Sidereal Confluence - Shut Up & Sit Down Review

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[@philmysterious7176]

"It looks like eight PowerPoint presentations got together and formed a cult." Can't believe there aren't a dozen comments talking about one of the funniest analogies I've ever heard in my life.

[@tigerpjm]

It's a spot on description. The problem that I have with a lot of the "Euro" - "worker placement" games is that you don't actually do any interacting with the other players. This one introduces it and.... it somehow manages to make the genre *less* fun. Which is quite an achievement!

[@ShadowlessDeath47]

@@tigerpjm Well this game isn't exactly a worker placement game, more of an economy simulator even. On top of that, this review is a bit outdated now that there's a new edition which looks absolutely stunning, with the quality that it properly deserves.

[@quintinstanczak1941]

Paul was a monster on the drums! He was NAILING those triplets!

[@stevenoneil8563]

So, my local game store had a copy of a newer edition of Sidereal sitting around that my and fiancee picked up. It's so damn good! We played it the following day with some friends to try it out, and immediately got so hooked on the puzzle that we've since played it a total of about eight times with each game being a fun and interesting round. Bear in mind, that's eight times in the last like, three weeks. I have literally never gotten this much fun out of a board in this small a span of time.

[@davidmurray3542]

Oh my... I misheard that "four to nine" as "49" players, and imagined a gaming purgatory of sorts where one waits eternally for the end of the round

[@noddler217]

Oh good, thought I needed a hearing test for a bit there.

[@Mark-OutWest]

Well I read the description of this game over at bgg, only made it a couple sentences and promptly slipped into a coma. "is a singularly unique trading and negotiation game for 4-9 players. Over the course of the game, each race must trade and negotiate with the rest to acquire the resource cubes necessary to fund their economy and allow it to produce goods for the next turn. " So for me this game is a purgatory.

[@Cudgeon]

It's real time, so the turns aren't longer with more players. Also, at Mark, it's what videogamers often think about boardgames in general.

[@Tasarran]

BGG will have a 50-player variant posted tomorrow. ;)

And ... I play the card that reverse the order of the round after me ...

[@thegamedoctor200]

I came across your channel last year right after the Kingdom Death: Monster Review hit the stage. Since then, I have eagerly consumed as many bits and pieces of your reviews as possible. Having to work long nights with, occasionally, little to do, I have spent hours listening and watching these reviews, with the hope that I missed one and was going to get to enjoy just one more review by this fantastic group of guys. Without a doubt, my favorite review group. Love what you do! Thank you so much for it!

[@Aoshi312]

Rewatching this and I forgot just how perfectly hilarious it is. Great job

[@janpawedwa4590]

Paul came THIS close to playing "In the air tonight" drum fill.

[@XOB89]

2 years later but YES EXACTLY MY THOUGHT!

[@alejandrorivas4585]

@@XOB89 any jdea what he was playing?

[@XOB89]

@@alejandrorivas4585 Sorry, not a damn clue

[@devincross2205]

@@alejandrorivas4585 I think he was just riffing. The opening few bars were (intentional or otherwise) pure In the Air Tonight.

[@devincross2205]

I just finished watching this (years later) while looking into buying a Remastered Edition, to see Paul drumming for the first time. I'm now grieving the future that never was, never would be, and never will be of Paul drumming through the SU&SD Recommends list.

[@mikesmyth8330]

I loved the number of little, hilarious throwaway lines in this. That and I was unduly fascinated by Quinns' to-do list on the whiteboard in the background.

[@chasertalk]

Thanks for breaking down and highlighting a game I LOVE. The bit about player-competence was dead on. I can remember the first game with someone who didn’t quite get it and they kept making criminal trades to one player, again and again, never realizing how much they were underselling and crippling their own interests. I hope Wizkids or another publisher will return to this game for a cleaner, more elegant reprint. Until then, I’m gonna play this every chance I get!

[@EamonBurke]

Looks like a classic case of a really cool game that I would love and never get to play

[@brianmathis5423]

you should check out table top simulator ;)

[@curtmantle6554]

@jfagiag faeiea I know it's only been one week, but did you learn what google does yet?

