How many players can play The Gang?

The Gang supports 3 to 6 players.

How long does a game of The Gang take?

A typical game of The Gang takes approximately 20 minutes.

What are the best video reviews of The Gang?

MindForge has curated 90 video reviews of The Gang from top board game content creators.

What type of game is The Gang?

The Gang features mechanics including Area Control, Betting and Bluffing, Compound Scoring, Cooperative Game, Limited Communication.

The Gang - Board Game

Video RwIYkmkNKhE Gaming Rules! Review at 17:14

video_pk 99450 · mention_pk 277036

Click to watch at 17:14 · YouTube ↗

Pros

none

Cons

none

Thematic elements

Historical events related to Vikings.
Viking era

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Historical integration — Specific historical events, like sinking ships in a harbor to block access, are represented in the game mechanics.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

It doesn't feel like 4 hours.
This is the player interaction game.
absolute genius that you are. This is not a war game.
the perfect level of asymmetry for me.
This is set in 2010.
It's an absolute masterpiece of a game.
it's too much for me.

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video vmNiKx01McI Sir Thecos Review at 111:38:40 sentiment: positive

video_pk 93857 · mention_pk 254471

Click to watch at 111:38:40 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

Clear rank
One of my most favorite small box games
Absolutely love this one
Absolutely amazing

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)

"I think Dominion is just the purest form of deck building."
"I think Terraforming Mars is a masterpiece."
"Wingspan is my most favorite board game."
"Root is such a unique game."
"Spirit Island is a fantastic cooperative game."
"Ark Nova is a really solid game."
"Gloomhaven is an epic experience."
"The Castles of Burgundy is a classic for a reason."
"Terra Mystica is a brilliant game."
"Founders of Gloomhaven is an interesting city builder."

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video nKMkgEED9p8 Rolling Dice & Taking Names Discussion at 42:51 sentiment: positive

video_pk 93437 · mention_pk 252766

Click to watch at 42:51 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

Fun and quick to learn
Cheap to acquire
Good alternative to trick-taking games
Allows for strategic guessing

Cons

Lacks bluffing and betting found in traditional poker
Plays better with higher player counts (5-6)
Can be chaotic with stealing chips

Thematic elements

Playing hands of poker and ranking them correctly

Comparison games

The Crew

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

cooperative play — Players work together to achieve the goal of ranking hands correctly.
Hand ranking — Players claim their rank among other players' hands, aiming for the best hand to have the highest rank chip.
Simultaneous action selection — Players select chips to claim their hand rank simultaneously.
Texas Hold'em — Based on Texas Hold'em style gameplay where cards are dealt and added each round.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

Like a Surgeon I'm Tony
It had an exit strategy and it took me out
I'm dead serious so wow
I could I could bring the game night to you
Well it's not nothing I can necessarily avoid it wasn't a diet thing right
I'm not a platformer person I really don't get into platforms but this is a very fun clever game
I really want the feeling of Netrunner again
this is a game that we got to see last year actually at Gen Con
The goal of the hunter is expose the witch
It's all about the money
it's just a cute clever game and it really uses the Dual sense controller like I've never seen
Make sure you got clean underwear before you go to the hospital

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video S54FKQH-_sw Tantrum House Top List at 21:43 sentiment: positive

video_pk 93044 · mention_pk 250982

Click to watch at 21:43 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

Very Positive

Pros

Can be played up to 10 players
Deluxe version with premium components
Highly played (almost 100 times)

Cons

none

Thematic elements

Cooperative poker game

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

cooperative play — A cooperative poker game where players try to figure out hand rankings.
Deduction — Figuring out the ranking of each person's hand.
Poker — Core mechanic involves understanding poker hands.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

All right. Number four, we've got Cano from Mad to Go for two to four players. Takes about 30 minutes to play. I like games about art and this one has that creating Japanese painted scrolls in the game.
but the art is what sort of really drew me in.
you're trying to make patterns when you put them on your board to lay tiles. It did look interesting.
I have Night at the Zoo. This is another tiling game. I love laying tiles.
really interesting it's designed The designer is the same person who did Sagrada and Aquatica, which are heavy Euro games, but this is a lighter tiling game.
I thought it was a fun theme.
So, I'm anticipating Pulitzer from 25th Century Games, and this is an investigative journalist themed game. I was a journalism major in college, so I'm always interested in these themed games.
With strings that you're I don't know exactly how it all it but it just looks really cool and interesting being able to put your strings from the different pieces of evidence you've found. tactile
So, if nothing else, the theme and the components have definitely made me interested in this game.
We've got Lord of the Rings: Circle of Conflict. I should say right off the start, it says this is an Essen release, but I believe they might have a limited copies available at Gen Con, so I'm going to call this a pre-Gen Con pre-release at Gen Con.
My understanding is you're playing against your two neighbors, the players to your left and right. So, each person has a shadow troops and the free peoples army. And so, your shadow troops are playing against your neighbors free people, and your free people is playing against your other neighbors shadow troops.
I believe this is a dice allocation game. So, rolling dice and then using them to do actions and powers and things like that.
Lord of the Rings theme, which is a theme that we really enjoy.

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video aJlO5ctxCsI Meeple University Event Coverage at 8:06

video_pk 91340 · mention_pk 244999

Click to watch at 8:06 · YouTube ↗

Pros

none

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)

haha it's fella from university I'm here at essence field 2019 they are preparing
oh you got that throw new promos for mental blocks oh wow we're giving these away for free so that's for free
so get here early and grab them before they all gone
I'm excited this is my first essence peel 2019 I've got few games that I am going to look at
oh my good in the unique oh my good universe they have the new Dell game coming up my brain is not working is yet properly and also another Alex from the fish this game Maracaibo I think it's cold but seems like everyone wants to get it
so psyche in this is probably the first one this the first time they're selling which in magnate I'm excited to get that expansion
I'm representing packs unplugs in the US that's like in about a month or so it's in early December
it's about survive and getting to the gate without being turned into monster
well we've got they setting up the games rush MD will need to come back later because I'll probably bore you if I stay one place too long
so this is the game that I want to get there it is new Dale just talking about earlier in there oh my good extension so this is it
so I'm not just finished up fidgeting up soon so I can walk around as well and maybe maybe not I'll do live tomorrow and covering other poles as well
oh my god I love unlock they're just like me and parents one of our favorite escape room games or date night games as well easy to play
so hopefully I will see you again maybe tomorrow just let me know if you need to see you want to see anything in school if you helps missing out this year I might help covering that up otherwise have a good day bye bye

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video zXPLv-pxY34 Watch It Played Analysis at 5:34 sentiment: positive

video_pk 88702 · mention_pk 234504

Click to watch at 5:34 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

Fantastic betting and bluffing game
Very casino themed

Cons

It's possible to get zero points

Thematic elements

casino

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Betting — Players play cards into casino tables and move their player piece around the board to access different tables. Money gets added to different tables each turn.
bluffing — Players can add cards that neutralize a table, and decisions are made about where money goes.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

We're in the cozy games era of games you know so many games that are nature themed and beautiful and cozy and anthropomorphic animals trading berries and having little lanterns and being all cute
I feel like the cozy games era is very much been a reaction to the world in general right comfort from our hobby the a taste for dystopia has fallen by the wayside with current events right so I feel like coziness Comfort warmth something that a lot of people have been eager to get from the board game experience
I feel like that there is space in the world for competitive board game play itself to be televised
I think the general public seeing werewolf that's fantastic how many people are going to see that TV show find out is based on werewolf buy a copy a werewolf then think this is fun buy the resistance then buy this and buy that and all of a sudden they're playing yinch

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video 2wOBFvN0Vto UndeadVikingVideos Discussion at 1:11:51 sentiment: neutral

video_pk 88088 · mention_pk 231271

Click to watch at 1:11:51 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

neutral

Pros

Jazz game

Cons

Waiting for it to arrive

Thematic elements

jazz

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Mechanics unknown.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

the most gamery one I did was definitely Blood on the clock tower
welcome to time Jinx you know we almost called this the dating game but they sent us a cease and desist
the outlier doesn't know they're the outlier it could even be you so think about whose answers don't quite fit or seem a bit odd then on your device vote for whom you think the outlier most likely is
the curtain for hypnot is about to go up you'll love it there's hypnosis and people thinking they're cartoon characters or inanimate objects then they have to figure out each other's identities laugh Riot
sadly it was a bunch of you know get this old white men that weren't all that excited about the fact that there was a young woman that wrote a wrote a like a basically an RPG based on D and D that was people were that was doing well and so they were just like shock and awe
I posted a video of uh of uh the the computer reading Ticket to Ride rules I just threw it up see what would happen in your feed throw it out in the world yeah
it's actually like reading stuff out of order
I've never seen that kind of play it's never been done I mean yeah he's and here's this thing that sucks is he's his YouTube channel he's a kid right so he can't have comments turned on
the lead actor in parasite the main the father not the not the um the businessman father that's it yeah it's a it's odd yeah

