Comanauts Review - with Tom Vasel

[@humblehermit88]

Dang Tom take a day off, at least when your sick. Your germs could live in that game for weeks! You might need your skills from Pandemic to stop a Dice Tower outbreak!

[@MattJansen86]

Thanks for another thorough and thoughtful review Tom. I also appreciate you doing your best to avoid spoilers.

[@drbasseri]

Tom's reviews have been getting better and better!

[@MoriMemento117]

This was an excellent review, Tom. The new camera angle was strange at first, but I eventually warmed to it.

[@bradhardee]

I dont know if you all are just trying out new angles but I like it. Seems more personable.

[@CreatedBy_official]

I really enjoyed stuffed Fables and am looking forward to trying this out

[@LookWhosBlogging]

Camera angle is kinda weird this time.

[@bloodysmurf]

Made me feel like Tom was a tiny leprechaun living in the depths of my monitor.

[@boardgamepicnic2809]

I really like the look of that booklet. I love games like this!

[@captawesome42]

This was my game of PAX Unplugged 2018. Very excited to play this

[@KevinoftheCosmos]

This is a great video. And an even greater vest!

[@Deaddinoproductions]

The light GM-less rpg thing seems difficult to pull off without it feeling like you're on rails. Kinda similar to Legacy of Dragonholt from FFG, although I think that one was marketed as being more of a true rpg experience, which resulted in people being more disappointed by it. Plaid Hat seems reluctant to go the app route, but app implementation in a game like this would make it possible to have more branching narrative paths and more meaningful choices/rewards/consequences.

[@Shot007]

Love the new angle. Might take some a bit of time to get used to. But it looks great.

[@arcubal]

This is very interesting. Story-heavy games do have the potential to 'railroad' players through a prewritten set of scenarios and that generally turns players off who like autonomy in their games. Also, luck, primarily by means of dice-rolling, makes the same people cringe for the same reason. T.I.M.E. Stories suffers from this as well. And yet, what to do when - like Comanauts according to Tom - the story is so well written and the gameplay becomes so immersive that you can't help but be drawn in and accept the fixed-route ride you're being taken on? I mean, choose-your-own-adventure books are like that. Where does the line blur between passive entertainment and active gameplay? How strongly do dice or other chance elements disrupt this process? As I said, this is an interesting field to examine and see what works and what doesn't...

[@bryannewton6440]

Like the camera angle, maybe put us on the same level.

[@feekygucker2678]

Is the movie Dreamscape? Dennis Quaid movie from the ‘80s. Can’t say good movie, but I enjoy it.

[@danielhinds-bond4437]

Is it I.D. or Id? As in ego/superego/id

[@bobbyt2131]

I.D. = Inner Demon

[@danielhinds-bond4437]

@@bobbyt2131 aha! thank you!

[@miketaylor30]

No, it's pronounced like the last syllable of stup-id or rap-id. It's a concept from Sigmund Freud and has nothing at all to do with demons. The id is your instincts and unconscious thoughts.

[@scoops2001]

@@miketaylor30 You're correct as far as your description goes, but in the game players are hunting for the Prime Inner Demon Entity, which is shortened to Prime I.D.

[@Sjamesbrito]

Sounds like the plot to The Cell

[@calvinholt5630]

Plaid Hat games are well-developed games with half-baked mechanisms. I haven’t played a single one that I’ve wanted to return to.

[@TheOldMan-75]

I don't get it either. The cooperative part of Dead of Winter is so basic that it usually takes 30 seconds to figure out the best possible move and the rest comes down to luck. Then they added a half-assed traitor mechanic into the game and called it a day.

[@fy8798]

@@TheOldMan-75 Some games, as it turns out, are not made for the hardcore mechanic-only crowd. Shocking, I know. Dead of Winter worked really well for my family, because *nobody* there played it the way you described.

[@TheOldMan-75]

@@fy8798 When did I describe how we played the game? All I said was that it is way too easy to analyse the game. The core mechanic is so blatantly obvious that you hardly have a choice. You look at the board and can either do the right thing that stares you in the face or you can do some nonsense because why not, I guess.

[@gameswithtoasty3246]

Great with kids. The mechanics are simple enough for them to engaged, the stories are interesting and get their minds ticking and they tend to be fantastic for family game nights. Me, my son and my partner have been enthralled by Stuffed Fables, and not because the game is incredibly deep mechanically. Didn't have to be, for the audience and mindset it was aimed towards.

[@knwgl]

i am a little bit unsure about the new angle. i kind of like seeing you while you talk about that game instead of just your hands. but this you looking up to the viewer (and me looking down on you) does make me feel weird. in my opinion it would be better if it was more on the same level, eye to eye so to say.

[@Sam-vk8xd]

Us looking down on Tom? Sounds about right to me. 😆

[@hanseathl]

If I want a good story I am going to read a book. If I am playing a game I want a good game - ideally combined with a good story. If there is not a solid game with meaningful choices I am giving it a pass - as for this one.

[@b.c.eckhoff3495]

Stuffed Fables was very fun, but to each their own.

[@goyasolidar]

In the next video, Tom will try talking to his viewers using dutch angles.

[@JoostN86]

What's a Dutch Angle?

[@otubrabnad]

I'd say that's the next logical step considering he already dresses like a Batman villain.

[@simonlavender]

@@JoostN86 Google it is easier to articulate. The camera is at 45°

[@Armitage5hanks]

Looking great without a hat!

[@Anuket73]

Care your throat!! Rest a little!!

[@byuhhancocks]

I have to disagree. This wasn't a great story. It's kind of cliched psychodrama from the main character's past. It's stuff that is too common in the world, but not particularly well done. And the campaign is the same each time no matter how the game goes. Replay would mean playing some of the same material exactly the same way, even just to get through the campaign.

[@martinarnold5239]

nice waistcoat...is there a rabbit in that hat? :D

[@nellgwenn]

I hope you feel better. It sounds like you have a bit of a cold. Take some Mulberry syrup and Oscillococinum.

[@MercifulMing]

Gee, sounds like Psychonauts

[@Sam-vk8xd]

Which part?

[@benjaminspears8488]

I loved Psychonauts! The theme is a bit similar, but I wouldn't compare the gameplay or story at all.

[@StuartHetzler]

that was my thought as well. but psychonauts is a an amazing game

[@ShadowManV3]

why does Tom wear the weirdest looking outfits?

[@MarquisDeSang]

No Solo = No Buy (they should make an App automa because it is 2019)

[@Djaian2]

I don't understand that logic. If you want games to play solo, you might consider video games instead of boardgames...

[@nomascontrol]

Yeah I don't get this comment either, play video games

[@MarquisDeSang]

@@Djaian2 Explain "Mansions of madness", Gloom Heaven, Fallout, Nemesis, Mage Knight, Temple of Elemental Evil, Everdell, Goblivion, Lord of Hellas, Scythe. All good solo board games with good story, dialog and convincing AI.

[@willyum3108]

I get passing on a game because it doesn't suit your needs, but I don't believe everything needs to be inclusive to everybody. Sometimes designers need to focus their efforts on what works best, and develop that rather than dilute it and spread it too thin.

[@MarquisDeSang]

@@willyum3108 Very true, but all board games can have an AUTOMA and one day they will all have one. Surely I am not the only one living in a remote location with no friends.

[@MarquisDeSang]

No Solo = No Buy

[@SebastiaanBenders]

Seal of Approval? You giving this out to every game now? So you liked the story? Here’s a public secret: there are more good stories about and you wouldn’t believe the number of themes, and they’re written by people who do this for a living! 😳👍🏻 pick up a book sometime!