this needs to be revisited with the Valhalla expansion :)

@GamerBrett2000

6 жыл бұрын

I definitely agree as the Valhalla expansion adds a lot more variability and a catch-up for losing a lot of vikings in battle

Jeff was one of the few people I felt added as much depth as Rhado.

@rahdo

8 жыл бұрын

+afrofrycook oh, i'd say he beat me hands down! :)

@jeffrhind175

7 жыл бұрын

+afrofrycook Aren't you nice. ;)

Rhado, thank you so much for doing a runthrough on this game. I was anxious to get your take on it. I thought you and Jen would like it a bit more than you did. In my experiences with this game, one can ignore the troll, go on journeys across the sea and fight monsters to defeat someone going after the trolls. My personal strategy is to visit the seer and battle creatures at sea. I will only go for the troll if it is still open after I have done what I need to do. I plan to try playing this weekend where one must commit ones dice when attacking any of the monsters. I think this may be a brilliant variant that will raise the level of the game a bit. Finally, I believe this game really does reward "Reckless Viking behavior". Our conservative, built resources and only attack with overwhelming numbers players lose horrifically.

I like this thing you have a dialogue with other reviewers going on. Sometimes it flows better, sometimes it flows worse, depending also on the guest. This time it flowed like a charm! Thanks for the review!

@jeffrhind175

7 жыл бұрын

Woo hoo!!

As someone who's played this game a lot, with a bunch of different groups, I disagree with much of the game mechanics analysis here. There just isn't all that much luck here. Dice combat dice not automatically mean huge amounts of luck, when there's so much luck mitigation here in the form of favor tokens, using rune cards, looking at ahead at the voyage, etc.I've also played a lot of Lords of Waterdeep, and I think that game has more luck and random screwage in the form of the Intrigue cards, which quest cards come up, etc.I've found that the shame token issues speculated about here just don't occur - people tend to love it, and people only rush for it if they start to get loaded up on tokens.While I do agree with you that the game is pretty straightforward - it's not a brain burning experience - everything is right in front of you. However, there are meaningful decisions in the game - where to send your warriors to fight each turn can be an agonizing choice.

@doomed2063

8 жыл бұрын

Dice pools that can be added to and subtracted from as well as modifiers are a way in which the chance aspect of dice rolling can be mitigated, (though not completely eliminated which is fine because there is the element of chance in real life). I think people who dislike dice based mechanics somewhat misrepresent the luck aspect of dice rolling when there are a lot of thing that can be done game mechanic wise to alter and influence dice rolls.

@davethepak

8 жыл бұрын

Would agree - luck is mitigated by better choices and more rolls (usually, dice, but favor tokens and runes etc.).

This and Raiders of the North Sea are both my fav's ATM.

Interesting. The game is attractive and engaging. It seems that in order to make it a viking game, you should be rewarded for battles. Almost something like a Vahalla tracker (points for majority and sets of "dead" vikings) and encouraging big battles and glorious deaths. That would be something, if I get this game, would like to try. Thoughts? Also, I think the troll space should be open to any number of players. If a player is not going to go, that is a choice that they are making for a bigger opportunity.

@tafm1803

6 жыл бұрын

If you haven't seen it already, the new Valhalla expansion adds exactly that.

this game works for me. imo, it is the game that the base low should have been. its q good 2 player game but its a much better multi game. the board can be too open in a 2 player but can get quite tight in 3+. you could even play a varient where you could randomly block out some placement areas (in the town) to make a tougher game. i dont mind the randomness of the dice, and it is as much as a risk/damage management game as it is a worker placement. this game shines in 4 player. imo, all this game needs is an interaction module/expansion where people can maybe fight each other or team up to fight tougher monsters and build structures to make your warriors(stronger). well, just sharing a contrary opinion. peace :)

The Kickstarter GOING WILD! Massive amounts of stuff unlocked

Would be curious what you two think of the expansions which completely helps the issues you guys had.

@rahdo

2 жыл бұрын

never had a chance to try it!

