Starcadia Quest - KOA HONEST REVIEW!

[@vonwoolf9963]

I think that's the best king of review one can ask for a board game. Long, precise, detailed, comprehensive, unhyped. It's amazing.

[@TheKingofAverage]

I'm really glad to hear you liked it Von! :)

[@JohnnyMcNabb63]

Disagree with your comments on the game. We love it. It’s a great light family game. The characters are cute and chunky and wonderful to paint. The components, the player board and enemy board is too thin. But we haven’t had the warping problem you have had. Maybe it’s the humidity? But I can see where that would be annoying if you had that problem. The randomness of the board is great. Yes, some people will have an easier time because of it. But we don’t mind that. One game you get lucky, the next you don’t. It seems to balance out. It helps with replay because the map rooms change all the time, we love the event deck and the new monster board and how that works. We find the characters different but not so different that it’s hard for the family to switch characters and not have fun playing while learning the new character. Only 8 characters in core box should have been 10 or 12 so that in a 4 player game more choices.. lucky we got the extra stretch goal of characters from Kickstarter. As for the upgrades, more choices would be good but it helps with the balance. Even if someone is winning a lot their weapon should aren’t much better than someone who is losing. Overall we love the game. It’s a light, fun, family game. Would recommend it to others. As for the difference between starcadia and Arcadia... starcadia is faster to setup. Starcadia maps are random. Only 4 games instead of 6 in a Champaign so that is better. Starcadia had the enemy board and we LOVE the event deck. We have both starcadia and Arcadia quest and prefer Starcadia. We have the expansion but they really aren’t needed. But they are awesome to paint. Love your channel.. great job even when I disagree.

[@teestarbird4478]

We really enjoy it as well. Played it with my teenager and he actually stayed focused the whole time. Played it with a group and it was well received.

[@pixxelwizzard]

I find it interesting how “humidity” will seek out and destroy one particular game in someone’s collection. Obviously, humidity is to blame.

[@Lazorlink]

​@@pixxelwizzardthat's not what she said at all. She specifically said that they were flimsy as he said and wondering if humidity was causing his to flex, where the other games with thicker boards would not flex due to humidity.

[@DriedMoss]

The intro story in the rulebook is so good, I too was very disappointed that none of the missions connected to that initial build up

[@TheKingofAverage]

Agreed! That's why when I sent to set up my first game and realized there's no more story I was super bummed about it. Then when the objective tokens started not even making since I realized that even the theme of "hacking doors" was artificial :(

[@ScytheNoire]

This game is a perfect example of why I'm so wary of CMON: inconsistency. Inconsistent with their quality, and inconsistent with their gameplay.

[@TheKingofAverage]

That's actually very true! With so many designers it's all over the place and for whatever reason I know for a fact that they change manufacturers for different games which is why we see such a range in component quality.

[@guillermoz4914]

Ok

[@bceagles99holla]

I can always expect an honest review from you. Thank you.

[@TheKingofAverage]

You are very welcome James! :)

[@DriedMoss]

I did not have any of the warping of paper material. I did have the player boards inserted into the plastic trays, and I sleeve all my Boardgame Cards immediately into dragon shield or ultra pro sleeves, so they never warp on me either. Less humidity in my area compared to yours?

[@TheKingofAverage]

I live in Idaho so it's never super humid. Literally in a desert :) We ended up using those trays, but sadly the are KSE's so no go for this review. Either way, I was able to peel layers off the cardboard with ease in my unboxing -_- Cheap is cheap.

[@michaelrodriguez3129]

Great review! I’ve never played either Arcadia or Starcadia but this last version did poke my interest. Also, I like the “pros and cons” at the end of the video but the font makes it difficult to read. I think it’s the colored border around the letters and then a long point overlaps the red logo circle.

[@TheKingofAverage]

Thanks for the feedback Michael! I'll definitely look into making that end screen more readable :)

[@takamichitakahata7116]

Hey! I gotta say that I prefer this point of view! :D

[@TheKingofAverage]

Thanks for the feedback man! I like it as well. I think next time I'll try moving the camera a bit closer and sitting at the end of the table so it's less of a side view for me, will see how that works but definitely if not then this is the keeper. Made the +/- points take up less space as well so am really happy to hear the improvements are on the right track :)

[@adamanderson1979]

Hey, while I didn’t finish the video , great job , thanks for the work.

[@TheKingofAverage]

Thanks a ton Adam! :)

[@cplmackinnon]

Aren't the "bendy" components usually caused by humidity? For example, I received a game, when I opened it everything was perfectly straight, but when I used it again some weeks later, the board was warped, so it wasn't really the component quality, and pressing it for a while with heavy objects reshaped them (although in this case, most of the player boards do look extremely thin).

[@TheKingofAverage]

Humidity, packaging, build and material all play a part. However I don't move to different regions for each game :) So when all of my games are from China and all of them are at my home it's a level playing field and these are the worst of the bunch by quite the margin. In my unboxing I went into this a bit but the cardboard they use is very low quality. You can very easily peel he layers off of each other. It's closer to corrugated cardboard than to wood. Compared to how Monolith's tokens for instance which are closer to a wood in density and have sealed edges to help prevent moisture and are thicker, these simply don't compare.

[@cplmackinnon]

@@TheKingofAverage thx for the info!

[@BoardRoomGamer]

Yes humidity is a factor... that said, the player boards are super... SUPER thin 🥺

[@mattlebel]

Played this for the first time last week. It was all fine until the final mission. Before that started, we spent so much time drafting to get awesome weapons and we couldn’t wait to use them and roll so many dice but then the final mission was just empty and too easy. There was only the main villain on the board. The event cards weren’t making us add many new monsters to the board. In the end, my wife was able to portal over to the villain (since there was a portal right next to him) by her 3rd turn and she took him out in one dice roll. She got a very lucky roll. It was so anticlimactic. None of us got to fight the 2 enemies that were added to the board. So it was like the time we spent drafting before that mission was a complete waste of time. I had only just played Arcadia Quest two weeks ago. Everyone agreed that that was much more fun.

[@p.henrique9088]

Thanks for another honest and great review King! I didn't back this one and won't buy it either. But mainly because I already own Arcadia Quest (we like the AQ theme better as well) which is a big success over here, we love it! Looking forward to watching more of your reviews on this format!

[@daedalus25]

Same here. I already own Arcadia Quest and lot of various expansions for it. As fun as it is, I have no desire to start all over with a reskinned version.

[@TheKingofAverage]

From what I've read I'd have preferred Arcadia Quest more :(

[@BenBoersma]

Agree on the cardboard components and to a degree on the lack of story (although we enjoy coming up with the story), but I disagree with some of the other comments. One thing that is overlooked is the target market. It is designed to be streamlined and simpler with the focus on combining characters abilities with upgrades to create interesting interactions. You also point out a lack of catch up mechanics just after saying you aren't rewarded for doing well. We have played through a few campaigns now and haven't had a game go over 1.5 hours. I'd be frustrated with a four hour game too, but we haven't had that yet. I appreciate a critical review and overall I enjoyed listening to it (even though I love playing this with my kids). So thanks for producing the video. Cmon games are really designed to be bought on Kickstarter. It sucks, but that's what happens.

[@TheKingofAverage]

And that's what I love to hear. Ideally I provide enough information about *why* I feel the way that I do that you can judge for yourselves if you agree with that or not :) As for the reward for doing well, that's not quite what I said. I feel it was unearned. I can get more nuanced however: In all of our games there wasn't a huge difference in VP and how VP is collected to get items it's even less meaningful. With VP just lying on the ground (3 on a single tile, they often get stacked onto terminals, etc) just walking around and having other people die gets you plenty. So at the end of the game we're all pretty much getting the same amount of items. Even still, there were quite a few times where a player wasn't able to get a new weapon. That can theoretically (or purposefully) happen for a whole campaign, leaving you with just starting weapons. So that's why I mentioned it :) On the one hand we're all getting a bunch of items whether we were the only one to every complete any quests or whether we just walked around and avoided people and at the same time some of our players lucked out and were blocked from getting better/more weapons. Worth a mention in my book :)

[@BenBoersma]

@@TheKingofAverage absolutely. I see the boost upgrades as being a nice balance for not getting a weapon. Some of those are quite powerful as you go along. The extra upgrade per badge is good in allowing more choice for players that did well (thus earning them). But it is important to remember that because the game is so streamlined, this will all be flattened/simplified a bit. There is less granularity because of the way it is designed. Some people would argue that Monolith games is too granulated/overly complex. It depends on what the person's taste is. I am not a fan of Cmon's strategies with marketing and limited releases, however Starcadia is aimed at the lighter end of the scale and for that purpose I think it succeeded well. Is it a bit stingy on the content side retail wise for the price? Yes. I think they skimped on the quality a bit because it didn't go anywhere near as well as Arcadia Quest on KS (largely due to a VERY unimpressive Arcadia Quest Riders campaign and the feeling of many fans that didn't want to transition from a Fantasy seeing to a Sci Fi one). I think it would have done better as an Arcadia Quest expansion personally (providing new options in play). But, here we are. Lol Thanks again!

[@TheKingofAverage]

Hmm yeah perhaps good point on the component quality thing for sure. And most definitely my review is from someone who likes heavy and strategic games that still have smooth game flow. I suppose a more apt example (and again this didn't happen for us, just could I think) would be all of the blues and defensive yellows taken. You could be a lot easier to kill depending on other's choices.

[@palmcrazysg]

any suggestions on how to make the duration more bearable? limit the number of rounds per player?

[@TheKingofAverage]

That's what we ended up doing. If it seemed to be dragging we just called a winner based on how things went (so for instance, who had the objective the longest).

[@buellrichardson5222]

I got Arcadia Quest in a bundle deal but haven't played it yet. After the review of this game I'm thinking of trying to sell it because it doesnt sound like my type of game. Thanks for the honest review

[@TheKingofAverage]

From what I can tell Arcadia Quest I would have enjoyed more. It has a story for it's campaign, you gain gold and use that gold to buy items and items are actually cards you use that have a cost attached so there's a lot more of them than the tokens here. Honestly this seems like Baby's First Arcadia Quest with how dumbed down it seems.

[@robertharvey5904]

This review feels fair. I say that as someone who doesn't regret paying a lot after market to get the whole thing. I still enjoy it quite a bit as a family game (or even solo using the Arcadia solo beta rules tweaked for Starcadia), but there is a catch. Keep in mind, like nearly all CMON games, I can't shake the feeling that the mechanics are undercooked in Starcadia. Upgrades are way too prolific. And yes, there is no counter pressure to limit the "overstay" of the back and forth objectives. I know it is not everyone's thing, but I use some tweaks to really help the rough spots of the design. I am using 1 free draft upgrade (not 4) and the rest are earned from badges (standard 7 VPs from kills, quests, or pickups) so that loot feels earned. I am also limiting revive on rest actions to a number of times per team in a mission 3 default, but -1 for the winner of the last game-which also helps as a catch up mechanic). If everyone dies, no winner badge, but the more that die, the quicker it goes. Plus eliminated players still get to do event/monster turns and it keeps game times down. These adjustments seem to aid the unearned loot and overstay issues while also allowing the rest of the mechanics to shine extra bright due to resource pressures. Yes, the designers should have done the work, but the core loop is pretty fun and worth rescuing (like a lot of CMON games). The components are low quality. This is apparent from every unboxing. Even before cards are out of the plastic wrapper there is significant bending. I have strongly considered photocopying and then laminating the monster board. Yet, the miniatures are possibly the best CMON has done as they are very clean and not the usual 2d poses they use. I do feel it is not so samey as KoA suggests (if beyond the core box). Hero team composition and combos do feel unique and rewarding to discover. Monsters also feel a bit more varied. Granted, like the rest of the mechanics, these elements shine more when the "undercooked" element is tightened up a bit which is quite fair to ding Starcadia on.

[@TheKingofAverage]

Oh interesting house rules! I very well might try this for the next time my kids want to play. Could you write me a story for all the scenarios as well? :P

[@tawink]

“Chess with all pawns” 😆 brutal

[@TheKingofAverage]

To be honest I'd rather play that. At least it'd be shorter and less expensive.

[@CruJones]

BRAVO! Well done review. Keep 'em coming!

[@TheKingofAverage]

Thanks so much Cru, I'm glad you liked it! :)

[@mosh44]

Curious, have you played it more and is it still in your collection?

[@TheKingofAverage]

I did in fact the up selling it :)

[@mosh44]

Thanks for the reply! Just played nexus ops with my oldest (almost 8 yrs old) and was thinking if this might be a good choice next but I guess you selling it makes me think maybe not, lol!!

[@JodouTR]

Wow, to think at one point I was considering paying a premium to get this as I missed the KS. So glad I didn't bother now as this sounds boring AF. So glad your POV is around for games because I have the same cynical approach with how I value my time, whereas other outlets don't deep dive on where a game may fall down because they enjoyed it in a general sense. I'm also totally sympathetic to letting someone else win when the game just breaks your spirit from boredom. I don't play monopoly either for the exact reasons you mentioned. Great video, and thanks for saving me the cash!

[@mattnottm8363]

I was in the same boat. There were a few copies going on ebay at a good (or acceptable) price so I'm glad I resisted. Now I just need a review of Project Elite to put me off buying it just for the Zombicide Invader crossover

[@nothing3376]

We love the king; he never lies

[@lotusmoon2744]

I really enjoy this style of review, excellent job taking us through all the pros and cons especially showing the poor production quality of the non-mini components. To me also this is unacceptable especially from such a big company like CMON. I ended up not backing this on kickstarter and now I am glad I made that decision. Always hard with CMON though as the fomo is real with the ks exclusives, but theres more to a game than just nice minis. I'm weary now about backing CMON, I did end up back Ankh since it seemed too good to pass up so hoping for the best.

[@magneto25]

This is a great game that I share with my son. I loved painting the minis and he loves all of the pop culture references. If you’re playing with other 30/40 year olds, probably no.

[@TheKingofAverage]

Yeah as my note said, playing with kids helped and they liked it more than me for sure :D

[@Aerilith89]

I've loved Arcadia Quest and Inferno so far, so I'm considering whether to get this - thanks for the thorough review! Obviously still watching, but I can't wait to hear your thoughts!

[@TheKingofAverage]

As an AQ player I'd love to hear any thoughts you have after the video is over :)

[@Aerilith89]

​@@TheKingofAverage Based on your review, I can definitely see some of the cons from AQ have lingered, and some even seem to have worsened. I enjoyed the theme in AQ, mostly in the visuals, since actual theme was fairly limited, it definite had the bare minimum for my tastes as far as scenario/background story, though it seems SQ has even that in favor of what they perceive to be easy setup. The minis seem just as nice as the ones in AQ, but the rest of the components have definitely taken a turn for the worse - I've not had any issues with bent cards or player boards in any of my AQ boxes. The one change that piqued my interest when I first saw SQ was the fact that they cut it down to two characters per player. In AQ I often felt like one of my characters would just hang around the base and be a storage container for loot or forward resurrection spot for my other characters. I definitely think having two would make both of them feel more important - thinking about it, it might be worth limiting myself to two characters in AQ, just to see how it feels. As for combat being repetitive and lack of variety in general, that's also true for AQ in my opinion, and though I haven't had games drag on for 4 hours, it can tend to run long and end up with the worse off players wanting it to end sooner rather than later. Ultimately, I think I'll skip SQ based on this, it seems some of the vital elements were removed and have been dumbed down to make it more palatable, and I'm definitely more interested in the fantasy theme over the sci-fi theme. Thank you for the honest review and all of your great content in general!

[@TheKingofAverage]

Very interesting! Yeah I'd try with 2 and see how you like it :) I believe AQ uses cards and such and not sure how often you have to rest in it, but with two characters and typically a max of 3 attacks per (and often you still have only 1 main one) you end up resting about 1 in ever 3 turns on average. Controlling an enemy helps for sure in that department.

[@antoniogodinho405]

Hi! This was a very solid and consistent review. Nice format and organization of pros/cons. You speak very clearly. I realy like Starcadia Quest but I also think about a new campaign book that possible turn the game less abstract and add more diversity. I also think "ok I like it and let's play" but by the end all efforts was to get a blue or a green, go here or go there. My son's uncle also said that it almost feel like chess! :) But I do like the game and want to play. Lucky that still don't have the components problem, all impeccable. Very good job with this review ;)

[@TheKingofAverage]

Thanks Antonio, glad you liked it! :)

[@garylangford6755]

Did you back death may die? Will you review that? Keen to see how this compares.

[@TheKingofAverage]

I did! I enjoyed DmD far more than this.

[@DragonX5X]

Thank for that good review, I’m so glad I didn’t back this (almost sold my Arcadia quest games to get this instead). I rather stick to OG Arcadia quest with more soul than this one ... feels like wasted potential , since sci-fi theme is normally a lot more appealing to me than fantasy

[@TheKingofAverage]

Yes! Soul, that's what it is lacking. Seems almost every complain I had is actually a recent change they made :(

[@teestarbird4478]

I appreciate the open and honest dialogue. You seem tired LOL. I agree on a bunch of them including theme and abstract play, however disagree on a couple points; firstly the "lack" of variety. For starters, the maps are random every time. This means EVERY time you play you are likely going to see a different set up just based on that alone. You also have different monsters each time, so that adds more variety. I thought it was cool that they did that. I do wonder however why they didn't do tiles on the back side of the available tiles, seems like a waste of more replay opportunities. Also "Getting Stronger is unearned". You earn those Action Points (SEE: GOLD in AQ) for killing monsters, heroes, completing missions etc..those get you additional badge which get you additional items. As per the rule book, after the draft players with additional badges can get additional upgrades. "Once all players have taken their 4 Upgrades, each player gets to pick an additional Upgrade for each Badge they just scored. Players that haven’t scored any Badges aren’t eligible to receive these additional Upgrades" We did have a problem with the game length in the beginning but realized we were playing the monsters incorrectly with the event cards, adding tougher monsters when we shouldn't have.

[@TheKingofAverage]

Yeah I didn't even get into how the monsters share stats -_- Compared to the games I normally play this has the least amount of enemy variety out of all of them :( As for the "earn" I mean they don't feel earned. It's not attached to any action I do. Heck we had a player who came in second in a scenario and they never left their own first tile. It had the 3 vp spot on it and a terminal and he used event cards to re-add the 3 vp and add them to the terminal and just waltzed around there and gained vp from other people dying. I got the same amount of rewards as him and completed both PVE missions. It might help a *little* for me at least if there was some thematic/lore reasoning around the upgrades but it's not a shop, or loot, or...anything. I didn't get it from a chest, I didn't turn in a bounty and get rewarded. It's just a completely detached game mechanic arbitrarily associated with victory points. But, I am happy you enjoy it an dam glad that are able to have your own opinion on parts of it :)

[@teestarbird4478]

@@TheKingofAverage Shame on yall for letting the other player waltz around?? And I didn't mind the stat share...makes it much more simplified which I welcomed. As a big fan of Arcadia Quest and Arcadia Quest: Inferno, the subtle little changes were welcomed. Gives me meaning to play both versions.

[@TheKingofAverage]

Eh, we'd have to stop fighting over that stupid objective to do much about it, meaning the guy we didn't kill goes in for the 5vp turn in. Perhaps it's the difference between 2 and 3 people, but with 2 people you can't really multitask a huge amount, especially with locked movement for everyone.

[@francoislatulippe7183]

Nice review, i like theses positives vs negatives review way more than a numbered score. This is talking to my personal preferences. Kinda looking foward for a Trudvang review, do you intend to do it? I haven't backed the game for lack of funds, but it's in my radar now. Hoping the story will be more fleshed out than Starcadia, also a bit worried about drawing mechanic

[@TheKingofAverage]

I did not back Trudvang and can tell you right now I'd absolutely hate it. For me it's important to feel in control and to do cool stuff, even if it misses. So in Oathsworn I can do an epic flip over the boss and attack on my way down. I might miss the attack but I still did the flip. In Trudvang those random (completely random) token draws are the bouncers of fun. Want to use your weapon to attack? Hopefully you luckily draw well! If you don't draw well you can't even do the action. Did you watch Tantrum House's play through? It was so cringe! The poor women could do absolutely nothing, she drew demon rune after demon rune and could never actually attack. Not because she wasn't strategic (the odds were in her favor) or not as skilled. Just pure random luck with no mechanics to mitigate or manipulate that luck. Since she was doing this for so long the other player literally got so bored doing nothing that they left the table. In CMON's playthrough video Michael was talking about wanting to lower his chances of drawing a demon rune and he was able to get a sword as a reward so he got it as it added some good tokens but then JOKE'S ON HIM the story bit forced a demon rune in his bag that he couldn't have known was coming, meaning he didn't increase his odds even though he was trying to play smart. Won't be touching that game with a 100 ft pole. It's about as opposite of my preferences as you can get lol I'd actively rather go to the dentist than play it. At least then I'd have some clean teeth by the end of it.

[@francoislatulippe7183]

@@TheKingofAverage thats a shame, I was looking foward to a good story driven game. I'll go look for thoses playthrough you mentionned and see that mechanic in action. Thank you for sharing your thoughts

[@TheKingofAverage]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/gpbKq6uGnZqch9k Starting from about 14:40 it's pure comedy gold. The struggle to stay positive is Emmy worthy and when it finally pans out and you see the dude not even sitting there anymore (I assume he got bored twiddling his thumbs) is hilarious. Any game where the main negative consequence is you don't get to play it just isn't good in my book. It'd be like playing a dungeon crawler where instead of getting damaged you get knocked down to waste a turn every single time lol.

[@Option1979]

Thank for another thoughtful review! I haven’t looked that closely at the Quest series but I think the Zombicide games are my minimum for complexity and story so it’s good to know these are probably not a good fit for me. Now, bring on those sweet sweet Sankokushin exclusives :D

[@TheKingofAverage]

My understanding is Arcadia is more advanced and fixes many of the issues I have with this one. This is definitely below Zombicide in terms of story and strategy.

[@tigertemprr7276]

Informative review! Have you done a Favorite/Top X boardgames video? If not, is that something you would consider doing in the future?

[@TheKingofAverage]

I do those sorts of lists at the end of the year, but only for that year. Never a fully blown "of all time" list no :)

[@Vlad65WFPReviews]

Interesting and revealing degree. As a wargamer, it reminds me that you can have good rules that are ruined by bad scenarios. The mess you discussed at 29 minutes is a perfect example. Heck, even another prominent reviewer who liked the game more, did admit that those missions were a problem.

[@raziel2273]

Hi there KOA did you back Project:ELITE?..i m curious on your opinion about that..thanks

[@TheKingofAverage]

I did not back it no, not my style of game. Fun fact: I hate timed events even in video games. The moment I get a time limit I stress out and stop having fun. Couldn't even play Majora's Mask because of that :)

[@raziel2273]

@@TheKingofAveragehaha i respect personal preferences ofc!!what a game majoras mask!!if you are interested may i suggest you a game??Sword & Sorcery it fits right to your tastes..you won't be dissapointed..

[@TheKingofAverage]

I've perused it! I then see how much there is for it and chicken out haha. Need to look into it again :)

[@raziel2273]

@@TheKingofAverage I get what you say you are right but if you find a nice KS copy its totally worth it!!!Retail doesn't have enough value but KS oh boy you will thank me later the production and the gameplay are off the roof..

[@abdulrahmanreijerink]

Great review. Glad I passed on picking this up recently. One point though, the font used in the summary notes at the end make them hard to read.

[@TheKingofAverage]

Ah thanks for the feedback, I'll take a look at that when I get off work today :)

[@DriedMoss]

Mechs Vs Minions was the best storage solution right out of the box. What is the game you feel has the #1, right out of the box, storage?

[@TheKingofAverage]

Good question! This would certainly be up there. I remember Claustrophobia 1643 also being very good.

[@Nautingaz]

Awesome review! Now I am happy I passed on this. Seems to be often often like that with CMON games - to less variability and replayability if you don't go for the KS all in. Best example for that is "The Others" - just the core box would really annoy me after some sessions. Having the all in - it's one of my favourite "1 vs many" games.

[@TheKingofAverage]

If the characters really played different and if the scenarios had any sense of strong theme or story I'd say that'd work for SQ, but sadly they don't and it doesn't :( Massive Darkness was like that. Adding in all the roaming monsters and new enemies really pumped the variety up nicely.

[@Nautingaz]

@@TheKingofAverage Looking forward to hear more about the Massive Darkness 2 KS ;) Btw: A huge shout out for your reviews and KS news! I really appriciate the honesty that shines through in your opinion. Keep it up!

[@TheKingofAverage]

Thanks a ton Nautingaz! I really appreciate it :)

[@DriedMoss]

It’s been a while since I have watched a game review here. I still think Fantasy Flight Games have the best How to Play and Rules Reference Books.

[@TheKingofAverage]

When I played Stuffed Fables it had QR codes throughout the rulebook that took you to a How It's Played video timestamped exactly tot the point where that part of the rules is discussed. It was amazing O.o

[@ShelfClutter]

haha great preview selection on the intro

[@TheKingofAverage]

It makes me seem a bit neurotic, but that's probably a good expectation to set anyway :D

[@metalrock720]

FYI - i am pretty sure you got the rules to hostile tacover wrong (scenario 2 which you noted you hated because it takes forever). As soon as someone destroys the 2nd token they win that objectivs and it moves on. Even if the tokens respawn because all 4 were removed, the previous token destroyed still counts toward the objective meaning that part is fairly quick. That being said that scenario has a significant 1st player advantage if everyone destroys their target in one blow and the 1st player has the first opportunity to destroy the next target. I say I generally like the game but do feel like CMON just released this game and gave no support to fix issues or provide enough FAQs after which is extremely frustrating. I do feel like the game has a lot of balance issues and CMON basically didn't find it worth it to support this game after fulfillment which makes me wary of CMON and ks items which have too many exclusives. Thanks for your critical videos though!

[@Indra_P]

Thanks for the review. Get well soon!

[@TheKingofAverage]

You are very welcome Indra and thanks! I swear if my voice goes out in one more video I'll get frustrated at my own voice haha :D

[@christophe08111981]

Great Review (allthough I disagree). Especially the "unearned upgrades": After my experience with Imperial Assault I think campaign games always should try to avoid Snowballing, and it's still there a bit in Starcadia Quest. You earn getting the first pick and getting more stuff than the others, that's it, but that is preferable to me than a player who didn't do well (perhaps because of bad luck with the dice) will continue to do bad. I think that only works in full coop games.

[@AkkeMonasso]

Yeah, first the upgrades are unearned, then it's no good that the best upgrades are gone if you come last. Which one is it?

[@TheKingofAverage]

Unearned for me is partial thematic and partialy where I can tie them to specific actions. For instance I played one scenario where someone's starting point had a terminal and the 3 VP points on the board. They literally never left their first tile, using events add more VP points to the tile and terminal and collecting VP points when other teams died. I completed both PvE Missions. we had almost the same VP at the end of that round and took the exact same amount of loot thanks to the need to have 7 before another is given. When it's based on zero actions and just raw VP, it's detached from any action you actually took and that combined with any sort of thematic explanation (found it? bought it? stole it? did it randomly appear on my person from the 5th dimension?) and it just feels wholly unearned. The cherry on top being that you get upgrades even if you got only a single VP meaning everyone regardless of how well they did get's a power ramp of some sort. Just my personal take on it of course :) I can't speak for you, just provide why I feel the way I do :D

[@danielmarko3258]

I played a campaign with my brother in AQ and we had to stop around scenario 4 because I was so much ahead I finished the whole scenario and killed him multiple times, basically i was so much stronger I could have farmed him and I ended up with around 30 gold and he had around 2, we dealt the equipments and he couldn't buy anything so we both agreed that this is just not fun anymore. I haven't played SQ but if it balances this snowballing out then I don't care if the rewards are unearned because snowballing just ruins the game for everyone.

[@DriedMoss]

I am going to comment as I watch. Starcadia and Arcadia are my favorite and ONLY Chibi game.

[@TheKingofAverage]

Same here! Not usually into Chibi style too much, though they are actually fun to paint.

[@BoardRoomGamer]

Just finished a year long project painting all the Arcadia Quest minis, expansions included.. it was really fun and now playing the game seems so much more fun 🙂

[@DriedMoss]

BoardRoom Gamer Arcadia Quest Inferno and Dragons Too?

[@BoardRoomGamer]

@@DriedMoss Inferno, Pets, Undead and 1 of the Dragons yes

[@Muageto]

Haha love the Notes at the end "Playing with children improves value". From the look of it, Arcadia Quest felt better ... or at least different (Maps are controlled in AQ)

[@TheKingofAverage]

Yeah from what I hear I'd have liked AQ far more as it "solves" most of the issues I had here.

[@robinrising9929]

with arcadia quest having a solo now, starcadia just becomes a worse product of the two, at a higher price. (not that I'd recommend anyone buying arcadia just for solo, its good not great, but it was nice to get value and play 6 years after you bought a game) The fall of arcadia (arcadia + inferno mixed) was pretty epic and also seems to just trump the entirety of base starcadia. I do know starcadia released a comic though with matching mission cards which seems thematic. arcadia vs starcadia base - you still get terrible base starter powers like any cmon starter box, you get more to do per turn with 3 guys, and you don't have any of those "possible it ends in a stalemate" missions. It does run a little long still because it's a last hit gets the things arena brawler, and there are 3 guys to activate vs 2.

[@aonline_abridged]

Solo mode? it has been a while, was this a physical expansion?

[@robinrising9929]

@@aonline_abridged print and play with scenarios

[@Maialideth]

Thank you for this. I really like Arcadia Quest, but I passed on the KS. Was heavily considering buying it in retail, but now I definitely won't. AQ is a heavier game, especially with expansions (it can get super heavy with Pets, Riders and the corruption thingy from AQ: Inferno), but it is a much more thematic and story based game.

[@SunSailor]

Customer side storage solutions will be the next big thing in kickstarter games, I believe. It is simply a shame, if you have to throw high quality materials in a dumping box. The only thing I love in the current Roll Player Adventure campaign is the unlocking of such a solution, otherwise it is sadly a total rip-off compared to the expected retail availability. With a descent storage solution, a campaign can make a difference in this more and more tight market. "Play a game of chess with all pawns" - that game is called checkers :P ;)

[@TheKingofAverage]

LOL after someone else quoted it I'm like ....That's checkers :D Unscripted me says dumb things sometimes, but you get my drift :) Still a game, but everyone plays and does the same exact things as everyone else. Amen to consumer facing storage solutions! I'll praise them wherever I see them.

[@lewisjohnson8226]

Thanks to the current lockdown situation I haven't been able to get my copy to the table. I've played Arcadia Quest and AQ:Inferno though. Arcadia Quest was easily the best of the 2. It was brisk, full of dice-chucking and laugh-out-loud moments, and was simple enough to explain. I managed to play through a 6-mission campaign over 3 nights because we could fit 2 games in each night -evrn with a full 4 players. Inferno was..... Ok-ish I guess? The problem is it just added too much bloat, so each turn took twice as long and a game could run for 2 hours. Add the extensive set-up and tear-down time and....meh, I sold it after 1 play-through of the campaign. SQ is supposed to be a return to the stripped-down nature of AQ, so I have hopes that it's as pacey as that game, and your 4-hour session was just a weird anomaly. I've had other miniatures games get into similar states (a game of Village Attacks devolved into a no-win-cant-lose situation once) so hopefully we can avoid it, or just elect to never play that mission. I've already painted the SQ core box, along with a lot of the extras, so I hope all that effort didn't go to waste 😂

[@coachace123]

How ironic that there's so much quality in the design and production of the packaging and protection of the crappy components!

[@TheKingofAverage]

LOL right?! Honestly I'd rather have better components and worse storage if I must choose :D

[@uluairi]

That is so disappointing. I have the spanish version of the original Arcadia Quest, and the components quality are amazing, the tiles are massively chunky and cards and counters are of great quality as well. But those components you show are terrible, they look like a chinese proxy. Happy to have avoided the KS. Great review !!

[@milozdu1366]

some fair points. I'm glad I backed it because I enjoy the miniatures and the game despite your reservations on the latter. However, your complaint about component quality and backstory is spot-on. I'd also mention that the actual box-quality feels like a downgrade from AQ. In terms of the campaign Arcadia Quest had fully-fleshed out campaign world with excellent witty writing. I can't help feeling CMON shot their load on the miniature production and cut corners on the writing and components.

[@TheKingofAverage]

Man the more I hear about AQ the more I wish I had that instead -_-

[@milozdu1366]

@@TheKingofAverage I would temper that by pointing out that setup is longer than SQ

[@MrTomlette]

Funny, seems that Arcadia quest was a bit more thematic than this. The scenarios had a bit of backstory and some mechanics baked in. I¡m starting to get tired of Eric Lang's tendency to make games that look thematic, but have their theme removed for the sake of streamlining and accessibility.

[@TheKingofAverage]

oh man I really do wish it still had some backstory. There's a brief overview in the rulebook but each scenario is devoid of any story. Like for instance one of the 3rd scenarios, the second PVE Quest mentions a Spy. The first one doesn't, I had no idea there was a spy? It just sort of popped up. A spy for us or the bad guy? Who knows, but now I gotta get the spy I guess? -_-

[@MrTomlette]

@@TheKingofAverage Yeah, just an example, I remember the Inferno book had a scenario where one of the quests was retrieving souls (or just people, I don't remember) and taking them to the center of the scenario, where there was a portal. Usually, the pve quests were connected to the backstory of the scenario, and sometimes being the first one to do those quests would grant you a bonus for future games that had an explanation in-universe, as in, "oh, you helped us doing X so we're gonna help you go through this one", which wouldn't be a super big bonus, but yeah. In fact, in inferno it got to the point where you could save captured angels, which then became a fourth team member (you chose main 3 every game) and if you didn't save them they became corrupted and turned into enemies down the line. Don't get me wrong, it's not superthematic, it's just a game about backstabbing, seeing impossible turnarounds thanks to the exploding dice, and bickering, but it seemed to have more soul than this. Which is what I suspected when I saw it on KS.

[@TheKingofAverage]

Oh man I can guarantee you if I had this, but with that sort of stuff in it this whole video would have a different tone.

[@jpsuper]

Are you painting? And I don’t mean the minis 😁👍🏻

[@TheKingofAverage]

Hah! Yeah my wife has been busy painting. Should be finished with that wall today actually :)

[@jpsuper]

@@TheKingofAverage Good! It is the right time to do anything in and around the house... here it is the same :) Stay safe.

[@repeataftermeme75]

I feel like you're telling me this game would function better if it was house ruled by a willing fan. Simply adding depth. Most of CMONS retail games typically use cheap components. The miniatures and tokens are usually good and the rest is not so great. So I'm not surprised on the bendy components and flimsy cards. Seems as though they didn't play test the game nearly enough or they did and ignored everything.

[@arcubal]

So, basically, back CMON on KS if you like the game but stay away from it as soon as it hits retail...yeah, I figured as much

[@EduardoOrtizFrau]

It seems like most people just look to reviews to confirm whether or not they did good on backing or not backing a game on kickstarter, lol. The whole component opinion, I think it's a bit exaggerated, never once did I look at the game and think the components were bad. They seem like standard hobby board game components. The game is meant to be silly dice chucking fun, while being heavy enough to not bore you (it's not yahtzee), and at this it exceeds. Definitely prefer it to Arcadia, which just took to long to setup to make it worth the trouble. I haven't run into the "game being too long for its own good" situation yet, but yeah I can see how that would be annoying. In terms of powering up feeling unearned, it falls in line with not taking the game too seriously. It's fun to power up, and having people not being able to do so just because they don't know how to play the game super well, well that isn't much fun for anyone. Arcadia Quest was a bit more like this, where if you did better in a scenario you would have more money to buy more upgrades. But that actually felt less fun for me, and easier to have good players just get more and more ahead of everyone else. Anyways, thanks for taking the time to do the review!

[@TheKingofAverage]

Thanks Eduardo! Really enjoyed your insight :D The no catch-up mechanic of Arcadia does sound like an issue for sure! We don't always have to agree of course. That's what's nice about having multiple opinions out there :D For me, it sounds like I'd have enjoyed Arcadia Quest more for my tastes, but now I know that :D

[@EduardoOrtizFrau]

@@TheKingofAverage For sure, I know it takes a lot of time to make one of this vids, so thanks again for doing the hobby the service :) Look forward to checking out more of your reviews!

[@TheloniusMage]

“But I am in your collection!”

[@rolandmorgenstern4725]

it is Cmon, it is a KS game, without the KS content it is just not complete lol

[@TheKingofAverage]

I was actually being kind by only focusing on the retail core box. Since the characters don't ever actually feel different, adding KSE ones doesn't really spice up gameplay. The KSE trays are terribly made and the worst attempt I've ever seen at offering a try for character boards, and since enemies share most of the same stats even those don't do a huge amount to add variety. Reviewing this as a $70 game with little variety or content is a lot better than a $120+ game with little variety or content ;)

[@CaughtByYourself]

Sorry haven't seen all your vids (yet), but if controlling enemies is such a nice touch. Have you backed sea of legends? That was one of the aspects why I backed it. Glad I didn't back starcadia, it looks horrible

[@TheKingofAverage]

hehe no need to apologize :) Sea of Legends required an app didn't it? If so that's why I'm out (I'll verify) - I have a no phones policy while playing games. It is a nice little twist as you can try and plan it as part of your turn and means even if you rest, your turn might not be without some gameplay.

[@CaughtByYourself]

@@TheKingofAverage yeah it does have an app. It sounded not too big of a deal for me. But I definitely get the concern. Gf plays nothing including an app either, because she says the point of board games is not having a phone on you. You have on the rest of the day. I do get her point, but alchemists is great but definitely needs an app. I hope it is not too defining in sea of legends. Thanks for your response 👍

[@TheKingofAverage]

Sure thing :) I'm happy there are games out there for everyone :) I feel ideally options are provided but if someone wants to make a half video game half board game hybrid for those that want that sort of thing I say go for it. Definitely not for me though :)

[@aonline_abridged]

hmmmm, how does it play 2p? I House ruled Arcadia Quest because I was not happy with the campaign winner being the one that killed the final boss, other than that I liked the game fine. I may need to house rule this one too...only because of those damned adorable minis. By the sounds of it, this is not like Arcadia Quest, the changes you mention here makes it more streamlined but also worse in my opinion, although I like they keep your team at 2 heroes instead of 3. I am surprised it has zero fluff text regarding the missions/quests. Also in Arcadia you get coins from killing enemies which you then spend on a post-game draft to buy stuff, so again, they streamlined it but it created the problems you describe. Arcadia does have the 'kill the other team member' objectives in every game, on top of the regular objectives. I always saw it as a push to making players a threat and not just the environment. Oh man, this made me sad, and probably will delay the initial play by a few months.

[@DragonX5X]

A Online how did i houserule the win condition of a Arcadia quest campaign ? Would like to know

[@aonline_abridged]

@@DragonX5X We do points=coins for the whole campaign (so even when buying new equipment a player is giving up points for that), causing damage to an enemy or another player, gives 2x coins per damage, if it is a boss it is 3x coins per damage. If a character dies we do not give points to every other player. Winning the scenario awards as many coins as the player in last place is carrying divided by number of players (this one we had a few other variants, like winning a scenario is worth 5-10 points). Hope that's clear enough, it has been a while.

[@aonline_abridged]

A less drastic way to do it would be to just give points per damage instead of making coins be points, and also points per winning a scenario (say points equal to # of players time scenario #). So players get points for each damage they give to enemy monsters (killing blow does not reward extra) and each scenario they win. At the end of the campaign count up your points.

[@BillySpenc]

before i watch the video....those bendt mats...my heart

[@TheKingofAverage]

Sooo much bending :(

[@arcubal]

So unfortunate to, again, see a big company mainly focus quality on minis and not the rest of the game. Now I know what to expect for the mass-market *Marvel United* I sure hope *Trudvang Legends* is of better quality or else *CMON* will forever be known as the *company that produces Mattel/cheap department store games* Their games are, indeed, already shallow with tons of characters but nothing else going on.... sad that this is the state of their retail versions. It confirms again that I'll consider backing CMON on KS but NEVER buy a 'watered down' retail CMON game.

[@anonymouse8953]

Thank you for this high quality review of a (at least for me) strange product/game design.

[@TheKingofAverage]

You are very welcome, glad you liked the review if not the game :D

[@TylerDeLisle]

Hm, it does sound like you would prefer Arcadia Quest. You lose the event system, but there is much more theme and backstory. Like one of the base set maps has you invading the castle kitchen where a Troll has setup shop (Monsters invaded the city), he's a special named boss in the middle. If you kill him you get a key which in a later map lets you unlock a hidden room and retrieve his special, named weapon. Another quest in that map is to rescue the royalty that are locked up to be used as food. You also earn titles for performing certain side quests that give you benefits later on. One part I do wonder about, you complain about game length there, SQ is supposed to be significantly quicker to setup and play, but that sounds odd to me as most AQ scenarios ran 30 minutes to 60 minutes, with some of the later ones going up to 2 hours.

[@TheKingofAverage]

It is indeed quick to setup but it seemed to always drag for us. Certainly longer than 30 minutes! One of the second scenarios is to get 2 blue objective tokens and there are 4 total, one in front of each person's shuttle (starting location). Well we all grabbed our own and the moment they are all picked up they reset so it took a few attempts to finally be able to get ours AND someone else's before they did. Then the second objective is to get the green token from the middle of the map back to your shuttle. We'd pick it up and then be killed before getting it to the shuttle, so the next person grabs it and takes it toward theirs. Rinse, repeat 3 or 4 times and it just would not end. At one point my friend had the green and I could kill him if I attacked him and I turned to him and that's what I said I'm tempted to just say I don't care and have him win it. Each time someone died everyone else got a VP and eventually we ran out of actual tokens to use and had to use proxies for batches of 5 and even then we had several of those as it just kept going. It was pretty terrible. What you describe sounds AWESOME. This would have been a very different review had any part of the game had that much care put into it. I didn't realize Starcadia Quest was Baby's First Arcadia Quest or I'd have passed on it sadly.

[@TylerDeLisle]

@@TheKingofAverage interesting. I still haven't played my copy of SQ. Arcadia Quest is one of my favorites though. Some of your complaints are definitely still present in AQ, but there's definitely story, albeit a bit childish and silly. Also seems to be much less objective stealing. I can only recall a few scenarios where you have to deliver objectives, and only one time where someone had theirs stolen. The map in AQ is larger and there are less portals, so you have a bit more breathing room. When I said AQ had 30 minute scenarios, I was omitting setup. It is a lot. Just wanted to be clear, hah. It's akin to Imperial Assault. You have to reference the scenario page, find the right tiles, put the specific monsters out, find the right hidden treasures, locked doors, etc. It's my only problem with AQ personally, also a full campaign takes about 10 to 12 hours. It's a larger commitment. My hope for SQ is that it's something I could bring toj a game night and play 2 or 3 scenarios, I guess I'll see.

[@TheKingofAverage]

I'm generally okay with a longer setup time as long as it's justified (that is, not long because of issues like with JoA). Either way, if I had to take my pick I'd pick AQ every time by the sounds of it :)

[@deebernaers137]

The miniatures look solid, but the rest of the game seems like a hollow experience with shoddy components. The lack of story elements is really concerning, it's one of the main reasons I'm not as wild about Hate as I could've been - but I honestly mostly got that game for the miniatures (... which I have yet to start painting haha)

[@TheKingofAverage]

"A hollow experience with shoddy components" well said!

[@BernieTime1]

Glad I didn't back this after all. Would rather dust off my copy of Space Cadets: Away Missions

[@Exoc3tBOOM]

Just off the bat: I'm gonna say be careful about talking about Ad-block or 'turning it off' more specifically as that is apparently against the ToS of the Adsense account and can have you banned accordingly. I'm not 100% sure, I just remember reading about that somewhere. Now....back to the video.

[@TheKingofAverage]

Thanking people who pause their ad-blocker is against my adsense? O.o That doesn't make a lick of sense to me haha but wouldn't be surprised.

[@Exoc3tBOOM]

@@TheKingofAverage Well, when it comes to Google and KZbin...when has 'making-sense' ever been a priority, lol. I just remember reading something about it. I think it falls under the vague rule of not being allowed to draw attention to the ads specifically - so you aren't allowed to encourage people to click the ads as that falls under being potential 'false' clicks or some shite, and with that comes the interpretation that talking about removing, or encouraging the removal of adblock falls under that policy.

[@TheKingofAverage]

LOL I can see that. I suppose if they want to come knocking down my door they can :D

[@Chodor101]

This game isn't for me,but great review nonetheless :D

[@TheKingofAverage]

Same hahahah :P Thanks Chodor :)

[@CheddahSlammer]

Seems like a more watered down munchkin. Like even Munchkin makes you feel like your earned the loot you get.

[@teestarbird4478]

Nothing like Munchkin

[@lord_of_worms]

munchkin with dice instead of "take-that" cards..

[@LatenightLyle]

Enjoyed the review and the style! But I have one serious criticism. Beat a dead horse much? With each point (ESPECIALLY the negative ones) there was a moment where I was like; “Oh, ok. Yeah. I get that.” Then you keep beating that drum for several more minutes. I became very difficult to stay focused on the video. This could have been edited down to a third and not remove any points you make. I’m tempted to write on this for a lot longer just to illustrate my point through the medium of sarcasm; but I digress. Will I watch your reviews again? Yes. Will I cuss my tv if you made your point on something 5 minutes ago? Again, yes. Keep up the good work, just maybe trim it down a little. Or a lot. Like a whole lot. Because the point was made a long time ago. And now it’s just crapping on something unnecessarily and doesn’t add anything to the review. Kinda like what I’m doing now.

[@TheKingofAverage]

Heya man, appreciate the feedback of course! I definitely tend to make detailed reviews with lots of examples and such. For instance when I said the scenarios have no story and objectives are arbitrary I could have said literally just that and skipped the two separate examples I provided. There are plenty of reviewers that will do just that however. Part of the reason I present the disclaimer I do is that it can be combined with the knowledge that it's a 30+ minute video to kind understand the detail level present in the review. I've actually done shorter reviews and honestly they tend to do really well but I always end up responding to comments clarifying what I meant when I said the objectives are arbitrary, typing out what I said in the video over and over again. Everyone I think requires a different level of information and one of the reasons I keep the +/- on the screen is so viewers can feel free to skip ahead until they see a different point being made :) In the end I'd rather provide more information than not enough. Perhaps I can be a bit more up front about the detail level of the video in the disclaimer, I'll give that some thought for sure. Lastly I guess just in general I'm really detail oriented and passionate. Those tend to combine into rants and long form discussion around this stuff :)

[@LatenightLyle]

The King of Average: I understand, but please consider that I’m not suggesting the video is too long for lengths sake. A lot of detail can be great. I’m suggesting this video ( with all due respect) does not have a lot “more” detail. At least half of this video is saying the same detail again and again. That’s what I’m suggesting is bad. Keep in mind, still a fan. Not at all trying to say you suck or anything. I’ve been in broadcasting for decades and it took me a long time to learn the critical importance of being lean with my words and getting to the point. You know? Just things to consider.

[@TheKingofAverage]

Oh sure and I do appreciate it! It's always hard to know for sure and you just gotta try and be consciousness to it I feel. Other's have said this video in particular was perfectly detailed so which is it? Probably correct for both people but regardless what I can do is take both in mind and just try and be mindful. I used to be worse actually! I've ranted for over 5 minutes about just a rulebook! Fun for me to do, and for some viewers to watch, but not for others so I try to "catch" myself. Perhaps I didn't do as well here when it comes to beating a dead horse :) Seriously I do appreciate the feedback. I don't pretend to be perfect, but I do try to improve! :D

[@twentysides]

This sounds much less interesting than the excellent Arcadia Quest. Thanks for the honest review!

[@TheKingofAverage]

Literally everything I hear about Arcadia (minus perhaps the lack of the event deck enemy control system) I prefer, it sounds great!

[@razomax2724]

Is lovely game bro

[@willyweed1]

This game is hot trash. Arcadia quest is by far better than this game. I wish you had played Arcadia quest before so you could see how much cmon let this spinoff go down the gutter. I’m glad I passed on the Kickstarter because I told myself I didn’t need another Arcadia style game. Phew dodged a bullet here. Loved your review you do a great job! Subscribed

[@TheKingofAverage]

Yeah from what I hear almost all of my issues are actually SOLVED with the old systems lol :D When I saw that Tom from Dice Tower thought the mindless, not making any thematic sense arbitrary scenario set up was a great thing I was just plain confused! Who thought attacking blue objective tokens was a good thing? lol :D Thanks WIll and glad you enjoyed the video!

[@quinnortmeyer9183]

bendy boards and cards are not, in my opinion, an indication of quality, but rather it's merely the production process, and humidity levels at the factory, which can be fixed by counter bending, and drying out., and plain old time. I've had plenty of games where there were various bendy issues, that have cleared up using various techniques and time.

[@TheKingofAverage]

Nah I'm not letting them off the hook that easily. If you watched my unboxing you saw me easily mark it and peel layers off of the cardboard. It's not very dense or hard. Compared to something like Monolith's cardboard which is denser, thicker, and has sealed edges it's a night and day difference. The material and build quality you use matters a great deal. These are cheap and because they are cheap they are bendy.

[@sithralas2010]

those are not boards they are thick paper sheets, i hate when a game comes with that low quality component crap.

[@TheKingofAverage]

Yes exactly! I easily began peeling the layers in my unboxing -_- The box it came in is stronger than this stuff.

[@marcolai9735]

Really good review. It confirmed my concerns .. happy not to own it

[@TheKingofAverage]

Hah glad I could make you feel better about your decision :D

[@HeroOfTheWeb]

I would assume any reviewer is going to be honest. Any that I've watched at least.

[@TheKingofAverage]

I'd suggest you try and be more aware about many of the reviews out there then ;) Most of them rely on advanced copies that are only given for positive reviews. Other's are so entrenched in the industry that they are even included in the rulebook but "fail" to mention that in their review. I've seen an early review of Zombicide Invader that had absolutely zero negatives mentioned. You honestly think they thought it was a 100% perfect game? Or is it that they got an advanced copy before anyone else and therefore more views and therefore more money for it? Careful though. The moment you start looking for stuff like that this industry will make you a bit depressed for about a week :P

[@HeroOfTheWeb]

The King of Average I suppose I look for user reviews and a select few industry reviewers who I already know are honest. Just saying you don’t have to title it honest review, we all know you’re a good lad.

[@HeroOfTheWeb]

The King of Average as to your last point, money ruins everything and I actually stopped backing CMON anything after green horde. It’s my gateway game for newbies and then I show them other games.

[@TheKingofAverage]

Ah yes if you have a good eye for honesty then you're good to go :) Believe it or not, less than half of my views come from subscribers so there tends to be plenty of new people all the time and my hope is to set expectations from the get go that this isn't going to be the 100% ad reel hype train of a review that many produce haha :D Zombicide was my gateway so you aren't wrong ;)

[@garylangford6755]

Project elite also had poor component quality. The cards are cheap and shiny and all bent! I hope this isn't a new trend...

[@mysticmouse7983]

Interesting I thought Elite was excellent quality all round.

[@wbeytel]

Glad I decided to give this a miss 👍

[@TheKingofAverage]

I suppose I'm happy to take a hit so that you don't have to :D

[@wbeytel]

@@TheKingofAverage I thank you for that 😁

[@007Kiristo]

When I saw the KS for this, it looked dumbed down too much compared to Arcadia Quest, so I passed on it. Definitely glad I did so, as the characters, story and components are downgrades. Still disappointing to hear this game sounds like a dud for folks who did back it.

[@TheKingofAverage]

Yeah I keep hearing that and it makes me wish I had backed an AQ KS instead of this :(

[@StevenAPowers]

Does not sound like a winner. Not my cup of tea anyway.

[@TheKingofAverage]

Well let's just say there's no chicken dinner :D

[@MarioMartinez-ek5ev]

Tom Vassal would disagree with you

[@TheKingofAverage]

So sorry, I didn't check his opinion before forming my own. My apologies :D

[@MarioMartinez-ek5ev]

@@TheKingofAverage LOLOL Next time you should from The Veteran ;-) Its an interesting contrast

[@TheKingofAverage]

Not sure I could stomach it, but I might try :)

[@MarioMartinez-ek5ev]

@@TheKingofAverage haha I rarely do I went on to BGG to read other reviews. You and Vasel's reviews are so different. I can say more...i wont. Your review is spot on and saved me money. Delete this if its goijg to ruffle someone's feathers or if they follow you