Distilled Review: A Barrel of Fun?

[@Dragonnox]

Solo mode is also solid. I really enjoy it, and you can play it in an hour or less. Also I like to mention that Paverson were excellent on the Kickstarter campaign. Their communication was fantastic, and they were an example I wish so many other companies would emulate.

[@Bonzoso21]

We had our first play at 4-players yesterday and everyone really loved it. This is a really impressive first design and first production. To address Zee's concern about maybe a bit too much to learn/teach and the point-salad-y goals and set collections, the game comes with an awesome intro tutorial book that walks the group through a pre-determined first round and explains different strategies and options, and that mode explicitly tells you to leave the Spirit Awards (public objectives) out of that first game.

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Yeah but when you teach the game to new players having played it yourself are you going to use that tutorial all the time?

[@Schaeff72]

I suppose that depends on how many different groups you’ll be teaching it to. For me I only have two gaming groups, so it wasn’t a big deal to play the tutorial twice. But I understand that might not be true for all.

[@Bonzoso21]

Probably not, but it shows that leaving the Spirit Awards out entirely doesn't hurt the game if you choose to do that, and considering no players managed to snag a bottle collection bonus in my first game, I'd imagine you could simply leave that out as well and introduce it later if you felt that was a more streamlined way to ramp up new players.

[@tychay]

@@TheBrokenMeeple I have twice so far. Already knew the game already both times. It has the extra advantage of explaining more thematic flavor behind the rules/mechanics than even the rulebook. If just one new player, it would be trivial to just dice right in and handicap that player extra $2 starting money. $2 in the hands of experienced players is a lot, but in the hands of beginner it just gets the, going (the First Taste starts them with $2).

[@matt7912-j9p]

I played it yesterday for the first time. Agree with Chris and Tom, very thematic, rewarding and an amazing, clean production.

[@thecuriousboardgamer]

I'm really happy you all picked up on the care and attention that went into the game. I've met the designer and he's so smart and thoughtful and this game means a lot to him. He really did the work, which isn't always the case with first time designers making their dream come true on Kickstarter.

[@BoardGameHype]

Dave Beck is phenomenal as both a human and a designer.

[@Castle4-1Games]

My goodness, if this is how Paverson Games publishes I need to keep my eye on them going forward. This is a very nice set up with amazing components. Also, the solo mode was challenging and fun. Just a great game all around. Can't wait to see what Paverson Games comes up with next!

[@beakerkell]

They're working on a game called Luthier right now that I have my eye on! Still in production, but the idea of making instruments as a theme sounds so good.

[@Castle4-1Games]

@@beakerkell Count me in!

[@terry3733H]

yup! waiting for distilled pre-order...Luthier sounds interesting too! Very unique industry-theme! 😊

[@boredomiscommon]

Played Luthier today it was stellar!

[@Ribby00]

​@@boredomiscommonso cool! How did you get a chance to play it?

[@Boozephreaks]

For what it’s worth, a little correction to the voiceover. When you remove cards during the Distill phase, that’s akin to removing the heads and tails (the first part and the last part of the distillation run). The angel’s share and devil’s cut are part of the barrel aging process when making spirits...

[@sethhale235]

I've been excitedly awaiting this review. Also, have I ever seen this exact mix of DT folks in a review? I like it. And it's probably happened before and I don't remember.

[@wemf2]

I enjoyed the game! Its mechanism is simple, but there are a lot of directions that each player can take to maximise their points, based on their asymmetrical abilities, end game goals, spirit awards, and also the upgrade cards available to them.

[@shoruk]

Quite surprised at Zee’s “complexity” for this game. Loved it. Didn’t feel overtly complex for me, loved the theme and tie-ins. Really glad that the whiskey spelling was pointed out. 9 for me so far. Looking forward to playing more

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

There are lot of little bits to this game, some of which could have been extracted out as expansion material - but it does feel like everything and the kitchen sink right off the bat.

[@Octavian2]

There are quite a few little rules and things that can be easily forgotten.

[@shoruk]

@@TheBrokenMeeple I guess I consider games like Wingspan and the like very entry-level games. This one didn't seem more complex than that game for example. Based on Zee's top 10, I'm surprised is all.

[@Clevider]

@@shoruk I don't think he was talking about making it closer to an entry-level game. I interpreted his wish for making it more accessible as being that it would be nice not to worry about learning (or teaching!) a couple/few of the "extra" things for the first play or two. I know I have an easier time teaching, even experienced gamers, the smaller my list of "how this thing works" is.

[@Groovestonenz]

My partner and I have played this half a dozen times already - which is a lot for my partner - she really loves it. Just introduced to one of my game groups in a 4 player game and they enjoyed it too.

[@kchorst5037]

You guys have a great format and discussion with each other. Now that you do time stamps, I'm wondering, have you ever thought about calling the middle part of the review discussion? Then only have final thoughts at the end . Around the 10 minute mark for example, it feels more like discussion than final thoughts.

[@pixxelwizzard]

17:00 Most people complain that day one expansions should have just been included in the base game. Zee is not most people. :P

[@texascpa]

My biggest issue with the game is the tiny text and symbols on the cards and player boards. Otherwise, the game is pretty good.

[@djfusion2808]

Agreed, it’s much less of an issue in solo mode but when playing with a group it can frustrating for those on the sides of the table.

[@SuperLkelley]

I'd play "Coast and Reap" by Zee Garcia

[@jonathanklabunde6639]

Great discussion boys

[@iamtheoneyouknowbest]

I agree with everything each one said!! I rate the game a 9.5 as well. Hoping to get it back to the table soon.

[@bradleygilmore]

The lighting and Camera on the overhead shot of this game is so perfect. Any chance you'd be willing to share what setup you have for that?

[@soltydog]

I felt this game is deceptively simple. The four phases are very straightforward on what needs or can be done. But the decisions within those phases are massive. I love this game and agree with Chris on a 9.5. My only gripe is it can be a bit of a table hog. So much so that when we played we forgot about the Spirit Awards cause they were just mixed in with everything else on the table. But first plays always have an asterix. We'll do better on play 2 and beyond.

[@TheDarktater]

Dave Beck had been demoing this at our local game convention the last 4 years up near Minneapolis. He obviously spent a lot of time and energy and took a lot of feedback to put out such a good product.

[@Paul-ro6py]

Thanks guts, very interested in the game, pleased to hear the pros and cons

[@StuartHetzler]

This game is fantastic. Cant stop playing it

[@Hasmanian]

Great reviews for Kickstarter games I didn't back give me the opposite of schadenfreude. Hopefully this comes to retail.

[@mitchlavender9928]

I've played it 4 times now - 2 games were 5 players, and 2 with 2 players, and it plays well at both counts. It's a very good game and will stay in my collection.

[@InfectiousGroovePodcast]

We're going to a friends birthday party this week. We were told this game is kicking things off at 11am, so I need this video to learn how to play it lol

[@bgoryan]

I really enjoy this game. I ended up liking it more than I thought I would.

[@ericcossette3999]

What a great episode, thank you so much guys!

[@DocChills]

This is the most I've ever agreed with Chris on a game! ;-) lol

[@brianwhipple6310]

Cheers!

[@Ras137]

Zee wants to DISTILL DISTILLED.

[@boardgamemusic]

The theme of this game is cool!

[@TiagoSousa026]

I hope to see it in retail because the Kickstarter price wasn't very compelling.

[@Orochi_001]

FWIW, finished mash is sometimes referred to as “still beer” due to its alcohol content. Doesn’t help Tom much though. :)

[@cometier]

It’s now on BGA in beta.

[@timometsanoja9666]

So the theme of the game has been triple distilled 😂

[@nicolenew1708]

THANK YOU

[@djfusion2808]

An easy 9/10 for me, just an excellent game in every way.

[@jasonberezowski2869]

Really fantastic game, and the theme really appeals to me.

[@FallenRaven]

One of the best games of 2023 for me. The game is so good that people who didn’t care about the theme get so involved every round.

[@CrispyMyth]

Yep, me again. DICE Tower fix your dice! (3 and 4 on D6 should be opposite, not adjacent). TY! 😊

[@terry3733H]

This game and Dog Park have deluxe components at regular ed. less than $100. Good games don't have to be expensive 🎉 🥃

[@EfrainRiveraJunior]

My only concern is the game becoming repetitive.

[@charlez2729]

My only complaint is there are some PRETTY OP items, and the aging mechanic is a tad broken, I think bad flavors should deduct VP because sitting on one for 5 rounds is SO many VP points

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

Agreed on the OP items - some cards are just so much better and a must grab.

[@TheMarvin676]

“Bad” flavours in a spirit don’t necessarily devalue the spirit. It may limit the appeal of it but also may enhance the appeal to others. Hard to say it should decrease the point value of it though.

[@charlez2729]

@The Broken Meeple What I am getting at is for aging the extra VP should be from the aging cards, not just free points because you got lucky and let one drink age for 6 rounds. You pretty much get one additional signature recipe worth of vp for doing nothing but sitting on a card and its not like you lose anything doing so, you can make other drinks quite easily the following rounds. I was 50+ish points ahead of someone and they beat me by 2 because they got the free 16 points from aging for so long and they had 1 to 2 star flavors only and I had all 4 to 5 star ratings but I couldn't age for as long so I got the 10vp. Thematically the better drink should be worth more not because it aged longer which is my argument

[@charlez2729]

@Iain MacLeod Meant to replay to you, not other guy see above

[@tychay]

You are giving up the sale and label bonus for that spirit, as well as starving the next turn of money due to having to trade VP for tasting. Worst case scenario those labels are worth 2VP, but to age this long they should be worth much more. Money should give about a 20-35% return off the spending each turn (in money and/or points) so the compounding interest of keeping a barrel in storage could be offset by for losing other equally valid strategies. Unless you have one of the 3 very expensive upgrades that add tasting cards (or the bourbon barrel), you are basically distilling for the entire game, which means you've foregone the money the flavor cards add in your entire engine. Not to say aging isn't gangbusters but it appears to be balanced by non-aging players being able to consistently buy bottles and set collect to a similar number of points. Also, realistically you can only afford to keep one barrel in the storehouse aging this way as the other needs to either cycle back or not be used for aging.

[@verdenaihl]

hello! I am a boardgames designer myself, could I ask for your precious advice? ty in advance.

[@nicolenew1708]

❤❤❤

[@daem0nfaust]

I'm just here to taste everything and get drunk eventually.

[@Judge021979]

Solid 7 for me. Just fine. Does what it does well, but there's nothing special here. I always ask 'why does this need to exist' and I don't think there's anything here to make it hang around amongst so many other better recipe fullfillment games.

[@adamkenney6932]

What are your favorite recipe fulfillment games?

[@donpuckett2138]

Could you share some of those, I like this game and would love to try others like it.

[@matthewharris-levesque5809]

*That is a nausea inducing angle for the camera*

[@johanlotigiers]

I'm not going to buy this game, altough I like the theme. Way to expensive. I don't know what has happened to boardgames over the past 3 years. To many games want/have to look like a kickstarter and therefore you pay a kickstarter. Over here in Belgium you can get this game in the dutch version for the soft price of 108 euro's. That's 120 dollar. That's just insane and no longer a game for the common people, despite the way it looks. It strikes me that more and more KZbin-channels promote those type of overproduced, overpriced games. Those kind of games should have a stamp on them wich read 'for the happy few'. Some people will claim that if you want to have a georgeous looking game you have to pay for it. That's fair, but things are getting way out of hand. You can still have a gorgeous looking game for a fair price: -Wingspan over here in Belgium: 50 dollars -Dogpark (wich I own in the English version): 65 dollars You proved it yourselfs in your top 10 from 5 days ago 'board games that should be in every home'. All the games on the list are under 50 euro's (60 dollars).

[@nicolasharoutiounian4542]

a good euro game but too easy and repetitive game. Good for beginners and really dirigist :(

[@TheBrokenMeeple]

That whole "top and bottom" card thing killed the game for me. it's going to be a marmite game, you either like it for that mechanic or it bugs you and for me, having my whole plan destroyed by random chance in a Euro that isn't particularly short doesn't work for me. I know you all like "push your luck" regardless of what game it's in or how long (Wonderlands War cough cough) so naturally this would appeal to you. Yes you get moonshine but whoopie, compared to what you were trying to make, it's not an adequate consolation price compared to someone who got lucky. The text on the cards is SO small as well, trying to view the cards from a distance is a nightmare. I have good vision but in the evening after a day's work, that text is microscopic. It was fine, but a 6 for me. I've already moved on from it. Especially with the UK price tag - it's like £75 in the UK - that's WAY too expensive even for what's in this.

[@Octavian2]

There's ways to mitigate. Adding extra sugars, which may add additional alcohol. There's cards that allow you to add additional alcohol as well aside from just the ingredients. There's cards that you can use to only have to remove one card instead of two. With a right combination of cards, you may not have to remove any at all during the phase. It can be frustrating to see your plan go horribly wrong. But when it goes your way, it's also very sweet. Edit: you can also use the alcohol for water or yeast. You can also take the remaining cards you lose for your next batch. This can be incredibly beneficial later. I just got done playing the game again and there's so many ways to overcome this.

[@Bleuchz]

For someone with their own review channel why are you all over these comments trashing a game lol

[@melski9205]

Thanks for your thoughts on the game, I respect your comments on the game.

[@aimajica]

@@Bleuchz lol it's okay. Don't be so defensive. Some people won't like as much as you do the games you enjoy. That's life. And by the way, Luke is by no means "trashing" your beloved game (a 6 is not that awful...), he's just giving his honest opinion "regardless of the consequences" as he does so well. ;) He is one of the best reviewer on KZbin and it's nice to hear some interesting counter-arguments to this glaring review by the Dice Tower. Some counter-arguments that do echo some concerns I had when watching the explanations for the game.

[@donpuckett2138]

As another said, you can 100 percent mitigate the push your luck and eliminate it even. Just add more ingredients. Just means you will likely be making a lower spirit. Push your luck is optional.

[@aimajica]

Viticulture is a great thematic eurogame. Nearly everything you do in it make sense with the theme. The premise of Distilled is so not thematic that it bothers me. So you're a whisky maker, but this turn, sorry, you've lost your precious ingredient. Went somewhere. Why don't you make some vodka? Or some Moonshine in a fancy bottle? Yeah it's famous how Spirits makers just make a lot of different alcohols and sometimes random stuff depending on the ingredients they have in stock. Nope sorry, it may be good but it's not a "great thematic eurogame". Mechanically, I have two other concerns: 1. It seems very "rinse and repeat" 2. To remove randomly two cards from your deck is not "push your luck", it's just "luck". Where is the "push"? Seems to me like a very lazy mechanic to bring some randomness to a game that would be too predictable otherwise. It makes no sense thematically, feels arbitrary, and apart from boringly stuffing your deck with the same cards (probably not the best strategy lol) there is seemingly no mitigation to this. I am disappointed, was expecting something more interesting and THEMATIC. :/

[@tolkienfan4ever]

I believe the “push” aspect comes from trying to produce a recipe needing two sugars and only having two sugars in your batch and hoping they don’t come out in the distillation process. You could include four sugars, thereby making it impossible not to distill what you want but then you are eliminating some of the “push” factor. That’s my 2 cents, anyway.

[@tychay]

@@tolkienfan4ever As well as there are upgrades that mitigate that. It's surprisingly easy to mitigate because depending on the tasting menu, one can plan adequate fallbacks and one's signature ingredient can't be pulled out. Not to mention that each sugar adds an alcohol so the probabilities are well determined. If you get shafted because you got moonshine or vodka it's really almost entirely your fault (esp, since i'm the early game, you should WANT moonshine or vodka because it will generate more money and money is more valuable than points until maybe the final 2 turns). As for Viticulture being thematic, Lol! There is a whole podcast devoted to where Jamey admits to not being thematic at all because real winemaking is not fun. It's a great game, but it's a bit less thematic that this one. He famously did almost no research when developing that game. That's fine, the game came out like 8 years ago… different times, these designers have the benefit of having played Viticulture before designing their own, while the reverse is not true.

[@npckse8508]

Except the push your luck head and tail of your batch are very real things. Distilling spirits is not easy and making something good is never a guarantee. I would argue the theme is married to the game at all points.

[@aimajica]

@@tychay Happy to make you laugh. I didn't even try. ;) Let's have a look at some random top 10 thematic eurogames lists: - Brothers Murph: Viticulture (4th place) - ThinkerThemer: Viticulture (2nd place) - The Broken Meeple: Viticulture (5th place) - Marathon Meeple: Viticulure (1st place) - Dice Tower People's choice: Viticulture (1st place) etc. etc. (and that's only from the first results of a KZbin search) Yep sorry "lol" I was being silly, that was a ludicrous statement. (I'm not even a huge fan of the game btw, I just admit that the theme is objectively well implemented... Worker placement does work well for theming in a eurogame...) But you're right, Distilled nailed the job of "spirits maker". "Spirits makers" are those guys who specialize on making different spirits every day, in order to get more points - or because they foolishly misplaced an ingredient... :D Distilled may be very educational with its recipes and the mixing of the ingredients, and the game does look fine, but the premise of it just feels wrong thematically. Had they chosen a "brewing potions" theme that the mechanics of the game would have felt more thematic to me (would have been less popular though!).

[@Groovestonenz]

Judging from your comment you obviously haven't played it. It's very thematic; but hey, you do you buddy.