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The Oracle of Delphi

Game ID: GID0342085
Collection Status
Description

Description from the publisher:

"For once, Zeus, Greek god of thunder and sky, is in high spirits. Hence, he decides to offer a generous gift to a worthy mortal and invite him, or her, to his realm, to Olympus. To determine a sufficient candidate, Zeus hosts a competition for his entertainment. Twelve legendary tasks are imposed upon the fearless participants: to erect graceful statues, to raise awe-inspiring sanctuaries, to offer capacious offerings, and to slay the most fearsome monsters. The first participant to master all the posed assignments wins the favor of the father of the gods himself.

Indubitably, you will not pass up this golden opportunity, so you clear your ship and rally your crew to follow on the trails of legendary Odysseus through the dangerous waters of the Aegean. But how could you find the righteous path onward? There is but one who can help you. Visit the mysterious oracle of Delphi and let her answers guide your ways.

In Stefan Feld's new game The Oracle of Delphi, the player's ships travel across a large variable game board of hexagonal tiles showing islands and the surrounding waters. Each player aims to reach certain islands to perform the twelve tasks given by Zeus: e.g., to collect offerings of different colors and to deliver them to corresponding temples, or to slay monsters of a specific type (and color), all of which can be discovered on the islands.

In order to execute these color-dependent actions, you are given three colored dice each turn, the so-called "oracle dice". Rolling the dice (at the start of the turn) is equivalent to consulting the oracle, whereas the results represent her answers. The answers determine which actions you will be able to take, but you will always have three actions per turn. However, a slight divergence from your fate is often possible.

In addition to the oracle, you can request support from the gods and you can acquire favor tokens, companions, and other special abilities that will help you win the race against other competitors.

Differently equipped ships and the variable set-up of the game board will offer new challenging and interesting strategic and tactical decisions with every new game of The Oracle of Delphi that you play.

Year Published
2016
Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 4
This page: 4
Sentiment: pos 4 · mix 0 · neu 0 · neg 0
Mentions per page
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Showing 1–4 of 4
Video D8M5ZOC-o98 Chairman of the Board top_10_list at 16:04 sentiment: positive
video_pk 10795 · mention_pk 31869
Video thumbnail
Click to watch at 16:04 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
  • Fast-paced and highly interactive
  • Efficient design with meaningful choice within constraints
  • Rule-breaking powers add flavor and excitement
Cons
  • Subject to dice-driven variance
  • Not as accessible to players who dislike race games
Thematic elements
  • race to complete heroic tasks with modular powers
  • Ancient mythic questing on a racing-map
  • mythic quest racing with efficiency constraints
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • card/power escalation — Charge powers to unlock strong abilities that can swing endgame scoring.
  • dice-driven randomness with powerful mitigating powers — Rolls constrain and enable actions; players charge up god powers to tilt outcomes.
  • route planning and resource routing — Efficiently plan boat routes and token usage to maximize results.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • I love the sense of urgency when it comes to rushing to these islands and getting them populated as quickly as you can.
  • This game is the absolute best of the best. You know, the top 1% of the top 1% of the games that I've played.
  • I could not speak more highly of this design.
  • The dice-driven twist, the engine-building, the tension—this is why I play board games.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video kl0mMHVGl1M Foster the Mea top_10_list at 12:01 sentiment: positive
video_pk 9536 · mention_pk 28225
Video thumbnail
Click to watch at 12:01 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
very positive
Pros
  • Fantastic fun factor every play
  • Great immediate fun on first play
  • Excellent introduction game
  • Replayable and engaging
Cons
  • No significant criticisms mentioned
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)
  • Jeff and I rank with our hearts and not with our brains
  • our list is if you don't like it Move Along
  • we play as many games as we do in a year which is literally hundreds thousand
  • our rankings are extremely fluid
  • there's so many good freaking games out there
  • oron hits The Sweet Spot of combo
  • this Oracle Delia Oracle Del like what is this game
  • if you love puzzles and sudoku or whatever you're probably gonna love it
  • don't poo poo on tapestry it's freaking good
  • three ring circus is going to continue to increase for me
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 5Kry7ELGvsw Before You Play top_10_list at 29:49 sentiment: positive
video_pk 3112 · mention_pk 9071
Video thumbnail
Click to watch at 29:49 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
  • cryptic yet rewarding puzzle
  • beautiful components and thematic integration
Cons
  • out-of-print status can hinder new players
  • rules-heavy for newcomers
Thematic elements
  • oracle-guided quests
  • mythology-based task fulfillment in ancient Greece
  • order-for-task, scavenger-hunt style
Comparison games
  • Castles of Burgundy
  • Bonfire
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
  • dice pool with action selection — roll and allocate dice to perform tasks, with each task requiring different outcomes
  • gods track and end-game triggers — advancing gods on a track unlocks special abilities
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
  • it's basically discussing our top 10 games that were new to us in 2022
  • this is like a podcast today
  • Weather Machine ... would have made this list if it came out this year
  • it's a pure Euro for sure through and through
  • hirelings ... game changer for the two-player Root
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video LHeRAdHHs6s Foster the Meeple top_10_list at 13:35 sentiment: positive
video_pk 1634 · mention_pk 4731
Video thumbnail
Click to watch at 13:35 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
  • loved by Jamie
  • older game that plays well
  • wanted to teach others
Cons
  • haven't played in a while
  • fell off list
Thematic elements
  • mythology
  • ancient Greece
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're products of what we've played
  • objectively most games are good
  • the longer I'm in this hobby the more I have identified that I love very heavy strategic War based games
  • people play games differently
  • I just wish people would be a little bit more cognizant of what the people around the table are doing to the game
  • every year there's a new card game that comes out that we just go head over heels for
  • the odds that I'm going to get a chance to play this game are probably pretty limited
  • I would argue none of them are like something I'm like itching to get out and play
  • it's all about betting the right amount of hands and trying to screw other people over
  • how do you compete with new content constantly being released
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
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