Rebirth Review: Castles in the Sky

[@mikintosh6111]

I had 100% confidence Mike would be in the review prior to clicking.

[@JorWat25]

I'm pretty sure they didn't even have to call him, the second that someone from The Dice Tower starts reviewing a Knizia game, Mike just turns up.

[@patrickotoole6115]

Love love LOVE this game. So simple and engaging. Very pleasant, clean mechanics, tight gameplay. Ultimately just a fun game. One of my favorite releases of 2024.

[@mikintosh6111]

To comment on. Tom's concern about the level 3 or 4 town tiles being the ones you draw at the start being a disadvantage: it's actually an unknown entity on what those tiles score. If you fill a region, you get scores for having the majority of tiles, not the number of the tile. You can essentially play a level 1 tile that completes a region that scores maximum points. On the Ireland board that could mean 12 pts.

[@giantcalamari]

Mike, you cooked with this one 👏 great points all around!

[@jenshenlaw3507]

This was a very entertaining review 😆 It feels like Chris is playing the role of moderator in this one. I understand how Tom got so emotional (Knizia certainly has his idiosyncrasies and he can be somewhat bull-headed) but I tend to lean more towards Mike's side of things. I appreciate that Knizia is one of the stalwarts of the older styles of design. He is so prolific that I have given up trying to follow every one of his games though and that prolific-ness also makes him very inconsistent. Half the time he produces works of genius and the other half of the time he produces garbage.

[@atzerath]

Worth pointing out that a farm, of either type, outweighs a settlement regardless of it's size so the example given here during the explanation wasn't actually a draw... Look at settlement tiles having a 0.75 value and farm tiles having a value of 1 when counting tiles surrounding a castle.

[@SimonNeilScott]

Speaking as a Northumberland lad, perhaps they went with the future setting, because if it was ancient times, Scotland stretched much further south than it does now 😅 might have needed a bigger board! But might have squeezed Hadrian's Wall in!

[@JohnPeterBrekke]

Just playd a 2p round on the Scotland side, pretty good stuff!

[@andrewstewart7078]

This was a great review! Loving the drama between Tom and Mike :)

[@juvigoat2168]

It appears there was a need for one or two more sessions to appreciate better the approach to points but that’s fine. Otherwise and as always great banter and discussion, fun to watch and informative enough review. I already bought the thing anyway. I usually come to hear these guys chat. 😊

[@jasonpmathew]

Great review! I really love this one.

[@namelessfire]

Havalandi was good. Tom’s trippin’.

[@alwayswannarun]

Didn’t know much about this game until the day I bought it after a review. I usually prefer heavy euro style games and less luck but this just feels so good. Turns are quick and engaging with plenty of interaction. I think this review and game are great and how much people like this will come down to personal preference.

[@susanscandles]

In removing the two tiles at beginning, I didn’t think you were allowed to look at them so no one knows what you will be missing.

[@Bleuchz]

Tom's point (around 13:00) shows up in a bunch of Knizia games and I'm glad he pointed it out. It is a pet peeve of mine. I hate the "well why would I block him, you block him" and then it falls to some poor person in random turn order to take the hit or throw the game.

[@esoteridactyl]

Ends up being the last person before the leading player to get screwed over and over

[@mydemon]

That doesnt have to be a problem. Just play what's maximizing your score.

[@Goldfinch241]

I tend to agree with Mike over Tom generally, and it seems the same here.

[@garymay4257]

Last night I taught Splotter's Bus and then Knizia's Rebirth to part of our group. Rebirth was described as relaxing Zen after Bus. This was such a good review. Take all of the views in aggregate and you have one of the best, most comprehensive reviews I can remember from the DT. That's the power of complementary perspectives expressed by Tom, Mike and Chris. Thanks guys for my Essen selfie - you were gracious. And I was happy. Disclaimer: Dr K signed my copy - I'm invested.

[@magnusjakobsson7424]

Ha! Funny, I played the exact same two games a couple of weeks ago in a game night 😅

[@ianw0ng]

'castle in the sky' is actually a great film from ghibli studio. you can see the film's influence all the way from the iron giant to the recently released dreamworks's wild robot.

[@ouduk6041]

It seems the game Looot is a better option for laying tiles (or vikings) to gain points with a high emphasis on trying to block your rival as well (from gaining houses, towers and castles in Looot)

[@codym6376]

The overview made me think of Babylonia. Maybe he’s made too many tile laying games? I finally made it back to finish the review and you mentioned Babylonia.

[@TheSludgeMan]

I agree Cody. It's sacrilege to Knizia fans but he's made so many tile layers that they all compete with each other and owning one of the lesser ones seems pointless.

[@kevindelord]

I strongly feel Babylonia is a better game. Very different but Babylonia has better flow and control

[@KMReviews]

I just wish you could draw multiple scoring cards and pick one card. Sometimes you are unlucky and draw something you literally can’t score.

[@WestChamber21]

I agree and disagree with Tom about the higher than 2 player issue. One thing is I do think Mike is right that it is inevitable and part of the game. One other issue I really have though is that games like this can cause ganging up on the person in the lead.

[@SGFlicksify]

Seems very run-of-the-mill to me. Was expecting some Knizia ‘twist’ to the scoring, or something - but just a very typical dudes on a map affair, as far as I can see. 😕

[@mattmefford2696]

Would love to know if you feel like you have compelling and interesting choices as you play. Seemed to be overlooked as it was focused on some other things.

[@benblo]

What's the picture in the background, upper-center? With the castle in the back, buried dice, butterflies... is it a game box, a painting? Looks intriguing :) !

[@albinoorkalbertson]

Played it at Essen. Glad I didn’t back it. Too random for me.

[@draheim90]

Criticizing the game because it puts players in a blocking Mexican standoff seems odd. As Mike pointed out, this is an element of just about every interactive game, be it area control, negotiation, etc.

[@dandurkin9735]

True!

[@namelessfire]

My exact thoughts. It’s wild, considering Tom’s love for Cosmic Encounter.

[@felixfryxell7529]

But it's an important reason why most tournament are for 1 vs 1 games (1 player vs 1 player, or 1 team vs 1 team).

[@johnrudolph9002]

I've noticed that as Tom gets older, he is becoming a grumpy old man.

[@squared82]

My group found this one to be just okay, unfortunately. It’s a nice production though.

[@peetu734]

I felt like Rebirth was a bit modified version of Samurai by Knizia

[@grimmnorsefury8062]

~ once again Tom is wrong.. you can win on the Scotland side without a three and four city tile (not a disadvantage, just alternative decision making)..

[@Djaian2]

Question for people who have already played the game: could you mitigate the luck by house ruling that you draw 2 tiles instead of 1 and you can choose between these 2 (For example, you draw 2 tiles on your first turn, and then each turn you draw 1, so you always have a choice between 2)? Also, another point that was not really talked during the video: is this game better at 2 players, or better at 3-4 players?

[@garymay4257]

You could mitigate the luck this way - but I don't think you need to. It's a great game as it stands. Enjoy as it is, IMO.

[@thedicetower]

I (Chris) would see little value-add, and just see more time spent deciding on a turn. Making zippy choices as best you can is the key to this game.

[@UnimatrixOne]

That's exactly the way we house ruled Carcassonne! 👍

[@juanpablozabala4975]

It looks amazing but I think Samurai its still the better version of this game

[@Gokkus87]

Seems like a decent game. Also unimaginative and forgettable I think. But yeah, I am not a Knizia fan so that might be part of it.

[@vroenis]

I kind of thought it resembled Babylonia

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Just wasn't enough to keep me engaged. At least on the Scotland map for sure. Ireland might be a little better but unlikely to suddenly blow my mind.

[@garymay4257]

Don't think it's a blow your mind game though. I think it's a relax in and enjoy game. 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@ex1stgames]

The Riddler - lol

[@mydemon]

An hour is too long for the kind of issues discussed. That game needed to be 30 mins or these issues ironed out.

[@pavelskalicky9069]

I have to agree with mike this time, sorry tom. So easy rule and so fun. Playing with kids and also as filler with euro group. Thats the game how it should be..nice, easy to teach, interaction, with lots of rewards..nice..

[@UnimatrixOne]

Good old _Carcassonne_ is way better, I think.

[@Oaklestat]

Strange. This game is just so uninteresting to me