Variety Vlog Dec '16: 9 Games of Note, Q&A and more! - JonGetsGames

Here is Variety Vlog for December 2016 where I ask you a question, cover 3 questions in the Q&A, Solarius Mission, First Class, Energy Empire, SeaFall, Adrenaline, Colony, America, Fabled Fruit, Flamme Rouge, and the Shifting Shelf!

Look below to jump to a section:

General Updates - 0:10
Your Opinion - 2:07
Questions & Answers - 3:17
Games of Note:
-- Solarius Mission - 12:19
-- MP: Energy Empire - 14:21
-- First Class - 16:43
-- SeaFall - 20:23
-- Adrenaline - 23:49
-- America - 26:08
-- Fabled Fruit - 28:37
-- Colony - 31:01
-- Flamme Rouge - 32:49
Shifting Shelf - 35:16
Wrap Up - 38:50

[Yokelayheehoo]

Hi Jon. I stumbled across your channel only fairly recently (Apparently the hole I was living in was rather deep). First and foremost, I want to commend you on two things unique to your videos that I absolutely love:

First, the production/video controls. I really appreciate the extra bit of time you put in to place linked timestamps in your videos. It's an added touch that demonstrates the care you put into these videos, and is very helpful for viewers. I must admit that I typically watch your videos all the way through anyway, but having the option is very nice, indeed.

Second, the format of your reviews among your peers is truly exceptional. Many online reviews boil down to: "this game uses this mechanic and I don't like that" or "it's this style of game, so I love it." Your reviews are incredibly well-structured, well-informed, and provide a real sense of the game itself to someone who may be unfamiliar with the title.

Finally - to your question: I think you are spot on with the number of plays prior to review: I would think 3 is a minimum. There are a couple reviewers (not mentioning names) on YouTube that seem to have only skimmed the rulebook or had a single playthrough (potentially with an incorrect reading of the rules) prior to doing a review video. As mentioned above, you seem to have a very informed take on the games you review and the time spent with the title is apparent in your detailed analysis.

TL;DR: I'm really enjoying your channel, and you're doing a lot of things really right (IMO). Keep up the great work!

[michellecompton]

three plays seems like enough to form a well informed opinion

[BGBarbarian]

Really liking Energy Empire too. It's worker placement without getting blocked out of spots all the time.

[ShelleyDanielle]

Played America at a Con and I will say I hate Trivia games but gave this one a try. I really enjoyed it and would play it again. :)

[poul]

Ha! Can I buy your great western trail? Also super glad you and Efka are doing the podcast together, No Pun Included, actualol and your channel are my fave finds from the past year. Keep it going! Also you've inspired me to be harsher of my collection and cull more aggressively.

[YaniKalafatis]

As long as you declare how many times you have played a game, it seems to me valuable to share your opinion or review it. People need data points, they should be able to make their minds themselves based on playthroughs.

[cursivecurses]

Not sure the upper bound, but minimum is always 2.3 is of course better. Appreciate your transparency.

[Pryde]

Several interesting games in this Vlog now on my radar. Solarius, Adrenaline and Fabled Fruit. I am still on the fence about Legacy games like Sea Fall, but maybe I will take the plunge.

Concerning a minimum play through for a review I would say for a seasoned gamer like yourself, 3 plays should be enough.

The first play for an unfamiliar game for me anyway is usually just a wash to learn the rules, make some mistakes and see what the game has to offer. Normally a group should start to see some basic strategies.

Game two you can start really focusing on strategies rather than learning the game.

By the third game a group should start to see most everything a game has to offer and make an informed decision about it.

These are generalizations of course depending on the complexity of the game and the group, but for most three games should be sufficient.

[BrandonGraham]

Regarding the number of plays required to review: A smart, levelheaded person should make that on a case-by-case basis. If you can put yourself in the position of the other people at the table, you can get a lot of perspective in just one playthrough. If you realize throughout the first play that the game could vary a lot, or that you wanted a cleaner play after better understanding the rules, then you should play it again... and keep playing it until you think you have a good feel for it.
I think it's the thinking that you do after that counts. Thinking about how you affected the game and how the game affected you and the rest of the players.
If you start listing the number of plays, that's going to leave you open to a lot of criticism from people who will say that you needed to play it X more times before reviewing it. That's probably not worth the hassle.

[iambicpentakill]

Big fan of you and NPI. I'm enjoying the podcast.

[clumsydad]

Nice Jon, strong content. I hadn't heard of Abandoned Ship and I didn't know Indigo was R. Knizia too. I played the Indigo app(?), but i think that game might be slightly different, not sure. Also seeing Splendor leave was a surprise, and although i've never played i can see what u mean about it being a basic engine builder. peace

[BlueSapphyre]

Depends on your experience. If you're really experienced in games, you only need a game or two to fully understand the game.

[bijanajamlou]

solarius mission is in my top games of 2016. amazing game, first time we played it was crazy long. then we realized we played with all dice and didnt leave 4 on the wheel after each round/age. you might want to consider keeping splendor. an expansion is on its way:). i agree with great western trail. if you have played a loot of deckbuilders and are tired of that mechanic it doesnt bring so much new. i was maybe expecting to much since mombasa is awsome. i will try it more than once though... you have played an awsome list of games. i am unsure of colony though i rather play something else. have you considered playing Round house? a reely a cool game!

[samiamagaimagain]

Interesting that Colony is sort of a sequel to Age of Craft. Age of Craft is really popular with my gaming friends in Japan so I'm excited to try Colony.

[matts]

I agree with your minimum of 3 plays. But as others have said, each game is a bit subjective on how many plays it needs. Adrenaline should be good at around 3, but first class probably needs a few more to get a feel for all the modules and how they work together

[glenjust]

3 is fair and a good amount of plays for a seasoned gamer to understand what a game is like and how it compares to other games in its genre and mechanics.. I've heard other popular board game reviewers say they only need to play a game once before reviewing it because of their "expertise".

[InteractionImplants]

Minimum two plays for everything. Three plays before review would be excellent.

[BGBarbarian]

I think it would be better that deeper games with many strategies have more plays than say a filler to experience the many paths to victory. Especially if you are going to heavily criticize the game.

[jwspiker]

splendor expansion comes out this year hopefully

[ernobhuvan]

3 should be a min, but if you only do 3 (or less) I guess I'd expect that to be stated.