Boardgame Mechanics

 Episode 91 - Top 100 Games of All Time Part 1 (100-91)

Introduction:   

• Zany Banter

News: 

• New edition of Caylus 
• Rome & Roll PSC Games. $36 with 16 days left. Deep roll and write from designers of Dice Settlers and Anachrony.  This looks to have some strategy and be much deeper than most other roll and writes. It has meeples that get used as well. Dino World. 
• Above Top Secret by 3Mates Games. $33 with 8 days left. Two Player card game with a spy theme where players are trying to eliminate other players base areas while still keeping one of yours safe. 

Games played: 

• Jason - Prime Time 
• Joel - Aeon’s End Legacy

 SPOILERS BELOW:

###

#
#
#
#
#

#

#

#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
# 

ARE YOU SURE???

#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#
#

OK, FINE. 

Top 100 Games of All Time Part 1: 

Jason:  100 - Dungeon Petz

Joel:  100 - Takenoko

Jason:  99 - Res Arcana

Joel:  99 - Tickerion: Legends of Illusion

Jason:  98 - Notre Dame

Joel: 98 -  Teotihuacan: City of the Gods

Jason:  97 - Ladies & Gentlemen

Joel:  97 - Dice Forge

Jason:  96 - Space Explorers

Joel:  96 - Roll Player

Jason:  95 - Symphony #9

Joel:  95 - Eclipse

Jason:  94 - Clank! In! Space!

Joel:  94 - First Class: All...

Jason: 93 - Yunnan

Joel: 93 - Mansions of Madness: Second Ed 

Jason:  92 - Madame Ching

Joel:  92 - The Reckoners

Jason:  91 - Revolution!

Joel:  91 - Millennium Blades

Closing:

BGM Blog 11

By Jason

Enough with the Star Wars Games Already!

What is the fascination with Star Wars games?  I am a fan of the movies. In fact, I like them quite a bit.  They are a good mix of action, comedy and drama and no matter how old they get they are still great fun to watch.  That being said I don’t understand why we as gamers appear to like games better because they have a Star Wars them slapped on them.  I also don’t understand why we need to have games from this, or any other, IP at all.  There are many shows and movies that I enjoy that I don’t feel need to be plastered all over the board gaming world.  For example, I am a huge fan of Jay and Silent Bob movies (Mallrats, Clerks, Chasing Amy, Etc.) but I wouldn’t want to have a Clerks themed Food Chain Magnate or a Mallrats themed Munchkin…it isn’t necessary (neither is Munchkin really but that is for another time).  We can be fans of multiple different things without having to have all of our fandoms involved in every other hobby that we have. I play in a band and am a fan of Jurassic Park movies.  I am not only writing songs about Velociraptors or Triceratops because that would be madness (and maybe pretty cool…but I digress).

​Star Wars is great.  Board games are great.  Star Wars board games, by some people’s estimation, are also great but we have got to stop making all aspects of all of our hobbies cross over and blend into each other.  It is okay to play Descent even though it doesn’t have a Star Wars theme.  It is okay to play the non-Star Wars version of Carcassone.  It is okay to play a game you love whether or not it has one of your favorite fandoms included in it at all.  If you love Star Wars games ultimately that is alright, play what you enjoy.  Just remember that there are tons of board gamers out there they may not enjoy Star Wars and just want to play a game about farming or fashion.  Live and let live (unless it is living to make more Star Wars games) and play what you want to play.  Who am I to judge (even though that is literally what I have been doing…oops)?

Episode 90 - BGM Christmas Buying List

Introduction:   

• Zany Banter!!

News:

• Pandemain: Traditional Farmers’ Bread $53 13 Days to Go. 
• Fantasy Ranch
• Calico $29 with 26 days to go. 
• Wingspan Meeple Source Inserts

Games we have been playing:

• Joel -  Tin Goose
• Jason - Just One
• Joel -  Box Cars 
• Jason - Wreck Raiders

BGM Christmas Buying List:

• Game for a Kid:
  • Jason - Loopin’ Louie
  • Joel - Fairy Tile 
• Game for a Gamer:
  • Joel - Black Angel
  • Jason - Trismegistus: The Ultimate Formula
• Stocking Stuffer:
  • Jason - Bohnanza 
  • Joel - Tussie Mussie 
• Game for the significant other:
  • Joel - Ticket to Ride: Nordic Co
  • Jason - 7 Wonders: Duel
• Game for a Video Gamer:
  • Jason - Carthage
  • Joel - Boss Monster: Rise of the Minibosses

Closing:  

Episode 89 - Pandasaurus Interview

Introduction:   

