Nice Video! Very informative to me since i knew nothing about this game before i watched it. It looks like a nice change of pace from my regular games though. Thanks!
Thanks for posting this! This game has had my interest since the (vague) buzz I would read on here during Essen. A few minutes in to your review I also thought, "hey this seems like a more euro-ized Merchants & Marauders in space!" I'm glad to see I'm not alone with that impression. I'm not sure the game looks FUN enough though, as it seems fairly dry.
South Florida Players!!! If you are interested in joining a game group, meetup group or just want to get together for some fun games, send me a GM. There are many different type of gamers available. Euros, War, Ameritrash! We have them all! Join now!
Currently looking for players in South Florida to play any games in my collection...or any games in their collection. Geekmail me if interested.
Greta review, loved the spaceship moving at the end.
Great video. This has been on my radar for awhile and being a big fan of Merchant of Venus has really pushed this up my want list. Also, tonight I'm going to play my first game of Merchants & Marauders so great they have a lot in common.
The only thing holding me back currently is the combat system being a little long. It's one of the hardest things to figure out but fortunately there's a new manual. But I worry that it might slow down the pace of the game too much. I've seen that before in other games where turns are flying along at a good pace, then a combat occurs and the whole game grinds to a halt for 15 minutes while it gets resolved. I suppose that's why Merchant of Venus tends to be popular with my group since its all about the trading/upgrading aspect.
Still, I'm so enthralled with space themed games with robust trading elements so I'm still really considering this one. It's a bit pricy since its an import but that is certainly understandable from a small publisher.
Does Jeremy get paid to make these videos? I am not sure if it's been discussed before and I apologize if I've missed it somehow. They seem ridiculously professional for someone who is just a fan of boardgames, and I know because I used to put simple business videos together for a company and they'd take hours to do, but these videos are 10x better than what I was able to make and I got paid to do it. Someone needs to grab hold of this guy and give him a job because with a little training he could be making some really spectacular stuff for companies. He really has an eye for flare.
Does Jeremy get paid to make these videos? I am not sure if it's been discussed before and I apologize if I've missed it somehow.
In fact, this has been mentioned often. Just be glad he has the energy and interest to do these because if he were paid to do them you can bet people would start criticizing him for it (as happened to Tom Vasel when he made his Eminent Domain video).
Drakkenstrike's Components Breakdown Video Review Series in HD
JDReilly wrote:
Does Jeremy get paid to make these videos? I am not sure if it's been discussed before and I apologize if I've missed it somehow. They seem ridiculously professional for someone who is just a fan of boardgames, and I know because I used to put simple business videos together for a company and they'd take hours to do, but these videos are 10x better than what I was able to make and I got paid to do it. Someone needs to grab hold of this guy and give him a job because with a little training he could be making some really spectacular stuff for companies. He really has an eye for flare.
Nope, I don't get paid. Thank you though for taking notice of my work.
Great vid. This game really screams for the use of little spaceship minis!
Well, in fact it does. A very limited edition of minis was made with a 3D printer, 9 sets in all I think. There are photos of those painted minis in the photo section of the game.
As a lucky owner of one of those sets, I must say they are gorgeous.
i checked out the link above from the publisher, but did not see a good way to get the game in the US...
Is this game available anywhere in the US?
Jeremey, if you keep making all of these great videos of games i have never heard of that look amazing, I am going to have to get a 2nd job just to pay my mortgage lol.
One last thing that I would like to point out about this video series. Lately I have gotten the feeling that a lot of reviews have gone very commercial, asking for donations, free games etc, and basically making it no longer about the games. Not to say making a few bucks or getting a few free games for someones hard work is bad, but I just get sick of it being pointed out so often. Lance and Jeremy in my opinion have stayed true to what makes this community great, and i truly appreciate everything they do.
Drakkenstrike's Components Breakdown Video Review Series in HD
Bond8089 wrote:
i checked out the link above from the publisher, but did not see a good way to get the game in the US...
Is this game available anywhere in the US?
Jeremey, if you keep making all of these great videos of games i have never heard of that look amazing, I am going to have to get a 2nd job just to pay my mortgage lol.
One last thing that I would like to point out about this video series. Lately I have gotten the feeling that a lot of reviews have gone very commercial, asking for donations, free games etc, and basically making it no longer about the games. Not to say making a few bucks or getting a few free games for someones hard work is bad, but I just get sick of it being pointed out so often. Lance and Jeremy in my opinion have stayed true to what makes this community great, and i truly appreciate everything they do.
The Phantom League is not available here in the US yet.
Regarding people asking for donations, free games, etc...I guess it's part of doing what we do. It's really no different than Movie Reviewers getting "Screeners" or Video Game Reviewers getting the games free and sometimes 3-4 weeks early so that the games review can be published day and date with the games actual release. The only difference is, those industries are more established and have a much higher value than the Board Game market monetarily. It doesn't mean though that the people behind the scenes spend any less time doing what they enjoy in efforts to make sure others can visually see whats available in the market.
Take this with a grain of salt, but I broke this down on another thread once before....and I will show it again.
This is what I have spent to date:
Camcorder - $900 Software - $850 Computer - $2200 (Yes, I had to buy a new computer to handle some of these HD streams) Games - (80+ Reviews @ a MINIMUM of ~ $30/Game = ~$2400) Time to make Video - (80+ Reviews @ a MINIMUM of ~ 10-12 Hours/Game = 800-960 Hours, that's 40 DAYS).
That's $6450 that I've spent on this over 5 months, and I am just one guy with NO backers or support of any kind, that's a HUGE investment of money and time.
Doing Videos for the community isn't cheap. In fact, as you can see it's extremely expensive, and everybody wants the newest, shiniest game to be reviewed.
So, just to play Devil's Advocate here, everything in this world costs money and time, so when other Reviewers, Websites, Blogs, etc that you enjoy watching ask for Donations, it's probably NOT because they want to get rich off of your money, it's probably just to keep their head above water.
In fact, BGG is no different. I gladly support them and so do thousands of others every year.....it's because we love what they do for us. Just another way of thinking of it.
That's a good answer on the whole donations thing. Anyone that has done free stuff for the boardgaming community eventually realizes how much time and effort it takes. And you are basically doing free marketing for all these companies. When you do a great job like you do with these videos its not asking a lot for a few "screeners" for future projects. I've done a ton of player aids myself and on rare occassions I get free product as a thank you. And it is rare, I've spent hundreds of hours working on them and mostly all I get is a few geekgold!
I see countless people complain how evil it is to ask for or get donations for this work. And they just don't get it. If they tried to do a weekly podcast or produce videos, or playaids on a regular basis I think they'd be suprised how much effort it takes. I've always been impressed with Dice Tower, D6 Generation, & The Spiel for all the hundreds of episodes they've done and continue to do.
No one gets rich off this stuff. Last year the money I made off of boardgaming graphic design wasn't enough to pay even 1 week of my mortgage! The whole year! Even if I sold off all the games I got free, I still couldn't make that 1 week. So I'm not relaxing at my summer beach house quite yet.
That's a good answer on the whole donations thing. Anyone that has done free stuff for the boardgaming community eventually realizes how much time and effort it takes. And you are basically doing free marketing for all these companies. When you do a great job like you do with these videos its not asking a lot for a few "screeners" for future projects. I've done a ton of player aids myself and on rare occassions I get free product as a thank you. And it is rare, I've spent hundreds of hours working on them and mostly all I get is a few geekgold!
I see countless people complain how evil it is to ask for or get donations for this work. And they just don't get it. If they tried to do a weekly podcast or produce videos, or playaids on a regular basis I think they'd be suprised how much effort it takes. I've always been impressed with Dice Tower, D6 Generation, & The Spiel for all the hundreds of episodes they've done and continue to do.
No one gets rich off this stuff. Last year the money I made off of boardgaming graphic design wasn't enough to pay even 1 week of my mortgage! The whole year! Even if I sold off all the games I got free, I still couldn't make that 1 week. So I'm not relaxing at my summer beach house quite yet.
I'm glad for the different perspectives on this. My comments were in no way meant to be a spite against the people who do ask for donations, it was just meant to show how grateful I am to have both Jeremy and Lance doing there video reviews. They have brought forth so many games that had not been on my radar, and done so in such an entertaining way.
