THE QUEST FOR EL DORADO | Review and comparison

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This is a video I created. And edited. Poorly but still. It is not the most popular video. Or the channel. I'm not PewDiePie. Or Mr. Beast. Or those crazy guys from Dude Perfect. I'm not popular as Minecraft channels. Popular as Lego channels. Not even close to Dice Tower. Or Man vs Meeple. Or Shut Up & Sit Down. But I still do it. Why? Because I love it. And this is a fun attempt to get more recommended by using key words like names of popular YouTubers or channels. I'm not sure if this will work. As I said it is a fun experiment. And filming these videos is fun. Reviews. Painting videos. Gameplay. All of it. Now when I think about it, I should start the second channel dedicated to Lego. Hmmm...anyway, we'll see if this will help me boost my channel. If not, ah well. It was a fun try.

[timstimbre]

Owned the old edition and still a big fan of that edition. I liked the art on the older cards as well but because they were so small they did not do the artist justice. Cards were quite flimsy on the old edition as well. I was against getting this edition, but seeing it up close it is an improvement in (almost) every department, and enhances the theme more than the old version. Only thing I don´t like as much is the fact that the board readability is a bit less due to the fact that they decided to drop the uniform hexed white borders around the jungle tiles and the colors are a bit too bright. It does look prettier though and a bit more like terrain than a grid and does not affect readability during play too much I find. I like it a lot. Will continue using this one.

[gideb]

Not gonna lie, this does not feel like an upgrade, more like a step down. First one looks so much better and easier to read. Thank you for the comparison.

[LucaDofus]

This really helped me decide which to go for, for me, the old version: more colour contrast and I like the idea of smaller cards. Cartoony made it all more visible for me :)

[nburgener]

I definitely prefer the artwork and iconography on the original Ravensburger edition. Important mechanical information is presented in a much more clear and distinct manner in the original version, whereas the key information sort of blends into the surrounding artwork on the new version. Take the cards, for example: the most important information is the type of movement and how many spaces it grants, and how much the card costs to buy. The artwork (while nice) is purely aesthetic and ultimately superfluous to actual gameplay. The original version puts the key information in a more prominent position on the card (top center, versus split to the sides) with a bigger paddle/machete/coin icon, and puts a more distinct color-coded border around it to visually separate mechanical information from cosmetic artwork while also secondarily denoting the type of card it is. The cost-to-buy icon is likewise physically separated from the art by virtue of the graphic borders so it stands out more clearly, versus just sort of "floating" inside the artwork.

For a card like "Jack of All Trades" which has multiple types of movement, the split distinctions are VERY CLEAR in the original version with equal attention given to each type of movement. In the new version, the icons all sort of blur together with the surrounding artwork, with the green background of the machete icon almost looking like it's just part of the trees, and the blue background of the paddle icon almost looking like a patchy hole in the trees showing the sky behind it. The actual machete/paddle symbols, meanwhile, are smaller and harder to notice on the actual card. The artwork itself also has a predominantly green hue to it when it should be equal parts green, blue, and yellow to match the mechanical iconography. It's just harder to tell what's what at a passing glance, and I'd imagine it could be a slight struggle for anyone with any sort of visual impairment.

As for the board spaces, I also prefer that the machetes, paddles, and coins are color-coded to match the terrain type so that there's direct synergy between the mechanical iconography and the cosmetic artwork. It's perfectly logical to associate a machete with a jungle space or a paddle with a water space, but it makes more "game sense" to also think that "blue goes with blue" and "green goes with green." Plus, that helps to make them feel more integrated with the terrain type while still being visually distinct (thanks to the white outlines) as opposed to the newer version where the more realistic-looking machetes and paddles stick out from the terrain more awkwardly.

The new artwork is certainly more vibrant and has a more striking color-contrast/saturation to it, but this preference ultimately comes down to personal opinion -- I'm not sure it's really fair to say one is necessarily "better" than the other. Personally, I like the more realistic look of the original artwork and am not as fond of the more cartoony style of the new artwork. So as far as I'm concerned, the changes in art style are mostly negligible, while the changes to iconography and card layouts are a huge down-grade.

[stefangustavsson]

Thank you so much for this comparison video. I wanted to find out whitch of these are new/old editions, and now I know! Subscribing now.

[boardthenplay]

Thanks for showcasing the new version. Can you pls tell me the size of the new cards? Or what card sleeves fit these? Tried to look at card sleeves website but they only have the original version listed.

[antfer]

Little cards are much better for me, because of table space. So I hope that the little format will be kept in future releases of expansions Danger & Musica and Dragons, Treasures & Mysteries. I prefer old version and art not so much better in the new version according to me.

[spaceman_]

Strange, i just picked up the new version and the meeples it came with are definitely from the old version. They all have two legs. It also came with the binoculars promo pack

[salmanqaisar]

Nice video, thanks! New one looks lovely... but the table space will be much more!
Any rules changes?

[gpdinis]

Thanks for the video. Big cards are a big upgrade, specially on a deck building game.. but thats the big point, for me everything else looks like a downgrande, specially the thinner player sheets..

[BlueSteelCat]

I must get this version for the Hugh Jackman card!!! Hahaha! That’s going to forever stay with me! 😆I love this comparison review! Thank you!

[BurnSchulz]

I like the new version pretty much.
The only crime is that they got rid of the giant tiki mask on the cover because it was such an eye catcher. The new cover looks almost too generic for me

[danijelposta]

I have the new Dutrait version, I love it. Just got the expansion a few days ago too. :)

[Mchen]

I prefer the smaller cards in the old version. Easier to fit on the table.

[eggius]

I have all the retail stuff for the first edition and even though the cards are small I prefer it because of table space.

Can't imagine if I had all the cards in the larger size, how I would fit that all on the table.

[sakka]

i love the new version. artwork is better, bigger cards also the expansions are dope!

[lightwire]

the only improvement imo is the card size change. the new art looks worse imo

[frottlbottl]

Thank you for the good comparison. You are right, the new cards look better, butstill I am going to keep my old version.

[Nerzhul]

I can't find this new version... =(

[Vetality]

Thank you so much for your review! Awesome job!