Hoplomachus: Victorum | Review | With Mike

Mike's been anticipating this one for a while, and it's finally here!
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0:00 - Introduction
0:31 - Heroes and Scions
1:32 - Campaign Structure
2:15 - Arena Variety
2:56 - Squad Management
3:40 - Tactical Choices
4:47 - Final Thoughts
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"Music from Epidemic Sound (www.epidemicsound.com)"

[@OneStopCoopShop]

COMPONENTS - No surprise with CTG, but the components are excellent here: the stadium holder, giant neoprene mats, chunky chips and dice, etc. My only complaints are that the lines on the world map can be a bit hard to see, and it's also sometimes tough to see hit faces on some of the dice. 0:00 - Introduction 0:31 - Heroes and Scions 1:32 - Campaign Structure 2:15 - Arena Variety 2:56 - Squad Management 3:40 - Tactical Choices 4:47 - Final Thoughts

[@kevinerskine3299]

Thanks Mike. Pretty much what I expected. Glad to hear the tactical side is great because that's the big selling point for me. A long campaign is a plus so I'm really looking forward to this.

[@OneStopCoopShop]

Yeah, combat is consistently tense and fun.

[@mylor1066]

I've been awaiting for your review! Thank you!

[@claystauffer5344]

Good stuff Mike. I have this one on the way and can't wait to get it to the table...

[@OneStopCoopShop]

You’ll have fun ;)

[@mitchschroeder1151]

Great review. I can’t wait to get this to the table.

[@OneStopCoopShop]

Hey Mitch! I think you'll love this one.

[@tonybowers9490]

Thanks for sharing. Glad I backed the KS.

[@OneStopCoopShop]

Yeah, it's a good un :)

[@timcastle5441]

Thanks for the content - both the new stuff and from TTS. I ultimately bought the game pre-order based on your content.

[@OneStopCoopShop]

Hope you love it when it arrives

[@djfusion2808]

Great review, maybe not the perfect 10 I was hoping for but still very much looking forward to getting my KS pledge.

[@OneStopCoopShop]

I’ve very much enjoyed my plays so far

[@DamienMcKinnon]

Great review. Absolutely phenomenal game IMO, I've had it setup in my study for the last week and I'm getting in plays wherever I can. It feels very much like an epic video game & designed with the intent to pick up and play over time, not rush through & complete in one sitting. The only thing I would like to see addressed in an expansion or update is maybe a Scion battle at the end of each Act with a final confrontation with Pluto at the end of Act IV. The Primuses could come out immediately after an entire factions' units have been eliminated instead. This way the end of Act would feel more like a confrontation with an end of level baddie (Primuses don't feel epic enough), and it would be great if there were some other additional upgrade for end of the Act.

[@OneStopCoopShop]

The main thing I'm looking for (and I think they said this is coming in the expansion) is ongoing effects from the scions, so the game feels different in each campaign based on the final boss.

[@DamienMcKinnon]

@@OneStopCoopShop that would definitely be cool too, glad to hear they are already planning an expansion. I'm already sold!

[@bartga1963]

Thanks Mike for the review, cannot wait to get these games. Victorum may be the first game to compete for my no.1 place with Too Many Bones, time will tell

[@OneStopCoopShop]

I did a CTG ranking video on patreon previously, but might need to revise it!

[@jonasgeerthsen6005]

My game arrived yesterday. I love it! :D

[@OneStopCoopShop]

Awesome!

[@cardboardconflicts]

You and Liz pushed me over the edge on backing this. Saw the demo copy at Gen Con, beautiful is an understatement here! As a big time solo gamer And war gamer this one checks a lot of boxes!

[@OneStopCoopShop]

Loved Liz's video too. We seemed to agree on a lot :)

[@patriziopastore9895]

Thanks man very useful! Just waiting my copy... A quick question what about component & style? High quality as usual?

[@OneStopCoopShop]

Check the pinned comment. I discuss components for each game I review there

[@adamd4838]

Thanks, Mike. Great review. Now you've got me excited for the prospect of a CTG Xcom board game with tactical combat. I guess this would work as a co-op too? Will you be reviewing Hoplomachus Remastered as well?

[@OneStopCoopShop]

I’d love to, but no idea if they’ll send me a copy of it. I like the idea of combining the two, so maybe I’ll buy it myself regardless

[@ChipTheoryGames]

Mike will certainly be receiving a copy of Remastered - but review copies of Remastered won’t be going out until the boat lands in October for the most part. We air shipped in a bunch of early copies of Victorum (because production was done and we could show it at Gen Con). Trying to give Victorum the spotlight through September and then will do a second wave/push of promotion on Remastered for the holidays :-) Cheers!

[@OneStopCoopShop]

Oh whoops, that’s exciting!

[@anthonydifeo6511]

Mike, my wallet hates you... But my table loves you haha looking forward to getting this one!

[@OneStopCoopShop]

I am sorry… and you’re welcome 😜

[@deemich1815]

Great review! Is there any dice mitigation or am I just not paying close enough attention? Everyone says its pretty thinky and tactical as far as combat goes so maybe dice mitigation doesn't matter so much in this?

[@OneStopCoopShop]

Generally speaking there is no dice mitigation, which is why some rolls can make or break your battle, and that will certainly frustrate many players. But yes, tactics matter a lot, and there are a ton of rolls, so they tend to even out.

