Monasterium Review - with Chris and Wendy Yi

[@patrickolmstead1557]

Watched this video before playing. Have not noticed any of the concerns in 3 plays. 2-player games were good. Then we taught a 4 player game. One of our players liked it so much, she borrowed it to teach her husband (who is a game designer). [She has not borrowed a game of ours before.] Glad we have this in the collection. Recommend it.

[@Indy_Rye]

My game group really likes this game. You definitely get fewer actions when your later in turn order, but it makes the rounds your first or second in turn order more critical. You can’t always do what you want in those the rounds your later in turn order you have to make the most of what’s available. I’ve haven’t really seen any hate drafting at 3&4 players. Focus on travel early with stain glass bonuses and unlocking your dice isn’t that hard.

[@DeltathRiylaan]

You speak clearly and concisely. Makes it easy to follow.

[@uziekiele]

The designer has stated that you cannot take a die you can't use. You can't take three '1' dice if you can only afford one student.

[@TheMrE]

There’s an entire area control scoring at the end that Chris didn’t cover. You also get “things” when you place novices on locations (printed at the bottom of the board). Here’s hoping they played all that correctly.

[@DTChrisYi]

Absolutely did, just didn't explain all the rules in the overview. It was already going a bit long.

[@eppst001]

Thanks for the review. I was liking the idea of the game, but your review has changed my mind. One small concern about the video, there is quite a bit of background noise. Sounds like a door needed closed or something.

[@ElanDivan]

Some more soundproofing might be useful. We can hear the discussion outside your room. Not clear enough to hear what is being said, but still distracting.

[@saintsalieri]

You must have your volume super high bruh.

[@bourneagain22]

I thought it was a rule that you can't take a die if you can't use it?

[@DTChrisYi]

Pg. 5 of the rulebook states if you take a die but can't carry out an action, the die goes to waste and is spent as if it were used. You can almost always use the main action of a die, but the number 1 dice used for sending out novices can be burned without being used.

[@bourneagain22]

@@DTChrisYi I'm yet to play it as its still on my shelf of shame. I'll have to see how it goes

[@josyuen4207]

Yeah. There was a bit of a discussion on the BGG forums about this rule. I think the designer said that if you can’t use the die, then you can’t take it but the rule book says otherwise. I think if you go by the designer’s intent, I think it’s a bit better. Anyways, good review. Even though the drafting is frustrating, we still like the game. We still need to try out the mini expansion and see if things open up a bit.

[@DTChrisYi]

@@josyuen4207 Interesting, I hadn't heard that. Still in most instances a die can be used anyway, except for the number 1 action. If that's how the rulebook says it though, that's how we played it. Interesting to know.

[@drxsmetalhippie]

I'm torn about this game. I jumped on it early on an imported it because it really seemed like something i'd love. And I do really like it, but... there's a lot of clunky rules everywhere and the dice drafting element isn't as exciting as it sounded. In my plays, it felt like there were a lot of "obvious" turns, like I never really felt torn about what to do. And the objective cards are confusing to decipher and pretty uninteresting. However, the player boards and stained glass window are exciting mechanisms to tinker with. I like the theme and the aesthetics are fantastic. It's a typical euro that's not covered in brown and tan. I enjoy playing this game, but i'm not sure how many more times I want to play it, let alone how long it'll stay on my shelf.

[@onepingonly1941]

It seems to me what you're saying is this game is under cooked and just thrown out there on the dinner table. I had an interest in this one, too. Thanks for the warning!

[@dddmmm21]

i remember playing this out of Essen last year and really enjoying for the first 20min and appreciating the mechanisms... Then something happened and 20min later I realized this was not going anywhere and by the end I was hating it.

[@tonygilbert5256]

I really like your videos that you do together, but feel free to have the conversation between you two, and us in the audience will listen. Feels a bit forced to keep looking at the camera when talking to each other. Otherwise, great video! I look forward to more!

[@fingolfinfinwe]

Hm, I really want to love this game but you've definitely got me concerned on a couple points.