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Game Info
Year
2020
Collection
Mechanic profile
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Description
Gate is a solitaire tower-defense game in which you take on the role of the leader of a small medieval town under siege from a swarm of vile creatures from the local forest. You have to manage the health of your town's gate, the tower, and the local farm. In addition, this attack is causing fear levels to rise. If you cannot keep your gate standing or if the fear of the townspeople gets too high, you lose the game. If, however, you can hold off the swarm of enemies long enough, you will be victorious!
Gate uses deck-building as the driving mechanism in the game. You start with three starting cards, but as the game progresses you can recruit new people from your town to help your cause. Each character has unique abilities, and some even have special powers. The enemies in the game get increasingly more difficult with each new wave, so you have to make good choices as to when to spend resources on fighting off your foes, upgrading your command, and repairing your town.
—description from designer
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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 6 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 1
Showing 1–7 of 7
Video tazrSKJv9Lc
Rules Teach at 0:02 sentiment: positive
video_pk 69173 · mention_pk 165540
Click to watch at 0:02 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Clever design by Bruno Cathala, doing "so much with so little."
- Sharp and highly interactive two-player experience.
- Offers significant opportunities for strategic depth, mind games, and deduction.
- Theme is well-integrated with literary crossover potential.
- Publisher (Ketchup Games) has a strong track record of producing excellent games.
Cons
- Does not work for players who dislike games where "for me to win, you must lose."
- The memory element can be a slight drawback for some.
- The "take that" mechanic of forcing opponent's actions can feel potentially nasty, though it's well-balanced.
Thematic elements
- High society, gaining the ear of the Great Gatsby
- America in the roaring 1920s
Comparison games
- Pandemic
- Seven Wonders
- Seven Wonders Duel
- Battle Line
- Schotten Totten
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- action selection — Players choose from a limited set of actions available on the board or from special action tiles.
- Area Control — The game is fundamentally an area control game with multiple mini-battles across different areas like races and the cabaret.
- Imperfect information — Some game elements, like the identity of certain luminaries, are hidden, leading to deduction and uncertainty.
- set collection — Players aim to collect sets of 'luminaries' or 'members of society' of the same suit or one of each suit to win.
- take that — One action allows a player to dictate the action their opponent will perform on their turn.
- tile placement — Players place tokens on tiles in the cabaret, with adjacency rules applying.
- worker placement — It is a worker placement game where players take turns placing a shared worker to perform actions.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- This game, we are so symbiotically linked in this game. Everything I do directly affects you both in a traditional area majority because haha, I'm going to win that racetrack now. There's no way you can take it from me.
- This game is super sharp. It is Bruno at his cleverest.
- Gatsby is really special. I I think this is probably one of Bruno Cthala's designs I have enjoyed the most over the years.
- I would love to see more games try to adopt great works of fiction and turn them into interesting games.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video n8yXyY7QY60
Review at 0:20 sentiment: positive
video_pk 68040 · mention_pk 164364
Click to watch at 0:20 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Impressive board size for a small box
- Clean art and graphic design
- Gold foil touches on the board
- Immediate victory conditions create constant tension
- Ability to manipulate the timing of the endgame
- Intrigue from not knowing which characters are removed
- Secrecy of face-down characters provides intrigue
- Brilliant incorporation of intrigue similar to Mr. Jack series
- Awesome special action tiles
- Tight and tense decision space
- Streamlined gameplay
Cons
- Has a memory element which the reviewer typically dislikes
- Dark blue and purple characters look very similar, making them hard to distinguish, especially in dark lighting
Thematic elements
- Gaining influence of characters to reach Gatsby
- 1920s and Long Island
Comparison games
- Splendor Duel
- Seven Wonders Duel
- King Domino Duel
- Mr. Jack series
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- action selection — In this game, it's action selection. So, the first player is going to take this action token and they are going to do something like this. They're going to place it on an action square.
- area influence — You're trying to gain influence of characters so that you can influence and get to Gatsby. ... you're going to place a token and it has to be adjacent to a token.
- End game trigger — The game ends also, or instead, if you get one of each of the five different colors, like black and yellow, you know, there's purple, there's red, there's blue. So, if you get one of each of the five, you win. And if that doesn't happen, the game ends in a different way. Then you basically just add up all the points, which are stars, and whoever has the most points in the end wins. ... the last character is is taken or rallied. that ends the game immediately.
- hand management — The special action tiles... when you get them, you basically get to draw three of them, pick one, and keep it.
- memory — There is a memory element. ... You got to remember what you saw earlier in the game, and then someone may or may not have swapped with it that later game.
- set collection — You're either going to be James Miller or Darthy Williams. ... Here's the board set up. There's three main areas that you're going to be working on here. This is the cabaret. Then we have the finance center. And then we have the racetrack. Now, as you can see, there's characters. Some of them are face up and some of them are face down.
- Variable player powers — You're either going to play one side or the other side. You're going to be one or the other.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Bruno Catala is my favorite designer.
- This was my number one most anticipated game for Gen Con in my video that I did recently.
- Spoiler, it's amazing.
- Seven Wonders Duel, the Splenders Duel, those games were games that almost replaced the original games for that player count.
- This game is fantastic. It's unbelievable.
- It it meets all my expectations of a number one most anticipated game.
- For all those reasons, it's getting obviously a sex on Saturday, which is my highest honor, which means I'm keeping this.
- Run and go get this at Gen Con because I think they're going to have limited copies there. And it is going to sell out fast.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video ZQO10w7A07U
Cy a couple Top 10 List at 7:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 66310 · mention_pk 161306
Click to watch at 7:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- art direction and production look appealing
- two well-known designers collaborating
- thematic depth with social-influence tension
Cons
- no explicit cons discussed in the clip; potential risk for analysis overload if not balanced
Thematic elements
- influence characters to capture Gatsby's attention
- Gatsby universe with social maneuvering and influence
- thematic, character-driven interaction
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- area influence / location-based actions — players influence characters across multiple locations to capture Gatsby's attention.
- multi-location action sequencing — actions are taken across several locations, shaping the path to success.
- Simultaneous Actions — actions are taken across several locations, shaping the path to success.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- we're here with the best two-player content out there
- I really like two-player head games two player games when you can go head-to-head
- we'll play all of them and we'll tell you about all of them
- two-player implementation of games I do love a good two-player implementation
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video vor3EwEg0MU
Allies or Enemies Review at 0:12 sentiment: positive
video_pk 61013 · mention_pk 153398
Click to watch at 0:12 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- tight two-player abstract design with meaningful decisions every turn
- strong action-selection mechanic that creates strategic forethought
- high replayability through variable cabaret layouts, distribution of character tiles, and bonus action tiles
- clear rulebook and components with thematic aesthetic
Cons
- theme is not strongly Gatsby-themed in practice
- start-of-game tile face-down reveals can obscure which tiles are available
- abstract nature may not appeal to players seeking strong literary tie-ins
Thematic elements
- two-player abstract strategic duel with social-climate and collection goals
- Roaring 1920s, loosely themed around The Great Gatsby
- thematic veneer with original characters rather than canonical Gatsby figures
Comparison games
- Seven Wonders Duel
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- action drafting — On your turn, you move an action token to a space; that space is then unavailable to the opponent, shaping both players' options.
- action selection with blocking — On your turn, you move an action token to a space; that space is then unavailable to the opponent, shaping both players' options.
- Area control / majority scoring — Racetrack and other zones reward majority presence for character tiles.
- badging and swapping actions — Certain spaces grant the ability to swap characters or tokens, or to influence the opponent’s next action.
- endgame triggers — The game ends when a player has three of the same color or one of each color; if not, tally stars on tiles.
- set collection — Players collect character tiles by completing lines or meeting conditions, aiming for three of a color or one of each color.
- special action tiles and one-time abilities — Bonus actions that are per-player and non-blockable by the other player once obtained.
