

Space Cats Peace Turtles
Matt Martens and Hunter Donaldson
An unofficial podcast for fans of Twilight Imperium and other strategy board games. Each episode is a humorous analysis of mechanics and strategies for new and experienced players alike!
Episodes
Mentioned books

Dec 27, 2017 • 32min
The 2017 Holiday Spectacular!
This brief episode is a wrap up discussion of the holiday game we played with our dearest friends. Hear about the Xxcha, Letnev, Hacan, Jol-Nar, Yssaril, and Sol! We'll do an edited video of this whole game soon, so stay tuned!

Dec 19, 2017 • 1h 2min
Ep 013: First Round Strategies - Clan of Saar
On the third installment of First Round Strategies, Matt Martens and Hunter Donaldson try to crack the puzzle that is the Clan of Saar. How strong can a glass cannon be in Twilight Imperium? What IS a Saarball? And afterwards, we follow up on community discussion about The Yssaril Tribes.
Also, next week's episode will be out late, so please be patient with us as we work through the holidays. And expect it to be a bit rough around the edges as well! Sorry in advance, but it's also sure to be a very fun episode.

Dec 12, 2017 • 1h 14min
Ep 012: First Round Strategies - Yssaril Tribes
This week’s episode is all about everyone’s favorite stinky goblins. Matt Martens and Hunter Donaldson's discussion revolves around early game strategies for Yssaril Tribes and moving the Tribes into the late game. After that, we pick up a few tips from the community about the Xxcha Kingdom.

Dec 5, 2017 • 1h 8min
Ep 011: First Round Strategies - Xxcha Kingdom
It's finally time! Matt Martens and Hunter Donaldson have played enough games to start discussing strategies for the early game, and they're going to start off that discussion everyone's favorite Adult Spacefaring Peace Turtles: The Xxcha Kingdom. Topics covered in this episode include starting units and technologies, optimal strategy card picks, mid game goals, faction counters, and how one is expected to WIN with the Xxcha. Afterwards, we have a few more pointers, provided by listeners, to add to our Learn to Learn / Learn to Teach episode.

Nov 28, 2017 • 1h 14min
Learn to Learn / Learn to Teach
Are you completely new to Twilight Imperium? This resource is to help you gain a grasp at what it is you're getting into when you step into your very first game. We want everyone to have a positive experience, and we firmly believe that having the right expectations can help mitigate many of the disasters that can befall a new player.
Are you tasked with teaching new players Twilight Imperium? This resource hopes to give you priorities and a general philosophy of how to approach new players. New players' experiences will, oftentimes, be determined by an effective teacher so it is important to go into their first game with some expectations of your own.
After both of these resources, we have Errata for last week's First Impressions. If you want to skip all the newer player stuff, jump to 57:40 to get our reactions to listener feedback from last week's episode.

Nov 21, 2017 • 1h 3min
Ep 010: We Played It
After months of anticipation, it’s finally here. Today, Matt Martens and Hunter Donaldson talk about their first impressions of Twilight Imperium 4th Edition. Buckle in for discussion of Trade, Politics, and Tech put into action, as well as some notes on the Federation of Sol, Xxcha Kingdom, Yssaril Tribes, Clan of Saar, Naalu Collective, L1z1x Mindnet, and Emirates of Hacan.

Nov 14, 2017 • 1h 1min
This Imperium Life 01
Today is the premiere of a (eventually) recurring segment called This Imperium Life. In it, we take YOUR stories and share them with all of our listeners. Tales of courage, absurdity, wit, and luck. In this episode, we hear about the might of the Barony of Letnev, the madness of the Butt Brothers Coalition, harsh treatment of unfavorable opponents, and two glorious Tens.

Nov 9, 2017 • 1h 6min
Ep 009: The People Who Play Twilight Imperium
We’re digging deep into our group of players this week and detailing our history with Twilight Imperium Third Edition. It’s a less structured conversation than you may be used to from SCPT, but the main theme of this week’s episode is THEME. Let’s toss the strategy aside and talk about all the parts of TI that keep us coming back.

Oct 31, 2017 • 1h 11min
Ep 008: Third Edition Please Don't Go!
TI4 is shipping right ANY DAY NOW. And as we wrap up our final games of TI3, Matt and Hunter want to talk about their favorite mechanics that aren’t making the transition to the new edition. Our errata discusses some of your least favorite mechanics from Third Edition
And start submitting your favorite stories from games of previous editions!

Oct 24, 2017 • 59min
Ep 007: Good Riddance, 3rd Edition!
We’re starting to branch into new territory, and this week Hunter and Matt seem to have trouble keeping this train on the rails! It’s time to break down all of the flaws of Twilight Imperium 3rd Edition and everything we’re happy to see being thrown out for the upcoming 4th Edition. And after some reminiscing, there’s a hint of “errata” on our Theoretical Tier List episode.


