COMPONENTS - Mixed bag here. The ultimate edition makes things consistent, but if you buy boxes separately the cards don't fully match and other annoyances like that. The minis are painted... badly, and some of the card quality is mixed. I'd recommend sleeving. 0:00 - Introduction 0:26 - Solo/Co-Op Bot 1:07 - Modes and Scenarios 2:03 - Moving and Exploring 3:05 - Leveling Up 4:13 - Crunchy Card play 5:07 - Final Thoughts
Heck no on sleaving Mage Knight! The cards feel so nice in hand. I don't know what texture it is but they feel almost plastic with texture. NEVER SLEEVE these cards. Now Star Trek Frontiers definitely sleave those the card quality stinks and feels terrible.
It's a wonderful example of how to do a dungeon crawler with almost no reliance on luck. This is all about how you tackle the puzzle as presented to you with your available resources. And, there's frequently more than one solution... it's great.
@@OneStopCoopShop Totally fair... if you came into this expecting a dungeon crawler, you might be disappointed. But as you suggest... there's a lot of parallels with true dungeon crawlers in this game. It's probably closer to call it a game of exploration and conquest.
Finally got my ultimate edition a few weeks ago! Anyone that is familiar with modern euro or dungeon crawler type games should really not have a problem learning this game. But your review is spot on-BRAIN BURN and down time with multiplayer! A perfect game for soloist. Good one Mike!
I heard your podcast the other day, and never thought about "you are not the hero" because you burn down cities 😊 I allways saw myself as the knight in shiny armour who saved the world 😅 Good review, Mike
Mage Knight si simply the best board game ever. But it is not for everyone, it is complex and inmersive, it requires some commitment. Also, it only works as a solo game or as a 2-player cooperative game. Competitive mode does not work at all.
Great Review, Mike. Yeah I can’t believe you all have never reviewed this either. Glad you did, you make some valid key points. This game Definitely Shines as a solo game!
I played a video game clone of this style of game. It took care of bookkeeping of course so that maybe made it easier, it still took a bit to decide what to do in a turn but having a thing tell you that a move isn't possible or illustrate why it's a bad idea was helpful. Downside was a few times when unclear card text wound up working against me in weird ways that I suspected were wrong but could do nothing about, and it seems like MK, its inspiration, has more going on that might make choices more interesting. I'm not surprised the computer version fizzled out, it seems like a lot of moving parts to test
I remember there was a game (maybe not the one you are discussing) that straight up stole all of mage knight’s content and just changed the art and names. Glad that one seems to have died out… didn’t seem cool to steal a game without giving credit or compensation
@@OneStopCoopShop Huh, didn't know enough about the game to know if that was true for the one I played. The one I have in mind is still there so I don't think it's the one you're mentioning. From what I've seen of the game on this video it doesn't seem quite as complicated, though it seemed very similar. There's something to be said for automating processes, but at the same time, losing the customizability and the meditative nature of physical games is not an insignificant cost
I wanted to love Mage Knight, because it should be something I love since I love deckbuilding and exploration games, however I feel like it's just too much. I ended up only playing it like 3 or 4 times over 6 years so I eventually sold it.
I agree...a brain burner! But what a great burning sensation that is! One of the best solo game ever. I really don't have a problem with more player count. I have played it 2, 3 and 4 players and as long as everyone is on the same expert level it is still very fun and rewarding. Vlaada Chvatil is also my favorite designer of all time. All is games have an incredible array of creativity. This one is definitely is magnum opus!
I'm constantly tempted to buy Mage Knight (watched quite a few of your 10,000 playthroughs, haha) but it's so intimidating that I've never been able to hit the 'go' button.
1. The simplest AIs are the best (look under Spirit Island 🙂 ). I prefer Volkare's "here's a timer for the whole game" to "here's a timer for the round" of the other scenarios. 2. There are homemade rules to play ALL the scenarios solo. That being said I prefer the Volkare scenarios to the city ones because of the Volkare movement meta AND, more importantly, you don't discard the tactic cards in Volkare scenarios as you do in the other ones AND +1 unit +1 die :) 3. Yup. Sites and rules Bulldozing is very annoying part of MK (while the most avid fans SWEAR that the rulebook is good.) One site has the token discarded if you don't defeat it, the other site has it stay in place is very easy to get mixed up. And it doesn't help that in the original game 1 of the site cards doesn't have that information (the walkthrough does) 4. Perfection! 5. Even more perfection! Did I mention that I almost rage quit and sold the game before Lost Legion came out? PS. Mage Knight is in my top 3 favourite games of all time and it's garbage competitive. Too much randomness for a competitive game +1 a lot of opportunity for "Take that!" COOP is where the game is at PPS: I've been trying to get Colin to do a 2 handed Mage Knight playthrough and now that you've done a review, you can do it with him.
