So Very Wrong About Games

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#79: Would Have Done at GenCon Aug 06, 2019

Show notes

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 28m28s
Topic: What We Would Have Done at GenCon 30m39s
Lou Zocchi: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qXZbdZNuRIw&t=5s
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#78: Pax Renaissance Jul 30, 2019

Show notes

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 23m53s
Feature Game: Pax Renaissance 24m14s (Phil Eklund & Matt Eklund, Sierra Madre Games, 2016)
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#77: Tabletop Miniatures Gaming Jul 23, 2019

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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! 36m56s
Topic: Tabletop Miniatures Gaming 38m03s
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#76: Sol: Last Days of a Star Jul 16, 2019

Show notes

"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 29m50s
https://www.gofundme.com/f/help-kirsten-beat-cancer
Feature Game: Sol: Last Days of a Star 30m39s (Ryan Spangler & Sean Spangler, Elephant Laboratories, 2017)
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#75: Auctions Jul 09, 2019

Show notes

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? 34m42s
Topic: Auctions 36m46s
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#74: Star Wars Outer Rim Jul 02, 2019

Show notes

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 20m27s
https://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)
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#73: Second Chances Jun 25, 2019

Show notes

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 35m13s
Topic: Second Chances 36m14s
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#72: Hellboy: The Board Game Jun 18, 2019

Show notes

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 24m00s
Feature Game: Hellboy: The Board Game 24m35s (James M. Hewitt & Sophie Williams, Mantic Games, 2019)
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#71: You Need to Take a Little Off the Top, Bud Jun 11, 2019

Show notes

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? 20m44s
https://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 30m05s
Topic: You Need to Take a Little Off the Top, Bud 32m14s
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#70: Asgard's Chosen Jun 04, 2019

Show notes

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 21m24s
https://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 25m31s
Feature Game: Asgard's Chosen 27m14s (Morgan Dontanville, Mayfair Games, 2013)
Solo variant: https://www.boardgamegeek.com/thread/1058313/solo-variant-more-tense-gameplay
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