How to Play CHEOPS BOARD GAME Full Rules Tutorial & Review - Episode 51: Scarab Scavengers

Поділитися
Вставка
  • Опубліковано 14 лис 2024

КОМЕНТАРІ • 45

  • @undiscovered_games
    @undiscovered_games  Місяць тому +5

    Bigtime shoutout to @cfrost6167, @bgsontap, @freerider2233212, and all the awesome folks over at The Coldness Discord for motivating me to finally make this episode! It has been on my radar somewhat, but all of you have really been talking highly of Cheops for quite awhile now. So this episode is for you guys!! 😎😎😎

    • @YakovPetrovich
      @YakovPetrovich Місяць тому

      coldness discord is the base that holds up the pyramid of undiscovered games ;) oh btw, this video finally convinced me to get a copy of the game, because the discord didnt do a good enough job :)

    • @undiscovered_games
      @undiscovered_games  Місяць тому

      @@YakovPetrovich haha that’s a great comment!! I sincerely hope you enjoy this one (I think you will 😉). Thanks so much for watching! Let me know how you like the game!

  • @cfrost6167
    @cfrost6167 Місяць тому +1

    I’ve been beating the drum for Cheops for a couple years now so it’s great to finally see someone covering it! I feel like a German-only publishing and a bad rule book (or at least bad rule book translation) has held this game back from wider appreciation.
    I totally agree this is best at three and playing with the law tiles face up is the way to go. For a tiebreaker, I play the winner is the player with the fewest scarabs collected. Also, I play with a house rule where players can draw from two face-up stacks. It leads to fewer situations where a player gets “stuck” and is forced to pass. Speaking of which, I don’t see anything from the rules about passing on a tile draw but later being able to draw back up to 4. However, if that works for you, I say go for it!

    • @undiscovered_games
      @undiscovered_games  Місяць тому

      Dude yes! In fact, your most recent comment inspired me to finally make this episode. So this episode is for you!!! I meant to give you a shoutout and totally forgot 🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️ Grrrr!!! About three different people I trust have recommended this one to me over the past two years or so, and it was an instant buy when I first read up on it. Anyway, it's such an awesome game, so thank you for the motivation!!
      Thanks for the tips on the tiebreaker and the house rules. I will try that next time. My translation of the rules is a translation that's not even in the BGG files; it was just inside the box when I got the game. But some people on the BGG forums were talking about the option to pass on drawing back up to 4, so I assumed it was the rule?? I thought it was one of those unnecessary wonky rules, and I could never figure out why it was in there (other than to bide your time and wait for a different family member to show up). As far as I am concerned, I agree you should just draw from 2 or even 3 of the stacks. That seems much more intuitive!
      Thanks again man! This game is a treasure!!!

    • @grantfraser5430
      @grantfraser5430 Місяць тому

      ​@@undiscovered_games Instant buy? Where are you buying it from if it's only available in Germany? Agreed this looks like a great game. Super easy to play but looks like a reasonable amount of depth and replayability.
      Without having played the game yet, I kind of like the unknown element of face down laws. I could play either way. How about a third option, laws are face down until the first neighbor is played below a law. This gives a couple of turns to prepare for any rule change.
      I can't think of too many tiebreaker ideas, fewest scarabs seems to work. The only other thing I could think of was reverse turn order. Is there a significant advantage to potentially getting an extra turn and are ties rare or more frequent than expected?

    • @undiscovered_games
      @undiscovered_games  Місяць тому

      @@grantfraser5430 This one is long out of print, but you can find copies floating around on eBay or Amazon sometimes. I bought this on Amazon Germany a couple years ago. I like your suggestion for the tiles being face down at the start and then flipping them over later. This game seems like there are lots of little variants you could try!
      In my experience, we have never had a tied score because the scoring tiles are all over the place with their values. So it's probably a pretty rare event. I was thinking maybe among the tied players, whoever had fewer turns (since the game ends instantly when one of the conditions is met). And if it's still tied, then maybe fewest scarabs collected.??
      Thanks for the ideas and the comment!!

    • @cfrost6167
      @cfrost6167 Місяць тому

      No worries about the shoutout - I was just excited to see you cover Cheops! Also, I may be to blame for the tile draw stuff: A friend taught the game to me incorrectly and it wasn't till I came across the rules translation on BGG that I realized we might be playing incorrectly. 😅Anyway, so glad you enjoyed it!

