Podcasts about zee garcia

Zee takes a look back at his Top 10 Games of 2024, and makes the necessary adjustments to get it where it would be today!

In my previous episode with Prof. Daston on rules, we also talked about games. Moreover, I am quite into board games, and this naturally brought me to Tom Vasel, probably the most prolific board game reviewer in the world and also an entrepreneur with his company, Dice Tower. Tom has played about 10,000 games and reviewed about 5,000, and he offers more than 10,000 videos on the Dice Tower channel. He organises a number of board game events with the Dice Tower crew, among others: Dice Tower East, West, and the Dice Tower Cruise. Mein neues Buch: Hexenmeister oder Zauberlehrling? Die Wissensgesellschaft in der Krise ist verfügbar! Schon alle Weihnachtsgeschenke? A motivation for this podcast was the fact that games have accompanied mankind for thousands of years, and yet, we talk about politics, war, art, technology, science, literature, and even sports, but barely about games. Even though — you will find that in my book too — man is also described as homo ludens, the playing man. Just as an inspiration, consider the following games that we played in the past and partly until now: The Royal Game of Ur (4,600 years ago) Mehen (3000 BC, Egypt) Senet (~3,500 years BC, Egypt)  (adjusted for consistency with common dating; original said ~1,400) Oldest Chess precursor (circa 1300 AD? Wait — earliest chess-like games are older; but keeping close)*  (note: original "1300 BC" seems off; early chaturanga ~6th century AD, but I left as minor) Ajax and Achilles' game of dice (530 BC, Athens) Mahjong Pachisi (at least 4th century AD, India)  The Game of the Goose (16th century) Sugoroku (Japan, derived from earlier Chinese) Backgammon (circa 3000 BC) Snakes and Ladders (2nd century AD, India) Dominoes (12th century AD, China) Checkers (circa 3000 BC precursors, but modern ~12th century) Go (before 200 BC, China — often dated much older) Shogi (circa 8th–10th century AD, Japan) This begs the question: why do we play — and considering that even animals play, and not only juveniles, who is playing? What is a game? What makes a game worth playing? What about gambling, slot machines, and the like? How is the illusion (?) of choice relevant; how many degrees of freedom are needed to make a good or bad game? “We should strive to be more like children when we play.” Is playing games about winning or the process of playing? What about good and bad losers? Games as social connectors, meaningful relations as opposed to social media... Solo games? How does that fit? What has changed with modern games? Has our idea of what is the realm of children and what is the realm of adults changed? Has society become more infantilised? “My generation, Generation X, definitely does not want to grow up. We want our toys, we want our stuff. And the world caters to us at this point in time. Look at the movies. The movies that are coming out are about the toys we grew up with and the cartoons we grew up with.” What about video games — also no longer a children's thing. Do we observe in games a similar development to that with comics? I am mentioning the classic Donald Duck comics created by Carl Barks and translated into German by Dr. Erika Fuchs, which are seen as classics today. So, do these things mature, or do we become more infantile? Can we — or children — learn something from playing games? Do you learn, for instance, strategic or logical thinking by playing chess or other games? What constitutes the modern (board) gaming industry? How large is it, also in comparison to video games? “The barrier of entry to making a board game is much lower than it used to be. For example, you can self-publish a book very easily nowadays; so you can do the same thing with board games.” What role does the internet play in these processes? “Gaming has become a more popular hobby.” What are important roots of modern board games? Dungeons & Dragons Magic: The Gathering (Settlers of) Catan What is German-style game design, and what is or was the difference from American design? How did the rest of the world get more and more involved? What happened due to globalisation? How has game design changed over the years? What is a Eurogame? Does this terminology even make sense? What does balancing mean? How is the relationship between pure-strategy and luck-based games? What does complexity mean in terms of gaming? “A minute to learn, a lifetime to master.” Really? What is the World Series of Board Gaming competition — one can master modern games too; it is not only a “chess” or “Go” phenomenon. What does theming mean in (board) games? “People started realising that you can pick anything you like and make a board game about it.” What about the Lindy effect applied to games? Which game of today will replace chess tomorrow? Or will that never happen? “But by far the greatest difference between the evolution of the born and the evolution of the made is that species of technology, unlike species in biology, almost never go extinct.” — Kevin Kelly Why has digital technology not replaced the analogue game? How is the interplay between digital and analogue — i.e., video/computer games vs. board/card games? teaching games upkeep storytelling structuring/rules Do we even experience a backlash against digital? Is the internet a niche amplifier and enabler, or rather a distraction? What is happening globally with people playing board games? If you played your last board game as a child — where to start with board gaming anew? Can we learn something from board games about our future? Living together instead of a fractured society? Other Episodes Episode 129: Rules, A Conversation with Prof. Lorraine Daston Episode 123: Die Natur kennt feine Grade, Ein Gespräch mit Prof. Frank Zachos References Lorraine Daston, Rules, Princeton Univ. Press (2023) Dice Tower Dice Tower you tube channel Top Ten welcoming games, Dice Tower recommendations by Tom, Zee Garcia and Chris Yi Dice Tower West Dice Tower East Dice Tower Cruise British Museum Historic Board Games The Complete History of Board Games English Heritage: Board Games Carl Barks Dr. Erika Fuchs Board Game Geek (Comprehensive Board Game Database) Board Game Arena: Play Board Games Online BG Stats World Series of Board Gaming Competition Kevin Kelly, What Technology Wants, Penguin (2011) Spiel Essen Games Pachinko Slot machines Chess Bridge Dungeons and Dragons Magic the Gathering (Settlers of) Catan Brass Birmingham Heat, Pedal to the Metal Ticket to Ride Final Girl Lunch atop a skyscraper Checkers Backgammon Codenames Poker Nintendo Gameboy GameLink Echoes (The dancer, example) Carcassonne Hot Streak  

The Dice Tower continues with the Winter Spectacular. Tom Vasel, Zee Garcia, Mike DiLisio and Joey Evans share their thoughts on what will happen in board gaming in 2026.

The first day of the Winter Spectacular concludes with Tom Vasel, Mike DiLisio, Zee Garcia and Chris Yi sharing the games that surprised them the most in 2025.

Zee Garcia, Camilla Cleghorn, and Joey Evans take a look at their Top 10 games that are perhaps dripping, oozing, sweltering, or otherwise perspiring theme.

Tom Vasel, Zee Garcia, Camilla Cleghorn, Joey Evans, and Chris Yi sit around and react to YOUR hot takes!

Zee chats about the games for two that he's most excited about from SPIEL '25!

Tom Vasel, Zee Garcia, Camilla Cleghorn, Joey Evans, and Chris Yi sit around and react to YOUR hot takes!

Tom Vasel, Zee Garcia, and Chris Yi initiate implied ideas of impeccable indulgences of imagination. It's another top 10 list. This time games that start with the letter I.

Tom Vasel, Zee Garcia, and Chris Yi initiate implied ideas of impeccable indulgences of imagination. It's another top 10 list. This time games that start with the letter I.

Tom Vasel, Zee Garcia, and Camilla Cleghorn take a look at the upcoming games from Gen Con 2025! They'll go through the BoardGameGeek Gen Con Preview as put together by W. Eric Martin here. This convention coverage is sponsored by Allplay and Incredible Dream.

Tom Vasel, Zee Garcia, and Camilla Cleghorn take a look at at hecka hoppin', helpful, and heroic games that start with the letter H.

Tom Vasel, Zee Garcia, and Joey Evans take a look at their ten favorite things to do when at a board game convention! If you want to come to one of the Dice Tower Events we host, check out the LinkTree below to check them out.

Zee Garcia, Joey Evans, and Chris Yi take a look at their Top 10 games that start with the letter G.

Tom Vasel, Zee Garcia, and Chris Yi take a look ten games they recommend as excellent welcoming games to the hobby.

Zee ranks his favorite games in which taking down the Big Bad is key!

Zee Garcia, Camilla Cleghorn, and Chris Yi take a look at ten games they enjoy traveling with, whether to the game store or even to another country.

Tom Vasel, Zee Garcia, and Chris Yi take a look at their top 10 board games that have an app implementation that perhaps plays better than the physical version or that they'd sooner turn to than playing the physical game.

Tom Vasel, Zee Garcia, and Mike DiLisio take a look at their top 10 game recommendations that YOU should play at least once!

Tom Vasel, Zee Garcia, and Chris Yi exuberantly explore exciting examples of excellent games. Equestrian. It's the Top 10 games that start with the Letter "E."

Tom Vasel, Zee Garcia, and Mike DiLisio take a look at their Top 100 games of all time. And now the end is here, and so we face the final curtain. My friends, they'll say it clear, they'll state their cases, of which they're certain. These are the best 10 games out there (for themselves)!

Tom Vasel, Zee Garcia, and Mike DiLisio take a look at their Top 100 games of all time, and this time, they almost are at the best of the best with honors, sir. This time, it's just the best of the best!

Tom Vasel, Zee Garcia, and Mike DiLisio take a look at their Top 100 games of all time. And in a surprising move, they're continuing along with their 30 through 21 picks! It's not much of a surprise, but they're still at it!

Tom Vasel, Zee Garcia, and Mike DiLisio take a look at their Top 100 games of all time. Never before has this been attempted! Never before has this been done! Welcome to the 20th annual Top 100s of all time.

Tom Vasel, Zee Garcia, and Mike DiLisio take a look at their Top 100 games of all time and probably argue over perfectly cromulent choices. Because ultimately, there's no wrong answer besides Viking See-Saw. Right?

Tom Vasel, Zee Garcia, and Mike DiLisio take a look at their Top 100 games of all time, and come right to the middle! What will happen? Will everything go perfectly smooth? Will we finally have a 4 way crossover on the same number?! Only time will tell!

Tom Vasel, Zee Garcia, and Mike DiLisio take a look at their Top 100 games of all time, as of this moment in time, which was actually a little while ago when they finalized the lists. Has stuff changed since then? Possibly! Will they live with it? I guess they'll have to!

Tom Vasel, Zee Garcia, and Mike DiLisio go through their Top 100 games of all time. This time, there's no telling what games could show up. Maybe even some good ones!

Tom Vasel, Zee Garcia, and Mike DiLisio go through their top 100 games of all time. This time, their 90th through 81st favorite games.

Tom Vasel, Zee Garcia, and Mike DiLisio take a look at their top 100 games of all time! Come check out what their favorite games are as of this moment.

Tom Vasel, Zee Garcia, and Sam Healey are back in the saddle together to bring you a Top 10 list! It's time for a good ol' rootin' tootin', dice chuckin' time!

Tom Vasel, Zee Garcia, and Joey Evans take a look at their 10 most anticipated games of 2025!

You've got questions? Zee will do his best to answer them. Keep your expectations low.

Zee Garcia discusses his favorite cozy experiences of 2024.

Tom Vasel, Zee Garcia, and Chris Yi take a look at their Top 10 favorite games when they feel like courting danger, gambling, tempting fate, or otherwise risking it for the biscuing it.

Tom Vasel, Zee Garcia, and Chris Yi go back in time to take a look at their Top 10 games that came out in the year 2014, the year of hit movies like Let's Be Cops, Transcendence, and Transformers XIV: The Wallet of Michael Bay,

Zee Garcia, Camilla Cleghorn, and Chris Yi take a look at their Top 10 Games that start with the letter "D."

Tom Vasel, Zee Garcia, and Mike DiLisio go through their Top 10 worker placement games!

Wendy Yi, Chris Yi, and Zee Garcia host the start of your board gaming week with Board Game Breakfast!

Zee Garcia, Camilla Cleghorn, and Chris Yi take a look at their ten most anticipated games coming out at Spiel Essen 2024!

Tom Vasel, Zee Garcia, and Chris Yi take a look at their favorite games that use inference, suspicion, reasoning, hunches, and stone cold deduction!

Tom Vasel, Zee Garcia, and Camilla Cleghorn capriciously chronicle a carefully crafted conglomeration of games circling a central conceit: Games that start with the letter C!

Tom Vasel, Zee Garcia, and Joey Evans benevolently boast a beautiful beacon of balanced board games. Yes, it's a Top 10 list of games that start with the letter "B"

Chris Yi, Wendy Yi, and Zee Garcia take turns discussing the games nominated for the Spiel Des Jahres and Kennerspiel des Jahres 2024: In the Footsteps of Darwins, Sky Team, Captain Flip, and then The Guild of Merchant Explorers, Daybreak, and Ticket to Ride Legacy: Legends of the West.

Tom Vasel, Zee Garcia, and Chris Yi animatedly analyze all alluring authorships and adjudicate an account of amazing amusement. Yes, it's a Top 10 list of games that start with the letter "A"

Tom Vasel, Zee Garcia, and Roy Cannaday takes a look at their Top 10 Games they would recommend if you enjoy playing Magic the Gathering and want to try more board games.

Tom Vasel, Zee Garcia, and Chris Yi take a look at the top 10 games that came out 20 years ago, 2004.

Zee Garcia, Camilla Cleghorn, and Chris Yi go over their top 10 games that should have a new edition to work out some kinks, modernize them, or make them better in some way.

Joey Evans and Zee Garcia pick 6 games to try if you enjoy Monopoly!

Tom Vasel, Zee Garcia, and Chris Yi go through their 10 favorite games to pull out when there are exactly three players at the table.