I never play without Volkare at this point either. Love all the changes in that one. I still haven't tried the scenarios in the 3rd expansion, but they look great and Colin loves em. PS - Ohhhhh, co-op play with Colin would be fun... but he doesn't do TTS, so not sure how to do it unless one of us teleports.
@@OneStopCoopShop There is no way of playing remotely? You having a game set up and playing your Mage Knight and he being the host and showing you all the Advanced Actions, Spells that are in the offer? How much of a hassle would that be? PS. One of the scenarios in the 3rd expansion is a 2 round one where you do mock level up before it.
I've been playing this over the last few days, Colins playthroughs have been excellent to watch. Not sure what you do with the more powerful action on Banner of Command, its not in the instructions.
Am I looking at the same card, because it seems pretty straightforward to me. Maybe this is an errata'ed version? But here's what you do, step by step: 1 - Move your marker 2 steps up (in the positive direction) on the fame track 2 - Pick ANY unit in the unit offer (even if it doesn't match your location/tile) and recruit it. This recruitment is free 3 - If you don't have space for the unit (all your command tokens are already used), disband one of your current units to make room for the new unit That all make sense? Again, maybe you have a different version of the card.
I’d recommend Jaws of the Lion. Better for 2-player co-op than mage knight, and a more straightforward entry point than big gloomhaven to make sure your partner likes it
@@slobodankalenic9771 I played once I suppose that I'm not the best person to deep dive into it. Overall is not too different from th co-op version for my understanding , the main different is that you can attack each other with some caveat because is not the main focus. Seems to me more like a race more than a fighting game. What I can suggest if you want to try it pick a short scenario is giving a kind of more compact experience... I played with 2 player and most probably with 3/4 will be a total different experience (and most probably super dooper slow)
I just sold my copy of Mage Knight after owning it for over 10 years. It was fun now and again as a solo game but there was some AP and at other times I was rushing through as I wanted to clear the table for something else. Never went Ultimate and didn’t get the expansions either. While elements of it were fun, I just didn’t see the excitement which others claim about. Is it a good game for what it is? Definitely. But I’d rather be playing other stuff in my free time.
good ? no perfection? yes but it really hard to talk about while you playing base game and i go all in for ultimate, alot of things i would said "damn, i wouldn't love the base game if it missing this"
@@OneStopCoopShop I’m disappointed that there hasn’t been a reprint of the game and expansion, especially since Trek has been going through a revival on streaming. Man, Picard season 3 was so good.
Hm... yeah no, this game still does not appeal to me in the least. HexploreIt does exploration much better and even though you might still have to reference a bunch of locations as to what they do, at least there's no boring card play to contend with, especially when it causes massive brain burn (which is still the #1 theme killer in my book)
COMPONENTS - Mixed bag here. The ultimate edition makes things consistent, but if you buy boxes separately the cards don't fully match and other annoyances like that. The minis are painted... badly, and some of the card quality is mixed. I'd recommend sleeving.
0:00 - Introduction
0:26 - Solo/Co-Op Bot
1:07 - Modes and Scenarios
2:03 - Moving and Exploring
3:05 - Leveling Up
4:13 - Crunchy Card play
5:07 - Final Thoughts
Heck no on sleaving Mage Knight! The cards feel so nice in hand. I don't know what texture it is but they feel almost plastic with texture. NEVER SLEEVE these cards. Now Star Trek Frontiers definitely sleave those the card quality stinks and feels terrible.
It's a wonderful example of how to do a dungeon crawler with almost no reliance on luck. This is all about how you tackle the puzzle as presented to you with your available resources. And, there's frequently more than one solution... it's great.
Only thing I’d disagree with is “dungeon crawler”. This is pure adventure game for me (though yeah that’s a muddy distinction)
@@OneStopCoopShop Totally fair... if you came into this expecting a dungeon crawler, you might be disappointed. But as you suggest... there's a lot of parallels with true dungeon crawlers in this game. It's probably closer to call it a game of exploration and conquest.
Defeating enemies in this game feels soooo rewarding!
Absolutely!
FINALLY! I've been waiting for this for so long. Finally subscribed!
I'm joking, I've subscribed for a long time and I love your work ;)
We finally got you!! 😜
Finally got my ultimate edition a few weeks ago! Anyone that is familiar with modern euro or dungeon crawler type games should really not have a problem learning this game. But your review is spot on-BRAIN BURN and down time with multiplayer! A perfect game for soloist. Good one Mike!
I got it first in 2019. It's still my #1 game. It's amazing how well this game has aged.
I heard your podcast the other day, and never thought about "you are not the hero" because you burn down cities 😊 I allways saw myself as the knight in shiny armour who saved the world 😅 Good review, Mike
Don't all villains see themselves as the hero, "liberating" the goblins and dragons ;)
Mage Knight si simply the best board game ever.
But it is not for everyone, it is complex and inmersive, it requires some commitment.
Also, it only works as a solo game or as a 2-player cooperative game. Competitive mode does not work at all.
Great Review, Mike. Yeah I can’t believe you all have never reviewed this either. Glad you did, you make some valid key points. This game Definitely Shines as a solo game!
I was just about to sell my entire MK collection (had it since 2011), but now I want to play again! Thanks 😁
I feel like maybe I hurt you instead of helping?? 😜
I played a video game clone of this style of game. It took care of bookkeeping of course so that maybe made it easier, it still took a bit to decide what to do in a turn but having a thing tell you that a move isn't possible or illustrate why it's a bad idea was helpful. Downside was a few times when unclear card text wound up working against me in weird ways that I suspected were wrong but could do nothing about, and it seems like MK, its inspiration, has more going on that might make choices more interesting. I'm not surprised the computer version fizzled out, it seems like a lot of moving parts to test
I remember there was a game (maybe not the one you are discussing) that straight up stole all of mage knight’s content and just changed the art and names. Glad that one seems to have died out… didn’t seem cool to steal a game without giving credit or compensation
@@OneStopCoopShop Huh, didn't know enough about the game to know if that was true for the one I played. The one I have in mind is still there so I don't think it's the one you're mentioning. From what I've seen of the game on this video it doesn't seem quite as complicated, though it seemed very similar. There's something to be said for automating processes, but at the same time, losing the customizability and the meditative nature of physical games is not an insignificant cost
@@AeonTrespassField Yeah, that was it
I think that was it.
@@OneStopCoopShop Ah, OK. It's still in the store... well, I only played the demo :)
Agree, one of the best solo game out there.
MK is the type of game that I always like to watch and play. It likes ARPG with dungeon crawler
Yeeeeeeeeeeesssssssssss! Great review.
I wanted to love Mage Knight, because it should be something I love since I love deckbuilding and exploration games, however I feel like it's just too much. I ended up only playing it like 3 or 4 times over 6 years so I eventually sold it.
Nothing wrong with that! Especially because, like I said, the deckbuilding really isn't the main draw here, I think.
Maybe you have been waiting for the expansion announcement ;)
That’s what made me remember we never reviewed it 😂
The Ultimate solo puzzle game.
I agree...a brain burner! But what a great burning sensation that is! One of the best solo game ever. I really don't have a problem with more player count. I have played it 2, 3 and 4 players and as long as everyone is on the same expert level it is still very fun and rewarding. Vlaada Chvatil is also my favorite designer of all time. All is games have an incredible array of creativity. This one is definitely is magnum opus!
Yeah, all expert multiplayer is fine. Trying to teach it to my wife… a bit rougher 😜
This is indeed crazy but Finally we have it!
I'm constantly tempted to buy Mage Knight (watched quite a few of your 10,000 playthroughs, haha) but it's so intimidating that I've never been able to hit the 'go' button.
It’s the perfect game for many… and a flop for others
Same here. Once I purchased and played it, it did worth every penny. It is my favourite board game.
It's so worth the hurdle. The rulebook sucks, so I actually learned by watching Colin. But I recommend you give it a shot.
Start with the base game and try it! It's an unmatched experience IMO.
I went with the Star Trek version (even though I don't like star trek necessarily) and I LOVE the game. The mechanisms are nearly perfect.
Mage Knight is my favorite solo game. Incredible.
It’s amazing
1. The simplest AIs are the best (look under Spirit Island 🙂 ). I prefer Volkare's "here's a timer for the whole game" to "here's a timer for the round" of the other scenarios.
2. There are homemade rules to play ALL the scenarios solo. That being said I prefer the Volkare scenarios to the city ones because of the Volkare movement meta AND, more importantly, you don't discard the tactic cards in Volkare scenarios as you do in the other ones AND +1 unit +1 die :)
3. Yup. Sites and rules Bulldozing is very annoying part of MK (while the most avid fans SWEAR that the rulebook is good.) One site has the token discarded if you don't defeat it, the other site has it stay in place is very easy to get mixed up. And it doesn't help that in the original game 1 of the site cards doesn't have that information (the walkthrough does)
4. Perfection!
5. Even more perfection!
Did I mention that I almost rage quit and sold the game before Lost Legion came out?
PS. Mage Knight is in my top 3 favourite games of all time and it's garbage competitive. Too much randomness for a competitive game +1 a lot of opportunity for "Take that!" COOP is where the game is at
PPS: I've been trying to get Colin to do a 2 handed Mage Knight playthrough and now that you've done a review, you can do it with him.
I never play without Volkare at this point either. Love all the changes in that one. I still haven't tried the scenarios in the 3rd expansion, but they look great and Colin loves em.
PS - Ohhhhh, co-op play with Colin would be fun... but he doesn't do TTS, so not sure how to do it unless one of us teleports.
@@OneStopCoopShop There is no way of playing remotely? You having a game set up and playing your Mage Knight and he being the host and showing you all the Advanced Actions, Spells that are in the offer? How much of a hassle would that be?
PS. One of the scenarios in the 3rd expansion is a 2 round one where you do mock level up before it.
About time ;) For me, It's the best solo non-campaign game ever. Nothing is close. I'd never play it with others.
The expansion adds a campaign! Yay… maybe
I've been playing this over the last few days, Colins playthroughs have been excellent to watch. Not sure what you do with the more powerful action on Banner of Command, its not in the instructions.
Am I looking at the same card, because it seems pretty straightforward to me. Maybe this is an errata'ed version? But here's what you do, step by step:
1 - Move your marker 2 steps up (in the positive direction) on the fame track
2 - Pick ANY unit in the unit offer (even if it doesn't match your location/tile) and recruit it. This recruitment is free
3 - If you don't have space for the unit (all your command tokens are already used), disband one of your current units to make room for the new unit
That all make sense? Again, maybe you have a different version of the card.
Definitely one of the very best solo boardgames of all times. Thanks for the review.
Wait what year is this?
2011! This game is brand new!! 😜
Been stuck between this or Gloomhaven to pick up for mostly my partner and I
I’d recommend Jaws of the Lion. Better for 2-player co-op than mage knight, and a more straightforward entry point than big gloomhaven to make sure your partner likes it
Great Review! This used to be my number 1 game of all time. Until Voidfall came along....😂 Still on 2nd place though. 😊
That’s another crunchy great game
The GOAT!
The best game!❤
So, is it Vol-car? After spending my entire life saying Vol-care, that was a shock!
It's a made-up name, so say it however you want!
Mage Knight is one of my gems in my collection... I try competitive recently... ouch... litteraly "Crush your soul"
I have only once played co-op, can you describe the experience briefly for the competitive
@@slobodankalenic9771 I played once I suppose that I'm not the best person to deep dive into it. Overall is not too different from th co-op version for my understanding , the main different is that you can attack each other with some caveat because is not the main focus. Seems to me more like a race more than a fighting game.
What I can suggest if you want to try it pick a short scenario is giving a kind of more compact experience...
I played with 2 player and most probably with 3/4 will be a total different experience (and most probably super dooper slow)
It's a fun game but definitely needs a new edition as the rulebook is in dire need of an uograde.
Can’t argue with that!!! The ultimate edition is better than the original, but not by much
I just sold my copy of Mage Knight after owning it for over 10 years. It was fun now and again as a solo game but there was some AP and at other times I was rushing through as I wanted to clear the table for something else. Never went Ultimate and didn’t get the expansions either. While elements of it were fun, I just didn’t see the excitement which others claim about. Is it a good game for what it is? Definitely. But I’d rather be playing other stuff in my free time.
good ? no
perfection? yes
but it really hard to talk about while you playing base game and i go all in for ultimate, alot of things i would said "damn, i wouldn't love the base game if it missing this"
MK is an incredible solo game, but I prefer Star Trek Frontiers. It’s a bit easier and I’m a big Trek fan.
I’m torn. I love Star Trek, but MK has better support, you can find the expansions easily, etc
@@OneStopCoopShop I’m disappointed that there hasn’t been a reprint of the game and expansion, especially since Trek has been going through a revival on streaming. Man, Picard season 3 was so good.
Hm... yeah no, this game still does not appeal to me in the least. HexploreIt does exploration much better and even though you might still have to reference a bunch of locations as to what they do, at least there's no boring card play to contend with, especially when it causes massive brain burn (which is still the #1 theme killer in my book)
Whereas I bounced off hexploreit and didn’t enjoy it (but I’d like to play with the campaign books one day) 😅
It's not a very good game to be honest. Way too much upkeep and admin...and it furthermore reminds me of Taxation Accounting.
That’s where all my caveats in the review came in. For some people it’s the best game ever. For others it’s math and calculations and boredom 😜