Abyss - How To Play

[@WatchItPlayed]

Note: At 8:42​ - in the example, the green 1 card could (and should) have been removed from the set, to create the required cards. The rule is explained correctly, but the example shown is slightly incorrect!

[@jovanvukovic830]

I was just about to mention that lol

[@TheBrothersMurph]

This is SUCH a good game! Glad to see you doing a teach for it. And it has the best art in any game ever in my(Nicks) opinion

[@WatchItPlayed]

The art is killer, right?!

[@thesophistichimp7425]

Always love how clear you guys present everything! Makes the videos great to watch and when you then do a game of something everything is even easier to follow! One of my favourite KZbin channels!

[@WatchItPlayed]

Thank you kindly, that means a lot :)

[@Bellany1337]

That box lid flourish at 14:13 was magnificent. You truly are an android, programmed to explain board games perfectly.

[@WatchItPlayed]

My programming doesn't allow me to confirm or deny. I've said too much already.

[@bkolluru]

You are on to something here Setzuen! How else could ALL his videos be this good? ;) That, or the man was born to do this!! I am always disappointed when I cant find a Watch it Played intro to a board game on a search.

[@carlhalberstadt8971]

The artwork first drew me to this game, it's incredible. I found it in the clearance bin at Barnes and Noble a couple of years ago. The game turned out to be a lot of fun. I've been able to obtain the Kraken expansion but haven't played it yet. Great presentation Rodney, very thorough and spot on.

[@WatchItPlayed]

Thanks Carl - glad you've enjoyed the game!

[@keelahrose]

A clearance bin?!!? Wow, what coup.

[@jhuztein1125]

Ahhh the sound of those pearls clacking together is so beautiful!

[@jayfraser6497]

One of my all time favorite games :)!

[@FrankMinogue]

Looks great! Lots of variety. As a scuba diver, it looks like a game I would like. Great job, as usual!

[@WatchItPlayed]

Thanks Frank!

[@beardedchinnfishing]

I love the artwork on this game I have it plus both expansions

[@SuikoRyos]

Today is my birthday (29 yo) and this is my first gift of the day... ... ...I don't mean the actual game per se, I mean a new Watch It Played video. You rock, guys! ;D *Edit:* Moreso when the game looks interesting.

[@toweypat]

Happy birthday!

[@alexandraleon1915]

Happy birthday Form Germany 😉

[@WatchItPlayed]

Happy belated birthday!

[@xZuunes]

Rodney, you are making my night yet again. Keep it up!

[@WatchItPlayed]

Will do :)

[@lazulin]

So grateful for this video! I've had this game sitting on my shelf for a long while, but somehow can't seem to get around to reading the rulebook. Problem solved!

[@WatchItPlayed]

Glad to have been able to assist!

[@Sam-vk8xd]

Yes! About time Rodney. One of my fave games, hopefully this tutorial will bring some attention to this great game. Is this a newer edition? My copy has clear cups.

[@davekoehnlein4575]

LateShacka I think the old editions have the black cups...I just bought the game and mine has clear cups

[@jpower2010]

Yes the later editions came with the clear cups. Sucks for those like me who have the origonal but the expansions come with clear ones! First world problems... 😀

[@WatchItPlayed]

Thanks to the other viewers who helped with the answer - yep, I have the first edition that came with black cups.

[@Cronos804]

i hear brunno cathala and everything meaningful has been said already.

[@davekoehnlein4575]

Rodney, you must be stalking my amazon account...I JUST bought this game haha

[@WatchItPlayed]

I'll never tell ;)

[@notmyeyeballgames7798]

Now I've been going back and forth on whether or not I should get this our Conspiracy: Abyss Universe. I've heard that it had all the best quality's but much smaller and compact. Some have said it was better in some ways. Great video Rodney. :)

[@mkietzmann]

I just picked this up with a nice discount. Great explanation as usual. Thanks, Rodney.

[@WatchItPlayed]

Have a great time playing Mathias!

[@n20games52]

I remember that game was released the one year I was able to get to GenCon. I never learned to play it but now I know!

[@WatchItPlayed]

It all comes full circle!

[@KnakuanaRka]

8:37 Actually, it’s possible to remove that green 1 to pay exact change; 10 points, three races, at least one green. Now if your greens were 2 and 3 instead of 4 and 1, or if that mandatory color has to be the largest group in the cards used (barring my idea because you would only have 4 green compared to 5 purple), that would work.

[@WatchItPlayed]

Yes, you'll find this was pointed out in other comments and added as a correction to the description. Good catch though!

[@DuskWho]

Rodney ! I get this game today because of you ! You are awesome , thank you for the videos .

[@WatchItPlayed]

I hope you have a great time playing!

[@DuskWho]

Watch It Played I’m excited for the sequel, Son of Abyss.

[@liampeterson8299]

I just realized you have a stack of D&D books, you should do something on that, it's getting quite popular

[@WatchItPlayed]

It's something I have an interest in, but haven't gotten to it.

[@Coffeemaker1978]

Have I ever told you, that I love your way of teaching Rodney? I do!

[@WatchItPlayed]

If you have and I forgot, I certainly appreciate hearing it again :)

[@talkingbone]

I love how you spin the game :)

[@joshestes6427]

Love the art in this game, great video very clear. Not boardgame related, but the new haircut looks good Rodney!

[@WatchItPlayed]

Thank you kindly!

[@NextFarley]

This video is about to get a bunch more views with the new launch on BoardGameArena. Rodney's videos are top-notch. I'm always so relieved when a game I want to play already has a WatchItPlayed video. Rodney, do you have a background in education? Your lesson-planning is seriously impressive.

[@WatchItPlayed]

Thank you for the kind words! I don't have a background in education, but it's a very kind compliment that you thought I might have.

[@Kindlesmith70]

Long time no see. It's about time I caught up on what is new. Been more in the video game scene so it is time for a rotation.

[@WatchItPlayed]

Happy to have you around for another spin :)

[@rjba02]

Roney, you're making the trigger finger on my wallet really itchy with all these great games you've been showing. Great job as always on the clear instructions but boo for making me want things i wasnt planning to buy

[@WatchItPlayed]

I'll try to feature some games you won't like, real soon!

[@rjba02]

@@WatchItPlayed Good luck with that. I don't think that's gonna happen anytime soon. In the meantime ill cry myself to sleep while drying the tears with the receipt from my recently purchased copy of abyss

[@sdg6726]

Greetings from Germany, what a fantastic Game. thanks for this great Video.

[@WatchItPlayed]

So glad you enjoyed - thanks!

[@JaKamps]

A good game that’s made great with the Leviathan expansion!

[@chriswinston1223]

Both expansions are a must.

[@JaKamps]

@@chriswinston1223 I'm satisfied without the Kraken expansion. (Though it may have some interesting modules.)

[@RA-dq4ro]

That flip was...

[@24Nasorangmal]

Thanks for the teach Rodney!

[@WatchItPlayed]

My pleasure!

[@wickedsencho]

The kraken expansion makes this game infinitely better, because it will add a lot more creative choices a player can do on their turn.

[@SunnyNeuroshima]

I ordered Abyss after watching this video. Rodney and his magic strikes again. Religions have been started on less.

[@WatchItPlayed]

I hope you have a great time playing Sunny!

[@catherinetaylor556]

Thanks for this - I just watched it to learn how to play the Board Game Arena implementation

[@WatchItPlayed]

Have a great time playing!

[@timjones990]

Hi, I don't get @12:30, adding your lowest affiliates, if they are not being added to the end game total why do this?

[@WatchItPlayed]

Take a look at the effect on the Sargasso Fields board (12:45), that will help explain it.

[@timjones990]

@@WatchItPlayed Ahhhhh, devil's in the detail. You legend. Thanks WiP team. 11 months since leaving my first comment I now own a copy :)

[@BrunoLarouche]

Like always, superbly explained!

[@WatchItPlayed]

Very kind Bruno - thank you.

[@jlfons]

Is there a hand size limit in the game? Can I have as many allies as I want in my hand?

[@WatchItPlayed]

It's been long enough since I shot the video that I don't recall what it says, but if it doesn't indicate a hand limit, then there isn't.

[@SunnyNeuroshima]

8:42 you state you didn't have a combination to bring you to exactly ten. Could you not have played the green 4, blue 1, purple 2 and purple 3?

[@WatchItPlayed]

Yep, while the rule is explained correctly in the video, the example is faulty! The Green 1, should not have been included in that set. Good catch.

[@SunnyNeuroshima]

@@WatchItPlayed Thanks, Rodney. Really appreciate your tutorials, as always.

[@Caleena1989]

8:45 Wouldn't it be possible to don't use the green 1? It would give you a total value of 10 and you would have still used 3 different races including a green card.

[@WatchItPlayed]

Yep, I made a miscalculation in the example, but hopefully the rule is clear even so. Sorry!

[@1ebaymama]

At the 13:00 mark you showed 10 ally cards, but I thought the end game was triggered when a player get 7 lords?

[@WatchItPlayed]

Very true, and nice catch. I'm showing how to calculate scores here, which remains accurate, but the example would not actually happen in this way, because as you say, one would not be able to recruit 13 lords to get that many allies!

[@PriNcEoFSpAcE009]

recently got this game and love it, however there's one rule I'm still bit unsure of - in the rulebook it says that "once you get 3 keys you must IMMEDIATELY(underlined) take control of a location" what I'm wondering is how immediately is "immediately" e.g. do you get to use the power of the lord with which you get the 3rd key?(since the lords used for getting control are covered up)

[@WatchItPlayed]

Hope this helps! Turn sequence is as follows: 1) You pay (allies) for the Lord you want to recruit and then affiliate the smallest ally. 2) You Take the Lord at the court and place it in front of you. If this lord has a one-shot action, you can activate it immediately. If it's a lord with a key, you can trigger the action if it has a valid target (for example: winning one pearl each turn). Then, if there is 2 or less Lord at the court, you re-fill it. 3) Now, you check if you have 3 keys. If so, you MUST take control of one location, which means that you lose their special ability

[@PriNcEoFSpAcE009]

@@WatchItPlayed okay I've played the game slightly wrong then.... although with the way I played there was another layer of tactics to the game e.g. farmers with keys was more valuable as closing lords since they have no abilities that get blocked and you had to take into consideration which lords to chose more carefully when you already had 2 keys - e.g. taking a "less" useful lord to control a location, so that you could possible get more use of another lords ability if you were able to grab him the next turn(although leaving open for another player to swoop in and take him/her). I'll possibly keep it around as house rule.

[@maizetoken377]

Rodney, I love your videos! I’ve always wondered, though: how many times, in your estimation, have you dropped the box top during a spin-and-catch and had to start over?

[@WatchItPlayed]

Are you suggesting I don't catch them EVERY time? *gasp*

[@megwinters5277]

and (2) it seems like the monster track will never go above maybe the second position since it gets reset whenever someone fights a monster, since there are so few and there are benefits of battle, which resets the marker to the top of the track. So player 1 ignores a monster and the marker goes to position 2. Then player 2 fights and it goes back to position 1. I feel I'm missing something.

[@WatchItPlayed]

It's been long enough since I shot this, that I don't recall off the top of my head, and unfortunately I don't have the game handy to be able to check for you. But I can assure you the video has the rules correct on how it works.

[@celian1483]

Hello, um maybe i'm a bit late, but i have a quick question for you ^^' can the both extensions be played at the same time? Or it has to be one or the other? Thank you in advance ! :p by the way, it was a good video, watched it all ❤ and learned it well thanks to you ^^

[@WatchItPlayed]

Thanks for the kind words - glad you enjoyed the video :) I didn't cover the expansions, so I'm not sure what restrictions there might be there.

[@megwinters5277]

It looks great but I have two questions: (1) when buying a lord, can I just dump extra cards in a required race? For example, if I need 10 seahorse points, can I put down 5+4+3+2+1, even though 4+3+2+1 are sufficient? It was hard to understand if you said "can dump cards" or "can't dump cards."

[@WatchItPlayed]

You can't pay extras just to get them out of your hand.

[@JackieFox1976]

Awesome video as always, though I have one request for your vids which is to give an approximate play time (notice I said approximate) that is perhaps a bit more realistic than the BS game publishers always print on the box. Nothing like a "90-120 minute" game that lasts 5 hours! Sometimes I like a 5-hour game. Sometimes I have something to get to. Thanks, Rodney!

[@WatchItPlayed]

I avoid doing this, because really, it's always going to come down to the players and their style of play. Some groups have a lot of players who play slow and others that play fast. It's impossible to predict, really.

[@salbertron]

I can always rest easy when the game my friends are bringing to game night has a Rodney Smith video.

[@WatchItPlayed]

Have a great time playing!

