out to an extreme windfall. Although I did see someone reselling the Ankh full all in pledge for 500-600 bucks and it cost me something like 324 after everything (all of this is CAD). I just think that you still have to wait a year and a half for this money to return to you, and if you're looking at investing, you probably could invest that money in something over that time and get a similar return. Plus me personally, I would feel really weird turning around and flipping it for double the price, and I'm always so surprised that people are willing to pay that amount, but they all.
Did they ever actually refuse you a refund or to try and steal from your account or just crap customer service? Either way this is disappointing to hear. I was very excited to back the game but now...Hearing how they treat people is absolutely pitiful and almost completely overshadows any other reason to back. Companies that think they're too big to be touched deserve to be touched and in a big way. I am happy to get all the miniatures and the game looks to be fun (if I ever play it) but I can promise this here and now. If they screw something up or try the same kind of bs you mentioned, it will be the very last time they get a cent from me, favorite IP or no. I just *hope* they don't.
Dune: War for Arrakis is the final CMON campaign that will ever back. I hate how they run their Kickstarters and their customer service is pure garbage.
Omg dude...that Time Machine story was infuriating and it didn't even happen to me...I don't know if I can support a company that does that going forward that's ludicrous.
Ew. I HATE Nuns on the Run. It's one of my biggest regret purchases (besides the $30 copy of Spectre I bought the same day I found it was $5 at Dollarama).
@@BoardGameCo Hi Alex, don't you think there is at least a bit of CMON Kickstarter fatigue setting in? I don't know if I am too sensitive about it but the most recent CMON campaigns felt cynically manipulative to me.
Haha I know! But I decided to fudge the numbers this once - more really as an experiment to see if my UA-cam presence is so all powerful yet that I can make sure they never make it! Mwawawawawawa!
@@wbeytel That's where I'm at. Went all-in with X-men and yet to firm up Zombicide: Undead or Alive bc I'm trying to exercise restraint, but I'll likely end up all-in with that one too and sitting this one out. Too Many Bones just announced an upcoming campaign and if I'm going to drop another $400 before the holidays it'll be on that IP vs yet another CMON game
1. the game is mediocre, and if it's just the game you can buy rise of moloch for around $55 which is verrrry similar. 2. the child inside of you died decades ago and riding a green tiger out of the mouth of a skull castle with working draw bridge is like totally lame 3. you don't have $250 for the castle, because if you aren't getting the castle and terrain go get it retail for $70. (normally I'm with you get the base. but the castle is so essential to board presence that I probably would never play another mode, also my mom wouldn't buy me a castle, so HA I HAVE THE MONEY NOW MOM I CAN BUY MY CASTLE.. and pretend it's a socially acceptable board game component.) 4. he-man's not your thing, don't worry next up is cyberpunk if you're too school for cool. 5. you live in the EU
Yeah super great point about Rise of Moloch, I've heard that from a few places. It's a little bit more expensive by my FLGS, but still less than the base pledge.
HE-man, SHE-ra, IT-girl... Well, I don't understand this hype just because Netflix reanimated that horse that died hundreds of years ago. Ok, I admit, I get things just and only because of nostalgic feelings, too. But as I wrote before, I was fascinated in kindergarden, but it didn't last long. And therefore my reason not to back it is: I am not sure if it is just hype, or really a good game for my money. But I would not hesitate to buy it, if he-man were my think... This is made for fans.
I'm not sure if you were implying that He man has been brought back to life but if you are Masters of the Universe has been alive and well since the early 2000s. It had a great cartoon that was canceled too early followed up by a very expansive toyline that lasted over a decade and now commands high prices.
@@jonhahn6557 Well, sure... For a fan, this might be THE game. And the toys are expensive - had the opportunity to get some at a flea marked 2 years ago. But since around 1990/95, MotU was gone from TV, playrooms and shops for more than two decades. And the small community of good old (or new) fans is - in my opinion / maybe it is this way in Europe but not in the rest of the world - not enough to call it really alive. So, I don't just want to imply it - even if a real fan would disagree for obvious reasons - He-man was dead for the last 20 years.
A million dollars is a waste of time for CMON. Huge flop. Ok that's an exaggeration, but I think CMON would be disappointed and something that funds like this may not come to retail
Yeah I have to agree, although I don't know the breakdown of how much of their sales come from Europe which they'd have to factor in before they launched.
