For me this game is everything I want. When I first heard they were turning one of my favorite video games from childhood into a board game, it was a no brainer for me. I had a year to obsess and follow updates, and save up for the all in pledge. Now I did the same with Stronghold, Conflux and Cove. Before my game was produced in China and shipped out, I already began counting the days to the next campaign to back all new. This game feels enough like the video game to make me happy. That's all I wanted from it. I don't remember having any rulebook issues, but I have only played the starting scenario once 3 hand solo with Dungeon, Necropolis and Castle. I grew up playing local multiplayer with friends. 5 of us took turns sitting at my computer to play their faction. And eventually I began to put a lot of time in playong 8 all factions that way by myself. So as soon as Stronghold arrives, I'm going to attempt an 8 handed solo scenario play.
Official response: There isn't enough time to complete the rulebook, but it will be improved over time. The main issue is that the rulebook is not beginner-friendly.
What a ridiculous justification. This should have been fixed first, or delayed the game. No excuse. It your game isn’t playable it’s not a complete game
Great video! I would recommend that you try the PC game it's really fun. The best version of the game is to get horn of the abyss expansion. There is online multiplayer with simultanious turns, also there are 2k players online daily. Besides that campaings are really fun and there are great single scenarios since game features map editor and communitiy makes wonderful maps e.g the devil is in the details map
Really appreciate this video! Seems to be pretty much the only one out there on this game. Some constructive feedback: don’t bury the lede. I’d suggest to start with what you like and give me the main idea 💡 first! Otherwise I don’t even know if I should bother caring about things like organization and expansions 😊 I just skipped ahead to the end
You bet. I did end up watching the whole video eventually, just in a different order. You gave helpful and specific comments. Really made me want to play the game and consider a purchase. 😊
I honestly think they are kind of a collectors item, seeing as the base game only have the heroes, or for people that enjoy painting them. I managed to get my hands on the azure pledge, and I agree with you, Homm3 is not homm without the neutral units. I have also seen the third party (3dprinted) inserts, while they may be worthwhile if you own a 3dprinter, I think I did see the parts for 150 euros? Thats insane, I could build way more shelf space for that price, ha ha.
I love those card holders, can't seem to find similar ones online right now. Overall agree with your assessment, I will mostly play solo and hope the game can keep my attention for a while. The rule book doesn't help, so that link is appreciated.
I feel like this review contained a lot of information however you didn't comment on the gameplay AT ALL. There's no way a game of this complexity doesn't have some serious rough spots mechanically
I don't think the game has any "serious" rough spots gameplaywise (at least from the core set solo experience). The gameplay loop is sound, and I enjoyed it, which I did mention. I also mentioned in the positive section that while it's not the crunchiest game, the elements intertwine well (exploration, leveling up your hero, deckbuilding, managing your town, and economy), and provide a puzzly experience.
I would argue the biggest issue of this game is the wording of some rules. Some things are just not clear. Generally the Rulebook is not really amazing. And i also hear some buildings are just not worth the costs (mostly faction buildings). p.s: I would also say that the core game without the stretch goals is missing some heroes and also a town (tower). I'm not sure only 3 Towns and 2 Heroes each would be enough for me.
@@sagittariusa9012 Yeah the rulebook has a loooong way to go. I haven't played enough to judge the balance of certain buildings or cards, I'm sure they are more evident in multiplayer, but at least when playing the solo campaigns, I didn't see any glaring issues.
@@Azure_Death So if all these elements actually work together as flawlessly as you pose then would you say this is one of the greatest boardgames of all time? Perhaps greater than Mage Knight (the first board game directly inspired by HOMM3)
@@MrGreeneyes77 It's a great adaptation and an amazing nostalgia trip if you played HOMM3 as a child, but I wouldn't go that far. Deck building mechanic is the core element of making your hero stronger throughout the game, and it's mostly good but it has its flaws. It's pretty easy to fill your deck with spells or skills that do not give you much value, and they are there to stay - not many chances to trim your deck. It's probably my biggest complaint. Also some game elements seem to be underutilized. Each neutral creature can potentially be recruited, but the opportunities to do so are so rare it might never show up in many games. There are so many spells, artifacts and skills but they're always picked pretty much "at random", with no way to search through the deck to get a specific one (other than "top X cards"). This definitely provides for replayability as you're always given different tools to play around with, but I'd just like to have some way of getting a card I like. Other than that it's really great, I love it.
I share your feeling about minis. Maybe I'm even a bit more negative towards them... for me, minis are useless piece of plastic because I'm not a painter/collector. A mono-colored piece of plastic cannot simply convey as much information as colored token/standee, it takes so much more time, it costs more and it makes me go crazy about them getting bend/broken. A partial solution would be to sell machine-painted minis, but that would drive the costs even more up. I'm quite fine with minis when each player has a single centerpiece mini representing that player, because that is 4-6 minis per game, but having dozens of minis in a game just puts me off. This is the reason why I didn't back the original campaign, even though it was rarely available in my language. Why the hell did they offer the base game without minis and then every expansion strictly with minis? Including backer-exclusive expansion (Tower)? It feels like strong-arming backers into buying minis for the base game. And they haven't learned for this next campaign. I really want this game, but I'm waiting for them to release the expansions in stores. If they end up making retail expansions also with only a single mini-stuffed variant, then I'm out. But I hope they will make mini-less retail versions because the only available retail base game has no minis.
