So Very Wrong About Games

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Better late and wrong than never wrong, am I right? Wait, that doesn't make sense. Suffice to say that we wanted to be as certain as we could this year, as past years offered rather significant asterisks on our best-of lists--but this year, with only minor exceptions, we're pretty confident we played the games most likely to make the cut. I'm sure this sense of certainty and comprehensiveness will last perhaps as long as late January.Games Played Last Week:-Blood Rage 2m09s (Eric Lang, CMON, 2015)-It's a Wonderful World 4m40s (Frédéric Guérard, La Boîte de Jeu, 2019)-Battle for Biternia 8m03s (Chris Faulkenberry, Stone Circle Games, 2018)-Istanbul 12m58s (Rudiger Dorn, Pegasus Spiele, 2014)-Marvel Champions: The Card Game 15m30s (Michael Boggs, Nate French, & Caleb Grace, FFG, 2019)-Codenames: The Simpsons 16m06s (Vlaada Chvatil, CGE, 2019)News (and why it doesn't matter):-Kemet 2.0: Blood and Sand Updates 19m01s-Mixlore and Prospero Hall 20m13s-Cosmic Encounter Two-Player? 21m01s-FFG's RPG Last Gasp: KeyForge 22m07s-Traintopia: All Trains, All the Time Is Back! 22m45s-Pascal Bernard v. Mythic Games 23m27s-Kolossal Games' Ongoing Eclipse Shenanigans 24m25s-Riot Games to Publish New Boardgames 29m31s-Patreon News: Presents! 30m16s Topic: 2019 in Review ExtravaganzaPersonal Top 10s 32m12sSVWAG Game of the Year 2019 54m34sOther Categories 56m42sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Sorry, people, no episode this week. Mark explains why.Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We puzzle over the practices and intentions of game designers this week as though we were archaeologists trying to divine the practices of ashen Pompeiians. Why did these authors insert this mechanism into their artifact? Was it a mating ritual? Was it an obeisance to some vengeful, long-dead god? Was it to shoehorn in player interaction? Or was it to placate a Kickstarter audience? Oh, sorry, that one is redundant with the obeisance to a god thing. Also the mating ritual thing, if you think about it.Games Played Last Week: -Wavelength 1m12s (Alex Hague, Justin Vickers, & Wolfgang Warsch, Palm Court, 2019)-Carcassonne: Gold Rush (Klaus-Jürgen Wrede, Hans im Gluck, 2014)-Unmatched: Battle of Legends 12m56s (Rob Daviau, JR Honeycutt, & Justin D. Jacobson, Restoration Games, 2019)-The Menace Among Us 15m41s (Jeff Gum, Smirk & Dagger, 2019)-Barenpark 19m19s (Phil Walker-Harding, Lookout Games, 2017)-Vindication 20m41s (Marc Neidlinger, Orange Nebula Productions, 2018)News (and why it doesn't matter):-Fallout: Shelter--from promotional money-sink to... ? 30m39s-Wiz-War NINTH 31m50s-Inis in SPAAACE 32m27s-Hansa Teutonica Big Box MIA at Spiel 33m43s-DEI: Divide et Impera 34m17s-Titan is, actually, kinda BIG 35m35s-All the best to Chad Jensen 36m53sFeature Game: Cloudspire 37m44s (Josh J. Carlson, Adam Carlson, & Josh Wielgus, Chip Theory Games, 2019)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

You can replace the Mark and Walker voices with lovingly-rendered miniatures with the SVWAG Host Minis add-on, which you can have for $35, but only if you pay for it before you know what they look like and before you know the content of the episode. You can also buy the SVWAG playmat, metal coins, realistic resources, microphone first-player marker, and custom insert. This is a free podcast that can cost you a zillion dollars. Decide now, though!AYURIS: Root 2m02s (Cole Wehrle, Leder Games, 2018)Games Played Last Week: -Warhammer Underworlds: Beastgrave 3m41s (David Sanders, Games Workshop, 2019)-Era: Medieval Age 8m23s (Matt Leacock, eggertspiele, 2019)-Ghost Blitz 12m03s (Jacques Zeimet, Zoch Verlag, 2010)-Menara 13m23s (Oliver Richtberg, Zoch Verlag, 2018)-Unmatched: Battle of Legends 14m01s (Rob Daviau, JR Honeycutt, & Justin D. Jacobson, Restoration Games, 2019)-The Menace Among Us 19m38s (Jeff Gum, Smirk & Dagger, 2019)-Hit Z Road 22m01s (Martin Wallace, Space Cowboys, 2016)News (and why it doesn't matter):-Infinity Defiance defies innovation? 25m35s-Beyond Humanity: Colonies has glowy bits 28m30s-Vengeance: Director's Cut 30m35s-Small World of Warcraft 31m16s-Blacklist Games' Hour of Need 32m54s-More Teotihuacan (with better titling) 35m11s-More Karl-Heinz Schmiel with Tribune 36m26sTopic: The Cost of Upgraded Components 37m46sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Fatherhood is the overall theme of this week's episode. Imagine Harry Chapin's Cat's in the Cradle, except with the father played by Vladimir the Great and the son by Svyatopolk the Accursed. "When you coming home, dad?" asks the Accursed, to which the reply is "I don't know when. But we'll get together then, son." And then, the son allegedly murders several of his siblings in a vicious power struggle. Just like in the song! Folk music of the seventies is more bloodthirsty than many people recall. Remember that Cat Stevens song about the wars of the Diadochi? It was even better than his acoustic rendering of the murder of the Romanovs.Games Played Last Week: -Letter Jam 4m01s (Ondra Skoupý, CGE, 2019)-Codenames: Duet 8m22s (Vlaada Chvátil & Scot Eaton, CGE, 2017)-Spirit Island 9m57s (R. Eric Reuss, Greater Than Games, 2017)-The Crusoe Crew 13m02s (Shuky, Makaka Editions, 2019) -UGO! 15m28s (Ronald Hoekstra, Thomas Jansen, & Patrick Zuidhof, IELLO, 2013)-Carcassonne 17m49s (Klaus-Jürgen Wrede, Hans im Gluck, 2000)-Undaunted: Normandy 20m56s (Trevor Benjamin & David Thomspon, Osprey Games, 2019)-Cloudspire 23m14s (Josh J. Carlson, Adam Carlson, & Josh Wielgus, Chip Theory Games, 2019)-Era: Medieval Age 26m42s (Matt Leacock, eggertspiele, 2019)-Terraforming Mars 31m26s (Jacob Fryxelius, Stronghold, 2016)-Ulm 32m15s (Günter Burkhardt, R&R Games, 2016)News (and why it doesn't matter):-Pharaon Afterlife Prepping 34m19s-Patreon Content Galore 35m34s-Scared by High Frontier 4 All 36m01s-Square Off NEO & SWAP 38m07s-Valkyrie Outrage 39m34s-Francis Tresham Obituary 41m33sFeature Game: Rurik: Dawn of Kiev 43m10s (Stan Kordonskiy, PieceKeeper Games, 2019)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

