Steam Up Review: Dim Sum Up Your Points

[@TheInvadernick]

As an Asian person, I will say that having your sibling rotate the lazy susan and eating your favourite dim sum before you can get to it, is a super culturally accurate representation of what happens at a dim sum lunch LOL😂😂😂

[@thwilee]

“If I turned my brain off….it’s not awful.”😅

[@RulebooksForYou]

Nice 😂😅

[@icydeadpeeps]

We've played this a few times now at different player counts. Our thoughts: Pros: Really good looking components. Good theme Two player is the way to go with this. It has means there is a lot of strategy around how to turn the table and when to play your cards. Easy teach and good for families Cons: The squishy dim sum, while nice has a few problems. First it can make drawing from the bag less random. It's definitely possible to quickly feel which piece you are grabbing which can be a problem since some cards have you draw from the bag and certain types are worth more for certain players. The second issue, mentioned by Tom, is that some of the larger ones can interfere with the steamers from stacking nicely which can give away info about what is in lower steamers before you should know that. The feast zone rings are very fiddly and shuffles all over like Tom mentioned. If feels like a crazy oversight when everything is so well produced and this is a poor solution. For us the luck of the die, plus the luck of the Fate cards, plus the luck of Fortune cards, plus the luck of what steamer comes up next is a bit too much to feel good. Some characters are definitely stronger than others. At 4-5 players the game is too long for what it delivers

[@thebestmediocregamer]

for the first con i found that issue too, however i use the tokens in the bag and when i pull it out i use the squishy pieces so that drawing from the bag is truly random! I definitely feel the characters are super unbalanced for example if the dog vs the pig, the point disparity when i played was over 10 even with an even number of steamer baskets! feels like such a heavy oversight!

[@angelafortunato3866]

My family loves this game. We didn't really have any of the issues that were mentioned in the review, but we are a very generous bunch of players. No one hate drafts and we just have fun with the game. We actually sometimes try to move the baskets to face a player if they're aiming for a certain combination. Our games were very quick and enjoyable with almost no downtime. We played the game at 2 and 3 count so far. We would rate it an 8/10. I do appreciate the Dice Towers views on the game though :D

[@RvLeshrac]

You definitely reinforced their points. Sounds like if you just play it as a random party game, it works.

[@Mancupcake]

Watching this review is shocking, as I wrote one on BGG a week or so ago, and you almost perfectly echo it. Wanted to love it, beautiful to look at... not much going on under the hood. The part this review doesn't account for [which I know is just something DT doesn't touch on typically] is that this version game also costs ***$80*** shipped! [The base is closer to $60] It is INCREDIBLY expensive for what you get in terms of actual play.

[@ericmattar-hurlbut2317]

Yeah, I had the same thoughts when I saw the Kickstarter. A beautiful game, but too light for the price point.

[@whalesequence]

an example of components over substance

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Wow yeah that's important consumer advice!

[@JosephFlemming]

Wasn’t it 80 CAD? That’s fairly cheap in USD.

[@forrestdunton2451]

I’m not mad I paid $80 at all. Maybe it should have been clearer to you from rules set that it wasn’t going to be good for you. I’ve paid far more for games I found far less fun.

[@NickGotch]

I haven't played it yet but I did a quick personal runthrough just to know it for when I do and the issues mentioned here are exactly what I was thinking. I LOVE the look and subject matter but I already got a sense this was going to be another "great looking but ultimately undersatisfying" experiences. I'll still give it a go with my family and (fingers crossed) it's fun despite the reservations I have.

[@michaelcastiglia2145]

Man, I feel like I played a different game than you guys did. At 3 or 4 player the game was 40-60 minutes (including teach). There didn't feel like a lot of downtime in games. I get the hate draft feel, but have found myself to really enjoy the game.

[@CresentSoul]

Mmm interesting. Maybe you stroked it real good?

[@idrx7]

We played with my bg group for a few times, mostly 4 to 5 players and here are my thoughts. First impression is we're amazed by how much they have incorporated Asian culture into this game, like they way they restrict your move to grab the food from far because of table manner. That's something that they teach you when you're a kid at the Chinese restaurant, definitely bring back memories. Gameplay is straightforward, you collect resources and in exchange you get dimsum and points, your success will depend on your character special and use of fortune card. Comparable to games like Splendor and Century, It's at the last few rounds that you'll see players think hard to create combo moves by using the cards in hand, combined with the turn table move in order to get the last few steamers. I don't see luck play such a big role as DT review says, I think it's comparable to games of this kind. Every character has special scoring ability, while some seems easier to play than others. We haven't found one character that has a major advantage yet. The few games that we played we all scored pretty close. This may not be the favorite for everyone, But I think it's a great game at the light game category. It's easy to teach and just have enough competitiveness.

