Great video. Thank you for the kind words on the video I did :) I try to highlight parts of the game which I found were tricky for people to understand.
@@Neon_Gorilla I love the shout out to Paul Grogan I am seeing him tomorrow as he are going out for a meal for his wife's birthday - I'll let him know.
That is definitely a very strong and unconventional theme. Considering Freud never seemed to have healed any of his patients, the theme of healing is a bit ironic. I am wondering if any of the weirdest idea of Freud are somewhat represented in this game such as the Oedipus complex or the psychosexual stages? Funny that the coffee replace the drug knew he was really advocating for 🙂
I think since you are technically a student of Freud in this it makes sense to heal. The other Freudian concepts are absent. It's all about dreams. Funny point on coffee. I was not aware of his love of Cocaine until you mentioned this. Certainly could have went the NSFW route with this game.
I loved this video, and I also love so much about this game. The theme is incredible and seems really well integrated in all sorts of ways that make a lot of sense. The "worker placement" aspect being basically each player saying things to each other. (Also notice how you can say the same thing from different angles!) The SUPERB art and general aesthetics - from the box art to the scoring board, and of course those fantastic cards. The creativity in the components, particularly those research papers or whatever that you need to align the spines of the books… Ugh, everything is so inspired and appealing. And yet. I feel no desire at all to play this, much less to actually own it. Which tells me in no uncertain terms something I've been suspecting for a while now about myself: I am _over_ Euros. Especially those more complex than something like Arnak or Everdell. I think I figured out I much prefer games with a few really flexible and expressive verbs that give me the freedom to act in 50 different ways than games with 50 different things I can do. Well, so it goes. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
Loved your video. Love all of your videos, kewp up the great work. Wish you were in my game group haha we seem to share same thoughts on most games. I got my copy last week but haven't tabled it yet. Endless winter was actually a miss for me because it just felt like a bunch of disjointed minigames with a glossy coat of beautiful theme on top. Ended up selling my all-in pledhe after 4 plays. I still backed this one because it seemed like the mechanics were better integrated and the puzzle more intriguing. Glad to see the final product will most likely be the case.
If you are in Western Washington I would be happy to join the group:) I have the same critique on endless winter....Make no mistake this is a worker placement board with two rondelles and a set collection mechanic but I think they do a much better job of integrating it and most importantly using a coherent theme to connect "most" of it.
Got my pledge the other day and had my first play yesterday. Came dead last but enjoyed it. Didn't have time to really plan anything on my turn because I was teaching and helping everyone else! Lol
yeah that is exactly the way my first couple of plays went and that goes to my rules overhead critique. There are a few things in there that I had to keep confirming for other players which led to the play experience you described.
Very thoughtful review. Enjoyable to watch and some of your annotations towards the convoluted parts of the game are part of my fears to teach this game . But I do so much want to play it. Just arrived at my doorstep (yes, the collectors edition + nightmares expansion). Wondering when it will be played ;-)
My house rule is that I play new games in the order I get them, so for now this is on the shelf of opportunity behind a few others... but really can't wait to play it. Probably in November. Maggie and Amy from Thinker Themer sold me on it, and now your review is getting me excited about it again. When I watched the teach/playthrough videos, it did seem that research and treatises were kind of an "advanced strategy" to maximize your actions on the Vienna/location board. I'm betting my wife and I focus more on clients as we're initially learning the game, but looking forward to trying other strategies like focusing on research/publishing later. Thanks for the great review!
I definitely would not call them alternative strategies. You will naturally engage with them throughout the game with bonuses of even placing you ideas to get the bottle to move the correct number of times. There frankly isn’t a ton to engage with there
I'm excited to unbox and play my copy, but I'm guessing I wont get to it until Thanksgiving or Christmas break. BTW congrats on winning the PAX Unplugged pass from Alex!
Really loving the the look and theming on this one. Does it share much DNA with Endless Winter (aside from what you mentioned)? I only tried EW recently and enjoyed elements, but found it felt a little disjointed with all the different systems.
When it comes to those convoluted overhead rules, it reminded me of Lisboa. Yet I loved Lisboa. Straight 10/10. But each time I play it I probably first need to sit one evening with the rules trying to refresh myself all those little rules
Yeah the more of these types of games I play the more I get fatigued from illogical rules overhead. Septima is another good example that has a really similar feel with interconnected mechanisms. I really enjoyed it but rules stop me from getting it out.
