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Description
The Grizzled is a cooperative game about survival in the trenches during the first World War where players win or lose together.
Each round, the current team leader will choose how many cards every player draws. Then, going around the table, players must either play a card in their hand or back out of the mission. Each card represents either threats to the team (such as mortar shells and weather conditions) or negative personality traits (such as frightened or obsessive). At the end of the round, more cards are added to the draw deck. The game ends only if the players can deplete the draw deck as well as their hands without letting time run out.
If one threat shows up too many times, the team fails the mission. The team must play their threats correctly in order to gain any progress. However, most of the information in a players hand remains secret throughout the game.
Planning, teamwork, and a little luck are the tools you'll need to win this cooperative game for two to five players.
Year Published
2015
Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 15
This page: 15
Sentiment:
pos 9 ·
mix 3 ·
neu 2 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–15 of 15
Video kC-l44A-PUw
Cardboard Harold game_review at 0:41 sentiment: positive
video_pk 13220 · mention_pk 38664
Click to watch at 0:41
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Evocative artwork and emotional conveyance that stands out among co-ops
- Compact, elegant core mechanics with strong cooperative tension
- Rich thematic execution that supports tense, meaningful decisions
Cons
- Original box and component scale can feel cramped for some players
- May be challenging for new players due to non-obvious strategic depth
- Light on embellishments; relies on atmosphere rather than flashy components
Thematic elements
- cooperation under pressure, morale management, camaraderie
- World War I, Western Front, trenches
- evocative, vignette-driven storytelling focused on human moments
Comparison games
- The Grizzled (original)
- At Your Orders expansion
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- cooperative gameplay — Players work together to survive a sequence of mission challenges.
- Deck/discard-based pacing — Mission and threat cards cycle through as players attempt to complete goals.
- hand management — Players carefully manage a small hand of mission cards to mitigate threats.
- Morale tracking — Morale and threat dynamics drive tension; failures impact morale and progression.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- the Armistice Edition is the first time I'd tried the two-player variant
- the miniatures are the best I've ever seen
- I really dig the Armistice Edition
- there's no more reason for me to keep the original edition
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video FhWgUXC8PrY
Unknown Channel top_10_list at 4:42 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 12149 · mention_pk 35540
Click to watch at 4:42
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
- strong thematic coherence
- cooperative play feels close to a shared objective
Cons
- heavy luck and serendipity
- can be depressing and long
Thematic elements
- grim, bleak survival with cooperation
- World War I era
- dark, somber mood
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- cooperative card play — Players work together to survive the war through card-driven events.
- hand depletion and management — Play cards to deplete the deck and advance toward victory.
- trigger-based round resolution — Rounds end based on symbol-based triggers on played cards.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- it's a filler type where you are drawing cards and you're trying to curate a hand of cards where everything synergizes well with each other
- the heart and soul of that is realms and that is why Naveen dislikes it is why i really enjoy it
- gosh the dice selection is so restrictive
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video kDRq1MGNwYY
JohnGetsGames general_discussion at 20:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 11290 · mention_pk 33173
Click to watch at 20:00
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- tight, tense cooperative gameplay
- portable and quick to play
Cons
- memory pressure can be punishing
Thematic elements
- survival and teamwork under stress
- World War I vignette; intimate cooperative card game
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- card play with memory/pressure — cards drive events; memory and timing matter
- cooperative play — players work together to complete objectives against challenges
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- If this was just a job if i was just doing this for money well first of all the channel would be a lot different
- it's been a real problem you know i mentioned that these playing with friends videos have been taking a lot longer to make
- these update vlogs are about me being transparent about stuff
- two cameras that work
- i'm tinkering around hitting a bunch of things with a hammer to see if things get better
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video NDGw3YHAT3I
The Grizzled game_review at 0:00 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 11074 · mention_pk 32572
Click to watch at 0:00
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
- Strong cooperative focus with emphasis on camaraderie over victory
- Accessible rules and simple learning curve that immerses you quickly
- Unique art by Tignous that gives the game a distinctive character
- War depicted as something to endure and survive, not conquer
- Effective emotional resonance that can be rewarding for players seeking thematic depth
Cons
- Unforgiving and potentially emotionally raw subject matter
- No base solo mode; solo play only available in the expansion
- Hard Knocks can create a downward spiral that can feel punishing
- Outcome can feel bleak even when played well, which may deter some players
Thematic elements
- camaraderie, endurance, morale in the face of exhaustion and terror
- World War I-era front with a group of young French soldiers in no-man's land
- survival-focused, communal struggle with no-win-war framing
Comparison games
- This War of Mine
- Paths of Glory
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- card management — Players receive cards each turn and must carefully manage threats, hard knocks, and items.
