I'm so glad I kept my old Days of Wonder edition. The new version seemed to have cut out on all the themes in the mechanisms that made the old one special. Now it just feels like just another euro game, albeit with really nice toy factor pieces. Also - why upgrade all the pieces and neglect on the cards - which is arguably the most important components in any game? -______-
We've found the original game to be a great gateway game that we could easily teach to new players. In fact, at an International Tabletop Day event a few years back we had a 5 player game with 3 new players, and got the game instruction plus game played in under an hour. We like the resource mix and the various formulas for building things in the original. It reminds me of the building formulas in Catan. Imagine building a Sphinx with nothing but wood?!? I can't. When you built an oblisk it felt like you really accomplished something in the Days of Wonder version. We like the corrupted artisans being in the deck and the 50/50 mix of upside down vs revealed cards. We enjoyed rolling the dice and being wary of being eliminated for having the most corruption at the end of the game. (I do understand how that would have to change to allow for a 2 player game, and it makes me wish the original had some kind of accommodation for a 2 player variant.) There is nothing about the original game I would change... except for those gorgeous new components. I would like to use those gorgeous new temple components with the original cards and rules, but that's too much money to spend to Frankenstein the thing together. So, I am very glad I have the original, but I am also glad Mojito Studios did make a version of the game available to the public once more. I am also glad they made the new expansions backwards compatible - I did pledge in the Kickstarter campaign for both of them!
Thanks for making a video where you just highlight the differences, had been wanting to look at something like this since I already know the original's rules. The new flexibility in building costs was unexpected and fundamentally different, but I'm glad they made that change. A bit less sure about the offering, but I guess that's a way to go. The change of the sphinxes' reward was also a cool one since the original felt a bit irrational, and the removal of the necessity of one person being kicked out regardless of talents seems really nice.
Hmmmm hmmmm hmmmm. If you just buy or play the new version without ever playing the old. It is a nice game. If you want to use a different building requirement, go for it. Nothing is stopping you. Same with the dice. I personally like the one time sacrifice instead of a random one. New version plays well with two player and you can make big combos with the news building requirements and score big points by building all the Sphinx at once or something.
Jasper Hayward putting polyomino mosaic tiles on the roof does. That's about it for direct gameplay. You build the temple as you play, it isn't all setup at the start. Getting different categories of the construction completed is the game timer, which is tracked by moving Cleopatra along the walkway
As you build the doors, the walls, the mosaic garden and the throne on top, you score points for each element you add. The building of the obelisks, sphinxes, walls, doors, garden and throne also serve as a timer... as the temple is built, it makes Cleopatra advance down the progress track until she reaches the end to inspect the temple, signaling the end of the game.
Getting rid of the dice was the real deal-breaker for me, making me get the old version instead of backing the new one. I really don't understand why they made this change.
yeah that's my problem with this new edition, although I do enjoy some of the changes they made. I would also avoid the offering like the plague so knowing that it by necessity occurs once in the game feels eh.
It's has become an abstract game.How can you build an obelisk with only wood ??? The rules are simpler.The game should now called : Cleopatra for kids !!!!!
The artwork... is just ok. New components and big box, this is all great, but the artwork is what I'd almost purely buy the old game for. It had style like every other thing that Julien Delval does. This new one looks so generic in comparison that despite being nice, professional, bright and sweet it's a downgrade from actual art to just simple typical digital ilustration in my opinion. The reason I don't buy great games with not so great artwork is that I feel like I can as well play on paper, just draw some lines, use basic dice and components and then use the mechanisms. I buy games because I want to have something original and interesting to look at, a piece of art and this one looks more like a toy to me. The pyramids, the paint job and stuff are great but the art is missing that spirit. One of the latest things Delval did is Res Arcana - I know it's a matter of taste and a subjective thing. But I bought that game based just on art, encouraged by Tom's review. Anyway, the new one looks very cool and splashy and I think that's what most people would chose. Great comparison and cool that the game got a reprint.
I'm so glad I kept my old Days of Wonder edition. The new version seemed to have cut out on all the themes in the mechanisms that made the old one special. Now it just feels like just another euro game, albeit with really nice toy factor pieces. Also - why upgrade all the pieces and neglect on the cards - which is arguably the most important components in any game? -______-
We've found the original game to be a great gateway game that we could easily teach to new players. In fact, at an International Tabletop Day event a few years back we had a 5 player game with 3 new players, and got the game instruction plus game played in under an hour.
We like the resource mix and the various formulas for building things in the original. It reminds me of the building formulas in Catan. Imagine building a Sphinx with nothing but wood?!? I can't. When you built an oblisk it felt like you really accomplished something in the Days of Wonder version.
We like the corrupted artisans being in the deck and the 50/50 mix of upside down vs revealed cards. We enjoyed rolling the dice and being wary of being eliminated for having the most corruption at the end of the game. (I do understand how that would have to change to allow for a 2 player game, and it makes me wish the original had some kind of accommodation for a 2 player variant.)
There is nothing about the original game I would change... except for those gorgeous new components. I would like to use those gorgeous new temple components with the original cards and rules, but that's too much money to spend to Frankenstein the thing together.
So, I am very glad I have the original, but I am also glad Mojito Studios did make a version of the game available to the public once more. I am also glad they made the new expansions backwards compatible - I did pledge in the Kickstarter campaign for both of them!
The new version is like taking Ticket to Ride and making every route grey.
That card shuffle hurt my nerdy heart.
i died a little bit inside when he bent them
I like to riffle shuffle when there are no sleeves but that bend was extreme lol
Thanks for making a video where you just highlight the differences, had been wanting to look at something like this since I already know the original's rules.
The new flexibility in building costs was unexpected and fundamentally different, but I'm glad they made that change. A bit less sure about the offering, but I guess that's a way to go. The change of the sphinxes' reward was also a cool one since the original felt a bit irrational, and the removal of the necessity of one person being kicked out regardless of talents seems really nice.
I'm so eager to see your review :D
I certainly like the old box art more.
Thanks for the comparison :-)
Hmmmm hmmmm hmmmm. If you just buy or play the new version without ever playing the old. It is a nice game. If you want to use a different building requirement, go for it. Nothing is stopping you. Same with the dice. I personally like the one time sacrifice instead of a random one.
New version plays well with two player and you can make big combos with the news building requirements and score big points by building all the Sphinx at once or something.
Will they release a regular edition? Since I don’t really have the original and don’t wanna spend a lot of money for the deluxe edition.
Still a great vid Zee. I just cannot afford the delux edition and looks are very important to me hahah
Great vid! Does the crazy big temple structure have a gameplay function?
Jasper Hayward putting polyomino mosaic tiles on the roof does. That's about it for direct gameplay.
You build the temple as you play, it isn't all setup at the start. Getting different categories of the construction completed is the game timer, which is tracked by moving Cleopatra along the walkway
As you build the doors, the walls, the mosaic garden and the throne on top, you score points for each element you add. The building of the obelisks, sphinxes, walls, doors, garden and throne also serve as a timer... as the temple is built, it makes Cleopatra advance down the progress track until she reaches the end to inspect the temple, signaling the end of the game.
Getting rid of the dice was the real deal-breaker for me, making me get the old version instead of backing the new one. I really don't understand why they made this change.
Exactly, i have the DoW version, The rule of dices is great. The new version is cleopatra for kids.
yeah that's my problem with this new edition, although I do enjoy some of the changes they made. I would also avoid the offering like the plague so knowing that it by necessity occurs once in the game feels eh.
The new version looks more like a toy than a boardgame
It's has become an abstract game.How can you build an obelisk with only wood ??? The rules are simpler.The game should now called : Cleopatra for kids !!!!!
Yeah but how different is the normal new edition
OK thanks you convinced me not to buy this.
The artwork... is just ok. New components and big box, this is all great, but the artwork is what I'd almost purely buy the old game for. It had style like every other thing that Julien Delval does. This new one looks so generic in comparison that despite being nice, professional, bright and sweet it's a downgrade from actual art to just simple typical digital ilustration in my opinion. The reason I don't buy great games with not so great artwork is that I feel like I can as well play on paper, just draw some lines, use basic dice and components and then use the mechanisms. I buy games because I want to have something original and interesting to look at, a piece of art and this one looks more like a toy to me. The pyramids, the paint job and stuff are great but the art is missing that spirit. One of the latest things Delval did is Res Arcana - I know it's a matter of taste and a subjective thing. But I bought that game based just on art, encouraged by Tom's review. Anyway, the new one looks very cool and splashy and I think that's what most people would chose. Great comparison and cool that the game got a reprint.
The new version is so bad. Every rule removes thinking and tension for the sake of streamlining.