Stars of Akarios Review - Hyperflop 

I've played this with twelve different people and they all have really enjoyed it. One group of 4 players I played with (I sometimes just was helping them learn the game, and other times sitting-in for a mission) asked to play this repeatedly over the course of a long camping trip to the exclusion of many other games we'd brought, and we played over 15 scenarios. Personally I was unaware of the kickstarter or any "hype", but played this at a friend's house and immediately fell in love with it and bought a copy. Big fan of GH too, I've played the entire campaign plus Forgotten Circles. What I really liked about this one: 1) Short scenarios (typically completed in 1-1.5 hours with 4 players, whereas GH scenarios typically took us 4 hours) allowed multiple scenarios per game night. 2) Rolling dice then assigning them to take combat actions is fast and fun. It's a nice mental break from the thinkiness of GH-style card-driven combat. 3) Being able to intersperse actions with other players is fun. 4) The fact that it's important to try to get shots at the enemy from their rear facing adds an element of positioning and maneuvering that is interesting and absent in GH. 5) The world exploration and galaxy exploration is pretty light, which makes it a nice break from the intensity and thinkiness of space combat missions. I certainly found a sense of wonder in that you never know what you are going to find on a new planet. 6) The writing does remind me of Heinleins's Starship Troopers, which I enjoyed in my youth. 7) The components are just beautiful, with the double-layer player boards especially being very nicely designed and attractive. 8) Really like the attack modifier deck and pilot skill progression (similar to GH "perks" system). RPG-like character leveling is one of my favorite game mechanisms. A few criticisms: 1) The writing isn't novel quality by any means - it's on-par with GH. 2) The world exploration doesn't have the 7th Continent action-deck mechanics, it's a vastly-simplified "skill-test-based" sort of system. So it isn't as interesting as 7th Continent. 3) The space combat got too easy for us after a while, especially given that you can escape a major hit by critically-damaging one of your ship systems (like losing a card in GH to dodge a powerful attack). We are going to raise the difficulty of space combat next time we play (there is a built-in mechanism for this, I think increasing the strength of enemy attacks and maybe their hull points?).

at this stage I'm happy to see a new NPI video regardless of content!

Bro you got me dying laughing at “Splendor” listed under your Zombie cardboardtier. Nice.

In space you'd actually have a way easier time just spinning your ship around on the axis than trying to bank like an airplane given there's no air... But also then the game would have to keep track of momentum so airplanes it is...

A Memory Called Empire and its sequel were the best books I read last year. If you ever start a book review spin off channel I'd subscribe!

While I knew of this game when it was getting crowdfunded etc it didn't really tick any boxes for me so I let it be, however I really do appreciate NPI's thoroughness and watched this whole thing out of curiosity - I was pleasantly surprised by the comments you made, Efka, regarding the nuance of learning from "bad" media for your own betterment. As both a writer and an aspirant game designer I will say that the notion of reading a bad book for a few quid vs spending a lot on a game like this is a daunting comparison! You did a grand job, to me at least, in highlighting how taking "working" mechanics doesn't translate from game to game whilst retaining the actual "fun" factor. It gave me a lot to think about. I appreciate the work you put into this and I acknowledge that it stressed you out so thank you. Love this channel's work!

Amazing review! Thank you for taking your time and entertain me once again! Big fan of your channel!

«The stones, nay, the moons!» Thank you, sir! I badly needed that laugh.

The thumbnail for this video is gold. Bravo.

The last few minutes were incredibly precise, thank you for keeping it in! (the rest was excellent but just glad you put it in there as a final statement of quality)

Thanks, this is great! Would love to see an Oathsworn review as well, especially with the reprint coming up

BAHAHHAHAAA LOVE THE TIER LIST! (And of course the bun 🙌)

Thank you for another in-depth and thoughtful discussion of not just one game, but the broader field of game design.

I just came to comment that I love the thumbnail 🤣 I’ve already seen a review of this game. And the tier list at the beginning is hilarious. Good work.

I'd love to see your review of ISS Vanguard when it comes out!

Thank you so much for this video. I've been on the fence with this game for months and your taste seems to be very close to my own based on the games you've reviewed in the past. You saved me $200!

A 35 minute review yet everything you say is on point, informative and entertaining. Proffesional stuff Efka, good job.

Very entertaining review, thank you. All honest and smart points you've raised but still a game I could dream of playing. Lets see what version 1.5 will offer in November this year. The space atlas book replacing the cards for exploration looks already promising.

Thanks for the review NPI, top quality as always 👍

I backed the Kickstarter and saw the production heave and lurch through trial and tribulations in the difficult time of Covid. I haven't opened my copy, it sits like a heavy troll on my shelf. I appreciate this considered review. I would question - is there a way to "save" it from itself? A rulebook / Scenario book 2.0? Or is this just a bad romance novel at the checkout counter and should be forgotten ?

Subbed, thanks for saving me some money, I was right on the fence of buying this before Frosthaven arrives and I appreciate your review!

I don't know a lot about this game, so I can't comment on the criticism, but I am a bit wary of a review that constantly refers to Brendan McCaskell as a first time designer when a cursory look on BGG makes it clear this isn't the case. How did this get past even cursory research when writing the script?

Even though I'm really enjoying this game I can appreciate your criticisms as this game is far from perfect. I would recommend that anyone who thinks this game looks interesting to read/watch a few different reviews.

Thanks for another great review, I appreciate the detailed explanation of why you like or don't like a game

5 Game Reviews in one Review. Love it

I'm looking forward to your review of Oathsworn

NPI does the only reviews longer than 22 minutes that I will ever watch (why 22? science!). As usual, it was thoughtful and interesting all the way to the end, well done.

Thank you for the review! I am currently designing my own fantasy Viking dungeon crawl without randomness in combat, so seeing this was super interesting as something to learn from! Cheers and maybe see you in Essen.

Loves the Adrian Tchaikovsky reference great author! Best part of the vid 😂 jk made my day though

Great review ! Curious to know why you don't like Ares expedition.

Thanks for the review.

glad you touched on the writing! but I thought the writing in Gloomhaven & JoTL wasn't good either. excited for Frosthaven & Sleeping Gods though!

Thank you for the review. I own the game but I've not played it yet. Now I know what to look out for.

Great video as always

Space Gloomhaven sounds like an amazing Kickstarter hook, but I can see how the gas would run out in the actual game design phase.

I have liked what I have seen so hopefully I can get a secon hand copy somewhere.

Entertaining review that made me order an Adrian Tchaikovsky book and re-install Starcom Nexus (Highly recommended, say hi to the Phage for me).

Please! Keep up the good work of actually analysing and talking about subtext in games. Anyone who like me thinks boardgames are a legitimate cultural expression should be happy that that people as insightful and eloquent as you and Elaine help shining a light on this fact. If we want our hobby to be taken seriously maybe just maybe we can't wet our pants every time someone suggests that the narratives of our games does not live in a void but rather are part of the larger cultural context with in which they exist. For most of us this is obvious, so please, don't let loud, scared people dissuade you guys from including the kind of discussions you have at the end of this great video.

No bun included. Sorry. Had to do it

Are you going to review Iss Vanguard? It seems that it is the space game that I have always wanted.

"Only get this game if you want to learn what no to do." WOW! On a brighter note they showed they have Oathsworn makes me so happy. I am so looking forward to that review. I love that game.

Can I get this instead of all the other games you referenced to get a single refined experience?

Man these videos r incredible. Whole cloth?! Whole cloth, babyyyyy!!

Very good review.

LOVE the thumbnail

So how far through your Gloomhaven campaign are you peeps now?

Efka, you’re amazing. This was a great review. Very well thought out. I’ve been watching you for so many years now and you’ve inspired me to make my own videos now. Your clever, funny, well spoken, and really astute. I’m also excited to see your box of oathsworn. I’m normally a dry euro fan or a party game fan, but gloomhaven really did open the door to something bigger and I’ve been plaything though oathsworn lately and have been consistently impressed with several elements - though I have a few criticisms. It’s no gloomhaven when it comes to the strategic depth, but it definitely builds an engrossing world and narrative with genuine surprises and excitement in both story and combat. I hope you do a review of it!

