Gameopolis Podcast

Mark shares some sad news and explains what is ahead for Gameopolis.

In this Session Report show, Mark and Jeff give the "point-5" treatment to GameWright's Forbidden Desert! We launch right into this session report with a description of which roles we each assume in this two-player game, and then right into some specific examples of play (which includes many notes of what things we find most forbidding about this particular desert). Our coverage includes some comparisons with the game's predecessor, Forbidden Island. After Mark and Jeff finish their coverage of this two-player example of play, Mark tells us a bit of his experience in a more recent, four-player example of play. We always love to hear from our listeners, so please post a comment to this blog entry (at www.gameopolis.org or gameopolis.libsyn.com), or send us an email at info@gameopolis.org! Stay tuned for Show 29.0, coming at you faster than an Explorer wearing a Jetpack! NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.  

In Show 28.0 of Gameopolis, Mark and Jeff inadvertently do a cooperative games extravaganza. But before any of that starts, observing tradition there is discussion of a Dusty Old Box…Actually it's a bag of Dusty Old Things (which sounds like an allergist's nightmare). Mark very enthusiastically describes the Dusty Old Things that Jeff presents him. After that it's a quick visit to our listener mailbag before we launch into the main show topics. Mark takes the first main segment of the show, with coverage of Forbidden Desert: long-awaited sequel to Forbidden Island. He covers the rules, the most obvious differences and similarities with Forbidden Island, and --of course-- talks about the quality of the game components. After Mark's main segment, Jeff dives into a second main segment on Valley Games' D-Day Dice, with focus on the rules of play, and the publisher's very clever use of game components. We'd love to hear from you, so if you get a moment, please post a comment to this blog entry (at www.gameopolis.org or gameopolis.libsyn.com), or send us an email at info@gameopolis.org! 00:00:00 Prelude 00:01:35 Dusty Old Box 00:10:39 Listener Feedback 00:16:00 Happy 4th birthday, Gameopolis 00:17:34 Forbidden Desert, by Gamewright Games 00:40:10 D-Day Dice, by Valley Games 01:09:46 Signoff Stay tuned for Show 28.5 --our session report on one of these filler games-- coming at you faster than a raging sandstorm! NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.  

Strap in for a multipart Session Report show where Mark and Jeff give the "point-5" treatment to an unprecedented three games! We start off with a quick session report of Babylon, then onto a slightly less-quick session report of the Carcassonne Dice Game. Finally, we do a more in-depth session report of Fast Flowing Forest Fellers -with a special guest-host, Mark's daughter! Just before we wrap this episode, we have a quick diversion with a return of our segment "As Far As Possible, Game Goes Kaupankaynti", in which Mark brings home a description of a great game store in Portsmouth, NH. We always love to hear from our listeners --it truly does make our day-- so please post a comment to this blog entry (at www.gameopolis.org or gameopolis.libsyn.com), or send us an email at info@gameopolis.org! 00:00:00 Prelude 00:01:30 Session Report of Babylon 00:06:30 Session Report of Carcassonne Dice Game 00:14:53 Session Report of Fast Flowing Forest Fellers (FlussFeiber) 00:25:43 As Far As Possible, Game Goes Kaupankaynti: Diversions Puzzles & Games 00:30:40 Signoff Stay tuned for Show 28.0, coming at you faster than a lumberjack riding a log through the rapids! NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.  

Jeff shares some recent sad news, and gives an explanation of what's to come.

In Show 27.0 of Gameopolis, Mark and Jeff revisit a topic not discussed since way-back in Show 6.0: Filler Games! Before launching into tho second installment of our Fillers discussion, Jeff opens up a Dusty Old Box that he describes as a familiar game in an unfamiliar box. Confused? Intrigued? Then this show will set your mind at ease! Our discussion of this Dusty Old Box reminds Mark of another tidbit of Mark's Personal Gaming Trivia --a very humorous incident from his past gaming group-of-old. After the Dusty Old Box and Mark's Personal Gaming Trivia segments, Mark and Jeff discuss eight Filler Games, that we hope you'll enjoy. Lastly, at NO ADDITIONAL COST to you, we throw in a bonus segment on Gamewick Games' zombie-themed semi-cooperative card game, Pittsburgh 68. Jeff describes the things he loves about this old-style zombie movie experience. We'd love to hear from you, so if you get a moment, please post a comment to this blog entry (at www.gameopolis.org or gameopolis.libsyn.com), or send us an email at info@gameopolis.org! 00:00:00 Prelude 00:03:00 Dusty Old Box 00:10:35 Mark's Personal Gaming Trivia 00:13:58 Carcassonne Dice Game 00:19:30 Babylon 00:26:28 Quoridor 00:33:04 Fast Flowing Forest Fellers (FlussFeiber) 00:39:57 Wits & Wagers 00:49:56 Safari Jack 00:58:03 The Very Clever Pipe Game 01:03:13 Guillotine 01:11:25 Pittsburgh 68 01:32:50 Signoff Related links: 1 Carcassonne Dice Game on Boardgamegeek 2 Babylon on Boardgamegeek 3 Quoridor on Boardgamegeek 4 Fast Flowing Forest Fellers on Boardgamegeek 5 Wits & Wagers on Boardgamegeek 6 Safari Jack on Boardgamegeek 7 The Very Clever Pipe Game on Boardgamegeek 8 Guillotine on Boardgamegeek 9 Pittsburgh 68 on Boardgamegeek Stay tuned for Show 27.5 --our session report on one or more of these filler games-- coming at you faster than a game of Babylon! NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.

Grab your parachute, put on your jump boots, and get ready to follow along as we "Point-5" Axis & Allies: D-Day on Show 26.5! This was a three-player game that we played with our good friend Bill. Mark talks about the strategic discussions he had with Bill, as the two of them teamed-up as US and UK forces. We also talk about how the unique play elements in the D-Day sequel impact game play and tactics, relative to standard Axis & Allies. We always love to hear from our listeners --it truly does make our day-- so please post a comment to this blog entry (at www.gameopolis.org or gameopolis.libsyn.com), or send us an email at info@gameopolis.org! Stay tuned for Show 27.0, coming at you faster than strafing P-38 Lightning! NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.  

Show 26.0 of Gameopolis sees Mark and Jeff hosting a franchise-specific celebration that can ONLY be termed a "Spectacular". In this Spectacular, Mark and Jeff take a deep dive into the Axis & Allies board game series, with special focus on the boardgames in the series of more limited historical scope. Before launching the Spectacular, however, Mark and Jeff open up a Dusty Old Box that might teach you something if you're not careful! After the Dusty Old Box segment, Mark and Jeff launch into a walkthrough of five different Axis & Allies board game titles, with emphasis on the new wrinkles introduced into the A&A game system by each game. We'd love to hear from you, so if you get a moment, please post a comment to this blog entry (at www.gameopolis.org or gameopolis.libsyn.com), or send us an email at info@gameopolis.org! 00:00:00 Prelude 00:02:21 Dusty Old Box 00:15:11 Jeff talks about Mark W. Allen's "Midway Submerged" eBook/book 00:16:44 Axis & Allies background and memories 00:19:30 Axis & Allies Europe 00:30:54 Axis & Allies Pacific 00:34:35 Axis & Allies D-Day 00:46:55 Axis & Allies Battle of the Bulge 00:57:55 Axis & Allies Guadalcanal 01:19:31 Signoff Related links: Midway Submerged by Mark W. Allen can be found on http://www.ussbatfish.com Stay tuned for Show 26.5 --our session report on one of these Axis & Allies games-- coming at you faster than a screaming dive-bomber! NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.

Get ready for the Rootinest, Tootinest, Shootinest Session Report we've ever done on Gameopolis, as we "Point-5" Twilight Creations' Deadlands: Battle for Slaughter Gulch. Yeehaw!!!! This episode is also our 50th regular episode of Gameopolis, so get ready to hear the clinking of a few toasting champagne glasses throughout the episode! This was a three-player game that we played with our good friend Bill. We cover this play session at a high level, sticking to our overall strategies, and the game elements that we felt impacted the play experience the most.  We also discuss some potential house rules that we would consider trying out. We always love to hear from our Podcast Nation, so please post a comment to this blog entry (at www.gameopolis.org or gameopolis.libsyn.com), or send us an email at info@gameopolis.org! Stay tuned for Show 26.0, coming at you faster than Mad Scientist flying an autogyro! NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.  

Show 25.0 of Gameopolis is a knock-down, drag-out episode that will have you reaching for your break-away prop furniture. But first, Mark and Jeff keep to Gameopolis tradition and cover a very old Dusty Old Box -a game with a colorful box and a colorful game board. After the Dusty Old Box Mark and Jeff dig into the show's first main segment by covering Merchant of Venus one last time, but they take a slightly different tact this time, by focusing on the differences --the deltas, if you will-- between the Avalon Hill version and the new Fantasy Flight Games' version. Mark finishes this segment by stating he will never mention Merchant of Venus again --for at least a half-hour! After their discussion of Merchant of Venus deltas, Mark and Jeff move onto the show's second main segment, which gives this episode its knock-down, drag-out flavor: a discussion of Twilight Creations' Deadlands: The Battle for Slaughter Gulch. Jeff discusses the game elements and mechanics of this old west-meets-horror-meets-steampunk boardgame, as well as its production values. We end the episode by signing-off just before Mark's hungry dogs overrun the studio and take over the microphones. We'd love to hear from you, so if you get a second, please post a comment to this blog entry (at www.gameopolis.org or gameopolis.libsyn.com), or send us an email at info@gameopolis.org! 00:00:00 Prelude 00:01:25 Dusty Old Box 00:11:24 MoV: Avalon Hill to Fantasy Flight deltas 00:41:45 Deadlands: Battle for Slaughter Gulch 01:05:08 Signoff, and siege of Studio B by hungry hounds Stay tuned for Show 25.5 --our 50th Episode, and Session Report on Battle for Slaughter Gulch-- coming at you faster than a hipshot from a six-shooter. NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.   

In this Session Report show, we "Point-5" Fantasy Flight Games' Merchant of Venus. Due to a tear in the space-time continuum, Mark and Jeff end up recording an after-action report BEFORE the action! This show covers our first play-through of FFG's new version of MoV. Our discussion focuses on the strategies each of the three players tried, and some of the revelations we experienced during this first play-through. We always love to hear from our Podcast Nation, so please post a comment to this blog entry (at www.gameopolis.org or gameopolis.libsyn.com), or send us an email at info@gameopolis.org! Stay tuned for Show 25.0, coming at you faster than a space freighter with a combo drive!   NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.  

In Show 24.0, Mark and Jeff revisit the show topic of the Premier Episode of Gameopolis: our Top Ten Games lists. After 3-and-a-half years of podcasting, it was apparent that these lists needed to be revisited. Before going into our Top Ten lists, however, we satisfy tradition by opening up a Dusty Old Box. Mark presents Jeff with a Dusty Old Box from his past, and we discuss an overview of the rules, and the things Mark finds most memorable about the game. After the Dusty Old Box segment, Mark and Jeff do a coin toss (specifically, a dubloon toss) to determine who kicks-off the Top Ten lists. For each game, we give a brief description and then chat about the elements of the game that landed it on the Top Ten List. In our Sign-off, we briefly discuss the role IOS games have played in our recent gaming lives, and we extend the invite to our listeners to join us for some virtual gaming. You can find us on Game Center as "stinkytom" and "Funky-Bass-Jeff". We'd love to hear from you, so if you get a second, please post a comment to this blog entry (at www.gameopolis.org or gameopolis.libsyn.com), or send us an email at info@gameopolis.org! 00:00:00 Prelude 00:05:08 Dusty Old Box 00:18:44 The Dubloon Toss... 00:19:35 Mark's #10: Warhammer 40K 00:22:41 Jeff's #10: Commands & Colors Ancients 00:26:54 Jeff's #9: Gamma World 00:35:39 Mark's #9: Battletech 00:41:09 Mark's #8: Blackbeard 00:43:54 Jeff's #8: Pandemic 00:47:42 Jeff's #7: Battlefront WW2 00:55:02 Mark's #7: Stone Age 00:59:43 Jeff's #6: Car Wars 01:02:51 Mark's #6: DragonStar 01:06:18 Mark's #5: Dungeons & Dragons 01:10:35 Jeff's #5: Magic: the Gathering 01:17:38 Mark's #4: Pandemic 01:18:21 Jeff's #4: Axis & Allies 01:23:45 Mark's #3: Awful Green Things 01:26:51 Jeff's #3: War of the Ring 01:31:42 Mark's #2: Arkham Horror 01:33:45 Jeff's #2: Dungeons & Dragons 01:34:33 Mark's #1: Merchant of Venus 01:38:37 Jeff's #1: Battletech 01:39:58 Summary, reflections on IOS Games, and Signoff Stay tuned for Show 24.5 --our session report on one of our Top Ten games-- coming soon. NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.   

In this Session Report show, we "Point-5" Looney Labs' Star Fluxx.  We talk about some of the pivotal turns and plays of a two-person example of gameplay, as well as some of our overall impressions of the play experience…things we really liked, and some things we weren't so fond of. We also reflect on how much the game reminds us of a cross between Star Trek and E.T. --no actually it's more like Dr. Who mixed with Firefly --or really more like an Ed Wood version of Predator. We hope you enjoy our attempt to synthesize this entertainingly random scifi game. We always love to hear from our Podcast Nation, so please post a comment to this blog entry (at www.gameopolis.org or gameopolis.libsyn.com), or send us an email at info@gameopolis.org! Stay tuned for Show 24.0, coming at you faster than a Jedi-piloted Viper  ...or was that a wave-motion torpedo...? NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.  

In Show 23.0, Mark and Jeff discuss two Cheesy Sci-Fi games -one that is a bit meaty, and one that is very light and fast. But first, it's a Dusty Old Box! Mark describes a Dusty Old Box presented to him by Jeff, all the while trying to avoid an allergic attack. After the Dusty Old Box segment, Jeff launches us into the show's first main topic: Gorilla Games' super-light sci-fi RPG/boardgame Battlestations. Jeff covers the main game elements and play mechanisms, and Mark and Jeff both discuss the things they love about this game (and a couple of its shortcomings). After Jeff's main segment, Mark covers a late addition to the Fluxx game family: Star Fluxx. Mark covers what few rules there are in this game, and what he finds most amusing about it. We'd love to hear from you, so if you get a second, please post a comment to this blog entry (at www.gameopolis.org or gameopolis.libsyn.com), or send us an email at info@gameopolis.org! 00:00:00 Prelude 00:04:43 Dusty Old Box 00:19:35 Battlestations by Gorilla Games 00:59:45 Star Fluxx by Looney Labs 01:16:32 Signoff Related links: 1 Battlestations on Boardgamegeek 2 Star Fluxx on Boardgamegeek Stay tuned for Show 23.5 --our session report on one of these super cheesy sci-fi games-- coming soon. NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.   

In this Session Report show, we "Point-5" Fireside Games' Castle Panic including the Wizard's Tower Expansion set. The monsters are back, and they've brought along some of their big friends! In this session report, we talk about some of the pivotal turns and plays of our game, and comment on some of our impressions of the play experience. We try to focus on how the Wizard's Tower expansion changes up game play compared to the 'base' Castle Panic game. After we finish with Castle Panic, but before signing-off, we go through our mail bag for a little Listener Feedback. 00:00:00 Session Report 00:18:55 Listener Feedback 00:24:39 Sign-off We always love to hear from our Podcast Nation, so please post a comment to this blog entry (at www.gameopolis.org or gameopolis.libsyn.com), or send us an email at info@gameopolis.org! Stay tuned for Show 23.0, coming at you faster than a flying Phoenix! NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.

Here in Show 22.0, Mark and Jeff feast on some leftovers from the tabletop of Wil Wheaton. But before digging into this cold pizza, there is some business to take care of. Mark and Jeff start by telling you all about our new Twitter Threads idea, one of which (#GameopolisTanks) has already completed, and a second of which (#GameopolisPnP) is just getting started. After this, it's on to the Dusty Old Box segment! This time, it's a Dusty Old Thing, with some pretty --interesting-- artwork! After the Dusty Old Box segment, Mark launches us into the show's first main topic: the Wizard's Tower expansion for Castle Panic. Mark covers the main ways this expansion changes the game, and the effect of these changes on the play experience. After Mark's main segment, Jeff finishes his 2-episode-long campaign to scratch his Arkham Horror Itch --with Fantasy Flight Games' Elder Sign. Jeff covers this new lighter Arkham play experience with focus on how the game differs from its parent game, Arkham Horror. We love, love, love to hear from our listeners, so if you get a second, please post a comment to this blog entry (at www.gameopolis.org or gameopolis.libsyn.com), or send us an email at info@gameopolis.org! 00:00:00 Prelude 00:00:57 Gameopolis Twitter Threads 00:05:30 Dusty Old Box 00:14:00 Shout out 00:16:48 What does "Table Scraps" mean? 00:21:30 Wizard's Tower Expansion to Castle Panic 00:35:12 Elder Sign 01:03:16 Signoff Related links: 1 Wizards Tower Expansion on Boardgamegeek 2 Elder Sign on Boardgamegeek Stay tuned for Show 22.5 --our session report on one of these wonderful cooperative games-- coming soon. NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.   

This is the fourth episode in the Gameopolis CarCast spin-off series. As is our intention, the Gameopolis CarCast is brought to you totally unplanned, and virtually unedited. In this installment, Mark and Jeff discuss scifi space ships, a few great 1980s computer games, a lot more not-so-great 1980s computer games, and other things on- and off-topic We'll be back with the next regular installment of Gameopolis --Show 22.0-- very soon. Until then, we hope you enjoy the random musings of the Gameopolis CarCast  --and slow down! You're driving like a maniac!!! NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.  

In this Session Report show, we give the Gameopolis "Point-5" treatment to Fantasy Flight Games' Arkham Horror. This was a very challenging two-player game that pitted Mark and Jeff against one of the toughest, baddest, and ancientest Ancient Ones, Hastur! We discuss the ups and downs of the game, and do our best to avoid Sherlock Holmes- and Scooby Doo impressions. We end with a bit of gushing about all the things we love most about this game. We always love to hear from our listeners, so please post a comment to this blog entry (at www.gameopolis.org or gameopolis.libsyn.com), or send us an email at info@gameopolis.org! Gameopolis is a proud member of The Dice Tower Network! Please check out all of the member podcasts of the network at www.dicetowernetwork.com. Come back for Show 22.0 --only don't forget your fedora and your tommy gun! NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.

Here in Show 21.0, Mark and Jeff test-drive a "stream-of-consciousness" style by visiting and/or revisiting a collection of topics of particular interest. After the Dusty Old Box segment, Mark revisits the "Merchant of Venus" re-release situation. Then, Jeff revisits Fantasy Flight's 3rd edition of Dungeon Quest, with special focus on Official Combat Variants that have been published by FFG. Mark treads into new territory --the realm of Print-n-Play gaming-- by giving us a preview of Christopher Mayer's Galaxy Corporate: Star Traders. We'll do a full segment of GC:ST in an upcoming show --this is just a preview! Mark and Jeff then move into the main segment of the show: Fantasy Flight's version of Arkham Horror. Rather than review the game rules and mechanics, Jeff focuses on the elements of the game that he finds particularly engaging or interesting. As always, we love to hear from you our listeners, so please post a comment to this blog entry (at www.gameopolis.org or gameopolis.libsyn.com), or send us an email at info@gameopolis.org! 00:00:00 Prelude 00:04:24 Dusty Old Box 00:17:53 Revisiting Re-release of Merchant of Venus 00:23:03 Dungeon Quest Variant Combat Systems 00:32:57 Preview of Galaxy Corporate: Star Traders 00:39:54 Arkham Horror 00:54:03 Signoff Related links: 1 Galaxy Corporate Star Traders on Boardgamegeek 2 Arkham Horror on Boardgamegeek 3 Gameopolis is a proud member of The Dice Tower Network! Stay tuned for Show 21.5 --our session report on one of these fine games-- coming very soon. NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.  

This is the third episode in the Gameopolis CarCast spin-off series. The Gameopolis CarCast is brought to you totally unplanned, and virtually unedited. In this Carcast, Mark and Jeff talk about a few loosely connected topics, including their respective recent buying binges, Mark's close call at Panera, and Jeff's marketing advice to Lego. We'll be back with the next regular installment of Gameopolis --Show 21.0-- very soon. Until then, we hope you enjoy the random musings of the Gameopolis CarCast! NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.

