News & Week In Review - The Monolith Jumps Back Into Crowdfunding, Campaign Game Purges & More!!

0:00 Hey, I'm Alex Mack from Board Gameco and this is News and Weekend Review. We're going to dive into a variety of news pieces, the games I've covered, the videos we've had on the channel, all of that and more. Links and timestamps to everything down below. Although, I should note that I said the variety of news pieces. There's just one this week. I have one news piece that I thought was worth covering, and that's an excellent article over on Board Game Wire interviewing uh Colby from Plaid Hat about the Monolith campaign. I really think I I skimmed over it at first and didn't really do a deep dive, but then I actually fully read it and I thought it's a really great article that it kind of talks about Plaid Hat's approach to crowdfunding, why they've incorporated into their plans over the past few years, how they've incorporated into their plans, what they wanted it to be, and also what they've realized that it actually can be or can be for better or for worse. Honestly, it really is an interesting deep dive that I almost want to do a full video on it because it kind of talks about the nature of how the industry has changed over the years or over how a distributor publisher relationship has changed over what it takes to make a game stand out and be popular and be received and the the unfortunate and fortunate reality. It kind of is both. The fact that crowdfunding to a large extent is both a glorified pre-order, a marketing system, and a way to bring games to life. It's a little bit of everything. and ignoring any aspects of that could unfortunately have a cost whether you choose to engage with it or not or even if you do choose to engage with it how you choose to engage with it. I thought it was a really well done article really talking about their own journey and discovery about crowdfunding and how it fits and works for them or sometimes how it doesn't work for them. I really think it's worth a read and like I said already I may do a full video deep dive

1:31 on the nature of the tabletop sector how things have changed since I think 2012 is when crowdfunding started to become a pivotal part of things and it's only continued to take off since then it's become a very integral part of how publishers relate to the industry the fact that you have companies like as like one of the biggest companies in the space and they're still like well crowdfunding is a part of our model I think is an important thing to take note of as to the fact that these companies all feel it's such an essential thing to deal with Not that all companies do. There's companies like Stonemire that no longer do. CGE they're putting out a $200 deliverance the board game and even so that's not going to crowdfunding. There's still many many opportunities to not engage with crowdfunding but it also can be an essential thing that can be hard to ignore. Anyways, that's all I have for news. That's that's the one article over on boarding wire. I'll link to it down below. And with that, we're going to dive into the videos we've had on the channel this past week. But first, a word from our channel sponsor.

2:21 Allplay is a channel sponsor. If you go to allplay.com, you can find a variety of things from board games, some bags to shelves, playmats, tables, all of that and more. In fact, earlier this week, I did a video covering the allplay shelves and putting together all these shelves over the past, you know, eight months. It didn't take me eight months to uh do it. I did it way back and then I just never filmed it since then. Longer story. Basically, I built the shelves. You know what? We'll come to this soon. We'll come to this soon. We'll come back to the Allplay sponsor part when I talk about the videos with that. The videos this past week, which I guess the first one is the allplay video. On Sunday, I put up a video for Alp uh basically uh from covering putting together these shelves, showing a time-lapse video of me assembling over over the course of a few days. Basically, a few hours here or a few hours here. I don't know exactly how long it took me. I wonder maybe I'll cover this in the review because I will be doing a review talking about the pros and cons. One of the cons is it does take a while to put together relative to a call which I've gotten very very familiar with. It takes a long hand to put together, but I like the result a lot more. We'll talk more about that in the video, but when I mentioned uh that what happened when I was building them is I built the shelves and the table didn't arrive for like months later. And because of that, because of the delay, I was like, I'll get to that eventually.

3:24 And then the table arrived. I was like, well, I still want to move that, so I won't. And then basically, long story short, eight months passed and I was like, you know what? Uh, at that point, I just put up the video this past week. But I put up the assembly video this past this past week. The review will probably go up in the next week or two if I had to guess. We shall see. Uh, but that's covering if you want to see a bunch of cats running around while I very rapidly build a bunch of shelves while just moving at super speed, uh, check out that video. I personally thought it was entertaining, but I also think that I really enjoyed the cats wandering in and out of every shot at all points. Uh, then we had a vlog going up on Monday. Uh, we I'm doing that vlog series again. I'll see how long it lasts. I'm currently, well, the next one's going to be going up again next week, and then I have the one for the week after, and then I'm taking a week off the vlog before I go back to it just to like see the vlogs kind of whatever is going on. Right now I'm going through the post Gen Con games and just you know what I'm doing as I try to learn, play, and film those games. Uh but the vlog week one was covering learning games. I learned something like 50 50 games in a week that week, which was a lot. But again, granted, learning something like this can take, you know, 15 minutes.

