Stuffed Fables | Rahdo's Final Thoughts

[@bobnetherton4957]

I wish this game had been available when my daughter was younger. Now, as she is a young adult, we will play this on family game night to remember back to those times when she was a child and everybody has a good time. As a parent trying to stay connected to our adult children, this experience is priceless. The simplicity isn't as much of a problem as there are so many other challenging coops. Stuffed Fables gives us such a wonderful game experience, it is fantastic as is.

[@Gutock]

Man Rahdo, I know you get flak for rambling... but I love it! This is kind of talk helps immensely and now it's just a quest to find a copy in China or bite the bullet to get it shipped... but with a little one here I definitely want to seek out this experience. Thank you!

[@BitJam]

Rahdo, you are such a treasure! I hope your move goes well and we will see you again after you are settled in.

[@ericaschaidt8588]

BitJam couldn't agree more! I love this channel and all Rahdo does. Being able to see a game played and get a sense of it is priceless.

[@thomaspetrucka9173]

Thank your for the review! I bought this on a whim and I only have adult friends. I will absolutely be ramping up the difficulty!

[@steveerwin9391]

I love the irony that the care bear game is too care bear for two self-proclaimed care bears. :) Makes total sense in context of a too-easy cooperative game, and that your care-beariness is about conflict between players in games. I just wanted to type that sentence. :P

[@milkiverplanski9491]

The best thing regarding children is how each page is super short to play through, we only play one page per day with our son (12) and it's over before he gets bored. ;) So far with 3 it didn't feel too easy either (one of our stuffies had only one stuffing left at one point, but we were able to heal him back up a little), but it's definitely an easy game, which in this case I don't mind, since I'm just very eager to continue the story. I also very much enjoyed painting the minis - they really are so adorable! :)

[@2010Renu]

Excellent take as always! Don't know what would we do without you.

[@ericaschaidt8588]

Is there a place where we can find the variant rules for upping the difficulty? So we could print them out and keep them with the game?

[@rahdo]

someone somed them up here: boardgamegeek.com/thread/1954775/seasoned-stuffies-100-un-approved and the designer posted in that thread that an official (perhaps updated) list will be coming from the pub next week :)

[@tiahamilton8568]

the cute look of this game is an obvious appeal. However, since my husband and I would be playing as two adults, I would want to play with the adult variables.

[@rahdo]

someone somed them up here: boardgamegeek.com/thread/1954775/seasoned-stuffies-100-un-approved and the designer posted in that thread that an official (perhaps updated) list will be coming from the pub next week :)

[@stevenbonham7136]

Anybody with kids have an age range they feel is best for the game? Thanks Rhado for the videos!

[@Grouik]

Steven Bonham much easier if they can read their own cards and easily add dice rolls. :) 6-7 ?

[@jellysmith4350]

I'm getting there with my 4y/o, but it demands breaking the stories into shorter playing chunks, as well as a complete understanding of the rules, first. Wouldn't be a fun experience, trying to figure everything out, in front of such young kids...I also introduced him to it really slowly...by showing him the characters, first, without trying to play, and by making up stories about them, and relating them to his own stuffed toys....he even started calling his elephant 'lumpy', his teddy bear, 'theodora', and his rabbit, 'flops', and resurrected them from his toy cupboard, back onto his bed, to help protect him from nightmares. This was all before we even started trying to play...its tricky but it can be done, and it's been great watching him develop his playing style, and exploring his strategic thinking with him.

[@tmcclanahan]

My wife and I (no kids) never finished even the base version of Mice & Mystics *because* it was't designed to let you "fail forward" and re-playing chapters only drove home how frustrating, dull, & random the core gameplay was. Sometimes I consider taking it down off the shelf and just reading the rest of the storybook aloud, maybe acting out the story with the minis. ...Yet somehow, watching this run-through made this game (which we'd had somewhat higher hopes for; the story concept looks even more appealing to us than rodents!) seem *less* appealing. The gameplay looks so ... bleh, mechanical, maybe? A game can be *easy* without being *automatic*. A game can be engaging and interesting even without giving players meaningful agency or challenges (e.g.: Bioshock on easy, or (for most players) Pandemic: Legacy Season 1). The concept is solid, but there doesn't appear to be anything beyond a rote dungeon-crawl on "easy mode"-which is a game style/mechanic that does nothing for me, even when in "hard mode". Oh, well.

[@docbun]

Hi Rahdo! One quick question (and parents would be welcome to chime in here too): did you not find the minions a bit nightmare-ish for a kids's game? (For instance, the ones you show really get on my nerves because of the faces. I would already find them "minions-like" enough with the pincers and their legs. Just wondering. ;-)

[@Grouik]

Yan Hey Hello! Had the same reaction. However some monsters look like they come from toy story! ;) and in fact kids I played with reacted very positively. It is important that they identify good/bad guys at first glance. Of course each child is different and the reactions will vary...

[@rahdo]

sorry i couldn't say as i don't know or game with young kids...

[@grotemuis732]

I'm playing this with a 6 and 9 year old and the unpainted miniatures aren't really scary. The game is exciting for them, but never too scary. They are so immersed in the hero part of the story that they are more concentrated on beating the monsters instead of being scared of them

[@docbun]

Thank you Olivier and Geerten!

[@darrenrowe50]

My copy arrived today!!! Too bad I'm leaving it in shrink for like the next 3 years while my son grows up.

[@rahdo]

wow, you're a stronger man than me. i'd at least crack the shrink to look over all the stuff! :)

[@darrenrowe50]

Wow, I'm a little star struck Rahdo. You replied! Okay that's a little fan girly but meh. Here's the catch, my wife is about to go off work for like 5 years with our second son and will likely have a third there too. So she has gotten strict on my board gaming budget (I've spent around 5k in last 5 years). So, I got a work around where this is my son's 5th birthday present hahaha.

[@YourRump]

I was very excited for this game...painted the minis for my son's 'big' Christmas present...but the game is absolutely broken. I'm surprised by this review - there are so many flaws with the mechanics/rules that it's basically not playable. Pretty surprised by your favourable review.

[@mattlowder]

But seriously, this game is totally trying to tell me how to live my life.

[@Scribblescrabbly]

I've been wondering... is this game good for 4 grown adults?

[@rahdo]

i tried to address that very question in this video :)

[@Scribblescrabbly]

rahdo Thanks! I just finished watching. Yea, not for my play group, but I appreciate your thoughts.