Books of Time ~ as the binder novelty wore off, the efficiency puzzle kicked in | Board Game Review

As we all know, the biggest hazard historians have ever faced when chronicling the evolution of humanity has always been..... not getting one's fingers caught in the ring binder! 😂 In this race against the ticking chronicle, you will be adding pages to your books of trade, industry and science, to build up your tableau and move along the tracks of well, trade, industry and science. Will you bet on your version of the history of civilisation and aim for the big objectives? Or play it safe and lock in the easier victory points?
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Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
00:15 Theme overview (Themer)
00:34 Mechanics overview (Thinker)
03:58 The Books!
07:04 Journey into the game: not love at first play
09:36 The turning point: out-optimising each other
13:02 Finding the right page in the deck
14:02 Low player interaction
17:22 Player count preference
18:47 Solo mode
20:53 Two minor quibbles
21:51 Our ratings
24:33 Wrap up
For more information about the game: boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/372631/books-time
Thanks for stopping by for our review of Books of Time! We're Amy & Maggie aka ThinkerThemer. We're an Australian couple with two very different perspectives of what makes a great board game - Amy (Thinker) is all about the mechanics and enjoys tight, competitive games, and Maggie (Themer) is all about the storytelling and the theme of the game, and the 'world' that the designer is trying to create. Subscribe to our channel to hear us talk about these two elements of a game, and how well integrated we feel these are in delivering a cohesive and wonderful game experience.
#boardgames #tabletopgames #thinkerthemer ❤🏳️‍🌈🇦🇺

[@bettermoodboardgames]

Maggie! LISA FRANK!!! I used to have those folders! Omg MEMS!!! I've been eyeing this game since I saw it too! Thank you for sharing!!!

[@MeepleYellow]

I was totally unaware of this one until just a few moments ago, and you two have sold it to me. I love your energy and humor! Hot take, more puns! You have quickly become my go-to reviewers for the hobby.

[@BoardGamingRamblings]

Thanks for the review! Very fun to see your thoughts on this game as well. Seems like we agreed most of your thoughts! Thank you for being awesome! 🎉

[@ThinkerThemer]

Wow we just watched yours (we never watch other reviews before filming) and your thoughts were SO similar to ours! Argh - why do we not live closer together?❤️ Can't wait to finally meet this year. Love to you both!

[@bookaddict777]

Thanks for the review, ladies. I pre-ordered this one as soon as I could because it looks right up my alley. I love multi-player solitaire and a game I can solo.

[@ThinkerThemer]

Sounds like a good fit for you Stasia! Thanks for watching and for your support ❤️ 🙏 Look forward to hearing what you think of the game.

[@wichhouse]

Great review! Looking forward to this one from Board & Dice. Speaking of Board & Dice, have you played Tiletum or Tawantinsuyu? We absolutely love these two titles, especially most recently Tiletum.

[@ThinkerThemer]

We did try Tawantinsuyu but it's not in our collection anymore! We really enjoyed Terracotta Warriors from the *series* most recently. Thank you for watching and taking the time to comment! ☺️

[@SleepyVoice]

How many times do you get to use the "Close book" action and how much of a power-turn is it? I had hopes that this game would bring some engine-combo-feelings but with out that action I dont see it, but I still havnet played it. Still these bonuses are just resources and not actions or card-related things, but at least it would be something.

[@ThinkerThemer]

Hmm it's technically always available but the issue is that if you close a book before you've turned all (or most) of the pages you only get the bonuses on the ones that you've turned. Which is why it automatically occurs when you've reached the end of the book. The satisfying combo feeling comes more from making good use of the chronicle extra action and the tracks. The power turn feeling comes from when you build a number of pages after saving up resources and then you get all of the page bonuses from "building" them (that can sometimes help you build more pages!) Hope this helps ☺️

[@SleepyVoice]

@@ThinkerThemer That was exactly the kind of response I was hoping for, and moreover, it was so well articulated that Board&Dice should have mentioned it in the description of the game mechanics considering how many people are specifically looking for combos :) I am very excited to play it now, so I will unpack my copy tonight and also try to find a way to sleeve the cards :D Thank you!

[@ThinkerThemer]

Glad we could help! Interested to hear what you think after you've played a few games and whether it's combo-ey enough to scratch that itch. 😄 Enjoy!

[@truelifetales]

As always, a terrific overview and review - in addition to you two being the next Burns & Allen, Stiller & Meara, Nichols & May, McCartney & McLennan? 🤣 I love books, I love history, I love office supplies - but, I'd say this one is not for me for each of your various reasons - but especially for the lack of player interaction. If it shows up on Board Game Arena, I'll give it a spin - with the sound turned down low. 😉

[@ThinkerThemer]

😂 I do hope the BGA implementation adds clicking sound effects!!!! Thanks for watching and your support as always 🙏 ❤️

[@whataboutki]

Being hearing lots of hype for this. Thanks for the review, looks like a play first game for me to see if its worth picking up for my group.

[@n0meh9]

I must admit, I have too much trauma from dealing with binder rings in grade school to consider this game. Those these always start to bend and go crazy no matter how you tried to keep them

[@ThinkerThemer]

That is a fair association - we were scared of that too. 😳 They are fairly solid but the risk is always there!!! Thanks for watching Kev!

[@El-gu2hi]

Great overview, thanks for the video. The binders are a turnoff for me, and I’m concerned about repetitiveness in this game. I really want to like it, but this one will be a try and see - I guess try it several times… lol

[@ThinkerThemer]

Thanks El. Yes we think there's a good learning curve but there's no denying the actions feeling quite similar and once you've cracked it there's not too much more to explore. So then it comes down to out optimising others. Thanks for taking the time to comment ☺️

[@Olvenskol]

Is this viable as a "coffee shop game"? 30-ish minutes and small enough to fit on a coffee shop table.

[@ThinkerThemer]

Hmmm no we don't think so. It needs too much table space for your books and objectives. Probably not our first pick for that environment. Thanks for watching ☺️

[@Olvenskol]

@@ThinkerThemer Thanks!

[@inspired2game]

This one looks really interesting. Colorful too!

[@monicamurphy6552]

Another great review. Can't wait to play this one!

[@maxkosek]

First! Love your videos and reviews! Was super hyped about that game because of that gimmick obviously but wanted to see it as a super creative look on civ building game… but omg im so disappointed in this. All you mentioned was like sentence after sentence cutting big portions of my hype and throwing away. And sadly I ended up with almost zero interest in this game now, really sad 😔. But thank you so much for it. I just realised it’s not for me at all. Cheers

[@mattwt100]

Lisa Frank Trapper Keeper dudette! You two are awesome!

[@ThinkerThemer]

That's it!!!!!!! Amy is googling... lol!!! Thank you ☺️

[@mattwt100]

You’re welcome! Hahaha

[@RedHoodMathis]

Man I wanted it for the theme 😅

[@topofthemuffintoyou5610]

Ooh a puzzly game! Goody!

[@ThinkerThemer]

A very interesting efficiency puzzle! Thanks for watching ☺️