4:22 Learning something like this might take 25 30 minutes. Learning something like this, well, I haven't read the rule book for this one, so I can't tell you yet. This is one of the uh 14 or 15 games left from my Gen Con Hall that I have not yet learned the rules to, and I plan to shortly. Then we had a uh video on Wednesday. When do you when do you sell an outof print game? It's basically an own my own kind of internal conversation with myself as to the fact that I I sold a game recently that I didn't want to sell. Meaning I wanted the game. And something I find interesting, I don't even remember if I talked about this point in the video is there's like things that will be super expensive. Let's say if I let's say a rare out of print Marvel Champions expansion, which is what that video is about. Uh if it costs $400, I'm not going to buy it. I'm absolutely not going to buy it. But I've also had a rule for myself that I don't sell it either. Meaning in the past, if there's something that I wanted and it became out of print, while I may not buy that thing, I will not sell that thing either. Once I have it, I like it, I'm not trying to sell it just because the value went up just because this game now became a $200 game. If I want it in my collection, I'm going to keep it. Even if I bought it for $30 and it's currently through a spike, all of that stuff. But again, the weird part is I wouldn't buy it, so I should be willing to sell it. If I don't think it's worth paying money for, why do I think it's worth giving money up to keep? That's an interesting point that I don't think I talked about in the video, but I basically talk a little bit about kind of game theory. When do you sell an out of print game that you want? What are the various options and scenarios on the table? Uh, I enjoyed it. I filmed it while I was at UK with a terrible camera in my hotel room. But, uh, if you want a conversation around again when to optimize around different scenarios. Uh, that was the goal of that video. And then on Friday, I did a video of the 35

5:53 games I wanted to play in 2025, how many of them I got to, and then ranking those games. This is a little mini challenge I set for myself last year. I set again the same challenge this year, but with different games. I actually don't know how well I'm doing. I think last year I got to 29 out of 35. This year I started off very very strong. I got to like maybe half the list knocked out pretty quickly. Uh but in the past like four or five months, I don't think I've done more than one. So I need to take a look at the list because we are coming down to the last three months of the year. Wait, September, October, November, December. The last four months of the year. Uh and I need to get cracking on that list if I want to get to at least 30. My goal is I put a list of 35, but I want to get to at least 30 of those 35. So, we will see. I have a board over there from Vegas Print 3D that I need to take a look and see how well um things are coming along. We'll find out. Not great, I assume. Anyways, that is the videos I've had this this past week on the channel, which brings us to the games covered. Games covered. I had a uh was it a review? I think it was a review. A review for Aberation went up.

6:48 Aberation the first game. Basically, they're having a new crowdfunding campaign for the next one. And I hadn't yet covered the first one. Well, we covered way back sponsored content around the game, but I never did an actual review. So, I did a review of Aberation after having played it. Uh, and that went up this past Saturday, and I'll have um more content for Aberation coming up next week. Then we have Snap Ships. I had a assembly of Snap Ships video. Basically, my son and I both built different parts of Snap Ships. The they had a new campaign for the new content for Snap Ships. There was a review for Kano, one of the Gen Con games from Mato. I thought it was a lovely game. I gave it a four out of five. I think it's very charming, very pretty. Uh, the only real problem I have with it is it is a little on the lighter side, but it is a lot of fun to play. I had a gameplay, a sponsored gameplay of Davos. Davos is a political game where you take a kind of a you kind of put your control into corporations and governments and various parties and try to influence outcomes that will help you out. A little dark in the theme nowadays, uh, but also very entertaining as a game. Like as a game, I will say I really enjoyed it. I thought they did a great job with the various uh, leverage and options you have to control things.

7:48 My only one concern is I wonder if maybe a fourth round of gameplay could add to the game. It would make it longer and possibly look like you get a lot done in that third round. But I think it also comes down to what comes out each round. Like in our game, if you check it out, we had some very strong, very actionheavy rounds and some less. So, kind of depends on how various assets and dividends were paid out. Then we had a uh we had a gameplay of the monolith, a gameplay and a review of the monolith. We had a gameplay up on Tuesday, a review up on Thursday. Uh the gameplay is sponsored. The review is not, but obviously take into account because of that mixed aspect. But basically, Monolith from Platack Games. I thought it was a very well done game. Ironically, my least favorite part of it is the monolith itself. There's kind of a uh dropping system where you drop these hearts into the monolith and then where they land kind of affects the actions you can take. And personally speaking, I thought that kind of put a large element of luck in a game that otherwise has a lot of control. But outside of that one element that I'm critical of, I thought the game did a great job as far as being very very actionheavy. Splitting up the phases into like the planning and the action phase and the way that kind of hybrid worked. Uh the strong asymmetric characters, there was a lot of things going on. The cars, oh my gosh, the cards was so impactful and bidding your limited resources on those cards that will help you out throughout the whole game. Again, thought it was really well done. Ironically, my least favorite part was the monolith. I gave it a four out of five. Then I had a review for One Round from Devere. This is a game I was really looking forward to. I still think it's a solid game. I'm not yet sure.

9:07 Like I'm kind of in the um I kind of feel I should be getting rid of it because I don't know. I I have a whole list of all my Gen Con games. They're still going through a pile where I decide what I keep and what I don't. Uh I think One Round shouldn't stay. I think it shouldn't. It's a great game. I think it's a solid game. I give it a 3.5 out of five. Uh the real problem with it is that when I think of whether I'd rather play One Round or So Clover, De Crypto, Just One, any of these other games, I think One Round did not hit the same way for me. It's still fun. I think it's very, very solid. Uh, but ultimately I think I prefer the others. So I think one round is going to go. Uh, then we have less side points. 3.5 out of five. And then we had a review for Drillers. Drillers I loved. I think Drillers is excellent. My biggest complaint is I think it needs more content and I think it needs it relatively quickly. I think it did a really really good job as far as giving me an excellent gameplay experience but one that is limited in the replayability at least in its current state. Now if SETI or Lost of Arnack are anything to go by, I think there will be more content for the game. I think they will expand upon it. But it's interesting.

10:00 Not all CGE games do get that lifelong aspect of add content. Some of it depends on the reception. Some of it might depend on their internal plans. Like was Kutner Horror supposed to get more content, deal with the devil supposed to? I have no idea. They didn't get the that they didn't land with loud enough of a bang or enough reception for them. So it definitely didn't happen, but was there ever a plan to? I don't know. I feel Jewers though is primed for more content. I gave it a 4.5 out of five. I think it's a lot of fun and I really enjoy it. I just want more for the game. As far as games played this past week, this is as usual is a small smattering of games I've tabled. There's Tend. I've been playing a bunch of Tend, both regular Tend, 10 Tend with the Hive expansion, 10 with the seller expansion. Uh it's early days yet, so uh bear with me as I continue to play them, but uh I will say that Tend with the Hive expansion currently is bringing me back to my early games of Tend where I really like what's happening, but I feel I can't get nearly enough done, which is a feeling that stuck with me until I continue to play Tend again and again and again. Whereas like I 10 is a game I need to re-review. And I will be reviewing the expansion. So I'll see whether I I don't know. I'll see when I do a re-review and how I approach that.

11:02 Maybe I'll play it 12 times and go from there because at this point I honestly I've probably played it close to 12 times already in the past month between playing it solo uh and then the regular game and then Hive and Seller. I'll probably be at 12 pretty quickly actually. So maybe 10 will get a 12 x 12 re-review which is not crazy. But going back to um the content, uh I think the Hive expansion is really really well done, but I need to play it more because right now I'm still feeling stifled by whether I can do enough in the game. Meanwhile, the seller expansion, I've only played the first game out of a sequence of three. You're supposed to play a sequence of three linked games. And oh my gosh, I think this might be my favorite way to play Tend, but that is said after game one. Uh we'll have to go ahead and play games two and three and ideally play the arc a second time as well before I have full thoughts on it. In fact, we actually uh we decided to restart after the first game because we're like, "Okay, now we now we think we understand what's happening. We're going to restart, dive back in." Uh but I really like 10 with this other expansion. I also play the Oracle of Delvi. This is a weird one. I got rid of the Oracle of Deli this past uh year at some point and I played it online on BGA and I was like, you know what? I think I want it back. So now I'm in the process of hunting down a copy of Oracle of Deli on BG because it's annoying. This is one of those times where the Oracle of Delphi, ironically, way back, way back in the day, I actually sent a copy of Oracle of Deli to um Before You Play. Uh this is back when I was running board game Code the Operation, and I had an extra copy in stock and they wanted a copy and it was hard to print, hard to find, out of print, expensive. I sent them a copy. Uh but then over the years, like several years later, I think last year, I got rid of my copy of Oracle of Deli and I want it back. I think it's so good. I think it's a really, really good game. I love the puzzle of it, and I

12:33 want to put it back on my table now. Uh, and um, yeah, if you have a copy that you're looking to sell, I'm looking to buy right now. Genuinely, I will happily buy it at at a a somewhat reasonable rate. I'm not looking to get a steal, but like I I'll pay for a copy of Oral Deli. I I want it back in my collection. This is this is the thing about getting rid of games, by the way. I do get rid of a lot of games, and I'm pretty cavalier and cutthroat about which ones I think should leave. And I I don't regret them most of the time. And the thing is, I won't change the way I approach it because if I get rid of 50 games and then every 50 games I want one back, the the the value aspect of that is so worth it. I don't want not just the value, the shell space, the mental head space. Like get rid of games that you are not sure about. Every once in a while you will need to get one back. Don't worry about it. Is well worth it. Especially if you're selling or trading the games you get rid of. The what you got for those games is more going is more than going to make up for that one time you have to pay through the nose to get something back that you were get rid get regret getting rid of. So like it's worth it. Uh, but anyways, I want the Oracle of Dove Eye. Hit me up. I'll buy it. And then from there, we have Oh, by the only buy one copy, so if multiple people do reach out, I can only buy one.

13:33 And then lastly, Under the Leaves. Under the Leaves is a new game from 20th Century Games. I'm still not sure if I want to add it to my collection or not. I've played it a few times. I like it. I I but like there's like and there's love and I'm kind of in that middle range with it. I think it's a very clever design. Uh we'll find out whether it's one that I hold on to or not. But Under the Leaves is one that I'm definitely exploring how much I enjoy it. Which brings us to today. Today we'll have a few things. We have should have a review for Red Lanterns going up today as well as a review for Into the Machine. Red Lanterns was on crafting. I think they're I Red Lanterns. Red Lanterns will be a prototype review. They have things happening. We'll see exactly what or when. And then Into the Machine as well. Uh that's one from uh from AEG. I really enjoy that one. We'll see the longevity of it, but for at least for right now, why am I telling you this? Watch the review later today. I'm not supposed to say things. Uh and then next week, next week we'll have a bunch of things. We'll have an Ace of Spades solo playthrough and review. We'll also have a Gen Con purge video. In anticipation of all the games I'll be adding to my collection, I went through the shelves and was a little bit cutthroat.

14:28 Although, honestly, I think I want to go back to my collection and get rid of a bunch of more games. I think I think something I want to do. I haven't decided if I actually film this or not or when or how, but I I think I want to like cut out most of my campaign games yet again. Not even campaign campaign. Anything that is a burden to jump through. A good example right now, I'll tell you, is Elder Scrolls. I do not know if I'm keeping it or not. I do not know. I want to keep it. It's such a good game. It's an incredible game experience. And also, I'm recognizing that like some games, doesn't matter how good they are. It doesn't matter how good they are. Some games I just don't play them. I just don't play them the same way. I will always pick a game that is accessible and easier to dive into over a game that requires a homework assignment to dive into. Um, and the exception being legacy games. Legacy games I make an exception for every time. But campaign games or even arcs like things like Stalker, Dragon Eclipse, uh you know, I don't know what else do I have. I have a bunch of these campaign games. Marvel Dice missions. Do I still have that one? Yeah, I do. I still have Marvel D missions. I'm middle of playing through it. I forgot I was in the middle of playing through it.

15:26 Primal, Oath Sworn. I am not getting rid of all these games, but I feel I have to be even more cutthroat yet again for the last batch of what small remnant of campaign games I have left. They don't get tabled. They take up giant buckets of shell space. They they have a mental block of, "Oh, I enjoy that game so much, but then I don't play it." And I primarily do play to be fair. Uh, what else do I play? Oh, one I haven't played in a long time. I don't know. I I have to I have to be even more cutthroat, but we'll do that in a different video. Which brings us to the games on the table. As far as the games on the table, as usual, these are games I hope to be playing this week. We have Lorana, the Great Bunny Rescue. I hope to be diving into this one soon because, well, I want to give it a shot and then, of course, cover it as well. We have 10 Penny Parks Collector's Edition. I don't remember if I put this on the table last week, but if I did, I didn't get it tabled. Almost got a table last night. Didn't happen. Other games were picked instead. We have this one over here. A new impatience game uh called Amazing. Hope to be diving into this one. This is the people who do like the Oniverse and all that. I am curious about this one cuz this is I think the first time I've seen a box size from them that looks like the Oniverse but isn't actually the Oniverse. Uh so I need to go ahead and dive into the rules on this one and see whether I like it or not or at least how much I like it. But I do enjoy their puzzles. And then we have Singularity over here. This is another one I have not read the rules for yet from my Gen Con a batch which I think I mentioned earlier. Uh, but um I want to play it. I want to play it. I want to I want to dive into this one. I I think the box size intimidated me a little bit more, so it's easier to dive into others, but I actually don't know if the rules are going to be that complicated or not. But I hope to dive into Singularity sooner rather than later. And with that, that is basically your news and weekend review. I'm Alex Radcliffe from Board Game Co. Thank you so much for being here and as always, I hope you have a good one.