Parks | Check It Out (Episode #24)

when do i get to go for a hike i want to go for a hike [Music] hello everybody my name is ilya and my name is tyler together we make up cauvery a couple that loves four games we do we sure do if you're new here hit that subscribe button we do all sorts of fun videos like this one our check it out series where we showcase various board games to you on this week we have parks is designed by henry audubon the illustrations are done by the parks 59 series and this game is published by key master games in this one to five player game you'll take the roles of two hikers traveling through different seasons and trails trying to visit as many parks as they can will you be the most adventurous hiker out there let's find out here's a quick overview of how to play as always you'll begin by setting up you can place the board in the center with the cards placed on top of the appropriate spaces place the start trail and the entrail above the board and randomly place the starting trail tiles in between each player will start with two hikers which will be placed on the trailhead each player will also get a canteen a campfire and two goals which they'll pick one of then you're ready to play you can begin by setting up for the season like this on your turn you'll move a hiker to a trail collect the resources or take the appropriate action you're free to move to an empty space but you can't move to a space with a hiker already in it unless you use your campfire which will be reset at the end of each season once all players have reached the end the season is over and then you can start setting up for the next one this is exactly the same way as before except you'll add an extra trail to your adventure you'll play through four seasons and work towards collecting resources to visit parks take pictures and purchase helpful gear along the way person with the most points at the end of the game wins me probably so what do you think well first things first this game has the best insert i've seen in any game we've played yeah it's very satisfying to put away and take out and the production quality overall is just fantastic the game trees did the insert for this one and it's just nailed it spot on yes this game is very fun i had enjoyed it thoroughly playing it at different player counts also makes it feel like a very different game because the setup the number of trail tiles they don't change so you really have to start thinking a little bit more about where you move when you add more players to it yeah i was a little bit in shock because we we played so many two-player games of it when we played the third one because i'm always i was always accounting for what tyler was going to do but it's really difficult to account for more than one person so i found myself stuck and i was just like this is a whole different game this is harder now yeah but either way it's fun i haven't been able to get to the solo mode yet which i'm really looking forward to but overall great game it's also quite educational too each park has a when it was established date as well with a little fun tidbit about the fact as well which is always a blast because as you're waiting for someone's turn you can go and look at those and really have your eyes wonder and that's something that i really enjoy games yeah and like just to add to that not only are there fun facts on these cards but the cards are beautiful it's a stunning masterpiece and every time i look at these cards i'm like when do i get to go for a hike i want to go for a hike it really makes me want to go outside which we will this summer because it's getting warmer yay so why should you check it out well if you like the outdoors then this is the perfect game i think because you can play the outside indoors especially if you haven't been able to get out on hikes and haven't been able to enjoy the nature this can kind of do that it's not quite the same but it's kind of close and the mechanics in this one are pretty fun as well they're not too too hard to introduce and i think the quality of the game makes you want to learn it as well it's not like i wouldn't say it's the easiest game to learn but it's not tough yeah i would say it's pretty it's relatively straightforward once you get going it's really like oh i see what's happening here and then you can just like pick up and go with the game if you're also up for a challenge there it's it's not very clear of like the perfect pathway to win with the upgrades with the canteens there's a lot of variety of how you can approach to get the most park and the most points and i we've played this game many many times and i still haven't figured out the optimal strategy and that's a mark of a good game for me yep yeah i think there's interesting ways that they like shift the tides for um like ways you can gather points whether that be from goals pictures um combination of them visiting a bunch of parts maybe you're just a photographer so why shouldn't you check it out well there can be a lot going on with the canteens the upgrades trying to optimize which resources you need and also keep in mind what everybody else is doing sometimes that can be quite a lot for somebody's and if that somebody is you then maybe this game is not for you yeah and just to add to that there is a lot going on in the game and there are only three ways to score points oh i guess four if you count the first player token but because like there's more going on than there are ways to score points which really kind of um makes it a little bit more difficult but it all feeds towards getting those parks yeah so but that's what i guess makes it a little bit tough sometimes is because there can be so many moving parts of the canteens upgrades to feed into those parks it's not always easy to like visualize and proceed yeah and then what it comes down to is like resource management so i guess if you're not interested in resource management then this game might not be for you also i it can be frustrating at higher player counts uh there's definitely like i personally love this game but there's been times where i was just like [Music] mainly because you'll everyone's taken up all the spots and you're last in line and all of a sudden you have to go to the very end because you don't have your campfire and just waste all those potential actions and that can feel not very great inside yeah yeah i feel that i feel that the one thing i will also say about this game i don't think it's why you shouldn't check it out is that i found that the goals were very like driven towards one winning condition and sometimes that was like something that gave you the way it helped you push towards what you should be going for whether or not that worked out for you is a different question but so overall great game i love this game i cannot wait to try and play this at five players because i think it will just be chaotic and we also just got the nightfall expansion yes so we're very excited to try that because there's a little tents at night and there's more perks makes more for the game so always always fun to see an expansion go out i remembered a reason why you shouldn't check out this game why there's no canadian parks oh no expansion idea expansion id so for a question of the day if there was an expansion and this game could include more parks that are not in the united states which parks would you want to see where wherever in the world that you are what part would you like included really driving home the canadian park thing i would love it please key master games if you can make a canadian parks expansion we will feature it at every video it'll just be right there and we'll mention it we'll talk about it all the time that'll be on our big promises yeah no but we live we actually live right next to two national parks and absolutely gorgeous absolutely beautiful and we just are super excited for the summer because now we get to go and visit them a little bit more yay get outside finally well thank you so much for watching hit that subscribe button down below what else should they do and tap that like button if you enjoyed what you saw here today you can hit that thumbs up thumbs up button yeah that one that one you can also hit the bell notification to get notified about when we release new videos just like this one or something different but until then this is us checking out bye [Music] you