This video serves as a video log for future Alex who is now making videos about DC United and the fact he probably went All In, but not All in on all add ons.
That’s why I like your channel. You are a good person and make videos like this. Keep up the good work. You will get to be a full time content creator one day if you keep going.
Great video. You bring up good questions. I think I had more fun with board games when I had fewer games, but my motivation was different too. I bought board games to have fun playing them, I wasn’t excited about creating a collection with variety, or didn’t yet have the thrill of shopping for and buying them and anticipating their arrival, I wasn’t watching reviews and looking at board game geek. It’s got to the point that I don’t know what I like better, playing board games or looking up board game stuff on the internet. I miss being content just playing board games. Oh well, I’ll get off the internet and go play a board game, but while I’m playing I’ll be thinking of other board games I can buy, and then I’ll be back here to youtube looking at reviews and checking BGG.
I do have to say thank you... because of your video's and Discord I can say I no longer have a KS addiction... I have yet to KS anything new since September of last year and have only KS'd 2 expansions in that time as well. Again Thank you!
The most important thing you have in life is time. It's the most precious. Once it's gone, it's gone, you cannot buy more. That means time should be spend to get the most fun/joy/quality out of it. So buying a game you won't be playing is a game that you shouldn't have bought. And even if you do play the game, there is an opportunity cost, because you're not playing a differnet game at the same time. I've bought my fair share of Kickstarters, but nowadays I tend to focus mostly on cutting my collection and only getting what I really want to play, selling off what I don't want/need/etc. And if I did mis out on a game, I'll just get it on the second hand market.
800 is based on TWO Kickstarter campaigns too. That is part of the real decisions. If someone gets DC United now they are going to most likely get another DC United kickstarter campaign later on and say 'I own the game so why not just add the other content'. They might do something you really like. For example say it was Marvel United and they didn't do Moonknight as a stretch goal which I think they did, but say they did not and then the expansion KS comes out and they do make a Moonknight or heck they do Power Man and Iron Fist too, also I think they did these too. Those things will suck at your brainhole area and your more likely to get the second campaign. By the end you spent 800, but for example right now DC United All in is like 385 or so almost 400 and if you get the playmat and shipping, but not the others stuff your looking at like 465 as you might add another add on, but say not the thicker cards or plastic tokens. Since they love pricing these at 20 to 40 a piece these will add up. But will you use them. If you really think you will then get them. Yet, if you see the stretch goals and think 'will my brainhole be able to handle it if I don't get the kickstarter and buy this at a discount in retail later. When deciding to get or not get DC United then is not just a decision on what you can see in the current campaign, but also anything you might see later on down the line.
I think an additional aspect of this conversation is the impact production of big boxes and plastic impacts the environment and your contribution to that.
It might be for you, but it isn't for me. I'm not going to question my impact on the environment because of too much Marvel United, more so than any other game or games in my collection.
In general I'm always tempted to buy all expansions/promos for my games. I agree with you that sometimes having too much content actually makes you play the game less, because it makes the setup longer (and also I still need to find a time to sort all the Too Many Bones content in the trove chest). Sometimes I will simply avoid backing a KS game just because the all-in pledge costs too much, even if the base pledge is affordable.
An interesting discussion that ultimately comes down to the crossroads of opportunity cost and luxury goods (which games definitely are). If you can truthfully tell yourself you are happy with what you spent on your luxury and you didn't cause any financial harm to yourself, then no one can tell you your're wrong.
That’s a lot of money for a simple game, I see it more like a collectible item, but everyone has his own tastes, I went all in with arena the contest 1.5 and Tanares adventures and I spent like 700, and I don’t regret, I just want to have it in my hands already nice video thank you for all the information
Awesome video about balance and making sure you do the right thing for you, your family, and your financial situation. I did not find this video preachy at all. As always, stay safe and happy gaming.
Good perspective I Bought the retail Marvel United and backed base Marvel United XMen & 1 Expansion - though that wasn’t too far all in and would give the variety needed with the co-op, all v 1 and 2v2 modes that I’ll have access to.
Yeah great video. CMON is a plague I hate their model. I used to chase the KS train and one day I purged and it was the most freeing thing. Once you break the FOMO chain it’s no longer a thing. I buy at my pace and on my time, there’s absolutely no need for the upfront all-in, those ks exclusives are not needed, let it go.
Excellent discussion. It's these videos on your channel that provide balance and deeper thinking about the hobby it self and what it means. Love the very solid and logical conclusions you have come to about money, happiness, life and where board games fit in. A good role model in this space.
I missed the original Marvel United kickstarter but managed to back X-Men united. So far I only took the Sentinels and Apocalypse, but I was tempted to take more and maybe even go all in. Your video actually helped me see reason, and save money so I have more to spent on different board games. So thank you for that. (Although the temptation might return once the Pledge manager goes life)
I’m only in for $100 and missed the original campaign too. I’ve been somewhat dreading the pledge manager a little because I’m not sure what I’m going to do. So many aspects to consider, upfront cost, opportunity cost, storage, actual enjoyment from the game.
Not to forget about VAT on my end. And with so much content even in just the base pledge, I just cannot justify it to myself to get everything. But I know that there's a good chance I might go all in in the end anyway :-(
Interesting video, thanks for posting. I've been struggling with this as well, as I went almost all in on this. Here are a few thoughts on why it might be worth it.. 1) Yes, you could get 15-20 other games for the same price, but I find with about 100 games, having breadth in my collection is making it harder than depth. I spent a lot of money on Kingdom Death Monster, but I have a weekly game night for KDM and have played it almost every week for the last few years. So I feel it was worth it. Yes, Marvel United does not have the depth of KDM, but with the theme and having young kids, I think I can do a weekly game night with my family and kids, so see this as my family version of KDM. As you mention, this is a game where you could actually play everything, so I'm hoping that the accessibility of the game will allow this to be a game you play over and over again with family. 2) Miniatures as kids toys, 200+ miniatures of all the marvel characters is amazing for kids. Like you, my kids just like to play with the miniatures, and when you look at the cost of LEGO or Playmobile, you add a lot of value if you see the minis as kids toys. We might wrap some of these up and use them as Birthday/Christmas presents. We are also painters, so that is a lot of minis to paint. 3) I have seen people selling individual miniatures for between 10-20 dollars each, so if you are able to sell components of your game, you could probably make a pretty good profit. I do really hate how CMON does their KSs, and I didn't get the cardboard extras, crazy how thicker card board for the game is almost the same as all the stuff you get for My Father's Work. I do remember saving for a game console that was $500 that seemed like a lot, so $800 for a lightweight game does feel insane!
I got the X-men base and 2 expansion. Fantastic four and the Blue Team. I only have the base Marvel United from Walmart. Played it, liked it and backed just a few.
I do feel like the $800 is a bit misleading. Gameplay all in for both (assuming you bought the first KS) is $485. Throw in $65 for shipping to keep it a round number and you’re at $550. Still excessively high? Sure. The bigger issue I would have is spending $250 on tokens/playmates/cardboard (to be honest I’m struggling to even get to this $800 figure)
I truly appreciate your honesty, and your courage to admit making mistakes. This internal monologue happens in many of us, any time we see a new shiny board game on kickstarter. Listening to your discussion and rationale makes it easier to recognize my own FOMO and impulsive decisions. With such self-assessment your viewers can make a more conscious, more reasonable decision, whether to back a certain campaign or not.
I think it is important to know your limits and set boundaries. Giving yourself an allowance each month so you don't keep going over budget on those super expensive"all in" pledges is one option to help. I do something like this and it forces me to make some tough decisions on which games to pick each month. Also, be willing to back a game but not all the nice extras. This is one that I have a tough time with! On the subject of family vacations, I don't think you have to spend $5000 to have a fun vacation with your family, but I will say that you only have kids at a young age in the house for a few short years, and vacations can be a really nice memory to look back on. We did a Disney world vacation a few years ago and while it was expensive, it is also a memory now that our kids keep bringing up and something we still enjoy looking at pictures of. That's going to be a cool memory for them for years and years. Enjoy your content, keep up the good discussions!
I’ve came to a similar conclusion about a while back in regard to CMON.I’ve backed 13 of their games over the years.I did go all in with a lot of their kickstarters .But the last 4 of their kickstarters that I backed , I only backed core and maybe 1 or 2 expansions. For me in increases the chances of getting them to the table and playing all the content I back. As you said it also means I get to try more diverse games as I have more shelf space and game time than I otherwise would have.
This for me as well. I've learned through experience that the all-in pledges are just way too much content to actually play. I started doing core and one or two carefully picked expansions or bling and I feel much better about the money spent to play-time ration.
My plan: get all $800 of Marvel United, figure out the parts I like, sell the parts I don't like at a profit, and then it's like I got the game at a big discount
I thought about doing that but then it occurred to me that there's going to be a LOT of people doing that and most people will be dumping the same stuff. In the end, I just decided to play the game on tabletop simulator for free. It's a fun game but it's a game that I'll get tired of quickly and not worth spending so much money on.
I was very lucky in that my LFGS offered to give us all the kickstarter promo options without having to pay for shipping at all, which saved a TON of money. I also didnt buy the cardboard locations, the plastic chits, nor the second vinyl mat. I saved money where I could, but my biggest issue right now is finding a place for all this stuff lol
I went all in with Marvel United on the basis that I am playing it a lot and I an playing with all of the add-ons on a regular basis. I cannot say the same of any other board game kickstarters. So for me, the decision to go all in was an absolute no brainer :)
X-Men was one of my favorite comics when I was a child. I was going to stick with the $100 pledge, then they threw in Fantastic Four, which was my favorite comic back then. The combination rendered me powerless. I've decided that even though I have no interest in the Deadpool expansion, it would be silly to leave it out of my collection. So, for all the reasons Alex gave that it was a bad idea for him, I think my judgement is even worse.
Honestly, a huge reason for me to back this is because I love hand-painting the miniatures. I missed the first go around of MU, so I picked up around $200 worth of stuff this time. Base pledge + 4 expansions. These “all-in” pledges seem excessive.
I've noticed a large part of the board game community seems to have an addiction to buying every new game. Especially if it's on a crowdfunding platform for a ludicrous price and offers exclusives to entice susceptible personalities. It's basically turned into a huge casino at this point. It's kind of sad to see, but I can't tell people how to spend their money.
I backed the apocalypse pledge and two expansions for nostalgia reasons. Afterwards reason kicked in immediately and your last video on this kickstarter forged my resolve to downgrade in the pledge manager to Mutant Pledge and Blue Team expansion.
Ie, if you played this game 160 times but DIDN'T get the cardboard replacements, tokens, or playmat, the price would be 3.20 $ about. Worth the savings? *Contemplates*
Thank you for this! It’s a year after you posted, and my X-Men KS choices arrived this past week. I’d already purchased the Marvel United playmat, core box, and the KS exclusive box from my local game store, and in a year, never even opened it. I was regretting **only** getting the Mutant Pledge for X-Men with Deadpool and Black Panther add-ons. But I am spending WAY too much money on things because of FOMO, rather than a true desire to play all the modes. This video helped reinforce that for me before I went and spent even MORE money hunting down boxes of characters I don’t really care about, just to have them.
Very well said. Thank you for sharing these thoughts and for being thoughtful. I think we all have these hobbies and interest that draw us in by the temptation of potential. A mixture of the fear of missing out and the note of the potential that could exist in doing something if only we had (insert item here), can often push us towards poor decision making. We need the occasional voice of empathetic reason to balance us out and cool our heads. Thanks for attempting to provide that.
I love these types of videos. I make myself to wait to back most kickstarters until the last 48 hours. This way the FOMO and all the positives have settled in my mind, the entire package with all add ons/stretch goals is revealed and any concerns can be evaluated whether based on the poor quality of the page, the campaign being run poorly, concerns of the publisher or I can evaluate reasons I may not enjoy the product. Once the shine of the cool stuff has worn off, it helps make more logical decisions. And there are definitely games that I was hyped on with kickstarter that I didnt back because I waited. It's psychologically much easier to wait to back than to remove your pledge once it's there. Not to say that I don't spend more than I should, I have the same issue of wanting EVERYTHING when I don't need it. But I definitely could be worse at it.
Great one, I have been thinking about this the since the kickstarter ended. I backed all in for xmen and tracked done a stretch goal box second hand. After, while adding it up, was feeling like it was a bit much! It was my first big all in. I think i could have been happy with 200 or so woth of it and quite a few other games. Lesson learned and at least I feel pretty good that I can sell off what I don't want in the future.
I have a shelf in my basement with little risers that hold all the characters, and they all have little name plates - over 200 with all Xmen and Marvel, now they've announced Multiverse and I will have to put up a shelf over my shelf, lol. All my cards are in two big boxes, each deck is individually sleeved and then sleeved in a larger holder and have a name divider, so it is super simple for me to break this out and be playing.
TH-cam knows I just purchased this cuz this was at the top of my recommended. I totally agree. I just picked up the base game, x-men, and spiderverse for a grand total of $35. Couple years after the fact and no extra fancy boards or tokens, I'm totally good with for ~1/24 the cost. I'm extremely hesitant to back anything on crowdfunding. Luckily my frugality is more powerful than my FOMO.
I backed the Marvel United Kickstarter by CMON and just found out that not only are they not sending us the product we paid for, but also that they will not issue a refund. Its been a nightmare.
I never go all-in which as a principle helps me to keep control. Got the first MU with just one expansion, this second one - as an X-Men comic collector - two expansions and the Playmat. That is a lot of money but still affordable compared to all-in. And I know I will be playing this game a lot as I'm playing the first one a lot. But of course you're right that the Marvel license is what is selling this game. Heard from a lot of people that the base game does not have variety enough - so the stretch goal box is a must. In case you keep on regretting, you'll be able to sell it with a plus. So don't be too hard on yourself 😉👍
Jep you need more but you don't need everything. With other games, you often don't even need more. It's happened more than once that expansions just blow up gameplay and don't really help increasing the experience...
This is why I set a monthly budget for my boardgame purchases. If I go over one month, then that's deducted from the next month. I don't allow a negative balance to continue past a month. If I've not saved up for that huge pledge for something, I don't buy it. There will be "the next new hotness" to come along the next month, or the month after that. There will always be a next "great new game" for you to try if you miss out on this one.
Thanks for the discussion, Alex. I went all-in for Marvel United then recently sold everything but the base game and cardboard locations. Got a good profit to invest back into all-in Marvel United and X-Men. I figure I didn't need to play the Marvel United expansion content now and will probably even opt for 1-wave shipping for this new campaign.
Another reason to back is if you see the potential in the miniatures and can expanded upon their use Eg paint them Use them in other games Like hero quest or d&d adventure (your players find their way into the marvel universe and these are npc’s) or chess just get 3d bases to clip on the base that say things like queen rook pawn ect and a board you’re good to go
Thoughtful and sincere/real. That's what I like about your content. Thanks for discussing the things that a lot of us are thinking about every time that next new game grabs our attention. Luckily, Marvel United / X-Men isn't grabbing me!
This was a rollercoaster of a video. I didn't quite go "all-in" for both KS but I did get all of the game content...so for me - I was going back and forth and at the end I feel like we coasted into the end of the rollercoaster. Thanks for the ride! I love your thoughts, especially at the end. If only because it helped me feel better about my purchase. ;)
While I saved money by not buying any thing from this game, I still went all in on Stormsunder for close to 800$, majority of which is pretty minis that are not needed.
You know, I almost went all in on the X-men Kickstarter and added the original Kickstarter stuff and ultimately I decided that the 65 dollar pledge plus fantastic 4 (because I love fantastic 4) plus the mat was plenty. I feel like you get so much in the Kickstarter just from stretch goals. The price was so astronomical for this Kickstarter that despite wanting everything, I couldn’t justify it.
I love hearing your thoughts on these sorts of bigger life subjects as a fellow religious person, and I wish you lived closer to Connecticut so we could get some gaming in!
There is two sides of the game...the collectible minis and the gameplay itself. If you love the minis and love collecting the minis, there is some very cool content here, and especially if you want take time painting them up nicely. The actual gameplay here seems ultimately quite limited. It fun, and light, but most of the characters are just doing variations of the basic three actions. It's so simple you can just print and play, or make up your own versions, if you just want the play without needing the minis. I actually have a ton of Marvel figurines I could use in place of the minis if I wanted. Definitely don't have to go all in to get the game. Do if you want to collect all the minis. And they are very well made and neat to own for Marvel fans. Can even use them as minis for other Marvel games, a skirmish rpg, ect..
Appreciate the reflection. When I heard you talk about how you went all in I kept wondering if it’s really worth it for the shelf space it will take. With so many games coming in and out of your rotation it was hard to believe you would commit to this one of all. Well...I’m sure you can flip it without a loss
So I missed the first Kickstarter and I bought the base game. I really like the base game and I want more. My reasons for backing: My wife and I like painting miniatures. We are about to have a kid and we want a quick game to play once we don’t have time for longer games. This game and the Witcher are the only games I’m planning on backing, but the itching to get more games is getting to me.
One thing is for sure, I already paid and backed for all of the X-Men stuff and the play mat and when the PM comes out I’ll be paying for EVERYTHING else. I missed the last campaign. I need all of it!
Yeah AH LCG is my favorite game of all time and I have tons of games. I am literally organizing my guardian cards. Hopefully the innsmouth cycle finale comes out friday.
Yeah, but if you go through and play it, I think AH LCG is worth it. Each scenario is about the price and length of a movie (well, in theater which isn’t really a thing anymore but hey). If you don’t play what you own, then yeah AH is a bad investment
You know my biggest concern with this whole situation is that a better Marvel game will come out in a year or two that I will enjoy appreciably more and still have the benefit of the Marvel IP. P.S. I appreciate your sharing some of your real life context. I also have a great job that allows me to save for the future, give to my church (Christian that also tithes and supports charities), while still having extra income to spend on fun things. We are truly blessed!
I started playing Magic the Gathering 40 years ago. I still have dual lands and other high demand early cards. When I get around to selling my collection. I estimate a 50% hair cut.
Totally agree. I only have the base game and stretch goals, and I’m pretty happy with that. I might pick up Sinister 6 to add a few more villains for variety, but as tempting at it is to get other favourite characters, I’m pretty content with not over-spending and minimizing the space the game takes up.
Covid has helped me rationalize. We used to do a few cruises a year (about $1000-$3000 for a 7 day cruise) This will give me enjoyment for more than 7 days.
Will at actually? Maybe the first few weeks you play it a few hours a week. Then after that you look at the box with fond memories for a few seconds a week. Then eventually you never look at it again. Sum up that time and maybe its 20 hours of enjoyment vs 7 whole days?
@@garylangford6755 maybe not 7 days in terms of 24 hours x 7. But I’ll play it over more than 7 days and enjoy it for months to come. The cruises were mostly eating and chilling at sea. Mostly the enjoyment was being away from work and seeing new ports. Similarly I’ve spent several hundreds of dollars on an excursion that lasted a few hours so if that’s the comparison I think it’s fairly similar.
@@amfdfireinside fair enough. I know for myself $1000 of games are not played enough to justify the cost. They usually sit on my shelf unplayed as a display piece...
I spent over $400 dollars on my pledge, instant guilt as soon as I actually completed the pledge manager. Thing is, the value of the individual pieces really punches above what you pay. When I got my boxes, I immediately sold 5 expansions of it and got all my money back, leaving me with 4 boxes completely free -ultimately I'm glad I backed
I didn't have the opportunity to back either game. I am not on kickstater and this is my first rodeo with cmon. I tend to want "everything" when I get games, but I wanted to take a different approach this time. I forced myself to identify the heroes and villains I wanted and pared my buy in down to $350. If I add one more component, it might be sinister six (not a fan of those villains but it has high reviews). I found this stuff by playing with a friend, got the two starters and immediately knew my family needed more content because it's a game we all enjoy. Just hard enough to be interesting, but not so hard that my 8yo can't play. Also it's Coop, which is a huge +++. I probably spent too much, but considering the fact that i anticipate enjoying this game with grandkids in the future... Nah, it's probably a solid investment.
I’m just like you! I’m very picky about anything I buy game wise because once I start I must complete the set whether I play all of it. I must have all the content.
I found it ironic that I watched this video while playing Agropolis, a $10 kickstarter that has been tons of fun at a fraction of the price of Marvel United.
Sitting down to learn a game. And, then, playing that game until you know it down to its roots, is an opportunity cost that is hard to realize if you play a bunch of games. Playing one game, a lot of game sort of game, like Marvel United All-in, a bunch of times, a bunch of different ways, with a bunch of different pieces, means you do not lose time learning a different game. ... The trick is not getting tempted away before you have experienced as much as possible of the game you spent $200 to $500 to $800 on. It can be done. My gaming buddy and I played “The Others” for nine months. “The Edge: Dawnfall” for a year. But, I have lost out on some other Kickstarters - like Arcadia Quest. That one only lasted for three months. ... Depends on how much you like the game.
I find it strange that you're entire channel is based on KS and how often you talk about FoMo but then it seems like you can't control your own FoMo. I started backing games on kickstarter in 2013, Rivet wars was actually my first kickstarter, and I totally got sucked into the cool looking minis and I went all in. I did that with the others and black plague, and shadows of brimstone and krossmaster arena and a few others, along with many many other medium or smaller Kickstarters I was backing. I finally realized I was just wasting my money on most of these games because I haven't even used all the 3 boxes of content I got for Rivet Wars, nm it's not even a very good game, never even played the others which I have 2 giant boxes full of stuff for, played shadows over brimstone once and hated it and sons the whole $430 minecart pledge, only played krossmaster a few times. Once I realized I was just getting sucked into cool miniatures and because of FoMo, I was easily able to stop myself. Now I back just as many games as I was back then but I'm far more selective and aware of what I'm backing and I back games I know I'm going to get to the table and play and utilize the content and I almost never go all in anymore. Usually, at this point, I will back the base game deluxe editions, maybe a couple add ons I really like, and then if I enjoy the game, I pick up the expansions and extras later, usually for cheaper than I would've got them through the campaign. If I didn't like the game, I'm not out much money and I just have the base game to sell and not multiple boxes of junk to sell and ship. As far as marvel united goes, I love marvel and have been an avid fan for over 30 years and I was going all in on the first KS but as soon as I saw gameplay and some of the non miniature components (because I do love the chibi minis), it was not going to be a great game nor a good investment for me so I cancelled my pledge, picked up the base game when it hit retail, played through it about 3 times and was bored silly with it's overly simplistic gameplay, that had very little in the way of variety between the super heroes. Good choice for me
Great discussion. In the end I went all-in twice as well, and justified it on a couple different fronts 1) split it with buddy of mine, game is clearly big enough with all the expansions that you can share the game with another, and rotate expansions back and forth, and thus split the cost and 2) with younger kids and family, I'm actually excited about the lightness of the game, that will likely hit the table easier, and with more frequency than many of the heavier weight games that I can only play with certain gamers, meaning they tend to never come off the shelf. Yes, you'd typically think of a game this expensive on KS as this huge, complex immersive game, but just because it's lighter, doesn't mean it's bad, just viable for more types of gamers.
I lost my ideal day job a few years ago, when I did I immediately stopped backing kickstarters until I had some income coming and even then it was much more reserved. “Living within your means” is one of the greatest bits of advice because it challenges people to not define their happiness by what they can buy but rather what they do with it. I am a firm believer that we are evolving and changing beings. I then take the much more radical and empowering position that we can control how we change and evolve. So will you change ?
Lots of great points in the video. I've went for the the all in gameplay and I'm debating the cardboard upgrades. It is a lot of money and I really don't want to store all of it but, as of now, I fully intend to cherry pick the heroes and villians I want to keep and sell off the rest. Hopefully I'll make enough back that the amount spent doesn't feel so high. As is its way more than I want to be invested in this game but the heroes I was most interested in were locked behind the all in pledges so that's what I went with. Great content Alex, thank you!
A bit unrelated, but I get your point. I just went ALL in on Darkest Dungeon. It's the only game I can get for the next year, but I love the minis and art etc etc. ($600 for all the stuff, extra musketeer, no paint). Sometimes it's just a personal choice. Probably not worth it, but I'm a big fan and want them to succeed.
Well said, very good guidelines for people to consider when spending this kind of money on a game. Backed All-In Gameplay content, definitely didn't NEED to, but I'm enjoying the gameplay with my family and the quality time my wife and I have painting. But that's all relative and each person can have their reason for why they backed what they did.
Hey Alex, not preachy at all, at least from my view. That's a very nice discussion, one of which I've been having with friends recently. And you've actually helped me decide on how much I want to go in with the X-Men Kickstarter, and I'm still on the fence about the Witcher one, I think I might not go Deluxe after this. Thank you a ton, and great job on keeping up the awesome content!
I just noticed that Marvel United: x-men pm opened. Which 5 add-ons do you think is the most fun or essential including add-ons from first campagin or ultimate classics? :)
There are some games where the theme does SO much heavy lifting. Like, if this was DC United, it wouldn't even be on my radar. But I had to talk myself out of backing the X-Men set just because they offered the full 90's lineup of X-Factor as a stretch goal. Once the hype dies down I'll be glad I didn't invest, but I may need to find someone who will let me take it for a spin some day.
Good thoughts, thanks. I have just the base game, but backed X-Men all-in and plan to cherry pick what I want to keep and sell the rest. I got the playmat but skipped the cardboard locations because I thought they'd make the game take longer to get to the table (i.e. storage). How/where do you store you cardboard locations and villain dashboards?
Also, there are miniatures. For me who paint Marvel United miniatures with my two daughters, there is an added value. We can still enjoy the game even while not playing it. But even then i just took basic pledges. What really suck is the manufactured scarcity with the shit load of KSE. You have to take everything or kiss goodbye the possibility of richer gameplay. Nothing in between (i don't consider paying the scalper price a viable option).
Thanks for sharing this. You have became my go to channel with quackalope and rolling solo for board games. At first I was interested by your unusual way (unusual way to me at least ;)) to apprehend games and value. I personally don't care (for now) if game holds its value or not. I have keept everything I bought till now... I probably buy less games than you though ! But you clearly stated why you care about value and it makes perfect sense to me now. I have moved from buying games from stores to backing games and yes sometimes I feel like fomo gets me. I am the kind of player who finished twice gloomhaven and still wants to play a third campaign as there are still things I haven't unlocked. I'm playing middara now and having a blast. I see mysef replaying act 1 with pleasure. This is my own rational. I can back big games with a lot of content as long as I know I'll be able to go through them, multiple times. We are only living once... I am now looking forward ISS Vanguard and wait with impatience your "review" of the prototype 2.0. This is the only way I have to project myself in playing the game. Damn, I thought I would write only a few words and look this wall of text... must be influenced by someone here...
I find it so interesting how we have fomo, and purchase everything with board games. If you liken it to purchasing a new car. It is unlikely that you purchase every upgrade! Yes you could take a base car and double it’s value by having a more powerful engine, alloy wheels etc, but it is very likely you could have spent thousands more on upgrades you class as needless, not worth the money or just the fact you reign yourself in so you don’t overspend beyond what you can sensibly afford. Clearly a car is a more expensive purchase, but I think because of the fun but addictive nature of Kickstarter we get drawn into purchasing everything or nearly everything when we more than likely do not need it.
Every time I spend a lot on my hobby, I tell myself that at least it's not cocaine.
But it's cardboard crack!
Cocaine might be a cheaper hobby.
@@vindachio1 Hahaha I don't think the money is the main concern with cocaine addiction. It's the hookers.
@@vindachio1 Cocaine, once used, has 0 resale value.
Ahh see your missing out...the key to happiness is being numb to how much your spending...do you know what causes numbness? Haha
On today's episode of Alex's heart vs Alex's conscience...
I never tire of this discussion. No irony or sarcasm intended. I truly love this.
Thanks Brett :)
This video serves as a video log for future Alex who is now making videos about DC United and the fact he probably went All In, but not All in on all add ons.
That’s why I like your channel. You are a good person and make videos like this. Keep up the good work. You will get to be a full time content creator one day if you keep going.
Great video. You bring up good questions. I think I had more fun with board games when I had fewer games, but my motivation was different too. I bought board games to have fun playing them, I wasn’t excited about creating a collection with variety, or didn’t yet have the thrill of shopping for and buying them and anticipating their arrival, I wasn’t watching reviews and looking at board game geek. It’s got to the point that I don’t know what I like better, playing board games or looking up board game stuff on the internet. I miss being content just playing board games.
Oh well, I’ll get off the internet and go play a board game, but while I’m playing I’ll be thinking of other board games I can buy, and then I’ll be back here to youtube looking at reviews and checking BGG.
Sounds like a pretty typical rationalization for addiction. I give myself that speech all the time.
Absolutely :)
Lol man if only you listened to me! 😅😅😅 All the signs were there!
I do have to say thank you... because of your video's and Discord I can say I no longer have a KS addiction... I have yet to KS anything new since September of last year and have only KS'd 2 expansions in that time as well. Again Thank you!
The most important thing you have in life is time. It's the most precious. Once it's gone, it's gone, you cannot buy more. That means time should be spend to get the most fun/joy/quality out of it. So buying a game you won't be playing is a game that you shouldn't have bought. And even if you do play the game, there is an opportunity cost, because you're not playing a differnet game at the same time.
I've bought my fair share of Kickstarters, but nowadays I tend to focus mostly on cutting my collection and only getting what I really want to play, selling off what I don't want/need/etc. And if I did mis out on a game, I'll just get it on the second hand market.
Time is the most valuable, no question.
800 is based on TWO Kickstarter campaigns too. That is part of the real decisions. If someone gets DC United now they are going to most likely get another DC United kickstarter campaign later on and say 'I own the game so why not just add the other content'. They might do something you really like. For example say it was Marvel United and they didn't do Moonknight as a stretch goal which I think they did, but say they did not and then the expansion KS comes out and they do make a Moonknight or heck they do Power Man and Iron Fist too, also I think they did these too. Those things will suck at your brainhole area and your more likely to get the second campaign. By the end you spent 800, but for example right now DC United All in is like 385 or so almost 400 and if you get the playmat and shipping, but not the others stuff your looking at like 465 as you might add another add on, but say not the thicker cards or plastic tokens. Since they love pricing these at 20 to 40 a piece these will add up.
But will you use them. If you really think you will then get them.
Yet, if you see the stretch goals and think 'will my brainhole be able to handle it if I don't get the kickstarter and buy this at a discount in retail later.
When deciding to get or not get DC United then is not just a decision on what you can see in the current campaign, but also anything you might see later on down the line.
I think an additional aspect of this conversation is the impact production of big boxes and plastic impacts the environment and your contribution to that.
It might be for you, but it isn't for me. I'm not going to question my impact on the environment because of too much Marvel United, more so than any other game or games in my collection.
I find it easy to table and take places. Fun play and easy to learn and teach.
In general I'm always tempted to buy all expansions/promos for my games. I agree with you that sometimes having too much content actually makes you play the game less, because it makes the setup longer (and also I still need to find a time to sort all the Too Many Bones content in the trove chest). Sometimes I will simply avoid backing a KS game just because the all-in pledge costs too much, even if the base pledge is affordable.
An interesting discussion that ultimately comes down to the crossroads of opportunity cost and luxury goods (which games definitely are). If you can truthfully tell yourself you are happy with what you spent on your luxury and you didn't cause any financial harm to yourself, then no one can tell you your're wrong.
I've never spend more than $40 on a board game and I'm very happy with my collection.
That's awesome :)
That’s a lot of money for a simple game, I see it more like a collectible item, but everyone has his own tastes, I went all in with arena the contest 1.5 and Tanares adventures and I spent like 700, and I don’t regret, I just want to have it in my hands already nice video thank you for all the information
Awesome video about balance and making sure you do the right thing for you, your family, and your financial situation. I did not find this video preachy at all. As always, stay safe and happy gaming.
Good perspective
I Bought the retail Marvel United and backed base Marvel United XMen & 1 Expansion - though that wasn’t too far all in and would give the variety needed with the co-op, all v 1 and 2v2 modes that I’ll have access to.
Nice, going ks plus some extras is the way to go.
Yeah great video. CMON is a plague I hate their model. I used to chase the KS train and one day I purged and it was the most freeing thing. Once you break the FOMO chain it’s no longer a thing. I buy at my pace and on my time, there’s absolutely no need for the upfront all-in, those ks exclusives are not needed, let it go.
Excellent discussion. It's these videos on your channel that provide balance and deeper thinking about the hobby it self and what it means.
Love the very solid and logical conclusions you have come to about money, happiness, life and where board games fit in. A good role model in this space.
I missed the original Marvel United kickstarter but managed to back X-Men united. So far I only took the Sentinels and Apocalypse, but I was tempted to take more and maybe even go all in.
Your video actually helped me see reason, and save money so I have more to spent on different board games. So thank you for that. (Although the temptation might return once the Pledge manager goes life)
Be strong :) Even if I wasn't.
I’m only in for $100 and missed the original campaign too. I’ve been somewhat dreading the pledge manager a little because I’m not sure what I’m going to do.
So many aspects to consider, upfront cost, opportunity cost, storage, actual enjoyment from the game.
Not to forget about VAT on my end. And with so much content even in just the base pledge, I just cannot justify it to myself to get everything.
But I know that there's a good chance I might go all in in the end anyway :-(
Me: that is a pretty click baity title
You: In part it's because it is click bait.
At least you're self aware. Love your content.
Thanks :)
Interesting video, thanks for posting. I've been struggling with this as well, as I went almost all in on this. Here are a few thoughts on why it might be worth it.. 1) Yes, you could get 15-20 other games for the same price, but I find with about 100 games, having breadth in my collection is making it harder than depth. I spent a lot of money on Kingdom Death Monster, but I have a weekly game night for KDM and have played it almost every week for the last few years. So I feel it was worth it. Yes, Marvel United does not have the depth of KDM, but with the theme and having young kids, I think I can do a weekly game night with my family and kids, so see this as my family version of KDM. As you mention, this is a game where you could actually play everything, so I'm hoping that the accessibility of the game will allow this to be a game you play over and over again with family. 2) Miniatures as kids toys, 200+ miniatures of all the marvel characters is amazing for kids. Like you, my kids just like to play with the miniatures, and when you look at the cost of LEGO or Playmobile, you add a lot of value if you see the minis as kids toys. We might wrap some of these up and use them as Birthday/Christmas presents. We are also painters, so that is a lot of minis to paint. 3) I have seen people selling individual miniatures for between 10-20 dollars each, so if you are able to sell components of your game, you could probably make a pretty good profit. I do really hate how CMON does their KSs, and I didn't get the cardboard extras, crazy how thicker card board for the game is almost the same as all the stuff you get for My Father's Work. I do remember saving for a game console that was $500 that seemed like a lot, so $800 for a lightweight game does feel insane!
I got the X-men base and 2 expansion. Fantastic four and the Blue Team. I only have the base Marvel United from Walmart. Played it, liked it and backed just a few.
I do feel like the $800 is a bit misleading. Gameplay all in for both (assuming you bought the first KS) is $485. Throw in $65 for shipping to keep it a round number and you’re at $550. Still excessively high? Sure. The bigger issue I would have is spending $250 on tokens/playmates/cardboard (to be honest I’m struggling to even get to this $800 figure)
I truly appreciate your honesty, and your courage to admit making mistakes. This internal monologue happens in many of us, any time we see a new shiny board game on kickstarter. Listening to your discussion and rationale makes it easier to recognize my own FOMO and impulsive decisions. With such self-assessment your viewers can make a more conscious, more reasonable decision, whether to back a certain campaign or not.
I think it is important to know your limits and set boundaries. Giving yourself an allowance each month so you don't keep going over budget on those super expensive"all in" pledges is one option to help. I do something like this and it forces me to make some tough decisions on which games to pick each month. Also, be willing to back a game but not all the nice extras. This is one that I have a tough time with!
On the subject of family vacations, I don't think you have to spend $5000 to have a fun vacation with your family, but I will say that you only have kids at a young age in the house for a few short years, and vacations can be a really nice memory to look back on. We did a Disney world vacation a few years ago and while it was expensive, it is also a memory now that our kids keep bringing up and something we still enjoy looking at pictures of. That's going to be a cool memory for them for years and years.
Enjoy your content, keep up the good discussions!
I’ve came to a similar conclusion about a while back in regard to CMON.I’ve backed 13 of their games over the years.I did go all in with a lot of their kickstarters .But the last 4 of their kickstarters that I backed , I only backed core and maybe 1 or 2 expansions. For me in increases the chances of getting them to the table and playing all the content I back.
As you said it also means I get to try more diverse games as I have more shelf space and game time than I otherwise would have.
This for me as well. I've learned through experience that the all-in pledges are just way too much content to actually play. I started doing core and one or two carefully picked expansions or bling and I feel much better about the money spent to play-time ration.
@BoardGameCo You are one of my absolute favourite TH-camr. Your love to board gaming and life is so hearth warming. Thanks.
Thank you :)
My plan: get all $800 of Marvel United, figure out the parts I like, sell the parts I don't like at a profit, and then it's like I got the game at a big discount
I thought about doing that but then it occurred to me that there's going to be a LOT of people doing that and most people will be dumping the same stuff. In the end, I just decided to play the game on tabletop simulator for free. It's a fun game but it's a game that I'll get tired of quickly and not worth spending so much money on.
@@HarryBuddhaPalm people said that after the first one, and yet even after everything shipped prices stayed high...
Great video! One more CON: space occupation for one single game - 6 boxes for one single game
Lol yep
I was very lucky in that my LFGS offered to give us all the kickstarter promo options without having to pay for shipping at all, which saved a TON of money. I also didnt buy the cardboard locations, the plastic chits, nor the second vinyl mat. I saved money where I could, but my biggest issue right now is finding a place for all this stuff lol
I went all in with Marvel United on the basis that I am playing it a lot and I an playing with all of the add-ons on a regular basis. I cannot say the same of any other board game kickstarters. So for me, the decision to go all in was an absolute no brainer :)
Same bro or sis. I want to paint them badly. I love painting minis. Soft music, coffee an vape. And is my zen beside meditation.
X-Men was one of my favorite comics when I was a child. I was going to stick with the $100 pledge, then they threw in Fantastic Four, which was my favorite comic back then. The combination rendered me powerless. I've decided that even though I have no interest in the Deadpool expansion, it would be silly to leave it out of my collection. So, for all the reasons Alex gave that it was a bad idea for him, I think my judgement is even worse.
Lol makes sense..that's how they get you.
But serious..... I really like how you speak about the money issue in Kickstarter.... this is very important!
Thanks :)
Great post, Alex! I’m surprised hasn’t been said on this topic. Keep up the great work!
Thanks :)
Honestly, a huge reason for me to back this is because I love hand-painting the miniatures. I missed the first go around of MU, so I picked up around $200 worth of stuff this time. Base pledge + 4 expansions. These “all-in” pledges seem excessive.
That's just reasonable :)
I backed $1. I might go for the $65 pledge when it opens. It seems better value than the $100 pledge. 66 mins for $65 vs +$35 for +6 minis.
I've noticed a large part of the board game community seems to have an addiction to buying every new game. Especially if it's on a crowdfunding platform for a ludicrous price and offers exclusives to entice susceptible personalities. It's basically turned into a huge casino at this point. It's kind of sad to see, but I can't tell people how to spend their money.
I see it too. Im growing tired of the hobby in general because of it.
I hope kickstarter up and dies.
Yeah I know people who has staggering credit card debt due to board games.
Thoroughly enjoyed your video. Thanks and keep up the good work!
Glad you did :)
My annual bgb (board game budget) is about US$500, so I'm watching these videos solely for entertainment purposes. Good job, btw. :)
Yep, a single one of these large Kickstarters will blow a budget like that.
I backed the apocalypse pledge and two expansions for nostalgia reasons. Afterwards reason kicked in immediately and your last video on this kickstarter forged my resolve to downgrade in the pledge manager to Mutant Pledge and Blue Team expansion.
You have to play that all-in 160 times to get down to $5 a play.
Time to get started then
Ie, if you played this game 160 times but DIDN'T get the cardboard replacements, tokens, or playmat, the price would be 3.20 $ about. Worth the savings? *Contemplates*
Thank you for this! It’s a year after you posted, and my X-Men KS choices arrived this past week. I’d already purchased the Marvel United playmat, core box, and the KS exclusive box from my local game store, and in a year, never even opened it. I was regretting **only** getting the Mutant Pledge for X-Men with Deadpool and Black Panther add-ons. But I am spending WAY too much money on things because of FOMO, rather than a true desire to play all the modes. This video helped reinforce that for me before I went and spent even MORE money hunting down boxes of characters I don’t really care about, just to have them.
The most painful thing for me is going to be figuring out how to organise the original one before all this new stuff comes… so many boxes man
Very well said. Thank you for sharing these thoughts and for being thoughtful. I think we all have these hobbies and interest that draw us in by the temptation of potential. A mixture of the fear of missing out and the note of the potential that could exist in doing something if only we had (insert item here), can often push us towards poor decision making. We need the occasional voice of empathetic reason to balance us out and cool our heads. Thanks for attempting to provide that.
I love these types of videos. I make myself to wait to back most kickstarters until the last 48 hours. This way the FOMO and all the positives have settled in my mind, the entire package with all add ons/stretch goals is revealed and any concerns can be evaluated whether based on the poor quality of the page, the campaign being run poorly, concerns of the publisher or I can evaluate reasons I may not enjoy the product. Once the shine of the cool stuff has worn off, it helps make more logical decisions. And there are definitely games that I was hyped on with kickstarter that I didnt back because I waited. It's psychologically much easier to wait to back than to remove your pledge once it's there.
Not to say that I don't spend more than I should, I have the same issue of wanting EVERYTHING when I don't need it. But I definitely could be worse at it.
Yep, I could be better and worse....it's tough.
Wow this video turned into an explanation to the wife why he spent 1000 on one game. I've been there.
Great one, I have been thinking about this the since the kickstarter ended. I backed all in for xmen and tracked done a stretch goal box second hand. After, while adding it up, was feeling like it was a bit much! It was my first big all in. I think i could have been happy with 200 or so woth of it and quite a few other games. Lesson learned and at least I feel pretty good that I can sell off what I don't want in the future.
I have a shelf in my basement with little risers that hold all the characters, and they all have little name plates - over 200 with all Xmen and Marvel, now they've announced Multiverse and I will have to put up a shelf over my shelf, lol. All my cards are in two big boxes, each deck is individually sleeved and then sleeved in a larger holder and have a name divider, so it is super simple for me to break this out and be playing.
I really enjoyed this video. It is very well done and makes a lot of sense. New Sub!!
Thanks Paul :)
TH-cam knows I just purchased this cuz this was at the top of my recommended. I totally agree. I just picked up the base game, x-men, and spiderverse for a grand total of $35. Couple years after the fact and no extra fancy boards or tokens, I'm totally good with for ~1/24 the cost. I'm extremely hesitant to back anything on crowdfunding. Luckily my frugality is more powerful than my FOMO.
I backed the Marvel United Kickstarter by CMON and just found out that not only are they not sending us the product we paid for, but also that they will not issue a refund. Its been a nightmare.
I never go all-in which as a principle helps me to keep control. Got the first MU with just one expansion, this second one - as an X-Men comic collector - two expansions and the Playmat. That is a lot of money but still affordable compared to all-in. And I know I will be playing this game a lot as I'm playing the first one a lot. But of course you're right that the Marvel license is what is selling this game. Heard from a lot of people that the base game does not have variety enough - so the stretch goal box is a must. In case you keep on regretting, you'll be able to sell it with a plus. So don't be too hard on yourself 😉👍
Oh I'm definitely happy I got more than base....but how much more than base is a different conversation :)
Jep you need more but you don't need everything. With other games, you often don't even need more. It's happened more than once that expansions just blow up gameplay and don't really help increasing the experience...
This is why I set a monthly budget for my boardgame purchases. If I go over one month, then that's deducted from the next month. I don't allow a negative balance to continue past a month. If I've not saved up for that huge pledge for something, I don't buy it. There will be "the next new hotness" to come along the next month, or the month after that. There will always be a next "great new game" for you to try if you miss out on this one.
Im only mad I didn't back it because I sincerely want to paint every single mini.
Well that's just reasonable.
Thanks for the discussion, Alex. I went all-in for Marvel United then recently sold everything but the base game and cardboard locations. Got a good profit to invest back into all-in Marvel United and X-Men. I figure I didn't need to play the Marvel United expansion content now and will probably even opt for 1-wave shipping for this new campaign.
Each time I see a kickstarter from cmon .. there a alarm going off inside my wallet iiiiittt aaa ttrraaapp !! Lol
It absolutely is.
Another reason to back is if you see the potential in the miniatures and can expanded upon their use
Eg paint them
Use them in other games
Like hero quest or d&d adventure (your players find their way into the marvel universe and these are npc’s) or chess just get 3d bases to clip on the base that say things like queen rook pawn ect and a board you’re good to go
Yep, that's fair. Multi use is always nice.
Thoughtful and sincere/real. That's what I like about your content. Thanks for discussing the things that a lot of us are thinking about every time that next new game grabs our attention. Luckily, Marvel United / X-Men isn't grabbing me!
This was a rollercoaster of a video. I didn't quite go "all-in" for both KS but I did get all of the game content...so for me - I was going back and forth and at the end I feel like we coasted into the end of the rollercoaster. Thanks for the ride! I love your thoughts, especially at the end. If only because it helped me feel better about my purchase. ;)
While I saved money by not buying any thing from this game, I still went all in on Stormsunder for close to 800$, majority of which is pretty minis that are not needed.
Yep, different game, same problem.
You know, I almost went all in on the X-men Kickstarter and added the original Kickstarter stuff and ultimately I decided that the 65 dollar pledge plus fantastic 4 (because I love fantastic 4) plus the mat was plenty. I feel like you get so much in the Kickstarter just from stretch goals. The price was so astronomical for this Kickstarter that despite wanting everything, I couldn’t justify it.
Nice, money saved :)
I love hearing your thoughts on these sorts of bigger life subjects as a fellow religious person, and I wish you lived closer to Connecticut so we could get some gaming in!
Very interesting point! Thank you once again!
Always :)
There is two sides of the game...the collectible minis and the gameplay itself. If you love the minis and love collecting the minis, there is some very cool content here, and especially if you want take time painting them up nicely. The actual gameplay here seems ultimately quite limited. It fun, and light, but most of the characters are just doing variations of the basic three actions. It's so simple you can just print and play, or make up your own versions, if you just want the play without needing the minis. I actually have a ton of Marvel figurines I could use in place of the minis if I wanted. Definitely don't have to go all in to get the game. Do if you want to collect all the minis. And they are very well made and neat to own for Marvel fans. Can even use them as minis for other Marvel games, a skirmish rpg, ect..
Appreciate the reflection. When I heard you talk about how you went all in I kept wondering if it’s really worth it for the shelf space it will take. With so many games coming in and out of your rotation it was hard to believe you would commit to this one of all. Well...I’m sure you can flip it without a loss
So I missed the first Kickstarter and I bought the base game. I really like the base game and I want more.
My reasons for backing:
My wife and I like painting miniatures.
We are about to have a kid and we want a quick game to play once we don’t have time for longer games.
This game and the Witcher are the only games I’m planning on backing, but the itching to get more games is getting to me.
One thing is for sure, I already paid and backed for all of the X-Men stuff and the play mat and when the PM comes out I’ll be paying for EVERYTHING else. I missed the last campaign. I need all of it!
(glances at his AH LCG collection)
Lol yep :)
Well it's incomparable, AH LCG is a fantastic game, not a light filler.. ;-)
Yeah AH LCG is my favorite game of all time and I have tons of games. I am literally organizing my guardian cards. Hopefully the innsmouth cycle finale comes out friday.
Looks to the left at my AH:LCG collection... looks right at LotR:LCG collection... tries to not think about the KDM collection upstairs...
Yeah, but if you go through and play it, I think AH LCG is worth it. Each scenario is about the price and length of a movie (well, in theater which isn’t really a thing anymore but hey). If you don’t play what you own, then yeah AH is a bad investment
You know my biggest concern with this whole situation is that a better Marvel game will come out in a year or two that I will enjoy appreciably more and still have the benefit of the Marvel IP.
P.S. I appreciate your sharing some of your real life context. I also have a great job that allows me to save for the future, give to my church (Christian that also tithes and supports charities), while still having extra income to spend on fun things. We are truly blessed!
I started playing Magic the Gathering 40 years ago. I still have dual lands and other high demand early cards. When I get around to selling my collection. I estimate a 50% hair cut.
Great convo! Love the frankness and thoughtfulness.
Love the deep nuanced conversation! Thanks Alex
Always :)
Totally agree. I only have the base game and stretch goals, and I’m pretty happy with that. I might pick up Sinister 6 to add a few more villains for variety, but as tempting at it is to get other favourite characters, I’m pretty content with not over-spending and minimizing the space the game takes up.
Nice :)
You’re right! I’ll never back or otherwise purchase any large game ever again! I’m not parting with my Marvel United, though.
Lol well that's just reasonable :)
You are hilarious/measured/clever and very open, a legend mate... Great vid!
Thank you sir :)
Covid has helped me rationalize. We used to do a few cruises a year (about $1000-$3000 for a 7 day cruise)
This will give me enjoyment for more than 7 days.
Will at actually? Maybe the first few weeks you play it a few hours a week. Then after that you look at the box with fond memories for a few seconds a week. Then eventually you never look at it again. Sum up that time and maybe its 20 hours of enjoyment vs 7 whole days?
@@garylangford6755 maybe not 7 days in terms of 24 hours x 7. But I’ll play it over more than 7 days and enjoy it for months to come.
The cruises were mostly eating and chilling at sea. Mostly the enjoyment was being away from work and seeing new ports. Similarly I’ve spent several hundreds of dollars on an excursion that lasted a few hours so if that’s the comparison I think it’s fairly similar.
@@amfdfireinside fair enough. I know for myself $1000 of games are not played enough to justify the cost. They usually sit on my shelf unplayed as a display piece...
I spent over $400 dollars on my pledge, instant guilt as soon as I actually completed the pledge manager. Thing is, the value of the individual pieces really punches above what you pay. When I got my boxes, I immediately sold 5 expansions of it and got all my money back, leaving me with 4 boxes completely free -ultimately I'm glad I backed
I didn't have the opportunity to back either game. I am not on kickstater and this is my first rodeo with cmon. I tend to want "everything" when I get games, but I wanted to take a different approach this time. I forced myself to identify the heroes and villains I wanted and pared my buy in down to $350. If I add one more component, it might be sinister six (not a fan of those villains but it has high reviews).
I found this stuff by playing with a friend, got the two starters and immediately knew my family needed more content because it's a game we all enjoy. Just hard enough to be interesting, but not so hard that my 8yo can't play. Also it's Coop, which is a huge +++.
I probably spent too much, but considering the fact that i anticipate enjoying this game with grandkids in the future... Nah, it's probably a solid investment.
I’m just like you! I’m very picky about anything I buy game wise because once I start I must complete the set whether I play all of it. I must have all the content.
But a counter point, you can’t take your money to the grave so have fun with it in a reasonable fashion.
I found it ironic that I watched this video while playing Agropolis, a $10 kickstarter that has been tons of fun at a fraction of the price of Marvel United.
