Mosaic Review: Quick Turn Civilization Game 

Thanks for letting us know you are glad you backed this. Gratz!

I tried it at 2 players when it was on KS, and I almost didn't back it because of that experience. They do have a variant to constrain the map for a small number of players, but the card market stagnated, and it took a LOT of turns to get through the decks. I don't know whether those issues have been fixed.

@@lisamarin8836 The game wasn't balanced back then. That issue was absolutely solved.

It's really great at 2 players! Super fast and really exciting.

I disagree. I just purchased this and had all those problems.

The map shrinks with 2 and the game is phenomenal IMO

Designer here, so maybe biased: Mosaic is much more robust with lots more diversity of strategies and no game feeling the same, compared to Scythe, which I find scripted. I haven't played Tapestry, but from what I've heard, Mosaic is far more balanced, so the games are always tighter, and no OP starting civs/ leaders.

I loooove Scythe and don't find it scripted at all, but it's a pretty different game. I feel like Glenn did a great job of taking some of the best parts of several different games and fitting them into a seamless, quick package. Mosaic (which I've only played once, at GenCon) doesn't scratch the engine-building itch that Scythe does. It is similar in that you can have as much or as little player interaction as you want, and that you can take different strategic paths, but how production works is pretty different. It's a table hog (like Scythe), there are lots of moving parts that seem overwhelming at first (like Scythe), but it isn't overwhelming at all after a few rounds (like Scythe). I think it plays a little quicker. I'm super glad my Super Massive Edition is on its way and I think it's poised to get a lot of table time around here. (Haven't played Tapestry, can't speak to that.)

@@adamphelps9612 I played Mosaic today. It feels like Earth with civilization themes. Mosaic has multiple paths of victory because in certain ways, you gain points from multiple paths. Scythe appears to be more brain-burny party because it has an extremely strong area control elements.

TTS is a pain in the ass for games like this. We're never doing that again. It gave people the wrong impression of this game. Setup takes about 10 Minutes. Game Time is 2 hours. Totally worth it!

The setup is easily the most irritating part of the game. I have a medium-sized Miniature Market bag that I use as a draw bag, and I just fill the board from the bag left to right, while placing drawn special tiles similarly left to right, top to bottom. That removes the absolute *IDIOCY* of flipping tiles over repeatedly.

Soon

I like all three very much...but to be honest, I like Mosaic just a bit more.

Let me answer you by asking you back similar question : Why would you want to watch Marvel movie over Jurrasic World movie or Lord of the Rings ? Tip : Because they are diffrent products.

This one can accommodate more players and is not as long. Would be better for a casual game night

Yes, its a big box but unlike other games, all the space is used to contain the insane amount of pieces. If they would have made the box smaller, pieces wouldnt fit together.

We are launching the Expansion Kickstarter October 13, and will have some Premium Colossus Editions for sale during that KS

It's because there are "Nine pillars of civilization: science, economy, food, population, building, culture, government, military, and urbanization" and which you choose to focus on, some deeply, some lightly, creates your unique mosaic of elements for your civilization as you play. The map board even has a mosaic tiled look to it.

Many have enjoyed it at 2, and personally I think it plays great at 3.

@@simonmounsey4191 I am going by the BGG ratings... Seems to be preferable at higher player counts...

@@dddmmm21 preferable, sure I can see, but I don't think it's one of those where you might as well not play tbh. I will be curious to see if that player count vote changes once more people play though

Ha, that's the thought I had while watching this review. "This could have been a card game".

@@uplift-yourdailypickup6424 Not at all! The area majority and board development is a key part of the game.

Yeah, I don't see that "could have been a card game" at all. The set collection is just one of many important pieces.

Review it when you get back from essen 👍

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U should see Glenn’s painted set then. Stunning. These minis can definitely be painted.

Yes, they can definitely be painted. The ones shown in the Dice Tower playthrough look like ceramic or metal after they've been painted.

Why would you assume they can't be painted? People paint these sorts of minis all the time.

The Mediterranean was a hotbed of Civilization development in the Bronze Age and Iron Age as well: Egypt, Minoans, Sea Peoples. The reason that we chose it was that it was home of several of the most famous Civilizations: Greek, Roman, Egyptian, Phoenician/ Carthage, Gauls, Persians/ Assyrians/ Babylonians. I wanted to also show the fertile crescent on the map, but it made it too elongated.

@@glenndrover5914 sure, Eastern Mediterranean is certainly part of this advent of human civilization. But Babylon, Sumer, Elam, Persia and the whole Tigris and and Euphrates region is missing (not to mention even Indus valley and China) and the game still includes the Hanging Gardens as a world wonder. This seems a little bit thematic disconnected. But maybe this wonder could also be the Hanging Gardens of Gregovia? Although the level of advancement in Celtic Gaul compared to Mesopotamia was very low. The presentation is just very euro-centric, what probably makes sense in regard to marketing. But I think I might like the game anyway as it seems right in my alley. And I'd be happy to try it in Essen naext month. I also like Great Western Trail although it bothers me that you have to drive cattle east to Kansas City and then ship it westward to San Francisco (glad they fixed it with the Rails to the North expansion - don't know who it is in the new edition). And it was a reason, I didn't buy it (also didn't need to as a friend in my gaming group owns it). It might be pedantic, but as a scholar of history it makes me cringe when such little historical details are off.

My 14 year old was pretty nitpicky when he saw the board in terms of history too, but after he played it he was hooked. (He was complaining about the Scythe map last weekend, trying to figure where the heck in Europe it is supposed to be...) I think if you're not making a historical wargame, the designer will often have to make some concessions--to get a printable map, to get enough factions for six players, etc. To me it's a civ game, not civ re-enactment.

They are the same initially, but gain unique powers through technology.

@@glenndrover5914 Thanks, Glenn. I thought there might have been more than Tom mentioned.

There's also siege engines if you buy that technology, which give you a scoring boost in a region by negating the opponent's city influence there.