Amy gets bonus points for nails that match the sharks! :) Oh, and another helpful review. Thanks!

Very helpful review. It seems like this is at game designed around the future releases of different factions. It could be that you won’t have the area control if there’s enough new factions with new goals. I could easily see an explorer set or a traders set (instead of smuggling, you set up trade posts on different locations as well as moving goods).

This is an excellent review! Thank you for putting so much time and effort into it!

I love the way you guys review. Your personalities and synergy make for enjoyable watching. Favourite board game review channel hands down!! Keep it up. ♥️

as smuggler, battling patrols for rewards is never a bad option. especially if you’ve got good crew from negotiating (which also keeps mollusks in check by removing their comrades)

Thanks for the review! The kingmaking Maggie mentioned is really a big concern for me with any of these heavily asymmetric games where one players performance can heavily affect how challenging or easy another players role is. I was hoping this game was simple enough that maybe that could be circumvented but sounds like the element is still there. I'd like to try this one but I wonder if the new factions expansions might mitigate some of the issues you have with the smuggler! Thanks for the great coverage as always! :)

I love how thorough you two are. Great review. I was on the fence about buying this but after watching this review, I have to have it!

Awesome summary guys. Very cool!

Such an in-depth review, thanks!

thanks for the overview, i think root is too complex for my group, and this was an alternate option. glad to know more about it.

Great review ladies! Gives a brilliant idea of what it is like to play each faction and if the game will suit our gameplay preferences, fab job 👏

This was an excellent review- thank you so much! I have only played this game once at 3P as the smuggler, but I GREATLY enjoyed my experience. I found myself in a vagabond-like role where I was helping to control how the other players were scoring via delivering good to certain islands, and also by fighting back those who were getting too powerful. I think the smuggler shines as that middle role, where you can both fight and also deliver at the same time, since you can get a solid amount of points in that reward track (especially the corners). I also found myself collecting a decent amount of gold where I was able to use that top left slot on the reward track that lets you exchange gold for VPs at a 1:1 ratio. That being said, I have heard from multiple people now that the 2p game is very different and mean. I am not saying I am against being mean, but I have my reservations. Thanks so much for the review and I look forward to how my future plays, specifically at other player counts, will color my opinion of this game. :)

Love this coverage. It's one the family is looking forward to playing and then working our way into Root.

@jamesmorgan1967

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I hadn't thought of that. Great idea.

Great Review! The game looks beautiful, and I do love a dice placement game. Would love to try this out!

It's ☠️!! I'm in! Seriously though, you two are so great at thoroughly explaining a game.

Very well done review. This one has caught my eye, but wanted to hear your thoughts on it first. It seems like I'd have to try first before buying.

Maggie, I’m with you! The area control game is so intense! Thank you for a delightfully balanced look at this game. I love your opinions!

Really appreciate your thoughts on the interaction between the two layers or lack thereof

Thank’s for the always wonderfull reviews!!! There will propably have multiples expansions for this game…What mecanics the future factions may have??

Thanks for the great review! I'm looking forward to playing this one when the preorder ships out. I used to have an aversion towards conflict in games, but thanks (in large part to Root), I've embraced it more over time - especially if that's what a faction or game is designed to do. Anyway, thanks again :)

I really love how thorough your reviews are. I had this on a “buy” list but now I’m not sure, and that’s ok! I really dislike mean games and this might lean into that category for me. But I do want to play it though. Thanks for the content!

I love your reviews, they're very informative, thank you for your time and efforts. I was gonna buy the game after watching the first part, then changed my mind watching the rest 😄 Might become more interesting if they release more factions as suggested by another person here. Cheers!

Thanks for the review! I just bought it and have yet to play it (super excited) and I’m interested to see if there’s some hidden elements to the smuggler strategy… for example: it seems like the smugglers have near complete control over the market. The negotiate action combined with the cargo and the bonus grid would give them almost limitless access to the market, and maybe that’s where their power lies. We’ll see (sea)!

I just absolutely love those illustrations and the way it looks, like Root, but I am also not into area control game and such a high level of confrontation. The area control kept me away from Root already and I am sad to see such a beautiful game being all about confrontation again 😥 great review thanks for the clear honest feedback !

Interesting game. Thanks for doing a nice walkthrough and giving a great explanation! I'll probably stick with Root but would like to try this one some day

This game sounds alot better then I originally thought. I'm going to have to put it on the try put list.

Amy: Damage is really fun in this game. Maggie: Every fiber of my being dislikes being in that headspace. 🤣 I'd be up for someone teaching me this game. Don't think I'll be buying it for my collection. Thanks for your thorough review!

I feel like I'm already giving them the benefit of the doubt on ARCS, so I'm hard passing on this one for now.

Given how hard Maggie bounced off the aggressive head to head nature of Ahoy at 2 players, it’s all the more interesting to me how much both of you love Radlands. I find myself wondering how you feel about the asymmetric head to head of Netrunner (if you’ve had a chance to play it after you got the starter cards from Nisei).

Great review. Is this akin to a 2-player Root in any way? Or gives 2 players a Root experience? We okay mostly at 2 so we have resisted Root despite being drawn to it. We like the theming better in Root, but who wouldn’t. :)

I enjoyed this game okay the first time I played, but after playing it three more times, I've enjoyed it more and more after every session. Also, maybe this will change as time goes on, but so far there has been a lot of interplay between the "area control" factions and the smugglers because both groups have been competing for a limited amount of cards - which can have a big impact on the smugglers if most of the cards are purchased as crew (which in turn leaves few items left to smuggle). Also, both groups have an interest in which "area control" faction controls which region. The area control factions obviously want to control areas for points, but control has mattered a lot for the smugglers too. Cos they prefer if neither the Bluefins or Mollusks have much control of regions until the end of the game (to reduce their points) and this can be aided by removing the area control figures or tokens from the board in order to clear the area or force the "area control" factions to tie (which results in no points).

Did you guys enjoy Root or Oath?

Thank you for this review. It seemed interesting when I saw the Dice Tower play it but, it is not for me.

Certainly doesn't seem like the kind of game I'd want to play.

Based on your review and comments this game's a 'no' for me. I'd only play 2P and it's bit too aggressive - when I want that head-to-head confrontation I'd choose Watergate or something similar.

I’m not interested in the game but the artwork is so tempting!

Great review. Although the game looks wonderful, I think I will pass on this little gem. I love the art and world that this game has as it’s setting. A minor criticism I have heard is that the smuggler factions are identical and not asymmetrical. I believe all they had to do was re-arrange the spaces on the board to make them different. Again, this is what I have read/saw in reviews.

I honestly don't grasp why two players couldn't play as smugglers without any of the area control sharks-vs-molusks stuff at all. The smuggler gameplay seems remarkably divorced from any real interaction with the two factions, and only find any competition from racing other smugglers. Given two players who enjoy the smuggler gameplay (two Maggie types!), there seems no real reason they could not just play this game as a smuggling game and entirely ignore the area control aspect. Perhaps the rules say to not do this, but mechanically - apart from any arbitrary rule against doing so - it seems entirely possible. Then Ahoy becomes a racing/smuggling game entirely. Am I mistaken in this? Nothing in what was said seems to show that the smugglers need anything at all from the factional players, and indeed those factionals just seem to be in the way for them.

I'm such a Maggie, it's ridiculous

I love Leder Games. Root is my No1 game of all time and Fort is a game I play almost daily with my wife. But somehow this game just doesn't resonate with me. I like the art and the theme but the gameplay just falls flat for me. I just have to admit to my self that its not for me. :(

I'd try this game to check out the mechanics. Mainly I think the cards look interesting. I would definitely not buy this game. Not that into area of control or war games, and I already have games like Settlers of Catan and Empires of the North to fill my limited need for this sort of game.

Me at 8:42 "Gosh, this seems really not for me." Me at 17:39 "wowsers...REALLY not for me." From the back of the box, it seemed like exactly the right game.