Although this is a pretty simple video, the raw audio for it is a hellscape of me coughing every minute or so. 2 weeks of a chest infection has messed me about a lot. Hopefully, as I get better, I should return to doing some 3 minute recap vids shortly. Anyways, as mentioned in the vid, what should i get to first?
Gizmos made it to our shelf in the exact same way, it also sits on our shelf unplayed. Walking Dead sits unopened on our shelf, we backed it when we were still watching the show, but then I never watched it again after the end of Season 5 (it just felt like a pretty good ending to me at that point, and I just assumed the rest of the show would devolve into string-along torment plots.) It would be interesting to see what your take on that game is, if only to save me the time of opening it.
Interested to see your take on Abyss. My friend as it and it's been off the table recently cuz there are some things that I wish it did better. There is still good in it, though.
I feel like you know that you are a board game enthusiast when you do have a shelf of shame. Yours is impressive. Thanks for explaining a math or is it mass trade. I hadn’t come across that concept
I got an oversized sturdy cigar box to put together the complete set of Leaving Earth. It's a double tall cigar box of a lighter wood that's not balsa. Enjoy Stations.
Gizmos is very easy to learn and plays rather fast. I enjoy is as a light engine building game and have played it with a variety of players who have all enjoyed it.
For whatever reason I have tried to teach Gizmos multiple times to new & newish boardgamers and people have really struggled with it. I ended up selling it because there are a lot of engine builders out there that are easier to grasp for new players. The game is light but it has this structure that seems to be really confusing. Shrugs mileage will vary.
Renegade is a must play for Solo games. It's not as much of a deck builder as people say. The designer is a HUGE fan of solo games, he made the best Mage Knight solo play through, and you can see the inspiration in this game...
Tiny Epic Zombies seems much more complicated than it actually is. The biggest things to keep in mind are you HAVE to move to fight, stores are the whole card, rooms are one of the three parts of the store, all zombies must be cleared from the store to accomplishment nearly anything, and the movement between cards is if the wall is shared the holes don't matter.
Being in full swing with painting up the Sadler Brothers’ “Brook City” I’d love to see a vid on “The Walking Dead”. Greetings from Copenhagen, where the houses are made of Tetris blocks!
Ha, I hoped someone would be from there. When I actually review a game, I do a bit of backstory reading about it as well normally. So, expect me to be perusing pictures of Copenhagen housing in the future
Really interested in your thoughts on Vengeance-especially your solo thoughts. Many of the negative reviews on BGG critisised it as being better as a solo game-which is great for me as a solo gamer :)
Gaia Project is one of the rare occasions where I gave the sci fi theme a pass over fantasy. TM is one of my favorite games, so I didn't think it's younger brother would take it's place, especially with the fantasy theme. But I'll always go with Gaia over Terra any day. Top 10, easy...even though I suck at it. :/
You're so gonna love Viticulture! It's like Caverna with less stuff but in trade you get better gameplay! Also I def. recommend getting Tuscany for asymetric setup and a cooler board. Also, two fun facts about Copenhagen: 1. The diverse and beautiful rooftop landscape is something a lot of foreigners notice. Being a native, I never thought about it though.... 2. The way you pronounced in the video is actually the German way. In Danish it is called København so we either go for that or when speaking English say Co (as in "co-op"- Pen (like a pen) - Ha (as in "hey!") - Gen (as in "gen-eration")
Ha, my partner speaks German, so that's probably where that comes from. If i end up reviewing it, i'll try the right pronunciation, with my accent getting in the way of course.
@@3MBG haha I was very surprised how a Kiwi had heard the German pronunciation. Anyway, I can hook you up with some clips with reference pronunciation if you ever wanna go for it!
Would love to see the Lancaster Big Box. The base game is a hit with my game group but I find it a bit lacking. I am curious if the expansions change the game much.
Ah Quantum: The cover is really beautiful, IMO. The game also looks very vibrant on the table; nice components. That's why I got a used copy for 50,- EUR(!) a few months back. It seems it's really hard to get, at least online. That's also why I would recommend passing over it for the channel: Not much point presenting a game that seems out of print for good. I'll note that I'd rate it a very nice tactical filler.
Did not know it was OOP. I tend not to review games that are. (Which is why XIA hasn't been on the channel yet). Still, i play a bunch of games that don't end up on the channel. You're also making me feel good about picking it up in a trade.
Gaia Project is my favorite game on your list - easily a top 10 game for me. Viticulture (with the Tuscany board) used to be a top 10, but keeps getting pushed down my list. Endeavor is a wonderful game, and I can definitely see how the slavery option can be off putting, but that is 100% intentional. If a person doesn't feel bad taking a slavery card it definitely says something about them. Copenhagen is a great filler game with barely any rules overhead, and I can't believe somebody dumped that off onto you to learn it for them. Luckily it won't take much of your time. Alien Frontiers has been on my shelf unplayed for at least two years. With my copy of The Artemis Project set to arrive in the next couple of weeks, I'm not sure if I'll ever get AF played. The decisions in tAP just look much better. That and I've played Kingsburg many times which is apparently very similar to AF, and sure when I'll ever get that one back to the table. My copy of Welcome to Dinoworld is sitting unplayed as well. I had a 6 player campaign of Charterstone stall out about halfway through, which has definitely put me off of legacy games. I was enjoying, but I'm not too terribly disappointed that we never finished.
Interesting insight into the steps between the shelves and the camera! Also an amusing example of how different the game playing experience is due to countless factors, for a second I thought WOW AN ALIEN FRONTIERS SEQUEL!? because my brain just didn't process that you might not have played the original yet. An absolute core favourite for two separate gaming groups I've been in, great fun (especially if you get the little city bubbles tokens instead of just the buttons), though there is a risk of being held up by an optimising player's analysis paralysis because a) they only find out what dice they have to move with on their turn b) their desires might have been just blocked by the preceding players. (After a looooot of play we moved on to Euphoria, another excellent dice placement game with great little mechanics which eliminate the decision-jamming issues.)
It shouldn't bother me that much, but I HATE the box that Leaving Earth came in. I'm pretty certain it would hit my table more often if they had put it inside something that didn't look used up right after it was opened for the first time. :/
It's kind of funny to watch these videos all out of order, already knowing which if these games you'll end up loving (Gaia Project) and which ones you'll hate (Walking Dead)
Get well soom mate. Great videeo and nice to learn more about how each game came to you. I sold Hannibal after a few plays and Viticulture (in shrink). Alien Frontiers, Tiny Epic Galaxies, and Whistle Stop are on my SoS too :) I would be interested in Leaving Earth’s Stations and Lancaster Big Box. Thanks.
