Board With Each Other Bite Size: Episode 7 - Back to the Future: Dice Through Time

It's an IP double whammy this month as we take a quick look at the Ravensburger published co-op, Back to the Future: Dice Through Time. Although, we do wish we could borrow the Delorean to get that time back. Why you ask? Answers within!

Transcript

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SPEAKER_01 0:15

Hello everybody and welcome to another edition of Board with Each Other by Size, the spin-off podcast from the main Board with Each Other podcast, where we look at shorter, lighter, tinier, sometimes duller games than our main reviews podcast, which does deep dives into slightly more weighty fair. And this week we are going to be talking about Back to the Future Dice Through Time. I'm joined as ever by my lovely wife, my co-host and player two, Hannah Kelly.

SPEAKER_00 0:43

Hi guys.

SPEAKER_01 0:44

Back to the Future Dice Through Time is a Ravensburger published uh co-op game. The object of the game is to travel through the four timelines from the Back to the Future movie.

SPEAKER_00 0:55

But you only mean three Back to the Futures. How are there four timelines?

SPEAKER_01 0:58

Because it starts in one timeline, the timeline that it starts 1985. Yeah. We were promised hoverboards, we got no hoverboards. The object of the game is you have locations at all of these various uh times. There's various times, yeah. And um you have to use dice to take a variety of actions to clear locations of events from the movies, basically. When you clear all of the events from a location, you get to draw a uh item.

SPEAKER_00 1:40

So artifact.

SPEAKER_01 1:41

Artifact, yeah, from the deck associated with that location, and then return it to a specific location on the board. So for example, you'd be in 1955, you'd clear all the events at uh Marty's high school dance, Marty's father's high school does, and uh you would draw, say, perhaps a telescope from 1885. You would then have to travel to 1885 to a specific location, drop it off, and you continue to do so until you have returned all of the items. The complicating factor in all of this is biff, yes, so each timeline has its own version of Biff, and Biff is basically a spoiler. He stops you from clearing locations and he stops you from dropping items off. You can move Biff away by an action from the dice that you roll. Punching him. Yep, you can punch Biff, but you must clear him before you do anything else. If you have multiple events on the same location, you have to clear them all in one turn in order to get rid of them. Some of the actions that you can do on the dice, you can move to any other location in the same timeline as you. You can move to a different time.

SPEAKER_00 2:41

Same location, different time.

SPEAKER_01 2:42

Same location, different time. You uh can remove things called paradox tokens off the board, which I'll explain in a minute. Or you can use a dice to re-roll another dice. You also get spammers, which are sort of multi-use um uh multi-use tool dice, whatever resources for you to clear, uh for you to clear events from objectives. At the end of every turn, the timeline with the most events on different locations on it causes the outer time marker to move forward that many spaces. So, for example, if you had a timeline that had three separate locations with the uncleared events on, the outer time marker would move forward three spaces. You then add a paradox token to every location that uh basically had an event on it. Those then get worse and worse as time goes by and on on later turns because they are then counted on top of the number of locations that have events on them. Uh if the outer time marker moves to 12, you lose the game. So not a lot of wiggle room there.

SPEAKER_00 3:44

Right. And it's worth noting that you don't have the set number of turns, it just depends how far that out of time marker moves up.

SPEAKER_01 3:52

Well, yeah. Yeah, if it gets to 12 game over. When you return an item, you move the outer time marker back one space. Um when you do return an item, you also get to pick a token from uh a stack of face-down tokens, and those tokens basically represent one of the results of your dice. You put that on the board and can be used by any player at any time to take whatever action that uh that responds to it. The only other thing worth mentioning is the rippling mechanic. So you can place a dice down on your location, and that dice can be used by yourself or another player at the same or any future time period. So, for example, if you put a dice down in 1955, somebody in that same location, 2015, could use that dice.

SPEAKER_00 4:33

And that becomes really important because if you've got like a stack of three different cards that you need to clear, you may not have enough dice to be able to do it all in one turn. Therefore, the only legit way of being able to do that is by rippling dice through the through the ES.

