You are becoming one of my favorite board game channels. Thanks for this review. I've purchased some games from Playte and am very happy with them. Lokking forward to episode 50!
I have to say you're channel rocks, and you are causing my board game shelves to become full, hahaha. I watched this video a few days ago and have been going back and forth on buying this game, and I just ended up buying it a little bit ago. I already have the Sardegna board game from Playte/Crafty games, so Tonga Bonga will be a nice addition. I know you mentioned Jamaica in your video, do you think one is better than the other or is there room for both in a collection? I like the mechanics of Tonga Bonga, but the pirate theme is pretty fun also.
Thanks so much for watching and I'm happy you are enjoying the channel! I personally would rather play Tonga Bonga any day over Jamaica. If it were up to me, I do _not_ need both in my collection. The only reason I keep Jamaica is because we have owned it forever, so it's kind of nostalgic for my family. Plus it plays up to 6p, whereas Tonga Bonga only goes up to 4. So in conclusion, I would say just stick with Tonga Bonga for a fun racing game with dice. It gets better and better the more you play too, once you figure out how to price things out & use the high/low die rolls to your advantage. Just a side note regarding your growing collection: In the past, I have made the mistake of buying _way_ too many games. Nowadays, I feel like I have a much more focused approach to which games I buy and try. My hope is that this channel can help you filter out a lot of the bad games and not waste your time or money on games you won't like! Thanks for being here! Best regards!
That’s so awesome!! Yes, he is easily one of my favorite designers, and he is definitely the world’s most underrated designer in my opinion 😎 I have some more Dorra gems coming to future episodes! Thanks for the comment and for watching!!
I'm so glad you highlighted this one because I have been curious about it since I heard about Playte printing it. This info is exactly what I needed to know and I will be placing an order for this, as it looks exactly like the type of game my group would like. Thanks for all your hard work sir!
Happy to help!! Glad you found my video helpful. Tonga Bonga is one of those games that just keeps me wanting to play over and over. That's the sign of a good game, even though it's super light and much simpler than most games I play. Playte is so awesome!
So many great reviews in such a short time. I'm another looking to make a Playte order because of your reviews. I came to the comments to ask if you would consider a top games list. .... and at the end of this one, was very pleased to see that's what you plan next! I look forward to it
Awesome! Playte is one of the few _new_ publishers I’m really excited about, which is why I’m choosing to focus on them. I just appreciate the way they’re doing things: economic & efficient packaging, no fancy Kickstarter campaigns, reprinting old games, all while staying original. Love to see it! Stay tuned for Episode 50 in a few weeks! There are gonna be lots of amazing games on there, if I can stop being indecisive 😅 I’ve been working on my list for 8 months 🙈 Thanks for watching!
Played this today! Enjoyed it, although it seemed very difficult to catch up after a poor start, since those who’ve reached an island first will always have more money to then pay out more, and the advantage just cascades. Will keep trying!
Awesome you got this to the table! I think we encountered something similar on our first play, but I feel like the more we played, the less we saw that becoming an issue. Typically when we play, each player goes their own way at the start and gets to 1 island before anyone else, and then the game starts to get pretty tight. The game also improves once you get a feel for how to use your money & how the clockwise turn order drastically affects how much you should bid. The bidding system is sneaky good once you play a couple times. Give it a couple more plays and I think you'll see that come to life. Also, don't forget to take advantage of high and low rolls; you can even use the seasick sailors to your advantage and not give your opponents too much movement (because those dice don't get placed). So with some good timing of bids + low dice rolls, you can gain an edge. Don't underestimate the power of slowing down your opponents! Stick with it; I am confident it will improve. I genuinely hope it gets better for you! Update me after another play or two! :)
@ Appreciate the response - yes, towards the end of our play, we could see some of the more subtle strategies emerging, but needs a few more plays to flesh out. The problem as always is finding groups willing to put in the time and effort to play these games multiple times :/
@@KeyboardAbhishek I feel your pain! It took me many many years to find a consistent group who was willing to play the same game over and over. I certainly could not run this RUclips channel without my group's help (and they understand that now, so it's much easier to get a game played multiple times). I am beyond thankful for their help! There are just _so_ many games competing for table time, and it can be overwhelming at times. I am not sure what the solution is, other than to keep trying. I have seen some gamers doing the 10x10 challenge, where you choose 10 games to play 10 times each throughout the year. That might be something to try? Regardless, at least Tonga Bonga is not a super long game, so hopefully you can get it back to the table soon. Let me know how it goes!!
