If you want COB special edition, you will get a "box this big" whether or not you want the miniatures (besides the castles) since they come in a separate box, which is something else to consider for storage. I sold my minis because I rather play with the acrylic tiles and so I only have that one "big box".
I won't play without the minis. I absolutely love them. I really don't think they add much time to the play. Are they necessary? No. But have I used them every play? Yes. Great review Joey. Cheers 🍻
Thanks Joey, good timing with the reprint happening. I didn't pull the trigger last time because I wasn't sure if the new expansion was worth all the other stuff, and now I have more information with which to make a decision.
Worth it. Entire production is great, minus the typical horrible AR insert and everything not fitting in the box. Don't bother with the miniature buildings.
The miniatures are totally unnecessary, and clunky. And because they are just washed I don't think they look as good as the acrylic tiles (though I do use the castles). But that miniatures expansion doesn't fit in the base box. Everything else in the deluxe version (including the vineyards) I absolutely love 😁
It's a nice little addition to the game. Not one that we play with every time, but when Vinyards are in play, all players need to give them some attention because they can score very big.
I don't think the minis look very good myself (and they seem like they would actually big the game down), but the acrylic tiles are amazing. I like that Awaken Realms offered multiple editions though, so you can pick what you want.
I played it a couple times so far and I haven't really clicked with it, the game is great without it. I'll keep trying it out now and then but for me its really not essential at all. Those building models are silly too. The acrylics however, I will never play this game without them ever. They are ESSENTIAL.
Thanks Joey I do love me some CoB, but even so this is a pass for me..... One note to improve presentation video, you repeated half your intro after cutting to the how it's played section. Just launch into the how it's played part with no more preamble. You got this!
You seriously thought CoB is fine as it is? 😂 We are not the same. It was one of the best games with a hideous production and it was deserving of a deluxe edition for quite some time.
No mention that this expansion is only available when buying the CoB Special Edition mentioned here. You cannot buy the Vineyards Expansion standalone. Real miss on the review imo. Also, the Special Edition comes with the Vineyards Edition whether you want it or not. Luckily, the expansion is a hit and adds to the depth of CoB. There is a reprint that is about to happen on Gamefound for this Special Edition, i suggest if you do not already have CoB in your collection than this Special Edition is a no brainer.
For us the main game is fine without the vineyards. Its definitelly not essential just like the building minis arent. It just prolongs the game which is already pretty long with 4 players.
Really? We found the complete opposite: the scores of players who invested in Vinyards were significantly higher than those who ignored it. Only played a handful of games with it though, but it seemed very powerful. That's not to say that if vinyards are in play, everyone should focus on them primarily, but you have to at least look out for opportunistic bonuses, and you can't let someone monopolise the grapes or they will run away with the game.
When someone plays hard on the vineyard, the other players cant ignore vineyard, or the will just loose. We played a lot of games and we found vineyards way too overpowered to be ignored. When players ignored vineyard and let me just get the tiles i want, they dont stand a chance and we had fames where i filled the whole vineyard and won by a lot in compare of the others. We love vineyard but when i teach it, i always make clear that if we play with it, nobody should ignore it.
If you want COB special edition, you will get a "box this big" whether or not you want the miniatures (besides the castles) since they come in a separate box, which is something else to consider for storage. I sold my minis because I rather play with the acrylic tiles and so I only have that one "big box".
I have not seen a single reviewer where they preferred the miniatures over the acrylic tiles.
I won't play without the minis. I absolutely love them. I really don't think they add much time to the play. Are they necessary? No. But have I used them every play? Yes. Great review Joey. Cheers 🍻
Thanks Joey, good timing with the reprint happening. I didn't pull the trigger last time because I wasn't sure if the new expansion was worth all the other stuff, and now I have more information with which to make a decision.
Worth it. Entire production is great, minus the typical horrible AR insert and everything not fitting in the box. Don't bother with the miniature buildings.
weird. everything fits in a box for me. i use acrylic tiles though, so i left the cardboard unpunched when not needed.
The box is designed to store everything apart from the non-castle minis.
The minis seemed like overkill, but I really love my acrylic tiles version.
I passed on the buildings and I'm glad I did. I personally don't think the extra time it adds to the game and the extra space on my shelf is worth it.
Similar thoughts to Joey. The expansion is really good and opens up the game to more options
Great review, thanks Joey.
Thanks Joey!
Great. Hopefully we’ll see a review of the solo mode shortly. 😉
The miniatures are totally unnecessary, and clunky. And because they are just washed I don't think they look as good as the acrylic tiles (though I do use the castles). But that miniatures expansion doesn't fit in the base box. Everything else in the deluxe version (including the vineyards) I absolutely love 😁
For anyone coming to this review, go for acrylic tiles! They colored, so sorting by the colored borders makes it worth it!
Also, thanks Joey for covering a semi-niche review!
I love the Vineyards expansion. It adds just enough additional options without stretching the game time a ton. I also love how it feels more combo-ey.
It's a nice little addition to the game. Not one that we play with every time, but when Vinyards are in play, all players need to give them some attention because they can score very big.
Thanks.
I don't think the minis look very good myself (and they seem like they would actually big the game down), but the acrylic tiles are amazing. I like that Awaken Realms offered multiple editions though, so you can pick what you want.
The only rules thing you missed is that you start the game with a random scoring grape, not only if you complete a row.
I exactly come to see the comments to check if joey indeed got this rule wrong!
Thanks!
I played it a couple times so far and I haven't really clicked with it, the game is great without it. I'll keep trying it out now and then but for me its really not essential at all. Those building models are silly too. The acrylics however, I will never play this game without them ever. They are ESSENTIAL.
Thanks Joey I do love me some CoB, but even so this is a pass for me..... One note to improve presentation video, you repeated half your intro after cutting to the how it's played section. Just launch into the how it's played part with no more preamble. You got this!
You seriously thought CoB is fine as it is? 😂 We are not the same. It was one of the best games with a hideous production and it was deserving of a deluxe edition for quite some time.
No mention that this expansion is only available when buying the CoB Special Edition mentioned here. You cannot buy the Vineyards Expansion standalone. Real miss on the review imo. Also, the Special Edition comes with the Vineyards Edition whether you want it or not. Luckily, the expansion is a hit and adds to the depth of CoB. There is a reprint that is about to happen on Gamefound for this Special Edition, i suggest if you do not already have CoB in your collection than this Special Edition is a no brainer.
While the vineyards tiles are great looking the gameplay is unbalanced. Way too many points if you go heavy on Vineyards.
For us the main game is fine without the vineyards. Its definitelly not essential just like the building minis arent. It just prolongs the game which is already pretty long with 4 players.
yea...feels long enough for 4p without the vineyard.
I don't know how you play this but it certainly doesn't prolong the game for me... Only the setup and clean up is a couple of minutes longer
They made game about SS-ORDENSSTAATE Burgundy?????
Vineyard is fun.... but not a viable strategy for winning. I've never seen someone who went hard on the Vineyard win. 🤷♂️
Really? We found the complete opposite: the scores of players who invested in Vinyards were significantly higher than those who ignored it. Only played a handful of games with it though, but it seemed very powerful. That's not to say that if vinyards are in play, everyone should focus on them primarily, but you have to at least look out for opportunistic bonuses, and you can't let someone monopolise the grapes or they will run away with the game.
@@whittaker007 I'm glad to hear another take! We've played 20+ games and our group of 4 has effectively abandoned trying to get them to work.
Mmm seen that many times here. It's certainly a winning strategy when your opponents doesn't pay attention
When someone plays hard on the vineyard, the other players cant ignore vineyard, or the will just loose. We played a lot of games and we found vineyards way too overpowered to be ignored. When players ignored vineyard and let me just get the tiles i want, they dont stand a chance and we had fames where i filled the whole vineyard and won by a lot in compare of the others. We love vineyard but when i teach it, i always make clear that if we play with it, nobody should ignore it.
Actually Vineyards is wildly overpowered.