Sidereal Confluence Review - with Tom Vasel

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  • เผยแพร่เมื่อ 2 พ.ย. 2024

ความคิดเห็น • 60

  • @nobodynowhere21
    @nobodynowhere21 6 ปีที่แล้ว +27

    Oh man this game is fun. The simultaneous, active, open-ended trading is really fun and can lead to some interesting trading once folks know what they're doing. An important note that I think he missed is that trades are BINDING in this game, even future trades (e.g. I'll give you 1 white cube now but you'll owe me 2 green cubes next turn). The certainty of the trades can lead to people making rather exotic deals, sometimes involving multiple turns and/or players! The penalty for failing to meet your obligation is very steep, so you rarely see anyone miss a payment.
    And the fact that I can play this from 4-9 and the game doesn't take much longer to play at any count is great for my group. And I have a lot of players who are rather conflict-averse, so having a game which focuses so much on "cooperative competition" and mutually beneficial trading is sweet. Even the game's appearance, while initially strange, will slowly grow on you when you when you start appreciating the fine art details that are thematic to the races, and the clear thought that went into the graphic design that enhances playability. The table footprint is LARGE once you get to 6-7 or more, so you may need a bigger or 2nd table.
    And while the rules are pretty light, there is some deceptively fine strategy here for each race. Head on over to the BGG forums to find out more about that, and where you'll find that a couple of the devs on this game are super helpful, active, and responsive. Highly recommend!

  • @ThymeKeeper
    @ThymeKeeper 6 ปีที่แล้ว +29

    Interesting to note that "Sidereal Confluence" is essentially a synonym for "Cosmic Encounter" :)

    • @venisontron
      @venisontron 6 ปีที่แล้ว +10

      Space Meetup

    • @DanGalarzaCyber
      @DanGalarzaCyber 6 ปีที่แล้ว

      Naw man its Cosmic Spice Road

    • @Valcurdra
      @Valcurdra 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      @@DanGalarzaCyber You can throw your copy of cosmic encounter in the trash, this game is better by far.

  • @nobodynowhere21
    @nobodynowhere21 6 ปีที่แล้ว +13

    Good call on skipping the Zeth for new players. It's actually not rather accurate to call what they do "stealing". They threaten to steal (and they are capable of doing so), but what they're really trying to do is *extort* whenever possible. Stealing for them is not usually very profitable, especially in the early game. What they'd rather do is credibly threaten to steal something from his opponents, usually something that his opponents highly desire; and since players usually DO NOT want to have their important cubes stolen, so they'll gladly toss the Zeth a cube or two of a color the player doesn't need to. Technically Zeth could just steal a color that he wants, but why do that when you can make a higher profit by threatening to steal what your opponent wants? Example: Kit need 5 green/turn for their best converter to run; Zeth threatens to steal 2 green this turn, and for every turn for the rest of the game, until extortion money starts coming in; Kit decides that's not worth it and tosses Kit a white cube that Kit didn't need anyway, plus it keeps Zeth of his back because now Kit is protected from Zeth stealing for the rest of the round.
    So be aware that some players find that extortion and protection racket game mechanics very stressful (I cannot relate at all to this sentiment, but I have a couple of players who feel this way, so I acknowledge some people find it to be irritating). Personally, I think the Zeth are very interesting and if you can make your threats maximized for pain and highly credible (do not fail to punish someone who doesn't "kiss the ring", so to speak) you can become very resource rich even though Zeth has the weakest economy in the game. And this is just 1 of 9 races on offer, there's plenty of playstyles to suit plenty of players.

    • @cbazler
      @cbazler 6 ปีที่แล้ว

      Thanks for this addendum. Sounds very interesting (though I think I would find them irritating as well!)

    • @nobodynowhere21
      @nobodynowhere21 6 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Totally understandable. The Zeth really do "stick out" of the crowd since all others are very cooperatively competitive.
      On the other end of the spectrum we have the Eni Et, who usually thrive on making people work together often. One of their starting techs is literally called "Mutual Understanding". They have the overall best set of converters in the game, but they are not allowed to use many of those converters themselves; kinda like how the Genie can grant wishes but can't grant himself wishes. Therefore, Eni Et must make deals, often complicated deals, to get other players to pool enough cubes together to run the Eni Et's best converters (8 into 13 small cubes or 3 Ultratech into 5 Ultratech, YES PLEASE!), then charge those players for the privilege of using said converters (basically charge them interest, which is why they're called "interest converters"). Much more cooperative in nature than anyone else, and they have to be careful to spread the love, because if you keep giving one player your interest converters that player will very likely win; this makes Eni Et also very diplomatic and neutral, always willing to pull together players, even the Zeth, because they win if they can pull of large numbers of these slick interest deals.
      And the only time you'll ever be forced to play Zeth (or any race, for that matter), is in a 9 player game, which is unusual (and HUGE, but very fun!)

    • @echoes6092
      @echoes6092 4 ปีที่แล้ว

      Exactly. The Zeth's main export is suffering. Personalized suffering. Exactly the right suffering for you, delivered to your doorstep.

  • @sad0happy
    @sad0happy 6 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    This is one of the best games of otherwise lackluster year of 2017. Amazing amount of player interaction, engine building and variable player powers that plays inside 2hrs even with 5p. Played it twice, 4 and a 5p games, both were excellent experiences and I want more.

  • @paulstaker8861
    @paulstaker8861 6 ปีที่แล้ว +35

    Cosmic Chinatown Spice Road

  • @Sophaurus
    @Sophaurus 6 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    i like how each race has very very good basic advices: " your planets produce double, even if you trade them away, so you should, a fair price is 3 times what they produce".That's basically preventing you from horribly losing your first game just to figure out what that race was really about.

  • @GreyRockStudio
    @GreyRockStudio 6 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Every time I read another alien's player sheet I can't wait to play that race. This game is sooo much fun. This is how asymmetry should be done.

  • @ImperatorZed
    @ImperatorZed 6 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Best game 2017, criminally underrated, deserves more Dice Tower coverage.

  • @Ad3tr
    @Ad3tr 6 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    I picked it up a while ago but I'm glad there's finally a review

  • @80gradescrewball58
    @80gradescrewball58 6 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    I really liked this game. It’s not for everyone though and you really need the right group. Also a more experienced player can really fleece the inexperienced players. One of my oppponets was the race with the awesome converters that he couldn’t use himself. So he would give someone the converter and the resources and offer a small cube to run it for him. Should have held out for a larger fee to do that because he’s cranking out resources at a really low cost. And while you don’t wanna give the farm away you don’t wanna be that guy who refuses to trade until you get exactly what you demand. Really kills the flow of the game and can even ruin it. All that being said with the right people this game is a lot of fun

  • @anunikoba1020
    @anunikoba1020 6 ปีที่แล้ว +4

    Cosmic Encounter unseater? Would be for me. My biggest gripe with CE is there's really just so little game there - could play it with marbles and the race sheets. This looks good.

    • @KissellMissile
      @KissellMissile 6 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      The cards are kind of integral to CE.

  • @Lordjunon
    @Lordjunon 6 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Gosh Darn it, i wan to play this again.

  • @hellboy7424
    @hellboy7424 6 ปีที่แล้ว +6

    Euro-cosmic encounter .

  • @GeezerGeek0
    @GeezerGeek0 6 ปีที่แล้ว +10

    Mostly I just watched this to see how Tom pronounced “sidereal”.

  • @Bundeskaiser
    @Bundeskaiser 4 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    For sure this game is fun and not that hard to play, however, I have huge difficulties to learn the rules. And it's a pity that there isn't a proper how to play video out there (at least I didn't found a video).

  • @john-paullaflamme1825
    @john-paullaflamme1825 6 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Thanks, Tom.

  • @facepalmjesus1608
    @facepalmjesus1608 4 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    i didnt purchase the game cause of the ugly production!
    BUT i know that i am already in love with the remastered new version!!!! i m waiting impatiently until May!! :)

  • @goyasolidar
    @goyasolidar 6 ปีที่แล้ว +5

    A board game about interstellar races was designed by someone named TauCeti? That's hilarious.

    • @Patronux
      @Patronux 6 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      Goya Solidar how so?

    • @goyasolidar
      @goyasolidar 6 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      Tau Ceti is the name of a star.

    • @5Davideo
      @5Davideo 6 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I've met the guy. Often goes by just "Tau". Few people name their kids after stars; even fewer use Bayer designations.

    • @Play_Journal
      @Play_Journal 5 ปีที่แล้ว +9

      @@5Davideo Actually TauCeti, the man, is ancient. The star is named after him.

    • @corradoalamanni179
      @corradoalamanni179 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      Nomen omen

  • @paulbrown5937
    @paulbrown5937 6 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    The real question Tom is did it go on your shelves?

  • @jedilegolas9259
    @jedilegolas9259 6 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    i like the box art...

