Expeditions Review: Go Ahead. Mech My Day.

[@Majdi.J]

With Stonemaiers games I rather have a bigger box to start so I won't have to buy a "big box" later 😂

[@Crumplebutt]

That's what I was thinking lol

[@42Randomise]

Yeh I can to comments saying this is probably planned to avoid a big box later.. stonemaier would likely think about that.

[@TorIverWilhelmsen]

Well, with the new inserts, the expansions fit in the base game boxes for Euphoria and Tapestry, but Viticulture needed a new box.

[@philthephreak]

Agree, this seems ripe for an expansion with more player interaction, ie let’s use those mechs for something besides being a pickup truck.

[@MegasusJr2]

I can fit everything I need for Wingspan in the base box, not including duet pieces or automa cards. I was surprised it all fit so well. Wish Scythe was the same.@@TorIverWilhelmsen

[@jeremyrohde234]

Whole panel: "quick, snappy turns" My game group: "We'll just see about that. Challenge Accepted!"

[@olanmills64]

I feel attacked

[@Duxa_]

For my group thats actually a downside. We like the experience of playing, turn length is irrelevant if its fun to talk, strategize.

[@danielmarco7422]

I still give Scythe a 10/10 to this day and I also love Expeditions for how different it is while giving us the Scythe "feel." What makes Expeditions interesting is that your "worker placement" goes on your played cards rather than on a board or hex you move into to produce. Expeditions is like an 8.5 or 9 for sure! If you like exploration while building your game through cards simultaneously, this one is for you. But I will say that unlike Scythe, the lower the player count, the better.

[@asaswain1031]

I heard the hexes were large to allow them to fit full sized cards in spaces between the hexes. I think the box is large so the insert can have space to store more mechs and pieces for possible expansions.

[@rav3style]

This is why

[@JayChampagne]

Wanting to showcase all the new art is probably also a factor.

[@elqord.1118]

And why do the resource tokens not fit on the track?

[@JayChampagne]

@@elqord.1118 The only thing I can think of is that they always intended the Guile and Power tokens to run along the outside edges of the track. It's not what I would have done, but it apparently didn't bother enough playtesters for them to change it.

[@TheDanteBoots]

​@@JayChampagneThey really should have been dual layer boards with the amount of card tucking involved, could also have had cut outs for the game pieces.

[@dchan3113]

Bigger than necessary box hints at expansions to come!! Love this game.

[@lonniestewart8428]

I had been on the fence as I don’t have Scythe and wasn’t sure if the mechanics would interest me. I watched a playthrough by Jon Gets Games and it sold me. I preordered the ironclad edition and am only getting more excited to play it. Your review reinforces my decision and the positive aspects you stated. I did hear that the box size is designed to accommodate at least one expansion with 20 tiles, more cards, and 2 additional mechs. I can understand the annoyance of it currently being big, but would much prefer space in a box for expansion content than buying a big box later.

[@perrinherman9154]

just curious - whats your reflection on this 10 months later. How many times have you brought it to the table, do you feel it's lived up to your hype, etc?

[@rexrock]

Thanks for the review! From all their previews, it was about what I expected, but glad the gameplay is fun when actually played. I wasn't expecting Scythe 2, anyway. Can't wait for the preorders to start shipping.

[@nib71286]

I also am looking forward to the preorders to ship, as well as the other games on my to play of SM to get to me 😂. Have you played Scythe Rise of Fenris?

[@rexrock]

Update: fantastic fucking game. I'm terrible at it, but the fast turns are great.

[@williamradke4290]

I love Scythe and the world of 1920+, even though its quite new to me. This is prolly a must buy for me, and I'm really glad to see a NEW game in the Scythe universe, cause I was hoping they would do more in this universe.

[@Kopogtias]

have you seen the videogame Iron Harvest?

[@williamradke4290]

@@Kopogtias yup I have it, been too distracted with other things to play it recently but I intend to before the years out.

[@DuGStp]

SM Games makes “event games” according to the guidelines for submitting new games. What makes a main course for a game night is of course completely subjective. I wonder if the overly large box has anything to do with that. Jamey definitely puts careful thought into each production decision.

[@longtimeninerfan1309]

Probably, the box is big to accommodate future expansions.

[@thesolitairegambit2556]

Great review as always. I really wish you guys would’ve mentioned the solo variant. I mainly be playing 1/2 and maybe maybe 3 player count. Since a 3 player count was mention as a good number, I’m a bit worry that the solo mode won’t be that good. Maybe Dilisio will do the solo review 😎😁

[@gabriel32480]

Just did solo last night for my first playthrough. Played at level 3 difficulty and found it to be a fun game. The game won 80 to 68. Since unlike scythe player interaction is more space blocking, the automa does this well as well as gobbling up points. Basically the automa gets its points primarily from collecting the corruption tiles very fast and gaining stars pretty fast. For its 80 points 36 came from corruption tokens, 35 from stars, 9 from map tokens. Hope this helps

[@thesolitairegambit2556]

@@gabriel32480 well I received my copy last Friday and played 3 times. So good as solo! Simple AI to follow and the game went very smooth.

[@joeferreti9442]

At first I was excited about "Scythe Expeditions", but in the meantime I got the impression that it's very boring and not thematic, it's mainly converting resources. It's a shame that it does not have cool thematic encounters like "Scythe" does. Not sure how Jamey could make such a mistake. It should have been clear that this would be one of the top expectations, especially because "Scythe Expeditions" looks like it wants to be a thematic game with those artworks from Jakub Rozalski and the cool Tunguska mystery theme.

[@m-sousa]

Maybe SM already thought about them, but decided to leave them apart for now to reduce the amount of things for one game. I can see those encounters coming in some kind of expansion in the future, connected to the map tokens. I wouldn't be surprise by it.

[@TheZiggylives]

It's odd that the map doesn't scale to provide the same (approximate) player experience across player counts.

[@JayChampagne]

The way quest cards work prevents you from scaling down the map for lower player counts (without having to separate out the quests before and after every game). I suppose you could make the map less tight at higher player counts by adding in hexes that don't have numbers but still have gather abilities.

[@thijsschipper6406]

@@JayChampagne I mean, plenty of games do exactly that (separate out the cards) and it works just fine. I don't think it would be any more of a problem in this game than, say, Maracaibo, Brass, or other titles that do so. As long as there are clear markings that make it a fast process, I'd take that over a game not scaling any day.

[@nib71286]

Scythe doesnt scale down or up, it just gets tighter. You can certainly experiement with it if you want, and Jamey even has said that he is looking forward to fans coming up with their own creations with the two games 🤘

[@JayChampagne]

@@thijsschipper6406 You can still do that, if you want. Personally, I'd rather just add the Automa into the two player game. Alternatively, you could use a random number app or a d20 to move unused mechs to block off random spaces each turn.

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Pretty big flaw to forget that kind of thing - I mean in playtesting that issue should have been obvious, but it was just left like that?

[@arnold2011]

Love the review as always, but I don’t like the not focused cards in close up. It annoys me. Could the use of a green screen like the live plays be a solution to this problem?

[@carntzen92]

Yeah that's one of the things that really bugs me about Dice Tower videos. The production quality is usually pretty top-tier for a board game channel, yet they haven't figured out how to show cards on camera and sometimes don't even bother to get it to focus. Just show an overlay or something.

[@JeffPeterson82]

I was going to say the same thing. The recent review of Trailblazer: the John Muir Trail had really good production in this regard and I was hoping it might become the norm going forward.

[@sebastiangurgul6712]

When did Bruce Campbell join the Dice Tower?

[@ColaresFreeStyle]

😂 True

[@GarbageLegs]

If the box was any bigger you could fit Scythe inside of it. It does seem like a big game and board to play with only 2 players, but the way they've designed it doesn't lend itself to a modular board expansion like Scythe has. There needs to be 20 tiles for the game to function. Unlike scythe where the modular board can have "clearings" to make it feel smaller with lower player counts.

[@seth7447]

I like multi-card use in Corrosive and Revive.

[@ronaldbell7429]

Zee: "The box did not need to be this big." The expansion has now come out, and it's clear they were planning ahead. I now 100% thank Stonemeier for having the foresight.

[@StevenStJohn-kj9eb]

Stephen Buonocore thinks you are going on 1,920 expeditions.

[@mike_heller]

Thanks again Dice Tower for saving me some money.

[@caseyeberle7998]

They rated it near perfect and that convinced you not to buy it? Interesting

[@mike_heller]

@@caseyeberle7998 Yup, their in-depth review showed me that this game is NOT for me or my group.

[@jackiejlw5493]

Same. What I really appreciate is the review including experience at different player counts as my games tend to be solo/2 occasionally 3 players. I’d want more interaction at two player and more intentional interactions.

[@caseyeberle7998]

@@mike_heller makes sense

[@tuckerroveto1058]

Has it been mentioned that the black dice on the shelf isn’t correct? Just freaking me out a bit. ;)

[@carntzen92]

Honestly, they lost me when they talked about a lack of player interaction and how it's basically an efficiency race. That's how Scythe plays at low player counts and it's not for me. Personally, I think Scythe excels at 4 because it stops feeling so isolated.

[@Dy1pickel]

They need to work on interaction as a company. They hate “take that” so much that I often feel most games are solitaire with others nearby playing themselves. Wingspan did have some interaction at least

[@chilenozo]

Scythe low count also depends on the objective cards, early base placement, and if what faction you are (e.g, saxony). If you allow expansions, playing with either vesna or fenris also allows you to bully your enemies quite quickly.

[@lastburning]

Scythe is very low on player interaction even with high player counts.

[@Superslemmet]

Yeah, having played Expeditions a dozen times now, they actually managed to make a game with less player interaction than Wingspan. My group will try to fix this with house rules because the game has a lot of great things going for it, but it's literally multiplayer solitaire. Accidentally blocking someone doesn't count as interaction in my book, because that's exactly what solo-mode bots do. They move around doing their thing, oblivious to if it might hinder the player or not.

[@fruehlingsobst8123]

@@Dy1pickelThats a trend in most new board games currently I noticed...

[@wchanm]

sometimes I like a slightly bigger box so I can fit in any expansions.

[@ScytheNoire]

I'd much prefer a box too big than one that is too small.

[@TorIverWilhelmsen]

Yeah, many a Tiny Epic game lifts its lid when everything is punched and bagged, as if they intended for you to have all components float around loose in order to fit.

[@andrewellis712]

Chris, or whoever writes the titles, I love you

[@DTChrisYi]

Most of them are Mike. He's a true artisan. I was on vacation this last week, else I would have pushed for "All My Mechs-es Live in Hexes"

[@Josh-hz8vz]

Scythe is such a weird thing for me. I have a special place in my heart bec, like so many, it got me into this hobby. I bought every expansion and upgrade bit. I taught all my friends and family. Loved it. Then the more I got into the hobby, the less I liked the game. I started to realize parts of it that were kind of boring or not really well thought out. Eventually I didn’t ever table it or want to, and then finally I gave up and sold it. Now the whole idea of Scythe just makes me think “boring” which is just wild given how much I originally loved it. It’s not just a play count issue either, as I have now played and still enjoy other games more. Anyway, I still hope this game performs well because I like Jamey and I hope it gets more people into the hobby.

[@karolinaw3959]

exact same story here

[@jacobmartin9021]

Scythe is an efficiency puzzle masquerading as an area control game. It becomes tedious once the optimal rollouts are mastered since then you have just a couple of variables to toy with. Imo Rising Sun delivers on Scythe's promise of an engine building area control

[@karolinaw3959]

this and RS offers the best battle mechanic in any area control game i have ever played

[@fruehlingsobst8123]

Same story here

[@BGNerd1]

Maybe a little larger box is intended to accommodate future expansion(s).

[@kingxerocole4616]

undoubtedly

[@tommyglisten6501]

I think I’d be totally down for this game if it was half of the size. It really does seem way bigger than it needs to be. Box and component wise. But it does sound really fun so I’m gonna check it out. Thanks for the review!

[@modemacabre]

So much of what you describe about this game reminds me of the *feel* of Revive (exploration, engine building, quick turns, etc.). Do you feel this is a valid comparison? (Obviously give the timing of these games any similarities are coincidental.)

[@fruehlingsobst8123]

I felt the same way, but both games got problems with unnecessary complicated and confusing engines that are not intuitive whatsoever.

[@modemacabre]

@@fruehlingsobst8123 oh I disagree completely about the "complicated, unintuitive engine" as a negative, as least as far as Revive is concerned. I adore figuring out those tribal engines. In fact nothing in gaming makes me happier. But then Revive is my favourite game of all time.

[@fruehlingsobst8123]

@@modemacabre Oh, its thematic of course and if you are into it, you will love it, sure, but if it was really intuitive, there wouldnt be much to figure out, right? So it depends on what people are looking for.

[@JayChampagne]

Based on the rules, I'd compare this mostly to Concordia and Lost Ruins of Arnak. I see Arnak in that this is a worker placement game where the players add more places for workers to go.

[@fruehlingsobst8123]

Same here, but Concordia is way more forgiving, intuitive, easier to learn and play during early turns and even adjust to different player counts by using different maps.

[@chestersleezer8821]

Waiting on my Ironclad copy to be shipped - next month.

[@ConsummateGamer]

Box size comes up multiple times in this review as a negative… which really seems like pointless nitpicking. Everything fits nicely in the plastic organizer that facilitates a faster setup/tear down, wish we had more games with that problem.

[@ajguez]

Will Mike D do a review on this?

[@TheClyd3Man]

Might get the solo rundown from him at some point. It is his specialty after all.

[@nib71286]

How do we upvote this? So Very Wrong About Games also likes to review solos, as does mark and nielan from Board Game Barrage - Kellen doesnt believe solo games exist 😂🤦

[@bryanwinston8820]

Thanks Zee, those tokens have been bugging me since the first reveal of the game.

[@RulebooksForYou]

“Your hand” I wanted to change immediately lol

[@BodgeAttack]

Wouldn't it make more sense to tuck the item at the bottom and the meteorites on the right?

[@Superslemmet]

meteorites just give you money, while items give you ongoing effects that trigger from you playing cards. And you play cards to the right, so it makes sense for items/upgrades to be to the right.

[@TabletopExpress]

Looking forward to this one.

[@brickisland6353]

Do we think there will expansions as the box is so big?

[@mortenbkgaard7582]

They already promised there will be. Including additional mechs

[@KrisGironella]

Can anyone confirm the player actions are similar to Century Golem? I know they are not the same but it sounds like there is a “reset” to take back all the cards so you can play them next turn which I realy love on Century Golem. Also the unintentional blocking of players also is similar to CG. Thanks!🤘🏻

[@jacobmartin9021]

It reminds me of the 1+2 century game because it's a map plus hand game, but I like that game better than expeditions. I think an outposts mechanic like 1+2 plus a better reward for exploration similar to Scythe could bring this up to speed, as of now it feels a bit sterile.

[@KrisGironella]

@@jacobmartin9021 Appreciate the relply. I was planning on getting CG 3 first, now I’m interested in geting both 2 & 3. I totaly forgot that CG 2 has exploration. Thanks!🙏🏻

[@nib71286]

How long and tedious is set up and tear down? Race for the Galaxy is a beloved game by many with heavy overhead, was this less overhead?

[@kjak94]

I think you can get this set up in 3-5 minutes. Really quite easy, especially since there are inserts in the box you can remove and place on the table and they're ready to go.

[@Poiuytrew.Q]

I thought the game box would be the same height as Ares Expedition. 😅

[@Superslemmet]

While the game has a lot of good things going for it, I can't parse your discussion on player interaction. The game only really has accidental interaction, a spot becomes blocked because a different player needed it and went before you, or a card was taken because a different player thought the card looked good and could take it before you. This is essentially the same situation as when playing solo. The solo-bot sometimes blocks stuff or removes a card you need, but it doesn't do it because it knows they are valuable to you. It just stumbles blindly. If the interaction in Expeditions counts as player interaction, the solo mode also has player interaction (which obviously makes no sense). This is a solo game multiple players can play concurrently.

[@ScytheNoire]

Fallout 76 is named for the Vault in the game, Vault 76, not a year. It would be more like 878 Vikings: Invasions of England, where 878 Vikings invade England. :P

[@tomvermeulen8003]

Did you guys really call it quick? We played it with 4 and it dragged on for over 3 hours. Its basically a solo game, the is very few interaction. Player scaling is actually bad. Its a max 2 player game. Its a 6 for me.

[@namelessfire]

It’s hard for me to get excited about another heads down, paint-by-numbers efficiency puzzle.

[@299436083]

Does anyone know if this is on tabletop simulator yet?

[@bricelory9534]

I do believe this is a good game, but after reading the rules and watching this, I have a hard time really getting interested in this one. I do like a lot of the systems, but the sum of its parts just doesn't quite do it for me.

[@JonTripp115]

What a coincidence, The Combolicious Meteorites is the name of my garage band.

[@TEN27]

Sorry if I missed this in the video - but will this game work well with 2 players? I've heard the original Scythe is not that good with 2

[@petersteele1014]

They said that this is best played with lower players counts so 2-3 players is ideal. Not much player interaction.

[@wilfbiffherb]

I really enjoy Scythe with 2 players. It may not be incredible but heck, it's better than a slap on the face.

[@hanseathl]

​@@wilfbiffherb... or a mouth full of pins😊

[@fruehlingsobst8123]

@@wilfbiffherbweird to compare board games with that 😂

[@emiljonchere1298]

This was one of the most negative positive reviews that I have ever watched 😅

[@TylerAndToast]

I'm kinda tired of so many games without interaction. I'm playing with people. Don't get me wrong, I like a good heads down puzzle. But give me player interaction

[@Wylie288]

board games inheritably are low interaction. You gotta pick a different medium. interaction generally requires real time.

[@TylerAndToast]

@@Wylie288 i disagree. Even games without take that or that aren't party games can be very interactive. Drafting, worker placement, anything with a board state that can be affected, any game with attacking, almost all 2 player games, all party games, area control, bidding, etc have player interaction. Seems like there's a lot of puzzles and engine builders (which i enjoy) that are solitaire. I enjoy games for the games sake but more for the interaction with other players

[@jacobmartin9021]

If you crave Euro mechanics but heavy interaction try Dune: Imperium esp. with expansions, if you haven't. The space blocking is much tighter and the battles can be intense.

[@TylerAndToast]

@@jacobmartin9021 thanks! I'll give it a better look!

[@MrNood1e]

In many instances I would agree about the box size complaint, but we all know that SM games will come out with expansions. So having a larger box to hold the expansions, and not having to buy some "collector's box" or whatever is nice. So it seems like an odd complaint to me if you know SM.

[@jonathan-wh4pg]

Bruce Campbell on the show

[@danielwoltanski1413]

This one looks like what I wanted Scythe to be.

[@Wylie288]

Nah sycthe is a farming game. This is in no way a farming game

[@mrbastos]

can't wait for my copy to arrive.

[@lastburning]

I don't understand how people can enjoy multiplayer solitaire, solvable efficiency puzzles like this. Same thing with Scythe.

[@jmrossy]

I'm glad they addressed the oversized box. A lot of people live in apartments with limited space!!! The size is the deciding factor preventing me from buying this.

[@RynoKenny]

Stonemaier produces yet another move tracks up/down game, and the world preorders by the thousands.

[@hugolio_81]

Gimme all the dopamine!

[@ScytheNoire]

Far better to have a box too big than one too small. Nothing worse than not being able to fit all the content into a game box, especially when it's an expensive Kickstarter like The Witcher Old World, which doesn't fit everything, not even close.

[@waferjuice]

no fighting?????

[@LoftOfTheUniverse]

I wish this wasn't a scythe sequel because it doesn't come close and it isn't very similar. I also dislike the scythe universe now having aliens and magic. Welcome to generic same was everything else in the board game shop.

[@Wylie288]

Its not a scythe sequel. No one at SM calls it that.

[@LoftOfTheUniverse]

@@Wylie288 pretty sure Jamie said it in one of his videos, also BGG refers to it. It's in the scythe universe.

[@RobvanderLeek]

Wait why was DiLisio not in this review?

[@jokerES2]

Mike DiLisio is currently located in the Dice Tower: Midwest Annex, and Tom has indicated that the Zoom call format is less preferred. I would guess Mike may have some thoughts in a Rapid Fire Roundup.

He could also give it a try to the solo play

[@willilang9200]

Makes me think of Istambul in the first place...

[@Strandvideo]

Yes! This totally reminds my of Istanbul ONLY I think Istanbul is probably better.

[@unlimitedrabbit]

Roy: "Needs more Marvel."

[@ekurisona663]

knocking games for not having interactions built into their design is just weird - it's almost like knocking a game because it doesn't have a mechanism that you like

[@adamheeley285]

I might be the only one, but it REALLY bugs me when they give you grey minis. I guarantee there are less people painting them then not, so why are you giving us these grey lifeless minis? Like is it such a big deal to make them different colours so we can tell whos is whos? if someone really wants to paint them, im sure they have enough stuff in their kit to deal with it without much issue. Come on Expedition!!!!

[@crosscutgames]

Great review. For some reason, doesn't interest me. I did enjoy Scythe, but never felt the need to buy it. I love the illustrations!

[@GlennDeBlock]

The vanquish action is so boringggg. Also there's no real incentive to go collect the map tokens.

[@KingMePlease3]

Big box = expansions will be coming. Stonemaier Games is planning ahead, which is a good idea if game sells well. With the quick snappy turns, what would be so wrong with playing this with 4 players? I would not want to bring a big game out like this for just 2 players. It seems like the Dice Tower crew has a strong preference for low player count games...is that what their audience likes too? Am I in the minority of liking 4 and 5 player strategic/euro games instead of having to split of the game group into two groups on game night? If I am playing a two player game, it is either to help me learn the game before teaching it to a larger group at a higher player count, or I am playing a smaller footprint game almost designed for 2 players. I don't want my 4 or 5 player game to take 4+ hours and lots of dead time in between our turns...this doesn't seem to be that. It would be nice if the Dice Tower would have more feedback on these euro games on the higher player counts for those that like to play with more than 2 or 3 people. They rarely seem to play 5 player games at the full player count, but seem to often state that they will never play it with 5 or 6 players. I don't want publishers to stop making strategic games at the high player counts because game reviewers don't have the time to play them at the high player counts and then have negative things to say about it despite that. I appreciate Stonemaier Games allowing their games to play up to 5 out of the base game box.

[@thedicetower]

With five, four spaces will be blocked on your turn. That's a big deal, and that would be my biggest problem with it. I hear you about five players, but I have found that 90%+ (and I'm not exaggerating) of Eurogames are worse with five players.

[@LastNameTom]

Stonemaier games have this stupid tendency to have players being siloed off from each other, playing with themselves, trying to finish the game faster than the other person.

[@travisspencer6704]

Super disappointed with this one.

[@ilirtanku9722]

The comment here😅😅.Nobody telling the game is good or what but all speak how big is

[@ghstrdio]

The game play looks kind of boring

[@joshjenson8111]

You're wrong

[@MisterAbysmul]

It just looks uninspired and with little interaction, it doesn't really offer anything new or special. We have games that scratch this sort of itch. Meh, just another overhyped offering. I'll happily play Scythe for that theme/feel, and play the engine builders we already love.

[@macewindont9922]

It's also overpriced ($100 at my game store)

[@HorseIRL]

Very boring game. It's wingspan-level boring. Scythe all the way. Money saved.