I posted the following on my Foxpaw review as there's so much drama going on around this game that unfortunately I have to pin an update, I am pinning it here as well. 1) The game (or at least the prototype) uses AI art, I commented in the video on the mismatched art style but I didn't know it uses AI art when I covered it. I suspected but didn't know. To be clear, I have mixed feelings on AI art in general, this isn't me condoning or praising it, just factual. Meaning I don't like the use of AI art here, because of the results. That's a different conversation than the ethical usage of it. 2) The publisher is having a lot of drama around a lot of issues on BGG, I have read through the threads but have not validated any of it. I am not defending or accusing as that requires a lot more work verifying to be comfortable doing, rather I am posting this here so you can do your own research and decide on your own comfort levels. I will say that none of it is a good look if true.
Gamers lose their minds over AI art but show no concern about the music they listen to being generated by a computer, putting musicians out of work. No problem watching super hero movies that are 90% cgi, eliminating the jobs of set builders and stunt performers. No problem driving cars put together by machines, eliminating jobs on the assembly line. Etc… this list is endless. The gaming community loves to show off their top tier selective outrage.
Personally, AI art isn't an issue. They disclosed that and as long as AI is just a tool and not the artist I have no issue. The issue I find with Foxpaw is the large amount of posts possibly skewing the perception of the game over on BGG by those that appear to be representative of this game. There were also multiple comments by the creator or other representative that were rather snarky and rude. I plan to monitor this game more in hopes this public prescription isn't accurate. The concept of the game does look appealing.
Well a fact is that the publisher lied and said that the account "Lilly Williams" would be their new international PR manager from the US. After people found out, that this is indeed a fake account managed by Andreas Godot, the account with all its many posts was instantly deleted. This is a fact! Another fact is that the publisher claims that 5 international artists were working on Foxpaw, but they refuse (!) to name any of these artists. Why? Now people are wondering if they lied about the "international" artists as well, as they lied with their "international" PR manager before. These are no accusations, but facts that got 100% validated. The deleted account of the fake PR manager is a fact. Them hiding the names of the artists is another fact. Godot games using an alias Georg D. (who never existed) to hide the use of AI art on BGG for other Godot projects is another fact.
at this point I feel like I am losing the value that I was getting from "to back or not to back", because Alex is trying to blaze through all of these games at such speeds, that he is basically just glossing over the games, he basically now just mentions the name of the game, a very vague and broad spectrum explanation of what you will be doing in the game, he mentions the different pledge levels there are, says whether he thinks it'll hold its value or not, and that's it. I feel like I don't really learn anything about the game itself anymore, I love you Alex, I have been with your channel almost since the beginning, and I sincerely want you to grow, but because I love your channel I want to speak from my heart and tell you that you are going way too fast, to the point where these "to back or not to back" videos could basically be an email, like a bullet point of the games, what category of mechanics they fall into, and whether they would hold their value or not, I wish you spoke slower and delved deeper into what the game is doing different or what does it innovate, what a turn would feel like, what other games it compares to, how it synergizes known mechanics with others ones, what games it is borrowing from? I don't know, I just feel like now I am not learning much about the game and in the past it wasn't like this, anyways, this truly is constructive criticism. here's a thought: what if instead of doing a 30 or 45 minutes long video covering 7 games, instead you made a "to back or not to back" video per campaign, you can watch another content creator's playthrough, if there is one (just a couple of turns, not the whole game), maybe gloss over the rule book if there is one, and right there and then with all of that fresh in your mind you make a 10 minute video covering the campaign and sharing your thoughts of the game going more in depth on the mechanics. Maybe you could try this format for a month and see how it fares? anyways, these are just my two cents, I might be totally wrong, wish you all the best and hopefully you can hit 100K subs soon 😊
I agree, I skip the small campaigns no one has heard of. If they are good I’ll pick them up once we have confirmation after they’ve delivered. In reality we never hear from them again.
If you want deeper dives into the games, you should be watching Shelf Clutter. He goes deeper into the games and mechanics, and also does giveaways to win the games most weeks.
I don’t know why I continue to watch this video series when I’m trying to not back anything in 2025. Of course I’m now interested in both of your picks of the week….
i dont mean to be rude. but if you are making a video to help people to back or not to back.. you shud start with talking slower.. you talk so fast.. that i cant keep up sometimes with what your saying.. feels like you just wanna get done and leave.
I sometimes do and sometimes don't, although I certainly don't hide it as a general rule and am very upfront about it. Unfortunately I've had people tell me they want me to disclose it more and people tell me they want me to stop disclosing everything in every video. When there is a clear desire from the audience I will usually follow it, but when there isn't, I realize I will never make everyone happy, and I choose what comes naturally instead. I understand you might not like that answer and that's ok; it's the unfortunate reality that I can't make everyone happy when there are conflicting opinions.
@BoardGameCo ethics aren't really about making everyone happy or meeting clear desires from your audience. Best practice would be disclose conflicts of interest.
I don't think Foxpaw "will hold it's value". I backed Human Punishment: The Beginning from the same publisher years ago for 109€, just that the "KS exclusive" game popped up in my local game store weeks after for much cheaper. My unopened copy sits on Ebay for 30€ for 3 years straight. I just can't get rid of it.
I think it will hold it's value. Human Punishment: The Beginning was unfortunately a very complicated game with a very very special mechanic (weird mix of social deduction, pick up and deliver, tableau building) and a theme which also isn't everybodies cup of tea (Cyberpunk) from a small German indie publisher. But their first game, the original Human Punishment, is a great and more focused game. And same goes for Among Cultists, which the released after HP: The Beginning. And Foxpaw is worker placement, it seems to be very well designed und focused from the gameplay point of view and it has a theme which much more people can connect to, since it is Harry Potter without the official license. 🙂
The original Human Punishment is a very different beast than the follow up campaigns they have had...and even then I acknowledge it's not quite clear it will hold its value.
@@BoardGameCo Yeah, it's still an indie publisher in the end. It's not as safe as if you buy a game from Awaken Realms or so. 🙂 So you should primarily back Foxpaw if you are really intrigued by idea of the theme and the theme. I meant in first place, that it could actually be a great game, which more people could be interested in. But to be honest. It might be that this is my perspective as a German since here it is probably much more present on the local RUclips channels as international. 🙂 But Among Cultists also had a really big buzz among Social Deduction fans. Most people I know, LOVE that game. 🙂
@@thepikay4378Among Cultists All-In in availavble with all 3 expansions for 45€ on german ebay (kleinanzeigen). I also read on BGG that they mainly used Ai art for Foxpaw, so now I'm out.
Foxpaw is getting a lot of hate for alleged AI art. I do think bad art can have an effect on the experience (I dislike art made by Javier Cava, so I kinda avoid games with his art), but to give the game a 1 star on BGG for it is ridiculous. Why?
It’s not “alleged” it has been confirmed by the devs that essentially all their art was created by AI. Their artists just touched up the AI art but they didn’t create anything
@@miliyn17Yeah well, so...? I think people should get used to it. A.I. will be the future standard tool and will get even better and more powerful. It's funny, how people always react with great hate to new technology, especially if it affects people's jobs. But instead adapting and learning to use these things, they are complaining. In the end the new techs always become the standard, because the provide advantages and make things easier and that's what people accept and want in the longterm. Always. You can only adapt and change with the times you are living in.
@@thepikay4378maybe its less about the look of AI art but the fact that its creation is based on existing art done by artist that might have not agreed to having their work be the source of whatever you are planing to use the AI art for. Its one thing if you use AI art for private use, but if you use it commercially, its also does have an aftertaste of robbing the artists of their pay(however much that might be).
I posted the following on my Foxpaw review as there's so much drama going on around this game that unfortunately I have to pin an update, I am pinning it here as well.
1) The game (or at least the prototype) uses AI art, I commented in the video on the mismatched art style but I didn't know it uses AI art when I covered it. I suspected but didn't know. To be clear, I have mixed feelings on AI art in general, this isn't me condoning or praising it, just factual. Meaning I don't like the use of AI art here, because of the results. That's a different conversation than the ethical usage of it.
2) The publisher is having a lot of drama around a lot of issues on BGG, I have read through the threads but have not validated any of it. I am not defending or accusing as that requires a lot more work verifying to be comfortable doing, rather I am posting this here so you can do your own research and decide on your own comfort levels. I will say that none of it is a good look if true.
Gamers lose their minds over AI art but show no concern about the music they listen to being generated by a computer, putting musicians out of work. No problem watching super hero movies that are 90% cgi, eliminating the jobs of set builders and stunt performers. No problem driving cars put together by machines, eliminating jobs on the assembly line. Etc… this list is endless. The gaming community loves to show off their top tier selective outrage.
Personally, AI art isn't an issue. They disclosed that and as long as AI is just a tool and not the artist I have no issue.
The issue I find with Foxpaw is the large amount of posts possibly skewing the perception of the game over on BGG by those that appear to be representative of this game. There were also multiple comments by the creator or other representative that were rather snarky and rude.
I plan to monitor this game more in hopes this public prescription isn't accurate. The concept of the game does look appealing.
Well a fact is that the publisher lied and said that the account "Lilly Williams" would be their new international PR manager from the US. After people found out, that this is indeed a fake account managed by Andreas Godot, the account with all its many posts was instantly deleted. This is a fact! Another fact is that the publisher claims that 5 international artists were working on Foxpaw, but they refuse (!) to name any of these artists. Why? Now people are wondering if they lied about the "international" artists as well, as they lied with their "international" PR manager before. These are no accusations, but facts that got 100% validated. The deleted account of the fake PR manager is a fact. Them hiding the names of the artists is another fact. Godot games using an alias Georg D. (who never existed) to hide the use of AI art on BGG for other Godot projects is another fact.
at this point I feel like I am losing the value that I was getting from "to back or not to back", because Alex is trying to blaze through all of these games at such speeds, that he is basically just glossing over the games, he basically now just mentions the name of the game, a very vague and broad spectrum explanation of what you will be doing in the game, he mentions the different pledge levels there are, says whether he thinks it'll hold its value or not, and that's it.
I feel like I don't really learn anything about the game itself anymore, I love you Alex, I have been with your channel almost since the beginning, and I sincerely want you to grow, but because I love your channel I want to speak from my heart and tell you that you are going way too fast, to the point where these "to back or not to back" videos could basically be an email, like a bullet point of the games, what category of mechanics they fall into, and whether they would hold their value or not, I wish you spoke slower and delved deeper into what the game is doing different or what does it innovate, what a turn would feel like, what other games it compares to, how it synergizes known mechanics with others ones, what games it is borrowing from? I don't know, I just feel like now I am not learning much about the game and in the past it wasn't like this, anyways, this truly is constructive criticism.
here's a thought: what if instead of doing a 30 or 45 minutes long video covering 7 games, instead you made a "to back or not to back" video per campaign, you can watch another content creator's playthrough, if there is one (just a couple of turns, not the whole game), maybe gloss over the rule book if there is one, and right there and then with all of that fresh in your mind you make a 10 minute video covering the campaign and sharing your thoughts of the game going more in depth on the mechanics.
Maybe you could try this format for a month and see how it fares? anyways, these are just my two cents, I might be totally wrong, wish you all the best and hopefully you can hit 100K subs soon 😊
I agree, I skip the small campaigns no one has heard of. If they are good I’ll pick them up once we have confirmation after they’ve delivered. In reality we never hear from them again.
i so agree with you i lost intrest in watching. way to fast and feels like its forced
If you want deeper dives into the games, you should be watching Shelf Clutter. He goes deeper into the games and mechanics, and also does giveaways to win the games most weeks.
I don’t know why I continue to watch this video series when I’m trying to not back anything in 2025. Of course I’m now interested in both of your picks of the week….
Lol the more you learn about games the more you want them
After seeing the absolute fiasco on BGG for Foxpaw, I would not suggest supporting this publisher at all!
What's happening over there?
Back games that resonate with you for gameplay not the art! Table presence helps but I feel game play is the most important aspect
We backed Foxpaw and Lost Lumina. My teens and I like the theme and vibes. We are suckers for some cute critters.
Enjoy it :)
Alex, will you be doing a video about Lost Lumina before the campaign ends?
200lbs , wow that's a heavy game!
i dont mean to be rude. but if you are making a video to help people to back or not to back.. you shud start with talking slower.. you talk so fast.. that i cant keep up sometimes with what your saying.. feels like you just wanna get done and leave.
Will you be covering hyperstar run?
Not during the Crowdfunding
What are your thoughts on Ion Core the game? Do you recommend it?
I enjoyed it, but my enjoyment level doesn't track with the cost of it.
@ What are your favorite sandbox board games? What would you recommend as another option?
You really need to disclose that you are Chief Marketing Officer for Gamefound on these crowdfunding roundups (and any video on crowdfunded games).
He usually does must have been an oversight
maybe we missed it this time, he talks very fast :)
I sometimes do and sometimes don't, although I certainly don't hide it as a general rule and am very upfront about it. Unfortunately I've had people tell me they want me to disclose it more and people tell me they want me to stop disclosing everything in every video. When there is a clear desire from the audience I will usually follow it, but when there isn't, I realize I will never make everyone happy, and I choose what comes naturally instead. I understand you might not like that answer and that's ok; it's the unfortunate reality that I can't make everyone happy when there are conflicting opinions.
It’s mad that crowd funding games can ever be covered without disclosing this.
It would be an absolute scandal in any other industry.
@BoardGameCo ethics aren't really about making everyone happy or meeting clear desires from your audience. Best practice would be disclose conflicts of interest.
It's Queen Games, of course, it's a frustrating campaign.
Lol I don't disagree. Although this time I don't blame them.
You do know that Kingdom Builder is the Anniversary Edition, not the Empire Edition, right?! 😉
@@JJ_TheGreat lol yes, if empire I'd buy them all at that price
I don't think Foxpaw "will hold it's value". I backed Human Punishment: The Beginning from the same publisher years ago for 109€, just that the "KS exclusive" game popped up in my local game store weeks after for much cheaper. My unopened copy sits on Ebay for 30€ for 3 years straight. I just can't get rid of it.
I think it will hold it's value. Human Punishment: The Beginning was unfortunately a very complicated game with a very very special mechanic (weird mix of social deduction, pick up and deliver, tableau building) and a theme which also isn't everybodies cup of tea (Cyberpunk) from a small German indie publisher. But their first game, the original Human Punishment, is a great and more focused game. And same goes for Among Cultists, which the released after HP: The Beginning.
And Foxpaw is worker placement, it seems to be very well designed und focused from the gameplay point of view and it has a theme which much more people can connect to, since it is Harry Potter without the official license. 🙂
The original Human Punishment is a very different beast than the follow up campaigns they have had...and even then I acknowledge it's not quite clear it will hold its value.
@@BoardGameCo Yeah, it's still an indie publisher in the end. It's not as safe as if you buy a game from Awaken Realms or so. 🙂
So you should primarily back Foxpaw if you are really intrigued by idea of the theme and the theme. I meant in first place, that it could actually be a great game, which more people could be interested in. But to be honest. It might be that this is my perspective as a German since here it is probably much more present on the local RUclips channels as international. 🙂
But Among Cultists also had a really big buzz among Social Deduction fans. Most people I know, LOVE that game. 🙂
@@thepikay4378Among Cultists All-In in availavble with all 3 expansions for 45€ on german ebay (kleinanzeigen). I also read on BGG that they mainly used Ai art for Foxpaw, so now I'm out.
There's also Dragon Down expansion + reprint
Nothing interesting from this list.
However this week has Darwin's Journey back, and I do prefer proven games.
Foxpaw is getting a lot of hate for alleged AI art. I do think bad art can have an effect on the experience (I dislike art made by Javier Cava, so I kinda avoid games with his art), but to give the game a 1 star on BGG for it is ridiculous. Why?
It's not alleged. lol
Just read the newest thread on BGG posted some hours ago. Actual fraud!
It’s not “alleged” it has been confirmed by the devs that essentially all their art was created by AI. Their artists just touched up the AI art but they didn’t create anything
@@miliyn17Yeah well, so...? I think people should get used to it. A.I. will be the future standard tool and will get even better and more powerful. It's funny, how people always react with great hate to new technology, especially if it affects people's jobs. But instead adapting and learning to use these things, they are complaining. In the end the new techs always become the standard, because the provide advantages and make things easier and that's what people accept and want in the longterm. Always. You can only adapt and change with the times you are living in.
@@thepikay4378maybe its less about the look of AI art but the fact that its creation is based on existing art done by artist that might have not agreed to having their work be the source of whatever you are planing to use the AI art for. Its one thing if you use AI art for private use, but if you use it commercially, its also does have an aftertaste of robbing the artists of their pay(however much that might be).