Frostpunk: Meaningful, story-rich decisions in this admin-y "multiplayer solo" | Board Game Review

[@GlassCannonUnplugged]

Thank you for taking the time to share your thoughts about our game! 💜

[@ThinkerThemer]

Thanks for stopping by to comment! Such a beautiful production! ☺️

[@AlwayzFresh]

The production quality for the price is great! Just finished unboxing and I am impressed. I had to double check that I only paid $93CAD for this masterpiece. I feel sorry for my first few civilizations that are doomed as I learn the mechanics ;-)

[@congolexicomatisation]

A great review/overview as usual. By far my favorite board game content creators on the site. Thank you!

[@renvhoek]

This is the best review of this game that I’ve heard so far from all the KZbin videos I’ve listened to about the frost punk board game

[@truelifetales]

A++ on that prologue - very funny - and, to be fair, the autofocus wasn't that terrible at all. Not a game that's in my wheelhouse and while I considered checking the video game out, Maggie saying it was really difficult puts that consideration on pause. Great review as always - you two are the gold standard.

[@ThinkerThemer]

Haha Maggie applied some magic to it to fix it a little but it was SO devastating when we realised that tower was crystal clear and we were completely blurry. Thankfully these things don't happen often. 😅 Thanks for the lovely words and for watching as always ❤️

[@Skarpo89]

Thanks for the review! Very informative, the lack of individual agency when playing multiplayer is the main reason I didn't back this, was interested to see if they had changed it somehow. Will probably try the video game though as it looks really good : ).

[@Turgon86]

The videogame is absolutely amazing

[@ThinkerThemer]

Thanks for watching and hope you enjoy the video game! ☺️

[@IslanKleinknecht]

I feel it's so unfortunate that they weren't able to expand the design for 3-4 players. As a solo experience, I feel like I would be better off just playing the video game.

[@ThinkerThemer]

Yeah... unfortunately we realised that quickly after our first scenario playing 2 player and then it was noticed unprompted by our friends at a 4 player count that any one of us could just leave the table and it wouldnt change much. It's a lot of set up for solo but for two it was an enjoyable discovery process! Thanks for watching!

[@Hahahahaaahaahaa]

@@ThinkerThemer I think they sort of advertised it as "each of you take a different role" to try and avoid solo-multiplayer, but that's not really how humans work. I wish they would have come up with a way to hide information or make simultaneous decisions in multi-player, similar to Gloom/FrostHaven where you can do some vague discussion but there's always an element of "I hope this all works out" when you actually reveal.

[@fedaijin]

Totally agree. I am a fan of a video game and I hoped that the board game is going to be multiplayer experience. I was really looking forward to it. It's sad to hear that it's mostly solo experience. :/

[@Wew42]

I actually prefer games like this to be solo. It’s perfect for the garage on a cold rainy day.

[@stevekingswell9143]

Nice review guys

[@Berndr]

great review, I agree with you on feeling like a shared solo experience, I would have preferred if they made also a competitive mode where there are more groups of people trying to survive in that city, where each group would be led by a different player making decisions for his own followers, whilst voting on laws... obviously, we all want to survive but the goal of the game would be to outlast the other players and survive the winter... this would open lots of interesting decisions where you have an option to help or not other players with lots of moral choices and consequences ...

[@eimwolliballa]

Another very good video.👍 Thank You. I'm watching this while it is freezing cold (-6 degree celsius) outside 🤣

[@ThinkerThemer]

Eep! How thematic of you!!!! Hope youre keeping warm ❤️

[@jamesmorgan1967]

I just found the video game on Steam for 75% off so I picked it up for $7.99 (USD). Very drawn to the aesthetics and narrative of this world!

[@Ghostgamer84]

Thanks for the review. So glad I didn’t pull the trigger on this one. Looks interesting but pretty pricey for ultimately a solo-experience

[@violettiplady3113]

This is a game on my computer I play over and over again. I’ts on my list of to get

[@noodlemans]

This is one of the best solo games I’ve ever played. It’s right there with Mage Knight. As a multiplayer game I’d probably cap it at 2 players and ditch the advisor charts and run the admin myself since I’m the guy in my group that learns the rules and teaches everybody. But as a solo game it’s incredible.

