Oathsworn Into The Deepwood 2nd Edition Board Game Review

[@haxan6663]

A great review, as always. I love Oathsworn and don't find the set up to be too bad. Yes, the initial sorting out takes hours but beyond this it is pretty straight forward imo. I do believe that game companies have convinced us that we really want 1000 hour campaign games, when what we actually like is one off scenarios that last about 90 minutes?! Having said that, Oathsworn has been a game for me that I have continued to play and hasn't moved to a shelf upstairs, with the rest of my partially completed campaigns. I think it is difficult to have a combat system that doesn't have a luck element? I tend to swop between using the cards and dice but there is no guarantee that your attack is going to be as effective as you would like. All in all, I think the hype is justified and the game is an amazing, ambitious piece of work. However I am the owner of the miniatures version and so have a second home to store the boxes in. Enjoyed your take on it. Never change the way you present your reviews because they are always entertaining.

[@kosterix123]

". I think it is difficult to have a combat system that doesn't have a luck element? " not difficult. Look at Heroes of the Shire.

[@haxan6663]

@@kosterix123 I had to look this one up as I wasn't familiar with it. I didn't find the simple maths, as a combat mechanic, that engaging or indicative of actual combat i.e. combat takes many things into account and not just the potential to cause damage. There are no certainties in combat, there is a level of randomisation present. I think dice (or the might cards in Oathsworn) go some way to replicate this. Thanks for suggesting it though.

[@MAK08299]

I was so thrilled by the terrain pack and delicate minis. After your advice and some reconsideration, I cooled myself down. What would you recommend something taste similar as a boss battler? Thank you!

[@ianw0ng]

but it's 9.3 on bbg. "i dont give a f@ck." lol. yea, as i get older i find myself enjoying a game with shorter time, shorter setup, simpler rule and less components to deal with. if i want to be immersed in a story for hours and days, i'd watch a tv series or read a book.

[@SethAGonzalez]

Couldn't have said it any better than what you've said. LOL - 100% agree

[@basil1906]

You cascaded in the video. Which is wrong. I think you are wrong. I love it. I think id deserves the hype.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

I’m never wrong

[@tiredguy2753]

Yeah I am right there with you regarding the very bleh story and combat. Battleflow is a cool system until you realize it all comes down to “I hope I don’t roll/draw blanks” and the coolness kind of mellows off. And my lord does missing an attack suck so much in this game . For me though what really disappointed me is character growth is so dull, outside of gaining new abilities every 5 levels. I could deal with the meh story and the meh combat IF , IF character growth was exciting but it just isn’t . And yea enemy movement is a pain and I think shadowbourne knows that because they have an option of “move what you feel is right” if you don’t want to follow the over complicated enemy movement system. Overall I don’t think oathsworn is a terrible game but for me it vastly fell short . Now the Dante’s inferno board game seems to shore up most of the shortcomings of oathsworn, but I I can’t really judge Dante until it is released .

[@carlwoods4564]

"And if you're skint, you're not gunna want to play this shit anyway". Quote of the year mate. Brilliant. 😂😂😂😂😂

[@BoardGameBollocks]

✊🏻

[@shazam2323]

i was interested enough to buy it but couldnt justify buying the crazy expensive version with all the miniatures so hearing the standee version sucks is disappointing

[@biznesstime83]

I have to say I needed that video. With all the other current coverage I was really feeling FOMO for Oathsworn. But with all the other campaign games I have yet to get to the table, your honesty about set up time really helped me reflect on the low likely hood of the game getting to the table. It looks phenomenal, but I don’t need another expensive shelf warmer.

[@adamg4912]

It's the reason I love this channel. You can't count on all the hype merchants to basically be advertising for the game but I want the nitty, gritty annoying details that you only find out when you bought it.

[@37stu]

Agreed and I love this game. I got the standees as well but I might get the miniatures now that I played it (single add-on for returning backers). I managed to leave it on the table so it is less headache but I am not playing anything else for a while ...

[@Paul-ro6py]

Great review, well balanced and you praised a game you would recommend. So wonderful to see a review thar isn't all hype or FOMO

[@BoardGameBollocks]

👍🏻✊🏻

[@tetsucat13]

These reviews are the funniest videos on the internet. I am not even interested in 90% of the games. I just watch for the dry, sudden outbursts of humour. Box in the park, attention span, Ricky sunak. I could watch you reviewing a packet of corn flakes.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

Send me some Cornflakes and I’ll do it 👍🏻

[@dilatedbeholder3865]

Thanks. This video made me glad I didn't back it. Disappointing to hear that the story is linear as I assumed this is where the replay value would come from.

[@michaelh8268]

Mr. Bollocks... are you ever coming to the Las Vegas area? Would love to game with you if you do.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

Who knows what the future holds…but I’ll hold you to that if I do 👍🏻

[@theshogunstein6475]

Great and honest review, in a social media space dominated by paid content and other content with questionable ties to KS campaigns and conflicts of interest, your channel remains one of the only honest channels still around. Love that you give an no bollocks perspective on these games without the taint of the conflicts of interests and the other KS stockholm syndrome out there in so many other reviews and channels. Keep doing what you are doing, your takes are appreciated very much.

[@waterenjoyer01]

You say this like he isn't reliant on views for this video to make money. You are very biased to your sources of news, which in turn, will effect your decisions. Not the other way around.

[@theshogunstein6475]

@@waterenjoyer01 dude why are you commenting on 11 month old posts

[@BoardGameBollocks]

I don’t make money much from KZbin videos. You sound like an A Level student mate…”in turn” wtf does that mean? 😂

[@waterenjoyer01]

​@@theshogunstein6475because I'm watching the video now? And this post is the first comment?

[@waterenjoyer01]

​@@BoardGameBollocksUse your brain for a second, you'll figure it out.

[@jackburtonstwin]

This game just didn't butter my parsnips so I have no great personal, or financial, investment in this title. Thank you for a constructive and honest appraisal of this title which avoids jumping on the hype train that can surround these mega-games and which may, or may not, be entirely justified.

[@andreikoenig5718]

I totally agree with your summary! I am LOVING my time with it, but this game is not even going to crack my top 25. The story mode totally lack meaningful decisions, the combat is more of a puzzle than anything because the enemy's next AI card is face up, so you are just working around that and trying to end up in the perfect position possible which doesn't feel exciting at all when the monster activates (yeah we knew what will happen for 10 mins now and we are totally ready). And I can't see myself ever going through the story mode again just to experience another class. it IS a very good game, but I don't know why people are THAT enamored by it. Same with Gloomhaven (I think Gloomhaven is the most boring experience ever.....)

[@samhobday1274]

Thank you. I've fallen for the hype of the 2nd kickstarter and really need some grounded reality on what the actual game was like so I know whether to keep my backing. Still haven't decided, but definitely found this useful. I'm disappointed that the standee version is not good as I don't think I can justify getting the miniature version for an extra billion quid.

[@technoartfest8708]

Elden RING the board game in Next month , is going to be awweeesome. but also Wild Assent or Stormsunder is another option both of this are story driven games , finally Tainted grail king of ruin , a very huuuuge story driven narrative game.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

I’ve no idea how so many people have the time or money to invest in these massive games.

[@theshogunstein6475]

@@BoardGameBollocks we got a small card game to review the other day, nice game small box, but between going through the rules, the set up, playing it takes up a lot of time on top of everything else going on in our lives, so I get what you are saying here. I have some games that are not even massive KS games but the set up is so long, there just is not anytime time to play.

[@HarleyFirestorm]

Have now played Oathsworn, gotta say in regards to setup to play it isn't that bad and worth it when it comes to playing, now one of my favorites. Compared to Aeons trespass this is more accessible, when I walk past Aeons trespass I swear I can hear singing from the box " Come and have a go if you think your hard enough ". Oathsworn is now in my never to leave the collection list.

