This video reminded me why SU&SD are so good. None of them have huge flashy studios with organised walls of games. They are normal people folk like me with a messy half ass collection and they don’t pretend to be perfect. Big love ❤️
2:20 Tom did this on purpose and I love him for it 6:30 Watch the light fade from his eyes for a moment 7:05 Our life choices have indeed led us to this 15:43 A bleak reminder of past mistakes 27:05 We can't look away 32:07 How the mighty have fallen
At 5:00 he's showing his Empty vampire 🦇 book, it looks empty but I've found a friend who could actually read what's hidden in it's pages hee hee hee (pd: it's still useless)
I can't stress enough how much I've loved the addition of Tom and Ava to the SU&SD family. Everyone has their own energy and voice and those little differences season the vibes perfectly. I know SU&SD was founded on the notion that board game reviews lacked the enthusiasm that they deserved and here we are now luxuriating in the unrepentant joy of the teams own treasure collections!
These videos are always my favourite, its a really interesting peek into what the people behind SU&SD actually like to play more generally. Also I think Ava's collection and an update to Quinns' collection is now mandatory, I dont make the rules its just true.
Respect to Tom for having bought the Nisei Netrunner cards. I did recently as well buy all the cards they had made including the new starter sets. Love it all and so glad someone is keeping Netrunner alive. Quinns, make a video about them! I wanna hear your opinion of having Netrunner still run by fans as a non-profit effort!
A Distant Plain is maybe my favorite of the COIN games. I don’t think any in the series are a walk in the park, in terms of learning the COIN system, but with a good teach I think you’d find it’s quite an elegant system overall. The player aids really help make the rules stick. And once you know one COIN game it really helps unlock the rest.
As a person who lives in a place with lots of earthquakes, the gallery section made me really nervous. Thought we'd see more big plastic-y games since Tom entered the channel as the big plastic boy
I saw Evolution and I thought finally some love for a great game!.... I watch as Tom snakes his way around... I'm getting excited... 'it's my housemates game'
The fact that even you lot have so many games in the "I'd like to get it to the table" category makes me feel better about my massive mountain of games I love to own but haven't played much of. X)
Yay! Was lovely to see the shout-out to the ELL deck! ^_^ I really want to get that properly back in print and get a book out to make it more accessible for folk who don't know what game to start with.
Monopoly deal! I think I got a lot of people hooked on that when i was starting out with boardgames almost 10 years ago... Practically got all local stocks in my small city emptied and had people ordering online... I still have an unopened copy stashed because my copies would disintegrate from too many plays with different people (around 50 different people)
@@alwaysathief one lid flipped upside-down and the faction boards go in it. Then the bottom of the main box is filled with all of the components and it sits down inside that lid. Then take a lid from the expansion box and cap it all off. I’m guessing it was the underground expansion but riverfolk might work too.
Gotta love the minor look of panic on Tom's face at the 12:42 second mark when he thinks Quinns is talking about a child dieing instead of forgetting where a child is.
Quinns, enjoying Tom’s Root box combopolis sorcery as much as you do I need to let you know you can do a similar thing with Merchants and Marauders and it’s expansion! (I’m making the bold assumption you have the expansion.) Flip the base game lid upside down and put the expansion box bottom in, then put the base game bottom on top which is slightly housed in the base lid and finally the expansion lid on top. Fully separates base and expansion content in a very aesthetically pleasing way!
This video has all the classic tomfoolery elements: chaos, mess, charm, and just enough order in the chaos that it all comes together. I think every collection should include the card game Bohnanza. It's a fun easy-to-teach trading game which, by design, makes every player deeply involved in every other player's turn. Trading, begging, forming temporary bean-cycling cartels just to avoid having the ever-feared bad turn where you can't play the right kind of bean card. Delicious.
I'm happy to hear that you still have the same sentiments towards Oath. The only thing keeping it out of my top spot is that I haven't found the right group for it. His magnum opus.
Babylonia is great. It plays well at all player counts (and strategies shift based on player count), it ends quickly, the variation with the bonus tiles is good, and it's fairly simple to explain. I think the biggest barrier is the incremental scoring phases breaking up the game rhythm and the need for everyone to be relatively similar in skill to prevent runaway leaders. Once those are accounted for, I think it's never just an "okay" experience. It always results in a memorable game. With that said, it's not a T&E but I don't think every game can or should be.
Tom you mad genius! I had to pause the video for like 20 minutes while I hunted down my expansion big boxes for Galaxy Trucker so I could rearrange all my GT stuff like you have Root! So nice to have it all in "one" box now. Thank you!!