- cooperative play — Players must collaborate to survive; individual mistakes affect the group's outcome.
- Deck cycling with monument and trials — The monument deck adds to the trials as the round finishes; failure or success reshapes future rounds.
- Hard Knocks (trauma) mechanic — Traumatic cards can be assigned to players, representing lasting stress and potential spiral effects.
- Luck charm and special abilities — Special tokens such as Gustav's snow charm allow targeted manipulation of threats or card effects.
- No-man's land mechanic — A shared space where threats accumulate; three matching threats causes failure.
- Speech token and group actions — Players can nominate a threat type, enabling others to discard matching cards to help allies.
- Threat and terrain system — Threat cards (six types) and terrain cards (night, rain, snow) drive risk; three matching threats in no-man's land ends the mission.
- Withdraw and support tokens — Withdraw to gain a support token that helps others recover or mitigate penalties.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Cooperative: only together can this group of friends survive
- The best thing about this game is that the war is not depicted as something that can be won
- War isn't pretty and the bulk of games about war treat the subject with a degree of emotional separation
- it's a game about camaraderie of friends keeping each other going while they push through exhaustion and terror
- The Grizzled: no winners just survivors
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video J_MYe0_Iwh8
The Secret Cabal top_3_list at 11:29 sentiment: positive
video_pk 9278 · mention_pk 27393
Click to watch at 11:29
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Effective emotional storytelling that conveys weight of war
- Artwork supports a gritty but not purely dark mood while remaining approachable
Cons
- Very high difficulty; can be punishing
- Theme may be emotionally heavy for some groups
Thematic elements
- Brotherhood, camaraderie, trauma, and emotional resilience
- World War I; soldiers in close quarters and trenches
- Emotional storytelling through cooperative play and adversity
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- cooperative card play — Players work together to overcome card-driven challenges.
- Death risk and bittersweet victory — Victory can occur with all characters dead, creating a complex emotional arc.
- hand management — Careful management of a limited card pool to survive challenges.
- Traumas / mental stress — Mechanics representing psychological strain and its effects.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- The artwork is beautiful.
- It's such an evocative game because of the artwork.
- This game doesn't have any text in it at all; all it has is pictures of these demons.
- It's such an evocative game because of the artwork.
- The politics come out in the game like there are players that will ally with each other.
- You can win but everyone dies.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video S5U8msc-DTk
unknown top_10_list at 15:01 sentiment: positive
video_pk 8091 · mention_pk 23794
Click to watch at 15:01
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- evokes trauma and camaraderie well
- tight, tense co-op experience
Cons
- very punishing at times
Thematic elements
- friendship and shared hardship
- World War I camaraderie and trauma
- cooperative storytelling through tough decisions
Comparison games
- Ghost Stories
- Forbidden Island
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- cooperative failure transmission — missteps can endanger the group collectively
- hand management — players manage a hand of cards representing trauma and events
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- pure cooperative where everybody wins or loses together
- we're in this together it's okay you know i'm not working against you
- macro level adventure
- this is the gloomhaven that should have been the first gloomhaven to come out now
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video nCsptWvEVjk
Foster the Meeple haul at 12:07
video_pk 7518 · mention_pk 22331
Click to watch at 12:07
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)
- Don't sleep on this game folks.
- It's a lunchtime game now.
- It's a strictly card based game.
- This is a really unique racing card game you're like doing a bike race with these fun creatures.
- It's a freaking hoot.
- I am so excited to try it.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video mam0TQ1jGm0
Actual L game_review at 0:37 sentiment: positive
video_pk 7080 · mention_pk 20963
Click to watch at 0:37
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- immersive wartime atmosphere that reinforces cooperative play
- tight, ~30-minute sessions with a strong thematic punch
- excellent artwork and thematic integration
- speech-token mechanism adds social dynamics and leadership flavor
- hard knocks provide meaningful tension and variety
Cons
- high learning curve and potential for frustration among new players
- wins feel dependent on group consistency and experience
- rules can be bent or misapplied if players are not careful about communication
- the game's difficulty can be punishing for casual players
Thematic elements
- cooperation under extreme stress; resilience and morale under threat
- World War I trench warfare
- highly thematic, emotion-driven play; social dynamics and unspoken team bonding are central
Comparison games
- Hanabi
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- cooperative play — players work together to complete missions and avoid morale depletion
- hand management — players manage a hand of cards to play threats and withdraw strategically
- hard knock cards — negative cards that stay in front of players and interact with other cards to increase difficulty
- morale reserve and speech tokens — morale tokens track the team's morale; speech tokens allow leaders to influence future rounds
- support tiles — withdrawals allocate support tiles that can remove hard knock cards or refresh luck charms
- Threat tokens — threats are represented by types; three of a kind of the same type in the center causes mission failure
- withdrawal mechanic — players may withdraw from a mission to mitigate risk, but withdrawals have consequences
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I've really enjoyed the grizzled it has a different feel to any game I've played before
- it's a 30 minute Cooperative experience in a small box
- the theme is evocative and the artwork is gorgeous
- if you like co-op games you'd be a fool not to check this one out
- we are going to live on we are going to survive
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video MWkGCAG1_7k
Cardboard Herald general_discussion at 0:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 6651 · mention_pk 19777
Click to watch at 0:00
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- emotional depth and thematic weight
- tight cooperative tension in a compact box
- strong emphasis on teamwork and relationships
Cons
- high difficulty to achieve victory and progress
- pacing can feel punishing for new players
Thematic elements
- friendship, resilience, and support under pressure
- World War I trenches and Allied soldiers facing hardship and alliance
- emotional, reflective, with tragic backstory and memorial undertones
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- cooperative_play — players must coordinate actions and support one another to overcome challenges and keep the team together
- event_cards — deck contains events that introduce hardships and test teamwork
- hand_management — players manage a hand of cards representing soldiers and events to progress toward survival and Armistice
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- this game is not about conducting war it's about supporting your friends and seeing them through all the challenges that they're going to have to face in order to have them all reach the Armistice at the very end of the war
- there is a huge amount of heart packed into this box
- there is without a doubt one answer that I would say and that is Plans by Death Cab for Cutie
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video TDZmbj-uF84
The Discriminating Gamer top_10_list at 0:44 sentiment: positive
video_pk 5275 · mention_pk 15666
Click to watch at 0:44
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Very good cooperative game
- Great artwork
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- War/soldiers
- World War I
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- cooperative gameplay — Players work together to achieve objectives
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I'd have to change my name.
- Wings for the Baron was an outstanding game.
- I was kicking myself.
- It's tremendous fun. This is really a good game.
- Forbidden Stars is a game that's out of print. For many, it's a grail game.
- I loved the artwork. I loved the the gameplay, the mechanics, those tokens.
- Churchill from GMT Games had one of the most interesting balancing systems I ever had.
- Cthulhu Wars is a fantastic fantastic kind of light war game area control game.
- The board game is super fun.
- I love love love Star Wars Armada. Love the theme. Love the game play.
- Armada was much more strategic and there was more things you could do.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video P9zZvuyYDis
Dice Tower library_tour at 7:15 sentiment: neutral
video_pk 4840 · mention_pk 14314
Click to watch at 7:15
Overall sentiment (raw)
neutral
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)
- Shelf 16 is kind of a an odd mix here
- This shelf has twice as many games as most shelves
- one of my favorite two-player games, but it's very difficult to learn and play
- Fantastic abstract strategy game
- Such a classic game and I like it a lot
- I don't know why I like it so much, but I do
- one of the most beautiful dexterity/party games there are
- There are so many games on the shelf
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video qGUzTAfpvfc
The Secret Cabal general_discussion at 1:46 sentiment: positive
video_pk 4594 · mention_pk 13443
Click to watch at 1:46
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- emotional weight and heavy theme
- cooperative difficulty that reinforces teamwork
Cons
- heavy theme may be distressing for some players
Thematic elements
- survival, camaraderie, hardship
- World War I, band of brothers
- gritty, somber, emotional
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- card-driven/story-driven events — cards drive events and emotional stakes within gameplay
- cooperative play — players work together to survive challenging WWI scenarios
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- this one is sort of a pure version of Rising Sun
- you get a hand of cards
- I can't beat the miniatures in the box
- I happen to like Norse mythology so I think this one just fits me a little better than Rising Sun
- it's such a heavy theme of like you're you get you have this attachment to your brothers in arms
- City of Iron is my absolute favorite
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video TSk6LomtBRw
Unknown Channel game_review at 2:39 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 3840 · mention_pk 11282
Click to watch at 2:39
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
- Box design appears well-presented for a knockoff
- Cooperative gameplay can be engaging
Cons
- Box feel tight and some components suspect
- Rulebook text is difficult to read
Thematic elements
- Survival, camaraderie
- World War I era cooperative
- War memoir
Comparison games
- The Grizzled (original)
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- cooperative play — Players work together to overcome challenges and complete objectives.
- hand management — Managing cards with thematic constraints; difficulty varies with content.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- The quality of the game is actually quite good.
- But it really did blow me away with the quality of this Chinese ripoff.
- The rules are a little bit [ __ ] I'm not entirely sure how the rules come in the original.
- the quality of the cards are okay.
- they're absolutely serviceable and if you put this in front of somebody, I doubt very much they will be able to tell that this was not a legitimate copy of Flip 7.
- the box is printed quite well.
- the beer mat thing did come with like a water stain on it which is a little bit weird
- if you spent seven quid on a copy of this one.
- the box is really [__]. It came sort of a little bit bashed in.
- the dice that you got, I like these. Not very nice. Pretty crappy red and blue dice
- the box came like split and smashed up.
- the print of it is kind of washed out.
- for 12 quid, hell. I mean, what's it go for? Like 55 quid. 12 quid versus 55 quid. It's tempting.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video eXjxiFPMrtI
Foster the Meeple general_discussion at 2:12 sentiment: neutral
video_pk 2488 · mention_pk 7278
Click to watch at 2:12
Overall sentiment (raw)
neutral
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)
- we have board games everywhere in our home
- it's going to be staggered kind of like steps down
- the most ridiculous box ever everything falls out
- I've been learning a game a day Jeff
- if you're looking at my chest or not
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video mW0xh_ytGVY
Our Family Plays Games top_10_list at 14:39 sentiment: positive
video_pk 2238 · mention_pk 6521
Click to watch at 14:39
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- unique WWI theme
- cooperative gameplay
- endearing support mechanics
- addresses mental and emotional toll of war
- coffee token support mechanic
- encouragement and words of support
- sweet and meaningful theme
- artistic presentation
Cons
- so ugly it's cute aesthetic
Thematic elements
- world_war_one
- military
- soldiers
- mental_health
- phobias
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
Mechanics unknown.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- if components are done with love and extra attention, I just love that a lot
- cute can be defined in a lot of ways - it could be the little meeples, the board, or the mechanics
- the artwork is just adorable and I just fell in love with it
- I would have bought it just for the panda
- everyone's dealt these roof cards and you're trying to get rid of those
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–15 of 15