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Game Info
Year
2023
Collection
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Description
“If I have any worth, it is to live my life for God so as to teach these peoples.” - St. Patrick
Legend has it that St. Patrick drove the snakes out of Ireland. True, there are no snakes anywhere on the island- but there have been none since before the last Ice Age! The legend is actually an allegory about his successes in converting Ireland to Christianity.
Banish the Snakes is a cooperative game that simulates Ireland in the 5th century, while the Roman Empire was collapsing in the west and Ireland was turning to the Christian religion. Players represent Saints- Patrick and others (up to six of you) who set out to convert the pagans on the island. You must work as a team to convert the people of Ireland before the barbarians completely overwhelm Britain- if you fail, the Irish will not be able to save Civilization in the following centuries!
The game board shows a map of Ireland in the 5th century, with four Provinces-the same as today- but no counties yet. Wooden tiles represent the People, Druids, Chiefs, and Kings, and of course the High King at Tara. It is your job to break into the interrelated influences between these groups of people and get your new ideas accepted.
Each turn a card is drawn, throwing new challenges at your team. The severity of the event is determined by the previous card, and so no two games can ever play the same. The cards introduce events and ideas of the time, new saints, and historic figures- like Neil of the Nine Hostages.
There is a diagram of Great Britain to keep track of the steady decline of Roman civilization in Great Britain. As different parts of Britain succumb to the barbarians, more and more difficult challenges are added to the deck, until finally Britain is completely overwhelmed, cutting off Ireland from the continent and ending the game.
If you succeed in your endeavor, Christianity will thrive in Ireland, while paganism overruns Western Europe. The arts, writing, literature and history will flourish on the Emerald Isle! Soon, Irish missionaries will bring these civilizing attributes back to Great Britain and mainland Europe- as Thomas Cahill says in his book, the Irish will save Civilization.
But if you fail…
—description from the publisher
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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 4
This page: 4
Sentiment:
pos 3 ·
mix 1 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–4 of 4
Video uSbxWu1suPI
Rolling Dice & Taking Names Discussion at 603:09:24 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 93458 · mention_pk 321494
Click to watch at 603:09:24 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
- Cool and clever theme
- Straightforward rules compared to other GMT games
- Thematic mechanics
- Engaging tension from event cards
- Variety in game play due to shuffled event decks
- Scoring system allows for partial victory, not just a win/loss
- Can be taught without heavily relying on the theme
Cons
- More random than Pandemic
- Two-player count might be tough
- Confusing setup regarding special blocks (purple/gold)
- Potential for downtime in higher player counts
- Requires a lot of sticker application
- Stickers for resources and player pieces are optional and may not appeal to everyone
Thematic elements
- Converting pagans to Christianity
- Ireland
Comparison games
- Pandemic
- Pandemic: Star Wars The Clone Wars
- Pandemic: World of Warcraft
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Action Point Allowance System — Players have a set number of actions (typically four) to spend on their turn, which can be adjusted by their Zeal level.
- Card Drafting — Event cards are drawn each turn, introducing challenges and sometimes providing opportunities.
- cooperative play — Players work together as saints to achieve the game's objective.
- Dice Rolling — Dice rolls are used to determine the success of conversion attempts.
- Modular Board — The game features a map of Ireland with various spaces for blocks representing people.
- Set Collection — Players collect resources and convert blocks on the board to achieve victory.
- Tile Placement — Blocks representing people and leaders are placed on the board and flipped to show conversion.
- Variable player powers — Players choose saints with special abilities.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- for me for sure Katan was the board game that was my Gateway game to hobby style games
- He's probably the Godfather of your style games right so he kind of kicked off the entire one of kicked off the Euro German game genre that we know so well today
- Union of the snake I'm Tony
- Simon Lebon is just a really good singer
- This was the one where we did the Pepsi Peeps taste test
- Don't skip to the next segment y'all this is not that typical type of GMT game
- The whole premise of this is on your turn you're going to be collecting tiles from the center of the board and and you're going to be stacking them in a bookshelf
- The Sanhedrin token Yeah you mentioned that which for me was how I sped up the game
- I want to talk about how well he did in teaching this game so the you open the box each proned preconstructed deck is is wrapped and sealed
- I continue to Journey back into Guild Wars 2 hard and I just downloaded Guild Wars 1 and listen to I just sat here and let the music wash over me
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video pVUlyvcvDhI
Foster the Meeple Top List at 3:59 sentiment: positive
video_pk 86590 · mention_pk 321454
Click to watch at 3:59 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Enjoyable aesthetic
- Methodical
- Appreciated methodology
- Very difficult
- Randomness
- Asymmetry
Cons
- Can be very difficult
Thematic elements
- Converting pagans to Christianity
- 5th Century Christian England
Comparison games
- Pandemic
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- action selection — The reviewer highlights the 'actions selection piece of this like you flip a card and it's going to have a bunch of different colors on it'.
- Asymmetric abilities — Players play as different priests/bishops with different abilities, and there's some asymmetry in the game.
- Cooperative — Described as a 'Cooperative like P A yeah it's a Cooperative like influence type game'.
- influence — Described as a 'Cooperative like P A yeah it's a Cooperative like influence type game'.
- randomness — The game includes 'some Randomness to it'.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- these are the top 10 new to us games of 2024
- I freaking loved this game
- it's so weird so weird and so fun
- this game is so tense and stressful
- it's very enjoyable
- it is just a logic deduction puzzle that's all it is but it is really really fun
- I adore it every time we play it it's so good so good
- I really enjoy this game
- it's so fun it is again the most beautifully produced game I've ever seen
- it is the most fun I think aboard game can possibly be
- I love I think this game is just the best I I love it so much
- everything as Jamie puts just flows properly and makes sense
- it is incredible
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video AsYKnYGr-3U
The Discriminating Gamer Top List at 3:50 sentiment: positive
video_pk 83645 · mention_pk 321534
Click to watch at 3:50 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Fun game
- Easy to learn and teach
- Loved by students
- Good cooperative nature
- Fun and interesting systems
- Good solo
Cons
- Possibly better as a solo game (for the host)
Thematic elements
- Converting pagans to Christianity
- Medieval Ireland
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- cooperative play — A cooperative game that is also good solo, with players working together.
- Die Rolls Mitigation — Includes die rolls but with mechanisms to mitigate their impact.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Hello, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to the discriminating gamer.
- My top 50 GMT games of all time, 30 to 21.
- This is really the game, I think, that I cut my teeth on coin with um and really learned how to how these systems worked.
- It's not as difficult as and and and treacherous to learn as I thought it would be.
- And I really loved that tension of trying to to to do as much as you can, but having to really pick and choose because at any moment, the game could end.
- But critically, even though the game looks like a civilization building game at its heart, it is a take that game. You are constantly playing take that here.
- And it is hilarious. It is so much fun trying to build things up and then you're playing these cards and your opponents are just swatting you down.
- It's a very unusual game. I don't know that I've ever played a game quite like Atlantic Chase.
- I really felt bad about it. This is one maybe I need to require at some point.
- So, you've got to be very careful as you play this game because the cards you play to help you can end up helping somebody else.
- This is probably the most popular game when I take it to my West Civ one game nights.
- Well, what do you think ladies and gentlemen?
- If you really like what we do here, please check out my other channel that is Cody Carlson PhD where we talk about history, military history, books on history. I even post some of my lectures on there.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video DC97jrPXJb4
AzureDeath | Solo Board Gaming Review at 0:16 sentiment: positive
video_pk 10233 · mention_pk 30242
Click to watch at 0:16 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Spectacular medieval artwork and aesthetic
- High production value and components
- Strong thematic immersion with historical flavor
- Impressive, large board creates a grand presence
- Educational potential and historical context is appealing
Cons
- Setup and sticker work adds upfront time and effort
- Very large components may require dedicated space
- Some ambiguity around solo play or player interaction not fully explicit in unboxing
Thematic elements
- Religious spread and cultural conflict in a historical context
- Medieval Ireland; Christianization vs paganism during the Dark Ages
- educational with historical immersion
Comparison games
- Conquest of Paradise
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- custom dice and stickered components — Includes custom dice and a sticker process for components, impacting setup time and tactile feel
- event deck / pandemic-style cues — Uses an event deck to drive actions and random events, with cues guiding tension and progression
- Events — Uses an event deck to drive actions and random events, with cues guiding tension and progression
- large-board, multi-board setup — A single expansive board (up to six player boards) requiring careful spatial setup
- Resource Management — Wooden pieces, cubes, and tokens that players manage and prepare for play
- token/resource management — Wooden pieces, cubes, and tokens that players manage and prepare for play
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Gosh I just cannot wait to get into this
- This is one big board
- I adore learning about this stuff
- Look at that artwork
- What a production, the components just wow
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–4 of 4