[PATV] Thursday, August 30, 2012 - Shut Up & Sit Down Season 1, Ep. 9: Mage Knight

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[PATV] Thursday, August 30, 2012 - Shut Up & Sit Down Season 1, Ep. 9: Mage Knight

In this episode Paul and Quinns review the board game Mage Knight.

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Xaviar

Oh man I love mage knight. But it is hard to get other people to play...

Serengaeth

Mage Knight looks astounding. I'm currently struggling to really get my head around Stronghold; my third game of it is being played tomorrow... but Mage Knight seems to be on a whole other level.

Sandrockcstm

Alright guys. Seriously. Get some blasted lapel mics. Clip them to your shirt/toga/christmas lights, and pipe the sound into a computer or sound board. Every episode I have to struggle to hear what you're saying, cause the sound goes in and out with the camera's proximity. You've got an entertaining show with a great premise and funny writing, but the production values are suffering. Just make the initial investment and you'll (probably) never have to do it again. We'll all thank you for it.

bamjo

It seems pretty clear that you guys put some significant time into each game before you review it. I am amazed you can do that for so many games and still keep all the details straight to give a good review. Mage Knight looks awesome, now I just have to convince my friends to sit down and try it.

omegablue

Wizkids just loves pissing on their flagship game. Poor Mage Knight. If you ever want to play a cheaper better version of it, just go on ebay and pick up a lot of the 1.0 or 2.0 figs for cheap, clear a 3'x3' table space, and start rolling the dice. All the info you needed was on the figure dials and an ability card. Unless you had 2.0 where additional rules were on the cards for relics, items, and spells.

jerubbaal

Interesting review, honestly the game itself isn't that complicated once you grok what's going on with the deterministic combat. The PVP rules are silly and ridiculous, but those should only really be used with advanced players. And, because I'm uptight and I like the game, I should say that you can't have gold crystals in your inventory and there was an easy way for you to defeat the orc in the combat example.

Also, it should be said that the game plays quite well solo, if you're into that sort of thing. Actually, it's a really good way to get to know the mechanics so you can teach it to others. As said, it is definitely a gamer's game, but the theme is interesting enough and the bits are pretty enough that anyone who likes this kind of thing will give you a bit of slack with teaching the rules, hopefully. Also, the game really does move quite quickly and have quite a bit of interaction once the players are comfortable with the mechanics which usually (IMHO) only takes a playthrough or two.

Ori Klein

Sounds like it'll make some pretty PC Multiplayer RPG whereas you can add cool graphics to it and simplify some of the rules by ways of intuitive and informative GUI, cutting the need to reference manuals.

lordhoban

(I had to give jerubbaal's comment a +, if anything, for the use of Grok. Yes, I grok).

As someone who has come from a customizable card game and rpg background, games like this can take a couple playthroughs to get the hang of it and are even harder, when you aren't playing with an experienced player who is willing to help you through it. As long as you are not concerned with winning or losing, but understanding the gameplay and are with a player with patience to answer your questions, I can see that it wouldn't be too hard to pick it up.

Still, the main downside to a game like this is finding the players if you don't have a local playerbase for the game. It sounds like the board game version of Mage Knight at least gives you a complete experience without the need for a playerbase...

Freeman_78

What if you were watching the review with a horrifying erection in my pants?

Rect Pola

Good lord that "fight" scene. Everything layman dread about boardgames are proudly on display.