Dice drafting, dice placement? This has the recipe for me to love but seeing this review, there's not much I actually like. It seems so themeless that it's almost an abstract game and then the shortness, tightness and lack of variability convince me not to get this one. Shame cause I love the Red Cathedral. Thanks, good video.
The designers' next design better be about Schoenbrunn Palace, that way the "primary" trilogy will be complete - games about famous buildings in different colors.
I am in the same boat of really respecting this design, but I did not keep it. This is one that really fell flat in our first play, to the point of my husband saying he had no interest in playing again, which was a first. We had low rolls and got stuck with certain actions not being available anywhere but the outside the wall space. My husband found the actions boring and felt no theme to them. I played another two-player game with a friend, and he wasn’t fond of it, either. I did seven solo games, and I think the game improved a lot for me, but I ultimately sold it. I find the variability in the game is a double-edged sword. It is needed to keep the simple core feeling different from game to game, but it can create a lot of inconsistency in experience. I had plays that allowed for those great power moves, and other games that were very resource-poor. You don’t feel the theme when playing, you aren’t building up something or completing contracts or objectives, and the actions themselves aren’t fun or interesting….it is those combo moves and the engine on your player board that create a satisfying game experience. When dice rolls, shifting castle actions, etc do not allow for those to happen, in a game that is too short to allow you to pivot and try something new, it just misses that fun factor somehow. I would happily play again, but my husband saw no reason to, and cited games like Grand Austria Hotel or Marco Polo II as being more fun and interesting for him.
I enjoyed your review. Suggestion: adding one of each color in each row so that you have an extra action on the second round could help a bit without messing up the time length and flow of the game no? I know the board as almost no space but you could use the last die,of said round, to activate your board and so power up your for the final round
I have this on preorder. I think it will be a good fit for me group and I. I love how quick it is and the Japanese theme speaks to me more than Red Cathedral did. Thanks for the video!
