Terra Mystica Review - with Tom Vasel

Tom Vasel takes a look at Terra Mystica, the board game

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#dicetower #thedicetower

00:00 - Introduction
01:24 - Game Overview
08:37 - Final Thoughts

[marzzbar]

I love this game, but I don't hate this review. I didn't really think Tom would like this game, not because I didn't think he'd be smart enough to understand it or any of that, but he generally likes games with a bit more theme and more fun mechanics. 
I wish people would stop holding Tom's opinions up on a pedestal, like they're the official word on whether a game is good or not. Yes, he's a very informed board-game critic, but he has a particular taste, just like everybody, so if he doesn't like a game that you don't like, it's no big deal! And it doesn't mean he doesn't "understand it" or "get it".
Thanks for the honest review Tom, love your channel :)

[Lsoon]

This review is an example of why I enjoy Tom's reviews so much.  Regardless of whether I agree or disagree with him, he gives me enough information that I can make an educated decision on if the game is for me or not.  Keep up the great work!

[UbidubiumTube]

As a gaming community we need more honest and informed reviews of games like this one. You did a great job of defining who would like this game and who will not. 

[darkwerksDE]

His review was honest and it's a matter of taste.
"Terra Mystica" is my favourite game of all time, but i'm german :)

[MoriMemento]

I'm surprised at the number of comments saying this game is too convoluted mechanically and has no theme. On the topic of theme, while it is very light on theme, the theme that is there is extremely well integrated into the mechanics. I think it's beautifully done (witches fly, giants can live anywhere, dwarves can tunnel, etc.). Second, regarding it being convoluted (like the magic pools, for instance) my 8 year old nephew understood the reasons behind the designs pretty much on the get-go and loves the game. And he's hasn't played any Euros except for Settlers! In my humble opinion, I feel the game is a lot stronger than the comments are making it out to be.

[JoachimErdtman]

I'm a thematic gamer at first, I usually need a fun theme to stick with a game, but I love the mechanisms in Terra Mystica. It moves quickly, the game is very involved and the assymetric forces are cool too. I really love the game.

[TheBrokenMeeple]

Dude (DIDL), that's hardly fair. It's a complex game with a lot going on and even though some mistakes are made, that doesn't mean it's gone over his head or that he can't handle these kind of games. Have you seen some of the Euro games Tom likes?

I own this game and I love it (check out my review at The Broken Meeple) and I like a wide variety of games. However even I have to agree that some parts are a bit weird. The Power system for example, even though I'm fine with it, is a bit "odd and gamey" as Tom says. The theme is also "tacked" on but there's enough of it there thanks to the really cool player boards and race variation that I'm fine with that. After all Lords of Waterdeep had a similar theme issue but I love that game also.

I wasn't expecting this review to be praising it loads, it's certainly designed for a particular niche of gamers, but I felt the criticisms were fair and they have come up when I've played the game with others before. Glad you got it out in the end Tom!

[TtheWriter]

"Point Salad"... I'm gonna hafta write that one down. Excellent phrasing, and thanks for the honest review!

[dsyphoria]

After all this time I was expecting you to slam the game. I really thought you'd put it off because you were desperately searching for something positive to say! I think you have been very fair. I am glad that this game wasn't a complete miss for you.

[ThePolaris]

Great Review! Having had someone who loves this game and really wanted me to join them, they throw it at me and tell me to learn the rules and then join in.... so I had to go through the really lengthy process of discovering the high number of nuances of this game on my own after several playthroughs... and I had come to the EXACT same conclusions that Tom Vasel did.

[raymyers]

I think it's a great review.  I think he is honest about both his reaction to it and doesn't hesitate to say that if you are a euro gamer fan...there is nothing you should dislike about this game.

[gramarmy]

I just bought this for my gaming group yesterday, and we played tonight. I am VERY new to board gaming btw. I will explain it like this. Terra Mystica is a "Strategic, Resource Management Game" I can say this, my group was super impressed by the gameplay and mechanics. This game has 1 goal (GET VICTORY POINTS) but it gives you 5 different ways to get there! So if someone gets out the gates early and starts doing 1 strategy faster than the other, you can switch gears mid game and go for a different strategy to get points. It is a SUPER COMPLEX version of Settlers of Catan. Yes, the "fantasy" theme really isnt there, but I can see why they used it.

[OneyClavijo]

Thanks for your honest reaction Tom. It is good to know that you can say it when a game is not in your list.

[Steve-L]

I know you shared more about this game later. So it's been 2 1/2 years and I have been avoiding this game because I trust your judgment. But as time went on, I did see it was popular, so I knew that one day I would try it, reluctantly and expecting to dislike it, but possibly being surprised and like it.

Well, last nite was that time. We had a small group show up for our meetup. Only 5. There was a request to play this, so I let them twist my arm. 5 might be crazy even to folks who like this game, but long games don't usually bother me. It took a half an hour to learn the game and I was tired, and began regretting it right away.

Then we started playing the game. And my thought process was, this game stinks, I am not even gonna try, And I might even do some king making. In my 1st move I placed a building to allow 3 people to get "power". For the 1 third of the game I didn't even try. But slowly I started to get the hang of the game and started developing a strategy and decided to try.

1 got 2nd place out of 5, and 3 of the other players had played the game before. It reminded me of my play in Through the Ages, where I hated the game but won, against 2 opponents who had played and liked the game before.

I will admit there was some fun, but the work outweighed the fun, and the theme was thin and practically non existent. I played the dwarves and not once did I feel like a dwarf.

I have participated in arguments with Euro gamers before about theme. But compared to some Dungeon Crawls or an adventure game, this had zero theme.

Now I have played Euros with good theme: Belfort, Carson City, and so on. But not here. It felt a little like Tzolkin, which I like much better, and that has more theme and is my 2nd favorite heavy Euro.

Sadly Terra Mystica will go onto my "never to play" again list. Which now has 12 games.

[KimoBliss]

I 100 percent agree that the game sheep herds you into a strategy and that the factions are not developed enough to make a difference, i might strongly suggest anyone play the game with a few house rules that me and my wife have used that drastically improve the game play. Each time you terraform a tile for your fraction you also get one cult point designated to your faction, for instance if you are the witches i believe at the beginning of the game you start out with one earth and one wind so each time you terraform for the witches you can choose one from either the earth cult or one from the wind, this should create more involvement with your faction, development and some strategy. We also have the priests worth more the just a worker, you can trade a priest for one worker and one gold coin. Each time you build a dwelling or any building you acquire the materials immediately for doing so... Let me know if this helps.

[trenthogan]

I gotta give him props for his honesty.

[cloudsabacc]

HI Tom!  I would say the get your buildings on the board to get ressources part is akin to eclipse population cube wouldn't you think?

[Sandbagging]

Being a big fan of Terra Mystica, and reading the comments on this video as I began to watch, I was dreading what might be said in this review.  Turns out it's actually very reasonable.  "An exceptionally designed game", but just not his thing.

[capnstewy]

A similar game that is in my opinion more fun is "Clans of Caledonia" and it definitely engrosses you in its theme.

[zazea]

The thing about this game is that its much more fun than it actually seems. I've watched video and read about it and I was uninterested/meh. Then I got the chance to play it with some friends and its actually quite fun and very enjoyable! The re-playability is also quite high; there are 14 possible factions for a maximum of 5 players in each game. But yea there isn't really much artwork and they could've used more vibrant colors. It seemed dull when I first opened the box.