Thank you for the video. However, apart from the errors already mentioned, one rule was forgotten: In the chapter "Developing your city" it is explicitly mentioned "A card cannot be placed on top of another card that was placed in the same turn." In minute 57:25, for example, the Fire Brigade is placed on top of the previously played Buckingham Palace. This rule also makes sense, as it makes it more difficult to play blue cards because it increases the number of stacks.
“Aw man I’m £1 short of what I want to do” could be the anthem of Martin Wallace’s other amazing game Brass also - the man makes you pinch your pennies! Great playthrough, thanks Jon.
Thank you so much for the time and effort to make this. I often find it hard to understand what the dynamics of games are even after reading rules books. This has really helped give me a good overview for when I teach it. Errors here and then are not critical for me and it’s also good to see corrections to highlight potential oversights when we come to play.
Nice playthrough but at approx 51:30 you played another card onto Nelson's column on the same turn that you laid it the rules expressly forbid this. And actually you did exactly the same thing again at 57:30 by covering up Buckingham palace on the same turn that you played it.
Awesome playthtough. I've watched it before but playing London again after a long break so wanted a refresh. This was perfect and so entertaining. Great work.
Thanks Jon, great playthrough...played this game for the first time two days ago and really enjoyed it. Efficiency of actions is definitely the key and running your city using the correct order for each card. The Poverty Penalty at the end game almost always changes the finishing order which makes this game a fascinating balancing act.
The end game Poverty juggle is quite a challenge too, I agree that I enjoy it and like how the scores suddenly fluctate right at the end as it gets taken into account.
Huh, what a strange error to make. Thanks for pointing it out, I've added a note in the klingon subtitles. Fortunately the Police Force didn't have any victory points on it!
No problem, glad I could help! Also at 1:42:13 the green player should receive 4 money in change but he gets 6 instead. Good job on the video though, it was really enjoyable!
At about 1:33:20 you forget to take a poverty for the card in hand. You talk about it as part of discarding strategy just before, but the cube didn't seem to appear!
Dang, I must have put 2 in one hand and 8 in the other and just got confused in the moment. Thanks for pointing this out, I've added a note to the klingon subtitles.
The butchering of place names adds a little extra spice to this playthrough. Although, to be fair, Southwark is one of the test words you could use to detect foreign spies! I've only played once but found the poverty mechanic far too punitive for my tastes. Especially at the end of the game when more than half of my hard fought points disappeared :( Will give it another try though
Clumsy Dad - This is really a medium weight game. The group I play with likes to keep the game flowing and we're willing to sacrifice optimal play. You have only 1 of 4 choices for action each turn and often your choice is pretty obvious. As Jon says the end game is a bit tricky, so we slow up a bit when the deck gets thin. I've been afraid of Martin Wallace economic games, but this one is very manageable. On the other hand, if you look at Brass...
Wow, with all due respect, but you really made a lot of small mistakes in this one. Also some tactical ones: in your second to last turn, you should not have used your 'street lights' which would have netted you 4 coins, which would have made it possible to take one more burrough in the last round, which would have removed a lot of poverty, given you some points and avoiding having to take a whole bunch of cards (basically a very clean last turn). Also in your last turn, I think your math didn't work out. If you had activated your city, you would have been able to gain 2 points, remove 4 poverty and earning 6 poverty, which would have netted as +2 points, +2 poverty, while you have chosen to take 3 more cards, netting you +3 poverty. Still, it has to be said: your playthroughs really are the best in the business. Very clean, very professional. Keep up the good work! I'm really enjoying this.
Honestly this is a surprisingly mathy game, especially near the end of it, and I was pretty sure at the time that in the end I could have likely done better with some of those decisions. The mistakes are a bummer, but they happen in every playthrough. This may have had more than normal, but I've been crazy pressed to get video work done alongside my other job and I filmed this in a 7 hour straight stretch so missing some things isn't too surprising.
