Expeditions Board Game | Solo Mode First Impressions

Here are my first impressions of the sequel to the megahit board game Scythe -- Expeditions! You can watch my full solo playthrough here: • Expeditions | Solo Boa... .
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Thumbnail art based on the Expeditions cover by artist Jakub Rozalski.
#totallytabled #boardgames #tabletop #solo #firstimpressions

[@laurencesingh3948]

Great video and spot-on first impressions. I feel pretty much exactly as you do, Shaggi. This is going to shine for solo and even two player games where Scythe will continue to be my choice for 3+. I do feel that Jaime did a lot to set expectations for the game. It honestly is a sequel in that it continues the story that was introduced in Scythe and its expansions. But it is not the same gameplay and has a very different feel. Jaime released his design diaries and many videos about the gameplay and design process. There's even a video comparing and contrasting it to Scythe. I think following all of that closely helped temper my expectations. I will never love this game as much as I love Scythe but it will stay in my collection as a fun and challenging and SIMPLE-TO-OPERATE solo game that allows me to further explore this world that I love. Also, I think that expansions for this game will further elevate it.

[@browe]

I closely followed Jamey's designer diaries prior to release and felt like my expectations lined up closely with the game I received. I bought it for solo/two-player specifically. Like you, I find it interesting, fun, and I enjoy the dilemma of choices it presents a solo player. AI is indeed a breeze to operate, with a nice balance between the effort to execute its turns and how it pushes things forward. I might be in the minority though... I appreciate Scythe but no longer have it in my collection, yet I enjoy Tapestry (also fun solo!) which seemed to be so polarizing for others. I'm keeping Expeditions and look forward to what will be added to it in future.

[@TotallyTabled]

I was really the opposite in I knew almost zero about the game when it hit the table. So it took me a game to recalibrate my expectations. Once I did that, I enjoyed myself. But I enjoy a wide variety of games and I know a lot of players will not be able or willing to adjust. Like a lot of SM games, it will be popular but polarizing, as with Tapestry and even Charterstone. I also expect a future expansion might take it up to the next level. Thanks for watching!

[@gobot90]

This is an awfully kind and generous interpretation of what the commenters meant by “boring.” I was meh on Scythe and had very low expectations for this one. I got it anyway, played it solo 4-5 times and have to concur with those other folks. If a game is good its good; doesnt matter what the title or expectations or component quality. You could have Uwe Rosenberg design a game using nothing but scraps of paper and driftwood and call it Beige- A Game and it would probably be awesome.

[@manic2360]

I'm a solo player, and honestly I was never tempted by Scythe, it seemed to me that it had the style and looks of a wargame game with meks but as you say was actually a euro game.. it just didnt gel for me from watching playthroughs. Expeditions looks much more my kind of thing, lighter and slim lined maybe but with the exploring, quests, curing corruption etc it looks a great lil game I can see me picking this one up.

[@TotallyTabled]

Absolutely, it is a great little game, just in a pretty big package. But because you know what you are getting, I expect you will like it. Grabbing the quest cards, then exploring to find the specific location and having the solve action ready with the resources -- that is a fun mechanism. Thanks for watching!

[@klimatix4867]

As a solo gamer I love Scythe. If only for the fact that it's the only 4X game that I know of with a solo mode. (If there are more I hope to find them) It's not a euro game dressed up as a wargame. It's a wargame with some euro/resource management mechanics merged in. It's clever and done really very well. You should give it a try.

[@thesolitairegambit2556]

I was waiting for your review on this one. I agree with you on some of the things you mentioned. 1. Overproduced - tiles could’ve been smaller along with the cards but I guess they want to highlight the artwork. 2. The whole “sequel” is kinda misleading. Almost like Everdell Farshore. I got this game excepting a good, smooth and easy to manage solo mode and that is what I got! ❤ The title doesn’t bother me at all since you are actually going on an expedition to find out about the corruption. One thing I don’t understand is why there’s two types of colors for the corruptions? Overall, I’d be playing this game solo more than Scythe. 😊

[@TotallyTabled]

I think a lot of people will prefer Expeditions for solo play over Scythe. I myself kind of save Scythe for 3+ players and don't really love it solo. I think a lot of Scythe players will get Expeditions for similar player counts and they will be disappointed. Us solo players will have a better time for sure because it is super smooth and easy to get to the table and play. Thanks so much for checking out the video and for supporting the channel for so long! I'm really thankful for viewers like you!

[@laurencesingh3948]

I think your comparison to Farshore is interesting, friend. Everdell is my #3 game of all time and Scythe is my #2. When I heard a new game was being introduced to the Everdell world I was very excited. Only to feel deeply disappointed when I saw Farshore was basically a reimplementation with less combos and less tension and not even the same artwork. I actually wished it could have been more like Expeditions. I followed the design diaries and videos closely so had a really good idea of what Expeditions was going to be. And I'm really happy with it. I do think it is a sequel in that it continues the story of Scythe. It has a smaller feel and scope than Scythe because it is a smaller worldview. We are now individuals trying to obtain personal glory and wealth rather than representing and leading a nation to prosperity post wartime. I wholeheartedly agree with you that it is overproduced. Everything is too large - the hexes, the mechs, the table presence, and the game box. Only the cards are normal sized...which is the reason everything else is so large. This will definitely be what I reach for when I want a solo or two player game while Scythe will continue to be my choice for 3+ players.

[@shinjial]

Jaime came out and said he knows it's too big, but the game is what he envisioned it to be. I agree that leaning on the Scythe-sequel aspect really hurts this game. It seems like a cool game. I specially think the solo mode is great, specially because the multiplayer game itself is very low interaction. It has very little components and the upkeep is super easy, right, which I always look for in a solo game. Like, am I playing the game or running the system? This one is so fast that you're just flying through the game. Personally, I wish it came in a normal sized square box, scaled down size and production wise.

[@TotallyTabled]

Totally agree. It is weird to say, but I kept thinking of the little solo game Maquis. They are completely different games, but feel like similarly sized solo experiences. Expeditions could have been similarly small and compact and I think I would have loved it more. Either way, the game is fun if you know what to expect. Thanks for watching!

[@shinjial]

@@TotallyTabled right? And similar sized boxes I own are pretty hefty games too, so I don't see myself pulling this out for a multiplayer game often, but I would solo. Thing is, my table probably won't hold it since it's too large. And I don't think I'll trade a few games worth of space to hold this one.

[@tomaszednik923]

Hi! 😄 Firstly, I’ve been watching your channel for the last year or so, and I have to say, you have some of the BEST solo gameplay videos on KZbin. I love your energy, your humour and your voice. 😅 Anyway, on topic. It is exactly as you say. I played Expedition in four players and it was awful. Too long, too solitary, and yes, boring. But after your gameplay, I can see this as quite good solo game. However, for this price tag you can get 4 small also really good maybe even better games. It’s just not really worth it in my opinion. Last thing, I want to ask you if there is any chance of your take on Arkham Horror LCG. I know you’ve talked about it once or twice, and I would love to watch that gameplay. Thank you for doing this and keep it up 😁

[@TotallyTabled]

Thanks so much for the compliment! I really appreciate that and thank you for returning to the channel for so long! The price is a sticking point for me as well. I try to frame my discussions around "play" rather than "purchase" because I'm not trying to sell games and money is relative for each person. But the overproduction leads to it being overpriced. And that is a real barrier. As for Arkham Horror LCG, I love it and I've been thinking about how to bring it to the channel. Not sure yet. But I bet it will show up one day in some form. Thanks for watching!

[@TheZiggylives]

I agree with your sentiments on size completely. Why is it so big? Maybe to highlight the art, but truthfully, it's too big for what it is. My solo plays were pretty good. My two player games were meh in comparison. If I didn't have better solo games in my collection, I would've held on to it. But there are far superior options for me out there (and in my collection). I feel as if this will not be talked about much in the future unless some kind of support is put into it, and I just don't even know what that would look like.

[@donnakeferlis1649]

3:26 - bc of built-in sales from Scythe fans. I'm glad to hear the AI turn is quick & smooth. I love Scythe but the AI movement tied my brain into a pretzel! I was gonna blow this one off, but you said it's different and more streamlined than Scythe. So a definite maybe!

[@TotallyTabled]

Check out the playthrough because it might be what you are looking for. I also find the solo in Scythe to be a bit more taxing than I want. Expeditions gets the AI out of the way, which I like. But it doesn't have the scale or feel of Scythe at all for me. But I enjoyed it. I just know some people will be disappointed. Thanks for watching!

[@tonybowers9490]

Thanks for sharing. Watched your solo play through and really enjoyed it. You're very correct. Expectations. That is a very important aspect about everything in life. Expectations about Expeditions! He He Don't have my copy yet, but excited about it, mainly due to the solo play. Unfortunately, I've heard from some other reviewers the mechs are unbalanced. Also unfortunate, Stonemaier has a track record of having unbalance in their games. Errr.. looking at my Scythe box. There may be an errata later for Expeditions which tweaks the mech powers a bit?

[@TotallyTabled]

The mechs definitely need rebalancing for multiplayer games. Solo, not as big a deal. But I'd love to have more powers and more diversity of powers -- even if they are just on cards. They didn't need to be printed on the boards. Hopefully this issue will be addressed in some way. Not a deal breaker for me, though. Thanks for watching, Tony and I'm glad you enjoyed the playthrough!

[@Edu-qv4lq]

Great video. Please do a solo playthrough of Paladins of the West Kingdom or Hadrian’s wall.

[@TotallyTabled]

Thanks! It has been high on my list for a while. Wayfarers skipped the line and I'm definitely ready to tackle Paladins. Definitely this year sometime. Thanks for checking out the video.

[@ThePhoenixSlayer]

Hey Shaggy! How are you? I just wanted to tell you that I finally got to play Klask at our LGS and now I need it so bad! I know why you put it in your top 50.

[@TotallyTabled]

Nice! KLASK is incredible. Probably the most played game in my house. I never get tired of it and, for some reason, I never get any better at it. 😂When playing with my kids we will often ignore the rule where if you fall into your hole you lose a point. That makes it more fun for them. Great to hear from you, PhoenixSlayer!

[@jerryf196]

Halls of hegra next? 😊

[@TotallyTabled]

Ha, ha, in my workflow, yes. It is on the table. I want one more play before filming (the rules are not sticking in my head for whatever reason and I need one more play so it isn't a total disaster). In terms of on the channel, a couple things are near done and in the queue. Sorry for the wait. The style of my videos means I'm usually behind the pack. It will be out this month.

[@jerryf196]

No problem. Release it when you can. Your play through videos are excellent and doesn't matter if your behind. Yes the rules are to keep up.

[@-_-DAVe]

Any thoughts on S.T.A.L.K.E.R board game?

[@TotallyTabled]

I honestly didn't follow that crowdfunding campaign at all. I don't have a connection to the video game. Sorry.

[@michaelhill6453]

I enjoyed your play through, I always do. I also found the game to be a bit dull but also devoid of atmosphere. Completing a quest is nothing more than matching icons. I would have expected more.

[@TotallyTabled]

Yeah, I understand that perspective. The quests are pretty neat, because you have to coordinate a few things. I think the artwork adds a lot of atmosphere. But it is a Euro style game ultimately, not an adventure game, so there isn't going to be too much story. It definitely isn't like the quests and jobs in Star Wars Outer Rim for example. I think it goes back to the streamlined nature of the game and keeping things quick and simple. Thanks for checking out the video!

[@michaelhill6453]

@@TotallyTabled Well...if you look at the encounter cards in Scythe, you'll find a lot of atmosphere in a little space. I pretty much only play Euros; atmosphere is quite different to adventure; I need a bit of atmos. 🙂

[@thesolitairegambit2556]

Ohh yeah, i do not find it boring either! Lol

[@TotallyTabled]

Yeah, I find it fun and engaging, despite being on the lighter side. But I get where they are coming from.