Tainted Grail: Kings of Ruin review | With Mike | Prototype provided

[@OneStopCoopShop]

COMPONENTS - Tough to say, of course, since everything was still in partial prototype form, but the minis are huge and well-detailed, the cards are nicely illustrated, and the book was great... except that sometimes it was a bit tough to turn the pages with the binding. 0:00 - Introduction 0:50 - Characters 1:41 - Grind 2:54 - Combat and Diplomacy 3:52 - Exploration 4:38 - Narrative Choice 6:03 - Final Thoughts

[@lastwish5373]

You’re the best Mike! My favorite boardgame KZbinr

[@OneStopCoopShop]

Thanks!

[@mylor1066]

Thanks Mike. The 5x5 is a great format. Well balanced review as always.

[@nigeltinning8713]

Love your videos, mate. Great stuff. And thank you.. they're very much appreciated. Boardgame reviewers and demonstrators are a great breed.

[@OneStopCoopShop]

Thanks for watching!

[@Biodelic]

I don't know, I find it simply cruel to send hungry adventurers out into the wild, just so some player doesn't have to do a bit of grinding. Characters deserve to be fed at least once a day. 😏

[@OneStopCoopShop]

They have a difficulty variant that brings the old food rule back, if you wanna be cruel 😅

[@ChadHensley]

Thanks for the coverage! It's hard for me to get epic games to the table because of limited space but I loved my limited time with the original Tainted Grail. Unfortunately, I never made it very far. Then they announced the updated rules so I intentionally held off until I got those in hand. Not sure if I will start with the original or Kings of Ruin when everything does finally arrive.

[@OneStopCoopShop]

Can’t go wrong either way. It should be an upgraded, better play experience

[@oldmankaiju8047]

Do you feel that the additional miniatures that you can purchase add to the gameplay/immersion? Or would not having them not change the exerience at all? (I know that I love really good miniatures in my dungeon crawlers for sure.)

[@OneStopCoopShop]

I’m not the best to ask, because I tend to avoid lots of miniatures, but no I don’t think you need them. They come in pretty infrequently

[@oldmankaiju8047]

@@OneStopCoopShop Thanks there, it's appreciated!

[@Filip_eF]

There is no point im extra monsters mimiature

[@Deltium5683]

This game looks incredibly good to me.

[@haxan6663]

I put my original Tainted Grail away 10 months ago and I haven't felt any desire to get it back to the table!? Had little enthusiasm for the combat/diplomacy cards and was never sure if I was actually achieving anything. Love the theme and the aesthetics but don't think that it is for me?

[@OneStopCoopShop]

The combat/diplomacy hasn’t really changed here, but what you might enjoy more is that you have a more definite goal/direction in each chapter and a stronger sense of persistent forward progress. But yeah, game might not be for you in any case!

[@adityam7866]

What are your thoughts on the Wyrd miniatures. My sense is they probably don’t get used that much on the table enough to justify getting the minis like in etherfields or ISS vanguard?

[@OneStopCoopShop]

There is a major event that brings them into play, but since they are just alternates minis for existing characters it strikes me as optional bling and not a necessary component

[@adam551982]

Damn it, should have backed this.

[@OneStopCoopShop]

Hopefully it’s easy to find after it is finished and delivered

[@morgaknightgames]

I'm skipping the original Tainted Grail and going right to Kings of Ruin. It just sounds like a more streamlined system. Thanks for the review!

[@OneStopCoopShop]

That would be my suggestion for sure, if your tastes somewhat align with mine

[@Filip_eF]

You'll lose 3 epoc campaigns

[@Agrios211]

Did you play true Solo or two handed? Or what would you recommend with this game?

[@OneStopCoopShop]

I played 2-handed for most of this campaign, and solo back when I originally previewed it. Both worked well, though I enjoy the options of 2-handed (you can split up to speed exploration, or come together to help win combats and exploration requirements).

[@CuriousCabinet]

Do you know if that was the normal story book, or the deluxe art version?

[@OneStopCoopShop]

No idea, sorry! I didn’t know there was a difference.

[@nutherefurlong]

Been looking forward to your feelings on the game after some time has passed. I still wonder about the combat/diplomacy system, maybe if I knew it's going to go my way with a weaker encounter I'd just say I won and get on with it. Did the choices feel arbitrary? Did the different story structure make the choices feel different than the old game?

[@OneStopCoopShop]

The choices felt impactful and thought-provoking, honestly, though I didn’t necessarily have all the information when I made them (I had missed some evidence/mysteries/etc.) And yeah, sometimes I just skipped a combat because I knew I would win anyway and wasn’t in the mood. Don’t tell anyone! 😜

[@nutherefurlong]

@@OneStopCoopShop I'm pretty sure that boar or giant rat would have been thankful you put them out of their misery quickly. I got the impression from some people who played the original that they were often blindsided by failure or penalty states that they felt they didn't earn from some of the choices. Perhaps it helps that food is more of a bonus than its lack a penalty, and other tweaks it has. You planning on getting the full game?

[@OneStopCoopShop]

@nutherefurlong if they send me the full game I’ll certainly finish it. I’m pretty invested in the story now!

[@mylor1066]

​@@OneStopCoopShopah! This is good to hear!

[@BLDTHEGAMER]

Has this been fixed backwards in first TG?

[@OneStopCoopShop]

There is an upgrade or update pack that back-ports some stuff, but definitely not everything!

[@ledpowz]

So... Kings of Ruin or The Isofarian Guard? :D

[@OneStopCoopShop]

I haven’t played IG, but others on the channel and discord have. From what I can tell both are huge games, both have the potential for grind, both have combat that can be both fun and problematic…

[@joncarr5545]

I’m very concerned they took away the open world and sense of possible adventure. I’ve heard many including yourself keep saying how linear and self contained each chapter is. That sounds awful to me and is making me very hesitant to back the game despite all the other improvements. The first game shined precisely because you could go any direction you wanted from the start. And the game rewards you for it. It didn’t lack focus, it made it an immersive world full of mystery. You actually had to use the included map in the game to get around.

[@OneStopCoopShop]

I’ll mention that chapter 5 seemed to be opening up a bit, with more directions to go. But also it’s going to come down to preference. I found a lot of the original pretty aimless and frustrating, especially with the grind to keep menhirs lit, so I was happy with a bit more linearity this time around 🤷‍♂️

[@joncarr5545]

That’s very fair. With RAW the game is frustrating to explore. I very quickly severely houseruled the game which made exploring fun and possible. (-75% menhir cost. Double food rewards and can skip encounters when just moving through cities and towns.)

[@OneStopCoopShop]

@joncarr5545 oh sure, with those kind of changes (which is similar to what I did) open world wandering can be a lot of fun ;)

[@joncarr5545]

I think late in the game (chapter 10'ish maybe?) I also ruled I just always recover full stamina if I eat something. Or maybe even the bonus, I forgot. I had already long finished FoA by the time the KoA rule came out where you don't spend energy to initiate exploration, but that would also help.@@OneStopCoopShop

[@Copterman]

Your mic is sounding kind of bad lately. Not trying to be rude. Trying to offer a helpful bit of feedback. Just fyi

[@OneStopCoopShop]

I’ve heard that from a few people. I’m looking into new options, but haven’t found one I can afford yet 😅

[@Copterman]

@@OneStopCoopShop well your mic has always sounded fine to me. Have you made a change recently? It’s just missing bass

[@pencilpauli9442]

Not noticed a problem with the sound quality myself, tbh. Maybe my laptop's speakers are too basic or something? lol

[@OneStopCoopShop]

@pencilpauli9442 or maybe copterman’s are too awesome 😜

[@OneStopCoopShop]

@Copterman maybe my audio editor ran wrong this time or something!

[@JoostN86]

I loved a lot about TG, but looking at the encounter cards really had me cringe again. It was so boring, annoying and repetitive