The amount of preparation and effort you put into these is not lost on me. Incredible polish, and very concise. Every board game company should hire you to provide video-instructions. Once again Rodney Smith: Flawless Victory! Not bad for a spud islander :) Keep Canada Proud.
***** I agree with Half Evil. You really are quite phenomenal at making these videos. We can tell you love playing games and enjoy seeing your enthusiasm as you give some of the most succinct instructions ever!
We have come to love the work you do and draw entertainment as well as education about products in a hobby that all of us enjoy. You have invited us to sit at your table and we appreciate it.You have created a fan base that not only are viewers, but friends. You deserve Half Evil's praise and all of our admiration.
7:15... "And that's the set up"... I love you man. I'm digging in on this one this weekend and as always, you are the definitive educator in our industry. Well done taking something highly complex and making it look easy... again :)
Thank you, THANK YOU. played this game for first time last night and we were so confused. And as it turns out we got a lot wrong. This video was amazingly helpful.
Thanks a lot for this video! We love Bruges, Castles of Burgundy and La Isla, so we certainly wanted to try this game, but is by far the most complicated of Feld's games we've tried so far. Without your video, I would have had no clue how to explain this game to my wife.
I'm a bit late to the party on this video as I'm just getting in to Feld games, but I'm simply blown away by how good of a job you do at explaining tough games like this, Rodney. Amazing. Keep up the great work. I'm also looking forward to donating to your campaign within the next 1-2 weeks. How could I not with content like this?!?
Oh my gosh, this may have been the most necessary instructional video I've seen from you yet. This thing isn't the most intuitive game, but your explanation helped me make sense of it! Thanks!
I'm very pleased to hear that this video helped you make sense of the game. Lots of moving parts, but I'm glad you found it easy to follow! I hope you have a great time playing :)
Please make another "how to play video" of Stefan Feld game, for example "The Oracle of Delphi", "The Castle of Burgundy" or else.. I'm really love how you explain this game so neatly and precisely 👍👍
Well done! A few sneaky little rules got away from us our firstplay, so this'll tighten things up considerably. We neglected to randomize the orientation of the center tiles, lead to some weird clumping of components. As well, we missed the KP for Research, which luckily evened out across players so no one 'lost' because of that snafu. The trick for swapping endgame scoring info for octopods is a good trick for next time!
I thought I interpreted the rules correctly and was watching this video for funsies…and I apparently did not understand the octopod action clearly. The rules are clear, but I was overwhelmed by all the rules and weird terminology that some things did not translate to my frontal cortex. Your tip on using the player board was also helpful! Now we don’t need to reference the rulebook so much.
Really liked it! As usual, great video, Rodney. An instant on my "to buy" list! Now, am I the only one that thinks the main game tiles, when not connected, look like Millennium Falcons? O_o
Thanks for your interest, but I don't review on this channel. I would rather show exactly how the game works and let the viewer decide for themselves if it would be a good fit for them. I'd rather my biases not factor into it.
+Watch It Played Very admirable of you to not include your personal bias of the game. As a Feld fan, I may consider buying this game since you did an amazing job explaining it clearly.
Rodney I know this is completely off topic, But I was wondering ...I saw awhile ago a come and play video you did with the Guys from Devil Pig Games and I was curious if you are planning a instructional and play through of Heroes of Normandie?
Hey Rodney, saw this on the shelf at my FLGS, looked a bit daunting, but may give it a go. You said to take the time token action you can take, 2-5 tokens, but you only had space for 1, does that make the action unavailable as you can't accommodate 2?
Good question Mark! You could still take the single Time Marker. I think they made a point of saying 2-5, because regardless of how many time tokens are physically stacked on a sector, you can always take at least 2 (again, assuming you have room).
rodney, i have a problem with the loading station, specifically with the loading station, i dont fully understand its purpose and what happens with the bots that end up there
The Loading Station is a great way to get your bots off of your player board. Remember, between each round, you'll gain more points, for having more of your bots NOT on your player board. So, ideally, you can ensure 6 of your bots are permanently off your board, if you have 1 in each loading station. Does that clear it up a little?
In addition to what Rodney said, I Loading Station logic also encourages players to take actions in all the different sectors instead of just staying in one or two. If you stay in a single sector, you'll continuously be bumping your own bots back to your player board.
What happens if you try to get a new lab expansion or is it impossible? The reason I ask is you have the blank research room and was wondering if you could replace it.
Jon Ridgley I'm a little confused by the question. I think you may have said Research Room when you meant Lab Expansion.I'll try to guess your questions though.1) You can not have more than 5 lab expansions at any one time.2) You may not have any more Research cards than the limit currently shown in your Lab Expansion.3) You can not take a Research or Lab Expansion action in a sector that does not have one of those components in its matching slot.
***** i know you cant have more than 5 expansions. My question is if you have five expansions, can you buy another expansion to replace an old lab expansion? or are you stuck with whatever you buy?
Hi Rodney Fantastic video once again. I just have a few questions regarding the purple space where you fight off Octopods. I'm just a bit confused with pieces that are already present at each sector when you do setup. I understand my lab shows me the number of Octopods I can remove. But is the purple space the same as the yellow space where we can choose to remove at least 2 Octopods when we do that action? Or is it completely different? Am I only allowed to take that action if there are actual Octopods in that sector? Ok, another related question. Will I be able to fight at that sector if there are three Octopods pieces in that sector but my lab only allows me to remove two? Can I just remove two of them and leave one on the purple space? This question is getting a bit longer, super sorry. I just want to play this game correctly :) I noticed each players can take turns placing their programmed bot in the control area of each sector. Can different players do the same action in the same sector? Or is that forbidden and that second player would be forced to pass. As you pointed out, players might not have the time tokens to move to different sectors so would it be possible that two players are in the same sector but both taking turns going to the same coloured space? Thanks for your help in advance ;)
When it comes to all resources (and, you can think of Octopods as resources, for the purposes of this answer), you can only interact with what is physically on the board. The only exception to this is Time Markers. So if there are no crystals on a space, you can't collect crystals from that sector (regardless of the capacity of your lab). Same with Octopods. With Time Markers, you can always, in any sector, at least collect 2. If there are 3 Octopods on a sector and your lab has a capacity to remove two, then you remove two and leave one behind. Players do not block each other out of spaces. If someone is already in a space, you can still move your scientist there. Hope that helps.
Awesome videos as always Rodney. This is not a negative on your video, but on the game itself. The game seems so convoluted, maybe I'm just not smart enough to grok Aquasphere. I'm a huge Feld fan and watched a couple videos on this game, but didn't spark any sort of interest for me. Either way, your videos served it's purpose in allowing me to make an educated decision. So thanks! :)
The amount of preparation and effort you put into these is not lost on me. Incredible polish, and very concise. Every board game company should hire you to provide video-instructions. Once again Rodney Smith: Flawless Victory!
Not bad for a spud islander :) Keep Canada Proud.
Half Evil This one took an extra amount of effort (the Euros always do, for some reason), so thanks for noticing :)
***** I agree with Half Evil. You really are quite phenomenal at making these videos. We can tell you love playing games and enjoy seeing your enthusiasm as you give some of the most succinct instructions ever!
tronist Too kind. Thank you Tronist.
I can just say the same! Keep on your work please! I already bought 2 Games because of your reviews ;-)
We have come to love the work you do and draw entertainment as well as education about products in a hobby that all of us enjoy. You have invited us to sit at your table and we appreciate it.You have created a fan base that not only are viewers, but friends. You deserve Half Evil's praise and all of our admiration.
7:15... "And that's the set up"... I love you man. I'm digging in on this one this weekend and as always, you are the definitive educator in our industry. Well done taking something highly complex and making it look easy... again :)
Ah, you're too kind Scott. Hope you have a great time playing this one. Have a cup nearby to catch your melting brains - this one can be a thinker :)
Thank you, THANK YOU. played this game for first time last night and we were so confused. And as it turns out we got a lot wrong. This video was amazingly helpful.
So glad to hear the video helped with some of the rules Mark. Hope your next game goes smoother :)
Thanks a lot for this video! We love Bruges, Castles of Burgundy and La Isla, so we certainly wanted to try this game, but is by far the most complicated of Feld's games we've tried so far. Without your video, I would have had no clue how to explain this game to my wife.
So glad you found this helpful, hope you have a good time playing!
This video is 9yrs old now but I just got AquaSphere and I'm so glad to have this how to play!
I hope you have a great time playing - such a unique design. I was very happy to make this video and I hope you find it helpful!
I can't thank you enough for what you do Rodney! Fantastic job on this tutorial, this is a hard game to explain to new players.
+bushibayushi You're very welcome, I was very happy to try to make things a little easier with this video :)
Rodney Smith works like a well programmed bot from AquaSphere - this How to Play couldn't be arranged and explained better. Thank you!
Ha! Thank you Bartek :)
I'm a bit late to the party on this video as I'm just getting in to Feld games, but I'm simply blown away by how good of a job you do at explaining tough games like this, Rodney. Amazing. Keep up the great work.
I'm also looking forward to donating to your campaign within the next 1-2 weeks. How could I not with content like this?!?
Thanks very kind of you Strike - glad you liked the video and want to support!
Oh my gosh, this may have been the most necessary instructional video I've seen from you yet. This thing isn't the most intuitive game, but your explanation helped me make sense of it! Thanks!
I'm very pleased to hear that this video helped you make sense of the game. Lots of moving parts, but I'm glad you found it easy to follow! I hope you have a great time playing :)
Great thank you! This game is harder than many other to apprehend (for me), and that video is pretty useful!
Very pleased to hear it was helpful!
Please make another "how to play video" of Stefan Feld game, for example "The Oracle of Delphi", "The Castle of Burgundy" or else..
I'm really love how you explain this game so neatly and precisely 👍👍
Thanks for the interest! I talk a bit about that here: ruclips.net/video/EdtDuvIUa6A/видео.html&t=342
Well done! A few sneaky little rules got away from us our firstplay, so this'll tighten things up considerably. We neglected to randomize the orientation of the center tiles, lead to some weird clumping of components. As well, we missed the KP for Research, which luckily evened out across players so no one 'lost' because of that snafu. The trick for swapping endgame scoring info for octopods is a good trick for next time!
Glad to hear we could help you find a few more rules for your next plays Aaron!
I thought I interpreted the rules correctly and was watching this video for funsies…and I apparently did not understand the octopod action clearly. The rules are clear, but I was overwhelmed by all the rules and weird terminology that some things did not translate to my frontal cortex. Your tip on using the player board was also helpful! Now we don’t need to reference the rulebook so much.
So glad the video was helpful - I hope you enjoy your future plays of this game!
Great job like always :)
Fantastic explanation. Thanks a lot
You're very welcome - have fun playing!
Thanks for the video , Rodney. It looks like there is a lot going on in this game. And an interesting one too!
You're welcome, very happy to share it :)
Thanks Rodney. Awesome video!
Andrew Garrison You bet Andrew!
huge fa here.
very clear and inspiring
we are trying to streamline a channel in our association and you are our model. big hug from Portugal
Thank you Portugal gaming friends!
Really liked it! As usual, great video, Rodney. An instant on my "to buy" list! Now, am I the only one that thinks the main game tiles, when not connected, look like Millennium Falcons? O_o
boronek I saw that too :) Pretty cool!
Completely agreed!
Incredible work, now you have to do a video for every game in my collection, PLEASE !!!
I'm working on it :)
Wow.
Stefan Feld sure is creative!
No doubt!
This is a really cute game, thanks for sharing.
It was a treat to feature a Stefan Feld game on the channel. Glad you liked seeing it here.
Wow, just bought this game and your video is very clear and concise. Great job! May I suggest that you should give your final thoughts on the game? =]
Thanks for your interest, but I don't review on this channel. I would rather show exactly how the game works and let the viewer decide for themselves if it would be a good fit for them. I'd rather my biases not factor into it.
+Watch It Played Very admirable of you to not include your personal bias of the game. As a Feld fan, I may consider buying this game since you did an amazing job explaining it clearly.
+Julian Nimmo Very kind of you to say Julian!
Great job :)
Thank you!
This game looks really cool!
End up giving it a try?
Rodney I know this is completely off topic, But I was wondering ...I saw awhile ago a come and play video you did with the Guys from Devil Pig Games and I was curious if you are planning a instructional and play through of Heroes of Normandie?
Stephen Poulin No plans to currently.
Climbing my list of favorite Canadians, bro
Very glad you're enjoying the series!
***** excellent work! Thanks from a italian player :)
A pleasure - thanks for checking it out!
Gotcha. Thanks for clarifying.
Glad it was helpful!
Hey Rodney, saw this on the shelf at my FLGS, looked a bit daunting, but may give it a go.
You said to take the time token action you can take, 2-5 tokens, but you only had space for 1, does that make the action unavailable as you can't accommodate 2?
Good question Mark! You could still take the single Time Marker. I think they made a point of saying 2-5, because regardless of how many time tokens are physically stacked on a sector, you can always take at least 2 (again, assuming you have room).
rodney, i have a problem with the loading station, specifically with the loading station, i dont fully understand its purpose and what happens with the bots that end up there
The Loading Station is a great way to get your bots off of your player board. Remember, between each round, you'll gain more points, for having more of your bots NOT on your player board. So, ideally, you can ensure 6 of your bots are permanently off your board, if you have 1 in each loading station. Does that clear it up a little?
In addition to what Rodney said, I Loading Station logic also encourages players to take actions in all the different sectors instead of just staying in one or two. If you stay in a single sector, you'll continuously be bumping your own bots back to your player board.
What happens if you try to get a new lab expansion or is it impossible? The reason I ask is you have the blank research room and was wondering if you could replace it.
also is there a research limit?
Jon Ridgley I'm a little confused by the question. I think you may have said Research Room when you meant Lab Expansion.I'll try to guess your questions though.1) You can not have more than 5 lab expansions at any one time.2) You may not have any more Research cards than the limit currently shown in your Lab Expansion.3) You can not take a Research or Lab Expansion action in a sector that does not have one of those components in its matching slot.
***** i know you cant have more than 5 expansions. My question is if you have five expansions, can you buy another expansion to replace an old lab expansion? or are you stuck with whatever you buy?
Jon Ridgley Ah, gotcha. You're stuck with what you buy.
Hi Rodney
Fantastic video once again.
I just have a few questions regarding the purple space where you fight off Octopods. I'm just a bit confused with pieces that are already present at each sector when you do setup. I understand my lab shows me the number of Octopods I can remove. But is the purple space the same as the yellow space where we can choose to remove at least 2 Octopods when we do that action? Or is it completely different?
Am I only allowed to take that action if there are actual Octopods in that sector?
Ok, another related question. Will I be able to fight at that sector if there are three Octopods pieces in that sector but my lab only allows me to remove two? Can I just remove two of them and leave one on the purple space?
This question is getting a bit longer, super sorry. I just want to play this game correctly :) I noticed each players can take turns placing their programmed bot in the control area of each sector. Can different players do the same action in the same sector? Or is that forbidden and that second player would be forced to pass. As you pointed out, players might not have the time tokens to move to different sectors so would it be possible that two players are in the same sector but both taking turns going to the same coloured space?
Thanks for your help in advance ;)
When it comes to all resources (and, you can think of Octopods as resources, for the purposes of this answer), you can only interact with what is physically on the board. The only exception to this is Time Markers. So if there are no crystals on a space, you can't collect crystals from that sector (regardless of the capacity of your lab). Same with Octopods. With Time Markers, you can always, in any sector, at least collect 2.
If there are 3 Octopods on a sector and your lab has a capacity to remove two, then you remove two and leave one behind.
Players do not block each other out of spaces. If someone is already in a space, you can still move your scientist there.
Hope that helps.
In 26.05 , lab expansions and research cards “if necessary”, what does it mean?
It just means that if those spots already have expansion and research cards, put the new ones on top of them.
@@WatchItPlayed Thank you so much! So if there is, we still put it, right?
@@nurutkur4350 Yes.
Holy set up!
+Priscilla Basilio There's quite a bit to the set up, to be sure :)
yup about like a 7 min set up but if I was the one setting it up it would most likely take 30 mins
Awesome videos as always Rodney. This is not a negative on your video, but on the game itself. The game seems so convoluted, maybe I'm just not smart enough to grok Aquasphere. I'm a huge Feld fan and watched a couple videos on this game, but didn't spark any sort of interest for me. Either way, your videos served it's purpose in allowing me to make an educated decision. So thanks! :)
I'm going to release a video showing a coupe sample turns, which may help simplify the integration of the rules. Either way, thanks for watching!
pls play that :D
Saar Levin Thanks for the interest - I will show a few sample turns!
Meaty game eh? Me likey
Indeed!
Clear and elegant. Very good tutorial!
Thank you Scott!