The true key now is to back at $1. If I still feel like I NEED it, then I will upgrade in the PM. What I have found is that I passed on a ton of these $1 pledges. I am also an all-in or nothing type of backer.
Gloomhaven is the most expensive game I have ever bought to date, and the one I got the best return on investment for (in term of gaming hours to cost ratio). Don't collect games, play games.
Same here, if I buy something it's because I know it will get to the table within a week. If not, That's because I don't need it: no time to play, why buying. Also, it reduces my carbon footprint. Just having games that collects dust... not me.
Back in the day I paid 100 bucks for the Kickstarter, which was a steal considering the game sessions I got out of it, and the amount of components you get for it
It's a pretty solid opinion. The reality of all ins is that a lot of those expansions dont see the same amount of love. But hear my tale... what really "broke me" was diving super fast super deep into crowdfunding. Not receiving things made me back more things with no end. I would look at my wife and say I have nothing to play, I used that to justify more and more. Plus, I wanted to have a diverse collection to discover what I liked. That resulted in a crazy spending, but mostly some very weird titles. I recall being mega excited for Here to Slay back in 2019, one of the firsts, and boy... almost spending over 200 euros, for a game that sells retail for around 20-30? Luckily I went way less for that one, but I have a couple of regret titles on my shelves, that will eventually get sold. As soon as games started to arrive things started to become clearer, that I wasnt playing expansions, that I wouldnt have time to play everything I was backing... etc. Finally, I still back stuff, but a much more curated list. I even managed to break a barrier and ask for a refund on a game I had no excitement anymore. It isn't perfect, I feel like I backed Harakiri mainly on FOMO, probably KF would be a more well spent money (which Im backing even tho I shouldn't before ATO delivers)... maybe I should go down to $1, but the excitement, the need to see the extra content unlocking is too powerful.
I asked for a refund of over 100 quid on a collector's edition when I realised there was an available retail version for under 20. I felt awful doing it but glad I have most of my money back. Lesson learned - no more impulse buying.
I opted for Harakiri instead of KF purely for the theme…I have my fingers crossed it’s as good a game. Cause I’m definitely feeling the FOMO for KF in retrospect. I tried to listen to my gut and do the right thing but now I don’t feel the same way…
I love it as well. I think the coop makes much longer game, but it is epic. I played Nemesis Lockdown a week ago (solo). I won Nemesises just ones, but all the games were epic.
The silver lining for me with the shipping crisis is that I back less Kickstarters and buy more from retail. I feel less guilty not playing a $40 game I got from retail versus the $100 deluxified version I got from Kickstarter. I find I enjoy the games the same. I went hard core with all Awaken Realms games and got every single Kickstarter all in and found that I barely have enough time to scratch the surface of the core boxes, let alone play with the pretty minis. I'm having a hard time coming to the conclusion that I can't be a collector. I have too much of a hard time knowing I spent money on something that just sits there. This is the realization I have had over the last two years, even though I am blessed to have the space and resources to buy/store everything. Great video and thanks for all you do!
I went all in onto Nemesis. I love it and like it every time I play it. Sadly the fact is that I only play a couple games a week with different groups and we all have our collections and are all hyped for new games and go to conventions. In the end I play Nemesis once every now and again, but 99% of the time, well just play the base game. I did play with some expansions and we did play the new version once or twice, but just the base game would have been enough in the end. Still will not sell the expansions because I like the game so much I want to COLLECT it all, but it was a good learning moment for future pledges that I didn't need to have it all.
When i see a new game, my most important question is "does it fit in my collection?". I have seen chang'an recently, i looked into my collection and noticed that i dont have any game like this and a huge lack of euro style games. I was looking for a area control game that had less direct conflict, so i got myself mission red planet. Rolling height, i have roll and rome wich is very similar. I have a lot of coop game so every time i see a game, and while it one type i think it fine to have a lot of alternative, it getting harder and harder to justify buying a new one. I have enough deckbuilding game, my favorite type wich stand at 13% of my collection (11/87).
The one problem I have is right now, no one is available to play board games. I used to have a set up day every week, but because everyone went back to work no one's available. We all can't be available on the same days to play. I used to have 2 game groups, but now I have only 1 person. That person is different every week. I set up Townsfolk Tussle and everyone was supposed to show to play, and I ended up having to put it away cause things came up for everyone. Now supposedly in march everyone will have more free time.
Yeah the problem is I always works 6 days per week, and the time is pretty steep. I am pretty much play solo once in 1-2 week. I used to have group to play with when I was still in university, but after graduate. People do still need to work.
My strategy for KS now is to only back at $1 when the campaign opens. I need to let everything be revealed and let my own excitement cool down. I don't need to place my order till I've had plenty of time to reflect on the reality of cost and value. I backed Massive Darkness 2 at the base level. I wanted all those extra monsters and characters, but had to face the fact that there is a ton of content in the base game. I will have a ton to play without expansions, and I can buy expansions if they get released and I love the game. AND.... I've already got several games I love, and need to get them to the table too. There isn't enough time to play every game I like, already. KOA, I appreciate the caution that we need to examine our collections and be honest about what we play and whether it's worth it. I like hearing a content creator straight-up tell me that I should probably skip the expansions in a KS campaign unless I absolutely love the IP and game, because there is already more than enough content available with a base pledge.
Glad I can bring up the subject :) I wish I wasn't in the same boat as all of you though and was somehow "better" - I still make plenty of dumb mistakes. Backed MD2 all in and I still am trying to figure out why :D
@Preacher Beeman ..... well said. I did the same thing with MD2. Base game already has more content than I'm likely to ever play. And yes, I have a lot of $1 pledges that I never ended up backing once the initial excitement wore off.
@@ProfOfHifi these games are luxury items. Everybody has their own financial situation to deal with. I'll be "selfish" to protect myself and my family from my impulse purchases. It's this or nothing. No game. Everybody is not going to follow my strategy because it goes against an aspect of human nature that drives that desire to jump right in and buy all the shiny new toys. FOMO. That kind of thing. If I ever truly want a game to be created and on the last day they haven't reached their funding goal, I'll probably back at a good level, hoping everybody does the same. Until that happens... I haven't backed a lot of games, but all have well surpassed their funding goal within hours, if not minutes, of opening.
@@preacherbeeman3437 Indeed, I cannot afford to back every game I'm interested in anymore than I can buy every game I want off the shelf of my FLGS. But the KS model only gives me a short period of time to decide the best choice for me given limited resources of time and money. The $1 option allows me some extra time to figure that out. Certain games I know I am definitely going to back so I will full pledge to help with the stretch goals and such, but for those campaigns that I'm unsure of I'll wait until the pledge manager. I'm sorry if a game does not get produced, I cannot be held responsible to get every game idea on the market. But I think Petteri's comment goes a little deeper into what I feel is the unsustainability of the current level of crowdfunding activity for board games. Or at least I'm unsure that it can continue at this pace, because unless the board game industry is picking up great swaths of new players, I don't see how it can keep coming back to the same group of people for non-consumable products at this level. But since I myself continue to back new projects, I guess perhaps I have my answer.
That was an excellent examination of the boardgame buying process. For me, if I feel even slight confusion lwhile watching a detailed run through on RU-vid, I know it’s just not going to get to the table.
Great video as always. I think I’ve just about burned out on fomo. I paint most of the games I get so I try to think of expansions as just extra work. It’s helped me a lot.
I’m in a pivot point of spending money on more good bird games or pause that to spend money on painting supplies for Minis because I’m interested in both.
Pecktec... I paint them too which has caused me to slow down. The number of kickstarters that have been egregiously late has pushed me to allow for no more than one (including the option of none) purchase per year.
Great video. Honest opinion on value of games. I had several posts on BGG on value of games especially when Marvel Zombies campaign started and the hype started with it. A lot of games like the idea of playing a game more than playing the game. KS made it worse, you spent money now for a promise of a good game after maybe 2 years. Previously when games hit retail then the true value of a game shows up, when people play it and not paying more than 70-80$ on it. If you check a hour of going to the movies or hour of playing a game or other entertainment should have equal or even better value per hour. Comparing this games like Ticket To Ride, Splendor, Spirit Island, Clank have way better value than Rising Sun. Or if you are a solo player...play Baldur's Gate (1 and 2),or Xcom or Civilization...it has more hours of entertainment than ANY solo boardgame (and it saves your progress, so you don't need to play it all in one session). These conversations has to happen otherwise there will be people paying 900$ for bunch of Marvel Zombies that they will never play, instead of maybe buying PS5 with buch of games that they actually may play. But if you ask them, they like the idea of them gathering people and play and never ask themselves what if they actually don't like the game that they spend money now to maybe play in 2 years time. Great content. Keep up the good work.
I would not say waisted for me, but the fact is another. At the moment I never got these. When Etherfields was delivered in English I asked myself: Do you want to play this? You can paint the minis and they looked cool. So I said yes. Now two years from this point on I maybe can hope to get the Lang version maybe around christmas 2022. In this time many of us got children or live in different cities around the globe. And so I ask myself: Should I wait five years more, so that it is easier for us to meet and play again? I found out for myself. I bought other games and had really fun. I painted blood bowl minis, INIS minis, and old shadow over camelot minis. So what I learned maybe second hand market is more expansiv but I can play games that I want to play now and can play now.
It's a pretty good game. I consumed the first two campaigns that were in the core box in about 6 weeks at 2 player. Yeah there's lots of people pointing out the flaws, but the rules as written are good and it's pretty memorable experience all the way through. Can't wait for the expansions!
I love Rising Sun. It's one of my favorite games. I actually wish I would have gone all in on the KS, but it looked complicated and I was a little poor during the campaign.
Develop self control, and purge regularly. Thats really all that you need to do to really enjoy your purchases. When you have a wall of games you get spoiled for choice. Instead, keep it to like 5 big games and a smattering of small titles other people might like. The next time you see a big expensive game you look at your shelf and decide if the new one excites you more than what you've got. If it does, sell off one of the old and use the money to finance the new. If not, enjoy what you have and be happy that you saved money. Either way, it gives you the opportunity to go hog wild on expansions without guilt of never playing them, because you kept your options limited and sensible.
Nemesis for me is probably the greatest valued game in my eyes. I've had the most replay value throughout all the expansions, great variation and memories of past games too. So I'm all over Nemesis Lockdown and confident I'll enjoy it. Got all expansions... so it shows how subjective the games are to everyone. However I agree the Rebellion is so difficult to get to the table. It's brilliant though and the fan made solo mode is pretty ok. But I can't always find someone to play it with and the permanent 4 game cards make it a little bit predictable throughout rounds.
oh yeah I'm far in the minority for Nemesis and that's okay, glad you guys love it! :) In the end whether it's personal preference, group like vs personal like or simple logistics I think we all could probably make a version of this thumbnail. The important part I feel is to learn from it.
I love Nemesis solo play. I will play solo co op multi handed at times too. But I do really enjoy solo play. It's not the same for everyone, I understand. But if you are a solo gamer and nemesis interests you. I think it's worth a look. Repeatability is there as you do have additional exploration markers and room tiles.
@@TheKingofAverage I totally agree and that's why there are so many games out there now. A game like this war of mine. I've played the base game a fair bit, but only ever tried it with one expansion once or twice. I don't feel there is a lot of value within the expansions. But the core game is amazing.
@@danielgustavoparedes I really enjoyed the comic-backed campaign story for 1-2 players. It's really fun, though I think they probably shouldn't have started with such a hard mission to get people locked in. The first one was rough.
Great video and is pretty much where my head space is at. I recently sold Spirit Island even though I think its an excellent game, as it just doesn't hit the table. My only comment is that I do preserve a spot in my collection for games that may not see much play but with which I have had a great history and/or may be brought out rarely to scratch a certain itch. Rebellion is a good example of this. I won't play it often but I will play it every 2 or so years and I know I will love it based on my past experiences.
This is why I canceled Monster Hunter Kickstarter since I already backes Primal and based on all reviewers, Primal is looking far more interesting plus shipping increased to $120 to my home which is insane price!!
Nothing made me learn this lesson more than all-in for Bloodborne from CMON. I do actually like the game, but after 7 play sessions we arent even done with the core box let alone any of the 6 expanions. It really made me double check backing expansions to ask if I really need it, or will it really be played.
My partner went all-in on Nemesis >.< We wanted to love it. The concept for the backstory and some of the mechanics and the minis and art are amazing! But the gameplay itself just doesn't work for us, at all. We tried playing a few times and not once enjoyed it -.- It sat on our game shelf for a few years before we just had to give up and sell it. Honestly I'm just glad we aren't the only ones. It felt like we were for a good long spell.
I bought a dozen or more games throughout the years. My first big game was Dark Souls which I went all-in. I was going to wait for retail but most shops near me weren't getting it at all. My first time getting into the hobby was playing Zombicide and loving it with the expansions of the mall and the prison. We played the whole campaign in just under 2 weeks with my neighbor and his gaming group. I bought several big games like Street Masters, Nemesis, Z. Green Horde, Batman City Chronicles, and Rush M.D. What really got me back into board gaming over the years was the news that Toys 'R 'us was closing stores. I went to my local store 6 times in less than 3 months and just had such a nostalgia trip, seeing stuff marked down 30-60% that you wouldn't buy otherwise puts things in perspective. Most of the hasbro board games were going from $30 apiece to under $10 so I started loading up there and I had another big hobby with some lego so I think that was when I truly took my plunge, there was the thing was that I was buying games to play with the nieces and nephews to get them off their electronics which is how I justified some purchases. I bought Parks, Azul, and Wingspan to play with my wife. Tidal Blades I still play, Townfolk Tussle I play with some friends. I missed out on Tainted Grail and bought it after market. My wallet hated that. I love AwakenRealms so I went all-in on ISS but I love space. I love games but I think I will hold off on backing anything really big unless I can justify playing it as soon as it gets to the table. Now my issue right now is getting a big enough table for some games, I put in a deposit for the Wyrmwood gaming table. Currently waiting on Massive Darkness 2 and Nemesis Lockdown Waiting to back Tidal Blades 2
I love painting minis so it doubles up in the reward category. Having said that I agree, there is tons of fomo in this hobby that it is easy to burn out. I have and really enjoy Nemesis. We have only gotten 4 plays of it but every game was very memorable and enjoyable. I’d love to table it more but that doesn’t always happen with our schedules and the sheer number of games. Having said that the $200 or so I have spent on it (game/expansions) has gotten us several hours of painting and gameplay has had a decent return on investment. It probably won’t get that return in the future but I can also sell it and partially recoup that money.