  • @DanGalarzaCyber
    @DanGalarzaCyber 6 ปีที่แล้ว +3

    Yo man, you want some green cubes, its some real good shit, dawg, but it'll cost you

    • @corradoalamanni179
      @corradoalamanni179 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      You want the best ultratech this side of the confluence?

  • @89taklung
    @89taklung 5 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    ok, another game on my wishlist... *sigh* it's too many games on my wishlist I don't get to buy as quickly games as I put new games on it T.T

  • @lasttruegypsy
    @lasttruegypsy 6 ปีที่แล้ว +12

    I really like the idea of this game, but I really don't like the appearance of the game.

    • @GreyRockStudio
      @GreyRockStudio 6 ปีที่แล้ว +4

      That's how I felt at first, but sooo much of the graphic design is to facilitate game play. It could be a tad more artistic, but I think the look fits quite well with the theme, and most of the graphic layout is REALLY useful.

    • @nobodynowhere21
      @nobodynowhere21 6 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      It grew on me when I saw that everything on the cards is designed to make things easier to understand and play, a lot of thought went into that. Little bits of artwork in the background are thematic and cohere with the story of the race and/or the specific card you're holding; there's loads of lore that never even made it to the final cut of the game, but has been shared on BGG by the lead dev. It's fun for those of us that enjoy that sort of thing, and it helps understand the art and symbols a bit better.

    • @DanGalarzaCyber
      @DanGalarzaCyber 6 ปีที่แล้ว

      It does favors. When I played with a dev, they completely ditched the narrative and said "lets just call cubes cubes!" And that made the game easier to teach. All the prettiness is saved for the character sheets.

  • @cbazler
    @cbazler 6 ปีที่แล้ว

    Looks awesome, but I'd never get it to the table.

  • @Gigakhah
    @Gigakhah 6 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Hard sell at the start

  • @ticotube2501
    @ticotube2501 6 หลายเดือนก่อน

    Does one get extra nerd points for storming into a room yelling: "Who wants to play Sidereal Confluence?"

  • @hoolio197900
    @hoolio197900 6 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Played this three times. At max or near player count. Not my cup of tea.

    • @chayashida
      @chayashida 6 ปีที่แล้ว +3

      Were they the same group of players all three games? What didn't you like about it? Did it drag?

    • @DanGalarzaCyber
      @DanGalarzaCyber 6 ปีที่แล้ว +5

      Sounds like you really gave it chance. You have my respect. I personally love it.

    • @corradoalamanni179
      @corradoalamanni179 5 ปีที่แล้ว +2

      I would advise 4 players to start so that you are not overwhelmd

  • @famaral42
    @famaral42 6 ปีที่แล้ว +1

    Resemble "Century: Spice Road"...?

    • @GreyRockStudio
      @GreyRockStudio 6 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      I think you're missing the main mechanic of this game - trading. Century is like a 1/5 in weight with this as a 4/5. MUCH more complex. Yes, cards convert cubes, but that's the only similarity.

    • @famaral42
      @famaral42 6 ปีที่แล้ว

      Sure sure..

    • @DanGalarzaCyber
      @DanGalarzaCyber 6 ปีที่แล้ว

      Its like a social version of Century Spice Road. Instead of trading with a bank, you're mostly trading with other players. Yes your cards convert cubes like Century but you will only do that around six times times. But that is a really, really awesome thing.

  • @FightStreeting
    @FightStreeting ปีที่แล้ว

    Let me be petty and chuckle about how each race has a pronunciation guide on their sheet but every race was mispronounced in this video :p

  • @Gnarrkhaz
    @Gnarrkhaz 6 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    Wow, if you ever need proof how gameplay can save a game. Everything about this seems wrong: The components, the theme, the names of the races, the box cover, the table space it requires, even the name. It comes across like a joke game. I haven't played it, but apparently, people like it.

    • @corradoalamanni179
      @corradoalamanni179 5 ปีที่แล้ว

      Try it! Its a really engaging game with no downtime! You are always playing

  • @Efrendil
    @Efrendil 6 ปีที่แล้ว +2

    this is 2018 cut the 20 second intro already

    • @spunx44
      @spunx44 6 ปีที่แล้ว +1

      shut up

  • @EyalItsik
    @EyalItsik 6 ปีที่แล้ว

    Giving this a seal of excellence and STILL ignoring New Angeles. Still the usual AntiFFG Tower :D

    • @natehocking8884
      @natehocking8884 6 ปีที่แล้ว

      Eyal Itsik I was about to quote time difference as the reason but new angeles quotes 2-4 hrs and this game is 2-3 hrs. I guess that is the power of the "whispers".