Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy Review - A Giant Box of Joy
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- čas přidán 8. 07. 2024
- Eclipse: Second Dawn for the Galaxy is one of the best board game experiences around. Eclipse combines the classic space 4x genre with a wonderful euro game core to elevate itself above the competition. In Eclipse, you'll take on the role of a spacefaring civilization and try to make yourself the most powerful force in the galaxy. This can be done through exploring the galaxy and discovering new planets, combat with other players or non-player enemies, or becoming a scientific powerhouse! Eclipse is for between 2-6 players, but unlike many similar games, this is notable for being a great 2-player experience.
0:00 - Intro
1:37 - Brief Overview
3:34 - The Well Designed Influence Discs
4:47 - Different Factions
5:12 - The Scoring
6:14 - The Issue of Randomness
9:11 - The Pros and Cons of Combat
11:40 - Tallie's Corner
12:19 - Good at EVERY Player Count!?
13:08 - Final Thoughts and Doggos
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#boardofitreviews #boardgames #eclipseseconddawnforthegalaxy #eclipsereview #eclipseseconddawnreview #eclipsegamereview #eclipseboardgamereview #eclipseboardgame #boardgamegeek #bgg #boardgamereview - Hry
Hey everyone! We really appreciate you watching! If you found this helpful, please consider subscribing as it helps us grow our channel. More subscribers makes us more attractive to publishers, which allows us to collaborate with them and make more videos! It's costly and time consuming to make these videos, so we could really use the support! :)
This is the first video that I feel like I could follow how this version of the Eclipse board game works. Thanks for the straightforward description. Also, great gag with the box being big enough to conceal a player holding a grudge :)
Thanks so much for watching :D. We're really glad it helped you as then it makes the video worthwhile!
Really appreciate the player count breakdown here! Thank you!!
Glad you found it helpful!
Second review video from your channel and i subscribed.
You two are amazing!!!
Thanks so much John! We really appreciate all feedback and thanks so much for subscribing! Let us know if there’s some particular content you’d like to see from us! ☺️
Awesome video, the description was great and I liked how you used the Game Trayz as visual aides when discussing it!
Wow thanks so much! We love what you do too! We recently in a short space of time got 3-4 games with Game Trayz inserts and it is a life saver, we never want to go back.
We actually feel a bit bad as we didn't mention your inserts in the Eclipse video as much as we'd like (they really help with set-up and streamline gameplay) as we ran out of 'time'. If you haven't seen it though, we do actually mention you guys a lot more in our Parks Review ;).
@@BoardOfItReviews We just really enjoyed the video! Thank you for all the kind words too.
I just ordered this a few days ago which was very risky as I hadn't watched your review yet! I was very relieved to hear you liked it. Another fantastic video, and the white dog looks so happy to be held at the end.
Think you made a good call 😉 hope you enjoy it as much as we do!
I just purchased the game on your recommendation thanks guys I love your reviews as the honesty makes my purchase a lot easier
Can't wait for you to play it! Just talking about it now makes us want to get it out again...and thanks for the lovely comments :D
I came for the overview. I stayed for the dogs. 😄❤️👏
We got another one!
Another great review! I've played Eclipse-2nd Dawn of the Galaxy with one of my game groups and do find it quite fun, however I agree that the dice driven combat process is the weakest part, as well as the randomness of the tech tile and exploration tile draws. I think your idea of some of the tech being permanent is a great idea. I think there may the potential to house-rule that idea for some players.
Big like for space colonizing doggos :)
😂😂😂
Really enjoyed this video. I like the way you talk about every different aspect of the game. you guys are so nice together. glad I found this channel. One more sub here. Gonna go and explore other videos of yours. greetings from Ireland.
Thanks for the lovely comments and hope the video was helpful. Really appreciate the sub!
Congrats to you for the great videos, and success of your CZcams channel! I love the intros with the dogs and the humour! Please continue, its quite enjoyable. You are both adding such fresh energy to the hobby and I am sure reaching a great many new players and old alike. I have very similar tastes with the games I play, our top tens are quite alike. (Now if I could only get my fiancée to play "On Mars")
Eclipse, has been my favourite game since the first version was released. I think this version has implemented and fixed many problems of the original from 2011. I see now that coins are the only resource gained and collected which is interesting. I very much look forward to trying this and perhaps updating my older version. One small point I would mention, is the price point here being neither a pro nor a con. Surely budget is a strong point to consider, because as collectors many of us JUST WANT IT ALL... However, I don't think all games should be made less expensive in order to reach mass audiences. Its nice to be able to have different options with the thousands of different games published every year. I like to the epic box games with all of the minis and am quite okay to pay for those it if the value i.e. contents justify the price tag. The price for this "magnus opus" is fair comparatively to other games such as: Twilight Imperium, Mansions of Madness, Descent, Nemesis, etc... I am curious what achievements, new concepts, themes and game mechanisms could be achieved if the price point were not a factor. (A concept game of sorts) I feel that this one is a chef d'oeuvre, although one small caveat would be the less than immersive theme, especially for a second time around. It feels a little painted on.
May your battles be epic and your dice rolling favourable to see your enemies vanquished.
I cant wait to play it again!
Thanks!
Thanks so much for the lovely comments, it really helps us to keep going! You make a good point, and we agree. A game like Twilight Imperium is an experience, so you're right, there is certainly a place for games like these and their price points. What I do love about Eclipse is that although it is a huge box 'event game', and feels like one, it has a completely reasonable playtime, so it's even more worth the money because you're not limited to getting it out 2 or 3 times a year!
One thing I would say is that since you mentioned On Mars, I do find it a bit of a shame that currently all of Vital Lacerda's games are big box Eagle-Gryphon games going for big money, in the sense that he is a wonderful designer that everyone should get to experience. They are worth the money of course, but it's just a shame many people will be priced out from potentially ever playing one of his.
Well presented and nice sense of humour!
Thank you!
Love this game! My favorite 'bigger' 4x experience.
Mine too! I particularly love how it captures the feel of a giant space epic, but can be played rather quickly compared to other titles.
@@BoardOfItReviews I played TI4 once and it was too much for me. I was fading at about the point a standard game of Eclipse would be finishing up and I still had hours to go.
Have you heard of the kickstarter 4x space game that just hit kickstarter today? Stellaris: Infinite Legacy? I'm keeping my eye on that.
@@jonknight4616 I think that's fair. TI4 is certainly a special occasion game and then only for certain people. Yea seen a lot of people talking about Stellaris...it certainly sounds interesting!
Just found your channel. Excellent work you two
Thanks so much, appreciate the comment! 😊
You guys are Fantastic! As a mid-weight, euro-centric player, I would never have considered this game but now I probably will go get it. Any chance of a Top10 games of 2020? Or Top 10 lists? I'm being greedy wanting more from you guys.
We had our eye on it, but thought well we've got other games like it, but then I saw the Shut Up and Sit Down review where they mentioned it was great at 2 players and that is what really made us get it. Then we were super happy when it turned out to be a lovely euro game! Thanks so much for the lovely comments, it really means a lot to us :).
I think our next video is going to be a list of sorts, but not a top 10. We might do a top 10 games we enjoyed playing in 2020 as one of our first videos in the new year though since we now have demand for it :P
@@BoardOfItReviews Yes please! More content from you guys is a great thing.
Those dogs are too cute 🥰
That they are! They also love their new doggo bed.
Tallie’s combat felt like Flags with Sheldon
2012 was the year for board games. Both Eclipse and Mageknight were published, two of my all time favorites. Too bad they got buried by the cult of the new. Nice to it in the spot light again. Though, I will not be paying $150+ to upgrade my copy. Maybe trade for it lol.
Yea, that seems like a good route to go. From what we can figure, there isn't even so much difference between the two editions when it comes down the the gameplay.
Regarding combat system. Eclipsen has had a second make over print run, but it's core is a 10 year old game (2011). Am playing eclipse since the beginning. Back that time, dice combat was pretty normal and the toughts about "streamlining" didn't exist that time for this kind of game. The whole streamlining started to happen much later in the bg industrie. Might be important to address. Specially for newcomers. On the other hand. It shows what a solid core eclipse provides even after 10 years of development, compared to nowadays games.
You're right! It's a good point to address actually that the core is 10 years old. Thanks for bringing it up. I guess on the other hand though, you do have to compare the 2nd edition to what is out there now.
loved this over Empires of the Void 2. Sold EotV2 but kept this and TI4
I really enjoy EotV, but yea this is the one we get to the table more.
Good video! What was the music with the doggos anyway? I had to post to ask. So since I am, I found your comments very interesting. The poor sector draws are a really good point. I've wondered if there should be a rule where if you've drawn too useless sectors in a row that you can take one from the box selection (call it a consolation sector), or if there should be a structure that you can then get to build in that space to mitigate the issue. It might give a person in that poor position a leg up from a probable loss. I very much wonder what tech tiles you think should be put out permanently? That's an interesting notion. Couple final thoughts on your thoughts: Combats are slow, but when you're in a 6 player game and suddenly there's three wars breaking out to possibly turn the tide of the game it gets tense. And you tend to watch like it's a spectator sport. (This isn't apparent in 2 player.) Monoliths are great, but again in a large count game if you have high monoliths and less than stellar ships - which you build with the same materials - then you might be a target because another player doesn't have to build them they just have to take yours. And maybe get some Reputation to boot! Thanks for making this.
It's a track called Mission to Mars that you can find on CZcams's audio library. Usually the tracks we use have some sort of title connotation to the video ;).
I would maybe say the orbitals and monoliths for a start, as tech tiles to be permanent. The orbitals help negate bad draws, and the monoliths allow non-combative players a different route to victory. It's not even that they are random tbf, it's that sometimes we have a game where no monoliths come out, and we had a 5 player game where orbitals didn't appear until maybe the 6th round, when it was way too late to be of any real use for the 2 players who had the worse draws. Interesting idea about the consolidation sector though! Appreciate your thoughts, defo some interesting ideas to mull over. I personally always enjoy the game, despite the randomness, but I just feel like it's a game that you could entice people in with who wouldn't usually play such a game, only for the randomness to instantly make them hate it.
I will not resist an invasion from these alien doggos.
‘Take me to your leader’ 😂😂
Libby got this for Julian at Christmas, lots to learn but pretty sure it'll become a favourite. Is it better for two than TI 4
I hope it becomes a favourite! It's certainly much better at two than TI4 as you can't play TI4 at two ;). But seriously, it's a pretty decent experience at two.
I’m curious what you guys think about the game now a year later!
I’ve only played it once at a friend’s, I really enjoyed it but I felt the same way about some of the randomness issues. Looking into grabbing a copy but I’m curious how people feel with a lot more games and processing time under their belt.
Still love it. We actually probably didn't play it for a year, then played it two/three times in quick succession, and enjoyed it just as much. I will say the player count matters, as the randomness is likely a little less a problem if you play with less.
Left a comment on the video itself, but it is important to note that randomness is a feature, not a bug! BGG has a lot of great strategy breakdowns to help new players get a leg up on mastering the art of being a flexible empire, but the important take away is to always pivot to play the hand you're dealt with! Eclipse is very unforgiving to people who try to stick with a play style or even a round -to- round plan
Great video! Great Doggos!
Is it worth getting eclipse even if I already have TI4?
100% if you're okay with spending that kinda money of course. They're fairly different experiences as Eclipse is quite euroesq and doesn't have that element of diplomacy that TI4 has. Plus, it plays in a really reasonable time. Both are excellent sprawling space games! Also for reference we have both.
@@BoardOfItReviews thank you so much for your answer:)
will there be a review of To Manny Bones in the future
Unfortunately it isn't a game we have! :(
The play time is much longer than you say. We’ve played two 3 person games. First was 4 hours because we were learning. Second was 3 hours. I think we can get it down to 2.5.
We'll have to agree to disagree! We played it with 4 people (two new) and finished it in well under 2.5, but there is probably a lot of variability with how bad your AP is or if you have extensive experience with similar games :)
I own the first edition and some of its expansions. Do you have experience from that edition, and if so, can you comment on the differences? Based on the game pieces it looks very much the same game.
I think the gameplay adjustments are very minor. I believe they've tweaked some of the tech tiles, the explore tiles are reworked, one less round, and then I think new unique ships for each faction. The big change is the game trayz insert, which is a terrific improvement as it makes Eclipse very quick to set up or put away. We played in the last week with someone who had played the previous version and its expansions, and there was only very minor things he questioned that had changed. Generally he just picked up the game and played with us. It doesn't seem to me there is too much difference between versions, but I also haven't seen/played the original personally.
@@BoardOfItReviews Thank you for the explanation! Based on some additional googling it doesn't seem there are any major changes. There are minor rule differences and some balancing, but of course the component trays and other non-gameplay related changes are make a big difference. I doubt I'm going to pay ~150 EUR for that upgrade though.
The review video was very nice, by the way. I forgot to mention that in my first comment :)
@@Padishar7 From when I looked to see what the difference was, there doesn't seem any point of buying the Second Edition if you have and enjoy the first edition. I was actually surprised by how little they'd changed. Thanks so much, that's really appreciated!
If you can find it second hand, look for Galactic Emperor.
Thanks for the suggestion - we’re not familiar with this title, is it similar to Eclipse?
@@BoardOfItReviews Possibly, I've never played Eclipse. Galactic Emperor is sort of a Twilight Imperium mixed with Risk.
That sounds really interesting will have to check it out!
@@BoardOfItReviews Adam West (The Designer) remade it as Empire of the Stars on Kickstarter. Late Pledge still open.
Great video, but can you turn down the music parts. SUPER loud.
Noted - thanks for the feedback!
would this game be a good investment, there are some on ebay for $400
I wouldn't pay 400 for it. The thing about Eclipse is that for us, it's a big box game with an amazing presentation, but it actually plays much like any other game. You can bust it out and play and put it away well within a normal game night. There are certainly better games, and you could get a lot of as good or almost as good games for 400. I think if you want to splash the cash, the normal price is fine, but I wouldn't go even higher. You could also just get the first edition, which I'm sure goes second hand for way cheaper and there are minimal differences.
You’re going to need a bigger game cabinet. :)
We're well past needing one...now we need two! 🤣
Haha thumbnail made me laugh out loud
It's a big box...
chain axe... a 40k pun manifest IRL :D :D :D :D :D
Say "tech tile tray" three times with a fruit pastel in your mouth 😂
I'm up for a challenge :D. Only a orange fruit pastel though...
Mac is that you? Where’s Charlie?
Unfortunately for this video he was too busying cooking Milksteak to help out, but tbh, his attention span kinda makes him useless when it comes to board games. However I can give the game an ocular patdown and instantly see the route to victory.
Too bad I can’t find it anywhere :(
Sorry to hear that! Are you based in USA?
You can find it on the publisher site. Just make sure you pick the US version. Ships from Oregon.
Thanks for the answer, Chris!!
YOU are the cost in science points when you are at work. lmao.
Exactly that 😂
I'd like to push back against the criticisms targeted at the game's randomized components: Eclipse is NOT conducive to consistent play styles. If your play style relies on getting "plasma cannons" out of the tech bag, you're playing the game wrong. Being flexible and pivoting your empire to best play the hand you are dealt is core to the game's mechanics. Getting bad reputation tiles out of the bag? Perhaps you're engaging in combat too late, high value tiles get pilfered early in the game. Or perhaps you need to participate in more combats to increase the number of times you have the opportunity to draw. Need that advanced mining, but someone bought the copy before you? Next time, pass first. If the first pick at technologies is that important to your empire, then GET FIRST PICK. And have a backup plan. It's entirely possible the tech you want will never come out, so players need a plan A/B/C. Poor explores? Throw away tiles and explore again. As much as it hurts to "waste" and action, don't tank your empire over it. On the poor explore action note, BBG has some excellent "start type" breakdowns and how to approach each but the general advice is: PIVOT. There's not really such a thing as a bad start. While there are more difficult starts to be sure, experienced players can find value in all space types (and the second edition's expert balancing of space has put the "it was just a bad start" excuse to rest in my humble opinion). Finally, are you still losing? Time to play the table. If you're really and truly hurting from the RNG, tell the other players. Make them pity you, encourage them to let you alone to lick your wounds. Only one person will win, so there's no point to kick players that are down. Encourage the table to attack the leading player, leaving you alone to repair your economy or rebuild your fleet. Eclipse has no "board diplomacy", but don't overlook the power of a silver tongue!
First of all, great points and an excellent guide for Eclipse, but just wanted to point out we weren't necessarily criticising Eclipse so much as highlighting these aspects for people who would bounce off these elements hard. Some people will always prefer an even playing field, and this has been at times sold as an epic space euro which tends to indicate a lack of randomness. Think you've provided some great advice, but the last thing we'd say is it's always easy to say pass early/do this/do that, but rather hard to actually pull it off in the middle of a chaotic 5 player game,
I can appreciate you guys ar trying, but why does every senctance you say sound like a question?
You're voices go up at the end?
It's a common public speaking trope, so it's not a disaster, but just maybe something to work on?
We'll work on it if you promise to work on your spelling and grammar ;). In all serious though this was like almost two years ago so hopefully we've got better by now and you'll enjoy our newer videos more! Thanks for the tip.