Kingdom Death: Monster - Gameplay & Discussion

[@JustinHinzMagic]

I love this game. It's worth every penny. I also have picked up every expansion.

[@Quantai88]

Great video and tons of fun to watch! Would be awesome to see a few followup videos of later plays if thats a possibility! Either way great job :)

[@boardgamereplay]

+Quantai88 Thanks a lot, glad you enjoyed it! We're definitely planning more videos as we progress through the campaign. We're hoping to be able to feature some of the expansion content as we go too!

[@scotti1660]

Been waiting for this episode of Board Game Replay. Would love to see more of your campaign.

[@boardgamereplay]

+Scott Johnson Thank you Scott! We're absolutely planning on more videos as we progress through the campaign. We're hoping to maybe even include some of the expansion content as well. Stay tuned!

[@bitrubbish]

Fantastic game. Thanks for the Replay. Are you planning to do more Replays of KD:M as your settlement grows?

[@boardgamereplay]

+bitrubbish Thanks for checking it out! Yeah, we're definitely going to be doing shorter videos discussing our campaign progress here and there, hopefully covering some of the expansions as part of that too!

[@MasterdoMagic]

Oh wow, what a cool game to do a replay for!

[@boardgamereplay]

Thanks, I was really glad to be able to put this together! When we first picked up the game we weren't sure in what capacity we would be able to cover it, but I think this should give a nice sample of the game play.

[@normnoia1768]

ohhh yeah, first game of the year i'm excited to play!

[@boardgamereplay]

Hope you get to play it soon! This game is amazing! :)

[@davedogge2280]

One question, I've heard that as you progress through the game you are expected to swap out the configurations on the minis ? how do you do this exactly ? do you somehow have to say, un-glue a sword on a mini and then glue a spear to replace it ? that doesn't sound right to me.

[@boardgamereplay]

Sorry, I missed this question until now Dave. Basically the different sets of minis are just to more accurately represent your character once they're wearing a full suit of armor or wielding a unique weapon. There's no swapping of the mini parts themselves (aside from maybe just the weapons). Basically there's 4 copies, 2 male 2 female of each full armor set in the game. So you just switch out the whole mini once you equip the new game in game. Hope that helps!

[@davedogge2280]

Thanks for that, I was up at 5:01 am in Europe on the 2016 Black Friday Kickstarter launch to get some of the slightly cheaper Early Bird type offerings, it seems to have broken some records for income that KS (which is still on going at the time of writing).

[@michaelinOZ]

I would so love to play this. Unfortunately I missed the KS campaign and it is WAY too expensive now :-(

[@boardgamereplay]

+Michael R I can understand, it's quite the price point to get into this one. My best recommendation is to find some friends and go in for a group buy (that's what we did). There's such a huge amount of content and replay ability, that the value of the game showed pretty quickly for us. We justified it in the same way as all of us going in for a new PC game or MMO. $100 a piece goes quickly like that, but with this we feel like it'll be a nice thing to keep us getting together for a while. Anyway, I don't mean to speak lightly of money or make excuses, it's still a hefty price tag. I do wish you the best though and hope you'll get a chance to play it soon!

[@michaelinOZ]

+Board Game Replay I will justify it as my birthday present to myself :). Have to wait till June though as I will be in the U.S. again by then to avoid 95$ shipping.

[@boardgamereplay]

+Michael R Haha, that sounds like a pretty good justification to me. Seems reasonable to wait until June too..that's some crazy shipping! By then, there will be lots of expansions out too, you could snag a couple while you're in the states :P

[@michaelinOZ]

+Board Game Replay Do you know how quick the guys deliver? Don't wanna end up leaving the U.S. and having the game shipped too late - leaving without it. Talking about L.A. and/or South Florida...

[@boardgamereplay]

+Michael R hmm yeah I can understand that. Well, you've got some time at this point, it can't hurt to send them an email just to check the shipping times. Sorry I can't be more help here, just can't speak to their current work load.

[@creepyshadow]

With the crazy high price point with KD, you think there's enough to justify...this has been on my radar since day 1 just wish I would have backed it on KS. And is this a Kickstarter Edition your playing ?

