Harvest Phase

We are back for what we hope isn't a one off episode. Our goal is an episode a month as we get our sea legs with parenthood, playing games, and just the day to day drudgery of the 9-5. What a way to make a livin'. We spit ball about games that we have played over the past three months in “Quick Fire” fashion. Some we liked, some we didn't, and one was a surprising disappointment. I used Craiyon to generate the cover by typing the phrase, “Ark Nova is not our jam.” Feel free to jump over there and let an AI generate your nightmares. Here's to more games in the future. Beware the spiders in your house Crocs, and don't let the bastards get you down.Apologies for a lack of designers/publishers in the notes.12:22 Founders of Teotihuacan19:30 Breaking Away21:08 Longshot: The Dice Game22:30 Furnace25:35 Museum: Pictura31:00 Vagrantsong38:45 Games that interest us at Gen Con 202252:05 Regicide58:30 Smartphone Inc.01:06:45 Dice Realms01:12:49 Planet Unknown01:23:19 Foundations of Rome01:39:00 Ark Nova

We're back, and more Tarnished than ever. In this episode, that is longer than the Odyssey, we regale you with tales from House Crocs to Dune Stories, and then get into the games that have found their way into our silly lives. We follow that with an Off-Brand segment all about Elden Ring. Retrieve those runes and shake off the heebie-jeebies from whatever that “guard dog” was. Ain't no party like a tower party, but BYOP(Palantir). Games We've Been Playing:38:08 Res Arcana (Thomas Lehmann, Sand Castle Games)44:53 Merchants of the Dark Road (Brian Suhre, Elf Creek Games)01:10:52 Bloodborne: The Board Game (Eric Lang, Michael Shinall, CMON)Featured Game:01:38:10 Return to Dark Tower (Rob Davian, Isaac Childres, Tim Burrell-Saward, Noah Cohen, Justin D. Jacobson, Brian Neff, Restoration Games)Off-Brand:2:17:50 We journey to the Lands Between in Elden Ring!

New “season”. New intro tune. Same off-the-cuff board game conversation. As usual, we start chatting about some of the latest stuff that we have been diggin', including the new Big Thief record, Pokémon Legends Arceus, the Batman Calzone, and Ted Lasso, and then we dive into the games. Crowdfunding Roundup:24:20 Bloc by Bloc: Uprising26:47 Tindaya28:55 EarthGames We've Been Playing:32:25 Trails (Henry Audubon, Keymaster Games)36:10 Caper: Europe (Unai Rubio, Keymaster Games)42:12 For Science! (R. Eric Reuss, Grey Fox Games)51:05 Project L (Michal Mikes, Jan Soukal, Adam Spanel, Boardcubator)55:06 Bunny Kingdom (Richard Garfield, Iello)56:20 Beyond the Sun (Dennis K. Chan, Rio Grande Games)58:59 Jump Drive (Tom Lehmann, Rio Grande Games)58:59 Race for the Galaxy (Tom Lehmann, Rio Grande Games)1:08:50 Res Arcana (Tom Lehmann, Sand Castle Games)1:17:23 Factory Funner (Corne van Moorsel, BoardGameTables.com)Featured Game:1:26:05 Meadow (Klemens Kalicki, Rebel Studios)Post Credits Discussion That Was Teased In The Introduction But Then Totally Forgotten About:1:45:45 Our favorite boardgame art. 

Let's call it the end of the first season. We recap the things we did this year. All of ‘em. In a couple hours. It is definitive, absolute, and unwavering. Tender men unite and gather on the fields of valor during Boy's Craft Night. Rejoice, for Craft-halla awaits us!11:15 - Best Game We Didn't Like15:30 - She's So Heavy Award20:55 - I Want You (She's So Heavy) Award28:45 - Top 3 New To Us Games48:26 - 2021 We Don't Own But Want to Play1:06:15 - 2021 We Own and Want to Play1:27:12 - 2021 Game of the Year!1:51:30 - Ultimate Cage Match Game of the Year!1:54:10 - 2021 Albums That Tickled Our Fancy.

Saddle up, Mariners! We talk about our continued love of treadmill gaming, enter zen states while polyominoes rain down from the heavens, and the perfection that is Pee-Wee's Big Adventure. We talk about some real doozies this week. Tell ‘em Large Marge sent ya!Featured Games:14:14 Luna Capital (Jose Ramon Palacios, Devir)35:50 For Sale Autorama (Stefan Dorra, Eagle-Gryphon Games)47: 40 Trek 12: Himalaya (Bruno Cathala, Corentin Lebrat, Pandasaurus Games)57:40 On Tour (Chad DeShon, BoardGameTables.com)1:03:45 Hadrian's Wall (Bobby Hill, Garphill Hames, Renegade Games Studio)1:28:50 Sleeping Gods (Ryan Laukat, Red Raven Games)1:48:47 Return of the Obra Dinn (Lucas Pope)

We mostly stick to board games this week, but have a brief detour to discuss how Tetris Effect Connected soothes the soul and a succinct but fulfilling quest for the Lost in Translation Soundtrack on vinyl. We then discuss all of the Kickstarters we are interested in, our featured games of the week, and then take a rapid fire approach to the games of 2022 that we most anticipate. Sorry for one more drop in the deluge of board game content. Kickstarter Convo:20:30 Skate Summer (Randy Reiman, Pandasaurus Games)21:42 Sync or Swim (Lucas Hedgren, Divya Hedgren, Bezier Games)22:29 Puzzle Strike 2 (David Sirlin, Sirlin Games)32:38 CoLab (Jonathan Gilmour, Jon Mietling, Portal Dragon)35:55 Marvel Zombies (Fabio Cury, Michael Shinall, CMON)Featured Games:38:25 ROVE: Results-Oriented Versatile Explorer (Dustin Dobson, Milan Zivkovic, Button Shy)42:48 Death Valley (Kevin Ellenburg, Button Shy)45:25 Tussle Mussie (Elizabeth Hargrave, Button Shy)53:00 Three Sisters (Ben Pinchback, Matt Riddle, Motor City Gameworks)1:07:00 Final Girl (Evan Derrick, A. J. Porfirio, Van Ryder Games)1:38:30 Our Most Anticipated Games of 2022

Welcome to 2022! We herald in the new year by diving into dungeons(that likely were produced by sinkholes), stacking cards, stacking fuzzy balls, stacking roads and rails, and getting frustrated at games that make us act against the best interest of the party. We also have our first top five in a segment we dubbed “Five in Five”. Five minutes to create a top five. Simple. Keep smilin' in 2022, and don't let the bastards get you down. Intro:Dungeon Encounters (Square Enix, Nintendo Switch)Featured Games:25:15 The Game: Face to Face (Steffens Benndorf, Reinhard Staupe, Pandasaurus Games)38:10 The Fuzzies (Wolfgang Warsch, Alex Hague, Justin Vickers, CMYK)49:10 Railroad Ink Challenge (Hjalmar Hach, Lorenzo Silva, Horrible Guild)1:34:00 Townsfolk Tussle (Stephen Louis, Tony Mayer, Rachel Rusk, Panic Roll)Off-Brand - The Peter Jackson Super Trilogies Special Extended Cut:1:34:40 Lord of the Rings1:53:00 The Beatles: Get BackFive in Five:2:22:10 Our DEFINITIVE Top 5 Beatles Songs

Welcome back! After a brief hiatus, we attempt to figure out how to do this in real time even though we never really had any clue, and I am making a New Years vow to never say, “We already talked about this on the podcast.” We discuss some Nintendo Switch games we have been playing including, Golf Story(again), The Messenger, and Katana Zero before diving into board games. We conclude with our final thoughts on Survivor Season 41 and its controversial(?) ending.Correction: During our conversation about Cartographers(which we love), I mentioned the designer as Keith Matejka, however the designer is Jordy Adan! Our apologies!Featured Games:20:20 Back to the Future: Dice Through Time( Ken Franklin, Chris Leder, Kevin Rodgers, Ravensburger)32:34 Roll Through The Ages: The Bronze Age & Era (Matt, Leacock, Eagle Gryphon Games & Eggertspiele)45:45 Haunt the House (Josh Cappel, Helaina Cappel, Kids Table Board Games)51:02 Picture Perfect (Anthony Nouveau, Arcane Wonders)1:06:14 Cartographers (Jordy Adan, Thunderworks Games)Off Brand:1:42:20 Survivor Season 41. Something, something, something, the edit. 

Sorry that this ends abruptly, we had some weird tech issues toward the end. Somehow a conversation about Metroid Dread and Golf Story lead to a celebration of emergent narrative. I reveal my most hated game (T.I.M.E. Stories, sorry). Somehow we briefly mention the Dave Matthews Band playing a gig at my manor in Victorian England while Mary Shelly, Percy Shelly, and Lord Byron canoodle in the manor's “conversation” pit. It was a long two weeks off. Giddy up. Featured Games:35:30 Wits and Wagers (Dominic Crapuchettes, North Star Games)40:35 So Clover! (Francois Romain, Repos)47:45 Skulls of Sedlec (Dustin Dobson, Button Shy Games)56:06 Obsession (Dan Hallagan, Kayenta Games)

The episode where we finally talk about Terraforming Mars, Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition and Race for the Galaxy, while also discussing Olivia Rodrigo and the fine line of influence. Needless to say, while playing Ares Expedition I was feeling a lot of deja vu. No time stamps this week as it is all one conversation. I hate to be the bearer of bad news but try as I might I was unable to land the “Terraforming Lars” joke that was in my head the entire time. Cite your sources, smash that hourglass, and I will, as usual, see you in the past. 

In a Harvest Phase first, we recorded  a full 2 hour episode and then scrapped it and recorded another.  This Massively Multiplayer Online RPG inspired episode sees us discussing some of our experiences with Final Fantasy Tactics, Final Fantasy XI, and Final Fantasy XIV, and how we see some key MMO mechanisms in World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King, Adventure Tactics: Domianne's Tower, and Too Many Bones. Somehow in this conversation I get talking about Shawn Michaels, Sweet Chin Music, and I accidentally say the Rockers were comprised of Marty Jannetty and Bret Hart (For shame).  Featured Games:21:08 World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King (Alexander Ortloff, Justin Kemppainen, Michael Sanfilippo, Z-Man Games)43:53 Adventure Tactics: Domianne's Tower (Nicholas Yu, Letiman Games)1:09:10 Too Many Bones (Adam Carlson, Josh Carlson, Chip Theory Games)

Oddly focused, we're back in the saddle to discuss coffee catastrophes, excellent local escape room experiences, escape room experiences in a box, the tutorial of Cantaloop, echoes: The Cocktail, and Wild Space. Our featured game this week is Great Western Trail, and then we decide not to do an Off-Brand as we are a bit long winded on the games discussion.Fresh Plays:Cantaloop: Book 1 - Breaking into Prison (Friedemann Findeisen, Lookout Games) (kinda)  12:15echoes: The Cocktail (Matthew Dunstan, Dave Neale, Ravensberger) 24:10Wild Space (Joachim Thome, Pandasaurus Games) 36:00Featured Game:Great Western Trail (Second Edition) (Alexander Pfister, eggertspiele) 47:00

Brian Lewis is back to talk about our design process for Dinosaur World, but before we do that, we discuss his life long love affair with Magic: The Gathering, how he hasn't seen Hackers,  why we are drawn to “old” games, and if it is acceptable to leave pizza out all night and then eat it the next day. We then discuss our lone play of Floor Plan and spill the beans on the Dino Design Process.Fresh Plays:Floor Plan (Marek Tupi, Deep Water Games)Dinosaur World Design Diary:The story of how a roll N' write became an expansion and then a stand alone board game. Off Brand Lightning Round - What We've Been Watching:SchmigadoonWhat We Do In The ShadowsSurvivor Season 41 (Spoilers through Episode 3)

Gaming resumes in full force as we take a look at Wok and Roll, Horrified: American Monsters, and Khora: Rise of an Empire. We also usher in October but determining that ghosts are swimming...always. Get lost in our tales of matching symbols to make quality Asian cuisine, matching symbols to take down cryptids, and matching symbols to launch a fleet of a thousand ships. We then beg you to watch the finest television show ever produced. Listen for the symbol matching, stay for the alerts. Fresh Plays:Roll and Write Lightning Round:22:32 Wok and Roll (Daryl Chow, Origame)Ganz Schön Clever (That's Pretty Clever) (Wolfgang Warsch, Stronghold Games)Fleet: The Dice Game (Ben Pinchback and Matt Riddle, Eagle Gryphon Games)Second Chance (Uwe Rosenberg, Stronghold Games)Games of the Week:37:25 Horrified: American Monsters (Michael Mulvihill, Ravensburger)59:05Khora: Rise of an Empire (Headquarter Simulation Game Club, Iello)Off-Brand1:36:30 The Circle (Netflix)

Another busy week sees us playing fewer games, but still not running out of nonsense to talk about. Expect our signature stories, detours, and of course,  discussions about games. Despite talking about The Beatles, we fail to connect the band to dexterity game Kabuto Sumo, where you play as wrestling beetles. Then we discuss one of our surprise GenCon pickups with Richard Garfield's The Hunger (part Clank!, part commentary on the dietary habits of vampires). On Off-Brand we discuss our love of the television show Survivor and our excitement for season 41 that started last week. Grab your torches, and head back to camp. Good night. Games Discussed:Kabuto Sumo (Tony Miller, Board Game Tables)The Hunger (Richard Garfield, Renegade Games Studio)Off-Brand:Survivor Season 41

We unravel tales about our experience at Gen Con. Discuss food trucks, exhibit halls, the fears of demoing your own game, and what we picked up. In the ensuing chaos we somehow craft the definitive Top Ten List of Five Perfect Games and the Top Ten List of One Underrated Games. We did play one game of Cascadia this week, and we give our thoughts while comparing it to Calico. Pardon the lack of time stamps, but this one goes places. Gen Con Pick Ups Discussion:Terraforming Mars: Ares Expedition (Stronghold Games)Quest (Indie Boards and Cards)The Search For Planet X New Horizons Upgrade Pack (Renegade Game Studio)The Hunger (Renegade Game Studio)Wok and Roll (Origame)Khora: Rise of an Empire (Iello)Great Western Trail (Eggertspiele)Irish Gauge (Capstone Games)Ride the Rails (Capstone Games)Iberian Gauge (Capstone Games)A Solid 15 Minutes on Cascadia:Cascadia (AEG)

We have friend and game designer Brian Lewis on to discuss some of his favorite games, inspiration as a game designer, how we all met, and some the origins of Dinosaur Island. During the second half, we discuss the influences on Dinosaur Island: Rawr ‘N Write. We reference Fleet: The Dice Game, Uwe Rosenberg (Surprise!) the awesome feedback and play testing during Gen Con 2019, and how a piece of graph paper suddenly turned into a game. I started this episode wanting to ask the hard question, had Brian ever had anyone in his life call him “Bry” only to forget while we were actually discussing games. However, I asked after recording and the answer was a resounding, “no”. 

Another super fast week sees us playing a handful of new games and breaking out some old classics. We attempt to deduce why I am so successful at finding Planet X, wonder how to mind slip through the work week, realize that our prowess at a board game about cooking does not translate into the kitchen, and wonder why we should make wine when you can give tours of a barren wasteland and still achieve a commendable score. In addition, a legend is created while using sand timers to create A Feast for Odin. Off Brand is a long winded conversation about our Marvel movie fatigue, before making no argument beyond, Aerosmith, a cymbal crash, and muscle cars, for why Dazed and Confused has the greatest opening scene in cinema history, and we beg you to watch Free Solo and marvel at Alex Honnold. Also, there is a theory that Adam Driver and Alex Honnold in one room breaks international hunkiness laws. Fresh Plays:07:20 Mind MGMT: The Psychic Espionage (Jay Cormier, Sen-Foong Lim, Off the Page Games)20:45 Kitchen Rush (Vangelis Bagiartakis, David Turczi, Pegasus Spiele)34:06 Viticulture (Jamey Stegmaier, Alan Stone, Stonemaier Games) Featured Game:55:53 A Feast for Odin (Uwe Rosenberg, Z-Man Games)Off Brand - Unabashed Nonsense About The Movies (Watch Free Solo)1:42:00 

