I have been looking your videos for over a year now here in France, and I must say, Sir, that you are probably one of the most reliable boardgame youtube channel. Your videos are always precise and detailed. Thanks a lot for your work !
I love this game... I've played solo and died twice. About 30 hours total.... still haven't beat the first curse.... and STILL am excited to again. So good...
I love, love, love these revised final thoughts. I'd almost love to see this turn into a segment where you go back to old games and give your re-takes on them. Probably not possible at this point in time, but man, consider it for your scheduling as you look to slow down... just have a block of time for your own choice in games and have a quick-ish (doesn't have to be an hour, though I love it :)) re-think on it.
@@aaronegerman2485 it's possible. right now i just want to get shea established, but once things are going smoothly, it will be interesting to see how things might evolve :)
I had exactly that burnout feeling you mentioned, since I played around 2-3 hours every day during the holidays. I forced myself to wait at least 2 days inbetween sessions, and my experience with the game is so much better now. I'd strongly suggest not to play too much of it at a time. Take it in one step at a time, and stop when you want to continue the most.
One of your best final thoughts because it was fun watching you struggle to get out everything you wanted to say. It's always enjoyable to witness your genuine enthusiasm. I'm thinking you passed out right on the table as soon as the camera shutoff. Great to watch.
Once again you managed to echo all the thoughts I've been having since getting this game, but in a much clearer more eloquent fashion than I could ever manage! It's a game that really sucks you in, and makes you question every single move you make. We've not finished the Voracious Goddess yet, but we're pretty far in, and we've come close to dying many times! Hunting and unlocking Advances Skills are the key to survival!
Great video, rahdo! :) Your enthusiam is really contagious. I have been enjoying this game a lot since it arrived, and have watched/read all the reviews I have been able to find. This is the most comprehensive overview of the game yet, I think. And you really do a good job of explaining some of the aspects of the game that sometimes get misunderstood (the fact that it's much more of a survival game than a story game, for example).
I just went south 2 instead of east 10 and lost about 6 hours of gameplay on the Voracious Goddess curse. Now I'm having to backtrack through the entire continent to get back to the point I accidentally left... and I'm loving every second. What a fantastic game!
Having played 100+ hours of this with my GF, we love this game. One of the most enjoyable and unique gaming experiences I've ever had. After a while, you get used to seeing some things over and over, but the underlying mechanic of the game is one of a cooperative optimization puzzle. So, even though you stop seeing new cards every turn, you still stay engaged because you really have to pay attention to what you're doing or you will run out of cards and die - even when you know what's coming. And eventually you'll get to a point that you have seen 95% of the cards already - but then out of nowhere you get completely surprised by something new and that becomes hugely exciting, even if the card itself isn't that special or powerful. You can just never be certain you've learned "everything" unless you cheat and flip through the cards.
If what you desire is a constant stream of new cards and effects and images, no. Because eventually you will stop seeing new cards. My point is that if you enjoy a cooperative puzzle the requires careful planning, and problem solving, then seeing old cards again isn't a bad thing, because you still have to manage those hazards and events in shifting patterns.
Your enthusiasm is contagious. I also watched your gameplay / thoughts on AuZtralia (which I pledged). I would really love to get my hands on 7th Continent now!
I'm getting this and any content I missed from the first campaign. This might just be the holy grail in board games I've been searching for as far as exploration/adventure games go.
We love this game! It has been on our table since we received it in the mail. We regret, not purchasing any of the expansions. But we will be with the second kickstarter! (We are still on the Voracious Goddess as well.)
I think you might be playing an aspect of this game wrong - the rules say you are supposed to put all the 'past' cards BACK into the original deck before you start putting new cards on the table... Therefore you're not guaranteed to draw a new location every time you re-explore a tile (i.e. the game doesn't necessarily change after you've saved it).
Yeah I was thinking that too. When you save the game (or when you set it back up to continue) you sort aaaall those Past cards back into their correct places in the trays. Depending on the size of your map at the time, it can be a bit of a pain (for me it takes upwards of five-ten minutes, so it's not like the end of the world or anything). Only the banished cards go away forever.
Yeah, oddly the rules specifically state to start every game with putting the past cards back in the box, but we quickly decided we'd rather pack them away at the end of every game instead. There didn't appear to be any difference to doing it this way (although there would have been if, as Rahdo says, you draw different cards first... but this doesn't appear to be the case).
you're supposed to redistribute the past cards back into place only once you get to a moment where you have to draw a card and it's not available. so if you explore card 637 (making one up) and you can see it has multiple variants, if you move away from it to an adjacent card, save your game, and then reload, and then move back on to 637, you'll get to draw one of the variants (because there are still cards to draw), since the past won't need to get reset yet :)
Hey Rahdo, thanks for getting back to me :-) Please could you let me know where to find that rule? I'm a little confused because page 9 of the rule book says that Past Cards "must be returned to the deck between two game sessions," and page 21 says that when resuming a game, step one is to "return all the cards in the past to their place in their respective original deck."
When "Resuming the Game" after a save all cards in the past are returned to original places, so unless the card is banished you might see it again. Pretty sweet concept.
16:10 - I far as I can remember, the rules tells that you can reach a companion or a fire if there is a continuous path of terrain cards between you and your companion/fire. this move isn't free ! you must pay the card's cost minus 1, so i't only free when the card's cost is 1... Furthermore, you must go on the card he is within, you can't decide to go in whatever card id in between.
Yes Rahdo ! ;) 16:30. You show the tile where there isn't any fire nor companion and you explain you can go there by fast tracking. But With your answer, I know that you know the correct rule so no problem !:)
actually, what i was talking about at that moment is correct. you can travel as far as you want, only paying the energy cost of the card you're at, provided all the inbetween cards are connected with no "bridges". there doesn't' have to be a friend or a fire where you're moving to, to be able to do this. on top of this, if there is a friend or fire at your final destination, there's a discount applied from the initial cost you pay.
At 49:33 you mention the standee, mini and little token. The little token wasn't meant to be used as a location marker, it was included so you can randomly select characters. You shuffle all the player's character's tokens and randomly draw one. :) It mentions it in the rules.
Wanted to back it... but i am a bit reluctant now because you mentioned that i has 'unlock' like elements in it. Me and my wife didn't enjoy unlock... to frustrating puzzles... but we love storytelling/exploration... do you think we would like it? Should we only buy the basebox or do we best buy the expansions also? Thanks!
bear in mind, as i said in the video, there's very little storytelling in the game. i can't really say if you'd like it, but you can go watch the original runthrough and try to get a feel for it
I did not know the fast travel rule, so we have been paying tons of energy on moving from terain to terrain all the time. However it was not really a big issue for us.
Is it worth to get all the expansions? Or should I just get the main box plus the biggest expansion? I'm a little short on money but I know I won't be able to get them anymore once the kickstarter campaign is over
one way to look at it is if you get everything and decide to sell the game on later if it doesn't work out for you, you'll get a much higher price if you have the complete set...
Been trying to find a board game to play with my family this Christmas. Last year I bought Catan and we've played it dozens of times since then. This game looks entirely different and much more complicated but really cool and I think it's something we'd like. Unfortunately they don't sell it on Amazon. The creator's website says the shipping time is 7-10 days - which feels like we're in the stone ages. I know that sounds jaded but Amazon spoils us. It wouldn't get here in time for Christmas :/
i sleeves all the action deck cards (the ones that goe in the draw and discard piles). those cards get handled A LOT and so it makes sense to sleeve them, but all the other ones, no. they get drawn, sit on the table, and do nothing else. plus, if you sleeves ALL of them, they won't all fit in the nice card trays that come in the box. but you can sleeves probably around 100 or so and everything still fits :)
I love this review... I’ve been on the fence for a while now and you just made me go on Amazon and buy it! It arrives later today!! I can’t wait and your review pushed me over the edge!!! Thank you!
It's been over 6 months and first wave is being delivered to 2nd edition backers Have you won the Voracious Goddess's curse? What about the other curses? Has your opinion changed on this game since?
i haven't had a chance to play it at all... i very rarely get to go back and play games after i've filmed a runthrough for them, as i'm always moving forward to the next game to cover...
I love your reviews, walkthroughs and final thoughts, I think you’re one of the most competent guys in the board gaming world. Your analysis for this game is lovely and has been tremendously important for my decision to buy this game. That said, I don’t fully agree with your slight complaints on off-tracking riddles and items upfront usage, though I can clearly see that wasted real-life time and in-game resources can feel very bad. 1. The choice to use the item later during an action for half its effect could be a gaming mechanic to alleviate consumption in unnecessary times but it would not be very realistic. In your waterfall climbing example, it would mean that you could throw the rope while you are falling down after you slipped 🤔 In a real situation, you don’t know if you would be able to overcome any difficulty without using helping items, but since you are risking your life, the choice is between risking to get seriously hurt and die or hit on the durability of your item. I think the system is quite thematic because it forces you to even more tense decisions. 2. The wasted hours following a wrong clue can be disheartening, I get it. But you spent those hours exploring in an exploration game. I know that lifting the curse is the end goal here, but this game is all about the journey, not the destination, like you just said. And anyway here comes the power of campfires. You know when your going down a path following a clue and you are taking into account the chance you misinterpreted the clues. I’d say that’s the best time to lay down a firecamp. Sure, if you get far away from it, it will eventually be sucked up into the Past. Anyway, you can travel back to whatever connected terrain even without the campfire discount. The time you “wasted” you’re surely have acquired new knowledge, some new items, maybe a new companion... in the end you’ll have explored some other parts of the continent, which is the core of this game. 3. Death is part of the bargain here even though it hurts dying after spending 15-20 hours on the continent. But then again, you can jump back in with a fresh knowledge of its perils and maybe next time you will have an easier time because you’ll know when and where to focus your resources and energy
Hey Richard, I get your enthusiasm about "saving" the game, but I remember your video about your new gaming table. Surely you must use your table's boards to covering the gaming area, rather than putting everything away every time you need to use the table for something else than gaming?
With only two cards left, if you die will you start again? We died after 3 hours (we got caught up in exploring and forgot to hunt) but it was a bit of a bummer to feel like we have to start from scratch
i have the 777 card, so i'm not too worried aobut it. plus we're only a couple of cards away from hunting ground, and have a lot of godo weapons, so we're okay :)
I have a question, It seems i cannot find anywhere the 7th Continent. I have looked to a lot of board game stores but they donot have it. I only can buy it online???
yes, originally 7th continent was a kickstarter exclusive title, so you can't get it anymore. they've developed a 'classic edition' that you can buy from them directly on their website, but that's about it. supposedly the classic edition will be available in stores at some time, but there's been no concrete details...
@@rahdo thx a lot cause i was looking for 7th continent and the Sleeping gods they both look great and your playthrough was great and very helpful. I will order it after the pandemic finish.
Fabulous review. Can’t wait to get this game! Not a fan on the idea with the retrospective item use in a game like this though. If you don’t use your rope to climb a cliff and you fall what sort of master rodeo rider are you that whips it out mid drop to hook it on the cliff and save yourself? It’s a bit of a luck thing sure but that’s life :D
Great review. Prob are red herrings (I remember in the fighting fantasy books they had red herrings) and this is that in a board game. Riddles can be hard, or maybe I am not always good at them :-(
Hi Richard, just curious how you and Jen handled the "freeform turn" mechanic. It seems this could result in alpha gamer behavior, and I would feel bad if I was taking 3 turns in a row compared to 1 from my partner. Would you say it is necessary to play/finish the game? Or would a normal "taking turns" approach be fine? Thanks and great video!
we never found it to be an issue. we just did things as it seemed natural. sometimes we'd split up, sometimes we'd stick together. often it's wise for one character or another to be the lead on a given action because of items or skills that player has, and sometimes one action leads to another. often, both player contribute to the same action, and again it's just a matter of choosing who is the 'lead' before you do it. we don't usually bother with that, and it's just the person who said "lets do this" is the lead :)
but, if u solve a riddle, or explore an event on a tile..won't that kill the fun in playing the game again? cuz u already know the answers or what choice is what?
rahdo ah i see, thanks so much for both the answer and review! One last question, if you don't mind.. this or gloomhaven? I will most likely be playing solo (or with my wife) both same amazing but price of the game and its shipping would stop me from getting both. So i guess me question is...if u had to get only one, what would u get? :)
difficult one, if you are into dungeon crawlers Gloomhaven is the right choice, this is now on Kickstarter again today so it is tempting ... www.kickstarter.com/projects/1926712971/the-7th-continent-what-goes-up-must-come-down/
I have both but still haven't played Gloomhaven yet. From what I've read, I think 7th Continent may be easier to get to the table even though completing a curse takes many hours. Saving and restarting is a breeze.
Can players drop in and out of a play through? If I start with 4 but a player is unable to make the next session can we drop to 3 players and pick up with 4 later on or will that throw everything off?
there are drop in/drop out guildlines in the rulebook which you can download here: the7thcontinent.seriouspoulp.com/documents/t7c/The7thContinent_rulebook.pdf it's on one of the last 5 pages
Thanks for your prompt reply. I'm torn between starting it off with my wife or my gaming group and your answer was helpful, as is all your content! How is the replay ability if you were to repeat a curse? If I run through the Voracious Goddess with the Mrs. would it be a lame experience to then go and play it with my gaming group?
there's very little storytelling in the game, so you could replay a curse i think. you'd know where to go and could be more effecient, so you'd probably have to increase the difficulty to match. but why do the same curse again when you've got so many others? :)
Ha, good point. It just seemed Voracious Goddess was the place to start to get people into the game. I'll just have to play around with it when it arrives. It sounds like there is a good chance the first round through will end in failure any way and give the opportunity to shake things up. Thanks again for your feedback. Your commitment to replying to your viewers is admirable.
He rates it even lower now. 8.437. It just misses his top 100 games at 101. I would have expected it to be closer to Gloomhaven based on his final thoughts.
@@rahdo hey Rahdo thanks for the reply cool cool that explains why but I noticed that sleeping Gods wasn't listed in your top 100 but 7th continent was
@@john515beach i talked about this in a recent Q&A or podcast episode but don't remember which one it was. basically, i'm heavily invested in 7C because i bought all the expansion content, and the reality is that if i had time to spend time revisting a game i'd already covered, it would be 7c because i have so much invested, and so SG wouldn't get a revisit even though i think it's a better game. so i sent it to the dice tower west library so that other folks could enjoy it (and because i simply don't have enough shelf space to keep everything i want). i do hope to get to it someday though, but probably not until after i retire from doing rahdo runs through
It sounds a tad bit like "Tales of the Arabian Nights", rather than a book you'll use cards and yes there's a lot more to this game, although it still sounds like a story telling game. I haven't played or have I seen the game, just an observation based on the final thoughts.
Funnily enough we had Arabian Nights delivered at around the same time as this. I have to say there's barely any comparison. Arabian nights leans heavily on storytelling and decision making/morailty, whereas in this the story elements are there more to add flavour than anything else. It's really more about exploration/survival. Both great games though!
Hey Rahdo and viewers, This game looks awesome - however does anyone think that this style game might be better to leave in the video game realm? IE, are there video games with a similar concept that might possibly be AS good an experience, and easier/cheaper to play/obtain? Obviously 7thC provides a basic advantage of being a tangible, face to face experience, and I appreciate that very much as I'm mainly a board/card game hobbyist at heart and own many euro/ameritrash games for exactly that experience. But I do find myself considering if this TYPE of game is worth the time/$ investment, especially if it ends up being mainly soloplay for me. Really this could potentially apply to many dungeon crawl style games as well. Curious for folks thoughts on this.
I dont play solo, so I can not speak to that, but this is the most fun time I have had with a game. You get to sit together ex, make decisions, explore, and try to survive with people you love, something that does not have even remotely the same feel in a similar style video game. A video game would probably be cheaper to obtain though.
I've played exclusively solo, and I wouldn't trade this for a video game (even though I love the open world/suvival games like Fallout, skyrim and don't starve). The puzzles and clues and hidden information just makes this game so unlike anything I've seen in video games. Such a great game, I can't wait to get home and keep playing!
Thanks for your thoughts, Richard. I would like to know your thoughts after finishing 3-6 curses as some have mentioned it becoming stale especially that exploration ends after the first curse. I am hesitant to invest in such a game where everything feels the same after the first or second curse. You mentioned that saving the game thematically represents the next day. Do you reset your energy deck as well since you are resting/sleeping? Thanks!
probably not going to be another update update, as i rarely get to go back and revisit games... i'm always moving on to the next one. but anyone who complains about the game getting stale, IMO, is pushing to hard and just needs to take a break from the game and come back after a couple of weeks to let it refresh in their minds. playing a game relentlessly 3 or 4 hours a day, 7 days a week... yeah it'll get stale under those circumstances! :) saving officially means "let some time pass" according to the rules, but there's no defintion of how much time passes. but resting doesn't give you energy back... you gotsta eat! :)
Thank you both for your replies, keeping in mind some aspects like survival and taking it steady before getting into this game is a great advice and an important factor for longevity of the game 👍
Sucks they don't sell this anywhere and they don't seem to be doing another kickstarter. Their twitter account hasn't even tweeted in like a year and a half. :(
They've stated they're finished with this game and aren't doing another kickstarter. The overall cost is too high to hit retail by the time they mark it up for stores then mark it up again for consumers
@12:05 Jen drew a bear And she bearly eked out a solution and we bearly... I see what you did there Richard :) Bearly made a pun! I really enjoyed this game, even after dying three times on the first curse so far! I didn't add the expansions from the first KS, hopefully picking them up in the second KS.
Haha! 50-min Final Thoughts. :) Truly epic. I've heard that, due to its length, this game tends to feel samey and unfulfilling after a curse or two. I know you're "merely" 15 hrs in, but any thoughts on that?
Haha, ok - your burnout thoughts in the last 10 minutes answered it. I found the same thing with Time Stories - we one-shotted The Marcy Case and we were just trying to Get 'Er Done for the last hour and a half. Not as much fun as the fine wine approach. Thanks for the insights, as always.
Hi Mate, i have played through all 7 of the curses (over 100 hours total) and there was only one curse that i didn't enjoy because it didn't really introduce anything new...it was the third one i played. the rest i really enjoyed as they introduced new things, so even though a lot of the time you were exploring the same areas there were new things to interact with or new areas that opened up
you don't have to, but you'll probably want to. also, the game does give you one "extra life" so that if you die once, you can continue from where you are :)
This long video commentary and review is awesome. You nailed a lot of very good points and you took the time to explain a lot. Your video is aging well.
A friend of mine has Myth, which we love (after figuring out the rules). Main problem I have with it is the 3-5 hour play sessions needed, with a 20 minute setup and a 30-40 minutes break down. And some of it is due to the random dice roll, and the skipping turns to get a certain card to fight Yardu. I also don't like the feeling of an uncompleted game, or a completed game that had components removed to charge as expansions (much like certain DLC). I don't like certain quest lines asking you to put X quest in the quest deck only to find we need to buy some expansion to get the Quest. I like the idea of exploration based gameplay, and if it takes a while to get back to the game, this can feel like a new game (though we can record the map to help speed things up). And some people don't like the theme/creatures of Myth, which this seems to put away. To hear the story is the adventure, not really a set story is pretty cool, as it makes me feel I can replay the game without knowing the story completely. Making this better for replaying than Time Stories, This Story of Mine, Above and Below, and Near and Far. And this doesn't have the Legacy style trappings, that I don't like that make replaying not possible. Can anyone tell me if this game involves any Cthulhu, demon, or supernatural elements? I'm not talking about the initial curse thing. I need to know, preferably without any specifics, so I don't offend certain friends who don't like or are sensitive to those subjects.
So I randomly click on this video, and while I listen to it I randomly click on local boardgaming ads where it just happens 7th Continent is just put on sale... and now I somehow have way less money then 30 minutes ago. WHAT HAPPENED?
I'm on the fence on backing this game, maybe Rahdo or anyone else, who's played it can help me decide? I am very much a "euro gamer", the most important feature of the game for me is an ability to make meaningful strategic decisions. That means, a game must require me to think for me to like it (it doesn't need to be heavy, I like light euro games too). So far the only exception for this was Time Stories. A game, which doesn't have any strategy and is almost purely luck-based. However, I still very much enjoyed the exploration aspect of the game. So, as far as I can tell, 7th Continent has few minor strategic decisions and I would buy it mostly for the exploration aspect. But, does the exploration aspect wear off in time? I worry that after some time this game would start to feel as an ameritrash luck-based game, where you are just hoping to draw the right card and guess the right tools to use, without any actual strategy, while enjoyment of exploration is strongly diminished.
I'm not a Euro-gamer, but I like this game a LOT. There is luck involved, but it's not dice rolling luck. Everything you do is an action, which has a defined number of successes required to pass. In most cases you can draw extra cards (or use tools) to increase the chance of success, BUT those are finite resources, and so every single action you do you have to decide "Is drawing the extra card worth it? If I did this in a different way, could I do it more efficiently?" Because the truth is, EVERY card used from the deck matters. You can get them back, but over time it gets harder to do it as effectively, so there is a constant pressure to be as efficient as possible.
Managing the action deck is a significant aspect of the game. Figuring out how to game it is pretty vital to your long-term survival on the Continent, and it requires a lot of the same logic and consistency as playing a deckbuilder. You have to stretch it out as far as you can because, if you misjudge your odds of finding a meal or how costly your actions are, you will simply die and have to start the whole game over again from the beginning. There's no one key trick to surviving. You have to tie together a lot of little things of gaming certain cards, tuning the odds on your successes, deciding when to use an item, deciding when to craft an item, where to craft an item, how to stack your items, etc. I think that I did poorly (and died) when I started the game because I was expecting it to be like Time Stories, and the "game" aspect only there to slow things down enough so that you didn't finish everything off in 10 minutes. It plays like you can go anywhere and do anything, and it's all la-dee-dah, then suddenly you realize how quick the deck is running out and how near you are to failing, despite still having not found anything of note. Then my second game, I was thinking, "Okay, well I just have to keep on the food." And so I spent about as much time hunting as I could, at every opportunity, but then it becomes clear that you're spending almost all of your time hunting, and you can't really move away from the hunt sites.... As Richard says in his thoughts, there's not really a story in the game. It's more of a slalom/obstacle course that you're expected to follow, and the question is whether you can manage your lifepool enough to let you survive the distance and survive all of the problems that you have on the way. To successfully explore and keep fed, you have to play the game like a deckbuilder. It's not Time Stories.
If u die, do you really have to start the game over? Why can't you backtrack your steps? Does it feel like cheating too much or makes the game not as fun?
I'd be interested in your opinion after playing some of the other curses - a few people seem to find it more and more boring the more time they spend with it (like No Pun Included), after 3 curses done and beginning the 4th with a group with 4 people I still enjoy it plenty. I guess it depends a lot on what you expect of the game (like you said, it's personal storytelling combined with lots of survival and exploration and not mainly a storytelling & exploration game). One of your complains made no sense to me though, each character DOES have a special skill they can use anytime (on their character card) that makes them special (and the botany character is always good at botany, her special skill lets her use another Botany Card's skill after discarding a card, whenever a plant is visible on your terrain - she is so damn powerful I doubt I'm ever gonna play with another character. ;>) I also doubt that in continuous games you'll waste as much time with puzzles if you get the answer wrong (Voracious Goddess took us almost 30 hours, all other curses were more between 3-10 hours), it's pretty much a thing that happens a lot in the first game (especially since VG sends you around a lot) - also, I feel like frustration is part of the game, even if you don't race through the game - if you don't stumble into a frustrating situation from time to time it's not the full experience. ;) Btw, we played the game for a week, 2-5 hours each evening and that was a nice experience, hope the slower playing pace makes the game more fun for you again too. :)
their special power is only available to them if they've got the right card in their hand at the right time. would just prefer one that they *always* have (i.e. this guy always gets a bonus to strength challenges becuase he's super strong, not because he has a certain type of card in his hand). just a minor complaint, like i said int he vid :)
It's relatively easy to have the right card in hand though and you rarely get anything for free in the game, so while I understand why you'd want a free, always usable skill that gives each character more of a personality, I feel like that would just make it all too easy (at least with the current skill sets, I already feel like the Botanist is one of the most powerful characters in the game, especially paired with Ferdinand..) and as soon as you get one of those permanent character cards into your hand, you have that skill as long as you want it and can usually use it "for free" (the only cost being that it takes up one of your precious hand slots). I've always imagined it like.. you arrive there, totally lost, confused, scared and whatnot and you first need calm down, get used to your surroundings and recollect your thoughts before being able to just skill your way out of the curse. It felt rather thematic to me tbh. ;)
Dave Dogge well.. Maybe.. You don't how much you of that is actually making it into the developer's pockets. The hourly rate is probably not tabt high if you calculate it.
If the board game designers are the publishers or joint publishers, they will sail away on their private boat and smoke a cigar as they wave goodbye to you.
Apparently after this print run they will no longer be making the game. Makes no sense to me. You have a popular, in demand product but refuse to sell in stores? This makes 0 business sense to me. I don't buy stuff from kickstarter directly due to the horror stories I've heard before. Rahdo I love your stuff but wish you would do more videos on stuff that's available in the retail market and not so focused on Kickstarter stuff always.
about 30% of the games i cover are kickstarter. and 90% of those will eventually be for available at retail. so i'm not sure if i agree with the "always" estimation...
It's just so much content, trying to offer traditional retailer/distributor cuts would double the price of the game. Retailers haven't been willing to take a smaller cut, and SP doesn't want to double the price on this already expensive game, the compromise is to only sell the game directly/through kickstarter.
Jonathan Politis $129 for the "rookie level" is still a bit much. If they increased the print number they could potentially bring the cost down due to bulk pricing on printing and supplies. I get what you are saying though.
I've seen some pretty compelling market analysis on the drop off in demand for kickstarter games post kickstarter. A game like this that was very successful on kickstarter does run the risk of over stocking for retail. They've almost certainly found the majority of their target audience. That coupled with their assertion that the retail price would be significantly high and they can only afford the current price because they are selling it direct (the same story as Mechs & Minions). It probably doesn't make sense for them to go to retail. Too much risk of actually losing money on the game. They said they might have a stock post the second kickstarter that they will sell direct off their website, but they've been pretty clear that they have no retail plans. You could wait for that OP, but I think this is a pretty low risk kickstarter now that it's their second print run. Just back it if you really want it. I own a copy from the first kickstarter campaign. It's a great game.
3 years later 7th Continent is in retail and I just ordered it. I have never seen Rahdo so exalted in final thoughts video!
I have been looking your videos for over a year now here in France, and I must say, Sir, that you are probably one of the most reliable boardgame youtube channel. Your videos are always precise and detailed. Thanks a lot for your work !
I love this game... I've played solo and died twice. About 30 hours total.... still haven't beat the first curse.... and STILL am excited to again. So good...
I love, love, love these revised final thoughts. I'd almost love to see this turn into a segment where you go back to old games and give your re-takes on them. Probably not possible at this point in time, but man, consider it for your scheduling as you look to slow down... just have a block of time for your own choice in games and have a quick-ish (doesn't have to be an hour, though I love it :)) re-think on it.
the tricky thing is i almost never revisit games because after i've filmed it, i have to move forward with other games
@@rahdo Seeing this in 2020, would this be more possible now with the help of Shea on your channel? I agree it would be a really cool segment.
@@aaronegerman2485 it's possible. right now i just want to get shea established, but once things are going smoothly, it will be interesting to see how things might evolve :)
@@rahdo So cool to see 2 years ago to today!
I had exactly that burnout feeling you mentioned, since I played around 2-3 hours every day during the holidays. I forced myself to wait at least 2 days inbetween sessions, and my experience with the game is so much better now. I'd strongly suggest not to play too much of it at a time. Take it in one step at a time, and stop when you want to continue the most.
One of your best final thoughts because it was fun watching you struggle to get out everything you wanted to say. It's always enjoyable to witness your genuine enthusiasm. I'm thinking you passed out right on the table as soon as the camera shutoff. Great to watch.
Once again you managed to echo all the thoughts I've been having since getting this game, but in a much clearer more eloquent fashion than I could ever manage!
It's a game that really sucks you in, and makes you question every single move you make. We've not finished the Voracious Goddess yet, but we're pretty far in, and we've come close to dying many times! Hunting and unlocking Advances Skills are the key to survival!
Great video, rahdo! :) Your enthusiam is really contagious. I have been enjoying this game a lot since it arrived, and have watched/read all the reviews I have been able to find. This is the most comprehensive overview of the game yet, I think. And you really do a good job of explaining some of the aspects of the game that sometimes get misunderstood (the fact that it's much more of a survival game than a story game, for example).
Your enthusiasm is exactly how I feel playing this game. I've already backed at the veteran level to get the extra bits
I was worried he was going to suffer from an aneurysm this time!
Fumi scroll through the thumbnails and look at his expressions. Priceless
I just went south 2 instead of east 10 and lost about 6 hours of gameplay on the Voracious Goddess curse. Now I'm having to backtrack through the entire continent to get back to the point I accidentally left... and I'm loving every second. What a fantastic game!
Having played 100+ hours of this with my GF, we love this game. One of the most enjoyable and unique gaming experiences I've ever had.
After a while, you get used to seeing some things over and over, but the underlying mechanic of the game is one of a cooperative optimization puzzle. So, even though you stop seeing new cards every turn, you still stay engaged because you really have to pay attention to what you're doing or you will run out of cards and die - even when you know what's coming.
And eventually you'll get to a point that you have seen 95% of the cards already - but then out of nowhere you get completely surprised by something new and that becomes hugely exciting, even if the card itself isn't that special or powerful. You can just never be certain you've learned "everything" unless you cheat and flip through the cards.
same here i have done over 100 hours and just recently saw a hidden number on a card i had already seen multiple times...was a great feeling...
So, do You think there is great replayability even after 100+ hours?
If what you desire is a constant stream of new cards and effects and images, no. Because eventually you will stop seeing new cards.
My point is that if you enjoy a cooperative puzzle the requires careful planning, and problem solving, then seeing old cards again isn't a bad thing, because you still have to manage those hazards and events in shifting patterns.
Your enthusiasm is contagious. I also watched your gameplay / thoughts on AuZtralia (which I pledged).
I would really love to get my hands on 7th Continent now!
I'm getting this and any content I missed from the first campaign. This might just be the holy grail in board games I've been searching for as far as exploration/adventure games go.
We love this game! It has been on our table since we received it in the mail. We regret, not purchasing any of the expansions. But we will be with the second kickstarter! (We are still on the Voracious Goddess as well.)
I think you might be playing an aspect of this game wrong - the rules say you are supposed to put all the 'past' cards BACK into the original deck before you start putting new cards on the table... Therefore you're not guaranteed to draw a new location every time you re-explore a tile (i.e. the game doesn't necessarily change after you've saved it).
Matthew Burgess you're correct I think.
Cards in "the past" go back to their place when saving.
This brings up a downside, long cleanup time.
Yeah I was thinking that too. When you save the game (or when you set it back up to continue) you sort aaaall those Past cards back into their correct places in the trays. Depending on the size of your map at the time, it can be a bit of a pain (for me it takes upwards of five-ten minutes, so it's not like the end of the world or anything). Only the banished cards go away forever.
Yeah, oddly the rules specifically state to start every game with putting the past cards back in the box, but we quickly decided we'd rather pack them away at the end of every game instead. There didn't appear to be any difference to doing it this way (although there would have been if, as Rahdo says, you draw different cards first... but this doesn't appear to be the case).
you're supposed to redistribute the past cards back into place only once you get to a moment where you have to draw a card and it's not available. so if you explore card 637 (making one up) and you can see it has multiple variants, if you move away from it to an adjacent card, save your game, and then reload, and then move back on to 637, you'll get to draw one of the variants (because there are still cards to draw), since the past won't need to get reset yet :)
Hey Rahdo, thanks for getting back to me :-) Please could you let me know where to find that rule? I'm a little confused because page 9 of the rule book says that Past Cards "must be returned to the deck between two game sessions," and page 21 says that when resuming a game, step one is to "return all the cards in the past to their place in their respective original deck."
When "Resuming the Game" after a save all cards in the past are returned to original places, so unless the card is banished you might see it again. Pretty sweet concept.
16:10 -
I far as I can remember, the rules tells that you can reach a companion or a fire if there is a continuous path of terrain cards between you and your companion/fire.
this move isn't free ! you must pay the card's cost minus 1, so i't only free when the card's cost is 1...
Furthermore, you must go on the card he is within, you can't decide to go in whatever card id in between.
correct, i don't think i said otherwise, did i?
Yes Rahdo ! ;) 16:30. You show the tile where there isn't any fire nor companion and you explain you can go there by fast tracking. But With your answer, I know that you know the correct rule so no problem !:)
actually, what i was talking about at that moment is correct. you can travel as far as you want, only paying the energy cost of the card you're at, provided all the inbetween cards are connected with no "bridges". there doesn't' have to be a friend or a fire where you're moving to, to be able to do this. on top of this, if there is a friend or fire at your final destination, there's a discount applied from the initial cost you pay.
So I learnt something ! :) thanks !
At 49:33 you mention the standee, mini and little token. The little token wasn't meant to be used as a location marker, it was included so you can randomly select characters. You shuffle all the player's character's tokens and randomly draw one. :) It mentions it in the rules.
that makes sense! :)
noted... thanks
@rahdo the tokens with the characters on are meant for when the game asks you to pick a random player.
ah, thanks! i was wondering what those were for! :)
Wanted to back it... but i am a bit reluctant now because you mentioned that i has 'unlock' like elements in it. Me and my wife didn't enjoy unlock... to frustrating puzzles... but we love storytelling/exploration... do you think we would like it? Should we only buy the basebox or do we best buy the expansions also? Thanks!
bear in mind, as i said in the video, there's very little storytelling in the game. i can't really say if you'd like it, but you can go watch the original runthrough and try to get a feel for it
I'm backing this game! Thanks Rahdo.
I did not know the fast travel rule, so we have been paying tons of energy on moving from terain to terrain all the time. However it was not really a big issue for us.
Is it worth to get all the expansions? Or should I just get the main box plus the biggest expansion? I'm a little short on money but I know I won't be able to get them anymore once the kickstarter campaign is over
one way to look at it is if you get everything and decide to sell the game on later if it doesn't work out for you, you'll get a much higher price if you have the complete set...
Been trying to find a board game to play with my family this Christmas. Last year I bought Catan and we've played it dozens of times since then. This game looks entirely different and much more complicated but really cool and I think it's something we'd like.
Unfortunately they don't sell it on Amazon. The creator's website says the shipping time is 7-10 days - which feels like we're in the stone ages. I know that sounds jaded but Amazon spoils us. It wouldn't get here in time for Christmas :/
Thanks for doing the update :) 40 minutes to go but I asked for your thoughts. And best point for the new kickstarter
@radho did you sleeve all your cards?
i sleeves all the action deck cards (the ones that goe in the draw and discard piles). those cards get handled A LOT and so it makes sense to sleeve them, but all the other ones, no. they get drawn, sit on the table, and do nothing else. plus, if you sleeves ALL of them, they won't all fit in the nice card trays that come in the box. but you can sleeves probably around 100 or so and everything still fits :)
cool awesome. thanks makes me decide better on the amount of sleeves to get.
I love this review... I’ve been on the fence for a while now and you just made me go on Amazon and buy it! It arrives later today!! I can’t wait and your review pushed me over the edge!!! Thank you!
It's been over 6 months and first wave is being delivered to 2nd edition backers
Have you won the Voracious Goddess's curse?
What about the other curses?
Has your opinion changed on this game since?
i haven't had a chance to play it at all... i very rarely get to go back and play games after i've filmed a runthrough for them, as i'm always moving forward to the next game to cover...
I love your reviews, walkthroughs and final thoughts, I think you’re one of the most competent guys in the board gaming world. Your analysis for this game is lovely and has been tremendously important for my decision to buy this game.
That said, I don’t fully agree with your slight complaints on off-tracking riddles and items upfront usage, though I can clearly see that wasted real-life time and in-game resources can feel very bad.
1. The choice to use the item later during an action for half its effect could be a gaming mechanic to alleviate consumption in unnecessary times but it would not be very realistic. In your waterfall climbing example, it would mean that you could throw the rope while you are falling down after you slipped 🤔 In a real situation, you don’t know if you would be able to overcome any difficulty without using helping items, but since you are risking your life, the choice is between risking to get seriously hurt and die or hit on the durability of your item. I think the system is quite thematic because it forces you to even more tense decisions.
2. The wasted hours following a wrong clue can be disheartening, I get it. But you spent those hours exploring in an exploration game. I know that lifting the curse is the end goal here, but this game is all about the journey, not the destination, like you just said. And anyway here comes the power of campfires. You know when your going down a path following a clue and you are taking into account the chance you misinterpreted the clues. I’d say that’s the best time to lay down a firecamp. Sure, if you get far away from it, it will eventually be sucked up into the Past. Anyway, you can travel back to whatever connected terrain even without the campfire discount.
The time you “wasted” you’re surely have acquired new knowledge, some new items, maybe a new companion... in the end you’ll have explored some other parts of the continent, which is the core of this game.
3. Death is part of the bargain here even though it hurts dying after spending 15-20 hours on the continent. But then again, you can jump back in with a fresh knowledge of its perils and maybe next time you will have an easier time because you’ll know when and where to focus your resources and energy
Just backed it after missing out last time. It sounds really cool, thanks for the heads up Richard.
I got mine, thanks Rahdo, I wouldnt have got this otherwise.
Hey Richard, I get your enthusiasm about "saving" the game, but I remember your video about your new gaming table. Surely you must use your table's boards to covering the gaming area, rather than putting everything away every time you need to use the table for something else than gaming?
see faq.rahdo.com #17 :)
With only two cards left, if you die will you start again? We died after 3 hours (we got caught up in exploring and forgot to hunt) but it was a bit of a bummer to feel like we have to start from scratch
i have the 777 card, so i'm not too worried aobut it. plus we're only a couple of cards away from hunting ground, and have a lot of godo weapons, so we're okay :)
Sounds like those tweaks you'd like to see (and I seem to agree with them) can easily be tweaked with house rules without being a cheat.
I have a question, It seems i cannot find anywhere the 7th Continent. I have looked to a lot of board game stores but they donot have it. I only can buy it online???
yes, originally 7th continent was a kickstarter exclusive title, so you can't get it anymore. they've developed a 'classic edition' that you can buy from them directly on their website, but that's about it. supposedly the classic edition will be available in stores at some time, but there's been no concrete details...
@@rahdo thx a lot cause i was looking for 7th continent and the Sleeping gods they both look great and your playthrough was great and very helpful. I will order it after the pandemic finish.
Fabulous review. Can’t wait to get this game! Not a fan on the idea with the retrospective item use in a game like this though. If you don’t use your rope to climb a cliff and you fall what sort of master rodeo rider are you that whips it out mid drop to hook it on the cliff and save yourself? It’s a bit of a luck thing sure but that’s life :D
Great review. Prob are red herrings (I remember in the fighting fantasy books they had red herrings) and this is that in a board game. Riddles can be hard, or maybe I am not always good at them :-(
This game is tough but fair. Clues are everywhere - if you can see them. Hidden in the little narrative descriptions, or on the card's artwork.
Hi Richard, just curious how you and Jen handled the "freeform turn" mechanic. It seems this could result in alpha gamer behavior, and I would feel bad if I was taking 3 turns in a row compared to 1 from my partner. Would you say it is necessary to play/finish the game? Or would a normal "taking turns" approach be fine? Thanks and great video!
we never found it to be an issue. we just did things as it seemed natural. sometimes we'd split up, sometimes we'd stick together. often it's wise for one character or another to be the lead on a given action because of items or skills that player has, and sometimes one action leads to another. often, both player contribute to the same action, and again it's just a matter of choosing who is the 'lead' before you do it. we don't usually bother with that, and it's just the person who said "lets do this" is the lead :)
but, if u solve a riddle, or explore an event on a tile..won't that kill the fun in playing the game again? cuz u already know the answers or what choice is what?
the gameplay is about resource management. riddles are only a small garnish on the main meal
rahdo ah i see, thanks so much for both the answer and review! One last question, if you don't mind.. this or gloomhaven?
I will most likely be playing solo (or with my wife) both same amazing but price of the game and its shipping would stop me from getting both.
So i guess me question is...if u had to get only one, what would u get? :)
for us, gloomhaven, but we'd keeping both
This or Gloomhaven?
difficult one, if you are into dungeon crawlers Gloomhaven is the right choice, this is now on Kickstarter again today so it is tempting ... www.kickstarter.com/projects/1926712971/the-7th-continent-what-goes-up-must-come-down/
I have both but still haven't played Gloomhaven yet. From what I've read, I think 7th Continent may be easier to get to the table even though completing a curse takes many hours. Saving and restarting is a breeze.
Both. Why choose?
Nicolò Marcato inn
Fumi Downing money and time for most people I will assume
Can players drop in and out of a play through? If I start with 4 but a player is unable to make the next session can we drop to 3 players and pick up with 4 later on or will that throw everything off?
there are drop in/drop out guildlines in the rulebook which you can download here: the7thcontinent.seriouspoulp.com/documents/t7c/The7thContinent_rulebook.pdf
it's on one of the last 5 pages
Thanks for your prompt reply. I'm torn between starting it off with my wife or my gaming group and your answer was helpful, as is all your content!
How is the replay ability if you were to repeat a curse? If I run through the Voracious Goddess with the Mrs. would it be a lame experience to then go and play it with my gaming group?
there's very little storytelling in the game, so you could replay a curse i think. you'd know where to go and could be more effecient, so you'd probably have to increase the difficulty to match. but why do the same curse again when you've got so many others? :)
Ha, good point. It just seemed Voracious Goddess was the place to start to get people into the game. I'll just have to play around with it when it arrives. It sounds like there is a good chance the first round through will end in failure any way and give the opportunity to shake things up.
Thanks again for your feedback. Your commitment to replying to your viewers is admirable.
Thanks for Your thoughts! So, why, despite your overall delight, the rating only 8.56?
Only? That is high.
yup, that's very high. it's easily going to make my top10 of the year :)
He rates it even lower now. 8.437. It just misses his top 100 games at 101. I would have expected it to be closer to Gloomhaven based on his final thoughts.
Richard, I know you are going down in time for video's. But men, you are on fire on the long ones.....:D Great stuff as always!
I remember you said sleeping God was the best exploration game have you changed your tune?
not sure i understand. i filmed this in 2017, two years before i had played sleeping gods :)
@@rahdo hey Rahdo thanks for the reply cool cool that explains why but I noticed that sleeping Gods wasn't listed in your top 100 but 7th continent was
@@john515beach i talked about this in a recent Q&A or podcast episode but don't remember which one it was. basically, i'm heavily invested in 7C because i bought all the expansion content, and the reality is that if i had time to spend time revisting a game i'd already covered, it would be 7c because i have so much invested, and so SG wouldn't get a revisit even though i think it's a better game. so i sent it to the dice tower west library so that other folks could enjoy it (and because i simply don't have enough shelf space to keep everything i want). i do hope to get to it someday though, but probably not until after i retire from doing rahdo runs through
@@rahdo no problemo hey any chance you could do another Rahdo board game collection 2022?
@@john515beach i've kept doing them, but they're one of my monthly 'ramble' vlog videos at the $2/month backer level on my patreon :)
It sounds a tad bit like "Tales of the Arabian Nights", rather than a book you'll use cards and yes there's a lot more to this game, although it still sounds like a story telling game. I haven't played or have I seen the game, just an observation based on the final thoughts.
Funnily enough we had Arabian Nights delivered at around the same time as this. I have to say there's barely any comparison. Arabian nights leans heavily on storytelling and decision making/morailty, whereas in this the story elements are there more to add flavour than anything else. It's really more about exploration/survival. Both great games though!
Next time Jen is in the UK get her to post a model or two to me and I'll paint them up and send them back to her :-)
i dunno... she's really proud of her sharpee work :)
Hey Rahdo and viewers, This game looks awesome - however does anyone think that this style game might be better to leave in the video game realm? IE, are there video games with a similar concept that might possibly be AS good an experience, and easier/cheaper to play/obtain? Obviously 7thC provides a basic advantage of being a tangible, face to face experience, and I appreciate that very much as I'm mainly a board/card game hobbyist at heart and own many euro/ameritrash games for exactly that experience. But I do find myself considering if this TYPE of game is worth the time/$ investment, especially if it ends up being mainly soloplay for me. Really this could potentially apply to many dungeon crawl style games as well. Curious for folks thoughts on this.
I dont play solo, so I can not speak to that, but this is the most fun time I have had with a game. You get to sit together ex, make decisions, explore, and try to survive with people you love, something that does not have even remotely the same feel in a similar style video game. A video game would probably be cheaper to obtain though.
if you're playing exclusively solo, i guess i'd say that video games make more sense, just from a convenience/price standpoint...
I've played exclusively solo, and I wouldn't trade this for a video game (even though I love the open world/suvival games like Fallout, skyrim and don't starve). The puzzles and clues and hidden information just makes this game so unlike anything I've seen in video games. Such a great game, I can't wait to get home and keep playing!
Amazing Video. Lots of passion. Thank you. :)
Thanks for your thoughts, Richard. I would like to know your thoughts after finishing 3-6 curses as some have mentioned it becoming stale especially that exploration ends after the first curse. I am hesitant to invest in such a game where everything feels the same after the first or second curse.
You mentioned that saving the game thematically represents the next day. Do you reset your energy deck as well since you are resting/sleeping? Thanks!
There are many ways to get cards back in your deck, but eating food is the main one.
Saving does not always mean Day/Night
probably not going to be another update update, as i rarely get to go back and revisit games... i'm always moving on to the next one. but anyone who complains about the game getting stale, IMO, is pushing to hard and just needs to take a break from the game and come back after a couple of weeks to let it refresh in their minds. playing a game relentlessly 3 or 4 hours a day, 7 days a week... yeah it'll get stale under those circumstances! :)
saving officially means "let some time pass" according to the rules, but there's no defintion of how much time passes. but resting doesn't give you energy back... you gotsta eat! :)
Thank you both for your replies, keeping in mind some aspects like survival and taking it steady before getting into this game is a great advice and an important factor for longevity of the game 👍
Are you playing "easy" or "hardcore" mode? Or just normal?
i'm using the 777 card :)
Excellent and balanced review!
Got the link to the map?
www.boardgamegeek.com/filepage/152248/7th-continent-map-numbers :)
Sucks they don't sell this anywhere and they don't seem to be doing another kickstarter. Their twitter account hasn't even tweeted in like a year and a half. :(
They've stated they're finished with this game and aren't doing another kickstarter. The overall cost is too high to hit retail by the time they mark it up for stores then mark it up again for consumers
Available on Amazon now 😉
@12:05 Jen drew a bear
And she bearly eked out a solution and we bearly...
I see what you did there Richard :) Bearly made a pun!
I really enjoyed this game, even after dying three times on the first curse so far! I didn't add the expansions from the first KS, hopefully picking them up in the second KS.
Thanks for the update and thanks for your thoughts on this. "This is such a huge world to explore, I mean we're talking Vice City level!" :)
Wonder if he liked it or not.
Haha! 50-min Final Thoughts. :) Truly epic.
I've heard that, due to its length, this game tends to feel samey and unfulfilling after a curse or two. I know you're "merely" 15 hrs in, but any thoughts on that?
Haha, ok - your burnout thoughts in the last 10 minutes answered it.
I found the same thing with Time Stories - we one-shotted The Marcy Case and we were just trying to Get 'Er Done for the last hour and a half. Not as much fun as the fine wine approach.
Thanks for the insights, as always.
Hi Mate, i have played through all 7 of the curses (over 100 hours total) and there was only one curse that i didn't enjoy because it didn't really introduce anything new...it was the third one i played. the rest i really enjoyed as they introduced new things, so even though a lot of the time you were exploring the same areas there were new things to interact with or new areas that opened up
12:40 "emergent gameplay"
I was wondering if you lose the game after playing 13 hours, will you run the same curse again?
you don't have to, but you'll probably want to. also, the game does give you one "extra life" so that if you die once, you can continue from where you are :)
Also, you already have knowledge of the route, interactions and events, so it will take you far less to get to the point when you perished before....
This long video commentary and review is awesome. You nailed a lot of very good points and you took the time to explain a lot. Your video is aging well.
holy hell, this is a lot of thinking
This game sounds so awesome BUT Really annoyed that I didnt hear about this game coming out when it did so I could actually purchased a copy of it.
Ross there is a trimmed down version coming to retail shortly, if not there already.
A friend of mine has Myth, which we love (after figuring out the rules). Main problem I have with it is the 3-5 hour play sessions needed, with a 20 minute setup and a 30-40 minutes break down. And some of it is due to the random dice roll, and the skipping turns to get a certain card to fight Yardu. I also don't like the feeling of an uncompleted game, or a completed game that had components removed to charge as expansions (much like certain DLC). I don't like certain quest lines asking you to put X quest in the quest deck only to find we need to buy some expansion to get the Quest.
I like the idea of exploration based gameplay, and if it takes a while to get back to the game, this can feel like a new game (though we can record the map to help speed things up). And some people don't like the theme/creatures of Myth, which this seems to put away. To hear the story is the adventure, not really a set story is pretty cool, as it makes me feel I can replay the game without knowing the story completely. Making this better for replaying than Time Stories, This Story of Mine, Above and Below, and Near and Far. And this doesn't have the Legacy style trappings, that I don't like that make replaying not possible.
Can anyone tell me if this game involves any Cthulhu, demon, or supernatural elements? I'm not talking about the initial curse thing. I need to know, preferably without any specifics, so I don't offend certain friends who don't like or are sensitive to those subjects.
So I randomly click on this video, and while I listen to it I randomly click on local boardgaming ads where it just happens 7th Continent is just put on sale... and now I somehow have way less money then 30 minutes ago. WHAT HAPPENED?
I'm on the fence on backing this game, maybe Rahdo or anyone else, who's played it can help me decide? I am very much a "euro gamer", the most important feature of the game for me is an ability to make meaningful strategic decisions. That means, a game must require me to think for me to like it (it doesn't need to be heavy, I like light euro games too). So far the only exception for this was Time Stories. A game, which doesn't have any strategy and is almost purely luck-based. However, I still very much enjoyed the exploration aspect of the game. So, as far as I can tell, 7th Continent has few minor strategic decisions and I would buy it mostly for the exploration aspect. But, does the exploration aspect wear off in time? I worry that after some time this game would start to feel as an ameritrash luck-based game, where you are just hoping to draw the right card and guess the right tools to use, without any actual strategy, while enjoyment of exploration is strongly diminished.
I'm not a Euro-gamer, but I like this game a LOT. There is luck involved, but it's not dice rolling luck.
Everything you do is an action, which has a defined number of successes required to pass. In most cases you can draw extra cards (or use tools) to increase the chance of success, BUT those are finite resources, and so every single action you do you have to decide "Is drawing the extra card worth it? If I did this in a different way, could I do it more efficiently?"
Because the truth is, EVERY card used from the deck matters. You can get them back, but over time it gets harder to do it as effectively, so there is a constant pressure to be as efficient as possible.
Managing the action deck is a significant aspect of the game. Figuring out how to game it is pretty vital to your long-term survival on the Continent, and it requires a lot of the same logic and consistency as playing a deckbuilder. You have to stretch it out as far as you can because, if you misjudge your odds of finding a meal or how costly your actions are, you will simply die and have to start the whole game over again from the beginning.
There's no one key trick to surviving. You have to tie together a lot of little things of gaming certain cards, tuning the odds on your successes, deciding when to use an item, deciding when to craft an item, where to craft an item, how to stack your items, etc. I think that I did poorly (and died) when I started the game because I was expecting it to be like Time Stories, and the "game" aspect only there to slow things down enough so that you didn't finish everything off in 10 minutes. It plays like you can go anywhere and do anything, and it's all la-dee-dah, then suddenly you realize how quick the deck is running out and how near you are to failing, despite still having not found anything of note. Then my second game, I was thinking, "Okay, well I just have to keep on the food." And so I spent about as much time hunting as I could, at every opportunity, but then it becomes clear that you're spending almost all of your time hunting, and you can't really move away from the hunt sites....
As Richard says in his thoughts, there's not really a story in the game. It's more of a slalom/obstacle course that you're expected to follow, and the question is whether you can manage your lifepool enough to let you survive the distance and survive all of the problems that you have on the way. To successfully explore and keep fed, you have to play the game like a deckbuilder. It's not Time Stories.
Have you encountered or do you know of an cthulhu elements in this game? I really hate cthulhu haha
other than Lovecraft being a playable character there is really no Cthulhu stuff.
james sendy awesome, thanks for the quick reply!
If u die, do you really have to start the game over? Why can't you backtrack your steps? Does it feel like cheating too much or makes the game not as fun?
iirc i think there is a 'more laid back' option for somethign like this. for us, we like the fear... forces us to stay on our toes a bit more :)
I Grock it!
Damn you man, watching your videos cost serious money when im teetering at the brink of turning away from ks :D
I'd be interested in your opinion after playing some of the other curses - a few people seem to find it more and more boring the more time they spend with it (like No Pun Included), after 3 curses done and beginning the 4th with a group with 4 people I still enjoy it plenty. I guess it depends a lot on what you expect of the game (like you said, it's personal storytelling combined with lots of survival and exploration and not mainly a storytelling & exploration game).
One of your complains made no sense to me though, each character DOES have a special skill they can use anytime (on their character card) that makes them special (and the botany character is always good at botany, her special skill lets her use another Botany Card's skill after discarding a card, whenever a plant is visible on your terrain - she is so damn powerful I doubt I'm ever gonna play with another character. ;>)
I also doubt that in continuous games you'll waste as much time with puzzles if you get the answer wrong (Voracious Goddess took us almost 30 hours, all other curses were more between 3-10 hours), it's pretty much a thing that happens a lot in the first game (especially since VG sends you around a lot) - also, I feel like frustration is part of the game, even if you don't race through the game - if you don't stumble into a frustrating situation from time to time it's not the full experience. ;) Btw, we played the game for a week, 2-5 hours each evening and that was a nice experience, hope the slower playing pace makes the game more fun for you again too. :)
their special power is only available to them if they've got the right card in their hand at the right time. would just prefer one that they *always* have (i.e. this guy always gets a bonus to strength challenges becuase he's super strong, not because he has a certain type of card in his hand). just a minor complaint, like i said int he vid :)
It's relatively easy to have the right card in hand though and you rarely get anything for free in the game, so while I understand why you'd want a free, always usable skill that gives each character more of a personality, I feel like that would just make it all too easy (at least with the current skill sets, I already feel like the Botanist is one of the most powerful characters in the game, especially paired with Ferdinand..) and as soon as you get one of those permanent character cards into your hand, you have that skill as long as you want it and can usually use it "for free" (the only cost being that it takes up one of your precious hand slots). I've always imagined it like.. you arrive there, totally lost, confused, scared and whatnot and you first need calm down, get used to your surroundings and recollect your thoughts before being able to just skill your way out of the curse. It felt rather thematic to me tbh. ;)
yup, like i said, it's a minor complaint... more thematic than anything else.
They've passed $1,000,000 for this 2nd Kickstarter for 7th Continent. who said that there was no money in board games and card games ?
Dave Dogge well.. Maybe.. You don't how much you of that is actually making it into the developer's pockets. The hourly rate is probably not tabt high if you calculate it.
The first 24 hours reached $1,500,000! This game is going places!
If the board game designers are the publishers or joint publishers, they will sail away on their private boat and smoke a cigar as they wave goodbye to you.
A lot of other reviewers didn’t like this game. I listened to them and saved money. Rahdo hates Dragonfire that’s how I knew I would like it
minor Spoiler:
Dare you copied the amulet I solved it by drawing it by hand.
hehe, when jen was half way through her photoshopping, i started trying to sketch it out, but then she finished ahead of me
The whole only on kick starter is such a money grab. It should not be legal you talk something through twice in any fashion.
actually i think they'll be offering a parred back version direct to retail soon, don't know details tho
If you ever decide this game is taking up too much space on your shelf, would you please give it to me? I'd love to play this for the rest of my life.
Please be concise & less repetitive. An hour review is too long, especially when your complaint is time.
I'm afraid my channel isnt' what you're looking for
Apparently after this print run they will no longer be making the game. Makes no sense to me. You have a popular, in demand product but refuse to sell in stores? This makes 0 business sense to me. I don't buy stuff from kickstarter directly due to the horror stories I've heard before. Rahdo I love your stuff but wish you would do more videos on stuff that's available in the retail market and not so focused on Kickstarter stuff always.
about 30% of the games i cover are kickstarter. and 90% of those will eventually be for available at retail. so i'm not sure if i agree with the "always" estimation...
It's just so much content, trying to offer traditional retailer/distributor cuts would double the price of the game. Retailers haven't been willing to take a smaller cut, and SP doesn't want to double the price on this already expensive game, the compromise is to only sell the game directly/through kickstarter.
Jonathan Politis $129 for the "rookie level" is still a bit much. If they increased the print number they could potentially bring the cost down due to bulk pricing on printing and supplies. I get what you are saying though.
I've seen some pretty compelling market analysis on the drop off in demand for kickstarter games post kickstarter. A game like this that was very successful on kickstarter does run the risk of over stocking for retail. They've almost certainly found the majority of their target audience. That coupled with their assertion that the retail price would be significantly high and they can only afford the current price because they are selling it direct (the same story as Mechs & Minions). It probably doesn't make sense for them to go to retail. Too much risk of actually losing money on the game. They said they might have a stock post the second kickstarter that they will sell direct off their website, but they've been pretty clear that they have no retail plans. You could wait for that OP, but I think this is a pretty low risk kickstarter now that it's their second print run. Just back it if you really want it. I own a copy from the first kickstarter campaign. It's a great game.
phillosmaster it's funny you brought up techs and minions because id like to get that game as well