Bärenpark Review - JonGetsGames

Here is my Bärenpark game review.
Look below to skip to each section of the video:
Positive Review Points - 7:27
Neutral Review Points - 11:24
Negative Review Points - 13:35
Variability - 14:50
Player Count - 15:50
Conclusion - 16:40
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[@igo211]

Great review Jon! I feel like you covered every aspect, and fairly represented the positives and possible negatives. Also, I very much appreciate the references to comparable games; that's something I wish other reviewers did consistently. It helps those of us who are trying to make the best purchasing choices for our game group/family. One last note- your general youtube layout/viewing interface is wonderful. I always appreciate the chapter bookmarks, and in this video particularly- the small insert video of the setup while you discussed that aspect was very slick.

[@JeremyDobler]

3D Printed Insert really helped me with the tear down and setup. It organized each of the pieces for their sections.

[@David-ym2vk]

Hey Jon, I wanted to say that I'm really impressed with how organized your reviews are and the layout of the positives, neutrals, and negatives. I also like how your neutrals and negatives seem to come from a pretty objective position whereas is some other reviews I've seen the reviewer struggle in this area. I've also noticed that your opinion of the games don't seem to just follow popular opinion and it's nice to see reviews that contrast with other reviewers (your Tzolk'In review). I really appreciate your reviews and hope to see a lot more.

[@JonGetsGames]

Thanks David, this is great hear :)

[@edawriter]

A well-balanced review that touches on the compelling features of Barenpark. It's addictive for sure. No fussy mechanics or rule memorization. Setup/teardown is much easier than Tiny Towns, in comparison, but more time consuming than many other games. We have it down to 2-3 minutes just by bagging pieces (presorted for our usual 2 players) in Orange, White, Green, score chits, Achievements, and don't bother with the dividers. Great game for 2 players.

[@JonGetsGames]

Wow that's fast! I'm still loving this game, got it played just a couple months ago :)

[@francesc3764]

Congrats Jon!! Another great review...and totally I agree with all the pluses and minuses. Great game, simple to teach but your brain can really" collapse" if you want to plan ahead all the possible combinations with the tiles you can take. But is really satisfaying playing it just as a casual puzzle or trying to figure out the best positions and races. When playing with my son and my wife sometimes I say: " I have to think more in this this game than in Terraforming Mars " :)

[@matts3155]

I think I enjoyed this more than Cottage Garden as well from my one play. And I appreciate that it doesn't go too long

[@claymeyer5046]

I love Patchwork, but always hated that it was just 2-player. I was excited when Cottage Garden was released, but didn't think the theme would appeal to all my family - especially my son :). This, however, looks like a perfect fit!! Thanks for the great review! Also, as a custom game insert fan, I think that a custom insert could help dramatically with setup.

[@igo211]

Yes, the silly, single cardboard divider-piece that is provided was one thing I didn't hear Jon mention. It's derided in other reviews and is maybe the one area where the publisher dropped the ball.

[@clumsydad7158]

I'll be interested to see if Barenpark makes any year end lists.

[@TweakMDS]

A bit late to the party, but we've picked this up in Essen last weekend. Thanks again for a good review, Jon.

[@alexandralee9359]

I agree with Jon's neutral #2 about the theme being arbitrary. I wish I could take Barenpark and paste on the cottage garden theme instead. Cottage garden is so adorable and the artwork/theme is beautiful but the game play is not as good as Barenpark!

[@abihuynh]

For setup I use some dollar store hair elastics and I bundle the tiles of one type together. When putting away the game I just organize the 1-7 tiles in order and rubber band them so setup is really easy next time.

[@shatnershairpiece]

Too bad this game is impossible to find right now. Sold out everywhere.

[@smoothcriminal28]

New print run is on the way I believe.

[@Higgins21]

Thanks Jon for the review. I'm with you on everything you said. As for setup and teardown time, when thinking about how much it would get to the table (a lot!) and SetupVsPlay time, it's the first game I really saw the need to try and do my first custom insert. It really helps! Here's a link to the photo if anyone is interested. boardgamegeek.com/image/3632457/barenpark

[@ChrisMNetrunner]

This insert looks great! I'll definitely try to build it according to your design if I'm able to get my hands on a copy of this game :)

[@martinkoch8331]

Great review!

[@davidcfr]

Do you recommend it more than Patchwork?

[@JonGetsGames]

I think Patchwork still wins out in a 2p setting for me, but since it only plays 2p that means Barenpark wins the other player counts :)

[@shanerion]

@@JonGetsGames Do you think it would be possible to have a variant where you take out some of the achievement tiles so that the 2-player race is still compelling? Maybe take out out the second, or the second and third tile of each achievement stack, so that the difference for being first and second isn't just a couple points?

[@JonGetsGames]

@@shanerion I'm sure this would work, I just haven't experimented with anything like it due to rarely playing 2p games.

[@mattlowder]

this really grizzles my bears.

[@jeffreynil]

Jon's voice always sounds like he speeds up his videos just a little bit.

[@smoothcriminal28]

he doesn't? I always thought he did. Damn, dude has amazing speech then.

[@shanerion]

I literally checked to see if I accidentally had the video on 1.25x speed

[@Kr1stmas]

Funny because I just finished it at x1.5 so I have more time for other videos :D