Camila did a great job in this video. I like to see her getting more comfortable reviewing games, and she brought a lot of good points to the discussion. Great job Camilla!
The group reviews are so good and going off the highest reviewer makes complete sense if you spend a couple minutes thinking about it rather than taking a knee-jerk reaction. Great vid as always, DT. Cant wait to hear news about all those French games you showed from Essen that arent out yet!
I agree with Camila, when I see a seal, I take it that I should look into the game and inform myself further because it has a higher chance of being worth my time. Not a garantee, but generally worth informing myself and then making my own decision.
Love all the reviews. Don’t care about seals or no seals, the addition of more voices per review is a resounding success for everyone. I can see land of galzyr, see it’s seal of excellence, but also see that it’s a game I don’t want to play.
Love Garam Masala - imo, it’s better than pumpkin spice mix, so much more flavorful and a tiny bit peppery hot. I love sweet smoked paprika on everything savory. Roasted, smashed garlic cloves are definitely my number one. The DT crew but Camilla especially has great tastes. Yum.
People’s obsession with how many seals are given is so weird to me. If you think that too many seals are given just ignore them. And I think the Dicetower gives out more negative reviews than any other major channel so not sure what people are wanting. There are plenty of negative reviews every week and plenty of group reviews where someone gives a 5-6.
I agree, I don’t think there’s too many positive reviews at all. The games are that good! And by hearing the review you know if it is a game for you. And I love to hear more voices in the review! But I do think a lot of games get a seal nowadays, probably just because the games get better but if all games get better maybe the seal needs to be recalibrated. And contradictory to you guys, I do think the game deserves a seal more if more reviewers like it. If more of you like it, the changes are higher that other people would as well. What might work: Seal of excellence if one reviewer gives the game a 9. Or at least two reviewers give the game an 8.5. And if you’d ask me, get rid of the seal of approval all together. There’s so many good games nowadays, just approvable doesn’t cut it anymore. But then again, I watch the reviews so I don’t really mind the seals and marks,
My wife asked me how much garlic powder should put into the rice. My answer is: add garlic powder until you feel you added too much... and then add a little more.
I gave Beyond the Sun's expansion a slightly negative review and folks were commenting that they wanted someone else to review it (to get the positive review they wanted...) So folks saying they want more negative reviews aren't being honest... ;)
Personally, I'm psyched for the Rock Hard 1977 board game. We need cool rock-themed games... plus, Jackie is uber-cool! :-D She has also played games on BGG's GameNight series. :-)
If you told a Magic The Gathering player in the 00s that one day their Goblins would go up against a deck summoning Iron Man and Doctor Who I think their head would explode (and not in a good way) 😂
Wow, finally a top three where I agree with basically everything. I would more than happily remove the salt shaker from the table and replace it with Tony Chachere's (props to Camilla for mentioning the low sodium version). I can't think of anything I would put salt on that Tony's wouldn't be a better choice. Salt is sooooooo overrated. Lower your salt consumption for three months and you will never feel any need to go back. Promise. Your body will thank you. One glaring oversight - Cilantro/Koriander And if I'm cooking Italian I really need oregano and basil, but not as important in a lot of other cuisines. Oregano makes my mouth water almost as much as garlic.
I don’t mind the many seals. I would like however a seal for each reviewer (similar to your picks of the week seals). Having a game with three seals of excellence would be great 😁But I get that this would probably add more confusion and would over complicate things.
5:19 so did the reseller just get screwed then? They bought this from the guy that actually stole the pallet…. And then had to give the whole pallet up?
Yes, I agree King of Tokyo origins is not necesary, regular King of Tokyo is already a great gateway game that can be played by kids to adults without any problem.
Were there two kickstarters this year? One in our mortal world and another in a dimensionally displaced fantasy land? That would explain some of those wonderful backer names at the beginning.