SHUX has passed, but the memories have not. Your hosts give a final rundown of some of the goings-on during the august October event.Mark asserts that no one is less competitive than he, no one by a long shot, he is much less competitive than you and if you disagree he will fight you. Unless you are a child or infirm, in which case he will still fight you out of a grudging sense of duty and respect, but he will pull his punches. Some of them. Editorial note: the hosts neglected to repeat that Air, Land & Sea was a review copy received from the author. They apologize for the oversight.Added SHUX dig: The Quacks of Quedlinburg 2m18s (Wolfgang Warsch, Scmidt Spiele, 2018)AYURIS: Yellow & Yangtze 5m38s (Reiner Knizia, Grail Games, 2018) and Tigris & Euphrates (Reiner Knizia, Hans im Gluck, 1997)Games Played Last Week: -Durance 8m05s (Jason Morningstar, Bully Pulpit Games, 2012)-Aftermath 10m33s (Jerry Hawthorne, Plaid Hat Games, 2019)-Mysthea 13m09s (Martino Chiacchiera & Marta Ciaccasassi, Tabula Games, 2019)-Guards of Atlantis II: Tabletop MOBA 15m57s (Artyom Nichipurov, Wolff Designa, 2020?)-Blood on the Clocktower 19m19s (Steven Medway, The Pandemonium Institute, 2019)-Sine Tempore 27m43s (Luca Bernardini & Andrea Colletti, Ludus Magnus Studio, 2018)-Air, Land & Sea 33m27s (Jon Perry, Arcane Wonders, 2018)-Mr. Lister's Quiz Shootout 35m24s (Uncredited, Big Potato, 2015)-SiegeStorm: Siege Mode 38m34s (Kamil 'Sanex' Cieśla & Marcin Świerkot, Awaken Realms Lite, 2019)News (and why it doesn't matter):-Barrage Expansion 40m50s-Erica Bouyouris' Scott Pilgrim and Steven Universe Offerings 42m16s-Calico Cuteness 44m13s-Arkhipov Day on October 27th 44m29sTopic: Competition and Competitiveness 44m53sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"You two are idiots."-QuinnsWe are live (on tape)! With special guest Quintin Smith aka Quinns from Shut Up & Sit Down. Also featuring guest appearances from French Canadian snack cakes, passive aggression, wonderful prizes (none for you, sorry, all gone), and the man who saved your life, Vasili Arkhipov! Also some feedback and noise from the megagame next door. Oh, well.Games Played Last Week: -Irish Gauge 8m34s (Tom Russell, Capstone Games, 2014)-Mandala 10m39s (Trevor Benjamin & Brett J. Gilbert, Lookout Games, 2019)-Warband: Against the Darkness 15m20s (Micah Fuller, Dyskami Publishing Company, 2015)-Ragusa 18m29s (Fabio Lopiano, Capstone Games, 2019)-Flash Duel 22m43s (David Sirlin, Sirlin Games, 2010)-Cowboy Bebop: Boardgame Boogie 27m17s (Josh Derksen, Thomas M. Gofton, & Aron Murch, Jasco Games, 2019)-Glory to Rome 29m37s (Carl Chudyk, Cambridge Games Factory, 2005)-Labyrinthos 31m07s (Lindsey Rose, Dog Might Games, 2020)-Quacks of Quedlinburg 36m03s (Wolfgang Warsch, Schmidt Spiele, 2018)-Ancient Civilizations of the Inner Sea 42m22s (Mark McLaughlin & Chris Vorder Bruegge, GMT Games, 2019)News (and why it doesn't matter):-Boardgame anime! 48m24s-Kemet 1.5 in English 50m38s-Cooper Island 51m17s -Arkhipov Day on October 27th 51m36s Audience Questions 54m31sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The saturation point is the point at which you can no longer dissolve a deck of cards into a bottle of water. I am told that in summer, it feels hotter than it is really is because of all the board game particles diffused throughout the air. It gets really hard to breathe sometimes--my cousin nearly choked on a cube, once. The dewpoint, I think, is the temperature at which a full copy of Catan will coalesce out of nowhere. Join us for our podcast about science.AYURIS: Thunderstone Quest 2m22s (Mike Elliott, Bryan Reese, & Mark Wootton, AEG, 2018)Games Played Last Week: -Teotihuacan: Late Preclassic Period 4m06s (Rainer Ahlfors, Andrei Novac, & Daniele Tascini, Board2Dice, 2019)-Tigris & Euphrates 6m07s (Reiner Knizia, Hans im Gluck, 1997)-Cockroach Poker 8m36s (Jacques Zeimet, Drei Magier Spiele, 2004)-Sidereal Confluence 10m22s (TauCeti Deichmann, Wizkids, 2017)-Slide Quest 12m27s (Nicolas Bourgoin & Jean-François Rochas, Blue Orange, 2019)-Obscurio 13m24s (L'Atelier, Libellud, 2019)-Mental Blocks 16m49s (Jonathan Gilmour & Micah Sawyer, Pandasaurus Games, 2019)-Conspiracy: The Solomon Gambit 19m17s (Rob Daviau, JR Honeycutt, Justin D. Jacobson, & Eric Solomon, Restoration Games, 2019)News (and why it doesn't matter):-Time Machine, Redux 22m42s-Tajuto: Fresh Take on Buddhism 25m58s-Pfister's Bizarre Rewriting of History, Again 29m15s-Doesn't he know that Scott Pilgrim's the best fighter in the province? 31m31s-Warhammer Underworlds Beastgrave: Pre-Made Decks 32m33sTopic: Market Saturation 34m12sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The cube trundles onward, marching inexorably--if haltingly--towards its ultimate destination. It is told it must explore, and so explore it does. The other cube conquers, but that is not this cube's concern. They met once at a party. It seemed nice, but that was long ago, and the cube must explore, not mingle. Sometimes it does not explore; sometimes it scores for some quantity of non-explore things. These things it does not understand, but it knows that points are good, and so it does those things. The explore cube also cares about farms, for some reason, and mushrooms. Near the end of its track, it pauses--not for lack of mushrooms, this time, but out of an uncharacteristic self-doubt. Why does it do these things, it wonders. What mad god intersperses these random tasks so? And down from Olympus comes the pronouncement of the cube's controller--perhaps that very mad god, or perhaps merely a lesser