Great video mate. It's the truth we all need to hear. My biggest achievement lately was staying clear of the Borderlands board game. The video game series is one of my all time favourites and I was desperate for the board game to be good, but as it went on and I reviewed it more closely and watched your videos it was clear that I should stay clear of it. Your latest video highlighting reused elements from their previous thing was eye-opening, shameful stuff!
I’ve pulled back from crowdfunding mostly because of concerns with manufacturing and shipping. A game will need to look outstanding for me to back it. I am focusing on titles already released like Brass Birmingham or Great Western Trail. I am happy with the variety of games that I own. Not ready to cull yet.
Oh Rising Sun. The game I didn't backed when it was on Kickstarter (and later regretted, since I ended up paying more when hunting for the exclusive content) The game that instantly became one of my favorite games after I played a friends copy The game I've spent a lot of dollars on to get all additional Kickstarter exclusive content The game that one day I will finish completely painting
I love Nemesis, no idea on Etherfields since I went with single wave. As someone who paints minis Iam finding that changes the value dynamic of board games significantly. Ugly minis or even worse lots of the same minis is a turn of. I hate batch painting. The other part to that is if its a campaign game I tend not to want to play it until it’s painted. I just started painting Tainted Grail. Trying a different method for it than I normally use inks over zenithal. But I’ve also reached the point I don’t need more to paint for probably several years. And if I do it would be busts. Or 75+.
Although I will say models that are mostly one color arnt bad for batch with an airbrush. Did a metallic zenithal for a lot of Darksouls this year super quick and easy.
After I backed Wild Assent, I pretty much stopped backing because I realized I'm painting minis about 3x as often as I play games. I have about a half dozen games on my shelf not played and roughly 10 games being delivered this year. Only thing I've back since then is Ravaged Star since it's minis only and I'm accumulating sci-fi models for 5 Parsecs from Home / 40k.
I just finished the monsters of Avalon box with that style (also added an oil wash and spot highlights. I got inspired by Ninjon's "how to paint your boardgames" video) and it worked out really well!!! Hope it turned/turns out nicely for you!
As a board game hobbyist and collector with not unlimited budget, I do get games that are not likely to hit the table due to friend circumstances you've mentioned (not impossible, just unlikely), but I do have standards that games must pass through, otherwise I'm not getting em, and it has saved me a lot of shelf space. There are games I definitely do/did want to like, but ultimately, the more info popped up, the more research I did, the more I realized I only wanted to liked the games and didn't actually liked them. To give you an example, I am a fan of Dark Souls series, so I was thrilled about Dark Souls board game... until gameplay details were revealed. "1 players goes -> ALL enemies go" is an abhorrent and lazy way to balance the game for multiplayer, which doesn't respect the player's time and I will never support anything with that kind of approach to the game design.
It can be hard, when starting out, to even know what you like, nonetheless what might end up bad. Each of the failures I list here really did teach me something, mistakes ideally I don't repeat :)
Also, even if a game doesn't hit the table enough, but has a lot of amazing miniatures, there's still fun to be had for those people who enjoy painting mini's. I've yet to play my Reichbusters copy, but I've had a ton of fun just painting those mini's
There's two different concepts at work here... what you think you will play a lot, and what is good. I don't see that a game you CAN play a lot is an indicator of a great game in many cases. I can get Tsuro to the table every game night. I have NO interest in playing it that often. And that doesn't make it better than Nemesis or Dune, or some other epic game that I can only play once in a blue moon. Those are events for me, and worth the wait between plays. I would LOVE to play them a lot more often, but I too have the same issue of appealing to my family and regular gamer friends, and whether we're talking a game night that should only last 2 hours or a several hour afternoon of gaming. It doesn't affect my interest in expansions... I will get every expansion for a game I love, not because I know I will use them much, but because I strive to get them included. And to be fair, some expansions are easier to incorporate than others. Farmers of the Moor is an Agricola expansion that I have played once. And I thought it was fine... but I will of course keep it because as new people enter my gaming sphere, there will inevitably be someone who is more inclined to seeing Agricola played, and that increases the chances of the expansion. Haven't played Agricola since 2018, but I still think it's a great game and look forward to getting it to the table some time in the future.
