My Favourite Game: Ra
No Pun Included
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09.06.2024
Efka's favorite deck builder has to be (but won't be) original Clank! It won't be that because for some reason people don't super love that game? At least, I have never heard a reviewer say they like it.
(Anyway, it's Dune: Imperium – Uprising, right?)
I find it really interseting when ppl just don't notice (or prefer) their TVs have Motion Smoothing turned on
RA is a fantastic game, and I love my UberPlay copy, although I did have to print and laminate custom player mats to help players remember scoring. I might ignore your well-intentioned advice and splurge for the deluxe version myself as it's one of my all-time favorites as well. Excellent video as always.
I whole hearted agree that 'Ra' is the best Auction game. The only other one I feel has come close is 'For Sale'.
Everything else just gets lost in trying to not be Ra, and just doesn't scratch the itch.
please turn of motion smoothing on your TV…
Ra Ra Ra sis boom bah Great review Efka..as usual..
Great review. No mention of what is probably obvious to most people; that it is not great as a 2 player game which is why I ended up not keeping it : (
Played this game for the first time when I got my deluxe Kickstarter copy last year. Did not disappoint! It’s one of the lighter games I own, so I can actually play it with my parents. I had a hard time translating how the auctions actually worked from the rulebook, but once we figured it out, it was a very straightforward game, and lots of fun.
We played this game so much the numbers wore off my bid chips (Uberplay version) and we sharpie'd them back on… twice. This version looks real nice, but I don't know, my old grubby copy has a lot of history.
Deluxe is better. Bag is too small and box lift cause box is too small. I owned both and got rid of normal.
I'm a person who never considers buying any board game… except Ra.
I want Ra and I've never played it but I really want that deluxe version 😅. I'm going to wait for a reprint.
Reprint deluxe! Reprint deluxe! Reprint deluxe! Ra! Ra! Ra!
Huh I never felt tht's what auction games were about. They should be those kinda auctions then!
this vid was really well paced – is this also a metaphor for Ra?
Fingers crossed for Spirit Island being your fave deckbuilder as it's my fave board game. I don't think it will be, but I can dream
Agreed, this is the best pure auction game ever. I actually hated the first two times I played it. But it all clicked on the third game! This is why I give most all games at least 3 tries before throwing out.
Ra! is a modern classic that's easy to teach, nicely interactive, and with a surprising amount of depth and interesting decisions to make. This edition is also by far the nicest produced with a cleaver and functional design, and a short, simple and well laid out rulebook. This has clearly been a labour of love for the producers. I too went all out on the collector's edition and regret nothing, which is more than I can say for some kickstarters I've backed at twice the price.
A lot of auction games put new players off because they have no idea what anything is worth, but this cleaver system of everyone having exactly 4 possible bids in non-overlapping set amounts takes out the guesswork and lets you hone in on those delicious decisions of bluffing, temptation and pushing your luck.
If you have the highest value, well you know you can win any auction you want. If you have the lowest number you have nothing to lose, and can just start auctions willy-nilly, goading other players into spending their precious bids on a sub-optimal lot, and if you do win, you also trade up your bid value for the next round. And the panic that sets in when a string of Ra! tiles is threatening to end the epoch while players are sitting on some high value bidding tiles waiting for a decent haul but risk not getting anything. Just brilliant!
One last note: bagels are a bread of two halves, and should be served that way with the topping of your choice on each independent half. Making a sandwich or burger out of them gives an unsatisfactory bread to filling ratio due to the density of the bread. Unless you add fillings to at least the thickness of one half, which may work in a burger configuration, but will likely be far to difficult to eat. Bagels make poor sandwiches, but the best toast.
Great review, I totally want to grab a copy now but I can’t get over one thing in your review. It looked like you had motion smoothing enabled on your tv, yuck. Lolz, seriously love your reviews, I have just started Oathsworn with a group after watching your vid on it.
Great review concept, nice length, fully happy….thanks
This is a stellar series… But I dont get why Ra over Modern Art
Impossible to get in The Netherlands right now 😢. Does anyone know if it's gonna be reprinted?
I seem to be the only person that find auction (games) boring.
I finally understand how this game works even though I have listened to multiple others explain it – thank you! Sounds like it could be amazing.
"I love Bargain Hunt" 🤣
I love you guys ❤
One of the worst games ever, broken.
Great Quinns impression at 08:14.
I didn't expect this to be my kind of boardgame but video got an instant like for Hudson Hawk, then I was pleasantly surprised that I also was sold on the game
Yay! I bid on more Puns!
I love the channel <3 i'm sure y'all must have considered it but since you're giving these amazing, in depth reviews that make me want to go out and buy ___ right now would you ever do referral links? There must be some conscientious board game seller out there that would work with y'all!
I'm gonna guess the next one is Gee-Dubya-Tee (even though, imo, it's not really a deck-builder, more of a deck management on a big old rondel)
Yeah, the tension of when to call Ra vs when to draw an additional tile is super exciting and makes this such a special game. I like watching it almost as much as I enjoy playing it! – Chris
It won't be but I hope your favourite deck builder is Heart of Crown
This is a great series. I'm always excited to get away from all the new releases and hear about the amazing games that already exist.
Modern Art and Ra share the #1 spot for my favorite auction game. They're both so good and yet have enough differences to make them distinct, I'll gladly play either of them and have a great time!
Love the video. Perfect ratio of game info and humor.
Ra is also one of my favorite auction games; it’s probably between that and Nidavellir.
Ra…one of the finest games around!
What ever happened to Elaine? She seems to have faded away in these videos. Would like to see collaboration and humorous interplay.
It’s been a revelation to discover this classic via this new version. Ian O’Toole’s graphic design is so intuitive, that when we were teaching a new player the other week, that new player caught that we were scoring the Monuments wrong simply by the graphics displayed on the player boards. (We had been scoring monuments each round and not the final round only.)
What if one player get both 16 and 15? Isnt there an infinite loop of winning bids?
05:05
Not as good as Modern Art though is it? 😉
I'm very happy with my Uberplay copy, but I do want to put together a compatible version of those clever player boards
The tension of the clock running down and the end of the era is coming close. People start bidding on nonsense just so they don't go the whole round and get nothing. And then, other rounds when there is plenty of time on the clock and there is only one person left, who can let the track fill up as much as they want. And don't forget the push your luck, when you are the last player, but the next RA tile ends the round immediately…do you push for one more free tile, risking losing it all?
The Deluxe version is a bit $, which is the "correct" newest non deluxe version of the game? Priests 2009?
All these favourite games! What a great series 😊
25th Century Games just texted me: "the regular reprint should be on store shelves in a couple of months. Deluxe reprint is going back on KS next month."
getting back the sun disk of the last won auction, and putting your own sun disk up for grabs is such a clever mechanic
Ra is truly a gorgeous production that a classic deserves. The fixed numbers for bidding is so key to making this an open and accessible game.
‘Its a little dry’ 😂