Which Slay the Spire is the best? | Board vs Digital

In this video I deep dive into the virtues of video games and why they are better than board games in almost every way. We use the new Slay the Spire Board game as a medium to explore this opinion.

#boardgamer #baordgames #tabletopgaming #tabletopgames

BGG

[smashpunk]

Great take and great video! Thanks for making good stuff. Hope your channel just explodes some day, you deserve it.

[elikurtz]

Thank you so much for this take on Slay the Spire :D You hit all important points. Got my tangible copy two weeks ago. We played 4 times sofar and love it. Two acts per evening seems the perfect length of about 3 hours at 3 players (my friends did not know the game beforehand and had to learn their character options from scratch. It is speeding up already ^^).
It feels so amazing cooperative when you can help each other. Often you set up the monsters and think how can we possibly survive this and then everything falls into place - very satisfying. The shared experience is what makes this game greater than its video counterpart. I am also amazed how they managed to simplyfy the game while retaining the feel. ... To me the best video to boardgame transition I ever experienced.

[玩物喪志-vw]

I only discover your video as it pops up on the bgg notification and I really like this video.

I have been on the fence for this board game because I love the video game. But your video has convinced me to not get into the hype of the board game just purely because I love the video game just as the reasons you have mentioned.

To me I most likely will solo this game and it is arguably an even more difficult reach than something like dominion. I just can’t see myself tabling multiplayer so I think practically I should let this one go to someone who will enjoy this more

[Benusr]

16:15 "It's not like there's a defect there..."

The defect crying in the corner: Aw c'mon man!!😢

[sapien]

Sounds like you had a cool mom.
I think you hit the nail on the head as to why boardgames are better. I was actually thinking about this issue the other day. Boardgames are often cited as the source of AP, but it’s the opportunity for A that makes them so great.

Videogames are so quick and easy, I often play them on autopilot—even the thinky ones like Civilization. There’s a hole in the experience where A should ideally go. A-holes, if you will.

[viniciusable]

Agree with pretty much all of your points. It usually takes 30~40 min to do the 3 acts in the videogame (for me), but it's taking about 6h to do it with 3p, along with all the conversations, it's a better experience overall.
I have also to say that the scalling in coop can be HUGE, going from 3 damage a turn in the beggining to almost 100 in a turn in the final boss is satisfying! Different medias, and both amazing :)

[coreyray]

Well said, brother. You nailed it. That lack of dopamine makes it hard to pull my kids off Fortnite to sit still for an hour to play a board game with me. But the shared experience makes the struggle worth it. Hopefully one day (soon?) they’ll learn to appreciate it as I do. My condolence for the loss of your mother. That’s very sad, but you have a unique memory of her to cherish forever. My mom has never touched a gaming controller in my lifetime, but she DID get me a N64 as a cheer-up gift following a divorce, which was quite effective in hindsight. 😂

As for board game iterations of video games, I just want a classic Legend of Zelda campaign game with an open world and variable thematic dungeon decks. THAT would be an epic dopamine shot with some hefty nostalgia to boot. I’m going all in on that baby! Take all my money!!!

[Frodo-]

You just blew my mind equaling deck builders with leveling up a character. Its so obvious I dont know how I missed that.
Speaking of deck builders I just recently started Arnak Lost Expedition this weekend.
Gloomhaven Digital to me is a video game that did better than the boardgame, at least for solo.

[aldarez]

Another great video from you, really enjoy your stuff 🙂

I'm sure I'd have a good time playing STS at the table, but the price point is prohibitive for me. At double the price of most games I just can't bring myself to it!

[stormburns]

What i hear from slay the spire veterans is that the coop of the board game is the main selling point.
Shared experiences is what makes board games so great wonderful and memories of them. Quick dopamine hits dont work the same, well said :-)

[Triston_Yocom]

I agree that the in person co-op video games isn’t much of a thing anymore and that’s why I enjoy both hobbies. Board games can bring back those days of playing side by side with friends for hours at a time.

[Jedduh]

Agree with both of your board game Wins. For me they are both much bigger drivers than the video game wins. I very much like that I am the computer in a board game, love the social aspect, add to that I very much appreciate not needing a screen…so much of my work day is screen based that it is nice to take a break.

[stenolebrretzen]

I think maybe it's not an altogether fair comparison when it comes to Slay the Spire, because as a video game it already has "stolen" lots of board game design sensibilities. One general aspect of board games is, because everything has to be processed by a human being, all its rules will inherently be understandable by a human player. And its ruleset is also small enough that a human being can handle it. There's a transparency and economy of rules that video games don't have to (and always never) adhere to.

[arthureloi]

Yeah, but in a videogame, you're all by yourself, one hand on the mouse, the other scratching your behind.

In a board game context, you're having people over, talking to them, interacting with loved ones, lubricating the social aspect of life, and, like, living?

Seems to me the video game version is only advantageous if you're a social outcast, sociopath or antisocial person, in which case a treatment is needed.