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Game Info
Year
2004
Collection
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Description
Reef Encounter is about life on a coral reef! Using polyp tiles, players grow different types of corals, which they can protect from being attacked by other corals through judicious placing of their four shrimp counters. To be successful, players must consume polyps from neighboring corals in order to acquire the 'consumed' polyp tiles that are the key to the game. The consumed polyp tiles have a myriad of uses (and have a similar effect to the action points in games like Tikal and Java). Most importantly, they can be used to flip over or lock the coral tiles, which determine the respective values of the different types of coral at the end of the game.
Description from the designer, Richard Breese.
Expanded by:
Reef Encounter of the Second Kind
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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 3
This page: 3
Sentiment:
pos 3 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–3 of 3
Video 4fUskrJWUkc
Heavy Cardboard Top List at 1:24:33 sentiment: positive
video_pk 85982 · mention_pk 221580
Click to watch at 1:24:33 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
Highly Positive
Pros
- Considered Richard Borg's best game.
- The teaching method by Scott Nicholson is highly praised.
- It's described as 'phenomenal' and bumped up the list.
- It's considered 'that good', and a game that 'needs to be played'.
Cons
- Notorious for being 'really hard to teach'.
Thematic elements
- Building and consuming coral
- Underwater reef
Comparison games
- Apples and Giraffes
- The Key Series
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- abstract strategy — Described as 'basically an abstract'.
- action selection — The game involves making decisions about actions and how to play, with the speaker mentioning a 'good teach' and the game being 'opaque to begin with'.
- Area Control — Players are 'building up a reef collectively', implying control or placement within a shared space.
- Worker Placement — The description 'parrot fish go eat various Reef or various corals' suggests workers (parrot fish) interacting with locations (corals).
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Dez & Seagull is an intriguing concept. It's a deck building game, it's an area control game.
- The Expanse is a deck building game, it's an area control game. It's a very cinematic experience. It's a challenging game.
- Dice Throne is exciting. It plays quickly. It's satisfying.
- Spirit Island is a challenging game. It's very thematic. It has a lot of complexity. It's cooperative. It has deck building and area control.
- Root is a strategic game. It's asymmetrical. It has area control and variable player powers. It's got a charming theme.
- Terraforming Mars is an engine-building game. It's strategic. It's a long game. It has tile placement.
- Gloomhaven is an epic game. It's a campaign game. It's challenging. It's a dungeon crawl. It has card drafting.
- Twilight Imperium is an epic game. It's a very long game. It's a grand strategy game. It has area control, negotiation, and is a 4X game.
- Scythe is beautiful. It's strategic. It's an engine-building game with area control. It has a unique theme.
- Brass: Birmingham is an economic game. It's strategic and deep. It has network building and resource management.
- Ark Nova is a complex game. It's strategic and engaging. It has action selection and set collection.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 3OSffm1m4WA
The Dice Tower Top List at 10:03 sentiment: positive
video_pk 34014 · mention_pk 101272
Click to watch at 10:03 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Unique feel and weight for a Euro
Cons
- Mean-spirited and heavy for some players
Thematic elements
- Growing reefs with parrot fish
- Underwater reef-building
- Tactical reef-building with potential aggression
Comparison games
- Tiger and Euphrates
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — Build reefs and place pieces to influence scoring
- area/area-control — Build reefs and place pieces to influence scoring
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- This Martin Wallace game really fascinated me at the time; it was unusual, unique.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video AC0OZsvhWXg
Foster the Meeple Top List at 12:34 sentiment: positive
video_pk 8303 · mention_pk 24367
Click to watch at 12:34 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Sounds intense
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Ecological management
- Ocean reef
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Area Control — Polyps grow into corals and fight for control of the reefs
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- We love trick taking games
- This game is so much freaking fun
- I adore GMT games, they are becoming one of my favorite game publishers
- If you remember Vast Crystal Caverns is in my top five games of all time
- We bloody love it
- We can't stop playing
- It's a blimp game not a train game
- That's just work
- I don't think I want to play it
- I'll get it eventually
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–3 of 3