This was looking like the first Red Raven Game I was going to skip, as a previously-advertised 1-2 player game. At 1-4 and after this preview? Now I'm in trouble. Damn youse Ryan Laukat! :)
So, yeah, I've had my eye on this for a while now as it's everything I want from a game. Three observations - one good, one bad and one question: 1) The Good. I love how story-driven games are coming into their prime this last year or two. From Plaid Hat's atlas-type games to Awaken Realms' Tainted Grail and Etherfields, 7th Continent and not to mention the whole line-up of Unlock and T.I.M.E. Stories games. Of course Red Raven has been doing this for some time now as well and Sleeping Gods seems to be the culmination of Laukat's vision. It's all great and I can only applaud this new games genre's growth in popularity. 2) The Bad. The biggest problem I've had with Red Raven's games (Above and Below, Near and Far but also the smaller ones) is the lack of intuitive visual design. Sure, Laukat is top of his peers in illustrations and atmosphere, but the graphic design and especially the over-reliance on mismatching iconography drives me bonkers. I'm a graphic designer for 25 years and I have the hardest time deciphering the icons on the various cards, boards, and tokens because of their disconnect with each other and a deeper intrinsic meaning that should feel natural. 3) Question. I wonder if the drive to increase deterministic conflict resolution by means of cards (over dice) is a trend that is going to reverse itself when folks realize the tactile satisfaction of rolling dice (or casting runes, chucking cubes, flicking objects, etc) as well as the cognitive load it takes to preplan outcomes in an already heavy mechanized game. Lord of the Rings: Journey through Middle-Earth may pull this off well, but that's in part because there aren't many other complex rules to keep track off. Anyhoo...just my two cents.
Just found out they changed the rule from 2 to 3 command tokens per turn. I think that sounds great. It gives the player a bit more agency and slightly pulls the difficulty down so you can focus on exploring instead of surviving.
Story with action. A big series of sizable quests. Sounds fun, looks cool. The box cover is a solid runner up for best 2019 board game covers. Looks like a light to medium weight game when compared to others within its mixed genre? The overall artwork and graphic design is simple, clean, and appealing. Plus a save and play aspect is fantastic. Will try and get a copy for sure. Great coverage!
Once again I'm a sucker for the artwork, though out. Cover of the game looks breath takingly good and I enjoy how it spreads around to the sides. Other art in the game looks great too. Also out of all Laukat games so far, this is the first one that truly picks my interest.
I've backed several Red Raven games on Kickstarter- the campaigns are always well run, and usually deliver on time or early. Quality is top notch. Will be backing this day 1.
I thought I had seen this game talked about on a early preview on some channel and don't recall it looking or sounding anything like what I see here, It looks really amazing here and something that I would be interested in now. I could have sworn it had already been released, but I guess not. reminds me of a choose your own adventure book except blown up into a full game and maps.
good overview. So glad I pledged only $1 for roam. This is so much better, even with the 10+ typos on the cards. 14:08 Pig Ribs is too lame, Pig Ribs Bay sounds way cooler. +1 per spent Materials should be without the s. Manticore damage number space between 5 and 11 is too large. Add 9 there. Guys you may be more critical than only highlighting the good points. Also see other paid reviews that do have the decency to outline it is a paid preview.
Does this have a time stories feel to it since you will be starting the game over and learning what order to go the different locations and gather items?
I'm very interested in this game! However, I'm wondering if there is basically just ONE play through of this game, with multiple failures and restarts? I like that Near and Far can be played in at least four different modes which really adds to it's replayability. It seems like there is only ONE story even though there may be multiple ways to achiewve it? "Arcade Cards" for frequent replay don't seem like they would work for this game.
Normally mvm reviews are terrible and over positive without any common sense, but this video is enjoyable and has good background context plus gorgeous visuals. Of course I backed this plus the ruins;-)
This game looks really interesting and exciting. I'm curious, it seemed like some of the ship, Captain and crew functioned a little similar to Nemo's war? I was wondering if that rang true for you or if that is just a happenstance given the theme? Thanks for the preview
There are 2-3 totems per map, and 13 maps, so somewhere between 26 and 39 totems in the entire world. Only 8 are needed to get home, ending any one particular campaign. So you are encouraged to play again, in a different campaign, to find the other ones and do different things each time.
Question for @manvsmeeple Was there any magic or curses in the game? Im really interested in this game but for personal reasons, don't want to play games with those elements. Thanks!
@@justicebolt5293 And Middara....and Trudvang Legends...and every other story driven game that is popping out on kickstarter like life does not have a limited amount of playtime hours.
Art is amazing. But will most likely be more style over game play. My friends in my gaming group always feel like his games are a slog to get through. But who knows.
Have they played Near and Far? It's a pretty quick one and the mechanisms are as enjoyable as the theme and story (route building, worker placement, skill balancing among party, managing health). Above and Below was ok but I'm always itching for more Near and Far.
I am SOO looking forward to this one...glad you are able to cover it for us!
This was looking like the first Red Raven Game I was going to skip, as a previously-advertised 1-2 player game. At 1-4 and after this preview? Now I'm in trouble. Damn youse Ryan Laukat! :)
So, yeah, I've had my eye on this for a while now as it's everything I want from a game. Three observations - one good, one bad and one question:
1) The Good. I love how story-driven games are coming into their prime this last year or two. From Plaid Hat's atlas-type games to Awaken Realms' Tainted Grail and Etherfields, 7th Continent and not to mention the whole line-up of Unlock and T.I.M.E. Stories games. Of course Red Raven has been doing this for some time now as well and Sleeping Gods seems to be the culmination of Laukat's vision. It's all great and I can only applaud this new games genre's growth in popularity.
2) The Bad. The biggest problem I've had with Red Raven's games (Above and Below, Near and Far but also the smaller ones) is the lack of intuitive visual design. Sure, Laukat is top of his peers in illustrations and atmosphere, but the graphic design and especially the over-reliance on mismatching iconography drives me bonkers. I'm a graphic designer for 25 years and I have the hardest time deciphering the icons on the various cards, boards, and tokens because of their disconnect with each other and a deeper intrinsic meaning that should feel natural.
3) Question. I wonder if the drive to increase deterministic conflict resolution by means of cards (over dice) is a trend that is going to reverse itself when folks realize the tactile satisfaction of rolling dice (or casting runes, chucking cubes, flicking objects, etc) as well as the cognitive load it takes to preplan outcomes in an already heavy mechanized game. Lord of the Rings: Journey through Middle-Earth may pull this off well, but that's in part because there aren't many other complex rules to keep track off. Anyhoo...just my two cents.
Just found out they changed the rule from 2 to 3 command tokens per turn. I think that sounds great. It gives the player a bit more agency and slightly pulls the difficulty down so you can focus on exploring instead of surviving.
Ever since I found out about this game, I'm eagerly looking forward to playing it. So far Ryan Laukat proved himself super creative. Great preview!
Wow, this is gonna explode on Kickstarter for sure.
Yes, it funded in just a few hours today, its first day on KS.
it did.
Story with action. A big series of sizable quests. Sounds fun, looks cool. The box cover is a solid runner up for best 2019 board game covers. Looks like a light to medium weight game when compared to others within its mixed genre?
The overall artwork and graphic design is simple, clean, and appealing. Plus a save and play aspect is fantastic. Will try and get a copy for sure. Great coverage!
This looks amazing. Ryan is an incredible designer & artist
Once again I'm a sucker for the artwork, though out. Cover of the game looks breath takingly good and I enjoy how it spreads around to the sides. Other art in the game looks great too. Also out of all Laukat games so far, this is the first one that truly picks my interest.
I've backed several Red Raven games on Kickstarter- the campaigns are always well run, and usually deliver on time or early. Quality is top notch. Will be backing this day 1.
I thought I had seen this game talked about on a early preview on some channel and don't recall it looking or sounding anything like what I see here, It looks really amazing here and something that I would be interested in now. I could have sworn it had already been released, but I guess not.
reminds me of a choose your own adventure book except blown up into a full game and maps.
Cannot wait until August 6th... this will be an instant back!
good overview.
So glad I pledged only $1 for roam. This is so much better, even with the 10+ typos on the cards. 14:08 Pig Ribs is too lame, Pig Ribs Bay sounds way cooler. +1 per spent Materials should be without the s.
Manticore damage number space between 5 and 11 is too large. Add 9 there.
Guys you may be more critical than only highlighting the good points. Also see other paid reviews that do have the decency to outline it is a paid preview.
Does this have a time stories feel to it since you will be starting the game over and learning what order to go the different locations and gather items?
I'm very interested in this game! However, I'm wondering if there is basically just ONE play through of this game, with multiple failures and restarts? I like that Near and Far can be played in at least four different modes which really adds to it's replayability. It seems like there is only ONE story even though there may be multiple ways to achiewve it? "Arcade Cards" for frequent replay don't seem like they would work for this game.
Normally mvm reviews are terrible and over positive without any common sense, but this video is enjoyable and has good background context plus gorgeous visuals. Of course I backed this plus the ruins;-)
This game looks really interesting and exciting. I'm curious, it seemed like some of the ship, Captain and crew functioned a little similar to Nemo's war? I was wondering if that rang true for you or if that is just a happenstance given the theme? Thanks for the preview
Thanks guys, do you like this better than Forgotten Waters?
BGG Page says there are 14 totems to find, at 1:06 you talk about 8 totems, what is correct now?
There are 2-3 totems per map, and 13 maps, so somewhere between 26 and 39 totems in the entire world. Only 8 are needed to get home, ending any one particular campaign. So you are encouraged to play again, in a different campaign, to find the other ones and do different things each time.
This is gorgeous!
Life would be so much more fun if old ladies provided epic quests
Question for @manvsmeeple Was there any magic or curses in the game? Im really interested in this game but for personal reasons, don't want to play games with those elements. Thanks!
Chad Stilson we didn’t experience any but we played like 2% of the game. That’s a question better answered by Red Raven Games.
ManVsMeeple Great Thanks!
Instant buy!!
Thank you for showing the game. How does it compare to 7th Continent? Etherfields seems more interesting at this point.
Etherfields is going to cost twice as much as this game though.
Agreed. The minis will push the price way up.
Competing with Etherfields and Tainted grail...
I’m buying all 3. :D
@@justicebolt5293 And Middara....and Trudvang Legends...and every other story driven game that is popping out on kickstarter like life does not have a limited amount of playtime hours.
I’m skipping tainted grail and etherfields. Going in on this one.
Art is amazing. But will most likely be more style over game play. My friends in my gaming group always feel like his games are a slog to get through. But who knows.
Have they played Near and Far? It's a pretty quick one and the mechanisms are as enjoyable as the theme and story (route building, worker placement, skill balancing among party, managing health). Above and Below was ok but I'm always itching for more Near and Far.
instaback instaback instaback
Thanks for the video but it’s a pass for me. Am sure it will be popular with fans of this genre.