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Game Info
Year
2017
Players
1-2
Age
12+
Playtime
40 min
Collection
Your Tier
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Description
In the two-player game Caverna: Cave vs. Cave, each player starts the game with only two dwarves and a small excavation in the side of a mountain. Over the course of eight rounds, they'll double their workforce, open up new living space in the mountain, construct new buildings and rooms in which to live, and dig for precious metals.
In more detail, each player starts the game with an individual player board that's covered with a random assortment of face-down building/room tiles and only one space. Some tiles are face up and available for purchase at the start of play. Four action tiles lie face up as well. At the start of each of the eight rounds, one new action tile is revealed, then players alternate taking actions, with the number of actions increasing from two up to four over the course of the game. As players excavate their mountainous player board, new building and room tiles are added to the pool; some rooms can be used immediately when acquired, whereas others require the use of an action tile.
After eight rounds, players tally their points for buildings constructed and gold collected to see who wins.
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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 7
This page: 7
Sentiment:
pos 5 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 1 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–7 of 7
Video VWDXFywkmno
UndeadVikingVideos Discussion at 3:46:40 sentiment: positive
video_pk 87603 · mention_pk 229249
Click to watch at 3:46:40 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Plays up to six players.
- T-Rex on a surfboard artwork is memorable.
Cons
- The redesigned artwork is not preferred by some.
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Hand building — Players 'try to make the best hand and the cards that make the best hand count.'
- Texas Hold'em variant — The game is described as a 'Texas hold 'em variant'.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- The printer said that we never even came close to doing any sizable print run of anything
- nothing's left it's all gone it's never coming out
- I hate it's it's goofy fun
- On certain numbers you pass a card to the left
- It's a T-Rex on a surfboard
- The artwork was changed from the original version
- They did not get done fast enough
- They did not get on a boat fast enough
- Foundations of Rome in a city instead of in
- big fun
- It has a lot of rules
- you got to really pay attention
- Orlons the plague
- The plague
- I haven't played or so long nearby I was thinking about that the other remember I enjoyed it
- The original artwork is described as 'very cute.'
- It's a Texas hold 'em variant.
- Players 'do rock paper scissors with your powers.'
- The game is described as 'goofy fun.'
- The redesigned artwork is not preferred by some.
- The creator walked away and hasn't communicated them for too long.
- The effectiveness and morality of capital punishment compared to life imprisonment.
- Concerns about executing innocent individuals.
- The role of race in the application of the death penalty.
- Concerns about driving under the influence of cannabis.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video DlAAABE2u1c
Foster the Meeple Other at 14:30
video_pk 84708 · mention_pk 215479
Click to watch at 14:30 · YouTube ↗
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- if you are watching this during the gameon you've got this you got this we got this you got this we're all out here just trying to survive playing games and not sleeping it's great
- this is going to be the name that game challenge which we did three years ago like I said I am wearing my same sweater because I want to relive
- we're going to describe them and how you get points is you guess correctly but is it if I describe it and you guess correctly I get the point no you get the point
- all right how many did I get six
- that wasn't so I have six points no I have six points okay oh I put the name WR that's fine
- you're picking games we've played like one time
- well you know what that's your fault you made that decision I did good game better luck next year
- do you think I won
- why are you picking these weird normal games would normally know about
- you just don't know would you do you want to lose
- I just could not remember the name of the game because honestly I don't really like it that much
- why wouldn't you pick games I like I was just scrolling
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 1fh6v57otsY
The Brothers Murph Top List at 354:34:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 84237 · mention_pk 213937
Click to watch at 354:34:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- satisfying engine building and cave development
- streamlined and compact experience
- resourceful gameplay
Cons
- can be challenging to know what to do next
Thematic elements
- dwarves
- cave
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Engine Building — Players develop their player board to gain more resources and actions.
- Tile Placement — Players place tiles to expand their cave.
