Excellent review . Martin Wallace keeps coming up with new ideas. I think I read somewhere that there are only 100 Limited Editions so congratulations on grabbing one up.
Hey thanks for your excellent review, I've been really interested to see how this game works, it's got great hype and I'm not usually a war gaming fan.
I've just started to watch your game reviews and they are such great resource (usually to spend far too much money)
Excellent review . Martin Wallace keeps coming up with new ideas. I think I read somewhere that there are only 100 Limited Editions so congratulations on grabbing one up.
Excellent review . Martin Wallace keeps coming up with new ideas. I think I read somewhere that there are only 100 Limited Editions so congratulations on grabbing one up.
You had me at, "Is the game really that good? Maybe it is...maybe it is that good."
I stopped the video and ordered it. Came back and watched the video from beginning to end.
It was the fastest 20+ minute review I ever watched. Looks very, very fun and entertaining.
I never fell in love with Dominion because even though it is quick and has some variety, I always had the feeling of, "Is this it? Draw cards and get points?". It seemed pointless.
A Few Acres of Snow has deck-building but with a point and a purpose.
You had me at, "Is the game really that good? Maybe it is...maybe it is that good."
I stopped the video and ordered it. Came back and watched the video from beginning to end.
It was the fastest 20+ minute review I ever watched. Looks very, very fun and entertaining.
I never fell in love with Dominion because even though it is quick and has some variety, I always had the feeling of, "Is this it? Draw cards and get points?". It seemed pointless.
A Few Acres of Snow has deck-building but with a point and a purpose.
That scratches my itch!
Great review.
That was one of the things that I didn't have time to cover. Something that I felt I should address but didn't really want to get into a discussion about "Dominion" in a review of "A Few Acres of Snow".
On the one hand, when you compare (if that's even possible) A Few Acres of Snow to Dominion, I'm sorry but A Few Acres of Snow wipes the floor with Dominion. However! That being said, would A Few Acres of Snow exist without Dominion? You could argue that some other game would have come up with "Deckbuilding" but things don't exist in a vacuum. I actually think I have a newfound respect for Dominion after playing this game (along with Eminent Domain).
To be honest, I've always felt that the theme of Dominion wasn't really AS pasted on as most people say. I do have a problem with the whole, "I just get cards to draw cards" thing. That gets old pretty quick. But, especially after reading some of Martin Wallace's reasons for including the Deckbuilding mechanic in this game, I now have a new respect/admiration/whatever for Dominion.
I think people (myself included) focused too much on the card cycling and quickly moved beyond whatever theme might be in Dominion after playing it once or twice. But, when you make your theme "something medieval/Mediterranean" that's going to happen no matter what.
There should be a moratorium on medieval/Mediterranean themes, until it's forgotten and actually means something again.
Wilderness War is one of my favorite wargame covering this period. What I found astounding is that A Few Acres of Snow get approximately the same historical results but with WAY less complexity.
This mechanic of "Deck Driven Game" is fantastic in regards of the theme. The waiting for supply and reinforcement from Europe modelize by the cycle of the deck is very clever, as the other mechanics (siege, raids and ambush, etc) they all integrated well with the theme. I will not be surprised if this one become a venerable title known as the father of an entire new genre: The Deck Driven Game... Often in traditional CDG you get stock with cornelian decision (ops, event or reinforcement; or do I play this card now for the ops with the hope of cycling this card enough to get the event come back to me at one time...) Here, although the game is driven by card, you have 100% control of the content of your deck, from a CDG perspective, I found this quite refreshing!
Wilderness War is one of my favorite wargame covering this period. What I found astounding is that A Few Acres of Snow get approximately the same historical results but with WAY less complexity.
This mechanic of "Deck Driven Game" is fantastic in regards of the theme. The waiting for supply and reinforcement from Europe modelize by the cycle of the deck is very clever, as the other mechanics (siege, raids and ambush, etc) they all integrated well with the theme. I will not be surprised if this one become a venerable title known as the father of an entire new genre: The Deck Driven Game... Often in traditional CDG you get stock with cornelian decision (ops, event or reinforcement; or do I play this card now for the ops with the hope of cycling this card enough to get the event come back to me at one time...) Here, although the game is driven by card, you have 100% control of the content of your deck, from a CDG perspective, I found this quite refreshing!
Surely my best of 2011 for now...
I think you summed up what it took me 27 minutes to do. Well said.
I've been thinking about it. I could see a re-theme of this game in the universe of Total Recall (the movie). You could have two corporations trying to control Mars, and the independent factions (used for raids) could be the mutant factions on Mars.
A Few Acres of Desert... in Space!
No, don't make that game. Or shoot, you could remake Dune. House Harkonnen vs Atreides. Fremen = the Native Americans.
The "logistical" aspect of the Deckbuilding would fit the time it takes for reinforcements to arrive via space travel.
