Boonlake Review - Mechanical Deja Vu

[@cablesalad3168]

The split boards help with warping issues due to humidity differences etc. Trust me, you do not want warped dual layer boards (or any boards) especially with low cardboard quality. Honestly I wish more publishers would provide the option to let us assemble our boards ourselves.

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Fair enough I can see that - though does this effectively eliminate warping?

[@rcbrice]

Came to say the same. They very much help with warping and the DIY-assemble player board is also seen in the Maracaibo Uprising expansion. They do help with warping. A lot of pre-assembled dual layered boards I have (TFM, GWT 2e, Gentes Deluxifed) shoe some significant warping with time.

[@efthymiosliakos4390]

Luke you are obviously one of my favorite reviewers. Who is your favorite?

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Dice tower

[@AFatalPapercut]

The title Boon Lake gives me the idea of a horror movie at a summer camp.

[@SamCaton92]

I like the fact that the board are folded dual layered, dual layered sucks because of how much they bend.

[@wsiegel9539]

Luke, Will the expansion for Maracaibo - "Uprising" put it back on the shelf?

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Doubtful especially as its a pricey expansion.

[@clvrswine]

@@TheBrokenMeeple But us solo players... could use your opinion.

[@jaroslawchmiel7193]

Will you try out and review the Maracaibo with expansion?

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Doubtful, it's a pricey expansion and I don't think it will help the issues I have with it.

[@Mussar523]

Thank you for the reveiw. I had Maraciabo and didn't like it. How much similar is it to it? How much better or in what way is it better? Thank you

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

It's pretty similar with the card use, less variety in how the board scape will turn out. Honestly I can see one person liking one and disliking the other, I think opinions would be similar on each.

[@Santanilla]

I saw the how to play and really liked it. It looks fun ! Good to notice that score tiles are not as important , definitely going to mention that to my group before playing.

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Have fun!

[@javiervareacalvo8911]

Great video!!! Thanks a lot for it. I feel interested in this one, mainly for solo. Did you try Maracaibo or Great wester trail solo? Which one you prefer? Any other euro you like solo? Thanks again!!

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Maracaibo solo but certianly not GWT ! :P - Fields of Arle is a fantastic farming solo game!

[@javiervareacalvo8911]

@@TheBrokenMeeple thanks 😊!!!!

[@seth7447]

Thank for the great review. I always like how you are honest, even when there is a bunch of hype. We played Boonlake and very much liked it. However, it is one of those games that I look at and think, should I play this other game instead? I need to play this more and see if filling the levers is better for an engine. The game feels clunky and disconnected at times. I love Maracaibo and enjoyed the campaign in the base game.

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Much appreciated!

[@george_castle]

Hi Luke, is this one still in your collection? Or has it overstayed it's welcome? I just got it but just for the solo mode and will see how it plays out.

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Nah I got rid of this one ages ago. Overstayed pretty fast.

[@george_castle]

@@TheBrokenMeeple Yeah, can't blame you. So far, I feel there is a lot of overlap to his other games so it just doesn't feel unique enough to keep it for very long. I'm going to move on to Whistle Mountain next, your video on that one looks amazing.

[@squeekmyster]

Ref the Vase: There's intermittent scoring that cares about them, and generally, the cards that need a vase either need less standard resources or offer a bigger bonus. I honestly feel the intermittent scoring alternative card action can churn a lot of points you'd of never been able to achieve via a single card, plus netting a meeple is a definite perk.

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

The alt card action I'm fine with, you can do them or avoid them fine. But the fath over the four criteria objectives is what I'd remove

[@Aaackermann]

Why is there a computer platine scheme in the title of Boonlake? Have I missed something?

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

A what sorry? 🥴

[@Aaackermann]

@@TheBrokenMeeple Look at the Boxcover and the title. The background of the title itself (BoonLake) is a tech-scheme. I don't know why though! Is the theme anywhere related to hightech? It looks more like a wildwesttheme to me.

[@Mepper.]

I haven't played any Pfister games and I'm most interested in Boonlake for the solo and 2 player modes. Have you managed to collect your thoughts on the solo mode? The impression I get from your review is that it would have benefited from a few more months of development. I wonder whether it is selling well enough to either get an expansion to fix things or eventually a second edition...

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Solo Boonlake is ok, but it's nothing special - the AI gets points in a very artificial manner and there's other Euro's I'd rather solo.

[@mros9254]

just for my own research, why is it bad or negative when a game does not have an original mechanism but a combination of known ones?

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

It's harder to get into them given that thousands of games release every year and games are getting more expensive. Games that try something new or come up with a unique selling point stand out. This one will be forgotten fast.

[@mros9254]

@@TheBrokenMeeplethank you luke! Have a great day

[@iansutton7416]

A rather good challenge, perhaps worthy of a video all to itself. I guess the challenge is to make players feel like this is indeed 'more than the sum of its parts', making it feel like that subtle twist or combination really makes it shine more than the games that influenced it. Fail to do that and it's easy to say "why did you even bother to make this game - it's a mashup of game A and game B and both of those are better experiences". With euros, there is typically a 'puzzle' element to it, as you work out effective gameplay. If it's too close to previous games, part of the puzzle is already known and understood, whereas innovative mechanics provide a fresh challenge to working out the puzzle. I do find myself drawn to genuine innovation, e.g. the theme / narrative of This War of Mine, or the use of deckbuilding in Undaunted series which opens up a theme to people who might not ordinarily want to play it. Gloomhaven isn't my thing at all, but I do respect the innovation of the card combat system vs. the historic dice-chucking norm of the genre.

[@georgefestivus]

Greetings! I enjoy your video's, I love the editing! (Futuramaaaaa) Have you seen Seinfeld, some of their clips are Gold!

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Not really watched much of Seinfield, but seen most animated shows! :D

[@georgefestivus]

@@TheBrokenMeeple if I had to choose 3 series to watch for the rest of my life, it would be futurama, seinfeld als fawlty towers :) . Your cuts are hilarious, you must spend ages finding the right ones

[@vangelisevangelou]

It sounds interesting. Good point about throwing everything in.

[@cwb95k]

I like the comparison to Maracaibo 1.5. I like Maracaibo and wonder if this is just one to hold out on. If it's at BGG Con and I get a chance I'll test it out.

[@seth7447]

We played 4 or 5 games and liked it the more we played it and got the engine going. First couple of games I was like … what’s with the levers… now it is always a focal point. I do agree with the vases… they seemed misplaced. The scoring tiles are huge and fun once you think about which ones to do first, second…ect.

[@donbooger]

Appreciate your reviews. Especially a lot of the early reviews of Essen games.

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Thank you!! ❤️

[@GrAlutka]

Played it last night and our biggest issue was the aesthetics. Like steampunk buildings, computer chip-like font on the cover, that lotus looking like something straight from middle east, south american coin design... very confusing 🤔

[@sirmonsoon337]

Good review! I hadn't played any of Pfister's games when I got to play this, so it was interesting hearing about the comparisons in addition to the standalone critique. The vases truly are strange. It's never hard to get one (since you get them on harbor tiles, and those can never be blocked by other ships), so if you do end up needing one, you probably have one lying around or can just pick one up next chance. The cards were okay (I'm a sucker for cards in games), but they are less exciting than big card effects you might find in a CCG, but more complex than other multi use cards like in games like Root. Having the same card with the same effects but different resource costs makes things not only less thematic but also harder to learn / memorize. I fully agree on the four scoring "missions" being kinda superfluous. As you said, the points are pretty miniscule, and it kinda dictates the game. When we played, the winner won by a lot, mostly on the back of repeated big cattle scoring, which you can't counter once it's in place (can't move any pieces or take them off the board). I'm curious to try kinda ignoring the 2nd / 3rd scoring tiles in favor of optimizing cow placement if I play it again, while making sure to get my own objective fulfilled on 4th scoring. All in all, lots of unhappy mediums. Imo the scoring tiles shouldn't have been in the game, OR way more impactful points wise. And the cards should be simpler OR more unique and powerful. But somehow still had a pretty good time playing.

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

I still enjoy it and have kept it "for now" - but I don't know how long for - the lack of a unique bone hurts it greatly from feeling like a Euro pushed out the door.

[@clvrswine]

Wonderful review. At the mid-point, I knew I wanted this game. A simple word like "fun" has a lot of impact. I play games for fun (and vases).

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Thank you and glad it helped!

[@klaus3856]

Thanks for the review, will you be doing a solo Boonlake playthrough? I love Maracaibo, sorry to see you replace it. I am curious how many total plays of a game it takes for you to become bored?

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Depends entirely on the game and sadly I don't have the convenient setup for Playthroughs.

[@daniellelauzon3172]

Thanks for the great review. The Maracaibo expansion is bringing asymmetrical player abilities which is something Boonlake doesn’t have (that I know of…)…I will be looking into this game but doubt that it would replace Maracaibo for me…

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

It's the same price as a full game I think for the expansion which is a bit much!

[@daniellelauzon3172]

@@TheBrokenMeeple Not sure where it is elsewhere but it’s just a little over half the price as the base game here in Canada…thanks again for your great videos!

[@daniellelauzon3172]

Meant “how much” … not “where”…trying to type too fast…😊

[@WayMau]

Honest review!

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

As always!!

[@BoardOfItReviews]

Loved the review! Particularly loved the rant about the scoring tiles because we feel exactly the same way! I was laughing the whole time. I will note I was particularly annoyed by them in our last game as I picked the one that has you move up the money track...then didn't get a single card that let me move up that track the entire game, and was forced to score 2x negative points on myself.

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Yeah, they just seem a waste of space.

[@ajtame]

Agree on the art, they should have got Mihajlo Dimitrievski to do it

[@Coffeemaker1978]

Hi Luke, many of us are not as fast as you. I haven’t even punched my Maracaibo yet 😂 However I enjoy you telling me, what you like ✌🏻

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Thanks! 😃

[@georgeresso6835]

my thoughts on most heavy games exactly....most games could remove 1-2 (pointless) mechanics or aspects of the game and still have a coherant game...

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

cough cough Voidfall! :D

[@AnkitGarg]

I was watching a rules video from another channel, at the end of game overview they said "at the end the person with the most points" and I braced myself for the "of course" but they just said "wins the game" and I was disappointed 😂

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Ha ha, missed opportunity!!

[@CarlosRodriguez-ez3ls]

Thanks Luke! I'll stick with Maracaibo.

[@CarlosRodriguez-ez3ls]

BTW, have you thought of reviewing CloudAge. It seems to be quite a bit different from Pfister's other recent games.

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

I don't usually hunt Pfisters down, even this one was a last minute decision. And I hear nothing great about CloudAge!

[@CarlosRodriguez-ez3ls]

@@TheBrokenMeeple I thought it might interest you in that: (1) it's not a rehash of a previous Pfister game(s) like Boonlake; (2) it's lighter (mid-weight) and plays faster; (3) it has a solo mode; and (4) it has both campaign & legacy elements. All of which I think makes CloudAge unique and worthy of your consideration.

[@kevindelord]

Good job!

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@joannakrolikowska187]

Thanks for this review although I think I won't be buying it. I'll stick to Great Western Trail instead!

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Ewwwwwww! :P

[@joannakrolikowska187]

@@TheBrokenMeeple yeah, I know 😅 GWT has a special place in my heart. I watched one of your other videos yesterday and Ark Nova intrigued me quite a bit and I am going to check that one for sure. Who knows, maybe I will even buy it 😁

[@benjaminanselmo205]

I WAS a Alexander Pfister fan. With this game and Cloud Age Pfister have managed to loose at least two fans that i know of for sure. And i dont think we are alone. This game doesnt have the same card system as Maracaibo. In Maracaibo you can play the card or selling them for goods or object printed to the left. In Boonlake you can only play them. And released almost simultaneously as Boonlake the expansion to Maracaibo came out. So what Im doing is gettin rid of Boonlake because the game is just too simple, too long to play and has nothing new. I agree Bonnlake is something around 6-7 but i expected so musch more.

[@windyhillbomber]

The Maracaibo rule book and iconography explanation was/is horrid

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Yep!