So Very Wrong About Games

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 Feature Game: Imperial (Mac Gerdts, PD-Verlag, 2006)/Imperial 2030 (Mac Gerdts, PD-Verlag, 2009) 35m32sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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 Topic: 2020 New Year's Resolutions 42m11s2019's Resolutions 42m27s2020's Resolutions 48m27sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The podcast covers a range of topics including game reviews like Blood Rage, Battle for Baternia, and Istanbul. They also discuss their personal top 10 games of 2019, game components that stood out, and board game disappointments and pleasant surprises of the year.

We're using "culture" pretty broadly, here--the SVWAG staff anthropologist is out with the flu, so there's only so much we can do. We're ready to accept some degree of cultural variance, but we don't endorse cultural relativism as a moral theory; our staff ethicist is still very much at his post. That said, social gatherings are most definitely susceptible to cultural standards than moral precepts are, and we are ever in thrall to one of SVWAG's primordial maxims: "Read the room." AYURIS: BattleCON 2m00s (Brad D. Talton, Level 99 Games, 2010) Games Played Last Week:-Flotilla 4m35s (J.B. Howell & Michael Mihealsick, WizKids, 2019)-Marvel Champions: The Card Game 13m43s (Michael Boggs, Nate French, & Caleb Grace, FFG, 2019)-It's a Wonderful World 16m16s (Frédéric Guérard, La Boîte de Jeu, 2019)-The Menace Among Us 18m31s (Jeff Gum, Smirk & Dagger, 2019)-A Feast for Odin: The Norwegians 23m23s (Gernot Köpke & Uwe Rosenberg, Feuerland Spiele, 2018)-Godtear 24m49s (David Carl, Alex Hall, & Steve Margetson, Steamforged Games, 2019)-Core Space 26m34s (Colin Young, Battle Systems Ltd., 2019)News (and why it doesn't matter):-Fine Job Labyrinth--fine job, indeed! 29m17s-Kemet 2.0: Blood and Sand 30m58s-Egyptian Renaissance? Tekhenu: Obelisk of the Sun 33m38s Topic: Cultural Expectations 34m42sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Look, it's hard enough to remember games without them injecting too many dates into their titles. Claustrophobia 1643 I keep misremembering as 1648 (Treaty of Westphalia), Ausburg 15whenever is as forgettable as the game, Pulsar 2849 barely sticks in my mind, and now Caylus 1303. I'd be tempted to just try and parse the game as "Caylus 13XX," but it's not about trains, now, is it? Games Played Last Week:-Karate Tomate 3m01s (Reiner Knizia, AMIGO, 2018)-Telestrations: 12 Player Party Pack 5m10s (Uncredited, USAopoly, 2011)-The Shipwreck Arcana 6m59s (Kevin Bishop, Meromorph Games, 2017)-Yellow & Yangtze 9m22s (Reiner Knizia, Grail Games, 2018)-Marvel Champions: The Card Game 10m05s (Michael Boggs, Nate French, & Caleb Grace, FFG, 2019)-Maracaibo 14m42s (Alexander Pfister, Capstone Games, 2019)-Aristocracy 21m09s (Reiner Knizia, Tasty Minstrel Games, 2019)-Flotilla 23m24s (J.B. Howell & Michael Mihealsick, WizKids, 2019)-Era: Medieval Age 24m46s (Matt Leacock, eggertspiele, 2019)News (and why it doesn't matter):-Rococo Deluxe 27m17s-Kanban EV 27m59s Feature Game: Caylus 1303 29m01s (William Attia, Space Cowboys, 2019)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

The Holidays are upon us--Christmas very soon, Hanukkah is ongoing, Kwanzaa around the corner--but today on SVWAG, as it is on most days, we celebrate Festivus. On Mark's insistence, we forego the Feats of Strength, as the outcome would be certain and humiliating; O, but the Airing of the Grievances! Canadians have much to complain about, what with one mess of a fulfillment after another. And complain we do.AYURIS: Too Many Bones: Undertow 3m15s (Adam Carlson & Josh J. Carlson, Chip Theory Games, 2018)Games Played Last Week:-Mechanica 6m37s (Mary Flanagan, Emma Hobday, & Max Seidman, Resonym, 2019)-One Deck Galaxy 11m25s (Chris Cieslik, Asmadi Games, 2020)-It's a Wonderful World 13m02s (Frédéric Guérard, La Boîte de Jeu, 2019)-Yggdrasil Chronicles 17m35s (Cédric Lefebvre, Ludonaute, 2019)-Yokohama 21m09s (Hisashi Hayashi, Tasty Minstrel Games, 2016)-Cthulhu: Death May Die 21m56s (Eric M. Lang & Rob Daviau, CMON, 2019)-Res Arcana: Lux et Tenebrae 26m25s (Thomas Lehmann, Sand Castle Games, 2019)News (and why it doesn't matter):-Best of 2019 coming, just possibly not in 2019 29m09s-Wherefore art thou, Reavers? 30m12s Topic: Familiarity Breeds Contempt 31m01sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Perhaps it would be inevitable that there would be juvenile comments about the components in Catan: Starfarers. This is, after all, the gaming series that brought us endless unfunny remarks about wood and sheep. Perhaps the sculptors for the pieces knew what they were doing and, in turn, laughing at us. I suppose we must be thankful that Klaus Teuber remained high-minded--one shudders to imagine what the satirical outlook of, say, Vlaada Chvatil would have done with the same material.Games Played Last Week: -Street Masters: Aftershock 2m18s (Adam & Brady Sadler, Blacklist Games, 2019)-Big City: 20th Anniversary Jumbo Edition! 4m51s (Franz-Benno Delonge, Mercury Games, 2019)-Wavelength 7m46s (Alex Hague, Justin Vickers, & Wolfgang Warsch, Palm Court, 2019)-Warfighter: The Private Military Contractor Card Game 10m32s (Dan Verssen, DVG Games, 2019)-The Shipwreck Arcana 15m42s (Kevin Bishop, Meromorph Games, 2017)-Yggdrasil Chronicles 17m26s (Cédric Lefebvre, Ludonaute, 2019)News (and why it doesn't matter):-Tokyo Game Market 21m39s-Matagot Makes Pronoun Progress 22m00s-Spycon (Where Everyone Is a Spy) 23m46s-Warhammer Underworlds Digital 24m33s-Airship City in English 26m00s-Expanding Spheres of Influence 27m00s-Flotilla 29m07sFeature Game: Catan: Starfarers 30m08s (Klaus Teuber, KOSMOS, 2019)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

