Twilight Imperium : Prophecy of Kings - Is It Worth It?

[@dustbustus27]

Having never played 3rd Edition I especially enjoyed your comments on this video. Thanks for posting these great videos!

[@BoardGameBollocks]

👍🏻

[@petermillen6924]

I don’t have the group, the time or the table for TI3 or TI4, but I am glad that they exist in the gaming world. This expansion seems to contain a pile of kitchen sinks and that has to be the right approach from FFG - go balls in or go home. Good video, you are knocking it out of the park in 2023.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

We’re only one month in. World domination by years end…quite

[@sidneyleejohnson]

There was an early black Friday sale on this in the US on November 17th for ~57. That is the lowest price I've seen on retail so far. Keep your eyes peeled for a good deal.

[@MrSomebunny]

I bounced off this expansion so hard. In normal TI, it’s just barely too much to keep it all in your brain, and that’s what makes it good. You may research a tech to accomplish something specific, but 3-5 hours ago and you forgot you had it and forgot to use it since. That happens with a few things in base TI, but it’s fine because you only do it with 1 or 2 things. Or you go attack someone, then you forget their race’s flagship has a special power that harms you in a serious way. That was all good and didn’t feel overwhelming or unfair. When something bad happens to you, you feel like you can take ownership of that because “oops! Forgot about that. No problem, it’s not too serious” and you don’t get salty about it. And, after all was said and done, someone EARNED a win and everyone else walked away feeling good about that and like they executed a strategy they orchestrated fairly, even if it didn’t pan out. With PoK, it takes that to a level that isn’t fun anymore. No one in my group wanted to attack each other at first because no one could remember what anyone could do anymore. At all. 5 games later, people still couldn’t remember what other races could do. There’s too much. If you attack someone, are they going to pull out their leader, commander, hero card and effortlessly shut down what I’ve been building for 2 rounds? And while you’re too busy trying to remember and research their powers, you’ve still forgotten those techs you researched 3 hours ago. Eventually people check out, they can’t put together a strategy because there’s too much asymmetry and stuff to remember, you can’t even remember what YOU can do. So people just say, “I guess I’ll go attack you, I don’t know”. People’s strategies go out the window. The third time you orchestrate a strategy and some one stops it because they have some hero card that just trumps you, you then stop making strategies. That’s the ruin of TI4. You can’t have people, anyone, who check out mentally because the game falls apart. There was already a risk of someone’s day being ruined with one exchange in TI4, but they at least knew the risks of their actions before they got themselves into that situation. With PoK, you don’t even know the risks anymore. Tl;Dr - there’s too much. They sacrificed balance and symmetry in favor of more, for the sake of more.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

I never once had a game like that with this expansion. The game feels well rounded now. Like I said in the review, I don’t get bogged down in too much bookkeeping, but I have more options and more routes to victory.

[@MinistryProductions]

Glad to hear you guys liked it. I thought you would. Paying TI4 without it would feel an empty husk of a game now. Which is a mental thing to say. If you're still hungry you should get the official codex releases printed. They update some of the factions and add new cards. Definitely worth the effort in our groups eyes. 😁👍🏻🥒

[@BoardGameBollocks]

I’m hoping they get an official release in some form or another

[@MinistryProductions]

@@BoardGameBollocks last year was the 25th anniversary and their chance. They did fluck all.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

I read somewhere something is being done…I’ll try and find the link

[@MinistryProductions]

@@BoardGameBollocks totally agree BTW that the expansion really doesn't add much complexity to the game. The community seems to think it actually makes the game quicker as with the extra abilities etc you are able to score objectives easier. "Quicker" is a relative term when it comes to TI 🤣

[@Dell999950]

Combined the base and this at a convention last year. Certainly an 'all -dayer'!

[@adriang6259]

Don't even have the game or the expansion (but want both) it was just another great video.

[@teodorkrawiec]

PoK is a must have, I would argue that Codexes are essential as well, with good community around you will always play 6 player game (other counts have drawbacks), and you don't have to own that hog of the game to play, greets to Nottingham group :)

[@sidneyleejohnson]

Yeah there are a couple of games where I too feel the tug to get some sort of additional space. Whether its a side table or swap out the entire table remains to be seen. I have a Sunny Geek 1.5 table on the way but its dimensions are complicated as it depends on whether you use the storage boxes around the table or not. The one game I dream of getting that would I think totally ruin my table space is War Room by the designer of Axis & Allies. I think that would compel me to want a large "war game" table or a large Hex table thing. Hosting a full game of Western Empires combined with Eastern Empires is a bit of a pipe dream of mine (I can't even field a full game of one of them) which would require multiple tables joined together along with several portable toilets like you see at rock concerts to be installed outside to support everyone lol.

[@Gdank72]

We have played a few 7 players and it doesn't seem to take any longer, altough most of our games are 5-6 player. You do need a massive space - I have a 45" x 72" table and we can't get everything on there, so .a few player trays (with ships / unused tech cars) are put onto coffee tables to the side. We play 5-7 times a year ... we draft using Miltydraft the week before, then I set it up Friday night, we play 9am to 7pm (ish) and all working together we clean up in 10mins. Most Epic day's of gaming!

[@JanusZudnik]

Like Jason Statham in a Guy Ritchie board game review movie. Sorry, didn't mean nothing by it. Very very good and informative!

[@kennh.3321]

I’m surprised by your conclusion! I expected you to say it was good but not worth the money. But I trust your tastes, and will have to reconsider this. Previously the price made me automatically say “no thanks”. Now I’ll have to keep an eye out for a deal!

[@BoardGameBollocks]

We grabbed it for £60…I was hesitant but now it’s there playing without it will seem weird.

[@judgemario]

I agree. It makes the game feel complete.

[@RickarRickani]

The Base game was more a soort of Kill of the hill type/ Mecatol Rex type of game. With PoK, it truely became a 4x game and gives so much more replayability.

[@helxis]

Interestingly, I just played PoK last night for the first time. It was only my second ever game of TI4. Personally, I would only recommend PoK for people that are already very familiar with TI. Base TI4 is already a whole lot of game and will be well more than enough for most people. As a game that most are lucky to play once a year, I think that the base game is just fine. Adding PoK was a bit overwhelming on just a second play in 2 years. On top of that, the expansion adds more random/chaos to the game in the form of all the various exploration cards/components. Some players got amazing engine building cards right at the start where others just drew a bunch of differently colored shards that did literally nothing for them the entire game. Also, the mechs almost entirely nullify the point of building infantry. We still had fun, but I think I would have had just as much fun (or even, maybe, more fun) without it. Either way, I still wish there was a way to get this type of experience in half or less the time. 10 to 12 hours is a lot to ask of anyone, and that is what leads to the game only seeing the table once a year at best.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

I don’t think I’ve every seen any chaos. As I said in the review there’s so many option that the game requires you to focus carefully on only a hand full of paths. Players (Almost always) tend to forget that to win you need to compete objectives and that should guide your focal points. The game doesn’t require you to do a bunch of random crap…quite the opposite.

[@RonnyC555]

Lol, you do know that you're supposed to trade the shards for relics, right? And the amount of mechs is very limited, guessing you guys build very few ground forces? Play 10 games before you judge :)

[@BoardGameBollocks]

I’ve played the game 23 times you clown.

[@wuuduu609]

WORTH? Its a must have for TI4 fans

[@BoardGameBollocks]

Indeed.

[@PatientZeroZero]

😂😂😂 guy Ritchie style review I didn't know I needed - awesome 😂😂😂

[@ormstunga7878]

Nice review as always. Considering the price, I think it’s embarrassing they didn’t get the colors right, red and blue at least are off perhaps all of them are? 🤷‍♂️

[@Straddllw]

We played 2x back to back 8 player 14 point game with all the codices over the span of one weekend during our friend’s birthday getaway. 12 hours per session. Now that we’ve ticked that one off of the list of things to do at least once, we all agree that 6p game is the best but we might just play 12 points instead of 10 or 14 so we get to see more 2 point objectives.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

🤔

[@lexodius]

The polar opposites being little girls and the dutch respectively... i'm just clarifying for anyone confused xD

[@gowensbach2998]

I gave my copy of TI to a friend who could not get anyone in his circle to try the game, so he gave it back. I have nobody to play it with either, but I am hoping to give it a go soon and trim down some of the rules or some of the burden of tracking so many details. I already have a hard time tracking multiple hands of cards playing games solo.

[@BoardGameBollocks]

Is there a solo variant?

[@gowensbach2998]

@@BoardGameBollocks There is if I make one!

[@gowensbach2998]

I made one! It wouldn't be fair to call my version Twilight Imperium any more, but more Like Mare Nostrum Empires in space! Works great for solo play though

[@theshogunstein6475]

one day I want to play

[@BoardGameBollocks]

At least once in your life you have to play

[@dejahthoris1808]

What a complicated time sink of a game, I'm sure Twilight Imperium has it's diehard fan base but I'm certainly not one of them, Thank you very much for the TI4 playthrough and Prophecy of Kings review both have reinforced just how much this game is not my cuppa tea.

[@soulgoodman3008]

what a pity a such game has not an app ora automa to being played solo!!! unbelievable