World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King | Rahdo's Final Thoughts

[@saintsalieri]

Roll to resolve dice with binary success/failure faces, in which there is an overwhelming chance of success, is the worst implementation of the mechanic (you find it here or in Summoner Wars). It just feels like very bad luck if you fail, because it was 1/6. War games do a very good job making the entire game ABOUT increasing your odds through terrain, picking your battles in terms of unit composition, and so on. Even a very simple system like Commands and Colors Ancients makes altering your dice odds a rich and central part of the game. I used to also think roll to resolve was just about fate and introducing more certainty is the fix, but playing some war games made me realized that the important way of adding agency is to introduce chance altering mechanics that are in the player's control.

[@rahdo]

indeed, roll to resolve is about risk mitigation and any good game focuses on that in the design (and that includes this game, where you decide before you roll what your chances of success are based on cards in hand, special powers, nearby teammates, types of obstacle you're rolling against).

[@tedwatson706]

Hey Rahdo, finally got to watching your videos after multiple recommendations from other board game enthusiasts and all I want to say is thank you for making these and sharing your thoughts and experience, as a fledgling board game designer these are both insightful and fun to watch! Thank you!

[@filipfalzone9409]

Hey Richard, I'm right there with you with your experience with board games vs video games at the conclusion of this video, but I was especially touched and moved about your beautyful comment about Jen... you guys are sooo made for each other!

[@theunamiable]

Played a lot of WoW back in the day, so this tempts me. Seems to be coming out at just the wrong time, given all the Blizzard press of late, but we'll see.

[@amchasteenable]

You mic dropped the gospel on this wrap up Rhado! Your gaming philosophy is why you are among the best in the business.

[@tmcd5049]

Really appreciate the review. Is the box size the same as regular pandemic? It seems to be slightly wider?

[@rahdo]

you are right, it is about an inch wider than the normal size for these sorts of boxes. well spotted (i didn't notice that myself)

[@tmcd5049]

@@rahdo Thanks, Rahdo, I really love the portable, thin boxes of the pandemic boxes, is the box height roughly the same, please?

[@rahdo]

@@tmcd5049 exact same height, a tiny big thicker, and a bit wider :)

[@tmcd5049]

@@rahdo So good for the suitcase then! Thanks, Rahdo.

[@deepdivemusicreactions]

I suggest top x pandemic games. would be interesting to learn more about the differences

[@rahdo]

kzbin.info/www/bejne/rH-bmYaGaM6EaNU :)

[@deepdivemusicreactions]

how on earth did I miss this?! :D thanks

[@nienke7713]

I agree that having to commit a single-use card before a roll is terrible. But I don't know which games do that. I've only played Arkham Horror 2nd edition once, and quite a while ago, so I can't remember if you're right in calling that one out. I do, however, love Arkham Horror 3rd edition, and there I don't think I've ever seen it. I've seen cards committed beforehand but which you get to keep (at most it is a once per round ability so you lose your chance to use it again this round), which is fine. I've seen cards that have a single use, but you get to use them after the fact, which is fine. I've seen cards that you can use after the fact and you get to keep, which is awesome. But I haven't seen any cards that you have to commit beforehand and then lose. Now of course I may have forgotten or not have encountered the rare card that does it, but it's certainly not the standard in that game. Trans Rights = Human Rights Thanks for staying Awesome Rahdo!

[@rahdo]

oh it's really common actually to do the spend before you roll, but i can't think of many examples off the top of my head because i always immediately strike roll-to-resolve from my memory banks! :)

[@nienke7713]

​@@rahdo Is that 2nd or 3rd edition? They are pretty much just different games with some commonalities, but I'm fairly certain it's not all that common in 3rd, so I'm guessing you must be talking about 2nd. Personally I think 3rd edition has combined some of the best elements from 2nd edition, Eldritch Horror, and Arkham Horror: The Card Game (and maybe a little from Mansions of Madness as well). 3rd edition also has a couple of mechanisms borrowed/inspired from pandemic: there's a mechanism that's quite similar to epidemic cards, and depending on the scenario you can either get outbreaks which are really similar to pandemic outbreaks, or anomalies which are a bit different but still utilise the principle of "if there's too much bad stuff in a given space/area, then something even worse triggers".

[@rahdo]

@@nienke7713 yup i've not played 3rd edition, but it was a big part of 2nd edition, and eldrich horror and arkham horror card game :)

[@nienke7713]

@@rahdo Yeah, as I said, I've only played 2nd once quite a while ago. Eldritch horror I also only played once or twice (I really felt more disconnected from the theme due to the global scale in that one). The card game I've only watched some runtroughs/playtroughs/explainers/reviews on, and although the story/narrative aspect is enticing (and that's one thing that AH3 also has a lot more than AH2 and EH), the deck building and the money sink aspects of it are a turn off for me. (But I'll play it if someone invites me to play their copy and takes care of the deck building for me) I guess they changed that then, I have a fair played number of games of 3rd edition (at least all 6 of the base game + Dead of Night expansion scenarios once each, and some of them multiple times) and have never encountered such cards as far as I recall. I even just scanned trough all item, ally, spell, and special cards (only haven't checked investigator specific starting cards), and there are quite a few "once per round" cards, cards that have their own special action, cards which you choose to use beforehand but get to keep, and a few cards that you need to discard to use them, but none as far as I could tell which you discard to use but have to do so before knowing the results of your action. So if that was one of your main negatives about those other games, then maybe you'll like 3rd edition better (it's certainly my favourite from the Arkham Files line of games) As for roll to resolve, I guess that's still there (if I understand what you mean correctly, roll to resolve is that you choose to do an action and then roll dice to see if you succeed, right?), but I personally don't mind it, especially because it makes the game feel more thematic and realistic (e.g. if I'd shoot a gun in real life, there's still a chance that my aim is off, or that it misfires, so it makes sense to me that it's not a guaranteed success, but I can try to increase my chances of success trough various means)

[@starxhilmie]

Game looks interesting but i dont have board gaming table in my house other than dining table which is only for food. May have to play it on the floor. Rip spine. Do you think this set might worth the in the future. For collector I meant

[@patricksteele]

Your review convinced me to buy it, thanks Rahdo!

[@RiffLair]

Hello. Very interested on how you would rate Fall of Rome, Reign of Cthulhu & WoW..! :) Looking to get my 1st ever pandemic game.

[@rahdo]

it probably would go on my #7 spot on this countdown: kzbin.info/www/bejne/rH-bmYaGaM6EaNU :)

[@zoltankaldy]

Great review Rahdo, thank you!

[@raider363]

I was thinking things seemed pretty easy in the playthrough so it's kind of a shame it's easier than other pandemics.

[@rayrpger6141]

Depends greatly on the number of players. It's almost impossible to win with 5 players eg, whilst 3 is a breeze.

[@switchbeck6673]

Try putting more scourge rises cards in the deck, heroic difficulty is pretty challenging

[@markwensnahan2128]

Wow. Dice rant.

[@dannykdri]

How do you rate this compared to the cthulhu one?

[@rahdo]

i'd play this one over cthulhu (even though that game has some very cool ideas as well)

[@patriziopastore9895]

Is in my list... Jees too many games. Anarchy online... A lot of years ago. I play both video and board games

[@redsybil7468]

Hi Richard - Would this be one of your picks for the spiel de jahres if you were to call it (sounds like an R&R episode down the line) or is it not quite unique enough?

[@rahdo]

hmm, interesting. sdj is so hard to judge... i wouldn't be surprised if they considered this a kennerspiel. also, they tend to focus on "for the whole family" while this feels very much like a "for hard core fantasy and video game fans", so i'm not quite sure it would fit... :)

[@tmcd5049]

Sorry, I know you don't consider your comments a review, more one guys opinion to be taken with a grain of salt...

[@rahdo]

i'm not sure where the "rahdo doesn't consider himself a reviewer" thing came from, but nope, i've always called my final thought segments reviews (and i've always flagged them as such on boardgame geek, going all the way back to the beginning) :) but yes, they're also just one person's opinion. i think the runthrough itself provides much more value so folks can draw their own conclusion, rather than relying on my subjective one!

[@olivierjodoin2283]

@Rahdo your answer puzzles me a bit. I have been watching for a bit less than 2 years, so I had a lot of catching up to do and have watched rather recently your old videos and posts on bgg. And I remember that you have mentioned more than once that you really disliked when others called you a "reviewer". I know you still often make comments to this day that you wish you wouldn't have final thoughts so that you can just show the game with the runthrough, but it seems that your relationship with the word "reviewer" has changed over the years. I personally really like that there is Rahdo, the guy who shows me what it's like to play a game to help me make a purchase decision and Rahdo the reviewer, who shares his thoughts in a different video on what he thinks are the strengths and weaknesses of the game. I think you accepted along the way that, despite your best efforts and disclaimers, people value your final thoughts and not just the runthrough, and that makes you a "reviewer".

[@tmcd5049]

@@rahdo Yes, sorry, it's not that you don't consider yourself a reviewer, more that you are a reluctant one, that you're possibly "afraid" that your final thoughts might unduly influence people to buy a game they wouldn't like or avoid one they would, whereas the run throughs give a better idea which games would suit a group or individual. I forgot the distinction there, and made a somewhat foolish comment. BTW, I like your PC Tee shirts, if that means certain aggressive elements no longer watch or comment on your channel, I can't say I'm disappointed. Just keep on being you...

[@rahdo]

@@olivierjodoin2283 it don't mind that people call me a reviewer (because that's what I am... the very first video i ever made i classified as a review almost a decade ago: boardgamegeek.com/video/15591/helvetia/rahdo-runs-through-helvetia). what i always caution people is to not lend too much credence to my review (the final thoughts video). so my stance has always been "yes, of course i'm a reviewer, but please don't put too much weight into the review portion of my videos and focus on the runthrough part instead, because that's where the real value is. who cares what i think... if you watch the runthrough, you should hopefully be able to draw your own conclusion" :)

[@rahdo]

@@tmcd5049 very well put. i've always been a "reluctant reviewer" :) actually the shirts at first tended to bring out a lot of trollish posts, but after i put the hammer down and released a code of conduct and made clear they wouldn't get any "airtime" they largely stopped turning up!

[@JOSHONYX]

Ugh

[@rahdo]

zug zug!

[@JOSHONYX]

@@rahdo indeed

[@vonwoolf9963]

The game seems to be too easy for my taste. For a coop game, I am not really fond of a frustation-less experience and spells doom for replayability among my gaming group. I'll wait for an expansion upping the difficulty before diving into this one.