Reviews and Media – Stonemaier Games

Reviews and Media

This page contains Scythe media in the form of Reviews, Mentions, Podcasts, Video Previews, Prototype Reviews and Playtesting Quotes.

Reviews

ambassador photos taller

Here’s What A Few of Our Blind Playtesters Said After Their Final Scythe Playtest (Wave 1: 256 playtest sessions)

The average rating (1-10) for Scythe Wave 1 lead playtesters after their final playtest was 8.34.

“Farm your little piece of the world, spread out and colonise as much as you can, or rampage with mechs projecting lethal force over your opponents. This game has it all and with so many routes to victory no two games are the same.”
Stephen ‘Azrael’ Ogden

“I like to chase my friends through the forests of Eastern Europa, and watch as they scorch their villages to deny me resources. Have you met my pet bear Wojtek by the way?”
Chris Stavaas

“My favorite part about scythe was the resources staying on the field of battle and being able to change hands at any point in time. Very different from any other game.”
Jace Williams

“Really love the interaction on the board, especially how combat is about more than just attacking, but positioning, bluffing, and deterring attacks.”
Jeff & Jason

“Resource production, battling mechs, and engaging encounters. Scythe offers something for everyone.”
Shawn Rose

“Scythe is a great game, quick to learn, difficult to master. Each game is unique with plenty of scope to plan your strategy and think several moves ahead.”
David Sneddon

“Scythe is an excellent blend of resource management and conflict which also manages to leave you with a delightful sense of having told a story. Play Scythe; you’ll be glad you did.”
Andrew Busam

“Amazing art, with a cool amalgamation of Euro and Ameritrash gameplay ands it’s going to have miniatures too. What more could you ask for?”
Clive Patmore

“An elegant, engaging synthesis of the Euro and “Amerithrash” genres. Scythe might well be the definitive work of the Golden Age of boardgaming.”
Keith W.

“Civilization as a steam punk board game – amazing!!!”
Gerwin B.

“I love the mix of euro / Ameritrash–it just simply works.”
Anthony A.

“I love the variable strategies and the whole what does this faction do best when you start a new game.”
Nafmi S.

“I love this game. It’s fun, varied and simple to explain. The art is beautiful and the game intrigues many people around me (close friends and family who are not players).”
Vincent V.

“If you like steampunk, you’re going to want to play this game.”
John W.

“Not being a boardgame person, this game has made me view them differently. I can see myself playing it very regularly. The mechs powers are very awesome.”
Suzie B.

Scythe has a fun balance between Euro and Amerithrash, presenting a unique puzzle that gets deeper with every play.”
Steve W.

Scythe is a lovely game that mixes many different gaming mechanisms in one elegant package. You will produce resources from the land, encounter many people in the world, fight for the rights to each space, race to encounters and the Factory. Scythe is a eurogame that mixes in an amerithrash combat feel and really gives you a feeling of being immersed in the world it creates. Scythe is an all around winner in my book!”
Andy E.

“This is a game for farmers with mean streak. Grow, eat, kill!”
Ben Horne

Here’s What A Few of Our Blind Playtesters Said After Their Final Scythe Playtest (Wave 2: 254 playtest sessions)

The average rating (1-10) for Scythe Wave 2 lead playtesters after their final playtest was 8.19.

“Euro/Amerithrash crossovers promise the best of both worlds, but usually fail at both. Scythe actually lives up to the promise AND the hype; it’s just ridiculously fun.”
Ian Liddle

“Good mix of both combat and resource management game!”
Png Yue Tjkai Eugene

“I really love Scythe and am super excited to get my hands on the final copy when it comes out.”
Drew Bakke

“On first glance, Scythe is daunting. But each game progressively rewards the gamer as strategy emerges from rival factions, and engine-building investments pays long-term dividends. Scythe is a modern masterpiece of game design; Jamey Stegmaier has done it again.”
Greg Gillum

“Riveting. I am addicted to the strategy of balancing my faction’s resource engine and expansion while facing a potential threat of combat. Thrilling, because this all must be accomplished during a race to unlock six achievements. Some games my husband brings home, I take my turn, return to my cellphone, and wait till it’s my turn again. But not Scythe. I anxiously plot and plan my next action–so many good choices. It’s often my turn before I’m ready.”
Ginny Eiseman

“Scythe doesn’t just paint a pretty picture on your gaming table – it does so via a solid game engine that can hold its own against both euro as well as ameritrash competitors. And it does so in 1920s mech-battling style… It doesn’t get much better than this”
Costin “Grizzlyface” Becheanu

“Scythe is a fast-paced, engaging game which rewards strategic play, yet offers enough social interaction and luck to make the games exciting. Truly a work of modern art.”
Marc S.

“Scythe is going to be the hottest, most exciting game of 2016!”
Phil Truelove

“Stonemaier Games has created a euro/amerithrash hybrid, which at its core, presents the player with a puzzle of efficiency, similar to games like Tzolk’in and Terra Mystica.”
Alex Nielsen

“The best ameri-combat with euro-production combination”
Circogames.com

“The Encounters are a genius thematic element that help make the world the game takes place in all the more real”
Tyler Martin

“This game is dripping with theme, but that doesn’t mean it lacks in other areas. It’s area control, resource production and management, bluffing, diplomacy, and beautiful artwork.”
Casey Harmon

“The beauty of Scythe lies not only in the game art, but in the ability to make even the best gamers struggle with their next move. That is what makes a good game, a great game.”
Nick Korte

“Scythe is great! The more you explore it, the deeper it gets, and there are a LOT of paths to victory! We had players win with non-combative “Euro” engine-building strategies, and we had winners play aggressive “Ameritrash” games…and both were a blast!”
Cliff B.

“Once we got going the turns went very quickly. The mechanics are simple enough you could think about your turn while other players were acting and still be able to follow what they are doing.”
Brian K

“Scythe combines an awesome theme and amazing art with a game full of interesting choices. It is a great mixture of puzzle-solving and player interaction.”
Miles Bensky

Scythe is the proverbial missing link, but in this case between eurogame and ameritrash.”
Christophe J.

“Scythe will blow your mind. You will leave each game wanting more.”
Noah Gadea

“The game will end before you are ready! Like they say ‘leave them wanting more.’ And you will want to play it again.”
Jeff Eiseman

“There is so much goodness in this game. If you like Euros, there is a lot here for you. If you like area control and combat, there is plenty for you. If you like meaty strategy, come on in. If you like a game that doesn’t outlast its welcome, Scythe has you covered. Great game!”
Zack H.

Here’s What A Few of Our Blind Playtesters Said After Their Final Scythe Playtest (Wave 3: 253 playtest sessions)

The average rating (1-10) for Scythe Wave 2 lead playtesters after their final playtest was 8.56.

“When Scythe was announced and I saw the initial artwork, I was a little afraid it couldn’t live up to the expectations. I’m happy to say it met them, and then went one better. Exciting and engaging gameplay, fantastic theme and artwork, endless replayability; this is everything I look for in a board game.”
Jeremiah Power

“This game reminds me of old school computer RTS’s, like Red Alert.”
Suzie B.

“The theme of Scythe encourages story telling between your friends sitting at the table.”
Chris Stavaas

“Scythe tells a different story every time. The gameplay is elegant and approachable, yet deeply satisfying. The asymmetric factions are very well balanced. Excellent replayability.”
Scot Duvall

“Scythe is great! It really rewards repeated plays. There are so many different strategies with the faction/player mat combinations that you can try totally different things every time.”
Cliff B.

“Our group loved Scythe, and we were excited about it as we haven’t been for any other new game we’ve played. Each time we played, we would email back and forth the next day about how the game went, what we thought of it, how we could play better; it wouldn’t leave us alone! The gameplay is rich and smooth; there are tactical and strategic depths, fueled by the asymmetric start conditions, that leave you wanting to play more, to plumb the depths of the game.”
Chris Broadbent

“I love the puzzle that every game of Scythe presents, how to effectively build your engine whilst keeping an eye on your opponents. The game oozes theme and rewards repeated plays. This is a keeper for any collection.”
Nafmi S.

“A stunningly attractive game combined with elegant mechanics, what’s not to love?”
Michael

“A great mix of theme and game-play! Managing your faction and trying to optimize your actions in such close proximity to the other players is a blast!”
Gordon Dankberg

“The theme really drives the game home. You really feel like you’re building an empire, with all of the tough decisions of being a leader.”
Scott Hooker

“Should I encourage the cow to pass by the mech to see what happens…How can I not?! Moral dilemmas aside, Scythe has easily earned the number one spot in my board game rotation.”
Polymorpheus

“Scythe’s innovative mechanism of storing your resources on the board so that the neighborhood bully can come and steal them creates a perfect merger between dudes on a map and resource management.”
Michael Murphy

“Scythe is the only strategy game I know that offers decision making depth, with fast pace, tension, ease of play, satisfying climactic endings, and plays in under two hours! Every single time a player triggers the end game, two or three other players jump up in surprised agony, saying something like… ‘I would have had you in two moves!’. How many games do this? I don’t have any.”
Jeff Eiseman

“Scythe elegantly blends worker placement and war game conflict.”
Dan Martin, Madison, WI

“If you take Agricola, give it teeth, and remove the entire afternoon needed to play a single game, you’re left with Scythe.”
Dan Martin, Madison, WI

“Scythe beautifully blends a ‘Euro’ style engine builder with an ‘Ameritrash’ territory control game that is fun, challenging, and looks awesome while doing it.”
Luke Turner

“I’m calling it now. Scythe is going to be the best game of 2016.”
Phil Truelove

“I enjoy the combat mechanism in Scythe more than any other game in my collection!”
David Groot

Here’s What A Few of Our Blind Playtesters Said After Their Scythe Automa (the solo mode) Playtests (Wave 1: 173 playtest sessions)

The average rating (1-10) for Scythe Automa Wave 1 playtesters after their final playtest was 8.08

“I’m totally surprised that playing a solo board game is fun.”
– Alex Edgar

“The Automa is challenging, relentless, and at times unforgiving, but it’s also a whole lot of fun. It’s a worthy adversary that earns a begrudging respect.”
– Jeremiah Power

“I hardly ever play solo games but this is a very engaging 1-player experience.”
– Noah Gadea

“Extremely challenging in the best way possible.”
– Michael Murphy

Here’s What A Few of Our Blind Playtesters Said After Their Scythe Automa (the solo mode) Playtests (Wave 2: 102 playtest sessions and counting)

The average rating (1-10) for Scythe Automa Wave 2 playtesters after their final playtest was 8.37

“My favorite game for solo play!”
– Melissa Brumbaugh

“I keep coming back for more”
– Dallas Petersen

“Love, love, love.”
– Riccardo Previdi

“The solo rules are pretty amazing and enable really well to play the game alone.”
– Carine Morel

“The gameplay is very intuitive, but there’s so much depth to it. It’s everything I look for in a game.”
– Jeremiah Power

Leave a Comment