Should You Buy Slay The Spire: The Board Game?

[@qwertytarr]

The venn-diagram of "people who watch board game reviews" and "people who have played slay the spire" is just a circle.

[@MasterHigure]

A Venn diagram, by definition, must contain all possible combinations of overlap and non-overlap. Some regions may be labelled as empty, but they must be visible. You are thinking of an Euler diagram.

[@scottclowe]

I disagree. I think some people who play StS don't watch board game reviews!

[@Morchunkis]

@@MasterHigureare you the fun police

[@jonydude]

I haven't played Slay the Spire, but I'm probably the only one.

[@fr0z3nskull]

@@jonydude I haven't played it either

[@mrjasonchurch]

The only thing I'd add that wasn't talked about is the actual box storage and the quality of materials. You can tell they did not skimp out on this and I actually think it adds to the ease of setup, saving, and tear down that makes it so much less of a chore to play than other bigger games. Plus having a high quality storage solution (and card sleeves!) baked into the product is such a welcome change of pace compared to games like gloomhaven which almost require you to drop an extra $50+ on purchasing a third party storage solution.

[@CardboardBones]

Yes! The storage is incredible! I play it solo, and often just one act at a time, and I'm shocked by how smooth it is to setup and tear down mid-run!

[@Melancthon7332]

Just having a game's cards already sleeved alone is AMAZING

[@mariobrojr]

It's not just the card but all the tokens and charecter boards I played with 3 big time board game players all completed the quality of the product And we all had fun playing it

[@oscaranderson5719]

I’ve played both, Slay the Spire is stupidly high quality and it fits back in the box without raising the lid height, everything fits into its own little box or divider. the fancy edition comes with metal coins and it’s absolutely worth it, they’ve got such a great feel and weight to them.

[@MrBunnyWizard]

Are there extra sleeves? I hate when games come with sleeves, one or two rip and now i have to use my own anyway (paperback adventures)

[@davidsobieralski8311]

I think what is easy to miss is people have play groups that have no interest and/or time to play computer games. I have had 2 couples tell me this is the best game I have taught them period over the last 10 years. Yes the computer game is good, but this can live in a space much different than the computer game and introduce people who have never heard of slay the spire to a great game.

[@VaultBoy13]

But, it's also an odd "introduce people" game, because of the price. I realize it's a good system, because the video game is a good system. But, it's also something that if your non-video gamer friends like it, then they'll likely scoff at the price when looking to buy their own copy. I think the game sits more in a realm for fans of the video game that want to expand the game to a cooperative experience. There's nothing wrong with that. But, is it worth the price of admission? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@davidsobieralski8311]

@@VaultBoy13 100 percent yes.

[@hugmonger]

Im someone who loves Slay the Spire and social gaming and this game seems perfect for me and no... I refuse to be normal about it. Like the moment I get it it goes with me everywhere and I WILL make you play it with me, I can play any class trust me Ironclad is easy please stop looking like you want to run away

[@mariobrojr]

If that couple he showed the game to, are like the couple I showed it to, they alredy have a board game collection and know the price for one of this size And will buy it for themselves

[@khariperkins4243]

StS has mid round saving Bruv. People just don't like technology more so than lack of time. A full ass unboxing of a board game is way harder than turning on StS and playing a few cards saving and exiting.

[@lordhed]

I loved how when Tom discussed the price, the StS shop theme started playing in the background. Nice little touches.

[@Ulubai]

When he brings up divinity the theme starts playing for that too

[@clarkewithe]

Now if only they could make a Balatro board game without me needing a graphing calculator

[@dustinfreund5196]

That game is absolutely incredible.

[@mistymysticsailboat]

iirc the dev said it definitely wouldnt translate well to a board game for that reason

[@SamFreelancePolice]

Dipped in Mama Liz's chilli oil

[@johncollins8511]

I wouldn't even entertain purchasing a physical copy of Balatro. That will stay comfortably on my steam deck. I will get the mobile version when that comes out though.

[@WanderingWisp]

Even if they somehow made one that worked, I would still stick with the video game for the sound alone. Not just the background track, but also the sound of your hand score going up. Something about it is just intensely satisfying.

[@ChemistGeometric]

To be fair, maxing damage at the expense of blocking is a major thing in the digital game, too.

[@hannahvickery4683]

all shadow priests know that the best defense is more dps!

[@oscaranderson5719]

StS sheeple: “Health is a resource, so it’s important to mitigate damage as much as possible.” me, an intellectual: “they can’t deal 30x5 damage if they’re dead”

[@Tom-vx7qh]

​@@oscaranderson5719"Health is a resource, so I choose to spend some of that resource now, so I wont have to spend more of it later"

[@janus1172]

There’s often the joke in the community for the video game that X attack card is a block card. I’ve actually found I need to think about block more in the board game than in the video game especially at higher ascensions.

[@oscaranderson5719]

@@janus1172 I’m only on ascension one but I’ve found you can kiiinda get away with one person being the designated block biii- _buddy_ which lets others focus on wombo combos with some free/cheap blocks thrown in, ‘cuz if you can clear a row it frees them up to focus on damage. otherwise in video game format I prefer pure skill/defense focus ‘cuz it’s the most consistent (once you get past gremlin nob :P)

[@danidm5820]

The most decisive statement Tom made about the Slay the Spire board game is that I shouldn't play the Bloodborne board game. 10/10, no notes.

[@BreakRaven]

Or the Original Sin board game :(.

[@anjinmr]

He's correct about that.

[@MrSomebunny]

Yeah, but that’s true of just about every Kickstarter game with tons of minis: None should be played. People buy them for the minis and try REALLY hard to like the very bad game the minis ship with as justification for their $500 purchase.

[@Ytilee]

That he, in fact, didn't play btw.

[@nargris4048]

I rather enjoyed the Bloodborne boardgame, though I agree didn't need to be a mini based game. The dark souls boardgame on the other hand though, thats a rough one. It tried staying too close to the video game experience and well, lets just say there is a difference between grinding levels a video game and grinding levels in a board game...

[@paulclayton3117]

I've owned this for about a month now. I've played with my main group (4 board game nerds in our 30s/40s) and we love it. We stopped playing Gloomhaven a while ago because the admin was too much and we immediately recognised the same feel here with much lower time overheads. I've played with other friends and their kids - it's really easy to teach and learn. But mostly I've played with my own kids (age 8 and 6) and for this it is wonderful. Like a lot of young kids, my 6-year-old doesn't like to lose, so collaborative games are the best way to get him to the table. They've both learned card game basics through stuff like Pokemon TCG and so this is a breeze for them. They've declared Fridays after school to be 'Slay the Spire campaign time', and they've also started a separate campaign without me (they just did this with no supervision at all). For a nerdy family, this really does fall into perfect sweet spot - they recognise it from their computer games so they're excited, the game play is easy to learn with a nice curve, and all the components are really high quality so they want to play with them. I think part of its success is the high frequency rewards - you don't have to wait very long to get something new (unlike say Gloomhaven where levelling up takes ages). Anything that helps my kids choose to put their screens down is a winner for me.

[@jeffreygenehk]

Same here - my 8yo would play it every day after school if I'd let him. 7yo joins in on occasion. Cooperative element is huge.

[@TinkerTownGames]

Yes, I agree this is the best family game with kids.

[@sirloinofchateaumarinade9312]

Do apps and support for Gloomhaven ever enough to run games smoothly? I'm sitting on a full Gloomhaven collection and the sheer amount of material and things to learn has me paralysed between wanting to dedicate the hours to even play and just selling the game to play on steam even though you lose the physical feel.

[@belicose9]

I’ve got 400+ hours in the video game and I think I have some insight into this gripe. Very often in the game you get encounters that are basically just insta-win. Then, mere moments later, you have another encounter that destroys you utterly. This incredible swing in difficulty is mainly due to the fact that different encounters challenge your deck in different ways. Some are damage races while others are battles of attrition. Depending on what your deck does well, you might see a wild variance in the difficulty from encounter to encounter. Yes, it does make some encounters less interesting than others but easily won rewards are often a God-send after getting toasted the previous fight. In the Spire, I find it is best to go with the flow and accept both ease and difficulty equally.

[@skuamato7886]

Yep, that's my experience with SPS (the PC game) as well. You usually don't get "whittled down" by multiple encounters in a row, you just end up meeting the one encounter you are not prepared for and just die. And that's exactly what happened to me in the board game. So 10/10 preserving that experience

[@socialcockroach3307]

Exactly. Sometimes you leave act 1 with the rough outline of a Power deck with the Defect, took philosopher stone and your biggest hitting card was unfortunately Melter. Of course the first encounter is Byrds. Sometimes you run into the Byrds as the Silent and you have Bronze Scales, Caltrops, and Piercing Wail in a shiv deck. And next encounter is Sentinel and the ball. Now the decks trade places in their value. Then they run into Snake Plant and both hate life. Seriously. Fuck Snake Plant.

[@jackolchawski4310]

I think this is a typically excellent review from Tom. The only thing I’d contest, is that as the resident boardgame enthusiast among my closest pals, there’s no way I could coax my friends over for a collective game of STS the videogame, but I already have plans to do that with STS The Boardgame. So the coop element of it really is something novel about the physical version for me personally.

[@Bodyknock]

This game is great, it went over extremely well with my game group and it even plays well solo. In fact one of my friends said he wasn't all that much into the video game but loved this physical game because of how the multiplayer simultaneous play works. So my TLDR is, if you'd like to play Slay the Spire multiplayer around the table, and are willing to splurge, this is fantastic. If you just play solo boardgames then there's no need for the physical board game, just play the video game solo.

[@CardboardBones]

I've been playing it solo so far, and have personally been loving it. I can understand the argument that I should just play the video game instead, but I find the physicality of the game to be so much more appealing when I'm trying to relax before bed. I don't mean to say that you *shouldn't* play the video game, but rather, I feel there is genuine value out of the solo play experience (if the price tag isn't an issue)

[@Achtikun]

I have played it with 3 different groups now, and after playing it, every person that did not own it already, has bought the pc game after the session. It really shows that it is a good game even for people that did not know the pc game. Also it is really addicting and they could not wait for our next session.

