The 4 Squares Review: Colt Super Express

[@flagadur]

Thanks guys for this really cool review ;) We wanted this game quick and fun and it seems you enjoyed it. It is definitely a really different game than its big brother even if we kept the same lore. With really similar titles there will be obviously a lot of comparisons between both games. But each game is unique and target not the same players. If you don't like one you could like the other XD I personally would rather play the original especially with expansions but not as a "filler" of course. Thanks for your enthusiasm and fine words ;)

[@mydemon]

Mike: "in the original game, it sometimes felt you had no agency at all" Instant nodding for the three others. Brutal.

[@koomo801]

The same two people in our game group of 8-10 players have won 90% of our dozen or so Colt Express game sessions, so I think their claims of "no agency at all" is revealing something about them and not the game.

[@gs24-xor]

Bryan in the house!!! Awesome you included him in the review

[@TheLatestRetroBoardGameShow]

Had a blast!

[@jeffgoggin1394]

What a timely review! Have been looking for light 6 player games and never would have found this (I stop around 2000 rankings in BGG search). I know my non-gamer group is going to LOVE this!

[@koomo801]

Colt Express + the Stagecoach expansion has become, to the surprise of all 8-10 regulars in our gaming group, one of our absolute favorite large player-count games. No one was crazy about it at first, but it just keeps getting better, giving us gaming narrative memories that approach those we get from Cosmic Encounter.

[@DoppelgangerF02]

thankyou this helped me not have buyers remorse as i just got the original not too long ago with the expansions

[@koomo801]

@@DoppelgangerF02 A suggestion...have your most disciplined player also act as facilitator to handle the deck (once it's been collected every turn) and it will play a lot smoother. Also, I'd recommend using the first expansion right away...the arrival by horseback is great, the use of horses to move around is fun, the stagecoach (which continually shifts positions during the game) with its big loot and hostages and its shotgun-toting guard are great fun, as are the new endgame cards. (One had a posse waiting at the station to arrest everyone...so for the last round if you didn't get ahold of a horse (from what few were left from getting winded) to escape, you'd score a zero...great fun!)

[@DoppelgangerF02]

@@koomo801 Oh man thank you! Will def do these!

[@Steve-L]

I felt the same way, and it was in my top 10 I think, been awhile, definitely top 20, but then I got the 2nd expansion and hated it and never played the game again at all. I hope to come back without the 2nd expansion and enjoy the game again.

[@DanEisenhut]

Kept saying the original takes too long to setup, because you have to setup up the train. Why? The box insert was designed to store the train assembled. You just grab the engine and randomly grab train cars equal to number of players. The longest part of setup is finding everyone a $250 purse and mixing up the rest. I do agree about the dexterity part though. My large hands don't work well. We learned to just push your guy through and then pick it up from the other side.

[@12345678abracadabra]

the original game has so much upkeep, both setup and during play, that id rather play a hardcore heavy euro really. i want my fillers to be ultra quick, lightning fast. the og had so much waiting, waiting for that card stack to trigger is so boring.

[@JonTalbain777]

Bryan, along with Liz Davidson, is one of my favorite contributors. Great to see him on. And this game does look super fun!

[@richardmullens4707]

Please could you make a video Tom of what games are currently stored in your card cases?

[@allenherring7787]

This looks very similar to Walk the Plank, which I love.

[@vangelisevangelou]

It seems that Tom missed the time travel car expansion. One extra level of fun!

[@Steve-L]

I thought the Stage coach expansion was amazing.

[@b-vos]

Was always interested in the original, but never jumped on it. This new version makes it easier to check out.

[@christofferknight8567]

dear sirs ...solution #1 . i liked the reviews as always ..i realey like the 3D thing for the looks and use the super express rules with the card train , and it has the wooden horsies

[@BorisCaro]

Nice review. I love Colt Express, but on the app. It plays really fast. No "dexterity" issues. PS: Bryan, you should protect your games from the sunlight. It will discolor the cardboard boxes.

[@Monkeyb00y]

I will certainly pick this one up as it's much smaller and quick. I have all of the original and all expansions and promos, minus the Santa Elf promo.

[@TorIverWilhelmsen]

Tiny (Trainy?) Epic Shootout. Train-heists of Valeria. Box is bigger than what both of those series use, though :) But it seems to fit especially the latter, which generally takes a few core aspects of another game and focus on that, e.g. _Quests of Valeria_ has the resource gathering and quest fulfilment elements from _Lords of Waterdeep_ and put them into a card game. This, too, seems to take a subset of Colt Express and put it in a card game...

[@JM32JM32]

I love this new version, but I want players to release some really fun, balanced asymmetrical powers for the characters. They're so flavorful, why keep them mechanically identical? Gonna check the BGG variants page every so often hoping someone steps up

[@Galloglaoch]

I strongly disagree it's a killer of the original game. This takes a hmm a programming party style game and shrinks it to a meaningles, themeless, no player power filler game. I mean it depends on what you are looking for but me and my group love the original with expansions so much that this felt like an insult. We play the first one for the thrill of being a wild west bandit robbing a train(and occasionally be the sherif who stops saod bandits). The original has variable player powers, longevity to create scenarios and funny moments, incredible 3d train and room for tactics and smart play. In this one you are no longer a wild west bandit, the train no longer matters, you don't rob anything and you're playing a variation on rock, paper, scissors... I'm not saying thats necessarily bad...it's just way too different. I get what the lads here are saying but... well sometimes we just disagree on things and thats ok.

