Kemet is one of my few 5/5s and my favourite game of all time. I knew after a single play that this game was made for me. Checks all my boxes and knocks what it's doing out of the park. Just wish I could get it to the table more, it's massive!
Kemet: Blood and Sand is still my favorite game of all time. Eclipse Second Dawn is quickly becoming a 2nd place but Kemet is such a perfect area control game.
I have collection of 9 games. Two of them are Kemet and Eclipse. For me Eclipse is No 1, Brass: Birmingham is at 2 and Kemet is at 3, at 4th place I have Gloomhaven.
I remember watching your video last year where you compared the 3 games of the trilogy and I decided Kemet was the right one for me. It has been an absolute home run with my group! Can't wait to get my hands on the expansion if it ever makes its way to retail. Looking forward to seeing your review of it.
This is probably oft-requested, so apologies for being so cliche! I'd love to get your opinion regarding a head-to-head with Ankh. As Egyptian-themed games, both dudes-on-a-map/area control, I'm seeing a lot of similarities, and my assumption is that having both would oversaturate my collection both in terms of theme and mechanics. But not having played both, I can't be sure. Would appreciate getting your take!
13:50 I agree with your point about 'broken' / over-powered abilities is what I love about Cosmic Encounter. I love games that have an everything's over-power way of doing things, a lot more fun imo
I have the old Kemet with both expansions and the Cyclades crossover. That is why I did not switch to the new version. However, I do think that the new minis are of better size and quality. A point that you did not quite touch upon, unless I missed it. Anyway, great game! The battles remind me a lot of Ankh battle system.
Awesome review, Could we have a top10 Are Control list please? This kind of game is to crowded with BGC 5* ratings :D Also, so there is an expansion rumored? Do you think it be KS and the option to get all the previous stuff if missed?
Not real fan of 'conflict style' games, but I love Kemet. I think that it's due to the combat mechanism with the card play. Too often I see these things result with dice (not a fan, except with Root of which I am fan as well), but the card play I love and works well strategy wise, in combination with the power tiles. And the concept of temporary VP is grand. Totally agree with the map. Such a shame they didn't provide board options for 2-4 players, although this works It makes the game board clumsy.
The biggest improvement for me were the rebalanced power tiles. The blue/sapphire track alone feels like a new color. It's nice not to ignore a complete third of it anymore. Nearly everything else other than the trays felt like they could have improved more in my opinion.
Great review as always. Your thoughts on 2 player Kemet? I know it’s not the ideal count. My wife and I enjoy Ankh and Exlipse at 2, but I have always been drawn to Kemet. But, it might fall into one that is a pass for us because we mainly just play 2 player.
@@darrylevans1665 Are you sure it comes with the trays? I got the retail version from Game Nerdz and the trays are not listed under contents. I haven't opened it yet because I really want the trays so I was thinking about selling the retail version and getting the kickstarter one.
I realy like this game. So much that even tho I had the first edition I backed this one. I wanted the black tiles anyway and am gonna sell the first edition to recoup some losses. I have ONE issue with the second printing... The map. WHY? Why didnt they just do like the old map. 2 and 4 players on one side. 3 and 5 on the other. Now we got a useless picture on one, and ugly "sandstorms" to lay down to block pieces of the map. Its a real letdown. But still. it took a great game and polished it to a sheen. Went from 8/10 to 9/10 for me. I still love how every player groans when a player buys any tier 3 or 4 power. "That power is OP!" "Well so is yours!" . It reaches balance by makeing everyone super strong
Really don't like the look of the storm overlay boards. Makes the board look cheap and messy. Part of it may be that I just don't think the storm art looks good either. Otherwise, always been a game I've been interested in and would like to get a chance to play some day. Don't have enough people that like battle/area control games to make it worthwhile for me to own it though.
Hi Alex, I have an extensive game collection but do not own a game that is fantasy fighting on a map like this or Blood Rage etc. I do have Eclipse 2nd Dawn. I wondered how close these 2 are given the map vs discovery tiles (explore), the tech trees (seem similar), the fighting system (may be a point of difference), and the goals of the game? What you would rank as the top 5 fantasy area control, army building games? Many thanks.
I just could not get into this game, I don't really know what it was. I guess one thing was that some of the little rules for balancing were just rules without a thematic sense. One of the very few times that I thought while playing "I kind of want to stop and play something else." Weirdly though, me and my girlfriend talked about the interesting aspects for quite some time the next day. Everytime I think about giving this another chance, I instead table Blood Rage or Rising Sun...
4:36 I don't know why but I found the accidental combination of describing the tiles as "White" and "power" into "White Power" tiles to be hilarious. Completely innocent and maybe I shouldn't be so irreverent with my humor given that there are still knuckleheads out there with those beliefs... But I can't help but laugh. Oh, and great video on a game that's totally not my speed and that I'll likely never play :P
One thing I haven’t heard (or might miss) is your view in the tile markets during set up. So for 4p you can only have 3 colors (vs 4 in the original Kemet). What’s your preference?
@@BoardGameCo yes it seems like majority would prefer having access to more power and ability. Although one could make the case that the meta would be quite fixed if this variable setup element is houseruled.
The rumours on bgg, suggest that the future expansion will include a solo mode, and that the reason the 6th player wasn't included with blood and sand is so that they have some additional content to pair with the solo mode to help sell the expansion.
@@BoardGameCo there was a thread about a video in french that mentioned a rework of Seth which would include a solo variant, I'm taking the authors word as I don't speak French myself. Then there was a thread on bgg in September where someone was asking if there was any word on the expansion which Arnaud replied to saying there wasn't an update as its too early and there still working on yucatan.
ah, Yucatan. Definitely doesn't look as interesting as Kemet. I would have backed it, but I don't think I can justify it at a price point of 100€. Kemet b&s retail I can get for 75€ so I suspect Yucatan to be at that price range or lower in retail and I don't really need all the SG bling.
I agree with a lot of your points, though for me this game was just slightly above average(playing primarily at 2 players, so not ideal obviously). Wish I had a larger, more regular gaming group to play this with. The tiles were by far the best thing about the game IMO, but the combat became repetitive. Great review!
I really like this game, I play it during the holiday and we had a lot of fun, what is your best number to play it? I play with two other friends and looks super solid maybe also 4... I don't know 2 or 5 player
Did he comment on the changes in artwork and the miniatures? From what I’ve seen in both cases the new version is worse than the original. But I have not played either, I’ve just always been curious about this game.
Just didn't resonate with me. I wanted to like it since I love area control but I feel there are much better ones in this genre. I am likely getting rid of my God pledge kickstarter edition.
See I am like you with the Powers and Abilities needed in your area control, however my game group likes standard Area control. For them the Powers and Abilities add too much chaos to an Area control game. Therefore I tend to pass on games like this, that I would personally like, but could never get to the table. How do I get them to see my way lol?
Kemet is one of my few 5/5s and my favourite game of all time. I knew after a single play that this game was made for me. Checks all my boxes and knocks what it's doing out of the park. Just wish I could get it to the table more, it's massive!
Nicely covered. We recently play Cyclades and loved it. Look forward to learning and playing B&S. Thank you for the detailed and honest review!
Thanks Seth :)
Kemet: Blood and Sand is still my favorite game of all time. Eclipse Second Dawn is quickly becoming a 2nd place but Kemet is such a perfect area control game.
Such great games :)
I have collection of 9 games. Two of them are Kemet and Eclipse. For me Eclipse is No 1, Brass: Birmingham is at 2 and Kemet is at 3, at 4th place I have Gloomhaven.
I remember watching your video last year where you compared the 3 games of the trilogy and I decided Kemet was the right one for me. It has been an absolute home run with my group! Can't wait to get my hands on the expansion if it ever makes its way to retail. Looking forward to seeing your review of it.
That's awesome Tim :) Thanks for sharing.
This is probably oft-requested, so apologies for being so cliche! I'd love to get your opinion regarding a head-to-head with Ankh. As Egyptian-themed games, both dudes-on-a-map/area control, I'm seeing a lot of similarities, and my assumption is that having both would oversaturate my collection both in terms of theme and mechanics. But not having played both, I can't be sure. Would appreciate getting your take!
13:50 I agree with your point about 'broken' / over-powered abilities is what I love about Cosmic Encounter. I love games that have an everything's over-power way of doing things, a lot more fun imo
Cosmic is delighhtful in that crazyness :)
your video quality is amazing.
I've been keen for this one!
It's excellent :)
Just bought it so I am glad you like it so much :) Reassuring.
Thanks for the review, i just ordered it. I hope my group will like it or else I'll play it solitaire.
Enjoy!
we're all waiting for your review of Jaws of the Lion :)
I'll do it :)
I have the old Kemet with both expansions and the Cyclades crossover. That is why I did not switch to the new version. However, I do think that the new minis are of better size and quality. A point that you did not quite touch upon, unless I missed it. Anyway, great game! The battles remind me a lot of Ankh battle system.
Could not agree more with your video, love Kemet even more with this version though, as it just seems more up to date.
Yep :)
Awesome review,
Could we have a top10 Are Control list please? This kind of game is to crowded with BGC 5* ratings :D
Also, so there is an expansion rumored? Do you think it be KS and the option to get all the previous stuff if missed?
Not real fan of 'conflict style' games, but I love Kemet. I think that it's due to the combat mechanism with the card play. Too often I see these things result with dice (not a fan, except with Root of which I am fan as well), but the card play I love and works well strategy wise, in combination with the power tiles. And the concept of temporary VP is grand.
Totally agree with the map. Such a shame they didn't provide board options for 2-4 players, although this works It makes the game board clumsy.
The biggest improvement for me were the rebalanced power tiles. The blue/sapphire track alone feels like a new color. It's nice not to ignore a complete third of it anymore. Nearly everything else other than the trays felt like they could have improved more in my opinion.
Great review as always. Your thoughts on 2 player Kemet? I know it’s not the ideal count. My wife and I enjoy Ankh and Exlipse at 2, but I have always been drawn to Kemet. But, it might fall into one that is a pass for us because we mainly just play 2 player.
As far as I know the retail edition doesn't include the trays or obelisks.
The retail version does have the trays.
@@darrylevans1665 i stand corrected. Thanks!
It has the trays but I'm not certain on everything.
@@darrylevans1665 Are you sure it comes with the trays? I got the retail version from Game Nerdz and the trays are not listed under contents. I haven't opened it yet because I really want the trays so I was thinking about selling the retail version and getting the kickstarter one.
@@benitoelizarraraz6740 please let me know if you open it ... i want to know about those trays
I realy like this game.
So much that even tho I had the first edition I backed this one. I wanted the black tiles anyway and am gonna sell the first edition to recoup some losses.
I have ONE issue with the second printing... The map. WHY? Why didnt they just do like the old map. 2 and 4 players on one side. 3 and 5 on the other.
Now we got a useless picture on one, and ugly "sandstorms" to lay down to block pieces of the map. Its a real letdown.
But still. it took a great game and polished it to a sheen. Went from 8/10 to 9/10 for me.
I still love how every player groans when a player buys any tier 3 or 4 power. "That power is OP!" "Well so is yours!" . It reaches balance by makeing everyone super strong
Yep, completely agreed on.
Interesting.
It's solid :)
Really don't like the look of the storm overlay boards. Makes the board look cheap and messy. Part of it may be that I just don't think the storm art looks good either. Otherwise, always been a game I've been interested in and would like to get a chance to play some day. Don't have enough people that like battle/area control games to make it worthwhile for me to own it though.
Completely agreed.
Hi Alex, I have an extensive game collection but do not own a game that is fantasy fighting on a map like this or Blood Rage etc. I do have Eclipse 2nd Dawn. I wondered how close these 2 are given the map vs discovery tiles (explore), the tech trees (seem similar), the fighting system (may be a point of difference), and the goals of the game? What you would rank as the top 5 fantasy area control, army building games? Many thanks.
I just could not get into this game, I don't really know what it was. I guess one thing was that some of the little rules for balancing were just rules without a thematic sense.
One of the very few times that I thought while playing "I kind of want to stop and play something else."
Weirdly though, me and my girlfriend talked about the interesting aspects for quite some time the next day. Everytime I think about giving this another chance, I instead table Blood Rage or Rising Sun...
4:36 I don't know why but I found the accidental combination of describing the tiles as "White" and "power" into "White Power" tiles to be hilarious. Completely innocent and maybe I shouldn't be so irreverent with my humor given that there are still knuckleheads out there with those beliefs... But I can't help but laugh.
Oh, and great video on a game that's totally not my speed and that I'll likely never play :P
One thing I haven’t heard (or might miss) is your view in the tile markets during set up. So for 4p you can only have 3 colors (vs 4 in the original Kemet). What’s your preference?
I prefer the original, but it's such an easy thing to house rule either way.
@@BoardGameCo yes it seems like majority would prefer having access to more power and ability. Although one could make the case that the meta would be quite fixed if this variable setup element is houseruled.
Such a great game. Do you recommend switching from 1st edition to Blood & Sand?
If choosing between them, I recommend B&S. If you already have 1st edition, just printing new rules is plenty.
Lovely looking game Alex, no solo mode so it isn't on my wish list, phew.. money saved! lol
One day we'll get an amazing area control game with a great solo mode!
@@kumanight Try Rurik dawn of Kiev. It has a brilliant solo automa.
The rumours on bgg, suggest that the future expansion will include a solo mode, and that the reason the 6th player wasn't included with blood and sand is so that they have some additional content to pair with the solo mode to help sell the expansion.
Interesting on the rumours, hadn't heard those yet.
@@BoardGameCo there was a thread about a video in french that mentioned a rework of Seth which would include a solo variant, I'm taking the authors word as I don't speak French myself. Then there was a thread on bgg in September where someone was asking if there was any word on the expansion which Arnaud replied to saying there wasn't an update as its too early and there still working on yucatan.
I want the 6th player expansion 😃
:)
Is this playable as a 2player game?? Is bloodrage better at 2? What ur opinion guys ... and Alex?
I like blood rage better at two personally (and Kemet is my favourite game of all time)
I think Annkh is your best choice there. None of the others are ones I'd suggest at 2.
ah, Yucatan. Definitely doesn't look as interesting as Kemet. I would have backed it, but I don't think I can justify it at a price point of 100€. Kemet b&s retail I can get for 75€ so I suspect Yucatan to be at that price range or lower in retail and I don't really need all the SG bling.
Makes sense, you don't need to get it on KS for sure.
I agree with a lot of your points, though for me this game was just slightly above average(playing primarily at 2 players, so not ideal obviously). Wish I had a larger, more regular gaming group to play this with. The tiles were by far the best thing about the game IMO, but the combat became repetitive. Great review!
Alex - Kemet or Ankh @ 2 players? I need to get rid of some stuff :)
Ankh
@@BoardGameCo Thanks Alex! We'll get at least one play in of each but I appreciate your input!!!!
Can people make this work as a 2 player head 2 head?
Can? Yes. Optimal...not as much.
I HATE the blocking tiles, i only play at 4 and they just get in the way
I really like this game, I play it during the holiday and we had a lot of fun, what is your best number to play it? I play with two other friends and looks super solid maybe also 4... I don't know 2 or 5 player
I haven't played 5 but I wouldn't play 2 again. 3 & 4 are where Kemet shines
@@kumanight thanks bro I had that feeling playing a single match but i will try to play it with my wife let's see
If I already have Ankh, is Kemet still worth getting? Should I get rid of Ankh and get Kemet?
Absolutley get Kemet, Ankh is arguably best at 2 player, where as Kemet just gets better and better for each player added. Totally different games.
Did he comment on the changes in artwork and the miniatures? From what I’ve seen in both cases the new version is worse than the original. But I have not played either, I’ve just always been curious about this game.
Yep, there's a time stamped section :)
Just didn't resonate with me. I wanted to like it since I love area control but I feel there are much better ones in this genre. I am likely getting rid of my God pledge kickstarter edition.
Not all games are for all people.
@@BoardGameCo Agree!
See I am like you with the Powers and Abilities needed in your area control, however my game group likes standard Area control. For them the Powers and Abilities add too much chaos to an Area control game. Therefore I tend to pass on games like this, that I would personally like, but could never get to the table. How do I get them to see my way lol?
The sandstorm tiles are ugly as hell. They live under the gametray of the box for us :P
Dont know how that board art got aproved. It's so bad I think id track down the original over this.
I feel you
There’s a BGG image of 2.0 board in the original Art style 😇
I like the new board a lot