[@CardboardBones]

I've been playing the StS board game solo, and have been loving the flow of the game. It's surprisingly easy to setup and "save"/tear down. While I agree that there are moments of just smooth admin as you don't really fear the current encounter, that is also a physical flow state that I enjoy. I love the og StS game, but I find myself not going to it anymore when Im in the mood to play a videogame. However, having an evening where I get drink tea, listen to barber beats, and shuffle some cards as I play a game I deeply love is a delightful experience. The StS board game is a love letter, in my opinion. It's a game I will always cherish, even when I inevitably stop playing it for a long period of time. Thank you, Megacrit, for creating such a wonderful experience.

[@Rincewindl]

i do have to say, as much as i wish there was more player interaction aside from "i can give you block" and "i can kill that guy for you" given the LENGTH of the sessions, im ok with it. also i want to say. oddly enough, this game works really well for me as an intro game. StS is already insanely well balanced so, i've never had complaints about it from anyone

[@Spinax33]

Its funny that the target for the "Bloated Kickstarter game thats underbaked" was Bloodborne, one of the better examples of that genre, when Dark Souls is *right there*. More boxes, more cost, more bloat and an abject failure in adapting the games mechanics to the tabletop in almost every regard.

[@TikTokBattleTech]

Under-Baked Bloodborne? That's crazy. I painted up all mine and it's fantastic to table.

[@adriannaoshea]

I agree with pretty much everything, but the price feels reasonable for the quality and quantity of componenets. The insert does wonders to facilitate gameplay and make saving your progress easier. The sleeves feel like they will hold up well to all the required shuffling and flipping. The cutouts in the player board are layered to hold your bits. The shop board doubles as the much needed player aid sheet. Physically randomizing the maps feels so good. I think all that adds up to be worth the price and I don't plan to stop playing the video game either.

[@riccardomosena4162]

And don't forget about the mats for each character (and the extra things for the Kickstarter exclusive like metal coins)

[@Zulfrak]

Yep, the game may seem expensive at first (okay it is expensive) but the amount of high quality components, the organization and all that makes the price kind of...okay? Yes, on paper "100 for a Deckbuilder?" seem really bad and people were really disapointed when the KS started back then. but then you get hundreds of sleeves, 4 play mats, dividers, tokens, organizers, doulbe layerd player boards etc.

[@HMJ66]

Nah it's just standard kickstarter game price gouging and cashing in on an existing and popular IP. I'm sure the game has great quality components and the insert is super handy, but the same can be said of board games half that price. Games like this are the reason I give kickstarter games a wide berth. Who needs interesting new ideas when you can just take something that already has a huge fan base, put it in cardboard and/or plastic form and slap a ridiculous price tag on it? Bonus points for exploiting FOMO with "limited edition" and "backer exclusive" bonuses for people who are willing to spend an obscene amount of money on your incredibly overpriced tie-in. I've said it before and I'll say it again - board game adaptations of popular video games are today what video game adaptations of popular movies were a couple of decades ago.

[@derpatitus-b5093]

As someone who's beaten the ❤ on A20 on all 4 characters of the original StS, I have feelings about the board game. I have played the board game thrice; the first time was with someone who has played some StS, the second with two buddies that play video games but not StS, and my father. When I played with my friend who's familiar with the game we died to the boss of act two after 4 hours. As we were learning the foibles of the board game, I don't have a lot to say about that game. The second time was with two buddies in a public bar. We decided the game was over after beating the act one boss in two hours. It's here I realize that if someone has never played StS you really should limit them to the Ironclad (red), or the Silent (green). As one of my friends played the Defect (blue), I watched him mentally struggle to: A. Learn the basics of the game B. What cards exist for his deck C. Keep track of orb slots And this is one of the smartest guys I know. My third game was with my dad. He had seen me play the first time, if not actually paying attention and so thought the game an impenetrable mess of mechanics. So after some cajoling I got him to play, and we were both impressed at how fast he picked it up. I would like to point out that the most complex board he's played up to this point is Settlers of Catan. He was redily able to pick up the games mechanics once we were in game and we lost to the act 3 boss after 6 hours. My conclusions are thus: 1. It's a very long game. I imagine the best place to save is actually the treasure in act 2 2. It's best to keep new players to Ironclad and Silent. 3. Scaling is very different, so the board game holds a significantly different meta. 4. It's very teachable and intuitive as the game progresses. 5. This might not be relevant to everyone depending on self control, but if there is a major knowledge difference try to have multiple new players instead of just one 6. Doing a tv multi-play of the computer version is a vertly effective test to see if someone will enjoy it.

[@michaelavail3554]

i’m definitely not the target audience because I’m a minority, but I am visually impaired in such a way that I can’t really play video games, but board games are accessible to me so my partner was very excited when this board game came out because he’s a huge fan of the video game and wanted to share it with me. This game is amazing and very fun and I’m super glad that it exists.

[@julianarchy9043]

haven't watched the video yet, but as someone who backed it and got my copy a week ago I've been LOVING IT

[@jeffreygenehk]

It's like holding a prop from a movie in your hands - exactly how I felt unboxing it.

[@PatrickBrophy]

I went all-in on the Kickstarter because I revere the video game as an all time great. Having a physical manifestation of one of the greatest games ever was reason enough for me. But then I played it cooperatively with my friends (half with StS experience) and it was such a delight. I’m looking forward to playing it again and again more as a co-op, as it adds that other dimension the video game just can’t do.

[@NapnCat]

The fact you included the Ludwig, The Holy Blade OST at 7:36 is an instant sub for me. Also love STS and board games, glad to have found your content!

