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Description
Description from the designer:
90s ; Explosion of 16 bits Video Games era in the world.
Time when the greatest dream of childhood was to be The Video Game Champion!
In Video Game Champion, players are transported to the nostalgic setting of the early 1990s, where they step into the shoes of children balancing multiple activities such as earning pocket money, studying, and immersing themselves in the captivating world of 16-BIT gaming. From flipping through video game magazines to renting games, asking your parents for gifts and spending hours pushing buttons, the game captures the essence of that era.
Mechanically, players navigate through the game by strategically selecting chips from an Action Grid, each activating a corresponding action effect from the column or line. The challenge lies in managing resources like money, button chips and "I owe you" chips, adding depth to decision-making as players strive to maximize their points through completing games with Poker-style chip combinations, exploring new releases, and accomplishing various mission objectives unique to each playthrough.
Year Published
2023
Transcript Analysis
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 5
This page: 5
Sentiment:
pos 4 ·
mix 1 ·
neu 0 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–5 of 5
Video ZEbe0FJb-zA
Rolling Dice and Taking Names game_review at 56:37 sentiment: positive
video_pk 9462 · mention_pk 27965
Click to watch at 56:37 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- strong nostalgia factor for 90s gaming culture
- clever integration of ‘rental store’ mechanics into scoring
- great table presence with multiple components
Cons
- light on deep strategy
- depends on player interaction to keep tension high
Thematic elements
- video game collecting and renting ecosystem
- 90s video game arcade era and magazine culture
- nostalgic tabletop re-creation of a video game store arcade chase
Comparison games
- East India Companies
- Pyramido: Forgotten Treasures
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- rental-store economy — mechanism of renting games (IOUs, tokens) to score points and progress toward goals
- set-collection with thematic scoring — collect button tokens to form sequences and fulfill rental-themed objectives
- tile drafting with actions — draft a tile from a 4x4 grid and choose an associated action tile (top of column or side of row)
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- it's not strategic it is uh it is literally just an experience of having some movement points
- Let kids be kids
- The production is topnotch
- the art on the video game cards I think they look cute
- the stories were entertaining we were having a lot of fun
- pencil fights were great
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video 2a942jEFRuQ
GL analog general_discussion at 19:37 sentiment: positive
video_pk 9335 · mention_pk 27516
Click to watch at 19:37 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- charming theme and approachable rules
- fast to teach and quick to play
- fun nostalgia with satisfying drafting decisions
Cons
- tile values can introduce luck variance
Thematic elements
- collecting and beating video games
- 90s-era video arcade culture
- cute, nostalgic
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- grid placement — place cards into a 3x3 grid for scoring and actions
- pattern-based scoring — score based on color/number adjacencies and validations
- tile drafting / cartridge selection — draft cartridges to trigger actions
- Variable objectives — different goals influence how you draft and claim cards
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- it's like a summer camp where I get to play lots of games
- this is one of the coolest things about this game
- the turns are so Snappy; you're always ready to go
- it's a bigger game where you are building out and visiting villages in the Black Forest
- two things that I love in games: dice placement and engine building
- the art is fascinating; some people really did not like the art and some people really did
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video GG1cXmKwEiY
Luke Kor - The Broken Meep game_review at 0:29 sentiment: mixed
video_pk 7658 · mention_pk 22679
Click to watch at 0:29 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
mixed
Pros
- Strong nostalgia-driven theme that captures 90s video-game culture
- Accessible, light-weight gameplay that is relatively easy to teach
- Rules with clear reference for scoring and a decent amount of artwork for theme cues
- Varied actions per tile provide some replay variety
- Conversations and social interaction can be sparked by the theme
Cons
- High price for a light-weight game (UK pricing around £50)
- Table hog with large components and display area
- Limited mechanical depth and heavy emphasis on meeting objectives to win
- No solo mode; recommended for 3-4 players; 4-5 players can overstay
- Rulebook clarity issues in some sections and potential to misread the weekend action rules
- Diminishing novelty after a few plays; may not justify repeated plays
Thematic elements
- nostalgia for collecting and playing retro video games; parental money, magazines, cheat codes, rentals
- 1980s-1990s arcade and home video game culture; nostalgia-driven microcosm
- nostalgic, anecdotal, reflective
Comparison games
- Automania
- Pursuit of Happiness
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- diversification scoring and completed games — Points come from playing a variety of game categories and from completing games to satisfy objectives.
- grid action selection — On your turn you pick a tile from a small grid and perform an action from the tile's row or column.
- password/chart bonuses — Gems are placed on password sheets to unlock bonuses as rows/columns fill.
- rent-buy-use model — Rent or buy video games to add to your stash and use them during rounds.
- set/goal-based scoring via criteria — You attempt to meet various criteria (e.g., five of a kind, five in a color, etc.) to score points.
- weekend phase — A phase at the end of each round that allows additional actions like renting or extended play.
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- One hell of a table hog
- This game is coasting very heavily on that theme
- It's not a Gateway game for sure
- Five rounds with the same format of free choices from the grid
- There isn't really enough mechanically in here to make it interesting enough
- I give it overall a five out of ten
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video qC-Dc5mlPVY
Attackers unboxing at 0:17 sentiment: positive
video_pk 5136 · mention_pk 15243
Click to watch at 0:17 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- High-quality components
- Interesting thematic concept
- Unique artwork
- Supports 2-5 players
Cons
- No official solo mode
Thematic elements
- Playing video games as children while balancing school and earning money
- Early 1990s
- Nostalgic video game experience
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- set collection — Collecting video game and magazine cards
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- I've always wanted a good video game-themed board game in my collection
- Component quality-wise, this is really good. I didn't really expect that.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video keUMLQ3vgsM
Broken Meeple discussion at 0:00 sentiment: positive
video_pk 4016 · mention_pk 11706
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Good theme that speaks to nostalgia
- Has received good reviews
Cons
- Designer mechanics unclear from reviews
Thematic elements
- Video games
- Nostalgia
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's only a game
- Matt Leacock will you grow another thread of innovation in your skull and do something else
- we're done with pandemic
- I would rather be pessimistic and then pleasantly surprised then optimistic and then constantly disappointed
- I could rank something like Alice's garden a 9 10 out of 10 for how perfect a game for its genre it is but that doesn't mean I want to play it game after game
- this theme is going to speak to me heavily from a Nostalgia perspective
- you're not as good as you used to be mate
- this is why you've got to get your demos right
- head cubes on tracks is that really what I'm supposed to get excited for
- this one I think is the game that void fall should have been
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–5 of 5