Santorini | Rahdo's Prototype Thoughts

[@kosterix123]

i so want this game! The replayability, the 3d thing, the gods, wow.

[@thebadnotes7628]

Picked this up today, we've now played with every "beginner" god, but by no means in every combination, myself & the Mrs love the game. It's simple to play and beautiful to look at. Great review, nice one. 👍👍👍

[@JaKamps]

Funny, I also don't usually care for abstract games, but am interested in this as I was the game "The Climbers" (similar concept, though now out of print). Hive is another abstract game w/ just a hint of theme that makes me like it!

[@mohnkern]

This looks like a great game. I loved the production values on Steampunk Rally as well.

[@wilhelmbackhaus4931]

It's nice to see rahdo enjoying a head to head pure strategy game like this (and not fake "abstract strategy" games like Patchwork or Tash Kalar).

[@rrocketman]

Been thinking of getting it, so thanks👍

[@100bullet95]

late backer of this gem; one of Bruno Cathala's favourite of 2016 infinite replayability exclusive 2 players game imho (the box says 2 to 4) thanks for the review

[@Aikuchi.]

So will you be backing it Rahdo?

[@rahdo]

+Aikuchi nope but i almost never back ks games as i simply can't afford it...

[@kennyb3325]

+rahdo Sorry you couldn't keep your prototype then! I am running this past my girlfriend, because I cannot quite decide if I want it because it looks fun, or just because it looks so beautiful!

[@alienslysly]

+rahdo Would you go for a retail copy when it becomes available then? Watching your playthrough of Quadropolis & its ranking on your game list sold me on the game, and now I'm interested to see if this one makes the cut for you :P +Kenny Barrese Exactly what I've done as well ! While one could argue that this game is a fairly simplistic with a 'paste-on' theme, I would argue that in this case the components are so beautifully produced it actually makes the game more enjoyable to play & easier to look past its abstract roots... now if only I could find people to pledge & share shipping with :/

[@rahdo]

+Sly Sea the tricky thing for me is, i rarely get to revisit games to play again once i've filmed a runthrough for them, and i'm criminally low on shelf space. so while i'd love to own a copy of this, i can't really justify buying one. if i were a "normal" person who wasn't constantly learning/playing/filming 20 totally new games every month though, this would have been a total 'must have' for me

[@RobbertSla]

Any idea what the retail price will be of this game? The components are through the roof, so I'm guessing 30/35?

[@RobbertSla]

+RobbertSla Found it out already! Was close!

[@tafelridders6880]

This looks like it's going to be very much like Torres. Or am I wrong? I didn't particularly like Torres, unfortunately.

[@rahdo]

+Tafelridders never played torres, so i can't say

[@EgeTunca]

how would you compare this to Raptor if you played it? :)

[@rahdo]

+Ege Tunca haven't played raptor. from what i know of it, i would say this is lighter :)

[@EgeTunca]

thanks for the info :D

[@nahailyenvanakkor]

+rahdo Do you plan to play Raptor? Or it's not a game Jen and you would enjoy? Maybe the player interaction is a bit too direct.

[@rahdo]

+nahailyenvanakkor no plans. totally uninteresting game for us, both due to theme and gameplay...

[@RowantarotBlogspot]

Raptor is a very good game, if you ever get the chance to have a go at it, I hope you do. :)

[@noorkhorasi]

Would you do a run through and final thoughts on photosynthesis?

[@rahdo]

sorry, i've looked at that one in the past, and it's a bit more confrontational than we normally like :(

[@noorkhorasi]

@@rahdo got it. Thanks anyways

[@mkietzmann]

I got this on Amazon for about $20 recently. It didn't include the lowest level board, though. :(

[@rahdo]

yeah, it's a bummer that the 2nd edition that was sold widely at target (or walmart, or some other superstore chain) cut the ocean board :(

[@mkietzmann]

@@rahdo Btw, thanks for the Haven walkthrough. :)

[@Penland1234]

i noticed that and I was like oh well the bottom board would just get dirty over time.

[@Penland1234]

if i had the money I would visit Santorini first then play this game the rest of my life.

[@sglasgow99]

It seems to be a common trend among board game reviewers. If you give an abstract game an elegant theme, they tend to love it regardless, largely due to the intriguing mechanics which are essentially the backbone of the undecorated game. It was the case in Tash Kalar, it is the case here. I'm really starting to get tired of hearing reviewers say that abstracts are bad.

[@rahdo]

+sglasgow99 i never say that they're bad, simply that i don't like themeless games. just because i don't like it doesn't mean it's bad :)

[@lexgotham]

"I'm really starting to get tired of hearing reviewers say that abstracts are bad.". What you should get tired of is to misinterpret what people say. I read reviews a lot and I never read people saying that attract games are bad. Ever. Just that abstract games are not for them. Abstract games require a different state of mind. There is no narrative, it's all about solving a puzzle. And it's fine, as long as you are into this.

[@douglasmarley8499]

I think that the theme matters to get people into it. Without the theme, the only thing you have is the desire of you and your opponent to bash each others heads in. If you play games without inherently competitive people, it is hard to get people to give to flips that the triangle can only go on the square and the circle can move two spaces in any direction.

[@TeChNoWC7]

I agreed until you seemed to accuse Rahdo of saying abstracts are bad. He just said he didn't usually enjoy them, not that they were bad.

[@romanphoenix999]

One problem I have with this game: the cost. I don't see myself spending 50$/€ for such a short game. Everything else looks great, but can't buy them all.

[@rahdo]

+romanphoenix999 well it would have been a lot cheaper with just wooden blocks, but you get what you pay for in terms of component quality :)

[@romanphoenix999]

***** Indeed. I also agree that this is much nicer looking and will awe a lot more people when they see you playing this game. But on a student budget, with only a starter collection of boardgames, it's just not for me. Thanks for the video, rahdo. :)

[@faville]

I made my own a couple of years ago, with the simple bits of wooden blocks and domes, modelling Gordon Hamilton's original design, and currently use Looney Pyramids for the playing pieces, and when I show it to students they still love playing the game. The new production will definitely give the game more players, but students will also have fun with the basics.

[@stephenc9475]

easy build in a woodshop

[@Tennethums1]

It’s “ok” at best. Hell of a production value but I stopped playing that “game” long ago. I don’t pay for a “box of shineys” any more. I have to have a solid, fun game to go with it and quite frankly...this one bored the Hell out of me after the first play through. There are SO many better, simple games. I was also distraught by the blatant lie on the box, “2-4 players” when clearly it’s not.