I think you could get just the core set. It's a a perfectly fine package, unless you have strong feelings to collect certain factions that are not part of the base game. It is unfortunate they don't offer mini-free versions.
I personally like it a lot. I go back and forth between the video game and this. The quicker combat battlefield board makes it stand out on its own. If you're unsure, just go for the core set.
@@davidt4233 oh, no worries. I'm very happy to own both. Obviously I prefer Mage Knight but while they're similar, HoMM scratches the itch in a different way. The battlefield combat and town building element make it stand out a lot. Just like MK, even when you replay the same scenario, it never feels the same thanks to the variable setup and different decks, and it's even better in that regard with expansions. I also love the art and presentation of HoMM a lot more than MK. But this game does seem a bit polarizing, make sure to read a couple more opinions before you decide. And make sure to have extra room in your shelf if you want to get expansions, unfortunately this game suffers from Kickstarter plastic bloat.
It's a great video! Thank you for the effort.
Great Video. I saw that you asked for that Game at BGG and i really hoped that this would be covered in one of your Videos.
Thank you! I've had a blast with it, I figured I'd help people figure out if it's for them!
For me this game is everything I want. When I first heard they were turning one of my favorite video games from childhood into a board game, it was a no brainer for me. I had a year to obsess and follow updates, and save up for the all in pledge. Now I did the same with Stronghold, Conflux and Cove. Before my game was produced in China and shipped out, I already began counting the days to the next campaign to back all new.
This game feels enough like the video game to make me happy. That's all I wanted from it. I don't remember having any rulebook issues, but I have only played the starting scenario once 3 hand solo with Dungeon, Necropolis and Castle. I grew up playing local multiplayer with friends. 5 of us took turns sitting at my computer to play their faction. And eventually I began to put a lot of time in playong 8 all factions that way by myself. So as soon as Stronghold arrives, I'm going to attempt an 8 handed solo scenario play.
@@VampguyN85 Thanks for sharing! I still really enjoy the game and play it on occasion. It's pretty unique.
Увидел ваши комментарии на БГГ со ссылками на фанатские правила и ваши видео , это мне очень здорово помогло, спасибо вам большое! С меня подписка:)
@@OrigamiTRASH thank you! Happy to help!
You still need the minis for the Battlefield expansion. Otherwise, I agree; they are completely useless in a normal game.
Official response: There isn't enough time to complete the rulebook, but it will be improved over time. The main issue is that the rulebook is not beginner-friendly.
What a ridiculous justification. This should have been fixed first, or delayed the game. No excuse. It your game isn’t playable it’s not a complete game
Thank you for the balanced review.
Happy to help!
Great video. Subscribed!
The additional game Heroes 3: Battles, will soon appear, and it may require the use of miniatures
Exactly. No miniature budget option would be great.
Great video!
I would recommend that you try the PC game it's really fun. The best version of the game is to get horn of the abyss expansion. There is online multiplayer with simultanious turns, also there are 2k players online daily.
Besides that campaings are really fun and there are great single scenarios since game features map editor and communitiy makes wonderful maps e.g the devil is in the details map
Thank you! Yes I play HotA occasionally I have it installed on my Steam Deck it's great!
YOU ARE AWESOME! ❤❤❤
Really appreciate this video! Seems to be pretty much the only one out there on this game.
Some constructive feedback: don’t bury the lede. I’d suggest to start with what you like and give me the main idea 💡 first! Otherwise I don’t even know if I should bother caring about things like organization and expansions 😊
I just skipped ahead to the end
Thank you for the feedback!
You bet. I did end up watching the whole video eventually, just in a different order. You gave helpful and specific comments. Really made me want to play the game and consider a purchase. 😊
Haha, you are the first person I hear not appreciate the minis, or maybe I hear it wrong. Thanks for the review ☺️
@@Musicpins thanks! They're gorgeous, I just wish they were more useful lol
I honestly think they are kind of a collectors item, seeing as the base game only have the heroes, or for people that enjoy painting them. I managed to get my hands on the azure pledge, and I agree with you, Homm3 is not homm without the neutral units.
I have also seen the third party (3dprinted) inserts, while they may be worthwhile if you own a 3dprinter, I think I did see the parts for 150 euros? Thats insane, I could build way more shelf space for that price, ha ha.
@Azure_Death where did you get token trays? I really like your idea with buisness cars holders, saves alot of space.
