Fractured Sky Review: 'Scuse Me While I Crack The Sky

Tom, Mike and Chris take a look at Fractured Sky!
0:00 Intro
1:18 Overview
8:17 Final Thoughts
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[@DreyfussFrost]

5:03 Something important to know for anyone interested is that you do not HAVE to take either resource when scouting. If you would rather keep the location secret, that's what the blue bar above the resource slots is for. Place your cube there to show that you scouted (and that you are allowed to check it again for the remainder of the round if you forget what it was), but don't take any resources. Also, it wasn't mentioned, but your power chips have to add up to 10 or less or you're penalized 1 strength from all chips per point over 10 total. So if you place a 3, 4, and 5 (12), then they get downgraded to a 1, 2, and 3. Trying to play 8, 9, and 10 would equal 27 and reduce all 3 by 17, making them worthless. Generally you never want to exceed 10 total unless you absolutely need to make a drastic strategy change with your last airship. There would also be a screen covering the chip area of your tray from other players, but it was left off for the overview.

[@thedicetower]

Very true. For sake of brevity, I omitted some of the finer points. The overview is important to get a feel of the game rather than all the rules.

[@DreyfussFrost]

@@thedicetower For sure! I just thought it was worth adding down here for anyone seeing this for the first time because the extent of how much information is hidden is core to what distinguishes Fractured Sky from similar area control games.

[@thedicetower]

Cool, thanks! It is a pretty neat feature of the game, especially the fact you can always look at a card again... I do often when I play.

[@Wh0isTh3D0ct0r]

1:04 Tom, you’re thinking of the movie StarDUST.

[@JorWat25]

Tom casually fixing the box lid is the best part of this video. Can't stand upside-down box lids...

[@EHngelic]

I watched him do that on a recent video as well, not sure which one, and was very impressed as well

[@e-manr.486]

You heard it here first publishers, add magnets to your game to increase your dice tower rating 😉

[@azizmandar]

Note that the non deluxe version does not have the miniatures or magnetic tokens. The tokens look like the solo components. Game is still good but the deluxe components really bring it up.

[@aos-archive]

The miniatures make up a big portion of the experience in my opinion. I don't play a lot of area control games, but if I did, one of the stand-out features would be the miniatures.

[@kevinbhieey9188]

Excellent editing with the video. It's nice to have Mike be involved without it coming off like he's just inserting himself in other people's finished videos. Though I'm not against some Mystery Sci-Dice Tower 3000 action... "Watch out for snakes!"

[@bryanwinston8820]

I'm relatively sure this is a video of a zoom call, thats why he's actually there.

[@thedicetower]

@bryanwinston8820 It's not just a Zoom call file. We record the files separately and Mike puts them together so the video and audio quality can be as good as possible. It's been working out pretty well!

[@bryanwinston8820]

@@thedicetower I'm glad its working out but with Zoom or Teams you can just record the call and push that. No editing required.

[@peaudest]

​@@bryanwinston8820But like they said, it's not qualitative if you do so.

[@kylemartin7871]

​@bryanwinston8820 recording separately allows each team to record their best take. If they relied on calls, they'd have to block off time for it and any reshoot would take time from both groups.

[@marksutter182]

My family LOVES this game. I got the deluxe version and the magnetic tokens are super satisfying to use. Also, it’s one of those games that’s simple to learn, but hard to master. Depending on who you play with and what order your turns are in for a round, your strategy might be totally different from game to game. Do I build a market to get more resources? Do I build a tower to get more troops? Do I bluff part of the board to hide where I’m really going or do I go straight for the most obvious starfall with everything I’ve got? It’s never dull.

[@soochy]

So glad I went all in on this one.

[@TinyTactician]

I love having mike present great format

[@chrisporter3486]

This game is so freakin' good. I also think the art is awesome. I love how IV breaks the mold of what is 'expected' by traditional board game artwork. Their stuff looks totally different than everyone else. As for the game itself, super easy to play and so much fun! It's a 9/10 for me. Only a few minor nitpicks. Plays great at 2 as well with the automa.

[@remconet]

Exactly, especially their choice of colors! Aren't you sick of red, blue, gree and yellow dice and tokens?

[@chrisporter3486]

Haha I’m not sick of those colors but I think it’s always smart if you can break the mold to do something different! The game I designed literally uses colors and dice 😂 but I love how IV mixes it up!

[@dcrbdh]

For a game that is so expensive, I was hoping to hear about replayability

[@IonFONE]

Personally, replayability is pretty solid. Mechanics and variability is high enough that it hasn't grown old for my tabletop group yet, which is rare. While the board is small, it works fine. I did swap out the lenticular cards too. For replayability, the only issue I can see is if your friends have very consistent tells that they don't deviate from. Player interactions and the guessing game involved keeps things fresh and interactive enough to keep replayability high, or high enough for us. And weirdly enough, games are fast enough that we can play again or mix things up with something else. Very clean rules and an hour or so game with four players that's satisfying to play? It's been great. That last round observation is also very true - analysis paralysis can happen, but it makes sense. Everything is down to the wire and every action matters!

