An Age Contrived Review: A Production Contrived

[@dustinwashburn1283]

I do find it odd how many people are having an issue with the metal board mechanisms. I haven't had a single issue with mine. I do agree about the stickers. I hate stickers. But I actually enjoyed putting the boards together.

[@billtodd2194]

I think this review undersells it. Yes, combo turns take a bit to resolve, but this game is designed to be a combo builder, everyone should unlock big satisfying chain turns. And, I think the monuments are one of the better shared goal implementations out there. I dislike a lot of games that have 3 slots to complete a goal, you spend a turn to put your piece in, someone snags 2 spots, gets 10pts and a bunch of rewards and you get like 1pt for assisting. Here everyone gets a large economic boost to the point it actually feels valuable to contribute everywhere and the game tension is determining when to focus on scoring rather than just spread out for economy. All that said, I will agree the theme is not there and the tie ins to terms like binding made this harder for my group to grasp than games with a larger, but more intuitive, ruleset. I'd call it a good, but not great game. I rate it an 8 since I love combos, but would easily see a rating more around a 6-7 range from someone less into that. Under 5 surprises me. Especially the negative comparison it to Vindication, which was just a thin veneer over cube converting and a bunch of rng.

[@uziekiele]

This is a really fun game that actually plays faster with more players imo. It really speeds up during the play and ends quicker than you expect. It's really more of a race game - race for the monuments, race to the achievements, etc. The theme fell a little flat for me but the mechanisms are a fun puzzle.

[@FrasierFanMSU]

Putting those deluxe boards together was the single most annoying assembly bit I've had to do in six years of modern board gaming, and I was pretty disappointed to realize how useless the mechanical levers were in the game. The deluxe boards at least move the tiles along correctly (unlike the basic ones), but double-layer boards would really have done the trick there. I did like the mechanics of the game more than you all did in my one play of it so far, but it's *really* hard to get to the table. I'm kinda done with crowdfunded games, man.

[@shaike82]

I enjoyed it quite a bit

[@swcrusader]

Yeah, I'm mostly waiting for reprint kickstarters or updates to games I already have.

[@jonsparks3152]

Wendy’s “we really want to know” at the end, was said with so little enthusiasm that I laughed out loud.

[@matt7912-j9p]

I backed the deluxe Kickstarter, assembled the boards, read the rules and promptly sold it. I don't know what I was thinking a year and a half ago when I backed it.

[@TabletopFamily]

Don't back anything with out a rulebook pdf

[@aonline_abridged]

Wow, that was rough. I liked this game soooo much more than Vindication. While I agree that it is abstract and the metal springs are completely unnecessary, I do not agree that this game is not fun. I played it 2 players only though so cannot comment about engagement limbo while resolving monuments.

[@thewynnersgameroom]

Damn this lowers my determination to get this to the table soon…Ill have to give it a try and see if I share in the sentiments.

[@KissellMissile]

I took one look at the KS page and knew this is a game that needed a developer and an established publisher. It's sad that so many mediocre games sell thousands of (expensive) copies just based on marketing and component hype, but this is the industry we earned for ourselves.

[@PRC533]

I've actually played the game and found it quite enjoyable. This is one of the times that I think the DT crew got it wrong, they were much harsher than it deserved.

[@shaike82]

This Game, in his Deluxe edition, came pre-customized by each pledge supporter. This means that we probably will prefer not to "sell forward" our games. Would you feel like there are house rules you could implement, to better play and enjoy this game? How would you make it better?

[@vitoroliveira-mk8kg]

Only played at 2 players and loved it. I don’t think it would be any good with more than 3 so maybe that’s the problem.

[@Revariance]

I thought it was a pretty fun game honestly. There's a lot going on but I thought they did a good job of making something that feels unique but also has a nice ramp-up feeling towards the end of the game. I played the bird guy and by the end of the game I was darting around the board comboing all my 3 special abilities and not having to waste time doing basic stuff anymore, it felt pretty rewarding. That being said, assembling the mechanical boards wasn't exactly my idea of a good time, and putting everything back into the box even with their guide is a huge pain in the ass. To me this is a super solid 7 out of 10, but I don't feel the deluxe edition adds that much to the game. The retail version is just fine.

[@PRC533]

I agree, this review has me baffled. I feel like there’s something they missed entirely.

[@whiteshark17]

I remember when this was on Kickstarter (or Gamefound or whatever) and my thought about it was a boardgame contrived. It seems that was spot on.

[@cheesedanishable]

I was close to going in on it. The ideas were better on paper than the table.

[@WizarDru]

I'm going to hard disagree, here. Not on the discussion of the boards: they are difficult to assemble and yes, they are toyetic bling and nothing more. Not on the question of complexity, particularly of the teach, which is a bit of a challenge. But that the game is boring or unfocused? That hasn't been my experience. We've played it about 5 times so far...one of my friends has played it more than that, since more than one member of the meetup backed it. It IS a lot to absorb, but the assymetric powers are a feature, not a bug. Each character has a strategy to lean into and so far, everyone at our meetups who have played it found they enjoyed it (and multiple people have played repeatedly). While I don't expect anyone to play a game they aren't enjoying, I will say that bridge placement is VERY strategic. Put the wrong bridge near the wrong opponent and you will be giving them a big bonus. Each character has powerful combos is triggered and if they get all the powers, they are all very powerful. I'm surprised to find that they found completing monuments to be boring, as for most of our games, that was the best part of the game - especially as it triggers bonuses for everyone. And I'm guessing they must have hated Multanec, as his powers allow him to complete monuments solo by late game, if allowed to do so. I have heard almost all of the characters described as over-powered on BGG,; this is usually because that player figure their character out and the others didn't...or didn't slow them down. Ignotas the dragon, for example, can practically refill his board when taking an advance turn, making them super-effective. And upgrading the tiles or getting conduit tokens to make advance turns much more useful is a strategy (though not vital, but some characters get more use than others out of them). There are multiple paths to victory and multiple strategies to follow. I have won a game by getting all the Pillars of Civilization, but also won a game where I just got in enough monuments. I have lost to someone who strategically placed their level 3 bridge and used Feyrith's powers to reallocate her bound energy for big points. More than many games I own, AAC rewards multiple plays and more strategies. The game also gets significantly faster after the first game, but that's true of a lot of games. :) I do appreciate that the player cards offer suggestions for your first few turns. One amusing thing I will note: most people love to fling the energy tiles, once they get the hang of it. At one game, one of the players just plucked the energy off his board to put out on the main board and another player jokingly chastised him for not doing it 'the right way'. [he put the energy tiles back and launched them while we laughed] I would probably rate this as an '8', myself. It has some flaws, but it's been a big hit at our meetups.

[@rb4551]

I really enjoyed it and so did my 2 friends. Its a pain to learn and tea h but once you get going it clicks fairly quickly. First game is totally a learning game and it looks so pretty. Boards were a bit tedious to assemble but it did add to toy factor. Its hard to table and teach but its a pretty good time. Id give it an 8.

[@RvLeshrac]

Same. I enjoyed it; I probably wouldn't have gotten the boards as an add-on, and I don't really like them as a long-term thing, but they're neat. Would much rather just have some solid dual- or triple-layer boards. I didn't have *ANY* trouble teaching it, though. It all seems to flow pretty easily together, once people have the turn types down.

[@rb4551]

@@RvLeshrac It was mostly I think the fact that I had read the instructions and figuring out some details as I was teaching. Also the icons were a bit of a pain to learn for players.

[@joedipietro7147]

Appreciate the review, completely disagree on the scoring, my group has had a ton of fun with this and found in consistently engaging.

[@HansJoachimMaier]

I want to give it at least one try. A youtuber who matches pretty often my taste gave the prototype a good review. :)

[@PRC533]

It’s a much better game than this review makes it out to be, especially if you like what you are seeing going in.

[@HansJoachimMaier]

@@PRC533 Yeah. Pretty much my opinion. Just one thing: I backed the metal stuff. I must have been insane at the time...

[@Phildiculous]

I see this at every convention and have started seeing it in stores and have been dubious of it every time since I have never figured out what this game does that hooks you, the answer is apparently nothing... In 2024, that's so frustrating.

[@olanmills64]

I haven't played this yet. Is getting blocked out of a monument that big of a problem? Is it because of the compass tiles? The reviewers mentioned that there were only three spaces multiple times, but there are three spaces per monument (and there are [player count]+1 monuments in the game). And when a monument section is completed, there will be a fresh section with three empty spaces on it. I understand that a player could deploy multiple tiles to monuments in their turn, but monument completion only occurs at the end of a turn, so there should be at least one empty monument section at the start of the next turn, except maybe is it compass tiles that are ruining that?

[@joedipietro7147]

I've played six times at various player counts and we never ran into this issue, for what it's worth.

[@WizarDru]

I've played five times, at two,three and four player count. We haven't had a problem. Yes, you won't get in on every monument. That by design. You need to choose eggs to go; the are always more monuments than players, so you'll get some rewards unless you completely ignore them.

[@conillet]

Stellar panel! 🤠👍

[@Troy-gu5vu]

going 3rd in a 3 player game meant that before my FIRST turn two of the monuments where completed by the other players because they had the tokens that immediately get placed back into monuments, i ended up winning the game so it seemed to not mattered for scoring but man that felt really bad, i cant imagine how bad it would be at 5!

[@PRC533]

Each monument has 4-5 pieces so it’s not like there is a shortage of them to score. I think part of that is just learning the game and understanding that people are going to score monuments sometimes, but everyone gets plenty of opportunities.

[@ethancollins4593]

Are you sure you were playing with the rules properly? I don't know if that's actually possible to build a monument that rapidly.

[@WizarDru]

I think you may have misunderstood a rule - I'm not sure how you would get six energy on the board that fast, even with a compass.

[@Troy-gu5vu]

@@ethancollins4593 it is, 2 of them in fact can be built that quickly, you just have to use the ones that start on the board to buy tiles but move them out instead

[@Troy-gu5vu]

@@WizarDru nope, just a really frustrating design overlook that might not end up effecting the score too much but makes the start feel really bad, you use the tokens that start ready to buy tiles, if players 1 and 2 both do it they each put out 2 and then the compasses can go out also there may have been magnets in there aswell

[@LegoAssassin098]

Most of the time, I am very forgiving with kickstarter implements that replace an action or game piece with something that is more difficult or unnecessary. Many times, I think the novelty is good enough to outweigh the unnecessary. For example, the buildings in Foundations of Rome are unnecessary but fun. The flying board in skyrise is unnecessary, but it makes it just that more immersive. The minis for Final Girl or Return to dark tower or most CMON games are not necessary in the slightest, but doesn't impact really detract from play, and are nice. Generally, even if the stupidity outweighs the novelty/practicality, I am not upset since the novelty makes me happy to an extent, especially if they have some level of thematic connection. The wooden components to Allplays Habitat do make the game more fiddly, but I like the bits. The extra bits for the tiny epic games do make the game less tiny and not fit in the box, but they are kind of cool. The minis for Vindication are probably too much, but seeing the monuments on the board does make the board pop. There are games where the impracticality absolutely overwhelms the novelty, like the board in TITAN. These metal board things baffle me. I'm so confused as to how anyone would like these. They make the game longer, have no thematic connection with the game, are more fiddly, and makes no sense to the very core. Maybe if the game was about slingshots, I could see it. I truly dont know how that piece gets through production. That's a piece you come up with in the early publishing prototype stage and then another person says "no, it won't work" and scraps it. I'm at a loss for words at that weird "deluxe" component. EDIT: I watched the publishers how to assemble video on KZbin. That thing is WILD. They made a very good and easy to follow guide - major kudos to them for this - but that's so much work to put together. I think my least favorite part is the sticker. Everything else has such precision built into it, and that sticker could be ever so misaligned and it is all over. Guess you're choosing the design you don't like now. I like buidling and organizing games and i have many wooden organizers, but my goodness. That might be one of the best examples of overengineering in board games. Hope they make more guides in the future though. It was really good.

[@claytrongo]

I was going to say the same thing but you articulated it well so I'll just agree. This kind of needless novelty I think is a bit of an embarrassment. I imagine that most people I know would simply choose not to use it.

[@PRC533]

I can’t help but feel like there is some kind of groupthink going on here. As if someone had a bad experience and soured it for others before they got a chance to play. All of the mechanisms in this game are pretty standard for euros, and they are implemented similarly, but this one got a really strong negative reaction for some reason. I’d put it at a solid 7, maybe higher if you give it a few plays and really learn the intricacies of the system. For as much as the deluxe player board was lamented, I’m surprised the player aid did not get a mention. It’s one of the best in any game I’ve seen.

[@krisrhodes5180]

Tom said "not a bad title for a game" and I was a little surprised because the title made me think "this is a game where they just checked some boxes on current trends in games, probably put together by committee and including some meaningless gimmick that might sound cool in the abstract" I skip ahead to the final summaries of people's opinions and lo and behold! Nothing with the word "age" in the title made after the year 2017 is going to be any good yall. It will always fit the above description.

[@PRC533]

I’ve actually played the game and found it quite enjoyable. So not as universal of a rule as you might think.

[@rgmnetid]

Two 4s and a 5 begs the question... why is this going in the library? Does that essentially mean "we'll put this in the hot games room for a convention or two?" And isn't that just more free marketing for a company whose marketing was already better than its product?

[@mikintosh6111]

They have several hundred games in the library. I would not interpret any addition or subtraction as an endorsement. Tom may yeet it next year if no one checks it out etc.

[@thedicetower]

Correct. I assume it's interesting enough that some people will play it. That, more than anything else, determines what goes in the library. But yeah, if very few people play it, I'll chuck it in a year. But I want to give games a fair chance. Our opinion isn't the be-all, end-all.

[@trunkage]

Just because Tom and the crew dislike a game, that does not mean everyone dislikes a game That's not how games work Eg. Tom likes Cosmic Encounters. I actively avoid playing it I dislike it that much. He can like it and I don't have to

[@rgmnetid]

Tom's reply of "I assume it's interesting enough that some people will play it" is the answer I was looking for. @mikintash6111 I understand that Tom puts games into the library that he doesn't like, but it is not the case that every game goes in by default; that's impossible and he even had to be badgered to add the fantastic Poetry for Neanderthals. @trunkage Condescending and useless reply.

[@trunkage]

@rgmnetid Here's me thinking that saying 'you are assuming Tom interest in a game is related to being placed in the library and is a bad assumption' was going to be patronising Or that Tom was giving out free marketing for no reason was patronising and couldn't just be that tom understood that everyone is different and might like different things.

[@dragonlance6027]

Would you say this game is contrived?

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Wasn't this one hyped on Kickstarter back in the day? Just saying . . . 😉

[@djoj20]

I remember the words "a difficult but rewarding euro"

[@srpad]

Definitely. I remember this took over my entire KZbin feed which turned me off.

[@boriskirov3953]

yup, anything that gets massively hyped and promoted is a giant red flag for me...

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

This is why I stay away from KS previews.

[@andrewburnett6215]

I tend to avoid Kickstarter previews unless there is actual gameplay involved. I watched Before You Play do a run-through of this game and decided that it felt too convoluted and unfocused to be something I would enjoy.

[@benlauson555]

3100 people spent $120 on this hahaha doggone!

[@john-qz3fu]

rather pricy for a game you haven’t played. Oddly seems to be the norm now.

[@neptuune]

I did and I like the game, is that a problem for you ?

[@benlauson555]

@@neptuune No it isn't a problem! I genuinely find it hilarious - is that a problem for you?

[@PRC533]

$120 isn’t even remotely expensive for a crowdfunded board game.

[@spunx44]

Sounds about right. It’s been kind of funny to see this thing being unloaded en masse on BGG marketplace. Sucks for the backers, I guess.

[@PRC533]

There aren’t that many up on geek market. I don’t think there was any kind of mass sell off of this game, it was pretty up front about what it was.

[@spunx44]

@@PRC533 compare the number up for sale and sold vs something else like Slay the Spire. Also note that they’re listed for less than the original price and still aren’t moving. If you don’t think people are trying to unload them, I don’t know what to tell you.

[@WizarDru]

@@spunx44 Just for curiosity's sake, I took a look. There are currently 17 new copies for sale. I think your confusion comes from the fact there are three editions at different price points. Also, one listing is just selling metal tokens and another selling their player boards. All of the others are selling at or above the KS price (there are three editions on sale, hence the range from $55 to $250). By contrast, there are no Slay the Spire copies currently for sale, but of the ones that have recently sold, they sold both above and below the list price. What you're seeing there is typical Kickstarter FOMO selling, hoping to cash-in the next Gloomhaven.

[@PRC533]

@@spunx44 I compared it with Dwellings of Eldervale. Also a very deluxe kickstarter game. They have almost exactly the same number of listings.

[@spunx44]

@@PRC533 That game is years old, of course there are lots on the market now. The copium is strong with this one 😆

[@ExBeeOne]

21:46 'In order for me to give this a 5, it would have to be "This is a game that's not for me, but I can see it for somebody. I don't really see this, for anybody..."' I thought that was a great distinction, between a 4 and a 5.

[@ambrosehuang897]

what kind of optimus prime is that in the background?

[@whatboardgame]

This review confused me. Having played the game, a lot of this just doesn’t make sense to me. So many good and interesting things were criticised for small reasons. Such as the “how to teach” the game part of the rule, and the metal components, of course! And this seemed to make them all a little negative about the overall experience. Which I get. But 1. You didn’t have to get or use the upgraded version. 2. You don’t have to use the how to teach section. And I could go on about the other criticisms too. My favourite of which was putting in the metal holders. Which, if you do in order, as the rule book explains, takes seconds and is very easy to do. Saying moving your character was pointless… it’s just like any track. You build up through the lower stages to get to the part that reward. In this case, the bridges. It is just done in a more interesting way. Moving a character on a board over cubes up a track. And the orientation is so they always go forward, until there is a dead end. Makes sense to me. Odd review.

[@AdamJorgensen]

Man I love it when the deluxe components are nonsensical and unhelpful 😂 I also "love" it when the theme doesn't mesh with the mechanics in anyway.

[@johnyuffels4796]

will, you tom buid down the board each time? because of the metal pieces

[@muttshouse]

Oh no. I spent time assembling the game and haven't been able to get my family to even try the game. This does not bode well. I'm sad about the metal deck as it looked good, but clearly wasn't needed. I'm hoping that even if the game is bad, we can make up new rules to play with and salvage the money spent on it.

[@PRC533]

It’s not nearly as bad as they made it out to be. I think it’s a fairly interesting euro.

[@DeltaDemon1]

The weird terms and names is why i don't like games where they find weird alternative fantasy things. In the end, you almost always don't get something really original, it's just pasted on and in reality it's just the same old reliable proven thing anyways and you have to adjust the names for no good reason. It's not a Wizard, it's a Magiany...No, it's a Wizard. Just name it that so we don't have to bother learning useless naming convention.

[@NormalTheBand]

Fantastic Review

[@thrallj]

I really really disliked this game. Worst game of 2024 so far!!

[@neptuune]

I guess I should apologize for enjoying this game 🤷

[@thedicetower]

Well, we never say that. If you enjoy it, that's amazing, and we are glad you are!

[@thedicetower]

Why? Everyone should enjoy the games they like whether we do or not.

[@uplift-yourdailypickup6424]

Wow I hope this gives more people pause before backing a big expensive kickstarter like this. Better dump this game on to the used market asap before values dive.

[@WizarDru]

Or alternately, they'll disagree with the review and be happy with their copy. Which is the case for myself and another member of my meetup group, who hold a higher opinion of the game than Tom, Wendy or Chris did. Not every game works for every gamer.

[@neptuune]

I'm not gonna dump the game anywhere. Actually the game is very good. Just because Dice Tower gang don't like it doesn't mean it's a bad game.

[@darinherrick9224]

@@WizarDruDice Tower completely missed the mark on some of the best games I’ve ever played. Treasure Hunter, NEOM, Grifters, IMPERIUS. And love some games I despise. Wingspan, 7 Wonders Duel, Dominion. Crap, crap, crap. But they eat it up.

[@Joe_WS]

Can’t stand the name of this game. It’s enough for me to give it a 0/10 right away.

[@thegameknightuk8156]

Me too! Absolutely atrocious name for a board game. I mentioned this on their FB page and others were like "Nah, I really like the name" I was like, "Wtf?!"

[@Joe_WS]

@@thegameknightuk8156 lol. Everytime I hear it I shudder. Something completely illogical in my brain gets wound up by it

[@ilqrd.6608]

A title butchered