In this Session Report show, we "Point-5" one of the games we talked about in 20.0. The Candidates are: Avalon Hill's Merchant of Venus and DVG's Phantom Leader...and the envelope please...the Point-5 episode goes to...Phantom Leader! This Session Report is based on a short campaign of Phantom Leader that Jeff played. Jeff's goes over most of the decision points throughout the campaign, and then summarizes what he likes about this game in the context of actual play. We end with a brief discussion of DVG's announced intent to release a Deluxe Edition of Phantom Leader. We always love to hear from you our listeners, so please post a comment to this blog entry (at www.gameopolis.org or gameopolis.libsyn.com), or send us an email at info@gameopolis.org! Stay tuned for Show 21.0, coming at you faster than a sidewinder missile! NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.

Here in Show 20.0, we discuss a couple games that we are very excited about --one fairly new, and one a true classic! But since this is a whole-number episode, we start things off properly with a Dusty Old Box segment. To be more accurate, though, this is not a Box but rather is a Dusty Old THING...three things, in fact. After the Dusty Old Box segment, Jeff launches us into the show's first main topic: a solitaire strategy game called Phantom Leader. Jeff covers the basics of the game elements and mechanics, and then describes why he loves this game so much. After Jeff's main segment, Mark takes us for a stroll down Memory Lane in the show's second main segment, talking about his all-time favorite game, Merchant of Venus. You might consider this a primer or a "warm-up" for the pending re-release of MoV! Mark covers all of the main rules and the subtleties of this game --the things that separate it from other "pick-up and drop-off" games, and that make MoV his all-time favorite. As always, we love to hear from you our listeners, so please post a comment to this blog entry (at www.gameopolis.org or gameopolis.libsyn.com), or send us an email at info@gameopolis.org! 00:00:00 Prelude 00:01:44 Dusty Old Box 00:11:24 Phantom Leader by DVG 00:37:30 Merchant of Venus by Avalon Hill 01:02:47 Signoff Related links: 1 Phantom Leader on Boardgamegeek 2 Merchant of Venus on Boardgamegeek Stay tuned for Show 20.5 --our session report on one of these fine games-- coming very soon. NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.  

In this Session Report show, we "Point-5" one of the games we discussed during our Lord of the Rings Extravaganza of Show 19.0. This Session Report is based on a friendly game of ICE's Lonely Mountain: The Lair of Smaug the Dragon, that we shared with our good friend Bill. This is a light discussion of some of the strategies each of the three of us employed, and also of some of the unforeseen events that threw a wrench into most of our strategies. While this play example was quite atypical for a couple reasons, we still got some fun insights into this game, and so we hope you enjoy hearing about some of the surprises that awaited us deep in Smaug's Lair. We always love to hear from you, so please post a comment to this blog entry (at www.gameopolis.org or gameopolis.libsyn.com), or send us an email at info@gameopolis.org! Stay tuned for Show 20.0, on its way to you very soon. NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.  

It is HERE! Our much-anticipated Lord of the Rings Extravaganza episode! Well...much-anticipated by US, anyway. As always, we start things off right on this "whole-number episode"...by opening up a Dusty Old Box, although in this case it is more accurately described as a Dusty Old THING. After the Dusty Old Box segment, we launch into our LOTR Extravaganza, starting with a couple games from the early 1980s, then one from the mid-90s, and finishing off with a couple more recent releases. Our angle on this comparison is focused on how well we think each game embodies the LOTR theme. Our opinions range from one extreme to the other, so we hope you enjoy listening to what we think of them. We end this episode with a return of our segment "Mark's Personal Gaming Trivia", in which Mark describes an old gaming-group slang term that sounds so much more violent than it actually is. We'd love to hear how your experiences compare with our opinions of these LOTR games, so please post a comment to this blog entry (at www.gameopolis.org or gameopolis.libsyn.com), or send us an email at info@gameopolis.org! 00:00:00 Prelude 00:01:44 Dusty Old Box 00:10:21 Fellowship of the Ring 00:20:26 The Lonely Mountain 00:27:18 LOTR: The Search 00:41:41 Reiner Knizia's LOTR 00:50:41 War of the Ring 01:13:08 Wrap-up and Conclusions 01:14:46 Mark's Personal Gaming Trivia 01:18:20 Signoff Stay tuned for Show 19.5 --our session report on one of these LOTR games-- coming soon. NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.  

This is the second episode in the Gameopolis CarCast spin-off series. As is our intention, the Gameopolis CarCast is brought to you totally unplanned, and virtually unedited. We'll be back with the next regular installment of Gameopolis --Show 19.0-- very soon. Until then, we hope you enjoy the random musings of the Gameopolis CarCast! NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.  

In Show 18.5 of Gameopolis, Mark and Jeff do a double-header Session Report. First they talk about a play session of Pizza Box Baseball, ending with a couple comparisons between this game and the On The Line Game Company's other publication Pizza Box Football, which Mark and Jeff discussed in Shows 9 and 9.5. Mark and Jeff then move onto a second Session Report on Cargo Noir with some light analysis of the three different approaches employed by the players in this play session. As always, we'd LOVE to hear from you, so please post a comment to this blog entry (at www.gameopolis.org or gameopolis.libsyn.com), or send us an email at info@gameopolis.org! 00:00:00 Prelude 00:02:30 Session Report, Pizza Box Baseball 00:11:00 Session Report, Cargo Noir 00:21:02 Preview of Show 19.0, and Signoff Stay tuned for Show 19.0, coming to you faster than a flying Nazgul! NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.  

Too much time has passed, and therefore Mark and Jeff feel the need to sit down and talk about games once again. Since this is a "whole-number episode", they start things off right...by opening up a Dusty Old Box! This Dusty Old Box takes us to places we haven't been before, and then brings us back again. After the Dusty Old Box, Jeff talks a bit about Pizza Box Baseball, published by the On The Line Game Company. Jeff goes through the rules for all four complexity levels of the game, starting with the most basic ("A-league") and then building through Double-A, Triple-A, and finally "Pro-Ball" level. After Jeff's discussion of Pizza Box Baseball, Marks tells us about Days of Wonder's Cargo Noir. Mark describes the game rules, and then discusses some of the common arguments surrounding the theme of this game, and how the theme contributes to the play experience. As always, we'd LOVE to hear from you, so please post a comment to this blog entry (at www.gameopolis.org or gameopolis.libsyn.com), or send us an email at info@gameopolis.org! 00:00:00 Prelude 00:01:51 Dusty Old Box 00:11:24 Pizza Box Baseball 00:35:44 Cargo Noir 00:59:45 Signoff Related links: 1 Pizza Box Baseball on Boardgamegeek 2 Cargo Noir on Boardgamegeek Stay tuned for Show 18.5 --our session report on one of these fine games-- coming to you faster than line-drive to third base! NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.  

In this session report, Mark and Jeff talk about a play session of Fantasy Flight Games' re-issue of DungeonQuest. They give an overview of the session's events, and focus a bit on some of the updates to this 3rd edition of the game: the combat system and the player character characteristics and abilities. Mark and Jeff give their opinions of these updates, and decide whether this edition might still be able to fill the role of a filler game, even with all its embellishments. As always, we'd LOVE to hear from you, so please post a comment to this blog entry (at www.gameopolis.org or gameopolis.libsyn.com), or send us an email at info@gameopolis.org! Stay tuned for Show 18.0, coming to you faster than a DungeonQuest sunset! NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.  

