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Description
In Animal Kingdoms, each player takes on the role of a house leader, battling to gain control of the five kingdoms. Cards in your hand represent noble beasts that have pledged their allegiance to you. Over the course of three ages, you must deploy your beasts to the various territories – making sure that you adhere to each kingdom’s decree – to try and improve your influential position in the kingdoms. The house that gains the most influence by the end of the third age is declared the one true leader of the realm.
—description from the publisher
Year Published
2020
Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 5
This page: 5
Sentiment:
pos 4 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 1 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–5 of 5
Video K1tRHsJkLJI
Cardboard Harold general_discussion at 10:02 sentiment: positive
video_pk 10962 · mention_pk 32295
Click to watch at 10:02
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- pretty mathy abstract puzzle
- beautiful production
Cons
- less thematic than other games
- niche appeal
Thematic elements
- area/territory control with card-based actions
- abstract animal kingdoms in three rounds
- analytical puzzle with elegant components
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- area_control — Compete for control of key territories.
- Card-based resource management — Cards drive actions and influence territories.
- multi-round_deck_pacing — Three rounds with evolving decree and kingdom changes.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- the response was huge guys
- three types of games that work well solo
- it's a sandbox like terraforming Mars
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video T2tpWarmOZg
playthrough at 0:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 10697 · mention_pk 31593
Click to watch at 0:00
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Artwork and production are praised as gorgeous and visually appealing
- Rules are easy to teach and quick to learn
- High replayability due to a large pool of decree cards that change per game
- Tight decision-making in a chaotic, yet manageable, area-control framework
- Battle tokens add strategic depth and flexibility for future rounds
Cons
- Luck of the draw can influence outcomes, which may be a drawback for some players
- Area-control tension can feel chaotic or unpredictable at times
- Requires careful hand and decree management to avoid being boxed in by neighbors
Thematic elements
- Nobles from various animal species contest power across five kingdoms using decree-driven placement and territory control.
- Five animal kingdoms on a shared board, with players acting as house leaders vying for control.
- Competitive strategy with light thematic framing around animal nobles and territorial influence.
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- age-based scoring — The game unfolds over three ages; scoring by majority in each kingdom increases in later ages; second place grants points via a fixed structure.
- area control / territory claiming — Players place influence markers in one of five kingdoms by playing cards; majority in a kingdom at scoring determines points.
- battle system — If tied in a kingdom, players reveal cards to determine a battle; losers gain battle tokens for future advantage; battles influence final scoring.
- card-driven placement with decree constraints — Each kingdom has decree rules that constrain which cards can be played there; some cards are universal or interact with adjacent kingdoms.
- council seats / permanent voting — Influence in capital cities shifts to council spaces, granting permanent voting power for the rest of the game.
- decks and decree variability — At era boundaries, decree cards are reset; the decree cards available change, creating varied constraints each game.
- hand management and drawing — Players start with four cards, draw after playing, and manage cards to create legal plays under decree rules.
- rally and withdraw options — Players can rally to discard and redraw cards for points, or withdraw from the round to end it early and score.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- artwork is gorgeous beautiful all the cards
- easy to teach also yes you learn teach really quick to play it's so simple but there's so much thinking to it
- it's really surprising actually how much fun I had with it
- not one strategy there isn't one strategy you have to be able to adapt
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 9x9VgqOykx4
Dice Tower West travel_planning at 5:08 sentiment: positive
video_pk 10134 · mention_pk 29829
Click to watch at 5:08
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Widely playable up to 5 players
- Strong regardless of player count
Cons
- Larger box and components can be bulky
Thematic elements
- Animal ecosystems / kingdom building
- Competitive animal kingdom setting
- Strategic, but approachable at higher player counts
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Tile/draft-like placement with area control concepts — Players influence a central board using tiles affecting scoring regions.
- Variable scoring by player count — The game adapts scoring dynamics as player count changes.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- this is the first time we're bringing out cabo deluxe deluxe
- it's the easiest thing to grab on the shelf
- this is the physically biggest one that we have
- not alone without location powers
- Parade plays up to six
- Jack's Friends is a streamlined Not Alone with different locations
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video P9zZvuyYDis
Dice Tower library_tour at 2:53 sentiment: neutral
video_pk 4840 · mention_pk 14255
Click to watch at 2:53
Overall sentiment (raw)
neutral
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
none
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Shelf 16 is kind of a an odd mix here
- This shelf has twice as many games as most shelves
- one of my favorite two-player games, but it's very difficult to learn and play
- Fantastic abstract strategy game
- Such a classic game and I like it a lot
- I don't know why I like it so much, but I do
- one of the most beautiful dexterity/party games there are
- There are so many games on the shelf
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 4Z8_t2e4MEY
Before You Play top_50_list at 30:52 sentiment: positive
video_pk 4734 · mention_pk 13811
Click to watch at 30:52
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- beautiful illustrations; well-integrated hand management
- plays well across 1-5 players and scales smoothly
- engaging meta-game around council seats
Cons
- slightly heavier for a gateway audience
- can feel analysis-heavy for casual groups
Thematic elements
- area dominance through card-driven kingdoms
- Mythic animal kingdoms; multi-kingdom scoring
- mythic, majestic but strategic
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — Compete for majority in each kingdom section on the board.
- hand management — Play cards to influence scoring in different kingdoms.
- Variable scoring per kingdom — Each kingdom has its own scoring condition that shifts round to round.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- we are embarking on our top 50 journey
- the games for the most part are going to be shipped directly from the publishers
- we have excluded games that we've only played one time
- crossovers obviously because we share a collection a lot
- please keep in mind we are not here to sway you one way or the other but we do have to disclose
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–5 of 5