One of the BEST Solo Games in my Collection | Maquis Gameplay

Hey everyone, I hope you're all doing well. Uh I did say I was going to bring some gameplay of Mckis to the Patreon. Just an exclusive little video. And the reason I'm doing that is because uh this has been a game that whenever I just need a little bit of a break from editing or I have something exporting or I just got done filming some B-roll, um I will, you know, swing over here to the table, sit down, learn it.

I I was actually doing my best to learn the game for the actual gameplay. We clearly went in a different direction on there um if you've had a chance to see it. But one of the thoughts I've had around solo gameplay to limit the amount of rules mistakes I get on the main channel is to possibly put up kind of an exclusive video here for the Patreon community um and let you all watch that and hopefully enjoy it and give me feedback on what you think I'm messing up.

I didn't do it with Mchis mostly because I was busy and traveling and Paxu and uh or PAX East um and Gamma. It's been it's it's genuinely been a hectic and busy and exhausting month already. Um, and I hope I hope you all are doing really well. Uh, let me know. But all that being said, I thought I would go ahead and give this another swing tonight.

I needed some time to just sit down and play a good solo game. For those of you that didn't watch the main video on the channel, go check that out. It's going to be a little bit more thorough. Um, but Mackis is a worker placement uh, it's a solo game. It's a worker placement sort of resource management game as you're trying to progress through a series of missions and accomplish your task in order to win at the end of the game.

There are variable skill levels. There are variable missions. Um, and I'm I'm not necessarily the best at this game. I've won a few times on novice um, or on what's the what's the actual term for it? I've won a few times on tricky, I suppose. Hard and very hard. I've been practicing on, but I have not I have not actually won.

And then some of these missions are actually more and less difficult depending on the star level there on the back. Um, it's one that I backed on Kickstarter. A friend recommended to me. Uh, and I'm I'm happy I did. Now, one thing I do need you all to answer for me is how interesting are these videos?

I'm I'm going to try to leave this as a little bit more of a simple edit. I'm still doing my normal cleanup and stuff like that because I always watch through everything I post anyway, so it's not a ton of additional work to get it cleaned up. Um, but as we get into heavier games like exclusive root gameplay or or spirit island gameplay, is it okay just having these two shots?

Is it okay if I'm a little bit more conversational and rough and and not um I speaking to the camera in the same way? I don't know. I'm still talking, but I'm approaching this a little bit more like it would be a live stream. Um, you know, it's not it's not going to be overly produced, but I do need to find that balance point, right?

What makes sense around the quality and type of content you expect from me on the main channel versus what is still enjoyable to watch, what is added value, bonus content here on the Patreon, uh, that you all genuinely kind of feel like you get a benefit from. That is the trick. Let's go ahead and see here.

Um, so I think I'm going to play. It's also weird not recording with Jan. Genuinely, since he's joined the channel, I've recorded so many videos not by myself. So, sitting in front of the camera and talking uh to myself kind of open space is a little bit weird. Let's go ahead and go for a hard mode just to see if we can do it.

So, tricky. start the game with only uh two workers uh with two recruitable workers. Okay. And the fifth worker is not going to exist. Uh the game ends when the turn marker lands on day 12 here. So that's our ending mark now. And then let's try hard. Utilize the same rules as tricky mode. Additionally, instead of decreasing morale when the turn marker lands on an orange space, decrease morale when it lands on a triangle space.

So that's going to push our win loss condition and kind of the challenge of the game a little bit more. And before we swing into this, just because I genuinely do this by myself anyway, you are a member of the resistance. A small band of freedom fighters attempting to dismantle the Nazi occupation of France during World War II.

The Axis controlled government has installed a paramilitary unit called Malise, tasked with patrolling and policing the population and fighting the resistance. Should the resistance prove to be formidable, the government will not hesitate to call the German military to stamp out the descent. You have 15 days to complete two missions before the occupation discovers you.

If successful, the resistance has won. However, if the town's morale drops to zero or all 15 days run out, 12 in our case, the occupation succeeds in crushing the resistance. engage the Nazi occupation of France in uni garu to throw off the yoke of oppression and free your homeland. Now, I'm pretty comfortable with this.

I think I'm going to get most of the things right. Let's go and start by randomizing these cards here. And I'm just going to pull from the middle. And I'm not going to look at the star value on the back. So, pulling one, pulling two. So, one one star, one two star. Let's see what missions we're facing.

First, take out the bridges. The occupation has enjoyed unfettered access to the city for too long. Slow them down. Destroy a bridge. Deliver two explosives to the to the black market. At the end of the day, place a marker on a bridge of your choice connected to the black marker market. Workers may not pass the destroyed bridges for the rest of the game.

So, I'm actually destroying one of these two bridges. Interesting. Oh, no. I'm destroying one of these two up here going to either the poor district or the Pont Denord. So, I'm going to cut off my own location. Question is, when do I decide to do that? And then next, sabotage. The occupation runs a mu munitions factory on the outskirts of town.

Infiltrate and sabotage the operation by any means possible. A worker must infiltrate the factory twice, then return a third day to deliver explosives. So, I need to go there twice and then I need to actually drop some explosives. So, it's it's very clear I'm going to have to get explosives up and running.

That's going to be the chemist lab and that's also going to be uh the doctor or medicine that I need to start sourcing. Now, I have a few options to get medicine. I can do an airdrop. Uh that would give me money, weapons, or food. I could try to build a smuggler. If I did, if I did money to build a smuggler and then got three medicine, I would have what I need to go ahead and build the chemist lab.

I think that's the route I'm going to go. We will we will see how it works. Uh my morale is currently at six, which means I'm going to be pulling three at a time. Uh and let's start classic. Going to the ger. So that's going to gain me a food when I return. And I'm going to go to the cafe to go ahead and recruit another person.

Forgot to do this cycle ger poor district early on. This is not too big of a threat. Point lequ and then the black market. So they closed off those locations. Now I can keep track of these cards. I honestly don't have a very good memory so it's a bit hard for me to do that. Um pulling back here to the safe house.

I get this food, but then I'm trading that food immediately at the cafe for another worker. Now, I really think I want all four of my workers up and running immediately. Um, I think that's worth it, especially because the morale pressure is going to start compounding. So, I'm going to hit up the ger again.

Point Gord is where they're going. Now, I might actually want to get a gun as well in case I'm really stretching out there. Uh, where do I want to go from this point? Could swing up to the doctor. I could really push it and see if I could get radio B. Question is, black market's the uh potential thing that's going to hurt me there.

Cuz if a black market gets called, I'd be completely cut off. How big of a risk do I want to take? I could push to the black market. I could stop there. Go ahead and head up to radio B. So, I'd gain food. I could airdrop some money. I could trade the food for money and a morale drop. That would go and give me what I needed to build.

Yeah, let's try that. So, I'm going up here. Black market. He's going to the fence. Then I'm going to push up to radio B, dropping off at radio A. Okay, gaining food, selling that food for money and a morale drop cuz we're getting rid of the resources we need. And then I'm going to call in an airdrop here in the field for some money as well.

Now, I have to get that and I can go and build what I need over here. So, let's clear the table. Still at three, but we're going down again. We're going to be drawing four malise this time. So start out by pushing to the ger radio B. That's fine. I have to have someone in the field to pick up that money.

Radio B ger black market. It's a little tight. And let's go ahead and construct there in that spare room. Fence is available. And for the fourth one, radio A is available. So these are all going to shuffle again. And I'm able to successfully come back with a coin. Selling those to build a room. We had agreed to build the smuggler's den.

So he's coming back. You're coming back with food. Now let's go ahead and get my fourth character up and running. Especially since I'm already I'm going to be drawing four of these guys no matter what. I might as well be taking advantage of that. So cafe is obvious, smugglers obvious. Let's go. Ger first.

Poor district. Okay. Uh and now the next two are basically going to be free cuz they're never going to make it to the smuggler's lab fence. They're never going to make it to the cafe. Radio A and then finally radio B. Would have been a good time to go to point to Nord as well. That's all right. So, you're going to come back with three medicine.

You're going to come back with one food, but I'm going to trade that single food for a person from the cafe. And I am up to all four of my characters, which is good. We have recruited people for the resistance. Exactly what I'm looking for. Okay, now where do we go? I need to get money. Uh, I could sell food for a morale drop in money.

My concern is that morale is going to start going down more quickly than I'd like. I have to build. Can do the same run up here to get more money. which would give me access to going in and building the chemist lab which I could stick I guess in one of these locations here. Before I deliver these bombs, I really need to visit the punt nord as well.

Um yeah, let's let's try this. So I really probably should have built that somewhere else possibly. possibly because I'm gonna have to go to the other location way more. Ger to start radio B. Great. Um, so I've heard there's guards at radio B. It's not really what I'm going for. That being said, I can push forward and go ahead and go to Pont Nord.

I need to for the mission anyway. So, black market that's going to the fence. Okay. Oh, I don't draw this yet. Let's push up here. Radio A. And then I've got one more person to place. Could go ahead and maximize food if I wanted to kind of just get a pile of it. Already getting one back, though. There's a maximum of four of one type of item.

Um, real question is where is other people going? I mean, I could go to the poor district, which would allow me to sell food and medicine. It would reduce the amount of medicine I had, but it would also counteract this. Let's try that cuz I know I have a way home from that location. Point. That's all right cuz I can still trail this way.

So, you're coming back with food. You're selling that food for money and a morale drop. You're accomplishing one of these tasks. You're visiting, infiltrating that location. You're coming all the way around here. You're selling food and medicine for a morale boon. Then this is moving down. We're getting another morale drop, which is fine.

I'm I'm perfectly happy as long as I'm mediating how much morale I'm losing every turn. Um I think I think we try to push maybe across here. build over here in this spare room. Try to get to radio A. Um, and go ahead and drop some money down. Yeah, that wouldn't be the worst. Let's try it. Point lequ black market.

Okay, let's push up to the doctor for another medicine. Blocking off the ger. Shuffle these. Now, if I get to radio A, I won't be able to build till next turn, which I suppose is fine. So, radio A, radio B. I don't have any food either. It would have been nice if I had some extra food because then I could go ahead and do a morale boon again.

I can't make it to the smuggler. There is no point to go. There is a point to go to the fence if I wanted to go and give myself a gun. I could also go up here to point Dord, but the port district would be a big risk. Um, this point they're not going to come out to both locations. How quickly do I need that chemist lab verse a gun which will let me get out of a sticky situation.

I'm I'm really not sure. Need two more visits up there. I need at least two visits there for uh No, I just need two explosives. So, that's three turns to accomplish those. Potentially, three turns to get here. I mean, I think I'm pushing it. Let's pop into the field so we can pick up the money right away.

See where else they're going. They're going to the fence. They would have gone to the blue Barrett after that. Okay, that's fine. All right, you're coming back. You're coming back with some medicine, which will give me enough to construct. You're going to do an airdrop of money into the field over here.

You're going to come back with that money. We now have enough to construct. The question is where do we want to construct? Let's go and cycle this down. Still pulling full each turn. Still pulling four each turn. Three away. Three away. You know, they're they're about the same distance away. The question is what makes the most sense?

I got to go to the black market anyway to deliver those uh yeah deliver those those sticks of dynamite. Let's go and start pushing up this direction. Let's do so safely. Radio A black market ger poor district. I'm fine with that. Uh let's con let's go to point dunord now cuz they're never going to go to that spare room fence little bit tight there kind of squeezing point lequa.

Awesome. So point to Nord is going to give me another mission accomplished up here. Ger is going to bring back another pile of food. Black market. Do I need the money for the morale drop? I I honestly don't think I do. So, let's not take that. Let's go ahead and sell this. Let's build a chemist lab.

Continue the push. I think at this point I keep leaning into Now, I am going to have to get a morale boost cuz I've got two more drops and then my last drop would actually be on 12 there. So, I have to get to the port district at some point. But let's see if we can go ahead and drop off uh and complete one of these first missions here because I can blow up.

Yeah. Okay. So, I will need a boon of medicine though to get there. What's come out? Both grocerers have come out as initial offerings. So, I think we have a turn where maybe we don't have to worry about a ger. Let's try it. What do I need to lock off? I need an exit from the chemist lab. So, let's hit the black market first.

Radio A. Okay. I need to go to the poor district because I need a morale boost or I will lose the game. fence. Let's go to point D Nord feels a little risky. Point le. Okay, let's lock in the dynamite radio B. Awesome. That was close because Ger was coming out next. I'm still able to make it home. I uh that was a bit of a gamble.

I apologize for being risky there. Medicine being traded for dynamite. Dynamite being delivered up here to this third location. That has successfully completed the first card. So, you're both coming home here. Black market. I am not selling for money and I'm able to trail my way home here. And I am trading these two for morale boost.

Okay. After that, this goes back. Morale drops again. Although I'm going to be at one morale left at the end of the game here. I think as long as I can carefully keep pushing up to the chemist lab, I might actually have this. Let's try it. Ger radio a black market. That's where I was going. Fence chemist lab point men.

Might as well. Yeah, let's go to the smuggler. Let's bring home some stuff. Radio B smuggler is going to bring home medicine. One of those medicine are going to be traded for a dynamite cuz I can do one. Grocerer is going to bring back food. Not going to trade for a money boost cuz I don't need it. And I need to do that one more time.

And I believe I can go ahead and deliver the dynamite. Cycle this down. Ger ger poor district. Okay. Black market. I think that's it. Point le. Okay. Chemist lab. Radio B. Um, where do I want to go just for fun? H. Let's go watch the explosions from the other side of Point Denord. The fence now. I might not have dropped this by one.

No, I did. I dropped it down. I think I'm good. That is going to cycle medicine for dynamite. Dynamite is going to pop up into this location because I'm currently in the black market location. We're going to be destroying a bridge right here. locking my dude off. But that's all right. It's a little mean.

Let's watch the fire fireworks as he destroys the bridge to the poor district. Uh, and I did it. I survived. I had I had about two days left. Uh, and I managed my morale well enough that I wasn't going to fail based off that. Uh, I might have, should have, could have, would have got a gun. There was a moment there where I kind of pressed my luck a little bit.

Now, again, I'm not playing on that was hard, not extremely hard, and only one of those was a star. So, little bit of a balance there. But yeah, this is a good game. Just a little 15-minute kind of sit down um run through the system. I find it very visual and thematic. Uh one of the coolest things is all these locations.

So, for me, someone that likes thematic games, all of these abstracted locations are actually uh visually displayed and painted on the back here. So, you can see, you know, the bridge we blew up, the port district over here. We have the cafe where you're recruiting people. Um, it's just very nice. Yeah, just a good little game.

Thank you for joining me. If you actually watched through the whole thing, which I assume seven or eight people are going to do, uh, let me know your thoughts. Where's the balance point? Did I was I too free form and too relaxed on this one? Or would you like to see some more exclusive content like this that's just me kind of talking, thinking through a game, um hanging out here on camera with you all?

Uh I genuinely appreciate and love this community. Um you I was feeling burnout. Not burnout necessarily, but tired. Definitely tired. I I had some I had a a wisdom tooth taken out that had been giving me some trouble. And so like, you know, I just all that combination of like physical pain with like tons of work and exhaustion and stress from just what's going on in the world right now.

Um, and it was really like sitting down and thinking through stuff to do with and for this community and playing some some little games like this that I just enjoy and enjoy sharing. Uh, and honestly getting into conversations and talking back and forth with a variety of you here on the Patreon and on the YouTube channel and Facebook.

Um, I I do I do this because I think you all are amazing. Really, I love this community. I love this space. I love um fostering it and trying to help it grow. So, for the four or five of you that have watched this point, uh whatever time goes into producing this type of content, I do it because um you all are important to me.

Like, I'm really I'm really lucky that I have uh you all here that'll sit and watch and talk. Um when I fell in love with board games, it was cuz like I wasn't I just wasn't connected to the city and the place and the friends. Like I'd moved. There had been a big transition. Um, and I found, you know, I found a home.

I found a community in this area. Um, and that's cool. You know, I think a lot of us share that story. So, thank you for being here. I'll stop rambling. Again, I hope you enjoyed this. Uh, and if you didn't, let me know. Um, I'm stubborn. I like I like arguing against feedback and criticism, but like I think about it.

You can ask Jan. I think about it. I take it to heart. Um, and we really do we, you know, we make adjustments on the channel based on what, you know, the feedback we get from you all. So, thank you.