The Castles of Burgundy: Special Edition - Early Prototype Review

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This is "The Castles of Burgundy: Special Edition," a board game designed by Stephan Feld & published by Alea and Awaken Realms. This video includes a rules overview of the new Vineyards expansion, and our review of this early prototype.
*CORRECTION: Vineyard bonus tiles score via triangular scoring (1, 3, 6...) depending on number of connected vine tiles of the same color. Each tile only scores once for its color. This is much better than the way we had played it lol.
JUMP:
00:00 - Start/Review
17:50 - Vineyards Expansion
BGG Listing: boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3...
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[@BeforeYouPlay]

*CORRECTION: Vineyard bonus tiles score via triangular scoring (1, 3, 6...) depending on number of connected vine tiles of the same color. Each tile only scores once for its color. This is much better than the way we had played it lol.

[@jeffersonwu952]

This is what a (prototype) review should be like! Talking about the positive designs and pointing out issues to be fixed! Advertisement and reviews are not the same......... Great job done here!

[@christophe08111981]

What is that? A honest kickstarter review with negatives? Still very, very happy to have backed that, but I usually ignore kickstarter reviews on youtube.

[@lorelielomaloma6569]

dear Awaken Realms - I hope you’re listening to useability issues! Thank you, Monique and Naveen for your thoughts and comparison to the other editions of the game!

[@christianskyppytreba2036]

Seems like a lot of the stuff they mentioned got fixed :)

[@Kumagoro42]

@@christianskyppytreba2036 Yeah, those dice were pretty absurd. That's what happens when you let a graphic designer run amok. :)

[@halveeuro]

Great honest early review. I had the same feeling about the dice when I saw them first! I do like the new art style a lot.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Thank you!

[@FrankMinogue]

The bonus tiles in the final version are the same color as each other.

[@skiddwister9143]

I appreciate your thoughts on every element of the boards and items. I'm going to Late Pledge this. Love the game, and the solo addition to this version seems much more satisfying. Additionally, the vineyard board looks fun.

[@DoppelgangerF02]

congrats on shelfie stacker promo, looks awesome!

[@wolfgame_tutorials]

Fantastic video! I’m excited about this new edition. Per new comments from Awaken Realms on the gamefound page, they changed the dice to be more readable now. They’ve updated the graphic on the campaign page to show the new design, and looks much better.

[@Cissewis]

Thanks for the detailed and honest review!

[@Jason-ul2xv]

Thank you both so much. Great evaluation of the prototype; helpful for us backers. I wish the workers would have been acrylic since the start since those get handled so much but now it’s a separate cost for all tokens. I also would really prefer a goods bag and round marker so we can randomly draw five tiles to start the round/phase. I too still play my original copy.

[@FrancoisLandryCorbin]

All good points! You pretty much resume all my thoughts about this new edition. I hope that Awaken Realms will finally listen to your feedbacks. My main gripes are still the main board look and usability (my dream would be a board art from Micheal Menzel as this guy can make really pretty boards that are still really usable), making sure all acrylic tiles fit in the box, change the dice and make a sundrop pledge without a playmat. Thank you for this great video!

[@TheSecondSeven]

Great showcase! Castles of Burgundy is also a favorite at our house. It might be time for an upgrade.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Thank you!

[@syoung770]

Okay, I've been on the fence but after your review I jumped in with a late pledge. Never played CoB but gameplay looks fun and this version looks great. Always enjoy your videos!

[@janny055]

Congratulations for 50k subscribers 🎊🎉you really deserve it!

[@BeforeYouPlay]

ah thank you so much!

[@jorgevaladas788]

Thank you for the review, just got my late pledge!

[@jankogo]

I went all in on this one. I am really looking forward to my copy and love the new look.

[@stevegeorge7773]

Excellent review. Brill!

[@bryanscollick8305]

I really have come to love this game. Such a simple design, but what a level of strategy and when you figure out how few moves you really have, this game is an AP gamer’s dream!!

[@greghinzmann3171]

Appreciate the honest and detailed review of all the game elements! I’m a backer and have been quite disappointed by many of the elements you point out. While many of the changes they’ve made are welcome, I agree that Awaken Realms is not sophisticated when it comes to designing for usability and playability.

[@getgaymin]

Yeah, this is the second video I've seen on it and I hope that they tweak some things as they head into final production... I think the dice are the biggest peeve for me. But a lot of it feels like "BIGGER BETTER BIGGER" kind of mentality, and I would have liked more of a focus on usability (as much as I appreciate the elevated art style).

[@VinegarAndSaltedFries]

@@getgayminwell they tweaked pretty much every criticism in this video. So back to Super Excited. I late pledged after finding out just how much constructive criticism they took. Game looks stunning.

[@getgaymin]

@@VinegarAndSaltedFries that's great to hear. Definitely planning on upgrading my pledge soon so I can get this bad boy!

[@davidyowow]

Holy smokes, what were thinking with those dice...

[@BoardOfView]

Amazing review and input as always!

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Thank you!

[@kylehynes2888]

Great showcase! I agree with the dice. Those dice are a nightmare to read. I also agree with the orientation of the tiles on the board. Very small nitpicky thing for sure. And those goods tiles are way too close in color. If they address these issues, for me this will be the ultimate edition that will for sure be at my #1 spot for a while. I appreciate both of you so much Monique and Naveen keep up the great work! Much love from Newfoundland, Canada!!

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Thank you!

[@elqord.1118]

Yeah easily worst dice I have seen in ages

[@christianskyppytreba2036]

The current design of the dices is really visually pleasing though, really glad they changed that design.

[@itsGabrielaCristina]

I, too, hope they simplify the die design and make the bonus tiles less confusing. I have played with the original CoB version and while I appreciate it, I can see a lot of benefits to the double-layered boards, the dedicated spaces to organize things, the nice bags, the bigger tile, the text descriptions on the back, etc. Even though I don't foresee myself needing to play with the castles minis, for $10 extra I decided to change my pledge to include them, but mainly because I love those turn order and scoring markers miniatures 🤣 If I'm going deluxe, might as well get them! Overall, really excited to play this version in a few months!

[@osirisgolad]

In my opinion they've made some major quality of life improvements and did a good job making sure to include all the little expansions, but they didn't finish the job. The artwork also doesn't do anything for me, it has the personality of a digestive biscuit. When the price for a board game is that high, I'm going to ask entitled questions like "Why would you use towers on a castle wall to indicate shipping instead of drawing a dock with four moorings next to the castle wall and using stackable crates as the shipping indicators?" or "Why would you put the goods tiles in an annoying tray instead of putting them in a bag when you can just get rid of the stacks of tiles on the board to be used in future phases and draw from the bag at the start of each phase?". There are too many little things like that for me, even though my ancient copy is battered enough to warrant buying the game a second time.

[@albinoorkalbertson]

According to Awaken Realms the dice are being re-designed. It’s in the comments section of either the latest update or general comments.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Fantastic!

[@andreasoranno]

You are the best. Awesome review.

[@kirafin9332]

Castles of Burgundy is one of my favorite games, so as soon as i heard about this edition release i instantly backed it and it's the first board game that i ever backed. For me main board doesn't look busy, but i play anniversary edition so maybe that's the reason. I hope they change the dice design and goods colors, but other than that seeing early prototype, i can't wait to have it in my hands.

[@RazzleDazzle23]

Great honest analysis! I was shocked, when i had seen the dice design and lost a lot of faith in the project. I will wait until the last update until i make my decision. Retail might be the right choice this time.

[@bushibayushi]

you are my fav reviewers ;)

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Aw thank you!

