You most definitely got the better part of the deal. I actually bought the main game + 4 expansions for 75 euro just yesterday. One of the best craigslist deals I ever made. Looking forward to praising the Sun.
Unpopular opinion: For solo, I like this more than Gloomhaven 😊 I play with the RAW but I'll give the half sparks/double souls variant a try-looks like a cool way to speed the game up without changing the (in my opinion) awesome mechanics!
I'm really happy you enjoy it so much! It certainly wasn't as good for me as it clearly is for you, but in the end I just want everyone to have fun playing games :)
One of my favourite board games! It’s not broken….it’s just hard as nails and it’s supposed to be, I use the same house rule as you did, the other we use is that if you clear a room without using heroic, estus or luck then you can automatically clear it 1 more time when you reset at the bonfire. The other house rules I’ve seen make the game far too easy.
Been thinking about getting this game but its hard to find reviews since (much like the video games) everyone feels THEIR way of playing is the right way. Hopefully i can find a cheap-ish copy so i can enjoy it more
I did a more recent play video with the most up to date official rules, if you want to check that out: th-cam.com/video/-Zne8XX3N9A/w-d-xo.htmlsi=SW0s3KTo3PTqQvDZ
Ma dude mike. People complain a lot about this game but I’m truth is solid if you realize is mostly tactical and strategic than an adventure dungeon crawler.
I'm on the fence about getting this game because I'm wanting to get a dungeon crawler game. Never played the video game so i don't know anything about it other than it being difficult by design and the demonic monsters you fight. You say this wouldn't qualify as a dungeon crawler. Why?
I personally would say it’s somewhat a crawler. The tactical combat is the focus. There isn’t much exploration (besides opening rooms with new enemies), not much loot to level up with, etc.
I'm late but when I purchased this game I was disappointed by the speed and setup time like yourself. I don't have people to trade with and no way I could refund a game I had sitting around for months, but as a Dungeon Master the minis were reason enough to keep the boardgame. But then I came across the Boss Rush Mode. The real meat of this game are the bosses, I'm glad I didn't give this game away once I found that. My gaming group loves this game in boss rush mode. Great video btw, your voice and enthusiasm convinced me to stick around.
Since you're playing one character, why didn't you mention or presumably spend the 16 souls you get at the beginning when you use a single character? First encounter, why start in the center node, thus allowing the Silver Knight Swordsman to attack? If you had started in the bottom-left node, SKS wouldn't have reached you, thus no dmg taken. Second encounter, missed the fact that the encounter is trapped. During take two of encounter one, forgot the Ember when you took 3 dmg from the SKS; Embers are generally good in early game and/or dodge builds as you tend to take 3+ dmg more often in those situations. For the main boss run, you brought four weapons with you, but there is a limit of three. Dancer's Deadly Grasp doesn't move the boss towards any target, it is a straight left without turning, based on the boss facing. Similarly, you moved the boss towards you during Double Slash, but it has no Aggro or closest icon, so it would not "chase" the player. Same for Sweeping Blade Swipe.
Lots of good catches in here. Let me talk through them one by one: 16 Souls - I usually played 2-handed, and honestly totally missed the 16 bonus souls. Looking through the rulebook, they are quickly mentioned in a single sentence in a big paragraph of the rulebook, so I get why I didn't remember them :). But I didn't have trouble in my solo character plays, so not sure why they are there in the first place. I guess if you get a really bad luck first room? Party Set-Up - Wow, you're right! The rules saying "one the entry nodes beside the door" confused me, but I see in the diagram that you can pick any node along the wall, and of course that makes sense to allow 4 characters (since only 3 can be on a given node), so I should have caught this one. It would certainly give me an advantage in the first round of tough fights! Traps - Yup, missed the little spear icon! Ember - Yeah, tough to keep track of everything while filming and narrating, but you are right Weapon Limit - I think you are wrong on this one? I have my sword, my bow (with poison), and the great magic weapon. Dancer Cards - THANK YOU! I knew I was forgetting something, because my fights with the Dancer in the past were really tough, and this one felt odd. Totally correct that I was missing the lack of a player-targeting icon for the movement.
@@DamtheMan50 geez, I guess you are right. Interesting to call a shield a weapon when it has no attack capability, but I guess they were just using that as the catch-all term for "thing held in your hand."
When you win an encounter you reset all you cubes right but can I go to the bone fire to search for loot cards without triggering the effect of the bonefire?
It's been a bit since I played (I didn't keep my copy) but looking at the rulebook it looks like you can both visit the Blacksmith and level up without actually resetting and using a spark.
I wish I could direct you to one place, but there isn't any agreement on which variants are the "best" ones to use. You have to go to boardgamegeek.com and look around :)
Amazing playthrough!. That last turn was everything (and that is why I love so much this game), even if you really kill the Dancer in the previous turn =P.
Thanks for the playthrough Mike. I got this boardgame before I really got into the video games, and quickly sold it on. Now that I have dived headfirst into the video games, I was getting a pretty strong urge to re-buy this one. Your playthrough reminded me why I sold it. Maybe I'll re-invest in the card game. It wasn't great either, but it wasn't the terrible slog the boardgame is.
I am thankful for this gameplay because I wanted to see this game but don’t want to pay for it! Also at 51:14 you rolled 10, but the backstab for the win is far more exciting!
It’s not for everyone but it’s definitely a fun game if you play it right. I think the only way to truly play this is through campaign. That’s my personal opinion. It’s a grind but that’s what dark souls is. It’s a grind.
Hey question! Do you recommend the Card Game over the Board Game or vice versa? And why? I've read some mixed stuff about the Board Game, so what's wrong with it? Thanks!!
I did review videos for both. Here are the links: Board game - th-cam.com/video/0y4svM5Aqqk/w-d-xo.html Card game - th-cam.com/video/GZ3fhdZWkXY/w-d-xo.html But in short, neither is stellar, but the card game at least is quick and tense, while the board game is a HUGE slog without a ton of house ruling.
@@OneStopCoopShop Alright thanks!! ONE more question: in the card game, you can get a hand without any weapons in it constantly. Do you have some house rule against this? It's not fun to go up against a weak but high HP foe and lose your entire deck because you just can't pull a weapon :/ Also love your vids! Best tutorials on the 2 games out there!!
@@bertje7113 thanks so much for watching! To your question, with the free mulligan in the rules (shuffling 6 cards back in and re-drawing), having zero weapons almost never came up in my plays, so it didn't feel like an issue. That's not to say that it isn't a problem, though! If I was going to house rule it, I'd say put the 6 cards without a weapon to the SIDE (instead of shuffling it back in), draw 6 replacements, THEN shuffle the original 6 into your deck. That's a minor variation, but makes it almost impossible for you not to get a weapon on the mulligan.
@@OneStopCoopShop Damn that's a good idea and I didn't even know about the mulligan rule!! Also ONE more question (sorry lol). In the card game, can you pass THROUGH the bonfire without using it? So like go to different areas next to the bonfire without resting at the bonfire? Sorry for the many questions. Your videos were SO helpful and entertaining!
@@bertje7113 yes, you absolutely can. Basically you can pass through any and all "safe" areas to get to any adjacent dangerous areas, switching direction as much as you like. And yeah, if you didn't know about the initial mulligan, the game would seem REALLY luck-based in getting a weapon :)
This is the best playthrough/rules explanation for this game by far and it's so concise! The terrible reviews deterred me from even spending the effort to read through the rulebook. The minis aren't as nice as the ones from CMON or Kingdom Death: Monster so I'm still on the fence. Your playthrough and explanation was so streamlined though that it's actually pushing me towards making the purchase, especially since someone locally is selling at a fairly deep discount for the kickstarter/retail all in! Thanks for producing such high quality videos!!
Thank you! I did make some errors that another comment pointed out, things like: 1 - Not starting on any space along the wall I entered from (instead of just the door). 2 - Forgetting to put traps out when the bottom of the encounter card had spear icons. 3 - Mis-reading the Dancer final boss cards, some of which would have had him run straight forward, not chase me. But hopefully it's still a useful resource for you!
@@OneStopCoopShop Ah yes, I did read through the comments. No worries though! I find the POV the video is shot at, along with your narration and neat/tidy setup, really helps me envision what it would be like to play it myself! :)
Theoretically, but there are no rules for that in the game. Also, one of the things about the boss fights players love, probably the best thing about the game, is that you can learn their patterns and use their movement to your advantage, just like in the video game. Having a player control the enemies would take away all of that.
@@OneStopCoopShop i meant more like moving the enemies and deciding which player to attack, not really decide on which attack to perform and still keep the behavior card rule. instead of the players just divide the enemies as they see fit because it's easier. having something similar to a dungeon master of sorts playing against you could make this more interesting. and cut the length of the game as one player would be playing against the other or others. i may look into online into variants see what comes up. and just a little side note: the dancer is a she, not a he.
@@badrequest5596 you cant really do that, because the cards determine what players the enemy attacks (based on nearest/aggro, then if necessary highest character threat level). It's already baked into the game
The dice fell out during the previous shot, so I just rerolled them all. I do this when I roll all hits and some fall out as well. It’s a pitfall of recording :)
I don't want to be overly critical on this game, having not played it myself, but of all the souls based tabletop games, this one really feels the least thematic, and every time I try to watch a playthrough or example of it I lose interest about half way through. I feels so mechanical, and heavily chance based, while at the same time nothing feels threatening, because it almost feels like the game is playing itself.
Half sparks double souls is a rookie mode. Massively eases levelingvup. I only play with 4 characters as that seems to be where the best of the game is...for me anyhow.
I found 3-4 characters really rough. Yes, the positioning and damaging are more interesting, but it took forever for my turn to come back around. But that was with 3-4 actual players. I’m sure solo or 2-player 2-handed would be better.
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0:00 - Introduction
1:19 - Set-Up
2:58 - Encounter 1 (with rules)
12:36 - Encounter 2
15:30 - Encounter 3
20:15 - Encounter 1 (take two)
24:44 - Encounter 2 (take two)
26:45 - Encounter 4
31:08 - Encounter 1 (take three)
34:05 - Mini Boss (Gargoyle)
44:00 - Final Boss (Dancer)
I really like all the components of the game, looks quite nicely done and suiting the atmosphere.
Absolutely, probably the best thing about the game
Love the laugh when he killed his first monster.
You most definitely got the better part of the deal.
I actually bought the main game + 4 expansions for 75 euro just yesterday. One of the best craigslist deals I ever made.
Looking forward to praising the Sun.
Awesome! Have fun with it :)
Unpopular opinion:
For solo, I like this more than Gloomhaven 😊
I play with the RAW but I'll give the half sparks/double souls variant a try-looks like a cool way to speed the game up without changing the (in my opinion) awesome mechanics!
In case anyone doesn't know,
RAW = Rules As Written (official rulebook rules)
I'm really happy you enjoy it so much! It certainly wasn't as good for me as it clearly is for you, but in the end I just want everyone to have fun playing games :)
@@OneStopCoopShop That's the best way of approaching this hobby 😊
One of my favourite board games! It’s not broken….it’s just hard as nails and it’s supposed to be, I use the same house rule as you did, the other we use is that if you clear a room without using heroic, estus or luck then you can automatically clear it 1 more time when you reset at the bonfire. The other house rules I’ve seen make the game far too easy.
Good minimalist houserules for a more challenging experience!
The black dice where loving you in this play through.
On the 2nd room, you missed that it was a trap encounter so should have placed trap tokens down 👍
Yup, totally my fault. Good catch!
Been thinking about getting this game but its hard to find reviews since (much like the video games) everyone feels THEIR way of playing is the right way. Hopefully i can find a cheap-ish copy so i can enjoy it more
I did a more recent play video with the most up to date official rules, if you want to check that out:
th-cam.com/video/-Zne8XX3N9A/w-d-xo.htmlsi=SW0s3KTo3PTqQvDZ
Ma dude mike. People complain a lot about this game but I’m truth is solid if you realize is mostly tactical and strategic than an adventure dungeon crawler.
I'm on the fence about getting this game because I'm wanting to get a dungeon crawler game. Never played the video game so i don't know anything about it other than it being difficult by design and the demonic monsters you fight. You say this wouldn't qualify as a dungeon crawler. Why?
I personally would say it’s somewhat a crawler. The tactical combat is the focus. There isn’t much exploration (besides opening rooms with new enemies), not much loot to level up with, etc.
I'm late but when I purchased this game I was disappointed by the speed and setup time like yourself. I don't have people to trade with and no way I could refund a game I had sitting around for months, but as a Dungeon Master the minis were reason enough to keep the boardgame. But then I came across the Boss Rush Mode.
The real meat of this game are the bosses, I'm glad I didn't give this game away once I found that. My gaming group loves this game in boss rush mode.
Great video btw, your voice and enthusiasm convinced me to stick around.
Boss rush mode sounds PERFECT for this game, because you're right, it's absolutely the best part of the design :)
Thanks for watching!
Is that like a cursed sword in dnd. It can hit hard at a penalty.
I reckon Mikes favourite thing about making these videos is answering all the comments about the mistakes he made....am I right 😂
Haha, comes with the territory. It’s tough to film and comment and play all at once 😅
Since you're playing one character, why didn't you mention or presumably spend the 16 souls you get at the beginning when you use a single character?
First encounter, why start in the center node, thus allowing the Silver Knight Swordsman to attack? If you had started in the bottom-left node, SKS wouldn't have reached you, thus no dmg taken.
Second encounter, missed the fact that the encounter is trapped.
During take two of encounter one, forgot the Ember when you took 3 dmg from the SKS; Embers are generally good in early game and/or dodge builds as you tend to take 3+ dmg more often in those situations.
For the main boss run, you brought four weapons with you, but there is a limit of three. Dancer's Deadly Grasp doesn't move the boss towards any target, it is a straight left without turning, based on the boss facing. Similarly, you moved the boss towards you during Double Slash, but it has no Aggro or closest icon, so it would not "chase" the player. Same for Sweeping Blade Swipe.
Lots of good catches in here. Let me talk through them one by one:
16 Souls - I usually played 2-handed, and honestly totally missed the 16 bonus souls. Looking through the rulebook, they are quickly mentioned in a single sentence in a big paragraph of the rulebook, so I get why I didn't remember them :). But I didn't have trouble in my solo character plays, so not sure why they are there in the first place. I guess if you get a really bad luck first room?
Party Set-Up - Wow, you're right! The rules saying "one the entry nodes beside the door" confused me, but I see in the diagram that you can pick any node along the wall, and of course that makes sense to allow 4 characters (since only 3 can be on a given node), so I should have caught this one. It would certainly give me an advantage in the first round of tough fights!
Traps - Yup, missed the little spear icon!
Ember - Yeah, tough to keep track of everything while filming and narrating, but you are right
Weapon Limit - I think you are wrong on this one? I have my sword, my bow (with poison), and the great magic weapon.
Dancer Cards - THANK YOU! I knew I was forgetting something, because my fights with the Dancer in the past were really tough, and this one felt odd. Totally correct that I was missing the lack of a player-targeting icon for the movement.
@@OneStopCoopShop For weapon limit, you're forgetting you had a shield as well.
@@DamtheMan50 geez, I guess you are right. Interesting to call a shield a weapon when it has no attack capability, but I guess they were just using that as the catch-all term for "thing held in your hand."
@@OneStopCoopShop there are shields that attack... And some of them are great 😆
@@ScorchedRusalka oh I've gotten those ones for sure. They are fun. I once had a double shield build in Dark Souls 3. Goofy but entertaining :)
I thought you start out with a certain number of souls from the beginning if you play solo.
Yes 16
@@munpas I know lol that’s why I said I thought🦾
@@munpas then why is he taking the sparks down to 2 if he would have 16 souls and 5 sparks anyway?
@@alessandromassi3659 He got gud.
When you win an encounter you reset all you cubes right but can I go to the bone fire to search for loot cards without triggering the effect of the bonefire?
It's been a bit since I played (I didn't keep my copy) but looking at the rulebook it looks like you can both visit the Blacksmith and level up without actually resetting and using a spark.
Why did you not get the beginning souls you talked about it but never got them?
I recorded this over 2 years ago, so no idea at this point, sorry!
Page 13 of rule book last paragraph 16 souls if you go alone
Yup, that's one of the rules mistakes I made. Good catch!
so this informal "house rules" that make the game more enjoyable to play , where can I find them?
I wish I could direct you to one place, but there isn't any agreement on which variants are the "best" ones to use. You have to go to boardgamegeek.com and look around :)
Try the extended rule set the latest version is v45.
Amazing playthrough!. That last turn was everything (and that is why I love so much this game), even if you really kill the Dancer in the previous turn =P.
Hahaha, had to make it as epic as possible. Even my mistake contributed ;)
Thanks for the playthrough Mike. I got this boardgame before I really got into the video games, and quickly sold it on. Now that I have dived headfirst into the video games, I was getting a pretty strong urge to re-buy this one. Your playthrough reminded me why I sold it.
Maybe I'll re-invest in the card game. It wasn't great either, but it wasn't the terrible slog the boardgame is.
I too preferred the card game, but yeah, neither is excellent.
The best souls-like game I've played by a mile is the Bloodborne game from CMON.
Bloodborne is a top tier dungeon crawler for me 😊 such a great combat system
I am thankful for this gameplay because I wanted to see this game but don’t want to pay for it!
Also at 51:14 you rolled 10, but the backstab for the win is far more exciting!
Happy to push through it so you don’t have to ;)
It’s not for everyone but it’s definitely a fun game if you play it right. I think the only way to truly play this is through campaign. That’s my personal opinion. It’s a grind but that’s what dark souls is. It’s a grind.
Hey question! Do you recommend the Card Game over the Board Game or vice versa? And why? I've read some mixed stuff about the Board Game, so what's wrong with it? Thanks!!
I did review videos for both. Here are the links:
Board game - th-cam.com/video/0y4svM5Aqqk/w-d-xo.html
Card game - th-cam.com/video/GZ3fhdZWkXY/w-d-xo.html
But in short, neither is stellar, but the card game at least is quick and tense, while the board game is a HUGE slog without a ton of house ruling.
@@OneStopCoopShop Alright thanks!! ONE more question: in the card game, you can get a hand without any weapons in it constantly. Do you have some house rule against this? It's not fun to go up against a weak but high HP foe and lose your entire deck because you just can't pull a weapon :/ Also love your vids! Best tutorials on the 2 games out there!!
@@bertje7113 thanks so much for watching!
To your question, with the free mulligan in the rules (shuffling 6 cards back in and re-drawing), having zero weapons almost never came up in my plays, so it didn't feel like an issue.
That's not to say that it isn't a problem, though! If I was going to house rule it, I'd say put the 6 cards without a weapon to the SIDE (instead of shuffling it back in), draw 6 replacements, THEN shuffle the original 6 into your deck. That's a minor variation, but makes it almost impossible for you not to get a weapon on the mulligan.
@@OneStopCoopShop Damn that's a good idea and I didn't even know about the mulligan rule!! Also ONE more question (sorry lol). In the card game, can you pass THROUGH the bonfire without using it? So like go to different areas next to the bonfire without resting at the bonfire? Sorry for the many questions. Your videos were SO helpful and entertaining!
