We sometimes don't understand the appeal of food-based games, friends and neighbours. To be sure, we adore Food Chain Magnate, but that is not parasitic upon our sincere appreciation of (say) lemonade and pizza. There seem to be many games based on enthusiasm for beer, coffee, whiskey, spicy food, wine... Wait, I'm noticing a trend. Is our indifference to alcohol poisoning yet another area of life?!
Games Played Last Week: -Gaia Project 1m01s (Jens Drögemüller & Helge Ostertag, Feuerland Spiele, 2017) -Legacy of Dragonholt 2m55s (Nikki Valens with Daniel Clark, Tim Flanders, Annie VanderMeer Mitsoda, & Greg Spyridis, FFG, 2017) -Race for the Galaxy 6m37s (Thomas Lehmann, Rio Grande Games, 2007) -Star Wars: X-Wing Second Edition 11m30s(Jason Little & Frank Brooks, Fantasy Flight, 2018) -Guards of Atlantis II: Tabletop MOBA 15m13s (Artyom Nichipurov, Wolff Designa, 2020) -A War of Whispers 19m55s (Jeremy Stoltzfus, Starling Games, 2019) -Tobago 24m49s (Bruce Allen, Zoch Verlag, 2009) -TINYforming Mars 27m3s (Michael Bevilacqua, Web published, 2019)
News (and why it doesn't matter): -Gen Con 2020 Cancelled 30m04s -Schotten Totten 2 30m31s -Wingspan App Beta 31m17s -Kemet and Tribune Reprints on Kickstarter 31m52s
Podcasts are often a discursive medium, and so naturally we find ourselves touching on many and diverse topics. This week, we delve into poetry and Star Trek, just in case you were under the illusion that we were anything other than unreconstructed nerds. Walker, being part jock, had to be restrained so as to not spontaneously give himself a wedgie.
AYURIS: Crusaders: Thy Will Be Done 2m06s (Seth Jaffee, Tasty Minstrel, 2018)
Games Played Last Week: -Bullet♥︎ 3m22s (Joshua Van Laningham, Level 99 Games, 2021) -Sapiens 7m10s (Cyrille Leroy, IELLO, 2015) -Legacy of Dragonholt 10m12s (Nikki Valens with Daniel Clark, Tim Flanders, Annie VanderMeer Mitsoda, & Greg Spyridis, FFG, 2017) -Can't Stop 17m38s (Sid Sackson, Parker Brothers, 1980) -Gaslands: Refuelled 19m36s (Mike Hutchinson, Osprey Publishing, 2019) -Kingdomino 24m58s (Bruno Cathala, Blue Orange Games, 2016) -TINYforming Mars 27m11s (Michael Bevilacqua, Web published, 2019) -Innovation (Carl Chudyk, Asmadi Games, 2010) -Hour of Need 35m48s (Adam Sadler & Brady Sadler, Blacklist Games, 2020)
News (and why it doesn't matter): -Spiel des Jahres nominees announced 39m20s -Spiel at Essen canceled 39m25s -Small World of Warcraft 42m14s -Embarrassing Kemet Sphinx mini inspires new SVWAG Poetry Corner 42m38s -New Maharaja 44m45s -Frenemy Pastry Party 45m35s -Who Asked for These? (TM): Battle of the Boy Bands 46m10s
There are so many life lessons to be learned from the presidency of Richard Milhous Nixon. For one, shave before debates. For another, hire limber secretaries with flexible standards on truth. Always be sure to hire expert lockpickers. Make sure your vice president will have your back (Nixon at least got a mulligan on that one). I mean, he's not a role model of mine--I wouldn't get his face tattooed on my back, to pick something at random--but he does serve as a potent set of object lessons.
Games Played Last Week: -Warfighter: The Tactical Special Forces Card Game 3m31s (Dan Verssen, DVG, 2014) -Splendor 5m48s (Marc André, SPace Cowboys, 2014) -Bullet♥︎ 8m28s (Joshua Van Laningham, Level 99 Games, 2021) -Castles of Burgundy 12m36s (Stefan Feld, alea, 2011) -Horizon Wars: Zero Dark 15m34s (Robey Jenkins, Precinct Omega Publishing, 2020) -Patchwork 20m57s (Uwe Rosenberg, Lookout Games, 2014) -Potion Explosion 21m55s (Stefano Castelli, Andrea Crespi, & Lorenzo Silva, Horrible Guild, 2015) -Glory to Rome 24m48s (Ed Carter & Carl Chudyk, Cambridge Games Factory, 2005) -Mottainai 25m47s (Carl Chudyk, Asmadi Games, 2015) -Mini Express 29m16s (Mark Gerrits, Moaideas Game Design, 2020)
News (and why it doesn't matter): -Who Asked for These? (TM) Headlock, Paper, Scissors 32m57s -Who Asked for These? (TM) Clank! for 6 players 34m40s -Kickstarter lays off 40% of workforce 35m24s -Who Asked for These? (TM) Marvel Splendor 36m32s -Who Asked for These? (TM) Star Wars: Talisman 37m18s -A Billion Suns extended beta 37m39s -Rodney Smith and Watch It Played expand 40m36s
Subtitles are to be used with discretion. Some people can't be trusted with them, and most of those people seem to work in Hollywood and non-fiction publishing. We resist the urge much of the time, but every once in a while the dam bursts and we must find an outlet for our pent-up subtitling impulses. We have over twenty this time. We're sorry.
AYURIS: Teotihuacan: City of Gods 3m53s (Daniele Tascini, NSKN Games, 2018)
Games Played Last Week: -Vanguard: Dawn of War 6m45s (Uncredited, Archon Studio, 2017) -Trieste 11m11s (Matthew Ma, Victory Point Games, 2013) -Warfighter: The Tactical Special Forces Card Game 15m46s (Dan Verssen, DVG, 2014) -Innovation 23m07s (Carl Chudyk, Asmadi Games, 2010) -Twilight Struggle 27m39s (Ananda Gupta & Jason Matthews, GMT Games, 2005) -Coralia 31m20s (Michael Rieneck, HUCH!, 2019) -Under Falling Skies 33m02s (Tomáš Uhlíř, Web-published, 2019)
News (and why it doesn't matter): -More Walker! Walker a guest on Board Game Barrage 34m59s -Fantasy Flight pulls down Tabletop Simulator mods 35m29s -Seastead: 2P Flotilla 38m20s -New expansion and Kickstarter for Rise of Tribes 38m36s -Guards of Atlantis II is awesome, its depiction of women less so 38m59s -New expansion and Kickstarter for Steampunk Rally 42m57s -UK Games Expo cancelled 43m57s
Topic: Analysis Paralysis and the Need to Win 44m13s
A rulebook generates expectations, and whether and how those expectations are met or frustrated is an interesting phenomenon. Sometimes you get exactly what you want and that's a good thing--and sometimes the rules promise a set of experiences that never manifest. Over time, you start to get a better feel for what a game might be like by virtue of its rulebook, but even experienced gamers can be thrown for a loop by an unexpected mismatch. To summarize, what I'm saying here is that Nemesis is bad.
Games Played Last Week: -Cosmic Frog 1m15s (Jim Felli, Devious Weasel Games, 2020) -Traintopia 8m41s (Przemek Wojtkowiak, Board&Dice, 2020) -Carolus Magnus 14m54s (Leo Colovini, Rio Grande Games, 2000) -Wingspan 17m24s (Elizabeth Hargrave, Stonemaier Games, 2019) -Successors 3rd ed 18m23s (Richard H. Berg, John B. Firer, & Mark Simonitch, GMT Games, 2008) -Scythe 21m25s (Jamey Stegmaier, Stonemaier Games, 2016) -Pax Renaissance 2nd Edition 24m58s (Phil Eklund & Matt Eklund, Ion Game Design, 2020) -Fantastic Factories 29m49s (Joseph Z Chen & Justin Faulkner, Metafactory Games, 2019) -Crazy Tower: Contruction/Sabotage 32m10s (Alexis Harvey, Félix Leblanc, Manuel-Lucas Bergeron Duhamel, & Mathieu Auger, Synapses Games, 2020)
News (and why it doesn't matter): -Blokus Puzzle 34m46s -Guards of Atlantis II 35m43s -Your games are invalid: 40K Risk 36m48s -Defence of Procyon III 37m47s -Canvas 39m28s -More on Knizia's My City 40m22s
“Imagine that you are creating a fabric of human destiny with the object of making men happy in the end, giving them peace and rest at last. Imagine that you are doing this but that it is essential and inevitable to torture to death only one tiny creature...in order to found that edifice on its unavenged tears. Would you consent to be the architect on those conditions? Tell me. Tell the truth.”
