Nations Review - with Tom Vasel

[@StefanLopuszanski]

One thing Tom forgot to mention was that Stability reduces the effects (loss of resources) of War by the same number (but not the loss of a Victory Point, which always happens if you lose a War). Also, whoever has the most military goes first each round -- which is huge in this game (grabbing the War before others). Besides that it was a very good overview! I really enjoy the game, but I feel that the military path is overly strong compared to going with Stability and such. Wish it was a bit more balanced in that you could go for either or and didn't HAVE to get military to get colonies and such.

[@hegemon3]

I really enjoy final scoring in Nations. It really represents the all decisions made through the game. We love this game!

[@NickSibicky]

This is a much better game than what Tom leads you to believe here. I agree with him that it can be brutal (and even has a tendency to kick you when you are down), but it's so streamlined and compelling you'll just want to play it again and again.

[@joshharrison1996]

How come Sid Meier's Civ goes totally unmentioned on this channel? Love to see a proper review of it.

[@Tubalcain422]

It doesn’t go unmentioned. The problem they have is it is fun, but why aren’t they playing the video game which is the much superior game.

[@Arjay82]

Because the developers aren't paying them.

[@Specialist0815]

I have played it several times with 5 and it is an evening filling experience of 4 to 6 hours. But we always loved it. It is just so cutthroat and versatile. And in our group, we had a player who clearly got always the best results but we could never figure out how she won

[@tobbefriberg]

Love the scoring, played today with a scoring of 46 vs 46 vs 45 and that was me with 45 points probably in the lead until last round. The scoring makes every little point matter, a golden age last round costing 3+4 resources can make u win the game.

[@ThePaperchamp]

Archy-techs. ;)

[@matthewcowell]

This game looks great, very accessible to try out compared to some other games.

[@petec3250]

love your videos. But i always skip the part where you zoom in on the game pieces dropping on the table. maybe it's my OCD. anyone else do the same thing?

[@thewelcomemat7094]

yup!

[@cuatican]

I skip it, but not because I cringe at the abuse of game components, but because the sequence serves no purpose and I skip all graphical introductions, all “like and subscribe” appeals, and all brand-growing filler in every video.

[@homelessjoe]

The artwork seems like prototype quality. I would have expected something more refined for such a grandiose game with such a hefty price tag.

[@xman777b]

completely agree. That said, TTA artwork looks very similar IMO

[@Dag2PT]

Another thing, Throught the Ages is way long than Nations. Nations does his job about the setup and playtime. This's the fast game of the big civilizations games out there.

[@seandugger9649]

Loved Through the Ages and got this based on Rahdo saying this was much better. Makes me sad that I bought this instead of TtA, thankfully Inhave it on order now. It's a good game definately, but every time I play this I can't stop thinking how Through the Ages is better.

[@mrp4242]

I’m the opposite. Having own both games for many years now, I much prefer the gameplay of Nations to TtA.

[@HowitzerBug]

This looks SO good! Any have thoughts on the solo variant? (I like to solo now and then)

[@Rewslaun]

Nations rocks! It has completely replaced Through the Ages.

[@jimcochrane2030]

So Through The Ages

[@StefanLopuszanski]

lol'd about Jason being on the higher difficulty track

[@aesopsphere]

i played 2 games with five players within a 5 hour session.

[@marke4834]

Lol, I think his camera was on a slight tilt.

[@XennialGeek]

The game looks more interesting than I originally thought. I will try this in the future.

[@WadeTripp]

Enjoying the review particularly with the new Amazon box deal.

[@kurunirek]

for me this game is at its best with five players mostly because of number of most and least is changing from 1 to 2 and i was really surprised how it changed game. You should try it at least once to check.

[@EliasDKehr]

Cool shirt. Solid review.

[@mihirshahisme]

I am surprised that the Dice Tower has not yet reviewed Historia (6 player civilization game)

[@tiwakingsmusic8391]

It sounds like this game needs ... Player Awards :D

[@EclecticCamel]

Yeah, I have to admit, I feel like this game has a runaway leader problem. The guy who has military dominance will likely win, as he always goes first and can keep you from getting the military upgrades (or really anything that would help make you competitive). Especially in 2 player, it can become a real slog to get out from underneath the boot of whoever got the early military lead, especially if card draws are especially poor.

[@Thesussysuscat]

Stability offsets war

[@wroot_lt]

I feel the same disconnect with scoring when playing 7 Wonders. I'm never sure how good have i played. Components. I don't like that victory point, money and other tokens have white borders. Pretty lame design..

[@fredmcmack]

I prefer Nations. ;)

[@Straddllw]

"Archii-techs"

[@HerbJon]

Through the ages. Still the best civ game out there. This just plays like a cheap knock-off.

[@Sapemies58]

Just here to root for Finnish game designers! :) (on topic, the game is a more streamlined Through the Ages with mediocre graphics)

[@asl4nsgr4c3]

I think this is the best Tom Vasel review I have seen. Thanks for losing the neck tie. Neck ties are lame.

[@StefanS-ig2rm]

Umm yeah TTA is much better

[@Kr1stmas]

if you have 4 hours to spend

[@StefanS-ig2rm]

Kr1stmas Nations takes almost as long

[@Arancil]

See, I disagree on this. In my opinion, this beats TtA in pretty much everything. Since this is played action-by-action instead of turn-by-turn, the common tableau is actually relevant to you at all times. In TtA, I might as well sit and play on my phone when other players are taking their turns. Most of the tableau will disappear anyway. In this one, I'm engaged and have to consider in which order I buy things, or if I should take another action and hold off on buying et cetera. Military sucks in TtA. If you've built up military but don't come across decent military cards to actually use your military on, it's pretty much wasted. Sure, something will probably show up eventually, but in the meantime it's dead. Other players still get access to expedition cards to compete for that, and they also draw defense cards that compensate for not having a proper military. I hate it. In Nations, it pressures weaker players to waste a turn and money on wars to prevent you from buying it, or they will have to spend resources on losing the war/buying their way up to meet the criteria. But they can also compensate with stability, albeit still losing victory points. Even if a war doesn't show up it's used for colonies, raids and player turn order, and oftentimes event cards as well. And when it comes to resource management, production et cetera, the stuff you just fiddle with solo essentially, I'm not going to put one above the other. But Nations presents a whole package. TtA is a slow solo game where you're forced to care about your opponents once every 30 minutes and filled with loads and loads of downtime. I have no idea what people see in TtA that is supposedly better. So far I've only seen people say "Umm yeah TTA is much better" without any decent motivation for why. The more appealing graphic design and Vlaada being the designer seems to be a huge draw for people though, and that doesn't exactly speak highly of them or the game they like since none of those have to do with the actual gameplay. Either way, everyone should play what they prefer even if I can't see why. My Nations sits both physically and symbolically on top of my TtA.

[@jaxommm]

This has got to be the most tedious game I have ever played! Really, really dull!

[@santiagorf77]

terrible components for the price