It made me irrationally happy to see Dune, Pax Pamir 2E, and A Distant Plain in your collection. That's 3 of my 4 favorite games (with the fourth being the long out of print Milton Bradley game Samurai Swords, mostly for nostalgic reasons). I think you're pretty well covered in the area control category already. If you're looking for suggestions of what to look at next, perhaps something swashbuckle-y like Merchants and Marauders or Xia? Or a thematic hidden traitor game like Dark Moon or Dead of Winter?
Loved this, thanks for sharing. Given you and your group's love for Root and Oath, I was surprised that you've found Dune hard to get to the table. But more importantly, when's the SUSD Netrunner tournament happening?
Really enjoyed this, like a delightful chat with a quirky friend. A few surprises, I didn't expect Tom to like TI. Find it interesting that Quins loves Modern Art but doesn't like High Society.
I think Survive! Escape from Atlantis should be in everyone's collection! Such an easy came to teach and a great combo between team work and cut throat. I missed seeing that in your collection Tom.
Yeah, so true! We have a german copy from the 80's with the wonderful catchy title "Atlantis - Das Abenteuer um die dramatische Flucht von der versinkenden Insel" 😂, with plastic island tiles and sea creatures and it's one of my favourite games. Easy, quick and perfect to play outside, because it has no cards that could fly away in the wind. :D
About to start watching the video, just wanted to express how much I'm looking forward to it. These videos are the best, both Quinns' and Matt's were delightful to watch. See you in 32 mins
I wonder if Tom has noticed that he's started to do that little flick that Quinns does to hit the board games he's pointing out...every time he does it, he looks like he has to catch himself from doing it again, so I'd guess he has noticed and is trying to fight it.
Tom, you need some pretty storage boxes for your ButtonShy games and Netrunner cards! I have some tubs from Ikea that fit two aside in a Kallax cube, they're white with a green interior (surprise!) but also come in plain white, my Button Shy games fit two across in them. I have also found that many solo RPGs have a very melancholy theme. I was one of the original backers of TYOV - after seeing Quinns talk about it in the SUSD news, actually - but still haven't played it because I feel that my mental health is too fragile right now. But I did also back Apothecaria and I have played that a little. It is much more fun and joyful, if you want it to be. I really love that you own and cover so many of the small, weird quirky games that exist. It was a joy to see Bez's Ell deck in your collection, for example. I'd love to see you cover some more of the great indie solo or solo-ish games that are out there such as Assembly, Crystallo, Orchard, Maquis and Black Sonata. As for a game to play with everyone from kids, idiots and experienced gamers alike, I'd suggest Llama. It's so easy to teach and a game always ends up with everyone around the table laughing. And guess who designed it?
One of my favorite board games is Dune, and my brother's favorite board game is A Game of Thrones. So thank you, Tom, for validating both of our tastes in board games based on books.
Wow...our collections are surprisingly similar. I don't think I would have said that Tom is the SUSD member I share tastes with the most, but after seeing this I think it's clear.
Excellent! I have exactly the same shelving but about a quarter of the games on it 🤪 most of mine are box beasts such as Gloomhaven, Eclipse and Shadows of Brimstone 🙄 with expansions, oh so many expansions 🥰
Not to flog a dead horse but... T&E is my favourite game of all time but Babylonia is: easier to learn, simpler, quicker and 'friendlier' without losing any of the strategic special sauce. For that reason I've convinced people to play Tig once in the last year, and Babylonia 20+ times. That's probably less of a concern to a reviewer but as a consumer with limited space to buy and try stuff i need games that I will actually be able to play
I just want to add, I'm very happy to see another person who stores their boardgames (mostly) flat rather than vertical! I see everyone's shelves with vertical games and I think, don't all your pieces just fall around?
whee! I love these videos because it's nice to see how you all feel about them when things are chill and what you like to play repeatedly. Also I'm encouraged that Terra Mystica is in everyone's collection. Hoo boy is it hard to teach though, for real!
Such a fun watch. Makes me want to go back to the other tours. I hope Ava will feel comfortable sharing. Maybe Tom could have a shelf or three decicated to games that are not his? :p
Me seeing the stacks of cards: Are those Netrunner cards? Quinn's seeing the stacks of cards: Are those.....Netrunner cards? *Strokes cards gently and remembers a past life*
As a Berkeley resident, I loved hearing about North Berkeley on the podcast and seeing it in your collection here! Haven’t had a chance to play it yet though
Great video as ever. My suggestions for Tom to add to his collection are... The classic euro: El Grande Fighting game (and bonus team game): Any of the Quartermaster General series Solo RPG alike: Arkham Horror the Card Game Too many expansions to play them all: Snowdonia and the best Rosenburg is Le Havre, though I admit Nusfjord is great and is also easier to get on the table.
