Another great one man! Curious, does the "keep" card stand out in any way so that you can easily tell if other players are abiding by the rule of how to use it?
Excellent question! I failed to show it in the video, but the divider card is double sided, and it’s designed so everyone at the table can see how many cards are on a player’s ship side & keep side (the little ship graphic works when viewing it from the front or the back). This is important for 2 reasons: 1. The divider card is compatible for left-handed or right-handed players, or however you like to hold your cards. 2. If a player is loaded with keep cards, that tempts the auctioneer to take a lower bid at the table to prevent them from getting even more cards. At the same time, players who have lots of keep cards know this, so they’re tempted to offer a much higher bid to sweeten the deal. And they only have 1 chance to make a bid each time, so that adds yet another layer of tension to the auctions! As far as players not auctioning off the cards carried over from the previous round, that’s an honors system (I think of it like the card order mechanism in Bohnanza; you just have to get everyone to buy into it and play by the rules). But that little ship/keep divider card makes the game much more functional!! Thanks for the great question!
@undiscovered_games Thank you, right on! For some reason I don't mind the honor system otherwise but was hoping the keep card would be very distinguishable.🤙
Haha, that's a great comment 😁 Well, I definitely have a _lot_ of experience teaching games. I never analyzed my hand movements that closely, but I appreciate the kind words! I try to film/edit these videos as if I am sitting at the table teaching a group, so I am glad that comes through! Thanks for being here, as always!! I appreciate you watching & commenting!!
So funny, I love when a game doesn't have tie breakers. shaking the hand of the person you tied with and accepting the shared victory is very fun for me when it happens! this game looks really cool, but not sure it would have a chance of competing with other bidding/auction games I have. i'll have to keep an eye out for a cheap copy.
Yeah, that's a good way to look at the tiebreaker thing. Honestly, my desire for a tiebreaker probably stems from growing up in the USA and always being into competitive sports my whole life haha. My main game group is just like me, though; we all want to know who actually won! 😂😂 Also, I feel the same way as you: Can this game can compete with other bidding games in my collection? It doesn't seem like it would; however, when I think of the vast array of bidding games in my collection, Ostia would never ever ever leave my collection. At the same time, I don't think I would spend more than $25 on this. So you are correct; if you can find a cheap copy, go for it! Thanks for watching as always! :)
Since discovering your channel, I've purchased four games that you have reviewed. I recently checked Noble Knight for this game Ostia and found it was just sold (6 hours after this video was release), last listed at $9. It goes without saying that Noble Knight ought to give you some credit. Keep up the good work.
Thank you for the kind words, and that's awesome you've found some games from my channel! Obviously in a perfect world, it would be nice to somehow earn a commission for every sale triggered by my videos, but I am not really interested in that at the moment. I just genuinely love sharing these oldies amidst the wave of new stuff constantly being released nowadays. I am curious, though, which other games have I helped you discover? Forgive me if you already told me 😅 I get lots of comments on the daily!
@@undiscovered_gamesIndeed, it's remarkable how influential you can be in the gaming community, and that alone is rewarding. The first game I purchased was Submarine, which my family really enjoys, followed by Mongul, which I must admit I haven't played yet. Then there's Tongo Bonga, which my family likes, but my gaming group finds it too random. Lastly, I bought Merchant of the Middle Ages, not realizing it was the German version, so I'm creating cards to help translate it for everyone.
@@johnmarkrountree6196 that's awesome! Thanks for sharing! I think it's so cool you're enjoying Submarine. It's pretty light but I have such a soft spot for that game for some reason. There's just something cool & different about it! I can almost guarantee your game group will like Mogul for a lighter game and Merchants of the Middle Ages for a deeper game. Those are definitely more "gamer's games." Merchants is succch a wild game haha! That's a bummer about the German edition (been there many times!). Luckily there aren't too many different cards. Honestly, you might be able to make some symbology and just have a reference sheet as to what they all do. They're pretty easy to remember once you play the game once. Tonga Bonga is definitely more of a "family game night" type of game; however, my game group of gamers has really grown to like it for some more casual fare. At first, we also felt it was a bit too random, but the more we played, we started to really get hooked on that system of balancing money and movement, and how sometimes you want to slow other players down, or how you can sneak in and steal a bunch of money. Turn order is so critical in that game. The dice rolling is random, yes, but the way you put up money & allocate the dice makes the game more player-driven and less dice-driven (just in case you wanna try to sell your game group on playing it again ;) LOL). Anyway, enough rambling from me. I'm so glad you're enjoying the channel and discovering some old games! Episode 53 will be out next week! Cheers!
Thanks B7! That's awesome you know this one! This is one of those unsuspecting games that blends in on my shelf and could be easily overlooked, yet it never leaves my collection & gets played regularly!!
Finally got around to watching the new episode! This one looks dope! I don't think I've ever seen an auction mechanism like this where you can choose which bid to accept or players can bid any amount. I also like the looks of the secret card placement. It seems similar to blind bidding whcih I always enjoy. Great episode man! Keep it up! I love learning about these games I've never heard of!
Good point about the senate/forum being similar to blind bidding. So in a way, there are 2 types of bidding in this game! Thanks for the great comment & thanks for watching as always!!
Thanks for the awesome video! I have bought a few of the games you have covered (Hansa Teutonica, Ceylon, Trajan, Istanbul, and Sardegna as I couldn't find Kreta hahaha) and I ended up snagging a copy of this as well and still in the shrinkwrap at that.
Thanks for sharing that!! I always love hearing what games I’ve helped people discover, and those are some _amazing_ games that you just listed!! If you like those, I think you’ll like Ostia; just give it a couple plays to really sing! It’s a bit tricky at first. I appreciate you watching & commenting 😊
This game looks incredible! I definitely will be adding this to my wish list because I love bidding games and this has a few different things that intrigue me. Excellent episode as always 👏 👏 👏
I think a little bit of everything honestly. The auction mechanic is really unique how you can go with any bid at the table, the choice of which cards to auction off, the simultaneous allocation, etc. I already ordered a copy for cheap, Can’t wait to try it out!
This. Looks. Incredible. I audibly WTF'd at the explanation of the mechanism at 6:55! I was instantly sold at that moment. Thanks for adding this to my wishlist, want to play list, and want to buy list!
Yes! The forum/senate card allocation is _such_ a fun mind game! And the game does some other really subtle but unique stuff, like not needing to accept the highest bid. I love having the power to prevent someone from buying my cards, even when they're willing to pay. It makes the auctions so interesting! It's good to see the "members-early" feature is working!! I am testing out the member thing where I allow members to watch these videos a day early, so this video won't go live until tomorrow. Glad you enjoyed!
I love when games like this are still widely available! It's such an awesome feeling every time we play this, knowing I found it on a clearance rack. So cool!! If it looks interesting & you can find a cheap copy, I highly recommend it. I probably wouldn't spend more than like $25 or $30 on this personally, just because there are so many auction games to choose from. Regardless, I think it's a super solid game. One thing's for sure; it'll never leave my collection! We have gotten lots of mileage out of it over the years! Thanks for watching & commenting!!
Hello. I ended up grabbing a copy of this game, and I can't wait to get it to the table. I definitely see an issue with the money included in the game, not very good, hahaha, but per your video I ended up finding a 100 plastic poker chip set in the exact currency amounts of the game to replace the paper money. I know you mentioned, and the rulebook does as well, keeping your currency secret. Did you find a good way to do this? I'm looking around for some type of player screen and would like to use something decent, but I'm struggling to find any good ideas, hahaha. Thanks!
Thanks for the comment, and sorry for the late reply! That's awesome you got a copy of this! Yeah, the paper money is pretty bad here. We usually just use the player screens from another game (typically I use the screens from King Chocolate because they're wide and cover the poker chips nicely). But if you don't have any screens from other games, maybe try just keeping your poker chips in bowls? You might be able to find something at a dollar store. Sometimes we use little bowls that you cannot see through, where you might not be able to _totally_ hide your money, but it's not _so_ easy for players to see your stash (check out my video on Mogul to see our little bowls we use for the bidding chips). Finally, I would say you can also enjoy this game even if you can't keep the money secret. Sometimes playing with open money creates a whole new level of (brutal) fun in those auctions ;) Let me know how you like the game! Give it a couple plays before you decide, because it takes a minute to get used to it. Cheers!
This looks really cool! I love bidding games. Have you ever played Funny Friends by Friedemann Friese of Power Grid fame? Its like if The Sims was a board game. Worst rule book ive ever seen, though 😅. It's much better at high player counts like 5. The only other game ive seen with the making a life theme is Your Perfect Life which is a decent roll and write. Keep up the good work man. Im loving where the channel is heading
I have not played Funny Friends, but that sounds like it's worth a closer look! Possibly even worthy of a future episode based on the BGG stats! Looks like it's kinda rare, so I will have to keep my eyes open for it. Thanks for putting it on my radar, though. It sounds super intriguing, and it looks like it could be a great fit for a possible episode! I have actually been playing some more Friedemann Friese stuff lately, and I could see myself going down the rabbit hole of undiscovered Friese games at some point 😅. Anyway, I really appreciate you taking the leap and joining the channel! In fact, I believe it was your comment a few weeks ago that really got me thinking about a more structured membership format like this. So thank you for that! I have some fun stuff lined up for members. One thing I forgot to mention in the intro video is that I plan to give you all the option to vote on some of my future episodes. Stay tuned! We have nowhere to go but up!
@undiscovered_games I'm glad you made a membership! As for F.F. games I used to play Fearsome Floors a lot and even made my own expansion with stuff like slime, that acted in the opposite way of blood pools, to slow characters and monsters down. Can't wait to see what you have in store
Right on!! That one sounds and looks super fun too, maybe even a better fit for this channel than the other one you mentioned! I’ll be sure to ask you about your expansion if I end up getting Fearsome Floors. I actually have not played many FF games other than (off the top of my head) Power Grid, Famiglia, Fiji, Free Ride, Fauna, and most recently Findorff. Gonna check out Faiyum soon too also.
Oh nice!! I have never played Gentes but always wanted to! Because of your comment, I definitely want to do some more research on that one. Risthaus seems to be a _super_ underrated designer. He has a decent repertoire of games on BGG, but none of them are very popular on there. The few I've played I've really enjoyed! He designed Mountain Goats, which is a really fun time; I've only played it a couple times. I do own Monuments, which I definitely want to make an episode for one day!
Another great one man!
Curious, does the "keep" card stand out in any way so that you can easily tell if other players are abiding by the rule of how to use it?
Excellent question! I failed to show it in the video, but the divider card is double sided, and it’s designed so everyone at the table can see how many cards are on a player’s ship side & keep side (the little ship graphic works when viewing it from the front or the back).
This is important for 2 reasons: 1. The divider card is compatible for left-handed or right-handed players, or however you like to hold your cards.
2. If a player is loaded with keep cards, that tempts the auctioneer to take a lower bid at the table to prevent them from getting even more cards. At the same time, players who have lots of keep cards know this, so they’re tempted to offer a much higher bid to sweeten the deal. And they only have 1 chance to make a bid each time, so that adds yet another layer of tension to the auctions!
As far as players not auctioning off the cards carried over from the previous round, that’s an honors system (I think of it like the card order mechanism in Bohnanza; you just have to get everyone to buy into it and play by the rules).
But that little ship/keep divider card makes the game much more functional!!
Thanks for the great question!
@undiscovered_games Thank you, right on! For some reason I don't mind the honor system otherwise but was hoping the keep card would be very distinguishable.🤙
These are the expressive hand movements of an experienced rules teacher. Thank you!
Haha, that's a great comment 😁 Well, I definitely have a _lot_ of experience teaching games. I never analyzed my hand movements that closely, but I appreciate the kind words! I try to film/edit these videos as if I am sitting at the table teaching a group, so I am glad that comes through! Thanks for being here, as always!! I appreciate you watching & commenting!!
@undiscovered_games I find it really helps!
So funny, I love when a game doesn't have tie breakers. shaking the hand of the person you tied with and accepting the shared victory is very fun for me when it happens! this game looks really cool, but not sure it would have a chance of competing with other bidding/auction games I have. i'll have to keep an eye out for a cheap copy.
Yeah, that's a good way to look at the tiebreaker thing. Honestly, my desire for a tiebreaker probably stems from growing up in the USA and always being into competitive sports my whole life haha. My main game group is just like me, though; we all want to know who actually won! 😂😂 Also, I feel the same way as you: Can this game can compete with other bidding games in my collection? It doesn't seem like it would; however, when I think of the vast array of bidding games in my collection, Ostia would never ever ever leave my collection. At the same time, I don't think I would spend more than $25 on this. So you are correct; if you can find a cheap copy, go for it! Thanks for watching as always! :)
Since discovering your channel, I've purchased four games that you have reviewed. I recently checked Noble Knight for this game Ostia and found it was just sold (6 hours after this video was release), last listed at $9. It goes without saying that Noble Knight ought to give you some credit. Keep up the good work.