[@VideosFromKandA]

Best of all the CoB:SE reviews; thanks!! ThinkerThemer is the only other review that mentioned the confusing design of the bonus tiles. It’s been brought up once or twice in the comments section on Gamefound, but Awaken Realms has never commented on it. The player turn markers come with all editions (AR said they don’t consider them minis). Agree about the text on the back of the tiles, especially the buildings. Too bad the acrylic upgrade tiles do not include that. Scares me a bit that AR thought those dice were a good idea!

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Oh! That's cool that the turn markers come with all versions, they're so nice! Also, that really is too bad that the acrylic upgrades don't have the text. We both highly prefer the tiles with the text.

[@FrankMinogue]

One of our favorite games. I was an original backer. It's definitely a lot of differences, but I love the beautiful art. It took a couple of rounds. The tiles were a little bit harder to read because of the colors and art.

[@sandrabasel1545]

Thank you, you raise good points. Thank you for mentioning the new solo mode. I seem to remember that it is designed by David Turczi so I am hopeful that it will be great, but nobody seems to have played it yet. Ah well, I have already backed the game, so I will see.

[@graphycus]

The more redesign attempts I see for this brilliant game, the more I appreciate the original graphic design. I kept avoiding to buy the game for years, just because of the look of it, but now I realise how functionally elegant and clean looking was the original edition.

[@Exozik]

I don't see how this version is not more functionally elegent as the previous one. Outside of the mini castle potentially blocking the view of one tile, everything else as been made to be more efficient. The bags for example, this is much more functional than previously.

[@sharond5854]

Thank you for your honest review, CoB is one of my favourite games. I also have the original edition with muted colours, and wish they'd dial back the saturation and busyness, functional use is more important to me than a 'pretty' board. Any chance you'll be sharing a playthrough with the special edition? Really love watching your playthoughs, so much fun. 🙂

[@hadiwinatakuo1884]

actually they could design a pretty but muted colors. the item tiles color choices are also not smart.

[@karstenszajner6043]

Really happy with how it's looking so far. As someone who hasn't played the game and has only heard great things about it, I've been really excited to get a good-looking version like this.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Ooooh! How exciting! Definitely one of our favorites

[@Flip5ide]

So many people have been asking for a bag for goods and they are just refusing to change it! The dice are being redesigned apparently, I'd like them to look like the white dice on the dutchys, slightly rustic maybe.

[@dtelquess]

Only played this for 1st time just before the campaign was announced and having received some bday money decided to back. I won’t be impacted by the general art style as I won’t have the long term knowledge of the previous but I do think just adding the powers to the back of the tiles is a huge improvement. Must agree the goods tiles could be a potential issue so hope that can be resolved HOWEVER I believe the different colours are supposed to have different designs on them so maybe less of an issue and the dice also (although I suppose if I couldn’t get on with the new design either then it would not be too much of a wrench to spend a few extra £ to replace them with some stunningly good alternatives) Thanks for this excellent review and compare.

[@SirNichosis]

You guys just seem like the sweetest people 😭would love to play games with y'all someday! 😁

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Awww thank you! Maybe one day!

[@SanjuroSan]

I really hope they listen to these criticisms and make changes. Very insightful criticisms.

[@HalloikbenJim]

If you got the acryllic upgrade: You can forget about the text on the back, they removed it.

[@jeffhiatt1682]

Yes...all your complaints about the art "getting in the way" are valid. Its pretty, but choices were made without assessing the impact to functionality. Its a really annoying trend where art and form are given more weight than how it will function during play. Fonts are reduced in size and contrast reduced so its hard to find / read numbers or worse, small text where there was room to make the font larger. The lack of attention to how the board elements relate such as dividing the ring of adjacent depots with the bonus tiles. And the bonus tiles...the differing color / art for the same tile set? someone needed another cup of coffee that day...or a transfer to another position in the company. ITs as if they have never heard of usability testing / analysis. Just muting the colors on the main board slightly so the hex tiles stand out more would have really helped. The dice...they get a whole paragraph on their own. The first thing i will do is find replacement sets of appropriately colored dice to fix the insanely stuoopid design choice. at a glance all the dice roll 4s or 5s.../sigh Putting the text on the back side of the building tiles? yay...thats a step in the right direction for functionality / ease of play. the larger hexes are handy, and the player boards seem to be well thought out. the wooden goods tokens are nice, though even there color choices proved problematic. Having all the expansions in a single spot and then adding the vineyard is a big plus. I like the idea of the new expansion and I am comforted that Naveen won by ignoring it. Means the expansion isnt overpowered and "required" to win. Well done Mr Feld. In the end I am looking forward to my copy arriving. OH...and really well done preview!!

