Blimey! You and your blokes have been banished and stripped of everything but a few shillings and table scraps. Undaunted, you journey to a strange land to reinvent yourself and reclaim your honor. Will you farm the earth, fight as knights or finagle your own feudums?
Feudum (latin for fiefdom) is an economic medieval game of hand and resource management for 2-5 players. With many strategies at their disposal, players optimize four actions per turn in attempt to score the most victory points over five epochs.
Each player controls several medieval characters that roam the countryside tending farms, taxing towns and taking outposts in effort to rise in power.
But that’s only the tip of the behemoth's horn! You will also compete to acquire coveted feudums, which increase your membership status in one of six guilds. But beware! Feudum owners must pay homage to the king through military service or face the charge of disloyalty.
Once a guild member, you will dutifully play your part in a progressive economic cycle, whereby the farmer ships goods to the merchant who equips the alchemist, who invents black powder, which arms the knight, and so on.
If you run your guilds wisely, maintain control of key locations and adapt best to changing events, you will be victorious. Unless, of course, you starve, get sidetracked by sea serpents or develop an unhealthy interest in fermented grapes. Long live the King!
How to play Feudum
Spiel 2025 Pickups! LIVE & tired!
- Taught incredibly well
- Teacher was a 'gaming machine'
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Eurogame — A strategy game often characterized by indirect player interaction and economic themes.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Well the way I think of it is one day we'll have a situation where the live show went perfectly last time so we'll start the next one we won't have to ask that it'll just be without a hitch
- If you get nothing else from this yeah that's the important they say 72-hour window if you don't hit it within 72 hours oh you're you're likely an experience of bad things so yes to get on it quick if you think you might be getting experiencing shingles
- I really enjoy I look big conventions are fun they're exciting yeah small conventions yeah I just do now I agree
- I love deck builders it's probably one of my favorite types but eventually unless you're adding a very new mechanic it does just become like when I walking by the market yeah buy the most expensive card that's available pick up cards that let you draw more cards like it's cold
- For both of us to be thinking that simultaneously and find each other it was just perfect it was perfect
- It's not everyone's looking for a hug damn thing right it's like get a feel at it a little bit
- I avoid pre-announcing games that we might feature because our schedule can change and I just don't want disappoint
- It's nice to go back and play some older ones I wouldn't only get to and it was nice to see a lot of people there
- The point is it's really to the show yeah it was fog of love the gameplay we did for fog yes yeah yeah yeah I really enjoyed that particular gameplay because I don't want to remove like a fog of disbelief that everyone has but not everything we do in every part of every gameplay happened in that moment no right absolutely not
- Mr. Rogers neighborhood all day long I yeah I mean Bob Ross is great but I watched Mister Rogers
- It's nice to have a moment of silence we're both going where is it where is it
References (from this video)
- Strategic, interactive, and thematic
- Players control thief figures
- Avoid city guards
- Use equipment like grapples, climbing tools and smoke bombs
- City guards are controlled by all players, potentially leading to escalation
- Thief guilds robbing the rich
- Medieval town of Baccarat
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- action selection — Skillfully using equipment like grapples, climbing tools and smoke bombs to divert attention.
- Area Control — Players control thief figures who try to avoid city guards.
- Pickup and delivery — A strategic interactive and thematic pickup and delivery game.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- I was very happy when a big new Days of Wonder game was announced.
- There's no way in a million years and I'm not trying this game.
- More Wingspan makes me happy it's a wonderful game.
- All that makes for a must try game for me.
- I love the whole look of this version.
- The thief has promised to be a tense stealth-like video game feel with it.
- If we do what may be excited about this one.
- I love these games so more is what I want. One a year please.
References (from this video)
- Loved every second of it with upgraded components
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- it was our first trip to gen con in indianapolis also known as the best four days in gaming
- we have a very expensive toll highway in our neck of the woods so we always tell our map apps to ignore toll roads which means it's also going to ignore the toll tunnel and the toll bridges that would get us across the border in a reasonable amount of time so instead we drove through buffalo which i mean i don't recommend it that means we took the scenic route down to indianapolis which we are expecting to be about an eight-hour drive it was 13.
- gencon was being super safe this year by requiring masks and proof of vaccinations so the first task was to wait in this unbelievably long line to show our vaccination papers
- if you want to go hit the comment section complaining about masks and vaccines don't even bother because i'm going to delete it
- we thought for sure that attending a conference of 50 000 people will get the job done but we stayed masked all week and when we got home look at that no covid it's funny how that works
- if you're gonna go to gen con i definitely recommend eating first and lining up later
- multiple cge reps described as bonkers so i can't wait
- i thought the component quality was a little crummy even in this deluxe version
- indianapolis wound up being my least favorite city that starts with i and ends in indianapolis
- Match madness duo turned out to be a compelling hit
- i just could close my eyes for a little bit
- this was my favorite mask of the show by the way
- detroit seemed way cooler than indianapolis by the way let's have gencon there next year
- cheryl jerry rigged these tim hortons cups as rain barrels to keep us dry
References (from this video)
- Cora
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- this is a very scientific exploration of what the best game according to Beatrice the board game dog of the year is
- there are now actually four prizes there were three before but now there are four
- Let's Jump Right In to round number one
- please like subscribe share do all those things
References (from this video)
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
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Quotes (from this video)
- that's the new Vladimir sui game
- I am living the dream I love board games
- This is not something I'm looking to like make money off of
- I think every other year makes more logistical sense
References (from this video)
- Interactivity is ridiculously good
- Amazing mechanics
- Got attacked and it broke the game for me
- medieval
- Fled
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- player interaction — The game has player interaction that Scott found 'ridiculously good' but also found that it broke the game for him when he was attacked.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- I never I still haven't gotten my shipment well so that's weird man
- the Catalyst games Peterson games like uh buyou like fell through and nobody knows exactly what happened it's just it's a big giant um C fuffle that
- the path to us for finally completing and delivering the gods War I is coming into view in the next few weeks we are going to have a major announcement on this thank you for your continued patience in t that we realize it's been a frustrating journey
- hyperspace is you know we'll get to it eventually
- I think I got my highest score ever on H Gaia project the other day 100 and something
- when people go silent like completely silent and they don't say anything for months it's because they have no interest zero interest zero interest of actually completing what they're doing
- I hate forgetting [ ] I hate it I hate you st lits you're getting old I know but I hate it
- you know they they say if you're afraid of homosexuals that means that deep down inside you're homosexual and that worries me because I'm afraid of dogs
- Growing up I never would have believed that one day i' need a computer just to masturbate
- he did that so he'd have something if you're one of those people that complains that their CVS receipts are too long oh man you're gonna [ ] hate books
- it's good it's a perfect movie
References (from this video)
- Stunning production values and high table presence.
- Visually impressive components like metal coins, upgraded castles, and models.
- Considered a very heavy and rewarding game for those who enjoy that complexity.
- Expansions like 'Queen's Army' add solo/multiplayer variants.
- Artwork is gorgeous and detailed.
- Extremely heavy and difficult to learn.
- Expensive, with the base game costing around $100 and expansions adding to the cost.
- Buying individual expansions can be redundant if a big box version exists.
- The reviewer had to chase the designer for promised components.
- Box size might be larger than necessary for the components to attract attention.
- Guilds and medieval life
- Fantasy
- Voidfall
- Twilight Imperium
- Concordia
- An Age Contrived
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- 4X — Compared to Voidfall, it shares 4X elements but with a fantasy theme.
- Area Control — Implied by the map and the movement of pieces.
- Deck Building — Players use a standard deck of cards for actions, similar to Concordia.
- Guild Management — The game's hook is its 'Guild' system, differentiating it from Voidfall's tech hook.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- This is gorgeous what a lovely production
- It doesn't end am I right about that you just go and you play and you just do things and when you're done doing things it's got a Save State
- The every picture I've seen of this looks wonderful and marvelous and I'm jazzed about it
- 8,000 chits yeah what is it 60 wooden animals and over 80 other wooden tokens God help us
- It is very much like strangely it's like a fantasy version of void fall
References (from this video)
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Quotes (from this video)
- Mmm, when in doubt, err toward omission. A null field is always better than a wrong field.
- The most important thing: rules are meant to be broken. Why else would they make books so thick and impossible to remember?
- Here's the thing I think it balances itself out and I also think you never play board games right.
- We're playing through Gloom Haven right now, we're actually going through we're we're probably going to get I hope almost done with Crimson scales Trails of Ashes.
References (from this video)
- incredible artwork
- compelling Euro style gameplay
- worth the effort to learn
- extremely long teach time (2 hours)
- overwhelming amount of actions and cards
- requires significant commitment
- owning all expansions immediately after initial play
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- action selection — Euro style hand management action selection style board games
- Hand Management — Euro style hand management action selection style board games
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- one of the most incredible pieces of artwork I've ever seen
- one of the most ridiculously compelling Euro style hand management action selection style board games I've ever experienced
- if you're willing to sit through the 2-hour teach with notes sitting in front of your section to learn how to use like the 17 cards that are in front of you and the multitude of actions you can take with them this is worth it
- don't do like I did and immediately rush out and buy everything for it
- Mark Swanson is one brilliant two ridiculous three has made a a beautiful wonderful incredible game that I'm still going to continue to own
- you got to punch like 700 chits and then get them all organized you got to figure out a tub or a container to organize them on
- whole economy system a whole blind space exploration a AA control combat style head-to-head Skirmish
- masterpiece where the economy of your ships get leveled up technology gets added
- I had one friend who fell in love with this who had a copy for himself who taught me how to play it who made me love it
- I point at that game and I said that game's amazing one of my favorites of all time and then I clarify and I say I'm not teaching it to you no we can't open it
- hold on to that board game that you have high hopes for it's not hurting anyone hopefully
- it's not just getting them to the table sometimes it's looking at them and thinking about what it'll be like when you do get it to the table or what it was like when you did
References (from this video)
- Sprawlopolis
- Suburbia
- The Saurer's
- Tibay
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- nobody, including us, need this many games.
- This is Divan. Mhm. I don't know anything about this game. I bought it because it looks beautiful.
- This could have easily been a Reiner Knizia game I feel like.
- And I love a reason to play Lost Ruins of Arnak Lost Ruins of Arnak because I think it's a great game.
- We have to empty our unplayed game shelf from everything that's not 2025 releases and then we'll put it in there and the rest go on the floor until we manage to play them.
- And it's based on the problem called what is called again it's based on the seven bridges of somewhere.
- I feel kind of like bad about bringing a hundred games back home.
- I I usually they go in, they go out. And that's also the thing like if I haven't played a game in a month, I will not remember the rules most of the time.
- The longest line I saw was for coffee. In the morning before the whole office.
- What's more important for you for the channel? Playing the popular ones or the less known niche ones?
- My favorite animal beside the monkey which is my favorite animal. The capybara.
- We are basically very lucky because we share a lot of hobbies.
- The building thing Ah, it was too much building. I didn't like that too much.
- It's been super fun. It's so many people. It's been so long since we did a live.
- Thank you so much for watching. Like it. We wouldn't have done this if it wasn't for you.
References (from this video)
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
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Quotes (from this video)
- It looks visually amazing. I personally like the color palette of the game, and I think it does look really good.
- The game is a heavy game. It's a Some people will call it a medium game, right? It's a 45-minute teach.
- Agemonia, still fantastic, still really good.
- It's all three of our number one games of all time.
- Does it fit with the Marvel theme? Absolutely. It it really does.
- I
- Magnate: The First City designed by James Naylor and I'm going to be doing a giveaway for it.
- So, good luck for that and I'll announce the winner next month.
- all of my advertising revenue from all of my videos every month goes to charity.
- So yeah, Solar Titans is going to get three play throughs on the channel in December.
- It's going to be January and February. In fact, February's looking like a good month for me at the moment.
- Talisman Nemesis is the latest expansion for fifth edition that turns the game into a one versus many game.
- And me and Rick on a Tuesday night we're starting playing the Arnak cooperative campaign. So that is another series of play throughs, Lost Ruins of Arnak the cooperative campaign.
References (from this video)
- Folding the paper to eliminate rows is interesting.