[@thebestmediocregamer]

the characters definitely have advantages over others IMO, i played 2 player with my gf and she uses the pig and i used the dog, i was scoring more steamers than her but the point difference between the 2 is just way too big. pig easily scores 2 each time with completed column additional 3. It just outclassed the dog so so much

[@mayralizarraga8082]

Awww, wishing the review to be higher because it looked very pretty.I just received the boardgame this month, haven't had the time to play it.

[@LeeKenshin7]

I've been debating but this review cemented it for me: sell pile. I really want to keep it for the looks and theme (since my wife and I love Dim Sum) but that should already be a red flag. Even my wife was meh though she was so excited to play it when I showed her the box. Very little substance and quite a luck-fest for the cost; I say this even though I won the only game we've played so far. Happened to draw just the right card and the right time. I have other pretty, welcoming games that are more worthwhile.

[@noeldillabough]

I wonder if there are variants to make this better. Any suggestions? I like Tom's idea of everyone getting a default scoring card what else?

[@MrDJCoulton]

I understand that the mechanics relies heavily on the rotating lazy Susan but I just can't for the life of me find that to be anything but extra hassle

[@tvdavis]

My copy was on my front porch when I got back from Dice Tower West! Problem was that I got the ‘Rona and haven’t been well enough to play it yet!

[@Flip5ide]

Ahh that sucks, get well soon!

[@culinarykid92]

I'm glad I forgot to late back this then. I saw this at Gen Con 2022 and didn't have time to check out the demo they ran. The components were top notch though.

[@jjleggo8717]

Could some of the randomness be mitigated by getting rid of the rotate rule and just letting players pick from any basket?

[@olivigarden]

While I haven't received my KS copy yet, I played the TTS demo at 2 and really enjoyed it! Maybe it works better at lower player counts to offset the chaos? Regardless, going to keep my fingers crossed that I still enjoy it when I get the physical copy!

[@CresentSoul]

Oh right. Good at 2. I wonder if people tried stroking 🤔

[@play-it-or-not]

I had a quick demo of it at PAX and I immediately realized it would be a pass for me. It looks like an overproduced random set collection game with no depth at all.

[@BoardGameHype]

I'm already enjoying Joey being on the show. He's a natural!

[@palacsintaz]

It would really bug me that I can't eat those plastic pieces. Kinda like the plastic sandwich props they have in some cafes.

[@CresentSoul]

Oh yeah. Stoke it really good. Yum yum!

[@MussoGames]

😂 people in the comments be crazy. Everyone can have whatever opinion they want. Neither theirs nor yours is correct. But hey, that’s just like my opinion man.

[@JonTripp115]

Maybe Steam Up should talk to Planet Unknown about how to make a board game with a lazy Susan.

[@TheErnieforss]

I dont think 3 players work as well as two player or 4 player. There is almost no point in turning the table.

[@Mcbarkles]

Just jere to say thats a great tie!

[@jsi7iv]

Nice to meet you Joey, looking forward to see how you add to the dynamic. Enjoyed your debut (debut for me at least). Sorry to not see you Mike, I hope we still see you often.

[@TerrierHalo]

I don’t think I’ve had dim sum yet, and it doesn’t look like I need to rush out to get any quite yet.

[@xlhooka666]

Just sayin... Dim Sum Pick Um was right there

[@kelbertozini]

Actually the ring matters because there are turns you only have one pile available instead of two...but yeah...overall the game was bad...really bad...Chai is better but still not a great game. The cons for me were the character powers. It would have been better if there was a symmetric option. Also, the shapes of the dim sum makes it easy for you to choose when drawing from the bag. In terms of downtime, our 5 player game lasted 45 minutes. Definitely not bad...but everything else was bad...

[@Septembersmith9633]

Gotta love an expensive board game where the components are better off used for something else 😂

[@squared82]

Bummer

[@wemf2]

When I saw the Kickstarter, I knew that it was more style than substance...

[@JosephFlemming]

Tbh the moving table back then they have to move it back is thematic I think to Chinese round tables with the giant lazy Susan for the food.

[@blakebush7661]

Played this last night. This game is really bad. I think they were overly kind to it tbh because it's production level and theme. It's very unbalanced even outside of the special characters, the cards are wildly different in power levels. Some cards give the same points as other cards but are just easier to do. Like one card gave 2 points for completing a row and another gave 2 points for completing a row and column.

[@bruceschwering5919]

Sounds like this game could have been cooked more. Balance issues is a major turn off

[@forrestdunton2451]

Honestly, it’s fun for what it is. It’s a family weight game that’s chaotic and a bit mean. If that’s not fun for you then it’s not the game for you and that’s absolutely fine but also have somebody who gets it to review it. I’ve gotten where I almost can’t stomach watching DT reviews anymore except for B Drake’s. It’s not just this review, it’s light games all the way up to heavy games like Weather Machine that are generally well reviewed across the board but get panned on DT. I’d have missed dozens of my great board games if I’d continued to listen to the opinions on the channel, and I spent plenty of money on mediocre games heralded by the channel. I guess that’s why bgg is so much a better barometer of what’s good but this does a serious disservice to people who would actually enjoy the game and will skip it now. I mean they’re literally complaining about a ring around the board that is so innocuous and easy to ignore that it boggles my mind the amount of time spent on mentioning it.

[@mohmednasarlunat-vb8md]

Looks beautiful on the gaming table, very light family game. Designer of Royal Realms Publishing by: Hobby Doctor Games UK

[@CresentSoul]

Oh wow, thanks. So informative. Now get out! Get outta here! Shuuu 😢

[@cornichon2580]

I have to say, I'm always struck by how much your scores don't seem to match up with your descriptions. Almost everything about this was negative. Even the positive comments, other than the quality components, were pretty backhanded (e.g., I didn't hate it, it wasn't awful). I really feel like you need to think about expanding your use of scores throughout the range. Based on the descriptions you both gave about how chaotic it was, how you had no agency, how unbalanced it was, and how it generally didn't feel good to play, I would have expected something like a 3.

[@AahzmandusPervect]

My thoughts exactly!

[@gamera2351]

I don’t even know what dim sum is. Isn’t it just Chinese food?

[@crimsonrose]

Dim sum is a type of cuisine/food/dining experience in China (there are also dim sum restaurants in the US such as Capital Seafood in Arcadia, CA). Stereotypical dim sum restaurants have people with little carts of dim sum who ask you what you want and stamp your bill to pay later, with each stamp representing a price-point. Most dim sum is usually dumplings and other small steamed dishes like steamed pork or chicken feet as well as a handful of desserts. It isn't everywhere in China though--had a visiting scholar in my laboratory from China who was from a region that didn't have dim sum. He had no idea what it was and we had to explain it to him. On a side note, just like the US and other countries, cuisine is China is very regional with certain kinds of dishes and styles of food favored in certain areas (analogous to "chicago style pizza" versus "new york style pizza" or "new york cuisine" versus "californian cuisine"). To parallel the region differences, I similarly only just learned about cincinnati chili. Often in the US we experience Indian and Chinese food from a particular region but people don't know about. Gujarat Indian cuisine, for example, tends to be more vegetarian than other regions of India.

[@gamera2351]

@@crimsonrose Wow. Thank you. 😁

[@alexlord4599]

Gameplay looks awful. I hate a luck dominated game and I hate targeted hate drafting mechanics. Thank you for the heads up! Great review 🙂

[@EfrainRiveraJunior]

I'm so glad that I didn't back this game.

[@nipzie]

All I read on here is board game snobs complaining about a family level board game not being complex enough to keep their interests, and how it's not worth the price because it's simple. Simple games can have nice shit in it. This hobby is so pretentious sometimes.

[@jdrahonovsky]

Unbalanced? Maybe...but I played it with my girlfriend who's not a hardcore gamer and we had a blast. So I'm in the same boat as you reading all these comments.

[@jvomkrieg]

100%. A huge part of this comment section is a laughably bad set of board game snobs who haven't played the game but are parroting what the review said.

[@Ecto_Fox]

this game was just bleh. glad I did not back

[@madebyhman7996]

I really disagree with this review. Yes, the rings are slightly fiddly, but this game is a hoot. It’s a light game, yes, and your expectations should be adjusted accordingly. Something Joey brought up is a legit thing - this level of component quality is perfect for introducing new players to the hobby. This game is a 8/10 at least, easily.

[@iobuppu]

You can have fun throwing rocks but cant say rocks are a good game. Is a good product, not a good game. If a new player plays a bad game will run away from the hobby.. sorry, just my 2c!

[@JosephFlemming]

I wasn’t blown away by this but we DO like light games and this reminded me of Chai, although maybe with a bit more randomness. I’d rate this 7.5. I wish some of the cards were end game goals. The tightness at three players only being allowed to buy 12 dishes total felt quite competitive. I do fear that some of the player powers are unbalanced but it was literally our first play so I can hardly count that. If you like lighter games with great theme, don’t let this review scare you away!

[@madebyhman7996]

@@JosephFlemming I find it hard to assess the balance thus far. The animal that crushed one game (meat snake) came in last in the next game. I will add though that I’ll actively avoid playing at 5 players - it felt very unintuitive to figure out which steamers were available to you at any given point. 2-4 players only for me! :)

[@Alloniya]

Been waiting this game