- Worker Placement — Players place workers to take actions.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- The rulebook for this is so bad. It's so bad.
- I was so wrong about this game.
- It's so cool when you get to the end of the game and you see all your little foxes lined up.
- You're building out this industrial empire. You're moving goods. You're investing in cities.
- It's a really satisfying feeling when your engine finally starts to hum.
- It's a really atmospheric game.
- You're scavenging through the ruins of a flooded world.
- It's like a city-building simulation.
- There's a lot going on. You really have to plan ahead.
- It's a game about shifting alliances and political intrigue.
- You never know who to trust.
- This game really nails the feeling of high-speed racing.
- It's so much fun, and it's surprisingly easy to get into.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video sF6fE2kpyuc
Unboxing at 0:21 sentiment: neutral
video_pk 70435 · mention_pk 167408
Click to watch at 0:21 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
neutral
Pros
- Compact redesign for two players
- Satisfying fit of components
- Economical component usage compared to other games by the designer
- Unique die-cut pieces with jagged edges
Cons
- Focuses on what some find to be the least interesting part of a game (animal husbandry in a related game)
- Weapon system for dwarves (in Caverna) is cumbersome with many chits
Thematic elements
- Cave dwelling and development
Comparison games
- Caverna
- All Creatures Big and Small
- Agricola
- The Castles of Burgundy
- Glass Road
- Arla
- Halotow
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Resource Management — Mentioned in relation to the pantry system and tracking goods, similar to how 'The Castles of Burgundy' and 'Arla' manage resources.
- Set Collection — Implied by the gathering of different resources and building components.
- Tile Placement — Suggested by the 'puzzle piecy stuff' and pieces that look like buildings or cave walls.
- Worker Placement — Implied by the context of Uwe Rosenberg games and the visual of meeples, though not explicitly detailed for this specific game.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- this is the kaverta k versus cave big box
- uber rosenberg has become a little bit wiser about how much wood the publisher has to stick in the box
- it's all like kb styles like you punch this out and you've got a real jagged edge on this on your cave
- oh look how satisfying that is
- this is really interesting to me anyway because it's the first time i've printed an insert for a game i don't actually own
- it is arc nova
- think of the games your collection has amassed since this time last year
- imagine you took merchants and rotters and you fixed it he's fixed all the problems with it and made that a game well that's i think that's how sea of legends feels
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video soUePe1WUCI
Analysis at 4:09 sentiment: positive
video_pk 69679 · mention_pk 166322
Click to watch at 4:09 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Keeps the core essence of Caverna with variations in building tiles.
- Maintains the resource conversion feeling and spatial puzzling.
- More approachable and accessible than the original Caverna.
- Enjoyable solo and as a two-player game.
- Creates a complete game that is enjoyable and serves as a great resource conversion puzzle.
- The excavation mechanism makes the game feel different every time.
- Drafting mechanism is appealing.
- Easy to understand worker placement.
Cons
- Lacks real pressure despite being fun and engaging.
- Big box is considered too large for its content.
- Era 2 expansion can feel too long and scripted for some players.
- Watered-down version of the original Caverna for some.
- Doesn't have the same feeling of surprise in Era 2 buildings as in Era 1.
- Mechanisms like adventuring and general farming are omitted.
Thematic elements
- Cave dwelling and farming
Comparison games
- Caverna: The Cave Farmers
- Agricola
- La V
- Orani
- Burger Canal
- Patchwork
- All Creatures Great and Small
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Drafting — Players can draft building tiles according to where they want to place them in their tableau face down, potentially remembering locations for future excavation.
- Excavation — Players can excavate to flip over face-down building tiles in their tableau, placing them into a shared pool to be built from by either player.
- Resource conversion — The game heavily involves converting resources to build buildings and track progress.
- Tableau Building — Players build out their cave tableau by constructing various buildings.
- walls — Walls can be placed into the tableau to fulfill spatial requirements for building certain structures.
