ISS Vanguard Final Thoughts After 8 Hours of Play

I spent over 8 hours playing through all of the prototype content for ISS Vanguard....here are my final thoughts!
1 - 4 Players
90 - 120 minutes
13+ Years of Age
Gamefound Campaign Page Link: Coming Soon
BGG Link: boardgamegeek....
Man Vs Meeple
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[@softboilled]

I wanted to hear your opinions and about your experiences playing the game. This felt more like a fact dump than a "final thoughts".

[@meeple]

Here are some more detailed summarizations: 1. The Planetary Exploration phase currently is pretty standard ... ala Arkham Horror LCG where you move around, uncover you areas, do tests (this time with dice and cards) to see if you pass them. I found this be just middle of the road gameplay. I enjoy it in Arkham alot since I have complete control (or some amount of control) since I make my own deck (but I still rely on pulls from the bag.). In ISS, you rely heavily on dice, and for people that follow the channel and know me, I am not a huge dice chucker. I found the dice rolling to be the least enjoyable part of the game. Thankfully, I rolled semi well over all 3 games and I played very conservatively. The exploration part of the Planetopedia is fun, and the audio adds lots of ambience, and discovering new stuff that you have NO IDEA what it does until you get back to your ship is super cool. However again, rolling dice over and over can be annoying since its one of the things in gaming I like least. 2. Ship Log - I LOVE the concept of the ship log, and the idea that it is here that a good portion of your team work is put on full display. There are lots of cool things that CAN happen here, though I experienced just a small portion of the entire game so I honestly have no idea whats in store. As for the gameplay here, it's pretty robust content wise, as each page (or area of your ship) has it's own sets of rules and things that need to happen.....kind of like being on your own ship. I think there is room here for sure to remove, or add parts that make the game flow better. It felt like maybe 80% done. Maybe. Again....its really hard to comment when I know their vision and I'm not seeing all of it on the table right now. 3. I can't stress to people HOW MUCH STUFF is going on in this game. Its ALOT. Like, alot alot. I think, just like Etherfields and maybe more so, that the learning curve on this is going to be challenging unless they find a way to dial it back just a bit. Again, I am giving Awaken Realms the benefit of the doubt here and think that they have time to tighten things up so make it more palatable. Just some thoughts....again....open book. I'll answer anything!

[@Nozdormu1982]

@@meeple Isis vangaurd feelslike mass effect the board game. Just not sure if I rather play mass effect at that point :P.

[@joshmcilroy603]

@@meeple Good summary - will you back this game? When it comes out? :)

[@Keyh]

That's basically what Man vs Meeple does, for better or for worse. Given the fact that a lot of the previews are paid, I think it's better that they just do objective overviews.

[@jtfike]

@@Keyh this one was paid as well. Nobody gets a prototype copy without some handshake and a wink

[@aboo0500]

My only problem with this review it's the title "final thoughts" for 11 minutes briefing the rules following 30 second of real opinion was kind of disappointed, By the way love your content

[@meeple]

Ask me anything about the game! I am an open book. Here are some more detailed summarizations: 1. The Planetary Exploration phase currently is pretty standard ... ala Arkham Horror LCG where you move around, uncover you areas, do tests (this time with dice and cards) to see if you pass them. I found this be just middle of the road gameplay. I enjoy it in Arkham alot since I have complete control (or some amount of control) since I make my own deck (but I still rely on pulls from the bag.). In ISS, you rely heavily on dice, and for people that follow the channel and know me, I am not a huge dice chucker. I found the dice rolling to be the least enjoyable part of the game. Thankfully, I rolled semi well over all 3 games and I played very conservatively. The exploration part of the Planetopedia is fun, and the audio adds lots of ambience, and discovering new stuff that you have NO IDEA what it does until you get back to your ship is super cool. However again, rolling dice over and over can be annoying since its one of the things in gaming I like least. 2. Ship Log - I LOVE the concept of the ship log, and the idea that it is here that a good portion of your team work is put on full display. There are lots of cool things that CAN happen here, though I experienced just a small portion of the entire game so I honestly have no idea whats in store. As for the gameplay here, it's pretty robust content wise, as each page (or area of your ship) has it's own sets of rules and things that need to happen.....kind of like being on your own ship. I think there is room here for sure to remove, or add parts that make the game flow better. It felt like maybe 80% done. Maybe. Again....its really hard to comment when I know their vision and I'm not seeing all of it on the table right now. 3. I can't stress to people HOW MUCH STUFF is going on in this game. Its ALOT. Like, alot alot. I think, just like Etherfields and maybe more so, that the learning curve on this is going to be challenging unless they find a way to dial it back just a bit. Again, I am giving Awaken Realms the benefit of the doubt here and think that they have time to tighten things up so make it more palatable. Just some thoughts....again....open book. I'll answer anything!

[@aboo0500]

@@meeple thanks for the detailed response, I get a lot from it (as I know you taste in game) 1. Whould you say this game have lass euro elements than etherfileds In the exploration part? It's started to sound a little bit like dnd without the need in dm 2. Does AR asked for your opinion? an if so ,what are the top thing you tell them? (For good and maybe fixed)

[@VinegarAndSaltedFries]

@@meeple I know they are very different types of games and it’s not apples to apples comparison ...but Snap decision if you could only get one this year would you choose to back ISS Vanguard or Darwin’s Journey? Cause this is a very real question I’m going to have to face especially given the price points probably being similar.

[@aerouge4492]

@@meeple Thank you for the additional details. As you've mentioned the dicerolling (something I dislike quite often as it strips playeragency) how critical do you consider this part of the game? Would the game suffer from a series of bad rolls? Could the players fail not for doing mistakes but bad rolls? How much dice-mitigation is there? And would the game suffer from a series of rolls beeing too good (by makeing players too strong for example)?

[@xabulense]

S, as you say, more like an RPG. In a way that night zúù your ⅝⅝ me I'll

[@StrangeKvol]

As a HUGE fan of the Mass Effect games (minus "those" final moments.....), this is THE game for me! This is the game I am the looking forwars to the most - of all time! The video just made me even more convinced that this will be a 10/10 game for me!

[@lastresort554]

It makes me come tbh

[@piotrp6793]

Great, concise summarization of the game - first video about this game that was worth wotching. I get good feeling about how this game is played and what is about. Great work!

[@meeple]

Thank you!

[@GameBrigade]

Really don’t understand why people are complaining about Lack of opinion. The entire video is breaking down his thoughts on each mechanism, but also explaining the mechanism so people who haven’t played the game understand what he’s referring to.

[@007Kiristo]

I stopped like halfway through and even skipped to the end... where are the final thoughts? This is just a game overview.

[@TheWisestofGuys]

3 hour briefing before playing.... That won't go over well with the friend group

[@meeple]

Yep, the rulebook has to be spot on for sure. Remember, I learned all 3 sections in one sitting....you can start with just one phase, play it, and then spend your next game session doing the next phase.

[@BoardGameCo]

It's a bit more involved for the main player, I can get you and up and running in literally 20 minutes. I know because I already did it with Quackalope :) But for myself, yes, there was a lot I had to know.

[@adventuresincreativesoftwa6283]

Thanks for creating such a clear, articulate, and informative video. Not to mention well-produced. Just outstanding.

[@meeple]

Thank you very much - spent hours on the script. It's not easy formulating hours of rules and gameplay into 12 minutes :). I wanted to make sure that people understood the overall 'mood' of the game rather than the turn by turn details....that was important for me to convey.

[@TheRealAlexBowser]

Nice... I'm glad you added more detail & your thoughts in the KZbin comments as they were the most valuable part for me.

[@theteammedved]

Have you forgotten to edit thoughts in? What worked, what didn't? What is it that you didn't like? What improvements would you suggest? Come on... Even if they pay you, it doesn't have to be Rhado-like vanilla...

[@meeple]

Here are some more detailed summarizations: 1. The Planetary Exploration phase currently is pretty standard ... ala Arkham Horror LCG where you move around, uncover you areas, do tests (this time with dice and cards) to see if you pass them. I found this be just middle of the road gameplay. I enjoy it in Arkham alot since I have complete control (or some amount of control) since I make my own deck (but I still rely on pulls from the bag.). In ISS, you rely heavily on dice, and for people that follow the channel and know me, I am not a huge dice chucker. I found the dice rolling to be the least enjoyable part of the game. Thankfully, I rolled semi well over all 3 games and I played very conservatively. The exploration part of the Planetopedia is fun, and the audio adds lots of ambience, and discovering new stuff that you have NO IDEA what it does until you get back to your ship is super cool. However again, rolling dice over and over can be annoying since its one of the things in gaming I like least. 2. Ship Log - I LOVE the concept of the ship log, and the idea that it is here that a good portion of your team work is put on full display. There are lots of cool things that CAN happen here, though I experienced just a small portion of the entire game so I honestly have no idea whats in store. As for the gameplay here, it's pretty robust content wise, as each page (or area of your ship) has it's own sets of rules and things that need to happen.....kind of like being on your own ship. I think there is room here for sure to remove, or add parts that make the game flow better. It felt like maybe 80% done. Maybe. Again....its really hard to comment when I know their vision and I'm not seeing all of it on the table right now. 3. I can't stress to people HOW MUCH STUFF is going on in this game. Its ALOT. Like, alot alot. I think, just like Etherfields and maybe more so, that the learning curve on this is going to be challenging unless they find a way to dial it back just a bit. Again, I am giving Awaken Realms the benefit of the doubt here and think that they have time to tighten things up so make it more palatable. Just some thoughts....again....open book. I'll answer anything!

