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Game Info
Year
2000
Collection
Mechanic profile
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Description
In Babel, each player makes use of members of various tribes of the ancient world to build temples, exploit (or exterminate) their opponent's work force, destroy or steal their opponent's temples and otherwise do whatever it takes to build the tallest temples to win the game.
The game plays out on a small game board representing regions of 5 ancient civilizations, Medes, Sumerians, Hittites, Persians, and Assyrians. Each player will be dealt a hand of cards (consisting of 5 types corresponding to the above tribes). Players themselves are represented by stone figures. Temple cards will be made available at the side of the board for building throughout the game. On his or her turn, a player may discard a card to move to the corresponding region, place a card on the region they are currently located, build a temple by having tribesmen equal to the number or level on the temple card AND having built the previous (lower) temple level, move tribesmen from one region to another, or perform a skill action unique to each tribe. Players may perform any and all actions available to them, being able to perform most actions as many times as they wish and saving any number of unplayed cards for subsequent turns.
A big component of this game is placing your tribe cards in sets. Skills can only be used if a set of three (or more) cards is at the same location as the player marker. By discarding one of the cards of a set, the skill may be used. No matter the tribe, performing this action can force the opponent to discard half their hand. Other skills, such as robbing a temple from an opponent, skipping a level on a temple build, destroy an opposing temple, etc. are specific to the tribe activated.
Game play progresses until one of two conditions is met: if a player builds 15 points (or levels) of temples before the opposing player builds at least 10 points, that player wins. If the opponent does have more than 10 points, the game continues until one player reaches 20 points (in which case he or she wins) OR one player subsequently drops below 10 (in which case he or she loses).
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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 6
This page: 6
Sentiment:
pos 5 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 1 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–6 of 6
Video zm_0BYwYLSo
Discussion at 5:38 sentiment: positive
video_pk 69397 · mention_pk 165881
Click to watch at 5:38 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Extremely ferocious and mean
- Very competitive
- Starts slow but gets more exciting
- Unlike anything Uwe Rosenberg has designed
Cons
- Didn't pull off the win
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — Very cut Thro as we were tearing each other's temples down switching temples off to the other side.
- Resource management — Starts off slow because you need very particular cars in particular places.
- tug-of-war — A kind of tug-of War Style game as you're trying to build these temples out.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Rise is a fantastic Euro um that all about climbing tracks and it really does have this kind of roll and right feel um as when you move up some tracks it'll push you up other tracks which will give you other bonuses it really does have that kind of combo domino effect scoring um all well that's what this game is all about really and I don't think any other game does it better than rise does.
- This is such a cool game that I must admit I do need to be in the right mood to play because it is quite cerebral it's a bit of a game of attrition where you need to be patient and know when to strike and know when to sit back.
- What a wonderful game it's so smooth and so streamlined but still offers so many options and it's exactly what I want for a game in my collection.
- This is probably the most competitive game of bble that I've had um very cut Thro as we were tearing each other's temples down switching temples off to the other side.
- Really cool Euro again criminally underrated and overlooked um but maybe the new addition will get this one back into the spotlight so that is ayia.
- I actually prefer this game to Splendor because um it's it's just a bit more bit more interesting in my opinion.
- Kind of really does walk that tight rip of being a Euro but also an abstract strategy game.
References (from this video)
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Video TTsOC8pq7gU
Unboxing at 0:25 sentiment: neutral
video_pk 69048 · mention_pk 165368
Click to watch at 0:25 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
neutral
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Dice rolling — Players roll dice to perform actions necessary to win the game.
- iconography — The cards feature 'lots of iconography' which likely indicates how to use dice for abilities.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Hey everyone, Danielle here.
- I have to look into whether or not they have other games that is kind of like men in.
- I came across this in my local game store, Red Seal Gaming, in New Jersey, and I was just really surprised to see that they had like a solo only game.
- If you're not already subscribed, please consider subscribing.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video Xm8v72Ovxlo
Unknown Channel Top 10 List at 3:11 sentiment: positive
video_pk 65809 · mention_pk 159673
Click to watch at 3:11 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Strong scalability and mix-and-match options
- Solitaire puzzle feel
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- dice manipulation and resource optimization
- Cards arranged around a central area with fixed requirements
- solitaire/puzzle-driven
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- deck manipulation — Three dice on each side must be met to claim cards; tokens can modify dice when needed.
- dice manipulation — Three dice on each side must be met to claim cards; tokens can modify dice when needed.
- solo puzzle — Designed as a solo game with scalable combinations (16 basic, 16 advanced cards).
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
No quotes stored for this video.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video p-aA-jY3iJU
Jamie, Tabletoptiktok Review at 0:03 sentiment: positive
video_pk 61444 · mention_pk 154113
Click to watch at 0:03 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- strong replayability via multiple difficulties
- solid solo-friendly puzzle experience
- clear win/lose condition and rewarding progression
Cons
- retailer discoverability can be challenging; Amazon listing requires publisher name
Thematic elements
- abstract puzzle solving through dice and card-driven objectives
- single-player puzzle game with a central board where dice are manipulated to meet card requirements
- procedural/abstract
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- card-driven objectives — flip and complete cards to earn rewards and progress toward the win condition
- Deck customization — choose between regular and higher-difficulty cards, or shuffle for chaos
- deck manipulation — move and adjust dice values, including orthogonal changes, to satisfy card requirements
- dice manipulation — move and adjust dice values, including orthogonal changes, to satisfy card requirements
- Token economy — spend tokens to change dice values or reposition dice to meet goals
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I am loving this game. I think it is an absolutely fabulous solo game.
- it's a pretty inexpensive game and it is a good time for a solo game.
- I would love to know what do you think of this?
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video Pas-TtJBf9o
Chairman of the Board Discussion at 4:47 sentiment: positive
video_pk 13729 · mention_pk 40090
Click to watch at 4:47 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Mean, but balanced two-player experience
- Fits in neatly with Rosenberg's design language while not feeling like a typical Rosenberg game
Cons
- Confrontational nature can be off-putting for casual players
Thematic elements
- mythic confrontation
- Temple duel with temple-building mechanics
- confrontational, direct competition
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- duel/tug-of-war — play cards to build temples and attempt to outpace opponent; cards have powers that can affect temples
- Tug of war — play cards to build temples and attempt to outpace opponent; cards have powers that can affect temples
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- this one is a lovely game by Stephan Dora, a great design in his own right.
- you are trying to collect exactly three of these animal tokens of each type to get the maximum amount of points
- a real brain burner but so simple and elegant to play as well
- Lost Cities a joy to get that one back to the table
- it's far too long I think it took us nearly two hours to play this which is obscene for the weight of the game
- Katarena one of the best abstract strategy games out there
- this is a bit of a whitewash of a game
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video i7UVXtHkVxY
Chairman of the Board Discussion at 9:04 sentiment: positive
video_pk 2802 · mention_pk 8173
Click to watch at 9:04 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- strong hand management with tactical choices
- engaging head-to-head rivalry
Cons
- some rounds can feel constrained by the two pyramid cards that come out
Thematic elements
- destruction and theft of pyramids
- pyramids and power cards in a competitive head-to-head
- mean-spirited, direct confrontation
Comparison games
- Battle Line
- Lost Cities
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- area/board manipulation — cards destroy opponent pyramids or steal top levels
- deck manipulation — cards destroy opponent pyramids or steal top levels
- hand management — managing a hand of cards to deploy to locations
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- it's really tight this Bard is and the opportunity cost of doing one thing
- there are so many different ways you can score in this game
- it's punchy
- the game end really does rush up on you
- polished, refined, gorgeous to look at
- you can just take the pieces off the board and go again
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–6 of 6