I missed the Copenhagen Kickstarter and am waiting for the retail release in October. I'd love to hear what you think about it. Personal curiosity. Feel better soon...
Alien Frontiers is really special to me, it was the first "real" game I had and loved it alot when I was new to the hobby. It's still in my collection because of all that nostalgia and I seriously think that this is a very good game, would really like a review of that one soon :)
Cool. I got the edition with the plastic domes. Which had nothing to do with the fact I was making a board game about mars at the time. Nothing at all. I def want to give it a go with my crew
I’m interested to see you thoughts on tiny epic zombies. I keep seeing for sale and wondering if that’s because it’s popular or because it’s not great...
The rules are a little clunky. Biggest problem might be a hard to understand rule for survivor movement, although it just translates to: you can enter any room, that shares (part of) a wall with the room that you are currently in, yes, survivors do not use doors : D and zombies go through room by numbers (1, 2 ,3 or 3, 2, 1 I don't remember exactly). And another thing is: everytime you want to do something, you first have to move and only after that you can take an action, even if you are in the room you want to be in, first move!!! - the reasoning being: there are zombies everywher you you have to keep moving, the zombie minis reresent groups of zombies so big that you have to fight them and can not slip through or do some quick things before leaving the room again. I guess many people are confused or do not like these rules, but if you try to imagine a reason behind them it makes the game even better : D
Alien Frontiers is the most worth your time & effort, My 'Shelf o Shame has Alien Uprising on it, ready to turn it into a dart board or a fire cracker corn hole target...
Go out and get the expansions for Abyss, throw away everything from the loot module from the first expansion, and enjoy. The Black Pearls are great and the second expansion is a distinct upgrade. I find it easy to teach Abyss with the expansions without bothering to introduce the vanilla base game. Just traded Quantum off my shelf of shame for a copy of Architects of the West Kingdom.
WhistleStop is a pleasant, yet semi-cutthroat, worker placement game where you build out your own placement locations. It has little to do with what I'd consider "train games" (Ticket to Ride is one, just barely), so please don't judge that genre based on your feelings about WhistleStop. Based on your preferences, you will likely enjoy it, and a year later you'll find it back on the shelf of shame and wonder what happened. We have yet to play it with the expansion and that'll hopefully put the game back on the table. Gizmos is like bubblegum that releases its flavor and sugars quickly, then one quickly looks for a receptacle to spit it out. That sounds harsh, but for what it is it makes for a visually inviting entry game for the children in our gaming group. I'm most curious on your thoughts about Viticulture. For us, it's a bit like Lords of Waterdeep in that much of its popularity seems to come from encountering it fairly early on in one's hobby, and 2) benefiting really well from an expansion.
Interesting. I quite like Lords of Waterdeep, but its also a game I can't see myself playing again any time soon. I kinda thrashed it on the app version. I really do need to play some serious train games at some point. Probably the closest i've actually played to one is Auztralia. And I know thats a hybrid train game with Ameritrash mixed in.
@@3MBG My idea of a train game is one where you build track and can purchase/sell/manipulate the game economy, usually via stock shares. I highly recommend Chicago Express as an easy-to-learn example that is also affordable, fast playing, and highly replayable. Many hardcore 18XX fans have it in their top 10 for good reasons. Cheers! P.S. Your 3-minute review of the original Civilization has become my go-to video introduction for that game. Thanks for revisiting old classics!
Ha, cheers. Civ was one of the first "big" games I played when i was about 15. The main reason I did that one then though was their was a reprint out, so the game was available. I'd love to do things like republic of rome, but because they are out of print it's not really fair. Still, DUNE is coming out soon. So looking forward to that.
Gaia project seems very confusing when you see the player boards. But after being taught the mechanics, it's really not that complex, especially if you played Terra Mystica
I play X-Wing with Jarrat some times at tournaments, he's a good dude. I didn't realize the game has slavery in it, must be hard to state the game is on your shelf of shame given it's a friends game. Shows you stick to your values, and I bet he understands it too.
Yeah, Jarrat and I had a good chat about the slavery thing. Its complex, and his position has nuance to it. I definitely will play it, and I only got the copy at wellycon when he gave one to me. So it hasn't been sitting for ong.
@@3MBG I look forward to see your thoughts on it in depth. Keep up the quality work dude ☺ it doesn't surprise me that he has a good reasoning behind having it in the game.
Slavery has been a part of human history. It's part of nearly every countries culture and past. As long as you aren't activity looking at acquiring a slave I don't see the problem with playing a game which features them in a historic context. Feels like not wanting to play axis and allies because it features Nazis. I understand your stance though and appreciate you standing up for what you believe is right.
My shelf of shame: Brew Crafters (looks a bit heavier than I thought), Imperial 2030 (although I have a play session planned now), Arboretum (our recent filler has been Cat Lady), Castles of Burgundy card game, Root (I know!!!)
Yeah, always give the game a go, never rely on others opinions to tell you whats actually good for you. Don't get me wrong either, its still a very clever design and wonderfully executed. I just have not found it that fun as i've played it more and more.
I was tempted to order defenders of the last stand when you shared it was discounted. Then found out how much shipping was from the store 3 to 4 times the price of the game. Shame really as the game seems to be so much fun .
@@3MBG I was looking at posting to the UK . Might have to see if I can get a better price . Think seeing the prices the had put me into shock . If you can get a good price to NZ should be able to get one to UK
Check if royal mail has an international remailing service. NZ You shop is a NZ post run remailing service, where you get stuff sent to their address in the US, and they remail it to you here in NZ. Unsure if the UK has similar.
My shelf of shame is large, I blame irresistible sales. I heard you mention rpgs, have you ever played Monster of the Week? The designer is in NZ. I backed the original edition on indiegogo, but now it is readily available from Evil Hat. Great rpg.
Yeah, Mike is from Wellington. We aren't close but have heaps and heaps of mutual friends. Half the play testers for monster of the week have played board games at my place. Andrew Millar, who's in the comments here, ran a campaign for us a few years back. Really good fun
@@3MBG That is pretty cool and I'm slightly jealous. MotW and Dungeon World are my favorite apocalypse engine rpgs. Well, I have shared with you all my NZ gaming knowledge. If you ever start a film channel we can talk about Black Sheep and Housebound as underrated classics.
Could probably skip Tiny Epic Galaxies. Lots of downtime. Thought it would be pretty engaging that you can choose someone else’s die but player turns are just long. Endeavor is a fantastic game. You seem pretty bothered by the theme though but the gameplay is fantastic and the expansion will hopefully make it even better.
You better now have a flu shot once a year now. I’ve never got the flu, but it sounds terrible, lol. So speaking of Leaving Earth. Do you still love it? How fun is it solo? How replayable is it solo? How many times have you played it solo and multiplayer?
I just learned and played Viticulture this week. One of the best worker placement games I've tried. On another note, I didn't care for Endeavor. It was vanilla, but the rest of my group liked it. You should try out your friend's game.
I haven't played a lot of these games but I can recommend Gaia Project and Tiny Epic Galaxies. I think for Gaia Project you really need to dive in and start playing the game. I do think it would be tough to understand just reading the rulebook without actually playing. I would love a 3 min breakdown for Gaia Project!!
Some amazing games there. I own or have played about 3/4 of those. Endeavour is pretty abstract, I wouldn't be overly concerned about the colonialist theme. I've only played the base game though, so I don't know how the mini expansions change it up. I found the legacy aspect of Charterstone a bit lacklustre but it's a fine worker placement game after that. I used a recharge pack to set the board to a neutral state and adapted the rules to make the "legacy" actions work in the context of having everything opened. Gizmos is a lot of fun, I don't own it but I've played it a couple of times and it's a great fast engine builder. The rules overhead is low enough that you can crack into it easily. Same with Whistle Stop. Gaia Project is at the opposite end of the spectrum. I do own this one and I've only played it once, but it's spurred me to play Terra Mystica a couple more times which I also own and never played much on the basis that I probably don't need both of them, but I feel like I need to play them both several times before I decide, so for now I have both. Viticulture is fantastic, Lancaster is excellent (never played the expansions though), Quantum is one of my favourite games, and the only abstract that Violetta will touch (and actually requests to play), Abyss is very good and doesn't see enough table time. I like Alien Frontiers a lot, but it plays a bit too long for it's weight. I like Tiny Epic Galaxies a lot, though I only have the base game. I've played the expansion and feel it's good though probably not worth the sticker price since I don't play it often and like it's simplicity.
Considering you review games as a semi-pro hobby, that's a reasonable 'shelf of shame'. I had a similar reaction to opening Tiny Epic Zombies... but given how simple Tiny Epic Mechs is to play, I think I'll give it another go after watching some explanations. If you ever have the collection and time, you should do a spoiler-rific legacy game review, where you compare and contrast not only the games themselves, in brief... but also how they compare with one another in terms of mechanical evolution, component addition and overall satisfaction as a legacy game, etc.
I really enjoy Tiny Epic Zombies! I also really enjoy taking Ultra Tiny Epic Kingdoms on multiday hikes, and Tiny Epic Westerns is fascinating to me, but most people seem to find it a little over complex. Tiny Epic Mechs looked... Fine, to me from the kickstarter. I'd try it. But it certainly didn't seem exciting to me.
My problem is that most of my games don't have solo play and my wife doesn't always have time to play (I'm disabled) and most of my group is also pretty busy.
@@LeeroyPorkins Alien Frontiers is completely different than Terraforming Mars. It's primarily a dice worker placement/area control game where as terraforming mars is tableau building/tile placement game. A faster version of terraforming mars would be race for the galaxy or it's newer sibling new frontiers.
Your read of Tiny Epic Zombies matches mine. I backed the KS, but then I sort of half-regretted it after a few months. Once I got it, I sat down, punched everything out and read the rules. At that point, I started to glaze over. it's just too much going on for that small of a game, especially with all of the chits, modes of play and fiddly stuff. I sold it promptly, chalking it up as a rare "bad back" for me. I'm sure some will like it.
I appreciate your perspective on ("real life") colonial themed games. My main game group loves playing Puerto Rico for instance; despite how abstract the game is, it's still something I'd rather avoid playing, because the theme bugs me.
I think you should do 2 Charterstone reviews. . 1 Spoiler free, and possibly 1 showing the board with spoilers, and how it plays after the campaign legacy portion. (you can keep going with what you setup) I think Tiny Epic Galaxy is a good place to start. that is a good quick game you can get a feel for fairly quickly. You did not mention that Walking Dead Comic book came to an end unexpectedly with issue 193 this month! And at the end of the year give us a follow up video with the Shame Game. . letting us know which you kept, and which are still on the Shame Shelf!
I came to the comics after the show, and only read up to where the show was. Really different in a heck of a lot of places. I quite like that the show didn't just follow the comic script, as it meant you could read both and get a different take on the same topics. I'm thinking of doing the shame shelf update every 4-6 months. Definitely will be revisiting it.
Thanks for another great video. I've actually been considering getting Endeavor, simply because it seems like fun sailing around and trading stuff. The colonist/slavery-theme hadn't occurred to me, which is admittedly off-putting. If you ever manage to stomach doing a review, I'd be interested to hear how well (or badly) they dealt with the subject-material.
It's not dealt with. There's no story to this game, just actions. So, it's just presented as a fact that you can get slaves and colonize the world. We love the game, but don't actually use the slaves. It plays just fine without them.
Pretty impressive stack of games. Shouldn’t take more than 100 hours or so. Okay, maybe start with Vitaculture, it’s my personal favorite , and it’s on many gamers top 100 games for a reason. Also being an older game you should be able to find someone who could sit down show you the basics , quickly knocking it off your list.
That's a lot of games - I think I have 2 on mine (Virgin Queen & Locomotiv Werke). Gaia Project is great but a pain to learn & to teach. Gizmos is also a lot of fun but easy. Endeavour is almost a simulation and you are at least rewarded for abolishing slavery. I think it's only OK but my friends loved it. What there are more! I don't like any of them as much as the first 3 (or have not played them) . Hannibal was pretty good but I have not played for over 15 years. ...
Near and Far is a fine game, but the legacy aspects don't really add up to much. Good news; you can play it with an off-the-cuff group, without needing a legacy team willing to commit to a year. Charterstone is unfortunately a moderately dull game which is worsened by its legacy aspects, rather than improved by them; we really tried, but ended up abandoning it halfway through the campaign. Liked Alien Frontiers quite a bit. It is all based on die rolling, but since it's all about how you choose to use what you roll, instead of necessarily trying to roll a specific thing, it's still more strategy than gambling.
@@3MBG Even with the essential edition you still want Tuscany, mainly for the alternative board, which reworks a lot of game mechanics and changes generally the flow of the game. Glad to hear you're feeling better. :)
3 Minute Board Games The essential edition brought in some aspects from the original Tuscany expansion, but like he said, you still want to get the “Tuscany: Essential Edition” expansion for the board and few more additions. :)
It's a fine game without Tuscany. It's an amazing game with it. The only reason to play Viticulture without Tuscany is if you're playing with a new gamer or you're looking to ease into the rules. Even then it should be two games tops before transitioning to Tuscany. Or, of course, if you're playing a borrowed copy. If I were you I wouldn't do a review video without trying Tuscany though. And since you're from a nation with some of the world's best wine the theme should work well for you 😀
the renegade 2.0 kickstarter is imminent (2019) - with revisions and additional content (expansions+campaign) boardgamegeek.com/thread/2151584/20-kickstarter ricky also has a rules series on his channel th-cam.com/video/FJ5f1fTB17U/w-d-xo.html here's a link to the living faq www.boxofdelights.net/renegade-living-faq/
Check Hannibal and Gaia project. ;) Fun fact Gaia project and Hannibal are on my shelf of shame as well haha together with: 1. BattleLore 2nd edition 2. Mother of Dragons (Expansion for Game of Thrones) And I just opened and played Maria for the first time thiss weekened and got it off my shelf of Shame (great game Maria) :)
Setup and played some rounds of Hannibal solo to learn the rules yesterday. Got a friend of mine keen to play (he did a degree in classical studies, so anything ancients hes keen to play)
@@lokihve6591 Could be a while. Also, not sure if its still in print, which is a requirement for me doing 3 minute reviews these days, as, well, covering games people can't get is kinda ass.
Re endeavor, yeah, that is the one reason I didn't back either of their campaigns. It is a shame but in an oversaturated market, there is no reason to reconsider.
You have a crazy large number of games to play. :( IIRC Gaia Project is just Terra Mystica reskinned, so someone you know can probably walk you through it. You'll want that as it'll save you a lot of pain.
If you have experience with Terra Mystica, Gaia Project is a lot easier to learn since there are only a handful of new things you have to take note of.
Not as big of a shelve, I thought it would be. If you just did not play some expansion, or even more so just a Kickstarter exclusive expansion, I wouldn't count it as belonging to the shelve.
Wow, I've played most of those. Dump Charterstone. Not worth the time investment at all. If you had a group waiting to play, maybe. But finding a group to play this will be a waste. Renegade is just tough because all the rules and the terminology.
This is a very intriguing pile. I see quite a few games that I've never heard of that I'll be researching. The only things I'd not be interested in seeing videos on are the Tiny Epic ones. We have TE Kingdoms & TE Defenders and while I think both are decent I feel like there would have to be something wildly different about Zombies & Galaxies to catch my interest. I really like Viticulture, Charterstone, and Near & Far. Viticulture has turned out to be my most picked game whenever it's my turn (we do a participation and wins based system so that everyone who comes to game night fairly regularly will have a chance to pick a game).
I had the same experience with Renegade. The rule book really put me off. I tried to struggle through it, but the game never got played and ended up getting traded.
I bought Renegade recently and haven't played it yet. I'm a little worried that I'm going to feel like it's too close to Spirit Island, which is one of my favorites. For me it might not be worth the shelf space to keep both.
that is one hell of an impressive shelf of shame, full of amazing games that could be an entire collection for someone else :)
Although this is a pretty simple video, the raw audio for it is a hellscape of me coughing every minute or so. 2 weeks of a chest infection has messed me about a lot. Hopefully, as I get better, I should return to doing some 3 minute recap vids shortly. Anyways, as mentioned in the vid, what should i get to first?
Gizmos made it to our shelf in the exact same way, it also sits on our shelf unplayed. Walking Dead sits unopened on our shelf, we backed it when we were still watching the show, but then I never watched it again after the end of Season 5 (it just felt like a pretty good ending to me at that point, and I just assumed the rest of the show would devolve into string-along torment plots.) It would be interesting to see what your take on that game is, if only to save me the time of opening it.
Interested to see your take on Abyss. My friend as it and it's been off the table recently cuz there are some things that I wish it did better. There is still good in it, though.
I feel like you know that you are a board game enthusiast when you do have a shelf of shame. Yours is impressive. Thanks for explaining a math or is it mass trade. I hadn’t come across that concept
Math trade. So named because all the want lists and games go into a complex calculation that spits out the trade result.
@@3MBG - sounds like a good little system. I need to figure out how to get in on one. You do mention it in your videos, I did wonder what it was.
I got an oversized sturdy cigar box to put together the complete set of Leaving Earth. It's a double tall cigar box of a lighter wood that's not balsa. Enjoy Stations.
Nice idea that.
Gizmos is very easy to learn and plays rather fast. I enjoy is as a light engine building game and have played it with a variety of players who have all enjoyed it.
For whatever reason I have tried to teach Gizmos multiple times to new & newish boardgamers and people have really struggled with it. I ended up selling it because there are a lot of engine builders out there that are easier to grasp for new players. The game is light but it has this structure that seems to be really confusing. Shrugs mileage will vary.
Renegade is a must play for Solo games. It's not as much of a deck builder as people say. The designer is a HUGE fan of solo games, he made the best Mage Knight solo play through, and you can see the inspiration in this game...
I just got my copy of Defenders of the Last Stand myself thanks to you mentioning a store in the US had it. Great videos thank you!
I currently have Gloomhaven staring at me in a rather accusatory manner from the shelf. It daunts me just opening the box.
Break it out. It's great.
Use the app for bookkeeping, remember that most of the content is campaign material. The volume of bits required for a quick game is not excessive.
Tiny Epic Zombies seems much more complicated than it actually is.
The biggest things to keep in mind are you HAVE to move to fight, stores are the whole card, rooms are one of the three parts of the store, all zombies must be cleared from the store to accomplishment nearly anything, and the movement between cards is if the wall is shared the holes don't matter.
Re: Near & Far, you can play it in Arcade Mode which would save the Campaign for when you have your mates together. Worth a shot.
I also kind of feel ashamed about Viticulture. I am such a dungeon crawling badass. But sometimes I have sippy cheese parties with a knotted sweater.
hahahaha. classic
Being in full swing with painting up the Sadler Brothers’ “Brook City” I’d love to see a vid on “The Walking Dead”. Greetings from Copenhagen, where the houses are made of Tetris blocks!
Ha, I hoped someone would be from there. When I actually review a game, I do a bit of backstory reading about it as well normally. So, expect me to be perusing pictures of Copenhagen housing in the future
your shelf of shame is as big as my regular game shelf! lol. sadly, with the amount i get to play that means my whole shelf is a Shelf of shame.
Contemplating in buying a flight ticket to NZ just because want to help you put at least half of these games off the shelf of shame. 🤔
Hahahahaha, that's commitment.
Really interested in your thoughts on Vengeance-especially your solo thoughts.
Many of the negative reviews on BGG critisised it as being better as a solo game-which is great for me as a solo gamer :)
+1 for a 3 min review of Vengeance!
Gaia Project is one of the rare occasions where I gave the sci fi theme a pass over fantasy. TM is one of my favorite games, so I didn't think it's younger brother would take it's place, especially with the fantasy theme. But I'll always go with Gaia over Terra any day. Top 10, easy...even though I suck at it. :/
You're so gonna love Viticulture! It's like Caverna with less stuff but in trade you get better gameplay!
Also I def. recommend getting Tuscany for asymetric setup and a cooler board.
Also, two fun facts about Copenhagen:
1. The diverse and beautiful rooftop landscape is something a lot of foreigners notice. Being a native, I never thought about it though....
2. The way you pronounced in the video is actually the German way. In Danish it is called København so we either go for that or when speaking English say Co (as in "co-op"- Pen (like a pen) - Ha (as in "hey!") - Gen (as in "gen-eration")
Ha, my partner speaks German, so that's probably where that comes from. If i end up reviewing it, i'll try the right pronunciation, with my accent getting in the way of course.
@@3MBG haha I was very surprised how a Kiwi had heard the German pronunciation. Anyway, I can hook you up with some clips with reference pronunciation if you ever wanna go for it!
Cheers, appreciated. No plans to cover it soon though.
Near and Far has become one of my absolute faves! And that's having not played the full campaign yet (still hope to). I'd recommend you try it!
Would love to see the Lancaster Big Box. The base game is a hit with my game group but I find it a bit lacking. I am curious if the expansions change the game much.
Ah Quantum: The cover is really beautiful, IMO. The game also looks very vibrant on the table; nice components. That's why I got a used copy for 50,- EUR(!) a few months back. It seems it's really hard to get, at least online. That's also why I would recommend passing over it for the channel: Not much point presenting a game that seems out of print for good.
I'll note that I'd rate it a very nice tactical filler.
Did not know it was OOP. I tend not to review games that are. (Which is why XIA hasn't been on the channel yet).
Still, i play a bunch of games that don't end up on the channel. You're also making me feel good about picking it up in a trade.
Gaia Project is my favorite game on your list - easily a top 10 game for me. Viticulture (with the Tuscany board) used to be a top 10, but keeps getting pushed down my list.
Endeavor is a wonderful game, and I can definitely see how the slavery option can be off putting, but that is 100% intentional. If a person doesn't feel bad taking a slavery card it definitely says something about them.
Copenhagen is a great filler game with barely any rules overhead, and I can't believe somebody dumped that off onto you to learn it for them. Luckily it won't take much of your time.
Alien Frontiers has been on my shelf unplayed for at least two years. With my copy of The Artemis Project set to arrive in the next couple of weeks, I'm not sure if I'll ever get AF played. The decisions in tAP just look much better. That and I've played Kingsburg many times which is apparently very similar to AF, and sure when I'll ever get that one back to the table.
My copy of Welcome to Dinoworld is sitting unplayed as well.
I had a 6 player campaign of Charterstone stall out about halfway through, which has definitely put me off of legacy games. I was enjoying, but I'm not too terribly disappointed that we never finished.
Interesting insight into the steps between the shelves and the camera! Also an amusing example of how different the game playing experience is due to countless factors, for a second I thought WOW AN ALIEN FRONTIERS SEQUEL!? because my brain just didn't process that you might not have played the original yet. An absolute core favourite for two separate gaming groups I've been in, great fun (especially if you get the little city bubbles tokens instead of just the buttons), though there is a risk of being held up by an optimising player's analysis paralysis because a) they only find out what dice they have to move with on their turn b) their desires might have been just blocked by the preceding players. (After a looooot of play we moved on to Euphoria, another excellent dice placement game with great little mechanics which eliminate the decision-jamming issues.)
Oh the pile gets bigger abd bigger 😉 ...now I dont feel so bad about my 4 not played games. Thanks 😉
It shouldn't bother me that much, but I HATE the box that Leaving Earth came in. I'm pretty certain it would hit my table more often if they had put it inside something that didn't look used up right after it was opened for the first time. :/
It's kind of funny to watch these videos all out of order, already knowing which if these games you'll end up loving (Gaia Project) and which ones you'll hate (Walking Dead)
ok, that's pretty funny. I should rewatch them myself at some point.
Get well soom mate. Great videeo and nice to learn more about how each game came to you. I sold Hannibal after a few plays and Viticulture (in shrink). Alien Frontiers, Tiny Epic Galaxies, and Whistle Stop are on my SoS too :) I would be interested in Leaving Earth’s Stations and Lancaster Big Box. Thanks.
I missed the Copenhagen Kickstarter and am waiting for the retail release in October. I'd love to hear what you think about it. Personal curiosity.
Feel better soon...
Cheers, feeling much better now.
Alien Frontiers is really special to me, it was the first "real" game I had and loved it alot when I was new to the hobby. It's still in my collection because of all that nostalgia and I seriously think that this is a very good game, would really like a review of that one soon :)
Cool. I got the edition with the plastic domes. Which had nothing to do with the fact I was making a board game about mars at the time. Nothing at all.
I def want to give it a go with my crew
@@3MBG Woa nice!!!!!
I’m interested to see you thoughts on tiny epic zombies. I keep seeing for sale and wondering if that’s because it’s popular or because it’s not great...
The rules are a little clunky.
Biggest problem might be a hard to understand rule for survivor movement, although it just translates to:
you can enter any room, that shares (part of) a wall with the room that you are currently in, yes, survivors do not use doors : D
and zombies go through room by numbers (1, 2 ,3 or 3, 2, 1 I don't remember exactly).
And another thing is: everytime you want to do something, you first have to move and only after that you can take an action, even if you are in the room you want to be in, first move!!! - the reasoning being: there are zombies everywher you you have to keep moving, the zombie minis reresent groups of zombies so big that you have to fight them and can not slip through or do some quick things before leaving the room again.
I guess many people are confused or do not like these rules, but if you try to imagine a reason behind them it makes the game even better : D
Gizmos, Whistle Stop, Alien Frontiers, and Gaia Project get me vote.
Alien Frontiers is the most worth your time & effort,
My 'Shelf o Shame has Alien Uprising on it, ready to turn it into a dart board or a fire cracker corn hole target...
I highly recommend Viticulture.
Go out and get the expansions for Abyss, throw away everything from the loot module from the first expansion, and enjoy. The Black Pearls are great and the second expansion is a distinct upgrade. I find it easy to teach Abyss with the expansions without bothering to introduce the vanilla base game.
Just traded Quantum off my shelf of shame for a copy of Architects of the West Kingdom.
Good advice, i actually played abyss with the first expansion on my first play. So that may have help convince me it was a fun game.
WhistleStop is a pleasant, yet semi-cutthroat, worker placement game where you build out your own placement locations. It has little to do with what I'd consider "train games" (Ticket to Ride is one, just barely), so please don't judge that genre based on your feelings about WhistleStop. Based on your preferences, you will likely enjoy it, and a year later you'll find it back on the shelf of shame and wonder what happened. We have yet to play it with the expansion and that'll hopefully put the game back on the table.
Gizmos is like bubblegum that releases its flavor and sugars quickly, then one quickly looks for a receptacle to spit it out. That sounds harsh, but for what it is it makes for a visually inviting entry game for the children in our gaming group.
I'm most curious on your thoughts about Viticulture. For us, it's a bit like Lords of Waterdeep in that much of its popularity seems to come from encountering it fairly early on in one's hobby, and 2) benefiting really well from an expansion.
Interesting. I quite like Lords of Waterdeep, but its also a game I can't see myself playing again any time soon. I kinda thrashed it on the app version.
I really do need to play some serious train games at some point. Probably the closest i've actually played to one is Auztralia. And I know thats a hybrid train game with Ameritrash mixed in.
@@3MBG My idea of a train game is one where you build track and can purchase/sell/manipulate the game economy, usually via stock shares. I highly recommend Chicago Express as an easy-to-learn example that is also affordable, fast playing, and highly replayable. Many hardcore 18XX fans have it in their top 10 for good reasons. Cheers!
P.S. Your 3-minute review of the original Civilization has become my go-to video introduction for that game. Thanks for revisiting old classics!
Ha, cheers. Civ was one of the first "big" games I played when i was about 15. The main reason I did that one then though was their was a reprint out, so the game was available. I'd love to do things like republic of rome, but because they are out of print it's not really fair.
Still, DUNE is coming out soon. So looking forward to that.
Gaia project seems very confusing when you see the player boards. But after being taught the mechanics, it's really not that complex, especially if you played Terra Mystica
I play X-Wing with Jarrat some times at tournaments, he's a good dude. I didn't realize the game has slavery in it, must be hard to state the game is on your shelf of shame given it's a friends game. Shows you stick to your values, and I bet he understands it too.
Yeah, Jarrat and I had a good chat about the slavery thing. Its complex, and his position has nuance to it. I definitely will play it, and I only got the copy at wellycon when he gave one to me. So it hasn't been sitting for ong.
@@3MBG I look forward to see your thoughts on it in depth. Keep up the quality work dude ☺ it doesn't surprise me that he has a good reasoning behind having it in the game.
Slavery has been a part of human history. It's part of nearly every countries culture and past. As long as you aren't activity looking at acquiring a slave I don't see the problem with playing a game which features them in a historic context.
Feels like not wanting to play axis and allies because it features Nazis. I understand your stance though and appreciate you standing up for what you believe is right.
My shelf of shame: Brew Crafters (looks a bit heavier than I thought), Imperial 2030 (although I have a play session planned now), Arboretum (our recent filler has been Cat Lady), Castles of Burgundy card game, Root (I know!!!)
Brew Crafters is pretty chunky, I enjoyed it though. Root is a funny, i've gotten less enjoyment out of it each time i've played it.
@@3MBG that's quite interesting about Root... I'll have to see for myself or eventually trade it away
Yeah, always give the game a go, never rely on others opinions to tell you whats actually good for you.
Don't get me wrong either, its still a very clever design and wonderfully executed. I just have not found it that fun as i've played it more and more.
I was tempted to order defenders of the last stand when you shared it was discounted. Then found out how much shipping was from the store 3 to 4 times the price of the game. Shame really as the game seems to be so much fun .
Shipping to where? I got mine sent via NZ Post You Shop for a heck of a lot less than what that store charges
@@3MBG I was looking at posting to the UK . Might have to see if I can get a better price . Think seeing the prices the had put me into shock . If you can get a good price to NZ should be able to get one to UK
Check if royal mail has an international remailing service. NZ You shop is a NZ post run remailing service, where you get stuff sent to their address in the US, and they remail it to you here in NZ. Unsure if the UK has similar.
If you liked Above & Below, then you really owe it to yourself to try Near & Far. You will get a good feel for it from the first map.
Hope you’ll be ready by now.
Loads of good games there. I’d god with Near & Far. That is good to see wether it’s enjoyable or not.
My shelf of shame is large, I blame irresistible sales. I heard you mention rpgs, have you ever played Monster of the Week? The designer is in NZ. I backed the original edition on indiegogo, but now it is readily available from Evil Hat. Great rpg.
Yeah, Mike is from Wellington. We aren't close but have heaps and heaps of mutual friends. Half the play testers for monster of the week have played board games at my place.
Andrew Millar, who's in the comments here, ran a campaign for us a few years back. Really good fun
@@3MBG That is pretty cool and I'm slightly jealous. MotW and Dungeon World are my favorite apocalypse engine rpgs. Well, I have shared with you all my NZ gaming knowledge. If you ever start a film channel we can talk about Black Sheep and Housebound as underrated classics.
And 1. Gaja .....but be aware you can get addicted to it ...played it over 100x and still playing
Could probably skip Tiny Epic Galaxies. Lots of downtime. Thought it would be pretty engaging that you can choose someone else’s die but player turns are just long.
Endeavor is a fantastic game. You seem pretty bothered by the theme though but the gameplay is fantastic and the expansion will hopefully make it even better.
You better now have a flu shot once a year now. I’ve never got the flu, but it sounds terrible, lol.
So speaking of Leaving Earth. Do you still love it? How fun is it solo? How replayable is it solo? How many times have you played it solo and multiplayer?
Still love it, about 5 solo plays and 2 multi. Its not an easy one to get on the table often due to time and setup
I just learned and played Viticulture this week. One of the best worker placement games I've tried.
On another note, I didn't care for Endeavor. It was vanilla, but the rest of my group liked it. You should try out your friend's game.
Need to get abyss to the table more. Great game with amazing artwork, if you can hunt down the expansions it puts it over the top!
I haven't played a lot of these games but I can recommend Gaia Project and Tiny Epic Galaxies. I think for Gaia Project you really need to dive in and start playing the game. I do think it would be tough to understand just reading the rulebook without actually playing. I would love a 3 min breakdown for Gaia Project!!
I am being taught the game next week, ill have to play it several times after that though. But its in progress
Some amazing games there. I own or have played about 3/4 of those. Endeavour is pretty abstract, I wouldn't be overly concerned about the colonialist theme. I've only played the base game though, so I don't know how the mini expansions change it up. I found the legacy aspect of Charterstone a bit lacklustre but it's a fine worker placement game after that. I used a recharge pack to set the board to a neutral state and adapted the rules to make the "legacy" actions work in the context of having everything opened.
Gizmos is a lot of fun, I don't own it but I've played it a couple of times and it's a great fast engine builder. The rules overhead is low enough that you can crack into it easily. Same with Whistle Stop. Gaia Project is at the opposite end of the spectrum. I do own this one and I've only played it once, but it's spurred me to play Terra Mystica a couple more times which I also own and never played much on the basis that I probably don't need both of them, but I feel like I need to play them both several times before I decide, so for now I have both.
Viticulture is fantastic, Lancaster is excellent (never played the expansions though), Quantum is one of my favourite games, and the only abstract that Violetta will touch (and actually requests to play), Abyss is very good and doesn't see enough table time. I like Alien Frontiers a lot, but it plays a bit too long for it's weight. I like Tiny Epic Galaxies a lot, though I only have the base game. I've played the expansion and feel it's good though probably not worth the sticker price since I don't play it often and like it's simplicity.
I actually played Lancaster and Abyss at your place. And that's also where I read the rules to Quantum.
Considering you review games as a semi-pro hobby, that's a reasonable 'shelf of shame'. I had a similar reaction to opening Tiny Epic Zombies... but given how simple Tiny Epic Mechs is to play, I think I'll give it another go after watching some explanations. If you ever have the collection and time, you should do a spoiler-rific legacy game review, where you compare and contrast not only the games themselves, in brief... but also how they compare with one another in terms of mechanical evolution, component addition and overall satisfaction as a legacy game, etc.
I really enjoy Tiny Epic Zombies! I also really enjoy taking Ultra Tiny Epic Kingdoms on multiday hikes, and Tiny Epic Westerns is fascinating to me, but most people seem to find it a little over complex.
Tiny Epic Mechs looked... Fine, to me from the kickstarter. I'd try it. But it certainly didn't seem exciting to me.
My problem is that most of my games don't have solo play and my wife doesn't always have time to play (I'm disabled) and most of my group is also pretty busy.
Yeah, that's an issue with no easy fix. When I was sick for a year, that's when I got an appreciation for solo gaming.
@@3MBG Alien Frontiers IMO is a faster streamlined Terraforming Mars, which is ironic since Alien Frontiers is older.
@@LeeroyPorkins Alien Frontiers is completely different than Terraforming Mars. It's primarily a dice worker placement/area control game where as terraforming mars is tableau building/tile placement game. A faster version of terraforming mars would be race for the galaxy or it's newer sibling new frontiers.
@@micahgmiranda True, I was looking at the theme, not the mechanics.
Wait, I thought a faster version of Terraforming Mars is TINYforming Mars ;-)
Your read of Tiny Epic Zombies matches mine. I backed the KS, but then I sort of half-regretted it after a few months. Once I got it, I sat down, punched everything out and read the rules. At that point, I started to glaze over. it's just too much going on for that small of a game, especially with all of the chits, modes of play and fiddly stuff. I sold it promptly, chalking it up as a rare "bad back" for me. I'm sure some will like it.
I appreciate your perspective on ("real life") colonial themed games. My main game group loves playing Puerto Rico for instance; despite how abstract the game is, it's still something I'd rather avoid playing, because the theme bugs me.
Mines doubly so with having a Maori guy in my regular group. Colonialism games really really do not sit well with him.
Renegade took me a while to learn.
If you dont have a conscience that blocks you from certain games then you have to question your humanity (?)
I think you should do 2 Charterstone reviews. . 1 Spoiler free, and possibly 1 showing the board with spoilers, and how it plays after the campaign legacy portion. (you can keep going with what you setup) I think Tiny Epic Galaxy is a good place to start. that is a good quick game you can get a feel for fairly quickly. You did not mention that Walking Dead Comic book came to an end unexpectedly with issue 193 this month! And at the end of the year give us a follow up video with the Shame Game. . letting us know which you kept, and which are still on the Shame Shelf!
I came to the comics after the show, and only read up to where the show was. Really different in a heck of a lot of places. I quite like that the show didn't just follow the comic script, as it meant you could read both and get a different take on the same topics.
I'm thinking of doing the shame shelf update every 4-6 months. Definitely will be revisiting it.
Thanks for another great video. I've actually been considering getting Endeavor, simply because it seems like fun sailing around and trading stuff. The colonist/slavery-theme hadn't occurred to me, which is admittedly off-putting. If you ever manage to stomach doing a review, I'd be interested to hear how well (or badly) they dealt with the subject-material.
It's not dealt with. There's no story to this game, just actions. So, it's just presented as a fact that you can get slaves and colonize the world. We love the game, but don't actually use the slaves. It plays just fine without them.
