Tom Vasel takes a look at this small civilization building game from Gamelyn Games 00:00 - Introduction 00:59 - Game overview 06:19 - Final thoughts Buy great games at www.gamenerdz.... Find more reviews and videos at www.dicetower.com
The benefit of it being tiny is I can store and carry it. I live in a tiny Manhattan apartment, so I have very limited space, and anything I bring to a game night will be carried the whole way in a backpack - no car. This gives me a 4x-ish game that I can store and bring to game night easily.
Hey Tom. I hope you see this because it'll help add a different perspective on tiny games you'll review in the future. My girlfriend and I are long distance, lightweight backpackers (for example, we try to carry no more than 20-25lbs on our backs going distances of 100+ miles). As you can imagine, weight is measured by grams and ounces when you need to carry it day in, day out for weeks on end. That's why tiny games such as Tiny Epic Kingdoms are awesome because we now have the option to carry more than the tired staples of our hobby (deck of cards, pencil). This games shipping weight is 10.1 ounces, but if we trimmed it down (sandwich baggy instead of a box, only bring 2 players worth of pieces) it'd possibly be 5-7 ounces...very light, so acceptable to carry. I hope with all of my heart they print more games like this, anyone have any great suggestions?
Kainius The Great One that is not only small and fun, but is pretty cheap to pick up, is star realms. You have most likely heard of it, but wanted to throw out a recommendation just in case. Another fun small card game is Valley of the Kings.
Kainius The Great Love Letter, Lost Legacy (and most of the games by Seiji Kanai). You also have Omen and Soulfall (check the other games of Smallboxgames - Haha that name is for you!).
Glad you liked the game, Tom. I can't wait to get my Kickstarter copy. Please notice though, that some of the things shown in this video are exclusive to the Kickstarter standard edition and/or deluxe edition. The standard box for instance, only comes with two war dice (one black, one white) while the deluxe edition comes with five dice, one in each faction's color. The deluxe edition also has two exclusive factions, and both Kickstarter editions have some exclusive mini-expansions that will not be there in the retail version.
It is a bit unfair that the people who will buy this game get a lesser version compared to the one the Kickstarter backer receive. No colourful dice, not all of the races... Frankly, it's putting me off to purchase this game.
David Bator What do you suggest is to be done then, to inspire people to risk their money on such a project? You're put off to buy the game now. But if Kickstarter backers get nothing exclusive, they're put off pledging, because "why risk my money on this when I can just buy the game once it's out?" And the "colorful dice" isn't really about being colorful. It's just that the KS version has one die for each player (or player-color), while the regular version has two dice that players share.
Yeah, that's what I meant by colourful dice, one for each player colour, making the game more pleasing to the eye. I know, it's a difficult thing and I do understand that there must be something to draw in the backers to support the campaign, but it is still disappointing that anybody else gets a lesser version, that's all I'm saying. I wish someone could come up with something better than taking away from others to enjoy these games in their full glory, because not everybody follows the kickstarter projects. Newly released games should come out at their best not in cut-down forms.
David Bator It will please you to learn that Gamelyn Games does not believe in truly "exclusive" content. Yes, there are a few components which come bundled with the Kickstarter copies which will not be included with the retail versions. However, such content will be made available at conventions or the BGG store. This includes: • The three deluxe factions (Constructs, Satyrs, and Order of Gamelyn) • The mini expansion ("Exploration") The custom dice will not be made available later, but I don't see that as a problem. War does not happen every turn, so the dice can easily be a common component rather than custom for each player color.
Not having the dice in your own colour won't effect the game-play I'm sure, but sometimes it would be better not to know that there are other versions available too, however, as you said, it's not important at all in regards to the enjoyment of the game. If the extra factions are out there it makes the situation much better, because if you really like the game you can get them, this seems more fair than denying the opportunity all together. I would still prefer some other solution to reward the backers though...
Apparently, backers will get this in October, so it's a bit inaccurate to say that it's "here". I suspect that someone at Gamelyn gave Tom one of the advance copies at GenCon so that he could review it. Still, it's good that it's apparently worth looking forward to.
Tom said that having two meeples in an area gives you two of the resource, but the rules specifically say otherwise. They say you get ONE of the resource, whether you have one or two meeples in the area.
I just bought the Game and I have 2 questions... What meeples goes onto the Valkyrie card? And since my English is not good, I don't understand the Valkyrie's second magic level
The Combat system is really problematic for me. If you guess wrong, spend resources and lose you are usually out of the game at that point. Really hard to recover from 1 lost war if you blew a lot of resources.
Michael Coe when i first checked on amazon the game was going for $50, i checked again after your post and it did say $25, i just checked again today and bought it at $20. the game seems like it'll make a good stocking stuffer for family game night.
Or maybe he has a cold? Or maybe he had already done several reviews that day? Or maybe it was recorded in the evening and his kids had gone to bed already?
It is generic, but anything but painful. The gameplay is excellent. The races don't have to be inventive to have awesome abilities. The small size is a huge selling point. You have a big-box experience that you can carry around in a small bag or pack.
Tom didn't show all the content that comes in the game. He didn't show all the races, only the most basic ones as an example. The game also comes with shapeshifters, dark elves, centaurs, "constructs" (basically rock golems) and satyrs. There are also a few mini-expansions that spice things up and add some variables.
