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Game Info
Year
2016
Players
1-4
Age
8+
Playtime
30 min
Collection
Mechanic profile
Not enough video data yet
Vibe profile
Not enough video data yet
Description
Lotus is a beautiful game that grows into a unique work of art every time you play.
Clear your head and take in the quiet strength of the lotus garden. It takes skillful care and nurturing to grow these flowers to their full potential, but, once picked, they provide their owner with wisdom. Beware, for there are others who will do anything they can to get their hands on these mystical flowers. You'll need to enlist the help of creatures native to this land to take control of the lotus garden and achieve true enlightenment.
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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 5 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–5 of 5
Video t1jOcyTNwDw
Watch It Played Rules Teach at 0:20 sentiment: positive
video_pk 65177 · mention_pk 158804
Click to watch at 0:20 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Combines magic and spells into a classic game.
- Offers a blend of sorcery and strategy.
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- magic and spells
Comparison games
- poker
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- hand management — Players must play a spell on their turn as long as they have cards in hand, and if they have no cards, they must pass.
- Press Your Luck — The game continues until a player reaches 25 points, with rounds repeating and players adjusting their score based on set wins.
- set collection — Players form sets by combining cards in their pocket with those in the community, referencing a hierarchy of set types (high card, pair, two pair, three of a kind, straight, flush, full house, four of a kind, straight flush).
- special abilities — Advanced spells like Voidwalk (extra pockets), Enchantment (persistent effects), Chronomancy (shift ability), and Rift (extra play area) offer unique rule variations.
- take that — Players try to outwit their opponents by forming the best sets to score points and potentially claim owls with special effects.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Hello and welcome to Watch It Played.
- And that's everything you need to know to play Hocus.
- If you have any questions at all, don't hesitate to put them in the comments below and I'll gladly answer them as soon as I get a chance.
- But until the next episode, thanks for watching.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video _4I1vQBSDW0
watch it played Rules Teach at 0:21 sentiment: positive
video_pk 65175 · mention_pk 158802
Click to watch at 0:21 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Engaging card play and interaction
- Strategic decision-making with card placement
- Interesting spell effects that change gameplay
- Clear scoring and end-of-round resolution
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- magic spells
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — Players compete to win 'communities' by having the best sets of cards.
- card drafting — Players draw cards from a deck to add to their hand.
- community building — Cards are placed into 'communities' which are scored at the end of the round.
- hand management — Players must decide which cards to play, discard, or keep, managing their hand for optimal strategy.
- player interaction — Players can influence opponents' hands or choices, such as through the 'portal' mechanic.
- pot building — Cards are placed into 'pots' which contribute to scoring or rewards.
- set collection — Players aim to collect sets of cards (e.g., pairs, triples, straights, full houses) to score points.
- special abilities — Players use unique spell cards with various effects like drawing cards, placing cards, or manipulating pots.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- hey everyone welcome to watch it played
- my name is Rodney Smith and this is Pep McDonald and we're here today to play hocus
- and we've played this a few times the two of us offc screen and pep has got a Flawless winning streak so far
- I've chosen to harness the power of chaos I think it suits you just fine pep
- I'm hoping this is going to set me up really nicely for the next couple of turns here
- I'm going to take it back to basics oh one of the three spells here here indeed
- I'm going to open up a portal oh you're going to take a peek in the pot aren't you
- my goodness you got fours and threes here four four four three and three pep did you win this
- your streak untouched untouched it's intact
- I hope that gives you a good sense of the card play the interaction
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video HztiIf0NvCA
Meeple University Review at 0:05 sentiment: positive
video_pk 63974 · mention_pk 157489
Click to watch at 0:05 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- New solo variant added
- Engaging engine-building feel around flower construction
- Aesthetic visuals and Garden theme noted positively
Cons
- Timing placements can be challenging when everyone is optimizing
- Some cards do not have play symbols and don't help in area control
Thematic elements
- growing flowers to gain majority and presence for scoring
- garden/flower garden
- engine-building/garden creation vibe
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- area majority — Guardians and petals determine which player controls a completed flower.
- Area majority / presence control — Guardians and petals determine which player controls a completed flower.
- Deck cycling / draw management — If you don't like your cards, cycle one or two cards from hand to the bottom and draw the same amount.
- deck manipulation — If you don't like your cards, cycle one or two cards from hand to the bottom and draw the same amount.
- Flower completion / engine-building — Complete flowers by placing the required petals; completing yields points and benefits.
- Guardian placement and movement — Move guardians between flowers to influence area control.
- hand management — Players start with four petal cards in hand and choose from actions each turn.
- Power tokens & Elder Guardian — Earn special powers and an Elder Guardian that modifies limits or grants bonuses.
- set collection — Petal cards contribute to completing flowers for points.
- solo mode — A new solo variant with a bot that draws cards and can trigger additional completion of winter Lotus.
- Team / Family variant — Family variant with two-versus-two team play.
- Unique player powers — Earn special powers and an Elder Guardian that modifies limits or grants bonuses.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- build your engine and get your points to take control of the Lotus Garden
- look there's my worm that means I contributed the most
- this is the new version with a few tweaks
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video cZUDVGLKW6g
Getting Games Rules Teach at 0:04 sentiment: positive
video_pk 63646 · mention_pk 157136
Click to watch at 0:04 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Asymmetric spells create varied strategies
- 24 spells across eight schools provide strong replayability
- Spell books allow for multiple distinct playthroughs with different power options
- Gorgeous artwork that evokes magic
- Not a pure poker variant; gameplay centers on optimizing spell-powered hands
Cons
none
Thematic elements
Comparison games
- Texas holdem
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Build Community — Place one card from your hand face up into a Community; up to four cards per Community; the number of Communities depends on player count.
- Build Pocket — Place one or two cards from your hand face down into one Pocket; you may not have more than two cards in each Pocket.
- Build Pot — Place one card from your hand face down next to a Community; there is no limit to the number of cards in a Pot.
- Owl Cards — Owl cards in the pot score points and can be spent later to apply their bottom-text effects.
- Showdown — At the end of a round, reveal pockets and determine the strongest five-card hand from pocket plus community cards; the winner claims the cards and points from the relevant Community's pot.
- Spell books and basic spells — Each player begins with three basic spells; there are eight Schools of Magic with 24 spells total, chosen in three spell blocks.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- there are four different suits of cards in the game and they range from 0 to 14 in value
- you never allowed to have more than two cards in each pocket
- the game is about maximizing these spells that you have in front of you that nobody else does
- there are 24 different spells to choose from
- the artistic style of the game definitely evokes magic in pretty much every way
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video SJrJAhLuSnw
No Rolls Barred Top List at 8:05 sentiment: positive
video_pk 10112 · mention_pk 29763
Click to watch at 8:05 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- visually stunning; calming but competitive
- interlocking components and art style feel premium
- interesting tension between beauty and control
Cons
- thematic messaging can be harshly competitive for some players
- might be punishing to players who fall behind early
Thematic elements
- flower arranging and territorial control
- Flower garden with lotus motifs
- calm, meditative
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — players compete for controlling the central flower patterns
- tile/card interaction — interplay of tiles and tokens to claim points from a single bloom
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- this is my list and my subjective opinions are objectively correct
- you could fry an airgun
- it's mysterium with a traitor mechanic
- i've never wanted to eat a board game piece
- the rule book has just the nicest texture
- one of the nicest box covers in the hobby
- the whole experience is crafted with such love and care
- be warned playing this game will make you want to take a holiday you can't afford
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–5 of 5