@KMReviews

2 жыл бұрын

@@rahdo if you ever get the chance to, try it. At least the Valhalla expansion. Basically when your dice die, you get tokens for them. Then there’s cards you can buy with those tokens that give you points and special effects. You also get more asymmetric abilities. Etc etc. just makes the game less punishing and gives more options and strategy

Stone Age is a family classic for me, and I can't see this replacing it at all.

rahdo, have you tried Blood Rage? It's a fun medium weigth eurogame (area control, majorities, deterministic combat and a little bit of bluffing) with the miniatures typical of an ameritrash. It can seem too violent to you, but it's possible to win with a peaceful strategy (anyway, dead units come back from valhalla). Plus it scales well with two players.

@rahdo

8 жыл бұрын

+Edheldui blood rage is not one i'm ever going to try i expect becuase it's way too conflict focused

I think the swingy dice in thise is also cause you have hits and straight up misses. A bad roll in stone age might be a 1, but if you throw more dice you will eventually approach the average and at least get some. And three one's might still net you a wood, 3 misses will net you nothing.

I want to love this game but it's in desperate need of an expansion. More paths to victory, players build buildings with wood (lords of waterdeep style) , more dice types more variety of rewards of monsters

rahdo, which game do you prefer, this game or raiders of the north sea?

@rahdo

8 жыл бұрын

+Daniel Van Belzen raiders, by a country mile

@TheWebsterGroup

8 жыл бұрын

+rahdo Just ordered a copy of Raiders. Now the long wait for it to arrive from NZ. #impatientamerican

@boardgamerdave

8 жыл бұрын

+John Webster Worth the Wait!!

@theflan045

8 жыл бұрын

I have both and I like Raiders more

@TheWebsterGroup

8 жыл бұрын

+John Webster Shipping NZ to US, 4 days #amazed

Rahdo. I strongly disagree with the Final Thoughts on Champions of Midgard. Dice can be factored into play as can random cards, what at the core of a game is the system, just as Monopoly is a dice game at heart it is also a judgment call on buying and selling. In Midgard you have to factor in judgment calls as in near all games, you go wild in Midgard on these judgement calls you will lose most of the time, use good judgment you will be in the hunt late in the game. The blame tokens in this game are very important, try to keep them low. You are over blowing the dice call on the game, by pushing your luck you got hurt, better judgement would have given a better review of the die system.

played either of the 2 expansions?

@rahdo

6 жыл бұрын

nope

So, call me crazy, but the game this reminds me of most is Vikings Gone Wild.

As a fan of the show, I would say I mostly dislike the Final Thoughts episodes with guests. Not that I don't appreciate a 2nd opinion, but I feel these videos become too long and verbose. I like the Final Thoughts exactly because they are concise and a good summary of the game's pros and cons... I know it is a lot of work but ideally there would be a ~5min Final Thoughts video and an "extended version" with guests. In any case, please keep up with the good work. Thanks

@rahdo

7 жыл бұрын

you can always watch at 2x speed :)

Don't forget to have fun, guys. I like the depth of your review but the whole time I was thinking "what did these guys expect in a 1 hour game with dice combat?" I really enjoy the game as a lighter game. I replaced the food and wood cubes with some nicer bits though. I agree it's more Stone Age than Lords of Waterdeep.

Yes, it really needs an expansion or 2

@rahdo

8 жыл бұрын

+Patrick Flanagan i'm sure it'll get them! :)

@theflan045

8 жыл бұрын

Just saw a message on the BGG Forum, that they are working on an expansion already

Can't see how this replaces Lord of Waterdeep. Random dice rolls (with very little dice control) versus LoW's lack of randomness for quests. I'll stick to LoW, I can also play that because they didn't use colours that red/green colourblindness suffers can't tell apart!

@laurentgitton3975

8 жыл бұрын

+Marcus Boyce Lack of randomness....well quest are drawned randomly...Tiles you can get come randomly...so yes LoW has some random in it to...Dice is not the only randomù machine in our games, look at deckbuilding games....no dice, but random deck you can build and optimize, but the draw of cards will always be a random parameter. And if you love Low, why would you search for a replacement, even if another is good...for me who like Low, i find it themeless...it's only a number of colored cube to get, and to spend(a little bit of corruption was a good extension).

@laurentgitton3975

8 жыл бұрын

+Marcus Boyce Lack of randomness....well quest are drawned randomly...Tiles you can get come randomly...so yes LoW has some random in it to...Dice is not the only randomù machine in our games, look at deckbuilding games....no dice, but random deck you can build and optimize, but the draw of cards will always be a random parameter. And if you love Low, why would you search for a replacement, even if another is good...for me who like Low, i find it themeless...it's only a number of colored cube to get, and to spend(a little bit of corruption was a good extension).

@lordsplodge

8 жыл бұрын

Laurent Gitton of course there's some randomness in LoW, after all nearly all games do have some. However it is a lot less, and mostly 'controllable' - especially, as I was referring to in my comment about completing quests. You can collect what you need from worker placement spots and aren't hosed by dice rolls not going your way. CoM seems no more thematic than LoW, after all dice are dice as much as cubes are cubes.

I can see how reviewers who lean towards anti-conflict/euro style deterministic games would not be all that happy with CoM. Sometimes the ultra-analytical/chess-style players just go crazy when 'fate' (randomization) is a factor. However, as a fun, light game CoM works just fine. I have LoW, Stone Age and CoM and they will all remain in my collection. They all have a place--and in fact, it's harder to get LoW to the tabletop because it's simply less exciting than the other two. LoW is great when you have the proper group, but generally speaking Stone Age/CoM are more user-friendly.

I think the game is ok. I like dice games. I play a lot of dice combat games etc... i also like eurogames. For me this is a strange beast. As much as i like dice. My favourite component in games. I don't like them in worker placement game :) Still... the game is on my shelf still and backed the expansions on kickstarter. But if i don't like the game more after the expansions then i will sell the game. I think The Dice Tower started the slogan "Champions Of Midgard is the Lords of Waterdeep killer". I don't think so, not at all. For me Lords of Waterdeep with expansion is superior game when compared to Champions of Midgard".

@rahdo

7 жыл бұрын

agreed! :)

@jeffrhind175

7 жыл бұрын

Those 2nd opinions are so long winded. ;)

why not remove a blame when you do kill a troll

@rahdo

3 жыл бұрын

sorry it's been so many years since i played i don't remember specifics...

I understand where your coming from coz you are more of a worker placement gamer who hates dice. :D Peace bro! People who hates dice, This game is not for you. Thanks for the run-through.

I'm glad I watched this, this was going to replace lords of waterdeep for me, but after seeing your till fails and seeing how much you lost hope after 1 bad turn ... I think this might be a pass.

@Soulreclaimer65

8 жыл бұрын

+Errol Wilde Go watch more reviews. It appears your take is of a negative nature when 95% of the channels out there like this one A LOT

@errolwilde1656

8 жыл бұрын

I know that's why I was so excited about it, but there is just something inherently wrong with a Euro that relies heavily on dice.

@davethepak

8 жыл бұрын

I would not pass - he was reckless as he stated - and his runs of the dice were not "bad" - most of the time they were average - too many players count on good luck - where as you should not even count on average (unless you have a LOT of dice - numbers of dice mitigates luck with increasing your odds).

@errolwilde1656

8 жыл бұрын

The thing that makes me nervous about this more than the luck is the loss of hope, it's like after 1 bad turn you could be too far behind to be competitive.

how in the hell is this gateway? This is absolutely on the lighter side of medium weight. I am sure that an argument can be made that Midgard and Stone Age are gateway games in a way, but not really. These are much more strategic games then your general gateway games, like love letter, takenoko, and ticket to ride. come on. If these are gateway, what the hell do you think heavy games are? To call these a gateway game is just wrong. This is on the lighter end of a medium weight game for people who have played worker placement games before. Lords of Waterdeep and other lighter work replacement games are true Lightworker placement and, perhaps, Gateway.

@TorIverWilhelmsen

8 жыл бұрын

+matthlowder Why the anger? It has very few decisions, very simple mechanisms, and plenty of luck. That screams gateway. And Love Letter is not a gateway game, it is a social filler at best. (Gateway to what? Exploding Kittens?)

@rahdo

8 жыл бұрын

+matthlowder the only thing that keeps it from being a pure gateway is the less than stellar rules. if the rules were better written, anyone with an interest in vikings/fantasy could buy this game, bust it out, and start playing with zero prior boardgame knowledge, IMO. also, CoM is much lighter than LoW :)

Got this for Christmas, played it once so far and overall enjoyed it, but dear goodness is the rulebook awful. I've played a LOT of games. I've learned most on my own from reading the rules. This is one of the worst rulebooks I've ever read.

shocked by the negative review. guess it's personal taste and actually trying it with 3 and 4 players. a shame Richard only did 2 player. SMH.