Unraveling Oath: Chronicles of Empire & Exile - An examination & review

[@cauegouveia]

WOW! Finally! The kind of explanation of Oath I was looking for. Other reviews have given me a notion of the rules and stuff, but you really showed the feel of it. Great content! Thanks 😊

[@TheCardboardHerald]

Oh man, that is exactly what I was hoping to achieve. Thanks for responding because hearing this made my day.

[@GIVEPAUSEhobby]

This is top-level commentary on this game. Obviously there's a ton to love (and also obviously, you very much do), but you make a great distinction between the tidal wave of hype and the actual reality of the gaming experience to be found in this box. There's a lot of great game to be had, but maintaining realistic expectations of everything that takes place within the confines of each play as well as everything that has to go into it beforehand is crucial. Awesome work, man.

[@mtg3992]

Best overview of Oath I've seen. Will likely have friends watch this before I teach it so they'll have such an excellently done context.

[@willmcdono]

This is a fantastic description on a rich and complicated subject. Thanks very much. When I bring in new players to Oath, I'll be showing them this first.

[@andrewp3043]

Great review, Jack! I really like the way you present and review games. Keep up the excellent work. My friends and I played our first game of Oath last week, and we'll probably do game 2 soon.

[@jonaskissling8343]

I love how you started this review! What you said there is pretty much why I love Oath and this company in general so much - its because we could follow this project along: from the game play videos in their office, via the Designer diaries, to the coloring stream with Kyle... its like following a author and wondering what surprizes come in the next book. Keep up your great work!

[@TheCardboardHerald]

Thank you for the kind words, Jonas! I appreciate you taking the time to share your perspective.

[@dipdip7250]

THE best review of this game I have seen so far. Thank you!

[@TheCardboardHerald]

Hey, thank you. That means a lot!

[@Zombie8tHeart]

Just backed the Kickstarter expansion! So excited to come back to this beautiful piece of art

[@jonnyallred]

Best review I've seen so far

[@GeffreyMercier]

Great review. Very thorough, well filmed.

[@TheLEHaskell1]

The review that made a subscriber. An excellent overview of what the game is (and isn’t) and how the rules bring that to life, without a dense recitation of all the rules. Yours are the video equivalent of Dan Thurot’s essay/reviews: thoughtful, informative and well-researched.

[@TheCardboardHerald]

Hey, thank you so much. That's very kind of you. Though I don't want to give you false expectations, not every review is an in-depth video essay (though our Eclipse Second Dawn, Forgotten Waters and Marco Polo II vids are all similar formats), some are more casual unscripted reviews (Small Samurai Empires & Stardew Valley), some are scripted on camera / off camera combinations (Wingspan, Journeys in Middle Earth, a War of Whispers). Ultimately I try to go with what format seems best to convey what I want to say about a game. Either way, thanks for checking out our stuff, I appreciate your kind words, the super generous comparison to Dan, and your support. Cheers from Alaska!

[@TheLEHaskell1]

@@TheCardboardHerald Oh I’ve seen several. I like what you’re doing here. And look forward to hearing your thoughts on Sekigahara and Cuba Libre. (Hint, hint)

[@TheCardboardHerald]

@@TheLEHaskell1 Yeah! They are both on the to-play list. Also I got a copy of that old 70's War of the Ring SPI war-game that I need to explore. Was thinking about live-streaming an unboxing of that bad boy. There's a lot in the box. Cuba Libre is def at the top of the list though.

[@joshsimons7214]

Great review of Oath, Jack. I don’t think this one’s for me, but I wouldn’t turn it down if someone could teach it well enough.

[@CreakyTableGames]

Great video with a very clear message. Thanks!

[@BeingFriends]

Playing for the first time tonight!!! also YES pax pamir and root are both in my top 10 as well 😍

[@hellboy7424]

I can't wait to play this game. For me, it represents the most attractive aspects of board games. I have heard that the author is working on improving the experience for two players.

[@TheCardboardHerald]

That's my hope. If they release an expansion or official variant I'll 100% be covering it on the channel.

[@hellboy7424]

@@TheCardboardHerald I'm pretty sure of it. The last thing I've heard him say about it's that they are working on an expansion with an invader theme, semi-coop and competitive for two. The game has as much potential as "Root" ... even more. If they don't, after so much time invested in the design of the game it would be a real shame. A waste. Let's see what the future holds. Great video by the way.

[@kaljakad]

A good review, I just bought another game so I probably wont be playing this anytime soon but I have been looking forward to it for some time now. Keep it up!

[@curumu_yt]

11:50 cat Good review! I have been very curious about this game

[@TheCardboardHerald]

Crash is like a ninja, always sneaking his way into shots!

[@gamesbymanuel]

Great video!

[@vazp3]

the cat made this video a 10/10

[@joerihessels8230]

Great review! The game is indeed complex, I liked my first play, but hope future plays will become a bit smoother :)

[@LuisGarcia-gv8hu]

This is really helpful. We’ve invested a lot in Root and debating whether it is worth it to grab Oath. Hardest part is the price tag since we missed the Kickstarter. It’s just my wife and I around the table so we are not sure. Appreciate your work! Any final thoughts that should push us over the edge? Or keep us in the world of Root? ;)

[@TheCardboardHerald]

Hmmm, that's a hard call. At 2 players you kind of have to believe in the system and both acknowledge that you are not getting the full competitive experience. It's there, and my most recent game was a pretty nail-biting 2 player game, but some of the nuance is lost and it means 1 person will have to run the clockwork prince. Personally, unless you're a super dedicated Cole Wehrle or Leder Games fan, or the evolving world and scope of the game intrigues you so much that you're confident that you can look past the somewhat hampered 2p play, then I'd say it's a solid try-before-you-buy. There's no shame in being any of those things, buy and enjoy what interests you, but there's a whole world of excellent games at 2p that are worth exploring if you aren't confident that this game is for you.

[@LuisGarcia-gv8hu]

@@TheCardboardHerald This is great! Thanks for your thoughts and time!