ASARA BOARD GAME Review After 50+ Plays - EP21: A Kramer & Kiesling Hidden Gem Worker Placement Game

[@ruleaus7664]

Was lucky enough to get this cheap locally, but it's been in the shrink wrap for over a year now. This gave me the push to try it out this weekend. Looks very good.

[@undiscovered_games]

That's amazing!!! You are in for a treat. As I said in the video, it really shines at 4p, but it's a solid game regardless. Hope you enjoy it!!

[@ChristophPollmann-y3z]

You have mentioned something very important here: A game group makes a game "survive" this long. It is very often the setting, the feel of your favourite pants you slip in, which makes a game great and always interesting. With the cult of the new, we often only try to get this feeling back, that we somehow lost...

[@undiscovered_games]

Absolutely correct. This applies to so many of my favorite games! If you think about it, when a game is playtested over and over, the playtesters start to understand the depth of the game much better than the average player who plays the game once or twice (and instantly makes a decision if they like it or not). So many games get bad ratings on BGG because players don't give them enough plays to shine. I believe the best games come to life when you play repeatedly with the same group, and then you start to strategize around each other's tendencies. That type of player interaction is what makes board games fun for me.

[@ChristophPollmann-y3z]

Agreed. The common achievement of feeling absolutely well and confident while playing and knowing all the details leads to a completely new layer of interaction and outsmarting, which you might look for in purchasing new games and ending up not finding it...@@undiscovered_games

[@mildmanneredmommy76]

Adding to my wish list!!! This one looks like a perfect fit for our gaming style and that board is gorgeous 😍😍😍 Great video as always!

[@undiscovered_games]

You're correct, the board is really pretty, and the video doesn't even capture it. When you see it in person I think you'll love it. I hope you enjoy the game! Let me know what you think of it!

[@djjlaumen]

Asara is great! For the exact reasons you’ve given. It can be played with almost anyone, packs a lot of punch for its length, and zips around the table.

[@undiscovered_games]

Absolutely! That’s awesome you are familiar with this game. I haven’t met too many who have played it. I see it on shelves from time to time in the background of KZbin videos or IG photos, but I never hear anyone talk about it. It’s SO underrepresented in my opinion!

[@djjlaumen]

@@undiscovered_games yeah, I hadn't either, then I bought it, first game night at my house afterwards (for context I have a lot of games, so it's not like there's a shelf with a handful of games) a guy says: "You have Asara? I love Asara! We must play it now!" and we did :-).

[@undiscovered_games]

Haha that’s amazing! Good to know I’m not alone in thinking it’s an awesome game!

[@MrJmarzetti]

Just discovered your channel. These are exactly the types of games I love best. I was recently lucky enough to get a copy of Aware and am really looking forward to giving it a try.

[@undiscovered_games]

Awesome! Welcome to the channel! Asara is one of my fav euros that plays in under an hour. That's awesome you found a copy, as it has apparently become quite rare nowadays!! Let me know how you like it!

[@MrJmarzetti]

@@undiscovered_games will do!

[@fallingbird9469]

This right here is why I follow your channel! So many games keep getting pumped out into the market while games like this go completely forgotten. This one looks like it could be released this year. Side note: I enjoyed seeing your board assembly/setup. I am not sure how I expected the board to unfold, but seeing the individual sections vs. the final game board was pretty cool. Is that a regular TTR size game box? If so that's an impressive table presence for a standard-sized game box! Great review! I really want to play this now!

[@undiscovered_games]

Thanks for the comment! You nailed it. These games get buried and it’s sad. I’m happy to share these types of games so they don’t get forgotten. Clearly lots of effort was put into designing & producing it, and I hate to see it go unnoticed! You are correct, it’s a standard TTR size box and it does seem to explode on the table once you set it up! I love the table presence with this one. Hope you get to try it soon!

[@eVanDiesel]

Wow, that's a lot of plays! This looks really cool and I'm surprised ive never heard of it!

[@undiscovered_games]

Yeah it has to be one of my most-played games, but usually whenever we play, it’s 2-3 games in a row because it’s so fast & easy to set back up. Merlin, on the other hand, holds our record for most plays in a year (we logged 50 plays of Merlin in a matter of a little over 1 year haha. Merlin is a much longer game than Asara, but one of our favs!).

[@minch25]

Just ordered a copy, it'll fit right in next to Java and Torres

[@undiscovered_games]

That's awesome! I'm so happy you were able to find a copy. It is becoming quite hard to find these days, unfortunately. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. Let me know how you like it!! :)

[@unethicalbatman3496]

Oooooo this looks gooood!!! 🔥 How did I miss this one? I love Kramer and Kiesling games. Thank you for showing this to me. Now, where to find a copy??? 🤔

[@undiscovered_games]

Good luck in your search! It looks like there are quite a few floating around on the second hand market still at a reasonable price. The prices I'm seeing are a steal if you ask me!! Thanks for the comment!

[@zipo13]

This game was recommended by Shem Philips as a a hidden gem. God hold of a copy a few years ago and since then became a fan of K&K games.

[@undiscovered_games]

That's awesome to hear Shem is a fan of this game. That confirms that I'm not crazy for thinking this is an awesome game, haha!

[@diamondmeeple]

I got this game... but still not played it yet. Nice review!

[@undiscovered_games]

Thanks!! Hey, Step 1 is acquiring the game, so that's a start! Hope you get to try it out soon. It's in my wife's top 10 of all time. I would easily put it in my top 50. It improves the more you play it, too.

[@RaduGaston1]

I would agree Asara is a pretty good game. The card play really makes this game shine. My favorite worker placement game is Agricola. If your interested in another great Kramer & Kiesling worker placement game check out Coal Baron or if you want another tower building game (can never have enough) from them try Porta Nigra.

[@undiscovered_games]

Nice! I agree the cardplay is where Asara really shines (and also the quick length). Agricola is a great game, no doubt. I’m strangely not always in the mood for that one, but I have enjoyed it before. It’s just a bit too long for my personal taste. I like these snappy games. However, my 2 fav worker placements are Caylus and Rajas of the Ganges. Caylus can definitely be a lonnng game so I just contradicted myself LOL. Porta Nigra is a cool game that I used to own but ended up culling it… and now you’re making me miss that one haha. I’ve always wanted to play Coal Baron but have not had a chance to yet!! I’ll need to bump that up on my research list 😎 Thanks for the comment!

[@nadavgordon3310]

I love this game but I still don’t understand the lighted windows. Is it a nuance that comes with experience? With every move being so precious, nobody seems to pick this option in our plays.

[@undiscovered_games]

Thanks for the comment! I agree the lighted windows are probably the least-used section of the board (especially in our earlier plays), but for us it kinda depends how those gold emblems come out in a given game. Now that everyone knows this game inside and out, we use the lighted windows much more. Whenever we play, everyone jumps on those gold emblems SO quickly. If there’s not many gold emblems available early in the game, I often try to get 2-4 lighted windows early and store them. I do this for 2 reasons. 1, if I can get them built, I get that 1 point per round (just like the gold emblems), but it gives me an early leg-up based on the limited amount of gold emblems available. 2, the group I play with is pretty cutthroat and we have lots of ties. If I start building a black or white tower, often times other players will directly challenge me by going after the same colors. So investing in lighted windows lets me get that point each round, plus it adds a layer of protection on that end game scoring. It’s definitely more of a nuanced decision. I see it as one of those “play it safe” investments that you don’t always need, but it has definitely paid off in some games before! Finally, it probably depends on the group you’re playing with too. All I know is we use it MUCH more now than we originally did. Hope that helps!!

[@zipo13]

@undiscovered_games do you have any experience with the expansions?

[@undiscovered_games]

I've always been curious about the expansions, but I have never felt the need to add more. Like I said in the video, we always use the master variants that come with the base game ("House of Lighted Windows" and "Recruit More Buyers"), but I have never tried the expansions. I would like to try them one day, but honestly, I don't feel the game needs anything extra as it is. Thanks for the comments!!

[@undiscovered_games]

Forgot to ask… have you tried the expansions? ?