I told several years ago that this board game boom will vaporize one day and it will be sooner than we expect. It will not be a financial problem, people will start to realize that the formula is repeating and beautiful theme and minis etc.. is not enough. They will find out that all of this is a weird race to have a great toys at home. But mostly those are just dust catchers. And its space consuming. I stop to back triple A kickstarters year ago, i just get rid of that feel.. i must have it because its marvel, because its warhammer etc etc. Now i am trying to get rid of my collection except few jewels like Kingdom death. Btw great video, you got me subed on this.
One of the things that I have found is that when you back all in, you often are the last to receive it during distribution. This makes sense from the producers point of view as often not everything is done at the same time and they have to get the majority of base only backers their copies because of warehouse issues. That combined with the “are you really going to play those expansions” issue has helped me keep some of my backs to the core only. Of course, there are still some that …
Mhm. Even worse is if it's not an all-in but a custom order because each of those has to be packed individually. Even an all in you can still do in bulk at least.
I trade in games ALLLLL the time. Recently bought Tapestry because we enjoy Scythe so much; game group hasn't played it once. The same night I got Mind MGMT and it has hit the table over and over and over. Big campaign games are something I really love... my gaming group, not so much. Now I wait to see exactly how if there is a solo mode and how it works. I have Etherfields on the way (never doing one time shipping again) and backing Kingdoms Forlorn (solo mode still yet to be shown but we will see) and I'm pretty sure it will be solo mode on both of them because like I said campaign isn't for my group
Mate if you play solo campaign game, play a video game. You are going to have much much better experience and involvement. Try Baldur's gate, Icewind Dale or KOTOR. Don't waste money and time on Kingdom Forloin if you are a solo player.
@@adukovski this is definitely not true for everyone. I LOVE the tactile nature of board games, so I often will play a solo narrative game over a video game. My wife is in your boat. She just doesn't see the point and would rather play a video game. So there are definitely people on both sides and I would highly recommend figuring out which kind of person you are.
This is exactly it. I've learned that I do not need, nor have the time or desire to play every expansion and add-on to a game. I'll never get through 100+ hours of a particular campaign (whether solo or with my group) because I have a lot of games that are vying for attention. In fact, I'll often choose bling (upgraded components, 3D minis, etc.) over extra content because I'm assured that I will actually get use and enjoyment out of the bling versus the expansions sitting on a shelf. And I've also learned it's okay to let go of games I have enjoyed but not really playing anymore.
Exactly! I backed Arkies because it promised a 30 hour campaign. I might actually finish that one! haha :D The moment they tell me it'll take 500 hours to beat or some such I tend to want it less not more :D
I know I've slowed down buying games. I see some thing new and either it is a variation of what I've got already or just doesn't seem that interesting. It is also interesting that I go thru cycles in gaming. First was roleplaying in highscool, then miniature painting, card games (Magic) and mini wargames in college, then roleplaying again out of college, then board games after kids (just easier and quicker). Now I'm looking at painting again and war gaming now kids are more self sufficient with some board games/card games.
i think there needs to be a change in purchasing habits in general by the community, we need to have a bigger focus on retail and keep our local stores open ect , i feel crowd funding is anything but consumer friendly and is sure as heck not good for accessibility to the hobby for new gamers. i also suggest to everyone always buy a core game by itself and get it played fully first to really figure out if you need any expansions and also i feel it is a disservice to a game to buy it "all in" and never exhausting the base game content before adding expansions(in a standard retail enviroment you would rely on expansions to give a game a tail but these days its sold at the same time as base game). KS is great for the people who knows what they like and what they want then it works fine but it is not good for growing the hobby in the slightest. the worst form of gatekeeping in our hobby is literally public access to games... we need a sway away from crowd funding and more indie devs pitching to the bigger publishers for economy of scale and integrated distribution.. anyway great video dude! Stay Hexy!
Some people collect games. Some people collect a lot of cloths. One trick I learned from someone who buys a lot of cloths is, they tag all of their cloths. If after a period of time the clothing still has the tag then they get rid of it. It’s a good way to know what’s getting played as well as making sure you play what you have. If it’s not getting played then it’s time to get rid of it.
This hit me hard when I moved. I took games off my shelf and some had so much dust on them! It was heartbreaking but also eye opening. I penciled in this video right after to talk about it. While people can do whatever they want with their money, if you guys are like me you do buy intending to play, and storage becomes an issue. I think a mindset of moving through games over time isn't such a bad one to have perhaps. So in Idaho dust is the natural tag :D
I mean selling games is a thing. I'm pretty sure for Nemesis with the Kickstarter Stuff like Aftermath, you're probably getting more for that than you've paid for.
I haven't backed much on KS in awhile, and I made a rule about not buying expansions anymore since they almost never get played. There are some exceptions (Prelude for Terraforming Mars, Valhalla for Champions of Midgard), but for the most part the expansions just never get used. When I was/do back stuff on KS I thankfully usually just back the core pledge knowing I won't use the expansions. I actually had gone a decent while without getting any new games til my wife was bugging me to buy a few this past week - really looking forward to getting Endeavor: Age of Sail to the table this weekend. I hit that point of being a lot more selective about a year ago and now I'm usually pretty accurate when I think I'll like a game before I get it. I still haven't gotten a gaming group back since the core folks from my last one moved, so there are games I know I'd like, but my wife won't so I usually skip out on them now. Campaign games also just never hit the table or don't get finished, so I stopped buying those even though I like them. Good video, and I whole heartedly agree.
oh yeah I'm okay having something that only occasionally plays. That's how Rebellion was for us for quite some time. But if potential isn't a thing for years? I feel my shelves are better served with other games.
Good advice. Ive fallen into this trap. Buying games I THINK ill like without being pragmatic. Ive realised i dont like long set ups or overly long games. Even theres games like War of the Ring and Star Wars Rebellion that I love. Its just like you said, they dont hit the table due to set up and play time. All the best for 2023!
Timely video in the case of Kingdom's Forlorn for me. I am pretty sure I wouldn't hardly ever play it but I currently have a Core Pledge and am following the campaign closely because of the hype. Hopefully I will use my brain and cancel my pledge before it is over.
IMO, for any game if there's a doubt, don't. There's enough great games out there where I feel just backing those is plenty on it's own. In my case, we don't play what I think we WILL play enough, so if I think we might not play it then that's just extra sure.
I think the kicker for me was Quakolope's recent video where a girl was reading her character introduction for like, ten whole minutes before they even did anything game related at all. And that was just ONE character. I would really love to immerse myself in something that deep, but I have to be real with myself and ask when tf would I actually have the time to dedicate to something like that. Not to mention, the writing would have to be DAMN GOOD to hold my attention that long.
I back wayyyy too many mini-heavy games, but I paint and I play a lot of mini-agnostic games , so it works out. Although I have started thinning my collection for lack of space and focusing on soloable games.
my biggest reggret is Shadows of Brimstone 1st edition first their all in calles "Mine cart" was so successful they limited the number and added another one for +25$ then another ... up to 7 more, being very unlucky I paid the +175$ as it's the only one that was left. They totally avoided questions about the figurines, I HATE glueing figurines (mostly because I'm bad at it, and there's often a slight default and you can't put the piece perfectly), leaving people in doubt, finally ALL figures required moderate to complex glueing ... Then the waves ... Wave 1 only got 2 main boxes and very few add ons. Wave 2 had all the rest. Times passed so much they created a wave 1.5 but you have to pay 99$ of shipping ... we discovered they had underestimated shipping to Australia and this 99$ would fill the gap!!! The game itself, if you follow each and every rule is rather non fun, rules for movement will hamper the players because the one higher in initiative can move slowly, blocking the others for example.
When I played Brimstone with a group, we played the city phase without rolls, quick sell/buy/heal and move on. More on the topic, I have expansions from KS that I didn't play and I know I won't. Now I'm not only backing less projects, but I'm totally skipping expansions and extra content and I don't feel I missed anything when the game arrives.
I needed to hear this. The last is I backed was infinity tag. Dollar backed a few that ultimately passed on. I’ve only received three out of the twelve I backed in 2020. Now I find if I truly need a game I will wait until it hits retail or eBay
That's a solid move actually. The KS fluff is actually rarely making the game distinctly better (though sometimes it does). You get it cheaper and aren't out money for 2+ years for it.
Me too! I went all in on Mythic Battles Pantheon and Ragnarok for the minis. I do love Pantheon but none of my family plays regularly and I have yet to find a consistent gaming buddy.
Ugh on Rising Sun, I say that because I'm certain that your sharing the excitement about painting the minis may have been contagious. That said a certain player count Rising Sun scored high on Tom Vassels top 10 list.
Good talk. The collector/completionist in me is the problem. I rarely play with expansions unless they just add "more stuff" for theme and variability yet... I want it all. Base pledged Lords of Ragnarock and my brain is twitching about staying there when the pledge manager opens.
In some situations expansions can add a lot such as increasing the enemy variety or opening another playmode but other times they don’t see the light of day. That’s me and the Carnomorph expansion for Nemesis. Have not touched it once.
i’m thousands deep on shadows of brimstone. i started painting back in the summer and i have this overwhelming sense of guilt because i can’t play while it’s incomplete (missing expansions) and while half is unpainted. help!