    • @undiscovered_games
      @undiscovered_games  Місяць тому +1

      @@cfrost6167 I pinned a comment giving you all a shoutout!! I always try to do that because I would’ve never found this game if not for all of you who championed it! I just caught up in the editing that it totally slipped my mind. Regarding the tile draw, I think there are probably many different variants you could try with that. It probably doesn’t change the gameplay that much, honestly. It would be fun to play around with some different ideas there!!!

  • @WhereMyMeepsAt
    @WhereMyMeepsAt 17 днів тому

    Oh... I love the look of this! and what a niche. Can't wait to discover more hidden gems!!!

    • @undiscovered_games
      @undiscovered_games  17 днів тому +1

      I am so happy you found my channel! The hidden gems are what this channel is all about, so you are in the right place! I hope you can find some amazing games here from my previous 50 episodes, and we are just getting started... I have hundreds of episodes to make still!! :) :) :) Looking forward to chatting about more games with you! Thanks for the comment!

    • @WhereMyMeepsAt
      @WhereMyMeepsAt 17 днів тому

      @@undiscovered_games PUMPED!!!!

  • @ludwigmises
    @ludwigmises Місяць тому +1

    This game looks like it’d be great fun. Really good design.

    • @undiscovered_games
      @undiscovered_games  Місяць тому

      Super smooth game with some mischief and exciting tension!! It's a fun one for sure!!

  • @Timhotep8724
    @Timhotep8724 Місяць тому

    Fantastic undiscovered game, thanks for all your hard work in bringing this gem to us. Looks like a brilliant game but those tiles look brutal 😮

    • @undiscovered_games
      @undiscovered_games  Місяць тому

      Haha yesss, the tiles are brutal!!! Those tiles absolutely make the game!!! Enjoy :)

  • @boardgameswithb7
    @boardgameswithb7 Місяць тому +1

    We really appreciate YOU for creating all these awesome videos UDG! Keep it up! Never heard of this one before, and it looks exactly like my kind of game! My poor wallet 😹😹 I wonder what you found at the garage sale 🙀

    • @undiscovered_games
      @undiscovered_games  Місяць тому

      Thanks for the kind words, B7! You’re awesome!! My wallet has been punching me since I discovered this hobby 😭 😭 😂😂😂. So far, it has been worth it though 🤷🏻‍♂️ Sooo many amazing games to discover. The garage sale games are some of my most undiscovered games yet!!! Stay tuned 😁😁😁 And I STILL need to get Revolution played. It’s still at the top of my to-play list!!!!!!

  • @jonathanpeters3530
    @jonathanpeters3530 Місяць тому

    Love this channel. Keep up the amazing work!

  • @unethicalbatman3496
    @unethicalbatman3496 Місяць тому

    Oh man I totally see what you mean w those price tables! I think that’s awesome how one color can be worth so much one second and then zero the next 😂😂😂 Thst right there makes me wanna try this one. I can foresee some awesome cutthroat interactions there and it looks like it could get really tense. Amazing episode as always UG! Love these types of games 🔥

    • @undiscovered_games
      @undiscovered_games  Місяць тому

      Yeah the price tables absolutely make the game!! I love swingy mechanisms like that. And these are _very_ swingy 😂😂 It’s a lot of fun because of that. Thanks for the comment!!!

  • @coalitionofseekers9572
    @coalitionofseekers9572 Місяць тому

    This looks interesting! Right up my alley. Today I found Colossal Arena and Clash of the Gladiators at a flea market. You played either of those? Clash of the Gladiators might be a contender for Undiscovered Turd😂

    • @undiscovered_games
      @undiscovered_games  Місяць тому +1

      Colossal Arena is great!!! That's a great flea market find! Classic Knizia. I reviewed that one on my Instagram a lonnnng time ago. I know nothing about Clash of the Gladiators! Haha, I guess you never know... it could be good, could be horrid LOL! Such is the nature of hunting for gems. Let me know how it goes :D You'll definitely like Colossal Arena though.

  • @MrJmarzetti
    @MrJmarzetti Місяць тому

    This totally looks like the type of game I would like. Here's an idea on how to shorten the game. Before set up, remove 2 each of the citizen tiles. Then set up the game as normal. Before normal play begins, do an initial snake draft of just the scarabs from the bottom row of the pyramid. Starting with the first player taking one scarab at a time. In a 2 or 4 player game, remove the single remaining scarab and return it to the box. In a 3 player game, remove the remaining 2 scarabs. These drafted scarabs become a starting collection for each player. Then, play the game as normal, only the second row of the pyramid becomes the starting row for placing citizen tiles, disregarding the bottom row for the rest of the game.