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Really enjoyed reading your thoughts! We are very excited to finally have all expansions, that'll be great. Thank you!

[@orchidazul620]

Having only played this on BGA and had no experience with playing a physical copy, I decided to pledge this in hopes that it wouldn't be hard to adjust to this version. Plus, I had immediate FOMO once I realized they were creating a Special Edition, and I've wanted a physical copy for a while but held off for some reason; I think I found the reason! 😅🤣

[@uplift-yourdailypickup6424]

Great review. i think Awaken Realms is on the right track but there are definitely some things they can improve on. I agree with the terrible dice, and also those hexes rotating around the board. It is indeed a little busy. Personally I wish they could make this a smaller box. I'm tired of new games coming out with giant boxes that make storage and transporting difficult. Really it's the crowdfunded games that are the offenders due to all that glam and bloat.

[@greghinzmann3171]

I know you like Lacerda games so you may feel as I do - I would like to see a Castles of Burgundy designed by Ian O’Toole with Awaken Realms miniatures!

[@saminyaseermahmud]

Make a video on how to play the new solo mode!

[@stephenfarrell8587]

...but do the miniatures still have the description written on their bases? Cheers

[@hatchimmmmm]

Will this version be available in retail?

[@ChristopherDancy]

Did things change now that its been released? Maybe a minor update video @BeforeYouPlay?

[@antongomez7216]

I backed the game but I've always thought that the board was going to be too busy. They actually had an original board in the campaign that I thought was perfect because it highlighted the tiles better. Sadly people wanted more colour. Now as you said it looks so saturated. Those dice.... hopefully they do get changed

[@grzegorzpaulewicz7890]

The Dice Monoliths of Burgundy

[@Drewkas0]

Yep. I used to call this “hexes of burgundy,” but the dice monoliths take the cake now.

[@ebarshin]

This is so much prettier than the original!

[@julienakadai9382]

I cant wait to get this game 😊

[@cheeyeung3675]

Monique has the best hair in all of boardgaming ❤

[@RodrigoSanAlv01]

Now that you've gotten a "feel" of the components, could you give us your thoughts about getting the Acrylic components. I was thinking about getting the Hexes in acrylic, but I'm doubtful on getting the rest of the components (workers, bonus tiles, etc.) in acrylic also. Do you think it'd be worth it?

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Maybe only if you want all of your components to be consistent. The regular components are already quite nice.

[@RodrigoSanAlv01]

@@BeforeYouPlay "quite nice" is enough for me then! haha thanks! Great video and even better feedback, thanks. Hope AR considers making the changes you mentioned!

[@KMReviews]

I think you may have misunderstood the vineyard scoring. Other reviewers have said that multiple of the same grape color don’t stack or give you more points. You just need them for different colors. So 2 of the same one gives you the same points as 1.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

You are correct! Thank you for bringing that to our attention, we've made a correction post. I can't believe we missed that big ole scoring chart! LOL.

[@KMReviews]

@@BeforeYouPlay haha it happens! Especially with a new expansion.

[@Drewkas0]

Yep. Lots of graphic design blunders here. They’re the kinds of details that look beautiful individually, but don’t really work in the big picture. (Bet they make great teasers on the crowdfunding page though.)

[@yukunwang2059]

I think you suppose to put the vineyard tile vertical so that there are 6 tiles available every round judging by the picture in the campaign. I don’t know if it’s a two player thing that you put them horizontal

[@BeforeYouPlay]

It's a player count change. In 2 and 3 player games, you only have 3 tiles in the depot

[@donthatethegame42]

I've heard a lot of commentary about the dice. As I believe the point is solid, here's hoping they've changed them.

[@Marta.K.]

When is the Unconscious Mind review? 😊

[@AR15UserRev1]

Glad we backed it but I would prefer easy to read dice.

[@play-it-or-not]

I will stick to my Anniversary edition (yes, it comes with different expansions).

[@KMReviews]

Everyone has wanted a bag for the goods tiles and they refuse for some reason. Nobody understands why they won’t.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Yeah that would be so great for randomizing the goods

[@LeRoi81]

I don't need a bag for goods. I only have a bags for the tiles randomly drawn between the rounds.

[@Jason-ul2xv]

With a bag you don't have to stack the goods at start of the game but instead draw five each round. Provide a round marker.

[@KMReviews]

@@LeRoi81 right but without a bag you gotta shuffle them around all over the table and stack them etc. takes an extra few moments to stack them in the organizer after. Just a clunky way to do it. A bag is so simple

[@alepapes]

Naveen looks a bit uncomfortable with this new megagalactic version 🤣

[@Kumagoro42]

The Monumental Fortresses of Burgundy. :)

[@alfieboyyy376]

Thanks for the honest review! I have to admit I'm pretty disappointed with the colour scheme. I agree with you guys it looks way too saturated. Also very similar to the anniversary edition. Hopefully there's still time for them to make some changes

[@KMReviews]

My biggest disappointment is that the acrylic upgrades don’t have the words one be back. So it’s a tactile upgrade but a functional downgrade. Everything else I like.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Yeah we wish the upgrades had the text too! We definitely prefer it with the text

[@thomasjames8277]

Ahh shoot! I just added on the acrylic tiles yesterday. I definitely would not have if I knew they didn't have the words on the back

[@KMReviews]

@@thomasjames8277 yea I think that’s why it sucks they kept that very subtle in a past update. It would be the PERFECT game if they had words on the back. They said they won’t do stickers either. I think it’s just a matter of time until someone on Etsy makes stickers to put on the back bit ugh.. I wishhh they would.

[@XlearRetroWave]

your criticism is mentioned so much in the comments and unfortunately ignored by Awaken Realms

[@GKEK]

Vote for a play through with the third player chateau!

[@thewanderer9371]

I'm actually fond of the original game's art style. I wish they made a Special Edition with all the extra bells and whistles, but with the classic style😄 This version is too saturated for me.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Yeah, we actually never switched to the Anniversary edition because we liked the original.

[@ianw0ng]

i dont know why but when u do the "hi my name is monique(?)" wave at the beginning, sometimes i feel like waving back. it's like someone giving u a high five, feels rude to not return the wave. :)

[@BeforeYouPlay]

haha awww that's very sweet!

[@kevinmontoya43]

I currently play this game on board game arena all the time and ended up returning my anniversary edition copy because of the setup being so long and not having that much time to play but This version looks much better in my opinion, I'm definitely getting this one when it's available, can't wait to play. Don't even mind the setup anymore

[@david6975]

👋

[@BeforeYouPlay]

👋

[@hunorheim2766]

I really dislike the texts on the back of the tokens, for me it ruins the overall look. The game has a cool player aid, so why we need text on the tokens as well? :( I'm so happy that the acrylic tiles have no texts on them.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Ah okay! That's good then because the acrylic tiles themselves look like a nice upgrade

[@lorelielomaloma6569]

I LOVE the text on the backs of the tiles!

[@Goldfinch241]

The text on the back is a big reason why I backed it - so much easier to know what I am doing and to teach new players.

[@Edgecomb5]

When you see on your KZbin profile some spaniards watching your videos… here I am! I think I am guilty of all your views.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Ahhh thank you for watching!

[@NemanjaTodorovski]

Dice are very difficult to read ...

[@KMReviews]

People keep complaining about the dice but they have already addressed those are getting changed.

[@BeforeYouPlay]

We don't get those updates, unfortunately, and things are always changing. That's why we weren't sure.

[@carolinehaf21]

Well this is their review of a prototype compared to the original they've played for 10+ years so of course they're going to mention it in a dice heavy game... it's a review/critique.

[@KMReviews]

@@carolinehaf21 I’m referring more to the people in the comments then the reviewers.

[@jogumby]

Love the game! But, after seeing how this looks and listening to the comments I think I'll stick with my original. It's not as pretty but sometimes more pretty does not improve a game in my opinion at least. Great video!

[@elqord.1118]

Too bad about the expansion. I was hoping for something more substantial

[@lordcocoon]

I don't know... I'm starting to think it is humanly impossible to make this great game look good. They've tried 3 times, and all 3 are... just.... ugly..... Still a great game and I'll keep my anniversary edition 🙂

[@osirisgolad]

Here's a way to make it look good: print a burgundy red background on all of the boards and an old map of Burgundy on top of that in black ink. Then, around all the places where there are spots for components, fade the burgundy background colour to a very dark burgundy or even black, then print the component areas inside of that dark area with metal foil(like gold foil or bronze foil). This will make all the board areas and colourful tiles stand out while also lending the game a medieval feel, so the colours don't need to be as bright and the theme fits much better. A bit like the dark burgundy game box with the yellow printing on top of it Alea used for the anniversary edition, but fancier.

[@pnutbutrncrackers]

@@osirisgolad Certainly sounds better than anything that's been done.

[@pnutbutrncrackers]

IKR?!

[@timstikkers7581]

Wow amazing, I never throught I would stick to my 1st edition, once more.. I think what gets missed with these redesigns is that Burgundy is a tile laying game; needs a compact box and small central board with muted colors. And probably Agricola style artwork to be clear easy on the eyes. This is too much for this genre of game, in my opinion. You don’t set all this up to play Burgundy; you’d play Gaia project. I don’t don’t know. :-/

[@pnutbutrncrackers]

I hate being negative, and the last thing I want to do is rain on anyone's parade, but I simply cannot get over how 'they' just cannot make this game - unquestionably a modern classic -- visually attractive. You were quite gracious, but I think it's yet another artistic fail. There is no sleekness and the over-saturation (once again) is off-putting to me. If CoB were ever given a presentation equal to its merits it would be one of the most desirable games to own, bar none. For now, pass -- I'll stick w/the original.

[@tomasxfranco]

I don't like them adding people to the duchies and the score tokens. I much prefer gender-neutral player pieces

[@psterud]

As someone who also owns the original and has played it a million times, I find this edition kind of ridiculous, and I see no reason to have it. That said, I hope it brings new players to this absolutely fantastic game.

[@Crazee108]

The dice are totally over designed 😑

[@Spidoink]

I passed very hard on this. Im a Big fan who owns the OG and special Ed. I was so turned off by the messy over production of this thing. It honestly comes off as a parody of modern board game bloat. And stop listening to the community. We don't collectively know what we want. Stop asking us how to make.your game. You end up with this. Basically the Canyon-aroo (Homer's car) of board games.

[@jerk_store]

9 minutes and 48 seconds into this and I'm glad I didn't fall for this severely flawed version. I absolutely hate how cheap the original is, but the colors are in this new version are too distracting and overwhelming. Not having the cheat sheet on the player board means players are going to have to consult the rule book, which flies in direct conflict with having the hints printed on the back of the skill tiles. The dice are not the same. The corners are not rounded, which makes it more difficult to get them to roll when thrown. The score tokens - you can't stack them now. Could be very frustrating in a 4 player game. Sometimes simpler is better. Such a missed opportunity. I guess I'm gonna have to mod my own game if I want thicker tiles...smh....

[@BeforeYouPlay]

Love your KZbin name (they're running out of you!)!

[@memunns]

prefer the original version more. not a fan of the new art style