20 Strong: Tanglewoods Red

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Mechanics unknown.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

• The people, we wouldn't have anything to talk about without the wonderful designers and publishers who make these fantastic games.
• I don't believe in this well, everyone's a winner thing because we only have one trophy, you know, per game.
• If you go and pick one of these games on these lists tonight and just go play that game, you're going to have a great time.
• There's nothing like putting a game on the table, having people come over, play that game with you, and they go home changed.
• When designers were designing these games, they did not know how amazing they would be. So, they decided to bring it back.
• We're here to celebrate the art in the games we play.
• The rules lawyers are so good that as soon as I hired them, my wife can't beat me at games anymore.
• Innovation in games is uh more difficult than ever these days.
• It's so great that in this crazy world uh so many people still have time and are willing to sit down with their friends and families and uh play board games.

References (from this video)

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Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

• card-based setup — cards configure the forest path and encounters
• Combat: Dice — dice rolls determine outcomes against foes
• Dice-based combat — dice rolls determine outcomes against foes
• Solo puzzle progression — solitaire quest within the 20 Strong framework

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

• it's a very quick game under an hour
• bribe kind of neutral kingdoms, and you can try to bribe the Vikings
• it's solitary, but I really prefer it as a two-player game
• this is Valkyrie, absolutely fantastic
• hidden movement solitaire game
• innovative and fun
• very fun solitaire experience
• I would actually like to see this system adapted to a war game
• Silver Frost is a riff on Everdell

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Mechanics unknown.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

• the nomination lists are more important than the awards because you can go out and just buy any of these and play them.
• We're nominating them now, and as I always say, the nomination lists are more important than the awards because you can go out and just buy any of these and play them.
• These are going to be games that are fantastic to teach to someone who is not necessarily part of our fantastic little world of games. Something to get them in the door, get them excited about board gaming, get them introduced to all these amazing things you can do on the tabletop now.
• And so, we got together a group of 50 plus people, that's Dice Tower staff and the other reviewers, different reviewers, and we vote on the nominations, and so we're going to present them to you.
• Well, too bad to each of those nominations because you have to go up against the other four. That is a tough slate.
• if you enjoy heavy strategy games, you were eating well in 2024.
• This is a category for games that play really well with two. It doesn't mean they are exclusively two, although that's usually what is nominated, but it's just a great game for two players.
• This is something that for the last several, several years has become an increasingly large segment of the board gaming hobby.
• Not only are those like pretty strong solo games, but they're also some of the games that were mentioned in top lists of last year. That shows where the category has come.
• So, these are games that do something different. We see a lot of the same stuff, which isn't necessarily a bad thing because same can be good and comforting. But, something that does something unusual or different or feels fresh, here's some games that meet that category.
• My goodness, you now have to ask every time you sit at the table, 'Wait, is this cooperative or competitive?' That's something that was unheard of, you know, a decade ago even.
• I used to not really appreciate how good party games can be.
• So, this is going to be just that implementation of the theme, really immersing you into this world and this setting, uh doing something cool, or maybe just showing you a different kind of light on a thing that you're familiar with.
• I always find it odd how the new designer category often also every year seems to dominate best games of the year category, and I like that a lot.
• Artwork is something that just walking by a table, you can convince me to play a game just by showing me a good box cover. And I think that it's something that can We talked about the theme, can really sell that, but it's that first entry point in the game, and can grab your attention.
• Games are a total production, and what this category is about is saying, 'This is the most impressive full productions of a board game we've seen this year.'
• Now, in this category, we have 10 um 10 nominees, and they kind of encompass the whole package here. You know, we're we're looking at the mechanisms, we're looking at the theme, we're looking at the artwork, just all of it. Which one brought its best to the table?
• Games that are fantastic
• Then our next one is Codenames, a game that really brought party games back into the light, especially word team party games.
• This has sold a gazillion copies.
• And that is Pandemic Legacy Season 1.
• But this is the game. It wasn't the first legacy game, but it was definitely the one that people that kind of exploded and changed
• changing the landscape.
• Talk about a game that truly shook everything up.

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

• combat/encounter resolution — Dice are rolled to encounter creatures, with options to pay them off.
• Dice pool management — Players manage a pool of dice.
• exploration — Dice rolls are used for exploration, with different outcomes for day and night sides of the path.
• Health management — Players manage their health.
• market — A market allows players to buy goodies.
• Objective Completion — Players attempt to complete the objective of the game, which is to reach Grandma's house and defeat the Big Bad Wolf.
• path selection — Players choose their path through the forest, similar to Slay the Spire.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

• This, however, is going to be a solo game review roundup.
• I'm going to be going through them from the one I like the least to the one I like the most.
• Hercules and the 12 Labors from me gets a six out of 10.
• Ace of Spades here has a theme that I tend to really, really enjoy, the weird west.
• This is going to get a seven out of 10 from me.
• So, I find it fascinating. I find the setup incredibly easy.
• This one's going to get a 7.5 out of 10 from me.
• This is going to get an eight out of 10 from me. It's one I very much recommend for a casual solitaire gamer.
• This is 20 Strong Tangled Woods Red. So, 20 Strong is a dice system which has had several games made in it.
• This one from me is going to get a an 8.5 out of 10. That is a seal of excellence for that one.
• If you have not played Tangle Strong at all, I think Tangle Woods Red... is a fantastic jumping-on point.

References (from this video)

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Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

• Combat: Dice — Commit dice to defeat enemies; some enemies block certain dice colors
• Dice Drafting — Roll dice to reveal map tiles and unlock encounters
• Dice drafting and tile reveal — Roll dice to reveal map tiles and unlock encounters
• Dice-based combat with color and enemy effects — Commit dice to defeat enemies; some enemies block certain dice colors
• Health management and risk of zero health — If health drops to zero, the run ends
• Map exploration and tile-based progression — Reveal new tiles as you hit objectives, advancing toward the Big Bad Wolf
• Merchant-driven gear upgrades — Spend gold to upgrade and forge gear, deploying upgraded dice pools
• Tile/Map Shifting — Reveal new tiles as you hit objectives, advancing toward the Big Bad Wolf

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

• 20 Strong Tang Woods Red is so freaking good.
• There's so much story here. I love the upgrades and how drastic your decisions are.
• This is the most complex game out of all five I'm going to show you today, but there is so much story here.
• I don't mind not having dice mitigation because honestly, you get to focus more on your strategy here. The dice are just more so as a bonus.
• I want a rematch on Callus's lab.

References (from this video)

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