Hegemony is CRAZY Asymmetric (and why it's good)

[@WebMonkey741]

Check how loans work. The IMF will intervene if the state needs even 1 loan to cover their costs. This can be raised to 2 with voting, but that is as high as it goes.

[@Shelfside]

Oh snap, ok I got that a bit off then. I remembered it as the interevention being 2, then 3. Will pin your comment! -Ashton

[@BenGreen1980]

The game starts with the policy at 2 loans before the IMF intervenes.

[@WebMonkey741]

@@BenGreen1980 No. That is incorrect. (I made the same mistake in my first game.) See page 30 of the rulebook in the top right: "If the policy [fiscal policy] is in section C (which is where it is when the game starts) the number of loans is 1. This means that if the state is unable to cover its expenses and is forced to take even a single loan, if it is unable to pay it off in time then the IMF will intervene during the production stage. "

[@slo6026]

Thats not correct @@BenGreen1980

[@Tivizzz]

I love this review and the strong ideological stand you're taking!

[@mrbastos]

bold stance indeed

[@Jorn2u]

😂

[@GrandElemental]

@@mrbastos Stunning and brave.

[@Lala-ep4xe]

It’s not a review!!!

[@DTeazee]

The best thing about this game is the banter amongst players. Most heavy games are silent. But this one was just raucous fun

[@Afinati]

John Company 2nd Edition has this too.

[@mchamberlain7408]

​Would you recommend this or John comp? ​@@Afinati

[@tobiasburke9495]

​@@Afinati I found this video through a JC2e one, this blew my mind, but I guess there's some overlap

[@Serph_exe]

I was on the fence about this game for a while, but watching you made me get it instantly. Thank you for making videos!!! Thanks to you I got into board games, and it has been a great time :)

[@Shelfside]

Hey hey that's awesome! Hope your game goes well, it's not the easiest one to play but definitely gives a lot back in the table talk alone :) -Ashton

[@namelessfire]

It's like a COIN game and a German-style economic game had a super thematic baby. Truly impressive, especially, considering this is the publisher's first game. I am very much looking forward to their next game, "World Order".

[@aaronandrews755]

Review of the year. Thanks for making it clear that this a review.

[@Shelfside]

yep...

[@dimitris3655]

My game of the year for 2023. It feels very unique both mechanically and thematically. Bringing it to the table is not easy specially if you have new players but the payoff feels great.

[@naturesfinest2408]

Did you find it at a local shop? I cant find it. I havent seen it at 3 of my local shops.

[@dimitris3655]

@@naturesfinest2408 I got it from kickstarter but you can find used copies, at least in the UK, since not many people want to play such a long game.

[@profemonchis]

great review!

[@Shelfside]

reeee

[@simplybs9311]

Im impressed how yall got that game to fit on that tiny table

[@Shelfside]

we had to use 1 side table for rules/player aids! -Ashton

[@Snipfragueur]

damn such a good review

[@LakesideGamers5]

I love this game. Even though the game is 3-5 hours, it is the type of game that the time flies by because everyone is fully engaged the entire time. Nice job on a quick explanation of the game.

[@Shelfside]

Thank you! Glad to get content out on this -Ashton

[@stevekingswell9143]

That feels like a really balanced “overview “ great job 🎉

[@josephpilkus1127]

Great video! One of the things our group has adopted regarding card draws is as follows: at the end of the round, you may Discard 0, 1, or 2 cards and then fill your hand to 7 cards. In this way, you have a bit more agency, and as the cards are, by and large, better versions of the Basic Action, you are in no way affecting the delicate balance.

[@thePbHammer]

this seems like a great adaptation, I was actually surprised the game had no built in draw/milling mechanic

[@dumbtastical]

Im so glad I stumbled on this channel. Im a game design student recovering from an annoying bout of tendinitis in both my hands, so I haven't been able to do much the past few weeks, but Ive been watching these vids like crazy. Your analysis and disections are so high level that I actually feel like Im growing as a designer by intaking your content. Thank you guys for all the effort!

[@DeyaViews]

I graduated in game design six years ago and the more critical analysis focuses board game review channels like Shelfside have definitely been helpful to me as well even years later. Best of luck with your studies!

[@evandercaldwell9993]

What a good video!! Thank You!! 🙏🔥❤️

[@DeyaViews]

Hegemony was one of only two Eurogames I backed on Kickstarter (the other being Zoo Vadis). A Eurogame with such asymmetry was fascinating to me! The complexity ultimately made it very hard to get to the table, so I've played it only once. I like the game, but sold it off recently to someone who will hopefully get more enjoyment and more plays out of it. It's fascinating how it is put together and so thematic. I really like those political games with friends! But you need to have friends who are in for that as well.

[@nicklascollin3848]

Nice Review!

[@LeoMilani7]

great review

[@thelyghter7927]

Oh, what a good REVIEW, thanks for your thoughts on this REVIEW. Your influencr cubes were well spend on this REVIEW :-P

[@Shelfside]

hahaahhaa, my poor influencer cubes are all gone, I need some more! -Ashton

[@metalrock720]

I have 9 plays for this game with half being at 2 player. Best with 4 but still a blast at any player count. This is a game you genuinely need to invest time in to truly get the most out of it. How each decision creates a chain reaction of consequences is a giant part of the game which you only get after many plays. I do think my only gripe with the game is that the captialist feel extremely difficult to win with overall. They have the lowest win % i believe on bgg. But other than that the the whole game has such unique wholeistic theme and mechanics that it is just a blast. I got it November of 2023 and it became my most played game (hours wise) in 2023 in like 1.5 months and i have like 160+ games haha

[@hadzhere]

i knew i'd regret not kickstarting this

[@naturesfinest2408]

I can't find it locally.

[@glassjaw328]

As a COIN-game fan, you had me at crazy asymmetry. I stayed because of the great boardgame overview and analysis without the "extra narratives" other channels like to push. That being said, watching a playthrough with the relevant banter would be very entertaining!

[@arepasxo]

The game takes 4 HOURS

[@glassjaw328]

@@arepasxo That's a feature not a bug

[@arepasxo]

Have you seen their playthroughs? They are like movies.

[@TheSchaef47]

Be warned. His pricing preconceptions notwithstanding, this is not a COIN game. At least, not on the traditional sense. Yes there's asymmetry, and yes there's only one winning player. This might be as close to an economic coin as any game ever comes. But the thing that I think he hasn't fully embraced yet, is that there is significantly more cooperative interaction between the classes than he lets on. There is a significant amount of interdependency between the classes. In order for any of them to be successful. Many of the things that benefit your class greatly in this game also benefit at least one other class a small to moderate amount. And this was a deliberate theme woven into the game by the designers, the idea that while there is conflict between these classes, is successful, society kind of requires all of them in order for them to function rationally.

[@protomundi]

Why does Hegemony sounds like "Hey Germany" I always want to say: "Yeah what's up?"

[@elqord.1118]

My GOTY 2023. What a blast!

[@Koinonia4876]

What’s the link to the document where people have ranked the cards?

[@jimhoss]

Did anyone ever provide a link to you? I’m looking for the same thing.

[@Koinonia4876]

Nobody did

[@naturesfinest2408]

Saw it on board game hangover and wanted it ever since. I cant find it locally. It sounds right up my ally. Strong asymmetry with high negotiating and politicking.

[@PriNcEoFSpAcE009]

still boggles the mind that we have publishers that still don't put an index/appendix in their rule-books.

[@boardgamemusic]

Thanks for not reviewing the game!

[@arnuxasLTU]

Amazing review im definetly puting this game on my watchlist (i agree with you about the imigrants)

[@BlueTorchWeddings]

Felt like a review to me

[@lumitic774]

one of my favorite game. play the dlc, 4 player sessions are incredible

[@pronumeral1446]

This is a good review.

[@xXOgothXx]

So I have to ask, what are these silicone(?) token holder you use? They seem super practical🤩

[@Khaled.Kassem]

To be honest, it took me too much time to learn it. Yet , it is my favorite game ever

[@jugandojdm9238]

You mention to that both middle and worker class can strike, but only worker class has the action Also, the original version of the game was 1 round longer, during the Kickstarter testing it was shortened by one round. I belive that if you shorten it even more, you would need severe restructuring. And on the topic of being educational, the game was started with the intention of displaying the currently best accepted economic theory to make it clear how it works

[@Zalintis]

I'm happy to take a strong ideological stance... a small number of people owning almost everything is BAD

[@OpGamerBruh]

Where can we find that spreadsheet? @18:21

[@brockmckelvey7327]

So are each of the 4 players kinda playing different games? How much cooperation is there?

[@williamfischer4917]

I wouldn't say "different games," really as the turn structure is somewhat similar between each player, but the way you score points is different. As for cooperation, there can be a lot of what I'd call "self-interested" cooperation. The working class needs jobs and the capitalist class needs workers, so they have to work together in that sense, but it's an inherently antagonistic relationship, just as in real life.

[@IamJFD]

you make lots of negotiation like 70% of the time, so you may have temporary truce for that action/turn. but i wouldnt say you coop

[@Webchain]

FYI you may wish to research the meaning behind the slang term used to describe the relationship between two of the classes.

