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Books of Time

Game ID: GID0051177
Collection Status
Description

The history of humankind has been written down for thousands of years. Our technological achievements, geographical discoveries, and the will to prosper are woven into intricate threads spread throughout books that tell the story of our time on Earth. Now you have the chance to shape this story.

Books of Time puts a unique and exciting twist on tableau building, allowing you to construct three great books, each with their own sets of special abilities that you can write, thereby creating incredible combinations. The story of a civilization is now truly at your fingertips.

Three types of pages go into player books: trade, science, and industry. During the game, you add pages to these books to create powerful combinations of actions that you can activate. You need to efficiently manage your resources to create the books that will meet your personal objectives and score you the most points.

—description from the publisher

Year Published
2023
Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 5
This page: 5
Sentiment: pos 3 · mix 2 · neu 0 · neg 0
Mentions per page
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Showing 1–5 of 5
Video AW10cGcOX24 OPG Family top_5_list at 25:47 sentiment: positive
video_pk 10986 · mention_pk 32362
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Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
  • Innovative components (binder clips)
  • high production value
Cons
  • Binder clips can be fragile; more expensive components
Thematic elements
  • time, literature, binding books
  • Binder-book tableau-building
  • thematic, educational
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • binder-clip resource management — binder clips serve as a core resource across rounds
  • scoring via binding quality — points for how well you compile your books/tableau
  • tableau building — players build books using binder clips as pages
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • it's live folks it's live
  • the cute factor is off the charts
  • binder clips... off the charts
  • I can't wait to see that too
  • it's so cute and you've got your little board that's got the that moves you can put the little trays in there
  • the year of the card games
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video n0zPnKZL3tY Unknown general_discussion at 1:23 sentiment: positive
video_pk 8745 · mention_pk 25793
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Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
  • Unique book-themed mechanic
  • Engaging puzzle feel
Cons
  • Accessibility for new players may be challenging
Thematic elements
  • book/page-turning narrative interface
Comparison games
  • Similo
  • Dixit
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • Card placement — placing cards in a book-like structure and turning pages to reveal interactions
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • five times if you don't you got to get rid of those games
  • you're going to pick which pile I have to play five times or else I'm getting rid of that pile anyways
  • my board game collection this is my board game shop
  • Wingspan killer did I say that cuz I meant it
  • it's a unique game where you're placing cards and literally a book and then turning pages
  • thank you for watching
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video vNmYpcTRSr4 Three Minute Board Games analysis at 3:36 sentiment: positive
video_pk 6932 · mention_pk 20528
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Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
  • novel and tactile mechanic
  • potential for interesting design space
Cons
  • execution felt abstracted; not fully realized in this iteration
Thematic elements
  • book manipulation as action economy
  • Book-world mechanic with pages and a flip-book action surface
  • physical book interaction driving actions
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • book actions — open pages, insert pages, flip through to perform actions
  • page manipulation — flick and reconfigure the pages to reset and modify effects
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • these awards are 100% my Awards
  • Acropolis is a very fast-paced tile Drafting and set collection game
  • three-dimensionality... stacking things up in the game does get you more points
  • this game does very little that is original that hasn't been covered in other games before
  • it's such a nice tight package of a game everything is just in there
  • I'm a massive Motorsport fan
  • Heat Pedal to the Metal is our game of the year; our solo game of the year; our patron's choice
  • the best New Zealand game of the year is Scholars of the South Tigress
  • the fact you get a limited number of cards but everyone gets the same card so it all starts off from equal positions
  • it's fast it's vicious, backstabbing, and it's clever
  • this is such a cool racing game that feels like a racing game
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video DiQUfAmLxBA Three Minute Board Game game_review at 0:20 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 6501 · mention_pk 19251
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Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
  • Fresh and intriguing book-based mechanics that differentiate the game
  • Central book design provides a unique home for actions and decision points
  • Book format allows exploration of new ideas and mechanics within a single framework
  • Varied actions per turn and potential for interesting pacing and strategy
  • Potential for strong longevity and replayability depending on player preference
Cons
  • Books can be awkward or cumbersome to use for some players
  • Iconography is not the most user-friendly, contributing to a steeper learning curve
  • Theme of building a civilization isn’t strongly communicated or thematic within the pages
  • Initial novelty of the book mechanic may wear off for some groups
Thematic elements
  • Knowledge and literacy as the engine for societal development
  • Civilization-building through written word across eras
  • Book/page-driven actions that feed drafting, scoring, and progression
Comparison games
  • Seven Wonders
  • Scholars of the South Tigris
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • Action selection via central book — On each turn, players choose actions from a central 'book' that drives resources and VP
  • drafting — Draft Pages for your history books from a face-up display; pages contribute to scoring and resource generation
  • Open/close book and page-bonus mechanics — Closing a book yields a bonus; turning pages grants bottom-of-page bonuses
  • Page turning / book progression — Turning pages within books to advance progression and trigger bonuses
  • Resource management — Gaining pens and paper when adding pages; folders act as wild cards for both resources
  • set collection — Collecting sets of pages with symbol variety to unlock scoring opportunities
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • Books of time is something a little different and its book based mechanics are very fresh and intriguing
  • the central book and how it has different actions you can select each turn
  • I also really like the central book
  • the best thing about this game is how the book format allowed it to explore some new ideas, it's Unique
  • the books take a bit of getting used to and some players found them awkward and cumbersome to use
  • probably my biggest issue is while the books are a cool idea I just don't feel the theme of building a civilization comes through it all
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video PqQWdslDy8I Unknown Channel top_10_list at 9:00 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 2207 · mention_pk 6430
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Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
  • Novel tile-placement through book actions
  • Interesting assassination tile concept
Cons
  • Rulebook gaps and awkward endgame pacing
Thematic elements
  • Time manipulation and family legacy
  • Future characters travel back in time to shape events
  • Story-driven, probabilistic/world-shaping
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • engine-building via books — Place action cards into book pages to enable actions
  • time-changing events — Assassination tile mechanic and event manipulation
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • it's really quick it takes around an hour to play feels like this epic scope
  • the coolest part is during some of those phases you will also activate all the robots in a single line and they have different powers
  • it's one of my favorite Euro games
  • I would put it into another person's collection
  • we played it just last week
  • please be our supporter because it's the best way how we can make these videos and continue making videos
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
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