    • @undiscovered_games
      @undiscovered_games  Місяць тому +1

      That is an awesome idea! I will definitely have to try that next game. I like the idea of snake drafting the scarabs up front! Thanks for the great comment! I love reading such awesome comments from my viewers!!!! Cheers, my friend!

    • @MrJmarzetti
      @MrJmarzetti Місяць тому

      Thanks! I'm glad you enjoyed it.😊​@@undiscovered_games

  • @philip4559
    @philip4559 6 днів тому

    Had to get this after seeing your video. I like it quite a bit, just thought that it’s a bit directionless during the first half when you have no clue which color will be valuable at the end. In Wildlife Safari/Botswana or Acquire you can at least try to make a plan based on your hand of cards/buildings. Here I had the impression that you randomly take or sell the jelly beans at the beginning because anything can happen. Do you know what I mean?

    • @undiscovered_games
      @undiscovered_games  5 днів тому

      Thanks for the great comment! I can see what you're saying about the early game; I would tend to agree that the first couple moves feel a bit random, but it's still ultimately up to the players how the game progresses, & you have to react accordingly. I think the key to Cheops is you have to think in terms of planning a "route."
      The more you play the game, the more you'll see how important that spatial puzzle/route planning is to the strategy, where you can plan how you're going to place the next few bricks and snake your way up the pyramid (while also watching for new opportunities to arise based on where your opponents place bricks). You can place bricks so that you can secure certain colors for yourself while blocking opponents from being able to reach certain colors.
      Unlike Botswana, your opponents' bricks are totally visible, so you need to pay attention not only to what colors they are collecting, but _where_ they're able to place their bricks. That's why I like Cheops best at 3p; at 4-5p, it becomes more unpredictable & you can't do a whole lot of "route" planning. So I definitely recommend playing this at 3p and giving it a couple plays. I think you'll get better at knowing what to go for early in the game.
      By the way, I _love_ Botswana and Acquire also! I think what makes Cheops different is the spatial "route" thing, the shrinking board near the top of the pyramid (Acquire sort of has that as the companies merge), the swingy values of the price tables, and of course the law tiles, all of which make the game play out so differently from game to game.
      Sorry for the rambling reply; I'm just trying to put into words how my brain works when I think about Cheops. I have all 3 of those games in my collection for a reason, which means they're different enough for me to justify owning all 3. So maybe my reply will help you approach the game differently next time you play. Report back to me; I'd love to know if the game improves for you!! :)
      Cheers!
      - UG

    • @philip4559
      @philip4559 5 днів тому

      @@undiscovered_games I see what you mean with the route planning aspect. In my first play I was more trying to read the board in terms of seeing how many pieces of which color might be still reached by any player and less on the planning how I could get which pieces. I think I’ll try to focus more on that next time.
      What you wrote about the wall tile blocking is also interesting. In my first game I thought that the wall placement restriction wouldn’t really matter because players always have plenty of options with their four tiles if they try to balance the family members out a bit. But maybe I just have to observe the other players tile reserves more next time. I‘ll let you know how it goes.

    • @philip4559
      @philip4559 5 днів тому

      @@undiscovered_games Played it a second time now at 2p and enjoyed it more. It was really only the first few turns now that were random and, as you said, managing and observing the bricks based on the planned route became more important. We were also using the neighbor tiles more often now.
      The only thing that I don't like at all about the game are those law tiles. We're playing without them because some of the effects are a bit weird, the symbology is not intuitive and in general I don't like special abilities in board games (makes games less elegant and smooth in my opinion).
      We're just treating the law spaces as if bricks of a fifth type were already placed there. I also thought about just placing the 6 "unused" scarabs on those spaces but I thought it might be more interesting if we reach the top of the pyramid slightly earlier.

    • @undiscovered_games
      @undiscovered_games  5 днів тому

      Thanks for the update! That’s awesome the game improved! It definitely gets better the more you play. The law tiles are my least favorite part too; they shake up the game in weird ways, but honestly I’ve never even considered playing without them. That’s a brilliantly simple idea; thanks for sharing that! I can’t believe I never even considered that. I will definitely try it next time. We only play with those law tiles face up because I’ve been burned by them more often than not. But yes, I agree about special abilities mucking up the flow of games. Now I’m excited to try it without those. I think leaving the law spaces empty would be a cool idea because at some point _someone_ will have to take one for the team and fill it in without getting a scarab. That’s an interesting idea!! Thanks again for the great comments!!

