Game Info
Year
2024
Players
1-4
Age
14+
Playtime
120 min
Collection
Mechanic profile
Not enough video data yet
Vibe profile
How this game feels to play
Description
In the year 2021, after years of seclusion underground, humanity emerges onto the surface, propelled by the development of groundbreaking new technology. Decades of catastrophic fallout from a nuclear disaster during the Cold War have laid waste to the known world, compelling civilization to seek shelter beneath the earth. The pressing task now is the construction of regenerators, which will generate new habitats to facilitate the resurgence of life and the reclamation of the Earth. A world brimming with hope awaits aboveground.
Phoenix New Horizon is a Euro-style board game in which players assume control of a team of commandos tasked with the mission of recolonizing Earth. Throughout the game's four rounds, players accumulate victory points by constructing regenerators and buildings, bolstering the planet's population, and achieving diverse objectives that vary between playthroughs.
Players must adeptly allocate their commandos to various actions throughout the game while also specializing them to enable more potent abilities at the expenses of versatility. Fulfilling missions assigned by the governing authorities yields additional actions on a player's turn.
—description from the publisher
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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 9bQ94K0jzs4
Top List at 0:24 sentiment: positive
video_pk 68115 · mention_pk 164443
Click to watch at 0:24 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Excited to finally get it
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Recolonize Earth
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- worker placement — You got worker placement in it.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Here are the top five board games I am the most excited to see at Gen Con 2025.
- If you made here, let me know which game you are the most excited to see from this list.
- Or if I missed any cool ones, let me know cuz we're about to have a full-on shopping bag that's full of games.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video K_lKQxIJmXg
Top List at 0:59 sentiment: positive
video_pk 67614 · mention_pk 163766
Click to watch at 0:59 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Action Point Allowance — when you upgrade them, there becomes more and more limited actions for them.
- worker placement — strategic worker placement game. You can place your workers on the level that they're at, but you can also upgrade your workers to new levels.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Lightning Train is a bag building train game.
- Rowdy Partners is a team-based trick taking game.
- Hot streak is a wild and silly game about racing mascots.
- Pinched is a really social set collection game.
- Phoenix New Horizon is a really strategic worker placement game.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video j5R24L8d5BM
Top List at 19:06 sentiment: positive
video_pk 67505 · mention_pk 163630
Click to watch at 19:06 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Unique worker placement system with a tech tree-like progression.
- High strategic depth.
- Interesting decisions regarding worker upgrade paths.
Cons
- Can lead to regret if the wrong path is chosen.
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Tech Tree — It's essentially like a tech tree. And so, as you're upgrading your worker, you're picking a path for it to go down.
- worker placement — Phoenix New Horizon is a worker placement game.
- Worker upgrade — You can then upgrade your worker to the next level. and the actions become more powerful, but also they become more limited.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- And it doesn't seem like it's slowing down anytime soon.
- And because I play a lot of games, it's really important to me to find games that feel like nothing else that f I want to find games that do something different that scratch an itch in my brain in a different way because I've never seen it before.
- And I feel like all 10 of these games did stand out for various different reasons. They feel different than other games out there.
- And I dare you to find a more unique theme in all of the board game industry.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video NKXxTzf0hTA
Rahdo Runs Through Top List at 1:19:40 sentiment: positive
video_pk 2318 · mention_pk 6755
Click to watch at 1:19:40 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Wonderful worker placement with novel mechanics
- Interesting post-apocalyptic setting
- Cartoony retro presentation
- Great game demonstration/teaching
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- post-apocalypse
- rebuilding civilization
- Fallout-adjacent
Comparison games
- Fallout
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- life is too short to worry about games that don't work very well
- all of these games are really really cool in various ways
- Rich and deep and complex
- phenomenal
- no surprise that Designer artist Ryan Locket
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video PXsW25eOLsM
Rahdo Runs Through Playthrough at 0:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 1251 · mention_pk 3621
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Very fast loop: 12 turns per game, under 90 minutes with high engagement
- Rich depth for a mid-weight Euro: lots of meaningful decisions per turn
- Strong theme integration and flavorful components
- Excellent variability due to setup randomness and objective diversity
Cons
- Solo learning curve and occasional ambiguity around rules (noted in the subtitles corrections scene)
- Tracking and rule interactions can feel clipboard-heavy in practice
- Kraken AI can feel punishing or mechanically tricky in solo/multiplayer interactions
- Initial confusion around correct placement and rule interpretation in some turns
Thematic elements
- Rebuilding civilization, resource scarcity, strategic competition, and inter-player dynamics
- Post-apocalyptic future where humanity emerges from fallout shelters to rebuild after nuclear Armageddon; Phoenix Initiative as a reconstruction program
- Narrative-forward Euro with a Fallout-inspired flavor; competitive but themed around rebuilding
Comparison games
- White Castle
- Earth (Big Crunchy Euros)
- Holler tole (Holler-tole)
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Asymmetric opposition (Kraken AI) — Kraken acts as an opposing player controlled by cards, simulating human competition and blocking/shaping your options
- Blue shortcuts and modular board — Blue shortcut paths and a modular action board provide varied routes to top-tier actions and diverse setups each game
- End-of-round and round progression — Rounds advance with income and card refreshes; the Kraken AI continues to push for advancement, influencing pace
- Objective cards and micro-objectives — A mix of global and personal objectives that drive choices and scoring with varied rewards
- Progress tracks and upgrades — Workers move up in levels to access higher-level actions; advancing tracks also impacts end-game scoring and income
- Resource management (fuel, energy, etc.) — Fuel is scarce and pivotal for builds; energy and other tokens drive progression and incentives
- worker placement — Players assign workers to actions; promoting/upgrading workers unlocks new action sets and alters available options
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I think it's one of the games of the year in my opinion
- speed speed speed
- the more I play this the more I fall in love with it
- it's so wonderfully done
- I love a Euro where we're building economic infrastructure
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–5 of 5