I'd love to hear more discussion on The Estates. I absolutely adore everything that it can be, but it takes a very specific kind of take-that mindset that makes it hard to casually pull out
@@shutupandsitdown Haha, the game came up on my radar because of that episode of the pod, and review from No Pun Included sealed my purchase. I'll have to finish watching the playthrough and see if there's any post-game debriefing to hear some further thoughts. If I've got your ear may I humbly request you guys take a look at Goodcritters sometime? It and Downforce have been the most consistent crowd pleasers whenever I pull them out to new people
I also have A Distant Plain, and it took me actual ages to wrap my head around what the heck is going on. But once it clicks, it clicks, and you realize how wonderfully simple all the actions in the game actually are. It's pretty much either moving cubes from one place to another, adding some cubes or discs, and/or doing some very simple combat. It really surprised me that, for how difficult it is to understand the game, the core actions are some of the simplest of any wargame I've ever played. I strongly recommend pushing through the headache of learning the game, because once you do it's an extremely rewarding experience.
Evolution is one of my absolute favorite games. The way that you have to adapt your species to the environment created by your opponents' species in order to outcompete each other for limited resources is such a good abstraction of natural selection into game mechanics. It manages the rare feat of being both faithful and fun! On top of that, you build an engine which is satisfying, but you have to continually adapt it, which keeps it fresh throughout the game. There's a ton of player interaction in different ways, like the secret choice of how much food to introduce into the environment each round, or evolving one of your species into a carnivore to eat your opponents' species! But carnivores are hard to keep alive and you have to eat your own species if you can't eat any of your opponents', so the balance is really tight. With 17 traits in the core deck, the number of combos hits that sweet spot of not being too many to keep track of, but something you can still gain mastery over with several plays. Playing with four players is recommended as another sweet spot: the traits that allow you to combo off your opponents' actions or attack as a carnivore feel most balanced when you have three opponents; two opponents and they're too weak to keep up with a good herbivore engine. I haven't played with five or six, so it's possible they're well balanced at those player counts as well, but I would expect that more opportunities to trigger those abilities might make them more powerful. Then again, that's evolution: whoever can take advantage of the environment best will survive to pass on their genes! I have not played Evolution: Oceans, but I've watched reviews. I think there are some good ideas in Oceans that might improve Evolution, but I also think there are some design decisions in Oceans that loosen up the game and make it a little more dependent on the luck of the draw. Both games have their place and whether one is better than the other is purely preference. I like tight designs, so I expect Evolution would remain my preference. Of the games I've played, I think Evolution is closest to Modern Art: it's a closed economic system and the value of any given line of play is highly dependent on what each of your opponents has done and what you expect them to do next, with the uncertainty of adapting to the cards actually drawn. Tom, you should definitely play it. It's different enough from Oceans that it really counts as a different game. I know SU&SD was lukewarm on it in a written review, but I think you might enjoy it quite a bit.
The best games of Root I've ever played were two player with my wife, where we both played vagabonds against the marquise bot. It was amazing. There's also a website that makes running the bot a breeze.
Great video, love seeing what SUSD's fav boardgames are. The first 7ish mins of the video was tough to watch though, I felt like Quinns could give a bit more freedom to Tom to structure his collection video. Maybe something to keep in mind for the next video!
I also played an obscene amount of Game of Thrones in Uni too! Barely played it since. Seeing it torn apart on SUSD was painful but helpful to look without my rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia from a uni house's grubby kitchen table.
I have the newer edition of Arboretum and it’s gorgeous, but I definitely have a soft spot for the old green version’s card backs. Sometimes there’s something lovely about an older, slightly jankier look, like original Bus and some of the early printings of Tigris and Euphrates.
I'm really hoping one of these videos will be deeply underwhelming at some point: "Here's Monopoly and a dog-eared copy of Scrabble, along with a pack of playing cards and a few loose dice... Oh, and somewhere there's a mini Domino set that came with a Christmas cracker!"
"Hi, welcome to my collection video! Here's Uno, one and a half sets of Scrabble, two decks of cards with the jacks and kings of hearts and all the aces missing, a checkers board with more black pieces than red, Rummikub, and a sudoku omnibus book."
Because you asked… El Grande! Should I say it again? Yes, I think I will. El Grande!!!! Every collection is incomplete without it. Oh, and the simple dudes on a map game that you are looking for that beats all the rest, Conquest of the Empire 🤯 everything you could ask for. Loved the video!!!!
Why the heck does this new fella Tom Brewster get to play Vagrantsong before me? (UK comment.. Vagrantsong still does not exist in this realm). Great bottom-up video! Thanks people.
To help Tom with the feeling bad on the internet, Spirit Island is missing! Tied with TI as my favorite game of all time =p ! But I connect with theme a lot more than you boys do, so that may be part of why you don't like it as much. EDIT: Also, very much enjoyed the Space Cats Peace Turtles shoutout =) .
Love watching young people talking about games like we used to. Some classic "Euros" to consider: Cartagena - I think there's a new version out. For some reason, I often forget to list this as a favorite, but I think I've played it more than any game in my collection. No one ever vetoes it. I'm the Boss (Originally Kohle Kies and Knete) - up to 6 players making deals and screwing each other over. What could be better? Acquire - This and I'm the boss are the two games I recommend to people who think Monopoly is good. Acquire has the hotel/stock thing going. Royal Turf/Winner's Circle - Place your bets and push little plastic horses around. Samurai - You can replace Babylonia with Samurai. Put it side by side with T&E and old gamers will nod sagely and go, "Hmmm". Can't Stop - I guess technically not a Euro since it was made in the US decades ago. But a simple dice rolling classic. I'm not into big fighting games, but War of the Ring is still seen around and has a lot of plastic bits, I think.
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This video reminded me why SU&SD are so good. None of them have huge flashy studios with organised walls of games. They are normal people folk like me with a messy half ass collection and they don’t pretend to be perfect. Big love ❤️
I think they don't lean on that gonzo vibe enough these days. They are so good off the cuff.
"Messy half ass collection". I thougth my 5 board games was a collection
2:20 Tom did this on purpose and I love him for it
6:30 Watch the light fade from his eyes for a moment
7:05 Our life choices have indeed led us to this
15:43 A bleak reminder of past mistakes
27:05 We can't look away
32:07 How the mighty have fallen
I am ded. this has ended me! When the coroner comes they will see this timeline and know I died of laughter!
At 5:00 he's showing his Empty vampire 🦇 book, it looks empty but I've found a friend who could actually read what's hidden in it's pages hee hee hee (pd: it's still useless)
I can't stress enough how much I've loved the addition of Tom and Ava to the SU&SD family.
Everyone has their own energy and voice and those little differences season the vibes perfectly.
I know SU&SD was founded on the notion that board game reviews lacked the enthusiasm that they deserved and here we are now luxuriating in the unrepentant joy of the teams own treasure collections!
Tom the kind of guy you wish you'd spoke to more in secondary school
Tom is a genius constantly daring you to underappreciate him or misunderstand him.
Awww, tom is a fine lad.
The kinda friend I had/have 😊
My mate Jerry says Tom is a bit of a klunt in real life.
@@InTheHooseklunt?
These videos are always my favourite, its a really interesting peek into what the people behind SU&SD actually like to play more generally.
Also I think Ava's collection and an update to Quinns' collection is now mandatory, I dont make the rules its just true.
I would also love to know what games are most common to everyone's collection.
Just hearing the SUSD chat is so great... Which feels really para-social and gross now that I say it .
This was such a view into Tom's brain and I'm surprised we all survived the experience
Respect to Tom for having bought the Nisei Netrunner cards. I did recently as well buy all the cards they had made including the new starter sets. Love it all and so glad someone is keeping Netrunner alive.
Quinns, make a video about them! I wanna hear your opinion of having Netrunner still run by fans as a non-profit effort!
Yeah, Nisei is awesome. Was thinking the same.
I don't know exactly what it is, but I really, really appreciate the energy Tom brings to SU&SD. He has been such a great addition to the team.
Not since I watched Pulp Fiction have I been so curious about the contents of a briefcase
I chose to believe it’s my favourite game but Tom is too scared of Quinns to admit it’s his favourite.
You know that's where he keeps his weed.
A Distant Plain is maybe my favorite of the COIN games. I don’t think any in the series are a walk in the park, in terms of learning the COIN system, but with a good teach I think you’d find it’s quite an elegant system overall. The player aids really help make the rules stick. And once you know one COIN game it really helps unlock the rest.
If only there were someone around here who could help with "good teaches". 😛
I SO read this in Rodney Smith's voice
Maybe Watch it Played could start a COIN teaching series…
@@PeterPerry18 You'll find a full tach and play of Cuba Libre on our Twitch channel if you're interested!
COIN games are sooo good!!! But. Hard to get to the table for me.
Can y'all unlist this so it's not so obvious to my friends that I am slowly copying Tom's collection?
As a person who lives in a place with lots of earthquakes, the gallery section made me really nervous.
