Earth Board Game Review

Earth is a 1-5 player tableau building game about growing a synergistic ecosystem. It plays in about an hour. It is designed so that players will have something to do during every turn of the game. The objective is to score the most victory points through planting flora (I.e. adding cards to your tableau) and satisfying objectives. The actions and card effects will have people constantly drawing cards, earning more soil (the game's currency), planting sprouts and growing flora.
I originally featured Earth in the video, 5 Games that are BETTER than Wingspan:
• 5 Games that are BETTE...
BUY Earth:
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VIEW on the Perfect Boardgame
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
0:00 - Introduction
0:38 - What is the board game, “Earth”?
1::09 - Rules Summary
3:42 - Overview of Game Actions
5:36 - Theme rating
7:48 - Mechanics rating
8:45 - Strategy rating
9:46 - Components rating
12:20 - Complexity rating
14:49 - Final thoughts

[@maxtardif4959]

Thanks for the great review and taking the time to play the game, well appreciated ! Glad you like it :)

[@theperfectboardgame]

Oh man, you were waiting for this when you! You tagged it with your comment within an hour of it being published. I’m impressed! Yes. It was awesome. Definitely a keeper. Do you know if there is a sea life expansion (or any expansion) in the works?

[@maxtardif4959]

@@theperfectboardgame Yeah I saw it right when you published it, youtube algorithm is quite clever I guess ;) As for the sea life I have ideas, but nothing that I work on as of now!

[@theperfectboardgame]

@@maxtardif4959 the exclusion of sea life seemed almost intentional. During the live chat, we were talking about how the box insert looks almost as if it was designed to house twice as many cards. Anyway, so many people have expressed their excitement about this game. It’s wonderful and it was a pleasure to play and review. Congratulations!

[@benjaminbaker4168]

Great review! Thanks! I’ve got my copy preordered and I look forward to trying it out.

[@theperfectboardgame]

Awesome. I hope you enjoy it!

[@iNDERUdmg]

I think you'd really like Fantastic Factories. It's also an engine building tableau building game with simultaneous actions and multi purpose cards. I kinda think of it as "advanced Gizmos". I tried it with my family. It took a while to understand the rules (and we didn't take simultaneous actions to make sure everyone understands what they're doing) but by the end of it everyone was "excited for next time now that we get it".

[@theperfectboardgame]

There are so many factory games. I thought I new what you were talking about until I looked it up: I actually haven’t played this one. I will take a closer look. Thank you!!

[@yogavindaloo]

Great review and channel!

[@MyMav88]

Great review! Your review criterion are exceptionally clear - love it!

[@theperfectboardgame]

Thank you very much for affirming the criterion. I am working hard to establish a predictable format for my reviews and your feedback helps me know I am headed in the right direction.

[@richardscales9560]

The simultaneous action reminds me of Race for Galaxy and Eminent Domain. I think its a good idea to include this sort of thing to keep all players engaged. I can however see the having to remind some other player of what they need to be doing when it's not their.

[@FredzGreen]

Great to find a review that doesn't only praise, but also honestly talks about the negatives

[@theperfectboardgame]

Yay! I take that as a huge compliment.

[@jamessherman7797]

Your analysis is spot on. I recently got Earth as a gift. We’ve played several games now and yes each game plays differently and is part of the appeal. Because of the attention to detail needed and simultaneous play, you need to really trust the other players. Some of the card abilities still seem unclear and complex at times and we come up with an agreement of how to interpret and apply the ability. We’re still playing without the ecosystem cards so that we can attempt to fully understand the game. The player boards I received are warped. I like the quality of components for growth rings and sprouts but the soil and leaf tokens are quite cheap and thin cardboard. At the end of game, I do find it satisfying and curiosity has me ready for another game.

[@theperfectboardgame]

Hey! Thanks for sharing your own analysis. I will also tell you that the game hasn’t gotten old. I’m still delighted to play it every time, notwithstanding the warped board ☺️

[@tonybowers9490]

Thanks for sharing. I've heard your comments said by others and I'm sure you're dead on. I've also heard - but, it's fun! The fun factor is very important to me, so good to know.

[@theperfectboardgame]

I avoid watching videos by other reviewers so they don't influence me, so I don't know what else is being said, but I guess it's a good thing that the reviews that are out there provide a consistent description of the game.

[@2532robh1]

Seems like a good balanced review.

