From your video of Runebound, to this one, for accessible similar game! Thank you for this review! I'm trying to keep up with all the vids and the side channel All Fiction is Fantasy!
Love the play through..... I did not back this game as I had the last 3, and although I love playing the game (Trying the Campaign next) I figured I had enough content. This video made me re-thiink that. Thanks for a thorough overview of the game. I appreciate all you do.
I like your idea of setting up the map first both in setting up the strategy ahead of time and in solving for tile sprawl that my apparently smaller size table can’t handle.
33:30 I feel actually the timer is one of the most brutal ones so far in hexplore it, sure if you only got one collector it takes about 100 turns, but in my experience the start is very misleading. You have to go after the collectors, otherwise the game is over very suddenly as it speeds up a lot, once you have 5 or more collectors on the board, you will usually have less then 10 turns remaining until the confrontation (from having some blood pool already, and future collectors speeding it up even more). I tried 5 times with a single hero, but even with the new solo variant rules I have always been outrun by the timer, usually only having time to hand in 4 to 5 runes before facing the boss in his super powered form. As a solo hero player it is also really hard to gain access to the dungeon, as the hell hound is too strong until you get some upgrades.
Thanks for This video! Adding the Dungeon seems like a no brainer for this game… this concept seems like one that needs to be added to ALL the Hexploreit games…. I like your idea of putting out a couple overland tiles and playing through progressively harder dungeons… !! You could call it Quest for the Lost Runes …😅
I bought all of this on their last Gamefound campaign. I really need to take another stab at learning the system. I remember it being fairly complicated, put it down, and never came back to it. I’m not the best at learning new games… 😢
Not only do you have to outlast the vampire bats, you also have to face the bat boss immediately afterwards. The red dungeon cards are often really tricky. As for pacing, fighting MN at full blood pool is a very different proposition (at any difficulty level), with his augmented skills, so it's no bad thing at all if the build up is slower. Although of course, being random, that won't always be the case. Anyway, really glad you are enjoying this!
I am not sure you had to make this choice at 20:00, there are actual item cards that you can equip in the blue deck. I think they mean you can turn these items in as well, but for all one-time cards in the three deck, I think you just keep them after resolving and can hand 2 in for a rune of the color. edit: 23:00 actually, you can even fight Mirza Noctis in the dungeon! There is a lvl 1 boss there which is him.
I've just been unpacking my copy and am really looking forward to starting my first play! I nearly took the plunge a long time ago with VotDK and again later with Shurax... just never jumped in to the system. When this was announced I knew the DoMN theme + comparative level of complication/rules was the right combination to try as my first entry into the Hex world. I wonder if you played the "double up" play style, especially for solo & two-handed, as you do here, you would offset that throttled back vibe you described? Given how people have been raving about the quality of the new campaign book for Volume 1, I am very interested to see what they create for Vol. 4. Sadly, "tower defense" is not at all my style--really dislike those kinds of games actually. Volume 5 is probably a pass for me.
I wonder how difficult (or likely?) would it be for them to release updated thematic dungeon crawl/crypt "packs" for each of prior titles? I get that they're really tied to some mechanics in this newest title, but I wonder if there's a way to figure out how to make them work in the other volumes?
@@TheDungeonDive do try it as soon as possible. I found it very, very, very good. By removing a lot of mechanics it focuses on narration, choices, your decisions. The book, quality of writing, depth, replayability are all incredible. I’ve liked HexploreIt series but playing this is a step above. Combat does stay the same, you didn’t like it much I think you mentioned. But the powering up is much more contained as you get less and it’s more of a ‘curated’ experience.
Im curious about game balance, do characters/classes and dropped items play well across volumes? For example, I'd like to have a Necromancer challenging blood sorcery in Vol 4..
I know everything is compatible with everything. I also don't care at all about balance, nor do I worry about keeping stats to have any kind of data for proof of anything. Maybe ask over at BGG where stat-folks like to hang. I'm betting you can kind of definite answer there. Someone over there definitely has a spreadsheet and tier list for all the characters!
Interesting! Have all volumes but this one I have yet to play. But I never thought of having entire map revealed. I see advantage - you have all quests available. But on the other hand, you are not exploring and I like that. You always have quests showing up on the core quadrants. I see pros and cons to this approach. I also always used to play solo with a single character and now started with 2, it is much nicer as you explore abilities. And yes I know about balancing, you can overpower the game quite a lot if you powerup too fast. It’s nice but takes away from the game. There are ways around it, an obvious way is increasing difficulty as you go.
I agree that it's more fun to discover the map during the game than to have everything revealed at the beginning. Also, in DoMN, placing all the maps will have a big impact on the game, since some effects will depend on how many monasteries are revealed. If they were all placed at the beginning of the game, it clearly loses its purpose and breaks the balance of the game.
I'm with Martin on this one: it's more fun for me to explore the map. Yes, it prolongs the game a bit, but I'm not playing this like the movie Speed where if my game takes longer than 2-3 hours my house explodes 😁
This looks awesome. I watched your unboxing as well. Will I need to have played the previous entries or is this straight up stand alone? Also what process/device are you using to cut card corners?
Played Forest of Adrimon. Love the exploration, movement, destination, and upgrade/power up system. Love the colorful maps, easy for an old man to see. Hate the needlessly complex, jargon-heavy, combat system (spoiled by Tainted Grail, which is excellent, and The Isofarian Guard, which has the best combat system of any RPG game). Sadly, this looks very similar. Until HEXplorit radically revises their combat system, I won't be buying another game from them.
@@TheDungeonDive i buyed it on ebay, should be delivered next week.... i buyed encounter and living deck from uk and it was delivered without problems (in italy)... the core from germany already go back one time for a mistake of the seller.... shit!
I'm trying to get into solo board games. But this seems like too much work from the player. It looks like the video game 'For the king'. Which games do you recommend for new comers, something that doesn't take up a lot of table space and has a quick set up time?
So many. 99% of all games I cover are solo. Maybe watch my top 50 videos and get some ideas there? Hard to make recommendation with me asking you a bunch of questions about what you are really looking for.
I’m going to start playing dungeon universalis solo. I played gloomhaven solo with 4 characters but that was a lot to set up the card in between each mission.
Has the combat changed over the last games? I only played forests of adrimon and did not enjoy the combat at all. Felt like I was just doing math over and over
This one clearly answers my question regarding the dungeon and how they are generated and navigated. Thank you.
From your video of Runebound, to this one, for accessible similar game! Thank you for this review! I'm trying to keep up with all the vids and the side channel All Fiction is Fantasy!
Love the play through..... I did not back this game as I had the last 3, and although I love playing the game (Trying the Campaign next) I figured I had enough content. This video made me re-thiink that. Thanks for a thorough overview of the game. I appreciate all you do.
I like your idea of setting up the map first both in setting up the strategy ahead of time and in solving for tile sprawl that my apparently smaller size table can’t handle.
Thanks. I was really looking forward to your thoughts on this.
33:30 I feel actually the timer is one of the most brutal ones so far in hexplore it, sure if you only got one collector it takes about 100 turns, but in my experience the start is very misleading. You have to go after the collectors, otherwise the game is over very suddenly as it speeds up a lot, once you have 5 or more collectors on the board, you will usually have less then 10 turns remaining until the confrontation (from having some blood pool already, and future collectors speeding it up even more). I tried 5 times with a single hero, but even with the new solo variant rules I have always been outrun by the timer, usually only having time to hand in 4 to 5 runes before facing the boss in his super powered form. As a solo hero player it is also really hard to gain access to the dungeon, as the hell hound is too strong until you get some upgrades.
Thanks for This video! Adding the Dungeon seems like a no brainer for this game… this concept seems like one that needs to be added to ALL the Hexploreit games…. I like your idea of putting out a couple overland tiles and playing through progressively harder dungeons… !! You could call it Quest for the Lost Runes …😅
YOU ARE AWESOME! ❤❤❤
I bought all of this on their last Gamefound campaign. I really need to take another stab at learning the system. I remember it being fairly complicated, put it down, and never came back to it.
I’m not the best at learning new games… 😢
Not only do you have to outlast the vampire bats, you also have to face the bat boss immediately afterwards. The red dungeon cards are often really tricky.
As for pacing, fighting MN at full blood pool is a very different proposition (at any difficulty level), with his augmented skills, so it's no bad thing at all if the build up is slower. Although of course, being random, that won't always be the case.
Anyway, really glad you are enjoying this!
I am not sure you had to make this choice at 20:00, there are actual item cards that you can equip in the blue deck. I think they mean you can turn these items in as well, but for all one-time cards in the three deck, I think you just keep them after resolving and can hand 2 in for a rune of the color. edit: 23:00 actually, you can even fight Mirza Noctis in the dungeon! There is a lvl 1 boss there which is him.
This looks fun. I really like the look of it, and that I don’t see tons of pieces.
Looking forward your play through! 😊
I’m curious to see what your thoughts will be in Vol. 5. The promo material right now says Vol. 5 will be their “tower defense” entry in the series.
With everything in this game that needs to be tracked and how may components to manage I think this would be better as a digital board game.
I’d love a digital version. But I also love the cardboard version.
I've just been unpacking my copy and am really looking forward to starting my first play! I nearly took the plunge a long time ago with VotDK and again later with Shurax... just never jumped in to the system. When this was announced I knew the DoMN theme + comparative level of complication/rules was the right combination to try as my first entry into the Hex world. I wonder if you played the "double up" play style, especially for solo & two-handed, as you do here, you would offset that throttled back vibe you described?
Given how people have been raving about the quality of the new campaign book for Volume 1, I am very interested to see what they create for Vol. 4. Sadly, "tower defense" is not at all my style--really dislike those kinds of games actually. Volume 5 is probably a pass for me.
Thanks for the video! Wonderful explanation. This gives me the vides of the sci fi sandbox- XIA. What do you think of this comparison?
I think that's a fine comparison. Although I think these games have a little more in terms of theme / story.
I wonder how difficult (or likely?) would it be for them to release updated thematic dungeon crawl/crypt "packs" for each of prior titles? I get that they're really tied to some mechanics in this newest title, but I wonder if there's a way to figure out how to make them work in the other volumes?
I was just reading the Play Styles book included with the game, and yes, there is a section dedicated to using Dungeons in other titles.
Have you tried Klik’s campaign? I am mid it, it is fantastic, most fun I’ve had with a game in a while.
Not yet.
@@TheDungeonDive do try it as soon as possible. I found it very, very, very good. By removing a lot of mechanics it focuses on narration, choices, your decisions. The book, quality of writing, depth, replayability are all incredible. I’ve liked HexploreIt series but playing this is a step above.
Combat does stay the same, you didn’t like it much I think you mentioned. But the powering up is much more contained as you get less and it’s more of a ‘curated’ experience.
I don’t mind the combat, it’s just not exciting.
Im curious about game balance, do characters/classes and dropped items play well across volumes? For example, I'd like to have a Necromancer challenging blood sorcery in Vol 4..
I know everything is compatible with everything. I also don't care at all about balance, nor do I worry about keeping stats to have any kind of data for proof of anything. Maybe ask over at BGG where stat-folks like to hang. I'm betting you can kind of definite answer there. Someone over there definitely has a spreadsheet and tier list for all the characters!
Interesting! Have all volumes but this one I have yet to play. But I never thought of having entire map revealed. I see advantage - you have all quests available. But on the other hand, you are not exploring and I like that. You always have quests showing up on the core quadrants. I see pros and cons to this approach.
I also always used to play solo with a single character and now started with 2, it is much nicer as you explore abilities.
And yes I know about balancing, you can overpower the game quite a lot if you powerup too fast. It’s nice but takes away from the game. There are ways around it, an obvious way is increasing difficulty as you go.
I agree that it's more fun to discover the map during the game than to have everything revealed at the beginning.
Also, in DoMN, placing all the maps will have a big impact on the game, since some effects will depend on how many monasteries are revealed. If they were all placed at the beginning of the game, it clearly loses its purpose and breaks the balance of the game.
I don’t really get a sense of exploration in the tile laying of these games. For me all that does is make the games a lot longer.
Just cover the monasteries with a hex token until you visit them to reveal their power. Works perfectly.
Discovering the maps in these games does nothing but prolong the game.
I'm with Martin on this one: it's more fun for me to explore the map. Yes, it prolongs the game a bit, but I'm not playing this like the movie Speed where if my game takes longer than 2-3 hours my house explodes 😁
This looks awesome. I watched your unboxing as well. Will I need to have played the previous entries or is this straight up stand alone? Also what process/device are you using to cut card corners?
Each volume stands entirely alone. I just use a corner punch I got on Amazon.
Podo is Korean for grape!
Little grape. :).
Awesome
what are your thoughts about Forest of Adrimon?
ruclips.net/p/PLKewgRd8Eir-Ghs7hEBz482osW4VKor7o
@@TheDungeonDive You know you're a pro when you answer questions with videos haha.
Or just lucky I have them. :)
Played Forest of Adrimon. Love the exploration, movement, destination, and upgrade/power up system. Love the colorful maps, easy for an old man to see. Hate the needlessly complex, jargon-heavy, combat system (spoiled by Tainted Grail, which is excellent, and The Isofarian Guard, which has the best combat system of any RPG game). Sadly, this looks very similar. Until HEXplorit radically revises their combat system, I won't be buying another game from them.
Save some money!
Hello, you still prefer VOTDK?
I do.
@@TheDungeonDive i buyed it on ebay, should be delivered next week.... i buyed encounter and living deck from uk and it was delivered without problems (in italy)... the core from germany already go back one time for a mistake of the seller.... shit!
I hope you enjoy it!
I'm trying to get into solo board games. But this seems like too much work from the player. It looks like the video game 'For the king'.
Which games do you recommend for new comers, something that doesn't take up a lot of table space and has a quick set up time?
So many. 99% of all games I cover are solo. Maybe watch my top 50 videos and get some ideas there? Hard to make recommendation with me asking you a bunch of questions about what you are really looking for.
I’m going to start playing dungeon universalis solo. I played gloomhaven solo with 4 characters but that was a lot to set up the card in between each mission.
Iron Helm
I hate it when bats overwarm me.
Bats - so hot right now! 🦇🔥
Has the combat changed over the last games? I only played forests of adrimon and did not enjoy the combat at all. Felt like I was just doing math over and over
Nope.