~Rob Fenimore
Dice Drop Games
Remember when Blood Rage was all the rage? It was a simpler time, back then. Vikings raided and pillaged and died (oh my!) their way into our Valhalla hearts that Fall of 2015. It was debated whether any other games should ever be made, since perfection had been achieved. Odin had created Blood Rage. And it was good. I played Blood Rage, and it WAS good. Very good. Those were great times, back then….
I apologize for that previous paragraph. I realize it may sound a bit sarcastic. And I guess it is. It just seems to me that it is becoming common for the gaming community to declare one game “the best of all time” only to have it disappear shortly after the Kickstarter copies are delivered and it hits the masses. I don’t like that, and I think it could be bad in the long run. You may wonder what this introduction is doing in an article about Scythe, but I think it belongs, and I hope you’ll see that as you read on. (If you read on).
I finally got a chance to play Scythe with two of my gaming buddies this week. One of us had played it a couple of times before, but that was it for “experienced” players. In anticipation of playing, though, we had watched several videos and read the rules. I think I was as prepared to play Scythe as I could have been. Here were my first-timer observations:
1) Game play was pretty quick for a game of this magnitude. The fact that you do only one or two actions on your turn reduces downtime for your opponents.
2) The theme flowed throughout the game. There was a dystopian feel to everything, sort of like the video game Bioshock, where some things were familiar in the world, while others were disturbingly unfamiliar.
3) There was a 4X feel, I guess, but it seemed more of a resource engine builder and area control than an exploration game. Maybe this had more to do with the board layout being visible. There was no fog of war element so I could see where I needed to go.
4) The combat system was fine, but it wasn’t anything special. It was almost exactly like Tiny Epic Kingdoms.
5) The random match up of factions with the player boards provided some challenges. One player needed to build a Mech early to defend himself from an aggressor, but couldn’t easily get to a mountain space to obtain the resources he needed based on his starting position. Additionally, his card’s top action/bottom action pairings were not ideal for his situation. This left him vulnerable and he was attacked early, which definitely set him back. Not sure how this randomization plays out over the long run of games, or whether some combos are better than others.
6) I liked how players can’t take the same action twice in a row, though there were many times I wish I could have. I liked the tension.
7) I found it difficult to adhere to the river locations on the map. Several times I moved illegally and we didn’t figure it out until a few turns later. That was a bit frustrating, but should change when the board becomes more familiar.
8) I liked the popularity tracker and how that mechanism makes a player examine just how big of a jerk she’d like to be.
9) I can’t wait to play Scythe again.
And the last observation is the point I’m trying to make here – it’s going to take a few more dates with Scythe before I take her home to meet the parents. I feel as though there is certainly potential here for this to be a great game. I can see how one play (or even 5, maybe) can’t do it the justice it deserves. Clearly, a lot of love and work went into creating the game. It has beautiful art and clever game play concepts. I really can’t wait to play it again. But isn’t that how it is for most games? Is it possible to know how much you love it after one play? Isn’t it impossible to know how much you love it BEFORE you play it?
Maybe it’s just my personality, but I feel as though I am pressured to keep up with the next big thing, without having the opportunity to fully absorb and enjoy the CURRENT big thing, or maybe last month’s big thing that I missed. I love that board gaming is in a Renaissance. I really do. But it seems that it is becoming increasingly difficult to get other players to stick with any game long enough to explore all of its nuances. I can’t put my finger on it as to why, but it just seems dangerous to me.
Leave a comment. What are your thoughts on the subject? Let’s discuss. Thanks for reading, and please keep nerding on.
Check out all Rob Fenimore’s Table Top game reviews here!
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