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Game Info
Year
2011
Collection
Ratings
Mechanic profile
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Vibe profile
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Description
Your genius could have been such a boon to humanity. Your death ray had wonderful pest control applications, and your volcano activator was perfect for fighting global warming. But the fools at the institute, they wouldn't listen. They called you mad! You built a monster to rend them limb from limb, which your minions assured you was the very worst way to be rended. When it became clear that the only hope for the world was your own benign leadership, you took control of TV to announce this fact. But your broadcast was interrupted by someone else taking control of TV and announcing his own plan for world domination – and then that broadcast was interrupted by yet another interloper. So. Competition. Well, the world will never be as scared of these upstarts as it will be of you. Archimedes once said, "Give me a long enough lever and a place to stand, and I will move the world." You will be the most terrifying lever the world has ever seen.
Nefarious is a quick-playing game in which the players race to build inventions like a freeze ray, cloaking device, or robotic pet before their opponents can do the same. (Interesting side note: Eighteen different artists contributed to the artwork on the different inventions in the game.)
Nefarious is played over several rounds. In each round the players simultaneously choose and reveal one of their actions that will allow them to allocate one of their Minions to an area on their Lair, obtain money, obtain a blueprint for an invention, or build one of their inventions if they have enough money to do so. The minions that you allocate to your Lair can earn you additional income depending on the actions that your neighbors choose. The first player to build 20 or more points worth of Inventions AND have more points than any other player wins.
There is a twist to the game, though – actually, two twists! At the beginning of the game, you randomly draw two Twist cards, which change the environment so that the game plays differently each time. This means that in order to win, the players will have to revise their strategies each time they play Nefarious.
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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 6
This page: 6
Sentiment:
pos 5 ·
mix 1 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–6 of 6
Video E6gHVLqUw9o
Board to Death TV - Board Game Reviews Review at 0:13 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 130656 · mention_pk 372207
Click to watch at 0:13 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
- Crisp and quirky artwork
- Solid components
- Twist cards add replay value
Cons
- Misleading strategy on box
- Not enough strategy for experienced gamers
- Not a great family game
Thematic elements
- Mad scientist game
Comparison games
- Portal
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- action selection — Players choose one of their action cards and place it face down. When all have done so, they're all revealed simultaneously.
- Hand Management — Invent lets you create an invention from your hand.
- Set Collection — Invent lets you create an invention from your hand besides the victory points you'll gain here you'll get some Rewards or nuances.
- Take That — Rewards or nuances that can affect some players.
- Worker Placement — Espionage is how you place your Minions on the board depending on the space it'll cost a certain amount in coins as shown here.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- The artwork's crisp and quirky almost like a cross between Pinky and the Brain and portal the video game
- Nefar arus gets a 6.5 out of 10
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video ZNERyNXCvbY
Top List at 11:54 sentiment: positive
video_pk 129726 · mention_pk 369194
Click to watch at 11:54 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Simple enough for kids
- Light mechanics
- High variability
- Fun to play with kids
Cons
- A child might not figure out all the nuances of the strategies
- Not a game most people enjoy
Thematic elements
- Silly
Comparison games
- Dominion
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Modular Board — there's always two different cars that you choose at the beginning of the game you randomly decide and they'll determine changes in scoring changes in how particular actions are taken or how they benefit the individual players
- variable scoring — changes in scoring changes in how particular actions are taken or how they benefit the individual players
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- this is continuing my top 100 board games of all time
- I really like the acquisition of the different character cards as the game progresses
- so so many different ways that you can go about it so many different approaches that you could take as you try to win this game
- I love the Thematic feel of it you're not a superhero in this game
- it's such a cool experience cuz as you set up the game each players take turn dropping a card from about 10 in above the board and wherever it lands it lands
- I just enjoy the Cooperative experience I enjoy the positive theme of saving the world from sickness from illness
- it's a much smaller compact experience it's a smaller box it's a shorter time
- Here's the tricky part it's that each ability does not feel as intuitive as it should should there's a lot of symbols and iconography printed on the character cards
- the variability setup is through the roof and that's one of the things that Donald X Vino is known for
- playing something that feels like it's real life right and it's kind of like a homage to these real life Heroes who save us or save others on a daily basis
- massive Darkness has a Simplicity to it that I could play it with my children
- it's a great gateway gateway game to teach to people who don't really play games
- Ticket to Ride it can overstate it's welcome especially with a large player accounts
- comment down below tell me what you think about this group of 10 which games here are your among your favorites which games you wish were ranked higher which games are you appalled by the fact that they're even included on my list
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video of4cmMXH4Kc
Tabletop Minions Discussion at 2:00:18 sentiment: positive
video_pk 84759 · mention_pk 215903
Click to watch at 2:00:18 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
Positive
Pros
- Easy to play solo.
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Bounty Hunter
- Star Wars
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Solo Play — Described as a really easy solo RPG.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Still just don't really like the newest edition of War Cry or sorry not War Cry, Killteam.
- It seems like it's not about trying to kill the other guys. It seems like it's more about just like it doesn't seem like a war game.
- There's also a lot of tokens to keep track of and stuff like that and that seems to get even worse in um Shatterpoint.
- Infinity rules are free.
- This is the essentials start here box and it's like 40 bucks and it comes with six models, three per side. It comes with six dice. Evidently, there's a ruler in there. There's card stock or cardboard chipboard like uh terrain, printed terrain. There's a card stock mat. Uh, there's cards. There's also the fancy book about how to get started and all that stuff. And uh, it just seems like it's a really good deal.
- Just started playing Notorious, which is really easy solo RPG. Basically a Star Wars bounty hunter uh hunting targets on a planet based on Ronin.
- Uh subscribe to Vince Venturella on YouTube. Vince Venturella and Sam Lens. Sam Lens artwork. I would definitely subscribe to both of them.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video PwwshO9jtss
The Cardboard Herald Interview at 1:04:20 sentiment: positive
video_pk 81284 · mention_pk 200951
Click to watch at 1:04:20 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Received an expansion after initial publication that was fun and published.
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)
- My answer, you know, hasn't changed, but the the way I put it has.
- mostly my board game playing is in fact my games play testing them.
- The most important thing is that we're having fun playing the game.
- It's a project that will be easy to work on because you've got that whole framework there.
- The secret to Dominion. So, you have a game I had a a classic game uh called Evolution from the 90s.
- The secret to Dominion... is that instead of having a tableau, we've taken everything about your position and shuffled it away into this deck and you're only dealing with a small portion of it at once in your hand.
- And so Domian does that trick and that that is the secret now, you know.
- my biggest advice was was try to get games published. See what happens.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video ap5-WMD_5Sc
The Cardboard Herald Interview at 0:31 sentiment: positive
video_pk 13433 · mention_pk 124974
Click to watch at 0:31 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- fully developed and ready for publication
- intuitive and smart design
- innovative dexterity-based mechanics
Cons
- requires large neoprene mat and long packaging box
- development complexity across multiple modes may delay release
Thematic elements
- combat racing with dexterity mechanics
- Futuristic arena racing with power-ups in open-world/arena maps
- abstract/arena-driven
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- asymmetric two-player setup — two-player design with different roles or abilities
- dexterity flicking — players flick components to move on a track or arena, affecting position and control
- Flicking — players flick components to move on a track or arena, affecting position and control
- open-world vs defined track progression — racing mode can be either open-world or track-based with different rules
- power-ups and missiles — collect and use power-ups, including missiles, to affect opponents
- Track Advancement — racing mode can be either open-world or track-based with different rules
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- it's intuitive it was smart and it did what dexterity games at their best can do
- the arena mode, which is like we have a team deathmatch, capture the flag mode, and a king of the hill mode
- I actually consulted with a professional developer to get professional feedback
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video iSW0c3h2smU
No Pun Included Review at 13:24 sentiment: positive
video_pk 5137 · mention_pk 96908
Click to watch at 13:24 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- easy access point into journaling RPGs
- artwork is appealing; ring-bound book adds physical appeal
- PDF version available; Kickstarter edition with extras
Cons
- some sections can be obtuse without a dedicated rules read
- heavy journaling requirement may deter casual players
Thematic elements
- crime, honor, and survival in a frontier space setting
- space bounty hunter; a guild-based framework
- journaling RPG with procedural prompts; story-driven
Comparison games
- Thousand-Year-Old Vampire
- Other journaling RPG gateways
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- journaling/roleplay prompts — Players construct a narrative from structured prompts; dice-driven flavor adds variety.
- random tables and faction/character generation — Rolls shape what factions or species dominate the scene.
- story deck counting and objective tracking — Certain cards count as influence or objectives; deck acts as a clock.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- solo games don't have to do that work they can be small encapsulations of an idea
- it's like Transcendental Meditation
- space radish
- are you addicted? I can manage this, I got myself this wallet
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–6 of 6