yeah this "review" is very misleading. how can you take anyone seriously who gives something a 0/10. that would indicate it is totally unplayable. this "review" adds nothing.

Agree. I was also gonna mention how the bosses/elites with no minions are so boring in the board game. You have even less ways to 'co-operate'. You just throw all your things at the enemy which is a huge damage sponge and hope it dies before one of your teammates does.

Yeah the co-op to me is SO not worth it. Co-op's so shallow and limited that it still feels like a solo game lol (+duration and +dumbed down gameplay, REALLY not worth it). Hmmmm if I can get it with a discount I'll probably just get the bag with the metal coins, it looks really cute lol.

It also has a video game adaptation which applies the rules perfectly. But without the board game you won’t like it.

AFAIK the first roguelike deckbuilder game (this is a video game) is called Dream Quest which was out in 2014. One deck dungeon came out in 2016.

@@realjon4220 we're talking about board games here. As for video games, Rogue obviously started the roguelike genre, as for roguelite, the term started roughly in 2014. I checked the game out kzbin.info/www/bejne/ombWc6tjhNFll6s it sure looks like one of the earliest roguelite vg.

That being said I really wish they added coop to the PC game because I don't want to manually do all the computer work

Just because you add a co-op mechanic to a solo game doesn't automatically make it a good co-op game. Also, what I was saying was the co-op is so bad that the game still feels like a solo game (characters barely interact). They could've introduced more new co-op specific mechanics but chose to play it VERY safe.

@@realjon4220 but each player builds their own deck and makes those sorts of decisions which is the main gameplay in slay the spire

@realjon4220 yes they could've added more new co-op mechanics and redesigned a lot with co-op in mind, but I wouldn't say it feels like a solo game. While playing with friends, I've noticed all kinds of synergies normally only possible, albeit extremely unlikely in prismatic shard runs in the digital game. There's a lot for each player to manage, and to some extent everyone has to take their own actions independently, but when the stakes get high, everybody puts their heads together, and it's so satisfying when we pull through a hard encounter with everybody still alive.

Yeah... you can only do very limited amount of things co-op wise in this game. If you expect cool synergies between characters like I did you will be very disappointed.

Everyone should definitely try games they are interested in regardless of what the reviewers say (especially a nobody reviewer like me lol). That being said, I'd be cautious about all these 'positive' reviews. If a reviewer tends to like all games they are probably getting paid to say that a game is good.

@@realjon4220 ehh dude it's pretty cringe to hear that people disagree with you and default to "I think they're probably lying." There aren't that many great cooperative board games. Slay the Spire is a great video game. If it's also great as a board game, that already puts it above all but maybe the top 10 best cooperative board games. It's not the same as the video, and a good place to look to see why is at the Watcher, who plays completely differently to her video game counterpart, in spite of many cards having the same effects. I don't to make this an essay, but in most cases, cards that needed to be simplified for the board game became more interesting in their own way. The things you can do with Board Game Ver. Apotheosis are really cool! In a game like Slay the Spire, changing the math around can lead to a massively different experience, and a lot of people have played enough Slay the Spire that if they knew they could play a new game that would be "Slay the Spire, but it feels new" it would be well worth this price compared to gambling on games that they're likely not to love as much. For what it's worth I think that the board game has even better/more exciting balance than the video game, which is insane because the video game's balance is already stunningly good. That is, FWIW. I play more video games than board games, but I much prefer board games over video games. Most people who I've seen disappointed in the board game "don't see the point of it". But I think if you don't see the point of it, that's because you wouldn't much rather be playing a board game than a video game, if you had the choice.

@@kitsunin4690 I don't know how that equates to me saying "they're lying" lol. What I said was "yes, hear the good reviews, but you might wanna check the history of the reviewer to see if they are shilling". I'll be interested in seeing how you think the Watcher plays differently to the video game counterpart. All I see is the character became a lot easier to use than the video game due to how wrath works. As for the other 3 characters, I see almost zero difference, just a dumbed down version. Brother, I also wanted 'Slay the Spire, but it feels new', but I actually want NEW things, not slightly tweaked old things. I wanted stuff that you cannot see in the video game which becomes a very solid reason why someone would like the board game and even prefer it more . This seems like a slam dunk with the co-op they teased, but instead we get a dull, zero effort, almost multiplayer solitaire co op mechanic. If you are content with game designers making zero effort and playing it safe, fine. But I am speaking for the side that wants them to put a bit more effort than just doing a 1:1 translation. At some point I wanted them to make a new character but gee we can't even get a proper co-op mechanic! I'm really baffled by people saying that "oh I dont like it because I like video games more". No, I don't like because of the lack of content and the bottom of barrel co op mechanic that they presented with a premium price. All of which I have presented in the video with examples. As far as video game vs board game, I'm about 60:40, but if I say that people revert to "lol this guy just prefers video games" as massive copium.

Unfortunately this game is overhyped!

@ I’d say it’s simply got a lot more depth than some are realising. & it’s still selling well a long time after any ‘hype’.

Yeah, unfortunately it works lol. Another game that immediately came to mind is Flamecraft.

Many thanks! Glad you enjoy the content 😁😁

Good solution, might steal this lol

Glad you find the info in this video useful! 😁😁

Yeah this is definitely a hard pass if you dont like those games you mentioned, it's the same thing.

Should've added this to the review, but there is a module in the base game that allows you to gain a one-use tile when you stop at a nearby cave. I suppose that's the closest thing to your 'gaining artifacts'. I think there is a bit more stuff like what you describe (curses/hexes) on the expansions, but I've never tried it. Reviews of them are mixed afaik (plus I really dislike it when you need expansions to 'fix' the game for you) Have you tried Clank Catacombs? It seems to fit what you want a bit more (though no racing element and game plays longer)

@@realjon4220 I haven't tried yet but I watched your review of it and it does look very interesting. Never knowing what's around the corner seems more exciting than the other versions. Thing is, I have Space and all its expansions... So I'm quite hesitant to get Catacombs on top of that.

​@@simg9750​Why not sell it to get Catacombs? Unless you really like it I guess. I've sold older version of games (e.g. Dune Imperium for Uprising, Both Clank and Clank In Space for Catacombs) haven't regretted it since.

@@realjon4220 I watched a full playthrough of Catacombs yesterday and I think I'll keep Space afterall. It feels like the rooms are not different enough for me to feel excited about them when they're drawn. And I like the humor and the theme of Space more. 😃

1. Easy game setup - Agree, but so is Cascadia and Reef. Though depth to setup ratio probably not as great in Reef (more below) 2. Gorgeous components - Also agree, art wise is top tier. Component wise I'd say Reef is still better. (though I get the comparison to children's toy lol) 3. Better Strategy and Planning than Cascadia - I'd say Cascadia is the harder game out of the two. There is a bit more to plan in Cascadia imo because you can't place the animal chips anyhow you like like the landscapes in Harmonies. So you need to plan your hex tile AND the animal chips on top. While Cascadia's does not have the stacking element, I'd argue that the land tile + the animal chip is similar to a stacking mechanic in a way (i.e., 2 level stack). 4. "The limited space and choice of tiles makes you really work to try to get the most out of what you have" - This is the premise of all 3 games we mentioned here. Where this kinda fail for Harmonies and Reef is the randomised scoring element. Instead of building up pieces tactically/strategically to get the most points out of your limited options, you often instead do the reverse and look for scoring cards that match your already built landscapes. There is no strategy in doing the reverse, it's all pure luck and gives you not negligible free points in Harmonies. To make it worse, they put in card synergies (the overlaps I talk about in the video) in only some cards, which meant that you can now even get LUCKIER by getting the card pairs that automatically complement each other in terms of scoring requirements. 5. Never played board games solo so I cant comment. In hindsight, I probably should elaborate on the points above a bit more in the video. I just didnt even talk about how good the game look because the uninspired design and luck factor is really overshadowing everything. I get why people still like the game though, it's short, simple and pretty.

@@realjon4220 Going to have to agree to disagree on Cascadia being as limited. But I do recommend you try the solo campaign cooperatively by switching turns with another person. It's fun and really challenges you to play the game with different strategies.

Thanks! Glad you liked it 😁😁

Thanks a lot and glad that you find it useful!🤣🤣 Also, your English is fine dont worry!

@@realjon4220 Thanks. Also I'd like to notice that it's my game. So I'm double pleased 😀

At least it'll be really easy to sell it because of how popular it is lol

Thanks for your contribution! lol

I think they have similar issues (luck of the draw), but I find Reef slightly more enjoyable/engaging since there is a bit more planning you can do in the game. Honestly though I am about to sell both games since I feel like I'm done with this particular genre (just dont find them that exciting anymore).

My husband and I love Reef!

What are the updates that they've done recently?

Thanks! Sadly I never ever play solo and is unlikely to cover any solo material :/

Glad you liked it! My videos take waaaaay too long to make lol.