No problem, man. I can't really imagine how hard it must be to play from three point of views at the same time, while recording it, letting every player make sense and trying to use some different strategies, all at the same time. You're making very few mistakes in general and it just really surprised me that you did in this game, since this doesn't seem to be the most fiddly game of them all. You just have set the bar too high for yourself, I guess. I'm always rooting for the red player in your playthroughs and this time I was like: Nooooo....! :) Luckily you managed to squeeze in just enough points in the end :)
I don't think it's too fair to blame him for making some tactical mistakes in the playthroughs tho, apart from the fact that he's playing 3 players simultaneously and, I'm guessing, through multiple days, which makes it even harder to pick up from where you left, these playthroughs should be about showing the flow of the game and giving a feel for how everything works, not maximizing points or strategies. I understand that these small mistakes can be annoying to some, but seeing a game played optimally shouldn't be the focus of these videos in my opinion, and he's doing a great job at showing the most of what a game has to offer by trying different paths and conditions.
Thank you for the video. However, apart from the errors already mentioned, one rule was forgotten: In the chapter "Developing your city" it is explicitly mentioned "A card cannot be placed on top of another card that was placed in the same turn." In minute 57:25, for example, the Fire Brigade is placed on top of the previously played Buckingham Palace. This rule also makes sense, as it makes it more difficult to play blue cards because it increases the number of stacks.
“Aw man I’m £1 short of what I want to do” could be the anthem of Martin Wallace’s other amazing game Brass also - the man makes you pinch your pennies! Great playthrough, thanks Jon.
Happened 3 times to me this past Saturday playing Birmingham. It’s a sign of brilliantly tight design.
Thank you so much for the time and effort to make this. I often find it hard to understand what the dynamics of games are even after reading rules books. This has really helped give me a good overview for when I teach it. Errors here and then are not critical for me and it’s also good to see corrections to highlight potential oversights when we come to play.
Nice playthrough but at approx 51:30 you played another card onto Nelson's column on the same turn that you laid it the rules expressly forbid this. And actually you did exactly the same thing again at 57:30 by covering up Buckingham palace on the same turn that you played it.
Huh that appears to be a rule I straight up missed. Thanks for pointing it out, I've added a note to the Klingon subtitles.
Awesome playthtough. I've watched it before but playing London again after a long break so wanted a refresh. This was perfect and so entertaining. Great work.
Thanks Jon, great playthrough...played this game for the first time two days ago and really enjoyed it. Efficiency of actions is definitely the key and running your city using the correct order for each card. The Poverty Penalty at the end game almost always changes the finishing order which makes this game a fascinating balancing act.
The end game Poverty juggle is quite a challenge too, I agree that I enjoy it and like how the scores suddenly fluctate right at the end as it gets taken into account.
That must have been an epic to produce. Well done.
Love the artwork on the Borough cards. Very good game. Trying to keep poverty at bay is tough!
What have you got against St. Paul's, Jon?
Very useful video, thanks! I think it sold me on this game, if I can find a copy.
That was amazingly close at the end. Clearly, you played all 3 hands equally well.
At approximately 57:35 you built the Fire Brigade but instead of discarding the Police Force you put it underneath the Fire Brigade in your tableau.
Huh, what a strange error to make. Thanks for pointing it out, I've added a note in the klingon subtitles. Fortunately the Police Force didn't have any victory points on it!
No problem, glad I could help! Also at 1:42:13 the green player should receive 4 money in change but he gets 6 instead.
Good job on the video though, it was really enjoyable!
Another good catch, I've added a note.
Great video as always, I really enjoyed it. That game is now on my list of games to buy :-)
Hi Jon! at 1:26:51 you do not pay a red card to build Brixton Prison. Thanks for all your hard work on your channel. It is very much appreciated! :)
Good catch, i've added a note into the subtitles. Thanks!
At about 1:33:20 you forget to take a poverty for the card in hand. You talk about it as part of discarding strategy just before, but the cube didn't seem to appear!