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video 5mAu571ruY4 Our Family Plays Games Discussion at 54:54 sentiment: mixed

video_pk 87064 · mention_pk 226955

Click to watch at 54:54 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

Mixed

Pros

Poker on steroids
Interesting team dynamic
Requires strategic thinking
Silent play can be a unique challenge

Cons

Difficult to win
Requires knowledge of poker
Players struggled with strategy and hand building
Can be confusing

Thematic elements

Poker

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Hand ranking — You've got to be able to rank your hand in the right order from highest or best to worse to win the game.
Limited Communication — the thing about the game you can't talk so there's no Alpha gamer you got to know how to beit your hand
team-based — it is a team game... we had a team of six people team and we' get we get our two uh cards our pocket cards we get them yeah and then you've got to you know big your hand as if you were playing a poker uh game but you got to play together as a team oh as a team to win yeah

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

Pixies blew us away I love it love it love it love pixies
the actual comic covers win you over the comic covers are great
if you a comic lover you're going to probably love this game but if you're someone like me it's going to be all right
the gang um it is poker on steroids now
it is not a co-op game it's a it's on the box contrary to what it's on the box contrary to what is written on the box TR they made a mistake it is not Co-op
we lost every time we played that thing what seven times
some people don't know how to build a poah hand
the thing about the game you can't talk so there's no Alpha gamer
I'm confused most of the time with this gambling stuff that's why I don't do it in Vegas

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video I17m_lx5KuY Our Family Plays Games Top List at 33:40 sentiment: positive

video_pk 86822 · mention_pk 226113

Click to watch at 33:40 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

Addictive gameplay
High player interaction
Unique theme combining poker and heists

Cons

Can be difficult to coordinate due to no talking rule
Initial skepticism from one host

Thematic elements

Robbing a safe in a poker-style game
Semi-cooperative

Comparison games

The Crew

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Negotiation — Players negotiate hand values without explicit communication.
Poker — The game plays out like poker with flop, turn, and river.
Semi-Cooperative — Players work together to avoid blowing up but compete for individual goals.
Set Collection — Players collect numbers to rank their hands.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

we're close to 900 games
candy is dandy
it's a simple game, it's easy to teach
I beat her twice y'all twice she has not recovered yet
great minds think alike
it is so much fun it is totally addictive
we want to take the games outside of the community and the hobbyist to people who have not seen these games are played these games

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video 0pKQ9M5_0rA Meeple University Top 10 List at 4:00 sentiment: positive

video_pk 86781 · mention_pk 225830

Click to watch at 4:00 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

Cooperative
Familiar concept for those who played poker
Good entry point into cooperative games

Cons

Can have a difficult entry point for specific trick-taking vibes

Thematic elements

Comparison games

The Crew

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

cooperative play — It's a cooperative game.
Hand assessment — Players try to piece together through each revelation of cards whether they think they've got the best hand or the worst hand.
Trick-Taking — Similar concept to The Crew, based on Texas Hold'em and poker.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

so this is the ultimate board game Christmas gift guide 2024 for $20 and under that's US
we ideally don't want to be like that right teren ideally not no don't want to end up with multiple copies of the same thing so hopefully that's why we are here
It's a one and done game because you put stickers on the cards or rip cards up and yeah really you just tell that tell your own story.
It's certainly a much better game at two players than the original.
It plays kind of like a toy as well as a game.
So in this trick taking adaptation is that you don't want to win the trick with the prince on it so I just like I don't want it I don't want to so so how you modify that it's just really fun game and each game is different as well.
It's got that TCG battle card game Vibe but it's not a TCG it's self-contained.
It has this really interesting mechanism where you get your random set of cards but the other player can take two of them from you as you play them during the game.

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video Zq8Lw_tpCfI UndeadVikingVideos Discussion at 43:25 sentiment: positive

video_pk 86798 · mention_pk 225972

Click to watch at 43:25 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

Positive, particularly for poker fans, with mentions of it being fun and rewarding.

Pros

Can help players learn poker.
Addictive and engaging.
Rewarding when gameplay is successful.

Cons

Requires knowledge of poker.
Can be challenging and prone to misplays if players don't understand the rules.

Thematic elements

Cooperative Texas Hold'em

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Betting — Players bet on the rank of their cards, trying to guess if they have the highest rank.
cooperative play — The game is described as 'Cooperative Texas hold'em'.
Hand Management — Players manage their poker hands and make decisions based on their perceived strength.
player interaction — Players can take chips from each other if they believe their hand is stronger.
Poker — The core mechanic involves playing Texas Hold'em, with players needing to understand poker hands.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

nice I played the expansion of after the Empire with a guy who it's his favorite game ever so that was that was a lot of fun
The implementation of the 'revealing thing' for the keys is frustrating and annoying.
The way to feed the key in is face up, but it should be face down.
everybody's just a jackass I mean you're basically just giving away all the food that we set aside for you
BGCon competes with the vendors because it's a good convention in my opinion
The older I get the more my calendar fills with funerals
You know that guy was making crystal meth by the way this is sort of like on the politics Spectrum
he survived the shooter was sentenced to 36 years in prison the man appeared seemingly out of nowhere and stood in front of our van and pulled out a gun aiming it right at us I yelled duck as The Gunshot rang out the guy shot he didn't even like oh that's c a lunatic
it's a buying crowd nobody plays games it's just a buying crowd

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video Zq8Lw_tpCfI UndeadVikingVideos Discussion at 43:41 sentiment: positive

video_pk 86798 · mention_pk 225968

Click to watch at 43:41 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

Fun
Challenging
Helps learn poker

Cons

Requires knowledge of poker hands

Thematic elements

Texas Hold'em

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Betting — Players bet chips based on their perceived hand ranking.
Cooperative — Cooperative Texas Hold'em.
Poker — The game is based on Texas Hold'em.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

nice I played the expansion of after the Empire with a guy who it's his favorite game ever so that was that was a lot of fun
The implementation of the 'revealing thing' for the keys is frustrating and annoying.
The way to feed the key in is face up, but it should be face down.
everybody's just a jackass I mean you're basically just giving away all the food that we set aside for you
BGCon competes with the vendors because it's a good convention in my opinion
The older I get the more my calendar fills with funerals
You know that guy was making crystal meth by the way this is sort of like on the politics Spectrum
he survived the shooter was sentenced to 36 years in prison the man appeared seemingly out of nowhere and stood in front of our van and pulled out a gun aiming it right at us I yelled duck as The Gunshot rang out the guy shot he didn't even like oh that's c a lunatic
it's a buying crowd nobody plays games it's just a buying crowd

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video dUpNU-xvo1Y kovray Haul Video at 47:12 sentiment: positive

video_pk 86656 · mention_pk 225044

Click to watch at 47:12 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

filled with joy
memorable hands
increasingly popular

Cons

none

Thematic elements

cooperative poker

Comparison games

Combo

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

cooperative play — The Gang is a Cooperative poker game.
Set Collection — The Gang is a Cooperative poker game which really leans into the ranking of card games of poker games.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

This game is literally you draw a card it's kind of like twister with your hands it is it's not kind of like twister with your hands it's twisted with your hands and sticks yeah
Combo is a good way to understand rankings of poker hands or of hands in general
The Gang was a game that came out and there are some really memorable hands and I feel like that game just always makes me filled with joy
it's important now that we're especially now that we're working in the hobby that we take some time to enjoy the hobby because we never want that fire to burn or the fire to continue to burn we don't want it to dim
Do you want to see me and Tyler go head-to-head in yellow house do you want a how to playay video of Cascadia Jr do you want to see a tether competition

References (from this video)

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Video zQP5gaa7usc Where There's A Wilz, There's a Play Top 10 List at 3:28 sentiment: positive

video_pk 86009 · mention_pk 221711

Click to watch at 3:28 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

cool theme (music performance)
transition from real-time to turn-based makes it more enjoyable
accessible entry point for non-gamers

Cons

real-time variant can be frustrating
rules can be a bit fiddly to translate to the app or memory

Thematic elements

band/theater performance with dice-driven placement
music performance / stage
thematic, abstract puzzle

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

dice drafting / dice placement on a song book — players roll and place dice on a song board to form shapes; placing dice triggers bonuses on the song and instrument drawings.
scoring bonuses tied to spaces — bonuses are granted as dice are placed and at round end based on spaces used.
shape creation with dice — the dice placement creates a shape on the song book that yields bonuses.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

this is supposed to be a real time game which means you have to be rolling your dice fast and thinking quick
we've taken the real-time aspect out of it but kept some of the things in it
the turn-based I find it a lot more enjoyable
I think this is a really good version of Isle of Cats
the OG of rolling rights and that would be Yatsi
I have some great childhood memories when I used to go and stay at my grandma we would play yatsi all the time
the theme is so cool
Patchwork doodle more than Patchwork

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video o-SMz66PoD0 Where There's A Wilz, There's a Play Top 10 List at 15:07 sentiment: positive

video_pk 85821 · mention_pk 220688

Click to watch at 15:07 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

engaging thematic tension around music creation
enjoyable after adapting the rules to turn-based

Cons

none

Thematic elements

instruments and live performance
music performance and creativity
lightweight

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

dice-driven action selection — roll dice to assign music notes and circle combinations to boards for bonuses.
Real-Time — originally real-time; adapted to turn-based play for smoother play.
turn-based real-time hybrid — originally real-time; adapted to turn-based play for smoother play.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

This is a flip and write game where you are creating a castle.
I really like this game. I think this is a really good followup because cover your assets.
Patchwork Doodle is kind of like a followup to the original Patchwork.
The creatures are adorable.
I like the colors. They're pretty. They're really nice.

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video 4Bftv_HfL8g Watch It Played Discussion at 10:52

video_pk 85709 · mention_pk 220283

Click to watch at 10:52 · YouTube ↗

Pros

none

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)

Playing games at two players is my favorite way to play games, frankly.
I'm here to win.
I would buy all of them instantly.
Two-player versions hit and they miss.
What dual versions of games have you really enjoyed?

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video c5r2mefPR2Q UndeadVikingVideos Discussion at 9:13 sentiment: positive

video_pk 85601 · mention_pk 219758

Click to watch at 9:13 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

Well, in my personal opinion, the gang should win that one
The gang's good.

Cons

It's too thinky.

Thematic elements

Comparison games

Fellowship of the Ring: Trick Ticking Game

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Mechanics unknown.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

It was fantastic. It was just there was so much stuff going on that was really enjoyable.
Well, I think there's that one Warhammer guy that syn There's some synthesizer show synthesizer synthesizer shows that I watch that have been around for a long time.
We must slay them.
Thanks for nothing, Danny Nunan.
It's like, Oh, honey, I'm so sorry.
This is the longest running weekly live stream thing held on YouTube 10 years or so in a row.
Americans don't even like America.
It's not like we're keeping track here yeah, who's keeping score
Oh, really? Runner up code names.
You don't make a podcast.
I mean, the definition I don't even know what you're saying.
You're just making up words.
So defeist.
Yeah, that gumballs.com. They suck.
This is not a good website.
The two eyes are swords.
It's like, how does anybody know this guy exists?
I'm always impressed when things like that exist.
Oh, yeah. I guess you can. Yes, you can. But that's not the same because podcast is a different
It's like, oh, you know, use use use non like you have didn't make this game colorblind uh friendly.
Be excellent to one another as Bill and Ted would say.
The fact that the dice rolls were so unlucky against me.
I love the game, but it's when those dice rolls don't go your way.
It's like, Oh, you know, should he fight the wolves or should he run away?
This is the most evil, most powerful terrorist organization in the world that never wins.
It's like, 'No, nobody's died. This is realistic.'

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video c5r2mefPR2Q UndeadVikingVideos Discussion at 16:46 sentiment: mixed

video_pk 85601 · mention_pk 219783

Click to watch at 16:46 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

Mixed

Pros

Considered 'partyesque'

Cons

Too thinky for a party game
Not classified as a party game by some

Thematic elements

Comparison games

Flip Seven
Hipster Bingo
Landmarks
Link City
Things in Rings
Wilmont's Warehouse

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Mechanics unknown.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

It was fantastic. It was just there was so much stuff going on that was really enjoyable.
Well, I think there's that one Warhammer guy that syn There's some synthesizer show synthesizer synthesizer shows that I watch that have been around for a long time.
We must slay them.
Thanks for nothing, Danny Nunan.
It's like, Oh, honey, I'm so sorry.
This is the longest running weekly live stream thing held on YouTube 10 years or so in a row.
Americans don't even like America.
It's not like we're keeping track here yeah, who's keeping score
Oh, really? Runner up code names.
You don't make a podcast.
I mean, the definition I don't even know what you're saying.
You're just making up words.
So defeist.
Yeah, that gumballs.com. They suck.
This is not a good website.
The two eyes are swords.
It's like, how does anybody know this guy exists?
I'm always impressed when things like that exist.
Oh, yeah. I guess you can. Yes, you can. But that's not the same because podcast is a different
It's like, oh, you know, use use use non like you have didn't make this game colorblind uh friendly.
Be excellent to one another as Bill and Ted would say.
The fact that the dice rolls were so unlucky against me.
I love the game, but it's when those dice rolls don't go your way.
It's like, Oh, you know, should he fight the wolves or should he run away?
This is the most evil, most powerful terrorist organization in the world that never wins.
It's like, 'No, nobody's died. This is realistic.'

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video c5r2mefPR2Q UndeadVikingVideos Discussion at 16:49 sentiment: neutral

video_pk 85601 · mention_pk 219804

Click to watch at 16:49 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

Neutral

Pros

none

Cons

Considered too thinky for a party game.

Thematic elements

none

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Mechanics unknown.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

It was fantastic. It was just there was so much stuff going on that was really enjoyable.
Well, I think there's that one Warhammer guy that syn There's some synthesizer show synthesizer synthesizer shows that I watch that have been around for a long time.
We must slay them.
Thanks for nothing, Danny Nunan.
It's like, Oh, honey, I'm so sorry.
This is the longest running weekly live stream thing held on YouTube 10 years or so in a row.
Americans don't even like America.
It's not like we're keeping track here yeah, who's keeping score
Oh, really? Runner up code names.
You don't make a podcast.
I mean, the definition I don't even know what you're saying.
You're just making up words.
So defeist.
Yeah, that gumballs.com. They suck.
This is not a good website.
The two eyes are swords.
It's like, how does anybody know this guy exists?
I'm always impressed when things like that exist.
Oh, yeah. I guess you can. Yes, you can. But that's not the same because podcast is a different
It's like, oh, you know, use use use non like you have didn't make this game colorblind uh friendly.
Be excellent to one another as Bill and Ted would say.
The fact that the dice rolls were so unlucky against me.
I love the game, but it's when those dice rolls don't go your way.
It's like, Oh, you know, should he fight the wolves or should he run away?
This is the most evil, most powerful terrorist organization in the world that never wins.
It's like, 'No, nobody's died. This is realistic.'

References (from this video)

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Video U5LJvMT7aFs The Broken Meeple Discussion at 58:50 sentiment: positive

video_pk 85580 · mention_pk 219664

Click to watch at 58:50 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

Positive

Pros

Fun game if you know how to play Texas Hold'em Poker
Great game if players know poker value of hands

Cons

Could be skewed if players don't know Texas Hold'em Poker

Thematic elements

none

Comparison games

The Mind

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Communication Limit — Takes elements where players cannot communicate and have to figure stuff out, similar to The Mind.
Poker Hand Ranking — Uses Texas Hold'em Poker hands to determine the best or worst hand out of the group.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

It takes elements of The Mind and those sort of games where you have to you can't communicate and you've got to figure stuff out.
But the game uses Texas Holden Poker to do it.
So flip seven.
It's literally just the equivalent of an Uno card game of push your luck.
I found Slay the Spire to be boring as a computer game.
The rinse repeat nature of a rogike game is just not fun to me because you just rinse and repeat the same thing.
Let's Go to Japan actually did a pretty good job of doing the theme well with that.
Let's Go to Japan is mostly about the scoring phase.
SETI search for extraterrestrial intelligence one win it wins it over
But, Seti, yeah, I'm I'm happy with this one.
war game. To be honest, I'm not interested in war games. Arcs is I mean, that is basically what Arcs is.
I don't find what you do in the game that interesting, period.
the card system has a major problem.
the ambitions as well, this is one thing I really do not like.
So, my scoring objectives are based on random chance.
How is that a good aspect of design?
the defenses I was getting from some people were really bad.
It's only a game.

References (from this video)

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Video juPx1JBJGwM Sir Thecos Top List at 10:49 sentiment: positive

video_pk 85556 · mention_pk 219512

Click to watch at 10:49 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

love this game
most favorite small box game from last year
amazing
just such an amazing game

Cons

none

Thematic elements

Comparison games

Robert Princess
Fishing

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

cooperative poker — a cooperative poker game

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

Count of the Nine Estates. Um, a game people keep suggesting to me and I've played it over the years off and on and I think it's not bad.
Distilled clear Srank. It's such an amazing game. I absolutely love this.
Draftosarus, also the game I very much enjoy. I will give this an A. S would be too much, but it's such a cute and nice uh drafting game.
Cluster. Uh you have um a circle made of like a rope like a ropes circle rope circle so to speak and everybody gets like the same number of magnets and you put the magnets in the middle and when you put down your last magnet you win.
Exobase also a game that I will bring a video to you at some point.
Magic Keys in English. I think um this is like a children game actually. It's a children's game, but we play like with like I think we were like four adults playing that.
Malus Hotos. I just released a preview video for that for the Kickstarter campaign and I enjoyed this game a lot.
Micro City is a pretty decent game in a small box. Um, but it's also nothing all too amazing, right?
Reforest clear as this is an absolutely amazing game.
Sally Face Strange Nightmares uh for the video game uh Sally Face and I found this game quite decent actually.
Stone Spine Architects uh in the roleplayer universe. And I like this a lot. I will give this an A.
Switch and signal. I'm a little conflicted on that one.
Yatsi. Yeah, this is like a guilty pleasure, right? We all know it's not an amazing game, but Yatsi is the basis for like a lot of other games with this mechanism of rolling your like rolling your dice and then being able to reroll some of them twice.
Buds and Blooms from Mark Tuck. Also a game that I enjoyed playing.
And actually, you know what? I'm actually missing one game. I also played Wingspan.
Wingspan would also be an S of course and would be up here.

References (from this video)

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Video ewdfzVQZrF8 TheGameBoyGeek - Hi Quality Hi Energy Board Game Reviews Analysis at 14:53 sentiment: mixed

video_pk 85457 · mention_pk 219056

Click to watch at 14:53 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

mixed

Pros

Fantastic game.
Amazing game.

Cons

Host is highly critical of its inclusion as a Kenner Spiel recommended game due to its light nature.
Believes it should have been a Spiel Dejar nominee.
Gameplay involves simply taking a poker chip based on card rankings.

Thematic elements

Cooperative poker

Comparison games

The Mind

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

cooperative play — Players work together to achieve a common goal.
Deduction — Players deduce information to succeed.
Poker — Elements of poker hands and ranking are used in gameplay.
Set Collection — Players collect cards to form sets.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

Nontaku Temple of the Ice. This is a cosmos game by designer Kane Keno. Fantastic game drafting set collection. Building a three-dimensional pyramid area control. Not super heavy. It's pretty light, but it's probably a little too heavy for the spiel. This is a perfect kenner spiel pick.
Aqua, Biodiversity in the Oceans from the OP. Uh, another great one that is again a little heavier than a Spielus. A puzzly game where you're tile laying, you're trying to attract animals to your coral and then have bigger animals eat the animals that you've already got. It's a puzzly game. Very good. Little too heavy for Spiel, I think, but perfect for Ken Spiel.
This next one is probably the heaviest of this list. Craft Wagon Age of Engineering. This is a re-implementation of a of a heavier mediumweight Euro game, Craft Wagon.
And the last one I'm going to mention is Enaria demo by Michael Keesling. This is like a step heavier than Azul, but has lots of similarities to Azul. Uh so, but it's definitely heavier.
I'm sure I'm going to get a lot of hate mail in the comments just like I did last year when I or two years ago when I uh was blasting the the the challengers whole debacle and then the Sky Team thing. I'm sure I'm going to get a lot of people from Germany hating this video, but this is how people outside of Germany feel about the award and it doesn't seem like the Germans really care.

References (from this video)

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Video Gtgf5laI5vo Chairman of the Board Unboxing at 7:31 sentiment: neutral

video_pk 85399 · mention_pk 218700

Click to watch at 7:31 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

neutral

Pros

Heard some good things
Host is trying it with an open mind despite not usually liking co-op games

Cons

Host doesn't normally like cooperative games

Thematic elements

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Cooperative — It's a cooperative game, which the host typically doesn't enjoy but is trying with an open mind.
Poker style — Described as a cooperative poker style game.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

I just got back from the UK Games Expo. I had a great time as always and I just wanted to make a quick video talking about all of the games that I acquired during the expo.
The brig and buy was was great, but it was very chaotic and long long cues and longer than we've had before.
So, definitely um was at capacity. Yeah, the brig and buy was was great, but it was very chaotic and long long cues and longer than we've had before.
So, I definitely recommend going at least once if you have the faintest bit of interest.
But for everybody else, I'll see you next time on Chairman of the Board. Bye-bye.

References (from this video)

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Video 6tEXNWdfh6E Sir Thecos Analysis at 3:46 sentiment: positive

video_pk 85278 · mention_pk 218215

Click to watch at 3:46 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

clearly Srank game
one of my most favorite games of like smallbox games of last year and also this year so far
absolutely love this game
superior game

Cons

cannot understand why it hasn't gotten a nomination for like for the can for the more complex one
rather would have given the gang a nomination and not far away like if you had to decide for one of those two

Thematic elements

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

smallbox games — Described as one of the most favorite smallbox games.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

This is clearly um an Srank game.
This is an amazing game that definitely deserves an S rank.
Can you give a really simple game an S? Yeah, I think you can if it works well and it does work really well.
I know almost all the cards by now. It's not that exciting anymore.
Azul is amazing. I love this.
This is one of my most favorite dungeon crawlers to be honest, and it's not very wellnown, I think.
It's just really luck based.
I like this a lot.
Cluster is like where you put like magnets in like um a circle made out of um some string and you are trying to like place magnets so they don't are not attracted to other magnets otherwise you have to take them into your hands and when you have no magnets left you win.
It's not a bad game but it's more like an activity right and not everybody likes it.
The theme sells it for me, right?
This is like Yatsi just a little bit more interactive because you have like uh you have like specific cards in the middle like 16 cards in a 4x4 grid in the middle with like the things you need to reach with your five dice by rolling three up to three times but you like put your token on it when you reach that so you block it for other players.
This was one of the most positive rankings within the last I don't know a few months because we don't have one single D title and we have only one title in C and this one is like nice curve here right so actually if you ignore C and D we have a nice curve here how it should be in a tier list just very positive

References (from this video)

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Video XbTd9b8LIQM Drive Thru Games Review at 20:31 sentiment: positive

video_pk 85034 · mention_pk 217192

Click to watch at 20:31 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

Love this game
Great game
Teaches poker very well
Players learn poker probabilities and logic
Fun cooperative betting against the game
No stress of real money betting

Cons

none

Thematic elements

Poker hands and cooperative play.

Comparison games

The Mind

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Best of five — The game is won by winning three out of five rounds.
Betting/Ranking — Players use chips to anonymously rank their perceived hand strength (1st to 4th) after each deal stage (flop, turn, river).
cooperative play — Players cooperatively try to win, similar to 'The Mind'.
Guessing card values — In harder rounds, players must collectively guess a card value in the #1 player's hand.
Information sharing — The initial chip placements provide information about perceived hand strength, influencing subsequent decisions.
Modifier cards — Cards are drawn that make subsequent rounds harder if the players win, or easier if they lose.
Poker Hands — The game is based on forming poker hands.
Winning condition — Players must correctly order themselves from best to worst hand (1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th) for a round to be won. Incorrect ordering results in a loss for that round.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

The art form of the century is gaming.
But it's so dry mechanically and which is fine from the like the core mechanics. I kind of get that. But then even the text abilities on the cards are still really really dry and it's just like they're just like, 'Oh, move influence here and do this and then like swap influence and there's not a lot of variety in there and it feels like it's so very tugofwar, very it's almost like too abstract and there is not really a lot of flavor in the game.
I was like, 'Oh my god, I love this game. This is great.'
It's massive chaos. The game does a really good job of making you think you have an idea of what's going to happen, but it's all an illusion.
The gaming being the new art form, so to speak, the new storytelling, you know, the interactive art that goes on with games because you're going to get creative with your games, right?
AI is just going to get worse. And I'm not against AI like in principle as because it's not even AI, it's a large language model or whatever the heck. If you want to do that to like, you know, crunch through DNA and find a cure for cancer, I'll give you 100 bucks. Get on it.
But get it off of making memes. Like, who cares?
The secret to the next century because shit's going to get worse.

References (from this video)

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Video pqz7SNcrUt0 One Stop Co-op Shop Analysis at 4:56 sentiment: negative

video_pk 84857 · mention_pk 216381

Click to watch at 4:56 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

negative

Pros

very quick
nice to lay down on the table

Cons

not an interesting game
feels very random
feels more like an activity

Thematic elements

Comparison games

River Rats
Cyberpunk card game

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

cooperative poker — A cooperative poker game where players try to figure out who has the best hand in Texas Holdem.
Omaha variant — An Omaha variant where there are more cards and hands are better and more differentiated.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

And this time, we are going to the end of last year, December of 2024.
So, first in the crowdfunding corner, we've got a double feature, the latest from the Solo series, or at least at that time.
And this was Hunted Transylvania and Escape from Route 52.
So, yeah, I would say probably Hunter Transylvania might be a keep and definitely Escape from 52 would be a call if I had received copies of the final games.
But uh the new addition of campaigns I found was a bit hoham.
So if I was someone who had like bought every season of Death May Die, I would not especially rush out to get this one.
This is from Chip Theory.
And I thought this was fine.
The big kind of nail in its coffin is that I already have Decorum, which is kind of a similar game, but I find drastically better for my taste at least, especially at two players, or Hannabi or Paint the Roses.
So it does limit itself if you're playing without like workarounds like I don't know putting some like see-through sheet over the page.
So, Red Dust Rebellion is a call, but still a strong recommend for competitive play.
It's an awesome system.
And hey, let's finally get to a keep.
This is one of my favorite games from last year.
It's fully released this year. Still a favorite.
But yeah, the combat system is cool. The open world is great. The emergent kind of story that you can discover is really fun.
Like I think they went a little bit too hard in trying to make this like a video game and a video game kind of automates things that are frustrating to do as a player.
But still, it's a great game. Very exciting. Beautiful production.
Uh, you can see this one is just reading and reading and more reading the game, which I don't mind.
This is a follow-up to the Tales of the Arabian Knights.
So, this is very much like a wander around and have weird adventures and make choices.
I think it's fun for that, just like seeing what crazy stuff happens.
But yeah, if you don't want to read a lot or if you don't want just some random kind of adventuring without much control or agency, you might not like this one.
And man, we gave this one a lot of chances.
It's very quick. It's very nice to lay down on the table.
But, uh, even when playing with the Omaha variant where you have more cards and the hands are better and a bit more differentiated from each other, which I do prefer, it's still just kind of not an interesting game.
It just feels very like random and more like an activity.
And especially now that I played River Rats, which was a game on crowdfunding recently, and this upcoming Cyberpunk card game, which also uses cooperative poker, I find those a billion times better, at least for my taste.
First expansion for Sky Team.
This is a keeper mainly cuz I love Sky Team.
I said this before and I'll say it again. The Turbulence expansion is not at all necessary.
It adds a few new things that are kind of interesting.
It's got a bunch of new airports. If you love Sky Team, if you've already played it a whole bunch, it's definitely a good pickup.
It's super cheap, but uh, you know, if you haven't played your copy of Sky Team that often, then I don't think it's at all necessary.
The core game is still the best thing here and really has the coolest modules and the coolest gameplay.
So, I'm absolutely keeping my copy of Turbulence. I love it, but Sky Team is really the winner here and the reason that I'm keeping this game overall.
This is Invincible, the hero building game.
This is a bag builder with a push your luck pulling element kind of like Quacks of Quedlinberg.
And I like this one. Okay, the core mechanics are pretty cool, but I thought the scenario balance was pretty off.
I thought the gameplay got pretty repetitive, but there were cool combos to do.
The core action of pulling stuff is fun.
So, it had a lot of good things in its favor.
But yeah, just the balance really messed with me and I didn't want to play it that much cuz we couldn't really get it to be the right difficulty.
So that was a call as well.
This is the night cage with the shrieking hollow expansion.
This is a keeper largely because my kids still love the night cage and I think the shrieking hollow makes the game a bit more tactical.
It's still pretty random but also make it way more exciting.
The addition of this giant creature that you see on the board that's coming to eat us all is just so exciting and it really does change up the gameplay in a good way.
So if you like the night cage, this is a full recommend.
And the shrinking hollow is a great expansion and it's a keep for me.
Lots of expansions covered at the end of December, I guess.
And this one was great.
I already really like World Breakers for a quick competitive card game and then the solo mode in the original core game was great, but Indigo Sisterhood does the wild thing where they have a totally different type of automa, a totally different solo system for the expansion.
And I think it's great, too.
And I like them both for different reasons.
So, I mean, yes, if you like World Breakers, definitely check out the Indigo Sisterhood.
It's an awesome expansion.
And if you just like kind of solo card games, like I don't know in the Ashes Reborn, Sky Terror Horde kind of vein, might be worth a look for that as well.
But World Breakers, Indigo Sisterhood, definitely a keeper for me.
And here's another one of those solo series games, Rome Fate of an Empire.
This one is awesome.
It's basically Mage Knight, like a lot of the Mage Knight mechanics, but turned in different ways and applied to a very different type of game.
But it was also a call for me for that reason, because uh Mage Knight just works better for me in terms of theme.
This one is very much more of a mechanical feeling game.
Now, it's still awesome. It's smaller than Mage Knight. It's cheaper than Mage Knight, but it still has a lot of the tactical and strategic yumminess and like the, you know, deck building and card building and all that.
And it's it's solo only and I only really play Mage Knight solo, so you're not really missing up out much on that.
But yeah, I just prefer the theme of Mage Knight.
We already have Mage Knight, so I'd rather play that.
So, I did end up calling Rome Fate of an Empire, but still a great game.
Okay, next is Resurgence.
This is a worker placement game set in a post-apocalyptic future.
I thought it was pretty solid.
It doesn't really stand out from the worker placement bunch.
There's just so many of these and some I adore.
This one was good, but not great.
So, I didn't end up keeping it.
It really needs to be great at this point for me to keep a worker placement game.
But, I didn't have any major complaints about the gameplay.
The solo mode works well, too, and the competitive play is really solid and like you like level up your workers and I don't know, there's some cool things going on, but yeah, it didn't hold my interest indefinitely.
So, Resurgence is a call.
And finally, the one I know is going to mess up the most brackets, so sorry, uh, is Keep the Heroes Out, the boss battal expansion.
So I kept Keep the Heroes Out, even though I didn't love the balance of the game, even though I thought the deck building was a little anemic, because my my kids liked it pretty well, and everything in the boss battles expansion sounded like it was going to fix things I didn't like.
And I will say that it did.
I I think the Boss Battles expansion fixes a lot of my problems.
I love the addition of like the apprentices or whatever those like little like weaker heroes are called.
I love that you unlock these
I thought it was pretty solid. It doesn't really stand out from the worker placement bunch. There's just so many of these and some I adore. This one was good, but not great.
I think the Boss Battles expansion fixes a lot of my problems.
I do think it is fabulous. I think it is almost a must buy if you're going to get keep the heroes out, at least for me.
I know some people enjoy the base game, but I think it is so much better with the expansion.
77% thought I would keep it, and I did not.
82% thought that would be a keeper for me.

References (from this video)

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Video R8cAA8OkyIo The Cardboard Herald Interview at 43:20 sentiment: positive

video_pk 84676 · mention_pk 215389

Click to watch at 43:20 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

Positive

Pros

Fun for large groups
Can be played at any time

Cons

none

Thematic elements

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Party Game — Described as a party game.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

I love sci-fi. That is that is a good theme for me.
it has um like seven modules whereas like SETI only has five, which is only a difference of two, but it's that that's so much more replay-ability because all the permutations of five different options versus seven different options. Like seven gives you so many more. So I just feel like base has a lot more replayability.
I also recommend Hot Streak which came out. that's a fun light light betting game. if you like Camel Up, it's like the next step. And uh to me it's way more fun than Camel Up.
and the gang, the gang is like a classic uh like new new party game classic. Um, we'll we can pull it out and have fun like at any time.
it was a Gricola because um, besides the farming theme and also teaching me worker placement, it was probably the first worker placement game I played.
there's just so much replay-ability in that box. Um, that you'll never see the same game twice or even close to the same game twice.
Agricola has so much tension.
Agria is just like such such a game that was like ahead of its time. It's still better than like 99.9% of the games that come out these days.
if you're interested in like dungeon crawlers, uh, Gloom Haven is my favorite.
treat it as an experience and not a game kind of situation.
what Vantage taught me is like uh doesn't like the game in in that sort of game, it doesn't have to be like balanced to be fun, you know? It doesn't have to be like um super scripted or super strategic. If the story is interesting, then people who love stories will still love the game.
board games is such a great place to like reconnect with friends and family and people you care about. So, um, keep gaming, keep buying games and I'll keep making them. And thank you all so much for the support.

References (from this video)

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Video 0DrXBMsmBnM Chairman of the Board Top List at 3:27 sentiment: positive

video_pk 84564 · mention_pk 214988

Click to watch at 3:27 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

Unique concept
Chilled out and go-with-the-flow style
Low stakes and forgiving of mistakes
Pleasant and peaceful flow
Snappy game

Cons

Not for players who like concrete information or logical deduction
Very light and fluffy in its assessment mechanics

Thematic elements

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Cooperative Poker Hybrid — this is actually a cooperative poker hybrid. So, it's a variant on the poker mechanism where you are working with uh teammates to try and assess who has the strongest hand of cards by the end of the round.
Hand assessment — trying to assess who has the strongest hand of cards by the end of the round.
Nonverbal communication — you cannot verbally communicate. So you're using nonverbal communication skills to try and get a grasp on how people are doing.
token drafting — token drafting mechanism where each round there's going to be tokens um equal to the number of players in the game. And if you feel you've got the strongest hand, you'll grab the strongest token and so on.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

This is where I take a look at the last five new to me board games that I've played and I rank and review them in order of preference.
So, a good game, but certainly nothing great and nothing to write home about.
I felt quite I don't know if charmed is the right word, but I felt quite intrigued about it.
I think this game is fantastic and it's definitely going to be a contender for filler game of the year for me and card game of the year for me.
This one feels fresh. It feels clean. It feels original.
This game is fun and it doesn't feel this stuffy back and forth tedious laborious tugof-war game. It feels punchy and just I don't know just interesting.

References (from this video)

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Video 3IhxxOdyHhM The Cardboard Herald Interview at 4:00:08 sentiment: positive

video_pk 84559 · mention_pk 214945

Click to watch at 4:00:08 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

Huge hit
Satisfies gambling itch

Cons

none

Thematic elements

Poker

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

cooperative play — Described as a 'co-op poker game'.
Poker — The game is a co-op poker game.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

The art is beautiful and makes you want to just keep playing to see more.
It feels epic, like you're part of a grand unfolding story.
It's a challenging game that requires a lot of deduction and thinking.

