Spirit Island: Setup 

Glad to help have fun!!

Glad to help!!

David this one is FANTASTIC! I think you and your wife would like it , it is a great 2 player game. The only "balancing" issues I have seen is playing solo, and that is just because you only have 1 spirit's abilities etc. So far, I have done all player counts and my favorite is 2 by FAR. 3 player was great too, but when you get to 4 player, there is just so much going on a lot can get lost in translation. I should say, when I played with 4, 3 were new so that may also be it. Anyways, thanks for watching!

VASTLY different Thomas! I actually tried doing a moderate difficult Spirit on Sunday, it was just so different I got destroyed! that is why if I am still using low difficulty for now :) Thanks for watching!

No problem hope it helps!!

Thanks so much Wesley! If you want to see a "negative" or less positive review, check out the Dice tower's review. And of course you are welcome for putting this together! I love doing this so much, so it is great to share a passion. Hey thanks for the email as well on Pandemic Legacy!! Have you guys finished it yet? I believe you were in December. Also just so you know we got permits for the Subway!! So we should be going on that trail in October, whohoo!!

I never watch Dice Tower anymore so I missed that negative review. Will probably finish Pandemic Legacy tonight! You should feel very fortunate to get permits! That hike is becoming so popular that it is almost impossible to get permits anymore, as people from all over the world are discovering it. In fact their own website says, "The Zion Wilderness has experienced a fifteen percent increase in the demand for Wilderness reservations and permits over the last 3 years. As a result of the increased desire for a Wilderness permits area reservations are quickly booked." Anyway, personal information aside, keep up the good work!

Get you on the Dice Tower. Tom LOVED it, Sam was OK with it, and Zee didn't really like it. I still watch them every now and again, but I agree they are not my main source of gaming info. YAY! I am so pumped to give it a shot, thank YOU for telling us about it so we have this opportunity!!! See you in a short couple of months! And GOOD LUCK with December in Legacy! Let me know hat your final score is!!

Thank you for watching!

Exactly and the theme is quite different to which I enjoy!

Wow thanks so much for watching and the nice comment! I really hope you enjoy the game, it is fantastic and I would recommend it to anyone who is looking for a rich solo or cooperative experience!! I will have to see what I did at 11:11 hahaha!!

Glad it helped!

Glad to help!

It seems we have similar taste! :) Glad you like this game so much, and thanks for watching!

Keeping you guessing Franck, that is my goal when doing this video's! Making you want to come back for more :) Thanks again!!

You are worse than a crack dealer Colin!!!

HAHAHAHA! You better believe it! Crack for the board gamer enthusiast!!

HAHA bummer, hope you bruise easily :) Good luck winning a copy!

Ha, yeah Kevin, I think this one is right up your ally. Great puzzle, amazing theme integrated into the gameplay. . . OH YES! Thanks for watching!

Yup your are right

YAY!! Hope you aren't freezing! You ever go to Fantasy Flight or the Source to play games?

YAY! So glad I was able to find a copy at the Game Steward!! Otherwise I would have missed this one. Thanks for watching!

Thanks for watching! I am currently at work and cannot check the kickstarter page, but if you go there you can see what is different. I am pretty sure it is just the promo spirits which you can purchase separately! Hope that helps!

One Stop Co-op Shop thanks man!

No problem! :)

I wish I knew I am sorry, I would suggest reaching out to Greater than Games to ask! I have no idea what the difference is between the 2 versions either. . .

Hahaha well there are some really Colin Kickstarter games out there! Check em out!

Eric Nexus this game is on retail right now and the expansion. No KS exclusives, just promo spirits which should be released in the future

Thank you for pointing this out! You are 100% right! it is around $70-$80 retail.

Sounds like you and I are right on track. This game is just phenomenal! I have yet to play Mage Knight, so I need to try that out before deciding which one I would "prefer" to play, but I will say this is a great game. I WISH I was playing with a scenario or advisory, but I am not there yet. In a month or so when I play the expansion, I will be including these in as well since I will have had more time to explore the game. So much to do, and not enough time to do it! hahaha!

Mage Knight flows really nicely and is full of the same kind of hand management puzzles that are tied into a geographical puzzle focused on combat. Here are the main differences, in my perspective: 1. Mage Knight is about exploration instead of widespread territory control. 2. Mage Knight has edge case rules you'll have to look up when you get to different aspects of the game. For example, in the later part of the game, you'll be fighting multiple monsters at once which requires understanding some combat nuances. This can be annoying if you don't play the game regularly enough to remember everything, but it makes the puzzle much more interesting and fun once it's in your head. 3. Mage Knight is much more interested in combos and using cards in multiple ways. That is a more satisfying puzzle to me than the one in Spirit Island at this point, but I need to play Spirit Island more before I can really reach that conclusion. Whenever I learn and love a new game, I usually spend a minute or two thinking, at some point, "Why aren't I just playing Mage Knight over and over again instead? Wouldn't that be better than the downtime spent learning a new game?" It's a constant conflict for me. If/when you play the game, use a video and printouts from BGG. I used Ricky Royal's videos and (I think) Universal Head's rules summary.

Oh this is SWEET! Thanks for the comparison! Seems like to me Mage Knight is the "richer" game experience, but for someone like me who is always learning a new game Spirit Island may be easier to get to the table. I will for sure be watching Ricky's playthrough but thanks for the suggested rule summary. I will be checking that out! Cannot thank you enough for this info though!! :)

Yes, there's a very good chance your instinct is correct. However, if the rules make a lot of sense to you, it may be absolutely perfect for you too. Some people can play through the game very quickly compared to me, even without lots of plays, and some find the rules pretty intuitive. I find 80-90% of the rules intuitive at this point, but some still trip me up on occasion. That's primarily because I don't play it twice in a row. My favorite way to play it is set up on a table over days, taking a turn here and there (a turn often take 10-20 minutes for me) whenever the toddler gives me that long. It stays set up while I play another game on another table, depending on the time/situation/mood. Each turn is SO satisfying. Accomplishing a lot in a single turn feels similar to winning a tough filler solo game. On another note, both of the expansions are truly excellent, but the base game has everything you need, forever. However, once you've added The Lost Legion, you'll never want to go back. Endless replayability. It looks like an adventure game like Swords and Sorcery, but it doesn't feel very similar at all. It's all about the mechanics, though the theme shows through. If your favorite mechanic is hand management puzzling and you like cards that may be used in multiple ways (these both describe me), Mage Knight is probably the best game. That said, I plan to play a lot of Renegade and Spirit Island to try to prove myself wrong. =)

Ummm , you just picked some of my favorite mechanisms of all time! Puzzle, multi-use cards, exploration/adventure. . . each turn feeling like a game in itself. . . agh. I gotta get my copy back from my friend ASAP. hahaha! Who knows if I go silent for a week or so you will know I am learning/playing Mage Knight! Thanks for all of this, getting me so excited! I so wish I had 2 tables to keep games up. . . Oh well each to our own right?

Oh Sam!!! That incredibly stinks!! Have you contacted them? I would assume they will send you replacements. Once you get over that, I have a feeling you will enjoy the game! Good luck!

Oh yeah, I'm not worried that they won't replace it and I can still play just fine for now. Really glad you have this video up already, will make learning it so much easier.

Good, and not a problem at all!!

I get you, and multi-player is great! I can certainly suggest 3 games but I need to know about what type of games you like. Thematic? worker placement? Strategy? Tactical? What makes you tick!? Tell me and I can see what I can do :)

Anything but tile placement (carcasssone, isle of sky, etc.) If you could only play three solo games this year what would YOU play?

Ohh good question. Nope this is a fully co-op game. This means the invaders are controlled by the game itself. you will see how it works in the playthrough! Thanks for asking!

I played for the first time (in a group of 4) and it's amazing. Can't wait to start soloing the game.

YES!! Actually I hope to start it maybe this weekend or next! So it should be coming soon. So glad you are enjoying the game it is my fav solo AND co-op!! :)

have you attempted more than 2 or the backside? what are your thoughts on those aspects?

Never ore than 2! And yes on the backside, I Will be doing the playthrough that way, backside with a scenario, advisory, all of that! More than 2 just kid of bogs it down I think, too much AP for me personally to do solo. The backside of the board provides you with a very different feel as terrain types are clumped together. It just provides replayability for me! I like both! I NEVER teach anyone on the thematic side though!

Cool thanks for that! I wil probably still call them this every time I play. . . hahaha Old habits die hard!

That is noted in the subtitles thanks.