I disagree with your take on the action dice. It's a calculated risk and should be considered every time you make a move. If you don't like the risk, then you commit 2 pawns towards to the action which guarantees the outcome. It's an incredibly clever mechanic. Surviving on a dangerous island is unfair and so is this game. That doesn't mean there isn't strategy or things you can do to mitigate "luck". I think the mechanics are perfect thematically.
Nice review! I agree with your point on the action dice. More often than I'd like, I'll have moments where the rolls become so brutal that the mechanic goes past creating tension and just feels... "unfair." However, after watching several playthroughs of Frostpunk, I got the sense that I'd rather just be playing the videogame (which is the same experience I had when playing This War of Mine). Because of that, I actually prefer RC to TWoM and suspect it might be the same case with FP.
I see your point, especially since, for now, Frostpunk coop isn’t a selling point. If they get the coop right for FP, then it’ll offer something that the video game can’t.
@@OneStopCoopShop I agree but it's very clear that coop is "tacked on" and has not been something they tried to integrate and make felt in various aspects of the game. It's as much a multiplayer as any game can be when you decide to make decisions with other players.
Nice to hear/see your view on this one. For me this game is still a blast, and i think i found it better with 2 characters instead of 3-4.. even if we enjoyed our 3p sessions so far. To be honest with the dice rolls, yes they can be unfair, but for those who found them really beyond fair, don't forget the song "who let's the dog out ?" And bring the dog ! :) It might help and from time and will help you having a bit of a peace on some actions ! Or even easier and better , bring friday ! (Wich works everyday of the week btw ! :D ) And finaly, if you don't like bringing allies to your games, just take 2 or 3 tokens and let say that you can use one if those anytime to reroll one of your dice ! There are plenty of ways to help the unlucky gamers to enjoy this really nice game. I would be more negative about the soldier wich is a bit useless in solo or 2 players. And defenatly positive about replayability, especially with those event cards wich are soooo many that i've barely never seen that in a corebox. Using what, 6 nor 8 from a 70 cards pack each game ? Is gorgeous !!! Overall , for me, Robinson is still one of the best themed game out there. And not necessarely long to play (once the set up is done of course) that i enjoyed a lot. And is still my top "survival" game atm. The next one i have to try is "this war of mine" but i'm not sure i will enjoy such a dark and hopeless theme.. Great job on your review ! As usual. Cant wait for some fallout playthrough ! (even if i think that this one is still too much against the clock, and almost impossible to beat on some quest in pure 1 character solo sessions). I'm ciurious whats going to be your 5in5 review on that one. Cheers from belgium
I agree with just about everything, even if I enjoy it less than you :). And I generally did not enjoy This War of Mine, at least after my first positive plays, but I hope you do once you try it! I don't think I'll be reviewing Fallout. Colin is doing a play in a few days, but I already owned and sold it. I found it VERY dull in actual gameplay, apart from the narrative quests which were great. So unless Colin's playthrough and the new expansion suddenly make that one look great again, I don't think I'll cover it.
I agree with you about the dice, and I don't like the game because of that. I like difficult board games, that punish you for making mistakes. I like games in which I lose and it makes me think "If only I had done this..." but losing because you got bad dice rolls and not because of your decisions is not fun. And as you point out, while technically there is dice mitigation because you can place two workers instead of one, there just isn't enough mitigation.
One big negative for me is the current difficulty rating of the game. It can be too punishing and demotivating to all but the most persistent players. It doesn't get much to the table, and when it does, it's a headache to try and re-learn the rules all so you get killed off. Another problem is that this game leaves no room for mistakes. Alpha player is a must unless everyone is very experienced. While group discussing the best action can be fun, one wrong action from a player that just wants to do their own thing, can result in snowball of negative events, where you don't have enough resource and then lose morale, get wounds, pass a certain health threshold then lose morale again and get even more wounds.
The big problem with frost punk is the theme. How many times are you going to want to dive into a game killing orphans. Robinson Crusoe for sure sucks when the dice hate you but Id probably be much more apt to replay after defeat. I hope they move the frost punk mechanics to another theme in the future
Great content. I haven't played this one yet, but I was curious. Your last point about so much weight being on the roll of the action dice reminded me a lot of the dice in ghost stories. Some of the actions/cards in ghost stories cause you to roll a black die which could end up drawing a ghost card to the table. The new ghost could cause you to have to reroll the black die. Rerolling the black die could cause you to draw another ghost card to the table, rinse and repeat. Within one turn you could go from "this doesn't look too bad I think we got this," to "son of b&+ch we're screwed." Makes the whole experience feel rather arbitrary like there's not enough control in the hands of the player. I think I'll save myself some irritation and pass on this one.
This is definitely NOT a co-op game. I don't generally like playing co-op games with real people anyway, but this one especially is not. This is a Solo game with optional rules to make it multiplayer.
0:00 - Introduction
0:30 - Multiplayer (Mix)
1:22 - Scenario Variety (Pro)
1:53 - Ramp-Up (Pro)
2:19 - Events and Encounters (Pro)
3:14 - Action Placement (Mix)
4:16 - Final Thoughts
I disagree with your take on the action dice. It's a calculated risk and should be considered every time you make a move. If you don't like the risk, then you commit 2 pawns towards to the action which guarantees the outcome. It's an incredibly clever mechanic. Surviving on a dangerous island is unfair and so is this game. That doesn't mean there isn't strategy or things you can do to mitigate "luck". I think the mechanics are perfect thematically.
Sure, I agree the theme makes total sense. But I don't find it fun, personally.
It’s not perfect but RC is still my absolute favorite solo game.
That’s great!
Nice review! I agree with your point on the action dice. More often than I'd like, I'll have moments where the rolls become so brutal that the mechanic goes past creating tension and just feels... "unfair." However, after watching several playthroughs of Frostpunk, I got the sense that I'd rather just be playing the videogame (which is the same experience I had when playing This War of Mine). Because of that, I actually prefer RC to TWoM and suspect it might be the same case with FP.
I see your point, especially since, for now, Frostpunk coop isn’t a selling point. If they get the coop right for FP, then it’ll offer something that the video game can’t.
@@OneStopCoopShop I agree but it's very clear that coop is "tacked on" and has not been something they tried to integrate and make felt in various aspects of the game. It's as much a multiplayer as any game can be when you decide to make decisions with other players.
Nice to hear/see your view on this one.
For me this game is still a blast, and i think i found it better with 2 characters instead of 3-4.. even if we enjoyed our 3p sessions so far.
To be honest with the dice rolls, yes they can be unfair, but for those who found them really beyond fair, don't forget the song "who let's the dog out ?"
And bring the dog ! :)
It might help and from time and will help you having a bit of a peace on some actions !
Or even easier and better , bring friday ! (Wich works everyday of the week btw ! :D )
And finaly, if you don't like bringing allies to your games, just take 2 or 3 tokens and let say that you can use one if those anytime to reroll one of your dice ! There are plenty of ways to help the unlucky gamers to enjoy this really nice game.
I would be more negative about the soldier wich is a bit useless in solo or 2 players.
And defenatly positive about replayability, especially with those event cards wich are soooo many that i've barely never seen that in a corebox. Using what, 6 nor 8 from a 70 cards pack each game ? Is gorgeous !!!
Overall , for me, Robinson is still one of the best themed game out there. And not necessarely long to play (once the set up is done of course) that i enjoyed a lot. And is still my top "survival" game atm.
The next one i have to try is "this war of mine" but i'm not sure i will enjoy such a dark and hopeless theme..
Great job on your review ! As usual.
Cant wait for some fallout playthrough !
(even if i think that this one is still too much against the clock, and almost impossible to beat on some quest in pure 1 character solo sessions). I'm ciurious whats going to be your 5in5 review on that one.
Cheers from belgium
I agree with just about everything, even if I enjoy it less than you :). And I generally did not enjoy This War of Mine, at least after my first positive plays, but I hope you do once you try it!
I don't think I'll be reviewing Fallout. Colin is doing a play in a few days, but I already owned and sold it. I found it VERY dull in actual gameplay, apart from the narrative quests which were great. So unless Colin's playthrough and the new expansion suddenly make that one look great again, I don't think I'll cover it.
I agree with you about the dice, and I don't like the game because of that. I like difficult board games, that punish you for making mistakes. I like games in which I lose and it makes me think "If only I had done this..." but losing because you got bad dice rolls and not because of your decisions is not fun. And as you point out, while technically there is dice mitigation because you can place two workers instead of one, there just isn't enough mitigation.
One big negative for me is the current difficulty rating of the game. It can be too punishing and demotivating to all but the most persistent players. It doesn't get much to the table, and when it does, it's a headache to try and re-learn the rules all so you get killed off.
Another problem is that this game leaves no room for mistakes. Alpha player is a must unless everyone is very experienced. While group discussing the best action can be fun, one wrong action from a player that just wants to do their own thing, can result in snowball of negative events, where you don't have enough resource and then lose morale, get wounds, pass a certain health threshold then lose morale again and get even more wounds.
All absolutely true. Even more reason why I pretty much only play solo
The big problem with frost punk is the theme. How many times are you going to want to dive into a game killing orphans. Robinson Crusoe for sure sucks when the dice hate you but Id probably be much more apt to replay after defeat. I hope they move the frost punk mechanics to another theme in the future
Totally agree it has a more light-hearted theme!
Solid review mike!
Thank you so much!
great review!
Thanks for watching :)
Great content. I haven't played this one yet, but I was curious. Your last point about so much weight being on the roll of the action dice reminded me a lot of the dice in ghost stories. Some of the actions/cards in ghost stories cause you to roll a black die which could end up drawing a ghost card to the table. The new ghost could cause you to have to reroll the black die. Rerolling the black die could cause you to draw another ghost card to the table, rinse and repeat. Within one turn you could go from "this doesn't look too bad I think we got this," to "son of b&+ch we're screwed." Makes the whole experience feel rather arbitrary like there's not enough control in the hands of the player. I think I'll save myself some irritation and pass on this one.
I've never had a full-on ghost cascade like you are describing, but yeah, that would not be much fun :)
This is definitely NOT a co-op game. I don't generally like playing co-op games with real people anyway, but this one especially is not. This is a Solo game with optional rules to make it multiplayer.
I wouldn't go quite to the same extreme as you, but with the action mechanic working the way it does I also mostly agree... :)
seems to me you don’t really understand this game.
Seems to me you don’t really understand the concept of subjective reviews 😜