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Game Info
Year
2021
Players
2-6
Age
8+
Playtime
45 min
Collection
Your Tier
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Description
You are a whale rider. For generations, your people have known and lived with the ice whales and together you've bought and traded at the busy ports along the fabled Ice Coast. You are honored to be the latest in your family to sail with the whales — but the ice is thickening and the glaciers are moving. A deep winter is coming, the fiercest for centuries. You decide to ride your mount one final time before the snows come to buy and sell as much as you can...and maybe even collect some precious pearls along the way.
Whale Riders is a new design with a classic feel from game designer Reiner Knizia. In 45 minutes of play, 2-6 players race to the end of the Ice Coast and back, buying and selling as many resources as possible to make the money needed to acquire the richest prizes. Will you skip opportunities to gain the greatest treasure, or will you make your money slowly along the way?
Each player has two actions per turn, but a lot they want to accomplish. Sail? Buy? Sell? Draw more order cards? All the while, your opponents might be sailing past and beating you to what's on offer down the coast! Once all the precious pearls have been purchased, the game ends and the player with the most pearls wins!
Whale Riders has simple and short rules, but offers a lot of interaction and interesting decisions for players.
—description from publisher
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All mentions
Browse transcript mentions, sentiments, pros/cons, mechanics, topics, quotes, and references.
Total mentions: 7
This page: 7
Sentiment:
pos 4 ·
mix 0 ·
neu 2 ·
neg 0
Showing 1–7 of 7
Video 4s7vjjDevfY
kovray Discussion at 8:27 sentiment: positive
video_pk 86198 · mention_pk 222390
Click to watch at 8:27 · 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)
- Don't judge this this is what we do before we go to conventions
- when we get back we're going to be doing a recap video where we'll talk about our experience there
- type in what game you want to play
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video _Tbnx1gWB3k
Meeple University Rules Teach
video_pk 70122 · mention_pk 167023
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)
- Whale Rider is played in a series of turns
- the game will end once the last pearl is purchased from the starting port and the player with the most pearls wins
- we're using a prototype copy of the game and so the rules and components you see here may not be final
- Kickstarter campaign for whale riders will also come with some potential unlockable variants for the game including individual player goals which will give them extra pearls for completing certain types of contracts
- that's how to play well
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video _Tbnx1gWB3k
Meeple University Rules Teach at 0:00 sentiment: neutral
video_pk 70122 · mention_pk 243579
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
neutral
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- trading goods to earn pearls across coastal ports
- Ice Coast
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Buy tile — From the current port, buy a tile by paying coins equal to the number next to the tile; tile is then taken and the space remains empty until replenishment
- Contracts — Reveal and fulfill one or more contracts for a single action; pay required resources and gain money and pearls as indicated by the contract
- Discard contracts — Discard any or all contract cards from hand into the discard pile
- End of game and scoring — The game ends when the last Pearl tile is purchased from the Sun port; players tally pearls from fulfilled contracts and pearls on tiles purchased, with leftover money/resources not counting
- Fulfill contracts — Reveal and fulfill one or more contracts for a single action; pay required resources and gain money and pearls as indicated by the contract
- Move — Move the Whale Rider one step along the coast in the direction currently facing; at lobster port the direction changes to face back toward the Sun port
- Reclaim as Action — At the end of a player's turn, redraw contracts to a hand of three, replenish the board by sliding tiles down and refilling from the bag, and resolve storm tile movements
- Replenishment phase — At the end of a player's turn, redraw contracts to a hand of three, replenish the board by sliding tiles down and refilling from the bag, and resolve storm tile movements
- Storm tiles — Storm tiles cannot be purchased or removed; they migrate toward low-scoring spaces and can block ports later in the game
- Take a coin — The player may take a single gold coin
- Tile/Map Shifting — Storm tiles cannot be purchased or removed; they migrate toward low-scoring spaces and can block ports later in the game
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Whale Rider is played in a series of turns
- the game will end once the last pearl is purchased from the starting port and the player with the most pearls wins
- we're using a prototype copy of the game and so the rules and components you see here may not be final
- Kickstarter campaign for whale riders will also come with some potential unlockable variants for the game including individual player goals which will give them extra pearls for completing certain types of contracts
- that's how to play well
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video CgcJc1Vrcg0
Before You Play Rules Teach at 0:03 sentiment: positive
video_pk 8947 · mention_pk 26407
Click to watch at 0:03 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Light, approachable strategy with meaningful decisions
- Tense pacing around endgame timing and tile costs
- Pearl-based scoring provides a clear end-game objective
- Race element adds interaction and player pressure
Cons
- Prototype artwork and components may change before final release
- Snowstorm mechanics can slow replenishment and increase price pressure later in the game
- Endgame can be fast-paced with higher player counts, potentially punishing slower players
Thematic elements
- Pearl-based wealth economy; contracts driven by delivering specific wares
- Icy coastal trading route where wheel-writers travel along a coast to acquire wares and fulfill contracts
- Procedural, economically driven race with tension over tile scarcity and endgame timing
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- contract fulfillment — Contract cards require specific wares; fulfilling contracts grants immediate income and end-game points via pearls
- Contracts — Contract cards require specific wares; fulfilling contracts grants immediate income and end-game points via pearls
- End Game Bonuses — End of game is triggered when all seven pearl tiles are purchased; scoring combines pearls on tiles and contract cards
- Endgame trigger and scoring — End of game is triggered when all seven pearl tiles are purchased; scoring combines pearls on tiles and contract cards
- Movement and action selection — On a turn, a player takes two actions chosen from five possibilities, with the option to repeat an action
- Race dynamic and competition — Players can push forward to pressure opponents, creating tension around endgame timing and tile acquisition
- Resource Management — Resources (meat, pottery, kelp, shells, shelter, crystals) and pearls drive purchases and scoring
- Snowstorms and price pressure — Snowstorm tiles slide down to occupy cheaper slots, making subsequent tiles more expensive for the rest of the game
- Tile purchasing and tile replenishment — Buy tiles from the current port; free first tile, then escalating costs; tiles refill with new options after purchases
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- we are wheel writers and these are our wheel rudder pieces
- wealth is measured in pearls
- the first tile is always free
- snowstorms... you cannot actually purchase them they don't do anything for you in this game all they do is they continue to slide down further
- the game ends immediately
- this is a prototype copy
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video nEOdOrSOBo4
Good Time Society Review sentiment: positive
video_pk 1657 · mention_pk 4836
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Streamlined gameplay
- Re-release with improvements
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Trading and resource management
- Ocean-based economy
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Two actions per turn — Sail, buy, sell, or draw cards
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Family that games together stays together
- We're going to keep chugging along until there's no more board games to talk about
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video FxzHXUHiFeU
The Dice Tower Top List at 13:19 sentiment: positive
video_pk 1309 · mention_pk 3862
Click to watch at 13:19 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
positive
Pros
- Fresh and clean Canizia-inspired design
- Simple, approachable but with an interesting cadence that changes the market dynamic
Cons
none
Thematic elements
- Oceanic exploitation and cadence of movement
- Coastal/oceanic theme; riding whales and foraging along the coast
- Simple utilitarian narrative with pacing decisions
Comparison games
- Wingspan
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Market timing/turn cadence — Decide when to move to new hunting grounds; timing changes the pool of available resources
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- One list to rule them all. the greatest list since last year's list.
- This is Batman the Dark Knight Returns.
- I started from scratch.
- I like this arc of Batman quite a bit.
- This game is fast, which I think helps you. You play a lot of rounds, but the rounds are so fast.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Video Jk_NMGfVSeU
Our Family Plays Games Discussion at 0:00 sentiment: neutral
video_pk 476 · mention_pk 1386
Click to watch at 0:00 · YouTube ↗
Overall sentiment (raw)
neutral
Pros
none
Cons
none
Thematic elements
Comparison games
none
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Set Collection — players likely collect components to form a collection toward a goal (not detailed in transcript).
Video topics + discussion points
No key topics recorded for this video.
Quotes (from this video)
- Our world needs more good humans.
- Be kind to one another.
- Imagine that everyone I'm dealing with is having the worst day of their lives.
- This is July — Bipoc mental health awareness month.
References (from this video)
No references stored for this video.
Transcript Navigation
Showing 1–7 of 7