The Thoughtful Gamer Podcast

Apologies for the sound quality -- Lindsay got a new mic and it... did not work well, to say the least. Anyways, we all went to PAX Unplugged once again and it was the least stressful PAX yet. We found fun in some unexpected games and ate delicious food. What else could you want? 0:35 - General PAX Impressions 4:39 - Tether 8:44 - Fit to Print 12:05 - Block and Key 16:12 - Food. Delicious Food

You've got questions and I've got answers! I cover everything from wargames to babies to cooking to economics. 2:43 - #1: Most impactful game of the last 30 years 9:31 - #2: Best game to play while holding a baby 11:27 - #3: Good wargames for kids 13:45 - #4: How to market a game 20:24 - #5: Favorite color 21:48 - #6: Choose between: Root, Bananagrams, Vast 23:45 - #7: Which is more of a game: Candyland or Snakes and Ladders? 24:38 - #8: Solutions to high cost of shipping 32:37 - #9: Which games model economics best? 39:40 - #10: Unpopular opinions 49:28 - #11: Cooking tips 52:31 - #12: Favorite pasta shape 53:38 - #13: Games I'm uncertain about 59:12 - #14: Board game reviewing vs. other media Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/07/18/catch-the-moon-review/ Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/07/11/cant-stop-review/ Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

Because of the holiday, here's a fresh recording of an old review. Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2017/09/27/mysterium-review/   Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/06/27/spades-and-the-appeal-of-trick-takers/ Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/06/21/anno-1800-review/ Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.  

I sit down with Jackson Pope and Paul Willcox from Eurydice games to talk about their gaming journey and the design and (handmade!) production of FlickFleet, which is about to launch on Gamefound with its fourth expansion. Links:  Website: www.eurydicegames.co.uk Gamefound: https://gamefound.com/projects/eurydice-games-ltd/flickfleet-xeno-wars Jack on twitter: twitter.com/jackson_pope Paul on twitter: twitter.com/paulwillcox10 0:45 - Paul and Jackson's history with board games 5:07 - The origins of FlickFleet 9:35 - The perils of trying to get a d10 to roll in a straight line 13:45 - Fun in failure with dexterity games 17:19 - Handmade production 24:33 - The expansions 26:23 - A fiery inferno 29:00 - Transitioning to Gamefound 33:39 - Deluxification 41:29 - Building a community 46:43 - The future for FlickFleet and Eurydice Games Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/06/14/shobu-review/ Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.    

See more details here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/06/08/i-need-your-help-for-the-thoughtful-gamer-to-continue/ Support The Thoughtful Gamer on Patreon

Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/06/07/through-the-ages-review/ Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

Sports are games too, you know. In this episode, Marc, Matt, and Bubba sit down to talk about various sports rules and controversies and analyze them as game design. What are they optimizing for? Whose interests do they serve? What's the role of randomness or human judgement in making a sport great? What even makes sports great? 0:34 - Intro 1:32 - What's the goal when "designing" sports rules? 2:45 - What's the most viewer-friendly board game? 7:12 - Gold Drafting 13:24 - Playoff size 16:18 - Promotion/relegation 21:45 - Eliminating the kick return 24:39 - Conservative play in the NFL and elsewhere 29:18 - The designated hitter 31:50 - Changes to the actual baseball ball 36:03 - 3-point line 42:56 - Dunking on basketball 45:44 - Soccer's relatively simple rules 48:27 - Punishments and penalties in different sports 50:35 - Robots and video 54:22 - Disc golf penalty culture 1:03:10 - The 2 meter rule 1:11:41 - Back to robots 1:26:39 - The shift Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/05/31/two-final-exit-games-forgotten-island-and-house-of-riddles/ Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.    

Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/05/25/babylonia-review/ Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.      

Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/05/17/pan-am-review/ Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/05/10/review-blackbrim-1876/ Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

We're back where it all started for episode 100: Pax East. Marc and Orion discuss a number of heavy euro games they played at the convention (including one surprise hit), and get excited about NISEI. 4:26 - Ark Nova 13:22 - Space Lion 18:22 - Video Games 28:06 - Zapotec 36:48 - Pavlov's Dogs 40:06 - Radlands 44:29 - NISEI 49:46 - Boonlake 54:22 - Golem 1:07:26 - No Thanks 1:08:01 - Unmatched Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/04/27/that-time-you-killed-me-review/ Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.    

Here at The Thoughtful Gamer we're no strangers to innovation. We look risk and uncertainty in their faces and say "what, that's all you've got? I am unimpressed." Some may argue that audio is not the medium for board gaming, and to those people I counter with this podcast: a state of the art uni-media experience straight from our thought-labs into your ear canals: a riveting liveplay of Wolfgang Warsch's "The Mind". It's like you're right there in the room. Because there was a mic right there in the room. That's...that's how mics work.

