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Game Info
Year
2021
Collection
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Description
Set in feudal Japan, Philosophia: Floating World is a deck-building game which can be played either in turn-taking or fully simultaneous mode. You can build majestic pagodas and Shinto shrines, learn ancient eastern wisdom, explore the world, or fight ancient monsters — or all of the above. This is a sandbox-style game, and how you play is up to you!
In Floating World, you play as one of six unique characters from Edo Japan, each with a unique power and a mysterious secret. The game plays simultaneously over three phases that repeat until one player has gained a victory condition. All phases occur simultaneously, and they are:
The Draw Phase: Draw six cards from your deck, then pass them to another player. They take these cards, discard one of their choice, then separate the remaining five cards into two piles, one containing two cards and one containing three. You do the same for another player, then take your two piles, discarding one of them and playing the other.
The Collect Phase: Collect items and bonuses indicated on the cards in your hand. You may also pay time tokens to perform extra actions in the next phase.
The Action Phase: Simultaneously take actions based on your cards in hand and those that you chose in the collect phase. Disputes caused by the simultaneous nature of these actions are resolved using the influence track, where the player at the top of the track chooses the outcome; choosing in your own interest, however, drops you to the bottom of the track.
Rounds continue in this way until a player gains any of the seven victory conditions available, such as collecting all four ganbaru tokens or discovering another player's secret location and achieving any two of the ganbaru tokens.
Philosophia: Floating World contains over 200 tarot-sized cards and 12 intricate miniatures and is filled with beautiful Ukiyo-e style Japanese art, all digitally remastered to regain the original vibrance of the era. Welcome to the Floating World!
—description from the publisher
Featured Videos
Playthrough
Philosophia: Floating World Runthrough
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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 0 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 2
Showing 1–5 of 5
Video 3nceg5jPsU0
Board Games UnLocked Review at 0:14 sentiment: positive
video_pk 114982 · mention_pk 327260
Click to watch at 0:14 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Innovative deck-building mechanism where opponents influence deck construction.
- Stunning and gorgeous art that enhances the game.
- Simultaneous play keeps the game moving with no downtime.
- Strategic depth despite a simple ruleset.
- Cards serve as both currency and actions.
- Quick learn and straightforward rules with intuitive icons.
- Not bloated with unnecessary components or mechanics.
Cons
- Monster deck becomes obsolete after the first successful encounter, making shopping for monster-fighting items lame.
- Killing a monster only provides a token, making that aspect feel more mechanical than thematic.
- The wisdom deck can be frustrating if desired icons are taken by opponents and not replenished quickly.
- The monster aspect feels tacked on and doesn't contribute significantly to the theme after initial use.
- Player interaction in multiplayer might lead to a clunky mess due to simultaneous play and limited resources/locations.
Thematic elements
- Feudal Japan eras
- Feudal Japan
Comparison games
- Rising Sun
- Tang Garden
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Card Drafting — Players draft cards, and the way these cards are presented and divided by opponents is a key element.
- Deck Building — Players build their own decks, but opponents significantly influence the cards available or chosen. The game innovates by having opponents select piles of cards for the active player.
- Hidden Movement/Location — There is an element of hidden location, aided by the small board size, adding a layer of deduction and surprise.
- Resource Management — Players manage resources like time and money to perform actions, including defeating monsters or acquiring items.
- Set Collection — Collecting specific icons or resources is a part of achieving victory conditions, such as building shrines or completing deals.
- Simultaneous action selection — Players choose their actions simultaneously, leading to a fast-paced game with no downtime. This also introduces strategic elements where players can anticipate and counter opponents' moves.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Your opponents have so much actual control over what you are allowed to do and I think that's extremely fascinating.
- The art for this game is just absolutely stunning.
- This game is just so clean.
- It's brilliant. It's such a unique way of deck building in a gorgeous game.
- The monsters almost feel like tacked on.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video svBK7ETu5MM
Board Games UnLocked Review at 0:16 sentiment: positive
video_pk 114979 · mention_pk 327257
Click to watch at 0:16 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Engaging solo variant
- Interesting thematic elements
- Strategic depth with card play and resource management
Cons
- AI can sometimes perform repetitive actions without progress
- Difficulty in acquiring specific items for combat
- Searching for locations can be time-consuming
Thematic elements
- Samurai vs. Sumo Wrestler, destiny, honor, loyalty, athleticism, tradition
- Medieval Japan
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- action selection — Players choose actions like moving, building, studying, fighting, or shopping.
- AI Opponent — A specific AI opponent (Sumo Wrestler) is used for the solo variant.
- Area Control — Players occupy locations to prevent opponents from moving there or to achieve objectives.
- Card Drafting — Players draw six cards and then select cards to keep or discard based on cost.
- Deck Building — Players acquire new cards that are added to their discard pile, eventually being shuffled into their deck.
- Dice Rolling — Dice are rolled to determine resources collected (builders, money, time tokens).
- Hand Management — Players manage their hand of cards for optimal use of abilities and resources.