[@ElGrandoCaymano]

Excellent Review. Thanks for making this - your reviews and quality continue to improve.

[@KempPlays]

As I'm primarily a solo player, how would you say this game is when played solo? Most discussion seems to focus on co-op play, even if the reviewer actually played it solo. I assume, for example, that you aren't limited to a single section, which would be hugely limiting compared to four players?

[@BunnyWitch17]

If you like solo scifi board games then I would check out the board game 'Core Space' my friend :)

[@ABCTraveler-ol5oj]

Not good for solo as there are 4 roles . At least you need one more person so you take 2 roles each

[@RazBaz07]

This. Is. Perfect! A game that focuses on exploration and science instead of combat and dark and gritty monsters... AT LAST! I will back this! I don’t care if there will be clunky rules or a hard learn. A step in this direction must be encouraged. So tired of just seeing dark fantasy games which I have zero interest in get ridiculous backing on KS. This is perfect. Thank you! See you at Gamefound I guess... 😅😃🤗

[@meeple]

You are welcome. If anything, its incredibly thematic.

[@denisloebner4882]

to be honest i wish there was more creative and imaginative dark fantasy around but i feel like for every 50 generic pulp fantasy games you maybe get one. KDM, Oathsworn and TG come to mind; did i miss some other important ones? I do like this game though for finally not being another DOOM kind of a sci fi adventure game.

[@seank2333]

Are all 4 sections (engineering, security, etc) used in every game independent of player count? Or are only 2 sections used if I were to play this exclusively with 2 players?

[@iwraithofthestyx2292]

How repeatable and replayable is it? Does the shine wear off a planet once you’ve explored it? Is there anything that would bring you back to the game about it’s gameplay loop apart from the pull of solving whatever the next mystery is?

[@TiagoSousa026]

My main concerns in this game are first the setup time and the number of things to manage as a solo player on the planets, not on the ship because on the ship it seems to very sectorized and it let you focus only on that task. The other is the dice mechanics that fell to much random. You can do things to control but it gives you the feeling that you don't control and anything can happen, playing well or not doesn't matter.

[@meeple]

There is absolutely alot going on, and playing Solo will require a certain type of player to manage all of it for sure. And I 100% agree on dice....it is the single most thing I dislike most about the game. I'm just not a dice person at all.

[@boardgametrucker9376]

Did u mention what u thought of the game or just describe it thematically? I didn’t hear a review or mechanisms.

[@meeple]

Here are some more detailed summarizations: 1. The Planetary Exploration phase currently is pretty standard ... ala Arkham Horror LCG where you move around, uncover you areas, do tests (this time with dice and cards) to see if you pass them. I found this be just middle of the road gameplay. I enjoy it in Arkham alot since I have complete control (or some amount of control) since I make my own deck (but I still rely on pulls from the bag.). In ISS, you rely heavily on dice, and for people that follow the channel and know me, I am not a huge dice chucker. I found the dice rolling to be the least enjoyable part of the game. Thankfully, I rolled semi well over all 3 games and I played very conservatively. The exploration part of the Planetopedia is fun, and the audio adds lots of ambience, and discovering new stuff that you have NO IDEA what it does until you get back to your ship is super cool. However again, rolling dice over and over can be annoying since its one of the things in gaming I like least. 2. Ship Log - I LOVE the concept of the ship log, and the idea that it is here that a good portion of your team work is put on full display. There are lots of cool things that CAN happen here, though I experienced just a small portion of the entire game so I honestly have no idea whats in store. As for the gameplay here, it's pretty robust content wise, as each page (or area of your ship) has it's own sets of rules and things that need to happen.....kind of like being on your own ship. I think there is room here for sure to remove, or add parts that make the game flow better. It felt like maybe 80% done. Maybe. Again....its really hard to comment when I know their vision and I'm not seeing all of it on the table right now. 3. I can't stress to people HOW MUCH STUFF is going on in this game. Its ALOT. Like, alot alot. I think, just like Etherfields and maybe more so, that the learning curve on this is going to be challenging unless they find a way to dial it back just a bit. Again, I am giving Awaken Realms the benefit of the doubt here and think that they have time to tighten things up so make it more palatable. Just some thoughts....again....open book. I'll answer anything!

[@boardgametrucker9376]

@@meeple thank you!! Very helpful

[@GameBrigade]

Throughout the entire video he shared his opinions on specific mechanisms.

[@riloh58]

@@meeple - I wonder if they can work a staged intro or guided tutorial(s) of rules/mechanics to allow you to get a handle on everything one step at a time (like Jaws of the Lion). Hope they are reading these comments. When you get a new game you don’t want to be reading for “days” before you can get started. A simple base set of rules for guided adventure 1.1 then add more standard mechanics for scenario 1.2 etc etc. Could that even be done on earth/moon/titan/Ganymede? Something already known and relatively safe. Incorporate the DNA discovery into those early stages? So when you are ready for an interstellar voyage and encounter, you have a grounding in all the base mechanics.

[@Frankie-the-Tankie]

My biggest concerns with any AR game after Tainted Grail and Etherfields is that although each box says its four players, is it really a "true" four player game? My static group of 4 tried to get into TG and EF but the downtime between turns really killed it for us. Any thoughts on playing this throughout the full campaign with four players or is like TG and EF in that it best shines as a solo / partner experience? Thank you

[@AIMInvestorJournal]

This is the first summary / review of ISS that I can actually comprehend. Thank you for laying out the main points so clearly. As interesting as it sounds it looks way too complicated for my game group

[@mpaice]

Excellent review. Thanks.

[@meeple]

Thank you for watching!

[@jean-christophecoppeau7565]

Hi Jeremy, Thanks for your thoughts on the game The theme, art, story, landing and space sections really appeal to me I have more doubts with the dice mechanics which seems to be the core and main mechanic, and I wonder if this won’t make the game too repetitive; what is your thoughts ? Thanks Cheers Jc

[@meeple]

It definitely could. I was a huge skeptic after playing Etherfields prototype. In fact it was probably the least favorite game of theirs that I’d played prior to getting final copies. The end product turned out to probably be my favorite game of 2020. I have the same hope for ISS Vanguard. Yeah, I don’t like dice either, they are too random for me but I think when you add in all the perks and cards and cooperative play that goes on, the game becomes far more manageable. I continue to have faith in Awaken Realms and I think what they’ve created here is super unique and if they nail the story and how the game evolves over the campaign then I think both of our worries will be alleviated. Short term, no, my games didn’t feel super repetitive but I also realize that I got just a small taste for the final game. I hope that helps.

[@jean-christophecoppeau7565]

@@meeple Thanks a lot for your reply and for sharing your experience I guess that will be my first Awaken Realms game then. Everything else looks so appealing and interesting , and your feedback regarding Etherfields and 8 hours of gameplay really ease my mind Thanks and keep on with your great reviews Jc

[@meeple]

@@jean-christophecoppeau7565 Thank you! Much appreciated!

[@whitemagegoose]

@@jean-christophecoppeau7565 If you're really worried, go check out one of the full gameplay videos, such as the one done by BoardGameCo and Quackalope. In their video, they already demonstrate 4 or 5 separate ways to either manipulate the dice or mitigate the impact of bad rolls. In the game, they provide a number of different resources and abilities that when managed carefully can go a long ways to pushing the odds of success in your favor. Just to list off a few of the mechanics: 1. A lot of the red, blue, and green dice are not weighed evenly. Instead of having an even number of different symbols, a lot of the dice are weighed towards providing a specific resource by having 3, 4, or even up to 5 faces with that resource. By carefully managing which dice you want to use for a given roll, you can already push your odds up a good ways. 2. Each crew member archetype has a deck of ability cards that they regularly use on missions, with each card having different one-time use effects like re-roll a die of a certain color, or gain back one of your used die. 3. Each individual crew mate also have special abilities that can further manage your die by re-rolling them under certain conditions or treating all die results as a specific type of resource. 4. Any time two crew mates are in the same location, one of the crew mates can donate one of their dice and one ability card for free to the other person's roll, allowing you to better combat specific challenges. 5. As you progress through the game, you'll unlock equipment that your squad can bring on missions to provide further dice management abilities like the ones listed above. Altogether, these mechanics give you a wide variety of ways to control the actions you're able to take and the results you get while playing the game. While luck is still a factor, careful management of each of these abilities and resources allows you to balance that luck with a fair amount of control.

[@jean-christophecoppeau7565]

@@whitemagegoose Thanks Nick for the detailed info I started looking at the playthrough and will continue, but it’s not - for me - the kind of games where playthrough feel really helpful, because a narrative game is often more boring to watch than to play, when a deep eurogame playthrough gives valuable info to see if it’s a match I watched some feedbacks, but usually they are quite light on these rules aspects and always focus on the same things (which are interesting but not related with my concerns) In this regard, Jeremy’s ( @ManVsMeeple ) feedback is the most interesting I have watched Also I was more interested with Jeremy’s opinion knowing some of his tastes regarding games mechanics, and knowing that Quack will be more focused on the narrative experience. Thanks a lot for the detailed infos, it helps a lot too to alleviate my doubts, and I will happily back this game, which might be my narrative grail (deep & rich narrative game not sacrificing on the mechanics depth) Cheers Jc

[@dddmmm21]

I suppose this was a good final thoughts... but I have absolutely no idea how the game plays...

[@meeple]

It would take awhile to explain.....this copy is going to Jeremy Howard to do a Solo Sunday Live Stream soon so stay tuned for live gameplay.

