Scott's Stuff - Brief video review of Android

[LenardMaybury]

After having owned Android for a month, I am so glad I immediately then sold it. It takes so long to play and is so aggravating. I was patient in its implementation and knew about Scott's criticism but I was swayed by other people who recommended it to me. My consensus is the map is unbalanced, takes too long, and many more good boardgames out there to play that take less time and are fun. Scott's review is exactly my feelings I had about it. Hopefully Infiltration will be much better.

[boogernights]

Great universe. Even though the game seems unnecessarily complicated, the Android universe seems interesting enough. Glad FF is releasing another game in this setting. Hoping for more accessible games.

[heavyrainloverful]

I'm sorry you didn't like the game that much but I think the book will be interesting. ^^

[krazykidpsx]

if you dont like to grief people, just take those particular cards out. leave maybe 1-2 in there. IM sure this will make the game go by and by. Just house rule it. also did the F.A.Q help you out in determining the overall success of the game?

[Dracopol]

I would think the Light Shift and Dark Shifts are a little more complex than what Scott said, but still, thanks Scott. A detailed review with some pix and unflinching honesty.

[Dracopol]

I thought the game content was outstanding, but not as a game. The character storylines would make a kickass TV series. I see Joss Whedon directing it.

The rules are tricky; the Fantasy Flight Games site has ample discussion of misconceptions about the rules. The Murder, Plots and Puzzle are each sources of points so it's hard to see where you stand compared to others during the game. You also have to balance your strategy and not focus too much on one leg and blow it on the others.

[spiderfingers86]

i would never spend 4 hours on a board game. 2 at the most. Games like Battlestar Galactica or Touch of Evil are longer games, but they have never excelled longer than my 2 hour play limit. Plus they are much easier to understand and more entertaining to play.

[tarkonis]

@spiderfingers86 Each to their own. This is a game that is clearly not aimed at your demographic.

[spiderfingers86]

@tarkonis ha ha, of course I wrote that a year ago. I have since then played 5 hour games with ease and as much enjoyment as previous games. So I will give this one a try and see how it plays out.

[JDintheOC]

Anything over 90 minutes and I'm definitely out. I want to play a board game...not take an IQ test.

[AlexanderTF]

sounds like s ritch and great game ... I'd love to play it ...

[CorndogMaker]

Sounds like he got lost in the mechanics. As Ray becomes more obsessed with the conspiracy, being a huge conspiracy buff, his story ends with him not perusing his personal relationship. As Floyd strips away his directives and becomes more self willed, he is able to become more human...The stories all work with their baggage conditions and a players subsequent light cards (which are just as beneficial as the Dark cards are harmful the real nasty ones being more costly to play)

[hc4dan]

I wish Scott had taken the time to learn the rules before doing this review. He totally did not get the idea or the rules behind the cards. "The only way to go from light to dark on your card meter is by playing light or dark card" WRONG! "You can end a persons turn" Yeah can happen to any character and it makes the game FASTER. GREAT GAME THAT YOU CAN SINK YOUR TEETH INTO. There is a learning curve to the rules. Unfortunately I think Scott had a lack of understanding of the complex rules.

[someknave]

one player losing an entire turn in a 4 hour game is a bad thing. it might make the game slightly faster for everyone else but it esentially makes it longer for that person. I know that if I was playing a long game and had been waiting for ages for my turn only for it to disappear I'd be tempted to flip the board over.

[Windywino]

Thanks for the great review Scott. I was unsure about getting Android as most story type games are not logical or that repayable. Sounds like this has the re-playability at the expense of being logical. Thanks for the honest review.

[zzajizz]

Thanks for that honest and insightful review.

I wasn't really interested in buying the game, but now I'm sure I'm not going to buy it.

[nutherefurlong]

It's rough to review a work one didn't like. Some people, I think, love reviews that dig at a work, but for the reviewer, it's often a battle to be fair both to the designer AND the listeners.

I wanted to hear more about this game, and I'm glad he did an honest review. There are other reviews out there that are more favorable, but this is the only one that mentioned how devastating those dark cards were, which to me seems like an pivotal element in such a long game.

Thanks for your review!!

[qtonic]

oh man it must hurt to design a game and hear this kind of review especially coming from you.  it did sound horribly clumsy though.

[digitalmorphine]

Aw, man... Well, the premise looked really interesting. And I also like games with a role-playing element, but have anybody ever found a way to mix story, roleplaying and boardgames together and ended up with a GOOD game?

I mean, is there any game at all out there that's a good example?

[snicholson]

There is one I really like: Tales of the Arabian Nights is a great storytelling board game that is like the Choose your Own Adventure books. It is being remade now by Zman games.

[nutherefurlong]

Zman's been grabbing more and more interesting properties lately. I'll have to keep an eye out for this one.

[digitalmorphine]

Hm, yeah, I've been keeping an eye on that one lately (also because Headless Hollow's redesigning its visuals, and it's looking gorgeous), although I don't really know how everything works in practice.

Wait-- does that mean we'll have a TotAN review when it comes out??

*starts jumping around with clear joy*

[WhalebackSlim]

Great news about Tales. That's a classic.

[Ogma01]

Loved your subtle nod to former Alaskan Senator (and convicted felon), Ted Stevens! :-) Anyway, glad you did this review. This game kinda' snuck in under a lot of people's radar and I'm glad to see that it isn't worth my time.

[alfan727]

im hoping he does a review of galaxy trucker, or teh great space race, as i would like to see what he thinks of those games. some of my fav games i own are, potrayal,munchkin, zombies!!!,saboteur,and finally fluxx.

[Stahlspiel]

We played a 3p game on Sat.

Similar experience to yours...1 player won by a wide margin...1 player's favors were stripped away...people lost entire turns...game lasted 4 hours.

I agree with all your reasons why you didn't like the game, and I could see myself feeling the same playing it again.

Probably due to the company I was with, but I enjoyed Android.

It felt like 3 people giving into their imagination and making a story. We built reasons for why uncovering the conspiracy added good baggage.

[brachson]

I liked that this Scott's Stuff was 9 minutes long. Even though it is not as well produced as BGWS episodes, I still enjoy listening to that!

Well done Scott. I'm looking forward to the next one (right! how about the Twilight Struggle!?)

[TekkorGJC]

Thanks for the brief review. I got the impression from this game it was alot of style over substance in some ways.

This weekend my son and I have been playing Twilight Struggle. Played 2 games. We were not sure at first if we would like it but after we got some of the rules down and answered from BGG its a great game. Curious on your opinion of TS as you never did a video review for it.