Lord of The Rings: Journeys in Middle-Earth Review
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 26 ก.ค. 2024
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#boardgames #lordoftherings #review
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This is the first review I've seen from this channel and it was great! Funny, balanced, and honest. The style reminds me of SU&SD, which I've been watching for years. Will definitely subscribe and give No Pun a chance.
Hmm, I could say the same about the monsters on mansions of madness, in terms of them all sort of being the same, just having different hitpoints and sculpts. I love Mansions and will still give this one a look
you see son, they call that a 'mid review turnaround'
I honestly would have been upset if Efka HADN'T said tolkiens...
I giggled more with Legoland :)
also top tier pun work.
@@krisbijnens1270 I fell for aragroin.
This is the first review I have seen from you guys and I must say you have my subscription and my axe!
in this video....I got sold on Mansions of madness thanks NPI!
You can have mine. This video convinced me to sell my copy of MoM, while still not being convinced that I should buy LotRJtME to replace it!
I disliked MoM 2nd edition more than MoM 1st edition.
i like MoM, some of the missions give me the shits though
I'm only watching board game reviews for inspiration on my own Lego-based board game I'm working on, but dang this was a good video.
20 minutes went by before I knew it, thanks to your informative and entertaining approach.
Sounds awesome! What is the theme and will it be on Kickstarter do you think?
@@ModularLandingwe will never know :(
Great review! That only confirmed that I was right on cancelling my pre-order after watching some playthough videos ...
Nick of time will forever be my favorite Zone episode... great review No Pun Included. I think you sold me on Mansions of Madness too. I had been nervous due to cost, availability, and SU&SD’s review...but Arkham Horror LCG really got me into the theme and fun of it.
Thanks for the review, I think the game will improve as more content is released. I am very excited to play this game!
My exact problem, im tired of paying FF for half a game and then being fleeced for more money for endless expansions.
Well put together video guys. Thanks for all the info!
You guys are the best. That Tom Vasel shout out was classic!
What an awesome and fun video to watch! Subscribed! And that weird painting on the mantle is strangely horrifying and mesmerizing
That is not a painting, it's an LP. The album in question is Tookah by Emiliana Torrini.
7 plays! Fair play this is why these reviews are way above many of the other reviews you see on the tubes of You. Great Review NPI!
I did find 8 items for two characters, so there Are really a lot of them during the game play. I Also did find 9 tittles so a lot of them Also. But because of random maps it change from game to game. Nice Little game indeed! A lot of cool combos to be found.
"Aragroin, Grumbly, Legoland..." - you have yourself another subscriber :-)
Whoa... I put my Descent 2nd edition on sale to make room for this (and the metric ton of future expansions which are expected thanks FFG). I don't know what to do anymore HAHA.
I initially wanted to get something more streamlined than descent as I already own gloomhaven as a campaign game with good tactical combat and wanted something more relaxing. If you compare it to descent 2nd edition with the app, does this get that taste-less that soon?
Very good review and thank you for it. I'm curious about this game after playing Imperials in Imperial Assault left me unfulfilled and generally felt like a slog. I'll be able to play as Rebels soon, so we'll see how that goes. It seems the card play is the big draw here and rightly so. I find it very interesting. We'll have to see if they zazz it up with expansions that make the enemies more interesting which of course they will.
I am sooo happy for this review! Haven’t even watched it yet but thank you guys so much for getting it out so quickly! Not enough info available on this game yet! NPI💛💙
...and now I’ve watched it I know I don’t need to buy it 😔 as I suspected from the play through. I am sad because now I don’t want to buy this OR Outer Rim. Shame.
@@daveb1101 be happy for your wallet
LiiChinHo Absolutely!
Fine. Heres 10 quid. Always wanted to say quid in an appropriate manner. Backed the ks! Keep the videos coming, guys!
It was very appropriate indeed (thank you very much)!
Amazing review!! Would enjoy a review on star wars outer rim.
Thanks for the review - purchased!
I'll stick with Descent. Thanks for the review.
Another excellent review, Elaine and Efka! I really hope that you reach your first stretch goal at a minimum as we need more Elaine!
A small note for the future, could you please include details of the mantelpiece album in the video description for those of us who don't recognise it, maybe with a link to a YT video of one of the tracks? I think your regular audience would appreciate it :)
An excellent suggestion! This one is Tookah by Emilíana Torrini, chosen because she contributed to the stellar Lord of the Rings movie soundtrack.
Thx for the honest review, agree the FF LOTR juggernaut will catch people up on the way but this little hobbit will be keeping his money for something better
Coming late to the show here, but thank you! As a long-term LotR fan (I read the books far too many years ago to mention), of course I was attracted by this, but I always had doubts. I felt that the map was very generic, and wouldn't say 'This is Middle Earth!' to me. Now you've brought up some further reservations that resonate with me. So you've saved me a lot of money. Back to Mansions of Madness, which I do enjoy.
As I get older the whole “different strokes for different folks” just becomes more and more...what’s the word I’m looking for here? I find that I tend to like most of the games you guys don’t like, and dislike a few you love, haha! Really I’m starting to just not even care about reviews for anything anymore. But I always come back and check your stuff out! Really love the style of your reviews! Thanks!
You characterized my thoughts on this precisely.
@@npckse8508 Agreed. I am looking forward to receiving my copy in the next several weeks. Nothing I have seen in reviews or play throughs has changed my excitement for it.
I feel the same about most of my hobbies. I just use videos as a guide and sometimes ignore the reviewers opinions or rating in the end
Thanks for interesting review! Yet I have two questions. Firstly what type of campaign did you use during your tests? Was it some kind of demo campaign or the one which will be available in final product? Secondly, does application allow to buy some equipment between the missions (similar to Decent app)?
We played the full actual campaign and you can't buy anything between missions although there is a gradually increasing resource called Lore that automatically upgrades existing items once it reaches a certain threshold.
Thank you! It sounds like quite painful simplification comparing to Descent or Gloomhaven. :/
What scale are the minis?
gonna go watch your mansions of madness review now
I saw you guys on shut up sits down playing t.i4. So I checked this video out. You do good works lads keep it up. I've already started negotiations with my wife to get this game.... may the valour be with me....
Last sentence really resonated with me, box should be delivered withing next few days :)
Great review! Yea I’ve barely scratched the surface of Imperial Assault so I think I’ll stick to that instead.
I love mansions and I'll love this.
This game concept is amazing... Though I wish characters where unknown, specially if you can "create them", and items should be simple yet consumable. The LCG is still one of my favorite boardgames of all time though. Is the app required or can you play without it?
Rodrigo Santos the app is required
More frequently than Tom Vasel changes hats 🤣🤣, someone has been watching their latest top 10s
I'm always iffy about these campaign games because the narrative elements always seem so flat. Gloomhaven is at least engaging mechanically but when the mechanics are light and the story dull, I'd rather just make up my own stories in a tabletop rpg. The stories might not be any better but at least they're our own. Looked it up and there's even a ruleset based on DND 5th Edition called Adventures in Middle Earth that I now must own.
I'm getting tired of campaign games... I mean, who has the time to finish one?
exactly my thoughts, this is so DnD it even has "inspiration" in it...
agreed man. The only one i've really found has a decent story is Folklore. I've tried so many of them i'm just about over the whole dungeon crawl genre.
Great and honest review. Thx!
Great Review! Also spotted the Gaming Rules! T shirt! 👍
Didn't mean for it to be hidden but I like wearing a shirt over a t-shirt and the logo is to the side rather than front and centre :/ Feels like I made a mistake.
I didn’t forget :-p. You guys are real stepping up your game of late. Kudos!
FYI... I ordered Gloomhaven yesterday.
Gotta say I don't have an issue with FF reskinning a game. Some people don't like horror games. This is a franchise of books and movies that people really enjoy. A license to print money more so than Mansions. If it has a decent story (more than just flavor text) this could be really fun. If they would hire a great fantasy writer this could be quite the game. Can they add a dice option? Maybe someone on BGG has hacked around this. I want to chuck dice in a fantasy game. Hello? Is Efka riding a giant swan at 9:17?
I have it pre-ordered and am looking forward to it! I suspect it'll get better with expansions :D
And I upped my NPI KS pledge a bit to try and get Elaine to go part time. Good luck!
Same here. Pre-ordered based on expectations. I too hope that expansions improve on the game, based on lessons learned, etc.
Excellent review, I hope you reach your kickstarter goals! #(partly)FreeEllaine
Damn. The LOTR theme isn't the most exciting for me personally, but this one actually caught my interest for a while. And it seems like an admirable effort from FFG, but we're in a post Gloomhaven world and the bar is incredibly high. In my opinion, they've had serious difficulty in recent years designing campaign adventure games with all the necessary ingredients in place: a deep immersive story, exciting and varied combat, satisfying rewards and loot, etc. (Arkham Horror LCG would be a major exception, but it's not exactly in the same category). Oh well, I guess on the plus side I now have one less giant expensive game purchase on my mind.
Emiliana Torrini album in the back is big props!
YOU GUYS ARE ON FIRE!!
Any plans of reviewing the big box expansion?
Thank you for ignoring the hype surrounding this game and providing an honest review. I watched another review and they refused to say anything negative at all, so thanks for being honest. I was hoping for a fun little “RPG in a box” with the app being the dm, but it looks way too monotonous and combat looks dull to be honest. And with no memorable story, I’m gonna have to pass. plus I hate games with timers, the game turns from fun exploration and immersion in a fantasy world to a sprint where you missed most of the content. I know many people are excited for this game and I hope it turns out to be fun for them, but for me it doesn’t look like it’s worth $100 usd. Maybe at a significant discount it would be worth trying out. Thanks again for the honest review.
Oh I forgot to mention that I highly recommend Sorastro’s channel, he’s an incredible painter and does fantastic work with Imperial Assault and Descent among other games.
Scratch what i said in an earlier video comments section. I no longer have any wish to see you guys merge with the SUSD guys. You've been knocking it out of the park recently. Matt and Quinns should be applying for an internship at NPI.
Tanuki D Still, it would be fun to see the two channels partner at least once for a review. It was great to see NPI meet with Rahdo.
Viewer, NPI aficionados, gamers, friends, if you haven't Backed the Kickstarter ...PLEASE do your part! We need every bit of kindness and help you can offer... If you have, thanks...if you can do more BULLY for you and us! Elaine needs to make Parole, and we are the folks to spring her! GO TEAM NPI!!!
www.kickstarter.com/projects/771073763/no-pun-included-season-3/description
Thank you for this. You just saved me 90 euros makes the 15 quid for backing seem like a bargain. You are the first boardgame reviewer I have ever backed, so feel honoured :) You are as good as SUSD and cuter ;)
Wow not a single item after 5 plays? And I thought Pathfinder ACG can get stingy in its rewards due to the randomness of the cards.
FFG and it's corporate committee design team crank out another blandoid big box minis game. Thanks for taking the bullet you two for the rest of us by playing this... more than once. Be well.
How did you manage to not get any items in your first playthrough? I played it with my GF and this is our first game from FFG and we're currently starting to chase a side mission (spoilers! :D ) and that's the 7th mission and we already have 5 items. And we even died once
Please review the new star wars outer rim
this or descent for a group of friends that like coop games?
All the other reviews of this currently available say that you can only play the first two missions with the preview version of the app. How did you manage to play through 7 missions?
I asked for a non-silly version that lets a reviewer review the game they sent for reviewing and believe it or not, I got one.
@@NoPunIncluded Ah okay - good job! I just thought it was odd that you didn't mention Lore or any of the effects of levelling up items.
We didn't have much to say about it and the video was quite long already. It's okay? Remember, we barely got any new items in our playthrough and so the lore mechanism was mostly there to upgrade our starting items which is... fine?
Bought the game and just found your channel. Great review.
Just for the late party: there are already 2 big expansion put there.
Sounds like FFG kept the base box (a little too) simple to leave room for the inevitable waves of expansions that will complicate the game.
Looking forward to trying it out, thanks for the review!
As always an entertaining and informative video. I was thinking in getting this lame, I mean, game. However I was hesitant due to the hype. Fortunately El&Ef opened my eyes. Thanks!
90GBGP? In Germany it is 84€. Thank awesome review helps me in my decision.
I bought mine for £65.
I wonder if you backed Gotham City Chronicles to review?
Oh, they actually put this out already. I am still very un-used to the time it takes between a board game announcement and release.
It'll be released next week we believe.
@@NoPunIncluded Nonetheless, moving over from video games where the time between announcement and release more commonly is several years, these FFG board games that come out within four months of announcement are quite something!
@@Messengus Yeah, FFG keeps the wraps on things pretty well. They're not a very transparent, community involved company which works to their favor in this regard.
I was all caught up in the hype about this game ... now.. not so much.. not only this review but the FFG one hour play through didn't impress me much .. so for now I will wait and see what the expansions look like .. maybe if it cost more I might feel more invested and able to force myself to like it... oh that's a weak argument... Thanks guys ✌️
I was wondering how they would deal with the story aspect of the “journeys” it looks very disappointing like Civ New Dawn. Want to like this game like I wanted to like Civ, but seems FFG shit the bed yet again.
Where did you get those card sleeves?
Card sleeves are sold at almost all brick and mortar and online retailers. These are FFG branded sleeves, the back of the box will tell you which ones and how many you need.
@@NoPunIncluded Thanks!
I think that there’s an aim here to 1. Sell the game to a new audience and 2. we have been somewhat spoiled by a lot of sooo good RPG in a Box and Tactical skirmish games. I’m ok ish with the starter box being a basic starter box as long as we see some support from FFG (Runewars anyone?) if we get a few regular expansions I think the app is accomplished enough to build on and MoM has had some great updates over the years - so if they use the license well this could become something special - so hopefully the first expansion will be out by the time I’ve painted the base box ;) I’m looking forward to getting it out with the unabridged three film score on the Sonos, oh and let’s be honest whatever the RRP is the general price is around 70 pounds, still a lot but not so unusual.
Great video!
Have you tried Dawn of Peacemakers? This unknown jewel made me fall in love with the campaign genre. Seriously. You have to try this amazing one.
We reviewed it on our French youtube channel. It's soooooo good.
We only played the first two game so we haven't opened much. We aren't feeling it yet, does it get better when we get to open more boxes? We feel like we are waiting for the game to play itself most of the time now.
@@RyuBateson218 my biggest complaint was that the game is kind of easy. However, no matter the difficulty, I would disagree that you could be doing nothing and win anyway. Things can get pretty swingy, especially from the 3rd game and going on :)
Trust me, it gets really good. I think you can also increase the difficulty once you finish the campaign. And I think the story was pretty fun ^^
I'm glad someone got to play this game! To me, it is a very special jewel that really went under the radar but should have gotten more attention...
Don't give it up! It only gets better and better trust me :)
Honestly wish I would have seen this video before I bought the game. I jumped on it because they played on the "Journeys" name, so me not researching at all thought it was going to be more of a Descent clone like Imperial Assault. Boy was I wrong!! But enjoying it a bit, just need to play it quite a bit different than we have been playing (trying to search everything in each scenario before finishing). But yeah there are quite a few more things wrong with the game in my opinion than what you just pointed out at the end of this video. Thanks for the video.
The coin operated Fortune telling dispenser from the Twilight-Zone sits on their mantel. I love these nerds.
Well I won't get this now, I just ordered MoM with Streets of Arkham anyway, but I'm sure there will be a zillion expansions to JiME and there's a good chance that they will increase campaign quality. Same thing happened with the Arkham LCG, Zealot was pretty cool when it was released, but Dunwich is a big improvement. I really like the FFG stuff, but none of their recent games felt complete to me from the start and this constant need of buying a huge core box and tons of expensive expansions is getting a bit annoying.
Even though you didn’t like the game you showed me enough to see that I would so I bought it (Although it didn’t cost anywhere near £90!)
You already got a review up O_____O
Amazing work, thanks a lot.
Seems like an evenly weighed review. I DID already buy it lol BUT it will be my wife and I's first step into campaign games. We have spent the last year on the aisle of Catan and its ever-changing landscapes. Looking forward to this dive and then moving foward!
I did buy this one as it is LOTR and I am a fan. jeer now :)
Thanks for the video!
The success mechanism is not new...Runebound. It looks like a mesh of Runebound and Mage Knight. Exploration and flipping tokens. Though I love both games and never played Mansions of Madness, and love LotR, looks like just another campaign.
Thoughtful, thorough, and honest. Great stuff!
MoM 2e is probably my favorite bg that handles narrative and player choice. Loose mechanics didn't bother me too much their because of how well the atmosphere held up with the in-app descriptions of literally everything.
I already have this game pre-ordered, and I'm a big LotR nut, but hearing that it's narratively weaker is kind of disappointing. I'm still looking forward to playing it, but I have a feeling it'll end up being a miss for me just like Legacy of Dragonholt compared to Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective.
Which is to say LoD felt like a glorified CYOA where I was more expecting an "open world, freedom of choice" experience.
Is it only me that actually prefers rolling dice, and not wanting to play like a Statistician instead of imagining myself an Adventurer in the middle of a dangerous situation?
Yes I'm going to cancel my pre order, there isn't enough strategy for me here
Haha he was so right! I already bought it!
Now I’m thinking I should cancel before it ships
You're right Efka, I literally just got my pre-order shipment confirmation a few hours ago, so I guess I am buying this game anyway 😆. Either way, still loved this video and appreciate you worked to get it out this fast. Will head over to Kickstarter to add a few bucks to my pledge. Keep up the great work!
Daniel Montonye I received my tracking order too but I have no regrets. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion and so I will play this game without prejudice and judge for myself.
@@JPFalcononor I totally agree and am not unhappy about ordering either. I was actually more concerned I wouldn't like it after I watched FFs playthrough than I was watching NPIs review. And that was over a week ago, so I had ample opportunity to cancel. The FF playthrough just seemed dull...and I was mad about the tiny cards, but I think I'm over that now.
Looks like a mixed bag of Mansions of Madness and Mage Knight to me.
Thanks, i now feel quite stellar about passing on this. Not even close to enough of what I'd expect for the pricetag.
Agree, this seems like a pass for me and my group as well....combat seems very boring and turning cards for each test or combat, seems boring compared to imperial assault.
@@MrUzilara I usually like card driven gameplay in a dungeon crawl, though it is rare, but yea this looks awfully boring.
I actually love this game so much now that it is my favourite board game alongside Mansion of Madness!
Looks like this is a step down from 'Middle-Earth Quest' in the same way 'Mansions of Madness 2nd Edition' is a (however well streamlined) continued disappointment after the original edition. What a shame, FFG were really quite good at making 1vsMany games, and now they've abandoned it in favour of apps that can't really respond to your actions in a meaningful or interesting way.
Not at home in this world anymore...Elijah Wood movie pun!
