Dreamscape Review - with Tom Vasel 

Rarely find myself disagreeing with Tom but I sure as hell do on this one. It's an abstract game! The theme was always going to be painted on. That said, since you're building delightful 3D structures based on delightfully-named cards, you can totally feel the theme come through. It's so satisfying to build your structure and have that eureak moment where you realise what you need to do to adapt it to the next objective you're working on. The expansions, I would say, are definitely so-so - we prefer the base game.

Like several other people I think that you played the game wrong. You should score the cards not at the end of the game, but immediately after the configuration is present in your dreamscape, and then you can shift and transform your dreamscape to match another one. The dream cards also give you powers that you can use to this effect. It may take several plays to find the rhythm of this game and reach the scores above 50. Currently it's my number 1 in all 2019 games that I've played, very thinky and very beautiful.

This is one of the first times I’ve ever disagreed with one of Tom’s reviews! I found this extremely charming and thoughtful! It’s a great example of where everyone can have their opinion and it’s ok to disagree :) I loved this and loved the art and feel of the game :)

I think this game is awesome. It allows you to show off your temporal and spatial organization skills. And it is uncommon in games. So for me, there's not a lot of games that combine these two reflections. There is in Deamscape a part of reflection and reoganization of its board that I don't find at this level in other games. It is surprising this criticism whereas in my opinion it is a nugget

I enjoy Dreamscape a lot, even though I´m not very good at it. To do well in this game you need to make combos with the powers on the board and on your card(s) to transform your dreamscape rather than focusing on just getting more shards the whole time. The expansions are also a lot of fun but even the base game is a great puzzle game that is heavier than it may seem at first glance. The Nightmare mode does make the game a little trickier but it also increases player interaction for those who don´t enjoy multiplayer solitaire as much. Great game imho.

Dreamscape is one of the most puzzly games I played recently. There's a lot to think through, there are lots of available actions, you can make awesome combos and everything knits neatly together. But yes, it is essentially an abstract game (although I think the dream theme works great!), so if abstracts aren't your cup of tea you won't like this game-but calling it "boring" and "obvious" is simply disrespectful.

Are you serious?

This is a fantastic game, one of the best that I’ve backed on Kickstarter. It’s a wonderful puzzle and has a perfect amount of interaction using the Nightmare rules. I dont typically post in the comments, but I was compelled as this review is so far off the mark.

Couldn't DISagree more. Its super thematic, totaly makes sense and specially with the expansions its soooo rich in theme AND mechanics.

I like the game a lot. I've played it at least 10 times and always with nightmare rules (which increase the possible tactics) and it was always a lot of fun. It's a very good 2 player game and as that it plays in an ~ hour or so what's not too long. I would not recommend it to play it with 4 people.

Check out Meeplecore for a far more fair and nuanced review of this game. Tom gets this one staggeringly wrong. This game is an absolute joy -- puzzly perfection, and the theme is gorgeously present in the artwork and components. It doesn't take much of a stretch from there to say that your dreams need to be constructed piece by piece through clever manipulation. Tons of theme, best game of its class -- do yourself a favor and check out the Meeplecore take on this one.

I played this last year and I really liked it. You mentioned several times that some other games do better what this game is trying to do. I am interested in other games like this so can you (or someone else) give examples?

Totally disagree, I really enjoy this game and it will get better when you learn the rules and play it more (and correct)

This is one of the best games in my whole collection! Everyone that I have introduced to it immediately wanted to play again. It falls into the category of “Easy to learn, hard to master. It is very thinky, but at the same time, relaxing to play. Just a great game imho.

Sorry to disagree with Tom, but he may not have experienced all of the options available in the game as well as focused on where the gravity of the game lies. And with regards to 'building your dreams' not being true, that's exactly the charm of it. Seeing these dreamscapes abstracted into patterns is not only apt, but also fairly unique and fun to recreate by manipulating existing pieces around. I know it's beyond the scope of his review but all of the micro expansions add even more fun little tactics and alterations to an already fun gameplay. But oh well, to each their own, eh?

Add me to the strongly disagree list. Like others, I quite often agree with Tom but in this case it seems we played completely different games. I’ve played it 5 or 6 times at this point and look forward to playing many more times and starting to incorporate the expansions.

Let's agree to disagree. I rate this game very high. Found it on e of the most charming games of last year. And the variation in options and games offer enough to enjoy it for a long time. With expansions even more. I would recommend this one to every one who has some mileage in boardgaming.

Well, I never read so many People disagree more with you Tom. I think it's better to make another review by somebody else.

Too bad that Tom just forgets to say the main purpose of the game is not to collect shards but to transform your landscape. Too bad he didn't play it with the right rules and he didn't understand how deep and powerful are the abilities

Hearing sound from your mic again, Tom. This was noticeable in another video. Might want to find a new place for the mic.

Wow, i don’t think he played the game, or even looked good at it. Artwork is a matter of taste, and can be discussed. But this game is unique, plays well and feels like something totally different as most games.. Sad to see how easy you put a game down so hard. Maybe play it and make sure you play it right since a lot of the review isn’t even correct!

Che belli i giuochi che ci sollazzano nelle rimembranze del mezzo tecnologico

Having played it again recently, I have to disagree...I usually understand when Tom doesn't like a game but here I cannot understand the rating, even if the theme is a little abstracted. Glad I own it.

Late to the game. I saw it in a shop and had a change to play it at a boardgame bar, two players. I came here to check if only I felt it was a bit boring. I agree, the puzzling is extremely hard and even with the most mentioned remodelling action, you still need to draw good cards. It didn’t feel like a satisfying experience. Theme felt generic but art-style was cute. I will not by it though.

Quite frankly, this review baffled me. The game explanation completely ommits the most important aspect of the game: manipulating (through the use of actions) a dreamscape to transform it into a new dreamscape. This constantly evolving landscape system by careful manipulation is the heart of the game. Vasel even suggests there is no manipulation. Really? Has he actually played the game? It is almost like he wants to suggest this is a luck-driven affair, while to opposite is true as anyone who played Dreamscape will attest. The statement that countless similar games already flood the market is completely absurd in my opinion. I played hundreds of games, and Dreamscape is in my opinion truly unique in it's gameplay and feel. In a world filled with worker placement variations and deck builders Dreamscape with it's original mechanical ideas and gamefeel is a breath of fresh air. I can completely understand that some people don't like the game. After all, gaming tastes are subjective. But this review makes it out to be a different game by giving false statements aside from numerous rule errors. Shame on you Vasel. It shows no respect to the designer and publisher who crafted a unique product that clearly has alot of love and vision put into it.

Tom, I totally disagree with you. You should take Dreamscape on table again with Mr. Nightmare rules and play with somebody who will know the rules. Try it again and maybe you'll see how unique and amazing is this game. One of the best, if not the best game of 2019. Look how many people are telling you the same thing - you're wrong, you should play it again correctly with Mr.Nightmare. It's hard at the beginning to see all possibilities, but right now I can get 90-100 points and realized around 7 cards mostly with 2 of 3rd level. Boring? Awesome. Amazing. Great. How can you miss that?

Completely disagree, it is an awesome game! If not one of the best of 2019.

Meh, i disagree. I like it.

Also his review is wrong about explaining the rules, i think he totally played this wrong.

Tom i am looking for a board game table mat that is really good but not expensive and recommandations?

"None of them make sense.. and none of them seem to matter." Yep, that sounds like dreams to me. : )

It's a bit hard to see you knock this game down while it's obvious you have not played it yet or if you have played it played it wrong. I can understand that you don't like the game (but again... how do you really know) but usually you do not talk about a game like that... without a bit of respect for the people who worked on it. I've played it twice: first time with a few mistakes and those mistakes made me find the game very hard to get anything done, the second time we played it we loved it and ordered our own copy. I admire your work, and it's not the first time I disagree with a review, but it's the first time I disagree with the way you did the review.

Thanks Tom for your honesty.

Everybody has a right to his own opinion and we should respect Tom not liking the game. As we know... we all have a different taste in games. And if he doesn't like a game, he can say that of course. That is one of the reasons why we watch reviews! But we can agree to disagree as I do like the game a lot, and I think there are few games like this. For me it does stand out! But Tom can have a different opinion and I respect that. But "respect" is the key word here! I absolutely respect Tom not liking the game. However, I do think the review was quite unrespectful. You can say that you don't like a game, but do it in a respectful manner! There are people who have worked hard on this game for the last couple of years. They have put their time and their heart into creating this game as good as possible. And now the game gets destroyed in this review... by one of the top influencers in board gaming, so this will have a definite impact in the sales (especially in the US). No designer likes getting negative reviews, but I think if you'd be a bit more respectful when telling you don't like a game, they would have no problem accepting criticism. I would like someone else in the Dice Tower family review this game, because I do have the feeling others would like it - if played correct.

Reading the comments Tom I would suggest to do less game reviews and put more time in playing the games. Now the focus seems to be to put as many content on your channel. Quantity over quality.

Why are you so angry? Did we play the same game? Maybe you need to take a break from reviewing stuff for a while...

I heard a lot about people saying Tom was super negative in this review. I had to watch it because I was concerned that he was going to be really harsh. Well, I played this game without seeing any reviews and I completely agree with all the critical points.

Good review. The box looks cool, bit the gameplay does look boring

For once i agree.

I can't say if this game was played right or not. But if tom reviewed it he probably liked it more than the others at DT that played and it's ok for him not to like a game and give an honest review. If he played wrong, I'd say that's probably poorly written rules, tho everyone's human and maybe he messed up

Owww... This botched review puts a blemish on the dice tower. I hope Vasel learns from this....

Agreed. Seems more like busywork instead of escaping reality. Hard pass. Thanks for review.

Totaly agree a boring game