I realized while watching this again that I didn't cover retail vs exclusive. To be clear, the basic stuff here is going to retail, and promos will be available later from other sources. But using the baseline pledge as a reference point, at $99 + $20 or so shipping on a $149 MSRP, plus factoring in the 16 or so promos you will get, you can likely expect those promos to sell for between $30-$40 on their own, covering your shipping and more, making this a safe back even before accounting for add ons that will be harder to get post campaign, and whenever its out of stock (which it will be) and others want it.
Also check out Shelf Clutter's Video Breakdown on it as well, plus a less awkward and better edited way to put that video in. Although then you wouldn't have that amazing segment where I hum along with the video of course. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-mROmjN46HyQ.html
Thanks for the mention @@BoardGameCo! Glad you found the video worth recommending! Great video as always on your end! I am oddly excited about those metal cubes!
Ahh Shelf Clutter I actually thought he did a really good job with his Ankh video too. That game I strongly considered buying but at the end of they day I decided to pass as I have enough CMON boxes that don’t hit the table enough and the overall game play just never sang to me. At the end of the day I had to consider how much time do I actually have to play rather that be swept up in the “ Oh that giant flashily box with all the cool minis and fantastic artwork isn’t going to play itself and while I feel a bit more like a game collector than a game player for the past few years. I want to change change that so I’ve been buying more smaller 0.5-1 hour playtimes lately.
@@BoardGameCo Recently I bought just a hand crank card shuffler, and it works really great. You have to do the shuffling in batches because of 400+ project cards, but it has sped up the set up process a ton. The automatic shufflers damage card sleeves (I have sleeved cards and the hand cranked one still works without damaging, they are sleeve kings brand).
Thank you for your feedback on the project, and as always appreciate the honesty in the things that you don't feel you have expertise on (like the first player token). Very frequently you see other reviewers/commenters not being able to say ths simple phrase "I don't know"
I think the most interesting part of the big box us that the added 3 tiles for deimos down, the dam, and the magnetic field cards. Were the cards not good enough and they decided to give them tiles? I wonder what the developers were thinking
The most convincing theory I've seen is that they had a cool layout for the tile holders that makes it look intentional that you could have fitted another dozen tiles in, but doing it that way left space for another 3 tiles - and rather than adding redundant city/greenery tiles, they decided they might as well come up with promo alternate versions of existing cards that seemed like they could have had tiles originally.
A friend of mine couldn’t decide what he wanted to back in this Kickstarter. I told him to watch your video. He told me your advice helped him decide. Well done and thank you.
For some reason the thing that turns me off most from buying games online or via KS is always the shipping. I understand how expensive shipping can be for companies, but for some reason I try to avoid paying hefty shipping fees as much as possible.
This box looks so great. I never jumped into the game, but am now going all in. Thanks for all the coverage of kickstarter projects. Love your channel. You, KOA and Dice Tower are my main sources of kickstarter overview info and it’s really helpful!
As someone newly into the large board game purchases through Kickstarter (especially now with so many cancelled conventions) I have thoroughly appreciated a value-centric source to receive helpful information on navigating these purchases/investments. Glad to see the channel growing, and am looking forward to future content!
Great video as always, Alex While I do appreciate the opulence of these ludicrous yet somehow intensly gratifying productions, I sometimes yearn for a sense of simplicity and elegance in these, which you hint at when mentioning the burden of carrying such a ungodly box around for gamenight and a possible usuability issue. A game like Food Chain Magnate is just so concentrated in both components and gameplay, which, at least to me, is an immensely satisfying package; it beckons me to take it out, while the thought of one enormous box completely dominating one square of my poor Kallax fills me with dread - at least in terms of hitting the table as well as introducing new players
It’s really great to have seen you grow so fast. I remember “binge” watching your videos in one day when you only had about 6 or 8 of them up. I knew you’d be getting up there pretty quickly with subscribers (for the board game niche) if you kept on pumping out the content. You give a unique perspective. Here’s to seeing you at 10k subscribers before years end! As for Terraforming Mars I definitely want it...lol and I’m very likely going to get it. Still debating on whether I should get the big box or the little box. I love Terraforming Mars but don’t have any of the expansions. So I’m also concerned with how tightly everything will fit with just the core game in the big box. Best wishes to you!
Thank you! It's been an insane journey, I recall telling my wife back in the day that if I don't get to 1k then I just can't justify the time....the fact that I'm at 5k 4 months later is insane to me, genuinely grateful to each and every one of you.
This looks really cool, but I already have the game with all the expansions. I can't justify the cost just for 3D pieces and a nice organization system though.
No kidding. I'm probably in the minority and wish both were less over the top extravagant and more affordable. Nemesis I can at least lie to myself that I'll see $300 of value somehow at some point!...
Congratulations on 5000 subscribers! I am so happy I was among the first couple of 100 subscribers. I especially love how you try to keep a lean collection. Your videos about that have helped me a lot with keeping mine a lot leaner as well. I’ve shared your channel in het bgg minimalist gamers guild and I think many of them were very happy to find you! :)
Recently found your channel and love your content, great breakdowns of upcoming and older games, very clear pros and cons, especially regarding Kickstarter projects, thanks a lot!
Favorite chapter heading ever is the awkwardly playing the video while humming along. And amazing poll topics! Pretty much a tie between favorite RU-vidrs and your gaming table, but as I'm pretty sure I'llget a gaming table one day RU-vidrs won for me but I really really want to hear your stuff about the table!
Amazing review! I really wasn't sure if this would hold its value since everything is going retail, but your arguments make sense. So far I only played a friend's base game, so I will be getting the highest pledge with all add-ons, except for the sleeves. I really have a hard time understanding why Shut Up and Sit Down gave this game such a negative review. It's a blast to play!
Well, third-party 3D tiles sell for even more on Etsy and other crafting websites. A complete set of Terraforming Mars tiles is usually priced around $100. Here, you get all official tiles PLUS the Big Box and insert PLUS all the promos, for that same price. You really can't complain about the price. If you want 3D tiles, this is the best price you'll get.
@@Malhodegodo it's just if the game was originally like $200 and had 3D tiles and maybe some Minis instead of cubes, would you have bought it? The tiles make gameplay slower, not quicker or even that much nicer because it hinders gameplay. I see the tiles as a novelty that ppl will stop bringing with them to game groups after a few plays with them. The weight, price, and cumbersome nature of using them makes them completely unneeded imo.
Confession: I've never played Terraforming Mars. I've really wanted to try though and this seems like a pretty fantastic jumping on point. Thanks for the contest!
As much as I love Terraforming Mars and have all of the previous expansions, 79/99 plus shipping for a bunch of 3D tiles with a box is just a step too far.
Wow, the growth of your channel is amazing! You just hit the right theme (Kickstarter) at the perfect time!). I discovered your channel while searching info about HEL, and please keep the good work up!
To add on to my last comment: The rover mini seems stupid. I feel like it gets passed so much it might break easily. The domes? They would be loose unless you glue them right? Theres to slots to put them in. So no thanks. Trade fleet is cool, will probably get it. But cmon just includenit into the pledge. Sleeves? I feel like you can get that amount of sleeves for cheaper? They are offical but idk. Clear sleeves also show the artwork... Player boards? I do want some. Not sure If I want the official ones. Idk I kinda dont like the look. Etsy has cooler ones. And now metal cubes... Man i really want them since the old cubes feel shitty. But 60$ is a lot of money for that haha
Aftermarket player boards may not fit in the Big Box. The domes should fit on the city tiles in the trays. If you watch the video, it shows the domes being placed on the individual cities and the. The clear lid being placed on. Stronghold games says the domes could be glued in place. They also have said the domes should not interfere with player cube visibility. I hope they offer some real pictures of them as I feel the renders may not be doing them justice.
@@johnpanagos5835 I'm not sure I understand your comment. If you look at the shipping cost for the metal cubes (found under the add-on entry), it's free for the US, Canada and parts of the EU. Depending on where you are, the shipping cost is not excessive. I know that's an American-centric view of shipping, but half the backers are in the US. Sorry.
I own only own the base game, but will be looking to adding expansions as we see fit. I love that with the big box, I can just add the expansion and get rid of the smaller boxes. It can get annoying when you need to grab multiple little boxes to play a game sometimes.
Thanks for the video. I’ve recently gotten into kickstarters and have found your videos to be very informative when trying to make a decision of wether to back or not.
Just have to say your videos are the first videos I look forward to watching in the mornings. I’ve learned a lot about making informed decisions on Kickstarter as well as which games I should and shouldn’t check out! Thank you for what you do and I cannot wait for your next video on Monumental!
Since I’ve started watching your channel, I have gotten rid of a chunk of my games I wasn’t playing. Now I feel better about my collection, it’s more manageable and I can get deeper into the games I love. Thanks Alex.
Alex, great contents you are putting up to the boardgame community. I especially love your Kickstarter to back or not series =) Not many youtubers are doing this.
Hey Alex - my friend turned me onto your videos recently. I'm a novice board gamer, and really only got into Kickstarter about 6 months ago - I'm still awaiting my first game from KS called Red Outpost. I enjoy your logic and rationale. Thank you, Keep up the good work!
I have recently discovered your RU-vid channel and I find your videos very helpful when deciding if I should back a Kickstarter or not. Thanks and keep up the good work
So just to provide some feedback on the Rover Mini, Player Boards, and Custom Sleeves which I have already: - Rover Mini: a bit lighter than I imagined, but pretty big and feels much nicer passing this around than the normal circular #1 token. - Player Boards: a huge improvement over de paper original ones. Have a nice weight and thickness to them. - Sleeves: at first I doubted getting these, but now I have them I have to say it was a great choice. The cards look a lot nicer from the backside, and on the front they seem to get a stylish new black border. The quality seems great, much better than the normal quality of the 100 or 500 packs of normal sleeves. I calculated that if I wanted to buy premium sleeves of equal quality myself, they would be more expensive than $50. - I also got the mugs and they feel and look very nice as well. We'll use them, but I know not everyone is looking for mugs. If you wonder how I got these already, they are already for sale in the FryxGames shop, and because I live in Europe, they were actually cheaper to pay for in SEK than in this Kickstarter USD (for example, Rover Mini is 100 kr, compared to $ 10 here).
Your content is fast becoming my favourite! After a couple years of collecting, my mindset has become more like yours in terms of why and value of owning/buying.
Keep up making these kind of videos, it is not only interesting to see the gameplay aspect of a board game and especially kickstarters, but also the risk assesment you have to take when funding is limited. Being not new to playing boardgames, but new to kickstarters these videos have helped me a lot! 3D tiles look great, except for the nuke, it keeps reminding me of broccoli... :')
Finally, Terraforming Mars will look like a modern game instead of portraying some ancient boardgame from the 70's. This game hits our table quite often. Looking forward to the facelift.
Thanks for another great video. I don’t always agree with your conclusions but your views are always part of the process that I undertake when considering whether to back or not. Cheers!
Your video got me to pull the trigger on Nemesis Lockdown. You showed me how easy it actually is to resell games, so even if I don't end up liking the game it won't be lost money. Thanks.
Thanks a lot for your videos I’ve recently discovered the world of Kickstarter and you’re making it much easier to back or not these wonderful projects!!!!
I'm digging your channel. It's refreshing to see someone take a different angle on boardgame content. I know self-promotion won't be welcomed much by some viewers, but I think you could do a quick video every now and then about any new promotions or product on boardgameco. I AM here for the big box giveaway, but I will certainly be more involved with this emerging community you're building!
Thank you! I appreciate it :) And right now I'm more focused on growing this channel as fast and as large as I can....I'd rather sneak in the promotions slowly and subtly.
So glad I found your channel recently! Our taste of games doesn't match at all, but your video's help me a lot to rethink my over enthusiastic backing behaviour :)
Love your work. I always check your channel first before I back games now. Its a shame the CEO box doesn't have the game and expansions already stored in it. Instead it looks like we have to take the components out of each box and then put them in the Big box
I have been loving your reviews of too back or not for value! I have enjoyed you posting of early Kickstarter pledges , it has been helpful for me to grab even as I wait to consider if I am going to buy it! Keep up with the pledge analysis!
You rock Alex! I come to this channel for your cost analysis breakdown and collection tips. As a fellow collector I’ve had the tough reality of removing games that won’t see game play. Your comments on the tiny epic series hit so close to home in your collection update video. I’m going through the collection now getting ready to sell to board game co! Keep up the good work!
Great overview! I am a fan of Terraforming Mars and I agree with you on the add-ons: prioritize the player boards, forget the rover and the sleeves (leave it to the companies that produce them). Trade Fleets are news to me and I like them. On the fence about the metal cubes because I think the retail ones are fine. For the pledge, the 3 updated cards are new to me. I hope that the new cards and their cardboard tiles can be purchased separately. I'm not into the central theme of this pledge of having the upgrade tiles but I love the small things like the card box, new markers to replace the white cubes, and storage for the cubes. I wish there's an option to "Subway" what you want out of this product.
I recently moved to Europe and now I am able to get all this kickstarters and is just crazy how many of them come each month, and I feel I want to get them all. Thanks for your reviews! always super helpful to decide when and why to back, learning tons :)
Only just found these videos and it's a really useful insight into helping make decisions on which kickstarters to back, great give-away is a big bonus as well
I like the idea that such a great game gets what it has deserved: better components. Even if i am not sure i will back it because its much money, i think it is great opportunity for all the terraforming mars lovers to upgrade one of their most played games.
