Project: Elite Review - More Minis, More Cost, But Enough Game?

Project: Elite is back for a 2020 refresh thanks to CMON in association with Artipia Games. With that you can expect great miniatures but also a great cost. But is there enough game in the box to warrant that price tag or is the player scaling not as wide ranging as we might hope?
00:00 - Introduction
00:36 - Overview
03:19 - DURATION
04:26 - EASE OF PLAY
07:26 - TACTICS & STRATEGY
09:50 - AESTHETICS
11:22 - IMMERSION
13:32 - LONGEVITY
17:53 - MY FINAL WORD
BoardGameGeek Listing
www.boardgamegeek.com/boardga...
CMON Product Page
cmon.com/product/project-elit...
Check out the new Broken Meeple Show podcast at: • Episode Zero - Re-laun...
Check out my Season 4 Top Ten playlist at:
• Top 10 Game Reprints -...
Check out my Season 4 "Shelf by Shelf" playlist at:
• My Games Collection - ...
Check out my Season 4 Reviews playlist at:
• Trismegistus Review - ...
Check out my Season 4 Podcast playlist at:
• The Broken Meeple Podc...
Please check out my official blog hub page.
brokenmeeple.blogspot.co.uk/
And also please check out my podcast at:
/ luke-hector-broken-meeple
Find me on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
/ thebrokenme. .
/ thebrokenmeeple
/ thebrokenmeeple
Support my Patreon page at:
/ thebrokenmeeple
Also taking Paypal donations direct to --- [e-mail]

[@simonadams]

This has more of a Starship Troopers vibe than Aliens for me!

[@eriklusyne6892]

Solo playble yes, during the action phase your first character starts with 2 min and then you start your second character for 2min. So you set your two times during the action phase, works pretty good, I played it with 3 perfect but I enjoy it solo as wel

[@johnpanagos5835]

What a great review again Luke. Ty!

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

My pleasure! Wish more felt like you. :-)

[@michaelrodriguez3129]

Nice review! I had the original version and I am really enjoying this new edition. I used to take this to convene and people always loved and were sad it was out of print. I agree that player counts over 4 might be too messy/chaotic. I found the best way to teach this is a quick run down and then letting people play a round or two, after that, they usually get. The 2 things I didn’t agree with is the time, you said 1 hr 30 and 30 minutes for the action phase...each round is literally timed, 2 minutes x 8 rounds = 16 minutes 🤨. Also, solo is very hard, but I’ve now played 13 games with 5 different character pairs and I have a 5-8 record. The Alien Lab map has been the toughest to win and I agree, there’s a lot of luck involved with the spawn and boss cards, but hey, getting pwned happens and can be fun. Thank you again for reviewing the game!

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

You only have to complete the objectives by the time 8 rounds are up according to the rulebook, it doesn't say get back to the starting location by Round 8. If that's not true then the difficulty just went even more into not enjoyable levels.

[@jenaparsons]

I’m more of a Euro gamer so this isn’t a game for me but I’m really enjoying your new review format. Very clear, succinct, visually easy to read and an enjoyable watch :)

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

That's what I'm hoping, just need the views to back up the change. 🤞😉

[@theblaznee]

I don't agree with the solo part at all. It's good fun! You probably have to stay at easy difficulty for a bit until character and weapon abilities are 2nd nature, but besides that it really is good fun. I will also concede that some characters are not very well suited for solo play. But when you take those things in to account, it's bloody good fun. And if you're struggling with dice, try adding one more and see if your enjoyment goes up a bit.

[@DicevsCards]

Great video bud, enjoying the new format. I've been really intrigued by this since TV had it as his #1 game a couple of years back. I'm liking the sound of the streamlined elements, its absolutely imperative that everything's clear for the real time portions. I agree it sounds a bit wonky with the boss/minion spawns, also gutted to hear about the player scale, especially solo and 5-6. With all that being said you had me at Alien: The Board Game so if I can find it at the right price I'm there!

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Glad you enjoyed it! I'm seeing a reduction in views lately though - concerns me a bit as I don't know why it would happen.

[@DicevsCards]

@@TheBrokenMeeple I doubt very much its quality, maybe volume, its difficult to say what your average output will be since you did the shelf by shelf series and maybe that's thrown some people out of whack as they can't keep up, otherwise some people just don't like change :-) either way an improved format can only help you in the long run, keep on keeping on bud.

[@TheHexyBeast]

thanks for talking about the solo mode i was interested until that point lol and i imagine the realtime element makes solo even more tricky. great video Luke!

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Indeed. People seem to think its easy but they never played Xcom solo......

[@TheHexyBeast]

@@TheBrokenMeeple i keep looking at the back of the box of xcom in my local store and keep putting it back lol its something i need to play before i buy

[@move3spaces246]

I bought this a few weeks ago! Fantastic game!

[@TheCthulhurlyeh]

I paid about $80 for this in the states which is pretty common for games this size

[@Balrog7]

I had the first edition one and enjoyed the game. Solo is hard and I agree with it. I sold my 1st edition copy to get this one but this was the first game were I turn my back to CMON on the shipping costs and cancel my pledge due to it. It is sad that this doesn't work with Solo otherwise I would consider getting it on retail.

[@guillermoyaroslavlverduzco1551]

The rulebook states that 2 characters for the solo experience but 5 dice. After the first play I said *f*ck no, 6 dice each character. Thing was different.

[@Thrasholis]

I really enjoyed it. I would rate at least a 9 I think. Nice replay value (ks version), gorgeous components. I haven't tried the 2player but I heard it's great

[@Soundeba]

How did you do to fixe the bg box on the wall? :) Mine always fall :'(

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Command Strips for the win.

[@Twineandribbon]

I haven't had any problems with the 2 player game, but we did notice it was significantly easier to play 3 player.

[@juanpablozabala4975]

Hello Hector, would you play this over X-COM?

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

No, I really like the differentiated roles and app integration of xcom. The theme is also solid.

[@addisonscott7808]

This comment might never be seen or commented on. I had not seen this game until now. As a substitute to the frantic dice rolling, could the use of a set number of rolls of the dice be used? Something like 10 t0 15 rolls depending on the number of aliens on the board? For strategy games, I like to take my time and make the best decision I can think of. Seems like most planning would be tossed under the bus in this game.

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

This one just gets a bit too chaotic now for me.

[@mikolajwitkowski8093]

It seems an easy fix for 1 and 2,take more dice.

[@Static442]

Played this solo and whilst it is tough playing with six dice makes it great

[@xXvielzuvollXx]

Supporting this comment. Never played this, but please do me favor Luke and houserule the solo mode to your liking. ☺ Would be interested in the related analysis. 🖒

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

You only get five dice normally though.

[@Static442]

@@TheBrokenMeeple that's true and it's manageable with five but six makes it much better

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

I found five impossible, I'd be house ruling to at least 6 definitely. But even then 8 between two people is tough enough. You need so many actions and they're not guaranteed successes when you do them. The more dice the better.

[@Static442]

@@TheBrokenMeeple out of ten plays 6 with the five dice I've won 4 of the games. Although I do find myself focusing on one character. 6 dice makes it way more manageable. 8 probably would be ideal but it balances out with the number of alien movement I guess.

[@nicolaibendtsen]

Love this video-review-format Luke. This was useful for me since I have been thinking about buying this game. Unfortunately this game is realtime and auto-pass for me 😉

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Glad I could help!

[@walkinginsingapore8548]

It's a TOWER 🗼 DEFENSE GAME

[@alxgonzalez4038]

Great review. I completely agree on scalability, I tried it twice solo and then I asked myself if someone really tested that before putting it on shelves. On the variability, I guess you're reviewing only the base game and then I would agree but with all the expansions I got in the KS I think the replayability will be quite good.

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

It certainly will, but I suspect being a CMON kickstarter, the cost was at least twice as much?

[@alxgonzalez4038]

@@TheBrokenMeeple I pledge for the all in and I believe it was at least double what the base game is going for so my bank account took quite the hit.

[@flash21de34]

Project Elite is Starship Troopers the Boardgame.

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

That's fitting!

[@Puzzu]

Thanks for the fantastic review, just saved me from spending any more money :)

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Glad I could help!

[@AlwayzFresh]

I had this game in my amazon cart about to check out until I saw this review. I only play solo and this would have been an immediate resell. Saved me a lot of time and hassle. Cheers.

[@CarlosRodriguez-ez3ls]

A 7 rating seems extremely generous.

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

It's got some good stuff going for it, providing you don't play it solo or 2 player ideally. At worst I'd give it a 6.

[@raziel2273]

In my personal opinion you should start your review saying that this is the retail version only..cause if you have the KS edition there is a ton of content and a ton of variation maps,characters,bosses etc..i think you should at least mention that..

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Can do though however all my reviews are retail release only unless purgatory stated. Its rare I review a KS only version. And I do mention the price tag and everything later in the video.

[@un-ku_son]

People who already own the Kickstarter version can just form their own opinions. Product reviews are typically intended to help people make informed purchasing decisions.

[@christopherjakel1049]

The game is supposed to be hard. 3 players on moderate difficulty who know what they are doing, you should win unless you have God awful dice rolls. 2 players is good if you are looking for a challenge.

[@inezkestens5561]

argh, I know I like the gameplay because at the end of the day ... it's a dungeon crawl :p But the artwork is a turn-off for me. I feel like this game just doesn't look good. I would have a hard time finding thing that pop to keep an overview. Plus, I ain't the biggest miniatures fan. I like them but if they feel like a pure add-on I ain't putting my money down for them. A bit of a shame I've been looking for a good co-op dungeon crawl that replaces Zombicide:Black Plague for me but haven't come across it yet.

[@AliciaDarky]

Cthulhu: Death May Die totally replaces it. Without the miniatures, Project: Elite would be harder to play as these models are easy to grab and that's needed in a real-time game.