So Very Wrong About Games

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. AYURIS: Coimbra 1m48s (Flaminia Brasini & Virginio Gigli, eggertspiele, 2018)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 41m41sTopic: Solo Gaming 43m05sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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)Mini-Spotlight: MOBA-Style Boardgames 19m36s-Rum & Bones (Michael Shinall, CMON, 2015)/Rum & Bones: Second Tide (Michael Shinall, CMON, 2017) -Guards of Atlantis (Artyom Nichipurov, Wolff Designaa, 2017) -ELO Darkness (Tommaso Mondadori & Alberto Parisi, Reggie Games, 2018) -Battle for Biternia (Chris Faulkenberry, Stone Circle Games, 2018) -Radiant: Offline Battle Arena (Jack Murray, Heel Turn Games, 2019) -Skytear (Giacomo Neri, Riccardo Neri, & Riccardo Parmeggiani, PvP Geeks, 2020)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 47m40sFeature Game: Tainted Grail: Fall of Avalon 49m32s (Krzysztof Piskorski & Marcin Świerkot, Awaken Realms, 2019)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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.AYURIS: Claustrophobia 1m54s (CROC, Asmodee, 2009)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? 33m20sSVWAG Scheduling Statement: 35m18sTopic: Social Distancing 38m19sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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 22m59sTopic: Omnibus Questions 37m00sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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 27m46sFeature Game: Clinic: Deluxe Edition 28m42s (Alban Viard, AVStudioGames, 2019)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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. AYURIS: Stephenson's Rocket 1m36s (Reiner Knizia, Grail Games, 2018)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 32m09sTopic: Playing for Second 33m03sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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 36m05sFeature Game: Posthuman Saga 36m49s (Gordon Calleja, Mighty Boards, 2019)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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 33m38sTopic: False Expectations 35m32sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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 39m20sFeature Game: On Mars 41m19s (Vital Lacerda, Eagle-Gryphon Games, 2020)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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.AYURIS: Level 7 [Omega Protocol] 2m34s (Will Schoonover, Privateer Press, 2013)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 29m39sTopic: Virtues of Popularity 31m33sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy