I really don't understand the issue with the clever series. You certainly don't "need" to own every one. But I don't see how it's different than getting a Dominion expansion. It's the same system with more variety.
Maybe if you're talking about Dominion Intrigue or Hinterlands but most of the expansions add much more than just new cards. Tokens, duration cards, events, projects, landmarks, day/night phases, exiles, villagers, reserve cards, traveler cards that can be upgraded...these are major changes to the system and those changes compound with the more things you choose to add/ignore. There's a huge gap between that and alternate scoring in games that can't even be combined. Azul would've been a better comparison.
I'm still shocked by how good erase boards are. They are re-mark-able Thoroughly enjoying lost cities roll & write. Is it as good as the cars game? No but it's simple and fun to play. I own the first clever game and the apps for both the first and the second. I've no need for a third
Maybe do the torpedo one the other way around, when you fill a part you unlock it for yourself, it becomes maybe more a solo experience, but that's a lot of Roll and Writes.
@@flashburn2012 fair enough...maybe it's just my lack of care for this genre but roll and writes seem far more derivative than the games of other genres I enjoy. That is, I do pass over a lot of samey looking other games, and I can't help but feel like the design space of most Roll and Writes is basically the same. While a lot of worker placement games have similar design spaces, we are also seeing a lot of variety on how the mechanic is used, which is why it doesn't seem stale to me. There are some roll and write varieties, absolutely, such as the ones that take on more Euro elements, but they tend to be far fewer compared to the number produced than of other game mechanics (except possibly deck building). I don't really begrudge anyone liking the genre. I recognize it's not my thing, but it is definitely a design fad that publishers are pushing for right now.
@@shikacaca Haha, yes I definitely agree. When it comes to roll and writes (or flip and fill, whatever), I'm pretty picky at this point, but there's lots of really fun ones. Welcome To, Fleet The Dice Game, and Hadrian's Wall are probably my favorites.
@@shikacaca Uh, no. They are all 3 my favorite roll and write games. To say they play the same is doing an injustice to how CLEVER they are, heh. Twice as Clever lets you pluck out a die you've discarded, so that brings a whole new level to strategy. In Clever Cubed, the new bonus lets you use a die as any value. The scoring is very different in each area in all 3 games, too. I agree that the publisher could have just printed new sheets, but for the price, that's basically what you're buying, anyway.
Although the clever games are all pretty much the same as far rolling dice, I feel they are all different enough and cheap enough to own all 3. If you like the genre that is. I do, and I really liked thebfirst Teo and can't wait to get the third. Very disappointed with Lost Cities...I was really hoping for more.
hmmm ... I have taught Lost Cities Roll and Write to about 8 other board gamers, and we all loved it. And we have played it several times. Is there luck involved? Well, whenever there are dice being rolled there is luck involved. I disagree with Tom this time around (doesn't happen often). This game is not 100% luck, and our friends and family all like it to be honest.
Did Tom play Lost Cities correctly? He didn’t mention the 0 is a 10 or doubles the a color if it’s at the start. Or the accelerators can be used in a different color.
Having played That's Pretty Clever and Twice As Clever, I disagree, they are very different games (and I prefer the first one). I also heavily disagree with the dismissal of Lost Cities Roll & Write. I've played it a lot lately, and to me it's an excellent midweight roll & write that has a lot of strategic elements to it. When to pass on the dice, when to go for a suboptimal roll, when to go for a semi-bad roll to lock your opponents out, how to carefully manage your passes so you don't lose out on the big 70p bonus. It's become one of my girlfriend's favourite games as well, although she's only beaten me in two out of probably thirty games (all luck, eh?) 😬
I only really own 1 ganz schon clever, but printed and laminated sheets that let me play any of the 3 or the challenge sheets using the dice from the one I have. The BGG file section is awesome. I think the third one is the most different as well.
Completely agree that erase board should be the standard! Also agree that clever cubed could have been just more sheets, but it is a good game and different enough. On the other hand I don't like this very superficial review of 3 games at once. Well it's ok for the really simple ones, like lost cities and torpedo I know what it does, but for clever cubed this was way too superficial.
I think you could argue that since Tom's argument is that Clever Cubed is so much like the first two, you could just watch a review of one of the other ones to get a general feel for what the game is. Everything after that is just minor nuance (to Tom, at least). If you like the other ones, you'll like this one, too.
I LOVE the Clever games. I own all three and they feel very different (while still being familiar). I think the third Clever is the best one yet (however it is the most complex so far) and I will buy the fourth when that comes out too. I have hundreds of plays logged for Clever and see no end in sight.
I think with Clever Cubed it will also be a victim of pricing in the US because in Germany they are essentially almost as cheap as an expansion score pad.
Thank you. I had Lost Cities RW in my cart ready to purchase and was like..... "I never did see the dice tower on this.... maybe i should check it first"
I guess I'm the odd one because I dislike erase boards. The markers eventually dry up, sometimes they leave lines that are hard to get off, and the worst part is you always get marker on your fingers/hands either directly or from the little pieces that get created when erasing. No thanks, I'll take a pencil and paper any day. When I need refills, I just make copies at work.
For cubed, the dice that are = or lower than the selected die are put on the plate? I assume that was a wording mistake if not that is very different than the original game.
You do have a point that you could have just added expansion sheets. BUT THEY DID! There are expansions for the first two games. Also, you can print sheets that are compatible with the original game dice colors for the other games if you REALLY don't want to pay $15 bucks for the expansion. I like having the different colors though because it helps my brain reset when switching among the different sheets. The two sequels are both FAR superior to the base game. It is a big mistake not to put Clever Cubed and Twice as Clever into the Dice Tower Library. They certainly would both get played. The first game has a single optimal path that I have discovered so I don't play that one very much anymore. I've played Clever Cubed over 100 times and it still doesn't get old. Big miss on this one, Tom. Incidentally, here is a ranking of all the sheets. 1. Twice As Clever Challenge I 2. Clever Cubed 3. That's Pretty Clever Challenge I 4. Twice As Clever 5. That's Pretty Clever.
I think if you dislike a particular genre, the games within it tend to blend together a lot to you. I know for me all miniatures games look alike, all war games look alike, etc--but it's only because I'm not a fan of those genres and not really because they're all derivative. This isn't to say that cash-ins and stale games don't exist, just that your feelings as such aren't as objective as you may imagine. To someone like me for example, all the clever games seem really distinct, not to mention the three games lumped together in this review.
Actually, the “clever” games are not the same. They get more complex and that is a turn off for my wife. The first clever game is her favorite game. The second she will never play. I won’t buy...
Maybe for clever cubed just laminate 4 sheets, put appropriate dice in the thats so clever box and go from there, same with twice as clever. just put them all in one box, thats what my friend does.
As someone who only plays the app versions of the 'clever' games, I say keep 'em coming. I would happily buy any number of sequels...in app form. I won't ever buy the physical copy of any of them though.
Railroad ink Is really good. I First got that one with Welcome to Dino World and Cartographers both of those got me interested in many Roll/Flip & Writes that leaped up to one of my favorite genres.
Oof, yeah. Hopefully, he played it correctly because that makes a huge difference in how fun it is. Then again, he thought they were mostly the same as each other, and I find the 2 sequels far better and more strategic.
I’d believe Tom knows that, or used to know, and for this review he just didn’t remember it and said what most people think when they see that symbol for the first time in a Clever-series game. If this were a review that intended to teach us how to play instead of just giving us an idea of the game, I believe he’d be more accurate, but for what this review is, it didn’t bother me that much. As for comparing this game to its predecessors, I agree with Tom in one aspect: just new sheets with the colors of the Ganz Schön Clever dice would have been enough for both sequels. But I disagree that they play the same, even if the base rules are the same. I have yet to play the 3rd, but my choice of the 1st or the 2nd depends on who I’m playing them with.
@@Jootie_de_Kop I'm sure he did. I'm sure that he just messed up that bit of the rules overview. He didn't even mention the die effect and that would be difficult to summarize quickly. I have the apps for all 3 games and this one I like the least.
I Actually agree about the 'Clever' Series. I liked That's pretty clever but paying extra money for another sheet with different scoring options could have used the same colored dice rather than a new colored dice and sheets for $20. I enjoyed Twice a little more for the challenge. At any rate, Hadrians Wall basically was these on steroids. Cubed looks interesting. Saw Rhado's run-through of Lost cities and could already tell it would be very luck-dependent. Roll & Writes in general can be luck-dependent anyway. A definite pass for me.
I really love roll and write and I have the first two “Clever”-games and I also think that they should sell both the complete games but also just the new boards (and use the same dice). One of my favorite roll and write, Noch Mal have released new scoring pads and I love that, wish it would be done to more roll and writes.
