Space Cats Peace Turtles

We have a special treat this week! Space Kitty James Bocks would like to present to you a discussion on content creation in the Twilight Imperium community. We discuss how Matt, Hunter, and James have gone about creating things in the past, and James makes many impassioned speeches to convince YOU to get out there and make something! So don’t sit there and let James down! Makes something, already! Also, there is a brief errata on last week’s Semifinals updates. To see James’ videos, visit https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCVq7LQFyLC0p-M4EoUasoWA Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

The Semifinals are OVER and we now know three of the players that will be in the Championship game of our tournament! This episode details the stories of each of their victories and some analysis of the games all of these top contenders played. Afterwards, a brief errata about our Knockout Map Analysis, which includes details on our Five-Player Drafting Method. Stick around to the end as well for some fun business about a mouse... Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

The Semifinals for the tournament aren’t even over yet, but we may not have a better opportunity to do some in depth analysis of the Knockout round map. To check out the map while you listen, visit this link: https://www.reddit.com/r/twilightimperium/comments/ax7w23/scpt_patreon_tourney_knockout_map_5_player/ After the analysis is some errata from last week’s Metagame List with JattaPake. Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

Today we celebrate with SCPT’s first Space Kitty. JattaPake made a name for himself in the community early on and he continues to be one of the funniest and kindest people out there. For his Space Kitty episode, we all decided to break down an hold forum post of his called The Metagame List. It’s a list that covers all of the behaviors that one might see above the table and outside of standard tactics. It’s a hilarious conversation and is followed up by some quick errata for last week’s episode about the Semifinals map. Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

The Prelims are over! 18 games on one map in 7 weeks, and we’re finally ready to move on. Today, we cover the last five games as well as an overview of the statistics of the Prelims overall! After breaking down our thoughts, we go IN DEPTH on the new map for the second round of the tournament. It’s a very different kind of map than the Prelims map and expects a lot more out of its players. To see it, visit this link! Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

We seem to be in an alternating pattern, with the large volume of tournament games necessitating another update-filled episode. This week, details of games 8-13 are all scrunched together, hopefully offering more insight in what seems to lead to the most success in our tournament structure. After the breakdowns is errata from last weeks Action Cards ranking! Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

The epic conclusion to Action Cards Part 1: Action Cards Part 2! This is our DEFINITIVE list of action cards, ranked from worst to best with no room for dispute. What card will get #33? What will get #32? The whole community is dying to know! Come inside and find the answers you seek! Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

This weekend had such intense games in our Patreon Tournament that we had to dedicate the whole episode to it! I know many listeners were looking forward to Action Cards Part 2, and now you get to look forward to it even more! This episode covers games 6 and game 7, as well as a special announcement from our friend in Austin, TX, DavidSNorr! Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

It’s Galactic Council Week! This time, we’re dipping our toes into the pesky action cards, and there’s no way we can contain it all in one episode. So instead we’ve already decided this will be a two parter! But before we can even get to action cards, we have THREE Patreon Tournament Games to overview. Strap in, because this is a long one. Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

This week is our inaugural SPACE KITTY episode. As part of our highest Patreon tier, we allow contributors to produce an episode with us! This week, longtime contributor InMacKWeTrust joins us to talk about the evil maps he has inflicted upon us, as well as a discussion about why we make weird maps and why we diverted from the original map making process altogether. Before that discussion kicks off, there is a lengthy piece about Game Two of our patreon tournament, and after the episode is a quick errata about Game One of the tournament. Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

The tournament has begun, and this week is a quick recap of the first game. It was a fun game with a lot of surprises, which bodes well for the rest of the tournament. Afterwards, there is a lot of errata about last week’s Tier List! Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

The year is over and it’s time to RANK THINGS. We wanted to talk about how this year felt for all the different factions and give you a DEFINITIVE list of how they compare against one another. This is the most serious episode ever and our opinions are final. We are nerd masters and we have thought many eons longer than your tiny human peon brain has. FEAR US. No errata! Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

THIS IS IT. As I type these words, we officially involved ourselves in Twilight Imperium related activities for 15 hours. I'm going to bed. Please enjoy this post game(s) wrap-up discussion, recorded after our one serious game of TI and our one....less serious game. Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

