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Game Info
Year
2018
Collection
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Description
Amsterdam, present day. A crime has been committed, but the police investigation is going nowhere. An anonymous client has called your detective agency to investigate. However, your rivals are on the case as well, so there’s no time to waste.
Your Intelligence Officer will guide your Detectives through the city, by sending pictures to communicate. Each image contains location intel ... for those who can understand. But you need to decode the messages faster than your rivals while avoiding the police! Explore the city to find three pieces of evidence, and deliver them to your client before the other team in order to receive payment — and win the game!
The police don’t want you on the case, so you’d best stay out of their way! If they spot you sniffing around, they’ll put you behind bars, giving your rivals an easy victory.
Shadows - Amsterdam is a real-time simultaneous competition between detective agencies, using pictures that contain intel to communicate within your own team. Player roles are asymmetrical: each Intelligence Officer tries to guide their own team around the board, and the Detectives try to understand their Intelligence Officer’s clues in a fast-paced race to victory.
Featured Videos
Rules Teach
How to play Shadows: Amsterdam (3 minutes)
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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 4 ·
mix 2 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–6 of 6
Video Xh5fdRAMwUA
Rolling Dice & Taking Names Discussion at 16:23 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 93503 · mention_pk 253077
Click to watch at 16:23 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
- The real-time aspect is appealing to some.
- Locations can be won by either team, but once claimed, cannot be reclaimed by the other.
- Can be a more interesting game with people you know well due to the real-time aspect.
Cons
- Tony felt he needed to play it again, initially not feeling the love for it.
- The real-time aspect was not enjoyable for Tony, who prefers turn-based games.
- Clue givers have to stare intently at the board, potentially giving away their focus.
- It's not considered a 'Code Names killer' by Tony.
- Tony would rather harass the clue giver than be one.
Thematic elements
Comparison games
- Code Names
- Dixit
- Mysterium
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Deduction — Players give clues using picture cards to associate them with tiles on a hex board.
- Movement — Clues can lead to adjacent hexes; two clues require moving to adjacent hexes.
- Objective — The first team to find all three clues and return to headquarters wins the round. Landing on police markers results in a loss.
- real-time play — Both teams play simultaneously, creating a fast-paced experience.
- team-based — The game is split into two teams, similar to Code Names.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I don't know what the devil they're talking about.
- My back was bothering me a little bit this morning but nothing like a good Aleve can't take care of or some push-ups.
- You know what you're gonna have to do until you started playing.
- I'm not a big fan of the mythos phase but everything else I do like more than the other games.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 6nexQhE3Mw0
Getting Games Review at 47:01 sentiment: positive
video_pk 91806 · mention_pk 246449
Click to watch at 47:01 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Tense, social, and dynamic real-time play
- Strong tension from shared clue deck and speed
Cons
- Real-time play can be stressful; learning curve for rules
Thematic elements
- real-time, city-themed clue/guess game
- live, fast-paced deduction with a shared clue deck
Comparison games
- Code Names
- Mysterium
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- code-names + mysterium hybrid — Clues are given using a pool of cards; no vocal hints, instead players infer and discuss to move pawns to checkpoints.
- hex-grid clue matching — Clues must semantically match the locations; clues are selected from a common pool and can be given as two or one card(s).
- real-time clue giving with shared hand — Two teams; clue givers use a shared face-up pool; players guess locations on a city map.
- real-time clue-giving — Two teams; clue givers use a shared hand of 10 hex environment cards to guide their team to checkpoints on a city map.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I think this is a really great design from any dice drafting perspective it's very clean.
- this game was an absolute blast to play and I don't think I ever want to play it again
- I would like to have this one in my collection
- the central neutral airship that is effectively flying around a small planet
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video -hYyKRBwr7M
JestaThaRogue Rules Teach at 0:10 sentiment: positive
video_pk 91464 · mention_pk 245451
Click to watch at 0:10 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Real-time simultaneous play creates tension and excitement
- Clear two-team dynamic with asymmetric roles
- Short play time (~20 minutes) suitable for quick sessions
Cons
- Can be chaotic and require quick, precise decisions
- Communication is restricted to card-based signaling rather than speech
Thematic elements
- cooperative deduction with competitive scoring between two teams
- Amsterdam cityscape featuring detectives and intelligence officers in a competitive, time-sensitive investigation
- real-time, simultaneous decision-making with hidden information
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- asymmetric roles — Two players act as intelligence officers while the rest play as detectives.
- Deck Building — Intel cards are drawn and placed face-up on specific tiles to guide actions.
- Deck drawing and card placement — Intel cards are drawn and placed face-up on specific tiles to guide actions.
- Hidden information and secret mapping — Intelligence officers secretly reveal map cards to influence detectives' movement and strategy.
- Simultaneous Actions — All players act in real-time within a shared three-phase cycle, rather than taking turns.
- Simultaneous Play — All players act in real-time within a shared three-phase cycle, rather than taking turns.
- Token and track management — Evidence tokens and police tracks determine progress and scoring toward the round win.
- Track Advancement — Evidence tokens and police tracks determine progress and scoring toward the round win.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- it's a real-time party game
- the intelligence officers can only communicate through these cards
- gather Intel from the ten available
- the round ends when a team collects three pieces of evidence and gets to the client space first
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video k5rABLKEiUM
The Dice Tower Other at 3:28 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 81546 · mention_pk 203163
Click to watch at 3:28 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
- Cooperative game
Cons
- Wanted to like it more
- Theme gets a little lost in the weeds
- A little tricky
Thematic elements
- Amsterdam
- Based on pictures on the board
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Deduction — It's kind of a deduction style game.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Hens is a game I didn't like at all.
- Gobblet is a simple game in which you are to stacking pieces and trying to get four in a row, but bigger pieces cover up other pieces.
- Dice as resources to buy cards, kind of like a Dominion-style game. And it was fine. It just didn't have any kind of air of excitement to it.
- And it's a big, grandiose Euro-style game that I thought worked pretty well.
- The biggest problem with Echoes of Time is I think it's almost too short.
- It's a cool mechanism. This is the game that should have it.
- It's a very different feeling of Lost Cities. It's not as good as Lost Cities, but it's still pretty cool game.
- It's very Ameritrashy.
- It's a lot going on in this game.
- I think my favorite of those is Pixel Tactics 2.
- Thanks as always for joining me in my pile of mid games.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video SGXvH0p9Tyw
Actualol Top List at 4:10 sentiment: positive
video_pk 11895 · mention_pk 129010
Click to watch at 4:10 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- exciting mix of Code Names and Mysterium vibes
- pits two teams against each other in a tense real-time chase
- strong thematic integration with a frantic pace
Cons
- real-time pressure can be stressful for some players
- clarity of clues depends on players' interpretation
Thematic elements
- frantic real-time social deduction in a city setting
- two teams racing through Amsterdam to complete objectives
- high-tension, time-pressured play
Comparison games
- Code Names
- Mysterium
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- art-card clue system — clues are conveyed via art-style cards to guide teammates without revealing everything.
- Image Deciphering — clues are conveyed via art-style cards to guide teammates without revealing everything.
- limited decision timing — the clue giver must balance speed and accuracy; mistakes carry risk.
- Real-Time — teams race to reach objectives in real time as opposed to turn-based pacing.
- real-time competition — teams race to reach objectives in real time as opposed to turn-based pacing.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- it's intensely thematic as you spend the game drawing on your map trying to eliminate possible areas and deduce where it could be
- Chronicles of Crime is a crime solving game in the vein of Sherlock Holmes consulting detective that uses an app to deliver its clues and story
- the game lets you step into the crime scenes yourself by using virtual reality glasses with the phone app
- Shadows Amsterdam feels like a wonderful combination of Code Names and Mysterium turned up to eleven by introducing the frantic stress of a real-time game
- Detective a modern crime game is a crime solving cooperative game from Portal Games
- the cases are rich and complex and you will feel like real detectives as you take notes, pour over all the information and argue with your friends about suspects and leads
- Railroad Inc hits that perfect spot for a roll and write game of being easy to jump into
- the river is the latest game from Days of Wonder who are famous for beautiful approachable games for newbies like Ticket to Ride
- timing is everything you desperately want to build early as bonuses dwindle
- Western Legends the freedom of sandbox means they can be loose and there's some expectation to balance the game if you don't want someone to achieve a runaway outlaw strategy you need to stop them but that's keeping with the theme
- it's the closest boardgames will come to the video game Red Dead Redemption
- Pictomania is fast fun and chaotic
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video m7-_G0XHemY
Adam in Wales - Board Game Design Discussion at 15:43 sentiment: positive
video_pk 4773 · mention_pk 117776
Click to watch at 15:43 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Stunning production and artwork”
- praised by the designer for its look and feel
Cons
- Novelty may not be for every player; new for some
Thematic elements
- Shadows Amsterdam; abstract deduction
- Mysterious deduction/lightly thematic detective vibe
- N/A
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Deduction — Players deduce or race to resolve clues in a visually rich setting
- Deduction/real-time simultaneous play — Players deduce or race to resolve clues in a visually rich setting
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- "Kuzco is the remake of Java which is one of Keesling and Kramer's mask trilogy along with Tikal and Mexico which are brilliant games"
- "I already know that I love the game Java so that is high on my list"
- "gingerbread house this is from lookout Spieler look how free that is pretty big pretty mark of quality"
- "Seven for the Queen competing to create a new necklace for the Queen and it won the best unpublished game competition"
- "Coco is a trick-taking game ya fool or Papa is a classic trick-taking game with a twist"
- "the game changes... it's basically an expansion that works for every game"
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–6 of 6