Great catch! I think the reason why we missed this is because this rule is only listed in the appendix, and not in the app or the how to play rulebook. Thanks for pointing it out, now I want to play again :)
@@Shelfside If you like Mansions, I would strongly suggest you review Return to Dark Tower. I just played it and it's awesome. Regarding the miniatures, we usually just ignore them and just put the cardboard piece on the board.
I never get bored of funny boardgame reviews. Glad to have another one around. Edit: Just realized I spoke like you guys were brand new, but you've been uploading for almost a year. Just meant I'm glad I found yall.
@@Shelfside just keep it up. the quality here (which is already above a lot of other content) will slowly propel you. and honestly the more creators the merrier. its not a competition. I personally follow like 20-30 quality channels and always happy to add more!
This game is so goddamn great, I love it too. The first video of yours I watched was Root, and you hooked me immediately . I really really hope you keep up the great content. I'm always happy to see anything from this channel. Thank you, boys.
If you have all the expansions, scenarios can have variants for that expansion. There is also Valkyrie homebrew scenarios for the app, some are pretty good. Wish the base is clear though, they look better during gameplay.
I finally broke down and bought it today, should be here tomorrow. I don't have the space for the massive box but I guess I'm about to see how I adapt lmao. Good work guys, I hope it's as fun as Eldritch and AH3!
ahaha awesome! Can't speak for AH3, but this definitely gave us a great mystery feel to lovecraft that Eldritch didn't give us with its more 'epic' nature. Cheers! -Ashton
Found you on reddit and loved this video! Though i disagree on some points (i don't think the 4 scenarios in the base game are consistent with quality and balance) i agreed with most of what you had to say. Right now it's my favorite board game and i was wondering if you were thinking about getting expansions and reviewing them as well. Some of them have excellent scenarios (Horrific Journeys) or add mechanics which should have been in the base game (Streets of Arkham), overall they change the game for the better and make the replayability better as they change the layouts of older scenarios (Cycle of Eternity can get crazy different if you own Horrific Journeys).
Being the HUGE lovecraft fans we are, it is inevitable that we will pick up expansions for this game and review them at some point! Testing games right now is really tricky because of the lockdown, and I don't want to buy it to play purely solo ahaha!
Probably this has been asked, so apologies for asking the same thing but would you recommend Cthulhu Death May Die over this? They are different games but I am debating which of the two I should eventually purchase
Death may die is more a pure coop experience, with more nuanced player boards and straightforward (at least from I've played) scenarios. Mansions of Madness is more an adventure into an unknown house where anything can happen, where you NEED to do at least some sleuthing to win consistently. The insanity mechanic really pushes Mansions into the semi-coop and casual category, where there can be plenty of twists as your fellow adventurers betray you. Oh, and make sure you are ok with the app usage in Mansions! -Ashton
You guys do Great Reviews! I’ve had this game, and all expansions since 2nd Ed came out. Saw your Eldritch Horror review, too. Good stuff guys, very entertaining, and extremely informative!! Keep up the good work. New sub
Love this game. Been collecting everything over the years and own it all now. I didnt deal with big monsters at all. I viled the tips off and glued them on transparant bases, so much better! As for checking their stats, there’s a perfect fine summary document to print on bgg. Only con remaining is that searching tiles can be a hassle, especially with more expansions.
i don't remember their names exactly, but when looking up mystery games online, Forgotten Hill and Desolation seem to be stuff very similar to what I played growing up!
17:47 - Taking multiple horror checks from a monster - I believe you should only take a different horror check if you are in range of a monster that has a higher horror rating. So if there is a single monster in a room with 4 investigators, they should all just take that one Horror check. If thats not the official rules, personally I think it makes more sense, since all investigators would be observing the same monster action.
This is correct! This was brought up by another comment: we didn't catch it because the rule was not in the main rulebook or app, but was instead just one line in the appendix. We will be playing it like that from now on for sure.
Checking this out now after you said its your favorite dingeon crawler. Prior to that statement you elaborated how its not too fiddly while still offering cool stuff like items and immersive narrative. After playing super heavy gsmes like ATO im interested in trying simething lighter that can scratch the same itch. This might be it!
Good house rule for two players is 3 actions per turn. Another house rule I run is letting players consensually take or give 1 item to another player in their space as a bonus action
Although the minis are nice-ish, I don’t even use them. I simply just use the tokens. They take up less real estate and they’re easier to reference that way... and the art on the tokens is pretty cool. All my monster figs and bases have been exiled to my empty expansion boxes.
Hi, I just picked up mansions of madness and I wanted a quick synopsis on the game and gameplay, which is what led me to this video. Big 👍 by the way, great job! Is there a D&D based miniatures board game that utilizes a "GM" app like the one used in M of M ? Thanks.
awesome that you liked the vid! Mansions is such an awesome game. Descent 2nd Edition is high fantasy, with a really well done app integration (same company, FFG). They're coming out with a new Descent soon though, so you might want to wait for it, although its pretty expensive at ~$175 MSRP. If you like Lord of the Rings, I've heard great things about the app integration for that too: Journeys in Middle Earth (also FFG ahaha.) -Ashton
@@Shelfside Thank you for answering my question and for the recommendations. I'm a huge Tolkien fan so I'll definitely look into the middle earth one. Take care and stay healthy.
Really nice and in depth review. I love how you guys go through everything. I’ve always thought Id like Mansions but I run Call of Cthulhu so I feel like I’d end up playing Call of Cthulhu instead.
Will not list the mission or details, but our groups lost 4 times to a mission. Every time from Insane people. But each group has loved the mission. This weekend was our closest win. We had a fresh group play the mission this weekend, they beat the easy missio and felt confident they can tackle the mission. Hearing this before I sat and watched, and boy did they get lucky, succeed at almost every roll, got items in right order, defeated minion and minion, clue after clue... Smug and happy they were doing so well I sat I and watched as they went for the win... 3 players to act, only needed 2 of them to do the action, it was all they needed.... then I saw it, an expression I may never forget. It was the look on the youngest players face. a 15 year old son grinned at his dad who so focused on the board that he did not see the look on his sons face. A look that gave me the creeps. The father who thought the game was won, ran off to help the team win, and they would have, should have, until the kid now alone "removed for Insane spoiler" and won, if it can be called a win. I never seen that Insane card before, nor expected it, and as the kid cheered that he won oblivious to the deeper meaning of what he had done,, the 4 adults sat there shocked at the event, and how over joyed the Insane kid was... Had I to guess, the dad gave quite a lecture after leaving. This game surprised me, and I know it shocked the group, the bliss to utter dismay in seconds. Love this game, best horror game so far. Betrayal Legacy a second second
My goodness that was very entertaining! Actually played this fairly recently and went insane during the final fight- I should have been more selfish earlier on :) But the game creates such fun stories! The insanity win conditions are the way to go 100% for me, pyromaniac is my favorite -ashton
other similar games from FFG might work well, like the new Descent Legends into the dark, or the older LoTR journeys into middle earth. These ones are more campaign based, but I've heard good things about them -Ashton
I just sold this game, I love Eldritch Horror and I thought this will be the same feeling but with dungeon crawling. Sadly my friend and I don't enjoy the app interaction. We return playing more and more EH because of that.
Fair enough! This game demands the app interaction, if that's not your cup of tea it just won't fly well! Luckily there's a bajillion eldritch expansions lol -Ashton
@@DarkVincent117 aah dang. have you tried Arkham Horror LCG, or the new Arkham Horror 3rd edition? Or how about Cthluhu death may die? Those may all scratch your itch! -Ashton
@@Shelfside yeah I got the new revised core set... But to be honest the expansions are a little pricey, and I can only buy it from usa, so I need to add shipping cost. So I prefer to buy new games to expand my collection. (I just buy Brass, because of you review). I love Arkham after some house ruling for the chaos token bag😅. Idk about Chutulhu may die, FFG made a great universe with the Lovecraft stories. The Arkham universe was really well done, and the characters on "may die" feel empty, and generic.
