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Game Info
Year
2019
Players
2-6
Age
14+
Playtime
75 min
Collection
Your Tier
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Description
What if the formation of Earth had gone differently?
In Ecos: First Continent, players are forces of nature molding the planet, but with competing visions of its grandeur. You have the chance to create a part of the world, similar but different to the one we know. Which landscapes, habitats, and species thrive will be up to you.
Gameplay in Ecos is simultaneous. Each round, one player reveals element tokens from the element bag, giving all players the opportunity to complete a card from their tableau and shape the continent to their own purpose. Elements that cannot be used can be converted into energy cubes or additional cards in hand or they can be added to your tableau to give you greater options as the game evolves.
Mountain ranges, jungle, rivers, seas, islands and savanna, each with their own fauna, all lie within the scope of the players' options.
—description from the publisher
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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 5
This page: 5
Sentiment:
pos 2 ·
mix 1 ·
neu 1 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–5 of 5
Video mJ18xXSSSzY
Meeple University Playthrough at 4:56 sentiment: positive
video_pk 90223 · mention_pk 240733
Click to watch at 4:56 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Engaging two-player variant with extended drafting
- Expansion adds new landscape cards and animals for variety
- Clear, enthusiastic presentation and live audience interaction
Cons
- Noted technical issues during streaming (camera/software glitches)
- Some card text/font sizing could be larger for readability
Thematic elements
- ecosystem creation and wildlife management across a developing continent
- Continental Africa-themed ecosystem-building with landscapes referenced by specific tiles and landmarks such as Kilimanjaro, Congo Basin, Madagascar, Serengeti, and the Nile.
Comparison games
- cubitas
- mystic vale
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Card-based actions with limited uses — Each card has effects that allow actions and is rotated/consumed; you draft and play cards to gain ongoing benefits.
- Energy cubes and symbol matching — Players place energy cubes on symbols to trigger card effects; completing a card frees the energy for scoring.
- Landscape-specific patterns — Expansion introduces landscape cards with patterns (land, water) that interact with tiles to trigger ongoing effects.
- Scoring rules and end condition — The game ends when a player reaches 80 points (or 60 in the shortened variant); points are earned for habitats, adjacency, and special Congo Basin tiles.
- Tile/die placement and rotation — Tiles (landscape/climate) are placed on a shared board; some tiles can be rotated or replaced as landscapes evolve.
- Two-player setup and drafting — In the two-player variant, players draw two tiles per turn and start with more cards in hand, altering drafting strategy.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Ecos first continent we are collectively building up a continent
- the game is a race to 80 points
- two tiles at once instead of one out of this bag
- Congo Basin this is the expansion
- Madagascar landscape
- Kilimanjaro
- Serengeti
- switch to the short game and target 60
- end of game rock it is
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video DzkmfrbvaWs
kovray Discussion at 6:52 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 89958 · mention_pk 239792
Click to watch at 6:52 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
- innovative ecological theme
- engaging combination of engine-building and tile placement
Cons
- rules density can be daunting
- potentially lengthy play sessions
Thematic elements
- ecology, evolution, and ecosystem engineering
- An ancient world where ecosystems evolve and players influence the land and creatures
- engine-building with ecological interplay
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Engine Building — players develop internal engines to generate future benefits.
- engine-building — players develop internal engines to generate future benefits.
- Resource Management — careful management of resources to enable future actions.
- Tile Placement — tiles are placed to shape the landscape and ecosystem interactions.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Consistency is something we want to be more important to us.
- hit that subscribe button and that thumbs up
- we are last monday of every month we are going to release a vlog
- I'm excited for the end of the month vlogs because I think I'm going to try and work in some data
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video GpkoOMUDMtI
Meeple University Review
video_pk 70148 · mention_pk 167049
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
none
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- has almost no downtime with all place do the action simultaneously and each turn you would always be anticipating of what comes out of the bag
- there are a lot of cards and a lot of strategies can do which offers a lot of replayability
- the cube and animal containers I mean look at those
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video taUWDwCMLjo
Watch It Played Rules Teach at 0:12 sentiment: neutral
video_pk 64717 · mention_pk 158216
Click to watch at 0:12 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
neutral
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- ecology and ecosystem development; landscape manipulation and animal placement
- A world being shaped by players with continents and landscapes forming as the game progresses.
