Scythe (Base Game)

Scythe is hands down my favorite board game, and it’s one I can play over and over again without ever getting tired of it. Every play feels different thanks to the combination of asymmetric factions, player mats, and multiple viable paths to victory. Whether I’m focusing on combat, economy, popularity, or careful expansion, the game always presents new strategic puzzles to solve. What really sets Scythe apart is how rewarding it feels to improve with each play. The more I play, the more I notice small optimizations, clever timing decisions, and opportunities to outthink my opponents. The balance between long-term planning and moment-to-moment choices keeps me fully engaged from start to finish. On top of that, the production quality and artwork are incredible and pull everyone at the table into its alternate-history world. Scythe consistently hits the table because it’s deep, satisfying, and endlessly replayable. If you enjoy strategic games that reward thoughtful decision-making and offer lasting replay value, Scythe is an absolute must-own.

Behold!! Gaze in amazement, as you have stumbled upon the greatest board game, in all the ages! Prepare yourself to be immersed in a glorious steam-punk reality of endless wonder! You my friend, are about to embark on the intrepid journey that is.... Scythe!! With the expansion pack, choose from 7 different factions, and 7 different game boards to set forth on your quest of glory! Boost your defenses, conquer your surrounding land, and take no prisoners from your enemies! I've currently played well over 100 games of scythe, which probably clocks in close to 150 hours of total game time. I can honestly say it is THE most fun board game I've played, and I'm still not tired of it. Many other board games I will vouch for as being amazing, and I've played them several times over, but at some point, even those games become a little stale, and the gameplay itself becomes boiled down to a science. Such is not the case with scythe. It's got just enough random elements to keep it fresh and new every time you play it, without making it so random that you have no control over the outcome. It's the perfect blend. And now with its most recent expansion "Wind Gambits" the game has evolved anymore. But for newcomers, don't let the expansion intimidate you. I highly recommend playing the base game of Scythe for all it's worth (which is a TON) before worrying about playing with the expansion. I am an avid board gamer, and this is truly a one of a kind game that I have yet to become bored with, and I have yet to dice up into a science. Every single game will have you attempting new strategies, and exploring new options to declare yourself the victor. One of the most exciting parts of Scythe is that when the game ends, rarely will there ever be a distinct winner before the final points have been carefully calculated. There is a Scythe app on iOS and Android that I highly recommend downloading for deciding factions at the beginning of the game, and tallying score at the end. Without going into game play detail (I'll leave that to the rulebook) What I can say is that Scythe is, on the surface, a very complex game, but once you get your feet wet and play it, it really isn't too terrifying to learn. There's only so much you can do per turn, and once you run through it a few times, you begin to see the gears of the game click and turn, and you'll have a well running engine of a faction in no time! If you're just starting out with a group of people who are also new to the game, you're going to have your questions and missteps along the way where you might find you weren't playing certain rules down to their very exact intent, but this is perfectly fine. A lot of the fun in Scythe is discovering all the things you missed, or even may have been doing incorrectly, and changing up your game for the next time. For the most part, Scythe is an incredibly balanced game. If you get into a rhythm of playing with a core group of people, you'll start to realize the few imbalances it has *cough* Industrial Rusviet *cough* and learn to play around them. Again, figuring out what each faction is good at, how to make it work with your unique play mat, and formulate the best plan of attack, are just a few of the things that make Scythe such an immersive and brilliant game that will have you wanting to re-rack the game again and again. Hour and half to two-hour sessions seem like mere minutes when you really start grasp how fun the game is. If I had one gripe about the game, it would be the amount of players that can play. It's nice that Scythe can include 7 players, especially if you have a lot of board-game savvy friends who all want to be included. But be warned! 6 or 7-player games of Scythe tend to drag on, and when that happens, more often than not, one if not more people will lose interest, and thus become unenthused with the game. And nothing kills the fun of a game, like some one who is currently playing the game and not giving a crap about it. So if you have 6 or 7 brave souls willing to stick it out, it's best that all parties involved have a vast knowledge of the game, and indeed the actually WANT to play, knowing full well what they are signing up for. The sweet spot for Scythe, seems to be around the 4-5 player mark. The games are long enough that you don't feel cheated out of an epic board game experience, but short enough that the ADD in your friends doesn't start to show itself, and manifest into playing candy crush on their phones in between turns. Scythe is a massively wonderful game of strategy that I would absolutely suggest to any board game enthusiast looking to play one of the greatest games of all time. If new to board games, I would suggest watching several Scythe tutorials on the internet or playing with some one who has played before and has a good concept of the game. Again, it's complex, but not so much that I would say anyone wanting to learn the game, wouldn't be able to, regardless of their prior knowledge of board games. If you're willing to invest a little time to learn this game, you won't be disappointed!!

There is a reason this game is so high on the best of all time list on boardgamegeek. I've played a ton of games, some with very little luck involved (Puerto Rico) and some with great concepts/themes, but a little TOO much luck (like HeroScape). Scythe strikes a good balance between strategic planning and the random nature of their wartorn area in an alternate history. I'd probably call it a 4x game (Explore, Expand, Exploit, Exterminate), but it feels like it does each of those concepts a little (or a lot) different than many other games out there. Combat plays out kind of like a bluffing game of poker. No dice rolling. Personally I like dice combat when it's balanced or has cards/abilities to offset pure randomness. So the combat took some getting used to, but there are pretty good incentives NOT to attack as well. Overall, it feels like you're doing your own thing with the occasional skirmish. That is apparently intentional and I like that. Terra Mystica is similar, but no combat at all in that game. Scythe is not an easy game to pick up and play. It's very easy to play the game incorrectly and sometimes the cards or rules are just vague. I had to look up a few things online when it was clear in the rulebook (or took too long). I think a lot of the confusion lies in the game design. The artwork is absolutely beautiful, but there needs to be clearer game icons and navigation. The biggest offenders are the faction/player mats and most of your time will be spent looking at these. There are symbols that don't really help define anything, can and can't actions that don't have a visually logical flow, and too much reliance on the rulebook. That last part sounds dumb, but I believe there should be visual reminders to the game's rules on the pieces, cards, and mats in front of you. One of the few games I've played that gives players a "turn order/what actions you can do" card that is almost worthless. There are also no "footstomps," in the rulebook. Important rules should be bolded, highlighted, have reminders, examples, etc. There is a terminology list at the back, but I found myself looking stuff up on my phone because it was a lot faster and the answer was clearer. One of our players struggled bad with the concept of producing since it shows that you "pay a worker" first. It's not very clear when/where/how to do something without reading the 30+ page rulebook. The inverse of that mildly bad gameflow design, is that once you get the general flow of the game, it can play pretty quickly. It took 3 of us 1 hr and 40 minutes the first time we played. Not bad considering they estimate 25 minutes per player. I know it sounds like quite a bit of complaining, but to me these are mild annoyances that are merely highlighted because the game is so fantastic.

I already own Wingspan so was super eager to invest in more Stonemaier games, and this was on my wish list for a while. It was an excellent purchase. The artwork is stunning, the board and all the cards are exceptional quality/feel. You are paying for the brand and the quality. It’s not easy to learn- had to watch a couple of YouTube videos along the way as sometimes the instructions were heavy going/hard to visualise or understand what was meant to occur. But after the 2nd play through it suddenly clicked and became more enjoyable rather than a scramble of un-knowingness. The turn structure is similar to wingspan so if you have already played this- it will be easier to pick up and learn. I love the character variations and different abilities and the ways in which you can play the game. Looking forward to purchasing some expansions to add more depth to the game. Also: don’t be overwhelmed by the amount of items/cards/meeples you have to set up the game. It looks a lot but it is easy to pick up and learn what goes where.

What a great game. Yes it takes some time to understand it, and even more to master it, and sometimes even more to explain it to someone who wants to play with you, but man is it amazing. Every playthrough is like a new book. Fully emerges you in the world of Scythe. Big win for me is you don't need dice to play. It is turn based. My only wish is that the pieces were more than basic wooden shapes. Would have added a lot of character.

Es un juego profundo en cuanto sus mecánicas, que reduce el componente de aleatoriedad a su mínima expresión, pero que tiene una curva de aprendizaje muy benévola con el jugador. Se aprende a jugar de forma básica muy rápido lo que facilita entrar en partidas largas a los pocos días. Además los dibujos son una maravilla.

Being a person that recently got into the hobby of board games after playing Catan with friends, this game caught my eye immediately. It's a fantastic game, with enough complexity to keep multiple playthroughs competitive and interesting. The character and mech peices are intricate and detailed, and the overall design of the board and cards is beautiful and vibrant. Due to lockdown, we have only played this game among 2 players, but I can't wait to play this with more people, although I may need to get the extension for the board. Even though the learning curve is a bit steep for new players, it is still a game that all board game lovers should have in their collection!

O jogo é maravilhoso de bonito, super bem acabado, veio em perfeito estado!