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Game Info
Year
2016
Collection
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Description
From the creators of Osmos comes Karmaka, a competitive card game that plays out over multiple lives.
Karmaka is a tactical card game set in a karmic universe. Players begin the game as lowly Dung Beetles. In life after life (hand after hand) they climb their way up the Karmic Ladder, racing to see who will achieve Transcendence first! During each of your lives you'll be working towards three ends:
Score enough points to climb the Ladder and keep up with your rivals.
Stash a good selection of cards to your Future Life. This will become your opening hand next life.
Play cards for their abilities to help yourself or to hinder others.
But what goes around comes around. A key tension in Karmaka is that after playing a card for its ability, a rival may take the card into their Future Life. Your actions may come back to haunt you in the next life...
Score points to ascend while sowing the seeds of your next life, and – if necessary – sabotage your rivals. But remember, what goes around comes around, and your actions have consequences in this life...and the next.
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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 3 ·
mix 1 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–5 of 5
Video dXGGVcc-MfI
Getting Games Top 3 List at 1:24 sentiment: positive
video_pk 92241 · mention_pk 247785
Click to watch at 1:24 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- amazing art
Cons
none
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- the box cover on this is so epic you've got all these large faces of aliens and worlds and spaceships and stars flying all around it looks like an amazing science fiction movie
- it's a Space Opera epic kind of feel to it as you are invading a bunch of systems and customizing your Starships
- the cover to such a good good job of conveying all those different things in just this just really awesome way it really feels like it's about to tell you a story with that cover
- the cover on this game and all the art throughout the whole game it has that same aesthetic
- I just love this hard sci-fi aesthetic it really brings me back to my childhood when I just loved reading Isaac aoff and Arthur C Clark
- the art style and I know not everybody's going to like this art style but ultimately if we're talking about stuff to put on your wall you got to go with something that really appeals to your certain given aesthetic and this is just it for me I love love it
- it's just stunning
- I would love to see what your top three board game covers are for these three categories
- almost went with seven wonders duel but
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 3_k1z93Ok6o
Getting Games Playthrough at 0:04 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 92238 · mention_pk 247774
Click to watch at 0:04 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
- Stunning art across all cards and components
- Engaging, high-tension interaction with meaningful stakes
- Fresh twist on take-that mechanics by passing ruined cards into the opponent's deck for use in their next life
Cons
- Heavy direct player interaction may not appeal to everyone
- Interactions can feel chaotic and punishing in a race-style game
Thematic elements
- Transcendence across multiple life forms through reincarnation and deck-building decisions.
- A life-cycle themed race where players begin as dung beetles and attempt to transcend through a ladder of life forms via card-based actions.
- Lifecycle progression with future-life planning and reincarnation outcomes.
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Bottom abilities and interactions — Many cards have abilities printed on the bottom that can affect other players or your own Deeds, and some can be countered or used by opponents.
- Color-based ladder progression — Advancing up the ladder depends on color totals in Deeds; reaching a color threshold grants advancement to the next life level.
- Deck Manipulation — Some cards let a player look at an opponent's hand and steal or copy a deed or ability, influencing both immediate and future life planning.
- Deeds area and color thresholds — Deeds are stacked in a single column; players build sets of colors to reach thresholds that advance them up the chromatic ladder.
- Exposed Deeds and Ruin — Some Deeds become exposed and can be ruined by certain effects, including opponent actions and specific card abilities.
- Future Life, the Well, and drawing — Cards can be put into Future Life; during reincarnation, you draw from the Well to form a new hand, and some cards copy or move cards between areas.
- Ladder Climbing — Advancing up the ladder depends on color totals in Deeds; reaching a color threshold grants advancement to the next life level.
- Look-and-steal mechanics — Some cards let a player look at an opponent's hand and steal or copy a deed or ability, influencing both immediate and future life planning.
- Multi-Use Cards — A card can be played as a Deed (top-left value and suit used for color thresholds), played for its bottom ability, or placed into your Future Life for access later.
- Rings and reincarnation rewards — If you reincarnate without climbing the ladder, you gain a karmatic ring; rings can be spent to increase your Deed level later in the game.
- Take That — Cards often interact by removing or sabotaging an opponent's Deeds or future life, creating tense, race-driven interactions.
- Take-that style interactions with hand/deeds — Cards often interact by removing or sabotaging an opponent's Deeds or future life, creating tense, race-driven interactions.
- Three ways to play a card from hand — A card can be played as a Deed (top-left value and suit used for color thresholds), played for its bottom ability, or placed into your Future Life for access later.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- the art in this card game is stunning just vibrant and gorgeous on every card in the game
- the moment anybody gets there the game is over they win
- this is a race game
- I am in general not a fan of games with heavy take that elements
- I promise I shuffled this deck quite a bit
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video F7BfuqrMehI
UndeadVikingVideos Discussion at 31:19 sentiment: positive
video_pk 88350 · mention_pk 232750
Click to watch at 31:19 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Enjoyed that a bit
- Adds a little more complexity
Cons
none
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- action selection — Implied by the worker placement description.
- Worker Placement — The game is described as having worker placement mechanics.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Ghost Face the game it was pretty dumb
- YouTube Shorts are like a whole different weird thing I'm still trying to figure it out
- it would be stupid to me not to try and catch lightning in a bottle again
- I just did 40 of them while we were on did and you know what 39 of them won't do anything but if one of them hits bam boom
- our flag means death is a comedy on Max
- it is absolutely an LGBTQ TV show
- we have been using our old roommates ex-girlfriend's Grandma's Netflix account for the last six years
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video hXQZ3FIxN-o
Sir Thecos Other at 27:27 sentiment: positive
video_pk 84102 · mention_pk 213175
Click to watch at 27:27 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- pretty cool
- really cool wallet edition
Cons
none
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Prediction — with like a little bit of prediction
- psychological — and like psychological stuff
- solo — this is like a pure solo game.
- Trick-Taking — a trick taking game
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- It looks really nice, really adorable.
- This is like a trick taking game with like a little bit of prediction and like psychological stuff which is pretty cool.
- This year's spiel was, as always, an amazing experience.
- It's incredible how this fair brings people together, just like board gaming itself does.
- I'm infinitely grateful for all of you.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video IsbEJRRntQc
The Dice Tower Analysis at 4:01
video_pk 80528 · mention_pk 196145
Click to watch at 4:01 · YouTube ↗
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Transcendence
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- So, we have a game here called Sequoia. This is from 2022.
- It's It's fine. I'm giving it a six. Uh Beasty Bars is is is a fun style game where you're playing these different type of animals, and I think each additional expansion made it more complex and less fun.
- Trias is an old dinosaur game that originally came with cubes, and eventually they had little dinosaurs in it instead. And it's kind of grow out to different things. This is a very I have this ranked as a seven. Probably now, the next time I go through my rankings, I'll probably rank it as a six because it's fine, but it's showing its age.
- All righty, of all the games we talked about today, my favorite here is clearly David Goliath, although Hooky is a very close second.
- Either way, it's always good to talk to you all.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–5 of 5