5 Games I Played So You Don’t Have To - with Tom Vasel 

I can just see the Mercurial marketing team going to 9:22 for a quote.. "This is a really fun game." - Tom Vasel

Hi Tom, Giacomo Cimini here, co-designer and publisher of "Age of Comics: The Golden Years." As a micro-company of just two people, we deeply value every opportunity to engage with our players and reviewers alike. Thank you for your thoughtful review and for bringing attention to our game, even though we wish it were under more favorable circumstances. Your inclusion of our game in the infamous "5 Games I Played So You Don’t Have To" list certainly highlights some areas we might clarify or improve upon. - Genre Matching Between Comics and Creatives: While matching the genres of comics with their corresponding creatives (writers and artists) is beneficial, it is not obligatory. This mechanic is designed to offer strategic choices, allowing players to match for bonuses or diverge for other tactical reasons. The game provides flexibility, encouraging players to explore different strategies and find what works best for them. - Rip-off Comics: As mentioned in the manual, we suggest integrating rip-off comics into gameplay once players are more experienced. This element is intended to add depth to the game as players' understanding of the mechanics deepens. Rip-offs can significantly speed up the activation of Special Actions and help fulfill sales orders efficiently, making them a valuable strategic tool for seasoned players. - Comic Prices: You mentioned fluctuating market conditions, but they are not part of our game. The cost of producing comics is fixed based on the combined values of the creatives, providing a stable economic planning environment without the variability of fluctuating market conditions. - Economic Balance: Our economic model mimics the realistic progression of a business, where funds are initially limited but grow as the game progresses. This challenges players to make thoughtful economic decisions early in the game. - Genre Mastery and Control: Mastery of a genre is dynamically contested, allowing shifts in control based on strategic publishing. This mechanic encourages continuous competitive play and strategic decision-making. - Worker Placement Dynamics: The worker placement mechanism evolves as the game progresses with the activation of the Special Actions. We're sorry to hear it felt sluggish and will take this feedback into consideration for future game developments. - Card Drawing Luck vs. Strategy: While luck is a component in drawing cards, the game is designed with several options to mitigate this through targeted card searches and the ability to discard and refine hands, enhancing strategic depth. We appreciate your insights and hope this clarification helps. Understanding these aspects might offer a new perspective on the game's strategic options. Best regards, Giacomo Cimini

Really love Age of Comics and I’m glad I have the Collectors’ Edition on my shelf. It’s super thematic, gorgeously produced and plays really smoothly. You’re wrong on this one Tom - give it another go!

I learned about a sampo from MST3K. "If you think you know what a sampo is, write it down on a piece of paper, throw it away and try not to think about it. You'll be glad you did" - Tom Servo

I quite like Mercurial. It definitely is a heavier version of Century Spice, but the multiple paths to success, the gorgeous production quality, and the very strong solo mode means that they both have a place in my collection. It’s not as immediately accessible as Century but for a player looking for that gameplay loop with a bit more going on, it’s one I enjoy.

I like Age of Comics. I wanted to play it for the theme and really enjoyed the gameplay.

I kind of agree on what Tom said about Age of comics. The thing that I had the most fun about that game is that when you print a comic book or a rip-off, you needed to tell a little bit about the comic that you created. It's not in the rules, but it made it a little bit more enjoyable to play.

Mercurial was great and plays fast after the tutorial first game. At 4 players we completed it in an hour.

Not sure why Age of Comics is on this list it's a belter. Mixing two of my favourite hobbies and it works. Shame you didn't feel the same, I hope people make up their own mind and give it a try

votum separatum on Age of Comics, I played it and it was very thematical and fun, I played with another comic book fan, so it might have mattererd

Personally, I really enjoyed Age of Comics. I’ve also know many people really liked Bantam Wedt if you liked Xia and Western Legends.

People should remember that opinions are opinons. One person's opinon doesn't supercede anothers.

I really like Age of Comics. The economy is tight and you really have to weigh your options with every worker you get to place. I will agree if someone calls it a “twelve in a dozen” worker placement game, but to me the mechanisms do blend with the theme of being a comics publisher. There is a small luck factor with the card market or draw, but a good player can work around that and I’ve never had a player at the table complain their chances were thwarted by the luck factor. By someone else taking a spot they wanted to go next, yes, but that’s typical worker placement for you.

Hmmm... While I agree on all the points Tom raised regarding Bantam West, after putting the effort in, I felt it was a really good game. Replaces western legends for me. That being said i agree with the points that the rule book is terrible (even the official youtube teach video they did and possibly paid for was overtly slow) and because of the that the setup for the first game was slow. But once i got into it, it was really good. I love the openness of it. I just wish that they had made it more accessible cos i fear not enough people will give it a chance or more likely will not put in the effort to learn it (and i don't blame them). But there is a really good sandbox game in there.

interesting - I really enjoyed Age of Comics. Have played it several times, people seem to really like it

Yay, the old intro is back! 😄 Thank you!

Spurs was the western sandbox before Western Legends

I wholeheartedly disagree with your opinion about Age of Comics. The rip-off comics have changed the outcome of the game the couple of times I have played; they matter a lot more than you mentioned, IMO. And while I don’t think it’s a groundbreaking game, the theme is really strong, it’s not hard to get into and a 5 is waaay too harsh of a score for what the game is. I would give it a 7.

I felt the same about mercurial. Felt a bit too conviluted for what it's trying to do. I discovered century afterwards and enjoyed that more. Perhaps having played century a few times and returning to mercurial will change my opinion...

Bantam West was our Game of the year 2023, no pun included.. This is how different different groups react on different games :D Just to get an idea, Games of the year for us, from former years were Food Chain Magnate, Oath, John Company 2nd, Clank Legacy... Bantam to me feels absolutely right in this line

I understand the purpose of video titles like "I played this so you don't have to..." but it's a bit unfair when talking about first-time indie publishers who rely on new folks' willingness to give their games a try. Everything goes through growing pains, and Bantam West is no exception. It was my first time making a game and first time writing a rulebook... and have been working non-stop to make improvements since its launch. Hopefully, there are people who see videos like this and are still willing to give an updated V2 of Bantam West a try... including you Tom 🙏 - Ike

My reaction to Age of Comics is weird. i enjoy it, I really like the theme, but I can't really dispute anything Tom said. I think it's the kind of thing where if you like the theme enough you can overlook some of the rough edges.

Bantam West has somehow figured out how to print text on a card that is so small that even a robot couldn't read it.

I liked age of comics; but I only played it as a solo game.

Non-gaming comment: I've been meaning to ask since you started wearing the new glasses: Are the faceplates that heavy, or do you just need them adjusted? You seem to be pushing them back up a lot. The faceplates look neat, but they look really impractical based on that.

Man that cover of mercurial is beautiful

Mercurial is really good in my opinion. It is century spice road suped-up. It does have a learning curve, and it is possible that others players could, by luck, be one step ahead of you. However you just need to be able to recognize that and pivot. Also the Automa are easy to run and do a good job simulating other players. Oh well, I’m really glad I own it.

Age of Comics is really fun amd thematic. I cant get in line with the review on this game.

I have to say, I really disagree about The Glade. My partner and I have played it 18 times since it arrived in November, and she’s cited it as one of her all-time favorites. For me it’s a 9/10. Luck *can* be a factor, but the better player still wins almost every time, as my partner’s win record over me proves. The game lasts just long enough that the luck curve tends to average out most (admittedly not all) of the time.

I couldn't disagree more about Age of Comics. It's probably one of my favorite games from last year. I definitely recommend it for anyone who likes comics! This review leaves me with the impression that Tom didn't explore the game that much before writing his review. For example, the rip-offs absolutely have a purpose and they're especially valuable if you can get the double print action spot. Rip-offs can speed up access to special actions early at the cost of points in the end game. They can also be key to getting the mastery tokens from other players.

Thanks! Regards from SK 😅. We met in KL long long time ago. EARCOS

I really enjoyed Mercurial but did have a pretty rough learning game. It took awhile for the rules to "click" with me, but once they did I found a lot to like. Yes it basically is Century Golem Edition but more complicated, but sometimes playing a game like Century Golem but with a lot more thinky bits is exactly what I'm looking for so I do recommend it, although you may want to watch how to play videos to help learn it

Thank you for your well explained contrary opinion.

5 for Mercurial feels a little overly negative but oh well.

The glade is great.

I enjoy Age of Comics more than you did but I do agree it feels like some sort of special sauce is missing to make it really exciting.

i don't know why everyone jumped to these new mics... they just sound muddy and fragile. i don't like them

I feel like I'm confused - didn't you like the comic game a lot before? What game am I confusing it with?

Are they supposed to be counterfeit comics, or just copycat ideas? Like mockbusters

Bring me the... SAMMMMPOOOOO

Glad I sold Bantam tbh. When I opened the box and read the rules it was clear to me. They wanted everything and accomplished little. I think with a V2 it could become great. I respect the vision

Agree on Bantam West. It's a mess. There might be a good game in there but I don't have time to find it

Disagree with Tom on Age of Comics and Mercurial. Regarding AoC, Tom doesn’t seem to understand that they are “rip-off” comics, not counterfeit. They are completely different concepts and I don’t think they explained how the rip-off comics work (and how they are thematic). I have no issue with him not liking the games after one play, the issue is that the tone of the video is “no one at the Dice Tower enjoyed any of these games.” Which is implying that they are terrible. The reviews with 2-4 reviewers are great for the balance provided, this video is very one-sided. I think more videos should at least include two reviewers - one to provide a counterpoint if the first reviewer is just lambasting the game.

I like age of comics. The card draw and market is just too random for how tight the points are in the game.

interesting glasses you got there Tom

Mecrurial looks great but the game was not very good. You have too many turns where you are just doing nothing but gathering a few resources waiting to cast your spell. I really wanted to like the game so played it at least 10 times, but it just didn't get any better.

2:32 But isn’t that more a fault of a bad rulebook more so than the game itself? Why hate on the game for that? Unless you have other complaints about the actual game/gameplay…

I strongly disagree with Tom regarding Mercurial, I think it's a 9/10. The iconography isn't that complicated and every player gets a reminder card with all of the symbology explained. Acuity is very easy to understand, it's a resource you can spend to use certain card effects or in place of Mana when taking Spells. There are both asymmetrical and 'standard' characters players can pick from and the asymmetrical ones play just different enough to approach the game's mechanics in different ways. I've never had the game go longer than 90 minutes and it scores faster with fewer players. While some turns are shorter and less 'explosive' than others I think that's a good thing, it stops turns from escalating in length over the course of the game. Finally, Ruin and Restore give different amounts of points so that it's harder to reach Equilibrium, something you obviously won't be able to achieve every time you cast a spell but which is worth it because you get a special token that enhances your next spell, as well as bonus victory points. It's a fantastic game and I think it deserves Tom giving it a second chance.

Age of Comics is a great game. Boo!!! ( I especially disagree about the counterfeit comics. They are a great aspect!)

3:26 I remember watching a gameplay video for BW, with a family with a kid. They had told him, ‘Don’t just do whatever you want. Do what is going to help you get points.’

"Game is not fun... 5 out of 10" 🤔

Its almost more disappointing when a game has a fantastic theme, beautiful art and unique ideas, only to have enough small issues that add up to make it a bad game. Always saddening to see such wasted potential

glade is quirkle but worse graphic design

1:11 Wow! Seems like I dodged a bullet! I ALMOST backed Bantam West!

I almost backed Bantam West. Glad I did not.

There are too many good games out there for me to takes a chance on something you pan in a review. I don't always agree with your reviews but I listen carefully to what you say. I may be retired, but there are too few hours to play the games I have and it costs too much money to buy bad games.

Opinions are great and all but not sure the need for the intentional vitriol of this title/video.

Age of Comics was just... A soulless mishmash of different mechanisms that didn't come together in a good way at all.

"5 games i played so you don't have to" makes me think they are all bad games and doesnt give me an incentive to watch the video.