• Zany Banter!!
• Ashley Review:  Jason, Joel... what an absolute pleasure! Hello from across the pond in sunny England! I was new to boardgames approx 10 months ago and was lucky to stumble into the NoBog (Norwich Boardgamers) which has 850 members and meets every Monday and Tuesday with a 20-40 people turn out. I also found your podcast and have since listened to EVERY episode! Now I feel experienced and worthy enough to say “Hi, I fricking love you guys” 🙈😂👍🏼 Highly respect your opinions on most things and glad to have based the start of my collection on most of your recommendations! I’ve just recommended you to the other 849 people in our group so hopefully you might get 1 more listener by the end of the week 😂 Keep up the good work and an honourable mention would make my work day/week/month/year. Couple more things- how do I get into the riveted? And I might be heading over to the mid west at some point in the next 2 years... if there’s a spare seat at the Boardgame Mechanics con I’d love to pop in and kick some a**!!! Bit concerned about finding out what you guys look like in case it doesn’t match the doomsday prepping, redneck, all American, good ole boy image in my head. Play on playaz. Keep gamin’ 😉 

News:

• Rococo Deluxe from EGG and designers Matthias Cramer and Louis and Stefan Maltz will be hitting Kickstarter March 2020.  Updates art and graphic design by Ian O’Toole. 
• Ruins of Mars from Atheris Entertainment $29 with 14 days to go. 
• Camp Pinetop from Talon Strikes. $20 with 14 days to go. 
• Unicorn Fever from Horrible Games
• Godspeed from Pandasaurus

Games played:

• Jason - Abomination: The Heir of Frankenstein - Plaid Hat
• Joel - PARKS - Keymaster
• Jason - Bunny Kingdom - Iello 
• Joel -  The Gallerist - EGG

Pandasaurus Interview (Godspeed):  Adam Hill and Clayton Hargrave

Closing:  

Episode 88 - Games We Won’t Play Again

Introduction:   

• Zany Banter!!

News:

• Ferman: Sultan’s Decree - Worker placement game where players are merchants gathering resources to fulfill contracts and earn coins. The board is really nice looking. This has 1 day left and base game pledge is $22. Not yet funded. 
• Spell book Minis - Pocket-sized gaming boxes from Elderwood for you D&D minis and dice. There is space inside for 7 dice and one mini. This also can function as a small dice tray. There are six different art styles available as well. $49 with 10 days left. 
• Critical (S)hit! Diarrhea Dice - These are sets of dice with a poop symbol in place of the 20 side in a D20. Six different sets available:
  • Everyday Poop
  • Eat Your Greens
  • Corn Poop
  • Constipation Poop
  • Diarrhea Poop
  • Witch Poop

$16 for one set of dice with 10 days to go. Surprisingly this has not yet funded. 

Games played:

• Jason - Tricky Tides - Zafty Games
• Joel -  Viral - Arcane Wonders
• Jason - Trismigestus - Board&Dice
• Joel -  Tapestry - Stonemaier

Games We Won’t Play Again: 

• Joel - Bargain Quest/Sushi Go - 
• Jason - Element - Rather Dashing Games
• Joel - Risk Legacy - Hasbro
• Jason - Gizmos - CMON
• Joel - 7 Wonders - Repos Production
• Jason - Downforce/Formula D 

Closing: 

Disclaimer: This episode has some technical issues, but we have worked to make it something you can listen you. Sorry it is not our normal high(ish) fidelity show. We hope to have this fixed by next week. - Joel 

Episode 87 - Essen Preview

Introduction:   

• Zany Banter!!

News:

• Obsession Upstairs Downstairs
• Everdell Expansions

Games played:

• Jason - CO2
• Joel - Oracle of Delphi
• Jason - Potions Please
• Joel - Yokohama

Essen Preview:

Cat Lady Premium Edition - AEG
Castles of Burgundy Deluxe
Trismegistus: The Ultimate Formula – Board&Dice
Bus – Capstone
Food Chain Magnate - Splotter
Barrage – Cranio
Masters of Renaissance: Lorenzo Card Game – Cranio
Newton Great Discoveries – Cranio
Coffee Roaster – DLP
Orleans Stories – DLP
Kingsburg:  The Dice Game – Giochi Uniti
Raja of the Ganges:  Goodie Box 1 – R&R
Troyes Dice – Pearl
Pret-A-Porter – Portal
Merlin:  Knights of the Round Table – Queen
Roads and Boats – Splotter
Egizia Reprint – Stronghold
Die Macher – Stronghold
Alubari:  A Nice Cup of Tea – Surprised Stare Games
Heaven and Ale:  Kegs & More - Eggertspiele

Joel: 

• Paranormal Detectives…cool..but no group to play with. 
• Welcome To...New Las Vegas Columns...hooray
• Irish Gauge - Grandcon
• Maracaibo-- which you already covered some. 

Closing:  

Episode 86 - Games Played the Mega Episode 

Introduction:   

• Zany Banter!!

News:

• Sam Healey is leaving the Dice Tower!
• Panjun Expansion for Gugong has 7 days left and is $50. 
• Yedo deluxe master set from NSKN Games. This is on Kickstarter with 7 days left and is $71. 

Games played (mega):

• Jason - Quacks Expansion
• Joel -  Wingspan
• Jason - Parks
• Joel -  The Networks
• Jason - Crusaders 
• Joel - Dragon Castle
• Jason - Imaginarium 
• Joel - Extraordinary Adventures Pirates
• Jason - London (1st Edition)
• Joel - Heaven and Ale
• Jason - Abyss
• Joel - Black Angel
• Jason - Nagaraja
• Joel -Edge of Darkness/Gloomhaven
• Jason - Gem Hens 
• Joel - Dizzle
• Jason - Deadly Doodles
• Joel - Little Town
• Jason - Istanbul the Dice Game
• Joel - Cauldron/Balloon Cup

Closing:  

Episode 85 - Games only We Seem To Champion

Introduction:   

• Zany Banter!!

Great podcast if you like minis

These guys cover a wide variety of games, and adroitly avoid making you feel bad for liking games they don’t. Their taste in games varies enough that they cover about the entire spectrum of games, even if they don’t love the same ones I do, they give everyone a fair shot.

They keep it lite, and the show never runs too long, and if you’re lucky, they break out the sound effects.

If you do listen, reach out to them and inform them they are wrong about miniature games, and so very right about sharing their love of boardgames.

Honestly a fun show, without the heavy handedness of some other podcasts out there.

Also, games with minis are awesome, but so are games with cubes, dice, and anything in the Mediterranean.

News:

• Half Truth is a party game for all ages and people, created by legendary game designer Richard Garfield and 74-time Jeopardy winner Ken Jennings. With art by well-known artist Ian O'Toole, the game comes with 500 trivia question cards and each card has a category on it, like "Animals with blue tongues." There are six possible answers, three right and three wrong, and players have to place bets on answers they believe are correct. Players are usually surprised by how well they do. We're all smarter than we think. 
• Reigns: The Council is an asymmetric party game for 3-6 people about a monarch seeking harmony in their realm, and their advisors vying to influence them for their own goals. 
• New AZUL: Summer Pavilion
• Hasbro now owns Death Row Records -- so Dr. Dre presents Chutes and Ladders…. Sorry! Dogg featuring Snoop. 

Games played:

• Jason - Kraftwagen 
• Joel -  Calimala
• Jason - Covert
• Joel -  Sierra West

Games only we are championing: 

• Joel - Brew Crafters / Homebrewers / Microbrewers Trilogy
• Jason - Caper
• Joel - Council of 4
• Jason - Demon Worker
• Joel - Dogs of War
• Jason - The Godfather: Corleone’s Empire

Closing:  

Episode 84 - Top Games of 2018 revisit part 2

Introduction:   

• Beggy Banter!!
• Reviews of our show 
• Venmo story

News:

• Maracaibo, the new strategy game for 1-4 players by Alexander Pfister, is set in the Caribbean during the 17th century. The players try to increase their influence in three nations in four rounds with a play time of 40 minutes per player.  The players sail on a round course through the Caribbean. E.g., you have city tiles where you are able to perform various actions or deliver goods to. One special feature is an implemented quest mode over more and various tiles, which tells the player, who chase after it, a little story.  As a player, you move with your ship around the course, managing it by using cards like in other games from Alexander Pfister.
• Gangsta by Schmeta Games. $19 with 37 days to go.
• Rick Loomis (R.I.P.)

Games played:

• Jason - Trapper Keeper Game
• Joel - Abomination
• Jason - Coimbra
• Joel -  Lords of Vegas 

Revisiting our 2018 top 10 part 2: 

Jason: 5 - Rise to Nobility
Joel: 5 - Heroes of Land Air and Sea
Jason: 4 - Masque of the Red Death
Joel: 4 - Empires of the Void 2
Jason: 3 - Symphony # 9
Joel: 3 – Feudum
Jason: 2 – Caper 
Joel: 2 – Coimbra
Jason: 1 - Coimbra
Joel: 1 - AuZtralia

Closing:  

Possible games that could have made the top games of 2018:  Architects of the West Kingdom, Quacks of Quedlinburg, Gugong, Newton

BGM Blog 10

By Jason

Late to the Party

• Dedicated to “Travis”

Game nights are precious commodities because scheduling one around people’s busy lives can be challenging. That means when one is scheduled and people agree to attend they should do everything they can to get there on time. Sometimes stuff happens and that is understandable but there are also sometimes when people just manage time poorly and show up late for no reason. These are the people we are addressing here. 

To show up late to a game night that involves other people is the equivalent of stealing their time. Let me explain this a bit more. Say that the game night is four hours long and in that four hours two great Euros can be played. If someone shows up 30 minutes late that puts the game night to 3.5 hours and could make getting those two games played a challenge. Most times the allotted time is barely enough to get games played so starting behind the 8-ball on time makes it almost impossible. 

Maybe this is a non issue for some game groups or maybe my expectations are just too high. I mean it is kind of unfair to expect someone to be places on time when they say they will be there at that time. I know my boss really doesn’t expect me to be at work everyday at 8am...it is more of a suggestion and I can just stroll in whenever I want.  Sometimes people, I think, just get carried away in their own timelines and forget that their actions can have an impact on others.  I guess the long short of this post is of game night starts at 4 let’s all try to get together at 3:45 to get the dice rolling by 4.