[@DraconisMarchVII]

How would you compare the learning curve e of this game to one like Nemesis?

[@ningaubleotse171]

I just don't know. It's an exploration and narrative game where you're unable to engage in said narrative as an active protagonist. Seems like an odd choice. Oh well. Plenty more Tainted Grail to dive into. And with the new Mass Effect trailer just dropping hopefully I'll get the deep space narrative I was hoping for here with ISS Vanguard.

[@davidcampbell2008]

Hi, great video thanks. Question - if you have only 2 players and there are 4 sections; engineering, recon, science and security - does each player play 2 sections each?

[@kalega311]

Another video (I forget which, have watched a lot of ISS Vanguard gameplay vids recently) did say that is correct - all 4 Sections are in play, regardless of player count. Tho this video does not clarify that, at least not that I noticed.

[@meeple]

@@kalega311 Yep....all 4 sections.

[@AndyVandercoy]

How good will the Solo be and is there an emphasis on a robust AI? Thinking of backing. I will be playing with either one other player or a group eventually although play solo a lot.. Due to travel and time constraints on weekends it may take some convincing for the group to sit down for a full weekend perhaps for initial rules and setup for the different phases and gameplay, but I'm hopeful as I believe the group will be the best experience. On a side note I am used to managing a lot by myself for various games..mage knight being my favorite

[@ebs28]

I like that wooden card box, what's it called?

[@PriNcEoFSpAcE009]

are the planet setup always the same or are there any randomness in what kind of terrain etc. you encounter?

[@jaspersnippe4383]

Thx for the review! Not sure if the following question already been asked, but what are your thoughts on that the exploration phase beeing heavy dice dependend?

[@ramongoroth]

A nice summary. I love space opera and Mass Effect is one of my favorite games. The idea that there's an exploration based game rather than just killing aliens is exciting. Thank you for this review. Its a nice window into the game

[@thomasromanelli2561]

There are some other preview videos that demonstrate (brief) periods of dice management slogs (and the Dice Tower play through that saw their entire team join the Memorial Wall)- was that your experience here or did you feel that entry-level characters had enough mods to limit RNG frustrations? There's a lot to be excited about here, but soul-crushing failures (that even reverberate into the ship phase) without recourse isn't one of them...

[@meeple]

I did NOT have any crew die in my play through of the game (2 missions). I came close twice but had the right cards at the right time (mostly due to resting and getting dice back and drawing cards). I think the balance 100% could use tweaking because permadeath is a very real thing here, so I can see people rolling poorly and not having the skills or cards to mitigate bad rolls, which will ultimately lead to an overall bad experience. However I think that's true for every game that uses dice for resolutions.

[@kaseyschertenleib]

I appreciate your deep dive on this one. I’ve enjoyed playing both Tainted Grail (full campaign) and Etherfields (just starting off) with four player groups. The best parts of both games have been the stories that emerge from the gameplay decisions and interactions among players. Do you feel ISS Vanguard has similar potential? Did they mention how easy it would be for groups to add or drop players during a campaign?

[@meeple]

I answered the add drop in a comment above from CYMRUSAINT......and yes, I believe the stories that emerge here will definitely be on par with Tainted Grail and Etherfields. Strongly believe in that.

[@shawnbon17]

How do you feel about the gameplay if you are a solo player? I would likely play this on my own like most of their games. But this is the only one that worries me as a solo game. Seems built for coop?

[@fredoblong]

I would like to know this also. I didnt catch if Jeremy played this alone or not. It looks like solo you are managing the entire ship and numerous characters. Sounds like a lot of management and explains the binder to help keep it all under control. It looks like a monster endeavor...the Gloomhaven of space?

[@meeple]

You are going to have to multitask like crazy. The good news is that you will know EVERYTHING and make EVERY decision. The bad news...there is going to be a crapload to track for just one person.

[@EgankorRatel]

Does the app include text of the audio logs? I'm hoping it does/will in the final product, but I've been burned on games not always taking those sorts of things into account.

[@Mepper.]

Is the number of star system transits limited? If it is, is it by fuel, time, or something else? I know each one takes time and characters age, but new characters can always be brought in to replace ones that die.

[@meeple]

It's limited by your discoveries there. You track in your ship book all the things you've found on a planet, and Eventually you run out of things to discover so you never have to go back.

[@Centigonos]

What about the replayabiltiy of the game? Can you play it repeatedly or is it like a "Choose your own adventure" kind of thing, where you theoretically could play again, but it would be boring?

[@ericfinley220]

It looks like an amazing experiment but it also looks like more work than play. It would make an amazing video game.

I am wondering if you think that you will be getting the game and playing through the campaign with a gaming group for the sake of the gaming/enjoyment/experience itself. (I reason that you will likely get the game as a pro game reviewer and play it to be able to review the final game, especially since it seem to break new ground, butI think of that as more of a job than an activity aimed at being social/fun.) Thanks for your thoughts and the video!

[@justacynic]

I see many parallels with Etherfields based on your play through with Kira and the reviews/previews I’ve watched for both. What differentiates Vanguard for you besides theme? I mean, besides from the apparent lack of a game board controversy. ;-)

[@meeple]

The Ship Book is very different. I mean to be honest there is nothing like it. I know in my heart of hearts that it's just basically a log that keeps track of the games progress, but thematically its a huge part of the experience and makes you feel like you are working together with a common goal. I really really like it. Gameplay wise it has similarities (challenges, tests, leveling, experience, etc), but how it handles all of it is very different.

[@justacynic]

@@meeple Always interesting when a gaming vet says "there is nothing like it." :-) So a Ship Book where you log your progress...like...a...ship's log? Do you enter star dates? ;-) In terms of gameplay similarities, I'm wondering about what you mentioned about returning to planets. Are there encounters/events/challenges you have to repeat on return? Or do those remain 'done'? I mention it due to the somewhat heavy criticism Quinns over on SUSD laid on Etherfields that involved having to repeat encounters. It made me think of video game RPGs where the random encounters while traveling between key locations can be rather mundane. and I'm wondering if Vanguard avoids that (so far to the extent the prototype indicates yea or nay). Thank you, sir!

[@LeonLayer]

Can you tell so far, if the athmosphere of this game is as dark as f.e. etherfields and tainted grail or if they chose a lighter and more hopefull tone for the space setting?

[@rolandhatzenpichler893]

I have zero interest in using an app. Is the app optional, that is is all the text also on cards. This is a make it or break it for me. Thank you

[@tommytampons2080]

My biggest worry is that it might not be fun. Is there any word on them getting a system to share the load of playing the game. Trying to convince my friends to play is going to be hard if they need three hours to learn how to play.

[@meeple]

It's a pretty robust game with tons going on so it could absolutely cause issues with teaching and learning. Agree....they need to find a way to make the learning curve more manageable.

[@Andy_Quest]

This was so good and EXACTLY what I was hoping for from MvM! 👌🏼🙌🏼🎉 Thanks team! Cannot wait for this one! Wondering how much crossover with Orange Nebula's 'Unsettled' there will be... 🤔

[@meeple]

Still looking forward to playing Unsettled....I've not had the opportunity yet.

[@JonasGabrielson]

As a backer of Unsettled, I have the same thoughts. I think perhaps that game is structured more like a collection of separate one-time adventures while ISS Vanguard is a longer, cohesive campaign. I love the idea behind ISS Vanguard (except for the God DNA backstory, meh), but will I need another game about exploring alien worlds? @ManVsMeeple, have you played Unsettled? Could you compare the two?

[@meeple]

@@JonasGabrielson I have NOT played Unsettled unfortunately. Also looking forward to it.

[@Cymrusaint]

Do you need to play this with the same players, or can you swap players in and out?

[@meeple]

You can add and drop people - a section simply retains all of the things in its own storage solution so someone else can take over Engineering, or Science, etc if another player leaves. For the purposes of "Story", I would always suggest that these types of games be played by the same group so that the narrative is understood by all.

[@Cymrusaint]

@@meeple Great, thanks. My concern is that with such a long campaign it may not always be possible to get the same people together for every game.

[@Projected1]

Would you say this game plays well with only 2 players? Are all the planet exploration phases similar/could they get boring after 10-15 planets? Oh, and how do I convince my partner that we should totally get ISS Vanguard? ;)

[@meeple]

It played fine as 2 players.....just know you will have to manage alot more stuff throughout the game.

[@aselus]

will there be an official TTS mod for this. (I heavily weigh games that have mods now since i can actually play them with people. Considering how the certain publishers acted lately making their game unplayable through dmcas there's a bad taste in my mouth for not wanting to spend money unless I'm sure.)

[@meeple]

I have no idea.....you may want to ask them on their Facebook page. Sorry.

[@LunarWind23]

Very nice video, thank!

[@meeple]

Thank you Tenebren for taking a look!

[@mavrickabb]

how am i going find people to play with

[@ryangallagher7183]

Why title the video final thoughts if you didn't give any final thoughts? This was just a quick summary of game mechanics.

[@JambalayaPlaysGames]

If you scroll down just a little and see his answer to other comments, he lays everything out very clearly. Hopefully that will help answer your question.

[@steven9766]

The components are nice and I'm sure the stories you get from the book are engaging and interesting...but is it fun to play? This is supposed to be a game after all, and it looks like this suffers the same problem as all the other Awaken Realms games.

[@meeple]

I guess fun is subjective. I love Etherfields. I find it extremely fun. I also am not a big fan of The War of Mine, but I see why people enjoy it. I found the game intriguing as hell, but again, I’ve only played a very small portion that’s still in development.

[@aerouge4492]

@@meeple This dodged the answer but still "intriguing" is not the same thing as "fun". Though I agree fun is very subjective.

[@hydra2019]

Damn, this game is gonna be at LEAST 100$. Everything, including the book and audio clips. Seems real cool though, if you have the time sink.

[@p43j77]

Did you solo it or played with more than one player?

[@meeple]

We did 2P for the initial tutorial, but then he solo played the main prototype. - Kira

[@jeroendhaan]

Do you think the Ship phase is fun in a group?

[@meeple]

Yes....because each Section (ROLE) plays a part in how it's ultimately carried out, but players can definitely weigh in. It's like Star Lord vs Thor for who's in command of the Milano......someone has to decide in the end :)

[@andrewmorris9612]

Any way I can borrow this prototype for the week of Christmas and bring it back to you the day after?

[@meeple]

Hahaha, this is going to Jeremy Howard now to cover on a Solo Sunday Live Stream.

[@andrewmorris9612]

@@meeple well he has a week to do it. Lol.

[@gregwhite6005]

love the concept. but the fact that you needed a 3 hour conference call is problematic considering your comments and other reviewers on etherfields impenetrability

[@meeple]

I 100% agree. Remember, the rules I have are a first pass, in word form (No pictures, no diagrams, just a lot of words). It was honestly to be expected and I had the same early experiences with Tainted Grail and Etherfields. I believe that the game with be refined to a point that makes it far easier to comprehend and learn, speaking only from past experience.

[@alicia1465]

Great video, as always! Not my kind of game, but I can see why people get excited for these rich, thematic experiences.

[@mormorgranat]

Are there tactical decisions, or is it basically just a movie where you watch what happens and make thematical choices? When it comes to Nemesis, I fuond it to be the latter. You can make some tactical choices, but ultimately it's more of a movie that you're watching. It's not like you're getting better at the game and learning to think differently

[@EricABlackEAB]

I’m excited to play Metroid Star Trek the Board Game!

[@BlueDi93]

I think calling this Metroid is a stretch 😅

[@majikjack3271]

Wow...just...wow!

[@jaymea8907]

Thank you for this! This game looks incredible!

[@meeple]

Thank you for watching!

[@kennychan6645]

Actually this sounds incredibly like a game called unsettled… But I suppose this is the an even more enhanced version with stories and app in it

[@korkrest2669]

I admit I watched this with less than stellar sound quality(at work). So hope you did not already cover this and I missed it. Is the card play part of the game a deck builder? Could you in maybe 10 words or less describe it? Thanks for a to the point video

[@meeple]

You will add advanced cards to your section during the campaign. Each section has a number of cards already available (like Nemesis characters), but will be able to gain more through experience, etc in the game. So yes, there is a light deck building element to the game.

[@src011]

Never before in history has so little been said about a board game, having played it for so long. You look like an AR employee selling the game.

[@dall1786]

Ironically if he told exactly what he was doing and took you through it step by step you would have no discovery at all in the game. That's kind of the point of the game. The same was said of Etherfields and yet it turns out it was a good game.

[@Puzzu]

Thanks for the overview! Looks pretty cool but I’m pretty burned out at this point with these huge and complex campaign style games with their giant rule books and dozens of components. At this point I’d rather play a video game rpg.

[@Nothxalias]

At first i was "yeah that is totaly gonna be bought". Then you mentioned the app. I will never buy a boardgame with an app again. So is it mandatory or optional? Mansions of Madness was a complete failure for me.

[@tashacraven]

Completely optional, just reads out logbook and adds things like music and a dice probability checker

[@ABCTraveler-ol5oj]

If you liked the movie called “Prometheus” or if you like fantasy flight “twilight imperium” you will like this game otherwise it will be boring because there are not much combat in it.

[@noodlemans]

This has an x-com video game feel.

[@ABCTraveler-ol5oj]

This game is good if you liked fantasy flight twilight imperium space game

[@dennisk.4052]

Video is a good game overview but your title is heavily misleading. I expected some final thoughts as, you know, your title so prominently suggested.

[@jhowd78]

Scroll down to the replies. He gives a full breakdown of his thoughts.

[@xXN0cturnXx]

2:58 if you wanna skip the talk

[@RedBird77]

Im so glad they went to Gamefound, and away from the politically driven, virtue signaling, KS insanity. This was a great overview. Just sold me on the all-in pledge.

[@redsilence980]

Another Awaken Realms board game that should not have been a board game in the first place.

[@Anubid]

I feel bad for actual game designers. Imagine spending years upon years making sure your game is tight, balanced and fun to play and along comes a concept artist with vague idea what it is to make a game, thinks dice should decide everything, slaps 350 euro price tag on it to create a illusion of luxury, adds some office equipment and ad channels praise it to high heavens.

[@jean-christophecoppeau7565]

I have not played any awaken realms games yet, and mostly play Eurogames which range from family to expert games Sure, you can’t compare the game mechanisms of most narrative games with the from designers like Shem Philips or Lacerda; but believing that a game like this does not require a huge amount of work, tests and balance ?! Also would you say the same for an rpg , which after all is texts, arts and rolls ?

[@jaymea8907]

Pretty simple don’t buy it then, ;)

[@shanerion]

@@jean-christophecoppeau7565 is this a game though? Seems a bit like a simulation?

[@Anubid]

@@jaymea8907 I thought that was a given. Still can feel bad for good games ;)

[@Anubid]

@@jean-christophecoppeau7565 No I would not, I DM dnd 5e and the comparison is not even close. RPGs have to consider they provide framework for every concievable activity and even 5e which is considered basic has a lot of input from players to their rolls - basic attack can be to the back with advantage, but you have to get to their back in the first place, thus creating the narrative by itself. Also not everything is a roll. Contrary to this game - it has every weakness of narative game (mechanics feel like just a framework, in this case more just a concept), with no benefit of being a board game. It must have been a lot of work.. for artists, because there are no deep mechanics that we saw. Having a lot of cards to pull into your binder is not a game mechanic.

[@madquest8]

pointless miniatures, minimal combat, uses an App? Hard pass. Looks nice and expensive, but is way too much of a random dicefest.

[@MrLogiPagy]

#ad

[@willyweed1]

This commercial brought to you by awaken realms... at what point were we supposed to get your opinion about this snoozefest of game. A 3 hour conference call with AR? So they could butter you up and try to steer your opinion on the game? Garbage This “game” is going to be bad I feel sorry for anyone buying the hype

[@meeple]

Here are some more detailed summarizations - and no they didn't butter me up hahaha. I just wanted to make sure I got ALL of the rules right. I don't like presenting games incorrectly. So much negativity...yikes. 1. The Planetary Exploration phase currently is pretty standard ... ala Arkham Horror LCG where you move around, uncover you areas, do tests (this time with dice and cards) to see if you pass them. I found this be just middle of the road gameplay. I enjoy it in Arkham alot since I have complete control (or some amount of control) since I make my own deck (but I still rely on pulls from the bag.). In ISS, you rely heavily on dice, and for people that follow the channel and know me, I am not a huge dice chucker. I found the dice rolling to be the least enjoyable part of the game. Thankfully, I rolled semi well over all 3 games and I played very conservatively. The exploration part of the Planetopedia is fun, and the audio adds lots of ambience, and discovering new stuff that you have NO IDEA what it does until you get back to your ship is super cool. However again, rolling dice over and over can be annoying since its one of the things in gaming I like least. 2. Ship Log - I LOVE the concept of the ship log, and the idea that it is here that a good portion of your team work is put on full display. There are lots of cool things that CAN happen here, though I experienced just a small portion of the entire game so I honestly have no idea whats in store. As for the gameplay here, it's pretty robust content wise, as each page (or area of your ship) has it's own sets of rules and things that need to happen.....kind of like being on your own ship. I think there is room here for sure to remove, or add parts that make the game flow better. It felt like maybe 80% done. Maybe. Again....its really hard to comment when I know their vision and I'm not seeing all of it on the table right now. 3. I can't stress to people HOW MUCH STUFF is going on in this game. Its ALOT. Like, alot alot. I think, just like Etherfields and maybe more so, that the learning curve on this is going to be challenging unless they find a way to dial it back just a bit. Again, I am giving Awaken Realms the benefit of the doubt here and think that they have time to tighten things up so make it more palatable. Just some thoughts....again....open book. I'll answer anything!

[@AlbertoPerez-wi9qf]

it would be appreciated some subtitles in Spanish 😅

[@viktorkm]

These "super naratived" games have so shitty gameplau. This war of mine and Etherfields are crap!

[@MarquisDeSang]

The player boards are ugly

[@meeple]

I find more and more that this sort of thing is so subjective. For example, the board in Beyond the Sun seem very plain at first (and they are on some level), but I love the conscious decision on their part to design them that way. It serves the game well. Have you seen those?

[@MarquisDeSang]

@@meeple I checked them and they are beautiful. That makes me hate even more the ISS ones.

[@TheSquirtpie]

What are your thoughts on actually playing cooperatively? It seems like a game designed for solo players.

[@meeple]

This game was meant to be played with a group. I played solo only to get it done in a timely manner. I would of 100% preferred to play with a group.

[@TheSquirtpie]

@@meeple Awesome thanks. I know you've been loving etherfields. Where did Tainted grail end up sitting for you/the group?

[@maumastoks]

What about the player setup? Does each player take and control one role individually or all are handled by everyone? Is it possible to have "drop-in" players: let's say 2 players play for vast majority of the game, but 3rd or 4th joins in sometimes (that's what my group did with Gloomhaven)? Is this game most enjoyable with 4p only?