I believe there was one small rule error @3:16 , you have to pay a resource of your choosing to the other dragons at any shops you go to, they don't get a free one from the supply.
Not all of us have had the chance to get bored of the same old mechanics, and it would be nice to do it with a game that doesn't look like beige vomit for once
This is one of my favorite gateway games because the art and theme is so inviting before it ensnares newcomers to the hobby with the resource management and worker placement puzzle, mechanics that are then further developed in my library such that they are now initiated and ready to see what else the hobby has to offer. I don't see it as a lesser game because of it. It truly is a game anyone can play and enjoy for what it is. Seeing my friends light up with excitement that board games are more than what they thought, and their smiles widening with each dragon they take into their hands, brings me such joy that no other game in my library so far has, even if I enjoy said other games much more. I love this game for what it has done for my library.
100% agree. Is this the “best” game I have or have played? No. Is it suddenly my favorite game again every time my 7yo daughter loses her mind over Opalwing and Venti? Damn right!
Flamecraft is what I use as a "cozy" game. It's gentle, positive and plays well if you just want to play something you don't want to get super competitive about. I am sure I could play an objectively better game, but that's not really what I play Flamecraft for. It's a fun, gently competitive game I can play with family. Then we can get out Coup when it's time for some proper mean competition.
My favorite things about this review (in no particular order): 1) Fart Cutlet 2) Elaine on the mend and singing about Fart Cutlet 3) A Gogol Bordello reference
I have been watching your reviews for years, and I almost feel like I know both of you. So imagine my surprise in learning that you and Elaine had a child named Fart Cutlet who we'd never met
Throughly enjoyed this review. It actually made me want to buy it as many of my friends aren’t board with the same old mechanics. Sometimes you have to sell out to get something - no - anything to the table. Appreciate fartycutlet too. Just looking for that video by itself now so I can sit my family in front of it on a Thursday night.
After watching this ablazing brewiew of a boardgame I had never seen, I came to the conclusion that I had to include your channel in my digital life even without puns included. It burns me to the core, but cutlet is now my favourite word. I will have it as dessert after this treat.
A cutlet courted me, and he was farty He fairly won my heart at the board game party With his minimal design he looked so clever And if I had that Samsung I would live forever.
I literally sold this after one play (the KS Deluxe version) and got absolutely shamed online for wanting to sell an apparently 'perfect' game. Made me feel quite crap, and even when I explained why there are other games I like way more (even in the weight category) I got told I was wrong basically. Made me feel a bit crap for not loving it; our hobby is usually quite inviting but it does fall to mob mentality from time-to-time.
@@NoPunIncluded oh you guys are so sweet. It's really not that big of a deal, plenty of other people have much worse problems haha. But sometimes things affect us mentally more than they should eh? Thanks for the kindness of course; I'm sure you get it tenfold when you dislike a very popular game so no biggy!
sorry that happened, but is good that you let it go if it wasn't really what you were looking for. Plenty more games out there to fill in the void if something hasn't already :) You shouldn't let other people make you feel guilty for you making a decision that you feel is right for you.
@@vgrezende Is it weird that I love Flamecraft more than Wingspan by a mile? Wingspan feels like a Solitare game with extra steps and little to no suspense during the whole game. Flamecraft while being very light the end game is way more interesting as the shop offer more combos and crazy stuff you can pull off.
One small rules hiccup @3:15. If the shop is already occupied you gift from your personal supply, not the bank. Anyways, I love how the game almost spins out at the end with all the combos and chain reactions you can cause. It's a great "next step" game when you're introducing people to the hobby. Adds complexity but isn't so crunchy that you need to pore over the board and strategize deeply. There's just enough randomness to take that stress away, similar to games like Everdell. Each turn is just about making the best decision you can, knowing the things you're "looking for" might not ever come.
Yes, one could argue that it's there for the parents/other adults but if the cute theme, puns etc. is all there to draw the attention of kids (8-14 ish, depending) and make them want to play, then you need to use references that they actually recognise! I'm a mum of a 17 & 13 yr old who have both been playing boardgames with me for the last 5 or so years. I'm also on the committee of my local boardgames club & our local boardgames festival committee. We run festivals with free entry, aimed at families, new & experienced gamers. I know just what appeals to this age range! There's a lot here that will appeal to them but those puns are just a bit too dated & a bit too obvious & will just lose their appeal after the first play. They need to be just that bit cleverer to really work, more "if you know, you know", something that makes a kid feel like they know more than their parent, maybe :-)
@@emmaplaysgreen2849 Yeah, nice insight. Ultimately pretty harmless pun-work, so I'm not complaining. But you can tell the demo who made it is not quite the demo it's aimed at.
They also made a pun about Critical Role, a show very popular with people much younger than those who would catch the Punky Brewster pun. Go through all the cards - the designers included a large swath of jokes covering many demographics.
I'm only a couple of minutes in but already I feel as if I have met a kindred spirit. I jumped on the hype train and got the deluxe Kickstarter edition. But since getting it, I've been struggling to reconcile my love of the art and the feeling I should really enjoy the game, with the gnawing sense that the gameplay just isn't that deep, engaging, original or fun. At least, I think that's where you're going with this. Update: Elaine has a great singing voice! I could listen to the folk ballad of Little Farty Cutlet over and over.
it's meant to be a fun, light, gateway game and nothing particularly deeper than that. Expecting more from it than that misses the point. If you're that displeased with it, you could always pass it on.
I needed to see this review months ago... I skipped my chances to get this so many times because I wasn't sure if the basic components were good enough after seeing so many reviews with deluxe. Now I know... it's all about the adorable CARDS.
The "and now we cut away to Elaine's-parody-song-complete-with-acoustical-guitar" segue needs to become a recurring bit. That was worthy of the great Yankovic.
It feels like you love-hate-loved it which is like the opposite of how I feel about my father minus the love. My psychologically damaged childhood aside, I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought it was interesting how the dragons seem so happy to being doing menial labor and don't seem to be getting paid for it. Are we all not just dragons in punny shops being shifted around by our corporate possibly dragon overlords?
If this was a kid's first Eurogame, I think they would really like it. Weirdly outdated puns though. Maybe reference things that kids like rather than a sitcom that premiered nearly 40 years ago.
I still don't quite understand what Efka didn't like about it. He talked about 5 people giving you a hug you don't want but does that refer to the game mechanisms or the art or...? I didn't follow what he meant. There was a lot of time spent on praise then the negative part whooshed by.
Meh, i saw it was cute, i filed it mentally under cute, and then i proceeded to realise it's just a resource conversion game that while it feels nice to play, no turn feels wasted, you also reach the point of not caring about anything midway through the game. Also the starting shops being mostly the same power level and design use, makes them feel like the game always starts off at a snails pace. So yeah, in the end, it's a great game to inspire kids with and gateway them into boardgaming. Hell, it might work for adults too. But while executed well, i can't say Flamecraft deserves to be in my collection, nor a game i would recommend to people even if availible to play.
For me Flamecraft sits in the same category as Ticket to Ride and Splendor. An ok gateway game. The retail edition we have in our games club library gets played now and then. That edition has a reasonable price to quality ratio. The thing that irks me is the over the top deluxe edition. Completely unnecessary and targeted at the wallets of more “hard core” gamers. But the depth of gameplay (or lack there of) isn’t up to par with its price.
Light is colorless when left unbroken. That’s how I felt about this. Rewards are more meaningful when there’s loss as well. Low lows allow you to feel high highs. If everything I do in this game is rewarded it never feels like a reward. It’s like having a permanent participation trophy. So your analogy aboit feeling hugged by everyone and it’s not helping was spot on from my experience playing.
I get what you're saying, but I feel differently. I'm tired of resource-gathering games that are sooo tight, where one step taken with slight inefficiency dooms you. This is a resource-gathering game where your ability to have the right resources is never really in question, and that's kind of refreshing. The competition is succeeding more than the other players, rather than failing less. Concordia is kind of similar - see Shut Up and Sit Down's review of that one. It's not as free-flowing as Flamecraft, but it's far more generous with resource production than a lot of beige Euros. And it's rightfully considered a modern classic.
Concerning the puns: One of my local friends - an experienced gamer with whom I've recently been playing games like Nemesis - here in Brittany has bought Flamecraft. He says it's a really great game to play with people who are new to board games. My concern is localisation of all those very anglo-centric puns. I haven't yet had the opportunity to play the French language edition of Flamecraft with my friend to discover if puns such as Funky Brewster have been translated to an equivalent humorous French equivalent? Translating humour is hard. Comedy is cultural, and different countries value different styles of humour. Due to the legacy of Molière (and others like him), farce is generally valued higher in France than in the UK and the French were still watching and loving Benny Hill long after we Brits had moved on from him. It can be done - the Asterix BDs are a fantastic example of attention to detail in translation of humour and particularly linguistic humour. But we're talking about boardgame publishers who can often barely manage to put out properly translated rulebooks half the time, so forgive me if I'm sceptical! NPI viewers who are non-native speakers and own Flamecraft in a language other than English, please let me know if the puns were translated at all into your language and how successfully they were translated? Thanks for letting me rant away again, Efka and Elaine!
I'm curious to see what answers you get. I can't offer my own experience, but I can say that Cardboard Alchemy did think about it... From Kickstart Update #22 (which has some pics of translated shops): "As for shops, that was a fun discovery as well. As it turns out, all of our partners decided to translate the shop names with their team, rather than leave the English names. There are a few surprises where the name matched up. Of course, 'La Petite Dragonne' stayed the same in a lot of versions, especially er.. French. We gave partners as much info as we could about the name - explaining the shop power, and the shop theme and the pun as much as possible to help. We hope that each version is a charming match between Sandara's art and shop titles. We can't quite make out all of them, but they do seem fun!" I saw one person decrying the German translation in a BGG thread with several replies from people who thought Asmodee had done a good job on it. From what I read, it sounds like localization teams tossed the jokes that didn't work in their countries and substituted their own, making their own pop culture references and their own dragon puns.
@@Clevider That does sound promising and as if some thought has been put into it, actually! I thought of a couple really good examples within board games of types of humour not translating well and that would be the card art in Bohnanza (even leaving aside the racist stereotypes) and some in MicroMacro:Crime City.
Well, the worst thing about this game is that it’s so simple and yet such a huge mess of cards, colors and text elements, half of them upside down, spread way too far over your table. And even if it was the best game ever made, there is no excuse for such a lousy layout design. Sorry for the rant. Of course I love the cutesy dragons. ❤
Normally enjoy your stuff but this very much felt like you *wanted* to dislike it for the sake of disliking it, since it's beloved by so many people. Quite a contrarian take, especially when your criticisms are, self-admittedly, stemming from the positives. How can you say you're not cynical when your liken your complaints to many people offering you nice things, or many people hugging you? That's pure cynicism, big man.
Dragons don't always have to terrorise, maim, or kill; sometimes, they just want to make pizza - and that's okay in my book. 😉 That being said, great video, as always! Keep them coming! 😁
Another wonderful review! Also one of the first ones that I completely disagreed with you on. Unfortunately, I think you really oversold the 'cuteness' actor. It's nice, but you really don't pay attention to it after 10 minutes of playing. This kind of reminds me of when Tom Vasel doesn't like a game, and it seems because he simply just played too many games. Sometimes a game is just bright and beautiful, and that's okay, even in a space of other similar Euro games.
Hey Evan, Thanks for your comment. I'd like to challenge you on the idea that there is such a thing as "played too many games." It's true that we play more games than an average hobbyist. However, I think the notion that it somehow makes us like a certain game less is, in my opinion, conjecture that stems from a need to explain why someone doesn't like a game as much as you. Here's the thing. People like different things. It's just how the world works. Nothing magical about it, and not anything that needs to be explained by drawing conclusions based on differences in circumstance. That isn't to say that playing more games than an average person doesn't change our perspective at all. Every game we play builds on our knowledge and experience of games, which helps us contextualize things for folks. But it does not make us like games less.
I came here for the review of a game I like. Stayed for the quality of the video and the jokes. Subscribed for the "Protect Trans Kids" sticker on the guitar.
I dismissed Flamecraft as a bland game with a cutesy theme. I expected your review to affirm my opinion. But dang it, I want to play it now. The game pierced my armor too. Do you really use a "dumb" phone? I've thought about going back, but then what would I listen to your podcast on?
For future reference: I've played Flamecraft at 2p and 4p, and while I enjoy it both ways, I think it's a far more interesting game with more players. Basically, if you're torn between Flamecraft and something else, give Flamecraft more weight with 4p and less with 2p.
Flamecraft is great for when I’m in the mood for more of an activity than a game. It is reward overload which means I don’t care all that much about individual decisions, but sometimes it’s nice to be able to focus on conversation and cute dragon names and not care all that much about making good choices.
The problem with this is it’s marketed, sold, and widely accepted as a board game and not a “table activity,” and therefore needs to be judged as such.
@@ninjamikeus It is a board game. Its just a light weight entry level board game. Yall had the rules you could have read before buying. Assuming everygame has to be extremely deep is 100% the fault of YOUR ego.
"It numbs you with positivity"? It's just a lightweight euro with art designed to appeal to families; nothing more, nothing less. Perhaps people resent the Kickstarter campaign (I don't know, I wasn't there), but I bought this for $30 and it's pleasant. It would probably sell gangbusters at Target. Never going to be my favorite, but it's one I can pull out and play with friends and family who want an easy teach. It's a cozy Sunday sort of board game. It's fine to not like that, but... it's not exactly misrepresenting itself at any point.
@@NoPunIncluded That's fair. I'm never going to understand the appeal of Wingspan to so many people. (It's okay, but as you put it, I'm not jazzed about it.) Fortunately I tried someone else's copy of W instead of buying it first. Expectations are really thrown out of proportion if you spent money, especially for deluxe stuff!
The puns wouldn't bother me so much if they weren't also references to contempory geek culture and real-world retail outlets. Actually takes away from the immersion for me.
I really appreciate the genuine critique in your videos. You often have a lot of great insights that are worth sharing. Please keep it up. But, your cynical "humor" always puts me down. Eventhough I'm far from sensitive when it comes to extremes in humor. But your style is getting a bit old, and really predictable. Like the fake smile in the intro... Everyone sees the "pun" coming a mile away. And to me, not in a funny way. Sorry for my critique. Don't want to put you down. I'm trying to give honest feedback. Don't let my comments get you down ❤️
Some times, you just want a medium weight, fun game that doesn't involve violence, turning over your fellow players or dull themes. Not every game needs to be This War Of Mine, Scythe or Brass.
