This War of Mine is easily my favorite. Of course it is sad, depressing, and heart wrenching...but the emotional connection it brings in unlike anything I've ever experienced. While it is for sure not a stand up and cheer kind of game, there is something deeply beautiful in just trying to help these people get through just one more day.
@@slomo9831 Understandable, but it stands as a stark reminder of the horrors people are facing right now because of the evil actions of small minded (amongst other small things) people.
I played the video game. It's an enlightening experience, but it's not something I want to gamify. After I lost, replaying would've simply reduced the experience. I also think that playing the board game could end up being the worst experience ever. Playing with people that joke about the setting would just be off-putting. But, similarly, puzzling out game mechanisms would also make the experience hollow.
@@VaultBoy13 It's really a solo game anyway, so that shouldn't be an issue. It's also very much narrative/story driven, and the theme is so strong, so it feels nothing like a mechanical puzzle...at least to me. Not everyone will enjoy it for sure, in fact maybe most won't, but it's 100% not a cheap gamified version of the video game, nor does it take the subject matter lightly. It stands quite strongly on its own.
@@michaelmueller260 @vaultboy Brilliantly expressed Michael. The game in no way glorifies war and more than any other game I can think of, starts dragging you into the mindset of the protagonists, wondering how you might react in such a situation. Cleverly it's not Disneyfied - some ethical decisions are punished, whilst some selfish ones suffer no penalty, meaning it's less gamified, but starts to move more to roleplay. This gives people that greater insight into the plight of civilians in war, and that is what really makes this game special. Would people joke? Well there are a few darkly humourous scripts and like a good moving movie, these can come as a shock amongst bleaker scripts, and a rollercoaster of emotions is often a stronger experience than one constant extreme. Such scripts tend to elicit a nervous laughter, again challenging our emotions and empathy. Finally, one criticism of the board gamer from people who played the video game, is it's harsher / more punitive. Whereas the video game could be gamified such that a single civilian might take down an entire house of fully armed military deserters, armed themselves with just a knife. Try that in the board game and the results are likely to be quite the reverse. There are cruel and harsh twists of fate, such that a 'perfectly played' game could end in crushing defeat (whereas it would be a safe victory in the video game). Now I get why the video gamers disliked this lack of control, but for me it absolutely fits the subject matter, and very much takes it further away from being 'gamified'
Nemesis (plus the characters from the expansion) is far and away the most thematic and memorable co-op I have ever played. I remember so many of the sessions my friends and I have finished (both wins and losses) due to the gripping storylines we created and the role-playing that comes so naturally thanks to the game mechanics, characters and art. One game I was the android and my mission was to be the only survivor so I went full HAL 9000 on the others - locking the doors from the control centre to keep them trapped with aliens or hinder them from reaching an escape pod - all the while monotoning "Sorry, I can't so that" to their requests for help. It was priceless!
I appreciate you mentioning Flick of Faith, that one is our go-to game for my wife and me to play with non-gaming couples. So great, and the expansion made it even better. The expansion also allows for 5 player games, and we have had fun with all the content now available. Also, Scythe metal coins work great as an upgrade for victory point tokens.
Great list - Awaken Realms makes big sometimes complex and perhaps involute games, but what an experience each of them! I love them! My list of preference goes in this order, but I have not yet tried some of them: 1. Tainted grail (the narrative and plot is amazing and unparalleled) 2. Nemesis/Nemesis Lockdown (they are pretty ex-aequo for me; it is true that Lockdown is a bit more polished) 3. This war of mine (I agree, it is not a game - it is heartbreaking and devastating - but how often that happens in a boardgame? perhaps it should not happen, but we learn something) 4. Etherfields (what a trip!) High expectations for ISS Vanguard and for the Great Wall. On the fence for Lords of Ragnarok, but tempted because I have no dudes on the map games.
Tainted Grail is my favorite here (Amazing story, great world building!), followed by Nemesis Lockdown (very thematic!), Etherfields (so many weird dreams, so much variety), Lords of Hellas (love the different victory conditions, but a few too many rules) and finally The Great Wall (need to play this one a bit more!)
I very much agree on the Tainted Grail story writing, very much showing the benefits of getting a professional author in. FWIW the combat didn't work for me when we played it (4 player). The downtime for other players was just too much (and interplay wasn't great when two people took part), but I could see how it would appeal more at 1-2 player.
Thanks for this man, just learning Nemesis, bought Lockdown but haven’t learned it yet. Eitherfields is in my crosshairs too. Looks like a great bunch of games!
I've only played Nemesis out of the list and I'm not particularly a fan of mini-based games... But being on the ranks for ISS-V and also Tamashii (From AWLite), I have extremely high hopes that I will have a clear favorite within a year! They do manage exciting projects indeed!
I don't care much for top 10s, but will say this showcases some of the innovative designs/themes they've done, and for me what makes them so interesting as a company, even though IMO the most innovative wasn't included (TWOM). Not all appeal to me, notably I have no interest in area control games, but in areas I enjoy, they've earned the right to give any new game a good close look.
This list is just opposite of my taste. I would have put Nemesis and Lords of Hellas at the top. Then the mess that was Etherfields at the bottom. Flicking game would not even make the list. This War of Mine somewhere in the middle with Great Wall. I haven’t played ISS but given that KDM is my #3 favourite game of all time, i think it might get the #1 spot had I played it.
Lords of Hellas is the only one I've played. I was sure that I wouldn't like it, but I did enjoy it a lot actually. I've backed ISS Vanguard, which is gonna be (at least) a year late...
We've played 10 games at 3 players and had a blast! Mixed in some of the expansions for about half of those games. It was always tense, and everyone is trying to find ways to win while misdirecting others. We had 4 land victories, 4 temple victories, and 2 monster victories.
One or two people getting a little too caught up in thinking there should be a definitive ranking of games... and that Tom is somehow wrong. Buy what you think you'll enjoy with your gaming friends, and play what you and your gaming friends enjoy. Rankings are a nonsense when we're talking about personal taste and that Tom thinks differently to you makes neither of you wrong.
How DARE you rank your #10 at #10 and not #1!!! I jest. I like this list and it definitely makes me want to try a couple of these games that I've kind of overlooked.
Other than theme, I certainly agree Nemesis is WAY too fiddly and deserves to be at the bottom of the list. My personal #1 is Great Wall. Tainted Grail I have not started yet other than tutorial...but one day. And I thought people trashed etherfields?
The only common complaint I've heard about Etherfields is there's a part of the game that is very repetitive and grindy - but if you house-rule that out, as most people seem to do, it's a good game.
1. Nemesis 2. Etherfields 3. Nemesis: Lockdown 4. The Edge: Dawnfall I wouldn't put Tainted Grail nor Lords of Hellas on a best list. I think Tainted Grail is a bad game, and I tried very, very hard to like it. Lords of Hellas on the other hand is simply fine. It had the potential to be great if they cut the quests and put more development time in the monster battles.
![[Live สด] การออกรางวัลสลากกินแบ่งรัฐบาล งวดวันที่ 16 ธันวาคม 2567](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/dNTiBBthKgQ/mqdefault.jpg)
This War of Mine is easily my favorite. Of course it is sad, depressing, and heart wrenching...but the emotional connection it brings in unlike anything I've ever experienced. While it is for sure not a stand up and cheer kind of game, there is something deeply beautiful in just trying to help these people get through just one more day.
Yeah... I was just scrolling down to comments to write this exact thing.
@@slomo9831 Understandable, but it stands as a stark reminder of the horrors people are facing right now because of the evil actions of small minded (amongst other small things) people.
I played the video game. It's an enlightening experience, but it's not something I want to gamify. After I lost, replaying would've simply reduced the experience.
I also think that playing the board game could end up being the worst experience ever. Playing with people that joke about the setting would just be off-putting. But, similarly, puzzling out game mechanisms would also make the experience hollow.
@@VaultBoy13 It's really a solo game anyway, so that shouldn't be an issue. It's also very much narrative/story driven, and the theme is so strong, so it feels nothing like a mechanical puzzle...at least to me. Not everyone will enjoy it for sure, in fact maybe most won't, but it's 100% not a cheap gamified version of the video game, nor does it take the subject matter lightly. It stands quite strongly on its own.
@@michaelmueller260 @vaultboy Brilliantly expressed Michael. The game in no way glorifies war and more than any other game I can think of, starts dragging you into the mindset of the protagonists, wondering how you might react in such a situation. Cleverly it's not Disneyfied - some ethical decisions are punished, whilst some selfish ones suffer no penalty, meaning it's less gamified, but starts to move more to roleplay. This gives people that greater insight into the plight of civilians in war, and that is what really makes this game special.
Would people joke? Well there are a few darkly humourous scripts and like a good moving movie, these can come as a shock amongst bleaker scripts, and a rollercoaster of emotions is often a stronger experience than one constant extreme. Such scripts tend to elicit a nervous laughter, again challenging our emotions and empathy.
Finally, one criticism of the board gamer from people who played the video game, is it's harsher / more punitive. Whereas the video game could be gamified such that a single civilian might take down an entire house of fully armed military deserters, armed themselves with just a knife. Try that in the board game and the results are likely to be quite the reverse. There are cruel and harsh twists of fate, such that a 'perfectly played' game could end in crushing defeat (whereas it would be a safe victory in the video game). Now I get why the video gamers disliked this lack of control, but for me it absolutely fits the subject matter, and very much takes it further away from being 'gamified'
Thank you for mentioning This War of Mine
Not only is This War of Mine my favorite Awaken Realms game, it's my favorite game of all time!
Nemesis (plus the characters from the expansion) is far and away the most thematic and memorable co-op I have ever played.
I remember so many of the sessions my friends and I have finished (both wins and losses) due to the gripping storylines we created and the role-playing that comes so naturally thanks to the game mechanics, characters and art.
One game I was the android and my mission was to be the only survivor so I went full HAL 9000 on the others - locking the doors from the control centre to keep them trapped with aliens or hinder them from reaching an escape pod - all the while monotoning "Sorry, I can't so that" to their requests for help. It was priceless!
I appreciate you mentioning Flick of Faith, that one is our go-to game for my wife and me to play with non-gaming couples. So great, and the expansion made it even better. The expansion also allows for 5 player games, and we have had fun with all the content now available. Also, Scythe metal coins work great as an upgrade for victory point tokens.
top 3. #1 Great wall. #2 Lords of Hellas. #3 Tainted Grail.
But Im really looking forward to ISS Vanguard.
Great list - Awaken Realms makes big sometimes complex and perhaps involute games, but what an experience each of them! I love them!
My list of preference goes in this order, but I have not yet tried some of them:
1. Tainted grail (the narrative and plot is amazing and unparalleled)
2. Nemesis/Nemesis Lockdown (they are pretty ex-aequo for me; it is true that Lockdown is a bit more polished)
3. This war of mine (I agree, it is not a game - it is heartbreaking and devastating - but how often that happens in a boardgame? perhaps it should not happen, but we learn something)
4. Etherfields (what a trip!)
High expectations for ISS Vanguard and for the Great Wall. On the fence for Lords of Ragnarok, but tempted because I have no dudes on the map games.
Tainted Grail is my favorite here (Amazing story, great world building!), followed by Nemesis Lockdown (very thematic!), Etherfields (so many weird dreams, so much variety), Lords of Hellas (love the different victory conditions, but a few too many rules) and finally The Great Wall (need to play this one a bit more!)
I very much agree on the Tainted Grail story writing, very much showing the benefits of getting a professional author in. FWIW the combat didn't work for me when we played it (4 player). The downtime for other players was just too much (and interplay wasn't great when two people took part), but I could see how it would appeal more at 1-2 player.
@@iansutton7416 the story is indeed definitely novel worthy! I agree you probably shouldn't play with more than 2
Castles of Burgundy! Does that count as an Awaken Realms game now?
Great list if you flip it upside down :D
1. Tainted Grail, 2. This War of Mine 3. ISS Vanguard (this one is based on my anticipation for it), 4. Etherfields, 5. Nemesis.
Great to see Etherfields at the top, while some other renowned reviewers didn't understand this game at all..
I like the game, but it's not for everyone and it has its problems. Everyone likes different things!
Thanks for this man, just learning Nemesis, bought Lockdown but haven’t learned it yet. Eitherfields is in my crosshairs too. Looks like a great bunch of games!
I've only played Nemesis out of the list and I'm not particularly a fan of mini-based games... But being on the ranks for ISS-V and also Tamashii (From AWLite), I have extremely high hopes that I will have a clear favorite within a year! They do manage exciting projects indeed!
I don't care much for top 10s, but will say this showcases some of the innovative designs/themes they've done, and for me what makes them so interesting as a company, even though IMO the most innovative wasn't included (TWOM).
Not all appeal to me, notably I have no interest in area control games, but in areas I enjoy, they've earned the right to give any new game a good close look.
Tainted Grail for me, though I've just ordered This War of Mine.
Is there a standalone review of Nemesis Lockdown or was there never one made?
I'd give you my opinion about all these games... if they were ever in stock so I could buy them...
Lords of Hellas seems to get a bad rap, but the game is a lot of fun! Best at 3 players, really, but 4 is also good. Just takes a bit longer.
ISS Vanguard is landing here very soon and it will be my first game from AR.
I thought AR only had 10 games (not inc their Lite games), so it’s really a quick review of all their games!
I agree with your list, but I would put This War of Mine at #1.
Couldn’t agree more with your #1…wish it got more love!
The Edge love
I'd love your copy of This War of Mine. :)
This list is just opposite of my taste. I would have put Nemesis and Lords of Hellas at the top. Then the mess that was Etherfields at the bottom. Flicking game would not even make the list. This War of Mine somewhere in the middle with Great Wall. I haven’t played ISS but given that KDM is my #3 favourite game of all time, i think it might get the #1 spot had I played it.
Tainted Grail for me, though I just ordered This War of Mine.
Lords of Hellas is the only one I've played. I was sure that I wouldn't like it, but I did enjoy it a lot actually.
I've backed ISS Vanguard, which is gonna be (at least) a year late...
I have so many problems with the order of this list I don't even know where to start
that's tautological
Luckily it is not your list, it is Tom's.
Do you have any problems beyond disagreement? :P
Fun list.
Yes, Nemesis is my favourite board game at the moment. But to be fair, I haven’t played any of the other games on this list 😁
Tainted Grail Age of Legends was my favorite campaign of the 3 that I played (base game and the Last Knight), I saved the best for last by chance :-)
Nemesis
Huh - is Lords of Hellas that good? I got the feeling that it’s a bit of a clunky game so I’ve held back on getting it. This makes me want it.
We've played 10 games at 3 players and had a blast! Mixed in some of the expansions for about half of those games. It was always tense, and everyone is trying to find ways to win while misdirecting others.
We had 4 land victories, 4 temple victories, and 2 monster victories.
Buy mine. I have all the gameplay from the Kickstarter plus some bling.
One or two people getting a little too caught up in thinking there should be a definitive ranking of games... and that Tom is somehow wrong. Buy what you think you'll enjoy with your gaming friends, and play what you and your gaming friends enjoy. Rankings are a nonsense when we're talking about personal taste and that Tom thinks differently to you makes neither of you wrong.
Still waiting on my single shipment of Etherfields.
Nemesis have too many moving parts. Next ISS Vanguard...
How DARE you rank your #10 at #10 and not #1!!! I jest. I like this list and it definitely makes me want to try a couple of these games that I've kind of overlooked.
Really hard to get a feel for these games without any screenshots or clips of the gameplay and boards!
Other than theme, I certainly agree Nemesis is WAY too fiddly and deserves to be at the bottom of the list. My personal #1 is Great Wall. Tainted Grail I have not started yet other than tutorial...but one day. And I thought people trashed etherfields?
The only common complaint I've heard about Etherfields is there's a part of the game that is very repetitive and grindy - but if you house-rule that out, as most people seem to do, it's a good game.
wierd choices ! how can etherfields be 1st and iss vanguard 9th ?!
1. Nemesis
2. Etherfields
3. Nemesis: Lockdown
4. The Edge: Dawnfall
I wouldn't put Tainted Grail nor Lords of Hellas on a best list. I think Tainted Grail is a bad game, and I tried very, very hard to like it. Lords of Hellas on the other hand is simply fine. It had the potential to be great if they cut the quests and put more development time in the monster battles.
First !