I'm back! I'd said that my time off (the "sabbatical") was only temporary, and that I planned to return to the microphone to continue Boardgames To Go. And that's just what happened. During the year that I've been away from this podcast, I've still been playing plenty of games, which you can read about. I've been doing more wargaming, which you can hear about. And perhaps you've seen or heard me at BGGcon or on other podcasts & videocasts. Which means I was never really gone. Nonetheless, those things are different from producing my own boardgame podcast, and I'm happy to be doing that again. To kick off my return, I'm featuring a roundtable discussion with a bunch of friends after we played a full day of Star Wars-themed boardgames. You may recall that I once grumbled about boardgame themes that were for kids (including kids that never grew up), not grown-ups. I have to admit I still feel that way about most games involving goblins, zombies, or spaceships. BUT...you're all welcome to call me a hypocrite when it comes to Star Wars. Here is where I cave. I was in 5th grade when A New Hope was released, and it may not be an exaggeration to say it changed my life. I'd decided to be a "spacecraft architect" the year before, and that's sort of what really happened in my life, but Star Wars probably sealed the deal. I remember talking with a college classmate who had a similar experience, and she grew up in Singapore. What an influence! Back in 1977 I was everything Star Wars. My brother & I saw the film many times in the theater. I had the LED watch, the belt buckle (this was the 70s), the t-shirt, the action figures, the X-wing, the LP records... When the prequels came around my kids were the perfect age to enjoy them with me. Now that the new movies are upon us, I'm loving the fact that they're December releases, so even though they're away to college (& beyond), we can still enjoy them as a family over the holidays. Star Wars has always been an important part of my life. What about Star Wars games? Well, yes, kind of. It took a long while for some really good games about these favorite movies to arrive on the table. I had the vintage Escape from the Death Star game, but it's not good. We played some Star Wars RPG when it came out in the 1980s, and a couple of the associated wargames. (Star Warriors was tedious, but Assault on Hoth was good.) Though I'm only a casual computer and videogamer, in the 2000s I definitely had wonderful times playing Rebel Assault, Rogue Squadron, Battlefrontand others with my son. Anything we could play co-op was our favorite. More recent years have produced quite a few family strategy games with a Star Wars subject. Oddly enough, the prequels have some of the best games, probably because that's just when Craig Van Ness and Rob Daviau at Hasbro were doing incredible things with the production capability of that mainstream publisher. Other publishers, too, however. Now we're seeing a resurgence in Star Wars boardgames, like an awakening in the Force... I invited some friends over to play several of these titles for a Star Wars-themed game day, and then flipped on the recorder to have a roundtable discussion of them. Enjoy! -Mark P.S. AFTER the Star Wars game day we learned about the Black Series (aka deluxe) edition of the Risk game. It addresses most of our grumbling about the production shortcuts in the mass market edition we played...but not all of them. I'm not sure if it's worth the extra money. And I've already bought a couple MicroMachines to get figs for the Falcon and Executor in my game.
A review of Too Many Cinderellas written by Stephen Conway. Convince the Prince to marry a Cinderella of your choosing by manipulating a deceptively simple logic puzzle. Who says logic games have to be dry and boring? They can be whimsical and fun.
In the inaugural episode, Ambie, Cassadi, and Crystal discuss Ghost Blitz, Medieval Academy, and Carcassonne along with games that are good for conventions, our Accessory of the Week - gaming bags, the origins of the word "convention," and some convention tips.
Chris and Jamie love theme and in episode 13 of The Secret Cabal Express they each list 5 games that they think do a great job integrating their theme.
Having not learned from his last appearance or he has a short memory, Rob Daviau, designer of countless games and co-designer behind the #1 game on Boardgamegeek, has returned to […]
In this episode, we talk about Star Trek: Frontiers, Linkee, Happy Pigs, Legends of Draxia, Tichu, Escape from the Aliens in Outer Space, and Ladies and Gentlemen. We are joined by special guest Jorge Garcia (Lost, Hawaii 5-0) and talk about his gaming past and treacheries. We finally hear from Greg about the Gathering, listen to Geoff stir up a ruckuss, hear a tale of Amazement, and more! Finally, we end this extra-long show with our top ten games with amazing card art.
Shelley and I get Quadropolis to the table this week for discussion (2 'Classic' game plays, 1 'Expert' game play), finding it quite enjoyable, then spend some time talking about some of the games on the Opinionated Gamers' lists for Spiel des Jahres and Kennerspiel des Jahres (Nominations & Recommendations out tomorrow/Monday, May 23).
Game Discussed: Quadropolis by Francois Gandon from Days of Wonder
Awards Picks:
SdJ Winner: Codenames
Other Nominees: Animals On Board, then Lanterns/Medieval Academy/Karuba
KdJ Winner: Pandemic Legacy
Other Nominees: Quadropolis, then Isle of Skye/Porta Nigra/Steam Time/Grand Austria Hotel (or maybe Castles of Burgundy Card Game which we didn't talk about on the podcast???)
In this episode, we are taking a look at Isle of Skye, Stratos, Exodus Expansion, Magic duel deck, Stratos, and more! We hear about a pig race, the history of Carcassonne, GameTek, and how to deal with horrible boxes. And a pile of questions and answers!
CMON Expo in Atlanta, GA is a great small con and we could not have been happier to have been able to attend this year. Between getting to play all […]
If Quantum Leap was a board game, it would be TIME Stories. Your team is thrown back in time to prevent damage to the timeline. It's a co-op story driven puzzle solving game - a cardboard console - each deck a cartridge you plug in for new kinds of fun.
Shelley and I get a chance to try two fun new games this week while appreciating a nice bottle of dry Muscat from Zind Humbrecht and some Kouign Amann from Manresa.
Animals On Board by Ralf zur Linde and Wolfgang Sentker from Stronghold Games
and
Legends by Knut Happel and Christian Fiore from Ravensburger
In this show, we talk about Alan's Adventureland, Shadow over Westminster, Histrio, The Palaces of Carrara, Ravenous River, and Dice City. We also hear about an annoying gamer, Friday, bashing Monopoly, and a report on Tabletop Day at the F2Z headquarters. Finally, we end the show with our top ten Creepy Crawlies games - games that feature bugs, spiders, worms, and more!
Shelley and I take some time and delve into Medieval Academy, a game some have been talking up as a possible SdJ nominee, then we check out the card game version of Stefan Feld's Castles of Burgundy.
Medieval Academy by Nicolas Poncin from Blue Cocker and Iello
and
Castles of Burgundy the Card Game by Stefan Feld from alea and Ravensburger
Chris and Jamie are back from their trip to Atlanta, Georgia for the Cool Mini or Not Expo and they have some great games to report on. Then the founders take a look at an old favorite from their collection, Railways of the World and look back at a second Martin Wallace game Mythotopia. Tony T relays all the important news updates from around the gaming community with the professionalism you've come to expect. And finally the gang hosts another short topic extravaganza discussing RPG balance, our genie wishes, why publishers aren't more open about their in-production games and more.
One of the most anticipated games in years is finally here and we're finally giving it the full review treatment, Star Wars Rebellion. Then the gang takes a look back at Deus one year after their initial review. Then the last half of the show is all Tony T starting with his news roundup while the peanut gallery comments then he teaches the cabalists about pool construction with a heavy focus on collectible card games and deck building.
In this show, we talk about Dungeon!, FreshFish, T'Zolkin: Tribes and Prophecies, Bastian, Spheres of Influence, DilluviaProject, and Greedy Greedy Goblins. Tom talks about thesights and sounds of the Gathering of Friends, Eric goes through agamut of emotions with a bunch of Tales, and we hear from a greatnumber of great contributors! Finally, we end the showtalking about how to pitch your game to apublisher.
It has been a year since we did the last summer movie preview show with Dan Patriss and Chris Kirkman. Funny how that works. Anyway, while the show has some […]
Anmelden
