So Very Wrong About Games

If you've been following board games social media recently, you might have noticed that it's been a rough couple of weeks. Incidents like these, albeit difficult, allow us a chance to define our community and underscore our values. Silence can imply consent. We can either choose to silently defend powerful figures use their influence to harm vulnerable people without consequence, or we can choose to try and speak up to become a more welcoming and inclusive community. So Very Wrong About Games chooses to try to do the latter.00:57 Our statement on Phil Eklund and Daniele Tascini04:24 AYURIS: Warpgate (Artyom Nichipurov, Wolff Designa, 2018) Games Played Last Week:06:46 -Darwin’s Journey (Simone Luciani & Nestore Mangone, ThunderGryph Games, 2021)12:20 -Dinosaur Tea Party (Rob Daviau, JR Honeycutt, & Justin D. Jacobson, Restoration Games, 2018)17:00 -Calimala (Fabio Lopiano, ADC Blackfire Entertainment GmbH, 2017)20:11 -Cosmic Frog (Jim Felli, Devious Weasel Games, 2020)23:31 -Yokohama (Hisashi Hayashi, Tasty Minstrel Games, 2016)25:35 -Quantum (Eric Zimmerman, Funforge, 2013)28:03 -City of the Big Shoulders (Raymond Chandler III, Parallel Games, 2019)32:21 -Food Chain Magnate (Jeroen Doumen & Joris Wiersinga, Splotter, 2015)33:28 -A Billion Suns: Interstellar Fleet Battles (Mike Hutchinson, Osprey Games, 2021)News (and why it doesn't matter):39:10 Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition41:40 Asmodee buys Philibert42:32 Castles of Mad King Ludwig Collector's Edition43:32 Topic: Death of the Rule BookAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Topics discussed include news in the board gaming world, games played last week, updates on various board games like Guards of Atlantis II and Iwari, news on upcoming game releases, concerns over Fantasy Flight Games, and an in-depth exploration of the strategic gameplay in Dogs of War.

The hosts discuss their top 10 games of 2020, the game of the year, and unique board games like 'Dwellings of Eldervale' and 'Whistle Mountain'. They explore gameplay experiences, share personal favorites, and talk about upcoming board games and expansions.

All right, sweethearts, what are you waiting for? Breakfast in bed? Another glorious episode of SVWAG! A day with So Very Wrong About Games is like a day on the farm. Every word's a banquet! Every sentence a fortune! Every review a soliloquy! I love SVWAG!Games Played Last Week:01:40 -Aristeia!: Prime Time (Alberto Abal, Jesús Fuster, & David Rosillo, Corvus Belli, 2020)05:05 -Vengeance: Director’s Cut Expansion (Gordon Calleja, Mighty Boards, 2020) 11:03 -For What Remains: Out of the Basement (Paul Low, David Thompson, & Ricardo Manuel Luis Tomas, DVG, 2020)14:42 -Undaunted: North Africa (Trevor Benjamin & David Thompson, Osprey Games, 2020) 18:13 -It's a Wonderful World (Frédéric Guérard, La Boîte de Jeu, 2019)21:20 -Caravan (Joe Huber, Rio Grande Games, 2019)22:41 -Fast Sloths (Friedemann Friese, 2F-SPiele, 2019)27:19 -Cacao (Phil Walker-Harding, ABACUSSPIELE, 2015)28:11 -Aliens: Another Glorious Day in the Corps (Andrew Haught, Gale Force Nine, 2020)32:45 -Aliens (David McKenzie & Barry Nakazono, Leading Edge Games, 1989)News (and why it doesn't matter):34:42 Transmissions35:13 Hansa Teutonica Big Box exists!36:22 Commands & Colors Samurai Battles from GMT37:18 French law enforcement investigate the Confrontation debacle39:35 The Castles of Mad King Ludwig deluxe40:12 SVWAG News: See you in 202141:58 Feature Game: Empyreal: Spells & Steam (Trey Chambers, Level 99 Games, 2020)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

"I hit you!" "Nuh-uh, you missed!" "I totally hit you!" "I dodged it!" "I have special homing missiles you can't dodge!" "I have a shield that redirects all your shots back to you!" "I have an invincibility field!" "I can shoot through invincibility!" At this point, Games Workshop would have us roll off, with the person rolling higher getting the title of Most Obnoxious Person.01:49 AYURIS: Cthulhu Wars (Sandy Peterson & Lincoln Petersen, Petersen Games, 2015)Games Played Last Week:05:02 -AuZtralia (Martin Wallace, Stronghold Games, 2018)11:16 -Under Falling Skies (Tomáš Uhlíř, Czech Games Edition, 2020)12:49 -The King Is Dead: Second Edition (Peer Sylvester, Osprey Games, 2020)19:48 -Jetpack Joyride: Deluxe Edition (Michał Gołębiowski, Lucky Duck Games, 2019)22:43 -Apocalypse Road (Jeff Horger & Carla Horger, GMT Games, 2020)29:53 -Marvel United (Andrea Chiarvesio & Eric M. Lang, CMON, 2020)33:06 -Gaia Project (Jens Drögemüller & Helge Ostertag, Feuerland Spiele, 2017)38:52 -Terraforming Mars (Jacob Fryxelius, Stronghold Games, 2016) News (and why it doesn't matter):41:24 Board Game Arena's month of releases mostly old betas42:15 Everdell publisher sending cease & desist orders to Etsy sellers46:04 Topic: Combat SystemsAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Mark has occasion to quote three different movies in this episode, and miraculously none of them are Pulp Fiction, The Lion in Winter, or even Aliens--despite the latter being related to a game discussed! Perhaps his echolalia is abating, or perhaps merely evolving. One should, after all, take every advantage to quote the well-spoken Ayatollah of Rock-and-Rolla.Games Played Last Week:01:19 -Pax Renaissance (Phil Eklund & Matt Eklund, Sierra Madre Games, 2016)04:14 -Praga Caput Regni (Vladimír Suchý, Delicious Games, 2020)13:20 -Agricola (Revised Edition) (Uwe Rosenberg, Lookout Games, 2016)17:56 -Marvel United (Andrea Chiarvesio & Eric M. Lang, CMON, 2020)21:30 -Under Falling Skies (Tomáš Uhlíř, Czech Games Edition, 2020)24:59 -The Court of Miracles (Vincent Brugeas & Guilhem Gautrand, Lumberjacks Studio, 2019)29:05 -Nidavellir (Serge Laget, GRRRE Games, 2020)32:00 -Last Aurora (Mauro Chiabotto, Pendragon Game Studio, 2020)37:40 -Evolution: Climate (Dominic Crapuchettes, Dmitry Knorre, & Sergey Machin, North Star Games, 2016) News (and why it doesn't matter):43:25 Ginkgopolis (and Hansa Teutonica) reprint soon-ish? Maybe?44:13 Inuit board game: Nunami 45:37 The Transcontinental: Canadian trains46:38 Aliens: Another Glorious Day in the Corps actually exists47:28 Sushi Boat: conveyer tastiness48:10 Fist of the North Star49:15 Warhammer Underworlds continues with Direchasm50:07 Feature Game: Beyond the Sun (Dennis K. Chan, Rio Grande Games, 2020)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

One is reminded of those memes that plot definitions on two axes, asking to what degree the reader is a purist or a rebel--the setting purist and the mechanical purist would say "Descent is a dungeon crawler." Perhaps the setting purist and mechanical rebel would say "Dungeon Lords is a dungeon crawler." Invariably these memes revel in the reductio ad absurdum, so I have to imagine the setting rebel and the mechanical rebel would say "Hopscotch is a dungeon crawler."01:43 AYURIS: Batman: Gotham City Chronicles (Frédéric Henry, Monolith, 2019)Games Played Last Week: 03:39 -By Stealth and Sea (Nicola Saggini & David Thompson, DVG Games, 2020)08:26 -Altar Quest (Adam Sadler & Brady Sadler, Blacklist Games, 2020)18:17 -Gods Love Dinosaurs (Kasper Lapp, Pandasaurus Games, 2020)19:34 -Yedo: Deluxe Master Set (Thomas Vande Ginste & Wolf Plancke, Board&Dice, 2020)24:50 -The Court of Miracles (Vincent Brugeas & Guilhem Gautrand, Lumberjacks Studio, 2019)27:15 -Nidavellir (Serge Laget, GRRRE Games, 2020)32:38 -Frenemy Pastry Party (Jesse Li, Mizo Games, 2019)34:52 -Marvel United (Andrea Chiarvesio & Eric M. Lang, CMON, 2020)37:25 -Eminent Domain (Seth Jaffee, Tasty Minstrel Games, 2011) News (and why it doesn't matter):43:59 Board Game Arena Opus Magnus: A new game every day in December 45:11 Topic: Dungeon CrawlersAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

It is the nature of the Walker who cries wolf that if he repeats the claim often and consistently enough, it might come true eventually. Despite the unrelenting constancy of Chinese New Year, some games do actually get produced--just only after they have emerged from their purgatorial delay in the never-ending holiday. So it is with Tidal Blades; after claims of "any day now" for years, it finally arrived, like some unwieldy piece of oversized deluxe... well... is it flotsam or jetsam? We must review it to find out. Games Played Last Week: 01:16 -Magic Realm (Richard Hamblen, Avalon Hill, 1979)07:30 -Funkoverse Strategy Game: Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas (Prospero Hall, Funko Games, 2020)11:53 -Hansa Teutonica (Andreas Steding, Argentum Verlag, 2010)13:28 -Beyond the Sun (Dennis K. Chan, Rio Grande Games, 2020)20:00 -Terra Mystica (Jens Drögemüller & Helge Ostertag, Feuerland Spiele, 2012)21:50 -Project: ELITE (Konstantinos Kokkinis, Marco Portugal, & Sotirios Tsantilas, CMON, 2020)24:29 -Trekking the World (Charlie Bink, Underdog Games, 2020)25:26 -Civilization: A New Dawn—Terra Incognita (Tony Fanchi, Fantasy Flight Games, 2020)News (and why it doesn't matter):32:57 The Zenobia Award for underrepresented designers of historical games33:53 Reality Shift! MAGNETS!34:59 No more Star Wars miniatures for Fantasy Flight37:51 The Crew: Mission Deep Sea38:33 Tom Russell's Dual Gauge40:13 Caverna: Frantic Fiends41:50 David Thompson's Soldiers in Postmen's Uniforms43:04 Feature Game: Tidal Blades: Heroes of the Reef (Tim Eisner & Ben Eisner, Druid City Games, 2020)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Clearly the hosts secretly wanted to have a movie podcast, or perhaps just a podcast devoted to the movie Aliens. To their credit, they at least did not devolve into merely parroting quotes from the film, which is a behaviour as obnoxious and it is difficult to avoid. Rest assured they offered their poor paraphrases and hackneyed delivery while actually playing the Aliens game. It was a bad call, listener, it was...Crap. 02:37 AYURIS: Catacombs 3rd ed. (Ryan Amos, Marc Kelsey, & Aron West, Elzra Corp., 2015)Games Played Last Week: 04:34 -Rome & Roll (Nick Shaw & Dávid Turczi, PSC Games, 2020)07:48 -Dice Forge (Régis Bonnessée, Libellud, 2017)09:48 -Martian Dice (Scott Almes, Tasty Minstrel Games, 2011)11:28 -Asgard’s Chosen (Morgan Dontanville, Mayfair Games, 2013)13:57 -Aliens: Bug Hunt (Ryan Miller, Upper Deck Entertainment, 2020)21:12 -Spirit Island: Jagged Earth (R. Eric Reuss, Greater Than Games, 2020)23:38 -FlickFleet (Jackson Pope & Paul Willcox, Eurydice Games, 2018)27:01 -Civilization: A New Dawn—Terra Incognita (Tony Fanchi, Fantasy Flight Games, 2020)30:29 -Hellenica: Story of Greece (Scott DeMers, Mr. B Games, 2019)40:00 -Eminent Domain (Seth Jaffee, Tasty Minstrel Games, 2011)News (and why it doesn't matter):41:37 Brazil: Imperial42:39 Upzone and Immersive Battle Atlas: Cheap terrain for minis and RPGs46:09 burncycle by Chip Theory Games46:52 Four Humours; can Phlogiston be far behind?47:52 Paper Dungeons48:32 No games based on two minutes of a movie49:49 Topic: BoxesAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

We have an unwritten constitution here at SVWAG, which we know causes some people from jurisdictions with written constitutions to get a little mystified and/or twitchy. Trust us, it works! We get to claim a rich constitutional history all the way back to 1215 and the Magna Carta, or at least we will, once we figure out what King John had to do with podcasting. It's the kind of arrangement that works until you have a constitutional crisis, which we have about as often as those places with written constitutions; except we tend to settle ours with sidelong glances and lots of utterances along the lines of, "So... how do you, uh... think this works?" Games Played Last Week: 01:51 -Welcome To New Las Vegas (Alexis Allard & Benoit Turpin, Blue Cocker Games, 2020)03:50 -Escape the Dark Sector (Alex Crispin, Thomas Pike, & James Shelton, Themeborne Ltd., 2020)07:06 -Via Magica (Paolo Mori, Hurrican, 2020)08:59 -Cthulhu: Death May Die (Rob Daviau & Eric Lang, CMON, 2019)12:16 -Gods Love Dinosaurs (Kasper Lapp, Pandasaurus Games, 2020)19:18 -Pandemic Legacy: Season 0 (Rob Daviau & Matt Leacock, Z-Man Games, 2020)19:50 -Letter Tycoon (Brad Brooks, Breaking Games, 2015)21:33 -Terror in Meeple City aka Rampage (Antoine Bauza & Ludovic Maublanc, Repos Production, 2013)25:23 -Sakura Arms (BakaFire, BakaFire Party, 2018)29:18 -BattleCON: Unleashed (D. Brad Talton, Level 99 Games, 2020)33:42 -Exceed Fighting System (D. Brad Talton, Level 99 Games, 2016)News (and why it doesn't matter):36:40 Arcade1Up's Infinity Game Table37:19 Feature Game: The Castles of Tuscany (Stefan Feld, alea, 2020)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy