In terms of components, this game also comes with a score pad that's really helpful in counting up all the different ways you can earn points. I wish more of these drafting/placement games did that.
So happy to hear a good review of this, I almost broke my no Kickstarter rule to back this because I thought it looked great. I’ll definitely be picking this up.
The terain tiles have easy way to score. Very clear and easy to read. The mini tokens seam to be the same. I be buying this As soon as lockdown is done.
As a pixelartist I have to say the art for this game is excellent, even if the style the monsters are done in isn't my thing. Very impressed the artist seems to mostly do traditional work too, a lot of trad and digital artists who try to push pixels make a ton of beginner mistakes.
Theres a reason they are similar. Kevin Russ (Calico) also codesigned this game. Calico was published from Flatout Games, who published Cascadia as well. As a collective they all probably view games similarly/test in maybe the same groups, if I had to guess.
I hope Mike does a Solo review as well because that sounds very interesting from what I've heard with more of a video game style with levels to complete as well as side quests
Call to adventure is cool as a character builder, the gameplay is lacking in decision making in my opinion, it always seems immediately obvious what card to attempt to get.
I would slightly disagree on one part...with 5 different terrains and shuffling, and then the monsters, dungeons, crystals, portals, etc, which are all tiny and jumbled in the bag...maybe the setup/takedown isn't long compared to some games, but putting everything back when you're done still took me a bit.
One tip for storage: If you want to leave things set up for the next game, just take the shuffled tiles and put them face-down in the open wells. There’s enough room at the top of the box to lay the tile bag on top of everything. It’s a good way to minimize teardown and setup for the next time you play!
I love your intro, the format of your videos and how you explain it. May I just recommend you to use some softbox lightings when you are talking in your room? I think it would look neat.
Would have been cool if they had carried over the heroes idea from the previous game and included a mechanic to try to build a maze(think tower defense style) so once your map is complete before scoring all the heroes come through(they appear randomly as you play/build your dungeon... maybe they are in the bag) and either wreck the tile or kill your monsters(so you don't get the points for them)
@@peteface24 They may well have tried. My thinking was make it so the tiles had doors on 1,2,3,4 sides and you need to match them up(door to door, wall to wall) to build your maze as effectively as you can, then you would place a start and finish token at the entrance and exit to your maze, the rooms would have damage and effects akin to the first game(plus the monster tokens that you place on the levels which could fight the heros) and then there is the new scoring mechanics for this game(rooms in a row, room types side by side, etc...)so your trying to optimize maze efficiency and scoring mechanics. So as you pull new tiles from the bag if a hero tile was pulled he gets put off to the side(so its random how many heros are out by the time you get to the end) but then the heros try to run everyones maze(so if there is 2 heros the same 2 heros run each players maze) smashing it up then you score what remains of it.... plus you would get points for which room the hero died in(or negative points if the hero was able to make it all the way thru)
Map edges don’t count as extra terrain types, but other dungeons do! So a Dungeon at the edge of a map is never optimized. It’s easier to get all 5 points for all Dungeons in the center of the map, but that’s balanced by the fact that centralized dungeons are more disruptive to potential bands of monsters.
This looks mechanically similar to Santa Monica but with a far more common theme, so much so that I'm not sure I can see a reason to own both. A very nice production, though!
Gives me Glasgow vibes in terms of gameplay, if not somewhat simpler. The theme really seems patched on unfortunately. Where the original game was pretty badly executed (in my opinion), at least it gives you the idea of being an evil overlord when the heroes enter your dungeon and die. That whole aspect is missing here, and it seems to bog down to a tile-based optimization game. Ofcourse that can be said of other tile-laying games as well too, but I was really hoping for the spirit of the original game to shine through in Overboss. Pass for me honestly.
I like Boss Monster more than you Tom, but not by much; I like the concept and the art more than the game itself. I KSed this and haven't been able to play yet, but looks and sounds like a fairly simple but interesting game, so looking forward to playing it.
Boss monster was so rubbish that was my entire reasoning for not even giving this a glance. You were super right on how bad it was so I guess i need to give this one a shot.
I kickstarted it and have it assembled, but haven't broken it out. Next to titles like Takenoko, BSG, Cosmic Encounter and Star Trek Ascendancy, I realized it is kind of basic. It needs to combine with Boss Monster. However, I do echo that the art is superb and follows their theming expertly.
In terms of components, this game also comes with a score pad that's really helpful in counting up all the different ways you can earn points. I wish more of these drafting/placement games did that.
So happy to hear a good review of this, I almost broke my no Kickstarter rule to back this because I thought it looked great. I’ll definitely be picking this up.
Looks fun. Think I'd have to homebrew a way to explore the adventure after they're finished.
That would be an excellent expansion. Or extention of the game
The terain tiles have easy way to score. Very clear and easy to read. The mini tokens seam to be the same. I be buying this As soon as lockdown is done.
As a pixelartist I have to say the art for this game is excellent, even if the style the monsters are done in isn't my thing. Very impressed the artist seems to mostly do traditional work too, a lot of trad and digital artists who try to push pixels make a ton of beginner mistakes.
Simple, fast, fun, good. - Tom
Stamp that on the box!
seems like a Cross between Castles of Mad King Ludwig and King Domino
I think this was on kickstarter at the same time as Cascadia and they're so similar! I ended up going with Cascadia over this one though
Theres a reason they are similar. Kevin Russ (Calico) also codesigned this game. Calico was published from Flatout Games, who published Cascadia as well. As a collective they all probably view games similarly/test in maybe the same groups, if I had to guess.
I hope Mike does a Solo review as well because that sounds very interesting from what I've heard with more of a video game style with levels to complete as well as side quests
This game definitely surprised me on how much fun it is. I put it with Old West Empresssro for simple, yet enjoyable tile placement games.
Really surprised to hear that you think this is the best one they got! I for sure thought you’d like Call to Adventure more, maybe even unearth!
Call to adventure is cool as a character builder, the gameplay is lacking in decision making in my opinion, it always seems immediately obvious what card to attempt to get.
I would slightly disagree on one part...with 5 different terrains and shuffling, and then the monsters, dungeons, crystals, portals, etc, which are all tiny and jumbled in the bag...maybe the setup/takedown isn't long compared to some games, but putting everything back when you're done still took me a bit.
One tip for storage: If you want to leave things set up for the next game, just take the shuffled tiles and put them face-down in the open wells. There’s enough room at the top of the box to lay the tile bag on top of everything. It’s a good way to minimize teardown and setup for the next time you play!
I just get the people I just played with to help me with the tear down and organizing everything back into the storage.
Looks fun . Probably don't need this and cascadia both tho lol
Wow, Overboss was Cascadia before Cascadia was mistakenly Calico...
I love your intro, the format of your videos and how you explain it. May I just recommend you to use some softbox lightings when you are talking in your room? I think it would look neat.
Would have been cool if they had carried over the heroes idea from the previous game and included a mechanic to try to build a maze(think tower defense style) so once your map is complete before scoring all the heroes come through(they appear randomly as you play/build your dungeon... maybe they are in the bag) and either wreck the tile or kill your monsters(so you don't get the points for them)
I assume they tried and couldn't make it work. Maybe the fan community can.
@@peteface24 They may well have tried. My thinking was make it so the tiles had doors on 1,2,3,4 sides and you need to match them up(door to door, wall to wall) to build your maze as effectively as you can, then you would place a start and finish token at the entrance and exit to your maze, the rooms would have damage and effects akin to the first game(plus the monster tokens that you place on the levels which could fight the heros) and then there is the new scoring mechanics for this game(rooms in a row, room types side by side, etc...)so your trying to optimize maze efficiency and scoring mechanics.
So as you pull new tiles from the bag if a hero tile was pulled he gets put off to the side(so its random how many heros are out by the time you get to the end) but then the heros try to run everyones maze(so if there is 2 heros the same 2 heros run each players maze) smashing it up then you score what remains of it.... plus you would get points for which room the hero died in(or negative points if the hero was able to make it all the way thru)
This looks really good! Love tile placement. Not a huge fan of the pixelated art blown up on the boss cards, but the rest of the art looks great!
Love, love this game. I don't even mind the set up.
No comparison to Honshu/Hokkaido? Looks extreeeeeemely similar. Looks good though!
Hm, this makes me want to revisit the rulebook, I am not sure water and mountains are counted as extra terrain types for dungeons.
Almost positive that they don't count for dungeons...only for the swamp or the mine.
Map edges don’t count as extra terrain types, but other dungeons do! So a Dungeon at the edge of a map is never optimized. It’s easier to get all 5 points for all Dungeons in the center of the map, but that’s balanced by the fact that centralized dungeons are more disruptive to potential bands of monsters.
@@BrotherwiseGames Thank you!
This looks mechanically similar to Santa Monica but with a far more common theme, so much so that I'm not sure I can see a reason to own both. A very nice production, though!
Gives me Glasgow vibes in terms of gameplay, if not somewhat simpler. The theme really seems patched on unfortunately. Where the original game was pretty badly executed (in my opinion), at least it gives you the idea of being an evil overlord when the heroes enter your dungeon and die. That whole aspect is missing here, and it seems to bog down to a tile-based optimization game. Ofcourse that can be said of other tile-laying games as well too, but I was really hoping for the spirit of the original game to shine through in Overboss. Pass for me honestly.
This looks beautiful and fun, but if the art was any closer to Link to the Past, they might have legal issues 😂
Where's the "adventure" in this game?
Nice.
Boss Monster reminds me of a Tower Defense game.
Also you got some sort of Mic Pop
It is a tower defense game
You just build a region, and no heroes come in? Seems to go against the theme a bit.
It sure would be interesting if someone could study the "Tom Vasel" effect on game sales.
Idk about the Vasel effect but there is certainly and "SU&SD effect".
I like Boss Monster more than you Tom, but not by much; I like the concept and the art more than the game itself. I KSed this and haven't been able to play yet, but looks and sounds like a fairly simple but interesting game, so looking forward to playing it.
You look like the irl version of tom bombadill
Did Cascadia copy this game😳
Boss monster was so rubbish that was my entire reasoning for not even giving this a glance. You were super right on how bad it was so I guess i need to give this one a shot.
You had only good things to say about it, not a single negative. How is it not a Seal of Excellence?
I hated this game. It was way too random with very little mitigation. Shame because it looks awesome.
Very similar to Kingdomino Origins, but not as great.
Looks very boring
I really can't wait for the current pixelart nostalgia trend to die down.
Wow, looks massively boring.
I kickstarted it and have it assembled, but haven't broken it out. Next to titles like Takenoko, BSG, Cosmic Encounter and Star Trek Ascendancy, I realized it is kind of basic.
It needs to combine with Boss Monster.
However, I do echo that the art is superb and follows their theming expertly.