Daybreak Review - Original or Carbon Copy?

[@CoryLovec14]

It is our favorite co-op tableau building game, which there are not an abundance of. We have a couple hundred co-ops and this feels unique; it is not a “pandemic style” game, it is not a deck builder or LCG type game, and it is not Ameritrashy or campaign; these are some of the most common co-ops that come out year to year. For us, the emphasis on smart tactical play makes it a more exciting and engaging game and less lucky game than Ares Expedition. The luck is there there though, but more in form of the dice than cards. However, reducing emissions cards reduces dice rolls and as such reduces the luck factor; I find that this subtle push towards reducing emissions and getting rewarded in that way nice but not oblique. I think scaling for 2+ players is better and than Ares expedition and it certainly is shorter than the Crisis expansion for Ares. (Comparing as I think of recent cooperative tableau building games this is probably the most recent/well known). I find all the combos of world powers fun and a different challenge. I also think particularly with Challenge cards it is much more cooperative than it seems at the standard level, and find with the right group it can be exceptionally coop, or it can be more multiplayer solo if that is how the group plays it. With new groups I’ve found people playing more solo and with our game group that has played frequently there is much more discussion. The simultaneous play is the final thing that sealed it for us as one of our top games currently.

[@TiagoSousa026]

Let me tell you that this game has one of the best rulebooks that I read. Beautiful, very well structured, easy to understand, detailed examples...

[@mirth23]

At the base difficulty this can sometimes feel like multiplayer solitaire, but beyond that it is not. When you add in challenge cards, it becomes vital to coordinate on global projects and working with local projects that assist other players. At that point Daybreak becomes a great semi-solitaire tactical card play combined with the need to orchestrate multiplayer strategy which requires awareness of what everyone is doing (at least at the high level). I think that too many people have come to verdicts after only a handful of plays without really pushing the game.

[@karldoughty7996]

I decided to battle through my negativity and really get to grips with it. Now, the basic game is easy to win so the other 'extras' in there have really come into play. It's so much better than I initially thought.

[@pelikanii4966]

The fact, that you have to start reduce emissions and build up resillienceses right from the beginning for me is highly thematic and should get ppl thinking.

[@traceyshenanigans]

My partner and I really enjoy this game. We find that the theme is so well integrated. The multi-player solo is such a part of the theme. In real life, each country has emission targets to reach and they work on those individually...as in the game. Sometimes there are moments (cards) that allow for cooperation but for the most part you need to really concentrate on managing your own populations. Alternatively, as we do, you can really stress the interaction between players (coutries) so they can build positive synergies to solve the crises. Absolutely love this game as it shows just how hard it is to get everyone on the same page to really combat climate change...temperature rising... just wow.

[@stephenball2108]

It is worth noting that not all of the challenge cards make the game harder, there are also ones that specifically make the game easier, either for one person or for the group, the icons are on the cards. I love this game, I really liked it the first time I played it and it keeps growing for me. I am surprised to hear that you two felt it was very multiplayer solitaire, I feel like this is one of the more collaborative cooperative games I’ve played in a long time. Constantly talking about what you can do to help, how you can help others, picking and activating the global project cards, either coming together to stop a crisis or figure out the best way to deal with it. Yeah, most of your card play has an effect mainly on your board, but I think if you’re just focused on yourself you’re going to lose the game, the whole point is trying to help each other out. I think it being simultaneous play really helps with game length as well, but yeah, I’ve always felt a strong feeling of cooperation in this game. Also it does an amazing job for a cooperative game of being very collaborative but avoiding the alpha gamer problem, even though the games mechanisms are simple they just don’t allow for someone to bark orders and tell you fully what to do, and that’s great. I think it strikes a great balance of being collaborative and giving me the feeling that it’s always “my turn”, and that is just great for me. The card system is terrific, the game looks beautiful. I agree, just use a calculator to figure out your emissions, it makes it easy to count it up with the numbers on your player boards, make your own life easier haha. This one honestly is at this point a 9/10 for me, I really love this one and hope it gets more hype.

[@AlasdairMacKinnon]

I have a rather odd complaint - I feel that there are too many cards (certainly if you are playing solo - although some are removed for solo play due to their multiplayer-only effects). The number of cards increases replayability, but there are so many that you won't see in a solo game that it really increases the luck factor. I still enjoy the game though and the information provided through the QR codes (and the level of research that went into that) is amazing.

[@samanrahemi2199]

No comments on the components or artwork? that's new!

[@anactualcloud]

I think it is really cool how the main round isn't done in turns.

[@karldoughty7996]

Agree with the difficulty at the beginning of the game. I've played it 3 times and every game was a speedy disaster. I will stick with it for a while, but at the moment I'm finding it more frustrating than enjoyable.

[@darinherrick9224]

I really love it when my two favorite reviewers review a game I am very interested in.

[@NakedSV650]

Solid game, I agree with Zee and Camilla. However, they didn't seem to touch on the (heavier than I'd like) luck factor.

[@AlexanderSudibjo]

Played it 5x so far on BGA 2 player on Standard difficulty. Have not lost a game yet. While there's always going to be luck in a card game, there are a ton of cards that draw more cards (especially as US) that it's been pretty easy to find what you need so I didn't find the luck factor to be high at all.

[@AlasdairMacKinnon]

​@@AlexanderSudibjo I lost badly on my first play (I played solo and haven't had a chance to play it again). I may just be a bad player though.

[@revimfadli4666]

​@@AlexanderSudibjomaking the solution to a problem also subject to the very problem it's supposed to solve (in this case burying a card that draws more cards under the deck) is a great way to make it moot

[@AlexanderSudibjo]

@@AlasdairMacKinnon In solo mode, one of the starting card let's you draw 5 keep 1. Basically my goal on turn one and two is to use that to get more card draw and orange symbols to stack behind it to be able to use it again. I value anything that can draws cards highly. Of course there's some luck involved as with any card game, but you also have 2 ish turns before it gets really bad so if you can't find any card draw/orange symbols within 15+ cards then yes that would be unlucky. Some other tips: The best cards are those that don't require a discard to activate. Discarding a card as a cost is okay if you're getting a ton of stuff or when you just need to solve a specific problem (e.g. resilience/power) but don't rely on them. When you play cards, try to play on top instead of tucking behind just for the icons. Don't be afraid of covering up any card after you use them. Often you can get a lot more stuff by just playing a card, using it, then immediately covering it up with another card and using that one. There's some forward planning in the order you play the cards to get the most out of your icons but once you get used to it, it is not difficult to do. There are multiple "draw 1 card" in the deck and those are just free icons since they replace themselves after you activate them. So you can use that fact to build up a stack that requires said icon for no cost. Activate all your card draw effects first before doing anything else. This allows you to have the most information when planning for card chains. Currently at 13 straight wins on BGA playing 1-3 players and I stand by that any luck in this game can be mitigated by player decisions. Although I will say that solo felt the most affected by luck just from the fact that you'll see the fewest cards compared to having more players.

[@AlexanderSudibjo]

​@@AlasdairMacKinnon I prioritize card draw heavily. In solo, one of the starting card lets you discard a card to draw 5 keep 1 and you can do this as many time as you have orange icons. I like using this to find more orange icons and/or card draw in the first 1-2 turns. It's technically not impossible to whiff on these but I haven't had a game where I just can't find anything useful so far. Some other tips: You don't want to use too many cards that require you to discard a card to activate unless it's the only way to tackle a specific problem you need to solve (e.g. resilience/power/etc.). Otherwise, the once per turn effects or increasing your demand is a much more efficient way to get things that you need. I prefer to play a card on top instead of tucking a card behind when possible. There are some cases when I'm trying to build a draw 2 engine where I tuck a card behind since I'm getting the card back anyway but most of the time, you'll get more stuff when you play a card, use it, then play something else on top to use the new one also. You want to plan the order that you play these cards to get the most out of your icons. Use all card draw effects before anything else. This way you have the most information to plan the best way to chain cards together for the most effect. There are also multiple draw 1 card effects. These cards are essentially free icons since the card draw replaces itself so play them to add its icon on the necessary stack. After 13 games playing with 1-3 players, I still believe the luck in this game can be mitigated by player decisions. That said, solo play is the most prone to the luck factor just because 1 player will draw fewer cards than 2-3 players. But hopefully the above tips help!

[@hondito]

Great review! I felt exactly the same about most everything you said. Which is why this was my #1 game of last year! A few flaws, but fantastic co-op gameplay that feels a step up from Pandemic et al.

[@ralindel]

You guys often complain about themeless games, and for this one where the theme is kind of a big part of whether it's good or not you skip it? Cmon.

[@JohnClem56]

I haven't played this (so obviously take this with an appropriate grain of salt) but from what I've seen of the rules and how the game plays I think it would likely feel more cooperative at higher player counts. The US and Europe players could focus solely on their situation and get that under control but if they aren't spending time planning and helping the China and Rest of World players then it's likely that they will all lose. That's because China and Rest of World growth rates and therefore carbon rates get much higher throughout the game. In other words, each player just primarily focusing on optimizing their own situations isn't going to be good enough to win. That may not be as much of a factor at the 2 player count. Still likely has a fair amount of head down focus on your own board but seems like the early part of a round should be highly interactive in order to create a more optimal overall plan and increase the chances you can win the game. Playing it as multi-player solitaire may be part of the reason you find it difficult/hard to win...?

[@jessicaw2137]

The game is good, but the component quality of the retail edition is horrendous

[@darinherrick9224]

Multiplayer solitaire. Like real world politics and science research.

[@joseg.6187]

Great review.

[@svenbudde7530]

Excellent Game. Love it playing solo. 😊

[@darinherrick9224]

This will likely be the last game of this type I purchase. And I will purchase it when it’s cheap.

[@scyldscefing3913]

I'm glad you find Daybreak as good as my wife and I.

[@bcroswell]

That box so much like Discover: Lands Unknown its scary

[@revimfadli4666]

Ah yes, the "corporate" artstyle

[@e7diablo]

I've probably watched 500 reviews by Dice Tower and a ton by Zee and generally think they're/he's great at explaining games in the overview portion......but this was one of the most obtuse overviews I've watched. This game may be great, but that portion of the video did NOT help convey any of it to me.

[@namelessfire]

It is a pretty middle-of-the-road co-op game that only stands out because of its pedigree and its theme. The decisions you make throughout the game are pretty obvious. Cooperation isn’t necessary. Solo is fine, but not special in anyway. It’s a pretty rote and pedestrian outing. There’s just so many better co-ops and solo games out there.

[@darinherrick9224]

Name some?

[@BoardAllTheTime]

@@darinherrick9224Dead Men Tell No Tales, Gears of War, Tesseract, Atlantis Rising, Pandemic, Spirit Island, Freedom, Ares Expedition, Escape, Shipwreck Arcana, The Crew…

[@CoryLovec14]

⁠@@BoardAllTheTime 8 of those that you mentioned are in my top 60 games! Very solid games you listed. However Daybreak is higher for me than all but Spirit Island and The Crew (it’s just ahead Shipwreck Arcana by 1 place haha). When I first heard about it I thought it was a co-op Ares Expedition essentially, but the tactical play is so engaging for us it exceeds Ares by quite a bit (which is my #48)

[@BoardAllTheTime]

@@CoryLovec14 Have you tried out Ares Expedition with the Crisis expansion? It's the way to play it co-op and is a ton of fun.

[@CoryLovec14]

@@BoardAllTheTime i like Crisis. There’s pros and cons. I think at 2p i actually prefer the base version - 2p co-op and terraform within 15 rounds. The only downside in my opinion is limited player count and trying to remember which round it is (it is sometimes easy to forget to “grab a cube”). 3+ of course Crisis. The card pool gets limited quite a bit however, and it is a much longer game than base or Daybreak

[@darinherrick9224]

Just so ya’ll know I find your intro music really annoying and skip it. Every. Single. Time.

[@johnbosch8963]

No one cares. Thanks for sharing though.

[@jonazo7188]

It’s like 4 seconds