Clash of Cultures: Monumental Edition Review

[@ChristianMarcussen]

I don’t think I said, that I would never do a 5 or 6 player expansion? 😁 I do beleive I have said, that I would never expand it into the future though. Thanks for the review. Glad you enjoyed it.

[@DriveThruReview]

Expansion confirmed!

[@PMMagro]

Please do an expansion add on for 5-6 players. I guess mainly map tiles and wonders (plus extra pieces) are needed? It doe snot have to be a huge box...

[@palmcrazysg]

@@DriveThruReview Whoa! That will be awesome! Up to 8 player mayhem!

[@GameCrawler]

I would love a 5 & 6 player expansion. That would be epic! Could maybe change the turn order in someway to keep downtime lower but I'm sure it could work :)

[@rachelandryan]

I'd be up for a 5-6 player expansion!

[@InFlamesrockz]

I'm just 2 Minutes into the review and I have to say it really bugs me when publishers decide to print advertisement from other games on sides of the box (1:58). Especially for this game you pay a looot of money - and still seeing ads then, c'mon! I think it would be a lot more classy if they printed some rad artwork there for more immersion into the game. Well, sorry, had to get this of my chest. Thank you Joel for your reviews, I bet you'll do a stellar job here, as always!

[@MaestroMarvolo]

I feel the same way...

[@juvigoat2168]

Had the same thought when I saw it. Haha

[@mrp4242]

Yeah, weird for a big pricy game. That said, what bothers me more is the complete lack of any iconography or art on the player boards. While functional and ‘clean’, they have zero flair compared to first edition. I also like the art of first edition better, but I do think the minis look much better. So you take the good with the bad, I guess…..

[@rogerst-arneault3522]

Just a friendly rectification, the civilization that was found in Peru (Machu Pichu) was the Inca civilization. Aztecs were ruling in southern North-America.

[@joshyaks]

This is in my top 10 games, too, and I got to help out just a bit with the development of the Civilizations expansion. Because of that (and the fact that I have a gift certificate for my FLGS) I think I'll pick up the Monumental Edition. Regardless, I'm happy to see this great game getting some new life, and the expansion content becoming widely available!

[@knightshade4330]

I've just ordered this. I've been looking for a civilization style game but haven't really felt the Sid M. board game versions were for me. Excited to receive this. Thank you for a really good, clear, and informative video.

[@DriveThruReview]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@-RTC-]

Your review pushed me over the edge to end up picking this one up a few months ago! I absolutely love it! My wife and I have played it 5 or so times and she keeps asking to play again. Got to play a few 3 and 4 player games as well which were awesome. Going to be playing this Friday again at 4 and can’t wait. I guess what I’m trying to say is thank you for this recommendation! You’re tastes definitely line up with mine and I really value your opinions. Cheers!

[@DriveThruReview]

Awesome. Glad you're having a good time with it. I need to get it back out myself.... Been over a year now :)

[@alejandrolozano1258]

Hey Joel! I want to know if You could give some advise. I already played the Game And i'm about to play with some Friends that never played it....do You think is a good idea yo play with the expansion?

[@DriveThruReview]

That's hard to say. I would say, probably no for a first game... just because it's a lot. But, I would quickly add the expansion as I do think the game needs it.

[@alejandrolozano1258]

@@DriveThruReview You we're right. The first Game without the expansion si the way to ho....what a Great Game!

[@DriveThruReview]

@@alejandrolozano1258 Good deal. Glad it was fun! :)

[@GameCrawler]

I was planning on selling my copy of the original + expansion...but hearing about how you could combine them to do 5 and 6 players...I might just keep it! Although combining the old and new game might not look great component wise, it should still work fine I imagine :p

[@TheCaptCastle]

I never managed to get hold of the previous edition so I was super excited to preorder the Monumental Edition back in April. I’m so happy it’s almost here!

[@mikolajwitkowski8093]

It is a pity they didn't release a cheaper version for just 2 and components for the other 2 players as an expansion, then it would not be so expensive, while half of the game will never be used.

[@shatnershairpiece]

Totally agree with this. I’m on the fence with getting this for two players only as it’s very expensive and borderline ‘not recommended for 2’, and takes up a lot of room. Of course, I have this problem with all games as nothing ever gets played with more than 2 and it’s a waste of components.

