I've seen a number of videos about this game now, but 4:45 - 8:10 is simply the best concise overview of this (or rather *any* ) complex game I encountered on YT. (I am teaching myself, so I know how hard this is to pull off and that it needs talent *and* dedication.) And then you get the Themer's view, focused on aspects that are so often overlooked in game reviews, on top of that! The game is not for me, but this is one of the best reviews & channels I've seen around. Off to binge the back catalogue of TT reviews now... Greetings from Austria!
Thank you Florian - this was so lovely to read and such great feedback. It's actually something we don't often get too much feedback on as most watch I think for our thoughts on the game rather than the overview of the gameplay. So I (Amy) really appreciate that. Glad to have you here and look forward to talking more games in the comments! Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment 😊
Thank you for providing some honest thoughts on the game! With many reviewers I feel like they're holding back and trying to play it safe when it comes to new games from known designers or companies. Your points are well articulated and don't go into unnecessary detail. I love Prague and medieval Bohemia, so I might get the game just for the theme, but you gave me something to think about. Subscribed to see more content from you two!
Thank you so much for the lovely feedback and glad you liked this video! I haven't seen too many other reviews of this one but perhaps it hasn't had too wide of distribution yet (we imported it from Europe to get it early in Australia!) It has some interesting mechanics and is a beautiful game... I only wish it worked for us a bit more (particularly Maggie....). As with all games it will find its gamer I'm sure! Thanks for the sub and look forward to chatting about more games with you 😊
You guys are brilliant fun to watch and I really love your videos!! Thank you for all your thoughtful, fun content, and hope your holiday season is absolutely lovely!!
Thanks so much Virginia! It is Christmas day here and we are well into festivities... wishing you a safe and happy holiday season too. Very much appreciate your feedback
Hi, I come from the Czech republic, now living in Brisbane. Was very excited to find your channel recently and have been watching episodes from oldest to now... Praga. I was very excited to find this game with a theme close to my heart. I am competitive when playing games but don't little the direct take that. Also find it frustrating if I can't have a productive turn no fault of my own, and lack of player interaction doesn't really bother me. I think after this review i am curious to play this, even thought my husband doesn't really enjoy point salad games. Too bad, he is playing this with me... 🥚😋
We loved our short trip to the Czech Republic! And now you are much closer - living in Brisbane, nice! Thank you so much for making your way through our videos, hope you've found some interesting games to hunt down ☺️
Bummer that you guys didn't enjoy Praga too much. Great review, and I'm still keeping my pre-order as the gameplay is something I and my group would probably enjoy. I think finding those combos and synergies would make the later parts of the game more satisfying, but we shall see.
Love that you were able to assess your own fit with the game... it's 100% the hardest thing to do when reviewing... to see past your own preferences to what someone else might like (and trying to nail down exactly why one game works for you when another doesn't). Every game has its gamer 🥰 Look forward to hearing about your experiences.
I love Underwater Cities and it looks terrific! I have it on my wish list. It's interesting hearing how you both feel. Now I'll have to give it some more thought... Thanks for this video!!
It is just gorgeous on the table, and definitely worth trying to see if it is the right fit for you... it's quite different to Underwater Cities (tiles laying rather than cards) but while it isn't an engine builder per se, it does have that feeling of pulling of a great single move by triggering lots of bonuses and even additional turns. It's about finding the synergies. Thanks for watching and commenting as always Omar! ☺
I gotta say.. I absolutely love your enthusiasm for games! 😁 In my world, that's only me and all my family sit back and go "another new game?!".. watching you two makes me feel slightly less insane. Lol Awesome review, this one has been on my radar for sure but the deal gods didn't line up this black Friday. 😋 I did pick up Whistle Mountain though (speaking of hotness) and it arrived today! Yay!! New game day tomorrow.. the best kinda days.. ah life is good. 😊 Anywho, thanks for the video, and I love the honest feedback from Maggie - it's refreshing seeing someone not immediately fascinated by the hotness.
Ah thank you so much Ken for the lovely words! We love that new game feeling as well... it always feels so... promising 😁 Keen to get our hands on a copy of Whistle Mountain soon, would love to hear your thoughts. Also appreciate the feedback on our honesty in game reviews... we try to be authentic and demonstrate what others might like about a game (even if it isn't quite our thing). Every game has its gamer ☺ Thanks for your continued support and taking the time to write 💕
Really appreciate the review, think I am going to have to pick this up to at least give it a try. I am probably more of a thinker like Amy, but I love how a theme ties into the mechanics too. We would love to have you both join our weekly podcast to talk thinker vs theme! - Ryan
Nice to be connected Ryan and thanks for taking the time to comment! We are on a bit of a break at the moment from collabs while we try to organise ourselves a bit better but the best way to reach us is amy@thinkerthemer.com.
Thanks for letting us know your thoughts Hugo! It didn't quite come together for us but hard to pinpoint why, I'm glad that you enjoyed it - 9/10 too!!! Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment 😊
Awesome review girls. It is nice to hear pros and cons about games. I like Maggies point about how she feels after the game. I prefer games that feels good after finishing to play. There are so many games out there.... might as well feel good after! Even if I don't win.
Thanks so much for the continued support and lovely feedback Pierre! It's interesting how a bundle of mechanics comes together to give you an overall "vibe" or "feeling" after the game is complete. We continue to try to be authentic of our own (which will no doubt differ from others). Thanks for taking the time to comment. 😊
Oh no! I was really looking forward to this. All of the points you brought up are concerning. I love Underwater Cities and Pulsar 2849. I'm still going to play it and I'll let you know how it goes.
Don't let us scare you off Timm... one person's Agricola is another person's Pax Pamir --> that's how the saying goes right? 😂 Can't wait to hear your thoughts and to discuss. Miss our catch ups!
Excellent video, thank you! I was intrigued by the mechanics but concerned if it would be multiplayer solitaire - which is how I feel about Underwater Cities. As I saw the copy count dwindling at my favorite online retailer, I nearly pulled the trigger without playing it. Thank you for stopping me from being a victim of FOMO. Now I'll make sure to play it before buying!
Thank you Jon! I'm glad you will play before you buy. I had a similar feeling to you about Underwater Cities. The mechanics in isolation are cool without a doubt... and it looks gorgeous on the table. Anyway would love to hear your thoughts once you get a chance to try. Thanks for watching and commenting ☺
@@ThinkerThemer Finally got a chance to play PCR, and you both hit the nail on the head. It's good, but doesn't need to be in the collection. There was a little competition to get certain tiles or before others, but that's about it. Everything else was heads down focusing on the puzzle of what to do. The multiple paths to take with the inability to do them all was fun, and I would be happy to play it again. However, I have no need to actually own a copy. Thanks again and take care!
Thanks Jon for coming back here to report on your experiences! I'm glad you got a chance to play it and found parts of it to enjoy. I said in the video I would maybe keep it but ultimately I can't see it getting to the table (with Maggie not liking it) so I will be moving it on to someone else who can enjoy it more! Thanks again for taking the time to reply.
I absolutely love Pulsar and have really been enjoying Underwater Cities on yucata.de (to the point where I will be buying it eventually). This one flew under my radar and like Maggie says it looks a bit overwhelming busy. As you run through it I'm not sold on it but based on reviews and walkthroughs I didn't think I'd like Underwater Cities that much and I ended up liking It once I played. I'll have to try this one before I buy for sure. Thanks again for the great review!
Thanks Aaron! Glad it was useful and perhaps we should give Pulsar a go based on your experiences and love for it! We like Underwater Cities but find it doesn't get much table time in our group 🤔 I really wish Praga had come together a bit more for us, some of the mechanics are great but there is always something about the "feeling" of a game that is hard to dissect... and is more than the sum of its parts. Thanks for watching and commenting as always ☺
This was definitely my game of 2020, so I'm quite intrigued by how divisive it seems to be. I love the game, but when we reviewed it recently, my co-host hated it. I wonder if the blue tokens are weapons, which you need to defend the wall, but you have to recruit people (that live in the buildings) to become soldiers, that's why you get the tokens from the buildings. The red ones might be a bit more of a stretch, because they are related to religion (as the cathedral progress increases their value) but you gain them through building the city walls and upgrades. So, I guess it's through learning and civilisation?
Thanks for the review! It helped me decide that it's probably not going to be a game for me. Even though the board is really pretty, the lack of asymmetric player powers (yes, I know...), the higher luck-factor and the inability to plan ahead drive me away. Thankfully there's so many other great euros I haven't played yet...just recently finally managed to find a copy of Argent - The Consortium with expansions and treated myself to a slightly overpriced Lost Ruins of Arnak - really excited to get those two to the table very soon! :)
Glad you found this one helpful thank you :) We haven't played either of those... argh I cant believe I passed on a copy of Lost Ruins and now it really is the lost ruins.. I cant get it anywhere LOL. Oh well, lots to keep us busy!!!
Interesting review of this. I have a copy, and have played a couple of times without coming to a fixed conclusion about it, honestly. I find V.Suchy games on the thinky side in general- don't have Underwater Cities, but I do have Pulsar 2849 and Last Will, and despite very different themes, all leave a taste of Point optimization. So I definitely see where Amy might love this, where Maggie felt it a bit drier.
Your aproach to reviewing games is very interesting, I'm more on the thinker side but there a soft spot for nice components and artwork. Have you considered taking a look into the classics? I would love to hear your thoughts on Fury of Dracula (3rd/4th ed)
Thank you so much! We are trying to do some reviews of our older games (like Roads and Boats which definitely qualifies as a classic !) but the hotness always gets in the way 😅 we have never played Fury of Dracula! What is it like, is it a favourite of yours? Thanks for watching and commenting 💕
I was sold on this game because of the Prague setting. (I lived there in the mid 90s and walked across the Charles Bridge many times.) The board definitely looks super busy to me, and I am a bit concerned about the luck of the draw impact, but I don’t mind the more free-form / MPS so much. Thanks for another great review! If Maggie wins on dumping it from your collection, I will make sure to bring it to retirement island 😀
No way you lived in Prague?? That is so incredible. How long were you there? We have been there once and it is such a beautiful city (Budapest too omg). Is it weird that I'm now thinking about retirement island as an actual plan? 😅
@@ThinkerThemer I did a study abroad semester at Charles University, so only a couple of months. Budapest is pretty amazing too. I did a lot of traveling around Central/Eastern Europe on my weekends. I set up my schedule so I only had classes T/W/Th. 😀 Also, retirement island is definitely a REAL thing! (Or at least in my head it is.) 🤣
Thank you very much for your detailed insight and honest opinion. It is very helpful. Any plans to review "Lost Ruins of Arnak" in the near future? As a board game with a strong theme it would be perfect for the team of you two. It looks like a wonderful mix of deck building and worker placement. But during a test play at Spiel 2020 I found it a bit dull as both game mechanisms were not as pronounced as I would have wished for. But maybe I didn't dig into it deep enough, yet. Your opinion on this one would be highly appreciated. Have a nice christmas time!
Ah your experience of the game is really interesting to me (Amy). I have heard all of the praise for Lost Ruins of Arnak but even though I've watched lots of it in live streams... I haven't quite found myself purchasing it. Strangely I have just purchased Dune Imperium which combines similar mechanics but is not at all a theme we are into but for some reason it spoke to me more! Also very much looking forward to Endless Winter next year with the same concept of deck building and worker placement. I am sure we will find ourselves with Lost Ruins of Arnak sometime.... Thank you very much for taking the time to comment and your lovely words. ☺
This game was layed out at my local game shop and the look of the board really caught my eye. I'm pretty new to euros and have only begun to test the waters with some of the Garphill game offerings. Anyhow, I've been kinda weighing this versus Underwater Cities and didn't realize that they were designed by the same person until I saw this video. UC just seems so drab to me but....aaargh. Ever had analysis paralysis over choosing a game? Especially when they cost so much? Great video, liked and subscribed.
Thanks for the sub Martin, we are glad to have you here! and ABSOLUTELY I have had AP over choosing a game. Sometimes I will just check that a game I want is still in stock and mull over it for months before finally purchasing it...! I just did that for two games, Cerebria & Antiquity. It's particularly hard when there is not a lot of consensus in reviews, and the games are expensive. Wish I could help more with your decision! We ended up selling Praga, but we still own UC although it doesn't get to our table much at all. It's a little card combo heavy for our tastes. What other games do you enjoy?
@@ThinkerThemer So as a kid I was into DnD, though honestly I spent more time poring over the rule books than actually playing. This led me to Hero Quest and Dungeon which I enjoyed immensely. Fast forward to a couple of years ago and I found a used copy of Arkham Horror 2nd ed. and was absolutely captivated by it. Apparently not everyone feels the same way 😳 and I had much more luck getting my family to play Betrayal at House on the Hill and Escape the Dark Castle. More recently I've been leaning toward euros with a solo mode as I enjoy puzzles very much and running, say, Eldrich Horror, alone can be fun but I'd much rather share such an adventure with others. Whereas with Circadians: First Light or Lost Ruins of Arnak I can just make my little decisions and try to be as efficient as possible. All of this being said, I fear that I have fallen into the category of collector more so than player. I have Inis but have never played it. Aftermath and Jaws of the Lion sit unopened. I don't really need Praga or UC but I suppose it's just the rush of getting a new toy, the promise of a new experience in a pretty box. Ah well, this is much more than you asked for but it just came spilling out. I do appreciate your kind reply to my post and I guess that the short answer to your question is - 'All sorts!'
You should play pulsar! Though theme got left behind on earth for that one. Thanks for the review, I'm looking forward to trying though with tempered expectations. +1 for resource wheels or dual layered tracks! I don't enjoy keeping piles of multiple resources, especially in games where you have to exchange for a slightly bigger 5x resource and such
Hahaha got left behind.... ooo I wonder how Maggie would go with less theme but of a theme she doesn't enjoy that much (space)... maybe that evens it out lol. Yay resource accounting!!!! 😆 argh fiddly resource exchanges are the WORST especially when in the same turn ("now I take some wood, and then give that wood back, which gives me a free stone, which I'll convert into two bricks") 🙄 Thanks for taking the time to comment Matthew!
@@ThinkerThemer That's a good thought...0 theme x -1 interest still nets out to 0 haha. Do you two like Castles of Burgundy? It feels a bit like that with more going on. The setup is a little much, but otherwise it plays quickly and the rules are reasonably easy. Exactly! Then those two bricks give you 5 total which you can convert into a super brick! haha. Of course! I'm really enjoying your channel so far, thanks for sharing.
@@ThinkerThemer And I played Praga and... Really didn't like it 😭 it's well designed, but you just do actions and work towards your selected strategy. The winner of our game picked the same 2 actions over and over most of the time
@@matts3155 oh no I'm so sorry to hear. We weren't sure in our case if it was because we had simply set our expectations too high but unfortunately it will be leaving our collection ultimately I feel... hopefully someone else can find will adore it! There's a gamer for every game. Thank you for taking the time to report back!
First watch, really like the format. I’m definitely on the thinker side, but like to hear the alternative view as well. Game looks interesting, but the randomness and lack of interaction might put a damper on my enjoyment. Have you tried it three player with the automata or another person yet? I’m curious if that changes how you feel about it. It seems like that might up the tension a bit.
Hi Terrence... thanks for joining us here and appreciate you taking the time to comment with the lovely feedback (also just quietly happy to have another thinker ha ha ha). We have not played it three player... usually we can anticipate the feeling at more players...(and actually it is rare that we play 2 players only... but we were in heavy lockdown). Maggie just really didn't gel with this one so it's going to be a struggle to get it to the table to try it at a higher player count. I suspect with too many players it would be even worse to try to plan given the turnover of the tiles and the changing of the action wheel. The game state would change significantly between your turns. Maybe three would be a sweet spot... Thanks again and happy holidays ☺🎄
So I have 2 worker placement games - Caylus (aggressive & heavy thinky) and Viticulture (thematic, medium thinky). I enjoy them a lot. I bought my daughter Pret-A-Porter based on its theme (Fashion / Business). On playing Pret-A-Porter I was disappointed because I found that winning was very much driven by an underlying formula / mechanic rather than a thematic strategy, somewhat un-interactive rather than cut & thrust versus your opponents. So I am on the lookout for another worker placement game that adds a new dimension. Doesn't sound like Praga Caput Regni is it. Any ideas?
If you don't mind a bit of tight competition, Egizia: shifting sands, Lorenzo il magnifico, Feast for Odin. For something completely different, Coimbra (but it's intriguing elements are more mechanic than thematic...)! Side note that we mostly play these games at 4 but Feast has a great solo mode according to Maggie ☺
Can someone tell me what the blue game is on the top shelf, far left against the wall (just over Amy's right shoulder)? It almost looks like the Anachrony logo on the side of the box, but it's not Anachrony. I can't make out any title, and I don't recognize the character on the edge of the box either. Very curious.
Hi Larry! Good spotting! That is in fact Anachrony but it is in a faction sleeve that was part of the kickstarter campaign... much to Maggie's annoyance because she hates game sleeves 🤣
@@ThinkerThemer Ha! Thx Any. I’m used to white Anachrony boxes. :) Here’s an idea for an episode. The two of you should give us a tour through your collection. I’d love to know what’s all back there and what your thoughts are. A couple of non 2-player titles that I could spot surprised me like The Estates tho I suspect you save that for when friends visit. Great game for sure.
Haha yes a few people have asked us for the tour! At the moment our collection is so fragmented all over the house, at my office and also friends have borrowed but we are working towards getting it all back together!! Actually our most common player count is 4 players pre pandemic... we only really started playing just the 2 of us in 2020!!
Humm...gotta try it before I buy, this also let me a bit cold. I looove underwater cities and Pulsar2849 is on my wish list, but this will be a maybe for me.
Maybe you will appreciate the synergy in the bonuses a bit more than us... with UC for example we get a little impatient during the running of the 'engines' on each player's turn, and Maggie certainly got impatient with my AP in this one 😂 but others might not be too bothered. But like any game if you get an opportunity to try before you buy definitely do it!!! Thanks Mirko for taking the time to comment ☺
I finally played this game, and yea definitely got the feeling like I didn't get in a good enough game, did I really do 16 actions already?! something is missing in it for me :(
Hello girls! Thanks for the video. I have a general question for you: how many times do you play a game before the review? I Mean, do you haventhe time to run it multiple times so to dive in the mechanics or your workload is so heavy that limits you to a couple of runs? Thanks!
Hello! Thank you for this great question. We are fairly consistent with our process for this now... in this case we played multiplayer 4-5 times and Maggie played it solo 4 times. We don't talk about what we think about the game until after the second game, and then generally we try to flip our strategy or utilise new parts of the board etc. It also depends on the game, if there's more to explore we like to attempt different strategies. When we can we try to play at multiple player counts. Thankfully none of this feels like work so far, we still really enjoy each and every game ☺ Thanks again for the question!
@@ThinkerThemer hi! Thanks for detailed answer! We'll I m asking cause it is very important for a reviewer to deeply understand the design. Your answer pleases me and let me hear your opinion. However, I disagree with you about Praga which I find it an amazing game, with simple and easy actions, neither a single micro rule or exception, interwoven mechanics. However, its my personal taste, I m not judging yours. Keep up the good work! Ps are you from Australia or the kangaroo is just for fun?
Glad to hear. Yes I think a lot of people will like Praga but we try to be very authentic about our own experience and in this case we didn't love it as much as we wanted to (especially Maggie... I didn't mind it as much). Every game has its gamer and thrilled to hear that this one was a match with your tastes :) We are Australian yes, we live in Melbourne. ☺ Good to hear that our accents are not super thick hehehe
@@ThinkerThemer well I m from Greece so I m not the best guy to judge your accent, haha! I would like to see your opinion on Sleeping Gods! I m patiently waiting for it since August 2019. Probably Ryan's best so far.
Ahhh yes Sleeping Gods gets great reviews. We don't "tend" to play cooperative games... (very rarely) but maybe one day Maggie will want this one for solo... We love Greece! Amazing country 😁
I have Mr. Suchy's Pulsar 2849, and am looking forward to this one.
I've seen a number of videos about this game now, but 4:45 - 8:10 is simply the best concise overview of this (or rather *any* ) complex game I encountered on YT. (I am teaching myself, so I know how hard this is to pull off and that it needs talent *and* dedication.) And then you get the Themer's view, focused on aspects that are so often overlooked in game reviews, on top of that!
The game is not for me, but this is one of the best reviews & channels I've seen around. Off to binge the back catalogue of TT reviews now... Greetings from Austria!
Thank you Florian - this was so lovely to read and such great feedback. It's actually something we don't often get too much feedback on as most watch I think for our thoughts on the game rather than the overview of the gameplay. So I (Amy) really appreciate that. Glad to have you here and look forward to talking more games in the comments! Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment 😊
When I saw the board, I kept thinking it reminds me of Where's Waldo.
Good review, you both earned a new subscriber today!
Hahaha yes it is absolutely reminiscent of that...! Thanks for the sub Burt we're very glad to have you here ☺
Great review! Thanks very much for your honest assessment!
Thank you for providing some honest thoughts on the game! With many reviewers I feel like they're holding back and trying to play it safe when it comes to new games from known designers or companies. Your points are well articulated and don't go into unnecessary detail. I love Prague and medieval Bohemia, so I might get the game just for the theme, but you gave me something to think about. Subscribed to see more content from you two!
Thank you so much for the lovely feedback and glad you liked this video! I haven't seen too many other reviews of this one but perhaps it hasn't had too wide of distribution yet (we imported it from Europe to get it early in Australia!) It has some interesting mechanics and is a beautiful game... I only wish it worked for us a bit more (particularly Maggie....). As with all games it will find its gamer I'm sure! Thanks for the sub and look forward to chatting about more games with you 😊
You guys are brilliant fun to watch and I really love your videos!! Thank you for all your thoughtful, fun content, and hope your holiday season is absolutely lovely!!
Thanks so much Virginia! It is Christmas day here and we are well into festivities... wishing you a safe and happy holiday season too. Very much appreciate your feedback
Hi, I come from the Czech republic, now living in Brisbane. Was very excited to find your channel recently and have been watching episodes from oldest to now... Praga. I was very excited to find this game with a theme close to my heart. I am competitive when playing games but don't little the direct take that. Also find it frustrating if I can't have a productive turn no fault of my own, and lack of player interaction doesn't really bother me. I think after this review i am curious to play this, even thought my husband doesn't really enjoy point salad games. Too bad, he is playing this with me... 🥚😋
We loved our short trip to the Czech Republic! And now you are much closer - living in Brisbane, nice! Thank you so much for making your way through our videos, hope you've found some interesting games to hunt down ☺️
Will preorder this now! You guys are great by the way. Keep up with the amazing job!
Thank you so much for taking the time to provide this lovely feedback! ☺☺☺ We are still learning but having a lot of fun along the way...!
I finally got a copy for my birthday! 🎉💪
Bummer that you guys didn't enjoy Praga too much. Great review, and I'm still keeping my pre-order as the gameplay is something I and my group would probably enjoy. I think finding those combos and synergies would make the later parts of the game more satisfying, but we shall see.
Love that you were able to assess your own fit with the game... it's 100% the hardest thing to do when reviewing... to see past your own preferences to what someone else might like (and trying to nail down exactly why one game works for you when another doesn't). Every game has its gamer 🥰 Look forward to hearing about your experiences.
I love Underwater Cities and it looks terrific! I have it on my wish list. It's interesting hearing how you both feel. Now I'll have to give it some more thought... Thanks for this video!!
It is just gorgeous on the table, and definitely worth trying to see if it is the right fit for you... it's quite different to Underwater Cities (tiles laying rather than cards) but while it isn't an engine builder per se, it does have that feeling of pulling of a great single move by triggering lots of bonuses and even additional turns. It's about finding the synergies. Thanks for watching and commenting as always Omar! ☺
I really like your reviews. Just discovered you recently and looking forward to see more. Good luck and great job!
Thanks so much Ryan that is lovely of you to say. Happy to have you join us here!! ☺
I gotta say.. I absolutely love your enthusiasm for games! 😁 In my world, that's only me and all my family sit back and go "another new game?!".. watching you two makes me feel slightly less insane. Lol Awesome review, this one has been on my radar for sure but the deal gods didn't line up this black Friday. 😋 I did pick up Whistle Mountain though (speaking of hotness) and it arrived today! Yay!! New game day tomorrow.. the best kinda days.. ah life is good. 😊 Anywho, thanks for the video, and I love the honest feedback from Maggie - it's refreshing seeing someone not immediately fascinated by the hotness.
Ah thank you so much Ken for the lovely words! We love that new game feeling as well... it always feels so... promising 😁 Keen to get our hands on a copy of Whistle Mountain soon, would love to hear your thoughts. Also appreciate the feedback on our honesty in game reviews... we try to be authentic and demonstrate what others might like about a game (even if it isn't quite our thing). Every game has its gamer ☺ Thanks for your continued support and taking the time to write 💕
Really appreciate the review, think I am going to have to pick this up to at least give it a try. I am probably more of a thinker like Amy, but I love how a theme ties into the mechanics too. We would love to have you both join our weekly podcast to talk thinker vs theme! - Ryan
Nice to be connected Ryan and thanks for taking the time to comment! We are on a bit of a break at the moment from collabs while we try to organise ourselves a bit better but the best way to reach us is amy@thinkerthemer.com.
I just tried this game today and i love it!! Its Very very smooth! 9/10 for me and btw Nice vid
Thanks for letting us know your thoughts Hugo! It didn't quite come together for us but hard to pinpoint why, I'm glad that you enjoyed it - 9/10 too!!! Thanks for watching and taking the time to comment 😊
I absolutely love your intro! Great video
Aww thank you guys! Appreciate you watching our content and taking the time to comment 💕
Awesome review girls. It is nice to hear pros and cons about games. I like Maggies point about how she feels after the game. I prefer games that feels good after finishing to play. There are so many games out there.... might as well feel good after! Even if I don't win.
Thanks so much for the continued support and lovely feedback Pierre! It's interesting how a bundle of mechanics comes together to give you an overall "vibe" or "feeling" after the game is complete. We continue to try to be authentic of our own (which will no doubt differ from others). Thanks for taking the time to comment. 😊
@@ThinkerThemer your authenticity is very much appreciated :)
Oh no! I was really looking forward to this. All of the points you brought up are concerning. I love Underwater Cities and Pulsar 2849. I'm still going to play it and I'll let you know how it goes.
Don't let us scare you off Timm... one person's Agricola is another person's Pax Pamir --> that's how the saying goes right? 😂 Can't wait to hear your thoughts and to discuss. Miss our catch ups!
Excellent video, thank you! I was intrigued by the mechanics but concerned if it would be multiplayer solitaire - which is how I feel about Underwater Cities. As I saw the copy count dwindling at my favorite online retailer, I nearly pulled the trigger without playing it. Thank you for stopping me from being a victim of FOMO. Now I'll make sure to play it before buying!
Thank you Jon! I'm glad you will play before you buy. I had a similar feeling to you about Underwater Cities. The mechanics in isolation are cool without a doubt... and it looks gorgeous on the table. Anyway would love to hear your thoughts once you get a chance to try. Thanks for watching and commenting ☺
@@ThinkerThemer Finally got a chance to play PCR, and you both hit the nail on the head. It's good, but doesn't need to be in the collection. There was a little competition to get certain tiles or before others, but that's about it. Everything else was heads down focusing on the puzzle of what to do. The multiple paths to take with the inability to do them all was fun, and I would be happy to play it again. However, I have no need to actually own a copy. Thanks again and take care!
Thanks Jon for coming back here to report on your experiences! I'm glad you got a chance to play it and found parts of it to enjoy. I said in the video I would maybe keep it but ultimately I can't see it getting to the table (with Maggie not liking it) so I will be moving it on to someone else who can enjoy it more! Thanks again for taking the time to reply.
This is going on the list, I’ve put it in my basket online three times this week, I need to just go for it! TREAT YO SELF!
You're worth it friend ☺💸💕
I absolutely love Pulsar and have really been enjoying Underwater Cities on yucata.de (to the point where I will be buying it eventually). This one flew under my radar and like Maggie says it looks a bit overwhelming busy. As you run through it I'm not sold on it but based on reviews and walkthroughs I didn't think I'd like Underwater Cities that much and I ended up liking It once I played. I'll have to try this one before I buy for sure. Thanks again for the great review!
Thanks Aaron! Glad it was useful and perhaps we should give Pulsar a go based on your experiences and love for it! We like Underwater Cities but find it doesn't get much table time in our group 🤔 I really wish Praga had come together a bit more for us, some of the mechanics are great but there is always something about the "feeling" of a game that is hard to dissect... and is more than the sum of its parts. Thanks for watching and commenting as always ☺
This was definitely my game of 2020, so I'm quite intrigued by how divisive it seems to be. I love the game, but when we reviewed it recently, my co-host hated it.
I wonder if the blue tokens are weapons, which you need to defend the wall, but you have to recruit people (that live in the buildings) to become soldiers, that's why you get the tokens from the buildings.
The red ones might be a bit more of a stretch, because they are related to religion (as the cathedral progress increases their value) but you gain them through building the city walls and upgrades. So, I guess it's through learning and civilisation?
Thanks for the review! It helped me decide that it's probably not going to be a game for me. Even though the board is really pretty, the lack of asymmetric player powers (yes, I know...), the higher luck-factor and the inability to plan ahead drive me away.
Thankfully there's so many other great euros I haven't played yet...just recently finally managed to find a copy of Argent - The Consortium with expansions and treated myself to a slightly overpriced Lost Ruins of Arnak - really excited to get those two to the table very soon! :)
Glad you found this one helpful thank you :) We haven't played either of those... argh I cant believe I passed on a copy of Lost Ruins and now it really is the lost ruins.. I cant get it anywhere LOL. Oh well, lots to keep us busy!!!
Interesting review of this. I have a copy, and have played a couple of times without coming to a fixed conclusion about it, honestly.
I find V.Suchy games on the thinky side in general- don't have Underwater Cities, but I do have Pulsar 2849 and Last Will, and despite very different themes, all leave a taste of Point optimization.
So I definitely see where Amy might love this, where Maggie felt it a bit drier.
Your aproach to reviewing games is very interesting, I'm more on the thinker side but there a soft spot for nice components and artwork. Have you considered taking a look into the classics? I would love to hear your thoughts on Fury of Dracula (3rd/4th ed)
Thank you so much! We are trying to do some reviews of our older games (like Roads and Boats which definitely qualifies as a classic !) but the hotness always gets in the way 😅 we have never played Fury of Dracula! What is it like, is it a favourite of yours? Thanks for watching and commenting 💕
I was sold on this game because of the Prague setting. (I lived there in the mid 90s and walked across the Charles Bridge many times.) The board definitely looks super busy to me, and I am a bit concerned about the luck of the draw impact, but I don’t mind the more free-form / MPS so much. Thanks for another great review! If Maggie wins on dumping it from your collection, I will make sure to bring it to retirement island 😀
No way you lived in Prague?? That is so incredible. How long were you there? We have been there once and it is such a beautiful city (Budapest too omg). Is it weird that I'm now thinking about retirement island as an actual plan? 😅
@@ThinkerThemer I did a study abroad semester at Charles University, so only a couple of months. Budapest is pretty amazing too. I did a lot of traveling around Central/Eastern Europe on my weekends. I set up my schedule so I only had classes T/W/Th. 😀 Also, retirement island is definitely a REAL thing! (Or at least in my head it is.) 🤣
Sounds amazing... what a great way to explore Europe! Hope you both are doing well, looking forward to getting back to our regular visits... x
@@ThinkerThemer Fingers crossed for in-person gaming and visits soon. We miss you ❤️
Thank you very much for your detailed insight and honest opinion. It is very helpful.
Any plans to review "Lost Ruins of Arnak" in the near future? As a board game with a strong theme it would be perfect for the team of you two. It looks like a wonderful mix of deck building and worker placement. But during a test play at Spiel 2020 I found it a bit dull as both game mechanisms were not as pronounced as I would have wished for. But maybe I didn't dig into it deep enough, yet. Your opinion on this one would be highly appreciated. Have a nice christmas time!
Ah your experience of the game is really interesting to me (Amy). I have heard all of the praise for Lost Ruins of Arnak but even though I've watched lots of it in live streams... I haven't quite found myself purchasing it. Strangely I have just purchased Dune Imperium which combines similar mechanics but is not at all a theme we are into but for some reason it spoke to me more! Also very much looking forward to Endless Winter next year with the same concept of deck building and worker placement. I am sure we will find ourselves with Lost Ruins of Arnak sometime.... Thank you very much for taking the time to comment and your lovely words. ☺
This game was layed out at my local game shop and the look of the board really caught my eye. I'm pretty new to euros and have only begun to test the waters with some of the Garphill game offerings.
Anyhow, I've been kinda weighing this versus Underwater Cities and didn't realize that they were designed by the same person until I saw this video. UC just seems so drab to me but....aaargh.
Ever had analysis paralysis over choosing a game? Especially when they cost so much? Great video, liked and subscribed.
Thanks for the sub Martin, we are glad to have you here! and ABSOLUTELY I have had AP over choosing a game. Sometimes I will just check that a game I want is still in stock and mull over it for months before finally purchasing it...! I just did that for two games, Cerebria & Antiquity. It's particularly hard when there is not a lot of consensus in reviews, and the games are expensive.
Wish I could help more with your decision! We ended up selling Praga, but we still own UC although it doesn't get to our table much at all. It's a little card combo heavy for our tastes. What other games do you enjoy?
@@ThinkerThemer So as a kid I was into DnD, though honestly I spent more time poring over the rule books than actually playing. This led me to Hero Quest and Dungeon which I enjoyed immensely.
Fast forward to a couple of years ago and I found a used copy of Arkham Horror 2nd ed. and was absolutely captivated by it. Apparently not everyone feels the same way 😳 and I had much more luck getting my family to play Betrayal at House on the Hill and Escape the Dark Castle.
More recently I've been leaning toward euros with a solo mode as I enjoy puzzles very much and running, say, Eldrich Horror, alone can be fun but I'd much rather share such an adventure with others. Whereas with Circadians: First Light or Lost Ruins of Arnak I can just make my little decisions and try to be as efficient as possible.
All of this being said, I fear that I have fallen into the category of collector more so than player. I have Inis but have never played it. Aftermath and Jaws of the Lion sit unopened. I don't really need Praga or UC but I suppose it's just the rush of getting a new toy, the promise of a new experience in a pretty box.
Ah well, this is much more than you asked for but it just came spilling out. I do appreciate your kind reply to my post and I guess that the short answer to your question is - 'All sorts!'
You should play pulsar! Though theme got left behind on earth for that one.
Thanks for the review, I'm looking forward to trying though with tempered expectations.
+1 for resource wheels or dual layered tracks! I don't enjoy keeping piles of multiple resources, especially in games where you have to exchange for a slightly bigger 5x resource and such
Hahaha got left behind.... ooo I wonder how Maggie would go with less theme but of a theme she doesn't enjoy that much (space)... maybe that evens it out lol. Yay resource accounting!!!! 😆 argh fiddly resource exchanges are the WORST especially when in the same turn ("now I take some wood, and then give that wood back, which gives me a free stone, which I'll convert into two bricks") 🙄 Thanks for taking the time to comment Matthew!
@@ThinkerThemer That's a good thought...0 theme x -1 interest still nets out to 0 haha. Do you two like Castles of Burgundy? It feels a bit like that with more going on. The setup is a little much, but otherwise it plays quickly and the rules are reasonably easy.
Exactly! Then those two bricks give you 5 total which you can convert into a super brick! haha.
Of course! I'm really enjoying your channel so far, thanks for sharing.
@@ThinkerThemer And I played Praga and... Really didn't like it 😭 it's well designed, but you just do actions and work towards your selected strategy. The winner of our game picked the same 2 actions over and over most of the time
@@matts3155 oh no I'm so sorry to hear. We weren't sure in our case if it was because we had simply set our expectations too high but unfortunately it will be leaving our collection ultimately I feel... hopefully someone else can find will adore it! There's a gamer for every game. Thank you for taking the time to report back!
First watch, really like the format. I’m definitely on the thinker side, but like to hear the alternative view as well. Game looks interesting, but the randomness and lack of interaction might put a damper on my enjoyment.
Have you tried it three player with the automata or another person yet? I’m curious if that changes how you feel about it. It seems like that might up the tension a bit.
Hi Terrence... thanks for joining us here and appreciate you taking the time to comment with the lovely feedback (also just quietly happy to have another thinker ha ha ha). We have not played it three player... usually we can anticipate the feeling at more players...(and actually it is rare that we play 2 players only... but we were in heavy lockdown). Maggie just really didn't gel with this one so it's going to be a struggle to get it to the table to try it at a higher player count. I suspect with too many players it would be even worse to try to plan given the turnover of the tiles and the changing of the action wheel. The game state would change significantly between your turns. Maybe three would be a sweet spot... Thanks again and happy holidays ☺🎄
So I have 2 worker placement games - Caylus (aggressive & heavy thinky) and Viticulture (thematic, medium thinky). I enjoy them a lot. I bought my daughter Pret-A-Porter based on its theme (Fashion / Business). On playing Pret-A-Porter I was disappointed because I found that winning was very much driven by an underlying formula / mechanic rather than a thematic strategy, somewhat un-interactive rather than cut & thrust versus your opponents. So I am on the lookout for another worker placement game that adds a new dimension. Doesn't sound like Praga Caput Regni is it. Any ideas?
If you don't mind a bit of tight competition, Egizia: shifting sands, Lorenzo il magnifico, Feast for Odin. For something completely different, Coimbra (but it's intriguing elements are more mechanic than thematic...)! Side note that we mostly play these games at 4 but Feast has a great solo mode according to Maggie ☺
Can someone tell me what the blue game is on the top shelf, far left against the wall (just over Amy's right shoulder)? It almost looks like the Anachrony logo on the side of the box, but it's not Anachrony. I can't make out any title, and I don't recognize the character on the edge of the box either. Very curious.
Hi Larry! Good spotting! That is in fact Anachrony but it is in a faction sleeve that was part of the kickstarter campaign... much to Maggie's annoyance because she hates game sleeves 🤣
@@ThinkerThemer Ha! Thx Any. I’m used to white Anachrony boxes. :)
Here’s an idea for an episode. The two of you should give us a tour through your collection. I’d love to know what’s all back there and what your thoughts are. A couple of non 2-player titles that I could spot surprised me like The Estates tho I suspect you save that for when friends visit. Great game for sure.
Haha yes a few people have asked us for the tour! At the moment our collection is so fragmented all over the house, at my office and also friends have borrowed but we are working towards getting it all back together!! Actually our most common player count is 4 players pre pandemic... we only really started playing just the 2 of us in 2020!!
Humm...gotta try it before I buy, this also let me a bit cold. I looove underwater cities and Pulsar2849 is on my wish list, but this will be a maybe for me.
Maybe you will appreciate the synergy in the bonuses a bit more than us... with UC for example we get a little impatient during the running of the 'engines' on each player's turn, and Maggie certainly got impatient with my AP in this one 😂 but others might not be too bothered. But like any game if you get an opportunity to try before you buy definitely do it!!! Thanks Mirko for taking the time to comment ☺
I finally played this game, and yea definitely got the feeling like I didn't get in a good enough game, did I really do 16 actions already?! something is missing in it for me :(
Hello girls! Thanks for the video. I have a general question for you: how many times do you play a game before the review? I Mean, do you haventhe time to run it multiple times so to dive in the mechanics or your workload is so heavy that limits you to a couple of runs? Thanks!
Hello! Thank you for this great question. We are fairly consistent with our process for this now... in this case we played multiplayer 4-5 times and Maggie played it solo 4 times. We don't talk about what we think about the game until after the second game, and then generally we try to flip our strategy or utilise new parts of the board etc. It also depends on the game, if there's more to explore we like to attempt different strategies. When we can we try to play at multiple player counts. Thankfully none of this feels like work so far, we still really enjoy each and every game ☺ Thanks again for the question!
@@ThinkerThemer hi! Thanks for detailed answer! We'll I m asking cause it is very important for a reviewer to deeply understand the design. Your answer pleases me and let me hear your opinion. However, I disagree with you about Praga which I find it an amazing game, with simple and easy actions, neither a single micro rule or exception, interwoven mechanics. However, its my personal taste, I m not judging yours. Keep up the good work!
Ps are you from Australia or the kangaroo is just for fun?
Glad to hear. Yes I think a lot of people will like Praga but we try to be very authentic about our own experience and in this case we didn't love it as much as we wanted to (especially Maggie... I didn't mind it as much). Every game has its gamer and thrilled to hear that this one was a match with your tastes :) We are Australian yes, we live in Melbourne. ☺ Good to hear that our accents are not super thick hehehe
@@ThinkerThemer well I m from Greece so I m not the best guy to judge your accent, haha! I would like to see your opinion on Sleeping Gods! I m patiently waiting for it since August 2019. Probably Ryan's best so far.
Ahhh yes Sleeping Gods gets great reviews. We don't "tend" to play cooperative games... (very rarely) but maybe one day Maggie will want this one for solo...
We love Greece! Amazing country 😁
EGG