The Initiative - How To Play

[@benleague3115]

Just wanted to take the initiative here to say thank you. Because of your channel, we've had 17 plays and counting and finished the campaign. Best date night game ever!

[@WatchItPlayed]

I'm so glad you enjoyed this one Ben - we played through the campaign too!

[@markjago2269]

When Rodney goes "join me at the table and let’s learn how to play" you can always be sure that the background music stops -- only Rodney's voice from the speakers. THAT is good. No distracting background music as found in so many other (non-Rodney) videos. Top quality, as always.

[@WatchItPlayed]

Nice to hear you appreciate that choice.

[@teejleague3838]

This is SO GOOD! We got this because of your review. We love it. I highly recommend this one for people who don't have a lot of time to play at a time. It's a light RPG mystery that's easy to pick up on, but it doesn't lose the excitement or suspense!

[@WatchItPlayed]

So glad you enjoyed this - one of my favorites of the year!

[@mikehulsebus]

Rodney, I've seen your videos because and I always have known you to be a friendly guy but my goodness the first like 90 seconds of this video is the perfect reminder of what a likeable guy you are.

[@dougrawald6000]

I highly recommend this game. We picked it up on release and have really enjoyed the first few missions. It’s a game for everyone who likes puzzles; my non-gamer wife told my son and I that we cannot play it without her!

[@WatchItPlayed]

We are now up to mission 11 and will be playing through the whole thing for sure - glad you're enjoying!

[@Commonsensedad]

I just got this and I’m very excited to play!!

[@WatchItPlayed]

I hope you have a great time Matt!

[@Klamageddon]

Whenever I watch one of your videos, I always feel compelled to leave a comment about how great they all are! Your videos are great, and super useful! Thanks!

[@WatchItPlayed]

Thanks for for taking the time to leave a comment Richard - it's always appreciated! Have a great time playing :)

[@jessactor]

Really glad that you addressed replayability early on - that's my main concern with mission based games like this (cough, Time Stories) is that once you know what to do once, the game is basically kaput.

[@WatchItPlayed]

Glad you found this helpful to know Jess!

[@vandriff]

Oh, this looks awesome. Thanks for the detailed run-through. Since I bring a lot of new games to my friend group, I'm usually the one left trying to explain it to everyone. Now, I just play these videos before we begin!

[@WatchItPlayed]

Very happy to be able to team up with you for the teach :)

[@immortalsun]

Can I join your friend game group? I’ll pay you $3/h

[@rodrigokabuto]

Corey Konieczka and his amazing games. Thanks for sharing this video.

[@WatchItPlayed]

Appreciate you checking it out Rodrigo!

[@koben333]

Never have I’ve clicked on a video on this channel this fast! Really excited what Corey Konieczka has in store for everyone :)

[@WatchItPlayed]

Thanks for checking it out!

[@pixxelwizzard]

This looks like so much fun. There's a reason Corey Konieczka is my favorite game designer. Can't wait to play Mission 1 this weekend. :D Thanks Rodney!

[@WatchItPlayed]

We really enjoyed playing it through, I hope you do too :)

[@unexpectedgames]

Aw shucks, thanks for the kind words. I hope you enoy(ed) it!

[@rafaelzavala5375]

Just completed chapter four of this game today! It is so good! Thanks for bringing it to my radar!

[@WatchItPlayed]

So glad you're having fun - we played through the whole campaign, and really enjoyed it - happy adventuring!

[@unexpectedgames]

So glad you're enjoying it!!

[@wyz1324]

Thanks for taking the initiative on teaching us this.

[@WatchItPlayed]

*clap clap*

[@wyz1324]

@@WatchItPlayed ​ @xxKYLORDxx Thank you Thank you. I'll be here all week. Please buy some merch on the way out!

[@shadowwolf2192]

I am beyond in love with this game just by watching this vid! I can’t wait to get my hands on this and play it!

[@shadowwolf2192]

Also thx Rodney for the tip about repeating missions with new people cuz that’s a great suggestion to keep it fun!

[@WatchItPlayed]

Yes, I've played a couple scenarios multiple times, and it's been no trouble to let others solve it.

[@DullDishwater]

Really good edit on bringing that guidebook into the video. Wow. Totally took me by surprise.

[@WatchItPlayed]

Glad you liked that little touch :)

[@CarlToonist]

So this is a game about playing a game... very Meta

[@WatchItPlayed]

Indeed!

[@michaelrushingph]

Just bought this game because of your how to play! Awesome job! One question I do have is we played the first mission and noticed the mission board had some red glyphs but couldn't find anywhere that mention them. Does this come into effect in later missions? I'm just wondering why the first mission had them. Thanks again!

[@WatchItPlayed]

Very glad you enjoyed! As for your question... I'm not going to say anything.

[@unexpectedgames]

There is a note in The Key rulesheet that asks: "Why are some glyphs red?" It seems that the original owner of the game had the same question.

[@BoardGameGran]

Thanks so much for teaching me to play this game! I'll be teaching my fambam tomorrow!

[@WatchItPlayed]

I hope you all have a wonderful time. This is a game we played through as a family as well :)

[@wyz1324]

The art reminds me of Scott Pilgrim

[@danielschaublin]

Just to ask, if all of the actions pile (including regroup) all had 12-point cards on the top of their piles, would that also end the game, too? If not, then each player could only use their character's special action for the rest of the game, then? I wanted to confirm what you could do if that situation occurs, since some people won't want to continue a game if everyone would just be passing every turn, and stalling out the game if they won't be able to win.

[@WatchItPlayed]

Yeah, if you had no possible card you could play, that would also end the chapter in a loss - there are special character abilities that can help you clear cards from the stacks though, so that could keep you in the game longer.

[@adrianwoodruff1885]

Seems like a legacy game. Just without the place skitckers/destroy pieces aspect.

[@WatchItPlayed]

Yes, some similarities in that way.

[@randyreynolds107]

Whoa!!! Rodney can now Thanos snap guide books into existence!!! That's even more awesome than the box flips! Worth the price of admission already! :-)

[@WatchItPlayed]

As long as I can't snap things out of existence, we should be ok!

[@MikyAngel347]

I have a question, but first, I'll explain why I have this question: Fil Johnson's ability (Tech Savvy) lets him reveal clue tokens in 'nearby' rooms. According to what you explained, a nearby room is any adjacent room connected with a passage to the one you're in. Jenni Bradley's ability (Deduction) let's her collect a token from the room she's in and one from an 'adjacent' room. That being said, does that 'adjacent' room has to be connected with a pasage to the one you're in? Technically, an 'adjacent' room is just a room next to the one you're in (even if they are not connected, they can be next to yours -'adjacent'). I ask because I had this discussed with a friend and he believes that 'nearby' and 'adjacent' could mean the same thing. I believe that if they meant the same thing, they would've used the same wording.

[@WatchItPlayed]

Sorry, away from my copy of the game right now, but did a little searching, and found this reply on BoardGameGeek which I think seems right: The Key, page 2: "...adjacent room (any room connected to it by a passageway as shown below)" The example reinforces that adjacent specifically refers to neighboring rooms, and explicitly excludes the current room you are in. The Key, page 2: "Nearby includes components *in your room* and in adjacent rooms." So Nearby = Current rooms and neighboring rooms, while Adjacent = Neighboring rooms ONLY

[@MikyAngel347]

@@WatchItPlayed Thank you very much!

[@UnknownRefrigerator]

Dang it, Rodney! You forgot to flip the third letter on the first row, which is the "M" - And the code would be "Remember This" ! But as always, thanks for your content - The highest quality of the most awesome crew on KZbin :D

[@WatchItPlayed]

Or was that intentional?!?!?! (no, no it wasn't - nice catch :) ).

[@conrad4667]

I thought the code might be “December This”.

[@redhotswing]

That was helpful, thank you!

[@WatchItPlayed]

You're very welcome - have a great time playing!

[@snmackenzie]

Great video as always. And... amazing shirt!

[@WatchItPlayed]

Thank you kindly Steve :) Have fun playing!

[@pulhazoum]

Really excited to play this one😁 What's the release date?

[@unexpectedgames]

April 9 in the US and Czech. English worldwide late April/May. Other languages coming soon.

[@EltWilder]

Looks like it could be fun. Like the art too.

[@WatchItPlayed]

Thanks for checking it out Elt!

[@guijauregui]

0:46 What sorcery is this?? That was amazing! :)

[@WatchItPlayed]

:)

[@BoardGameGran]

Same!

[@bakermitchell6209]

Ha! I'm glad to see Rodney putting a bit of his love of magic into the video. Also, rocking the sideburns. Check!

[@WatchItPlayed]

Ha! Just got a haircut and they're gone again, but they'll be back :)

[@Drashia08]

Wheel of Fortune meets Clue

[@henriwhitehead]

Great looking game. Great video!

[@WatchItPlayed]

Thanks for checking it out Henri!

[@jdewaal5434]

Can I play different missions with different game groups? For instance, could I play a few missions with just my wife, and then play the NEXT missions with her and 2 other friends? Or how would you suggest integrating new players?

[@WatchItPlayed]

Yep, you certainly can. My son and I were playing and then my wife joined us for a few. We just caught her up on the story element.

[@melinian11]

Hello, I have a question regarding “gather”. How many tiles can I pick up using this action? The card says that you can pick up up to 2 tiles. So. I have a room and in that room 2 open tiles. I can use one card for gather and pick them both? And the next case, if in the room only closed tiles. I use “gather” and can pick up only one closed tile. Am I right? Thank you in advance for you answer!

[@WatchItPlayed]

The key thing is the wording I use here: kzbin.info/www/bejne/bH3Kfpt3o7KVpM0 You collect 2 tiles from your room "one at a time". So you can always pick up 2 of them, but there are two types of tokens you'll encounter: face up or face down ones. If there are several face up ones, you can pick which one you want to take. If there are several face down ones, you must take the one on the top of the face down stack. So if there were 2 face down and 2 face up tokens in a room, you could do any one of these options:: A) Collect the 2 face up tokens. B) Collect the 2 face down tokens. C) Collect a face down token and then a face up token. D) Collect a face up token and then a face down token. Remember, in all cases to resolve each token fully before taking the next one.

[@saintsalieri]

I wonder if this will work well with two. You will have fewer cards in play, so possibly more situations in which you need to skip a lot of card values to take an action. The limited communication means there's no chance to run a third investigator. I'm really interested in the game overall though.

[@WatchItPlayed]

Keep in mind that this is just my personal experience, and yours might be different. I was also paid to make this video, so if you're worried about any bias I might have, please take that into consideration, however, all that out of the way: I've been playing this 2 player with my son, and we've had no complaints about the player count at all, and will be going through the rest of this game 2 player.

[@saintsalieri]

@@WatchItPlayed That's great to hear! I will probably pick this up. I nearly pre-ordered it, but decided to wait for a few more reviews first. Thanks for the reply.

[@oguzman446]

Great video! The game says it’s 1-4 players but I don’t see any rules for solo mode. Does that mean there are no rules for solo? Just play it as normal?

[@WatchItPlayed]

Exactly. There are no rules changes for solo.

[@RevDocMicah]

How do you defeat different enemies? Thief etc? Does defeating them remove them from play?

[@WatchItPlayed]

Hi Micah, do you have a link to the section of the video you are referring to, or are you asking a question about later scenarios?

[@nirszi]

Fantastic video! And such a fun game.

[@WatchItPlayed]

So glad you enjoyed the video and the game!

[@steelbeard151]

Are there special solo rules? Or do you just play with one character? If you used multiple characters, it becomes ok to look at everyone's hand? Not sure how this would work solo.

[@WatchItPlayed]

You just play one character.

[@Marek_Kosciak]

That matching shirt, tho.

[@eline3908]

Is this game re-playable? Or is it only to be played once?

[@WatchItPlayed]

Yes and no. The codes don’t change, but as long as you leave the code breaking portion to a new player, people who played previously could still go through it again.

[@bgsint]

Спасибо, вначале показалось слишком просто, но я рад, что ошибся.

[@WatchItPlayed]

Glad it was helpful!

[@Veryghoster]

How about the replayability?

[@WatchItPlayed]

I tend to avoid trying to assess this for other player. What one person is looking for in terms of replayability can be different for someone else (and this is a tutorial, not a review :)). That said, after you finish the main mission, there are several others included in the box afterwards, so there's quite a bit to get through. Depending on how good your memory is, you may or may not find it possible to return later, and enjoy solving the puzzles again.

[@breganp]

Is anyone else having issues with the stand for the missions? I've tried for almost 15 mins to slide it in.

[@WatchItPlayed]

I didn't have this problem, sorry to hear it's been causing you some issues.

[@PetrSojnek]

You know it downed to me that for channel name to be "watch it played" we don't watch it played much lately :) (just a friendly tease)

[@WatchItPlayed]

We just had 4 new game play videos in the last 2 months (Chronicles of Crime, The King Is Dead, Lost Expedition and Watergate). Do make sure you are subscribed with notifications turned on so you don't miss any episodes, including game plays :)

[@pauljohnson8847]

I particularly appreciate the unbiased nature of these videos, sometimes showing that this is not a game for me, as is the case with this one. I can see how it might be a positive social experience but the game comes off as a fiddly round of Hangman or Wheel of Fortune. And the art is amateurish and approximately reminiscent of far better graphic novel artists. Appreciate the game design but don't think anyone in my group would go for it. Personally, I'd play it, but I'll play just about anything. Great base production values and I'm sure it will find an audience. Not here to crap on the game but just to say that Rodney's videos are so well done that they help us make sound buying decisions based on individual taste. This was, as always, a skillful tutorial and always appreciated.

[@WatchItPlayed]

Glad this helped determine if the game would be a good fit for you or not!

[@judsonq2441]

I want to play board games with Rodney and his sideburns

[@WatchItPlayed]

Are you sure? They're fiercely competitive.

[@AirScape]

When are we getting a box fart blooper vid that have ruined the final shots ?

[@WatchItPlayed]

Are you suggesting my boxes make fart noises? Sir, I'm a professional!

[@AirScape]

@@WatchItPlayed You may be professional, But it happens to the best of us.

[@WatchItPlayed]

@@AirScape Truth.

[@apollonia6656]

How does it play solo,please? Thanks.

[@WatchItPlayed]

HI, I'm not sure what you're asking. Are you asking if I think it's fun to play solo, or are you asking for rules about solo play?

[@atomiccritter6492]

interesting, quirky - looks like its very easy to accidentally spoilt your fun by seeing stuff

[@WatchItPlayed]

I haven't run into that yet - I think you'd have to be actively trying to spoil things to run into any real trouble.