And it's sooo sooo good :)
Sitting down to learn a game. And, then, playing that game until you know it down to its roots, is an opportunity cost that is hard to realize if you play a bunch of games. Playing one game, a lot of game sort of game, like Marvel United All-in, a bunch of times, a bunch of different ways, with a bunch of different pieces, means you do not lose time learning a different game. ... The trick is not getting tempted away before you have experienced as much as possible of the game you spent $200 to $500 to $800 on. It can be done. My gaming buddy and I played “The Others” for nine months. “The Edge: Dawnfall” for a year. But, I have lost out on some other Kickstarters - like Arcadia Quest. That one only lasted for three months. ... Depends on how much you like the game.
I find it strange that you're entire channel is based on KS and how often you talk about FoMo but then it seems like you can't control your own FoMo.
I started backing games on kickstarter in 2013, Rivet wars was actually my first kickstarter, and I totally got sucked into the cool looking minis and I went all in. I did that with the others and black plague, and shadows of brimstone and krossmaster arena and a few others, along with many many other medium or smaller Kickstarters I was backing. I finally realized I was just wasting my money on most of these games because I haven't even used all the 3 boxes of content I got for Rivet Wars, nm it's not even a very good game, never even played the others which I have 2 giant boxes full of stuff for, played shadows over brimstone once and hated it and sons the whole $430 minecart pledge, only played krossmaster a few times.
Once I realized I was just getting sucked into cool miniatures and because of FoMo, I was easily able to stop myself. Now I back just as many games as I was back then but I'm far more selective and aware of what I'm backing and I back games I know I'm going to get to the table and play and utilize the content and I almost never go all in anymore.
Usually, at this point, I will back the base game deluxe editions, maybe a couple add ons I really like, and then if I enjoy the game, I pick up the expansions and extras later, usually for cheaper than I would've got them through the campaign. If I didn't like the game, I'm not out much money and I just have the base game to sell and not multiple boxes of junk to sell and ship.
As far as marvel united goes, I love marvel and have been an avid fan for over 30 years and I was going all in on the first KS but as soon as I saw gameplay and some of the non miniature components (because I do love the chibi minis), it was not going to be a great game nor a good investment for me so I cancelled my pledge, picked up the base game when it hit retail, played through it about 3 times and was bored silly with it's overly simplistic gameplay, that had very little in the way of variety between the super heroes. Good choice for me
Great discussion. In the end I went all-in twice as well, and justified it on a couple different fronts 1) split it with buddy of mine, game is clearly big enough with all the expansions that you can share the game with another, and rotate expansions back and forth, and thus split the cost and 2) with younger kids and family, I'm actually excited about the lightness of the game, that will likely hit the table easier, and with more frequency than many of the heavier weight games that I can only play with certain gamers, meaning they tend to never come off the shelf. Yes, you'd typically think of a game this expensive on KS as this huge, complex immersive game, but just because it's lighter, doesn't mean it's bad, just viable for more types of gamers.
I lost my ideal day job a few years ago, when I did I immediately stopped backing kickstarters until I had some income coming and even then it was much more reserved. “Living within your means” is one of the greatest bits of advice because it challenges people to not define their happiness by what they can buy but rather what they do with it. I am a firm believer that we are evolving and changing beings. I then take the much more radical and empowering position that we can control how we change and evolve. So will you change ?
Good on you, it's always important to be spending what makes sense and not more.
Lots of great points in the video.
I've went for the the all in gameplay and I'm debating the cardboard upgrades. It is a lot of money and I really don't want to store all of it but, as of now, I fully intend to cherry pick the heroes and villians I want to keep and sell off the rest.
Hopefully I'll make enough back that the amount spent doesn't feel so high. As is its way more than I want to be invested in this game but the heroes I was most interested in were locked behind the all in pledges so that's what I went with.
Great content Alex, thank you!
A bit unrelated, but I get your point.
I just went ALL in on Darkest Dungeon. It's the only game I can get for the next year, but I love the minis and art etc etc. ($600 for all the stuff, extra musketeer, no paint).
Sometimes it's just a personal choice. Probably not worth it, but I'm a big fan and want them to succeed.
Well said, very good guidelines for people to consider when spending this kind of money on a game. Backed All-In Gameplay content, definitely didn't NEED to, but I'm enjoying the gameplay with my family and the quality time my wife and I have painting. But that's all relative and each person can have their reason for why they backed what they did.
Very good video, but I have yet to regret ordering the X-Men stuff! I have played almost everything in the original kickstarter its in my top 5 games
Enjoy it :)
Hey Alex, not preachy at all, at least from my view. That's a very nice discussion, one of which I've been having with friends recently. And you've actually helped me decide on how much I want to go in with the X-Men Kickstarter, and I'm still on the fence about the Witcher one, I think I might not go Deluxe after this. Thank you a ton, and great job on keeping up the awesome content!
That's less than I'm down on Arkham Horror LCG. Stop looking at me like that!
Lol yep, there are many systems we can spend money on :)
Play the game, have fun, keep on reviewing and providing your opinions! ❤😁👍
I just noticed that Marvel United: x-men pm opened. Which 5 add-ons do you think is the most fun or essential including add-ons from first campagin or ultimate classics? :)
Oh man, I can't answer that yet...too many I haven't played.
There are some games where the theme does SO much heavy lifting. Like, if this was DC United, it wouldn't even be on my radar. But I had to talk myself out of backing the X-Men set just because they offered the full 90's lineup of X-Factor as a stretch goal. Once the hype dies down I'll be glad I didn't invest, but I may need to find someone who will let me take it for a spin some day.
Good thoughts, thanks. I have just the base game, but backed X-Men all-in and plan to cherry pick what I want to keep and sell the rest. I got the playmat but skipped the cardboard locations because I thought they'd make the game take longer to get to the table (i.e. storage). How/where do you store you cardboard locations and villain dashboards?
Also, there are miniatures. For me who paint Marvel United miniatures with my two daughters, there is an added value. We can still enjoy the game even while not playing it. But even then i just took basic pledges. What really suck is the manufactured scarcity with the shit load of KSE. You have to take everything or kiss goodbye the possibility of richer gameplay. Nothing in between (i don't consider paying the scalper price a viable option).
Thanks for sharing this. You have became my go to channel with quackalope and rolling solo for board games. At first I was interested by your unusual way (unusual way to me at least ;)) to apprehend games and value. I personally don't care (for now) if game holds its value or not. I have keept everything I bought till now... I probably buy less games than you though ! But you clearly stated why you care about value and it makes perfect sense to me now. I have moved from buying games from stores to backing games and yes sometimes I feel like fomo gets me. I am the kind of player who finished twice gloomhaven and still wants to play a third campaign as there are still things I haven't unlocked. I'm playing middara now and having a blast. I see mysef replaying act 1 with pleasure. This is my own rational. I can back big games with a lot of content as long as I know I'll be able to go through them, multiple times. We are only living once... I am now looking forward ISS Vanguard and wait with impatience your "review" of the prototype 2.0. This is the only way I have to project myself in playing the game. Damn, I thought I would write only a few words and look this wall of text... must be influenced by someone here...
I find it so interesting how we have fomo, and purchase everything with board games.
If you liken it to purchasing a new car. It is unlikely that you purchase every upgrade! Yes you could take a base car and double it’s value by having a more powerful engine, alloy wheels etc, but it is very likely you could have spent thousands more on upgrades you class as needless, not worth the money or just the fact you reign yourself in so you don’t overspend beyond what you can sensibly afford.
Clearly a car is a more expensive purchase, but I think because of the fun but addictive nature of Kickstarter we get drawn into purchasing everything or nearly everything when we more than likely do not need it.