Scythe Review
I originally posted this article on A Pawn's Perspective on April 16, 2020.
Scythe is well-known in the board gaming community for its amazing visual appeal and excellent gameplay. Since its release, it’s been met with all sorts of praise and awards and has ranked high on many “Best of” lists for tabletop games. After several expansions, including one that introduces a legacy-style campaign to the game, how well does it stand against newer games?
Set in a post-war alternate-history 1920s, players are world powers trying to put together the pieces of society by farming, winning the hearts of the people, scavenging advanced technology from “The Factory”, and raising their military might. This is accomplished by slowly building your engine to raise various tracks around the board and earn victory points. At the center of this is each player’s action board which contains a top track and bottom track that players must choose from each turn without repeating their last action.
What’s great about Scythe is that you can choose your own path to victory. The game ends when one player earns X amount of Stars. You earn stars by completing different objectives like engaging in combat, raising your popularity rating, building upgrades, etc… Once the end of the game is triggered scores are tallied and a winner is declared. The game is so beautifully balanced that there doesn’t seem to be a tried and true method to victory.
As you play the game and grow your power you are building a sort of narrative told by your actions and your choices on Quest cards. Combined with the artwork of the game Scythe certainly doesn’t feel dry. Every bit of the game oozes theme and the mechanics tie so perfectly into this that playing is certainly an experience. Add in the game’s expansions and you get more countries, airships, and even a campaign. All without weighing the game down one bit. Stonemaier has even released upgraded components to really bring the whole experience to the next level.
The three main expansions
I certainly got the game a bit later than most. Certainly, after much of the hype had already built up and died down a bit. Since purchasing the game, Scythe has remained one of my favorite games in my collection. It’s one that I play with my kids, my wife, and anyone else who’s willing to sit with me and do so. Does it hold up? Most certainly. It’s about as close to perfection as I’ve seen a board game come. It’s certainly not for everyone. Being a bit heavier, casual gamers most likely won’t dig it. For me, it’s certainly deserving of the praise that’s been heaped upon it.
My one complaint? While the base game certainly can be packed up in its box, a 3rd party organizer is really needed to keep everything sorted for easy setup/tear down. There is the Scythe Legendary Box, but honestly, you’re better off with a Broken Token or Feldherr insert.
If you haven’t played Scythe you owe it to yourself to at least give it a chance. This is a game that will go down in tabletop history as one of the greats.
Scythe, Invaders from Afar, and The Wind Gambit were purchased around 2 years ago from the time of this writing. “Looking Back” is a series of reviews spotlighting older games that may or may not still deserve some love.