The Thoughtful Gamer Podcast

Ep 104: PAX Unplugged 2022

Fri, 23 Dec 2022 22:02:34 -0400

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

Ep 103: Q’s and A’s

Fri, 22 Jul 2022 08:00:00 -0300

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

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Review - Catch the Moon

Tue, 19 Jul 2022 14:37:08 -0300

Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/07/18/catch-the-moon-review/

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Review - Can’t Stop

Mon, 11 Jul 2022 09:15:00 -0300

Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/07/11/cant-stop-review/

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Review From The Archives - Mysterium

Tue, 05 Jul 2022 15:22:22 -0300

Because of the holiday, here's a fresh recording of an old review. Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2017/09/27/mysterium-review/

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Review - Spades and the Appeal of Trick-Takers

Mon, 27 Jun 2022 17:50:46 -0300

Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/06/27/spades-and-the-appeal-of-trick-takers/

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Review - Anno 1800

Wed, 22 Jun 2022 15:21:23 -0300

Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/06/21/anno-1800-review/

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Ep 102: A Conversation With Jackson Pope and Paul Willcox about FlickFleet

Fri, 17 Jun 2022 09:00:00 -0300

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

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Review - Shobu

Tue, 14 Jun 2022 16:58:56 -0300

Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/06/14/shobu-review/

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I Need Your Help For The Thoughtful Gamer to Continue

Wed, 08 Jun 2022 16:38:34 -0300

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

Review - Through the Ages

Tue, 07 Jun 2022 14:25:47 -0300

Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/06/07/through-the-ages-review/

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Ep 101: Sports as Game Design

Fri, 03 Jun 2022 10:31:55 -0300

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

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Review - EXIT: The Forgotten Island and The House of Riddles

Tue, 31 May 2022 16:17:21 -0300

Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/05/31/two-final-exit-games-forgotten-island-and-house-of-riddles/

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Review: Babylonia

Thu, 26 May 2022 16:37:45 -0300

Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/05/25/babylonia-review/

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Review: Pan Am

Mon, 23 May 2022 19:27:15 -0300

Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/05/17/pan-am-review/

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Review: Blackbrim 1878

Wed, 11 May 2022 01:42:27 -0300

Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/05/10/review-blackbrim-1876/

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Ep 100: Pax East 2022

Sun, 08 May 2022 12:38:17 -0300

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

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Review: That Time You KIlled Me

Thu, 28 Apr 2022 01:15:27 -0300

Originally posted here: https://thethoughtfulgamer.com/2022/04/27/that-time-you-killed-me-review/

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Bonus Episode: ”The Mind” Liveplay

Fri, 01 Apr 2022 10:48:39 -0300

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.

Review: Codenames Duet

Mon, 28 Mar 2022 23:52:32 -0300

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/

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Ep 99: Top 100 Games Of All Time 2022 Edition (Part 4)

Fri, 25 Mar 2022 10:40:20 -0300

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

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Ep 98: Top 100 Games Of All Time 2022 Edition (Part 3)

Fri, 18 Mar 2022 13:08:31 -0300

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

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Ep 97: Top 100 Games Of All Time 2022 Edition (Part 2)

Fri, 11 Mar 2022 02:31:31 -0400

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

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Ep 96: Top 100 Games Of All Time 2022 Edition (Part 1)

Sat, 05 Mar 2022 03:23:52 -0400

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

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Ep 95: Best Games of 2020 (and more!)

Fri, 04 Feb 2022 19:53:34 -0400

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

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Some Changes To The Podcast For 2022

Sat, 01 Jan 2022 20:38:15 -0400

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.

Ep 94: PAX Unplugged 2021

Mon, 27 Dec 2021 22:44:41 -0400

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

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Ep 93: Chillcast 4: Chill Again

Sun, 21 Nov 2021 00:44:26 -0400

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

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Ep 92: A Conversation with Austin Smokowicz about Robotech Reconstruction

Fri, 05 Nov 2021 14:57:24 -0300

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

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Ep 91: A Conversation With Jason Perez On Colonialism In Board Games

Sat, 23 Oct 2021 23:37:58 -0300

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

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Ep 90: Card and Dice Poll Discussion

Sun, 10 Oct 2021 23:46:50 -0300

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

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Ep 89: Dice, Fights, and Dividends: Some First Impressions

Sun, 03 Oct 2021 17:35:54 -0300

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

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Ep 88: Tile-Laying Games

Fri, 03 Sep 2021 02:15:01 -0300

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

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Ep 87: A Conversation with James Naylor

Sat, 21 Aug 2021 17:07:08 -0300

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

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Ep 86: Chillcast 3: Revenge of Chill

Sun, 08 Aug 2021 00:50:56 -0300

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

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Ep 85: A Conversation with Dan Thurot on Board Game Criticism

Fri, 23 Jul 2021 23:15:35 -0300

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

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Ep 84: Golf, Disc Golf, and Course Design

Mon, 12 Jul 2021 23:24:44 -0300

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

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Ep 83: Pain

Tue, 29 Jun 2021 23:46:08 -0300

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

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Ep 82: Reiner Knizia

Tue, 01 Jun 2021 19:28:40 -0300

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

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Ep 81: A Conversation with Dan Kazmaier about Chai: Tea For 2

Sat, 15 May 2021 01:12:11 -0300

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

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Ep 80: Solo

Wed, 05 May 2021 16:16:33 -0300

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

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Ep 79: A Conversation With Cole Wehrle

Sat, 10 Apr 2021 01:10:14 -0300

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

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Ep 78: 18xx Revisited

Wed, 24 Mar 2021 16:27:44 -0300

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

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Ep 77: A Conversation With Sean Chappell About Hivernation

Sun, 21 Feb 2021 02:11:49 -0400

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 Hivernation
3:23 -- Origins of the design
7:20 -- Experience with co-designing and publishing
13:55 -- Constructing a Kickstarter campaign
21:46 -- Development and polishing process
30:31 -- Sean's history with modern board games
33:32 -- The unique joy of playing games in-person
41:47 -- Release info about Hivernation
46:25 -- Future games in the works for Ramstar

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 76: Conventions in the Time of COVID -- With Kimberly Revia

Tue, 09 Feb 2021 00:46:01 -0400

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 Summit
9:10 - Keeping a convention safe and welcoming
14:36 - Going virtual
30:40 - That unique "feeling" of a good convention
34:26 - Scaling up without losing the spirit of the thing
40:04 - Creating convention comfort
46:51 - Improvement hopes for the future

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 75: Adventure

Sun, 24 Jan 2021 17:26:42 -0400

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 adventure
4:33 - Which games evoke adventure best?
12:35 - Above and Below/Near and Far enter the conversation
18:48 - Strategic discovery process as adventure
21:32 - Throwing Pandemic Legacy into the mix
28:10 - It's not like he didn't warn us: Matt talks about MtG
39:25 - How would we design an adventure game?
52:32 - The role of art
57:22 - How digital tools can aid or hinder adventure

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 74: Top 100 Games of All Time 2020 Edition (part 3)

Wed, 06 Jan 2021 12:46:30 -0400

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 Art
5:02 - #32: Nusfjord
6:54 - #31: Food Chain Magnate
8:34 - #30: Agricola
9:12 - #29: The Crew
13:01 - #28: Suburbia
13:35 - #27: Pipeline
18:05 - #26: SpaceCorp
21:38 - #25: Tak
23:43 - #24: Lisboa
26:22 - #23: Terra Mystica
27:36 - #22: War of the Ring
28:25 - #21: Sidereal Confluence
31:25 - #20: Vinhos
33:52 - #19: 7 Wonders
35:09 - #18: Fire in the Lake
35:32 - Brand new kitten interruption!
39:44 - #17: Codenames
39:59 - #16: 1862
47:08 - #15: Concordia
48:04 - #14: Here I Stand
48:26 - #13: Brass Lancashire
50:14 - #12: Castles of Burgundy
51:22 - #11: Space Alert
52:09 - #10: Dominion
52:42 - #9: Through the Ages
54:25 - #8: The Resistance
55:11 - #7: Android: Netrunner
56:14 - #6: Mage Knight
59:12 - #5: Dominant Species
1:00:27 - #4: Twilight Imperium
1:01:52 - #3: Twilight Struggle
1:05:39 - #2: Gloomhaven
1:07:43 - #1: Spirit Island
1:10:59 - Best designer, best publisher, and other random data from the list

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 73: Top 100 Games of All Time 2020 Edition (part 2)

Fri, 18 Dec 2020 21:03:09 -0400

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 Death
5:14 - #65: Fog of Love
5:38 - #64: Mysterium
6:24 - #63: For Sale
8:09 - #62: Downforce
10:30 - #61: Decrypto
12:48 - #60: London (2nd Edition)
15:44 - #59: Catch the Moon
17:42 - Orion relives a Jenga-based trauma
18:14 - #58: Innovation
20:08 - #57: Pictomania
22:08 - #56: Great Western Trail
23:45 - #55: Let's Make A Bus Route
25:01 - #54: Dune
28:08 - #53: Captain Sonar
29:54 - #52: Tiny Towns
31:32 - #51: Go
33:53 - #50: 1822CA
35:47 - #49: 7 Wonders Duel
36:43 - #48: Battle Line
39:44 - #47: Magic: The Gathering
41:12 - #46: The Gallerist
41:30 - #45: Falling Sky
43:17 - #44: Inis
46:07 - #43: Imperial Struggle
48:14 - #42: Tzolk'in
48:33 - #41: Galaxy Trucker
49:37 - #40: Sprawlopolis
50:57 - #39: 1846
53:00 - #38: Pax Transhumanity
54:31 - #37: Stephenson's Rocket
58:39 - #36: Battlestar Galactica
59:49 - #35: Pax Pamir (2nd Edition)
1:04:39 - #34: Pulsar 2849
1:06:08 - Recapping the list

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 72: Top 100 Games of All Time 2020 Edition (Part 1)

Thu, 03 Dec 2020 00:41:28 -0400

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 100
7:48 - Boy it's been a weird few months
11:34 - #100: Air, Land, and Sea
14:22 - #99: Star Wars Armada
16:47 - #98: Mechs v. Minions
17:07 - #97: Sushi Go! Party
18:15 - #96: Friday
18:31 - #95: Forbidden Desert
18:45 - #94: 18MEX
22:57 - #93: Die Macher
23:56 - #92: Stay Cool
25:33 - #91: Roll Player
27:40 - #90: Keyflower
27:51 - #89: Three Kingdoms Redux
29:33 - #88: Gaia Project
31:46 - #87: Pandemic Legacy Season 1
34:11 - #86: Goat 'n Goat
35:33 - #85: CO2
37:08 - #84: Irish Gauge
40:42 - #83: Robinson Crusoe
40:53 - #82: Son of Dr. Esker's Notebook
43:41 - #81: Viticulture
44:55 - #80: Triumph and Tragedy
46:08 - #79: Carcassonne
46:19 - #78: Coimbra
49:06 - #77: Magnate
51:32 - #76: Caylus 1303
54:15 - #75: El Grande
54:57 - #74: A Distant Plain
57:52 - #73: Power Grid
58:17 - #72: Tokaido
58:25 - #71: Churchill
58:56 - #70: Brass Birmingham
1:02:12 - #69: Harvest
1:02:58 - #68: Lost Cities
1:03:59 - #67: Roll for the Galaxy

Bonus! Ikoria MtG Set Analysis for Limited

Sun, 19 Apr 2020 19:37:03 -0300

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 mechanics
6:00 - Companion
13:46 - Cycling
17:25 - Keyword Counters
19:33 - Mutate
23:47 - White
32:57 - Blue
49:58 - Black
1:01:06 - Red
1:15:45 - Green
1:26:33 - Colorless
1:29:14 - Mulicolor
1:54:40 - Rares and Mythics

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 71: Best Games of 2019

Sat, 04 Apr 2020 22:16:23 -0300

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 Diversion
5:24 - Board gaming in a pandemic
15:55 - Suspense building before the list
16:54 - Honorable "reprint" mention: Dune
22:13 - What is "up"?
23:55 - More grade A suspense
25:22 - #10: Goat n Goat
29:32 - #9: Cooper Island
30:36 - Orion relays a cryptic message regarding a "theory"
31:26 - #8: Stay Cool
35:03 - #7: The Son of Doctor Esker's Notebook
37:40 - A word about our sponsor: Engro Games
38:37 - #6: The Crew
46:30 - Best art of 2019
50:46 - Worst games of 2019
52:52 - Most disappointing game of 2019
54:17 - Most mediocre game of 2019
54:40 - Most ambitious but not quite successful game of 2019
58:50 - #5: Tiny Towns
1:04:14 - #4: Pax Pamir 2nd Edition
1:09:44 - #3: Caylus 1303
1:11:52 - #2: Pipeline
1:18:22 - #1: Pax Transhumanity
1:25:00 - Tragedy strikes and a hero emerges

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 70: A Conversation With Sean McDonald About Making IP Games

Mon, 23 Mar 2020 22:43:16 -0300

I sat down with Sean to talk to him about designing board games for two beloved IP's: Sonic the Hedgehog and Bomberman. How did he get these gigs, and what are the challenges you face when you need to meet the expectations of publishers, IP-holders, and fans of the original properties?

0:56 - Sean's start with boardgaming
3:53 - First design: Train Heist
8:59 - First IP design: Sonic the Hedgehog: Crash Course
18:00 - Future design: Unnamed Bomberman game
36:08 - Sean's future plans and "dream IP"

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 69: PAX East 2020

Mon, 09 Mar 2020 23:38:38 -0300

Matt and Marc played a lot of games at PAX East, and you're going to hear about it! We've got a better crop than we had at PAX Unplugged, with nearly all of the games listed below being quite enjoyable. Which are our favorites? You might be surprised.

This podcast is sponsored by Engro Games, who are running a kickstarter right now for two microgames: Reach and Okazaki. Find more information here.

1:09 - Our PAXperience
6:18 - 2-headed giant mystery sealed event
10:31 - Parks
13:51 - Ishtar: Gardens of Babylon
18:49 - Caylus 1303
20:57 - Marc proposes a new classification system for eurogames
25:55 - Point Salad
28:33 - Electropolis
35:18 - Pax Transhumanity
43:33 - Deep Blue
48:06 - Arkham Horror: Final Hour
52:45 - Cooper Island
57:36 - Nova Luna
1:00:29 - Cosmic Frog
1:05:14 - Goat n Goat
1:06:46 - Boba Boss

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 68: A Conversation With Bruno Faidutti

Tue, 03 Mar 2020 00:31:40 -0400

Bruno is one of the most prolific modern game designers. In this podcast we sit down to talk about all kinds of tricky topics and how they relate to board gaming. He presents a number of interesting ideas that I'm still mulling over.

This podcast is sponsored by Engro Games, who are running a kickstarter right now for two microgames: Reach and Okazaki. Find more information here.

1:39 - Board games on the global scale
8:51 - Games as a reflection of real life choices
11:00 - Games in education
21:14 - Games and religion
29:46 - Faidutti's designs, and the place of politics/history in games
38:38 - What kind of game do you want to make but haven't yet?

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

Ep 67: A Conversation With Patrick Rauland About Game Creation

Fri, 21 Feb 2020 22:53:32 -0400

In this episode I sit down with Patrick Rauland, designer of Fry Thief and creator of the Indie Board Game Designers podcast to talk about the process of creating games. What are the best practices that successful people use? How do you avoid burnout? What does Patrick have planned for his future designs?

This podcast is sponsored by Engro Games, who are running a kickstarter right now for two microgames: Reach and Okazaki. Find more information here.

1:27 - Fry Thief and creating a game in a year
5:48 - Designing with constraints
9:58 - Lessons learned from the Indie Board Game Designers podcast
14:29 - Iteration and quantity
22:23 - Memory and note-taking
30:13 - Level of industry "literacy" among new game creators
33:57 - Marketing tools and strategies
42:20 - Patrick's future game publishing plans
47:10 - Patrick's design tendencies/patterns
49:18 - Overcoming burnout

See more of Patrick's work at https://indieboardgamedesigners.com/ and https://laidback.games/

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

Ep 66: Q&A, Masterpiece Games, and Fundraising Week

Mon, 10 Feb 2020 18:18:05 -0400

It's fundraising week, and that means we're going all out! Not only will we talk about the ways (including some new ways) to support The Thoughtful Gamer, but we're answering listener questions and giving 5 games our "Masterpiece Games" honor! Plus it's our biggest podcast group ever, with Marc, Matt, Orion, Bubba, and Lindsay contributing their thoughts. Every once in a while Amber mutters a comment from across the room.

3:01 - Fundraising Week!
4:22 - Q&A: Ban a game?
8:27 - What is a Masterpiece Game?
12:24 - Masterpiece Game #1: The Resistance
15:44 - Q&A: Guilty pleasure games
20:31 - New opportunity: Looking for podcast sponsors!
21:37 - Q&A: First board game "crushes"
25:33 - Masterpiece Game #2: Twilight Imperium
28:32 - Q&A: Games co-hosts should try
34:04 - New Opportunity: Voiceovers
35:04 - Q&A: Gluten-free baking tips from Lindsay!
38:28 - Masterpiece Game #3: Magic the Gathering
44:51 - Q&A: How has our approach to gaming evolved?
47:50 - New Opportunity: "Final Look" Rulebook Checking
49:50 - Q&A: Game progression for new players
54:45 - Masterpiece Game #4: Dominion
1:01:33 - Q&A: Game peripherals
1:05:44 - Masterpiece Game #5: Chess
1:10:27 - Q&A: Group social behavior norms

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

Ep 65: A Conversation With Ken Franklin

Fri, 24 Jan 2020 17:37:32 -0400

I've never met anyone at passionate about the transformative power of gaming as Ken Franklin. Matt and I caught up with him at PAX Unplugged and chatted about his designs, his faith, and why non zero-sum games can change the world. [Headphones recommended due to some background noise]

0:39 - Ken Franklin's history with board games
2:30 - The Mansky Caper
4:44 - Non zero-sum games
11:44 - Faith, religion, and art
16:50 - Imagineers
18:43 - Working with Chris Leder/Back To The Future
21:57 - The single winner problem
24:13 - Party games
26:30 - Upcoming designs
28:31 - Positive experiences through gaming

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

Bonus! Theros: Beyond Death Set Analysis (for Limited)

Sat, 18 Jan 2020 16:05:03 -0400

Matt and Marc sit down to discuss the new Magic: The Gathering set, focusing on limited formats (ie the best formats). Which colors looks the best? What kind of new stuff does Theros: Beyond Death bring? Why are there so many enchantments? Let us know what you think about this podcast and maybe we'll continue doing something similar for each new set!

0:39 - Why evaluate a draft set?
4:55 - Set overview
14:48 - "Signpost" uncommons
29:13 - White
37:06 - Blue
45:32 - Black
55:10 - Red
1:00:57 - Green
1:08:39 - Artifacts/Lands
1:10:53 - Marc's top mythics
1:15:05 - Final impressions

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.

Ep 64: A Conversation With Gil Hova

Tue, 14 Jan 2020 23:49:11 -0400

My conversation with Gil quickly flew by, and before we knew it we were nearly 2 hours in and geeking out about sports. Gil is overflowing with knowledge and enthusiasm about games and design, and our conversation touched on digital games, publishing, Gil's designs, podcasting, and more.

Check out what Gil's doing at Formal Ferret and Ludology.

1:44 - Gil's history with games and game design
8:52 - Digital game inspirations
14:28 - Distinctions between the digital and analog media
20:36 - Prolix/Wordsy
29:09 - Game design groups
33:49 - Battle Merchants
36:37 - Games where you're the villain
56:12 - Bad Medicine and the creation of Formal Ferret
1:00:29 - High Rise
1:03:52 - The Networks
1:08:04 - The Rival Networks
1:11:04 - The Ludology Podcast
1:14:33 - Podcast production
1:25:40 - Podcast prep
1:27:34 - Dream Ludology guests
1:41:00 - Has podcasting helped with your designs?

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 63: A Conversation With Ben Maddox

Tue, 07 Jan 2020 20:16:36 -0400

Five Games for Doomsday quickly established itself as one of the premier board game podcasts. In it, Ben Maddox interviews people from all parts of the board game world with incisive questions, illuminating who they are as people. I sat down with Ben to talk a bit about his work with the podcast and a lot about board game reviewing. What is the role of the reviewer? What are our approaches to analyzing a game? What does objectivity mean, anyway?

Find more about Ben here: https://fivegamesfordoomsday.com/

2:08 - Ben's history with podcasting
6:00 - Five Games For Doomsday
11:57 - The role of the reviewer
16:15 - Reviewing structure
23:48 - Objectivity
30:23 - Civilization games and value
35:26 - Game reviewers we like
38:43 - Why negative reviews are necessary
49:03 - Ben's approach to writing a review
55:47 - Concluding thoughts

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 62: PAX Unplugged 2019

Mon, 23 Dec 2019 04:50:22 -0400

It's that magical time of the year when we go to PAX Unplugged and revel in beautiful wonderful games, both new and old! We talk about a lot of them here, and we barely cover half of what we saw. But don't worry, there's time to scrutinize Matt's odd perspectives on Magic drafting and bask in the gastronomical wonder that is barbacoa.

1:26 - Impressions of the convention
9:47 - Expo Hall adventures
10:19 - War Room
14:21 - Frosthaven
17:58 - Overbattle
21:29 - Sniper Elite
24:52 - KLASK
28:03 - Foodies
30:26 - Sabotage
37:57 - Namiji
39:39 - Detective Club
42:02 - For Sale
43:02 - Goat n Goat
46:49 - Crystal Palace
51:07 - Tokyo Highway
54:41 - Irish Gauge
55:40 - Flamme Rouge
56:24 - Stay Cool
57:48 - MtG drafting
1:05:40 - South Philly Barbacoa
1:07:51 - Final Impressions
1:10:01 - Weave! (almost forgot)

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 61: A Conversation With John Zilch About Clever Kids Mysteries And Family Games

Sat, 07 Dec 2019 23:32:45 -0400

I sit down with John Zilch, creator of the Clever Kids Mysteries series of puzzle games, to talk about how he creates puzzles for the family gaming experience. We also discuss family gaming in general, and how games can help us all learn and think more critically.

0:56 - Creating the Clever Kids Mysteries games
11:18 - Narrative in puzzle games
29:22 - Family gaming
42:44 - Obligatory sports tangent
48:42 - Using data and feedback to aid puzzle-making
53:48 - Designing puzzles for diverse thinkers

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 60: Trading Games

Mon, 25 Nov 2019 20:12:41 -0400

We just finished a game of Trade on the Tigris and decided to sit around a microphone and talk about trading games. Marc, Matt, Lindsay, Amber, and Ben lend their thoughts to this exciting, but challenging genre of game. What is a trading game? Why is Matt insane to think Catan isn't one? What kind of challenges face someone trying to design one? Which one do we think does trading best? Find out!

3:26 - Marc tells a story about middle-schoolers and epistemological horror
5:46 - Board games are first mentioned
7:15 - What is a trading game?
14:47 - Characteristics of trade
19:03 - Creating different valuations
27:45 - Double coincidence of wants
32:48 - Deception and risk analysis in Trade on the Tigris
41:48 - The "single winner" problem
49:43 - An aside on economic notions of value and profit
52:52 - The length problem
58:18 - The uncertainty of value problem
1:02:55 - The aggressiveness problem
1:06:38 - The "trade dominates the game" problem
1:12:22 - Pie

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 59: Amber And I Brainstorm A Game Design (part 1?)

Tue, 12 Nov 2019 01:20:14 -0400

Inspired by a conversation over dinner and the success of Geoff and Ryan doing this on the Ludology podcast, Amber and I work through the initial brainstorm for a game design idea we had about...chili peppers. Amber loves peppers, and despite them now being a staple of Indian and SE Asian cuisine, they were originally an exclusively New World plant. How did this massive shift in cuisine come about? We want to find out and make a game about it.

2:38 - We need questions for a future podcast!
4:55 - Origins of the game idea
8:08 - The brainstorming process
12:08 - The POV
23:19 - Honing in the key ideas
33:31 - Goals for historical research
37:05 - Mechanisms: interesting or discard?

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 58: A Conversation With Tom Russell

Sat, 26 Oct 2019 00:17:12 -0300

For my money Tom Russell is one of the most interesting, thoughtful game designers working. For 90 minutes we go deep into his design process, what he hopes to accomplish with his games, the strategy behind Hollandspiele, and what he considers his best work ever: This Guilty Land.

1:40 - Tom's Introduction to Board Gaming
11:08 - Starting in Design
20:49 - Publishing and Hollandspiele
29:03 - Design Process and How Do You Make So Many Games?
46:36 - Irish Gauge
48:42 - The Soo Line
55:24 - For-Ex
1:06:07 - This Guilty Land
1:15:56 - What is a Wargame? What is Objectivity?
1:27:52 - Hollandspiele Recommendations

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 57: How Do You Critique A Party Game?

Thu, 10 Oct 2019 01:19:41 -0300

This is less an episode about party games than it is about the nature of criticism. Marc, Matt, and Ben sit down (around a single mic, old-school style) and talk about what features contribute to the classification of "party game", and Marc throws out some ideas he had while he was laying in bed trying to sleep. If criticism is not about trying to predict what people will generally like, and if being generally likable is a valuable thing for a party game to have, does criticism of a party game look different? There's also some nonsense and buffoonery in there. The usual.

0:00 - Something about prime numbers and hockey
3:35 - What is a party game?
15:06 - The critical dilemma
26:01 - Some ruminations on the party games we've played
32:03 - Marc's response to the critical dilemma

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 56: A Conversation With Corey Konieczka

Fri, 13 Sep 2019 04:42:35 -0300

I am delighted that I got to speak with one of my favorite designers, and a guy whose games I've been playing almost as long as I've been playing modern board games: Corey Konieczka. We go through his time at Fantasy Flight Games, highlighting many of his most popular designs, before talking about his recent announcement that he'd be heading up his own studio called Unexpected Games.

1:08 - Beginnings at Fantasy Flight
7:04 - The design and development process at Fantasy Flight
8:53 - Battlestar Galactica
15:12 - Descent 2nd Edition
20:52 - The Star Wars Games
26:24 - SW Imperial Assault
33:34 - SW Destiny
36:45 - SW Outer Rim
41:06 - Twilight Imperium 4th Edition
49:26 - The future and Unexpected Games

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 55: Dominion Expansions: Nocturne and Renaissance

Tue, 20 Aug 2019 00:40:10 -0300

Marc, Matt, and Ben are here after a bit of a break to talk about one of our favorite games. In our reviews of all of the Dominion expansions Nocturne and Renaissance had not yet been released. We're now catching up, and these are two very interesting expansions! One fits in with the later, more complex expansion, and the other hearkens back to a simpler time.

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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A Conversation With Dan Letzring About Adventure Tactics: Domianne's Tower

Thu, 25 Jul 2019 19:31:26 -0300

Dan Letzring is back, and he's here to talk about the latest offering from Letiman games: Adventure Tactics. This is a campaign game inspired by Final Fantasy Tactics that promises to offer the adventuring and character growth of a game like Descent or Gloomhaven without the mandatory 3 hour play sessions.

Adventure Tactics will be on Kickstarter July 29th!

See more from Letiman Games here: https://www.letimangames.com/

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 54: Vital Lacerda

Mon, 15 Jul 2019 23:38:48 -0300

Vital Lacerda is one of the most significant eurogame designers of the last decade, delivering consistently high quality complex games others can rarely match. In this episode Orion and Marc go through each of Lacerda's games chronologically, evaluating them individually and as part of a larger body of work. What design aspects stand out as particularly "Lacerdian"? What trends have emerged in recent games, and what do we predict for the future?

2:48 - Vinhos
17:33 - CO2
27:34 - Kanban
33:56 - The Gallerist
48:40 - Lisboa
55:50 - Escape Plan
1:07:56 - Tangent about some sci-fi book
1:13:00 - Design consistencies

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 53: Magic the Gathering

Thu, 20 Jun 2019 00:03:28 -0300

Marc and Matt have started playing Magic again, so they're going to talk about the game itself, its impact in the gaming community, and the new online implementation -- "Arena".

2:15 - MtG as a game
21:18 - MtG as a drafting game
26:42 - Theme
46:28 - MtG as an institution
1:00:59 - MtG Arena

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 52: A Journey Into 18xx

Sat, 01 Jun 2019 02:00:03 -0300

We've finally taken the plunge into 18xx train games, and guess what? They're awesome! Marc and Orion talk about what makes a game an 18xx game, what the appeal is, and some of their favorite experiences yet.

1:14 - It's not that intimidating, we promise
3:07 - Overview and history of 18xx
7:04 - Fundamental principles of 18xx
14:24 - Brutal indirect conflict
17:51 - Two design philosophies/emphases in different 18xx games -- operational and financial
27:19 - Why having friends is good
28:32 - Emergent strategic exploration
35:48 - 18xx as narrative-creating experiences
50:08 - Barriers to getting into 18xx
57:16 - Amina the cat voices her opinions

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 51: Best (And Worst) of 2018

Tue, 21 May 2019 16:11:17 -0300

I arbitrarily set a deadline for declaring the best games of 2018, and now is that time. I haven't played all of the games from last year that I wanted to, but I did play a good number, and these are my favorites. It's kind of a weird list! I think I was a bit anti-popular opinion this year, so if you want some eclectic choices, here you go. As usual, Matt and Orion join in with their comments and mockery. Don't look at the timestamps if you want to avoid SPOILERS.

5:58 - Reprints of Note
7:49 - #10: Hardback
8:46 - #9: Dr. Esker's Notebook
9:38 - #8: Teotihuacan
11:14 - #7: Passtally
12:39 - #6: Decrypto
15:32 - #5: Coimbra
19:35 - #4: Gugong
23:58 - #3: Let's Make a Bus Route
27:21 - #2: Sprawlopolis
31:09 - #1: 1822CA
37:29 - Games we played the most in 2018
38:55 - Games of note for Orion and Matt
42:20 - A spectacularly bad idea is developed
44:47 - Most disappointing 2018 games
51:51 - Notable new-to-us games of 2018
55:13 - Memories

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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A Conversation With Cassie Friedman And Dan Letzring About "Matryoshka"

Wed, 15 May 2019 19:53:27 -0300

Matryoshka is available on Kickstarter right now!

I sit down with Cassie and Dan to talk about Matryoshka, a trading and bluffing card game about those Russian nesting dolls I didn't know the name of until I heard about this game. It's the first of hopefully many localization projects Cassie is organizing for Letiman Games. Their enthusiasm is infectious as they talk about this project, some of the rad art they've commissioned, and what's in store for the future of Letiman. I even pitch my own idea for a game that needs a North American printing, because I'm shameless like that.

Click to see more about Letiman Games and Cassie.

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Book Discussion: The Three Body Problem Part 3: Death's End

Tue, 07 May 2019 18:44:00 -0300

We're back talking about books! After navigating schedules, we've finally managed to reconvene to talk about the third and final installment of the Three Body Problem series: Death's End. The scope of this book is truly immense, even as the main themes distill and come to a head. Remember, there are full spoilers here, so we recommend you read these fantastic books first.

1:41 - An unusual beginning
9:22 - The swordholder and the male/female metaphor
16:24 - Post-deterrence and 4D chess
21:42 - Fairy tales
25:44 - c
28:48 - Bunkering down
32:24 - The museum
34:21 - The final decision
42:08 - Circling back to the beginning

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 50: Granite Game Summit 2019 - Die Macher, Wingspan, And More!

Fri, 26 Apr 2019 21:07:50 -0300

G2S is a great weekend of gaming for those in the New England area. Marc and Orion attended this year and we're here to tell you all about it. We've got ugly games, beautiful games, and aesthetically controversial games. Also, Matt's not here so we get to briefly mention a sport superior to hockey. But mostly games still, don't worry.

2:04 - The Bloody Inn
4:49 - Let's Make A Bus Route
9:54 - Sidereal Confluence
19:29 - Die Macher
35:19 - Glory To Rome
37:27 - Wingspan
45:10 - Gaia Project

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 49: PAX East 2019

Thu, 04 Apr 2019 11:15:07 -0300

We played a whole bunch of new games at PAX East and you're going to hear about them! Marc, Matt, and a SECOND Marc bring you the lowdown on every single one of them. This is a mega episode with some mega games (but not megagames, sadly). One of them is easily leading GOTY contention for 2019. We've got euros, we've got dexterity games, we've got train games, and one that kinda looks like a children's construction set. Don't even get me started on Trollfjord.

Spoilers below if you don't want to know our rankings.

3:07 - MtG Sealed
9:50 - Video Game Highlight: Lemnis Gate
11:26 - #17: Blood on the Clocktower
18:45 - #16: Ceylon
21:08 - #15: Solenia
23:47 - #14: Trollfjord
30:36 - Dexterity Game Interlude
37:20 - #13: Majolica (introduction)
38:19 - #12: The Climbers
43:12 - #11: The Quest For El Dorado
49:36 - #10: Passtally
53:50 - #9: Welcome To...
1:01:11 - #8: Noctiluca (and more Majolica)
1:09:17 - #7: Symphony #9
1:16:30 - #6: 1906 San Francisco
1:21:26 - #5: Coimbra
1:30:03 - #4: Arboretum
1:33:18 - #3: Irish Gauge
1:40:15 - #2: Pax Pamir
1:49:45 - #1: Pipeline

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 48: Small-ish 2 Player Games

Mon, 18 Mar 2019 12:35:38 -0300

Orion and Marc talk about some of the 2 player games they've been playing recently. There's a good mix of popular and obscure, good and bad here. What makes a great 2 player experience, and what are some of the dynamics created when you make a 2 player game vs. a multiplayer game? Also, Marc rants for a bit.

1:25 - Broader themes with 2p games
7:53 - 7 Wonders Duel
15:50 - Hanamikoji
22:29 - Anthelion
26:29 - Master Of Wills
29:39 - IT'S TANGENT TIME!
36:13 - Targi
46:56 - Innovation
58:24 - 13 Days
1:04:44 - Dual Powers
1:09:37 - Keyforge

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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A Conversation With Adam Rehberg About "Thrive"

Sat, 23 Feb 2019 04:27:32 -0400

NOTE: The Kickstarter date for Thrive has been pushed back to March 5th instead of February 26th as mentioned in the audio.

I sit down with Adam Rehberg to discuss the upcoming abstract game Thrive where the pieces adapt and grow stronger as the game progresses. I also ask him about his start with modern board gaming and becoming a designer and publisher. Thrive will be up on Kickstarter on March 5th.

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 47: A Conversation With Elizabeth Hargrave

Fri, 15 Feb 2019 17:02:41 -0400

Who could have guessed that birds would be an exciting part of early 2019 among gamers? Elizabeth Hargrave might have been able to predict it, as her new game Wingspan, published by Stonemaier, is both mechanically interesting and lavished with a beautiful production. I sit down with her to talk about her design philosophy, what it's like to see her first published design do so well, and, of course, birds. Because birds are great!

0:44 - Wingspan and birds
21:29 - Tussie-Mussie
26:24 - Elizabeth's history with gaming
30:36 - Different themes and the designing community
39:34 - The pitching and publishing process

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 46: Abstract Games

Wed, 06 Feb 2019 22:09:41 -0400

We've been playing abstract games all month and we're here to tell you about it! Marc, Matt, and Orion go in depth about five different abstract games, both classic and new. We've all fallen in love with Go, and Tak was a pleasant surprise. What's so compelling about these games that some have survived for millennia? We've gotten a taste of it.

3:57 - What actually is an abstract game?
10:28 - Go
26:52 - Chess
46:30 - Santorini
55:01 - Onitama
1:01:18 - Tak
1:13:28 - Lines of play
1:16:46 - The unique beauty of abstract games

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Book Discussion: The Three Body Problem Part 2: The Dark Forest

Tue, 29 Jan 2019 17:27:20 -0400

Marc, Orion, and Matt continue their discussion of this incredible sci-fi trilogy. This time they're talking about the 2nd book, which is probably the most divisive but also the most tightly constructed. As always, major SPOILER WARNING! We're spoiling it all. If you have any interest, we recommend you read the books first. There's sci-fi concepts in here as good as anything Asimov ever did.

1:36 - Translation differences
3:14 - Cinematic feelings
6:21 - Not for the last time, we bring up scope
8:00 - Wallfacers
17:59 - Cosmic sociology
22:32 - Human sociology
28:00 - Droplet
33:50 - Dead man's switch
35:54 - Matt's gripes
41:21 - The dark forest

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 45: A Conversation With Peter McPherson

Tue, 22 Jan 2019 12:15:51 -0400

Marc talks with Peter McPherson, designer of the upcoming Tiny Towns from AEG. What was it like working with a publisher for the first time, what was the design process for this family-weight construction euro, and what can we expect from Peter in the future?

1:58 - What was your entry point to modern board games?
4:57 - Designing and developing Tiny Towns
6:51 - Mandatory digression on "The Mind"
10:16 - The part where I remember to actually have Peter describe the game
14:49 - PAX Unplugged experience
15:57 - The publishing experience
26:22 - Other designs Peter is working on

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Book Discussion: The Three Body Problem Part 1

Thu, 17 Jan 2019 18:07:50 -0400

Join Marc, Matt, and Orion as they discuss a truly wonderful sci-fi series: The Three Body Problem. Here they discuss the first of this trilogy, looking at memorable moments and thematic elements of interest. A lot of what we find here will carry over into the broader second and third installments.

2:15 - Pre-spoilers: should you read this book?
9:14 - Spoilers ahoy!
9:48 - The "three body problem" in physics
12:39 - Cultural revolution and science in society
15:17 - Two great early scenes
21:56 - The VR game
23:03 - Okay, we're spoiling everything, for reals, now
27:35 - Underestimating scope and human scrappiness
32:34 - Tripwires and pessimism

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 44: Aesthetics

Fri, 04 Jan 2019 14:10:11 -0400

Marc, Matt, and Orion, three people who typically don't care very much about the look of the games they're playing talk about the games that do have remarkable visuals and design. What games' aesthetics are so good or so bad that they affect our rating of them? What is it about those games that make them truly stand out? Also we talk about buckets.

6:08 - We stop talking about sports
8:43 - Ryan Laukat's games - selling the setting
12:53 - Forbidden Desert/Sky - the toy factor
18:47 - Rising Sun and Lacerda - abundance of detail
25:54 - Wingspan and Stonemaier
27:20 - Fog of Love, Tokaido, and others - clean looks
31:29 - Go and Chess - the look of history and myth
35:35 - Orion talks about buckets
45:18 - Our top games where the aesthetics significantly improve our rating of the game
1:04:47 - The wargame aesthetic
1:06:08 - Games we want to get a deluxe remake
1:10:17 - Lamenting about the lack of tangents in the conversation, which is in and of itself a tangent

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 43: PAX Unplugged 2018

Sat, 22 Dec 2018 00:13:26 -0400

Marc and Amber sit down to talk about their time at PAX Unplugged. We played some new games, some old games, and some that aren't even released yet. What are the highlights? What do we think of Keyforge? Why is Marc such a tough critic of games he playtests? The world may never know. Except you, if you listen to this.

5:10 - Expo Hall
9:58 - Inhuman Conditions
15:06 - Tiny Towns
18:38 - Pirate Tricks
20:16 - Digression on Language
24:38 - Alchemists
28:50 - Spirit Island
32:00 - Prototype Playtesting
35:49 - Megagames
37:53 - Ivion
39:20 - MtG and Keyforge Tournaments

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 42: A Conversation With Isaac Shalev

Thu, 29 Nov 2018 05:21:49 -0400

We're delighted to sit down with game designer Isaac Shalev to talk about a variety of things, from the designs of Ryan Laukat to Isaac's history with board games, to his current project creating an encyclopedia of game mechanisms. Don't miss this one.

2.54 - Empires of the Void II
22:19 - Isaac Shalev: The Man, The Myth
27:10 - Seikatsu
38:57 - Cataloging design patterns and language in a general sense
1:11:40 - Juicy bits about The Mind and Hanabi
1:22:09 - Games criticism

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 41: Marc and Amber: Pseudo-Ludo-Autobiographies

Wed, 07 Nov 2018 20:12:55 -0400

Marc and Amber talk about their gaming life, from childhood to the present. A trip down memory lane.

1:22 - Childhood
15:28 - Video games
24:08 - College
32:02 - Post-college to present
43:26 - Back to childhood

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Desk-side Talks With Marc #16: Looking For Feedback! Also, 3 Good Games

Fri, 02 Nov 2018 17:58:17 -0300

I'm looking for your feedback--what interesting board game things should I do while in Philadelphia after PAX Unplugged? What monthly themes should I focus on each month in 2019? Also, I give some first thoughts on three eminently interesting games I've been enjoying recently.

0:22 - PAX Unplugged and Philadelphia

1:37 - Give me monthly theme ideas!

3:15 - Brass

5:41 - SPQF

7:59 - Innovation

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 40: Area Majority -- Dominant Species, El Grande, and The Expanse

Fri, 26 Oct 2018 16:31:41 -0300

After a bit of a break, we're back! Marc, Matt, and Orion talk about area majority games with an emphasis on their recent play of The Expanse. What separates these games from the more broad category of "area control"? What makes them work or not work?

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Discussion With Sam Wolkenhauer About Football Analytics

Wed, 26 Sep 2018 20:19:18 -0300

We've got a bonus 'cast! Marc, Matt, and Orion are joined by Sam Wolkenhauer, who has built a football analytics algorithm to try to predict games and evaluate teams. You can find all of his stuff at peteratings.wordpress.com. In the podcast, we discuss his model and what kind of cognitive errors he sees football teams and coaches making that are causing their teams to lose more than they should. We cross apply some of that thinking to board games, even. Tune in and find out all sorts of good rational thinking, even if you're not a big fan of American football. Also find out why running backs don't matter.

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 39: Root And Other Games

Sun, 16 Sep 2018 00:55:56 -0300

Marc and Orion discuss the talk of the boardgaming town these days: Root! But first, we went to the New Hampshire Comicon's board game room and had a wonderful time with great people and great games!

4:16 - Baseball Highlights 2045
13:58 - Roll Player
33:07 - Sticheln
35:45 - Tribe
38:38 - El Grande
41:01 - Root

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 38: Randomness and Uncertainty

Thu, 30 Aug 2018 18:18:45 -0300

Marc and Matt are joined by Orion (who is on a train) to talk about randomness. What is randomness? No, really, what is it? What kinds of randomness work best in board games, and what are some of the most interesting applications of random elements we've seen? Will we finish before Orion's train arrives?! (Spoiler: no)

4:22 - Defining Randomness
17:31 - Input/Output Randomness; Acceptable Amounts of Randomness
40:32 - White and Pink Noise
47:05 - Chaos
59:10 - Games With Interesting Randomness

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Desk-side Talks With Marc #15: This and That

Thu, 23 Aug 2018 15:08:50 -0300

No particular agenda today. I talk about some new TTG developments, a book series recommendation, and some board game stuff.

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 37: VlaadaCast!

Sat, 18 Aug 2018 16:50:57 -0300

How'd we get through 36 episodes without doing a deep-dive into the oeuvre of our favorite designer? This oversight has now been fixed, as Marc and Matt talk about every single game Vlaada Chvatil has ever made.

5:20 - Arena: Morituri te salutant
6:55 - Prophecy
8:27 - Sherwood
10:23 - Through The Ages
25:51 - Graenaland
27:14 - Kámen – Zbraně – Papír
28:05 - Galaxy Trucker
34:16 - Space Alert
36:48 - Dungeon Lords
48:24 - Bunny Bunny Moose Moose
49:50 - Babes In The Wood
50:33 - Travel Blog
51:02 - Sneaks and Snitches
51:41 - Pictomania
56:50 - Dungeon Petz
1:02:18 - Mage Knight
1:05:24 - Tash Kalar
1:08:08 - Codenames
1:11:26 - Codenames: Duet
1:14:29 - Star Trek Frontiers
1:15:28 - That's A Question!
1:17:29 - Design Consistencies: Humor
1:19:52 - Design Consistencies: Complexity As Mechanism
1:22:44 - Design Consistencies: Inelegance
1:26:30 - Design Consistencies: Mean Games
1:28:03 - Design Consistencies: Multiple Success Tiers

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Desk-side Talks With Marc #14: Gen Con, Or Can't

Thu, 02 Aug 2018 19:41:17 -0300

Just some meandering thoughts about the Gen Con announcements I've heard about so far, and a couple other things. Happy Gen Con! Or GenCan't.

0:41 - Button Shy Design Winners
1:33 - Ganz Schon Clever Online
4:34 - Gloomhaven Online
6:30 - New Armada Ship
7:05 - Arkham Horror 3rd Edition
8:35 - Keyforge
11:12 - New Crossroads Game
12:00 - Twilight Struggle Digital On Sale!

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 36: Ameritrash

Sat, 28 Jul 2018 01:02:20 -0300

Marc, Orion, and Bubba talk about that most peculiarly-named genre of game: Ameritrash. We talk dice rolling, card pulling, combat-focsed narrative games. What makes some of them some of our favorite games of all time, and what makes others frustrating to the extreme?

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Exciting Patreon Update!

Wed, 18 Jul 2018 20:01:21 -0300

It's fundraising time for The Thoughtful Gamer and I promise it's pretty much going to be limited to this podcast and associated posts/social media postings. Fundraising and self-marketing is weird and awkward, so let's all be awkward together! In all honesty I think there's a lot of cool new rewards lined up for people who support The Thoughtful Gamer, and this will outline them.

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 35: The Chillcast 2: The Chillcastening

Tue, 17 Jul 2018 01:19:10 -0300

We've got no particular agenda. We're just going to sit back and chat. Marc and Matt are joined by Orion who is all the way across "the pond" in Scotland. We talk about some games, we listen to Scottish restaurant ambient noise, and we make long-term hiking plans. It's all very chill. Mostly. Charterstone incites some anger.

2:06 - Brass
10:39 - Codenames: Duet. Also, Orion turns into a robot
23:27 - The Gallerist
29:06 - Charterstone
30:54 - Charterstone spoilers begin
40:03 - Quidler
42:20 - SET
45:59 - Game Design

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 34: Elegance

Fri, 06 Jul 2018 19:51:29 -0300

Marc and Orion talk about elegance in games. Is it a simple matter of rules complexity vs. strategic complexity? Or are there additional elements that go into our conception of elegance? What kinds of games tend to be more elegance, and is elegance always a good design goal?

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Desk-side Talks With Marc #13: 3 Digital Card Game Recommendations And Patreon Update Sneak-Peek

Thu, 28 Jun 2018 19:57:41 -0300

I give the rundown of three digital card games that I've enjoyed quite a bit: Monster Slayers, Slay The Spire, and Age of Rivals. All three have some unique and interesting interactions only logistically feasible in a digital game. I also preview the most significant change to the Thoughtful Gamer patreon that will be happening in a couple of weeks.

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Marc's Top 100 Games 2018 Edition: 20-1

Wed, 20 Jun 2018 18:18:55 -0300

At long last we've reached the conclusion of the 2018 countdown. Marc, Matt, and Orion talk about the best of the best. The cream of the crop. The best games ever made! Seriously, these games are incredible and I get giddy just thinking about them.

SPOILERS BELOW

3:44 - 7 Wonders
7:16 - Concordia
14:30 - Pulsar 2849
20:21 - War of the Ring
24:38 - Agricola
29:29 - Lisboa
35:53 - Suburbia
43:36 - The Castles of Burgundy
47:33 - Through The Ages
53:28 - Here I Stand
1:00:20 - Dominion
1:04:09 - Dominant Species
1:08:23 - Space Alert
1:12:51 - The Resistance
1:19:01 - Android: Netrunner
1:22:38 - Mage Knight
1:26:08 - Spirit Island
1:31:13 - Twilight Imperium
1:34:18 - Twilight Struggle
1:38:47 - Gloomhaven

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 33: A Conversation With Eric Reuss

Wed, 13 Jun 2018 19:24:41 -0300

Marc, Orion, and Matt sit down with Eric Reuss, designer of Spirit Island. This is one of our longest podcasts ever, but it might be our best ever. Eric was a delightful conversationalist, and we learned so much about the design and lore of Spirit Island. We were absolutely amazed to hear about all of the thought and work that went into the design. There's so much going on underneath the surface that you only see glimpses of in the game itself. I think you'll be equally enthralled.

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Marc's Top 100 Games 2018 Edition: 40-21

Thu, 07 Jun 2018 14:18:12 -0300

Marc's fighting off a cold but that won't stop him! Orion and Matt join to count down some truly excellent games and fail to stay on topic. You know how it is.

SPOILERS BELOW

7:02 - Terra Mystica

11:37 - Fog of Love

17:45 - Robinson Crusoe

22:40 - 7 Wonders Duel

27:30 - Churchill

33:14 - Power Grid

36:54 - Mombassa

43:05 - Scythe

47:40 - Star Wars Armada

53:52 - Pandemic Legacy Season 1

58:14 - Tzolk'in

1:01:57 - Vinhos

1:07:12 - Triumph And Tragedy

1:14:11 - The Gallerist

1:17:55 - Falling Sky

1:22:16 - Viticulture

1:27:30 - Downforce

1:31:47 - Codenames

1:38:06 - Food Chain Magnate

1:41:43 - Battlestar Galactica

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 32: A Conversation With Trey Chambers

Fri, 01 Jun 2018 02:32:04 -0300

Marc, Matt, and Orion are joined by Trey Chambers, designer of Argent: The Consortium, Harvest, and Empyreal: Spells and Steam (now on kickstarter!). We hit all of the important topics: whether dogs or cats are better podcast mascots, dreams about Stefan Feld, and how long you can ramble on a tanget after the end of the podcast before you inadvertently begin a second podcst.

Also some stuff about Trey's games.

Empyreal is only on kickstarter for a couple more days. It looks wild. Check it out! Also play Harvest because it's seriously legit and seems to have slipped under the radar. Also check out Trey's podcast, which focuses on important topics in the board game community, called Eternally Board.

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Marc's Top 100 Games 2018 Edition: 60-41

Fri, 25 May 2018 23:51:55 -0300

Special for our list-aficionado fans out there--another list! The middlest of the best games ever, or something like that. Marc, Matt, and Orion talk about some quality games.

SPOILERS BELOW

1:53 - Stats

4:47 - El Grande

9:49 - Colonial Twilight

14:48 - Friday

17:55 - Mechs v. Minions

22:49 - Sushi Go Party

25:23 - Secret Hitler

30:12 - Captain Sonar

34:40 - Eclipse

38:50 - Harvest

43:30 - Tokaido

46:29 - Memoir '44

52:48 - Roll For The Galaxy

58:36 - Galaxy Trucker

1:02:42 - Fire In The Lake

1:06:13 - Carcassonne

1:09:31 - Forbidden Desert

1:12:30 - Mysterium

1:15:37 - Keyflower

1:18:21 - Lost Cities

1:20:53 - Nusfjord

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 31: Hindered Communication Games

Thu, 17 May 2018 21:55:03 -0300

Marc, Orion, and Matt talk about "hindered communication" games, where you're trying to communicate something to another person with an arbitrary barrier in the way. Word association games like Taboo or Codenames are the most well-known types of these games, but we discover that the genre we kind of made up is a lot bigger than that.

Also in this episode, Marc pitches his million dollar invention idea, and everyone marvels over the word "algorithm".

2:11 - Defining Our Terms

3:58 - The Classics

9:55 - The Apples To Apples Continuum

13:45 - Word Association Games

30:23 - Beyond Word Association

35:55 - Idea Association

46:04 - How These Games Succeed

1:03:08 - Oddities And The Hanabi Problem

1:15:31 - Metagaming

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Marc's Top 100 Games 2018 Edition: 80-61

Wed, 09 May 2018 18:35:04 -0300

We're creeping down the list to better and better games. Marc, Matt, Orion, and Ben talk through some of Marc's favorite games ever. This time we hit some serious controversy, the ripples of which are felt all throughtout the rest of the list. Marc stands by his rankings.

SPOILERS BELOW

2:35 - Command And Colors: Ancients

5:10 - Wits and Wagers

9:54 - Archipelago

14:11 - Dice Forge

16:40 - Capital

18:44 - Millennium Blades

23:55 - Libertalia

27:18 - Sherlock Holmes: Consulting Detective

32:14 - Star Wars Rebellion

36:32 - Dungeon Lords

41:48 - Paramedics: Clear!

45:40 - Above and Below

50:12 - Blood In The Fog

54:34 - CrossTalk

1:01:17 - Onitama

1:03:37 - London

1:08:13 - Kemet

1:14:08 - Calimala

1:18:08 - Star Wars Imperial Assault

1:21:52 - Five Tribes

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 30: Dry Games

Fri, 04 May 2018 18:29:52 -0300

Prompted by a discussion in the Thoughtful Gamer discord channel, Marc, Orion, and Matt explore the nature of language, games, and aqueousness as they discuss what constitutes a dry game. It's a concept that people seem to understand but can't quite define. Will we be able to do it? Spoiler: I have no idea.

Skip to 5:09 if you don't care about sports.

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Marc's Top 100 Games 2018 Edition: 100-81

Wed, 25 Apr 2018 23:39:19 -0300

The countdown has returned! Marc has expanded the list to 100 games this time, so there's double the fun. In this installment Marc and Orion blast through numbers 100-81. They're all great games you should check out!

SPOILERS BELOW

5:11 - Seikatsu

7:32 - Sekigahara

9:25 - Terraforming Mars

12:26 - Medici: The Card Game

14:08 - Descent 2nd Edition

18:22 - For-Ex

24:16 - The Shipwreck Arcana

28:53 - Isle Of Skye

30:54 - Time of Crisis

37:12 - Deception: Murder In Hong Kong

39:16 - Evolution: Climate

44:30 - 1960: The Making Of The President

47:09 - Alchemists

50:30 - Scrabble

52:07 - Caverna: The Cave Farmers

57:09 - Exceed

1:01:18 - Riftwalker

1:06:22 - Sagrada

1:07:34 - Ticket To Ride: Europe

1:11:18 - Three Kingdoms Redux

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 29: PAX East 2018

Wed, 18 Apr 2018 19:32:01 -0300

PAX East expanded to 4 days from 3, and that means we got even more games played this year, including an absolute GEM of a game from CGE. We also rant about Jimmy Johns and, frankly, get extremely silly. Also, the debut podcast appearance from our good friend Lindsay!

3:12 - First Impressions of PAX East 2018

11:15 - Tabletop Tournaments

15:34 - Expo Hall

22:21 - The Grimm Forest

23:24 - High Heavens

27:21 - Wallet Games by Chip Beauvais

32:15 - Downforce Expansion

37:34 - Tokyo Metro

41:48 - Faza

44:15 - Panel On Game Balance

50:48 - Jimmy Johns Sandwiches and Bad Design

56:09 - Merlin

1:01:12 - Munchkin CCG

1:04:15 - Civilization: A New Dawn

1:08:32 - Dice Forge

1:11:27 - I don't even know what to call this. You're just going to have to listen to it.

1:14:00 - The Shipwreck Arcana

1:22:06 - El Grande

1:29:56 - London

1:33:45 - Nusfjord

1:39:28 - Pulsar 2849

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Desk-side Talks With Marc #12: Rulebook Rant, Good Resources, Small Games, and Upcoming Livestreams

Fri, 13 Apr 2018 20:02:02 -0300

I've got a wide assortment of topics today, from rulebook pet peeves to disappointing card games to an exciting livestream announcement. Happy Friday!

0:29 - Problems With Rulebooks

6:19 - Consider Supporting Meeple Like Us

7:11 - Great Resource: Stonemaier Games' Blog

8:18 - The Mind

9:46 - Deep Sea Adventure

11:37 - Castles of Burgundy: The Card Game

14:44 - Top 100 Games Podcast Livestream Announcement

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 28: How To Not Be Awful At Board Games

Thu, 05 Apr 2018 02:04:01 -0300

Ever feel like you're just not doing as well as you should at games? Want that secret sauce so you can beat your friends? Marc, Orion, Matt, Matt's secret brother Dave, and another Matt who we call Bubba are here to help! We're sometimes not bad at games and we have a variety of tips to help you out.

4:17 - Find The Bottlenecks

9:06 - Understand Resource Values

15:30 - Identify Action Loops

22:23 - Digression - Who Is This Advice For?

23:32 - FOO Strategies

33:34 - Be Aware Of Remaining Time

42:58 - Always Draw First

44:31 - Sports Digression

45:05 - Deck Efficiency

53:22 - Figure Out If You Should Differentiate Or Follow

56:31 - Disguise Your Strength

1:01:35 - In Co-Ops, Maximize Your Offense

1:04:50 - Leave Your Options Open

1:16:16 - Subvert Common Expectations

1:22:34 - Reverse Engineer From The Victory Condition

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 27: G2 Summit!

Fri, 23 Mar 2018 19:22:48 -0300

Marc and Orion sit down to talk about all they played at the Granite Games Summit in Nashua, NH. It was a wonderful convention and we played some truly awesome games! Except one. Prepare for a good old-fashioned rant.

Paramedics Clear!: 2:31

Clank! In! Space!: 7:04

Dominant Species: 13:38

Rising Sun: 18:57

Deck Construction (prototype): 43:38

Here I Stand: 46:45

Lisboa: 55:32

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Discussion With Matt Quock About "The Primary"

Wed, 14 Mar 2018 19:00:35 -0300

I chat with Matt from Mountaintop Games about his first game design: The Primary, which is a light area control game based around the US primary election system. It launches on Kickstarter tomorrow, right here: https://goo.gl/hcSz79

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 26: Space Alert vs. Captain Sonar

Thu, 08 Mar 2018 18:33:22 -0400

Marc, Matt, Orion, and Ben join up to talk about two of their favorite real-time games: Space Alert and Captain Sonar. What makes them so captivating? How do their differences highlight their respective strengths and weaknesses? Will Marc ever be able to end the podcast, or will it forever spiral into more and more increasingly irrelevant tangents? Only one way to find out!

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Desk-side Talks With Marc #11: Connclave, Netrunner, and Streams

Wed, 28 Feb 2018 19:04:54 -0400

Greetings! I'm here with another quick update on what games I've been playing recently and what's in store in the next couple of weeks. Get my first impressions on Terraforming Mars, The Gallerist, and the new Netrunner meta.

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 25: Discussion With Jason Perez About Mental Health

Wed, 21 Feb 2018 17:36:20 -0400

This week's podcast is a wonderful discussion with Jason Perez, a psychotherapist from the Every Night Is Game Night podcast, about depression and mental health. We talk about what it means to be depressed, why if you think you might be struggling with depression you should seek help, and Jason talks about 10 things you can to do help break out of a delf-defeating depressed cycle. Board games can play a role in that!

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Deleted Scenes: Sports Analytics Discussion

Wed, 14 Feb 2018 19:48:27 -0400

Longtime listeners will know that Matt frequently tries to sabotage this podcast by talking about hockey. Well, back when me, Orion, and Matt were doing our "listener question" podcast, we got into a very long discussion about sports that I didn't include in that podcast. I then forgot about it for a while but have dug it up for your enjoyment. Spring training is about to start and the hockey season is in full-swing, so hear what we have to say about those games and the games played around them.

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Ep 24: Hunt For The Ring vs. Fury Of Dracula

Fri, 09 Feb 2018 17:36:14 -0400

Join Marc, Orion, Matt, and Wes in a hidden movement cage fight! The old Fantasy Flight standard goes up against the new hotness. Which one is better? Only one way to find out.

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Desk-side Talks With Marc #10: Organization, Vast: The Crystal Caverns, And Pronouns

Wed, 31 Jan 2018 16:40:02 -0400

Hey, all. This one's me talking about how I've organized my life recently to be more productive. I also discuss some very early first impressions of the odd game Vast: The Crystal Caverns. Finally, I weigh in on the subject of using "they" as a non-gendered singular pronoun in game rulebooks and why that's obviously a good thing. Obviously.

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 23: Board Games vs. Video Games

Fri, 26 Jan 2018 21:28:36 -0400

This is an odd one. Marc, Orion, Matt, and Wes talk about the differences between board games and video games as media and how their inherent qualities shape how we interact with them, and each other. Included are multiple references to Plato and a 20 minute tangent where we question the premise of the entire podcast. Good times!

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Desk-side Talks With Marc #9: Nuclear Bombs, Piracy, and HATE

Thu, 18 Jan 2018 23:31:55 -0400

Marc discusses his experience with Twilight Imperium 4th Edition and goes over the news of the day, which includes why bad graphic design led to an entire state going into panic, people counterfeiting board games, and why the talk surrounding HATE illustrates a problem with internet discourse.

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 22: Vacation Time! Harvest, Hunt For The Ring, and Spirit Island

Sat, 13 Jan 2018 21:12:02 -0400

Marc and Orion are on an island. They've also been playing a lot of Spirit Island. Chill with the sounds of the ocean and people barbequeing and hear about three great games.

Harvest - 1:17
Hunt For The Ring - 9:07
Spirit Island - 31:52

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Ep 21: 2017 Year In Review!

Tue, 02 Jan 2018 19:38:28 -0400

It's a MEGA-PODCAST where Marc, Orion, and Matt look over 2017 and all of the great (and not so great) games we've played. We've had some amazing experiences and we've played some of the best games ever made for the first time this year. Plus, lots of lists! Everyone loves lists.

6:47 - What have we been playing recently?

13:44 - The "Shame List" (games we haven't played yet)

28:06 - Top 5 "New To Us" Games

50:26 - The Thoughtful Gamer 2017 Random "Awards" (most innovative, worst game, biggest disappointment, game we keep playing incorrectly, etc.)

1:13:31 - Best of The Thoughtful Gamer in 2017

1:34:40 - Top 5 2017 Games

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Desk-side Talks With Marc #8: Thoughts On Depression And Star Wars

Thu, 21 Dec 2017 19:58:01 -0400

Sometimes weeks are hard. This has been one of those weeks. But I want to try to turn it into something positive. If you want to join me for a quick discussion about mental health, email me at marc@thethoughtfulgamer.com. Also I talk about why I loved Star Wars.

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 20: How To Make Enemies And Manipulate People

Thu, 14 Dec 2017 19:12:33 -0400

Marc quizzes his wife Amber on her theory of "social manipulation" in board games, which desperately needs a new name because that sounds really evil. It's not evil. It's how Amber uses psychology to give her a leg up in games. Marc doesn't get it. Amber doesn't get Marc's puns. It's a good time.

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Desk-side Talks With Marc #7: Miscellaneous Ramblings

Fri, 08 Dec 2017 19:11:01 -0400

No specific theme this time, just some thoughts on Patreon, Gloomhaven, The Castles of Mad King Ludwig, Terraforming Mars, Hollandspiele, social deduction games, and board game media awards (at thedrinkingmeeples.com).

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 19: Card Driven Wargames

Sat, 02 Dec 2017 18:30:25 -0400

Marc and Orion talk about, perhaps, their favorite genre of board game, the illustrious card-driven wargame (CDG). From 1993's We The People to 2016's Star Wars Rebellion (I can feel the anger the purists), there have been a lot of different games with the CDG gameplay shell. What do they have in common, and what did they do differently? What innovations have we seen throughout the years?

Also in this episode: the cat makes an appearance, Marc hates on Blood Rage and the state of Wyoming, and we absolutely fail at the closing remarks. Like, really fail. I don't know how we're going to top it, frankly.

0:44 - Defining the CDG

8:07 - What CDG's do well

25:52 - What CDG's don't do well

33:31 - Washington's War

39:05 - Twilight Struggle

45:45 - Here I Stand

54: 38 - 1960: The Making Of The President

59:02 - Labyrinth: The War On Terror

1:02:57 - Star Wars Rebellion

1:08:32 - COIN Games

1:16:31 - Final Thoughts

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 18: PAX Unplugged

Sat, 25 Nov 2017 19:23:44 -0400

Marc, Matt, Orion, Ben, Wes, and Bubba reminisce about PAX Unplugged and all of the great games they played and great times they had. I promise we didn't record this in a tunnel. There are no technical mistakes, only happy accidents.

3:40 - Star Realms

8:54 - Expo Hall Experiences

22:46 - SEPTA

24:55 - Bushido

29:32 - Ethnos

35:11 - Exceed Card Game

39:33 - Twilight Imperium 4th Edition

49:37 - Keyflower

57:20 - Megagame Funtimes

1:19:03 - Imperial Settlers

1:20:56 - The time I almost said hi to Geoff Engelstien but then didn't

1:24:07 - PAX Unplugged Keynote

1:28:47 - Cheesesteaks

1:33:07 - Fog of Love

1:43:25 - Downforce

1:48:15 - Mechs vs. Minions

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Desk-side Talks With Marc #6: PAX Unplugged and the Benefits of Negativity

Wed, 15 Nov 2017 19:01:38 -0400

The Thoughtful Gamer heads off to PAX Unplugged tomorrow morning, and we'd love to see you there. Marc talks about his plans at the convention, a couple of exciting features coming up for The Thoughtful Gamer, and why he thinks that negativity can be a positive force.

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Half-Witted Scruffy-Looking Podcast Episode 4

Wed, 08 Nov 2017 17:00:11 -0400

The group finds themselves in a gun and axe fight.

Matt tries to reign in Marc, Ben, Jeff, and JR as they nagivate the difficult terrain of the outer rim during the height of the empire, getting into a lot of messes along the way.

Ep 17: 5 "Impossible" Themes

Thu, 02 Nov 2017 18:08:27 -0300

Marc, Orion, Matt, and Wes talk about five different board game themes and ideas that may be impossible to design. Can they be done well? Or are board games inherently limited in such a way as to make them impossible to implement in the medium?

Also in this podcast: Samwise Gamgee becomes a universal metaphor, and Wes conceives of the worst party game ever.

4:14 - Real Market Activity

29:06 - Scaled Conflict

49:23 - Horror/Terror

1:05:39 - Surrealism

1:11:48 - Romance

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Half-Witted Scruffy-Looking Podcast Episode 3

Wed, 25 Oct 2017 16:57:41 -0300

Our plans come to fruition! Matt tries to reign in Marc, Ben, Jeff, and JR as they nagivate the difficult terrain of the outer rim during the height of the empire, getting into a lot of messes along the way.

Ep 16: Dominion Top 10 Cards (Kind Of)

Wed, 18 Oct 2017 22:10:31 -0300

The pinnacle of Dominion week at The Thoughtful Gamer. Join Marc, Matt, Orion, Ben, and Bubba as we count down our collective favorite 10 dominion cards. Listen as we discover that our ranking methodology wasn't the best, and resulted in people hating some of the top 10 cards. Also gain many valuable strategies for how to use the card Crossroads. Lots of other Dominion talk too.

3:08 - Favorite Dominion Memories

11:36 - Top 10 Cards

1:01:28 - Honorable Mentions

1:20:33 - Favorite Expansions

1:23:59 - Favorite Mechanisms

1:30:45 - Most Hated Cards

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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A Discussion With Luca Caltabiano About Neon Knights 2086

Wed, 11 Oct 2017 15:51:16 -0300

I sit down with Luca from Board To Death to talk about his new 80's cyberpunk racing game - Neon Knights. It's a mid-weight racing game with customizable cars, deadly weapons, and white-knuckle push-your-luck mechanisms, where you're not only trying to win the race, but look the best while doing it.

Neon Knights theme song

Available now on Kickstarter

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 15: Listener Question Podcast Spectacular!

Wed, 04 Oct 2017 16:41:19 -0300

Marc, Matt, and Orion answer some questions from listeners. Learn about our favorite movies, how we see The Thoughtful Gamer fitting into the board game media landsape, and if we think we're aquiring new games too quickly. Also, Marc gives a surprise top 10 list!

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Desk-side Talks With Marc #5: State Of The Union (Some exciting announcements!)

Thu, 28 Sep 2017 17:35:09 -0300

Join Marc as he discusses the near future of The Thoughtful Gamer. October and November are shaping up to be a very exciting time. If you have any interest in all with what we're doing, listen in.

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

Ep 14: A Conversation With Michael Heron From Meeple Like Us

Thu, 21 Sep 2017 15:20:22 -0300

In this episode, Michael and I confront the age-old question: how much of a podcast can be made up of tangents before the tangents become the subject of the podcast?

Also in this episode we talk about Meeple Like Us and issues of accessibility in board gaming, a bunch of random political things, our favorite games, gender representation, ethical choices in video games, the state of criticism and if it's okay for publishers to pay reviewers for reviews, and....Nazis?

It was a wild ride, but a tremendously fun discussion.

0:00 - Accessibility

3:40 - Controversial parts of Meeple Like Us

9:47 - Limitations of internet platforms like Reddit and Twitter

15:02 - Working with publishers on accessibility

26:24 - Gender representation/random hotbed political topics

54:36 - Some of our favorite games

1:02:44 - Criticism in board gaming and publishers paying for reviews

1:28:57 - Ethical choices within video games and board games

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Half-Witted Scruffy-Looking Podcast Episode 2

Wed, 13 Sep 2017 15:14:55 -0300

A continuation of the last episode!. Matt tries to reign in Marc, Ben, Jeff, and JR as they nagivate the difficult terrain of the outer rim during the height of the empire, getting into a lot of messes along the way.

Ep 13: Co-operative Games

Thu, 07 Sep 2017 18:26:43 -0300

(Apologies for the audio quality. I'm investigating what went wrong.)

Marc, Matt, and Orion discuss what makes co-op games unique, what problems can show up in the design, and how games overcome those problems.

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

Half-Witted Scruffy-Looking Podcast Episode 1

Thu, 31 Aug 2017 15:12:57 -0300

Matt GM's a game of Fantasy Flight's Edge of the Empire Star Wars RPG system. Marc, Ben, Jeff, and JR nagivate the difficult terrain of the outer rim during the height of the empire, getting into a lot of messes along the way.

Ep 12: New Games and Old Games and GenCon

Wed, 23 Aug 2017 18:28:40 -0300

We've got a beast of an episode today! Inspired by GenCon, the game conference behemoth, Marc, Matt, and Orion discuss some of the games announced there, some of the games they've been playing recently, and their top 10 favorite old games.

4:12 - 1960: The Making Of The President

18:29 - Seikatsu

23:01 - Outpost: Siberia

27:59 - The Bloody Inn

33:55 - 1960 (reprise)

41:00 - Half-Witted Scruffy-Looking Podcast Recap

1:02:04 - GenCon

1:22:23 - Top 10 Games At Least 10 Years Old

1:52:41 - Netrunner

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Desk-side Talks With Marc #4: Twilight Imperium 4

Wed, 16 Aug 2017 09:35:19 -0300

Out of nowhere, Fantasy Flight announced earlier this week that Twilight Imperium 4th edition would be released later this year! Obviously I am very excited about this, but it has a very hefty price tag. I take my critical eye to what we know about the game to help out those wondering if they should buy the 3rd edition now or wait for the new one.

Just as I was about to upload this podcast I saw that Fantasy Flight had released the rulebook. I just read through it--here are my thoughts on the new information the rules revealed. Consider this a supplement to the thoughts on the podcast.

1. The rulebook is exceptionally clear and a huge improvement over the 3rd edition rulebook, which was decent. Fantasy Flight has really done a fantastic job with their rulebooks over the last couple of years, and they deserve a lot of praise for that. It's a remarkeable acheivement, particularly given how inelegant (I say with all fondness) and complicated their games can be.

2. Trade is much more freeform in this edition, with people able to trade both commodities (benign trade goods that don't become active until they're traded) and promissory notes (special powers and benefits on cards) on their turn, Catan-style. The trade strategy card merely refreshes the commodities. I love the idea of promissory notes, and I'm super excited to see what they contain, but I'm skeptical of the more open trading style. As players of Catan know, open trading like that can really slow down a game. I also feel like this weakens the trade strategy card a bit, which is mildly concerning.

3. Invading Mecatol Rex costs influence. Very intriguing. I like special rules involving this center planet, and I'm not sure what to think of this particular wrinkle.

4. The only listed variant ("advanced rules") just adds the promissory notes. I'm quite saddened by this, though I do understand that they're trying to provide the definitive version of the game. I desperately hope that there will be an expansion with a boatload of optional modules to give back that DIY feel to the game. But given that this version is retailing for over 50% more money, that's a very significant monetary investment.

I said in the podcast that I was cautiously optimistic. After seeing the rulebook I'm a hair more optimistic, though I still have a couple of very mild concerns.

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 11: A Conversation With Emil Larsen

Wed, 09 Aug 2017 14:10:15 -0300

We've got a fun one for you today as I talk with Emil Larsen, designer of Burning Rome, a short tactical card game set in ancient times. We discuss the mechanisms of the game, Emil's design philosophy, and how his board game experience helps him with his day job training officers in the military.

0:55 - 1960: The Making Of The President

13:58 - Interview with Emil Larsen

Check out the kickstarter for Burning Rome here: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/suntzugames/burning-rome

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Desk-side Talks With Marc #3: Conflicts of Interest

Wed, 02 Aug 2017 15:45:33 -0300

I get a little fired up on this one. Recently I found out that some reviewers are charging money for reviews, and I make the case that this is an inexcusable conflict of interest that needs to stop. Hear me out.

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Episode 10 Deleted Scenes

Wed, 26 Jul 2017 14:20:04 -0300

RAW AND UNEDITED! Some stuff I cut for time and a bunch of irrelevant tangents. We were very tired. Your peek behind the curtain.

Ep 10: Mage Knight Rage Night!

Wed, 26 Jul 2017 14:09:50 -0300

Our most heated debate yet! Join Marc, Matt, and Orion as we discuss the merits of Vlaada Chvatil's massive adventure game: Mage Knight. Is it a masterpiece of design or merely "fine"?

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Desk-side Talks With Marc #2: Cult Of The New

Wed, 19 Jul 2017 22:25:52 -0300

Come hang out with Marc as he chills in the office and talks about what he's been playing lately, what he wants to play soon, and the agonizing decision of what Netrunner deck to run at Regionals. Also, some statistical analysis of the BoardGameGeek.com top 100 list to see if there really is a "cult of the new".

1:51 - Tzolk'in

4:30 - Commands and Colors: Ancients

7:45 - Mage Knight and new games

11:48 - Netrunner

16:44 - BGG Top 100 analysis

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 9: Falling Sky, Twilight Imperium, and Bubba

Wed, 12 Jul 2017 21:10:30 -0300

Our friend Bubba stops by and we play two massive games with him! Falling Sky and Twilight Imperium are both great, very long games with a lot of politics and negotiation, and we recount our weekend playing them.

4:30 - Dominion and reminiscing about college

10:23 - Falling Sky

26:09 - Twilight Imperium

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Desk-side Talks With Marc #1

Wed, 05 Jul 2017 20:11:50 -0300

Come, relax, and hang out with Marc as he talks about what he's been playing recently and what's in store for the future of The Thoughtful Gamer. Also he rambles on about some bad opinions on reddit.

0:43 - Near and Far

7:14 - Board game table construction

9:50 - Unsolicited opinions and reddit

23:31 - The future

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 8: The Indie-Cast

Wed, 28 Jun 2017 11:07:18 -0300

Marc and Matt got to play some unpublished and indie games, and they're here to tell you all about them! We've got some good, some bad, and some inbetween, but all of it interesting.

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Marc's Top 50 Games: 10-1

Wed, 21 Jun 2017 12:22:14 -0300

It's finally here! Our biggest podcast ever, and for good reason. Marc, Matt, Orion, Ben, and Amber discuss Marc's 10 favorite games of all time. As always, there's some disagreement and debate, but mostly Marc ranting and raving about how amazing these games are.

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 7: Near and Far and Campaign Games

Wed, 14 Jun 2017 20:53:02 -0300

In this episode, Marc and Matt discuss one of our most anticipated games of 2017: Near and Far. We give our first impressions of this beautiful campaign game. Halfway through Orion pops in in a villianous role. Then we talk about campaign games in general and what principles designers should consider when designing them. Finally, we end with some of Marc's half-baked campaign game design ideas.

Also in this episode: Matt gets too excited about hockey, we say the word "whimsical" too much, and Matt poorly mixes a drink.

Disclaimer: Very light spoilers for Near and Far.

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Marc's Top 50 Games: 20-11

Wed, 07 Jun 2017 15:23:34 -0300

Almost to the end! Marc, Orion, Matt, Ben, and Amber discuss Marc's 20th-11th favorite games of all time. It starts with a shocker and ends with some debate. Don't miss it!

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 6: The Chillcast

Wed, 31 May 2017 11:27:08 -0300

Come on in, take your coat off, and chill for a bit. Listen to Marc, Matt, and Orion talk about the games they've been playing lately, what they have preordered, and what they're looking forward to playing in 2017, all while playing a game of Skull.

Games discussed: Hockey (yes, the sport. I'm sorry), Skull, Riftwalker, Labyrinth, Washington's War, Vinhos, Near and Far, Colonial Twilight, 1960, Gloomhaven, Here I Stand, The 7th Continent, Pandemic Legacy Season 2, Charterstone, First Martians, Rising Sun, Thunderstone Quest, Hannibal: Rome vs. Carthage, and BIOS Megafauna, among others.

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Marc's Top 50 Games: 30-21

Wed, 24 May 2017 15:06:12 -0300

The journey continues. Soon we will arrive at the peak--those top 10 magnificent games, shrouded in mystery and emblazoned with greatness. For now, join Marc, Matt, Orion, Ben, and Amber as they discuss games 30-21.

Music: Sailing The Solar Wind by Abstraction

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Ep 5: Netrunner and Terminal Directive

Tue, 16 May 2017 06:08:13 -0300

Join Marc and Orion as they discuss the newest deluxe expansion for Netrunner: Terminal Directive. They begin with a discussion of Netrunner itself and why they find it so compelling, then move on to the legacy experience of Terminal Directive itself, before providing some recommendations for what Netrunner players should purchase after the Core Set.

If you wish to avoid Terminal Directive spoilers, please skip the discussion from 34:05-42:25.

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Marc's Top 50 Games: 40-31

Wed, 10 May 2017 08:49:15 -0300

The countdown continues! Marc, Matt, Orion, Ben, and Amber discuss Marc's 40th-31st favorite games of all time. They're all slightly better games than last time.

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Ep 4: Star Wars Rebellion vs. War of the Ring

Tue, 02 May 2017 17:25:58 -0300

Marc, Matt, and Orion dive deep to compare and contrast these two amazing games to find the areas in which they succeed, as well as where they fall a bit short.

In this episode: Matt gets nerd-shamed, Orion proclaims his War of the Ring superiority, and Marc's name remains unchanged.

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Marc's Top 50 Games: 50-41

Tue, 25 Apr 2017 10:34:33 -0300

Join Marc, Matt, Orion, Ben, and Amber as they discuss Marc's 50th-41st favorite board games of all time. There's some heated disagreement here, but mostly a great discussion about fantastic games.

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Ep 3: Oversight Moments, Analysis Paralysis, and Satisficing

Tue, 18 Apr 2017 16:11:58 -0300

Marc and Matt discuss a situation that happened in a recent game of Dominant Species where Matt missed a very obvious play to his detriment. The discussion then morphs into the psychology of analysis paralysis.

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Ep 2: Blood Rage, Scythe, and Food Chain Magnate

Tue, 04 Apr 2017 18:10:37 -0300

Get Scythe'd!

Marc, Matt, Orion, and Ben discuss three of the hottest board games of the past couple of years. Will we feel the Rage in our Blood? Will Scythe slash our expectations? Will Food Chain Magnate chain us to the table with rapt attention? Only one way to find out!

In this episode, Orion makes cookies, Ben embraces his Loki side, Marc shamelessly tweets at Eric Lang, and Matt breaks rank and acts in generally traitorous ways.

Check our our website at thethoughtfulgamer.com,and reach out to us on facebook or twitter.

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Ep 1: PAX East

Thu, 16 Mar 2017 18:40:02 -0300

Marc, Orion, Matt, and Wes recount their experiences at PAX East 2017.

In this episode: Matt discovers his true calling as an artist, Orion plays jank decks and has fun, Marc eats some berries, and Wes does laundry.

Also in this episode: We discuss deep existential questions about dice, Marc experiences a moment of genuine terror while perusing indie games, and the cat makes an appearance.

Plus we talk about some games.

Games mentioned in this episode: Android: Netrunner, Mega Catan, Rick and Morty Simulator: Virtual Rick-ality, Blasters of the Universe: VR Bullet Hell, Evolution: Climate, Star Realms, Apochalyptica, and Robinson Crusoe: Adventures on the Cursed Island.

Check our our website at thethoughtfulgamer.com,and reach out to us on facebook or twitter

Like the podcast? Want to watch it being recorded, live? Consider supporting it on Patreon.