This is the first of a spin-off series that we are calling the Gameopolis CarCast. The idea behind the CarCast is that whenever Mark and Jeff are commuting in the car together (talking about games and related topics, as always) we'll record the conversation --AND, if it sounds like a discussion we think our listeners would be interested in, we'll post it up here as a CarCast. Our CarCasts are completely independent of the regular Gameopolis podcasts, and are brought to you totally unplanned, and largely unedited (we only cut out the part where we argued about whether to go straight here and circle around the park, OR hang a left at this intersection and then turn right at the Gas Station). Also, there won't be any schedule for releasing the CarCasts, so you may detect some anachronisms in dates we refer to in the CarCasts relative to the shows' release dates. We'll be back with the next regular installment of Gameopolis --Show 17.5-- very soon. Until then, we hope you enjoy the random musings of the Gameopolis CarCast! NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.  

Mark and Jeff challenge tradition in what would --normally-- have been the Dusty Old Box segment of the show.  Then, Jeff kicks us off with a deeper treatment of a PREVIOUS Dusty Old Box: Avalon Hill's Freedom In The Galaxy. Jeff takes a high level look at this game to answer his months-long question: is this game truly "ridiculous", as was once asserted? After Jeff's analysis of FitG, Marks tells us about the re-release of DungeonQuest by Fantasy Flight Games, with plenty of comparisons and contrasts with the previous edition of the game. As always, we LOVE to hear from our listeners, so please post a comment to this blog entry (at www.gameopolis.org or gameopolis.libsyn.com), or send us an email at info@gameopolis.org! 00:00:00 Prelude 00:01:51 Freedom in the Galaxy 00:23:36 Fantasy Flight's vesion of DungeonQuest 00:51:02 Signoff Related links: 1 Freedom in the Galaxy on Boardgamegeek 2 FFG's DungeonQuest on Boardgamegeek Stay tuned for Show 17.5 --our session report on one of these fine games-- coming very soon! NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.  

In this session report, Marks talks about a three-game evening of Kill Doctor Lucky (and His Little Dog Too) with his daughter and her friend. This turns out to be a clash of three very different strategies and play styles, with balanced and yet unexpected results. As always, we'd LOVE to hear from you, so please post a comment to this blog entry (at www.gameopolis.org or gameopolis.libsyn.com), or send us an email at info@gameopolis.org! Stay tuned for Show 17.0, on its way very soon. NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.  

Our Halloween Episode! Since it's a whole number episode, we start off as always by opening up a Dusty Old Box. This Dusty Old Box turns out to be a blast from BOTH Mark's Past AND Jeff's Past. After the Dusty Old Box, Mark and Jeff dig into their main topics. Marks starts us off with a humorously scary Halloweeny treat: Kill Doctor Lucky (and His Little Dog Too): a lighthearted game of murderous intent. Afterwards, Jeff provides some Halloween-free fun with his coverage of Commands and Colors Ancients --which he miraculously does WITHOUT making a single "Borg assimilation" joke! As always, we LOVE to hear from our listeners, so please post a comment to this blog entry (at www.gameopolis.org or gameopolis.libsyn.com), or send us an email at info@gameopolis.org! 00:00:00 Prelude 00:02:35 Dusty Old Box 00:13:37 Kill Doctor Lucky 00:33:35 Commands and Colors Ancients 01:09:35 Signoff Related links: 1 Kill Doctor Lucky on Boardgamegeek 2 Commands and Colors Ancients on Boardgamegeek Stay tuned for Show 16.5 -coming very soon! NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.  

In this belated Talk-Like-A-Pirate-Day tribute show, Mark and Jeff (AKA Capt Stinky Tom and Keelhaul Col) do a session report on a game we briefly discussed in show 15: Cheapass Games' Cube Farm! We briefly expand on some rules that we didn't take the time to cover in show 15, and then go over our impressions and general strategies. This is a quick, easy game with one or two layers of strategy that you don't necessarily see on the first pass. As always, we LOVE to hear from our listeners --our beloved podcast nation-- so please post a comment to this blog entry (at www.gameopolis.org or gameopolis.libsyn.com), or send us an email at info@gameopolis.org! 00:00:00 Prelude 00:01:54 Session Report: Cube Farm 00:10:21 Signoff Stay tuned for Show 16.0 -our Halloween show- coming real soon! NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy. 

It's finally here! Our long awaited Podcast of Hate! In this show, Mark and Jeff field listener comments about the things they hate, dislike, or otherwise do not savor in the gaming world. Before we dive into the cauldron of embitterment, our Dusty Old Box segment features an unusual --a VERY unusual game that is "kinda-sorta" like some other games but is really unique in many ways. In actuality, today's Dusty Old Box is not a box, but...a Dusty Old Thing. Once Mark and Jeff dive into the hate, they cover discussion topics ranging from poor sportsmanship to game company publishing practices, to game group dynamics. Before signing off, Jeff does a quick segment to describe the game Cube Fame, published by Cheapass Games. This is a very high-level description of the game, and gives us something to "Point-Five" next time, and so we'll dig into Cube Farm a bit more deeply the next time we plug-in our headset mics! Lastly, Mark surprises everyone --including Jeff-- by spontaneously introducing a new show segment: Mark's Personal Game Trivia, which is certain to inspire many a wrinkled brow. If you have any comments that you would like to share, please feel free to write in via email or blog entry. We'd love to hear from you! 00:00:00 Prelude 00:01:56 Dusty Old Thing 00:09:56 Podcast of Hate 00:42:42 Cube Farm by Cheapass Games 00:48:55 Mark's Personal Game Trivia 00:50:35 Signoff Related links: 1 Cube Farm by Cheapass Games on Boardgamegeek Stay tuned for Show 15.5 -our Session Report on Cheapass Games' Cube Farm! NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.  

At long last, Mark and Jeff shake-off those summertime blues to don the ole headset mics, for a double-header session report. We start off with Rio Grande's Race for the Galaxy. We have some high level discussion of which civilizations -and which overall strategies- we played, and our overall impressions of the game. From there, we move onto a session report of Kosmos' and Rio Grande's Dracula. Once again, we stick to the overall flow and feel of the game. Additionally, we discuss a couple aspects of game play that surprised us upon our first play. Lastly, we send out one last reminder for our listeners to send-in discussion topics for the upcoming Podcast of Hate (companion podcast to last year's Podcast of Love). You can post your thoughts to this show's comments or email to info@gameopolis.org. Even if you don't have any suggestions for the Podcast of Hate, we'd still LOVE to hear from you, so please post a comment to this blog entry, or send an email to info@gameopolis.org! 00:00:00 Prelude 00:02:17 Session Report: Race for the Galaxy 00:11:06 Session Report: Dracula 00:24:23 Last Call for topics for The Podcast of Hate --and signoff Stay tuned for Show 15.0 -the Podcast of Hate- coming real soon! NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.

