unhinged. kind of absurd production that very much resists "play". there's an interesting puzzle there (a little Food Chain Magnate economic sandbox?) but it's buried under some very unintuitive visual and production design.
Bloodlines: does it improve the game? Something you can enjoy from your second game or only for the hard-core enthusiasts? Or does it spread the game too thin with options? Also someone already asked but am eager to hear how you take to molly house after your fantastic John Company video.
i think it's for certain a little simpler in terms of teach. it has some specifics that are fiddly but on the whole i think it's smoother. i think the rulebook doesn't present the information in the best way to teach the game?
It’s not as sharp as Netrunner but still has those vibes. I think more cards may make for a tighter game if you get into deck building but both our games ran super long.
Ben here in the replies is bang-on. it's got some great vibes. the more we played the less i liked it. i'd like to play a RISKIER game because our games were super duper long and became a little too war-of-attrition for my liking.
it's good!! it's just 'more'. it finds continued ways of making solari useful late game and adds some fun variety. For sure it's not ESSENTIAL but it's good fun if you're a dunehead
if you've played an Uwe game before, you know exactly what you're in for. i really enjoyed it but its not exactly mind-blowing if you've played any of his games, it's very gently iterative. it's gorgeous (even though the cover is whaacckkk) and has some nice touches in the gentle and bucolic dept.
How about Stranger Forgeries? Does it feel like Zendo or other induction games or is it more a wacky party experience like Belratti? Or both or neither?
more zendo, for sure, but i think it's a little too slow and silent to really recommend? we found ourselves getting a bit bored of the process as people started to solve.
Can't believe "I'm Stuck in the Lift" is real.
I thought it was a funny joke, Tom! It got me thinking you had peppered in some recent experiences throughout the list.
I think it's great! I can imagine a demo feeling quite different to the full thing - all three of our games had very knotty trajectories across all five weeks. That festivity running phase was a delight - silly and frivolous to tense and cutthroat. really something special.
Did you know the designer comes to the Playtesting sessions I run at work? I only connected those dots when seeing them at PAX this weekend! My mind was blown 🤯
it's okay? it's very activity-adjacent. we had a nice time quietly drawing together but it wasn't particularly spicy. bear in mind there's a few different ways to play the game - we only dabbled with the simplest.
it's one of the most compelling games I've played all year. big chats after every single game. truly devilish plays. it takes a minute to click but im SO excited to cover it for the site :)
Heck yeah! However, does the theme seem tacked on or poorly represented in any way? I really appreciated your video take on Golem, as I truly felt the designers did poor-at-best service to the theme, something that could have been compelling and just. I had some similar fears about Molly House
absolutely not. it's engaged with its theme and desperately wants you to engage with it too. YMMV on how that makes you FEEL, though! it evoked a LOT of different responses from us.
I can't say that I've played glass road enough to have a definitive answer here - but it essentially adds this new system of villages to the main board that i found very sweet - lots of trekking over somewhere to get water only to realise the cow you also need is in another town
which is to say that i like that system a lot - it's very "village life" in a way that's pleasing. but i feel like most folks will only need one of Ora et Labora, Glass Road, and this. there's plenty depth in all three!
Comments
It’s so silly and good!!!
it's fun but not essential. nice extra spice but there's plenty of depth in uprising already. it's a fun bonus!
Molly House is fab. Can't wait to cover it more, in ferocious detail.
I thought it was a funny joke, Tom! It got me thinking you had peppered in some recent experiences throughout the list.
I have the german alea edition version (royal turf) and the box is only slightly bigger than long shot
Love your work and can’t wait to see what 2025 has in store. Looking forward to your thoughts on Molly House. 😁