Games That Have Left My Collection - Episode 1
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 25 ก.ค. 2024
- I talk about board games that I have got rid of over the years and why, and recommend a better alternative. The rest of this series will be exclusively for my Patreon backers. You can see the next episode right now by backing at / actualol and help keep Actualol alive.
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Thank you for watching! And thank you for all your comments, I love making videos for you all!
If you're new to Actualol, my name is Jon Purkis. My two passions are writing comedy and playing board games, so I decided to combine the two in this TH-cam channel.
I make all my videos on my own, in my flat in London, UK, with the help of a diverse selection of wigs.
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My favourite videos:
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Zombie Board Game Mega Review: • 5 Zombie Board Games
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Interesting video series. The reason this works for me is that this isn't "this game is rubbish", it's a retrospective look at a game that you DID like and why it's not in your collection. This is something we don't get to see very often in the age of having to always review the newest thing.
We own all the games featured here and we do not play them as much anymore due to them being "replaced". Personally though I think we'll go back to them for the occasional game.
It's a shame for you that Dixit didn't click - it can be a truly beautiful game but done wrong it completely flops.
Just discovered this vid. Great format. Love the "why I got rid of this" and "here's something better" approach. Thank you!
Pledged! I love hearing thoughtful critiques of popular games. I enjoy Dixit okay, but I'm thinking of selling it. I have more fun making a "noise" for my clues, but that usually annoys people :)
+RauschPotato I remember trying to make a tune for a clue once and no-one had any idea what I was on about!
Thanks for this! Love you and your work. Hope to do more to help soon.
I think your mentality on how to give Dixit clues is a bit off (not to any detriment, though). It shouldn't be "I want everyone except one person to guess it" it should be "I want exactly one person to guess it" because that way only you and they get points. If you play with a very close group of friends, the game transforms into a detective game of references and inside jokes. I had a friend who bought a shirt at a concert that a few of us went to and within five minutes if being there, he got a bloody nose without realizing it and bled all over his new shirt. So when I have a card with a vampire on it and give the clue "A concert I'll never forget" my friends need to search both the cards and their memories of our adventures together. It adds a lot to the game. I still agree with you that the game doesn't hold up as well as many others, but it's worth giving a shot that way if the group is close enough.
+Leron Tolmachev That's very interesting. Thank you for that perspective. The approach your describing sounds a lot more appealing because it has a very specific challenge to it.
But as the clue giver I would get two more points if two other people guessed it, wouldn't I? So why is it in my interest to only get one person to get it?
And, if all the others player get it wrong, that means the players whose cards they selected get points too, right?
An
Actualol Hey Jon, no - you've got the scoring wrong again! :D The clue giver does not get more points the more people get it. He only gets 3 points at max (one time!), if at least one person guessed correctly. It does not matter if two or three get it for the clue giver, his points don't ramp up (so no 3/6/9 or 3+1+1 etc.). You just don't want everyone to get it, because then you get 0 and everyone gets 2. But the funny thing is: that mechanism wasn't implemented to promote inside jokes or to create a more complex scoring, it simply is a means to secure that the initial clue is not too easy (meaning super-obvious). It's an ingenious design choice.
Sad the game didn't work out in your groups. Maybe there will be another try someday (e.g. with Odyssey, the 12 player variant).
Best, Tobi
MMh I actively descourage any new person I teach the game to play like that. It becomes almost like a trivia game (but worse, because only one person can actually know the answer). Only the clue giver and the recipient are engaged
@@baglio88 Agreed, this is the worst way to play. My wife and I played another couple who played this way and every clue became hmm...that thing we bough at walmart two weeks ago. What we had for dinner last night. I now have a houserule that clues can't be inside jokes or things that no other players could possibly know. Like you can use an obscure movie that you an your spouse just watched as a clue but you can't say we just watched this movie
Ha, Betrayal was the first game that got me super into board games as well! I havent broken it out in a while, but Im happy it at least got me into the hobby.
I feel the same about deck building games. I will check out Clank!
Game reviews based on experience and reappraisals are so few in number. This is a fantastic series and you've explained your views very well, even if we may not agree :). Don't change. Gaming fanboys are easy to find on TH-cam and BGG.
+koomo801 That's nice to hear, thanks for supporting the idea. It is interesting to look at a game again a few years on, I may consider doing it with games I've kept as well.
Dixit is a great family game. Using popular culture of your generation helps divide the guesses. selecting cards that match and getting votes is satisfying. The scoring rules are on the score tracker... pretty straight forward.
You have no idea how important this episode and idea for episode is, never thought about it but alternative or even better alternative for an old game is always most welcomes . i believe many will find this episode undoubtlessly useful :) way to go and more episodes like this!
I am surprised you had such a bad time with Dixit. Most times I have brought it out, it does the party-game trick where people stop caring about the score and just focus on the game itself. The fun in arguing about confusing clues, and looking at the ridiculous card art, is definitely what makes the game for me.
I also own Mysterium and I actually am happy to have both games in my collection. I understand you prefering Mysterium, as it is a game that plays better when you really try to win. Dixit (by contrast) can feel a bit terrible if the players focus too much on winning (the scoring system is more of a guide to get players into the right head space). For me, Mysterium is a good game when people want to really think about the game, while Dixit is a relaxing game when people want to just chat and also play a game.
I hate hate hate hate HATE playing Dixit, and will automatically beg off and go chat to a friend if someone whips that game out. The issue I've always had is that it ends up being hella cliquey, which can get really annoying. People who have known each other for a while will try to get one-off matches and use inside jokes that the rest of us are completely clueless about, and it gets really annoying. I've played it with several different groups, and gotten annoyed within the first few rounds when I'd see that sort of thing happening **every time.**
I feel like Mysterium would definitely be a better fit for me. I haven't tried it yet, but am curious to do so.
Great topic! I think most of us that´s been in the hobby a couple of years have been through this process...
Have you tried A few acres of snow or its new ''evolution'' Hands in the sea? I think the mix of a wargame (inclunding a cardboard) with the deck building aspect hit the spot thematically.
+François-Xavier Jodoin I've always wanted to try Few Acres, but the fact that it's only two players doesn't suit my gaming opportunities. Thanks for the tip, though!
Completely agree with Betrayal at House on the Hill. The game suffers from either haunts being unbalanced or too much randomness to be enjoyable. Some people consider it a storytelling experience but to me, it shouldn't feel hopeless for one side (regardless of who it is).
I use my Dixit cards for Mysterium
Brutal! Still fond of Betrayal, but probably because my less hardcore gaming friends are more easily pleased. I will have to check out Burgle Bros.
I disagree about betrayal. It gets regular rotation for newbies at our game nights. But that's okay, it's nice to see what others think of the games I love.
That's so strange, every time I've played Betrayal, the haunt has always been super close, never encountered an unbalanced one before but good to know it can happen to keep expectations in check. I wouldn't get rid of it though :)
Alexandra Lee sometimes the haunt is something like the bad guy just has to get out of the front door, and they happen to be standing on the entry foyer tile. Or the enemy has to get 3 special items to win, and just happened to have already found those before the haunt started, meaning it's over as soon as the haunt starts. There are huge issues. If you have rpg players that can enjoy the little stories on the cards you can find enjoyment, but more analytical players just skip all that and say "this one adds +2 speed, this one says -2 body" which just means you're randomly moving around and adding random modifiers for no reason. You have to be able to "get into it" which a lot of people can't do. This, in addition to the broken haunts that can end the game in one turn if not immediately, means it's not likely to please most people. Only rpg types can enjoy it, but if they really feel that way why not just play a true rpg? This game is for no one. If you like board games it's too fluffy and random, if you like rpg, why play a board game? Clearly, I have also been very disappointed. (Also, for the record, this way in no way a slight at rpg players)
If you're skipping the theme, what's the point of the game? Just fiddle with a spreadsheet if all you want to do is move some numbers around.
Sure, but your statement above just comes off like kind of an ass. "It's a game for no one" well gosh, my playgroup must not exist then. "If it's only for RPG players, why not just play an RPG?" well because you can't knock off an RPG in under an hour, and a break from playing D&D can be nice, plus you don't need to have your full group together. Also, that position pretty much also covers Gloomhaven (as an RPG game without a GM) and that's considered to be a ridiculously good game.
Again, you dismiss theme as if it was completely unimportant. You break the game down to bare numbers and decide you don't like the way it runs so you make up a reason why it's "not a game", and then continue to deride RPG players. My group doesn't play Betrayal because we have zero options for games. We have a shitload of games, we pick betrayal when we play it because we ENJOY betrayal. We have never once had a haunt that ended the same turn it started, every one of our games has been entertaining and hard fought, whether it was a win or a loss. So again, you constantly stating that it's impossible to enjoy Betrayal is clearly wrong. We don't play it daily or anything stupid like that, but we play it more often than we do stuff like Zombicide or Dead of Winter, and a heck of a lot more than we break out my copy of Scythe because it's faster, and the less hardcore boardgaming members of the group can keep up.
@@Trevin_Taylor Do you have any clue if the 3rd edition or the legacy version (after finishing the campaign) cover those issues?
I played all the haunts from Betrayal and the expansion. As a storytelling experience it is fantastic, as a game it does leave a lot to be desired. Now that I've seen all the haunts I think I'm done, but yes I keep coming back to Burgle Bros. It is the exploration that I just find so wonderful.
Even if you don't like Dixit, you can keep the cards and use them in Mysterium.
If you want (sort of) traditional horror while exploring tiles - and you have some space for a big box - look for Secrets of the Lost Tomb. There is a sci-fi sequel to it on KS right now, Secrets of the Lost Station.
+Tor Iver Wilhelmsen Huh! Never heard of it!
I bought betrayal in the first batch of games I've ever bought. Alongside Catan, Ticket to Ride, 7 wonders, and Pandemic. But my experiences with Betrayal sound so similar to you. One game we explored the house... for four squares in a straight line before endgame hit. And then the werewolf/whatever just walked down the hallway killing all of us. Yeah... so fun! /s
I still own it, but I haven't brought it out in a few years, and will likely be one of the first I cut when I reach that point soon.
I have to agree that burgle bros is a wonderful game and one of my top 5 favorites. I also really enjoy betrayal just for the story and the experiences that come through when the haunt is revealed. I fully understand that there is little to no strategy, especially prior to the haunt. I also have had many games where one side or the other has a significant advantage over the other. I guess we are able to laugh and just enjoy it for what it is. One rule we have implemented is if we think the haunt has come too early, such as before the investigators have any weapons or items, we just continue on without starting the haunt.
I love Arctic Scavengers, and it does plenty different that I appreciate. I have reprint with all the Recon stuff. I would like to check out Clank, but it's so darned expensive. Fair enough if ur not over keen on deck builders tho!
Just gave away Dixit as a gift to a "non-gamer" and NOW I watch this video? Damn it! Thanks Jon, you just ruined christmas!
Played one Betrayal game and I agree with you.
Also, the only time I made a decision in that game was to let go of a necklace and lost healthpoints. The player who eventually became the haunt hogged a shitload of items and once it started, we had NO chance to win...
The current version of Arctic Scavengers that you can buy (Base Game + HQ + Recon) offers a ton of variation in terms of the cards you have to choose from. I think that fixes the main problem with the game. While every play does indeed feel the same with only the base game, the expansions (that now come included with the game) make it such that every play feels uniquely different. Couple that with the tribe leader special abilities, and you're getting close to Cosmic Encounter in terms of every game feeling completely different.
I agree with you about Betrayal - for me Mansions DOES replace it well.
The only games that have left my collection so far are the expansions to Resistance, and Sheriff of Nottingham (like Cosmic Encounters, the negotiation felt like a crap-shoot). I also want to get rid of my copy of Arctic Scavengers. I like deck-building, and I like the dynamic that is added with the conflicts at the end of the round, but it seems to me most of the expansion modules either to nothing to change up the game, or introduce sub-optimal paths to victory that no one should really bother with.
My Betrayal games have always been high stress after the Haunt.
The Arkham horror card game does horror much better than betrayal. It has exquisite card play and accomplishes the tile exploration better
I'd love to check out the rest of this series, but I might have to wait until I'm more actively making income (i.e., when I finish grad school 😅). That being said, I appreciate the thoughtfulness of this series--brief to me though it is. Best of luck to you with the new parentage, and congrats!
I should warn you, this series is quite old and there's maybe only three episodes of it on patreon, due to lack of interest. Glad you enjoyed it though 🙂
@@actualol Perhaps this kernel of interest will inspire more episodes in the future. One can hope!
For a Betrayal alternative, try Room 25 (with the expansion, or the Ultimate version). Although it also has flaws, I think of it as a streamlined version due to less situations where you need house rules. It has the BatHotH elements of a possible traitor and exploration.
+rown2k4 Ah yes! Good tip. I've not played it enough yet, but I like the exploration feel.
Have you played Tragedy Looper? It may fit what you're searching regarding Betrayal at House on the Hill.
Of course Dixit is dull and drags on with 8-10 players. The edition I have is only made for 6. I'm not sure if there are others that accommodate more, but the one I have is for 3-6. I'd only play it with 5-6. On first look, Mysterium is a much better game because there actual is a theme, but by your 5th or 6th play through you'll start seeing the same vision cards played for the same suspects and locations. Because the clues for Dixit are whatever people can think of, it holds up to repeat plays far better. That's my two cents.
That said, most in my gaming group prefer Mysterium to Dixit.
Oh nooo. Mysterium can't replace Dixit. Just no. Let me try to explain in case anyone reads this :D So in Dixit you must give a clue that some people will guess, but not everyone. This is a really fine line to walk, and it often makes people say quite creative stuff. While in Mysterium you wan't everyone to get your clues and we found we tend to gravitate toward utterly boring similar color type clues. I will give it to you that Dixit is not a good game, it's more of an activity, but the other thing about it that I think you missed is that it's not just giving the clues that is fun. The real fun part is talking to each other after everything is revealed about how people interpret this or that, what did they think about when voting etc. I had Dixit games where we just stopped playing and had hours of philosophical conversation because of the game. No other game seems to come close to that, but certainly not Mysterium.
Dániel Lányi that seems to be more of a playstyle issue. Why gravitate towards colour clues? You could fall into the same issue with Dixit, and can give just as esoteric clues in Mysterium!
How I interpret Dániel Lányi's issue with Mysterium is that it can be meta gamed since it is a cooperative game. I.e. you can stick to a theme and the challenge can dissolve. This isn't unique to Mysterium, but I believe it isn't an issue specifically with Dixit. Because Dixit is not cooperative but you must cooperate with each other you have to try and guess who will get your 'in' joke, and who will not. And then the other side of Dixit is the guessing which card contains the correct 'in' joke. This only makes Dixit better, where as Mysterium can fall apart.
Sure it is playstyle issue, but these issues have something to do with the game itself too.
Think about what the game motivates you to do.
If you give boring but easily understandable clues in Mysterium, you win. If you give interesting, creative clues you lose. Neither is fun. There must be a middle ground somewhere, but it's hard to find and it easily goes bad. In Dixit the interesting clues go together with winning and fun by design.
All of this is a matter of taste for sure, but I hate people comparing the two games, because they just aren't even designed to do the same thing. The similarities are only on the surface.
+Dániel Lányi It's funny you say that, because what I love about Mysterium is the discussion. That the co-op play means you sit there (friendly) arguing over what you think the ghost means with their clues.
I would agree that all discussion is lost if the ghost just goes with boring colour clues, though.
I wish I'd had the Dixit games you're describing! Maybe one day!
in my opinion Mysterium sucks the humor and fun and strategy out of Dixit and is too long and while in a max six player game of Dixit you only give the clue once every 6 players... in Mysterium you give the clues 1 every 5 games!!!! I totally get though how it won't work with a dry group. Party games require a fun social group.
I can definitely understand your points about Dixit, but it's actually one of my top favorite board games of all time. I worked at an ESL school for young adults and introduced several board games to my students, and Dixit was by far the most requested game to play again and again. I don't think of the scoring in terms of how many people get your clue but rather that you don't want your clue to be too obvious or too obscure, which is a good challenge. What I like about the point system is that you never know who's going to win because players can easily catch up or fall behind by a few points. Also, what I find so fascinating about this game is how people interpret the cards in different ways, almost like a Rorschach test. What you see in a picture may be completely different from what someone else sees. This was the most interesting when people's clues were abstract concepts like "hope" or "failure." I had people pulling all kinds of life analogies from the pictures, sparking deep or funny conversations. And while the game was fun with my students/acquaintances, it takes on a whole different strategy with close friends because you try to create clues that maybe one friend will understand but not the others, kind of like in Codenames. It's so fun to try to "mind meld" with someone and satisfying when they get it. Not trying to disrespect your decision about the game; I just wanted to share my experience in case others were curious about it. I hope maybe you'll have a better experience with it next time! I love your channel by the way! Keep it up!
Yeah, that mind meld thing was what gets annoying about Dixit really quickly. If I wanted to feel left out of the cliques, I'd go to a bar and ask people out. I don't need that level of rejection amongst a group of friends.
Try out A Touch of Evil by Flying Frog Productions for your replacement for Betrayal. It has a lot of exploration (not like Betrayal) and clue gathering until you figure out what type of monster is terrorizing a town and then you have to go kill it. It plays more like a monster hunter movie, thematically. Check it out!
I really like all your reviews, but can't understand how you can't wrap around your head with Dixit's concept, also, how does it go on forever? To me is a super fast game and the point system seems so easy to follow: too obvious you loose, too abstract you loose.
+adriancitou Perhaps wrap my head around is too strong. I understand how it works I just find it a peculiar goal to try and get everyone to guess it except one person.
I see it like when you have a crush xD! You want her to know, but not everyone else (of course I'm talking about elementary school), it's a funny little game of sending clues and having inside jokes, one I use everytime is "what have we learned Charlie Brown" for a certain card with flowers, when someone guesses it, I'll propose to her, haha. Anyway, good video. (It's a very old movie).
Interesting. I thought the idea was to get as few people as possible to guess it (ideally only one), thus minimizing the amount of points others get. I'm not a big fan of the game either but this balancing act and the artwork are the things I like about it. Anyway, thanks for the video, I enjoyed it.
I love Dixit. The great thing is when you are able to guess the correct card and you are able to convince everyone to go for yours instead, so you get the best of both worlds. It's much easier to earn points as a guesser than as a cluer.
By contrast, Mysterium is so frustrating, long winded and the theme makes no sense. (The ghost wants to convey to each player a vision of a specific room, character and murder weapon, but then decides most of those visions were red herrings when it comes to the last round???) And only one person gets to give clues? Rubbish!
What about Deception Hong Kong? I think it supercedes mysterium
+Medsas I love Deception, but it comes down to communicating with images or words. I enjoy the interpretation of art in Mysterium. And don't feel like one replaces the other.
Are there more episodes of this?
Clank! isn't the only deck-building game in which you do things on a board.
(Examples include Tyrants of the Underdark, Martin Wallace's Mythotopia
and A Few Acres of Snow, and, to a lesser extent, Trains and XenoShyft.)
Betrayal for us too has always had long haunts ...and been very close with interesting stories being played out ...find this a better group horror gateway game for this type over Mansions of Madness and it's crazy setup time etc...
I'd never give away any of my games, although I find myself never playing my Ryan Laukat games...
If you are naming deck builders, I'm not sure why you wouldn't go with Dominion. So well balanced and smart. No other deck builder can touch it.
I absolutely hate Betrayal and I’m glad to hear that somebody else does too
I bought betrayal last year, it's still fun now and again but it does get old. Playing it with the same group of people really gets old quickly, but I have found that if you can find new people to play with that like it you might like it again as well. At one point though you've seen all the rooms, events and items and it gets boring, if it had some way to make the rooms and events more varied I think it would have been a lot better, but at this point I know the outcomes of most of the rooms and events, so there really isn't too much suspense.
Lavaloft If you know all the events then you are saying Haunts? There are 40 or 50 and the expansion added the same amount and another floor. That's 80-100 Haunts.
Absolutely agree on the lack of stakes in Betrayal. Widow’s Walk has much better haunts IMHO.
I love Mysterium and every time I bring it up I hear it get compared to Dixit every time. Now I know why.
Did you play the New Betrayal one? Did that improve on the flaws Betrayal has?
I'm also hoping to offload Betrayal. Some of the haunts were really bad and some are way too many when each game takes over an hour.
I remember enjoying Betrayal at House on the Hill but hating Mysterium.
Oh man- I disagree w/ your 1st two choices. I'm def going to be checking out the game you suggested to replace house on the hill tho. Sounds like a lot of fun. Burgle Brothers.
I disagree about Betrayl at the House on the Hill. I understand how you’ve got this poor outcomes, but me and my friends love it. It usually ends up with a story we would talk about for weeks later. I usually play it as a kind of “Dungeon Master”, coordinating the game and setting the tone, the sound effects and creating a compelling story. Once we played it, one of my friends end up reanimating Dracula himself and killed everybody but one other friend, who protected itself in the church and killed all the vampires by himself and left the mansion in the brink of insanity. It was amazing. My vampire friend was thrilled. He wanted to see how that old man would defy all the odds and kill the vampires, loosing it’s sanity on every dice roll. We still talk about it 2 months later.
Amen on Dixit being dull. Seeing the cards once or twice is fun but the deck isn't very big and you see them all pretty quickly then to me it gets kind of boring. I don't want to buy expansion decks because the actual gameplay isn't that great after the first couple of plays.
Deception in Hong Kong replaced Mysterium for us... :)
Tom Anders I didn't like Mysterium. I have Deception on my wish list.
Please add a link to your patreon in the description. Makes it slightly easier for people like me.
Sorry for the oversight! Here's the link: www.patreon.com/actualol
Thanks!
For myself, one classic game in particular I have gifted to a friend who enjoys it better is Settlers of Catan. It had its important place in history, but it shows its age. There really are no guiderails to how trading should fairly happen, and with the robber coming up more often than anything else, it usually ends up punishing those not in the lead. That's not even mentioning how easy it is to be completely blocked off from building whatsoever leaving one or more player twiddling their thumbs for thirty minutes or more as they wait to lose.
As a replacement, I couldn't recommend Concordia more. I agree entirely with Quinns at SUSD when he called it a Catan-killer. It just does the mechanics better with more interesting mechanics, and you're never completely blocked from building somewhere, only limited by your available income. It's just a better game with several map and overall expansions increasing its longevity.
I preferred Trains and Tyrants of the Underdark to Clank. I personally like deckbuilders, though, which might feed into those different preferences. None the less, a board with a deckbuilding element is usually more enjoyable than a straight deckbuilder.
Betrayal leaving my collection. Hell no...its a classic. Even if its sometimes fidely, i love it.
Hiding videos behind a paywall? The dice tower doesn’t even do that...
One game of Betrayal at House on the Hill the player doing the haunting actually changed due to some factor or other and you could broadly predict when it was going to happen, leaving you in the situation of trying _not_ to do too well when in control of the haunt because you know you're about to become a regular player again and you'll lose if you make it too easy for the next person to win.
It left a very sour taste in my mouth which I never really recovered from, so I don't rate the game too highly either.
I liked Betrayal On House On The Hill with the Expansion also but the rules are so crap and all over the place but I am keeping it.
I get that Dixit isn't for everyone, but I found the points you raised against it somewhat odd. The "some get it but not everyone" is the enabling mechanic of the game, allowing players to give any clue they want. If they describe the card too obviously, they fail, which is how creative clues are encouraged. There's a trivial fix for games taking too long: instead of playing to 30, we always play for however long people want to (usually with everyone taking the same number of turns). Finally, scoring is trivial (each scoring event awarding 0-3 points), so I'd be surprised if it was a genuine issue for an intelligent gamer like you. Having even just one player who knows the score makes it super easy to have completely new players joining in immediately. The real issue with Dixit is playing with people who have a reasonable pop culture/conceptual overlap, and not having a pair of players repeatedly referencing something only the two of them know about, but that's just down to table etiquette.
+Sam Eaton-Rosen It's not that I think the mechanic doesn't work, it's just that I don't enjoy the challenge. I probably wasn't clear enough in the video, but it's just a taste thing.
Fair enough, that makes sense!
Mysterium takes all the dull aspects of Dixit and puts it into Clue. Yay!
I did the same with Betrayal. Bought it relatively new to the board game world and just sold it for the same reasons you discussed. But we differ on Dixit and Mysterium. I just sold Mysterium as it didn't live up to my hopes and Dixit remains a really solid party/group game. I love it's accessibility and I really disagree with the length of time for Dixit, I have never felt like that game has gone on too long. On the contrary it can be played fairly swiftly each round depending on who is playing. What hurt Mysterium for me was the set up. You have to mess about with the cards in all the decks to ensure you've got the right cards for ghost and players, I personally found it took longer than I liked to set up and the game was not as interesting as I'd hoped. Not a bad game by any stretch, just didn't work for me. Good video topic though.
Interested to know if you like Smash Up? It's not really a deck building game but plays similar.
Montage Monster it does not "play similar". I don't think you've played any deck building games. Deck building is about building a deck. If you start with an entire deck and never add to it, that's not really deck building. Just having cards does not equal deck building.
Trevin Taylor I know - that's why i said it's not really a deck builder. However, if referring more to the action/deck and hand mechanic as if you don't like that you won't like Smash Up. Yes you are not building a deck - I have played many deck builders.
Montage Monster i do get that it's a hard game to pin down. Area control maybe? I'm having a hard time classifying it myself. If i need the other players to take a base, does that make it semi co-op? I cant really get a good feel for it. But i definately dont get a deck builder vibe; even from the card play. Maybe, card based semi co-op area majority? Sorry, i just had such a knee jerk reaction to deck builder, i never would have gone that route for an explanation. But i admit it is tough to classify.
The real problem with smash up, is that the game itself is not as good as the idea for the game. Take 2 factions and combine them? Sounds great! But then you play it. Even if you like the game, you like the idea of the game more. The idea for the game is better than the actual game itself.
Trevin Taylor yeh I agree. Don't mind Smash Up - it's not amazing. Just have never heard Actualol talk about smash up before.
We have Mysterium but not Dixit, and we’ve used the Mysterium cards to play Dixit so really even if you like both but only want one, Mysterium is the way to go.
Interesting, John. I have to say i really didn't like Mysterium compared to dixit. I usually only play dixit with 4 or 5 players though. Mysterium was way too dependent on having a good ghost player. Can be super boring as well.
That said, i almost always agree with you, so i guess we were bound to come to a head eventually
I got rid of Mysterium because it felt longer more convoluted and really relied on a good ghost player. Still play dixit regularly.
I have to agree that a bad ghost will ruin the game, but a bad clue will only ruin a single round of Dixit. That said, Mysterium's gameplay is just so much more interesting than Dixit, it's theme is FAR superior (read: existent), and the scoring is far more straightforward and effective. I would play Myserium over Dixit any day.
That said, everyone has different tastes. No harm, no foul.
Brandon Rankin fair enough, one of my big gripes with mysterium is the set up. And the rule book is a disaster. So much more complex than it needed to be
Where is episode 2 FAM?
Dixit, IMO is so much better played in teams of 3 with up to 4 teams.
Dixit noooooooooooooo. I love Dixit.
I'm sorry, like a lot of people have commented out, I completely disagree. While Dixit probably provided the main idea for the abstract concept in the cards for Mysterium, they are different games and I have found that all the groups I have played with enjoy them both, Dixit provides with silly moments where some people end up being super clever with those concepts, while others struggle, and in there lies the enjoyment, whereas in Mysterium everyone is trying their darnest to put the clues and pieces together and work towards a common goal.
+Noe Anton I don't mean to say that Mysterium is a definitive replacement for Dixit. You're right they're very different and I can understand owning both. I'm just coming at it from my perspective of not enjoying Dixit, and that Mysterium is the nearest similar game.
he is my favourite youtuber
Bad call on Dixit imho.
Betrayal's biggest downfall is ironically the part that you enjoyed the most: the random exploration phase. Because the house is completely random every time, none of the haunts are actually balanced, nor can they be. Many haunts require specific rooms or specific items, which sometimes players will just already have or the layout will heavily favor one team by giving them all the tools they need instantly. The only way to fix this is to create a consistent house layout for players to use, but then that kind of ruins the first half of the game to make the second half better. A possible solution to that would be to have several different possible house layouts and randomly choose one, but then you kind of need a player to be in charge of the house layout, and they're not going to have much fun, and if you've already basically got a GM for your game then why not just play Curse of Strahd?
My nephews love playing Betrayal, and it falls into the category of game that I enjoy playing for the experience, regardless of whether I win or lose. But no, it isn't (and can't be) balanced, just because the resources critical to each scenario are randomly placed. Some games have been almost a gimme for the traitor. Some games have been almost a gimme for the heroes. Only a few have been tense battles where it wasn't clear whether or not the heroes would survive.
And yes, Burgle Bros. has a similar "map exploration" mechanism. And it tends to be less unbalanced than Betrayal. But the random tile layout will still make some games a LOT harder than others, depending on where key tiles like safes, stairs, and computer rooms are located, and what other tiles surround them.
Mansions of madness 2nd ed seem like a game for you instead of Betrayal
Finally someone who also dislikes Dixit, I just sold my copy.
I've never played Dixit, but it sounds a lot like Drawful, the video game, except that in Drawful you have to _draw_ your clue, so if it's terrible that's your own damn fault. It's a fantastic party game.
Essentially, you get a clue as a title, you draw the clue, then other players write the title of what they think your drawing is meant to be (or more accurately, what they think _other people might think_ the title is supposed to be) and everyone votes on all the titles they didn't write. So if you draw something that just so happens to look like something entirely different and someone else nails it, well tough.
It's genuinely fantastic. Oh, and you play it on your phone and there's no takesie-backsies on the drawing, so it's almost guaranteed that the drawing will be terrible.
Wow - this confirms my suspicions - I love your videos, but we clearly have different taste in games :D Dixit is my official favourite game, I played it with a lot of people and we ALWAYS played a couple of games in a row, cause one game was just too short :) .
And I played Mysterium. It was very good but for me a bit worse than original.
orzelgryf Agree with you on Dixit and Mysterium. I also have Betrayal at the House in the Hill and find it to be a fun game with a cool theme. We always enjoy playing this. We love the painted miniatures, the asymmetrical nature of each character, and the story it tells. I think that reviews and reviewers are only valid when they agree with your opinion. I see his points on some of these games, but I don't agree with this thought process. Dixit and Mysterium aren't alike in enough ways that I would even consider them in the same sentence.
Mysterium Park solves a lot of issues I had with original Mysterium, but for me Dixit is still the better game.
Totally agree with you about Dixit - I found it boring and not half as clever as it thinks it is.
Don't you like Paperback as well? It's definitely a deckbuilder.
Yes, Dixit is pretty boring. And Betrayel at the House on the Hill is really bad. On top of everything John said, the components are just shoddy
That awkward moment when you hear "i don't recommend getting this game" about the game you are awaiting from online-store. Bought betrayal couple weeks ago. But i guess it's necessary to feel yourself if the game does work for you and your folks or doesn't. Or you'll think about it each time filling the cart. I had the same situation with Cosmic Encounter. SU&SD and Tom were like "that's the greatest game evaaaaaa!!!" so i got it. Played it once and my reaction may be only described as "...that's all?". I understand how people can have fun with it but it's a complete miss for me. Lost 50$ but now i'll never think about it again and it refined my understanding of which games i like. And i'll probably sell it sooner or later. So if you are interested in some game you should probably try it. Of course if you have some budget for it.
+Одинокие переводы из под стола Haha! Oh dear! But I agree, it's important to try things for yourself and every wrong game helps shape your tastes. Very few games I regret, just don't be afraid to sell them and move on.
Одинокие переводы из под стола I understand your comments on Cosmic Encounter. I play it with the same three or four other players, and we always have a lot of laughs and the game is almost always very close. We've had games that are memorable and that we talk about the game or something that happened in it weeks and months later. For me, it's a top 10 game.
I had the same reaction to Cosmic Encounter. Probably great for its time but just okay today.
Betrayal has never come out that one sided for me. The worst bit is if a new gamer or younger player becomes the betrayer and has to read the rules by themselves.
I've never played Dixit but it sounds incredibly dull.
Artic Scavengers is a very thematic deck builder... much more than Dominion. Any bus driving over this game played with expansions for variety is just you not liking deck builders. BTW: clank in space is the best clank.
Eric Link Yeah, but until they release it, whenever that will be, Clank is still the only Clank
Joel Petersen amazon preorder has the release on October 1. I have a friend who got it early and we loved it. The theme and mechanics worked even better. If you liked Clank this is one to get on preorder.
Eric Link Oh I allready sold my copy of Clank, Clank in space is a theme I enjoy much more and the game seems even better than the 'old' version. There is no Clank in Space on amazon, but I will get it from a 'regular' online gaming store anyway. That is usually the cheapest and fastest way.
The regular clank is 53 pounds plus shipping on amazon and in my usual go to online store it's less that 45 with shipping included. And they deliver in a day instead of a week
What's your usual online store?
Betrayal! Literally a betrayal. How could you?
I do agree about the haunts though in all seriousness. I too initially bought into the theme massively. I just have it as a Halloween game now along with Mysterium. Burgle bros is amazing.
Yeah, Betrayal at house on the hill was a pretty big disappointment
Clank! is a great game. I don't dislike deck building games, but Clank! is a better game than many whether deck building or otherwise.
Got rid of Cosmic Encounter! Blasphemy.
I am so with you on Betrayal. I don't get why folks LOVE that game. I do like Dixit better than Mysterium, which surprised me but every time I play Mysterium everyone gets super frustrated and mad at each other-but maybe that's who I play with.
I don't know anyone irl that likes Mysterium better than Dixit. In fact, I've never had anyone dislike Dixit. Mysterium is a bit hit and miss; some games go down great, others are fiddly, divisive and annoying. I feel like you could do away with the voting mechanic for instance.
+Jake Glenn Yeah the voting mechanism wasn't in the original game and a lot of people refuse to play with it.
Dixit is for 6 layers max and its a family game. I think you had false expectationsn it.
Wow i so disagree with you on dixit.... its totally the opposite for me, with what is the fun part of dixit: its not hmmm let me come up with the vlu3z its "which of these cards look to me like what the particular person i know so well could have thought about when they said that phrase". And it will never stop bothering me that people call it a party game, its so much not.... ehhh.
Dixit dull? Says the potato Head.
Betrayal at house on the hill sucked, I hated it. What a screwy game. Very surprised this is as popular as it is. I guess I'm not as tolerant with blatantly unbalanced and broken designs.
Wow Mysterium.......so slow and boring
Suggestion: negative videos are maybe not the optimum way to get buy in on support. Generally, I like watching but this left me alienated. Not upset, just a suggestion.
That makes a lot of sense, thanks for your input. Obviously I'd rather not alienate people. The reason I chose this series was because I'd done it in the past and got a lot of positive feedback. And, ultimately I didn't want to put important reviews behind a paywall. Any coverage of new games I want to make available to everyone to help grow my audience, so this seemed to fit nicely.
But at the same time, I want to make videos that my backers will enjoy. If this series isn't working for people, then I will change it. And eventually I will run out of games to talk about, so I will have to come up with something different in the future anyway. I'd welcome feedback from others on this topic.
Maybe making the focus be more on the game that replaced it instead of the game that left would give it a more positive vibe. Like why the new game is a step up than the older one. A recommendation of sorts to the people who liked the older one
I find negative reviews quite refreshing and it provides a good balance to the ubiquitous overhyping. So thanks!
It might be alienated for those buyers..
I've been watching your reviews mainly because you give constructive but firm negative feedback. I don't have to agree and certainly don't feel alienated, it's just more interesting to know what you think about a game when there's a chance you don't like it.