[@MrRockapoodle72]

The rulebook says at the end of the game "Each player affiliates the lowest value Ally of EACH race they still hold in their hands. Any other allies are discarded." I cant find this rule mentioned anywhere in this video. Do we affiliate the cards from our hand at the end of the game or do we only focus on the affiliated cards already down from recruiting a lord

[@WatchItPlayed]

This is addressed here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rabbh2ZjqJ1ggJY

[@MrRockapoodle72]

Wow youre right idk how i missed that earlier

[@TrapSavvy]

do you NOT count the other allies under the allies with the highest score during calculation? if not then why even place them under your main affiliates?

[@WatchItPlayed]

Hey Trap, I shot this long enough ago, do you might time time stamping to the section you're asking about?

[@Juliwon]

Sweet new do' bro! Looking suave 👍🏽👍🏽👍🏽

[@WatchItPlayed]

Thanks!

[@dallasmiller1279]

Hey Rodney, what kind of material is on the top of your table? Felt?

[@WatchItPlayed]

It's the underside of a fabric called crepe.

[@dandyprime5338]

This game and its expansions seems right up my alley. Unfortunately, the website I usually buy my board games from, Miniature Market, does not sell the game or the expansions. I went to Amazon instead and discovered that Abyss and its Kraken expansion are available, but its Leviathan expansion is nowhere to be seen. That being said, how did you manage to get a hold of a copy of the Leviathan expansion, Rodney? As far as I have figured out and researched, there is no official USA release for that expansion yet. Thanks for the video and all the hard work you put into making these tutorials. I love watching them! :)

[@WatchItPlayed]

I was sent a copy for the purposes of the video. I'm not sure what their release plans are for that expansion, though I have seen it on some online shops (I don't post links, because I avoid weighing in on where people should buy their games).

[@dandyprime5338]

@@WatchItPlayed Thanks for the reply, Rodney! I really enjoy your content and it has introduced me to a lot of cool new board games. I understand your commitment to avoid posting links so as not to suggest where one should buy their games. Looks like I'll be getting mine on Amazon UK then, since that's the only place outside of the US that I can seem to find a copy of that expansion. Thanks again for replying and for all the hard work you do for the channel! After watching some of your older videos from many years ago, it's so nice seeing you come a long way and doing what you love! You're awesome! Say "hi" to Andrea and Luke for me, haha! :D

[@JohnWII]

I'm slightly uncertain about the threat track. Does it's position reset to the beginning each time a player chooses to explore the depths? If not, what happens if the marker on the track makes it to the bottom and players still choose to not fight? And just to be clear the monster cards are only shuffled once the deck is exhausted, so after the 6th one is revealed there will be no way to get at the rewards from the threat track until the deck is reshuffled? Thanks!

[@WatchItPlayed]

1) It only resets once a player chooses to fight a monster - otherwise it advances and stays where it is. 2) If the threat tracker is on the bottom most position, it doesn't advance further and just stays there (though when a tracker is that high, the player would likely choose to fight as the reward is so good. 3) Correct.

[@JohnWII]

@@WatchItPlayed Thanks!

[@hotaplays1314]

Nice game man!! I love it keep it up :)

[@WatchItPlayed]

Thanks for checking it out - glad you enjoyed!

[@KNic0lson]

Thank you

[@WatchItPlayed]

You're welcome Kate!

[@timjones990]

OMG this artwork! I want to own it based on just that lol.

[@WatchItPlayed]

It's pretty nice, right?!

[@SunnyNeuroshima]

Been playing this a lot and enjoying it immensely. Just one question for you, Rodney. If I recruit a Lord who comes with a key and a semi-permanent Power, and it's my third key, am I allowed to use the semi-permanent Power before taking control of a Location?

[@WatchItPlayed]

Good question. Timing issues can be tricky in games, so that’s one that should be checked with the publisher, based on the particular card and effect combo.

[@SunnyNeuroshima]

General consensus is that semi-permanent Lord Powers can be used prior to using those same Lords to secure a Location. Makes sense, seeing as Control Locations is step 3 of the turn sequence. This suggests Lord Powers can be utilised during step 2.

[@Mylesanimate]

Some of the locations have 3 different looking keys. And some locations say 3 of each key is needed. Do any of those matter? Is the 9 key locations essentially impossible without a lord getting it for me without a cost?

[@WatchItPlayed]

I'm sorry, I'm having just a bit of trouble understanding the question. I may just need a few more details.

[@Mylesanimate]

@@WatchItPlayed For example. The Location "The Sanctuary" has 3 different keys printed on the right corner and every key has a "x3" on it. Another one exactly like that is "The Sargasso Fields"

[@WatchItPlayed]

darkn3sspawn I wonder if you have a different printing or edition. Those two locations for me do not show key symbols. Sorry I can’t assist with that. This might be an issue you need to raise with the publisher.

[@LordoftheBoard]

I need to play this. Hmm. I’m not sure why I don’t already own it

[@WatchItPlayed]

Thanks for checking out the video!

[@gessi568]

One of my groups favorites games, had no idea there was expansions for it, will need to grab those. Do you know if they can be combined?

[@Sam-vk8xd]

Yes, they can be combined.

[@jpower2010]

Leviathan was non-existent in canada at least... Im hoping now with this new buzz that the expansions become available. Kraken you should still be able to find easy enough.

[@Sam-vk8xd]

jpower2010 my understanding is that leviathan will be getting a wider release this year per a post on BGG I read, and that’s probably why Rodney mentioned the expansions here (since this video was sponsored by the developer).

[@jpower2010]

@@Sam-vk8xd of course it is! Right after i bought a couple of copies and had them imported from europe!

[@Sam-vk8xd]

jpower2010 that’s usually how it goes, right? A couple of weeks back I was about to do the same but decided to check BGG first and found a thread saying they were planning to put out the expansion for wider release this year. I feel your pain though.

[@Tyrogandio]

That's one creepy box art...

[@WatchItPlayed]

Dark things lurk in the deep!

[@mbrochh82]

Just got this game. Anyone knows where to get the Leviathan expansion?

[@WatchItPlayed]

Not sure where you can currently, but all the best in your quest!

[@stralelestra4458]

the last copy was in France few weeks ago... Maybe it is still there... Try Ebay

[@michiel6789]

Rodney ma Boi !

[@bennu547]

The artwork is pretty. But I’m not one for taking a million turns just to build your deck. At least with games like Marvel’s deck building game, you are actively trying to defeat henchmen and villains that get revealed on the board while building your deck at the same time. Your deck gets more useful later but still can be used to play. Like I’d rather get dealt random cards to work from and build from that then take an eternity to build one to then be able to use

[@WatchItPlayed]

Glad this helped you discover that the game might be suited to your particular tastes! Thanks for checking it out.

[@KHam33]

Ha ha how many takes did you need for that perfect box twirl at the start?

[@WatchItPlayed]

Are you suggesting I didn't get it on the first attempt?!?! ;)

[@SayedYasin]

RATTLE BATTLE PLEASE!!!!

[@WatchItPlayed]

Thanks for the interest.

[@joaopereira8764]

Lord of the rings lcg 2 players playtouth pls

[@WatchItPlayed]

Thanks for the interest!

[@chriswinston1223]

Why Abyss all of a sudden? I believe this is 4 or 5 years old at this point.

[@scottsmartky]

I think BGG is having him go through some of the bigger games from the recent past to do videos that he didn't cover previously, especially if they have more recent expansions.

[@WatchItPlayed]

BGG doesn't make any of the game selections. I personally like covering older titles (along with the newer ones). I find it enjoyable to do - and I know for lots of new people coming into the hobby, these kinds of games may be recommend to them, making them the hot new game for them.

[@WatchItPlayed]

Game selections on the channel have always been up to me, and that remains true today. I just personally like covering older titles (along with the newer ones). I find it enjoyable to do - and I know for lots of new people coming into the hobby, these kinds of games may be recommend to them, making it the "new release" game for them.

[@JohnY-up7hd]

SMELLS LIKE LOVECRAFT; Great intro video but this game is not my cuppa, thanks for posting!

[@WatchItPlayed]

Thanks for checking it out anyway!

[@1ebaymama]

I feel like the cover art was a bad choice compared to all the great art on the cards. It seems to me it would be good to have the name of the game on the front of the box too.

[@WatchItPlayed]

I think they were going for something striking, but you're right in that it does leave a person wondering "what game am I looking at?"

[@grzegorzpaulewicz7890]

nice haircut :)

[@logspga]

can the intro's sound be reduced a couple clicks please, it blares into my ears everytime I come from another video

[@WatchItPlayed]

Interesting. I haven't heard that feedback before, and I do read every comment - on the editing side, the intro music is already turned down from it's baseline level, and its db levels are close to equivalent to my voice. I'd probably need to get a bit more feedback about this before making any changes, but I'll keep an eye out for other comments like this.