got the game last week and we did play twice yesterday, great fun, I like that there are 2-3 main strategies to for what to push for or mix them and all seem to work. the most interesting was that the second game took us half of the time as the first game and we wore like wow its the 5th round already? the components are just great quality with some of the best art in a game out there. can just recommend. only one thing is missing is player powers but we will see that in expansion in future? hope so
Hope I get this fast and fluent someday. My spanish review took like 15 minutes and feel like that's too much even though I spoke of everything 😅. Love the game, by the way 😃. You're inspiring, Rahdo 😌.
It’s smooth. So smooth in fact that it ultimately was quite boring for us. There were absolutely no surprise or wow moments. There is nothing innovative here and player interaction is your standard fare. It’s a game that plays it safe. It’s inoffensive and works well but as a result it is not memorable and I’m not itching to play it again.
I know it's not super innovative or anything, but it's a SOLID game. It does have that tension of taking the best action at the best time because people can get in your way if you're not careful. Like that about games in general and I think it's very well done here 😌.
@@DicepairGames I agree it's solid but to be honest my collection at this point is filled with games that are vying for my time. A solid game just doesn't cut it anymore when there are really great ones out there waiting.
On the 2player game haven't you seem a similar problem to what you saw in Mariposas, in which with fewer players fewer dig sites will be discovered... which means players will have fewer options on where to go (to get resources)? Of course in a 4p game there will be more people also disputing those spots but still I can image with 4p by rounds 3-5 any player going 1st or 2nd would have many more worker placement options than in a 2p game.
the difference is that mariposas has objectives that revolve around revealing all the cities (or getting insanely lucky), and in a 2p game, those objective don't scale at all. arnak doesn't have anything like that going on, so it's not an issue here.
Hello Richard! Thanks for your thoughts! Quick question : is there really a replayability problem? Checking rulebook it seems that there are only 16 sites cards etc so my concern is how many games will those cover? As you said after 3 games you see there are some replayability limitations. Does it worth to buy now or wait for an expansion to come out? Thanks!
it's a fun game, and of course there's always the worry that it won't get an expansion at all i suppose. if it were me and my money, i wouldn't hesitate to get it, because if it does outstay its welcome i could also sell or trade it away on boardgamegeek :)
I’ve never felt like more of an idiot after playing this on easiest difficulty, playing the AI wrong so it scores LESS points, and still losing by only scoring 43 points. Made no progress on research track, only defeated 3 creatures and got no idols. I freaking hated it my first play through. I will try it again. If same experience I will burn it with fire.
Excellent review and I’ m pretty sure a spot on analysis of game mechanism etc. Rahdo knows his Euros for sure and he’ s really good at conveying that ”feel” those games have! And as a hardcore Ameritrasher I will of course stay miles away from this one! ;D
Great run through and thoughts! Both this and Dune Imperium look great. Seems most of the dice tower folks liked both but preferred Dune. Assuming you have played both, did you have a preference or comparison?
@@Carsten_de_1981 the difference is in EW, if you lose a majority, you don't have all of your investments destroyed and you can keep using them. also, EW doesn't include stealing stuff and other effects.
@@rahdo You still get the second place bonus in DI. And it seems troops are very expendable in that game. I went for the KS of EW. Arnak seems to be a resource converter mostly. Thanks for your honest opinion. :)
there's player blocking as in any worker placement game, and racing to be the first to grab rewards and creating opportunities for each other, but that's about it :)
Thanks for your thoughts! So you think it's a good 2-player game? I play a lot of games with 2 and I was very excited for this one! But I also see people saying it's better with a higher player count. But I really want this game.. 😁
@@rahdo Thank Rahdo, just ordered it... Looks like the perfect midweight solo game I can put on the table and sometimes play with my wife. Keep up the good work, I really enjoy watching your videos, you put so much energy into them, it's great. Cheers from France
got the game last week and we did play twice yesterday, great fun, I like that there are 2-3 main strategies to for what to push for or mix them and all seem to work. the most interesting was that the second game took us half of the time as the first game and we wore like wow its the 5th round already? the components are just great quality with some of the best art in a game out there. can just recommend. only one thing is missing is player powers but we will see that in expansion in future? hope so
Hope I get this fast and fluent someday. My spanish review took like 15 minutes and feel like that's too much even though I spoke of everything 😅.
Love the game, by the way 😃.
You're inspiring, Rahdo 😌.
Just finished watching your play through. Great stuff as always.
Hi Board Game Gran!
I am going nuts waiting for this game to be available in my country (india). Have no other option but to play it on bga.
One of the best retail games of the year.
Great review. I'm not convinced I should buy this one. I'm a huge Knight Mage fan. Can't see this one sitting next to Knight Mage on my shelf.
those two live in very different gaming universes :)
@@rahdo True.... I was hoping for an Indiana Jones like experience.
I’m pretty sure you don’t need to assign the idols right away. It’s a free action; do it whenever. That seems to be the way it is implemented on BGA.
Timestamp please
So split between this and Endless Winter >•
that's a tough one. i think it comes down to feel: do you want to feel like you're building a civilization, or that you're going on an adventure?
Do you want the game now, or in year?
I am getting both!
Same boat here - for mainly 2 players (and more deck building), I'm leaning towards Endless Winter.
Also maybe cost matters, this one is cheaper. I am doing Endless Winter and waiting the year. I have to start being super picky.
Looking forward to playing this one on BGA!
It’s smooth. So smooth in fact that it ultimately was quite boring for us. There were absolutely no surprise or wow moments. There is nothing innovative here and player interaction is your standard fare. It’s a game that plays it safe. It’s inoffensive and works well but as a result it is not memorable and I’m not itching to play it again.
I know it's not super innovative or anything, but it's a SOLID game.
It does have that tension of taking the best action at the best time because people can get in your way if you're not careful. Like that about games in general and I think it's very well done here 😌.
@@DicepairGames I agree it's solid but to be honest my collection at this point is filled with games that are vying for my time. A solid game just doesn't cut it anymore when there are really great ones out there waiting.
@@ilqrd.6608 Like what games? Just genuinely curious.
On the 2player game haven't you seem a similar problem to what you saw in Mariposas, in which with fewer players fewer dig sites will be discovered... which means players will have fewer options on where to go (to get resources)? Of course in a 4p game there will be more people also disputing those spots but still I can image with 4p by rounds 3-5 any player going 1st or 2nd would have many more worker placement options than in a 2p game.
the difference is that mariposas has objectives that revolve around revealing all the cities (or getting insanely lucky), and in a 2p game, those objective don't scale at all. arnak doesn't have anything like that going on, so it's not an issue here.
Hello Richard! Thanks for your thoughts! Quick question : is there really a replayability problem? Checking rulebook it seems that there are only 16 sites cards etc so my concern is how many games will those cover? As you said after 3 games you see there are some replayability limitations. Does it worth to buy now or wait for an expansion to come out? Thanks!
it's a fun game, and of course there's always the worry that it won't get an expansion at all i suppose. if it were me and my money, i wouldn't hesitate to get it, because if it does outstay its welcome i could also sell or trade it away on boardgamegeek :)
@@rahdo yep you re right. The hype is big so it won't be a problem to give it away in case it won't get an expansion. Thanks!
this game is great but I feel like it has so much potential to be even better. In my top 20 but could have been top 5 with some more spice
I’ve never felt like more of an idiot after playing this on easiest difficulty, playing the AI wrong so it scores LESS points, and still losing by only scoring 43 points. Made no progress on research track, only defeated 3 creatures and got no idols. I freaking hated it my first play through. I will try it again. If same experience I will burn it with fire.
Excellent review and I’ m pretty sure a spot on analysis of game mechanism etc. Rahdo knows his Euros for sure and he’ s really good at conveying that ”feel” those games have! And as a hardcore Ameritrasher I will of course stay miles away from this one! ;D
looks great. Only quesiton: isn't it to light? I like Black Angel, Maracaibo, Pax Pamir 2nd ed.,...
it's quite a bit lighter than those :)
Neat game.
Having such a hard time picking between this and Dune. Thinking maybe go both and play dune when there are 3-4 player and Arnak for 2-3.
Consider Endless Winter as well. 😉
@@Carsten_de_1981 for us
1) EW
2) arnak
3) D:I
(though dune would probably go to #1 if we enjoyed cutthroat conflict)
@@rahdo what puts EW at the top of that list? Thinking of backing it and choosing it over Arnak...though there could be room for both. :P
they've very different games, so room for both i would think. EW does a lot more overalll... richer gameplay that leverages deckbuilding more :)
First-time designers, get out! Outstanding. :)
Great run through and thoughts! Both this and Dune Imperium look great. Seems most of the dice tower folks liked both but preferred Dune. Assuming you have played both, did you have a preference or comparison?
Consider Endless Winter for Deckbuilding and worker placement.
i'd rate these 3 as
1) EW
2) arnak
3) D:I
but dune might go to the top if it weren't so cutthroat :)
@@rahdo I think it is more about majorities than being cutthroat. Same with EW and the settlements. 🤷🏼♂️
@@Carsten_de_1981 the difference is in EW, if you lose a majority, you don't have all of your investments destroyed and you can keep using them. also, EW doesn't include stealing stuff and other effects.
@@rahdo You still get the second place bonus in DI. And it seems troops are very expendable in that game. I went for the KS of EW. Arnak seems to be a resource converter mostly. Thanks for your honest opinion. :)
No extended playthrough on this one? I was hoping to see the whole game. Ah well, thanks anyways.
Will you do a review Civilisation New Dawn expansion. It been mention to be a essential expansion.... a game changer like vitculture and LOW.
nope, probably not :(
Cool, but does this game have enough of player interaction or is it another multiplayer solitaire?
there's player blocking as in any worker placement game, and racing to be the first to grab rewards and creating opportunities for each other, but that's about it :)
@@rahdo Thanks for info, in this case, I am happy I sticked with Dune Imperium, as we find low player interaction titles very boring lately.
When it comes to difficulty, is this like Stone Age?.
hmm, i'd say this has maybe a bit more going on, but if someone can handle stone age, they can likely handle this :)
Thanks for your thoughts! So you think it's a good 2-player game? I play a lot of games with 2 and I was very excited for this one! But I also see people saying it's better with a higher player count. But I really want this game.. 😁
i didn't really feel like there were any big compromises to the experience at only 2 :)
@@rahdo thanks for your response! Good to know 😃
So this or Endless Winter?
EW, because we enjoy building more than adventuring
what do you think about buying this for solo 90% of the time? I'm really tempted, I love worker placement and deck building mechanics
i think it's a solid solo game, the AI does a good job of replicating another player
@@rahdo Thank Rahdo, just ordered it... Looks like the perfect midweight solo game I can put on the table and sometimes play with my wife. Keep up the good work, I really enjoy watching your videos, you put so much energy into them, it's great. Cheers from France
Bye Rahdo Runs Through