[@theperfectboardgame]

Thank you! I try. 😊

[@tbahr123]

I’ve been playing quite a bit on BGA, it’s an excellent implementation and a great game. It’s definitely the most comparable to Wingspan. I like Wingspan better just slightly, with the main reasons being theme (birds are cooler than plants) and the finicky stuff you mentioned. Wingspan is a 10/10 for me, and Earth is a 9/10. Fantastic game for those that love a good puzzle to solve and minimal interaction.

[@theperfectboardgame]

I would agree except I have such a strong preference for simultaneous gameplay. If I was playing both on BGA, I would only play Wingspan turn-based and I would always play Earth in realtime. (To be honest, at this time, my out-of-state family still only knows Wingspan and I've been teaching them Earth one by one, so we still play Wingspan in realtime but I bet Earth will displace it once everyone is familiar.)

[@tbahr123]

@@theperfectboardgame That’s fair. I imagine Earth will be quite a bit shorter with 4-5 than Wingspan once the group knows both games equally well. Wingspan I play almost exclusively in person so it’s a bit unfair of me comparing apples to oranges with only playing Earth on BGA.

[@diamondmeeple]

I believe My City (the eternal single match side) and Renature are two superb games. I am recommending these games. Just got my Ra deluxe Pharaoh edition. It looks amazing. Nice game.

[@theperfectboardgame]

I'll have to take another look at Renature. I checked it out a while ago but didn't go for it initially because it seemed kinda dry. I generally like your recommendation though, so I'll take a closer look.

[@aetherllama8398]

One of my favorite new games and I disagree that it's low strategy. Prioritizing between many different goals and abilities requires a lot of strategy, in fact you have to pursue multiple strategies simultaneously. The best mix of strategies is different every game. You see 50+ cards each game which gives you so many options and really mitigates the luck.

[@theperfectboardgame]

I see your point and would agree with you, but I’m defining strategy differently. Let’s look at a dictionary definition: “a plan of action or policy designed to achieve a major or overall aim.” In this game, you are really limited in your ability to plan. The fact that this game requires players to process multiple variables and track several objectives lends to its complexity, at least according to how I rate it. I probably should have increased my complexity rating. Anyway, if I understand you correctly, it sounds like you are saying the “strategy” is in a player’s ability to respond to the changing game state, considering so many variables. Perhaps then, the definition of strategy is “how likely will experienced/skilled players beat inexperienced/unskilled players.”

[@aetherllama8398]

@@theperfectboardgame You understand me partially correct. A counter example is Chess. Top players memorize the first 15+ moves. The better player wins, you can plan ahead, but the choices are mostly tactical rather than strategic. I'd say a game has deep strategy if the strategies you implement each game are complex and varied. And a game has high strategy if your choices are focused on abstract goals rather than specific details. Earth is strategic because although I can't plan the exact cards to play (tactics), I can plan the types of cards I will prioritize.

[@toguoppusunggu7003]

Thanks for this review. I was looking for more themaric integration and ambience in the game play. I decided to not get Wingspan, because its game play felt lacking in thematic integration, and this game seems even less so in that direction.

[@aorakis5795]

Thanks for the review ! After a few games, now i can see what bother me the most with this big Hype of a game : 1) Solo-wise : The IA, even if it is really smooth and fast to play, enjoyable coz you'll do something even on her turn (and vice versa), on normal mode (and even on easy) she start getting those objectives way too quickly compare to you. And it is not rare she scores the 60 points there +7 coz she triggers the end game... So 67pts... That's a lot of point, and if you get two of those objectives yourself at 11+11 each... you can say you did well there.. And it's still a 45pts straight to your face... And let's say it, even with the 3 personnal objectives, on a bad luck draw (your cards does'nt suit the objectives) you'll hardly get close to her... So basically, i think i lost all my normal games. where i won 2 in easy and it was quite close there... So yeah... GAIA... the IA, a smooth to play system, yet a really big disapointment for me in term of balancing. 2) The Componants... and especially the French Version, wich, in europe, had a problem, with all of the 10 climates cards missing their icons... (and even the player board is missing one...) Aswell as the paper boards quality... Thick, yet really curved. The 5 players tokens that should have been in wood too. 3) The "Traits" on the cards... : Bold, Surligned, and the worst of all -> ITALIC ??? What the hell is that... ? you defenatly gonna need some really good glasses to see those italics card-traits... even the surligned on small letters is a pain... And to be honest, the game doesn't even need those traits to be good... That's the cherry on the cake for me... Useless AND a really bad work on the ergonomic aspect... 4) The luck draw : Of course those sort of games all got that, but in the solo-mode especially, if the draw don't go your way, even half of it... you'll suffer and probably gonna have a Harsh lose... 5) Too many cards : i don't know why on Earth (yeah i know... that joke was bad right ?), they're all making their games with 250+ cards nowadays... Replay value ? Well.. yes and no... as it impact even more the luck effect on objectives... i would rather remove 50 60 cards easy in this one (yeah i'm watching at you "Bold-Italic-Surligned Traits Cards... !") --- About the theme, completely agreed, the photography are great, but you're not seeing those while playing. It could have been anything else, with the growth and canopee, you're not seeing and enjoying any of those while playing. It could have been a "Shoes and pair of socks" themed game, would have been the same ! --- All in all, the gameplay is good enough for making this game interesting enough to overcome those default, and it's going to be a great game for those tableau lovers out there. I mean it. but for me, and especially on the solo aspect. This game is a big disapointement. And the Ergonomy and the European french print are the water drop that makes the bowl full. Solo players - 7/10 : Ok Game that will Not gonna stay for long into my collection (especially for solo playing) Multi Players : 7.5/10 : Ok game that is better than in solo, yet that still get some annoying points pointed aboves (ergonomy, materials) -- Cheers from belgium

[@theperfectboardgame]

Awesome review of the game. Thank you for sharing the detailed description. It’s a totally different game when played solo. Multiplayer, you get to really enjoy your engine and let the game go long. Solo, it is really a race to finish first by unleashing a really powerful engine, if you have enough cards to select from…

[@aorakis5795]

about the componants and boards just put some little patches on the back of the boards and they won't move anymore. The canopees and trees i agree are a bit annoying, especially if you move one card into your tableau, that has a lot of them on it... Nothing unmanagable if you're meticulous or use to play the guild merchant of merchant explorers for exemple :D Luck-wise, i have that feeling with Bullet, a game where bad luck may just cut you off, but the fun factor is such great, that this is not much of a problem, especially coz the reset is so fast Overall a really nice review that is not all about "this is a great and amazing game !" (wich we got with a lot of paid reviews out there

[@theperfectboardgame]

What a great comment! Thank you for breaking down the video and sharing your reactions.

[@jairuszandaya4722]

Ok. Gatta ask, in you're video's there are many things about you talking about wingspan mostly of them comparing to better one's But it makes me question: do you like wingspan or not? No comparing to others Just the core of wingspan Cause i was just thinking if i would buy wingspan or ticket to ride or root

[@jairuszandaya4722]

In some of your video's* Cause i was just thinking if i would like to buy wingspan rather than ticket to ride or root*

[@theperfectboardgame]

I like playing games with the people I am with. There are times when Wingspan is the right game, and when it is, I enjoy playing it. But I have played hundreds of games and many of the people I play with have also played a wide variety of games. You get to a point where you have so much to compare to, it feels like you need to be especially discerning when you say, “I like this”. My biggest problem with Wingspan anymore is that there are so many games that I would want to play instead, yet despite all that I can still play Wingspan and think, “that was fun. I’m glad we played this tonight.” What do you think? DO I ultimately “like” Wingspan, or not?

[@jairuszandaya4722]

​@@theperfectboardgamei see. thank you for your responds. And yeah you make a point you do have more board games and there would be some better one's because that is more fun. I really did forget about the main part of this, that its just to have fun.

[@jairuszandaya4722]

​@@theperfectboardgamethanks again

[@koyko4]

I see a very active fish in the back

[@theperfectboardgame]

They are missed. We gave them up “for adoption” when we moved to Japan this summer.

[@theperfectboardgame]

Speaking of “fish”… I’d love to see an ocean/rivers expansion.

[@YoungWillem]

Thanks for this review. You've convinced me to buy the game. 😅 Now I just need to know: where can I get that awesome sweater? 🙃

[@theperfectboardgame]

Thank you. I designed the sweater and I sold it for about a year as a print-on-demand product. It is pretty expensive however so I ultimately closed my Shopify store because I wasn’t selling enough to pay for the site’s upkeep. Maybe if my channel grows much more, I will have enough of a following that I can re-open the store.

[@theperfectboardgame]

I hope you like the game. I am happy with how I did this review. I think I adequately explained why I enjoy the game while outlining all the reasons you might not like it, but if you are surprised or disappointed, please come back and let me know!

[@YoungWillem]

@@theperfectboardgame You did a great job with this review! No surprises or disappointments here. 😊 Earth has been well received. Now do let me know if that sweater is ever for sale again. 😅 It really is a gorgeous design!

[@SAUPAYANMAZUMDAR]

Makes no sense what you said about luck. None whatsoever

[@arthursimsa9005]

Completely agree. Claiming that this is less luck-driven than Tfm sounds insane. Especially if you play draft - which is the way most people play.