Moonrakers - Board Game Review - We're Attempting Re-Entry

[@hubris1960]

That was a great review. I normally play with most of the expansions integrated in but I will enjoy hearing how you feel about the strengths and weakness of each addition in your upcoming videos.

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Expansions to come later in the week!

[@Original_Maverick]

Was curious about this one. Thanks for covering it!

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

No problem!

[@Datasun7]

Looks quite interesting! Great review Luke Not sure I'd play it enough to justify maybe I'd definitely give it ago at a game night or con!

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Fair enough!

[@jonvega3736]

Another great vid! Keep up the good work. I think when it comes down to wanting a game with certain mechanics, I'd rather play ones that excel in it rather than an average mix of the two. For negotiation, zoo vadis. Deck building, either aeons end for 2P, or Dominion.

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Zoo Vadis just looks weird, nicking an animal theme for a themeless game!

[@jonvega3736]

Haha I do like the meeples in the game. I do agree the theming could have remained the same. The Senate theme still seems cool. I did find the old version for five bucks.

[@Mauricio_Castaño]

Mayday has some square ones 70x by 70, maybe does fit. On the hazzard dice its actually something that I like, there many ways to mitigate the damage and gives a nice spicy element to the negotiations. The expansion are a most, like most KS games, does feel like they cut content from the base to add later, something don´t like, the price is high, hopefully can get it cheaper. Nice review, keep it going.

[@a-c-m]

Sleeve Kings offer square sleeves with size 63.5 x 63.5mm, perfect for Moonrakers

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

I've seen those but they are too big for the cards in question

[@a-c-m]

Why that ? The card size is 63 x 63mm. Worked perfectly for me. (Could be slightly tighter and thicker but good enough)

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

They seemed bigger at my end. Though I am also ocd when it comes to any wasted sleeve space 😂

[@a-c-m]

Well, I guess you then have to bite the bullet and buy the overpriced sleeves which IV Studios offers

[@cesar1998410]

Disagree on the solo mode. The one in the box isnt great, but the luminor solo mode (app / webpage needed) is fantastic. So much fun, and very cool to explore in it. Also makes the game cooperative which is a great twist

[@cesar1998410]

But great video! This one is a favorite of mine, I have the titan box for it!

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

I was only referring to the one in the box though.

[@derYokai]

@@TheBrokenMeeple you mean the Solo Mode in the Box? Then you are kinda playing the Solo Mode as if you are playing Mansions of Madness 2nd Ed without the App. You NEED to look at Luminor when talking about the game, especially if Solo is a major issue

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

@@derYokai Luminor came out after the game was released and not everyone has the facility to play that. It is not part of the boxed package and therefore can't be reviewed with it. It will be its own separate thing. The solo mode as per the rulebook is what you get in the box.

[@derYokai]

@@TheBrokenMeeple True, but is doesn't cost a single penny and a Windows PC or a Mac isn't that much of a hurdle in this day and age :) But I do get the point you are making, still I'll disagree. I don't see that much of a difference between a free application delivered after the fact to provide some much needed improvements, such as this or the one for Voidfall, and any kind of upgrade to Apps delivered directly with games such as the one for Mansions. Both sort of deliver something that was not in the original box. The difference being, of course, that I knew that Mansions needs the App whereas this is purely optional and I'd have to know about it. Anyway, I do absolutely get your point and the position is perfectly valid!

[@boardgametotears]

I had such a great time with this one when a friend showed it to me. I bought it all in with the last Kickstarter.

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

That's awesome!

[@Doujou]

IV sells sleeves and they offer some nice thick sleeves for all card sizes, especially the little ones

[@derYokai]

Paladin Marcus sleeves fit perfectly and yes., the metal coins are a regular component for the regular edition of the game which I'm seeing on your table. Deluxe would be all of the other metal components, such as ships and ressources .... or the beloved Hazard Dice ;). I'm not sure that discussing the original Moonrakers without the expansions does the game justice as it stands today, so I'm very much looking forward to that video :) And Luminor needs to be reviewed when talking about Moonrakers

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Luminor is not advertised in the box or part of the main rulebook. You have to know it exists which a casual gamer will not do. Also it was a side thing added as part of a KS stretch goal. Luminor can happily have its own content, but for the average player, it cannot be factored in with the base game. And not everyone is going to spend over £120 to buy all the expansions and the base game together. People may be testing the waters first and need to know whether the base game is worth it alone.

[@moo2k4]

Games like this are why I wish I had a more consistent group of people to play games with. Seems like it would be a great time. Also a +1 to IV Studios for their tutorials. They're excellent for Fractured Sky and Mythic Mischief, too. They're also entertaining in their playthroughs, too.

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Yeah who needs third parties if the publisher can do it themselves?

[@lmedved5000]

Well plus side of a couple of the expansions is they do make the game go way quicker! But yeah, I agree with your assessment. I honestly think it’s only worth playing with the expansions. Base game is kinda boring, or at least gets old kinda quick. Also same with all of IV games, waaaaaay way way too expensive. And I personally don’t think the heightened production value justifies the cost but that’s just one blokes opinion. Good vid!

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Most games don't justify their cost by production value alone - but at least it's better than say Last Light which was as much as this retail game is and yet the components were absolute garbage.

[@steveg9939]

Great review Luke, good and bad. Love the negociation aspect, especially that as you mention, you might get screwed with hazard dice. This risk has to be part of the negociation. Then you might get a lucky roll. I agree that the base solo mode was boring ++ . I play solo or coop with my son using the app and it is great. My main gripe is it is a tad long. I wonder if base game + a choice of extra part, crew, credits or cards à la Terraforming Mars prelude would work well. Disclaimer, I have the expansions but haven’t tries them yet. Maybe it fixes this issue.

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

The expansions don't fix solo but I do need to try Luminor soon.

[@bradleyritger6765]

IV studios has their own square sleeve. I’ve only played base game but have all the expansions. Loved the review agreed with everything. However you didn’t mention how the game stalls at the end since no one wants to ally with someone who has 9 points and will win. I’m excited to hear your thoughts on the expansions

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

IV should advertise those sleeves more then, there is nothing in the box to indicate this for casual buyers.

[@KChezwick]

FYI.... the metal coins are also part of the standard edition of the game.

[@drunken_physics]

nailed this review i would add is it worth the price for a game if you don't have the 3-4 player count on a daily basis.

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Nope.

[@MuchachoC]

One of my favorite games lately. The steep price works against it tho. A lite version without the deluxifications could be sold for half the price and it would then be an amazing bang for your buck game. Also, it is totally dependent on player count (in my opinion it only really shines with 4 people - 3 sucks and 5 it is tolerable, but not ideal), and the people playing it. It is negotiation at its core (even more so than deckbuilding), so people that do not like over the top interaction will not enjoy this very much. If you take the negotiation out there is not much meat left to call it a great game, but hey, Dominion with negotiation and deceit? sign me in! 9 out of 10 for me :)

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

I like it fine with 3 players - 2 allies is enough to get things going and the game is a lot quicker. 4 is ideal yes.

[@thehandoflenin]

Life is a box of randomness. Nothing wrong with a bit of randomness and nothing is determined. Kickstarter version had a bigger box and insert. You can get sleeves from the company for those cards. Enjoyed this game, a little different from your bog standard deck builder. I suppose the only downside I'd say is the price - not cheap!

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Are the official sleeves cheap though or inflated?

[@thehandoflenin]

£20 for base plus extras. I'd say they are good quality not like cheap ones. Postage however I assume will be expensive.

[@SilverFear]

@17:00 you talk about the hazard dice.. there is a variant in the rulebook that says you can adjust the dice to all just be 1 hazard each. This will negate that randomness of rolling

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

As good as that sounds (thought it might make "block 2 hazard shield" cards a bit powerful) where did you read that in the rulebook? I'm looking at the PDF rulebook and cannot find it at all. Point me to the page of the main rulebook you found that as so far that isn't showing as present. Are you sure it's not an unofficial variant?

[@SilverFear]

@@TheBrokenMeeple I'm sorry, this was added in the Nomad rulebook!

[@SilverFear]

@@TheBrokenMeeple Page 27 under the Game variant rules. I assume you can just translate that into the base game if you would like.

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Don't see why not.

[@normstewart546]

Really want to try.

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Hello downvoter - why don't you make yourself known instead of auto-piloting on every video?

[@abelb.7997]

I'm the downvoter, and I object to the unnecessary breaking of meeples. Justice for meeples!!!

[@ilqrd.6608]

don’t let it get to you. Some people have small lives

[@shatnershairpiece]

Everybody gets these trolls. Calling them out only makes it worse. No one can see your down votes anyway so why would you be concerned? It’s not like it’s affecting your revenue stream. If every down vote took 10% off your ad revenue well then maybe I’d be concerned about it.

[@john-qz3fu]

Don’t worry about the down votes. Let it be - there’s power in the refrain.

[@nirszi]

I don't like negotiation games, will I like this?

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Nope!

[@realdealastrology9]

Any solo mode? If so, how is it?

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

I talk about it within the bad section.

[@guandjs]

I understand that deals that are negotiated are not binding in this game. That does not appeal to me at all. You didn’t mention that in the review, but if it is the case, I think that could be relevant for others too. Thanks

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

I did actually mention it and the rewards are binding, just not any future commitments.

[@guandjs]

@@TheBrokenMeeple I see but the rule book seems to say that “Allies are not required to be honest about what they will do on a contract.” And that “There is no rule that requiring Allies to help a contract succeed. They may choose to withhold cards, lie, etc.” That is what I meant about not being binding ie people can lie to you about what they intend to do. That feels very off putting to me.

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

@@guandjs I mention that aspect very specifically on a couple of occasions. And yes you can happily join a contract just to get rid of your bad hand though it's not a common occurrence.

[@deemich1815]

man i miss Robin Williams

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Same 😢

[@玩物喪志-v5w]

The square sleeves you can get them directly from IV studio. I pledged my game through ks and they did offer sleeves options. I think the biggest negative for this game has to be the price point. Come on now this is just a pure card game and you can be paying 100£ to get this game, it’s just way too much. I got the Titan big box which is different to yours but the insert is really crap, the way they store cards makes people wonder if these publishers never stored a card game before? Even Arkham horror return to boxes do a better job on those. The Titan box even with the expansion does not fill up the box. When mine came with all available contents without sleeves the game is only 1/3 filled. Quite disappointed overall on the price and production really.

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

IV should advertise those sleeves more then, there is nothing in the box to indicate this for casual buyers. I'm glad I chucked my insert.

[@玩物喪志-v5w]

@@TheBrokenMeeple Mind if I ask how you store the contents if you chuck the insert?

[@frankndice]

As much as I like moonrakers my problem with the game was when it came close to the finish line. Youre pretty much on your own cus why would anyone help you win. Supposedly the expansions fix this

[@MuchachoC]

but this is the idea of the game, it is even stated in the manual. Once you get to 6-7 points you are on your own (specially if you happen to be ahead). Your mission is to assemble a good ship and secret objectives so you can complete a big contract alone and steal the game

[@frankndice]

@@MuchachoC yes but that ruins the fun of negotiation which this game is being advertised as

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Negotiations for us typically still happen around the 7-8 point mark. At that point you should be powerful enough to get yourself to 10 points and end the game fairly promptly.

[@frankndice]

@@TheBrokenMeeple keep hearing the best one is sidereal confluence. Been on my radar for a while but not sure if it’s worth it since I pretty much have everything for this

[@Drewkas0]

Played this game on TTS and enjoyed it, but boy is it PRICEY for what it is. Just can’t justify this game for this price. :(

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

The price is insane for sure.

[@michaeljoesph8687]

I am not going to say that the expansions make this game ☺️

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

But they do..........well two of them anyway.

[@michaeljoesph8687]

@@TheBrokenMeeple “we don’t don’t talk about expansions” -sung to the tune of encanto

[@axj763]

Moonrakers is just Munchkin in another format. Someone gets close to winning you just exclude them from the mission. There are way better negotiation games and significantly better deck building games

[@jonvega3736]

Yeah, that's the mechanic I don't like the most. If there's a leader, players can just smother them and cause the player to lose all motivation.

[@MuchachoC]

the idea of the game is when your are at 6-7 points you should have assembled enough resources to complete a big contract alone and close the game. You only depend on others in the first half.

[@asdf6287]

Honestly base game yes very much like munchkin with beat down the leader ( not ally with them) or someone has a good build without too much effort. For me the expansions do this game more than justice and fix many things and make it way more fun than base. I literally will never play base moonrakers again

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Negotiations in my games take place until at least 7-8 points, then the leader tends to be solo, but at that stage, they should be in a position to end the game within a round or 2 max so you don't have to have that issue for very long. The bulk of the game running time is in the intial stages of the curve, where teaming up is essential.

[@PatrickBrophy]

The game plays nothing like Munchkin. There’s no way to attack their points. If they are in the lead and you then exclude them, they probably can get to the finish on their own.

[@gobot90]

Ive never understood when eurogamers lament the fact that sometimes games dont give them every chance to win.

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

You referring to the dice luck?