COMPONENTS - The miniatures are excellent (I got the mini version) and the tiles are chunky. I have a bit of minor bowing in my copy but nothing too bad. I wish there were better player aids... you have to flip through multiple sections of the book to find key information. 0:00 - Introduction 0:34 - Enemies 1:20 - Lost Actions 2:00 - Scenarios 2:41 - Tactical Choices 3:36 - Classes 4:16 - Final Thoughts
Personally I like the lost action mechanic because it's a great adaptation from the game. THE ABSOLUTE FASTEST way to ruin a mission in the computer game is to run off on your own. That feeling of stick together is evoked well through losing actions if you split up.
I have over 600 hrs into the video game so ofc I went all in. Love it. Super evocative. I do agree that the lack of player aids was wild but everything else was top notch.
so in the computergame. if you walk off alone. you can get overwhelmed. and if you stick together you help eachother out of turn, so the cons about the multipl attacks is ment to be there to keep you together, i love the pc game. and this is alof of fun. and ye you fail sometimes in the computer game too. just get up and go again, . rock and stone!
Exactly, if people haven't played the game or have played it poorly, they won't understand this game or the design choices. I have hundreds of hours into DRG the video game and its my most played game. That being said, I fail in this game the same way that would make me fail in the video game. Go off alone, die. Miss your shots, die. I love the variety of the maps and the fact that you can randomly set up maps.
Funny enough, I think I enjoy it more than my son(14)! haha. I don't disagree with any of Mikes points, I just don't find them as a big of a deal in the balance of play/setup time vs other crawlers (except player count, but I almost never want to play any crawler above 2, or maybe 3 in some cases). I'm often willing to make sacrifices in gameplay elements if it means faster playtime. Is it as deep as some other games I love? No, but plays in half the time which means it can hit the table on days those others couldn't. I also love games that basically eliminate the enemy "turn", and hope we start to see even more games do this (Cthulhu DMD also has a great way of handling this). I do expect I would eventually agree on the scenarios, which is why I'm likely all-in on the upcoming campaign.
I normally dislike losing actions/turns as a mechanic but in a cooperative game I might not mind unless it happens a lot. (Because you're still playing along by thinking along with the other players.)
@@OneStopCoopShop Thank you for the reply. I just noticed their kickstarter before I went to bed. Just a few hours left on it. So I'm gonna think real hard about getting it or not.
I like the game and is normal that in high player count... you need to wait unless you are playing throw throw burrito that there is no player turn. what you think about cooperation between the players? Agree on the scenarion I hope they will address this on the expansion.
sad that you dont like it. I think its a really fun and easy beer & pretzel game. We play it with 3 players and have no problems. If you know where and how to move and who has to do what.. there is not much downing (think one got down once.. and once a player didnt reach the pod at the end.. but that was it). And the player turns are really fast so there was no wierd feeling, when you were stunned etc and had only one actionbecause it was your turn again very fast. I agree that there are not much scenarios.. but you have a scenario generator to build your own..and there are a lot on bgg (its seems there is even a program to generate randomized scenarios). So in short my group really likes it but I can understand, that its not for everyone. (Totally agree that its annoying to flip the enemy board)
@@OneStopCoopShop well.. no offence or anything. I like our content and your opinion.. But this video is mix, con , con, pro, pro.. so.. yes I think you dont like it very much. and for myself.. I thought about linking this review to a 4 player to join the team. but I cant use it because it gives the feeling, that the game is not very enjoyable.. If you see the comments most people are like " yeah am I am glad I didnt back it" or " "you are right, the game is bad"-- and thats not how I have experiecend the game
This is a solid one, if you don't mind the concerns I brought up. One I like even better is Cthulhu: Death May Die, though it has its own flaws and quirks. A more recent one is Tales from the Red Dragon Inn. That's my favorite dungeon crawler recently, and it's still straightforward enough to fit into the beer & pretzel mode (though it is a long campaign game... so maybe not!)
I think it may have helped your decision a little more if you had played the video game. My son and I have put quite a few hours into the video game and over time it is a rinse and repeat type of thing but still enjoyable to us. Playing the board game a few times felt the same way so the scenarios felt pretty much the same way, rinse and repeat.
I’ve almost picked up the video game a few times, but I’m waiting to see if they’ll ever add couch co-op functionality. I’d mainly want to play with my kids.
@@OneStopCoopShop if it ever does go that route I’d recommend it. It is a blast to play. I just want them to introduce some new game mechanics or weapons.
@@OneStopCoopShop chances are it won’t ever get that option. Modern games don’t really have that option anymore due to the heavy burden the graphics put on the systems. It’s one of the best games I’ve played in a long time and it keeps me coming back.
Super helpful as always! You *may* have saved me some money OR the expansions add more variety and I go all in 🙂. In either case I am better informed to make the right decision for me.
It arrived, got played by my group and me, earned unanimous hate and got sold the day after without any financial loss. Probably the weirdest visit by a board game at my place ever.
@@OneStopCoopShop My group is rather large. For this game specially, I think it was 7 or 8 people that played the game in various constellations and as you said, the higher the player count the more overall was the frustrations. There was a mild notion for keeping the game for solo (maybe 2 players) but in the end it was a clear 100% vote against keeping the game. It happens really rarely that a game gets kicked out by the group that quickly and unanimously.
@@alexispblake7488 In my opinion, difficulty scales well. Unfortunately, as Mike said, a higher player count just generates a lot of downtime for the players. Will also check reference boards a lot more at higher player counts.
Too easy? No, the opposite in my experience. Because you are drawing cards and potentially activating enemies after each player’s turn, the swarm track can increase quickly, enemies can overwhelm you, etc. I found the game more manageable at 2
missing actions/turns is by far the worst game mechanic of all time, and imo it shouldn't exist in modern board games. nobody is excited to *not* play the game when they play a game. automatic skip for me based purely on the inclusion of that mechanic. (thanks for the warning!!)
To be fair, another player can come over and pick you up if you are knocked down… but usually that means they are spending 2-3 of their actions to keep you from losing 2 of your actions… so it’s not necessarily a fix 😅
I haven't found missing actions to be that big of a deal honestly. Generally you won't run into these problems unless you put yourself in a bad position or get very unlucky. It also gives a pretty big incentive for someone to come help you up because your actions can mean less bugs on the table.
@PRC533 not sure I agree with you there. Many of the enemies knock you down or stun you on the special hit result, many of the events do the same, and often helping another dwarf up to save them 2 actions requires 2 actions from you (moving over and assisting them). Don’t get me wrong, we still had a lot of fun and the tactical gameplay shines through in the end, but these aren’t rare and unusually occurrences
@@Gamebent1 we get it, you like the game. Did you not read my reply though? It's often 2 actions because you aren't always going to be directly next to each other. 1 action to move over, 1 action to revive. Heck, then you'll often need to use your last action for the turn getting back to the crystals or location you were working on at the start of your turn, so sometimes it's 3 actions to help another dwarf out. But yes, if you maintain strict adjacency throughout the game and never separate by a hex or more you can revive for 1 action. We haven't found that to be tactically viable while pursuing objectives with the quick time limit at higher difficulty settings.
I had a look at the kickstarter and it seemed very bloated , glad your review and some other peoples opinions has confirmed there are enough issues for me to avoid …
COMPONENTS - The miniatures are excellent (I got the mini version) and the tiles are chunky. I have a bit of minor bowing in my copy but nothing too bad. I wish there were better player aids... you have to flip through multiple sections of the book to find key information.
0:00 - Introduction
0:34 - Enemies
1:20 - Lost Actions
2:00 - Scenarios
2:41 - Tactical Choices
3:36 - Classes
4:16 - Final Thoughts
Personally I like the lost action mechanic because it's a great adaptation from the game. THE ABSOLUTE FASTEST way to ruin a mission in the computer game is to run off on your own. That feeling of stick together is evoked well through losing actions if you split up.
I have over 600 hrs into the video game so ofc I went all in. Love it. Super evocative.
I do agree that the lack of player aids was wild but everything else was top notch.