United States Northern KY - Cincinnati Tristate area Kentucky
I noticed that Earth Reborn was now included in your opening. I absolutely LOVE your videos and I check in often to see if you have posted an Earth Reborn components breakdown. Please tell me you plan on reviewing it...please?
Drakkenstrike's Components Breakdown Video Review Series in HD
Slysally wrote:
I noticed that Earth Reborn was now included in your opening. I absolutely LOVE your videos and I check in often to see if you have posted an Earth Reborn components breakdown. Please tell me you plan on reviewing it...please?
United States Northern KY - Cincinnati Tristate area Kentucky
Drakkenstrike wrote:
It's 90% done....it's going up TONIGHT!
Woohoo! Now I'll make it a reward; if I run 3 miles I can watch your video. That's right, you're videos are motivational, they do motivate me to get my exercise done, otherwise I doubt I'd exercise.
It's not very nice to get us excited about a game we can't even get in the US. Bad Jeremy, bad! You should preface these kinds of videos with a warning like "You can't buy this game, but let me show you how awesome it is because I have it and I'm awesomer than you."
Drakkenstrike's Components Breakdown Video Review Series in HD
The Fallen wrote:
It's not very nice to get us excited about a game we can't even get in the US. Bad Jeremy, bad! You should preface these kinds of videos with a warning like "You can't buy this game, but let me show you how awesome it is because I have it and I'm awesomer than you."
Jerk.
You can still import it !!! I import a LOT of new games
It's not very nice to get us excited about a game we can't even get in the US. Bad Jeremy, bad! You should preface these kinds of videos with a warning like "You can't buy this game, but let me show you how awesome it is because I have it and I'm awesomer than you."
Jerk.
You can still import it !!! I import a LOT of new games
As much as I'd love to import this, I cannot justify the costs that would entail. For the $85 or so that it would cost to do so I could buy two or three other games that are already on my wishlist. Hopefully this will see a US release so more people will have the opportunity to get this game. Maybe Zev would publish this, he seems to publish everything he can get his hands on.
I think this looks pretty interesting in both theme and mechanics (not to mention the most important part-sheer fun factor).
The one thing I do worry about a little is that, for a new game, there appears to be a lot of wear and tear on the hexes, cards, and rondels. For a game with a pretty hefty MSRP ($80.00), that seems like it might be a drawback.
As one of the few people in the US (and on BGG) that owns a copy, am I just overreacting to the high quality of your $900 camcorder, or have you found that to be the case?
P.S. Since this is my first comment on one of your videos, I just wanted to join everyone else in saying thanks for putting all of your time, effort, and money into these videos. They provide a great service to everyone considering investing their own time and money into a purchase. Thanks again!
Drakkenstrike's Components Breakdown Video Review Series in HD
kareyn01 wrote:
I think this looks pretty interesting in both theme and mechanics (not to mention the most important part-sheer fun factor).
The one thing I do worry about a little is that, for a new game, there appears to be a lot of wear and tear on the hexes, cards, and rondels. For a game with a pretty hefty MSRP ($80.00), that seems like it might be a drawback.
As one of the few people in the US (and on BGG) that owns a copy, am I just overreacting to the high quality of your $900 camcorder, or have you found that to be the case?
P.S. Since this is my first comment on one of your videos, I just wanted to join everyone else in saying thanks for putting all of your time, effort, and money into these videos. They provide a great service to everyone considering investing their own time and money into a purchase. Thanks again!
You are more than welcome and thanks for the comments Andy !!
i checked out the link above from the publisher, but did not see a good way to get the game in the US...
Is this game available anywhere in the US?
Yes, this game is actually available in US, even from many different sources. There are still some copies of PL available in my Californian 'stash' if you'd be interested. 64 USD / game + 14 USD postal.
There're also some US resellers: * Noblegames * Boards & Bits * ThoughtHammer that have Phantom League in stock.
Let me know if I can help you with Phantom League!
Great vid. This game really screams for the use of little spaceship minis!
Well, in fact it does. A very limited edition of minis was made with a 3D printer, 9 sets in all I think. There are photos of those painted minis in the photo section of the game.
As a lucky owner of one of those sets, I must say they are gorgeous.
16 sets were made. 5 sets are still left. 55€/set of 9 ships.
Contact: info@dawnmatrix.com if you're interested.
We have solemnly promised not make more of those miniatyres, so they'll remains real collector sets
That's a good answer on the whole donations thing. Anyone that has done free stuff for the boardgaming community eventually realizes how much time and effort it takes. And you are basically doing free marketing for all these companies. When you do a great job like you do with these videos its not asking a lot for a few "screeners" for future projects. I've done a ton of player aids myself and on rare occassions I get free product as a thank you. And it is rare, I've spent hundreds of hours working on them and mostly all I get is a few geekgold!
I see countless people complain how evil it is to ask for or get donations for this work. And they just don't get it. If they tried to do a weekly podcast or produce videos, or playaids on a regular basis I think they'd be suprised how much effort it takes. I've always been impressed with Dice Tower, D6 Generation, & The Spiel for all the hundreds of episodes they've done and continue to do.
No one gets rich off this stuff. Last year the money I made off of boardgaming graphic design wasn't enough to pay even 1 week of my mortgage! The whole year! Even if I sold off all the games I got free, I still couldn't make that 1 week. So I'm not relaxing at my summer beach house quite yet.
Please start getting free games for doing this, you truly do reviews on a professional level. Let the companies know if you dont like a game you wont do a review on it. Every video you do is amazing work.
That's a good answer on the whole donations thing. Anyone that has done free stuff for the boardgaming community eventually realizes how much time and effort it takes. And you are basically doing free marketing for all these companies. When you do a great job like you do with these videos its not asking a lot for a few "screeners" for future projects. I've done a ton of player aids myself and on rare occassions I get free product as a thank you. And it is rare, I've spent hundreds of hours working on them and mostly all I get is a few geekgold!
I see countless people complain how evil it is to ask for or get donations for this work. And they just don't get it. If they tried to do a weekly podcast or produce videos, or playaids on a regular basis I think they'd be suprised how much effort it takes. I've always been impressed with Dice Tower, D6 Generation, & The Spiel for all the hundreds of episodes they've done and continue to do.
No one gets rich off this stuff. Last year the money I made off of boardgaming graphic design wasn't enough to pay even 1 week of my mortgage! The whole year! Even if I sold off all the games I got free, I still couldn't make that 1 week. So I'm not relaxing at my summer beach house quite yet.
Please start getting free games for doing this, you truly do reviews on a professional level. Let the companies know if you dont like a game you wont do a review on it. Every video you do is amazing work.
Agreed; clearly your videos (and others on the Geek) are some of the best sales tools around. I learn everything about new games in two ways: from BGG or from a friend (who learned it from BGG).
These are the best tools to serve as commercials for the game companies, you need some promo copies.
Drakkenstrike's Components Breakdown Video Review Series in HD
Monkeyman wrote:
xtsgarp wrote:
ScottE wrote:
Drakkenstrike wrote:
Regarding people asking for donations,...
That's a good answer on the whole donations thing. Anyone that has done free stuff for the boardgaming community eventually realizes how much time and effort it takes. And you are basically doing free marketing for all these companies. When you do a great job like you do with these videos its not asking a lot for a few "screeners" for future projects. I've done a ton of player aids myself and on rare occassions I get free product as a thank you. And it is rare, I've spent hundreds of hours working on them and mostly all I get is a few geekgold!
I see countless people complain how evil it is to ask for or get donations for this work. And they just don't get it. If they tried to do a weekly podcast or produce videos, or playaids on a regular basis I think they'd be suprised how much effort it takes. I've always been impressed with Dice Tower, D6 Generation, & The Spiel for all the hundreds of episodes they've done and continue to do.
No one gets rich off this stuff. Last year the money I made off of boardgaming graphic design wasn't enough to pay even 1 week of my mortgage! The whole year! Even if I sold off all the games I got free, I still couldn't make that 1 week. So I'm not relaxing at my summer beach house quite yet.
Please start getting free games for doing this, you truly do reviews on a professional level. Let the companies know if you dont like a game you wont do a review on it. Every video you do is amazing work.
Agreed; clearly your videos (and others on the Geek) are some of the best sales tools around. I learn everything about new games in two ways: from BGG or from a friend (who learned it from BGG).
These are the best tools to serve as commercials for the game companies, you need some promo copies.
I am getting more Promo copies than I have in the past, but I still buy a huge portion of my games which is ok with me.
to 
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