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...
- 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.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- 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.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- 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.
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- 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)
- 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
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- 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
Video topics + discussion points
Quotes (from this video)
- 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