Concordia - Shut Up & Sit Down Review

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Podcast: anchor.fm/susd
Twitter: / shutupshow
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First published on January 21, 2016.

[@christopherleffler4096]

"The Roman empire was full of jerks and very proactive". Get this man a documentary series.

[@aclabonte]

I have no idea how many times I've rewatched this review, and I own the game already. A classic

[@janrutishauser]

Same. Except I don't own it. 😅

[@freejay6091]

@@janrutishauser came here to say that. Quinns really REALLY knows this game. or does he.... *knowwww* this game?

[@ezmrcz]

Back for thirds. Delicious.

[@rkk667]

Doing it now!

[@a.wosaibi]

Same! Watched this before buying the game, after buying the game, and after playing it the first time

[@ericsmith8947]

1:45 answering the phone "how did you find me?" - brilliant

[@Last_March_of_the_Gents]

Lol didnt even click on that XD

[@tomd2666]

"Do you know what that means?" "It means watching Netflix and hanging out." * tired sigh off camera *

[@TP_Gillz]

@@robertahearne423 Tinder is how it came about. Good ol casual sex app

[@Kowzorz]

@@robertahearne423 It's like saying "going upstairs for some coffee". Equally opaque.

[@jonatanrullman]

@@Kowzorz Wait what? I always thank the woman politely and say I don't drink coffee but that I had a wonderful time and we should do it again sometime. I tell you, women have some crazy high standards these days because they always break off contact after that. For not liking coffee for Pete's sake.

[@Atlasfilms08]

(Back when it originally aired) This review singlehandedly got me to buy Concordia after I'd completely written it off due to its cover art.

[@immaculateboy]

So true. I saw the cover art and kept on scrolling through the rest of the games list on Amazon.

[@kritwatcharaimudom9677]

Atlas Films lol es

[@dpgoulette]

Same. This review made me say "o.k.... maybe Rahdo was right..." He was.

[@chemdent421]

Same.

[@RowantarotBlogspot]

I bought Concordia instantly 15 minutes into this review. A year (or so) on, we now have EVERY expansion board and Salsa, and play the game regularly. It's a firm favourite. :)

[@ValkyrieTiara]

It's been four years and I'm still waiting for the Lunchtime Egg single to drop =(

[@lucidharmonic8442]

It's tradition to watch this every now and again

[@ganztaOne]

Yup 😂

[@FernandoCanoG]

For me, yes

[@pezking124]

Quinns, ffs stop putting board games on my Amazon wishlist for like five minutes. Just kidding, I love it.

[@mathijsbeaujean8378]

I've just discovered this channel two days ago, and already my basket at Amazon says I'd better find £500 quickly.

[@thomashughes7336]

I'm the same and I found the channel today haha RIP wallet

[@Cpruett]

Hi Quinn's bonsai.

[@gijoe250]

I'm skipping to this review because you literally mentioned this game on like 3 other reviews

[@rhettpeter83]

I never forgot this review, I’ve long watched shut up and sit down reviews and this always seemed a “classic” of their canon. I own plenty of euro games and the games art didn’t appeal, but I finally bought the game and I’ve gotta say it’s such a perfect mash up of everything whilst still being its own thing. My partner and I really enjoy playing, but the game really shines with a higher player count. It flows really well, has a satisfying amount of decision making and strategy. I’ve been hooked on it since I bought it.

[@Yazeed99]

16:18 Hahaha the scream

[@matthewharris-levesque5809]

I almost passed this by the one time it was brought to the local gaming group. Luckily they egged me into playing. I do have to say, this is an excellent game, just the right length and complex enough to be satisfying. Yet the rules are actually as easy to learn as Quinns said.

[@2dTones]

2:04 - 2:08 remains my favourite 5 seconds in boardgaming

[@ananousous]

That's not 5 seconds

[@ananousous]

@@Spearca fair enough, if that's how they meant it

[@bibleboardgames5199]

I was about done for tonight watching 'just ok' board game videos, but hey, I figured I might make it through one more, and this was a gem!!!

[@trojan403]

Had this on my wishlist for year thanks to this video, finally purchased and had our first game tonight! Went well am looking forward to playing more than two players, I reckon it'll be a hoot Cheers!

[@M3tabolic]

I have watched and rewatched this so many times (despite already owning every Concordia expansion there is), and I still love it - but it always amazes me how Quinn’s just glosses over the Forum tiles, saying ‘it’s a lot of reading isn’t it? Not very elegant, don’t bother.’ They aren’t even punched out in his copy… is he giving this recommendation based on not even trying it? The reality is that Forum tiles are easy to play with, elegantly implemented, and really really fun. They give you amazing one off bonuses and asymmetric player powers whenever you play Tribune. This not only feels really rewarding, but it also makes the timing of the Tribune play even more interesting. None of the tiles are complicated at all, and only one new tile comes out at a time so there’s barely any admin overhead either. If you haven’t tried playing with forum tiles yet, do it! Don’t believe Quinn’s on this one… They are great!

[@henkkapappi]

I got this game a little while ago after a long time of writing it off as just another bland euro. Got to play it today, finally. This game is seriously amazing! One might think SU&SD might me overselling this but no! The game is just that good... You never run out of options while still always running out of everything... So long story short: Thank you so much for recommending this!

[@cromusz]

Fantastic video. I've added this to my wishlist!

[@joelbloch08]

Hello, I have come recently across your channel and I am binge-watching it, it's fantastic. One remark though, it would be interesting in your reviews to give the average duration of the game, it's also an important factor when you choose to buy or not. And usually the figures on BBG are like the gaz consumption of a car on the manufacturer documentation : highly inaccurate and most of the time underestimated. Thanks again for your channel!

[@fnord3125]

love this review. disagree about the forum tiles though. but that might just be because i have a huge affection for special powers so, if nothing else, i love that you get to start with one permanent forum tile to give every player one thing that they can do that other people can't, even though they're relatively minor abilities.

[@mr.bulldops2459]

You guys joke about how tall Quinns is. I had no idea how giant the man was until I received my own copy of Concordia!

[@escapeartist205]

i just got this as a steam game and looked up reviews and see a su&sd review i somehow missed. yay

[@alexbiersner3350]

I did it. I finally did it. I finally bought a copy of Concordia, so excited to add this to my collection...now I just gotta get some friends to play

[@TheNachtblut]

Thanks, now I ordered the game. We will see were it will lead me. I despised games for a long time. Then I played a lot of rounds Settlers of Catan with friends. I realized that the game is very imperfect and too slow for my taste (sometimes waiting 20 minutes for my turn with a bunch of slightly stoned people playing) but it still caught my interest. I did some 'research' online and Concordia was one of the games that came up. The idea of a game with relatively simple rules but complex strategy really appeals to me! I also like the idea of 'hidden' scoring as it feels like it would add some excitement. Finally I really like your videos a lot! You remind me of 'Peepshow' in an extremely positive way. So funny!!

[@jagged1946]

Quinns you were so very right. I played this for the first time tonight, and it was a hit. Can't wait to play again. SUSD are the best board game reviewers, period.

[@asaskald]

jagged 1 this is true. Best board game channel on KZbin. I'm either learning or laughing at any given moment.

[@davedogge2280]

Something VERY strange happened to me. I'm traditionally a hardcore Ameritrash, Wargame (board games) and miniture's wargaming fan. I joined a board game club in my city and got introduced to 'economic games' / Euro games and I just love them... 1830 : Railroads and Robber Barons + Tin Goose and I just totally love them so much I bought them and stacks of poker chips. That is why I am here !

[@dejavuman22]

Finally came across a copy at my local game store and got it. Absolutely love it!

[@gamingdad2813]

Cool, I'm late to the party but the plan is to play this on our next board game meeting.

[@BottlesOfSoap]

This inspired me to try concordia out and i now totally understand

[@dpgoulette]

"... so I can move my broat on this route..." 4:05

[@Kelfuma]

Thanks for the review and spreading the word on this wonderful game. It's one of my top 5 board games.

[@JoFu_]

The state of that cast iron pan caused me physical pain

[@WayOfFire]

Finally a UK reprint! Concordia is on its way! :D

[@phillipmillman3290]

I love this game and its amazing expansions. Fantastic!

[@TheZjensen]

I just looked at the Top 50 games at the SU&SD website and this game didn't make the cut. That was kinda shocking based on how much they seem to love it in this review.

[@bootblacking]

This is an older review that they've just now uploaded to KZbin. They reviewed Concordia after releasing their list.

[@TheZjensen]

You are correct. I just looked again and noticed they didn't review Concordia until early this year. My bad

[@Mat23]

6:48 the poor copy of Blood Rage sitting in the background lol.

[@NakedAnt]

I just bought the Venus expansion + base game box, fingers crossed my group takes to it!

[@shpini1]

You start with 2 food! And this game is amazing :D

[@melequin]

The Rome total war music got me so good

[@Robubie]

I still say "Capitalist marmite" all the time.

[@evandercaldwell9993]

Salsa of course being the latin for "cocaine" hahahaha 😂😂

[@ComfyDents]

13:42 Comcordia: "This isn't even my full power!"

[@daneofdanger]

How on earth have I not already given this a like? I must have watched this at least 3 times

[@versusforward]

Thoroughly enjoyable review! Buying this asap.

[@manos2495]

I own both Concordia and Istanbul (big box edition) and i like them a lot. So, for my next buy do you think there is a point to be a game like Troyes or Orleans (and which one of those do you prefer?) or do you find them similar to Concordia and Istanbul and think i should buy something else, a bit more different? Thank you!

[@josefkainrad]

I got this game based on this review, thanks! It was hella fun.

[@michaelselvaggio4935]

Great review. Thanks for the help. Bought it and Salsa! U Da Man! or men or guys.

[@jacobzuiderveen6047]

Love the WicDiv printout

[@mejhdhhicbfshihids652]

The Tribune’s ability should be to annoy Ceaser

[@HerrFinsternis]

The britannia germania board is really good, I wouldn't pass it up. Probably one of the better board expansions. I currently have all the maps accept the salsa one. Can't find that expansion anywhere and am waiting for a reprint

[@RoosterLewis]

I think the magic word for me is: "personal deck of cards".

[@PraxZimmerman]

Is there a bagpipe playing in the background around the 8 minute mark? Was driving me crazy wondering where that sound was coming from.

[@LenSchiff]

6:24 just marking that for next time.

[@coreynoemif3j29]

Did you ever end up playing with the forum tiles? And if so, what is your opinion on them currently.

[@milokiss8276]

Oh hello little bonsai, thank you for distracting me from my most hated literary device

[@n20games52]

Tribunes are boring but secretly not! Ha ha ha. Very entertaining review!

[@dave0754]

I bought the game because of this review and absolutely loved it!

[@christophermoore8524]

Me too. I hated the cover art so much that it would make me angry and I'd become more convinced I'd never buy it when other people recommended it, but SU&SD finally broke me.

[@Obir]

​@@christophermoore8524 im still holding on and waiting for a redesign :S

[@takeagalbythehand]

I need to sing that song every time I fry up an egg now. 😂

[@lordbiscuitthetossable5352]

And consume all the eggshells!

[@nathanvoltz2577]

It's been great getting game expansions with my Chipotle orders.

[@ThoriberoCaroli]

"Wierd headless England" 14.06 So... Implying Scotland belongs to England and also is England's head? X)

[@rhoddryice5412]

I instantly thought of a Waterboys song. Islandman

[@mosquitobight]

As weird as calling it "England" in Roman times

[@foobazabar]

Ah, he's just prefers a Stuart over a Winsor (and who wouldn't)

[@jamesderiven1843]

The opening is extremely painful to watch now that every egg in England is £70 each.

[@pkensler]

Sometimes one thumbs up isn't enough. Great video!

[@KristiyanNedelchev]

Quinns… you are a cheeky merchant :D

[@andy4an]

wait, it has a spiel de jares stamp right on the box, how did you miss that?

[@munchmoo6586]

the search interest for "what does netflix and chill mean" spiked when this video was released

[@margaritoamargo6347]

Good taste in music I love Soul Asylum.

[@ashrael37]

Oh man, where is that 2nd wheat on setup? Such a newb ;) (By the way I love this review, and now thanks to the 3rd edition, I love this game too. So much fun.)

[@johncorrigan268]

Any difference between 1st and 3rd edition?

[@russellscott1151]

Sounds like one to get only he says it’s over quickly yet BGG site says it takes 100mins to play, which is it? Also is it a good game for 2 people or just can be played with 2? I was looking for something to be played with my partner that will take an hour or 2??

[@juicebox_ryan3185]

i see a copy of the grizzled, might i expect a review in the future?

[@kjerins]

Any plans to review the expansions? Particularly the team play thing from Venus.

[@shutupandsitdown]

We played it on Twitch and talked about it at the end, should be posted to KZbin in the next few weeks, or you can watch it on our Twitch channel.

[@pleasestopalready]

Sounds like a Monty Haul type of resource mechanic.

[@Yayakamisama]

Concordia will be sad now that Blood on the Clocktower has replaced it. Will you be running away from the apartment with the big book box now?

[@Daktangle]

"Headless England" in reference to Britain with part of Scotland chopped off still frustrates/irritates me to this day. x.x

[@JonatasAdoM]

Thank you, I did not get it and was confused.

[@Daktangle]

@@JonatasAdoM Quinns sadly seems to have this habit firmly ingrained, along with forgetting Wales is a thing.

[@chain-wallet]

the cheeky merchant, like a dirty sanchez but wearing a monocle

[@nathanporrata9274]

So you need to buy the base game before buying the Salt expansion?

[@konnyknees]

Fuck I love you guys

[@matthiash.3749]

Concordia or Great Western Trail, what would you guys rather recommend?

[@Eikenhorst]

Whow, that is apples and pears. Concordia: rather light, simple to teach, limited in options but deep in strategy. GWT: heavy game, tough to teach, long play time, but so rich in opportunities to explore. I would say, it just totally depends if you want something light and simple or heavy and complex. Do you have hardcore board game friends that would enjoy a 3 hour game of GWT?

[@Madmuli]

@@Eikenhorst Agreed; both are great, but that's about all they have in common

[@fredrikmingert5064]

Best game. Good review.

[@Waz-85]

you mentioned you can only buy/sell 1/2 resources, but then sold 4. was that only for effect or am I reading the rules wrong and you can sell more?

[@AdventurersWay]

nicholas wasniewski you can only trade up to 2 TYPES of goods, not just 2 goods.

[@jawells630]

One of my favorite games... now I want to play

[@leoburdick4184]

Friends! Imagine that!

[@troylow6229]

is the expansion easy to fit the base game?

[@Kufunninapuh]

Does it hold up?

[@fruehlingsobst8123]

6:38 lmao!!!

[@ArvidBoivie]

Is that bagpipes in the background?

[@SiC83]

there I bought it, are you happy ? cause im happy becasue its a great game

[@alirazapunjani2673]

I can see Blood Rage in the background @ 12:00 I know there's a review for it on the site but make a video review goddammit !!

[@745mcnaughton]

This game is 15 quid on Amazon right now!!! Insane price.

[@jej_x]

lmao the Syracuse pronunciation

[@LightandFire676]

So, when I first played this game, I decided to put on some classic Roman music to set the right mood. After a couple youtube videos, I quickly learned that Roman music is screechy, wild, and horrible. And only now, on my third time watching through this video, did I realize that there is actually that same awful squaky Roman music on quietly in the background THE WHOLE TIME.

[@LightandFire676]

For the record, I listened to the horrible music for the whole game anyway, because I'm dedicated. Also, I have rewatched this video three times (and will continue to rewatch it forever) because of Quinn's serial killer face at 6:31 and the "NYOOOAAOO!!" at 8:06.

[@Gunnarr123abc]

I am quite certain any "roman music" you find on youtube is made up and unauthentic. At best, just guessing what the music or notations would be, at worst, just people making noise with instruments they hope is at least same type used in that period

[@LightandFire676]

@@Gunnarr123abc That's probably true.

[@chriswalker4535]

Concordia vs Hansa Teutonica? What do you reckon?

[@RatchetSly]

Having played both, they're both very good, but pretty different-feeling. I personally enjoyed Concordia more, though your mileage may vary.

[@Thelocalpsychopath]

Are there really supposed to be bagpipes between 6:23 and 8:56? I don't remember hearing those the first time I watched this review and they're quite annoying... :P

[@AwesomeNossum86]

Jesus Christ thank you for mentioning this. I thought I was going crazy

[@chalor182]

Some of the music in this was more Discordia than Concordia

[@LightPink]

I played a few 3p games and it feels like it ends too soon.

[@blitheringape5321]

5 fewer settlements*

[@OwainRaj]

The people who taught me the game gave every player two weats at game start and one of every other resource.

[@koffiegast]

im still waiting for a retheme/re-art. Love the game but hard to get on the table for looking so crappy

[@christophermoore8524]

I finally bought it even though I HATE the cover art. I just set it up before my kids could see it, and they were fine. The board and cards are nice enough, but not great. The rules are so intuitive, everyone was hooked almost immediately.

[@kint87]

I get the new version named "Concordia Venus" and its a beauty :)

[@TheNoobsteak]

(Strategy from an addict) After adding all the expansions together and replaying the maps to several other people's exhaustions... I'm desperate for the steam version so that I can feed my Concordia addiction again and again and again. I'm now tracking scores as the game is ongoing so that I make the best moves for each turn. Several strategic points from a person who has clearly abused this game. Key to victory is having more cards than your opponents and still having a nearly equal number of houses built. Make sure to be the one to diplomat someone else's senator card at least once more than they do it. You'll want to keep track. Remember though, don't do it on the first card round otherwise you'll hamper your resource production. I try to diplomat a senator card twice per game. Almost every game I've played the average points per card only varies from 10 to 11. If you're maxed out on efficiency every turn then you'll likely get to the same average. Even if you're aiming for a saturnvs strategy make sure to double up in at least one province for early 'prefecting' strategies. If you're not aiming to build many of a single resource plop it down in a province where someone else is likely to prefect for you. Try not to give them a reason to avoid prefecting a specific province though. If you have two houses with their two they may avoid prefecting it in favor of another province. Don't get the mason card if you're going for a Jupiter strategy because they're at cross purposes. Unless you're buying it to foil someone else. Venvs is a very potent strategy if you can manage to get 7 provinces with double cities, max 14 points per card, you'll want to buy every single Venvs card that you can get your hands on. They're also very versatile. Farmer/Mason work really well together, if gives you the option to speed run out of houses quickly without a great cost to build. Try adding in one colonist card to get out more colonists and get tons of movement. If you're aiming for a Cloth Baron or Wine Baron any salt cities will count towards your Vintner/Weaver cards. You don't have to be the first person to go out to win but it helps. It's a 14 point spread from you to the person who was racing you to go out with the Concordia card being worth 7. When you're aiming to go out and have say 5 houses left. Don't get 4 and then scare your opponents into preparing for their final turn. You'll want to do two and get three on the next turn. This way they'll look at your houses left and feel more secure, maybe running into a 4 or 5 turn cycle where they won't be ready to get out there last 4 houses on you. Getting a second diplomat card is almost essential, because the first one will be so valuable, so that you can steal someone else's card if you don't get to buy it in time with the senator. And I try to always max out the number of cards played before tribuning, so that I can get the most sestertii and avoid having to prefect the cash and waste a turn, I only do that if it's 10 or above and it likely never gets that high. Using a colonist for cash is also a waste of a turn. Though there are times that it's good to tribune a few times early to process your high value diplomat/senator/prefect/architect cards. Magistering a Vintner or Weaver if you're a wine/cloth baron is a powerful tool and sets you up to make a huge Mercator turn. Make sure to get a least one Minerva card so that you're not missing out on that bonus because salt cities will also fall into that if you have the Salsa expansion. There's a ton more nuance to the strategy but those are the main themes. Mercury cards max out at 10, Mars cards max out at 12, Venvs at 14, Jupiter at 15 (theoretically if you were to only buy bricks with the Mercator). If you're going to try to get as many Jvpiter cards as you can, make sure to be the person to grab the consul card, it'll allow you to buy more consul cards and corner that market. You can 'snipe' the highest position cards for yourself without moving the board and making the other cheaper. Be wary of over using consul, a senator card is still the most powerful card in the game, taking 1 turn to buy 2 cards. It should only be used to control your strategy. Satvrn can be as high as 12 depending on the board you're playing. Always adapt your strategy to which board you're playing. Vesta is not a strategy only a bonus; spending resources/sestertius will always pay out more than keeping them till the end. This game can be super frustrating when people steal your strategy or block you buy buying something just as you were planning to do so; so don't lock yourself down to one thing until you've gotten a Minerva card and can focus on it. Say if you go for the farmer/mason you'll have to forget about buying cloth/wine/salt cities because they'll be too cost prohibitive. One thing to remember is that some of the best cards cost wine or tool's and not to leave yourself without that ability. If you have the forvm cards from the expansions you'll notice that several of them are very OP and other seemingly useless. So you'll want to pay special attention to those to manage when you tribune. The best green (single use) forum card is obviously Returnus; which allows you to return the senator card to your hand without tribuning. The best blue (permanent) forvm cards are the extra movement point cards or even the extra warehouse space. Some of them are very strategy specific. If you're a wine baron and get to sell wine for 8 sestertius you're laughing. Most of the green single use forvm cards aren't as good as the permanent ones, but they can be very powerful when used correctly. I recently had a very destructive end game turn where no one suspected I was near to going out with a full store house and no bricks. But I got the green card allowing me to build houses without bricks and built in four cities and ended the game when no one was ready for it. I held on to that card long enough people forgot I had it. I could rant for hours about this game. Each turn brings about a new strategy and set of events. I love the beginning of each game and all the possibilities on the board. Some games we don't order the resource tiles and just mix and match, the randomness of which resources go where create different choke points and clusters that wouldn't happen with the resources spread they've created with the lettering system. The other expansion rule that allows for custom starts is taking the value of your start goods and turning them into sestertius so that you may decide what resources to start with and make a custom start.

[@OwainRaj]

WIth the face you pulled at 6:30 you should have actually said "not to worry my droog"