Actually Ankh. But it's sort of in that all-in and forget about it mindset I usually have with these things. But Eric is too damn huggable when he starts getting distracted by pandas. So there's that. That is my logic! Don't challenge it. The science is undeniable!
I never played Massive Darkness and I’m looking forward to the 2nd iteration. I haven’t filled my shelf with a dungeon crawler yet. And Primal: The Awakening. Depending on value, I may get one over the other.
Rising Sun is by far the best combination of enjoyment, aesthetics and theme in the cmon list here. I'm never tired to play it or even only look at it. Still unbeatable for good looks ❤
DUde.... I really like your reviews. Recently you did a top 10 favorites board game reviewers. I have subscribed to 40 to 50 reviewers and I like them all a lot. I have not listed my top reviewers, but if I did I am sure that you would be high on the list of favorites. Keep it up, man. Thank you.
Love, Love, LOVE Cthulhu:Death May Die - Amazing Solo, with 2, 3 and 4 players (not tried 5). A phenomenal blast; one of the most fun games I've played to date :-D (I haven't played Blood Rage so unable to comment on that one - I'm not, however, a territory gamer so unsure it would tick my box but that's just me :-P) Loving your continued enthusiasm! Keep 'em coming! :-)
I like your review and I love CMON games. Especially Zombicide franchise and Cthulhu Death May Die. However I don’t prefer the way of their kickstarter campaign cause I’m started to be exhausted backing them on kickstarter.
Great list Alex, almost exactly the same as my ranking. My only difference is the top 3. My top 3 CMON games are: 1) Blood Rage 2) Cthulhu: Death May Die 3) Dogs of War
Even though B-Sieged doesn't get a lot of love, I really enjoy it. It took me a few plays to figure out my strategies to win, which I do about 75% of the time. The only change I make is only using Event cards levels 1-3. Some of the harder Event cards can just decimate your game.
Godfather is one of my favorite games. It’s streamlined, the theme is strong, and we can finish in an hour and a half. I’ve probably played it at least 5x more than Rising Sun since it’s so much easier to get to the table.
Just got my hands on a copy of Cthulhu - Death May Die yesterday! Have been watching you constantly review, lookback and comparing it with other games and I thought that I must give it a try!
Despite the bias, it was still good to hear feedback about these games. I am currently backing Massive Darkness 2 and the demo was... well ok. The difficulty is very low so I'm likely going to have to house rule to make it more of our game style. We love Arkham Horror and I've got my eyes on Death May Die, but I want to get a kickstarter bundle (less the giant Cthulu... I already have my own 2ft 3D printed one that I also sell.) I just ordered Zombicide Black Plague from my LFGS a couple days ago and purchased Zombicide season 1 for Tabletop Simulator to play with the friends while Covid is still a thing here in Texas. I'm aware of Blood Rage but it never seemed appealing. With your input, I may at least check it out to see if it is good for us. Thanks for your videos, I just recently started following.
I've only ever played the original zombicide series, but your reasons for liking the universe seem pretty similar to mine. I don't really see Death May Die as a replacement for Zombicide, as they each have a unique feel, IMO. I know you like to compare the two. Thanks for the video!
I really like these more personal videos and I like hearing your option on things outside of the boardgame world as well. I'm going to watch the video you recommend
Thanks for the run down ranking. I’m relatively new to board gaming and I’ve generally heard only mixed opinions about CMON. “Good games but poor customer/fan interaction”. It’s nice to see a retrospective look at their games as a whole. I saw several that I’m now curious about and I did back the Zombicide 2nd edition Kickstarter.
I've only played Zombicide 1st edition (but am OBSESSED with it, so of course backed 2nd). But have heard such good things about blood rage and rising sun I late pledged ankh. Pretty excited for it. Appreciate you linking the Eric Lang talk, I also thought it was just really well done, really good talking points
I think everyone plays with house rules to some degree. The only house rules I really use/implement are related to areas of a game that aren't defined within the rules or the interpretation is too open ended. The one exemption would be zombicide original, since game #2 of that I played, "only misses are eligible to hit other survivors in the square". For two reasons: 1. it completely and utterly breaks the flow of the game, breaks the entire theme for me if survivors are literally gunning for each other but there aren't any other incentives or rules to attack each other. 2. For most games friendly fire is associated with some sort of miss within the relevant mechanics to that game. It just makes more sense. Later the creators agreed that their original implementation of target prioritization was silly and made this a change to the rules.
Since you "enjoy" Blood Rage and Rising Sun you have to get Godfather played. Once you know the game you can easily get it done in about 45 minutes. Like most games of this genre it's really around the 4th or 5th play you start to see how it all clicks and the game play goes way up. One thing I like about the game is everything you need to know about the phases is on the board. So you don't need to do a rules refresh to remember things after you learn it the first time.
Godfather is a solid game. It gets better with more plays since everyone starts to realize how much value the bribe phase offers and the bidding war gets intense. My first play of it was a little bland though. Now that my group understands everything, it gets requested often. The rule book wasnt the best. We had to have a lot of questions verified.
I picked your top three, and in the right order. Zombicide Black Plague seems to be most peoples favourite version. Cthulhu: Death May Die is one I will buy immediately if they run another KS. Rob "Legacy" Daviau and Eric Lang is a winning combination. And of course, Blood Rage being number one is very obvious. I would've never guessed Dogs of War and Rise of Moloch in forth and fifth.
Rising Sun is the best thing on Earth. I may exaggerate a bit... But its breathtakingly beautiful, the theme is cool, the gameplay is engaging and tens. Definitely higher on my list. Especially comparing to Zombicide.
Just got around to watching some of your older videos and came across this one. Very comprehensive and made me rethink some of my original ratings on these as well. Was wondering if you have enough exposure to some of CMON’s other published (non-KS) works to do a similar list (Gizmos, Way of the Panda, Victorian Masterminds, Council of 4, etc.)
the "political" part at the end of the video was probably the tamest and safest political stance one can voice in a Video. If somebody has an issue with that kind of message you should just ignore them.
From CMON, without any doubt, Blood Rage is best yet. And to be honest, I think that’s because even if it is very simple to explain, It has all you can ask... fight... positioning strategy... victory points... cards...and all combined and balanced for a very deep and satisfying game board session. I just keeps my hopes for Bloodborne The Board Game, to come as second best!
I really just want the tableru, Zombicide Vegas, and CMON to have a clear audit (as I don't want to go in on an expensive NFC board system with a company on shaky ground.
HATE was my first CMON game I got, where I Late Pledged to and I really enjoyed the VS aspect of the game with fun variances of the Tribes and just how brutal the themes are. Following games followed were Zombicide Invader, Cthulhu Death May Die, Bloodborne, Zombicide 2nd Edition, Ankh and now tentatively on Marvel United X-Men. I was gonna Late Pledged to Zombicide Undead or Alive but I don't have the funds for two all-In games to back and having 2 Zombicide games atm is enough when given the option for something completely different. But we'll see which of the two I decide going for. So far it's been nothing but home runs for me. Love their quality of work and how fun and thematic their games have been so far for myself. Esp VS other KS games I've backed
Hey Alex. You are responsible for making me order Death May Die next couple of days. One click away. Do you think retail edition worth it? And price around 85$. In other news, do you consider talking about Interpid (KS game)? Thanx!
You combined Arcadia Quest with Starcadia Quest ... I am wondering if you've tried Masmorra? Personally I like this game very much : cooperative and fun concept that monsters are rolled (literally monsters are dice you roll to see which one spawn)
I don't actually have any CMON games, I only recently went crazy on Kickstarter for board games last year when I randomly saw Etherfields and was sold with that. I was only on Kickstarter before that for PC games, specifically the MYST series by CYAN, who are a smaller company with fantastic games, but didn't have the funding for making newer games. Then I went nuts buying board games left and right, and now I finally got smart, basically from you and the King Of Average wise info on Kickstarter and what and what not be good to get. From my perspective Massive Darkness is like Descent Journey's in the Dark, if you would compare those two, which would you consider better? I know Massive Darkness has the better Mini quality of the two games, but from many reports Massive Darkness is just ok. I just want to see if I should go for Massive Darkness 2 coming up.
I've never played Descent surprisingly, so I can't comment there. For right now, in it's current state MD is good but not great. I'm hoping that a season 2 gives them the chance to make it great.
I absolutely love Dogs of War. So far my favourite CMON game. Second place for Rising Sun (I like it better than Blood Rage). Sadly I don't like Zombicide, I played dozens of times but I always get the feeling that all the missions are practically the same...
Hey Alex, very recently I realize the existence of this Zombicide Board game series, and I’m wondering about getting one for the first time. So... because I love the Fantasy theme, I’m inclined to buy Black Plague (the same one you love the most), but there is a Spanish publisher that could sell me Zombicide 2nd Edition in Spanish (around March or April, I think)... so, I will appreciate some words about it: do you prefer Black Plague, even better than Zombicide 2nd Edition? Thank you Alex, and good video, as usual!
Funny, we have pretty similar tastes, but definitely different preferences within the games we like. My list would be almost flipped from yours. Arcadia Quest is one of my favorite games. I can understand the complaint about the last person getting all the credit, I hate that in videogames, but I feel like that Kill stealing concept is a feature in this case. That's the fun. It's a race to get to the monsters you're after, but it's also a lot of watching your back, trying to hamper other players who might be lining up for a shot, or just hoping you get lucky with crits and get a clean kill yourself. Arcadia Quest is all about the overall experience for me. It's vendetta-the game. Someone steals your kill, you go and kill that player afterwards. The net gains are pretty similar in most cases. Though I will admit that the final boss in the base set is very underwhelming in this case. It really does end up as a big waiting game, or lots of players killing each other so they have an opportunity to try and get lucky alone. I'm not a fan of co-ops, which is probably why I love the blood thirsty nature of Arcadia Quest, but also why I prefer the One vs Many aspect of the Others over the copoerative ones like Zombicide and Massive Darkness.
Lol nice. Arcadia Quest definitely gets a lot of love. I think when it comes to heavy dice rolling games I generally prefer coop. Feels less annoying when a single player gets too many good or bad rolls.
How do you find and acquire games you missed out on? Especially games with exclusive kickstarter content? The fear of missing out is real, and I wonder where to find these games sometimes. Thanks
Interestingly enough I just watched another reviev where Chtulu was portrayed as simple and repetetive whereas Massive darkness 2 was described as having more of tact and elegance....how am I supposed to pick one of them now? My brain can't handle the information 😮
I've been offered Cthulhu DMD Kickstarter version with season 2 expansion and Black goat of the woods, all unopened, for roughly $330. I live in Thailand so the price usually is higher than the market price in US (because of the shipping). Do you think the bundle is worth the price?
I don't understand why Bloodrage is so good. I've never played it, and I'm quite confused about the mechanics. You draft, then play and some land disappears? How does it compare to things like MtG draft or starrealms? Apologies but would be great to get a succinte breakdown! ty
Relatively new to your channel but have watched a fair bit now. Do you think Marvek Zombicide could move Zombicide up on your list? Or still doesn't compare to Blood Rage - which God damn is a fantastic game, wish I backed it years ago, only own the retail copy - but super hyped for marvel zombicide despite the ridiculous cost
Rising sun is my favorite CMON game. But I like blood rage alot. One game that's not on this list and I'm a big fan of is Bloodborne. But I'm also biased because the video game is one of my favorites of all time.
LOVE World of SMOG Rise of Moloch. I discovered it too late to pledge on the KS, and ended up buying an all-in pledge (minus art book) aftermarket for much more (which I never do). Definitely feel it was worth it.
Hmmmmmmm.... Massive Darkness 2.0 you say? Hopefully they've overhauled the game, and have a very solid core game and just sort of go a bit nuts with all the KSE / extra plastic but ensure the core system is good.
I’ve never played zombicide and want to purchase one game but idk which one to purchase. What do you recommend? Theme doesn’t matter I just want to play the one people enjoy the most and it seems the three you placed plus night of the living dead is the one that people play the most
BoardGameCo yeah! It’s unique mechanically- and I personally love the Robin Hood theme 🤘🏻☺️ but where it shines is five players - two are on Robin Hood’s team- two on prince Jon - and the fifth player is a neutral French player that doesn’t want either to win. 😆
Zombicide Medieval is my #1 from CMON. We’re still in the content from Wolfsburg but it’s always a great time. There are so many scenarios that CMON has released on their site, also. I’ve always wanted to play Rum&Bones: Second Tide. Blood Rage is one of the first games I culled. With several games played, I never had a great game. I liked it well enough, but none of the people I played it with engaged with the game. That’s what had it going out the door.