Thank you for the kind words, and that's awesome you've found some games from my channel! Obviously in a perfect world, it would be nice to somehow earn a commission for every sale triggered by my videos, but I am not really interested in that at the moment. I just genuinely love sharing these oldies amidst the wave of new stuff constantly being released nowadays. I am curious, though, which other games have I helped you discover? Forgive me if you already told me 😅 I get lots of comments on the daily!
@@undiscovered_gamesIndeed, it's remarkable how influential you can be in the gaming community, and that alone is rewarding. The first game I purchased was Submarine, which my family really enjoys, followed by Mongul, which I must admit I haven't played yet. Then there's Tongo Bonga, which my family likes, but my gaming group finds it too random. Lastly, I bought Merchant of the Middle Ages, not realizing it was the German version, so I'm creating cards to help translate it for everyone.
@@johnmarkrountree6196 that's awesome! Thanks for sharing! I think it's so cool you're enjoying Submarine. It's pretty light but I have such a soft spot for that game for some reason. There's just something cool & different about it!
I can almost guarantee your game group will like Mogul for a lighter game and Merchants of the Middle Ages for a deeper game. Those are definitely more "gamer's games." Merchants is succch a wild game haha! That's a bummer about the German edition (been there many times!). Luckily there aren't too many different cards. Honestly, you might be able to make some symbology and just have a reference sheet as to what they all do. They're pretty easy to remember once you play the game once.
Tonga Bonga is definitely more of a "family game night" type of game; however, my game group of gamers has really grown to like it for some more casual fare. At first, we also felt it was a bit too random, but the more we played, we started to really get hooked on that system of balancing money and movement, and how sometimes you want to slow other players down, or how you can sneak in and steal a bunch of money. Turn order is so critical in that game. The dice rolling is random, yes, but the way you put up money & allocate the dice makes the game more player-driven and less dice-driven (just in case you wanna try to sell your game group on playing it again ;) LOL).
Anyway, enough rambling from me. I'm so glad you're enjoying the channel and discovering some old games! Episode 53 will be out next week! Cheers!
Awesome video UDG! It's such a fantastic game! Glad you featured it! You hardly see anyone talking about this one! 👏😺
Thanks B7! That's awesome you know this one! This is one of those unsuspecting games that blends in on my shelf and could be easily overlooked, yet it never leaves my collection & gets played regularly!!
Finally got around to watching the new episode! This one looks dope! I don't think I've ever seen an auction mechanism like this where you can choose which bid to accept or players can bid any amount. I also like the looks of the secret card placement. It seems similar to blind bidding whcih I always enjoy. Great episode man! Keep it up! I love learning about these games I've never heard of!
Good point about the senate/forum being similar to blind bidding. So in a way, there are 2 types of bidding in this game! Thanks for the great comment & thanks for watching as always!!
Incredible game. Thx for the vid and here is my like & comment ❤
@@ravenrenalius7684 🎉 You are awesome!! I appreciate you!! 😎
Thanks for the awesome video! I have bought a few of the games you have covered (Hansa Teutonica, Ceylon, Trajan, Istanbul, and Sardegna as I couldn't find Kreta hahaha) and I ended up snagging a copy of this as well and still in the shrinkwrap at that.
Thanks for sharing that!! I always love hearing what games I’ve helped people discover, and those are some _amazing_ games that you just listed!! If you like those, I think you’ll like Ostia; just give it a couple plays to really sing! It’s a bit tricky at first. I appreciate you watching & commenting 😊
This game looks incredible! I definitely will be adding this to my wish list because I love bidding games and this has a few different things that intrigue me. Excellent episode as always 👏 👏 👏
Thank you! Glad I could show you another hidden gem! I'm curious: what specifically intrigues you about this one? :)
I think a little bit of everything honestly. The auction mechanic is really unique how you can go with any bid at the table, the choice of which cards to auction off, the simultaneous allocation, etc. I already ordered a copy for cheap, Can’t wait to try it out!
@ so cool! Let me know how you like it!
This. Looks. Incredible. I audibly WTF'd at the explanation of the mechanism at 6:55! I was instantly sold at that moment. Thanks for adding this to my wishlist, want to play list, and want to buy list!
Yes! The forum/senate card allocation is _such_ a fun mind game! And the game does some other really subtle but unique stuff, like not needing to accept the highest bid. I love having the power to prevent someone from buying my cards, even when they're willing to pay. It makes the auctions so interesting! It's good to see the "members-early" feature is working!! I am testing out the member thing where I allow members to watch these videos a day early, so this video won't go live until tomorrow. Glad you enjoyed!
