Japan, 1605 – Hidetada Tokugawa has succeeded his father as the new Shogun, ruling from the great city of Edo (a.k.a. Yedo), the city known in present times as Tokyo. This marks the beginning of the golden age of the Tokugawa Shogunate and the so-called Edo Period that will last until 1868. Naturally, the most powerful families in Edo immediately try to curry favor with the new Shogun – and this is the opportunity our clan has been looking for, our chance at power and glory. Our clan will prove ourselves to be indispensable to the new Shogun. We will work from the shadows to acquire information about our rival clans. We will kidnap those who might oppose our ascent and assassinate those who prove a threat. We will use cunning to prevent our adversaries from doing the same to us. We will find glory and honor in the eyes of this new Shogun – or failing that we will end his rule by any means necessary.
In the strategy game Yedo, players assume the roles of Clan Elders in the city of Edo during the early years of the Tokugawa Shogunate. The object of the game is to amass Prestige Points, mainly by completing missions. To do so, players must gather the necessary assets and – most importantly – outfox their opponents and prevent them from completing their missions.
There are several ways to reach your goal. Will you try to complete as many missions as possible and hope that your efforts catch the Shogun's eye? Or will you choose a more subtle way of gaining power by trying to influence the Shogun during a private audience? You can also put your rivals to shame by buying lots of luxury goods from the European merchants. It's all up to you – but be careful to make the right choices, for in Yedo, eternal glory and painful disgrace are two sides of the same coin...
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- Downforce is now available to play as a beta
- I almost had it... but it just couldn't quite make it happen
- Fair Dinkum time
- test test test test everything
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- Looks very cute
- Not yet played
- Yeti on a hill
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- I think this game deserves much more love than it has gotten
- it's a work replacement in real time which is just brilliant
- this one is a lot of fun it's super super random it's also really it's kind of chaotic
- I really like the combos of rice
- Scout is amazing it's a game you can bring anywhere it's small it's compact
- it's like pattern laying
- it made my brain explode and I want more of that
- who doesn't love Marvel United it's very fun
- it's super well done I think it's a lot of fun
- Zap Attack it was very fun and we still haven't gone back to it and we should because it was a really good game
- Yak is fun it's very cool because you just like go around and try to collect resources build up these cubes to build up your pyramid and then score points based on how you've grouped all of your different color uh cubes and it's it's it's simple it's easy and the um Yaks alone are amazing and they go around there they're so cute and there's a little baby yak
- what is our Z game we only have one and it's called zapotec which we both really want to play yes it's gonna play this yes we have wait when did we play it about a year ago I'm thinking of um yeah yeah we played zap okay Zap Attack it was very fun and we still haven't gone back to it and we should because it was a really good game
- it's just been so long that's what happens when you have so many games
- well that's been at least recommendations 26 recommendations there are some doubles in there but you know what we'll let you do the math how many games you recommended let us know in the comments down below not like we can compare our lists or anything does Tyler's double game count we don't know we'll find out boom
- well if you've played any of these games that we've mentioned and you would also recommend them to other people in the board gaming hobby or who want who you want to play board games with let us know down in the comments below what are some of the games we missed and if you're feeling ambitious for it why you type the alphabet down the whole suggestions go from your collection because we love to hear what your recommendations are for each letter and which letter do you have the most games of true bars is s s
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- familiar classic with social deduction elements
- older editions can feel clunky
- Array
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- This is a glorious day because we have our friends here.
- Beanie's first campaign and Mommy's first campaign and Daddy's first campaign.
- Don't be precious about it.
- It's never going to happen; life is what happens when you're busy making plans.
- Get into games on air; Rent Shuffle and Roll at rentshuffleandroll.co.uk with code gg50.
- Learning through board games—sharing, planning, flexibility, and teamwork.
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- really fun
- silly fun
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- cooperative card play — Playing cards of the same colored things to not break the beats exactly on time.
- rhythm — Requires playing exactly on the beat with a device that plays music.
