Three Moves Ahead

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Three Moves Ahead 158: Conquest of Elysium 3 Mar 01, 2012

Show notes

Rob Zacny gets a well earned week off and lets the old people run the show as Troy welcomes Bruce Geryk and Tom Chick to talk about Illwinter's new game Conquest of Elysium 3. It's a strategy game, it's a roguelike, it's an adventure. Tom talks about how the developers can make the game more engaging, Troy is the only person who thinks it's pretty ugly and Bruce demonstrates that only he has an ear for music. But everyone agrees that they really like Conquest of Elysium 3.

Three Moves Ahead 157: Not Quite Back in Action Feb 24, 2012

Show notes

Darius Kazemi and GameSpy Editor-in-Chief Dan Stapleton return to 3MA to discuss Jagged Alliance: Back in Action. Darius wants to know where the role-playing went, while Dan got heartily sick of the pause-and-go system in larger battles. Rob is going to murder whoever came up with the inventory system. All in all, they had an okay time.

Three Moves Ahead 156: Homage to Arulco Feb 16, 2012

Show notes

PC Gamer's Evan Lahti and game designer Darius Kazemi parachute into 3MA to liberate it from Rob and Bruce. Their only weapon is a frightening knowledge of Jagged Alliance 2, but that just might be enough to get the job done. Darius explains why it is his favorite game, and makes a good case for it being the coolest game ever. Evan sees Jagged Alliance 2 as a game the defines 1990s' design, typifying the mix of ambition, quirkiness, and technical simplicity characteristic of the era's best offerings. Rob loves its portrayal of guerrilla warfare, and how Jagged Alliance was willing to punish hubris. Listen to war stories, Easter eggs, and memories of the strange cast of characters that comprise Jagged Alliance 2.

Three Moves Ahead 155: The (Very) Simple Joys of King Arthur 2 Feb 11, 2012

Show notes

Freelance writers Andrew Groen and Charlie Hall join Rob for a conversation about King Arthur 2: The Role-Playing Wargame. Everyone digs the setting, but opinions begin to diverge about the quality of the battles, and whether KA2's elements even hang together in a way that makes sense. Rob and Andrew can barely remember losing a battle, but Charlie creates his own challenges by trying to win cleanly. Is King Arthur 2 actually a good game, and is there hope for Neocore to finally get this formula right?

Three Moves Ahead 154: Unfrozen Caveman Gamers Feb 04, 2012

Show notes

Recent Good Old Games releases have gotten Rob thinking about what he wants to rescue from the past (besides Troy, that is). Julian doesn't think the distant past is the big problem, it's the games of the late 90s and early 2000s. Everyone agrees the LucasArts situation is a disgrace. Troy says Alpha Centauri doesn't hold up all that well, and is swiftly nerve-stapled and loaded into the Punishment Sphere.

Three Moves Ahead 153: Paradox Con Reloaded Jan 28, 2012

Show notes

Jenn Cutter and Dan Stapleton return to 3MA to talk about Paradox Con with Rob. They discuss War of the Roses, Gettysburg: Armored Warfare, Arctic Circle, Salem, and Napoleon's Campaigns 2, as well as some prominent no-shows.

Three Moves Ahead 152: A Few Minutes of Show with Martin Wallace Jan 20, 2012

Show notes

Bruce, Julian, and Rob host board game designer Martin Wallace to ask him that timeless question, "How awesome is your game?" The crew discuss A Few Acres of Snow, the card-based board wargame that has consumed their lives, and dissect how it handles its subject: The French and Indian War. Martin explains why a game about 18th-century colonial warfare was originally conceptualized as a game about interstellar warfare. How does Martin approach his various subjects, and why does he think that is distinct from how most wargames are designed?

Three Moves Ahead 151: If on a winter's night a gamer Jan 12, 2012

Show notes

Rob, Julian, and Hasbro's Rob Daviau are marooned in rural Massachusetts. To avert cabin fever, they gather 'round the fireplace with a few microphones to talk about whether gaming gives them any carry-over skills for other activities, like cooking and work. Do games make us better at reasoning and problem analysis? Do they provide the same kind of perspective as an econ or stats course, for example? Julian is convinced he's a better negotiator because of games. Are we talking about gamification as opposed to achievement-ization, and is it helpful to try and perceive an underlying system to everyday tasks?

Three Moves Ahead 150: The Year in Review Jan 05, 2012

Show notes

The original cast, gets together to look at the strategy games they liked in 2011. We focus on the positive and talk about Atom Zombie Smasher, Shogun 2, Unity of Command, Men of War and lots of other names are dropped. Also a preview of the games we are looking forward to in 2012.

Three Moves Ahead 149: On the Care and Feeding of BattleMechs Dec 29, 2011

Show notes

Rob hosts a conversation with Catalyst Game Labs' Randall Bills and Piranha Games' Russ Bullock and Bryan Ekman. Such a group can only mean one thing: BattleTech discussion. Does the BattleTech board game hold up after all these years? Do the various BattleTech and MechWarrior games and books create difficult expectations for what a mech game "should" be? What are the benefits of having a gameworld with so much history, and how do BattleTech-related games tap into it? How do the board games influence the upcoming MechWarrior Online?

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