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Description
In Brian Boru: High King of Ireland, you strive to unite Ireland under your domain, securing control through might, cunning, and matrimony. Join forces to fend off Viking invaders, build monasteries to extend your influence, and gather support in towns and villages throughout the land. To become High King of all Ireland, you need to navigate a web of shifting alliances, outmaneuver your enemies, and grab history by the reins.
The success of the historical Brian Boru rested on three pillars: his victories against the Vikings, the favor he managed to garner with the Church, and the alliances he forged through political marriages. This became the foundation of the game, with each pillar becoming a suit in the trick-taking that forms the core of the mechanisms. Win a trick and you gain influence in a town, which, in turn, gains you majorities in the regions; if you lose the trick, however (deliberately or otherwise), you instead take an action corresponding to the suit of the card.
Year Published
2021
Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 4
This page: 4
Sentiment:
pos 4 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–4 of 4
Video XK1-BUi8u1g
John Gets Games general_discussion at 4:49 sentiment: positive
video_pk 10850 · mention_pk 32016
Click to watch at 4:49 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- deep synthesis of trick-taking with area control
- interesting card play interaction with map-based decisions
Cons
- board complexity and card interaction can be heavy for new players
Thematic elements
- rivalry for influence and control with a map of Ireland
- Ireland, medieval era
- strategic, historical
Comparison games
- Lorenzo il Magnifico
- Coimbra
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- area majority — control of regions on a map drives scoring
- hand drafting — draft a hand of cards to build a flexible toolset
- Trick-taking — play cards to win tricks that trigger actions on top of cards
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- the theme of this one says it's a science themed work replacement game set in the 17th century
- this is enough for me to be interested
- it's a really strange game it's called first rat and thematically it's about a bunch of rats in a junkyard trying to make a spaceship
- the cover is stunning and the game looks gorgeous
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video PwZBe39GSrM
Broken People Express game_review at 0:11 sentiment: positive
video_pk 9775 · mention_pk 28833
Click to watch at 0:11 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- engaging trick-taking with color-coded card drafting
- deep strategic planning from card choice to bid on cities
- strong endgame tension and variability
- scales reasonably with 3-4 players and has replay value
Cons
- steep learning curve for new players
- lack of a card-by-card reference aid makes teaching harder
- art style/aptitude may not appeal to everyone and board may feel abstract
Thematic elements
- abstracted political power and area control with trick-taking mechanics
- medieval Ireland (early to high middle ages; geographic control of provinces and cities)
- minimalist, historically flavored but mostly mechanical
Comparison games
- The King Is Dead
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- area control / territory scoring — control provinces and cities on the board to score points, with end-game shifts based on council/vikings/monasteries
- end-game scoring tracks (marriage track, monasteries, vikings, princess Denmark card) — varied scoring elements that can shift final ranking depending on end-game decisions
- leader-per-round and action cadence — each round has a leader who chooses what trick to lead; winner/loser performs top/bottom card actions, shaping the round
- token/track driven incentives — use vikings, monasteries and virtue tokens to influence scoring and positioning
- trick-taking with card drafting — players draft colored cards and lead tricks; gray wild color can trump; top actions on winning tricks, bottom actions on losing tricks
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- i think this is going to sing volumes to you if you're a fan of the king is dead; i think you're going to like this
- the rulebook is somewhat large just because the box is large; there's a fair amount of text but not many rules
- this is an area control game where you are controlling different areas for points
- i think this is solid eight out of ten
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video dVaso5Qv2pY
The Broken Meeple top_10_list at 8:22 sentiment: positive
video_pk 4518 · mention_pk 13277
Click to watch at 8:22 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Clever integration of area control with trick-taking mechanics
- Excellent decision-making regarding which mini-challenges to pursue
- Good trick-taking system with nuanced card play
- Multiple strategic paths through different mini-objectives
- Surprising success despite initial skepticism
Cons
- Not the best looking game aesthetically
- Box artwork not impressive
- Rule book could be improved
- Card artwork is just okay
Thematic elements
- Controlling Irish territories, defending against Vikings, political marriages
- Medieval Ireland
- Area control with trick-taking elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — Control territories in Ireland for victory points
- Diversification — Spread across multiple territories or focus in one area for different victory point approaches
- Marriage track — Marry to gain bonuses like dowries
- Monastery system — Control monastery to go first in card order and protect areas
- Trick taking — Play numbered cards in three colors, follow suit or lose, determine board actions
- Viking defense — Defend territories from Viking raids to gain glory
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- It's that great banter game that's just great for like a good party setting
- The game needs to be quick and snappy and that's the way it should work
- When I got the game myself and finally got it out and played it with fellow gamers it was brilliant
- I don't see this really rising further up the top 100 though I think this is going to be its peak
- If there's a slight flaw at this game it's that the card system needs a little bit of tweaking it can get quite swingy
- The fans recommended this game and the fans were right
- It's kind of like that awesome experience that you only get to experience every now and again in a blue moon
- I found brian board to be a big surprise one of those big exceptions to the rule
- It's that great sort of climactic tension where throughout the game you're trying to figure out who is not on our side here
- It's a really clever system there's a decent amount of dice mitigation you know every time you roll those dice you are there racking your brains
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video zlR9g-VlHzY
Before You Play general_discussion at 24:50 sentiment: positive
video_pk 3027 · mention_pk 8850
Click to watch at 24:50 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Deep, strategic, thematic
- Dynamic trick-taking and area control
Cons
- Complex; longer playtime
Thematic elements
- political marriages, vikings, church, and invasions
- Early Medieval Ireland
- historical-themed, grand strategy
Comparison games
- The King Is Dead
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — Control regions to gain scoring advantages; manage money.
- drafting — Players draft cards to influence marriage, Vikings, church among four tracks.
- hand management — Decide when to contribute troops and spend money to perform actions.
- Trick taking — Players lead tricks by selecting a location; higher numbered cards win.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- the talk of the town for the entire convention is and this is kind of shooting myself in the foot by saying this now because it's hard to find the game and i want to get it i know other people are probably going to want to look for it but it's a game called scout
- it's fully cooperative you're going to be taking on the role of a character from the jurassic park world
- there's a buzz chatter where you can't really pick up anything but you can hear it so right when you walk in
- the heart and soul of the game is the real-time aspect
- Draftasaurus a very light uh but cute drafting game
- the talk of the town for the entire convention is Scout by Oink Games
- it's basically a two-player blackjack-style game
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–4 of 4