It's been an exhausting week, and it's only Tuesday. We gather tiles to score points, auction things to score points, and silently contemplate (off mic and through gestures) if Monikers is PG13 or R rated. Off Brand takes the week off, but our usual nonsense is even more nonsensical as we make every effort to keep focus amid our lack of sleep and complete exhaustion. Fresh Plays:03:40 Sushi Go Party (Phil Walker-Harding)11:05 Monikers (Alex Hague, Justin Vickers, CMYK)24:18  dude. (Beau Beckett, Jeph Stahl, North Star Games)26:40 Overboss (Aaron Mesburne, Kevin Russ, Brotherwise Games)Featured Game:41:41 Nidavellir (Serge Laget, GRRRE Games)57:32 Q.E. (Gavin Birnbaum, BoardGameTables.com)Off Brand - Taking the Week Off

While playing Calico, Riverboat, Impact, and Alien, we discover that courting cats to take naps on lovely quilts is far more anxiety inducing than, managing a farm on the Mississippi, wrestling a Xenomorph on a derelict spacecraft, and creating the entire cosmos. We then theorize that the cat on the cover of Calico is, in fact, the untold fate of Jonesy, the Nostromo's ship cat. Finally, in Off Brand we discuss how we feel some games “respect” the player through design decisions, and I rant about my love-hate relationship with Returnal, while coming to terms with the fact I'll never “get gud.”Cover: Our ship cat, Freyja, doing her best Xenomorph impression. Seriously, who sits like that?Fresh Plays:07:06 Calico (Kevin Russ, Flat Out Games, Renegade Games)21:00 Riverboat (Micheal Kiesling, Lookout Games)31:35 Impact: Battle of the Elements (Dieter Nüßle, Ravensberger)Featured Game:41:06 Alien: Fate of the Nostromo (Scott Rogers, Ravensberger)Off Brand - Can a Game Disrespect the Player?1:08:05 Alien: Fate of the Nostromo addendum1:10:40 Returnal (Housemarque, PlayStation 5)1:42:32 A Short Hike (Adam Robinson-Yu, Nintendo Switch)

Time is of the essence this week as we use time as a resource in Merkator, discuss how all of the elders in Nusfjord are various Emmitt Browns, and then dive into Destinies where time proved the most worthy of adversaries. Finally, in Off Brand, we discuss how dealing with art and time shape us, and how we wish we would see more reflection on that in the board game space. Fresh Plays:04:00 Super-Skill Pinball: 4-Cade (Geoff Engelstein, WizKids)17:30 Merkator (Uwe Rosenberg, Lookout Games)33:15 Nusfjord (Uwe Rosenberg, Lookout Games)Featured Game:47:10 Destinies (Michal Golebioski, Filip Milunski, Lucky Duck Games)Off Brand - Reflection on Art and How it Shapes Us1:24:09 What Makes This Song Stink? Episode 3 - Weezer - Beverly Hills (Pat Finnerty)1:29:38 Action Button (Tim Rogers)

This week on Harvest Phase, strange theories and hard science prove the origins of Welcome to the Jungle. Oh, and we discuss board games and “The Funk of 24 years,” or the effect Phish fandom has had on my life. Fresh Plays:10:01 Honey Buzz (Paul Salomon, Elf Creek Games)24:15 Concordia (Mac Gerdts, PD-Verlag, Rio Grande Games)Featured Game:39:27 MicroMacro: Crime City (Johannes Sich, Pegasus Spiele)Off Brand - Two Paths Diverged in a Yellow WoodWoodstock 99: Peace, Love, and Rage (Limp Bizkit, 4 Dollar Water, Y'all)Phish (Twenty Years Later, I'm Still Upside Down)

We begin by briefly discussing the catharsis of getting rid of games, then jump into the games we played this week, our featured title, The Search for Planet X, and then in Off Brand, we discuss board game mechanisms that are finding their way into video games, specifically, Slay the Spire, and Hades. Time stamps:06:10 It's a Wonderful World (Frederic Guevara, La Boite de Jeu)11:39 Aquatic (Ivan Tuzovsky, Cosmodrome Games)24:00 Fallen Angels (John Kean, Side Room Games)Featured game:38:20 The Search for Planet X (Matthew O' Malley & Ben Rosset, Renegade Game Studio)Off Brand:70:00 Slay the Spire93:00 Hades

Welcome to Harvest Phase. This episode 0 is a “getting to know you” episode that introduces you to me (David) and my co-host Marissa. The goal of this episode is to give us a taste of the types of games we play and the intention of the show. This is a great place to start before diving in to the longest episodes.