References (from this video)

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Video Gsew5C2__sY Board Gaming Ramblings Unboxing at 6:14 sentiment: positive

video_pk 84109 · mention_pk 213247

Click to watch at 6:14 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

none

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)

nobody, including us, need this many games.
This is Divan. Mhm. I don't know anything about this game. I bought it because it looks beautiful.
This could have easily been a Reiner Knizia game I feel like.
And I love a reason to play Lost Ruins of Arnak Lost Ruins of Arnak because I think it's a great game.
We have to empty our unplayed game shelf from everything that's not 2025 releases and then we'll put it in there and the rest go on the floor until we manage to play them.
And it's based on the problem called what is called again it's based on the seven bridges of somewhere.
I feel kind of like bad about bringing a hundred games back home.
I I usually they go in, they go out. And that's also the thing like if I haven't played a game in a month, I will not remember the rules most of the time.
The longest line I saw was for coffee. In the morning before the whole office.
What's more important for you for the channel? Playing the popular ones or the less known niche ones?
My favorite animal beside the monkey which is my favorite animal. The capybara.
We are basically very lucky because we share a lot of hobbies.
The building thing Ah, it was too much building. I didn't like that too much.
It's been super fun. It's so many people. It's been so long since we did a live.
Thank you so much for watching. Like it. We wouldn't have done this if it wasn't for you.

References (from this video)

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Video 68IUBBWyRFI Stonemaier Games Discussion at 26:40 sentiment: positive

video_pk 83490 · mention_pk 210475

Click to watch at 26:40 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

none

Cons

none

Thematic elements

Comparison games

Vantage
Origin Story

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Mechanics unknown.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

This friendship is costing me money, but that's okay.
I'm going to say more chocolate.
I have to finally see Jamie in person. Uh, this is, you know, this longist I'll say publicly, I don't know this long distance thing is working for me anymore, Jamie. I have to see you in person.
I was horrible bird that couldn't fly. What was it? I ended up being that one bird that couldn't fly.
If I weren't such a classy professional, I'd run into the garage and look, but um
The voice tends not to age as quickly as the rest of us.
This might be a year where I just acknowledge that in the video because I love all of our games when we publish them, but I I I really love these games and I love them in different circumstances, too.
When we turn 60, we'll do another one.
this is just so much fun to do and I think having the the live interaction with people, having these questions, being able to, you know, the people that listen or watch the show, ask us questions. It's just it's special and it's fun and I really appreciate it.

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video Prqsx0P-JVg Stonemaier Games Discussion at 29:08 sentiment: positive

video_pk 81724 · mention_pk 204226

Click to watch at 29:08 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

unique concept
great for group laughter

Cons

requires group alignment

Thematic elements

group dynamics and ranking
cooperative-poker style ranking game
social, humorous

Comparison games

Priorities
Categories

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

cooperative poker with ranking twist — participants collaborate but the final outcome ranks players

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

There was no logic to it. And why not just stop it from going to New York?
Laugh people. It cures everything.
There's a druid character.
It’s like battleship with dungeons.
There you go.

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video R1IHEwFVA6s Gaming Rules! Discussion at 11:31 sentiment: positive

video_pk 81481 · mention_pk 202653

Click to watch at 11:31 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

works brilliantly in practice
highly engaging and different from typical co-ops

Cons

none

Thematic elements

Comparison games

Texas Hold'em

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

cooperative, trick-taking with bidding — players bid with chips to indicate hands and try to break into a bank vault via poker-hand-inspired mechanics
non-communication bidding — no direct communication; players infer hands from bids and revealed community cards

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

I love Voidfall. I think it's a great game.
The Gang works brilliantly.
The digital version of Talisman fifth edition actually has more content than the physical version.
This is not any kind of criticism on the game itself. It's just my expectations going into it based on the artwork.
Horror on the Orient Express has a lot going on, but the experience is special.

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video GN1Q6HtfFg4 Board Gaming Ramblings Review at 13:34 sentiment: positive

video_pk 81325 · mention_pk 201296

Click to watch at 13:34 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

still good after a long break

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)

This is the worst month when it comes to gaming that we have had in like 10 years.
It is the worst month we have had in in 5 years at least.
We played 40 escape rooms. Which means we have played a lot in April, just not a lot of board games.
But it's games.
All In Predictions was a cooler game than I thought it was going to be.
Rising Sun was a surprising how good it still was.
Farmhand is an amazing game and it still is
Farmhand is quick, it's fun, it's simple
Rising Sun was fantastic to get back to the table.

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video -GxG16iKdq8 The Dice Tower Top List at 50:20 sentiment: positive

video_pk 81303 · mention_pk 201051

Click to watch at 50:20 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

Positive

Pros

Newer game with interesting interconnected parts
Demanding feel requiring careful thought
Good forward momentum
Satisfying Euro experience in under an hour

Cons

Board art may not be initially appealing

Thematic elements

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Card Drafting — drafting cards
Set Collection — fulfilling recipes, basically, based on where those huts are, what terrain, but also sometimes the terrains are next to little symbols and you that that'll count for that symbol, too.
Worker Placement — using those cards to put out your little huts

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

It's tricky, right? Cuz you can't just go by what Board Game Geek says either.
You know, you got to pick it up.
I really like that. I think it's a fantastic game. It definitely one that people are sleeping on.
Baked in banter, okay.
It's just got a really nice forward momentum.
This game doesn't have banter, though the scoring might take a bit. But I think played at a reasonable pace, this game lasts close to an hour.
This is just a game that's a joy to teach, to play.
If you get to six gems, whatever it is, you win. It's a race.
It has a nice nice demanding sort of feel on the player. You you need to think carefully about what you're doing.
This is Ra, my favorite game of all time.
I think that Reiner Knizia, this is his wheelhouse is hour-long games that feel like a full experience.
it's you can knock this out in 60 and get a board game experience with highs and lows and drama and superheroes and all of that jazz.
Neta-Tete a L'air is just one of those games that just it feels so good how quickly this game plays.
We're We're halfway done already?

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video WkoAlUv9fsM Stonemaier Games Discussion at 9:45 sentiment: positive

video_pk 81170 · mention_pk 200261

Click to watch at 9:45 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

Amazing game that is always enjoyable to play
Great for playing with friends
Leads to a good time and camaraderie

Cons

Can be frustrating for expert poker players due to different logic
Requires adaptation for those used to poker strategies

Thematic elements

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

bidding — Players bid on cards or actions, with the quickness of their bid acting as a tell.
Deduction — Players try to infer what cards others hold based on their bids and actions.
Hand Management — Players manage cards in hand, understanding that seemingly weak hands can be strategically important.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

We're positively board gaming episode 60.
I'm the one more likely to get frustrated than Jamie is.
There are two of the most the top I think the top two stressful things.
I think remodeling can be as stressful, if not more so, than the actual purchase of the home.
Um I I can see how that's a a major stressor and probably not just the actual um reconstruction while it's happening but also maybe the thought that goes into it and picking.
It's such a disruption, it's such an interruption.
I'm more of a tracker than a lister and there is a distinction there.
Oh my god, I'm not a lister, I'm a tracker. Who knew? I've been living a lie for 61 years. I had no idea.
He told us he told me about a game called Seasons. Do you know this game? We're battling wizards.
Jack knows what everyone has.
You know, I used to joke this before we did a podcast together or talked and communicated all the time.
My friend Brad, or our friend Brad in in the group, who also listens to the show If you're you're listening to this or watching it, hey Brad.
I have to build a game store with Jamie. I have to design a fringe game with Jamie.
It helps you realize what's important to you as a gamer.
Lists are delightful. Lists are good.

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video HTGiav6wl00 The Broken Meeple Analysis at 1:00:01 sentiment: other

video_pk 81114 · mention_pk 199867

Click to watch at 1:00:01 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

Curious

Pros

Special edition planned

Cons

Concerns about scalability to 7-10 players
Potential for rules not adapting well to increased player counts

Thematic elements

Comparison games

Poker

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Chip and card management — Concerns about simply adding more chips and cards for increased player counts without rule changes.
player count expansion — Discussion about a special edition expanding player count from 6 to 7-10 players.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

I want to know what they're doing for the seven to 10 players though. If they're literally just giving you more chips and cards so you Yeah, if if all it is is just they're giving you more chips and saying, 'Now you can play it with 10.' That's rubbish. That's BS, okay? Because the game just fundamentally wouldn't work.
The thing that has me worried though is this 120 to 180 minutes. Is this a game that warrants two to three hours though?
The game is basically just area control cubes. That to me doesn't scream out crazy fun.
Deep Regrets is one of the worst games I've ever played, so screw that for a game of toy soldiers.
I think we've hit that peak of board gaming and now it's mostly a kind of downhill slope for gaming because we've now seen everything that can be kind of done. We're now recycling ideas.
Board games are getting to a point where we are seeing the same stuff all the time and it just means that it's hard to get excited for another convention.
UK Games Expo is mostly just recycling stuff that we've already reviewed at a few months ago in which case I don't need to look at it again.

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video 4bZQ-boWjoc Gaming Rules! Discussion at 45:06 sentiment: positive

video_pk 81099 · mention_pk 199569

Click to watch at 45:06 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

I love to, right?
I have contacted them multiple times about it
I really want to cover this game.

Cons

I haven't heard from them yet.
I think I've already crossed over the line on how many times I contact them and remind them that I really want to cover this game.
Slightly disappointed based on how many times I've contacted them that they haven't contacted me yet.

Thematic elements

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Variants — Six-round game, eight-round game, and a quicker version with 11 Vikings compared to the longer version with 12.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

Cloudspire is one of those games that I would absolutely love to play more of and there are plans for a rematch between me and JP on my birthday week in July.
The Graft is one of the new factions that just came out and it doesn't have a fortress. What it does is it has one piece on the board which moves around and that is their fortress. So, it's actually a mobile piece and it's big amoeba type thing.
That's that's nonsense. Um where things like saving the game, the math, the upkeep is made trivial by the video.
I have Frostpunk the board game. I have Frostpunk the computer game. They're the same game, but they are entirely different experiences.
As much as I love Agemonia, it's a 30-minute setup each time we play because we're having to get all of these things out and these things and these things and these things. And that's just the nature of the game.
No.
Give me a good Uwe Rosenberg game, Feast for Odin. Feast for Odin solo, I love it. It's a beat your own score game, but I I love it.
The reason why it was a bad experience for me is the solo mode for Perseverance is a very good solo mode at recreating what another player would do, but it was so far beyond my comfort level I really struggled.
My favorite game in that category is probably either Tower Up or Ingenious. I might have to give it to Ingenious just because of my personal story with that game and the fact that I can play it with Vicky and her family and things like that.
My copy of Imperium Classics, Imperium Legends, and Imperium Horizons have left my collection.
I love Star Trek Captain's Chair, so there will never ever be a situation where I would prefer to play Imperium compared to Star Trek Captain's Chair.
Assyria second edition, which has only just come out, is my favorite game from Garfield Games.
So, if you're asking honestly for my favorite game from Garfield Games, it has to be Assyria second edition.
The discussion has been had a number of times.
It's not as easy as people think.
65% of people say that polyomino games are a subset of tile laying games.
The secret word is scissors.
As of this morning, we had 1,331 patron supporters.
I will be back tomorrow at 4:00 with a live unboxing of the deluxe version of World Order.
And then on Friday is the public public release of the final video in the Star Trek Captain's Chair series, which is the Pike solo play through.

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video eA8Kuwc6mi0 The Broken Meeple Analysis at 1:28:51

video_pk 80801 · mention_pk 198028

Click to watch at 1:28:51 · YouTube ↗

Pros

none

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)

I do like the fact that it's um don't be the loser and there's no actual winner in a game that I think is quite cool.
And I found this to be like really interesting. Like this was a cool twist on the trick taker.
It's got a German name with Japanese writing on the back. It was kind of weird.
But this just felt too random.
I just felt like it's not really a strategic game. It's just basically the dice are going to dictate what you can do.
I just found it a bit boring and found it underwhelming when everything resolved, you know.
The expo is getting to the point where it's pricing itself out of being worth going.
Remember, it's only a game.

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video UWBYLiE7u-A The Dice Tower Discussion at 6:03 sentiment: positive

video_pk 80640 · mention_pk 196914

Click to watch at 6:03 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

really good story
game in a box
escape room style game

Cons

none

Thematic elements

narrative puzzle adventure

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Escape room — an escape room style game.
Puzzle — narrative puzzle adventure game.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

The Morrigan Game Factory though, what a great escape room game. It might it's it's definitely in my top escape room games.
Noobs in Space is one of my favorite little games that's so unique and interesting. You have a deck of cards, you deal them out to everybody. Everybody has cards in their hand, and then you just solve those cards by saying things out loud, working together to play cards, and hopefully you solve it. It communication is the key. You can say anything you want, uh but you just can't show cards. And it's hilarious and fun. Very, very enjoyable.
If you really like what we're doing here at the Dice Tower, then there are different ways to support Dice Tower.
Tell your friends about the Dice Tower.

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video J3hMJUahGzU Stonemaier Games Discussion at 15:16 sentiment: positive

video_pk 80597 · mention_pk 196610

Click to watch at 15:16 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

none

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)

"Today is not an announcement day."
"I always learn a lot from playing with different people and it's nice to play sometimes with other designers because they offer a different perspective than um than than non-designers as well."
"I think there are certain mechanisms that struggle to work at higher player counts, but they work at lower player counts."
"I think that back and forth play uh and your ability to plan ahead and base your decision off of what the opponent is doing and hope for some them to do something or not to do something because you want to do something in response."
"I think that maybe is a little bit of a sign that you might try to test it a little bit with some distance between you as the designer and the game."
"I think that's one thing that online play testing can do a little bit where it adds that separation between you and the game because you got to keep in mind that if you want your game if you want thousands of people to play your game, you are not going to be there for every session."
"I really really enjoyed that and thanks to my co-worker Susanna for teaching that one."
"It really encapsulates how introversion feels in game form and gaming is one of my favorite outlets for me as an introvert."
"I I don't necessarily think it needs the Awakened Realms treat treatment to make it cost three times as much and look beautiful but be significantly more expensive."
"I love that idea. Um, so I I guess maybe I'll turn that answer around to you, Gary. Are there some games that you think are uh that are wonderful games that were held back by something that a publisher could revisit?"
"I think the art for Libertalia is is great. And pretty crucially, I think it's important that the characters in Libertalia don't look like real people."
"No, control there isn't an issue. Um, the only hesitancy is consideration for my co-workers time."
"I think my take in general is for for for people who love to sleeve cards is we are always happy. We always welcome you to do that, but it isn't always necessarily our responsibility to make a box big enough to to fit sleeve cards."
"It is heavier than the games that we publish."
"I would probably go on a show where I don't have to lie to people and where people don't have to lie to each other."
"Vidiculture released in 2013. 13 years ago is when Vidiculture originally released."

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video -j6zkLGmCsk The Board Gaming Doctor Analysis at 0:11 sentiment: positive

video_pk 80558 · mention_pk 196389

Click to watch at 0:11 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

More flexible than A Feast for Odin.
Offers additional opportunities and resources.
Action board has scaled options based on player count.
Increased flexibility to obtain and use special tiles.
Variable action tiles add replayability.
Player board has additional space for tiles.
Immediate bonuses and a copy action tile unlockable.
Tax board adds an extra layer of objectives.
Ship board is integrated into the player tableau with more ships.
Starting resources are enhanced with a red egg and a die joker.
Cowpang system offers new exploration and rewards.
Shorter six-round variant available.
Excited about the new changes and additions.
Small tweaks make things more flexible and easier to achieve.
Action tiles at the beginning can hinder or support strategies.
Cowpang sets offer new interactions.
More variability than A Feast for Odin, akin to modern Euro games.
Occupation cards are being considered for balance and relevance.

Cons

The rulebook and component list were not fully available at the time of review.
Some may prefer the static, chess-like experience of A Feast for Odin.
Occupation cards in the base game of A Feast for Odin were not always relevant.

Thematic elements

Comparison games

A Feast for Odin
The Norwegians (expansion)
Agricola
Terra Mystica
Gaia Project
Caverna
Ora et Labora
La Hav

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Action Drafting — Action tiles are variable and drafted at the beginning of the game, with more potentially added throughout the game based on player count.
Area Control — The game involves placing tiles to cover spaces on the player board and potentially competing for action spaces that others have used, requiring payment.
Card Drafting — Players can draw weapon cards and play occupation cards. Occupation cards are a significant element, with improvements anticipated from the base game.
Resource Management — Players manage resources such as silver, green tiles, and building resources to pay for actions and cover spaces.
Set Collection — The game involves collecting sets of tiles, specifically orange, red, or green tiles, to fulfill tax obligations.
tile laying — Players cover their personal player board and other tiles with polyomino tiles to gain income and points.
Variable player powers — Occupation cards are designed to create asymmetric player powers, similar to Agricola.
Worker Placement — The game utilizes worker placement, with a scaled version of opportunities. There are special columns for the first and last Viking placed in a round. Players can also place an additional Viking on an occupied space to draw a weapon card or play an occupation card.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

The Danes, the sequel to A Feast for Odin.
In a sense, I think it's correct to think of this as an expansion as it was intended to be at first, but now that we have so many of these little things added together, at least little tweaks to the game, it has become its own standalone game.
The word of the day is flexibility, and it gives you an opportunity to utilize.
The Danes is taking an approach that is closer to what a modern Euro game tends to feel like with additional game set variabilities with the different action tiles and such rather than having it be more chestlike and more static like a feast for Odin is.
It's 80 to 90% similar, but it's the differences are essentially just more material in the sense of like an expansion with slight tweaks to the rules to make it more flexible and perhaps approachable to a wider audience rather than those who enjoy a more static and chess-like experience that A Feast for Odin offers.

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video ESc0kt7WjLQ Meeple University Rules Teach

video_pk 69864 · mention_pk 166753

Pros

none

Cons

none

Thematic elements

none

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Mechanics unknown.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

The gang is a cooperative form of Texas Holdem poker.
In the gang, thematically, players are playing as a gang of thieves, breaking in and trying to steal as many riches as they can from various buildings and establishments.
A standard game of the gang is played as a best of five heists.
Reveal all pocket cards and determine the relative orders of the hands.
If you've got the order correct, then you win this round.

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video ESc0kt7WjLQ Meeple University Rules Teach at 0:13 sentiment: neutral

video_pk 69864 · mention_pk 217513

Click to watch at 0:13 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

neutral

Pros

none

Cons

none

Thematic elements

cooperative heist using poker hand rankings
a gang of thieves breaking in and trying to steal as many riches as they can from various buildings and establishments
team-based, silent communication, multi-round deduction

Comparison games

Texas Hold'em

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

challenge cards and specialist cards — Optional cards (challenge or specialist) modify difficulty or help; advanced/professional/master thief modes adjust how these cards are used across rounds.
Limited Communication — Players communicate without talking using chips (colors and placement) to indicate relative hand strength; options include taking from the middle, another player, or returning to the middle; passing chips to another player is not allowed.
modes and progression — From the baseline game to advanced, professional, and master thief modes, the rules and card usage scale in complexity and challenge.
multi-color chip rounds — Chips of different colors are used to mark phases: white for center, yellow for the flop, orange for the turn, and red for the river; red chips represent the team’s final guesses for hand ordering.
pocket cards + community cards hand construction — Players use their two pocket cards and the five community cards to form the highest ranking five-card hand.
round progression and final ranking — After revealing hands, players determine the highest ranking five-card hand; the team wins by correctly discerning the final relative rankings of all players' hands.
silent communication with color-coded chips — Players communicate without talking using chips (colors and placement) to indicate relative hand strength; options include taking from the middle, another player, or returning to the middle; passing chips to another player is not allowed.
vaults and alarms as win/lose conditions — Six face-down cards (three vaults, three alarms) drive victory or defeat: flip a vault when winning a round; flip an alarm when losing; ends when three vaults are flipped or three alarms are flipped.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

The gang is a cooperative form of Texas Holdem poker.
In the gang, thematically, players are playing as a gang of thieves, breaking in and trying to steal as many riches as they can from various buildings and establishments.
A standard game of the gang is played as a best of five heists.
Reveal all pocket cards and determine the relative orders of the hands.
If you've got the order correct, then you win this round.

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video Y6DZkLBYu3Q Discussion at 6:14 sentiment: positive

video_pk 69445 · mention_pk 165949

Click to watch at 6:14 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

it really shines more at those larger player counts

Cons

one thing was kind of frustrating about it is that we actually did quite well even if we weren't fully successful but it was hard for people to gauge you know with they basically you'd have people who had the same hand but the a different high card and they would be out of order

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)

PAX Unplugged is one of my very favorite conventions
it's like watching an entire city get built
it was exhausting but fun
I really really enjoyed it
it's definitely super entertaining for uh these purposes
it was really really delightful
Pax makes you tired
PAX is and remains my favorite

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video j3ksj8BhaDo Review at 0:39 sentiment: positive

video_pk 69083 · mention_pk 165408

Click to watch at 0:39 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

Simple yet brilliant mechanisms
Incredibly engaging
Favorite smallbox hit of the year

Cons

none

Thematic elements

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Cooperative — As a fan of both poker and cooperative games, The Gang immediately caught my attention, and it did not disappoint.
Poker — As a fan of both poker and cooperative games, The Gang immediately caught my attention, and it did not disappoint.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

Baron Park had been on my radar for ages and now that I finally played it, I absolutely love it.
This might be one of my most favorite polyomino tie lane games ever.
It's a fantastic game all around.
Death Valley is a compact pushy luck game with surprising depth.
Its captivating theme and George's artwork elevated further, making it a delightful, fast-paced choice for any game night.
The cooperative poker game is one of my favorite smallbox hits of this year.
Its simple yet brilliant mechanisms are incredibly engaging and I find myself recommending it to everyone.

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video YynkYmGAhcA kovray Top 5 List at 14:11 sentiment: positive

video_pk 68966 · mention_pk 226203

Click to watch at 14:11 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

casual and approachable
encourages teamwork and discussion
replayable with varying specialists

Cons

none

Thematic elements

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

cooperative poker / hand ranking prediction — Players predict the order of card hands from best to worst, using chips to indicate confidence; work together to get three correct predictions.

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

Pictures did you know that this game won the Spiel
it's a Hidden Gem
it's a very underrated game in my opinion
the gang is a Cooperative poker game
diffuse the bomb
five unlockable boxes in this game

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video -U3mLkqwLA4 Top List at 22:26 sentiment: positive

video_pk 67333 · mention_pk 163338

Click to watch at 22:26 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

Positive

Pros

Reinvigorates interest in poker
Fun deduction element
Portable and good for casual settings like breweries or bars
Good for learning poker

Cons

Teaching can be more involved for players unfamiliar with poker strategy

Thematic elements

none

Comparison games

Poker

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

cooperative play — The Gang is essentially cooperative deduction poker.
Deduction — building poker hands, but trying to deduce who has the best hand, who has the worst hand, stuff like that. And so, you're taking these tokens to give information, and it is a fun deduction
Poker Hands — You are building poker hands

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

These are my top 10 cooperative board games of all time.
I promised you that I would do a top 10 of all time video each month this year and I am delivering on that promise.
For the past year, I've been shooting a series of professional comedians playing different board games and I plan to release that series soon.
Number five on my list is the party game So Clover.
Number four on my list is the game Chronicles of Avel.
Number three on my list of top 10 cooperative games is the game The Gang.
Number two on my list is The Lord of the Rings trick taking game, The Fellowship of the Ring.
And then my number one cooperative game of all time is a little bit of cheating, because it's mostly a cooperative game, but there is a hidden traitor in your midst, and that is the game Obscurio.
There are a lot more that I considered for this list, you know.
I hope you're liking them as well. Thank you so much for being here.

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video eKkTvepOu9U CA Couple Top 5 List at 20:01 sentiment: positive

video_pk 66229 · mention_pk 161066

Click to watch at 20:01 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

High interaction and communication
Replayability through specialization and modes
Exciting when hands improve dramatically

Cons

Requires strong player cooperation and social comfort

Thematic elements

Poker-like hand ranking with cooperative element
Cooperative poker game with hidden ranks revealed at the end
Social deduction and teamwork through chip mechanics

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

Betting and Bluffing — chips are used for revealing/withholding information
chip-taking and bluffing — chips are used for revealing/withholding information
Cooperative Game — players work together to rank hands via chips shared over turns
cooperative poker — players work together to rank hands via chips shared over turns
end-round reveal and scoring — revealing final hands after five cards are shown
Simultaneous Reveal — revealing final hands after five cards are shown

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

it's a engine built dice roller where you're going to be purchasing different ships and placing them into your board your space station
it's essentially a race to 40 rockets
the board really becomes alive as you Electrify the city as you grow more districts
bees they're cute they're so cute
this is like a tableau Builder where you're drafting your cards and placing them but the thing that's hard to wrap your brain around is you're playing cards from left to right and scoring right to left
the gang is a Cooperative poker game
the timing of the game is really exciting too
declaring Ambitions and when you do that you basically out of the five maybe six options you have you can really set the tone for what the round is going to look like
I want to play it at a higher player count to see what kind of interaction goes on
the board becomes alive as you electrify the city
it's one of the most gorgeous games on the table
Darwin's Journey … following along Darwin's Journey as the game suggests
be mindful of yo-kaI and the deforestation theme

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

Video yzvVeeMCL58 Fair Plays Games Top 5 List at 19:10 sentiment: positive

video_pk 65692 · mention_pk 159447

Click to watch at 19:10 · YouTube ↗

Overall sentiment (raw)

positive

Pros

Innovative poker-inspired co-op twist
Tension and strategy in a cooperative heist

Cons

Debate over whether it is truly semi-cooperative; may confuse players

Thematic elements

cooperation under poker-like hidden ranking
Texas Holdem style heist with cooperative elements
semi-cooperative debate about game status

Comparison games

none

Mechanics (from transcript analysis)

heist win condition — Open three vaults before triggering the alarm three times
Limited Communication — Communication is restricted; players must infer others' hands
poker hierarchy — Ranking of hands based on Holdem strength
silent ranking — Players secretly rank their hand, adjusting as cards are revealed
update cards — Community cards reveal information and can alter assessments

Video topics + discussion points

No key topics recorded for this video.

Quotes (from this video)

This world is a co-op.
This planet is co-op city. Co-op Earth. That's what it is.
Not semi co-op. It is co-op.
Bomb Busters is the jam.
The Gang is rolling.
I love the artwork in the game. I love the diversity of the game.
This is a really, really good co-op that keeps you on your toes.

References (from this video)

No references stored for this video.

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