Emberleaf ►►► Is it a worthy successor to Isle of Cats?

[@billyguinigundo4849]

Really liking the tabbed timeline in a single video

[@Tmisp2209]

Yes!!!

[@Sthunderrocker]

Frank and City of Games are always an instant buy!

[@Ben-qy1sq]

This looks beautiful. What a friggin' amazing designer - congratulations to Frank! 😎

[@CityofGamesHQ]

Thank you for the kind words!

[@Olvenskol]

City of Kings was definitely not "small", in terms of both size and design depth!

[@blackdivision]

After watching a few videos about the game, you made me buy the game and support it. I really love the look, it looks so beautiful. Great Video. Greets from a german guy living currently in Colombia. ;)

[@rahdo]

wow it must be pretty spendy to get it delivered down there?

[@blackdivision]

@@rahdo I am currently there, next year I will be in Germany ;)

[@Stomski]

1:42:08 "JENerally speaking, my wife and I..." We can all appreciate a good unintended pun.

[@PeterSchott]

Love the look of this, but it might be a little _too_ thinky for our family. But I'd definitely enjoy playing it at least once.

[@Luke_L]

Thanks for covering this one. Looks like a lot of fun! But I'll have to wait for retail. I'd love to get the deluxe version, but the price is close to $200 shipped. And getting a retail version via crowdfunding doesn't make financial sense these days, especially with shipping costs being pretty high these days. So I'll look forward to supporting my FLGS :)

[@jartree]

Thanks Rahdo. Been a fan of Frank since City of Kings so I was always going to back this. But wondering what you thought of the solo mode specifically? You didn't mention it in final thoughts, though during play you said it was a 'clean and elegant system.'

[@rahdo]

oh i thought it was great. just the type of solo mode i like to see. a real opponent to beat, but no huge complete decision tree. Just a simple method to replicate the moves of an opponent to create opportunities (or take them away) for me :)

[@Sthunderrocker]

Don't forget Race for the Raft.

[@rahdo]

yup, i was thinking of that one when i said "some smaller games" but maybe i wasn't giving RftR enough credit?

[@Sthunderrocker]

Just giving a good game a shout out.

[@rahdo]

@@Sthunderrocker yup it is a neat little game! :)

[@philomorph7]

@Rahdo How was the AP level in this? It seems cleverly implemented and relatively "simple" on its face, but it feels like in the second half of the game there's going to be so much to analyze and consider that turns could take a really long time, making a 4p game ridiculous. All the videos I've seen are only at 2 players, so it's hard to tell what higher counts would be like.

[@vortonu3155]

I wonder if the Sister automated opponent could be used as way to tighten the game and add some additional chaos to the board even for multiplayer games. If the Sister's ending score was ignored, then the anti-objectives wouldn't matter. But the intermediate scoring could still be done to allow the Sister to trigger various scoring bonuses. And the Sister would be building buildings and fighting bandits, so even if the players themselves weren't pushing for an end-game state, the Sister would be doing that. Plus, with lower player counts, the risk of ruining one's own plans by attempting to interfere in another's would be higher, thus making it a more friendly game. Players could rotate making choices for the Sister in terms of building placement and which bandits to fight.

[@rahdo]

yup, i'd say the only issue is that the sister would very likely favor one player over another due to random events (for instance, it builds on a space that you were deperate to fill several times, while it never obstructs what your opponent planned, so they're having an easier time of it as a result of pure randomness)

[@KNic0lson]

❤❤❤❤❤❤❤ Love City of Games ❤

[@belial1134-BGG]

I would say Race to the Raft would be a full game (non spin-off/expansion) that came out between Isle of Cats and Emberleaf

[@rahdo]

Yeah, I only played a prototype of that one and probably didn't get a sense of the full experience :-)

[@tomlikeabomb6706]

It looks interesting but too expensive. I might try to pick it up cheaper at retail later on if reviews are good.

[@lorddal]

Dont know of it is to much alike with Viscounts of the West Kingdom, for me to have both?🤔 They both have the decks, card sliding mechanics, and revealing symbols on your playerboard. Moving your pawn on the mainboard.

[@Shikomon]

Hey Rahdo, sorry for unrelated question but I found three unopened plastic "boxed" Space Hulk: Death angel expansions in my closet, should I keep them or unload them? (Never tried the game)

[@rahdo]

those are super rare, i'm sure you'd be able to find a buyer for it on the boardgamegeek marketplace very quickly :)

[@KNic0lson]

Should be the question "Worthy successor to City of Kings" City of Kings RPG style boardgame

[@rahdo]

one could make the argument, but emberleaf is set in the same world as Isle of Cats (same main bad guy) and i'm pretty sure CoK was in a different fantasy universe? :)

[@KNic0lson]

@@rahdo fair enough - I look forward to getting it all the same. Maybe there will be some easter eggs, or maybe another game could connect them. Oooo or maybe an expansion to CoK with Emberleaf characters and villans! Apologies - I just love CoK sooooooo much!

[@philomorph7]

@@rahdo It doesn't really matter, but from what Frank has said, I'm pretty sure all his games so far are set in "The City of Kings universe", including Vadoran Gardens, etc. Speaking of The City of Kings, the recent new edition, which you can upgrade old versions to with an add-on pack, tweaks that game in some important and good ways, making it less punishing for those who want that, and a bit more fun IMO.

[@CityofGamesHQ]

That's correct@@philomorph7 - All my games are set within the same universe although I try my best to ensure each game feels independant enough that if you're not familiar with the other games it makes no impact. As an example, the war banners used to make creatures in The City of Kings are the same as those on the dangerous areas in Emberleaf!

[@flashburn2012]

Also City of Kings was a coop game. I don't really see the point of comparing this to CoK.

[@johnmccloud1823]

What is "runs long?" How long did your two-player games take? On BGG it states five players and 120 minutes.

[@rahdo]

close to 2 hours, but remember, we (or rather my wife) are slow players :)

[@johnmccloud1823]

@@rahdo Thank you! It looks like Monique and Naveen finished a two-player game in about an hour and a half, and they were explaining their moves the entire time.