[@raymyers700]

Thank you for this review. The one aspect of the game that I like in this and overall is 'laws' that you can implement that change the game. Lancaster I think is one of the first that offered this in an expansion. I wish it was more prevalent in games. You might want to keep that tower...I think it would be a great centerpiece at holiday gatherings. Fill it with salsa, or make it a silverware holder :D :D

[@ThinkerThemer]

Ray you're so right... the laws and their ramifications are one of our favourite elements too! Thanks for watching ☺️

[@mateuszmrowiec4265]

Thank you foe review!! Do you know similar games to this one? I'm looking for something similar that has the building development component and does not need so much time per scenario. Thank you in advance!!

[@ralfn9629]

Hia Amy, 7.3 does sound very high for your game-preferences. And wow you both, already almost finished this game... The table hog is gigantic. Solo is the way I will play my copy. Great review.

[@Listan1]

If story driven, how is the replayability?

[@ralfn9629]

@@Listan1 You have very different Scenario set ups. Different difficulty levels. You can make different decisions on each LAW you are drawing. And you start with only a few laws. The starting resources are always different at set-up, so the decision on what to get/do/make first will always be different. But saying all this, I have yet to dive into this game myself. TT have played multiple (almost all, they say) scenarios, so their take is more informed!

[@ThinkerThemer]

I did (Amy here) really appreciate the balance of story and mechanics. It was very enjoyable discovering the game, even if it's not one for me longer term (as you mentioned once the new discovery of the scenarios was done the replayability dropped for us). Thanks for watching as always Ralf.

[@seth7447]

Great review! Different than other reviews for your channel. Jumping out of the Euro box. Love it! What kind of shelving is in the background?

[@CitizenMio]

I love the video game. That first playthrough was amazing! Really felt the urgency and despair accompanied by that beautifully sad score. Felt rather proud of my people when we scraped by and the city survived without too many compromises. Really impressive immersion for a city builder especially. So I was curious about it as a board game, though I'm not surprised of some of it's weaker points. It was basically a dictatorial apocalyptic city builder, so obviously it was going to be admin heavy, very bleak and multiplayer would be tricky. I'm not sure it would work all that great in any of my regular groups and solo I would rather play the video game. A competitive factions mode or expansion might be interesting, though you would probably need to add another table to get an overhaul that big to work. xD It does look gorgeous though and it's great to hear the story and decisions still feel as gut wrenching and impactful as the video game.

[@CarlosRodriguez-ez3ls]

Great review guys! I think I'll stick with This War of Mine.Thx!

[@MattWGAllan]

The cards in hand do need to be played by that player though, right? So the order of turns and who places what worker is actually important, a bit tacked on, but it's something to make turn order relevant in multiplayer.

[@ThinkerThemer]

Yeah they absolutely do but we didn't find we used that many of them each round so we didn't ever run into a case where we couldn't have played it out step by step. It feels unnatural to move from intense group discussion about how to use the workers (this choice being a key strength of the experience) to then one by one to play it out. Thanks for watching Matt and taking the time to comment!

[@MattWGAllan]

@@ThinkerThemer fair call, will have to see when I play it multiplayer. Cheers for the coverage.

[@seangreathouse1850]

The beacon has a clear plastic stick that you put into the base and it elevates the balloon. Look in the plastic between the base and the balloon. It's clear and hard to see.

[@Hahahahaaahaahaa]

Great review! As someone that weirdly really enjoys admin tasks in board games (despite feeling the opposite at work) I'm really excited for this to arrive. Been following the project for a long time, big fan of the video game. I really think they knocked it out of the park bringing it to the table, and making the generator this physical/interactive/gameplay item gives as feeling of uniqueness to the board game that you wouldn't have otherwise.

[@ThinkerThemer]

At least it helps you follow the procedures in the correct order! Glad you are excited about this one. Definitely think they've translated a lot of elements to tabletop really well. Hope you have the best time exploring it all!

[@ChristopherElst]

Y'all are getting better and better. Writing, reviewing, charisma, production value, all spot on.

