So Very Wrong About Games

Latest Episodes:

#59: Concordia Venus and Spending Money on the Hobby Mar 12, 2019

Show notes

Currencies drive many things, perhaps most things. HATE is driven by a currency called Savagery, which I believe is floated on the international market and its exchange rate fluctuates daily. We here at So Very Wrong About Games fuel our episodes with Snark, which is pegged conveniently to the Canadian Dollar. As a consequence, when some of you might be tempted to correct Mark on the name of the 1987 Richard Halliwell design ("um, actually, it's Block Mania, not Block Panic"), you are only making them stronger.
AYURIS: Warhammer Underworlds: Shadespire (David Sanders, Games Workshop, 2017) 1m54s
Games Played Last Week:
-HATE 4m34s (Raphaël Guiton, Jean-Baptiste Lullien, Alexandru Olteanu, & Nicolas Raoult, CMON, 2019)
-Climb! 7m08s (Benoit Michaud, Le Scorpion Masqué, 2008)
-Siege of the Citadel 9m32s (Richard Borg, Eric M. Lang, Jason Little, & Kevin Wilson, Modiphius Entertainment, 2019)
-Goodcritters 11m45s (Fabian Zimmermann, Arcane Wonders, 2018)
-Teotihuacan: City of Gods 14m43s (Daniele Tascini, NSKN Games, 2018)
-Infinity 15m20s (Gutier Lusquiños Rodríguez, Corvus Belli, 2005)
-Pax Pamir 17m25s (Phil Eklund & Cole Wehrle, Sierra Madre Games, 2015)
-Obsession 21m35s (Dan Hallagan, Kayenta Games, 2018)
News (and why it doesn't matter)
-The Talisman nightmare has started: Batman and Kingdom Hearts 25m34s
-It, and I can't even 26m43s
-Worst expansion title competition 27m30s
-Judge Dredd enters the Wildlands 28m57s
-Restoring Epic Duels 30m09s
-Age of Steam boils over. Again. 31m49s
Feature Game: Concordia (Mac Gerdts, PD-Verlag, 2013) and Concordia Venus (2018) 34m14s
Topic: Spending Money on the Hobby: Are You Getting Your Money's Worth? 1h01m43s
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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

#58: A Feast for Odin: The Norwegians and Theme vs. Balance Feb 26, 2019

Show notes

You do you, Walker always says, except he almost never does. Mark always says smoke 'em if you got 'em, despite his never uttering those words and frankly not knowing what they mean. He tried smoking once and didn't enjoy it. Why care about such petty things as truth or data when it feels consistent with a narrative you're peddling? Echoes of contemporary politics abound, as we ponder whether a game needs to be balanced so long as it tells a good tale.
AYURIS: Rising Sun (Eric Lang, CMON, 2018) 5m26s
Games Played Last Week:
-Cerebria: The Inside World 8m57s (Richard Amann, Viktor Peter, István Pócsi, Frigyes Schőberl, Nick Shaw, & Dávid Turczi, Mindclash Games, 2018)
-Teotihuacan: City of Gods 11m22s (Daniele Tascini, NSKN Games, 2018)
-Spirit Island 12m10s (R. Eric Reuss, Greater Than Games, 2017)
-Tajemnicze Domostwo/Mysterium 15m24s (Oleksandr Nevskiy & Oleg Sidorenko, Portal Games, 2013)
-Millennium Blades 19m11s (D. Brad Talton Jr., Level 99 Games, 2016)
-Shadowrift 21m11s (Jeremy Anderson, Game Salute, 2012)
-Donning the Purple 24m54s (Petter Schanke Olsen, Tompet Games, 2018)
News (and why it doesn't matter)
-Hanabi deluxe blows up again 27m32s
-Dice Forge rebels 28m45s
-Capstone gauges Winsome's Irish Gauge 29m09s
-Sailor Moon deceives...? 31m00s
-White Goblin will Yoko no mo 32m04s
Feature Game: A Feast for Odin: The Norwegians 33m37s (Gernot Köpke & Uwe Rosenberg, Feuerland Spiele, 2018)
Topic: Theme vs. Balance 59m35s
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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

#57: Cerebria and Hype Feb 19, 2019

Show notes

The Peter Principle observes that people tend to get promoted to their level of incompetence. Namely if someone does a job well, they'll be promoted, until such time as they cease doing a job well and persist at that level of ineptitude. We mention this not because it accurately describes the arc of Mark's life both professionally and personally--which, let's face it, it does--but rather because we have decided to promote the AYURIS from off-hand remark into Full Fledged Segment (AYURIS, FFS [tm]). Time stamp and everything! If it does well, it'll get it's own podcast; if it does poorly, all hail the Peter Principle.
AYURIS: 51st State: Master Set (Ignacy Trzewiczek, Portal, 2016) 1m31s
Games Played Last Week:
-Kingdom Death: Monster 5m28s (Adam Poots, Kingdom Death, 2015)
-Reykholt 9m02s (Uwe Rosenberg, Frosted Games, 2018)
-Bargain Hunter 15m35s (Uwe Rosenberg, Valley Games, 1998)
-Meltwater: A Game of Tactical Starvation 17m34s (Erin Lee Escobedo, Hollandspiele, 2018)
News (and why it doesn't matter)
-The Orville Clix 19m34s
-Samuel Bailey's Stars a little less Forbidden 19m59s
-Samuel Bailey digs Deep 21m17s
-Rooting around for more factions 22m22s
-KeyForging on 22m46s
-Being on the same Wavelength 23m14s
-Even deeper Descent 24m31s
-Rushing into the Kingdom of boardgames of apps 25m19s
Feature Game: Cerebria: The Inside World 25m58s (Richard Amann, Viktor Peter, István Pócsi, Frigyes Schőberl, Nick Shaw, & Dávid Turczi, Mindclash Games, 2018)
Topic: Hype 54m39s
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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

#56: Core Worlds and Out of Print Games Feb 12, 2019

Show notes

Sometimes categories are useful taxonomical tools, and sometimes they are so blunt as to be confusing and unhelpful. What gets parsed as "worker placement" can get downright murky at times. To Walker, though, the world is clear and simple. Tolstoy tells us that "All happy families are alike; each unhappy family is unhappy in its own way." Walker has a modified view--all fun games are fun and thus good and interchangeable, and all unfun games are bad and thus the same. It's a good thing he's not a critic or anything.
Games Played Last Week:
-Welcome to... 3m47s (Benoit Turpin, Blue Cocker Games, 2018)
-A Feast for Odin: The Norwegians 6m19s (Gernot Köpke & Uwe Rosenberg, Feuerland Spiele, 2018)
-Architects of the West Kingdom 9m55s (Shem Phillips & S. J. Macdonald, Garphill Games, 2018)
-Byzantium 16m06s (Martin Wallace, Warfrog, 2005)
News (and why it doesn't matter)
-Sushi Go Rolls on 20m13s
-New Quest for El Dorado? Expansion? Hybrid? 21m21s
-Scotland Yard: Now with dice, uncertain haberdashery 22m25s
-Who wants to license Talisman? 22m59s
-Ignorance is Bliss 24m36s
-Time for more T.I.M.E. Stories 24m55s
Feature Game: Core Worlds 26m47s (Andrew Parks, Stronghold, 2011)
Topic: OOP Games that Should Be Reprinted 51m26
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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

#55: Quartermaster General: The Cold War and Real-Time Games Feb 05, 2019

Show notes

Just as we are told that it's always five o'clock somewhere, we can be assured that Mark and Walker are always wrong somewhere. Time marches inexorably forward, and we mark that passage of time by checking in with the much-loved Quartermaster General series. Mark would happily tell you that time is nothing more and nothing less than a priori intuition, which when internalized allows us to ground the science of mathematics--and then Walker would rightfully point out that it's time for Mark to shut up.
Games Played Last Week:
-Menara 3m01s (Oliver Richtberg, Zoch Spiele, 2018)
-Massive Darkness 5m18s (Raphaël Guiton, Jean-Baptiste Lullien & Nicolas Raoult, CMON, 2017)
-Sentinels of the Multiverse 8m13s (Christopher Badell, Paul Bender, & Adam Rebottaro, Greater than Games, 2011)
-Millennium Blades 10m20s (D. Brad Talton, Jr., Level 99 Games, 2016)
-Kitchen Rush 12m17s (Vangelis Bagiartakis & Dávid Turczi, Artipia, 2017)
News (and why it doesn't matter)
-Quartermaster General (WWII) re-(quarter)mastered 15m22s
-alea games joins a euro publishing revival 16m12s
-Mystic Vale Steams up 17m27s
-Plan B Games in a new Era from Matt Leacock 18m39s
-Role-play as a Sentinel of the Multiverse 20m23s
Feature Game: Quartermaster General: The Cold War 22m11s (Ian Brody, PSC Games, 2018)
Topic: Real-Time Games 49m59s
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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

