Pest Board Game Review Justin and Max Games

This is a 2-Player review of the board game PEST from Archona Games. Spoiler - we liked it!

[@JasonDay56]

Good to see this one getting reviewed. I really like it as well. I love the theme and artwork. Can't wait to explore it more to see how well it holds up. The beard was epic! Sad to see it go. 😅

[@justinandmaxgames5472]

Cool- what did you think about the board art? What player count did you play at? And yes - the beard is mostly the result of laziness - then it gets big - then it’s hard to eat and I spontaneously shave without warning!

[@JasonDay56]

@@justinandmaxgames5472 I've only played it solo once so far just to get the rules down before teaching others. I agree with your biggest critique on the decision to go form over function of the board art. I love the look of the board, but it does lose a bit of readability for sure - especially if this won't hit the table frequently. If it gets played a lot maybe it becomes less of an issue as you familiarize yourself with the board. So many games, so little time though.. Also, I really enjoyed the action selection grid as I hadn't come across that mechanic before. You mentioned seeing it before, what were your favorite games to use that? I'd like to check them out. Thanks!

[@justinandmaxgames5472]

@@JasonDay56 To be honest, Pest has a unique take on the concept, but there are a few GOOD games come to mind - in Weather Machine there is an action space (upper left of board) where the tile you take also gets you their intersecting benefits. (boardgamegeek.com/image/7808509/weather-machine) In Targi, you get the card where your meeples intersect (so you get actions first). In Round House (a lesser known game) when you do the 'venerate your ancestors action' You lay out workers getting rewards at their final point of intersection (boardgamegeek.com/image/3369647/round-house). But the one that it reminded me the most of was Kepler (boardgamegeek.com/image/5180867/kepler-3042) in which the action you take in the grid gets you one or two bonuses where that action intersects (getting you 3 actions if you can afford it!!!).

[@JasonDay56]

@@justinandmaxgames5472 I really appreciate the list. Thanks! Kepler is one I have never heard of, even in passing.

[@justinandmaxgames5472]

@@JasonDay56 We used to love it (made a review some years ago) but brought it out about a month ago and felt it lost a little of its sheen but still quite engrossing.

[@kir_osv_1443]

Thank you for the video ! So this game is good for 2 people? I just heard a lot of reviews that the only good cast for it is 4 people, so I stopped waiting for it, apparently these reviews are not justified?

[@justinandmaxgames5472]

After the first game we used the Two-Player variant from the booklet which makes everything more competitive (which I recommend after a first game). There are less locations that are not destroyed at the start (but still are a big part of the late game as sick people start spreading) - but we had a real blast at 2. I almost felt like at 3 or 4 it might be a bit long for the type of game it is and the complexity level. I DO want to try it at 3 and 4, but there's absolutely nothing wrong with our 2-player experience. I can barely imagine it at 5!!!!

[@kir_osv_1443]

Thank you very much !@@justinandmaxgames5472

[@maxrubin926]

Great video!