Compile, Orion Duel, Run, Remember Our Trip, Dice Stars - Reviews

0:00 Hey everybody and welcome to another Chairman of the Board ranking video. This is where I take a look at the last five new to me board games that I've played and I rank and review them in order of preference. I have quite an interesting mix of games today. But before I get started on the games, I want to give a shout out to the show sponsor kienda.co.uk who are my go-to online retailer. And if you use the link in the show notes or the QR code, then you can get 5% off your first order. At number five, I have Run. So, this is a two-player cat and mouse style game by Tim Fowl. Now, Tim Fowl is known for these styles of games, most notably The Fugitive, which is a game I still have in my collection, uh, where it kind of skirts on the again the cat and mouse hidden movement with some logical deduction injected into the game. So, this one, of course, one player is going to be the thief player, one's going to be the kind of security, and the thief is trying to visit these different sites and escape, whereas the security is, of course, trying to catch uh the thief player. Now the way the deduction works is based on the fact that the thief player has quite a limited range of motions where they can go and how they can move around these variable grid maps. So for example, you have only a certain amount of know vertical moves or um you know vertical downwards moves or diagonal moves you can actually take and you are playing these publicly. So

1:32 although they don't know exactly where you've moved, they can see or start to build up an idea of where you could possibly be um because of course things block your motion. So there are like um you know there are buildings in the way and stuff like that. Um so you can start to try and piece together where these movements could be and pinpoint it down to certain locations. Now, the hunter player also has some tools in their toolkit to try and help them or give them a boost to try and work out where the thief could be um by asking if they're at a certain block or, you know, rows and columns and so on. And then, of course, you're just trying to constantly try and lose where or trying to um stop your opponent from telling you if you're the thief or try to stay on the heels of the thief if you are the the hunter. So, I quite like the premise of this game and there are some additional twists where you know you can use some again special equipment or go on the rooftops and things, but I did find the movement a little bit too restrictive and I thought it was a little bit too easy for the hunter at least in the um in the base mode. Now, that being said, this game is really going to reward repeated plays because it does come in come with a built-in kind of handicap system where if one player is doing particularly well, then it's going to be more difficult for them in the following rounds because you're going to start maybe your opponent will start having more tools to play with or, you know, more equipment, more motions they can go or different paths that they can take.

3:01 So, it's going to be much more difficult for them for that player to catch the other player. So, it comes with a really nice offsetting handicap system that you can find that balance that's just right for you. So, full props to the game for doing that. I think without that, the game is going to be a little bit too um based on how even the players are. Again, I did find a little bit too frustrating at times being the the thief player, but it's a good idea. I know there's a big market for games like this. Again, he's made a lot of games of this style. he seems to be his his niche and he does them very well. Objectively, I can't really criticize the game in terms of, you know, the mechanics and how they work. Um, but it's just one that if I'm going to play play a a deduction style game, I'm going to play something else. So, again, I thought it was fine. It's just not one that I'm going to reach for over over so many great two-player games and so many better deduction games. So, that is Run at number five. At number four, I have Remember Our Trip. Now, this is a rather strange drafting and tile placement game where you are building up this kind of cityscape, drafting parks and buildings and so on. Uh, and the game itself is very simple, but it does have some pretty unique twists that don't necessarily follow a logical path, at least when you compare them with so many other games. Um, so basically what you're doing is you're trying to uh draft these different sets of tiles and place them on your personal playerboard,

4:32 building certain formations or creating different formations. And once you've got a certain formation locked in place, then not only will you get points for doing that, but you'll also replicate or mirror that particular formation onto this central board. And this central board, which again replicates the other players personal boards, is almost like the master copy of what the city should look like. So again, if I'm the first player to say build a certain park, I'm going to not only put it on my playerboard, but I'm also going to put on the central board. And then from that point on, the other players are going to be incentivized to build parks in that particular place on based on that master copy and they're going to get some bonus points for doing so. So the theme of this game is that this is based on the memories of a a trip. Of course, remember our trip, but everybody is remembering the trip in different ways and you're trying to kind of use your memories together to um you know solidify the actual correct orientation of these tiles. So again, mechanically, the game is actually really simple. Just build the different formations by drafting these tiles. Um, if you've got a formation, lock it in place, get some points. If you're the first to do it and those spaces are empty on the main board, then lock it that place, too. And then if they mirror, then you'll get some extra points. But because the um because the game isn't necessarily logical or it doesn't it doesn't compare directly to another tile placement game, sometimes it doesn't flow the easiest and there's just those you just

6:04 sometimes struggle to compartmentalize this one in your in your brain. Um maybe you know with more plays it's going to be easier but it just doesn't flow as nicely as some other simple tile placement games which this one is. Now full credit for it being so unique and different and you know introducing new mechanisms and ideas. Um, and again, I do like it, but just be prepared for this one to be a bit jarring at times for some gamers to really understand how it works. And it might take a game or two for everything just to click into place and how they're going to start optimizing their placements. Still interesting design by an interesting designer cuz this is Sashi who's made some brilliant games. Um, is a great one though. I think this one might just be a little bit too weird for its own good at times. So that is remember our trip at number four. At number three I have Orian Jewel. So this is a twoplayer abstract game where you are trying to place your tiles uh in order to connect one side of the board to the other. So if you're familiar with a game called um Punked from the GIF series of abstract games, this one works in a very similar manner. Uh, but there are some additional twists and things you need to consider when you place your tiles in this game. So, when you place your tiles, not only do they have your color on them, but they'll also have your opponent's color on them as well. So, sometimes you can inadvertently help them by giving them that perfect um spot

7:36 of coverage to start chaining things together for their purposes. But not only are you trying to um win in the in the manner of connecting one side of the board from the other, there are different ways you can win the game, too. So you are fighting on multiple fronts here. So for example, you are rewarded or you can win the game instantly if you connect a certain number of these galaxies together through your own color. Or in the same vein, if you force your opponent to encroach on these black holes, then you'll also win that way too. So this game is super tightly balanced in terms of um you know a single mistake can cost you dearly and it's very difficult to manage all your different winning criteria. So again if you're fully tunnel tunnel visioning on one winning method the chances are you're falling behind or starting to show vulnerabilities in the other winning conditions which I think is really genius and it's very smartly designed.

8:33 Um, as with a lot of abstract games, although I enjoy them, I do need to be in the right mood to play them and need to have the right opponent. Um, because I do get very competitive over them. But this one is really nicely designed. It's it's very clean. Um, it's super streamlined and again, I do like that way that you have to constantly look over your shoulder out of all of these three winning conditions because take your eye off the ball and you will lose. So that is Orian Jewel. very underrated actually and I could see a lot of people enjoying this one if they were more aware of it. Fast, punchy, uh super streamlined. That is Orian Jewel at number three. At number two, I have Dice Stars. Now, this is a pretty simple and straightforward roll and write game where you're rolling a big cluster of dice and drafting them based on the color or number on those dice. Now, when you're drafting on the numbers, you're placing them from left to right. You are only filling in the box of the last um quantity of dice that you've you've drafted. So, say for example, I um I drafted three fives. The first box I'd write an X. The second box, I write an X. And in the last box, I would write a 15. So, that's all of the fives added up. And the importance of that is that when you go from columns based on the colors that you draft, of course you could take um say several I don't know orange dice. Say you took again two fives. Um the first one will be an X and the second will be a 10. But then of course you've written an X based on the

10:05 other rows that you've passed through because again these rows and columns kind of cross-hatch through each other on this grid system. So, it's all about trying to, you know, minmax everything and trying not to get too many X's, but at the same time, you are under a lot of pressure to not fall behind because as soon as somebody's filled in a certain amount of boxes, the game will end. Now, that's all simple stuff, you know, very reminiscent of games like, you know, quicks and quinto. This one though has an additional twist based on these dice star system. So, not only do these dice have numbers and colors, they also have stars on one of the faces. And when you take the stars from the dice pool, you'll have to take all of them and you'll fill in a separate box on that same grid on the kind of right hand side. And you need to be very careful about when you draft these dice because if you commit to drafting these stars, I should say, um, you need to make sure that you fill in every single box on that row. Otherwise, that particular row is worth nothing. So, it does have this kind of push your luck system. Um, but the incentivi incentivization or the incentive to to draft those stars does increase. Um, because normally the the dice pool carries from one round through to the next. Um, simple stuff. There's some additional expansions you can play as well, which will give you little incentives to build columns faster. I do like that constant pressure of how many dice do I take? Do I pace myself? Do I rush a bit to capture to catch my

11:36 opponents offguard? Do I focus on the stars? Do I play it safe and not touch the stars and just focus on my numbers? Very clever stuff, but get boiled down to a very straightforward system, which is how I generally like my rolling rights. Just again, simple number building, but with a twist or two to make it more interesting. And that's exactly what Dice Stars delivers. Um, and I I recommend it. If you can pick up a copy of this one for for cheap and you're not too fatigued with straightforward dice rolling and dice drafting, roll and write games, then this is a really solid option. So that is Dice Stars at number two. And finally, at number one, I have Compile. So this is a two-player only head-to-head hand management game where you are trying to control um these columns by having the most influence in them. Now, at the start of the game, you are going to um have a kind of unique set of cards based on these three different types that you draft. So, these are all very abstracted things such as, you know, death and life and shadow and energy and all these kind of weird nebulous themes. But each of them comes with a set of six cards. And once you've got your three three sets, you're going to put them back to back with your opponent's three sets. And again, take those 18 cards, shuffle them together, draw a few, and that'll be your starting hand. And what you're doing doing is that you are playing these cards on those matching columns um trying to get to above 10 influence. As soon as you do get to 10 influence um on your turn,

13:08 then you will kind of flip over your um your card and it'll be one of your three objectives uh completed. But of course, all these cards come with unique abilities and those abilities work in three different ways. So, some of them will work as long as they are the uncovered card on that particular column. So, you might not want to cover them up to exploit those abilities as long as you can. Uh, some of them will work instantly. Um, and some of them will work kind of conditionally. So, it's really interesting how you manage these cards to try and synergize with them with each other to try and, you know, I play this card first, then I'm going to play this one and flip it over to make it more powerful. I'm going to force my opponent to move this card here. I'm going to move this set here and so on. So, it's all about very finely tuning that hand of cards to manipulate the state of the board to throw your opponent off as well as trying to help yourself. Now, the sheer variety of these cards is really outstanding. you know, you do have tons to play with in the base game alone, and I know they are coming out with more content and there are different sets to collect. And it's just such a nice versatile system where there's no real real kind of um bells and whistles, no frrills. It's just simple, straightforward text on cards that's easy to digest, some simple keywords, but the depth of the play really is there. And I I would warn you, be careful when you are drafting your original cards because you do want to make sure that you have all the tools in your toolkit to make sure that you can do everything. Like for example, if your

14:39 opponent is coming on aggressively and you don't have the ability to say, you know, remove some of your opponent's cards, you might find yourself in a bit of a bit of a corner. So, you know, you do have freedom to do that. Just just be careful to give yourself a bit of a variety in your decks that you choose so that you can have the option at least or the potential to get yourself out of all situations. But extremely clever. It's the exact kind of card game that I enjoy. I would say if you if you enjoy games like Airland and Sea, then you're pretty much guaranteed to like this one because there is a lot of crossover between the two. Um, you know, they're definitely get the games in their own right, but the style of gameplay is certainly similar. Um, again, I just think this game is a joy to play. It's pretty fast. It can be frustrating at times as, you know, your efforts are constantly being, you know, squashed by your opponent, but that's the point in the game is and you are of course limited to the cards you have in your hand. Um, thoroughly enjoyable experience. I think it's going to be a colossal hit if I'm honest again, especially if they keep supporting it.

15:44 adding keywords to um add the um versatility and add the variety but still keep it true to that simple system of just playing cards or drawing cards. Fantastic design that is compile a welldeserved number one. So there we have it. That concludes another video. Hopefully you've enjoyed it. If you have, please be sure to hit like and subscribe to my channel and check my other content, too. But for everybody else, I'll see you next time on Chairman of the Board.