Viticulture, Last Light & A huge pile of games (Keep or Cull)

Hello everyone :D
It's time for another Keep or Cull video, and this is the biggest one in a long time! 18 more games has been played, and we are giving them all the paddle treatment!
We hope you'll enjoy :D
Thank you so much for being here!
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[@josyuen4207]

Sunniva’s face during Town Center was priceless 😅

[@BoardGamingRamblings]

Hahahaha! But…it’s so much fun 😅

[@susanmichele957]

Viticulture is my number two game. Not leaving my collection. Fox Experiment was a big hit with my group. I’m happily keeping that one, too. 😁

[@BoardGamingRamblings]

So glad to hear you are enjoying them! Nothing is better than people enjoying games and having fun :D

[@JohnClem56]

Love the face Sunniva is making 🤨while Johannes waxes eloquent about the virtues of Town Center! 🤣

[@gamehaus6386]

That look is worth a thousand words!

[@BoardGamingRamblings]

Hahaha! One of few games we really disagree on :P

[@prufrock1977]

I never liked Viticulture, and I never understood all the love. Congratulations on seeing the light.

[@BoardGamingRamblings]

I see why many people love it! It’s not too heavy for most, pretty smooth, and has a theme that can draw in many people! :) Luckily there are lots of fantastic games to play :D

[@prufrock1977]

@@BoardGamingRamblings my thing was that is was always “okay”. So many good games, it just couldn’t stand out. But at the same time, I heard everyone exclaim that it was the best ever. (And I was playing essentials with Tuscany)

[@rjcarr316]

Viticulture is great in my opininon, but it gets better with the Rhine Valley cards because it forces you to make more wine instead of getting VP from the cards. That was actually one of the few games I had ever even heard of.

[@BoardGamingRamblings]

Yeah, there are so many games, one cannot hear about thema all! :)

[@saltheart2023]

Very Nice List.... Viticulture will have a Forever Spot in my collection for sure! Simply Fun and Nostalgic for me! 🙂 Thanks for introducing some new games for me to look at!!!

[@BoardGamingRamblings]

Glad you are enjoying games :D

[@browe]

I appreciate your honesty in these videos!

[@BoardGamingRamblings]

Always :D No reason to be anything else!

[@ChasingGhosts]

It's beautiful that you love each other and share a common passion. I genuinely envy you in a positive way :)

[@BoardGamingRamblings]

Thank you for the very kind words! :D

[@barbaramazzocca4605]

Oh, I love Viticulture. I notice Americans seem to enjoy it more than non-Americans. Does it have to do with the luck of the draw of those visitor cards? I think so. I have the Moor Visitors expansion cards and I think it improves the game. I kind of like not knowing what kind of visitor cards I will get, not knowing if only winemaking will make me the winner. In our last game, my daughter was way behind. Everyone thought we had at least one more turn, but at her turn, she had a visitor card she kept for awhile that gave her points, combined with a wine order gave her a winning score that season! Lots of groans and disbelief at the table. I love that about the game!!

[@stephenball2108]

I played Last Light, and while I liked the actual mechanisms quite a bit I never wanted to get it because I think the production actually hurt the playability for me. I really honestly wish the planets were not giant plastic planets, I would much prefer cardboard planets and plastic ships. I think the big planets on stands hurt visibility and increased setup. I still liked the game so I considered getting it but was horrified to see the retail version still has the plastic planets but has cardboard ships.

[@BoardGamingRamblings]

Getting components that everyone will love is going to be hard. I understand what you mean, but I also think they did the right thing with the components, as it does have a very unique look to it, and will get more poeple interested in the game :)

[@lisahasegawa2674]

“Kill it with fire.” 😂

[@yetanotheralex]

Bought Viticulture World which makes it co-operative game a few weeks ago, only played one scenario but we all definitely enjoyed it and made the fun of playing Viticulture come back!

[@bethnehme8402]

I played Exploding Kittens once and got two eliminations in my first two turns. Lasted 1 minute. Can't say I loved it.

[@BoardGamingRamblings]

Hahaha 😂 That sounds like a fun play 🥲

[@gcanceko]

KoT Dark Edition is the best!!! ❤ The dice and energy bolts are great. Will probably keep in our collection forever.

[@BoardGamingRamblings]

Yes, I do love it! :D

[@BrandonGraham]

You probably knew there would be blowback regarding Viticulture. I agree that it's a perfectly good game... That I don't need to play again. I think Brewcrafters, also a not-perfect game, did a better job giving people more agency and diverse choices for their beverage-making facilities. It also results in every player having vastly different tableaus by the end of the game. Steve could make all his points by brewing cheap/fast beer, while Cindy made hers by specializing in hoppy beer, and Horatio made his points by building an on-site brewpub that served a big variety of innovative choices.

[@BoardGamingRamblings]

I know most people like it more than us! I also actually thought that I was going to keep it, but I just do not need to play it again. It was fun, but I will not choose to play :)

[@budsticky]

I never thought a game would take up more table space than Feast for Odin. Until I played Fox Experiment.

[@BoardGamingRamblings]

Haha, it does take up some room for sure 😂

[@steveg9939]

Fun video as always. Now I really want to play Town Center and Viticulture. It’s been so long! Town Center is fun as a solo…less mean, just a good puzzle.

[@BoardGamingRamblings]

Thank you! Glad you had fun :D

[@branboom3342]

Viticulture never hit the spot for me. It made me think that i didnt like worker-placement games but Lords of Waterdeep changed my mind. It does a lot of the same stuff with more interaction, better theme and an easier ruleset.

[@uplift-yourdailypickup6424]

Lords of waterdeep is one of the best worker placement games.

[@prufrock1977]

Lords of Waterdeep is also one of my all time favorites. Even without the expansion

[@BoardGamingRamblings]

I really like Lords of Waterdeep! I'm unsure if we still have it, but it is one that I have played a lot!

[@ronthal]

Nice episode and I can relate to a lot of what you say on most games I know, as usual... But I'm with Sunniva on Delta, it is nothing spectacular or super new but it's visually beautiful if you like this steampunk style, it has great components (maybe because I have like a super deluxe version but so do you), very neat mecanisms, it's fairly easy to teach and it doesn't overstay its welcome. Viticulture with Tuscany or with the World expansion for cooperative plays are more interesting, but I agree there are often games I'd play rather than this one (and also, for sure the winter/summer cards are almost too powerful, and it can get very long at 4 or more players).

[@BoardGamingRamblings]

I liked Delta, but there are just so many games to choose from that it gets harder to get to the point of it being a game I will choose to play! :) We always play Viticulture with Tuscany. I like it a lot better that way! :)

[@mkitten13]

I adore Coffee Rush, played it 8 times already since Essen and have fun with it each time. And it has gone over well with the people I have introduced it to as well. Gives me Overcooked vibes, just with a barista theme instead. Surprised to hear you guys hated it so much. As for Viticulture, it probably would have headed for a cull for me had it not been for the Viticulture World expansion (and I don't even tend to like co-ops, but the co-op version was just vastly better than the competitive was).

[@BoardGamingRamblings]

Glad to hear you liked it! Sadly didn’t do much for us, but hopefully someone else will have fun with it :)

[@jtsiren1676]

If you liked Fantasy Realms for the mechanism alone then check out a game called Featherlight. Similar kind of scoring with ever-changing conditions.

[@BoardGamingRamblings]

Will do! Thank you :D

[@PBMatthews254]

Ever play isle of skye? Gives me the nestolgia of carcassone but with a much more exciting score system. May not be as easy for younger players though.

[@BoardGamingRamblings]

Yes! I really enjoy Isle of Skye! Absolutely agree. Love the tile laying in it :)

[@PBMatthews254]

@@BoardGamingRamblingsawesome! One that I've wanted to try for a while and just got it for Christmas this past year. Instantly like it a bit better than carcasssone they both def give different feels.

[@TheDarktater]

I keep debating culling Viticulture. I like it, but whoever gets the best cards always wins. I have quite a few games that do WP better but the family likes this theme. Maybe I need to finally grab the Rhine Valley cards that is supposed to help with the randomness.

[@BoardGamingRamblings]

Yeah, I have heard the Rhine Valley does help quite a bit! If the family likes it, maybe keep it for now, but try to lure them info liking other games even better? :P

[@barbaramazzocca4605]

We play with Moor Visitors expansion more often than the Rhine Valley expansion.

[@OSB911]

I am also culling Viticulture. It's good for introducing people to worker placement, but I am done with it. I want heavier, or at least tighter games. So many games that do it better have come out since it did.

[@PBMatthews254]

What are some that you would prefer? Just enjoy getting recommendations from others ☺️

[@BoardGamingRamblings]

I was happy to play it again, but I am also happy to not play it again now!

[@madhujith]

I wanted to like Ahau so much... But again for the same reasons you've mentioned, definitely going to get out of my collection...

[@BoardGamingRamblings]

Enjoyed so much of the gameplay, it was just sadly a bit harrd to play!

[@wizardofoz6811]

Sunniva was kind of sleepy 😂

[@BoardGamingRamblings]

Haha, that does happen :P

[@PimpMyFlop]

Johannes is a culling savage this episode, I am loving it!

[@BoardGamingRamblings]

We have so many games! Need to get rid of them :P

[@julianthor4988]

I never liked Viticulture. 😬 But Scythe is really a good game.

[@BoardGamingRamblings]

We did end up keeping Scythe, and I enjoyed my last play of it, but we’ll see next time around, hehe! Just too many good, fun games to choose from :)

[@ramchito1984]

Keep carcassonne but cull viticulture???? I strongly disagree

[@BoardGamingRamblings]

Biggest reason to keep Carcassonne for us is the nostalgia! Not the same kind of nostalgia for Viticultuer :)

[@karldoughty7996]

Watching you dump Viticulture made me happy 😊 I've never rated it as a good game. (But if you want to sell me the Fox Experiment . . . 😄)

[@BoardGamingRamblings]

I like Viticulture, and I do think it’s a good game, I just do not need to own it or play it anymore :) Just too many games to choose from, hehe!

[@kenrickcarlsonkeh191]

You will enjoy Viticulture more with Tuscany.

[@BoardGamingRamblings]

We have mostly played with Tuscany Essential, and did this time as well :)

[@branboom3342]

Tuscany just makes the game longer with more spots. Why would more of the same change their minds?

[@kenrickcarlsonkeh191]

@@branboom3342 It doesn't just make the game longer. It makes the game much more involved and worth the time. More spots also prevent one from being out of good options to take. The change with the seasons mechanic and turn order phase also helped improve the game. It is not more of the same. I know lots of people who are meh with just the base game but really like it with Tuscany.

[@Oaklestat]

Marvel Remix is a better version of Fantasy Realms

[@BoardGamingRamblings]

Will check it out! Thank you :) Is it just a reskin, or a different game?

[@gcanceko]

There’s a new requirement that your final hand needs both a villain and a hero/ally card. The comboing in Remix feels very thematic!

[@Oaklestat]

@@BoardGamingRamblings slight differences and better looking/theme

[@Oaklestat]

@@gcanceko yup, thanks 😁

[@ajdarias]

Hello, I liked Fantasy Realms a lot, but the expansión doesnt add to the enjoyment

[@BoardGamingRamblings]

Good to know! We do not usually buy expansions, but will not look for this one now! Thank you :)

[@LetsWatchTheSunset]

I'm curious with what you do with all your culled games, do you donate them? Sell them? (Hoping you don't just throw them away...)

[@go_golden]

I live next to them, there's a whole pile of discarded board games in their backyard, it's on fire right now, please send help 😢

[@BoardGamingRamblings]

Hahaha 😂 We give away or sell most games cheap to friends or local people in Norway!

[@GGdeTOURS37]

Town center is soo borinnnng!

[@BoardGamingRamblings]

I disagree, but I am weird 😂

[@uplift-yourdailypickup6424]

Viticulture is too long.

[@BoardGamingRamblings]

It felt pretty ok lenght wise the last time we played, but I can see where you are coming from!

[@foodflights1408]

I just came here to tell you how wrong you are about Viticulture. Now feel free to continue your day as you see fit while I continue to be Viticulturaly relevant.

[@BoardGamingRamblings]

Haha, I love it! I don’t really think I can be wrong about me personally don’t needing to play it again? 😂 Happy that you love it 🤩

[@foodflights1408]

Being that I'm Viticulturaly relevant, I make the determinations around here. My determination is that you need to come to Texas and play a game with my wife and I. Rest assured that you will be restored to sanity.@@BoardGamingRamblings

[@BoardGamingRamblings]

Haha, we’ll see what we can do 🥳

[@alanswift6802]

I was a big fan of your channel but increasingly your tendency is to avoid any specific criticism of a game. You "cull" games but consistently say, "this game was fun but I have played it and don't need to play it again. I think these days viewers want comments that are more thoughtful and help separate good games from those that fall short because of specific issues.

[@BoardGamingRamblings]

Hey :) Thank you so much for your thoughts! We do say that when we mean it, as it doesn’t make any sense to lie about it! In this episode, we do not say that about multiple of the games we cull, including Gods of Rome and Coffee Rush. We also go deeper into the reasons we didn’t enjoy playing Ahau as much f.ex! Keep or cull was never a deep show with a lot of reasons, and some games will be «it was fun/fine/ok, but I do not need to play again», and some will be more «this was horrible for this reason» I personally do not think that this has changed a lot during the life span of the show, but I of course appreciate your feelings as well! I hope, and feel like we do this better and more in our reviews! We do not have time or energy to play horrible game after horrible game, as this isn’t a job, so we tend to try to play games we think we’ll like! When that is said, I love that we can feature loads and loads of games we do not review in Keep or Cull, to let you know about the games we didn’t like as well. (We also do make reviews of games we aren’t huge fans of, and I could easily find many of them) I’m not trying to say that you are wrong, I’m just trying to share my thoughts to try to understand you better! Hope you get something from reading this :) Have an amazing game!