WHY ARE TRAINS COOL? - Switch & Signal Review

[@ChristopherZAR]

"Why not visit the United Kingdom" absolutely killed me, hahaha

[@ChristopherZAR]

Going there for 2 weeks in July :) they got me

[@travisbuschette8609]

The ability to place a cube inside the train is enough to sell me on this

[@Roxfox]

The jokes and editing are on point in this one! First a joke creeps in so slowly that the delivery itself becomes hilarious, then another one punches me in the face and runs away before I can register what happened!

[@DodgerB763]

yes! much better than that awful biblios video

[@gvdwatt]

The proximity of the train at the start was a source of sweaty palms.

[@vaevin33]

You’ve made me equally excited in trains and the prospect of visiting Great Britain’s historic cinderblock stations. Kudos to you.

[@ScyllaCephalopod]

The editing in this one is a bit unhinged and I'm loving it

[@laurasmith2758]

Unhinged seems to be the new style of SU&SD.

[@BrandonPatrickDev]

Personally I would say it's gone off the rails

[@RottenJeeves]

I noticed the little Banjo Kazooie reference there with the backpack.

[@andrewmcgarvie3981]

Came to see if I was the only one 🤣

[@chemdent421]

@@andrewmcgarvie3981 Same :)

[@andrewkettle]

“Why not visit the United Kingdom” made me spit out my cereal laughing too hard!

[@thekorben]

Thank you so much for the review! We had never heard about this game but bought it last week after watching your review (I must admit, it was 30 percent your review and 70 percent the awesome train on the box cover) and tonight we had our first try at it. We almost made it - literally one card/one throw of the dice away from victory we had to concede defeat. The cool thing about it was that our 6 year-old had his first ever "big board game" experience and he really played his part and remembered all the rules. Amazing. The other cool thing is that we can easily make it harder for ourselves because it is so nicely configurable. Badly needed, since my wife is a public-transport network planner and just destroys in games like this. We haven't lost a game of Pandemic in years. :D

[@TimothyKnight]

“We’re just normal dice. Innocent dice.” did not go unnoticed!

[@Lsavoleo]

Banjo Kazooie audio reference brought joy. Carry on!

[@munchmoo6586]

I must say I love the new style of SU&SD. Great video as ever, keep it up!

[@samconcklin]

I missed something at the beginning and didn’t realize it was a cooperative game until the end 😂 sounds like fun! I love cooperative games :)

[@GaragePrimo]

same! I think it only just appeared on the box

[@moregamespleaseUK]

Somehow I missed it as well, but it appears on screen twice and Matt says it all within the opener. But here I was daydreaming about the relaxing time I was using trains travelling around SE Asia and after someone had gone through my bag, was certain I was going to leave the train and be murderered. Ah trains, what fun!

[@Nathan-P-Moomaw]

Yeah, somehow Matt didn't bring up the fact that this is the FIRST co-op train game! (as far as I know anyway, happy to learn otherwise)

[@shelby142]

@@Nathan-P-Moomaw huh, yeah, I looked into it, and I couldn't find any other trains games that were primarily cooperative. That said, I know at least Empyreal: Spells & Steam has a cooperative game mode, which is supposedly quite good, though I've only played the standard competitive mode.

[@wottah]

Same. Still don't understand how to win this game either..

[@marksteelman7747]

I think trains also have some very iconic technology. There is all this weird and cool equipment that is used in the train industry.

[@TheSludgeMan]

David Thompson's solo war game Castle Itter is very much about rolling two dice to see where the problems arrive (i.e. panic at cursed #7) and then shuffling things around to problem solve. Interesting to see that through line, it's a fantastic gameplay loop that lends itself perfectly to a train game.

[@rhoddryice5412]

It’s kind of hilarious that KZbin showed a “Discover Sweden by Train This Summer” ad and I didn’t realise the video had ended until a minute in. =)

[@Shiradrenaline]

You know, until the gift-giving guide, I'd somehow missed this video. But I, too, love trains! This video is a delight!

[@benjaminshaffer6265]

Wow this is my favorite shut up and sit down review so far, and there is some tough competition! Hilarious stuff and looks like a fun game

[@Hennu_TRM]

those train-sitions were a beautiful piece of video editing.

[@yamahkogribbis6212]

5, 6, 7, 8.... and 9! Nine has the same probability as five, and it triggered me when Matt said five thru eight. Thanks for the entertainment!

[@MrScottyTay]

Hey! I'm from Stockton! it's nice for people to actually acknowledge us for trains, we get forgotten about a lot. I say that like I was there when trains were invented haha

[@williamheaton652]

The box says 2-4, but this is pretty much 16(ish) turns, doesn't matter how many people take them. So absolutely solo-able

[@seraphonica]

Matt's not feeling the choo choos? For this issue, I recommend using a functional train whistle as your active player marker. Happy tootling, Matt!

[@eYEz4Ck]

Awwww not the Banjo Kazooie nostalgia!

[@Atariese]

I hear that Banjo Kazooie sound clip. I approve of N64 nostalgia.

[@OutbackCatgirl]

Was that a split second of "Dancing Queen" at the end there or do my ears decieve me?

[@DramaticFlora]

5:39 hahaha gotta be careful where the hand is placed to be a censor bar

[@avideogameodyssey3204]

Yay, my hometown of Stockton-on-Tees mentioned in a SU&SD video!

[@Gebohq]

4:48 Are the trains transporting Jiggies? :o

[@BenTinney]

Came for the trains, stayed for the Banjzooie and Ringo era Thomas references

[@Asylumrunner8]

love the subtle hand placement censoring the "I'm fuckin late" clock lol

[@fromthedumpstertothegrave3689]

Trains are fukin boss. Something I found fascinating was how long it took to implement a passage for drivers/stokers into the tender (the coal carrying bit) so they could swap shifts without needing to stop the train and change over. Think it was the Mallard which was the first to do it.

[@paulharker5194]

Well I've scoured the comments and as far as I can tell, I now have to comment "We're just innocent men", so that someone does. If you came to the comments looking for someone to mention this... hi! Hope you've having a lovely day.

[@jesseclark7105]

"Internat pedent" is an incredibly clever joke, well done.

[@Sihoiba]

The energy in this review is great, excellent comedy by Matt! Think I may have found a game for my train loving wife!

[@jaxsondeno]

That outro alone was a masterpiece

[@MrFirefox322]

don't think i'll pick this up but am thankful to have gotten to see matt's very special clock :O

[@markmorrise7554]

Thanks for the review! We quite like Switch & Signal because it is different enough from Pandemic that it fills a different space.

[@AhJong0]

Superb - should not have eaten my breakfast while watching this as I have spat shreddies all over my iPad at Matt’s train station monologue 😆

[@thomasmoore8637]

This was laugh-out-loud hillarious, and also has me very interested in a game I'd never heard of. Thanks!

[@mirkwoodlodge]

The "Da Share Zone" bit was spot on and got me right in the guts.

[@samuelwillmot2972]

Matt’s blend of comedy and thoughtfulness is unparalleled

[@LudicRyan]

Was that a Banjo Kazooie sound bite at 4:47? Lovely editing for just that little moment! 😆

[@DoctorEth]

Matt in top form 🙌🏻

[@jacobjames4655]

Your video and passion for this game and trains convinced me to buy this game! I can't wait to play it with my family!

[@claumoe]

Thanks Matt! Great as always!

[@rford7967]

Superb use of Mendelssohn A minor quartet!

[@plastefuchs666]

That Da Share Z0ne nod was pretty good.

[@voyedocs]

"We're just normal dice. We're just innocent dice."

[@superdeluxesmell]

“Hard and heavy with the vibes.” Quality tombstone content right there.

[@maxwellraver4672]

It feels like Matt's been hoarding train jokes for a while for this one

[@Phulu_OMGRT]

Matt's sense of humour is truly something I love. I wish I could play a boardgame with him.

[@ericandrews3108]

Need a t-shirt or sticker that says "Trains Go Hard & Heavy with the Vibes"

[@dakotajames1233]

The Banjo and Tooie nostalgia hit hard.

[@Heldermaior]

I am taking a ride on the bluebell railway next week and wanted to take a train themed game with me to play with friends while we ride the steam train or in the station café afterwrds. I was thinking one of the 18xx games but those are way too long and way too aggressive. I don't like ticket to ride. This seems perfect. And the art style... wow... Thnaks for the suggestion.

[@viktorkm]

You guys should try Railways of the World. Great family friendly train game with a epic feeling!

[@themackerel2506]

When Matt puts the cube in the train, is that the jingle from banjo kazooie!?!?

[@shutupandsitdown]

Yes you can't stop us

[@themackerel2506]

@@shutupandsitdown no wayyy is it actually!? That was instant recall on a one second sound effect I haven't heard for 20 years

[@emmaplaysgreen2849]

But does it include a bus replacement service on Sundays, Matt? And when you said: "You're going to crash", Crash by The Primitives popped into my head and won't leave again, so I guess I've got an earworm now.

[@jameshouston2515]

"Normal dice. Just innocent dice." Hacker would be proud.

[@jorgedasilva7665]

That Thomas face....XD

[@billf.7343]

That clock, lol! **Checks spelling**

[@cilgo2924]

The quality of the editing in these reviews is really getting out of hand, feels like it's only a matter of time before Matt buys some motion capture gear and takes SUSD to the next level.

[@barneythepurpledinosaur7002]

Train go “choo choo”

[@TomSedgman]

I loved the slightly psychotic Thomas cameo

[@mattbrewster8504]

I enjoyed the 0.3 seconds of ABBA's Dancing Queen at the end. The soundtrack of our destruction.

[@swalsh1123]

I'm a fan of the reusing of the Elven Jeep

[@Nick_Whiskey]

I wonder how common it is to lose your phone and find yourself hung over at lower peaverly bottom. Cause that's the 2nd time I've heard of it happening to someone and that seems like a high number.

[@rhag1394]

This seems very interesting. Great review!

[@wmaconick]

That might be the most British SUSD video so far

[@sasy707]

Just normal dice, innocent dice

[@reverandzombre3755]

ok but also can we talk about how great that shirt is

[@grantprice9768]

That homemade clock 😂😂

[@Pokephantom]

What strange hand placement on that clock

[@DerekHohls]

I think U are right.

[@RacingDamon]

This was a very entertaining review! I'd have liked you to talk a bit on how it felt as a coop (is it a fun problem to solve as a group; is it vulnerable to quarterbacking like Pandemic?), and you didn't explain very clearly how you win.

[@DatScharger64]

I think the only way for a game to be more about trains than just using them as set dressing is one where you control one individually and get to customize it. Kind of like the video game Bounty Train does it, where you can roam freely around the United States, build your personal train, hire a crew, and gain money by deliveries. Personally, I would really look forward to a boardgame-version of Bounty Train.

[@OriginalPiMan]

It's not _exactly_ as you describe, but check out Empire Builder. Ticks most of your boxes.

[@ivytyler]

good to see you did in fact make it back inside your apartment

[@B111N33D]

Literally slapped my knee

[@Ahrpigi]

4:21 da share zone! 4:48 I'm watching PlayFrame's go of Banjo Kazooie so this is extra funny

[@carlrobinson3703]

Matt’s best review on record. Fact.

[@jesseclark7105]

Second best. Nothing will top Pipeline.

[@petpolitics]

Loved the Banjo Kazooie jiggy jingle

[@JasonD19736]

I watched while riding the train to work 😀

[@tashacraven]

How do you win? Certain amount of goods delivered to the port things before the clock runs out or something like that?

[@kastratos]

nice TRAINsition in 1:06

[@TheMagzim]

I defintely felt the choo-choo in this one.

[@liamsheehy]

A shout-out to Da Share Z0ne??? Incredible stuff.

[@kenk7875]

“Choo choo, baby…choo, choo”

[@ElkiLG]

I can't believe SUSD has been bought by the train lobby. You can't deceive me big train!

[@DrMcFly28]

I think SU;SD would have a place for non-boardgamerelated essays, like just Matt talking about trains

[@Cosmitzian]

It's silly how this went from 'dawww, cute wittle train gaim with like 2.10 weight on bgg' to 'if you're looking for something like this... GLOOMHAVEN'. :)))

[@Phox-in-a-Box]

I'd rather have gross, crusty train stations than what the US has. Which is no trains at all.

[@ANAKHA8]

More evidence of why I love Matt.

[@GPlewright]

Literally layers of hilarious nonsense in this delicious and delightful review.

[@NinaFelwitch]

I like trains. I probably should get this game.

[@bigguy978978]

I want that clock 5:40

[@cheshirect]

For some reason I read this as "Why are brains cool?" lol

[@marcushead9985]

I did not anticipate a Da Share Zone reference in Shut up & Sit Down.

[@orion1312]

Not a complain but i find alarming that there is no joke referencing the trolley problem. Great content as ever!

[@niffnozzletoff4552]

This video needed more cameo's of Matt's clock that said I'm F!@3in' Late on it.

[@ikutenshi]

Great video! I've been wondering though why exactly are Trains so prevalent as a board game theme/category?

[@Churro_Douglas]

The trains and stocks genre was started by the game 1829 in the 70s. No Pun Included has a great video on 1829 and it’s derivatives. I think it’s safe to say the board gamers obsession with choo choos has it’s roots in the success of 18XX games

[@ikutenshi]

@@Churro_Douglas that makes a lot of sense, even if that's not the main reason it's definitely a significant contributing factor to all the choo-choos!

[@canadave87]

I'm just guessing here, but I think it may have something to do with the way that trains can easily be abstracted into board game rules. They're very linear and orderly (at least in ideal circumstances), and that's just something that makes sense in the context of a board game.

[@DEMONJIM]

I need that clock for my game room.