The Deluxe version released last year is improved a lot. There are modules that expand the game, and they rebalanced some cards, and they worked on a short game with 8 rounds, a good solo mode and a cooperative mode as well
Agreed, the deluxe allows you to create a mix of objectives and events that suit your gaming group's preferences and experience, adds agents with special abilities, and shortens the game overall, along with even better art. It's a much better game for it.
@@whittaker007 once we tried to play with all the modules the long game, despite in the manual it was explained very well it shouldn't be played that way, after the game we realized how the modules can break the game if you play 11 round, that to me shows great refining of the system, they surely did a great job with that version!
Agreed. You can use different card sets to add more resources or money. Or remove attack cards for mutually beneficial cards. Change the round limit. It really improved the experience a lot. In fact, the way they redesigned it you can't actually play the original game of Yedo with the master set. You can get close though if you like bonking your head on a brick wall for 3-4 hours.
That was a very fair and honest assessment of the original game. Lord's of Waterdeep is great for what it does in a streamlined format. We play it a lot in my group. But there is something so satisfying in Yedo about having the right tools, with the right people, in the right spots, at the right time to complete your black mission. Yes a lot can go wrong, but when it goes right the feeling of accomplishment is wonderful.
I love this game. My group had Lords of Waterdeep with the expansions and the guy sold it off because overall, this one just hit better with my group. I think most worker placement games I like have a frustration element. If I get to do everything I want each round, it feels a little too open. Competing with other people for locations is what makes worker placement games click for me.
Great video - agree with comment below.... the deluxe version addresses alot of the issues & also makes it even more gorgeous to look at. We have that version and enjoy it.
No I just think we have played it so often we know the decks of cards well and can kind of anticipate our next turn before time. Just things like noticing that most of the Black missions almost all need a certain Annex, if we don't have that particular annex then we know its not even worth looking at that pile of cards for more missions. We also know that the three worst cards may show up in the event deck (fire, earthquake and tsunami) so holding on to a blessing counter is needed and once used getting it back asap is a good idea. Bidding for an Annex for us always starts with bid of at least 10 money cause that's what its available on the board for anyway, just little things that add up to a quicker playthrough overall.
We played this one not too long ago and really enjoyed it. Of course, we only played at 2 and that still took about 2/230 hours so I can only image what its like at the full amount. I disagree about the lower missions being more or less uselss though. They are moreso there to get you gold early game to make the red/black missions easier in the late game. But also I had a favor card in our game that gave me 1 point for each green mission completed and 1 point for every 2 missions completed so those easier to complete quests were essential for me to take on for those end of the game victory points. I think, like you mentioned earlier, I like that there are so many different routes to take for success in this game. It makes it feel like youre thinking ahead and playing strategically. And, unfortunately, the derailment of your objective is a risk you just have to take when trying to go for those bigger plays. This was a good watch. Thanks for the content!
That play length, which appears to be near compulsory to unlock all the games features, is a struggle to accommodate. It would have to be a remarkable game to justify that commitment to play length and, based on your concise description, it is hard to see where that is coming from. Pity, as it does look lovely.
Irs a shame. If they could have somehow squeezed everything into a 2 hour romp it would probably make my top 100…as such I’ll probably be getting rid of it.
I'm trying to think of a way to streamline this down to 2 hours, but as it is it just takes too long to build on your green and yellow missions to complete your red and black missions. That would be an interesting challenge for the designers to think about. I know they attempted to rectify as much as they could in the deluxe version. But eliminating rounds and player attack cards will only help so much.
I have picked up a copy of the newer, Deluxe Yedo so I hope to reflect on this at some point in the future. The Deluxe version is truly eye popping and beautiful produced, plus I was able to pick up a copy second hand for a reasonable amount, so this is not entirely the gamble it might appear on the face of it.
@@BoardGameBollocks Yeah. They did a shortish run of the deluxe last year, outside of the KS, and that was it. The regular version has been OOP for a few years now. Firestorm Cards, here in the UK, has two copies of the Master Deluxe left in stock, for anyone interested.
I’ve been going back and forth on this one but I think you’re right. The long play time is what kills this for me. Love the theme but I’m going to have to stick with Lords of Waterdeep I guess.
Totally agree! It was a grail game for me for a long time, so the Deluxe KS was an insta-back. But 1 play made me realise there is too much luck involved, and its far too fiddly, and it outstays its welcome. I agree that Lords of Waterdeep with expansion + Francis Drake are both superior games. And much clearer designs. Also, the new Caylus 1303 is excellent. I sold my Deluxe after 1 play. At least I didn't lose any money and I scratched that itch. Great review!
I have one question, how is it taking you four hours?. Do you play with the full complement of five players (in which case the brick wall analogy I can also understand). This is our favorite worker placement game for the three of us and most games go for around an hour and a half.
This game has been on my buy list on and off for a long time. I like the theme and the artwork, but the price it goes for was a deterrent. After watching this video, I think I will give it a pass altogether.
The Deluxe version released last year is improved a lot. There are modules that expand the game, and they rebalanced some cards, and they worked on a short game with 8 rounds, a good solo mode and a cooperative mode as well
Agreed, the deluxe allows you to create a mix of objectives and events that suit your gaming group's preferences and experience, adds agents with special abilities, and shortens the game overall, along with even better art. It's a much better game for it.
@@whittaker007 once we tried to play with all the modules the long game, despite in the manual it was explained very well it shouldn't be played that way, after the game we realized how the modules can break the game if you play 11 round, that to me shows great refining of the system, they surely did a great job with that version!
Agreed. You can use different card sets to add more resources or money. Or remove attack cards for mutually beneficial cards. Change the round limit. It really improved the experience a lot. In fact, the way they redesigned it you can't actually play the original game of Yedo with the master set. You can get close though if you like bonking your head on a brick wall for 3-4 hours.
That was a very fair and honest assessment of the original game. Lord's of Waterdeep is great for what it does in a streamlined format. We play it a lot in my group. But there is something so satisfying in Yedo about having the right tools, with the right people, in the right spots, at the right time to complete your black mission. Yes a lot can go wrong, but when it goes right the feeling of accomplishment is wonderful.
Ty . Love the on point but detailed pro and cons parts of the review …
I love this game. My group had Lords of Waterdeep with the expansions and the guy sold it off because overall, this one just hit better with my group. I think most worker placement games I like have a frustration element. If I get to do everything I want each round, it feels a little too open. Competing with other people for locations is what makes worker placement games click for me.
Me too! I also HIGHLY recommend Ninjato!
We have it will do a review.
Great video - agree with comment below.... the deluxe version addresses alot of the issues & also makes it even more gorgeous to look at. We have that version and enjoy it.
No I just think we have played it so often we know the decks of cards well and can kind of anticipate our next turn before time. Just things like noticing that most of the Black missions almost all need a certain Annex, if we don't have that particular annex then we know its not even worth looking at that pile of cards for more missions. We also know that the three worst cards may show up in the event deck (fire, earthquake and tsunami) so holding on to a blessing counter is needed and once used getting it back asap is a good idea. Bidding for an Annex for us always starts with bid of at least 10 money cause that's what its available on the board for anyway, just little things that add up to a quicker playthrough overall.
We played this one not too long ago and really enjoyed it. Of course, we only played at 2 and that still took about 2/230 hours so I can only image what its like at the full amount.
I disagree about the lower missions being more or less uselss though. They are moreso there to get you gold early game to make the red/black missions easier in the late game. But also I had a favor card in our game that gave me 1 point for each green mission completed and 1 point for every 2 missions completed so those easier to complete quests were essential for me to take on for those end of the game victory points.
I think, like you mentioned earlier, I like that there are so many different routes to take for success in this game. It makes it feel like youre thinking ahead and playing strategically. And, unfortunately, the derailment of your objective is a risk you just have to take when trying to go for those bigger plays.
This was a good watch. Thanks for the content!
👍🏻
That play length, which appears to be near compulsory to unlock all the games features, is a struggle to accommodate. It would have to be a remarkable game to justify that commitment to play length and, based on your concise description, it is hard to see where that is coming from. Pity, as it does look lovely.
Irs a shame. If they could have somehow squeezed everything into a 2 hour romp it would probably make my top 100…as such I’ll probably be getting rid of it.
@@BoardGameBollocks Understandable. I don't think I could ever get this game to the table with a play length of four hours.
I'm trying to think of a way to streamline this down to 2 hours, but as it is it just takes too long to build on your green and yellow missions to complete your red and black missions. That would be an interesting challenge for the designers to think about. I know they attempted to rectify as much as they could in the deluxe version. But eliminating rounds and player attack cards will only help so much.
I have picked up a copy of the newer, Deluxe Yedo so I hope to reflect on this at some point in the future. The Deluxe version is truly eye popping and beautiful produced, plus I was able to pick up a copy second hand for a reasonable amount, so this is not entirely the gamble it might appear on the face of it.
Four hours of auctions, worker placement resource gathering and victory point accumulation?? One hour would put me into seppuku territory.
Did you try the brick wall theory?
130 notes, if you can find a copy for sale in the UK.
Is it OOP?
@@BoardGameBollocks Yeah. They did a shortish run of the deluxe last year, outside of the KS, and that was it. The regular version has been OOP for a few years now. Firestorm Cards, here in the UK, has two copies of the Master Deluxe left in stock, for anyone interested.
At £129 I can’t say it’s worth it
@@BoardGameBollocks haha I totally agree. Took me years to get shot of my 2012 copy
I’ve been going back and forth on this one but I think you’re right. The long play time is what kills this for me. Love the theme but I’m going to have to stick with Lords of Waterdeep I guess.
Totally agree! It was a grail game for me for a long time, so the Deluxe KS was an insta-back.
But 1 play made me realise there is too much luck involved, and its far too fiddly, and it outstays its welcome.
I agree that Lords of Waterdeep with expansion + Francis Drake are both superior games. And much clearer designs.
Also, the new Caylus 1303 is excellent.
I sold my Deluxe after 1 play. At least I didn't lose any money and I scratched that itch.
Great review!
Thanks for the review. 4 hours is too long for us.
I have one question, how is it taking you four hours?. Do you play with the full complement of five players (in which case the brick wall analogy I can also understand). This is our favorite worker placement game for the three of us and most games go for around an hour and a half.
3 players in 90 mins? Really?
At three players I've never been able to finish this game in under three hours. Did you use a turn timer or something?
I can’t see how it can be done myself, but then there’s always one person who like to contradict on UA-cam
This game has been on my buy list on and off for a long time. I like the theme and the artwork, but the price it goes for was a deterrent. After watching this video, I think I will give it a pass altogether.
I guess I am glad I cancelled my pledge!