You Will Win This Game 100% of the Time | Dorfromantik: the Board Game Review

[@ritahuman]

I love this very thoughtful approach to doing a solo board game review! It isn't just "did we like this?" but rather, "this is what the game does, and how it works, and how it makes you feel: do you think you would like that?"

[@RolandIronfist13]

I really like the game. I found the criticism that "there isn't any way to lose" a bizarre one, because there are definitely other games out there that are score attack games. And not just the solo modes of most euros.

[@NoPunIncluded]

I don't think this comment was left in reference to us, it's just the general discourse.

[@RolandIronfist13]

It wasn't about NPI. I saw numerous other reviews, most notably The Dice Tower act very disimssively to this game.@@mrvacepadrva81

[@PaulDean]

The Fountain of Hexagonal Delight sounds like the classical temptation that ultimately leads to my hubris and eternal torture.

[@NoPunIncluded]

Yeah, it's #6 in Dante's Inferno

[@PDXpackrat]

For those not aware, this boardgame is based off a VERY popular video game of the same name. I highly suggest that video game as it has a peaceful soundtrack and is very relaxing game. I couldn't afford to back this game when it came out, but it feels very close to the video game in its approach (minus the beautiful soundtrack).

[@liamphill2873]

Haha, I'm German, you cannot deceive me! ... but i'm still gonna use "dorfing" in the future, just a great word.

[@emmaplaysgreen2849]

I might have been heard mentioning to my kids that "I'm a Mighty Dorfing Power Ranger!" when playing this game.

[@garrulus3399]

dorfing, direkt übernommen 😊

[@letzteraufruf]

"A new tile from the special quest tile pile" is a great math rock song title ;D

[@emmaplaysgreen2849]

It really should be called Dopamine Romantik! I treated myself to it in mid July as a late birthday present and I haven't stopped playing it since. It's rapidly become my new favourite solo game, second only to the small but mighty Sprawlopolis. The repeated dopamine hits as you complete those chained tasks, one after another, after another are just such an amazing feeling for an AuDHD brain like mine! Something that you didn't mention, Efka, is just how ridiculously easy it is to setup and play another game! It takes less than two minutes to wash shuffle each of the three sets of tiles on the table, make neat piles - don't forget to put three landscape tiles back in the box! - and you're all ready to go again. It is very much a game but yes, it gives you the same feeling as sitting around a table and working on a jigsaw puzzle but with just a bit more of a boost, a bit more teeth and a bit more interest overall, yet it's also so, so relaxing. It's for playing outside in the garden on a long, hot summer's evening, like today, or perhaps later in the year, with a cup of hot chocolate and a cosy armchair. It doesn't offer confrontation, nor aggression, nor combat, nor a fight to capture the most resources, nor a capitalistic race to make the most money - but we get enough of all of that outside in the real world! Instead, it gives us a simple escape to rural idyllic tranquility for a all to brief 30 - 60 minutes.

[@QUEERVEEART]

im audhd too, and i just played this for the first time yesterday outside on the screened in porch, with a beautiful view of the forest (i live in a country town) . it was a wonderful experience, and i can't wait to play again outside today!!!

[@Femaiden]

i love board games . .and i love winning and i play to win. however, when i win, i always feel compelled to apologize for winning, because i know it feels bad to lose and in order for me to win, someone else has to lose. i tried playing cooperative games with other, like pandemic and it always feels like someone becomes the "Alpha", figuring out everone else's moves for them and i have accidentally become that Alpha myself, because i got so good at the game, i could easily see the solutions and i try to keep my mouth shut, but i see a great move and i blurt it out and now we have to do it. .and then we win, and it never feels as satisfying as it should. i say all this not out of negativity, but as praise for the development of this game that it is able to create an atmosphere where nobody has to be "The Loser" and nobody needs to be "The Alpha" and finishing the game is equally satisfying to all.

[@cinnabarsin4288]

I like the idea of this as a tactile solo activity akin to a jigsaw puzzle but without the terribleness of doing a jigsaw puzzle. Maybe after I've played all the epic campaign games I have and need a new solo thing to look at and feel bad about.

[@michaelpalm7087]

Thank you for the great video and the enthusiasm for our board game Dorfromantik. Maybe see us at the fair in Essen? 😊

[@VaultBoy13]

This is one of the few actual sandbox board games. The scoring can be ignored, and a person can simply play within the sandbox of game's systems to achieve whatever they want. By comparison, most games that get labelled sandbox simply offer multiple paths to victory and some are really just a point salad by another name.

[@TheYear2012book]

We play Tales of the Arabian Nights and often forget about the victory conditions, just happy questing it up and getting attacked by barbers.

[@MS-pw8yu]

I watched you play Dorf on Twitch many moons ago. Then my German friend (I am a US guy in Germany) bought Dorf the boardgame, and now I am sad because he only plays with his wife. I want to Dorf. 😢

[@Flip5ide]

We enjoyed the campaign as a family, sold it on to a new home now as there wasn't really any replay value after that.

[@Mark-jagger]

I enjoy the video game. It’s cool. It’s chill. Wasn’t interested in the board game until this review. I think you nailed it so thanks. Dorfimg actually seems appealing to me for some reason now.

[@CardboardBones]

I am immediately obsessed about this game. I cannot wait to play it

[@Rugerfred]

Honestly the best board game I've played this year.

[@Rugerfred]

Also PLEASE we need more game with no binary win/lose conditions.

[@redsands1001]

I will kill time on the pc game occasionally. I might want to play the music if i do play the cardboard game though

[@thegamesninja3119]

In short, I double win, because an NPI review is a win, of a game I cannot lose.

[@Flip5ide]

The captions keep saying Dwarf Romantic 😂

[@TorIverWilhelmsen]

The audio-parsing auto-translation probably doesn't know about the German word for taking a hexagonal tile and placing it on the table.

[@otakuofmine]

@@TorIverWilhelmsen true. though they should know the similar word for village. ;)

[@NoPunIncluded]

Speaking of, you can now read the transcript of the video on our website: www.nopunincluded.com/npi/dorfromantik

[@notsaved]

I know it sounds weird, but it's a roguelike game. There is no game if you only play it once, but the gaming part emerges when you play it multiple times to unlock stuff that lets you score more points. In that sense, it is more gamey than any other "beat your own score" solo/competitive games... If this isn't a game, then Hadrian's Wall isn't either.

[@NoPunIncluded]

No I think that makes perfect sense. Spot on.

[@Patricia_Taxxon]

The self-directed incentives and regular "unlocking" of new stuff based on achievements really marks this one as a video game adaptation. Like video games are uniquely expected to just hold random stuff behind barriers to make it last longer in a way board games usually aren't. much to think about

[@cephalopoid]

You know it started as a video game, right?

[@Patricia_Taxxon]

@@cephalopoid yes? i said it "really marks this one as a video game adaptation" because i played the game. and even if i hadn't, efka mentions the game anyways so i would have had context.

[@FuncleChuck]

Somehow, I still always lose. That might be a personal issue though. Dorf is great.

[@NoPunIncluded]

Hey, as long as you're having a nice time

[@stacie_everdell]

Great review! Thanks for sharing your thoughts and your lovely faces.

[@otterbot]

Lovely video! Thank you.

[@raymondwhatley9954]

Dorf is a German word meaning village. Hence Dusseldorf

[@Rippafratta]

You don't say!

[@0zeronumber]

Chilltension added to my spellchecker dictionary

[@bigsarge2085]

Dorf is as Dorf does!

[@Dagenham_Swish]

Dorfromantik is the gane equivalent of going for a stroll. You do it because it's simply, well, nice to do.

[@BoardGameAnimal]

Just happened to be watching this with my son Cahlen (pronounced Colin) and he thought HE was being talked about. 😂 Really awesome video. We haven’t checked Dorf out yet, but this video made me want to

[@NoPunIncluded]

apologies to your son

[@BoardGameAnimal]

@@NoPunIncluded 😂

[@cheoles4190]

Great review thx !

[@meander112]

Engagement for the engagement god!

[@Zulfrak]

The game is so damn nice for a chill out evening with the wife and kids. Just Dorf tiles and enjoy the conversation.

[@doomoftheend]

The videogame is also really chill and has a great soundtrack

[@mih2]

Really enjoyed that vid

[@danmc9872]

so accurate about forgetting its existence!

[@Coca4Dino]

this is such a beautiful shirt

[@photonsword]

Where do we get a copy?

[@paddykelly6338]

Loving the bald!

[@JosephFlemming]

I wasn’t super interested in this game until this video lol.

[@narvuntien]

So... its kind of like a Jigsaw?

[@NoPunIncluded]

In broad terms, yeah? But there's strategies to learn, like what tiles are available in the game, how to set up scoring areas, etc. There's definitely more game here than people give it credit for.

[@jlaurson]

Your beard is veering heavily into the direction of Dorfromantik, if I may say so.

[@NoPunIncluded]

That's because my beard is magnetically attracted to good board games. I can tell if a board game is worth my time just via beard.

[@pfefferle74]

Honestly, I feel like I'm getting much more out of a traditional jigsaw puzzle at just half the cost - or even at no cost if you just keep swapping puzzles with other puzzle-people. And they are also much better to play cooperatively, as everyone can work on their own corner of the puzzle. And you get that feeling of achievement when you complete it.

[@RaduStanculescu]

Sounds like a perfect game to play with my 6 year old, but on my own I'd most likely prefer literally anything else.

[@JonTripp115]

I always thought this game was about seducing actor Stephen Dorff. Thanks for setting me straight!

[@NoPunIncluded]

yeah common mistake, honestly. I blame Stephen Dorff for this.

[@flanbeau]

My first reaction was "oh they have a guest to present the game! Good idea!"

[@NoPunIncluded]

What do you mean?

[@otakuofmine]

?

[@flanbeau]

@@NoPunIncluded When I saw the thumbnail, I didnt recognise you.