[@anders6326]

As a game designer i totally disagree with your opinion on the rulebook concerns. Any TRUE reviewer would acknowledge that this is a subtextual meta flavor deliberately drafted to represent the true struggles of understanding the triple speak required to do work duties and navigate not getting sued or fired at a corporate career! You're expected to call Saul ti decipher the grimorie that is the State's secret tax language. You expect a table of contents? How dare you expect such a handout you hippy zoomer. You're clearly quiet quitting Shelfside and taking our Patreon funds with you! ... ... ( /sarcasm, thanks for covering this game! I want to try it but I think me and my family would end up on some weird crime narrative channel mistaken as a cult murder or something lol xD) You guys rock, and i hope 2024 is going well! ♡

[@Shelfside]

oh sheesh, this was a roller coaster! Thanks man! -Ashton

[@calboy2]

Very strang review!

[@vojta7752]

Can you please provide us link where to find the document with a card ranking?

[@Boardgametherapist]

Was this the KS copy? Just wondering what the differences are between retail and KS

[@virgilalighieri7192]

My favorite part of this review was when you said "Workers of the world unite!" and called for the overthrow of capitalism. Jokes aside, this is my #1 game of all time right now. Thanks for covering it.

[@arepasxo]

Wowwwwwwwwww

[@lexus1098r]

Such a shame it's no fun to play. I might as well go to work since it feels like working a corporate job

[@robertthurman9866]

This is a perfect example of something that drives me insane. The rule book will explain a keyword/ action. In the course of reading the manual this action will be referred to 5-6 times. But where was that action mentioned? It is not in the index, it does not seem to be it the spot where it should be in the rule book. And then you find it in the caption of an image that is doing something else. Why not just explain that action whenever it is used in the rule book instead of having to back track every rule every time it is used? Or at least give the page number for the explanation. I have to keep the manual open on my computer as a searchable .PDF version of the manual to play most games.

[@IamJFD]

its a first time publisher/creator I think, thats why he is not yet that proficient in making a rulebook. Also having an action explained again and again seems bad tbh, that would make the rulebook even more wordy. But I also have some things, I didnt like in the rulebook especially the additional rules part.

[@DaleNolanJr]

I actually liked this rule book more then roots. Also loved how it basically re-explains all rules for each separate faction even though there is lots of overlap.

[@bananerz3167]

Love the game but I have only played it once so far because it's a behemoth

[@BrussLSprouts]

Has your opinion changed since then?

[@octob3rsgxmy451]

6:39 : No, Middle class cannot protest.

[@brianmattei7134]

This sounds a LOOOOOT like John Company honestly.

[@Shelfside]

haha, it definitely feels a lot different, the money movement alone is a big one -Ashton

[@renato123wenzel]

As a game John Company has a much more “Epic” feel and imersion - for me a much better game than Hegemony!

[@AprendaQualquerCoisa]

Im searching for a game with a good review score in your channel but you dont like anything

[@Shelfside]

6/10 is a good score though! Hahaha -Ashton

[@lordcoconutt2663]

Cool video, and I can completely agree on the playtime. I really like the game, but if I want to play a 4-6 hour game I'd rather play a 4 player session of TI4 😅 I have a question: Have you ever played Trickerion? It is one of my favourite games and I would be really interested in how you like it. It is really complicated at the first playthrough, but after that it is a blast! Also, the rulebook is written really well. If you have never played it, give it a try 😄

[@pontusvongeijer1240]

Is there an expansion where I can play some type of national socialist faction with cool looking uniforms? :3

[@saveversus]

I dont have this kind of time anymore, but this feels like it could replace New Angeles for me.

[@oskarjoto]

It looks like multiplayer Mr. President

[@chuckm1961]

It’s not.

[@NoeAnton]

So you pretty much like 1 of 10 games you play? Lol

[@ajeba98]

If it wasn't a review, it shouldn't have gotten a score and maybe a more different video format.

[@RandomPerson-nd2ey]

Hard *pass* ! I play board games for escapism and enjoying time with friends, family, and others. It's not time for political debates. This game just screams bait for arguing your political beliefs. How about no?! Especially because there's way too many people who can't respectfully agree to disagree. Maybe it's possible that someone came to a different conclusion about something with good intentions and they're not actually a monster. Some people don't get that and immediately jump to insisting anyone who disagrees in any way is a straw man supervillain. With that said, I'm open to discussing political ideas but, if someone jumps to insults abd strawman while refusing to hear me out? Nope, I'm out.

[@renato123wenzel]

Comparing to John Company as a “Company Simulation” but for the escope, immersion and mechanics feels just a much better game!!

[@GeorgeVelev0]

I'm sorry but your pronaunciation of the name is so hilariously wrong. Definitely wins the award of Best game with no one to play it with. It's too much of a burden to learn/teach even for experienced players.

[@markoos88]

The pronunciation changes based on US to UK English. "Hegemony" or "Hejemony". Both are correct.

[@GeorgeVelev0]

@@markoos88 Yes, you have a variant with a 'j' but it has the emphasis on a different place. What he's saying is a mix of both hense why is so wrong.

[@cgrice1971]

You are unhilariously wrong because he pronounces it correctly

[@Rubberglass]

Great review!