SPEAKER_01 4:45

And the ripple dice stays there for the rest of the turn, and you can, if you wish, bring it back to your your hand of dice before you roll them at the start of the next turn. That is basically all there is to it. There's some special events mixed in there that have impacts on the game. So, for example, you'll have something like you've got to re-roll all flux capacitor results this turn. That's an example, but they've areas you go through. So, the reason I picked this up was mainly off the back of the Fast and the Furious game. Which was happy. Which was excellent, refer to our main review. I got a little bit confused because I thought this was another Funko Pop slash Prosper Inverger, but it turns out it wasn't an Enrabian Virgo version that um looks a lot like and Patty's package a lot like the the Funko and plays a lot like it, yeah. To a certain extent, yeah. Um I knew there were two versions, one of perhaps the future games, one is by Prospero Hall, but it's a lot more difficult to get hold of. So saw this, picked it up. Um, I mean I'm just gonna say it right out the bat. I don't think I've ever been as disappointed in a game as as this. Enraged, in fact.

SPEAKER_00 5:53

You're angry about this statement. It offends you.

SPEAKER_01 5:56

It does.

SPEAKER_00 5:56

And not a man that's easily offended.

SPEAKER_01 5:58

No. Um, and I usually find something good in most sport games, but this one I really, really struggle with.

SPEAKER_00 6:05

Well, I guess that's the reason why we're doing this as a bite size.

SPEAKER_01 6:08

Yes, because spoiler alert, we did manage to find a copy of the uh the other one, so I have a feeling we'll have a full deep dive review into that in the future. I don't think two deep dives into two back to the future games was necessary as part of our content. And also, I really didn't like this. We will go into why, but I don't want to talk at length and just sort of spend half an hour essentially shitting on a game for no reason.

SPEAKER_00 6:30

And we've only played it three times.

SPEAKER_01 6:32

Full disclosure, we can to get through six playthroughs of this, which is our usual metric, and so we didn't, and so we felt that that would be unfair to give it a full full review treatment, but we have played it three times, four times actually. We have played it four times, um, and my issues with it straight off the bat remained throughout all four times, and I don't think my opinion was going to change whatsoever. In fact, it may have got worse by forcing myself to play it again. So, I mean, I've talked quite a lot. Do you want to start off with your thoughts and opinions as a as a package on the game?

SPEAKER_00 7:04

Yeah, so I mean, I'm not a huge movie Perhaps the Future movie person. Um Fast and the Furious. It's no Fast and the Furious, really, is what I want to say. Um, so I think already I'm probably you know not necessarily on board with it with it as I was expecting you to be. All the components are there. So again, the things that I loved about Fast and the Furious game, I know we're not supposed to compare, but whatever. Um, you've got little um miniatures, you've got charge, you've got device, you've got tokens, you know, it it's all there.

SPEAKER_01 7:35

Yeah, production-wise, it feels very, very similar, I have to say. Um although the artwork is definitely subpar subpar and far, far less effort put in.

SPEAKER_00 7:43

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:44

Yeah, I think I think components-wise and sort of all package-wise, there's nothing wrong with it. Um the artwork is a bit uninspiring.

SPEAKER_00 7:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 7:52

Falls a bit flat, I think. And um everything else is there, you know, it's a it's a decent enough package.

SPEAKER_00 7:58

Yeah, I think one of the amazing things about Fast and the Furious, and again, no one comparing, but it was so cool, I think, and you know, the way in which the cards interact with the game, it it made it for a really fun play experience. This it feels very much like roll some dice and move around a board, you know. And I think that that gameplay element is really quite lacking, really, yeah. To be honest.

SPEAKER_01 8:20

No, I mean absolutely, let's get into the gameplay. I think I think the main issue that I have with this is with the exception of the rippling mechanic, which you could put on you could reframe any sort of way. It does really feel like a very bare bones co-op experience with the Back to the Future stuff just sort of running around a board based on the stuff. Spray painted onto it. You know, it's it's got that sort of classic pandemic-y but simplified thing that you find in a lot of board games, where you're sort of racy against the clock and trying to get everything cleared and all that kind of thing. This could be anything. Yeah, there's nothing there that really ties it thematically, aside from the the time hopping and whipling dice thing.

SPEAKER_00 9:00

The Ford Laureans that are on the board.

SPEAKER_01 9:02

Well, the Ford D'Oreans on the board, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 9:03

Um they don't have moving doors.

SPEAKER_01 9:06

No, they do not, which is really disappointing. I think ultimately my my main issue with this is it's it's just dull.

SPEAKER_00 9:12

It is really dull. And I think you know, it just becomes a race to almost get to the end one way or the other. You know, it it it's not it's not like you have to particularly strategize, really, to be honest, because you you you can't really, and it doesn't really, there's nothing, there's no character or no flavour about it that makes you want to engage particularly with what's happening on the board.

SPEAKER_01 9:32

No, and there's no because of the the dice, because of the random events, it's basically just sort of glorified whack-a-mole where you're frustrated by not being able to, you know, some turns you don't have a hammer.

SPEAKER_00 9:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 9:43

That that's what it feels like, and it there's nothing there's nothing there. It it's intensely difficult, not close to winning, all four times that we played it. And it's it unfortunately that sort of Venn diagram of fiendishly hard and dull at the same time, which is equals irritating in my my head. Like it's nothing sort of dragging you to the board to go, oh let's try this, let's try that.

SPEAKER_00 10:05

I think even if you did win, and even if we did win, uh well, I'm I wouldn't particularly care.

SPEAKER_01 10:09

No, part of me was like, well, we should keep going until we win, but like it's just I'm not having a most most co-ops, I have a good time, wouldn't lose. So this I just was not having a good time full stop.

SPEAKER_00 10:20

I would also say is that there is no like most co-ops, there's no room for interaction because it's pretty obvious what you're doing and where you're going. Yeah. You can't be on the same square as each other because as soon as you're on the same square in the same same location in the same time zone, you get a paradox token. Two paradox tokens, which is which is quite severe. Um, and it just it yeah, it it just feels like there is no even co-papility around it, really.

SPEAKER_01 10:46

Yeah, I mean the whole thing is a glorified fuller fetch quest.

SPEAKER_00 10:49

Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 10:50

You know, go here, pick that up, drop it off, go here, pick that up, drop it off, and you're frustrated by the dice because you, you know, if you don't have what you need, uh there's there's so many turns where you end up with spare dice because it's just oh well, this is pointless, it's universe.

SPEAKER_00 11:06

And you think, oh well, I'll ripple it for purpose. We often ripple it just to see if we're gonna get something come up and where we happen to be.

SPEAKER_01 11:13

We've never managed to use a ripple dice ever because it's it's just too it it doesn't work like you think it would, and it's just the timing's all off. It all it's always the wrong time.

SPEAKER_00 11:22

Yeah, not to mention it would probably take you a turn and all your dice to get to where you need to be to be able to ripple.

SPEAKER_01 11:28

Sometimes, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 11:28

In the meantime, you've got other things going elsewhere on the board that you need to keep track of and keep control of so that your time marker doesn't run rampant.

SPEAKER_01 11:35

Yeah, and you know, you've got the special events in there, but none of them are particularly interesting or they just feel very basic, like mechanic-y, oh, do this for no reason this turn, or this is happening for no reason this turn. And it just feels really, really bright and I don't like to say dull. There's nothing, there's no excitement factory. And you never feel like you're you're executing a strategy. You just feel like you're running around desperately trying to solve again, whack-a-mole, that feels like.

SPEAKER_00 12:05

So kind of imagine this is the sort of present that you would buy for somebody if you didn't really know much about board games, but you knew someone liked Clock to the Future and Ball Games, and you pick it up for the once a Christmas or birthday, and then you would play it again.

SPEAKER_01 12:17

Yeah, and then that would be it. Yeah, yeah, it's it just falls absolutely flat for me, unfortunately. Um, and uh you know, if there was more dimension to it, particularly strategically, and there was a bit more mitigation with regards to the vice, something else you could do, I guess, would would would just add a little bit to it and just make it a little bit more palatable. As it stands, it it uh it's an overly difficult, too, far too luck-based exercise and banality. Yes, in my opinion. Um which is incredibly harsh, but I really, really didn't like this. I would actually go so far as to say this is one of the worst modern ball games I've played. I really don't enjoy it.

SPEAKER_00 13:02

Yeah, okay, fair enough. I'm not gonna you're not gonna get much argument from me.

SPEAKER_01 13:06

Yeah, okay, so we're kind of on the same page there. So what'd you give it as a a general score then?

SPEAKER_00 13:11

Um so what I would also, before we go back to like general score, what I would also just say is that we think we know we are here to review things from a two-player perspective. I would say that actually this is probably fundamentally broken at a two-player.

SPEAKER_01 13:22

Yes, I think yeah, in GS.

SPEAKER_00 13:24

I think the more players you have, the easier it would be.

SPEAKER_01 13:27

Yeah.

SPEAKER_00 13:28

Because the difficulty doesn't particularly ramp up aside from the fact that you may end up co-habiting similar spacing.

SPEAKER_01 13:33

Draw more Ven cards per turn.

SPEAKER_00 13:35

Do you? Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 13:37

Uh I think you draw an extra one for each extra player.

SPEAKER_00 13:40

Yeah, so I don't think that's that bad in comparison to the amount of extra dice that you would get.

SPEAKER_01 13:45

But I think the rippling mechanic would actually work a lot better with three or four people. So I might just be honest with just playing it with two. But I mean classic examples of a game that I thought was good, but I just thought was too challenging for two, we just played two-handed, wouldn't we? We just control two characters.

SPEAKER_00 13:59

I don't think I'm gonna be able to persuade you or twist your arm into doing it.

SPEAKER_01 14:02

Absolutely not, no. I think that's a fundamental problem, is why we didn't play our usual six times, because I just I I really I couldn't bear to go off the shelf again. And it's not often that I just can't bear to play a ball game like usually. But even if it's average, I'll be like, yeah, that's fine, I'll play it.

SPEAKER_00 14:16

If you are gonna if this hasn't put you off and you are gonna reach out, I would suggest that if you you you you play double-handed. Yes, uh two player, absolutely not.

SPEAKER_01 14:25

Or yeah, three or four-handed if you play Sona. Yeah, absolutely. Um, so yeah, what would you give it as a as an overall sport?

SPEAKER_00 14:32

I mean probably a two or a three.

SPEAKER_01 14:34

Yeah, I was gonna go to Yeah. Yeah. It it it it really is one of the worst board games I've played recently. Like, I really don't like it. And I I can't recommend it to almost anybody.

SPEAKER_00 14:45

Yeah, I think I would I I I was okay to play a second time, but I think after the second time I've been done. Like absolutely done.

SPEAKER_01 14:51

Yeah. So unfortunate, but you know, we review things as we come to them and as we play them, and hopefully the other version, the Prospero Hall version, will be a lot better.

SPEAKER_00 15:00

Maybe you're just obsessed with like Back to the Future.

SPEAKER_01 15:03

I am a little bit obsessed with Back to the Future.

SPEAKER_00 15:04

Not you. I mean, you know, people out there, in which case, give it a crack. I'm sure you can pick it up to nothing because I don't think they can probably justify charging for it.

SPEAKER_01 15:12

Um should be given away free. Um yeah. Okay. All right. Well, thanks for joining us for this uh very quick look at an unfortunately terrible game, in our opinion. And I look forward to you joining us next time where we'll hopefully have something a lot more positive to talk about. But until next time, have fun, be good to each other, and play lots of more games.