Truly hope more companies include 3D terrain in their games, even just cardboard like this one. It really does such a good job of elevating the whole experience and making the game feel premium, and when it's cardboard it actually kinda bridges the gap between the cardboard play board and the plastic miniatures. Very cool!
I'm with you on this one. Looks great, but I swore not to get any more campaign games after failing to resist late backing Oathsworn, Isofarian Guard, and Aeon Trespass. Not to mention I still have Gloomhaven and Sword & Sorcery untouched on my shelf. Just started Folklore: the Affliction though!
You might want to note this : "Call to Arms Backers When we asked for your help months ago with the Call to Arms, we announced that for those who joined the initiative, in addition to giving precedence in the Fulfillment phase of wave 2, we would be given the Conversion Kit to use Hyperion also in BRW. Now as we have just described, the Conversion Kit has been integrated directly into the expansion to make it in effect a Crossover expansion between NAR and BRW! For this, we have decided to further thank the backers who have supported us in time of need, giving a $10 bonus credit to all who will join us in this new adventure. So if you have joined the Call to Arms and you will join the NAR KS by choosing any Pledge Level, when we open the Pledge Manager you will find a $ 10 credit to spend in the way you prefer, even to pay the shipping fee!" - recent update found on Black Rose Wars KS.
I also have to look for reasons not to back projects I'm interested in. In this case it was easy though - I missed the early bird. That loss of value will always do it.
Thanks for review. Just to note that during Dungeonology - during KS campaign - they said it will be 2-wave shipping for everyone, and that shipping will be charged twice, first for wave 1 and after for wave 2. I considered this strange at the time, since I have not seen anyone do it before, but I believe they were trying to deliver something so it can be played by backers until SGs can be playtested and fully developed. Looks like they abandoned that kind of model in campaigns after, since DEI and NAR will be only one wave. It is true that extra unexpected shipping came for BRW, but it was optional, and they said they will deliver games to all backers and not only to those who payed extra shipping, but those who payed extra will get it first.
/hi5 for covering all the potential issues; you and KoA keeping it real! That said, I didn't back so there wouldn't be temptation. Now that it has been a few days and the new shiny effect wore off, I'm not at all interested. All possible issues aside, I think people are making the right call skipping this one. 👍
they just put out wave 2 dungeonolgy with extra new expansions saying it was almost ready to go. And after they closed down their second pledge manager said it would be at least march. That's new proof from after the Black Rose Wars extra shipment payment scandal.
Thanks for the video! My main worry is the complaints I've read on their previous games that use the same or similar mechanics, I'll keep it for now since I have the early bird but maybe I'll drop it before it ends.
I am sorely tempted by this as the setting looks incredible and I love the approach to terrain, however, I already have a lot of games fighting for time on the table. Amongst those games fighting to table time are many with campaigns and stories delivered in various formats. The final nail in the coffin for my decision is the previous issue regarding the studio's conduct towards previous Kickstarters. Admittedly I am at the stage where I think I'll probably be grabbing Freedom Five as it fills a couple of niches which aren't represented in my collection.
I appreciate your transparency and breakdown of the LMS issues. I had only heard of the poor translation problems, til a few weeks ago when I read a bit more about them having other issues. I really do want to play their games tho. Pretty much all of them look great. I'm still passing on this b/c I too am resisting campaign games, which leads me to... I also appreciate you having excuses not to back things lol. I may have said this in a previous video's comments, but I was the same way and had to come up w/ a formula to decide for me on what to back or not back, including even the most petty criteria. It's both very relieving and very heartbreaking lol.
Lol yes. There are just too many games... So I will look for basically any excuse to pass on Kickstarters. Don't get me wrong... When I really want a game I really want a game
Thanks for the video. I pledged on this but cancelled my pledge after I made a decision to not back any more dungeon crawler campaign games. NA:R does look pretty awesome tho. On a side note, the other LMS game I mentioned D.E.I. is actually open to late pledge until December 15th (I said it was closing on October 15th and then checked the KS updates I saw they had extended it about 30 minutes earlier) and it would be neat to get your thoughts on that (Mainly in the hopes you can tell me I didn't make a mistake going all-in ;-) )
Alex - nice review, thanks! What I plan to do because I really like Black Rose Wars is to buy the all-in and see what the reviews will be. If just so-so, then ill sell the base game and keep the expansion for BRWs. I should get my $ back and then some to cover at least shipping. If it turns out to be a great game, i'll just keep everything.
Man the backer numbers for this kickstarter have plummeted today. Think your lukewarm reception to this one has had quite an impact Alex. Nothing wrong with it though, I thought you brought up very fair points covering this game and this company. Thanks as always!
I recently late backed Stormsunder and Aeon Trespass Odyssey. I think i will pass on this one. I will still check big campaign games on kickstarter but will focus on backing more games that are easier to get to the table like Endless Winter,Yedo deluxe,Planet Unknown,Grand Austria Hotel+expansion. Thanks for the video!
@@BoardGameCo this is actually why I like the Hellboy board game so much. It's stubborn commitment to one-shot play in an era of massive campaign games makes it a no-risk choice when you're in the mood for some dungeon crawling
Another excuse not to back is that the game mechanics are the same as Sine Tempore, which if I recall correctly from one of your videos, you sold without trying.
That Baby looks more like a baby version of the bonus stretchgoal from the Dungeonology Campaign. And having a closer look, one can see that its more a baby Faun or Spriggan One can even see horns and a tiny "goat foot" (don't know how that's called in english)
I never back Kickstarters with an early backer with an exclusive or discounted rate that others cant get because they did not sign up for the first week.
pretty sure the Medicio will stay. Dungeonology had a lot of cameo Freddo (Night King from GOT) and Encrico (Indiana Jones) as well as Yoda lookalike ,Nova Aetas with a Jon Snow character. When they use "alternate names" it seems to be a copyright loophole
I was a Titan EB pledge and dropped in the final hour to just the Magister pledge for the BRW content. I own both Sin Tempore and BRW and after having paid out of goodwill the CTA extra shipping for the BRW stuff I just couldn't stay engaged in this campaign. Thankfully, DEI and Dungeonology were not my cup of tea so it was easy to take a break from LMS. Hoping myself and the 788 other Magister pledgers don't somehow get screwed.
This game does look amazing visually but I'm in the same boat where I have (at least) 3 or 4 campaign games coming in the next few years. It also looks like it relies heavily on dice results, with few things to mitigate these and with often high tresholds, which means your actions don't get the expected results a lot of the time... Idk it feels like it could be a game for me, but at the same time I'm much more excited about the games that I did back over the past year or so.
LMS killed their reputation and has to build it back up. Personally I hope they will. I'm not backing because I also have too many big games on the way, but I think LMS is trying to turn a new leaf.
In their position i would launch and deliver 1 or 2 smaller games first to clear their name. they got amazing artists and very good game designers at their disposal, its just their management and PR that is to blame.
@@denisloebner4882 Agreed! They did do Sherwood Bandits this year, but perhaps it would've been better if it wasn't in a separate "lite" brand of games.
@@cmchristensen true. and theyd need to be quick and deliver it asap to prove their reliability. they should also target the same audience that usually goes for the big boxes (so not too lite/cute). maybe something like a black rose wars set a watch like coop game. fully developed before starting the campaign.
For those who are still interested in backing this new Nova Aetas; today's update was a great example of 'a better, more refined game'. Here's a paraphrase: "In the original NA when a Hero eliminated an Enemy, the defeated foe left a Loot token on the battlefield that the Heroes, after spending 1 additional AP, could recover. Once the Loot token was taken, the player would draw a certain number of cards from the Resource Deck. Each card gave a certain amount of Resources in the form of Money or items useful for crafting....In NA:R, an eliminated Enemy will drop a certain amount of Reagents directly into the hands of the Heroes that go directly to the party. This streamlines the system quite a lot, and lets you concentrate on strategy....These cards, however, must be kept face down until the end of the mission, when you have probably accumulated a nice pool. The result of the Mission (how successful you were) will tell you how many of the recovered Reagents cards you can take home. A win will allow you to keep a large number or even all of them! While in the event of a defeat you will be able to keep a limited amount since the Heroes will probably have fled the battlefield hastily and thereby dropped a large part of their Loot! In both cases, the cards will be randomly selected, although some Heroes will have skills that will allow you to select your favorite Reagents." I'm excited to hear what other game play improvements they'll be implementing to reduce the fiddliness of the game.
Hey Alex, in your (assumed) upcoming video about whether to back Endless Winter, can you break down what we are actually getting in each backer pledge level. I'm really confused about the value of the highest tier and holding my pledge at 1 for the pledge manager until I can clearly judge just what I'm getting for all that money. The resin upgrade does nothing for me and I don't understand what benefit the cave drawings actually brings.
Maybe I've just missed it but are you going to have to break down that 3D terrain every time? That seems less than ideal if you do. Probably will end up backing out between their history, what I already have pre-ordered, and being more interested in tracking down Black Rose Wars over this.
Well, based on some of the video that was linked it seems like the 3D terrain is card that slots together which means that if you want it back in the box then you most likely will need to disassemble it. You could always keep it assembled and out of the box on a shelf or something though (Although it would collect dust...)
Yeah, my assumption was that they'd have to be broken down even with a fairly large looking box. Seems like that would make setup/tear down a real hassle plus durability concerns.
Yeah. I have a list of reasons not back any more projects from LMS 1- the extra shipping charges on multiple projects. Lying to customers for Dungeonology- pay the extra fee wave 2 is almost done- ok everyone paid - sorry there will be at least. 6 month delay in wave 2. Black Rose Wars- paympr we won’t ship. Oh wait we didn’t mean that pay and you will get your stuff before people who don’t. But wait we are stilling shipping everything at the same time. 2- poor translations to their languages. Oh we will get better and we’ll just as bad ( Dungeonology) 3- poor management of projects causing extended delays and then making customers pay more because it now costs more to ship- see 1 4- Promising to fix issues with their games bad cards, rules etc etc and then saying we will only get a pdf. Hen waffling back and forth on what customers should get. Producing replacements that are below the level of quality of original content. 5- Not producing enough product to fulfill backers Hidden Thorns expansion and when producing the product Peter on not sending it to customers so hey can save some money and holding it for wave two- which they charge extra shipping on. 6- when they produce add one and they do not meet what was sold pink dice instead of red dice (sine Tempore). They fully ignore their customers and refuse to fix the issue or refund their customers. Do yourself a favor and avoid this company like the plague. There are plenty of other great companies and projects to back.
So, a bear walks into a bar, and asks for a gin.......... ............. ............. ..... and tonic. Bartender asks, "Why the big paws?" Fine it's better when spoken, sue me.
Love the art, love the renaissance style, you gave me plenty of reasons to skip...knowing that Chip Theory has something coming, think I will save for that.
Oooh I'm trying to get more information on it but only found the announcement, could be very interesting indeed. It seems it will launch before NA ends so I can wait to see what it brings ^^
@@Skarpo89 Burn Cycle is the new game their making. If you go on their RU-vid page you can find some long streams uploaded and one of them has a detailed explanation of the game. You will have to move through the vid to find it. They also have a Hoplomachus Reprint coming sometime after that.
I had the same mindset as you, while the project was on KS, but they just opened up late pledges and I'll admit I do have an itch. Have you stayed strong and kept away from backing it?
You forgot Starcadia Quest. The Kickstarter exclusive has "Back to the Future", "Star War", and figures from other movies as well. Also the game has Italian theme, so Ezio Auditore should be a better fit than Altair.
Yes, there for sure have been many that made it through. But specifically with Star Wars there have been some that didn't. It's a risk, not a guarantee.
I will not back their games. Too many shipping issues and their final products, while dead sexy, I don't feel like they make memorable experiences. I will reserve judgement on Black Rose Wars since I haven't play it but I'm just worried if this is another "blinded by beauty" situation. There are bigger experiences from more trusted publishers like awaken realms and chip theory. Thats next and probably the last big KS I will invest in. Games like this I need to be all in the second I look at it. Too many "epic campaign" just means a bunch of big boxes collecting dust. This game may hold its value, but is it worth your time trying to get rid of it especially with a massive shopping cost to send away? Not the best trade when potential buyer have to pay big time shipping.
The LM shipping controversy would keep me away from this if I did desire it. I'm just inundated with these types of games that I can't justify it as cool as it looks.
@@BoardGameCo Saw the Black Rose Wars shipping complaints.... no chance I'm backing this now. Maybe they should spend a few PR dollars talking about how they're going to make this time better.
@@jonathanmcintosh3761 no I just think they said something to the effect of making everything smother for everyone. I didn't look into it just heard it in passing
First of all, thanks for a great channel that has helped me greatly as relatively new to the hobby :). As I am building my collection I would love to have a dungeon crawler in it. My budget only stretches to one of either Nova Aetas or Machina Arcana. Which one would you recommend and why? Thank you in advance and keep up the great work!
I was really interested in Nova Aetas.. yes it looks to be a bit over complicated in places but looked right up my street. However I'm petty and missed the early bird and so would end up paying the same and get less for essentially the same risk or as close too that it's insignificant. Am I the only person that is simply put off backing projects because you've missed out on early bird stuff?... so much competition and so many projects vying for my money and at 150 for Nova Aetas it can't afford to give me a single reason not to back it... and someone getting more than me for backing a day or so earlier on a project a year+ away is a reason.. yep petty but still hardwired into humans. I'd be interested to hear if early bird stuff can actually harm a games funding overall.. yes I can see the lure of "Funded in X minutes" but that's not the goal its the total that matters really?
Yeah, it will cost you 13$ more if you want everything. It can be a bad taste to miss out, but they are rewarding everyone who followed them on Facebook and set up notifications. People who were genuinely interested and were receiving advertisements for free
@@Martinsn Yeah I get the reason and this system to get people to back early is not as bad as making the items purely exclusive to the early bird .. at least you can still buy it. I thought it was 20 but looking just now it's only 12 so are they tweaking it? but ultimately the actual cost is irrelevant it could be 1 for all I care... it's game content and not just upgrades to stuff or some non gameplay bonuses like an art book etc
Nova Aetas is the Fantasy version of SINE TEMPORE and THAT game was total crap: unclear rules, boring and unwinnable scenarios, ridiculous unfair probabilities during dice rolls, you name it. Crap crap crap. Why should Nova Aetas be different? They even use the same "one clock hand" initative system. And even the designers don't understood it and were unable to give any helpful explanations on BGG.
you're so right, we finally make our own rules for Sine Tempore... This game is a copy of Sine Tempore, a copy of Mandalorian, baby Yoda and Assassin's creed. They just need money in my opinion.
Wow. Until you mentioned it I NEVER got the Mandalorian connection. I was just glad there was another playable hero cause the healer sucked so hard in Ready Steady Plays Playthrough... 🤣 Got into this campaign rather by coincidence but I'll be staying in, guess it's going to be my kind of game 👍 no expansions though.
This game looks amazing, sounds amazing, and I believe for the price point (not taking into account additional shipping charge), is reasonable. But, I made a decision not to back anymore game this year. I reached my own limit of 8 backed project, and i have a couple of scenario games to go through, that will require my time first. The presentation is great, the content on the KS page is great and very enticing, but I took the decision to wait for 2-3 years and see if this one could be available for trade or sale at a good price. I have a few older game, with tons of content: Gloomhaven + Forgotten Circlet o complete, Shadows of Brimstone, Ultimate Mage Night, Fire team Zero, 7th Continent, Machina Arcana that I backed earlier this month, so... My list is quite complete... But if i didn't back Machina Arcana, despite the shipping risk, this one would have been om my list! Thanks again for another insightful, true to you, commented KS offer. I love your honesty and sharing of your board game love. Have a great day!
Laugh out loud😃, I agree with you on looking for excuses to not back games. I am the opposite, I avoid 1 shot games and go for sprawling campaigns/legacy games. I found an excuse not to back darkest dungeon. Too much blood and gore for my mixed gender group to play.
Don't know if you can do this but can you make a vid on shipping in general. Like why is it 34$ for shipping with this game, but then I can get free shipping with Amazon, or 10$ shipping when getting Chip Theory games. Why is it so random?