SUNDAY! SUNDAY! SUNDAY! Prepare yourself for the high octane action of probably something like 12 to 14 hours of TWILIGHT IMPERIUM! This week’s episode is a bit of a filler, but for those of you who have never tuned in to a streamed game we’re here to convince you to join us! We play some normal TI, but also some very strange TI, and this episode is all about breaking down those strange games. It’s a strange episode, but IT’S THE HOLIDAYS and we’re going to stream literally all day on Dec. 23...so bear with us... Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

The Galactic Council has voted again, and this time, despite all of our expectations, is an episode about fleet compositions! Today, we break down the role of each ship within a fleet and how different factions think about putting fleets together. Afterwards, there’s some errata in there about four player games. Make sure you don’t get any on your shoes, I hear the stench never goes away. Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

Matt played a four player game and was reminded how long it has been since he’s done Four Player. This is because Hunter despises Four Player games of Twilight Imperium. So, today is a regular old duel to the death over whether or not Four Player games are “good.” Afterwards, there is some important errata on the Tournament Prelim Round Map, including a couple of changes to the map itself. Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

Tournament preparations are underway, and first on our list was to make a properly balanced map for the Preliminary round. Eighteen games will be played on this map, so we wanted to make sure it had exactly the right feel. On today’s episode, we breakdown the map and discuss its yin and yangs between slices and go over which factions we think can flourish in which spots. Then we have some errata on last week’s Player Profile about Hunter! To see the map, visit this link! Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

It’s time for another Player Profile! There’s only one other host of the podcast, so that means this week’s profile is all about Hunter! We cover his much more strategic background, how he goes about handling relationships at the table, and how he manages his salt output. Also included is a breakdown of the structure of the upcoming Patreon tournament and some overview of a recent Good Yin Brotherhood game. Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

The votes are in, and the Galactic Council has spoken! This time, the council proposed a conversation about what factions are best for new players and what skills new players can hope to develop when playing a specific faction. We brought in our friend and frequent contributor E.J. to help us with this discussion. We hope this is a great episode to show to new players as a possible entry point for getting into Twilight Imperium! Afterwards, there’s a lot of errata about our Tournament Draft method that we detailed last week, and some further speculation on what to do about 5 player tournament games. Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

It’s Election Day! Which means it’s time to discuss the best way to elect a faction in Twilight Imperium. This episode is focused on our Draft method for the upcoming Patreon Tournament. We outline the system in detail, and discuss the pros and cons to using it. Then it’s a breakdown of how the system works and analyzing the types of decision making we expect players to make when using it. Enjoy! Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

Today is the first episode of a new concept for the show: Player Profiles! We find there is value in assessing why a specific player makes the decisions they make. You can use their ideas to better your own play, or use their thoughts AGAINST THEM. For the first one, we break down how Matt has thought about strategy games in the past, and what goes through his head when he plays Twilight Imperium. Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

Shh! There are many secrets in this episode. This week, Matt and Hunter discuss the value of secret, backdoor politicking in Twilight Imperium, and the different amounts of whispering that seem acceptable within the community. Looking for more feedback on this discussion, so be sure give your thoughts! Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

Today’s episode is a bit of a stranger topic. But with the Patreon tournament more on our mind, we felt it was best to talk a little bit about the benefits and pitfalls of playing on Tabletop Simulator. We’re hoping this episode sparks more discussion from TTS experts in the community that we can follow up on next week. After our TTS discussion is errata for Tech Skips. Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

While tech paths are still topical, Matt and Hunter decided to sit down and talk about planets with Tech Specialties, otherwise known as Tech Skips. They break down the different planets themselves, the best techs to skip, and how this impacts different factions' tech paths. After that is errata for the “Always and Nevers” episode from last week. Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

It’s time for an episode decided on by the Galactic Council! The “Always and Nevers” of Twilight Imperium is our list of somewhat absolutes players should consider when playing. None of this is actually absolute, and there is no such thing as always and no such thing as never. Unless we’re talking about Stymie. Then "Not Even Once..." Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

Sorry for the late show this week! While Matt was traveling across most of the United States, Hunter sat down with other close friends and discussed getting mad in games of Twilight Imperium. TI has a special ability to get players emotionally involved, and often that leads to explosive results. Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

It’s our Ding Dang Ol’ Birthday! So it’s time to celebrate. To do so, we’re going to set the strategy and theory-crafting aside, and instead discuss our plans for year two and onward. We’re shifting the focus of the Patreon to primarily revolve around tournament and league play, and so today we break down what a lot of that means for you. We’re very excited to try more tournaments and have a lot of ideas that will require a lot of playtesting, so join us on this adventure, won’t you? Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

It’s time to finish the fight! This week we complete the trilogy of Optimal Tech Path discussion. This episode is defined by some of the more difficult to pin down factions and leads to some more open ended ideas of what is truly optimal. Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

We’re putting off Tech Paths Part 3 this week because we just streamed our very first 14 point game, and there is simple too much to talk about while we still have it on our minds. This won’t be an in depth analysis of 14 point games at large, but instead a breakdown of the game we played and our first reactions to the differences between 10 points and 14 points. This game is available on our YouTube to watch, so if you want to see it first, THEN hear our reactions, go check it out! Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

Hey look! It’s just what you asked for! It’s more discussions on Tech Paths. This week we cover six more factions Optimal Tech Paths, and breakdown alternatives to those paths. We’ve got five more to go, so looks like there will be a part three!! Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

This week marks the first item on our list of topics Matt and Hunter are revisiting and re-examining. Tech hasn’t been covered extensively since Ep 004, and we’ve learned a lot about the game since then. So, in looking closer, we decided to focus on the importance of Optimal Tech Paths in TI4, and what that looks like for different factions. Stay tuned, because next week we’ll continue this conversation and look at the rest of the factions’ tech paths. Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

We sat down with Fantasy Flight’s Corey Konieczka and asked him about all things Twilight Imperium, from his beginning with the company to the development and reception of 4th edition. Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

We made it through GenCon! This week is a recording we did the evening before the finals. We sat down with some of our close friends and crew members and broke now all of our favorite parts of GenCon and the Semifinals of the tournament. Afterwards, it’s just Hunter and Matt, giving a rundown of what you all hoped to see from GenCon, vs what we ended up actually seeing. Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

GenCon is THIS WEEK and we are absolutely flipping our lids. We’re bouncing off the walls and going crazy in anticipation. So what follows is a recording in which we bottle our excitement and present it to you, capped and labeled with just the right level of carbonation. We hope you enjoy as we indulge a little and discuss what we expect from GenCon 2018. Afterwards, Matt does some solo errata on last week’s Win from Ahead episode. Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

So you’re playing Twilight Imperium, and things are going GREAT! You flown ahead in victory points but now the board is threatening to violently attack you, and it feels like you’re so close to victory. What do you do? Today, Hunter Donaldson and Matt Martens discuss what to do when the tides of battle start to turn and when the lead starts to feel more like a burden. Don’t give up! Let us show you how to win from ahead. Then, despite this whole episode sort of already being errata, we give you more errata on last week’s “win from behind” show. Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

So you’re playing Twilight Imperium, and things are going south. You haven’t been able to keep up in victory points or you were just violently attacked, and it feels like the game is over for you. What do you do? Today, Hunter Donaldson and Matt Martens discuss what to do when the going gets tough. Don’t give up! Let us show you how to win from behind. Afterwards, there’s errata from our discussion on 5-player games. Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

The Galactic Council has voted yet again! This time, Matt Martens and Hunter Donaldson discuss what all changes in Twilight Imperium when you knock the player count down to five. Before that is some brief discussion about the Game of Thrones Board Game (2nd Edition), and afterwards is errata on last week’s…”discussion” about a Twilight Imperium movie. Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

We're gettin' pretty weird today. Main Pod-Daddy Matt is out this week so that leaves Pod-Daddy Hunter to pick up the pieces. So instead of getting anything done Hunter recruits frequent guest Alex to just talk about a TI movie? Yep. You love it when Hunter is in charge. You know you do. Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

We’re out of the First Round Strategies, and in the sprint to complete them all, we’ve been putting off giving you another This Imperium Life. So this week, we’re doing just that! Listen in for YOUR tales of betrayal, victory, ghost ships, and the color blue. Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

And so ends our journey through all 17 factions of Twilight Imperium. It was a long road, but we came out the other side with a lot more information than when we started, and so today Matt Martens and Hunter Donaldson have decided to analyze everything they've learned along the way. After discussing all of the guides, we'll discuss what's next for Space Cats Peace Turtles, and then, as usual, some errata! This time from the madness that was the Yin Brotherhood guide. Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