― Fyodor Dostoevsky, The Brothers Karamazov
AYURIS: Gùgōng 1m22s (Andreas Steding, Game Brewer, 2018)
Games Played Last Week: -Radiant: Offline Battle Arena 3m50s (Jack Murray, Heel Turn Games, 2019) -Cosmic Frog 5m00s (Jim Felli, Devious Weasel Games, 2020) -Blitzkrieg! 17m07s (Paolo Mori, PSC Games, 2019) -World of Warcraft Miniatures Game 18m35s (Edward Fear, John Fiorillo, Justin Gary, Matt Hyra, Anthony Shaheen, & Patrick Sullivan, Upper Deck Entertainment, 2008) -Manoeuvre 23m54s (Jeff Horger, GMT Games, 2008) -Spyrium 26m07s (William Attia, Ystari Games, 2013) -Innovation 31m19s (Carl Chudyk, Asmadi Games, 2010) -Carcassonne 33m54s (Klaus-Jürgen Wrede, Hans im Gluck, 2000)
News (and why it doesn't matter): -Shadows over (Camelot) Brooklyn 35m28s -SVWAG Policy: Unlicensed Digital Implementations 36m28s -Hasbro Mashups 38m44s -Golden Geek Award Nomination 41m01s -More Cloudspire 42m35s -Reichbusters and Wolfenstein 42m55s
Topic: Getting Tears Stains out of Games: What to Do About Unplayed Games 44m16s
No daunts are asked and no daunts are given this week. "I don't give a daunt" is tattooed on Walker's back, no doubt an homage to Rhett Butler's famous ending line. We needed a little breather this time--a break from two-hour epic experiences. A little palate cleanser to ease us into a purely digital gaming life; because, to be frank, in this stage of isolation, we felt a little daunted. We will plead for your indulgence, as our audio setup is once again in a state of flux as we transition to a two-studio setup.
Games Played Last Week: -Orleans 2m28s (Reiner Stockhausen, dlp Games, 2014) -The Quiet Year 3m03s (Avery Alder, Buried Without Ceremony, 2013) -Shadowrift 6m14s (Jeremy Anderson, Game Night Productions, 2012) -Spirit Island 8m17s (Eric R. Reuss, Greater Than Games, 2017) -Carolus Magnus 11m42s (Leo Colovini, Rio Grande Games, 2000) -Race for the Galaxy 17m25s (Thomas Lehmann, Rio Grande Games, 2007) -BattleCON: War of Indines 19m40s (D. Brad Talton, Jr., Level 99 Games, 2010)
News (and why it doesn't matter): -For Science! on Kickstarter now 23m29s -CMON audit woes? 25m34s
Feature Game: Undaunted: Normandy 28m20s (Trevor Benjamin & David Thompson, Osprey Games, 2019)
Isolation gaming continues, so we turn our lonely eyes to gaming alone--an endeavour that predates plague-induced solitude, but is certainly thriving now. Many a gamer is experimenting with those (increasingly frequent) variants for the first time. We understand--any port in a storm. Let us game alone together.
Games Played Last Week: -Imperial Settlers: Empires of the North 3m32s (Joanna Kijanka & Ignacy Trzewiczek, Portal Games, 2019) -The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine 8m43s (Thomas Sing, KOSMOS, 2019) -The Fox in the Forest Duet 16m52s (Foxtrot Games, Foxtrot Games, 2020) -The Quiet Year 18m20s (Avery Alder, Buried Without Ceremony, 2013) -Radiant: Offline Battle Arena 22m57s (Jack Murray, Heel Turn Games, 2019) -Hansa Teutonica 24m23s (Andreas Steding, Argentum Verlag, 2009) -Warhammer Underworlds: Shadespire 26m51s (David Sanders, Games Workshop, 2017) -The Quest for El Dorado: The Golden Temples 30m31s (Reiner Knizia, Ravensburger, 2019)
News (and why it doesn't matter): -My Little Scythe: Pie in the Sky 33m18s -Ascension Tactics 34m14s -Frosthaven 36m52s -Ankh: Gods of Egypt 40m24s -They Live 41m41s
A little throwback for you, our dear and loyal listeners, a small taste of the pre-summer schedule splendour and abundance where we spoil you with both a topic and a feature game. It happened organically, you see, what with all the social distancing -mandated two-player gaming we've been doing. That, and we want to try to give you a little more in light of the world giving you a little less. Of course, if you want to hear less of us, you always have that power.
Games Played Last Week: -Menara: Rituals and Ruins 2m59s (Oliver Richtberg, Zoch Verlag, 2019) -Sentinels of the Multiverse 5m39s (Christopher Badell, Paul Bender, & Adam Rebottaro, Greater Than Games, 2011) -ELO Darkness 22m11s (Tommaso Mondadori & Alberto Parisi, Reggie Games, 2018) -The Fox in the Forest Duet 8m59s (Foxtrot Games, Foxtrot Games, 2020) -Pax Renaissance 13m24s (Phil Eklund & Matt Eklund, Sierra Madre Games, 2016) -Mezo: Souls for Xibalba 17m09s (John Clowdus, Kolossal, 2019)
News (and why it doesn't matter): -Free stuff! XenoShyft, Frostgrave, etc. 41m24s -Crazy Tower: Construction/Sabotage 43m52s -Gloomhaven Community Campaign IV: The Blacksmith and the Bear 45m05s -Digital card game: Legends of Runeterra by Riot 46m11s -Pax Renaissance 2nd Edition 47m40s
Feature Game: Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon 49m32s (Krzysztof Piskorski & Marcin Świerkot, Awaken Realms, 2019)
Ripped from the headlines, as Dick Wolf is wont to say, we present to you the most timely of discussions. Of course, Walker takes us down theoretical tangents once again, whereas Mark rolls his eyes and tried to keep things on track--the standard roles that our hosts always seem to fall into. In Walker's defense, the Kool-Aid Man is a pressing philosophical issue. Fortunately, boardgaming has resolved the thorny matter of his (its?) identity; with such a success, surely Fermat's Last Theorem could have been resolved by boardgames had that nerd Wiles not solved it first. Nerd.
Games Played Last Week: -Jetpack Joyride 6m07s (Michał Gołębiowski, Lucky Duck Games, 2019) -Horizon Wars: Zero Dark 9m40s (Robey Jenkins, Self-published, 2020) -Dragon Master: BGG Convention Promo 14m58s (Reiner Knizia, Victory Point Games, 2015) -Hellboy: The Board Game 18m58s (James M. Hewitt & Sophie Williams, Mantic Games, 2019) -ELO Darkness 22m11s (Tommaso Mondadori & Alberto Parisi, Reggie Games, 2018)
News (and why it doesn't matter): -Quid est homo Kool-Aid? 27m12s -Our hobby under COVID-19: Check Reddit 30m41s -Walker's roundup: Gears of War, Robot Quest, cons cancelled 32m20s -Starlight: A tale of Shakespearean scope? 33m20s
All of your burning questions shall be addressed! Why is there something rather than nothing? Quid est veritas? War, huh! What is it good for? Why do birds suddenly appear every time a Knizia game is near? Rest assured that the topics covered are vast--Macross, objectivism, fictional Thai kick boxers, and so much more. Featuring special guests Dan Thurot (spacebiff.com), Charlie Theel (playerelimination.com), and Kellen and Mark from Board Game Barrage (boardgamebarrage.com).
AYURIS: Discover: Lands Unknown 2m33s (Corey Konieczka, Fantasy Flight, 2018)
Games Played Last Week: -Blitzkrieg! 4m27s (Paolo Mori, PSC Games, 2019) -Horizon Wars: Zero Dark 6m56s (Robey Jenkins, Self-published, 2020) -The Fox in the Forest Duet 10m35s (Foxtrot Games, Renegade Game Studios, 2020) -Mezo 12m22s (John Clowdus, Kolossal Games, 2019) -Mega Civilization 17m40s (Flo de Haan, John Rodriguez, & Francis Tresham, 999 Games, 2015) -Battle for Biternia 24m31s (Chris Faulkenberry, Stone Circle Games, 2018) -Piratenbillard 28m33s (Reinhold Wittig, ABACUSSPIELE, 1959)
News (and why it doesn't matter): -Kwapinski ushers in the Dark Ages 31m07s -Meeple Circus goes giant 32m22s -Minimizing the sting of isolation during COVID-19 22m59s
Warning: there is some implied discussion of the existence of the health care field in this week's review. No jokes were made about current viral events, though, and given the general low-brow nature of this podcast that's a minor miracle. The only jokes about current affairs are related to hip hop, and even those references are dated to over twenty years ago.