Well that definitely answered my question earlier : )
The app component turns me away. I have game apps I really like, pc games I love, some are board game adaptations. But I see little from the app here that adds to the board game experience. Plus, enough already with the “starter” box experience. FF et al, Give us a great game for our 90 bucks and then the option to buy more for additional great gaming. I don’t want to buy a 90 buck “starter” experience for the promise the get a better one if I spend more. I love middle earth so I hope you guys got this one way wrong. Unlikely, that’s why I support your work. Good luck with your funding! Free Elaine!
Hey that's FFs model. Just like the jerks at Adobe no longer sell software, you have to rent that crap every month.
No interest in MoM due to the theme, but love when a great game mechanic gets a better theme like we saw with Gaia Project and Star Trek: Frontiers. However, your video has convinced me to wait for a very good sale down the road or a trade to get the game. Bummer.
Also love your videos. Wish you'd warned you were going to show painted miniatures though with a spoiler tag. As a creative person I hate seeing other people's paint jobs before I take my own crack at it because it steals from the creative process. If I do the same as another person without seeing it, it's my own spin still, but if I've seen someone else's first I either am copying them or deliberately NOT doing what I would do. Know most don't care, but just a personal observation. You two are great. Well done.
Ah I'm so sorry. This totally makes sense, but maybe you'll blot it out tho?
Yeah, all good... :)
@@NoPunIncluded
Thank you for your honest review. You validated my concerns.
Thanks for this! I appreciate the review, I was thinking about buying the game but I'll probably hold off for now.
Out of curiosity though - why is Gloomhaven the best campaign game ever? I had a group that tried to play it, but after failing the second mission three times, we decided it wasn't that fun.
If it's the best campaign game ever, then boardgame campaigns are universally awful. I thought Gloomhaven was hot garbage. 7 plays and a character swap couldn't save it, so back in the box it went. It has 0 resale value apparently (even when untampered) so it just sits in the corner collecting dust and mocking me. I don't just "not care for it", I actively hate it more than any other game I've ever played.
Hahaha I didn't forget to subscribe :D but It actually made me check :D
Wow, I agree 100% with you guys on this one. So disapointed with this one for that price.
I don't buy the argument of not getting enough items. While technically it is true, you can prepare cards which are more or less like items too. But you have to set them up cleverly beforehand.
FFG is really pushing required apps to play their games now, which is unfortunate.
That isn't the issue. Having apps track and take care of tedious book keeping is a big advantage. FFG's sin is to constantly recycle their own game mechanics, cards, art, and awfully dated box packaging (minis in a ziplock bag. LOL).
They just put their previous games in a blender and sell whatever comes out.
This LOTR game is painfully average at best. The art is so damn forgettable and if it didn't say LOTR on the box, you'd have no way of knowing this was even in Middle Earth. If you aren't going to do Peter Jackon's version of LOTR - basically forget it now.
Darn. I didn't watch this before I ordered the soon to arrive game. I feel like I wasted my money. I watched 3 or 4 other reviews and based on those I bit the bullet.
I’m not specially foud of app-driven Board games. When I’m on the table, I like the experience to be totally tech-free.
RiverRaidFleetCapt yea I feel like they should be optional not mandatory
If you didn't notice, this is a campaign game. You can't expect to get lots of exciting equipment in one adventure, like in Mansions of Madness, LOL.
5 games in and they didn't get a damn thing? Get real man. Even in Gloomhaven you get something after 5 games.
Yes,yes,yes.Just tried it yesterday and... couldn't agree more.Story and game itself not engaging,the lack of variety,inspiration tokens that make me felt uninspired,the small cards and tiles where you can barely see whats on them(me at least,am at my 40s).I dont get why game like this(same goes for gloomhaven ) don't make better looking boards, boards with more details(where are the dead skeletons on the dungeon floor,the blood from previous battles,the feel that is not just another tile but a more memorable place,the feel that the board itself can tell a story(i remember i used to get that from..Space Crusaders!!!,could this be cause it was my first game of this kind us a kid??).The monsters feel souless and one of the same and theres a lack in variety.Overall not the best production for me(i mean look at the thickness of the cards)