Shelley and I check out a game that flew under a lot of people's radar at Essen, then get the card/game version of a fantastic title from a couple of years ago to the table:
Rhodes by Pieter Boots from The Game Master
and
First Class: All Aboard the Orient Express by Helmut Ohley from Hans im Gluck
Ambie, Cassadi, and Crystal discuss Witness, Suburbia, and Santorini. We talk about blitz games and Blitz Con 2017, and Crystal goes over the origins of the word "grok." We also announce a contest!
JT Smith, designer of The Captain Is Dead, talks about how to design a great cooperative game.
We talk creating tension, alpha players, and the math behind a good AI system. Personally, I think The Captain Is Dead is one of the best co-op games on the market today, and it was great to get JT’s insight on its creation.
Hey Now Cabalists! It's time for another hog wild episode of The Secret Cabal! Today we review the new Wiz-Kids games, Assault of the Giants! ,Then we look back at Raiders of the North Sea one year later while Tony takes a nap. ,Then when Tony wakes up he gives you a monstrous news roundup while the rest of us make crude jokes that'll probably get us in trouble. The ,finally we host another Short Topic Extravaganza in which we discuss old games we right like now, a bunch of movies we think are cool and what publishers we think are up and coming.
1885. A bomb explodes in Parliament. Sherlock and Mycroft Holmes have 7 days to build a case to prove the innocence or guilt of a young man. Collect sets of evidence by selecting actions on character cards from Doyle's novels. May the best detective win!
We have been trying for weeks to get Mare Nostrum Empires by Academy Games by Academy Games to the table and it is a shame that it took so long, but […]
A review of Imagine written by Stephen Conway. Imagine is a party game where players use the language of symbols to communicate. Here's the twist. You can layer the transparent cards to create complex images or animate the cards to create a small story.
Jamey Stegmaier, designer of Scythe, is back on the show, and we’re talking about what the schedule of a pro game designer looks like. It’s easy to have a romanticized idea of what being a full time designer is, but it doesn’t quite line up with reality.
We talk about the daily fires that have to be put out, how to be intentional with your time, ways to become more efficient, and much more.
Opener: Paris Connection A quick, solo show to catch up on some things. If you've been following my (sort of) weekly session report geeklists, or on social media (twitter, facebook), you'll know that I've been boardgaming with a group I created for Monday nights in Paris. It focuses on light/short games, and has an ulterior motive--it's a good outing for couples. My mostly non-gamer wife even goes with me to these! We're having a good time, and meeting good people. Besides that, I also want to share some of my other observations about being a gamer in France, now that I'm at or past the half-way point of my time over here. Links English-Speaking Boardgamers of Paris (Meetup, Facebook) Okkazeo (French used boardgame marketplace) TricTracFestival International des Jeux-Cannes Closer: (Finally) figuring out the right kind of games for the players you've got -Mark
In this show, we talk about Bear Valley, Tricky Track, Picassimo, Castles of Calandale, Lady Richmond, and a chess tournament! We hear a tale of horror, a tale of friendship, a biography of a boardgame, competing opinions on Dungeon, and answer questions! Finally, we end the show talking about when components to a game turn us off from playing it!
Shelley and I discuss our plays of Codenames Pictures, the sequel to CGE's bestseller, then talk about the HUGE Z-Man/Feuerland release Feast for Odin.
Codenames Pictures by Vlaada Chvatil from CGE
and
Feast for Odin by Uwe Rosenberg from Z-Man/Feuerland Spiele
Like the plot of every time-travel movie ever, Matt and Quinns have officially gone too far into the past and may never be the same again.
In this unusually raunchy edition of the acclaimed SU&SD podcast the pair discuss/complain about some titans of the 80's and 90's- Space Hulk, Blood Bowl and Magic: The Gathering. Meanwhile, Paul offers much more sedate comments on Scythe and Santorini.
Finally, the group discuss some folk games sent in by an anthropologist... which are played by monkeys. Join us for the critical analysis of Magic, but stick around for our description "Hair In Mouth Game".
Have you played any games from your childhood recently? And were they rubbish?
Ambie, Cassadi, and Crystal discuss Rolling Stock, Power Grid Deluxe, and Lotus. We talk about good two-player games, and Crystal goes over the origins of the word "alliance."
Emerson Matsuuchi, designer of Specter Ops, goes into all the ins and outs of putting together a hidden movement game.
There are very few hidden movement games out there right now which means there’s still a ton to be explored. Emerson discusses the challenges he faced and his insights on the topic.