Wow!! A 10/10. That is one of my first I'm witnessing in real time. At least for a heavy euro. Thanks for the review! This is sounding like one worth adding to the collection even for mostly solo play. You continue to be my go to review source! Great video, as usual!
I played seti for the first time tonight at 4 and everyone was blown away we all loved it. It’s funny watching this video after a lot of the same thoughts came across. Our play time ran 3 hours with teach and I didn’t find it to long but I could see the last round starting to drag a bit with everyone’s engines going. The alien twist is just so much fun. I’ve never played arnak but someone at the table after the game mentioned that this was like arnak but fun. After the game ended I also thought to myself I really don’t think I’d play this solo, just playing it once I can tell it’s not a game that really feels like it’s meant for solo.
Your reviews are excellent. The fact that you spend a decent amount on the solo and provide great critiques allows me to really decide if the game is right for me. The little edit clips make me chuckle too. So thumbs up, 10/10, for you :) Best review channel I watch.
I would say that the first play is easily more than 40min per player. I was actually impressed (up to even slightly overwhelmed) by the choice of actions, technologies and the multi-use cards. Each single action is done qickly...once you have decided what to do. ;-) In the first play, the decision-process is definetely challenging. It took us 4.5 hrs in the first run with 3(!) players...my regular gaming buddies. I wouldnt call anyone of us AP-prone but also we are definetely no gut player. We are mostly a bit above the average playtime. The thing is, you can think about options while you are waiting for your turn, but as the planet constellation does change you are sometimes forced to start thinking when it's your turn. To me that is no negative, as it's mostly a sign of player interaction, even though the shifting rims is nothing you actively do to against the other players. In 2hrs, it's my second play. Hopefully, the playtime will go down from 4,5 to 3-3,5 hrs. ;-)
@@TheBrokenMeeple Monday's play took us 03:20, and I think it's easy to get below 3 hrs. E.g. when you know all factions, you dont need to read the alien race sheet/rules/story. You are so low on money and energy that I would estimate that 50% of the thinking time is based on this. Otherwise, I have watched a 3player let's play which only took 2hrs but the players had 150 pts on average. Well our last play was 200 pts on average. See the difference?! ;-) It's like with Arnak. A lot of actions give you something you can then use for a further action. If you just spend your ressources without thinking about follow-up combos, then your turn can be over quickly...and well you will lose. ;-)
Thanks for a great review Luke, very detailed and revealing and honest! I think I might pick this one up, love the theme and I prefer longer heavier games in general so it seems up my street. In fact for my taste I might pick this up as a "quick" 2 player game, I can get done in an evening!!
Both are card-driven euros where one works towards bigger turns, by engine building via unlocking pre-printed bonuses on a player board and claiming something on a shared map. Both games have a modular setup (three out of seven vs two out of five). Both games have very restricted early rounds and huge later rounds. There is a huge difference in the number of cards seen and played of course (SETI has more of a luck of draw factor, depending on whether drawn cards happen to align with plans -- some cards are clearly early game and others late game, but get drawn randomly). Shackleton has much more interaction, so it's less point-salad. The multi-use cards and publisher makes us think of Arnak, but the procedural growth via cards drawn and played also compares to Underwater Cities, another similar-complexity multiplayer solitaire game. In UC, the three different decks help solve the issue of early game cards vs late game cards... In SETI, the unsuitable card turns into a resource instead (which is fine I guess, but a bit meh, since it can sometimes reduce some turns to drawing random resources, albeit with many possible uses for the same basic resources). Terraforming Mars is comparable too (but the discarding to hand limit part is a huge difference). Maybe also Ark Nova, which I didn't play yet.
This is definitely on my list of games to get. CGE always do something interesting with their games even if they aren't always a total success. Arnak is fantastic, Kutna Hora is tough but interesting, Deal with the Devil is just an amazing idea and all of their games have such brilliant production values. They're a class act.
Looks great and glad I managed those 2 rounds at UKGE also. Unsure whether to buy as we'd be playing it 2player mostly and wouldnt be playing 3-4player too often.
Sounds like a decent game - but still surprised that you gave it a 10/10. Doesn’t sound like there is anything really innovative in the game (normally a reason for you to rip games apart) and also it doesn’t seem to be flawless, in particular regarding the player count. But interested in playing it.
The game is a low 10 as described. Also as I keep saying, No game is flawless. My favourite ten games of all time have issues. It's a case of how much those issues get in my way of enjoyment. SETI has small blemishes here and there but that's mainly a 2 player and solo thing. Also I think the Alien mechanic is pretty unique compared to other games.
