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Bruce takes the Winter of Wargaming to the Streets of Stalingrad as he interviews acclaimed wargame designer Dana Lombardy to discuss his past, present, and future work. Check out lombardystudios.com where you can still pre-order MacGowan and Lombardy’s The Great War card game at the Kickstarter backer price.

Rob, Troy, and Jon discuss Field of Glory II: Medieval as the Winter of Wargaming enters the Middle Ages. Who are these guys Alexander Nevsky brought to war today? Anybody? Pyotr, are they friends of yours or what? Support us on Patreon: www.patreon.com/3MA

As the Winter of Wargaming presses on, Rob and Bruce discuss the Avalon Hill classic PanzerBlitz and the interplay between game mechanics and the awesome war movie you see in your head. Support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/3MA

In this episode, Soren interviews independent game designer David Dunham, best known for his work on the narrative strategy games King of Dragon Pass and Six Ages. They are joined by writer and designer Meg Jayanth, best known for her work on 80 Days. The three discuss whether the advisors in Dragon Pass lie to the player, what Six Ages and 80 Days have in common, and whether the anthropomorphic ducks are ducks with human-level intelligence or humans who have been turned into ducks. Games Discussed: King of Dragon Pass, Pendragon, Fallen London, 80 Days, Six Ages, Sunless Sea, Castles, Hearthstone, Battle of the Bulge, Really Bad Chess, Drive on Moscow

Note: Since this episode was recorded, one of the designers discussed, Tom Russell, has come out as transgender. Please note that while he / him is used on the podcast, her correct pronouns are she / her. The Winter of Wargaming begins with a trip down memory lane with Bruce and wargame designer Lou Coatney, whose career includes not just several great original print-and-play designs but also a robust set of fixes and "mods" to classic wargames. Bruce and Lou also discuss in detail the problems of getting Barbarossa and The Bulge "right" from a design and history standpoint. http://coatneyhistory.com/ https://lcoat.tripod.com/

Len, Rowan, and Fraser ally up to discuss all of the updates to Total War: Warhammer 2 since its launch, as we've miraculously not done a show on it since then, and the piping hot announcement of Total War: Warhammer 3.

Rob, Rowan, and Len discuss how faction design in strategy games has changed over the years, and the trend toward more specific and asymmetrical mechanics which started in RTS before spreading to the rest of the wider genre.

Fraser and Jon are joined by PC Gamer's Rachel Watts to discuss high-flying city builder Airborne Kingdom. Can this unorthodox spin on the classic genre keep our interest aloft?

Rob, Rowan, Jon, and Len discuss the year in the rear view. 2020 was a year we'll never forget. But can we say the same about its strategy games? How good was Crusader Kings 3, really? What could our modern leaders learn from Soviet Concrete Simulator? Is RTS back, baby? Tune in and reminisce with us.

STORY SPOILERS! Skip ahead from 58:30 to 1:13:05 to avoid. Rowan, Jon, and Len discuss the new Mars colonization game Per Aspera, and how it weaves branching story into a classic colony builder.

Troy and Jon are joined by Dicebreaker editor-in-chief Matt Jarvis to discuss the PC version of the award-winning avian card game Wingspan. What are these birds up to? Where are they coming from? Should we be concerned? Why does our producer feel the need to ask you a whole bunch of questions at the end of every episode description these days? What do you think ever happened to those birds that used to sell us cereal on TV? Where did they learn to talk? You know, just curious.

Rob, Troy, and Jon discuss Zachtronics' Cold War wargame Möbius Front '83. What has it borrowed from the genre's storied past? And what might it have missed from recent years?

Troy and Rob discuss two films about exposing the seedy underbelly of the institutions of power: Michael Mann's The Insider and Alan J. Pakula's All The President's Men. How has the film industry's portrayal of investigative journalism and corporate whistleblowers changed with the times? What can each of these stories still teach us today?

Rowan and Jon Bolding are joined by Fanbyte's Steven Strom and Waypoint Radio's Ricardo Contreras to discuss spacefaring tactical roguelike Star Renegades.

Troy and Rowan are joined by Paradox's Johan Andersson and Mohawk Games' Soren Johnson to discuss the august Sid Meier's recent book, Sid Meier's Memoir.

Rob, Troy, and the prodigal panelist Jon Bolding discuss the alt history interwar RTS Iron Harvest. Can a strategy game be good in single-player for the same reasons it's bad in multiplayer? Aren't giant dieselpunk mechs just the raddest shit? Rev up and strap in to find out.

Rob, Rowan, Fraser, and Leana discuss their feelings on Crusader Kings 3 a few weeks after launch. How do we feel now that we've spent more time with the full version? Why does Rob keep sleeping with his grandkids' wives? Listen in and find out!

Rob and Troy are walking the battlements as they revisit Wolfgang Peterson's "Troy" and Ridley Scott's director's cut of "Kingdom of Heaven". What do these two movies about major siege-battles fought between clashing civilizations, from the early years of the War on Terror, say about their moment? Is Troy underrated, overrated, or correctly rated? Why is Brendan Gleeson so unsettling? All these questions and more are answered this week on Three Moves Ahead.

Rob and Leana are joined by Creative Assembly's Simon Mann to talk about the latest DLC for Total War: Three Kingdoms, The Furious Wild.

Rob, T.J., and Fraser are joined by freelance writer Dia Lacina to discuss A Total War Saga: Troy. The ancient city, not the creator of this show.

The DC Fandome event revealed a bunch of new trailers which we just had to discuss along with the exciting trailers Ric finished, and Derek's thoughts on the final trailer for Tenet. Trailers Discussed: Bill & Ted Face the Music Trailer 1, Bill & Ted Face the Music Trailer 2, Tenet, Zack Snyder's Justice League, The Batman, Suicide Squad Roll Call, Suicide Squad DC Fandome Exclusive Sneak Peek, Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League, Gotham Knights, Wonder Woman 1984 Teaser, Wonder Woman 1984 Trailer. If you have questions or comments please send them to [email protected]. Join us in the Idle Forums to discuss this week's episode!

In this episode, Soren interviews independent game developer Meg Jayanth, the writer on 80 Days. They discuss how fan fiction is similar to modding, if 80 Days is a criticism of the Bioware companion system, and why it’s important to do your work. Games Discussed: SimTower, Grand Theft Auto, Savoir-Faire, All Roads, Choice Of Games, Samsara, 80 Days, Sunless Seas, Sunless Skies, Horizon Zero Dawn

Rob and T.J. are joined by freelance writer Astrid Johnson to discuss goth girl tactics game Othercide.

For our landmark 500th episode, Rob sits down with Rowan, T.J., Troy, and Bruce to discuss the formative games that made us strategy fans. Buckle in - it's a long one!

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game developer Jon Ingold, who co-founded inkle and is best known for his work in interactive fiction, including All Roads, 80 Days, and the Sorcery! series. They discuss how to get the player to trust the designer, why pursuing fairness can take away what is special about a game, and whether packing should be done in real-time. Games discussed: Creature of Havoc, The Sorcery! series, XCOM: Enemy Unknown, 80 Days, Heaven’s Vault, The Last Express

USgamer's Mike Williams and Kotaku's Luke Plunkett join Rob to talk about Desperados III, the stealth tactics puzzler from Mimimi. They talk quicksaving versus flow, stealth tactics vs stealth immersive sims, and Desperados vs. Shadow Tactics, the previous game from this developer.

In this episode, Soren interviews veteran game developer Jon Ingold, who co-founded inkle and is best known for his work in interactive fiction, including All Roads, 80 Days, and the Sorcery! series. They discuss why Plundered Hearts is his favorite Infocom game, how being a maths teacher is like being a level designer, and when he realized that parsers were a commercial dead-end. Games discussed: Psi-5 Trading Company, Rogue, Out There, Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, Deadline, The Witness, Plundered Hearts, Starcross, Blade Runner, Curses!, The Mulldoon Legacy, All Roads, Make It Good, Heavy Rain, Frankenstein, the Sorcery! series

Rob and T.J. got some hands-on time with an in-development build of Crusader Kings 3, and they have a lot to say about it. Can the medieval strategy sequel live up to its now august predecessor?

The Tenet trailer is the starting point of this week's discussion. Derek and Ric dive into the trailers for all his films and look for the common threads in the marketing of this master of secrets. Trailers Discussed: Tenet, Dunkirk Teaser, Dunkirk Trailer 1, Dunkirk Trailer 2, Inception Teaser, Inception Teaser 2 Inception Trailer, Interstellar Teaser, Interstellar Trailer, Interstellar Trailer 3, Interstellar Trailer 4, The Dark Knight Teaser, The Dark Knight, The Dark Knight Rises Teaser, The Dark Knight Rises Trailer 2, The Dark Knight Rises Trailer 3, The Dark Knight Rises Trailer 4, The Prestige, Insomnia, Memento. If you have questions or comments please send them to [email protected]. Join us in the Idle Forums to discuss this week's episode!

Rob is joined by Cameron Kunzelman and Evan Lahti to discuss Gears Tactics, which adapts the familiar rhythms and dynamics of Gears of War to a turn-based, squad-tactics format with generally positive results.

In this episode, Bruce Geryk interviews veteran game developer Roger Keating, co-founder of Strategic Studies Group (SSG). Roger is best known for his work on the Warlord series as well as many digital wargames. They discuss what it was like to do pathfinding before A*, how SSG worked from home before it was cool, and how to determine who is a game designer. Games discussed: Conflict, Operation Apocalypse, Reach for the Stars, Carriers at War, Europe Ablaze, Gold of the Americas, the Warlords series, Ardennes Offensive

Kert Gartner loves making VR game trailers, and he's constantly breaking new ground in virtual cinematography and mixed reality. He's been making indie game trailers for about 10 years, and with his years of experience in the feature film VFX industry, he's most comfortable making trailers in After Effects. We discuss how the heck that works, why he wouldn't have it any other way, how he got into making game trailers, and what interests him most about the work. Trailers Discussed: Gato Roboto, Canabalt, Nidhogg, Serious Sam: Random Encounter, Hotline Miami, IceBurgers, Space Channel 5 VR, Museum of Other Realities, Genital Jousting, Minit, Dungeon Hearts, Vacation Simulator, Eighth Grade, Whiplash, Neverending Nightmares, Snow Runner, Fantastic Contraption. If you have questions or comments please send them to [email protected]. Join us in the Idle Forums to discuss this week's episode!

Rob, Rowan, and Bruno Dias start working the mean streets of City 31 as they discuss XCOM: Chimera Squad.

Elisha Male is a AAA game trailer editor at Hammer Creative in Los Angeles. We talk about her journey from editing emo Kingdom Hearts music videos to editing trailers for AAA games like DOOM Eternal, Final Fantasy VII Remake, Shadow of the Tomb Raider and more! Trailers Discussed: DOOM Eternal, Wolfenstein: Youngblood, Shadow of the Tomb Raider, Elder Scrolls Legends - Heroes of Skyrim, Final Fantasy VII Remake, Neo Cab, Hellblade: Senua's Sacrifice, The Green Knight, The Lighthouse, Parasite. If you have questions or comments please send them to [email protected]. Join us in the Idle Forums to discuss this week's episode!

With the sports world mostly on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic, sports games have emerged to take their place in some of the oddest ways. Rob discusses this weird moment for sports sims with Troy, Jenn Cutter, and Kat Bailey. They chat about why sim motorsports seem to be working well, but most console sports sims don't seem to have the same resonance. Rob accuses Troy of being the target audience for beat reporting based on Out of the Park leagues. Troy denies the charge, then describes the travails of his Expos dynasty in detail.

Rowan, Jon, and T.J. are joined by Waypoint and Friends at the Table's Austin Walker to once again ask the immortal question: Is Stellaris good now? On the heels of a diplomacy rework and four years of expansions, what has become of Paradox's oddball 4X space child?

Twin Peaks Rewatch 0: The Pre-Episode by Idle Thumbs

Twin Peaks Rewatch 1: Pilot by Idle Thumbs

Twin Peaks Rewatch 2: Traces to Nowhere by Idle Thumbs

Twin Peaks Rewatch 3: Zen, or the Skill to Catch a Killer by Idle Thumbs

Twin Peaks Rewatch 4: Rest in Pain by Idle Thumbs

Twin Peaks Rewatch 5: The One-Armed Man by Idle Thumbs

Twin Peaks Rewatch 6: Cooper's Dreams by Idle Thumbs

Twin Peaks Rewatch 8: The Last Evening by Idle Thumbs

Twin Peaks Rewatch 7: Realization Time by Idle Thumbs

Twin Peaks Rewatch 9: May the Giant Be With You by Idle Thumbs

Twin Peaks Rewatch 10: Coma by Idle Thumbs

Twin Peaks Rewatch 12: Laura's Secret Diary by Idle Thumbs

Twin Peaks Rewatch 11: The Man Behind Glass by Idle Thumbs

Twin Peaks Rewatch 14: Demons by Idle Thumbs