[@ThinkerThemer]

That is so lovely. Even if we felt the production value was not there with this one because of our camera trouble. Thank you for making us smile after such a disaster! 😁

[@ilqrd.6608]

I’m glad I didn’t back this. Will buy the core way down the road when it’s on sale since it would be solo only for me

[@ThinkerThemer]

Nice! I'm sure after playing out all of the scenarios there might be opportunities to pick it up second hand too! Thanks for watching ☺️

[@kitcarpo4745]

I am looking to get this one.

[@ThinkerThemer]

Amazing! We hope you enjoy exploring this one! 😊

[@Thomas-kx9op]

Are there games with an infinite number of buildings and an infinite number of cards? Curious minds want to know :-)

[@ThinkerThemer]

Haha I would tell curious minds that in this case the story is key and very reliant on these elements so the finite cards and buildings mean a finite shelf life 😊

[@Thomas-kx9op]

@@ThinkerThemer IMO, this is not a story game. This is primarily a solo game along the lines of Robinson Crusoe, Nemo's War, or Dawn of the Zeds and people that like those games will probably like this one. Each scenario is a puzzle that you beat your head against while the game tells its own emergent story.

[@ThinkerThemer]

That's a fair opinion. We are coming from dry euros after all. 😊 Based on your description after seeing all the content the puzzle itself wasn't enough for us personally without the emerging story to warrant keeping.

[@djfusion2808]

There’s a clear plastic rod in the miniatures box that you use to connect the beacon to the balloon, I notice you weren’t using it in your footage. I didn’t notice it in the box at first and was wondering why the beacon fit together so poorly. Amazing game btw, I think it’s a masterpiece.

[@daniellebackus819]

Looks like a cool game!

[@ThinkerThemer]

It surprised us for something not in our wheelhouse! Thanks for watching Danielle

[@Listan1]

Is this like Robinson Crusoe?

[@ThinkerThemer]

Even though it's co-op and survival, it didn't feel like Robinson Crusoe that much to me (Maggie here). Mainly because Frostpunk really is largely about the narrative and the many 'choose your own adventure' choices you're making along the way which really majorly change the way the game plays, along with dealing with the consequences of those choices. In Robinson Crusoe the gameplay focus is less on story/narrative and more on just the Euro-style mechanics taking centre stage and trying to mitigate against all the bad luck things that can come your way. So decisions are more around the logistics of order of tasks rather than direction the game will take. Frostpunk is also not as punishing in normal mode and I found it way more possible to win several scenarios, where RC is supper tough no matter what one does. Hope that helps :)

[@ralfn9629]

@@ThinkerThemer Your answer RC is quite correct, on the toughness though I cannot wait for the new scenario Adventure book or whatever it is named. That hopefully takes care of this problem of being destroyed almost every time.

[@MouseKing4752]

Would you compare this game to , This war of mine.

[@ThinkerThemer]

We haven't played This War of Mine yet so can't give an informed opinion on that one. From what I've seen of the gameplay, it seems to play differently. It looks like it's a much harder game to win and there seems to be a lot more luck in the different encounters that characters make as part of their tasks. But haven't played it so can't say for sure.

[@MouseKing4752]

Thank you for taking the time to reply, it is appreciated.

[@clairegoulet927]

Thank you for this review!

[@StephenGrubb]

Looks like this game is going to be a "no" for me and my gaming group. However, Amy's matching steampunk nails are a YES! :)

[@benjamindebetencourt1526]

Really enjoyed your video, as always but the game is definitely too bleak for me, I am just going to keep playing some Everdell 😅

[@timwanger4491]

I'm a bit confused. So you say you have already played a coupe of scenarios. Did you win them all on first try? Based on the community feedback so far it seems like a pretty challenging game to begin with and part of the fun is beating the game in the first place. However, in your review it sounds more like you just won each scenario so far and that you are done once you have seen them all.

[@ThinkerThemer]

At the time of filming we'd played all but the last one. We were playing them on normal though and you can scale the difficulty to be much harder (changes starting resources). We were narrowly winning in a couple of games and lost twice before winning the scenario on two occasions. Normal felt hard but not impossible. Hope that helps.