Last Light Board Game Review

Hello Folks!
Today we take a critical look at Grey Fox Games' latest release from designer Roy Cannaday - Last Light!
Last light is a 4X Game that plays in 1 Hour "Seriously!".
Watch to see our thoughts and if you agree or disagree, feel free to let us know in the comments!
As always, we appreciate you watching.
Shelfside's Review of Last Light: • Last Light Review - 1 ...
Instagram: instagr.am/chitsandcardboard
00:00 - Intro
00:18 - Overview
05:28 - Light at the end of the... star?

[@grahamtastic83]

Great honest review! I ended up ordering a copy for my bday with a coupon. Standard edition btw. Worst case scenario I pass it on to a member of my group who enjoys it more than me 😊

[@ChitsandCardboard]

If you get it at a good price I don't think you'll be upset. If you paid kickstarter price of $100 though, it leaves a lot to be desired.

[@grahamtastic83]

@@ChitsandCardboard I agree there. Got it for $44 so not too bad.

[@mikesummers2058]

At first glance, you believe the game's coolest factor might be those marbles on posts. What do they mean? How do they come into play? ... Then you realize they're completely superfluous. :D I think the real novelty of the game is the spinning board. It makes it so the areas (and their geographic relationship to other areas) are never static. It forces people to get in and mix it up with each other (battle) rather than just turtle in somewhere. But yeah, I would have been fine ditching the marbles, and instead have nice ship miniatures (without going "deluxe") and to see a bit more effort into the printed visuals on the board.

[@ChitsandCardboard]

Totally agree. Also, the game ends up feeling like any abilities which allow you to attack are way way way too strong due to the lack of repercussions. It always feels like the best option.

[@theboardgamenoob]

Thanks for the concise and honest review. Much appreciate both of your opinions. As someone who does suffer from pretty bad color blindness, just looking at the game laid out in your video is enough for it to be a no-go for me. I'm sad about that, as I would have loved to have it in my collection one day.

[@ChitsandCardboard]

It's unfortunate. It's not game breaking but at this price it shouldn't be the determining factor!

[@mikesummers2058]

If it's any consolation, the marble colors are bad for everyone. They might have one that's supposed to be blue and yellow, but that particular marble may have mixed to much during manufacturing to make it look mostly green. So these cool 3D planets actually turn into a bit of a hinderance as you try to look around them to see the tiny cardboard base to see the actual colors of that planet.

[@BangersProject]

This was a great to hear the different views on this game. Top notch video!

[@ChitsandCardboard]

Thank you legend 🙏🙏

[@scottchladek1770]

Even the deluxe components leave much to be desired, which is sad for the price. But I do feel they help with the different ship types (especially for color blindness). Gameplay wise it is fun for the short time, not expected to be compared to TI4, Eclipse, etc...

[@ChitsandCardboard]

This exactly echoes our thoughts! Standard was also more expensive on gamefound than retail, which is ludicrous. We appreciate you watching!

[@alanmccappin3901]

Thanks for the video guys. Personally I'm glad I didn't get this game. But I was surprised how good the ships looked compared to the rest of the components. Then it turned out you made them yourself 😂. I honestly think based off of your comments however that it doesn't really deserve the ratings you gave. I guarantee if the game is as unbalanced and shallow as you say you'll reach a state of tedium with it after a couple of months (or less). The reason why 4x games are so long is because of the depth required to make it an enjoyable experience. Are you replaying last light again and again because you want to or because you were hoping to feel something that you normally feel playing ti4 or eclipse?

[@ChitsandCardboard]

The rating is because of the overall ability to table it and the width of groups you could table it to. I totally agree which is why we gave two ratings! This is fully valid and thank you muchly for watching :)

[@robertthurman9866]

A very fair and accurate review.

[@Slyfox1775]

Finally a company not looking for a free hand out and gives and honest review !

[@felidonis_4z40]

There’s a ton of reviewers that give honest reviews. The nature of the board game space is that there isn’t much money to be had so other routes other than ad sense have to be used. Back to the point, 90% of the bigger creators are honest and disclose anything they need to

[@bernardorippe7024]

Amaizing review!

[@ChitsandCardboard]

We appreciate you dropping in Bernardo! We hope to cover Fractal soon :)

[@lincolnhoppe]

Great review

[@ChitsandCardboard]

Thanks Lincoln! We appreciate you checking in :)

[@pzubets]

Honestly, I can't understand all the drama about balance in this particular game. Take "Twilight Imperium", for instance - it's the greatest 4x, and it's wildly unbalanced, there is ton of luck in this game. So what? I've been playing it since 2nd edition.

[@ChitsandCardboard]

It's that the balance feels way more punishing, you can't really politic your way around it.

[@pawelmazur8318]

Really good video!

[@ChitsandCardboard]

Thanks! We appreciate you watching :)

[@pawelmazur8318]

If you guys are into this sort of games have you heard of uprising curse of the last emperor?

[@ChitsandCardboard]

We are in talks with Nemesis games to get a copy to try out!! Thanks for putting this on our radar 🙌🙏

[@jacobjslee]

I don't think it's helpful to evaluate if a game is "worth it" at its price because high cost is different for each person, the price you can find a game varies from store and location, the cost to make nicer components is different for each company. I got into a debate on a thread where I thought the new Castles of Burgundy was the best reprint that came out in 2023 and this other guy said it was overproduced and the price was so ridiculous it did not deserve to be in the top 5 reprints of this year. So we're all coming at this from different perspectives. We can evaluate the gameplay, etc and I'm looking forward to my first play of LL today. I like your video and I like seeing fellow Canadians produce videos so I'm not criticizing it.

[@ChitsandCardboard]

Thanks for your comment, Jacob! You're right. We mention we enjoy the game quite a bit. It's fast and snappy. We just feel like the production doesn't justify the price of admission, and there were a few production considerations that were just... not thoughtful (the pieces on the board, colorblindness, balance). This is, of course, our opinion, and if someone wants to spend 70-100$ on a game produced this way, we would never criticize them for doing so. I hope you enjoy your play! - John

[@jacobjslee]

@@ChitsandCardboard The fact you bought your copy warrants you stating how you feel about the purchase as opposed to other reviewers who are given their copies. I may have to alter what I said. I remember being excited about Everdell Farshore, but the price on that one is outside of the "normal" expected price range. I did appreciate being warned the game not meeting the cost. But when Rococo Deluxe got reprinted by Eagle Gryphon and one reviewer saying "totally get it" because it is so worth it or something like that. Then I saw the price ($150). When I wrote to the reviewer he did admit he was given his copy. That didn't sit well with me.

[@ChitsandCardboard]

This was a copy we purchased, but even if it were a review copy, we would probably share the same sentiment. That said, we reviewed Farshore, and cost aside didn't like it for other reasons. Where I will disagree is that I have never played Rococo, but Eagle-Gryphon games generally warrant the price of admission. Most Lacerda games come in around that, and the components are stellar. We will add one to our review list and hopefully provide some insight there.

[@jacobjslee]

@@ChitsandCardboard But consider this: original Rococo had been out of print for several years so it was unattainable except through the black market. EG announces they're going to reprint it so many people like me are happy we'll be able to play this game. Then the price is revealed ($150 Cdn). I don't think most board gamers will drop $150 on a game they won't get to play for a year. People do it, but not the common gamer. So I was effectively still shut out from playing it. I've lost interest in it by now. But they could turn Farshore into the gold Eagle-Gryphon standard and I don't think it would be worth $150. Some games should not be produced to that extreme, in my opinion. I'll have to check out your review of it. I hope to find it discounted or second hand someday.

[@ChitsandCardboard]

@@jacobjslee That's fair enough, I hope you do too. That said, crowdfunded games raise exorbitant amounts of money each year and often come in well above the $150 price tag. I think the issue you're facing is more that the industry IS willing to pay for it.... which comes with its own host of problems. May be worth a video.

[@sergioperez2771]

Repeatedly, I’ve heard the game is wildly imbalanced in various ways (multiple reviews have characterized the game this way), but this criticism is largely shrugged off because, “well, it only takes an hour or so to play.” I’m loath to accept that rebuttal. If I play a broken game three times in three hours vs. a more tightly designed game one time in three hours, I’m more likely to enjoy the latter experience. Nonetheless, I’ll reserve judgement until I’ve played the game at least several times, and I’m greatly looking forward to getting this game to the table in the next week or two. I’m a sucker for 4X games, and I’m seriously hoping the “4X in an hour” experience touted by the designer and fans of the game as its hallmark pans out to be more than just a gimmick. This game will definitely find a spot in my collection if it can do so. Otherwise, I’ll be gifting my deluxe copy to a friend.

[@ChitsandCardboard]

It's moreso that the hour makes the imbalance, when it happens, feel quirky and fun, as opposed to serious and punishing. That isn't to excuse the imbalance, just to hopefully provide some context. Think wildly imbalanced like all of the races in Cosmic Encounter, not wildly imbalanced in the sense of the game being unplayable for the rest.

[@DeepFriedDave]

Seems like a mediocre game gameplay wise at best. I think these guys are just dudes that buy nearly every game that comes out, so they're like, well its just an okay game, but I've got to add it to my collection so I bought my copy after playing this. Why spend money on mediocre games when there are so many GREAT games?

[@npckse8508]

I am curious as to why you have responded thusly? You clearly don't like the game, but you are sort of calling into question the integrity of the reviewers because they felt differently about the game than you did? I mean just keep shopping for that review that matches your opinion, I am sure you will find it. Then you can extoll the virtues of that reviewer.

[@DeepFriedDave]

@@npckse8508 Not at all. They themselves admit that they think the game is mediocre and unbalanced. But still feel the need to own it.

[@npckse8508]

@@DeepFriedDave I think that is a mischaracterization of what they said. They said that balance issues in a longer format version of the game would be a real issue. They said that when price is taken into consideration, they would rate the game a 7, but without price an 8.5. They said the game is fast and fun. I mean they talk about the positive and the negative.

[@ChitsandCardboard]

Hi Folks! To clarify our thoughts here: 1. The game is wildly imbalanced, there is a good chunk of luck involved. 2. The luck, should the game be the scale of a huge 4x, or should people dislike this amount of luck, can be frustrating. 3. The game is fast enough that it generally doesn't bug us. 4. We like the game because of the experience it gives you at the weight it punches at :) Thanks for watching! - John

[@felidonis_4z40]

So I’ll say this, the initial comment going at these guys is unnecessary. They are honestly trying to make it in a hobby space that has little money to be had most of the time. I will also say that I think the overview shouldn’t be 2/3 of the video most of the time (there are exceptions) if they increase their thoughts sections and condense the overview a little (they did a great job on it compared to many) then I think they are moving somewhere. They are doing what I could only dream of by making videos because of how I think reviews should go so I and everyone else who doesn’t make videos shouldn’t criticize. They will learn and grow in the space and get better. Come back in a month, a year or even two and you’ll see a huge difference in their channel if they stick with it