Wendy, Chris, Joey & Mike take a look at Archeos Society!
0:00 Intro
0:51 Overview
5:03 Final Thoughts
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BGG Link: https://boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/380938/archeos-society
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This is a fun game plain and simple. All the people saying it’s not ethnos I don’t want it. Ok don’t get it but it’s better. I’d rather pick a different game than ethnos for area control so I just don’t compare the too. To each thier own. This is a card game with tracks it’s not trying to be ethnos. 🤣😂🤣
I really enjoy Ethnos and when this was announced I was happy to see it coming back in print and then the more I heard about it the more I was like “why did they change the area control to tracks” and how that will affect the gameplay and I can see that the general consensus is that theres more interaction and nuance in gameplay with the area control over the tracks. I’ll happily stick with my copy of Ethnos but wont turn down the opportunity to play Archeos Society
Good game but I definitely appreciate Ethnos quite a bit more. This is a kinder gentler version for folks who don’t like the direct conflict. I prefer the area control. And even though the theme is thin, the fantasy theme seemed to fit a bit better and was a touch more intuitive.
…and at the end of the game the archeologists all realize that the monkeys are fake, and they should just go see the originals in Japan.
Great and accurate reivew. They hit on the pros and the cons. This is a great approachable game that's more family weight.
If you like Ethnos for the card play, you'll love the flexibility and variability this offers. If you liked Ethnos for the area control, then stick with Ethnos… though its REALLY EASY to turn the tracks into area control (just score for person furthest along in age 1, first two in age 2, etc). And if you really want to go full Ethnos, create some randomized score tokens
I'm curious if the different point scoring for the sets makes a large difference in game play. In ethnos the sets of cards scored 0-1-3-6-10-15 and its now been changed to 0-1-3-5-8-12
Simple solution…make an expansion that brings back the area control map. I really wanted to get this to replace Ethnos, but prefer area control mechanism and player interaction it creates over the different tracks.
Great review and discussion!
Ethnos had some great tension to it in the interaction between the area control and the card play. For me at least, moving up on tracks is the most boring mechanic in games. I just can't bring myself to care about having the most points in the end. Ethnos shines in all the little battles during the game, which seems to be totally absent here. The fact that they barely mention the different mechanics of the different suits seems telling to me, since they're a major part of Ethnos.
I don't get it. They could choose a dozen different themes, and they chose archeology with a bunch of dudes that don't really look that differently across the table. I am not even mentioning the horrendous scoring board. Sure, if Ethnos didn't exist, that would be a good game. But it does, and they had so much time to come up with a better re-theme than this
Just play Ethnos but with the alternative board printed from the forums section on BGG (‘I repaint the main-board of Ethnos’) – improves it quite a lot.
Just play Ethnos but with the alternative board printed from the forums section on BGG (‘I repaint the main-board of Ethnos’) – improves it quite a lot.
Happy to hear that Ethnos still holds. Sad to hear that Ethnos didn’t get the upgrade it deserved.
I'm always amazed by how much love Ethnos gets as an area majority game. I like area majority games, but Ethnos's implementation is just the most boring imaginable: spatial relationships don't matter and there's no interesting relationship between players in the spaces. Iwari (or it's predecessors) is just so much better! The best part of Ethnos was the card system. Archeos keeps that and adds the advanced sides of the new tracks which seem far more interesting than anything Ethnos could offer. I'm looking forward to trying it.
A lot of people complained about the look of Ethnos. Now that this is out, seems like they'd gladly take Ethnos now. Haha Ethnos is in my top 10 of all time, maybe even top 3! I was really excited when Archeos was announced and I love the theme, but those tracks and same usability issues y'all had are a no go for me. I'll take Ethnos all day every day. 🙂
So Very Wrong About Games made a huge point that I think almost every review is missing (including mine), so I'm curious if Chris or whoever agrees. His point was that in Ethnos, it was almost always best to just make huge sets because of their massive scoring, and that was more important than who to fight on the board. So, really, the player interaction that's allegedly missing here was mostly artificial here anyway, if you were playing optimally. I think I agree with him.
I guess I should be thankful that the publishers of "Archeos Society" did not make my copy of "Ethnos" obsolete.
But it's puzzling how they could fail so hard at reprinting "Ethnos" with better theme and artwork. "Archeos Society" looks even worse than "Ethnos" and the theme doesn't make much sense and the gameplay changes are very questionable.
These scores are bunked.
I was hoping for a more futuristic version of Ethnos. Such as use big planets instead of country borders and ufo ships like the ones in cosmic encounter, and it spreads out the table. Aliens allow for tons of new powers and mechanics.
I feel Archeos Society missed the mark saying it was a replacement/enhancement for Ethnos and but then falls short of expectations. If it was its own game I think it would be better off than saying it was an implementation of Ehtnos.
We never played Ethnos, but this game was a hit for us. I'm sure it will see plenty of play with the quick teach and tons of variety in setup.
The production issues are a shame, though. It would have been great if a more traditional score track was printed on a board rather than this twisty track on a flimsy sheet. I wish they'd went with a folded game board with the score track on one side and spaces for the 6 double-sided tracks on the other. I'm also not sure who thought Gray-Black-White-Brown-Tan-Beige was a good selection of player colors, and people have commented on how unthematic it feels to be racing up a jungle track with a submarine. They should have used the bright player colors most games use and just printed all 6 vehicle shapes in each color so each player gets 1 of every vehicle piece to use on the tracks of their choice. The card quality isn't particularly great, either.
Still, it's a great game design that everyone should try in one of its 2 forms, and more great games are always welcome in the sub-$50 price range.
This is hot garbage. Can't believe I traded ethnos before I got a better look at this rubbish.
I’m exactly with Mike here. Both Ethnos and Archeos are 8s in my book. I found Archeos to be a slightly better game but the usability issues dropped it at half a point. Ethnos has more charm and, honestly, I think it looks better but I realize I’m in the minority on that one.
I so wanted to love this game – purely because of the look and theming. Love, love, LOVE the artwork. For those that can remember it, it totally evokes "Tales of the Gold Monkey," a lost classic series from Donald P Bellisarrio. The game play doesn't look like it's for me however.
The mechanism in Ethnos is area majority, not ameritrash area control. Area majority is an OG (original german) euro mechanic. It is not used as much in modern euros because modern euros have developed toward multiplayer solitaire, which is a shame in my opinion.
Im glad i wasnt the only one who had issues with the symbology and such. I mentioned it in bgg and git pretty dismissed by several folks (the publisher was great though in their response). I first thoguht i was the inly perspn who didnt like the lack of player aids or texts on cards
So they took a fantasy game with a map, and changed it to boring human specialists with no map?
The heck?
I was really just hoping for a prettier ethnos with more factions. Bummer. Oh well.
I'll be honest. I was hoping that Archaos Society would be like the expansion that Ethnos deserved. I still think Ethnos would slay of it got an expansion or 2nd edition.
Would like to hear the opinion of Roy on this one, since Ethnos is in his top games of all time… I prefer Ethnos for sure
If this wan't marketed as an Ethnos reïmplementation this would never get a higher rating then a 7. It's just making sets en move up the ladder. Everybody scores so it doesn't realy matter what track you go for. You score everywhere. A 9? Not in a million years.
The colors are way too hard to tell apart
Ethnos is to Archeos Society as Dune Imperium is to Lost Ruins of Arnak?
In isolation, a great game.
But with an expectation of it being Ethnos with the graphical bump it needed… it's a huge fail.
I agree with all the sentiments, and am so glad Chris brought up how the generic roles make it so much more annoying to parse and request face up cards. Was so much easier to look for and call out for an orc, for example, than "that dude with the hat".
I was also surprised that no one brought up the MANY SHADES OF BROWN of the player components. SO BAD!
I'm selling this and wished I had just bought Ethnos when I had the chance.
I have played Ethnos, but I don't own it (the rrp was too high for the components… although i have heard of people picking it up at a good price). I'm one of the few people that seem to like John Howe's artwork in Ethnos… but the board does not look good. From what I've seen from the comparisons, I'll keep an eye open for Ethnos going cheap.
Never played Ethnos but loving my copy of Archeos Society.
I own both but I prefer Archeos Society. In Ethnos, I feel that I end up getting completely blocked when competing for the high scoring locations. In Archaos Society I have more freedom with the tracks which I enjoy for a light card play game. When it comes to area control I prefer more control.
Thjs game makes me wish for a Ethos 2.0 Deluxe with cooler bits and some new mechanisms.
Big pass for me! Ethnos is 🤌🏼
This review made me enthusiastic about Ethnos…
Why did they do' this' to what was mechanically a great game, but just not pleasing to the eye. I own Ethnos and all i wanted was expansions or a 2.0, meaning name change (Ethnos really?)
and new setting. Who did they talk to when the redesign was on the table?? Obviously not the people who loved the game, but not necessarily the theme.
I do not wish ill to any game manufacturer or designer but, this new offering is getting what it deserved.