Thank you for these videos they are perfect. Everyone else is 30 minutes long, and this is exactly what I want. Also with recommendations at the end. This is pure gold, you’ve found a niche that desperately needs to be filled!
@@jonathanrector Oops, didn't see the comment. Mage knights a complex one for me, because I appreciate the game and the puzzle that it is. But I don't find it that enjoyable to play. In a way, it feels like an AI was given all the components of a fantasy adventure, and created a complex intricate design to replicate that, without any of the soul. So while the gameplay is excellent, it only appeals on an intellectual level and not on an emotional one.
I like the video format as it's short and a good quick summary of what is involved with a game. Perfect for those 'do we want to play this at the board games cafe?' and 'I have no idea what this game is about' situations. Nice work.
Cheers Andrew. That was the plan :) It's going to take a while to build up the library of games, but once we do we can hopefully be a good resource for people browsing online, in stores or at games cafes.
Just tried the game out today. It gets a bit long and can be a little bit tire-some but it's worth it. It's great how natural it feels to combo while fighting monsters. Also to manage your mana. But most of all to feel your character developing its power towards fighting each time bigger foes. A great game. I recommend trying it out
@@3MBG Oh by the way, I am trying to decide between Lords of Hellas and Mage Knight as a game to get (playing with some friends). We are all super into complex boardgames yet none of us has a lot of experience with it. I also considered Twilight Imperium 4 but the game itself my be too complex for us beginners. Which one would you recommend out of Mage Knight and Lords of Hellas? Thanks!
I'm actually surprised there isn't more of me out there. I suspect some people have tried, then tried writing a script and recording it, and then getting really confused as to how its WAY over 4 minutes long
3 Minute Board Games: I didn’t say it was easy. There are way simpler board games. For sure. But the way the rulebooks are layed out and the beginner scenario ease you into the rules . The helper cards for each terrain type are pretty clear as well. It basically is the amount of rules that makes it more complex than complicated. But they are not counterintuitive. And once you have played one or two rounds most of the stuff is clear. Even when you come back after some time. The only thing that can get a little tricky is pvp. But I mostly play this game alone so there is not much pvp. I taught this game to my girlfriend when she was first getting into board games and she has had fun playing it. I also learned it back in the days when I was getting more into BG. So I would even go as far as to say that it is a weighty game that even beginners can learn. And especially that lack of a deep story raises the replayability by a lot
For a full and detailed run through of Mage Knight. Check out these two links Plothos's run through. th-cam.com/video/Ovn6lvJ-cm8/w-d-xo.html Rick Royal. th-cam.com/video/J_zW9zDxeYU/w-d-xo.html
After spending about 6 hours playing this beast and only barely feeling like I might have gotten about half the systems down... I retired this beast from my collection. While I think I'm the kinda guy who enjoys fairly deep games, I felt as though the complexity and sheer number of moving parts did not lend itself well to a board game. It is very easy to absolutely forget to do certain steps in a turn and very little about the game feels intuitive.
Mage Knight was originally an awesome tabletop miniature game. The company was bought out by topps I believe. They didn't know what they were doing and destroyed the game. It eventually became the board game you're discussing here but if you could ever find the original it really is a lot of fun.
Language dependency meter - should you pick a copy in another language? 1/5p Icon/colour/number dependent, text dependent, reading dependent - 0 Minimal private information / Minimal verbal communication - 0 Available rule book in different languages - 1 Zero cultural/political agrresion - 1 Multiple modern mechanisms - (-1) Find a copy in a language that your group speaks fluently.
in all fairness, I have played this game, and its orginal incarnation which started the "clix" system, i much prefer the clicks miniture table top war game, and its RPG side game dungeons. not as convoluted.
2:00 any value but range and siege attacks. Love the video just had to point that out cuz it's a common mistake for new players. Personally I adore Mage Knight. I've yet to fight a board game with such an in depth character advancement system. You really do feel like you're becoming more and more powerful with each victory and every mage knight has their own unique advantage to playing them.
