Happy Holidays Cabalists, It's our Christmas Extravaganza! Today the gang celebrates the holidays by reviewing Martin Wallace's newest game Auztralia from Stronghold Games and looking back at the arena combat sports game from Corvus Belli, Aristeia. Tony T spins up the news feeds to out together the best damn news segment in all of tabletop gaming. Then the Founders give you another short topic extravaganza with topics including Stretch Goals, liking games you guy vs ones you didn't buy, starter miniatures games and our favorite comic book series. And sprinkled throughout the episode we give you a ton of holiday songs written by the Cabalists and sung by the Founders.Games Played 00:15:17, Games of Yesteryear 00:43:30, Playin Games While Sittin On The Can 01:02:00, Auztralia Overview 01:03:55, Auztralia Review 01:08:40, Aristeia Look Back 01:40:20, The Founder's 12 Days of, Christmas 01:46:35, Founder's Update 01:50:18, News with Tony T 01:52:05, Analysis Paralysis Christmas 02:39:55, Short Topic Extravaganza 02:40:40, Secret Santa 03:20:55
Another round about the sun is complete, at least for those who acknowledge that sort of thing. I'm certain there must be a strand of Flat Eartherism that bows to the reality of the Earth's orbit--I could find out, but boardgaming already more than satisfies my desire for obscure minutia. We look back at the releases of the year, agreeing on many things but rather sharply disagreeing on others. There will be lists! And categories! Oh, the pageantry!
Games Played Last Week: -Space Hulk: Second Edition 1m30s (Dean Bass, Andy Chambers, Chris Colston, Richard Halliwell, Jervis Johnson, Andy Jones, & Paul Murphy, Games Workshop, 1996) -Senji 2m58s (Bruno Cathala & Serge Laget, Asmodee, 2008) -Terraforming Mars 6m19s (Jacob Fryxelius, Stronghold, 2016) -Dinosaur Island 6m58s (Jonathan Gilmour & Brian Lewis, Pandasaurus, 2017) -Cryptid 12m14s (Hal Duncan & Ruth Veevers, Osprey Games, 2018) -Mega Civilization 13m26s (Flo de Haan, John Rodriguez, & Francis Tresham, Pegasus, 2015) -Welcome To... 20m12s (Benoit Turpin, Blue Cocker Games, 2018) -Reef 21m20s (Emerson Matsuuchi, Next Move Games, 2018) -Menara 22m18s (Oliver Richtberg, ZOCH, 2018) -Diamonds 23m00s (Mike Fitzgrald, Stronghold, 2016)
2018 Year in Review
Personal Top 10s 23m59s SVWAG Game of the Year 45m06s Other Categories 48m30s
In this episode, we talk about a pile of games, as Mandi talks about her experiences at the Dice Tower Retreat. We also talk about cleaning up games. Who's responsible?
Shelley and I have a great time rolling dice and creating frescoes for our competing Viking clans, then have a LOT less fun competing to grow veggies in Iceland.
Lindisfarne by Damien Fleury and Alain Pradet from RUNES Editions
and
Reykholt by Uwe Rosenberg from Frosted and Renegade Games
Game designer, blogger, and real-life journalist Chris Marling joins me once again to talk about Essen. As he did two years ago, he had a new game launching at Spiel, so we get to hear about that. But he's also an enthusiastic game hobbyist like the rest of us, and he also talks about the event itself from that point of view. Chris loves the game fair, and has been going for quite a number of years. From that perspective, he's able to notice some shifts & changes in the hobby that affect the world's largest boardgame event itself. We talk about those, too. Chris was there, in part, to help launch his new game, Witless Wizards. If you were there, perhaps you saw him, played a demo with him, or got your copy signed. He came home with a lot of new games, as always, and by now he's had a chance to play most of them. (Remember, Essen itself is more of a game buying event than one with lots of opportunities for actually playing your purchases.) Chris gathered up ten titles he wanted to talk about for one reason or another. Sometimes because they're great games, sometimes for other reasons. Besides the two games mentioned in our Openers (above), Chris discusses Underwater Cities, Trapwords, Narabi, Orbis, Fool, Discover: Lands Unknown, Crown of Emara, Showtime, Gnomopolis, and The Color Monster.
Closers: • Downsizing a collection...mission accomplished! • How does journalism tackle the current game saturation situation? -Mark
We're counting down to our 50th episode, and what better way than to give our definitive lists of our 50 favourite games of all time?! You've been asking for it, so we've only gone and done it. Brace yourselves, we're just getting started.
01:11 - Mark #50 - Dungeon Fighter 02:51 - Neilan #50 - Werewords 04:36 - Kalen #50 - Agricola 06:28 - Mark #49 - Chronicles of Crime 08:07 - Neilan #49 - Biblios 09:28 - Kalen #49 - Concept 10:55 - Mark #48 - Pictomania 13:02 - Neilan #48 - Mage Knight Board Game 14:54 - Kalen #48 - Hanamikoji 16:27 - Mark #47 - Kanban 17:28 - Neilan #47 - Splendor 19:26 - Kalen #47 - Ingenious 20:40 - Mark #46 - Samurai 22:55 - Neilan #46 - Clank! 25:09 - Kalen #46 - Evolution 27:54 - Mark #45 - ZhanGuo 29:23 - Neilan #45 - Innovation 31:39 - Kalen #45 - Mysterium 33:02 - Mark #44 - Ra 34:21 - Neilan #44 - Puerto Rico 36:48 - Kalen #44 - New Angeles 38:58 - Mark #43 - Wyatt Earp 41:29 - Neilan #43 - The Oracle of Delphi 42:18 - Kalen #43 - The Game 46:23 - Mark #42 - Blood Rage 50:04 - Neilan #42 - Anomia 52:00 - Kalen #42 - Lifeboat 53:51 - Mark #41 - Tzolk'in 55:39 - Neilan #41 - Panic on Wall Street! 57:56 - Kalen #41 - Diamant/Incan Gold
In episode 22 of Lords of the Dungeon Bender, Jess and Jamie give you a special edition spotlight on Shadowrun, the classic cyberpunk and fantasy mashup role playing game published by Catalyst Game Lab. We begin by talking about the setting and lore of the Sixth World and move into the depth and complexities of the game mechanisms.
No Openers or Closers this time, as we have so many games from the event to discuss!
Games discussed: Spring Meadow, Bärenpark, Gingerbread House, Trade on the Tigris, Age of Civilization, PitchCar, Weird Things Humans Search For, The Brady Bunch Party Game, Onitama, Sakura, Indigo, Blue Lagoon, The Arabian Pots, LYNGK, Yellow & Yangtze, Azul: Stained Glass of Sintra, Treasure Island, Northern Pacific, Micropolis, Voodoo Prince, Ticket to Ride: New York, Pantone: The Game, Tower of Madness, Dune, KeyForge, Poker, Exxtra, Passing Through Petra, Carpe Diem, Streaming, The Quacks of Quedlinburg, Trendy, The Mind, First Contact, Star Trek Panic, 1st & Roll
Just about every year, my friend & frequent podcast guest Greg Pettit joins me to talk about BGGcon. In recent years I've enjoyed the event with him, but I missed 2018. However, another friend, Ryan Wheeler, does that job this year. Greg, Ryan, and I met around 15 years ago when we all lived nearby and played regularly in our little group, the Santa Clarita Boardgamers. Of those three, I'm the only one still in Santa Clarita, California. Greg's in Texas, and Ryan's in South Dakota. While it's too bad I couldn't join them this year, I'm so happy that BGGcon is around to draw old gamer friends together like a magnet. Greg & Ryan gave me their combined list of games played at BGGcon, and then gave each game a 1-5 star rating. That's sort of like half of a BGG rating, but really it's a measure of the eagerness for playing the games again, as well as a reflection of the experience at the time. Know what I mean? It's enthusiasm, as much as it's a measure of artistic/entertainment merit according to some "standardized" scale. Think of it this way--it's easier to enthusiastically give a game 5 stars and be excited to play again, even if you're not yet sure the game is a "10." Whatever the stars are, the real value in the podcast is listening to these guys describe the games and their experiences with them. They played most of them together, though you'll also hear when they split up & tried different things. Along the way you'll also hear about some happenings at BGGcon that aren't strictly boardgaming--stuff like the puzzle hunt, virtual flea market, and bazaar. (No BBQ commentary this time, but I trust they enjoyed Texas' contribution to fine dining. I know I would've.) -Mark
This Game is Broken is released every two weeks and features Matthew Jude, Dave Luza, Christina Aimerito and Nick and Mike Murphy.
The show is devised by the whole gang and is produced and edited by Matthew Jude. If you would like Matthew to help you edit your podcast then contact him at: Matthewjudecooper@gmail.com
Art by our secretive sixth member Gary. If you would like to commission Gary then email him at: Graphics@deadcatdreaming.co.uk
Players aren't the only people who make choices, of course. Designers and publishers make decisions about the setting and the theme of their games. Insofar as games can communicate a message--whether purely aesthetic or more ideological--it is beneficial to have a clear vision. Things can get exceptionally problematic when you start playing fast and loose with things of great cultural and historical import. Incidentally, I will note that while our topic and our feature game often have no connection between them, sometimes they do. I don't know why I'm mentioning that this week.
Games Played Last Week: -Hyperborea: Light and Shadow 1m37s (Andrea Chiarvesio, Maurizio Vergendo, & Pierluca Zizzi, Asterion Press, 2016) -Between Two Cities 3m15s (Matthew O'Malley, Morten Monrad Pedersen, & Ben Rosset, Stonemaier, 2015) -Factory Funner 5m03s (Corné van Moorsel, Cwali, 2016) -Photosynthesis 8m06s (Hjalmar Hach, Blue Orange, 2017) -Stephenson's Rocket: Eastern USA & China 9m13s (Reiner Knizia, Grail Games, 2018) -Petrichor 12m12s (David Chircop & Dávid Turczi, APE Games, 2018) -The Voyages of Marco Polo 12m57s (Simone Luciani & Daniele Tascini, Hans im Gluck, 2015) -Teotihuacan: City of Gods 14m59s (Daniele Tascini, NSKN Games, 2018) -Dominant Species 15m37s (Chad Jensen, GMT, 2010) -Res Publica 18m03s (Reiner Knizia, Queen, 1991)
News (and why it doesn't matter) -Descent into new digital depths 22m05s -Fards of Inshinity digital 22m20s -Failed Carnival of Monsters rises again 23m02s -Die Macher won't die 24m15s
Feature Game: Crusaders: Thy Will Be Done 25m10s (Seth Jaffee, Tasty Minstrel, 2018)
In this episode, Tom and Eric take a look at The Pretender, Ya Blew It, Nemesis, The Reckoners, Ceylon, and Solenia. We also hear Geoff test out the Pop-O-Matic, and answer a pile of questions. Finally, we end the show talking about our favorite adventure games. Also, did I mention we were in the same room?