@@bertje7113 yes, you absolutely can. Basically you can pass through any and all "safe" areas to get to any adjacent dangerous areas, switching direction as much as you like.
And yeah, if you didn't know about the initial mulligan, the game would seem REALLY luck-based in getting a weapon :)
at 51:15 wasn't that the 10 that you needed ?
Yes, but shhh, mistakes lead to backstabbing :)
This is the best playthrough/rules explanation for this game by far and it's so concise!
The terrible reviews deterred me from even spending the effort to read through the rulebook.
The minis aren't as nice as the ones from CMON or Kingdom Death: Monster so I'm still on the fence.
Your playthrough and explanation was so streamlined though that it's actually pushing me towards making the purchase, especially since someone locally is selling at a fairly deep discount for the kickstarter/retail all in!
Thanks for producing such high quality videos!!
Thank you! I did make some errors that another comment pointed out, things like:
1 - Not starting on any space along the wall I entered from (instead of just the door).
2 - Forgetting to put traps out when the bottom of the encounter card had spear icons.
3 - Mis-reading the Dancer final boss cards, some of which would have had him run straight forward, not chase me.
But hopefully it's still a useful resource for you!
@@OneStopCoopShop Ah yes, I did read through the comments. No worries though!
I find the POV the video is shot at, along with your narration and neat/tidy setup, really helps me envision what it would be like to play it myself! :)
couldn't another player take control and position the enemies to fight against the other player or players?
Theoretically, but there are no rules for that in the game. Also, one of the things about the boss fights players love, probably the best thing about the game, is that you can learn their patterns and use their movement to your advantage, just like in the video game. Having a player control the enemies would take away all of that.
@@OneStopCoopShop i meant more like moving the enemies and deciding which player to attack, not really decide on which attack to perform and still keep the behavior card rule. instead of the players just divide the enemies as they see fit because it's easier. having something similar to a dungeon master of sorts playing against you could make this more interesting. and cut the length of the game as one player would be playing against the other or others. i may look into online into variants see what comes up. and just a little side note: the dancer is a she, not a he.
@@badrequest5596 you cant really do that, because the cards determine what players the enemy attacks (based on nearest/aggro, then if necessary highest character threat level). It's already baked into the game
14:50 I believe you've cheated for rerolling the blank die.
The dice fell out during the previous shot, so I just rerolled them all. I do this when I roll all hits and some fall out as well. It’s a pitfall of recording :)
@@OneStopCoopShop fair enough
This wasn't a great game but props to Mike for playing it.
Thanks! I DID enjoy myself, just for only 30-45 minutes each time I played for 2-3 hours :)
In my opinion the extended rules make this a much better game.
@@Jezza_One extended rules?
Yes
I don't want to be overly critical on this game, having not played it myself, but of all the souls based tabletop games, this one really feels the least thematic, and every time I try to watch a playthrough or example of it I lose interest about half way through. I feels so mechanical, and heavily chance based, while at the same time nothing feels threatening, because it almost feels like the game is playing itself.
I didn't enjoy it much myself. There are great ideas in here, but it needs HEAVY houseruling to be a great experience, at least for my tastes.
Yeah human interface turned out to be a dud.
Great components in that game but disappointing.
Wasn’t a fan of this game either lol.
Yeah, the miniatures were solid. I know some people used them for other cyberpunk-ish games.
@@OneStopCoopShop yes good for skirmish games like Reality’s edge.
Please don't abuse the miniatures.
They have feelings too!
Half sparks double souls is a rookie mode. Massively eases levelingvup. I only play with 4 characters as that seems to be where the best of the game is...for me anyhow.
I found 3-4 characters really rough. Yes, the positioning and damaging are more interesting, but it took forever for my turn to come back around. But that was with 3-4 actual players. I’m sure solo or 2-player 2-handed would be better.
This game looks awful. So glad I was never tempted by it.
Yeah, wasn’t a great experience overall.
I think it looks fun and I’m tempted by it now
I just bought it lol