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Description
In Ex Libris, you are a collector of rare and valuable books in a thriving gnomish village. Recently, the Mayor and Village Council have announced an opening for a Grand Librarian: a prestigious (and lucrative) position they intend to award to the most qualified villager! Unfortunately, several of your book collector colleagues (more like acquaintances, really) are also candidates.
To outshine your competition, you need to expand your personal library by sending your trusty assistants out into the village to find the most impressive tomes. Sources for the finest books are scarce, so you need to beat your opponents to them when they pop up.
You have only a week before the Mayor's Official Inspector comes to judge your library, so be sure your assistants have all your books shelved! The Inspector is a tough cookie and will use her Official Checklist to grade your library on several criteria including shelf stability, alphabetical order, and variety — and don't think she'll turn a blind eye to books the Council has banned! You need shrewd planning and cunning tactics (and perhaps a little magic) to surpass your opponents and become Grand Librarian!
Year Published
2017
Featured Videos
Playthrough
Ex Libris - Solo Playthrough
Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 7
This page: 7
Sentiment:
pos 6 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 1 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–7 of 7
Video ODiYzne1Rug
Unknown Channel playthrough at 0:11 sentiment: positive
video_pk 61661 · mention_pk 154307
Click to watch at 0:11 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Elegant theme integration with a deep scoring tapestry
- Location tiles add tactical layers and variability
- Solid solo experience with clear objectives
- Pleasant and thematic art and card design
Cons
- High cognitive load for new players
- Complex tracking of multiple scoring factors can slow down play
- Some players may prefer simpler, faster games
Thematic elements
- Array
- Array
- Library management and book collecting with a strong emphasis on alphabetical order, categorization, and shelf stability
- Array
- A contemporary library environment where players curate a personal book collection and compete to build the most organized, high scoring library
- Array
- Array
- Array
- positive
Comparison games
- Shelfie
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- alphabetical ordering scoring — Maintain a library in alphabetical order; misplacements impact scoring at the end.
- category focus bonuses — Leverage focus cards to maximize points from specific genres or types of books.
- Compound Scoring — Maintain a library in alphabetical order; misplacements impact scoring at the end.
- deck-building / card drafting — Acquire and arrange card assets to populate your library while pursuing scoring opportunities.
- end-of-round cleanup — Rounds end with cleanup that reshuffles or discards cards, shaping subsequent options.
- focus management — Balancing a library focus with overall card diversity to maximize multi-category points.
- hand management — Balancing a library focus with overall card diversity to maximize multi-category points.
- location tile actions — Locations grant special abilities that can alter draws, shelves, swaps, or discards.
- penalties from corrupted codices — Certain cards incur negative points; careful selection minimizes impact.
- rectangle shelf scoring — Score points for books laid out to form shapes within a three-shelf grid.
- solo vs AI scoring — In solo mode the rival AI competes and affects final tallies differently than multiplayer.
- Tile/Map Shifting — Locations grant special abilities that can alter draws, shelves, swaps, or discards.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I absolutely love this game I love all the cards I love the books the theme is just I wish there were more book themed games
- I absolutely love this game
- I thought I was losing so bad but apparently not
- Shelfie which I thought was really fun
- If there's any book-themed games that you know that you recommend please let me know
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video DwnLIpKI5X8
Unknown Channel general_discussion at 4:55 sentiment: positive
video_pk 61557 · mention_pk 154193
Click to watch at 4:55 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Elegant theme
- Charming components
Cons
- May be slower with larger groups
Thematic elements
- Library/book collecting
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Drafting / deck-building — Draft book cards to assemble a library and manage scoring.
- set collection — Accumulate cards to maximize scoring sets.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- It's not personal, it's business, okay?
- We need to remedy that and quickly.
- I am going to be cutthroat with some of these games.
- I feel better prepared already for Spiel.
- This shelf is absolutely beautiful, but we have to make space.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video xGVWr-NbDvE
Unknown Channel top_10_list at 7:16 sentiment: positive
video_pk 61645 · mention_pk 154272
Click to watch at 7:16 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- gorgeous design
- puzzly with multiple scoring paths
- character-specific librarian actions add variety
Cons
- can be punishingly punishing for new players
Thematic elements
- alphabetical organization, library design
- libraries and books
- puzzly, card-driven
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Compound Scoring — score through multiple scoring methods and book categories
- Deck building — draft and play cards to build your library
- deck-building — draft and play cards to build your library
- set-collection / scoring variety — score through multiple scoring methods and book categories
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- it's like a double puzzle absolutely wonderful absolutely amazing
- the dice in this game are gorgeous
- it's quick it's beautiful it has a puzzle element
- it's basically a dice placement slash worker placement game
- I will forever love it
- Andrew Bosley is just the MVP
- Clank is just so great
- please God let it happen at some point
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video ls4Bo6zzwE8
Renegade Game Studios general_discussion at 6:29 sentiment: positive
video_pk 32703 · mention_pk 96861
Click to watch at 6:29 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Beautiful artwork and production
- Twelve distinct characters add variety and replayability
- Strong thematic flavor and integration with components
Cons
- Can be rule-heavy due to many character abilities
- Potential for longer onboarding and downtime with new players
Thematic elements
- Book collecting and alphabet-based scoring
- Grand library and collection of rare tomes
- puzzle/abstract
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Book-card flavor with thematic flavor text — Cards describe titles and contribute to scoring in a thematic way
- Set collection and alphabetical tableau scoring — Score is based on placing books in alphabetical order within your tableau
- Tags — Cards describe titles and contribute to scoring in a thematic way
- worker placement — Twelve playable characters each grant unique actions
- Worker placement with character-driven abilities — Twelve playable characters each grant unique actions
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- this is Clank in space
- it's amazing it is incredible we kept a pre-taped lid on it
- very exciting and lots of suspense
- you're still trying to race to get that treasure
- awesome in this game you are trying to be the grand librarian
- you are one of twelve different playable characters
- it's a worker placement game but these guys do special abilities
- it's about 20 minutes and it's a card game where you're trying to guess whether or not a row or a column is going to get completed first
- the miko does this one I love his work
- there's a reason why I was nominated for the kennerspiel des jahres this year because it is more the most unique worker placement games I play
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video lVXxU7HAI9A
Jenna's Board Game Room general_discussion at 48:19 sentiment: neutral
video_pk 27847 · mention_pk 81320
Click to watch at 48:19 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
neutral
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- set collection / drafting — Draft book titles to fulfill library-style scoring patterns.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- First Call of the night is Tiny towns
- I didn't love Meadow
- I honestly really enjoy it
- Spirit Island is staying
- we're keeping viticulture
- Penny's here too
- it's a party of puppies
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video alat_TDQ1pw
Foster the Meat Channel general_discussion at 19:11 sentiment: positive
video_pk 13654 · mention_pk 39919
Click to watch at 19:11 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Book-centric theme appeals to readers
- Accessible and satisfying tableau-building
Cons
- Potentially light on depth for power gamers
Thematic elements
- book collecting and organization
- Library-building and cataloging
- tableau-building with book themes
Comparison games
- Shelfie
- Bring Your Own Book
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- tile placement / set collection — Build a library tableau while meeting criteria
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- This video is all about board games for Book Lovers.
- Call to Adventure is a card-based narr narration game where you are going to be building out a story path for your character.
- It's very story-driven; it's very RPG-like in a board game way.
- If you're into high fantasy, you like the development of a story, I think these games are really great for that.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video wn68NByIIU0
Actual Oh top_50_list at 3:44 sentiment: positive
video_pk 546 · mention_pk 1644
Click to watch at 3:44 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- creative writing/creative guessing
- great social interaction
- thematic tie-in with literature
Cons
- some players may not know the sources
- appeals to a literary crowd more
Thematic elements
- famous first/last lines from literature
- literary artifacts and famous lines
- bluffing/guessing with secret lines
Comparison games
- Balderdash
- Dixit
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Hidden Information — secret lines are chosen by players; others guess which is real
- set collection / bluffing — players collect lines and try to guess the real line among fakes
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- the satisfying interlocking puzzle
- I would much rather play this than Cluedo
- it's such an amazing theme that sure is set in a futuristic city but has such a comment on our modern world
- I just really love that form of communication
- this is one of the best party games there is
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–7 of 7