Abyss by itself is a great game by my favorite designer (I swear, while not every Bruno Cathala idea lands perfectly, they are interesting and make the game so much fun to learn) so the basic game was great to take out and teach, with the weird way to get allies, it is a a fun mechanic (I feel that if you are good at selling the allies when exploring the depth then you are going to be so good playing the Riverside Company in Roots). But this expansion, dude, talk about taking things up a notch, or a lot, because that track completely changes how you look at the game, not only are the leviathans interesting, the whole point of getting rewards now is not just a simple 'yeah, I have nothing better to do this turn, whatever,' to, 'if i get another leviathan I can get the figure and I can get even more points and pearls', you cna make hunting leviathans your whole strategy adding more ways to play if you cannot ge the allies you wanted or the lord; fantastic and something that everyone that wants to play Abyss can get to make the experience even better.
I like the format. Great idea. I also appreciate how your content improved over time and really differentiates itself from stuff like Dice Tower. Keep up the good work ;) About Expansions I'd like to see a video about: The two you mentioned, Roll Player and Civ New Dawn would be nice indeed. How about Village's Port expansion, Mystic Vale, Isle of Skye's Journeyman. And last but not least, Rails to the North from Great Western Trail :D
Awesome, thank you! I like to think that even though views are low, there's an audience who benefits from this information. I don't own Village and other than Conclave, there wouldn't be a lot to talk about with Mystic Vale. I only own Druids for Isle of Skye because Journeyman was the biggest crime to ever happen to that game! :P Roll Player is a certainty and New Dawn would be good at some stage.
@@TheBrokenMeeple I agree with you on the Journeyman Expansion, yet it changes the game a lot, so I thought it might fit the criteria. Cant wait for your thoughts on Roll Player. I like it quite a lot, yet it barely hits the table.
Thanks, will do! It may not generate the views, but unlike something like my old Accesorize series which was a waste of time and no-one really wanted to know about accessories, this one actually will have an audience who benefits from it and that's fulfilling enough.
I have not seen you in this setup. I really like it. About Abyss, I love the game and totally agree with you about the Leviathan expansion. A must for me.
Thanks! When you say setup you mean this camera view? I tried this for a short while a couple years back but the angle is hard to do in my cramped box room. But for this I need the components out to minimise on need for BRoll footage.
@@TheBrokenMeeple Yep, that is what I meant. Keep those videos coming. I like them. I do not always agree with you, but that makes it even more fun. I can shout at you what kind of idiot you are when I do not agree with you.( Big stress relief 😊). But what I already said, this time I totally agree with you.
A couple have mentioned Seasons, I'll have to get those out and revisit them, it's been a while. The Eldritch Horror expansions are mainly just more of the same though.
Thanks for the review. I just played Abyss for the first time on BGA and this review is handy as I am considering buying the game in the future. Will definitely consider getting this expansion too if I do! You may want to consider reviewing Valhalla for Champions of Midgard....I really like that game and Valhalla fixes a key flaw in the base game if bad luck wipes out your army. Thanks!
I hear about that, but you know what's crazy? No-one has taught me that game with the expansion yet so I haven't even tried it!! I want to, but it never turns up!
That is a well-loved and well-worn copy of Abyss. Oddly enough, despite loving Abyss, I have never used the Leviathan expansion, despite owning it for quite a while.
@@TheBrokenMeeple Well your review has made certain that I sleeve and mix it into the main box so I can start using it. Love the expansion format, just the right length and it was highly informative. Keep it up!
I quite like the expansion videos even if I've not got the game in question. I've bought base games based on expansion reviews especially if the expansion adds something new like a Solo mode to a game that never had it etc. I really enjoy Roll player and have the M&M expansion and I've ordered the F&F Big box + Adventures KS. I like dice rolling apparently and as a newer board gamer don't get the stigma often assigned to it as a mechanic. It's very tactile and fun to actually do and is a nice change to deck builders... sometimes just saying sod it rather than analysing a hand of cards to death and trusting to luck is a nice exciting change IMLE. BTW nice Kallax packing and optimisation but you do have a few glaring alignment issues and gaps below boxes that's really drops it below world class level Kallaxing :) It's actually quite a fun game in it's own right and you can score it base on %age front area free space though you 3X the area of any gaps below boxes due to the "Tetris" rule :)
Glad to hear there's an audience even if they don't own the game! Ha ha, i ain't got time to align everything nicely, just fitting it on the shelf is good enough!
Great Idea! Do more content with expansions! We although Play abyss with all stuft but without the lootdeck. What do You think about the Mystic Vale expansions? We have all of them, but many of the caracters are too strong. Greatings from Germany
Yes, This is great to do a video every now and then on expansions that change the game. I think of Champions of Midgard and how the Valhalla expansion and the Dark Mountain changed the game and made it great for me. And there are many new expansions coming. Uprising for Maracaibo has my interest as Fractures of Time for Anachrony.
I hear about Midgard, but you know what's crazy? No-one has taught me that game with the expansion yet so I haven't even tried it!! I want to, but it never turns up! So I can't even do an episode on it! Patreons have spoken highly about getting Fractures of Time done which means I need to do some serious rules learning!
@@TheBrokenMeeple @AntLabGames has some good play throughs of Anachrony base game and with the expansion if you take to watching other creators. ( helps when reading the rules )
Most expansions are just more content really, not much to say, though perhaps Conclave could qualify as that introduces a major mechanical variant. To advise now, I would certainly say any expansion that introduces Leaders to the mix is definitely worth it. Harmony and Vale of the Wild were pretty good. Conclave has an awesome variant in it though you could possibly just apply the rules to a normal game and substitute the tokens. But if you have a ton of cards, then that box is useful!
Argh! Ordered sleeves and the playmat through Miniature Market almost a year ago. Still both up for preorder and still marked as "order awaiting release." WTF? Guess if I really wanted it in the US I should have ordered form an EU distributor and eaten the shipping?
I forgot to include that on Patreon poll BUT several of YT have asked for that so I'll have to bump that up the list and give myself a reminder of how they work as it's been a while.
Not at all, just haven't had time to get an episode out with other things. I have another episode recorded and ready for edit when I get back from my little hiking vacation. And I'll be sure to do more. 👍 It may not get the views but it's a series I want to keep going.
I actually disliked Leviathan. Even though the monster track is the weakest part of the base game, Leviathan doesn't fix it, it makes it kind of worse in a different way. Glad you love it, I'll stick to the base game + Kraken ;).
@@TheBrokenMeeple Yes, it makes fighting the monsters a bit more exciting and thematic, but at the same time it introduces new layers of randomness to a game that was already full of push-your-luck moments. Track from the base game is weak design-wise, but at least it's simple, quick to resolve and you know what you get. Leviathan is more setup, more rules explanation, more swingy randomness, longer resolution (fighting disrupts the beautifully simple flow of the game) and brings more luck with dice (now I feel like I'm rolling for VPs. Plus, it's randomness upon randomness - you roll and if you succeed then you draw a random tile with a random value). I play Abyss as a gateway+ and Leviathan is one thing too much I think. It's a simple set collection game with special powers and Leviathan adds all of this combat that just bloats the whole system. /edit: And it adds a 5th player. Which is a total waste.
That Abyss cover is one of the most unappealing box covers I have seen in a long time. Comparing that to the recently released Aquatica I can't but think Abyss would have a wider appeal if it wouldn't shove that ugly face in our face. We get it you have creatures but it really isn't inspiring and tells you absolutely nothing about the game
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Honestly, I like both expansions quite a bit. That said, I'd happily play base Abyss any day (also: Abyss is now on BGA!)
It is indeed, but is it only base game?
@@TheBrokenMeeple yes only base game
It's nice to be able to actually fight the monsters
True, puts a face to a name!
Abyss by itself is a great game by my favorite designer (I swear, while not every Bruno Cathala idea lands perfectly, they are interesting and make the game so much fun to learn) so the basic game was great to take out and teach, with the weird way to get allies, it is a a fun mechanic (I feel that if you are good at selling the allies when exploring the depth then you are going to be so good playing the Riverside Company in Roots).
But this expansion, dude, talk about taking things up a notch, or a lot, because that track completely changes how you look at the game, not only are the leviathans interesting, the whole point of getting rewards now is not just a simple 'yeah, I have nothing better to do this turn, whatever,' to, 'if i get another leviathan I can get the figure and I can get even more points and pearls', you cna make hunting leviathans your whole strategy adding more ways to play if you cannot ge the allies you wanted or the lord; fantastic and something that everyone that wants to play Abyss can get to make the experience even better.
Experiments are great 👌🏻
Leviathan is hard to get 😥
More of these videos 👍🏻
Yes, that's a shame and you've got it! :D
Thanks for your review :)! I'm getting it, whoo!
Hope you enjoy it!
Been waiting forever for the playmat and sleeves to enter distribution and become available locally! This game really does look gorgeous.
The play mat is nice, but not essential - but I do love those sleeves.
I like the format. Great idea. I also appreciate how your content improved over time and really differentiates itself from stuff like Dice Tower.
Keep up the good work ;)
About Expansions I'd like to see a video about: The two you mentioned, Roll Player and Civ New Dawn would be nice indeed.
How about Village's Port expansion, Mystic Vale, Isle of Skye's Journeyman.
And last but not least, Rails to the North from Great Western Trail :D
Awesome, thank you! I like to think that even though views are low, there's an audience who benefits from this information. I don't own Village and other than Conclave, there wouldn't be a lot to talk about with Mystic Vale. I only own Druids for Isle of Skye because Journeyman was the biggest crime to ever happen to that game! :P Roll Player is a certainty and New Dawn would be good at some stage.
@@TheBrokenMeeple I agree with you on the Journeyman Expansion, yet it changes the game a lot, so I thought it might fit the criteria.
Cant wait for your thoughts on Roll Player. I like it quite a lot, yet it barely hits the table.
Yes im likeing the expansion content! Full of precise information to allow us to decide on whether to buy or not to buy.
Keep up the good work. Faye.
Thanks, will do! It may not generate the views, but unlike something like my old Accesorize series which was a waste of time and no-one really wanted to know about accessories, this one actually will have an audience who benefits from it and that's fulfilling enough.
I have not seen you in this setup. I really like it. About Abyss, I love the game and totally agree with you about the Leviathan expansion. A must for me.
Thanks! When you say setup you mean this camera view? I tried this for a short while a couple years back but the angle is hard to do in my cramped box room. But for this I need the components out to minimise on need for BRoll footage.
@@TheBrokenMeeple Yep, that is what I meant. Keep those videos coming. I like them. I do not always agree with you, but that makes it even more fun. I can shout at you what kind of idiot you are when I do not agree with you.( Big stress relief 😊). But what I already said, this time I totally agree with you.
I love this game so much with Both expansions!! But if you have to choose. Get this one first for sure.
Love this game. And love your content! Just wondering what your thoughts are for a 5 player game? Does it work well or does it drag?
I would like to see expansion videos for Seasons and the Eldritch Horror big box expansions. Great channel, keep it up.
A couple have mentioned Seasons, I'll have to get those out and revisit them, it's been a while. The Eldritch Horror expansions are mainly just more of the same though.
Thanks for the review. I just played Abyss for the first time on BGA and this review is handy as I am considering buying the game in the future. Will definitely consider getting this expansion too if I do! You may want to consider reviewing Valhalla for Champions of Midgard....I really like that game and Valhalla fixes a key flaw in the base game if bad luck wipes out your army. Thanks!
I hear about that, but you know what's crazy? No-one has taught me that game with the expansion yet so I haven't even tried it!! I want to, but it never turns up!
That is a well-loved and well-worn copy of Abyss. Oddly enough, despite loving Abyss, I have never used the Leviathan expansion, despite owning it for quite a while.
Oh man you're not realising the full potential!
@@TheBrokenMeeple Well your review has made certain that I sleeve and mix it into the main box so I can start using it. Love the expansion format, just the right length and it was highly informative. Keep it up!
I quite like the expansion videos even if I've not got the game in question. I've bought base games based on expansion reviews especially if the expansion adds something new like a Solo mode to a game that never had it etc.
I really enjoy Roll player and have the M&M expansion and I've ordered the F&F Big box + Adventures KS. I like dice rolling apparently and as a newer board gamer don't get the stigma often assigned to it as a mechanic. It's very tactile and fun to actually do and is a nice change to deck builders... sometimes just saying sod it rather than analysing a hand of cards to death and trusting to luck is a nice exciting change IMLE.
BTW nice Kallax packing and optimisation but you do have a few glaring alignment issues and gaps below boxes that's really drops it below world class level Kallaxing :)
It's actually quite a fun game in it's own right and you can score it base on %age front area free space though you 3X the area of any gaps below boxes due to the "Tetris" rule :)
Glad to hear there's an audience even if they don't own the game! Ha ha, i ain't got time to align everything nicely, just fitting it on the shelf is good enough!
Great Idea! Do more content with expansions!
We although Play abyss with all stuft but without the lootdeck.
What do You think about the Mystic Vale expansions? We have all of them, but many of the caracters are too strong.
Greatings from Germany
I find them fine, but don't play it often enough to know how "too strong" they are. Conclave was great for that Equinox mechanic though.
Luke - I think there is a need for expansion reviews. Hopefully, you will draw enough views to keep this going.
Certainly going to keep it going for a while regardless as I do believe there is a use to people for it. It's early days yet.
Yes, This is great to do a video every now and then on expansions that change the game. I think of Champions of Midgard and how the Valhalla expansion and the Dark Mountain changed the game and made it great for me. And there are many new expansions coming. Uprising for Maracaibo has my interest as Fractures of Time for Anachrony.
I hear about Midgard, but you know what's crazy? No-one has taught me that game with the expansion yet so I haven't even tried it!! I want to, but it never turns up! So I can't even do an episode on it! Patreons have spoken highly about getting Fractures of Time done which means I need to do some serious rules learning!
@@TheBrokenMeeple @AntLabGames has some good play throughs of Anachrony base game and with the expansion if you take to watching other creators. ( helps when reading the rules )
Didn't know about the track replacement; totally agree that was originally lame, but otherwise a great game! Insta-buy for me!
Well if you like Abyss, the expansions will serve you well. Only one part is a waste of space and you'll find out about that soon!
Small mistake. The ally which allow to roll two dices, you have to choose only one, the best one of the two.
Oh boy dang, I've been playing that wrong for a while! :P
Mystic Vale has become so bloated, I would love to hear what the must haves are for it.
Most expansions are just more content really, not much to say, though perhaps Conclave could qualify as that introduces a major mechanical variant. To advise now, I would certainly say any expansion that introduces Leaders to the mix is definitely worth it. Harmony and Vale of the Wild were pretty good. Conclave has an awesome variant in it though you could possibly just apply the rules to a normal game and substitute the tokens. But if you have a ton of cards, then that box is useful!
The very best expansion!
One of the essentials!
Argh! Ordered sleeves and the playmat through Miniature Market almost a year ago. Still both up for preorder and still marked as "order awaiting release." WTF? Guess if I really wanted it in the US I should have ordered form an EU distributor and eaten the shipping?
Probably from Bombyx direct, that's what I did.
Great video.
Thanks!
Seasons expansions next?
I forgot to include that on Patreon poll BUT several of YT have asked for that so I'll have to bump that up the list and give myself a reminder of how they work as it's been a while.
Mistake in the title of the video "Why Levithan" -> LeviAthan
Well spotted! I'll just correct that, thanks!
Is this serie dead? ;)
Not at all, just haven't had time to get an episode out with other things. I have another episode recorded and ready for edit when I get back from my little hiking vacation. And I'll be sure to do more. 👍 It may not get the views but it's a series I want to keep going.
@@TheBrokenMeeple nice! Enjoy your hike!
I actually disliked Leviathan. Even though the monster track is the weakest part of the base game, Leviathan doesn't fix it, it makes it kind of worse in a different way. Glad you love it, I'll stick to the base game + Kraken ;).
Wow first I've seen dislike for it! 😳
@@TheBrokenMeeple Yes, it makes fighting the monsters a bit more exciting and thematic, but at the same time it introduces new layers of randomness to a game that was already full of push-your-luck moments. Track from the base game is weak design-wise, but at least it's simple, quick to resolve and you know what you get. Leviathan is more setup, more rules explanation, more swingy randomness, longer resolution (fighting disrupts the beautifully simple flow of the game) and brings more luck with dice (now I feel like I'm rolling for VPs. Plus, it's randomness upon randomness - you roll and if you succeed then you draw a random tile with a random value).
I play Abyss as a gateway+ and Leviathan is one thing too much I think. It's a simple set collection game with special powers and Leviathan adds all of this combat that just bloats the whole system.
/edit: And it adds a 5th player. Which is a total waste.
That Abyss cover is one of the most unappealing box covers I have seen in a long time. Comparing that to the recently released Aquatica I can't but think Abyss would have a wider appeal if it wouldn't shove that ugly face in our face. We get it you have creatures but it really isn't inspiring and tells you absolutely nothing about the game
I agree, I like the cover myself but it's not functional for the consumer.