The Hungry Gamer's Duel of Meloch Mini Review
Transcript
Ooh, that looks tasty. Welcome folks to the Hungry Gamer is back with another mini review and today we're talking about Jewel of Mellock from Stonemaier Games designed by Jamie Stegmaier with art by Jakub Rozalski and I do apologize for butchering that name. Now, what this game is is this is a head-to-head Scythe versus Expeditions which are both other games that Stegmaier has designed and are in the same universe with the same art, same style. However, while Scythe is an area control-ish kind of game where you have your big stompy mechs moving all around the board Expeditions is more of a Euro with some tableau building worker placement vibes.
But this game is a head-to-head game though you can also play solo where you are racing to accomplish all of your tasks which is the same thing in Scythe and Expeditions where you are putting out your stars and once all the stars are out then the game's going to end. Same idea but one player is utilizing the Scythe mechanics the other player is utilizing Expeditions mechanics. And while I'm not going to go into how the game is played because I would have to explain all of Scythe and all of Expeditions. There is a very good video that kind of covers all of that from Rodney from Watch It Played and his video is always great. I highly recommend checking that one out. He does a very good job of kind of breaking down the differences but even he says I got two other videos you got to watch to really grasp to really crack all of this but you're here because you know one or both of those games.
And so it's a race where each player is doing their own mechanics on a shared board with a couple of things that are going to change for each player. The two most important things I think are there is combat. So, when you show up on the same hex, you have the choice of doing combat, and that's going to be a very Scythe oriented combat where you have your dial with your power, and you're going to be able to play cards along with that depending on how many mechs you have in the area. So, for the Scythe player, up to four. For the Expeditions player, only one. So, there's combat that's going to happen, and also there is the kind of the refresh symbol, which is a little bit of a boon for the Scythe player because it potentially allows you to, as you're kind of going down your column doing all of your actions, can allow you to do the main action on one column, and then boop, jump to another column and do another action. But, again, if you don't understand either Scythe or Expeditions, this is a little bit confusing. But, if you do just understand, it's the same idea. It's still a race. First player to do it is going to win, but each player is utilizing mechanics of that game. Now, also of note, both of these characters that you can play can be ported over into the original game. So, this box is it's head-to-head game, but it's also an expansion, a fairly large expansion for That's not true. A moderately big expansion for both Expeditions and Scythe. You can take the minis, put them in those games, and a few of the cards I
believe can also work there. But, more importantly, you can take the mechs from both of those games, and then play them in your Duel of Mechs. Now, if that sounds a little confusing, you're right. I don't think this has ever been done before. It's wacky, it's weird, and spoiler, I'm here for it. So, with that said, what do I like about this? So, as I've started doing now, the main thing I like about this is it is a really cool way to put out an expansion for both of these games. And I love that I can pull from my Expeditions or Streamline Matt, he'd love Scythe. He has all of Scythe. I could pull from his Scythe and bring it in. Or I can take these and take them over into those two games.
I love that. I think that is awesomely fresh to have kind of built up this world to where you're able to do that. I think that is just a wonderful idea. I think it's really cool. And I absolutely love love love love that's how it works. And also, my other favorite thing about this is I think the mechanics of Scythe are really good. I think the way you're building up your actions is really cool. I also think the way you build your tableau and the way that you're playing Expeditions is really cool. And if you know those games, you can play this game. And so both of those mechanics, which are great, are here. I really do enjoy that. Now, with that being said, what are my quibbles with the game? The first thing is I think you have to appreciate at least one of those games significantly. Like I really like Expeditions and I enjoy playing Scythe with the right people.
So this works really well for me. I don't think if you don't care about either of those games, I don't think this is a game for you because well, there are other games that do this kind of push and pull, little bit of a race. Top of my head, I think of Skull Hollow or I think of Joust of Robin Hood. Just They're not exactly the same, but it is kind of a push and pull. You're moving back and forth trying to accomplish the goal. And if you don't care about Scythe or Expeditions, well, you might gravitate to one of those because they're doing the same thing and that is the game. And so that is definitely something I think that you should keep in mind. The next thing is there's not anything new here. It's a weird for me to say because I just said that I feel that it is very clever and unique, but there's a couple little minor shifts and changes, but there is nothing new in this game. You are playing One player is playing Expeditions.
The other player is playing Scythe. That's it and it comes together and they're kind of battling it out. And then the next thing I'll say is when I say one player is playing this one the other player is playing that that really feels accurate. Yes, you do occasionally fight. There's a little blocking, whatever, a little bit of grabbing this before the other player to race, but it's fairly multiplayer solitaire. Now, I don't it's not complete Now, it's not completely that because obviously you can fight and all those things, but each player is playing their own game and literally it takes 7 minutes to teach this game if you understand how that other game is played. So, there's something to keep in mind. This is one of those times where these two things that I think both work really well, they remain separate and they can play in the same area, but they're not melding together.
And the last thing I'll say about it is it is if you're looking at it as just expansions, it's decently expensive because there's all the other stuff in there, but with that said, back to the other things that I think works really well is I think for the person that likes both of these games, it's exciting. It's really fun to get these mechs out there. It's amazing to take them into the other games. We get to play with those. And also, the kind of the score tracker where you're putting the stars out, it's double-sided and it feels silly that I'm saying oh, it's double-sided, but it's double-sided in a way that is really satisfying. Each of those sides is very different. Also, I'll say they've been very thoughtful about this game because it is possible on the one side of the board that it can be even up.
And one player could just hide in their base. Well, it has a rule for that. Someone does that too long, no more hiding. And Jamie has been very thoughtful about this game. And he's always very thoughtful about about the game. And I think this is a very clear sign that he has play tested this thing ad nauseam. Next thing I'll say is the art in the world is dope. I love it. It's bizarre stompy mechs and I don't know like that the 40s or whatever it is. It looks great. The art is great. The mechs are great. It's really really good. It has neoprene mat in there. The cards are good quality. Even the rulebook's good quality. All of these things just wonderful. Last thing I'll say is the solo's really good.
It is very clean. It's easy to play. And now, I have not always been a fan of the solos for Stonemaier games. Tapestry, I'm looking at you. But this one, I think it's clean, it works, and it is really enjoyable. But just to reiterate, I think if you have and are a fan of either Scythe or Expeditions, then you really want this cuz that extra character, that extra faction is so good. So so good. Now, it's not perfect. I guess there's no airships you can use, but whatever. Really digging it. So there you have it, folks. That is Duel of Miloch. I think this is a bit of a niche type game. You got to be into at least one of those games, preferably into both. But if you are, it's going to be really fun. I think it works pretty well solo. I think it's a good head-to-head kind of game. And all in all, I'm glad I played it. I had a hard time covering this. It took me a while because I was playing the solo, playing the solo, and finally I had to start doing some playing both sides of it because for me, where I live, and my game group, this is a hard sell, this kind of head-to-head game. But, I do think it is quite a good one. And if you are a player that is able to get these head-to-head asymmetric games, again, I already mentioned Skull Cauldron, Justice of Robin Hood, Dice Command, those kinds of games, Wizards of the Grimoire, those kinds of games, then you're probably going to enjoy this. But, there
you have it, folks. As always, if you found this video useful, please like, subscribe, share, maybe become a channel member. As always, thank you so much for watching. Have a wonderful, wonderful day.