Enlighten the neighbouring villages by training students in the seven disciplines and having them march over the Bridges... of Shangri-La. This classic Colovini game from 2003 is getting a spiffy new version from @playforkeepsgames.bsky.social, appearing on KS soon. #boardgames youtu.be/7DJY2AOsUoQ

Bridges of Shangri-La — How to Play 🎲 and Is It a Gem? 💎

YouTube video by Board Gems

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I admit, not normally the biggest fan of Stefan Feld #boardgames, but I do like Carpe Diem! Here's a side-by-slide comparison of the two Alea editions, 2018 vs 2021. First printings of both, apparently some of the issues were fixed in later printings. youtu.be/HswXhbRwelE

Carpe Diem — Side-by-Slide Board Game Comparison 👥

YouTube video by Board Gems

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Thanks so much to @playforkeepsgames.bsky.social for a preview copy of the upcoming new edition of Bridges of Shangri-La! It allows me to do a side-by-slide comparison with the old 2003 Kosmos edition. Gem video soon! KS soon too probably! #boardgames youtu.be/PuESe_ab1pE

Bridges of Shangri-La — Side-by-Slide Board Game Comparison 👥

YouTube video by Board Gems

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Soccer's on TV and Soccero is on my table! You'll need open lanes for moving/passing the ball, and your opponent will block those lanes and position for a steal. The game is all about positioning, playing the odds, and capitalising on opportunities. Looks great too. #boardgames youtu.be/B50Op1Zdrew

Soccero — How to Play 🎲 and Is It a Gem? 💎

YouTube video by Board Gems

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The Reiner Knizia board game Tutanchamun first came out in 1993 in Germany. It's a bit of an oldie! In this video I compare the two English versions: Tutankhamen (2004 Out of the Box) and Tutankhamun (2021 @25thcentury.games). #boardgames youtu.be/AOuXBedFNa0

Tutankhamun — Side-by-Slide Board Game Comparison 👥

YouTube video by Board Gems

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Intrigue is Nepo Baby TBG. Help your heirs secure well-paying jobs by greasing the wheels with favours and a few bucks. All brib— ahem, "donations"—are welcome and accepted, but no guarantees! Fewer games have simpler setup/rules than this classic negotiation game. #boardgames youtu.be/z5FGHjjUImk

Intrigue — How to Play 🫰 and Is It a Gem? 💎

YouTube video by Board Gems

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Rating more old gems — we're on the 5th one — based on how much I want to keep the game in my collection. And this I think has the first ZERO-STAR game, meaning I couldn't wait to see this game gone. I would have yeeted it, if I was the type of person to yeet. #boardgames youtu.be/4IlxXQyraIw

Rating Old Gems 5 — BG Gibber 🗣️

YouTube video by Board Gems

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Here I compare! The Reiner Knizia tile-laying board game Qin (2012 Eggert) and its recent re-development Gazebo (2025 @bitewinggames.bsky.social). #boardgames youtu.be/pS3aY8jIB04

Qin / Gazebo — Side-by-Slide Comparison 👥

YouTube video by Board Gems

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Skills can be important in Tales of the Arabian Nights, especially if you want to do one particularly stupid #boardgames joke. youtube.com/shorts/XBUJs...

My favouritest worst best joke to pull in #boardgames

YouTube video by Board Gems

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A side-by-slide comparison, with commentary, of the Stefan Dorra friendship-risking game of bribery, Intrigue. 1994 FX Schmid, 2005 Mayfair (via Amigo), and 2016 Igiari. (How do you pronounce Igiari, anyway?) #boardgames youtu.be/h98e4QNEGWQ

Intrigue — Side-by-Slide Comparison 👥

YouTube video by Board Gems

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I don't have the original from West End, but I have both the '00s Z-Man and the brand-new crowdfunded one from Play to Z. Let's compare the two modern editions of the wondrous Eric Goldberg storytelling game Tales of the Arabian Nights! #boardgames youtu.be/17Jo9hJ158s

Tales of the Arabian Nights — Side-by-Slide Comparison 👥

YouTube video by Board Gems

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Gradually march your samurai west to Kyoto, keeping up with the changing scoring regions in this Moaideas area majority game with a trick-taking-ish backbone. Liking TTers doesn't mean you'll like Joraku, heads up! But I dig it, and the TMG edition was so compact. ❤️ #boardgames youtu.be/fZwDnVrJwF0

Joraku — How to Play 🎲 and Is It a Gem? 💎

YouTube video by Board Gems

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Here I compare side-by-slide the two editions of Emerson Matsuuchi’s Volt: 2015 Nazca (Matsuuchi’s own company) vs 2018 @heidelbaer.de #boardgames youtu.be/NjtXDbeXxys

Volt — Side-by-Slide Comparison 👥

YouTube video by Board Gems

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Oh Hell is an exact-bid trick-taker using a standard deck. I haven't played it! Here I talk about two derivatives that I love though. Wizard adds special cards, and Skull King adds MORE special cards, tweaking a few other things along the way. #boardgames youtu.be/86fuPNcjMDo

Wizard & Skull King — Are They Gems? 💎

YouTube video by Board Gems

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I continue my run through #boardgames I've covered, rating them by how much I want to keep them in my collection: FITS, Feudality, Keltis Card Game, Pyramid, Witch of Salem, Top Secret Spies, Lifeboats, Safranito, Wildlife Adventure, The Hanging Gardens, Manoeuvre and Hansa! youtu.be/9WgnXIO6_mM

Rating Old Gems #3 — Board Game Gibber

YouTube video by Board Gems

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In this video I compare theJeffrey D. Allers games ...aber bitte mit Sahne (2008 Winning Moves), New York Slice (2017 Bézier) and Piece o' Cake / もっとホイップを (2018 New Games Order). #boardgames youtu.be/FUZ95fG8ROg

Piece o' Cake / New York Slice — Side-by-Slide Comparison 👥

YouTube video by Board Gems

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Line goes up! In Speculation, stocks in 8 companies rise & fall relative to each other. As a poor trader with limited starting capital, buy low, sell high, rinse, repeat. Dice from old edition replaced with bag pulls. Not an improvement — find dice if you can. #boardgames youtu.be/apnuH0-ZXns

Speculation — How to Play 🎲 and Is It a Gem? 💎

YouTube video by Board Gems

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I have an internal rating system I use in evaluating whether a game will stay in my collection. It's fun to go back to the old gems I've covered using this lens. Did I or will I keep them? Have they been banished to the trade/sale pile? 2nd video of many! #boardgames youtu.be/bZkOGZWJCDc

Rating My Gems #2 —Board Game Gibber

YouTube video by Board Gems

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There have been many editions of the two-player classic The Rose King by Dirk Henn. I obviously can't compare them all, but here are three: Kosmos DE 2008, Thames & Kosmos EN 2016, and Playte KO/JA/EN 2025. Three different decades! #boardgames youtu.be/PjyT-R3Vw1I

The Rose King — Side-by-Slide Comparison 👥

YouTube video by Board Gems

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I don't rank games, but I do rate them... sort of. I have an internal ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ rating system based on how much I want to keep a game in my collection. So I've returned to and rated the first dozen-ish #boardgames I've covered for this channel. Have I kept them, or moved them on? youtu.be/Vm8jTxNx-hs

Rating the Gems I've Covered #1 — Board Game Gibber

YouTube video by Board Gems

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The rise and fall of civilisations can be seen in Philippe Keyaerts's #boardgames Vinci (1999 Descartes) and Small World (2009 Days of Wonder). Same core concept, but they differ in important ways. Let's take a look! youtu.be/ZTZ_vrumFX4

Vinci / Small World — Side-by-Slide Comparison 👥

YouTube video by Board Gems

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Add floors to towers, finish them off with roofs, then add them onto the board for area-majority goodness. Escalating points & brutal scoring in which only top two score (if that) ratchets the tension in a four-player game of Capitol AKA Skyline 3000 up to 11. #boardgames youtu.be/udv2LTZ6K6c

Capitol / Skyline 3000 — How to Play 🎲 and Is It a Gem? 💎

YouTube video by Board Gems

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In this video I compare, with commentary, ye olde Formula Dé from the late-90s to the newer (but not that new) Formula D from the late-00s and beyond. #boardgames youtu.be/_it6vN2NKfU

Formula D(é) — Side-by-Slide Board Game Comparison 👥

YouTube video by Board Gems

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I recently talked about ye olde Kreta and ye newe Sardegna. Here they are, side-by-slide, with commentary! #boardgames youtu.be/unUJzkyzHi0

Sardegna / Kreta — Side-by-Slide Board Game Comparison 👥

YouTube video by Board Gems

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Kreta was an area-majority game from 2005 in which one player must choose to trigger scoring, putting them behind the pace but giving them influence where scoring happens in the future. 2024's Sardegna is a compact version worth checking out for fans of the genre. #boardgames youtu.be/tsTYs4bZXsg

Sardegna AKA Kreta — How to Play 🎲 and Is It a Gem? 💎

YouTube video by Board Gems

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Let's compare the two editions of the board game London, by Martin Wallace: From his own company Treefrog in 2010 to the 2017 edition from Osprey. Note I haven't played the game, so this is a comparison of the components and my vibes from reading the rules. #boardgames youtu.be/swRdqrFUNe0

London — Side-by-Slide Board Game Comparison 👥

YouTube video by Board Gems

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Countless* copies of the Colovini classic Cartagena — compared, with commentary! #boardgames youtu.be/RywTKDdaKfs * well, four

Cartagena — Side-by-Slide Board Game Comparison 👥

YouTube video by Board Gems

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To make money, you have to spend money. Bid away money you don't want, and try to get lots in few different currencies, identical sets, and some precious metals wouldn't hurt too. Money! by Reiner Knizia has a new edition this year from @allplay.bsky.social. #boardgames youtu.be/Mtx-arC6xAU

Money — How to Play 🎲 and Is It a Gem? 💎

YouTube video by Board Gems

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Here’s a side-by-slide comparison, with commentary, of the two retail editions of the Dan Cassar card game Arboretum: earlier Z-Man vs later Renegade. #boardgames youtu.be/GaqnzTjGdbM

Arboretum — Side-by-Slide Card Game Comparison 👥

YouTube video by Board Gems

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This is a side-by-slide comparison, with commentary, of two versions of a classic Corné van Moorsel board game: Gipsy King (2007 Cwali) and the brand-new Waddle (2025 @allplay.bsky.social). #boardgames youtu.be/M4SQaXAioYQ

Waddle AKA Gipsy King — Side-by-Slide Board Game Comparison 👥

YouTube video by Board Gems

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