[@TeeHomer]

Same

[@Tokioka]

Agreed. And replacing the original game's loot with the player furthest to the back of the train taking the last carriage makes absolutely no thematic sense. Why would that player gain money? Codswallop, I say.

[@patrickmcardle1920]

Agreed, the original is almost cinematic in how it plays out. It's wonderful.

[@Tokioka]

Imo this doesn't look anywhere as good as the original. The loss of loot takes away a lot of the decisions, tactics and urgency. Do you go for the $1000 briefcase or regular loot? Do you try to rob the guy who just picked up the briefcase? Do you try to go for the most bullets fired bonus? Not to mention the asymmetrical powers that change the game up a lot. And also the sheriff meeple which can be tactically moved around. This iteration just seems too bare bones for me.

[@JeffGoris]

What are you expecting? It's a 15 minute game. It has to drop some things to make it such a short play. I've had more fun playing this than Colt Express. This distills the game to just the programming - trying to outsmart your opponents. And it's a filler game. I like both and they fit different roles in your collection.

[@Tokioka]

@@JeffGoris A filler doesn't have to be reduced down to having a single game mechanic. And not all fillers have to be 15 minutes long. If you enjoy it, fair enough, to each their own. But to me it seems like this has been distilled too much, losing a lot of what made the original game great.

[@kealiiaiwohi9097]

I really like the 4 square format because of the ability to easily include a guest onto the video, but I really miss the "around the table" style reviews. It's difficult to have seamless interaction via webcam chat, and all the stuff you do around the table just comes off so much smoother. Not sure if this is due to covid, seing as how they still play games in person, so I am not trying to step on toes by saying this. Just a thought.

[@confuzed6]

Best programming game I have ever played, The Great Space Race. When someone screws your program up, you can mitigate it as the programming cards often have 3 directions you choose from on the program. I have never understood why kenzer hadn’t kept it in production...

[@joegraham2262]

Sure this is a neat little filler but it’s mostly luck and not a strong theme. I mean why does the train lose the passenger cars. I would say it’s a 6 which means I would play it but not ask to play it.

[@garcipat]

Feels this and the original want to fulfill a different purpose

[@missiemel01]

No need to buy this, because you can play this version with the regular Colt Express Cards. Just give the wagons a random value and print out the manual.

[@TorIverWilhelmsen]

... but then I would have to buy Colt Express... this looks smaller, quicker and cheaper. Like how _13 Days_ is relative to _Twilight Struggle_

[@jamielwylie]

The Colt Express app is better than the table game because there's no set up and it's faster to play. But I'm very interested in Colt Super Express.

[@Steve-L]

I have both, and once I played the 1st expansion 3 times, I never wanted to play with out it, and the digital version at the time did not have that.

[@dbungart3044]

It looks fine and all but without the train the game just lacks. I like the simplified rules but it’s so generic in this instance.

[@gamera2351]

Colt Express' charm is the train. Without that it's just a mediocre programming game. Getting rid of the 3-D aspect just removes the point of playing it.

[@mardel5466]

I get what you mean, but the actual game hasn't changed.

[@gamera2351]

@@mardel5466 Exactly

[@mydemon]

I wish the "four square" reviews were given mostly to the heavy games. For 15$ games, its not that bad to make a bad purchase. However for 60$-$80 games all the way to expensive $130 kickstarters, thats where seeing the opinion of four people is INVALUABLE. For example, I loved to see Dune: Imperium a four-square review. It seems like a polarising game. (Of course im assuming time is limited and only so many such reviews can be filmed in a week due to time constraints, but maybe shorter games are faster to review)

[@DavidKYu-wn4yt]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rpiUY2NseMaaptk&ab_channel=TheDiceTower

[@thedicetower]

Its more about finding a game that four of us have played.

[@mydemon]

@@thedicetower I understand. Thank you to all the team for the amazing work!

[@SolviKaaber]

I personally haven’t played many programming games and when I tried Colt Super Express it just fell really flat on its head. Incredibly random, very boring, theme doesn’t do anything for it and now I have no real interest in playing the original one. Maybe it was just the group I was playing with but who knows.

[@benkovacs2432]

As feedback, the "(insert name) what do you think?" and "what about you (insert name)" makes these discussions kinda hard to listen to. I think it's understandable under the circumstances (being on a call and all), but I found it rather cringy and not at all natural. Wish there was better discussion flow and less of those robotic / cringy hot potato throws.

[@steveweber7142]

yes, it didn't feel natural at all. they were all "together" but there was no discussion, it felt disjointed. just 4 dudes sharing their views without actually talking with each other.

[@joseg.6187]

Once they can do these in person, it will be much better. Remember miami dice (small tear....)

[@michaelmahn4373]

I agree that it doesn't feel natural, but it makes it easy to follow. Better than interupting eachother.

[@Skarpo89]

Yeah, unluckily talking over one another while on a video call is not good

[@dpearson588]

Agreed, it's odd because this format seems like it's a discussion about the game but all the handoffs and having to wait your turn is cringe worthy and makes it feel like just 4 separate smaller reviews.