I don’t think this is pulling in as much money as CMON would’ve liked. Honestly, it’s just another crappy skirmish game with a 40year old IP attached. Who backs it? The CMON fanbois of course who probably haven’t watched the show since the 80’s but back it anyway lol. Makes me laugh all these people who have to have everything, even if it’s sitting on a shelf collecting dust lol.
Yeah I think so too, I'm interested to see if the last 48 hours give them a boost or not. I was just expecting this to bring in more than Trudvang but we'll see
The age of the brand doesn't matter. Marvel has been around way longer, yet it is still active, just like He-Man. There have been 2 brand new He-Man cartoon series released this year (one aimed at kids, and one at long-time fans), plus a live action She-Ra show is currently in production.
It seems to me that co-op/solo play is baked into the game in a fundamental way. From what I've seen in the rulebook, co-op play does actually look really compelling, especially because the game is scenario based and--as you also stated--the game has built-in "balancing" mechanics(i.e., escalation, power transfer, etc.) Given the various player count options, the scenarios, the baked-in AI/controller mechanics, the endless replay-ability based on team compositions, as well as the built-in "balancing" mechanics--I would argue that the game is a lot more than a simple one-vs-many game. You can tell that CMON has been reading BGG, and have learned from various game-designers who have added co-op/solo variant rules to countless games. The sheer number of optional game "modes", combined with the sheer number of characters, scenarios, etc., make this a "must buy" for me.
That's great you feel that way, I guess I'll have to take another peek :)
I’m backing all-in I’m closer to 50yrs old and these minis bring back a bunch of my childhood so the gameplay is the add-on for me I can’t wait to paint all these
Amazing! I hope you love it, being able to paint them will be pretty awesome for sure
I'm willing to pay the hundred and ten for the base game just to be able to paint the miniatures. They look amazing and miniatures aren't cheap nowadays anyways.
your list only made my reasons to back this even stronger!
That's fantastic! That's exactly what it's for :)
Uh huh lol.
I bought rising sun based on your recommendation. I had an issue with one of the minis so i contacted CMON support letting them know of the issue. They responded 60 days later, which was today, stating their policy was to return it to the store. The store has a 30 return policy. I let them know this, but based on their response time I expect them to respond 60 days from now "too bad". What I'm saying is you're 100% right about their support.
Bruuutal. Sorry that's so ridiculous. I'll always be a Arcane Wonders fan because of their ultimate customer service for Sheriff (when they had the rights to it) when my bags broke. It's astonishing that CMON hasn't learned this yet, it can really make or break customers.
Hopefully they'll send you something, that's so completely on them.
Impressed by so many successful Save vs Profanity rolls.
Ahahaha, I'm dead. There were definitely a few in there.
PS. Snoutspout is a firefighter. He literally squirts water from his trunk.
The bottom of his axe is what his figure used to use to position his trunk for when you made him squirt.
I love him ever more now!
Yeah that description sounds dirty. I know it isn't, but damn, lol.
Snout spout is a late add to the old He man cartoons. I had the action figure when i was a kid. He is an elephant man who sucks up water and sprays it out his trunk.
I love him even more now, haha
He only appeared in the She-Ra cartoon.
With 9 days to go this campaign, with all optional buy ins, is already at $370. There will be at least 2 more $50 "options"(Snake Men and Horde) plus however many little $15-$20 bits they throw on. This could easily touch $600. A game should not cost as much as my mortgage.
Yeah 600 seems right. I forget what X-Men United hit, but with the previous stuff from marvel united it hit something like 800 for the all in, it's just outrageous.
Dude, was that you in the latest episode of ‘What We Do in the Shadows’?
Haha, it was! Really welcoming set to be on, such funny people all around.
I've never bought one of these before but when you buy the base game does that also include shipping? Thanks
It does not, you'll pay for that later in the pledge manager (and at that point can also add-on any extras you may want but didn't pledge for in the campaign). Their shipping ranges I've always found to be fairly accurate for Canada at least
There should be a table near the bottom of the campaign page where the shipping information is located
OHHHHH YEAHHHHH BRO!
Thanks For Share This Wonderful And Mightful Video With All Us!
Motu&Pop Ever In Whole Our Lifes Until The End!
I Love All Motu&Pop Artists (Eric Marshall Gbagok!) And I Love All Motu&Pop Creators (Mark Taylor! Roger Sweet! Joseph Michael Straczynski! Larry Ditillio! Mattel! Filmation!) All In The Same Level Without Any Excepcions Ever in Whole My Life Until The End!
Thanks To Our Beloved GOD The Show To Must To Go On Ever (About Our Beloved Motu&Pop)!
(By Cesare Vivi 🇮🇹)!
This is my first KS. I’m in it for the IP. I’m in it for the minis. The game could be absolute garbage and I’d be buying this in a heartbeat. I can change rules, I can write up rpg scenarios, I can play them in agnostic tabletop rules games. But I can’t get nearly every base MOTU mini character anywhere else, and definitely not all of them with Grayskull (and hopefully Snake mountain).
I don’t need dice. Or 3D terrain add ons. Or a floppy game board. I’m skipping all that. I can even skip some expansions immediately if the only carrot for them is a single NPC model, and buy them later. But $110 for all the characters included so far (and more to come) plus another $110 for a bunch of minions and Grayskull is an instant yes from me without a second thought. The IP is that strong for me, and I want my toys. Lol.
Haha, that's awesome, I'm glad you're stoked!
Good video. Thanks.
"By the power of Grayskull!" is the He-man catchphrase you were looking for Chris 😂
Hahaha THAT'S the one! I knew I knew it somewhere in my mind. Thanks :)
@@RoomandBoardReviews No worries, you made some excellent points in the video. The Time Machine campaign was definitely the turning point for me as well. I haven't supported a CMON Kickstarter campaign since, except for a single $1 pledge on the CMON Comics.
@@wbeytel 100%. If I didn't love Rising Sun so much and knew I was getting Ankh I'm right there with you. I was lucky to win a copy of Trudvang through one of their Facebook contests so I think that definitely helped erase some of my ill will, but God that was such a mess. I forgot how angry I was until reliving it through this haha
@@RoomandBoardReviews I prefer Blood Rage to Rising Sun but I still like Rising Sun quite a bit.
Ankh just didn't appeal to me for some reason. I became even less interested after I watched almost all of the of Ankh play-through/preview videos that I could find. I hope it lives up to your expectations 👍
"I HAVE THE POWER!"
I really love this series. Are you planning on covering Tanares RPG? It's not quite a board game but it's based on the Tanares BGs and is at $1.6 million USD. You can even pledge a BG only pledge and a minis pledge which gives you more content for the BG. It might be a little late now though because there's only a few days left.
Thanks, I'm glad! I didn't end up covering Tanares with something like this mainly because I don't feel like I'm as well versed in RPGs to be able to comment on the value etc. But I do appreciate the heads up about it, sometimes it's easy to miss them - I almost missed Black Rose Wars because I wasn't expecting it to make it there
Does CMON let you up your pledge in backerkit?
Definitely. I upped mine for Ankh and it was no problem, but always worth double checking the FAQ just to be sure
Hey what did you do with that feather from a female crow that Nandor gave you?
Hahahaha, well luckily Guillermo had my back and slipped me an actual tip. Took the feather back on me and everything. Good eye ;)
This game reminds me a ton of Conan by Monolith. I really loved He-Man growing up and would love to paint the minis. But just couldnt pull the trigger as it wouldnt get to the table. Keep up the great work.
Daaangg!!!! I did not like nuns in the run that much, good that you drew that parallel!!!
Haha, I'm glad! Well, not glad you don't like nuns on the run, I love being a silly little abbess in training sneaking around at night, but I'm glad that comparison was helpful haha :)
I tried to watch this, but 5 minutes in you still hadn't gotten to a point....
As a fan of classic MotU, thematically this is an insta back for me.
Especially seeing how they appear to be including every figure ever.
But I was hoping for more of a skirmish stlye gameplay. I'm not that into 1 vs many.
So I ultimately may not back it unless they release a game mode for multi-player skirmish or a team vs team mode.
I guess we will see when they no doubt reveal the evil horde and the snake men. There will be plenty of factions at that point.
Oh yeah I forgot about the Snake Men! Maybe you could do a straight swap with someone in Europe for the 3 v 3 nature of the other one. My bet will be there will be enough demand to have special scenario devoted to a skirmish style, just so they can say they've thrown it in there, but with the respawning nature of the heroes, I don't know how that will be incorporated.
@@RoomandBoardReviews I already have a swap set up! So based on how cool the European version is compared to this one, I may just stick with Europe. But with each new figure release, the completionist in me want's to own both!