Backing 100%: 1. Just got Nova Aetas 1st edition cheap: if I like it, I'll surely like this streamlined and improved 2nd edition, if I don't, I'll surely be able to resell my pledge at cost or even small gain, 2. Allies+Divine/Nightmare cards SGs just unlocked both lower and higher counts (i.e. True solo + Allies[similar to Oathsworn's Companions mode] and 5-6 full Heroe human players), 3. Foreseeing delivery in Q3/4 2022 is perfectly fine and matches my pace: gives me a full year to enjoy 4 big games arriving early/mid 2021 and finish Oathsworn, it's closest Tactical Coop Adventure Campaign game, imo. + it's based on Italy!! Well, real map but slightly alternative medieval history :D
I backed Nova Aetas.. I can't tell you why though! I do have a random question... My wife and I are interested in a 1v1 game. Freedom Five or Twisted Fables, do you recommend backing one over the other?? Is there a another or better game you recommend? like skytear etc..
@@BoardGameCo Thanks I will look into Super Fantasy Brawl. We have been getting into board games this past year. Watching your vids has helped us out in our choices a ton!!! So thank you! p.s. I have 20+ KS board games pending because of content creators like you ;)
This game and ISS Vanguard will be my last games for the next 12 Months!! I promise this to myself. I resisted MD2, Dungeon Universals and Darkest Dungeon. Making progress. But on the way - Oathsworn, Arena, Middara, Aeon Trespass, Hel, Chronicles of Drunagor, Sheol......
If DIS catches a whiff, that miniature is dead in the water. I’d love to read the fair use arguments though since it obviously is not. 😎 (I focused on IP in law school). Best thing people can do is *not* to use certain words when posting/ typing about so it doesn’t hit search algorithms.
This games looks great, but I thought the bull figure was included. And, I am sick of every KS now has a $200 minimum all-in. So, I think I will drop my bledge, and put the money into MD2 expansions or to flush out another game I'm already backing.
@@BoardGameCo yeah well i rovoked my pledge. If they had those problems before then in these times of pandemy i figure it's not the risk I am willing to take. I am already waiting for my Tainted Grail 1 wave which is already like 1 year late now. Honestly, have you supported any campaign, which gone according to the plan?
I won't back any LMS game for the time being, until a foreseeable future where they have delivered on a number of games within reasonable delay and no questionable business practises like additional surprise shipping costs to get your SGs. I backed Dungeonology, was very disappointed with the game and on top of that the issue with the SG (who are also incredibly late and BRW SGs haven't even been delivered yet and they are like 2 years late by now?). When I started my journey on KS a couple years ago I was gushing over LMS-games since they seemed to represent the 'get crazy amounts of stuff for your money'-principle arguably even more than CMON - by now they are rather an example of KS-bloat to me personally where you get 5mio new miniatures and options which you won't use while simultaneously NOT delivering a game that has been properly finetuned and tested.
@@daodasbrot4817 No, I bought it off the secondary market, then did some research and in the end sold it unplayed since it seemed like it required some house-rules in order to play as smoothly as I'd like. Still, calling a game 'total crap' feels like a hyperbole considering it has nearly an 8,0 on BGG out of a respectable 300 reviews. Seemed to me that it's not very refined, but has the potential to be pretty enjoyable if you invest some time and effort.
Soooo...you have a bunch of games, and shipping might increase? Those are your criteria for deciding whether or not you should back a game?? Not what a reviewer should be doing--you should be going on the quality of the game. Period. Yes, you did qualify that with it's a quality game that will hold it's value, but...that's not what you based your backing it/not backing it decision. Not really appropriate for judging a game. Sort of like...best game ever made, but it's $100 over my current budget, so...don't get it? Not appropriate.
Welcome to the channel :) notice this isn't a review of the game at all, rather a discussion as to whether you should back it or not. Kickstarter is an expensive place :)
@@BoardGameCo I noticed. But not backing it for the reasons you cited was not terribly helpful. Poor game mechanics, low quality items or design, past history of poor games by a company--sure, those are valid reasons. But I have too many games already, and what if shipping costs go up?? Really, if that's you're criteria, you might as have not named a specific game--you should have just made a blanket statement about any and all Kickstarter games!
