hello from Australia, i certainly can echo your enthusiasm for this game- a brief anecdote if i may - i was drafted into playing this game late last year- i didnt really want to play as many many years ago i played A Mighty Fortress which is the ancestor of this game and hated it- but being a great guy(said tongue in cheek)i agreed to play- but the game is fantastic- fast playing and fun-we finished in about 8 hours!- thanks again for a comprehesive review- love your work. regards Mark
Thanks for the response, I'm unfortunately not able to film with my collection behind me as I live in a small apartment and keep my collection in the same room as my minor child, who is asleep when I film, hence not a good location, perhaps when I'm wealthier and can afford a house. Will try to do better with the lighting, I know it isn't a strong suit.
I have a group of friends who usually plays lighter but still strategic games (Fury of Dracula, Infliltration, etc), but they loved this with all the diplomacy and the invokative themes of the religious wars and rennaisance and such - the issue was taking the entire day to play. We had good success playing with the T4 start - it cuts a couple of hours out, but the game isn't that much different and it's amazingly balanced either way.
There are a lot of factors in play in answering, Successors is best with 4, Here I stand with 3 or 6. Successors can be played in an evening though it is out of print and harder to acquire, while Here I stand can be picked up easily but has a long play time, you'll have to decide which factors are most important for you.
There is an excellent two player variant that uses the diplomacy deck, I'd look into it if you think you can find just one other player, though based on your vids it seems like you do a lot of solo gaming.
Thanks! Very good video! While I will never play this because I would not have a gaming group that would enjoy this game, I still find it an interesting game and love watching vlogs about it! Well done!
Interesting - I had a friend want to be England because they have the most facets of the game that they are involved in. They are the diplomatic moderator between Francis & Charles, they fight on land, fight at sea, care about the new world, care about the religious struggles. One thing somebody really did right in this game - the red (English) & the green (Ottomans) are on opposite sides of the map. A great help to the colorblind among us since it's almost always obvious which is which.
I appreciate your critical review of the games and the broader than usual choice of games. the other sites tend to follow the convention. I did not own any of your top ten, where as I do for most of the others. If I may be critical it would be relating to your production. I propose you present your fascinating collection behind you. I like to checkout the games that bloggers hold on to. Further, I would like some more light. Issue to small to be negative about.
I just bought this game with the intent of using it in a class I teach. Is this game playable for complete newbies to boardgaming? I am new as well to the game but I thought it may be able to enhance a dry area in our curriculum. The age group is 15 year olds. Any advice would be great. Thanks!
I think GMT games have a bit too high of a learning curve for classroom use. I have used Twilight Struggle and Making of the President (but my class was only 4-5 students each). Essentially the problem with using games like this in the classroom is downtime between each players turn. I usually take a game and rip the concept out of it..and make it a watered down version, and with some sort of simultaneous turn mechanic. Games that I have used in the classroom with success: Tammany Hall, Manhattan Project, and homebrew game I designed on Imperialism. Games that failed hard: Axis & Allies 1914.
If you only game during the week nights, I'd probably pass on HIS unless someone leaves it up. The gameplay value is superior to playing 2 or 3 different games, it just can you find the time.
hello from Australia, i certainly can echo your enthusiasm for this game- a brief anecdote if i may - i was drafted into playing this game late last year- i didnt really want to play as many many years ago i played A Mighty Fortress which is the ancestor of this game and hated it- but being a great guy(said tongue in cheek)i agreed to play- but the game is fantastic- fast playing and fun-we finished in about 8 hours!- thanks again for a comprehesive review- love your work. regards Mark
Thanks for the response, I'm unfortunately not able to film with my collection behind me as I live in a small apartment and keep my collection in the same room as my minor child, who is asleep when I film, hence not a good location, perhaps when I'm wealthier and can afford a house. Will try to do better with the lighting, I know it isn't a strong suit.
Really good especially the example play at the end. I just started my first game as the English and there is a learning curve.
I have a group of friends who usually plays lighter but still strategic games (Fury of Dracula, Infliltration, etc), but they loved this with all the diplomacy and the invokative themes of the religious wars and rennaisance and such - the issue was taking the entire day to play. We had good success playing with the T4 start - it cuts a couple of hours out, but the game isn't that much different and it's amazingly balanced either way.
Thank you, great job explaining the basics!
There are a lot of factors in play in answering, Successors is best with 4, Here I stand with 3 or 6. Successors can be played in an evening though it is out of print and harder to acquire, while Here I stand can be picked up easily but has a long play time, you'll have to decide which factors are most important for you.
Thanks Mark, I do want to point out that I skipped over the Diet of Worms in my explanation in order to not keep the length of the video excessive.
There is an excellent two player variant that uses the diplomacy deck, I'd look into it if you think you can find just one other player, though based on your vids it seems like you do a lot of solo gaming.
Thanks! Very good video! While I will never play this because I would not have a gaming group that would enjoy this game, I still find it an interesting game and love watching vlogs about it! Well done!
Interesting - I had a friend want to be England because they have the most facets of the game that they are involved in. They are the diplomatic moderator between Francis & Charles, they fight on land, fight at sea, care about the new world, care about the religious struggles.
One thing somebody really did right in this game - the red (English) & the green (Ottomans) are on opposite sides of the map. A great help to the colorblind among us since it's almost always obvious which is which.
I appreciate your critical review of the games and the broader than usual choice of games. the other sites tend to follow the convention. I did not own any of your top ten, where as I do for most of the others. If I may be critical it would be relating to your production. I propose you present your fascinating collection behind you. I like to checkout the games that bloggers hold on to. Further, I would like some more light. Issue to small to be negative about.
I just bought this game with the intent of using it in a class I teach. Is this game playable for complete newbies to boardgaming? I am new as well to the game but I thought it may be able to enhance a dry area in our curriculum. The age group is 15 year olds. Any advice would be great.
Thanks!
I think GMT games have a bit too high of a learning curve for classroom use. I have used Twilight Struggle and Making of the President (but my class was only 4-5 students each). Essentially the problem with using games like this in the classroom is downtime between each players turn. I usually take a game and rip the concept out of it..and make it a watered down version, and with some sort of simultaneous turn mechanic. Games that I have used in the classroom with success: Tammany Hall, Manhattan Project, and homebrew game I designed on Imperialism. Games that failed hard: Axis & Allies 1914.
Successors can be back in print if a couple more hundred people p500 the reprinting! :D
If you only game during the week nights, I'd probably pass on HIS unless someone leaves it up. The gameplay value is superior to playing 2 or 3 different games, it just can you find the time.
It's "PAY-pul" not "pap-ul" and "PAY-puh-see" not "pap-uh-see."
Why don't you get a better camera??
Because they are expensive and I don't have that kind of disposable income at the moment, hopefully in the future I'll be able to upgrade.