I agree! Still, I'd like for this hypothethical game to be interesting, or perchance even fun. A game does not need to be edgy, but it's no good for it being dull either.
@@NoPunIncluded Each to their own I guess... From the multiple reviews I've watched for this game, with a view to buying it, yours is the standard alone outlier. I'll get back to you when I've played it lol
Can I see your ID? What? Your ID, you have marinated herring in your cart. Oh uh, I left it at home, can you just make an exception this time? Not a chance, I’m not going to lose my job so that you can indulge in overripe seafood. Now get out of here before I call a supervisor!
I look at is as a family friendly toe dip into euro's. What confused newbies thought their dust collecting Wingspan was going to be, but actually successful at it thanks to being a communal engine. Communist start to get the whole table enjoying it, ruthlessly capitalist by the end for the repeat players. Truly a microcosm of mankind's hubris from start to finish. It's a regular at my weekly table, we're trying out here my dude. (Don't worry, Too Many Bones fulfills soon, the puns will strike much harder then.)
I played this game it sucks ! I cannot believe why other reviwers speaks of highly of this game so i bought it. huge disappointment. you might be the only one who speaks how you don't like it. my respect to you for the courage and the truthfulness !
Cute artwork doesn't make a great game for me. This game just lacks an interesting "story" or at least unique "puzzle" for me that would justify the ridiculous amount of table space it consumes.
Flamecraft is a completely mediocre game wrapped in glitter. A simple game that last waaay to long. A simple game that in later rounds can lead to analysis paralysis. A long and not so siomple game then in which winning is decided by the whimsy of which player will have its turn with the best combination of resources available for him/her? Bleargh.
I believe there was one small rule error @3:16 , you have to pay a resource of your choosing to the other dragons at any shops you go to, they don't get a free one from the supply.
Indeed, apologies for the mistake.
@@NoPunIncluded no worries! still a great video, thanks for all your hard work!
Not all of us have had the chance to get bored of the same old mechanics, and it would be nice to do it with a game that doesn't look like beige vomit for once
This is one of my favorite gateway games because the art and theme is so inviting before it ensnares newcomers to the hobby with the resource management and worker placement puzzle, mechanics that are then further developed in my library such that they are now initiated and ready to see what else the hobby has to offer. I don't see it as a lesser game because of it. It truly is a game anyone can play and enjoy for what it is. Seeing my friends light up with excitement that board games are more than what they thought, and their smiles widening with each dragon they take into their hands, brings me such joy that no other game in my library so far has, even if I enjoy said other games much more. I love this game for what it has done for my library.
100% agree. Is this the “best” game I have or have played? No. Is it suddenly my favorite game again every time my 7yo daughter loses her mind over Opalwing and Venti? Damn right!
Flamecraft is what I use as a "cozy" game. It's gentle, positive and plays well if you just want to play something you don't want to get super competitive about.
I am sure I could play an objectively better game, but that's not really what I play Flamecraft for. It's a fun, gently competitive game I can play with family.
Then we can get out Coup when it's time for some proper mean competition.
My favorite things about this review (in no particular order):
1) Fart Cutlet
2) Elaine on the mend and singing about Fart Cutlet
3) A Gogol Bordello reference
I have been watching your reviews for years, and I almost feel like I know both of you. So imagine my surprise in learning that you and Elaine had a child named Fart Cutlet who we'd never met
Was not expecting a Gogol Bordello reference in a Flamecraft review!
Same! What a pleasant surprise! 💜
My wedding song :)
The wonderful Farty Cutlet song is stuck in my head at work now
Throughly enjoyed this review. It actually made me want to buy it as many of my friends aren’t board with the same old mechanics. Sometimes you have to sell out to get something - no - anything to the table. Appreciate fartycutlet too. Just looking for that video by itself now so I can sit my family in front of it on a Thursday night.
Tired: Soft Kitty
Wired: Little Farty Cutlet
I was not expecting the deep NPI lore in the middle of this review. Great song Elaine.
After watching this ablazing brewiew of a boardgame I had never seen, I came to the conclusion that I had to include your channel in my digital life even without puns included.
It burns me to the core, but cutlet is now my favourite word.
I will have it as dessert after this treat.
A cutlet courted me, and he was farty
He fairly won my heart at the board game party
With his minimal design he looked so clever
And if I had that Samsung I would live forever.
I literally sold this after one play (the KS Deluxe version) and got absolutely shamed online for wanting to sell an apparently 'perfect' game. Made me feel quite crap, and even when I explained why there are other games I like way more (even in the weight category) I got told I was wrong basically.
Made me feel a bit crap for not loving it; our hobby is usually quite inviting but it does fall to mob mentality from time-to-time.
I'm sorry that happened to you.
@@NoPunIncluded oh you guys are so sweet. It's really not that big of a deal, plenty of other people have much worse problems haha. But sometimes things affect us mentally more than they should eh?
Thanks for the kindness of course; I'm sure you get it tenfold when you dislike a very popular game so no biggy!
sorry that happened, but is good that you let it go if it wasn't really what you were looking for. Plenty more games out there to fill in the void if something hasn't already :) You shouldn't let other people make you feel guilty for you making a decision that you feel is right for you.
If it makes you feel better, I dislike Wingspan and think it's very mediocre and boring. Can't understand the hype at all
@@vgrezende Is it weird that I love Flamecraft more than Wingspan by a mile? Wingspan feels like a Solitare game with extra steps and little to no suspense during the whole game. Flamecraft while being very light the end game is way more interesting as the shop offer more combos and crazy stuff you can pull off.
Really nice guitar playing and singing Elaine!
One small rules hiccup @3:15. If the shop is already occupied you gift from your personal supply, not the bank.
Anyways, I love how the game almost spins out at the end with all the combos and chain reactions you can cause. It's a great "next step" game when you're introducing people to the hobby. Adds complexity but isn't so crunchy that you need to pore over the board and strategize deeply. There's just enough randomness to take that stress away, similar to games like Everdell. Each turn is just about making the best decision you can, knowing the things you're "looking for" might not ever come.
Bah, you're right!
Similar to Istanbul!
Having a pun for Punky Brewster really tells you the age and culture of the creators
Yes, one could argue that it's there for the parents/other adults but if the cute theme, puns etc. is all there to draw the attention of kids (8-14 ish, depending) and make them want to play, then you need to use references that they actually recognise!
I'm a mum of a 17 & 13 yr old who have both been playing boardgames with me for the last 5 or so years.
I'm also on the committee of my local boardgames club & our local boardgames festival committee. We run festivals with free entry, aimed at families, new & experienced gamers.
I know just what appeals to this age range! There's a lot here that will appeal to them but those puns are just a bit too dated & a bit too obvious & will just lose their appeal after the first play.
They need to be just that bit cleverer to really work, more "if you know, you know", something that makes a kid feel like they know more than their parent, maybe :-)
@@emmaplaysgreen2849 Yeah, nice insight. Ultimately pretty harmless pun-work, so I'm not complaining. But you can tell the demo who made it is not quite the demo it's aimed at.
They also made a pun about Critical Role, a show very popular with people much younger than those who would catch the Punky Brewster pun.
Go through all the cards - the designers included a large swath of jokes covering many demographics.
My happiness went up +10 when you correctly used the word comprise.
I'm only a couple of minutes in but already I feel as if I have met a kindred spirit. I jumped on the hype train and got the deluxe Kickstarter edition. But since getting it, I've been struggling to reconcile my love of the art and the feeling I should really enjoy the game, with the gnawing sense that the gameplay just isn't that deep, engaging, original or fun. At least, I think that's where you're going with this.
Update: Elaine has a great singing voice! I could listen to the folk ballad of Little Farty Cutlet over and over.
it's meant to be a fun, light, gateway game and nothing particularly deeper than that. Expecting more from it than that misses the point. If you're that displeased with it, you could always pass it on.
I needed to see this review months ago... I skipped my chances to get this so many times because I wasn't sure if the basic components were good enough after seeing so many reviews with deluxe. Now I know... it's all about the adorable CARDS.
The "and now we cut away to Elaine's-parody-song-complete-with-acoustical-guitar" segue needs to become a recurring bit. That was worthy of the great Yankovic.
Ironically I have now changed my smartphone ringtone to Fart Cutlet's Theme.
5:36 Wakko and Yakko are in love with that shop.
I'm amazed at how few people seem to get that reference.
It feels like you love-hate-loved it which is like the opposite of how I feel about my father minus the love. My psychologically damaged childhood aside, I'm glad I'm not the only one who thought it was interesting how the dragons seem so happy to being doing menial labor and don't seem to be getting paid for it. Are we all not just dragons in punny shops being shifted around by our corporate possibly dragon overlords?
The rule book is pretty clear they get paid for it. They are sentient members of the society on the same economic and socio status as humans.
3:00 Wait... is that why they're called No Pun Included?
But are dragons a sustainable energy source? Anybody checked the emissions on those flames?
I think I indirectly touch on this in the "Cutlet" segment of the video.
I had no interest in this game prior but this review did make me think my niece would probably quite like it.
It is beautiful, but 0 theme.
If this was a kid's first Eurogame, I think they would really like it. Weirdly outdated puns though. Maybe reference things that kids like rather than a sitcom that premiered nearly 40 years ago.
@@evgenidimitrov7790 You should really lookup with theme means.