- card-driven, evolving landscape with dials and tokens
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- animal and landscape placement — Effects allow placing mountains, trees, or animals on valid tiles according to adjacency rules.
- Bag Building — The Harbinger draws an element token from the bag and reveals it for all to see.
- Combat: Deck/Hand — On the appropriate dial phase you can play a card from your hand face-up in front of you.
- Deck Manipulation — On dial resolution, players may draw two cards from decks or take one from the discard pile to add to hand.
- draw from decks or discard — On dial resolution, players may draw two cards from decks or take one from the discard pile to add to hand.
- eco resolution events — If multiple players call eco, they resolve their card effects in order, and the card condition may require rotating or playing additional cards.
- gaining and rotating symbols — You gain or rotate symbols by drawing tokens, placing cubes, or rotating dials as per the card and token text.
- harbinger role — The Harbinger begins the round and draws tokens; the current holder of the bag is termed Harbinger.
- Limited Points — Gaining points advances a marker; the game ends when someone reaches 80 points (60 in a shorter variant) and the winner is determined after the wild token is resolved.
- placing energy cubes on symbols — Players place energy cubes on symbols on their cards when a new token is revealed.
- play cards from hand — On the appropriate dial phase you can play a card from your hand face-up in front of you.
- red map/tile placement arrows — Some cards have red placement arrows that must be followed to add map tiles, mountains, trees, or animals with placement restrictions.
- resolve card effects top-to-bottom — Card effects are resolved one at a time from top to bottom, with multi-effect cards being resolved sequentially.
- rotating the dial — Players rotate their dial 90 degrees clockwise to resolve effects; if you can't place a cube you rotate the dial.
- scoring and victory track — Gaining points advances a marker; the game ends when someone reaches 80 points (60 in a shorter variant) and the winner is determined after the wild token is resolved.
- Tile Placement — Effects allow placing mountains, trees, or animals on valid tiles according to adjacency rules.
- Tile/Map Shifting — Some cards have red placement arrows that must be followed to add map tiles, mountains, trees, or animals with placement restrictions.
- token drawing from bag — The Harbinger draws an element token from the bag and reveals it for all to see.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- you'll shape the earth create oceans mountains and deserts you'll grow the animal kingdom
- be the first to get 80 points
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 7bwRAZmqE20
Game Night Picks - Pair Of Dice Paradise Top 10 List at 1:25 sentiment: positive
video_pk 28794 · mention_pk 84482
Click to watch at 1:25 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Ambitious, large-scale thematic scope
- Rich strategic choices with a strong spatial/geomorphology layer
- Encourages player creativity in continent design
Cons
- Steep learning curve and heavy rule set
- Potential analysis paralysis for some groups
Thematic elements
- Terraforming, landscape evolution, and competing visions of ecological grandeur
- A formative stage of Earth's history where players influence landmasses and habitats to shape a continent
- epic world-building with simultaneous shaping of geography and ecosystems
Comparison games
- Ragusa
- Aqua Mirabilis
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Resource conversion — Unusable elements can be converted into energy cubes or additional cards
- Simultaneous Play — Round structure involves all players acting at once after a token reveal rather than taking turns
- Tableau Building — Players complete cards from their tableau to influence the continent and their strategy
- tile/continent shaping — As landscapes, habitats, and species are selected, the continent evolves and scoring opportunities emerge
- Tile/Map Shifting — As landscapes, habitats, and species are selected, the continent evolves and scoring opportunities emerge
- Token drafting from a bag — Element tokens are drawn and revealed, providing options to all players
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- "as you play, you are forces of nature molding the planet with competing visions"
- "an economic commodity speculation game set in the Renaissance"
- "in aqua mirabilis you in this game take on the role of a perfumer whose goal is to produce novel and exquisite perfumes to the king and his court"
- "cat cafe is a dice rolling press your luck party game"
- "Inquisitor is a cooperative murder-mystery game based on a novel with a historical religious setting"
- "La Stanza is a fast-paced board game in which players take the role of patrons of the arts"
- "Kingdoms Candy Monsters a take that, press your luck party game"
- "you are a villain eager to accumulate candies to accomplish this"
- "if you don't feed your monsters they'll eat all your candy and run away"
- "you aim to collect loot tiles with your Robin and then sell collections all of the same colour"
- "the game is a cooperative modular tile placement city building game"
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–5 of 5