[@Flea_ip]

I love that you covered all the foibles of how Video Game Board Game adaptations (both ways) sort of fall flat, because I've felt that way for a long long time, but you put it in a way I never could seem to. For this reason, I pass on nearly every single board game that was adapted from a video game, because I've yet to find one that really scratches the same itch as the video game.

[@wookiebarista]

This is a lovely game for hosting those who have never played STS and most likely won't. Being able to give simple group prompts and watch the light bulbs turn on as people get the rush of learning the beautiful systems of it is why you buy this. Try it out with some newbs Tom!

[@alquosfinn2980]

Bloodborne the boardgame was mentioned and shrugged off. I love that game and I would love a SUSD review of it. Admittedly, some of the expansion missions are borderline unplayable, but its the best dungeon crawler I've ever played!

[@IRules2244]

I played on TTS (I know, I’m sorry) and I really liked the idea that you are also learning the deck of your friends. You don’t have any control over it, but you start to learn what their cards do. I get excited when my friend says “I got corruption”. It also gives me the feeling of when I was young and we all talked about what trading cards we got in the latest pack our moms bought us.

[@Summer_Tea]

When I playtested the game on TTS years ago, it pretty much turned me off of the game. It's one of those rare games that plays significantly more tedious on TTS. The in-person variant is honestly pretty fun and faster to play somehow.

[@Waltztacular]

I got the chance to interview the lead designer of the board game for my podcast! The way he spoke about it cemented for me my choice to back it, and it made perfect Sense that the game turned out so well. The reverence he and the team have for the original and their dedication to making this more then "sts physically" but also give it a reason to exist set them up for a slam dunk. I'm thrilled that this was not only made, but was so impressively well done

[@fagelhd]

Hey, I'd love to listen to the episode. How is your podcast called? :)

[@cdouglas6]

love that you put the marketplace music during the Value conversation.

[@sinofwrath698]

Played the tabletop version by myself a few times just to see the difference between the video game and this one. I had spend a lot of time just to figure out all the differences, what to do exactly each turn and the order of things before I even started my attacks, each effect and how they work. It took my a while just to find out simple things like, does multiple weaken tokens increase the effect on each attack symbol or just increase the duration? What’s the max amount of energy, block or strength? The order of enemy moves and who attacks last, what the grey square enemy moves mean, etc. It was a blast to play and finally beat the heart. I’d love to play with more people but I don’t think my family would like such a complicated board game. Though I may get it just for myself.

[@Merlandese]

Talking about playing Slay on a TV together is an underrated pseudo-genre. I've often talked about games like Immortality and Obra Dinn as "multiplayer one-player games" because, as much fun as they are when played alone, they are excellent in a small group with one person handling the controls like the driver on a road trip.

[@hugmonger]

Social Couch Gaming is such a good way to play games. Stellaris and Civilization are great video games to get stuck in on with friends and like "Okay whenever we make a science decision we will discuss, but you get final say on science, and she gets military, and I get diplomacy" or something.

[@skwerrul6516]

Yes! This is probably my favorite way to experience video games right now, and Obra Dinn is the perfect example of it. I've played slay the spire like that on a few occasions with a friend, but it also games like portal and supraland work very well. I generally don't play video games as much as my friends, so it gives me the chance to be involved without requiring skill or any particular focus.

[@TheMirksta]

Not even just irl, streaming these games in a discord with a friend or two is just really fun.

[@MiceInDownpour]

I was so sceptical of this game. But after having played it almost every evening for three consecutive weeks - I absolutely love it and it's the kind of game I have been waiting for years to be created. It's exactly as Tom stated (imo) - if you think you'd like this game, you'll probably like it (very much)

[@daniellebackus819]

I was also very skeptical of this game (love the video game!), but glad to hear multiple sources saying it’s good. My husband and I have actually been really enjoying the Divinity Original Sin board game. Tom mentions it requiring a bunch of admin, but I don’t understand that. It’s quite simple, especially for someone who plays a lot of Gloom/Frosthaven. Those games require a TON of admin, to the point where I don’t find them all that enjoyable anymore, but DOS the boardgame is very simple to run. Setup is very quick as well. The deckbuilding takes a while, but that’s part of the fun! Looking through all the possible skills and picking/re-speccing your characters is super fun.

[@MrMurkosullivan]

Yo Tom! Long time viewer. Love your reviews. Hope you don't mind me leaving a tiny tip for future videos. In particular I found when you were discussing the admin of moving cubes through easy combats, and how thats irritating... I would have loved either B footage of that happening or you doing a rough simulation of one as you spoke. (easier said than done I know). This review was incredible. Just a tiny thing that occurred to me. Hopefully it might be helpful.

[@liamjones5131]

I love that you all play the videogame co-op! I do this with my daughters. And now they play games like Dominion and Machi Koro with me.

[@FallenRaven]

I regret not backing this because I’ve never heard of the game until I started seeing the campaign for its board game port. I started playing Slay the Spire on my phone out of curiosity and had so much fun. Now seeing all these praise of its board game counterpart just makes me want to own and play it, and share the experience with friends.

[@RandomProduct]

As someone who has all but two Bloodborne expansions, I can confirm, it's too much board game It's also a hell of a lot of fun painting all 216 minis

[@DrDankPhD]

I think one of the most interesting things will be going forward if they're going to make expansions for the boardgame that play up the specific strengths of the coop experience. New characters and cards that are designed specifically for play with other players could really put the game over the top, for example Ironclad could have cards that combo off of poison damage.

[@adamevaskevich5528]

I have put well over 2000 hours in Slay the Spire, and when I heard that Mega Crit was making this, I didn't even read the game before buying the Neow Tier for the sake of just supporting them, but after getting it, my Friends and I enjoy it more than playing the game on the computer, and I do want to get around to trying a solo run even though I own the game since the small changes are fun to mess around with. It's well worth it for me, but as you said, you have to come to that conclusion on your own

[@xCriticalStrikex]

This game deserves an immediate seal of approval, it is so good! I have had it on my table since I got it for 46h and 34m already and only beaten the heart once and have not done a single level yet of ascension difficulty. Absolutely worth the cost and I am going to play so many more hours of this and with people who went and bought slay the spire immediately after one play! Everyone seems to love this regardless to if they have played the video game or not! Also to add to your list of fail video game adaptations with swimming pools full of plastic, there is Monster Hunter world which is quite sub par :(

[@Grimscribe732]

Gotta agree with this. I have about 150h Slay the Spire on Steam, but the board game had me not as addicted as the video game - though it is a good game and I had fun playing it the three times I did.

[@nanho5201]

We are on our second run. First one was with three players, this run with 4. We love it and think it's well worth the price. As well as love how saving is added into the game between acts. The save feature works so well for our group

[@dksocal]

“English social anxiety vs airhorn” is my new favorite KZbin genre.

[@draze2296]

8:22 "You've got a valuable vulnerable that'll double damage but nothing strong to pair with it, but the player sat next to you has a bonkers attack that will now wipe that greasy goblin off the face of the earth". Proceeds to show an attack combo that applies vulnerable anyway.

[@fabe61]

Only issue I have with the idea of spending so much on the board game to get that cooperative feel is the fact that there is a free mod for the computer game called ‘Spire with Friends’ that lets you do cooperative runs and it’s pretty well made. I think this board game looks great for a very small niche, but it is a very small niche who will get their money’s worth out of it

[@skyelarsen8172]

Hey Ascension 12 buddies! I definitely want to try this one out some time, but I could see the "co-op couching" digital experience being my jam as well.

[@nicograsso3907]

There is also a co-op mod for STS called spire with friends that I'll admit feel like the cod zombie kinda co-op but is still an option to have everyone climbing the spire while doing their own thing

[@TwOnEightt]

Have so many hours playing Slay the Spire: The Video Game but Monster Train takes everything that I loved about it and made it even better somehow. You take 2 of the factions and mix them together at the beginning of the run (somewhat like smash-up). Plus there is an added puzzle of tower defense so you need to carefully manage where you play your units. Highly recommend checking that one out for any Slay The Spire fan!

[@boxmountain432]

I have never heard of Slay the Spire and haven’t played video games since the 90s I wish this video explained the game. I have zero understanding of the references.

[@AlasdairMacKinnon]

I'm in the (probably very limited) demographic of people who have played videogames since the 80s. Sadly, between work and gaming, I have various wrist and hand issues that now make videogaming not worth the pain. However, I got into boardgaming a few years back and, when they're well made, I love to play boardgame conversions of videogames. I recently received my copy of Slay the Spire and it's now set up on my dining table (where it takes up a surprising amount of space). I'm off to start learning how to play it right now. Wish me luck!

[@mikev8253]

I've played over 600 hours on Steam and mobile. I was skeptical and agree with most of what Tom says. The only positive I would add is the thing I never saw coming...it felt like i was rediscovering the game for the first time again. I got that same "oh this card would work really well with X" feeling because of the minor tweaks some of the cards got. It made me start choosing cards i would normally ignore just to see how strong the synergy would go. Also, this game kills any tabletop rpg for me because all I want to do is increase my stats, deck, or abilities. This does it every few minutes. Something like Gloomhaven takes 4 hours just to give you a checkmark (but you still need 1 or 2 more to increase that stat).

[@andrewsimpson4134]

Love the digital game, love the board game because it adds multiplayer, and it's just loads of fun and super replayable. It's also incredibly easy to teach to new players, you can just about jump in instantly and start playing.

[@zioniczenko]

I realize I'm late, but after playing a run of the board game with a friend, I find that I almost exactly agree with you, especially when I contrast it to the copy of Dead Cells that just came in. Dead Cells: The Rogue-Lite Board Game is very unbalanced and simplistic Ameritrash (despite being French): deckbuilding is a drag, unlocking new equipment often feels like it makes your options worse, and its breadth pales in comparison to its digital counterpart. However, the reason I'm happier with my purchase than I would've been with Slay the Spire is, ironically, because it's unfaithful to the original while maintaining the spirit. You run around a dungeon killing everything in seconds, you die to some chump enemy or a blatantly unfair boss attack, and you start the process again with a few more tricks up your sleeve each time. Even if it's a worse experience, it's a new experience, while Slay the Spire is just doing the same thing again while silently weeping when my favorite cards are completely reworked.