#54: Talon and Table Talk Jan 29, 2019

Show notes

Sometimes our hosts can't quite understand what the situation demands of them. Walker has been known to approach thoughtful, deliberative games with the oft-repeated demand of "when do I get to shoot LEMME SHOOT." Mark tends to greet new acquaintances with profanity-laden assaults on their life choices, hygiene, and character. These traits perhaps serve to explain how they find themselves in the social circles that they do.
Games Played Last Week:
-The Quacks of Quedlingburg 2m37s (Wolfgang Warsch, North Star Games, 2018)
-Brass: Birmingham 5m18s (Gavan Brown, Matt Tolman, & Martin Wallace, Roxley, 2018)
-In the Shadow of the Emperor 8m29s (Ralf Burkert, Rio Grande Games, 2004)
-Kemet: Seth 11m09s (Jacques Bariot & Guillaume Montiage, Matagot, 2018)
-Gaslands 15m39s (Glenn Ford & Mike Hutchinson, Osprey Publishing, 2017)
News (and why it doesn't matter)
-Portal 2019: Roll & write, Neuroshima Hex! 16m58s
-Restoring Conspiracy 17m50s
-Build with ice (the Canadian currency) in Tuki 19m19s
-Mark takes credit for Iwari 20m05s
-New pain to Discover 21m52s
-Rooting for new factions in Root 22m37s
-Jim Henson's Labyrinth gets proportionally less Bowie 23m02s
-How many Odysseys? Want 1001 of them? 23m58s
Feature Game: Talon 26m11s (Jim Krohn, GMT, 2016) and Talon 1000 (Jim Krohn, GMT, 2018)
Topic: Table Talk 53m51s
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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

#53: Gloomhaven and What Can a Game Demand? Jan 22, 2019

Show notes

We take endorsements very seriously here at SVWAG. The Ferragamo deal fell through after Walker was seen wearing Fendi, and the whole Burberry fiasco is better left forgotten. Converse was our backup, but suffice to say after Mark's public comments about sportsball that seems like a distant possibility at best.
All that said, we endorse Gloomy Companion unreservedly. We don't resort to apps very often, but we don't Gloomhaven without Gloomy Companion employed on a tablet. We've tried others but it suits us the best.
Games Played Last Week:
-Mombasa 3m14s (Alexander Pfister, eggertspiele, 2015)
-Decrypto 5m28s (Thomas Dagenais-Lespérance, Le Scorpion Masqué, 2018)
-Han 6m57s(Michael Schacht, ABACUSSPIELE, 2014)
-Sakura Arms 7m55s (BakaFire, AEG, 2016)
-Kitchen Rush 10m08s (Vangelis Bagiartakis & Dávid Turczi, Artipia, 2017)
-Chinatown 10m36s (Karsten Hartwig, Z-Man, 1999)
-Eclipse 13m14s (Touko Tahkokallio, Lautapelit.fi, 2011)
News (and why it doesn't matter)
-Frontier Wars 15m34s
-Rio Grande is back? 15m59s
-The Galaxy Rolls on 16m55s
-35 years of BattleTech 18m08s
-Official statement on pronunciation 18m48s
Feature Game: Gloomhaven 20m46s (Isaac Childres, Cephalofair Games, 2017)
Topic: How Much Can a Game Demand of Its Players? 48m38s
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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

#52: New Frontiers and Too Many Versions Jan 15, 2019

Show notes

Constant vigilance is the price of audio quality, and we apologize for how badly that struggle has been going of late. Walker prostrates himself before the altar of Bars, and Bars we achieve, but the nature of those Bars have been fickle. Their shape and pattern cannot be properly contained or channeled, and thus they spurn us and assault your ears. Rest assured that we are consulting the augurs and they are poring over the entrails of many a cassette tape in order to discern how we may appease the Bars. But yeah, it's totally Mark's fault.
We have a Patreon, if you're inclined to support us.
Games Played Last Week:
-XCOM: The Boardgame--Evolution 1m51s (Samuel Bailey & Mark Larson, Fantasy Flight, 2016)
-Quest for El Dorado: Heroes and Hexes 2m56s (Reiner Knizia, Ravensburger, 2018)
-Kitchen Rush 5m59s (Vangelis Bagiartakis & Dávid Turczi, Artipia, 2017)
-Codenames 6m59s (Vlaada Chvatil, CGE, 2015)
-Wildlands 9m18s (Martin Wallace, Osprey, 2018)
-Scythe: The Rise of Fenris 14m44s (Ryan Lopez DeVinaspre & Jamey Stegmaier, Stonemaier, 2018)
-Tobago 18m40s (Bruce Allen, Zoch Verlag, 2009)
-This Guilty Land 19m42s (Tom Russell, Hollandspiele, 2018)
News (and why it doesn't matter)
-FFG Returns to Lord of the Rings 24m27s
-Wolff Designaa in 2019: Guards and Tricks 26m11s
-Snakes and Lattes unhinges its jaw and expands 27m41s
-Suburbia's custom colours 28m12s
Feature Game: New Frontiers 29m43s (Thomas Lehmann, Rio Grande, 2018)
Topic: How Many Versions Is Too Many? 58m30s
Patreon Summary 1h12m11s
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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

#51: Pandemic: Fall of Rome and New Year's Resolutions Jan 08, 2019

Show notes

Peer influence is a strange thing. For years Mark has been yelling at Walker about various ways he really ought to change, but a single board game now has Walker spewing Macross lore like he's a convert. Perhaps the authors like Erin Lee Escobedo have a point, and board games really can serve to deliver subtle yet powerful influence. Perhaps we could make board games to convince people to like and dislike the right board games...
Games Played Last Week:
-Telestrations 3m40s (Uncredited, USAopoly, 2009)
-Diamonds 4m52s (Mike Fitzgerald, Stronghold, 2014)
-Meltwater: A Game of Tactical Starvation 8m30s (Erin Lee Escobedo, Hollandspiele, 2018)
-Tokyo Highway 14m07s (Naotaka Shimamoto & Yoshiaki Tomioka, itten, 2016)
-Robotech: Attack on the SDF-1 15m51s (Darius Hambleton & Jeff Mechlinski, Strange Machine Games, 2018)
-Great Western Trail: Rails to the North 20m04s (Alexander Pfister, Stronghold, 2018)
-Shards of Infinity: Relics of the Future 24m17s (Gary Arant & Justin Gary, Stone Blade Entertainment, 2018)
News (and why it doesn't matter)
-2491 Planetship disappoints Walker pre-emptively 26m17s
-Successors' Successor 27m36s
-Age of Steam's authorship evaporates 28m43s
-Vital Lacerda and Railways of the World 30m10s
-Suburbia gets purdy 30m30s
-Walker unimpressed by the Hotness 31m41s
-SVWAG succumbs to the inevitable with an upcoming Patreon 32m47s
Feature Game: Pandemic: Fall of Rome 34m17s (Matt Leacock & Paolo Mori, Z-Man, 2018)
Topic: New Year's Resolutions Past and Present 53m48s
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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

#50: Year in Review 2018 Dec 18, 2018

Show notes

Another round about the sun is complete, at least for those who acknowledge that sort of thing. I'm certain there must be a strand of Flat Eartherism that bows to the reality of the Earth's orbit--I could find out, but boardgaming already more than satisfies my desire for obscure minutia. We look back at the releases of the year, agreeing on many things but rather sharply disagreeing on others. There will be lists! And categories! Oh, the pageantry!
Games Played Last Week:
-Space Hulk: Second Edition 1m30s (Dean Bass, Andy Chambers, Chris Colston, Richard Halliwell, Jervis Johnson, Andy Jones, & Paul Murphy, Games Workshop, 1996)
-Senji 2m58s (Bruno Cathala & Serge Laget, Asmodee, 2008)
-Terraforming Mars 6m19s (Jacob Fryxelius, Stronghold, 2016)
-Dinosaur Island 6m58s (Jonathan Gilmour & Brian Lewis, Pandasaurus, 2017)
-Cryptid 12m14s (Hal Duncan & Ruth Veevers, Osprey Games, 2018)
-Mega Civilization 13m26s (Flo de Haan, John Rodriguez, & Francis Tresham, Pegasus, 2015)
-Welcome To... 20m12s (Benoit Turpin, Blue Cocker Games, 2018)
-Reef 21m20s (Emerson Matsuuchi, Next Move Games, 2018)
-Menara 22m18s (Oliver Richtberg, ZOCH, 2018)
-Diamonds 23m00s (Mike Fitzgrald, Stronghold, 2016)
2018 Year in Review
Personal Top 10s 23m59s
SVWAG Game of the Year 45m06s
Other Categories 48m30s
Advertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brands
Privacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

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

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected