First time viewer here, absolutely love the dynamic between you two. Hard not to smile the entire time watching. Looking forward to more videos! Subscribed!
Thank you so much! It always means a lot to hear that from other content creators... thanks for the sub have joined your channel too and look forward to checking out your videos. 💕
i guess im asking randomly but does anybody know a tool to get back into an instagram account? I was dumb lost the password. I would love any help you can give me
Once again, very clear and concise review, thanks! Which is saying a lot for this game, because all of the past videos I've seen confused the heck out of me! I was actually disinterested in this game because the theme and mechanics seemed really wonky, but the way you two described it actually made a lot of sense, and now I'm really digging it! Also appreciate the solo review, certainly adds to the value for me personally (plan B if nobody wants to play it with me lol). Oh, also just wanted to give props to all the lovely close ups as you two are speaking, you're quality is on par with the best of the best in the RUclips review scene imo. 😊
Thank you Ken this type of feedback is so appreciated because as we only started 3 months ago we are constantly tweaking and changing not only the content but also the camera work and editing. We are still trying to make the videos shorter overall...20min is a beast to watch!!! Very glad that the structure helped you to understand this game. I (Amy) had watched some videos too but it didn't come together until we played it. Thanks again for your continued support! 💕 Also very keen to hear any parts where you think we should improve, change, remove or add to!
@@ThinkerThemer @ThinkerThemer I know this isn't a satisfying response because I can tell you're eager to improve and make better content, but honestly just keep doing what you're doing! Those close ups and overheads which go in tandem with what you're talking about are key to it making sense for the viewer - and like I said, if you can make this game understandable you're doing a lot right! As per the length, it doesn't bother me at all, but then again I watch all my videos at 1.5x speed.. lol That goes for everything on RUclips, nothing personal, but I get all the info in less time.. bonus! 😄 Oh, lastly, what makes your content really stand out (production aside) is your enthusiasm for the games, it's very refreshing and a joy to watch. 😊
Hahahaha no that is definitely a satisfying response... made us smile during a busy work day thank you Ken! (We are still open to any gripes anytime though hehe) Interesting that you watch at 1.5 speed... some people think that Australians talk too fast as it is Lol. Appreciate your kind words and will continue to focus on those key aspects of our reviews that you mention ☺☺☺
I own this game, along with Merlin, Castles of Burgundy, and Kokopelli. It sits unplayed until my game group feels the urge to play it. We recently have been on a Castles tear, playing it everyday on BGA, but what finally got my group ready for Bonfire was Kokopelli. We played Kokopelli as an end of the day game. Nobody was expecting to like it, because it’s only a card game, but they ended up loving it. They asked for more Feld, so we are playing Bonfire next. Thank you for your review. I linked it to my group so they could get an idea of what they were in for. I’m new to your channel, and can’t wait to pour through your library. I found the channel via your review of Septima on Kickstarter, which I immediately backed after watching your review. You both are brilliant! I am now a huge fan. Hopefully we will see you all at a convention someday. Cheers!
I love your channel, and decided to pick up Bonfire after listening to your two's endorsement, and I'm really glad that I did! This is my first Feld-game, and the mechanics just sing. Thanks!
@@ThinkerThemer I have been all tied up but I still love to come by when I am interested in a game. I am hoping to pull this off my shelf soon! Can't wait to play together! 🥰🖤
For some reason the thinker/themer concept made me both intrigued and skeptical at first, but after having watched 6 or 7 reviews, you're quickly becoming one of my favorite channels...and it's BECAUSE of that divided focus. Many newer reviewers are not great at accurately describing what makes a game interesting. But because you're each mainly focusing on one aspect, I really enjoy how you break down specific points of interest. I also think you provide just the right amount of detail about how the game plays AND you include how it plays solo. And you have good chemistry as well! (you'd think that wouldn't be terribly surprising, but not all couple chemistry is equal) You two check all my boxes! Glad I found this channel!
Thank you so much for taking the time to write this detailed feedback Chris. Completely understand how the concept may have sounded a bit gimmicky at first! We actually only set out to describe the way we both play and evaluate games and then after we launched it seems as though lots of people relate to this dichotomy. Our whole relationship is like this, I'm the planner, she's the spontaneous one. She's Mac, I'm PC. She's also very musical. It is funny how different brains work. I cant read a rulebook if it is layered in theme and she can't understand a mechanic without understanding its thematic purpose. Anyway, thank you for giving our channel a go and I really appreciate your feedback on the right amount of information. If you go back into our videos too far you'll see that we have evolved a lot on this front 😅 Look forward to chatting about games with you more ☺
Forgot to mention my favorite Felds! The Castles of Burgundy is #1 and basically tied for #2 and #3 are Bruges and Macao. All three are available on Yucata and I'd love to play asynchronously with either or both of you. Thanks for another wonderful video!
Trajan! I might be alone, but I think it's a nice looking game by Feld standards, and the theme is there. I mean, you're moving wooden pieces around, but I can personally wrap my head around how the colonies board or the construction site work, or the people demanding bread, circuses, and religion each round. The mancala action selection is one of the great mechanics of all time for a Euro game. This might be the first positive thing I've seen about Bonfire, and I got excited during the explanation. I'm really trying to stop buying games so I'll hold off, but I want to play this now!
Oooo we do love a mancala! Trajan moving up the list! Thank you. Interesting about the negative reviews of bonfire... I think the theme might be turning a lot of people off. We enjoy its puzzle and how everything comes together. Would love to hear what you think once you find a copy to try! Thanks for taking the time to comment ☺
Trajan is an excellent game and actually my favorite game of all time 😊. Amerigo and Bora Bora are also in my top 10 games. Of the newer Feld games, Carpe Diem is phenomenal.
@@pirecrompir This comment came in just minutes after I reserved a copy of the new Carpe Diem at my game store haha. I'm really looking forward to it, the game has intrigued me and now it doesn't look absolutely horrendous! Oh, and I ended up thinking Bonfire is fantastic. I own a small collection of Feld games now and I'm thinking about having a mini Feld game festival soon. Trajan is high on my list to replay.
Another outstanding review! I really enjoy the passion you both have for your different gaming perspectives. My favorite moment in this video was when Amy knew to just back away while Maggie had her theme “rant.” :). I appreciate both of your viewpoints and value your opinions. Thank you.
I love how you both interact and your passion and enthousiasm! It is contagious, and makes me want to play games. I mostly play family and midweight games, my favorite game of all times is the Castles of Burgundy (2019 edition), I also love the solo mode in that one, because it is a very tight race. I also own Carpe Diem, and that game has its own superpower: being short (so easy to get to the table), very easy to teach, and still has the wonderful tension of many options, wanting to do all of them, getting to tiles before your opponent does. I am curious about the new version of Carpe Diem, and hope they improve the graphic design in that one. I have the first printing, and that is both ugly and unclear. But it is still a lot of fun!
Thank you so much Nicole, this is really lovely feedback! You have reminded us to do a review of Castles of Burgundy this year... ! I'm not actually sure if Maggie has played it solo but she does have the app. Very much looking forward to grabbing the reprint of Carpe Diem and even moreso now based on your description!!! Thanks for taking the time to comment ☺
Excellent review! I just picked up Bonfire and can’t wait to get it to the table. My favorite Feld game is Trajan, but I love so many of them! It’s quite out of print at the moment, but Strasbourg is another fantastic Feld game that I would recommend if you have 4-5 players.
Trajan is getting a reprint this year! Can't wait to pick it up. Thank you for the other recommendation and for the lovely feedback on our video. Would love to hear what you think of Bonfire once you have a chance to get it to the table ☺
I rely enjoyed watching this review. I did have a copy of this game in my hands at the gaming store, and it felt, looking at the back, that it was a theme-less heavy euro. But today In this video I notice for the first time the faces of the little gnomes, and it changed my perception of the game a little bit. Listening to you, I am now more interested than before. Thanks for your videos.
Great enthousiasm Amy 😀 I love the way you both describe games from each of your point of view. Other good S. Feld games: castles of Burgendy of course, Trajan, La Isla.
Ah La Isla! First mention here but one we've almost bought many times. Thank you for adding it to the list!! Enthusiasm is so easy when you find a game you really like.... the worst part is explaining why you don't like a game.. pinpointing that feeling & its reason is tricky. Amy here and I'm very happy to have discovered this game in 2020. Thanks for the lovely feedback Pierre ☺💕
I've already pre-ordered the game but this makes me want it more! It's so nice to hear someone else get hyped up about mechanics as much as me! Really like hearing both of your views, really good concept and well executed. Subscribed! :-D
Aw thank you so much for taking the time to write this lovely feedback!! It is hard to sit still when I'm (Amy) talking about a clever combination of mechanics... it is Just. So. Thrilling. So glad we share that ☺ Thanks for the sub!
I would love to find a game similar to the one that Maggie described. If it is out there we will also be searching for it. Perhaps it will be our vision quest to find that game. We are in agreement with other’s comments that listening to you both describe this game makes me way more interested in this game than I have any right being. If you put out a video a day we would love all of them. Thanks for your videos and your unique perspectives on these board games. I ordered Honey Buzz based on your wonderfully eloquent descriptions of the mechanics and theme. Keep the videos coming🤟🏻
This was so nice to read thank you Michael. Maggie was thrilled to hear there are others out there searching for the elusive theme she described (it's often lost on me so I'm a terrible audience for her lol). I wish we could put out a video per day!! Really appreciate your kind support as we navigate our way through improving our videos and content (if you have any other constructive feedback would love to hear this too). 😊💕
So glad to have you join us! Yay! We love Monique and Naveen 💕 Hope you enjoy this game, let us know what you think once you've had a chance to play...!
Great review! first time I see a video from this channel, subscribed immediately. It's a fresh take on games by splitting the theme and mechanics content, I love it! Looking forward to see more of your content, may your bonfires burn long and prosper! :-)
Thank you for taking the time to comment and provide this lovely feedback! It means a lot coming from a fellow content creator, very much appreciate you stopping by 💕
I enjoyed the review from both perspectives. I’m in the same boat as far as Feld games. Castles of Burgundy is one of our favorites in our collection but I don’t have or I think even played any other Feld games. Definitely considering this one.
Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed the review and appreciate you taking the time to comment. We are still working out what to buy next from Feld... maybe Trajan and the new printing of Carpe Diem? 😊 Lovely to have you here!
I want to want to buy and like Trajan, I can just never pull the trigger on it. It just looks sooooo dry and abstract. I’m sure it’s great, but It makes Bonfire look like an immersive fantasy world by comparison.
Great video! You got me so hyped to get my copy. Oh goodness. Stefan Feld is by far my favorite designer. If you liked this then you absolutely *must* delve deeper into the wonderful world of Feld! All his games are such a delight to play and feel very unique-they tend to be focused on one really cool central mechanism and the game is built around that. Here's my rankings of the Feld games that I've played so far (just got Strasbourg and still waiting for Bonfire). The only ones I haven't cared for are the bottom 3 games. 1. The Castles of Burgundy 2. Trajan 3. Macao 4. Bruges 5. Bora Bora 6. Amerigo 7. Carpe Diem 8. The Oracle of Delphi 9. Notre Dame 10. La Isla 11. Luna 12. Aquasphere 13. Arena: Roma II (and Roma) 14. The Castles of Tuscany 15. In the Year of the Dragon 16. Rialto 17. Forum Trajanum 18. Merlin 19. The Pillars of the Earth: Builders Duel 20. The Castles of Burgundy: Dice 21. The Castles of Burgundy: Cards 22. Revolution of 1828 23. Rum & Pirates 24. Jórvík
Thank you Daniel for this amazing ranking!!! Love to hear this from true fans of designers and wow you have played a lot of Feld games! I'm super excited to try more titles and there seems to be a few that are mentioned quite consistently (at this point Trajan feels like an absolute no brainer to pick up!) I (Amy) love this idea about a central mechanism 😁 Also glad that our video made you excited about the game and thank you again for taking the time to comment. ☺
It's funny that you say what you thought the theme was because that's exactly how I viewed it. I was excited that the game had this theme and was one of the reasons I bought it. Here's the small twist on perspective I use to keep that transformational/metaphysical aspect. I play this game solo so TOM is an evil gnome trying to attract the guardians away into his false city and should he win they are forever held captive in darkness. I am doing everything I can to keep that from happening to lead them to the true path of light. You could view your opponents the same way.
One Feld that is hugely overlooked is Jorvik. I guess it's history of being a re-theme of an older game of his that was only available in europe muddies the waters. But Jorvik I've enjoyed with people who often don't like Feld's other games as much. The entire game is using a cool worker placement-like mechanism to earn bids for an auction for cards, round after round. You're trying to grab cards for resources, combos, end-game score condition, and special powers. If you like interesting bidding mechanisms and drafting (it's similar to drafting..) give it a look! Hopefully you can find it used for cheap, too,
Thank you Greg, I've not heard much about this one at all but now I'm about to look it up! Sounds really interesting. We're not huge on bidding, but worker placement and drafting yes yes yes - it sounds like an intriguing combination of things. Thanks for watching and for the recommendation!
Bora Bora and Carpe Diem are my Favorites. Trajan is pretty darn good as well. I sold off Macao, Bruges, Oracle of Delphi, Aquasphere, Notre Dame because they feel flat for me. Still have Castles of Burgundy because it's my wife's favorite but it's a middle of the pack Feld for my taste. I really want Bonfire and I'm pretty sure I'll love it. Great video by the way!
Thanks so much Michael for the lovely feedback and taking the time to write this list!!! I *think* I bought Notre Dame in the boxing day sales (it was a very early morning splurge lol) and I am keen for the new reprint of Carpe Diem. Interested to see how they all compare so will keep picking them up when I come across them. Thanks again ☺
Amy I didn't know this game existed until a few days ago and I have it shipping. I wa so excited to see you and Maggie did a video on it. I so understand your joy on these mechanics it has me doing the happy dance as well, lol. I'm more of a themer but I'm coming around to the thinker part more and more. Also, I'm starting to really love Stefan Feld games. I gotta get more! I have Notre Dame on the way.. What are your top 5?
There are so many Feld games I like. CoB and Trajan would probably be my top 2. I don't feel any theme playing Trajan, but the mechanics combine well. I'm sure Maggie could invent a Roman narrative to make it sound as exciting as the gnome race though! ;) I also like Jorvik and Strasbourg (oop). These both have different auction mechanics and I love auctions because of the battle of wits involved in assessing values in real time and trying to best your opponents by either getting something cheap or forcing them to pay more. Again, the themes are weak. Bora Bora is a good one too. It has an interesting Polynesian theme and a cool dice mechanic. Bruges has a little more luck than some due to the number of cards, but they're multi-use and you have lots of ways to score and to mitigate some of the luck of the draw. It's enjoyable to play, even when things don't go your way. I've also played La Isla, Amerigo, Merlin, Forum Trajanum, Carpe Diem, Rialto, Luna, Macao, In the Year of the Dragon, and Oracle of the Delphi. To be honest they all have something good they do. My least favorites of these would be Rialto and ITYOTD.
Oh sorry Paul I just found this! Thank you so much for this rundown on all of the Feld games you have played... we have a lot of catching up to do!! Looking forward to picking up the Trajan reprint this year. Thanks again for watching and taking the time to write this :)
I would echo that Luna is a fun Feld game and it has a lovely mystical type feel to it. You are moving workers around a 'rondel' (yep I said it) that changes each game depending on where you put the islands. *OK, it's not a true rondel* It is simply to play but a challenge to master. Not sure if it fits your wheelhouse. I have played Trajan once and it is a great thinky game. Thanks again for a fun vid.
Tempting me with promises of a rondel is a smart approach hehehe... I will check it out. Whew, one could spend a whole year just catching up on and playing Feld games!
You are so right Amy, he is a crazy prolific creator. I had a gamer in my life who had so many of his games. I just bought my first Feld game this weekend.
I completely understand. That person moved on from our friendship, so I have been building a collection and having the joy of introducing family and friends to this hobby.
Have you read the background story of the theme written by the art team ? I really enjoyed what this has added to gaming experience with Bonfire ! It’s on the Pegasus website
No I certainly haven't but maybe Maggie did in her journey into understanding the theme. I will ask her!! Thanks for bringing this to our attention Stephen 😊
Haha this was a fun one! I can definitely see the dynamic between you too, and it must make for some hilarious game nights. My favorite Felds are Trajan and Castles of Burgundy. This one seems like a big ramp up in complexity from those, and I’m excited! I just grabbed it on sale, and I’m looking forward to getting it to the table. I wasn’t a big fan of Notre Dame, and I haven’t tried any of the other titles he designed. My sense is that all of his games feel similar. Once you have a favorite, then, it’s hard to resist the impulse to measure his other games against your favorite. But I hope you’ve had fun exploring them since this video was posted! Maggie, I haven’t played it yet (although my partner just expressed an interest so maybe soon!), but I think Charterstone by Stonemeier Games might be that transcendental game experience you’re looking for? It’s a competitive legacy game, but it’s designed to leave you with a permanently replayable worker placement euro. I feel like that idea would create interesting tensions between short term gain competitive choices and long term gain world-building/cooperative choices. I also think Oath and something like the King’s Dilemma might raise interesting questions about how decisions are made (short term benefit? Long term benefit? Mutual benefits?). I’d be curious about your thoughts on Oath in this context :)
Another top video. It is a shame, for me, that the game didn't support the more humble, transcendental theme. Or rather that the mechanics, seemingly at every step usurp the notion of the theme and could only make it about an efficiency race. A tongue in cheek one at that. It is almost strange to analysis Feldian games through such a thematic lense as they tend to break down pretty quickly, which is a shame. But great work on continuing to go there as for me, the marriage between theme and mechanics is the ultimate aspect I look for.
Thank you... Maggie will certainly continue to try 🤣 I admire her perseverance. Appreciate your continued support and hope you are having a lovely weekend ☺
Excellent review! I love how Maggie really tried to reeeaaach for the theme in the game! :D On a podcast interview, I recall Feld saying that he pretty much always comes up with mechanics first, and he often has nothing to do with the theme. I believe Kokopelli might be an exception (the podcast interview was a year or two ago)? Also, designing games is his side gig. His day job is as a high school principal. I offer this random trivia as I don't have much to say about his games. I've only played Castles of Burgundy which I enjoyed. Trajan and Aquasphere are on my shelf of shame. I passed on the Feld city collection on kickstarter because, at the time, I found it difficult to justify the price compared to other Euro games. But maybe I'll be in on the next one. I mean, they do have gametrayz and acryllic components. Hm, there's still a late pledge option on CrowdOx. Darn FOMO! :D
Wow thank you for that interesting trivia!!! Amazing that he just designs in his spare time. 🙃 I also enjoy that as you are typing about city collection I can feel that you're getting closer and closer to backing. That happens to me so much when I record my KS videos. Thank you for the lovely feedback and support as always. 🥰
@@ThinkerThemer lol. Yes, the FOMO is real! But I've decided to stick with not backing the city collection for now. If it's one thing you can count on with Queen games, it's that there will always be another chance to back (and that's especially true with Feld's city collection as they've already got a long-term plan for future kickstarters). Happy to provide feedback! You and Maggie always do a great job with these videos! :D
Not a Feld game, but as you were describing what you wanted the theme to be, I thought “I bet she’d really dig Spirit Island.” Granted, it’s co-op, so it might not sit well in your collection.
Interesting!!! I am going to have to mention this to Maggie. We actually owned it and played it but decided to move it on, it never quite came together for us but you're 100% right that this is likely because we had to work together 😂 I dont actually know what she thought of the theme though.... will have to ask. Thank you for taking the time to comment and suggest this! ☺💕
@@ThinkerThemer As for Feld games, the only one I own (small collection) is Castles of Burgundy (2011 edition). Theme is little more than a color palette, but I thoroughly enjoy the gameplay. BTW I really enjoy your content, so please keep it up! I got Obsession and its expansions based on your review and Steph R from 3 Minute Board Games, and I'm loving it!
Thanks for this one. Sadly, I've only gotten one solo game in so far, but this video was almost exactly what I expected! I didn't expect Maggie to stretch quite THAT hard for the theme, but eventually she saw it too lol. I want to play it again and I'm jealous of how well Amy took to and got the mechanics. I need to hit that level of clarity as I'm not there yet. I haven't gotten into much Feld because I know theme is often not well, if at all, developed. I personally enjoy Carpe Diem and know from friends that Trajan and Merlin are both supposed to be solid offerings from him. Hope that helps! This review also gives hope that you'll both really take to Vindication. Really dying to hear how your research is going into backing it! :-D
Just what you expected is great... it means we are at least consistent in our preferences 🙃 Maggie laughed at your mention of her stretching for the theme... man she tried SO hard for this one... many days of deep reflection. You're the second person to recommend Carpe Diem - the first was Jazz from Lobby of Hobbies and he said it is getting a revamp soon? New edition? Will definitely have to pick it up. Now that this video is done and uploaded will definitely start the Vindication research!! Hope you'll keep at Bonfire, although sounds like solo is fairly challenging....! It does get easier and much faster after a few games. Look forward to hearing how your subsequent plays turn out... 🥰
@@ThinkerThemer yeah, it's getting a reprint which looks better from what I've seen. The first two were really very bland for table presence. Game play is still great, so I didn't care 😁 Definitely keeping Bonfire for now. It's a Feld! 😉
Re: Feld. I am a big fan Of Bruges, particularly as each card has a unique character profile which really helps with the theme for us. I was disappointed that the Hamburg reprint moved away from the characters. I am hoping for an Amerigo reprint as I have earmarked that as my favourite Feld (not having played it yet!)
Bruges does seem like a very bad gap in our gaming experiences. We have a friend who owns it so we should play it before we get Hamburg so we can compare. I haven't heard much about Amerigo! Will have to look into it. Thanks for the recommendations 😊
Amerigo was for me one of those, I love it first play's, but after a couple of plays, you know what to do, and it becomes more and more dependent on luck. What comes out of the tower is crucial, and not like in the Shogun game, where you most likely get even on another try when your block don't come out. No the next turn you would rather not have that colour come out, so you get double "penalty". Also I remember that the game feels a little broken on some of the mechanics, (moving ships and setteling), due to these actions are often not available/necessary in the last rounds. Its a long time since I'we play it, so there might be some game fix available. But i strongly recommend you to try it out a couple of times before you buy.
Yellow gnome cards are Elders, and they score you points immediately when you buy them. It is sort of a push your luck way to get points. Wait too long, and someone else might buy the card you wanted. We tried Bonfire yesterday but sadly there was no magic for us here. Bit of a letdown.
I don't think I've played a Stefan Feld game yet, shockingly! I did buy Castles of Burgundy recently, though. Bonfires looks really interesting from a mechanics point of view, however I completely agree with Maggie that the theme threw me off initially - I read about the setting and just assumed it was going to be cooperative and then was like 'What, it's competitive? Eh?' :D I guess it joins the long and illustrious group of eurogames with tacked-on-themes. Still, I'm very curious to try it out eventually!
We are late to the Stefan Feld collection as well but we're getting quite a few consistent recommendations in the comments so excited to track those down. Poor poor Maggie she tried so hard to make something of this theme...😂 Given our euro tendencies I'm very happy to be on the mechanics side of the fence 😁 Thanks for commenting and supporting us as always MaVarcon! 💕
Whoops, typo in my post, obviously tacked-on-THEMES, not mechanics. ':) Another game by Stefan I want to play eventually is Bruges. But the deluxe-edition seemed a bit excessive to me, even though I'm living near Hamburg. :D Thanks, you two, for your amazing content!
Mechanically the game looks interesting but I got a problem with the theme here, sounds very made up and "pasted in" unfortunately. I imagine my friend's faces when I try to explain it to them.. For other Feld games you should try Aquasphere - underrated, brain-melting, very tight game. Love the videos, please keep them coming!
Oooo brain-melting and very tight sound exactly like something we would like!! It has gone to the top of the list thank you! Appreciate the lovely feedback too ☺ thanks for taking the time to comment.
I just got a second hand copy of Aquasphere, and I'm excited to play it two player. A little iffy on area control as a two player mechanism, but based on Rahdo and others it seems to work ok at that count. I can't tell how much I like Feld overall (Trajan is definitely in my top 10 of all time though), I tend to like his games that look ok but most of them are too ugly for me to consider. Aquasphere is a pretty one though. This is why I'm so excited for the Macao reimplementation.
At one point, Feld was my favorite designer and I wanted to try all his games. Since then, he's a little hit or miss for me and I really have to try before buying now. You'll see I don't like a number of popular options, so maybe I have bad taste lol. But thanks for the bonfire review, I'm looking forward to trying it! Great: Castles of burgundy Carpe diem Forum trajanum Trajan Oracle of Delphi (maybe too lucky with random layout) Ok: Strasbourg Macao Aquasphere Amerigo Jorvik Don't like Merlin In the year of the dragon (the game is too mean to you) Bruges (the new version may fix card draws some) Bora boring (play how the game tells you or get less points) Luna
Bora boring 🤣🤣🤣🤣 that made us laugh a lot. Actually your list is fairly consistent with the other recommendations on here.... particularly carpe diem (new printing coming yay) and Trajan. And I think CoB goes without saying for many people. Thank you for taking the time to write this list Matthew... now to track them down! Would love to hear what you think of Bonfire once you've has a chance to play it. ☺
@@ThinkerThemer Maybe, my Feld friends frown at some of my choices lol. Third printing for Carpe....I made my original functional enough (and like the star board better!) I will come back and give my Bonfire impressions in 2021!
@@ThinkerThemer I played Bonfire recently and thought it was great! My wife compared it to Oracle of Delphi with tokens determining your different actions instead of dice which seemed pretty accurate
Thank you so much Matthew for coming back here to report back!! So glad to hear you enjoyed Bonfire... it ended up in my top 5 of the year and I keep thinking about getting it back to the table... it really stuck with me :D
If you like "racing" to win, The Oracle of Delphi is good, it's a fair bit lighter. Trajan is cool, I like the rondel action selection mechanic but it's a bit of a victory point salad. I think Bruges is probably my faveroute for it's clever multi-use card mechanic. Oh but Jorvik is such a good auction game... Hmm turns out Feld is good with mechanics lol
WE LOVE ALL OF THOSE THINGS! But especially a good rondel.... 🥰 Have you backed the city collection as a fan of Bruges? Thank you for all of the recommendations... going on the list!
I'm pleased to hear that the mechanics work well, but the attempt at theme seems lacking. The aesthetic is very cool. The theme could literally have been fixing a broken machine (purchasing or collecting gears, working from one end that's a power source to connect to the other end that's an engine). The gnome/guardian story-line doesn't really click. I love great theme, but think I'd rather have no theme than one that doesn't really add something to the experience.
Agree Steve but I wish it had clicked because it was an interesting attempt at something a bit more creative than the usual suspects (the usual suspects sell very well though soooo... :)). Thanks for watching and taking the time to post your thoughts. This one was a creeper for me (Amy)... I am still thinking about it...
If you enjoy the challenge of balancing two different tracks progressing toward each other, definitely check out Rajas of the Ganges. Easily in my top 10. Absolutely love your channel! You are both a breath of fresh air. I really enjoy your detailed analyses, chemistry, and overall energy you both bring. I always come away from your videos being able to form a really clear opinion about the game, and whether it’ll be a hit for me and my partner or not. Thank you for all your hard work!
Thank you sooo much for this kind feedback. We have been evolving our style a lot since we started 3 months ago and this is really nice to hear. We often think that they are way too long but we don't know how to cut back on what we each want to say 😅 Rajas of the Granges is on our agenda well and truly... just keep getting distracted by the hotness!!! I am so glad to hear that you love it, it's moving up the get it on the table list...!!! Thanks again for taking the time to comment ☺💕
Wow, seeing your reviews to Dune, Merv, and this one, I'm quite surprised to see this is the one you liked most. Now I'm much more curious about it. I'm actually not a Feld fan: Castles of Burgundy is the only one I love; second place is an obscure old one, The Name of the Rose, but I played it a long time ago. I'll definitely try a few more, especially those that are available online on yucata, but I was prepared to skip this one... I'll give it a try now I guess.
Would love to know what you think once you've had a chance to play Radu! At first I wasn't sure about it but it ended up in my top 5 of the year (and yes above Merv and Dune for my personal tastes :)). Maggie was less thrilled with the race aspect and of course struggled with trying to make sense of the theme.... ! Thanks for taking the time to comment on this and apologies for the delayed reply as I just found it!
First time viewer here, absolutely love the dynamic between you two. Hard not to smile the entire time watching. Looking forward to more videos! Subscribed!
Thank you so much! It always means a lot to hear that from other content creators... thanks for the sub have joined your channel too and look forward to checking out your videos. 💕
i guess im asking randomly but does anybody know a tool to get back into an instagram account?
I was dumb lost the password. I would love any help you can give me
Once again, very clear and concise review, thanks! Which is saying a lot for this game, because all of the past videos I've seen confused the heck out of me! I was actually disinterested in this game because the theme and mechanics seemed really wonky, but the way you two described it actually made a lot of sense, and now I'm really digging it! Also appreciate the solo review, certainly adds to the value for me personally (plan B if nobody wants to play it with me lol). Oh, also just wanted to give props to all the lovely close ups as you two are speaking, you're quality is on par with the best of the best in the RUclips review scene imo. 😊
Thank you Ken this type of feedback is so appreciated because as we only started 3 months ago we are constantly tweaking and changing not only the content but also the camera work and editing. We are still trying to make the videos shorter overall...20min is a beast to watch!!! Very glad that the structure helped you to understand this game. I (Amy) had watched some videos too but it didn't come together until we played it. Thanks again for your continued support! 💕 Also very keen to hear any parts where you think we should improve, change, remove or add to!
@@ThinkerThemer @ThinkerThemer I know this isn't a satisfying response because I can tell you're eager to improve and make better content, but honestly just keep doing what you're doing! Those close ups and overheads which go in tandem with what you're talking about are key to it making sense for the viewer - and like I said, if you can make this game understandable you're doing a lot right! As per the length, it doesn't bother me at all, but then again I watch all my videos at 1.5x speed.. lol That goes for everything on RUclips, nothing personal, but I get all the info in less time.. bonus! 😄 Oh, lastly, what makes your content really stand out (production aside) is your enthusiasm for the games, it's very refreshing and a joy to watch. 😊
Hahahaha no that is definitely a satisfying response... made us smile during a busy work day thank you Ken! (We are still open to any gripes anytime though hehe) Interesting that you watch at 1.5 speed... some people think that Australians talk too fast as it is Lol. Appreciate your kind words and will continue to focus on those key aspects of our reviews that you mention ☺☺☺
I own this game, along with Merlin, Castles of Burgundy, and Kokopelli.
It sits unplayed until my game group feels the urge to play it.
We recently have been on a Castles tear, playing it everyday on BGA, but what finally got my group ready for Bonfire was Kokopelli. We played Kokopelli as an end of the day game. Nobody was expecting to like it, because it’s only a card game, but they ended up loving it. They asked for more Feld, so we are playing Bonfire next.
Thank you for your review. I linked it to my group so they could get an idea of what they were in for. I’m new to your channel, and can’t wait to pour through your library. I found the channel via your review of Septima on Kickstarter, which I immediately backed after watching your review. You both are brilliant! I am now a huge fan. Hopefully we will see you all at a convention someday. Cheers!
I love your channel, and decided to pick up Bonfire after listening to your two's endorsement, and I'm really glad that I did! This is my first Feld-game, and the mechanics just sing. Thanks!
I love that this show encompasses how I experience games on both sides! I love it!
HEEEEYYYY 👋 We miss you! Thanks for dropping by! How are you? ❤
@@ThinkerThemer I have been all tied up but I still love to come by when I am interested in a game. I am hoping to pull this off my shelf soon!
Can't wait to play together! 🥰🖤
@@gamefreakgeek absolutely! When when when? :D hope you've been well x
Can’t believe I’ve not long found your channel, love your reviews and also love looking at each game from a mechanical and thematic perspective
Thanks so much Chris!!! Welcome! We are glad to have you here and so glad to hear you enjoy our style of reviews. ☺
For some reason the thinker/themer concept made me both intrigued and skeptical at first, but after having watched 6 or 7 reviews, you're quickly becoming one of my favorite channels...and it's BECAUSE of that divided focus. Many newer reviewers are not great at accurately describing what makes a game interesting. But because you're each mainly focusing on one aspect, I really enjoy how you break down specific points of interest. I also think you provide just the right amount of detail about how the game plays AND you include how it plays solo. And you have good chemistry as well! (you'd think that wouldn't be terribly surprising, but not all couple chemistry is equal)
You two check all my boxes! Glad I found this channel!
Thank you so much for taking the time to write this detailed feedback Chris. Completely understand how the concept may have sounded a bit gimmicky at first! We actually only set out to describe the way we both play and evaluate games and then after we launched it seems as though lots of people relate to this dichotomy. Our whole relationship is like this, I'm the planner, she's the spontaneous one. She's Mac, I'm PC. She's also very musical. It is funny how different brains work. I cant read a rulebook if it is layered in theme and she can't understand a mechanic without understanding its thematic purpose. Anyway, thank you for giving our channel a go and I really appreciate your feedback on the right amount of information. If you go back into our videos too far you'll see that we have evolved a lot on this front 😅 Look forward to chatting about games with you more ☺
Forgot to mention my favorite Felds! The Castles of Burgundy is #1 and basically tied for #2 and #3 are Bruges and Macao. All three are available on Yucata and I'd love to play asynchronously with either or both of you. Thanks for another wonderful video!
Trajan! I might be alone, but I think it's a nice looking game by Feld standards, and the theme is there. I mean, you're moving wooden pieces around, but I can personally wrap my head around how the colonies board or the construction site work, or the people demanding bread, circuses, and religion each round. The mancala action selection is one of the great mechanics of all time for a Euro game.
This might be the first positive thing I've seen about Bonfire, and I got excited during the explanation. I'm really trying to stop buying games so I'll hold off, but I want to play this now!
Oooo we do love a mancala! Trajan moving up the list! Thank you.
Interesting about the negative reviews of bonfire... I think the theme might be turning a lot of people off. We enjoy its puzzle and how everything comes together. Would love to hear what you think once you find a copy to try! Thanks for taking the time to comment ☺
Trajan is an excellent game and actually my favorite game of all time 😊. Amerigo and Bora Bora are also in my top 10 games. Of the newer Feld games, Carpe Diem is phenomenal.
@@pirecrompir This comment came in just minutes after I reserved a copy of the new Carpe Diem at my game store haha. I'm really looking forward to it, the game has intrigued me and now it doesn't look absolutely horrendous!
Oh, and I ended up thinking Bonfire is fantastic. I own a small collection of Feld games now and I'm thinking about having a mini Feld game festival soon. Trajan is high on my list to replay.
@@saintsalieri I own the 1st edition Carpe Diem and have had no problems playing it 😊. The new one is even better, of course!
Great review. I really like your thoughts about the game and the structure of the video.
Thank you so much for taking the time to write this lovely comment! Very glad you enjoyed the video ☺
Another outstanding review! I really enjoy the passion you both have for your different gaming perspectives. My favorite moment in this video was when Amy knew to just back away while Maggie had her theme “rant.” :). I appreciate both of your viewpoints and value your opinions. Thank you.
Thank you for the reviews, this made me more sure to buy this game
Thanks so much for taking the time to comment Koko! Glad it could help. ☺
I love how you both interact and your passion and enthousiasm! It is contagious, and makes me want to play games.
I mostly play family and midweight games, my favorite game of all times is the Castles of Burgundy (2019 edition), I also love the solo mode in that one, because it is a very tight race. I also own Carpe Diem, and that game has its own superpower: being short (so easy to get to the table), very easy to teach, and still has the wonderful tension of many options, wanting to do all of them, getting to tiles before your opponent does.
I am curious about the new version of Carpe Diem, and hope they improve the graphic design in that one. I have the first printing, and that is both ugly and unclear. But it is still a lot of fun!
Thank you so much Nicole, this is really lovely feedback! You have reminded us to do a review of Castles of Burgundy this year... ! I'm not actually sure if Maggie has played it solo but she does have the app. Very much looking forward to grabbing the reprint of Carpe Diem and even moreso now based on your description!!! Thanks for taking the time to comment ☺
Excellent review! I just picked up Bonfire and can’t wait to get it to the table. My favorite Feld game is Trajan, but I love so many of them! It’s quite out of print at the moment, but Strasbourg is another fantastic Feld game that I would recommend if you have 4-5 players.
Trajan is getting a reprint this year! Can't wait to pick it up. Thank you for the other recommendation and for the lovely feedback on our video. Would love to hear what you think of Bonfire once you have a chance to get it to the table ☺
Subscribed!! Thank you for this format and your unique perspectives!!
Thanks Levi great to have you here! 😄
I rely enjoyed watching this review. I did have a copy of this game in my hands at the gaming store, and it felt, looking at the back, that it was a theme-less heavy euro. But today In this video I notice for the first time the faces of the little gnomes, and it changed my perception of the game a little bit. Listening to you, I am now more interested than before. Thanks for your videos.
Great enthousiasm Amy 😀
I love the way you both describe games from each of your point of view.
Other good S. Feld games: castles of Burgendy of course, Trajan, La Isla.
Ah La Isla! First mention here but one we've almost bought many times. Thank you for adding it to the list!! Enthusiasm is so easy when you find a game you really like.... the worst part is explaining why you don't like a game.. pinpointing that feeling & its reason is tricky. Amy here and I'm very happy to have discovered this game in 2020. Thanks for the lovely feedback Pierre ☺💕
Thanks for the great review! Look forward to watching more from you both! Subscribed!
Thanks for taking the time to write this lovely comment! Great to have you here!! ☺
I've already pre-ordered the game but this makes me want it more! It's so nice to hear someone else get hyped up about mechanics as much as me! Really like hearing both of your views, really good concept and well executed. Subscribed! :-D
Aw thank you so much for taking the time to write this lovely feedback!! It is hard to sit still when I'm (Amy) talking about a clever combination of mechanics... it is Just. So. Thrilling. So glad we share that ☺ Thanks for the sub!
Appreciate dedication on all your reviews!
Thank you Samuel ☺
Well, this has done it for me... I bought the game just now and it should be here tomorrow! :D
I would love to find a game similar to the one that Maggie described. If it is out there we will also be searching for it. Perhaps it will be our vision quest to find that game. We are in agreement with other’s comments that listening to you both describe this game makes me way more interested in this game than I have any right being. If you put out a video a day we would love all of them. Thanks for your videos and your unique perspectives on these board games. I ordered Honey Buzz based on your wonderfully eloquent descriptions of the mechanics and theme. Keep the videos coming🤟🏻
This was so nice to read thank you Michael. Maggie was thrilled to hear there are others out there searching for the elusive theme she described (it's often lost on me so I'm a terrible audience for her lol). I wish we could put out a video per day!! Really appreciate your kind support as we navigate our way through improving our videos and content (if you have any other constructive feedback would love to hear this too). 😊💕
Just bought this game and found you from Before you Play. Looking forward to seeing your videos!
So glad to have you join us! Yay! We love Monique and Naveen 💕 Hope you enjoy this game, let us know what you think once you've had a chance to play...!
@@ThinkerThemer I love the mechanism in it. My theme focused wife is still undecided.
Hahahaha yes much like Maggie's experience... glad you love the puzzle!
Great review! first time I see a video from this channel, subscribed immediately. It's a fresh take on games by splitting the theme and mechanics content, I love it!
Looking forward to see more of your content, may your bonfires burn long and prosper! :-)
Excellent work - thank you for putting the effort into making a great review
Thank you for taking the time to comment and provide this lovely feedback! It means a lot coming from a fellow content creator, very much appreciate you stopping by 💕
I enjoyed the review from both perspectives. I’m in the same boat as far as Feld games. Castles of Burgundy is one of our favorites in our collection but I don’t have or I think even played any other Feld games. Definitely considering this one.
Thank you so much! Glad you enjoyed the review and appreciate you taking the time to comment. We are still working out what to buy next from Feld... maybe Trajan and the new printing of Carpe Diem? 😊 Lovely to have you here!
I want to want to buy and like Trajan, I can just never pull the trigger on it. It just looks sooooo dry and abstract. I’m sure it’s great, but It makes Bonfire look like an immersive fantasy world by comparison.
Great video! You got me so hyped to get my copy. Oh goodness. Stefan Feld is by far my favorite designer. If you liked this then you absolutely *must* delve deeper into the wonderful world of Feld! All his games are such a delight to play and feel very unique-they tend to be focused on one really cool central mechanism and the game is built around that.
Here's my rankings of the Feld games that I've played so far (just got Strasbourg and still waiting for Bonfire). The only ones I haven't cared for are the bottom 3 games.
1. The Castles of Burgundy
2. Trajan
3. Macao
4. Bruges
5. Bora Bora
6. Amerigo
7. Carpe Diem
8. The Oracle of Delphi
9. Notre Dame
10. La Isla
11. Luna
12. Aquasphere
13. Arena: Roma II (and Roma)
14. The Castles of Tuscany
15. In the Year of the Dragon
16. Rialto
17. Forum Trajanum
18. Merlin
19. The Pillars of the Earth: Builders Duel
20. The Castles of Burgundy: Dice
21. The Castles of Burgundy: Cards
22. Revolution of 1828
23. Rum & Pirates
24. Jórvík
Thank you Daniel for this amazing ranking!!! Love to hear this from true fans of designers and wow you have played a lot of Feld games! I'm super excited to try more titles and there seems to be a few that are mentioned quite consistently (at this point Trajan feels like an absolute no brainer to pick up!) I (Amy) love this idea about a central mechanism 😁 Also glad that our video made you excited about the game and thank you again for taking the time to comment. ☺
It's funny that you say what you thought the theme was because that's exactly how I viewed it. I was excited that the game had this theme and was one of the reasons I bought it. Here's the small twist on perspective I use to keep that transformational/metaphysical aspect. I play this game solo so TOM is an evil gnome trying to attract the guardians away into his false city and should he win they are forever held captive in darkness. I am doing everything I can to keep that from happening to lead them to the true path of light. You could view your opponents the same way.
One Feld that is hugely overlooked is Jorvik. I guess it's history of being a re-theme of an older game of his that was only available in europe muddies the waters. But Jorvik I've enjoyed with people who often don't like Feld's other games as much. The entire game is using a cool worker placement-like mechanism to earn bids for an auction for cards, round after round. You're trying to grab cards for resources, combos, end-game score condition, and special powers. If you like interesting bidding mechanisms and drafting (it's similar to drafting..) give it a look! Hopefully you can find it used for cheap, too,
Thank you Greg, I've not heard much about this one at all but now I'm about to look it up! Sounds really interesting. We're not huge on bidding, but worker placement and drafting yes yes yes - it sounds like an intriguing combination of things. Thanks for watching and for the recommendation!
Great Review format.Really enjoyed the video. Thanks
Thanks so much Paul!
Loved that intro! 😂 Thanks for the video! You’ve got a new subscriber 🥳
Thank you so much! And likewise!! Very much appreciate the support 💕💕
Finally got this game for my birthday! Love it!
So glad to hear you love it too! I think about it a weird amount 🤔 (Amy)
@@ThinkerThemer right!? It’s like I’m always thinking....I’m sure I can do this more efficiently next time!
Exactly! Some games just stay with you... I cant wait to play this more at higher player counts. Will feel even more race-like !
Bora Bora and Carpe Diem are my Favorites. Trajan is pretty darn good as well. I sold off Macao, Bruges, Oracle of Delphi, Aquasphere, Notre Dame because they feel flat for me.
Still have Castles of Burgundy because it's my wife's favorite but it's a middle of the pack Feld for my taste.
I really want Bonfire and I'm pretty sure I'll love it. Great video by the way!
Thanks so much Michael for the lovely feedback and taking the time to write this list!!! I *think* I bought Notre Dame in the boxing day sales (it was a very early morning splurge lol) and I am keen for the new reprint of Carpe Diem. Interested to see how they all compare so will keep picking them up when I come across them. Thanks again ☺
Amy I didn't know this game existed until a few days ago and I have it shipping. I wa so excited to see you and Maggie did a video on it. I so understand your joy on these mechanics it has me doing the happy dance as well, lol. I'm more of a themer but I'm coming around to the thinker part more and more. Also, I'm starting to really love Stefan Feld games. I gotta get more! I have Notre Dame on the way.. What are your top 5?
Check out In the Year of the Dragon. Much more interactive Field design.
That one has been on our radar! Thanks Carlos
Hearing you guys describe the theme of this game is hilarious. I'm kinda interested in this game.
She tried so hard Dwayne lol. Luckily the mechanics are a dream (I think that's why she tried soooo much!) Hope you guys are well 💕
@@ThinkerThemer She did a great job. I love fantasy themed games. I might have to get this one.
Warning it is a heavy one though! Don't scare Alicia (spelling?) away!!!! ❤
The spelling is correct😁.
There are so many Feld games I like. CoB and Trajan would probably be my top 2. I don't feel any theme playing Trajan, but the mechanics combine well. I'm sure Maggie could invent a Roman narrative to make it sound as exciting as the gnome race though!
;)
I also like Jorvik and Strasbourg (oop). These both have different auction mechanics and I love auctions because of the battle of wits involved in assessing values in real time and trying to best your opponents by either getting something cheap or forcing them to pay more. Again, the themes are weak.
Bora Bora is a good one too. It has an interesting Polynesian theme and a cool dice mechanic.
Bruges has a little more luck than some due to the number of cards, but they're multi-use and you have lots of ways to score and to mitigate some of the luck of the draw. It's enjoyable to play, even when things don't go your way.
I've also played La Isla, Amerigo, Merlin, Forum Trajanum, Carpe Diem, Rialto, Luna, Macao, In the Year of the Dragon, and Oracle of the Delphi. To be honest they all have something good they do. My least favorites of these would be Rialto and ITYOTD.
Oh sorry Paul I just found this! Thank you so much for this rundown on all of the Feld games you have played... we have a lot of catching up to do!! Looking forward to picking up the Trajan reprint this year. Thanks again for watching and taking the time to write this :)
I would echo that Luna is a fun Feld game and it has a lovely mystical type feel to it. You are moving workers around a 'rondel' (yep I said it) that changes each game depending on where you put the islands.
*OK, it's not a true rondel*
It is simply to play but a challenge to master.
Not sure if it fits your wheelhouse.
I have played Trajan once and it is a great thinky game.
Thanks again for a fun vid.
Tempting me with promises of a rondel is a smart approach hehehe... I will check it out. Whew, one could spend a whole year just catching up on and playing Feld games!
You are so right Amy, he is a crazy prolific creator. I had a gamer in my life who had so many of his games. I just bought my first Feld game this weekend.
Aww i wish we had friends that were collectors!!! We are the library for all of our friends so if we want to try something we have to buy it...! 💸😬
I completely understand.
That person moved on from our friendship, so I have been building a collection and having the joy of introducing family and friends to this hobby.
Have you read the background story of the theme written by the art team ? I really enjoyed what this has added to gaming experience with Bonfire ! It’s on the Pegasus website
No I certainly haven't but maybe Maggie did in her journey into understanding the theme. I will ask her!! Thanks for bringing this to our attention Stephen 😊
Haha this was a fun one! I can definitely see the dynamic between you too, and it must make for some hilarious game nights.
My favorite Felds are Trajan and Castles of Burgundy. This one seems like a big ramp up in complexity from those, and I’m excited! I just grabbed it on sale, and I’m looking forward to getting it to the table. I wasn’t a big fan of Notre Dame, and I haven’t tried any of the other titles he designed.
My sense is that all of his games feel similar. Once you have a favorite, then, it’s hard to resist the impulse to measure his other games against your favorite. But I hope you’ve had fun exploring them since this video was posted!
Maggie, I haven’t played it yet (although my partner just expressed an interest so maybe soon!), but I think Charterstone by Stonemeier Games might be that transcendental game experience you’re looking for? It’s a competitive legacy game, but it’s designed to leave you with a permanently replayable worker placement euro. I feel like that idea would create interesting tensions between short term gain competitive choices and long term gain world-building/cooperative choices.
I also think Oath and something like the King’s Dilemma might raise interesting questions about how decisions are made (short term benefit? Long term benefit? Mutual benefits?). I’d be curious about your thoughts on Oath in this context :)
Another top video. It is a shame, for me, that the game didn't support the more humble, transcendental theme. Or rather that the mechanics, seemingly at every step usurp the notion of the theme and could only make it about an efficiency race. A tongue in cheek one at that.
It is almost strange to analysis Feldian games through such a thematic lense as they tend to break down pretty quickly, which is a shame. But great work on continuing to go there as for me, the marriage between theme and mechanics is the ultimate aspect I look for.
Thank you... Maggie will certainly continue to try 🤣 I admire her perseverance. Appreciate your continued support and hope you are having a lovely weekend ☺
Great review! I think Luna is the other stefan feld game that looks most interesting to me.
Thanks Tyler!! There are so many we barely know where to start!!! Appreciate you taking the time to comment ☺
@@ThinkerThemer also yall have a great dynamic, I will certainly watch more of your stuff
Thank you that is lovely feedback! 😁 glad to have you here Tyler
Excellent review! I love how Maggie really tried to reeeaaach for the theme in the game! :D
On a podcast interview, I recall Feld saying that he pretty much always comes up with mechanics first, and he often has nothing to do with the theme. I believe Kokopelli might be an exception (the podcast interview was a year or two ago)?
Also, designing games is his side gig. His day job is as a high school principal. I offer this random trivia as I don't have much to say about his games.
I've only played Castles of Burgundy which I enjoyed. Trajan and Aquasphere are on my shelf of shame. I passed on the Feld city collection on kickstarter because, at the time, I found it difficult to justify the price compared to other Euro games. But maybe I'll be in on the next one. I mean, they do have gametrayz and acryllic components. Hm, there's still a late pledge option on CrowdOx. Darn FOMO! :D
Wow thank you for that interesting trivia!!! Amazing that he just designs in his spare time. 🙃 I also enjoy that as you are typing about city collection I can feel that you're getting closer and closer to backing. That happens to me so much when I record my KS videos. Thank you for the lovely feedback and support as always. 🥰
@@ThinkerThemer lol. Yes, the FOMO is real! But I've decided to stick with not backing the city collection for now. If it's one thing you can count on with Queen games, it's that there will always be another chance to back (and that's especially true with Feld's city collection as they've already got a long-term plan for future kickstarters).
Happy to provide feedback! You and Maggie always do a great job with these videos! :D
Not a Feld game, but as you were describing what you wanted the theme to be, I thought “I bet she’d really dig Spirit Island.” Granted, it’s co-op, so it might not sit well in your collection.
Interesting!!! I am going to have to mention this to Maggie. We actually owned it and played it but decided to move it on, it never quite came together for us but you're 100% right that this is likely because we had to work together 😂 I dont actually know what she thought of the theme though.... will have to ask. Thank you for taking the time to comment and suggest this! ☺💕
@@ThinkerThemer As for Feld games, the only one I own (small collection) is Castles of Burgundy (2011 edition). Theme is little more than a color palette, but I thoroughly enjoy the gameplay. BTW I really enjoy your content, so please keep it up! I got Obsession and its expansions based on your review and Steph R from 3 Minute Board Games, and I'm loving it!
Thanks for this one. Sadly, I've only gotten one solo game in so far, but this video was almost exactly what I expected! I didn't expect Maggie to stretch quite THAT hard for the theme, but eventually she saw it too lol. I want to play it again and I'm jealous of how well Amy took to and got the mechanics. I need to hit that level of clarity as I'm not there yet.
I haven't gotten into much Feld because I know theme is often not well, if at all, developed. I personally enjoy Carpe Diem and know from friends that Trajan and Merlin are both supposed to be solid offerings from him. Hope that helps!
This review also gives hope that you'll both really take to Vindication. Really dying to hear how your research is going into backing it! :-D
Just what you expected is great... it means we are at least consistent in our preferences 🙃 Maggie laughed at your mention of her stretching for the theme... man she tried SO hard for this one... many days of deep reflection. You're the second person to recommend Carpe Diem - the first was Jazz from Lobby of Hobbies and he said it is getting a revamp soon? New edition? Will definitely have to pick it up. Now that this video is done and uploaded will definitely start the Vindication research!!
Hope you'll keep at Bonfire, although sounds like solo is fairly challenging....! It does get easier and much faster after a few games. Look forward to hearing how your subsequent plays turn out... 🥰
@@ThinkerThemer yeah, it's getting a reprint which looks better from what I've seen. The first two were really very bland for table presence. Game play is still great, so I didn't care 😁
Definitely keeping Bonfire for now. It's a Feld! 😉
I won't care either but if the art is good at least Maggie will play it with me 😅 I will keep an eye out for it!! Thanks as always for the suggestion!
Re: Feld. I am a big fan Of Bruges, particularly as each card has a unique character profile which really helps with the theme for us. I was disappointed that the Hamburg reprint moved away from the characters.
I am hoping for an Amerigo reprint as I have earmarked that as my favourite Feld (not having played it yet!)
Bruges does seem like a very bad gap in our gaming experiences. We have a friend who owns it so we should play it before we get Hamburg so we can compare. I haven't heard much about Amerigo! Will have to look into it. Thanks for the recommendations 😊
Amerigo was for me one of those, I love it first play's, but after a couple of plays, you know what to do, and it becomes more and more dependent on luck. What comes out of the tower is crucial, and not like in the Shogun game, where you most likely get even on another try when your block don't come out. No the next turn you would rather not have that colour come out, so you get double "penalty". Also I remember that the game feels a little broken on some of the mechanics, (moving ships and setteling), due to these actions are often not available/necessary in the last rounds. Its a long time since I'we play it, so there might be some game fix available. But i strongly recommend you to try it out a couple of times before you buy.
Yellow gnome cards are Elders, and they score you points immediately when you buy them. It is sort of a push your luck way to get points. Wait too long, and someone else might buy the card you wanted.
We tried Bonfire yesterday but sadly there was no magic for us here. Bit of a letdown.
i NEED this!
Im a little late to the party but Oracle of Delphi is one of my faves and is Felds most thematic imo
Oooo thematic! Will have to check that one out thank you Aaron! ☺
@@ThinkerThemer there is a pretty decent port of it on Yucata.de. They actually have alot of Felds on there.
I don't think I've played a Stefan Feld game yet, shockingly! I did buy Castles of Burgundy recently, though.
Bonfires looks really interesting from a mechanics point of view, however I completely agree with Maggie that the theme threw me off initially - I read about the setting and just assumed it was going to be cooperative and then was like 'What, it's competitive? Eh?' :D
I guess it joins the long and illustrious group of eurogames with tacked-on-themes. Still, I'm very curious to try it out eventually!
We are late to the Stefan Feld collection as well but we're getting quite a few consistent recommendations in the comments so excited to track those down. Poor poor Maggie she tried so hard to make something of this theme...😂 Given our euro tendencies I'm very happy to be on the mechanics side of the fence 😁 Thanks for commenting and supporting us as always MaVarcon! 💕
Whoops, typo in my post, obviously tacked-on-THEMES, not mechanics. ':)
Another game by Stefan I want to play eventually is Bruges. But the deluxe-edition seemed a bit excessive to me, even though I'm living near Hamburg. :D
Thanks, you two, for your amazing content!
I knooooow and I bought the whole city collection upfront 🤦♀️ that was a painful week...
Haha! I'm a bit envious though, those will look amazing in your collection! :)
A very important Feld lesson...there is no theme...ever 😅
Mechanically the game looks interesting but I got a problem with the theme here, sounds very made up and "pasted in" unfortunately. I imagine my friend's faces when I try to explain it to them.. For other Feld games you should try Aquasphere - underrated, brain-melting, very tight game. Love the videos, please keep them coming!
Oooo brain-melting and very tight sound exactly like something we would like!! It has gone to the top of the list thank you! Appreciate the lovely feedback too ☺ thanks for taking the time to comment.
I just got a second hand copy of Aquasphere, and I'm excited to play it two player. A little iffy on area control as a two player mechanism, but based on Rahdo and others it seems to work ok at that count. I can't tell how much I like Feld overall (Trajan is definitely in my top 10 of all time though), I tend to like his games that look ok but most of them are too ugly for me to consider. Aquasphere is a pretty one though. This is why I'm so excited for the Macao reimplementation.
At one point, Feld was my favorite designer and I wanted to try all his games. Since then, he's a little hit or miss for me and I really have to try before buying now. You'll see I don't like a number of popular options, so maybe I have bad taste lol. But thanks for the bonfire review, I'm looking forward to trying it!
Great:
Castles of burgundy
Carpe diem
Forum trajanum
Trajan
Oracle of Delphi (maybe too lucky with random layout)
Ok:
Strasbourg
Macao
Aquasphere
Amerigo
Jorvik
Don't like
Merlin
In the year of the dragon (the game is too mean to you)
Bruges (the new version may fix card draws some)
Bora boring (play how the game tells you or get less points)
Luna
Bora boring 🤣🤣🤣🤣 that made us laugh a lot. Actually your list is fairly consistent with the other recommendations on here.... particularly carpe diem (new printing coming yay) and Trajan. And I think CoB goes without saying for many people. Thank you for taking the time to write this list Matthew... now to track them down! Would love to hear what you think of Bonfire once you've has a chance to play it. ☺
@@ThinkerThemer Maybe, my Feld friends frown at some of my choices lol.
Third printing for Carpe....I made my original functional enough (and like the star board better!)
I will come back and give my Bonfire impressions in 2021!
@@ThinkerThemer I played Bonfire recently and thought it was great! My wife compared it to Oracle of Delphi with tokens determining your different actions instead of dice which seemed pretty accurate
Thank you so much Matthew for coming back here to report back!! So glad to hear you enjoyed Bonfire... it ended up in my top 5 of the year and I keep thinking about getting it back to the table... it really stuck with me :D
@@ThinkerThemer Awesome! It's tied for second for the year with Tawantinsuyu for me (and The Crew is first)
Trajan is awesome!
Noted....moving up the list... ☺☺☺💕 thanks for sharing!
I would buy Luna or Aquasphere. They are decently heavy with great mechanics and thematic enough.
Thanks for the recommendations! Aquasphere has been a popular choice and we didn't know much about it. Appreciate you taking the time to comment! ☺
@@ThinkerThemer I'm super happy I discovered your channel. Keep up the great content!
If you like "racing" to win, The Oracle of Delphi is good, it's a fair bit lighter. Trajan is cool, I like the rondel action selection mechanic but it's a bit of a victory point salad. I think Bruges is probably my faveroute for it's clever multi-use card mechanic. Oh but Jorvik is such a good auction game... Hmm turns out Feld is good with mechanics lol
WE LOVE ALL OF THOSE THINGS! But especially a good rondel.... 🥰 Have you backed the city collection as a fan of Bruges? Thank you for all of the recommendations... going on the list!
@@ThinkerThemer No I didn't back them I was on a KS ban at the time. lol.
😂 lol "at the time"... we all try....!!!
@@ThinkerThemer *nervous laughter* lol
I'm pleased to hear that the mechanics work well, but the attempt at theme seems lacking. The aesthetic is very cool. The theme could literally have been fixing a broken machine (purchasing or collecting gears, working from one end that's a power source to connect to the other end that's an engine). The gnome/guardian story-line doesn't really click. I love great theme, but think I'd rather have no theme than one that doesn't really add something to the experience.
Agree Steve but I wish it had clicked because it was an interesting attempt at something a bit more creative than the usual suspects (the usual suspects sell very well though soooo... :)). Thanks for watching and taking the time to post your thoughts. This one was a creeper for me (Amy)... I am still thinking about it...
If you enjoy the challenge of balancing two different tracks progressing toward each other, definitely check out Rajas of the Ganges. Easily in my top 10.
Absolutely love your channel! You are both a breath of fresh air. I really enjoy your detailed analyses, chemistry, and overall energy you both bring. I always come away from your videos being able to form a really clear opinion about the game, and whether it’ll be a hit for me and my partner or not. Thank you for all your hard work!
Thank you sooo much for this kind feedback. We have been evolving our style a lot since we started 3 months ago and this is really nice to hear. We often think that they are way too long but we don't know how to cut back on what we each want to say 😅 Rajas of the Granges is on our agenda well and truly... just keep getting distracted by the hotness!!! I am so glad to hear that you love it, it's moving up the get it on the table list...!!! Thanks again for taking the time to comment ☺💕
Oracle of Delphi is great. No points! A race to finish 12 task
Oooooo I (Amy) do love a good race!!! This is definitely going on the list. Thank you Casey!
I think you two need to look for Bora Bora and Oracle of Delphi.
Wow, seeing your reviews to Dune, Merv, and this one, I'm quite surprised to see this is the one you liked most. Now I'm much more curious about it. I'm actually not a Feld fan: Castles of Burgundy is the only one I love; second place is an obscure old one, The Name of the Rose, but I played it a long time ago. I'll definitely try a few more, especially those that are available online on yucata, but I was prepared to skip this one... I'll give it a try now I guess.
Would love to know what you think once you've had a chance to play Radu! At first I wasn't sure about it but it ended up in my top 5 of the year (and yes above Merv and Dune for my personal tastes :)). Maggie was less thrilled with the race aspect and of course struggled with trying to make sense of the theme.... ! Thanks for taking the time to comment on this and apologies for the delayed reply as I just found it!
Castles of Tuscany is good.
Haven't played that one yet but hopefully will get to try it in 2021! Thanks for the recommendation!
You are lovely ❤
Thank you Romi! ☺
The game looks beautyfull, plays ok but is so dry