My polyomino game ranking: 1. Feast for Odin 2. Patchwork 3. NMBR 9 4. Isle of Cats 5. Paris: City of Lights 6. Barenpark 7. Amerigo 8. Copenhagen 9. Arraial Still need to play “in the hall of the mountain king” and “Planet Unknown.”
My wife and I loved Patchwork and decided to get Barenpark. I think my wife preferred Barenpark right away, but I didn't until we got the expansion. With the expansion Barenpark is better. But both are excellent.
gospel-kingdom website Barenpark certainly has its advantages but the two big things that give patchwork the edge for me are 1. I love the tight button economy of Patchwork and 2. Patchwork’s set up time is nearly nonexistent where as Barenpark’s set up takes quite a bit longer.
@@Atlas-FM8 I saw on a review, how to make faster set up times, and have implemented it. You bag your pieces on # of players, so a bag for 2 players, a bag for 3 players, and a bag for 4 players, just add the bags as you need them. works great.
For me it is Barenpark all the way (with expansion preferably). Sold Isle of Cats. Barenpark has smaller box (w/ insert fits expansion in it), it is very strategic while very elegant, looks great on the table (specially with monorails), the whole experience is very smooth, it is just turn turn turn... where IoC is fiddly, takes longer to setup/teach, the rounds are broken into 18 different phases, it just feels underdeveloped in my opinion... And the box is giant... and I really hate the mechanism in which you pay for cards but opponents can't see the price on the card because they are secret so they have to basically blindly trust you are being honest (or not making a mistake)... So it is gone.
How does table space compare? I know Barenpark takes up quite a bit of room but the player boards in Isle of Cats look huge! We already have Barenpark and we like the strategy where you can level yourself up to the pieces you want, so I couldn’t see myself replacing it.
Isle of Cats for me too. Also not mentioned is that Isle of Cats has a solid 'family' mode when you just want a quick game to play around with the polyominoes (no drafting in this mode) and also a good solo mode (that I actually play coop, making decisions together).
You state that you have to read lesson cards out loud including private lessons. In the rules the lessons are broken into a section for public and private, the public section clearly states read them out loud, however the private section says nothing about reading them, only says to place face down and it's public knowledge on how many you have. So it seems like you might be playing that wrong
Wow you are correct. I have never noticed that before. Thankfully (maybe our memories or focus are bad lol!) it’s never affected anyone’s strategy to make a move of, “I’ll take this to stop that from happening for them” but it’s good to know moving forward that we won’t have to read those out loud anymore.
It's a tough call. You're brave for making it. I'm going to disagree. But just by a bit. I love them both. I simply get more satisfaction from Barenpark. Thanks.
Agreed. Barenpark thrives on it's simplicity. This style of game are better suited to simpler games. The same reason why the Tsuro sequels are not as good as the original. By trying to add more to the core system, you drive aways from the point of the games, which is all about mechanical simplicity. There is a lot of game in Barenpark for the low amount of rules. Isle of Cats is not a game i can play with everyone. There are a lot of interlocking mechanisms in that one. Polyominos, drafting, exponential scoring... while far from a complex game, it's still too much to play with people not used to games. Barenpark can be played by anyone. The Ticket to Ride of polyomino games.
@@martinlarouche4418 very much agree. My group likes games not being more complicated than they need to be. I like this style as well. I bought barenpark and played isle of cats and I like them both. But since most of my games are with my younger family or siblings not as interested in board games. Then barenpark was the choice for me. And I personally love how a completed bear setup looks. And the cats looks cool too but not as amazing IMO
I've only played Isle of Cats once (at 2 players, which isn't great), but I found it far more punishing than the very simple Barenpark. Losing 5 points for an uncompleted room can be heart-and-game-breaking at the end of a game. Barenpark is just simple and elegant (like a lot of Phil Walker-Harding games) and can be taught to pretty much anyone. Isle of Cats is obviously a more involved game, but a bad draft can break it for you, as well as not being able to get tiles in the right size/colour. It also takes 90+ minutes, whereas Barenpark is over in 40. Patchwork is probably my favourite polyomino game, followed by Barenpark. Cottage Garden isn't bad. I wouldn't mind giving Isle of Cats another go, with 3 or 4 players to see if it's better, but I suspect I'll lean towards to the simpler Barenpark most of the time.
Danny S Whoa. It’s 90+ minutes long? That right there is a pretty important detail. For some people (especially for families) a 90 minute game is just way too long.
Barenpark >> Isle of Cats. Barenparl always hits the table, Cats rarely, and when it does player start to fall asleep... Cats is way too fiddly and always out stay its welcome
Right I’m aware of that. The 3D title plate I use doesn’t allow umlauts and I knew everyone would know that I knew that with or without the umlaut my pronunciation didn’t change.
"Get both games, both not very expensive"
*Laughs in Australian*
I hear you fellow Aussie 🤣
Expensive in the UK 😮
same in Canada and we can drive there lol.....I can get UK games cheaper unless retail
A couple of years later we have both yet play neither.
My polyomino game ranking:
1. Feast for Odin
2. Patchwork
3. NMBR 9
4. Isle of Cats
5. Paris: City of Lights
6. Barenpark
7. Amerigo
8. Copenhagen
9. Arraial
Still need to play “in the hall of the mountain king” and “Planet Unknown.”
I'm SO excited for Planet Unknown to hit my table!
My wife and I loved Patchwork and decided to get Barenpark. I think my wife preferred Barenpark right away, but I didn't until we got the expansion. With the expansion Barenpark is better. But both are excellent.
gospel-kingdom website Barenpark certainly has its advantages but the two big things that give patchwork the edge for me are 1. I love the tight button economy of Patchwork and 2. Patchwork’s set up time is nearly nonexistent where as Barenpark’s set up takes quite a bit longer.
Indian Summer is one of my favorites. Tried out.
@@Atlas-FM8 I saw on a review, how to make faster set up times, and have implemented it. You bag your pieces on # of players, so a bag for 2 players, a bag for 3 players, and a bag for 4 players, just add the bags as you need them. works great.
For me it is Barenpark all the way (with expansion preferably). Sold Isle of Cats. Barenpark has smaller box (w/ insert fits expansion in it), it is very strategic while very elegant, looks great on the table (specially with monorails), the whole experience is very smooth, it is just turn turn turn... where IoC is fiddly, takes longer to setup/teach, the rounds are broken into 18 different phases, it just feels underdeveloped in my opinion... And the box is giant... and I really hate the mechanism in which you pay for cards but opponents can't see the price on the card because they are secret so they have to basically blindly trust you are being honest (or not making a mistake)... So it is gone.
I agree that Isle of Cats feels slightly underdeveloped. The card drafting and play doesn't quite realize the potential of the ideas.
How does table space compare? I know Barenpark takes up quite a bit of room but the player boards in Isle of Cats look huge! We already have Barenpark and we like the strategy where you can level yourself up to the pieces you want, so I couldn’t see myself replacing it.
It’s a table hog.
It’s a table hog for sure.
How about Planet Unknown?
I bought and enjoy them both, they are different enough to co-exist in my collection
Truth
Isle of Cats for me too. Also not mentioned is that Isle of Cats has a solid 'family' mode when you just want a quick game to play around with the polyominoes (no drafting in this mode) and also a good solo mode (that I actually play coop, making decisions together).
However, Barenpark is simple enough that you don't need family rules. For children I think Barenpark is better as a family game.
You state that you have to read lesson cards out loud including private lessons. In the rules the lessons are broken into a section for public and private, the public section clearly states read them out loud, however the private section says nothing about reading them, only says to place face down and it's public knowledge on how many you have. So it seems like you might be playing that wrong
Wow you are correct. I have never noticed that before. Thankfully (maybe our memories or focus are bad lol!) it’s never affected anyone’s strategy to make a move of, “I’ll take this to stop that from happening for them” but it’s good to know moving forward that we won’t have to read those out loud anymore.
Both need to be owned. 'nuff said
A Wrestling fan - WOOOOOOOO!!!
Vs Feast for Odin, 3 enter one leaves
Oh man!!! That would have been good. Need a sequel now.
@@DicetowerBryan is there one im missing lol
I’m glad someone likes my BGB definitions!
Definitely!
yup, they're fun!
4:59 I find it extremely concerning that he doesn't even acknowledge the off camera velociraptor.
They docile thankfully!
It's a tough call. You're brave for making it. I'm going to disagree. But just by a bit. I love them both. I simply get more satisfaction from Barenpark. Thanks.
Agreed.
Barenpark thrives on it's simplicity.
This style of game are better suited to simpler games. The same reason why the Tsuro sequels are not as good as the original. By trying to add more to the core system, you drive aways from the point of the games, which is all about mechanical simplicity.
There is a lot of game in Barenpark for the low amount of rules.
Isle of Cats is not a game i can play with everyone. There are a lot of interlocking mechanisms in that one. Polyominos, drafting, exponential scoring... while far from a complex game, it's still too much to play with people not used to games.
Barenpark can be played by anyone. The Ticket to Ride of polyomino games.
@@martinlarouche4418 very much agree. My group likes games not being more complicated than they need to be. I like this style as well. I bought barenpark and played isle of cats and I like them both. But since most of my games are with my younger family or siblings not as interested in board games. Then barenpark was the choice for me. And I personally love how a completed bear setup looks. And the cats looks cool too but not as amazing IMO
I've only played Isle of Cats once (at 2 players, which isn't great), but I found it far more punishing than the very simple Barenpark. Losing 5 points for an uncompleted room can be heart-and-game-breaking at the end of a game. Barenpark is just simple and elegant (like a lot of Phil Walker-Harding games) and can be taught to pretty much anyone. Isle of Cats is obviously a more involved game, but a bad draft can break it for you, as well as not being able to get tiles in the right size/colour. It also takes 90+ minutes, whereas Barenpark is over in 40.
Patchwork is probably my favourite polyomino game, followed by Barenpark. Cottage Garden isn't bad. I wouldn't mind giving Isle of Cats another go, with 3 or 4 players to see if it's better, but I suspect I'll lean towards to the simpler Barenpark most of the time.
Danny S Whoa. It’s 90+ minutes long? That right there is a pretty important detail. For some people (especially for families) a 90 minute game is just way too long.
@@benjaminspears8488 there's a family variant that is much simpler and quicker to play. I would be playing version with families.
Isle of cats is not that long with 2 players, 4 players yeah sure.
Sorry...I LOVE BEARS!!! Barenpark for me!
Planet Unknown is going to be King when it comes out
This didn't age well.
Barenpark >> Isle of Cats. Barenparl always hits the table, Cats rarely, and when it does player start to fall asleep... Cats is way too fiddly and always out stay its welcome
Cats, bears and multiple Lex Luger references? Thumbs up from me.
Barenpark's setup su***.
Its called Bärenpark, not Barenpark. You could say Bearpark.
Right I’m aware of that. The 3D title plate I use doesn’t allow umlauts and I knew everyone would know that I knew that with or without the umlaut my pronunciation didn’t change.
Wow, you made me dizzy !
Wanted to watch and !listen but after a minuit I just !listened 😢
Sorry !