4, 3, 2, .. Action! Set your characters up for success to create the next masterpiece theater.
Join us, Spider and Cat, as we talk you through what we liked and what we thought could change with Roll Camera: The Filmmaking Board Game.
Cat: This was a fun game that really captured what I imagine managing a filmset to be like. There were stars, production designers, editors, ideas, interns, and one of my favorite elements in games, dice. Together, Spider and I quickly picked up the cadence of game play and developed our strategies to make the best film.
Our first run through wasn't successful, not only did we not make a good film, it wasn't even so bad it was good. We mismanaged our resources and didn't fully utilize our player abilities to offset troubles thrown at us. Good thing is that the game is not a very long game and we were able to reflect and redo with another movie right after. Our second go around was much better since we understood how to use our characters to support the movie making process.
Spider: Honestly, I really liked it. The game grew on me. It was easy to learn, the rulebook was laid out in a very straightforward way.
Cat: I agree, the rulebook was great. It had a lot of helpful images. I also loved the player aid cards.
Spider: The game is pretty quick, the pacing is great because of the increasing schedule and decreasing budget.
Cat: Because the pacing in the game is so quick it made playing through really dynamic and a lot of fun. We could enjoy the process and communicate our way through the challenges presented each turn.
Spider: The biggest strength of the game was its theme. The way they thought about the aspects was really cool. It really felt like what I imagine making a movie would be like. I liked how there were different roles. Each of the roles was really independent and there wasn't an over-powered character that "quarterbacked" the game.
I also liked the idea cards and how each player had them, but they were kept secret. The mechanism to how to play the ideas was cool. Each player and one from the deck contributed secretly.
The function of the dice felt like it moved the game forward and didn't really impede progress too much. There were always alternative ways to work towards goals whether it was interns, ideas, or player abilities.
Cat: I loved the dice. I thought they were chunky and fun and I loved the clear symbology. I also like how challenges presented or set pieces required or eliminated the use of specific dice. It made the chance of the roll more entertaining.
Spider: The components and the art were really cool. The silly humor was great and definitely kept the fun. I liked how you could shoot for the worst possible rating as well. That rating system really mimicked movies. For example, there are amazing, historical films to middle of the road generic films, to movies so bad they become cult classics loved by everyone.
Cat: The rating system was fun. I loved how it was situated next to the developing scene board. It added a little bit of intensity for me as I would compare the scenes we shot to the script and had to take into account where was our rating.
Spider: I didn't really dislike too much about the game. I thought that the problems that came out were really easy to deal with. It was easy to up the difficulty by reducing the schedule and reducing the budget. A big part of the game was theme and charm, but I imagine how that could start to feel generic after playing through regularly. This could be a great every once in a while, type of game, but not a mainstay in the rotation.
Overall Ratings
Pros
very strong theme
quick playthrough
easy to learn
Cons
theme could get old if played a lot
Spider: Three Spiders
Cat: Three Cats
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