COMPONENTS - It's Chip Theory, so you've got heavy chips, plastic cards, really nice ring-bound books, and excellent dice. The storage solutions for character sheets are fabulous. Tutorial play - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-vGRYarnP0Do.html Endgame play - ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-t9zMWyKkcRo.html 0:00 - Introduction 0:36 - Adventure variety 1:20 - Enemy tactics 2:30 - Balance and luck 4:09 - Character builds 5:05 - Skill dice and cooldown 6:31 - Final thoughts
Man, I’ve been consuming all of your videos and podcast about this game. I’m so excited! Too Many Bones is a game that is pretty flawed in several ways, but just comes together as a fun and unique experience that has grown to be one of my favourite games. You’ve really compared and contrasted them well in your discussions that I have a pretty good feeling what to expect with this and I just can’t wait. Thanks!
I still love TMB, and it has a place for the unique gearlocs and faster playtime, but this one fixes so many of TMB's flaws, as you mentioned. It's great.
First off, love all your videos! I've been thinking about getting Hoplomacus Victorum, but one thing I was kind of concerned about was if the battles would feel too similar to this as I already backed this. Do you think there's room for both? I know one is more team vs well non-team, but still.
Yeah, I think hoplo’s battles feel different with the arenas and squads, while this is more focused on character leveling and varied fights and delves. As for owning both, they kinda scratch the same itch, but they also are fairly different. So I’m not sure!
Thanks for the review, Mike! I'll make the question :) What's your recommendation for somebody trying to decide between entering into TMB or Elder Scrolls? Thanks again!
I'm not Mike, but for me, Elder Scrolls all the way. I grew up playing Oblivion then later Skyrim, and the theme is much more appealing to me. Have you played the Elder Scrolls video games? If not, I still think the fantasy theme is more interesting than TMB. Are you planning on playing this solo or in a group? I've never played TMB--I chose Elder Scrolls over TMB. What I did was watch reviews of TMB and discovered it was complex--specifically regarding your character. You HAVE to understand your character and their skills to play, and everyone else at the table needs to understand theirs. Switching characters means a whole new set of rules. In Elder Scrolls, there's much more flexibility in character creation. You build as you go, and it makes it easier to learn and teach (heard this from Liz Davidson from her Beyond Solitare RU-vid page). Good luck deciding!
Thanks for your answer, @ChinDogToshi! I should have provided more context :) I have played all the games in the Elder Scrolls series (from The Elder Scroll: Arena to Skyrim). I like the setting, but I also like TMB's. I agree both are wildly different and TES is more "serious", cohesive, and probably better suited to the exploration and open world gameplay. I have played TMB (only the core) and I loved it. I don't mind learning new gearlocs and I was (almost) convinced to go all-in on it (step by step :)), but now TES came in looking like a TMB 2.0 gameplay-wise and adding a cool mini-campaign/exploration around the combat, so I am back on square one :D (I will play 90% solo).
I too, am not Mike, but go with elder scrolls… I feel like the rules and game will be evolved from tmb. I don’t know this for a fact but as an owner and frequent player of TMB I am 1000 percent sure elder scrolls will be more new player friendly.
As someone who has played TMB a lot, I would start by saying this is a close call. I would lean town Elder Scrolls for two personal reasons: 1) Streamlined Characters: The most complicated part of TMB is learning the Gearlocks. Each one is VERY different, and they each have a learning curve. It can be challenging to bring new people into the game because you have to teach them a specific character. The characters in Elder Scrolls are much simpler and easier to just learn as you play. Since you gain abilities as you progress, there is no real reason to learn everything upfront. 2) Story: Now TMB has a story, but it is pretty simple. If you are someone who really likes a story to progress through, then Elder Scrolls wins again. All that said, TMB has a major win on it's side. It feels more unique and fresh. You are playing Gearlocks who throw bombs, ride pigs, or use magnetism to manipulate the board. Each character is well made with deep strategy. Not the same old boring archer, mage, or knight. Elder Scrolls characters are going to seem more shallow in comparison. Also since each campaign is only 3 secessions, as soon as you form a connection with your character, they are done and it is time to create a new one. There really is no wrong choice and since I have played TMB 100+ hours and I am hyped for Elder Scrolls, that may also be helping sway me. Seriously though, ssssoooo much character customization in ES, it is crazy
@@MacScelaro Thanks! This answer goes to the core of what I was pondering. TES streamlined gameplay, new features (i.e., exploration), setting, and story look great, but I don't know if it loses in exchange the variety and interesting mechanics that impressed me from TMB.
Wow! You already got a review copy! Were you super excited getting this in the mail? Was it hard learning the rules for this? I backed this project All-In on July 12, 2023--I can't believe it's already been over a year and that it's almost time for release. Waiting was hard for this one 😅
Honestly it was pretty tough learning the rules. The tutorial wasn't great in its prototype form, the index wasn't ready in the rulebook they sent, and I had to bug the CTG team a lot to clarify things. It should be a lot easier for y'all with the final rulebook, a FAQ online, forums on BGG, etc.
Hi Mike. With the PM closing in a day, I'm deciding between a few games which I know you enjoyed all of. Elder Scrolls (CTG), Agemonia & Fateforge. How would you compare or even rank these? Which one do you think will be the "best" game to get and which is your favourite at the moment? I'll mostly play solo or 2P.
Those are 3 of my top games of the year, so it’s hard to pick one. Agemonia has the best exploration and discovery, Fateforge has the fastest gameplay and the best story, elder scrolls is the most focused on pure tactical combat and leveling and character builds. They are all great
@@OneStopCoopShopand my last question, did Elder Scrolls replace TMB for you (or the other way around)? Do you think it's still worth having both in a small collection?
@kobusbrits3523 I culled TMB in anticipation of receiving this one, and for me that was the right decision. I think a small collection would not need both games; they have a lot of crossover. That being said, I think many people will end up preferring TMB for the quicker play and the wacky gearlocs
As expected, right up my alley. Can't wait to get my copy. Have you tried playing solo with 4 characters? Wondering what's a good amount. I always enjoyed TMB at 2.
Two-handed pretty much filled up my gaming table, so I don't think I'll ever play 3 or 4 characters solo. But I never played TMB 3-4 player solo either, so should be fine! :)
I think if you found Hoplomachus Victorum repetitive you MIGHT feel the same here. The quests are more varied here, and the character building is WAY more interesting. Leveling up in Hoplomachus didn't feel that great to me. But in the end it's a lot of battles to fight, so you might find it dull over time. And a full campaign is at least 5+ hours, so it takes a while!
How much time do you estimate it takes to set this game up/take it down? Seems like it is alot of stuff to organize before you can actually start playing the game. I also wonder if there is any kind of pause feature in this game if you need to take it down before you finish?
You can certainly pause. The packs let you store your character, so all you have to write down is where you are located and what day/XP level you are at. Setup and teardown isn’t super fast, but also isn’t terrible. The organization system in the game helps
I agree. Reading through the rulebook and watching solo playthroughs confirms to me this is too brutal and unbalanced for a solo only character play through. OK, some character builds may survive better than others but is negates all the variety the game brings. Playing two characters solo would improve the balance, but it feels true solo is not quite in the DNA as it is with Hoplomachus Victorum or Cloudspire.
I talked to one of the game testers who focused on solo play. They game me readouts of true solo through four hand. They really enjoyed the game at all player counts but said true solo is something a player should try after they have played two hand or more a couple times. True solo requires a balanced build and a good understanding of the game. In that since, true solo is almost an advanced tactic to the game. Though it might not be the most beginner friendly way to start, it provides a nice challenge and really can bring another layer of depth to the game. As a mostly solo player myself, there are too many builds I want to try to jump into true solo too quickly. However I know after several game sessions, I will want to experiment with true solo. By doing this, I am betting it will almost feel like I am playing a new version of the game. This game has so much going for it. I can't wait!!!!!
@@MacScelaro yeah, this is my takeaway too. It reminds me of Arkham Horror the Card Game. You CAN play single character and be successful, but you need to know the game well and have the right build for it.
i've watched a lot of playthroughs of this. As much as i love TMB, hoplo, and the Elder Scrolls games, i just dont think this does anything much diff from TMB and hoplo to justify the price tag, which is a shame.
I definitely think if you already own TMB and Hoplo Victorum you are treading similar ground here. But for my money this is the best of the three... if you have the time to play the long sessions. TMB is better for quicker one-off play
@@OneStopCoopShop I have to agree. I have Victorum and TMB which unfortunately may take a back seat to Elder Scrolls, especially TMB. I think ES does a better job at scratching my itch with character progression and I really like what they did with the cooldown track. If you play TMB enough, you will start to realize that stats are more valuable than skills, especially since skills can only be used once per battle. That being said, the skills are more fun to use which causes a conundrum. Do you go for the best build or the one that is most fun? I think the addition of the cooldown is probably my favorite thing that differentiates ES from TMB as it makes the skills reusable and creates the challenge of not only deciding what dice you throw, but how many. I was glad to see them take the backup plan mechanic from TMB and implement it as tenacity in ES.
I've played it 1-3 player, but not 4. The player counts are better balanced than in Too Many Bones. For solo my favorite is 2-handed. True solo is faster, but the balance and the variety of builds feels a bit more constrained with only 1 character.
It’s similar, but to me it feels better here. Since all heroes take their turns, and then all enemies take their turns (there is no initiative track like in TMB), it feels like everything flows smoothly
Yes, I found it more consistently engaging for a few reasons: 1 - Hoplomachus tends to have similar numbers and strengths of enemies, though they get stronger over the 4 acts. Here, you might have just two 20 point enemies in one battle, and a bunch of 1 point enemies in another 2 - On top of that, while I love Victorum's arenas, once you've seen them there isn't too much variety. The encounter cards can change things up a lot in ES, and on top of that Delves and Dungeons are a completely different thing. 3 - Regardless of your hero in Victorum, I always felt like combat was somewhat similar for my squad. Here, a stealth range build versus a tank melee build versus a summoning companion build versus something else all feel quite different.
Thanks for the review. I backed this one, so it’s great to see a lot of Pros from you. I think I’ll enjoy it a lot. I really like Oathsworn. This one seems to me to have a similar vibe.
Thanks for the playthroughs and review. Really enjoyed it! For me the game feels kinda "flat" and empty, dunno why, so ended up canceling my pledge. I just kept thinking about Mage Knight while watching, and how I would rather want to play that solo and something else for multiplayer. Either way, love your videos!
So much this! I feel the same. I feel like i'm missing something here? I want TMB, but buying that, and Elder scrolls with Euthia coming down the line is getting to be a bit too much! Right now, i'm thinking go with TMB, but i have serious FOMO and everyone seems to love Elderscrolls, but this is the third video i've watched, as well as a full playthrough, and it just looks boring and bland. I MUST be missing something surely?
I think Elder Scrolls has more personality and story than Mage Knight, but Mage Knight still wins for the incredible tactical play of the cards and such. Both belong in my personal collection :)
I appreciate your thoughts on this review and giving your perspective (though I think you cheated and your 5 points are more like 10). However, this has made my hype nearly unbearable and I'm holding that against you. Please accept this comment as negative for the purposes of maintaining proper internet quota.
It's gonna be battle between this and Andromeda's Edge over my table, upon arrival. At the moment, Andromeda's Edge still has the edge, no pun intended. In the shadows, there is also Ascendancy lurking. There will be blood on my tables.
@@OneStopCoopShop 🙀🙀🙀 What? You didn't enjoy Dwellings of Eldervale? Are you sure you played the right game? Not some knock off copy? Maybe you just had a very bad day? I just learned Earth Under Siege: Flashpoint will start fulfillment soon. So happy!
@@Biodelic I'm SUPER excited for Earth Under Siege. And yeah, I dunno, Eldervale was fine. There are other euros I'd rather play, and I don't tend to like euros as much as coop and adventure games in any case :)
Feels very weird to call this a review. How many playthroughs did you have solo, solo 2 handed, 2 player, 2 player 2 handed, 3 players, and 4 players? Seems like an early impression video talking about 5 favorite things so far. What about the negatives? What about comparisons to other games? My impression is this video was rushed out to be the first video out. It doesn’t really help someone decide if it’s worth buying. If someone watched this not knowing anything about chip theory, too many bones, or elder scrolls betrayal of the second era I don’t think this video would be helpful.
I played 4 full runs of the game before the review, which adds up to around 25 hours of play. I've played more since, and none of my feelings have changed. And the review format is what it is, and has been that way for 5 years or so. Tons of people obviously subscribe to the channel and love it and get a lot out of it. If you personally prefer a different format, I'm sure other channels will have their reviews for the game soon. But this review was in no way "rushed"