[@marvinko6610]

An underrated selling point is that this is a great co-op campaign game for newer or casual players. I beat it with my girlfriend, her sister and her mum over the course of 2 days. The teach was a breeze and we’re planning to do it again next month. I was able to take a backseat and just play my character because everyone else understood theirs almost instantly after revealing 2-3 sets of card rewards. Yeah it’s freaking expensive but if you have ever sleeved a game with many cards, you know where the bulk of the price comes from. That being said, the sleeves are among the best I’ve ever had. So you’re getting quality

[@DLAsmash]

I agree with basically everything, but speaking as someone who maxed out ascension 20 on all characters on two different platforms (Switch and Android) - I want to emphasize how good of a job they did of not just adapting the game mechanics to work on tabletop, but also using the opportunity to improve how certain cards/mechanics play when they did need to make changes. Take Silent for example: Shivs are now tokens instead of cards. A logical and unobtrusive change in and of itself, which doesn't heavily change how the deck is played. But with this change they saw an opportunity to tweak several of Silent's more boring/underwhelming cards: - Slice: now deals extra damage if you have at least one shiv prepared - Riddle with Holes: Instead of a generic multi-hit attack, it's now a more expensive Blade Dance that gives you more shivs, making it easier to build a shiv deck instead of banking it all on finding the Blade Dances - Storm of Steel: discard ANY number of cards and get a shiv for each one discarded. No longer forces you to awkwardly discard your whole hand, effectively ending your turn in most cases after shivs are played - Unload: Instead of awkwardly making you discard all non-attacks, it now damages and plays all of the shivs you have with extra damage on each Plenty of examples of this tasteful rebalancing on every character, bolstering the new mechanics while keeping the stuff people love mostly untouched. The video game will always have its place; but pound for pound, if they translated this version back into video game format, I'd rather play this version than the OG because they did such a good job with the balance changes.

[@josephfraley1205]

Part of the amazing design is how your deck this run can destroy some enemies while barely making it through others.

[@anonymousfox4620]

if people wish to have some co-op slay the spire gameplay. there are some good mods that allow just for that. all your friend can have a list of mods you want to try or just don't play with any and only have the multiplayer mods activated and play through a run togheter. The one I played "togheter in spire" doesn't change much of the game other then enemies gain more health the more players there are and enemies like goblonob will gain strenght when ANY players plays a skill. There is also "spire with friends which I heard good things about but I never didn't touch that one yet so I couldn't say.

[@blazepond5518]

enjoying these videos a lot, its ok to not have this tight should you buy review format, its refreshing

[@zephusdragon]

As a backer, as well as a huge fan of Slay the Spire, I must say the best part is exactly holding the cards in your hand. I'm one of those gamers whose favorite part is setting up the box so that you can play it for the first time, and I loved every moment of it. The interest of learning how different systems work in this iteration as opposed to the video game is also a fair point to make. I just add that if you are going to get this game, splurge for the collector's edition. Those mats for each character just feel really good, and make a great zone of control for what you are doing. The Spire awaits!

[@skwerrul6516]

I kickstart funded this as soon as i heard of it and, after receiving it recently, have spent three lovely evenings playing it with my friends. For a long time we've talked about playing board games together because we all like the idea of tabletop games, but this is the first one that has captured our collective attention so well. I highly recommend!

[@philomorph7]

"Doing maximum murder" is not only a great turn of phrase, but is also some of the best advice in many co-op games, including Gloomhaven. Depending on the situation of course, it seems like a lot of co-op board games that involve fighting monsters end up being mostly about this, with other strategies like "blocking" being a second-best option. This doesn't make me love Gloomhaven any less :) The difference there is maybe that you really have to cooperate to do maximum murder. It sounds like the synergies in the Slay the Spire board game aren't as common for this.

[@nargris4048]

On the mention of the bloodborne boardgame. I own it and all the expansions, it is a great game and I love how they handled it gameplay wise but I agree with the sea of plastic thing. It's CMoN so a sea of plastic is kind of expected, but the minis could have all been standies (or even counters) and the game would have been just as good.

[@ryanwest4106]

love the silent approval of the mysterious ghostly Hat Person in the reflection of one of the last shots. what do you know, Hat Person? when will you tell us?

[@williammoriarity7411]

I've played the StS board game (but not the video game). The reason being able to block for your teammates isn't immediately available is because it's more satisfying to build your deck with that goal.

[@owenduffy5745]

The 4 player CO-OP is what sold me. Thanks!

[@ralphtedesco7289]

Played a lot of both. Love the board game as well... Currently working my way up the ascension ladder.. And the challenge is real... Runs end half way thru act 1 at times...

[@Derfischlebtnoch]

Hi Tom, Just for the super rare case you have never heard of that game: Please play PEGLIN. You will love it. Its Deckbuilding, kind of. and somewhere in the sphere of slay the spire and balatro :)

[@TheSagFro]

Amazing review in so many ways, love the mature and down to earth approach

[@naggl3s]

For me, I'm the only one in my friend group who has played StS, so getting the board game for me is introducing my friends to the game while also having a fun co-op experience. I love the video game, so this is a way to make my friends try it out in a way that they don't commit anything but time (because for some reason every time I say buy StS, they don't).

[@Snorehog]

The cards being redesigned for a board game actually sometimes change them quite a lot (even if they have the same art), which then brings new synergies to explore. Haven’t played enough yet but sometimes I even think they balanced the cards better, e.g. Going from a must pick to the more interesting ”sometimes” pick.

[@jothamsmith2658]

I donated a pound to the Kickstarter and didn't end up picking up a copy. It was just a bit too expensive for me. I am glad to hear it works well though!

[@sauldickson4079]

This is what makes me VERY excited for StS2. The trailer is just a reveal trailer, but seeing the characters lined up makes me think the devs saw multiplayer coop’s potential in the board game and decided the sequel would benefit.

[@CosmoVibe]

Excellent review. Just wanted to point out that yet another (maybe somewhat niche reason) to get this is if you have friends who are familiar with Slay the Spire, but have little experience with "large" board games. This is a great way to ease some of the anxieties of feeling like a large board game box is intimidating, obtuse, or heavy.

[@DAmaster07]

Great review! Watching you explain the game, I think I would come to the exact same conclusion. Love the video game, but do I need the board game version…I’ll think about it lol.

[@timothycorsello2480]

4:03 I love my switch but all my hours are in the android version! You should mention that because the phone version is a fantastic adaptation, it makes 0 sacrifices

[@tipulsar85]

So here's the thing. There are GOOD adaptations of Digital to physical, if you look hard. Most people these days don't realize that M.U.L.E. started as a digital board game, because there was 32 years between the original game and the Board Game. It also did its best to obfuscate the timer by combining it with the player's food supply which was barely there in digital form. The only downside was the loss of the iconic theme tune.

[@brycejohnson9195]

There's a M.U.L.E. game? That's awesome. Good times on the C64. And you're totally right: that theme song is an absolute classic, it still pops into my head occasionally.

[@Mar3eck]

If you've never tried it before please check out the coop mod for slay the spire, its online not local but adds a really cool way to go through the game with others

[@andy_-_21]

I have played this game for a bit and would disagree on the point at 10:41 . The starter defends are changed to block any player for 2 rather than yourself for 1 if you upgrade them. I’ve also had it when I’m the silent and just blocking everyone’s damage as long as they kill my creatures and it has worked very well. It’s impressive how they managed to balance the entire game yet keep some infinite combos.

[@GrimGrimmirg]

I work as a person who need to watch a screen for 8h+. As much as I love StS video game having opportunity to play physical copy after work feels just so much better :D Another thing is that my wife doesn't play video games so she wouldn't otherwise experience such a brilliant deck builder :)

[@CrabeVideos]

Grest review and I mostly agree, except this will definitely be in my rotation. I love Slay the Spire and the devs did an amazing job with the adaptation. Haven't played on the higher ascensions yet, but I think that would help with the "admin" complaint because it should make breezing through harder. I feel like the designers threaded an impossible needle making an adaptation this good, the only downside for me is the price but you see every bit of it in the box.

[@jonydude]

I feel exactly the same way about Through The Ages. Great table hogging game and jolly good time all round, but now that there's the app... I got rid of my copy. Even if four of us were at a board game convention with an empty table of the perfect size for us to all sit around, I'd MUCH rather just pass and play on my phone before setting up that beast. If the app didn't exist, sure, I'll play it again. But it does, so I won't.

[@benlink202forever]

As someone who never played Slay the Spire and never was interested in it (it just didn’t look that interesting to me personally). Playing the board game with friends opened my eyes to why I should play the game. And now I’ve finished all the characters except the Watcher now and love the game now. It’s like the same argument for books to movies, it can get new people into the original medium even if it isn’t as faithful sometimes.

[@kurnte]

Slay The Spire is literally my fav game ever. I was expecting your review of this! Thank you and I’m happy that it didn’t disappoint

[@eveningchaos1]

You can also just play with your friends on TTS and bring it full circle.

[@the_verTigO]

There even is a boardgame mod for the videogame.

[@Dandy4ask]

10:54 this is how slay the spire the digital game is like already and the only time it isnt is the heart and thats why its the final boss

[@SilencedScream0]

I love the video game, I love most of the board game, but one of the issues I have - that the video game fixes by sheer speed - is when we know an enemy is absolutely dead; “he’s got two health, and I have three attacks in my hand,” so we just go ahead and clear the table rather than play out those cards. It keeps the ball rolling towards action, but it also feels anticlimactic - especially when this occurs with a boss.

[@Draconic74]

I feel like the shared cooperative defence and offence feeling that you are looking for is more present in the game Across the Obelisk. While entirely possible to run a whole gang of damage dealers, you will start to run into problems if you don't run supports and tanks to heal, armor up, buff and manipulate energy for the rest of your crew. The answer isn't always damage, but making sure those who can deal it stay alive and have the resources to do that damage. The game is a little more tailored to letting a planned build come together rather than the high RNG of StS, though it does have it's moments when you roll good on rewards and luck

[@Sihoiba]

The editting of this video is excellent. Also the doom shotgun sound making another return.

[@isitanos]

The upgrades of basic cards feel more powerful: one char has the basic defense card jump from one shield to two AND give them to anyone. And the Defect attacks become free when upgraded!

[@TheUglyGoblin]

A brilliant video! My partner and I adore the video game. So cool to get such an honest and thorough review. You got a sub from me :3

[@mariobrojr]

A good reason to get it, is for a friend who didn't wanna play the video game (for one reason or another), but who's favorite board game genera us co-op. Yea they loved it so much, they are going to buy a copy for thier collection

[@devtheguy]

I know it’s likely not in your radar at all, but I would love it if you checked out and subsequently shared your thoughts on Northgard and its spin-off board game, Northgard: Uncharted Lands. I’m not sure the game’s necessarily up to the quality of games you normally cover. I think it’s generally quite good, but I haven’t been able to run it through the full paces and worry it might not live up to repeated plays. But I think it does do exactly what I want a board game based on a video game to do. It takes elements from the video game and recreates them in a board game but in a distinctly board game-like fashion. It’s inspired by the video game, sure, but it’s also heavily inspired by games such as Dominion, Carcassone, and tactical war games. And it’s willing to jettison core elements of the video game to do so. It may not be a perfect game, but it’s certainly an interesting one. Unlike games that try to emulate the video game exactly or simply lean on brand recognition, Northgard: Uncharted Lands feels like it has a reason to exist and a design angle that would have been unexplored without it.

[@Tracey66]

Nice use of The Wilhelm Scream. :D

[@MischaESC2]

As someone who has played both the digital and the analog version I can say that this review absolutely nails it! Nothing to add.

[@kiwionly9139]

There's a co-op mod for slay the spire that surprisingly has a lot of similarities to this! Nothing super direct, of course, but the cooperative nature is obviously there, and me and my friends often find ourselves specializing in a way that you just can't pull off while going through the higher ascensions in singleplayer.

[@stonetimekeeper]

I've put a lot of hours into Slay the Spire myself, both the video game and the board game. I got the board game mostly because Im a collector of games as much as Im player. I find myself appreciating and enjoying physical board games a lot more than video games. I still love video games, Bloodborne is my favorite game of all time, and I much prefer it to the board game counterpart. I love both the video game and the board game of Slay the Spire. For me, the biggest appeal of this game though was that it was a game that I could convince my siblings to try. My sister is the sort of person who will only play a video game once in a blue moon's blue moon, and my brother prefers to play more action packed games, like dead cells. Slay the Spire is the sort of game that neither of them would ever give a second glance to. But they both fell in love with this game. And, personally, I prefer the board game to the video game of Slay the Spire. Yes the both play almost the same, but there is something that is just so much more satisfying about actually physically holding a hand of cards.

[@EgeveDunyasi]

Bloodborne is a good adaptation of a fantastic video game. AND… a superb collector’s edition for people who love the video game. So all those plastic miniatures have value. And now you owe us a Bloodborne review sir!

[@ryangross714]

Man that's interesting, as differently from you I've experienced a significant amount of cooperation and have found it necessary in almost every single encounter. But I'm also playing with 3 ppl who never played the original game, and am attempting to not be a backseater so that they really feel like Spire-man know what I'm sayin' I'd say this is a fantastically designed game overall and is definitely a love letter to the original that does it very well without stupid fluff. I love the physical nature for sure, and the collector's edition adds some AWESOME stuff like the metal coins and player mats. I get to share the experience with my friends who aren't really video gamers (at least, not roguelite deckbuilders LOL) but love board games, which is extremely exciting. It's also different enough from the video game in the way you strategize and resource that I'm still excited running it solo. I love the quickstart rules if I just want to try a new thing with the Watcher one day to see if it would be viable. Anyways, it's great, highly recommend.

[@ryangross714]

I'll also say my friends have been ecstatic and really enjoy the game - they were super stoked when I started explaining just how much replayability/progression possibilities there are LOL

[@StefanLopuszanski]

I was a playtester for the game like 2 years ago. I echo basically everything here. When I gave my feedback it was to make it less accurate to StS and more about the co-op and combos between players. Sadly, they really just wanted a translation as close as possible to the video game. That's fine, and it does that well, but it is also not as good as the video game so it makes me question who it is for. Especially since there is a co-op mod for the video game apparently. So who is it for? Those who don't want to play the video game but like the idea of it but only want a physical version? I guess. It is still good and does what it tries to do well but really feel like it could have been even better if they did less translation and more adaptation by leaning into what made the board game different and unique.

[@riccardomosena4162]

Focusing on the coop would be worse for single players though, and the coop mod on the pc Is a bit wonky

[@StefanLopuszanski]

@@riccardomosena4162 : Sure, but how many people play this solo compared to the PC? And it could still work solo if you individually controlled two or more characters

[@riccardomosena4162]

@@StefanLopuszanski i agree that you can play with 2 characters (I do this on other games) but it makes the game A LOT longer You can never do something that will make everyone agree on

[@StefanLopuszanski]

@@riccardomosena4162 : Sure, but my main question remains: "Who is the audience?" The way it is designed it is for people who don't play Slay the Spire but want a co-op version of it. That's much more niche than people who play Slay the Spire and want a co-op experience, those that just want a good co-op game, and those that like Slay the Spire but want a different take on it. I can only hope that they do an expansion really focusing on the co-op stuff and combos around that.

[@JohnGottschalk]

You can also download multiplayer mods for Slay the Spire, although it's more like parallel play then co-op.

[@Jessie_Helms]

The video game is the only thing that kept me sane during a 6 month period where I didn’t have an internet connection.

[@godot1785]

i am so glad that you are honest about the price tag and not trying too blindly defend it i am glad i subscribed this channel ( dont understand me wrong i would ABSOLUTLY love too play this game but that price point is a joke)