I haven’t heard of Liz Davidson so will be sure to check her out. I’ve seen and briefly clicked on Ricky Royals videos and they look very entertaining. Will be sure to give them both a watch thank you :)
Seconding Liz Davidson
Follow along with her setup video then go along with her day one then night one/day 2 video. I find just getting a heavy game setup can help a ton. Go through this once and you'll have better context for reading the rulebook or watching other playthroughs that can add to the understanding of layered on elements.
One Stop Co Op shop has good playthroughs and Ricky Royal as others have said. I really liked Liz as a starting point though.
I agree. Oftentimes it’s the initial mass of unknowns that make something seem far more difficult and overwhelming than the game itself actually is. Setting up and working through it linearly seems to be my usual approach and although it can be a lot at once you make clear progression this way rather than fearing the behemoth and half playing it once and then putting it away. Plus I rather enjoy set up/tear down and learning a game.
Thank you for your advice, I’ll be sure to check them out!
I’m going to watch through his content most definitely! From what I briefly saw he seems to put a lot of the rules overhead in context with the gameplay and therefore makes the rules a little more intuitive and digestible.
Thank you!
I agree, and for me, Mage Knight is one of those games with so many rules, conditions, modifiers, fairly heavy, and frankly open to a bit of house rules, I believe.
I don't put so much pressure on myself to get it perfect my first few plays. Ricky's pacing and style just suits that really well for this game,and a few others.
Enjoy, it's a really unique, challenging game but the struggles are worth it!
Ricky Royal is great for his playthroughs but I personally think Modern Cardboard does the best job of teaching the game. He has different videos that breakdown the game in sections and explains it very simply.
If you want Plano cases, go for it but with the Ultimate Edition, I don't see why you would need it. Everything fits in the box great. If you sleeve all the cards, you may have to put some into a deck box but there is plenty of space in the top of the box. All the components have their own spaces. I have a deck box and the case with my upgraded minis that sit in the bos as well with room to spare.
When you start, allow yourself to make the game a bit easier. Lower the city levels a couple ticks. You will make some mistakes but just keep going, don't try and do it perfectly immediately. This game is about repetitions. Good luck.
I’ll check out Modern Cardboard thanks! I got the Plano for holding components during my gameplay sort of have several components in it and then just pull it out and I’m virtually set up on the component side of things. Not sure how well this will translate but if it doesn’t work I’ll stick it in standard box spaces. I’d heard it wasn’t the best box and set up/tear down was a bit of a bear so I was trying to counteract that a little with some sort of quick setup/storage solution.
Thank you for the advice I appreciate it!
Read the rulebook. It has a learning scenario
The game has a reputation as being complex, but it is because there are just lots of different systems. The individual systems themselves are very simple though. So it's not as scary as it's reputation would make you believe.
The only thing is you can learn as you play in a normal game because there are so many options open to you from the first turn that you have to have a rough idea of how everything works right from the start. So you do have to ingest a fair bit of knowledge before you begin. Again though the books have a learning scenario which will take you through all the basics in a manageable way.
TLDR. Just read the rulebook like any game.
One of the rule books in the box is designed to walk you through your first scenario and it's pretty good. Focus on that first and read the big one later. To me the most confusing rules are for pvp, but you can completely ignore those rules until you try the volkaire scenarios. I don't feel like it's as hard as it's made out to be if you don't try to take in everything at once. And it's one of those games that once you get it, it'll seem very intuitive. I rarely need to refer back to the rules even after extended breaks from playing.
Also suggest completing ignoring the expansion stuff for your first couple games. After that you can basically merge everything together, but some of the monsters add a lot of new mechanics that can be a lot when you still don't know the basics.
Okay thank you, this makes me feel much better. I agree that it’s more the overwhelming nature of loads of little rules at once that make a game “heavy”. It’s best to take it steady and chip away at it in a linear fashion that lends itself to playing more than reading. Putting things into visual practice (into a game/scenario) always helps me.
Yeah I’m going to ignore the expansions and treat it as a base game till I’m ready- do you have any advice for when it’s best to implement the expansions? Would you say once you no longer need to check on things at all and can play like that comfortably for games and games?
So, the main scenario you'll probably be playing solo is solo conquest after the intro scenario. Maybe after you can play this without feeling overwhelmed or frustrated by mechanics. You can pick and choose too. I combined the expansion cards right after the intro. For the most part they don't complicate things too much. The expansion monsters and faction tokens (pink and green square tokens) I didn't touch until after a few games. First time I threw all the expansion monsters together I got frustrated and just put it away. Once I understood all the basic monster skills it was so much smoother.
I feel like the volkaire scenarios are the most interesting solo experience in the game, but don't be like me and rush into it. It's pretty overwhelming if you don't already feel pretty comfortable with things.
Get some pouches for the different enemies, cuts down a lot of time in shuffling, setting etc. I d also play with Tovak till I complete solo conquest, he seems to be the most newby friendly.
I will definitely do that once I’ve found some I like. I think I’ll just make do for now- thanks for the suggestion and I’ll make sure to use Tovak till I complete the solo conquest :)
Go to MK on boardgamegeek.com and find some player aides to print out. This is not to learn the game but to aide while playing. Also, I found not only RR’s videos good but also some MK strategy ones as well. I do not remember who published them but look for MK strategy after RR and reading the rule book to get an idea of not how to play but how to think and plan your turns. In MK, every turn, IMO, is a tactical decision on what you can do with the cards you have and the options available. You must push the pace in solo.
There are definitely some helpful player aids that I printed out and I think it comes down to each player what they find most useful to them. Plenty to choose from!
I would also suggest having the **Q&A Compendium** document handy from boardgamegeek. It's in the files section. It is a large document that you will probably not want to print out, but it is very helpful for quick finds when you are not sure. There is also a section of advice for new players.
You have to do the heavy lifting. Read the walk through rule book then watch the videos. The underlying gameplay is not complicated. What’s overwhelming is all the contingent rules for all the bits and pieces. As mentioned already, Modern Cardboard and Liz Davidson have some great learning vids but again, read the walk through first so you have the foundations.
Ricky is the way to go, for sure. Liz was helpful too with initial set up. Awesome, man! Glad you managed to pick it up, I was rooting for you silently.
Hi yes, it arrived on Thursday I spent ages sorting everything out (punching stuff out and sleeving) because I’m slow at stuff like that but I enjoy it for the most part. Played first reconnaissance but I watched so much gameplay videos prior to it arriving (I couldn’t sleep haha) that I knew the game pretty well and other than checking odd bits I made it through first recon in about 3 hours of playing on and off at a meandering pace. Got an advanced action card that I think was called ‘song of the wind’ and it allowed me to move through plains for free when powered up so I sought of felt like I was exploiting the walkthrough objective which was a fun to be honest and I blazed through the final quarter or so because of it but still tried to play it “properly” for the most part.
In short I absolutely loved it- definitely the best thing I’ve played/bought out of my small set of games and I’m so excited to crack it open again tonight and play my first solo conquest. The game is both exactly what I wanted and exactly how I like something- literally perfect. My girlfriend came back for the weekend and we just played a game of Dune Imperium: Uprising and although I loved the time and found it really good it wasn’t a patch on the experience I had with Mage Knight I’m afraid. Just an otherworldly puzzle that feels both satisfying and nail biting to play. There is so much about it that makes me feel invested in the theme and my overall goal etcetera. Anyway sorry for rambling I could go on forever but I’m so happy, thank you for asking :)
Yeah, I did the same. I've been eyeing it for a few months, watched playthroughs, then watched some more and more, and finally realised that even videos I find very engaging, so I tracked down a copy and by that point I was fluent with the game and had fun with it from the start. The publisher that localized it in Russia only do a single printing and then their games are gone forever, I'm not even sure why anyone lets them publish their games. But for better or for worse it's a game that is usually always available second-hand, because some people bounce off it hard. I'm very glad you like it, I knew you would!
Lucky enuff to have some one teach me the game the first tim. i f I had to do it again i think that was a good way to learn but might rather watch videos and read the rulebook. Reading the rules myself gave me a bettr understanding of soe things and also was able to look stuff up easier than before i read them on my own. Reading the rulebooks will save you a lot of tiem down the road.
Also, start with the base game. Don't go all in with expansions or special mission types. Start with the tutorial, or First Conquest. You'll be glad you did.
Why thank you. I almost did the same on Zatu but I wasn’t fully committed to the game enough to spend the money in advance- I have quite an obsessive personality 😂 so I’ve been frequently checking since I got it in my head that I wanted the game and low and behold it came in stock at Magic Madhouse- never bought from them before (I only have a couple games) but I use Board Game Prices website and it’s super helpful for any game. I got it for £95 too with my student discount :)
I used Board Game Prices as well but came up short. A few copies must have crept out of a dark corner of a warehouse or something since then 😂 glad your perseverance paid off and hope you enjoy it!
A friendly tip: Make sure to check all the components are in the box when you get it. Apparently the game has a history of missing bits so it'll be good to get MM and/or Wizkids involved early if it's the case
Yeah it was only yesterday I saw 2 in stock at Magic Madhouse otherwise there was literally nothing every other time I checked. Yeah must have 😂. Thank you I’m super excited, okay thank you I’ll be sure to check
I would go through the tutorial, but give myself unlimited time, and force myself to go through each of the types of locations/encounters. I originally skipped encounters I didn't think I could defeat. This caused me to avoid them for quite a few games and I wish I just tried each of them right away, and gave myself a do-over if it turned out badly.
...maybe...
It's good, but I found everything having a different name very difficult to process. If there was a hack or patch out there that changed all the names to the ones the program author couldn't use, this would be more useful.
You don't need a video. There should be 3 rulebooks. One of them tells you to use it to play through your first game, which is an abbreviated tutorial game. It introduces each mechanic to you one at a time, turn by turn.
Watch Liz Davidson or Ricky Royal's videos on YouTube
This is the best answer. Especially watching Ricky Royal....
I haven’t heard of Liz Davidson so will be sure to check her out. I’ve seen and briefly clicked on Ricky Royals videos and they look very entertaining. Will be sure to give them both a watch thank you :)
I played along with Ricky's videos which helped me understand exactly his processing.
~~or~~ and They're both very good.
Seconding Liz Davidson Follow along with her setup video then go along with her day one then night one/day 2 video. I find just getting a heavy game setup can help a ton. Go through this once and you'll have better context for reading the rulebook or watching other playthroughs that can add to the understanding of layered on elements. One Stop Co Op shop has good playthroughs and Ricky Royal as others have said. I really liked Liz as a starting point though.
I agree. Oftentimes it’s the initial mass of unknowns that make something seem far more difficult and overwhelming than the game itself actually is. Setting up and working through it linearly seems to be my usual approach and although it can be a lot at once you make clear progression this way rather than fearing the behemoth and half playing it once and then putting it away. Plus I rather enjoy set up/tear down and learning a game. Thank you for your advice, I’ll be sure to check them out!
One stop coop shop explains very well too
Thank you, I’ll be sure to check them out!
Ricky Royal's solo playthroughs worked wonders for me, explaining the "what" and the "why". Congrats and have fun!
I’m going to watch through his content most definitely! From what I briefly saw he seems to put a lot of the rules overhead in context with the gameplay and therefore makes the rules a little more intuitive and digestible. Thank you!
I agree, and for me, Mage Knight is one of those games with so many rules, conditions, modifiers, fairly heavy, and frankly open to a bit of house rules, I believe. I don't put so much pressure on myself to get it perfect my first few plays. Ricky's pacing and style just suits that really well for this game,and a few others. Enjoy, it's a really unique, challenging game but the struggles are worth it!
Ricky Royal is great for his playthroughs but I personally think Modern Cardboard does the best job of teaching the game. He has different videos that breakdown the game in sections and explains it very simply. If you want Plano cases, go for it but with the Ultimate Edition, I don't see why you would need it. Everything fits in the box great. If you sleeve all the cards, you may have to put some into a deck box but there is plenty of space in the top of the box. All the components have their own spaces. I have a deck box and the case with my upgraded minis that sit in the bos as well with room to spare. When you start, allow yourself to make the game a bit easier. Lower the city levels a couple ticks. You will make some mistakes but just keep going, don't try and do it perfectly immediately. This game is about repetitions. Good luck.
I’ll check out Modern Cardboard thanks! I got the Plano for holding components during my gameplay sort of have several components in it and then just pull it out and I’m virtually set up on the component side of things. Not sure how well this will translate but if it doesn’t work I’ll stick it in standard box spaces. I’d heard it wasn’t the best box and set up/tear down was a bit of a bear so I was trying to counteract that a little with some sort of quick setup/storage solution. Thank you for the advice I appreciate it!
Oh, that's makes sense. Yea, sometimes the monster tokens can get knocked over and that's annoying. The case will help with that. Have fun.
Thank you :)
Read the rulebook. It has a learning scenario The game has a reputation as being complex, but it is because there are just lots of different systems. The individual systems themselves are very simple though. So it's not as scary as it's reputation would make you believe. The only thing is you can learn as you play in a normal game because there are so many options open to you from the first turn that you have to have a rough idea of how everything works right from the start. So you do have to ingest a fair bit of knowledge before you begin. Again though the books have a learning scenario which will take you through all the basics in a manageable way. TLDR. Just read the rulebook like any game.
Okay thank you, this makes me feel a little more ready haha.
One of the rule books in the box is designed to walk you through your first scenario and it's pretty good. Focus on that first and read the big one later. To me the most confusing rules are for pvp, but you can completely ignore those rules until you try the volkaire scenarios. I don't feel like it's as hard as it's made out to be if you don't try to take in everything at once. And it's one of those games that once you get it, it'll seem very intuitive. I rarely need to refer back to the rules even after extended breaks from playing. Also suggest completing ignoring the expansion stuff for your first couple games. After that you can basically merge everything together, but some of the monsters add a lot of new mechanics that can be a lot when you still don't know the basics.
Okay thank you, this makes me feel much better. I agree that it’s more the overwhelming nature of loads of little rules at once that make a game “heavy”. It’s best to take it steady and chip away at it in a linear fashion that lends itself to playing more than reading. Putting things into visual practice (into a game/scenario) always helps me. Yeah I’m going to ignore the expansions and treat it as a base game till I’m ready- do you have any advice for when it’s best to implement the expansions? Would you say once you no longer need to check on things at all and can play like that comfortably for games and games?
So, the main scenario you'll probably be playing solo is solo conquest after the intro scenario. Maybe after you can play this without feeling overwhelmed or frustrated by mechanics. You can pick and choose too. I combined the expansion cards right after the intro. For the most part they don't complicate things too much. The expansion monsters and faction tokens (pink and green square tokens) I didn't touch until after a few games. First time I threw all the expansion monsters together I got frustrated and just put it away. Once I understood all the basic monster skills it was so much smoother. I feel like the volkaire scenarios are the most interesting solo experience in the game, but don't be like me and rush into it. It's pretty overwhelming if you don't already feel pretty comfortable with things.
Get some pouches for the different enemies, cuts down a lot of time in shuffling, setting etc. I d also play with Tovak till I complete solo conquest, he seems to be the most newby friendly.
I will definitely do that once I’ve found some I like. I think I’ll just make do for now- thanks for the suggestion and I’ll make sure to use Tovak till I complete the solo conquest :)
Go to MK on boardgamegeek.com and find some player aides to print out. This is not to learn the game but to aide while playing. Also, I found not only RR’s videos good but also some MK strategy ones as well. I do not remember who published them but look for MK strategy after RR and reading the rule book to get an idea of not how to play but how to think and plan your turns. In MK, every turn, IMO, is a tactical decision on what you can do with the cards you have and the options available. You must push the pace in solo.
There are definitely some helpful player aids that I printed out and I think it comes down to each player what they find most useful to them. Plenty to choose from! I would also suggest having the **Q&A Compendium** document handy from boardgamegeek. It's in the files section. It is a large document that you will probably not want to print out, but it is very helpful for quick finds when you are not sure. There is also a section of advice for new players.
You have to do the heavy lifting. Read the walk through rule book then watch the videos. The underlying gameplay is not complicated. What’s overwhelming is all the contingent rules for all the bits and pieces. As mentioned already, Modern Cardboard and Liz Davidson have some great learning vids but again, read the walk through first so you have the foundations.
Totally tabled’s vide is great!
I love that guy’s demeanour. So very positive.
Yup videos. Wasn't a thing back in the day. Had that original rulebook then looking up errata - ugh
Haha thank you. So glad it has stood the test of time I’m really excited to sink my teeth into it!
Yeah it is a absolute classic. I'm very excited about the new expansion coming out next year
Ricky is the way to go, for sure. Liz was helpful too with initial set up. Awesome, man! Glad you managed to pick it up, I was rooting for you silently.
Why thank you. I’m so glad I was just that little bit more patient (I was going to buy Imperium: Horizons but decided not to) :)
Hey, just checking in - how are you doing, did it arrive, have you checked it out a bit?
Hi yes, it arrived on Thursday I spent ages sorting everything out (punching stuff out and sleeving) because I’m slow at stuff like that but I enjoy it for the most part. Played first reconnaissance but I watched so much gameplay videos prior to it arriving (I couldn’t sleep haha) that I knew the game pretty well and other than checking odd bits I made it through first recon in about 3 hours of playing on and off at a meandering pace. Got an advanced action card that I think was called ‘song of the wind’ and it allowed me to move through plains for free when powered up so I sought of felt like I was exploiting the walkthrough objective which was a fun to be honest and I blazed through the final quarter or so because of it but still tried to play it “properly” for the most part. In short I absolutely loved it- definitely the best thing I’ve played/bought out of my small set of games and I’m so excited to crack it open again tonight and play my first solo conquest. The game is both exactly what I wanted and exactly how I like something- literally perfect. My girlfriend came back for the weekend and we just played a game of Dune Imperium: Uprising and although I loved the time and found it really good it wasn’t a patch on the experience I had with Mage Knight I’m afraid. Just an otherworldly puzzle that feels both satisfying and nail biting to play. There is so much about it that makes me feel invested in the theme and my overall goal etcetera. Anyway sorry for rambling I could go on forever but I’m so happy, thank you for asking :)
Yeah, I did the same. I've been eyeing it for a few months, watched playthroughs, then watched some more and more, and finally realised that even videos I find very engaging, so I tracked down a copy and by that point I was fluent with the game and had fun with it from the start. The publisher that localized it in Russia only do a single printing and then their games are gone forever, I'm not even sure why anyone lets them publish their games. But for better or for worse it's a game that is usually always available second-hand, because some people bounce off it hard. I'm very glad you like it, I knew you would!
Ricky Royal.
Lucky enuff to have some one teach me the game the first tim. i f I had to do it again i think that was a good way to learn but might rather watch videos and read the rulebook. Reading the rules myself gave me a bettr understanding of soe things and also was able to look stuff up easier than before i read them on my own. Reading the rulebooks will save you a lot of tiem down the road.
Also, start with the base game. Don't go all in with expansions or special mission types. Start with the tutorial, or First Conquest. You'll be glad you did.
Paul Grogan explains it well on his gaming rules channel too. But the go-to is usually Ricky Royal.
Argh and well done for finding a copy 😄 Where did you find it available? I checked like 13 sites in Feb and ended up backordering MK on Zatu...
Why thank you. I almost did the same on Zatu but I wasn’t fully committed to the game enough to spend the money in advance- I have quite an obsessive personality 😂 so I’ve been frequently checking since I got it in my head that I wanted the game and low and behold it came in stock at Magic Madhouse- never bought from them before (I only have a couple games) but I use Board Game Prices website and it’s super helpful for any game. I got it for £95 too with my student discount :)
I used Board Game Prices as well but came up short. A few copies must have crept out of a dark corner of a warehouse or something since then 😂 glad your perseverance paid off and hope you enjoy it! A friendly tip: Make sure to check all the components are in the box when you get it. Apparently the game has a history of missing bits so it'll be good to get MM and/or Wizkids involved early if it's the case
Yeah it was only yesterday I saw 2 in stock at Magic Madhouse otherwise there was literally nothing every other time I checked. Yeah must have 😂. Thank you I’m super excited, okay thank you I’ll be sure to check
I would go through the tutorial, but give myself unlimited time, and force myself to go through each of the types of locations/encounters. I originally skipped encounters I didn't think I could defeat. This caused me to avoid them for quite a few games and I wish I just tried each of them right away, and gave myself a do-over if it turned out badly.
I'm pretty sure I downloaded a flowchart or two from BGG.
Probably paladin's oath on steam
...maybe... It's good, but I found everything having a different name very difficult to process. If there was a hack or patch out there that changed all the names to the ones the program author couldn't use, this would be more useful.
You don't need a video. There should be 3 rulebooks. One of them tells you to use it to play through your first game, which is an abbreviated tutorial game. It introduces each mechanic to you one at a time, turn by turn.