In this video I compare side-by-slide, with commentary, two editions of the classic Dominique Ehrhard game Condottiere: The Eurogames/Descartes edition from the late 90s or early 00s (not sure exactly) and the most recent edition, Z-Man from 2018.
There are a number of editions floating around, and probably the most common one to find used in English is the 2007 edition from Fantasy Flight. I'd strongly suggest avoiding that as it changed the rules. The rules of Z-Man are also changed, but at least it comes with a way to play the classic way out of the box.
Board Gems highlights older board and card games that are still great games today, and deserve to not be forgotten!
This time last year I went to a friend's cottage, and recorded one of three mailbag episodes. This year, as I prepared to visit that same cottage again, I realised that I never finished answering all the questions I received! So, here they are: The last Q&A of 2024. Only eight-plus months late. 😔
00:00 Intro ▶️
00:53 Most intriguing gem? 🤔
02:45 Most wanted but hard to find gem? 🔎
05:22 What designer deserves more recognition? 📣
08:06 What designer you wish still made games? 🔚
10:56 Games from only one designer for rest of life? 🧓
12:15 Most want to see on virtualtabletop.io? 🛜
15:55 Heavy game? Small-box game? Unexpectedly good game? 🧑🧑🧒🧒
Board Gems highlights older board and card games that are still great games today, and deserve to not be forgotten!
In Patrician, by Michael Schacht, players play cards to place tower pieces, hoping to have the most and highest pieces in the tallest towers. Where they play determines what card they get next, leading to a do-this-to-get-that-to-play-there kind of process. A game in which planning in advance, but not too far in advance, is necessary. Easy to learn and play, with quick turns and a nice flow.
Patrician first appeared from Amigo in 2007 — an OG-style game released a bit outside the OG era. Calliope re-released it in 2024 with some QOL improvements and a smaller box, at a very reasonable price.
00:00 Intro ▶️
03:32 How to Play 🎲
10:32 Is It a Gem? 💎
Board Gems highlights older board and card games that are still great games today, and deserve to not be forgotten!
Goldland was a German-only exploration board game by Wolfgang Kramer and Goldsieber, originally published in 2002. Old, but not forgotten! Daryl Andrews has re-worked the game into a new 2025 edition, Donald Duck in Happy Camper, published by Maestro.
This new development is significantly different from the original, so they maybe could have gotten away with not giving any recognition to the original designer. But Andrews and Maestro did the right thing and co-credited Kramer. Class acts!
Board Gems highlights older board and card games that are still great games today, and deserve to not be forgotten!
I usually talk about older games, and many of those older games are (of course) of an older style. My style. What about new games in that style? Enter Foundations of Rome (Emerson Matsuuchi & Arcane Wonders 2022), a luxe plastic-mini-filled city-building experience. The same game re-appeared in a more sensible retail edition in 2024 as Foundations of Metropolis.
Since these are pretty new, there are I'm sure already lots of videos out there about these games. You probably don't need yet another How to Play video for it. If you're here, maybe you're here for my opinion, I'm guessing. So that's what you get!
Old mic died, new mic seems a bit muffled? We'll get through this, together.
Board Gems highlights older board and card games that are still great games today, and deserve to not be forgotten!
In this side-by-slide comparison I compare, with commentary, old and new versions of the same great Reiner Knizia board game: Orongo (Ravensburger 2014) and Nyakuza (CMON 2025).
Board Gems highlights older board and card games that are still great games today, and deserve to not be forgotten!
Anmelden