Thought we'd see more big plastic-y games since Tom entered the channel as the big plastic boy
As a person who have never had the missfortune of being in an earthquake, the gallery section also made me really nervous.
The most anticipated video of 2022 dont @ me
I saw Evolution and I thought finally some love for a great game!.... I watch as Tom snakes his way around... I'm getting excited... 'it's my housemates game'
Evolution is maybe the most underrated game in existance...
@@republikadugave420 is it better than oceans?
@@Cheeky_Chelsea I prefer evolution climate over oceans. Oceans is friendlier to new players. Evolution/climate misplays can be devastating
I used the redacted TYOV book as an unknowable eldritch tome in my Call of Cthulhu game and it worked FANTASTICALLY as a creepy handout.
After watching this video all I can say is Tom's editing style makes so much sense now.
The fact that even you lot have so many games in the "I'd like to get it to the table" category makes me feel better about my massive mountain of games I love to own but haven't played much of. X)
Yay! Was lovely to see the shout-out to the ELL deck! ^_^
I really want to get that properly back in print and get a book out to make it more accessible for folk who don't know what game to start with.
Monopoly deal! I think I got a lot of people hooked on that when i was starting out with boardgames almost 10 years ago... Practically got all local stocks in my small city emptied and had people ordering online... I still have an unopened copy stashed because my copies would disintegrate from too many plays with different people (around 50 different people)
Monopoly deal is the only game that my group has made more home rules for than actual monopoly
Immediately reorganizing my root boxes, Tom is a genius
My jaw dropped! I'm both impressed and excited.
I still don't understand
@@alwaysathief one lid flipped upside-down and the faction boards go in it. Then the bottom of the main box is filled with all of the components and it sits down inside that lid. Then take a lid from the expansion box and cap it all off. I’m guessing it was the underground expansion but riverfolk might work too.
@@justinpyle4151 oh cool, thank you so much for explaining!
SAME. 🤯
1) No West Kingdom (or North Sea) games? very sad!
2) the other good Oink game is Deep Sea Adventure!
3) the Root storage system is pure genius
Quinns doesn't like DSA because "...I never win..." Which is a shame, because not winning at DSA is absolutely hilarious.
That was just so Tom. I reckon everyone would want him as your game night buddy. Awesome video, awesome collection. Thanks for sharing.
Gotta love the minor look of panic on Tom's face at the 12:42 second mark when he thinks Quinns is talking about a child dieing instead of forgetting where a child is.
Yeah I went the same way, didn't know wtf Quinns meant lol.
I love how utter chaos Tom's collection is. Makes me feel less alone for having an eldritch horror organise and shelve my games
Quinns, enjoying Tom’s Root box combopolis sorcery as much as you do I need to let you know you can do a similar thing with Merchants and Marauders and it’s expansion! (I’m making the bold assumption you have the expansion.) Flip the base game lid upside down and put the expansion box bottom in, then put the base game bottom on top which is slightly housed in the base lid and finally the expansion lid on top. Fully separates base and expansion content in a very aesthetically pleasing way!
The stacks of Netrunner cards are just stressing me out.
This video has all the classic tomfoolery elements: chaos, mess, charm, and just enough order in the chaos that it all comes together.
I think every collection should include the card game Bohnanza. It's a fun easy-to-teach trading game which, by design, makes every player deeply involved in every other player's turn. Trading, begging, forming temporary bean-cycling cartels just to avoid having the ever-feared bad turn where you can't play the right kind of bean card. Delicious.
But BEWARE the expansions...
Oooh yeah, Bohnanza is needed. I know some expansions are problematic but High Bohn is fantastic. The Ladybohn stand-alone is also pretty great.
I'm happy to hear that you still have the same sentiments towards Oath. The only thing keeping it out of my top spot is that I haven't found the right group for it. His magnum opus.
PSA: The Labyrinth RPG is a genuinely lovely game.
I was stressed almost every second of this video
Babylonia is great.
It plays well at all player counts (and strategies shift based on player count), it ends quickly, the variation with the bonus tiles is good, and it's fairly simple to explain.
I think the biggest barrier is the incremental scoring phases breaking up the game rhythm and the need for everyone to be relatively similar in skill to prevent runaway leaders. Once those are accounted for, I think it's never just an "okay" experience. It always results in a memorable game.
With that said, it's not a T&E but I don't think every game can or should be.
Tom you mad genius! I had to pause the video for like 20 minutes while I hunted down my expansion big boxes for Galaxy Trucker so I could rearrange all my GT stuff like you have Root!
So nice to have it all in "one" box now. Thank you!!
It made me irrationally happy to see Dune, Pax Pamir 2E, and A Distant Plain in your collection. That's 3 of my 4 favorite games (with the fourth being the long out of print Milton Bradley game Samurai Swords, mostly for nostalgic reasons).
I think you're pretty well covered in the area control category already. If you're looking for suggestions of what to look at next, perhaps something swashbuckle-y like Merchants and Marauders or Xia? Or a thematic hidden traitor game like Dark Moon or Dead of Winter?
Loved this, thanks for sharing. Given you and your group's love for Root and Oath, I was surprised that you've found Dune hard to get to the table.
But more importantly, when's the SUSD Netrunner tournament happening?
What is the final score on the goof counter? I'm guessing Tom won 5-3, since he spilled everything on the floor
It's like seeing the music your favorite artist listen to!
The poker chips part killed me 🤣
Love these low key videos where it feels very casual about games.
Spotted those NISEI Netrunner cards: now that's exciting!
Man I love these more casual videos, felt like having a mate show me his collection and it was great
Tom needs the king of roll and write games, Hadrian's wall to fill out that one cube.
This was so chaotic and I loved it
Great video - love the interaction between Tom & Quinns
Really enjoyed this, like a delightful chat with a quirky friend. A few surprises, I didn't expect Tom to like TI. Find it interesting that Quins loves Modern Art but doesn't like High Society.
Im so happy we got Tom into Netrunner
I knew that pile of cards must have been Netrunner
I recognized those cards just from their edges
@@patrickjsklar8315 same!
I think Survive! Escape from Atlantis should be in everyone's collection! Such an easy came to teach and a great combo between team work and cut throat. I missed seeing that in your collection Tom.
So true!
Yeah, so true! We have a german copy from the 80's with the wonderful catchy title "Atlantis - Das Abenteuer um die dramatische Flucht von der versinkenden Insel" 😂, with plastic island tiles and sea creatures and it's one of my favourite games. Easy, quick and perfect to play outside, because it has no cards that could fly away in the wind. :D
my eyes immediately found the netrunner cards
About to start watching the video, just wanted to express how much I'm looking forward to it. These videos are the best, both Quinns' and Matt's were delightful to watch. See you in 32 mins
I would absolutely love a list of those solo RPGs to see if any pique my interest.
I wonder if Tom has noticed that he's started to do that little flick that Quinns does to hit the board games he's pointing out...every time he does it, he looks like he has to catch himself from doing it again, so I'd guess he has noticed and is trying to fight it.
I know it’s on “the way out” pile but I NEED to know your thoughts on Capone.
In fact I’d love a rapid fire video on everything on the out tray.
Happy to see Thousand Year Old Vampire is still in the collection, absolutely adore that game.
Really glad to hear You're all still playing and enjoying the glory that is Innovation
Tom, you need some pretty storage boxes for your ButtonShy games and Netrunner cards! I have some tubs from Ikea that fit two aside in a Kallax cube, they're white with a green interior (surprise!) but also come in plain white, my Button Shy games fit two across in them.
I have also found that many solo RPGs have a very melancholy theme. I was one of the original backers of TYOV - after seeing Quinns talk about it in the SUSD news, actually - but still haven't played it because I feel that my mental health is too fragile right now. But I did also back Apothecaria and I have played that a little. It is much more fun and joyful, if you want it to be.
I really love that you own and cover so many of the small, weird quirky games that exist. It was a joy to see Bez's Ell deck in your collection, for example. I'd love to see you cover some more of the great indie solo or solo-ish games that are out there such as Assembly, Crystallo, Orchard, Maquis and Black Sonata.
As for a game to play with everyone from kids, idiots and experienced gamers alike, I'd suggest Llama. It's so easy to teach and a game always ends up with everyone around the table laughing. And guess who designed it?
One of my favorite board games is Dune, and my brother's favorite board game is A Game of Thrones. So thank you, Tom, for validating both of our tastes in board games based on books.
I'm guessing you and your brother don't play Stardew Valley together..
Wow...our collections are surprisingly similar. I don't think I would have said that Tom is the SUSD member I share tastes with the most, but after seeing this I think it's clear.
Excellent! I have exactly the same shelving but about a quarter of the games on it 🤪 most of mine are box beasts such as Gloomhaven, Eclipse and Shadows of Brimstone 🙄 with expansions, oh so many expansions 🥰
I've been waiting for this! Thanks Tom for sharing your favourites.
Not to flog a dead horse but...
