Really appreciate the deep dive into your preferences towards these kinds of games and how this one appealed to yours. You have me very interested. Thanks for taking the time to make this. I’m going to watch and enjoy your play through now (I know, I watched out of order!). Excellent presentation!
Hey Rodney! Thank you so much for checking out my video! I hope you enjoy the playthrough. I've been a fan of yours since the good ol' days when you were making playthroughs with your kids in what I assume was your basement. Those videos were so entertaining and informative. They have been a big inspiration for my channel. I could go on and on, but I'll stop and say thanks for everything you have done and continue to do for the hobby. You are the face of board gaming for so many of us, and you handle that responsibility effortlessly. Thanks again and have a wonderful day!
@@TotallyTabled It looks different, but I'm still in that same basement from all that time ago :) Thanks for being with us all that time - wow! I have been a fan of the Arkham Horror Card game for a long time (it's one of the few games I prioritize getting to the table regularly). A friend and I play remotely over zoom with our physical components, and this game feels like it might scratch a similar itch... in a slightly different way. I really hoped to get a feel for it, and your video was perfect for that, providing great visuals to bring it to life. Looking forward to exploring more of your work. Thanks again for the kind words!
@@WatchItPlayed Nice basement makeover! That must have been some hard work. I'm a big fan of AH Card Game as well and Earthborne Rangers could definitely work in the way you describe, so long as everyone is up for a chilled out experience. ER doesn't have that same curated story like AH, so a lot of the joy comes from exploration and discovery. I would be honored if you checked out more of my videos. I focus on edited, solo instructional playthroughs here at Totally Tabled, with some listicles mixed in. I put a lot of effort into making the videos as accessible and easy to follow as I can. And I really try to help make heavier games feel less intimidating. I think my best videos are: Frostpunk, This War of Mine, Mage Knight, Robinson Crusoe, Sleeping Gods, Final Girl, Nemesis, Weather Machine, Halls of Hegra and Carnival Zombie. Thanks again and sorry for the sales pitch. :)
Thanks for sharing your impressions Shaggi. The game seems to divide people but the fact that it’s for you (and how it is similar to/differs from Sleeping Gods, my favourite game) means it’s probably also for me. I’m really enjoying your review content, it’s so helpful (alongside your playthroughs) when I’m thinking through whether I should invest in a game.
Yeah, I think you would really love this one, Emma. It ticks off a lot of the same boxes as Sleeping Gods for me, but it has a very different vibe when playing. Hard to explain. Speaking of Sleeping Gods, I'm going to try to get Distant Skies tabled this weekend. Fingers crossed! Thanks, Emma!
Love this video. So spot on. One of my least favorite aspects of gaming is min/maxing and grind. So diving into this game has been such a sweet pleasure for many of the reasons you mentioned. I'm nine days into my first campaign with a Shepard Explorer and have found getting around the map to be such a breeze and I love it. Even if I know I have some time to get to a place and deal with the thing, my character is super ambitious and just wants to go go go (and pet her dog along the way).
I was tempted by Shepard! Probably my next run. I love Hidden Trail or whatever it is called. I'm absolutely zipping around the map which is so much fun. Thanks for checking out the video!
Oh no. Your enthusiasm and love for this game got me super interested in this, …where I previously had NONE before! Lol. Also, speaking of min/maxing, brutal games, you should play Voidfall solo if you haven’t already. My #1 of 2023! Would love to hear your opinion on that one
Love your honest opinions and calling out the min max players. I do see FFG LCG aspects but you nailed it with sleeping gods and story aspects. Ordering one now, you sold me. Prost!🍻
I hope I didn't lead you astray, but if you checked out the playthrough, I think you will know if it is something you might enjoy, especially if you liked Sleeping Gods. It is a different game for sure, but gives me a similar feeling when I play. Let us know what you think when you get it tabled! Thanks so much for watching!
That is a great question and difficult for me to answer at this moment, as I have not completed the campaign yet. My guess is you could see a lot of the game in one campaign, maybe you will. This might be as replayable as an Arkham Horror LCG campaign. The replayability might come with new expansions that offer new locations and stories and missions. The characters you can create feel very different and have unique abilities, so the world might feel different on a second playthrough with a new character, especially if you don't explore every last corner with your first character. Long story, short -- I don't know. Sorry. Thanks for watching!
Great video. I guess my question is, after you have seen all the cards is it still just as fun as the first time? This impressions video makes me think this is a great game while you are experiencing new cards, and maybe for a couple games after that to experience other builds and some new combos, but after that the fun factor looks like it probably drops out. I see there is an expansion with further adventures. Reminds me of RPG campaign books. Great the first time you play it, but not a huge desire to replay it.
Thanks for checking out the video! I think you have it right. After a few runthroughs of the campaign, things will become repetitive. Discovery is a big part of the game for me, and once you've seen something it is not as exciting. Arkham Horror The Card Game feels similar, but there is so much more content for that. I'd say if you are looking for something to play for 30 hours AND replay over and over again, then this may not be it. But I rarely feel like replaying any campaign game. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for sharing. You had very good points and I agree with you. EBR was one of the most unique games I played in 2023. As a side note, I enjoyed EBR a lot more than Sleeping Gods. I played the campaign through. You're right - the save and setup is quick and the footprint small. I enjoyed the campaign and would play a 1 or 2 game days during a play, so I took my time. But, near the end of the campaign I found myself - immediately exploring a location, viewing a few cards, then going to the next location. That caused the travel from location to location to location to became a drudge to me, because there was little, or no, new discovery at most locations after the initial visit. Don't get the wrong idea - I did enjoy the campaign and the quests. It was mainly the travel that got old for me. Build a trail deck, add in 3 (mainly generic) valley cards, go to the location, then rinse and repeat for the next 3 locations until I get to the location that continued the quest. And, then need to head the next quest location which was 3 locations away. The locations that had specific cards added a lot to the game. Unfortunately, most locations didn't have specific cards. Was it The Spire that let you interact with the locals in a more direct manner? I would have liked that mechanic in more locations. I do think the game 'backbone' has a lot of potential. Meaning, the addition of every location having specific cards. And, more specific story cards you add in as the story progresses. That would add a lot to keep the game interesting for me. Maybe some things like that will be done one day?
It is nice to hear your thoughts, especially since you have finished the campaign. I'm not nearly there yet. Your criticism definitely sounds like something that needs to be addressed. If I start feeling that way, I would probably houserule a "fast travel" system like in video games where if I am simply traveling through locations that I've seen before and I have no intention of exploring further, I would simply skip to the desired location. That seems like a nice compromise that doesn't hurt the experience. In fact, what would be truly great is if there was an event deck or something for fast traveling, so that each stop along the way you simply draw a card and have a quick adventure. But you can only do that in locations you have 100% explored or "completed" in some sense. That would be a great addition to a game like this. I agree with you that there is a ton of potential here. My hope is this is just the beginning of a system that will continue to grow and evolve and reach some more of that potential. But I'm having a ton of fun with it right now. Thank you so much for sharing your insights into the game. I really appreciate you sharing that with me and the community here. Have a great day!
Thanks for the review looks like a really interesting game. You said they're doing a reprent. How old is this game already? Thought it was a newer release.
The game is very new. I don't think you can pick it up in retail so they are doing a second printing for people with an expansion, I believe. This is how things are done these days with crowdfunding, unfortunately. Thanks for watching!
I pick up dice from all over the place -- during sales I try to get cheap dice, etc. So I just have a bunch of random dice for these kind of situations. I don't believe they are special in any way, just something you would find if you search for "translucent dice" on Amazon. Thanks for watching!
Your character Eva is my spirit animal! But I play with Traveller Conciliator with 3 Spirit for the sake of the game play (when I'm more confident I'll play with a more loner character). I love this game, it's my first and only LCG style game, I can't see any others would appeal to me [too much combat/confrontation], so I'm very much looking forward to all future releases for this game.
I wanted to play with 1 FIT but the rulebook warned against it when playing solo. I have the gear that lets you use FOC instead when traversing so I think I could have made it work. My next run will definitely be 3 Spirit 1 Fitness. Thanks so much for checking out the video!
This game looks fantastic. I am curious if the price tag ($100 US) is a hinderance though. I understand the production included some real deviations from the norms of boardgame manufacturing (US production, no single use plastics, etc.). I love that, it will just take me some more contemplation if i want to dive into it or not.
It is definitely expensive and that will unfortunately keep it from really getting popular and played in great numbers. Most crowdfunded games will stay fairly small and niche but this is a very specific experience that probably won't appeal to a wider audience anyway. Thanks for watching.
This isn’t available in Australia yet. Looking forward to it being available though. I agree with most of what you say. I do see however that travelling between locations could get repetitive as the same cards will need to be encountered. I hope they bring out more options for location travelling.
Yeah, that is a valid concern. I'm loving my character that can skip around the map using Hidden Paths. That makes the travel more enjoyable. I think using a "fast travel" houserule is not a terrible idea for later in the game. But there are a lot of different terrain types, so you get to see new stuff for a long long time. I've not reached the later stages of the campaign yet, so I can't speak to that. But if travel gets repetitive, I'll do some kind of fast travel. That seems more than reasonable. Thanks for checking out the video, Steve!
Pivotal locations have recurring npcs, many with a handful of interactions, so you'd want to encounter them 3+ times to exhaust their quest-lines. Non-pivotal locations are partially constructed from a 'valley' deck, choosing three cards out of roughly 20 options, so even visiting those has variation. Location decks are very easy to construct and shouldn't take more than a minute or so if the game is kept ptoperly organised. Fast-travel is a viable house-rule yet may dilute some of the tension of campaign missions; for instance, currently I've a pressing matter on the opposite side of the map which requires solving within a couple of days; it will take me one day just to travel to the general location, leaving little time to solve the crisis. Fast-travel would completely trivialise the matter. An alternative to fast-travel to consider is running a 2nd team of rangers, so a team for the North and one for the South, which allows you to experience more of the card pool and different playstyles of the ranger professions.
@@tzera_rhuon That might be the case but it feels and comes across as repetitive. This translate into doing locations again and again, therefore a strong direction of getting stale; also running the real risk of being frustrating. A second team would be hard to handle as a solo or at two. That makes me think there is weaknesses in the issue being a problem going from one side of the map to another.
Hmmm, I'm not sure. I have a pile of random dice that I've acquired during random sales over the years. I don't think they are special in any way -- just basic dice you can get from any online gaming store or Amazon or something. Thanks for watching!
This is the next game on my to own list. 3 local game stores haven’t even heard of this game. Like why the hell not! Is it because I’m in Canada? I’ll order it online l suppose…
There is a crowdfunding campaign currently on Gamefound for the Second Edition and an expansion. That might be the best way to jump in if you don't mind waiting a bit. Worth checking out. I think it ends soon. Thanks for watching!
I'm probably not the best person to answer this as I'm only halfway through the campaign. My instinct is you could easily play through the campaign a second time with a different ranger and have a good time. Sure, you would know certain things, but I'm not seeing everything in my first playthrough. That is my current impression, but who knows how I'll feel once I finish the campaign. Sorry for the wishy-washy response. Thanks for watching!
I keep changing my mind about this game. It’s coming up on Gamefound and couple times I’ve been in/out. Currently feel like I’m out. Biggest problem I have, it seems very convoluted, so much going on to keep track off. Reminds me of other games these guys worked on when they were at FFG. I have Arkham Horror the card game and it feels similar to that. Once again a lot going on with lots of cards on the table. So yeah, May still be a pass but I’ll go check out your tutorial anyway.
Thank you for such a lovely spotlight on our game! :)
Thank you for checking out the channel and watching my video! I'm very excited for the future of this game!
Really appreciate the deep dive into your preferences towards these kinds of games and how this one appealed to yours. You have me very interested. Thanks for taking the time to make this. I’m going to watch and enjoy your play through now (I know, I watched out of order!). Excellent presentation!
Hey Rodney! Thank you so much for checking out my video! I hope you enjoy the playthrough. I've been a fan of yours since the good ol' days when you were making playthroughs with your kids in what I assume was your basement. Those videos were so entertaining and informative. They have been a big inspiration for my channel. I could go on and on, but I'll stop and say thanks for everything you have done and continue to do for the hobby. You are the face of board gaming for so many of us, and you handle that responsibility effortlessly. Thanks again and have a wonderful day!
@@TotallyTabled It looks different, but I'm still in that same basement from all that time ago :) Thanks for being with us all that time - wow! I have been a fan of the Arkham Horror Card game for a long time (it's one of the few games I prioritize getting to the table regularly). A friend and I play remotely over zoom with our physical components, and this game feels like it might scratch a similar itch... in a slightly different way. I really hoped to get a feel for it, and your video was perfect for that, providing great visuals to bring it to life. Looking forward to exploring more of your work. Thanks again for the kind words!
@@WatchItPlayed Nice basement makeover! That must have been some hard work. I'm a big fan of AH Card Game as well and Earthborne Rangers could definitely work in the way you describe, so long as everyone is up for a chilled out experience. ER doesn't have that same curated story like AH, so a lot of the joy comes from exploration and discovery.
I would be honored if you checked out more of my videos. I focus on edited, solo instructional playthroughs here at Totally Tabled, with some listicles mixed in. I put a lot of effort into making the videos as accessible and easy to follow as I can. And I really try to help make heavier games feel less intimidating. I think my best videos are: Frostpunk, This War of Mine, Mage Knight, Robinson Crusoe, Sleeping Gods, Final Girl, Nemesis, Weather Machine, Halls of Hegra and Carnival Zombie. Thanks again and sorry for the sales pitch. :)
@@TotallyTabled Not at all, I'm excited to hear what YOU'RE excited about :)
Thanks for sharing your impressions Shaggi. The game seems to divide people but the fact that it’s for you (and how it is similar to/differs from Sleeping Gods, my favourite game) means it’s probably also for me. I’m really enjoying your review content, it’s so helpful (alongside your playthroughs) when I’m thinking through whether I should invest in a game.
Yeah, I think you would really love this one, Emma. It ticks off a lot of the same boxes as Sleeping Gods for me, but it has a very different vibe when playing. Hard to explain. Speaking of Sleeping Gods, I'm going to try to get Distant Skies tabled this weekend. Fingers crossed! Thanks, Emma!
Love this video. So spot on. One of my least favorite aspects of gaming is min/maxing and grind. So diving into this game has been such a sweet pleasure for many of the reasons you mentioned. I'm nine days into my first campaign with a Shepard Explorer and have found getting around the map to be such a breeze and I love it. Even if I know I have some time to get to a place and deal with the thing, my character is super ambitious and just wants to go go go (and pet her dog along the way).
I was tempted by Shepard! Probably my next run. I love Hidden Trail or whatever it is called. I'm absolutely zipping around the map which is so much fun. Thanks for checking out the video!
Oh no. Your enthusiasm and love for this game got me super interested in this, …where I previously had NONE before! Lol. Also, speaking of min/maxing, brutal games, you should play Voidfall solo if you haven’t already. My #1 of 2023! Would love to hear your opinion on that one
Be sure to check out the playthrough to make sure. As for Voidfall, it is currently on my table. 😎 Thanks for checking out the video!
@@TotallyTabled looking forward to a playthrough! It’s looks more complicated than it really is in my opinion
awesome review - ty!
Thanks for checking out the review!
Love your honest opinions and calling out the min max players. I do see FFG LCG aspects but you nailed it with sleeping gods and story aspects. Ordering one now, you sold me. Prost!🍻
I hope I didn't lead you astray, but if you checked out the playthrough, I think you will know if it is something you might enjoy, especially if you liked Sleeping Gods. It is a different game for sure, but gives me a similar feeling when I play. Let us know what you think when you get it tabled! Thanks so much for watching!
Could one playthrough be very different than the next one? I'm trying to gauge this game's replayability. Thank you as always for your great channel!
That is a great question and difficult for me to answer at this moment, as I have not completed the campaign yet. My guess is you could see a lot of the game in one campaign, maybe you will. This might be as replayable as an Arkham Horror LCG campaign. The replayability might come with new expansions that offer new locations and stories and missions. The characters you can create feel very different and have unique abilities, so the world might feel different on a second playthrough with a new character, especially if you don't explore every last corner with your first character. Long story, short -- I don't know. Sorry. Thanks for watching!
Great video. I guess my question is, after you have seen all the cards is it still just as fun as the first time? This impressions video makes me think this is a great game while you are experiencing new cards, and maybe for a couple games after that to experience other builds and some new combos, but after that the fun factor looks like it probably drops out. I see there is an expansion with further adventures. Reminds me of RPG campaign books. Great the first time you play it, but not a huge desire to replay it.
Thanks for checking out the video! I think you have it right. After a few runthroughs of the campaign, things will become repetitive. Discovery is a big part of the game for me, and once you've seen something it is not as exciting. Arkham Horror The Card Game feels similar, but there is so much more content for that. I'd say if you are looking for something to play for 30 hours AND replay over and over again, then this may not be it. But I rarely feel like replaying any campaign game. Thanks for watching!
Thanks for sharing. You had very good points and I agree with you.
EBR was one of the most unique games I played in 2023. As a side note, I enjoyed EBR a lot more than Sleeping Gods. I played the campaign through. You're right - the save and setup is quick and the footprint small. I enjoyed the campaign and would play a 1 or 2 game days during a play, so I took my time.
But, near the end of the campaign I found myself - immediately exploring a location, viewing a few cards, then going to the next location. That caused the travel from location to location to location to became a drudge to me, because there was little, or no, new discovery at most locations after the initial visit. Don't get the wrong idea - I did enjoy the campaign and the quests. It was mainly the travel that got old for me. Build a trail deck, add in 3 (mainly generic) valley cards, go to the location, then rinse and repeat for the next 3 locations until I get to the location that continued the quest. And, then need to head the next quest location which was 3 locations away.
The locations that had specific cards added a lot to the game. Unfortunately, most locations didn't have specific cards. Was it The Spire that let you interact with the locals in a more direct manner? I would have liked that mechanic in more locations.
I do think the game 'backbone' has a lot of potential. Meaning, the addition of every location having specific cards. And, more specific story cards you add in as the story progresses. That would add a lot to keep the game interesting for me. Maybe some things like that will be done one day?
It is nice to hear your thoughts, especially since you have finished the campaign. I'm not nearly there yet. Your criticism definitely sounds like something that needs to be addressed. If I start feeling that way, I would probably houserule a "fast travel" system like in video games where if I am simply traveling through locations that I've seen before and I have no intention of exploring further, I would simply skip to the desired location. That seems like a nice compromise that doesn't hurt the experience. In fact, what would be truly great is if there was an event deck or something for fast traveling, so that each stop along the way you simply draw a card and have a quick adventure. But you can only do that in locations you have 100% explored or "completed" in some sense. That would be a great addition to a game like this.
I agree with you that there is a ton of potential here. My hope is this is just the beginning of a system that will continue to grow and evolve and reach some more of that potential. But I'm having a ton of fun with it right now. Thank you so much for sharing your insights into the game. I really appreciate you sharing that with me and the community here. Have a great day!
Thanks for sharing. I think you have some great points as well. We agree that the game definitely has a lot of potential. @@TotallyTabled
Thanks for the review looks like a really interesting game. You said they're doing a reprent. How old is this game already? Thought it was a newer release.
The game is very new. I don't think you can pick it up in retail so they are doing a second printing for people with an expansion, I believe. This is how things are done these days with crowdfunding, unfortunately. Thanks for watching!
Where did you get the colourful dice that match the game colours so perfectly?
I pick up dice from all over the place -- during sales I try to get cheap dice, etc. So I just have a bunch of random dice for these kind of situations. I don't believe they are special in any way, just something you would find if you search for "translucent dice" on Amazon. Thanks for watching!
Your character Eva is my spirit animal! But I play with Traveller Conciliator with 3 Spirit for the sake of the game play (when I'm more confident I'll play with a more loner character). I love this game, it's my first and only LCG style game, I can't see any others would appeal to me [too much combat/confrontation], so I'm very much looking forward to all future releases for this game.
I wanted to play with 1 FIT but the rulebook warned against it when playing solo. I have the gear that lets you use FOC instead when traversing so I think I could have made it work. My next run will definitely be 3 Spirit 1 Fitness. Thanks so much for checking out the video!
This game looks fantastic. I am curious if the price tag ($100 US) is a hinderance though. I understand the production included some real deviations from the norms of boardgame manufacturing (US production, no single use plastics, etc.). I love that, it will just take me some more contemplation if i want to dive into it or not.
It is definitely expensive and that will unfortunately keep it from really getting popular and played in great numbers. Most crowdfunded games will stay fairly small and niche but this is a very specific experience that probably won't appeal to a wider audience anyway. Thanks for watching.
This isn’t available in Australia yet. Looking forward to it being available though. I agree with most of what you say. I do see however that travelling between locations could get repetitive as the same cards will need to be encountered. I hope they bring out more options for location travelling.
Yeah, that is a valid concern. I'm loving my character that can skip around the map using Hidden Paths. That makes the travel more enjoyable. I think using a "fast travel" houserule is not a terrible idea for later in the game. But there are a lot of different terrain types, so you get to see new stuff for a long long time. I've not reached the later stages of the campaign yet, so I can't speak to that. But if travel gets repetitive, I'll do some kind of fast travel. That seems more than reasonable. Thanks for checking out the video, Steve!
Pivotal locations have recurring npcs, many with a handful of interactions, so you'd want to encounter them 3+ times to exhaust their quest-lines. Non-pivotal locations are partially constructed from a 'valley' deck, choosing three cards out of roughly 20 options, so even visiting those has variation. Location decks are very easy to construct and shouldn't take more than a minute or so if the game is kept ptoperly organised.
Fast-travel is a viable house-rule yet may dilute some of the tension of campaign missions; for instance, currently I've a pressing matter on the opposite side of the map which requires solving within a couple of days; it will take me one day just to travel to the general location, leaving little time to solve the crisis. Fast-travel would completely trivialise the matter.
An alternative to fast-travel to consider is running a 2nd team of rangers, so a team for the North and one for the South, which allows you to experience more of the card pool and different playstyles of the ranger professions.
@@tzera_rhuon That might be the case but it feels and comes across as repetitive. This translate into doing locations again and again, therefore a strong direction of getting stale; also running the real risk of being frustrating. A second team would be hard to handle as a solo or at two. That makes me think there is weaknesses in the issue being a problem going from one side of the map to another.
Where did you get your dice? Your ability energy and tracker dice .
Hmmm, I'm not sure. I have a pile of random dice that I've acquired during random sales over the years. I don't think they are special in any way -- just basic dice you can get from any online gaming store or Amazon or something. Thanks for watching!
This is the next game on my to own list. 3 local game stores haven’t even heard of this game. Like why the hell not! Is it because I’m in Canada?
I’ll order it online l suppose…
There is a crowdfunding campaign currently on Gamefound for the Second Edition and an expansion. That might be the best way to jump in if you don't mind waiting a bit. Worth checking out. I think it ends soon. Thanks for watching!
@@TotallyTabled Thanks for the info!! I’ll definitely look into that seeing’s every place I try to order from is sold out right now. Thanks so much!
@@TotallyTabled I backed this on gamefound. Thanks so much! I’m slightly new to board games and had never heard of ‘Gamefound’ before.
At this point, do you know how the replayability is? Could I play a solo campaign, and then play one with friends and still enjoy it?
I'm probably not the best person to answer this as I'm only halfway through the campaign. My instinct is you could easily play through the campaign a second time with a different ranger and have a good time. Sure, you would know certain things, but I'm not seeing everything in my first playthrough. That is my current impression, but who knows how I'll feel once I finish the campaign. Sorry for the wishy-washy response. Thanks for watching!
Best channel... Best Shaggy ❤
Thank you so much. Thank it very kind of you to say.
I keep changing my mind about this game.
It’s coming up on Gamefound and couple times I’ve been in/out.
Currently feel like I’m out.
Biggest problem I have, it seems very convoluted, so much going on to keep track off. Reminds me of other games these guys worked on when they were at FFG. I have Arkham Horror the card game and it feels similar to that. Once again a lot going on with lots of cards on the table.
So yeah, May still be a pass but I’ll go check out your tutorial anyway.
Thank you. I’m afraid I’m not of fan of this artwork.
I love the game but am mixed on some of the art.
I'm surprised to hear negative impressions of the art. I think it looks great but art is extremely subjective. Thanks for watching!