An audio version of my written Codenames Duet review. I heard from some people that they would appreciate my reviews in audio form, so this is going to become a regular thing. Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/03/28/codenames-duet-review/ Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.  

It's finally here, and bigger than ever! Marc, Lindsay, and Orion count down their respective top 25 games of all time for triple the list. Plus there are puns. So, so many puns. I've marked each of them in the show notes. I'm sorry/you're welcome. SPOILERS BELOW. . . . . . . . . . . 1:45 - Marc #25: Battle Line 4:00 - Lindsay #25: One Night Ultimate Werewolf 6:43 - Orion #25: War of the Ring 7:42 - Marc #24: 1862 9:38 - Pun 1 9:39 - Lindsay #24: Boggle 10:53 - Orion #24: The Resistance 11:03 - Pun 2 12:18 - Marc #23: Food Chain Magnate 13:23 - Pun 3 13:41 - Lindsay #23: Ticket to Ride 14:41 - Orion #23: Codenames 15:01 - Marc #22: SpaceCorp 2025-2300AD 16:06 - Lindsay #22: Sidereal Confluence 17:13 - Orion #22: A Distant Plain 17:54 - Marc #21: Codenames 18:08 - Lindsay #21: Viticulture 18:24 - Pun 4 18:26 - Pun 5 18:52 - Orion #21: Food Chain Magnate 18:58 - Pun 6 (a second attempt -- boo) 19:11 - Marc #20: Vinhos 20:01 - Lindsay #20: Concordia 20:07 - Orion #20: Concordia 20:21 - Marc #19: War of the Ring 21:19 - Lindsay #19: Nusfjord 21:30 - Pun 7 22:28 - Orion #19: Terra Mystica 22:48 - Marc #18: Suburbia 23:57 - Lindsay #18: Hanabi 26:16 - Orion #18: Falling Sky 26:35 - Marc #17: Modern Art 27:08 - Pun 8 27:55 - Lindsay #17: Mysterium 28:02 - Orion #17: Netrunner 29:07 - Pun 9 29:19 - Marc #16: Fire in the Lake 30:13 - Lindsay #16: For Sale 31:20 - Orion #16: Space Alert 31:32 - Marc #15: Here I Stand 32:18 - Lindsay #15: Wavelength 33:19 - Orion #15: 1817 33:56 - Marc #14: The Castles of Burgundy 34:30 - Lindsay #14: The Crew 34:52 - Orion #14: 1862 35:41 - Marc #13: Concordia 36:25 - Pun 10 36:33 - Lindsay #13: Codenames 37:18 - Orion #13: Dominion 37:29 - Marc #12: Through The Ages 37:36 - Pun 11 37:52 - Lindsay #12: Nidavellir 38:32 - Orion #12: Lisboa 38:58 - Marc #11: Brass Lancashire 39:18 - Lindsay #11: Pirate Tricks 40:00 - Orion #11: Fire in the Lake 40:12 - Marc #10: Dominion 40:26 - Lindsay #10: Great Western Trail 40:27 - Pun 12 40:54 - Pun 13 40:57 - Orion #10: not Falling Sky because he mistyped things, so honorable mention, #26: Imperial Struggle 41:11 - Marc #9: Space Alert 42:12 - Pun 14 (guest pun from Marc) 42:17 - Pun 15 42:25 - Lindsay recounts her brief musical career 43:21 - Lindsay #9: Roll for the Galaxy 43:34 - Orion #9: Here I Stand 44:19 - Marc #8: Mage Knight 45:17 - Lindsay #8: The Resistance 45:18 - Pun 16 45:30 - Pun 17 45:39 - Pun 18 (Orion takes a stab at the punning) 45:41 - Orion #8: Brass Lancashire 46:10 - Marc #7: The Resistance 46:57 - Lindsay #7: Pictomania 47:04 - Orion #7: Mage Knight 47:17 - Marc #6: Twilight Imperium 48:16 - Lindsay #6: Codenames Duet 50:02 - Orion #6: Through The Ages 50:18 - Marc #5: Gloomhaven 50:50 - Pun 19 51:40 - Lindsay #5: Decrypto 52:14 - Pun 20 52:45 - Orion #5: Dominant Species 52:54 - Pun 21 53:00 - Marc #4: Netrunner 53:56 - Lindsay #4: Dominion 54:59 - Pun 22 55:37 - Orion #4: Twilight Struggle 55:46 - Marc #3: Twilight Struggle 57:08 - Lindsay #3: Secret Hitler 57:42 - Pun 23 58:10 - Pun 24 58:15 - Orion #3: Twilight Imperium 58:44 - Marc #2: Dominant Species 1:00:35 - Lindsay #2: Brass Lancashire 1:00:37 - Pun 25 1:02:27 - Orion #2: Gloomhaven 1:02:37 - Marc/Orion #1: Spirit Island 1:03:27 - Pun 26 1:03:44 - Lindsay #1: Gloomhaven 1:06:06 - Pun 27 1:06:09 - Games that dropped off the list Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

Marc, Orion, and Lindsay sit down to go over Marc's top games list, numbers 50-26. There are some big movers on this section of the list, even this high up, and a wide variety of games. Lindsay continues with the puns. Marc acknowledges them less. SPOILERS BELOW. . . . . . . . . . . 1:30 - #50: 7 Wonders Duel 3:08 - #49: Roll for the Galaxy 3:32 - #48: A Distant Plain 6:17 - #47: Tak 7:28 - #46: Dune 9:52 - #45: Sidereal Confluence 10:31 - #44: Falling Sky 11:16 - #43: Sprawlopolis 12:42 - #42: Tzolk'in 13:50 - #41: Lost Cities 14:57 - #40: For Sale 18:18 - #39: Pulsar 2849 18:52 - #38: The Crew: The Quest for Planet Nine 20:37 - #37: Stephenson's Rocket 21:19 - #36: Pax Pamir 2e 22:33 - #35: Terra Mystica 23:07 - #34: My City 25:50 - #33: The Field of the Cloth of Gold 28:10 - #32: Battlestar Galactica 28:55 - #31: Lisboa 29:07 - #30: Pipeline 30:23 - #29: Pictomania 31:51 - #28: Nusfjord 31:53 - #27: Agricola 33:30 - #26: 7 Wonders Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

The countdown continues, with Marc, Marc, Lindsay, and Orion! SPOILERS BELOW . . . . . . . . . . 0:42 - A peek behind the curtain 2:10 - #75: London 2e 3:32 - #74: Union Station 5:21 - #73: Empyreal Spells and Steam 8:03 - #72: Battle for Biternia 9:49 - #71: Harvest 11:40 - #70: Great Western Trail 12:24 - #69: Power Grid 12:56 - #68: 1828 16:21 - #67: Magnate: The First City 17:54 - #66: Brass: Birmingham 18:58 - #65: Tiny Towns 19:33 - #64: Pandemic Legacy S1 22:30 - #63: Downforce 23:40 - #62: Mysterium 23:58 - #61: El Grande 25:00 - #60: Nidavellir 26:15 - #59: Fog of Love 28:54 - #58: Robinson Crusoe 29:36 - #57: Catch the Moon 31:12 - #56: 1846 32:16 - #55: Pax Transhumanity 33:44 - #54: Innovation 34:18 - #53: Tokaido 34:41 - #52: Three Kingdoms Redux 35:48 - #51: 1822CA 37:03 - Surprises and reactions and a discussion about hashtags Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

We're back! Marc, Marc, (that's not a typo) Lindsay, and Orion discuss the first quarter of Marc's top 100 games of all time. This segment contains both the newest and the oldest games on the entire list. SPOILERS BELOW. . . . . . . . . . . 0:58 - Lindsay starts us off with a pun. More to come... 2:28 - Themes of this list (starts with "pan" and ends with "demic") 4:13 - #100: The Search For Planet X 6:38 - #99: The Estates 6:49 - #98: Smartphone Inc. 6:51 - #97: Q.E. 6:56 - Methodology 9:42 - #96: Liberty or Death: The American Insurrection 10:36 - #95: Decrypto 13:15 - #94: Forbidden Desert 15:03 - #93: The Gallerist 18:53 - #92: Die Macher 20:24 - #91: Churchill 20:38 - A terrible error! #92 was actually Galaxy Trucker. Die Macher is #91 and Churchill is #90. All responsible for this unprofessional lapse have been sacked. 26:24 - #89: The Crew: Mission Deep Sea 29:02 - #88: Go 29:52 - #87: Let's Make A Bus Route 30:18 - #86: Viticulture 32:27 - #85: Inis 34:16 - #84: For Science! 35:45 - #83: Babylonia 36:36 - #82: Son of Dr. Esker's Notebook 38:13 - #81: Sushi Go! Party 40:15 - #80: Star Wars Armada 41:29 - #79: Friday 42:37 - #78: Carcassonne 43:58 - #77: Imperial Struggle 46:18 - #76: Captain Sonar Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

Amber and Marc talk about the best games of 2020. The pandemic slowed down game playing so we've delayed this episode a year to allow for more gaming before we declare what is the "best". We also look at the best games of 5, 10, and 20 years ago, because over-focusing on the new is detrimental for a number of reasons. Remember the great games of the past! SPOILERS BELOW . . . . . . . . . . 0:39 - Why 2020? 5:20 - Games I wasn't able to get to 6:33 - BGG's favorite games of 2020 11:33 - Honorable Mention: Clinic Deluxe 12:01 - Honorable Mention: Spirit Island: Jagged Earth 12:56 - Honorable Mention: Cat in the Box 14:20 - #5: The Search for Planet X 16:50 - #4: Imperial Struggle 22:01 - #3: Nidavellir 23:41 - #2: My City 28:40 - #1: The Field of the Cloth of Gold 33:28 - Why we're not only going to focus on the new 34:37 - Top games of 2015 34:54 - Honorable Mention: Through the Ages 2e 35:13 - #5: Mysterium 35:45 - #4: Pandemic Legacy Season 1 36:37 - #3: Churchill 39:14 - #2: Food Chain Magnate 40:07 - #1: Codenames 41:24 - Top games of 2010 41:39 - #3: Innovation 42:45 - #2: 7 Wonders 44:32 - #1: Dominant Species 45:29 - Top games of 2000 45:57 - #2: Carcassonne 48:18 - #1: Battle Line Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

Just a quick announcement about some changes that'll be happening to the podcast and The Thoughtful Gamer generally going forward. In short, I'm going to stop trying to force a new episode every 2 weeks and instead record episodes when I have a good topic or a good interview. First impressions stuff will shift towards video. Make sure to subscribe at thethoughtfulgamer.com to not miss any written features and reviews. Long-term I want to work on very in-depth, more formal podcast series. Right now that's a vague 2022 goal. As always thanks for listening. I'm not going anywhere, just shifting focuses around.

Conventions are sort of back! Marc, Amber, Lindsay, and Orion drove down to Philadelphia a couple of weeks ago to go to one of the best board game conventions around, and they played tons of games! Marc's on the verge of a cold so his voice dropped half an octave and got real nasally. Some might say it's an improvement. Those people would be wrong. 0:26 - Comparing conventions 5:55 - Conspiracy: The Solomon Gambit 10:52 - Rise of the Metro 13:17 - 2Can 18:36 - Murano: Light Masters 21:41 - MicroMacro: Crime City 25:34 - The Estates 35:29 - Dinosaur World 40:50 - Lindsay's pun that no one seemed to notice 41:30 - Another pun attempt, this time more (or less?) successful 43:28 - Furnace 54:09 - Crokinole 57:41 - Salvage 1:03:30 - Nidavellir 1:12:05 - Q.E. 1:19:32 - Smartphone Inc. Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

It's another chillcast, this time with Marc and Amber. It...well, it gets a bit silly. I'm sorry. 1:09 - Literally we talk about the weather 3:52 - Oceans 13:41 - Boardgames: The Board Game (The Card Game) 18:24 - The City 20:52 - Marc explains why Munchkin is no good 22:10 - Pulsar 2849 26:37 - Marc gets really into salad metaphors 29:46 - Dinosauria (but actually there's more talk about Splendor) 32:06 - Yet another food metaphor 33:14 - What is the most chill game? 37:21 - Back to the weather and, like, geography. I'm so sorry 41:34 - Looped right back around to Dinosauria 43:42 - Bat Flip 45:06 - Why the designated hitter rule is an abomination (also I somehow forgot about the existence of Shohei Othani and that one's on me) 53:00 - I mean it's basically a baseball podcast now Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

Austin's enthusiasm for Robotech Reconstruction is plain to see (hear?) in this podcast. As one half of the Dr. Wictz design team, he's gone deep into the lore of this classic anime to create a fascinating game exploring its political and military settings. What emerges is a tense 90-120 minute asymmetric game clearly inspired by the COIN series but also distinct from it in service of the setting. Learn how he balanced a number of different tensions to design and sell this under-seen game. 0:56 - What is Robotech Reconstruction? 4:36 - A brief history of Robotech lore 23:26 - Turning the setting into game form 40:34 - Comparing Robotech Reconstruction and the COIN system 58:05 - Biggest design challenge 1:07:45 - The card trading mechanism 1:15:20 - The playtesting/promotion/preorder period 1:17:35 - The art See more info and preorder here: https://strangemachinegames.com/robotech-reconstruction/ Dr. Wictz site: https://dr.wictz.com/ Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

Marc sits down with Jason Perez from Shelf Stories to talk about colonialism in board games. Along the way they also touch on social media, moral philosophy, and a couple of tangential rants, as is tradition.  0:30 - Jason's projects 9:25 - Critique of Puerto Rico 25:40 - Endeavor: Age of Sail and the challenge of moral consequences 30:50 - Marc's tangential rant about (and spoiling) The Last Duel 34:39 - Jason gets his own tangential rant in for good measure 38:50 - Recognizing the player's perspectives 41:33 - The way social media distorts our perspective 52:36 - Everyone seems to care more about hypocrisy than the issues 59:16 - What to do as a designer 1:05:16 - Fantasy/Sci-fi colonization games 1:08:24 - Cultivating a better community Subscribe to Shelf Stories here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnaZ7055IWOdm8XCJfFRDcw Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

Marc sits down with Erik Twice, Ryan LaFlamme, and Andrew Holmes to ask each of them about their approaching to selecting their 10 greatest board games of all time.  3:21 - Erik Twice's approach to selecting his top 10 7:41 - Why Netrunner? 12:27 - Why Sherlock Holmes Consulting Detective? 17:57 - Erik's predictions 25:08 - Cosmic Encounter as board game comedy 34:48 - Erik's thoughts on the top 10 45:01 - Ryan LaFlamme's approach to selecting his top 10 49:28 - Why Triomphe? 53:42 - Why Agricola? 56:29 - Why Monopoly? 1:00:35 - Ryan's predictions 1:01:59 - Ryan's thoughts on the top 10 1:10:47 - Andrew Holmes' approach to selecting his top 10 1:16:41 - Why Whist? 1:22:37 - Why Gloomhaven? 1:29:32 - Andrew's thoughts on the top 10 Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

Marc and Ben talk about a few of the new games they've been playing. They're...all good? It feels weird to have an episode this positive, but there you go. 0:58 - Dice Command 11:55 - Battle for Biternia 31:37 - Boardgames: The Board Game (The Card Game) 43:03 - Union Station 54:19 - The part where I call out Gil Hova about an extremely unimportant opinion 1:01:57 - Robotech: Reconstruction 1:08:22 - Card and Dice Poll information Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

Amber and Marc discuss tile-laying games since they've been playing a number of them lately. What makes tile-laying so compelling? Why is it a feature in so many of our favorite games? 1:29 -- Carpe Diem 3:46 -- Is Carpe Diem simpler than Castles of Burgundy? 9:35 -- Tile laying: what is it? 12:12 -- Variables 15:15 -- Growth 21:00 -- Information density 29:14 -- Tangent: What does "abstract" mean anyways? 37:35 -- The importance of graphic design 40:27 -- Puzzling Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

I sit down with James to talk about his excellent debut game, Magnate: The First City, as well as his next project, cleverly titled Boardgames: The Board Game (The Card Game), and his podcast called Producing Fun. Magnate is such a bold and interesting first design and I'm completely on board for whatever he makes down the road.  1:07 -- James' start in board games 4:57 -- Starting to design 8:19 -- Creating Magnate: The First City 13:20 -- Developing the "crash" mechanism in Magnate 19:21 -- Different styles of eurogame 24:01 -- Advanced vs basic rules in Magnate 31:38 -- First time game publishing experience 35:03 -- Boardgames: The Board Game (The Card Game) 53:32 -- Adapting a theme to a set of mechanisms 56:35 -- Art strategy 1:00:33 -- Future Naylor Games projects 1:07:32 -- The Producing Fun podcast 1:11:38 -- Comparing the state of games to film history 1:22:25 -- Marc once again floats his pet mechanism by a podcast guest Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

Marc and Ben have been playing a lot of new games, and you're going to hear about it! Come chill with us. 0:59 -- My City 5:13 -- Coldwater Crown 11:06 -- For Science! 19:51 -- Legends of Andor 27:11 -- Downfall 33:31 -- Exodus Fleet 38:29 -- San Juan 40:57 -- Antike Duellum 45:07 -- The Alpha 49:15 -- Tasty Humans 54:11 -- Glass Road 58:08 -- Anachrony 1:03:44 -- Ranking the games Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

Dan Thurot has been reviewing board games for a number of years now, and for my money he's the best in the business. I had the pleasure of sitting down with him to talk about games criticism, and in the course of the discussion we touched on history, economics, literature, and more. Also, lots of Cole Wehrle games. Find Dan's writing at spacebiff.com  1:24 -- Dan's start in board game criticism 6:35 -- "Fun" 14:10 -- Changes in board game criticism over the last few years 18:43 -- Misunderstandings about criticism 26:24 -- Board game criticism is still young 29:16 -- Overspecialization of critique 36:18 -- Shared language 48:28 -- The value of historical games 1:00:27 -- Challenges posed by abstraction 1:13:49 -- Civilization games and accidents 1:18:50 -- Playing as the villains Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

Marc and Bubba sit down to discuss two different forms of golf. They're still games, just on a larger scale. What makes them compelling as games, and what kinds of lessons can we learn about board games by looking at the history and development of course design? 1:18 -- Difference between a sport and a game 2:59 -- What is disc golf? 4:27 -- Our histories with the sports 12:19 -- Classifying golf and disc golf as games 15:57 -- The appeal of mastery over a difficult game 20:30 -- How will disc golf change in the near future? 24:02 -- Course design 25:26 -- The penal school of design 29:19 -- The strategic school of design 33:20 -- The strategic nature of par 4's 45:07 -- Designing around unorthodox throws in disc golf 49:15 -- Risk/reward, or push-your-luck 51:53 -- The heroic school of design 56:15 -- How should disc golf course design evolve and improve? 1:08:36 -- Applying these lessons to board game design 1:26:24 -- Which sport is best? Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

Straight from the mind of Amber, this is an episode where she and Marc discuss games that are "painful". Marc prefers the word "tense". Regardless of what you call it, there's a reason Agricola is both known as "Misery Farm" and beloved by thousands. What makes a game painful rather than pleasant? What tricks can designers use to adjust the perception of their game? Are all board games simply metaphors about the inevitability of death? 2:15 -- The background 6:23 -- Game actions and the perception of time 15:00 -- Kingmaking tangent 18:53 -- Existentialism 27:02 -- Other games that cause Amber "pain" 29:53 -- Generous and non-generous games 37:17 -- Point floors 42:23 -- Non-gamers and not wanting to feel incompetent 46:22 -- Intermediary goals 49:37 -- Games where you can lose on the first turn 59:52 -- Is pain good? Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

Amber and Marc are here to talk about perhaps the most prolific board game designer of all time: Reiner Knizia. Going strong since the early 90's, Knizia is a master of making a game no more complex than needed. His games are straightforward and clear--something we see less and less of. Weirdly, this episode is not straightforward, with some truly odd tangents and rants. 1:50 -- Knizia's reputation (and many tangents and rants) 20:24 -- Lost Cities 25:46 -- Battle Line 27:42 -- The Quest for El Dorado 28:49 -- Through the Desert 29:13 -- Medici: The Card Game 30:23 -- Stephenson's Rocket 32:20 -- Babylonia 36:39 -- Abstract isn't the opposite of thematic 39:30 -- My City 43:20 -- Things get...weird 48:02 -- Modern Art Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

Dan and I chat about game design, his experience as a top-tier chess player, and, of course, tea! Check out Steeped Games and the Chai Tea For 2 Kickstarter, live now. 0:00 -- Creation of both Chai games 10:16 -- Dan's history with board games 12:25 -- Dan's experience as a Chess Master 35:39 -- Chess influencing modern game design 41:27 -- Tea Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

I'm by myself talking about solo games. I got a bit experimental with this one. I hope you enjoy. 0:32 -- A note on silence 3:43 -- Solo games 6:10 -- Arraial 7:35 -- My thoughts on the Fantasy Flight Arkham games 15:37 -- Arkham LCG 24:30 -- Unbroken 32:40 -- Nemo's War 44:26 -- Spring emerges, literally and figuratively Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

I was delighted to sit down with one of our most interesting historical and conflict game designers, Cole Wehrle. The discussion starts with talking about the second edition of John Company (on Kickstarter right now) before wandering to the the rest of his designs as we talk about the ways games can portray history or make interesting arguments. One of my favorite conversations yet. 1:00 -- John Company 2nd Edition 10:00 -- Inspiration for John Company 14:06 -- Connections Between John Company, Pax Pamir, and An Infamous Traffic 17:42 -- Handling Tough Themes 28:40 -- John Company's Success 32:29 -- Game Aesthetics and Kickstarter Expectations 44:58 -- Resolving Conflicts Between Simulation and Fun 1:04:56 -- Cole's Future Game Plans Find more from Cole at https://wehrlegig.com/ and https://ledergames.com Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

Marc, Orion, and Ben have been playing all sorts of 18xx games over the past year, and they're here to compare and contrast the five they've played the most. How much variation is there within this sub-sub-genre of game? What kind of dynamics do different rule variations create? Which is the best starter game? What makes 1817 "bananas-insane"? Find out this and more. If you do not have any experience with 18xx games, we recommend checking out Episode 52 for more of an introduction to the genre. 1:44 -- Plug for 18xx.games 4:41 -- 1846 13:53 -- 18MEX 29:10 -- 1889 and 18Chesapeake 48:35 -- 1817 Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

I sat with Sean Chappell from Ramstar Games to talk about their first release: Hivernation. We discuss the design process for this abstract game as well as the challenges of being a first-time designer and publisher. Hivernation will be on Kickstarter April 13th. 1:01 -- A little about Hivernation3:23 -- Origins of the design7:20 -- Experience with co-designing and publishing13:55 -- Constructing a Kickstarter campaign21:46 -- Development and polishing process30:31 -- Sean's history with modern board games33:32 -- The unique joy of playing games in-person41:47 -- Release info about Hivernation46:25 -- Future games in the works for Ramstar Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

I sit down with Kimberly, one of the co-organizers of the excellent Granite Game Summit, to talk about how to run a great board game convention. And, now that everything is necessarily virtual, how do you continue to keep that community alive? 1:01 - Origins of the Granite Game Summit9:10 - Keeping a convention safe and welcoming14:36 - Going virtual30:40 - That unique "feeling" of a good convention34:26 - Scaling up without losing the spirit of the thing40:04 - Creating convention comfort46:51 - Improvement hopes for the future Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

We're getting in touch with our feelings with this one. What can board games do to evoke a sense of adventure? Can board games do this, or is it a poor medium for the concept? How is adventure distinct from narrative? Marc, Matt, Ben, and Amber discuss these questions and more. 3:01 - Introducing the idea of adventure4:33 - Which games evoke adventure best?12:35 - Above and Below/Near and Far enter the conversation18:48 - Strategic discovery process as adventure21:32 - Throwing Pandemic Legacy into the mix28:10 - It's not like he didn't warn us: Matt talks about MtG39:25 - How would we design an adventure game?52:32 - The role of art57:22 - How digital tools can aid or hinder adventure Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

This is it, the best of the best! Will Gloomhaven retain its top spot? What new entries have catapulted their way into the top 33? Marc and Orion discuss, with only occasional interruptions from the new (very talkative!) kitten. His name is Mouse. Spoilers below. . . . . . . . . . . 2:28 - #33: Modern Art5:02 - #32: Nusfjord6:54 - #31: Food Chain Magnate8:34 - #30: Agricola9:12 - #29: The Crew13:01 - #28: Suburbia13:35 - #27: Pipeline18:05 - #26: SpaceCorp21:38 - #25: Tak23:43 - #24: Lisboa26:22 - #23: Terra Mystica27:36 - #22: War of the Ring28:25 - #21: Sidereal Confluence31:25 - #20: Vinhos33:52 - #19: 7 Wonders35:09 - #18: Fire in the Lake35:32 - Brand new kitten interruption!39:44 - #17: Codenames39:59 - #16: 186247:08 - #15: Concordia48:04 - #14: Here I Stand48:26 - #13: Brass Lancashire50:14 - #12: Castles of Burgundy51:22 - #11: Space Alert52:09 - #10: Dominion52:42 - #9: Through the Ages54:25 - #8: The Resistance55:11 - #7: Android: Netrunner56:14 - #6: Mage Knight59:12 - #5: Dominant Species1:00:27 - #4: Twilight Imperium1:01:52 - #3: Twilight Struggle1:05:39 - #2: Gloomhaven1:07:43 - #1: Spirit Island1:10:59 - Best designer, best publisher, and other random data from the list Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.  

Marc and Orion are back with the second of three installments discussing Marc's top 100 games of all time! This episode brings the most contention and disagreement yet as Marc and Orion's tastes diverge and become more clear. Plus, we get an account of an old Jenga-related trauma, emerging from deep within Orion's memories. Spoilers below . . . . . . . . . . 2:04 - #66: Liberty or Death5:14 - #65: Fog of Love5:38 - #64: Mysterium6:24 - #63: For Sale8:09 - #62: Downforce10:30 - #61: Decrypto12:48 - #60: London (2nd Edition)15:44 - #59: Catch the Moon17:42 - Orion relives a Jenga-based trauma18:14 - #58: Innovation20:08 - #57: Pictomania22:08 - #56: Great Western Trail23:45 - #55: Let's Make A Bus Route25:01 - #54: Dune28:08 - #53: Captain Sonar29:54 - #52: Tiny Towns31:32 - #51: Go33:53 - #50: 1822CA35:47 - #49: 7 Wonders Duel36:43 - #48: Battle Line39:44 - #47: Magic: The Gathering41:12 - #46: The Gallerist41:30 - #45: Falling Sky43:17 - #44: Inis46:07 - #43: Imperial Struggle48:14 - #42: Tzolk'in48:33 - #41: Galaxy Trucker49:37 - #40: Sprawlopolis50:57 - #39: 184653:00 - #38: Pax Transhumanity54:31 - #37: Stephenson's Rocket58:39 - #36: Battlestar Galactica59:49 - #35: Pax Pamir (2nd Edition)1:04:39 - #34: Pulsar 28491:06:08 - Recapping the list Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

