Thank you so much for such a nice comment! ☺️ I'm so excited for you to get your copy as well! You'll have to let me know what you think once you've had a chance to play it! 🌊
Thorough review Dave, and a fantastic game. I had given up on this game being too hard but you convinced me to give it another shot and lucky I did because I have been thrashing it non stop the last two week and actually raking up some wins! So curious to see if you win this campaign, you can do it! 🥳
Hey there, Emma! I'm so glad you gave the game another try and have been enjoying it so much! ☺️ Way to dominate that river and kick barbarian butt, too! ⚔️ I appreciate you giving me some strategy tips, by the way... I'm hopeful that I'll win this campaign! Just two more wins to go! 🤞
I found it hard at first but the balancing helps also I reread the rules which helped as I was doing a couple of small thing wrong and making it harder. I have found always adding cards to the deck every turn as many as possible especially at the start before the barbarians take over really helps give you breathing room. Almost always trading and using the resources every turn and not hanging on to them for the next round has worked well. Then build the buildings. If you tuck a card that gives you a coloured Meeple open up the spaces that allows this colour to work as another colours is so powerful. Getting the meeples to work hard as alternative colours works so well for keeping on top of the barbarians. I have found it to be such an engaging puzzle. Hope your second chance play finds the great parts to get you hooked. 😍
What a great rules overview. Haven't seen many this good. It flows well, it's fast, but not too fast, goes in depth enough to give an idea of how it plays. Wel done. Will certainly look at some more videos of games I'm interested in to see if those are as good. 👍
Wow, thank you so much for such a positive comment! Have you played Legacy of Yu? It is such a fantastic game! 🌊 I'm currently awaiting the arrival of Skara Brae from the same publisher-looks like it'll be just as good if not even better!
@@BoardGameDave Will have a look at that one too then. I haven't played Legacy of Yu, but I'm thinking of taking the plunge. Might wait for Skara Brae instead.
I think you're going to really enjoy both/either of them-and they're two very different games from what I can tell! Perhaps you could borrow a copy of Legacy of Yu from a friend or a board game store! 🤔
Grabbed this yesterday. Really nice components and art. Interesting puzzle. Nice size (I solo large Euros like Obsession and Feast For Odin, so it's nice to have a solo-only game you can set up so fast). And I love the fact that the campaign is fully resettable. I'll be sure to share this with my friends. The fact that the publisher encourages this (it even says so in the manual to lend it out!) is really nice.
I'm so excited for you to be getting into this fantastic solo game! I really love all of the aspects you mentioned as well: great components, satisfying puzzle, small size, simple setup, resettable and shareable! ☺️ That last part was especially convenient because I could borrow my friend's copy for long enough to play through the campaign and then give it back! Good luck fending off those floods! 🌊
You’ve got to get it to the table! It’s so good! 🌊 And it’s a super easy one to learn and jump right in! Let me know what think when you’ve had a chance to play it!
Great overview. It’s my first time seeing the full board on video. Different than what I expected. More of a euro than I thought. That’s a good thing. I swing back and forth in phases of wanting a non-euro campaign and wanting a puzzle euro experience. Currently swinging back toward euros.
Thanks for the comment, Mike! It’s a lovely board and it doesn’t take up much space at all! ☺️ I feel like I was in the same boat as you for a while but after giving JOTL a try I realized I’m an incorrigible euro gamer! And Legacy of Yu gives me so much of what I love in euro games!
This game has so much appeal to me as a single player game with game mechanics that I like. I don’t play solo games as much as I would like but this one has so much potential.
I think you'd definitely enjoy this game, then! I think it's extra compelling as a solo game because that's the only way to play it-it's not a variant, it's not a solo mode... it's the whole game! So the whole experience is tailored toward the 1P perspective and I think they just nailed it! ☺️ I hope you get a chance to give it a try sometime!
I only play solo games and this is an awesome one! I have completed 8 rounds amd can't wait for the next play. My only concern will be replayability. With seeing 40-60% of the content in one campaign not sure about playing after two campaigns. Still a great game and thanks for an outstanding video. Take care
Hey there, Gary! Thank you for the comment! ☺ Obviously I totally agree with you about how awesome this game is! What's your win-loss record so far? ⚔ I totally get what you're saying about the replayability. But to me, the game being completely resettable and the fact that you don't experience the whole story in one playthrough speaks highly to its replayability! (Just think, if each campaign takes an average of twelve plays, that's 24 plays you got out of this game which is a lot more than most games in my collection have been played! And then you get to sell the game/pass it on to someone else!) ☺
@BoardGameDave your points are spot on regarding replayability. As I only play solo games, I end up playing a board game more than 20 times. My record is 4 wins and 4 losses. The pattern appears to be losing a game, then winning a game. This is still an outstanding game, but I like Raiders of Scythia more. Keep up the great content.
@@garylaframboise2721 That's impressive that you're playing your games so many times! Do you have a relatively small collection? ☺ That's funny, I'm at 5-5 but I tend to have winning and losing streaks! Here's to us both winning our campaigns! ⚔ I really enjoyed my play of Raiders of Scythia but I haven't gotten to play it solo!
@BoardGameDave I have a small collection, around 20 games. I have played a lot of games, but if it doesn't have that replayability, I will usually sell the game after 5 plays. I guess I am more of a player than a collector.
@@garylaframboise2721 That sounds like a great size for a board game collection! I consider myself more of a player than a collector as well but I do have a hard time letting go of games that I own! 😬
I've played the TTS demo numerous times and have really enjoyed it, and that's without the campaign elements! As such I don't see replayability as a concern. I ordered a retail copy, so I'll get my hands on this early summer. Looking forward to it!
Thanks for checking out the video and for the comment! ☺️ If you liked the game that much without the campaign elements I’m sure you’ll love playing through the story as the game evolves with each play! I’m excited for you to play the physical version!
Exactly!! ☺️ Maracaibo was one of the first euro games I ever heard of that had a campaign/story element and this game does the narrative element of the game so much more justice than Maracaibo does! 📖
@@BoardgamesforOne Yes, the organizer/storage/save mechanism… it’s all very cleverly designed! It’s a fantastic game all around! ☺️ If it was my copy I’d bring it to Origins to let you borrow it!
Nowadays fourty box cost certain small expansion for games. So 40 for a full solo game is great. Cards with individual art are expensive to produce. So with MSRP/5 this game was like 8 to 10 dollars to produce.
That's a good point-and everything has gotten so expensive lately! 😰 I'm certainly not knocking on Legacy of Yu for being unreasonably expensive... that's why I gave it a 9/10! It's just not an especially affordable game for what you'll find inside the box, that's all! ☺️
I hear that a lot in the board game hobby and I totally get it... but also, I've really come to love solo gaming for the almost meditative experience it gives me away from a screen! ☺ I would recommend this game as a solo experience to anyone, no matter how you feel about solo gaming! You might be surprised?
You're not sold? That's okay! ☺ I've heard so many great things about Hadrian's Wall but I was never super interested in it because I'm not typically a fan of roll-and-writes... but as someone who loves worker placement and hand management and deck builders, this game is about as good as it gets for my tastes! ☺️
I haven’t reviewed it since I actually got my copy… I’m not sure I’d give it a perfect 10/10 (probably not a 10 for the length/pacing of the game, maybe) but I still stand by it being one of my favorite games! Just wish I got to play it more often! 🥶
first campaign went from 1-0 to 1-2 to... 7-2 and an overall easy win... So i restart a campaign and for now i'm leading 3-0... Guess that this game defenatly need that "goodies" (KS exclusive i believe ?) card to beef up the difficulty. Gameplay is fluid, yet a lot repetitive, especially the 1st two rounds where you HAVE TO build the canal coz if you don't, you simply lose.. I really like the mechanics, ideal for a tired player that does'nt wanna take on a big harsh game. but without the card to beef up the difficulty, this game is way too easy on the overall. I think this game is one that is ok to play once a year for a campaign, but is defenatly not my best solo experience, but a really good one IF (and only IF) you're looking for a relaxing "ressources managment" game. Overall if i had to give it a note, it would be a strong 7 to 7.5/10 wich is a great note I hope shem phillips will bring some expansion to beef this game up just a little bit. would be great. Or making an other "legacy of" type of game correcting those "easy" sides Cheers from Belgium
Thank you for your comment! I think you're right that it's a great relaxing, simpler, small-box solo experience! It sounds like you don't find the "balancing" cards that you add after each win to effective balance the game! I've heard most reviewers say that the system is pretty effective at responsively increasing/decreasing the difficulty but I'm sure it's not foolproof! Hopefully they do add more content to make the game more challenging for you! ☺️
@@BoardGameDave Hello, I ended my second campaign with another win 7-2 on "basic difficulty" I''m now, quite sure that the balancing, once you figure out how to play and what to prioritize is quite insufisant. And i' m not sure the little goodies card that offer 3 ways to makes the game harder are good enough. Or even simply well designed, as one of the rules (the one that says to start the game with 8 cards instead of 10) can simply kill you at the end of turn one on a pure luck aspect. ( basically you have to build on the first turn or to pay the barbarian, if not, you lose turn 1...) So I'm not quite sure about those options... I guess the best way would be a little expansion. I can see tons of little improvement to make this one even better. In the end i also tried a "one shot" game, without applying the book turtles icons, to see how it plays as a non campaign one game only, and I think this might be the best at having a balanced game, even if I won, I think adding some advanced barbarians or maybe a food restriction card might do it pretty tight on that regard. I'll have to try that out. Overall I'm at 19 plays of the game. Really like the relaxing mechanics, really smooth, but would love the game to be more on the tight side with campaigns going like 6-7 at final scoring. Cheers from belgium
You seem to have forgotten a component i Yu, which is not in Paladins: The story (development of that plus the extra cards “reacting” to the story) is also something you pay for. Designing Paladins and Yu are two different beasts. It is not always just the physical that counts towards the cost of a game. 🙂
Oh, I totally understand that that's a big factor in the development of the game and therefore reflected in the price! Like I said, the overall gaming experience makes up for the lack of components... there's a lot more substance at least thematically/narratively in this game than Viscounts or Paladins, for example! ☺️
It's an OK solo game, the problem I have is the luck and randomness in card draws and a lack of any sort of mitigation - if you are unlucky, you can end up with 4 townsfolk without a single worker as a bonus, and if you are super-unlucky, you might also face a series of tough barbarians (requiring 4 meeples) right from the beginning. That is an unwinnable scenario and at no fault of yours...
I was reading critical reviews on BGG and some of them had to do with the randomness element so you're certainly not alone in your criticism! While I totally get that this level of randomness isn't for everyone, I find that the output randomness can be very exciting and thematic and so far I haven't found the random card draws to ever be super punishing! There are usually ways to mitigate things and get what you need through trading or dismissing the townspeople cards from the display! But that's just my opinion! ☺️
You haven't spent enough time getting in touch with your townsfolk. You almost always get a playable starting position... it's a matter of playing what you are given and not forcing a "build".
Let's say you get two back-to-back draws without any workers. You'll still receive enough workers by default to build the first canal. You'll receive a ton of shells, provisions, wood and brick too - enough to seriously pad your town before the next draw phase. Some of my most successful runs started with very few workers. Also, the base game (no campaign unlocks) doesn't have any four-meeple barbarians, and the color distribution is perfectly equal. Between your starting deck and your first two draws, you'll see 2/3rds of your cards. You can say it's luck. But it's lack-of-planning.
Best review I have seen for this game. I'm convinced to get it. Thanks😊
Wow! Thank you for the kind comment! ☺️ I don’t think you’ll be disappointed! Enjoy! 🌊
What a fun and enthusiastic review. Thanks for all the positivity you bring. And what a lovely game. Can't wait to receive my copy and play it myself.
Thank you so much for such a nice comment! ☺️ I'm so excited for you to get your copy as well! You'll have to let me know what you think once you've had a chance to play it! 🌊
Thorough review Dave, and a fantastic game. I had given up on this game being too hard but you convinced me to give it another shot and lucky I did because I have been thrashing it non stop the last two week and actually raking up some wins! So curious to see if you win this campaign, you can do it! 🥳
Hey there, Emma! I'm so glad you gave the game another try and have been enjoying it so much! ☺️ Way to dominate that river and kick barbarian butt, too! ⚔️ I appreciate you giving me some strategy tips, by the way... I'm hopeful that I'll win this campaign! Just two more wins to go! 🤞
I found it hard at first but the balancing helps also I reread the rules which helped as I was doing a couple of small thing wrong and making it harder. I have found always adding cards to the deck every turn as many as possible especially at the start before the barbarians take over really helps give you breathing room. Almost always trading and using the resources every turn and not hanging on to them for the next round has worked well. Then build the buildings. If you tuck a card that gives you a coloured Meeple open up the spaces that allows this colour to work as another colours is so powerful. Getting the meeples to work hard as alternative colours works so well for keeping on top of the barbarians. I have found it to be such an engaging puzzle. Hope your second chance play finds the great parts to get you hooked. 😍
What a great rules overview. Haven't seen many this good. It flows well, it's fast, but not too fast, goes in depth enough to give an idea of how it plays. Wel done. Will certainly look at some more videos of games I'm interested in to see if those are as good. 👍
Wow, thank you so much for such a positive comment! Have you played Legacy of Yu? It is such a fantastic game! 🌊 I'm currently awaiting the arrival of Skara Brae from the same publisher-looks like it'll be just as good if not even better!
@@BoardGameDave Will have a look at that one too then. I haven't played Legacy of Yu, but I'm thinking of taking the plunge. Might wait for Skara Brae instead.
I think you're going to really enjoy both/either of them-and they're two very different games from what I can tell! Perhaps you could borrow a copy of Legacy of Yu from a friend or a board game store! 🤔
今日届きました！
ルールブックを見たら英語なので、BGDを見て覚えることができることを感謝いたします。ありがとうございます。
はじめまして！僕のチャンネルを見つけてくれてありがとう！ルールブックが英語で書いていて残念でしたね！このビデオを見てルールが学べられたら僕も感謝します！質問があったらぜひ聞いてください！答えてみます！☺️
Grabbed this yesterday. Really nice components and art. Interesting puzzle. Nice size (I solo large Euros like Obsession and Feast For Odin, so it's nice to have a solo-only game you can set up so fast). And I love the fact that the campaign is fully resettable. I'll be sure to share this with my friends. The fact that the publisher encourages this (it even says so in the manual to lend it out!) is really nice.
I'm so excited for you to be getting into this fantastic solo game! I really love all of the aspects you mentioned as well: great components, satisfying puzzle, small size, simple setup, resettable and shareable! ☺️ That last part was especially convenient because I could borrow my friend's copy for long enough to play through the campaign and then give it back! Good luck fending off those floods! 🌊
I have been wanting to play this as soon as it arrived and I haven't found the time yet. Your gushing makes me more excited to play it!
You’ve got to get it to the table! It’s so good! 🌊 And it’s a super easy one to learn and jump right in! Let me know what think when you’ve had a chance to play it!
@@BoardGameDaveYes, I really do. I will! And I’ll report back, most likely with cushiness.
@@lisahasegawa2674 Please do! (With “cushiness”?) ☺️
Great overview. It’s my first time seeing the full board on video. Different than what I expected. More of a euro than I thought. That’s a good thing. I swing back and forth in phases of wanting a non-euro campaign and wanting a puzzle euro experience. Currently swinging back toward euros.
Thanks for the comment, Mike! It’s a lovely board and it doesn’t take up much space at all! ☺️ I feel like I was in the same boat as you for a while but after giving JOTL a try I realized I’m an incorrigible euro gamer! And Legacy of Yu gives me so much of what I love in euro games!
This game has so much appeal to me as a single player game with game mechanics that I like. I don’t play solo games as much as I would like but this one has so much potential.
I think you'd definitely enjoy this game, then! I think it's extra compelling as a solo game because that's the only way to play it-it's not a variant, it's not a solo mode... it's the whole game! So the whole experience is tailored toward the 1P perspective and I think they just nailed it! ☺️ I hope you get a chance to give it a try sometime!
I only play solo games and this is an awesome one!
I have completed 8 rounds amd can't wait for the next play.
My only concern will be replayability. With seeing 40-60% of the content in one campaign not sure about playing after two campaigns.
Still a great game and thanks for an outstanding video.
Take care
Hey there, Gary! Thank you for the comment! ☺ Obviously I totally agree with you about how awesome this game is! What's your win-loss record so far? ⚔ I totally get what you're saying about the replayability. But to me, the game being completely resettable and the fact that you don't experience the whole story in one playthrough speaks highly to its replayability! (Just think, if each campaign takes an average of twelve plays, that's 24 plays you got out of this game which is a lot more than most games in my collection have been played! And then you get to sell the game/pass it on to someone else!) ☺
@BoardGameDave your points are spot on regarding replayability. As I only play solo games, I end up playing a board game more than 20 times.
My record is 4 wins and 4 losses. The pattern appears to be losing a game, then winning a game.
This is still an outstanding game, but I like Raiders of Scythia more.
Keep up the great content.
@@garylaframboise2721 That's impressive that you're playing your games so many times! Do you have a relatively small collection? ☺ That's funny, I'm at 5-5 but I tend to have winning and losing streaks! Here's to us both winning our campaigns! ⚔ I really enjoyed my play of Raiders of Scythia but I haven't gotten to play it solo!
@BoardGameDave I have a small collection, around 20 games. I have played a lot of games, but if it doesn't have that replayability, I will usually sell the game after 5 plays.
I guess I am more of a player than a collector.
@@garylaframboise2721 That sounds like a great size for a board game collection! I consider myself more of a player than a collector as well but I do have a hard time letting go of games that I own! 😬
I've played the TTS demo numerous times and have really enjoyed it, and that's without the campaign elements! As such I don't see replayability as a concern. I ordered a retail copy, so I'll get my hands on this early summer. Looking forward to it!
Thanks for checking out the video and for the comment! ☺️ If you liked the game that much without the campaign elements I’m sure you’ll love playing through the story as the game evolves with each play! I’m excited for you to play the physical version!
Yes! A euro with a storybook 😉. Right up my alley.
Exactly!! ☺️ Maracaibo was one of the first euro games I ever heard of that had a campaign/story element and this game does the narrative element of the game so much more justice than Maracaibo does! 📖
@@BoardGameDave and the storage. Well thought out game. It’ll be a buy when I see it.
@@BoardgamesforOne Yes, the organizer/storage/save mechanism… it’s all very cleverly designed! It’s a fantastic game all around! ☺️ If it was my copy I’d bring it to Origins to let you borrow it!
Thanks for sharing!
Thank you for checking it out! ☺️
Nowadays fourty box cost certain small expansion for games. So 40 for a full solo game is great. Cards with individual art are expensive to produce. So with MSRP/5 this game was like 8 to 10 dollars to produce.
That's a good point-and everything has gotten so expensive lately! 😰 I'm certainly not knocking on Legacy of Yu for being unreasonably expensive... that's why I gave it a 9/10! It's just not an especially affordable game for what you'll find inside the box, that's all! ☺️
It's hard because I hate solo games. I'd rather just play video games, but it was fun seeing this review.
I hear that a lot in the board game hobby and I totally get it... but also, I've really come to love solo gaming for the almost meditative experience it gives me away from a screen! ☺ I would recommend this game as a solo experience to anyone, no matter how you feel about solo gaming! You might be surprised?
Hmm I don't know. I only solo but other than flavor it kinda feels a lot like hadrian's wall except not roll and write
You're not sold? That's okay! ☺ I've heard so many great things about Hadrian's Wall but I was never super interested in it because I'm not typically a fan of roll-and-writes... but as someone who loves worker placement and hand management and deck builders, this game is about as good as it gets for my tastes! ☺️
Did your score change for endless winter for final release?
I haven’t reviewed it since I actually got my copy… I’m not sure I’d give it a perfect 10/10 (probably not a 10 for the length/pacing of the game, maybe) but I still stand by it being one of my favorite games! Just wish I got to play it more often! 🥶
first campaign went from 1-0 to 1-2 to... 7-2 and an overall easy win...
So i restart a campaign and for now i'm leading 3-0...
Guess that this game defenatly need that "goodies" (KS exclusive i believe ?) card to beef up the difficulty.
Gameplay is fluid, yet a lot repetitive, especially the 1st two rounds where you HAVE TO build the canal coz if you don't, you simply lose..
I really like the mechanics, ideal for a tired player that does'nt wanna take on a big harsh game.
but without the card to beef up the difficulty, this game is way too easy on the overall.
I think this game is one that is ok to play once a year for a campaign, but is defenatly not my best solo experience, but a really good one IF (and only IF) you're looking for a relaxing "ressources managment" game.
Overall if i had to give it a note, it would be a strong 7 to 7.5/10 wich is a great note
I hope shem phillips will bring some expansion to beef this game up just a little bit. would be great.
Or making an other "legacy of" type of game correcting those "easy" sides
Cheers from Belgium
Thank you for your comment! I think you're right that it's a great relaxing, simpler, small-box solo experience! It sounds like you don't find the "balancing" cards that you add after each win to effective balance the game! I've heard most reviewers say that the system is pretty effective at responsively increasing/decreasing the difficulty but I'm sure it's not foolproof! Hopefully they do add more content to make the game more challenging for you! ☺️
@@BoardGameDave
Hello,
I ended my second campaign with another win 7-2 on "basic difficulty"
I''m now, quite sure that the balancing, once you figure out how to play and what to prioritize is quite insufisant.
And i' m not sure the little goodies card that offer 3 ways to makes the game harder are good enough.
Or even simply well designed, as one of the rules (the one that says to start the game with 8 cards instead of 10) can simply kill you at the end of turn one on a pure luck aspect. ( basically you have to build on the first turn or to pay the barbarian, if not, you lose turn 1...)
So I'm not quite sure about those options...
I guess the best way would be a little expansion.
I can see tons of little improvement to make this one even better.
In the end i also tried a "one shot" game, without applying the book turtles icons, to see how it plays as a non campaign one game only, and I think this might be the best at having a balanced game, even if I won, I think adding some advanced barbarians or maybe a food restriction card might do it pretty tight on that regard.
I'll have to try that out.
Overall I'm at 19 plays of the game.
Really like the relaxing mechanics, really smooth, but would love the game to be more on the tight side with campaigns going like 6-7 at final scoring.
Cheers from belgium
You seem to have forgotten a component i Yu, which is not in Paladins: The story (development of that plus the extra cards “reacting” to the story) is also something you pay for. Designing Paladins and Yu are two different beasts. It is not always just the physical that counts towards the cost of a game. 🙂
Oh, I totally understand that that's a big factor in the development of the game and therefore reflected in the price! Like I said, the overall gaming experience makes up for the lack of components... there's a lot more substance at least thematically/narratively in this game than Viscounts or Paladins, for example! ☺️
It's an OK solo game, the problem I have is the luck and randomness in card draws and a lack of any sort of mitigation - if you are unlucky, you can end up with 4 townsfolk without a single worker as a bonus, and if you are super-unlucky, you might also face a series of tough barbarians (requiring 4 meeples) right from the beginning. That is an unwinnable scenario and at no fault of yours...
I was reading critical reviews on BGG and some of them had to do with the randomness element so you're certainly not alone in your criticism! While I totally get that this level of randomness isn't for everyone, I find that the output randomness can be very exciting and thematic and so far I haven't found the random card draws to ever be super punishing! There are usually ways to mitigate things and get what you need through trading or dismissing the townspeople cards from the display! But that's just my opinion! ☺️
You haven't spent enough time getting in touch with your townsfolk. You almost always get a playable starting position... it's a matter of playing what you are given and not forcing a "build".
Let's say you get two back-to-back draws without any workers.
You'll still receive enough workers by default to build the first canal. You'll receive a ton of shells, provisions, wood and brick too - enough to seriously pad your town before the next draw phase.
Some of my most successful runs started with very few workers.
Also, the base game (no campaign unlocks) doesn't have any four-meeple barbarians, and the color distribution is perfectly equal. Between your starting deck and your first two draws, you'll see 2/3rds of your cards.
You can say it's luck. But it's lack-of-planning.