14 Games Reviewed & Ranked! | Rahdo Rounds Up ►►► September 2024

[@JorgeJBarroso]

Thank you! I’m the author of Phoenix and coauthor of concilium. And it’s stunning to me see the games in the list, and your beautiful words about the games ❤ So sorry by the bad quality of my video, I recorded quickly and only wirh one camera :S. And my hand in the middle of the scene is annoying to me too. Sorry, I learnt for the next time. Thank you again :)

[@rahdo]

no worries, it showed off the components well enough, and you did eventually move your hand! :) congratulations on the design also. i'm sure it'll be getting more praise once essen is over!

[@flashburn2012]

Wow, what an awesome month for games. Super excited for Emberleaf. Also had no idea Knitting Circle is also an expansion for Calico. Very cool!

[@HilaryOwen-td2dj]

Love the enthusiasm, and the detailed explanations of why games are higher or lower on the list.

[@Wealtharch]

I think this video has a lot more criticisms than others and I love hearing what weaknesses these games have

[@meeple]

Phoenix: New Dawn is the best game I played this month outside of Galileo Galilei

[@jackiethomas325]

Nice roundup, lots of games new to me. Interesting to find out more and see what you and Jen thought of them.

[@shredstrat]

Emberleaf engine building reminds me a little bit of Viscoutns of the West Kingdom, where you are building an engine of cards with powers that are sliding and coming back to your hand? But the fact that you are controlling the sliding seems great, also the card combos you can make looks really fun.

[@linguiststravelbug]

care bears unite! thanks for the round up

[@andyneads5159]

Always my favourite video of the month! Eager to see PNH run through; looks really interesting, but may be too heavy for my wife.

[@Vikutori-H]

Very excited for Emberleaf (backed on KS) & Daitoshi (Pre-ordered) :)

[@Luke_L]

Phoenix has been getting some good buzz, so I’ll be looking for it from my FLGS at some point in the future. Emberleaf looks great too and will also be a FLGS purchase as I can’t justify the kickstarter price (especially with shipping). I’ll see what’s available in the Gamefound campaign for Above and Below when it launches. I feel like I got a good deal with Creature Caravans. Lots of promising games! Thanks for the round up!

[@Carsten_de_1981]

Men Nefer is high on my list of interest! :)

[@tmcd5049]

Thanks so much Richard. No co-ops there, anyone would guess you didn't like them!!! 😉

[@rahdo]

it's been a slow few months for co-ops, not sure what's going on! but there are some interesting things coming: defenders of the wild, stonesaga, everdell duo, ecosfera, thorgal, fateforge, once upon a life, clank legacy 2, invincible deckbuilder, last of us: escape the dark, wandering galaxy, but who knows if any of these will be available before 2025 :)

[@JJ_TheGreat]

6:44 And neither am I a sleever… It just takes up WAY too much time, for me… Just too much maintenance involved… Also, I like the tactile feel of the cards!

[@rikhavok]

Stephens - You negative about this game is a positive for me. I really don’t care for games that have X rounds. I like it when the players have to trigger end game. Everything else you said about this sounds wonderful then when you explained your nitpick, you sold me on this game. I really have to check it out now.

[@rahdo]

yup, i totally get it, and to be honest most of the time i'm "okay" with this structure as well. when it's done well, it's fine for us because the game will genuinely incentivize you to race (in maracaibo, you want to be the first around the rondel, in windmill valley you literally are given victory points for speeding up the water flow, etc.) this game didn't really feel like there was any "bribery" going on to get players to pick up the pace, which i guess is what i was responding to :)

[@rikhavok]

@@rahdo Now, that makes sense. Nothing to incentivize you to be first. A lot of times, it’s first pick of some reward or simply a better or only reward. I will definitely have to watch your videos of these. I’m also interested in Concilium Urbis, Babylon, Emberleaf, and especially Phoenix New Horizon.

[@rikhavok]

@@rahdo Also, speaking of new games. I haven’t a clue where else to ask this. But have tried River of Gold yet? I think it’d be right up your alley. For two players, there’s just more neutral buildings to start the game.

[@rahdo]

@@rikhavok i would love to play it but asmodee hasn't sent me a review copy :(

[@rikhavok]

@@rahdo HAHA!! I’ll play it with you on Board Game Arena. Let me know when you are free.

[@voltaire66]

Thanks, Rahdo!

[@nirszi]

I know Phoenix got some positive vibes but it's probably the most surprising first pick I've seen from you since I've been watching the round up. I'm sure it's innovative but the theme is generic and just by describing it the mechanisms looks ok but nothing I'd run to try.

[@wallyvdb87]

Thanks for the vid... sounds like many of the Essen releases from this month were just a bit off... sad for me that the theme of Phoenix doesn't grab me. So would love to play it once, for the great gameplay, but would probably not return back to it... + Had the same game length / variable end game problem with Windmill Valley (maxed out the whole tableau, tullip field, and all but one upgrade slot in the wheels); so I certainly get your point of having fixed gamelengths to 'push you forward'. Thx

[@rahdo]

it's true that windmill valley can fall into that trap as well, but the difference there is the design actively encourages (bribes even) players to speed the game up with the vp and other bonuses they can get by increasing the water flow :)

[@JFitzsimmons]

Phoenix gameplay is really good. I do like the theme too though.

[@artegoneia4298]

Great list, very informative, thank you! One game I have seen on a lot of other KZbinrs' lists is SETI. I couldn't find that one in your roundups, so I was curious if you had a look at it?

[@rahdo]

a review copy of SETI is supposed to show up in the mail sometime this week. if it had gotten here sooner, i definitely would have gotten it played!

[@artegoneia4298]

@@rahdo Cool, thank you for the info! I hope you'll have a good time with it :)

[@rahdo]

i'm confident it'll be great, after playing tea garden and galileo galilei

[@The.FrozenGamer]

Wow, your number 1 I have seen get a lot of love on a couple other channels too. Still not hearing it get tons of general Essen hype though. Maybe it will be a hidden gem or hopefully will get some late hype.

[@rahdo]

yes, phoenix NH is definitely one of those games you see every year at big conventions where it hasn't gotten a lot of attention going in, but everyone who has demoed it is telling all their friends about it! i have to admit i wasn't paying that much attention to it either until i saw board gaming ramblings (my fave youtube bg channel) raving about it!

[@perrolokogames]

We are a very small company and perhaps not everyone has us on their radar yet. We hope step by step and with a lot of effort and work to position ourselves better and better to attract attention for our future projects. Don't lose sight of us🥰🥰

[@The.FrozenGamer]

@@perrolokogames I’ll be right there with ya as you continue to grow!!

[@perrolokogames]

@@The.FrozenGamer Thank you!😍😍😍

[@BoardGamingRamblings]

@@rahdo Thank you for the extremely kind words. You have always been an inspiration, and we cannot count the hours we have spent watching your videos. It's surreal to us that you now enjoy what we do, and we are very humbled by it. If we can give back even a few % of the entertainment you have gived us during the last 10+ years, we are very happy about that. Thank you! Also, so, so happy to hear you liked Phoenix so much! It's really an amazing game, and we cannot wait to play it again.

[@geeklette9841]

Have you forgotten Saltfjord? Ho maybe you played /reviewed it on August? Suppose you had played it in September, where would it be in the list? Phoenix new horizon is one of my most anticipated bg at Essen Spiel :)

[@rahdo]

yup, saltfjord was #1 in the august roundup, and it would have been #1 this month as well :)

[@kells_bells9008]

Thanks for the video always enjoy watching your content :) Can you tell me your Top 2 Uwe Rosenbergs ? I saw it used to be glass road as no 1 in a previous video. I play at 2 as well and was interested in Black Forest but cannot stand that extent of cut throat so I’m glad you said something about it. We have played Agricola and A Feast for Odin … getting a bit sick of feeding people :/

[@rahdo]

#2 is hallertau and #1 is agricola, both of which are all about feeding people. no feeding in black forest though :)

[@Fighterfan69]

Babylon sounds like something my wife would be interested in but I don't see it anywhere to purchase it. I'm guessing it's only available at or after Essen Spiel. It's unfortunate though that there isn't much news about it. Kind of reminds of Miyabi but without those gorgeous plastic bits.