For the tie breaker, you can use the first player to come back to Tonga Bonga, and if none of the tied players made it back then the one that is closer to the Tonga Bonga port.
Great idea! I like this because it gives you that risk/reward, like if a player is getting close to ending the game... do you risk going for another island? Or do you try to get closer to Tonga Bonga before the game ends. Great comment!
Awesome! I bet you’ll like it! Yeah the gripes are very minor here. I mean, it’s not the deepest game ever, but for what it is, I really enjoy it! Glad you found the video helpful 😊
Man, Playte is killing it! You guys would like this one, perfect family game night type of game. I haven’t been this excited about a new publisher in a long time. I love how they’re staying lean and mean, no fancy kickstarters, just simple reprints of old games with amazing packaging that takes up zero shelf space. They’re truly original in my opinion, which is why I’m so excited about them. I’ve experienced really fast shipping, too, coming all the way from Korea to the US. Pretty cool!!
Some the games you show look fantastic unfortunately they tend to be 3 or more players 😢 Any recommendations for games similar to this vut for two players
Hey, thanks for the question! Did you catch my recent 2-player episode? Episode 48 has a game called Shanghaien which is a really fun dice game for 2p. It’s different from this but it’s a great game. Most of my gaming is at 3-4 players, so we just don’t play a lot of games at 2p. But I do try to make 2p-game episodes periodically. The closest game to Tonga Bonga that I can think of would be Jamaica, as I mentioned at the end of the video. That game plays 2-6p, although it’s better with more than 2. But it might give you a similar feel to this one. Hope that helps!!
@@danasimpson1275 Awesome! I was pretty sure you had commented before, but I wanted to make sure that was you. Thanks for watching! There will be more to come! I'm planning a Top 25 two-player games list sometime in the future, along with more 2p episodes like I've been doing.
Haha that’s interesting! I didn’t know Hidden Gems disagreed! Were they talking about the old version or this one? I wonder if there are any big differences between the old version & this one? I know they changed from a square grid to a hex grid. I actually went into this game with low expectations because of how light it is. I did not expect to like it this much. I mean, it’s suuuuper simple. But that money/dice system is fascinating. I’m currently addicted to Tonga Bonga 😅 Try to steal the most money without giving your opponents too much movement. Brilliant!
@@undiscovered_games If I remember correctly they talked about the old version. Also had gripes with “bashing the leader” and they felt that there was only one legitimate strategy. But isn’t that the beauty of our hobby … there are games for everyone. Keep up the good work! It’s always exciting to watch one of your videos.
@@SRyfish interesting! I’ll have to find their episode on that. 6 plays in and I have not found an obvious strategy yet, but now I’m curious! 👀 Thanks for the kind words! So happy you enjoy the channel! 😎
Haha I know the feeling all too well 😩 If you do end up getting this, give it a couple plays. It seems _way_ too simple at first, but that bribery thing will become much more interesting as players get better at the game. I'm currently addicted to the game; it's simple & quick but it's so tricky to master.
You are becoming one of my favorite board game channels. Thanks for this review. I've purchased some games from Playte and am very happy with them. Lokking forward to episode 50!
Thank you! I really appreciate the kind words 😊 Playte is an awesome company. I don’t usually promote new games, but I just love what they’re doing!
Yes!!! Tonga Bonga!! So glad you've featured it in one of your episodes!! 👏😺
Such a cool game, especially for how simple it is!! Really surprised me!!
I have to say you're channel rocks, and you are causing my board game shelves to become full, hahaha. I watched this video a few days ago and have been going back and forth on buying this game, and I just ended up buying it a little bit ago. I already have the Sardegna board game from Playte/Crafty games, so Tonga Bonga will be a nice addition. I know you mentioned Jamaica in your video, do you think one is better than the other or is there room for both in a collection? I like the mechanics of Tonga Bonga, but the pirate theme is pretty fun also.
Thanks so much for watching and I'm happy you are enjoying the channel! I personally would rather play Tonga Bonga any day over Jamaica. If it were up to me, I do _not_ need both in my collection. The only reason I keep Jamaica is because we have owned it forever, so it's kind of nostalgic for my family. Plus it plays up to 6p, whereas Tonga Bonga only goes up to 4. So in conclusion, I would say just stick with Tonga Bonga for a fun racing game with dice. It gets better and better the more you play too, once you figure out how to price things out & use the high/low die rolls to your advantage.
Just a side note regarding your growing collection: In the past, I have made the mistake of buying _way_ too many games. Nowadays, I feel like I have a much more focused approach to which games I buy and try. My hope is that this channel can help you filter out a lot of the bad games and not waste your time or money on games you won't like!
Thanks for being here! Best regards!
Thanks to your channel, you introduced me to stefan dorra and now hes one of my all time favorites. Pumped to see your top 50.
That’s so awesome!! Yes, he is easily one of my favorite designers, and he is definitely the world’s most underrated designer in my opinion 😎 I have some more Dorra gems coming to future episodes! Thanks for the comment and for watching!!
I'm so glad you highlighted this one because I have been curious about it since I heard about Playte printing it. This info is exactly what I needed to know and I will be placing an order for this, as it looks exactly like the type of game my group would like. Thanks for all your hard work sir!
Happy to help!! Glad you found my video helpful. Tonga Bonga is one of those games that just keeps me wanting to play over and over. That's the sign of a good game, even though it's super light and much simpler than most games I play. Playte is so awesome!
YESSS!! This is the review I was waiting for!! 😭
Thank you very much! I owe you a waffle.
Haha! I happen to love waffles! 😋 Cheers!
So many great reviews in such a short time.
I'm another looking to make a Playte order because of your reviews.
I came to the comments to ask if you would consider a top games list.
.... and at the end of this one, was very pleased to see that's what you plan next!
I look forward to it
Awesome! Playte is one of the few _new_ publishers I’m really excited about, which is why I’m choosing to focus on them. I just appreciate the way they’re doing things: economic & efficient packaging, no fancy Kickstarter campaigns, reprinting old games, all while staying original. Love to see it!
Stay tuned for Episode 50 in a few weeks! There are gonna be lots of amazing games on there, if I can stop being indecisive 😅 I’ve been working on my list for 8 months 🙈
Thanks for watching!
Played this today! Enjoyed it, although it seemed very difficult to catch up after a poor start, since those who’ve reached an island first will always have more money to then pay out more, and the advantage just cascades. Will keep trying!
Awesome you got this to the table! I think we encountered something similar on our first play, but I feel like the more we played, the less we saw that becoming an issue. Typically when we play, each player goes their own way at the start and gets to 1 island before anyone else, and then the game starts to get pretty tight. The game also improves once you get a feel for how to use your money & how the clockwise turn order drastically affects how much you should bid. The bidding system is sneaky good once you play a couple times. Give it a couple more plays and I think you'll see that come to life. Also, don't forget to take advantage of high and low rolls; you can even use the seasick sailors to your advantage and not give your opponents too much movement (because those dice don't get placed). So with some good timing of bids + low dice rolls, you can gain an edge. Don't underestimate the power of slowing down your opponents! Stick with it; I am confident it will improve. I genuinely hope it gets better for you! Update me after another play or two! :)
@ Appreciate the response - yes, towards the end of our play, we could see some of the more subtle strategies emerging, but needs a few more plays to flesh out. The problem as always is finding groups willing to put in the time and effort to play these games multiple times :/
@@KeyboardAbhishek I feel your pain! It took me many many years to find a consistent group who was willing to play the same game over and over. I certainly could not run this RUclips channel without my group's help (and they understand that now, so it's much easier to get a game played multiple times). I am beyond thankful for their help!
There are just _so_ many games competing for table time, and it can be overwhelming at times. I am not sure what the solution is, other than to keep trying. I have seen some gamers doing the 10x10 challenge, where you choose 10 games to play 10 times each throughout the year. That might be something to try? Regardless, at least Tonga Bonga is not a super long game, so hopefully you can get it back to the table soon. Let me know how it goes!!
Great episode, thanks
Thanks, man! Glad you enjoyed! 😎
For the tie breaker, you can use the first player to come back to Tonga Bonga, and if none of the tied players made it back then the one that is closer to the Tonga Bonga port.
Great idea! I like this because it gives you that risk/reward, like if a player is getting close to ending the game... do you risk going for another island? Or do you try to get closer to Tonga Bonga before the game ends. Great comment!
Hell Yes!
most of those downsides seem like characteristics that i don't mind, or even enjoy! appreciate the video!
Awesome! I bet you’ll like it! Yeah the gripes are very minor here. I mean, it’s not the deepest game ever, but for what it is, I really enjoy it! Glad you found the video helpful 😊
Dang. I need to make a Playte order!!!!!!!!!
Man, Playte is killing it! You guys would like this one, perfect family game night type of game. I haven’t been this excited about a new publisher in a long time. I love how they’re staying lean and mean, no fancy kickstarters, just simple reprints of old games with amazing packaging that takes up zero shelf space. They’re truly original in my opinion, which is why I’m so excited about them. I’ve experienced really fast shipping, too, coming all the way from Korea to the US. Pretty cool!!
Some the games you show look fantastic unfortunately they tend to be 3 or more players 😢
Any recommendations for games similar to this vut for two players
Hey, thanks for the question! Did you catch my recent 2-player episode? Episode 48 has a game called Shanghaien which is a really fun dice game for 2p. It’s different from this but it’s a great game. Most of my gaming is at 3-4 players, so we just don’t play a lot of games at 2p. But I do try to make 2p-game episodes periodically. The closest game to Tonga Bonga that I can think of would be Jamaica, as I mentioned at the end of the video. That game plays 2-6p, although it’s better with more than 2. But it might give you a similar feel to this one. Hope that helps!!
@@undiscovered_games I have checked out your all your two player videos and we have made a list and thank you so much for all your videos
@@danasimpson1275 Awesome! I was pretty sure you had commented before, but I wanted to make sure that was you. Thanks for watching! There will be more to come! I'm planning a Top 25 two-player games list sometime in the future, along with more 2p episodes like I've been doing.
Interesting, two of my favourite creators (this one and Hidden Gems Podcast) disagree about this game. What to do?! 😅
Haha that’s interesting! I didn’t know Hidden Gems disagreed! Were they talking about the old version or this one? I wonder if there are any big differences between the old version & this one? I know they changed from a square grid to a hex grid.
I actually went into this game with low expectations because of how light it is. I did not expect to like it this much. I mean, it’s suuuuper simple. But that money/dice system is fascinating. I’m currently addicted to Tonga Bonga 😅 Try to steal the most money without giving your opponents too much movement. Brilliant!
@@undiscovered_games If I remember correctly they talked about the old version. Also had gripes with “bashing the leader” and they felt that there was only one legitimate strategy. But isn’t that the beauty of our hobby … there are games for everyone. Keep up the good work! It’s always exciting to watch one of your videos.
@@SRyfish interesting! I’ll have to find their episode on that. 6 plays in and I have not found an obvious strategy yet, but now I’m curious! 👀 Thanks for the kind words! So happy you enjoy the channel! 😎
Great, another game i have to buy.😢😂
Haha I know the feeling all too well 😩 If you do end up getting this, give it a couple plays. It seems _way_ too simple at first, but that bribery thing will become much more interesting as players get better at the game. I'm currently addicted to the game; it's simple & quick but it's so tricky to master.