Wow, thanks! This has a lot of bang for your buck as it is dirt cheap and currently available in multiple places.
I love when games like this are still widely available! It's such an awesome feeling every time we play this, knowing I found it on a clearance rack. So cool!! If it looks interesting & you can find a cheap copy, I highly recommend it. I probably wouldn't spend more than like $25 or $30 on this personally, just because there are so many auction games to choose from. Regardless, I think it's a super solid game. One thing's for sure; it'll never leave my collection! We have gotten lots of mileage out of it over the years! Thanks for watching & commenting!!
Hello. I ended up grabbing a copy of this game, and I can't wait to get it to the table. I definitely see an issue with the money included in the game, not very good, hahaha, but per your video I ended up finding a 100 plastic poker chip set in the exact currency amounts of the game to replace the paper money. I know you mentioned, and the rulebook does as well, keeping your currency secret. Did you find a good way to do this? I'm looking around for some type of player screen and would like to use something decent, but I'm struggling to find any good ideas, hahaha. Thanks!
Thanks for the comment, and sorry for the late reply! That's awesome you got a copy of this! Yeah, the paper money is pretty bad here. We usually just use the player screens from another game (typically I use the screens from King Chocolate because they're wide and cover the poker chips nicely). But if you don't have any screens from other games, maybe try just keeping your poker chips in bowls? You might be able to find something at a dollar store. Sometimes we use little bowls that you cannot see through, where you might not be able to _totally_ hide your money, but it's not _so_ easy for players to see your stash (check out my video on Mogul to see our little bowls we use for the bidding chips). Finally, I would say you can also enjoy this game even if you can't keep the money secret. Sometimes playing with open money creates a whole new level of (brutal) fun in those auctions ;) Let me know how you like the game! Give it a couple plays before you decide, because it takes a minute to get used to it. Cheers!
WE ARE HERE! \🐱/
Welcome aboard, my friend! I really appreciate you becoming a member!
This looks really cool! I love bidding games. Have you ever played Funny Friends by Friedemann Friese of Power Grid fame? Its like if The Sims was a board game. Worst rule book ive ever seen, though 😅. It's much better at high player counts like 5. The only other game ive seen with the making a life theme is Your Perfect Life which is a decent roll and write. Keep up the good work man. Im loving where the channel is heading
I have not played Funny Friends, but that sounds like it's worth a closer look! Possibly even worthy of a future episode based on the BGG stats! Looks like it's kinda rare, so I will have to keep my eyes open for it. Thanks for putting it on my radar, though. It sounds super intriguing, and it looks like it could be a great fit for a possible episode! I have actually been playing some more Friedemann Friese stuff lately, and I could see myself going down the rabbit hole of undiscovered Friese games at some point 😅. Anyway, I really appreciate you taking the leap and joining the channel! In fact, I believe it was your comment a few weeks ago that really got me thinking about a more structured membership format like this. So thank you for that! I have some fun stuff lined up for members. One thing I forgot to mention in the intro video is that I plan to give you all the option to vote on some of my future episodes. Stay tuned! We have nowhere to go but up!
@undiscovered_games I'm glad you made a membership! As for F.F. games I used to play Fearsome Floors a lot and even made my own expansion with stuff like slime, that acted in the opposite way of blood pools, to slow characters and monsters down. Can't wait to see what you have in store
Right on!! That one sounds and looks super fun too, maybe even a better fit for this channel than the other one you mentioned! I’ll be sure to ask you about your expansion if I end up getting Fearsome Floors. I actually have not played many FF games other than (off the top of my head) Power Grid, Famiglia, Fiji, Free Ride, Fauna, and most recently Findorff. Gonna check out Faiyum soon too also.
@@undiscovered_games awesome. I believe his game Friday is available as an app.
Very interesting auction mechanism. I only played Gentes from this designer and I'm very interested to try this one!!!
Oh nice!! I have never played Gentes but always wanted to! Because of your comment, I definitely want to do some more research on that one. Risthaus seems to be a _super_ underrated designer. He has a decent repertoire of games on BGG, but none of them are very popular on there. The few I've played I've really enjoyed! He designed Mountain Goats, which is a really fun time; I've only played it a couple times. I do own Monuments, which I definitely want to make an episode for one day!