Excellent review . Martin Wallace keeps coming up with new ideas. I think I read somewhere that there are only 100 Limited Editions so congratulations on grabbing one up.
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eekamouse wrote:
That was one of the things that I didn't have time to cover. Something that I felt I should address but didn't really want to get into a discussion about "Dominion" in a review of "A Few Acres of Snow".
On the one hand, when you compare (if that's even possible) A Few Acres of Snow to Dominion, I'm sorry but A Few Acres of Snow wipes the floor with Dominion. However! That being said, would A Few Acres of Snow exist without Dominion? You could argue that some other game would have come up with "Deckbuilding" but things don't exist in a vacuum. I actually think I have a newfound respect for Dominion after playing this game (along with Eminent Domain).
Gameplay-wise Snow looks way more interesting to me than Dominion. Where Dominion shines, is the fact that it's more of a gateway game. Plus the theme is more neutral and unlikely to scare people off - Dominion is my wife's favorite game, but I don't think I could get her to enjoy Snow.
eekamouse wrote:
There should be a moratorium on medieval/Mediterranean themes, until it's forgotten and actually means something again.
For shame I say.. Do we have too many fantasy themed games these days? Sure. But I'm still looking for new interesting medieval (the dark ages) games..
For shame I say.. Do we have too many fantasy themed games these days? Sure. But I'm still looking for new interesting medieval (the dark ages) games..
We should have a moratorium on fantasy, space, and WW2 games too.
I'm obviously being at least 8% sarcastic here, but I will say this. I got a chance to play Up Front with a veteran of the Kosovo conflict the other day. Talk about a "game experience"!
I'd just like more themes where you care about what's happening in the game on a level beyond "winning the game". That's no small task though, and largely a matter of personality etc...
That being said, would A Few Acres of Snow exist without Dominion? You could argue that some other game would have come up with "Deckbuilding" but things don't exist in a vacuum. I actually think I have a newfound respect for Dominion after playing this game (along with Eminent Domain).
Donald Vacarino is underestimated. He is a clever and thoughtful designer. Dominion is somewhat abstract, but it's a brilliant game. It's no accident there are so many games derived from it in so short a time.
I want to play this one quite a lot. Wallace's interpretation of things is always interesting and worthwhile, it seems.
Dominion is somewhat abstract, but it's a brilliant game. It's no accident there are so many games derived from it in so short a time.
Seems to me this game would be better compared to Wilderness War rather than Dominion. While it borrows the basic draft mechanic, it appears to have nothing else in common with dominion.
ahh....I love the smell of a stack of sketchily placed animals in the morning!
"It's really damn good...I mean REALLY damn good."
I love how you got giddy like a child about it...that's the type of smirky excitement I want to see someone have about a game I have been eying. Thank you for the review and I can't wait for the mass release of this.
Thank you for the phenomenal review! I was DYING to know more about this game, and now I do! Now me want game! Me want game!
It is also nice to see how far the entire deck-building idea is going from its origins. One of the things that I was starting missing in deck building games was a spatial aspect, a way in which the deck would interact with the relative position of the pieces on the board. And now we have this one AND For the Crown! The future's looking brighter and brighter!
Joel, seems like you've found a loophole (in a good way) in my wishlist. I didn't understand all the hype (I subscribed but didn't bother to read) of this game, until I watched your review. Man, after watching for only 10 minutes, I have to say that I'm now intrigued (I know I'm late to join in the bandwagon). I like how the use of cards, brilliant!
My FLGS is doing a member's sale this Sunday, and I'm looking for a Martin Wallace game. I'm a little turn of by the artworks of Brass and Age of Industry (yes I know, gameplay first, artwork second. The game weight is tempting though), so I've decided to try London as my first Martin Wallace game. It's ridiculously over priced here for a CARD game, so I ought to take advantage of the member's sale. Hopefully I'm blown away and hope to get A Few Acres of Snow next, once it's available here (sad, couldn't get my hands on the limited edition). Added to my buylist!
Joel, just thought you might like to know that I ordered this game, largely due to your review. Your enthusiasm for the game come through readily. I showed your review to my 13yo to see if he would want to play it and he lasted the whole 20+ minutes and said "heck yeah I want to play that". Well done indeed!
Excellent review . Martin Wallace keeps coming up with new ideas. I think I read somewhere that there are only 100 Limited Editions so congratulations on grabbing one up.
Thank you for the review.
I believe that's 1000 not 100.
100 remain for sale in Essen.
Looking at your special edition and hearing what the difference with the normal edition will be, is sort of offputting. I mean the special edition seems so much nicer...
I showed your review to my 13yo to see if he would want to play it and he lasted the whole 20+ minutes and said "heck yeah I want to play that". Well done indeed!
I had the Last of the Mohicans Soundtrack playing in the background for my first play of this as well! Nice touch!
I heard the music in this review, and it made me want to watch the movie again, so I watched it later that night. So is this game really called "The Last of the Mohicans: The Board Game"?
Great review! And we agree it is an excellent game!
One small error I noticed - at 10:08 you state that you start the game with no money. Actually the French start with 5 coins and the British with 12 coins.
Great review! And we agree it is an excellent game!
One small error I noticed - at 10:08 you state that you start the game with no money. Actually the French start with 5 coins and the British with 12 coins.
cheers!
Yep. I actually played it three times starting with no money! It's a lot different, but to be honest, we didn't notice it, lol.
I annotated the video shortly after posting. If you have annotations turned on it will often help when watching my videos.
Wish I could put 2 thumbs up. One for the review other for the Last of the Mohicans theme song on it. That movie was one of the most memorable movies of my youth and the music is a part of it, I always get a goose bump and afterwards I get a bit nostalgic when I hear it.
So I was contemplating getting this game because I like the historical setting and I don't have any Martin Wallace games. After checking out the games BGG entry there seems to be a flame war between people who say the game is broken in favor of the British(The so called Halifax Hammer strategy) and Martin Wallace fans who think the game is a masterpiece. http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/739889/yucata-data Where does the truth lie? What is your opinion?
So I was contemplating getting this game because I like the historical setting and I don't have any Martin Wallace games. After checking out the games BGG entry there seems to be a flame war between people who say the game is broken in favor of the British(The so called Halifax Hammer strategy) and Martin Wallace fans who think the game is a masterpiece. http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/739889/yucata-data Where does the truth lie? What is your opinion?
I think the Halifax Hammer is "annoying". If I'm playing France (and paying attention), I always fortify Quebec to start and then go from there. Sometimes it's possible this will throw the person off. If the other player is really experienced they will just go to Louisborg and trash Quebec from there, but that's still not an auto-win in my experience. Probably a "likely" win though. If the player doesn't go that route at all, then I've just "wasted" an early turn. Far from the end of the world really.
I think the Hammer has broken the meta game, but not the game itself. Most people I play this with have no idea about the strategy, and I don't use it if I'm playing Britain against a new-er player. I know Wallace was looking at any number of very simple options to hinder an early win via this strategy, and I'm not sure where that stands. But remember, Twilight Struggle (which often sits as #1 here on BGG), has had revisions done to it as well (i.e. giving the USA player a couple more influence to start the game etc...).
So I was contemplating getting this game because I like the historical setting and I don't have any Martin Wallace games. After checking out the games BGG entry there seems to be a flame war between people who say the game is broken in favor of the British(The so called Halifax Hammer strategy) and Martin Wallace fans who think the game is a masterpiece. http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/739889/yucata-data Where does the truth lie? What is your opinion?
I think the Halifax Hammer is "annoying". If I'm playing France (and paying attention), I always fortify Quebec to start and then go from there. Sometimes it's possible this will throw the person off. If the other player is really experienced they will just go to Louisborg and trash Quebec from there, but that's still not an auto-win in my experience. Probably a "likely" win though. If the player doesn't go that route at all, then I've just "wasted" an early turn. Far from the end of the world really.
I think the Hammer has broken the meta game, but not the game itself. Most people I play this with have no idea about the strategy, and I don't use it if I'm playing Britain against a new-er player. I know Wallace was looking at any number of very simple options to hinder an early win via this strategy, and I'm not sure where that stands. But remember, Twilight Struggle (which often sits as #1 here on BGG), has had revisions done to it as well (i.e. giving the USA player a couple more influence to start the game etc...).
So I was contemplating getting this game because I like the historical setting and I don't have any Martin Wallace games. After checking out the games BGG entry there seems to be a flame war between people who say the game is broken in favor of the British(The so called Halifax Hammer strategy) and Martin Wallace fans who think the game is a masterpiece. http://boardgamegeek.com/thread/739889/yucata-data Where does the truth lie? What is your opinion?
I think the Halifax Hammer is "annoying". If I'm playing France (and paying attention), I always fortify Quebec to start and then go from there. Sometimes it's possible this will throw the person off. If the other player is really experienced they will just go to Louisborg and trash Quebec from there, but that's still not an auto-win in my experience. Probably a "likely" win though. If the player doesn't go that route at all, then I've just "wasted" an early turn. Far from the end of the world really.
I think the Hammer has broken the meta game, but not the game itself. Most people I play this with have no idea about the strategy, and I don't use it if I'm playing Britain against a new-er player. I know Wallace was looking at any number of very simple options to hinder an early win via this strategy, and I'm not sure where that stands. But remember, Twilight Struggle (which often sits as #1 here on BGG), has had revisions done to it as well (i.e. giving the USA player a couple more influence to start the game etc...).
Thank you for your thoughts!
Looks like the issue has been addressed, thanks again.
