So Very Wrong About Games

Constant vigilance is the price of audio quality, and we apologize for how badly that struggle has been going of late. Walker prostrates himself before the altar of Bars, and Bars we achieve, but the nature of those Bars have been fickle. Their shape and pattern cannot be properly contained or channeled, and thus they spurn us and assault your ears. Rest assured that we are consulting the augurs and they are poring over the entrails of many a cassette tape in order to discern how we may appease the Bars. But yeah, it's totally Mark's fault.We have a Patreon, if you're inclined to support us.Games Played Last Week: -XCOM: The Boardgame--Evolution 1m51s (Samuel Bailey & Mark Larson, Fantasy Flight, 2016)-Quest for El Dorado: Heroes and Hexes 2m56s (Reiner Knizia, Ravensburger, 2018)-Kitchen Rush 5m59s (Vangelis Bagiartakis & Dávid Turczi, Artipia, 2017)-Codenames 6m59s (Vlaada Chvatil, CGE, 2015)-Wildlands 9m18s (Martin Wallace, Osprey, 2018)-Scythe: The Rise of Fenris 14m44s (Ryan Lopez DeVinaspre & Jamey Stegmaier, Stonemaier, 2018)-Tobago 18m40s (Bruce Allen, Zoch Verlag, 2009)-This Guilty Land 19m42s (Tom Russell, Hollandspiele, 2018)News (and why it doesn't matter)-FFG Returns to Lord of the Rings 24m27s-Wolff Designaa in 2019: Guards and Tricks 26m11s-Snakes and Lattes unhinges its jaw and expands 27m41s-Suburbia's custom colours 28m12sFeature Game: New Frontiers 29m43s (Thomas Lehmann, Rio Grande, 2018)Topic: How Many Versions Is Too Many? 58m30sPatreon Summary 1h12m11sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Peer influence is a strange thing. For years Mark has been yelling at Walker about various ways he really ought to change, but a single board game now has Walker spewing Macross lore like he's a convert. Perhaps the authors like Erin Lee Escobedo have a point, and board games really can serve to deliver subtle yet powerful influence. Perhaps we could make board games to convince people to like and dislike the right board games...Games Played Last Week: -Telestrations 3m40s (Uncredited, USAopoly, 2009)-Diamonds 4m52s (Mike Fitzgerald, Stronghold, 2014)-Meltwater: A Game of Tactical Starvation 8m30s (Erin Lee Escobedo, Hollandspiele, 2018)-Tokyo Highway 14m07s (Naotaka Shimamoto & Yoshiaki Tomioka, itten, 2016)-Robotech: Attack on the SDF-1 15m51s (Darius Hambleton & Jeff Mechlinski, Strange Machine Games, 2018)-Great Western Trail: Rails to the North 20m04s (Alexander Pfister, Stronghold, 2018)-Shards of Infinity: Relics of the Future 24m17s (Gary Arant & Justin Gary, Stone Blade Entertainment, 2018)News (and why it doesn't matter)-2491 Planetship disappoints Walker pre-emptively 26m17s-Successors' Successor 27m36s-Age of Steam's authorship evaporates 28m43s-Vital Lacerda and Railways of the World 30m10s-Suburbia gets purdy 30m30s-Walker unimpressed by the Hotness 31m41s-SVWAG succumbs to the inevitable with an upcoming Patreon 32m47sFeature Game: Pandemic: Fall of Rome 34m17s (Matt Leacock & Paolo Mori, Z-Man, 2018)Topic: New Year's Resolutions Past and Present 53m48sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The hosts discuss their top 10 games of 2018, featuring Space Hulk and Terraforming Mars. They share mixed feelings about Dinosaur Island but praise Cryptid. They review various board games from 2018 like Welcome To and Reef. The speakers explore board game disappointments like 'Discovery' and 'Decrypto', and reflect on editorial policies of the past year.

Players aren't the only people who make choices, of course. Designers and publishers make decisions about the setting and the theme of their games. Insofar as games can communicate a message--whether purely aesthetic or more ideological--it is beneficial to have a clear vision. Things can get exceptionally problematic when you start playing fast and loose with things of great cultural and historical import. Incidentally, I will note that while our topic and our feature game often have no connection between them, sometimes they do. I don't know why I'm mentioning that this week.Games Played Last Week: -Hyperborea: Light and Shadow 1m37s (Andrea Chiarvesio, Maurizio Vergendo, & Pierluca Zizzi, Asterion Press, 2016)-Between Two Cities 3m15s (Matthew O'Malley, Morten Monrad Pedersen, & Ben Rosset, Stonemaier, 2015)-Factory Funner 5m03s (Corné van Moorsel, Cwali, 2016)-Photosynthesis 8m06s (Hjalmar Hach, Blue Orange, 2017)-Stephenson's Rocket: Eastern USA & China 9m13s (Reiner Knizia, Grail Games, 2018)-Petrichor 12m12s (David Chircop & Dávid Turczi, APE Games, 2018)-The Voyages of Marco Polo 12m57s (Simone Luciani & Daniele Tascini, Hans im Gluck, 2015)-Teotihuacan: City of Gods 14m59s (Daniele Tascini, NSKN Games, 2018)-Dominant Species 15m37s (Chad Jensen, GMT, 2010)-Res Publica 18m03s (Reiner Knizia, Queen, 1991)News (and why it doesn't matter)-Descent into new digital depths 22m05s-Fards of Inshinity digital 22m20s-Failed Carnival of Monsters rises again 23m02s-Die Macher won't die 24m15sFeature Game: Crusaders: Thy Will Be Done 25m10s (Seth Jaffee, Tasty Minstrel, 2018)Topic: Thematic Disconnects 48m15sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

As a new coping mechanism, Mark and Walker decide to expunge their deepest shameful acts of conspicuous consumption and frivolous travel by talking about it on the internet. Now that Tumblr is is divesting themselves of adult content they can't post their Stephen Universe erotica there, so this is the next best thing. Don't tell Mark and Walker that a) anyone is listening, or b) they've been using their real names.Games Played Last Week: -Gùgong 3m33s (Andreas Steding, Game Brewer, 2018)-Quartermaster General: Prelude 4m05s (Ian Brody, Griggling Games, 2018)-Triumph and Tragedy 6m18s (Craig Besinque, GMT, 2015)-Goodcritters 14m03s (Fabian Zimmermann, Arcane Wonders, 2018)-Heroes of Terrinoth 15m36s (Adam & Brady Sadler, Fantasy Flight, 2018)-The Estates 18m17s (Klaus Zoch, Capstone Games, 2018)-Gaslands 20m48s (Glenn Ford & Mike Hutchinson, Osprey Publishing, 2017)-Hero Realms: The Ruin of Thandar Campaign Deck (Ben Cichoski, Robert Dougherty, Darwin Kastle & Daniel Mandel, White Wizard, 2018) 22m35sNews (and why it doesn't matter)-Snake. Snake! SNAAAKE!! 24m30s-Terra Mystica Incognita 25m27s-Shadowrift Booms 26m41s-What's Your Game? Well, Madeira and Zhanguo, for two 28m15sFeature Game: Teotihuacan: City of Gods 28m53s (Daniele Tascini, NSKN Games, 2018)Topic: How Far Is Too Far? 54m45sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Lots of talk of economics in this week's news. One might expect a diminishing return on such talk, but as rational consumers of news we often find a deficit of such a valuable commodity. Ceteris paribus, we're willing to offer you the free lunch of our altruism, even though that may lead to a tragedy of the commons. We value your investment of time when you listen to us--our intellectual capital is all we have, after all.I don't think I'm very bullish on this bit any more. Games Played Last Week: -KeyForge: Call of the Archons 4m00s (Richard Garfield, Fantasy Flight, 2018)-Epic: The Card Game 6m26s (Robert Dougherty & Darwin Kastle, White Wizard, 2015)-Teotihuacan: City of Gods 8m12s (Daniele Tascini & Dávid Turczi, NSKN Games, 2018)-Argent: The Consortium 9m01s (Trey Chambers, Level 99 Games, 2015)-BattleLore: Second Edition 11m51s (Richard Borg & Robert A. Kouba, Fantasy Flight, 2013)-North Wind 13m23s (Klaus Teuber, Z-Man, 2014)-Everdell 15m18s (James A. Wilson, Starling Games, 2018)News (and why it doesn't matter)-Super Dungeon Explore's money fades into Legend 17m10s-Cool Mini or Not's earnings get more mini, isn't cool 19m08s-Omega Protocol proves once again that LoS ain't easy 23m18s-Inflation hits the stellar market with A Billion Suns 24m52Feature Game: Gùgōng 26m30s (Andreas Steding, Game Brewer, 2018)Topic: Resolving Rules Disputes 54m26sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There's this substance that the British people deploy called "salad cream." Chemists, for decades, have tried to break down its constituent parts; but the substance's sheer viscosity--not to mention its disturbing colour and odour--have defied all analysis. I mention this because despite our Canadian prerogative of spelling colour and odour as we do, the cultural rites of salad cream are alien to us. We're proud members of the Commonwealth, but we have our limits. Also, you could put some salad cream on your point salad, bruh. Games Played Last Week: -FUSE 3m19s (Kane Klenko, Renegade Game Studios, 2015)-KeyForge: Call of the Archons 5m22s (Richard Garfield, Fantasy Flight, 2018)-Twilight Imperium 4th Edition 10m55s (Dane Beltrami, Corey Konieczka & Christian T. Petersen, Fantasy Flight, 2017)-Innovation Deluxe 11m26s (Carl Chudyk, Asmadi, 2017)-Hero Realms 14m36s (Robert Dougherty & Darwin Kastle, White Wizard, 2016)-One Deck Dungeon: Forest of Shadows 16m49s (Chris Cieslik, Asmadi, 2017)-Gugong 18m33s (Andreas Steding, Game Brewer, 2018)-Root 21m12s (Cole Wehrle, Leder Games, 2018)News (and why it doesn't matter)-V-Commandos morphing into Assassin's Creed 23m21s-Warhammer Quest gets Grimdark 26m03s-New Frontiers for Race for the Galaxy 29m50sFeature Game: Coimbra 30m10s (Flaminia Brasini & Virginio Gigli, eggertspiele, 2018)Topic: Eric Lang 50m08sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What's in a name? Well, if the game is KeyForge, the name is pretty much the entire game. As we have learned from bots in the past, set an algorithm loose on the internet and it'll probably come back as a racist misogynist troll. So far we've seen little of that scale in KeyForge deck names, but it's spat out some pretty amazing names nonetheless. Games Played Last Week: -Paper Tales 3m24s (Masato Uesugi, Stronghold, 2017)-Food Chain Magnate 6m08s (Jeroen Doumen & Joris Wiersinga, Splotter, 2015)-For Sale 8m22s (Stefan Dorra, Ravensburger, 1997)-A Feast for Odin (Uwe Rosenberg, Feuerland Spiele, 2016)-Pantone: The Game 11m31s (Scott Rogers, Cryptozoic, 2018)-Great Western Trail: Rails to the North 14m48s (Alexander Pfister, Stronghold, 2018)-Root 17m02s (Cole Wehrle, Leder Games, 2018)-Assault on Doomrock 20m48s (Tom Stasiak, Beautiful Disaster, 2014)News (and why it doesn't matter)-Fenris Rages again 23m26s-More bunnies for Walker to loathe 24m17s-Cleopatra reprint; why, exactly? 24m57s-Andrew Parks and the Marvel B-list 25m44s-Walker liked Little Town Builders before it was cool 27m30s-Moar dexterity with Catch the Moon 28m00sFeature Game: Claustrophobia 28m20s (CROC, Asmodee, 2009)Topic: First Impressions of KeyForge (Richard Garfield, Fantasy Flight, 2018)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We are an easily-triggered group, we geeks, we nerds; so allow us to exercize due diligence and offer the following warnings. Spoiler Alert: we discuss what spoilers are. Meta Alert: we get pretty meta about spoilers. Existentialism Alert: Walker gets pretty existential (parenthetical alert: you might have figured Mark would instead, but he has very little time for existentialism, being more modern than post-modern). Games Played Last Week: -Endeavor: Age of Sail 1m41s (Carl de Visser & Jarratt Gray, Burst Island Games, 2018)-Spinderella 5m06s (Roberto Fraga, Zoch Verlag, 2015)-Everdell 7m38s (James A. Wilson, Starling Games, 2018)-Western Legends 7m59s (Hervé Lemaître, Kolossal, 2018)-Assault on Doomrock 12m40s (Tom Stasiak, Beautiful Disaster, 2014)-Sakura Arms 15m38s (BakaFire, AEG, 2016)-Space Cadets: Away Missions 17m35s (Dan Raspler & Al Rose, Stronghold, 2015)News (and why it doesn't matter)-How many states past the 51st are we up to? 18m51s-Flicking, puns, and strategy 20m12s-A bear park for more godless killing machines 21m31sFeature Game: Discover: Lands Unknown 22m30s (Corey Konieczka, Fantasy Flight, 2018)Topic: Overused Themes 50m12sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We've always been here. Waiting, in this basement, yelling into the can. When we invented podcasts all those years ago it was merely as avenue for our pre-existing subterranean discourse. Now some of you have joined us, and our labours are no longer in vain. Once the power dies out, we'll still be here, yelling into the can. About boardgames. Games Played Last Week: -Race for the Galaxy: Xeno Invasion 1m43s (Thomas Lehmann, Rio Grande Games, 2015)-Everdell 5m54s (James A. Wilson, Starling Games, 2018)-Starfarers of Catan 10m06s (Klaus Teuber, Mayfair Games, 1999)-Barbarians: The Invasion 12m44s (Martino Chiacchiera, Marta Ciaccasassi, & Pierluca Zizzi, Tabula Games, 2018)-Forbidden Sky 19m21s (Matt Leacock, Gamewright, 2018)News (and why it doesn't matter)-Asmodee sold, Asmodee buys something 21m55s-Taiwanese flag flap 23m58s-CMON tries zombies for the first time ever 25m27s-More Spirits on the Island 26m13sFeature Game: Stephenson's Rocket 28m03s (Reiner Knizia, Grail Games, 2018)Topic: Dealing with Frustration 54m40sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices