Three Moves Ahead

Latest Episodes:

Three Moves Ahead 177: Pokemon Conquest Jul 16, 2012

Show notes

With everyone very busy and very tired, a shorter and smaller show than usual this week. Troy welcomes Pokemon trainer and DS guru Nadia Oxford to the show to talk about the weird mixture of Pokemon and Nobunaga's Ambition in Pokemon Conquest. How does it differ from other Pokemon games? Do the strategic and tactical levels work? As the 3DS slowly pushes the original out of the way, what is legacy of the DS as a strategy platform?

Three Moves Ahead 176: We're Making a Better World Jul 09, 2012

Show notes

Cory Banks joins Julian, Troy, and Rob to talk about fiction and world-building in strategy games. They talk a lot about Endless Space and whether or not its fiction is undercooked, and how it affects the rest of the game. Does having an interesting world make for a better strategy game? Is Civilization just abstracting human history, or is it doing world-building of its own? The gang considers Alpha Centauri, and what its fiction added to the game, and what the poor fiction of Rise of Legends and Kohan took away. Julian explains why Warhammer's fiction works so brilliantly.

Three Moves Ahead 175: Gods and Kings Jul 01, 2012

Show notes

Popcap's Jeff Green joins returning guest David Heron, Troy, and Rob for a discussion of the Civilization V expansion Gods and Kings. Together, they discuss why Civ V was so controversial, how G&K changes it, and whether its major changes seem quite as meaningful now that they've put some time into it. Be sure to listen to the episode for details on a little contest to give away some spare Sins: Rebellion keys. Which we should have done last week, but we forgot. Because we're disgraceful. But still pretty great.

Three Moves Ahead 174: For I Have Sinned Jun 23, 2012

Show notes

Ironclad's Blair Fraser and Stardock's Chris Bray join Rob, Julian, and freelance writer Kat Bailey to discuss the new Rebellion stand-alone expansion to Sins of a Solar: Empire. Kat wants to know what the hell to do about Advent culture. Rob wants to know why Rebellion looks so good. Blair wants everyone to know that the story of SoaSE guides its ongoing direction. Then Blair and Chris tease us with the greatest idea in the history of gaming.

Three Moves Ahead 173: Going Pro Jun 17, 2012

Show notes

Rod "Slasher" Breslau, eSports correspondent for GameSpot and a panelist on Live on Three, joins Julian and Rob to help them with their recent conversion to the cause of eSports and pro gaming. They discuss the difficulties of getting into the pro gaming scene, how it evolved, and the different forms of success embodied by StarCraft 2 and League of Legends. They also describe why eSports appeal to them, and how it speaks to them as strategy gamers.

Three Moves Ahead 172: I AM WARLOCKED Jun 10, 2012

Show notes

Better late than never, freelance friends Jason Wilson and Rowan Kaiser join Rob for a love-in on Warlock: Master of the Arcane. They discuss how much it improved with patches, how its trans-dimensional map is both amazing and wasted, and how it solves classic problems of the fantasy strategy game. Big thanks to Jonathan Downin for taking on production duties this week.

Three Moves Ahead 171: Fun with 3MA Jun 02, 2012

Show notes

Tom Chick, SMG studios designer David Heron, and Jon Shafer join Rob to reflect on their various issues with "fun" and how we relate to games. It's a rambling discussion about what we want from games, how we want to talk about them, and whether enjoyment is possible without fun.

Three Moves Ahead 170: Classic Game Analysis - Kohan May 26, 2012

Show notes

Tom Chick comes back to the show to join Rob and Troy for a look back at one of the great real time strategy series – Timegate’s Kohan games. What made Kohan unique and what games, if any, have followed on its original ideas? Is Kohan 2: Kings of War really an inferior sequel? Cities as offensive weapons, the tricks around force posture and the mysteries of who the Kohan are are explored. Also, another one of Tom’s stupid quizzes.

Three Moves Ahead 169: Out of the Park Baseball and Managing Things May 19, 2012

Show notes

This week, Bill Abner from No High Scores returns to the show along with new guest Dirk Knemeyer from Conquistador Games. What do they have in common? Both have better OOTP league teams than Troy does. The trio talk about the improvements in OOTP 13, what makes the OOTP series so special and enduring – if sometimes confusing, and why sports management games are some of the purest strategy games available. Bill sets Dirk straight on some things, Dirk complains about not finding stuff and Troy owns up to the worst free agent signing in baseball history.

Three Moves Ahead 168: Bomber Command May 11, 2012

Show notes

Lee Brimmicombe-Wood returns to the podcast so Bruce Geryk can talk more about bombers and commanding in them, in the recently released board game Bomber Command. And this time, we let them talk it all the way through! More on design decisions, simulating the air war and balancing history and play.

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