When comparing Scythe vs A Game of Thrones: The Board Game (Second Edition), the Slant community recommends A Game of Thrones: The Board Game (Second Edition) for most people. In the question“What are the best boardgames with area-control mechanics?” A Game of Thrones: The Board Game (Second Edition) is ranked 1st while Scythe is ranked 4th. The most important reason people chose A Game of Thrones: The Board Game (Second Edition) is:
Like Risk, but with more planned strategy in stead of luck by throwing dice. Tactics are planned out ahead of time (instead of turn by turn in Risk) and then they are laid out turn by turn depending on placement.
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Pros
Pro Unique factions with different abilities keep the game fresh
Each of the factions in Scythe has a different player board with different action costs and player abilities, leading the players to have entirely different strategies and approaches to the game and keeping the gameplay interesting.
Pro Gorgeous artwork
The art of Jakub Rozalski fantastically blends elements of 1920s agrarian scenes with huge and imposing mechs as well as scenes of war that help bring this game to life.
Pro Top-notch components
Scythe has easily some of the best components of any boardgame ever produced. Whether it's the dual layer player boards that firmly hold pieces in place, the chunky wooden bits, or the large plastic mechs; Stonemaier games absolutely went above and beyond with the components for Scythe.
Pro Excellent game design
Like Risk, but with more planned strategy in stead of luck by throwing dice. Tactics are planned out ahead of time (instead of turn by turn in Risk) and then they are laid out turn by turn depending on placement.
Pro Nerve-racking
The game is extremely intense. Shouldn't be played on an empty stomach!
Pro Good replayability
Every time it is different, more or less players matters a lot in the gameplay which effects how the game plays each time.
Cons
Con The unique mechanisms can be difficult to explain
Some of the gameplay elements of Scythe are totally unique and innovative, unfortunately this can make it difficult to teach to new players.
Con Takes a long time to learn and play
The gameplay is very deep and interesting, but it involves a lot of mechanics and rules. You only have a certain amount of action tokens, and you can't always use the more powerful actions (you need to be a certain rank on the track), and there's a bunch of other things you need to think about constantly. There are tons of little mechanics you need to learn first before you can actually enjoy the game (and that will probably take a playthrough or 2, which is about 5 hours...especially if you're reading the rulebook).
Con Flares can be fustrating
As one of your action tokens, you can use a flare, which interrupts another action token of an opposing player. While useful, they do nothing besides slow down the game (for example, if the Lannisters keep flaring the Greyjoy's ships then they're stuck where they are and the Greyjoys can't do anything about it, essentially rendering them useless).