Our Dusty Old Box segment features a blast from the past --Mark catapults Jeff back to junior high school days with this one. Mark then polishes-off the Dusty segment --not with a box, but with a...thing...a...Dusty Old Thing. Once Jeff recovers from his temporal shift, we dig into our main topics. Unlike our typical main segments, in which one of us presents a game we know well and love, we thought it would be a fun change of pace to present two games that were totally brand-new to BOTH of us. Jeff starts us off by covering the game Dracula, a two-player game that is part of the Kosmos "Games For Two" series. Afterwards, Mark covers his most recently-acquired card game: Rio Grande's Race For the Galaxy. Before signing off, Jeff brings up a "did ya ever notice?" observation about games involving a lot of dice rolling, and after some brief banter, Mark and Jeff ask for some assistance and/or guidance for YOU, our beloved Podcast Nation. You can post your contributions to this show's comments on the blog page, or you can email them to info@gameopolis.org. As a reminder, we still need your comments and contributions to make the Podcast of Hate become a reality! As always, you can post your contributions to this show's comments on the blog page, or you can email them to info@gameopolis.org. Even if you don't have any feedback for the Podcast of Hate, we'd still LOVE to hear from you, so please email or post a blog entry. 00:00:00 Prelude 00:01:00 Dusty Old Box --and a Dusty Old Thing 00:15:32 Dracula 00:23:36 Race For the Galaxy 00:40:22 Call for listener advice: why don't they stack?!? 00:43:02 Signoff Related links: 1 TSR's D&D Basic Set on Wikipedia 2 TSR's Star Frontiers on Wikipedia 3 Kosmos and Rio Grande's Dracula on Boardgamegeek 4 Kosmos Games' Games For Two Series on Boardgamegeek 5 Race For the Galaxy on Boardgamegeek Stay tuned for Show 14.5 -the Double-Header Session Report show "Dracula's Race For the Galaxy"- coming real soon! NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.   

In this show, Mark and Jeff "Point-Five" Altas Games' Gloom. We start with a brief overview of the game, then onto our session report coverage. We keep our coverage pretty high-level, focusing on our overall strategies and impressions of the game. 00:00:00 Prelude 00:00:40 Session Report: Gloom Stay tuned for Show 14.0 -rocketing in your direction at an extreme and totally unsafe speed! NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.  

Our Dusty Old Box segment features a real treat that Jeff has been holding-off for a special occasion. Since this is our 25th episode --our "Silver Anniversary Episode"-- Jeff decided now was the time to break it out! After the Dusty Old Box, Mark and Jeff dig into a full docket crammed with gaming goodness. Jeff starts us off by covering not one game, but a gaming genre: Historical naval miniatures in the American Civil War era. Jeff's M.O. is a side-by-side comparison of three of his favorite rules sets: one very simple set, one quite complex, and a third rules set somewhere in between. Jeff compares and contrasts the game mechanics used in each of these three rules sets. After Jeff brings us back from the 19th century, Mark covers one of his family's new favorite card games: Gloom. Before signing off, we listen-in on our interview with Niko White: the designer of the newest expansion card set for the Battleground Fantasy Warfare game, The Dark Elves. Niko tells us about some of his design rationale and his motivations behind this cool and edgy new expansion for one of our favorite games. Thanks again, Niko! We put in another quick call for discussion topics for the Podcast of Hate (companion podcast to last year's Podcast of Love). Come on!!! Please write in and help the Podcast of Hate become a reality! You can post your contributions to this show's comments on the blog page, or you can email them to info@gameopolis.org. Even if you don't have any feedback for the Podcast of Hate, we'd still LOVE to hear from you --our beloved podcast nation-- so please post a comment to this blog entry, or send an email to info@gameopolis.org! 00:00:00 Prelude 00:03:32 Dusty Old Box 00:12:22 American Civil War Ironclads Miniatures 00:46:48 Gloom 01:00:24 Interview with Niko White, designer of the Dark Elves set for Battleground Fantasy Warfare 01:13:47 Call for topics for The Podcast of Hate --and signoff Related links: 1 FASA's Crimson Skies on Boardgamegeek 2 Free Wargames Rules -dot-Co-dot-UK 3 Beer & Pretzels Ironclads (BAPI) on Boardgamegeek 4 Hammerin' Iron 2 on Boardgamegeek 5 Smoke on the Water on Boardgamegeek 6 Smoke on the Water page at Canis Publishing -free download of the rules! 7 Gloom on Boardgamegeek 8 Dark Elves for Battleground Fantasy Warfare Stay tuned for Show 13.5 -coming real soon! NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.  

In this show, Mark and Jeff "Point-Five" Your Move Games' Battleground Fantasy Warfare. We have some high level discussion of our selections of which armies to play, and which units to field for our 2000-point limits. From there, we discuss our overall tactics, which tactics worked well, and which ones clearly didn't. We'll also try to get some pics up on the Gameopolis Flickr Page some time soon! Lastly, we send out a reminder for our listeners to send-in discussion topics for the upcoming Podcast of Hate (companion podcast to last year's Podcast of Love). This doesn't have to be "hatred" in the true sense of the word, feel free to write us about dislikes, pet peaves, disappointments, and things in the Gaming hobby that generally get under your skin. So dust-off that soapbox and tell us what is on your mind!!! You can post your thoughts to this show's comments or email to info@gameopolis.org. Even if you don't have any suggestions for the Podcast of Hate, we'd still LOVE to hear from you --our beloved podcast nation-- so please post a comment to this blog entry, or send an email to info@gameopolis.org! 00:00:00 Prelude 00:03:35 Session Report: Battleground Fantasy Warfare 00:19:46 Call for topics for The Podcast of Hate --and signoff Stay tuned for Show 13.0 -coming real soon! NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy. 

 Happy New Year from your friends at Gameopolis! We start off this episode with our Dusty Old Box segment, which features a game in a 5-sided box. Inside the strange box is a very old game from a very old game company. After the Dusty Old Box, Mark and Jeff get down to business with an efficient, back-to-basics show. Mark starts us off with coverage of Samurai Swords (originally known as Shogun), which was part of Milton Bradley's GameMaster series. Then, Jeff describes Your Move Games' Battleground Fantasy Warfare. We'll put some pics up on the Gameopolis Flickr Page! Lastly, Mark and Jeff roll out our first call for discussion topics for the Podcast of Hate (companion podcast to last year's Podcast of Love). Come on!!! We all have pet peaves and things that otherwise get under our skin. Here's your chance to get up on your soapbox and put us all back onto the straight-and-narrow!!! You can post your thoughts to this show's comments, or email them to us at info@gameopolis.org. Even if you don't have any feedback for the Podcast of Hate, we'd still LOVE to hear from you --our beloved podcast nation-- so please post a comment to this blog entry, or send an email to info@gameopolis.org! 00:00:00 Prelude 00:01:35 Dusty Old Box 00:10:32 Samurai Swords 00:35:06 Battleground Fantasy Warfare 01:01:17 Call for topics for The Podcast of Hate --and signoff Related links: 1 Ace of Aces on Boardgamegeek 2 Lost Worlds Battlebooks on Boardgamegeek 3 Star Wars Starfights Battlebooks on Boardgamegeek 4 Star Wars Battlebooks on the Roll2d6 podcast (should be episode 10) 5 BattleTech Science Fiction Combat Book Game on Boardgamegeek 6 Samurai Swords on Boardgamegeek 7 Battleground Fantasy Warfare page at Your Move Games' website (with Flash tutorial!) 8 Our Podcast of Love Stay tuned for Show 12.5 -coming real soon! NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy. 

