Oak - A Game Worthy of More Attention
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- čas přidán 26. 06. 2024
- I think Oak (2022, 1-4 Players) is a fantastic and overlooked Euro game. It has two characteristics I look for most when considering a game to purchase: (1) It features a mechanic that is unlike any other game I own (2) it has a theme that isn’t completely overdone.
In this video, I rate the game according to its theme, mechanics, components, strategy and complexity, but I would add one note about strategy: I may have rated the game too high with an '8'. This is because there is quite a great deal of luck involved with random card draws and tile draws. Nevertheless, I love the fact that you can almost always find a way to work around a situation that appears to go against you. The strategic satisfaction in this game is all about finding an "even better" move.
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Play Oak online (Tabletopia):
tabletopia.com/games/oak-2022
TABLE OF CONTENTS
0:54 - Theme - What is Oak about?
2:12 - How to play Oak: 3 Concepts
2:42 - Mechanics Concept 1: Worker placement & and management
5:13 - Mechanics Concept 2: Active & Passive Workers
7:38 - Mechanics Concept 3: Upgradeable Workers
9:27 - Board Game Components for Oak
11:30 - Strategy rating for Oak
12:50 - Complexity rating for Oak
14:18 - Final thoughts - Hry
This is one of my favorite solo games! I find it weirdly relaxing and crunchy at the same time. I do think it's very underrated.
It really is! I always play games solo before I teach them to larger groups. Puzzly games like this are so engaging as a solo challenge.
Nice to read that since im looking for a solo game but i cant find any solo plays of this one
It is a great game. Very underated.
I’m always looking for solid solo games and the theme of this is right up my alley!
I just stumbled onto your channel. Looking through your channel history, I'm definitely your target audience and I love your reviewing style. You've gained yourself a new subscriber!
I have to ask though, why do you call the first topic "Theme." You don't seem to be rating the game based on its theme, rather on how the mechanics tie into the narrative. When I hear "Theme," I think cohesion of story elements and/or art direction to convey a particular setting or atmosphere. Maybe there just wasn't a better one-word topic title for the concept you're actually rating on, but I was really confused when you opened the review by giving such an aesthetically beautiful game a 2.
Thank you so much!
This video provides an in-depth response to your question: 5 Games with a PERFECT Theme Score
czcams.com/video/sEjJJRlKMbk/video.html
In short, your suspicions are correct. Another description might be “thematic implementation” which is something I always look for in games.
@@theperfectboardgame Thanks for defining your criteria. "Ludonarrative" is probably the word you were looking for, but probably would have been a bit too pompous 🤣
I have played this game several times and it is a solid game. It has variable/upgradable worker powers you can customize and also every player has a different board with powers. I love asymmetric powers. My only small critique of the game is that you can not get everything done in the game. You will need to choose a path and stick to it. I like it to be a bit restrictive but wish I could pursue just a tad bit more. Some will find this restriction to be quite nice because it forces tough decisions. The components are lovely and I love how you can put little hats, instruments on their druids. This is a very good game and I have enjoyed all my plays of it. This game really made me have confidence in GameBrewer to publish some solid games. I really thought the theme came through very nicely. Oh, the rule book is also well done. I think the only critique of the rule books is the fact that I don’t think it explained well the passive Druids that are praying at the base/foot of the tree. It’s in there somewhere but just didn’t think it was worded well….but that is a minor critique. For me this game is a solid 7. Solid as an Oak - See what I did there?
Love this review. Thank you for sharing your thoughts. Also played Stroganov (also GameBrewer) last night and thought it was just as good, but a bit more of a puzzle.
@@theperfectboardgame - Will you KS the expansion for Stroganov ? Did you have any issues with the board fraying ? The art on Stroganov looks amazing.
Question for you, Do the players have asymmetrical powers in Stroganov ?
@@CB-yh3db I am moving soon, so I won't back any kickstarters until after the move. There are two sides to every player board in Stroganov, A and B, side A is identical, side B is asymmetrical.
@@theperfectboardgame - Good luck on your move. Thanks for the info. I’m sure the expansion will be at retail. I’m on the fence about getting it. I’m eyeballing Teraforming-Zoo aka Ark Nova.
Also, some people don’t like the player trays made of card board that you need to assemble. I find them to be fantastic for ease of set up and storage. I give the storage a 9. I would give it a 10 if it were like Gametrayz…and you didn’t have to assemble, but still quite nice.
Storage? This is the retail version, not the deluxe. But I do own Stroganov deluxe and if the trays are similar, I love that the elements are displayed on the bottoms of each storage area.
@@theperfectboardgame - Yes, the deluxe versions have card board storage boxes. When the Dice Tower reviewed Stroganov, they mentioned that it has similar ones as in Oak. This tends to be a Game Brewer deluxe “thing”.
Cool
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