This is a great family weight game that looks gorgeous. My 9 year old loves it.
It’s kinda funny because I can usually tell if I’m gonna like the game by whether or not you guys dislike it. And yet I still enjoy your reviews
Elaine is looking much better than she did on the GOTY video. She was looking real pale in that one
Almost just bones. Glad she's recovering from all that hard work.
Maybe don't comment on someone's look. I know you mean well
@@TheSteven00 She was "in" the other video as the skeleton. This is why we can't have nice things.
@@jokerES2 I laughed way too hard at this 🤣
@@jokerES2 oh lol. Sorry about that. Without that context I thought you were just bein rude on the internet :/
I still don't quite understand what Efka didn't like about it. He talked about 5 people giving you a hug you don't want but does that refer to the game mechanisms or the art or...? I didn't follow what he meant. There was a lot of time spent on praise then the negative part whooshed by.
Meh, i saw it was cute, i filed it mentally under cute, and then i proceeded to realise it's just a resource conversion game that while it feels nice to play, no turn feels wasted, you also reach the point of not caring about anything midway through the game. Also the starting shops being mostly the same power level and design use, makes them feel like the game always starts off at a snails pace.
So yeah, in the end, it's a great game to inspire kids with and gateway them into boardgaming. Hell, it might work for adults too. But while executed well, i can't say Flamecraft deserves to be in my collection, nor a game i would recommend to people even if availible to play.
This is your first engine building game isn;t it?
For me Flamecraft sits in the same category as Ticket to Ride and Splendor. An ok gateway game. The retail edition we have in our games club library gets played now and then. That edition has a reasonable price to quality ratio.
The thing that irks me is the over the top deluxe edition. Completely unnecessary and targeted at the wallets of more “hard core” gamers. But the depth of gameplay (or lack there of) isn’t up to par with its price.
Just played this tonight with my 7 yo, and she got the gist of the game within a couple turns and we loved it.
Light is colorless when left unbroken. That’s how I felt about this. Rewards are more meaningful when there’s loss as well. Low lows allow you to feel high highs. If everything I do in this game is rewarded it never feels like a reward. It’s like having a permanent participation trophy. So your analogy aboit feeling hugged by everyone and it’s not helping was spot on from my experience playing.
I get what you're saying, but I feel differently. I'm tired of resource-gathering games that are sooo tight, where one step taken with slight inefficiency dooms you. This is a resource-gathering game where your ability to have the right resources is never really in question, and that's kind of refreshing. The competition is succeeding more than the other players, rather than failing less.
Concordia is kind of similar - see Shut Up and Sit Down's review of that one. It's not as free-flowing as Flamecraft, but it's far more generous with resource production than a lot of beige Euros. And it's rightfully considered a modern classic.
@@chrishillery yea I agree
Thanks I'll be singing Little Farty Cutlet all day now
Concerning the puns:
One of my local friends - an experienced gamer with whom I've recently been playing games like Nemesis - here in Brittany has bought Flamecraft. He says it's a really great game to play with people who are new to board games.
My concern is localisation of all those very anglo-centric puns.
I haven't yet had the opportunity to play the French language edition of Flamecraft with my friend to discover if puns such as Funky Brewster have been translated to an equivalent humorous French equivalent?
Translating humour is hard. Comedy is cultural, and different countries value different styles of humour. Due to the legacy of Molière (and others like him), farce is generally valued higher in France than in the UK and the French were still watching and loving Benny Hill long after we Brits had moved on from him.
It can be done - the Asterix BDs are a fantastic example of attention to detail in translation of humour and particularly linguistic humour.
But we're talking about boardgame publishers who can often barely manage to put out properly translated rulebooks half the time, so forgive me if I'm sceptical!
NPI viewers who are non-native speakers and own Flamecraft in a language other than English, please let me know if the puns were translated at all into your language and how successfully they were translated?
Thanks for letting me rant away again, Efka and Elaine!
I'm curious to see what answers you get. I can't offer my own experience, but I can say that Cardboard Alchemy did think about it...
From Kickstart Update #22 (which has some pics of translated shops): "As for shops, that was a fun discovery as well. As it turns out, all of our partners decided to translate the shop names with their team, rather than leave the English names. There are a few surprises where the name matched up. Of course, 'La Petite Dragonne' stayed the same in a lot of versions, especially er.. French.
We gave partners as much info as we could about the name - explaining the shop power, and the shop theme and the pun as much as possible to help. We hope that each version is a charming match between Sandara's art and shop titles. We can't quite make out all of them, but they do seem fun!"
I saw one person decrying the German translation in a BGG thread with several replies from people who thought Asmodee had done a good job on it. From what I read, it sounds like localization teams tossed the jokes that didn't work in their countries and substituted their own, making their own pop culture references and their own dragon puns.
@@Clevider That does sound promising and as if some thought has been put into it, actually!
I thought of a couple really good examples within board games of types of humour not translating well and that would be the card art in Bohnanza (even leaving aside the racist stereotypes) and some in MicroMacro:Crime City.
I can't speak for the other languages, but the German version is very well done.
Well, the worst thing about this game is that it’s so simple and yet such a huge mess of cards, colors and text elements, half of them upside down, spread way too far over your table. And even if it was the best game ever made, there is no excuse for such a lousy layout design. Sorry for the rant. Of course I love the cutesy dragons. ❤
A gold star for the cutlet couplet!
Deathfang! Love it. Please make this a reality. NPI promo card at least.
no, that card is in the game
That bit happened as I sipped my coffee and I comically spat out my drink
I guess the bad puns really are a DRAG ON the game. Muhahahahaha 🥷
Deathfang seems nice.
Love the song, you should do more board game filk.
Excellent review! Love the song interlude. 💖
Normally enjoy your stuff but this very much felt like you *wanted* to dislike it for the sake of disliking it, since it's beloved by so many people. Quite a contrarian take, especially when your criticisms are, self-admittedly, stemming from the positives. How can you say you're not cynical when your liken your complaints to many people offering you nice things, or many people hugging you? That's pure cynicism, big man.
Dragons don't always have to terrorise, maim, or kill; sometimes, they just want to make pizza - and that's okay in my book. 😉
That being said, great video, as always! Keep them coming! 😁
I can't believe thex included puns
I can't help thinking that a Steeleye Span style cover of Happiness in Slavery would be more apt.
The art for this game is so sweet it gave me diabetes!
Another wonderful review! Also one of the first ones that I completely disagreed with you on.
Unfortunately, I think you really oversold the 'cuteness' actor. It's nice, but you really don't pay attention to it after 10 minutes of playing.
This kind of reminds me of when Tom Vasel doesn't like a game, and it seems because he simply just played too many games.
Sometimes a game is just bright and beautiful, and that's okay, even in a space of other similar Euro games.
Hey Evan,
Thanks for your comment. I'd like to challenge you on the idea that there is such a thing as "played too many games."
It's true that we play more games than an average hobbyist. However, I think the notion that it somehow makes us like a certain game less is, in my opinion, conjecture that stems from a need to explain why someone doesn't like a game as much as you.
Here's the thing. People like different things. It's just how the world works. Nothing magical about it, and not anything that needs to be explained by drawing conclusions based on differences in circumstance.
That isn't to say that playing more games than an average person doesn't change our perspective at all. Every game we play builds on our knowledge and experience of games, which helps us contextualize things for folks. But it does not make us like games less.
I came here for the review of a game I like. Stayed for the quality of the video and the jokes. Subscribed for the "Protect Trans Kids" sticker on the guitar.
I too wish we could exist well enough in the modern world without the smart phones. I sure do miss the simplicity of my Motorola Startac :)
Very cool review! The positivity thing was really interesting.
I dismissed Flamecraft as a bland game with a cutesy theme. I expected your review to affirm my opinion. But dang it, I want to play it now. The game pierced my armor too.
Do you really use a "dumb" phone? I've thought about going back, but then what would I listen to your podcast on?
I used to. This was circa 2017/18. I've reverted back since.
thank you for giving us something to talk about!!
I wonder if this will get me to take this game off the shelf and actually give it a go?
EDIT: Nope, I picked up Nusfjord off the shelf instead.
Ugh show off. Been looking for a copy of Nusjford :(
For future reference: I've played Flamecraft at 2p and 4p, and while I enjoy it both ways, I think it's a far more interesting game with more players. Basically, if you're torn between Flamecraft and something else, give Flamecraft more weight with 4p and less with 2p.
@@Bleuchzdon't worry,big box re-print is on the way!
And now I will randomly have 'Farty Cutlet' stuck in my head at some point in the future and only have the vaguest recollection as to why.
Flamecraft is great for when I’m in the mood for more of an activity than a game. It is reward overload which means I don’t care all that much about individual decisions, but sometimes it’s nice to be able to focus on conversation and cute dragon names and not care all that much about making good choices.
The problem with this is it’s marketed, sold, and widely accepted as a board game and not a “table activity,” and therefore needs to be judged as such.
This is a strange take to me. Flamecraft is a game. It's ok to not enjoy it because it's too simple.
@@ninjamikeus It is a board game. Its just a light weight entry level board game. Yall had the rules you could have read before buying. Assuming everygame has to be extremely deep is 100% the fault of YOUR ego.
I see your Bedtime Island shirt, Efka! A person of high culture. Great review also.
"It numbs you with positivity"? It's just a lightweight euro with art designed to appeal to families; nothing more, nothing less. Perhaps people resent the Kickstarter campaign (I don't know, I wasn't there), but I bought this for $30 and it's pleasant. It would probably sell gangbusters at Target. Never going to be my favorite, but it's one I can pull out and play with friends and family who want an easy teach. It's a cozy Sunday sort of board game. It's fine to not like that, but... it's not exactly misrepresenting itself at any point.
Yeah, you're not wrong. It's fine. I'm just not jazzed by it.
@@NoPunIncluded That's fair. I'm never going to understand the appeal of Wingspan to so many people. (It's okay, but as you put it, I'm not jazzed about it.) Fortunately I tried someone else's copy of W instead of buying it first. Expectations are really thrown out of proportion if you spent money, especially for deluxe stuff!
I got myself a LightPhone to shed my smartphone.
love the Gogol Bordello reference!
1:03 Jokes on you game. That doesn't work on me. Never ask me what I think of a baby.
Just got around to playing it. I think it's a great.
DEATHFANG 😂😂
I sat down to play this game and could not understand the hype around it. Played once - absolutely no desire to come back.
The puns wouldn't bother me so much if they weren't also references to contempory geek culture and real-world retail outlets. Actually takes away from the immersion for me.
I fucking lost it at the folk song 10/10 review :D
Cellar door? Sounds tinny.
I really appreciate the genuine critique in your videos. You often have a lot of great insights that are worth sharing. Please keep it up.
But, your cynical "humor" always puts me down. Eventhough I'm far from sensitive when it comes to extremes in humor. But your style is getting a bit old, and really predictable. Like the fake smile in the intro... Everyone sees the "pun" coming a mile away. And to me, not in a funny way.
Sorry for my critique. Don't want to put you down. I'm trying to give honest feedback. Don't let my comments get you down ❤️
I come here from the Oathsworn video…
I miss my brick phone!
I love you guys but as a nihilist who lives in extitsential dread daily, your reviews make me seem like a ray of sunshine in comparison.
Re: Puns
YOU HATE FUN!
Please please tell me you are Steeleye Span fans.. !! 😁
I’m not sure…was thus a positive or negative review?
it was nositive.
Some times, you just want a medium weight, fun game that doesn't involve violence, turning over your fellow players or dull themes.
Not every game needs to be This War Of Mine, Scythe or Brass.
I agree! Still, I'd like for this hypothethical game to be interesting, or perchance even fun.
A game does not need to be edgy, but it's no good for it being dull either.
@@NoPunIncluded Each to their own I guess... From the multiple reviews I've watched for this game, with a view to buying it, yours is the standard alone outlier.
I'll get back to you when I've played it lol
Thanks for another review!
I'm a little confused by this review. I can't tell if you liked it or not.
I didn't, but then I did, but then I didn't.
Me, a day after watching this:
FAAAAAARTY Cutlet, Farty-Farty-Cutlet!! 🎉
marinated herring is delicious but as an American I understand your reflexive distaste for our culture of enforced cheer.
Did you say GIST or as I thought I heard JIZZED?!
9:48 Donnie Darko
Everdell artwork success claims another group of wallets.
Can I see your ID?
What?
Your ID, you have marinated herring in your cart.
Oh uh, I left it at home, can you just make an exception this time?
Not a chance, I’m not going to lose my job so that you can indulge in overripe seafood. Now get out of here before I call a supervisor!
Board games, psht, amiright?! 😉😉
One of the best reviews, ever! Now I need to look at getting a new old phone...
are you sure not to be a incarnation of Laurel & Hardy
Recipe fulfillment is played out
The song Elaine sings sounds is a good song, but it sounds better at 1.5x speed!
Make sure you copyright the song: Fart Cutlet. Huge royalties in the near future I am sure.
This video went to far in the comedy direction. Just distracted focus too muxh
Farty cutlet! Whoo! hahahahaha
The answer is pizza always.
"Such an excellent game" ...
I look at is as a family friendly toe dip into euro's. What confused newbies thought their dust collecting Wingspan was going to be, but actually successful at it thanks to being a communal engine. Communist start to get the whole table enjoying it, ruthlessly capitalist by the end for the repeat players. Truly a microcosm of mankind's hubris from start to finish.
It's a regular at my weekly table, we're trying out here my dude. (Don't worry, Too Many Bones fulfills soon, the puns will strike much harder then.)
This game is so not for me, it’s making me rethink my entire board game collection.
DEATHFANG
I played this game it sucks ! I cannot believe why other reviwers speaks of highly of this game so i bought it. huge disappointment. you might be the only one who speaks how you don't like it. my respect to you for the courage and the truthfulness !
Cute artwork doesn't make a great game for me. This game just lacks an interesting "story" or at least unique "puzzle" for me that would justify the ridiculous amount of table space it consumes.
Flamecraft is a completely mediocre game wrapped in glitter. A simple game that last waaay to long. A simple game that in later rounds can lead to analysis paralysis. A long and not so siomple game then in which winning is decided by the whimsy of which player will have its turn with the best combination of resources available for him/her?
Bleargh.