Mark and Jeff "point-five" Minion Games' Those Pesky Humans. A mixed experience, but it was mostly a positive play experience, we thought. The big news (for Jeff) is that Jeff racks up another Point-Five show victory!!! (Jeff pauses for applause...). We'll be doing a couple more sessions of this one when the opportunity presents itself...and YOU --our Podcast Nation-- will benefit from our future play experiences in the form of brief field reports. Stay tuned for Show 12.0 -coming real soon! Until then, write into the comments section, or send emails to Mark (mark@gameopolis.org), Jeff (jeff@...), or the Mark/Jeff Metamind (info@...)!!! Thank you for listening! NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.

Mark and Jeff cover almost every aspect of the life of a boardgame in this show, we discuss a dusty old game box...then a game store...then a game...and lastly, a game convention!!! Our Dusty Old Box segment focuses on something we believe few --if any-- of our listeners have encountered --a rare, Trademark game of space warfare potentially worth over $65,000! Or not. From here, we move on to our latest installment of our new segment, As Far As Possible Game Goes Kaupankaynti. Mark tells us about his game store-hunting in Washington DC, and then we strap into the Way-Back machine to revisit Jeff's recent trek to Game Empire in San Diego, CA. After hearing about Game Empire, we dig into our main segment for today's show: the game Those Pesky Humans, by Minion Games. This is primarily a 2-player game of human marauders perpetrating horrible injustices against the innocent monster home-owner who is just minding his own business. Lastly, we go into a brief recount of Jeff's experiences at the Carnage 2010 gaming convention. Lots of pics on the Gameopolis Flickr Page! We LOVE to hear from our listeners, so please post a comment to this blog entry, or send an email to info@gameopolis.org! 00:00:00 Prelude 00:01:15 Dusty Old Box 00:08:22 As Far As Possible Game Goes Kaupankaynti 00:25:00 Those Pesky Humans 00:39:09 After Action Report: Carnage 2010 Gaming Convention 00:48:30 Sign-off Related links: 1 Freedom in the Galaxy on Boardgamegeek 2 Game Empire game store in San Diego, CA 3 Those Pesky Humans on Boardgamegeek 4 Carnage Gaming Convention 5 Command Decision 4, the rules system used by Vic for his Operation Bagration game at Carnage 6 Car Wars 5th Edition on Boardgamegeek 7 Skirmish Wars Advance Tactics on Boardgamegeek 8 The Gameopolis Flickr Page Stay tuned for Show 11.5 -coming real soon! NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy. 

  Mark and Jeff do an "old school" session report of Days of Wonder's Small World for the iPad. Also, our Listener Feedback leads us to a discussion of old versus new...paper versus digital...book lights versus backlights. We'd LOVE to hear what our listeners think on this topic, so please send a comment to the blog, or an email to info@gameopolis.org! 00:00:00 Prelude 00:02:35 Listener Feedback 00:14:52 Session Report -Small World on the iPad 00:25:55 Sign-off Stay tuned for Show 11.0 -coming real soon! NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.

NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.   Arrrgggghh!!!! Those two wharf rats that go by the names-o-Mark and Jeff be runnin out thar cannons ta take on thar olde rival -ye Black Privateer! It's time for our second annual International Talk Like a Pirate Gameopolis Podcast. Mark and Jeff sail from port to port in search of a number of eclectic gaming related topics. After starting with the Dusty Old Box --a dusty olde treasure chest to be more exact-- we address some Listener Feedback and then launch into our first main topic --our Pirate themed Talk-Like-A-Pirate game: Cheapass Games' Captain Treasure Boots. Jeff gives us a brief over view of Capt Treasure Boots and describes his tricked-out copy featuring little teeny tiny pirate ships purchased from an online jewelry supply store. We'll post pictures of these teeny tiny square-riggers on the Gameopolis Flickr Page. Next, Mark and Jeff set sail in search of games ported from the tabletop to the portable electronic device. We span old and new games that have "crossed over to the other side". Lastly, we flip this topic on its head and discuss games --one in particular-- that has made this trek in the opposite direction: Skirmish Wars Advance Tactics. Jeff talks about his version of SWAT that he will be taking up to the Carnage 2010 Gaming Convention. And so this episode ends with a teaser for Carnage 2010. 00:00:00 Prelude and Pirattitude 00:01:04 Dusty Olde Treasure Chest 00:11:40 Listener Feedback 00:22:46 Mark's Phoning-it-in, Jeff's Higglety Pigglety 00:24:12 Captain Treasure Boots 00:39:20 Tabletop-to-Mobile App: crossing the line 01:07:49 Carnage 2010 teaser: Jeff's Skirmish Wars Advance Tactics 01:12:15 Sign-off Related links: 1 Roll2d6 Podcast 2 Richthofen's War on Boardgamegeek 3 Intl Talk Like a Pirate Day 4 Cheapass games web site 5 Full listing of Cheapass games' titles 6 Captain Treasure Boots on Boardgamegeek 7 Cataan First Island for mobiles 8 Small World for ipad 9 Battleship by EA Games for mobiles 10 Battleship by Majesco for Gameboy Color on CNET 11 Skirmish Wars Advance Tactics on Boardgamegeek 12 Carnage 2010 Gaming Convention Stay tuned for Show 10.5, a session report of one of the games we just talked about, coming very soon!  

NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.   Mark and Jeff take the Session Report format back to its roots in show 9.5. This Session Report is true to our original vision: an overview of the feel of the game, our general impressions, the main thoughts and choices we had in a typical game turn. We talk about what we liked and didn't like about it. At 18 minutes 10 seconds, this show is just long enough to listen to while enjoying a couple slices of pizza! Check out some pics of Pizza Box Football on our Gameopolis Flickr Page. 00:00:00 Prelude 00:01:53 Session Report: Pizza Box Football 00:17:12 Sign-off Related links: 1 Pizza Box Football on Boardgamegeek 2 Pizza Box Baseball on Boardgamegeek Stay tuned for Show 10.0, coming to all premier theaters in Gameopolis City very soon!  

NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy. It's a really big show....really...BIG. It's also our First Anniversary Show. And Mark and Jeff cover a lot of ground here -from introducing a new recurring segment --to closing-out the First Gameopolis Challenge --to addressing errata from previous shows --to 2 really fun games (one old and meaty; one new and light). We start you off by opening up a Dusty Old Box...a Dusty, Deteriorating, Deciduous Box with an awesome game inside. Then, we announce the five winners of our First Gameopolis Challenge. If you are one of the winners, be sure to email us at info@gameopolis.org to give us your physical address so we can send you your fantastic Gameopolis Coffee Mug! In the show's main segment, Mark covers the Avalon Hill game History of the World. Mark covers the nuts and bolts of the game as well as some basic strategic considerations. After Mark's coverage of HOTW, Jeff talks about a relatively new release from the On The Line Game Company: Pizza Box Football. Jeff tries to give you a basic feel for the game, its mechanics and some of the main gameplay options. 00:00:00 Prelude 00:01:20 Dusty Old Box 00:07:32 The Winners of the First Gameopolis Challenge 00:15:36 Erratum: error in Forbidden Island session report 00:23:10 As Far As Possible Game Goes Kaupankaynti 00:31:38 Avalon Hill's History of the World 00:52:16 On The Line's Pizza Box Football 01:05:30 Sign-off Related links: 1 Awful Green Things from Outer Space on Boardgamegeek 2 PVP Online Comic 3 Tyler's Held Action Gaming Blogpage 4 Numbskullz Inc Game Store in Queensbury NY 5 History of the World on Boardgamegeek 6 Pizza Box Football on Boardgamegeek Stay tuned for Show 9.5 -our session Report- coming real soon!

NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.   Mark and Jeff go for an extended session report of Gamewright's Forbidden Island. Unlike most podcasts, we spend a bit of time filling in the basics of the game mechanics that we left out of show 8.0. We'll get a couple pictures from our play sessions up onto the Gameopolis Flickr Page very soon. Also, we give our final notice for our Gameopolis Coffee Mug Challenge! We play samples of eight different sounds from the beeping, buzzing, whirring 1980s boardgame Dark Tower. Write into info@gameopolis.org with your guesses on the identities of the eight Dark Tower sounds. Writing in will get your name/email address into our raffle; getting all eight answers correct will get your name entered three times!!! Five lucky listeners will be drawn and will receive an awesome Gameopolis Coffee Mug!!! Stay tuned for Show 9.0 -coming real soon!  

NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.   You've heard about it since January...You've wondered when it would become a reality...Epic in scale...and now it's HERE!  It's the Podcast of Love. Since this is a "whole-number episode", we start off by investigating a Dusty Old Box. In the show's main segment, it's the Podcast of Love. We talk about what some of you --our beloved listeners, our Podcast Nation-- truly LOVE about the hobby of gaming. We read out several blog postings and emails that we've received on this topic, and comment on each of them. In a second segment (actually a mini-segment), Mark talks about a brand-new release from Gamewright: Forbidden Island, which we'll talk about again in the upcoming session report, Show 8.5. Lastly, we put out another invitation to you all to participate in our Gameopolis Coffee Mug Challenge, which we first rolled-out in Show 7.5. We play samples of eight (not nine) different sounds from the beeping, buzzing, whirring 1980s boardgame Dark Tower. Write into info@gameopolis.org with your guesses on the identities of the eight Dark Tower sounds. Writing in will get your name/email address into our raffle; getting all eight answers correct will get your name entered three times!!! Five lucky listeners will be drawn during Show 9.0, each of whom will receive an awesome Gameopolis Coffee Mug!!! 00:00:00 Prelude 00:02:00 Dusty Old Box 00:08:11 The Gameopolis Coffee Mug Challenge 00:12:23 The Podcast of Love 00:40:45 Gamewright's Forbidden Island --AND Mark and Jeff 'verb' a term 00:45:36 Reprise of The Gameopolis Coffee Mug Challenge and sign-off Related links: 1 Panzer Blitz on Boardgamegeek 2 Dark Tower on Boardgamegeek 3 Jimmy Anderson's Car Wars Podcast 4 Gamewright  -warning --Loud sounds on page load!!! 5 Forbidden Island on Boardgamegeek 6 Eureka Games Puzzles and More -one of our favorite Friendly Local Game Stores Stay tuned for Show 8.5 -our session Report on Forbidden Island- coming real soon!  

NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.   Mark and Jeff cut the shenanigans and record the "Real Show 7.5". We start off with a plug for The Print and Play Podcast --a podcast about (mostly) free-to-download games that you can find at BoardgamePodcasts-dot-com. Then, it's onto our Listener Feedback segment, in which we discuss hearing from a couple new game designers --and more. In the show's main segment, we talk about a play session of Jeff's home-brewed expansion to Steve Jackson Games' Car Wars Card Game. We decided to hazard the use of the Way-Back Machine one more time to allow you-the-listener to go back to the setup session and hear each of our car design strategies before we discuss the game and the results. In a short final segment, we unveil our Gameopolis Coffee Mug Challenge! We play samples of eight different sounds from the beeping, buzzing, whirring 1980s boardgame Dark Tower. Write into info@gameopolis.org with your guesses on the identities of the eight Dark Tower sounds. Writing in will get your name/email address into our raffle; getting all eight answers correct will get your name entered three times!!! Five lucky listeners will be drawn and will each receive an awesome Gameopolis Coffee Mug!!! 00:00:00 Prelude 00:01:10 Plug for the Print and Play Podcast 00:03:28 Listener Feedback 00:14:31 Session Report of Jeff's Expansion for the Car Wars Card Game 00:24:03 The Gameopolis Coffee Mug Challenge Related links: 1 The Print and Play Podcast, 2 The Dark Yew game developer blog, 3 BoardgamePodcasts-dot-com, 4 The Car Wars Card Game on BoardGameGeek, Stay tuned for Show 8.0 -The Podcast of Love- coming real soon!  

NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.   Your voice has been heard; your vote counted!!!! All hail Gameopolis as a paragon of Democracy!!!! Okay, so we're probably overstating this a bit, but rest-assured your voice WAS HEARD. Our Surveymonkey survey on monaural vs stereo sound was tallied, and due to overwhelming vote, we are switching back to monaural sound (both of your ears will hear the exact same thing). For now, here is a re-release of show 6.5 re-mixed for monaural sound. If you already downloaded 6.5 and are okay with it in its original format, then you need not download this file. But if you downloaded 6.5 and were disappointed by the stereo effect, then this file will fix the problem. Thanks again for your feedback. We'll be talking to you again very soon!

NOTE: To download, right-click on the "POD" icon above, and choose "Save Target As..." Select a download location on your computer, and save. After saving, play the file from your downloaded copy.   Mark and Jeff cover a lot of ground in this special Session Report.  Unlike past Session Reports, the games discussed in this show are NOT those that were described in Show 7.0.  Mark and Jeff cover everything ranging from nostalgic children's games, to licensed boardgames, to games based on episodes of the original Star Trek series.  You will also hear exciting news about the possibility of gameopolis gaining its first official sponsor.  So pull-up your favorite comfy-chair and settle-in with Mark and Jeff for some more Gameopolis.  Thanks for listening! Stay tuned for Show 8, coming real soon!