Every Night is Game Night

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ENGN 100 - THANK YOU!! Aug 17, 2018

Show notes

We did it! Episode 100! The whole ENGN family has gathered - Anthony, Jason, and Liz. We chat about things we are thankful for, both with reference to the pod as well as to the larger world of board gaming.

First, all three of us share some thoughts about an older game we are are very thankful for. These are three games that have permanent places in our collections, so we are happy to share about them with you - Nations (4:13), Space Alert (15:40), and Baseball Highlights 2045 (26:45). After that, we share some reflections about the last 100 episodes.

We chat about noteworthy past episodes, favorite interviews and segments, and some life difficulties behind the mic that the pod has helped us overcome. If that wasn't enough, we also have some audio clips from past guests - gamers, content creators, and designers - who wanted to share things they are thankful about in the board gaming hobby.

Thank you for joining us for 100 episodes. We're just hitting our groove. We hope you stick around for at least 100 more.

ENGN PS 34 - Liberation with Jon Simantov and Jason Tagmire Aug 15, 2018

Show notes

Are you a person who owns Star Wars: Rebellion, but it just sits there collecting dust because you don't have the time or table space for it? This week, we have a game for you!

We welcome Jon Simantov to the pod, designer of Liberation, which is an 18 card game which distills the essence of what makes Star Wars: Rebellion fun into a short, tight, and fun package.

Jon discusses how he was able to recreate truly asymmertic gameplay in only 18 cards, as well as the advice he got from famous designers while making Liberation. Jason Tagmire from Button Shy Games also joins us to talk about the current Kickstarter and how Liberation fits into his growing catalog of 18 card games (over 60 and counting!).

Campaign: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/239309591/liberation-an-asymmetric-hidden-movement-game

ENGN Episode 99 - So You Think You Can Design? Solitaire PnP Contest 2018 and GenCant Game Design Contest 2018 Aug 10, 2018

Show notes

For our last episode before 100, we are really excited to shine a big, bright spotlight on a few corners of the board gaming world that you might not know much about. If you want to build up some "indie cred" when it comes to some potential hot games in the future, this is the show for you!

First up, we welcome back Chris Harris, who runs the Solitaire Print and Play game design contest on BGG. We spoke with Chris last year, and he's back to talk about how much the contest has grown, how excited we are for past winners and designers to move on to bigger and better things (including the publication of last year's winner, Black Sonata), and what's there to check out this year.

As of the date of this episode airing, 8/10/18, the Solitaire PnP contest is still going on. You can check out games, participate in playtests, and follow conversations here: https://boardgamegeek.com/thread/2011569/2018-solitaire-print-and-play-contest

Our second interview is a doozy - five people on a Skype call, and somehow it did not collapse in on itself. We welcome various folks involved with the GenCant Game Design contest this year, run in tandem with Button Shy Games. Jason Tagmire is the founder and CEO of Button Shy, while Jon Simantov is the designer of Button Shy's latest game, Liberation, soon to hit Kickstarter. They were two of the judges who declared two winners. Elizabeth Hargrave was recognized for her 2-4 player, "I split, you choose" game, Tussie Mussie, while Corry Damey contributed the 2 player tile laying game, Seasons of Rice. We get into the games, the process of picking winners, and some dos and don't for anyone who wants to enter contests like this one in the future.

Episode 98: Roll and Write Games, and what is a "solo" game? Aug 03, 2018

Show notes

Anthony is taking the reins this week, at least when it comes to the games we're reviewing this week. Anthony is a huge, huge fan of Roll and Write games, so he wanted to take some time and share about three different games. Welcome To... is all the hotness nowadays. He also tells us about Steamrollers and the (hopefully) soon to be available in the US, Ganz schon clever.

If you want to check out a whole Facebook group on Roll and Write games, check out the group made by Glenn Flaherty from the Board Games and Bourbon YouTube channel: https://www.facebook.com/groups/224908144790699/about/

We then answer a question from our Facebook group this week, from our friend Corey Mayo. We get into the distinction between "solo" and "solitaire", as well as how we should regard a gamer who enjoys playing games multihanded. Should chess be considered a solo game if you play both sides? We tackle that question from all angles, hopefully shedding more light than heat.

ENGN Episode 97 - Design and Iteration of Grimslingers with designer Stephen Gibson Jul 27, 2018

Show notes

We are happy to be joined this week by Stephen Gibson. He gives us a behind-the-scenes look at the design, development, and multiple iterations of Grimslingers, a card game that has a duel mode as well as a solo-coop adventure card game mode.

We thought this would be an interesting discussion, not only to talk about Grimslingers and its new expansion, Northern Territories, but also to address big picture questions about iteration of design, responding to fan feedback, releasing multiple editions, and working with a publisher. Stephen gives his very honest opinions about the whole process.

To help us with the show, we have enlisted Wendy Barlow of the Singlehandedly blog. Thanks, Wendy!

If you want to check out more content for Grimslingers, especially the latest version of the campaign mode, follow this link: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1609x-kod0y1wdK3SnNeYDdSV8VU7hieAzui2rGXzzCc/edit

Episode 96 - Kickstarter Roundup: The Ninth World, Stellar Leap, Perdition's Mouth: Abyssal Rift, The Shared Dream, Carthage Jul 20, 2018

Show notes

We didn't think we would do another Kickstarter mega-pod for a good long while. However, we've gotten so many delivered kickstarters that we had to bring the band back together! (we know, we have some acquisition disorder issues...) So, we are happy to welcome back Liz from Beyond Solitaire and Jeremy from Jambalaya Plays Games.

First up, Jeremy shares about Ninth World: A Skill Building Game in Numenara (5:25), a deckbuilder-esque cooperative game with a RPG feel. Then Liz tells us about the new 4x-style release from our friend Carla Kopp, Stellar Leap (13:30). Jason then brings us away from the short games and talks about two big, honking adventure games which could not be more different - the Euro-style mechanism heavy dungeon crawling game, Perdition's Mouth: Abyssal Rift (20:17), as well as the urban, story driven adventure game, The Shared Dream (36:47), Finally, the whole gang weighs in about a deckbuilder set in a Roman Colosseum setting, Carthage (48:54).

ENGN 95 - Novel Games - The Expanse and Mistborn: House War Jul 13, 2018

Show notes

In today's episode, we talk about two highly competitive games, both set in fictional worlds that both Anthony and Jason absolutely love.

First, we talk about The Expanse (3:24), an area control game set in the universe of the same name. Anthony explores some of the mechanisms here that evoke Twilight Struggle, while Jason brings his usual investigative eye towards theme integration.

After that, Jason covers Mistborn: House War, a negotiation game filled with betrayal and chicanery set in Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn universe. Jason played the game with two groups - a group that did not know the books, and a group of Kickststarter backers (pictured int the banner) that love the Mistborn series.

We hear their different reactions and perspectives. We also had a chance to talk to Alex Flagg from Crafty Games, who shares some of the background detail about how Mistborn: House War came together and why they chose to make it a competitive game.

ENGN 94 - Thanos Rising, Now Boarding, and Improve Your Play: Ghost Stories Jul 05, 2018

Show notes

Following up on Top 100 Co-ops from all of last week, we keep the co-op love going with this episode. First, Anthony and Jason share about their recent plays of Thanos Rising: Avengers Infinity War (4:13), letting you know if this game rises above its IP and can stand alone on its own. Then we chat about the new real time game from Tim Fowers that just shipped to Kickstarter backers, Now Boarding (12:12).

For our latest Improve Your Play segment, we tackle a game that has earned its reputation for being very, very difficult to beat - Ghost Stories (23:50). Jason chats with designer Mike Mullins (Circle the Wagons, Pentaquark) about basic strategies to hopefully help your group over the finish line.

ENGN 93 - Dueling Top Tens, Euros vs. Coops Jun 29, 2018

Show notes

Over the last month, Jason was joined by Luke Hector from The Broken Meeple to talk about their Top 100 Cooperative Games. We've provided you with that audio throughout the entire week, which we hope you have enjoyed. You can see the videos for all 100 games, including some bonuses, over at Luke's YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmjyHBcqxxQjrg0KUN944dQ.

In this episode, we present Luke and Jason's Top 10 Cooperative Games from that list. In addition, Anthony jumps in with his own Top 10 list. If you've paid any attention to our show, you know Anthony is way more enthused about Euros. So, before we get to the coops, Anthony shares his favorite Euros that play solo.

ENGN Top 100 Cooperative Games with the Broken Meeple, The Misses Jun 28, 2018

Show notes

Before we get to our Top Ten Cooperative Games in our next full ENGN episode, we wanted to share with you some of the games that missed the list. There's about 40 more games here outside of the top 100, including some excellent games that would have made the list but were played after the list was completed. Between everything presented here, you should be good for ages! Once again, please head over to The Broken Meeple's YouTube Channel for the original video versions of the show: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCmjyHBcqxxQjrg0KUN944dQ

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