Very confusing on the top three herbs/seasonings. Tom has 80 spice blends in his house, but he's never hear of garam masala?? And curry refers to the dish, not to the spice blend. Additionally, curry is a rather generic term--there are Indian curries, Thai curries, Indonesian curries, etc., each made with a distinct mix of spices that go into them
If Camilla likes low sodium Tony's, I suggest Slap Your Mama. It's more flavorful than Tony's, slightly spicier but way less salt, so you can control sodium levels in dishes easier. (Source: Grew up in Louisiana and love to cook)
The only reason a Seal would be questionable is if everyone at the Dice Tower thought a game was a 5 except for one person who thought it was a 9.5. Slapping a Seal of Excellence on that game would be a disservice to viewers. But if 3 people in a review give a game 7.5s and one person gives an 8.5, why would people get so butthurt over it getting a Seal of Excellence instead of a Seal of Approval? Another reason that averages are stupid... go look at BGG to see what averaging does. Ignore the stupid Geek Rating and just look at how squished together those ratings are. #1 averages an 8.61. #100 is at 7.75. Almost a point, that's a lot for the Top 100, right? #1000 is at 7.32. 4/10 of a point! Where do you draw the line for Excellence? You can click and page after page after page all you see are low 8s and a bunch of 7s (except for expansions, mostly). The range is far more minimal AND you have to rely on a bunch of reviews from people you don't know. Complaining about this is stupid.
You have more people reviewing, so by your same logic, if only the person who liked the game most reviewed it in the past, that pool is much larger now so you are much more likely to find someone who likes the game. Therefore more seals are given out. Dunno if that's a good thing or bad thing, I'm kinda indifferent about it, but it seems to be skewing towards that direction IMO also.
Not that my opinion matters at all, but a suggestion I’d make is that in those group reviews of 3 or 4, it makes more sense to give the “seal of approval” if two or more reviewers gave it the required score. It does come off as somewhat odd to give the seal when only one dissenting opinion rated the game highly enough. But at the end of the day, there’s no real cause to complain, it would probably just make the seals feel a bit less arbitrary if there was a higher standard required to earn one.
First off, I love your channel and appreciate your dedication and contributions to the hobby. With that said, I strongly disagree with the view that the highest review should dictate the seal. If in a group of 4, 3 of you give the game a 5 and one gives it a 9, I feel like it does a disservice to the community to allow the publisher to now slap a seal of excellence on their game cover to market it. The seals should represent a general concensus on the quality of the game, so that way an uniformed buyer walking down the isles of their game store can see that seal and know that thay game has solid mechanics and should appeal to a wide audience. I understand that people will have different opinions, but giving a game a final rating/seal based upon the HIGHEST review seems disingenuous for a company. I'd personally reccomend reconsidering your approach on this issue.
"...allow the publisher to now slap a seal of excellence on their game cover to market it." - Which companies of *any* product can already do by cherry picking a reviewer who likes said product. Every Kickstarter game is a 10/10 if you go by the quotes on the campaign pages. Tom has explained the system many times and I think it is fine how it is. Seals or no seals, research your stuff before you buy it.
I appreciate the response, but I can't state how I feel so strongly about this, it WILL NOT CHANGE. I have had this policy for a decade, and I'm very very happy with it.
It seems as though persons forget that they, too, can form their own opinion on a game, which may be totally different than anyone at the Dice Tower. Or anyone else for that matter. The ratings and seals are nice guide, but I can decide on my own in spite of all of you, haha! The reasons given here in the video are also all excellent points.
If the Tom trusts all of the reviewers on the Dice Tower (which he obviously does) then why shouldn't their opinion be indicative of a DT Seal. Plus if two people play and review a game, and three others at the DT don't because they know they won't enjoy it and would have given it a 4, that doesn't make the first two opinions any less valuable. Using an "average" or some-such creates far more problems than it solves. Particularly because that consensus or average would change as more people on the dice tower play a game. I think the current approach of the dice tower seals works perfectly.
Camila did a great job in this video. I like to see her getting more comfortable reviewing games, and she brought a lot of good points to the discussion. Great job Camilla!
I really like the way you guys have been doing the reviews with multiple people. Keep it up.
I love the group reviews! Since y’all are playing them together anyway it makes sense to have group reviews
The group reviews are so good and going off the highest reviewer makes complete sense if you spend a couple minutes thinking about it rather than taking a knee-jerk reaction.
Great vid as always, DT. Cant wait to hear news about all those French games you showed from Essen that arent out yet!
I agree with Camila, when I see a seal, I take it that I should look into the game and inform myself further because it has a higher chance of being worth my time. Not a garantee, but generally worth informing myself and then making my own decision.
I think some people treat the seal as the equivalent of a Dice Tower award, but it reality, it should be interpreted as you explained here.
Love all the reviews. Don’t care about seals or no seals, the addition of more voices per review is a resounding success for everyone. I can see land of galzyr, see it’s seal of excellence, but also see that it’s a game I don’t want to play.
Love Garam Masala - imo, it’s better than pumpkin spice mix, so much more flavorful and a tiny bit peppery hot. I love sweet smoked paprika on everything savory. Roasted, smashed garlic cloves are definitely my number one. The DT crew but Camilla especially has great tastes. Yum.
People’s obsession with how many seals are given is so weird to me. If you think that too many seals are given just ignore them. And I think the Dicetower gives out more negative reviews than any other major channel so not sure what people are wanting. There are plenty of negative reviews every week and plenty of group reviews where someone gives a 5-6.
"Small Soldiers" really is a great movie.
13:50 Tom's correct. King of Tokyo was in Target already. This new one is cheaper because it has 4 characters, instead of 6.
I agree, I don’t think there’s too many positive reviews at all. The games are that good! And by hearing the review you know if it is a game for you. And I love to hear more voices in the review!
But I do think a lot of games get a seal nowadays, probably just because the games get better but if all games get better maybe the seal needs to be recalibrated. And contradictory to you guys, I do think the game deserves a seal more if more reviewers like it. If more of you like it, the changes are higher that other people would as well.
What might work: Seal of excellence if one reviewer gives the game a 9. Or at least two reviewers give the game an 8.5.
And if you’d ask me, get rid of the seal of approval all together. There’s so many good games nowadays, just approvable doesn’t cut it anymore.
But then again, I watch the reviews so I don’t really mind the seals and marks,
I watch all your round ups ! That's maybe why I don't feel like the people who make remarks like this
My wife asked me how much garlic powder should put into the rice. My answer is: add garlic powder until you feel you added too much... and then add a little more.
I gave Beyond the Sun's expansion a slightly negative review and folks were commenting that they wanted someone else to review it (to get the positive review they wanted...) So folks saying they want more negative reviews aren't being honest... ;)
Top 3 delisi-isms. You got got!
Magic Pancakes 😂I bought hot pockets the other day with Magic advertisements on them 🤦♂
Personally, I'm psyched for the Rock Hard 1977 board game. We need cool rock-themed games... plus, Jackie is uber-cool! :-D She has also played games on BGG's GameNight series. :-)
Too many seals. Not enough walruses.
If you told a Magic The Gathering player in the 00s that one day their Goblins would go up against a deck summoning Iron Man and Doctor Who I think their head would explode (and not in a good way) 😂
😂 You read that almost perfectly Tom! 😂
Wow, finally a top three where I agree with basically everything. I would more than happily remove the salt shaker from the table and replace it with Tony Chachere's (props to Camilla for mentioning the low sodium version). I can't think of anything I would put salt on that Tony's wouldn't be a better choice. Salt is sooooooo overrated. Lower your salt consumption for three months and you will never feel any need to go back. Promise. Your body will thank you.
One glaring oversight - Cilantro/Koriander
And if I'm cooking Italian I really need oregano and basil, but not as important in a lot of other cuisines. Oregano makes my mouth water almost as much as garlic.
I don’t mind the many seals. I would like however a seal for each reviewer (similar to your picks of the week seals). Having a game with three seals of excellence would be great 😁But I get that this would probably add more confusion and would over complicate things.
Garlic is amazing
Magic is central to 40K, a supernatural conflict literally defines the setting.
5:19 so did the reseller just get screwed then? They bought this from the guy that actually stole the pallet…. And then had to give the whole pallet up?
Yes, I agree King of Tokyo origins is not necesary, regular King of Tokyo is already a great gateway game that can be played by kids to adults without any problem.
Were there two kickstarters this year? One in our mortal world and another in a dimensionally displaced fantasy land? That would explain some of those wonderful backer names at the beginning.
Garlic is definitely a seasoning, doesn’t matter the form. You’re using it to season so that makes it a seasoning
KoT was in target and had its own exclusive version with Baby Gigazaur. Origins is just bringing it back to Target.
