Vienna - What did we think?

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A video outlining gameplay for the boardgame Vienna.
For more game info, boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/3...
Part I: Gameplay Runthrough
• Vienna - How does it p...
Part II: Final Thoughts
• Vienna - What did we t...

[@nirszi]

Seems like Paul Grogan confirmed with QG that it's 15 points (only base game). But it's absolutely ridiculous that the company is not engaging with people on BGG.

[@jimpaek]

Communication wise, it's par for the course for Queen Games. They have ressources to pump 4 versions of Marrakesh and co in 4 years (see newest KS) but when it comes to answering emails or KS comments, say a month after pledges are closed, goog luck with that.

[@rahdo]

well one can always just wait longer until they're available in retail i suppose

[@nchlsrdmr]

Thank you for bringing this up. I'm one of those who asked Queen on BGG, but sadly this is typical of them. The rulebook for NYC was also a complete mess, and it wasn't until my friend who had played Rialto was able to explain the game to me (a year after owning it) that I was able to play the game I'd paid almost $100 + shipping for. That simply is not good enough. Their communication is really poor and so is their aftercare. It seems once they finish the KS, they no longer care about their customers. Regarding the meeples, Queen Games are giving anyone who backed it free wooden replacements in the next KS.

[@liammac5617]

Nice review, Rahdo. We played our first game on Saturday and enjoyed it very much. In relation to Queen's 'green' production methods, I was surprised to see that the rule book is printed in China. Left me wondering what other components were printed/made in China and has me questioning how green their methods really are....

[@rahdo]

interesting. since the vienna box itself says MADE IN GERMANY, and the german rules for vienna don't say anything about china, i'm betting that it's a human error made by whatever english translator they hired. i'll see if i can confirm though :) update: i just got confirimation that it is an english translator error, and that everything is produced in europe! so another on the list of errors in the rulebook it would seem (and tbh i can totally see how this one would be missed)

[@liammac5617]

@@rahdo thanks for checking that out. Gosh. What a way to undermine good intentions and hard work🤦

[@ilqrd.6608]

This City collection nonsense with Queen Games needs to end. The prices are absolutely ridiculous and they are limiting the accessibility of these beautiful games. Cuzco costs 100€ here in Germany in the regular edition. Sorry but no. I rather stick to Trajan and CoB then

[@rahdo]

regarding the costs, i think most people are dismissing out of hand how they're using green production methodology in europe instead of china, so the factory workers aren't getting paid absurdly low wages. generally speaking, the more ethically a product is produced, the more it's going to cost :)

[@2532robh1]

And then they end up releasing 3 variants of each game afterwards.

[@rahdo]

@@2532robh1 is more choice a bad thing?

[@kolomahler]

The first batch of the city collection have just come out with as essential editions that are possible to find for around 50€ . I'm not sure if waiting 4 years is really a solution though and it's not clear yet if the rule book errors have been fixed

[@Vypper7]

8:00 “the publisher should be doing the work….” Yeah they should, and they are not. They have been blissfully ignoring their backers for about 4 years now with these Feld “rethemes”. And greedy to boot, running them all on Kickstarter and pocketing all the profits by not involving a middleman, while keeping the prices crazy high. Every time they launch a new Kickstarter, half the comment forums are prior backers asking “where is so and so” or “I have not got a response from you guys in over a year” Which breaks my heart, because Feld is also my favorite designer. But no more Queen games for me. At least we got COB, which is my top game, redone by Awaken Realms, thank the gods for that

[@rahdo]

well one can always just wait longer until they're available in retail i suppose. regarding the costs though, i think most people are dismissing out of hand how they're using green production methodology in europe instead of china, so the factory workers aren't getting paid absurdly low wages. generally speaking, the more ethically a product is produced, the more it's going to cost :)

[@Vypper7]

@@rahdo Would love to hear more about their "green production methodology", but cannot really find much online about it. Except stuff like " we are using wooden components instead of plastic, " Yay, wooden components. While they use plastic Game Trayz in their "Collector Edition" Feld games. So being "green" does not appear to be a publishing ethos, could just be something they say because they have solar panels powering their offices for all we know. And there are other publishers already being (even more) eco friendly for less cost. Manufacturing in Germany I'm sure raises the costs though, but again there are other companies doing that. Other criticisms still stand, especially in regards to their lack of customer service (when not on a public forum) Here is an example comment from yesterday on their newest kickstarter campaign, that I just have to share: "I received Cuzco Deluxe as an add-on to the Marrakesh expansion campaign in January. Half the game pieces were missing so I literally can't play the game. Six months later my support ticket has still not been addressed and multiple emails from me have been ignored. I'm hoping someone monitoring the comments here can help because the Queen Games support has been very disappointing." And their reply: "....Please note that Adi who looks after our claims is a police officer and at the moment busy with the European soccer Championship until 18th July.Please have patience until that time." What was he doing the last 6 months? lol

[@rahdo]

what i've been told directly by them is "We source cardboard from Germany, and paper from Scandinavia. We only use sources for those that are involved in reforestation to stay below net zero, and even with that, the cardboard is also generally 30-50% recycled." Also, if you watched my final thoughts, i showed how they're shifting away from gametrays and using cardboard tuckboxes instead. And yes, manufacturing in germany raises prices incredibly high. here's an article about it: boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/122603/is-manufacturing-in-europe-and-north-america-reali another thing to consider: why do you think feld joined up with them instead of sticking with his other publishers to revisit his old designs? answer: they pay more royalties than other pubs. so basically, if you want folks who make your product to get a living wage, paying more is what's required. if you want everything as cheap as possible, consequences be damned, there are plenty of other games out there. and regarding customer service, all i can say to that you can always buy at retail instead. these arent ks exclusives :)

[@martinprivat5908]

I want my games to be cheap too. What I do a lot: Buy second hand. ​@@rahdo

[@rahdo]

yup, math trades are a great option too :)

[@jonhyde]

How do you feel about the board layout in Vienna? I feel I will miss the symmetric board of La Isla, easy to spot where I need my explorers (now spies) to go.

[@rahdo]

neither jen nor i had any problem with it at all :)

[@user-fh1cl6bi9v]

It would be cool to have you review your least favourite city collection game to your most favourite city collection game! There isn’t a video on KZbin doing this yet!

[@Hahahahaaahaahaa]

Queen is an absolute nightmare and they couldn't care less. It's a real shame because I very much want to support their green, fair-wage and domestic initiatives, but I want nothing to do with their products.

[@rahdo]

that's too bad because their products are generally good to great. no need to back their stuff on kickstarter, you can always just get them at retail afterwards :)

[@koklead7904]

Queen. 😂😂😂😂😂😂

[@heatherdash5815]

I really like La Isla and the fact I can play this version solo is a big plus for me. I was taken aback the cost at first but when I found out it is more green production that is something I'm willing to pay more for.

[@rahdo]

yup, green production, plus produced in europe instead of china, which REALLY raises prices. boardgamegeek.com/blogpost/122603/is-manufacturing-in-europe-and-north-america-reali

[@rahdo]

oh also, afaik there's no solo mode for vienna :(

[@heatherdash5815]

@@rahdo oh no! I swore I heard there was going to be one 🤦‍♀️

[@shortydancer]

How can you call yourself a Feld fan without playing Bora Bora!

[@rahdo]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/mHrbg5yXbKpojs0 :)

[@shortydancer]

@@rahdo that could be any random Rahdo! How do I know it’s you? 😂