[@deemich1815]

@@OneStopCoopShop that's helpful, thanks!

[@BbBb-zx6sx]

Another 2 player Arena game turned into a co op or solo game. Thanks for the review. I'll stick with what I have.

[@OneStopCoopShop]

To be fair, Hoplomachus included solo/co-op in the very first release (the lost cities), and the game became well known because of Ricky Royal’s solo coverage. So it is MORE famous as a solo game series than as a 2-player arena game 🤷‍♂️

[@BbBb-zx6sx]

@@OneStopCoopShop it might have been earlier or even the 1st, but it still looks like the campaign was added after the versus mode was created.

[@OneStopCoopShop]

Oh yeah, this entire release (Victorum) is a campaign solo experience. The other simultaneous release, Hoplomachus remastered (which I covered this week) has arena competitive play

[@rb3152]

Sorry to hear about the length. When I backed it I had the impression that each act takes about 1h.

[@OneStopCoopShop]

Oh, I can’t imagine anyone doing an act in 1 hour, except maybe act 1 since the battles are quicker. 90 minutes should be doable though

[@boardgamerants]

Would u say there is enough new material to make it worth the purchase for someone who owns all previous Hoplo material (and plays mainly solo)?

[@OneStopCoopShop]

That all depends on how you feel about the campaign-based play. That is something completely different than what original Hoplomachus offers. The closest corollary would be origins, but this is still a very different beast. For me, having played all of the other ones, this is the best version

[@boardgamerants]

@@OneStopCoopShop thanks Mike!

[@RAPHBENOIT]

How would you say Hoplomachus Victorium compares, in term of overall gameplay, against TMB? I'm interested in buying one or the other to solo play it, and i don't mind the campaign aspect of it, but I dont know which one to prioritize (since they both look similar in many aspects).

[@OneStopCoopShop]

So there are a few core differences, and they honestly don't really FEEL the same to play. Hoplo is squad management and combat, whereas TMB is 1-4 more unique characters. Hoplo is a long, multi-act campaign. TMB tends to go 1-2 hours and you are completely done (though there are campaign expansions). TMB really leans into the uniqueness of each gearloc and their abilities. Hoplo is less strong on that, but the final bosses are more unique, and the battlefields offer more consistent tactical puzzles than the more basic TMB landscapes. If it's a comparison of TMB base game to Hoplo Victorum base... I might go Hoplo, but it also costs more. TMB blows the variety up though as you buy more gearlocs and stuff... but that's a lot more money :) Not sure if that helps!

[@RAPHBENOIT]

@@OneStopCoopShop thank you very much! I might "yolo" it and end up grabbing both of them!

[@OneStopCoopShop]

@@RAPHBENOIT they are both great, but also... that'll be a heavily weeping wallet!!!!

[@FFXIVBotMan]

Asking again. Can you link where to get games you review. Cant find this on Amazon, don't want to get ripped off doing eBay or something scratchy but I think this would be fun to have.

[@OneStopCoopShop]

I would honestly feel a little icky putting “where to buy” links in all my videos. I’m trying my best to be non-biased and transparent in showing games. I don’t want to ever feel like an advertising arm of publishers 😅 But that said, this is currently only available through preorder from Chip Theory Games: chiptheorygames.com

[@fredericcourcy1915]

Hint mark 😇 Starting with the company website will almost always awnser your question 😇

[@mussoliniheadkick]

8-10 hours is gonna be rough. How easy and effective is saving a game between acts?

[@OneStopCoopShop]

Pretty easy. You can keep the enemy chips in the bag, store your squad with your hero, and you are pretty much good to go

[@elzheiz]

It was designed to be played one act at a time rather than all at once, so about 1h30/2h sessions from what the developers have said. All your stats are on a piece of paper so you just need to keep that and your own units that you store together in one of the chip trays.

[@sauronguitar]

Is there much dice chucking during combat, making it lucky-based too much?

[@OneStopCoopShop]

“Too much” is going to be subjective for each player of course, but yes, there is a lot of dice rolling in combat.

[@sauronguitar]

@@OneStopCoopShop I like the idea of this game, but I Deslike the idea of always rolling a dice to determine the result of something. In this sense, I like games that are more deterministic like Mage Knight or Dungeon Alliance, that in most of the times you already know the result of a combat even before engage on it. Will I be disappointed with Hoplomachus in this case?

[@OneStopCoopShop]

I think you probably won’t like it then! But watch the playthrough and see how it looks ;)

[@ilqrd.6608]

I agree, from everything that I have seen the campaign structure is kind if half baked. I wish there would be something that gives each campaign a bit of a different feel and trajectory. You highlighted that the scions don’t impact the campaign. Certainly the game would have benefited massively from something that configures the campaign or even the meaning of certain places differently. For a future expansion a map with more different locations would be great. For example there could be places that trigger story points depending on the scion

[@OneStopCoopShop]

I don't agree with the "half-baked" characterization, but that's going to be subjective. It all functions very well, but like you I'd like to see more in the future.

[@puddincupp]

Full On Con $150. Nope. That is Games Workshop pricing for plastic chips and mousepads.

[@OneStopCoopShop]

Haha, yup, CTG games are expensive