There are times when immediately upon finishing recording, one or both of our hosts immediately feel the tremendous regret of having forgotten The Thing. But, alas, the moment has passed, and they cannot now mention The Thing. The only redress available is this episode description, which sadly no one but you reads. We salute you, hyper-literate outlier!This week, The Thing is Wavelength--recently-released masterful filler and wonderful fodder for holiday gaming in mixed circles. Rest assured the host feel pretty stupid most of the time, but doubly stupid for neglecting to mention Wavelength.AYURIS: Sentinels of the Multiverse 1m45s (Christopher Badell, Paul Bender, & Adam Rebottaro, Greater Than Games, 2011)Games Played Last Week: -Amun-Re the Card Game 4m47s (Reiner Knizia, Super Meeple, 2016)-The King's Dilemma 7m41s (Hjalmar Hach & Lorenzo Silva, Horrible Guild, 2019)-Pandemic: Rapid Response 16m32s (Kane Klenko, Z-Man, 2019)-Yokohamma 18m10s (Hisashi Hayashi, Tasty Minstrel Games, 2016)-Street Masters: Aftershock 20m23s (Adam & Brady Sadler, Blacklist Games, 2019)-Gugong 21m51s (Andreas Steding, Game Brewer, 2018)-Barrage 25m29s (Tommaso Battista & Simone Luciani, Cranio Creations, 2019)-Warhammer Underworlds: Beastgrave 31m43s (David Sanders, Games Workshop, 2019)News (and why it doesn't matter):-Award for Kane Klenko 33m22s-Rangers of Shadow Deep Deluxe 33m55s-Knizia does Legacy with My City 35m18s-Barkham Horror (sigh) 35m56s-Frosthaven 36m58s-Collectivism in Red Outpost 37m17s-Thank you for your support! 38m22sTopic: Fillers and Holiday Gaming 38m55sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Black Secret was an expansion to Ghost Stories where you played as vicious, frenetic shoppers trying to ascertain what were the best hidden deals on Black Friday. I think. If nothing else, one can appreciate the fact that online shopping might one day prevent the trampling deaths that accompany this uniquely retail "holiday." The end of brick and mortar retail will surely be a great loss, and one that hurts our hobby a great deal, but come on--that inevitable b-roll of crazed bargain hunters year after year is a psychically damaging indictment of our culture.Games Played Last Week: -Marco Polo II: In the Service of the Khan 2m27s (Simone Luciani & Daniele Tascini, Hans im Gluck, 2019)-Catan: Starfarers 7m39s (Klaus Teuber, KOSMOS, 2019)-Neuroshima Hex! 3.0 11m39s (Michal Oracz, Portal Games, 2006)-Caylus Magna Carta 14m59s (William Attia, Ystari Games, 2007)-Vindication 20m56s (Marc Neidlinger, Orange Nebula, 2018)News (and why it doesn't matter):-Ticket to Ride with Alexa 22m23s-So Much Sakura Arms! 24m56s-Christmas Card Roll-and-Write from Dice and Ink 27m48s -The King is Dead (Long Live Osprey Publishing) 28m33s-Fantastic Factories 29m28s-Warning: Chinese New Year Always Wins 30m08sFeature Game: Last Bastion 31m28s (Antoine Bauza, Repos Production, 2019)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Walker introduces a new feature, the LIGHTNING ROUND. Destinies are determined and legends are forged in the lightning round, or at least they could be if it were not merely the pretext for his trolling. Someone should translate "I'm not saying, I'm just saying" into Latin so he can make it his family credo. AYURIS: The Voyages of Marco Polo 2m00s (Simone Luciani & Daniele Tascini, Hans im Gluck, 2015)Games Played Last Week: -The Menace Among Us 5m06s (Jeff Gum, Smirk & Dagger, 2019)-Wayfinders 9m18s (Thomas Dagenais-Lespérance, Pandasaurus Games, 2019)-Paranormal Detectives 12m41s (Szymon Maliński, Adrian Orzechowski, & Marcin Łączyński, Lucky Duck Games, 2019)-Barenpark: The Bad News Bears 17m44s (Phil Walker-Harding, Lookout Games, 2019)-Modern Art 19m54s (Reiner Knizia, Hans im Gluck, 1992)-Gaia Project 21m41s (Jens Drögemüller & Helge Ostertag, Feuerland Spiele, 2017)-Wavelength 25m13s (Alex Hague, Justin Vickers, & Wolfgang Warsch, Palm Court, 2019)-Babylonia 29m56s (Reiner Knizia, Ludonova, 2019)News (and why it doesn't matter):-Don't you know that Scott Pilgrim is the best fighter in the province? 33m01s-Uwe Rosenberg tries some fairies 33m31s-Excellent SVWAG website: https://tekeli.li/svwag/ 34m09s-Car Wars again, and again 35m42s-Hollandspiele Sale 37m11s-Canadian fulfillment woes: Reavers of Midgard, etc. 38m43sTopic: Worker Placement 41m22sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy