Tom and Sam review this game from Wizkids 00:00 - Introduction 01:59 - Game Overview 10:52 - Final Thoughts Find more videos and reviews at www.dicetower.com
To anyone reading this; Go buy the Mage Knight Board Game if you haven't already. It is FANTASTIC! You could play it with 1-5 players (with an expansion) but I think I prefer it as a Solo player game. You will not find a better 1 player board game that has this much depth & replayability.
I bought this game as one of my first serious board games (I own 3 others) and after going through half the walkthrough, I don't think I can play this. It's just going to ruin every other game! God damn these rules are tight and well-written...
I don't usually play games solo, but when I do, I play this game. It is by leagues of distance the best solo game I own. In fact, I think it is the best game I own period. It's that good. Just keep in mind that even solo this game will take 3-4 hours to complete. I often split the game in half and finish it in two nights if I'm short on time.
Finally got the game after many months of eyeballing it. Love it! First, I'd say the rule books are the best I have ever seen. For a game as complex as this one seems to be initially, I never had a question that the rules didn't answer. It was also very easy to find that answer. Well written and well organized. Secondly, I'm impressed with the amount of thought that went into the theme. For example, when facing creatures with poison effects, you put a wound card into your discard pile so that later on it will pop up in your hand. The rules explain that this is because the poison is slow to take effect. While you don't "feel" it right now, later you will. Also, moving in the forest is harder at night than the day. The desert is easier at night. You are also forced to rest if you take too many wounds. Moving near rampaging enemies who are sacking the land will cause them to attack you. Tons of little details make this a "living" game. Probably the best attempt at a RPG/boardgame I've ever played. Incredibly fun solo if you are itching to do some exploration D&D style.
pros: -if you enjoy adventure games and love board games, it is the "must have" game -the depth is huge, interesting scenarios and you have a big control over what you do and decide in the game, also characters have different abilities and progression id fun -cool out of a box painted miniatures and other quality pieces -expansions adds content and more players cons: -the game is long to play, less people you have the better (it is 1-4 player game) -the price is maybe high for some people -if you are a person who don't like complex table games, maybe first watch RU-vid tutorials and see if you like it -maybe hard to find dedicated people to play the game other recommendations: for the first run it is recommended you play solo to learn rules of the game, before playing with your friends, trust me you make the game much more fun for everybody, go and watch tutorials on RU-vid if you don't like long reading of rules, but you will still have to look at them at time to time though
I thinh Mage Knight is a very good solid game, but it's not a game for everyone. With pacient and willing to spend some time with it, you get a very good sandbox / strategy / fantasy game, which has a lot of variations and a big re-playability. I thing as a sologame it's excellent, with max. 2 players it's fun, With more than 2 players it is too much of a game. I have the expantion and the Krang character and i played it with my group up to 5 players....finished the game after 2 days.....that was crazy. Greetings from Germany.
I throw away most inserts, but the inserts for this game are some of the best I've seen. I ending up separating the individual hero components (cards, counters) into bags, but the rest went back into the original inserts. The bags themselves fit just fine underneath the inserts.
Tom just said "THE COMBAT IS SIMPLE". @12:15 hahahahahahah. That is the biggest area of confusion, not just for me but for most of the comments I see about this game... I just got into this game not but a few weeks ago. It is a beast and engulfing all of my time into figuring out all of the little rules that are strewn throughout the game that you have to remember. Combat by far is the most complicated mechanic to figure out. Kudos to Tom who is far more experienced than I at this if "COMBAT IS SIMPLE".
Just got this... I can’t wait to play... BUT! I hate that you hate Talisman so much! I love that game! Great expansions ... great artwork... really simply to learn and teach... sorry if you think it’s boring , but it is a classic... fast Sunday afternoon game... don’t be a toad!
Almost all of the negative reviews of the game have come from the fact that there is to much down time and the rulebook is bad. I am glad to see that Tom was very happy with it, as I am picking up my copy today. Not sure if all my gaming group can play it though, due to the steep learning curve. Very excited now to pick it up though, so thanks Dice Tower.
Depends a bit on the pace of the game, if you use a dummy player (some sort of an A.I. that makes sure there is a bit of time pressure on the rounds) it'll take about 3 to 4 hours for solo or two players. If not, it could take a lot longer because you can keep delaying the next round. When I played it with 4 people and no dummy player, we were busy for 5 hours and still not done.
Just picked this game up (thanks to the reprint I have been waiting and waiting for. Been reading through the rules and I am very excited about getting to play this one soon. Good review, really helped make this purchase.
It's the end of 2018 and this is STILL ranked the People's Choice Number 1 Solo game of all time!! If you're a fan of solo board games, do yourself a favour and give this a try!! It is hard to learn but there's a massive community ready to help you learn and some brilliant video playthrough tutorials on RU-vid. But please understand: It's not a multiplayer game. It's a solo game with co-op and multiplayer variants 😉
@korrok If you have any trouble learning the rules, check out Ricky Royal's playthroughs or hit up the Mage Knight or Solo Boars Gamers Facebook groups and there'll be heaps of people willing to help you out 😊
Played this yesterday. Play the walkthru first!!! If you do, it'll walk you through all aspects of the game and then when you play a real game you'll know exactly what you're doing and it can be fun then. It did take 2+ hours to go through the walkthru, but we're ready for a full on game now. That being said, I'd let your friends buy it and then play their copy.
A Very timely review. I have been considering this. Still not sure though, since we have been enjoying Runebound recently, and the price of Mage Knight is a tad prohibitive. But I can now at least consider it with more confidence in deciding with your review. Since you both really enjoyed it, it has moved to a higher position on the 'games to obtain' list. Thank you both for your opinions and the review.
I would probably sell all of my MTG cards if they rebooted Mage Knight: Dungeons, seriously one of my favorite gaming experiences ever. Even the real thing (all three sets, and maybe more) would make an amazing DS/PSP/whatever game.
Took me 2 to 3 hours to play alone though. I guess it depends on your playing pace. I do tend to not hurry when playing games and enjoy thinking over all situations.
Bought this game a while ago, partially due to this review, it's a lot of fun both solo and with multiple people(if you have the time), though we've been only playing cooperatively since we're still new to it. Thinking of getting the expansion since more deed cards, another character and the mechanics of an invading army seems cool.
I've been doing some digging and can't seem to figure out what is the difference between Mage Knight and Mage Knight Resurrection? Also Mage Knight 2.0. I love this game and it's on my wish list for sure.
Loved the original Mage Knight, been wondering about this board game. Looks like a lot of fun, however it's probably too complicated for my crowd... I may check it out at some point though, thanks for the review.
I'm probably going to buy this. At first I was going to get risk [gods edition] but a google search of games lead me to a few games. I need to do a few other games before I pick a game. Anyhoot this game has picked my interest.
FreedomReigns1000 whatever you do dont get Dominion. there are wayyyyyyyyyyy better deck builders out there now, like Ascension...or maybe Ill sell you my dominion...played only once!
trickykid3000 Lol, you MIGHT be able to get away with claiming there are better deckbuilders than Dominion, but certainly not if you count Ascension as one.
I really enjoyed the solo version. It's a really advanced game of solitaire :). Negative thing is that there aren't many scenario's for solo play (compared to 2 players or more). Got to try out a two player scenario in solo sometime, maybe that works fine. Anyway, I love the game, the eyecandy and the 25,- coupon I bought it with :-).
Hello, I have a question. For a long time I have been looking for a fantasy competetive board game. I was thinking of buying Runebound but I cant seems to be enable to find it anywhere. Is there any other game that plays out kind of like Runebound? A game where you gear up, level up, exploring a land, fighting each other and finaly fights a big boss at the end? Thanks for any tips!
I've just watched this video, though I've seen it before. Reading through the comments I've found one written by me 8 months ago and I didn't remember that I've commented on this! Anyway, still haven't got the game but it's still on my list. Instead of this, I got Robinson Crusoe for Christmas. Another excellent game. But I want Mage Knight now!!!!!! :)
Mage Knight has a lot of different ways to reach a goal, but it isn't complex per sé. It's just challenging you to use your cards as efficient as possible, try to make it work one way or another. Twilight Imperium is more complex (I think) because you can't immediately see what's going to happen next turn. In Mage Knight, you often make a left/right decision which results in reaching an epic goal, or a less epic one. In T.I., a bad move can leave you severely scarred for the rest of the game.
I would now like to take this oppurtunity to point out one major flaw in the review. The deity at the bottom of a totem pole is actually the best and strongest of the deities depicted. That is why it is on the bottom. It is holding the rest up.
Manufacturing and shipping costs. Each one of those cards, board pieces, and miniatures costs money to make, and with so many components you see a large jump in price. This also makes the package heavier and bulkier, and thus more expensive to ship. Then the publisher takes their cut, and the creators have to make money too. Further, that cost never goes away, because each box has a set manufacturing and shipping cost that doesn't go down with time.
GreenDragon: If you don't need Coop: Descent 1st edition (expensive, out of print!) Descent 2nd edition (tho i loike 1st better) And i think there was something dungeons and dragons castle ravenloft or somethin ;)
I know.... I'm from Mexico and it's very difficult found some figures of MK. I love the old version... do you know how can get figures of the old version? Or where can buy some figures?
Iaadpgg92 Normally they give games a score out of 2 thumbs. I.e. 2 thimbs up means it's a fantastic game!! I think they enjoyed this game so much they went above their normal '2 thumbs up' to ensure people understood this game is in a league of its own thus the "awefully close" to a '10' comment at the end :) Having played the game myself, I can attest to this. It really is a masterpiece. Whilst the expansions are also brilliant, the base game has a tonne of replayability. Warning: This is an absolutely incredible solo game (play by yourself, alone). I would not bother attempting to teach or play with anyone who isn't already a fan-they'll just get frustrated or comfused and it'll affect the experience. So keep that in mind 😉
I've been looking for a solid, proper board game which plays well as a solo game with a theme I like (like fantasy, for example) and judging by this review and the comments, I think I have just found one! It's a bit pricey but it's on my list now, just have to wait for a bit. Maybe for Christmas. Any Secret Santas out there?
jaklarnurnich: Funny, first time i played it i didn't like it because it felt too short :D Now i got motivated to pull it out again, and in the later scenarios the game realy can develop and starts beeing fun^^
No it really doesn't... A solo conquest takes about 90 minutes to play. And if you have separate bags for each of the characters, set up and clean up is even faster... But I understand where you are coming from.
Then again, I haven't really played Mage Knight in a non-cooperative way with other players. In Twilight Imperium you are encouraged to attack (otherwise you miss out on the goodies). So... hard to say what exactly makes a game complex.
These Tom and Sam give great reviews. And I have watched their videos before I bought my games. And the best place to get a good deal on games is, cool stuff inc. check it out you might love it. And guys great review. Appreciate it :-D
Someone had just gotten this before our last game night. We tried to go through the walkthrough to learn the game and it just fell flat. I think it ruined it for me. To me it felt like a solo game where I had to quit and watch other people for a bit. Also, very prone to AP. Maybe if someone who knew what they were doing showed me how to play I'd give it a go. I was really surprised to see such a glowing review
Mage Knight has about 20 really interesting mechanics but they just don`t fit together! You can play any card for anything? Great! But that you don`t have enough cards to accomplish anything that way. Deckbuilding element? Great! But not if you play your deck four times only, adding 8 cards at the most! Scenarios? Great! But that you never (never!) get to finish them. Not to mention that who goes last loses because he gets no monsters, therefore no fame at all, keeps slow, badly equipped...
Fibr3Optix same here. It seems that most people either love it or hate it. With the expansions and some house rules I've honed it into something amazing.
Fibr3Optix I Iove Talisman too. You're right. It has evolved beyond just a luck-of-the-dice-roll game. A big chunk of my childhood went into playing Talisman back in the early 90s. But now at 31, I have no one to play with :(
I'm looking for a game in this style, Dungeon crawl/Adventure. Could anybody give some tips on good titles? Talisman are not what I consider a good one
Love the contradiction of the sunny, outdoor, fresh air imagery of Miami Beach, only to find yourself holed up in a basement playing boardgames with two middle-aged dudes! Minor niggle, these guys are great.
Talisman... don't get me started! Thank goodness no one, except for the noobs at board to death, has done a review. Sorry FFG, you should have left it alone!
Interesting use of wound cards to clog your deck, similar to curse cards in Dominion. Suggest you mention near the beginning the goal or how to win the game. This might explain how all the components are important. Otherwise it seems like meaningless mechanics.
This game was too complex for me right now. I just don't have the time and/or the energy for it. I learned it, played it with a group, and it didn't feel worth it. Wizkids has a terrible component replacement policy. They know different print runs have damaged or missing components. If you want replacements, for free, you have to tell them exactly which components and within 90 days of purchase which they will know because you have send them your receipt. If you don't do this you have to pay them for replacement components. I don't think I will purchase any Wizkids products from this experience.
I have used recieved replacement components other companies. They don't have a time to ask for them, they already know exactly which pieces needed to be replaced, and don't ask for a receipt. I have even received replacement components for items that I have lost, for free. Considering there are companies with better replacement policies, I don't have to deal with Wizkids.
I love this game but it really isn't an easy game to put on the table...it can last well over 6 hours, and if there is any new players you'll have to loose another hour explaining all the rules