    • @philip4559
      @philip4559 4 дні тому

      @@undiscovered_games Not sure about leaving them empty. Maybe that’s too big of a disadvantage for the player who gets no scarab. But now that I think about it you could as well place 6 random bricks on the law spaces during setup. Then you would have to consider those for the route planning - might also be interesting.

  • @diamondmeeple
    @diamondmeeple Місяць тому

    Seems playing with the tiles face up makes the game much better.

    • @undiscovered_games
      @undiscovered_games  Місяць тому +1

      Completely agree. Knowing all that info ahead of time makes for some tense moments, especially when you know what your opponents are wanting to collect. It's definitely the best way to play in my opinion!

  • @fleazapp
    @fleazapp Місяць тому

    this looks amazing! what game does it remind you of?

    • @undiscovered_games
      @undiscovered_games  Місяць тому +1

      It reminds me most of Quandary and Paris Connection (both of which I covered on this channel previously). However, the swingy price tables are what make Cheops different. Quandary and Paris Connection are both excellent, so I can't say I like this better or worse than those. But those would be the 2 games I compare it to the most. All 3 are unique and awesome! Thanks for the comment!

  • @fleazapp
    @fleazapp Місяць тому

    btw how do you hunt games from US? do you visit Essen Spiel to hunt older games?

    • @undiscovered_games
      @undiscovered_games  Місяць тому +2

      I wish I could visit Essen.... that's on my bucket list! A lot of these games I discovered early on in the hobby when I went crazy buying games around 2013 or so. But this Cheops game in particular was recommended by 3 different people over the past couple years. There are certain accounts/users who I've grown to trust to recommend games to me, and this was one of those examples! Also, I am a diehard thrift store shopper, online shopper, and garage sale attendee. So I've found a lot of gems there! Not to mention the hours and hours I spend reading through BGG forums and reviews. So I guess it's kind of all over the place! Thanks for the comment!!

  • @greginfla_1
    @greginfla_1 22 дні тому

    how did you find this game? never mind answered 25:10 what part of the country do you live in? Did the person at the garage sale? Tell you the story of how they acquire so many old German boardgames?

    • @undiscovered_games
      @undiscovered_games  20 днів тому

      Thanks for this comment as well! Cheops was actually _not_ from the garage sale; at 25:10 I was just talking about some upcoming episodes featuring those garage sale discoveries. I actually discovered Cheops from several recommendations here on UA-cam and Instagram.
      Regarding your question: I stay anonymous on here for fun ("undiscovered") so I don't want to say where I live ;) But I did drive about 2 hours to get to this garage sale. I saw it advertised online, and I saw a couple old games in the photo for the ad. I am so glad I went because these are some real treasures. The man at the garage sale said he used to live in Germany for his work back in the 90s. And so he discovered a lot of these while he lived there. Eventually, once the hobby blew up here in the USA, he forgot about these old games and started chasing all the new stuff. He was surprised I drove all that way to get these games specifically. He had a lot of newer stuff too, but I wasn't interested haha!!

    • @greginfla_1
      @greginfla_1 20 днів тому

      @@undiscovered_games I only ask about location because I see these people posting look what I found at the thrift store and every time I go to the thrift store it may be some trivia pursuit mass produce game but never anything good.
      Well that’s a pretty good story about the garage sale. How many games did you pick up?

    • @undiscovered_games
      @undiscovered_games  20 днів тому

      @@greginfla_1 no worries! I understand that for sure. Yeah, I haven’t had much luck thrifting good games. I have found a couple over the past 10 years, but only a small amount. Mostly it’s the mass produced stuff. I found about 9 or 10 old German games from this garage sale!! I’m excited to make videos for them!!

  • @greginfla_1
    @greginfla_1 22 дні тому

    Wow 9/9.5.… even with all wild swinging rules….. the whole player in the league takes point penalty… is rough…. but I guess it’s a catch-up mechanic

    • @undiscovered_games
      @undiscovered_games  20 днів тому +1

      Thanks for the comment! It's worth noting my personal rating scale is a bit different than BGG's. I rate games based on a school grading scale. So 9 would be an A minus. A 9.5 is a solid A. 8/10 is a B minus. 7/10 is a C minus. Etc. etc. Anything below a 7 leaves my collection. So on the BGG rating scale, I feel like this should be around a 7.8... just my personally feeling. Anyway, I hope that helps put my rating in perspective. Thanks again for watching!