@@Musicpins thank you! I got all the 3d printer trays from this Etsy store:
www.etsy.com/shop/BigE3D
This review is fantastic. I just subscribed to your channel
Never expected that Jotaro will help me understand rulings in a homm game
Hahaha me neither!
I love those card holders, can't seem to find similar ones online right now.
Overall agree with your assessment, I will mostly play solo and hope the game can keep my attention for a while. The rule book doesn't help, so that link is appreciated.
Thank you! Here are the holders I use, hope it helps:
a.co/d/5I1BYdY
@@Azure_Death thanks, mate!
I feel like this review contained a lot of information however you didn't comment on the gameplay AT ALL. There's no way a game of this complexity doesn't have some serious rough spots mechanically
I don't think the game has any "serious" rough spots gameplaywise (at least from the core set solo experience). The gameplay loop is sound, and I enjoyed it, which I did mention. I also mentioned in the positive section that while it's not the crunchiest game, the elements intertwine well (exploration, leveling up your hero, deckbuilding, managing your town, and economy), and provide a puzzly experience.
I would argue the biggest issue of this game is the wording of some rules. Some things are just not clear. Generally the Rulebook is not really amazing. And i also hear some buildings are just not worth the costs (mostly faction buildings).
p.s: I would also say that the core game without the stretch goals is missing some heroes and also a town (tower). I'm not sure only 3 Towns and 2 Heroes each would be enough for me.
@@sagittariusa9012 Yeah the rulebook has a loooong way to go. I haven't played enough to judge the balance of certain buildings or cards, I'm sure they are more evident in multiplayer, but at least when playing the solo campaigns, I didn't see any glaring issues.
@@Azure_Death So if all these elements actually work together as flawlessly as you pose then would you say this is one of the greatest boardgames of all time? Perhaps greater than Mage Knight (the first board game directly inspired by HOMM3)
@@MrGreeneyes77 It's a great adaptation and an amazing nostalgia trip if you played HOMM3 as a child, but I wouldn't go that far. Deck building mechanic is the core element of making your hero stronger throughout the game, and it's mostly good but it has its flaws. It's pretty easy to fill your deck with spells or skills that do not give you much value, and they are there to stay - not many chances to trim your deck. It's probably my biggest complaint.
Also some game elements seem to be underutilized. Each neutral creature can potentially be recruited, but the opportunities to do so are so rare it might never show up in many games. There are so many spells, artifacts and skills but they're always picked pretty much "at random", with no way to search through the deck to get a specific one (other than "top X cards"). This definitely provides for replayability as you're always given different tools to play around with, but I'd just like to have some way of getting a card I like.
Other than that it's really great, I love it.
So if I get the retail core game which wont have the stretch goals can you still play the other campaigns that were released on pdf file?
@@renmaster7319 correct, you get 3 campaigns from 3 factions from the core (2 of them from the downloaded pdf)
I share your feeling about minis. Maybe I'm even a bit more negative towards them... for me, minis are useless piece of plastic because I'm not a painter/collector. A mono-colored piece of plastic cannot simply convey as much information as colored token/standee, it takes so much more time, it costs more and it makes me go crazy about them getting bend/broken. A partial solution would be to sell machine-painted minis, but that would drive the costs even more up. I'm quite fine with minis when each player has a single centerpiece mini representing that player, because that is 4-6 minis per game, but having dozens of minis in a game just puts me off.
This is the reason why I didn't back the original campaign, even though it was rarely available in my language. Why the hell did they offer the base game without minis and then every expansion strictly with minis? Including backer-exclusive expansion (Tower)? It feels like strong-arming backers into buying minis for the base game. And they haven't learned for this next campaign.
I really want this game, but I'm waiting for them to release the expansions in stores. If they end up making retail expansions also with only a single mini-stuffed variant, then I'm out. But I hope they will make mini-less retail versions because the only available retail base game has no minis.
I think you could get just the core set. It's a a perfectly fine package, unless you have strong feelings to collect certain factions that are not part of the base game. It is unfortunate they don't offer mini-free versions.
Better or different enough where I should own both? Thanks
I personally like it a lot. I go back and forth between the video game and this. The quicker combat battlefield board makes it stand out on its own. If you're unsure, just go for the core set.
@@Azure_Death Thanks for the response. Sorry, I forgot to mention I was referring to Mage Knight when I said should I own both? or which you prefer.
@@davidt4233 oh, no worries. I'm very happy to own both. Obviously I prefer Mage Knight but while they're similar, HoMM scratches the itch in a different way. The battlefield combat and town building element make it stand out a lot. Just like MK, even when you replay the same scenario, it never feels the same thanks to the variable setup and different decks, and it's even better in that regard with expansions. I also love the art and presentation of HoMM a lot more than MK. But this game does seem a bit polarizing, make sure to read a couple more opinions before you decide. And make sure to have extra room in your shelf if you want to get expansions, unfortunately this game suffers from Kickstarter plastic bloat.
@@Azure_Death Thank you. I will pick it up.