[@dean7713]

Just found the channel, wanted to check a couple of vids, saw one on one of my fave games (this one) and Jesus. 3 hours for initial set up? I only have 1 hand and I had it done within the hour. were you taking smoke breaks every 5 mins. the only bit I agree with is movement, even after 15 + chapters done, I have to refer to the rules cos how the fuck is __ moving now? Aside from that though, it's just about the best campaign game I have ever played. I don't know what you were expecting with the storyline stuff you were touting, you claim it's too much of a linear path, but will take 3/4/5 plays through to experience it all, Your words bud. Yes it all results in the fight with the baddie, but... and this is coming from your latest vid on things you hate. you said you hate components you don't use. Imagine the story meant you never opened envelope/box 10 for example cos the story never took you there. Wouldn't that piss you off more? Yes the story is linear, with curves and waves throughout, but that's fine. Imagine you got to chapter 18 or whatnot or you did a bit of the story and it said " you walked off a cliff and everyone died. Start again" You think anyone would do anything except set fire to their game there and then? This game IS exceptional and the only way to give it justice it encourage as many to play it as possible. If you play with a specific group of friends/family, club together and the £30 each you paid will go damn far. That's 3 cinema tickets, and you certainly get more that 3 90 hour flicks for your money with this. Hell the chapters in the story bit alone feels like it could be a damn movie. Sorry for the late night Saturday rant! XD

[@1346colin]

As ever it's great to hear a totally unbiased review. That's what this channel is all about & you've just saved me a squillion quid to boot. Cheers!

[@waterenjoyer01]

He curses a bit so therefore he's honest and unbiased? Grow up.

[@theshogunstein6475]

dude why are you trolling a video that is a year old @@waterenjoyer01

[@waterenjoyer01]

​@@theshogunstein6475No one's allowed to comment on a video once it's past a year?

[@Apeshower]

The video hasn’t been removed so assumably BGB consider it still relevant….. therefore comments are? I chuckle at the ‘ unbiased review’ phrase too. Unless you made the game or have financial interest in it, or perhaps are friends or relatives etc of the makers you are probably unbiased. Not liking it isn’t about being unbiased! It’s his honest opinion but so can a favourable one be.

[@Shogunic]

Having played through 50% of the content I agree with both major points: 1) This is a great game, I do not think it is overhyped: story-telling is great, the mechanics are solid (though not perfect, LOS and order of events, etc. are not always straightforward), choices may not be always meaningful, but the writing is excellent, but also 2) The game is long and potentially too long for its own good (we paused the campaign because we wanted to play something else for a change, yet we still need to find out how the story ends; there is a short-cut system for the story part, but it is the boss battling that becomes a bit repetitive even if there are great ideas for varying them. On balance, I still believe this is a fantastic game, but if you do not have the time, you are also in for some frustration. I still would not have wanted to miss out on the positives. Comparing it to other campaign games I have played: Hands-down better story than Gloomhaven, slightly less tactical in combat, though (some overlap in hand management). If you love big miniatures, there is that option as well. Much better story than Stars of Akarios (combat is more varied in Oathsworn). Less fiddly than Middara, better writing (Middara is a different genre really, and enjoyable at that), better story than Roll Player Adventures (which is more or less a dice puzzle game after all).

[@commandershepard9920]

Well this has given me some serious pause now. Personally, I find even Gloomhaven to have too many cardboard bits, tokens, and fiddly bits. It's odd, because I have Marvel United all in, and so technically, it's a ton of boxes (I consolidated it all, but it's still a crud ton of boxes), but it never bothers me, because for any single game I just need to grab 2-3 and the setup/teardown is still always really quick, probably because the quantity of components in any single game is never that high. And the story, yeah, just... I was never excited about this story bit in the beginning of the game. I don't like on rails stories, I want the stories to come from the gameplay. But the thing that stuck out to me the most in your review is the arduous setup. I actually met Jeremy Jolly at Gen Con (at least I believe that was him), he's indeed a jolly fellow. The demo of the game was fun, but I didn't have to set any of it up. Hm.

[@SL1M73]

Mate, im so sick of the mainstream paid reviewers who always lay it on so thick how fantastic every fucking new game is. Thankyou for providing unbiased no bullshit no hype reviews. I backed this game but gonna cancel my pledge now. Especially because of your setup and combat observations. They keep producing these monolithic 5000 hour campaign games to justify the Kickstarter box and price bloat when in reality the average Joe will never have the time of inclination.

[@carlwoods4564]

Totally agree. Dice tower is a joke Completely biased.

[@theshogunstein6475]

agree so much, I don't get how some videos allegedly get 10,000+ views on a sponsored video on why they backed a game or a video of the top ten games they didn't pay for, this is one of the last channels of honest reviewing of board games

[@BoxofDelights]

Great review! Nicely done.

[@PaulMB40]

In 1995 I walked into a random pub in Brunswick street, Melbourne. A band was just coming on. Before the first song was finished I was a fan. Utterly blown away. It was like all the bloat and bullshit was swept aside to reveal a rawness, toughness and honestly that I had been craving but couldn't find. Like that night, I randomly stumbled upon your channel. And like my experience with the band, I felt all the bullshit drop away and I became an immediate fan. These kinds of encounters are rare. Liked. Subscribed. Alerts on. Patronedified (probably not a word). Btw: The band was The Mark of Cain. The opening song: Interloper. Check it out if you like a raw sound that sits between punk and hard rock.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

I like that comparison mate. Thought you were going to say you were pissed and sobered up the next day 😂😂😂

[@PaulMB40]

@@BoardGameBollocks Me? Sober in the 90's? Not bloody likely.

[@moltenbullet]

The main reason for hesitating is that, though i love the *idea* of games like this, i also can't help but looking at my shelf and realizing that almost none of the role playing and narrative games get played anywhere near regularly enough. Maybe once or twice a year? Maybe this is especially a problem for people who own 200+ games (or that many games shared in their group), but certainly the cost of oathsworn immediately tells me that I won't extract enough out of it for the price. We might have at most 1 or 2 oathsworn days a year, I imagine. Add to that the amount of space that it takes.... I don't think I'll be able to back it. Loads of marketing and FOMO though... it's the state of things in the board game market these days I guess.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

I’m gravitating towards simple shorter games. One of my favourites new ones is Ready Set Bet. Easy, quick and a blast every time. Maybe I’m getting old…

[@moltenbullet]

​@@BoardGameBollocksoh man, I can't believe I missed your reply from a year ago! (Came back to this video to slap myself out of buying this game at post-KS prices). Anyway, you might want to give Tales from the Red Dragon Inn a shot of you haven't already. It's no where near as epic as oathsworn, and the component quality is a bit questionable, but god damn it's a fun dungeon boss basher. And a core mechanic is there there's no misses in the game from either side (just toughness tokens that mitigates all damage once per token).

[@MichaelGaskin]

I purchased the game and looked at it for about a week. Then, I spent THREE FRIGGEN HOURS just trying to figure out the setup. It is not set to play; just set the box, put the cards in the proper trays, etc. I did that some time ago, and I've still not gotten it to the table. You are right about the setup mess! Not sure when I will play it..!

[@alexanderpopov3587]

Thank you for the honest review, quite different than the overall hypetrain. Saved me a lot of money and living space.

[@csalaja]

whoa! finally a honest and fair review! My impression was the same about the story and combat (movement rules, luck, etc.) but none of the other reviewers called it out!

[@Alloniya]

There at least one I watched was honest

[@sagarsoni5378]

You are such a unique fun reviwer. Reminds me of football captain in tv series Ted lasso who is serious but fun. It's a compliment ☺️

[@john-qz3fu]

Great view point. Always appreciate your thoughts.

[@eriksjogren800]

Thanks

[@thealternativeroundtable6590]

I'm having a great time with my early plays of this, but I get where you're coming from with a lot of your thoughts. That initial sorting out was a bit of a bear for sure! The miniatures do add a lot of table presence and think they help with the visualisation of both the movement and the important facing but oh boy, the full deluxe version means storing another 3 boxes that size....Good to hear your views as always.

[@kosterix123]

15:00 people prefer the standees because the huge blobs of plastic obstruct your own line of sight. It may look like crap but at least you can see the board. the ultimate question is that when OitD competes with your other boxes for attention and table space, who wins? anyway. good review!

[@HarryBuddhaPalm]

It's funny, as soon as you started talking about the long, terrible setup, I immediately thought of my copy of Legendary Big Trouble In Little China. I like that game but it's such a pain in the ass to set up and tear down that I never want to play it.

[@jonathanjoyce2376]

Another big old pile of straight up opinion. And I appreciate it, warnings of the heavy long set up does scare me off. Don't have thaaat much time. Got to get through each mission as it is

[@patricklavoie3939]

Great review! But wow!!! I love the video image… great lighting. good job!

[@BoardGameBollocks]

Cheers mate 👍🏻

[@Jezza_One]

Just starting a 1st edition campaign. Its been on the shelf of shame for a long time. Luckily I play large 'stuffy' wargames so set up times of less than a day are brilliant. 😂 I would be interested in your opinion on Kingdom Death Monster another crazy over produced boss battler.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

It’s a random mess with interest driven by rare minis. Avoid.

[@MichaelGaskin]

Just got mine in the mail... Been spending a few days getting setup, though..!

[@xplaycollectibles]

The set up isn't that bad takes 30 minutes for me, maybe 20 tops especially with standees, with the 3d terrain takes about 15 minutes more since you have to assemble the trees. You just have to make sure that all the items you are using is already in your character bag when you pack up. The provided character bag is a save mechanism for you to keep all character information in. As for the item cards just keep them in whatever box they are, the only time you are going to draw any is when you are in town to buy new stuff or after combat, otherwise you will always work on what you have. The encounter cards are numbered so you normally prepare already before the game, you can also take out what was already used so you don't confuse yourself for the next game.. You don't take out a gagillion cards just the cards used for the monster of the stage. Its an awesome game and the rules are quite good. I own both standees and miniatures and if I get tired of the miniature set-up I'll just go standees since I find it more tactical and less distracting. If you want immersion though of course go minis. I promise you when you see the miniatures set-up with the 3d trees and the humongous monster minis this is one freakin' impressive game. What's good about Oathsworn is that it has already prepared the game for gamers of different skill levels and taste. You can go card, or dice, standees or minis, you can go app or read through the story using the story book, you can actually skip the story and just go to the boss battle directly. The game isn't too complicated once you've played through a couple of times to familiarize yourself. The enemy movement follows the rule of south and west, so just prioritize south, then west, on where the monster should move. Lastly, this is a board game not a video game, if it doesn't make sense and it breaks your enjoyment then you decide what you want to do. If you want to reroll, reroll, if you want to win then win. its not as if people will chase you for breaking the rules. If a set of rules prevents you from having fun on your large game investment then decide HOW you are going to enjoy it best. As for gameplay, if its too complicated then we just wing it on what makes sense. I love the game though and the production value is top notch. Watch the video tutorials Oathsworn Boot Camp a couple of times until you familiarize yourself with the rules and have fun.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

So you do most of the setup when tearing down? That’s still set up mate 😂

[@christopherfritzges6930]

Thank you so much for this review. I had a feeling things were being overhyped. The way you presented your thoughts was extremely helpful to me - more so than any other video I have watched on Oathsworn. Just cancelled my pledge. My bank account thanks you as well.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

I alway try to give a fair and balanced view of games 👍🏻

[@billwhitteaker2722]

You have not... chosen wisely.... great game. Sure there is an investment in time and set up but the end result is awesome.

[@Newt211]

Yeah, you missed out. Everyone whom I have introduced it too love it. The setup of the battle can be time consuming sometimes, but it is fun. Who cares if you don’t make it all the way through the game, it will leave you thinking about it after you have played. That’s a good thing.

[@01hornsfan]

Thank you for this video. I mean it, I'm grateful. I like fantasy theming, tactical gameplay and have liked campaign games in the past (more when I pledged for this game, less now as I get older). But wow, I actively disliked every moment of this game. The game felt like it was trying to please too many people, so they crammed in as many ideas as they could. Tactics or story? Let's have both! Dice or cards? Let's have both! Fixed turn order or open turn order? Let's have both! The mechanism of discarding cards to push useful skills to the front of the queue felt gimmicky and wasn't fun--it felt like work. The story felt, as you said, full of minimally to non-meaningful choices. Movement around the huge board felt sluggish. Monster attacks felt really punitive. As an example, the first character who engaged the big momma rat got swarmed by 8 unpredictable and unavoidable baby rat spawns, was instakilled and had to sit out the rest of the battle. It wasn't fun for them, and as the game owner and host of the session, it wasn't fun for me. There just wasn't anything redeeming to the gameplay in my opinion. Yet pretty much every reviewer that I could find gave it stellar ratings and trumpeted its high rating on BGG as supporting evidence. I kept asking myself, "Why am I the only one who does not see the fun in this game?" It really bothered me. I was near ready to force myself through more plays to justify the money I sunk into it, because clearly the game is OBJECTIVELY FUN and I just must not have given it enough of a chance. But watching your video gave me reassurance that I'm not crazy for not wanting to play this again. And it helped me realize that I don't have to waste more time on this game.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

👍🏻

[@justanerd1138]

It is a fun game that I enjoy playing my friends copy. I totally don't need to own it. The score for this one is much like Gloomhaven. The hype and innovation has certianly impacted the BGG score.

[@odiedodieuk]

You had me at your plans to live in your box 😅. Subbed

[@HarleyFirestorm]

I bought this recently second hand, and the standee version, because I have enough games with buckets of miniatures, so I started sorting through the game and resetting it. And it has got to be by far the worse game I have had to do this with, I spent 4 hours one day doing it and then another 2 hours the next day as I thought there may be cards missing OR the rule book was wrong, which stressed the guy I bought it from as I asked him about this, in-case he knew something I didn't, meaning the was actually X amount of cards in deck X not what is says in the rule book. The rule book component list needs to be more comprehensive, and in the end the game was (through much google searching) complete. I love mins and I love to paint them, but the problem with Oathsworn is that they come with 3 extra giant boxes if you get the mini version, for you to struggle to find a kallax slot for, you can't paint the bosses because your not meant to know what is in the mystery boxes, and like you said why would you keep playing this game over and over again, it just doesn't justify buying so many big boxes packed with miniatures your only going to use a few times, that your eventually stick in storage, for a real rat to eat or to rot. Two days later and 3 packets of annadin extra I got it all sorted, now I just got to get it to the table to play :). Very good review and very honest.

[@Jezza_One]

I have the 1st edition and the rulebook doesnt always match the game content. Luckily I have played games that take a week to set up.

[@jericosha2842]

Thanks for this. Combat coming down to dice is a no go for me. DnD drives me nuts because of this. Was about to back the 2nd edition and you gave me insight no one really talks about.

[@petermillen6924]

I think you are too kind, so since I am in a grumpy mood today.... I could have given my verdict at “KickFarter”. I mean we have had a decade of this scam marketing method and not one single decent game has come out of it yet. OITD shows all the signs - bloated size, enough plastic to kill much marine life, cards, books boxes, maps special dice - and what emerges? A campaign that would be better set up in a RPG by a good GM. What is it with boardgamers and their phobia over role playing games? They want the experience but are terrified of the format so they demand “an adventure in a board game box” and end up with ever more complex and convoluted crap, that ends up in the attic after some desultory attempts at play. I can’t believe anyone is going to have a jolly time with this - your several references to Gloomgamin’ say all we need. And what’s with all the Oaths, eh? We have Oathsworn, Oathbound, Oathbreakers, Oathtakers, Oath-FFS... Oathbreakers into the Deepwood? Well they were hardly going to go into the Shopping Mall, right? Overblown, cliched, tedious...I don’t think I will be purchasing. As always all others have the right to their (wrong) opinions.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

To be fair this type of thing is better off as a video game, but not one that I would like to play

[@petermillen6924]

@@BoardGameBollocks Huh, didn't have video games when I were a lad, then this table-tennis thing came along...

[@BoardGameBollocks]

They just created a synthetic brain that can play pong…apparently it’s applied for a job at CMON

[@davidagornall]

Its a case of my board game is bigger then your board game. Rpg's are becoming more user friendly with some clever starter kits.

[@hunterkarr]

I agree with this comment and am one of the people who is too intimidated to run RPG’s. It just seems like the amount of decisions is endless. Any tips?

[@guochunlee]

👏👏👏 respect the integrity of this review. Quality 👍👍👍

[@patrickvalo8822]

So the base game pledge for the second edition doesnt have any big miniatures only standees? It says in the pledge there are 38 large miniatures. Or is there a choice what to use?

[@BoardGameBollocks]

There are minis but the large ones are standees

[@allanjk81]

Definitely feel this one was getting overhyped so thanks for the unbiased and honest review. Great as always mate. :)

[@Julio0o]

I like your no BS style. Doesn't have that "sponsored" feel

[@BoardGameBollocks]

I’ve never taken payment for a review and I never will

[@Anacusis]

This game and its awesome-looking Rat miniature on KS got me intrigued, so I came to KZbin to find out more and have just discovered this channel. At first, I thought the video might be a bit naff, but your comment about living in the box, amongst others, made me laugh my tits off so I hit subscribe innit. Look forward to more no-nonsense reviews! (btw, that setup time has put me right off buying this so thanks for saving me a few quid!)

[@BoardGameBollocks]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/o3ndl5uLbdlon5o

[@Alawatakima]

Appreciate the different opinions of you and your pals to the herd 😉

[@marcnno6323]

BlG thumbs up for the video.

[@evanstrong4064]

Thanks for the review, I'm glad I found this channel

[@BoardGameBollocks]

👍🏻

[@terriblegames]

This review, the tone, timbre are just great. very authentic and unapologetic - do you review indie titles or only big releases?

[@BoardGameBollocks]

We look at anything except prototypes

[@terriblegames]

@@BoardGameBollocks wonderful. I'd love to send you something I'll email ☺️

[@palmcrazysg]

The main gripe seems to be the SET UP TIME... you mean the cards are all in a huge MESS?

[@BoardGameBollocks]

No. You have to organise the cards when you inbox but there’s still so much to do for each encounter etc…it was a complete ball ache

[@johnhagen7549]

Much appreciated. I was on the fence about this one due to the price. As it is, it'd probably have sat on the shelf for a couple years before getting around to it.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

Took me two years to get Gloomhaven to the table and got through about half of it before it faded away…

[@tofathi195]

Love your honest reviews, i tried very hard to find a person that is not super excited about this game in youtube...

[@BoardGameBollocks]

It’s fine…just not orgasmic like they’re making out

[@chucktelschow]

Just when I was convinced I would immediately sell Froathaven once it gets here so I can buy Oathsworn I watch this video. Now I don’t know what to do lol

[@BoardGameBollocks]

Get both? Don’t blame me…

[@chucktelschow]

@@BoardGameBollocks not blaming you, just funny 😁

[@tonybowers9490]

As always, I appreciate your honestly. I guess this is one of those 'different strokes for different folks' moments, because although I agree with some of your criticisms - It's my game of the year for 2022 and definitely in my Top Five. I'm now on chapter 12 and I will definitely finish it. To me Oathsworn is a more complete and mature Gloomhaven (which I never finished). Note - I have a table dedicated for the game and don't store it after playing a chapter. But, I'm that way with campaign games (looking at ISS Vanguard and Roll Player Adventures). You're correct that most of the story decisions don't make a difference, but maybe that's something they'll improve upon in Oathsworn 2. I enjoy the card play and cool down aspect. And, the card/die randomness can be mitigated to some extent. It is quite exciting for me to get a crit after crit and do 20 damage. And, to me it is realistic to miss sometimes. The Determination rule helps ease the pain of missing. I don't expect every attack to hit. In real life an attack can be blocked, etc. The line of sight etc. Well, I house rule some of that, because I don't want to get bogged down with nit-picky rules. The North Then West does help keep some aspects a bit more simple. My criticisms are small. I wish the player boards were dual layered. I play 4 full characters, so I put the stages along the top of the player boards, not around them. That saves a lot in table space. I wish the tokens were different colors and different shapes, like the defense tokens. I too wish the story branched more, but as mentioned maybe that will improve?

[@tiredguy2753]

Agreed I think it is one of those different strokes for different folks . The only criticism that confused me was the complaint about standees. I have other games with standees and they are all pretty boring in general. Now granted I don’t have a lot of games so maybe there is some premium standee game out there but to me the oathsworn standees don’t like anymore dull than other games with standees.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

It’s the big standees that suck. I can deal with the smaller one but the large monsters are supposed to have presence and a big slice of cardboard doesn’t do it justice.

[@tiredguy2753]

@@BoardGameBollocks I see, I get it. Though admittedly to me all standees big or small feel pretty ehh in general.

[@crimsonsun2000]

I love how british you are, you don't give a bollocks... awesome have a sub, us Southerners need to stick together...

[@BoardGameBollocks]

Unless you’re from Southampton 😉

[@crimsonsun2000]

@@BoardGameBollocks nah kent mate

[@bperez1172]

Great video as usual…. Keep it up!

[@johnpanagos5835]

Great review. Thnx for the video, helps a lot.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

👍🏻

[@TigerVent]

Uh... Jason Statham... Of boardgaming?

[@BoardGameBollocks]

I’m his stunt double

[@Nozdormu1982]

isis vanguard might be worth looking into if you are into app story based games.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

My group is t big in cooperative games if that’s what it is…we prefer to be at war

[@Nozdormu1982]

@@BoardGameBollocks You can play cooperative games uncooperatively

[@BoardGameBollocks]

Ummm…🤔

[@PacifierMusic]

Have to agree with BGG. Oathsworn is a fantastic game. Initially sorting of the cards was long but fun. Campaign setup was easy once you get the box organized. A beautifully written and engaging story. App is really well done. Combat is exciting. Will be playing long into the future.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

It was none of those thing but there you go…

[@wonderbread3371]

Great review

[@stevebrown5253]

Cracking review!

[@facelessman9254]

Wow this is great, did you ever do one on tainted grail?

[@BoardGameBollocks]

It was too much money for me at the time. Did look interesting though.

[@facelessman9254]

@@BoardGameBollocks Dang that is too bad. I agree, it looks interesting in the lore and story telling but awaken does not typically do a great job designing around that.

[@robc9108]

oh mate from london?

[@BoardGameBollocks]

Portsmouth

[@dumas8112]

Each turn, each full character has a battle flow card to refresh the might and enemy decks during battle. Companions can use the battle flow and +2 animus combat tokens to refresh these decks at anytime. So, battle is not held hostage to random card draws or dice rolls. Also, the Determination rule is very important when dealing with misses. I hope this was not overlooked because that would really make battle suck.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

No it wasn’t overlooked. The videos was a brief overview and not a rules tutorial. I couldn’t cram every single mechanic into an 18 min video…it was already too long. Random card draw to determine combat sucks.

[@MichaelGaskin]

So. Your favorite part of the game is the movement! Got it.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

Errr….🤔

[@vontcheng]

I am sure you didnt play it many times so let me fixt this after full campaign, story part great starts slow for a reason, get a token tray, standee are great dont worry

[@BoardGameBollocks]

I played it all the way through. Are you one of these people who defends games just because they spaffed a months rent on a KS project?

[@vontcheng]

@@BoardGameBollocks nah I have the standee version for space reasons and its perfectly fine, plus I kept it for a second play but wow you did spend 500+ hours on the game but cannot recommend it? thats interesting, all your other complaints I can see but the story and its impact? that sounded like it was said after the first 3 levels

[@BoardGameBollocks]

If you’d played through it you’d know there’s not 500+ hours…did you come here just to be a dick?

[@SethAGonzalez]

When everyone else on YT was basically humping Oathsworn and blowing a load all over themselves about it, imagine my delight watching this insightful, honest review that calmed my FOMO. Thank you so much for your review! Saved me a ton of money that I can now spend on other games.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

👍🏻