- The blocker mechanic adds a cute twist.
- Can be difficult to get desired shapes.
- Can get into a bad situation if not careful with placement.
- Tetris style flip and write
- Tetris
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Action Point Allowance — Players spend action points to rotate, mirror, or remove sections of the grid.
- flip-and-write — Players flip a card and write/fill in shapes on their personal sheet.
- Pattern Building — Players fill in shapes on a grid to complete rows.
- Row Clearing — Completing rows allows players to fold their paper, eliminating those rows and potentially opening up new space.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- We laugh, we learn, we level up, too.
- So, we have some flowers already in the middle, but basically we have a hand of petal cards and we are placing them into the flower.
- In this game, there's a lot of plucking happening today, actually.
- It is a Tetris style flip and write from Korea Board Games.
- It is a dueling game. Who would have thought? For two players.
- Hello. Welcome to the wall. This is Pana's Hot Takes Christmas edition.
- So, the question and I are crushing it.
- This is a great intro builder to deck building.
- So, if you're looking for a small, easy deck builder that's like super familyfriendly, uh, check out Super Meow from Space Cow.
- In this game, we have some mascots about to race down the football field.
- Can they roll over THE FINISH?
- You're supposed to do stuff.
References (from this video)
- Got its annual play during the convention.
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- And everything from the gang was played on up to High Frontier.
- Orville was probably the game of the convention. I would argue.
- Yeah, I think they were playing the full Monty, but they only played one um whatever you call the how it delineates the the chapters, if you will.
- You know, a game's long when people are saying, 'Yeah, I love High Frontier, but the game's just too long for me.'
- The joy I get from running the convention isn't, 'Oh, what games did you play?' Cuz let's face it, as the convention runner, I don't get to play a lot of games during Heavy Con.
- And without those discussions, um Ryan Courtney the designer never happens.
- Whoa. Okay.
- If you weren't running a board gaming channel on YouTube, how often would you play epic games like High Frontier 1822, Mega Civ, etc.?
- It's not a space issue. It's a when I cut things off, I cut things off.
- My answer is going to be a lot different than probably most.
- And so, yeah, usually Saturday morning, that moment is is pretty cool.
- It is the most stressful thing I do every year, but as long as people keep enjoying it, I will keep putting on the convention.
- Um, like dude, settle on a design and develop it.
- It's it's it's not worth talking about at this point.
- There's there's a pacing there's to the to the to the story of the hand.
- Bro, you know exactly what you did. Just just don't do that. That's all I said.
- You have an absolute maniac.
- Bro, what are we even doing here?
- If you're not betting your hands with these hands, you're why are you playing poker? Because you can't win money this way.
- Staggering negligent play on his part.
References (from this video)
- too big
- too many pieces
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Hey everybody, I'm Tom Vassal. Welcome to Look Back. This is a series that I do where I take a look at reviews that I did 1 year ago, 5 years ago, 10 years ago, and even 20 years ago during this time frame.
- It's It's doing okay. I think it's in the 4000s at BoardGameGeek. I just didn't like it at all. Boring, boring airplane travel game.
- What a fantastic game, a real-time shoot-'em-up strategy style game. Very entertaining. 10 out of 10. Just a great game. Still love this game 10 years later.
- honestly for a game that's themed on Taco Bell is like a 10 out of 10 in a sense cuz you're expecting it to be bad.
- This is the follow-up to the very popular Dominant Species.
- This is a fun party game in which someone's dying and they write a message on the board, but the other person he erases I think half of it.
- So, this is like the lowest seven I can give a game in a sense.
- The artwork is a little uh uh It's all mixed over. It's muddled and they made it for people who love Overpower and they threw in the kitchen sink.
- We're trying to get more people to play these games and they made it super complex.
- Point chips from a bag. That battle system is my favorite part and a lot of interesting decisions.
- The theme of the world is a little mundane for me. I wish there was more. It wasn't as interesting as it could be.
References (from this video)
- Component upgrades enhance the game's presentation.
- Multiple paths to victory exist.
- The Guild action is unique and interesting.
- nobles stripped of titles and possessions start again from scratch
- a foreign land
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Action Card Play — Players secretly queue up action cards and play them in turn order, with each card having a primary and an advanced action.
- area influence — Players place influence markers on locations to gain control, with different tiers like ruler, serf, and subject.
- Combat — Players can attack each other's pawns or feudums using pawns, with attack and defense values influenced by resources and unit types.
- End-game scoring — Points are earned throughout the game, with additional end-game bonuses from Charter cards and other conditions.
- Guild Management — Players gain guild stars based on their actions and control, which grants them positions (guildmaster, journeyman) with associated benefits and functions.
- Resource Management — Players manage various resource cubes (saltpeter, sulfur, iron, wood, food, shillings) for actions and upgrades.
- Set Collection — Collecting landscape tiles and Royal Writ cards are key to earning points and end-game bonuses.
- Tableau Building — Players can acquire vessels and tame monsters, which function as special units with unique abilities.
- Worker Placement — Pawns are placed on the board in different locations, and their type (farmer, merchant, etc.) can grant guild standing.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- Fifteen rosary beads on a farm girl’s chicken! Yo ho ho and a barrel of krud.
- The church frowns on - you know - peasant abuse - (‘Elp! ‘Elp! I’m being repressed!)
- So it’s basically Grand Theft Airship.
- Serf’s up, dude!
References (from this video)
- great variety in play
- ambitious design
- difficult to learn
- requires time to teach and play again
- political/economic empire-building
- medieval fantasy/pantheon-like
- Villainous
- Le Havre
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- heavy euro with variety — varied routes to win, long play time, multiple systems
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- "Netrunner is a fabulous game now I used to play this all the time"
- "it's the best of those"
- "it's so good I can't emphasize how good this is"
- "Claustrophobia is a must-have for your collection if you're a Dungeon Crawler"
- "Gardenbau sponsored by 25th Century Games"
- "you buy one of these packs and you're good to go"
References (from this video)
- strong visual language and unique look
- art-driven narrative and world-building
- heavy rules and brutal teach for new players
- often perceived as obtuse by newcomers
- politics, trade, and power in a quirky, art-forward fantasy world
- surreal, colorful feudal world with odd machinery and social climbing
- highly stylized and visually distinctive
- Root
- Pax Pamir
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- area_control — players vie for control across the board using influence and placement
- auction_and_trade — economic actions and resource acquisition drive player progression
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- arc nova is a game i absolutely will be playing like if i play no other game that entire weekend
- free shipping is one of the biggest lies of this world like it's not free
- i am vehemently opposed to the customer is always right
- you owe it to yourself to play Arc Nova
- mind management has done pretty well for you
References (from this video)
- Impossibly complex to cover in three minutes
- Tutorial video is 40+ minutes long
- Rules explanation feels like parody
- Cones of Dunshire-level complexity
- Economic simulation
- Medieval feudalism
- Cones of Dunshire
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
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Quotes (from this video)
- I used to call this a shelf of shame that was a pretty common thing to call it back in the day and I don't never really liked that term because I don't feel shame that I haven't got to these games
- this is mostly work like this is just a backload of things I probably should get to
- people will still be looking for it
- it doesn't matter if the game is like 20 years old people will still be looking for it
- I've painted this one and I spent a lot of time doing it
- there's no point putting them on the channel I think both of them have been out of print for like a decade
- one of the worst kickstarters by one of the worst studios in board gaming history
- Golden Bell Studios did everything wrong you could possibly think of
- purely toxic company run by incredibly terrible people
- it would be kind of a joke that I'd be able to do a three minute video of feudum
- this game has a tutorial video online that's like 40 minutes long
- The Rose explanation video feels like a parody but it's actually how the game is played
- nothing personally to me puts me off playing a game that then sitting down unboxing it and having a craft assignment
- stop making me spend hours assembling your damn games
- this is an uncontrollable mess right now
- I'm a full-time dad and I'm really doing this in the evenings
- I have a finite space and also it just puts pressure and stress on me having a whole bunch of crap there that I know I'm not going to get to
- I'm going to do a big cull
- I will be published by this company but that doesn't mean I'm going to be slavishly devoted to every single game they put out
- I am a sucker for cute animal games like I really am