Absolutely, this game was awesome and I backed all of the new stuff already.
so in the computergame. if you walk off alone. you can get overwhelmed. and if you stick together you help eachother out of turn, so the cons about the multipl attacks is ment to be there to keep you together, i love the pc game. and this is alof of fun. and ye you fail sometimes in the computer game too. just get up and go again, . rock and stone!
I agree, lots of elements reward sticking together, like the events that let a friend defend you from a surprise attack
Exactly, if people haven't played the game or have played it poorly, they won't understand this game or the design choices. I have hundreds of hours into DRG the video game and its my most played game. That being said, I fail in this game the same way that would make me fail in the video game. Go off alone, die. Miss your shots, die.
I love the variety of the maps and the fact that you can randomly set up maps.
I enjoyed it 2 player with my son, but totally agree that the scenarios get very samey so I have moved it on
My favorite plays were with my sons as well.
Funny enough, I think I enjoy it more than my son(14)! haha. I don't disagree with any of Mikes points, I just don't find them as a big of a deal in the balance of play/setup time vs other crawlers (except player count, but I almost never want to play any crawler above 2, or maybe 3 in some cases).
I'm often willing to make sacrifices in gameplay elements if it means faster playtime. Is it as deep as some other games I love? No, but plays in half the time which means it can hit the table on days those others couldn't.
I also love games that basically eliminate the enemy "turn", and hope we start to see even more games do this (Cthulhu DMD also has a great way of handling this).
I do expect I would eventually agree on the scenarios, which is why I'm likely all-in on the upcoming campaign.
I normally dislike losing actions/turns as a mechanic but in a cooperative game I might not mind unless it happens a lot. (Because you're still playing along by thinking along with the other players.)
Definitely, though with 4-players even that kind of cooperation strained my patience at times. Solo, 2, and 3-players weren't too bad.
@@OneStopCoopShop Thank you for the reply. I just noticed their kickstarter before I went to bed. Just a few hours left on it. So I'm gonna think real hard about getting it or not.
I'm disappointed the ammo drop doesn't have 4 slots that ammo tokens plug into.
I like the game and is normal that in high player count... you need to wait unless you are playing throw throw burrito that there is no player turn.
what you think about cooperation between the players?
Agree on the scenarion I hope they will address this on the expansion.
Coop is pretty good. You can leave platforms/zip lines for friends, put shields on them, heal them, etc
sad that you dont like it. I think its a really fun and easy beer & pretzel game. We play it with 3 players and have no problems. If you know where and how to move and who has to do what.. there is not much downing (think one got down once.. and once a player didnt reach the pod at the end.. but that was it). And the player turns are really fast so there was no wierd feeling, when you were stunned etc and had only one actionbecause it was your turn again very fast.
I agree that there are not much scenarios.. but you have a scenario generator to build your own..and there are a lot on bgg (its seems there is even a program to generate randomized scenarios).
So in short my group really likes it but I can understand, that its not for everyone.
(Totally agree that its annoying to flip the enemy board)
What makes you think I don’t like it? My #1 and #2 points were both pros. I think it’s a really fun game
@@OneStopCoopShop well.. no offence or anything. I like our content and your opinion.. But this video is mix, con , con, pro, pro.. so.. yes I think you dont like it very much. and for myself.. I thought about linking this review to a 4 player to join the team. but I cant use it because it gives the feeling, that the game is not very enjoyable.. If you see the comments most people are like " yeah am I am glad I didnt back it" or " "you are right, the game is bad"-- and thats not how I have experiecend the game
@sebastianh.9440 fair enough!
Extremely helpful viewpoint. Thank you!
Have a couple dozen plays with our group and nobody lost any actions. It goes pretty quick too. At most 90 minutes.
Games definitely move at a good clip
Hey Mike, thanks again for a great review. What would be your choice for a beer & brezel game in this direction (dungeon crawl or some likelihood)?
This is a solid one, if you don't mind the concerns I brought up. One I like even better is Cthulhu: Death May Die, though it has its own flaws and quirks. A more recent one is Tales from the Red Dragon Inn. That's my favorite dungeon crawler recently, and it's still straightforward enough to fit into the beer & pretzel mode (though it is a long campaign game... so maybe not!)
"Romp" you say? How is its rompiness compared with Dark Tower? ;)
I think this is more of a fun romp, for me. But dark tower’s combat remains super fun
I think it may have helped your decision a little more if you had played the video game. My son and I have put quite a few hours into the video game and over time it is a rinse and repeat type of thing but still enjoyable to us. Playing the board game a few times felt the same way so the scenarios felt pretty much the same way, rinse and repeat.
I’ve almost picked up the video game a few times, but I’m waiting to see if they’ll ever add couch co-op functionality. I’d mainly want to play with my kids.
@@OneStopCoopShop if it ever does go that route I’d recommend it. It is a blast to play. I just want them to introduce some new game mechanics or weapons.
@@OneStopCoopShop chances are it won’t ever get that option. Modern games don’t really have that option anymore due to the heavy burden the graphics put on the systems.
It’s one of the best games I’ve played in a long time and it keeps me coming back.
@@malixcorvin777 I'll probably still download it at some point regardless. I've heard only good things!😅
Super helpful as always! You *may* have saved me some money OR the expansions add more variety and I go all in 🙂. In either case I am better informed to make the right decision for me.
In either case, happy to help 😁
If you're a fan of the video game then this game is a no-brainer, its so good and captures the game perfectly.
It arrived, got played by my group and me, earned unanimous hate and got sold the day after without any financial loss. Probably the weirdest visit by a board game at my place ever.
Oh no! How big was the group. I played 1 and 2 player, and enjoyed it, before I tried my first 4 player game (which did not go well)
is it too easy for 4 players? do some house rules like those grunts gets spawn extra 1 or 2 per player
@@OneStopCoopShop My group is rather large. For this game specially, I think it was 7 or 8 people that played the game in various constellations and as you said, the higher the player count the more overall was the frustrations.
There was a mild notion for keeping the game for solo (maybe 2 players) but in the end it was a clear 100% vote against keeping the game. It happens really rarely that a game gets kicked out by the group that quickly and unanimously.
@@alexispblake7488 In my opinion, difficulty scales well. Unfortunately, as Mike said, a higher player count just generates a lot of downtime for the players. Will also check reference boards a lot more at higher player counts.
Too easy? No, the opposite in my experience. Because you are drawing cards and potentially activating enemies after each player’s turn, the swarm track can increase quickly, enemies can overwhelm you, etc. I found the game more manageable at 2
missing actions/turns is by far the worst game mechanic of all time, and imo it shouldn't exist in modern board games. nobody is excited to *not* play the game when they play a game. automatic skip for me based purely on the inclusion of that mechanic. (thanks for the warning!!)
To be fair, another player can come over and pick you up if you are knocked down… but usually that means they are spending 2-3 of their actions to keep you from losing 2 of your actions… so it’s not necessarily a fix 😅
I haven't found missing actions to be that big of a deal honestly. Generally you won't run into these problems unless you put yourself in a bad position or get very unlucky. It also gives a pretty big incentive for someone to come help you up because your actions can mean less bugs on the table.
@PRC533 not sure I agree with you there. Many of the enemies knock you down or stun you on the special hit result, many of the events do the same, and often helping another dwarf up to save them 2 actions requires 2 actions from you (moving over and assisting them).
Don’t get me wrong, we still had a lot of fun and the tactical gameplay shines through in the end, but these aren’t rare and unusually occurrences
@@Gamebent1 we get it, you like the game. Did you not read my reply though? It's often 2 actions because you aren't always going to be directly next to each other. 1 action to move over, 1 action to revive. Heck, then you'll often need to use your last action for the turn getting back to the crystals or location you were working on at the start of your turn, so sometimes it's 3 actions to help another dwarf out.
But yes, if you maintain strict adjacency throughout the game and never separate by a hex or more you can revive for 1 action. We haven't found that to be tactically viable while pursuing objectives with the quick time limit at higher difficulty settings.
I had a look at the kickstarter and it seemed very bloated , glad your review and some other peoples opinions has confirmed there are enough issues for me to avoid …
I was planning to back the expansions myself, but unfortunately they are priced too high for me to justify the purchase