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still dont get the appeal of the mats. i never had any problems picking up cards etc from a wooden table in my life and I played a lot of card games.

What the heck? This is content for graphic designers not for boardgame designers.

you're not a "aspiring" designer. you designed something, you're a designer.

You should increase the health pool and make damage larger as well, and always have (or mostly have) blocks only able to negate SOME of the damage (though maybe some strong blocks can negate ALL damage), that way health is always ticking down. Re-brand the "health" as "stamina" and maybe even have a tiny cost to the player playing any cards. make it balanced in the sense that "all moves lead to the end of the game". i wouldn't have cards played on opponents boards (unless it occupies your side "first"), but I would have cards occupying a slot still trigger defenses: a shield played in the left slot still blocks damage if the opponent targets that slot later, that way you COULD have a "takes up both slots defense card that reduces most normal attacks to 0, but won't stop damage from stronger attacks from hurting". Speaking of multiple card slot cards: have any card that takes up 2 slots or more needs to have an exponentially greater effect in the game.

You know I love these design videos, this was great including the motivational speech part. Yes, it makes sense to move something forward even if you haven't figured it all out, and I've had plenty of examples where it ended up not working at all or changing completely along the way - most of the time, actually, lol. I'm hoping to see more of this as you develop the idea, but I also understand how it might be a while because of higher priorities. Only so many hours in a day. I like some of the ideas mentioned in the comments of a "middle lane" factoring in "fatigue" etc. Something I'll add is that a "rock, paper, scissors" element can often be helpful for a 2 player game like this. Not sure about the "how" but a way that a card can be super effective sometimes and not at all other times, depending on what your opponent does. Another element could be an advantage of playing an extra card but it's played in advance, so you are committed to the move, maybe face-down, and based on how your opponent reacts -it could play out very differently. Excellent video, looking forward to more design content down the road :)

middle lane could be second action, any hand works

A really interesting concept! If I were to do it, I think I might develop it into a three "lane" system of middle/left/right to allow for some differing tactical elements (such as shifting my own or opponent's cards into differing lanes). From there the left and right hand cards might be limiters on deckbuilding. I might have a noodle with this sort of system, with your blessing

Really cool system! My ideas for possible fixes are to increase granularity, like having 5 or 7 potentially wound slots instead of 3. The problem I think with having only 3 is that choosing to just take a hit with such high lethality is not really an option. In MTG if every monster did 7 or more damage, blocking would not really be optional, and I feel like your system probably needs that to be an interesting choice for the player. Of course, always hard to say without experiencing the prototype firsthand.

I have to follow the proggess of your games! This battle system, and the fact that it came from another game you design (but got to big to fit in) reminds me of my own games I design. A space strategy game that got a really interesting battle model (actually reminding of yours), but it got to big and now develops into a game of its own. Anyway, I wish you good luck with both games and am looking forward to playing them both some time! I like the theme too!

Ok. But let me put on my critical thinking cap for a moment. While having two decks is a great “sales pitch” idea: one deck with left right or combo cards could also work well. I’m thinking try this out. Keep the two decks. But each deck has both attack and defense on the same card. One prioritize defense and one attack. When a defense card is played first, it’s to be played face down. Look at the 1776 battle system and how it’s played on shut up and sit down. Let’s add some footwork into the defense and attacks. When a player makes a lunge attack I should be able to mitigate by playing some sort of limited resource. A “glancing blow” card that allows me to parry behind the player and strike from his blind side. I also have this new mechanism developed for a game I’m currently sketching out ideas for called “the gate keepers.” I think it could work here in what you’re doing.

This looks pretty neat! If you're interested in avoiding the "stalemate" outcomes from happening, check out the game "Match of the Century" for a system that always has one player getting a slight edge, with their opponent still getting something out of the battle too.

Jonesing for a set of these. First found out about them on Numberphile I think. Thanks for the review of the product itself, looks like a worthwhile set

How much is this different from Acquire?

Great video. I'm really intrigued by the push-your-luck element in Mystic Veil, I may need to research up on it. It's a cool idea in general, but I'm always looking for concepts I could incorporate into a solo design :)

Most games have major flaws. My family has had made house rules for decades. In splendor for example, we play with all the chips at every player count, this speeds up the game without changing the probabilities. In Five Crowns we play allowing all suits to make up runs. This tightens up the points scoring and engages the players more.

31 sec. Never played it, just saw it in one of your other videos. :-)

Great list! Not a fan of Betrayal at House on the Hill. Splendor was one of our first games, too, but after a while it felt a little too samey. So, I got Splendor Marvel! 🙂 Have you seen 7 Wonders Architects? Quicker and easier than 7 Wonders and fun! Brrt-ba-brrr! (my horn sound) 📯😁 7 Wonders Duel is pretty cool, too. (two-player only). Never played Mystic Vale, but if you like card "crafting" check out Dead Reckoning. May be a bit heavier than Mystic Vale? My first game was very long with 4 players. Thanks for sharing!

Hope you've played it with more players. It's really good at four.

Engine Builder was sounding like HEAT... then you said Roll and Move ... so Formula D

Perfectly explained

Got my copy for 10 as well! I had a very simular experience as yours and its def one of my favorite games right now. Ive only played it maybe three times so far but its always on my mind when thinking about games that some of my friends and family havent played yet. Everyone ive played it with has like it and i feel like its just a game that has good mass appeal. Excited to play it again sometime soon. 😊

Where did you get those plates from?

Glue Maven - A game that gets you into a lot of sticky situation.

Splendor Duel is great! I love it and splendor was that one game that my wife and just couldnt stop playing however splendor duel is more cut throat. there's more options in winning but it's streamlined really well. i wish the cards were a bit bigger but i understand why they kept it small so everything fit in the small box

Awesome vid. I do really like Earth - mostly for the dopamine rush during play 😂. Fair criticisms though. I would LOVE to see more videos like this. Great work. 👍

"improving Splendor" with more elements seems like counter-intuitive.. but looking forward to what you think when you have a chance to try it. There's definitely a sweet spot between streamline and choices, hopefully that's where this one lands.

Wow! That is an excellent set of games to have on a shelf of shame. Really looking forward to see reviews of Moonrakers and It's a Wonderful World.

Thanks for showing off the dice cup set! Glad you liked it.

I think I gave up on heat too early and we only played the starting race like twice. Then later on after I'd sold it I played it tournament style at a game night and liked it pretty well, it's definitely worth getting off the shelf of shame!

Splendor Duel is the better Splendor. It’s faster to play even with the “new” stuff.

Revive is excellent, but I wouldn't say that the discovery feels.... Discovery-y in this game. Fascinating tableau, and some interesting map interactions... But if you go into it with an expectation of discovery, I'm afraid you might miss out on an otherwise magnificent game.

I love 7 wonders and century golem, looks like i need to play its a wonderful world. Splendor duel is fantastic, quick, and quite a bit better than the original IMO.

What the heck i had no idea how useful those google apps could be!!! Love how simple it seems to make some cards (: And im definitely gonna try out inkscape!

Once again I'm wishing i didnt already have too many dice rolling accessories haha the Premium(*Elite) set looks great!

Thanks for the review

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Could I connect them using the strong tie, but not connect them to the wall?

Does the neoprene mat stink?

Tinkercad. Vector 3D models for normal humans. :). Great for pieces and inserts.

I had no issues with mosaic. I guess i explained it once to people and nobody ever got confused lol

I've had to relearn Inkscape a few times, lol. And I haven't used it for a few years so I for sure will need to relearn. TH-cam is so amazing! Learning how to use software, how to solve a Rubik's cube, change a taillight on your car, clean a fountain pen, and the list goes on! These are great, looking forward to more on what you use for icons etc. :)

I feel sorry for people who bought a game with these problems, that make a game so much worse when playing with new players, which is, like, 90% of the time.

Wow you post so often. Do you eve go on vacation?

I mentioned Dextrous undrr your latest video shich is basically an analogue for nanDeck that is very easy to use. It also has CC0 images library to use for your prototype, and you can of course upload your own. The free version has 10 layout slots which is plenty enough for a project or two actually, since most card layouts end up more or less the same.

Moonrakers is definitely group-dependent! I've learned if your friends don't like to interact much...not much negotiating will happen and the game goes stale really quick

Why are we trying to add diversity and inclusivity to board games? Do board games need a left wing moral lesson? Its fine to have double sided male and female cards such as in Roll Player, but doing it for reasons of "inclusivity and diversity" is nothing more than contrived virtue signalling and also feeds the "I'm a victim because I wasn't represented" narrative. My recommendation is to keep moral lessons and politics out of the gaming industry.

I really didn't enjoy Earth when I played it, the cognitive load was immense and this exacerbated by the iconography and subtle the colour coding very difficult to cut through.

Thank you for all the great questions! You can see me answer them, here: th-cam.com/video/K36MBO0wH7o/w-d-xo.html

Great video, and thanks for the shout out! Thanks for sharing a bit about your game designs, and I'm looking forward to more down the road. I don't think it was a purposeful pun, but a "light weight" Sumo game gave me a chuckle. And the 3 outcomes of die, retreat, or defect sounds really interesting. I wasn't always into solo gaming and solo design until about the last year or so. I wanted a way to scratch the itch without needing to depend so heavily on other people's availability. I've also been limiting myself a lot more to constraints and it's been fascinating how it both fuels and challenges my design brain. Speaking of your Roman Empire games, I watched a video recently about the game "Rome Alone" and I was really impressed with how much theme and strategy they put into such a minimal design. I would recommend checking it out, if anything just to get some Rome inspiration but also help your brain come up with ways to streamline / simplify your design ideas. A video about cocktail recipes? Yes please! Especially if they have fun thematic ties to the hobby or anything nerdy, lol.

SO surprised by the fact you're a fan of sumo, very niche haha Warhammer definitely is tabletop but very much its own thing In reference to my question, theres just something I really do enjoy about the big crowds and 100s of vendors and other people who are just buzzing with excitement for the same thing! but ya..... smells are a thing lol. Your channel is separated by who you are (: yes there are a a ton of channels but theres also a lot of people always looking for stuff (like me) plus I'm sure you're like me and make videos because YOU enjoy it, I also made videos before this board game thing and have always had a desire to make videos! Longshot is pretty fun! I havent played Moonrakers but it looks nice (: I think I'd rather play that new game the publishing is making in the same universe. Getting stuff on other peoples turns is awesome buttttt I dont exactly like Space Base lol My dream design is most likely gonna be theme favored, but if I can force my favorite mechanics in I definitely will! I had a separate hard drive and forgot about it (because I bought it a while before we were "consistent") so I've deleted a lot of stuff...whoops Game terminology for beginners sounds great! Theres so many mechanics and it could maybe even be good for shorts content, idk I've stopped looking at analytics so much cause number-go-down hurts my feelings haha Wonderlands x Blood Rage would be SO sick! Great video! sorry for the live-commenting lol