Aw man, can't wait for the Total Monstrosities video ;)
Viticulture is excellent and not a bad excuse to have a glass or three of wine while playing if that's your cup of, er... valpolicella.
Pretty impressive stack of games. Shouldn’t take more than 100 hours or so. Okay, maybe start with Vitaculture, it’s my personal favorite , and it’s on many gamers top 100 games for a reason. Also being an older game you should be able to find someone who could sit down show you the basics , quickly knocking it off your list.
Though Viticulture really needs the Tuscany expansion to shine. It's just a bit basic without it.
That's a lot of games - I think I have 2 on mine (Virgin Queen & Locomotiv Werke). Gaia Project is great but a pain to learn & to teach. Gizmos is also a lot of fun but easy. Endeavour is almost a simulation and you are at least rewarded for abolishing slavery. I think it's only OK but my friends loved it. What there are more!
I don't like any of them as much as the first 3 (or have not played them) . Hannibal was pretty good but I have not played for over 15 years. ...
Whistle Stop is awesome
Near and Far is a fine game, but the legacy aspects don't really add up to much. Good news; you can play it with an off-the-cuff group, without needing a legacy team willing to commit to a year. Charterstone is unfortunately a moderately dull game which is worsened by its legacy aspects, rather than improved by them; we really tried, but ended up abandoning it halfway through the campaign. Liked Alien Frontiers quite a bit. It is all based on die rolling, but since it's all about how you choose to use what you roll, instead of necessarily trying to roll a specific thing, it's still more strategy than gambling.
Viticulture without Tuscany is kinda mediocre, so you're not missing out on too much.
I'm not sure about the whole "essential edition" thing. Does that come with anything from Tuscany?
@@3MBG Even with the essential edition you still want Tuscany, mainly for the alternative board, which reworks a lot of game mechanics and changes generally the flow of the game. Glad to hear you're feeling better. :)
3 Minute Board Games The essential edition brought in some aspects from the original Tuscany expansion, but like he said, you still want to get the “Tuscany: Essential Edition” expansion for the board and few more additions. :)
It's a fine game without Tuscany. It's an amazing game with it. The only reason to play Viticulture without Tuscany is if you're playing with a new gamer or you're looking to ease into the rules. Even then it should be two games tops before transitioning to Tuscany.
Or, of course, if you're playing a borrowed copy. If I were you I wouldn't do a review video without trying Tuscany though.
And since you're from a nation with some of the world's best wine the theme should work well for you 😀
the renegade 2.0 kickstarter is imminent (2019) - with revisions and additional content (expansions+campaign)
boardgamegeek.com/thread/2151584/20-kickstarter
ricky also has a rules series on his channel
th-cam.com/video/FJ5f1fTB17U/w-d-xo.html
here's a link to the living faq
www.boxofdelights.net/renegade-living-faq/
Check Hannibal and Gaia project. ;)
Fun fact Gaia project and Hannibal are on my shelf of shame as well haha together with:
1. BattleLore 2nd edition
2. Mother of Dragons (Expansion for Game of Thrones)
And I just opened and played Maria for the first time thiss weekened and got it off my shelf of Shame (great game Maria) :)
Setup and played some rounds of Hannibal solo to learn the rules yesterday. Got a friend of mine keen to play (he did a degree in classical studies, so anything ancients hes keen to play)
@@3MBGNice looking forward to the review :)
@@lokihve6591 Could be a while. Also, not sure if its still in print, which is a requirement for me doing 3 minute reviews these days, as, well, covering games people can't get is kinda ass.
@@3MBG Ah of course it is, it just had the 20th year anniversary Edition in 2018 (which is the one I own :))
Artemis or Near and Far are my votes.
Gizmos is super fun!
I am afraid of pressing play because..I have more than one of those...but I am a sucker for punishment so here we go
Re endeavor, yeah, that is the one reason I didn't back either of their campaigns. It is a shame but in an oversaturated market, there is no reason to reconsider.
Gizmos is nothing like Potion Explosion but a very fun game indeed!
My big shame is New Angeles. I bought it in 2017 and still havent played it with anyone
Aw damn. That game is really good, but so contingent on a group that gets it and wants to play it.
@@3MBG I found you through BGBTB so I would be interested in playing if you are there
Sure, if we can pull a group together.
I'll be real easy to spot. I'm loud and will be wearing a 3 minute board games shirt
If you ever played Kingsburg, than you can play Alien Frontiers.
You have a crazy large number of games to play. :(
IIRC Gaia Project is just Terra Mystica reskinned, so someone you know can probably walk you through it. You'll want that as it'll save you a lot of pain.
If you have experience with Terra Mystica, Gaia Project is a lot easier to learn since there are only a handful of new things you have to take note of.
Also the multiplier mechanic has been copied in a number of other games like Scythe.
Get better mate!
Not as big of a shelve, I thought it would be. If you just did not play some expansion, or even more so just a Kickstarter exclusive expansion, I wouldn't count it as belonging to the shelve.
It's still stuff i purchased that I haven't played. So to me that counts.
Wow, I've played most of those. Dump Charterstone. Not worth the time investment at all. If you had a group waiting to play, maybe. But finding a group to play this will be a waste. Renegade is just tough because all the rules and the terminology.
I might actually solo through charterstone, to just learn whatever lessons the game has, as a sort of "designers" experience.
This is a very intriguing pile. I see quite a few games that I've never heard of that I'll be researching. The only things I'd not be interested in seeing videos on are the Tiny Epic ones. We have TE Kingdoms & TE Defenders and while I think both are decent I feel like there would have to be something wildly different about Zombies & Galaxies to catch my interest. I really like Viticulture, Charterstone, and Near & Far. Viticulture has turned out to be my most picked game whenever it's my turn (we do a participation and wins based system so that everyone who comes to game night fairly regularly will have a chance to pick a game).
alien frontiers good buy
I had the same experience with Renegade. The rule book really put me off. I tried to struggle through it, but the game never got played and ended up getting traded.
I bought Renegade recently and haven't played it yet. I'm a little worried that I'm going to feel like it's too close to Spirit Island, which is one of my favorites. For me it might not be worth the shelf space to keep both.
Hannibal. You and me some time.
I'll take quantum off your hands :P
I just bought a copy of this last night at a new game store
@@pgtmg624 really? I've been looking all over town/internet for a copy that's not 3x retail price
I was very surprised that it was $45 US! I asked if it had all the pieces. I bought it right after he said yes.