I quite like the new art design tbh! But Im extremely partial to minimalist-like design and this one's art and components look really clean and streamlined to me.
I didn't like the new art design of this new one at first but I think I'm more on the fence now. Seems like they've done some good things with the mechanics and the components are definitively going to be a lot better too.
As an owner of the original I'm definitely envious of the new roles and tiles but I'm not sure I need to rush out to grab this version and replace my original vs buying another different game. But I am a sucker for pirates... I think this is one I'll wait for a sale or to see a used copy
I assume you could house rule to mulligan the starting hands if it’s a really bad draw, as everyone has the same hand it’ll probably be easy to do without negatively impact anyone else.
The art and production look amazing. These not-so-fun moments were my concern, to begin with, and this may be a game I will pass on. For sure will try it and I see myself enjoying it. Nevertheless, I've been focused on maintaining my collection very clean, with only games that will survive through time, which are the ones I want to revisit over and over again. Great review as always Alex!!! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
I still have the original but I'm looking forward to trying this out at TantrumCon in a couple of weeks. My thoughts are along the same line as yours - the games where the card selection isn't very interesting or when you just get screwed by the tiebreaker order can really detract from the experience. You never know if you're going to have a fun and interesting game or a pretty flat experience. I like having more characters; Paolo Mori had said he had ideas for expansions but it just never happened. The reputation track sounds like a great tiebreaker solution and gives one additional lever for players to manipulate for their benefit.
I was going to preorder this game as I have a few other Stonemaier games and I thoroughly enjoyed them but after researching a bit about the game, took a look at the rules and watched this video, it doesn't sound like a game for me. Thanks so much for the detailed insight, really helped me decide whether I would like this game or not and stop myself from joining the Stonemaier games hype FOMO. I also have a suggestion for a new video, maybe about what games are completely transformed from an average/bad/ok game into a great game with the help of an expansion. Not necessarily about the best expansions, but games that really add some new mechanic/feature that should have been in there with the base game that really completes the whole package.
Regarding your recommendation for BraveRats, there's a new game called Pocket Paragons that is similar mechanically but has asymmetry. It's a lot of fun, and there's 36 characters across the Season 1 sets & promos.
I got into the hobby in 2015/2016 after Libertalia had already been out of print for a while. I got into the hobby from a myriad of sources, but one of which was from Wil Wheaton's Tabletop series. I remember watching them play Libertalia and I was really interested in the game because of that episode but I couldn't find it anywhere. I'm excited to see that they've updated the game and I might be able to get my hands on it.
Thanks for the good rundown and comparison between old and new! I have also owned and liked Libertalia for years before then getting rid of it. But I'm very intrigued by this new version. I absolutely disliked the tiebreaker system in the old one and I'm glad they upgraded that. I also like the change in the art style. A little tangent: You're using "doublethink" incorrectly ;-) "Doublethink" is a term from the novel 1984 and it means "the act of simultaneously accepting two mutually contradictory beliefs as correct" famously presented in the equation "2 + 2 = 5"
I love the art style just not for this game I liked the classic pirate theme. Really don’t know if I would like dropping from 9 cards to 6 either so if I grab this one I may use the old rules.
Thanks for the review and speaking about the mechanics of the game and comparison with the original game. Appears to improve the game play and will be a fun family game. For me the artwork seems fine and suits the game.
I love their games. Huge Tapestry fan. I really can't get past the art. I don't mind the slight fantasy spin with flying ships, but I just hate the way the character cards look and I wish they were not weird and odd looking fantasy creatures.
I have the original, do you think incorporating the reputation track into it would work? I was never a fan of the randomised tie breaking numbers on the cards either.
@@BoardGameCo Pretty much my opinion as well. The original art was incredible, but while I don't think the new one is as good, it's by no means bad IMO. I'm honestly more annoyed by minor thematic details, like the loot tokens looking way too modern and clashing with the theme (should have been made of wood IMO, totally Etsy-ing them if I get the chance) and the board being too big and lacking the original visual theme of the ship the pirates were looting (new one looks more like a playmat).
I wish, they had used the loot tiles for new abilities with more interaction. Instead of the abilities already printed on the board. I don' see me using them at all.
I'm still trying to figure out why people are complaining about the art. The original is just a bunch of dingy, generic-looking pirates. This looks like they actually took the time to make the characters look different from each other. Plus it reminds me of one of my favorite video games growing up, Wind Waker.
Yes, it's not like the gameplay is tied to a "gritty pirate theme" anyway, retheming into a fantasy-pirate theme is more "Stonemaier". Iello's "Sea of Clouds", sharing the theme of airship piracy, has artwork that sits in-between the two.
I don’t care as much about the art direction overall, although fantasy space pirates is definitely very different from the original. My problem is the characters. They are all anthropomorphic animals and there is something off about them. They just feel sort of cringe or tacky and a step too childish. If they took the art direction more in the Scythe style instead of Tapestry I just think it would have fit the game a lot better. It’s not bad, it’s just a little bit of a missed opportunity.
I'm not a fan of the art design. I don't hate it but it's not nearly as cool as the original art. I dislike the actual art as well. The minimalist, no shading look just appears lazy. If they wanted to go the cartoony kids look, they should've used the artist from shem Phillips games or similo. It needs that grit.
Speed of talking=manic I mostly enjoy your review but WHY do we have to watch you instead of constantly looking at the game board, cards, and pieces as that is what I really want to see
The original art is generic and boring. This art has its own style and feel to it. Putting a beard on a dirty guy in rags or adding a hook hand does NOT make a pirate.
I quite like the new art design tbh! But Im extremely partial to minimalist-like design and this one's art and components look really clean and streamlined to me.
Hey there :) Good to see you :)
Excellent overview, thanks. You've become one of my go-to sources for considering new games. Well done!
I didn't like the new art design of this new one at first but I think I'm more on the fence now. Seems like they've done some good things with the mechanics and the components are definitively going to be a lot better too.
The King is Dead is another great game where all players have same hand and how they play their hands and the info it gives opponents is crucial
Oh nice, I have that one, need to play it.
As an owner of the original I'm definitely envious of the new roles and tiles but I'm not sure I need to rush out to grab this version and replace my original vs buying another different game. But I am a sucker for pirates... I think this is one I'll wait for a sale or to see a used copy
Many Thanks for the review! This is very timely and will be very helpful in deciding whether to preorder.
Anytime Thomas :)
I assume you could house rule to mulligan the starting hands if it’s a really bad draw, as everyone has the same hand it’ll probably be easy to do without negatively impact anyone else.
The art and production look amazing. These not-so-fun moments were my concern, to begin with, and this may be a game I will pass on. For sure will try it and I see myself enjoying it. Nevertheless, I've been focused on maintaining my collection very clean, with only games that will survive through time, which are the ones I want to revisit over and over again. Great review as always Alex!!! 👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
I still have the original but I'm looking forward to trying this out at TantrumCon in a couple of weeks. My thoughts are along the same line as yours - the games where the card selection isn't very interesting or when you just get screwed by the tiebreaker order can really detract from the experience. You never know if you're going to have a fun and interesting game or a pretty flat experience. I like having more characters; Paolo Mori had said he had ideas for expansions but it just never happened. The reputation track sounds like a great tiebreaker solution and gives one additional lever for players to manipulate for their benefit.
I was going to preorder this game as I have a few other Stonemaier games and I thoroughly enjoyed them but after researching a bit about the game, took a look at the rules and watched this video, it doesn't sound like a game for me. Thanks so much for the detailed insight, really helped me decide whether I would like this game or not and stop myself from joining the Stonemaier games hype FOMO. I also have a suggestion for a new video, maybe about what games are completely transformed from an average/bad/ok game into a great game with the help of an expansion. Not necessarily about the best expansions, but games that really add some new mechanic/feature that should have been in there with the base game that really completes the whole package.
Regarding your recommendation for BraveRats, there's a new game called Pocket Paragons that is similar mechanically but has asymmetry. It's a lot of fun, and there's 36 characters across the Season 1 sets & promos.
I got into the hobby in 2015/2016 after Libertalia had already been out of print for a while. I got into the hobby from a myriad of sources, but one of which was from Wil Wheaton's Tabletop series.
I remember watching them play Libertalia and I was really interested in the game because of that episode but I couldn't find it anywhere.
I'm excited to see that they've updated the game and I might be able to get my hands on it.
Thanks for the good rundown and comparison between old and new! I have also owned and liked Libertalia for years before then getting rid of it. But I'm very intrigued by this new version. I absolutely disliked the tiebreaker system in the old one and I'm glad they upgraded that. I also like the change in the art style.
A little tangent: You're using "doublethink" incorrectly ;-) "Doublethink" is a term from the novel 1984 and it means "the act of simultaneously accepting two mutually contradictory beliefs as correct" famously presented in the equation "2 + 2 = 5"
I love the art style just not for this game I liked the classic pirate theme. Really don’t know if I would like dropping from 9 cards to 6 either so if I grab this one I may use the old rules.
Ya you can absolutely use the rules for a lot of things.
Could you just use the automa deck to shuffle to decide what cards are used each round? That way every players deck can stay in order.
I guess so, that would probably work.
Thanks for the review and speaking about the mechanics of the game and comparison with the original game. Appears to improve the game play and will be a fun family game. For me the artwork seems fine and suits the game.
Thanks for the useful review! How often do bad games occur due to character draws?
Not that common, maybe 1 in 6 or 7. If I recall correctly I got rid of it because I happened to have two mediocre games in a row.
I love their games. Huge Tapestry fan. I really can't get past the art. I don't mind the slight fantasy spin with flying ships, but I just hate the way the character cards look and I wish they were not weird and odd looking fantasy creatures.
Nailed it. The characters blow. Everything else IMO was really great.
Wow, you do great reviews!
I have the original, do you think incorporating the reputation track into it would work? I was never a fan of the randomised tie breaking numbers on the cards either.
Man what you think about the art design? there are same complaign around... for me looks fine.
I love the original, but I'm totally fine with this too
@@BoardGameCo Pretty much my opinion as well. The original art was incredible, but while I don't think the new one is as good, it's by no means bad IMO.
I'm honestly more annoyed by minor thematic details, like the loot tokens looking way too modern and clashing with the theme (should have been made of wood IMO, totally Etsy-ing them if I get the chance) and the board being too big and lacking the original visual theme of the ship the pirates were looting (new one looks more like a playmat).
I wish, they had used the loot tiles for new abilities with more interaction. Instead of the abilities already printed on the board. I don' see me using them at all.
Yep
I thought for a moment I had this video on 1.5x playback speed. Take a breath dude!
Breathing is overrated
Do you think you will try Solo - I don't have a play group and play many games Solo - I don't want to purchase this if the Solo I bad.
I got rid of libertalia when I got beasty bar.
It was a shorter and easier game that I felt had more excitement per turn than libertalia
Have you tried it in 2 players or solo?
Nope, as mentioned those are literally the only two player counts I haven't.
I'm still trying to figure out why people are complaining about the art. The original is just a bunch of dingy, generic-looking pirates. This looks like they actually took the time to make the characters look different from each other. Plus it reminds me of one of my favorite video games growing up, Wind Waker.
Some people just hate SM.
Yes, it's not like the gameplay is tied to a "gritty pirate theme" anyway, retheming into a fantasy-pirate theme is more "Stonemaier". Iello's "Sea of Clouds", sharing the theme of airship piracy, has artwork that sits in-between the two.
I don’t care as much about the art direction overall, although fantasy space pirates is definitely very different from the original. My problem is the characters. They are all anthropomorphic animals and there is something off about them. They just feel sort of cringe or tacky and a step too childish.
If they took the art direction more in the Scythe style instead of Tapestry I just think it would have fit the game a lot better. It’s not bad, it’s just a little bit of a missed opportunity.
I'm not a fan of the art design. I don't hate it but it's not nearly as cool as the original art. I dislike the actual art as well. The minimalist, no shading look just appears lazy. If they wanted to go the cartoony kids look, they should've used the artist from shem Phillips games or similo. It needs that grit.
I love the original art but I also don't mind the new art. Totally different styles
@@BoardGameCo between this new edition of libertalia and citadels, which do you prefer?
Speed of talking=manic
I mostly enjoy your review but WHY do we have to watch you instead of constantly looking at the game board, cards, and pieces as that is what I really want to see
Great, shoot me an email as soon as you're willing to pay for an editor, or if you're offering your services to do so.
Art is horrid and I will keep clutching to my OG copy
The original art is generic and boring. This art has its own style and feel to it. Putting a beard on a dirty guy in rags or adding a hook hand does NOT make a pirate.