- Worker Placement — Action selection is done by placing a worker on a spot, and the action tile is then slid to the player's side, blocking it from the opponent.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- The Big Box will include all the components that are found in the base game plus 50 additional wooden versions of the coins instead of the metal ones which is a bummer to some who would have liked that but it is what it is.
- These guest tokens are virtually wild cards or wild tokens and you acquire them through building certain building cards in this expansion deck and when you acquire them you place them into your personal Supply and can use them in one of three major ways you can discard them and put them back in the General Supply to decrease the cost of future building cards you can count them as one plate when you serve fish to the elders so if you're missing fish you can use them to supplant that but you can also use them and permanently put them onto your boats that you include in your fishing row to increase the amount of fish that you gain in the income phase.
- Caverna: Cave vs. Cave is more of a mechanically similar game rather than thematically since you do pair out a lot of the mechanisms and abilities that you find in the original Caverna which allow you to farm and make it reminiscent of Agricola.
- Cave vs. Cave is mostly a resource tracking resource conversion and Tableau building with tiles type of game that has the look and some of the feel of the original Caverna.
- The way that you excavate especially if you play randomly with the random seating of these buildings the way that these buildings come out after you excavate the order in which they come out can I feel drastically alter the way that you approach the game.
- In complete transparency I have personally not played through era 2 yet.
- The wall mechanism of cave versus cave is reutilized in games like orani and burger canal with the different types of routes being placed on and around your building tiles allows them to activate in certain ways but in cave versus cave they're building requirements and so or at labora kind of has that similar Vibe going as well where it's more of a fact of the way that you place your buildings in relation to each other on your Tableau results in points scored during the game and at the end of the game and so I like that fact as well that is that is represented in cave versus cave and happy to see that type of spatial puzzle reutilized in a two-player version of the game.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video BhUPad-QAzA
Murf Brothers Top 10 List at 15:26 sentiment: positive
video_pk 66220 · mention_pk 161022
Click to watch at 15:26 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Tight two-player distillation of a much bigger game
- Engaging excavating and action-order tension
Cons
- Not as widely available as the bigger titles
Thematic elements
- Array
- Cave dwelling / dwarves
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Action Drafting — Each turn you pick one action; new actions appear each round for variability.
- Cave building — Build out your cave with rooms and structures, recursively expanding your dwelling.
- Resource/expedition balance — Balance mining, farming and expeditions while excavating and upgrading.
- turn-based action selection — Each turn you pick one action; new actions appear each round for variability.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- We're a two-player game, right?
- We're the brothers Murf. As you heard there are there's there's another brother and a sister. So there's four of us.
- Let's talk about our favorite ones.
- This is our favorite two-player versions of game.
- I really enjoy tug-of-war games.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video B65DU7nqaT0
Board Gaming Ramblings Discussion at 2:35 sentiment: positive
video_pk 38191 · mention_pk 114859
Click to watch at 2:35 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- puzzle-like feel
- compact two-player experience
Cons
- expansion can lengthen play time
- not ideal for heavy optimizers compared to multiplayer versions
Thematic elements
- resource management and spatial puzzle-solving
- Dwarven homesteads: farming, mining, and cave dwelling
Comparison games
- Agricola
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- animal_breeding — Breeding animals as part of the growth and scoring system.
- Resource Management — Balance food, ore, wood, and other resources for growth.
- resource_management — Balance food, ore, wood, and other resources for growth.
- Worker Placement — Assign dwarves to actions to develop your cavern and farm.
- worker_placement — Assign dwarves to actions to develop your cavern and farm.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- it's an abstract tug of war-ish puzzle where you're trying to get these majorities on your side
- it's a roll and write game, yahtzee vibes, but with depth
- Pantheon is a must for this game in my opinion
- I actually enjoyed this quite a bit
- Spirit Island is a fantastic game and I want to keep it
- Hidden gem out there; filler game, very interactive
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
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Showing 1–7 of 7