T&E is my favourite game of all time but Babylonia is: easier to learn, simpler, quicker and 'friendlier' without losing any of the strategic special sauce. For that reason I've convinced people to play Tig once in the last year, and Babylonia 20+ times. That's probably less of a concern to a reviewer but as a consumer with limited space to buy and try stuff i need games that I will actually be able to play
As a box combiner myself I need to try this two lid Root situation
I just want to add, I'm very happy to see another person who stores their boardgames (mostly) flat rather than vertical! I see everyone's shelves with vertical games and I think, don't all your pieces just fall around?
whee! I love these videos because it's nice to see how you all feel about them when things are chill and what you like to play repeatedly. Also I'm encouraged that Terra Mystica is in everyone's collection. Hoo boy is it hard to teach though, for real!
Such a fun watch. Makes me want to go back to the other tours. I hope Ava will feel comfortable sharing.
Maybe Tom could have a shelf or three decicated to games that are not his? :p
Great collection! Couldn't help but notice that you don't have Crokinole in any of those nooks though
Tom, great collection, please do not let the internet make you feel bad, ever.
Roll and Race in the same box is insane! They have expansions!! 😂
Lovely video. Just relaxed and hanging out with my buds in class.
I'm much more insync with Tom's collection than Quinns or Matts. Love it!
Me seeing the stacks of cards: Are those Netrunner cards?
Quinn's seeing the stacks of cards: Are those.....Netrunner cards? *Strokes cards gently and remembers a past life*
As a Berkeley resident, I loved hearing about North Berkeley on the podcast and seeing it in your collection here! Haven’t had a chance to play it yet though
Great video as ever.
My suggestions for Tom to add to his collection are...
The classic euro: El Grande
Fighting game (and bonus team game): Any of the Quartermaster General series
Solo RPG alike: Arkham Horror the Card Game
Too many expansions to play them all: Snowdonia
and the best Rosenburg is Le Havre, though I admit Nusfjord is great and is also easier to get on the table.
Tom throws a Netrunner mat at Quinns. The video ends and Quinns is never heard from again.
I'd love to hear more discussion on The Estates. I absolutely adore everything that it can be, but it takes a very specific kind of take-that mindset that makes it hard to casually pull out
Podcast: www.shutupandsitdown.com/podcastle/podcast-84-the-post-gen-con-blowout/
Let's Play: th-cam.com/video/3dmfjsRfioY/w-d-xo.html
@@shutupandsitdown Haha, the game came up on my radar because of that episode of the pod, and review from No Pun Included sealed my purchase. I'll have to finish watching the playthrough and see if there's any post-game debriefing to hear some further thoughts. If I've got your ear may I humbly request you guys take a look at Goodcritters sometime? It and Downforce have been the most consistent crowd pleasers whenever I pull them out to new people
I have a similar size collection to Tom (one giant Kallax) and around 15-20 games in common. Guess I've found my SUSD spirit animal.
I also have A Distant Plain, and it took me actual ages to wrap my head around what the heck is going on. But once it clicks, it clicks, and you realize how wonderfully simple all the actions in the game actually are. It's pretty much either moving cubes from one place to another, adding some cubes or discs, and/or doing some very simple combat. It really surprised me that, for how difficult it is to understand the game, the core actions are some of the simplest of any wargame I've ever played. I strongly recommend pushing through the headache of learning the game, because once you do it's an extremely rewarding experience.
For sale. Food chain magnate. Never played.
Evolution is one of my absolute favorite games. The way that you have to adapt your species to the environment created by your opponents' species in order to outcompete each other for limited resources is such a good abstraction of natural selection into game mechanics. It manages the rare feat of being both faithful and fun! On top of that, you build an engine which is satisfying, but you have to continually adapt it, which keeps it fresh throughout the game. There's a ton of player interaction in different ways, like the secret choice of how much food to introduce into the environment each round, or evolving one of your species into a carnivore to eat your opponents' species! But carnivores are hard to keep alive and you have to eat your own species if you can't eat any of your opponents', so the balance is really tight.
With 17 traits in the core deck, the number of combos hits that sweet spot of not being too many to keep track of, but something you can still gain mastery over with several plays. Playing with four players is recommended as another sweet spot: the traits that allow you to combo off your opponents' actions or attack as a carnivore feel most balanced when you have three opponents; two opponents and they're too weak to keep up with a good herbivore engine. I haven't played with five or six, so it's possible they're well balanced at those player counts as well, but I would expect that more opportunities to trigger those abilities might make them more powerful. Then again, that's evolution: whoever can take advantage of the environment best will survive to pass on their genes!
