Condottiere Review - Chairman of the Board 

Thank you for acceding my request for coming up with a review video for Condottiere….. i feel it is very underrated…. But in my view this is an awesome area majority and hand management game and i LOVE it… very simple to explain and play but have great depth (similar to The King is Dead).. a must have on the game shelf… It is best with 5/6 peoples…. The art work done by Zman is good compared to what was earlier when published by Fantasy Flight….

I'm so glad that I found your channel. Our game and artwork preferences overlap quite a bit. This has been on my Amazon wish list for a while. I gave away The King is Dead because it just seemed to...I dunno, maybe not fun. Like it was ALL strategy and no fun mixed in. Anyways, I think I might finally order this one. Thanks for the review!

I recently played it twice but it fell super flat because we were only 3 players. It also felt broken at 3 because if one player passed to save his hand for the next battle, the other two would play all their cards for the current battle, and when it ends, that player is forced to discard his hand. In other words, when you play only at 3, all battles will start with a fresh hand of cards, leaving it mostly to luck. There's a 2-player variant and I think it's better than playing this at 3. However, I can totally see how this game would be a superb experience at a higher player count.

For me, this is an excellent game that gets better the more you play it. It travels well due to size box and table presence, yet still offering a meaty game. I do find it to be a bit polarizing on whether you love it or hate it, and I'm not sure why.

I knew you would like it! 😁

This has been one on my to try list for a while. Thanks for the walkthrough! Have you ever tried Joraku? It is a trick-taking area control game. I think TMG had put it out, so might not be too common now, unfortunately.

This game has gone out of stock a lot of places online since you started talking about it. Guessing that was at least partly your influence!

Would request if you can please do a video comparing Caesar (by Paolo Mori) and Samurai (by Dr. Knizia). I have not played Samurai (though have watched many videos) and it seems it is out of print - It is one of the classic by Dr. Knizia. Have played Caesar and found it a very good 2 player game - i consider it at par with 7 wonders duel, Lost Cities and Mandala. Only issue with Caesar is that the art work is not up to the mark and limit the play with 2 players as compared to Samurai which can be played with 4 players (though it play well with 3 players).

amazing game

Great content as usual. I have a subscribed finally --- always enjoy your videos and attention to older games. Really, really good stuff. But let me offer a different opinion on this game that may help others decide if it's a game for them or not. I almost universally agree with all of your game picks -- a near identical match to mine. Your list of 26 things that you avoid in games are the EXACT same things I avoid. :) But.....we greatly differ on this game. This game is crippled with an end game condition that forces player collusion, negotiation, and just pure luck. It reminds me of Alien Frontiers where all players must collectively prevent one player from winning until someone has a chance to win themselves. Games with end conditions like this, with a layer of area majority and similar mechanisms underneath it, will ultimately devolve into such a state. I found my old comment from 2007 in the comments section of the game (I rated this game a 2), and it reads, "Basically a negotiation/alliance game where players are forced to bash the leader until one person is lucky enough to win." For the people who ranked this game below 5, you will find many such similar comments. It devolves into a bash the leader game where players are forced to take turns depleting the leader of cards preventing their victory, until hopefully someone else can break through. It's such a distasteful game experience, with an inordinate amount of luck, that I'm amazed it still has a relatively decent rating on BGG. Having said all of that, there are certainly players who enjoy that type of thing. No one in my group cared for it all though. But I still can't wrap my head around why you like the game so much, especially given the type of games you normally prefer. :) But that's what makes this hobby so great, the variety of opinions of people who love the same thing. Keep up the good work! Love your channel -- I've passed it along to a few of my gaming friends. :))

Excellent game. You can get anyone into it.

Have you played this at all with lower player counts? I picked it up on your request. And played 2 3-player games of it. I felt that the hand management system and competition wasn’t as exciting with the lower player counts as players were refilling their hands way more quickly than I anticipated based on your description. I am imagining that the game shines at the higher player count because there is actual tension to that refilling of hands.

Chairman's commendation. This is the lowest one right? I forget, what are the different rating levels? Perhaps you can put them in your video descriptions. Thanks

What a time to review Condottiere - the game is so old that it has a significant amount of dust standing on the shelf... Not a bad game though.

Better than kings is dead?