Raiders of Scythia vs. Raiders of the North Sea: with Tom Vasel

Tom Vasel compares the two Raiders games!
00:00 - Introduction
01:08 - Game board comparison
03:47 - Card comparison
05:14 - Component comparison
07:27 - New things in Raiders of Scythia
09:19 - Final thoughts
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BGG Link: boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3...

[@MikeWescott]

Tom's hands have been surgically replaced by board games! I knew it would happen one day! :D

[@faenwulf9159]

Man. When Tom said they both play in the same time I was like: "No, there's 1500 years between them!". Felt so stupid when I realized he meant play time and not historical setting...

[@sigurd1410]

😂 😂 😂

[@tigerpjm]

Humbleflex.

[@ScytheNoire]

I love The Mico's artwork in the North Sea and West Kingdom series.

[@adamholt5395]

I do too, but the characters for Scythia look good as well. There's just something about them.

[@britishbattleborn]

Everything looks great about Raiders of Scythia, except for the board. The art on the board looks great but its way too busy and I'm struggling to make things out. If you look at the Silversmith for example, on North Sea the icons are over plain grass - easy to see. On Scythia the icons are over a tree and a river, with a bridge really close to one of the meeple icons. Pretty much every location has this overlapping icon/art which makes it hard for me to see.

[@christosathanasiadiss]

North sea is translated but expansions aren't, tho full price with 2 expansions is almost 100. Scynthia on the other hand is only 45 which is a huge difference....Damn choices!

[@ossiangrr]

I have a friend who owns North Sea and all of the expansions and promos, and I've enjoyed playing their copy. This is why I preordered Scythia. I don't need to own NS, nor chase down the promos, and I'll have a complete game with a similar experience. Another thing to note is the solo variant that comes in the box with Scythia, which is a big plus for me especially when I don't know the next time physical gatherings for gaming will be able to happen. I also, honestly, prefer the hexagon resources over the uniquely-shaped ones. Not because I expect people to cheat when seeding the board, but they should still randomize better. Maybe someone like MeepleSource would eventually release stickers or screen-printed resources to make them look prettier, but they don't need to be.

[@themaster408]

I paused the video at 9:35 with my wife laughing and pointing at the screen. I invite you to pause it there and marvel at Tom's facial expression (note it's 1/2 a second in, just wide open mouth and it was pretty funny to glance at)

[@do_hickey]

I love the detailed comparison and really comparing each portion. It really lets people decide what they prefer. Sad that there's no clear "winner", but some good points to consider!

[@bardsamok9221]

Because it's not a competiton. He made it clear which one he prefers based on the expansion.

[@kerim8666]

Unlike RoNS, retail version of Scythia does not come with the metal coins, you have to buy them separately. The only appeal I see of the Scythia is that it is cheaper than RoNS + expansions. Lots of cool features, mostly ways to gain VP, in expansions and base game are missing in Scythia.

[@KissellMissile]

I got Raiders before it came to the US, so for me it was an ideal light worker placement game. Most people who got the Renegade version played the expansions at nearly the same time and thought of it more as a mid-weight Euro game. Personally, I never really got on with the expansions, so I like that Scythia add some of the content but still keeps in in the lighter end of Euro games.

[@nzcamel3]

That may depend. My copy of ROS came with metal coins included.

[@jecabreradc]

Thank you very much for the candid opinion Tom. This was very useful and entertaining.

[@jackiejlw5493]

I agree with Tom and really like that this new one won’t have take that actions as it can make it more difficult to get on the table. Will need to own this! 👍🏻

[@theshogunstein6475]

I love Raiders of the North Sea, I will stick with it.

[@martinlauzon]

Thanks Tom!

[@zdd9583]

Quality review.

[@wetwillyccma]

I will stick with Raiders fo the North Sea. Got the expansions and the playmat. Don't like the look of Scythia.

[@theRabbitFly]

I think it is important to mention that my version of raiders of the North sea has linen finish on the cards. I have the renegade version so I cant talk about earlier versions, but I was not under the impression that they had changed. Perhaps Tom's version is a very early version?

[@TorIverWilhelmsen]

He probably has the kickstarted version, yes.

[@adwilliams1987]

I am not a fan of The Mico's art and I like Scythia theme way more than more Vikings. I'm glad I never bought RONS so that I wouldn't be struggling with replacing it now. I'm excited for my Scythia pre-order!

[@Zorzogoth]

Damn too bad Scythia doesn't have different gameplay than Raiders, which I already own, really adore the artwork on Scythia, so awesome. Cross fingers they'll ever use it in another game.

[@TheMartinChronicles]

Check out Circadians: First Light

[@alt.ernative.8109]

Hadrian’s Wall has got the same art design🤔

[@konstantinos2alexiou174]

Do you know what is the length of the map of the raiders of the North Sea?

[@AltarenGalil]

Seems its more down to which theme one prefers. I love antiquity and the art is gorgeous on both but when i think of raiders (pillagers) i think of vikings. Tough choice but its down to theme which is obviously personal.