[@DiceHard]

Happy to see that Matt's Hair has rejoined the team.

[@MAabacadaba]

Thank you for comparing to Captain Sonar! Add this to the list of games I'll never play but wish I had infinite time to explore.

[@adrianbayless2092]

Criminy, I love SU&SD. Always so subtle and funny and smart. Pot drum!!!

[@blacksheep9950]

Such a good game. Our group usually tends to struggle with longer games, and yet I've played Sidereal Confluence four times in the last four weeks.

[@DahVoozel]

"Hey, I need this specific card from the game" "No, we no belief, send proof and quick!"

[@christopherbarnette8350]

Is your image the art from "Mind Forever Voyaging"?

[@nobodynowhere21]

That was a very fair review. Wizkids definitely dropped the ball, but TauCeti the designer had a great idea and found a way to get it to the table (flawed though Wizkids has been). Discovering how to run the engine optimally in each of the 9 races has been a real treat. This game is basically cooperatively competitive, and it's a game I don't mind losing because just playing it is fun and interesting.

[@acerumble]

Good game design with cheap packaging and components is the standard for WizKids" board game line, must not be enough left in the production budget after making their flagship miniatures.

[@KumaKaori]

19:00 Brilliant burn on the 4th wall. In my experience playing SC, the Race Difficulty rating is one way to handicap more experienced board gamers when playing with a more casual group. Give the difficulty 1 and 2 races to the less experienced and the difficulty 5, 7, or 9. to your really hardcore to keep them in check. ;). Brilliant Review. Great work y'all.

[@gromit8023]

the names being like wireless passwords is so true:)

[@MrSimaTai]

Wait for the secnod edition before buying (2020)

[@yluras]

You nailed it!

[@TsetTsyung]

"... galactic gym membership..." bahahahahahahahaha

[@MrTandtrollet]

Good of you to bring up the shoddy quality. There are several threads about it on BGG too. And I received a copy with a missprint (colour missing from several cards) this was not just in my copy too. After going through the replacement process it's been over a month and I still haven't received my replacements despite contacting them again.

[@philliphessel6788]

This looks like a wild negotiating experience. I’ve ordered it, in hope that self-organizing Chaos will provide players!

[@Houses0nfire]

Another great presentation where su&sd investigated a game in a way that no other channel could!

[@ShariStidam]

Great video! You captured it perfectly. We've had a blast playing it & I was even the best at cubes one game!

[@macroverbumsciolist]

1. i love the twinkle in matt's smile at the start 2. paul is looking so GOOD!

[@qwertytarr]

Oh man Paul's drum solo definitely got a like out of me.

[@stotherd]

Reference Pear has put on a bit of weight from the last time we saw him

[@antiussentiment]

Watching talk about the trading thing here made me want to get Civilisation out again.. I don't think I've played it since the 90s. But the chaos of the trading round in that game is sorely missed.

[@Paint_to_play]

Dang, you guys are just pumping out the reviews lately! But another awesome great review. Fun review too.

[@devoron123]

I really just want a clip of him saying everything is simple and self explanatory, then cutting to the alien name. I feel like that is me every week teaching games.

[@Moctipotili1]

Brilliant putting links to the two other games you mentioned in this review

[@severngamingnetwork]

3:12 "and then you can become quite unhelpfully wealthy...." and then a Bioware mug full of tea appears!! HAHAHA!

[@Doomclown]

Came back for the Paul Dean Memorial Drum Solo.

[@villevalste1888]

18:52 Remember when KZbin had annotations? Shut Up and Sit Down remembers.

[@thecoolerrats7144]

Paul missed his calling as a drummer...unless he is a drummer. Anywho, game looks fun. Was super put off by the look of it at first, but after listening to the games breakdown it sounds great.

[@cklester]

Came here to say this. Paul's drum solo was ON POINT!

[@ax0r799]

He learned drums as a kid - he mentioned it on his recent interview with Heavy Cardboard.

[@JoelGaller]

WicDiv! I always love it when I find out my favorite creators like the same things I do. Fantastic comic.