For as long as space has had cats and peace has had turtles, Matt and Hunter's relationship with the Brotherhood of Yin has been tumultuous. It’s finally time to settle the score and break down these booger-boys. What does it take to unlock their kamikaze potential? Join the only person qualified to help, JattaPake, as he explores the depths, and then afterward, someone will respond to your errata on last week's Hacan guide! Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

For as long as space has had cats and peace has had turtles, our relationship with the Brotherhood of Yin has been tumultuous. It’s finally time to settle the score and break down these booger-boys. What does it take to unlock their kamikaze potential? Join us as we explore the depths, and then afterward, we’ll respond to your errata on our Hacan guide! Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

For every Peace Turtle, there is a Space Cat. For every Space Cat, there is a handful of trade goods. And for every handful, there is a table of people saying, “Wait, how did we let Hacan get so much money? Okay, that’s enough, no more trading with the Lions! Any trade with Hunter is an act of war!” Today, we hope to help you combat the intricacies of the Emirates of Hacan and find a path to victory. Afterwards, there’s a little bit of Agenda errata, and a couple of notes from our Trading with Hacan episode from last week. Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

And you thought we couldn't work any slower. It's time to start talking about the Emirates of Hacan, but there is a lot to break down with the Space Cats, so we had to split it into two separate conversations. Consider this Part One of the Hacan First Round Strategy guide, and it's entirely about relationships and trade. Before we could get into what are solid strategies with Hacan, we had to discuss how you interact with other players, because it is entirely different from other factions and also much more crucial to the success of your game. So let's figure this out together! And then, let's errata the Ghosts of Creuss, what do you say? Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

It's night. The Galactic Council has assembled, and from the shadows you hear collective whispers. The wind picks up, and leaves begin to skip along the ground. A figure steps forward and then stands motionless before you. It speaks. "Agendas." Without hesitation, you are surrounded by the the force of a hundred collected voices all bellowing, in unison, "AGENDAS." You mustn't disappoint them. But how will you heed their request? As the thought breaches your mind, your hand changes weight, your grip tightens. You look down, and in your grasp...a podcast. Seven letters emblazoned on it. You grasp this podcast just as you grasp your own destiny. AGENDAS Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

Don't get spooked! We're talking about friendly ghosts today, or at the very least highly encouraging you to be a friendly ghost. The Ghosts of Creuss have some struggles, but when overcome, they can be a very powerful faction. So let's find out how best to avoid failure! After that, we errata the heck out of some L1z1x Mindnet talk. Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

Strategies abound in this issue of SCPT! This week: Will the roboboys find their way to the throne? Is L1z1x Mindnet a hard name to remember? Are these questions doing a good job of explaining the content of this podcast? Tune in and find out! Then stay tuned for two whole questions of errata about the GenCon Tournament Interview and listen as it takes us 20 minutes to accomplish even that simple task! Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

Sign-ups for the GenCon Tournament are next week (Sunday, May 6) and in preparation we decided to talk to the organizer of the tournament about what we can all expect. We discuss this year’s upcoming tournament, the history of the tournament, and dig into blarknob’s own (very long) history with the game. Afterwards is some very meandering errata for the Flagship Tier List. Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

We’ve got another Galactic Council episode for you! This time, the council wanted us to present you with a Tier List for Flagships. So, we’ve done all the categorization we can muster, and here are the results. It’s a mad dash through every flagship with analysis on their benefits, weaknesses, and uses within that specific faction. We even follow up the discussion with a nonsensical tournament style face off of all the flagships pitted against each other. Once we’re done playing stupid games, we jump into errata for our Winnu First Round Strategies episode. Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com

We’re peaking the crest of the mountain that is First Round Strategy Guides. Winnu has been, perhaps, our toughest nut to crack, and we can’t say with much confidence that we’ve even fully cracked it. They start from behind, are stopped easily, and don’t have a lot to bargain with, so join us while we DESPERATELY try to find something workable with this notoriously difficult faction. Then, we go back to our other difficult faction with some Muaat errata! Music provided by Ben Prunty. Find more at benpruntymusic.com or benprunty.bandcamp.com