Cmon produces lots of bling but often weak games. I like zombicide black plague, blood rage and death may die the most. Was massively disappointed with MD, so hopefully MD2 will use the awesome minis and tiles and add in a better ruleset. Otherwise I will have to repurpose the game bits to rpg extras.
I agree most of their games are lighter...but can't say weak. Blood Rage and Rise of Moloch might be the heaviest from those I like, but a lot of them I really enjoy for the level of game weight they bring to the table.
@@BoardGameCo rather than weak maybe I should say light weight and forgettable, better games in same game space exist. Having said that I love the beer n pretzel ZBP game series, so much so I bought and still own it.
I think I see a spoiler in this video, I think I see your stack of games leaving your collection. Altiplano, monster something(white box) and suburbia collectors box on the bottom.
My problem with Cmon games is availability or rather their ks approach with plethora of kse. Means if I'd like to get into a game later on I cant because the kse means my fomo unavailable kse content. I realise it's a valid approach but it's also restrictive to post pledge game owning.
I totally agree. The way I look at them, is they are expensive to find about after the fact, but then going forward you will get one of the biggest bangs for your buck in terms of most other games. You just need to follow the Kickstarters.
@@BoardGameCo that's right. You either go all in on a kse and I have or you accept you will never get that game. That is my reality. The only game that is twisting this reality is cuth may die...kinda feel the kse is not totally essential but you would know for definite?
I like to pronounce it 'seemon'. But a more serious note, I've never purchased a kickstarter and I'll never do so. I've heard similar stories to some of your unplayed games, so I have to wonder 'why bother back something if you don't consume it?' Other I hear will consume the game, but use only a fraction of what they're provided. Forgive my blunt nature in what I'm about to say but I find it to be financial idiocy in both of these situations.
Forgiven :D Backing a CMON game means you will either play it eventually or get more money back when you sell it...so if it sits there forever then sure, I'll agree with you. But otherwise, if you will ever play it, it makes more financial sense to back it regardless of when you play it.
Rising Sun - the inspiration of my Dominant Species Theory. "If it was all boiled down to wooden cubes, would it still be as 'good'"? In the case of RS - definitely not.
Hm, I get the point, but don't agree in this case. There are definitely games heavily helped by the toy factor. I don't get that from Rising Sun though. I actually find the min's a bit annoying in RS and in some cases wish that they weren't there. I think I'd almost prefer it with cubes and standees for monsters... though I'd wnat all the other premium resources, haha. To me, I get a lot of enjoyment in really having to plan out half a dozen battles at once. No other game gives me that sort of logistics puzzle. Deciding how to allocate troops and resources in one battle while considering how I'm going to win the other upcoming battles. There's also a lot of table talk in this game which I really look for.
@@NickJacksonusa Understandable, but an analogy might be an automobile: Do you want a car that looks awesome but runs like a Civic? Or would you prefer a car that tears it up on the road, but looks like a Civic? If it's going to simply sit in the driveway (or on the table) I suppose you take the former, but if you want to actually drive (play) it, then to me it's about performance.
I’m not watching this as it’s an hour late. Well ok I will do but I want it noted that I’m watching it with a frown and the occasional tut of annoyance. Completely messing up my timings during lockdown pandemic. I had my day all planned out to the second and was going to enjoy this while eating my breakfast. Now it’s brunch and I’m still not dressed I’ve not combed my beard or even fed the cat. What’s next for 2020. 😤
My first CMON game was Massive Darkness which I got e-bay with all the addons included for about whar the base pledge would have cost. Ir was my first Dungeon Crawl bg and I knew what I was getting into because of all the reviews, but I didn't mind for for the price and I was running and RPG at the time and figured I would use the minis for that if I ever got tired of the game. And get tired of it I did, rather quickly too. The game just felt super clunky, with combats taking ages and being of little challenge, and character advancement feeling both fiddly/hard to remember and superficial. It's been years since I even touched the game but I don't mind that much as I was prepared got that eventuality. When they announcdd MD2 it was just a huge shrug for me They are going to have to change a lot about the game to make it morr compelling for me, but if they don't maybe I can get something out of the game by selling it to someone who is interested in MD2, or maybe if I do start RPGing again. Getting on the waitlist for Greenhorde was my first entry into Kickstarting games and when that happened I went and shelled out an uncomfortable amount of cash getting Blackplague and a bunch of the exclusives. When it comes to the Zombicide games I never had any interest in the Moderncide version or its reboot (something about the style just bothers me) but I really enjoyed the medieval twist of Blackplague/Greenhorde. I've thoroughly mixed the two seasons together at this point and usually build different zombie decks around a theme (Orcs with their wolf companions and werewolf aboms, or swarms of vermin with the rays and crows and related enemies), and I think Green Horde adds enough tension to the game that I sometimes houserule non-orc zombies being added to it. Surprisingly though, Invader turned out to be my favorite, despite being super skeptical about it. Despite being able to tackle Aboms without specialized weaponry thanks to focus fire rule, and not having spawns for opening doors, I felt the game had far more tension thanks to things like the mold mechanic where the game go from a relatively tense room sweep to a desperate fight as aliens start pouring out of the "woodwork." Invader has given me more of that Aliens movie feel more than most games actually liscensing the franchise and the fact that it managed to make the game smoother, quicker, but also more tense was a huge achievement to me, especially as BP/GH were getting stale for my playgroup (we actually had to remove some of the overpowered weapons or moving them to artifacts like the Chaos Bow or avoid characters that got + damage or super strength early, even after insituting random character draws, because they just destroyed all tension and made the game like it played itself). It totally agree with you on CDMD. I knew I would like the game, but I was really surprised by how damn good that game felt. Every scenario was different and the vast majority of them were super engaging and while the bosses could be hit or miss depending on the scenario, each one felt fantastically unique (though sometimes Dagon pisses me group off if we draw too many of the brutal tranaformation cards). I just wish that the comic Kickstarter they did came with a few extra scenarios instead of stupid cultist variants as that is what the game needa and benefits from the most. I also find it a bit of a bummer how some of the awesome monster minis don't get used in more scenarios, especially the stretch goal ones. But yea, I went from feeling that CMON was a joke years ago to actually appreciating their admittedly still overproduced and monitized games. They've come far since the days of undercooked games like the origibal Zcide, Massive Darkness, B-Sieged, and The Others and started to produce more consistently quality games like Blood Rage. Of the games I missed out on I am intrigued by Rum and Bones and Rise of Moloch, but I don't feel strongly about hunting down either (especially since there so much stuff I missed out on with R&B), but I have been considering getting my hands on Rising Sun for sometime since that is the missing piece of the trilogy that no one in may playgroup has bought. Though I am not a diehard CMON games, their kickstarters do always get my attention and with the delivery of Project Elite 2.0 and Bloodborne on the horizon they will be starting to dominate a lot of my boardgaming realestate, lol.
@@BoardGameCo did you try any of the expansions? I was willing but my group was so put off by the rules, they wanted to move on… which sadly, has made me consider selling the lot.
@@BoardGameCo Its due to be delivered next year but was kick started in 2017 or 18 I think. Just wanted to know what you thought of it. Have I been had or was it worth the purchase back then?
BoardGameCo its a fun game but w/ the mechanic you dislike, encourages players to hold back. However, it allows you to mitigate this problem in multiple ways. The newest version does a great job balancing that mechanic.
I highly disagree. B-Sieged is an amazing game and we play it as written initially. I never got why people were raging about the difficulty and randonmess. It has so many aspects of luck mitigation. Such an underrated game which was reviewed poorly by mainstream casual reviewers, seriously. There will be a B-Sieged 2 in the future by Second Gate themselves. Keep your eyes open for that. :) Easily CMONs best coop game by a mile.
Which CMON Kickstarter are you most looking forward to?
Actually Ankh. But it's sort of in that all-in and forget about it mindset I usually have with these things. But Eric is too damn huggable when he starts getting distracted by pandas. So there's that. That is my logic! Don't challenge it. The science is undeniable!
I am really looking forward to Bloodborne right now. Ankh is a close second! Also, I wouldn't mind a Cthulhu DMD Season 3 some time in the future 😉
I never played Massive Darkness and I’m looking forward to the 2nd iteration. I haven’t filled my shelf with a dungeon crawler yet. And Primal: The Awakening. Depending on value, I may get one over the other.
Yes! Blood Rage is the best (in my opinion)!! What is your favorite monster to draft?
Bloodrage is an ok game, but I feel like Chaos of the old world is more fun.
Rising Sun is by far the best combination of enjoyment, aesthetics and theme in the cmon list here. I'm never tired to play it or even only look at it.
Still unbeatable for good looks ❤
DUde.... I really like your reviews. Recently you did a top 10 favorites board game reviewers. I have subscribed to 40 to 50 reviewers and I like them all a lot. I have not listed my top reviewers, but if I did I am sure that you would be high on the list of favorites. Keep it up, man. Thank you.
Awesome thank you!
Love, Love, LOVE Cthulhu:Death May Die - Amazing Solo, with 2, 3 and 4 players (not tried 5). A phenomenal blast; one of the most fun games I've played to date :-D
(I haven't played Blood Rage so unable to comment on that one - I'm not, however, a territory gamer so unsure it would tick my box but that's just me :-P)
Loving your continued enthusiasm! Keep 'em coming! :-)
Thanks! And glad you're enjoying DMD!
I've actually played with 6 players and had a great time. There's enough discussion and action that downtime feels minimal.
Great energy! You definitely enjoy talking about several of these games.
Very much so :)
I like your review and I love CMON games. Especially Zombicide franchise and Cthulhu Death May Die.
However I don’t prefer the way of their kickstarter campaign cause I’m started to be exhausted backing them on kickstarter.
I hear...it's definitely overwhelming. Especially because I like them all.
I was on the fence with recommendations until red and black boxes: SOLD!
Exactly!
Great list Alex, almost exactly the same as my ranking. My only difference is the top 3. My top 3 CMON games are:
1) Blood Rage
2) Cthulhu: Death May Die
3) Dogs of War
You can't go wrong with any of those, amazing games.
Even though B-Sieged doesn't get a lot of love, I really enjoy it. It took me a few plays to figure out my strategies to win, which I do about 75% of the time. The only change I make is only using Event cards levels 1-3. Some of the harder Event cards can just decimate your game.
Godfather is one of my favorite games. It’s streamlined, the theme is strong, and we can finish in an hour and a half. I’ve probably played it at least 5x more than Rising Sun since it’s so much easier to get to the table.
Good to know! Anxious to get it to the table.
Me too! I actually love Rising Sun, but we play Godfather quite a bit more because we can get a game done in less than an hour.
I really enjoy3d your video and descriptions of why you liked the games. Pulling B- Sieged out of the storage bin for play on the 4th of July!
I hope you enjoy!
Just got my hands on a copy of Cthulhu - Death May Die yesterday! Have been watching you constantly review, lookback and comparing it with other games and I thought that I must give it a try!
Excellent! Great game :)
Despite the bias, it was still good to hear feedback about these games. I am currently backing Massive Darkness 2 and the demo was... well ok. The difficulty is very low so I'm likely going to have to house rule to make it more of our game style. We love Arkham Horror and I've got my eyes on Death May Die, but I want to get a kickstarter bundle (less the giant Cthulu... I already have my own 2ft 3D printed one that I also sell.) I just ordered Zombicide Black Plague from my LFGS a couple days ago and purchased Zombicide season 1 for Tabletop Simulator to play with the friends while Covid is still a thing here in Texas. I'm aware of Blood Rage but it never seemed appealing. With your input, I may at least check it out to see if it is good for us. Thanks for your videos, I just recently started following.
Thanks! And all good choices :)
Seeing the board and more importantly the miniature pieces would really make the presentation better.
I know. Time and attention.
Very helpful!
Glad you enjoyed!
I've only ever played the original zombicide series, but your reasons for liking the universe seem pretty similar to mine. I don't really see Death May Die as a replacement for Zombicide, as they each have a unique feel, IMO. I know you like to compare the two. Thanks for the video!
Oh I agree...I think they are similar but I have no plans of ever getting rid of either.
I stand the whole time I play any CMON game. So much to see and reach!
Lol fair enough
@alex, you mention modified rules for b-sieged, I'm looking at bbg and see a v1.1 of the ruleset, is that what you are referring to? Thanks!
Mostly yes, also playing with the top card of each deck revealed.
In a video about minis games, it would've nice to have seen a sample of the minis for each game.
Reasonable...that's a great idea for a video of my top favorite minis from games.
I really like these more personal videos and I like hearing your option on things outside of the boardgame world as well. I'm going to watch the video you recommend
Thanks!
Thanks for the run down ranking. I’m relatively new to board gaming and I’ve generally heard only mixed opinions about CMON. “Good games but poor customer/fan interaction”. It’s nice to see a retrospective look at their games as a whole. I saw several that I’m now curious about and I did back the Zombicide 2nd edition Kickstarter.
I sadly agree with that assessment....but I'd rather a good game with a bad experience then a good experience with a bad game :(
Agreed!
I've only played Zombicide 1st edition (but am OBSESSED with it, so of course backed 2nd). But have heard such good things about blood rage and rising sun I late pledged ankh. Pretty excited for it.
Appreciate you linking the Eric Lang talk, I also thought it was just really well done, really good talking points
For sure! Like I said...even as someone who doesn't like politics, I thought it was excellent.
I think everyone plays with house rules to some degree. The only house rules I really use/implement are related to areas of a game that aren't defined within the rules or the interpretation is too open ended. The one exemption would be zombicide original, since game #2 of that I played, "only misses are eligible to hit other survivors in the square". For two reasons: 1. it completely and utterly breaks the flow of the game, breaks the entire theme for me if survivors are literally gunning for each other but there aren't any other incentives or rules to attack each other. 2. For most games friendly fire is associated with some sort of miss within the relevant mechanics to that game. It just makes more sense.
Later the creators agreed that their original implementation of target prioritization was silly and made this a change to the rules.
Yep, I'm more fine with house rules in coop games.
I only played Rum & Bones from CMON and loving it. I have Zombicide Black Plague on order (hopefully in this week) and I can't wait for Ankh.
All great games!
Since you "enjoy" Blood Rage and Rising Sun you have to get Godfather played. Once you know the game you can easily get it done in about 45 minutes. Like most games of this genre it's really around the 4th or 5th play you start to see how it all clicks and the game play goes way up. One thing I like about the game is everything you need to know about the phases is on the board. So you don't need to do a rules refresh to remember things after you learn it the first time.
Excellent! Need to get it to the table quickly :)
Godfather is a solid game. It gets better with more plays since everyone starts to realize how much value the bribe phase offers and the bidding war gets intense. My first play of it was a little bland though.
Now that my group understands everything, it gets requested often. The rule book wasnt the best. We had to have a lot of questions verified.
Awesome, good to hear!
I picked your top three, and in the right order. Zombicide Black Plague seems to be most peoples favourite version. Cthulhu: Death May Die is one I will buy immediately if they run another KS. Rob "Legacy" Daviau and Eric Lang is a winning combination. And of course, Blood Rage being number one is very obvious. I would've never guessed Dogs of War and Rise of Moloch in forth and fifth.
:) Good job, and yes, DMD is an immediate back for me.
Rising Sun is the best thing on Earth. I may exaggerate a bit... But its breathtakingly beautiful, the theme is cool, the gameplay is engaging and tens. Definitely higher on my list. Especially comparing to Zombicide.
I need to play it :) (more)
Just got around to watching some of your older videos and came across this one. Very comprehensive and made me rethink some of my original ratings on these as well. Was wondering if you have enough exposure to some of CMON’s other published (non-KS) works to do a similar list (Gizmos, Way of the Panda, Victorian Masterminds, Council of 4, etc.)
Thanks :) And I have played some, but nearly as much. More importantly I find their KS have a common feel but their retail offerings don't to me.
the "political" part at the end of the video was probably the tamest and safest political stance one can voice in a Video. If somebody has an issue with that kind of message you should just ignore them.
Thank you.
Have you played Project Elite since this list? Where do you rank that? I have it sitting in my shelf of shame, a recent purchase.
From CMON, without any doubt, Blood Rage is best yet. And to be honest, I think that’s because even if it is very simple to explain, It has all you can ask... fight... positioning strategy... victory points... cards...and all combined and balanced for a very deep and satisfying game board session. I just keeps my hopes for Bloodborne The Board Game, to come as second best!
100% :)
I really like it too but it can give me blood rage as the take that can be huge and I am stupid so often play poorly and miss out on glory!
Excellent video, Alex. This will definitely lighten my wallet.
Sorry!
I really just want the tableru, Zombicide Vegas, and CMON to have a clear audit (as I don't want to go in on an expensive NFC board system with a company on shaky ground.
Yes! That one I'm very nervous about.
HATE was my first CMON game I got, where I Late Pledged to and I really enjoyed the VS aspect of the game with fun variances of the Tribes and just how brutal the themes are.
Following games followed were Zombicide Invader, Cthulhu Death May Die, Bloodborne, Zombicide 2nd Edition, Ankh and now tentatively on Marvel United X-Men.
I was gonna Late Pledged to Zombicide Undead or Alive but I don't have the funds for two all-In games to back and having 2 Zombicide games atm is enough when given the option for something completely different. But we'll see which of the two I decide going for.
So far it's been nothing but home runs for me. Love their quality of work and how fun and thematic their games have been so far for myself. Esp VS other KS games I've backed
Hey Alex. You are responsible for making me order Death May Die next couple of days. One click away. Do you think retail edition worth it? And price around 85$.
In other news, do you consider talking about Interpid (KS game)?
Thanx!
I ordered it but haven't received it so I can't throw in my opinion in this but I hope it is...haha
My ONLY hesitation would be to first see if you can buy a KS copy affordably. But otherwise...DO IT!
And Intrepid will be in the next roundup.
At 22:15 you forgot the time stamp for Dogs of War in your description
Added thanks!
@@BoardGameCo No problem. Now it says Zombicide series twice instead of Dogs of War though lol
You combined Arcadia Quest with Starcadia Quest ... I am wondering if you've tried Masmorra? Personally I like this game very much : cooperative and fun concept that monsters are rolled (literally monsters are dice you roll to see which one spawn)
Oh my gosh, I completely left Masmorra off this list! But yes, I've tried it...it was ok for us but definitely not great.
Dogs of War interests me...will have to look into this game. Great video. As always.... Cthulhu DMD too.
Thanks!
Good Roundup!
Thanks!
I don't actually have any CMON games, I only recently went crazy on Kickstarter for board games last year when I randomly saw Etherfields and was sold with that. I was only on Kickstarter before that for PC games, specifically the MYST series by CYAN, who are a smaller company with fantastic games, but didn't have the funding for making newer games. Then I went nuts buying board games left and right, and now I finally got smart, basically from you and the King Of Average wise info on Kickstarter and what and what not be good to get. From my perspective Massive Darkness is like Descent Journey's in the Dark, if you would compare those two, which would you consider better? I know Massive Darkness has the better Mini quality of the two games, but from many reports Massive Darkness is just ok. I just want to see if I should go for Massive Darkness 2 coming up.
I've never played Descent surprisingly, so I can't comment there. For right now, in it's current state MD is good but not great. I'm hoping that a season 2 gives them the chance to make it great.
Thank you for a concise and informative video.
Thank you!
I absolutely love Dogs of War. So far my favourite CMON game. Second place for Rising Sun (I like it better than Blood Rage). Sadly I don't like Zombicide, I played dozens of times but I always get the feeling that all the missions are practically the same...
I hear. One of the reasons I prefer Death may die to Zombicide is the uniqueness of the missions.
Hey Alex, very recently I realize the existence of this Zombicide Board game series, and I’m wondering about getting one for the first time. So... because I love the Fantasy theme, I’m inclined to buy Black Plague (the same one you love the most), but there is a Spanish publisher that could sell me Zombicide 2nd Edition in Spanish (around March or April, I think)... so, I will appreciate some words about it: do you prefer Black Plague, even better than Zombicide 2nd Edition?
Thank you Alex, and good video, as usual!
Funny, we have pretty similar tastes, but definitely different preferences within the games we like. My list would be almost flipped from yours. Arcadia Quest is one of my favorite games. I can understand the complaint about the last person getting all the credit, I hate that in videogames, but I feel like that Kill stealing concept is a feature in this case. That's the fun. It's a race to get to the monsters you're after, but it's also a lot of watching your back, trying to hamper other players who might be lining up for a shot, or just hoping you get lucky with crits and get a clean kill yourself. Arcadia Quest is all about the overall experience for me. It's vendetta-the game. Someone steals your kill, you go and kill that player afterwards. The net gains are pretty similar in most cases. Though I will admit that the final boss in the base set is very underwhelming in this case. It really does end up as a big waiting game, or lots of players killing each other so they have an opportunity to try and get lucky alone.
I'm not a fan of co-ops, which is probably why I love the blood thirsty nature of Arcadia Quest, but also why I prefer the One vs Many aspect of the Others over the copoerative ones like Zombicide and Massive Darkness.
Lol nice. Arcadia Quest definitely gets a lot of love. I think when it comes to heavy dice rolling games I generally prefer coop. Feels less annoying when a single player gets too many good or bad rolls.
How do you find and acquire games you missed out on? Especially games with exclusive kickstarter content? The fear of missing out is real, and I wonder where to find these games sometimes. Thanks
me and my brothers made a super simple print n play version of zombicide black plague, its super cool lol
Are Bloodrage, Zombicide, and Cthulhu cooperative? I heard you say Cthulhu can be soloed...what about the other two? Thanks.
Zombicide I don't recommend as much solo but it certainly can be. Blood Rage is competitive.
Ku-mon games?? I've been calling it, see-mon games. Come on (CMON)!
Both work, they go back and forth all the time.
You see, I speak Cthulhian, and it’s actually pronounced ‘kay-moan’ but with a guttural ftaghn sound in the middle of the second syllable. 🧐
Interestingly enough I just watched another reviev where Chtulu was portrayed as simple and repetetive whereas Massive darkness 2 was described as having more of tact and elegance....how am I supposed to pick one of them now?
My brain can't handle the information 😮
I've been offered Cthulhu DMD Kickstarter version with season 2 expansion and Black goat of the woods, all unopened, for roughly $330. I live in Thailand so the price usually is higher than the market price in US (because of the shipping). Do you think the bundle is worth the price?
I can't talk about the comparative price....but yes, I'd pay that to get this game.
@@BoardGameCo Thanks for your opinion Alex. I'm getting this deal and I can't wait to play this game.
I don't understand why Bloodrage is so good. I've never played it, and I'm quite confused about the mechanics. You draft, then play and some land disappears? How does it compare to things like MtG draft or starrealms?
Apologies but would be great to get a succinte breakdown!
ty
I'll do a review on it eventually...it's incredible.
Blood Rage really is a masterpiece!
Yes!
Relatively new to your channel but have watched a fair bit now. Do you think Marvek Zombicide could move Zombicide up on your list? Or still doesn't compare to Blood Rage - which God damn is a fantastic game, wish I backed it years ago, only own the retail copy - but super hyped for marvel zombicide despite the ridiculous cost
Rising sun is my favorite CMON game. But I like blood rage alot. One game that's not on this list and I'm a big fan of is Bloodborne. But I'm also biased because the video game is one of my favorites of all time.
LOVE World of SMOG Rise of Moloch. I discovered it too late to pledge on the KS, and ended up buying an all-in pledge (minus art book) aftermarket for much more (which I never do). Definitely feel it was worth it.
It's an excellent game!
I highly recommend both games: OHMS and RoM.
Except for Arcadia Quest/Starcadia Quest I'm more or less fine ;-).
nice list!!
Thanks :)
I am huge bloodrage fan but Inis blasted my mind imo lately
Massive Darkness 2 x Blood Rage or Cthulhu?
Oh man with the hard choices. Blood rage.
So how much has this list changed with the new Cmon games
Oh fun question, I'll eventually redo it :)
@@BoardGameCo well looking forward to it
I don't know how you can talk that fast and make a 35-minute unedited video in a single take. Great as always.
Practice and an allergy to editing :D
Hmmmmmmm.... Massive Darkness 2.0 you say? Hopefully they've overhauled the game, and have a very solid core game and just sort of go a bit nuts with all the KSE / extra plastic but ensure the core system is good.
Completely agree.
I’ve never played zombicide and want to purchase one game but idk which one to purchase. What do you recommend? Theme doesn’t matter I just want to play the one people enjoy the most and it seems the three you placed plus night of the living dead is the one that people play the most
One game I love from them- is Richard the Lion Heart- unique game! Is on sale for cheap a lot of times!
I've seen that one but never looked into it.
BoardGameCo yeah! It’s unique mechanically- and I personally love the Robin Hood theme 🤘🏻☺️ but where it shines is five players - two are on Robin Hood’s team- two on prince Jon - and the fifth player is a neutral French player that doesn’t want either to win. 😆
Zombicide Medieval is my #1 from CMON. We’re still in the content from Wolfsburg but it’s always a great time. There are so many scenarios that CMON has released on their site, also. I’ve always wanted to play Rum&Bones: Second Tide. Blood Rage is one of the first games I culled. With several games played, I never had a great game. I liked it well enough, but none of the people I played it with engaged with the game. That’s what had it going out the door.
Cmon produces lots of bling but often weak games. I like zombicide black plague, blood rage and death may die the most. Was massively disappointed with MD, so hopefully MD2 will use the awesome minis and tiles and add in a better ruleset. Otherwise I will have to repurpose the game bits to rpg extras.
I agree most of their games are lighter...but can't say weak. Blood Rage and Rise of Moloch might be the heaviest from those I like, but a lot of them I really enjoy for the level of game weight they bring to the table.
@@BoardGameCo rather than weak maybe I should say light weight and forgettable, better games in same game space exist. Having said that I love the beer n pretzel ZBP game series, so much so I bought and still own it.
My Favorite CMON game is Massive Darkness! I also own Xenoshyft, Blood Rage and Gateway Uprising!
It's a ton of fun :)
I think I see a spoiler in this video, I think I see your stack of games leaving your collection. Altiplano, monster something(white box) and suburbia collectors box on the bottom.
You're good! You're half right (not all of those are leaving) but good eye!
Blood rage for life! Number one game of all time!
Amen :)
My problem with Cmon games is availability or rather their ks approach with plethora of kse. Means if I'd like to get into a game later on I cant because the kse means my fomo unavailable kse content. I realise it's a valid approach but it's also restrictive to post pledge game owning.
I totally agree. The way I look at them, is they are expensive to find about after the fact, but then going forward you will get one of the biggest bangs for your buck in terms of most other games. You just need to follow the Kickstarters.
@@BoardGameCo that's right. You either go all in on a kse and I have or you accept you will never get that game. That is my reality. The only game that is twisting this reality is cuth may die...kinda feel the kse is not totally essential but you would know for definite?
Have you played Massive Darkness 2?
Where did you hear this rumor that B Sieged might be back with new KS?
If I recall correctly, second gate games had a forum post on board getting geek about it.
Are all the zombicide SG inside those boxes? How?!
Lol no, I have 6 more boxes on the shelf.
I LOVE Rise of moloch, visually it's possibly my favourite game and I really wish I didn't miss the KS campaign.
oh, you like B-Sieged? now I am fine again :-)
:D
Arcadia Quest is fun with kids. ~10, 11 and up
It's also fun with a bunch of 30 year old's and booze
I like to pronounce it 'seemon'. But a more serious note, I've never purchased a kickstarter and I'll never do so. I've heard similar stories to some of your unplayed games, so I have to wonder 'why bother back something if you don't consume it?' Other I hear will consume the game, but use only a fraction of what they're provided. Forgive my blunt nature in what I'm about to say but I find it to be financial idiocy in both of these situations.
Forgiven :D Backing a CMON game means you will either play it eventually or get more money back when you sell it...so if it sits there forever then sure, I'll agree with you. But otherwise, if you will ever play it, it makes more financial sense to back it regardless of when you play it.
Rising Sun - the inspiration of my Dominant Species Theory. "If it was all boiled down to wooden cubes, would it still be as 'good'"? In the case of RS - definitely not.
What is your favorite game with cubes
Hm, I get the point, but don't agree in this case. There are definitely games heavily helped by the toy factor. I don't get that from Rising Sun though. I actually find the min's a bit annoying in RS and in some cases wish that they weren't there. I think I'd almost prefer it with cubes and standees for monsters... though I'd wnat all the other premium resources, haha.
To me, I get a lot of enjoyment in really having to plan out half a dozen battles at once. No other game gives me that sort of logistics puzzle. Deciding how to allocate troops and resources in one battle while considering how I'm going to win the other upcoming battles. There's also a lot of table talk in this game which I really look for.
Well of course not because the minis in Rising Sun are freaking incredible. I hate putting this game away it looks so good on the table.
@@victorymanifesto3953 Dominant Species. Sure you could bling it out, but the gameplay would be the same (outstanding).
@@NickJacksonusa Understandable, but an analogy might be an automobile: Do you want a car that looks awesome but runs like a Civic? Or would you prefer a car that tears it up on the road, but looks like a Civic? If it's going to simply sit in the driveway (or on the table) I suppose you take the former, but if you want to actually drive (play) it, then to me it's about performance.
I’m not watching this as it’s an hour late. Well ok I will do but I want it noted that I’m watching it with a frown and the occasional tut of annoyance. Completely messing up my timings during lockdown pandemic. I had my day all planned out to the second and was going to enjoy this while eating my breakfast. Now it’s brunch and I’m still not dressed I’ve not combed my beard or even fed the cat. What’s next for 2020. 😤
Someone read the community tab :D Thanks for being here :)
My first CMON game was Massive Darkness which I got e-bay with all the addons included for about whar the base pledge would have cost. Ir was my first Dungeon Crawl bg and I knew what I was getting into because of all the reviews, but I didn't mind for for the price and I was running and RPG at the time and figured I would use the minis for that if I ever got tired of the game. And get tired of it I did, rather quickly too. The game just felt super clunky, with combats taking ages and being of little challenge, and character advancement feeling both fiddly/hard to remember and superficial. It's been years since I even touched the game but I don't mind that much as I was prepared got that eventuality. When they announcdd MD2 it was just a huge shrug for me They are going to have to change a lot about the game to make it morr compelling for me, but if they don't maybe I can get something out of the game by selling it to someone who is interested in MD2, or maybe if I do start RPGing again.
Getting on the waitlist for Greenhorde was my first entry into Kickstarting games and when that happened I went and shelled out an uncomfortable amount of cash getting Blackplague and a bunch of the exclusives. When it comes to the Zombicide games I never had any interest in the Moderncide version or its reboot (something about the style just bothers me) but I really enjoyed the medieval twist of Blackplague/Greenhorde. I've thoroughly mixed the two seasons together at this point and usually build different zombie decks around a theme (Orcs with their wolf companions and werewolf aboms, or swarms of vermin with the rays and crows and related enemies), and I think Green Horde adds enough tension to the game that I sometimes houserule non-orc zombies being added to it. Surprisingly though, Invader turned out to be my favorite, despite being super skeptical about it. Despite being able to tackle Aboms without specialized weaponry thanks to focus fire rule, and not having spawns for opening doors, I felt the game had far more tension thanks to things like the mold mechanic where the game go from a relatively tense room sweep to a desperate fight as aliens start pouring out of the "woodwork." Invader has given me more of that Aliens movie feel more than most games actually liscensing the franchise and the fact that it managed to make the game smoother, quicker, but also more tense was a huge achievement to me, especially as BP/GH were getting stale for my playgroup (we actually had to remove some of the overpowered weapons or moving them to artifacts like the Chaos Bow or avoid characters that got + damage or super strength early, even after insituting random character draws, because they just destroyed all tension and made the game like it played itself).
It totally agree with you on CDMD. I knew I would like the game, but I was really surprised by how damn good that game felt. Every scenario was different and the vast majority of them were super engaging and while the bosses could be hit or miss depending on the scenario, each one felt fantastically unique (though sometimes Dagon pisses me group off if we draw too many of the brutal tranaformation cards). I just wish that the comic Kickstarter they did came with a few extra scenarios instead of stupid cultist variants as that is what the game needa and benefits from the most. I also find it a bit of a bummer how some of the awesome monster minis don't get used in more scenarios, especially the stretch goal ones.
But yea, I went from feeling that CMON was a joke years ago to actually appreciating their admittedly still overproduced and monitized games. They've come far since the days of undercooked games like the origibal Zcide, Massive Darkness, B-Sieged, and The Others and started to produce more consistently quality games like Blood Rage. Of the games I missed out on I am intrigued by Rum and Bones and Rise of Moloch, but I don't feel strongly about hunting down either (especially since there so much stuff I missed out on with R&B), but I have been considering getting my hands on Rising Sun for sometime since that is the missing piece of the trilogy that no one in may playgroup has bought. Though I am not a diehard CMON games, their kickstarters do always get my attention and with the delivery of Project Elite 2.0 and Bloodborne on the horizon they will be starting to dominate a lot of my boardgaming realestate, lol.
Totally agree on all counts...except I'm excited about MD2....I have to imagine they're improving it.
My group just got through the core bo of Rise of Moloch... While we enjoyed it, we found the unclear rules a red hindrance to the enjoyment.
Totally hear, we loved it but you do have to be comfortable wading through a bad rulebook.
@@BoardGameCo did you try any of the expansions? I was willing but my group was so put off by the rules, they wanted to move on… which sadly, has made me consider selling the lot.
Death May Die or Mansions of Madness?
For me death may die
Jaws of the Lion behind you....jealoussssss...not yet out here in Canada, not even for those that pre-ordered.
Alex, I'd be curious to know what you think about Project Elite. There's plenty of plastic in it!
I loved the original but haven't yet played the new one...got it a day after filing this video :)
Arcadia Quest is amazing
So I hear....sadly I never liked it enough.
I can safely say Asoiaf the miniature game is very good and best rank and file warwgame
Thanks for letting me know!
Rising Sun could use a rules change
In what sense? I'm open to it :)
@@BoardGameCo just with the combat, I think dragons and the Godzilla thing should be immune to hostage taking.
Do you normally play blood rage with some expansion?
Yes, we play with both gods and mystics
@@BoardGameCo Do you think these expansions are a must have (improve the game)? If you have to pick only one, which do you pick? Thanks!
rivet wars is one i'm excited to eventually paint and think it's one i'll keep, got it during the last cmon christmas sales.
It's a lot of fun, I'd be curious to play it with an adult.
How many people would you suggest play blood rage
4 generally.
Where do you see OrcQuest WarPath kickstarter going, will it be good or bad?
Looks like an older one, I don't believe I've ever looked into that. Looks intriquing.
@@BoardGameCo Its due to be delivered next year but was kick started in 2017 or 18 I think. Just wanted to know what you thought of it. Have I been had or was it worth the purchase back then?
Do you also dislike cutthroat caverns?
Never played it unfortunately.
BoardGameCo its a fun game but w/ the mechanic you dislike, encourages players to hold back. However, it allows you to mitigate this problem in multiple ways. The newest version does a great job balancing that mechanic.
I highly disagree. B-Sieged is an amazing game and we play it as written initially. I never got why people were raging about the difficulty and randonmess. It has so many aspects of luck mitigation. Such an underrated game which was reviewed poorly by mainstream casual reviewers, seriously. There will be a B-Sieged 2 in the future by Second Gate themselves. Keep your eyes open for that. :) Easily CMONs best coop game by a mile.
Glad you feel that way...for myself it was too brutal in the original rules. Maybe as I play more.
@@BoardGameCo Brutal, yes. But other reviewers talked about a broken ruleset. And that is simply not true.
@@DieNische du hier? ;)
I LOVE Bloodrage too!
It's awesome!
No project elite?
I don't think it was out when I made this list.
Please overlay pictures of the games you talk about.
hi bro have you try Project elite? i think its fun
Just arrived, waiting to be played :)
could you also make a video about games you play with your daughter? Mine is 6 and loves games. Hope many cooperative games :-)
Yes! I've been debating doing videos with her in general. She's deciding if she's interested;
@@BoardGameCo no, do this without her. Ithink it is not god to include kids in videos...
You should redo this list soon