@@DarkVincent117 brass is a great buy! Still need to suck up the funds to buy the expansions for Arkham too. Death may die characters feel a lot more... camp-y compared to FFG's, where the game doesn't really have a cosmic threat vibe, but rather a horror thriller movie. So not as scary or creepy ahaha. -Ashton
Good review of the game here, I expecially liked the little into clip! You do speak very quickly, however I can see why - huge amount of content here in just 35 minutes. For those that are looking for more scenarios created by the community, then download and play Valkyrie for free. Its available on Windows and Android, it even includes tools to create your own scenarios! Heres a BGG link if you're interested to know more, want to see how scenarios are rated by the community or find out how to create your own scenarios. Its recently been updated to support the Path of the Serpent Expansion: boardgamegeek.com/thread/2100734/valkyrie-home-brew-scenarios-statistics-announceme
Thanks for the feedback! We were hesitant about putting Valkyrie in the review, since we didn't play it yet, but its something I definitely want to check out since its free!
This game is not family friendly and for super hardcore gamers unless you want to tear family apart. The designer is also very lazy giving players 5 digits combinations, I get it that the game wants to burn turns but this is the lazy way that only solutions through brute forcing, it’s 512 lock combinations, which can take 10-20 turns where the game ends in 10-15 turns that average out to 5% chance of surviving the game. The non lazy way is to provide players with symbols or digits throughout the game where players can use the clues later to crack the code and not to brute force it! When I play the game, I replaced many rules, which is horrible. The monsters are overpowered having to move 2x2 in a turn, attacking and giving horrors. Unless you’re seasoned veterans, DO NOT get this game. I played casually with my wife and kids and this game is stressful and not for casual if following all the rules without it then what’s the point. 5 thumbs down 👎 for this expensive horrible game.
My biggest problem with this game is that it heavily relies on App, and I don't like a board game that requires an app to play, in that case, why don't just play a computer game which can deliver a better atmosphere （such as song of horror), I really think Arkham horror card game delivers a much better board game experience.
cheers! The app is definitely going to be make or break for people. Our group liked it a lot, and liked the bookkeeping elements to facilitate us interacting in person. Still have to try more AHLCG expansions here! -Ashton
When doing multiple hottor checks with the same monster, you should only do one check and then all investigators do that one
Great catch! I think the reason why we missed this is because this rule is only listed in the appendix, and not in the app or the how to play rulebook. Thanks for pointing it out, now I want to play again :)
@@Shelfside If you like Mansions, I would strongly suggest you review Return to Dark Tower. I just played it and it's awesome. Regarding the miniatures, we usually just ignore them and just put the cardboard piece on the board.
I never get bored of funny boardgame reviews. Glad to have another one around.
Edit: Just realized I spoke like you guys were brand new, but you've been uploading for almost a year. Just meant I'm glad I found yall.
Glad you found us! It's kinda hard getting the name out there haha
@@Shelfside just keep it up. the quality here (which is already above a lot of other content) will slowly propel you. and honestly the more creators the merrier. its not a competition. I personally follow like 20-30 quality channels and always happy to add more!
@@sairam71 The reviews are top notch and in depth, wholeheartedly agree!!!
This game is so goddamn great, I love it too.
The first video of yours I watched was Root, and you hooked me immediately . I really really hope you keep up the great content. I'm always happy to see anything from this channel. Thank you, boys.
If you have all the expansions, scenarios can have variants for that expansion.
There is also Valkyrie homebrew scenarios for the app, some are pretty good.
Wish the base is clear though, they look better during gameplay.
LOL that slideshow vid of Daniel. Great thorough review!
I finally broke down and bought it today, should be here tomorrow. I don't have the space for the massive box but I guess I'm about to see how I adapt lmao. Good work guys, I hope it's as fun as Eldritch and AH3!
ahaha awesome! Can't speak for AH3, but this definitely gave us a great mystery feel to lovecraft that Eldritch didn't give us with its more 'epic' nature. Cheers! -Ashton
Found you on reddit and loved this video! Though i disagree on some points (i don't think the 4 scenarios in the base game are consistent with quality and balance) i agreed with most of what you had to say. Right now it's my favorite board game and i was wondering if you were thinking about getting expansions and reviewing them as well. Some of them have excellent scenarios (Horrific Journeys) or add mechanics which should have been in the base game (Streets of Arkham), overall they change the game for the better and make the replayability better as they change the layouts of older scenarios (Cycle of Eternity can get crazy different if you own Horrific Journeys).
Being the HUGE lovecraft fans we are, it is inevitable that we will pick up expansions for this game and review them at some point! Testing games right now is really tricky because of the lockdown, and I don't want to buy it to play purely solo ahaha!
Love the soul series sound effects in the beginning
well done. i love that you have TOC built right into the video time line bar... why don't more people do this!! I didn't even know you can do that.
This was my gateway game, and i still love playing it so much! Simple fun and very immersive game!
agree! I need more expansions!!! -Ashton
Probably this has been asked, so apologies for asking the same thing but would you recommend Cthulhu Death May Die over this? They are different games but I am debating which of the two I should eventually purchase
Death may die is more a pure coop experience, with more nuanced player boards and straightforward (at least from I've played) scenarios. Mansions of Madness is more an adventure into an unknown house where anything can happen, where you NEED to do at least some sleuthing to win consistently. The insanity mechanic really pushes Mansions into the semi-coop and casual category, where there can be plenty of twists as your fellow adventurers betray you.
Oh, and make sure you are ok with the app usage in Mansions! -Ashton
You guys do Great Reviews! I’ve had this game, and all expansions since 2nd Ed came out. Saw your Eldritch Horror review, too. Good stuff guys, very entertaining, and extremely informative!! Keep up the good work. New sub
Much appreciated!
Love this game. Been collecting everything over the years and own it all now. I didnt deal with big monsters at all. I viled the tips off and glued them on transparant bases, so much better! As for checking their stats, there’s a perfect fine summary document to print on bgg. Only con remaining is that searching tiles can be a hassle, especially with more expansions.
Which point-and-click games were you talking about?
i don't remember their names exactly, but when looking up mystery games online, Forgotten Hill and Desolation seem to be stuff very similar to what I played growing up!
17:47 - Taking multiple horror checks from a monster - I believe you should only take a different horror check if you are in range of a monster that has a higher horror rating. So if there is a single monster in a room with 4 investigators, they should all just take that one Horror check. If thats not the official rules, personally I think it makes more sense, since all investigators would be observing the same monster action.
This is correct! This was brought up by another comment: we didn't catch it because the rule was not in the main rulebook or app, but was instead just one line in the appendix. We will be playing it like that from now on for sure.
Checking this out now after you said its your favorite dingeon crawler. Prior to that statement you elaborated how its not too fiddly while still offering cool stuff like items and immersive narrative.
After playing super heavy gsmes like ATO im interested in trying simething lighter that can scratch the same itch. This might be it!
Good house rule for two players is 3 actions per turn. Another house rule I run is letting players consensually take or give 1 item to another player in their space as a bonus action
what camera are you using? i reviewed this but the close ups got blurred
its a 5d Mark 4, but the magic is in the lens: a 24-70 mm 2.8! -Ashton
@@Shelfside thanks :)
Although the minis are nice-ish, I don’t even use them. I simply just use the tokens. They take up less real estate and they’re easier to reference that way... and the art on the tokens is pretty cool. All my monster figs and bases have been exiled to my empty expansion boxes.
I've actually never thought of doing that- we'll have to give that a go in the next game! Would help with storage too I'd imagine. Cheers! -Ashton
Hi, I just picked up mansions of madness and I wanted a quick synopsis on the game and gameplay, which is what led me to this video. Big 👍 by the way, great job! Is there a D&D based miniatures board game that utilizes a "GM" app like the one used in M of M ? Thanks.
awesome that you liked the vid! Mansions is such an awesome game. Descent 2nd Edition is high fantasy, with a really well done app integration (same company, FFG). They're coming out with a new Descent soon though, so you might want to wait for it, although its pretty expensive at ~$175 MSRP.
If you like Lord of the Rings, I've heard great things about the app integration for that too: Journeys in Middle Earth (also FFG ahaha.)
-Ashton
@@Shelfside Thank you for answering my question and for the recommendations. I'm a huge Tolkien fan so I'll definitely look into the middle earth one. Take care and stay healthy.
@@tp6498 best of luck! -Ashton
Daniel is giving me some strong vibes from Billy Idol's Cradle of Love music video.
Really nice and in depth review. I love how you guys go through everything. I’ve always thought Id like Mansions but I run Call of Cthulhu so I feel like I’d end up playing Call of Cthulhu instead.
Great review without spoilers!!
Will not list the mission or details, but our groups lost 4 times to a mission. Every time from Insane people. But each group has loved the mission. This weekend was our closest win. We had a fresh group play the mission this weekend, they beat the easy missio and felt confident they can tackle the mission. Hearing this before I sat and watched, and boy did they get lucky, succeed at almost every roll, got items in right order, defeated minion and minion, clue after clue...
Smug and happy they were doing so well I sat I and watched as they went for the win... 3 players to act, only needed 2 of them to do the action, it was all they needed.... then I saw it, an expression I may never forget. It was the look on the youngest players face. a 15 year old son grinned at his dad who so focused on the board that he did not see the look on his sons face. A look that gave me the creeps. The father who thought the game was won, ran off to help the team win, and they would have, should have, until the kid now alone "removed for Insane spoiler" and won, if it can be called a win. I never seen that Insane card before, nor expected it, and as the kid cheered that he won oblivious to the deeper meaning of what he had done,, the 4 adults sat there shocked at the event, and how over joyed the Insane kid was... Had I to guess, the dad gave quite a lecture after leaving.
This game surprised me, and I know it shocked the group, the bliss to utter dismay in seconds.
Love this game, best horror game so far. Betrayal Legacy a second second
My goodness that was very entertaining! Actually played this fairly recently and went insane during the final fight- I should have been more selfish earlier on :)
But the game creates such fun stories! The insanity win conditions are the way to go 100% for me, pyromaniac is my favorite -ashton
Great stuff guys! I'd love to see Heroes of the Land, Air and Sea or Cathulhu death may die or Blood Rage :D
What’s your opinion on Arkham Horror 3E?
heyo! We've actually never got around to playing it, and didn't feel incentivized enough to snag a copy for ourselves -Ashton
Thank you for this review
Game sounds really cool! Can't wait to add it to my collection 👀
its a lovecraftian trip for sure! Best of luck in the mansions! -Ashton
Do you guys plan to play chutuhlu death may die?? Love to see a review for that! Also nemesis 😂
Death may die we are planning to do! Nemesis we do not have any plans to do anytime soon, but who knows! :) -Ashton
@@Shelfside looking forward to it!
I like to not use the minis and just the tiles because dealing with them is annoying.
Wow. Very impressive review.
Thank for all the effort
Is there better solo or with people?
More people for sure to get the insanity engine to its fullest! But still solid solo (2 headed). -Ashton
Lol, the Dark Souls sound effect
I'm curious wether I should buy Arkham Horror: The Card Game or this
Both. Both great games. Arkham horror I play solo, mansions with friends.
As long as you have the money, then get both, so you can jump down that eldritch rabbit hole.
Both!
I like MoM, but I know that if I buy the base box, inside a year I'd have an entire Kallax of Madness :(
Can anyone recommend other co op board games like this with a companion app?
other similar games from FFG might work well, like the new Descent Legends into the dark, or the older LoTR journeys into middle earth. These ones are more campaign based, but I've heard good things about them -Ashton
Jesus christ man you looks exactly like the persistent detective fro Arkham horror LCG lol XD
hah, haven't run into that investigator in base AH LCG ahaha. Closest I could think of is roland banks x) -Ashton
Did you buy any expansions?
we got a buddy that picked up a bunch! Super itching to play them, the pandemic has made it hard to get this sick game going -Ashton
This game is so good and the fan based scenarios added constantly make it even better. Great review!
as Halloween comes around, I really wanna play this again :D -Ashton
What do you mean by fan made scenarios? How do you access them and how does it work?
Great voiceover!
Daniel killed it :D -Ashton
I just sold this game, I love Eldritch Horror and I thought this will be the same feeling but with dungeon crawling. Sadly my friend and I don't enjoy the app interaction. We return playing more and more EH because of that.
Fair enough! This game demands the app interaction, if that's not your cup of tea it just won't fly well! Luckily there's a bajillion eldritch expansions lol -Ashton
@@Shelfside sadly I'm missing two expansions :(. The stores on my country do not have it. And order them from US is expensive 🤣
@@DarkVincent117 aah dang. have you tried Arkham Horror LCG, or the new Arkham Horror 3rd edition? Or how about Cthluhu death may die? Those may all scratch your itch! -Ashton
@@Shelfside yeah I got the new revised core set... But to be honest the expansions are a little pricey, and I can only buy it from usa, so I need to add shipping cost. So I prefer to buy new games to expand my collection. (I just buy Brass, because of you review). I love Arkham after some house ruling for the chaos token bag😅.
Idk about Chutulhu may die, FFG made a great universe with the Lovecraft stories. The Arkham universe was really well done, and the characters on "may die" feel empty, and generic.
@@DarkVincent117 brass is a great buy! Still need to suck up the funds to buy the expansions for Arkham too.
Death may die characters feel a lot more... camp-y compared to FFG's, where the game doesn't really have a cosmic threat vibe, but rather a horror thriller movie. So not as scary or creepy ahaha. -Ashton
Are the investigator miniatures painted?
yo! They don't come painted, they'll be grey if you buy the game! -Ashton
@@Shelfside Thanks, good to know. Great review btw!
@@g3orgeK. thank you! More content coming your way! -Ashton
Great review, man!
thanks man! Glad you liked it, this guy is still Top tier lovecraft board gaming for me :D -Ashton
Hilarious intro!! XD
cheers! Yeah love me some resident evil -Ashton
Good review of the game here, I expecially liked the little into clip! You do speak very quickly, however I can see why - huge amount of content here in just 35 minutes.
For those that are looking for more scenarios created by the community, then download and play Valkyrie for free. Its available on Windows and Android, it even includes tools to create your own scenarios!
Heres a BGG link if you're interested to know more, want to see how scenarios are rated by the community or find out how to create your own scenarios. Its recently been updated to support the Path of the Serpent Expansion:
boardgamegeek.com/thread/2100734/valkyrie-home-brew-scenarios-statistics-announceme
Thanks for the feedback! We were hesitant about putting Valkyrie in the review, since we didn't play it yet, but its something I definitely want to check out since its free!
@@Shelfside I can fully understand that, be great to hear your thoughts and how it holds up in your eyes to the official app.
Genius
This game is not family friendly and for super hardcore gamers unless you want to tear family apart. The designer is also very lazy giving players 5 digits combinations, I get it that the game wants to burn turns but this is the lazy way that only solutions through brute forcing, it’s 512 lock combinations, which can take 10-20 turns where the game ends in 10-15 turns that average out to 5% chance of surviving the game. The non lazy way is to provide players with symbols or digits throughout the game where players can use the clues later to crack the code and not to brute force it! When I play the game, I replaced many rules, which is horrible. The monsters are overpowered having to move 2x2 in a turn, attacking and giving horrors. Unless you’re seasoned veterans, DO NOT get this game. I played casually with my wife and kids and this game is stressful and not for casual if following all the rules without it then what’s the point. 5 thumbs down 👎 for this expensive horrible game.
My biggest problem with this game is that it heavily relies on App, and I don't like a board game that requires an app to play, in that case, why don't just play a computer game which can deliver a better atmosphere （such as song of horror), I really think Arkham horror card game delivers a much better board game experience.
cheers! The app is definitely going to be make or break for people. Our group liked it a lot, and liked the bookkeeping elements to facilitate us interacting in person. Still have to try more AHLCG expansions here! -Ashton