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    The Master Of Sinanju
    Sports Connoisseur
    Dash  ·  
    Aug 30, 2021

    The Mariana Trench

    in Now Playing

    So being a public holiday today in the UK I had time to take this new arrival for a spin......


    Ratings as follows.....


    The Mariana Trench – 2.1/5



    Speed / Ease Of Set Up & Tear Down? – 3/5

    Nothing to it, so as expected!


    Game Time? – 2/5

    On the box it says 10-15 mins. For me, solo, it was 6 mins for the basic game and about 10 mins with all the expansions chucked in. Far too quick and unrewarding!


    Rule Book? – 3/5

    Very simple game so not much is needed. The rules sheet is ok and does a job. Slightly confusing on the expansions where one has a sheet and the other has an extra card!



    Component Quality? – 0/5

    Ok, so here’s a rating I never seriously thought I would give. Firstly there is a card (Plesiosaur) missing, which they are aware of and will be fixing at a later date and for now doesn’t affect the gameplay! Next, ALL the cards are cut slightly wrong with two opposite corners sloping in. From the base set there is in theory a counter missing (needed for the 2 player game). If you have the KS version there is a spare with the expansions if not… There is a “charge” token in the game also, which keeps changing names at varying times to “electric” or “spark” and finally the cards. They are thick, but they are also that horrible dry matte finish (like old VPG games) and are impossible to shuffle cleanly unless you sleeve them.



    Theme? – 3/5

    I gave them the par score on this one, the theme is there I suppose!



    Gameplay? – 2/5

    In the base “solo” you play against an AI which means the game last between 16 & 24 turns depending on the card draw as the AI’s movement is the timer. Now in some other games that’s a lot, here, your turn might be, pick up a token, turn over a card, do absolutely nothing and recharge. There is very little time to do anything, adding the expansions adds a couple of turns and some more pitfalls but otherwise it’s too short to be interesting.



    Replayability? – 2/5

    Multiplayer I can see being a little better as there wouldn’t be such a fixed number of turns. With some work and some house rules maybe there is something in there but since I was bored after one game and had to force myself to play a few more times to confirm my suspicions, I’ll take some convincing!



    Value For Money? –2/5

    I know it a very cheap “filler” game but with both practical and technical faults, there’s a problem here. Better for Multiplayers


    Keeper ????

    If you’ve read this far, do I really need to answer this…….:(


    5 = Out of this world, could not be better!

    4 = Great !!!

    3 = Average (Where any game should be)

    2 = Really needs some work to come up to standard!!

    1 = Disastrous

    0 = Oh! The Horror!!!!!!!

    24 comments
    24 Comments
    T
    The Master Of Sinanju
    Nov 14, 2021
    •

    It doesn't matter what I think!

    If you like it then that's great......😁

    Like

    C
    Cadet Stimpy
    Nov 03, 2021
    •

    I liked this game more than you did, MoS. I applied some House Rules, as I often do, since that can enhance my "gaming experience", and it did in this case. 🙂 I didn't have the component quality issue you did, so I gave that category a much higher score. It's also the first game I purchased a mat for, so I had that as a cosmetic booster. I like the Exploration Submarine theme, too. I like submarines for some reason. I think in part, because they're the pinnacle of modern technology (NASA, notwithstanding). Z, if you're there, is this sub, "The Terrible"? It sure looks like it! 😄

    Image Source: largest-submarines.blogspot.com


    I asked the designer, Tris, a couple of questions on Gamefound, and he was very responsive. Thumbs-Up there. I'll bring it to the table again (with spiffy mat and House Rules).

    Like
    Z
    Zerbique
    Nov 03, 2021
    •
    Replying to

    At least that's the name written on it!

    Like

    C
    Cadet Stimpy
    Nov 04, 2021
    •
    Replying to

    @Zerbique Well, it is full of nuclear missles, and that could be terrible.

    Like

    C
    Cadet Stimpy
    Sep 07, 2021
    •

    Well, this is a plucky Thread!


    P.S. FWIW, Tristam, I backed this game and am looking forward to receiving it. I'm relatively easy to please with games, so hopefully I'll like the Solo Mode. 🙂

    Like
    C
    Cadet Stimpy
    Oct 31, 2021
    •
    Replying to

    I recently received my copy - thank goodness the cards are 'straight', as my analness wouldn't have been able to cope, otherwise. 😀 I haven't played it, yet (maybe today), but I wish they woulda left the dotted lines OFF the cards. They don't seem to serve any purpose other than to detract from the appearance of the cards (which I really like, otherwise). 😕

    Poorly lit Image Source: Me

    Like

    T
    Tristam Rossin
    Sep 07, 2021

    Have a look at this review, it covers how the strategy in the game works.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edqPFZGgWUs

    Like

    G
    Gloomknight
    Aug 31, 2021
    •

    Such a shame. The artwork is really nice in this game. It would be easy to purchase something like this, especially with such a cool theme. At least you tried it several times and gave it a chance. Thanks for the review!

    Like

    T
    The Master Of Sinanju
    Aug 31, 2021
    •

    Just as a follow up I did e-mail Tristam Rossin, the maker of the game, as a heads up just to tip him off about the other issues. He replied....


    "I hadn't previously noticed, not perfect I admit but something I can live with at this stage as it's very, very minor"


    gif

    Now whilst I wasn't expecting him to do anything about my copy I was expecting a little more concern for his other backers and future buyers.

    Needless to say I shall be careful in backing any future games he might be involved with as he obviously has a high attention to detail......

    Like
    Z
    Zerbique
    Sep 07, 2021
    •
    Replying to

    @Tristam Rossin I don't want to be rude, but The Master of Sinanju is someone who, just like me, has a habit of hanging out in this "Lounge" and freely express his mind here. I value his opinions very much as they are well detailed. This is basically "our home". The Master of Sinanju did not come on KS to write a negative review, nor did he send you a private message. So why do you come here to call out on his comments? Can't we speak our minds to our fellows anywhere?


    So, as I feel it, it's you who come here and criticize a review that was not intended for you to read, that you sought out of your own will. We don't need to design a game to be legitimate to assess the quality of a game - only to play them.



    Like

    T
    Tristam Rossin
    Sep 07, 2021
    Replying to