This project started off as a practical tool for my game group. I had recently acquired Oltre Mare. Looking ahead, I realized that a lot of game time would be eaten up trying to familiarize everyone with the components and rules. I thought that perhaps we would be able to dive into the game more quickly if everyone had an idea of how the game worked before the game session. After all, we only have an hour for each session.

So I resolved to create a short video explaining all the basics of the game so that they could have a visual understanding of the game before playing.

I enjoyed the process of making the video, and the group liked it. Since I had done the work, and figured it might be useful to someone else, I posted it on my blog and on the BGG Oltre Mare forums.

I received positive feedback and requests for more of the same. Because the process was enjoyable and players on BGG were benefiting from this project, I decided to keep making videos.

The goal of the Brief Overview series is to give the viewer a visual idea of the basic workings of the game so that they can decide whether or not they would like to try or buy the game. The videos may also be useful for introducing new players to the game before they sit down to play. These are not full reviews or opinion videos. In my experience as a gamer, images and reviews have been useful, but I always wanted the visually animated experience of the game. I like to see how a game looks when it's being played. That's what I try to accomplish for you with the Brief Overview series.

This is the geeklist that lists every episode to date. I'll update the list as I complete each new video.

NOTE: The videos as posted here on BGG are small. To watch the full-sized video, mouse over the video and click the name of the video. This will link you to the original.