Will Dead Reckoning Port of Call walk the plank?

[@fingolfinfinwe]

Not being game changing is actually a good thing imo. That's kind of the point with this expansion - more stuff, variety, and options for the game. Love it! The box is not for everyone that is for certain due to the price, but it's a nice option for the ultimate bling. A lower cost cardboard only option sounds nice, however I definitely understand them not wanting to do both as options as it likely would not make financial sense.

[@Neon_Gorilla]

@@fingolfinfinwe I have enough of “more” with all the saga content. With the information I see I don’t see the point. Do you think the cards actually change the way you play the game or just have you do things in a different order? The ship boards from what I can see only affect the early game and moderately. For me if I am going to buy a third $45 + 15-20 for shipping expansion it better change my approach to the game significantly like Expedition leaders for Arnak, immortality for dune. The only mechanic addition is the exploding cannon cubes. My only point is this game has a ton of content and this is underwhelming and not incentive enough for me. Btw without the box now storing all of this is a complete mess:(

[@KingMePlease3]

I am currently at Gencon and took a peek at a prototype/demo copy of Port of Call, and those asymmetric ships are double sided with each one being different. These will change how each player approaches the early game and how they synergize their ship board with their sea dogs and advancement purchases. But I think the big game changer are the new achievements. Mixing these in with the original achievements will definitely create new paths to victory. Looking forward to those new experiences.

[@Neon_Gorilla]

Thanks for sharing! The achievements are an interesting twist.

[@shelbyfleshood5172]

Have no interest in this game and don't expect to ever play it BUT I enjoy your content enough that I'm still going to watch the whole video. Keep it up!

[@Neon_Gorilla]

@@shelbyfleshood5172 thanks Shelby, the support is awesome, what is your favorite game right now?

[@miramarto]

Once again, that thumbnail! Lol. This will definitely be walking the plank for me, I'll even make sure to wait until I'm over shark infested waters.

[@Neon_Gorilla]

Do you have base game or are you throwing the entire thing overboard?

[@miramarto]

@@Neon_Gorilla neither, but I'm very interested in the base game. I think all the extra content looks nice but either those stretch goals go overboard or my money does. Or my wife might throw me overboard.

[@Neon_Gorilla]

@@miramarto and I saw a thread on BGG today saying there is empty space in the box for even More content

[@Herodragon9]

I’m in! At least on the expansion, still on the fence over the crate. I was holding off at first because I couldn’t see the cards and determine value, but your breakdown actually gave me the information I needed to make a decision. I think the value in the new cards is that they seem to be aiming at getting players into the more interesting decisions of the game faster. Based on a quick meta analysis: more barrels at the early levels on more cards means more purchasing power for advancements and more reason to go back and forth to port. Multiple cards with ship building and island production means you will potentially see more upgrades during the course of the game and island control has more value for building and production since more cards have the ability to do so. Ultimately I think the new cards have the potential to do what prelude did for Terraforming Mars. I wish we could also see all the ships. I originally got dead reckoning because it looked like Pirate “Scythe” to me and this expansion could potentially take it one step closer to reality.

[@Neon_Gorilla]

You are the closest to converting me…seems like many like this expansion but your point on it being similar to prelude might intrigue me a bit. The game is too long and this might help. I would prefer that if that is a result AEG would sell us on the benefit of the gameplay. All I see is “more stuff, and look at this expensive box”. Regular less you have made the most compelling argument congrats! I still think $60 shipped to my house feels rough. Base game @ $79 is clearly their lost leader and they make their money on expansions and upgrades.

[@Herodragon9]

@@Neon_Gorilla , the price is a bitter pill, and I agree that this campaign would benefit from something like preview gameplay using the new content or at least a design diary update explaining the rationale. I had to count the new interactions during your video to guess at what the designer was going for with this expansion. This could make for some tight and intense early game interaction as players race across the board buying up advancements. Gameplay footage would solidify my assumptions.

[@Neon_Gorilla]

@@Herodragon9 yeah and you really need to play it a handful of times as the randomness of the card draw and how they combine will be varied. It’s odd there is no preview gameplay as it seems like pretty simple to prototype. Bad look for a game that lives off of FOMO and campaign only availability.

[@teaminnovator]

@Herodragon9 I think you explain a lot of why I like this expansion over anything previously. All of these cards are impactful from thr start of the game as they are the cards most seen. You will see all of these cards every game they are played, unlike Saga or Sea Dog cards where you only see a small portion of them. These may seem like small changes but they add up because they are impacting every game and all previous decision trees.

[@Neon_Gorilla]

@@teaminnovator if it speeds the game up by 10% or more I will pay double.

[@npckse8508]

I think you underestimate the amount the game changes just by changing up the abilities. Then adding in new ships, it adds far more variability which makes things great. Not to mention more Sea Dogs. There is more than enough content with this game to not need much else. I like the idea of an expansion that is all about adding variability. For me this is exactly the type of expansion I was waiting for. To each their own. I want the box and am currently backing it. I can afford it, but will be going back and forth on it until the campaign ends. I guess it could live next to my Trove chest. My group loves Dead Reckoning and we have only just started the sagas and we still have Letters of Marque that adds a bunch of stuff to change up the game. I don't see the need for a playmat and have moved away from playmats unless they combine boards and expansions like how the War for Arrakis playmat did. As far as value, sure $45 seems rough, but for a KS only game, it is about on part in 2024 with pricing.

[@Neon_Gorilla]

Like I said it's nice to have extra stuff but 45 when the base game is 80!?!? This does not hold more than half the value of the base game. When you simply divide out the components that are included in the base game it might be about 25% Then you have to also pay $15 in shipping. I think my problem with the campaign comes down to value and if I notice the difference in game play. re: gameplay changes, Captain is slightly more interesting, purser adds a second dimension, gunner supports exploding cubes..everything else is swapped around. They aren't showing ship boards so nobody really knows I can only make a guess based up one the one shown. everything else is more of what we have. I am happy to be wrong when this delivers though, I like the game just not the current value proposition.

[@lenmux]

While I don't begrudge anyone opting to get the wooden chest, I will say my first impression when seeing the price tag for it was "they've got to be kidding."

[@Neon_Gorilla]

Yeah pretty wild

[@briar4945]

New to Dead Reckoning and was looking forward to the storage solution but now will only be backing game play all-in stuff. I do like good organisation to games but cardboard box and game tray solution more up my alley. I just look at the price of the chest and think about all the games I could purchase for that money.

[@Neon_Gorilla]

Yeah I am with you. I love a big box solution and am sad I am stuck with keeping this thing is 3 boxes. I might try to design a 3d printed insert but don’t think I will get it all to fit

[@lostfanatic6]

It was pretty much an insta-back for me since I am also kind of a completionist 🙃 The new things change the game just enough for my group to make it feel worth it. We've played it 30+ times so even little shifts in the meta make a big difference! I would enjoy the box, but it's too rich for my blood! I also would have preferred a cheaper, cardboard solution. I am worried about bloat with this game. Our plays have slowed down drastically since Letters of Marque has come out. I love this game,, but at some point enough is enough.

[@Neon_Gorilla]

Bloat is an issue with a game that doesn’t go to retail and needs to keep having campaigns.

[@jonathanw3199]

The box is so pretty so very hard to pass on lol

[@Neon_Gorilla]

I ended up passing, it was tough because it needed a big box oh well

[@Frodo-]

I backed Unstoppable, I hope that fills the niche for this game. I have heard alot of good things for this game. If I were to get it, I think I would stick with the base game. I enjoy these honest reviews, thank you!

[@Neon_Gorilla]

I honestly didn't know unstoppable existed lol! I think card crafting is great just can get incredibly expensive on a game that looks to be expanded at least 7 times. It does solve the problem of deck bloat in the builders and seeing cards enough which is a typical criticism.

[@sirpoupadou]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on PoC, I concluded the same and as a newb to the game I won't need this new expansion yet, so it's not in my basket 😊 Funnily I'm not interested in boxes that store everything, even when they're cheaper, because it becomes SO heavy to carry around and cumbersome, too painful for the old me. This was an enjoyable video, thanks!

[@Neon_Gorilla]

@@sirpoupadou thanks for the kind words, yeah some like me are suckers for big boxes. I go through all the content on my previous video which might be helpful but in general I recommend the base game and sea dogs for all beginners and the if you was some saga stuff get letters of marque because it gives you saga content and another stand alone module to spice things up if you ever get board.

[@Neon_Gorilla]

Which by the way they have the base game ding and dent for $60 on the alderac site. They are copies from the last campaign where they had some warping issues I got one of those copies and it was completely fine. They also have letters of marque and sea dogs 2 shipping now. Wonderful deal and you can play it now.

[@sirpoupadou]

​@@Neon_Gorillathanks! I'll check it out, depends a bit the shipping to Australia too 😬😅

[@Neon_Gorilla]

@@sirpoupadou👍🐨

[@sirpoupadou]

​@@Neon_GorillaUgh, shipping is $78 so going through the KS is actually better, gets me 2 extra sea dogs for the same price 🤷🏽 Thanks for the tip though, might be good for those living in the US 👍

[@teaminnovator]

The biggest thing I see in the crew is that the ship upgrades are now on two different crew and are not uograded the same way. The Bosun just straight up upgrades a lvl 1 to lvl 2 I believe. The pursur upgrades differently. Being able to get ship upgrades more often and more consistently is game-changing. Having an extra upgrade slot on the ship is also very different as well. You now get more upgrades, which means you don't feel the need to keep the same exact upgrades each game. Lastly, there is now double up on many abilities like repairing and attacking. This set seems to just improve upon the idea of PvP. It makes attacking more often easier and more forgiving.

[@Neon_Gorilla]

@@teaminnovator I see a couple cards that have and additional option and many that just swapped abilities around in a new combination. I don’t think any of this is worth more than half of the base game @ $45 plus $15 shipping. All nice to have nothing I will miss.

[@teaminnovator]

I see the game.being played radically different under Port of Call than under standard crew play. Having multiple paths to upgrade, getting lvl 2 upgrades for free are both game changers. Also, none of the crew are single use but have all been given a second action. The Purser produces and gains upgrades, the first mate does influence, cargo and a wheel. There is no crew that is just one action which makes them all more valuable to upgrade instead of just upgrading the Bosun first, then the gunner/buccaneer or whichever you want to focus next.

[@Neon_Gorilla]

I think we can agree to disagree here. old crew card: get barrels and repair, new : get barrels and build (no addition just swap)...old deckhand: gain sail and influence, new: gain sail and repair (no addition just swap)....even if you give a card more flexibility which there certainly are some there is nothing fundamentally different about the gameplay here. The only actual addition to the game play is the exploding cube...if I pay $60 plus tax to ship this to my house I want a new experience not a varied one. If this were the first expansion maybe it might get me but there is so much already out here. All the variability in strategy is already there in sea dogs 1 and 2. I am happy you will find joy in this and find it worthwhile which I state in the video that this is only my opinion.

[@teaminnovator]

Maybe I just don't understand but there is more content in this set than in the Saga sets for the same price, and the content in this set will be seen in every game where as the Saga content is only seen in some games when they are drawn. From a price point it fits in with the other products that were offered previously. Did you feel the same about the Saga expansions as well?

[@Neon_Gorilla]

Yes all expansions are overpriced relative to the base. I recommend base and sea dogs as a relative great value and all the content 99% of people will ever need. If I have to choose one expansion it would be letters because you get a game changing module along with saga content albeit for only $20 less than base game. Saga content is enjoyable but I don’t need more. Btw I am a harsh critic of expansions in general (made an entire video on them) so our baseline on enjoyment of expansions likely is not aligned. This is likely the disconnect here which is totally fine. I’m happy you are happy, we both don’t have to like it and if my ignorance to how great this is save me $60 buck then so be it. I could use it, I buy too many games as it is.

[@tacosy2k]

I feel like you can just house rule some of these with the original campaign parts. Like mark up a blank ocean board for swift sea and take one ship upgrade at beginning of game and put over one sail slot. Thanks for running through this. Will pass.

[@Neon_Gorilla]

@@tacosy2k I was actually thinking the same thing!

[@kimklisiak6421]

I'm glad I I'm not into this game because that big box is insanely cool!!!

[@Neon_Gorilla]

Yeah it sure is :(

[@JacobPorterLadder]

Wanted to say, thank you for keeping me from walking the plank. I ended up refunding. I need to table Saga 3/letters of Marque at all before I buy anything else for this game. I also still haven't bought Saga 1 and 2 (which seems really cool for at least the ship upgrades alone)

[@Neon_Gorilla]

Oh I ended up backing it……just kidding I think it is a great policy that we should all follow…play what you have before getting more. I was sure I was getting a big box until I saw the price. So ridiculous.

[@JacobPorterLadder]

@@Neon_Gorilla the box is a crime against the board game community

[@JacobPorterLadder]

@@Neon_Gorilla the box is a crime against the board game community