Great Western Trail Board Game Review - Still Worth It?

Join us as we take a look at the action selection euro board game Great Western Trail.

[AltusNoumena]

These "still worth it" are some of my very favorite videos. It's refreshing and necessary to look back at a game and see how it holds up. Thanks for such a great channel!

[a-c-m]

Note: your issue with the southern path with the Indian tipis getting blocked has been addressed in the second edition (much higher rewards lead to more clearing by players). Some other minor improvements have been added to the second edition as well.
And GWT New Zealand introduces a broad range of additional cards for your deck and makes the deck-building much more interesting (on top it has some other cool additions which increase complexity but also strategic options). I am lukewarm on Argentina, so go original 2nd edition or go New Zealand.

[MichaelZipkin]

Loving the new Bollocks sign behind you, lighting and camera angles were great this episode. GWT Argentina is supposed to be far superior to the original, which I can't attest to even though it's sitting on my shelf since I haven't gotten it to the table yet. Might be time to rectify that.

[notlaw]

I fucking love GWT. Im not spunking on the new edition or on the Argy or Kiwi versions, but apparently they do make some nice little tweaks that improve the experience. I like it as it is, so im happy with that. Great game, one of my favourites.

[JackFrancisco-sz]

The second edition clears up a couple of these concerns that you have with the game. Great review, as always!

[mrlastjudgment]

Just found this channel through A Feast for Odin review and it's defintely the most engaging board game related channel on youtube. Finally a board game enthusiast who has good humour, but that might just be my English (British) bias. Subscribed!

[griffsmotorthings]

I haven't heard anyone use the word Quagmire well in years. That's some true Bollocks. Awesome video, dig the hand placing shit on the board camera angles.

[crookedevolution]

I think you'd like the 2nd edition better, it loosens the card play by adding "exchange tokens" (2x cycle a card) you can pick up and spend at will. It also switches teepees out for bandits, and they have higher $ values (and no negative $ values), so that path is a bit more open.

Love the new sign!

[darbyl]

GWT is a perfect game


to give to your worst enemy. I know people that love it. Good for them. I suppose if you study this game long enough it gets better. Until then, the frustration it generates is multi-level and compounded to a "great" magnitude. You will perpetually be saying "Oh that's just GREAT." I'm pissed just thinking about it.

[bayushisezaru]

This is one of my favorite boardgames ever! 🤠
Even if I concur some of your criticisms are valid, this game has a strategic depth few games have… GWT is a masterpiece, so I definitely encourage everyone looking for a crunchy, brainy eurogame to give it a spin!

[TheAmazingMrGs]

The cow collecting game sound like fun me need to try sometime

[stuarthume]

Got the NZ version for Christmas felt very fiddly and was a ball ache to setup and learn for the first time but really liking it after a couple of goes with the Mrs the deck building has a bit more to it and the track is pretty well laid out would recommend got art society too quite liking that for a way simpler tile laying auction style game.

[thcharmakr]

2nd edition is one of those rare occurrences where you actually get the better version without unnecessary fluff. All of the 3 strategies are perfectly viable and balanced, and it's all about opportunistic positioning and creating optimal loop. For those who complain about low player interaction, I disagree. You'll screw up people with buildings, you can hate draft and you can control the pace of the game, directly influencing other people's strategy.

[MarkDevlin]

GWT is my favourite game, because it presents three strategies that could win: Collect cows, build buildings or run the train to the end of the track. But you can't do them all, so which to choose?

[samhobday]

I've always enjoyed GWT, especially with the Rails to the North expansion, but I agree with your negatives. I recently acquired GWT New Zealand as I heard it's got enough differences compared to the original. It's got a lot more deck building in it and has a new way to deal with lack of money by shearing Sheep as well as selling at the market (obviously it was going to be sheep not cattle - it's NZ). I don't see the need to own the Argentina version as well - not THAT big a fan, but happy I own both the original + NZ versions.

[uniteallaction]

Got it last Christmas as a present and I've still now played it but looking at the review I don't know if I could be bothered learning the rules.

[timoseppa]

When I first saw this game, I thought it would be right in my wheelhouse. I like the theme and I like that a game was made with this theme. I have not gotten the game. Too many symbols, too many unfun looking things to lead to AP... it looks like homework in some kind of class that I hate. (And this is from a person who has gone to a lot of school.) What you say largely supports my overall conclusion, even though you hit on some different negatives. Maybe I'll get it some day... but I am not stampeding to do so.

[jamielehn]

Try GWT New Zealand / it upgrades the deck building and adds many other options to cycle your deck

[ErmineskinCreelov]

Oh the joy of drawing a lousy hand in the last round.

[gerrade]

If you want a deep dive into the theme then I can reccommend the TV show 1883. Be warned though it is quite intense on the violence level and emotionally draining at times. But it really brings to life the western frontier like no other western movie or show I've experienced. Also the intro fares the same style of artwork featured on the first edition box. Make of that what you will haha.