Was waiting for this video. The problem I have is during the live Dice Tower playthrough I promised I would pledge if Mike's character got hit with a rock (since rocks are his weakness), and he did in fact get hit with a rock lol. I think I even said All-in, oh boy. What do I do now Chris?
Haha I mean you don't want to be a liar now, do you? I hate to be the bearer of bad news...
Palpatine : DO IT!!!
Being an 80’s kid, it was suppose to be an insta-buy for me. Thank goodness, FOMO and nostalgia lost. Your reasons were my reasons for not backing, except #2 as Massive Darkness 2 was my first KS campaign after getting into the hobby (buying Jenga) 6 months prior (I know), so I still havent been stung by CMON
Way you describe massive darkness 2 is exactly how I felt with Tanares Adventures. I'm already over it, and I backed it about a month ago! And yes, I'm sure I'll have some fun with it, but I'm not reading updates or caring about it that much. I'm relatively new to KS, but this taught me to be way more discerning, fast. Its the only KS I'm regretting so far.
I probably shouldn't get He-Man because:
1) Didn't grow up in the 80's/have no nostalgia for He-Man (even if I find it charming).
2) I DID watch She-Ra even though it was before my time, but it is just an expansion here.
3) I'm more of a coop fan, and I share your concern that coop won't "really" be the way this game is meant to be played and enjoyed.
Completely off topic, but can someone get the rights from Mainframe to make a Reboot board game? Maybe have it designed by Vlaada?
Oh boy, a Reboot game would be sick. That was such a good show, I was just talking about it the other day, hoping that it held up. That's the way to my nostalgia for sure.
@@RoomandBoardReviews Yeah, unfortunately it might be too niche to work. But I'd get it in a heart beat!
"Trudvang the development took too long..." I almost spit my lunch out when you said that..we're still waiting for fulfillment. Its 2024...hey it could be worse you could be waiting for Madeira Collector's Edition or Manchukuo or Onimaru. Oh did I leave out Hyperspace?
His 5 reasons sumed up
5- The kickstarter stretch goals are probably not worth the price for backers.
4- If you don't like planing your moves ahead, then the game might not be for you.
3- if you don't like the one vs many gameplay, then the game might not be for you.
2- CMON the company produces good games but has bad reputation as well, because in regards to kickstarters they have a history of changing the vision of what was orginally promised, spending to long with production and generally being crappy to their backers when they need support or somethings gone awry.
1- Don't back it just because of the CMON brand name.
Hey Chris! Yeah so I was flying high after I finished the first season of the new He-Man series on Netflix, when I saw this kickstarter and I was ripe to go all in on it. But I remembered your video on Black Rose Wars: Rebirth(which I did end up getting), and decided to actually go through the campaign and the gameplay thoroughly. I came up wanting, it just didn't tickle my personal fancy, decidedly I am not backing! Thank you for your videos, to help people make better decisions in our favorite hobby!
That's great to hear, on all counts :) Hope you love Rebirth a ton!
I want more zombicide FANTASY
Thanks for sharing what CMON did to you. I will never back a game they make regardless of how much I want it.
Definitely wasn't just me either, I know quite a few people went through a similar thing. I think I got less mad about it because they sent me a copy of Green Horde instead of the stretch goals box that I purchased, so they sent the stretch goal box later and was lucky enough to get green Horde in the deal. So it definitely helped lessen the sting a bit, but I was upset for a bit for sure.
I pledged both games....Masters of the Universe is just too nostalgic for me. I'm glad both games have vastly different gameplay which makes it buying both not too outlandish.
Haha, yeah that's true, they do seem like they'll feel different. I think CMON's appeals to me a bit more mechanically, but hope you love both of them!
If they funded 10+ games on kickstarters, why the hell have they not made enough profit yet to not need to do kickstarters?
It's more the model of pre-ordering and knowing their print runs. But yeah, definitely not a typical KS indie developer that's for sure.
I've been binge-watching stuff on MOTU and UA-cam reccommended you. I loved your points, they're all very concise and you speak in a very hypnotic and smooth way. This was a nice watch.
That being said, I was a big MOTU fan as a child and I've always wanted to have that Castle Grayskull playset as a kid, so I am getting this game :D
Bizarrely enough, I didn't feel as interested in Ankh as you seem to be. So I guess your points do make a lot of sense. Cheers, mate, hope you enjoy the game!
