Collection Status
Your Rating
Description
In the dark corners of Kulbak Prison, away from the prying eyes of the construct guards, inmates play a game of Goblin Vaults in secret...
Goblin Vaults is a strategy card game for 1-5 players featuring bidding, card placement, and scoring patterns. In the game, you wager cards to win loot from the central cell block, then stash that loot wisely in your vault, earning gears based on the position of cards within that vault. You can also gain gears from scoring objectives that change each game.
With cunning and clever scheming, make your bid to be feared amongst your peers! You'll need wits and luck to play your cards right as you fill your vault and influence the warden in your favor. After nine rounds, whoever has the most gears wins!
—description from the publisher
Year Published
2023
Featured Videos
Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 3
This page: 3
Sentiment:
pos 2 ·
mix 1 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–3 of 3
Video leDwysE44GU
game_review at 0:16 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 60431 · mention_pk 152828
Click to watch at 0:16 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
- Engaging and layered combination of bidding and drafting
- Multiple scoring paths and goals add variety
- Pacing feels quick while retaining strategic depth
- Open information on last moves can spark interesting decisions
Cons
- Many scoring options can make it hard to predict the best move
- Vault slots can remain partially empty, which some players find disappointing
- Can feel slow for players who dislike trick-taking or bidding hybrids
- Some reliance on luck of the draw for card availability
Thematic elements
- gear collection, drafting, and vault optimization
- fantasy goblin market and vault-building within goblin society
- abstract scoring with thematic loot
Comparison games
- Autonomy
- Ohana Me
- Need of Elyria
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Bidding with trump dynamics — Warden card suit acts as a trump; bids determine card acquisition.
- drafting — Players bid on center cards to acquire them.
- end-of-round and end-of-game scoring — Gear tokens and tier-based icons contribute to scoring; goals provide global scoring paths.
- Optional Warden actions — Matching the warden suit allows a player to move cards or discard and draw anew.
- Predictive Bid — Warden card suit acts as a trump; bids determine card acquisition.
- tableau building — Won cards are placed into chambers of a vault, forming a tiered arrangement.
- Vault tableau placement — Won cards are placed into chambers of a vault, forming a tiered arrangement.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I was thoroughly surprised by this game it was a lot of fun
- there's a lot of layers and a lot of possibilities
- it's really anybody's game no matter what kind of strategy you go for
- the clash between bidding and trick taking
- I loved it
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video KSFUIU-poJg
Board Game Spotlight game_review at 1:22 sentiment: positive
video_pk 10884 · mention_pk 120544
Click to watch at 1:22 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- tight, crunchy bidding and set-collection loop
- excellent two-player implementation
- Automa is simple and unobtrusive
- clean iconography and readable card design
- compact box with strong replay value
- solo mode included
Cons
- scoring can feel fiddly for newcomers
- theme and flavor may not click for non-fantasy audiences
- initial bidding/wardens interaction can be a bit confusing until familiar
Thematic elements
- prison/inmate-themed set collection and bidding
- In-universe goblin prison vault within Thunder Works' Role Player universe
- thematic, tongue-in-cheek dungeon/world flavor tied to the Role Player line
Comparison games
- Role Player
- Cartographers
- Lock Up
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Auction / Bidding — players bid to acquire cards for their four chambers; highest bid wins the card for that round/position
- automa play — a third player (Automa) draws and places cards, enabling a single-player or two-player feel with minimal extra time
- bidding — players bid to acquire cards for their four chambers; highest bid wins the card for that round/position
- cluster/run scoring — if a chamber contains three cards whose values form a run, you score a cluster points (e.g., nine VP for the run in the example)
- Compound Scoring — if a chamber contains three cards whose values form a run, you score a cluster points (e.g., nine VP for the run in the example)
- gear allocation — cards left unclaimed during a bid gain gears that provide victory points
- set collection — each chamber holds up to three cards; players aim to have the highest values to maximize scoring in that chamber
- set collection in chambers — each chamber holds up to three cards; players aim to have the highest values to maximize scoring in that chamber
- suits and trump — cards have suits with a trump that can change; the trump affects which cards are worth more and can alter ownership
- Tome Library scoring — if a chamber contains at least two book cards, you gain additional victory points
- Trick-taking — cards have suits with a trump that can change; the trump affects which cards are worth more and can alter ownership
- warden action — when a bid matches a faction icon, a warden action can be activated to move cards or draw/discard from a deck
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- this game is a game within a game
- we really liked it I mean if we're highlighting a game on our Channel it means we liked it
- Huge fans of Thunder Works in the job that they do as well
- Cartographers and Lock Up are both amazing
- the rule book is really well done
- small box big delivery
- we played it and we really liked it
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video dulESTbJjj4
Before You Play general_discussion at 10:09 sentiment: positive
video_pk 10412 · mention_pk 30661
Click to watch at 10:09 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- deep, thinky strategy with clear tension between auction and vault organization
- varied scoring objectives add replayability
- good player count scaling (best at 4-5 players)
Cons
- less tension at 3 players
- complexity may be a barrier for casual players
Thematic elements
- Goblins, commodity collection, and heist-like vaulting
- Goblins in a prison vault setting with gears and vault-building
- Thinky, resource-management with dungeon-crawl vibes
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- auction/bidding with gear costs — Each round you bid on up to three cards on the table using one of your own cards and pay gears if you bid lower than the highest bid.
- scoring cards and public objectives — End-of-game scoring based on card placement, suits, and faction symbols with public scoring cards revealed.
- under-bid tension — Under-bidding creates opportunity and gear costs, influencing strategy and gear management.
- vault/grid building — Construct a vault with up to four columns (Chambers) and up to three rows (tiers). 12 card spaces total.
- warden action — Matching faction symbol on played card and the warden card allows a rearrangement of your vault or drawing a new card.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- This is definitely a family weight style card game for two to six players, and there's a lot of push your luck basically in this game you're trying to score the most amount of magic points.
- it's a quick teach
- it's very simple very light
- we're not really big on push your luck
- that is toil and trouble
- I'm not a big fan of Spellbook
- the spells are going to be a bit of engine building
- there's a lot of flexibility in the game
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–3 of 3