Good review! Tom, your original love of DoA2 got me into that. I loved it but only got a couple of multiplayer games in due to the complexity. While Worldspanner doesn't have as much trimming on paper, I found the improved round structure, line of sight, terrain modifiers, and adventure spaces all make for a much more approachable game. The sum is greater than its parts. I do wish there was more work on the user-design of the cards and stats (for instance, stats going vertical on cards, but horizontal on equipment makes my head hurt.)
This one was so much fun. But without Tom explaining the cards and the map on each turn, it would have been rougher. Although, the story told from our one game was amazing!
I got this one last week and had a couple of plays already. I’m not convinced at all this is an upgrade from DoA2. I liked the change from character tokens to standees, one character per space and bigger hexes. On the other hand, I don’t like the oversimplification of ranged rules, the new minion rules (henchmen, hunters and sentinels each had their own advantages and disadvantages, now they’re all the same), the riddance of mesas, the riddance of team bases and all the awesome adventures that came with them, the new mechanism of pit/underpit in comparison to the strategic choices the prison offered, the new Lith key (no more Wailing Cave, lackluster new adventures).
I didn't have a lot of liquid cash when this was getting kick started. I'm hoping this pops up for order from some retailers. I'll be able to scoop it up now. I have Duel of Ages 2 with the big box, but I never got to play it hardly at all. Looking forward to the solo campaign mode w/ this one.
the symbols on the weapons cards should be oriented the same way it is on the character card. seems like such a simple oversight. on the character card it reads left to right, then on the weapon it reads top to bottom. *keenan voice* Why?? lol edit; im referring to the Strength and Intelligence stat requirements
I fall firmly in the camp of loving this game 😂 I don't think there's any changes from DoA II that I didn't like. Ive found this one tremendously easier to reach to new people. Surprisingly the outlier in my game groups is the 1 person who doesn't like the game. She prefers analytical euro thinking though so I can understand.
I feel like this game needs what Unmatched did for Star Wars Epic Duels . Get rid of the hexes and make it like the eldritch horror board which would simplify line of sight and movement. Tom's advice for organizing were the stats are displayed on the card would go along way for simplifying combat as well with maybe the addition of color coding the text or numbers but what they are used for like melee combat, ranged combat, and skill checks
For LoS, I'd disagree, but respect your opinion. Hexes and line of sight are what make Worldspanner inherently a wargame at its core. Personally, I'd think getting rid of hexes and line of sight when come with a significant loss of immersion. Right now, Worldspanner sits in a adventure/wargame niche that isn't overwhelming and just easy enough to introduce new people, compared to other wargames where there are tons more rules overhead. Point-to-point movement would be too much of an oversimplification IMO - games like Undaunted and Unmatched already exist for that purpose. I'd invest in an overhead laser LoS tool (Army Painter's Targetlock Laser Line is my favorite) for any games with line of sight - it actually makes it fun to check LoS!
@rcbrice I think the war game elements should be stripped like unmatched did for star wars epic duels. It makes it too long and convoluted for its lightheaded premise. Anecdotally while I am willing to put 2 or 3 hours into it I have not had success introducing it to other people and going off online discourse this seems to be a commonality. The current game worldspanner and it's past two iterations are still there if you want that wargame feel but I feel like If the goal is to make it more approachable while maintaining what I feel is its core premise that's how I would evolve it. Edit: if you like how the game is already that's great! Not saying that the game is inherently bad or anything. I feel with the name change from duel of ages to worldspanner would have been a great opportunity to split the line and create a newer product instead of a rules update.
@@jparish1987 More specifically that the game itself is. Which is true, this is a close spiritual successor, but you don't benefit from any prior knowledge. The WSF rulebook explains itself.
I think the rulebook is well written for new and old players alike. I think the issue is more that there aren't many games to compare it too and pull knowledge from. When I'm reading the rulebook for a new deck building game I kinda know how it works from other games
@@jparish1987 Seconded to the other point - the rulebook is well written and very easy to understand (especially considering how wargame adjacent WSF is, with wargames typically having slogs for rulebooks)
This version is such a disappointment for me since I first heard about it. I loved the original's mix of real people, fictional people and a bunch of non-people too. This game's characters don't interest me in the least.
Good review! Tom, your original love of DoA2 got me into that. I loved it but only got a couple of multiplayer games in due to the complexity.
While Worldspanner doesn't have as much trimming on paper, I found the improved round structure, line of sight, terrain modifiers, and adventure spaces all make for a much more approachable game. The sum is greater than its parts.
I do wish there was more work on the user-design of the cards and stats (for instance, stats going vertical on cards, but horizontal on equipment makes my head hurt.)
First quarter point in the DTCU 😮😮
🎉🎉🎉😮😮😮
Truly a historic moment to be added to the record books
need a live playthrough on this one!
Publisher recommends using coin sleeve pages in a three ring binder for sorting the standees (and alphabetized).
Yeah. I took the time to alphabetize them in coin sleeves and now it's quick to set up.
Thanks for reviewing this one so fast; I didn't expect to see it so soon!
This one was so much fun. But without Tom explaining the cards and the map on each turn, it would have been rougher. Although, the story told from our one game was amazing!
I got this one last week and had a couple of plays already. I’m not convinced at all this is an upgrade from DoA2. I liked the change from character tokens to standees, one character per space and bigger hexes. On the other hand, I don’t like the oversimplification of ranged rules, the new minion rules (henchmen, hunters and sentinels each had their own advantages and disadvantages, now they’re all the same), the riddance of mesas, the riddance of team bases and all the awesome adventures that came with them, the new mechanism of pit/underpit in comparison to the strategic choices the prison offered, the new Lith key (no more Wailing Cave, lackluster new adventures).
I didn't have a lot of liquid cash when this was getting kick started. I'm hoping this pops up for order from some retailers. I'll be able to scoop it up now. I have Duel of Ages 2 with the big box, but I never got to play it hardly at all. Looking forward to the solo campaign mode w/ this one.
the symbols on the weapons cards should be oriented the same way it is on the character card. seems like such a simple oversight. on the character card it reads left to right, then on the weapon it reads top to bottom. *keenan voice* Why?? lol edit; im referring to the Strength and Intelligence stat requirements
Did you guys play this only 1-1 or with higher player counts? I'd be interested in hearing if it works with more players.
Great review guys.
Melody was busy so Tom had to pull in the only other person who would play with him 😂
Maybe organize the characters by faction?
I’m intrigued
I was waiting this...
I fall firmly in the camp of loving this game 😂 I don't think there's any changes from DoA II that I didn't like.
Ive found this one tremendously easier to reach to new people. Surprisingly the outlier in my game groups is the 1 person who doesn't like the game. She prefers analytical euro thinking though so I can understand.
I feel like this game needs what Unmatched did for Star Wars Epic Duels . Get rid of the hexes and make it like the eldritch horror board which would simplify line of sight and movement. Tom's advice for organizing were the stats are displayed on the card would go along way for simplifying combat as well with maybe the addition of color coding the text or numbers but what they are used for like melee combat, ranged combat, and skill checks
For LoS, I'd disagree, but respect your opinion. Hexes and line of sight are what make Worldspanner inherently a wargame at its core. Personally, I'd think getting rid of hexes and line of sight when come with a significant loss of immersion. Right now, Worldspanner sits in a adventure/wargame niche that isn't overwhelming and just easy enough to introduce new people, compared to other wargames where there are tons more rules overhead. Point-to-point movement would be too much of an oversimplification IMO - games like Undaunted and Unmatched already exist for that purpose.
I'd invest in an overhead laser LoS tool (Army Painter's Targetlock Laser Line is my favorite) for any games with line of sight - it actually makes it fun to check LoS!
@rcbrice I think the war game elements should be stripped like unmatched did for star wars epic duels. It makes it too long and convoluted for its lightheaded premise. Anecdotally while I am willing to put 2 or 3 hours into it I have not had success introducing it to other people and going off online discourse this seems to be a commonality.
The current game worldspanner and it's past two iterations are still there if you want that wargame feel but I feel like If the goal is to make it more approachable while maintaining what I feel is its core premise that's how I would evolve it.
Edit: if you like how the game is already that's great! Not saying that the game is inherently bad or anything. I feel with the name change from duel of ages to worldspanner would have been a great opportunity to split the line and create a newer product instead of a rules update.
If you haven't played duel of ages 2 would you recommend reading the duel of ages 2 rules then reading the worldspanner rules?
Worldspanner is a standalone game with very updated rules. You can safely ignore the DoA2 rules here.
@@deusvulture5183 in the video Tom mentioned that the rulebook was gear toward folks who had played duel of ages
@@jparish1987 More specifically that the game itself is. Which is true, this is a close spiritual successor, but you don't benefit from any prior knowledge. The WSF rulebook explains itself.
I think the rulebook is well written for new and old players alike. I think the issue is more that there aren't many games to compare it too and pull knowledge from. When I'm reading the rulebook for a new deck building game I kinda know how it works from other games
@@jparish1987 Seconded to the other point - the rulebook is well written and very easy to understand (especially considering how wargame adjacent WSF is, with wargames typically having slogs for rulebooks)
This version is such a disappointment for me since I first heard about it. I loved the original's mix of real people, fictional people and a bunch of non-people too. This game's characters don't interest me in the least.
This game has real, fictional and non-people characters, so what are you talking about?
This game has all the same characters...
@@Mephisto707, I stand corrected. I thought, when I saw the announcement about this it seemed it was going to be all generic characters.