So, I'm in a different place than you for #1. I backed the despite it being a CMON game. I hate the way they run their campaigns. I hate the abysmal support they provide for the products whether that's answering rules questions or simply handling customer service issues. I don't think that they care about their customers. And, I don't think they care about most of their games beyond the paycheck which is why they can bloat them with content.
I love the IP. They're hitting me in the nostalgia with this product. And, yeah, I just want to play toys with my friends that have some decent rules to make it a working game. But, I wish it was a company like IDW that was bringing the game to me.
Having to pay CMON to get a He-Man game is a bitter pill for me. I only back one of their games about every two years, because most of their content is devoid or originality. They love going back to the Zombicide and Arcadia Quest cash-register.
I definitely get that completely, but honestly good on you for getting yourself something you'll enjoy (hopefully!) and not denying yourself because of the company itself. I also have had my issues with CMON like so many others, so I really feel that pain haha.
Very disappointed with CMON, I was able to buy some exclusive figures for the game... but when I wanted to buy the game on kickstarter, I found out that they didn't ship to Portugal, despite being in Europe and I never understood why...
I have vague memories of watching He-man and She-ra back in the day, but luckily not enough to tempt me with this one! Woot!
I'm not sure it's cool to knock a game because they have loads of content.... Seems like a really weak complaint.
I think you misinterpreted that point. If people want all the stuff that's great. If people feel like they NEED all the stuff and their Kickstarter addiction won't let them contemplate not getting it all, that's a different consideration and chances are they should walk away because there's going to be a lot of bloat. A lot of cool bloat that if you want it's great it exists, but not to people who feel like it's the Only way to experience the game. Because it isn't - the base game for most people will be more than enough.
Thank you Chris, I was waiting for this video 👍
Man i really needed this type of video. I love He man and mini's games but i am trying to stop buying new games. I am not even looking at the kickstarter page hahaa. Thanks
Hahah, my friend Zach is the same way. He's loves minis and all-ins, as soon as he clicks on a good campaign he's a goner, haha.
After watching this, I'm actually feeling better about backing it.
That's great to hear! Hope you love it :)
@@RoomandBoardReviews okay, I've rewatched this again 9 months later.
I'M SO EXCITED FOR THIS GAME!!!
My entire family is excited as well.
@@brentboyer79 awesome! I'm excited for you, and it must be getting closer now!
@@RoomandBoardReviews looks like we might get it by Christmas. That's everyone's earliest guess.
@@brentboyer79 Sweeeeet! Fingers crossed for board games over the holidays!
Thanks for these quality videos. I joined the board game revolution on fb bc of your suggestion and my page as been filled with positivity and joy.
Aw that's great to hear! It's a great group, and so many giveaways have been happening in the last little while.
"Lots of things you really really really don't need"
How dare you. I need the banner and ladder minis for uhmm.... immersion!
Reason #3 is why I will be passing up on this one. Thanks again for the great video!
Hahaha that's true! Immersion is the most important part!!
This is the first time I've seen one of your videos, but I'll definitely be checking out more.
I always feel the pull to go all-in, but have rarely done so. United X-Men was a rare one but though my OGS (401 Games) the preorder was notably cheaper than the KS (hoping maybe for the same with this! Lol).
As someone with minimal nostalgia, I feel less pull for the Defense of Castle Greyskull and the plastic Greyskull than some. $70 is a lot for one scenario. The 3D terrain though? I love miniatures games and the table presence that brings.
I'm going for $1 and will wait and see. This is 100% my type of game (especially as a 1v1), and I've enjoyed Shinalls work in the past. The theme is just ridiculous enough to work for me too.
Edit: sorry for the novel! Lol
Thanks a lot, I appreciate that!
Oh man, that pull to go all in is my ever struggle. I was just talking about the Etherfields campaign the other day, after I had first played Nemesis and then immediately wanted everything Awaken Realms produced from there on out, haha. I thought to myself, oh yeah, I'll just get the base pledge and then maybe the sundrop and then as SOON as someone in the Toronto Board Game Swap (401 games has great prices, they're usually my go to as well!) group said they were organizing a group buy, I was like, where do I sign up, haha.
I can definitely appreciate the terrain, but for me I don't think I appreciate it enough to have to store it all. Brews and Board games has a great How To video about creating his own Gloomhaven terrain, and I imagine you could do something similar with most of this since it's also hexagonal. Although definitely not that big old greyskull, haha.
Great and measured video as always. I'm genuinely surprised it's making this much money this quickly. There literally was just another He-man IP game like a month ago. How many He-man fans are there ?