@@buffalobear160 yes it came from the same creators of the game. But way much cooler and fun imo.... You should be able to find a couple of videos about it.
I haven't played any of those yet, although Tiny Epic Zombies looks pretty nifty on KS and i'm tempted to go if for that. I'll see if anyone I know has a copy of the others.
3 Minute Board Games That's great to hear! But no emergency. I was not very pleased by the way, the rule books are put together. (as Rahdo says in his final thoughts). But now, since Paul Darcy made an 8 part playthrough, this is like the cavalry and perhaps I will do a second try this summer. Then a three minute introduction would be a great first step for getting into the terminology of the playthrough. Anyway, great videos!
Mage knight is pretty unique. But for fantasy adventure games with less complexity, you could look at Gloom of Kilforth, Gloomhaven, Descent, Runebound and Talisman. Note, that there really is nothing quite like how Mage Knight plays, but the games above have the same sort of "going out, fighting monsters, leveling up" thing.
bought the game some years back, but never got around to actually learn how to play it. then i found out how complex it is and now im probably never going to play it. just don't have the patience for overly complex boardgames where u constantly have to check the rulebook.
Once you've played a few games, you don't have to check the rules often. It's just the first few games because there are so many systems. The rulebook is good all things considered.
Question, so if enemy have swiftness and attack 3 damage, but i have to block 6, i manage to block 5 and take 1 damage to my hero, my hero have 2 armor do i still get a wound card?, or am i good?
You can't only manage to block 5. You have to fully block 6. It's all or none. Since you can't block during the block phase, the number of wounds you take is 3 attack/2 armour rounded up. So you take 2 wounds.
My friends played it, its 95% the same game with a handful of tweaks. The star trek one that is. Mage Knight in general is a perfect game for the people who want that sorta game, and hell for just about anyone else. Which makes it a hard game for me to recommend too highly to too many folk.
Buyers beware. Combat is very dull. It's about adding integers. If coming up with how to add 8 is not what you'd call fun, stay away of this very expensive game.
Out of interest, how long do you reckon the game takes? It can easily take 3 hours with 3-4 people. I can get through a solo game in about an hour though
@@3MBG in my experience it has been 4 to 6 hours per player. Even when focussed on the game and keeping extra discussion and distractions to minimum I've never finished a 3 player game in less than 10 hours. The game does have a blitz scenario mode to jump ahead and shorten time a bit, but it is still a long game.
Ah, we play games pretty fast. My play times in general are shorter than most groups it seems, although I didn't know that when i started the channel. Like i recall people saying This war of mine takes 8-10 hours, and we do it in 3. Our last game of twilight imperium 4 was 5 hours. Terraforming mars 5 player in 2 hours, that sort of thing. I swapped to using the recommended times for games on BGG after this because our game times are not a good indicator to the general public.
@@3MBG I also play games pretty fast but even when going quick I find MK is (1.5 * player-count) hours counting setup and tear down. 3 hours for 4 players as stated in the video seems insanely fast! Otherwise, great review for one of my all-time favorite games. Thanks!
It's more like conquering a city - not razing. Once conquered cities can be influenced to aid you. The lore of the game is that you are a powerful mage knight. Trying to amass fame (and/or infamy) through power and conquest. You are definitely on the dirtier side of the morality spectrum, but you don't raze the cities.
You are a warrior who gave up your freedom to a secret council for the power only full armies have. You have been sent to Atlantis to conquer it, no rules, no morals, you can even kill your fellow Mage Knights, so long as the task is completed.
Thank you for these videos they are perfect. Everyone else is 30 minutes long, and this is exactly what I want. Also with recommendations at the end. This is pure gold, you’ve found a niche that desperately needs to be filled!
I'm very impressed with your ability to squish down a summary of this game into 3 minutes. Well done!
This guy: "if you want to be challenged mentally"
Me: "I'm already mentally challenged every day"
Thanks for the quick overview. I loved it.
I love your recommendation. It’s satisfying to conclude the video with an advise and it carry you to see/explore more and more.
Thank you so much!
This is the first time I have seen the complexity go to VERY COMPLEX!
Same! I waited for so long hahaha... the ones I thought were very complex, were just complex!
I can die now.
I appreciate these quick reviews very much. Thank you for your work!
Mage Knight, the incredibly popular solo classic. One of the toughest and most challenging games I've played. What are your thoughts on it?
Do you enjoy the game though? How often do you play? Thanks for the video!
@@jonathanrector Oops, didn't see the comment. Mage knights a complex one for me, because I appreciate the game and the puzzle that it is. But I don't find it that enjoyable to play. In a way, it feels like an AI was given all the components of a fantasy adventure, and created a complex intricate design to replicate that, without any of the soul. So while the gameplay is excellent, it only appeals on an intellectual level and not on an emotional one.
I like the video format as it's short and a good quick summary of what is involved with a game. Perfect for those 'do we want to play this at the board games cafe?' and 'I have no idea what this game is about' situations. Nice work.
Cheers Andrew. That was the plan :)
It's going to take a while to build up the library of games, but once we do we can hopefully be a good resource for people browsing online, in stores or at games cafes.
3 Minute Board Games looking forward to them!
Just tried the game out today. It gets a bit long and can be a little bit tire-some but it's worth it. It's great how natural it feels to combo while fighting monsters. Also to manage your mana. But most of all to feel your character developing its power towards fighting each time bigger foes. A great game. I recommend trying it out
Excellent job! You got yourself a new fan!
Just purchased the game, still waiting for it to arrive so watched Ricky Royal walkthroughs. Helped a lot more than the rulebook and I've yet to play.
Enjoy. It's a full on game and a lot to learn.
Really love the recomendations. I came here from spirit island :)
Honestly you deserve more views, this is simply amazing!!!
Cheers Kevin, much obliged
@@3MBG Oh by the way, I am trying to decide between Lords of Hellas and Mage Knight as a game to get (playing with some friends). We are all super into complex boardgames yet none of us has a lot of experience with it. I also considered Twilight Imperium 4 but the game itself my be too complex for us beginners. Which one would you recommend out of Mage Knight and Lords of Hellas? Thanks!
Mage knight is great solo or with 2, at higher player counts it drag terribly. So Hellas.
@@3MBG Alright thanks a lot :)
Really like this quickly review keep.the great work
A well scripted review, that moves along and told me everything I wanted to know without any waffle.
can there be more of you please??
~ laughs ~
I'm actually surprised there isn't more of me out there.
I suspect some people have tried, then tried writing a script and recording it, and then getting really confused as to how its WAY over 4 minutes long
Love the content, friend. A well done video that had exactly what I needed to know in it.
Best solo! Especially with Volcaire. And my all time favorite board game 😍 And it really isn’t THAT complicated.
Compared to a lot of games it is. Its a bit of a beast. Its not ASL, but its also not codenames
3 Minute Board Games: I didn’t say it was easy. There are way simpler board games. For sure. But the way the rulebooks are layed out and the beginner scenario ease you into the rules . The helper cards for each terrain type are pretty clear as well. It basically is the amount of rules that makes it more complex than complicated. But they are not counterintuitive. And once you have played one or two rounds most of the stuff is clear. Even when you come back after some time. The only thing that can get a little tricky is pvp. But I mostly play this game alone so there is not much pvp. I taught this game to my girlfriend when she was first getting into board games and she has had fun playing it. I also learned it back in the days when I was getting more into BG. So I would even go as far as to say that it is a weighty game that even beginners can learn. And especially that lack of a deep story raises the replayability by a lot
For a full and detailed run through of Mage Knight. Check out these two links
Plothos's run through. th-cam.com/video/Ovn6lvJ-cm8/w-d-xo.html
Rick Royal. th-cam.com/video/J_zW9zDxeYU/w-d-xo.html
I took audacity to heart... and got rewarded. Thank you for saying that. Took me 3 plays to get the 'game right'. Now it's a blast lol
After spending about 6 hours playing this beast and only barely feeling like I might have gotten about half the systems down... I retired this beast from my collection. While I think I'm the kinda guy who enjoys fairly deep games, I felt as though the complexity and sheer number of moving parts did not lend itself well to a board game. It is very easy to absolutely forget to do certain steps in a turn and very little about the game feels intuitive.
Yeah, its a monster like that. One of the hardest games i've had to learn. Very busy
There is a video game version in development, that may be the best way to play
Such exceptional content. Great work!
Yay thx for the heart xD
Mage Knight was originally an awesome tabletop miniature game. The company was bought out by topps I believe. They didn't know what they were doing and destroyed the game. It eventually became the board game you're discussing here but if you could ever find the original it really is a lot of fun.
This games pretty cool
Language dependency meter - should you pick a copy in another language? 1/5p
Icon/colour/number dependent, text dependent, reading dependent - 0
Minimal private information / Minimal verbal communication - 0
Available rule book in different languages - 1
Zero cultural/political agrresion - 1
Multiple modern mechanisms - (-1)
Find a copy in a language that your group speaks fluently.
Beautiful. Just beautiful
Very well edited video. New subscriber on board.
Cheers!
Thank you.
2:44 well* said
Edit: idk how i missed placing 'well' in there.
Ha, cheers. That original comment had me rather confused :)
@@3MBG Yep sorry about that :P
Great review Jarrod! I think I'll stick with the online version of Gloomhaven. Thx!
What happened to the clix minis
I've been debating getting this for probably about a year now, but I keep hesitating because I think it might break my brain.
in all fairness, I have played this game, and its orginal incarnation which started the "clix" system, i much prefer the clicks miniture table top war game, and its RPG side game dungeons. not as convoluted.
I have some of these cards I bought in a pack as a kid, I thought they were mtg cards for like 20 years now lol thanks for correcting me
"Mage Knight in 3 Minutes"
Is this even possible!?
0:16 Lmao, I KNEW it
2nd video i ever made. I still reckon i get most of the game covered
2:00 any value but range and siege attacks.
Love the video just had to point that out cuz it's a common mistake for new players. Personally I adore Mage Knight. I've yet to fight a board game with such an in depth character advancement system. You really do feel like you're becoming more and more powerful with each victory and every mage knight has their own unique advantage to playing them.
Great video good sir! subscribed!
The mage knight i knew when i was kid was so different..
Ha, yeah, very different
Wait, what? Is the old one related in anyway? Or is it like that crappy Ghostbusters cartoon?
@@buffalobear160 yes it came from the same creators of the game. But way much cooler and fun imo.... You should be able to find a couple of videos about it.
@@buffalobear160 crappy cartoon? excuse me?
Excellent format. I am enjoying these videos very much. If it suits you could you do one on your pick for the best solo "Tiny Epic . . . "?
I haven't played any of those yet, although Tiny Epic Zombies looks pretty nifty on KS and i'm tempted to go if for that.
I'll see if anyone I know has a copy of the others.
I saw it yesterday and jumped in.
tiny epic zombies is sick i just started playing it yesterday. awesomeingly fun
Even if it is very similar, I would very much appreciate Star Trek Frontiers in this awesome format, to make the first step.
One of my friends picked that up recently. So it's definitely a potential game for us to cover.
3 Minute Board Games That's great to hear! But no emergency. I was not very pleased by the way, the rule books are put together. (as Rahdo says in his final thoughts). But now, since Paul Darcy made an 8 part playthrough, this is like the cavalry and perhaps I will do a second try this summer. Then a three minute introduction would be a great first step for getting into the terminology of the playthrough. Anyway, great videos!
Earliest it would make the schedule in sometime in June. I've kinda planned out the next month or so already
3 Minute Board Games Yes, no hurry and I just wanted to say, I like these 3 minute videos!
Kudos
Awesome vid! What kind of games are similar to Mage Knight but not as complex?
Mage knight is pretty unique. But for fantasy adventure games with less complexity, you could look at Gloom of Kilforth, Gloomhaven, Descent, Runebound and Talisman.
Note, that there really is nothing quite like how Mage Knight plays, but the games above have the same sort of "going out, fighting monsters, leveling up" thing.
Star trek Frontier is based on Mage Knight but several aspects have been simplified.
bought the game some years back, but never got around to actually learn how to play it. then i found out how complex it is and now im probably never going to play it. just don't have the patience for overly complex boardgames where u constantly have to check the rulebook.
Once you've played a few games, you don't have to check the rules often. It's just the first few games because there are so many systems. The rulebook is good all things considered.
I've played it a bunch and am looking through the rule book every 5 minutes
@@Micolash_is_behind_you Don't go near any wargame then ;)
Question, so if enemy have swiftness and attack 3 damage, but i have to block 6, i manage to block 5 and take 1 damage to my hero, my hero have 2 armor do i still get a wound card?, or am i good?
I believe so, but do not have the rulebook here as i don't own Mage Knight sorry, and its been a while since i last played it.
You can't only manage to block 5. You have to fully block 6. It's all or none. Since you can't block during the block phase, the number of wounds you take is 3 attack/2 armour rounded up. So you take 2 wounds.
Can you imagine this with a Skyrim Skin?
I still think mage knight needs something else to tie it all together story wise. As mechanically, i appreciate it. Thematically, its a mess.
aha!
My only issue is that the game looks visibly dated, it really needs a new coat of paint!
The star trek version doesn't look much better, which surprised me
@@3MBG oof, that's unexpectedly in poor taste. Is the game worth it despite its visual state?
My friends played it, its 95% the same game with a handful of tweaks. The star trek one that is. Mage Knight in general is a perfect game for the people who want that sorta game, and hell for just about anyone else. Which makes it a hard game for me to recommend too highly to too many folk.
@@3MBG if you can ever get your hands on forbidden stars I 100% recommend that, it's insanely fun!
Buyers beware. Combat is very dull.
It's about adding integers.
If coming up with how to add 8 is not what you'd call fun, stay away of this very expensive game.
Thumbs down for saying two to three hours. Casts doubt that you've ever played Mage Knight.
Out of interest, how long do you reckon the game takes? It can easily take 3 hours with 3-4 people. I can get through a solo game in about an hour though
@@3MBG in my experience it has been 4 to 6 hours per player. Even when focussed on the game and keeping extra discussion and distractions to minimum I've never finished a 3 player game in less than 10 hours.
The game does have a blitz scenario mode to jump ahead and shorten time a bit, but it is still a long game.
Ah, we play games pretty fast. My play times in general are shorter than most groups it seems, although I didn't know that when i started the channel.
Like i recall people saying This war of mine takes 8-10 hours, and we do it in 3. Our last game of twilight imperium 4 was 5 hours. Terraforming mars 5 player in 2 hours, that sort of thing.
I swapped to using the recommended times for games on BGG after this because our game times are not a good indicator to the general public.
I also play XCOM and Kitchen Rush solo. Fast play is kinda my thing :)
@@3MBG I also play games pretty fast but even when going quick I find MK is (1.5 * player-count) hours counting setup and tear down. 3 hours for 4 players as stated in the video seems insanely fast!
Otherwise, great review for one of my all-time favorite games. Thanks!
I don't get the appeal of this game. Your goal is to raze cities and gain fame... what? Why?
This is also my biggest issue with the game. It has all the part of a fantasy venture without any real reason for you to be doing what you are doing.
It's more like conquering a city - not razing. Once conquered cities can be influenced to aid you. The lore of the game is that you are a powerful mage knight. Trying to amass fame (and/or infamy) through power and conquest. You are definitely on the dirtier side of the morality spectrum, but you don't raze the cities.
You are a warrior who gave up your freedom to a secret council for the power only full armies have. You have been sent to Atlantis to conquer it, no rules, no morals, you can even kill your fellow Mage Knights, so long as the task is completed.
Why would a mage want to gain power. I cant come up with a single reason...Wow....just wow....