- Set Collection — Collecting specific items or building shrines contributes to victory conditions.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- The sumo wrestler's abnormal ability would be he can exchange all five location cards without paying one time token that is pretty good
- The most expensive car the most expensive cost card is the one that gets discarded
- The yin and yang this is the fundamental symbol of taoism it symbolizes the eternal dao or the way the two sides dark and light spill into each other and represent the balance of nature the yin is the dark swirl and the yang is the light yin is chaos and yang is order yin is the feminine yang is the masculine calmly flowing water is yin but the waterfall is yang taois believed that the secret to existence is to live between these two forces to be flexible to the will of the universe and to follow the tao
- I took his shrine from him suck it
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video lUqcMIMl63w
Board Games UnLocked Playthrough at 0:16 sentiment: positive
video_pk 114981 · mention_pk 327259
Click to watch at 0:16 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Beautiful art
- Thematic depth with Japanese culture and philosophy
- Engaging mechanics like simultaneous play and player powers
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Feudal Japan
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Movement — Players move tokens or figures around a map or board to different locations.
- Card drafting/selection — Players acquire cards, which can be used for various actions like buying items, building, or providing special abilities.
- Combat — Players engage in combat against 'bad guys' or 'monsters' using specific items or abilities.
- Deck Building — Players acquire new cards that are added to their deck, influencing future actions.
- player powers — Players use special abilities unique to their chosen character, such as the Samurai's Katana card or the Ronin's cheaper boat passage.
- Resource Management — Players manage resources like coins and time tokens to perform actions and acquire items.
- Set Collection — Collecting specific sets of items or symbols seems to be a goal, as indicated by needing certain weapons or symbols for actions.
- Simultaneous action selection — The game is played in a simultaneous way, described as 'simultaneous uh way'.
- Worker Placement — Time tokens are placed on actions or locations, possibly blocking them for other players or signifying progression.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- God this art is sexy
- Ronin means one boo dishonor
- Wu wei is a central concept in taoist philosophy wu way translates as effortless action it is the idea that we must surrender ourselves to the power of the universe those accepting wu wei put their own plans aside and allow themselves to bend the power of nature this they argue is the path to human flourishing
- Wabi-sabi is an important idea within japanese zen buddhism it has no direct translation in english but it reflects the beauty of the imperfect transient nature of things
- The four noble truths the buddha taught that there are four truths about life which we all must understand if we are to live along buddhist principles one is life is suffering two suffering is caused by desire three to end suffering you must end desire and fort and desire you must follow the noble eightfold path
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video w0QAGoBcpYc
Board Games UnLocked Review at 0:17 sentiment: negative
video_pk 114980 · mention_pk 327258
Click to watch at 0:17 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
negative
Pros
- The art is absolutely stunning.
Cons
- The AI is dictated by die rolls and doesn't replicate a human player.
- The AI makes decisions that make zero sense.
- The solo variant removes unique deck building and player choice.
- The game is drawn out, boring, and stretched.
- The solo variant is unbalanced.
- The AI can get an unlimited amount of certain tokens.
- The AI takes all available resources, leaving none for the player.
- The solo variant is not well thought out.
- The solo variant makes you dislike the base game more.
- The game is an hour long but hinders the player.
- The player is battling against sheer dumb luck.
Thematic elements
Comparison games
- Root
- Tapestry
- Anachrony
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- AI Player — The AI player's actions are primarily dictated by dice rolls, which does not replicate human decision-making.
- Deck Building — The unique deck building aspect of the multiplayer game is removed in the solo variant, making it feel like a generic solo deck builder.
- Dice Rolling — Dice rolls heavily influence the AI's actions and progression, often leading to nonsensical outcomes and frustrating the player.
- Token Collection — The AI can acquire an unlimited number of certain tokens, while players are limited, creating an imbalance.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- The multiplayer game is absolutely fascinating with the unique way that you deck build and the choices that you're giving other players...
- what makes philosophy a floating world so great is all removed in the solo variant i am not a fan of it at all
- everything about the unme or the ai player is dictated by die rolls like they it it brings in no decision as like to replicate an actual human player
- this game is horrendously bad and boring
- this represents the person who was on this phone the entire time while you well everyone else is trying to play
- on a scale of 110 i'm gonna give the solo variant for philosophia floating world a three i think it is significantly below average
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video nMihwPNR2EI
The Dice Tower Top List at 22:56 sentiment: negative
video_pk 80001 · mention_pk 280325
Click to watch at 22:56 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
Negative
Pros
- Beautiful artwork
- Cool theme
- Nice clean appearance
Cons
- Simultaneous play doesn't work
- Clunky and terrible execution
- Awkward tiebreaker track
Thematic elements
- Warriors / anthropomorphic bears
- Japan
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — It has a little bit of area control.
- building — has a little bit of building up different of the temples and stuff around it.
- Combat — Has a little bit of this idea of fighting monsters.
- Simultaneous action selection — It is also a simultaneous game that clearly was not made to be played simultaneous.
- Tie-breaking — you have to go to this tiebreaker track, which is really awkward to adjust also in real time.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- The game mostly speaks for itself. We've all experienced it. We all want to forget about it. Sorry I brought it up here.
- I think I think we live in a more innocent time and I miss that.
- This was a huge, huge disappointment for me because I wanted to like it so much.
- Seal is one of the biggest hype to reality moments that I've ever had. Just that that gut check of like, yeah, you still live in a in a messed up earth. You lost faith in humanity.
- There's so many mistakes and so many disappointments and we still tried to play through so much.
- my number one is what my clear number one because it was the worst execution possible of any game.
- And so on top of the fact that it didn't work, which is a huge problem, but if you didn't enjoy assembling them and if you assemble them just like a teeny bit off, not only would the marble like roll down and get stuck, but it would roll off the side of the first piece and just fall on the floor.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–5 of 5