Black Angel | Rahdo's Final Thoughts

[@ekurisona663]

richard, thank you so much for putting in the time playing and discussing

[@Michael_Sean_OConnor]

I've recently played a few games of Black Angel, and I agree that although the "Black Angel" mechanic comes from Troyes, and the "Space" mechanic from Solenia, this is a completly different game feel. Black Angel doesn't replace the Troyes and Solenia games. Black Angel appears to feel quite abstract with the first plays, and that could discourage. But after a few plays, the abstract side fades away and becomes quite thematic.

[@westrahomes6478]

Investing in a new game is a big gamble sometime. Videos and channels like this are a HUGE help in pulling the trigger on a purchase! Thanks for giving honest opinions and not some biased-for-selling "review". Also I like the speed of your delivery. You speak quickly which is confusing for some I suppose but I appreciate info coming quickly! Look forward to playing this one!

[@javiergueneaudemussy3276]

The way you talk about this game Rahdo, makes me want to play it right away!

[@milosjovic9065]

So now that it's been about a year, do you still rate Black Angel over Troyes? I ask because you said to ask you in a year, and I did notice that in your Rahdo's Ranking, you currently have Troyes as a 9.7 whereas Black Angel is a 9.15, which runs counter to the last couple of things you said at the end of this video. Thanks for the run-through!

[@rahdo]

yup, black angel made my top10 of the year, and i talked about it in my top10 video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/e6jRqp2lo7N3f5I comparing to to troyes more :)

[@c.w.2000]

Well, if you're running from a burning building, the Troyes box is easier to carry. It was funny to see you hold it up next to the Black Angel box. In aesthetics they really do represent two different generations of board games.

[@werewolfkai]

It seems to be a needlessly oversized box, that makes it hard to travel with. The biggest pieces are going to be the angled space tracks.

[@Nain1982]

omg!! this is so exciting I have yet to finish the full runthrough but this has been my most anticipated game for almost 3 years! I'm happy to hear you enjoyed the experience! I'll play Troyes in the meantime, even if they are very different games!

[@gabiebi7288]

Phenomenal analysis! Great!

[@boggerblogger]

Great set of vids as always and I know some people had an issue with the enemy mispronounciation (i suppose ravenger = ravager + scavenger) but I don't think I once heard you take the opportunity to say 'robit'! Such a shame. 😊

[@danielfrick1887]

Appreciate the gameplay and the final thoughts. Really helpful. Just something: As english is not my native language I would appreciate it if you could write the name of other games down that you mention (description or captions). As I don't get what you reference here multiple times (Twah?) - same happened to me in your final toughts to Tapestry.

[@rahdo]

well in this case, you're not alone in not quite getting the reference because the game i referred to is troyes, which is a french word that's pronounced twaa :) i'm always happy to answer any questions though for clarification :)

[@ramonosuke]

Honestly never even gave this game a chance, but it's piquing my interest. Hearing this plays very well at pretty much every player count is a plus, and it seems the solo mode is quite solid. Maybe if an expansion is in the works, they'll add to the solo mode. Great overview, and I understood every word you said :)

[@bijanajamlou5152]

I am glad there is no semi coop. I am more worried that the game is unfriendly to new players.

[@MichaelJones-ti9fx]

Glad to hear your thoughts on it. I’m looking forward to it!

[@petec3250]

29:00 - Okay. WE WON'T FORGET TO ASK ON DEC 31!

[@rahdo]

i'll see you then! :)

[@dczepiel]

@@rahdo we are close, any news ? :)

[@rahdo]

@@dczepiel hehe, troyes wins overall, because of what i said in the video about the wider range of card effects :)

[@lindsey3057]

Still the king of reviewers! I enjoy watching your reviews almost as much as I enjoy playing the games myself :) Thank you Rahdo!

[@WankenZeFurious]

Which of the two games you like the most now?

[@rahdo]

still have both, but if i had to choose one i'd still stick with troyes

[@JustDave87]

Bobiverse: The Board Game Just got this. Can't wait to play as soon as I can get it to the table.

[@CharalamposTsakiris]

I have played the game and i love heavier euros, but i do not like the games that are not streamlined enough. I have played the game only once (w/3 players), so i need to play it again just to make sure that i do not like it, but through the game there were so many little rules/ exceptions, combined with different the different parts and each part being complex enough to say that this game was so counter intuitive that it 1/3rd of the game i was reminded of small exceptions. Comparing with Troyes, that is a different game, Troyes was very streamlined although not that complex. Did anyone have the same experience?

[@CharalamposTsakiris]

Also graphics were so tiring and not very helpful at sometimes the board seemed so busy...

[@brandbryson3616]

The possibility of this becoming a race game makes me a bit wary about the game. I enjoy your idea regarding a variant that states that not making it to the planet means that everyone loses, but at the same time, this may eliminate the comeback mechanic that the race game toward ravager overload may allow for. Troyes is my fav game of all time, and outside of the dice mechanic, this does look quite different. Appreciate the comparison.

[@imthewhiterabbit]

Oh! See you rated that one in the end, so after the dust settles, it goes a couple of spots beh8nd Troyes?

[@rahdo]

yup finally got to play it with my wife, who loved it. ultimatley, it doesn't quite hit troyes because i *really* miss those "funky" card effects. but i'd bet anything there'll be an expansion that brings that sort of stuff in before too long :)

[@imthewhiterabbit]

rahdo : Does the dice sets also play a factor or are still thinking the streamlining of (only being able to take) 1 die better than Troyes (even if more limiting)

[@rahdo]

i do like the dice set system in troyes, but not so much that i miss it here

[@Nain1982]

@@rahdo that's how I feel after one play. The mission cards feel more generic/repetitive, and in Troyes it just felt more unique. Also, the fact that only one type of card came out in each of the 3 buildings per era, made each game more unique, while here you are just drawing more and seeing more of the same cards come out to play. Even if each play may feel very different. Also, did you think the rulebook had some flaws? I feel that although many things were well written and had examples, some others they did not clarify or are kinda of ambiguous. They could have made more improvements to clarify more specific scenarios in the rules.

[@rahdo]

@@Nain1982 i have heard some people say there are rules issues, but tbh i don't see what they are. but then, i've got a LOT more experience parsing rulebooks than most folks :)

[@raykempinski7085]

This is the first newer game I’ve been jazzed about for awhile. Looks absolutely fantastic.

[@kingxerocole4616]

Ordered from MM. Thanks for all the info, rahdo!

[@CatTastic2331]

I'm glad enjoyed this game! It really reassures my preorder! I can't wait for this game to arrive at my doorstep.

[@stephenstanton4936]

This review convinced me to pick up Black Angel.

[@swvi9459]

That was a big mistake then.

[@joshlee557]

This looks amazing! Thank you for the amazing run through and final thoughts as always... can’t wait to get into this game!

[@3838jeroen]

I am really wondering if it will be in Rahdo's top 10 this year...

[@rahdo]

yes, yes it will :)

[@3838jeroen]

@@rahdo Wauw!! Wonderfull. Top! How cool is that. So Jen also liked it :)

[@pendellobass2977]

Hi Radho, how many games do you have?? I just can’t imagine how you fit in time to play all of them. But at the same time, so cool to have so many to play!

[@rahdo]

i generally ahve 300-400, and i never have any time to play any of them!

[@pendellobass2977]

Thanks so much for engaging your subscribers too! Appreciate your reviews

[@matthewlittle1595]

Do I really have to wait until July 23, 2020, to find out if this one still gets the nod over Troyes after multiple 2-player Jen plays? :(

[@rahdo]

yup, jen loves it too! :)

[@matthewlittle1595]

I figured as much. I've only played solo, thanks to the current state of affairs, but I already can tell that this one's going to be a lasting favorite at this table.

[@troynewhoff9542]

Which is heavier? This or Troyes?

[@rahdo]

they're comparable. it's hard for me to judge because i've played troyes dozens of time and BA significantly less. right now, BA challenges me more, but hard to saw how much of that is simply down to familiarity. the mechanisms that swirl around the central dice drafting are more complex (building the church vs reprogramming your AI subroutines, claiming building spots vs launching away missions)

[@KristoVaher]

Troyes with expansion. Otherwise they are somewhat similar BUT Black Angel has more stuff in base game. I find the puzzle of Troyes more variable though round to round BUT I have not played Black Angel, basing it only on videos and rulebook.

[@chiefgewickelt1]

Thank you for this enthusiastic review! :-D

[@HungryGamerReviews]

Just pre ordered this!

[@bernardgodfrey3499]

You are going to bankrupt me Richard...great game. To buy.

[@masterbridgemaster1]

So is Black Angel ranked about a 9.71?

[@rahdo]

too early to say. i really need to play it some with Jen. the only thing that makes me hesitate is what i said about the variety of objective cards... that might keep troyes in the top seat

[@matthelion]

Ahhh what a beautiful day! Can’t wait for this

[@andygrant5894]

Great final thoughts, sadly I’ve played a game where that ‘jerk’ player was at the table. Rather we all crashed and burned than coming second, ruined a great game.

[@readilium3432]

That is sadly the way many have chosen to break this game. I've heard multiple people say, "Once you get far enough ahead, why bother avoiding damage"

[@dddmmm21]

Shit... I hope they have enough copies at GenCon... I hate the pushing and shoving...

[@benlauson555]

Troyes is my favorite game. This looks great but the theme is not interesting to me, but so what.

[@EclecticCamel]

Fun game but I let it go because the 2 player variant is junk. :(

[@Mlemaudit666]

I like a lot your reviews, but, your speaking flow is far too fast for a poor frenchy like me ! :D . By the way i'm getting better in english watching these ;). Oh ! one more thing. Troyes is not pronounced "Twaa", you must say the "R" between the "T" and the "WA" just like the number 3 in french. But i think it's a very difficult pronunciation for american/english peoples.

[@TheFlymar]

"R from the throat" :)

[@BoardgameswithNiramas]

Im conflicted, the game looks nice and interesting but i hate games where a player can decide to destroy the game for everyone else by ending the game with making the ship destroyed... that semi coop feeling is somehting I avoid!

[@raider363]

The players don't "lose" if the ship is destroyed. it just changes scoring

[@swvi9459]

Black Angel is not a good game at all, it's too long and too complex without any rewards at the end, and I love long and complex board games. I walked out of the table towards the end of the game and had so many VP that I won. Terrible design, terrible production and terrible game

[@sairam71]

Hmmmm does he ever not like a game. The last 10 final thoughts were rave reviews. 😁

[@rahdo]

see faq.rahdo.com #7 :)

[@Aquadoozy]

When you already avoid games you know you/your wife won't like from the very start, yes it is easy to like all the games you do play.

[@sairam71]

Thank You! Makes sense. Someone as experienced as you can smell mediocre games from a mile away. Love your Chan and will continue to watch.

[@MichaelJones-ti9fx]

Hoping he reviews “The King’s Dilemma “

[@rahdo]

3 player minimum means i'll likely never play it, sadly...

[@TheHouseofPanda]

My wife just grabbed Black Angel at GenCon, and I really hope it doesn't play like Troyes. I hated Troyes. I felt like it was really chaotic and felt like you had to mitigate damage more than anything else.

[@rahdo]

hmm, well i would say that the threats faced in this are much less impactful than in troyes, and also much easier to deal with :)

[@TheHouseofPanda]

Yes I did sort of glean that as I continued watching your review. I'm excited about that and I want my wife to come home! Thanks!

[@Carsten_de_1981]

Did she ever make it home?

[@WhatsDaveUpTo]

this game is a complicated, ugly mess compared to the beautiful simplicity and elegance of Troyes. No way is this a worthy successor.

[@maximilliansantiago5208]

Rahdo, I dig the review but lay off the cocaine