There's such a He-man boom happening right now, I'm so surprised. Although in retrospect, that's probably why the games are coming out now, since the new series has dropped as well. It is bonkers though, especially without the entire Europe market (well not the entire one, I know some people are doubling up)
There are a bunch of fans. I thought everybody liked Masters of the Universe?
The other MOTU game was only available in Europe.
This one is (or will be) the better of the two in terms of how many characters are available.
I was not aware of cmons poor customer support issues. I’ve only ksed all-in their rising sun game and it’s the only cmon game I own
I am a gm of rpgs already, but do dread being the 1 in the game. It’s why I refuse to play the mystery game with the ghost, as I dislike the theme.
If you own one CMON game, Rising Sun is the way to gooooo, it brings a smile to my face anytime anyone mentions it haha.
I almost got rid of Mysterium the other day, but ended up bringing it over to my friends house and we had a good time - that's always one of those games where when I look at it, I think, oh I'm not going to have fun with this, but was nice to be pleasantly surprised.
I 100% thought I was going in on this but I am just not that into this type of game. Very nostalgic for the IP. I am already backing Mythic Battle Rag which is my foolish back of the year.
for licensed IP games, your #5 point is definitely going to ring true for a lot of folks. CMON is nobody's fool, so they know to hide the must-have content behind pay-walls. so far for the MOTU campaign, it's She-Ra. i'm not familiar enough with the IP to predict the next $50 expansion, but be sure it'll be something that He-Man fans will feel all but forced to buy.
thankfully, i'm not a superfan of He-Man, and i will be content to get just the core and maybe She-Ra, assuming i pledge at all. (who am i kidding, we all know my $1 pledge will be magically transformed into a $150+ wallet buster. :p )
great vid, as always. :)
It's so surprising and equally not surprising at all that She-Ra isn't included. Of course she isn't - it's such an easy way to convince people to get that expansion. But maybe she'll be a stretch goal like Nightcrawler, give people someone to cheer for, haha.
Great game. I love it. But I don’t back anything. Let everyone else do it.
Great vid as always. I haven't been in the hobby very long so your insights are always welcome. When I look at this game I objectively know that it's not for me. But if I look at the campaign as a whole, all I can see are $$$. The IP and the fact that it's a CMON game just seems like it's an easy back and flip to fund games I'm actually interested in... But again, I'm new so maybe it's not that easy
I think there will definitely be people in Europe especially who will want copies, because of the licensing exclusion. My thought on flipping games is that if you're not interested in playing them, I'd never get them. Something like this, it's true you could purchase and play and probably sell down the line, but then you also have to worry about sorting out shipping, or dealing with the logistics of it, which after you pay for the shipping twice, doesn't necessarily work out to an extreme windfall. Although I did see someone reselling the Ankh full all in pledge for 500-600 bucks and it cost me something like 324 after everything (all of this is CAD). I just think that you still have to wait a year and a half for this money to return to you, and if you're looking at investing, you probably could invest that money in something over that time and get a similar return. Plus me personally, I would feel really weird turning around and flipping it for double the price, and I'm always so surprised that people are willing to pay that amount, but they all.
Did they ever actually refuse you a refund or to try and steal from your account or just crap customer service? Either way this is disappointing to hear. I was very excited to back the game but now...Hearing how they treat people is absolutely pitiful and almost completely overshadows any other reason to back. Companies that think they're too big to be touched deserve to be touched and in a big way. I am happy to get all the miniatures and the game looks to be fun (if I ever play it) but I can promise this here and now. If they screw something up or try the same kind of bs you mentioned, it will be the very last time they get a cent from me, favorite IP or no. I just *hope* they don't.
Dune: War for Arrakis is the final CMON campaign that will ever back. I hate how they run their Kickstarters and their customer service is pure garbage.
Omg dude...that Time Machine story was infuriating and it didn't even happen to me...I don't know if I can support a company that does that going forward that's ludicrous.
Yeeeaaah it wasn't great, that's for sure, but time heals all... Or ankh heals all, haha.
EU here i need only 1 reason :P
Ew. I HATE Nuns on the Run. It's one of my biggest regret purchases (besides the $30 copy of Spectre I bought the same day I found it was $5 at Dollarama).
Haha, you and Renee both! I think those Dollarama games are some of the most exciting board game deals I've ever seen, let's goooo Torontoooo
I love CMON but couldn’t care less about He-Man.