I have not played Evolution: Oceans, but I've watched reviews. I think there are some good ideas in Oceans that might improve Evolution, but I also think there are some design decisions in Oceans that loosen up the game and make it a little more dependent on the luck of the draw. Both games have their place and whether one is better than the other is purely preference. I like tight designs, so I expect Evolution would remain my preference. Of the games I've played, I think Evolution is closest to Modern Art: it's a closed economic system and the value of any given line of play is highly dependent on what each of your opponents has done and what you expect them to do next, with the uncertainty of adapting to the cards actually drawn.
Tom, you should definitely play it. It's different enough from Oceans that it really counts as a different game. I know SU&SD was lukewarm on it in a written review, but I think you might enjoy it quite a bit.
Awesome! I have like 75% of this collection in my shelves. Loads of out-tray of course, but I can proudly say I have the big hitters assembled
Can we please get a playlist of just all the reviews and videos that Tom has done?
20:40 = mind blown. I'm never going to run out of space for my expansion stuff ever again!
The best games of Root I've ever played were two player with my wife, where we both played vagabonds against the marquise bot. It was amazing.
There's also a website that makes running the bot a breeze.
Great video, love seeing what SUSD's fav boardgames are. The first 7ish mins of the video was tough to watch though, I felt like Quinns could give a bit more freedom to Tom to structure his collection video. Maybe something to keep in mind for the next video!
What Tom needs is Flamme Rouge
I also played an obscene amount of Game of Thrones in Uni too! Barely played it since. Seeing it torn apart on SUSD was painful but helpful to look without my rose-tinted glasses of nostalgia from a uni house's grubby kitchen table.
The team version of The King is Dead is FANTASTIC!
I have the newer edition of Arboretum and it’s gorgeous, but I definitely have a soft spot for the old green version’s card backs. Sometimes there’s something lovely about an older, slightly jankier look, like original Bus and some of the early printings of Tigris and Euphrates.
I'm really hoping one of these videos will be deeply underwhelming at some point: "Here's Monopoly and a dog-eared copy of Scrabble, along with a pack of playing cards and a few loose dice... Oh, and somewhere there's a mini Domino set that came with a Christmas cracker!"
"Hi, welcome to my collection video! Here's Uno, one and a half sets of Scrabble, two decks of cards with the jacks and kings of hearts and all the aces missing, a checkers board with more black pieces than red, Rummikub, and a sudoku omnibus book."
At this point I wish there was just a list of every game that’s in this collection (even the out games) cause these all look fantastic XDD.
9:48 describes my entire collection honestly
Because you asked… El Grande! Should I say it again? Yes, I think I will. El Grande!!!! Every collection is incomplete without it. Oh, and the simple dudes on a map game that you are looking for that beats all the rest, Conquest of the Empire 🤯 everything you could ask for. Loved the video!!!!
Tom is missing "In The Hall of the Mountain King". It is a fantastic game that I think really flew under the radar.
Amazing video as always
Why the heck does this new fella Tom Brewster get to play Vagrantsong before me? (UK comment.. Vagrantsong still does not exist in this realm). Great bottom-up video! Thanks people.
Looks awesome. Solid collection and always fun to watch.
Your a champ - 100% someone I'd love to game with. Nice job knocking down the button shy games lol
Stares angrily at screen …. Puts away phone proceeds to drive to the nearest boardgameshop and buys way too much AGAIN
Nice, Sidereal Confluence is a personal favorite of mine. I've already gotten 3 of my friends hooked on it.
To help Tom with the feeling bad on the internet, Spirit Island is missing! Tied with TI as my favorite game of all time =p !
But I connect with theme a lot more than you boys do, so that may be part of why you don't like it as much.
EDIT: Also, very much enjoyed the Space Cats Peace Turtles shoutout =) .
Love watching young people talking about games like we used to. Some classic "Euros" to consider:
Cartagena - I think there's a new version out. For some reason, I often forget to list this as a favorite, but I think I've played it more than any game in my collection. No one ever vetoes it.
I'm the Boss (Originally Kohle Kies and Knete) - up to 6 players making deals and screwing each other over. What could be better?
Acquire - This and I'm the boss are the two games I recommend to people who think Monopoly is good. Acquire has the hotel/stock thing going.
Royal Turf/Winner's Circle - Place your bets and push little plastic horses around.
Samurai - You can replace Babylonia with Samurai. Put it side by side with T&E and old gamers will nod sagely and go, "Hmmm".
Can't Stop - I guess technically not a Euro since it was made in the US decades ago. But a simple dice rolling classic.
I'm not into big fighting games, but War of the Ring is still seen around and has a lot of plastic bits, I think.
tom will you share a little about your netrunner history and why you have a big stack of nisei cards out
It's for a video we're working on! There'll be a feature on our TH-cam, but it needs another month or two in the cooker.
@@shutupandsitdown thanks!