[@dillenbeck53531]

Hmmmm... having lucked into getting a copy of the original print with expansion (then adding it to my BGG catalog and going "the expansion is worth how much?"), I guess I could do an 8 player version. Honestly, if I were going to do that I would rather do 7 Ages - because you say you'd want to do a 6+ hour 8 player game, but would you change your mind if in the first hour you were the first of the 3 players eliminated from play? At least with 7 Ages (my favorite) you control multiple civilizations and bring them into play, so you can be eliminated and come back into play... and I love how you control different governments/peoples through history instead of being some immortal culture. Having drop in/drop out play, variable game lengths (play for a fixed time, play for one era, play a regular game, or play total history through all 7 eras), and interesting events that can break apart an empire and give parts of it to other players also pushes it up there. A shame I am so anti-social and thus have no one to play, or how many go "oh, counters and not minis - I'll pass!" It is a game where you really need 5-7 players, and 2 players is not a very good experience. Anyway, being just a regular person who doesn't go to conventions, I'll have to wait to get my copy on release day... looking forward to comparing the components myself and seeing if I like the changes.

[@arenarreyes]

Your take on 8-player game with the civilizations doubling is actually good. If they ever made an expansion they can easily make an "Aztec 2", "China 2", and so on, where they have somewhat similar tech trees, but one or two of the skills are different. It makes sense that the new aztec, china, etc is just slightly different from the original one since they both originated from the same country but different regions. Like instead of Having Greece that has an option to influence using culture, have a fully war-focused Greece instead. Other than that there's lots of rooms for additional wonders as you've mentioned, and for new Leaders and location tiles as well. Upon checking the board now, I think it's possible to play a 6-player game with a proper configuration of the map. I don't know how it will be set up but I think it's possible.

[@h-p4185]

Thank you . When the news about this edition broke out i remembered your enthusiasm and lend the original from the public library. We play 3p and really liked it, now we must sqrounge for a fourth again because of you. Needles to say i jumped in and expecting my copy. It was good of you to elevate this from the large amount of similar games, i find it a cross between those dudes on a map (like Ankh) and a civilisation game, and just the right mix.

[@TheNicklesPickles]

Love this game. Update is tempting, but, I'll stick with the copy I have for now I think. Glad it's easier to get at least (the expansion in particular), it deserves a wider audience.

[@JanusZudnik]

Never played it but fascinated by the idea of doubling the content to expand on the player count!

[@robertorme9410]

Great video, I have pre ordered this new edition. On a Civ note Machu Picchu was built by the Incas rather than the Aztecs!

[@DriveThruReview]

Yep. Knew I had that mixed up almost as soon as I said it. :)

[@alejandrolozano1258]

I'm so jelous. I haven't recieved mine! I think that maybe is because i order it from spain because i wanted it in spanish. Where did you get yours?

[@DriveThruReview]

It was an early review copy.

[@msa4998]

I’ve watched some game plays and Monumental looks to be a very good improvement on the 1e game which I was personally just ok with. A good game, but the time and effort didn’t match the fun. With just some of these “expansion” improvements, rule changes, and component upgrades it seems like much better gameplay with only minimal additional overhead. I do think I like the 1e cover bette4 though!!

[@marmosetfreund8506]

Just curious, have you ever looked into Mortals Gods, The Baron's War, and other semi-historical skirmish games? One other random question :) Have you played Five Parsecs From Home? It is a solo miniatures rpg-lite skirmish game (sorta like Stargrave solo mode).

[@DriveThruReview]

I've not tried any of those skirmish games. I do have Five Parsecs, and I couldn't get into it when I read through the rules initially, but I have it in my queue to get back and sit down with it again.

[@marmosetfreund8506]

@@DriveThruReview Cool to know, yeah it was Five Parsecs alone that got me back into collecting sci-fi minis. But thanks to you I got Kings of War Vanguard and a crap ton of RelicBlade.

[@patriziopastore9895]

Have a question... Comparing this with other civilization boardgames which rank will be? Is it one of the best?

[@dillenbeck53531]

My opinion? This is the closest to the video game series and one of the best - and for many it is the best. However, my "best" is a game called 7 Ages (but it is not for everyone).

[@DriveThruReview]

It's my favorite.

[@patriziopastore9895]

@@DriveThruReview damn so is a must have

[@mrp4242]

You may have a different definition of what constitutes a ‘civilization’ board game than me or others. For example, do you include such games as Terra Mystica, Catan, Tiny Epic Kingdoms, 7 Wonders Duel, and Scythe? BGG includes all of these in the “Civilization” category, but several of the games they list I wouldn’t necessarily include in that category for me. What defines a civ game for me is: players controlling a nation/faction/civilization and guiding them from small beginnings to a larger empire, advancing them through technology and growth (usually helped by acquisition of resources), over a period of time, either real or fictional. A map is often used, but not always necessary (so I’d include Nations: the Dice game, 7 wonders and Imperial Settlers). Combat/military/conflict of some form (even highly abstracted is fine) is a necessity and nods to cultural things (such as monuments, wonders, works of art) are also important. So in my definition, I would exclude such good games as Terra Mystica (lacks a time frame and combat), Catan (lacks a timeframe and advances) and Scythe (lacks a timeframe)--but others might include them and that’s cool. So, based on that definition, if I were to currently rank the top 10 of the ones I OWN, it would be: 1) Clash of Cultures 2) Twilight Imperium IV 3) Nations 4) Civilization: A New Dawn 5) Tapestry 6) 7 Wonders 7) The Golden Ages 8) Antike II 9) Through the Ages: A New Story 10) Civilization The top 3 I have listed above would all be in my top 10 board games of all time. CoC is top 3. I haven’t played Monumental edition yet (preorder) but assuming it’s at least as good as the Z-man version, that shouldn’t change.

[@patriziopastore9895]

@@mrp4242 I suppose my idea about civilization game is what you described. I have a lot of boardgames but I literally don't have one about civilization (too many dungeon crawl). I will pre-order this one also some of my friend really recommend to me

[@kossowankenobi]

I've never been a big fan of WizKids' production quality, think I'll keep my OG game - cuz this one is $$AF. Thanks, Joel!

[@DriveThruReview]

Fair enough. I will say that the production quality is top notch here. I had zero issues with any of the minis or cards.. but for sure $$AF :)

[@DanielSolis]

That epic 5-8 player game would be very interesting to hear a play report about. Not sure I'd be up for the hours that would take though. ;)

[@rdlyche]

If you will play it mostly with three players, still a good game to buy?

[@DriveThruReview]

I think so. If the rest of the game excites you and the three player dynamic (two people attacking one person... or attacking each other and another winning.. which can sometimes happen in a lot of this style game) works for you I would recommend.

[@MichaelJones-ti9fx]

I’ve only been in this hobby for ~4 years. I never heard of this game until after I backed the KS for Monumental. After the KS ended, I saw the announcement for Clash Of Cultures Monumental Edition. They seem similar in some areas. Have you played Monumental? We like it a lot with the incorporation of the continuous play rule.

[@DriveThruReview]

I've not played Monumental yet. They do seem to have some similarities, but I would expect a very different experience from this one, based on what I know of Monumental and how it works.

[@rachelandryan]

Cool, insightful review. You can tell you really love the game.

[@thomasb7237]

8-player CoC would become an Earth theme of TI4

[@gordo6908]

main reason I've kept the first edition is because of wizkids involvement. my experience with their quality control has left much to be desired. also, the apothecary hopefully production copies are just as good

[@DriveThruReview]

Ya. I get that. They've really turned things around in the last year or so though, and this new edition is a great example of that.

[@benoitlaporte1700]

Great video! I already own the original with expansion and am just waiting for a French monumental edition to buy it again. I like the fact that you try and deter me from doing so but, those new leader cards and 3d wonders seem too good to pass on.

[@DriveThruReview]

I gave it my best shot :D

[@juvigoat2168]

Man I’d travel to wherever you are to join a game of eight! Just do a wash on the second set and voila!

[@DriveThruReview]

I'll pencil you in :D

[@mrp4242]

I’m not too far--I live in Idaho.

[@ServantofGod88]

Saaaaaaame!!

[@jkuntz667]

I was hoping you would do a review of this version of the game. I believe you enjoyed the original version.

[@joerobert7847]

You can count me in for a 8 player game. It will be a long trip. So it would make it real difficult.

[@DriveThruReview]

I’ll pencil you in.

[@kossowankenobi]

I've done 18p Mega Civ. This is doable.

[@JJ_TheGreat]

My pre-order just arrived yesterday! 😀

[@DriveThruReview]

Hope you enjoy it!

[@lmedved5000]

As a heads up (anyone who's watching this and in the US) Amazon is selling this game for ~$66 which I feel like is a STEAL.

[@김성완-h3h]

Clash of cultures I have a question ADVANCE --> EDUCATION--> FREE EDUCATION This is a free action or as an action ??

[@DriveThruReview]

If you're asking what I think you're asking.. then "no". :) It won't trigger itself. You might ask on the BoardGameGeek.com page for the game to get more detailed clarification.

[@김성완-h3h]

@Drive Thru Games thank to you ~

[@Arnikoochak]

I am wondering if it is your favourite civ game still?

[@DriveThruReview]

It definitely is :)

[@Arnikoochak]

@@DriveThruReview Amazing! thank you.

[@chefdevergue]

Why don't you spray paint your own $&!@ pieces

[@DriveThruReview]

:D