[@jameskirk4692]

Thank you all for this review! I might consider trying this.

[@msheezy6775]

Played this game with 5. The game group loved it

[@robertcorwen4820]

Monopoly Magnets Edition coming! They heard you Tom!! 😅😂

[@Valcurdra]

A Study in emerald also combines deduction and area control in a similar way, but its a heavier and more intricate design, that is not for everyone.

[@gijoe250]

I would almost never check out a game that doesnt have the game on the back. This game got lucky that i saw the ads for it. Tested on tts and was hooked! Definitely want the deluxe edition

[@JJ_TheGreat]

Do you want the (Regular) Deluxe Edition or the Super Deluxe Edition?… They are two (2) different versions!

[@OdonataCreations]

Got it on Kickstarter & LOVE IT.

[@notmyeyeballgames7798]

Mike looks like an interpreter down in the lower right hand corner. lol.....

[@SuperboyReborn]

Hm, seems like this game would shine at 4 plus players. unfortunately I tend to askew towards lower player count games so not for me. But seems very streamlined and fantastic production to boot

[@feldmanjb]

I was surprised they didn't spend much time on how it doesn't really work at 2

[@devinhood6435]

Three player is great!! Reverse of the board has a tighter layout and works great for keeping the tension feel of higher player count

[@JonReid01]

The games you all played on the IV Studio channel were really fun to watch. I recommend people go check those out. Fun content

[@remconet]

Do you think the painted minis are worth the up charge? It's a pretty big upcharge for machine-painted minis.

[@JonTripp115]

For anyone who's curious, Chris George reviewed the *Retail* (cardboard) version of this game on the Room And Board channel. (I don't think I can post a direct link here.)

[@meathir4921]

If its a YT link it should be fine

[@TylerDeLisle]

Thanks, I don't think it's really a benefit to gush about a $200 edition of a game when everyone post-Kickstarter will only be considering the retail edition and want to know about that production.

[@azizmandar]

2 player is better than solo because you are trying to out think one opponent but 3+ is much better.

[@thereal4579]

Lockup uses area control/deduction

[@JJ_TheGreat]

22:31 How do you feel about the game being crowdfunded right now - Steam Power? One thing I will say about that one is that it does seem like it needs the dominos… But, staying on topic, it seems like a streamlined version of one of the train games (Railways of the World, for example - but even simpler).

[@mujedi1111]

Stardust. I just recently discovered this awesome movie.

[@IIIWITHOUTaNAMEIII]

Something about the art didn't work for me and still doesn't. Hope I can play it at some point, but it wasn't something I wanted to back.

[@marfdasko]

Tom said they weren't, but I'm having trouble seeing the magnetic tokens as anything other than a gimmick. Why wouldn't facedown tokens be able to serve the same purpose? You could put the white ring on the back. Honestly, I feel this game is grossly overproduced in terms of what it brings to the table as a relatively straightforward area control game.

[@adamanderson1979]

Lockup :a roll player tale, is also a more grounded variant of Aladdin’s dragons

[@JJ_TheGreat]

Also, didn’t they come back to Kickstarter this past year - and release their Aladdin’s Dragons as a new game in the Key series?

[@Static442]

Stardust is the film and it's excellent 👌

[@EfrainRiveraJunior]

They could correct the minor details if they do a second Kickstarter of this game.

[@trantrungtin4213]

Had the game on the table yesterday with my wife as we were packing to go to the train station. It was pretty awesome

[@hatenumbers]

Starfall was a great movie. and an even better book

[@KMReviews]

I did an unboxing of this super deluxe version on my channel. I LOVE this game. It’s such a clean game that’s simple with so much strategy and player interaction and it’s beautiful and fun every time!

[@meathir4921]

I wonder how this game compares to something like Battle for Rokugan.

[@Bocaj6487]

How do I buy this game? I'm at a loss trying to get it.

[@JonTripp115]

They're still fulfilling the Kickstarter, I'm sure it will be on the IV Studios shop asap after that. Supposedly the basic (non-magnetic) version should be hitting retail stores as well, but I haven't seen that timeline.

[@IonFONE]

If you have a local game store, sometimes they resell Kickstarter deluxe versions. My LGS in greater Seattle actually had the Kickstarter Deluxe version of the game at a small price more than the game on Kickstarter (I believe cheaper if you factor in S&H on Kickstarter). Good luck, the game has been a blast so far!

[@BreezingThrou]

Last round grind... this is vailid issue I feel, it is themain reason I only like, and not love Ruins of Arnak, that too suffers from last round drag sooo much. Many games do suffer, but when the last round takes as much time as the previous 4 it is a issue.

[@kaos1109]

I want to know what the opinion of the guys is of the game without all the bells and whistles of the magnets and pre-painted minis. That would help to understand better the experience of the game only on its base gameplay design. I would have liked to have magnets as an add-on but having only the super-deluxe option abovee the cardboard chits retail version was a bit too much in my opinion

[@thedicetower]

We review what gets sent in, so I (Chris) can only speak to that. But, my personal opinion is the gameplay is great whether it's magnetic ships or cardboard tokens you place facedown. Production seldom wows me. This one is great because it doesn't get in the way, but it would likely get the same score.

[@kaos1109]

Thank you for answering! I appreciate the honest comment!@@thedicetower

[@thedicetower]

Yeah, absolutely! Thanks for asking.

[@JonTripp115]

Chris George has a review of the base (cardboard-only) game over at Room And Board. He was very happy with it.

[@Valcurdra]

I agree, hated the cover art on this and almost didn't back it, the production otherwise is sick though game looks absolutely fantastic otherwise.

[@trading_card_universe]

My family loves this game! But there is an element of luck in this game for sure. 9/10 for us after repeated play with the same group!

[@Luke_L]

Thanks for the review. I can definitely tell this is not a game for me :)

[@forrestdunton2451]

Maybe I need to play this again. Just played last week and was a bit underwhelmed. I thought it was fine but a little dull, incredibly light and derivative of a lot more interesting games so I’m a bit surprised to see such glowing reviews here and talk about how it’s unique to anything else out there. I guess I thought it would be more complex and have more in your face area control. Maybe z second play with no expectations would change my view. It’s certainly great production though.

[@mihancic]

Who is teh artist for the game? BGG doesn't have a listing. Or is it Ai generated?

[@KChezwick]

IV Studios is also a visual production studio. The art for Fractured Sky was all done by in-house artists on their team.

[@mihancic]

@@KChezwick Thanks for answering!

[@HB-1313]

Hi DT, thx for another great review! Would it be a good idea to present these kinda video’s (with Mike being in another location) like the 4 Squares video’s? I’d rather see three heads at the same time, then one person full screen, while the others are put aside somewhere in the corner of the screen. Just a suggestion. 😊

[@BreezingThrou]

This review shows why KS exclusives is such a bad thing. The main draw with magnet and production quality, is a KSE. The retail version will miss out on most the positive points mentioned here. Yet anouther game which retail is the worst version, Dune and Cyberpunk most recent KS that are in same boat where retail versions are unbalanced or most weaker version. This retail is at least 1 point less the final scores.

[@PRC533]

The deluxe is not KSE and it has everything except the pre-painted minis. Once backer fulfillment is complete, I'm fairly certain IV studios will be selling it on their website just like they do all their other games. The reason the retail version is the "worst" is because it is the cheapest. They don't sell games through normal retail channels so this will rarely be sitting on a game store shelf like a normal game.

[@dankfarrik8376]

So I saw that this is coming back to crowdfunding with a new expansion. The components made me look this game up together with the dice tower seal of excellence. However after I saw how the game is played I lost all interest. This is it? How is this fun? There is hardly no game here. The ships to me seem to have no purpose. They could have just put the chips upside down on the board and then turn them over to reveal.... I don't see why this got the seal of excellence.....

[@Poiuytrew.Q]

Nothing about this game appeals to me as much as the magnets. I love magnets!

[@ilqrd.6608]

Looks so off putting to me. Don’t know what it is

[@stevewithington1787]

Saw so much content for this during the KS. It seems like they’re using the OTT components to hide how basic the gameplay is. I feel like this will end up being a forgotten game in a relatively short time.

[@PRC533]

All of their games are like this, very streamlined rules that I suppose you could call simple. If you want complexity for the sake of complexity they certainly won't scratch that itch.

[@stevewithington1787]

@@PRC533 I don't need complexity, but I don't think an interesting decision space is too much to ask.

[@meeloshke]

So basically, the best part of the game is something nobody will get in retail version.

[@thedicetower]

Depends how much production matters to you. For me (Chris), it's secondary to the solid gameplay itself.

[@PRC533]

The fact is that less than 1/10 of the backers opted for the retail edition and IV studios doesn't sell their games through normal retail channels. I feel like this game was designed with the magnet concept in mind and it ultimately meant to play that way. The fact that they opted to make a more cost friendly version without that is nice, but I don't believe it is what they are relying on for sales.

[@tiford184]

Man this game had annoying marketing and advertising. Completely put me off the game

[@joeferreti9442]

The amount of plastic is so ridiculous in this game. I can't stand it. Looks like a children's game for 5 year olds.

[@snbsmith]

What a shocker. They think the super deluxe version components are amazing. LOL