*Checks watch*.....Nope, not over a million dollars yet. Should totally be off limits from this series.
As far as why it hasn't hit a mil yet....keep in mind CMON is working with half their usual funding base due to the licensing restrictions.
@@BoardGameCo Hi Alex, don't you think there is at least a bit of CMON Kickstarter fatigue setting in? I don't know if I am too sensitive about it but the most recent CMON campaigns felt cynically manipulative to me.
Haha I know! But I decided to fudge the numbers this once - more really as an experiment to see if my UA-cam presence is so all powerful yet that I can make sure they never make it! Mwawawawawawa!
@@RoomandBoardReviews Mmhmm changing the rules when convenient. Let me guess, the next game will only need to hit 1 million yen.
@@wbeytel That's where I'm at. Went all-in with X-men and yet to firm up Zombicide: Undead or Alive bc I'm trying to exercise restraint, but I'll likely end up all-in with that one too and sitting this one out. Too Many Bones just announced an upcoming campaign and if I'm going to drop another $400 before the holidays it'll be on that IP vs yet another CMON game
another solid 5 reasons, you're doing the Lord's work
1. the game is mediocre, and if it's just the game you can buy rise of moloch for around $55 which is verrrry similar.
2. the child inside of you died decades ago and riding a green tiger out of the mouth of a skull castle with working draw bridge is like totally lame
3. you don't have $250 for the castle, because if you aren't getting the castle and terrain go get it retail for $70. (normally I'm with you get the base. but the castle is so essential to board presence that I probably would never play another mode, also my mom wouldn't buy me a castle, so HA I HAVE THE MONEY NOW MOM I CAN BUY MY CASTLE.. and pretend it's a socially acceptable board game component.)
4. he-man's not your thing, don't worry next up is cyberpunk if you're too school for cool.
5. you live in the EU
Yeah super great point about Rise of Moloch, I've heard that from a few places. It's a little bit more expensive by my FLGS, but still less than the base pledge.
people are broke now all that unemployment money is gone lol
Ain't that the truuuuuth, haha
I grew up with He-Man but I'm not interested in the slightest for this.
HE-man, SHE-ra, IT-girl... Well, I don't understand this hype just because Netflix reanimated that horse that died hundreds of years ago.
Ok, I admit, I get things just and only because of nostalgic feelings, too. But as I wrote before, I was fascinated in kindergarden, but it didn't last long. And therefore my reason not to back it is: I am not sure if it is just hype, or really a good game for my money.
But I would not hesitate to buy it, if he-man were my think... This is made for fans.
I'm not sure if you were implying that He man has been brought back to life but if you are Masters of the Universe has been alive and well since the early 2000s. It had a great cartoon that was canceled too early followed up by a very expansive toyline that lasted over a decade and now commands high prices.
@@jonhahn6557 Well, sure... For a fan, this might be THE game. And the toys are expensive - had the opportunity to get some at a flea marked 2 years ago. But since around 1990/95, MotU was gone from TV, playrooms and shops for more than two decades. And the small community of good old (or new) fans is - in my opinion / maybe it is this way in Europe but not in the rest of the world - not enough to call it really alive. So, I don't just want to imply it - even if a real fan would disagree for obvious reasons - He-man was dead for the last 20 years.
A million dollars is a waste of time for CMON. Huge flop. Ok that's an exaggeration, but I think CMON would be disappointed and something that funds like this may not come to retail
Yeah I have to agree, although I don't know the breakdown of how much of their sales come from Europe which they'd have to factor in before they launched.
I disagree with you on CMON's game looking better than Archon's. CMON's artwork looks bland for one. The miniatures aren't as dynamic on a whole.
I don’t think this is pulling in as much money as CMON would’ve liked. Honestly, it’s just another crappy skirmish game with a 40year old IP attached.
Who backs it? The CMON fanbois of course who probably haven’t watched the show since the 80’s but back it anyway lol.
Makes me laugh all these people who have to have everything, even if it’s sitting on a shelf collecting dust lol.
Yeah I think so too, I'm interested to see if the last 48 hours give them a boost or not. I was just expecting this to bring in more than Trudvang but we'll see
The age of the brand doesn't matter. Marvel has been around way longer, yet it is still active, just like He-Man. There have been 2 brand new He-Man cartoon series released this year (one aimed at kids, and one at long-time fans), plus a live action She-Ra show is currently in production.