[@asaskald]

It looks fun in that, "convert these cubes into those cubes" kinda way that I enjoy. But I'm not likely ever going to play. And WizKids has some shitty components sometimes. My Quarriors set has some real garbage dice. Compared to Roll for the Galaxy which has perfect dice.

[@TheR971]

The trading and the resulting niceness really reminds me of bohnanza.

[@mikabjorklund3678]

Wizkids. Got Mage Knight for Christmas. 36 Cards missing. 7 weeks later, still haven't got the replacement cards. Maybe next Christmas. Not buying anything from them until they get their shit together.

[@heikesiegl2640]

Mika Björklund really? I better check mine then.. it is standing in the corner atm..

[@mikabjorklund3678]

You should. The tray should be pretty evenly packed, with no big gaps between the cards (=only space, where the dividers are). In my case at least it was pretty easy to see something was missing. Also, if there's something missing and you bought it from a store (not online), I'd contact the store and let them handle it. I've only heard bad bad things about the Wizkids replacement system.

[@rpgisaboutlife4396]

@@mikabjorklund3678 Never had problems with it... I guess you are unlucky.

[@mikabjorklund3678]

@@rpgisaboutlife4396 Most people probably don't have any problems. But if there are problems it was stupidly difficult to order replacement parts. I eventually got the missing cards by the way... Except I didn't because they were FOR THE WRONG GAME. They sent me cards for Kemet. Luckily the local store I bought the game from just sent me a new game at that point. It's been a few years, so hopefully it's better now. I wouldn't know.

[@rpgisaboutlife4396]

@@mikabjorklund3678 You should have said, in a prompt reply, you bought Kemet and missed some parts - you'd now have a complete game of Kemet :)

[@DerekHohls]

"I don't think he's opened it, no." Pretty much all my games.

[@caitlinsticco8008]

I have been saying this side - real in my head, and wondering if a side-real was something I was supposed to know about or just an in-game reference. So, thanks for saying that out loud so I could be in private when I smack my forehead and go "Ohhhh."

[@DanGalarzaCyber]

The game feels like a social version of Century Spice Road. Instead of trading with a bank, you're trading with each other. Trading with a bank only happens six times throughout the game. It means that instead of players with their heads down looking at their crap, players must keep their heads on a swivel, looking at each other's crap. Setup and teaching are difficult, but its so good. And the devs are fully aware that nothing is lost by calling cubes by their color. You do need players prepared to be simultaneously cooperative players and capitalist savages. If they can play Century Spice Road, they can play this (I mean that literally. Century Spice Road makes a great stepping stone to this.)

[@vrulg]

I choose to believe that Paul always does that with every game Quins and/or Matt review, but they've just never used the footage before.

[@snogurt]

That drumming! No joke. Also hilarious

[@InVinceIble009]

I'm a bit disappointed at the reasons why you hesitate recommending it. I feel that just like many games, you still need a certain type of players anyway. Think about food chain magnate. I still need a certain type of gamer. Not everyone is ready for playing this. But this is where it also shines since the game offers something unique. This is the very same thing with sidereal confluence. I feel that we should focus more on how unique this game is rather than how too eccentric it is. But as always you are the online ones I watch the entire video. Love what you're doing guys. Thank you so much to offer a window to this game.

[@bigpoppapump2594]

Paul please buy a spice rack.

[@laynaTheLobster]

These reviews are far more entertaining than they have the right to be.

[@seasand6705]

I rewatch this one from time to time just for the guest appearance from Paul. I also really like the game

[@Cpt_nice]

I played this game the first time this week. It is SO good.

[@TheLoneGamr]

Super excited to play this game. I expect a lot of sighing when I bring the game out on Game Night, because of how boring the box and components are. Glad to see it getting the attention I think it deserves.

[@huttj509]

Some friends of mine and I get together for game weekends a few times a year. This was busted out at halloween. I loved it. It was busted out at New Years. I...missed that game of it. I was doing something else at the time it was forming. This weekend there's a housewarming party. I WILL FIND TIME TO PLAY THIS GAME AGAIN. And normally I *hate* negotiation games, because there's that one guy dominating, and everyone's going for the same things in the same way. But here everyone's so different. Even in that one game multiple times I'd trade with someone and come away "aha, I really ripped him off on that one...wait, why is he smiling. He thinks he ripped me off?" And you know what, we were both right. Cubes are worth what you can do with them, and I felt this game did that better than any negotiation game I've played before.

[@oliverberg5738]

13:05 best analogy ever! You've got me so damn good :D

[@Pajman77]

Paul's review was amazing!

[@SnoopyThe4th]

uh oh.. starting to fall in love with matt now too. this is problem :/

[@HerpinThaDerp]

only just now?

[@jeyivanov]

Described game experience is exactly aligned with my experience of playing Bohnanza. I was expecting it to be mentioned throughout the video or it's comment section but it just never was. Now I feel alone in this big empty universe.

[@BenThorp]

Literally LOLd at the "8 powerpoints got together to form a cult" line. Torn on the game - I love Captain SONAR, and have successfully played it a few times and would definitely play it again. One advantage it appears to have over Sidereal Confluence is that it is possible to play it with non-gamers - it's fairly intuitive what you're supposed to do, whereas SC seems like it would be very complicated to explain. I love the idea, but I'm not sure the components are worth the price for a game that might be harder to get to the table.

[@CrisWhetstone]

I knew you guys would like this one. It came up under the radar but it has staying power. It's really a unique experience.

[@themaster408]

This was quite hilarious. Seems like a fun time, but the entire time I was like “but who would play this with me?” And yeah, I’ve only gotten captain sonar to the table 3 times total.

[@acerumble]

Paul cameo steals the show without saying a word

[@rapzad3623]

I need to stop watching these so late at night

[@zerobadideas]

jesus, if Quinns has never seen a board game with paper edges that stick out slightly, then I must be incredibly unlucky. a lot of my favourite games have a noticeable paper edge

[@OmegaUltimaWill]

Yay, Shortbox print! This feels like a reverse version of me buying the wicked + divine one after seeing it in these videos. Oh, also something about a game? The game looks great! (Also, the title.. the title's a play on Cosmic Encounter, right? I'm, I'm not just making connections?)

[@natedorward2256]

I got this one and by hook or crook I'm going to get it to the table--it's so damn ugly and now I have to count all those hundreds of cards to make sure that NONE are missing before it's been 90 days. OMG. And yet.... I know this is going to be great.

[@Pandaman64]

China town is already one of my groups favorite games. We've played it more then any other, and it brings a lot of aggression to the table which I appreciate. Here's all I want to know: Will this game make my friends hate each other more then chinatown? If yes instant buy. If no then Eventually maybe.

[@pooscooper]

This looks like the most board gamey-ass board game I’ve ever seen. It ticks so many board game boxes, I think I could be convinced it doesn’t even exist

[@efikkert]

This game (Second edition is MUCH better designed) is one of my most favorite games of all time. However, I was the only one in my group who felt that way. Take what SUSD said seriously. If you or the people you play with hate the feeling of near completely open strategy OR if you do not like the stress of having people shoving deals in your face and having to decide between things... this game is NOT for you. The most frequent quote I had from my table was "I have no idea what I'm trying to do, but converting things is fun". It's a high stress, high complexity dopamine generator . That said, I wish there was a more simple Pocket Edition with a more approachable theme. The language, naming, and design make it so much more complex than it needs to be and it's hard to find a large group willing to slog through the setup and gameplay.

[@Mattchew2232]

Love the Sans shirt, Matt. : )

[@0angeldust0]

How does Sidereal Confluence compares to other negotiation games such as Settles of Catan and Cosmic Encounter?

[@tomhurst907]

I'd love to see stock traders play this game!

[@Bynx08]

Wait...a negotiation game that rewards you for being fair and nice? Very interesting

[@bigdream_dreambig]

This is actually typical in real life. I remember reading about how this kind of behavior naturally arises if you're in a situation where you expect to have repeated dealings with the same individuals. The time when you get in trouble is when you're going to do a single trade and never see the other party again -- thus, for example, the problem with every criminal ransom demand ever.

[@lennaylennay2]

Important to note there is now a 9 more faction expansion. They are super wierd and no coverage on KZbin

[@Erethakbe]

when you mentioned the rulebook... i couldnt help thinking of the galaxy trucker rulebook or the TI4 rulebook, that offer a first simple game setup but do not give you a full standard game setup. the bastards.

[@bronxuk6052]

I only want to know one thing, why are what looks like soda cans lined up in rows in your window box ?. love your channel btw.

[@Umami1387]

Huh, so its not pronounced "side real." TIL

[@ggalizia]

I kept waiting assuming they were mispronouncing it on purpose... but, uh, yeah. I guess it is not 'side reel'

[@TCJones]

Its side reel, how would you ever know to say that as sid e airial confluence...

[@dj_koen1265]

Its pronounced as sai deh ree all

[@DahVoozel]

New....content....HYPE!

[@EmrysTernal]

Looking back, this is probably the point where Paul, who doesn't seem to have even played this game and who I think would have loved it... started to dissociate from SU&SD. He just... lost all of his wind starting about here... and now he's gone, moved on to other projects. I'm happy for him, but I do wish that he had contributed more than a drum solo.

[@jeremiahkool1]

Before Quinns did the questioning of the production quality about 4 mins in I thought this was a spoof boardgame that he and Matt had come up with, Space Wasps indeed! Ha!

[@sad0happy]

Sidereal is amazing. One of the best games of 2017 for sure.

[@roflcopterannoysme]

Matt spitting some 🔥🔥🔥 economic facts.

[@ShadyNetworker]

Soooo, I just received this game and have planned my first game in a few weeks! Update: THIS GAME IS EXHILARATING!

[@daikage]

Perfect review of this game. You hit all of the points I try to make. Great game with so much going on, but so hard to get people to play because of the strange hybrid nature and ugly look.

[@sebastiantaylor3389]

this is really interesting because, sociologically, trust is increased when you have multiple, numerous, and frequent repeat interactions with someone. And somehow this game has nailed the mechanics of building 'trust' without rules, but through social science.

[@MrPolecat]

We play this with Tide Pods instead of little green cubes.

[@Tolinar]

18:30 I am woken out of an impromptu nap to some extreme racket English auto-caption claims it is [Music] Generous. Not for me, this one.

[@zachgaskins3731]

Heh, featuring a Leigh Alexander cameo as the police dispatcher.

[@Bundeskaiser]

It's a pity that I still couldn't find a good explanation video how to play this game.

[@EveryoneWhoUsesThisTV]

You've got a nice pear... You can go far on camera with a pear like that.

[@Zoskal]

This game is an absolute blast. Buy it and play it, trust me.

[@Flaplo]

Reference pear is back! Thank the gods.

[@spoon3786]

Hey I was wondering what table you guys use. I was interested in getting one.

[@jacobpizzo2830]

I second this

[@nickvandam1214]

I wrote the game off with the poor customer service. There are enough fantastic games out there with good support that I'll pass on this one.

[@brningpyre]

Actually, my copy of Troyes has the same fraying on the box corners.

[@anonleft]

...so it's kind of Bohnanza mixed with cosmic encounter?

[@scottcameron174]

Love the Undertale shirt.

[@MatakishiTeaHouse]

This is such a good game. Your comments on the components, and the box- what a horrible thing that is, are spot on but none of that matters because the game is so engrossing I'd happily play it with pebbles and note paper.

[@animula8322]

But is it better than Chinatown?

[@maxsayo]

I am actually afraid for when Fury of Dracula re-releases under the WizKids brand and I find a missing piece, or the quality compared to the Fantasy Flight version is much shoddier.

[@z4iris]

18:18 Is that YYZ on kitchen utensils? xD

[@Pandaman64]

In case anyone happens to stumble across this review; wizkids is reprinting the game. Hopefully the reprint will have corrected the issues of the original.

[@heikesiegl2640]

Not intetested in the game, but i really want that shirt D: there aren't many nice looking undertale shirts