Thanks for the review, I love euro games but this one manages to both look too convoluted for me and yet not really bringing anything new to the point salad type. I wouldn't mind trying it to see if it can change my mind though.
Thanks Luke. But what about thematic integration. I understand it's a cool theme but do the rules and mechanisms make sense in the context of SETI's theme? Are the rules easy to learn & remember based on the theme?
I have SETI, Civolution and Black Forest as my only potential buys for 2024. I am leaning towards Civolution, not sure of the other two. I play a lot of solo and play at 3 with my group. Which do you prefer for Solo?
I've only demoed Civolution so can't really say on that - it seems best really for solo compared to 2-4 players but I'm apprehensive about the use of dice and randomness to dictate actions for a 3 hour game. Black Forest is the easiest to get played at Solo if that helps and it's great at 3 players.
Also you say that they are very different games that play differently. Then why do you compare them?? Makes zero sense. Personally I found Arnak okay but unfilfilling. And deckbuilding is so unthematic. Hey we got a machete. Great, can we use it? No. When can we use it? Hmm difficult to say cause I just take 5 random things from our tent every day so. But also found it really hard to go to the top of either of the areas in that game.
So it’s only good at 3 players? (Too long for 4, doesn’t work for 2, and solo not that great). Seem to remember you ripping ‘Expeditions’ apart for not scaling well…
Last two games I playerd were Seti and Expeditions. Expeditions has a great theme amd art, but the theme is just kind of there. The mechanics and theme are two separate parts.
It's long for 4, I didn't say I'd never play at 4. I still play Ark Nova at 4 players and the game still works well at 4 players in terms of scaling. Also I didn't say solo wasn't that great, I said that it can be hard to pilot in late game, but that doesn't kill solo mode and make it a 1/10. It's a con to point out as with everything. Expeditions on the other hand SUCKS at 4+ players, hell I'd barely want to play it at 3. That game goes on forever and I've seen games of that take longer than SETI, but all you're doing in Expeditions is rinse repeat all the way through with a fairly boring engine builder.
Played it at 4 today. Didn't care for the sector majority mini game: too little reward for going there. Second place gets pretty much nothing (it's rare the same sector to be completed twice). Many incomplete sectors at the end of the game: wasted resources. There should be a reward for just scanning, like a victory point or something. I assume the problem is much worse in 3 or 2 player games.
So played it tonight with 4 and the person who focused scanning won with 212 points. It seemed to start slower but he was skyrocketing late game. I went with a probe strategy and finished 2nd with 171 it was all our first plays
I've been reading disturbing comments in regards to two player viability not being that great. Not much interaction for the majority spaces as everyone just goes and does their own thing. also hearing: too long, too point salad, aliens slowing down a long game even more, everyone maxing out tech too fast which equals boring. My initial enthusiasm is cooling. Kutna Hora being one of my top 2 worst gaming experiences of the last few years wasn't pushing me to this company. I'm okay with Arnak, but that also didn't knock my sock off. Dune uprising knocked my socks off. (If you think this isn’t proper English, then English is definitely your second language.)
There is that and I do mention it but I find that you need to focus on the ones that are being contested and not do your own thing. Plus I don't play two player very often.
@@clvrswine if someone doesn't have their English to a point, it means it their second / third language. So show some appreciation for sharing their opinions instead of doing the grammar stuff.
I sold my copy today. To me, it's a boring, exhausting pointsalad which takes at least one round too long without being any exciting. With 4 players, we had all the technology we needed mid Round 3 (btw, the techologies are always the same. Every player can take the same technology, no race or variance here). Mid Round 4 both alien tableaus were maxxed out, the card decks empty. And then there was still a round left... The scan-action broke me... 4 Scans equals 4 different decisions, exchanging small tokes 4 times, most likely resolving an area taking even more time. It just lacks elegance. In Round 5, when someone was scanning, I really had to restrain myself to not the flip the table. NEVER play this with anyone who has Analysis Paralsisys or problems with decisionmaking. We mostly play with 4 players, and this game would have never seen any play again, so byebye.
You would be the first person in the last 2-3 years to say that and given what I know other channels audio to be like, I'm curious if you have commented the same on theirs..... 🤔 Care to elaborate in more detail?
@@TheBrokenMeeple It sounds like,,,,, like you stuck your mike on the other side of a reverberant room. The sound is also very hollow and boxy, nazzle in fact. I'd recommend you listen to your videos to ensure it sounds decent, and generally most are watchable.
I have listened to them and honestly I can't hear any issue. The words are clear, it's loud enough and despite recording this while still recovering my voice from Essen/Covid it seems fine to me. At the end of the day, it's in my games room, I don't have a big kickstarter studio to film in. Have you tried other speakers/audio to listen with as that can be a factor.
@@TheBrokenMeeple 🤣 I work in television. For 23 years. I have 6 speakers in my home studio. I think this is the first of your videos (and some have given me a tick), as a games collector & hobbyist, I have commented about such things. But you-do-you. But it is bad. Try moving your microphone closer or adjust the levels to ensure they are coming through well.
Thanks for the review. I'm pretty stoked to try this one.
Wow!! A 10/10. That is one of my first I'm witnessing in real time. At least for a heavy euro. Thanks for the review! This is sounding like one worth adding to the collection even for mostly solo play. You continue to be my go to review source! Great video, as usual!
Thanks for the kind feedback!
I played seti for the first time tonight at 4 and everyone was blown away we all loved it. It’s funny watching this video after a lot of the same thoughts came across.
Our play time ran 3 hours with teach and I didn’t find it to long but I could see the last round starting to drag a bit with everyone’s engines going. The alien twist is just so much fun.
I’ve never played arnak but someone at the table after the game mentioned that this was like arnak but fun. After the game ended I also thought to myself I really don’t think I’d play this solo, just playing it once I can tell it’s not a game that really feels like it’s meant for solo.
It's not really like Arnak but I love both games.
Your reviews are excellent. The fact that you spend a decent amount on the solo and provide great critiques allows me to really decide if the game is right for me. The little edit clips make me chuckle too. So thumbs up, 10/10, for you :) Best review channel I watch.
Oh my god thank you!!! 😍
I'll always remember where I was when Luke gave a game a 10. My future children shall hear the story.
Ha ha it has been done before! 😜
THERE ARE NO LIES DETECTED IN THIS REVIEW! I have other shit to play for review and I want to continue playing this.
Impressive rating coming from you Luke, this is surprising to me. You got my attention; I'll need to try it out now.
I would say that the first play is easily more than 40min per player.
I was actually impressed (up to even slightly overwhelmed) by the choice of actions, technologies and the multi-use cards.
Each single action is done qickly...once you have decided what to do. ;-)
In the first play, the decision-process is definetely challenging.
It took us 4.5 hrs in the first run with 3(!) players...my regular gaming buddies.
I wouldnt call anyone of us AP-prone but also we are definetely no gut player. We are mostly a bit above the average playtime.
The thing is, you can think about options while you are waiting for your turn, but as the planet constellation does change you are sometimes forced to start thinking when it's your turn.
To me that is no negative, as it's mostly a sign of player interaction, even though the shifting rims is nothing you actively do to against the other players.
In 2hrs, it's my second play.
Hopefully, the playtime will go down from 4,5 to 3-3,5 hrs. ;-)
4.5! Ouch! I don't think I've gone beyond 3 hours yet.
@@TheBrokenMeeple
Monday's play took us 03:20, and I think it's easy to get below 3 hrs.
E.g. when you know all factions, you dont need to read the alien race sheet/rules/story.
You are so low on money and energy that I would estimate that 50% of the thinking time is based on this.
Otherwise, I have watched a 3player let's play which only took 2hrs but the players had 150 pts on average.
Well our last play was 200 pts on average. See the difference?! ;-)
It's like with Arnak. A lot of actions give you something you can then use for a further action.
If you just spend your ressources without thinking about follow-up combos, then your turn can be over quickly...and well you will lose. ;-)
If you love it, it has to be great... trusting you....
Just got my copy (of course it hit the shops at the start of 2025 in the States). Can't wait to learn it.
Luke, you rock. Thanks!
You rock! 👍
Thanks for a great review Luke, very detailed and revealing and honest! I think I might pick this one up, love the theme and I prefer longer heavier games in general so it seems up my street. In fact for my taste I might pick this up as a "quick" 2 player game, I can get done in an evening!!
Thanks for the kind feedback! Especially when the "honest" word is used!
Yep, knew this was going to be a winner. Time will tell if the other two are just as good and if more games in Essen will reach the broken prestige.
I really enjoyed it and would never turn it down. But given the choice, I'd always choose Shackleton Base first.
