Scythe

This heavy to mid weight game is really great and one of my top ten of all time. The artwork/theme are very unique with the whole 1920s alternate universe huge mech toys stomping around the board. When I saw the figures I knew I had to paint them. I'm really glad I did too! The colors really bring this game to life. Having this project as my first serious attempt at painting, I think I did relatively ok. I own the expansions for Rise and extra factions so I progressively got better. Here are some of the earlier pictures and how I went about my process.

The production of this game is really great too. The cards and pieces all have good feel to them. The only exception I would make would be the currency which is cardboard punch outs. Since these coins are handled constantly they tend to wear out the most.

Now, Scythe mechanics are amazing! The whole 4x style condensed into 4 actions makes it easy to teach and hard go master. There is a beauty to winning scythe games that make me feel brilliant when I win and sad but not frustrated when I lose. There is one more notable game where I won by getting four stars.

Overall this game is amazing! I rank this game at an 8/10. The things that don't make it a perfect game is it can be very punishing for newer players. If newer player make one or two not so good turns they end up very far behind. Playing with an equally skilled group makes this game much more fun.

Typical strategies in this game are align as many top and bottom actions as possible. In other words, getting the most value out of each turn as possible. The more in depth strategies I will go over with each specific faction, as their starting areas and faction abilities really change how you play them. In addition, I want to notes that the player board you get will also determine how you should play and what resources you ultimately should produce. These strategies work for me and I would say I have around 50+ games with a over 50 percentage win rate.

The two key positions on your player board that should be noted as the bottom action that can be upgraded to cost one resource and the three gold reward bottom action. Bottom actions win games and a easy bottom action via upgrades will be very useful getting a star. Coins also stack very nicely when you can consistently hit three coins. Depending on your faction, note the two resources available to you and try to align them to either of these bottom actions. With the general strategies in mind here are the faction strategies which I think are more important.

Strategies by Color... I will use color since it's easier for me to remember and what our gamer group calls them

Red. Produce produce produce. If possible get to the 🌾 early and recruit so that when you take the bottom actions of you proc. As red you basically will just produce forever until it's time to strike. Since you have the mech ability to go to factory, just wait because most likely someone will be there.

Blue. I have two strategies with blue. Build two mechs for lake and movement and take the center quickly. Or sit back and produce. The blue faction has the most benefits from the general strategies (coins) because they have access to all the resources within one move. Getting popularity and control of lots of territory is how I win with this faction.

White. This to me is the trickiest and maybe most RNG faction. I usually go for the center fast by getting the encounter early and getting a mech or mine. Then when I hit the factory basically use the card to end the game as quickly as possible by getting encounter cards

Yellow. This faction is important to get access to the factions ability. Therefore no matter the board you'll need to recruit for some battle cards first, and then proc the bonus yourself or hopefully your neighbors do. It is also very easy to get mechs and travel anywhere on the board. Plan on taking some easy encounters using your mech abilities. Then with the extra resources, you can spread your workers easier and only upgrade once or twice. This is by far the best faction ability as so many battle cards are just useless.

Black. The hardest of the factions for me. Black is basically funneled into getting battle stars but picking your battles is the most important. Basically pick on the weak person but try not to go out of your way to get them. Usually I try to wait until opponents fight, then pick them off afterwards. Getting early mechs and upgrading your combat is a good way to past your time when waiting for the opportunity to strike.

Green. This faction is the must not lose a battle faction. With the flag abilities, you really need to own these territory at the end of the game to earn the double points. These tiles really add up to your points. With no river, there are also two extra general area spaces for you to conquer. If you lose a battle, you lose most of your points. Losing battles is also a snowball as your battle points will be low after. I suggest waiting and being defensive with this faction. Use the flag abilities at the mines and factory is risky.

Purple. This faction is a keep moving toward the factory faction. The goal is to put traps on your mine and the factory and basically make a safe pathway to the factory. This prevents you from getting attacked mostly. Also with the teleport abilities you can ambush anyone going to the factory. Basically get to factory is super important for you because you lack the double move abilities.

Vesna/Fenris factions: I feel like this factions are generally overpowered and cause a massive meta switch to the game. Being able to choose a starting zone is very strong. If you have these factions you probably already have a good grasp on the game.