Great review as always. Looking at the thumbnail, SNL writers could learn a thing or two when they use memes for their sketches. PS: agree 123% with your father-in-law about writing on Doctor Who.

I've really liked Arkady Martine's 2 tleixcala books. also if youare okay with Will Wheaton voice He does a good job on the Collapsing Empire series Audio Books.

As a fellow content creator, though in the miniature wargaming sphere, I always find your reviews informative for not only the game, but just how to do well thought out quality content that really has something to say. Also, as a backer of this game, I really hope I like it more than you do. I fear I will not.

Knizia’s New Tactical Games is great! Do you have a favourite game from it?

Love these reviews! Fantastic editing and pacing of the video. The game though, meh... I think you should keep an eye out for the Rogue Angels board game. I was looking into both of these, but Akarios just feel bad in comparison. Looking forward to the kickstarter of Rogue Angels (second run).

Still dreaming of a good and functional version of Xia. Card-based space exploration sounds wonderful, conceptually. But concept isn't everything, as the whole history of hobby gaming shows...

Hurray for the riff raff!!

Stumbled upon your review and was impressed. Well done, my friend. It's refreshing to see critics actually being be critical.

The difference between videogames and board games is usually that board games have low computing power because long bookkeeping could hurt a lot. The minigame of telling a story with numbers printed in locations, works very much like videogames. The problem is that not many board game designers have ever designed a small PC game. So trying to go big without understanding big videogame projects, may deliver problems. If you play Urquan Masters, it is a masterpiece of writing. So creative and yet so complete, if you forgive the aged graphics. Urquan Masters is an open source project.

Weird, i really liked playing this game with my daughter who also enjoyed it. I agree that its not fully polished, but the story reminded me of any generic Robotech anime style story. While I agree a lot of it is rinse and repeat over and over and over again, we could do 7 or 8 scenarios in a game play session where as we might be luck to get through 2 scenarios in GH, just due to trying to find all the tiles and setting up everything. I liked that the game was super simple to pickup and because its a long narrative i can skip a week or more and easily come back to it without having to remember the 80 plus page rules book that other big name games have. Also, gloomhaven's story was absolute rubbish, we played all of it and around scenario 30 or so in it, I couldn't tell you what the overall story was, so we just started going through them in whatever order was unlocked because it didn't seem to matter anymore. Jaws of the line's story was way easier to follow, but it was pretty much a single line path, I'm hoping frosthaven is better than gloomhaven, but if not I've got plenty of other big narrative story campaigns left to start/finish. Anyways that's my 2 cents that probably aren't worth a penny.

I have no thoughts regarding Akarios, but I NEED elaboration on that Ares Expedition take

I like how Splendor is in the zombie tier and half of the brown tier is repeated

Hyperflop, hahaha, amazing!

This was really good, thanks

The Trains cardboardtier is my jam. Or bag. Or... bag full of jam?

Will you look at ISS Vanguard and compare it to Stars of Akarious?

I did get the impression that if they had stuck to the space combat and only focused on making that as good as possible, it would have been a better game. But then I did not like 7th continent, so I was primed to dislike this one that basis alone.

“Read bad books” - great advice!

Talking about writing, in a short PDF, "Space Aces TNG The New Guidebook" manages to deliver COUNTLESS solo scifi adventures. And all of that using a single D6. It is so amazingly crafted that you can see genius and very well though retro scifi. This makes you think that probably a bigger project should have done better.

Brilliant review, loved your analysis as always.👍

Have you ever considered review Kingdom Death: Monster? Would love to see your take on my favorite game of all time.

I just came for the Undaunted Stalingrad glimpse 🤤 @22:10

Love that he was saying 2017 better not be as bad as 2016!

Very good review

great review!

I agree, potential here is enormous but it's underdeveloped. Still having a blast, though. You just need to improvise a bit.. ;)

I bought the game, loved the initial thought of it but as time when on (1year later than expected delivery) I started loosing faith and did have a buyer. But then it arrived, played the first mission (wrongly) and loved it. Played same mission again and we loved it. Going to paint it all up before I carry on.

Those are some great cardboard tiers!

Those dashboards are pretty spiffy anyway.

i do love the modifier deck from gloom haven and hope it is adapted by more games and rpgs. i also hope useing them can be something you do without being called a gloomhaven rip off. the space combat here dose sound fun, wish it lived up to the promis

In 1996 Derek Smart had this magical idea of having a Capital ship with shuttles, fighters, trading, space combat, ground combat. But it seems the publisher took his project in Alpha stage and published it absolutely unfinished, for whatever reason. Smart was not Mr Charm, so I can figure that someone could have made a move to retaliate. And the result was a tremendously cool concept and a poor implementation. Still, playing the game with bug fixes, makes you imagine what could have been. Later Independence War Deluxe Edition did the magic with capital ships, and Battlezone 98 redux made the magic with ground combat. Both are at Steam. At least Smart could pack a patch so people could play a more stable version. But I am sure components will not be replaced by the publisher for Akarios. What a mess...

How does this have an 8.7 on bgg? I have realized that a lot of people think that the most basic of writing is a story. For example, the event cards in Scythe. I'm sorry, but there is no story there. Chronicles of Crime or Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective have story not just flavor text. Thank you for reviewing this from both a mechanics and story perspective. Sometimes if you confuse the players with a vastness of tasks, players believe it must be a fun game. But simple is often better. Thank you for being able to break down both sides of the game. Maybe the rating is based on expectations and the sunken cost fallacy. Have someone read a great a short story while other players play a simpler, multiplayer solitaire game. You might get a more memorable experience.

this is exactly how I felt about it. Have you ever tried Battlestations? Would be interested how you find that space combat game.

So bargin bin for minis?

Maybe I didn't fall for the hype and I wasn't expecting so much out of the game, but I generally liked it. It does have it's problems, but so does every game. I can nitpick and point out just as many flaws with Gloomhaven as you did for this game, but it is still a fun and interesting game. I definitely would have liked to see a bit more focus on some of the areas, and a few things could have been left out (like the space exploration which could have been entirely done with choose your own adventure text). The writing is not award winning, but it is pretty standard fare for a board game. To be honest, I thought the story was better written than Gloomhaven's was and way better than Middara. In the end, it isn't a great game, but it is still a good game. I would definitely be up for playing it if someone asked. I'm hoping that it stays popular enough that they might make an expansion someday for it that might add on some things to tighten up some of the games short comings. As for the models, they are cool and all, but I almost prefer the full color standees over the bland 3d gray models (that I will never paint). I kind of wish everything in the base game was standees though and not a mix. I know there are people out there who will take the time to paint everything and I'm glad that they have that option. I wish more games would put standees in the base game to reduce the cost and offer minis as optional add ons for those who want them.

5 minutes in, I knew I did not want this. Can't help but watch for the presentation. Excellent as always.

22:09 *childish glee* 😊

I always enjoy and appreciate your analysis and commentary on boardgames - even for games that do not match my game preferences. Thank you for continuing to create boardgame content that is full of honesty and integrity. Cheers!

Soooo, it's basically Xia: Legends of the 7th Gloomhaven: Bullet❤ Edition

I have questions about Wingspan's carboardtier

Will we be seeing an ISS Vanguard review?

Do I see hooray for the riff raffs new album in the background?! She's phenomenal. Such an amazing live show too. I'm way more excited about spotting that than anything about this game haha. But now I know you have good taste in music as well as games ☺️

Engagement for the engagement god!

I get it. cuz in space it takes a lot of Time to get where you want to go

Did you review ISS Vanguard?

After watching this, I think I wanna replay the Heroes of the Aturi Cluster fan expansion for Star Wars - X-Wing instead. 😁

It's tough to watch things be very justly dragged. But I did play a couple scenarios of this and simply could not return.

please tell me of good board games with spaceships, i too want to be a spaceship.

Are you reviewing a tall game anytime soon?

Why is Splendor in the "Zombies" tier?

Flyperhop

Where should I send the magpie picture?

UNDAUNTED STALINGRAAAAAAD!!!