Brian Boru: High King of Ireland Review - with Tom Vasel

[@OspreygamesUk]

Thanks Tom. We are honored.

[@lebasqueetlenclume1899]

A true design masterpiece, if you ask me. It will appeal gamers loving the Martin Wallace confrontational type of games. Such an incredible balance in the system, serving one purpose : bringing a lot of player interaction. There's nothing like a true "long term strategy", you constantly have to deal with the situation and identify new opportunities.

[@dansioui9819]

Tom, that was an “elegant” review haha! Seriously, your review skills are insane Tom. So glad you chose this industry to make a living!

[@wishmeheaven]

Indeed... Tom is neat.

[@robertchilders3718]

Really enjoying this one. I must be in that subset where this is up my particular alley. Card drafting, trick taking and area control... yes please!

[@sab6261]

Love the card art.

[@REV1517]

Personally I love this game. I explained to my wife it has a trick taking mechanic and she was on board for learning it. I showed her and my kids what two rounds of play looked like and they were hooked. My Daughter is very strategical about it and wins most times. For people not in the hobby it might be tough to grasp at first but they will pick it up. For gamers that know game mechanics and lingo learn it quick and have enjoyed me teaching it.

[@JeffreyGFlegler]

Focusing on the elements of a game you enjoy is good advice, Tom. Great review!

[@LordoftheBoard]

Been waiting for this!

[@bibleboardgames]

Thank You! I had not heard of this game before playing it and I have to say it was my most 'pleasant surprise' of this year, so I bought a copy. I think this does trick taking/avoiding very well. I like that players can get resources whether they win or lose the trick, so everyone feels involved every trick, even while they are learning. At the same time, I like how the changing situation of the Marriage, Viking, Church, and Towns are dynamically affecting which resources you want to get on your cards and how you play the tricks. Typically, I haven't been a fan of area control in a while, but with options for people to get points in various ways, I like the balance here and the options. Having visited Ireland, I like the theme. It appeals to me!

[@theearlyresetband]

I def had a lot of fun with this one- the trick taking made for some fun choices/ and sometimes intense!

[@nshaw1299]

I think Joraku does 'trick taking with area control' much more elegantly and streamlined. And Joraku is great, especially with its game arc caused by the changes in area scoring across the three rounds.

[@tonygilbert5256]

I think the art for this game is absolutely beautiful. The style is really down my alley, but the way Tom frames it is that it is highly complex. I wonder if this is more of a battle between strategy and tactics. Strategy in "how do I do what I want to do?" And tactics in the card play.

[@raymyers700]

I like how you talked about Peer Sylvester. I think he is a fantastic designer but I feel like my brain doesn't work like his designs intend. But just the nuts and bolts of this one....really makes me want to try it.

[@ClaudeAndTaylor]

Funny enough, my first game I was only on the board with 3 discs, in 1 region and I only lost by 3 points. So, the area control isn't too necessary, I'd say. And procedural is a great point. It's very much that in the clean-up and new round flow. And the drafting and the trick-taking. It's pretty much everywhere. I'd say the trick-taking is lighter than expected, for sure.

[@spk1778]

Thanks for the review. I was watching/reading some of the glowing reviews you talked about and most of them talk about simplicity. I kept thinking that this actually sounded pretty complex and I think you confirmed that for me. All of the decisions are small but it sounds like there are too many for me to grok simultaneously. Thanks

[@ESCTom]

im surprised by how many people don’t like the look of this. The art style is very very thematically Irish. Being Irish myself, I got a massive pang of nostalgia the second I saw this. Quite disappointed to see the amount of rude/ignorant comments from people who clearly don’t know anything about Irish art culture.

[@thedicetower]

I don't have any strong feelings about the art either way, but I don't think people who dislike the art are being "rude". It's okay not to like art.

[@tonkabeanicecream5698]

Do you actually live in Ireland?

[@Poiuytrew.Q]

The art is fine…just the map is not so appealing. I don’t know what a map in the 900-1000 AD would look like, it probably wouldn’t look like any modern map, but there are very interesting historical maps out there with what I assume is cultural that would have been better models.

[@ThymeKeeper]

This is an odd one for me. It doesn't immediately make me want to try it, but I feel like if someone put this out I would be willing to give it a go.

[@michelecarbone2896]

Fantastic game. The best part is knowing when to tempt someone into winning a trick only to undermine them on the tracks making their gain only temporary and short lived. It's a race of wits and has some neat mechanisms to trick other players. I am not sure knowing the numerical value of the cards helps that much to be fair...

[@CB-yh3db]

I am eager to get this to the table. I feel like Zee would say it feels “staccato”. Tom also said it felt “procedural”

[@steveg9939]

I enjoyed your playthrough of it and pretty sure I will enjoy this game. Unsure if I’ll be able to play it often. Your final thoughts are on point! Great review.

[@mbrochh82]

very good and fair review!

[@ODDin17]

"Peer Sylvester tends to pare down his games." Yeah, somebody tell that to "Wir sind das Volk!"

[@unrenderable]

Obscure 1 Corinthians 13:12 reference at 15:23?

[@thedicetower]

Maybe....

[@appleseiter15]

Great review, Tom! My two favorite games are Inis and The Crew, so this one immediately caught my eye. Does this play at all like Inis, in your opinion?

[@calenel]

Other than drafting, not really!

[@LegoAssassin098]

Looks fun, would want to play it, but probably not own

[@grandad1982]

AS we say in the UK. Its a Marmite game.

[@MrDsmalls]

“I don’t think you’re gonna be saying oooh let’s learn about the history of this island…” You mean, Ireland??? 😆

[@thedicetower]

Well sure, but Ireland is an island, I think.

[@johansvanborg5870]

@@thedicetower at least it is land.

[@ScruffyNerfhurder]

@@thedicetower Confirmed, Ireland is in fact an island.

[@phils_world]

So as an Irish board gamer, I must say Tom is correct on both accounts. The game is great but won't really make you want to learn the history of the island. That's the second point we actually refer to our country as "The Island". Now maybe Tom didn't know this or maybe he did. But it certainly isn't a slight as referring to Ireland as The Island. ☺

[@MadmanCZ]

I dont understand Toms review, here the game gets a mixed review yet this year 2022 Tom recommends it in his list 12 games of Christmas Advanced Strategy Games video for 2022 and there je sounded really enthusiastic about the game. Either he played it some more to actually come to like it or he forgot his review. It's kinda a mixed view from Tom and one does not know what to think.

[@OSB911]

Those disks are begging to be upgraded.

[@theicalvinist]

I think I'll wait for this to get the second edition treatment that, "The King is Dead" got.

[@wm1pyro604]

Surprised so many people are trashing on the appearance. It's not going to win any awards, but it looks... perfectly fine?

[@DullDishwater]

Tom, it really sounds like you’re looking for a reason to knock this one down. You like drafting, trick taking, area majority, and the artwork and yet you are beholden to some one else’s opinion on the game and whether or not THEY like it. Tom, YOU like the game. Those minimal components with large thinking space? That’s called depth. If you like the game, be proud of it. Don’t mark it down just because you can’t get someone else to play it with you.

[@Aaackermann]

I think you missed his point and tries now too defend the game in a degree that is inappropriate. He gave it credit where he thought he could and he gave it a pass where he had problems with it. And it is surely not what you said here.

[@ScruffyNerfhurder]

I'm guessing "It's not a particularly amazing looking game I think when you look at it, but it is functional for the most part." -Tom Vasel probably won't make it onto the box lol.

[@gavancorrigan8813]

I’m Irish and I’ve never seen this game in any shop. Wtf!?

[@Puzzu]

Nice review, seems kinda meh for me.

[@xCriticalStrikex]

This is the sort of game I just look at and know I would never enjoy. Who/what is brian boru? Whats the theme? its ireland and tricks and point salad. I also think it looks ugly. Imo the better the theme the better the game and I don't see anything here to lure me in at all. Hard pass for me, even if i saw it being played.

[@UmarAhmed2009]

The theme might not be one you like or know but it's definitely there. Brian Boru - High King of Ireland over a 1,000 year ago. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_Boru Obviously, he's not as world famous as a King Arthur but we shouldn't always be looking for lowest common denominator levels of historical knowledge :)

[@npckse8508]

That is easily one of the ugliest covers I have ever seen. So much so, that I would easily skip this if I saw it on a shelf as it looks like a throwback to games made 10+ years ago.

[@JefferyHunt]

I think the cover is gorgeous. Reminds me of a cross between Jim FitzPatrick’s work on Inis and the work of Juliet Breese in the Key games (before Key to The City: London, at which point she had left the series).

[@mrp4242]

@@JefferyHunt , I agree with you. I like the art choices here and the color scheme. I’m not a fan of trick taking games, so I’ll probably pass on this one, but I like the art. I grow weary of a lot of the games that are more recent ‘eye candy’ for the NPC KSE types….

[@ImperatorZed]

It looks surprisingly pretty in person, you might be surprised.

[@scottmcfarlane7524]

The game looks blah....and the pieces look like trash

[@dansioui9819]

To quote Jeremy Howard from ManvsMeeple: “Gameplay over everything!”

[@wm1pyro604]

it looks fine, not amazing, but hardly "trash".

[@MisterAbysmul]

Wow this looks ugly and boring. It makes me not want to try it.