Good catch, I've added a note to the subtitles. Thanks!
I think at 31:00 didn't pay secondary cost for east India company.
Good catch, I did indeed miss that. I've added a correction to the Klingon closed captioning, thanks for pointing it out :)
Very helpful playful
At 50:00 you paid £2 for Nelson's Column rather than £8
Dang, I must have put 2 in one hand and 8 in the other and just got confused in the moment. Thanks for pointing this out, I've added a note to the klingon subtitles.
Thanks, Jon. Good vid.
The butchering of place names adds a little extra spice to this playthrough. Although, to be fair, Southwark is one of the test words you could use to detect foreign spies!
I've only played once but found the poverty mechanic far too punitive for my tastes. Especially at the end of the game when more than half of my hard fought points disappeared :( Will give it another try though
How long does a 2 player game run? Debating between this and Networks
Going off of memory I think a 2p game of this is likely around 1 hour, maybe slightly more.
Seems like there might be a lot of downtime between turns?
When I played with friends I didn't notice downtime being worse than I expected.
at 1:14:54, you used Street Lights without paying £4 to use it.
Good catch, in the moment I appear to have just not seen the cost involved. I've added a note to the klingon subtitles, thanks for pointing it out!
Lol I thought I was about London system in chess
ooh my, i can feel the heft from here... a weighty game
Clumsy Dad - This is really a medium weight game. The group I play with likes to keep the game flowing and we're willing to sacrifice optimal play. You have only 1 of 4 choices for action each turn and often your choice is pretty obvious. As Jon says the end game is a bit tricky, so we slow up a bit when the deck gets thin. I've been afraid of Martin Wallace economic games, but this one is very manageable. On the other hand, if you look at Brass...
ty for the opinion / info
Wow, with all due respect, but you really made a lot of small mistakes in this one. Also some tactical ones: in your second to last turn, you should not have used your 'street lights' which would have netted you 4 coins, which would have made it possible to take one more burrough in the last round, which would have removed a lot of poverty, given you some points and avoiding having to take a whole bunch of cards (basically a very clean last turn). Also in your last turn, I think your math didn't work out. If you had activated your city, you would have been able to gain 2 points, remove 4 poverty and earning 6 poverty, which would have netted as +2 points, +2 poverty, while you have chosen to take 3 more cards, netting you +3 poverty.
Still, it has to be said: your playthroughs really are the best in the business. Very clean, very professional. Keep up the good work! I'm really enjoying this.
Honestly this is a surprisingly mathy game, especially near the end of it, and I was pretty sure at the time that in the end I could have likely done better with some of those decisions. The mistakes are a bummer, but they happen in every playthrough. This may have had more than normal, but I've been crazy pressed to get video work done alongside my other job and I filmed this in a 7 hour straight stretch so missing some things isn't too surprising.
No problem, man. I can't really imagine how hard it must be to play from three point of views at the same time, while recording it, letting every player make sense and trying to use some different strategies, all at the same time. You're making very few mistakes in general and it just really surprised me that you did in this game, since this doesn't seem to be the most fiddly game of them all. You just have set the bar too high for yourself, I guess.
I'm always rooting for the red player in your playthroughs and this time I was like: Nooooo....! :) Luckily you managed to squeeze in just enough points in the end :)
I don't think it's too fair to blame him for making some tactical mistakes in the playthroughs tho, apart from the fact that he's playing 3 players simultaneously and, I'm guessing, through multiple days, which makes it even harder to pick up from where you left, these playthroughs should be about showing the flow of the game and giving a feel for how everything works, not maximizing points or strategies.
I understand that these small mistakes can be annoying to some, but seeing a game played optimally shouldn't be the focus of these videos in my opinion, and he's doing a great job at showing the most of what a game has to offer by trying different paths and conditions.
What a boring game. I fell asleep after 15 minutes, which never happens with Jon's videos.