Games Played Last Week: -Street Masters: Aftershock 2m47s (Adam Sadler & Brady Sadler, Blacklist Games, 2019) -Stephenson's Rocket 4m55s (Reiner Knizia, Pegasus Spiele, 1999) -Lorenzo il Magnifico 9m19s (Flaminia Brasini, Virginio Gigli, & Simone Luciani, Cranio Creations, 2016) -Mardi Gras Madness 12m50s (Mark Burlet, Arthur Franz IV, & Ben Jennings, Uplink Underground Games, 2020) -Horizon Wars: Zero Dark 18m25s (Robey Jenkins, Self-published, 2020)
News (and why it doesn't matter): -Walker Watches Steamwatchers 21m52s -Ginkgopolis Reprint 23m53s -Clean Queen Kickstarter? 24m48s -Coronavirus Cancellations: CMON Expo 26m46s -Uwe Rosenberg's New York Zoo 27m46s
Some of you might be unfamiliar with the traditions surrounding birthdays in Canada. They are savage affairs, drenched in blood and feats of suffering. I mean, there's the cake, sure, and that part is pretty benign--except for the baking of it, come to think of it, where the birthday girl or birthday boy is expected to remove the cake from an oven with their bare hands and devour the thing whole; then comes the declaration of threats, where the horribly burned, frosting-seared celebrant mounts a nearby table and screams doom to their enemies. Let's not get started on what kind of gifts are considered appropriate.
Games Played Last Week: -Empyreal: Spells & Steam 3m44s (Trey Chambers, Level 99 Games, 2020) -Egizia: Shifting Sands 11m05s (Acchittocca, Flaminia Brasini, Virginio Gigli, Stefano Luperto, & Antonio Tinto, Stronghold Games, 2019) -Root: The Underworld Expansion 13m39s (Patrick Leder & Cole Wehrle, Leder Games, 2020) -Pax Renaissance 18m58s (Matt Eklund & Phil Eklund, Sierra Madre Games, 2016) -The Estates 21m42s (Klaus Zoch, Capstone Games, 2018) -Assault on Doomrock 25m11s (Tom Stasiak, Beautiful Disaster Games, 2014)
News (and why it doesn't matter): -Into the Spider-Verse for Marvel United (Walker's obsessed) 27m54s -The Liberaion of Plaid Hat Games? 29m23s -Toy of the Year! Pictionary Air 30m44s -The Next Game that Matters: Phantom Division 32m09s
Would you like a job at Asmodee? Well guess what, if you need any replacement parts from them, you've just been drafted to work as their support staff. Best of all, your salary is nothing! Are we doomed to become ever more curmudgeonly, rambling to young gamers about how "back in my day, we got replacement parts just by sending an email" and the the young 'uns would be all like "Ok, Millennial, but what's an email?"
Games Played Last Week: -Quartermaster General WW2 2m25s (Ian Brody, Ares Games, 2019) -Mars Open: Tabletop Golf 5m19s (Dennis Hoyle, Bellwether Games, 2018) -Imperial Settlers: Empires of the North 7m53ss (Joanna Kijanka & Ignacy Trzewiczek, Portal Games, 2019) -Blitzkrieg! 10m57s (Paolo Mori, PSC Games, 2019) -SEAL Team Flix 15m47s (Pete Ruth & Mark Thomas, WizKids, 2018) -Empyreal: Spells & Steam 17m50s (Trey Chambers, Level 99 Games, 2020)
News (and why it doesn't matter): -Secret Operation: Social Deduction Robots 24m10s -Asmodee's Parts Replacement Policy 25m33s -Scooby-Doo Escape Rooms 30m40s -Stefan Bruck Retires 31m23s -Zen Garden Grows 32m16s -Epic: The Card Game Digital 32m55s -Walker Is Dubious About Marvel United 35m15s -More Batman, More Plastic 36m05s
On must acknowledge that in many instances, pre-judgment is an adaptive advantage--I don't mean with respect to people, but in terms of being able to sift through the endless data with which we are constantly bombarded. Most of our concepts are pre-fabricated little categories that we can shove sense data into in order to make sense of the world (there's your Kantianism in three seconds for you). In boardgaming, were seventeen releases hit the market while I was typing this sentence, it can be handy to use heuristics or prejudice--I won't play games by designer or publisher X, for example. Then again, it is our thankless task to submerge ourselves wholesale into the hobby's output without fear or favour, and so we must try to overcome such self-imposed limits when we can.
AYURIS: Battle for Rokugan 2m07s (Molly Glover & Tom Jolly, Fantasy Flight, 2017)
Games Played Last Week: -Troyes 4m11s (Sébastien Dujardin, Xavier Georges, & Alain Orban, Pearl Games, 2010) -Hanabi 9m40s (Antoine Bauza, ABACUSSPIELE, 2010) -The Shipwreck Arcana 9m40s (Kevin Bishop, Meromorph Games, 2017) -Top Gun Strategy Game 11m08s (Prospero hall, Mixlore, 2020) -Pipeline 16m18s (Ryan Courtney, Capstone Games, 2019) -Northern Pacific 21m48s (Tom Tussell, Rio Grande, 2013) -Sakura Arms 23m55s (BakaFire, AEG, 2016)
News (and why it doesn't matter): -Ghost Adventure 27m01 -Cindr: Date a Dragon 28m05 -Sonora: "Flick and Write" 29m28s -Waiting on Siege of the Citadel 30m18s -Coronavirus Uncertainty 31m36 -Dragon Dice Refuse to Die 33m38s
One must learn as a child that just because something is difficult does not mean it isn't worth doing. Sometimes we here at SVWAG feel that the corollary for adults is that just because something is difficult doesn't mean it is worthwhile. Some hard things should just be avoided. It's hard to drive a nail through your own skull, but it doesn't follow that it's necessarily a prime opportunity for self-improvement that ought to be pursued. Unrelatedly, Vital Lacerda games.
Games Played Last Week: -Street Masters: Aftershock 2m32s (Adam Sadler & Brady Sadler, Blacklist Games, 2019) -Isle of Skye: From Chieftain to King 6m11s (Andreas Pelikan & Alexander Pfister, Lookout Games, 2015) -The Resistance 7m40s (Don Eskridge, Indie Boards & Cards, 2009) -Warhammer Underworlds: Shadespire 10m25s (David Sanders, Games Workshop, 2017) -Food Chain Magnate: The Ketchup Mechanism & Other Ideas 13m49s (Jeroen Doumen & Joris Wiersinga, Splotter, 2019) -Imperial Settlers: Empires of the North 21m36s (Joanna Kijanka & Ignacy Trzewiczek, Portal Games, 2019) -Pretense 24m13s (Jason Tagmire, AEG, 2015)
News (and why it doesn't matter): -Pay extra for early access to Kanban EV? 28m42s -Brick and mortar retail for Renegade early access? 31m36s -Walker wonders about Wonderland's War 32m58s -SHUX 2020: Oct. 16-18 36m06s -Marvel United 37m08s -Mindclash's Perseverance 38m43s -Nuremberg Toy Fair 2020 miscellany 39m20s
Feature Game: On Mars 41m19s (Vital Lacerda, Eagle-Gryphon Games, 2020)
My best friend's sister's boyfriend's brother's girlfriend heard from this guy who knows this kid who's going with the girl who saw Ferris pass out at 31 Flavors last night. I guess it's pretty serious.
Games Played Last Week: -Guards of Atlantis II: Tabletop MOBA 6m38s (Artyom Nichipurov, Wolff Designaa, 2020) -Las Vegas Royale 11m13s (Rudiger Dorn, alea, 2019) -Tiny Epic Tactics 12m59s (Scott Almes, Gamelyn, 2019) -In the Hall of the Mountain King 16m20s (Jay Cormier & Graeme Jahns, Burnt Island Games, 2019) -Die Macher 21m06s (Karl-Heinz Schmiel, Spielworxx, 2019)
News (and why it doesn't matter): -More toys for Era: Medieval Age 26m58s -Kickstarter Police: Wherefore art thou? 27m56s -Banning Golden Bell, that's where 29m39s
Rarely has a game been as deeply, frighteningly cynical as Imperial. We are sadly inured to the notion of vast military conflicts; and we are sadly inured to the corrupting influence of enormous wealth; but never before has a game combined the two and posited the Schlieffen Plan as a gambit to improve the marginal rate of return of someone's portfolio. Oh, my RRSP is Russian firepower, by the way.
Games Played Last Week: -Papillon 1m42s (J.B. Howell, Kolossal, 2019) -Talon 3m47s (Jim Krohn, GMT Games, 2016) -On Mars 7m20s (Vital Lacerda, Eagle-Gryphon, 2020) -Deception: Murder in Hong Kong 10m34s (Tobey Ho, Grey Fox Games, 2014) -Principle Dilemma 12m37s (Joe Tanowski, Self-published, 2019) -Las Vegas Royale 21m14s (Rudiger Dorn, alea, 2019) -Sushi Roll 23m22s (Phil Walker-Harding, Gamewright, 2019) -Cthulhu: Death May Die 25m43s (Rob Daviau & Eric M. Lang, CMON, 2019)
News (and why it doesn't matter): -Wiz-Kids' Clash of Cultures 28m23s -Grimslingers Two 30m14s -Marvel United 31m39s -Hansa Teutonica Big Box, Eventually? 33m01s -Tortuga 2199 34m24s -Truffle Shuffle, for some reason 35m03s
Eventually a charge becomes so tired and rote that it becomes accepted without critical thought--but so often these hackneyed claims are false. Knizia games are themeless is a good example. Canadians are polite is another. The one that rears its ugly head this week is Walker's insistence that he is bullied, which has definitely got to count as attempted gaslighting at this point. On the plus side, a New Year's resolution is made and then immediately fulfilled in the same episode! That is efficiency.
AYURIS: Gaslands 5m23s (Glenn Ford & Mike Hutchinson, Osprey Publishing, 2017)
Games Played Last Week: -Blue Moon 8m32s (Reiner Knizia, KOSMOS, 2004) -Barrage 11m08s (Tommaso Battista & Simone Luciani, Cranio Creations, 2019) -Corporate America 14m54s (Teale Fristoe, Nothing Sacred Games, 2013) -Papillon 16m34s (J.B. Howell, Kolossal, 2019) -Secret Hitler 20m53s (Mike Boxleiter, Tommy Maranges, & Max Temkin, Goat Wolf & Cabbage, 2016) -Reavers of Midgard 22m40s (J.B. Howell, Grey Fox Games, 2019) -Cthulhu: Death May Die 29m49s (Rob Daviau & Eric M. Lang, CMON, 2019)
News (and why it doesn't matter): -Repos Productions Swallowed by Asmodee 32m43s -Smooth Rollout for CMON's Time Machine 33m06s -From the Root Team, Oath 34m04s -Foundations of Rome 34m40s -Breakout in TO: March 20-22 35m19s -Star Realms Goes Huge 35m49s -Société des Auteurs de Jeux on Bernard v. Mythic Games 36m48s
Better late and wrong than never wrong, am I right? Wait, that doesn't make sense. Suffice to say that we wanted to be as certain as we could this year, as past years offered rather significant asterisks on our best-of lists--but this year, with only minor exceptions, we're pretty confident we played the games most likely to make the cut. I'm sure this sense of certainty and comprehensiveness will last perhaps as long as late January.
Games Played Last Week: -Blood Rage 2m09s (Eric Lang, CMON, 2015) -It's a Wonderful World 4m40s (Frédéric Guérard, La Boîte de Jeu, 2019) -Battle for Biternia 8m03s (Chris Faulkenberry, Stone Circle Games, 2018) -Istanbul 12m58s (Rudiger Dorn, Pegasus Spiele, 2014) -Marvel Champions: The Card Game 15m30s (Michael Boggs, Nate French, & Caleb Grace, FFG, 2019) -Codenames: The Simpsons 16m06s (Vlaada Chvatil, CGE, 2019)
News (and why it doesn't matter): -Kemet 2.0: Blood and Sand Updates 19m01s -Mixlore and Prospero Hall 20m13s -Cosmic Encounter Two-Player? 21m01s -FFG's RPG Last Gasp: KeyForge 22m07s -Traintopia: All Trains, All the Time Is Back! 22m45s -Pascal Bernard v. Mythic Games 23m27s -Kolossal Games' Ongoing Eclipse Shenanigans 24m25s -Riot Games to Publish New Boardgames 29m31s -Patreon News: Presents! 30m16s
Topic: 2019 in Review Extravaganza Personal Top 10s 32m12s SVWAG Game of the Year 2019 54m34s Other Categories 56m42s
Anmelden