WE'RE BACK! After an unplanned hiatus during the chaos times we're back with a new iteration of the top 100 games of all time! 44 of the games are brand new to the list, so there's lots of movement and surprises. Here's the first third of the list. Spoilers below! . . . . . . . . . . 0:08 - We're back!1:12 - Introducing the top 1007:48 - Boy it's been a weird few months11:34 - #100: Air, Land, and Sea14:22 - #99: Star Wars Armada16:47 - #98: Mechs v. Minions17:07 - #97: Sushi Go! Party18:15 - #96: Friday18:31 - #95: Forbidden Desert18:45 - #94: 18MEX22:57 - #93: Die Macher23:56 - #92: Stay Cool25:33 - #91: Roll Player27:40 - #90: Keyflower27:51 - #89: Three Kingdoms Redux29:33 - #88: Gaia Project31:46 - #87: Pandemic Legacy Season 134:11 - #86: Goat 'n Goat35:33 - #85: CO237:08 - #84: Irish Gauge40:42 - #83: Robinson Crusoe40:53 - #82: Son of Dr. Esker's Notebook43:41 - #81: Viticulture44:55 - #80: Triumph and Tragedy46:08 - #79: Carcassonne46:19 - #78: Coimbra49:06 - #77: Magnate51:32 - #76: Caylus 130354:15 - #75: El Grande54:57 - #74: A Distant Plain57:52 - #73: Power Grid58:17 - #72: Tokaido58:25 - #71: Churchill58:56 - #70: Brass Birmingham1:02:12 - #69: Harvest1:02:58 - #68: Lost Cities1:03:59 - #67: Roll for the Galaxy

Matt and Marc are back at it with wild speculation about the new Magic set. Since we rambled on forever, making this a very difficult podcast to edit, the set has released already and we're already regretting some of the things we said (black and simic seem much stronger than we gave them credit for, for instance.) Still, I don't think we're wrong about everything. Haven't been able to get an Izzet deck together, though... 4:08 - Set mechanics6:00 - Companion13:46 - Cycling17:25 - Keyword Counters19:33 - Mutate23:47 - White32:57 - Blue49:58 - Black1:01:06 - Red1:15:45 - Green1:26:33 - Colorless1:29:14 - Mulicolor1:54:40 - Rares and Mythics Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

The world's gone crazy! Viruses roam the streets, Matt sounds like he's turning into a robot, and computer gremlins are devouring random bits of podcast. But never fear, we at The Thoughtful Gamer are here to provide a perfectly sane, intelligent conversation about the best games of last year. We rag on a few stinkers too. Come! Escape the madness of the world and find respite with our soothing voices. And thanks to our sponsor, Engro Games! Their kickstarter was successful and late pledges are open until April 15. Click here to get Reach and Okazaki before it's too late. Spoilers below. 2:53 - Wavelength Diversion5:24 - Board gaming in a pandemic15:55 - Suspense building before the list16:54 - Honorable "reprint" mention: Dune22:13 - What is "up"?23:55 - More grade A suspense25:22 - #10: Goat n Goat29:32 - #9: Cooper Island30:36 - Orion relays a cryptic message regarding a "theory"31:26 - #8: Stay Cool35:03 - #7: The Son of Doctor Esker's Notebook37:40 - A word about our sponsor: Engro Games38:37 - #6: The Crew46:30 - Best art of 201950:46 - Worst games of 201952:52 - Most disappointing game of 201954:17 - Most mediocre game of 201954:40 - Most ambitious but not quite successful game of 201958:50 - #5: Tiny Towns1:04:14 - #4: Pax Pamir 2nd Edition1:09:44 - #3: Caylus 13031:11:52 - #2: Pipeline1:18:22 - #1: Pax Transhumanity1:25:00 - Tragedy strikes and a hero emerges Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.