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- spoiler alert is the worst Legacy game I've ever played
- it's a fun trick taking game I'm looking forward to play like all the chapters
- it was a complete bust for me at least
- it just fell flat
- it wasn't exciting at all
- it's lighter than I remembered
- it's a medium game
- it's like you are there's a city and it's in a crisis and there's like Point SCS basically
- it's like a semic coop thing because everyone can end up losing but it's a very fun game
- it is a a great game I really really like it I was very happy to be able to play it again
- it's such an amazing game
- I just love age of innovation
- it's my number one as well it's a fantastic game for all the reasons you said
- playing heyo because it's really fun
- everybody's just like vibing
- it's it's just like silly fun
References (from this video)
- Rose significantly in ranking
- Great modularity
- Excellent deluxe version with high quality components
- Interesting bidding mechanic
- Thematic
- Offers many ways to play
- Good solo and co-op modules
- Original version's artwork was less appealing than the deluxe.
- Can be difficult to track all the different combinations and strategies.
- Missions and honor
- Feudal Japan
- Scenario-based
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Action Point Allowance — Players take actions to complete missions.
- bidding — Players bid to determine turn order.
- Modular Board — Different event, action, and mission cards can be shuffled together.
- Set Collection — Gathering requirements for mission cards (weapons, workers, buildings).
- Variable player powers — Houses have individual player powers as a module.
- Worker Placement — Placing workers in region areas.
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- It's like you look at it and you're like, I remember this being really good, but man, do I not want to relearn.
- It's been one of those things I just haven't gotten to the table much.
- So, there's 30. Okay. So, 30. There's 30 total factions.
- It's a crunchier game for a card game.
- It's almost a four for a deck building game. I mean, that's pretty stout.
- It's got this sense of discovery, you know, you're moving to different spots on the board, uncovering new things, finding artifacts.
- The artwork is just gorgeous, and the components feel really good.
- It's a game that really pulls you in with its theme.
- You're building up your deck, but you're also exploring and managing resources.
- It's just such a satisfying engine builder.
- Every game feels different because of the cards you draw.
- Watching the planet change is really cool.
- The amount of strategic depth is just immense.
References (from this video)
- Simple trick-taking game.
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Trick-Taking — Real simple trick taking.
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- Fill and rights.
- You can't name me a cheaper form of entertainment than a card or board game.
- I think family weight is like wait, can I play this with my friends? Can I my enemies? Can is it is it just for children? Is it like adults should play it with their teens and talk about real life experiences?
- You don't have to be in the hobby to enjoy board games.
- Games don't have to be complex and hard to learn to have good depth and strategy.
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- We hadn't played board games together all summer, so the fellas and i booked a place out in cottage country for a Boys Board Game Weekend
- Each boy was allowed to bring one small, one medium, and one large game for consideration.
- It was a really great weekend - we had a lot of fun playing board games into the wee hours, and i'd definitely do it again next year.
References (from this video)
- Really cool art style.
- Really cool initiative with local wood.
- Trying to be charming.
- Building out a tableau of cards with natural elements and earning charm points.
- Japan
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- bidding — Players bid potatoes to acquire specific cards.
- Card Drafting — Players claim cards by committing markers or bidding potatoes.
- Set Collection — Cards have prerequisites related to other cards in the tableau (e.g., needing forest or mountain cards).
- Tableau Building — Players build out a tableau of cards representing forests, mountains, and other elements.
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- It's time for the Golden Geek Awards where you, the people, get to vote on your favorite games of the year.
- The nominations are open right now, so you can go vote on those.
- This is quite possibly my favorite time of the year, the time where the artist series comes out with Board Game Geek.
- It's just really, really fun. I like Settlers because each individual action that you can do in Settlers is pretty darn simple.
- I love that concept for a game.
- It's just got like a really cool art style and I think it's in the Hokkaido area of Japan but one thing that's really cool is there's these like those crates are made of wood and stuff.
- This is Brass: Birmingham. This is the third installment in the Brass series.
- The stakes are very real.
- This is just like a game where you could like really make a hybrid build and kind of engine for yourself. That was super duper cool.
- It's worker placement, but there's no blocking.
- If you can have some flair along with your function, why the heck not?
- The best inserts, of course, help your games go into the box nice and neat and stuff.
References (from this video)
- Thematic Norse myth flavor
- Asymmetric powers add depth
- Array
- Norse mythology-inspired city management
- Guard of Atlantis 2
- Yedo
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Bag Building — Card-driven actions with balancing threats.
- Bag Building / Card Management — Card-driven actions with balancing threats.
- Cooperative/Asymmetric interaction — Players balance threats and manage multiple tracks with asymmetrical powers.
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- I say just do it the easiest way possible, whatever works for you.
- The flea market at Dice Tower West is for people that really like a good deal.
- Read the room. If someone loves betting zeros, they’re probably going to bet zero.
- There is dice and just the randomness of the dice is very interesting.
- Skull King will never leave my collection.
- This is a grail game for me.
References (from this video)
- the tactile bag-draw mechanic is engaging and thematic
- the feel of constructing a pagoda and progressing through levels is appealing
- decisions felt obvious and not highly interesting
- the end results and engine did not feel engaging; most of us would not seek a replays
- overall experience described as a total miss
- Lisboa
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- action tokens and costs — Three main actions exist: a free action, a costly action requiring a resource, and buying additional tokens for more actions.
- bag-drawn pagodas and tactile feedback — On a turn you draw pagodas from a bag without looking; you can feel levels to determine which piece you are grabbing.
- collective pagoda construction — Players progressively build pagodas on a central board, with each player starting with action tokens.
- goals and end-game scoring — Goals include being first to complete a coupla coda and other end-game scoring conditions based on cubes and pagodas.
- level-based placement order — Pagodas must be built in order; different levels unlock with each draw and placement.
- resource management via cubes — Placing pagodas can yield resources; end-of-term you can hold only one unplaced pagoda piece.
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- welcome to the jungin schemes
- I really had fun
- this is a really fun game that maybe overstayed its welcome
- this was easily the worst game that we played at bgg con
- I think this is a really fun game that maybe overstayed its welcome
- I would not mind playing this several times
References (from this video)
- Tackles emotionally heavy topics with narrative focus.
- Offers thought-provoking decisions and re-playability.
- Theme can be off-putting for some players.
- Emotional, heavy themes involving undoing past events
- Cooperative storytelling adventure
- Story-driven with branching outcomes
- Gloomhaven: Jaws of the Lion (story-driven campaigns)
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Story-driven time travel — Each jump presents choices that alter the past and future.
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- this is four games in one complete with 125 plastic teeth in five different colors
- the only problem that I have with this game is that I always miss here its title as Rock Raider
- there's always room in my collection for another fun fast-paced family game which has enough strategy in it to keep my wife and I engaged
- what's mine is mine and what's yours is also potentially mine
- I'm torn on the undo series I'm very curious about what its gonna present but I'm also quite skeptical
References (from this video)
- nostalgic and approachable
- family-friendly mystery
- older design may feel dated
- mystery deduction
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Hidden Movement — investigate to deduce killer, location, and weapon
- Hidden movement / deduction — investigate to deduce killer, location, and weapon
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- the production is incredible
- this is a long one there's a few games of my collection
- I'm keeping this one forever
- it's a great family game
- it's basically a social deduction game and it's really clever
References (from this video)
- Innovative, emotionally resonant premise
- Cooperative storytelling
- Hard to be fully convinced without playing
- Thematic heaviness may not suit all groups
- narrative-driven investigative storytelling
- time-travelish hypothesis where you attempt to prevent a death
- cooperative, one-shot scenarios with emotional storytelling
- Exit the Game
- Dixit: Journey
Mechanics (from transcript analysis)
- Cooperative Game — collaborate to alter outcomes by making meaningful decisions
- cooperative puzzle solving — collaborate to alter outcomes by making meaningful decisions
- Narrative Choice — moments that determine life/death outcomes
- Scenario / Mission / Campaign Game — each box focuses on a single death across different timelines
- scenario-based gameplay — each box focuses on a single death across different timelines
- story-driven decisions — moments that determine life/death outcomes
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- Sushi Roll deserves to be one of the most successful family board games on the market
- One Key is the perfect simplification that still retains the fun to try and communicate through imagery and argue over what you're convinced you can see
- Bosque is a gorgeous looking game
- it's the perfect setup for a party game just that right amount of arm flapping and frustration at your teammates
- the Catacombs of Horror ... continue to surpass my expectations in how they can continue to bring creativity to puzzles
- Dragon's Breath is one of the best kids games I've ever played
- Paris is a one-of-a-kind dexterity game with a handcrafted hardwood board
- Undo ... is a cooperative one-shot experience
- Home Brewers ... I love it because it does a great job of capturing its theme