The other problem I have is, I love campaign games, my group loves campaign games. However because of that when games get played, only campaign games get played. All the other games I have don't get played, because Campaign games tend to take up to months if not years depending on when people are available.
i clicked cause Starcadia. I own this and Arcadia Quest ans SQ isn't played at all, yet we love AQ very much. I thought i need to have it, since it's a sequel to the game i enjoy, but in the end the "streamlined" AQ, as that what they said about SQ is, is just a worse version of AQ. It's seem that i had some expectations towards SQ that weren't fulfilled. Also to the point you made, i'm rather in lower end of numbers of games i play these days, my collection grows in slower and slower pace each year, sometimes even regretting buying some of the titles. It got to the point that i'm questioning almost every decision leading to passing some KS campaigns. Anyway, thank for sharing, it's good to now that even owners of such impressive collection do have some second thoughts.
I stuggle with this very thing. I have over 500 games not including expansions. I probably got maybe a 1/4 of them on the table. It's always the same 4 to 5 games that get pulled. I keep the others Incase one day the mood will change. I also like to collect certain games for collecting purposes. Like KDM. I have EVERYTHING (game related) released up to wave 3 and 4 and GC and COD. Base game the only thing opened. ALL expansions are still wrapped in their brown boxes. I refuse to open and build them, cause the sheer value of them sealed vs opened. I dunno, I keep buying them tho, and not selling, trading, or gifting what I don't use. I LOVE having them, ALL OF THEM, at same time how much money am I throwing away truly. It's a head scratcher.
I stopped reading the update mails during the campaign and check back before the campaign ends if it still interests me. The one dollar pledge or the retrospect as soon as the games arrive are also great insights in the comments here.
I did not waste money on Shadows of Brimstone Adventures. However, I did avoid wasting money on their Weird West games. I don't need to buy the older game while I wait for the newer game to ship.
Great video. I've done a lot of similar retrospective throughout the pandemic. While I disagree with your take on some of these games, that also boils down to differences of opinions. As an example, I get Nemesis to the table about once a month and we've never had anyone take the goal of killing another player. Sometimes folks have been greedy, but we take it almost as a meta-objective to make sure that everyone survives even if we're technically playing semi-coop. I completely agree with Forbidden Fortress. There's just too much content there. I had gotten into Shadows of Brimstone to scratch a Deadlands itch. It's a decent game, but there's just too much there. It doesn't hit the table often often enough. At this point I think I've managed to limit my incoming games (though will have delay until that takes effect because of KS) and honing down to shelves of games that hit the table regularly. My next step is figuring out how to best purge my collection of the games that don't get to my table that often.
It's the length more than the content actually :) For us with Forbidden Fortress the town phase warrants it's own play session, or close to it and is a decent size setup time so we'd have to pull it out specifically to play the town phase which is something we just don't do. Oathsworn city phase is not a big set up and actually goes pretty swiftly from what I played so wouldn't be an extra session just for it :)
Back smarter - or not at all. I personally haven't backed anything since September (Arydia) and don't think I missed out on anything. I have at least one kickstarter game coming in every category I love and that should be more than enough for the time being. And I have big boxes standing here I haven't played since last summer like Drunagor that made me realize that it's the quicker games like Space Base or it's a wonderful world or Marvel Legendary that actually makes it so the table. I'm definitely looking forward to ISS Vanguard or Nova Aetas Renaissance and I'm pretty sure I will play them - but I don't need any more that are in the same price class...
I like to setup a game and leave it out. That removes teh setup/tear down time. If I couldn't i probably would never play because my time for gaming is so limited.
Yeah for sure! Once I get a dedicated game room in about a year I hope to have a game on the table pretty much always. Though if I want to swap games it doubles the time, now have to tear it down and set up the new one :D
I recently came to that conclusion with TI4. I never got to play it and realized that it probably won't ever happen as well due to the other games that make it to the table, player count, and commitment of time needed to play the game.
I played Marvel Champions with my nephew and learned that I can't stand long 'downtime' between turns. Drives me crazy watching other people figure out all the math involved while I've already got what I plan to do next figured out. Played Twisted Fables with him and it was much better. Not sure if you'll come back and check the comments now this vid's been out a few days, but I'm curious if your dislike for the city-phase had any bearing on why you didn't like ISS Vanguard? It does have a pretty hefty ship-phase. That, and it's less dungeon-crawling fighting monsters and more exploration. Anyway, have a great day!
I still read just about all of the comments I get :D I just have time to reply properly sadly. Good that you learned that! To answer about ISS, partially. Much like how you don't like the long downtime, I don't like when during any downtime I can't see what the other people are doing. It's one of my issues with app games as they poke away at their phone I can't see. So passing the binder around was a deal breaker as well. I can't just sit there and hear someone talk about options while looking at my hands or the ceiling or the back of my eyelids :D Happy Friday! Enjoy your weekend Steve :)
@@TheKingofAverage That makes sense. It's good to find out what you like and what you don't, but like you said in the video: figuring that out can get expensive. Thanks Michael, you too!
This is all so true. You don't have to buy a kickstarter games with all the expensions. The core box + SG is most of the time more then enough. But then FOMO hits hard and you say to yourself "I'm only getting this one expension. Now it's 180$... All-in is 230$. Might as well get that". If only those KS games where that 'cheap' but nowdays it's more like 400$ + 100$ for shipping.
I thank Zombicide Invader for my common sense. It arrived, it was massive and my wife wasn't impressed 😂 I realised quickly that I don't need many games and that I need to play them frequently or what's the point. I plan a solo or game night once a week and cycle through all my games which takes months. It's bloody tough but thankfully Kickstarter got expensive and OTT so it's easier to pass.
I usually only back games that are insta back for me. If I have a slight hesitation that means I probably wouldn't enjoy it as much as other games in my collection.
I also didnt like the semi-coop of nemesis. We took out all of the mutually exclusive objectives and play it as a full coop "everybodies things need to get done" game. You miss some of the intended elements of the game that way but its an ok compromise for us.
Let them go dude....it will swallow you whole after a while. I have gotten rid of around 8 games total over the last few weeks. It really makes you feel good if you haven't played a game in a year. I usually have two games running at all time. One on the table and one on the floor.
an unplayed great board game is just that, a dead box. Sell. Avoid niche games, there is insufficient demand for it when reselling. never ever back more than $1.
I only play solo. I have zero friends interested in board games and my kids call me a nerd 😂🤣 i love it tho. You'll be surprised how many games actually work better single player such as ISS Vanguard and Nemesis
Forbidden Fortress is fantastic, Brimstone is my favourite dungeon crawler. But I understand if the town phase is not for you. But lots of people even expand it with Feudal Village expansion, in fact town expansions are one of the most popular and recommended Brimstone expansions. I also love the FB Brimstone community, the most passionate board game community ever!
oh yes it's very much a "me thing" in this regard. As I said in a previous video, a "great" game can be crap for me if it doesn't get played. Doesn't mean it's not great, it's just crap for me. Same thing here I suppose. I love the dungeon crawl part of it, I just wish we could skip the town phase to get right to it without a bunch of setup and such :)
@@TheKingofAverage You CAN skip the town phase- from the FAQ thread on BGG: "Q) Can Heroes skip a town visit entirely and jump straight to a new mission? If so, do they also skip the travel entirely? (If not, how many Travel hazzards are included) Answer: There are no specific rules for it, but Heroes may proceed directly to the next adventure without Travel or Town Stay."
Nooo I can't. It's like passing a side quest in a video game haha. And the idea of saying "hey I could set up the town phase and we play it for a bit and go buy cool items and such, or we skip it entirely isn't fun. I don't hate the town phase. I enjoy it. Just not enough to table the game just for it if that makes sense :)
@@TheKingofAverage To enjoy Brimstone fullest you need a ton of expansions, then the game offers an incredible variability and replayability, unlike other dungeon crawlers like Middara where you finish the campaign and you're done. And town phase can be really short, just buy what you want for money you got (exciting!) and you're done.. ;)
Since i live in a non-english speaking country the very first thing i look at in a board game is the language dependency. Or if there is some english on anything, then if it'll ruin the gameplay should the information be public or not. Sold so many games just because of this. And won't be able to try any of the story based games with a lot of people so i stay away from them. This is the second reason i like abstraced games. Mostly the minimal language dependency.
I agree, but seeing my collection, I have no clear answer to why some games hit the table and some others, that on paper are even better don't. My rules for KS is now, it has to be something that is appealing to my gaming group and may not be released in retail. I do however, also evaluate how much I want the exlussives on some titles.
I have also looked at my shelf several times and looked at games I want to play but never will, I think the problem starts when you start to build a collection, sometimes I look and get overwhelmed to the point of not actually playing anything because I have to much choice. I have stopped backing stuff with all the expansions like Euthia I just backed the core set, would I like to buy it all, yes, would I actually play it past the core box, probably never, so I am wasting my money getting the whole lot. I tend to look at expansion a lot harder now than just buying the whole lot.
I think that's a smart move. I recently felt like that outside of gaming even when we got some storage to help sell the house. If stuff had just been sitting there, do I really even need it?