[@rahdo]

apparently it will go into retail in november, so you might be able to pick it up before the end of the year. i imagine after essen folks will be talking about it a lot more :)

[@Sam-lw5sh]

I'm a little sad because Neko Syndicate looks like something my partner and i might enjoy, but i don't see a way to get it in the US... it looks like it's on Gamefound right now, but the publisher noted no US shipping due to cost... :/

[@rahdo]

argh. well i'm sure there'll be some online boardgame shops that end up picking it up and bringing it over (fingers crossed)

[@andrewstewart7078]

Any interaction in Neko Syndicate? It sounds a lot like Imperial Miners, which I love, but would like a slightly more interactive version too

[@rahdo]

the only interaction here is that it's a very tight race. you only have 13 turns to do as much as you can, and if you look up at the top of the video you can see that there are a set of cards that show various objectives to complete, and the first player to do so scores alot more than others, so everyone needs to worry about whether their opponent is about to finish a job that they haven't done yet :) and yes, i should have drawn a parallel to imperial miners, as this is kind of the mirror of that game with the branching path engine pyramid!

[@andrewstewart7078]

@@rahdo thanks for the reply! I think I'll have to give it a try at Essen :)

[@neilwalker4277]

Nature: The core game doesn't come with 5 modules though? You get none. If you buy the base game £40 on ks y get no modules. You have to buy the £109 version to get the 5 modules. Or am i reading the ks wrong?

[@rahdo]

i believe you are correct... if you guy just nature then the modules will be sold separately (details here: boardgamegeek.com/thread/3376010/article/44932175#44932175 )

[@Trae_Lenox]

Is it me, or has Rhado become a guy with a platform who basically just tells designers how to make games for him? Every game it’s “but this is how I’d change it to make me happier”

[@rahdo]

for almost 12 years, i've been saying in my videos what i love about some games and why i don't keep other games. nothing new here :)

[@TonyBosca]

@@rahdoyeah but over the years you’ve drifted from “what works for Jen and I” to presenting things as though your preferences are just flat out better. Things like “now why they would ruin an otherwise great 2p game by injecting take that” it’s the value assigned that makes it confusing… you present your design preferences as things that are to be universally strived towards in game design.

[@rahdo]

@@TonyBosca i guess we'll have to agree to disagree. i think lines like "I vehemently hate it" and "it ruined the game _for me and jen_ " (actually i clarified the "for me and jen" *three times* during that segment) makes it pretty clear i'm expressing person subjective opinions, not objective fact. plus i ended that segment saying "if you don't mind (the 2p take that gameplay) then it's one of the best games of the year". again, i'm being super clear that it's my own personal subjective response to the take that which ruined the game _for us_ while acknowledging that other players could definitely enjoy it regardless of our personal predilections. but ymmv! :)

[@TonyBosca]

@@rahdo it might not even be best illustrated by this particular commentary, but it’s enough to make people stop and question, even here. Thats why this isn’t the first time you’ve received this feedback I’m sure. All the reviewers strike some sort of balance between objectively showcasing the game and also sharing their opinions and how the game meets up to their preferences- and how those things are different etc… other creators seem to strike a better balance, or maybe their preferences aren’t as niche. When I hear their critiques based on their personal preferences, they don’t give me the impression that their quibbles are objective problems. Sometimes here I get the impression that the way you like your games is presented as flat out better. Either way, I find it fascinating to see your voice evolve. I’ve been a viewer since the very beginning, and I still get a lot of value from what you do. I could cite specific examples if you really wanted me to. Cheers rahdo.

[@rahdo]

@@TonyBosca you're right that viewers do jump to conclusions, often the wrong ones, no matter what i say, which is why i always go out of my way to repeat over and over that these are subjective opinions, like i did in this case where _3 times_ i reminded the viewer that i'm referring to my personal tastes on black forward and if one is not bothered by the same things as me, one might very well dig the game. so yes, if you've got the time, let me know if you can find examples where i failed to do this... were i stated things as fact instead of opinion. this is something i've always been super careful about, and it's 2nd nature for me to throw in the "for us" caveats throughout. just a few quick picks from this video as examples, talking about asian tigers: "my wife and I? we like a little more direction". on men-nefer: "for me and jen, it is too long". on stephens: "if it (had a timer) it would be one of the best games of the month for me and jen" if you can spot times when i slipped and missed it (i'm sure it can happen, i'm the king of goofs after all... so much so i pay paulo to keep me honest), i'd love to know about it, because i agree, it is important to draw a clear line and not present subjective opinions as objective facts! :)

[@pantouflas]

Hmmmm sad about Black Forest.. But why cant you select a random spot for the neutral player by dice??

[@rahdo]

because that would potentially unfairly benefit one player over another... if we go most of the game and randomly i get blocked more often than you and have to pay extra to do what i need to do, you're probably going to win. that's why it either needs to be what they did (players screwing each other rather than luck) or a predictable system (deck of cards where you can see the next few places the NP will go, or they move on a fixed travel path at the end of every round, or get rid of the NP altogether and instead say that players have to pay the "tax" if they visit a town where the other player is, or a town "next to" the town where the other player is) (that third option is my preference)

[@draheim90]

It seems like an easy thing to houserule if you don’t like how it works as per the rules. There are probably several satisfactory ways to do it, one suggestion I saw was to turn the neutral worker into a positive instead of a negative (i.e., you gain a resource when using the card with the neutral worker on it instead of getting taxed).

[@rahdo]

oh yes, definitely a fixable problem. but i'm personally not a fan of house rules for reasons i outlined here: faq.rahdo.com #24 but fingers crossed that the publishers eventually release alternative rules because yes there are so many ways this could have been done. my preference would be losing the neutral player, and instead change the taxation rule to "if you visit a town where your opponent is, _or a town adjacent to their town_ you've got to play them the tax" this would fix it instantly, keep the spirit of the game (where you're waiting for someone to leave before you move in) and tighten up the board tremdously. such an easy fix... fingers crossed that the developers take a look somewhere down the road! :)

[@pantouflas]

Three more options: .1 find 3 places that benefit the opponent and decide by dice 2. Block the randomly chosen spot the *next* turn, or 3. Cross off the randomly selected spots so the neutral player cant go there again in next rounds. That last one I think would create very delicious choices/tactics

[@pantouflas]

@@rahdo oh wait, you don't actually block the player from going there? Why then is the NP so bad, is money that tight? In any case, if what you propose actually tightens the game then it's the way to go... (Changing it into a positive like the previous caller suggested makes the game too permissive)

[@baxter7537]

Here's my problem with games like Babylon. It looks great, but with all that plastic it will probably cost over $100. This has been a trend lately (read: Andromeda's Edge, Foundations of Rome) and these publishers are pricing a lot of people out of buying them. I think $50 is a lot for a game and I'm not interested in paying $100+ for one. This is sad to me, as I might really enjoy some of these games. But, there are a LOT of other things in life I would rather spend that kind of money on. Thanks for the previews, though.

[@spaztekwarrior]

But if the game is truly great and you will play it many times, it’s worth it to many. For the price of dinner and a movie out for you and a loved one, you get a great form of repayable entertainment to share with family or friends.

[@LaChazzz]

The publisher said it would cost 50€ to pick-up at Essen. Not sure what it would be through retail though!

[@rahdo]

at essen spiel it will be sold for 50 euro according to the publisher: boardgamegeek.com/thread/3316936/article/44477419#44477419 (edit: LaChazzz beat me to it!)

[@LeeStoneman]

​@@spaztekwarriorMaybe, but there are plenty of games that I will play dozens of times that cost 50, 40 or even 30. You can't justify a high price just because you can play the game a lot. You can play cheap games a lot as well.

[@tmcd5049]

​​@@LeeStoneman You're not playing the same game a lot, but a game with more pizazz, or table-presence. A game all players love the look of (hopefully). That said, I agree that a lot of games are pricing themselves off of players tables, and it's annoying. It would seem this *might* not be one of them.

[@marcohoehener463]

How much interaction is there in Babylon?

[@rahdo]

no direct interaction, and honestly almost no indirect (competing for resources) either. if you're playing at a lower player count, some of the top level tiles are removed as part of setup, with each player picking one to jettison until the correct number is gone, and at that point, you're probably going to be removing ones that your opponent wants, but afterwards, it's a pretty multiplayer solitaire experience.

[@mariuszkania9947]

@@rahdo So why it does not have solo variant?

[@rahdo]

i don't think the publisher really values solo design. i just took a quick look at their catalog and most of their games that they'd developed don't have it. it's a shame... it would have been VERY easy to implement a solo mode for this