- tile collection / set collection — Players collect character tiles by completing lines or meeting conditions, aiming for three of a color or one of each color.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I really like the action selection system where once you pick an action, you at least know that that's an action your opponent can't do.
- every decision you make, you are considering what that opens up for your opponent.
- this is really Gatsby iname only.
- it's fairly solid two-player game.
- I was pleasantly surprised cuz it did seem very simple on the surface, but there was just enough like under the hood that I was able to kind of feel clever with some of the combos I was pulling off.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video KAaT9wPeOLY
Maple University Discussion at 11:24 sentiment: positive
video_pk 35918 · mention_pk 161374
Click to watch at 11:24 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Elegant two-player duel with a streamlined core mechanic
- Clear pacing and tense timing decisions
Cons
- Thematic integration may feel niche to some
- Interaction is present but not highly deep
Thematic elements
- social maneuvering and influence within a Gatsby universe
- Great Gatsby-inspired duel in a stylized 1920s milieu
- light thematic framing with abstracted scoring/dueling actions
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- action drafting — On each turn, players select from a small set of action options and place tokens to resolve effects; it emphasizes timing and spacing.
- two-action draft/placement — On each turn, players select from a small set of action options and place tokens to resolve effects; it emphasizes timing and spacing.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- This is our first 2026 vlog video.
- Gatsby is a two-player game in its simplicity and I recommend it.
- The interlinking part is very satisfying and the engine grows as you chain actions.
- We are going to share our top five new-to-us games of 2025.
- This is by Cranial Creations. And this is so good.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 9gH9snRBGss
Tabletop Turtle Review at 1:20 sentiment: negative
video_pk 10506 · mention_pk 130510
Click to watch at 1:20 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
negative
Pros
- Cabaret mechanism interesting
Cons
- Disjointed gameplay
- Boring mini-games
- Skip turn mechanics
- Forced action selection
Thematic elements
- Social influence
- Jazz Age
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- token placement — Players place tokens across different locations to recruit characters
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- You can't take it with you when you die.
- We don't need all these games.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video _YeKuiHQS2U
BoardGameGeek Playthrough at 16:41 sentiment: positive
video_pk 3186 · mention_pk 83152
Click to watch at 16:41 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Engaging, evolving puzzle with meaningful player interaction
- Multiple viable paths to victory via track strategy and set collection
- Dense, thematic feel that rewards planning and adaptation
Cons
- Relatively complex setup and rule-following can be intimidating for new players
- Board state and token placement can be confusing without guidance
Thematic elements
- Influence, social maneuvering, and high-society gamesmanship
- 1920s Jazz Age, Gatsby-era milieu
- Narrative prompts embedded in play, evolving as actions unfold
Comparison games
- Katan
- Exit Advent Calendar
- Clue Conspiracy
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- multi-track action economy — Board is divided into cabaret, financial district, and racetrack tracks; actions advance along tracks to gain characters and bonuses.
- Once-Per-Game Abilities — One-time-use tokens grant unique effects; some tokens enable swaps or disrupt opponents, adding strategic tension.
- set collection — Victory can be achieved by collecting either five different suits (colors) or three of the same suit, driving strategic tile/tokens placement.
- set collection by suits/colors — Victory can be achieved by collecting either five different suits (colors) or three of the same suit, driving strategic tile/tokens placement.
- special action tokens — One-time-use tokens grant unique effects; some tokens enable swaps or disrupt opponents, adding strategic tension.
- tile/track placement with adjacency — Players place influence tokens orthogonally adjacent to existing tokens, building toward an unbroken line and enabling access to characters.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- The board is in three sections and you will choose an action to do and that action will correspond to uh one of these sections on the board.
- You're trying to trace an unbroken line diagonally from one side of the board to the other.
- The deal is that Gatsby is a two-player game with a very twisty puzzle and it rewards careful planning.
- Never give up. Never surrender.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
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Showing 1–7 of 7