This week is one of our "long running" Popular Mechanics episodes.  This time around we look at deck building in solo games and talk a bit about some we like.

• 04:11 Friday (BGG)

Games I wrote down but didn't talk about

• Lost Ruins of Arnak (BGG)

This week, we look at a board game based on the classic Choose Your Own Adventure series originally published by Bantam.  In these classic game books, you are the hero of the story and as you read through, you get to make choices that very much affect how the story continues.  This was managed with a branching story in which you would read the book out of order.

This game tries to recreate that experience using one of the classic books, number 15 in the series.  It does a great job of making you feel like you are reading an old CYOA book but using cards instead of a book.

• The House of Danger game (BGG)

If you want to explore the House of Danger, listen to episode 264.

If you would rather avoid the House of Danger, go back to episode 263.

This week Julius and I, after taking a 1 week break from the podcast, take a 1 week break from talking about games. That's because this week we talk about puzzles in their various forms.  This is just a friendly chat about the types of puzzles we enjoy.  There are sooooo many types of puzzles it's not hard to find one that will suit you.

Here are some things we mentioned

• Math logic puzzles

• Sudoku

• Wordle

• Rush Hour

• Pinochio "green hats" puzzle

• Heye Black or White

This week I tell Julius about the rather large Kanban EV.  This game is a re-implementation of the original Kanban and designed by Vital Lacerda.  This quite complex and challenging game was rather fancily produced by Eagle-Gryphon Games.  We talk about the game play and mechanics of the game without getting too deep into the details of how to play.

• Kanban EV (BGG, Eagle-Gryphon)

This episode is a bit different from the typical episode and that it doesn't really talk bout a game.  This week I have the pleasure of talking to Al Leduc, the designer of Yukon Airways.  Julius and I discussed this game two weeks ago.  I found the designer notes in the beginning of the rulebook really interested so I invited the designer to come talk about the back story of the game.  I found the conversation interesting because it gives some perspective to theme of the game and, hopefully, makes the game more interesting for those folks that are playing it.

• I think this is the Taco Bar at the confluence of the Wind River and the Peel River in the Yukon. (Google Maps)

This week Julius and I look at solo drafting games along with the helping, I'm sorry to say, of some barking dogs.  We talk a bit about what is or isn't a drafting game and briefly go over a half dozen or so games worth looking into.  While editing, I realized we completely overlooked a very obvious choice... Gates of Loyang. Darned, darned, darned.  It's an excellent example because the drafting mechanism in solo is much better than the multiplayer drafting.

• 03:45 - Clank! (BGG)

This week Julius introduces us to a game called Yukon Airways by Al Leduc.  In this game, you play a pilot flying around the Yukon Territories and carrying passengers to various locations in a large and sparse region of Canada.  I believe the game is set in the mid-1900s but I'm not entirely sure about that.  Spin it!

This week we talk about a game I've had for years but only finally gotten around to playing it.  It's a game of gladiatorial arena combat for one or two players.  You compete in various arenas around the world in famous sites like El Dorado, Xanadu and Atlantis!  The game brings a large mix of gladiators to play with and is highly tactical.  It's a lot of fun but it's not a perfect game.  Check out what I think...

• Hoplomachus: Origins (BGG, Chip Theory Games)

This week Julius and I popped out an old favorite of ours.  It's Sentinels of the Multiverse, the original edition.  We talk about this unwieldy super-hero game and what we think of it.  How's it aged, considering there is now a second edition out that "fixes many of the problems" with the original. Neither of us have played the new one so we don't have that to taint our opinions!

• Sentinels of the Multiverse (BGG)

This week Julius brings us another episode with his son.  The talk about the escape room style game Echoes: The Microchip.  This game is part of the Echoes series which includes audio interactions in the game.

Echoes: The Microchip (BGG)