yeah Zee mentioned exactly that, its very abstracted

@Chandra Makin it’s crazy how you both joined a week ago and are both trying to promote some shitty scam. Shush 🤫

I know im asking randomly but does anybody know a way to get back into an Instagram account? I stupidly forgot my account password. I appreciate any assistance you can give me!

@Benton Maverick Instablaster :)

@Anderson Iker Thanks for your reply. I got to the site through google and I'm in the hacking process now. I see it takes a while so I will reply here later when my account password hopefully is recovered.

Fully agreed. You don't notice it first because the atmosphere is very different for each "O'Tooled" game, yet you quickly reckon how it makes everything as clear as possible without any text on any material (and that's precious when you aren't playing with english-speaking gamers). This game by the way has flavours of Kanban EV in the way all locations are like mini-games and you have to have necessary resources to make everything as efficient as possible...

Are you still as happy or did you loose interest pretty quick?

@@Carsten_de_1981 Hi Carsten. I'm definitely still happy and interested in this game. I just did my first solo the other day and had a good time with that. I've had a blast at all player counts and I'm glad this game is easy to set up and take down lol.

😂

Gracias, y muchas felicidades a usted!

Off the top of my head, I'll give you one: Beyond the Sun. It's an awesome, thinky tech tree of a game!

we played it on the first day of 2021 and I completely agree with you. Great game and not so hard as Zee tries to make people believe it is.

I agree. I am a moron that happens to be in a group that plays many heavier games. Ex> Caylus 1303, Hans teutonica, Troyes, Brass etc. This was way easier than Hans and Troyes, (both in terms of rules and playing well) maybe about the same as Caylus and Brass. This was fun, and myself-the moron-was able to play competively. Maybe due to having equal game experience as other players. Very fun experience. Also I believe the 'soldiers' are more like 'mercenaries' and desert your property after the Mongols have invaded once. Therefore perhaps needing to be re-employed in the final year.

BGG has one.

I'm rubbish with rules but found the idea of teaching it was worse than it actually was in reality. Adults and kids don't think twice about playing management/strategy games that are far more complex. I found it easiest to just let people watch a game explaining fine points as you went.

Hmm. I could see that. It does have elements of both.

@@ZeeGarc But by your review, not as good as any of them. I had high hopes for Merv

Not at all! I think it's strange seeing some folks on here talking about how they're canceling their pre-orders. I gave the game a positive review and I'm keeping a copy! :-)

Same

Gugong. While I like this game, it took me a week of playing it to really appreciate it. Gugong is just a better experience

1000 x Merv. We found Gugong super dull. Merv is a fantastic, deep & clever Euro. One of the best of the year.

@AjamlouBijan with the Panjun expansion it takes the game to another level. They basically responded to feedback and created some interesting elements

@@Judge021979 I'd agree with that.

@AjamlouBijan I agree that’s a solid plan, but what about the opportunity cost of missing out on portals? Or being behind the curve on winning some neutral achievements? Or doing a few early missions for bonuses to kickstart your engine? There’s lots of ways to skin that cat.

Agreed. Based on this effort, I bought it 👍

I recommend watching someone who is more into games of this type, like Rahdo, before cancelling. It's kind of presented in a negative light or its difficulty is a bit exaggerated here.

@@saintsalieri Good point, I did watch Rahdo and he seems overjoyed with it. I don't think it's necessarily a mechanically very difficult game, it's weight seems to come from the combination of many action possibilities and interactions. That is also what interested me in the first place, but it might be too much for many groups, as per Zee's teaching comment.

@@pjjpversteeg Yes, it could possibly be a lot for some groups. Though really, akin to a game like Trajan, it's a few different minigames that are simple in themselves and you just need your group to be willing to spend 5 minutes or so learning how they work. I think what was missed in Zee's review was its main selling point, which is the way that actions create positive opportunities for your competitors. It's a highly interactive Euro. These points were touched on in a very dry, unthematic way in this review, and as a result the conclusion sold it as a dry, unthematic Euro. I think many players will find it exciting and not have trouble seeing how the theme, though abstracted, informs the mechanics. (There's a fascinating designer diary on BGG by Lopiano that shows how the game was iterated and whittled down over time -- its abstraction is a feature not a bug). I often go back and forth on games depending on who I watch. Recently I have no idea what to think of Bonfire, for example!

@@saintsalieri Interactivity is a fair, positive point, which should be applauded in a game with such a large action space. I also disagree with Zee on theme, it might be common but all actions fit the game setting really well here. In addition I had no clue about the history of Merv, and it's importance, something that Rahdo correctly touched upon. I'll probably keep my order and test it out myself, can always pass it on.

I'm rubbish with rules, don't play many games that would be considered complex and I found this fine, a few fiddly bits that you might forget first time and don't pop out in the rule book but otherwise fine.

Every assessment of theme is subjective just as all board game reviews are subjective.

I don't think it deserved a negative tick. Perhaps a neutral, as it's a mixed bag. The walls and house guard add to theme. I like the palace as well, because while I might earn favor, I must cash them in. The rest are pretty much mechanisms with the most appropriate ideas assigned, and are ok. Still, taken as a whole, I look at this as the city of Merv, with nice interaction between areas. Happy with my purchase.