[@AthexTube]

Like the new raiders, not sure if its worth replacing Raiders of the North sea if you already have it though.

[@dyslxeic]

If you don't wish to buy RoNS and its expansions, then get RoS. If you already have the base game of RoNS then get the expansions instead of RoS. If you already have RoNS with the expansions then then there is no need to get RoS unless you really want to.

[@lioneart19]

Can Scythia be played like base North Sea as if the new things are modules/expansions?

[@markalexandermaron5531]

Finogenics and dino island comparison should be next

[@koenwijnants6499]

Now a comparison between dinosaur island and dinogenics :)

[@waisuntsang7812]

7:52 did you mean double the strength?! or does it double the ability.

[@faithmorante]

i believe in the rules it's double the ability though

[@JonTalbain777]

Aesthetically, North Sea looks far better to me and it's really not close, and I'm a sucker for artwork so the choice is clear. I was considering RotNS due to Mike DiLisio putting it as his #1 solo, but the little solo deck is oop and $60 on ebay, which I just cannot justify, so I won't pick it up unless another version comes up I suppose. If I could trouble anyone who's played this solo or otherwise, how is this game? Does it stand out significantly from other worker placements? I have Lords Of Waterdeep, Everdell, Feast For Odin, Scythe, do I need this too?

[@victormadalenojorge1131]

You can get the app version for the solo cards

[@sigurd1410]

Cheers Matey!!! Really handy video! Raiders of Scythia for me!!!

[@stevebillups9238]

His hat is bigger than both game boxes.

[@richardhancock1505]

I own The West Kingdom Trilogy and love them all. I do not own and have not even played R o The North Sea. A friend owns North Sea & expansions which I hope to try sometime; so for me, Scythia is very appealing option. It’s a pity the iconography is not clear and the pieces lack colour diversity, but I like the look of the artwork and the sound of those juicy ideas distilled into this small box.

[@Thesussysuscat]

Hmm I thought eagles didn't increase strength

[@hikarukaze]

Ain't they say that Scythia will not have any expansion?

[@uplift-yourdailypickup6424]

I own neither and knowing this might make me decide either way

[@hikarukaze]

If you have neither, Scythia offers all in package. Already include some mechanics from Raiders expansion just by buying the game only (and they say Scythia won't have any expansion)

[@jimmytorres2658]

@@hikarukaze im sad scythia only allows 4 players.. :( where Raiders with all expansion can host 6 players

[@hikarukaze]

@@jimmytorres2658 yes, Raiders support up to 6 players if including all of the expansions, but is it balanced though? I saw in BGG mostly doesn't recommend playing for more than 4 players on the expansion pages

[@Fighterfan69]

Nice comparison. I wasn't enamored by the art. Personal opinions of course. At any rate, the only thing that sounds interesting is the starting heroes and falcons/horses. Wondering if he could just add a deck of cards where RotNS would have starting powers similar to Scythia. Those cards that can do extra actions right from the get-go seems powerful although there are cards in RotNS that do that same thing.

[@JimmySquiky]

I own the app for raiders of the north sea and I like it so I bought the physical Raiders of scythia :)

[@adamholt5395]

I've never played Raiders of the North Sea before. However, Raiders of Scythia looks like a great 1.5 edition. I like the look of this version and with the blocked out sections being more clear I think this will cause the game to be easier to teach and play.

[@rioterism]

Raiders of the North sea deeefinitely has an awesome and the better artwork. Also the Viking theme totally blows the other (pretty much duh theme) out of the water. Also this new artwork of Raiders of Scythia for some reason to me at least is in a way unappealing and pretty generic. Raiders of the North sea for sure is the superior game in my opinion :)

[@zacharyfriedman3907]

Eagles don't double your crews' strength. Eagles double your crews' abilities. Big difference.

[@gerardoc.romero2618]

True.

[@scorpian223]

I like the Dice aspect of Scythia a bit better from the videos I've watched. North sea seems like a less involved Champions of Midgard. We like the dice aspect of games a lot.

[@boardgamefangirl]

I own Raiders and I think it's only OK. I prefer the West Kingdom games.

[@PickleTheHutt]

Wow, I know art is subjective, but to me the art and graphic design of Scythia is beyond awful. I'm on the fence about purchasing Raiders, but the art and graphic design are great and very appealing.

[@boardgamefangirl]

I love worker placement games and this one kind of seems rote, sterile and clinical and it's OK. If you are on the fence, I'd say pass. Or play it before you buy it.

[@goncalofernandes8217]

But doesn´t Scythia plays better with 2 players instead of North Sea with expansions? In my North Sea games, both of us can always get into max level of armour, valkyrie and fame, which is just annoying.

[@enjoythestruggle]

Honestly if I had to get one I'd get Scythia because the viking theme is overused at this point.

[@victorgonzalez2927]

I knew Tom had bad taste! LoL