Should You Buy Merv: Heart of the Silk Road? - Board Game Review
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 27 ก.ค. 2024
- It's crunchy Euro time as I catch up on some more 2020 releases! Here Osprey Games brings us Merv: Heart of the Silk Road where you gain points by playing around with a central grid of actions and buildings. Is it enough to keep one engaged all the way or is the pay-off just "levelling up tracks"?
Osprey Games have an official TTS mod for Merv which was a massive help for me to provide B-roll footage.
00:00 - Introduction
00:43 - Overview of Merv
02:33 - Duration - Beware of Potential Downtime
05:02 - Ease of Play - WHERE'S MY PLAYER AID?
07:04 - Tactics & Strategy - The Grid Is The Game
10:31 - Aesthetics - Ian 'O' Toole Leaves His Mark
11:37 - Immersion - Dry As A Desert
13:11 - Longevity - Pick A Track, Not Much Else
14:06 - Summary & Verdict - Can It Achieve A Seal?
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For those that have the patience to watch something longer than a few minutes, no one gives more valuable reviews than you, Luke. Thank you for all your work and for going so in depth with your HONEST and insightful reviews. Keep doing what you're doing!
😃😃 Needed that! Thank you so much!!!
This was, as always, a great review. I trust your judgement more than anyone’s. You focus on the heart of the game and evaluate it honestly and accurately. Thank you.
@@rtmca1 😍😍😍😍😍
Wholeheartedly agree. Thanks Luke!
I like that you tell about both the good and bad sides of the games you review. Most other reviewers are overly positive to every game. Thank you.
I know what you mean, I tell it how it is, none of this sugar coating. Sadly it does alienate me from some people and not make me as popular with mass viewers.
Excellent work!! I enjoyed the full video and appreciate the effort you've put on it. Instant subscriber! Just one remark... in the phisical setup, the gate pieces are placed upside-down ;)
Ha ha thanks in both respects! :D
This new format looks excellent!
Thank you! Takes more to edit but it's an improvement.
Appreciate the details and analysis you've provided. It does have great table presence and an interesting puzzle but I can see how it could also have the concerns you highlighted. Sounds like a situation to be addressed by a really good expansion. That will give you a great opportunity for a "must have" expansion review!
Maybe, but i don't think even an expansion will change the nature of "what you're working up to" which is basically pick a track.
@@TheBrokenMeeple True to some degree, but I can imagine an expansion that could offer additional variability and interest if it had different track overlays with new mechanisms or decision points as opposed to just moving up a track.
Personally haven't played Merv so that might not be realistic so just thinking about ways some of the issues you raised might be addressed. Cheers!
Excelllent video. If Luke approves then Its a must buy. Thanks, once it becomes available again I'll grab it
I would love more footage of the physical game. I had some trouble with seeing the details of the digital footage. That being said, I like everything you talk about in your videos.
Understandable, it's a lot harder to get live footage and even then you would only get solo play in this instance.
I agree with all your points. I’m an efficiency nut though so I still really like it
Is it me or your videos became ultra sharp. Loving it. You're the one creator I watch all videos from, even though I don't care about some of the games you cover. Just amazing content.
And, also, Concordia is the best ever.
I appreciate that! - It's mainly that I've finally learned why auto focus is the way forward on the camera! :P Tried to do manual and it never worked. As for the more condensed format, I've been gearing towards that since the start of the year - trying to keep the length to a medium setting so that it's not drawn out but also not stupidly short and misses out all the important information.
@@TheBrokenMeeple i really don't care for length. To be honest, if it's fun, it can be as long as it is. I have a non-sleeping baby, so I have all the time ❤️
I really like the humor, and I, generally agree with your tastes.
Did you have the time to read the Sarajevo review? I emailed it to you a couple of days ago.
I did yeah, very personal take on the subject matter. I'm going to see if I can start the campaign today.
I LOVE this game. It's solid, crunchy and it is soo gorgeous on the table.
How would you say this game has aged for you?
I generally don't get on with Euros and scoring systems but found I really enjoyed the puzzle to find effective ways of beating the CM.
I found it pretty simple to learn even with limited experience with the odd rules problems the was normally in the rules somewhere.
I found it really quick to play solo and once you get the rules in your head to control the CM/HC there isn't much AI overhead.
The main grid is great mechanically but I also had issues with it being art over function and I find i have to really step through and scan sequentially. Good graphic design should be obvious at a distance (no basis oin qualifications or experience in GD it just sounds like a fundamental that should exist) and in Merv it makes you go cross eyed. I've mentioned this before having the Palace/Market etc all the same colour makes it difficult to "see".
I actually quite liked the theme as even with my limited board gaming experience I'm tired of the standard Euro themes.
Main issue gameplay wise is basically what you said in the review though there are schools of thought that it's actually deeper than that but I never found it.. I simply found the best approach that generally beats the CM. Still it's a game I really enjoyed.
I'm 99% a solo gamer. I am lucky enough to be in a country where my gaming group can get together, but haven't really found any crunchy euro fans in it. That being said, I think Merv is going to be better as a multi-player game for me.
I find solo is a puzzle (one I haven't solved yet....I am in awe of your 3rd play victory) that I will eventually get sick of, but I think other players' reactions to the variable board setup will bring the variety for me.
I agree re the need for a player aid, especially for the AIs, but I found the rules for the rest of the game pretty manageable.
Seal of endorsement! Woot, I guessed right!
I like that it's on the mean side, though the relative themeless-ness and samey-ness between plays is a turn off. Think I'll stick to Lacerda's for that modern-style Euro itch.
I've played the physical game and would agree with most of what's said here EXCEPT about the theme. As a euro the theme is abstracted from the mechanics, sure, but the rule book included a fascinating backstory to the city, enough so that it encouraged me (as well as one of the people I played with) to dig deeper and learn more about it. It also led me to teach the game with the history in mind and I think we did connect many of the things in the mechanics with the historical backstory. This review was good but my group came away from our play thinking Merv showed a lot of improvement over earlier euro games by making significant strides in bringing out the theme. Of course it's no Arkham Horror TCG but for a euro, we think it did a pretty good job (players just need to put in more work to get more out, I think).
Setting isn't the shame as bringing out the theme otherwise every Euro game qualifies. It's not difficult to choose a setting and quote some history about it. None of it plays out when I'm moving a disc up one of 4 different tracks and activating buildings based on rows and columns.
@@TheBrokenMeeple I agree there are things about the mechanics that don't have anything to do with bringing the settings to life, like the Mosque track, but the attacks on the city, the construction of the walls, the silk road trading with the market do, at least for me, elicit a *feeling* for the time period, a connection, and a narration forms for what's going on. I can certainly see this story not playing out for some, it demands an effort from the player but you can get a story out of it.
Contrast that to something like Terra Mystica. It's a game I really love but for as many times as I've played no amount of effort seems to bring it to life.
Anyway thank you for the great review; even if my take is different I appreciate hearing other perspectives.
How would you say this game has aged, Nick?
What did you think about turn selection with the leap frog (leap camel?) mechanism?
I found it fine and gave a bigger reason to own camels then the middle market which I don't use often.
Thanks for the review. Would you compare this to Ark Nova? If so, which do you prefer?
They aren't similar games at all, mechanically or thematically. I so prefer Ark Nova, but it's closer to something like Terraforming Mars, than Merv.
I hope the answer is yes :)
For the most part! :P
Merv or Arnak? Trying to decide which would be a keeper..always playing it 2 player with wife. Any thoughts?
Oh Arnak by miles, I did a review of that back in January. Focus was off on camera but the review still stands! 😅
@@TheBrokenMeeple Even though there is Dune Imperium and there will be Endless Winter? 😉
@@Carsten_de_1981 Yes, I reviewed Dune and I do like it a lot but not close to Arnak. As for Endless Winter, well we will cross that bridge when it releases. 😉
@@TheBrokenMeeple Appreciate your reply. Just checked the Arnak video.
Well...
I skipped Arnak for my own collection. Beautiful as it is, it mostly felt like resource conversion and I hated the lucky draw symptom with the guardians.
Tastes are different🤷🏼♂️
@@TheBrokenMeeple Isn't Arnak kinda simple DB? Maybe gets a bit old too fast from what I read?
Great video again, think I will pass on this game though.
Why is that?
With great games like Dune and Arnak around, this game seemed a bit meh! The leapfrog .mechanics seemed okay and im sure it will find an audience, but after watching your review, the game felt so so.
Decent enough but not great. You also mentioned downtime another pet peev of mine. I do generally like puzzly games though; this one was not sold to me as particularly great. With limited shelf space I will only buy games that I feel are excellent for me.
Love your video reviews though and appreciate the effort your taking with whole production..
I would be really keen to get your opinion on a game called Champions of Hara. In my mind and in a recent review an absolute classic, that for some reason seems to go so little press.