divinity in thrall of some yet more powerful, some yet more capricious deity--"BECAUSE THEME."Games Played Last Week: -Shards of Infinity 2m38s (Gary Arant & Justin Gary, Stone Blade Entertainment, 2018) -The Bridges of Shangri-La 4m33s (Leo Colovini, Uberplay, 2003)-Vengeance 9m22s (Gordon Calleja, Mighty Boards, 2018)-Slide Quest 12m03s (Nicolas Bourgoin & Jean-François Rochas, Blue Orange, 2019)-Gaslands: Refuelled 14m02s (Mike Hutchinson, Osprey Publishing, 2019)News (and why it doesn't matter):-Walker deploys facts, CMON travels in time 18m00s-More Warhammer Underworlds 21m58s-More Sidereal Confluence 24m20s-Foundations of Rome 25m44s-Mark must resist Obsidian Protocol 26m07s-Blacklist Games' Hour of Need 27m19s-Root RPG 28m34sFeature Game: Tapestry 29m06s (Jamey Stegmaier, Stonemaier Games, 2019)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Mark thinks it is colossally unfair that he gets so much flak for speaking French when mediocre game designers get to throw around a word like "tableau." Then again, Mark and Walker can't quite agree on what a tableau constitutes. Mark seems to define it the way that American judge famously defined pornography--he knows it when he sees it--whereas Walker is more conspiratorial about tableaus (Tableaux? Tableausies?), seeing them everywhere and lurking behind every player board or suite of special powers. Nothing seems to inspire disagreement among geeks like a taxonomy. AYURIS: Street Masters 2m17s (Adam Sadler & Brady Sadler, Blacklist Games, 2018)Games Played Last Week: -Attribute 5m27s (Marcel-Andre Casasola Merkle, Z-Man Games, 2002)-Pax Pamir: Second Edition 7m33s (Cole Wehrle, Wehrlegig Games, 2019)-Air, Land & Sea 9m57s (Jon Perry, Arcane Wonders, 2018)-Shadows of Malice: Revised 2nd Printing 13m27s (Jim Felli, Devious Weasel Games, 2019)-Undaunted: Normandy 17m10s (Trevor Benjamin & David Thompson, Osprey Games, 2019)-Infinity 21m44s (Gutier Lusquiños Rodríguez, Corvus Belli, 2005)News (and why it doesn't matter):-Root's solitaire expansion 23m54s-Donning more Purple 24m42s-Mark pleads for strength in the face of Aeon Trespass 26m27s-John Company 2nd edition: Mo JoCo Fo Sho 28m14sTopic: Tableau-Builders 29m10sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Adorable little pudgy robots soar through a blazing pink sky, stubby arms outstretched as they speed towards their destination--a yellow planet in the distance. "GIVE ME YOAR COOOBS" bellow the aliens upon arrival. "POINTZ 4 COOOOBS." A robot obliges, and a sonorous "cha-ching" resounds through its programming. But the robot is now a drifting derelict, its home ship long gone. It is now doomed to tumble through inky pinkness until its energy reserves burn to nothing. It begins to wonder, "Why have I done this? What is my purpose? What is this all for?" And the cosmos replies with a whisper, "It is for 1-4 players."Games Played Last Week: -Hellboy: The Board Game 2m03s (James M. Hewitt & Sophie Williams, Mantic Games, 2019)-Mech Command: RTS 4m37s (Chris Gabrielson, Bad Crow Games, 2018)-Modern Art 8m06s (Reiner Knizia, CMON, 2017)-XenoShyft: Dreadmire 10m21s (Michael Shinall, CMON, 2017)-Among Thieves 12m32s (Floyd Pretz, Indie Boards & Cards, 2019)-Barenpark 15m58s (Phil Walker-Harding, Lookout Games, 2017)-Pax Renaissance 19m35s (Phil Eklund & Matt Eklund, Sierra Madre Games, 2016)News (and why it doesn't matter):-Walker getz Dized 21m50s-Kemet 1.5 22m49s-Terra Mystica expands, why no Gaia Project? 24m32s-Vengeance: Director's Cut 25m35s-Co-op Trick-taking 27m38sFeature Game: Black Angel 28m26s (Sébastien Dujardin, Xavier Georges, & Alain Orban, Pearl Games, 2019)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We return to games of weeks past, for the most part, to see if our initial impressions persist. We were young and foolish in past weeks, of course, whereas now we are older and foolish. Whether our errors mature like fine wine or spoil to the vinegar of harsh insight is up to you. One thing is certain, though--our metaphors certainly aren't getting any sweeter.AYURIS: SEAL Team Flix 2m09s (Pete Ruth & Mark Thomas, WizKids, 2018)Games Played Last Week: -Kobayakawa 5m46s (Jun Sasaki, IELLO, 2013)-Black Angel 7m25s (Sébastien Dujardin, Xavier Georges, & Alain Orban, Pearl Games, 2019)-Human Punishment: Social Deduction 2.0 9m05s (Stefan Godot, Godot Games, 2018)-Teotihuacan: Late Preclassic Period 12m40s (Rainer Ahlfors, Andrei Novac, & Daniele Tascini, Board&Dice, 2019)-Import/Export 17m52s (Jordan Draper, Dark Flight, 2017)-Rangers of Shadow Deep 21m37s (Joseph McCullough, Self-published, 2018)-Horizon Wars 23m13s (Robey Jenkins, Osprey Publishing, 2016)News (and why it doesn't matter):-Vague intimations of important podcast news-Evil Dead 2 made whole? 25m26s-IGA Nominations announced 27m07sTopic: Card-Driven Games 28m24sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

The Card Crafting System returns once more, its heaps of mylar inserting into our gaming life. I would say it darkens our door, but the things are mostly transparent, so the idiom doesn't quite fit. One wonders whether and how one could sleeve a Card Crafting game, given that the games largely consist of sleeves already--but once one has witnessed the recursive horror that is sleeve sleeves, you cannot doubt the persistence and ingenuity of the Cult of Sleeves. They will, like life, find a way--perhaps sleeving each insert before inserting them into an ur-sleeve that will smother us all. The horror.Games Played Last Week: -Tiny Epic Mechs 1m32s (Scott Almes, Gamelyn Games, 2019)-Yokohama 2m45s (Hisashi Hayashi, Tasty Minstrel Games, 2016)-Risk: Mass Effect Galaxy at War Edition 7m43s (Andrew Wolf, The OP, 2013)-Pulsar 2849 10m37s (Vladimír Suchý, CGE, 2017)-Antidote 13m06s (Dennis Hoyle, Bellwether Games, 2013)-Human Punishment: Social Deduction 2.0 14m33s (Stefan Godot, Godot Games, 2018)-Villagers 18m21s (Haakon Gaarder, Sinister Fish Games, 2019)News (and why it doesn't matter):-Sidereal Confluence expansion? 20m12s-New Orleans (gotta have a campaign) 21m11s-More Steding: Gugong expansion 23m16s-Pandemic system offshoots staying in print 23m53s-Successors Kickstarter launched 25m40s-Jagged Alliance expansion 27m59sFeature Game: Edge of Darkness 29m10s (John D. Clair, AEG, 2019)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

There are happy stories. Stories of social serendipity, where you like them and they like you, and all opinions are as one and there is harmony. Where no awkward conversations need be had and no unfortunate lines drawn. Where no one is annoyed, and no one is harassed, and no one must bury their preferences so as to placate another. These are not these stories.AYURIS: Food Chain Magnate 1m37s (Jeroen Doumen & Joris Wiersinga, Splotter Spellen, 2015)Games Played Last Week: -Gugong 3m50s (Andreas Steding, Game Brewer, 2018)-Infinity 4m37s (Gutier Lusquiños Rodríguez, Corvus Belli, 2005)-Slide Quest 7m34s (Nicolas Bourgoin & Jean-François Rochas, Blue Orange, 2019)-Rhino Hero Super Battle 11m41s (Scott Frisco & Steven Strumpf, HABA, 2017)-Tiny Epic Mechs 13m40s (Scott Almes, Gamelyn Games, 2019)-Horizon Wars 16m50s (Robey Jenkins, Osprey Publishing, 2016)-Calimala 20m39s (Fabio Lopiano, ADC Blackfire Entertainment GmbH, 2017)News (and why it doesn't matter):-Hansa Teutonica Big Box! 21m52s-After the After the Empire Kickstarter 23m00s-Blacklist Games goes 8-bit with Bomberman and Contra 24m15s-Asmodee bought something again (again) 25m27s-Mark Rosewater “Why Diversity Matters in Game Design” 26m41shttps://magic.wizards.com/en/articles/archive/making-magic/why-diversity-matters-game-design-2019-08-19 Topic: When, Why and How to Exclude People 27m32sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

So. Many. Games. Even after careful curation and surgical editing, Mark and Walker talk about thirteen different games they played last week, not even counting the feature game. It was truly a good week. New games! Old games! Co-ops, minis, dexterity, wargames! Come join us at the cornucopia of amusement that is this week's SVWAG.Games Played Last Week: -Beasts of Balance 1m29s (George Buckenham & Alex Fleetwood, Sensible Object, 2016)-Teotihuacan: City of Gods 3m32s (Daniele Tascini, NSKN Games, 2018)-Obsession 4m19s (Dan Halladay, Kayenta Games, 2018)-Star Trek: Conflick in the Neutral Zone 6m31s (Mike Elliott, WizKids, 2019)-Pandemic: Fall of Rome 11m10s (Matt Leacock & Paolo Mori, Z-Man, 2018)-Pandemic: Rapid Response 12m25s (Kane Klenko, Z-Man Games, 2019)-Concordia 16m18s (Mac Gerdts, PD-Verlag, 2013)-Pulsar 2849 19m26s (Vladimír Suchý, CGE, 2017)-Lords of Hellas: Dark Ages Expansion 25m01s (Adam Kwapiński, Awaken Realms, 2019)-Just One 28m06s (Ludovic Roudy & Bruno Sautter, Repos Production, 2018)-Sekigahara: The Unification of Japan 28m41s (Matt Calkins, GMT, 2011)-Tannhauser Revised Edition 31m22s (Daniel Clark, J. R. Godwin, William Grosselin, & Jeff Tidball, Fantasy Flight, 2010)-Core Worlds 34m22s (Andrew Parks, Stronghold, 2011)News (and why it doesn't matter):-https://www.patreon.com/svwag-Puerto Rico reprint 35m43s-How to earn success with Successors 36m57s-Gloomhaven digital early access 38m51s-Those without SEAL Team Flix, you have failed 39m28s-The Tiny Epic brand goes Ultra Tiny 40m21s-A Tapestry of distribution 41m01sFeature Game: Warhammer Age of Sigmar: Warcry 42m33s (Uncredited, Games Workshop, 2019)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What is gaming other than an outlet for vicarious experiences and thrills? To enjoy the simulacrum of killing, adventure, high finance, and impressing feudal lords? We can thus assert with great sincerity that ours shall be the very best GenCon coverage, in that we didn't go. Why trust the easily-misled first hand accounts? We know from both philosophy and science that sense data deceives. You can put your faith in our reflections, completely unbiased by any experience.AYURIS: Kemet 1m15s (Jacques Bariot & Guillaume Montiage, Matagot, 2012)Games Played Last Week: -Kemet 3m57s (Jacques Bariot & Guillaume Montiage, Matagot, 2012)-Tower of Babel 5m41s (Reiner Knizia, Hans im Gluck, 2005)-Q.E. 10m09s (Gavin Birnbaum, Boardgametables.com, 2019)-The Ares Project 11m53s (Brian Engelstein & Geoff Engelstein, Z-Man, 2011)-Mech Command RTS 14m28s (Chris Gabrielson, Bad Crow Games, 2018)-Import/Export 20m14s (Jordan Draper, Dark Flight Games, 2017)News (and why it doesn't matter):-How many Cyperpunks does one need? 25m05s-An actual Eric Lang joint: Ankh 25m33s-More Fiasco 26m51s-Everyone can relax, Mark has been made whole 28m28sTopic: What We Would Have Done at GenCon 30m39sLou Zocchi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXZbdZNuRIw&t=5sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Failure can be a fortuitous thing, which is very good for Mark, as he is well accustomed to failure. While this week's review of Pax Renaissance is certainly not on the scale of, say, penicillin, it did give him the opportunity to play one of his top 20 games more. As to whether Walker profited or suffered from this development is a deep and abiding mystery solvable only by listening to this week's episode.Games Played Last Week: -Gaslands 2m29s (Glenn Ford & Mike Hutchinson, Osprey Publishing, 2017)-Space Hulk 3rd edition 4m56s (Richard Halliwell, Games Workshop, 2009)-Horizon Wars 7m37s (Robey Jenkins, Osprey Publishing, 2016)-Time of Crisis 10m30s(Wray Ferrell & Brad Johnson, GMT, 2017)-Q.E. 12m30s (Gavin Birnbaum, Boardgametables.com, 2019)-Lords of Hellas: Dark Ages Expansion 15m12s (Adam Kwapinski, Awaken Realms, 2019)-Getaway Driver 16m12s (Jeff Beck, Uproarious Games, 2019)News (and why it doesn't matter):-Goodbye to Richard Berg 18m17s-Spyfall through time 19m35s-The unfolding Golden Bell situation 20m28s-Walker shills his auction 23m53sFeature Game: Pax Renaissance 24m14s (Phil Eklund & Matt Eklund, Sierra Madre Games, 2016)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We can pretend that our adult pastimes are more sophisticated and evolved from the trivialities of mere children, but really, let's admit it--it's all the same. We can't claim any degree of superiority when compared to the antics of ankle-biters. Let's be mature about it and lean into the juvenalia, shall we? My doll is better than your doll. My doll has the Plasmanator Meltotron. You can't hit my doll, it has an invisible everything shield! AYURIS: Keyflower 1m58s (Sebastian Bleasdale & Richard Breese, R&D Games, 2012)Games Played Last Week: -Pax Renaissance 4m25s (Phil Eklund & Matt Eklund, Sierra Madre Games, 2016)-Root 4m27s (Cole Wehrle, Leder Games, 2018)-Neuroshima Hex! 3.0 6m46s (Michal Oracz, Portal Games, 2006)-Modern Art 8m30s (Reiner Knizia, CMON, 2017)-Quadropolis 12m30s (Francois Gandon, Days of Wonder, 2016)-Lords of Hellas: Lord of the Sun 14m03s (Adam Kwapinski, Awaken Realms, 2019)-Men at Work 17m53s (Rita Modl, Pretzel Games, 2019)-Rhino Hero Giant Edition 18m57s (Scott Frisco & Steven Strumpf, Sugorokuya, 2018)-Piratenbillard 20m36s (Reinhold Wittig, ABACUSSPIELE, 1959)-Joraku 22m47s (Iori Tsukinami, Tasty Minstrel, 2015)News (and why it doesn't matter):-CMON's "Teburu": The future? 25m17s-Mental Blocks at Gencon 30m47s-Real-time medical follies with Rush M.D. 32m07s-More Carl Chudyk in the Aegean Sea 33m09s-Dragonball Zed 34m58s-Spiel des Jahres winners 35m51s-More Aristeia! 36m56sTopic: Tabletop Miniatures Gaming 38m03sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"May you get everything you want" is nothing short of a curse, I think, and so this week we curse you with your own desires. You wanted us to play Middara, so we did. You wanted more information about Sol: Last Days of a Star, so we oblige. As you weep, surrounded by the wreckage wrought by your own wishes, don't come to us for solace, for we are but the accomplices of your own self-destruction. Also, if that weren't terrifying enough, intergalactic scorpions! Games Played Last Week: -Men at Work 1m43s (Rita Modl, Pretzel Games, 2019)-Middara: Unintentional Malum Act 1 5m48s (Clayton Helme, Brooklynn Lundberg, Brennon Moncur, & Ian Tate, SUccubus Publishing, 2019)-Dinosaur Island 12m44s (Jonathan Gilmour & Brian Lewis, Pandasaurus Games, 2017)-Planet 14m11s (Urtis Šulinskas, Blue Orange, 2018)-Rangers of Shadow Deep 17m38s (Joseph McCullough, Self-published, 2018)-Pax Renaissance 19m39s (Phil Eklund & Matt Eklund, Sierra Madre Games, 2016)-Tsukuyumi: Full Moon Dawn 20m16s (Felix Mertikat, King Racoon Games, 2018)News (and why it doesn't matter):-Conan. Again. 25m46s-Good compatibility news about Quest for El Dorado 26m19s-Kingdomino gets a roll-and-write 26m51s-Yggdrasil needed a campaign 27m44s-Through the Ages expands after 16 years 28m56s-Support for Meltwater's Erin Lee Escobedo's mom 29m50shttps://www.gofundme.com/f/help-kirsten-beat-cancer Feature Game: Sol: Last Days of a Star 30m39s (Ryan Spangler & Sean Spangler, Elephant Laboratories, 2017)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Since tableau-building today is very much what auctions were twenty years ago, we take a look at both in this week's episode. The Pax games continue ever onward, even as most of our favourite auction game were published 10+ years ago. Mark resists the urge to go off on a tangent about the Trolley Problem, which allows Walker to resist the urge to send Mark's teeth off on a tangent from his mouth. Compromise.AYURIS: 1m32s Hyperborea (Andrea Chiarvesio & Pierluca Zizzi, Asterion Press, 2014)Orleans (Reiner Stockhausen, dlp Games, 2014)Altiplano (Reiner Stockhausen, dlp Games, 2017)Games Played Last Week: -Thunderstone Quest: Barricades Mode 4m14s (Mike Elliott, Bryan Reese, & Mark Wootton, AEG, 2019)-Pax Pamir (Second Edition) 9m01s (Cole Wehrle, Wehrelegig Games, 2019)-Sol: Last Days of a Star 17m16s (Ryan Spangler & Sean Spangler, Elephant Laboratories, 2017)-Skip-Bo 21m36s (Hazel "Skip" Bowman, Mattel, 1967)-LAMA (aka Wrath of the Appliances: Rise of the Killer Kameras) 23m10s (Reiner Knizia, AMIGO, 2019)-Glen More 24m32s (Matthias Cramer, alea, 2010)-Among Thieves 26m53s (Floyd Pretz, Indie Boards & Cards, 2019)News (and why it doesn't matter):-Planned obsolescence in Quest for El Dorado? 31m50s-Pacific Rim could defy expectations? 32m35s-Tariff reprieve? 33m10s-Knizia's Babylonia shows promise? 33m45s-Will Mark sap the fun out of Principle Dilemma? 34m42sTopic: Auctions 36m46sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

I swear, one dude gets his arm cut off in a cantina and we're still harping on about it forty years later. Have a sense of proportion! I got beat up in high school twenty years ago, but you don't hear me whining. That dude should have done what I did--rounded up a posse and threatened retaliation if any assault persisted. He could have rallied those pushed around by laser sword-wielding hermits and made the galaxy safe for... hold on, I think I just started writing fanfic. Games Played Last Week: -Antike II 1m33s (Mac Gerdts, PD-Verlag, 2015)-Council of 4 3m42s (Simone Luciani & Daniele Tascini, CMON, 2015)-Deception: Murder in Hong Kong 6m18s (Tobey Ho, Grey Fox Games, 2014)-Gaslands: Refuelled 8m06s (Mike Hutchinson, Osprey Publishing, 2019)-Rangers of Shadow Deep 10m04s (Joseph McCullough, Self-published, 2019)-Beasts of Balance 12m51s (George Buckenham & Alex Fleetwood, Sensible Object, 2016)News (and why it doesn't matter):-Die Macher Die Hards Disappointed 14m24s-Flotilla invents the post-apocalypse 16m36s-Ticket to Ride: The Musical? 17m22s-Dance Card (High School 2.0) 19m00s-Bloomberg article follow-up by Eric J. Francis 20m27shttps://www.reddit.com/r/boardgames/comments/c7pnf7/i_wrote_that_bloomberg_article_on_luxury_board/Feature Game: Star Wars: Outer Rim 23m57s (Corey Konieczka with Tony Fanchi, FFG, 2019)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Knowing when to give up is a valuable skill. As children we are told to stick with painful and unpleasant things, and while that is often wise, sometimes it just results in more pain. Discerning the difference between choking down one's vegetables--good!--and pursuing a hobby merely for the sake of it--bad!--is a tricky bit of prudence that many adults can't quite seem to get. The notion of an "acquired taste" is somewhat related. Eating chocolate is something you can nail the first time and every time, so acquiring a taste for expensive Scotch whisky that tastes of dirt seems a little off. But sometimes... sometimes! You should try that thing again.AYURIS: Crisis at Steamfall 4m16s (Tom Stasiak, Beautiful Disaster Games, 2019)Games Played Last Week: -Just One 6m04s (Ludovic Roudy & Bruno Sautter, Repos Productions)-Isle of Skye: From Chieftain to King 9m06s (Andreas Pelikan & Alexander Pfister, Lookout Games, 2015)-Up Front 10m49s (Courtney F. Allen, Avalon Hill, 1983)-Sol: Last Days of a Star 14m45s (Ryan Spangler & Sean Spangler, Elephant Laboratories, 2017) -Bunny Kingdom 20m41s (Richard Garfield, IELLO, 2017)-Rangers of Shadow Deep 25m25s (Joseph McCullough, Self-published, 2019)News (and why it doesn't matter):-More Middara 29m28s-Starfarers of Catan Returns 30m32s-Bloomberg Doesn't Understand 32m03s-Pronunciation Legends from CMON 35m13sTopic: Second Chances 36m14sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

This is not, strictly speaking, the first foray into gaming that Hellboy has done--not even the first in the miniatures genre. There were some Hellboy Heroclix, but let us speak as adults--that's not really saying much. Everyone has been in Heroclix now. 43% of the human population has been represented as a Heroclix figure at some point. Walker has, like, four different versions (albeit two of those are repaints). I hear the "Raging Fury" Walker figure is banned in most tournament play.Games Played Last Week: -Just One 1m59s (Ludovic Roudy & Bruno Sautter, Repos Productions)-Lords of Hellas 4m57s (Awam Kwapinski, Awaken Realms, 2018)-Tammany Hall 7m39s (Doug Eckhart, IDW Games, 2007)Editorial note: Mark erred in his playing of Tammany Hall (unused favour chips are not worth points). We'll have a full correction next week, and Mark will revisit the game as soon as he can. We apologize for the error.-Small City 14m37s (Alban Viard, AVStudioGames, 2015)News (and why it doesn't matter):-Free Doomrock expansion! 21m55s -Moar Apocalypse with Last Aurora 23m00s-Sadler Bros.' Altar Quest 24m00sFeature Game: Hellboy: The Board Game 24m35s (James M. Hewitt & Sophie Williams, Mantic Games, 2019)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Heroscape! This show has spent far, far too long talking about things that are not Heroscape. Today we attempt to remedy that deficiency by talking about Heroscape, which is a game--nay, an experience--nay, a lifestyle!--worth discussing. It was a wonderful retail oddity, an overproduced and affordable big box beauty. It is why basements were invented. It isn't the greatest game, but it is definitely Heroscape.AYURIS: Lords of Hellas 1m54s (Awam Kwapinski, Awaken Realms, 2018)Games Played Last Week: -Junk Art 6m31s (Jay Cormier & Sen-Foong Lim, Pretzel Games, 2016)-Claustrophobia 1643 9m02s (Croc & Laurent Pouchain, Monolith, 2019)-Pax Renaissance 12m34s (Matt Eklund & Phil Eklund, Sierra Madre, 2016)-Heroscape 13m32s (Stephen Baker, Rob Daviau, & Craig Van Ness, Hasbro, 2004)-Scythe 16m37s (Jamey Stegmaier, Stonemaier Games, 2016)-Newton 18m20s (Simone Luciani & Nestore Mangone, Cranio Creations, 2018)News (and why it doesn't matter):-Earth Reborn Reborn? 20m44shttps://www.boardgamegeek.com/article/32180941#32180941-Too Many Too Many Bones? 22m36s-Co-op City Building 23m32s-Karate Tomate! 24m18s-RTS -> Cardboard in Company of Heroes 26m05s-Snake? SNAAKE! 27m22s-Post-Apocalyptic Small Furry Things 29m19s-Jim Felli's The World Reapers: A Game of Overpowered, World-Eating, Cosmic Frogs 30m05sTopic: You Need to Take a Little Off the Top, Bud 32m14sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Do you sometimes feel like having your blind brother hurl spears at you as a party trick? Do you feel the urge to put your hand in a giant wolf's mouth to make your friends feel bad? Do you wish you could ride a chariot pulled by cats for no discernible reason? Do you long to carry on rambling conversations with a severed head? Do you want days of the week to be named after you?Well, this is your episode!Games Played Last Week: -Just One 1m26s (Ludovic Roudy & Bruno Sautter, Repos Productions, 2018)-Lords of Hellas 3m12s (Adam Kwapiński, Awaken Realms, 2018)-Combat Commander: Europe 5m26s(Chad Jensen, GMT, 2006)-Barenpark 7m56s (Phil Walker-Harding, Lookout Games, 2017)-Corporate America 8m31s (Teale Fristoe, Nothing Sacred Games, 2013)-Reykholt 10m09s (Uwe Rosenberg, Frosted Games, 2018)-Burning Suns 11m05s (Emil Larson, SunTzu Games, 2013)-51st State: Master Set - Allies 13m32s (Joanna Kijanka & Ignacy Trzewiczek, Portal Games, 2019)-Tammany Hall 16m12s (Doug Eckhart, IDW Games, 2007)News (and why it doesn't matter):-Chad Jensen diagnosed with cancer and is raising funds 21m24shttps://www.gofundme.com/help-chad-with-chemo-Stack with Tuki 22m16s-Ready availability of Queenies? 23m16s-Papillon flies again 24m51s-Modiphius doubles down on Bethesda 25m31sFeature Game: Asgard's Chosen 27m14s (Morgan Dontanville, Mayfair Games, 2013)Solo variant: https://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/1058313/solo-variant-more-tense-gameplayAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Names are powerful. The Spiel des Jahres means "game of the year" simpliciter, but for years we know that the juries have been casting a narrower and narrower net of what games thay would consider. It has become more of a specialized imprint, which is fine--but it's strange that the name still inspires such cachet. Anything with rules in excess of 3 or so pages seems now to be firmly beyond the pale as far as the SdJ is concerned. Ah, well, times change, and we are prone to fits of curmudgeonly behavior. We do at least give our rundown of the 3 nominated games.AYURIS: The City of Kings 1m02s (Frank West, The City of Games, 2018)Games Played Last Week: -Trick Shot 2m35s (Nikita Krylov &Artyom Nichipurov, Wolff Designa, 2019)-LAMA aka Wrath of the Appliances: Rise of the Killer Kameras 4m50s (Reiner Knizia, AMIGO, 2019)-Just One 8m01s (Ludovic Roudy & Bruno Sautter, Repos Productions, 2018)-Red Alert: Space Fleet Warfare 10m03s (Richard Borg, PSC Games, 2019)-Fireball Island: The Curse of Vol-Kar 13m51s (Rob Daviau, JR Honeycutt, Justin D. Jacobson, Chuck Kennedy, & Bruce Lund, Restoration Games, 2018)-Hansa Teutonica 15m38s (Andreas Steding, Z-Man Games, 2010)-SpaceCorp 17m03s (John H. Butterfield, GMT Games, 2018)-Rayguns and Rocketships 19m33s (Scott Rogers, IDW Games, 2017)News (and why it doesn't matter):-The tangled webs Kickstarter weaves (and then pulls) 26m23s(Correction: During this segment we mistakenly conflated Travis Worthington of Indie Boards and Cards and Travis R. Chance of Kolossal Games. They have both had projects canceled by Kickstarter. We apologize for the error.)-Endeavor: Age of Expansion Expansion 30m30s-Pandemic Targets real-time 31m51sTopic: How Big a Collection? 33m00sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Credibility, like a butterfly, is a fragile and beautiful thing. Mark is fundamentally opposed to subtlety and ephemeral joy, so he naturally seeks to destroy either whenever he encounters it. When it comes to credibility he does this by routinely making gross over-generalizations. This time he has managed to make an instant replay-esque correction, at least. As for what he does to butterflies, let's just say he manages to make garden parties awkward.Games Played Last Week: -Bios: Megafauna 2nd Edition 3m08s (Andrew Doull, Phil Eklund, & Jon Manker, Sierra Madre, 2017)-Brook City 6m37s (Adam Sadler & Brady Sadler, Blacklist Games, 2019)-Rayguns and Rocketships 12m06s (Scott Rogers, IDW Games, 2017)-A Game of Thrones: Catan--Brotherhood of the Watch 15m45s (Klaus Teuber & Benjamin Teuber, Fantasy Flight, 2017)News (and why it doesn't matter)-Walker expands what he no longer has 22m00s-Wherefore art thou, journalism? Round 1: Tariffs vs. Gamers 22m31s(Polygon article: http://bit.ly/polygontariffs)-Space Invaders 27m16s-Round 2: Stonemaier vs. Gaming Goat 28m01s-Papillon rises again? 30m41sFeature Game: Gentes: Deluxified 31m38s (Stefan Risthaus, Tasty Minstrel, 2018)Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Summer is here, friends and neighbours, and with it comes a a thickening of the blood that prompts torpor. We here at SVWAG are part lizard, you see, and so we must budget additional time to sun ourselves and slough off our scales. At any rate, we will be shifting to a summer schedule but still releasing an episode every week--though the magic of segment-swapping. How can such wizardry be true? The secrets are revealed herein!AYURIS: Mage Knight 2m10s (Vlaada Chvatil, WizKids, 2011)Games Played Last Week: -Imperius 5m36s (Grant Rodiek, Kolossal Games, 2018)-Bärenpark 7m18s (Phil Walker-Harding, Lookout, 2017)-Burning Suns 10m05s (Emil Larson, SunTzuGames, 2013)-Downfall 13m11s (John D. Clair, Tasty Minstrel, 2019)-Adrenaline: Team Play DLC 15m41s (Filip Neduk, Czech Games Edition, 2018)-Pandemic: Fall of Rome 17m39s (Matt Leacock & Paolo Mori, Z-Man, 2018)-Space Cadets: Dice Duel 19m25s (Geoff Engelstein and Sydney Engelstein, Stronghold, 2013)-Gentes: Deluxified Edition 21m14s (Stefan Risthaus, Tasty Minstrel, 2018)-Roll for the Galaxy 24m53s (Wei-Hwa Huang & Thomas Lehmann, Rio Grande, 2014)-Brook City 26m54s (Adam Sadler & Brady Sadler, Blacklist Games, 2019)News (and why it doesn't matter)-Trick Shot on Kickstarter 31m16s-No dice for BloodBorne 32m36s-Pax Renaissance goes deluxe but not -ified 33m08s-Die Macher improves its graphics 34m18s-Cleopatra, comin' at ya (Clone High fans? Anyone?) 36m00s-Scythe goes modular, jumps shark? 37m03sTopic: Good Games that Induce Pain 38m07sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We humble ourselves before you, O merciful audience, so as to lay bare our sins against the gaming world. Granted we toil as rules explainers on the behalf of ungrateful vermin who do not appreciate our labours, but nonetheless we take full responsibility for mildly inconveniencing the filthy ingrates who can't be bothered to read a rulebook. We implore that these monstrously selfish demons might find it in their paltry hearts and feeble minds to grant us a little mercy. We sincerely apologize to these subhuman monsters, we truly do.AYURIS: Feudum 3m20s (Mark K. Swanson, Odd Bird Games, 2017)Games Played Last Week: -The Boldest 4m38s (Sophia Wagner, Pegasus Spiele, 2019)-Wingspan 6m36s (Elizabeth Hargrave, Stonemaier Games, 2019)-Council of 4 9m00s (Simone Luciani & Daniele Tascini, Cranio Creations, 2015)-Root 11m42s (Cole Wehrle, Leder Games, 2018)-Imperius 12m20s (Grant Rodiek, Kolossal Games, 2018)-Siege of the Citadel 15m23s (Richard Borg, Eric M. Lang, Jason Little, & Kevin Wilson, Modiphius, 2019)News (and why it doesn't matter)-51st State expands with Allies 18m00s-Mark is not a lawyer on the Great Western Trail 19m14s-In space, no one can hear you roleplay 21m59s-Warhammer Underworlds goes digital 22m32s-Terraforming Kickstarter 23m27s-Kolossal Kickstarter takedown 24m15sFeature Game: Warpgate 26m52s (Artyom Nichipurov, Wolff Designa, 2018)Topic: Biggest Rules Mistakes 53m10sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

"Money makes the world go 'round" is a common saying decried by most astronomers and physicists, who instead stubbornly maintain that it is due to some invisible thing that can't even qualify for a credit card. "More money than God" is also a strange phrasing, insofar as I believe the theological consensus (ranging from the Abrahamic faiths all the way to Pastafarianism) is that God does not hold assets in the standard sense. Then again, I've never seen His portfolio. Anyway, Cthulhu Wars is expensive and so are exciting plans.AYURIS: Quartermaster General 2m35s (Ian Brody, Griggling Games, 2014)Games Played Last Week: -Walker has a family 4m24s-Res Arcana 5m27s (Thomas Lehmann, Sand Castle Games, 2019)-The Boldest 7m19s (Sophia Wagner, Pegasus Spiele, 2019)-Snit's Revenge 10m51s (Tom Wham, TSR, 1977)-Hanabi 12m39s (Antoine Bauza, R&R, 2010)-FlickFleet 13m18s (Jackson Pope & Paul Willcox, Eurydice Games, 2018)-Magnastorm 15m42s (Bauldric & Friends, Feuerland Spiele, 2018)News (and why it doesn't matter)-CMON licenses God of War... 18m48s-...and Bloodborne 19m07s-More pretty things from Ryan Laukat 20m20s-Marco Polo voyages again 21m04s-Warhammer Underworlds (Shadespire, really) lives on 21m58sFeature Game: Cthulhu Wars 22m31s (Sandy Peterson & Lincoln Petersen, Petersen Games, 2015)Topic: Dueling Rules: The "Right" Way to Play 51m30sLoopin' Louie tournament rules: http://bit.ly/loopingtournamentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We spare you the onomatopoeias this week, as our audio editing software cannot process the brightly-coloured spiky expostulations properly. Walker gets to backpedal at full speed this week, having previously declared his being done with both 1 vs. all games and games with tons of minis. So he surely wouldn't have any enthusiasm for this 1 vs. all minis-heavy game, would he? Could he?!Na na na na na na na naNa na na na na na na naPLASTICAYURIS: GKR: Heavy Hitters 1m25s (Matt Hyra, Cryptozoic Entertainment, 2018)Games Played Last Week: -Res Arcana 3m08s (Thomas Lehmann, Sand Castle Games, 2019)-Warhammer Quest: Blackstone Fortress 6m56s (Jervis Johnson, Games Workshop, 2018)-Warpgate 9m38s (Artyom Nichipurov, Wolff Designa, 2018)-Titans Tactics 12m37s (G. Kelly Toyama, Imbalanced Games, 2013)-Pax Renaissance 14m21s (Phil Eklund & Matt Eklund, Sierra Madre Games, 2016)-For Sale 18m34s (Stefan Dorra, Uberplay, 1997)News (and why it doesn't matter)-Mensa? Do we care about Mensa? 19m26s-Renegade charms again with Bubble Tea 21m40s-Mega Vampires and Mega Werewolves 22m13s-More tile-laying from Reiner Knizia 23m19sFeature Game: Batman: Gotham City Chronicles 24m06s (Frédéric Henry, Monolith, 2019)Topic: Changing Tastes Over Time 53m17sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Here's the thing, at least as Mark understands it: acquired tastes are weird. Some things are great the first time. Furthermore, some things are easy and great the first time. Take chocolate, for example. Most people start out champs at eating chocolate. Mark tried to get good at something once, but he found out that requires effort. Who has time for ten thousand hours when there's elite-level candy consumption to be had? Walker on the other hand laments Mark's narrow little horizons. AYURIS: Space Alert 2m59s (Vlaada Chvatil, CGE, 2008)Games Played Last Week: -Warpgate 4m22s (Artyom Nichipurov, Wolff Designa, 2018)-Caverna: The Cave Farmers 6m38s (Uwe Rosenberg, Lookout Games, 2013)-Codenames 8m10s (Vlaada Chvatil, CGE, 2015)-KeyForge: Call of the Archons 9m29s (Richard Garfield, Fantasy Flight, 2018)-Intrigue 10m06s (Stefan Dorra, AMIGO, 1994)-Combat Commander: Europe 14m13s (Chad Jensen, GMT, 2006)-Aristeia! 16m39s (Alberto Abal, Jesús Fuster, & David Rosillo, Corvus Belli, 2017)-Pax Renaissance 19m01s (Phil Eklund & Matt Eklund, Sierra Madre Games, 2016)News (and why it doesn't matter)-Spread the Love Letter, spread the pain 21m59s-In Defiance of the glut of dungeon crawlers 22m58s-Conflick in the Neutral Zone, again 25m35s-Scramble for outrage in wargamer land 26m37sFeature Game: Catacombs 3rd ed. 28m44 (Ryan Amos, Marc Kelsey, & Aron West, Elzra Corp., 2015)Topic: Mastering a Game 49m35sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Today is a telling day in the annals of SVWAG, especially with respect to Mark coming to terms with his own essential wrongness. He gets to partially repent for his tonal excesses with respect to the AYURIS; he gets to mull over painful loves lost in Billionaire Banshee; and he gets to realize that once again that while Walker cares deeply about people, he cares mostly about stuffing his face and listening to loud music. Things get real.AYURIS: Champions of Midgard 1m47s (Ole Steiness, Grey Fox Games, 2015)Games Played Last Week: -Die fiesen 7 4m03s (Jacques Zeimet, Drei Hasen in der Abendsonne, 2015)-Factory Funner 6m17s (Corné van Moorsel, Cwali, 2016)-Swordcrafters 7m15s (Ryan Lambert, Chris Neuman, & Adam Rehberg, Adam's Apple Games, 2018)-Formula D 8m48s (Laurent Lavaur & Eric Randall, Asmodee, 2008)-Billionaire Banshee 10m26s (Steven “Razlo” Bailey, Breaking Games, 2014)-Quadropolis 13m20s (François Gandon, Days of Wonder, 2016)-Vengeance 14m05s (Gordon Calleja, Mighty Boards, 2018)-Race for the Galaxy: The Brink of War 15m35s (Thomas Lehmann, Rio Grande Games, 2010)News (and why it doesn't matter)-Carnival Zombie 2nd ed. finally shambles out of development limbo 17m28s-Vicious, adorable creatures in Crumbs 19m03s-Golden Geek Awards voting over 20m24s-Bus reprint by Capstone 21m05sFeature Game: Calimala 22m19s (Fabio Lopiano, ADC Blackfire Entertainment GmbH, 2017)Topic: Gaming Ambiance 43m35sAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices