First Play HD online

First Play is informative, honest, observant, casual, easy to follow, and has strong production values. I especially like the second overhead camera - it's a great way to track things during the unboxing and fast- play overview.

One of the best things about First Play is that the hosts discover the game with the viewer. This ensures that their reactions are genuine and that they don't inadvertently skip important things they take for granted. It would be nice to see some choice moments from the actual game run (as opposed to fast-forwarding through all of that and following up afterward), but it doesn't seem to blunt the value of the reviews at all.

The hosts are very dedicated to offering thorough and balanced thoughts on the games they feature. They play multiple times if necessary and explain their process to provide context. They don't mind delving into errata and FAQs when needed.

Occasionally the hosts stumble with their English but it's never an issue. They're also careful not to skip over anything because of it.

If you're in the market to learn more about a board game, you could do a lot worse than to start here. Happy viewing!

Full Disclosure: This series is produced by Gamerati, a company I do business with on a regular basis.

I watched First Play: Age of Gods (2004) which confused me at first because I the year 2004 was that when this video was done? Later I realized it was the year the game was released. The video needed a little better editing plenty of um's. Then the presenter said 'I don't know who the designer is but it will show at the bottom of the screen' which came across that the presenter hasn't taken the time write an outline and prep the before filming which made me question what else was missed or wrong? The other thing that I was disappointed in was the montage. When watching these type of videos seeing some of the actual moves in regular time would have given more of an idea whats going on then watching high speed cuts of just play. After the montage when the two players sit down to discuss the game it got much better when they gave their feelings about the game. Would I watch the another video again? yes, but I would just fast forward to end sequence.