Maybe I'm very burned out on euros (I sure am, 100%), but it sounds like a collection of abstract mechanics with a theme. The art is beautiful, I love the theme, but it sounds like just some rondels, set collections, worker placements, and other sorts of standard rehashed mini-games that plague most board games these days and the theme is abstracted into nothingness and mostly used as a facade. And it's not because you describe it this way, because your descriptions are on point and are very informative, and give me a good idea on what this game is. At this point, I'm starting to think euro games became almost exploitative. It would be cool to see a psychology themed game that does something like Neanderthal where you're trying to develop a human brain, plant the seeds of language through different activities and breeding, etc. Look into it, it's really thematic, interesting, and unique. I wish there were more games like this in the world.
@@Neon_Gorilla Some of my most loved games are euros (but I have to admit, they're mostly by Uwe Rosenberg), but enough is enough. Yeah, check out Neanderthal and Phil Eklund's games overall, especially High Frontier 4 All, at the very least looking into them will be interesting. Though you should be warned, if you'll get into his games, there's a high chance that the combination of words "thematic" and "euro" next to each other might never come to mind in this exact configuration after that.
I passed on this game for many reasons you highlighted. I would have prefered the game if they dropped the vienna board and the treaties. Those two things add so many fiddly rules. Just the tables cities vs sections binuses is a lot Also the patients were made far too complex. Points on bottom left in the most prominent position for reading snd you only need them at game end. Waste of space. Ongoing ability but only when catharsis is lifted. Again you are making jt harder for the gamer. They have to remembe a small icon for player ability and rhat its either available or not. Just make them abilities you have once they are cured and weaken them. So much easier for thr gamer to track that way. This seems another game that has too much going on. Tiny rules here and there make it an exercise in remembering rules rather than enjoying or mastering gameplay. If they had kept the game to worker placement, tableau/player board and resource wheel id have loved it. As it is its just too much fiddliness too play smoothly and therefore it was a miss for me
First if they dropped the Vienna board it wouldn’t be a full game. This is a key part of some feel smart moments. It makes what is typically a throw away action in recalling workers strategic and rewarding. Treatises could have been tossed or implemented in a way that was connected to patient healing rather a draw card play card mechanic. I think if you had to heal those types of patients before collecting the same type of card and there was a race of sorts to publish would make it more exciting. I think this games inspire of my gripes and certainly isn’t for someone who gets this rules fatigue.
Thanks for another informative video! The theme is quite a big swing and I appreciate how you highlighted the clever ways it was implemented. Impressive execution. Probably not my jam since I prefer closer to Everdell weight games but it’s nonetheless interesting to learn about some cool new innovative mechanic combinations. Also, after hearing about heart-shaped boxes I have Nirvana stuck in my head! Thanks again
I always thought the treatises were tacked on. They didn't really change them at all from the prototype. I think it was a way that they figured people could later use the research cards played to do more with them.
I think the secret with the treatices is that they guarantee you location tags. They all have at least 2 whereas research cards can have zero for your tableau. On my last turn I published some just to get the points and realised if I had done it earlier I could have scored in various areas of the city. Defo going to do it sooner rather than later in the next game.
I think the treatises make perfect thematic sense. I consider the research cards articles that get published in the press. The treatises are then in my mind and official publication from those psycho analysts. Based on those articles. They all bear the title of existing publications. My two cents on this …
Showed up for me last week too. Have yet to crack open the box. That being said, listen bro, I work at Boeing. These big word's you're using are hurting my brain. I ain't smart enuff for them big words. I hope i can learn this game. =P
Great video! Honestly I am not sure if I am going to like it, although it's on its way. I did not like Endless Winter a lot and I am not a big fan of those chain actions. I report you, as soon as I have got it to the table!
You have been on quite the roll of getting all the hot games lately. You may have a problem :) liking endless winter is not a prerequisite. This has a totally different feel.
@@Neon_Gorilla You nailed there, all euros have theme but you can use whatever theme and it will be the same game, the theme is simply there but it does not matter and you don't care at all, on the contrary here, the theme is integrated with the mechanics, I got 2 thematic euros for me this year, Unconscious Mind and Hegemony, both great!
@@crivgil yeah I think it’s hard to integrate what could be an abstract puzzle into any theme let alone a specific historical theme like this…truly a notable accomplishment
@@Neon_GorillaThen what does “… finally, a thematic euro” mean? Also, why is it “thematic” for a mental health therapist to fret about rondel actions, resource management and puzzly optimization of actions?
@@chuckm1961 it infers that it’s been a while not that there is none. I never said I have never seen a thematic euro. I say this is the best implementation I have seen. The theme is related to the Wednesday Psychological Society. Living in Vienna, meeting around a table in Freuds living room sharing ideas that produced insights they used to interpret dreams and heal their clients which led to many of them writing treatises. This entire game revolve around a specific historic moment in time.
Great video. Thank you for the kind words on the video I did :)
I try to highlight parts of the game which I found were tricky for people to understand.
Of course, many of my videos don’t get made without watching yours.
First of your videos I have watched, excellent job, well rounded, thoughtful presentation and opinions, subscribed
Welcome aboard!
@@Neon_Gorilla I love the shout out to Paul Grogan I am seeing him tomorrow as he are going out for a meal for his wife's birthday - I'll let him know.
@@Platonick66 love that, I don't know what I would do without many of his teaches
That is definitely a very strong and unconventional theme. Considering Freud never seemed to have healed any of his patients, the theme of healing is a bit ironic. I am wondering if any of the weirdest idea of Freud are somewhat represented in this game such as the Oedipus complex or the psychosexual stages? Funny that the coffee replace the drug knew he was really advocating for 🙂
I think since you are technically a student of Freud in this it makes sense to heal. The other Freudian concepts are absent. It's all about dreams. Funny point on coffee. I was not aware of his love of Cocaine until you mentioned this. Certainly could have went the NSFW route with this game.
I loved this video, and I also love so much about this game.
The theme is incredible and seems really well integrated in all sorts of ways that make a lot of sense. The "worker placement" aspect being basically each player saying things to each other. (Also notice how you can say the same thing from different angles!) The SUPERB art and general aesthetics - from the box art to the scoring board, and of course those fantastic cards. The creativity in the components, particularly those research papers or whatever that you need to align the spines of the books… Ugh, everything is so inspired and appealing.
And yet.
I feel no desire at all to play this, much less to actually own it. Which tells me in no uncertain terms something I've been suspecting for a while now about myself: I am _over_ Euros. Especially those more complex than something like Arnak or Everdell.
I think I figured out I much prefer games with a few really flexible and expressive verbs that give me the freedom to act in 50 different ways than games with 50 different things I can do.
Well, so it goes. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@@FBracht interesting, what is your gaming genre of choice?
Loved your video. Love all of your videos, kewp up the great work. Wish you were in my game group haha we seem to share same thoughts on most games.
I got my copy last week but haven't tabled it yet. Endless winter was actually a miss for me because it just felt like a bunch of disjointed minigames with a glossy coat of beautiful theme on top. Ended up selling my all-in pledhe after 4 plays. I still backed this one because it seemed like the mechanics were better integrated and the puzzle more intriguing. Glad to see the final product will most likely be the case.
If you are in Western Washington I would be happy to join the group:) I have the same critique on endless winter....Make no mistake this is a worker placement board with two rondelles and a set collection mechanic but I think they do a much better job of integrating it and most importantly using a coherent theme to connect "most" of it.
Thank you very much for this great video. Very useful to get to know the game.
thanks James
Got my pledge the other day and had my first play yesterday. Came dead last but enjoyed it. Didn't have time to really plan anything on my turn because I was teaching and helping everyone else! Lol
yeah that is exactly the way my first couple of plays went and that goes to my rules overhead critique. There are a few things in there that I had to keep confirming for other players which led to the play experience you described.
Haha so relatable. I’m the explainer in my group of friends and then yeah I’ll lose cause I’m coaching everyone :)
Very thoughtful review. Enjoyable to watch and some of your annotations towards the convoluted parts of the game are part of my fears to teach this game . But I do so much want to play it. Just arrived at my doorstep (yes, the collectors edition + nightmares expansion). Wondering when it will be played ;-)
Thank you and enjoy!
I totally agree with you on the research cards. That could’ve easily just been a module.
Hey dude, enjoy your content! FYI: Every video has a weirdly low framerate. Something you should look into, I think.
I choose to shoot at 4K 24 frames, I think 60 looks odd and unnatural. I just rewatched this and don’t see it.
I just figured it out my frame rate was out of sync with the program I record into, should be fixed moving forward thank you
My house rule is that I play new games in the order I get them, so for now this is on the shelf of opportunity behind a few others... but really can't wait to play it. Probably in November. Maggie and Amy from Thinker Themer sold me on it, and now your review is getting me excited about it again. When I watched the teach/playthrough videos, it did seem that research and treatises were kind of an "advanced strategy" to maximize your actions on the Vienna/location board. I'm betting my wife and I focus more on clients as we're initially learning the game, but looking forward to trying other strategies like focusing on research/publishing later. Thanks for the great review!
I definitely would not call them alternative strategies. You will naturally engage with them throughout the game with bonuses of even placing you ideas to get the bottle to move the correct number of times. There frankly isn’t a ton to engage with there
Looks like a beautiful game!
@@Triston_Yocom it really is
I'm excited to unbox and play my copy, but I'm guessing I wont get to it until Thanksgiving or Christmas break. BTW congrats on winning the PAX Unplugged pass from Alex!
Thanks for letting me know I hadn’t seen that!
Really loving the the look and theming on this one. Does it share much DNA with Endless Winter (aside from what you mentioned)? I only tried EW recently and enjoyed elements, but found it felt a little disjointed with all the different systems.
Completely different from endless winter. Modules are better integrated except for treatises
When it comes to those convoluted overhead rules, it reminded me of Lisboa.
Yet I loved Lisboa. Straight 10/10. But each time I play it I probably first need to sit one evening with the rules trying to refresh myself all those little rules
And I also have unconscious mind! Can’t wait to play!
Yeah the more of these types of games I play the more I get fatigued from illogical rules overhead. Septima is another good example that has a really similar feel with interconnected mechanisms. I really enjoyed it but rules stop me from getting it out.
Maybe I'm very burned out on euros (I sure am, 100%), but it sounds like a collection of abstract mechanics with a theme. The art is beautiful, I love the theme, but it sounds like just some rondels, set collections, worker placements, and other sorts of standard rehashed mini-games that plague most board games these days and the theme is abstracted into nothingness and mostly used as a facade. And it's not because you describe it this way, because your descriptions are on point and are very informative, and give me a good idea on what this game is.
At this point, I'm starting to think euro games became almost exploitative.
It would be cool to see a psychology themed game that does something like Neanderthal where you're trying to develop a human brain, plant the seeds of language through different activities and breeding, etc. Look into it, it's really thematic, interesting, and unique. I wish there were more games like this in the world.
interesting take, If you don't like euros then this is not for you. I have never played neanderthals I will have to check it out.
@@Neon_Gorilla Some of my most loved games are euros (but I have to admit, they're mostly by Uwe Rosenberg), but enough is enough. Yeah, check out Neanderthal and Phil Eklund's games overall, especially High Frontier 4 All, at the very least looking into them will be interesting. Though you should be warned, if you'll get into his games, there's a high chance that the combination of words "thematic" and "euro" next to each other might never come to mind in this exact configuration after that.
@@slimyweasel you just sent me down quite the rabbit hole..a genuine thank you
@@Neon_Gorilla :D much love!
I passed on this game for many reasons you highlighted.
I would have prefered the game if they dropped the vienna board and the treaties. Those two things add so many fiddly rules. Just the tables cities vs sections binuses is a lot
Also the patients were made far too complex. Points on bottom left in the most prominent position for reading snd you only need them at game end. Waste of space. Ongoing ability but only when catharsis is lifted. Again you are making jt harder for the gamer. They have to remembe a small icon for player ability and rhat its either available or not. Just make them abilities you have once they are cured and weaken them. So much easier for thr gamer to track that way.
This seems another game that has too much going on. Tiny rules here and there make it an exercise in remembering rules rather than enjoying or mastering gameplay.
If they had kept the game to worker placement, tableau/player board and resource wheel id have loved it.
As it is its just too much fiddliness too play smoothly and therefore it was a miss for me
First if they dropped the Vienna board it wouldn’t be a full game. This is a key part of some feel smart moments. It makes what is typically a throw away action in recalling workers strategic and rewarding. Treatises could have been tossed or implemented in a way that was connected to patient healing rather a draw card play card mechanic. I think if you had to heal those types of patients before collecting the same type of card and there was a race of sorts to publish would make it more exciting. I think this games inspire of my gripes and certainly isn’t for someone who gets this rules fatigue.
Thanks for another informative video! The theme is quite a big swing and I appreciate how you highlighted the clever ways it was implemented. Impressive execution.
Probably not my jam since I prefer closer to Everdell weight games but it’s nonetheless interesting to learn about some cool new innovative mechanic combinations.
Also, after hearing about heart-shaped boxes I have Nirvana stuck in my head!
Thanks again
@@seanmcgowan4842 thank you and I thought the same about Nirvana lol
I always thought the treatises were tacked on. They didn't really change them at all from the prototype. I think it was a way that they figured people could later use the research cards played to do more with them.
I don’t think they’re awful they just stand out as a weak point for me.
@@Neon_Gorilla Ya, I don't think they're awful either, just the least exciting part of unconscious mind.
@@kungpow108 💯
I think the secret with the treatices is that they guarantee you location tags. They all have at least 2 whereas research cards can have zero for your tableau. On my last turn I published some just to get the points and realised if I had done it earlier I could have scored in various areas of the city. Defo going to do it sooner rather than later in the next game.
I think the treatises make perfect thematic sense. I consider the research cards articles that get published in the press. The treatises are then in my mind and official publication from those psycho analysts. Based on those articles. They all bear the title of existing publications. My two cents on this …
Showed up for me last week too. Have yet to crack open the box. That being said, listen bro, I work at Boeing. These big word's you're using are hurting my brain. I ain't smart enuff for them big words. I hope i can learn this game. =P
We probably live very close to each other…if you are talking about things like catharsis, I had to look it all up…you will be fine
@@Neon_Gorilla Yep. Granite Falls. =D
@@RainwaterGames oh that’s right
Great video! Honestly I am not sure if I am going to like it, although it's on its way. I did not like Endless Winter a lot and I am not a big fan of those chain actions. I report you, as soon as I have got it to the table!
You have been on quite the roll of getting all the hot games lately. You may have a problem :) liking endless winter is not a prerequisite. This has a totally different feel.
It feels like literally everyone has their copy but me :(
to be fair I live 30 minutes from where it shipped and it sat with a label printed for 4 days. :)
Thoughts on the foil stuff?
Beautiful!
You mean Viticulture, euro with a theme. Or Scarface 1920, euro with a theme, or Great Western Trail, euro with a theme.
@@adukovski euros have theme but few implement them into the mechanics like this,
@@Neon_Gorilla You nailed there, all euros have theme but you can use whatever theme and it will be the same game, the theme is simply there but it does not matter and you don't care at all, on the contrary here, the theme is integrated with the mechanics, I got 2 thematic euros for me this year, Unconscious Mind and Hegemony, both great!
@@crivgil yeah I think it’s hard to integrate what could be an abstract puzzle into any theme let alone a specific historical theme like this…truly a notable accomplishment
What is wrong with the framerate of your camera?
It’s shooting at 4K 24 frames
@@Neon_Gorilla it looks very nice, but it is lagging :)
I just figured something out thank you!
You must not have played Obsession, if you think there’s no “thematic” euros.
@@chuckm1961 I didn’t say that
@@Neon_GorillaThen what does “… finally, a thematic euro” mean? Also, why is it “thematic” for a mental health therapist to fret about rondel actions, resource management and puzzly optimization of actions?
@@chuckm1961 it infers that it’s been a while not that there is none. I never said I have never seen a thematic euro. I say this is the best implementation I have seen. The theme is related to the Wednesday Psychological Society. Living in Vienna, meeting around a table in Freuds living room sharing ideas that produced insights they used to interpret dreams and heal their clients which led to many of them writing treatises. This entire game revolve around a specific historic moment in time.