Very confusing on the top three herbs/seasonings. Tom has 80 spice blends in his house, but he's never hear of garam masala?? And curry refers to the dish, not to the spice blend. Additionally, curry is a rather generic term--there are Indian curries, Thai curries, Indonesian curries, etc., each made with a distinct mix of spices that go into them
If Camilla likes low sodium Tony's, I suggest Slap Your Mama. It's more flavorful than Tony's, slightly spicier but way less salt, so you can control sodium levels in dishes easier. (Source: Grew up in Louisiana and love to cook)
The only reason a Seal would be questionable is if everyone at the Dice Tower thought a game was a 5 except for one person who thought it was a 9.5. Slapping a Seal of Excellence on that game would be a disservice to viewers. But if 3 people in a review give a game 7.5s and one person gives an 8.5, why would people get so butthurt over it getting a Seal of Excellence instead of a Seal of Approval?
Another reason that averages are stupid... go look at BGG to see what averaging does. Ignore the stupid Geek Rating and just look at how squished together those ratings are. #1 averages an 8.61. #100 is at 7.75. Almost a point, that's a lot for the Top 100, right? #1000 is at 7.32. 4/10 of a point! Where do you draw the line for Excellence? You can click and page after page after page all you see are low 8s and a bunch of 7s (except for expansions, mostly). The range is far more minimal AND you have to rely on a bunch of reviews from people you don't know.
Complaining about this is stupid.
You have more people reviewing, so by your same logic, if only the person who liked the game most reviewed it in the past, that pool is much larger now so you are much more likely to find someone who likes the game. Therefore more seals are given out. Dunno if that's a good thing or bad thing, I'm kinda indifferent about it, but it seems to be skewing towards that direction IMO also.
Not that my opinion matters at all, but a suggestion I’d make is that in those group reviews of 3 or 4, it makes more sense to give the “seal of approval” if two or more reviewers gave it the required score. It does come off as somewhat odd to give the seal when only one dissenting opinion rated the game highly enough. But at the end of the day, there’s no real cause to complain, it would probably just make the seals feel a bit less arbitrary if there was a higher standard required to earn one.
Magic the Gathering of IPs.
Doctor Who Mtg makes a ton of sense. Clearly you haven't seen the sets.
First off, I love your channel and appreciate your dedication and contributions to the hobby. With that said, I strongly disagree with the view that the highest review should dictate the seal. If in a group of 4, 3 of you give the game a 5 and one gives it a 9, I feel like it does a disservice to the community to allow the publisher to now slap a seal of excellence on their game cover to market it. The seals should represent a general concensus on the quality of the game, so that way an uniformed buyer walking down the isles of their game store can see that seal and know that thay game has solid mechanics and should appeal to a wide audience. I understand that people will have different opinions, but giving a game a final rating/seal based upon the HIGHEST review seems disingenuous for a company. I'd personally reccomend reconsidering your approach on this issue.
"...allow the publisher to now slap a seal of excellence on their game cover to market it." - Which companies of *any* product can already do by cherry picking a reviewer who likes said product. Every Kickstarter game is a 10/10 if you go by the quotes on the campaign pages. Tom has explained the system many times and I think it is fine how it is. Seals or no seals, research your stuff before you buy it.
I appreciate the response, but I can't state how I feel so strongly about this, it WILL NOT CHANGE. I have had this policy for a decade, and I'm very very happy with it.
Nah to the OP
It seems as though persons forget that they, too, can form their own opinion on a game, which may be totally different than anyone at the Dice Tower. Or anyone else for that matter. The ratings and seals are nice guide, but I can decide on my own in spite of all of you, haha! The reasons given here in the video are also all excellent points.
If the Tom trusts all of the reviewers on the Dice Tower (which he obviously does) then why shouldn't their opinion be indicative of a DT Seal. Plus if two people play and review a game, and three others at the DT don't because they know they won't enjoy it and would have given it a 4, that doesn't make the first two opinions any less valuable.
Using an "average" or some-such creates far more problems than it solves.
Particularly because that consensus or average would change as more people on the dice tower play a game.
I think the current approach of the dice tower seals works perfectly.
Incan Gold is definitely terrible on the production.
Do MtG completionists actually exist? I can’t imagine anything worse.