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Review of Scythe: Board Extension
Blurb from the publisher: 'The board extension slides next to the back side of the standard game board, creating a complete board with 70% bigger hexes (the content is the same). All units and resources in Scythe are kept on the board, so the larger hexes provide more space. The standard game board is 624 x 818 mm, and it grows to 818 x 939 mm with this extension.'
What you get: Your USD 12 or equivalent will buy you Scythe: Board Extension, an accessory for the Scythe game line. For those who haven't read the review of the base game, it is a 4x game for two to five players that ends in... 115 minutes (that's exactly what the game claims) and accommodates from one to five players. Scythe is a persisting sensation, has won a few dozen nominations and awards, and looks the world from up high from BGG's top-15 three years after its initial publication.
The expansion is sold in transparent shrinkwrap. There is no box per se. The blurb already covered the expansion's contents, so I am not going to do that again. Simply note that map-wise, the extension contains one third of Scythe's map in a large format. The other two thirds are on the back side of the original, small format map.
The strong points: Scythe is a busy game, and its original hexes were often busting at the seams with all the forces that occupied them. With this extension one can use the back of game's original board which boasts of much bigger tiles which allow the game to breathe. There are no new rules to learn; only the size of the map changes. The result on the table is immediately perceptible, and you'd better have a sizeable table to do the game justice.
The board extension is identical to the base game when it comes to both the imagery as well as the production values. You know exactly what you pay for.
The weak points: On the one hand I enjoy the option of having a smaller and a larger version of the map. Many of us have small tables, and the original map is the one to use in these situations. On the other hand, this extension sells you not just something you already have, but one third of something you already have. I don't like this marketing, and even more so because it comes from a line and company that systematically overprices its games. If gamers with smaller tables is the crowd this tactic was addressed to, this extension would have been included in the original box without an increase in price, or with a nominal increase of a few USD. Yet, here we are at USD 12 for one third of a map.
Scythe: Modular Board is a much later product than the present extension. If you invested on that expansion without buying the present extention first, there is zero reason to do so now.
Conclusion: The Scythe: Board Extension completes the big-sized version of the original game. It is a must-have if you play that game often without having invested in the line's Modular Board. On the other hand, the marketing behind this extension is offending. Under no circumstances should it have been an independent product with such a price tag. You are literally paying for one third of a map, no mater how much use you make out of it.
For more info on Scythe: Board Extension visit Stonemaier Games at http://stonemaiergames.com/.
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