[@boardgamereplay]

+creepyshadow First off, what we're playing with here is just the retail edition of the game. We didn't get in on the Kickstarter for this one either. Now as far as value goes, that's a hard one to answer... The game has an enormous price tag because everything in the game is over the top. The minis, the cards, storybook, the design, it's all crazy. It's really been more of a passion project for the designer, so I think he just went all out. That said, it's hard to say what others will consider a good value for their money with things like this. For our group, we played the demo at GenCon and that experience sold us on the game. We decided at that point that if 4-5 of us would just go in on the purchase together it would be much more affordable. As a group of friends we'll usually end up buying a couple of PC or console games during the year and quickly go through $100 on that kind of entertainment before we know what happened. From our demo experience and looking over the content we decided we would get many many hours of enjoyment out of even one run through the campaign (roughly 25 game sessions and of course replayable). With everyone invested in it, it's more likely to hit the table as well (at least for us). That's just how we, as a group, rationalized the big purchase. Anyway, I don't mean to speak lightly of money or make excuses, it's still a hefty price tag. To answer your question though, I do think for our group, it's worth the money. Sorry for the long post, I hope that helps :)

[@HappyWulf]

i was a KickStarter backer. it's glorious, is it not? here's a tip that will save your party. always always carry at least one reliable ranged weapon past the very first tutorial fight. even the white lion has something that will destroy you sometimes if you must melee. [ ground fighting ]

[@boardgamereplay]

+HappyWulf It really is glorious! Thanks for the tip too, that's good to know. We sat down for our second lantern year right after this one and found Chris's ranged weapon to be very valuable (stealth card pulled during the Hunt phase). Going forward we've now got 2 ranged weapons for our next fight. Fingers crossed that it goes well!

[@HappyWulf]

+Board Game Replay I'll tell you a story. after our 2nd or 3rd Lion, we decide to try an Antelope. during the hunt, we hit an event that forces a level 2 lion on us. let me tell you, the jump in difficulty is immense. it was looking ok for a bit, then it got ahold of me and kept running away with me in its mouth, the others could not catch up to it. while i slowly bled out until i got 5 blood tokens and died. party wipe soon after that, which was a shame since we just got a couple of these survivors their weapon specs and some speed and strength bonuses.

[@boardgamereplay]

+HappyWulf Ouch, that's pretty rough! It's interesting because we don't really have anything to judge the monster difficulty and where we should head next, but it sounds like the level 2 monsters are pretty brutal...I'll keep that in mind. Once again, that's for the tip!

[@JoshDaRuler]

love this game so much, i was a kickstarter backer and just got all the expansions! sadly i going traveling to a few months so will have to wait to get even more stuck in. oh and BEWARE THE BUTCHER! dude is nasty! the levels do make a massive difference you need to play abit before you can gauge what you can handle when and with what gear

[@boardgamereplay]

+JoshDaRuler Oh man, sorry to hear about the traveling. It's got to be hard to stay away from this one. We've only cracked this game open a week ago and we've already played 4 times...can't wait to play again. Appreciate the tip on the Butcher too. We're just about to enter our 5th lantern year and he's up next. Not really sure what to expect, but we'll at least have some decent gear and 3 survival each. Here's hoping!

[@JoshDaRuler]

got to say, having, opened and had a look through the expansions this morning, i think i may reevaluate my feelings on the butcher! some fresh nightmares on the horizon and interesting new mechanics, plus several new campaign types!!

[@boardgamereplay]

+JoshDaRuler I peeked through them online as well, they look fantastic! I can't believe how much content is already available for this game, it's mind blowing!

[@MrBraun6]

Your video really piqued my interest in this game...until I saw the $400 price tag on the developer's website. Is any game really worth that much money? Seem extraordinarily high.

[@boardgamereplay]

+Bill Braun No doubt about it Bill, it's a enormous price tag because everything in the game is over the top. The minis, the cards, storybook, the design, it's all crazy. It's really been more of a passion project for the designer, so I think he just went all out. That said, it's hard to say what others will consider a good value for their money with things like this. For our group, we played the demo at GenCon and that experience sold us on the game. We decided at that point that if 4-5 of us would just go in on the purchase together it would be much more affordable. As a group of friends we'll usually end up buying a couple of PC or console games during the year and quickly go through $100 on that kind of entertainment before we know what happened. From our demo experience and looking over the content we decided we would get many many hours of enjoyment out of even one run through the campaign (roughly 25 game sessions, but of course replayable). With everyone invested in it, it's more likely to hit the table as well (at least for us). That's just how we, as a group, rationalized the big purchase. Anyway, I don't mean to speak lightly of money or make excuses, it's still a hefty price tag. To answer your question though, I do think for our group, it's worth the money. Sorry for the long answer Bill, I hope that helps. As always, glad to have you with us :)

[@HappyWulf]

there is more than 50 miniatures in that box. most miniatures of this quality cost about $10 each, so it's worth it for the plastic alone. it will definitely spark the beginnings of a miniatures hobby in you.

[@HS-oh8xh]

I rather play videogames

[@HistoricalConflict]

Yes.....yes it is. Im over 800 bucks into it. It's not a hobby..its a life altering boardgame lol

[@ricardofierro629]

So did u guys buy the 1.5 new one coming out on Kickstarter and do you think it's worth and witch pledge do I buy if I don't have the first Kdm

[@realZahmet]

I don't have the game infront of me, but if I recall correctly "Maul" does 2 or 3 damage. So Jerry might have taken a little more beating :) I hope you will do more cover of this game, I love the game and it's always nice to get some other perspective on the game.

[@boardgamereplay]

+Zahmet Gaming Ahh, I might have overlooked that. Thank you for the heads up! We do plan to cover more of the game as we go. Certainly not every year, but we hope to do updates of our current campaign progress and maybe even feature some of the expansions. Thanks for watching!

[@adam551982]

have you gotten to play this anymore? are you still happy to own this game?

[@boardgamereplay]

We've played it a fair amount of time after we recorded this but paused it for a short time just for a lack of time to get everyone together. Absolutely still happy to own this one! The rest of the guys started up a new campaign though and as far as I know they're still in it!

[@RageBadgerGaming]

This game definitely has given us so many damn play hours, absolutely worth it.

[@jhowd78]

I am not sure if you completed this game BUT is this the type of game you could experience more than once??? Does it have even a little randomness or is that based on buying a boss expansion? I may track one of these down.

[@boardgamereplay]

I think this game can be replayed many, many times. There is a huge amount of variability between games and campaign sessions. We're still only about half-way through and had several moments where we thought it was going to end. While we would have been bummed, we'd have just picked up and started over again. The scope of the game is just plain crazy!

[@jhowd78]

one last question. how the hell do I find this game without a 800 plus price tag?

[@robbierauch2952]

It is going on Kickstarter again on 25 Nov.

[@palmcrazysg]

Whoa! Cant wait...

[@tomwatson7817]

Also there are 12 expansions (and with current running kick starter a bunch more expansions), so you have lots of content to add to game to give it variety feel and different combat options.

[@poooooooka]

What size is that table, and thanks for a good walkthrough!

[@boardgamereplay]

You're welcome...thanks for watching! That table is actually the IKEA BJURSTA. It's an extendable table that I just leave extended all the time. The dimensions from their site are.... 166 cm, Diameter: 115 cm, Height: 74 cm Hope that helps!

[@adamheeley285]

This game looks crazy....it seems really polarizing. Some reviews are extremely low and some are extremely high. Hard to pull the trigger when it costs 400$. I would like to know how this compares to something like Arcadia Quest.

[@cippowasd]

With a friend of mine we are making a campaign with Kingdom Death Monster. Please, let the other gamers around the globe see and advanced hunt as a Phoenix!

[@boardgamereplay]

Glad to see you're starting a campaign as well! It'll probably be a little while before we get to the Phoenix but I can't wait!

[@cippowasd]

She's brutal AF. Anyway good work with your channel. You're the reason I bought ArghTech! Greeting from Italy

[@boardgamereplay]

+Cippus Good to know, and thank you so much for the kind words on the channel! It's a pleasure to have you with us! :)

[@Camtrain1989]

I genuinely don't know of anywhere you can buy this brand new in Australia

[@boardgamereplay]

It's coming back to Kickstarter in the coming months. You can sign up for alerts at kingdomdeath.com

[@Camtrain1989]

Board Game Replay perfect cheers guys

[@rustedbeetle]

The 1.5 revision is on Kickstarter now.

[@Kardashred]

Sold.

[@boardgamereplay]

Haha, thanks for watching! :)

[@saiharris]

Great overview. Thanks

[@boardgamereplay]

+Sai Harris Thank you Sai, very glad you enjoyed it!

[@jasongardner9279]

This is one of the best explanations of a game I've seen. Thank you for this board game reply.

[@Amurayiwestgate]

You stand up at the end of the next monster phase.

[@boardgamereplay]

+Amurayiwestgate Hmm, which part of the video are you referring to? Are you saying we played something wrong?

[@grendl74]

Hrn...want so much to play this

[@boardgamereplay]

+Jason Miller I know the price tag is high, if you can get a group to go in on it together, I think it's a worthwhile investment. :)

[@post6597]

games looks awesome, if only i have a friend to play with :(

[@iconocast]

tbh it looks perfect for solo play

[@timmowarner]

It's almost as much fun to play by yourself!

[@MrSuckeragi]

i feelz ya bruh

[@TheRealBlueSwan]

I'd argue that it is actually better as a solo game.

[@IslanKleinknecht]

So is half this game just grinding the same monsters over and over to get better loot? Setting aside the amazing theme, setting, and design, I can't say I enjoy video-game style loot grinding.

[@boardgamereplay]

You will be fighting some of the same "quarry" monsters between bigger boss battles, but I think it depends how you want to define grinding. Grinding to me has always been a monotonous, repetitive, and un-challenging process to obtain something. In an RPG or MMO it's usually killing 1000 easy kobolds to drop a rare material you need for crafting, or running through the same simple dungeon 20 to get the boss to drop the item you want. In Kingdom Death, it's quite a bit different. Yeah, you'll end up wanting to fight the same level White Lion or the Screaming Antelope to get some crafting materials you don't have yet, but even re-fighting an easier monster doesn't mean it'll be a breeze. The Hunt phase can throw unexpected challenges at you and really changes the shape of the Showdown phase that follows. Also, you only have a certain amount of time before you end up against another boss, so you really can't waste much time with easier battles. If you take the easy road, you'll end up against a boss that you're not prepared for and that can be devastating to your colony. In short, not every monster battle is unique and you'll be fighting some of the same monsters between bosses (although at different levels), but to our group it's never once felt anything like grinding. Every game session (or Lantern Year) has always been exciting and filled with suspense. I've said it before but this game is unlike anything else being produced. :)

[@Tennethums1]

Board Game Replay the details are a little hazy currently but it looks like Dark Souls is going to be similar, WAY cheaper and as good? Personally, I didn't back it (was good for more of a Talisman style Dark Souls instead of encounter driven) but what do you think?

[@IslanKleinknecht]

Tennethums1 From my own research, Dark Souls only borrows a simplified KDM's monster AI deck, and nothing else.

[@boardgamereplay]

Yeah, I'll agree with Nick here. The only really similarity these games have is the sort of "dark" theme. Aside from that, they are very different games.

[@CheokCG]

only the miniatures statues interest me,would be better to make it into a pc game

[@KThyme]

Some of us prefer a tabletop experience from time to time.

[@m1m1n0u]

Actually if you have tabletop simulator you can play it on computer ;)

[@frankwashburn6680]

Oh they have a TTS module for this? Smart! Mind linking the page?

[@m1m1n0u]

steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=640627225

[@Dr_Salt]

They already did years ago its called Monster Hunter

[@Sassy_Witch]

I did hear that everything in this game is in high quality. But after seeing how the cards arent even on thick paper and some other stuff I kind of doubt that's that much in the truth. Not really worth the 400 bucks

[@boardgamereplay]

I'm not sure what you mean about the cards. They're actually on quite thick and durable cardstock. Are you referring to the player sheets? Those are definitely made of just regular paper because of the amount of times you need to erase / destroy them when a character dies.

[@Sassy_Witch]

Really? I apologize then It just looked odd how you drew the card, bending it over like that. And even if it weren't the case, I would've bought it anyway :P

[@barbtandavion8233]

i think it means the miniatures are high quality

[@Macsk8ing]

Okay, just someone explain to me why woud anything like this get over FIVE MILLION DOLLARS in funding and people pay over $1500 for this! WHATTTT!

[@boardgamereplay]

It's an absolutely incredible game and there's nothing like it. It's got a crazy price tag, but it's beyond worth it in my view :) The $1500 levels, yeah I can't say I'd go all out on that, but for $250 or so, it's a steal for the amount of content in just the base game.

[@Phaelen2003]

you guys just made me feel a need to plop down $400....

[@boardgamereplay]

+Phaelen2003 heh, sorry man...we couldn't help but be excited about this one. It's too good! :)

[@Phaelen2003]

I totally get your excitement, and it's contagious. I saw all the videos from GenCon or whichever con it was at last year and I just couldn't seem to get into it. Seeing it in the perspective now, that you guys have put it, made me realize this is something I need. It feels very grindy much like old school RPGs but with a HUGE facelift. Thanks for putting this video out there, I know it's not your standard, but I'd love to see more of the lantern years unfold :-)

[@boardgamereplay]

+Phaelen2003 Thanks man, I'm really glad we could get this one out. We're definitely going to feature some more videos as we progress through the campaign. Not covering every year, but little updates here and there, and hopefully covering some of the expansion content as well. Keep an eye out for it :)

[@Phaelen2003]

looking forward to it!

[@KX5Kat]

+Phaelen2003 You've really got to know what you like if you're getting this game. I've got it and love it, it's worth every penny and then some. It has it's issues though. This game requires an investment of time, money and space. Time, initially it's a very slow game to learn (especially since I like learning things right the first time). The miniatures also take plenty of time, patience and skill to assemble. Money, aside from the $400, there's expansions coming and you WILL want them. Space, it's a big ass box and your miniatures won't fit in them. If you like a quick setup time, you'll have to organise the box in such a way that you won't have space for the board, manual or miniature box since they'll crush your cards. You'll need storage for those. RPG lovers could very well end up selling off the rest of their games to finance this one, the depth and gameplay is so huge you won't want to play anything else. However, too much KD is mentally and even emotionally draining, but I like that. My biggest gripe, it's very fiddly, you're constantly flipping around the book, writing on different sheets, shuffling cards (especially in the settlement phase). It's in a class of it's own, but not for everyone.

[@HappyWulf]

So you gonna paint em? imgur.com/a/EM03x

[@boardgamereplay]

+HappyWulf I think Chris wanted to go through them and get them all built and painted, but his work schedule is pretty busy. As for me...I've never touched a paint brush to anything so I'd be awful at it...who knows, maybe I'll give it a whirl at some point! Nice work on your paint jobs by the way, that adds a whole other level to the game!

[@bobfitzpatrick6061]

This game looks great. There is a ton of stuff. And of looks really fun. Bit not $400 fun. I'll pass.

[@Thialas]

Bob Fitzpatrick well you can join the kickstarter for the 1.5 version of the game which only costs 250$ or 200 if you can get one of the black Friday pledges which get a free spot because someone changes pledges. the 1.5 version big the game gets some extra content too.

[@bobfitzpatrick6061]

Tias thanks. I did hear about that. It's still too rich for my blood. I know my gaming friends and I would never get it to the table, unfortunately.

[@goatee21]

Amnesia? ugh.

[@mattf1083]

I love the mechanics but the theme is off for me. When I read the mechanics I really wanted to get this game, however the theme is off putting. I get that the theme is a big part of it but the monster design is just too disturbed. A large majority of the monsters have penises hanging out of numerous places. It has such awesome mechanics but for $400 its a shame the theme is so niche.

[@boardgamereplay]

The theme is certainly a dark one and not for everyone. The monster penis thing though...as far as I've seen there's only 1 monster penis, and it's from an expansion.

[@mattf1083]

Maybe it is a tad knee jerk. I just saw Frogdog (vagina faces birthing dogs) Gryphon (penis tail) Forge God (Penis heads) Sunstalker (just a penis) Wet Nurse (giant phallic monster with boobs on its body). Add with that every female has giant boobs and tend to have a heavy slave theme and it creates a theme that is disturbing. It comes across that the designer is obsessed with objectifying women and genitals. If these mechanics were in a more accessible theme I would have snatched this up. My wife loves board games, especially ones with high strategy, but she would be pissed if I bought this. But thanks for the video! Liked and subscribed.

[@boardgamereplay]

Ahh ok, you're right there are certainly more than I remembered. I can't blame you for not being a fan of the theme, especially when it comes to models like that. Heck, I could do without those types of monsters / slave characters too. For what it's worth on the female model thing, many of the large breasted women models aren't part of the base game, they were one-offs and KS exclusive items. Not that it really changes much, but I usually like to mention it as the base game models are all normal proportions and the nudity makes sense (torn robes, etc). It does bum me out a little that the theme is as intense as it is. Mechanically, this is one of the most incredible games ever designed! Anyway, thanks for checking out the video and subscribing. Glad to have you with us! :)

[@Sassy_Witch]

I have to agree that the design sometimes gets pretty silly. But sometimes some really nice models come out like the dragon or screaming antilope. Though monsters like the Gorm and so on are pretty silly.

[@Sassy_Witch]

also if the heavy slavery theme already bothers you, wait until you read about the great city. It's so silly that I just can't take it serious. None of it make much sense and it feels like the creator didn't finish it. Still, it's unique so that's why people like me like it

[@TheOldMan-75]

Sure, the minis look great but the overall game still looks like shit.

[@boardgamereplay]

+Hitchslapped I'm not really sure which area of the game you're referring to as that statement is pretty vague, but it's interesting that you feel that way. We've found the game system to be one of the most deep and polished systems we've ever come across. It has a remarkable amount of attention to detail in nearly every aspect of the game. On top of that, the game is bursting with theme. The huge book with dozens of story events, every single AI and Hit Location card having a full thematic as well as mechanical explanation, and character progression that makes you truly care about losing a particular survivor to a monster. The minis ARE great, but the game is so good that we can't be bothered to assemble anything other than 6 of the 50+ miniatures. We just want to keep playing.

[@TheOldMan-75]

+Board Game Replay I wasn't referring to gameplay or mechanics. I think, apart from the minis, the visuals are as bland as it gets. You just look at the table and get the impression that the manufacturer ran out of ink. And then there's the style. You have these rather detailed black and white drawing on the location cards totally in contrast to the, once again, bland item cards with a single-coloured background. Even if this is the best game ever, it's still like playing warhammer with 400€ worth of miniatures on a plain green tablecloth.

[@KX5Kat]

+Hitchslapped Not to be rude, but are you in kindergarten? Do you want a bright rainbow, with lots of pretty, pink ponies and a smiley yellow sun to be on the board? KD is set in a very depressing and dark (there's literally no sunlight, hence the lanterns) world the colour schemes are appropriate. Seeing the components, cards and board on camera does nowhere near the justice it deserves when you see and touch it in real life.

[@TheOldMan-75]

KX5Kat Have you ever actually used lanterns and torches outside? It's not as plain as you might think. Oh and yes, the alternative to an almost black board are of course pink ponies.

[@KThyme]

The almost black board actually has finely detailed faces that extend out almost to the edges, starting bright in the middle and then getting faint as they go. There's also terrain cards that come into play later that add more texture to the game board. I can see what you're saying, but I think you're exaggerating; the art on the cards and in the game book itself is really quite immersive.