Wow, you need to keep doing reviews. This is one of the best reviews of a board game and especially, a kickstarter review. I´m a current watcher but after this video, I´m a fan.
Thanks for this review! I've watched many reviews to see if the game is for me and you might be the first one that gave me the impression that you really knew what you were talking about. Not just hyping the game or bashing it to make a good review. So thanks for the review and the effort you've put into it! PS: On another note, you might have just cost me $200.
As someone considering buying this game, thank you for such a great review! The eb and flow of positives and negatives really help out (especially with prices being what they are). Love the content man, keep it up!
I’m glad you kept going after describing the different characters/abilities, because you had me sold there! The price and complexity of this one means I’ll probably never own it, but I look forward to playing it some day.
Spot on with your final thoughts. I finally got through with the tutorial. Was a beast and took so long... and yet I still don't feel confident with it. The second this sits on the shelf for too long, it'll never come out. And yet I'm excited at the prospect of burning through the game while it's all fresh, even though that's totally unrealistic
Your description of the network board saved me $150. Thanks for the great review! You roughly said "I feel like all chip theory games need "energy" And motivation to get off the shelf, but once you do invest in them they are worth the time." I agree. It's sort of like a lifestyle game...you're either all in on it or you're not going to really mess with it. I had Too Many Bones and I enjoy it, but never had the energy to get it out (especially when solo). I think this game would suffer a similar fate.
Thanks for putting out this review, especially with the reprint hitting Gamefound in the next few days. I have a lot of Too Many Bones content, and even more coming with the Unbreakable crowd fund, that I know enjoy and have been watching with great interest since the reprint of Burncycle was announced. I’m still on the fence but this review definitely helped out understanding the mechanics of the game.
I just got Too Many Bones and Cloudspire and am trying to find the time and energy to get those to the table. I like the idea of Burncycle but just have too many games that I need to play first. Thanks for the great videos and keep them coming!
Too Many Bones I'd say is less complex than both burncycle and Cloudspire for sure, I'd start with that one! The difficulty is remembering what all the monsters abilities do and remembering to activate them, but the flow is actually pretty easy once you get into it.
@@RoomandBoardReviews I have watched a few videos and can not wait to play them both. It is just getting time. I Havel also got Bardsung, Moonrakers, Vale of Fate and Destiny's all in the last few weeks.
A fantastic and balanced review- great work! I’ve resigned myself to the fact I’ll probably never play a Chip Theory Game… I simply can’t afford them, or at least they are too expensive for me to take a chance on :D
Great review. Thanks! The point about the tutorial is really well made. It’s not enlightening, is the best way I can put it. Instead, the first 12 or so minutes of the Before You Play burncycle review are a really good overview of the turn by turn actions - along with your own, great for the feel and narrative, they are both very helpful. I was looking out for a Ricky Royal / Box of Delights play through which always help me but none yet! I’ve TMB and Cloudspire (which I think are great) but for me burncycle is the hardest to get into. The mechanics are not helped by the entirely new language for actions - which is just another barrier in my head. Like you, I have spent so long reading the rules, and I can add falling asleep mid play through review and then picking up where I left off. 😂 Has been on my table for weeks and I still haven’t managed a full game. Will stick with it though and get some value for the investment.
I guess I am one of the few who likes the network :) My only problem is the third floor. The goal on the third floor is usually too quickly achieved to justify the setup time.
Thanks for this, as many others have said I have been vacillating on this game, but this review has me pretty sure I know where I stand now. I appreciate your honesty and thoroughness.
Great review, Chris! I’d say I’m impressed, but at this point I already expect quality from you. Just like you expect quality from my comments. xD And I always reward you, you deserve it, even when you don’t. 🤪 Seriously, thank you! Very insightful, loved to hear your thoughts. I can see myself playing this, though I’m not sure about others playing it with me. And this totally feels primarily like a 2 player game. You might have saved me a couple hundred bucks!
Burncycle plays really well Solo and so far it's my preferred way to play. Overall the Bots themselves are not that complex but have 2 or 3 unique skills to differentiate them so driving a few is pretty easy imo. The game does have some finicky rules and it often seems like a lot of effort to do not much sometimes (hence solo is better as diluting not much over 2 people is worse). The depth like many CTG games is manipulating and taking advantage of the AI/rules via your skill sets so you need a full correct understanding of the rules or the game can fall over. Hence why you need reviews like this where the reviewer has had the time to actually learn the game and play properly and not just meet a review deadline.. too much scope to be not playing properly or see the depth.
burncycle is great. i am sitting here listening to you explain all the parts of it that are rough or that complicate the experience.... and i just wanna play burncycle again.
Good, in depth, and thoughtful review. Definitely seems like a game I'd like but may delay a few months/year to let more copies flood the market since it's still fairly rare/pricey to get your hands on.
Definitely. There's a campaign happening on game found next week where they'll sell it again, and will be adding some expansions. I'm not sure what the expansion content will be but I imagine more scenarios/corporations and more bots, just in case you didn't know. I personally always try to wait until getting it secondhand, although I haven't had much success with finding super cheap deals for Chip Theory's stuff
Thanks for the review. So much of this could apply word for word to Too Many Bones. I love the game, but it has a steep entry point, works well really only at one or two players, requires a good bit of googling as you get into it etc. I wouldn't say TMB is a tough one to pull out once you have really gotten a handle of the game though.
I have played the base, I have undertow to play and automation of shale as well. I think this requires more energy than Too Many Bones but my experience of it may be slightly influenced that I didn't need to set up and learn too many bones but it was taught to me. I think all the moving parts are easier in too many bones though as long as you have the baddies special ability sheet handy
I know I'm in the minority with this but I honestly think the so called "deluxification" of Chip Theory Games makes the games look absolutely hideous. Not the box, that's quite cool, but the chips do nothing for me and the neoprene is too bright and too dull at the same time somehow. Really don't know how the general consensus is "beautiful, but expensive". Organisation is superb, though! PS.: Amazing review, easily best one I've seen!
do you have silver approval? You are becoming pro man... BTW I really like the game solo or max 2 people and I hope in the next campaign they somehow improve the rulebook
Chip Theory always has gorgeous productions, but they come with the expected premium price and their rules are all quite involved. I just find I have too many games that I want to get to and play to make such an investment in them. I'd definitely learn them from others and play though.
Thanks for doing this review, Chris! I really appreciate your thoughts on it as I've been considering picking this up in their upcoming Gamefound campaign. I wrote it off during the initial Kickstarter because I've always felt that the price point of CTG titles are outside of what I'm comfortable with spending on an unknown game. However, after watching some post release content and reading BGG posts, the combination of theme and the stealth aspects really piqued my interest. Deus Ex and Thief are some of my all time favorite video games growing up, and having a more thinky stealth simulation in board game form is an experience I think I'd really enjoy and find the time investment worth it because I have nothing like it in my collection. I'll likely just pick up the base game, and it's great to hear that you feel it is not lacking.
I agree about this game not really benefiting from the premium nature CTG put on it. I feel like it's a really interesting and fun looking game. But if it was in the hands of a different publisher it would have been half the price and just as fun. I sometimes feel like CTG has pigeon holed themselves into the chips and neoprene and they wont let themselves out of it. And this is a result of that.
It's not like CTG has an issue with the fact they are a chips and neoprene company. The current crowdfunding campain is going very well, they are about to release a game based on Skyrim... For what I see they are making good decisions.
@@yantremblay-cote2597 They actually did lose money on the first campaign, and judging that their current campaign is only half of the amount of their previous one, I doubt we'll see any burncycle again after this. Skyrim will be bonkers, but half of that is the IP. And the fact that they do use those premium components does mean their margins are lower, because they are a solid company and don't want to charge the margins that they actually do need to charge to account for that extra premium. So I think in this situation, it actually has hurt their bottom line.
@@RoomandBoardReviews because a company lost money on a project doesn't mean that they doing "wrong". Compain is currently 100k under the first campain. Note that they finished Unbreakable campain over 3 300 000$. I won't speak for the future of this game, it is way too soon to speculate about how it will turn.
Hey I think butncycle looks great, and I am the GM type of player. But with player count, length, and complexity I just don't think I could get it to the table. I would love to play it, but I just don't want to buy it.
I agree it's a really good game but the Network side is a clear weakness design wise and it's unfortunate it's integrated so much into the game that you have to pay so much attention to it. The Nodes are too small and the icons too similar. The bag initially had more function and it seems like the design changed but they had committed to selling premium upgrade bags that are now basically pointless... opposite to FFG as CTG include a bag when you dont need one and FFG ... :P Big issue with Burncycle is they came way too early to KS without a solid game in place. I think the reason that it's not like an escort mission is you have direct control over the command bot unlike a real escort mission in a computer game where it's CPU controlled. The AI control over your escort mob is why they suck. CTG wont use card other than the box. You need a tray for the cards as the plastic cards are too slippery to stack. You need the expansion for Gyro.. :P Difficult to learn with lots of effort .. really? .. clearly you've never played Cloudspire. The BC Tutorial does continue beyond what's in the manual via a DL on the CTG site.
I haven't played with Gyro yet, Servo is super fun running all over the board in his cloak, haha. I don't mind when companies come to KS without a firm plan in place, especially if they're an established company, just as long as they take enough time to develop to a place where they're happy. I wish I could have seen the Network board 2 iterations from now.
@@RoomandBoardReviews Check Gyros card abilities... The 2AP for any distance, then 2AP to do it again is loads of fun. Not tried Servo yet. Yeah point i was making in coming too early was wrt the bag - the design wasn't sorted so we ended up with a bag and many thus bought the upgraded bag when it's not needed as the design changed. Actually the standard bag does have a use.. you lay it under the bot/mission cards and fold the end of the bag up the side .. helps you lift the card stack out.. so there is that i suppose :P
@@RocketMagnetUK haha that's actually a brilliant use to an issue that is always annoying! That's some big brain thinking right there! I was keeping my player aid cards in it 😂
LOL yeah the Brass Mag minis you can get are a bit excessive but no denying they put most if not all other minis to shame.. pfft who wants plastic cracker toy stuff when you can get solid brass :P IMO if you get a chance to play with someone who knows how it's worth as look.
@@RocketMagnetUK The brassmags aren’t solid brass, they’re pewter. Solid brass would be worth a ton more. And while they are nice, and IMHO essential to make it easy to read guard facings, they’re far from putting “all other minis to shame”.
Acutally 😅 even if network was off to me in my first game the more I played the more I used it as a way to get ressource with network card and since it is soooo fast.... I clearly see it as a little puzzle within an kind of income phase after my physical turn 😅. The office crawler part is really good and love it. The network when I finally get it straight and thought about it the way I do turn out pretty nice and interesting !
Wow, you need to keep doing reviews. This is one of the best reviews of a board game and especially, a kickstarter review. I´m a current watcher but after this video, I´m a fan.
Thanks so much, I really appreciate that a lot :)
Thanks for this review! I've watched many reviews to see if the game is for me and you might be the first one that gave me the impression that you really knew what you were talking about. Not just hyping the game or bashing it to make a good review. So thanks for the review and the effort you've put into it! PS: On another note, you might have just cost me $200.
Thanks so much, I'm glad it came across that way and was helpful!
As someone considering buying this game, thank you for such a great review! The eb and flow of positives and negatives really help out (especially with prices being what they are). Love the content man, keep it up!
I’m glad you kept going after describing the different characters/abilities, because you had me sold there! The price and complexity of this one means I’ll probably never own it, but I look forward to playing it some day.
Can’t believe how in depth this was. Great job and thanks!
Got my copy with expansions a couple of weeks ago. Looking forward to getting it on the table.
Spot on with your final thoughts. I finally got through with the tutorial. Was a beast and took so long... and yet I still don't feel confident with it. The second this sits on the shelf for too long, it'll never come out.
And yet I'm excited at the prospect of burning through the game while it's all fresh, even though that's totally unrealistic
Your description of the network board saved me $150. Thanks for the great review! You roughly said "I feel like all chip theory games need "energy" And motivation to get off the shelf, but once you do invest in them they are worth the time." I agree. It's sort of like a lifestyle game...you're either all in on it or you're not going to really mess with it. I had Too Many Bones and I enjoy it, but never had the energy to get it out (especially when solo). I think this game would suffer a similar fate.
Yeah, it's one where you want to not have a large collection to really appreciate to its fullest.
Thanks for putting out this review, especially with the reprint hitting Gamefound in the next few days. I have a lot of Too Many Bones content, and even more coming with the Unbreakable crowd fund, that I know enjoy and have been watching with great interest since the reprint of Burncycle was announced. I’m still on the fence but this review definitely helped out understanding the mechanics of the game.
Great analogy to "Trouble!" Subbed.
I just got Too Many Bones and Cloudspire and am trying to find the time and energy to get those to the table. I like the idea of Burncycle but just have too many games that I need to play first. Thanks for the great videos and keep them coming!
Too Many Bones I'd say is less complex than both burncycle and Cloudspire for sure, I'd start with that one! The difficulty is remembering what all the monsters abilities do and remembering to activate them, but the flow is actually pretty easy once you get into it.
@@RoomandBoardReviews I have watched a few videos and can not wait to play them both. It is just getting time. I Havel also got Bardsung, Moonrakers, Vale of Fate and Destiny's all in the last few weeks.
Incredible review, thank you! 😊
A fantastic and balanced review- great work! I’ve resigned myself to the fact I’ll probably never play a Chip Theory Game… I simply can’t afford them, or at least they are too expensive for me to take a chance on :D
Yeah I'm with you there, stuff that costs so much is always a gamble.
Great review. Thanks! The point about the tutorial is really well made. It’s not enlightening, is the best way I can put it. Instead, the first 12 or so minutes of the Before You Play burncycle review are a really good overview of the turn by turn actions - along with your own, great for the feel and narrative, they are both very helpful. I was looking out for a Ricky Royal / Box of Delights play through which always help me but none yet! I’ve TMB and Cloudspire (which I think are great) but for me burncycle is the hardest to get into. The mechanics are not helped by the entirely new language for actions - which is just another barrier in my head. Like you, I have spent so long reading the rules, and I can add falling asleep mid play through review and then picking up where I left off. 😂 Has been on my table for weeks and I still haven’t managed a full game. Will stick with it though and get some value for the investment.
Nice explanation of the game. It's the best that I've seen and moved burncycle significantly up on my priority list. Thank you!
I guess I am one of the few who likes the network :) My only problem is the third floor. The goal on the third floor is usually too quickly achieved to justify the setup time.
Thanks for this, as many others have said I have been vacillating on this game, but this review has me pretty sure I know where I stand now. I appreciate your honesty and thoroughness.
I'm glad it was helpful :)
Great review, Chris! I’d say I’m impressed, but at this point I already expect quality from you. Just like you expect quality from my comments. xD
And I always reward you, you deserve it, even when you don’t. 🤪
Seriously, thank you! Very insightful, loved to hear your thoughts. I can see myself playing this, though I’m not sure about others playing it with me. And this totally feels primarily like a 2 player game. You might have saved me a couple hundred bucks!
Hahah I DO expect quality from your comments, and you never disappoint!
Burncycle plays really well Solo and so far it's my preferred way to play. Overall the Bots themselves are not that complex but have 2 or 3 unique skills to differentiate them so driving a few is pretty easy imo. The game does have some finicky rules and it often seems like a lot of effort to do not much sometimes (hence solo is better as diluting not much over 2 people is worse). The depth like many CTG games is manipulating and taking advantage of the AI/rules via your skill sets so you need a full correct understanding of the rules or the game can fall over.
Hence why you need reviews like this where the reviewer has had the time to actually learn the game and play properly and not just meet a review deadline.. too much scope to be not playing properly or see the depth.
great honest review. subbed. agreed, the tutorial is simplified down too much.
burncycle is great. i am sitting here listening to you explain all the parts of it that are rough or that complicate the experience.... and i just wanna play burncycle again.
Good, in depth, and thoughtful review. Definitely seems like a game I'd like but may delay a few months/year to let more copies flood the market since it's still fairly rare/pricey to get your hands on.
Definitely. There's a campaign happening on game found next week where they'll sell it again, and will be adding some expansions. I'm not sure what the expansion content will be but I imagine more scenarios/corporations and more bots, just in case you didn't know. I personally always try to wait until getting it secondhand, although I haven't had much success with finding super cheap deals for Chip Theory's stuff
Thanks for the review. So much of this could apply word for word to Too Many Bones. I love the game, but it has a steep entry point, works well really only at one or two players, requires a good bit of googling as you get into it etc. I wouldn't say TMB is a tough one to pull out once you have really gotten a handle of the game though.
Burncycle is so great 😱 but those beads (in germany we call it Muggelsteine) are so cheap and the opposite of deluxe. For this i need replacement :/
This is a great review. I can’t remember if you have played Too Many Bones@-If so, does this require more or less energy to get out and run?
I have played the base, I have undertow to play and automation of shale as well. I think this requires more energy than Too Many Bones but my experience of it may be slightly influenced that I didn't need to set up and learn too many bones but it was taught to me. I think all the moving parts are easier in too many bones though as long as you have the baddies special ability sheet handy
More energy required than TMB. I have both, played both, and TMB is simpler imho.
great review!
I know I'm in the minority with this but I honestly think the so called "deluxification" of Chip Theory Games makes the games look absolutely hideous. Not the box, that's quite cool, but the chips do nothing for me and the neoprene is too bright and too dull at the same time somehow. Really don't know how the general consensus is "beautiful, but expensive". Organisation is superb, though!
PS.: Amazing review, easily best one I've seen!
Like button hit.
I learned my lesson with TMB. Great looking games, and I appreciate that they exist, but just too much for me. Both on production and in scope
Yeah I feel that. I'm glad you have that temptation removed now, I'd say this is even more complicated than TMB
You need the time and you have to love big nice looking games. I love CTG and i dont want to play other, games. This or nothing 😁
do you have silver approval? You are becoming pro man...
BTW I really like the game solo or max 2 people and I hope in the next campaign they somehow improve the rulebook
Chip Theory always has gorgeous productions, but they come with the expected premium price and their rules are all quite involved.
I just find I have too many games that I want to get to and play to make such an investment in them.
I'd definitely learn them from others and play though.
Yeah if you have a large collection, it's a tough thing because they do require so much investment
Thanks for doing this review, Chris! I really appreciate your thoughts on it as I've been considering picking this up in their upcoming Gamefound campaign. I wrote it off during the initial Kickstarter because I've always felt that the price point of CTG titles are outside of what I'm comfortable with spending on an unknown game. However, after watching some post release content and reading BGG posts, the combination of theme and the stealth aspects really piqued my interest. Deus Ex and Thief are some of my all time favorite video games growing up, and having a more thinky stealth simulation in board game form is an experience I think I'd really enjoy and find the time investment worth it because I have nothing like it in my collection. I'll likely just pick up the base game, and it's great to hear that you feel it is not lacking.
Nice, if you do end up picking it up I hope you love it :)
I agree about this game not really benefiting from the premium nature CTG put on it. I feel like it's a really interesting and fun looking game. But if it was in the hands of a different publisher it would have been half the price and just as fun. I sometimes feel like CTG has pigeon holed themselves into the chips and neoprene and they wont let themselves out of it. And this is a result of that.
Yeah I think that's a pretty fair critique. Just because you can doesn't ALWAYS mean that you should.
It's not like CTG has an issue with the fact they are a chips and neoprene company. The current crowdfunding campain is going very well, they are about to release a game based on Skyrim... For what I see they are making good decisions.
@@yantremblay-cote2597 They actually did lose money on the first campaign, and judging that their current campaign is only half of the amount of their previous one, I doubt we'll see any burncycle again after this. Skyrim will be bonkers, but half of that is the IP. And the fact that they do use those premium components does mean their margins are lower, because they are a solid company and don't want to charge the margins that they actually do need to charge to account for that extra premium. So I think in this situation, it actually has hurt their bottom line.
@@RoomandBoardReviews because a company lost money on a project doesn't mean that they doing "wrong". Compain is currently 100k under the first campain. Note that they finished Unbreakable campain over 3 300 000$.
I won't speak for the future of this game, it is way too soon to speculate about how it will turn.
Hey I think butncycle looks great, and I am the GM type of player. But with player count, length, and complexity I just don't think I could get it to the table. I would love to play it, but I just don't want to buy it.
Yeah I think that's a wise choice
I agree it's a really good game but the Network side is a clear weakness design wise and it's unfortunate it's integrated so much into the game that you have to pay so much attention to it. The Nodes are too small and the icons too similar.
The bag initially had more function and it seems like the design changed but they had committed to selling premium upgrade bags that are now basically pointless... opposite to FFG as CTG include a bag when you dont need one and FFG ... :P
Big issue with Burncycle is they came way too early to KS without a solid game in place.
I think the reason that it's not like an escort mission is you have direct control over the command bot unlike a real escort mission in a computer game where it's CPU controlled. The AI control over your escort mob is why they suck.
CTG wont use card other than the box. You need a tray for the cards as the plastic cards are too slippery to stack.
You need the expansion for Gyro.. :P
Difficult to learn with lots of effort .. really? .. clearly you've never played Cloudspire. The BC Tutorial does continue beyond what's in the manual via a DL on the CTG site.
I haven't played with Gyro yet, Servo is super fun running all over the board in his cloak, haha.
I don't mind when companies come to KS without a firm plan in place, especially if they're an established company, just as long as they take enough time to develop to a place where they're happy. I wish I could have seen the Network board 2 iterations from now.
@@RoomandBoardReviews Check Gyros card abilities... The 2AP for any distance, then 2AP to do it again is loads of fun. Not tried Servo yet.
Yeah point i was making in coming too early was wrt the bag - the design wasn't sorted so we ended up with a bag and many thus bought the upgraded bag when it's not needed as the design changed.
Actually the standard bag does have a use.. you lay it under the bot/mission cards and fold the end of the bag up the side .. helps you lift the card stack out.. so there is that i suppose :P
@@RocketMagnetUK haha that's actually a brilliant use to an issue that is always annoying! That's some big brain thinking right there! I was keeping my player aid cards in it 😂
All my money went to the Unsettled shipping costs. Pass.
Sounds pver deluxefied...
Good Review of a game I wont be getting... lol
it doesnt even have minis... delux my butt...
LOL yeah the Brass Mag minis you can get are a bit excessive but no denying they put most if not all other minis to shame.. pfft who wants plastic cracker toy stuff when you can get solid brass :P
IMO if you get a chance to play with someone who knows how it's worth as look.
@@RocketMagnetUK The brassmags aren’t solid brass, they’re pewter. Solid brass would be worth a ton more. And while they are nice, and IMHO essential to make it easy to read guard facings, they’re far from putting “all other minis to shame”.
Lost me at ping, ping,ping…
That's where they lost me too!
Acutally 😅 even if network was off to me in my first game the more I played the more I used it as a way to get ressource with network card and since it is soooo fast.... I clearly see it as a little puzzle within an kind of income phase after my physical turn 😅.
The office crawler part is really good and love it. The network when I finally get it straight and thought about it the way I do turn out pretty nice and interesting !
𝓹𝓻𝓸𝓶𝓸𝓼𝓶 💃