A while back I read an article which was ostensibly about why Bioshock I was the best in the series, but really was about our desire to overcome obstacles. Its main point was that Bioshock was so enjoyable because your character was weak, and had to work very hard to overcome strong opponents. The author thought this provided a more compelling experience when compared with a game where you could just step into a boss battle with guns blazing and probably tough it out. I was reminded of this when you compared this with Zombicide (although I don't know that I'd call the party strong in that game), because this game highlights the fragility of the civilized experience and of humans in general.
Thank you for your very interesting review. This looks like a very interesting game. I have planned to use the computer game as teaching tool in social science but haven't yet done it. But in theory I would prefer to use this board game but don't think it is possible. But I will order the game for the social science teachers so we can play the game and reflect.
Great video! Thank you for your thoughts. I played the video game version quite a bit, so it was a no brainer to back the board game when announced. I'm really excited to play with my family and friend. I'm really excited about the stories that will be there, I feel it will make the game far better, compared to the game not having these stories.
This has worked its way onto my list, even though I am drifting away from 'roll to resolve' games. Here I think it works as the cruel hand of fickle fate.
I was honestly blown away with the immersive storytelling that this game sets out to try and accomplish and I truely hope that it lives up to that in the final version!
Played videogame and really enjoyed it. Boardgame looks just as cool. Only thing, that bothers me, is multiplayer mode. Would be perfect game, if each player controlled only one character and be required to experience only their own event, like in Time Stories. Would you like it more that way?
+Владимир Никитенко The problem with that is sometimes characters do basically nothing. Sleep, or just stay at home and draw a card once, while someone else goes on a 15 minutes long adventure. Not to mention the problem with characters dying and new showing up.
Great review! As always! I and my girlfriend both played the video game and we really love it. I think the board game offers a "similar" experience. I am sure we are going to back this project. Regards.
Is it difficult to "win" ? It looked like as long as you didn't get too risky, you almost auto win. Are there ways to scale the difficulty? Remove all green cards?
+Scott Johnson i don't think the green cards are about difficulty, just about graphic imagery. you do pull in a lot of stuff when you go scavenging, but you go through it pretty quick buying stuff and feeding your peeps (I demo'd that wrong in the day video). still, this game certainly isn't a super challenging game like, say, ghost stories. i'm not sure if there's options to increase difficulty. i don't remember seeing that in the rules, but it's a good question to ask the devs i guess :)
+Scott Johnson The Kickstarter has added the "orphans" expansion now, which does address this concern, though I'm not sure how much I like the implementation. Basically, you pick up a pair of orphans who can't do anything (can't scavenge, clear rubble, guard the door, pic locks, etc) but you still gotta feed 'em. It should put your back against the wall pretty quick and keep it there... unless of course you just want to let the orphans starve. In addition, if you wanted to up the difficulty, you can just remove some of the "relief" cards from the various decks... Just think about this run through and how screwed rhado was only having 3 characters... imagine if you pulled the "visitor at the door" cards from the deck before the game started and you knew that nobody was coming.
I know this is a post from a few months ago but I figured I would chime in. Here are my thoughts on the subject. Yes, you could probably "win" more often than not. But with this game, winning doesn't necessarily leave a good feeling. Winning means at least 2 people lived. That means there will be heart breaking loss and still incredible intense and gut wrenching moments. I see this as a game that, even if you "win", you could still feel like you lost because of the fact that not all your survivors made it. Or maybe you feel like you lost because you ended up killing innocents along the way (possible in this board game? It is in the video game.) This game is going to be so much more than just "winning or losing". It sounds cliche, but I truly believe it with this particular game. It is going to be all about the the adventure to the end, not if the end is a win or a loss. I do have a fair amount of play on the video game version of this and that is exactly how I feel. I have completed full runs and still didn't feel like I won. Yes, people got to the end, but the tragic loss made it feel like the game had still beaten me.
Thanks for the great review Rahdo- how does it work when a player's character runs away/dies/otherwise leaves the game; does that player sit/watch hoping for a new character/their main character to rejoin (if possible) or is it game over? Might have missed that bit in your walkthrough. I'm not the biggest fan of player elimination games (unless its a very quick turnaround type game which doesn't appear the case in this one).
+evilporter i talk about it at the beginning how players share control of the group and take turns making decisions. so no one is tied to any one character of the group
I'm curious, Richard. From the title and rule-book (which you say you usually peruse prior to considering), this obviously is not a subject matter that would appeal to you and Jen, and yet you chose to provide a run-through nonetheless. I was just wondering if the design trumped the theme and is why you said "yes" to showing how it plays. No matter, I'm sure many appreciate that you made them aware of what looks like a really compelling game experience.
+J Young oh it was totally subject matter that made me interested. i love when games cover heavy important themes. but yeah, i suspected going in that jen wouldn't care for the darkness of the game, and i was right. but i still wanted to experience it anyway. so i actually went into it mostly because of the theme... i was worried that the 'roll to resolve' gameplay would be too much of a turnoff, but the theme is so strong, and the random fate dice is so thematically approrpriate, i found that to be fine as welll.
How would you compare to 7th continent? Not in theme but in how it tells a story mixed with actual game (mechanics). I'm curious because I already KSed 7th continent and wonder if this is a more "Ameritrashy" version of that with a different (unique) theme.
+Logus Vile this is definitely more ameritrashy, while 7th continent is more euroey. they've got very different gameplay. twom is less about a scripted story, and more about creating an overall mood and expeirence, while 7th continent is more scripted and focused
How is the replayability in comparison to 7th Continent? Is it a new game every time you play or are you just doing the same things in a different way?
+Tim Karl i would say this has way more replayability. 7th continent is mostly one and done... after you've explored the whole world you've seen most of it.
I like these final thoughts. I feel like you nuanced some aspects that sound different than Robinson Crusoe. That is the comparison I'm heard elsewhere and that it's basically Robinson Crusoe with different skin. Do you have any thoughts on that comparison?
well, they're both co-operative worker placement games, but to say they're basically the same is... not my experience. that's like saying that agricola and caylus are the same because they're both worker placement games. or gloomhaven and and clank are the same because they're both dungeon crawls :)
@@rahdo Hmm, fair comeback. Ok, so one comparison made was the resources management in This War of Mine being about the same tension as RC. It sounds like TWM has a much more narrative experience than RC and perhaps the comparison I received was coming from someone who doesn't get into the narrative. Which would make sense to me; so Near & Far vs Architects of the WK as opposed to say...mmm, Stone Age and Architects...maybe
@@cwb95k yup, that would make sense. don't forget, there's a whole additional game in TWoM was well when you go out and do night missions. a push your luck adventure game that could have stood on its own actually.
also in case you missed it, did a couple of followup videos about the game once i got the retail edition: th-cam.com/play/PLmQverenaaqL9NmsS3m0OYiLcHLmLAVnr.html
hi rahdo thanks for your final thoughts. Did you feel that the game was lacking components. since during your game.play you ran our of can food and sugar? shouldn't the game just add more tokens? why about the deck of cards will you eventually play all the explore cards thus making it a bit boring?
+themanlympics i believe some items are supposed to be rare, so if you hoard them, there will be no more out in the world. i think the 5x section of the board is only for lumber/components/water, thought he rules aren't 100% clear. the explore cards aren't supposed to be unique stories, just like every time orcs attack you in a fantasy game ,there's not supposed to be totally unique orcs. whats unique from game to game is that maybe a lot of orcs hit you repeatedly, or only a few orcs but also a giant, etc. same idea here, just different theme
+Torkijo well if there's roughly 1000 encounters, if you're only going with 1 color, that's 200 you have access to with him. Plus if you download the app, that's another 200 or so...
+George Bears like i said in the video, i don't really know because i haven't seen final content, just the sample story snippets that came with my prototype, and i don't know what those snippets would represent in the grand scheme of things. probably if you asked on the KS project page, maybe they'd post a few examples of final text?
Ok, thanks. I will try and do that. Also posted a forum on BGG, so I'm sure somebody on there will be able to answer :-) Thanks again for the great content you put out rahdo, really enjoy your videos. May Jesus Christ bless you and Jen.
+rahdo that's my point though - the multiplayer aspect seems tacked on. it's a really intriguing game, and great run-through, just think it seems fiddly
+Neil Blaiberg I love fiddly mechanics in solo boardgames, John H Butterfield is the best solo designer I know (by mikes even) and his games are awesome because they are fiddly. You know it is so much more fun to calculate and do fiddy things in boardgames and finally pull a card or throw dice, then ... looking at a screen that says: you got hit, period, without knowing the mechanics behind it...
+Neil Blaiberg I don't think the multi-player adaptation feels tacked on or fiddly at all. It's as powerful and immersive as any other co-op boardgame on the market. It's like a choose your own adventure novel being explored by committee. Sure, you COULD play it as a solitaire game, but if you choose to play with 3 or 4 people, nobody is going to feel left out. Everyone has the opportunity to make decisions that really matter. Game play is smooth and progressive. If you don't want to pass the stupid journal around, grab something else to use as a first player marker and just use that.
I would never support this company and anything they do. I bought the computer version of this game and they have zero customer support. A lot of customers found a problem where the game simply was not working anymore. We reported it on their official forums and nobody has ever replied. Absolutely amazing and completely unacceptable today.
I think this will be a huge solo gamer success because it's so immersive
A while back I read an article which was ostensibly about why Bioshock I was the best in the series, but really was about our desire to overcome obstacles. Its main point was that Bioshock was so enjoyable because your character was weak, and had to work very hard to overcome strong opponents. The author thought this provided a more compelling experience when compared with a game where you could just step into a boss battle with guns blazing and probably tough it out.
I was reminded of this when you compared this with Zombicide (although I don't know that I'd call the party strong in that game), because this game highlights the fragility of the civilized experience and of humans in general.
Thank you for your very interesting review. This looks like a very interesting game. I have planned to use the computer game as teaching tool in social science but haven't yet done it. But in theory I would prefer to use this board game but don't think it is possible. But I will order the game for the social science teachers so we can play the game and reflect.
As always a solid final thoughts Richard! Thanks for sharing
Great video! Thank you for your thoughts. I played the video game version quite a bit, so it was a no brainer to back the board game when announced. I'm really excited to play with my family and friend. I'm really excited about the stories that will be there, I feel it will make the game far better, compared to the game not having these stories.
This is on my list to get along with Freedom: Underground Railroad and Kolejka.
I love the computer game and this looks just as good. Thanks for running through this, I'm sold.
This has worked its way onto my list, even though I am drifting away from 'roll to resolve' games. Here I think it works as the cruel hand of fickle fate.
This looks to sit beside Underground Railroad and Android as 'thoughtful' boardgames.
Wow sounds like a great experience! Thanks for another awesome runthrough :)
I was honestly blown away with the immersive storytelling that this game sets out to try and accomplish and I truely hope that it lives up to that in the final version!
I missed this video on the Kickstarter. So can't wait for in to come out in retail.
Played videogame and really enjoyed it. Boardgame looks just as cool. Only thing, that bothers me, is multiplayer mode. Would be perfect game, if each player controlled only one character and be required to experience only their own event, like in Time Stories. Would you like it more that way?
+Владимир Никитенко The problem with that is sometimes characters do basically nothing. Sleep, or just stay at home and draw a card once, while someone else goes on a 15 minutes long adventure. Not to mention the problem with characters dying and new showing up.
+Wasyl Kurek yup, agreed. i think the system they came up with works great considering the variety of experiences you can have :)
О, здесь русский)
Great review! As always! I and my girlfriend both played the video game and we really love it. I think the board game offers a "similar" experience.
I am sure we are going to back this project.
Regards.
Most insightful final thoughts since Myth
Is it difficult to "win" ? It looked like as long as you didn't get too risky, you almost auto win. Are there ways to scale the difficulty? Remove all green cards?
+Scott Johnson i don't think the green cards are about difficulty, just about graphic imagery.
you do pull in a lot of stuff when you go scavenging, but you go through it pretty quick buying stuff and feeding your peeps (I demo'd that wrong in the day video). still, this game certainly isn't a super challenging game like, say, ghost stories.
i'm not sure if there's options to increase difficulty. i don't remember seeing that in the rules, but it's a good question to ask the devs i guess :)
+Scott Johnson The Kickstarter has added the "orphans" expansion now, which does address this concern, though I'm not sure how much I like the implementation. Basically, you pick up a pair of orphans who can't do anything (can't scavenge, clear rubble, guard the door, pic locks, etc) but you still gotta feed 'em. It should put your back against the wall pretty quick and keep it there... unless of course you just want to let the orphans starve.
In addition, if you wanted to up the difficulty, you can just remove some of the "relief" cards from the various decks... Just think about this run through and how screwed rhado was only having 3 characters... imagine if you pulled the "visitor at the door" cards from the deck before the game started and you knew that nobody was coming.
I know this is a post from a few months ago but I figured I would chime in.
Here are my thoughts on the subject. Yes, you could probably "win" more often than not. But with this game, winning doesn't necessarily leave a good feeling. Winning means at least 2 people lived. That means there will be heart breaking loss and still incredible intense and gut wrenching moments. I see this as a game that, even if you "win", you could still feel like you lost because of the fact that not all your survivors made it. Or maybe you feel like you lost because you ended up killing innocents along the way (possible in this board game? It is in the video game.) This game is going to be so much more than just "winning or losing". It sounds cliche, but I truly believe it with this particular game. It is going to be all about the the adventure to the end, not if the end is a win or a loss.
I do have a fair amount of play on the video game version of this and that is exactly how I feel. I have completed full runs and still didn't feel like I won. Yes, people got to the end, but the tragic loss made it feel like the game had still beaten me.
Thanks for the great review Rahdo- how does it work when a player's character runs away/dies/otherwise leaves the game; does that player sit/watch hoping for a new character/their main character to rejoin (if possible) or is it game over? Might have missed that bit in your walkthrough. I'm not the biggest fan of player elimination games (unless its a very quick turnaround type game which doesn't appear the case in this one).
+evilporter i talk about it at the beginning how players share control of the group and take turns making decisions. so no one is tied to any one character of the group
+rahdo thanks - i'll clean out my ears...
I'm curious, Richard. From the title and rule-book (which you say you usually peruse prior to considering), this obviously is not a subject matter that would appeal to you and Jen, and yet you chose to provide a run-through nonetheless. I was just wondering if the design trumped the theme and is why you said "yes" to showing how it plays. No matter, I'm sure many appreciate that you made them aware of what looks like a really compelling game experience.
+J Young oh it was totally subject matter that made me interested. i love when games cover heavy important themes. but yeah, i suspected going in that jen wouldn't care for the darkness of the game, and i was right. but i still wanted to experience it anyway.
so i actually went into it mostly because of the theme... i was worried that the 'roll to resolve' gameplay would be too much of a turnoff, but the theme is so strong, and the random fate dice is so thematically approrpriate, i found that to be fine as welll.
The moral choices in this game remind me of Dead of Winter, although I think this game looks more immersive than that one.
thanks for another valuable review.. I've backed after 10 minutes.. or maybe 5 :D
Based on the gameplay video, what do you guys think is the difficulty weight of this game? Light medium, medium or medium heavy
+Tan Chris medium i guess, maybe a bit on the easier side :)
How would you compare to 7th continent? Not in theme but in how it tells a story mixed with actual game (mechanics). I'm curious because I already KSed 7th continent and wonder if this is a more "Ameritrashy" version of that with a different (unique) theme.
+Logus Vile this is definitely more ameritrashy, while 7th continent is more euroey. they've got very different gameplay. twom is less about a scripted story, and more about creating an overall mood and expeirence, while 7th continent is more scripted and focused
How is the replayability in comparison to 7th Continent? Is it a new game every time you play or are you just doing the same things in a different way?
+Tim Karl i would say this has way more replayability. 7th continent is mostly one and done... after you've explored the whole world you've seen most of it.
I like these final thoughts. I feel like you nuanced some aspects that sound different than Robinson Crusoe. That is the comparison I'm heard elsewhere and that it's basically Robinson Crusoe with different skin. Do you have any thoughts on that comparison?
well, they're both co-operative worker placement games, but to say they're basically the same is... not my experience. that's like saying that agricola and caylus are the same because they're both worker placement games. or gloomhaven and and clank are the same because they're both dungeon crawls :)
@@rahdo Hmm, fair comeback. Ok, so one comparison made was the resources management in This War of Mine being about the same tension as RC. It sounds like TWM has a much more narrative experience than RC and perhaps the comparison I received was coming from someone who doesn't get into the narrative. Which would make sense to me; so Near & Far vs Architects of the WK as opposed to say...mmm, Stone Age and Architects...maybe
@@cwb95k yup, that would make sense. don't forget, there's a whole additional game in TWoM was well when you go out and do night missions. a push your luck adventure game that could have stood on its own actually.
also in case you missed it, did a couple of followup videos about the game once i got the retail edition: th-cam.com/play/PLmQverenaaqL9NmsS3m0OYiLcHLmLAVnr.html
great review, another must buy XD
This "prototype" shows fully painted figs but the KS page shows monochrome grey.
Which is it?
afaik the full game has unpainted figures, but painted was a bonus option when it was on kickstarter, so they wanted to show what that looked like
Ahhhh. That makes sense.
thx
hi rahdo thanks for your final thoughts. Did you feel that the game was lacking components. since during your game.play you ran our of can food and sugar? shouldn't the game just add more tokens? why about the deck of cards will you eventually play all the explore cards thus making it a bit boring?
+themanlympics i believe some items are supposed to be rare, so if you hoard them, there will be no more out in the world. i think the 5x section of the board is only for lumber/components/water, thought he rules aren't 100% clear.
the explore cards aren't supposed to be unique stories, just like every time orcs attack you in a fantasy game ,there's not supposed to be totally unique orcs. whats unique from game to game is that maybe a lot of orcs hit you repeatedly, or only a few orcs but also a giant, etc. same idea here, just different theme
+rahdo ah the exploration cards makes sense thanks. Thanks for the reply! Btw watched you on dice tower marathon, Great stuff!
But did you like it? Your very respectful throughout but you dont actually say whether you like it or not.
+Torkijo i liked it a lot, but the subject matter was too heavy for my wife, and since she's my only gaming partner, it's a no go for us :(
+rahdo Mine is my son but wondering if playable enough with just the one colour card in use
+rahdo Wow, what a waste...
+Torkijo well if there's roughly 1000 encounters, if you're only going with 1 color, that's 200 you have access to with him. Plus if you download the app, that's another 200 or so...
+vojtasjedyny sorry, i don't understand
When you say 'graphic' regarding the color system, how bad is, say, red? Is it really unsettling, or mildly, like how bad?
+George Bears like i said in the video, i don't really know because i haven't seen final content, just the sample story snippets that came with my prototype, and i don't know what those snippets would represent in the grand scheme of things. probably if you asked on the KS project page, maybe they'd post a few examples of final text?
Ok, thanks. I will try and do that. Also posted a forum on BGG, so I'm sure somebody on there will be able to answer :-) Thanks again for the great content you put out rahdo, really enjoy your videos. May Jesus Christ bless you and Jen.
This would be an appropriate game to play on Memorial Day, with The Grizzled as a filler-type preamble?
+J Young wow, yes i'd say so, if you're ready for a somber and reflective day of gaming, as is appropriate for the holiday!
Another terrific runthrough, another wad of cash gone...
Are there ways to customise the difficulty? I love a very challenging game.
for the life of me, i can't remember. i would assume so though
How long did it take you set up and take down the game?
+Magnús Gunnlaugsson just a few minutes. it's pretty quick if you keep all your card decks seperated.
this is making me want to fire up the video game again...
Looks really good as a game, but I find the theme so depressing...
here's my question. why get this over the video game? the multiplayer aspect seems a bit tacked on, and it was very fiddly.
+Neil Blaiberg For people spending about dozen of hours working with computer like me, I think that is the Golden mean.
+Neil Blaiberg if you prefer boardgames to videogames, i reckon. or if you want to share expeirences with others?
+rahdo that's my point though - the multiplayer aspect seems tacked on. it's a really intriguing game, and great run-through, just think it seems fiddly
+Neil Blaiberg I love fiddly mechanics in solo boardgames, John H Butterfield is the best solo designer I know (by mikes even) and his games are awesome because they are fiddly. You know it is so much more fun to calculate and do fiddy things in boardgames and finally pull a card or throw dice, then ... looking at a screen that says: you got hit, period, without knowing the mechanics behind it...
+Neil Blaiberg
I don't think the multi-player adaptation feels tacked on or fiddly at all. It's as powerful and immersive as any other co-op boardgame on the market.
It's like a choose your own adventure novel being explored by committee. Sure, you COULD play it as a solitaire game, but if you choose to play with 3 or 4 people, nobody is going to feel left out. Everyone has the opportunity to make decisions that really matter. Game play is smooth and progressive. If you don't want to pass the stupid journal around, grab something else to use as a first player marker and just use that.
I would never support this company and anything they do. I bought the computer version of this game and they have zero customer support. A lot of customers found a problem where the game simply was not working anymore. We reported it on their official forums and nobody has ever replied. Absolutely amazing and completely unacceptable today.
Че за херню он несёт? Славяне допустим идиота? Я -1