Scythe: The Wind Gambit - How To Play

In this video we're going to learn how to play Scythe: The Wind Gambit! If you have any comments or questions, please do not hesitate to post them in the KZbin comments below.
How to play Scythe: • Scythe - How To Play
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00:00 - Introduction
00:49 - Resolution Module
01:55 - Airships Module
06:33 - Extras, Automa, Achievements
06:47 - Conclusion
#WatchItPlayed #BoardGames #Tutorial

[@TheAngelScorn]

This is a really clear explanation of the Wind Gambit rules. Thank you!

[@WatchItPlayed]

Very glad it was helpful!

[@JIPunisherIL]

Can't wait to get my hands on this! Those airships are so darm cool-looking, I'm eager to paint them!

[@Moosedemeanor]

I'm very excited for this expansion and the Legendary Box. Thank you for posting another great video!

[@WatchItPlayed]

You're quite welcome.

[@normanhittle5254]

Awwww yeah! Stoked for the release! Thanks for the great video!

[@WatchItPlayed]

You're very welcome!

[@omarzgdz]

Like always, amazing, informative and so enjoyable to watch. Thanks for your hard work Rodney!

[@WatchItPlayed]

Very kind of you to say - thanks!

[@DKCmaiche]

Superb, Rodney! Really clear explanation, great work!

[@WatchItPlayed]

Thank you Chris!

[@hereticdave]

Love the presence/size of the airships on the board! Looks like this will be really easy to integrate into the base game too

[@WatchItPlayed]

Thanks for checking it out!

[@bonkedwoofy4240]

Very great video,very great explanation in less than 10 minutes.Rodney you are a lifesaver

[@WatchItPlayed]

Glad you liked it Woofy!

[@steve8056]

Think you got more producers than most block buster movies lol. Glad for these videos. I bought and enjoy scythe because of you. Thank you. Really enjoy your videos.

[@WatchItPlayed]

I used to have a yearly fundraiser to allow me to work on the show full time - these were people who donated at a certain level of support. They quite literally were producing the show :)

[@benstylus]

Just waiting for this to arrive at my local store. Thanks for the video, Rodney!

[@WatchItPlayed]

Happy to share - hoping the time passes quickly for you!

[@papodemarketing]

A great explanation for a great (and big) game. Thank you Rodney!👍🏻

[@WatchItPlayed]

You're very welcome Thel - have a great time playing!

[@Penchwintan33]

Bought this recently and can't wait to play it! Thanks for the tutorial Rodney!

[@WatchItPlayed]

You're very welcome - have fun playing Hannah!

[@Penchwintan33]

@@WatchItPlayed thanks! A friend and I are painting the ships and figures from the expansions before we play, so they match our painted base-game figures! So pumped

[@UltraAar]

Thank you for reviewing Rodney! I am deciding between buying Cry Havoc or buying Scythe at the moment.. I love the artwork and theme of Scythe, but I have many eurogames already so the battle system in Cry Havoc is tugging at my heart too. Ah too many good board games! But seriously your channel is the best channel to check out board games on KZbin!

[@WatchItPlayed]

Thank you for the kind words - glad you’ve been enjoying the videos! All the best in your decision making :)

[@lllMrKrobylll]

Great how to play! Thank you!

[@WatchItPlayed]

You're welcome! Thanks for checking out the video!

[@MichaelJones-ti9fx]

Thank you for covering this expansion.

[@WatchItPlayed]

My pleasure, glad you enjoyed!

[@NostraDunwhich]

Thank you for another great video, Rodney. I am curious, how many times have you done a video for an expansion?

[@WatchItPlayed]

Not many, but I've never kept track.

[@jamesthefront2246]

This looks like a really cool addition to the game!

[@WatchItPlayed]

Hey, thanks for checking it out - glad you liked what you saw!

[@chrisbohmdrumming9269]

Thank you, i just bought this last night, and next on my list is the rise of fenris.

[@WatchItPlayed]

Have a great time playing!

[@patternabstractions]

Nice concise tutorial.

[@WatchItPlayed]

Thank you kindly!

[@FrankMinogue]

My Wind Gambit, board extension, and Encounters came today. Cannot wait to play !!!!! I think we have a slight addiction problem........

[@WatchItPlayed]

Enjoy!

[@mayowarlord]

You are amazing !

[@WatchItPlayed]

Thanks for the kind words!

[@HouseOfNerdsGR]

It is a shame that all the airships are identical (minus the colour). I believe they should resemble more the unique style of each faction.

[@NostraDunwhich]

The cost of doing that many molds for the 2nd expansion simply does not warrant it. As Jamey said on BoardGameGeek, it is about $10K a mold. Would you be willing to pay 5 times the price to get the expansion? That would be required since I am sure Jamey calculated the expected sales versus the cost to manufacture, so you would have to cover the additional mold costs for each expansion sold.

[@HouseOfNerdsGR]

I totally get that, but still it reduces the otherwise amazing visual appeal of the game!

[@liveandletlift9932]

But it does make more sense with the shared airship attributes. Maybe one faction made all the airships and sold them to the others...

[@mattpburgess]

Or the other factions STOLE the plans! I'm sure many Bothans died...

[@jameystegmaier]

I'm looking forward to see the creativity that emerges when people paint their airship minis. If you'd like to better understand why we only used 1 mould, here's my explanation: Each of the 7 factions has 1 airship miniature in their faction color, but the sculpts are identical. There are three reasons for this: One, thematically, all airships have the same abilities (the abilities are randomized at the beginning of each game). We tested it both ways, and it worked best this way. Two, the cost to make a high-quality mould for a miniature this size is about$10,000. Expansions like this are a low-margin product, so adding an additional $60,000 for six more moulds is a significant expense. Three-and this is really important-when we get the original sculpt from a 3D modeler, it’s not like we instantly start making miniatures. Rather, it’s the beginning of an extensive process to maximize the durability and aesthetics, as well as exactly how different parts of the mini will fit into the mould (big miniatures like this are often comprised of multiple pieces). For the Wind Gambit, this process took 2 months for a single miniature. At the end of that process, I actually sent the updated digital model to the original sculptor so he could do some final touch-ups to the updated design. This was particularly important because Panda was in charge of ensuring that workers and resource tokens could fit onto the miniature.

[@chrismusix5669]

Yeah I have a question: how would they get those big bulky ships to float around like that?

[@WatchItPlayed]

Science! (meaning... I don't know :) )

[@davidwit7749]

The same way the city of Colombia floats in "Bioshock Infinite." Basically, some pseudoscience about quantum entanglement and a lot of hand waving.

[@mktmajor2003]

Look at rodney and his super snazzy scythe base game :p

[@mrodddrums]

I still have a doubt about the airships movement, (i have to say that I'm from Spain and maybe the rulebook is not translated in the best way, or maybe is just me XD), when i choose the movement action, i can move the airship 2 hexs and then still move another figure 1 more hex? The hexagons shown in the passive card are the total of the ship only, not interrupting the other figures movement? Thanks in advance, and sorry if it's difficult to understand me, my english is kinda "rusty"

[@WatchItPlayed]

Sorry, I didn't quite understand the question, but I can say that the video was checked and approved by the publisher, if that helps.

[@mikehancoski9879]

Any chance you are going to do a solo scythe how to play video?

[@WatchItPlayed]

Hey Mike, I occasionally cover solo rules, but no plans for this one currently.

[@kevinvu5432]

@@WatchItPlayed thats a shame. =/

[@Stephen-Fox]

Is there a resolution tile for the original end game condition, in case we want to randomly mix that in with the end game conditions in the expansion, or is that in the realms of 'devise your own method of doing that'? (I'm still boggling over the scale of the airship 'miniatures' compared to the other pieces of plastic in the game)

[@jameystegmaier]

I thought about that, but I figured if people want to play with the original end-game trigger, they'll choose that (while it coming up as a random tile might defeat the purpose of having randomized variable conditions. I think some groups will end up finding a resolution tile that they like the most and just stick with it for multiple plays without randomization (it'll depend on the group).

[@WatchItPlayed]

Thanks to Jamey for helping with the reply!

[@pjpskywalker]

You never explicitly stated it, but I assume piracy can be a big use of these airships? Can they waltz into enemy territory and pilfer any of the resources they are stockpiling?

[@WatchItPlayed]

Great question - no they can't. They can only take resources if the location isn't controlled by an opponent.

[@theadventuresguild6514]

Is there anywhere to purchase those 3D resource pieces, or are they a deluxe-edition-type deal?

[@WatchItPlayed]

They were in the deluxe edition, but Stonemaier games and other places have sold them separately.

[@matarsenault6051]

Last I played with the ships, a question was raised; can airships take up ressources on a territory controlled bay another's faction building only? We've settled that it can since nothing can "defend" those ressources and that ships can take those ressources while moving (in), but this specific scenario didn't seemed to be clearly written anywhere seen... What y'all guys think ?

[@WatchItPlayed]

The rules say "You control a territory if you have at least one unit there (a character, worker, or mech) OR if you have a structure there with no enemy characters, workers, or mechs. Only one player at a time can control a territory." The Wind Gambit rules say "Airships never control territories" and "Airships may not pick up resources controlled by opponents." So putting those two together, I'd say that if the airship moves into a space with only an enemy faction's building, the enemy faction controls the space still and the airship can't pick up the resources.

[@pabloluigi7112]

So, airship can move resources/workers depending on the card drawn during the move action. What happens when the move action ends? Are the resources/workers considered to be safe on the airship or do they always land on ground after move action?

[@WatchItPlayed]

They don't leave the airship unless you choose to drop them off.

[@stevegeorge7773]

Just wondering if those thick tiles can be sleeved?

[@WatchItPlayed]

I haven't tried, so I'm not sure.

[@RaK0]

Seems to add some good variety. Thematically it seems rather odd that a gigantic floating fortress may only carry up to three ressources while any common worker on the ground may carry as many ressources as you wish. :)

[@WatchItPlayed]

Maybe easier not to think of the workers as "carrying" the resources around, so much as standing guard over them?

[@RaK0]

@@WatchItPlayed Sure, one could do that I guess. But since you can move them all around it's still somewhat ... strange. :) I get it, it's for balancing reasons. Can't have players keep all their ressources safe in the air since it would undermine the possibility to raid and loot. It's just somewhat quirky if you think about it too much. :D

[@WatchItPlayed]

@@RaK0 Ah, the workers aren't to scale. Each one actually represents thousands of workers. Solved? ;)

[@RaK0]

@@WatchItPlayed perfect! :D

[@ChuckBrice72]

Why would you not hold resources in the airship at all times given you don’t own them on the ground? And you say it’s part of the move, so if I pick up resources can I still move two spaces and drop them off, or is picking up counting as a move? Cheers

[@WatchItPlayed]

Picking up and dropping off doesn't cost anything, but must happen as a part of a Move action. Your other question is one that's less about the rules, and more about strategy. If you have 6 resources in a territory, you can only hold 3 in your ship, so that's one reason you won't/can't put all of them in there. Transporting them is likely going to be something you do to move resources from a space that isn't very protected, to one you can protect better. But really, the benefits of the ships and how you co-ordinate resources with them is likely easier to appreciate as you're playing.

[@magus32]

Can the airship pick up resources from a territory they don't control, like the example you showed?

[@WatchItPlayed]

Yes, but not from a space controlled by an opponent.

[@georgebarkly5677]

Woohoo! No longer will I remind people they when they leave their resources behind now there's an airship that can swoop in and steal them.

[@DarkChrisHour]

Airship Toll (7): I have a Red Airship which is sitting on top of my starting workers (Purple). In effect isolating them to the start area (my first turn I moved Character and Worker onto Oil to gain resource and protect). The question now arises about the Toll ability, it says Move On To/Through... but does not say clearly say if starting on that area is the same as moving "through", and if I have to pay to move off the Airships space? If I do have to pay to move off the area, would I have to pay one to move onto the ship area this turn, and then another to move off the next move turn?

[@WatchItPlayed]

Hey DarkChris, I do my best to answer rules questions, but I tend to avoid specific card effects, as that would be too hard for me to keep straight across all the games - so this question, you'll want to reach out to the publisher directly. Sorry I couldn't be a more direct help.

[@DarkChrisHour]

I can understand, and respect that. Thank you all the same for the time to reply. While at it, thank you as well for all the tutorials you have taken the time to create. Our family watches almost all the games we own on your channel (only ones we do not are ones you have not covered), and it is the first place we search when learning a new game, so the whole family thanks you for your time and effort. -As for the ruling- Until we hear from Publisher. We decided that it must mean when a unit enters the area the payment is made, and not when it exits the area. This way it does not lock up the game, other wise the first player to trap the others pieces will win, and I doubt this was the intended use. Plus it says Enter/Through, with no rule about starting on the area, so the lack of rule seems to show that payment is not needed. It is Toll rather then Rent. (In case others had issue too). Thanks again.

[@WatchItPlayed]

Thanks for the kind comments about the videos Chris. Iv'e been fortunate to have great support from the viewers like you, and publishers like Stonemaier Games to be able to work on these. I dropped a note to Jamey about this question, and we'll see what he says.

[@jameystegmaier]

DarkChrisHour: Thanks for your question. If your unit starts its movement on a territory with an opponent's airship (with Toll), you can move the unit off of the territory without paying anything. It's just if you move onto the territory that you must pay a resource.

[@DarkChrisHour]

Great to have a reply and to have been able to clear it up.I am truly thankful for you taking the time to reply, I can imagine your busy with The RIse of Fenris, which we are eagerly waiting for, Scythe being one of the families favourite games, everyone is looking forward to it. Thank you again for your time for clearing up the confusion.

[@biggman4526]

I see that the air ship can carry 3 resources or 2 people. Is it possible to carry 1 person and 2 resources?

[@WatchItPlayed]

Hey Big G, nope, you can't mix them.

[@johnioannis8206]

Hi! Great video! Can i ask something? :) The airships can transfer resources right? But how can you load them on? They can unload resources everywhere ok, they can't steal resources from enemy Territories and that's ok But you can load resources on them only for places you control? Or empty territories too?? :) Thnx!!

[@WatchItPlayed]

Hey John, does this answer you question? kzbin.info/www/bejne/nKvHl35qrqqWhZY

[@johnioannis8206]

@@WatchItPlayed hmm yes but if a hex is empty with only resources on it and an airship i can't spend them But if i make move action i can load them on the ship? An then I'll control them??

[@WatchItPlayed]

@@johnioannis8206 Yes, correct. Airships cannot control a territory on their own, but if they have the ability to pick up resources, then as long as those resources are not controlled by another player, the airship can pick them up (and then you can spend them). Hope that helps!

[@johnioannis8206]

@@WatchItPlayed yeap it was!! Thank you very much! Keep up the good work i love your channel!!

[@elqd91]

One thing is not super clear to me. Can the airships pick up, for example workers, move to another territory and drop them off in the same round?

[@WatchItPlayed]

Good question - yes!

[@asnpogi]

So if thw aggressive card shows that you can only carry workers, does it mean you cant carry resources, and vice versa?

[@WatchItPlayed]

Hey Lance, for the specifics of how individual cards work, you’ll need to check with the publisher.

[@Totihno]

Rodney how do you put out the airships? Do you just start with them on your home base along with your character or must you unlock them? If so how?

[@MitchTW]

2 Minutes in - each player gets the airship matching their players colour and places it on their home base during setup.

[@WatchItPlayed]

Hey there, I'm always happy to try to help with rules questions, but if the answer is provided in the video, than I have to direct you there. You'll find an index in the description to help you find the section you might be looking for.

[@brucechik31]

When completing the move action; can you for example move your character one hex and your airship 3 hexes if it has a range of 3? If you have upgraded and have 3 moves could you do something like this: move a mech 1 hex, move character 1 hex, move airship 2 hexes (if range is 2)? If move is upgraded could you do this? Move character 1 hex, move airship 6 hexes with range of 3?

[@jameystegmaier]

For your movement question, yes, the range of a unit is how far it can go during a Move action. Most units have range 1; airships have different ranges as shown on the passive airship tiles. If you've upgraded so you can move 3 different units, yes, an airship can be one of those units. For your last example, no, you can't do that, as the Move action is for different units.

[@brucechik31]

Jamey Stegmaier, in regular play when using the move action you can’t move your character two hexes? You can only move two units each one hex?

[@jameystegmaier]

That's correct. The Move action lets you move two different units (not the same unit).

[@brucechik31]

Jamey Stegmaier, thanks for clarification! We are obsessed with Scythe!

[@jameystegmaier]

I'm glad you're enjoying it! Feel free to join the Scythe Facebook group (if you haven't already)--lots of great discussions there, and people will answer questions very quickly there. :)

[@phillipmillman3290]

Where can I buy a WiP polo shirt?

[@WatchItPlayed]

We don't have those for sale, but will have some t-shirts again soon.

[@werscarry]

Does it also have automa cards that it adds, or do the automa not use airships?

[@WatchItPlayed]

Hi Jacob, you'll find that addressed here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nKvHl35qrqqWhZYm47s

[@werscarry]

Watch It Played Boy do I feel silly. I watched the whole video and got the part about the achievements, but totally missed the automa cards! So my next question is how can I buy more cards to go with multiple automa decks? Does meeple source sell them?

[@WatchItPlayed]

No worries. I'm not sure what extra cards you'd need to buy, so I don't quite understand the question. I've never played Automa, so maybe that's why.

[@werscarry]

Watch It Played Sorry, I'll try to be more clear. I am wondering if the automa cards included in this expansion are rule cards (grey backed cards), or action cards (blue backed cards that advance the automa star tracker). I own 2 automa decks, and like to play with both during solo play. This gives me 2 opponents instead of just 1. If the included cards are the grey backed rule cards I should be fine. But if they are the action cards, I'd only be able to include them in ONE of my automa decks, meaning that I'd only be able to play against one opponent when using the wind gambit module. So my question is a) which cards are they, blue or grey? And b) if they are blue cards, where would I be able to purchase another set to include with my second automa deck so that I can still play against 2 opponents? Thanks for the replies. Sorry for the wall of text. :)

[@WatchItPlayed]

They are neither. I just pulled them out to check and they seem to have a different style of back entirely. I do believe the rules for the Automa mode for Winds Gambit can be downloaded from the publishers website, and that might help you get a sense of how it would work. As for purchasing additional sets, I'm not sure as it's not something I've looked into. All the best!

[@purplegenie]

You say that zero is not an option to move a unit. It was my understanding go that you do not have to take move actions, i.e. you can be able to move two units but choose to move only one. Is this not correct?

[@WatchItPlayed]

That is correct. I was just stating that if you 'do' move a unit, it must move at least 1 space.

[@The_Bergund]

i’m nervous to ask, and i’m afraid i think i already know the answer, but does the expansion fit into the Daedalus Productions insert? 😅😰😓

[@The_Bergund]

GREAT video though 😁 and the components in the expansion look absolutely stunning, very much looking forward to this on my table!

[@NostraDunwhich]

If you own the insert that would already be answered for you. If you don't check Daedalus' website and see if they state it is included. I know that Stonemaier produced a special "Big Box" for Scythe that would hold the base game, the existing expansions, and leave space for the planned 3rd expansion as well. Given that, signs point to "no" as an answer to your question ;)

[@WatchItPlayed]

I was able to fit in the resolution cards, but not the ships and cards with it. I believe Daedalus is working on a new insert for the new BIG BOX that is coming out.

[@SocratesRR90]

I’m a little confused on the resolution modules. Are those mandatory to complete to finish the game?

[@WatchItPlayed]

Each one will have its own instructions that tell you how it is used to determine when the game is over. If you go to 1:30 in the video and read the card there, that should help it make more sense.

[@FrankMinogue]

Okay, moving my workers with an airship. Say it has a range of 2. Can I take two workers, go one hex drop off a worker in that hex and then go to the next hex and drop off the last worker in the second hex?

[@WatchItPlayed]

Sorry, traveling right now Frank and don’t have easy access to the rules.

[@FrankMinogue]

@@WatchItPlayed no hurry!!

[@FrankMinogue]

It says in the rules they pick up and drop off workers just like mechs. So I think I am doing it right.

[@elijahmeilak2906]

So, if an airship is carrying workers and a mech enters the territory, are the workers scared away? Furthermore, if an airship is carrying resources, are enemy workers/mechs/characters able to take those resources?

[@WatchItPlayed]

Hi Elijah, it's been a little while since I shot this, but if I don't say that those things happen (or can be done), then they can't. Have fun playing!

[@elijahmeilak2906]

@@WatchItPlayed Thanks for the reply, even after uploading this video quite a while ago! I’ve done a bit more reading and my understanding is that workers and resources are safe whilst they’re in airships. :)

[@macurvello]

I feel like I missed this information somewhere but... Those resource tokens, are they custom or do they come with the expansion?

[@WatchItPlayed]

They were part of the initial kickstarter, but you can also pick them up separately from Top Shelf Gamer: www.topshelfgamer.com/collections/scythe

[@Astrovert296]

can you delete what you write on the achivement sheet?

[@WatchItPlayed]

It's for your personal use, so definitely feel free to use it as you like.

[@myddrin4148]

I have a question, if this expansion will have czech language too

[@WatchItPlayed]

I'm not sure. That's a good question to ask the publisher though.

[@myddrin4148]

Watch It Played Thank you for your answer

[@michaelcall4962]

ENGLISH AUTOGENERATED!!!

[@WatchItPlayed]

Again, I didn't do anything, KZbin must auto-generate based on what it guesses the language is. Glad it's more to your liking either way.

[@FrankMinogue]

I JUST PLACED MY PRE-ORDER ON STONEMAIER GAMES! I AM LIKE A KID AT CHRISTMAS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[@WatchItPlayed]

Enjoy!

[@FrankMinogue]

@@WatchItPlayed I still have not gotten it. But I see that a lot of people on Scythe Facebook page are getting it.

[@Redskies453]

So there are passive tiles and aggressive tiles but no passive aggressive tiles? No that's fine, I mean if that's the sort of thing you like. No, why would I be angry? You're free to do it your way, if you don't mind what people think.

[@WatchItPlayed]

LOL

[@mangeshpardhi]

Why is the resourses look better

[@WatchItPlayed]

These are custom upgrades I picked up for the game after the fact. I should have mentioned that in the video to avoid confusion.

[@golinskyy]

where is gameplay ;p?

[@WatchItPlayed]

Not one for this, I’m afraid!

[@jasonserrato1951]

you should say "that said" much, much less.

[@WatchItPlayed]

You're probably right.

[@UltraAar]

@@WatchItPlayed Dont worry about it Rodney. I am thankful for your amazing reviews, you articulate yourself better than any other board gamer on KZbin!

[@FrankMinogue]

Watch It Played that said, I don’t have a problem with you saying it.