They aren't even remotely similar games though......
Both are card-driven euros where one works towards bigger turns, by engine building via unlocking pre-printed bonuses on a player board and claiming something on a shared map. Both games have a modular setup (three out of seven vs two out of five). Both games have very restricted early rounds and huge later rounds. There is a huge difference in the number of cards seen and played of course (SETI has more of a luck of draw factor, depending on whether drawn cards happen to align with plans -- some cards are clearly early game and others late game, but get drawn randomly). Shackleton has much more interaction, so it's less point-salad. The multi-use cards and publisher makes us think of Arnak, but the procedural growth via cards drawn and played also compares to Underwater Cities, another similar-complexity multiplayer solitaire game. In UC, the three different decks help solve the issue of early game cards vs late game cards... In SETI, the unsuitable card turns into a resource instead (which is fine I guess, but a bit meh, since it can sometimes reduce some turns to drawing random resources, albeit with many possible uses for the same basic resources). Terraforming Mars is comparable too (but the discarding to hand limit part is a huge difference). Maybe also Ark Nova, which I didn't play yet.
This is definitely on my list of games to get. CGE always do something interesting with their games even if they aren't always a total success. Arnak is fantastic, Kutna Hora is tough but interesting, Deal with the Devil is just an amazing idea and all of their games have such brilliant production values. They're a class act.
I respect their innovation even if the game doesn't hit.
Looks great and glad I managed those 2 rounds at UKGE also. Unsure whether to buy as we'd be playing it 2player mostly and wouldnt be playing 3-4player too often.
It will be at its worst at 2P.
Settee - The search for a comfortable place to sit 😉
😜
10/10? Meep. For reasons, I could do with holding off until the UKGE to pick this one up - but it's not going to be easy!
Whoa listening through it didn’t sound like you liked the game that much.
But whoa 10/10!
A low 10 but every game has flaws.
Sounds like a decent game - but still surprised that you gave it a 10/10. Doesn’t sound like there is anything really innovative in the game (normally a reason for you to rip games apart) and also it doesn’t seem to be flawless, in particular regarding the player count. But interested in playing it.
The game is a low 10 as described. Also as I keep saying, No game is flawless. My favourite ten games of all time have issues. It's a case of how much those issues get in my way of enjoyment. SETI has small blemishes here and there but that's mainly a 2 player and solo thing.
Also I think the Alien mechanic is pretty unique compared to other games.
Thanks for the review, I love euro games but this one manages to both look too convoluted for me and yet not really bringing anything new to the point salad type. I wouldn't mind trying it to see if it can change my mind though.
Thanks Luke. But what about thematic integration. I understand it's a cool theme but do the rules and mechanisms make sense in the context of SETI's theme? Are the rules easy to learn & remember based on the theme?
Honestly I found the rulebook easy to follow in general. The theme helps, but up to a point.
I have SETI, Civolution and Black Forest as my only potential buys for 2024. I am leaning towards Civolution, not sure of the other two. I play a lot of solo and play at 3 with my group. Which do you prefer for Solo?
I've only demoed Civolution so can't really say on that - it seems best really for solo compared to 2-4 players but I'm apprehensive about the use of dice and randomness to dictate actions for a 3 hour game. Black Forest is the easiest to get played at Solo if that helps and it's great at 3 players.
Well congrats, you sold it to me 😊
Hope you enjoy it!
Arnak is weight 2,92 SETI is 3,71. It’s much heavier and much more complex.
Also you say that they are very different games that play differently. Then why do you compare them?? Makes zero sense.
Personally I found Arnak okay but unfilfilling. And deckbuilding is so unthematic. Hey we got a machete. Great, can we use it? No. When can we use it? Hmm difficult to say cause I just take 5 random things from our tent every day so. But also found it really hard to go to the top of either of the areas in that game.
First mistake is trusting any stat on BGG. Especially the weight rating.
So it’s only good at 3 players? (Too long for 4, doesn’t work for 2, and solo not that great). Seem to remember you ripping ‘Expeditions’ apart for not scaling well…
Last two games I playerd were Seti and Expeditions. Expeditions has a great theme amd art, but the theme is just kind of there. The mechanics and theme are two separate parts.
It's long for 4, I didn't say I'd never play at 4. I still play Ark Nova at 4 players and the game still works well at 4 players in terms of scaling. Also I didn't say solo wasn't that great, I said that it can be hard to pilot in late game, but that doesn't kill solo mode and make it a 1/10. It's a con to point out as with everything.
Expeditions on the other hand SUCKS at 4+ players, hell I'd barely want to play it at 3. That game goes on forever and I've seen games of that take longer than SETI, but all you're doing in Expeditions is rinse repeat all the way through with a fairly boring engine builder.
Played it at 4 today. Didn't care for the sector majority mini game: too little reward for going there. Second place gets pretty much nothing (it's rare the same sector to be completed twice). Many incomplete sectors at the end of the game: wasted resources. There should be a reward for just scanning, like a victory point or something. I assume the problem is much worse in 3 or 2 player games.
So played it tonight with 4 and the person who focused scanning won with 212 points. It seemed to start slower but he was skyrocketing late game. I went with a probe strategy and finished 2nd with 171 it was all our first plays
I agree with everything said and the score. The best heavy euro game I played. So thematic. Everything makes sense. Great review.
Read it... Tomash Holek 😀
I've been reading disturbing comments in regards to two player viability not being that great. Not much interaction for the majority spaces as everyone just goes and does their own thing. also hearing: too long, too point salad, aliens slowing down a long game even more, everyone maxing out tech too fast which equals boring. My initial enthusiasm is cooling. Kutna Hora being one of my top 2 worst gaming experiences of the last few years wasn't pushing me to this company. I'm okay with Arnak, but that also didn't knock my sock off. Dune uprising knocked my socks off. (If you think this isn’t proper English, then English is definitely your second language.)
There is that and I do mention it but I find that you need to focus on the ones that are being contested and not do your own thing. Plus I don't play two player very often.
*regarding, not in regards to. In regards is what you say when someone dies. Basic English, fella.
@@clvrswine if someone doesn't have their English to a point, it means it their second / third language. So show some appreciation for sharing their opinions instead of doing the grammar stuff.
Arnak didn't knock your sock off? Sock singular? But Dune: Uprising knocked your socks off. This could be the basis for a rating system 🧦
@StoneTempleGlyph you mean like a rate this game "two smelly socks and a clean t-shirt"?
Nothing here sounded like a 10/10. Very surprised
Got to play it to see it 😉
@@TheBrokenMeeple I meant your review didn’t sound like a 10/10 until the end :D I have played it already
More Simpsons scenes please!!
I sold my copy today. To me, it's a boring, exhausting pointsalad which takes at least one round too long without being any exciting.
With 4 players, we had all the technology we needed mid Round 3 (btw, the techologies are always the same. Every player can take the same technology, no race or variance here). Mid Round 4 both alien tableaus were maxxed out, the card decks empty. And then there was still a round left...
The scan-action broke me... 4 Scans equals 4 different decisions, exchanging small tokes 4 times, most likely resolving an area taking even more time. It just lacks elegance. In Round 5, when someone was scanning, I really had to restrain myself to not the flip the table. NEVER play this with anyone who has Analysis Paralsisys or problems with decisionmaking.
We mostly play with 4 players, and this game would have never seen any play again, so byebye.
The scanning decisions really aren't that hard to think about, but yes AP players can hold it up although that's true for most games really.
no love for Kutná Horá 😢 glad you had a good time with this one
Why didn’t you ask him how to say guess name when you met him? 😂
It's a busy event, he didn't correct me at first, brain is tired, you'd be surprised what you forget to do in the moment 😊
SeTi
A Table hog...that induces brain fog....
Shockingly bad audio.
You would be the first person in the last 2-3 years to say that and given what I know other channels audio to be like, I'm curious if you have commented the same on theirs..... 🤔
Care to elaborate in more detail?
@@TheBrokenMeeple It sounds like,,,,, like you stuck your mike on the other side of a reverberant room. The sound is also very hollow and boxy, nazzle in fact. I'd recommend you listen to your videos to ensure it sounds decent, and generally most are watchable.
Audio fine on my iPhone
I have listened to them and honestly I can't hear any issue. The words are clear, it's loud enough and despite recording this while still recovering my voice from Essen/Covid it seems fine to me.
At the end of the day, it's in my games room, I don't have a big kickstarter studio to film in. Have you tried other speakers/audio to listen with as that can be a factor.
@@TheBrokenMeeple 🤣 I work in television. For 23 years. I have 6 speakers in my home studio. I think this is the first of your videos (and some have given me a tick), as a games collector & hobbyist, I have commented about such things. But you-do-you. But it is bad. Try moving your microphone closer or adjust the levels to ensure they are coming through well.