FRANCIS DRAKE BOARD GAME Full Review - Episode 25: Undiscovered Games Video Podcast
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- čas přidán 26. 07. 2024
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EPISODE 25 features a detailed review of FRANCIS DRAKE, a 2013 euro game that uses worker placement, secret unit deployment, resource management, and blind bidding/bluffing. This is a very interactive experience that has simple rules but complex decisions. The player interaction is outstanding in this game, as players pace themselves against their opponents and try to bluff their motives while guessing their opponents' motives. This game deserves to be discovered!
VIDEO CLARIFICATIONS: This is not a full tutorial. I did not cover every rule, so please do not use this as your only guide to learning the game. Think of this as a rulebook supplement. The main thing I forgot to show in the video is the actual sailing of the ships. It's very simple: After revealing your mission disc numbers and organizing them from lowest to highest, THEN you set sail. First, the player who played the golden hind disc sails their boat to that location to perform the action. Then, each player sails to their #1 disc in turn order, and performs the action or passes. Once all the #1's are resolved, each player sails to their #2 disc in turn order, etc. I intended to show an example of this in the video, but after I spent 10 hours editing & exporting the whole video, I could not easily come back in and insert an example. Hopefully you get an idea of how that part works! Comment below with any questions!
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Timecodes:
0:00 - Intro & Overview
2:22 - Component Overview
4:13 - Gameplay Summary
6:15 - Shopping/Planning Phase
13:29 - Sailing Phase
23:40 - Rating & Conclusion - Hry
I picked this up used and what a treasure! The theme really fits the play, and it has just the right kind of competition (the race to secure supplies, and then the blind bidding for the voyages). Thanks for showing it off.
That’s awesome! I’m glad you like it as much as I do! It truly is a “treasure” ;) and based on the flood of positive comments here, it’s good to know lots of people agree! Thanks for watching & commenting!
This was one of the first games that really wowed me. I can't believe it's not more popular, but at the same time I can believe it because most games are forgotten within a year. Just played this about a month ago too. We keep going back to it.
Thanks for the comment! Yeah there’s just SO many games being released now, I can totally see how games get buried. I guess what I don’t understand is how certain games have such long staying power like Power Grid, Terraforming Mars, Wingspan, etc. I like those games, but it just seems weird how crazy popular they are. Then there’s games like this that no one plays anymore, but I think are better than all those I mentioned. (Shrug) Glad you know and love this game too!!!
You make me buy games :P I am suprised a game like Biblios have not sold 1+ million copies. The world is a strange place...
Haha I hear ya. Board game channels have cost me so much money over the years. This hobby is worth it though! Thanks for watching!
This game looks awesome! Thanks for doing this review. You really do a great job of conveying what the experience of playing this game would feel like.
Thank you! I’m glad you enjoyed. I tried to talk about some of the things I think about when playing, so I’m glad that came across in the video. Thanks for the comment!
Thanks for the video, it seems a very fun game. I've already looked up for it on the secondary market 😆
It is another one of my favorites! I love the 2 distinct phases, and each phase comes with a very good tension. I hope you get to try it soon!!
Thanks for the review I do remember this game and I wanted it when it came out don't know why I didn't get it now I want to get it😂
Thanks for watching! I know the feeling. So many games I think about getting and then totally forget about them... that's the whole idea of my CZcams channel is to breathe life into forgotten games! Hope you can get a copy of Francis Drake sometime! There are some secondhand copies floating around out there. :-)
Some games I like that I don't think get talked about enough would be: Valley of the Kings, Clippers, Was Sticht?, Web of Power, Wabash Cannonball
Good picks! I think Valley of the Kings is the most underrated deck builder ever. Love that game! Also, Web of Power is already on my schedule of videos to make in the future. I am familiar with Clippers but not the other 2! Thanks for the comment, I’m gonna look into those 😃
Blind bidding is one of my favorite things in board games and this looks like a really cool way of using it. Thanks for sharing this one, never heard of it before.
I love blind bidding too. While the worker placement area is awesome, the blind bidding is probably my favorite part of this game because you have those fixed numbers 1-4, and you have to commit one to each area. That’s cool enough by itself, but then when you add in the possible ghost ships and the golden hind, it adds even more excitement to that part of the game. Hope you get to try this one soon!! Thanks for the comment!!
I used to see this all the time on the store shelf too and never took it home with me. Now that FLGS is closed. 😢
Yes it definitely had a little time in the spotlight. But for whatever reason it just got totally forgotten. I hate to see the FLGS’s go out. I’ve seen several come and go near me too. 😢
@@undiscovered_games it was my O.G. one too, fortunately they have another location in the city I work in (about 30 minutes from my house) so i can still stop there from time to time!
@@eVanDiesel my OG one went out about 3 years ago, which was sad. However, they did have an auction where they auctioned off like 1000 games individually. And I scored some crazy good deals! I ended up with about 50 games for $400. I doubt I’ll get that type of opportunity again, it was a once in a lifetime experience LOL
I've thought about getting this game, but wasn't sure. Thanks for making this video....I'm much more intrigued now. I am wondering if you have played any of the expansion modules? Surprisingly, the expansion set seems pretty easy to get... not typical for these older gems.
Yes, I have both expansions, but we don’t typically use them, not because they aren’t good, but because I wouldn’t consider them expansions really… they’re more like variants. They don’t add much to the game except some slight variation to the enemy strength and the goods you can collect. Also, if you get the expansion box, it makes the game playable from 2-6 players which is nice. So they’re not bad, they just don’t change the game much. Hope that helps!
I've not gotten it to play at Gane club merely because it's HUGE. There wasn't room to play it!
Haha, yes this game is physically huge. It really doesn't need to be that large at all, but I must admit... I really love how immersive it feels when it's all set up on the table. It looks awesome! Hope you get to try it soon! I love the game!
This is my favorite game channel on CZcams! Did you end up getting the Kauna ipad app?
YES! What a steal for $2.99!!! Thank you again for that info, and for the kind words about my channel. I really appreciate it :)
My new favorite gaming channel. I discovered you while researching Paris Connection. Thanks for highlighting the games you do! Gonna pass on the problematic-explorer game, but I look forward to watching more of your previous vids and those to come. Cheers!
Thanks for the kind words, glad you’re enjoying the channel! Paris Connection is so good!
One more thought I just had, for what it’s worth: if the theme is deterring you from trying this game, just remember this game focuses on Drake as a pirate fighting & looting the Spanish conquistadors who were occupying this region. So even if you don’t want to play as Francis Drake, the whole theme of the game sticking it to the Spanish Armada. So maybe you could view it that way? I only say that because I think the game mechanisms are worth trying. But if not, that’s cool too! There are plenty of great games out there, so I totally respect your decision to pass. Thanks again for the comment!
Yoooo this game looks DOPE!! Thanks for covering these games I would prob never hear about
You're very welcome! Glad to provide another game for you to check out. It's definitely a good one!
I've got some games that I think are Undiscovered Games (some you have covered before): Amun-Re The Card Game, Cuba, London (1st edition), Piepmatz, Porta Nigra, Rise, Valparaíso, World Without End, Aeroplanes: Aviation Ascendant, Asante, Jambo, Asara, Blue Moon City, Fast Sloths, Findorff, Homesteaders, Liberté, Liguria, Logistico, Myrmes, Nauticus, Onward to Venus, Pi mal Pflaumen, Santiago de Cuba, The Speicherstadt, Toledo, Tournay.
Thanks for sharing that awesome list! Yes, I would consider most/all of those undiscovered. I do own and enjoy many of those, and I have plans to feature several of those you mentioned. Of those I haven’t played, I’m most intrigued by Amun Re The Card Game, London, Pi Mal Pflaufen, and Piepmatz. Ooo and I see Valparaiso has some beautiful Menzel art. Man, you gave me some good stuff to research! Thanks!
Also, I sense you’re a Martin Wallace fan 😉 I like Anno 1800, La Strada, and Toledo. Assuming you’ve played Brass, which is your favorite version of Brass?
@@undiscovered_games I don't think I would have even noticed Valparaiso without the Michael Menzel art.
@@undiscovered_games Wallace is my favorite designer. I feel like some of his games just approach things vastly different than other designers. Simple things like how he approaches deck building and shared incentives. I also enjoy the four games you listed. Favorite version of Brass? Age of Industry. Streamlined rules, many different maps to play on with slightly different rules.
@@RaduGaston1 interesting that you chose Age of Industry! I like your style. I have not played that one, but looking at it briefly, it definitely looks more my style than the bigger games. Thanks for the suggestion! I agree. While Wallace isn’t my favorite designer, I do appreciate his different approach. He definitely has a unique style.
Reminds me slightly of Egizia but it looks a bit more involved and longer. Do you think five is necessary or does it still work with four?
Good call on the Egizia comparison! The placement of ships on the Nile in that game does remind me of Francis Drake a bit. I think this game works very well with 4-5 players. 5 is not essential. The game has different tiles to scale that shopping phase for different player counts, which tightens up that part with 3p. However, the main map doesn’t scale for player count, so that part of the game definitely works better at the higher player counts. I think I’ve only played once at 5p; we usually play at 4p and enjoy it. Finally, I think this game’s complexity is very similar to Egizia. I don’t think it feels more complex than that game, but there are more mind games going on here, which I like. I would definitely say if you like Egizia, you’ll like this!
bought this one a couple of years ago for $15 brand new. such a shame how overlooked it is.
still, I would prefer smaller box. it's a bit overproduced for my taste
That’s an awesome find for $15! Yeah the box is way too big. I know this was way overproduced for its time, but nowadays people probably would consider this dated and underproduced haha. But yeah, the game could easily be redesigned to fit on a smaller board and inside a regular box. Usually I’m against overproduced games too, but this one doesn’t bother me as much because it still has that older vibe. I think it’s just very very larrrrge and takes up lots of shelf & table space. Thanks for the comment!!